It was blustery all night with winds staying around 20 knots. The SSB was very noisy – no joy on Chris Parker. We ran the engine instead of the generator for our freezer/refrigerator run – since it would give the batteries a quick charge and take a lot less time. The engine starter struggled to start – feels like a weak battery however Fred wasn’t sure. He would need to check the connections. We stayed aboard all day – with Fred doing some internet work and polishing the stainless and Iris working below. There were sporadic rain showers in the area. No boats left or came. We took our ‘joy’ baths in the choppy waters. In the evening, we finally ran the watermaker. The TDS (total dissolved solids) reading was 490 down to 440s at stop – barely acceptable to us, but we put it in the tank. WHOs (world health organization) considers up to 1000 potable, but US generally has 500 as acceptable.

It rained at around 2am and the winds were still in the high teens. We were getting a little stir crazy but less so than we would have been in Great Sale. We didn’t cool our fridge enough yesterday and so our ‘open’ milk spoiled, although the freezer was fine, and all the cheeses and vegetables/fruits in the fridge were ok as well. Need to run it longer today and we did! The winds shifted to SSE and we saw 30 knots briefly on this cloudy day with rain off and on and winds of 25 knots during dinner. We had about 4-5″ of water in the dinghy and Fred found the leak in the hatch over the bed. The batteries seem to be charging correctly. We spent the day on chores. We ran the watermaker for almost an hour starting with a reading of 500 and ending at 445. Not good.

The winds died down and finally we had a pleasant morning. The engine was rough to start. It sounded like a car with a failing battery. We had considered stopping at Powell Cay, but the SE wind direction would make for a bumpy night – so instead we opted for Manjack. We anchored next to a similar looking boat – cutter rigged, same size and shape although not a Valiant (or knock-off). The owners of Kristali (Steve and Carol) dinghied over soon after we anchored. They were out of Palm City and had been long time cruisers (over 35 years). They had insights into what it was like in Venezuela during the early 2000s – we had a pleasant conversation. They were heading home. OK – now time to dinghy over to one of the closest beaches. Oh no – a sign for feeding pigs. Kristali told us that someone placed pigs there so that they could charge for tourists to feed them. But although we saw tracks – no piggies to be seen. We swam on the anchor and it’s set well; Fred got a new zinc placed on the shaft and cleared the generator intake of weed. And then he started to debug the engine to narrow down our issues – engine or batteries? We had our typical ‘joy’ baths and then dinner in the cockpit. Speaking of dinner, we had a ‘date’ with John and Carla for a Cinco de Mayo dinner aboard their boat, Reverie – so hoping to see them soon. The watermaker readings were 510 down to 465 after 40 minutes – consistently bad. Wildlife sightings: None. Communications: Continues to be marginal with this phone.

Many of the boats cleared out this morning, heading north. The winds had veered more to the SW, making the anchorage a bit uncomfortable. Fred checked that the engine turned over by hand easily when cold. We expect to see Reverie arrive later today. Fred worked on hull marks while Iris did ‘garbage’ management. We took the dinghy to the cut between Manjack and Crab Cay however the tide was outgoing and it was too shallow. So we turned around and headed over to Coconut Tree Cove and beached the dinghy. Time to explore – one trail took us by a dock and towards someone’s house. The other had signage and took us to the ocean side of the island which we usually get to via the northern part of the cay. Interesting trail with lots of different mini terrains – from hardwood to mangrovey, to sandy..We knew we’d be having a rough dinghy ride back against the wind so Iris asked Fred to go more slowly into the waves. A sailboat was entering the harbor and Iris said ‘it has to be Reverie!’. Sure enough, we slowed down even more and waited while Reverie finished anchoring and then stopped by to greet them. We confirmed tomorrow’s Cinco de Mayo dinner, but also invited them over for drinks this evening.

Time to snorkel on the wrecks. We dropped our dinghy anchor and snorkeled the first wreck which had a lot of schools of fish. Iris stayed in the dinghy for the 2nd wreck, which Fred did quickly and said there wasn’t much to see. On our return to the boat, Fred scraped the prop, we took our joy baths and prepared for company. It was great hearing Reverie’s experiences and we were thrilled that they’d had a wonderful trip. Wildlife sightings Lots of fish including several 2′ parrot fish at wrecks; turtles in the cut. Communications: Continues to be marginal with this phone, although better with fewer boats around us.

After our morning generator run we headed back to the cut between Manjack and Crab Cay with today’s more favorable tide. John and Carla were there a few minutes earlier and we each took pictures of the other in our dinghies. They headed back towards a mangrove inlet to explore, while we beached our dinghy and hiked around to the ocean side. As we’ve seen on various beaches in the past, as we approached probably nests, the sand-pipers faked injury to distract us from the eggs. On our approach we didn’t see any nest, but on our return down the beach two birds gave up on the distraction and stood guard around a shallow depression with 3 eggs smack in the middle of the sand above the tide line. We dinghied across the small bay to the Crab Cay beach – where we saw tracks but no piggies. Time to head back. Iris’ flag repair used sticky tape, which then made the flag stick to the Man Overboard Pole. When Fred tried to unstick the flag, the MOB snapped. Great! We stowed the pole on deck for future repair. We had a wonderful dinner aboard beautiful Reverie and then bade them fair winds back to Brunswick. Our watermaker run was in the 500s, so instead of putting water in the tanks, we started collecting it in various containers, as we would for the remainder of the trip for dishwashing, sun-showers, and general uses. Wildlife sightings Lots of fish including several 2′ parrot fish at wrecks; turtles in the cut. Wildlife sightings Birds, sea turtles, rays, nurse shark, starfish

We’d considered backtracking to Powell Cay this morning, however the wind was from the SSW and expected to stay there, so we opted to go through the Whale. Our engine start was bad again – it’s looking like the batteries. Before going through the cut we motored around Crossing Bay on the west side of Great Abaco near Treasure Sands restaurant to see if that was an option for us. It looked like a good alternative for future times when stuck north of the Whale with south or westerlies. The ocean crossing was so benign that we towed our dinghy, and we headed directly to Red Bay (Water Cay). There were 3 boats in the area but all far apart. A swim on the anchor confirmed a good set. Fred took the opportunity to fix the MOB and Iris worked on the MOB flag. Iris tried to use her BTC Bahamas app to add $ to our account for phone calls. The app rejected one credit card and then the next. Oh no! Calls to VISA fixed the situation and all was well. The winds are expected to continue to be 15+ from the SW so we’d like to stay here tomorrow as well. After dusk, Fred got alarmed at the flashing lights and lit buildings closeby. We’ll be run down by approaching vessels! Iris did a quick internet check and apparently the Red Bay Marina complex was built by the Albury Ferry people to bring workers to/fro Bakers Bay resort. But somehow things had gone awry and at least in the last few months, it had closed. So no worries! Wildlife sightings: None. Communications: Better atho’ still marginal but we were right next to a cell tower.

We were waiting for light winds in order to drop the mainsail and try and make some adjustments. Wind was light when we got up – so we headed on deck before breakfast to drop it, adjust it and raise it while getting rained upon. Oh well – it looked much better. Fred put the MOB pole back in place. After breakfast we did some internet work and chores and then decided to explore the area. We’d anchored here once previously but didn’t look around. This time we explored various little coves. The first one was near a subdivision and there was a security guard parked at the beach so we opted to keep moving. The next one was too shallow but we saw lots of rays and turtles. The third was just right! We beached the dinghy and found a trail. Iris chickened out after awhile when the trail disappeared and returned to the beach while Fred plowed on through the brush and found a campsite, and a path to a wrecked wooden bridge we’d spied from our dinghy. Joy baths and sunshower rinses with our unpotable water ended a nice day. After dark, the crews from the two boats anchored in view, rowed ashore and had a big bonfire. They may have been waving to invite us earlier but we didn’t have our radio on so wouldn’t have noticed. Wildlife sightings: Cormorants, rays, turtles Communications: Same as yesterday

We definitely have a battery issue – the engine almost didn’t start this morning.
Fred determined that the gel cells we’d purchased in Puerto Rico were at end of life.
He split the banks and kept bank 1 in reserve for just starting the engine and we’d use bank 2 for other needs. We departed at 7:45 and motored very slowly to Marsh Harbour in order to have a full freezer/refrigerator run. There were very few boats in the harbour. Our first order of business in town, after getting rid of 10 days of garbage, was to purchase our nano-sim. We then stopped at Maxwell’s superstore for some fruit and bread, and at a liquor store for some wine and tequila before returning to the boat. What a difference the phone made – wow – we have workable internet again! Our plan was to head into town for a late lunch/early dinner but we discovered that everything was closed from 3-6. We went in at 5 and headed to Iggy Biggy – oops – closed at 5. Ok – had drinks at the Blue Hole (which used to be Curly Tales), and then moved to the recently reopened Mangoes for dinner at 6. We enjoyed our dinners and were also able to purchase ice at the restaurant. Back at the boat – the voltage on bank 2 wasn’t good. Wildlife sightings: Cars! Turtle while anchoring – water looked really clear in Marsh Harbour! Communications: Strong 4g, 5 bars cell – new sim/different phone

Oh no! First thing in the morning with only -18.3 on bank 2, the voltage was down to 11.7. We have a problem. We did an early generator run while Fred researched battery alternatives. He decided that we needed to go and buy a starter battery as a backup. So we put our hand-truck into the dinghy and headed to True Value HW (where we’d purchased batteries back in 2013.) We had the store check the charges on the two batteries they had in stock and we purchased the stronger of the two. We’d not gotten more than 1/2 a block away when we noticed that the battery was LEAKING! We turned around and exchanged it for the other, less charged one. They had no others in stock. In retrospect we should have just returned it and checked another store….Back at the boat we ran the generator for a little while to put a charge on the new battery and see if it held. Now what? Should we get fuel? All the fuel docks look full with boats. Just as we were raising anchor we saw an opening at the Conch Inn fuel dock and headed directly to it. We filled up with 48 gals of diesel and headed to Tilloo Pond – a ‘new to us’ anchorage good for the expected east wind. We got there around 2:30. Fred swam on the anchor. Joy Baths. We’re now in a rationing stage given our various boat issues: we’re rationing energy so pretty much using as little electricity as possible when the generator or engine is off. This also means that we’ll always keep the engine on while sailing because we need batteries to bring the sail in/out, furl/unfurl the genoa, raising/lowering the anchor, the autopilot, and of course starting the engine. The watermaker pump failed – no watermaking tonight! Wildlife sightings: Waves crashing on the other side of Tilloo, birds Communications: LTE and 4 bars cell

We had a calm night. We decided to spend another night here and do some exploring. During our generator run Fred worked on the watermaker. The charcoal filter had deteriorated and filled the 5 micron filter with black stuff. He cleaned the filter and got the watermaker going again. Iris made reservations at Green Turtle Club marina for 4 nights starting 5/13. While we’d liked Bluff House in 2017, finger piers were preferable. And some blustery weather was in the forecast. Chores done – let’s explore. We put the engine on the dinghy and entered Tilloo Pond – finding docks and dock ruins and homes hidden off the Pond. Small tour boats and rental boats were also coming in/out of the pond to explore. We beached our dinghy near a dock ruin and immediately found a trail headed to the ocean side of the Cay. Much of the ocean side is a preserve for herons. The terrain was shrub-meadow-like with no trees. The ocean side was very rough coral, with dramatic breaking waves – and very little of the Cay had buildings. From the ridge we had a wonderful view of the pond and Windwalker. Beautiful! As we returned to our dinghy, we disturbed a heron who clearly was trying to distract us from something. Back at the boat we had a peaceful afternoon and by evening several other boats anchored nearby. Wildlife sightings: Turtles in Tilloo Pond, heron with protective behavior, 2 dolphins around our boat. Communications: LTE and 4 bars cell.

Our plan for today was to head to Tahiti Beach. Not! Fred noticed some water in the back bilge but couldn’t trace it. Battery Bank 2 couldn’t start the engine, bank 1 was able with difficulty. And we now had a couple of inches of water in the back bilge. Fred determined that we had a leak in the spring seal. (this had happened once before several years earlier when an o-ring had shifted). Thinking that we would need parts we decided to forego Tahiti Beach and head for Man O War (which has a boatyard) – to avoid returning to Marsh Harbour. But if we needed to work on the boat, the holding in Marsh was better. We debated as we motored in the direction of both and at the last minute diverted to Marsh and anchored were we’d been 2 days earlier. Fred started making calls to every place we could in Marsh Harbour or Man O War for the spring seal. No one was open on Saturday. He reached someone on Green Turtle Cay (where we were headed on Monday in any case) who said he’d look for the part and get back to us on Monday. Great! Fred moved the o-ring and we hoped for the best. No point in staying here. Let’s move to Fisher’s Bay, have a nice lunch at Grabbers or Nippers. So off we went. Conditions were awful with waves in the anchorage with SE-SSE winds. We dragged until we set. Many other boats tried to set and gave up and left! No lunch ashore for us – we stayed aboard, had a quick swim off the boat, and complained to ourselves about the anchorage. It really wasn’t that bad – we just weren’t in the mood for it! Wildlife sightings: None. Communications: Strong 4G/5 bars cell.

Continuing to not be thrilled at Fisher’s we decided to forego Nippers pig roast and to head through the Whale. We could go to Manjack or elsewhere for the night prior to going to Green Turtle Club tomorrow. After breakfast – first job was to make sure the engine could start. Then we put the dinghy on deck – which is our usual form for ocean anything! Turns out we didn’t need to do – the Whale was flat. The anchor came up sideways and Iris had to free it with a boathook. We had a lovely motor-sail with main and staysail approaching Green Turtle. Rather than Manjack, Iris had suggested we try Coco Bay – another ‘new to us’ anchorage. There were only 2 boats in the area when we arrived, each far away. Our first anchor attempt failed in weeds/turtle grass. We then found a sandy spot and got a good set. The scenery was gorgeous and we enjoyed swims and time reading in the cockpit. A Moorings motor cat anchored quite close to us after several tries, as did a Canadian sailboat. The sailboat left late afternoon. Iris noticed that the dinghy from the furthest sailboat (there when we’d anchored), looked a little bit far from its mainship – but nothing seemed amiss. But then awhile later we noticed that the dinghy was about to pass us, heading on its own out to sea! We got on the radio and tried hailing anyone in the anchorage (really just the owner or the Moorings boat) since our dinghy was on deck and the only thing we could have done was to try and swim to it. The Moorings crew was on deck and Fred yelled to them to ask them to retrieve the dinghy. So they headed over to it and captured it and we pointed them to the sailboat ahead of us. By then, the owner had discovered that he was a dinghy short and stood forelornly on his stern. They brought the wayward dink to him and left. It didn’t look like he gave them any gift for their efforts – surely it was worth a bottle of wine? Wildlife sightings: Wayward dink. Communications: Strong 4G/5 bars cell.

Low tide is at 10:30 and we don’t want to head into White Sound until mid-tide, so we were killing time. The SW winds were sending chop into our beautiful anchorage and Fred was getting antsy. So rather than just sitting there, we decided to go for a little sail by Manjack and to confirm where Fiddle Cay ended and Crab Cay started – difficult to determine from our anchorage. We raised anchor at 12:15 and entered the entrance channel around 1:15. We were docked by around 1:30-1:45 and Fred didn’t see any shallower than 8′ the entire way. Iris checked us into the marina while Fred got everything ship shape. We once again had to rent a 50 amp adapter.
It was also interesting that the water for each slip was under lock and key. So after hosing off the boat, we locked the water back up. Fred thought we’d used 100 gals. (on checkout it was only 15!). Beautiful bathrooms, enjoyed their specialty drink in the Dollar Bar, and Fred bought himself an ice cream bar for later. A/C felt good as did having electricity and great wifi. We even watched a netflix show late in the evening. However the expected bad weather rolled in with a severe thunderstorm around 7:30. We saw 40 knots in the slip and were heeled over and briefly lost power! Wildlife sightings: Fish near the fish-cleaning station on the docks. Communications: LTE/ 5 bars cell/good wifi from GTC when using our roguewave antenna.

It was a peaceful night with some rain. After breakfast Fred worked on swapping out the engine solenoid while Iris worked on a website. Then she helped him take the mattress out of our aft berth so he could work on batteries. He found that one of the batteries on bank 2 had totally failed (and even bulged). We made several texts and calls to ‘George’ – the mechanic who was going to get back to us about parts but got no response. Between intermittent rain showers we hiked to Coca Bay beach (where we’d been anchored) and then to North beach – exploring trails and roads all new to us. Back at the resort, we sat at the pool and enjoyed conch fritters and tipsy turtles. After showers and getting changed, we went out for dinner at the patio restaurant. While waiting for our table we spoke to 3 cruisers waiting in line. They’d just arrived after experiencing a wild night at Manjack Crab Cay anchorage – they said boats were dragging everywhere. They had come into the marina to recover! We watched another Netflix program in the evening. Nice day!
Wildlife sightings: Birds as we hiked. Communications: LTE/5 bars cell; good wifi from GTC when using our roguewave antenna

Iris’ birthday. There was a small thunderstorm before we got up. Iris wanted breakfast out and had Lobster Benedict at the patio restaurant. We also made reservations for ‘steak night’. After waiting out some squalls we hiked once again to Coco Bay and found a trail to the north ocean beach and several other trails and then returned on some of the roads we covered yesterday – probably walking about 5 miles. Pina coladas pool side, then showers and a very nice dinner. No tv as Iris had a birthday phone call her friend Mar. VOIP didn’t work so well and she got disconnected several times.
Wildlife sightings: Birds. Communications: LTE/5 bars cell; good wifi from GTC when using our roguewave antenna.

Iris viewed today as a continued birthday celebration as the weather was good and we were going to rent a (gas) golf-cart and explore the rest of Green Turtle Cay. We ran the fridge early and then rented the cart at 9. First stop was New Plymouth settlement, where we hoped to find George, or at least a source for the spring seal. The boatyard on Black Sound didn’t have our part, nor did the marine store – who reached George for us. Ok – we’ll have to make do. After walking around New Plymouth – unchanged from 2 years ago, we headed out to ‘new to us’ parts of Green Turtle Cay. We explored and hiked around Gillum Bay and around the the sea of Abaco side of Green Turtle – coming close to No Name Cay. Huge amounts of seaweed everywhere made taking a dip in the ocean undesireable. Next we found Bita Beach which was supposed to have good snorkeling. It was very rocky. We spoke with a couple who got married on Green Turtle 40 years earlier, and had a house there for over 30 years. They were from VA and spent several weeks there a year and rented out the house the remainder of the year. We were surprised to see ‘city water’ was everywhere. It’s from aquifers on Great Abaco and pumped over to Green Turtle. Fred snorkeled while Iris stayed onshore – rock avoidance ;-(. We returned the cart at around 3 after having explored almost every road on Green Turtle Cay – crazy that after so many trips to the Abacos we’d never fully explored GTC! After a wonderful day we took a dip in the pool and had dinner aboard. We got ready for our return trip. Iris wanted to stop at Crab Cay/Angelfish. Fred thought that was just wasting time and that we should head directly to Great Sale. We tested the GTC marina water and it was even saltier than our watermaker, with a reading of 628. No water for us! Wildlife sightings: Fish while snorkeling, and at fish cleaning station. Communications: LTE/5 bars cell; good wifi from GTC when using our roguewave antenna .

The marina office opened at 7:45. Iris was there first returning the adapter and requesting a meter reading. We were off the dock at 8:30 and out the channel at high tide. We had a pleasant motor-sail the entire way. The engine started successfully on bank 1 and the spring seal only dripped a little bit. We saw very little boat traffic but lots of seaweed and cormorants enroute. We anchored at around 5pm with only 5 other boats in the anchorage. While we’d hoped to do Indian Rock channel, once again the tide was wrong. Memory Rock it would be again. So we’d have an early departure. We really liked ending the trip last time at West End – it made for an easier crossing to WPB and a relaxing ‘last day’. Wildlife sightings: Cormorants Communications: None except for Iridium

We raised anchor at 5:45. Once again the anchor swivel jammed – while moving, Fred had to use a hammer and screwdriver to free it. We motor sailed with almost 1 knot of favorable current and went direct to Memory Rock, cutting the corner at the end. We averaged around 6.8 knots. Iris tried calling OBB by satphone but either the numbers she had were wrong or she was dialing incorrectly. About 7 miles out she called the US 800# via Xfinity Connect and confirmed that there was room for us. We arrived at 3pm! Another boat at Great Sale left after us and did take Indian Rock Channel. When we got to the marina we asked them what they drew. 6′! They touched in several places and if they’d gotten stuck, their plan was to just wait out until high tide (which was going to be late evening). OBB was much emptier than it had been at the start of our trip. We were between sailboat season and the start of motorboat season in June. We made good use of our expensive dockage, swimming in the resort pool, enjoying pina coladas poolside and strolling around. After dinner aboard, we went to watch the sunset. Iris returned to the boat and Fred noticed several large sharks in the marina but didn’t take any pictures. Back aboard we prepared for sea (jack lines, ditch bag, safety gear, etc).Wildlife sightings: Sharks in the marina Communications: LTE/5 bars cell; didn’t use marina wifi this time

We were off the dock at 6:45. We had a relatively flat passage with very few targets – although there was a tug and tow almost immediately upon leaving the marina. We had east winds of about 10 knots and had the mainsail up with a preventor to keep it from jibing. We arrived at Lake Worth inlet at 3:30 or so and were at our slip by 5. We saw land at 20 miles offshore! And had cell coverage 10 miles off shore! Clearing in took more effort than we expected. Instead of the SVRS system used in 2017, Customs and Border patrol replaced it with an experimental app called CBPROAM late in 2018. While we’d prepared our personal and boat information before arriving in the US, every time Fred tried opening the app to report in, he got an error message saying he didn’t have location turned on. Iris tried the copy of the app on her phone and we submitted our official return. But then it just churned and churned saying application pending until reviewed by CPB official. It churned for 30 minutes and we were just about to search for a phone number when we got a push notification and an email saying we were officially back in the US. Iris later looked for reviews and discovered that about half of the reviewers had the same ‘location’ issue with their phones. The work-around seemed really awkward. So it’s still a work in progress. But we were back safely! We cleaned up the boat, had a nice filet dinner below and slept in air-conditioned comfort. A lot of work ahead of us – our list is long! But we enjoyed our trip nonetheless.
Wildlife sightings: Flying fish everywhere!

Our departure had been gated by a meeting, and more importantly, by picking up and putting on our new mainsail from Mack sails. We’d been bringing stuff to the boat for several days, leaving frozen and refrigerated foods, and final clothing and electronics items until the last day. Fred went to the boat to cool the refrigerator and freezer. Iris made two trips to the boat with the food stuffs. We closed up our home, left a vehicle at the marina, and moved aboard. Iris noticed that part of the bimini stitching separated around a zipper and she made a hand-sewn repair with the bimini in place. While we debated anchoring out, it had been 2 years since our last trip and we wanted to make sure we didn’t forget anything important – so we decided to spend the night at the dock. After dinner we went for a walk around the marina. Interestingly – our trip is starting one day later than we started 2 years ago!

Fred started the engine at 8:40am and we made the 9am PGA Bridge. We were on our way! First on our agenda was to test out the new mainsail. We went out the inlet at 10am; the conditions were choppy with irregular wind. Oh oh – the main doesn’t look like it fits very well – but the sailing conditions made it hard to judge. We’ll have to adjust it later in the trip. Back through the inlet, we dragged on our first anchoring attempt and quickly reset. Our trip was a going to be a go, so Iris made slip reservations at Old Bahama Bay and sent out our float plans to family. While Iris was making drinks and Fred was in the cockpit we heard someone calling Fred’s name. Lo and behold, the beautiful motor yacht anchored next to us was Dolphin, owned by Don and Gayle Curtis – the original owners of Windwalker! We spoke on VHF – both boats agreed that we had a short window to cross with less than ideal conditions (2-4′, 10-15K+ NE with gusts to 25K) and that we were both going to go for it the next day – Windwalker heading to West End and Dolphin heading to Cat Cay.

Neither of us slept well. The crossing forecast had gotten worse overnight (15-20K NW shifting to NE, 2-4′ seas w occasional 6′) but we were still a ‘go’. Anchor up at 5:15 and out the inlet at 5:30am. The first 3rd of the trip wasn’t bad. We tried to go by sail alone, but we were moving too slowly and conditions were deteriorating so motor-sailed into ‘sloggy’ conditions with 5-6′ seas and a lot of water coming over the bow. The mainsail looked like it had dropped or pulled out. Enroute there were several ports leaking and Iris discovered that her side of the ‘bed’ was wet. We hadn’t dogged the ports sufficiently, however one of our hatches was leaking a bit. We arrived at Old Bahama Bay at 4 as planned. Marina staff didn’t hand us clearance paperwork so Fred went to Customs/Immigration without papers filled in, which was not appreciated. Iris saw Fred trudging back to the boat with an official in tow. The official stepped into the cockpit, said it looked like a boat, and got off. Fred guessed that he didn’t believe that we had no pets, guns, bicycles or paddleboards. Iris did see him board other boats – have never had that occur in any of our previous Bahamas trips!

OBB has mandatory water charges, but we decided to also splurge on electricity and turn on the A/C to dry out the boat. But we didn’t have a 50amp adapter, so Fred once again trudged to the other side of the marina to ‘rent’ one. He then hosed off the boat on his return. However we were not happy to see our starboard aft quarter covered in black soot. We didn’t see smoke, but that side of the boat was under water most of our trip and the exhaust had to go somewhere? Iris bought 15gb of BTC Bahamas prepaid data for $35 for 30 days on the account we’ve maintained for several years now. We’d brought an older phone with us but wanted a nano sim for our newer phone and didn’t want to risk cutting our old sim. The Galaxy 3 worked ok in the interim (although we would find its internet performance was marginal.) Dinner was ok at the restaurant, and we used the showers near the marina office. OBB was in flux, having just reopened at the end of March. It’s currently being managed by the condo owners while various lawsuits over ownership are in progress.

Iris got up around 6:30 trying to listen to Chris Parker’s Bahamas forecast on the SSB (single side-band). To much interference, but we had lots of other sources of weather with the internet. We went out to breakfast at around 8 and decided to sail northwest to Memory Rock and enter the banks from there since the low tide wouldn’t allow us to take Indian Rock channel. This would add at least 2 hours to our trip to Great Sale. We left the dock at 9:23 after checking out of the marina and had a really nice sail with main/genoa, making 7 knots until we made our turn at 11:40am. Genny down and motorsailed for awhile. Fred made some adjustments to the main enroute and it looked a bit better. Then we had to take the main down as well and motor into sloppy, choppy seas for the remainder of our day. We saw very few other boats traveling in either direction and heard little radio traffic. We pulled into Great Sale after dark and immediately had a chain castle when Iris got out less than 10′ of chain. So she went below to clear the chain and we completed anchoring at 9pm. We had no cell signal, but Iris called her mother via our Iridium satphone.

Animal sightings: Manatee in OBB Marina.

Just as two years ago, we’d hoped to stay at Great Sale for a couple of days and explore the beaches some more. But once again, the conditions were expected to deteriorate and we had communications needs. So we decided to move and have breakfast enroute. We raised anchor at 7:50 and Fred had to clear a swivel jam in order to secure the anchor. We were able to motorsail slightly off the wind and had a much more pleasant day making 7 knots and with a favorable current. Three brief but heavy showers cleaned up some of the salt. We anchored at around 2pm with mixed reviews of our set upon swimming on it – Fred thought it was good for the expected blow, Iris thought it was so-so ;-). Fred noticed that our shaft zinc lost two screws that had to be fixed before we next ran the engine. He tried wiping some of the soot off of the hull as well. He fixed two leaks in the toilet, and gave the shower sump a whack to get it going! We enjoyed a celebratory steak and wine dinner in our cockpit enjoying the beautiful sky with little light pollution. We plan to be here for a few days.

Wildlife: Sea turtle, dolphin, sea cucumber, waterspout. Communications: Poor internet and 3 bars cell – this is due to phone – cell towers in view!

Iris set a daily 6:30 alarm for Chris Parker. After a relaxed breakfast and some reading and internet in the cockpit, we tackled some chores. Iris repaired our American flag which had taken a beating for the last several days. Fred dove on the zincs and removed the shaft zinc so that it wouldn’t hit the prop when it would come loose. Given the forecast, we decided that today was the best day to dinghy explore – so we put the dinghy in the water and went clockwise around the huge anchorage, checking out a flock of cormorants, abandoned construction equipment and landing the dink on the beach. We went in search of a road we’d seen on google satellite maps – but all we found were trails through the woods. But it’s always fun to discover new hikes and we went in a 1/2 mile on each of the trails we found. We continued on further around the harbor before returning to Windwalker. By evening there were 9 boats in the harbor. Fred made some adjustments to the generator and the engine. He is getting concerned about the batteries, so we didn’t make water. The winds were starting to pick up with steady 15-20knots at nightfall so he put out a little more chain with 60′ at the waterline in 10′ of water.

Wildlife: Cormorants, rainbow.

Time to move aboard! We found that it’s better to make several trips from home. Fred remained aboard while Iris went to/fro with clothing, refrigerated food and frozen food, stowing and organizing the items after each trip. We did final family goodbyes, swapped vehicles, picked up mail, and went out for dinner ending our evening with a walk around the marina and a last couple of Netflix shows while we still had unlimited data!

We got off to an inelegant start while trying to leave our dock. We had very strong west winds pushing Windwalker off our finger dock. We organized the lines, but something Iris always fears (and which has happened elsewhere in the past), the final line she released got jammed between the piling and the finger pier as Fred was reversing. He had to motor back in while Iris finally freed the line with a boat hook. Tense! But we were able to make the noon PGA Blvd Bridge opening and made our way to North Palm Beach Marina for a fuel top-off. While we’d contemplated doing another ‘sea-trial’, winds and seas were high and since we had a nice clean boat and had done our sea-trial several days earlier, we opted instead to anchor at our usual ‘spot’ at the inlet and have a mellow pre-departure afternoon with off-shore prep – e.g. ditch bag, safety gear, jacklines and further checkout. Not all went smoothly as the water-maker had some issues, as did our gps, and our flag halyard. We were surrounded by a lot of sailboats staging for a gulf-stream crossing as well, waiting for the same window as we were. While enjoying the early evening Iris saw a tiny pod of dolphins go by and one did a spin and tail flip to wave us a safe trip 😉

Up at 4:30am we were heading out the inlet by 5:30, motor-sailing into beautiful conditions – flat seas, variable winds, and some slight ocean swells. Windwalker didn’t even get salty enroute. Having AIS on our chart-plotter was wonderful; there were many ships coming from all directions and we would have been taking a lot of evasive action un-necessarily had we not had the ability to monitor CPA (closest point of approach). But not all vessels had AIS so it’s not a panacea. Also vessels change direction so close monitoring remains the rule. Well offshore, we discovered that there was some kind of clog in our attempt to pump our holding tank – nothing we could address underway. Iris was concerned also that the anchor windlass air-pressure switch felt a little squishy when raising anchor – Fred had noticed the same. (But the switch continued to perform flawlessly the remainder of our trip.) We hailed Old Bahama Bay several miles out and were able to get a slip. It turned out there was a large sports-fishing tournament occupying most of the slips and some gulf-stream crossers hoping to get in were later turned away. We docked at around 3:25 at a dock that had no power; and although we had to pay for water, we couldn’t reach any available spigot. But West-End had been very hard hit by Hurricane Andrew and was still recovering. The sportsfish, however, were all in slips with full amenities. Only a few weeks before rates were $.99/foot; we paid $1.99 which was still a reduced rate. Fred headed off to the Customs/Immmigration office along with a stop at the dockmaster. We closed our float plan, took showers and enjoyed dinner at the Dockside restaurant with outstanding service by our waiter cum bar-tender. He described what it was like with Hurricane Andrew and added a lot of humor to his service. We ended our evening with a leisurely walk around the resort grounds. Animal life: We were joined by 3 different birds on our passage one of which alighted on our bimini top, and another – a yellow warbler, who settled on Iris’ arm for a few minutes. That was neat! A few man-o-war, several flying fish, 3 helium party balloons and a beach ball also passed by. Communications: Iris inserted her BTC Bahamas sim in one of our phones about 7 mi. offshore approaching West End and activated data. (BTC Bahamas coverage was outstanding through-out our trip and we found we no longer needed to use a sat-phone, or purchase wi-fi from either of the two Abacos providers. For $35 Iris purchased 15gb of high-speed data which would expire in 30 days or whenever used up. Great deal! With hotspot turned on our phone we could fulfill our internet access cravings with all our devices.)

We departed Old Bahama Bay at around 8am, after Fred had checked us out of the marina and Iris had informed family that we might be out of phone contact for a few days if we remained in our target anchorage – Great Sale Cay. Several sailboats had already left ahead of us, presumably headed west to Florida or east. We were taking Indian Rock Passage, as we had the last 2 trips – this time on a rising tide, with high at 9:14. We never saw less than 8.5′ at the shallowest spots in the passage. We had a glorious sail most of the way to Great Sale. Enroute, our AM radio emitted an awful squeal and we noticed thunderstorms in the vicinity so Iris did her normal drill of putting as many hand-held electronics in the microwave as she can. Lots of power and sail boats were headed in both directions; this was the first good weather window in several days and all were taking advantage. We passed through several ‘fish muds’ as we approached Great Sale, and the anchorage itself resembled one – with almost milky white water. Anchoring around 4:30, we were in the water for our ‘joy’ baths at 5. Not so good news – while in the water, Fred noticed that we’d thrown both our shaft and prop zincs (anodes) – both of which he’d put on a few days before at the dock. We didn’t want to go too long without those. After dinner Iris searched for a cell phone signal. Climbing up on the dinghy she was able to get a weak signal which allowed Fred to pick up some email and Iris to send a safe arrival text. This was a first for us in Great Sale! Animal Life: None Communications: weak BTC Bahamas signal

Rough night for Iris – up at midnight and then at 4am when the wind was way up and veering from the SE – usually a great direction for our anchorage but we had wavelets and things were getting bouncy. Fred awoke at 5:45 when the slot in our mast (for in-mast furling) started singing. We sound like an irritating flute and can get quite loud! We noticed a very strong burning smell which had to be from the nearest dump probably 20+ miles away. We listened to both Chris Parker for Bahamas weather on SSB as well as WX3 on VHF and decided to alter our plans. While we’d hoped to enjoy Great Sale, winds were expected to pick up greatly for several days and we’d prefer to be somewhere with communications if we were going to be stuck. So we motored out of Great Sale at 8:40 am tentatively headed for Allans-Pensacola Cay or Foxtown or Crab Cay – we’d make our decision while enroute. At least 6 or 7 boats decided to do the same thing and were all headed the same way, all of us motoring into the wind. So much for salt-free decks and life-lines. At our decision making point we decided to go to Crab Cay at the easternmost tip of Little Abaco Island. We’d only anchored there once previously in 2003, but we had a lot better charts now and thought we could find a good spot to wait out the forecast high winds. Almost all of the other boats headed to Allans-Pensacola – a cay which we love to hike but not the holding. True wind of 11-19 knots was on our nose for most of the trip, but we did motor sail whenever we could. Enroute we heard a conversation between Island Moon and Utopia, with Island Moon asking Utopia what kind of vessel it was. The owner proudly explained that he had always been a sailboat owner and then purchase a trawler. He couldn’t stand being without a sailboat, so he modified his trawler with used masts/sails he picked up respectively for about $150 and $250 and now had a motor-sailer. But he expressed dissatisaction with his creation and figured he’d once again return to owning a sailboat in the future. A little while later, Utopia passed us and Fred took several pictures. Yes indeed – quite unusual ;-). We worked our way into the anchorage around 4:30 making use of both our Dodge charts and our chartplotter which has C-Map charts including Explorer charts. The latter were perfect and we got in a lot closer, and in far deeper water than we thought existed there. Later, Island Moon – who was one of the boats who did NOT go to Alans-Pensacola and anchored much further out, hailed us on VHF asking how we got in where we were because his charts didn’t show sufficient depth. He was using the charts on his Garmin. We found a good sand bottom, set well, and prepared for some tough weather. We have no plans to move tomorrow. Wildlife: None. Communications: Fantastic LTE and 5 bars cell.

