Made it to Florida

As you all might have guessed we are in sunny Melbourne, Florida at the Waterline marina. I will fill in the blanks as to our wanderings in the next couple of days. There will be a change in the crew of the "Packet Inn" effective this week. I have decided to get off the boat and return to Trumansburg with my wife Karen. I really enjoyed the trip but missed my family, and power to run my sleep apnea machine was becoming more and more of an issue.

For those unfamiliar with life on a sailboat, it is like running a small city; you have to constantly monitor water, sewer and power. Unless you are running the motor constantly, just normal operations such as using the lights can drain the batteries in a couple hours. Water is also an issue when trying to keep sorta clean with "Navy showers"; you can drain the water tank pretty quick. Sewer is another area that requires close monitoring. Three people on the boat all using the head, well, you get the picture.

The trip will continue with Tom and George and possibly a third member. Basically the crew will go farther south (probably Miami) and go across the gulf stream to the Bahamas.

In the days since we made port on Friday, the crew has enjoyed the long shore leave, doing laundry, getting supplies, and testing out the local restaurants.

Tom and George have promised to feed me pictures and text of the rest of the trip, so everyone out there can see how it all ends up.

Lazy Sunday

As you can see by my picture it's still cold, we seem to be under a weather black cloud. Tom thought the picture made me look like and old salt actually I was wet and cold and hoping for a hot shower and food. After leaving Port Charles we crossed to Norfolk for our last look at the Chesapeake. So as to not disappoint us the wind waves and heavy traffic picked up. The port of Norfolk is a mix of naval vessels, tugs, barges, high speed power boats, and a few cruising sailboats. We had no problems it, just requires a sharp lookout and nerves of steel. Because all the guide books recommended it we took the Dismal Swamp route. It is a beautiful spot and waking up at anchor with the owls hooting and the birds singing seemed just right. After that we cruised all day towards Pafquotanke river and  Elisabeth City. In Elisabeth city they love cruisers so they let you tie up almost anywhere. We tied up to the city park next to some benches and no one even questioned us even though the the sign said no tie ups. At this point we lost George to the lure of looking at his new boat. Hopefully he will rejoin us next week. A local recommended that we get across the Albemarle sound as it was supposed to get windy which equates to large confused waves in shallow water, point well taken. The next body of water was the Alligator river. It is a spooky sort of place with all sorts of stumps sticking up along the edge, which if let your mind go there you could imagine all sorts of creatures lurking. We ended up anchoring near a bridge and did not see any alligators or many other animals. We did manage to catch a small stump but Tom and I subdued it and did a catch and release. Later  the next day we did see some eagles and some really small deer. The trip on the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound was pretty easy, we managed to get some good sailing and good speed which means we did not have to dock in the dark.
Oriental, what a welcome sight,  the dock master directed us to a perfect slip, close to the showers, laundry, and the Bean coffee shop. I love this place, I am going to see if I can convince Karen to check it as a potential retirement place. Everyone waves, people will stop and offer you a ride. Very friendly...
Tom found an anchor winch for a good price at the consignment shop so pulling up 100 plus feet of chain could get better. All the clothes are clean I have made two trips to the Bean, Tom tidyed up the boat maybe a nap would be in order or maybe get some pictures. The temp has got all the way up from 48 to 58 still windy and damp but a start in the right direction..

Some pictures

I got behind in downloading pictures so here are some in no particular order...

Cape Charles ,Va

I can not believe it I just finished this blog update and windows shut down my computer and did an update and I lost everything.
First I need to let everyone know that we have had very little Internet service so making updates has been a problem. We have good cell service all but one night even out in the ocean.
The trip from Sandy hook to Cape May went ok with the exception of running aground in Barnagot Bay and careening the boat later that night. The winds have been a problem since we left and out on the ocean was a real treat. We also broke the anchor pin and dropped and set the anchor motoring in the ocean. Retrieving the anchor  and 100 feet of chain in 50 feet of water with ten foot waves was a kind of a chore.
Cape may has real a nice anchorage and a few marinas, as we arrived off the ocean at about 1:00am the anchorage was the best choice. The next day we moved to a marina to fix the mast lights and restock.
We left Cape May and went through the channel to the Delaware bay. Due to the tides we could not leave until 3:00 pm so soon we were out of sight of land and in the dark. By eight we anchored and spent the night 2 miles from shore in ten feet of water. The next day we did half of the C&D canal and stopped due to possible tornadoes. The next day was on to the Chesapeake. Wow big water, big waves and big ships. There are many areas in the bay with one foot deep five miles from shore, makes going in a straight line impossible. When we anchored for the night there was a slight chop and light winds. After dinner the wind and waves built till we had 47 mph winds and ten foot waves. We didn't think it would be good to leave in the dark with weather conditions and all the fields of crab pots to dodge. What a terrible night, the boat jumping up and down like a wild horse. We took watches until sunup and got out of that place. The winds built all the next day and we soon decided that NOAA weather service is just a cruel joke created by anti-boaters When NOAA says 10-15 mph winds add at least ten to everything the say.
We next stopped at a marina in Solomons Islands. Being holloween there were some strange folks out and about. George saw one guy dressed only in a over the shoulder thong, about that time he decided he had lost all interest in being in the bar. The showers were so dirty we all chose boat showers for that night.
We stayed one night in Reedsville Va , at a dock that had sailboats and fishing boats a pretty rough place
but they had hot showers. I knew when we went into the bar and everyone had their own coolers and there was a miniature dachshund sitting on the bar we were in a strange land.
Last night after sailing all day we found this wonderful marina that is so luxurious it seems out of place.
It has two restaurants, two golf courses, hundreds of docks, WiFi, showers and free laundry. We are soaking up the good stuff before we leave on the last leg before the ICW.