UPDATE 9/10/05
Somehow
we didn't remember the Chesapeake Bay being so beautiful!
The
scenery along the way has been exceptional, as has the weather.
We've
not had any rain in the 2 weeks we have been at sea - knock on wood! In
Chesapeake City, in the middle of the C&D Canal, we met
a couple at the anchorage and had dinner with them.
They live south of Baltimore on the water and have
invited us to stay at their dock if we want to.
"Boat
People" are really friendly and willing to share stories
and advise us newcomers to this Snow Bird route
south.
While
we have done more motoring than we like, we have been
able to do some sailing in mild to moderate winds.
We
are now in Georgetown, MD, about 6 miles up the Sassafras
River, off the Chesapeake. The marina is nice
with all amenities as well as a pool. We've
enjoyed hearing from those that have e-mailed or called.
It is really nice to be able to keep in touch. We
know you are all probably praying for the hurricane victims
and tomorrow we have 9/11 to think about
too.
UPDATE 10/01/2005
We just finished our month long
trip around the Chesapeake Bay. It is possible to do it in about a week as it is only 206 miles
long, but we surely did stop to smell the roses! They call it gunkholeing, which is
stopping in the rivers and creeks and taking the time to see the local scenery. We
were able to see dolphins, porpoises, turtles, eagles, and hawks... making
lazy circles in the sky. Sorry I just had to burst into
Rogers & Hammerstein. The sky was
amazing with more stars than you can count and the planet Saturn has been
the first "star" we see every night. We truly consider ourselves blessed that
we could go on this trip.
We also learned a lot:
- It's not Solomon Islands, but Solomon's Island. Imagine my surprise when I was looking for a series of islands and found only one.
- There are 158 verses of the Greek National Anthem
- Eating steamed crab is still one of the best experiences in the world
- Every marina is different, some help you tie-up, some “helpers” are nowhere in sight; some having floating docks and some are stationary and present quite a challenge when trying to disembark and the dock is 3 feet above your boat.
- Mat is a better cribbage player than I am.
- Not all powerboaters are jerks (Art, we actually knew that already from our marina)
- Perhaps dog owners would have a better time if they found a good dog-sitter
- rather than having to walk their dogs no matter what time they pull into an anchorage
- I’m starting to look forward to exercise, which is really scary for me.
- Everyone is friendly and helpful, just like at Christmastime at home.
and will leave for the Virginia Cut to get to the Albemarle
Sound in North Carolina.
UPDATE 10/23/05
We have traveled 560 miles since I last sent an update. The ICW after Norfolk, VA is very different from the Chesapeake. It covers wide rivers, narrow and shallow inlets and deep sounds. We have to go though many bridges that have to be opened for us which can delay travels for the day if we have to wait for any extended periods of time. We no longer think of our boat as a sailboat. We’ve had to motor all the way. If we really had a “power” boat, it would be fine, but we can only average about 6 knots an hour. We feel a little like the tortoise and the hare as the larger motor yachts pass us by. But going slowly keeps us safe – if we hit something or go aground, it’s a soft bump rather than a hard crash. We did rub the bottom a little just once, but Mat was able to maneuver us free without too much difficulty.
We had to go through a lock as we went through the Virginia
Cut to the Abelmarle Sound. It was our
first lock and we did not know quite what to expect except for what we
read. We read that we would be told what
side to tie up on and there were people there to tie up for us – just throw
them the lines. In my paranoia, I put lines on both sides and I’m glad I
did. We were told to go to port and at
the last minute were told, no, go to starboard and there wasn’t anyone there to
take the lines. We managed, and after the boat was lowered about a foot, we untied
and took off on the other side.
We’ve only had a couple of stressful events. One was trying
to dock the boat to get fuel with the wind blowing one way and the swift
current going the other. I guess now I’d call it a learning experience, but
then I ... well, I won’t say what I was really thinking. The other was at a marina in Morehead City NC
after Tammy blew through. NOAA weather
was predicting winds of 15-20 knots per hour, so we stayed on the boat. During the night the winds blew through at
about 30-40 knots. We were glad we were
at a dock, but the dock was rocking so much, we couldn’t get off. We were safe, but we sure didn’t feel like
it. After Tammy was done, the seas and winds were calm, just as if nothing
happened.