Four boats (including us) were in the anchorage in the morning, so a couple had left. Two – one a small trawler and a larger ketch, looked like they had been in the anchorage for awhile. The wind was a steady 13-16 knots from the SE with a lot of gusts 21-22 with forecast higher in our protected anchorage. We decided to do chores early. Iris made use of ‘discard’ watermaker water to wipe down salt-laden lifelines and hatches then moved to chores below. Fred solved the holding tank clog, tried, unsucessfully, to put a zinc on the shaft without SCUBA and worked on cleaning the hull. Weather wasn’t great for dinghy exploring, or even putting the dink in the water – so we did our ‘joy’ baths early and then in the afternoon took advantage of our data and hotspot on our phone to read and do computer work. By evening there were 2 new sailboats in the anchorage, settled so far out that we were amazed they were getting any protection at all. We decided to stay put tomorrow too. We have begun putting the watermaker water in our tank, now that the storage (pickling) chemicals have been flushed.

Iris got up a few times during the night, checking the wind, which was gusting around 21 knots. Otherwise all was well. Iris did website work and correspondence. It was also time to double bag a couple of days of garbage and move it into the v-berth. The water was getting too rough for enjoyable swimming with wind steady at 20+ knots all day, and chop in the anchorage – reminding us of Christmas Winds in Frances Bay, St. John in ’99. The small trawler had a dog and was the only one going ashore about 1/2 mile away. Just has we had noticed in Great Sale, the air was trash-burning scented. The waves settled slightly at around 5:30pm so we took advantage and jumped in to take our joy baths. Unless anything changes, we plan to leave tomorrow.

While it was much calmer this morning, it still was quite windy. After breakfast, Fred decided to snorkel to put on a zinc on the shaft. He figured out a technique using masking tape to keep the screws attached while putting the zinc on the shaft. It was very hard and something he usually does using SCUBA. so he stopped after the first zinc. It’s still choppy, and since we still planned on moving, we decided to leave the dinghy on deck and explore the beach at a future time. We left the anchorage around 10:05 and motor sailed into the 20 knots on the nose and associated chop. Not too many boats out and about except for those heading with the wind. Arriving in the Manjack anchorage around 2:20, there were quite a few boats – but plenty of room. We dragged on our first anchoring attempt, had a chain castle while raising the anchor, which also came up side-ways – after a few minutes Iris got it sorted out and we set well on our second try. Time to get our dinghy in the water, at last! We were quite close to one of the wrecks along the shore and we decided to swim to/fro and snorkel. Enroute we noticed that our anchor wasn’t as buried as we’d like, but it was well set. When we first visited Manjack, at least 20 years ago, there used to be a vessel against the shore. Now one can only find various parts of the boat but lots of small to mid-size fish. It was good exercise! Wildlife sightings: Cormorants enroute, ray in the anchorage, small schools of fish at the wreck; Communications – although a cell tower was in view on Abaco Island, we had to keep the phone out in the cockpit to access data – still LTE/3-4 bars Note: Iris used Xfinity Connect to make phone calls. The caller would see the calls as from our home phone. Thus VOIP worked well and we only used phone minutes and texting locally.

We had a quiet night with the wind shifting slighly more southerly. It was a gorgeous day and we had breakfast in the cockpit. Fred used some of the ‘spare’ water to wipe off the boat from yesterday’s slog. Our plan for the day is to do our Manjack favorites. At around 10:45 we dinghied to north Manjack, using the trails and ‘avenues’ to cross to the eastern shore to the deserted Atlantic beach where we hiked for a bit. We then passed by an oceanside house we’ve mentioned in past trips – it now seemed occupied – with items in the kitchen window. We continued around the northern tip of the cay via trails which were for the most part mosquito free! When we got to the northernmost bay (called the lagoon on trail signs), lots of small excursion boats were there feeding the rays and sharks and swimming with them. We continued around the northern tip sans trail to where we’d left our dink. Our ride back to our anchorage was a bit rougher as now we were heading into the wind. Par for the course. Since the tide was good for visiting the Manjack/Crab Cay beach area, we continued there directly and walked on one of those beaches. Back at the boat we had lunch, did some emails and around 3:30 went for another snorkel on the wreck. Fred continued to work on cleaning the bottom. While several of the boats around us had changed, all was calm. Wildlife sightings: Rays and sharks.

While we’d considered staying at Manjack for another day, we both listened to Chris Parker on SSB as well as checking our preferred weather sites and decided to move through Whale Cay cut to the ‘southern’ Abacos before winds kicked up some more. We put our outboard up and the dinghy on deck for our short ‘passage’. Anchor up around 10:05, we motor-sailed through ‘the Whale’ and then anchored at Baker’s Bay around 1:30 for a lunch stop at a minimum. Baker’s Bay used to be one of our very favorite anchorages when all that was ashore was the ruin of a former Disney Cruise destination, woods, and miles of deserted Atlantic beaches. However after the ‘notorious’ Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club was built, the shoreline resembles that of South Beach mansions, the marina does NOT welcome non-club members and walking ashore is probably not allowed or probably not above the tide-line. So the bay is no longer visited much by those anchoring out. We decided to spend the night for ‘old times sake’. There was a small dredge making a racket during the early afternoon, but he stopped work at 3pm. Swimming around the boat we confirmed that we didn’t have a great set on our anchor however we had a lot of chain out, we hadn’t budged in 3 hours, and we were good for predicted conditions. Two other sailboats anchored near us at dusk. After dark only a few houses on shore looked occupied. Wildlife sightings: Dolphins enroute; Big ocean-going barracuda under the boat while swimming. Communications: Fantastic LTE signal/5 bars cell.

Baker’s Bay was quiet overnight and it didn’t rain. The water in Marsh Harbour is not great for swimming, so after breakfast we went for our last ‘joy’ baths for a couple of days. The anchor came right up at 9:45 and we motorsailed to the harbor, anchoring at 12:15. We were visited shortly thereafter by a single-hander on White Rose, a 39′ Rival cutter out of Ft. Pierce. He’d seen us at Great Sale, Angelfish Pt and Manjack. He was an experienced sailor and aerobatic pilot and was in Marsh Harbour to pick up his wife arriving by air. We talked boats for awhile. After he left, we put the dinghy in the water and went ashore. First order of business was the dumpster. We were pleased to see that one had been placed right at the dinghy dock! When in MH we’re always on the hunt for something and this time was no different. Fred was in search of a max-prop zinc. We tried both hardware stores and National Marine. They referred us to the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard/Yamaha, which was pretty far away. We went to Maxwell’s Superstore for some fresh lettuce, tomatoes and fruit. We intended to dinghy back to the boat with our purchases and then go to dinner later, but the harbor wasn’t too blustery so we changed course to Conch Inn Marina’s dinghy dock. While it was still quite early for dinner, we made a late lunch, early dinner stop at the upstairs bar area at Curly Tails’. Mangoes restaurant had re-opened a couple of months earlier, but was once again closed indefinitely – a disappointment. Back at the boat, Fred called the boat yard which did have the 70mm max-prop zinc so that’s our project for tomorrow! Wildlife sightings: Lots of cars! Communications: Perfect! Far better LTE/cell signal than ever had with purchased wifi.

It was hot, humid and it rained overnight. Usually Iris is the one to move to the main salon when our aft cabin gets too hot – but Fred moved this time. After our morning generator run, we dinghied to shore and hiked to the Marsh Harbour Boatyard. We’d only seen the boatyard from offshore, so it was interesting to see it up close. It was a large operation. Success!! They had what we needed so we purchased 2 prop zincs and an extra shaft zinc. We asked the clerk about an alternative route, partially dirt road, back to the harbour and she said she hadn’t walked it in a long time, but we could try. There might be some wild dogs close to the start of the road. We were trying to negotiate some large puddles, and had already encountered some dogs when a pickup truck stopped and the driver asked where we were headed. We told him of our intended route and along with mentioning the dogs, his advice was “Don’t walk in the bush”. Ok – we didn’t need more warnings if a local advised against. We trudged back, stopping at Maxwell’s for a cold drink and were back at Windwalker by 11:15. After lunch, Iris worked on a website update. At around 3:45 a line of thunderstorms came through and we put all the electronics away and closed ourselves in for the heavy rain. HOT! But it only lasted about 20 minutes. The forecast remains windy and the predicted front, one reason why we were in Marsh Harbour, hasn’t passed yet.

At 1:05am the front hit. Heavy rain, some lightening, but we didn’t check to see how high the winds were. One of our goals for the morning was to get fuel so that if we choose to continue south to the Berry Islands, as we did 2 years ago, we wouldn’t have to come back to MH. But our dinghy was in the water and the winds were a steady 25knots with gusts higher. Not only was it going to be an ordeal to get it up on deck, approaching any of the fuel docks was going to be problematic as well. We ran the generator (for the fridge) since we weren’t going anywhere soon. And waited. And waited. We saw gusts of 30knots. At 1:30 we got tired of waiting and said forget the fuel dock; we’ll get fuel another time or at another place. So we got the outboard off the dinghy and raised anchor about 1:45 or 2pm, headed to Sugar Loaf Cay. At least there we’d still have some wind protection but be able to make water and swim. We motor sailed with 28knots true enroute, dropping anchor at 3. There were 3 other sailboats and a motor yacht already anchored. Unlike our experience in 2015, we had a great set and when Fred swam on the anchor later he noted that it was a good sandy bottom. We both did our ‘joy’ baths. Although the anchorage itself was protected, something about the geography had wakes from ferries and vessels over a mile away come as large waves, which then rebounded from the rocky shore – getting us in both directions. Our dinghy was hitting the boat, and our anchor snubber fell off the chain briefly. It’s a beautiful spot, nevertheless. At 5 the power boat left and the sailboats remained. By evening the wind had gone down to about 8knots and the temperature had dropped so that it was almost chilly in the cockpit! Iris got up in the middle of the night to look for a purported meteor shower. When she saw nothing, she looked online and found that she’d missed her chance – it was the day before! Back to bed. Wildlife sightings: None. Communications: LTE/5 bars cell

The wakes were starting early and we didn’t have far to go, so we got underway at 8:40. 2 of the other sailboats were raising their anchors at the same time. We motored to Tahiti Beach and aimed for a small sandy spot. Iris missed it, so we pulled up the anchor and tried again. It helped that Fred told Iris to use the same signaling techniques she uses for picking up moorings and that did it – got it right in the middle and we set well at around 10am. There were several boats – catamarans, motor-cats, trawlers and some mono-hulls already in the anchorage. By 1pm we’d dinghied to Tahiti Beach, walked on the beautiful sand, waded, snorkeled on the anchor, Fred put on the prop zinc (using his masking tape technique), and tightened the shaft zinc with multiple, exhausting free-dives. Phew! Time for some recreation! At 1, we dinghied about a mile across to Cracker P’s on Lubbers Quarters Cay. The bar/restaurant is no longer open for dinner, and if we missed our chance this Sunday, they wouldn’t be serving again until Wed. We both ordered some very potent house rum drinks and a very unusual grilled conch entre – marinated in rum/brown sugar. Iris spoke with one of the owners who said they stopped serving dinner during the recession (except for full moon parties and other special occasions), and it’s not hurt them financially. They’ve been doing it for 18 years and so far it’s been a good season. We walked on their small beach, accompanied by a black cat. Same one we saw 2 years ago at Lubbers’ Landing? Probably not. We were back at the boat at around 2:30. Just snacks for dinner as we were full. Wildlife sightings: cat, some fish while walking and snorkeling. Communications: LTE/5 bars cell.

We left Tahiti Beach around 9:15 and were anchored in our reliable anchorage by 11:45. Fred was suffering all day with some abdominal distress (from yesterday’s outing?) so we didn’t do anything too strenuous. There was a power boat and sailboat already anchored when we arrived and a catamaran arrived at 4. Since there was about a knot of current, we only snorkeled against the current with a quick return to Windwalker and our required ‘joy’ baths. Wildlife sightings:turtle, enroute; fish and conch while snorkeling. Communications: Strong 4g, 2-3 bars cell.

One place we’d never gotten to in many trips to the Abaocs, was the famous Pete’s Pub in Little Harbour at the south end of the Sea of Abaco. Weather conditions never seemed right and we draw too much to easily get into Little Harbour except at high tide. But our goal this trip is to do stuff we either had never done or not done in awhile (eg Bakers Bay). No wind, mild weather – no excuses today. We raised anchor around 9:30 and motored towards our destination. The water near Sandy Cay National Park was unbelievably blue – we tried to capture it in a photo. Our plan was to anchor just outside the harbour entrace off a small beach. We weren’t the first with that idea and the shallow spots seemed to be taken. We dropped anchor in sand, however our chain went right over some coral and if we dragged our anchor could become fouled in the coral. So we moved and anchored further out than we’d hoped and felt more of the swell wrapping around from the ocean. But – we we only needed enough time to dinghy ashore, explore and then head elsewhere for the night. We dinghied through the harbour entrance into the very protected, small harbor and could see the attraction immediately. High cliffs on one side, no wind, and quite a few moorings. We needed to work up an appetite, so after tying up to the nearest dock, we ‘hiked’ to North Beach (where we were anchored) and the ruins of an old light house. Time for lunch at Pete’s Pub – which advertises heavily on the local Abacos VHF net every morning. The Blaster (house drink) was potent and our lunch selections were good. Many of the picnic tables in the dining area were taken, but there was room for a lot more in season! After lunch we walked towards visible caves, labeled as private property, and visited the gallery where metal sculptures were displayed. Our price point, however, was for t-shirts! Back on our dink, we went closer to the caves; the water in the harbour was clear and was filled with sea-turtles and rays. We needed better protection for the night, so we moved across the harbour entrance to Tom Curry’s Point and anchored at around 2:30. A very large ray swam by, welcoming us. If it proved to be too rolly we could still move since it was early. But we were the only boat there, some nice homes were close by on shore, and the water was calm enough. We went for brief snorkels on the anchor and then Fred decided to stay in the water to work on the hull some more. Iris looked up to see a 52′ Lagoon catamaran, that we’d been anchored next to during our Little Harbour excursion, drifting towards us. There was no one at the helm, and they were following a small pod of dolphins; some of the10 or so French passengers were also in the water trying to swim with the dolphins. A lot of fun on board but we were at anchor and they were NOT! When they were about 2 boat lengths away I yelled to the captain – you’re getting close. The ‘captain’? moved to the wheel but made no move to take control of the boat. I got Fred’s attention in the water, and he swam to the stern and yelled to the captain – why are you coming so close to my boat? By then they were about 40′ away. The man replied “What are you worried about?” and then exclaimed “I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!”. But he started his engine and pulled away, once again drifting around the Bight of Old Robinson, following the dolphins. We were to see the vessel several more times in our stay in the Abacos and made sure to avoid them. The tranquility of our anchorage had been disturbed, but we calmed down. Wildlife sightings: rays, turtles, birds, dolphins Communications: LTE/ 3 bars cell

It may not have been rolly when we anchored, but as tides changed and the winds shifted we had a rolly evening until around 11. Where to go? Lynyard Cay wasn’t going to be good with the morning’s wind, so we started heading back towards Buckaroon at around 8:45. But wait – we’d always looked at the Spencer’s Bight as this big body of water on the chart. Dodge doesn’t show this as having an anchorage, but the Explorer charts do. Let’s give it a try – this is another location that could be untenable with ocean swells from North Bar channel. But looked good for exploration given the lack of wind and wind direction. Spencer’s Bight is the site of ruins of Wilson City – once a major logging operation and community around 1905-1910. We anchored off Spencer’s Point at 9:55 in a good sand bottom. We’d never seen any other boats there, and there were none today. Time to dinghy explore. We tried getting close to the Wilson City ruins as marked on our charts – but the shore was very rocky and we couldn’t get close. We headed deeper into the Bight and landed on a shore that had a very developed ‘fish camp’ with a small mooring ball, organized dining area, propane grill, etc. This area is on Great Abaco Island so accessible by car and there was a road ending at the camp. We took the road heading out towards the ruins, we hoped – it was a pleasant hike. It looked well-traveled with tire marks. When the road turned away from our desired direction, Iris stopped and Fred continued to follow it up a large hill. He didn’t find the ruins, but a shooting area with hundreds of empty shot gun shells. It was reminiscent of the Snake Cay anchorage – deserted, accessible by car, shot gun shells – not Iris’ kind of place…. We headed back to our dinghy to further explore the bight. The next beach had a tent or canopy on it and did not seem abandoned although we saw no one there. Given the shot gun shells, perhaps we should skip that beach. The next beach was getting us pretty far from our boat – time to return to Windwalker. Back aboard later in the day Fred noticed a small vessel with two aboard who appeared to be conching near the rocky area near Wilson City, since one of the crew jumped in the water. Another vessel seemed to be fishing. We snorkeled around the boat, Fred worked some more on the hull and we did our ‘joy’ bath routine. The anchor was buried! Wildlife sightings: Large ocean going barracuda, large ray, birds on shore. Communications: Weak/slow 4G and 3 bars cell.

Strong SW winds were forecast for the next few days and there aren’t a lot of anchorages that are great for that. But Buckaroon is – so back to Buckaroon we went, raising anchor at around 9 and anchoring around 10:38. Enroute we motored slowly to we could avoid a generator run for refrigeration. We passed White Rose headed south – but he didn’t answer on his VHF. We were the only boat when we arrived. After lunch we headed to a new area around a small island and hiked on shore. We thought it was a small island – but it actually curved around and there was much to see. As is typical, we found where boaters had assembled a small fire circle and seat(s) from debris. Later we went to the main beach and walked about. By the first evening there were 5 other boats. We had a quiet, bug free night. The next morning we decided to stay put – given the forecast. We had a lazy morning. Some boats left, 3 new sailboats arrived. The crew of Deja Vous came by to visit. They’d tracked our progress on AIS and we’d crossed from Lake Worth the same time but they stopped in Mangrove. We talked cruising history, and they had done the Caribbean 1500 in the mid 90s. We did in 99 – so we had some boating acquaintances in common. They’d never anchored in Buckaroon before because they thought it was too shallow – but our AIS seems to be a boat magnet! Earlier in the day, Fred had searched online for House on Buckaroon Bay and found an ad from 1990s for a beachhouse that totally matched the ruins we’d seen the last few times here. OK – it was clear that it was now abandoned and it was time to check it out. So we dinghied to a beach closer to the ruin and Fred headed over to explore and take some pictures. It was amazing how much remained. Then we went to a second beach were there was a broken dock and waded over to yet another cabin ruin. Sad – it’s difficult to build homes on these islands and sad to see them abandoned. Deja Vous had mentioned each of the boats ‘sporting’ a barracuda under the hull. When we returned, we too had our barracuda. Fred scared it off. By nightfall we had 7 boats in the anchorage, with a pleasant bug-free night. Saturday morning we once again decided not to move. Today was going to be the most wind and not a great dinghy exploring day. During the day, even more boats came into the anchorage and there were even a couple of sailboats at Spencer’s Bight in the distance. All hiding from the wind. Fred decided to do some more in-water work and startled our resident barracuda. The wind was a steady 18+ from the south and some of the boats decided to move closer to shore and maneuvered around to re-anchor. Wildlife sightings: Large barracuda, rays, conch, starfish, fish. Communications: Strong 4G/2-3 bars cell.

Sometime in the last few days we agreed that we wouldn’t be heading back through the Berry Islands like we did in 2015, so we needed to get fuel for the return trip. We raised anchor around 9 and motor-sailed to Marsh Harbour. The tide was perfect (high) when we approached Conch Inn Marina fuel dock. As was the case last time, the dockmaster was no where to be seen; we tied up as best we could and Iris called the Inn/Marina office to get a response. We noticed that the fuel dock was not manned from 1-2 for a lunch break, so we were ‘squeaking in’ at 12:30…. After fuel (diesel and gas for the outboard), Fred had to go to the marina office onshore to pay and to buy ice. We’d just about used up what we’d brought with us. That done, we anchored near the main dinghy dock and soon after we had a brief thunderstorm with plenty of lightening. We wanted to pick up a few items at Maxwells which closes at 4 on Sundays, so we put the outboard on the dinghy and went ashore around 2:30 – getting soaked from the waves in the harbor. A boat boy wanted to help us at the dinghy dock, but we rejected his ‘services’ and tied up. Once again, instead of returning to the boat with purchases, we opted to move our dinghy to the Conch Inn dinghy dock and do another late lunch/early dinner at Curly Tails’ upstairs. It was Mother’s Day and the formal dining room was filled with beautifully dressed families. Upstairs – not so much! We were back at Windwalker around 5 and planned the rest of our trip. We didn’t totally have Monday planned out – it was Iris’ birthday and she wasn’t being decisive about where to go, but we did know that it was a good Whale Cay Cut crossing day on Tuesday and that tides lined up for entering White Sound in Green Turtle Cay. Amazingly, this was another place we’d never visited – put off by the 5′ spots on the entry. Iris made reservations for Tues and Wed at the Bluff House Marina.

Iris finally decided where she wanted to go. While she’d loved Treasure Sands (in 2013), we didn’t want to repeat the Treasure Cay/Treasure Sands experience. Next highest rated restaurant on Tripadivisor was at Firefly Resort, just north of White Sound on Elbow Cay. As we were raising anchor at 9 and heading out of Marsh Harbour, Fred suggested that we anchor off Mermaid Reef – another spot we’d never ‘tried’. So at around 10, we anchored just ‘around the corner’ from Marsh Harbour. Now – do we swim to the reef? Or dinghy there. Iris had shoulder issues that was going to make getting back into the dinghy from the water difficult – but we took a dinghy step she’d purchased several years earlier and we’d figure out how to get her back in the boat later! We tied up to one of the 4 small boat moorings and jumped in. Where is the reef? We snorkeled to a sign identying the reef – nothing to see here…then we changed direction and passed over what looked like airplane tires with tiny fish. We know this is a beginner’s reef, but surely this can’t be it. Iris saw what looked like a small hill underwater and said let’s go that way. That’s it! Lots of brain coral like features but an amazing number of fish. Large, dark parrot fish, schools of sargeant majors, and other larger schools. Ouch!!!! What’s this? We’re being nipped at by the sargeant majors. They were behaving like pyranhas! We guessed that they were all used to being fed by dive guides and wanted their payment. We fled the area chased by several schools of fish. Meanwhile, two other dinghies had arrived and there was fresh meat in the water. So they stopped following us and we continued our tour of the reef unmolested. Fred rigged the dinghy-step and Iris was able to climb into the dinghy without too much trouble. We continued on to Firefly. There was a nice sandy spot but another sailboat grabbed it minutes before we reached it. The bottom looked grassy, but we set well. There was a lot of boat traffic going to/fro Hopetown and Tahiti Beach so there were wakes. Tahiti Beach, in the distance, was a parking lot for catamarans today. While we were swimming around the boat, a couple of other sailboats arrived – all with the intention of dining at Firefly. Iris’ choice – lunch or dinner? She actually preferred the lunch menu which is served until 6. We went ashore, tying up to their dinghy dock, and seated ourselves at one of their patio tables. While dining, we noticed two waterspouts off in the distance. Thunderstorms were in the area – mainly over Great Abaco. The resort itself is pretty, nicely landscaped and quite small. The servers were attentive and we enjoyed our delicious lunches – but there was no comparison with the type of experience (or associated price) of our Treasure Sands dinner. We bought some t-shirts and an ornament to memorialize our visit and were back at the boat at around 4:40. We raised the outboard and put the dink on deck for our trip to Green Turtle tomorrow. Iris called to confirm the reservations at the marina for tomorrow. Wildlife sightings: Lots of reef fish at Mermaid. Communications: LTE/ 5 bars cell.

The weather forecast had changed since we originally made reservations at Green Turtle. We planned to go there in any case, but now there was more reason as fairly strong winds were forecast for the next several days. We’ll see – have to get there first! We raised anchor at 6:40am and motor sailed, and then sailed through Whale Cay Cut and all the way to the entrance to White Sound on Green Turtle Cay. Winds were strong but in our favor. We were coming just around high tide. We were told to hail the marina on VHF when at the outer entrance mark and did so. We were told we’d be tying up port side-to but had no idea what to expect. Fred slowly entered the channel and never saw any depths less that around 9 except when he strayed out of the channel slightly. Side-to was not really and Iris had only rigged two bow/two stern and had lines ready for springs but not attached. What we actually had was about a 2′ or less ‘finger’ on our bow and given our conditions, needed to catch the 2 stern pilings on our way in with the spring as well as stern lines. Wind was on our stern pushing us onto the dock. Not pretty. Andrew, our dockmaster, was a pro! He fended us off the dock, and when Fred had difficulty lassooing one of the pilings, he deftly jumped aboard, ran to the stern and almost cowboy style captured the piling. We were stable, sort of…..But the finger part was about 3 ft away from the boat and Iris, even when she put a rope close to the bow, was unable to get off onto the finger. The one time she tried, she fell as she headed to the office to check us in. Not a ‘happy camper’. When Iris checked in she extended our stay for a 3rd night – so we’d be here through Friday and the worst of the high winds. The staff, Andrea and Molly, both of whom Iris had spoken with on the phone, were delightful! So were the bartenders and wait staff – both at the main restaurant – The Ballyhoo Bar & Grill, and the Sea of Abaco bar – the Tranquil Turtle. Early in our shoreside order of business was showers, and then a walk to check out the grounds and a short hike to the Tranquil Turtle at Bluff House Beach. The Bluff House itself, something we’d heard about for over 20 years, was severely damaged in a storm several years earlier, and was no longer in use. We learned later that entire marina/resort had apparently been sold recently and was going to have major changes. We enjoyed our first dinner, Surf & Turf night, that evening and were to dine there all 3 nights! In the evening, Fred made some adjustments to the lines when Iris tried to get back aboard and that made how we sat in the ‘slip’ unsafe for our expected conditions. It took quite awhile our first evening to get things the way he wanted them. We were both tense and waiting for the worsening conditions.

Wednesday we found that Iris can get off/on the boat fairly easily from the bow – stepping onto or off the anchors. We’ve had to use that technique on occasion, and it worked well for Fred as well as our bow was the closest point to ‘land’ at all stages of tide. We weren’t going to pay for water, but did use extra watermaker water to once again clean up some anchor dirt and salt. Today was a chore day – Fred repaired the raw water pump, Iris repaired the Bahamas courtesy flag – which had somewhat shredded in the high winds. We’d already taken down our US flag yesterday when the winds started to increase. One thing that IS fun about marinas, is that we get to chat with fellow cruisers. We met our slip neighbors, John and Marcia on S/V Acadia on their first trip to the Abacos from CT. At the bar late afternoon, we met Sally and John on a Hatteras, from Treasure Isle FL – who vacation in Green Turtle every season. Fred also chatted with several people while working on deck. After lunch it was time to explore this end of Green Turtle Cay, and we took a hike to Green Turtle Club Marina. Iris hadn’t made reservations there because the charts showed they didn’t have a lot of depth. No longer true. We spoke with their dockmaster who said all had been dredged in the last year and that they had plenty of depth. Next trip perhaps. They had longer docks and seemed to be in a calmer area of the harbor for our current conditions. After our walk it was time for a swim in the inviting Bluff House pool and showers. Another enjoyable dinner out and back to the boat. Winds in the evening were reading steady 28 knots on our instruments. A lot of chop in the small harbour.

It was still windy on Thursday morning. Fred did internet work while Iris tried to revive her smartphone that had bit the dust a couple of days earlier. We’d been using Fred’s phone as primary because he had hotspot function and Iris’ didn’t. But hers was in a permanent reboot/blue screen loop and every technique to fix it she found online didn’t work. We told our family that if Fred’s phone failed we might not be able to make contact on our return trip and failure to communicate didn’t mean anything had happened to us. We hoped to go for another hike after lunch but had to wait out a downpour. We went for a shorter walk to memorialize our stay with pictures, then Fred worked on our dinghy, which was attempting to shed its rub-rail while Iris tried to figure out how to file an SVRS (Small Vessel Reporting System) float plan with the coast guard. SVRS allows local boaters to clear back into the US by phone (like it used to be pre-9/11). But the system doesn’t recognize last anchorage as last port of call and requests either a marina, residence or launch ramp as alternatives. So Green Turtle was going to be our last port of call prior to heading home. It was a little unforgiving in format too and Iris had to try a couple of times before it ‘took’. She later discussed SVRS with our Acadia neighbors, as they were going to be doing the same thing for the first time as well. Back for a drink and swim at the pool, we met a couple on Horizons, a very salty boat anchored in bouncy harbor. They were circumnavigators, and he’d owned the boat for 40 years! Good conversation! Tonight was Pizza night in the dining room and we shared a lobster pizza – yum! Both of us were getting anxious – how were we going to get off the dock if conditions didn’t abate some? But Fred had a plan! We enjoyed watching Netflix using the marina’s wifi.
Wildlife sightings: Rays off the beach, birds as we hiked, fish around the docks Communications: LTE/5 bars cell; excellent marina wi-fi.

Bad night (for Iris). She went to the head at 1am and stepped into an inch of water. Damn – she knew that somewhere during the trip she’d forget to turn the valve on our toilet water kit that adds ‘deoderant/lubricant’ to our toilet fixture. We use the ‘kit’ sporadically because the setup we have no longer allows it to remain on all along without bringing sea water into the boat. She was afraid she’d awaken Fred when she turned on the shower sump pump, but he slept through the racket and then it took her 45 minutes more to dry the bathroom and the cabinet area under the sink. Her fault and her problem to fix! We told the marina that we’d be heading out around 11. Fred started adding looped lines and removing those tied to the pilings to ease our exit. At around 10 we shut off shorepower and had Andrew take meter readings and Iris went ashore to close out our marina account. At 11 we got Andrew (and his assistants) attention as Fred started removing lines. The engine was warm and running and with full power Fred go us out of the slip at 11:27, backing into the still strong easterly winds. We weren’t even at mid-tide yet but it was a rising tide and we had more than sufficient depth to get out of the channel. Green Turtle Cay – White Sound – we will return! We headed to Powell Cay and anchored with about 7 other vessels already there at 2pm. Conditions weren’t ideal and the anchorage was a little bit bouncy – perhaps we were a little too far out. But we were only here for one night and had a good set. We put the dinghy in the water, walked on the various beaches – but didn’t go for our usual strenuous cross-island hike. We had time to snorkel on the anchor and our joy baths before bringing the dinghy back on deck. Tomorrow we plan to get to Great Sale Cay as we start heading home. While the gulf-stream crossing isn’t good yet, it looks like we have a crossing window on Monday or Tuesday, with the window closing with west winds on Tuesday night to Wednesday, after which there will be west winds for several days. The northern Abacos have limited anchorages good for westerlies so we were somewhat committed. Winds stayed at 19 knots with higher gusts and by evening there were 10 boats in the rolly anchorage. Wildlife sightings: Turtles and a shark swimming along the beach, birds ashore. Communications: LTE/5 bars cell from Cooperstown across the Sea of Abaco.

We sent float plan emails out in the morning and let our family know that once again we’d probably be out of communications at Great Sale. Anchor up at 7:45, motor-sailing all day. We could see that our Green Turtle neighbor was leaving Bluff House Marina, on AIS. They only drew 4′ so they could leave independent of tide. They too were headed to Great Sale. We anchored at 3:45 – underway for 8 hours. Fred swam on the anchor – far too murky to see. By nightfall there were at least 18 boats in the anchorage – all probably taking advantage of the same window Most would probably head to Mangrove Cay tomorrow, or Indian Rocks Channel or Memory Rock Passage. Iris sought a cell phone signal and was able to get out an ‘all well’ text message, but that was it. We discussed our alternatives. We could do an overnight using Memory Rock (been there done that), or stop in Mangrove (been there done that) or do Indian Rock channel west to east (new for us) and either go into Old Bahama Bay or anchor out at one of 2 iffy anchorages. We’ll decide tomorrow…. Acadia came in late and anchored closer to the entrance. A single-hander anchored very near to us. His only crew was a large dog. Wildlife sightings: None Communications: 4g for 5 seconds, 0 bars cell.

We had decided on Indian Rock Channel and had to time the tide, so we departed Great Sale at 7:15 and motor sailed towards the pass, entering the channel at 3pm. Enroute we hailed Old Bahama Bay and said we’d need a slip for the night. While Iris had hoped for anchoring out, it was a good decision because both the anchorages looked very rolly. We docked at 4:15. Acadia and the single-hander also came in shortly after we did. Oh no! Seconds after we’d docked we were inundated with no-seeums (altho’ they were kind of seeums). Never had we encountered such an onslaught since mosquitos at Cape Sable several years earlier. Also – the marina had completed its Hurricane Matthew repairs and was now charging $2.99/foot. We didn’t have a splitter for 50amp service and didn’t want to rent one, so no electicity (eg for a/c). What seemed like a good deal coming was not so much on our return. While Fred hosed off the boat, Iris changed the SVRS float plan to reflect our changed departure port. We went for a short swim at the resort’s beach and then showered. Iris had yet again an unpleasant ladies room experience with almost no shower pressure.The single-hander next to us asked if we’d mind him running his generator since he was having battery issues aboard. We said – no problem as we’d be doing the same to him later. Fred went aboard his boat to see if he couldn’t help debug the charging problem, but was unable to fix it. So the captain turned on his generator. What he hadn’t mentioned was that while he was running this on-deck gas generator, he commanded his dog to stay in the cockpit and left the boat! The dog howled while he was gone and when we later went for a walk, we spied the captain sitting at the bar. Oh well. For future reference – the restrooms and showers near the Dockmaster’s Office look lovely, clean and spacious. Use those! We used mosquito coils out in the cockpit, and even below later as we ran our a/c and tried to rid our below-decks of no-seeums. We spoke with several west-bound boaters and prepared for our next day’s passage, contacted family and updated float plans. We dined aboard. Wildlife sightings: Do no-seeums count? Communications: Excellent wi-fi, LTE, 5 bars cellphone.

