Loblolly Marina 12/16/2010

Today was a lazy day all the way around as there was no sailing, no motoring, no cleaning the boat or doing laundry. Just a nice relaxing day. I took a few picture of Loblolly Marina while the crew went to the beach. With the weather having been as cold as it has been, today's warm up to the mid, may be even high, 70's was a very welcome change.

Schools of bait fish swam close to the surface to gather warmth from the sun while some bigger fish floated upside down or on their side unable to cope with the recent cold. This is a small marina that by design is usually quiet, however; the cold weather has kept the regulars inside their condos and near their heat pumps. But today's warmth brought out a few boaters and fishermen. Several nice fish were carried back as today's catch because the fishermen are out again and the fish are biting.

Several manatee swam through today. Two stayed a fair distance away but a third one surfaced next to the board walk, cleared the water from its nostrils and looked straight at me as I stop to see it. They're so ugly, they're cute! And there are birds too. I can't begin to say how many different kinds there are except to say mmmmmany!

There are at least two full time captains here and the mega yachts they tend to are spectacular. Each day, the captains wash and shine the boats waiting for the owners to come here for a sail or to direct them elsewhere for a meeting and sail there. So much money out there! I have to wonder where it all comes from. The one yacht, Harvest Moon, is over 70 feet long (see the picture) and the captain has been with the boat for more than three years. The channel coming into the marina is barely wide enough to accommodate the boats here but the water is deep and the condos and trees provide a great deal of protection from storms.

Yeah. . . . today was a lazy day. Maybe I'll do something tomorrow. . . or not!

Packet Inn In Florida 12/13/1010

After spending time in Melborne, we thought that we could get across the gulf stream but the weather has been very unusual for Florida at this time of the year. Temperatures have been unusually cool, the winds coming from the north against the gulf stream creating high waves and very poor sailing conditions to be far out at sea. So, we decided to head further south looking for warmer weather.

We continued down the ICW passing through Malabar, Sebastian, Wabasso, Winter Beach, Vero Beach, Oslo, Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach, St. Lucie, Hobe Sound, Jupiter Inlet, Riviera Beach, West Palm Bay, Lake Worth, Boyton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale and on to Miami with numerous anchorages along the way.

While in Miami, we took an afternoon to look at the boat that George wants to buy. The next morning, we headed further south to Pumpkin Key. It wasn't really Florida warm but it was comfortable. And, then we head to Key Largo and Gilberts Marina. George had been to Key Largo before and remembered the resort from his prior trip there. Food at the Tiki bar was as great as George had described and there is a small private beach close by.

The following morning, we left for Duck Key when we discovered an error in the navigation charts for Blackwater Sound. Where there was suppose to be 6 and 7 feet of water, according to the charts, but there was only about a foot and we ran hard aground in 20 knot winds. After trying every trick in the book, we called for Tow Boat to come and get us moving again at high tide the following morning. We were having alternator problems at the same but resolved that issue after finding a broken wire. A new terminal end in place on the wire and a less than gentle tug from the Tow Boat and all was well.

We continued on down to Duck Key and Marathon Key through a concentration of pods for crab or lobster traps like I've never seen before. Even though we had planned to go on Key West, we decided to turn around and head back to Key Largo for fuel, a good nights sleep and relief from the attack of the pods.

Following our adventure in the Keys, we crossed Card Sound again and entered Biscayne Bay to anchor with Miami skyline for our evening view once again. Leaving Miami, we tried to head out into the Atlantic through the Port of Miami but quick found out that the Dade County Police preferred that we not do that. Something about getting too close to all of the cruise ships makes the police a little bit cranky.

Going on north on the ICW to Fort Lauderdale, we left the ICW for the Atlantic where we had a very nice sail up to Hillsboro Inlet in 2 to 4 foot swells and a gentle reaching wind. Winds were building and small craft warnings were being issued toward evening hours and so we headed back north on the ICW. We finally pulled into Sailfish Marina for the night near Riviera Beach. The winds had to increase to 60, maybe even 70 miles an hour that night. We found it necessary to adjust our lines several times because of stress on the lines and changing tide levels.

The forecast was for more of the same the next day and we decided that we didn't want to spend another night where we were so we headed north again. After about 30 miles or so, we found a small, nice, secluded and protected marina in Hobe Sound, Loplolly Marina. That's where we are as I write this.

Passing through Bascule Bridges, bridges that hinge on each side and open in the middle, is a way of life when traveling on the ICW. The bridges have operators, "Bridge Masters", that can be helpful.....or not. Some Bridge Masters open the bridges according to the time schedule for that bridge; 1)on the hour or half hour, or 2)on the 1/4 hour and 3/4 hour, or 3)on demand pending traffic. However; other Bridge Masters seem to like watching boaters fight the wind and strong currents of the ICW. Even though we had more good Bridge Masters than not, it is the other ones that we are sure to remember.

Something else that I'm sure we will all remember is all of the wrecked and sunken boats along the way. We saw masts sticking out the water, mostly submerged, some with sails still in the raised position. Others boats were upside down on shore and still others were in the trees well back from the shoreline. It makes me realize why there are some 20,000 Canadian boats and an undetermined number of US boats that make this journey ever year. They know better than to be here in hurricane season! You can be sure that we'll be out of here before that season rolls around!

We have seen thousands of other boats and ships. Some are much smaller than our vessel with the other extreme being the large mega yachts. Still larger are all the cruise ships and container vessels. But as far as sailboats, we're probably about average in size. Some, maybe even a lot of the boats, have been all over the world. This one will not be! This has be a challenge and an adventure that we have enjoyed and struggled through. And we are only a third of the time through it. But, it has been everything and more that we've expected it to be.

After some much needed R&R in Melbourne Florida the crew of the Packet Inn moved south. As the weird weather continues they were still confined to the ICW.
Tom, George and Lucy anchored in Biscayne Bay (outside of Miami, FL) last night and will be taking a leisurely sail down to the Keys today since the weather in the ocean will be rough with a nor-easter. Once they have a window they will be heading to the Bahamas.

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.