We did travel in the rain in North Carolina for a bit and
the plastic side curtains I made before we left came in handy, keeping us
fairly dry. We continue to see a lot of wildlife. It’s hard to believe that seeing dolphins and
bald eagles could be commonplace. One night we did share an anchorage with a
fairly big alligator. I’m afraid it’s
not my idea of an ideal anchorage mate. Starting in South Carolina we started
seeing a lot of palm trees in the wild.
Those, along with the live oaks draped in Spanish moss, are beautiful!
We’ve met many interesting people along the way; some from
Canada that came through the Erie Canal, some from Colorado (no, they sailed
from New England), some from Ohio (who sold all of their earthly possessions)
and we even ran into a lady I do Yoga with back in Ledyard. It’s a small world. I heard from Kathy Buff that a former
colleague of ours, Kathy Kahn and her husband Mike, moved to Savannah. I e-mailed Kathy and we just spent two
delightful days with them and they have quickly adopted southern hospitality by
showing us around and inviting us to stay at their new home, overnight, in a
real bed. Our first in 2 months. We had
such a good time. Thanks, Kathy & Mike.
Charleston, SC so far is our favorite stop. The city is beautiful and steeped in history. We probably will stop there again on our trip
home in the spring. As many of you know, Mat is known for his U-turns. As we approached Charleston Harbor, Mat took
a turn to the east. As we were headed
for the Atlantic Ocean, he quickly righted his course. Thank goodness U-turns
are an option!
Tomorrow we are off again and have two more stops before we
cross into Florida. This area seems to
be safe from Wilma, but our move into Florida will be governed by the
weather. As our daughter-in-law Kathy
reminds us, “safety first”.
Update 11/14/05
We
are safely tucked in at a marina in Titusville, Fl, just outside the Kennedy
Space Center. Or lives for the past 2-½ months have been invigorating,
exciting, a learning experience and yes, a bit stressful at times, but we have
enjoyed the ride immensely!
After
leaving charming Savannah, we made 2 more stops in Georgia, one of them at
Jekyll Island. It was originally designed to be for the rich and famous, but
obviously now is for the masses since they let us in. It is a beautiful island
with beautiful white sandy beaches. The marina had bikes for us to use so we
got all around the island. We then headed for Amelia Island for an anchorage
and found that we had 5 feet of boat in the water, but there was only 3 feet of
water below us. Everyone has their
“going aground” stories, but it’s no fun when you are going through it
yourself. The tide was coming in so we
would have floated off in a ½ hour or so, but we got lucky. A powerboater was going by like a bat out of
you know where and rocked us enough for us to come loose. I never thought I’d be grateful for a boat
wake! (Art & Karen, don’t let the
word get out.)We tried another anchorage; again, we found too little water. So off to a marina in Jacksonville we went!
We have also learned to be flexible.
Then
off to St Augustine. We were told it was
a beautiful city and “they” were right.
We spent 6 days just soaking in the history and sights – also soaked in
the offerings at San Sebastian Winery.
They have a trolley here as they do in Savannah that you can buy a
ticket for 3 days and ride it as much as you want. One of the stops was right
near the marina (1/2 mile) so we had the convenience of transportation other than
walking.
Since
arriving in Titusville we have had a chance to see Mark Spano, a friend of the
family for years and Uncle Paul, Aunt Kathy and my cousin Arlene. It is so great to see friends and family
along the way. We had dinner with the crew of a boat we have been playing
leapfrog with and had cocktails and dinner with our new dock friends, several
times. We’ve also seen a lot on manatee up close as they are all over the
marina. I’m not sure if they are cute or
ugly.
Now
that we have traveled over 1500 miles, we are coming back home to Connecticut
for the holidays on November 16th and we’ll stay until December 31st.
We’ll have a chance to see a lot of you and we look forward to it. Then we’ll fly back to Florida to finish our
adventure. Marinas south of here are
still without power and some are completely closed due to Wilma. We’ll have to play it by ear as to where we
go from here, but there is time before we have to make those decisions.
We’ll
be back with Just Ducky Tales after the New Year. My cousin Paul is coming home
to his family, on leave from Afghanistan, and we are sure they will have a
great holiday as we hope all of you do too.