We left Old Bahama Bay at 6:15am. Acadia had departed a few minutes earlier. We had an excellent crossing and AIS once again made things easy, except for one encounter with a freighter. We were on a too close approach and had the right of way. Fred hailed the vessel and they changed course briefly, but then a few minutes later, returned to their original course making our CPA (closest point of approach) a collision. Fred turned us around unti they passed, but we lost a lot of ground to the Gulf Stream in those few minutes of manuevering and we now had lost a lot of the southing we’d made. The only vessel with us the entire way was Acadia and we entered Lake Worth inlet about a 1/2 hour before they did. It was a flood tide and a wild ride through the inlet – we were doing 8.6 knots! We usually don’t pay much attention when we go in/out for the day – but it was exciting. It was still early enough – do we go to our slip or anchor out. Usually we opt for the latter, clean up after the passage and go into our slip the next day. But we decided if we made our first bridge in time we’d go to Windwalker’s home. Fred promised that we’d spend the night aboard and NOT rush to get to our residence that night. Deal. We made the bridges and were tied up by 5:45. Fred called the SVRS number to clear us into the US and it was easy. The person answering found our float plan, Fred confirmed the crew, and the guy said ‘Isn’t SVRS great? Isn’t it easy?” Yes – it was! And so we ended a great trip – one of our best. We thanked Windwalker for being kind to us!

Iris had some website work she needed to do in the morning, so kept awakening throughout the night. At 7 she got to work. After breakfast, we brought up the dinghy engine and dug out our dock lines for taking on fuel. Fred called the Conch Inn Marina but got no response via VHF. We decided to raise anchor and head over to the fuel dock – no dock hand in sight and we got ourselves tied up to the dock. Iris called the resort by phone and the operator took awhile, but finally told Iris that the dockmaster would be heading over. Finally! After fueling, the dockmaster informed Fred that he would have to go to the marina office in order to pay and drop off trash. Fred disappeared and it seemed like forever before he returned to Windwalker. By then the dockmaster had disappeared again. As we shoved off the dock, a sailboat approaching the fuel dock asked us how we contacted the dockmaster – we replied via phone. By now it was time to listen to the net as we left the harbor. Very disturbing news – a possible tropical storm was forming over the Northern Bahamas with possible landfall in FL and the East Coast on Tuesday. Where to go? What to do? We’ll have to study more this afternoon. We continued motoring to Snake Cay.

Oh no – another anchoring drill. We got to Snake Cay around noon but kept failing to set and then had a chain jam so bad that Fred had to disassemble the windlass due to a knot in the chain in the anchor locker. Whenever we fail to hand flake the chain at 50 feet (such as in multiple anchoring attempts) we’re asking for trouble. Finally, it felt like the anchor ‘caught’. Not so much. When we swam on it after lunch, it was just sitting there not doing much of anything. We didn’t recall a problem last time we were here – but the couple we met at Powell Cay had told us that they never were able to set their anchor in Snake. Let’s hope for light winds and that our chain will hold us in place. Last time we were here, we were a little worried about our security. Same again. We were the only vessel in the anchorage and mid afternoon a car drove to the ‘end of the road’ and parked. The passenger(s)? opened one of their doors and the car stayed there for 2-3 hours with no one walking around. They left at dusk. And we locked ourselves in for the night! We briefly discussed moving to an anchorage further south in preparation for a passage on Sunday.

At around 3:40am the wind kicked up and was entering the anchorage. Iris checked the anchor alarm about every 20 minutes until she got up since our anchor set was so tenuous. Over breakfast we discussed the weather; we don’t want to head to unknown anchorages in deteriorating conditions but let’s do something else! How about Man O War since we’d like to run the water-maker, use the Internet and have good holding in a NE Blow. There were a couple of anchorages that would meet those needs. Oh Oh, the chart-plotter is acting up this morning with buttons not responding. We motor-sailed to Man-O-War. Our first anchorage choice was very bouncy; we went north of the charted cable and set the anchor however there was no internet and it too was uncomfortable. But we hadn’t been in ‘town’ in over 20 years so it was time to explore and have lunch out. The dinghy was left at one of two dinghy docks. The inner anchorage moorings were almost all taken, many with bare-boat charter boats but some clearly permanent live-aboards. Our first stop ashore was to the Sail Shop. Iris bought her ‘sailing’ canvas hat there and was hoping for a replacement, but they didn’t seem to make those kinds of hats anymore.
We wandered through the well-kept streets and looked at some booths at a small church fair, ending up at Dock & Dine for an excellent harbour-side lunch. Everyone was having the ‘special’ as did we.

The tide had gone out quite a bit as we made our way back to Windwalker and we had to negotiate some very shallow spots. Next stop – back to Fisher’s Bay. We managed to find a ‘blue’ sandy spot and set the anchor around 3pm. A quick snorkel confirmed that we had a much better set than we’d had at Snake Cay. At dusk, several charter catamarans came racing into the anchorage – some heading for moorings, but most anchoring in the middle of the mooring field (a no no). Everyone else was very nervous – with some shouting heard and many owners on deck making sure the newcomers were well-set. Some of the catamarans did drag and changed location. By dark the temperature dropped quite a bit – it was in the low 70’s. We were in good spirits and comfortable. Review: Dock and Dine

Somewhere in the middle of the night the wind clocked to the NW. Depth was fine at 8′ but we’d swung 80-90′. It was Sunday – what does one do in Great Guana on a Sunday? Go to the Nippers Pig Roast! Of course we hadn’t done so since 2000 so time to check it out again. We figured all the catamarans were there for Nippers, but most had gone ashore last night and the anchorage cleared out in the morning. Perhaps Nippers will be empty? NOT!!! The place was hopping, with lots of folks bringing their luggage with them, just arriving or leaving by ferry. In the last 15 years a lot had changed: there was a very organized payment setup, along with drink tabs. Tickets in hand, the next improvement was that the buffet was indoors and overflowing as opposed to running out of food. Winds were blowing at over 20 knots so we opted to eat inside – where music was dampened somewhat, along with the breeze. There was an indoor bar running the same ‘tab’. Happy and sated, we left the bar scene and walked the roads nearby. The seas were high and breaking oceanside and the temperature had continued to drop. Back at the boat we took ‘cold’ joy baths and Fred noted that we’d dragged 15-20′ overnight but now the anchor was totally buried. The forecast was for further deteriorating weather and rain Monday through Tuesday night, so we may leave tomorrow.

Our plans for the day had included updating our Active Captain database which had gotten corrupted and to read our Sunday paper online – using OOINET. The hotspot was down all day and phone calls to OIINET went unanswered. We managed to read the paper on Iris’ phone, but we were disappointed in our internet service.

Excitement for the day was not over….Iris went to the engine room to switch water tanks and saw the ‘floor’ was wet. Fred checked the back bilge and there was LOTS of water. Of course it was after dinner and dark out. The generator vented loop had failed and sprayed saltwater all over the port lazarette. Fred replaced it. Lucky it wasn’t something worse. Review: Nipper’s Beach Bar and Grill

It began raining at 6am and all the anchored vessels were pointing E. After reviewing the weather forecast on Barometer Bob and having breakfast we decided to head to Marsh for shelter. Something is brewing that may or may not become a tropical storm. We motor-sailed over and were anchored by 10am, with somewhat of an anchoring drill. The wind was blowing 15-20 and the chain got caught on the 2nd CQR on the bow roller. Iris signaled for Fred to move forward so she could release the chain and we had a good set. But by now we were too close to another boat and a shallow spot; so we moved about 5 boat lengths further up – much better!

Great OOINET signal. The weather was still cooperating so we took the opportunity to head ashore and besides a trash-run, see if we couldn’t negotiate an extra day of internet service, since we’d totally lost a day. We were surprised to see a young ‘boat boy’ trying to help us with our dinghy painter at the dinghy dock. Fred rebuffed his services and the young man wasn’t having any luck with anyone else. I think this was a first for us in the Abacos or elsewhere in the Bahamas. We headed to the OOINET offices, where the owners were ‘in’. They granted us the extra day however insisted that the hotspot was up all day and showed us as being logged in with traffic. We weren’t going to debate it but we did enjoy talking about old times – using their services in 2000 by bringing our laptop ashore, in 2003 by renting a dongle for their network, and other tech talk. By now it was time for lunch, so we headed to Curly Tails and then on to Iggy Biggy across the street for t-shirts and some Christmas ornaments. It was a somewhat wet ride back to the boat. The captain of a neighboring sailboat came by to chat. He was south-bound. Fred worked on cleaning exhaust stains off the hull. Review: Curly Tails

It rained through the night with some high winds Water dripped on Iris’ face with the hatch closed – guess we have a leak. After breakfast it began to rain in earnest – we guessed around 5-6” at a minimum. This is stupid – we should be collecting water! We were reluctant to put it in the tanks, but we put out all of our various containers and Iris filled and refilled containers. The salinity of the water was an amazing 4-5 PPM! Good stuff, rain ;-)! After the rain abated Iris used the water to wash decks, wash hair/bathe, and she still had 8 gallons left. There was way too much static to listen to the radio altho’ the internet worked well. The ‘storm’ later formed as TS Ana. Weather no longer an issue – we’re headed south to Lynyard Cay tomorrow.

The weather continues to suck – it started to rain around 6:30am. We want to head home some way – perhaps let’s just go back the normal route and head to Water Cay for tonight. We went ashore for the ‘final’ trash run and disagreed on where to go next. Why not wait a couple of more days before deciding which way to go back and see if the winds improve for the Berry’s. We changed our plans again and headed for Buckaroon Bay for the expected W/SW winds tonight. On our way we were seeing 20-25 knots on the nose from the S – not what was forecast but ok for Buckaroon. We anchored at 1pm, sitting right on top of the same spot we were on 5/7 two years ago. The only other vessel around was departing as we arrived. The winds were too high for dinghying around, but we snorkeled off the boat. Windwalker is coated in salt! Our bilge pump alarm went off while underway; fortunately it was just a leak in our sun-shower bag. No one else arrived by dark. We also had great phone data if we need to file a float plan for heading south.

The winds abated and when we awoke the seas were flat. Iris suggested that these were probably the best conditions ever for taking Windwalker to Sandy Cay (National Park) to snorkel. Fred came up with an alternative since we were so well anchored – why not just dinghy from here? We’d be able to pick up one of the small boat moorings. So around 10, we headed for the 2 mile run, pointing in the general direction of Sandy Cay. Conditions continued to be flat, and we picked up a mooring on the ‘ocean’ side with almost no swell. There were a couple of other small vessels in the area with folks snorkeling. Just as Fred jumped in the water with his snorkel gear, his mask strap broke! So close but so far! He got back in the dink and managed to re-attach/jury-rig the strap and off we went. The reef, while pretty, was not as dramatic as we expected. There was a lot more fire coral than we’d seen in a very long time anywhere. While there were a lot of fish, there weren’t large schools. Fred missed a large ray that swam an arms length in front of us as he was investigating something else. But finally – we’d gotten here after several attempts in the past. We had a fast dinghy ride back to Windwalker to drop off our snorkel gear and the outboard stalled a few feet away, but Fred quickly restarted it and we headed to the beach to explore. By now we’d made another decision – we were going to leave for the Berry Islands tomorrow. So we brought up the dinghy engine at around 12:30 and mid-afternoon started preparing for sea. The east coast of the the southern part of Great Abaco has little in the way of shelter so we were going to have a long run, with the goal of getting to Sandy Point, an unprotected anchorage on the very southern part of the island. We put together our ditch bag, put out the jacklines, filed our ‘float plan’ with family and made reservations for the ‘renowned’ via Active Captain, Great Harbour Marina for Saturday. Iris set a wakeup alarm for 5am.

Iris got up a few times during the night and finally stayed up at 4:45 to check the weather. No wind. We were hoping for some with a northerly or easterly component. Fred got up at around 5:15 and he suggested waiting another day. Iris asked if we would leave if we were back in ‘cruising’ mind-set. The answer was “Yes”. More back and forth between us and finally we decided to go for it! We left 15 minutes late at 6:15 and raised our mainsail just short of North Bar channel. Shortly thereafter we saw several fishing boats heading out of Little Harbour. Other than that there were a few northbound sailboats. We saw 2-3′, to 3-5′ seas enroute with winds from the S at 9-10knots. After we made the turn at Hole in the Wall, then conditions were flat to 1′. We tried sailing only, but were moving too slowly. For those interested, we had phone/data coverage from up to 7 miles offshore for much of our passage and at Hole in the Wall. We also saw a good Bahamas Wi-max signal at Sandy Point. We worked our way into the roadstead anchorage and had good holding in sand in 8′. There was a slight roll that made Fred queasy. While we did not go ashore, Sandy Point seemed to have a few nice houses on the beach, and definite employment on the Disney island Gorda Cay – where we could see Disney Fantasy on the horizon. It left shortly after we anchored and ferries brought workers (and/or entertainers) from Gorda Cay aka Castaway Cay. Another sailboat anchored further offshore in deeper water after dusk. We had a quiet night with good sky.

Iris got up at around 5:45 before sunrise. The sea was calm, whippoorwills sounded onshore, and engines from the ferry heading to Castaway Cay broke the calm. This morning, it was Disney Magic approaching the Cay. We raised anchor around 6:45 and motor-sailed the entire way against adverse current and lots of shipping traffic easily identifiable with AIS. Amazingly, we had phone/data coverage for most of the way. Majesty of the Seas was visible from over 12 miles away as we approached Little Stirrup Cay. Both Little and Great Stirrup had a lot of structures on shore. We turned south along the western shore of the Berry’s and found the almost hidden channel into the protected harbor, arriving at the marina around 3pm. A dock hand helped us tie up in our assigned slip, only for all of us to realize we couldn’t reach the power/water connections. So a ‘drill’ to move us to the adjoining slip and getting us settled. Iris checked in at the office and we tentatively planned to stay a week. First order – showers! Fred hosed off the boat and we had our ritual Friday night dinner below, enjoying the air-conditioning. Then it was time to explore. A map of the area given to us at the marina office, showed a place from which to view the sunset. Halfway there, the sun had set, so Iris balked at continuing our search – maybe another day. Iris did the dishes with the remaining rain-water – 5 days worth of water – great! A sailboat docked next to us at around 8:30pm.

It’s Sunday! We’d read on Active Captain and Tripadvisor that Carriearl was the place to go for brunch. It is also the only restaurant on Great Harbour Cay that takes credit cards. It is pretty much a cash-only island, except for the marina. Anyway – Iris called and made a reservation for 11:30 and we started our 1/2 hour walk to get there. We had no idea what to expect. The proprietors greeted us and seated us at coffee table/sofa for our complimentary mimosas while we perused the menu. Another couple there left shortly after we arrived. We enjoyed speaking with the owners in the lovely setting.

Back at the boat we noted that not only had the vessel next to us left, so too had many others. The place seemed dead. It was clear that Fred was bored already. Clearly off-season is not the time to be here if boater camaraderie is what one seeks. Iris had, for the second time this trip, a severe reaction to alcohol coupled with exertion and heat. She felt like she was about to pass out after the walk and Fred quickly got her down to the air conditioning to cool down. We spent the afternoon relaxing, updating websites and walked to see the sunset, this time successfully! Review: Carriearl

Fred did some projects in the morning. Around 11 we walked the 1.3 miles to the Beach Club, where we had lunch and then walked the long beach. We were surprised to see 3 catamarans anchored off shore in large, uncomfortable looking swells. On the way back we explored the Yacht Club ruins. The Berry Islands had a glamorous history in the 60s/70s before falling into disrepair. We read up on the history when we got back to the boat: See Great Harbour Cay History. We hoped to rent a motor scooter to explore the island – and stopped by Happy People at the marina; they said they no longer rented scooters and we could pay $40 for a car or $60 for a golf cart. Neither choice appealed to us. Iris asked Hans how to walk to town and he gave her directions – perhaps tomorrow? A couple of sailboats came in – both planning their returns to FL. One spent the season in Eleuthera; the other went as far as the Turks and Caicos. We passed on the weekly marina pot-luck and ate below. Fred started campaigning for leaving on Wednesday in order to get home on Thursday so we wouldn’t be on passage for Iris’ Friday birthday. Iris had hoped to have her birthday dinner at Carriearl. Oh well. Review: Beach Club

We both spent the morning on chores. Iris worked on a good cleaning below while Fred worked on our outboard. It showed signs of problems after our long trek to Sandy Cay and he found several things wrong, including a broken tang that secures the top. Nothing a short line can’t fix. We then both worked above decks, cleaning our exterior. A Canadian couple, anchored outside the harbour, dinghyed to the marina. They said that they’d tried to head to Grand Bahama two days in a row and turned back. We discussed other alternatives since they were FL bound. Don’t know what they finally decided to do. After lunch, we used the overhauled outboard as an excuse to do some dinghy exploring. Bardot Beach (yes – she was one of the movie stars who spent time here in it’s heyday) was our destination, and we sat in the water at this tiny beach. We saw some small fish and a ray jump. Walking through the trees, we found a road which we walked a bit. We dingyied back to the marina. We ate dinner at the restaurant right near the marina – Rocky Hill Pool Bar and Restaurant – an open air affair. Food was definitely cooked to order on the grill near the bar ;-). We were the only diners, although there was a newly-wed couple at the bar. We went to sleep to sounds of thunder. Review: Rocky Hill Pool Bar and Restaurant

Iris awoke at 5am. Fred had been sleepless, anxious to leave. We discussed the weather and at 6am decided it was a go. So we crammed in breakfast, float plan, weather, route, dinghy and outboard up, checking out of the marina, and were out of our slip by 7:30! Since we would have many hours on the banks, we did our ‘sea’ preparation enroute. Naively, we hoped to anchor on the banks for the night and continue to Lake Worth inlet in the morning. Our decision point was in about 6 hours. Around lunch time we approached a freighter anchored in the middle of nowhere. As Iris was bringing up Fred’s sandwich he rebuffed her with a “Not now”. I looked around and saw a large skiff with about 7 men in it veer off their course to the freighter and head towards us at high speed. We stared at them, one of them waved and they changed course back to the freighter. We were tense. The wind was behind us (better than on the nose). When we reached our decision point it was clear that anchoring on the banks was not to be – the chop would make it untenable. Ok – an overnight it will be. Had we thought about it more, we could have changed our route to anchor off of North Bimini, but by the time that occurred to us, we were too far north to make that a viable alternative.

We continued on our way and once in the Gulf Stream, started to see a lot of shipping traffic. AIS showed us that we were on a collision course with Majesty of the Seas. Fred hailed the cruise ship on 16 and they nicely changed course to avoid us. We continued to be surprised at how many sailboats now had AIS transponders and were identifiable. We were making good time in the Gulf Stream and conditions weren’t too uncomfortable. At 5:15am, about 10 miles from the Lake Worth Inlet, we were suddenly lit up with a spotlight with another fast approaching vessel. This time it was the Coast Guard. They came up alongside, shining their lights on us and shouted their questions (due to our and their engine noises) – where were we going, where did we come from, how many onboard, any weapons, did we buy anything? Then they wished us a safe trip and sped away. We were at our slip by 7:45, called Customs/Immigration and were home by 8:45am. We went out to breakfast, then to the Port of Palm Beach to clear Immigration. We opted to sign up for the local boater option/SVRP at the suggestion of the officer so that our future re-entries will be conducted by phone. While we were waiting in the 2-way mirror ‘lobby’ once again, a Canadian couple had difficulty with their paperwork and were denied clearance. They were still dealing with the officials when our papers were approved and we were officially home!

For once, we had a pretty laid-back set of prep days and a no-fuss departure! Clothing and supplies were already aboard, and we’d loaded up the freezer and fridge the previous day. For peace of mind (ours and Iris’ mom), we activated prepaid minutes on our old Iridium Motorola 9500 satphone so we’d always be able to receive emergency texts or make daily calls when out of cell-phone reach. So all we had to do before leaving the dock was get up early to run the refrigeration, make some calls, visit Mom, and bring incidentals and electronics. We left the dock at 10:45, made the 11am bridge, took on fuel at North Palm Beach Marina at 11:30 and headed to Lake Worth Inlet.

Our plans were to do a quick check on the ocean and wind conditions, which were expected to be the same tomorrow. If the E/SE wind would permit us to go to Old Bahama Bay – that was our goal, otherwise we’d head towards Memory Rock and Mangrove Cay. The seas were ok, the wind, not so much. We headed back in the inlet and anchored around 1. The afternoon was spent on prep – ditch bag, make sure all on deck secure, jacklines, make sure that Old Bahama Bay had room, and file a float plan with Iris’ mother and Fred’s sister. We were relaxed and ready to go! Our very rough plan was to take around 6-8 weeks, start in the Abacos, continue down to Royal Island, Eleuthera, Exumas and return via The Berrys and Bimini.

We got up at around 4am and were ready to go at 4:45. However weather was not obliging. A line of thunderstorms was coming on shore and there was lightening all around. We had some more coffee and waited until 6, raising anchor at 6:15. It was very slow going – even motoring we were only able to make 3.6 knots in the SE wind. When we were within range of Old Bahama Bay, around 4pm, we hailed them and received a slip assignment. However the ‘bad news’ was that the dockmaster would be leaving at 6, which was our ETA. We would have to clear in to the Bahamas and do paperwork in the morning. We ran the refrigeration before we entered the harbor so that we wouldn’t need to pay for electricity. As we entered, the dockmaster was just locking up her office and waved and shouted that she’d see us in the morning… Fellow cruisers, all heading home after spending the season in the Abacos, helped us with our lines. Security wasted no time in getting a credit card imprint. But we were there safe and sound!

Since we had to pay for water we’d better make the best of it, so Fred hosed off the salt-laden deck. Hmmm. Found some tiny delrin balls on deck – where did they come from? TBD. The boat was clean, now time for us. Fred hit the showers first, and as he returned, it was Iris’ turn. However the ladies shower stalls were clogged with 3-4″ of pretty disgusting water. While she could have walked around the marina to another building, it was easier to just go back to the boat. While drying off, Iris heard Fred having an animated conversation on deck with someone we clearly must know. Yes – it was Don and Gail Curtis – the original owners of Windwalker, and now on their motor yacht Dolphin. We caught up for a little while; Don was pleased to see that we still had many of his improvements and inventions onboard. They headed off. We closed our float plan, handled email, and tested that our Xfinity Connect app let us call Iris’ mother over our wifi connection. Dinner at the resort’s restaurant was actually better than we’d recalled from 2013, and service was prompt and pleasant. Nature sightings: Sea birds, lots of Man’O War ‘jellyfish’, flying fish. Ships: a few but not a factor with the help of AIS.

We started the morning with Eggs Benedict, after which Fred went to the marina office while Iris made some more calls. We still had to wait for Customs/Immigration, so we fresh-water flushed the watermaker for 10 minutes and then ran it for an additional 20 minutes overboard to clear the system of the pickling chemicals. By 10:15 we were leaving the marina, officially in the Bahamas. 2 years ago we took Indian Cay Channel on a rising tide. This time we were passed high, but decided to risk it on a falling one. The shallowest spot we saw was about 6.2′ on our depth-sounder. We draw 5.5′ so we were fine. After the Barracuda Shoal Waypoint, we had glorious banks sailing until about an hour before Great Sale, making about 6-7 knots consistently, with very little chop and using our main, staysail and partially furled genny in 15-20 knots on the beam. Two other sailboats were going through Indian Cay for the first time (as we overheard their VHF conversation) and both chose to stop at Mangrove Cay around 2. We did that in 2013, and decided that we were making good time, having fun, and should keep moving. We ran the engine for the last hour, topping off our refrigeration and anchored around 7pm. We had some heavy rain after dinner, (and what seemed to be a microburst at around 11pm – lots of wind but no rain) but we were secure. Around 10 boats were in the anchorage. Nature sightings: none.

Today, Great Sale became a new destination island for us. We’d never landed on Great Sale before, although we had done some dinghy exploring on past trips. We’ve probably spent more time in this anchorage than anywhere else because we have used it as a stopover in almost every trip to the Bahamas in one direction or both. But thanks to Active Captain, we discovered that there are some old roads ashore by which one can hike to the western shore. After our morning chores (refrigeration, sat phone call, minor maintenance and cleanup), we put the dink in the water and went in search of the wrecked dock which purportedly marked the trailhead. We saw something likely with our binoculars, from the boat and headed directly to it. NOT! Major shallows between us and the dock forced us to backtrack and head back towards it from a more northerly approach. As cruisers usually do, the dock was festooned with various colorful trash from the sea, as was part of the trail. Apparently not well enough for us, because we took a wrong turn early in our walk and ended up bushwhacking on a limestone rocky surface with lots of crevices and sharp shrubs. Hitting a dead-end we took another detour and found the remnants of an old road and followed it to the beach. Ruins of what may have been a WW II Nike base – foundations and partial walls, marked the end of the road. We had a pretty beach with clear shallow water, to ourselves. We splashed around for a bit and then took the road all the way back to the dock, seeing where we’d made our wrong turn. Back at the boat, we did more chores, snorkeled a little, Fred worked on cleaning the forest growing on our hull, and joy baths for both of us. We also brought the dinghy up as we’d be on the move in the morning. Dinner in the cockpit, generator runs for refrigeration and a freshwater flush for the watermaker – since we weren’t needing to run it yet. Over 10 boats in the anchorage by dusk. Nature sightings: Several very happy turtles, tiny yellow finch on the trail, a couple of rays in the shallows.

Anchor up at 7:30am. Although we’d considered heading to Moraine Cay for a snorkeling stop, we opted to head directly to A/P. Iris used the satphone to call her mother enroute. We had very light SW winds most of the way and had a beautiful, but slow sail. The anchorage looked full when we arrived around 2:15, but managed to find a spot we were comfortable with on our second try. We swam on the anchor and the bottom was typical – grassy over shallow sand. We had a lazy afternoon. Nagging at us a bit, however, were two possible engine-related problems. The first was a continual loose connection with the tach – more of an irritant, but disruptive. And we were putting out a lot of white smoke; Fred said that the oil analysis we received right before leaving was not good. Can we really trust the engine to go somewhere down-island? This (as did our battery issues in 2013) put a slight pall over what was so far a beautiful trip…

Before dinner, Iris heard a child on the catamaran Sandy Feet, anchored behind us, say she saw a shark. We had a pleasant evening, but it was too overcast for good star-gazing. There were 14 boats in the anchorage by nightfall. First watermaker run into the tank (359 ppm). Nature sightings: Shark – near Sandy Feet catamaran.

We both slept well – it wasn’t too hot out and no storms interrupted our night. Morning chores, and satphone call made, it was time to put the dinghy in the water and do some hiking. We dinghyed to the head of the harbor with the remains of a dock and took the main trail towards the beach. What’s this? A new trail? We took a right and after a slog that may have actually been a wild hog’ trail, we ended up close to where we began. Oh well. We re-took the proper trail and spoke briefly with another couple returning from the beach. We checked out the signing trees to see the creativity of those who left their imprints. In 2013 we must have come at very high tide, for we recalled one of our favorite beaches had disappeared. It was there – past the rocks and we headed south, stopping for a lovely swim in perfect water with waves broken by the outlying reef. Time to keep walking so we continued down to the end. At the southernmost point of the beach, we gazed at a shallow bay with more happy turtles swimming about. Both coming and going we were approached by a pair of sand-pipers, one of which feigned injury to draw us away from their 3 tiny, speckled eggs lying in a very shallow depression just above the waterline. On our way back we headed into the trees as to reduce the birds’ stress.

Lunch back at the boat and then time for more chores, followed by ‘joy’ baths. Around 5:15 Iris saw a shark pass our boat and head around Sandy Feet, once again. Perhaps we were anchored in the way of its evening route.. We enjoyed dinner in the cockpit and had a lovely evening. At dusk a motoryacht came in and had difficulty getting set. Iris commented on their technique (and was punished the next day). A single-hander in a schooner set-anchor outside the anchorage very late as well. Watermaker run (360ppm). Nature sightings: turtles, sand-pipers, shark.

Our goal for today was to get to New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay. Iris thought (mistakenly) that there was a BTC Bahamas office there at which she could buy a sim card and phone plan/data plan. We hoped to buy the card and then hang out in the northern islands for several more days and thus have data access and also not waste satphone minutes. So we were up at 6:30 and raised anchor at 7:45, leaving to a beautiful rainbow from nearby rainshowers. The single-hander schooner with pretty white sails left around the same time, also headed south. After we turned off the engine (refrigeration topped off), we sailed until a couple of miles off New Plymouth. Then our problems began. Holding is known to be poor, with just a few sandy spots where one’s anchor might grab. But this was an anchoring disaster drill for us (and Fred pointed out, well-deserved because Iris had been critical of others the night before). On one attempt we had a chain castle, on raising it our anchor swivel jammed. We stopped on our 5th attempt – knowing that we were not set but having a lot of chain on the bottom, and had lunch. OK – let’s try once more. No joy. So since we were in a spot where we could purchase wifi internet access from either OIInet (which we’d used many years previously) or Bahamas Wimax (which we used in 2013), we went with OIInet for a week because they had a stronger signal where we were. We used the time to do email, check phone messages and make some calls. Fred suggested Iris dink ashore and try and buy the sim, but she rejected the offer. By now it was around 4:30 and we hadn’t dragged. Let’s see if the anchor dug in. Nope. So we raised it for the 6th time (by far a record for us anywhere) and headed back to Manjack, dejected. Most of the vessels already in the anchorage (now around 5ish) were near Manjack; we anchored up against Crab Cay, getting a hard set on our first try. We had quick joy baths. (Iris is generally reluctant to be in the water after 5pm due to increased likelihood of sharks). Another lovely dinner in the cockpit and great star-gazing after dark with no light pollution and the Milky Way. Water temperature is heating up – Watermaker run (410 ppm). Nature sightings – none.

Another very quiet and pleasant night. After our generator run, we focused on some chores. We talked about dinghying out to the ocean reef, but opted not to. Good thing, because the weather conditions deteriorated quite a bit by mid-morning. Winds had clocked to the west (not good for this anchorage), and was increasing to 10-17 knots. We were having 2′ wind-driven chop as well. Three sailboats entered the harbor one after the other. They appeared to be together. The first anchored well away from other vessels. But the second anchored very close to us and dropped anchor. As far as we could tell, they didn’t even test it. But then the third boat put out fenders and rafted to the second. So we now had two vessels anchored in front of us; if they dragged we’d have 2 boats to contend with! We decided not to leave Windwalker and go dinghy exploring while they were out there. Conditions continued to deteriorate and at around 3pm the 3 boats left and crossed the ‘sea of Abaco’, dropping anchor a few miles away on the eastern shore. A few other boats did the same thing awhile later, probably enjoying better condition than we had. We continued to do chores, and took quick joy baths. The water was rough and not conducive to swimming or snorkeling. As showers moved through with the associated trough, we saw a few rainbows. We’ve been on the boat over a week. All good! Nature sightings – none.

Time to get off this boat! After breakfast and our generator run, it was time to search for the Manjack oceanside moorings on the reefs. We headed out on the dinghy with our snorkel gear and immediately encountered 2-4′ waves. It was overcast as well and after a few minutes out in the ocean with no moorings in sight, Iris nixed the trip. A few guys in wet-suits and a larger dinghy/engine were headed in and then later went back out. We landed the dinghy and went for a walk on the southern end of Manjack – oceanside rocks and beach, watching the guys moving around. They appeared to anchor in various spots. We never did see them tie up to a mooring. We then moved the dinghy to the eastern side of Crab Cay, with huge amounts of conch shells and a few live conch, and walked along the beach there. Since this is supposed to be a no-take zone and an ocean preserve, obviously folks aren’t abiding by it… We poled the dinghy, using our oars, in the shallows, as we headed back to the boat. The outgoing tide was very swift. Since we had to pass the 2 wrecks along Crab Cay to get back to Windwalker, we decided to stop at the closest one. Large schools of small fish were hiding in various parts of the wreck. Several boats had come into the anchorage while we were gone, but none were a factor for us. After lunch we’d considered taking a long ride along the western shore of Manjack to hike the north-end trails. But the conditions had once again gotten squally and rough, so we just took a short ride for an even shorter walk on the west side of Crab Cay. Back at the boat, we raised the dinghy in 13 Kt + winds, and then took quick joy baths. During the evening Iris read up on the Berry Islands – starting to plan the post-Abacos part of the trip. Tomorrow we plan to go to Marsh Harbour for the sim card and to do some PC work. Nature sightings: Starfish, conch turtles, barracuda, lots of fish, various sea-birds on the beaches, curly-tail lizards, and hog tracks on the east side of Crab Cay.

We were off to Marsh Harbour – so raised anchor around 8 and motored straight into the wind. Not ideal – but no choice. As we approached (sometimes impassable) Whale Cay, we raised the mainsail – just in case.. There was one sailboat behind us and several coming from the other way. Winds were 15-19 knots from the S and SE. As we cleared the pass the wind got even gustier and Fred chose to hand steer. Baker’s Bay, which used to be our go-to anchorage, was even more built-up than it was 2 years ago. The Baker’s Bay Resort is totally members-only. Even the marina no longer welcomes visitors or transients. So it’s not an anchorage we plan to visit any more, which we’re sure is the way the resort homeowners like it.

Anchoring around 1pm, we put the dink in the water, made sure that our OIInet wifi connection worked, and then around 2:30 headed into town to drop off 8 days worth of trash, and to buy our sim card and data plan. Once again we had an excellent experience at BTC Bahamas. The guard outside welcomed us, the cashier apologized that their credit card system wasn’t working so they could only take cash. We paid $16 for the sim, bought $20 voice scratch off cards and 2 GB of data cards for $30. And like last time, one of their sales folks quickly applied the cards to the phone and made sure all worked properly before we left. (Note – it’s probably time that Iris update our now totally obsolete Communications article. If one has a gsm capable phone, communications almost everywhere in the Bahamas is wonderful. And data is great for radar, making non-local phone calls, email, etc) Our next stop was Maxwell’s to pick up some fresh vegetables and fruit. The store rivals a super Walmart in size and breadth of goods, and was definitely thriving. We’d hoped to enjoy a rum punch at Mangoes Restaurant. But Active Captain listed it as closed, and sadly, it was – with no tables/chair visible in the dining room. So we kept going until we got to Curley Tails and went upstairs to the bar area. Our drinks arrived, and so did a down-pour. We’re on island time and there’s no point in getting soaked, so we ordered another round of drinks with an order of bbq riblets and conch fritters and watched charterers head down the docks to their waiting Moorings or Sunsail catamarans from our perches on the second floor. We also called Iris’ mom using the new data plan and xfinity connect. Iris asked the server for an empty plastic cup; we’d forgotten to put anything in the dinghy we could use as a bailer and we were certain there would be a few inches of water in the dink. Rain began again as we headed to the boat and we got a good soaking. No dinner for us, but we ran the air conditioning with our generator run to dry out the boat. Several strong fronts are on the way so we need to figure out where and when to go next. Nature sightings: none.

Holding in Marsh Harbour is always fantastic so we slept well on this quiet night. We did some internet work in the morning, listened to the ‘net’ for the first time since arriving in the Abacos, and decided to go to Tahiti Beach. We left around 9:20 and were anchored sometime between 11 and 11:30. This is another anchorage that is best when one can find a sandy spot. We failed on our first try but held on our second. We also were wary of the position of the cable we’d snagged 2 years ago. After lunch it looked like rain in the distance and radar on our phone confirmed it – so we swam on the anchor (not a great set) and then Fred worked on cleaning the bottom and we did our joy bath thing. By late afternoon the rain began, and we saw gusts up to 22 knots. The anchor held, but we were now pointed N – not a great direction for this anchorage. And since we’d swung, at low tide we saw as low as 5.7′ and we have a 5.5′ draft. Boats heading to the nearby docks ‘waked’ us occasionally, but otherwise all was well. Excellent wifi connection with OIInet. Nature sightings: none.

While it didn’t rain overnight, the skies remained overcast until late afternoon. Morning chores and internet/pc work done, we dinghyed across the channel to Lubber’s Quarters to have lunch at Lubber’s Landing – new to us. We were the only ones there until a little bit later. The owner stopped by when we were about done with our meals and told us that pizza night (a couple of days later) requires that one place orders the day before, so that her husband can make sufficient pizza dough. Reservations only. We explored their tiny rustic resort – boardwalks to several cabins, and then continued onto the roads. We were accompanied by a black cat for most of the way. Back at Windwalker, we switched into our swimsuits and then headed to Tahiti Beach for a walk, and then to sit in the shallows and enjoy the view. Beautiful sunset, great day! Review: Lubber’s Landing

We hadn’t had our fill of the cays north of ‘the Whale’, which we prefer for hiking and solitude. So we left 9:20 on a windless day and motored all the way to Green Turtle Cay. We had never seen Whale Cay passage so flat. The water was amazingly clear all the way with great views of the plant and bottom life most of the way. Our target anchorage was Joyless Point, near the entrance of White Sound on Green Turtle. Descriptions in Active Captain showed decent depth and slightly better holding than right off New Plymouth. But it would make for a longer dinghy ride into town. As we approached New Plymouth we decided to give it one try – perhaps the water gods had forgiven Iris for her past verbal indiscretions 😉 We found sand and the anchor held and we declared victory at around 2pm. We put the dinghy in the water and went via the narrow channel into New Plymouth Harbour and tied up at the ‘interior’ government dock. Good thing too, because the winds kicked up in the afternoon and those tying up at the outside government dock were experiencing rough conditions with bouncing dinghies. We always look for an opportunity to discard trash, and the dumpster on the dock was a welcome sight. We hadn’t been in New Plymouth since the 90’s on a charter. From far the town looked as quaint as it had then, but close-up things seemed to have changed. Paint was peeling on the colorful houses, various buildings looked in disrepair. Non-tourists driving their cars or golf-carts seemed somewhat dour. Shops were empty. Granted – it was off-season. We hiked around, checked out Curry’s and Sid’s food markets and a gift shop, checked out the cemetery, and statuary, and then found a road that took us to Black Sound, where moorings were to be had if one could enter the sound during high tide. Good hurricane hole. It was still too early for dinner, so we picked up a large package of frozen conch and ice cream at Curry’s and dinghyed back to the boat. The only downside to our anchorage (now that we were set) was the occasional rocking from the frequent ferries. Great internet connection so we did pc work in the evening. We’d be without access, except via the phone, for the next few days. Nature sightings: turtles and starfish enroute.

It was a quiet night after the ferries stopped. Thunderstorms and rain rolled through around breakfast time. We motored and motor-sailed north around leaving at 9:15 to one of our favorite spots (although not one of our favorite ‘anchorages’) and were able to set our anchor on our 3rd try – hunting for those sandy spots. When we arrived there were 2 trawlers and a sailboat. By evening there were 2 more sailboats. Our goal at Powell is hiking. We first walked along the northern part of the western shore where we saw some fish/shark drama. Then we crossed over on the main trail, to the Atlantic side with dramatics views and fairly rough seas. Back where we began, we then did the Bluff trail with great views of our anchorage. We spoke briefly with a couple from trawler Whitestar, from Michigan. They were headed back to the US, as were most people at this, the tail-end of the season. After lunch we dinghyed over to the south end of the island where there is a short trail across to a large shallow bay, where we had another long walk along the beach. We played around in the water around the dinghy, and then went back to the boat to snorkel and check on the anchor. Fred noticed that one of our shaft zincs was loose. He ended up taking it off. Had the anode flown off the shaft it could have hit the prop and caused damage. Fortunately we still had a second one on the shaft so there wasn’t an immediate problem. Nature sightings: 2 sharks – 1 around 4′ long, which chased a large fish in about 2′ of water, 1 around 2′ long on the ocean side; several sand-pipers and other birds.

We hadn’t had our fill of Manjack Cay yet. So we raised anchor around 9:10 and headed for the North Manjack anchorage, in order to hike the trails in the north end of the cay. The anchorage can be iffy, with big rollers coming in from the ocean. This time was no exception – while we set the anchor in a nice sandy spot on our first try the roll was unacceptable – too bad even for a quick trip ashore or lunch. But we still wanted to do the trails, so we motored back around the corner to an outer anchorage on the north-western tip and set anchor. A couple of other sailboats seemed to have the same idea. We dinghyed over to the Brendal’s Dive Center docks and hiked the various ‘avenues’ in the park area maintained by residents of the cay. We also went to the ocean side, as well as the beach on the northern anchorage we’d just left. The yellow house we’d seen 2 years ago was now labeled as for sale. We started hearing some loud music as we hiked back to the dink – Brendal’s had just landed with about 15-20 twenty-somethings ready to party. Not for us, so we went back to the boat for lunch and discussed where to anchor for the night. Brisk northwest winds were predicted. We’d done our ‘must do’ parts of the northern cays, so we decided to head back through the Whale planning to put anchor at Water Cay anchorage on the eastern shore of Great Abaco. Putting the dinghy on deck, and raising anchor at 2:15, we had a chain jam, so our departure was more like 2:30. The Whale was a little bouncier this time, but not too bad. It was late in the afternoon and we didn’t see a lot of traffic. Three boats were already anchored when we arrived around 5:45. Time for some conch! Iris split the frozen package in half and sliced the conch thin before pounding. She prepared in an egg wash and ritz cracker crumbs and it came out great. Our current plan was to spend another day here. Nature sightings: 3 dolphins while rounding Manjack; large spotted ray in northern Manjack harbor

The anchorage turned bouncy overnight with winds of 18-20 knots. Iris got up to see if we’d moved, but all was well. However it was rolly and the wind was predicted to get more westerly – not ideal for where we were. Where to next? We opted for Tahiti Beach again, desirous of an anchorage with a wifi connection, good swimming and good water for the watermaker (thus ruling out Marsh Harbour). So off we went around 9:30am for Tahiti Beach, motor-sailing with reefed main, and then sailing with reefed main and staysail in about 32 knots on a broad reach. Even the staysail became too much so we took it in. We didn’t see a lot of traffic on this breezy day. We were in for another bout of anchoring drills. We tried twice close to where we’d anchored previously and dragged. We moved further south, dragged and then it felt like the anchor set. So Fred put the snubber on and swam on the anchor. The tip of the anchor was in grass and the set was tenuous. Other boats in the area began to leave due to the chop and wind. We both went in for quick ‘joy baths’ and then dried off below. Next we looked we had dragged about 1/4 mi – wow. We immediately grabbed our hanging towels, shut the hatches and prepared to go to Marsh Harbour to get out of the conditions. But as we approached the entrance to White Sound we saw a visibly sandy patch and decided it give it another go. It did appear to catch – so we set several anchor alarms; the wind also abated a little bit into the mid to lower teens. We waited for awhile and by 5pm declared victory. The wind forecast sucks. We didn’t have a good hotspot so relied on Iris’ phone data to get our internet checks in.

It was quite hot overnight. Iris was anxious that perhaps we’d snagged one of the cables purported to be in the area and that’s why our anchor held. Winds were WNW veering NNW, not great for these anchorages. If we were able to take a snorkel trip with Froggies in Hopetown, then we’d go in there and pick up a mooring. However no one advertised any dives on the morning’s net and Iris called on the phone and no one answered. Of course the condition were pretty untenable for snorkeling on the Indian Cay national park reef, so that’s probably why. So off we went for Matt Lowe Cay, relieved when the anchor came right up ;-). When we arrived at the Sugarloaf Cay anchorage a large motor yacht was already at anchor. We couldn’t get a good view of the bottom due to the chop and churned up bottom and on our first attempt to anchor we definitely dragged. Our second try felt better, but when we really tested it, it skipped. On our third try we decided to get a set and just wait. We set an anchor alarm, winds were predicted to abate somewhat and if we dragged there was nothing in our way for miles. OK – time to do some chores – cleaning below and above. We used our phone data to check our email and browse. We always try and swim on our anchor when we’re in conditions that allow for it (eg tropical climate ;-)) and Iris went to take a look at around 3:30. It was partially set but we’ve had worse. Speaking of worse – the forecast is getting irritatingly worse. We’re getting a bit bored with looking for places to anchor to avoid weather conditions. Given that we’re not entirely comfortable with continuing on to Eleuthera/Exumas/etc due to worries about the engine – Fred is getting antsy. Iris is not ready to start thinking about returning anywhere! Fred wants us to be able to sail back and not have to rely on the engine if it should have problems. So he started looking at our options. At dusk the motor yacht started blasting music after sounding conch horns for an overly long time. They finally stopped the music after a couple of hours. No wildlife sightings.

Yet another wind shift overnight, this time to the east. We have to move again. So at 8am we head the 8 miles to Great Guana Cay. We hadn’t been there yet this trip and had fond memories of our lunch at Grabbers in 2013. We motored all the way, seeing few other boats and only 1 catamaran in the anchorage when we anchored at 10am. Oh oh – another grass bottom. While the anchor set well and we’d never had an issue here before, we were leary given our track record on this trip so far. Fred tested at low rpm and then we stayed aboard for a couple of hours to make sure we didn’t move. We used the time to put the dinghy in the water and Iris signed up for another week of OIInet wifi. She also called Grabbers to make sure they were open – since once again there was little advertising in on the morning net. Around noon we headed ashore for lunch, on this a pretty overcast day. We each had a couple of their signature drinks and Iris had a coconut battered fish sandwich while Fred had a hamburger. The lunch was so so and Fred disliked his hamburger. Iris thought the drinks strong, Fred thought the opposite. Afterwards we walked around the settlement walking to Orchid Bay Marina. We saw quite a few boats on moorings in Settlement Harbor. Drizzle shortened our walk and we returned to the boat and raised the dinghy engine in case we needed to move quickly. Iris felt unwell and while standing by the galley sink, she began to shake. Fred thought she was having a seizure of some kind. She drank a lot of water and felt better. Good thing because all hell broke loose around 3:30. Severe thunderstorms rocked the area for 3 hours and we saw up to 38 knots and very heavy rains. Others we spoke to in Marsh the next day saw higher than that! We probably dragged around 200 ft but somehow the anchor held. The winds quieted down at around 7. Fred had a light dinner and Iris ate nothing. We set anchor alarms because more weather was expected. Review: Grabbers Bed Bar Grill

At around 12:30am the anchor alarm on Iris’ phone started blaring. Fred double checked and we had swung in yet another direction. Iris spent the night in the salon, checking our anchor position on the chart on Fred’s tablet and the anchor distance on her phone, looking outside frequently.. We both got up at 6:30 am and wanted to get out of here! But we knew we were headed to Marsh for yet worse weather and wanted to take quick joy baths (during an encroaching thunderstorm in the distance) before we departed. Two other boats in the anchorage had already left. We hadn’t really dragged – we just had a lot of scope and had twirled around 200ft + and were back where we’d originally anchored. The anchor came up easily and we were underway by 7:30am. We had a very blustery motorsail to Marsh Harbour and were anchored by 9:30 after which we had breakfast. This was a day to stay below. Our wifi connection was abysmal. We almost called OIInet to get our money back. At around 2pm it looked calm enough to go ashore with a brief mission to dispose of several days of garbage, and top off diet coke and rum. We achieved our goals at Bristol Wine a block from the dinghy dock. We’ll complete provisioning at Maxwell’s tomorrow and get fuel and gas before we leave the area. We may go out do dinner or lunch as well in town. All is weather dependent!

Up at 6:30 with a lot on our lists. Chores done, we went ashore to top off produce and sundries at Maxwells and then headed back to the boat to stow provisions and have lunch. By 2pm we decided that we wanted to go for a long walk ashore, stopping at the HW store first. But the harbor was very choppy; we almost lost the dinghy when the painter detached at the dink end, and Fred caught it. So we were uncomfortable leaving the dinghy at the dock as all were bobbing up and down ferociously. We blew off our hike and got totally soaked returning to the boat – winds were gusting from 15-20+. Iris’ hopes for going out to dinner were starting to fade. We continued to discuss trip alternatives. Iris wanted to try somewhere new and we both had read great things about Great Harbour Cay in the Berry’s. Whatever we did, we wanted to minimize strain on the engine, so all is weather dependent. At around 5:15 the winds had abated sufficiently to consider going out to dinner. Iris called Wally’s and made reservations for 6. We hadn’t eaten there since the mid 1990’s when on a charter with friends. We headed ashore at 5:45 making yet another trash stop before getting to Wally’s. It wasn’t a 5-star dinner and our server forgot our wines and the presentation was plain. But the ambiance was beautiful and the cook always appreciates any meal out! Review: Wally’s Restaurant

We headed together to the restrooms for showers before breakfast. Iris waited and waited and while lots of men came out of the restrooms, no Fred. She bought a Sunday paper and waited some more. Miscommunication as Fred had returned to the boat. At least he was ok! Mid-morning, Iris had to take advantage of the laundry room and did a couple of loads of laundry. There she spoke with a nice lady whose husband had previously been assistant manager at the marina. They owned a slip and were on the slip-owners association board. After lunch we headed to another museum that always had intrigued us – what we called the ‘sewage’ museum. It’s real name is the Museum of Public Works. While interesting, we’d hoped to actually see working equipment – it was a passive exhibit. On our way back to the boat, we stopped at the Safeway across the street to top off our food. We stowed the supplies, filled our water tanks and went out to Austin Grill (also across the street) for a tex-mex dinner. Lots of our favorite Austin-based musicians were playing in the background and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals. Back aboard, we watched a DVD – “Sounds of Thunder” based on a Ray Bradbury book, using our laptop as our viewer. It worked out pretty well.

We checked out at 8:15 after showers ashore and breakfast – using our family radios to coordinate re-entry into the marina. Iris had returned our entry passes so needed to be let back in. The marina would have been happy to send a dock-hand to let her in had she asked. We’d decided to top off our fuel and get a pump-out at Baltimore Marine Center since it was right next door and had good fuel prices. ($2.30 vs the $3.50+ we’d paid in Manhasset). Fred hailed the marina as we approached it and got no answer. Let’s dock and then find someone to help us. OK – except that we’d parked in front of gas pump – not diesel. Iris checked – the fuel dock opens at 9 and it’s 8:45. Let’s wait. So we moved up about 100 feet to the diesel pump and waited. Meanwhile, we had a nice discussion with a young (or perhaps not so young) man who ran a local sailboat charter/sailing school operation. He lives aboard in another marina and we talked boats for awhile. While Fred chatted with the dock-hand when he showed up and fueled/pumped-out, Iris made phone calls while we still had a good connection calling for mail, adding Bob and K to our SSCA reservation and calling the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections to see why we hadn’t received our absentee ballots yet. And calling her good friend, Diane, to wish her happy birthday. Fred, meanwhile, learned from the dock-hand, that the main reason fuel prices had gone up since April had nothing to do with oil prices or shortages. Starting in April, ethanol was required to be at least 10% of the gasoline formula. Ethanol is a solvent and so can’t go through the pipelines because it would remove too much sludge and clog it. So it had to be shipped by truck. Meanwhile, it also corrodes old gasoline tanks and cars/boats who are older than 10 years old are going to have problems if they let the new formula sit in their tanks. Prices have started to come down as the oil companies dealt with the issues created by the new formulation. Didn’t hear that on the news, did you?

We didn’t get off the dock until 10am or later – not the early start we’d hoped for on our trip to St. Michaels on the Miles River in Eastern Bay. We motor-sailed and motored to St. Michaels and anchored in Fogg Cove very close to another sailboat in tight quarters. They seemed concerned and Iris was unhappy. But we had a good set and no real alternative. Out of practice in just 3 short days, Iris had forgotten to run the refrigerator while we were motoring all day. So we were forced to run the generator for a 1/2 hour in the late evening to get the freezer temp down. Iris started to work on a website update. Tomorrow we hope to tour St. Michaels in the morning, have lunch, and then move to Granary Creek on the Wye River to do some hiking on Wednesday.

Not a good night. At around 1:30am the cats were fighting and Iris got up to see what was going on. Frosty had been acting lethargic and ill (besides being ill-tempered) the last two days and hadn’t been eating her full dose of meds either. Up again at 5 to the sounds of a cat getting sick. Yep – Frosty again. Iris cleaned things up, made sure both cats were stable. While up, she went on deck to make sure we weren’t too close to the other boat or shore as winds were clocking. All was ok and she went back to bed.

Fred got up to the smells of corn muffins baking. We ran the generator and then put the dinghy in the water for our trip to town. St. Michaels has provided a nice town dinghy dock. First stop was the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Not! We were too early and it opens at 10. So we walked about the quaint town, got our bearings, checked out restaurant menus and then returned to the museum where we spent most of the day. After lunch we both agreed that we should spend another night here and go to Granary Creek tomorrow morning – still giving us time to hike. The museum fascinated us as it seemed a combination of Mystic Seaport (Connecticut) and perhaps the wooden boat museums in Maine or Newport. It thoroughly covered life on the Chesapeake and it was hard to imagine as we sailed the next day, the thousands of oyster fisherman/crabbers working the waters while steamships moved about from town to town. And seeing photos of the areas we were standing on over a hundred years ago – filled with docks and canneries vs the sleepy tourist town we now beheld. After the museum, we walked around town some more, looking for the street that would lead to a ‘back-door’ entrance to St. Michaels on the San Domingo Creek. Unsuccessfull, we stopped at Acme Supermarket for a few items and dinghied back to the boat. Earlier in the day we’d noticed that the sailboat next to us had departed, so we no longer were too close to anyone (altho’ Iris feared we were too close to the nearest dock). While relaxing in the cockpit we listened to the latest weather forecast. We expected a frontal passage but not northerly winds of 15-20 knots. Quick change in plans – let’s go to Whitehall Bay tomorrow and explore Ridout Creek off Whitehall Creek. That way we’ll be heading south on a short trip to Annapolis instead of a 30 mile trip against the wind.

Dusty kept us up all night. She’s become quite insecure after having been the dominant cat for over 12 years. At night, especially when feeling ill or perverse, Frosty positions herself in front of the food/water bowls and blocks passage to the cat box. Dusty must dash through and sustain attacks to reach either. Wanting attention from either of us, she’d move to the other when shoved away. Iris couldn’t stand it anymore, got up, moved Frosty to the settee and made sure Dusty ate, drank and used the box at around 3am. Did that fix anything? Nope – soon Dusty was back in bed with us pestering once again. We got up in the morning feeling like we’d just done a passage.

We brought the dinghy back up on deck after breakfast and headed out at around 9am. Iris was thrilled with her new deck wash and was able to blast the mud off the chain and anchor! No wind. We had to motor all the way to Whitehall Bay and made our way up to Ridout Creek. Private homes nestled in lots with tall trees surrounded us. We passed a Valiant 40 docked as we entered the bay – named ‘Promise’. We’ll have to look her up. The anchor dragged a bit before it set. The winds seemed lower than forecast and later weather updates seemed to imply the front had weakened a lot. Maybe we were over cautious to move here but we’re the only boat at anchor and it seems a good place to hang-out should there be severe storms tonight. We enjoyed the warm temperatures for the afternoon, did some chores and read. Tomorrow we head to Annapolis for the boatshow, SSCA meeting, Valiant Party and rendezvous, we hope, with friends.

Iris had a bad night – poor Frosty had several seizures. It’s possible that the frontal passage and winds scared her and exacerbated her issues. In any case, Iris got back to bed around 6:30am and we slept in a bit. Around 10am, we called Annapolis Landing Marina (ALM) to see if our slip was available already. Yep. So we raised anchor and motored the 5 miles. Winds had clocked overnight to the north. although they had been light in the protected anchorage. We had assistance in docking at the fixed docks at the inner end of a tight fairway and it took awhile to get the lines set up as the stiff northerly winds were blowing us onto the dock. Our dock assistant was going to be doing the Caribbean 1500 in her 45′ Island Packet, Arctic Tern. We checked in, had lunch, and called our friends John and Carla to make tentative plans for dinner. The cell phone connection was insufficient for reliable logging on with our pc and there was no working free wifi in the area, so we signed up for Beacon Wifi for a 3 day plan (using our minimal cell phone connection). We received an email confirming that they got our money – however we were unable to connect. Frustration – as we’d updated the website on our pc and wanted to upload it as well as do some bill paying. Make it work or give us our money back! Unfortunately – by now it was after 5pm, the technical support number said leave a message and we were going out.

John and Carla picked us up and we headed into Annapolis for a casual dinner. They’d gone to the boatshow that day and the forecast was for dismal weather on Friday. (Bob and K from Rima also went on Thursday in expectation of the rain). We enjoyed catching up with them on what had been going on since we last saw them a couple of years earlier. By the time we got back to the boat it was drizzling hard. We would try and see John and Carla again at the boatshow for lunch, if we went. Additional attempts at getting on Beacon Wifi proved futile.

Fred added lines in the middle of the night to keep us off the dock. The winds were blowing in the high 20s or more with gusts into the 40s predicted and it was a very noisy night. By the end of Friday we had nine lines holding us – and our hurricane configuration is usually around 14! Rain on top of the wind was making for quite an unpleasant day. After Iris had warmed the cabin with a biscuit breakfast, she called the water taxi. A recording informed us that it was not operating due to the weather conditions. So much for going to the boat show. A good day to cocoon instead. Iris called Beacon Wifi who cancelled our plan and refunded the money (turns out the Annapolis server had been down for a while – we thought we were being clever by creating the account using a connection from the marina across the creek.) But a few minutes later, when she turned on the pc, she noticed that the wifi was running and our account still showed as active. When she spoke to tech support again, the rep said that he hadn’t cancelled our account and that we could use the remaining time (2 days) for free – a good will gesture since we’d probably be at marinas with Beacon Wifi in the future. Perfect outcome for a cocooning day! We made a few phone calls to friends and then worked on the website, browsed to our hearts’ content, and watched some cable tv – catching the premiere of Battle Star Galactica on the scifi channel – one of the few shows we watch. When we went to bed, power was out on the dock – we weren’t sure whether it was due to a power failure (most likely) or turned off deliberately due to extreme high tides. But we slept better knowing that our lines were properly adjusted for the conditions!

Today was the SSCA gathering at neighboring Port Annapolis Marina. We’d selected ALM for it’s proximity to the SSCA mtg and for its water taxi headquarters and discount. Alas – the latter was to be useless to us on this trip. We got up early and walked over just as Bob and K (Rima) and their friends Deanna and Nick (Caribbean Soul – docked in St. Augustine, FL) arrived. While the seating was enclosed in a tent, the temperatures were in the low 50s and we were all freezing. While bundled up, Iris was sockless, wearing her Tevas – much to Bob’s amazement! We enjoyed, but shivered to talks on Power Systems, and by a survivor of the Phuket tsunami before breaking for the bag lunches. The six of us headed back to Windwalker to get out of the cold while we ate lunch (and Iris put on some socks and enclosed shoes ;-). After lunch, Beth Leonard spoke about her circumnavigation and Suzanne Glassman tried to motivate the women in the audience to take a larger role in the cruising lifestyle (eg – docking, anchoring, navigation and maintenance). The afternoon ended with silent and live auctions – not of interest to us. Bob and K and Nick and Deanna left to drive back and check on Rima (and get more clothes!), while we spoke with Al and Carol of Voyager. Iris had met them in Florida as both Al and Iris were working at West Marine as part-time associates. We enjoyed the barbecue dinner and then headed back to Windwalker to pill Frosty, returning to chat with the foursome who had returned from Rima (anchored in West Annapolis). We all enjoyed the songs of Eileen Quinn – a fellow cruiser who accurately, emotionally and sometimes,humorously portrays all facets of the cruising lifestyle in her works. We have 3 of her CDs and have played them frequently. After the meeting, we said our goodbyes and headed back to a once again ‘powerless’ slip. This time all the docks were dark and the marina had intentionally turned off the power until after the extreme high tide. We had no wifi either – so were even happier that we weren’t paying for it. Both of us are quite anxious about how in the world we’ll get out of the slip if the winds are anyting like this tomorrow!

It was a sleepless night for both of us as we both (individually) visualized getting off the dock and the possible disasters that would await us. Fred was not in the best of moods as we went to Port Annapolis Marina’s Wet Dog Cafe for a so-so breakfast and to buy a Sunday newspaper. Our nerves were in high gear as it was still blowing over 15 knots from the north and we were pinned against the dock. Fred removed a few of the loose lines and then went to the bath house. Iris, meanwhile, saw that the owners were aboard the Sea Ray 38 next to us and struck up a conversation with them. (Their boat’s bow had a mean looking anchor on it that stuck out about 3 feet beyond their bow pulpit into the fairway – so if we ended up on their bow – both boats would get hurt). They were nice folks who were heading out in a couple of hours, but offered to help us with lines to manuever out of the slip. They were going to have that slip next season (and wanted it for some reason). She held a bow line and he helped turn our stern in front of his bow – keeping us off the dock and allowing Fred to get way on backing out of the fairway. It was a smooth end to our imagined nightmare scenarios. We’re thankful they were there to help!

Out on the bay, the winds were light and we were surrounded by sailboats racing with their spinnakers out. We were able to sail for a couple of hours until the winds died altogether and we motored the final couple of hours to Granary Creek. It was a lovely setting, with 3 trawlers, a powerboat and 3 sailboats by nightfall. But there was plenty of room. The cats roamed the decks and were thrilled to be wandering about in the sunny afternoon. While we wanted to dine in the cockpit, mosquitos drove us below. After dark we came above to listen to the sounds of ducks, geese and crickets in the fields and woods around us. Tomorrow we plan to dinghy ashore and do some hiking!

We had a good night (although Iris got up a few times with a severe headache) with totally calm conditions. While it was foggy at around 7, it cleared quickly, and by 9am we were putting the dinghy in the water. We dinghied to the muddy landing spot for the Wye Island Nature Preserve and looked at the bulletin board with a trail map and park description. Wye River and Wye River East surround Wye Island – much of which is part of the preserve. We began hiking Dividing Creek trail and ended up taking a wrong turn which made the loop slightly larger. But the trail took us by the conference center which overlooked our anchorage. After about 2 hours of hiking we returned to Windwalker for lunch. Iris went below to do some housekeeping while Fred took the dinghy opportunity to work on hull stains. Late in the afternoon we decided to do some dinghy exploring with our depth sounder. We headed out into the river a bit then headed to the head of Granery Creek to see how far up it we could have anchored. On our return, we were waved over to Midwatch – a sailboat that had anchored next to us the night before. Their dinghy had escaped and lodged itself under a dock a few hundred feet away. We gave the guy a lift to his dink and towed it back. They’re from Wakefield, RI and just completed a 2 year trip around the Caribbean.

Back at Windwalker, we brought our outboard and dinghy aboard, had dinner and watched some news on PBS – the only tv station we were getting. We’re headed to Solomons, MD tomorrow, but Iris also did some future trip planning.

We left Granery Creek around 7:30am, expecting no wind and finding none! We also had around 1 knot of current against us almost the entire way. While we’d stopped in Solomons on our first trip in 1999, it was purely a convenience stop – as Iris was quite ill and we were freezing. We’d gone into a marina, eaten out, and ran the heater to warm up. This time we planned to anchor and did so on Back Creek off of Hospitality Marina by 3:15. We were happy with our location and anchor set and put the dink back in the water to go off and explore. It took us awhile to find Hospitality’s dinghy dock. For $2/day one gets dinghy dock parking and trash disposal. We were on a mission to walk to West Marine (to exchange a damaged fuel filter), mail some bills at the post office and check out the Gourmet Market where we bought a few items. We saw that the Naughty Gull had dinner specials and decided to come back in for dinner. That’s where we ate during our last stop here and Iris remembered liking it despite her malaise. Dinner was enjoyable and we brought leftovers back to the boat. We found free wifi from the direction of the marina and were able to log on quite late into the evening from the cockpit. Tomorrow, ashore to explore Solomons maritime musuem.

After breakfast, Iris logged on to check out the weather forecasts. The wind doesn’t seem too bad given the description of the frontal passage and high affecting the area. We ran the generator and then dinghied to shore in search of the Calvert Marine Museum. We enjoyed their exhibits on fossil finds in the area, estuary life and the seafood industry. And we got a tour of yet another screwpile cottage-style lighthouse – this one from Drum Point. The Drum Point lighthouse keeper was able to have his family live with him – so the furnishings (based on the memories of the grand-daughter of the last lighthouse keeper) were much less spartan than those found at St. Michaels’ example. We filled a fast-food craving at Roy Rogers and then returned to the museum. The drizzle was becoming quite heavy and we decided to opt out walking in search of Solomons’ downtown. But we did stop at the Gourmet Market to get additional supplies – perhaps for the remainder of the trip as we knew that our planned stops had no groceries.

By now it was late afternoon and we did some trip planning for tomorrow. While Iris originally wanted to make a 2-day stop at Crisfield in order to catch a ferry over to Tangier or Smith Island, the forecast was not going to oblige. Perhaps next trip ;-). We brought up the dinghy and after dinner played dominoes and did a final weather check before stowing the laptop.

Dusty kept awakening Iris for most of the night. She got up at 5:45 to check the weather. The forecast was still for strong SW winds on some of the forecasts, W on others. We delayed our departure, turning on the engine at 8 and underway by 8:20 – still debating alternatives. We’d ruled out Crisfield, targeted Antipoison Creek with the opportunity to once again stop at Mill Creek off the Great Wicomico if conditions required. We found that the winds were lighter than expected and were able to sail on and off, doing the 55 miles and anchoring in the first cove in Antipoison Creek at 5pm. The creek got it’s name, supposedly, because the native Americans used some mud from the creek to counteract a sting-ray wound on Capt. John Smith. It was a beautiful, rural setting with nice homes. No tv or cell phone coverage however. Enroute down the Chesapeake, earlier in the day, we were hailed by a large trawler, Valkyrie – who previously had owned both a Valiant 40 and Valiant 42 (by the same name). We’ll have to look him up in the Valiant owners database.

A small trawler had anchored in the middle of the Antipoison channel right before our cove. We worried that a commercial fishing boat might come barreling down the channel at night – but hopefully they fared well over night. It was a quiet night until the expected frontal passage – but Windwalker stayed put.

We were on our way by 7:45, bound for Hampton Roads. The trawler had already departed. We mostly motor-sailed, although we did try sailing for a couple of hours. There weren’t a lot of boats up and about on this extremely cold morning. By 10, hot chocolate hit the spot, followed by hot chili for lunch. It was difficult to stay warm. Iris called Ocean Marine in Portsmouth to make reservations for Sat. and Sun. nights. We listened to the frost warnings for tonight and shivered some more. We planned to anchor in Willoughby Bay. But the forecast was calling for strong west winds which would bring up a fetch on the bay. Iris looked for alternatives and suggested Mill Creek on Hampton Flats. We’d looked at it on a previous trip and for some reason decided it wasn’t an appropriate anchorage. However this time we thought we’d check it out and if we didn’t like it, we could always head to Willoughby or head to Hospital Point in Norfolk/Portsmouth. 4 trawlers turned into the creek, passing Ft. Monroe, ahead of us. A few sailboats were already there. We dragged at first but got a hard set after letting out more scope. The anchorage was quite pleasant with a nice view of the military marina and the highway traffic disappearing into the tunnel under the bay. (Willoughby Bay is the other end of the tunnel with a similar traffic view ;-)). No wifi, but a great cell phone connection. We once again discussed (not seriously) doing the Dismal Swamp. But we didn’t want to take 2 days when one would get us to Alligator River. Dinner followed by dominoes – snug in our cabin. Our plan for the marina tomorrow is to do what may be a final laundry, some R&R and to get our mind-frame set for the southbound trip. It’s hard moving almost every day and we talked about trying to make it fun – not just an ordeal.

Iris was up a little early – unsuccessful in getting Frosty to take her meds. We had a nice breakfast and then called the marina to see if we could come in early. They assigned us A19 – the same slip we’d had before on the ‘party dock’, as we’d named it. We came in around 11:30 for fuel and were in the slip by 11:45. We were in need of some filters for the engine and Iris had called ahead to find out when the parts dept. closed – they said noon. So while Iris check us in, Fred ran to the parts building. Fred came back – no joy. He said that a sailor from the ‘Great Chesapeake Schooner Races’ had been waiting since 11:30 (they were already closed up) for needed parts and marina staff were unsuccessful in finding anyone to open it. The sailor was quite angry.

Iris headed to the immaculate and empty laundry room – once again running the gamut of the party dock folks enjoying their beers clustered in chairs on the dock. Meanwhile Fred did some engine and generator maintenance. We tried the marina wifi which had worked poorly last time we were here. This time we couldn’t get it to do anything. Around 5 we headed out towards the ferry docks, intending to head to Norfolk for dinner. We’d just missed a ferry and walked around looking at schooners docked at the landing. We decided it was silly to go to Norfolk just for dinner and then rush back for Frosty. Why not eat here in Portsmouth. So we checked out a few of the restaurants we’d looked at last time and decided on Lobscouser (sp?), a seafood place with wonderful sounding early-bird specials and low prices. The service was outstanding as was the ambiance and the place was full. When we left, there was quite a line waiting for dinner.

We stopped in the Dollar Store on our way back – and bought some additional catfood (since Frosty is rejecting various flavors and not eating) and litter. The party-goers had all gone on an excursion at 3, so the docks were clear for our return. We were watching tv when we heard explosions. Fireworks at Waterside in Norfolk. Standing on deck we saw quite a show! And as the fireworks lit the sky, one of the largest ships we’d ever seen came down the river. It had 3 tugs and was humongous. A fine end to quite a pleasant day!

Iris awoke at 6:30 to the thrashing sounds of Frosty having a grand mal seizure. After comforting the kitty, she then started breakfast and finally ran out of propane on the first of our two shorty 11 lb. propane tanks. We think it was a record; usually a tank lasts us about 6 weeks and this was closer to 3 months! And no – we didn’t eat out a lot more ;-). We did our Sunday morning routine of paper and political shows and some additional chores. We caught the 2pm ferry over to Norfolk, headed to McArthur Mall to catch a movie (“Departed”), found an ATM to make some deposits, and then had dinner out at yet another Outback (to satisfy Fred’s prime rib craving). Dinner was very quick as the restaurant was quite empty on a Sunday night – so we made it back to Windwalker by around 7:45. Frosty rejected food yet again – but finally at a partial dose at around 9:30. We’re going to leave tomorrow at around 8am, so that we can make the first bridge’s 8:30am opening. We anticipate a tense day, despite resolving to try and make the southbound trip fun.