UPDATE
01/15/06
Hi
all, and Happy New Year. We came back to Florida on New Year’s Eve. The marina in Titusville is on a migratory
path for a lot of species of birds. So
you can guess what was all over the boat when we returned after 6 weeks away. Our first order of business was to change
into shorts (80 degree weather greeted us also) and then second was to wash the
boat. Then it was off to find out where the New Year’s party was. A couple that we knew from before we left for
Thanksgiving invited us over and we had a nice evening. They re-introduced us to having black- eyed
peas as is the southern tradition for good luck in the New Year. While I count
on Mat’s expertise during this great adventure, I also subscribe to prayer and
luck.
We
spent a few more days in Titusville to get re-acclimated and to get the bottom
of the boat cleaned. We made our final
decision to go to Marathon in the keys and not to the Bahamas and were surprised that we got a reservation for
the month of February at the marina that was recommended to us early on in the
trip. We will be at Sombrero Resort and
Marina in case anyone wants to visit.
We
are still meeting a lot of very nice people such as a couple from Washington
State that buys boats here, sails them and then sells them before they take
their RV back home; and another couple from Houston that has been out for more
than a year sailing all the way to Maine and are now on their way back; and
then a few boaters that have been living on their boats for 8-9 years. Only
boaters feel that that much togetherness is a good thing! We knew boaters were a friendly group, but
continue to be amazed at just how friendly they are. The wildlife continues, still seeing dolphin,
eagles and now a lot of pelicans.
Our
first stop was Melbourne and we spend a few days meeting up with a couple we
know (Dorothy & Bill) from our Hunter Club that did this trip last
year. They took us to their new home for
dinner and we had a great time. We also
had the chance to see Uncle Paul, Aunt Kathy as well as my cousins Arlene and
Colleen and their families (John, Amy and Michael Paul). We had a lot of fun catching up and
celebrating Colleen’s birthday. The weather turned cold for the weekend even
getting down to the low 30s at night.
We
are now in Vero Beach, also known as Velcro Beach because people don’t want to
leave. We think the $10.00 a night
mooring fee might also have something to do with it. The beach is snowy white, beautiful. We got another front this weekend with a cold
windy day, but we’ll be back in the 70s tomorrow when we leave for Jensen Beach
anchorage. We’ll be anchoring until we
get to Ft. Lauderdale on the 20th. We are getting into the area that
had damage from Wilma. While some areas
are cleaned up, there are still people without power and damage that still
needs repair. I met a couple today from Vermont that lost their mast while
moored here in Vero Beach during Wilma.
I think being a Floridian takes more courage than we have.
UPDATE 2/12/06
Our last month on the high seas has
given us quite a bit of trouble. Shortly after we left Melbourne, we had to
have the outboard motor for the dinghy fixed. Further along the way, we ran
into some trouble with the engine on the big boat stalling out as well as an
ever-increasing oil leak. As the boat stalled coming in to the dock, the boat
lost steering and we had to hit the dock instead of the beautiful catamaran in
front of us (a much more prudent choice!). So we had the engine repaired and
the bow roller and anchor fixed. As we continued on our way, we noticed the oil
leak getting worse instead of better (I did say we had it fixed, didn't I?).
So, when we arrived here in Marathon, we had the engine looked at again and lo
and behold, the engine had to be pulled from the boat and needs to be partially
rebuilt. We are happy to report that the leak in the dinghy appears to be fixed
as well as our cell phone that would not ring.
So you are now asking - Are you still
having a good time? Actually we are, in spite of the setbacks. We are grateful
everything happened at the dock and we weren't stranded anywhere. What's that
saying, "If the world hands you lemons, make lemonade"?
We passed through the section of the ICW
that has bridges every few miles and it really makes for slow forward motion.
One day we had 20 bridges that we needed opened for us to pass through. Another
day we ended up traveling with 2 other sailboats and the bridge tenders were a
bit more cooperative about waiting a couple of minutes so that we could go
through without waiting a long time. While waiting for one of the repairs to be
done, we rented a car and visited some old family friends, the Riviezzios, who
live in Delray Beach. Again, it is great to meet old friends and family along
the way.
Ft Lauderdale was fun. They have a
waterbus to take you around the waterfront which we took advantage of. We went
to a great Greek restaurant with lots of singing and even dancing on the
tables. It was fun. I can only imagine what it is like now during spring break!