More cat issues as Frosty had another grand mal at 6:30. She ended up having a couple of more seizures throughout the day – to be expected when her eating becomes erratic. Anyway, we left the dock a minute ahead of schedule at 7:59 and joined the southbound procession. All of the southbound boats got ‘clogged up’ at the first bridge. Then we were stuck at the second bridge as the opening was delayed by a freight train. The Great Bridge lock was exciting with 18 boats filling it completely. No one had to raft to another boat, as was apparently happening at the first Dismal Swamp lock (based on VHF announcements). 10 of the 18 were power boats and trawlers. The remaining 8 were sailboats. After the Great Bridge bridge, things thinned out since the power boats went screaming ahead while the sailboats puttered along. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice ride, arriving at Coinjock at around 4:30. We had to do a u-turn to dock against the current.

Iris had made a reservation for the night at Midway Marina as soon as she saw how many boats were waiting for the first bridge. The dockmaster told her that they’d been turning boats away at night so we’re glad we called. She’d asked for the face dock (to expedite our early departure) and they have us in a spot on the southernmost end in front of the restaurant. Great – except that we couldn’t get any wifi there. We carried the laptop to a picnic table near the marina office/store and captured weather forecasts before dinner at Crabbies. After dinner, we showered on board as the facilities on shore were less than adequate. Our plan is to leave by 7am because the forecasts isn’t the best and we want to get across Albermarle Sound as early as possible.

Up at 5:30 to get things going – however Frosty didn’t oblige and refused her food. Then we topped off our water tank, and left the dock at 7:05 after waiting for a couple of power boats and a large catamaran to pass us. Sunrise wasn’t for another 20 minutes or so and it was pretty dark. We motored, then motorsailed the remainder of Virginia Cut, almost getting pushed into the shallows by a passing powerboat. Albermarle Sound was flat despite the adverse forecast and it didn’t begin to rain in earnest until a couple of hours after we’d anchored. We expected strong south winds but were looking for protection from all directions and decided on either Deep Point (if empty) or Bear Point where we’d anchored before. The Alligator River bridge operator on duty was a pro, and she told the 4 sailboats approaching to keep on coming as she smoothly opened the bridge for us. We anchored at 2:30, once again using a trip line, albeit a shorter one. We’re hoping it doesn’t become a problem for us in the morning. The VHF airwaves were filled with group think, as one by one, several boats talked themselves into an anchorage we’d used once before. It would be great in southerly winds, but should the winds clock, they’d be open to the entire fetch of the river. By nightfall, their collective anchor lights looked like jewels across the water (or like a little city in the wildnerness ;-)). Dinner and dominoes and early to bed – we want another early start!

Heavy rain and winds kicked up at around 4:30am. Iris heard the anchor alarm and Fred went in the pouring rain to check. We’d clocked to the west but all was ok. Wondering about the gang around the bend, we turned on the VHF, but no one was talking. Back to bed. 5:30 Iris’ alarm went off but it was still pouring, so waited until Fred’s 6am beep. We were on our way by 7:15 and as far as we could tell only 2 boats were ahead of us. We motorsailed and were making 7 knots in the Pungo Canal. Our selected anchorage, Slade Creek past Belhaven, was coming up to soon – we’d be there by around noon. Our next choice was Bear Creek, which we’d get to around 3pm or so. Decision point at Slade – let’s keep going. Near Hoboken Cut, our mast was attacked by a swarm of angry looking wasps or hornets. The cloud either looked like it was going to land in our mast slot or stay with us indefinitely. We brought in the sail – but they stayed. We turned on our radar hoping to fry them, or at least discourage them, but on they came, even more furious. Fortunately, the wind picked up and they could no longer keep up. We put out a bit of the mainsail again and a couple more peeled off. Phew – that would have been unpleasant. We continued making good time and decided that Bear Creek was too early to stop. Let’s head to Broad Creek on the Neuse! Our only time there was in our ’99 trip north and we recalled that the entry seemed pretty tricky at the time without the aid of the chartplotter. We also weren’t sure of the anchorage and were in very shallow water. But this time the approach was easy and we anchored (group think?) nearby some other sailboats in not the most protected spot, but one with plenty of water and close to the entrance for an early departure. 3 dolphin accompanied us into the creek – and we’re always happy with dolphin sightings – so an nice end to a long day! Do we leave here tomorrow, go out Beaufort Inlet and head overnight to Wrightsville Beach? Or do we stay inside and face the ordeal of the stretch through Camp Lejeune over two days? Unfortunately, the coastal forecast was adverse. We’d plan on making distance tomorrow but stay inside.

Dusty had been such a pest the previous night, that Iris decided to sleep on a settee to keep peace between the cats. Getting up at 5:30, she once again was unsuccessful in getting Frosty to eat. On deck, we found thousands of little stubby flies or perhaps termites, mostly dead. They’d been attracted to the anchor light – not sure what caused their demise. We raised anchor at 7:15, followed out by a smaller boat, Spirit, who we’d passed a couple of times before. While motoring down Adams Creek canal, Fred spoke with a British boat that we had passed on each of the last 2 days, Pegasus, who was ultimately Bahamas bound. But for now they were going to stop in Beaufort to see if there was a window, or to head out. They had insurance restrictions and were going to leave their boat in Jacksonville for a couple of months while returning to UK, before continuing on to the Bahamas.

Where to stop? We set a go/nogo decision point for Swansboro. It it was after 3pm, we’d stop. If earlier, we’d try and make it through Camp LeJeune and then anchor in Mile Hammock basin. While enroute, we listened to LeJeune announcements. The target range was active and they closed the ICW at 1:00, not reopening it until 2:30. Then they only planned to keep it open an hour before closing it again. Our ETA for Swansboro was now 3:30 and with the openings/closings we opted to stop and anchor there – which was a new to us stop anyway! Our choice now was to either go into one of the two larger marinas or anchor near a fixed bridge with a fierce current. As we approached, we saw that no one was anchored in the anchorage area so we could pick our spot. We set at 4pm in fairly strong wind but the current was light at that time. Our expectation was for much more of both – and at its peak – we saw about 1.6 knots of current and 18-20knots of wind (around midnight).

After dinner, we decided to go into the cockpit in the dark of the evening and watch what there was to see. Suddenly we were under a spotlight! A sailboat came in (it was Spirit from this morning) and tried to anchor very close to us. Thankfully, they dragged and decided to move quite a bit further away. A few minutes later, a large single-handed catamaran (Ka Honu) came in and anchored across the channel. We found a free wifi signal and brought the laptop into the cockpit to do some pc work. By around 9, boats were still arriving – one anchored right near the bridge. Another sailboat with an unusual deckhouse, Actuator, anchored almost on top of us. Fred hailed them on the radio, and while not asking them to move, mentioned that we were all going to clock with the current and were expecting around 15-20 knots tonight. They didn’t respond after that, but moved a bit further shortly thereafter. We’ve never seen so many boats manuevering down the ICW and anchoring well after dark on previous trips. Is it that everyone has chartplotters and radar and trust their instruments implicitly? Don’t know, but it’s not something we’d want to make a practice of…..

We got up several times during the night to check our status with the current change and expected strengthening north wind. We left at 7:10, while it was still fairly dark, determined to get through Camp LeJeune. The catamaran, Ka Honu had already left. As we approached it, we heard them announce that they closed the waterway (at 7:30) and that it would remain closed for 2 hours. We asked in advance if we could just anchor mid-ICW and they replied that yes – that’s what all the boats did yesterday. So we slowed down a bit and were passed by a Norfolk ferry – the Carrie B. When we reached the range tower and navy patrol boat, we saw that Ka Honu was already anchored, and Carrie B was beaching herself on the shore rather than anchoring. We passed in front of her and dropped anchor right behind the catamaran – prepared to sit in the cockpit and read on this fine, sunny day. Not! Within 5 minutes the patrol boat decided that the firing range wasn’t ready to do anything, and so we were let through; they closed the ICW immediately after letting us enter and it would be closed until 11am. Phew – that was fortunate. Our next ‘obstacle’ was the Onslow Beach Swing Bridge, still on base. The 3 boats rushed to make the 10am opening. We arrived in time but the bridge tender said ” Sorry, but we’re going through our annual oil change and will be closed for awhile”. What? Annual oil change? Fred asked if it would be a long delay, intending to anchor if so, but they said it would not be very long. So Carrie B beached herself again while we and Ka Honu tooled around. But the wait was only for around 15 minutes and we were off to the races again! Carrie B dashed off ahead of us. Ka Honu stayed within sight as we rushed to the also restricted Surf City Bridge – which opened only on the hour. We weren’t going to make the 11am opening, given the adverse current. Iris saw a slight jog on the chart for the waterway ahead and asked whether putting up sail was an option. Yes! That gave us an extra knot of speed and we squeaked through on time. The stress was building. The next bridge – Figure Eight Island Bridge opens on the hour and half hour. But if we didn’t make an ‘hourly’ opening then we’d have to wait 1 1/2 hrs for the Wrightsville Beach Bridge which only opens on the hour. We tried every trick up our sleeves, but weren’t going to make the bridge – being about 7 minutes late. Ka Honu was making better time. Fred hailed the bridge tender and begged for 3 minutes – the bridge tender said sure. We and Ka Honu were the only ones who needed it anyway. But Ka Honu reached the bridge ahead of us, the bridge tender started to open it, and we still were going to be 7 minutes late. We weren’t proud – Fred begged. And the bridge tender said floor it and let us through. (Later, Marshall on Ka Honu told us he would have slowed down to hold the bridge open for us). By now our stress levels were pretty high – the day was intense and this is one of the stretches of the ICW we really hate for the reasons above. One last bridge and we didn’t want to miss it and wait another hour. Made the 4pm Wrightsville Bridge – and felt charmed for the day. We noticed Ka Honu maneuvering in reverse for some reason but didn’t think much of it. We anchored at 4:30 – exhausted. We were both depressed and felt we had to rethink how we’re doing this trip. As we did last time, we’re turning it into a forced march instead of enjoying it.

Enroute, Iris made reservations for Charleston Harbor Marina at Patriot’s Point for Tuesday and Wednesday. This would allow us to have our mail sent, and for Iris’ mother to mail our absentee ballots. And we knew we could make it to Charleston by then whether we chose to do an offshore jaunt from Southport to Winyah Bay and hang out a couple of days or work our way down the ICW. Iris continued to be upset that Frosty was spitting out her meds – expecting a seizure at any time.

We’d decided to take a day and rest in Southport – so while the cats got Iris up early, it was nice to get back into bed, make a big pancake breakfast and not rush around in the morning. Iris called Southport Marina who told her that they weren’t taking transients – the docks were all torn up and being redone and would be completed in January. Next on her list was South Harbor Village Marina – a fairly new complex whose website she’d checked out the previous night. Success – she told them we’d be there around 2pm. As we raised anchor, we motored by Actuator (see our Swansboro night) anchored nearby. We saw that he was from Pt. Arthur, TX. We waved and he hailed us on the radio. He claimed (a joke?) that he was really out of Pt. Aransas but didn’t know how to spell it! Didn’t know Rima but thought he knew the boat Concerto (another Valiant) but not the owners. The Ka Honu hailed us – he thought we were ahead of him but in fact we were about an hour behind. We’d seen him manuevering before the Wrightsville Beach Bridge – turns out the steering linkages broke on both hulls and he had to be towed to his destination marina. He was also planning on spending the night at the same marina as we were.

We had favorable current for all of the trip, with the exception of Snow’s Cut, and were even doing over 10 knots on the Cape Fear River stretch of our trip. We arrived at the marina at 1:30 and docked at the fuel dock, topping off the tanks. Ka Honu moved himself to the other side of the face dock (the transient side). Once fueled, we had to move as well, and the dockhand, along with Marshall (who we later met), helped us dock in the stiff wind and current. We asked for the end of the dock for another easy (we hoped) departure tomorrow. Tied up, we spoke w Marshall a bit – single-handing to FL from Norfolk since his wife had a family emergency. We spoke with some other boats as well, finding again that the best place to meet other southbound cruisers was when stopping in marinas (or possibly, dinghy docks in anchorages that have shoreside destinations). Iris rushed to the marina complex deli – in search of bread and whatever else she could stock up on. Not that kind of deli – more a sandwich place. While they seemed unused to her requests, they sold her a couple of loaves of bread, some chips and some cold cuts. Meanwhile, Fred had completed marina related chores and we were ready for a walk. We passed a local park which ended up with a great view of the ‘pipeline’ anchorage we’d considered as an alternative to the marina. We weren’t sure we could have gotten in there (due to water depth) except at mid-to-high tide and still aren’t sure – but the anchorage had about 8 boats, a couple of which could be considered cruising boats. It did look like a great, protected place to stop if one could get in there. More excitement on our return. A 65′ motor yacht was trying to dock on the same side of the transient dock as we were, but further in between two sailboats. The wind was getting hold of his bow and there were several near crashes as the sailboat owners stood watch trying to protect their vessels. Finally, the yacht gave up his attempt and moved to the fuel pump side of the dock – much to everyones’ relief. The restaurant in the complex, Joseph’s Italian Bistro, came highly recommended. We were also advised to come early. We got there at 5:15 and there was already a line. By the time we left the wait seemed quite long. Our meals were excellent – quite a find. Back at Windwalker, we filled the water tanks, watched cable, and did some email using the cellphone/laptop combination. Our spirits were lifted and we felt re-energized.

Dusty was a pest all night. Iris got up at 5:30 and we were off exactly at 7. We had a little trouble with the wind and current swinging our stern out while it looked like the spring line Iris was holding got jammed – but she freed it and we were on our way. Several of the boats we’d been hearing on the southbound trek were on the airwaves that day – most of them behind us. Our first, most restrictive bridge was going to be the infamous pontoon bridge – but we were able to make the 11am opening. It rained on and off and then started to pour as we approached Barefoot Landing. We’d set a goal – if we got there before 3pm we’d keep on going into the Waccamaw River. Otherwise, we’d stop at the Barefoot Landing marina and check out the shops/restaurants. But we passed the landing at 1:30 and continued on. As we cleared our last bridge, the Socastee Bridge, another sailboat that had been traveling close behind us, moved up to closer than within a boat length as we rushed towards our anchorage. He didn’t try passing or hailing us and Fred turned around and glared at him. Must have worked as he backed off. We got to the oxbow anchorage and motored through it – already filled with a few trawlers and a couple of sailboats. We dropped anchor (once again using a tripline – altho’ we were the only ones who did and we were again fearful of the consequences), dragged a bit and set. The sailboat that followed us tried anchoring in several places and ended up being closer to the ICW channel than he’d hoped. Another sailboat came in after dark and anchored between us and the next boat up, a trawler. No cell phone coverage but 3 tv stations… We went to bed, a bit concerned about the float wrapping on our prop, but not so much to keep us awake….

At 1am the anchor alarm went off – but all was ok. We turned due to current and Fred turned off the alarm. Dusty must have been tired and behaved. Iris got up at 6am, and neither of us went to check if the float was around (intentionally?) until after we’d had breakfast and were getting ready to go. Hurray – it’s still there! We raised anchor at 7:15, retrieving the float and Fred manuevered around the small sailboat (Sea Elephant) that had anchored after dark. The crew poked out their heads and Fred apologized for waking them up. They said no problem, they were already up. Right around then we ran aground, while the depth still read 9′ (as did the depth sounder on Sea Elephant). Fred tried power us out, but we were either in mud or stuck on a tree and didn’t budge. Sea Elephant offered to take one of our halyards to pull us over. Fred declined, saying that we’d likely dislodge their anchor. We were about to put our dinghy in the water to try and set a kedge anchor, when the next boat up, a trawler, yelled “Windwalker – we’re about to leave anyway – how about if we try taking a line and pulling you out!” Sure! Fred rigged a dock line with our trip line and float and threw the float to Betsy on Molly Blossom (out of South China, ME). She caught it and her husband, Martin, tried towing us out. We were turning on our keel and the trawler was getting awfully close to Sea Elephant – who decided to raise anchor and get going at once! We apologized and thanked them as they left. Now Molly Blossom had more room to manuever and Fred thought we were free, so they released our line. Nope – still hard aground and the tide going out some more. Iris said we’ll just have to wait for the tide – but they offered to try again and this time we were freed! We were grateful and thanked Molly Blossom again. On our way by 8am – we passed Sea Elephant in a little while and thanked them again as well. Based on the predicted strong north winds, Iris preferred the Minim Creek anchorage (one we’d loved on our first trip north in 1999) instead of the more exposed but equally scenic Avendaw Creek. We anchored at around 1pm – a very short day. But we had the creek to ourselves, we were able to enjoy the sunshine and sat in the cockpit while Fred read and Iris worked on the Windwalker log. The cats were allowed to roam for the first time in several days so they were happy too. An altogether pleasant and relaxing afternoon after the stresses of the morning. Obviously no wifi but a couple of tv stations and somewhat usable cell phone connection altho’ insufficient for logging on. We were also at the anchorage early enough to see how the current would turn us and to view the low tide and high tide effects.

NO alarms went off overnight and we slept fairly well. But it was bitterly cold outside (in the 40s) and only in the mid-50s below. We bundled up and Fred went up to start the engine at around 7:15. Not! Sounded like the battery was weak, so Fred ran the generator for a few minutes. No go. We contemplated options – obviously we were safe so there was no need to call for a tow or help of any kind. But would we have to reschedule the marina and stay here another day? Fred tried all the tricks he’d used back in Bristol, RI when our engine wouldn’t start. He finally got it going a little after 8 and we were underway by 8:30. As we were leaving the creek we saw a Sea Tow or Towboat US boat heading down the ICW, and saw a sign for TowboatUS on a nearby post. Not in as quite a deserted area as we thought ;-). About 30 minutes later we passed the TowboatUS boat towing a small sailboat to the north. Oh no – it was Sea Elephant – who waved as they went by. We’d noticed that their VHF radio was below decks and we didn’t want to make them go down – so didn’t hail them. They too probably had engine trouble. What a morning! We made our way towards Charleston, reaching several areas with significant shoaling. A trawler who had passed us mid-morning was hard aground as we approached the Ben Sawyer bridge area; they were being towed off by what looked like a small local boat. The trawler then passed us in what was very thin water for both of us – but all was ok. Throughout the entire day we were freezing. This was by far the coldest ‘moving’ day of our trip so far. We wore several layers of clothes, watch caps under our hoods and gloves. Hot chocolate mid-morning did only a little to warm us up.

We were anxious about current and wind for docking at the marina. We made our way up towards the Cooper River close to slack tide – but the north wind was blowing at 15-20 knots. We also noticed that the floating docks were wood, without any kind of rubrail or fenders. A docking drill as we got to the fuel dock. Then the fuel nozzle wouldn’t fit our tank opening – it was the high speed kind. So the boat in front of us had to be pulled further forward to move us to where a different hose/nozzle was located. Fred checked us in and they assigned us a spot on the transient face dock for easy manuevering. Easier said than done – we ended up on a spot further up and the dock-hand and Iris pulled the boat back to the power pedestal they wanted us at. No cable tv. What? Well the transient docks take waves and it’s hard to keep the cable going so we don’t put it out here. Wifi? That should be ok (and it is!). Iris went to collect our mail while Fred got the power hooked up. On her return, Iris was greeted by Frosty having one of her worst seizures. Scary for both cat and Iris. But at least her post-seizure hunger made Frosty take her meds!

The transient dock is quite unusual – we feel like we’re docked in the middle of Charleston Harbor. Dolphins swam by in and outside the breakwater/dock. Huge ships pass up and down the channel and there’s nothing (except the floating dock) between us and them. We have a nice view across the river, at downtown Charleston. We had dinner at the Hilton (part of the resort) and Fred began working on the mail we had waiting for us while Iris worked on the website. Tomorrow we hope to tour the carrier Yorktown – the main reason we came to this marina!

We ran the heater all night – record lows were being set as far south as FL! Despite wanting to stay tucked under the covers, Dusty insisted Iris get up at 6. Success on giving Frosty her meds – so Iris stayed up to work on the website and to check weather forecasts (not great for a passage on Thurs. to St. Mary’s river inlet). After breakfast we headed to the Patriot Point Naval and Maritime Museum – expecting to spend 3-4 hours there and come back to the boat to do some trip planning. We ended up staying there the entire day, getting back to Windwalker close to 6pm. The museum vessels are actually within the marina complex – like the marina was built around the display. We toured the WWII era vessels – Destroyer Laffey, Coast Guard Cutter Ingham, submarine Glamagore and the carrier, Yorktown. The ships had more access to interior spaces than we’d ever encountered in similar exhibits, including the engine rooms. We finished our tour viewing a WWII movie on the Yorktown – and wished that positive movies like that were made about our armed forces in Iraq. Finally, as the place was close to closing, we rushed through a replica of a Vietnam Support Base Camp. On our way back to Windwalker, we were treated to a couple of dolphins surfacing along the breakwater.

The weather doesn’t look great for an offshore passage to the GA/FL border tomorrow. As we finish the day, it looks like we’ll spend another day here, recheck the weather, and possibly head down the ICW to Beaufort, SC on Friday. We really don’t want to go south through Georgia on the ICW because of the significant shoaling that has occurred since our last trip, and will probably wait for a weather window in the Beaufort area to make the ‘jump’.

Dusty was a pest overnight. Very insecure. Last night we’d planned on staying in Charleston an extra day – however the forecast was for winds in the 25-30 knot range for Fri and Sat, and we weren’t sure we’d be able to get off our dock or out of the very exposed marina under those conditions. So move we must. At around 6am we heard engines – a boat was leaving. An hour later – more engines. This time we saw a powerboat in what looked like an impossible position – it appeared to be on the wrong side of the breakwater. Closer examination revealed that the 60 ft. sportsfishing vessel was sideways in it’s slip as it struggled to get out. Fred threw on his foulie and offered his help which was gladly taken by the 2-person crew. The wind had grabbed the boat’s stern and despite the 4000 hp engine, the captain couldn’t straighten out in the slip. Fred and one of the crew pulled the stern over and then Fred held the bowline while they powered out. What’s that going to mean for our departure with a measly 43 hp?

We had breakfast, took showers ashore and finished up the website. Slack was at 11 and we planned to wait for as close to that as possible. We loosed the lines and took off at 10:56 without incident. The current was with us and we made the Wappoo Creek bridge opening at 11:30am, arriving at Steamboat Creek Landing at 3:30. We’d stayed at this anchorage 4 years ago – but this time we were the only boat anchored and had our choice of locations. The landing was used for steamboat ferries many years ago and a very striking building remains. (We have a picture of it in our photo album from 4 years ago – no pics this time as it was very dreary and drizzly). Although there was a stiff current we allowed the kitties a brief time on deck. At dusk another boat came in and anchored closer to the entrance of the creek. We have to get an early start tomorrow morning – with a goal of getting in Beaufort downtown marina for the blow. Hopefully, the engine will start. It didn’t sound very good this morning.

Dusty was ready to get moving at 1am, but Iris got up at 5:30. It was pouring and totally dark. We were ready to go at 7 but it was too dark to see markers so we waited. Fred started the engine at 7:15 and we were on our way by 7:30 – passing the Hunter that had anchored last night. Skipper Bob had mentioned lots of shoaled areas so we took our time. At 8:30 Iris called Beaufort Downtown Marina – they could take us for one night but had boat clubs coming in for the weekend. Next she tried Lady Island Marina – full. Working down her list Iris tried Port Royal Landing Marina who could take us. They were up-front about pointing out that when the forecast winds kick up we’re going to feel it on the outside face dock and rock some. But we really had no choice and the marina sounded good. She made a reservation for two nights.

We wore our foulies all day while it rained off and on. Several powerboats and trawlers passed us and we saw no cruising boats although we heard several on the radio. As we approached the face dock they told us they had 60′ of space between two boats and recommended that we turn into the current to dock. No problems – although this ultimately put our stern towards the strong south winds that would come in the next 24 hours. The staff was extremely courteous and helpful and at check-in Iris reserved the free courtesy car for an hour on Saturday so that we could mail our absentee ballots at the post office and find our bank in order to make a deposit.

After we got ourselves set up, it was time to take a walk. We went to West Marine in search of filters for the engine (no luck at the small express store) and then on to Piggly Wiggly supermarket to top off supplies. Back at the marina and food stowed, we headed to the Back Porch grill for dinner. Very casual and most of the cruisers and liveaboards were in the bar – with lots of interesting conversations – but too smoke-filled for us and we at in the outer room. The winds started to pick up when we got back. Windwalker and the trawlers near us were pitching like crazy. Fred added more lines and adjusted the fenders. We were both quite concerned and even prepared a mini-ditch bag should we and kitties have to abandon ship. Since we were on the face dock, we had no pilings to keep us from bashing against the dock. Offshore there were gale and even storm warnings and a look at the weather showed that this massive system was affecting the entire east coast.

We had a rough night. Fred got up to check the lines about once an hour – with the winds peaking at about 2am. Meanwhile, Iris wanted to sleep in a bit in the morning but we’d left all of our alarms on which went off at 5:10, 6:15 and 6:50. We picked up our car at 10 and got to the post office. Our atm experience was less than satisfactory when we found that the machine was down. We put in a couple of gallons of gas as a thanks and stopped at the Piggly Wiggly again to buy some heavier items – too heavy to carry on the 1/2 mile plus walk. As we passed the laundry room at around 11am, it was empty – time to take advantage of it. Alas, when Iris got back with her items, the two machines were full and a 1/2 full bag remained. And to make matters worse, the washer cycle was 30 minutes long but the dryer cycle was 90 minutes! So she’ll have to make sure no one else got in there in the wash cycles. She planted herself in the closest chair, read and waited. Occasionally the ‘owner’ of the wash in progress came by and they chatted about cruising. The lady was one of 6 couples and 4 single-handers that lived aboard in the marina. They were headed south in March or so. This was one of Iris’ longest elapsed laundry times – completing her two measly washes at 3pm. Meanwhile, Fred was changing the transmission oil, as well as the fuel filter since the engine starting was difficult. He also made a sta-set X eye splice and replaced our chafed mainsail outhaul.

Finally back at Windwalker, Iris signed up for wifi at $4/24 hours, and checked on various upcoming items needing action online. Frosty was uncooperative and Iris only got a partial dose of phenobarbital into her prior to dinner. We headed back to the Back Porch Grille for another casual dinner. After dinner, Fred worked on photos for the website. Tomorrow we hope to head offshore for St. Mary’s River inlet. We wanted to bypass the undredged and shoaling ICW in Georgia – lovely as the terrain is, we didn’t want to run aground.

Unfortunately, daylight savings ended today – but not for the cats. We hoped to leave between 11am and noon, which would get us into the inlet tomorrow at dawn or so. Leisurely breakfast, passage prep, Sunday paper. Fred, antsy, got us going at 10:40. Many dolphins accompanied us as we left for sea via Port Royal Sound. Fred spoke with another cruising vessel that hailed us as we passed them – Bonnie Lass. They agreed to touch base later in the night. 2 other sailboats were behind us in the distance. After dusk we saw only two lights – Bonnie Lass had been passed by those boats as well. It was going to be a motoring passage with light and variable winds. Unfortunately, the wind was on the nose but the seas were flat. Most of the passage was uneventful. Just as Iris was to take her first watch at 8pm, Fred was dealing with a small cruise ship coming out of an inlet south of Savannah. We were on a collision course and Fred diverted to avoid the ship. However the ship changed course and then came to a complete stop. Fred hailed the ship, without a response – so we went around its stern. Suddenly the vessel resumed its way out to sea – we didn’t see any pilot get off or a pilot boat nearby. Iris took the remainder of her first watch and all 3 remaining watches were without excitement. The moon was very bright, drowning out the wonderful sky until it set.

We made our approach just before dawn and were anchored by around 8:10am. Iris closed our float plan with her mother and we sat down to breakfast. We both did post-passage chores, Iris made several doctor appointments while Frosty roamed the deck. A few other boats came in and anchored shortly after we did. Many boats were already in the large anchorage. We’d anchored here 4 years ago as well – however at that time we didn’t go ashore. Today our goal was to explore! After lunch, we put the dinghy in the water and went ashore to Cumberland Island National Seashore, at the Sea Camp Dock. The ranger took our admission fee and gave us a trail map and tips on the best route. We took the River trail towards the ruins of Dungeness – a mansion amonsgst several on the island owned previously by the Carnegie family. Along the trail we had several armadillo sightings. Other than road-kill, we hadn’t seen armadillo close-up since we lived in Austin and had one tearing up our lawns. We visited the museum outlining the history of the island and the mansions and then proceeded to follow the trails amongst the various building ruins. Next, we headed along the Dungeness Beach trail – a mix of road, boardwalk and dune trails through varied terrain (grassy wetlands, marsh and dunes) to the ocean beach. In the distance we saw the wild horses and along the trail we were greeted by wild turkeys wandering around. The beach was beautiful for walking with hard, very fine sand. We found the return Sea Dock boardwalk trail and returned to the ranger house – all in all about a 5 mile walk. In a few minutes the ranger was due to make a nature talk (primarily to a crowd of folks here on a daily ferry), so we decided to hang around. She spoke about sea turtles and what was being done in the area to preserve nesting sites. Only 2 in 2000 turtles reach adulthood so the odds were against them. We dinghied back to the boat, glad we’d gone ashore. Fierce no-see-ums drove us below. Fred crashed early as we planned to leave at sunrise.

Up again at 5:10, it took Iris over a half hour to get Frosty to eat. But we were still anchors aweigh and on our way at 6:30. Shortly thereafter, Florida at last! Dolphins everywhere along the way. We were motoring passed Fernandina Beach and approached a turn where Iris had run us aground 4 years ago. Just as we were at the location, a sailboat, Magpie, decided to pass us. Fred tried calling him on the radio saying this is not a good time to pass to no avail. Fred then yelled “I’ve got 5 feet of water here!” Magpie, up til this point oblivious to our plight, said “Come on over” and swerved to the right, continuing his pass. We were quite unhappy with him – however a few miles later he slowed down and told the bridge-tender that there were 2 sailboats behind him and he’d wait. Fred thanks him on the radio, but once again got no response. He and the other sailboat, Southwind, turned west when we got to St. John’s River, headed towards Jacksonville. We crossed the river and continued to our destination anchorage, passing a Valiant 42 named Sahara out of St. Simon’s Island docked at a marina. (Iris wasn’t able to find the boat in the Valiant database.) Pine Island anchorage included vistas of wooded marshes surrounded by salt grasses. We were anchored, pleasantly alone, at 2:30. Not! Ten minutes later two trawlers came in. By evening there were 3 sailboats and 3 or 4 trawlers. But there was plenty of room, although the current and wind opposed each other and the boat motions were squirrely. We relaxed during the afternoon doing reading and trip planning, took showers and played dominoes after dinner. Frosty, meanwhile, had a rough day with a few partial seizures. A quiet Halloween….

Cat mayhem got Iris up at 5am. She tried to return to sleep but stayed up after 7. Fred slept in and then We had a pleasant late breakfast and Fred worked on greasing a squeaky winch while the generator ran. It was time to explore Pulpit Harbor. We dinghied to the town dock and then walked to North Haven. While our older cruising guide and friends had talked about the beautiful walking on country roads – perhaps the information was old. The roads were pretty – however the car traffic flew by at 40-50 mph without any shoulders on the roads. It was about a 3mi walk into the village of North Haven. Too early for lunch and the prospective lobster dinner restaurant Iris was searching for didn’t pan out – the only ‘lobster’ place was closed for the week. We headed back to Pulpit Harbor – stopping at the North Haven Grocery for a few small items and lunch. Fred tried some blueberry coffee and really enjoyed it! Incidentally, the grocery has free wi-fi – but we didn’t have our laptop with us.

Back at the boat, the forecast for the next couple of days wasn’t pretty – remnants of tropical storm Ernesto were due to pass over the area after making a mess of the mid-atlantic coast. We needed a secure anchorage in which to spend the next couple of days. Holbrook Island Harbor (near Castine) would be it. We left Pulpit Harbor around 1:15 and were anchored at Holbrook in about 17′ (MLW) at 4pm. We were the only ones in the small cove – altho’ we knew the situation would change over labor day weekend 😉 Dinner in the cockpit was lovely, marred slightly by the appearance of pesky mosquitos. We went below at dusk and ran the generator while cleaning up from dinner. When Fred went up to set our anchor light, he found that another sailboat slipped ahead of us in the cove – anchored almost at the shoreline. We ran our heater and the cabin felt toasty – however 40s were predicted for the night!

The winds were calm – Ernesto hadn’t arrived yet. Any exploring would have to be done this morning, we think. We slept in and had a large breakfast and dinghied to the rock strewn shore at 10. This was another harbor that we’d visited in 1999 but didn’t explore. This time we hiked to the Holbrook Island Sanctuary headquarters and got a trailmap. The tall fir and spruce trees were beautiful as were the views of the harbor. The trails went through pastures, ruins of old estates, family cemetaries from the mid 1800s, and around a pond created by a beaver dam. The latter trail, not surprisingly, was a wet one and Iris’ Teva sandals were mud-caked by the time we left the trail. At the beach we noticed that the boat that came in last night (a local one) was replaced by a couple of other sailboats. We returned to Windwalker for lunch. Meanwhile several other boats came in during the afternoon, anchoring throughout the harbor. The forecast is full of mixed-messages with small craft warnings, high seas on the coast, high winds for tonight and tomorrow. Fog. We decide to go for a ‘last’ dinghy ride for views of nearby Castine and around Ram Island – a small island in the harbor. Then we prepared for ‘sea’ by putting both the outboard and the dinghy back aboard Windwalker. If we go anywhere tomorrow, we don’t want to be trailing the dink behind us. As we brought up the dinghy we noticed that it had deflated quite a bit after our long ride. There is a slow leak somewhere but the boat had stayed inflated for almost a week without adding air. Something about the long, fast planing ride hastened the leak (or did we cut the boat somewhere on the sharp rocks?). We prepared ourselves for a rough night….

The winds were from the east, as predicted. We had a quick breakfast and raised anchor at 8am. We’ve found so far on this trip, that our best sailing has been on days with small craft warnings and today was no exception. We had a 40 mile day ahead of us and were able to sail most of the way to the St. George River, doing 7-8 knots for much of the way! The winds were gusty however, and the autopilot wasn’t handling them well enough so Fred took on hand-steering. Good thing as the pot floats became thicker and thicker. By the time we reached the approach to St. George River it wasn’t clear how to even get through the maze. Fred’s video-gaming steadiness brought us through unscathed! Our selected anchorage, Maple Juice Cove, was more exposed to the east than we’d like, so we selected Turkey Cove immediately across from it, and anchored at around 2:30pm just as the drizzle from Ernesto began. There were a few homes hidden on the shore. We set anchor near a small (15′) sailboat on a mooring. A person (owner?) on shore watched as we anchored. We were close, but not in danger of hitting the boat; it probably looked bad from shore, however. Other than that we had the sheltered cove to ourselves. It began to rain on and off and we stayed below-decks.

During dinner we heard an engine – a small powerboat must have circled us (perhaps to make sure we weren’t near the other boat?). He landed on a mooring near the house dock and dinghied ashore. By late evening it was pouring. The heaviest rain wouldn’t come until the middle of the night.

Rain it did, accompanied by gusty winds. However our anchor was set well and we slept well until the anchor alarm went off at 5am. Pea soup fog and we’d turned to the west. No problem with our anchor and we weren’t dragging. By 7am the fog was still thick. The forecast was for west winds – on the nose for us if we were to go to Boothbay. But the winds were forecast to be light and if the fog lifted, there was no reason to stay. We waited and by around 8:30 the cloud ceiling had risen, altho’ it was still a gray day. We left at 9:30 – it was only going to be a 20 mile day. The pot slalom continued as we motor-sailed towards Boothbay. While we had a few choices of marinas, we were opting for a mooring at Tugboat Inn and Marina – where we’d stayed 3 times previously. Iris called and reserved a spot when we were a couple of hours away. In 1999 a post-labor day mooring was $15, in 2002 $18 and now $20/day. We like the Tugboat Inn because it’s only a 1/2 block from our favorite lobster place as well as the village. We got in at 12:30, put the dink in the water and had lunch aboard. At 1:30 we went in to settle with the dockmaster, take showers, check email (in the hotel lobby). While we’d planned to return to the boat first, we opted to head into the village. Within minutes (this has happened on our previous trips here) – we purchased our $5 t-shirts, went to the shoe outlet for Tevas for both of us (25% off since Labor Day is the end of season here), checked out the village grocery, candy store and Sherman’s Book Store where we spent quite awhile browsing its excellent selection. We love it in Boothbay and it seems to be the only place we end up splurging too 😉 The vendors all seemed to have had a good season, altho’ Labor Day weekend was a semi-bust due to the Ernesto forecast.

We returned to the boat just before a brief down-pour. It looked like Frosty had a grand-mal seizure. She’d had a mild one in the morning and was to have another one around mid-night. Not great. We headed back ashore for an early dinner at Kalers (another ritual) and icecream. Iris asked the waitress at Kaler’s about free wi-fi. She told us where to find the library and two coffee shops and we headed there after our dessert to make sure we knew where they were. Maybe we’ll bring the laptop in for breakfast tomorrow.

After we returned to Windwalker, Iris pulled out the pc to see if she could get any wi-fi connections from the boat. There were a few with almost usable connections, Perhaps putting the laptop in the cockpit in the morning will be more fruitful!

Up early, Iris brought the pc into the cockpit. A useable connection!!! We quickly did some banking and correspondence and then brought the pc back down. Website and other stuff can happen later. Let’s go in for a breakfast of blueberry pancakes with Maine maple syrup. Yum! Then back to the boat for generator run, housekeeping, website work and engine and transmission oil-changes. Plans for the afternoon including a longer walk to play miniature golf and of course, another lobster dinner. Tomorrow we have a 23 mi day to get to Snow anchorage further southwestward. It’s time we start heading towards our dr. appointment in NYC on 9/18…

No miniature golf – this may have been true on our last trip here as well, but our miniature golf place had been converted to doctors’ offices. We walked back and along the other side of the harbor to see if there was another dinner spot we preferred to Kaler’s. We’d tried several before and they were still there – but not worth the walk. On our way back to Windwalker we made stops at Sherman’s bookstore again as well as the Village Market. At the boat we updated the website and then went back ashore for our lobster dinner

The cats got Iris up at their normal hour. After a big breakfast we dinghied ashore for showers, returned to the boat and prepared for ‘sea’. Our first stop was Carousel Marina for fuel and water. We got there but Brian, managing the docks, was tied up moving boats around in the marina – so we docked and waited. Fred filled the water tanks and Brian showed up. As we fueled up, we had an interesting conversation about local politics, what winters were like, and life in a small town in general. Brian had been the chef at the restaurant at the Carousel but was glad he was no longer in food service.

We got away from the Carousel at around 10:30am motoring towards The Basin. Three sailboats were ahead of us – two kept on going and the one we passed turned in towards New Meadows River as we did. However while we motored towards The Basin, it looked like they were headed to Snow Island – but not on the course we’d expect. Perhaps they encountered rocks for they came to a sudden stop, turned in place for awhile, and finally headed along the same course we were following, entering The Basin about 10 minutes after we’d anchored. We had a very peaceful evening and night. By nightfall there were about 7 other cruising sailboats in the anchorage. None of us ran generators and the only sounds were of lobster boat engines headed up the New Meadows River.

Since we’d decided to head to Provincetown, there was no point in heading out early. Our planned departure was for 2pm to arrive in P-town around 9am the following morning. A leisurely breakfast was followed by passage prep and some naps. All the other boats had departed The Basin by 9am or so. We had dinner at lunchtime so that a light dinner would suffice during the passage.

Anchor up at 2pm and off we went, motoring and then raising our mainsail. After supper, we were engulfed in dense fog at around 7:30pm. While radar helped, visibility was nill as we passed targets in the night. A full moon made the fog an eery light color and we got occasional glimpses of the moon when looking upward.

By 1:30am the fog lifted. Iris had a close encounter with a fishing vessel (close being around 1.5 mi ;-)). But when she saw 3 targets closing in quickly, she awoke Fred an hour early, much to his unhappiness. Two of the vessels (either container ships or very large fishing vessels) passed safely in front of us. However, the third vessel, something with a derrick on it, was traveling at about 20 knots. We were not in a channel and had the right of way. When he got within two miles of us, Fred decided to change course radically and turned left to avoid collision. The vessel passed within a 1/2 mile as it charged on its way.

At around 6:30am we were crossing Stellwagen Bank – famous for being a whale hang-out. We saw lots of whales – however our photography was far from successful. Based on the size and motions of the whales, we think they were Minke. As we rounded Provincetown (noting that the Race Pt buoy no longer existed) and passed several boats fishing (and probably chumming), Iris saw a very large ‘fish’ turn on it’s side to escape collision with Windwalker. Her first reaction was that it was a dolphin – but no – that tail sure looked like a shark and it’s entire length was about 10 feet with grey on top and white on it’s bottom. If we snag a pot – neither of us is going in the water here!

We hailed Provincetown Moorings and were on our spot at 9am. They told us that we couldn’t get a launch until noon. Fine with us – we need to sleep! After lunch we took the launch into town to check-in. Our goal for the afternoon was to walk to the mile-long breakwater, walk across it to the beach, then return to town for dinner. We got there alright – but Iris absolutely hates rock-hopping – lacking balance. She was land-sick on top of it and just standing was difficult. About 1/2 way across, complaining all the way, she suggested that Fred just go on ahead and she’d wait right there on the rocks. He declined and we made our way back. If you won’t do the breakwater, will you climb the tower? Sure! But then we got the bright idea that surely we could walk to the beach since we saw cars driving on it. So we followed the road along the ‘moor’. Fred saw a huge vegetation covered dune that he wanted us to scale. He was determined to have an adventure. He charged up the sand mountain, Iris went up a bit and turned around – there wasn’t going to be any way to the beach from there. So she continued along the road while Fred did his thing. Aha – a trailhead. There were hundreds of bicycles attached to a fence. A path to the beach at last! Iris waited for Fred to catch up and we headed along the path ‘to the sea’. We followed a few men who were ahead of us. We all were wading in the watery paths between the moor grasses, hoping there wasn’t any quicksand. Far ahead we saw more men walking as couples or singles heading to or from the elusive beach. There were dunes to scale ahead as well. Neither of us wanted to wade deeper than knee deep as we were wearing our dinner attire. We asked a couple of guys returning, whether there was another way to the beach. They said they didn’t think so and that it would get deeper up ahead. Time to turn around!

As we waddled back through the water we acknowledged that 1) all the people walking towards the beach were males, mostly single, 2) we were in Provincetown, 3) perhaps we wouldn’t have been welcome at that beach nor been comfortable there after all. But we were still determined to reach the water and continued up the road into Province Land part of Cape Cod National Seashore. Beach at last! The road ended at a bike trail and parking lot with bath house and beach. We walked amongst families enjoying the late afternoon, walked in the water a bit, then rinsed our feet for the hike back to town.

More stops as we enjoyed cold drinks, went through a small bookstore, visited the army/navy store where Fred bought a backpack and a few marine items. Finally – our lobster dinner at Townsend Lobster. Turns out that the launch guy (who recommended the place last time and who remembered us this time) is the father of the owner! We topped off dinner with ice cream and then took the launch back to Windwalker – feeling the over 7 miles that we’d walked on our adventures.

We had a quiet night on our mooring and left Provincetown at 9, headed for the Cape Cod Canal. With the favorable current we made 8 1/2 to 10 knots. Our progress was made uncomfortable by the wind against current which resulted in steep little wavelets that had a period badly timed for Windwalker. We were still steaming ahead at 9 knots when the right turn was coming up for Onset. How in the world are we going to make the turn? We figured we’d try and if unsuccessful, may have to ride the current passed Onset, turn around and try again against the current. But Fred gunned the engine and we made the turn into the channel, only to encounter a large (eg 45′) sailboat under sail tacking out the channel. Boats were veering right and left to avoid collision – and struggling to stay in the narrow channel while the guy played macho sailor. Fred yelled ‘get a motor’ and the guy thanked us for the advice 🙂 We anchored by 2pm, close to where we’d been a few weeks earlier. Iris checked phone messages. Oh no! Most of our trip had been scheduled around being in NYC for a dr. appointment on 9/18. We had a message saying the appointment had to be rescheduled. But it was Sat. afternoon and there was nothing we could do about it until Monday. Had we known earlier, we may have stayed in Maine longer, despite Ernesto.

Where to go tomorrow? Jamestown, RI – not great in the forecast NE winds. Newport would be better but we’re tired of it. Bristol is close to Fred’s sister, Kathie – but 15 miles further. No matter which we select, we have to be out of there around 6am to take advantage of slack current.

We both got up early since we hoped to depart at 6:30. But it was more like 7:15 when Iris finished cleaning the chain – the cement-like mud was stuck in each link. Fred had no idea what was taking so long and was frustrated when 3 other boats raised anchor and were on their way while Iris struggled on the bow. But we didn’t want to head out into the channel until all was secured as Fred anticipated a maelstrom at the entrance. Our fears were unwarranted as the current was still fairly mild and our turn to the west was without mishap.

We were able to sail most of the way to Narragansett Bay, although we weren’t making as good time as we hoped to. As we passed Newport Harbor, we also passed a blue-hulled Valiant 40 hull number 263 named Southern Cross. VHF Channel 16 had a stuck mike so if they were trying to hail us we weren’t able to receive it. At around 2pm we decided that we’d keep on trying for Bristol. We passed Jamestown (Conanicut Marina) and went under the Newport Bridge and were almost at Prudence Island when we decided we wouldn’t get to Bristol until after 6, we wouldn’t be able to relax and have a Sunday paper. Let’s abort and head back to Jamestown. So we did an about face and rode the current back. We were on a mooring at 3:30. The launch took us ashore where we checked-in, took a walk around town to see what was new since we were last there 4 yrs ago, took showers in the remodeled and improved bathrooms, and had dinner out at Chopmist Charlie’s. We spent a rocky evening pitching from the NE winds (we expected that) but read our newspaper and watched tv. When we checked in, we made reservations for Wed and Thurs night moorings so that we could attend the Newport International Boatshow on Thursday.

The NE winds were up and conditions were pretty rough. We hailed the marina and told them we were leaving and that we’d pick up our receipt on our return on Wed. Prior to leaving the mooring, Fred juggled and rescheduled his doctor appointment to September 20th. Iris called our UPS store to have our mail shipped to Jamestown. We got underway a little after 9am headed to Bristol, RI. We motored against the wind in steep chop – sure hope Bristol is as sheltered as we expect it to be. Bristol Yacht Club could accomodate us and their launch led us to our mooring. The mooring field is huge and from a distance it looked like there couldn’t be any room for another boat. But up close the spacing between boats was more than adequate and we didn’t feel cramped. The wind was fairly strong from the NE but there wasn’t any chop and we felt well secured for the passage of Ernesto. Iris called Brewers Capri Marina in Manhasset for reservations for 9/18-22. The person said one had to email or fax in a form and that reservations couldn’t be made on the phone. Just great…. email us the form then. We’ll need to plan how to get to Manhasset by leaving on Friday. We wanted to find places where we could anchor out instead of being forced to take a slip or a mooring ball. Let’s work on it later – time to ‘play’.

We took the yacht club launch (Bristol Yacht Club doesn’t require yacht club memberships in order to rent a mooring to transients) to the clubhouse to check-in. Close by was Colt State Park. The park had a mixture of woodland and waterside paths and trails and we put in about 5 or 6 miles before returning to the yacht club and launch. It was sunny and the winds had abated somewhat and we spent a pleasant late afternoon in the cockpit. We made arrangements to meet Kathie and Ro in Bristol at 4pm tomorrow. We’ll play tourist during the day! When Iris logged on she still hadn’t received the reservation form from Brewers, so she found their website and sent an email with her request to the general information email address.

When Iris checked email in the morning, she saw the reservation form – she emailed that in (sans the required credit card info) and then called to see if they’d received it. The general manager said that he’d already responded to her original email and that our reservation was confirmed. One less thing to worry about – now all we have to do is get there! We’d been told that the yacht club was hosting the North American championship of “A” boat catamarans. Around 35 boats streaked by us as they headed to their racing location.

We had the launch drop us off at the Bristol town dock at around 10:30. Our first stop was the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. museum – where we spent over 3 hours viewing the displays, movie, and vessels of this fine American boat-builder team of two brothers. We fit in a self-guided tour of the Linden House on our way to meet Kathie and Ro. The house, built in around 1804, had been owned by the same family for 7 generations. All the furnishings were original – and family names included Colt (as in the park yesterday), DeWolfe, Barrymore (Ethel was married to one of the family members). We met Kathie and Ro at the waterfront and then had a casual dinner at Leo’s Italian restaurant. We felt pressure to return to the yacht club before 7. The launch folks had said they’d run the launch until 7:30 but if we missed it – how were we to get back to Windwalker. And Frosty needed her meds!

Kathie and Ro dropped us off at the club house as we rushed down to the dock. Nope – no one in the launch office (but it was unlocked) and both launch boats were tied at the dock. We asked a person nearby whether the launch was still running and he said “they’re gone for the night – they stopped at 7pm”. It was about 7:05 and we were pretty anxious. We used the VHF radio to call the launch and yeah!, someone replied and said they’d be right down. Around 10 minutes later the launch driver showed up and took us back to the boat. The winds had entirely died down but the evening was quite chilly. Tomorrow – back to Jamestown.

We took it easy getting ready for departure because we didn’t want to get back to Jamestown too early. On the other hand this was to be our chore day there – doing laundry and some provisioning. At 9:30 Fred said he’d start the engine. All was ready. Not quite – the engine wouldn’t start! What now? Fred tried all his techniques to purge air. He purged the injectors, pumped the lift pump. No go – it didn’t even fire. Around noon Iris called the yacht club to say that we were having some problems and could we stay on the mooring until we could get it going? No problem. She also gave us the name and number of a local diesel mechanic. We’d worried about the fuel from Havre de Grace and hadn’t really been using the larger of our two tanks while in Maine. Fred had switched to that tank when in Onset. The fuel in the Dahl filter looked awfully dark. We’d never had contaminated fuel before but this didn’t look good. Time to turn the boat upside down (more like the v-berth) to dig out a new filter and switch back to the ‘good’ fuel. We’d also run the generator to charge up the battery bank. After changing Dahl and secondary filters, checking the airflow through the turbo, purging air from every accessible tap, Fred tried again – each time with the sea water thru-hull closed so that we wouldn’t flood the engine. No joy. We’re stuck. Iris asked that Fred try the lift pump technique again. She cranked the engine in the cockpit with throttle wide open while he manually worked the lift pump below with the priming pump going full bore and lo and behold we had ignition! The engine sounded like it was about to take off before Iris turned back the throttle and Fred dashed below to open the thru-hull. Time to get going (now 2:30). We were able to ride the current and were on a mooring at 4:15. Iris already had her laundry and lists ready so we took the launch in, did 3 loads of laundry and while waiting, Iris provisioned at McQuade’s market next door. Laundry and food stuff crammed into canvas bags, we trudged back the several blocks towards the docks, stopping along the way for a pizza dinner and ice cream. Amazingly enough we were back at the boat for Frosty’s 7pm meds. Fred spent the rest of the evening working on bill paying while Iris stowed everything. What a day!

Newport International Boatshow day. We took the launch ashore at around 8:20, purchased round-trip Jamestown-Newport Ferry tickets and walked around. The ferry left promptly at 9am however when we got to Bowen’s Wharf landing there was a huge motoryacht blocking the ferry’s spot. The crew made a couple attempts to tie up the ferry however the passengers were going to have a difficult time getting off. So they moved to a municipal dock to let us debark and told us to check when we returned to see which dock they were using. We really didn’t want to miss the last ferry back to Jamestown (6:20pm). Next stop was the boatshow ticket line. The show opening time was 10am and many of us wanted to use credit cards for our tickets. Their computers were having problems, however, and it was a little after opening before they could handle ticketing for credit cards. Opening day shake-out. Last night we’d decided that we really needed to purchase the C-Map/NT electronic chart for the NY/LI Sound/Hudson area. It’s the only chart we didn’t have from the Canada border down through the Caribbean. Our paper charts plus gps would have been adequate but the weather forecast for Fri/Sat was for fog. And if we had to do the trip to NY as an overnight it would simplify things. So our first stop at the show was the C-Map booth. The guy there couldn’t even identify the appropriate chart for our (older) NT+ format and referred us to the Bluewater Books/Armchair Sailor booth. We tried a few other vendors first who sell the chart but couldn’t burn the cartridge at the show. Bluewater, however, gave us a show discount and burned the cartridge on the spot. Our mission for the show was accomplished. Now time to make plans to meet Ed and Nancy of Syzygy – friends we’d met on our first and second trips down island. We made a date to meet at the Red Parrot at 12:30. Time to checkout the booths and boats! Always fun, especially when one doesn’t particulary need anything.
Then off to the restaurant where we caught up on the cruising plans of Syzygy, and their friends Gayle and Steve. Both couples were going to send their boats to USVI from Newport via Dockwise transport in mid October. Ed and Nancy have done this a few times now and have been quite satisfied with the process – not having to look for additional crew nor have the wear and tear on their boat.

Rain was in the forecast and rain it did. During lunch it started to pour, and continued to do so for the remainder of the afternoon. We had done most of the booths, and while we went aboard a couple of more boats we were reluctant to go below and drip on all the fine furnishings and wood. We made a second pass through a couple of tents to inquire about FL and Bahamas boat insurance. BoatUS folks didn’t have an insurance person in theirs (altho’ we’re pretty sure they cover it), several others said if you’re a FL resident and have insurance be happy because we’re not covering FL any more. NBOA said they still wrote policies for FL and Bahamas. All painted bleak pictures. Sounds like we’ll have another round of insurance woes before heading to the Bahamas in the winter/spring!

Enough of this. We opted to take the 4:30pm ferry back (still leaving from the municipal dock), rushed to the Conanicut Marina chandlery for a gallon of oil for the engine, and waited for the launch. And waited. And waited. There were several of us waiting under a gazebo. Oh no! One of the launches was being towed by the pump-out boat. And the other one was over working in Newport for some reason. While waiting, we struck up a conversation with a couple who had a Cape Dory 24 (?) – bad on names – her name was Kate) who wanted to move up to a Valiant. Fred invited them to see Windwalker (much to Iris’ chagrine as the boat was a total mess!). The launch dropped the 4 of us off and we gave them a tour of our boat and talked Valiants. After they caught the launch to their boat, we had dinner and did trip planning – all contingent on the weather.

So are we going to take fuel or not? We decided to keep our small tank full since that didn’t have the suspect fuel. The fuel dock was supposed to open at 8 so we headed over there right away. Fred called the marina on the VHF and they said they’d be there in a few minutes – so we docked and waited for them to open. While we were there, Iris got rid of remaining trash and we also filled our water tanks. All set for a few days before heading to a marina, we departed Jamestown at around 8:50. As we were once again sailing during a small-craft warning kind of day with favorable wind direction, we had great sailing on a broad reach and exceeding Fred’s 6 knot planning number. The only negative was that it poured the entire way and it was very clammy as well. Not so nice. We got to the Stonington area (1st potential stop) too early – let’s keep going. Next possibility was East Bay on Fisher Island but it was also too early and too exposed. Iris had called two places on the Thames River in New London. Thamesport Marina had moorings but no launch and to pay the $40 we’d have to pull up to their fuel dock at 8am tomorrow. Burr’s Marina also had moorings ($1.35/ft – very unusual). But when she asked about a mooring for tonight the guy said no way – we’re closing in 5 minutes (this was at 2pm). OK – here’s Iris’ proposal – Reed’s says that Greens Harbor is also an anchorage. So let’s go to New London and if we can’t find an anchoring spot we can always rent a mooring from Thamesport. A plan! Rain and thunder as we entered the Thames River. We anchored at 3:30 in 20′ between two empty moorings and got a good set on the anchor. We went below to dry ourselves out as well as the paper chart-pack which collected water because it was enclosed in a plastic envelope with a broken zipper. We dried off the individual pages with paper towels and the ink and paper quality was excellent. The ink didn’t run and the paper didn’t swell. We discussed options for tomorrow. We made about 41 miles today. Fred suggested that we try for Milford, a 49 mile hop. We can stay at their very nice municipal marina (see Windwalker Voyage 1), have dinner and ice cream out. Get a Sunday paper on Sunday morning. Sounded good to Iris!

It didn’t seem to rain overnight and we had a pretty calm night with the occasional wake from a passing ferry or ship, as this is a commercial river. We got up early, had breakfast and were on our way in sunshine before 8am, heading to Milford. We had less than 5 knots from behind and had to motor sail. At 9:30, we figured we’d call ahead and make a reservation. This was a Saturday, however it was also the first day of their off-season. What a disappointment – they were full. And not only they but the adjoining marinas as well – filled with a yacht club trip by the Mt. Sinai (NY) yacht club. Forget Milford, where else can we go? How about Pt. Jefferson – about the same distance, 53 miles instead of 49. We changed course and motored all day in flat seas with little traffic. Pt. Jefferson has 2 or 3 possible anchorage areas and if they didn’t work, we could pick up a mooring from Pt. Jeff Launch. Upon entering the harbor we could see one of the anchoring areas near the entrance – quite near the channel (and ferry traffic). We opted for the Old Field Beach anchorage – with entry via a narrow channel (altho’ the area must have been dredged – the depths were far deeper than charts would indicate). The convention seemed to be moorings on portside, anchoring on starboard side of the channel. It was an area that could have accomodated many more boats and was quite protected. There were no ferry wakes, no wind and the only motion was caused by the dinghies streaming by. Lots of folks were having fun and it seemed like a nice weekend hang-out for locals and cruisers alike. We enjoyed a very pleasant evening, eating dinner in the cockpit.

A very pretty sunrise was enhanced by the calm waters. So do we stay here another day and explore Pt. Jefferson and make it a longer day to Manhasset on Monday or leave? Let’s leave so we can check out yet another anchorage as well as get to Manhasset early on Monday. It was an absolutely beautiful day with warm temps, but unfortunately, no wind. So we motor-sailed, zig-zagging amongst tons of power boats out fishing for the day. We anchored in West Harbor at around 2:15 and lounged in the cockpit with temps in the 80s. Should we swim? Nah. We anchored far away from others, pretty much in the middle of the harbor. Privacy yes. Wakes yes. Every boat entering or leaving decided to do so at full-speed. Fred was starting to get sea-sick. Iris worked on the website and was also pleased to have a wifi connection. It was pleasurable to have another dinner in the cockpit. And after dinner the traffic died down and the anchorage was calm except for the occasional speed-boat. We played dominoes and decided we’d plan to arrive at the Brewer’s marina a little after noon tomorrow.

No need to leave early. But do we want to stop and the fuel dock and top-off our ‘good’ tank and get a pump-out prior to going in the slip? The timing seemed to be right for passage through Hell-gate and the East River for Friday morning and that wouldn’t allow us to get fuel then. Let’s do it. We heard a sailboat trying to reach the fuel dock on channel 16 without success. Our cruising guide said they monitor 9 and 71. We tried both and reached them on 71. Someone would be with us a in a few minutes. We were about to dock ourselves when the dockmaster arrived and helped us secure. No pump-out, it’s broken. Oh. Fuel was good though altho’ we’d hit a new record for high price. Oil and gas prices have been dropping in the last week but apparently not here! We were charged $3.80/gal and they were asking around $4.29 for gasoline. What a rip-off. We also paid for our 4-night stay and made our way over to our assigned slip. Nice floating docks although either Iris broke our cable TV hookup or the pedestal didn’t work. The dockmaster shrugged and pretty much said it may or may not be working. Oh well. We checked out the facilities – laundry room had 2 washers/2 dryers – none in use. Showers were clean but inconveniently layed out. We made arrangement to meet Iris’ mother at 4:30 and we rushed to clean up the boat a bit and to take showers as well. We had a nice dinner with Iris’ mom and Fred installed DSL on her computer. We logged on and weren’t happy to hear that Hurricane Helene would most likely result in big swells on the weekend. Not great for a passage from NJ to Delaware Bay. We’ll have to keep watching weather developments. We’re glad we weren’t headed through the East River today through Wed. The UN General Assembly meeting with President Bush as well as many country heads of state was playing havoc with traffic on land and sea. Our Sprint cell-phone signal wasn’t sufficient to do email on the boat nor were there any ‘free’ wi-fi connections. We’ll have to do our online work at Lilly’s house.

To us, marinas are work stops. Today was to be a work day. Iris made arrangement for her mother to pick her up and drop her off at a laundromat. While she did the equivalent of 10 loads of laundry (rugs, comforter, sheets, towels- all heavy/bulky stuff), Fred changed the oil, and did quite a few maintenance tasks. Iris and Lilly went in search of a few other things Iris wanted to get and then Lilly dropped Iris off at the marina with her loads of laundry and packages. Time to get to work scrubbing areas the cats had really messed up, wiping mildewed areas with vinegar water, vacuuming and putting our slip-covers, rugs and bedding back on. We also ran the air-conditioner to dry things up some more. The boat actually felt dry and smelled a lot better!

Dinner with Lilly at Fish-Kebob. The early-bird specials include lobster and that’s what why we went there. Best price of our trip, however the lobster itself was so-so when compared with Maine or Provincetown (proclaimed the best of our recent experiences). But with hummus and greek bread, large greek salads, vegetables and bulgar pilaf all included with the $15 meals, we were happy! We visited with Lilly and made plans to meet in the morning. Iris’s mom was kindly going to give us a lift to the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) train station so we could catch the 9:11 train in the morning and connect with the subway to take us to Fred’s dr. appointment. A productive day, albeit a slightly drizzly one.

Lilly picked us up at the marina promptly at 8:30 and dropped us off at the LIRR station. We purchased round-trip tickets to the Woodside Station in Queens where we could change for the subways. We’d never tried going this way before – previously heading into Penn Station and taking buses to the east side. But Woodside worked out perfectly and we were able to get into the city and to our subway stop in 50 minutes! We had a great doctor’s visit and then went in search of a place to have lunch. It was 11:45am and we were amazed that many of our favorites weren’t open yet. A couple of spots said they’d open at noon; others clearly weren’t going to open until dinner. We ended up in Cinema Cafe a couple of blocks from where we’d started. Next on our schedule was a visit to the Whitney Museum of American Art. It had always been closed on days we were in the city. We enjoyed the Hopper exhibit but were disappointed to see that one of the floors was closed for a new exhibit development and we didn’t like the rest of the materials.

We reversed our tracks (sic) and made it back to Manhasset by 4:05 – very pleased with our train connections. We borrowed Lilly’s car to get a head start on our provisioning – focusing on the non-perishable items at Stop and Shop. The car was filled to the brim when we got back to Lilly’s place for dinner. We got back to the boat fairly late and Iris stowed the items until after midnight.

Iris got up early to continue stowing. It’s Fred’s birthday – but he decided to go along with Iris and help with the provisioning. Since we had access to the car we were going to do the major provisioning for our return trip – with the opportunity to ‘top’ things off ahead in Baltimore. We sent to Stop and Shop and King Kullen and West Marine – once again filling the car to the brim and returning to Windwalker around 11:30. Removing packaging and preparing items for stowing as well as actually stowing took a another couple of hours and we didn’t get to Iris’ mom’s apartment until mid-afternoon. Iris planned to do a last load of laundry that evening but we decided to do it at Lilly’s complex instead. Fred uploaded the website while Iris started the wash and Lilly and Iris went to Whole Foods for frozen fish and a birthday dessert! Iris cooked the standing rib roast – Fred’s traditional birthday dish, when we got back to the apartment. We had a pleasant evening and Lilly got us back to the boat by 9pm. We had to do some passage prep for our departure early in the morning. The weather forecast still looks like we won’t be able to do the passage to the Chesapeake until Mon/Tues. But the current and weather is perfect for getting through the East River tomorrow morning. Then we’ll wait it out at either Atlantic Highlands, NJ or Great Kills, Staten Island – neither of which we’ve been to before!

Showers ashore or not? Since we had time and were up early, we took advantage of a last hot shower, at least for several days! By 8:15 we were underway and motoring towards the East River and Hell Gate. Hell Gate, just west of the Triborough Bridge, is notorious when at peak current – with waters from the East River, LI Sound and Harlem River. For a vessel our size, it’s only safe to go through at slack current. We’d done it previously in the opposite direction. As we went under the Throggs Neck and Whitestone Bridges, we ‘collected’ other sailboats and a trawler all headed the same way. On the VHF we heard the Coast Guard hailing a motoryacht and telling them that they’d have to pass east of Roosevelt Island. (This was due to security for the UN General Assembly Meeting). There’s a bridge on the east side of Roosevelt Island and we’d planned on passing on the west side. “Voyager”, a sailboat, then hailed the Coast Guard and confirmed that everyone had to go on the east side. He was told that the bridge was going up every 10 minutes or so. Not a problem as long as we were in slack but if we had to wait very long it would be impossible to deal with the 4-6 knots of current in that area. We’d checked the notices to mariners last night and there was no mention of the restrictions. When we approached Roosevelt Island we saw Coast Guard and NYC Police vessels blocking the west channel. Fred hailed the Roosevelt Island Draw Bridge who told us to hurry up and catch up to a large ketch in front of us if we wanted to make the next opening. Fred replied that we were moving as fast as we could and we managed to get through with the other boat.

After that, we had an uneventful passage down the remainder of the East River and motored on to Atlantic Highlands. The mooring field was large and the convention in the harbor seemed to be anchoring on one side of the channel and moorings on the other at the harbor entry. But we saw a ‘hole’ between two of the first moorings and promptly grabbed it – anchoring with a good set. It better be because we plan to sit through a frontal passage there! The forecast is remaining constant – between the expected front and large ocean swells from Ernesto, Monday seems like a go. We’d overheard two slightly smaller sailboats heading offshore at around 3pm that afternoon – the forecast seemed terrible for such a passage. There were a few other cruising boats waiting for weather there and we were sure there would be more by the time the weekend was out!
We played dominoes, logged on with the cell phone and prepared for a lazy day tomorrow, waiting…….

It rained in the morning and the forecast remain unchanged. We did some email and Fred reprogrammed his PC waypoint database. Cruisers continued to stream in. Several of the boats were from Canada, one was from Australia and there were a couple of US boats as well. The migration was starting! We wondered if all would head out on Monday morning. This really was the first stop on our trip so far that we were primarily waiting for weather. We prefer to move whenever we can – but if we’ve learned anything, it’s that one shouldn’t head out into deteriorating conditions. So more waiting………

Either we’re in a protected spot (probably) or the forecast pre-frontal winds haven’t materialized (also likely). After breakfast and watching one of our news shows, we put the dinghy in the water and went in search of a Sunday paper. We left the dink at one of the few docks that wasn’t posted, dropped off our garbage in an adjacent bin and wandered about the waterfront. We saw the dockmaster’s office and kept walking towards some restaurants. As we asked about newspapers, we were directed to vending machines (empty). Next try was in small store and they directed us to a newstand near the movie theater. Success. The town was sleepy at 11am and it was too early to stop for lunch. So we hiked back to the dinghy, planed back to the boat and decided to bring the dink/outboard back up and do passage prep prior to reading the paper. We don’t want to get caught with the dinghy in the water when the front gets here.

Late in the afternoon the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club launch stopped at an adjacent mooring. Shortly thereafter a large 55+ foot ketch circled us and the mooring. One of the folks onboard yelled out ‘Windwalker – how much chain do you have out?’ Fred replied 75′. She said she was worried about when the wind changed direction (after the frontal passage). We decided we were ok and stayed put. However we did begin to worry that after the front the larger vessel may be sitting directly over our anchor. And we want to head out at dawn. Oh well – nothing we can do about it now!

Neither of us slept well – both worried about the vessel next to us and about the upcoming passage conditions. But we had no difficulty raising anchor at 7am and heading out of New York Harbor. As we entered the ocean it looked like 6 other sailboats from our vicinity were taking the weather window and heading south. As the day and night progressed, it seemed like all of the boats either stopped at Cape May or earlier. By around 8:30am we were able to turn of the engine and sail with mainsail, genoa and then added the staysail. What beautiful conditions. We were thrilled. But by evening things weren’t quite as lovely. Instead of a beam reach we were close-hauled and bashing into 2 and 3 foot chop and coming to a stop with each wave. Down came the jibs and on came the engine to power through the waves. Iris was useless when she came on watch – taking one look at the seemingly hundreds of radar targets along the shore (there were a lot of them anyway). Fred stayed up in the cockpit until 9:30pm when he went below to sleep. Iris decided not to look at the radar at all unless she saw a target she couldn’t deal with. Fred got about an hour’s sleep before wails from Iris got him back up there at 10:30 – we were coming up on a target in less than a mile and there was also a tug and tow ahead. The target ended up being a sailboat that we were catching and the tug and tow was a factor for them. They started to point a spotlight at their sails (not that the tug would have cared). Fred stayed up and sent Iris down to sleep. The cats were having problems and Iris got about an hour sleep. She poked her head up at 11:45pm and Fred said he wanted to talk with her. She needed to take a watch from mid-night to 3am because we’d be approaching Delaware Bay and heavy traffic at around 3:15 and he needed rest. Up she came, once again avoiding looking at the radar. (While far offshore passages have readily identifiable traffic and targets, close-in passages are filled with small fishing boats, tour boats, buoy lights and lots of lights on shore that are either red, green, solid white or blinking). Regaining some self-confidence, Iris kept us going passed several targets (fishing boats and tugs/tows). As she passed a fish haven with several boats, she saw a light pop up that looked like a bright fishing boat, outside the haven on the chart. Looks like a red – we’ll pass port to port – ok. Nope – suddenly she saw a green and decided to look at the radar – two huge blips less than 4 miles away. She turned right 20 degrees and the wayward autopilot decided to turn some more. Got it under control but more shouts got Fred back into the cockpit at 1:30am. Fred’s first impression was that this was a fishing boat. But as it approached, it was clearly a tug and tow and the turn Iris made was the correct one as it passed within a mile of us. By this time, we were approaching DE Bay and both decided to stay up, each with about an hour’s sleep.