Paul Allen from Microsoft had his yacht, Octopus, there. It's the second
largest private yacht in the world. I'm sure you are as surprised, as we were
that we were not invited aboard... From Ft. Lauderdale to Miami, we had to go
out in the ocean, as there is one bridge we can't get under right before Miami.
The weather station said the seas were 1-2 feet. They lied, as usual. It was
more like 4-5 feet. I was a bit queasy, but made it without getting sick. Our
next couple of days coming down from Miami to the Keys were wonderful as we
finally got to sail. We weren't sure if we remembered how.
Marathon is a very laid back town. The
marina we are at has some nice amenities such as a pool, restaurant and cable
and of course a beach nearby. The weather has been nice and warm except for a
few days as cold fronts move through. We rented a car and went to Key West
yesterday. As you can see from the attached photo, we were at the southernmost
point in the continental US which is in Key West. (I probably would have put
money on it being in California, but that shows how much I know!) It is only 90
miles from Cuba and thank goodness Mat didn't get his direction mixed up and
land us in Cuba. We hear that you can go to Cuba, but they confiscate your boat
if you try to return. John & Loretta (brother and sister-in-law) were
suppose to come down this weekend but Loretta is sick. Hope you are better
soon, Loretta. We are here until at least the end of February, maybe a little
longer. Then we begin the journey back north, providing we get our engine back.
Details, details... Hope all of you are well. We love hearing back from all
y'all (did you catch that southern accent?)
UPDATE 3/5/06
We are still having some woes with our engine. Specifically it is still not ready, so we’ll
be here in Marathon until March 30th. Hopefully it will be ready by then since the
marina can’t keep us beyond that date.
Since we can’t move the boat out of the slip, we just might have to use
that “unlimited towing” option we have with Boat US.
We’ve put our time to good
use, other than playing. The hull is
bright and shiny, the teak is beautifully refreshed, a new zipper was put on
the dodger, a new windless gear is installed and Mat is putting on a new hour’s
meter on the non-existent engine. Maybe
we can’t go anywhere, but we’re looking good!
Our playtime has been spent
sight seeing, biking, kayaking, swimming, reading, fishing (Mat), oil painting
(me) and exploring in the dingy. We
really are just as busy as we want and that’s a very relaxing way to be. The
weather has continued to be great, upper 70s, and low 80s. I’m sure you’re not
surprised to hear we continue not to
miss all of the snow and cold weather up North. Although missing family and
friends is a daily occurrence.
We took the kayak into some
of the mangroves and found quite a few abandoned (and wrecked) boats. Some are from Wilma, but some look like they
have been there for some time. Wilma did
take its toll though. We were told that
the surge came from the bayside, not the oceanside so that area sustained the
most damage. Many local businesses
closed and will not reopen and some are just opening now. Even the Sears in Key West is just opening
this weekend. Many of the palm trees
show salt-water damage but are improving.
The other day Mat saw
something swimming toward the boat – it was an Iguana. He swam right over and climbed up on our
neighbor’s dinghy. There’s one face I
don’t want to wake up to!
We took a high-speed ferry
out to the Dry Tortugas, which are about 70 mile west of Key West. They are a series of islands (keys) that
house Fort Jefferson National Park and wildlife refugees. This fort was built to protect the commercial
waterway, but was never completed or fully operational. It’s in a beautiful spot with all kinds of
birds; most notable is the Magnificent Frigate bird. The water was still too
cold for us to go snorkeling (wimps that we are), but the beach was beautiful.
Since we will be staying for
the month, we’ll be able to go to the Marathon Seafood Festival and take part
in the St Patrick’s Day Dinghy Parade. Both sound like fun.
We still feel so blessed to
be able to come on this trip. Everyone
we have met down here on similar trips feel the same way.
Update 3/30/2006
Hallelujah! We
finally got the boat engine back in the boat yesterday. And it works!
We will be leaving either tomorrow or Saturday for our trip back up the
East Coast and ultimately back home. I’d
rather leave tomorrow than Saturday...April Fools Day doesn’t sound like a good
omen.
All
in all, we’ve had a great time here in Marathon. We’ve met so many people that
have been coming here for as many as 12 years.