We approached the bay where shipping traffic lanes converge – fortunately there was little traffic except for a container ship that was behind us and passed us after we’d made the turn. By now ‘dawn’s early light’ was gloaming and we were able to stay outside the channel as we made our way against the current. We’d arrived a bit earlier than planned and would have adverse current for a couple of hours. With light and after coffee and breakfast, we both traded off taking the helm while the other one slept an hour or so. The chop and winds started to abate by mid-morning, the current became favorable and our ETA (estimated time of arrival) at Veazey Cove became a reasonable 3-5pm instead of the 7pm or later. We caught the C&D Canal right at slack and sped through the canal with the current and were anchored in the shallow cove by around 4pm. This passage seemed a lot harder than it needed to be and we were both relieved to have it over with.

We’d been in Veazey Cove twice before and wanted to head towards our past anchoring locations. We got close but the entire cove was blocked, it seemed, by two small boats using trotlines for crabbing. All of the floats they were throwing out or raising from the water seemed connected by a single line. We didn’t want to pass between the floats. Still – the water was quite shallow anyway and we anchored in about 6.5′ depth. Dinner, showers and we both crashed – Fred by 8 and Iris by 9. The cats were thrilled to be allowed to spend time on deck and were both in great moods!

While there had been several wakes yesterday afternoon, the night was calm after all the traffic died down. Fred slept late while Iris looked at options for anchorages. We could stay put or move – but during breakfast we decided that we definitely wanted a marina for Annapolis and wanted to make reservations ‘early’. We didn’t have a good cell phone connection where we were and knew we probably wouldn’t on the Sassafras River either. Leaving Veazey Cove at around 10:30am we headed back out into the ship channel and motored towards the Sassafras. Iris made use of the good cell phone connection (probably from Havre de Grace) to make reservations at Annapolis Landing Marina. They said they were giving us the only slip left they had that would fit us but a small t-head sounded just fine. While she had the phone connection she also made some other phone calls including making reservations for the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) meeting in Annapolis for Saturday of boatshow week. It takes place at Port Annapolis Marina, withing a short walk from Annapolis Landing Marina on Back Creek in Annapolis (lots of creeks here have the same names).

We went up the Sassafras and tucked into the opening of Back Creek. A small sailboat was anchored at the approximate inner-most location we could handle depth-wise, but we were pleased with where we were and got a good set. The anchorage was far enough off the Sassafras so that the occasional powerboat had no effect on us. Lots of birds and fish were jumping around us. We decided that we’d head to Baltimore for the weekend (after the frontal passage on Thursday) and with an almost non-existant cellphone connection, Iris managed (with a few disconnects) to make a reservation at the Anchorage Marina in Baltimore for Friday through Sunday. We’d never stayed there previously, although we’d visited Bea and Cles on Haida Maid there a few years earlier. Decisions made, we could relax! The cats were once again happy to be enjoying the outdoors.

The front is expected this afternoon but it’s lovely this morning. Do we put the dinghy in the water and clean the hull? Nope. Do we go ashore to visit a plantation house only open from 10am-2pm on Tues and Thurs (we were anchored across from their historic tobacco hut)? Nope. We just did minor chores, read and watched Dusty happy in the cockpit, and Frosty happier than she’d been on the entire trip – walking around and around the deck of the boat. By evening, she came below on her own. By around 5pm the weather warnings on both the VHF and AM radios became alarming. The pre-frontal line of thunderstorms was appraching at 45 knots with hail and severe thunderstorms. Fred let out some more scope on the chain, we made sure that all was stowed if we needed to take action, and we waited, having dinner in the interim. While we heard boats on the radio at another anchorage, we remained alone. Even if we dragged, there wasn’t going to be anything for us to hit. So we waited. And counted time between lighting strikes and thunder. Nothing ever got closer than 3 or 4 miles of us. The winds and rain hit around 7:30pm and lasted about an hour. We played dominoes and made sure we weren’t touching the mast. Other than that, the frontal passage was pretty uneventful. The winds clocked, our anchor held and we went to bed. Other areas weren’t as fortunate as a tornado touched down in one town in MD, and there were tornado warnings on Delaware Bay.

Despite the small craft warnings, we had a quiet night at anchor. The wind clocked to the NW after the frontal passage so we were hoping for good sailing weather to Baltimore. We raised anchor with lots of mud around 8:30 then motor-sailed, then sailed with mainsail, staysail and reefed genoa. We had 20 knots or so however not from our ideal beam reach direction so the bay was choppy and it wasn’t what we’d hoped for. We motored the last hour up the Patapsco River to Anchorage Marina, docked and checked-in. All of the slips are privately owned and the owner of ours wasn’t expected back, probably, until the Fell’s Point festival next weekend. Trash and showers were the first order of business, followed by dinner at a new (to us) Outback Steakhouse and a walk to West Marine which just closed five minutes earlier. Oh well – we’ll get there tomorrow. We continued our evening walk to Baltimore Marine Center where we’d stayed and also done a quick-haul 4 years earlier. Where Windwalker sat on the tarmac was now covered with townhouses! Back at the boat a few phone calls to Bob and K on Rima and Lynn and Don and then we made plans for tomorrow. We’d like to take the water taxi to Ft. McHenry and then roam downtown. We needed to do some banking online and didn’t have a free wifi connection so paid the $6.95 for 24 hours of wifi from an outfit serving all the downtown Baltimore marinas. It was a fast connection and we got our money’s worth!

We’d searched every West Marine since our departure from FL for Delo 400 SAE 30 oil. We had managed to buy one gallon in Newport but we were still looking. At last! After breakfast we went back to West Marine and found shelves of it. So Fred purchased that, along with a new washdown hose/nozzle for Iris and an extension for our water hose. We returned with our purchases and then walked to Fells Point to catch the water-taxi to Ft. McHenry. $8/person for all day water-taxiing seemed like a good deal and we made use of it!

We toured the fort – the site of the War of 1812 battle (on Sept. 13, 1814) that inspired Frances Scott Key (who was watching it from a truce ship on the river) to write the Star-Spangled Banner. Next stop by water-taxi was a return to Fell’s Point – may as well have lunch there, so we stopped and ate and then returned to the water-taxi landing for a trip to the inner harbor. We lucked out to catch an outgoing water-taxi to Inner Harbor Marina where we went to the Visionary Arts Museum. This was another spot, as the fort was, that we’d always wanted to see on previous trips. The highly unusual artwork seemed, almost without exception, to be the product of untrained artists who were also severely mentally disturbed. Next on our agenda was to walk back to Inner Harbor and visit the large Barnes and Noble – one of our usual stops. Whole Foods was next, where Iris stocked up on more frozen fish. We dashed back to the water-taxi to get our frozen goods back to Windwalker. Then dinner out at Blue Moon 52 – a barbecue spot across the street from the marina. Fred worked online until our wifi connection ran out at 9:30. A fun day!

Iris got up at 6:30 and noted that the boat felt quite warm. The air-conditioning wasn’t running. She turned on the fridge – nope that wasn’t working either. Both got turned off immediately, as the systems share the same thru-hull and we definitely had a clog. So much for our departure time. Our unclogging drill in marinas is quite effective – Fred runs a water hose to the thru-hull, removes the basket (usually filled with some unpleasant object – eg jelly fish), and blasts the clog out. We were ‘up and running’ again by 7:30, said our goodbyes to Bob and K and loosed the lines right at 8:30!

It was a windless day and extremely hot – part of the heat wave gripping the entire east coast. We motored through the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers – but even the breeze generated by our motion was unpleasant. The poor cats remained motionless below-decks, cooled slightly by the fans we kept running in the salon. Fred had a brief VHF conversation about anchorages with another sailboat, Jewel. They were the folks who had dinghied over in Wrightsville Beach. They too were Norfolk bound, but on a slower schedule.

Mid-afternoon we were ‘attacked’ by biting black flies. Out came the trusty flyswatter. Iris and Fred fought over it as they defended themselves from the onslought! The cockpit looked like a battleground riddled with bodies after we were through. We’ve been looking for new to us anchoring spots on this trip – so decided to head into Slade Creek, near ICW Mile-marker 140, just short of Belhaven. It was a slightly tense, GPS-enabled entry as both sides of the channel had depths of 1′-2′. And visibility is non-existent in the wine-red waters. There were only a few homes along the banks, only one of which had cars (and later, lights on). We anchored around 6:30pm, had dinner, and tried to cool the boat from 97 degree interior temperature to about 87 with the a/c. The water temperature was close to 90 degrees as well, but the refrigerator/freezer managed to do its job. Fred planned tomorrow’s route – Little Alligator River anchorage was our next target – also new to us.

We were able to sleep through the quiet night, helped by the fans’ air motion. For the second day the skies were very hazy, purportedly due to Saharan dust that reached the US. We got underway, continuing up the ICW, at around 7:45, seeing only 3 or 4 boats the entire way. Iris noticed that 2 of the dodger’s zippers were breaking. Foolishly, she’d decided not to bring either the light-duty Singer or heavy-duty sailrite sewing machines with us. The dodger is secure, but should we have to remove it for hurricane prep, we probably will be unable to put it back on without some serious hand-sewing! Bad decision.

Mid-afternoon, like clockwork, the flies renewed their attack but we ultimately prevailed. Fred spoke briefly with another sailboat as we approached the Alligator River Bridge. They were Chesapeake bound – and altho’ their home port was Wickford, RI – they’d never been there (RI has no sales tax on boat purchases – many boats with home ports of RI or Delaware, have documented the vessels for tax avoidance). They’d purchased in Ft. Lauderdale, spent a season in the Abacos, Bahamas and Hilton Head, and now were northward bound. Anyway – they were under sail and moving very slowly. We said we’d slow down to allow them to go through the bridge with us. But instead of taking down their sails and moving along, they slowed due to lack of wind. We told the bridge we were waiting for them and hung around awhile. Suddenly the bridge started to open and told them (the 2nd sailboat) that if they didn’t move it, they weren’t going to make the bridge with us. We scurried on through, and they finally dropped their sails and powered through.

Every other time we’d anchored in the Alligator River we’d used a trip line. Given our Waccamaw River adventure, we were gun-shy and decided to forego the float. The anchor set well – Fred asked “did we just drag and then grab a stump or something?”. Iris, with foot on the chain, didn’t think so. We decided that would be tomorrow’s problem and didn’t worry about it. After dinner, we partook of cockpit showers using the cold (86 degree) water. Shortly after, the water got quite choppy. It never was clear why, as the wind direction was from over land, and there wasn’t much current. But throughout the night we hobby-horsed in about 1′ chop. Not our worst night by far, but slightly unpleasant. We ran the generator for air and fridge and brief respite for the hot cats. 3 choices for tomorrow’s travels – 1) stop in Coinjock for a short day 2) keep on going to Great Bridge and hope the bridge schedules oblige 3) try the Dismal Swamp route. #2 was our original plan. #3 has been an option we’d rejected each previous trip. While the Dismal Swamp route is open and beautiful, we once again struggled with the max depth of 6′ in the center of the channel when we draw 5.5′. We decided to sleep on it and decide in the morning – setting alarms for 6am in case we decided to do the Dismal Swamp.

Hot! Hot! Iris moved to the settee around 12am. The fan was too loud there as well so she just turned on the light and started rereading all the info on the Dismal Swamp. She’d almost convinced herself that it was only 20 miles of shallow water and that the beauty would overcome the shallow water. At 2:30am she turned off the fan and tried to sleep.

Up bright and early at 6am. Fred’s first words to Iris were “We shouldn’t do the swamp – sorry you got up so early”. We agreed that if we had a 6′ draft sailboat, we wouldn’t even have been agonizing over this.

No snag – the anchor came up smoothly at 7:45am. We had an uneventful trip northbound. A trawler, Deborah, passed us before Coinjock and waved their red fly swatter; we saluted back with our yellow one! We were to see Deborah several more times during the day. They had a bad radio and some of the bridges (and we) had difficulty talking with them. It was very early when we got to Midway Marina (with signs advertising free wi-fi) so we decided to forge ahead. Frosty had a couple of seizures during the day – mid-day Fred went below and she exhibited the normal post-siezure friendliness and hunger. The heat has to be having a negative effect on her.

We made it through the last bridge at 6pm and tied up to the Great Bridge free-dock at around 6:30pm – we were alone except for about 30 minutes when a family in a small power boat stopped briefly. Later in the evening a few fishermen were crabbing and fishing off the dock.

After a nice dinner, Fred checked on the engine. Oh no! The back bilge was filled with water. Fred found that a small bolt that he’d picked up in the bilge the previous day had held a clamp on a pipe feeding the raw water pump on the engine. The copper pipe abraded and now had a hole in it – thus the flood. Fred dug through spare parts in the v-berth to find some air-conditioning water hose that would just fit over the pipe and he then struggled to slip the hose over the pipe. Meanwhile, Frosty got in the way trying to get into the engine room and Fred yelled at her to keep her out. Shortly thereafter, she howled and went into a grand-mal seizure. The stress had to have had an impact. More valium for her. We determined that we needed a marina and needed to order spares. Fred tested his jury-rig by running the engine and no water spewed out – a good sign. He went to bed telling Iris that he might need to stay in the engine room all the way to Norfolk while she’d have to get us through the lock and bridges. Not what she wanted to hear. Let’s hope his fix lasts!

Iris was able to find a wi-fi connection from Atlantic Yacht Basin across the channel and had a pretty good internet connection til late in the night.

Iris awoke to a siezure by Frosty around 3am. Then she got up at 6 as the cats made it clear they wanted breakfast. Frosty had another mild seizure about 30 minutes after her meds. We untied from the dock at 7:45, went through the 8am
Great Bridge Bridge opening and were the only boat in the lock. Iris called Ocean Marine to make a reservation. We’d stayed there before and liked the facilities. They also advertised that they were a Volvo parts dealer (and they have a boatyard) so we’d have a chance that the part may be available. Their website also advertised wi-fi – as did Waterside in Norfolk. As we got through the final Norfolk area bridges, the marine police boats were very visibly patrolling the waters. We hailed Ocean Marine and went to the fuel dock for a fill-up and pump-out. We then went into our slip ‘home’ for the next few days. It was on A-dock – which turns out has many liveaboards on large motor yachts. It’s known as the party dock and for good reason. The ‘community’ would line up their chairs, bar, grills, tables (blocking our path to/fro our boat) and party into the wee hours. Friendly, but not our cup of tea.

The wi-fi, turns out, was quite unreliable, probably because our slip was very far from the building antennas. But the facilities were as we recalled them – nice showers, laundry room and the ferry to Norfolk ($1/way) was only a block away. We hung around Windwalker and enjoyed the air-conditioning for the remainder of the afternoon – doing some clean-up chores. Fred looked up the part numbers for the Volvo parts and Iris called the parts department to order them. Turns out that Ocean Marine is a gas engine (not diesel) dealer – so they had to order the parts from a distributer. We asked that they be shipped overnight so that we’d get them on Monday. A severe thunderstorm around 5:30pm heralded the break in the heat-wave. The cats were thrilled to sit in front of the air-conditioning vent in the aft stateroom. We ate dinner aboard and then went for a short walk at around 9pm.

Chores in the morning – Fred changed the oil, Iris vacuumed and cleaned below. We did a quick look at the weather for Tues on out – another front and/or light winds are predicted. After lunch we decided to catch the 1:30 ferry to Norfolk. Our first stop was a marine bookstore that advertised in our cruising guides (and that we’d walked by in the past). Closed on weekends. Next was the mall – where we bought a couple of books (for Fred), a hand-held Sudoku generator for Iris, and a USB-wireless adapter for our laptop – so that we could move the antenna around without having to take the laptop outside. Next, we decided to walk towards the Nauticus museum/USS Wisconsin – stopping at the Provision Market. We’d gone to the market on past trips and been able to buy several provisioning items. Unfortunately, the store has changed in 4 years and had minimal useful items – no vegetables/fruits/meats. We bought a loaf of bread and kept on walking. We stopped at the Wisconsin and once again walked its decks. Then we headed back to Waterside, walking by the Norfolk Jazz Festival, recalling that we’d been here the same weekend 4 years ago – with the same Jazz Festival. We’d planned to eat dinner at Waterside – but it was only 4:20, we weren’t hungry and didn’t want to just ‘kill time’. So we ran and caught an outgoing ferry, returning to Portsmouth. In search of diet coke, we walked to a pharmacy several blocks away which had been closed on Fri night, and just before their closing, were able to buy a couple of cartons. Lugging all of our purchases back to the boat, we played with our toys briefly and then headed to La Tolteca, the Mexican restaurant next to the ferry dock. 4 years ago the restaurant had just opened and we enjoyed it immensely. Things had gone a bit down-hill in the interim. The server’s service was sporadic, the bus-boy seemed to have difficulty keeping up with the few tables. Iris’ carne asada was a bit on the dry side. But the food was tasty, the view was great and the desserts were fantastic. We watched as crowds got off the ferry headed to the amphitheatre right next to Ocean Marine – where a concert by Widespread Panic (a southern rock group) was scheduled for the evening. Boat streamed by as well – all headed in our direction.

We negotiated the chair slalom as we returned to our dock. By now the dock was strewn with beer cans and the group was pretty happy ;-). Back onboard, we listened to the concert from the cockpit. Frosty had been in a great mood all day – probably a precursor for a mild seizure at 8:15. Another small dose of valium for her.

Iris got up early (the cats are on a definite schedule) and got the Sunday paper. We headed to the Renaissance Hotel (near the north ferry dock) for buffet breakfast – served by a young lady named Paulina from Cracow, Poland. We recalled all the eastern-european servers we encountered on our last trips, primarily in New England establishments. Kids come over for the summer, have a US experience, get lots of tips and go home back to college. We watched our news shows and read the paper. Iris checked out the laundry room – empty machines were just too good an opportunity to pass up so she dashed back to the boat to collect our clothes. No one else did a wash – perhaps most of the liveaboards have machines onboard their massive yachts.

At around 3:30 we decided to head to the Portsmouth Visitor’s Center to pick up a walking tour map of Portsmouth Olde Town. Many of the homes in the district date back to the late 1700s to early 1800s. We were able to get a tour of the Hill House, built in around 1807 and remaining in the family until the mid-1960s when it was donated to the preservation society. Remarkable in that the furnishings were all original and period appropriate to the house. Totally documented. Lafayette and several presidents had visited the family – altho’ none had ‘slept there’ ;-). We walked around looking at exteriors of other homes in the area. Most were of the English basement style. The government only taxed property on the size of the first floor (known as basement). So homes were 2-4 stories high and narrow to minimize ground-level square footage.

Back to the boat for dinner, showers, and another Widespread Panic concert – much less well-attended than Sat. night. Fred planned the waypoints for our passage to RI while Iris struggled with the wi-fi connection and began work on the website. Should the correct part arrive tomorrow afternoon, we plan to leave the marina on Tuesday morning and then wait for weather in the anchorage at Willoughby Bay about 7 miles away.

Up at our normal cat time, we did some more chores and awaited our part. Iris worked on the website. We confirmed that the parts had arrived at the distributor and were told to pick them up around 2pm. Eager, we got there early but the parts hadn’t arrived yet. The pipe was the correct part, although the lip seals Iris had also ordered ended up being the wrong size (Fred was on the wrong page in the parts book). Perhaps we can exchange them at one of our regular Volvo diesel dealers either in Annapolis or back in West Palm Beach). Fred put in the new part and tested the engine. Now – we have to seriously look at the weather. Can we leave on Tuesday directly from the marina? First glance looks like we’ll encounter two frontal passages as well as mostly northerly winds. Waiting a day may help a little with the strength of the winds and wave size – but we’ll probably be doing a lot of motor-sailing nonetheless…. We’ll file a float plan with family, no matter which we day we decide to leave……..Next stop, hopefully, Newport, RI.

Prior to leaving Ocean Marine, Iris called our mail store to have our mail sent to Fred’s sister Kathie in RI. We were hoping to arrive in Newport on Friday so requested 3-day UPS. We left the marina at 9:20am motor-sailing for Willoughby Bay – a spot we’d used for staging for passage out of the Chesapeake previously. Enroute we heard military police on channel 16 demanding a couple of boats to change course because they were entering military zones. They were not identifying the boats by name but saying that if they didn’t alter course they would be fired upon. Boaters were piping in on channel 16 and say ‘who are you talking to?’. We too were getting agitated. A police boat came zooming by us and we figured some kind of fireworks were going to ensue. However the police boat hailed the military boat and said “Do you require assistance?” The MPs responded that they were doing a drill. The police replied that perhaps they should move to a different channel as they were alarming all the traffic on 16. From then on, we heard no more about military zones and fire!

Dolphins accompanied us into the bay. Our plans were to start our passage the following morning, so we spent a quiet afternoon. Fred checked out our weatherfax/SSB/laptop arrangement since both our laptop and weatherfax software had been upgraded since last we cruised. OK. Around 2:30 we had a heavy line of thunderstorms. Iris neglected to dog the ports tightly and discovered water streaming into the salon and galley from unusual spots. Wet settee cushions – however freshwater was better than salt would have been. Like last time here, we were the only ones anchored – watching late afternoon small boat races as we prepared for passage. Late in the evening we emailed our float plan from Norfolk to RI and agreed that neither of us is enamored of passages. It’s just the fastest way to get from point a to point b. We did have great tv and cellphone signals at Willoughby so we were able to get an update on the news and handle last-minute correspondence.

Iris got up at 5:50 am wanting another weather update before beginning our passage. What a change in a few hours. A strong cold-front was predicted for Thursday night through Saturday with northerly winds for Wed. We’d have to motor into the northerly then get hit with pretty strong SW winds with the frontal passage. Decisions – go? Wait? Do something else? We decided to keep moving up the Chesapeake. Iris picked out an anchorage for tonight, Fred went to do the route plan while Iris sent emails to abort our float plan. We also told our family that we didn’t know where we’d next have cell-phone coverage. With all our scurrying around we still raised anchor by 8:15 and began our northerly trek. We made 57 miles, mostly motorsailing with the wind on our nose. There was a lot of ship traffic, but we stayed out of the channel. Our wild-life sightings consisted of some dolphins and more battles with flies.

At one point, while diverting for a ship, Iris remarked that last night she’d had flashing images of a huge ship bow that we were about to collide with. But she’d forgotten about it and it had no part in deciding to abort our float plan. Fred responded that he too had a nightmare about getting struck by a ship. Perhaps it was a good thing that we weren’t going by our original route….

We anchored in a very pretty creek. Homes were nestled in the woods. We were tired and stopped near the entrance, but purportedly further up the creek the scenery became even more natural with no home sites. We anchored by 6. We also determined that we had a new kind of problem – our dripless shaft seal bellows was taking in air when we would heel – removing water from the seal – which resulted in overheating of the shaft and a squealing noise. Fred burped the bellows (after the shaft had cooled) and tried the engine and the squeal was gone. As we suspected – there would be no cellphone coverage and not even any tv signals on the creek. Our plan for tomorrow was to get to Mill Creek on the Patuxent River – it would be repeating an anchorage however the distance was right and it was a secure spot for a frontal passage.

It was a gray morning and there were a lot of jelly-fish (sea-nettles) floating by as we raised anchor at 7:45. The wind was more favorable and we were able to sail all day once we got to the main channel. But while the sailing was good, it poured most of the day and despite our foulies, we were pretty wet. As we approached Solomons, we were hailed by an Island Packet named Winddancer out of Corpus Christi, TX. They had seen the Valiant, Rima, and the captain thinks he’s spoken with Bob a couple of times. Iris was able to get cell coverage earlier in the day and called her mother to let her know where we were. Good thing, because this Mill Creek also didn’t have any cell coverage. We anchored in mud with a lot of chain out, expecting the front tonight. Not a great set since it was mud, however other than another small sailboat in the middle of the cove, we weren’t concered. A bowl of hot soup took off the chill as we relaxed in the late afternoon. Quiet night with little traffic going to the upper reaches of the creek.

Iris had a rough night, waking up at 3 am, feeling ill. We’d turned to the north. Frosty was in an extremely mean mood and kept attacking Dusty. Anchor up at 8am. Oops – the shackle was sideways on the swivel. Iris hates when it does that – but a sharp pull on the swivel freed it. Tons of mud imbedded in the chain and on the anchor – it took awhile with the deck wash to ensure that most of it didn’t end up in the anchor locker! The other boat was making ready to depart as well – we noted that it was a single-hander, female on a boat named Circe. The forecast was quite unpleasant but we decided to head out into the bay and check it out. Worst that could happen would be that we’d return to this anchorage or one further upstream for another day.

Fred took the helm for most of the day. The winds were from the north and fairly strong and gusty and there was a lot of chop. The autopilot was struggling, we were closed-hauled and making good progress despite the conditions. We took water over the rail quite a few times as we heeled all the way. We’d picked some earlier anchorages but decided to head on to Whitehall Bay, just north of Annapolis but just short of the Chesapeake Bay bridges. As we approached, the shaft once again began to squeal and Fred stopped the engine, burping the bellows. As before, this fixed the problem. We kept our distance from the only other boat anchored in the bay when we arrived at 6pm. By nightfall, several other boats had arrived. We had good cell-phone and tv coverage. The boat rocked from wakes from the bay – but those also abated early in the night. In total, we’d glad we hadn’t holed up for the frontal passage and ‘wasted’ a day.

Another bad night for Iris, awakening at 4:30 feeling ill. When it was time to get up at 6 – she couldn’t do it and stayed in ’til 6:30! Our goal for the day was to get to Veazey Cove on the Bohemia River with plans to head through the Delaware Bay potentially direct from there the following day. We raised anchor at 7:30 and motored north – once again into large chop and strong north winds. This was slightly uncomfortable here in the bay, but if we had gone offshore it would have been extremely so in big waves. Not a lot of boats out for a Saturday morning! By late morning the seas had flattened out and we started to make good progress. Now what are our options? We were going to get to Veazey pretty early – should we continue up the C&D Canal to Summit North Marina and get fuel/water and relax for the night? We’d staged return trips to the Chesapeake from New England there. Should we stop earlier in the canal, such as Chesapeake City and get some fuel at Schaeffer’s Canal House? We’d feel better if we started a passage with full tanks. Iris called the marina – Summit North had no fuel – some kind of problems with their tanks. But she made a tentative reservation with them anyway. Next we overheard someone on the radio asking for nearest fuel in the area as there didn’t seem to be any on the canal. We wondered – what about the Canal House? Iris called a marina that carried diesel just near Veazey – but their approach depth was tricky and the dockmaster didn’t give us a good feeling we could get to the fuel dock. She then tried calling the Canal House – the phone number had been disconnected. We spied the bridges at Havre de Grace in the distance and Iris exclaimed “why don’t we go to Havre de Grace – if nothing else, for fuel?” We took a sharp left out of the channel and made our way to the small town we’d visited back in 1999. Tidewater Marina, where we’d stayed that time, was completely full for the night. They referred us to a marina next door. No answer. On a second try, Iris got the dockmaster – a lady named Thalia. We gave her an estimated arrival of 3pm and told her we’d also want fuel and she said to call her on her cell phone. She’d be wearing an orange t-shirt and be out on the docks. She described the approach – a small opening in a breakwater in front of some gray condos with no signeage.

As we approached the marina, we decided that we’d head to Tidewater for fuel first. We’re quite careful about trying to get fuel from marinas that turn over a lot of volume. Our first glance at the docks in front of us led us to believe our destination marina was not such a place 😉 But as we passed the breakwater to go to Tidewater, the next marina, we saw a lady waving like crazy from a fuel dock with a guy standing beside her doing the same. It was about 5 minutes before 3. Iris suggested that Fred keep on going to Tidewater, but he decided to turn around since they were waiting on us. Thalia tied us up at the fuel dock and things seemed to go downhill from there. She told us that we’d have to wait awhile for the pump to get primed since it was old. When we asked about Boat US discount – yes – for cash. Same for the slip. Fred wiped the nozzle and it came off black, but the fuel at least was pink. After we’d fueled, Thalia informed us that the slip we were assigned only had 4 1/2 feet of water at low tide and that they’d been having extreme low tides due to the north winds. “But we want to leave around 8 or 9 tomorrow for passage through Delaware Bay!” We checked the tides and low would be at 7 – so our ability to leave might be hindered. She said that the side-to tieup ahead of the fuel dock was reserved for a 50 foot boat that was due to have arrived by 2:30 – we could pull into that space and risk that he might still show up. If he didn’t arrive by 5, it was ours. OK – we decide to stay tied up and wait awhile, cause we really didn’t like the 4.5′ deep slip. While we waited, Thalia went to try and reach the powerboat. We looked at the distance to power and water. Neither our power cord nor our water hose were going to reach. Would we have been better off at anchor?

By now the winds were up to about 20 knots, the floating docks were bobbing up and down, boats were having difficulty negotiating the entry into the marina and we were getting anxious. But amazingly enough – everything worked out. Thalia decided to move us to a close slip – whose ‘owner’ was away for the weekend. Our first attempt failed as the wind caught our bow and we started to move sideways down the marina. Fred did a great recovery and we got into the slip on our second try. Our hose and power cord reached and we were able to wash off the 1/4″ of salt coating our decks and stanchions. Thalia told us where we could get to an ATM, gave us literature on the town, completed our check in and told us a little bit about herself. She and her partner (husband) took 18 years to circumnavigate in their 32′ Westsail (parked right in front of us).
We thanked her for her help and got to work getting cleaned up.

ATM found, some snacks purchased and sated after a pleasant dinner at MacGregors (seafood) Restaurant – we got back to the boat and discussed our options. If we left at 9:30am tomorrow, we could get the current and tides just right to get through the C&D canal, get through Delaware Bay and start on our passage to Newport, RI. We’d checked the weather (great cell-phone coverage in Havre de Grace!) and we’d have light SW winds, starting to get stronger over the 2 1/2 day passage. By Monday afternoon we’d have 10-20 knots with 4-6 foot waves behind us – seemed manageable. Seemed like a plan.

Iris got up early and did a weather check – the forecast seemed a bit worse but the window was holding. We heard something about 15-20 knots on Monday night with seas building 5-8′. Not dangerous, but not as nice as the previous description. Plan is still a go and Iris sent out float-plan emails. We always have an option to stop in Cape May or Atlantic City. Fred spent some time talking with Thalia and Bob (boatname Renaissance, out of San Francisco). Neat couple.

We headed out of the marina at 9:30. What a difference a day makes – the northern reaches of the bay were filled with boats. It was sunny, warm and the winds had died down. We entered the C&D canal and got a nice ride with the current. As we passed Schaeffer Canal House we noticed that the docks were roped off and the place was for sale. Good thing we didn’t hope to buy fuel there. The current was giving us a good 4 knot lift as we sped through the canal, and by 2:15pm we reached the entrance to the Delaware Bay. At this point we still had 2 knots against us in the bay. Shipping traffic began almost immediately. Midway down the bay, a drilling ship, McFarland, headed west, suddenly stops and then started to turn around in the channel – pointing directly at us (1/4 mile out of the channel). Fred asked them ‘are you turning around? what are your intentions?’ Yes – we are turning to go to the offshore disposal area! They whipped in front of us headed towards the mouth of the bay. At around 10:30pm, while briefly having cell-phone coverage near Cape May, Iris called her mom with our location. We’d seen a beautiful sunset enroute, the air was quite cool and the water temperatures had dropped to 74 degrees! We felt cold and got colder – putting on sweatshirts and sweatpants and then our foulies on top of that. Instead of our normal watch schedule we both stayed up – the mouth of the bay is filled with ship traffic coming from all directions and trying to plot which ship was a threat when there are so many is very stressful. We both had binoculars out and pointed out various targets to each other. McFarland was still in the mix, turning around once more right before we left the bay. By now it was after 11pm and Fred took his normal watch, suggesting Iris go below and get some rest. We were motorsailing with just the main out.

We were on a course of 60 degrees, as was another sailboat a mile or two ahead of us. At around 3am, Iris tried to hail the vessel stating our name, course and trying to reach the boat now less than a mile in front of us. A guy answered – he too was on the same course – but in a powerboat. He asked for our location – Iris responded, and then he never came back. The sailboat remained silent. Meanwhile, the powerboat headed into Atlantic City. At around 5am Fred turned off the engine and we started to sail ‘wing and wing’. We listened to the offshore forecasts which had gotten quite a bit worse. Now the winds were to be 15-25 knots with gusts to 30 knots with seas building to 5-8 and then 8-10′. This was going to be a sleigh ride. At around 11:30am we got down to just our mainsail and we were doing over 7 knots. The winds weren’t too bad yet but we were bracing for worsening conditions. The winds were building and by 3pm winds were up to 20knots and seas were about 4′. By 6pm we had a pretty steady 20 knots behind us and the seas were about 4-8′. We reefed the main right before Iris’ first watch and still were doing about 7 knots. Through most of the night we had about 7-8′ seas with winds mostly 20 knots with 25 knot gusts. The motion was quite uncomfortable – but kitties and we were doing ok. The other sailboat was still within a mile or two of us. We wanted to slow down enough not to have to enter Block Island Sound (just east of Montauk Point on Long Island) in the dark. Last time we’d gotten there at dawn with hundreds of other targets (mostly fishing vessels) on their way out.

Dawn came, the seas remained high and occasionally we could see the other sailboat. However no one else was in sight. No fishing boats were crazy enough to be out this morning. RI and Long Island beaches were expecting 10-12 foot breakers. As we passed Block Island at 8:45am, Iris called her mother to close our float plan – we weren’t in Newport yet but the worst was behind us. Visibility was less than 2 miles and after we passed Block Island it began to pour as the front passed. We were glad for fresh water to rinse off the boat! We picked up an assigned mooring at 1:30pm and our engine was off. We had never seen so few boats up and about in Narragansett Bay – it seemed like the middle of winter! But we were motionless at last……

We made plans to meet with our family members, Lynn and Don, staying in Newport this week for dinner. Then we spent the remainder of the afternoon cleaning up the boat and ourselves and taking brief naps before taking the launch ashore. The four of us wandered about, wanting to try a new spot since we tended to go to familiar places. We stopped at The Rhode Island Quahog Company – Fred and Iris had missed the family lobster feast on Sunday so both had lobster dishes. Iris thought the place was ok – nothing special, but Fred enjoyed his lobster Scampi dish. Our return trip via launch took awhile – as a boatload of folks just sat there waiting for a driver. We didn’t quite know where our boat was in the dark (or even in the light) – just the mooring number. So it took awhile for the launch to find our home. Iris wanted an internet fix and was pleased to see that we were close to Goat Island Marina and the Marina Grill. Restaurant had a good wi-fi signal. She browsed the internet to her heart’s content.