Some on sailboats, but a lot on power boats. Most of them leave their
boats somewhere in Florida and don’t make the trip down the ICW anymore. I’ve heard, “been there, done that” many
times. They have known each other for
many years, but gladly welcomed us into the group right away. Boaters are such friendly people. One couple
is from NY and come to Foxwoods a lot, so we’ll probably see them; another
lives on Martha’s Vineyard who we will probably see in September; another is
from Rhode Island who we plan to meet up with at Block Island.
The
weather, except for a few cool days, has been dry and in the high 70s, low 80s.
Great for us tourists, but not so for the vegetation that is still trying to
recover from Wilma. We have seen plants and trees begin to green up, but there
are still areas that look like they need a gallon of Miracle Grow. The water
warmed up quite a bit and we almost got to go snorkeling at the reef with
friends, but they started to have problems with their boat se we turned
back. Jokingly, one couple asked that we
stay away from their boat as their boat was working just fine.
We
rented a car again and did a bit more sightseeing, mainly to Islamorada to
Theater in the Sea. Nice outdoor park
with beautiful orchids all over and dolphin, sea lion, turtle and parrot
exhibits. We also went to Big Pine and
No Name Key to see the Key Deer. They
are small deer weighing only about 45 pounds. They roam wild but are so relaxed
with people that they are pretty visible.
I
managed to do 3 small oil paintings since we’ve been here. It was hard getting
started again, but they didn’t turn out too badly. But Grandma Moses has nothing to fear from
Grandma Pam.
It’s
time for the next part of our adventure to begin and we are looking forward to
it. We probably will not take as long to get back to CT as it did for us to get
here, as long as the weather cooperates. It looks like we’ll be back sometime
in May. We’ll be in touch as we move North up the coast. We hope everyone is well and that spring is
starting to warm things up for you.
Update 4/16/06
Happy
Easter everyone! We are back in St Augustine, one of our favorite places. We attended Mass at the Mission Nombre De
Dios where Pedro Menendez (not related to the Menendez brothers) first landed
in St Augustine to form the first permanent settlement here. The Mass was held outside and it was very
picturesque and serene – until someone’s car alarm went off- and went off- and
went off... Kinda ruined the ambiance.
We
went out for dinner to a Spanish restaurant last night and had a great paella
dinner and flamenco show too. It was a
fun evening. You can see the Spanish influence everywhere you turn.
We
had one bad experience on our trip back when we reached Miami. Our engine died; yes, the same one that was
just fixed. We had to be towed (thank
you TowBoat US) but it turned out to be clogged fuel filters and easily
remedied once we got to a dock. Mat changed the filters and we were on our way
again.
We
met up with family again in Melbourne and had dinner with Aunt Kathy and my
cousin Arlene and her son Michael Paul. Uncle Paul was under the weather
recovering from pneumonia, so we didn’t get to see him. Hope you are better
now, Uncle Paul. We also met another Hunter owner with the same size boat as
ours, but much newer. The are from
Niantic, just down the road from home.
We are hoping to see them again along the way.
We
got slowed down by some bad weather and met up with some old friends in
Titusville. We also got to meet the owners and drool over a 50-foot motor yacht
that hails from Noank – another port close to home.
We
are off tomorrow to Fernandina Beach, our last stop in Florida, just on the
Georgia border. If the weather
cooperates, we will be in the marshes of South Carolina by the end of next
week.
Take
care and keep good thoughts about our safe trip home.
UPDATE 05/05/06
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Our trip home so far has been as filled with adventure as out trip down in
the fall. We seem to be more aware of
the shoaling shoreline and the tides.
We’ve done a lot more planning.
I think our trouble free trip down can be attributed to dumb luck, since
with our planning, we’ve still run into sticky situations.
We planned our trip through southern Georgia to correspond
to high tide as that state seems to be the worst for shoaling. We stayed in St Simons for a couple of days
and see why it is such a popular resort.
Beautiful homes and beaches and the place has a lot of history attached
to it. We decided to go outside to the
ocean from St Simons to the St Catherine’s Sound to avoid the low water and to
do a little sailing. We accomplished the
first, but the winds were right on our nose and we had to motor sail.
Charleston being one of our favorite stops, we stayed for a few nights. One night there were predictions of thunderstorms, possible tornadoes and hail with winds at 60 mph. Staying on the boat for this spectacular weather show was not an option. So we donned our raingear and headed for the marina bar to wait out the storm passing. We got to know the bartender well. We kept our daughter-in-law’s admonition “safety first!” uppermost in our minds as we ordered another one. I’m not sure, but it may have had something to do with the next day’s event. We got to take advantage of our towing insurance again, lucky us! North of Charleston we went aground (wait, I thought Georgia was suppose to be the shallowest?) and had to wait four hours for the tide to come back in and then they could tow us off the mud bank. The tide difference here is about 8 feet. It was quite an experience sitting on the boat as it lay on its side. It also was quite a sight for those passing by. When the tow came, he did give us the good news that the bottom looked good, the drive shaft and prop were fine and the zincs were in place. (I’m just trying to look at the bright side.)
Our
mornings are now chilly as we continue North.
Out with the shorts and in with the sweatshirts! However, we are now in
Bellhaven, NC about 135 miles south of Norfolk, VA (We’re making progress) and
it is suppose to be 80 today. There is
another front coming through tonight so we’ll sit it out here before we
continue on our journey.
God
willing and the weathermen cooperate, we hope to be home in a couple of
weeks. I think we both are looking
forward to sleeping in a real bed.
UPDATE 5/21/06
Just
a quick note to let you know we are in the home stretch. We are now in Cape May, New Jersey and hope
to be back in Connecticut by next weekend - providing the weather cooperates.
We aren't sure we can leave tomorrow -high winds and small craft warnings - but
it's looking good for Tuesday.
Our
friends here (Dani & Roger) took us in last night and we enjoyed a real bed
for a change. It was GREAT, as is their
hospitality.
Along
the way we continue to meet some interesting people as we sit and wait for bad
weather to pass as we did in the Alligator River in North Carolina. I guess I should say “on”, not in. Swimming with alligators is not my favorite
pastime! “Cocktail at 4” seemed to be in order as we commiserated about our
delay.
We
stopped in Annapolis, MD on our return trip and remembered why we loved the
town so much when we lived in Virginia.
Steamed crabs were the order of the day and they were wonderful. If it weren’t for dodging the crab traps in
the water, I’d vote for trying to harvest them in Long Island Sound. We were on
a mooring for Wednesday Night Races. At
the end of the race, the boats return to the finish line by going through the
mooring field at full speed ahead. Very
exciting!
We
needed another replacement part for the engine, a water pump. Not a big deal, but the distributor forgot to
send the part so we had to wait another day for it to arrive. Again we were at the dock, so we dodged
another bullet.
We’ll
let you all know when we get home. It’s
been quite and adventure.
May 29, 2006
Just Ducky has landed!
We made it through on Saturday evening.
It has been a wonderful adventure, but we are happy to be safely
home. Mat, Kelly and Mathew III met us
at the dock to drive us home.
After we left Cape May, we took a short trip to Atlantic
City. Of course I had to sample the
casinos and believe it or not I won $10.00.
I’m afraid it’s not enough to finance the rest of our retirement but it
also did not hurt Trump too much either.
We decided to make the trip to Sandy Hook all in one day and it turned
out to be a long one – 13 hours. We then
went through Hell Gate in New York in the afternoon when the tide was
right. Then Long Island Sound welcomed
us back with two mornings of fog. Lucky
us! It’s the one thing we did not have
to worry about our entire trip. All in
all, we feel so blessed to be able to take this trip and thank all of you for
your messages and encouragement.
We have experienced much in the past 9 months:
- Passing the Stature of Liberty - Breathtaking
- Meeting up with friends and family along the way – Wonderful
- Meeting new people and making new friends – Equally wonderful
- Spending the night in the same water as alligators – Unnerving
- Traveling through the marshes with all of God’s creatures as company - Beautiful
- Having to wait for the engine to be rebuilt – Frustrating
- Having to wait for a bridge to open – Fun?
- Cocktails every night at 5, no matter what – Fun, I mean really fun!
- Making it through shallow water – Triumphant!
- Going aground with our bare bottom sticking out – Embarrassing
- Spending so much quality time together without fighting – Amazing
- Support of our family and friends back home - Grateful
- Wintering on sunshine instead of snow - Special
- Sampling wild shrimp and fresh crab – Yum
- Being able to see the stars ever night – Awesome
- Reveling in the wonders of all the new places we’ve seen - Fantastic
- Being able to live our dream – Priceless!