We decided that at $3/person each way the launch wasn’t for us. We pumped up the dinghy and launched it. Fred went off for a ride to make sure all was in order while Iris worked on chores. At around 10am the launch stopped by and the driver said “did they tell you you’d have to move today?” Nope – we paid for 3 days. Yes – but the ‘owner’ of the mooring is coming back and you have to move to rental mooring #7 by noon. Fred returned a short while later, we started up the engine and moved to our new spot. Closer to downtown. Alas – away from the wi-fi connection…. Fred changed the oil while Iris got in the dink and tried to remove engine exhaust stains and the ICW mustache from the hull – with minimal success. As she’s mentioned before in the log – this is the only boating activity that has ever (and always does) get her seasick. Not a happy camper.

A little after noon we’d arranged to pick up Lynn and Don in the dinghy at Bowen’s wharf (site of the public dinghy dock) and head across the bay to Marina Grill. We were meeting Fred’s and Lynn’s cousin, Bill, for lunch. It was a perfect day out and the view of the harbor was breathtaking. After a nice lunch, the five of us went back to Windwalker for a brief visit. Then Bill was ferried back to his car at Marina Grill and the four of us went back into Newport for dinner at the Red Parrot. We made plans to see Doris Duke’s mansion, Rough Point, the following morning – accompanied by family Kathie and Ro. Fred also tried to contact a couple of high school buddies – successfully reaching one and not the other. We would also try and see him tomorrow afternoon. A full day planned!

The six of us met at the Newport Visitor’s center downtown to purchase our tickets for Rough Point (which included a shuttle to the mansion) and to await the shuttle. We were on the 10:45am tour. None of us had seen this particular mansion in all these years – it had just opened to the public 7 years previously. Many stories had been told about Ms. Duke as Lynn, Kathie and Fred were growing up in Newport and these tales were not addressed on the tour. But she used some of her fortune to form a preservation society that has renovated and maintained over 80 homes in the area. She always planned to donate the mansion to the society and so furnished it with artwork appropriate to it’s intended use as a ‘museum’. The tour-guide was outstanding as were the views from the estate. Next on our agenda was luncheon at the Inn on Castle Hill. This is an absolutely beautiful site on the entrance to the bay where one can watch the boats come in and out from high on a cliff-top. Our table was on the lovely lawn, the food was perfect – as was the company. It was a delightful morning and afternoon!

Back in town, Lynn and Don dropped us off at our mandatory Newport stop – the Armchair Sailor (nautical bookstore). Most every cruising guide we have has been purchased there. The store was purchased by Bluewater Books in Ft. Lauderdale several years ago. While we had a lot of detail on the Chesapeake and Maine, we wanted to add to our information on Long Island Sound, CT, and MA. Our book choice was a compromise but every one of our books has come in handy sooner or later.

At around 5:30 we met Fred’s friend Tom. The two of them hadn’t really seen each other and caught up in over 30 years. We took him back to Windwalker – his wife, Jan, couldn’t make it due to a conflict. After a couple of hours we returned to town, met Jan, and had a late, light dinner at Salas’ restaurant. We finally dinghied back to the boat at around 10:30. We’d only signed up for 3 days on the mooring. In the morning we’ll have to decide whether to leave for somewhere else or stay put.

Iris logged on early to check weather. Yep – there’s a front coming through Sat night/Sunday. Heavy rains expected for Sunday. We’re not likely to head for Mount Desert Island, ME by then and need to decide where we want to weather the front. During breakfast, we decided to extend here another day to take a tour and to do some provisioning. Kathie and Lynn had told us about a mansion tour that sounded fascinating – the ‘rooftop’ tour at The Elms. This is a tour of the infrastructure and servants’ quarters of the mansion. So we called Oldport Marine to let them know we were staying, dinghied to town, wandered over to the visitor’s bureau where we were unable to get tickets (altho’ when Iris spoke with them earlier in the morning, they told her to go there rather than directly to the mansion). We headed to the Elms, got into the noon tour and enjoyed it a lot. We then had lunch at the Newport Creamery close by (another Newport ritual for us), and then went to the supermarket across the street to top off our provisions. We’d brought 4 of our largest canvas bags along with us on the tour along with our shopping list so we were ready. Fortunately, it’s downhill from the market to the dinghy dock, albeit it’s about 1/2 mile away.

Back at the boat – Iris prepped the meats and vegetables/fruits for storage – removing packaging and preparing items so that minimal water would be needed and minimal trash when the product is used. Fred meanwhile, looked at options for getting to Maine. We’re a little behind schedule and need to get moving. On the other hand, we want to stay put on Saturday and Sunday during the frontal passage. Since we’re going to go somewhere tomorrow in any case, we did a ‘final’ trash run to town, snacked on some ice cream (we’d had dinner). Iris worked on the website, Fred did some trip-planning and we went to bed knowing we’d do something tomorrow but not what!

Iris got up with the cats at 6am. She got the weather and the forecast wasn’t great – we decided to stay another day and called it in to the dockmaster. Fred finished updating the website. After lunch and some time reading in the cockpit, we headed ashore. First stop was the Seaman’s Church Institute – a Newport fixture catering to people who work the seas – we bought shower tokens ($2/10 minutes including towel). Putting off our showers until after our walk, we headed in search of a church whose steeple we’d seen from the harbor and couldn’t identify. It ended up being a Unitarian Church right next to Touro Park. We walked part of the Cliff Walk, from the 40 steps to the beach, then returned via the Oldport Marine office to settle up for the mooring. Last was our showers at the institute prior to dinghying back to the boat. Fred spent the remainder of the evening working on our route plan while Iris did a handwash of underwear and rags. We were visited by the owners of MoonSail, a Catalina-built Morgan 38. They’d left Kemah TX in 2005.

A final check of the weather remained so-so. If it’s not pouring in the morning, perhaps we should leave – target 7:30am tomorrow. We read until bed-time in a salon strung with lines hanging wet laundry.

Clothes everywhere – wet clothes! Iris got up at 5:30 due to wind and cat noises. The cats fed, she started moving laundry around for better drying. It was gray outside but not raining. At 6:30 it began raining. Turning on the tv at 7, we saw the weather radar – there was definitely a line of heavy rain but drying afterwards. Winds were expected to be quite strong (20-25 knots) but from the southwest – advantageous to us. We decided to leave and dropped the mooring at 9:40, now 2 hours behind our original schedule. Many other boats had the same idea. Winds out of Narragansett Bay were on the nose and we bashed into 4-5′ waves – taking on more water than we’d had any other time on the trip. Unfortunately, we’d removed the duct tape covering our vetus ventilator for passages and much of that water streamed into the v-berth. Yuck!

Once we made the turn heading northwards, we raised sail and made good time doing 7 kts or more under sail. Most of the other boats looked like they were headed to Cuttyhunk while we forged ahead towards Onset – the last anchorage prior to the Cape Cod Canal. Pulling into the channel to Onset we hailed Onset Bay Marina to see if they had a mooring available. No – all full. While the harbormaster suggested a yacht club that might have a mooring, we opted to anchor right outside the mooring field. What a lovely evening. Just as we were glad we’d left Mill Creek (on the Patuxent) rather than waiting for weather, we once again felt that leaving Newport was the right decision. As we ate dinner in the cockpit, a large catamaran came into the harbor and anchored next to us. A brightly lit excursion boat playing loud ragtime selections came by later in the evening, – somewhat of a change in mood, although brief. After dark, we took advantage of a good cellphone (and thus) internet connection to do another check of the weather (a frontal passage is expected tonight) and handle email. Our plan for tomorrow was to go through the Cape Cod Canal with favorable current at 7am, spend the following night in Provincetown and then do an overnight passage to Northeast Harbor, ME.

We were up before 6 as the cats are getting up earlier and earlier due to the earlier sunrise further north. The front went through during the night and we now had light northerly winds. After a quick breakfast, we began our ‘raise anchor’ drill. Fred raises the chain up to 50 feet while Iris stays in the v-berth flaking the chain. Then she goes on deck to complete the operation. This prevents chain castles and jams. Fred was only raising the chain about a foot at a time. When Iris got on deck he informed her that something was wrong with the windlass ‘up’ air-switch. But the chain needed washing anyway, so the slow pace wasn’t an issue. We’d have to do some debugging before we anchored again – but our plans were to pick up moorings in Provincetown and NE Harbor.

The current pushed us into a right angle turn in the canal at 7:20. We raced along at about 10 knots with the tide and then once out of the canal, motored on to Provincetown with not enough wind for sailing. We were on a mooring by noon. The next couple of hours were spent on lunch and chores before we hailed the launch (included) to take us to the dock. The launch attendant recommended Townsend Lobster (at the end of the dock) if we wanted a good dinner. They’d just brought in 300 lobsters earlier that morning! He explained that these were hard-shell and full wherease what we’d have in Maine (which we knew) would be softshell – sweet meat, but not as much of it.

Streets were crowded – mostly with families. We walked about town and then checked out Townsend. Dinner was casual and great – just what we’d hoped for. Our shower stop prior to an ice cream stop didn’t work out so well for Iris. The 5 minute token operated shower was shooting more water out of the stall than in it – raining down on Iris’s towel, underwear and clothing. She looked a bit soggy as she stepped out of the ladies’ room. But not so soggy that she’s turn down ice cream!
Back to the boat via launch for a bit more passage planning and prep (jacklines, ditch bag, etc). All was a go for tomorrow’s passage. The only decision – should we refuel in Provincetown (opens at 8am) or wait until NE Harbor. The fuel dock looked intimidating but we’d feel better with full tanks…. Our cabin was still full of wet underwear.

We decide to forego the fuel stop and head out of the harbor at 7:30am. Brrrrrrrr – it’s cold out here and we put on sweatshirts and pants under our foulie jackets. The wind is from the north and we’re motoring with mainsail up. No whale sightings altho’ we did see some “mist spumes” which indicated whales, in the distance. By late evening we had quite a bit of traffic – primarily fishing boats on shallow banks. The wind had shifted enough for us to raise the genoa and sail. It wasn’t to be a restful off-watch for Fred and Iris called him up an hour early for help on closeby targets – as we dealt with the target we passed an unlit object (looked like research marker with a tall flag on it) within feet of us. Jeez – that was close.

By 1am, Fred turned the engine back on. Iris was nervous on her 2nd watch as well – with lots of fishing boat traffic and then seeing lobster pot floats going by in the dark. We were still an hour from Matinicus Rock when she got Fred up again at 4 – all we needed was to get tangled in a float’s rope while underway in the dark. Both of us stayed up from then on as we passed Matinicus Rock at around 5:30 and had another 30 miles to Northeast Harbor. Dolphins greated us enroute, as did lobster boats working early in the morning. We stopped at Clifton Docks at around 12:20 for fuel and water and then hailed the mooring agent for a mooring further in the harbor. Engine off at 1pm!

After lunch and a brief rest, we put the dinghy in the water and headed ashore. The mooring attendant and we met mid-way and while Iris held onto the attendant’s boat, Fred and he completed the $100 transaction for 4 nights. Once on land, we relieved ourselves of trash, found out the harbormaster’s mailing address so that Iris’ mother could mail us our absentee ballots for the FL primaries, checked out the DSL rates at the Chamber of Commerce ($5 for the day, any day, between 8 and 5) and went for a short walk. We were pretty tired and had dinner aboard. Early to bed.

Iris was up again at 5:30 – those cats are like an alarm clock! After feeding them, she returned to bed, once again to awaken at the abrupt sounds of Frosty having a seizure. Another bad grand mal one – climbing the bulkhead and stepping in the water bowls. No point in going back to bed, she let Fred sleep in until 8:30. We decided that we’d test our stamina and foot gear by doing a relatively moderate hike from NE Harbor to Jordan Pond via Elliot Mountain/Asticou trails – ending with lunch at Jordan Pond and take the Island Explorer free buses back to Northeast Harbor. Where is our backpack? Tearing up the boat, we couldn’t find it altho’ surely it’s here somewhere! A small canvas bag will have to do for our water, camera, etc. We were both unhappy with the state of our hiking boots, so Fred switched to well-worn, falling-apart walking shoes, and Iris switched to walking shoes as well. Fred, worried about his shoes, took along some electrical tape with which to tape on the soles.

We hiked up to Elliot Mountain and decided to alter our route and take the Harbor Brook trail down to join Asticou. It was a slightly soggy trail, but the brook babbled delightfully along the route and the light attempted to shine through the heavily wooded terrain. We rejoined the Asticou trail and got to Jordan Pond House. After getting on the waiting list (Fred was told 30 minutes), we just got into the gift shop to browse when Fred’s buzzer went off – not even 5 minutes! We’d opted for inside seating and the major wait was for dining on the gorgeous lawn. Lobster stew with popovers and then huge desserts replenished the calories we’d worked off getting there 😉

We tried the gift shop again. Fred’s shoes had all but dissolved in the walk – electrical tape had NOT done the trick. The shop happened to have some Columbia hiking shoes that fit him well. Given our plans to do more hikes – part of our reason for coming here, he made the purchase. As we lounged on the lawn with an expansive view of Jordan Pond and The Bubbles, Fred switched to his new shoes and we decided to throw out the others. We took the bus back to Northeast Harbor, picked up our UPS package at the harbormaster and were back in the cockpit by 4pm. Tomorrow – a work day – laundry (hadn’t done any by machine since Portsmouth, VA) for Iris; fix the windlass for Fred. While we ran the generator that evening, Fred noticed water in the engine room. It was from a loose hose clamp on the freshwater pump – he tightened it and that fixed the problem.

PS – the temperature in the cabin in the morning(s) was 56 degrees – pretty much the same as the water temperature. Every time we’re running the generator, we’re also running our ceramic heater. That get’s the temp up to about 66!

Up early again – this time because we wanted to be ashore before the washing machines below the Pine Tree Market in town, got filled up. We got to the dinghy dock around 7:30 – Fred carrying the laundry and Iris bags and detergent. 3 machines were already in use, one was broken, but 3 remained and she quickly filled them with our stuff! We set a time of around 9:10 for Fred to come back. Between wash and dry cycles, Iris checked out the market, walked to the Library (which wouldn’t open until 10, she discovered) to see about internet (unsuccessfully) and then did some provisioning until Fred came back. Meanwhile, he’d emptied the chain locker of both our chain and nylon rode to prepare for the windlass repair.

Back aboard Windwalker, Fred tested the connections, put in a new air-switch (which didn’t fix the problem) while Iris stowed clothes and provisions. Fred continued the diagnoses inside the solonoid box and verified with a jumper that the up direction was working from the solonoid forward. Cleaning the airswitch connections and tightening the airhose got the windlass working again (at least for now). Hoping that it’ll stay that way, we returned the chain and rode to its proper place in the chain locker. Chores completed – let’s do something with the rest of the day! We had an early lunch then took the bus system to Southwest Harbor – a major boating harbor we’d not visited by land or boat. We quickly walked through town, mailing our absentee ballots, stopping in West Marine and browsing through some of the shops. We’re done and it’s not yet 2pm. Why not head into Bar Harbor and have dinner there? We got to town, headed straight to the internet cafe we’d used before to do some email, checked out which restaurants had the best early-bird lobster deal, and then walked the Shore Path. Iris wanted to get back before 7 to ensure Frosty’s phenobarbital dose was on time. So dinner at the West St. Cafe (Grill?) and back on the 6:15pm bus. While Frosty had her pill on time, she still had a mild seizure about an hour later. Poor kitty.

We calculated backwards from a Dr. appointment that we have to make in New York City on September 18 and decided that we have quite a few days remaining to us in Maine. Fred made preparations for the Precipice Trail for tomorrow. It is one of the most difficult in Acadia and had previously been closed to us due to peregrine falcon nesting. Iris, having done it’s shorter cousin trail, The Beehive (Precipice) Trail – decided this was not for her! Fear of falling and lacking any balance are not good for a non-technical (sans ropes) rock climb.

The alarm clocks are at it again – up at 5:30! Frosty was playing ball and dashing around the cabin like mad. We had a big breakfast and then dashed around wanting to catch the 9:25 bus in order to make the appropriate connection to another bus in Bar Harbor. Major miscommunication. Iris planned to relax by Sand Beach while Fred hiked and wasn’t preparing to hike too. Fred intended to do another hike with her after he completed the Precipice. Different shoes, different clothes, need to take less. Scramble and snarl. We took our family radio along and arranged to check-in with each other every 30 minutes. The bus dropped Fred off (along with several hardy 20-somethings) at the Precipice Trail while Iris stayed aboard until Sand Beach. While he negotiated the treacherous ladders, iron bar hand-holds, and 1000 foot elevation change on the rock climb, she people-watched and read on the beach. Since Fred was so high up, the family radios did work for most of the check-ins, and we were reunited at around 1:30. By this time, Iris was able to talk Fred out of the additional hike. Instead, we took the bus to the Sieur de Monts visitor center where we visited the Nature Center, the Abbe Museum of Native Artifacts and the Wild Gardens of Acadia. Dr. Abbe lived in Northeast Harbor and played a large role in collecting native american artifacts. He was also the inventor of radiotherapy for cancer. A larger version of the museum exists in Bar Harbor but we didn’t visit it.

A quick stop between buses at the Village Green allowed time for ice cream. Spaghetti dinner back at home. What to do tomorrow – go or stay?

The cats don’t let up. This time Iris goes back to bed. Let’s stay, get the paper, use the DSL connection ashore to pay some bills and then go for a leisurely hike somewhere… (another miscommunication in the works……) It takes us a little longer than planned to handle our mail. Iris wants to do some additional provisioning so Fred returned to the boat with the pc, meeting her back in Pine Tree Market a little while later. While Iris stows the foodstuffs back onboard, we debate which trails to take. Fred wants rigorous, Iris wants a walk. It’s now 11:10 and one set of trails is accessible by the 11:25 bus. The next set is at least an hour later. Pandemonium and whining as we grab our gear, dash into the dinghy, rush ashore and Iris runs up the gangway to hail the bus while Fred ties up. Amazingly, we make the bus (meant to be?). Enroute to the Bubble Pond area trailhead, Fred looks at the elevation change on the topo once again for our intended trail (Cadilljac West Face Trail) and decides (good thing) that perhaps that trail isn’t something Iris would like. (Rated difficult +) He proposes an alternative – doing the Eagle Lake West trail to the top of Connor’s Nubble and then down to Jordan Pond via the Jordan Cliff Trail or carriage road. We had the topo map but not the trail descriptions. Iris agreed and off we headed to cover new ground at around noon. The Eagle Lake trail was dry (and could have been quite wet) but strewn with tree roots and rocks and then rock scrambling. It got pretty rugged and Iris resorted to scrambling and crawling between many of the rocks. We continued to forge on and came upon a mountain-biker staring down at the part of the trail we’d just done. We asked if he actually rode down this stuff and he said pretty much getting on the bike and falling off and carrying it 😉 Fred agreed that this trail was a bit more rugged than he’d thought it would be. The next couple we met said to look out for a porcupine in the trees about 100 yards ahead. There he was, staring at us! Iris had first seen a wild porcupine in Acadia when she was about 12! Other wild-life sightings for the day included a toad, a red squirrel and a few chipmunks. Later Fred would see a fawn too.

Finally atop Connor’s Nubble, we ate sandwiches at 2pm. It was overcast and quite windy and chilly. Once again looking at the map, we came up with another plan. We’d follow our intended trail and carriage road to the intersection with the Jordan Cliff Trail. Depending on the time (since Iris moves at a snail’s pace on difficult terrain), we’d either both take the carriage road back from there or split up. Iris pretty much went down the .2 mi. steep drop from Connor’s Nubble on her rear end until we got to less rocky terrain. We made good time back on the carriage road and got to the trail decision at 3pm. Iris had a bad feeling about the Jordan Cliff Trail (but didn’t remember exactly what she’d read) and opted for the carriage road. Fred took the ‘high’ road and we agreed to meet at Jordan Pond (this time sans family radios) at 4:30pm. Iris enjoyed a fast paced walk on the carriage road, with views of horse-drawn carriages, family biking ‘dramas’ and Jordan Pond in her quick half hour walk to the Pond House. Meanwhile, Fred was on a trail that was shorter but just as difficult as the Precipice Trail without as many hand-holds. The views of Jordon Pond from the edge of the cliff though were awesome. As the trail clings to the rock face, you have an unimpeded 900 foot drop down to the carriage road and the pond. Had Iris gone with him, we’d still be crawling along the trail at dark! We met at around 4:10, Fred purchased a weatherproof jacket he’d eyed when he bought his shoes earlier in the week and we caught the 4:35 bus back to Northeast Harbor. Time for the early-bird lobster special at the Docksider restaurant in Northeast Harbor and back in time to give Frosty her meds. The weather forecast for tomorrow isn’t pleasant. We may or may not leave. But it’s time to read our Sunday paper and relax.

Rain and heavy drizzle with more in the forecast for the day. We don’t really HAVE to leave – so let’s stay. Nice hot breakfast and then we head ashore to check out the library’s free internet access (open from 10-5), visit an ATM, check out the hardware store/chandlery – where Iris found some Raritan Toilet Water – a product we use with our head, but Westmarine no longer carries. We also paid up for tonight’s mooring and spent the remainder of the day working on updating the website. It remained rainy and gray. Fred did additional route planning – looking at the anchorages Iris had selected. We’ll have to make determinations based on weather. Unpleasant news, however, is the Tropical Storm Ernesto (soon to be Hurricane) is bearing down on West Palm Beach. Nothing we can do about it from up here. We hope we don’t have to deal with the remnants in Maine as it heads northward, as well. Tomorrow should be sunny and warmer with lighter winds from the north for the next few days. We plan to take on some water before leaving the harbor and head to Pretty Marsh Harbor on the west side of Mt. Desert – a new to us anchorage……

Since we’d worked so hard on updating the website, may as well go in and pay the $5 to do the upload 😉 We dinghied in with the laptop at 7:45am – but no one arrived at the Chamber of Commerce until around 8:15. After updating the site, we checked on Tropical Storm Ernesto’s status as well as weather outlook here as it would be our last chance to look at detailed weather until Boothbay. Back at the boat, we left our mooring and motored Windwalker over to the water float – where we tied up and filled our tanks. It was time to move on – so we left the float and our favorite Northeast Harbor around 10, motoring up the west side of Mt. Desert Island to the beautiful Pretty Marsh Harbor. Enroute we saw dolphins and plenty of cormorants. We anchored at 1, had lunch and put on heavier clothes as the high was a chilly 65 degrees and cloudy. Just a little bit of sun would have helped a lot! A sailboat came up near us and picked up a mooring – but apparently it was just a lunch stop and they left shortly thereafter. (We’ve noticed once again that it is the practice in Maine to pick up private vacant moorings, even for the night. Not our style – we prefer to know how our boat is secured (eg – unknown status of moorings) and don’t relish the thought of having to vacate a mooring when the proper owner returns either.)

There was an attractive gazebo with a set of stairs leading to it and a picnic area from the water – part of the national park. We’d originally planned to dinghy over and explore it – however the gazebo had more than a few people moving about and the chill put a damper on our plans. We huddled in the cockpit and read. A seal swam about the boat but dove when we grabbed the camera. Or was it Iris’s attempt at seal noises that scared it off 😉 We saw another large sailboat approach the harbor. He’s aiming right at us!!! Just as it looked like he was going to ram us amidships, he made a sharp turn to the left and stopped beside us with a big grin on his face. He wanted to know where the closest road access was. Fred told him the gazebo was the only one we knew of. He seemed to ignore our comments that we thought he was going to hit us. And off he went to check out the gazebo steps, leaving the harbor a few minutes later. We had the harbor to ourselves for the remainder of the afternoon and night – with a clearing sky.

It seemed to be the most quiet night ever. The water was flat and when Iris awoke at around 4am – the stillness was amazing – no water noises, no boat noises, no animal or bird sounds – just the soft breathing of Fred and the cats. At dawn the water was like glass – not a ripple. Not until a little later in the morning when the seal came by for his swim. We raised anchor at 9:30. The windlass’ ‘up’ switch worked for Fred as he raised the chain from 85′ to 50′ – but Iris had trouble with it for the last 15′ or so, raising only a foot at a time. Is it fixed or not? We motored to the Bold/Devil Islands on Merchants’ Row, the anchorage Iris had selected for the evening. The islands were private but she’d hoped to explore ‘Hell’s Half Acre’ – a small island that was state owned. Well – ‘Hell’s Half Acre’ was probably smaller than a 1/2 acre – it was miniscule. As we motored by it into the anchorage Fred asked “this is what we came here to see?” Neither of us was impressed. The anchorage was more exposed and the water was deeper than we liked as well. There were two moorings in the middle, with houses on either island. Fred suggested that we pick up one of the moorings (again – not something we normally do..) while we think about whether or not we want to stay here. We had lunch and decided we’d rather go on to tomorrow’s anchorage – the one between McGlathery and Round that we knew we liked. We could anchor in around 8′ (at low) instead of 25′ at low as well. Off we went – it was a short motor to get there. Four boats were already anchored – one in at least 33′. We worked our way in front of all the boats as it was the shallow water we desired. Perhaps too shallow? In order to make sure, after we’d anchored, we put the dink in the water and used our electronic sounder around the perimeter of the boat to ensure there weren’t submerged rocks we’d hit as we rotated with the wind. All clear.

Analog service for our cell phone was minimal at best – Iris was able to check phone messages but attempts to call her mother went poorly with several disconnects. The cats patrolled our decks as evening approached and two of the boats left; a ketch and a powerboat remained. The winds turned to the north, not a good thing for this anchorage. We expected a noisy night due to the chop from the wind, lobster boats manning their pots in the morning and a lot of traffic through the nearby channel between the islands. After dinner, while watching PBS, we were glad to find out that Ernesto wasn’t going to be a major problem for Florida. The winds continued to pick up as did the noise and we braced ourselves for a restless night. Fred set both depth and anchor alarms and we expected to have to get up and check on conditions throughout the night. Fortunately, winds abated somewhat after 11:30 or so.

Iris arose at 6:50 to the sounds of Frosty having a grand mal seizure. No point in going back to bed after that. Fred slept in and we had a nice big breakfast. Our plan was to dinghy over to Wreck Island, a spot we enjoyed on our last trip and hike on it, then return for lunch and head to McGlathery for a similar hike. We had Wreck to ourselves. Yesterday we saw two Windjammers unload and load ‘tons’ of folks for a lunch stop but none arrived today. We arrived at low tide and made sure the dinghy was securely tied up above the beach to allow for incoming tide. There’s only so far we can drag it up the rocky shoreline when dealing with 10′ tides. We climbed to several high pastures to enjoy the surrounding island views. Then Iris returned to the dinghy and sat in the sun on a large rock beachside, while Fred decided to hike around the point. We’d brought our family radios along and Fred called Iris to let her know that he was continuing on to the 2nd and then 3rd points. He’d been out of sight for a long time. After awhile, when she hadn’t heard from him, Iris called (and he’d been trying her as well) and while the signal was bad, she understood that he was ‘circumnavigating’ the exterior rocks of Wreck. Close to the end of his island exploration, Fred had to head inland as the rocks became impassible. Together again, we dinghied back to the boat. By this time the chop had picked up and when we got back to Windwalker, the waves were about 2′ high. Maybe we don’t want to stay here tonight! Let’s put the outboard on the boat, have lunch and then leave!

Next on our agenda were either Pulpit Harbor or Holbrook Island Harbor – both spots we’d done before but felt we hadn’t done justice. Fred worked out routes to both and we had lunch. Leaving the anchorage was a bit of a firedrill. The water was choppy, we were sitting a few feet from a lobster pot float and the windlass ‘up’ switch was acting up for Iris. We didn’t want the prop wrapped in that float! In fact, the float did get hung up briefly, on our stern swim ladder but Fred was able to free it with the boathook. Off at last! After an hour, we really had to decide which anchorage to head to. We thought we’d try for Holbrook if the wind angle let us sail. Nope. So Pulpit Harbor it is. A seal and dolphin sighting confirmed our decision ;-).

Last time we’d been in Pulpit Harbor was 1999. It had come highly recommended but we were unimpressed. It was crowded with moorings and we anchored in fairly deep water. We didn’t go ashore. The moorings were still there but we were more experienced and worked our way in to a spot further in the harbor between two moorings. We anchored but Iris felt we’d end up on the rocks at low tide. Fred agreed and we raised anchor and moved up a few boatlengths and re-anchored. Much better! We saw a few boats arrive at dusk and pick up moorings. We thought those were their moorings (but when they left early the next morning, we decided they were just picking up private moorings). We hadn’t run our refrigerator and Iris wanted to run the generator. The harbor was quiet and we waited for sunset, Then we waited for someone else to run theirs And waited. And waited. Sorry Iris – we can’t run the generator – we’ll disrupt the perfect stillness. We’ll run it at 7 in the morning. Let’s hope the boat stays cold enough so the stuff in the freezer stays frozen.
But it was a beautiful evening with a nice sky and the only noise an occasional car going by.

A lot of scurrying around as we finish loading up Windwalker with supplies, our refrigerated/frozen goods and the kitties. Previous days have been spent making provisioning trips, final projects and stowing gear on the boat. We’d stripped off most of our cruising gear to allow room for projects and it’s been 3 years since we’ve cruised. So we’re a little rusty! We stored our car and took a cab back to the boat around 4pm. Since we can only leave our slip at close to high tide, we had to wait until around 6pm to start the engine and ‘cut the lines’!

Off we go – not too far – it’s around 7:30 before we get out from the last bridge and can anchor off of Old Port Cove Marina on the Singer Island side of northern section of Lake Worth. Iris makes dinner. Quiet evening – only a couple of boats on moorings and no one near us. While we may leave tomorrow – Iris tries to make the case for waiting a day to acclimate both ourselves and kitties. Frosty is pretty berserk and her only aim is to get on deck. Dusty is anxious to be above as well.

For future reference, since we’re sure it’ll be an issue on this trip – Frosty, our around 14 yr old cat, was a timid, affectionate soul until March when she started having seizures. Since then, she’s been on a twice daily dose of Phenobarbital. We have had a couple of weeks of daily seizures until a week ago and have been trying to adjust her dose. We think we’re there for awhile at least. But we’re concerned about how her potential sea-sickness will affect her ability to keep the meds down. And she has changed from the timid kitty to some creature out of The Exorcist. Violent rages, unprovoked attacks on previously dominant 16 yr old Dusty, attacks on Iris – the only one she ever trusted, have become the norm. But she’s healthy, pretty happy, and plays and enjoys life most of the time.

We’ve decided to stay put, prepare for sea, and relax a little today. While the night was hot, it wasn’t intolerable. Safety gear was assembled, ditch bag put together, more items were stowed – we were feeling productive. Frosty was in a foul mood, but remained below. Iris tried logging on via cell-phone, but we couldn’t get a good connection. Around 3pm a fairly strong thunderstorm with winds over 25 knots came through our area. We started to drag, but decided to wait until the lightening had abated before going on deck to reset the anchor. After the storm, we raised anchor, moved and reset. We enjoyed a nice dinner in the cockpit, filed our float plan with family and played a bit with the SSB weather frequencies. We plan to be at the Lake Worth sea buoy by 10am tomorrow, headed north to Beaufort, NC. Passage should take us about 3 days with arrival sometime on Wed. morning.

We had a pretty bad night. Frosty kept trying to jump up into the aft cabin with us, unsuccessfully. She growled and attacked Dusty all night. And we wanted to have a good night’s sleep before heading out – not to be. As we were raising anchor, the coast guard is reporting a “body in the inlet”. That’s not a great omen. Fortunately, this was later amended to a “person in the water” who was then recovered. We raised anchor at 8:45 am – with lots of mud which went into the chain locker since we failed to put out our anchor wash hose. We were underway by 9 and out the sea buoy at 10:02 – right on time!

Winds are very light and from behind us, the seas are flat, and we’re having to motor at low rpm. The gulf stream is giving us a lift and we’re making around 10 knots. Mid-afternoon, we’re engulfed in a cloud of tiny, crunchy bugs which are landing on the boat and promptly dying. Weird. Shortly afterwards, the wind picks up and we’re able to run so we turn off the engine. Around 7pm, an hour before Iris’s first watch, she says she doesn’t want wing and wing (main and jib on opposing side) after dark because it’s too hard to maintain. Winds are getting flukey and there are clearly thunderstorms in the area. We take in the genny after turning on the engine and keep the main up. At 7:30 the storm hit and things got pretty wild. We’d reefed the main to a tiny triangle a few minutes earlier. Winds gusted into the high 30s and the seas got rough. At around 8, we were hailed by a motor vessel overtaking us, Curtsey, asking if we were ok. Fred replied affirmatively and thanked them for asking. They said that the storm was quite extensive (12 mi or more wide) and that we’d be in it for at least another hour or more. At 8:30, Iris took the watch while Fred went below to try and get some rest in the ‘washing machine’. While the rain stopped, the seas and winds stayed up until shortly after 10pm. Fred took his watch at 11pm , put out the sails again and turned off the engine.

Iris took her watch at 2pm and turned on the engine shortly thereafter, motorsailing. Nothing threatening out there, stars started to appear and she could see the Milky Way for the first time since our last trip to the Keys. At around 4:45am, the Raymarine GPS (which had been flakey of late), lost it’s fix. Fred took his watch at 5am while Iris dug the Garmin hand-held ETREX out of the ditch bag – so we could continue to take hourly fixes and track our speed. We also tried to get the NVN offshore forecasts, but they were either garbled or unreadable. What we did hear was something about a stalled front with low that was supposed to dissipate before we got to Beaufort. But we also heard seas building from 5-8 feet. Around 7am, we decided to divert to Charleston because we were uncomfortable without getting a better forecast and due to the failure of the GPS. The GPS came back on at 10am. We continued to debate whether or not to continue on. Our arrival in Charleston would be way too early – midnight to 2am or so. Then we redid our route to go in the next inlet, Winyah Bay – which would be early/mid-morning. Through the afternoon we second-guessed our decision but decided to stay with our Winyah Bay plan. Iris took the first watch at 8pm – thunderstorms around but nothing threatening. Saw a big sea turtle! And had a fairly close pass with 2 ships inbound to Charleston. About 5 minutes before Fred’s 11pm watch was to begin, Iris noted that lightening starting to get closer and the radar image became consumed by rain. Fred took over and the fun began shortly thereafter. Very, very close and frequent lightening strikes. Iris hugged Dusty who seemed terrified and wouldn’t stop meowing. The rain poured so heavily that Fred got soaked and put on his foulies. One bolt was so close that Fred wasn’t sure if we’d gotten hit; he could smell the ozone. It was blinding below in the dark cabin as well. But fortunately, we were ok.

Iris’s 2-5am watch was uneventful, but she slowed the boat down too much by bringing in the genny. Fred came up at 5, rolled out the sails and made up the time she’d lost ;-). We entered the inlet at around 9:20am, heading up the intracoastal. Both of us felt pretty good and the cats were doing well too. As soon as we were in cellphone range of Georgetown, SC, we called family to close our float plan and let them know that all was well.

We wanted to make as much progress northward as possible, wanted to try out a new anchorage – yet we were tired by over two days at sea. First stop, at around 2pm, was Thoroughfare Creek on the Waccamah River, rated all ‘4’s except for shopping in Skipper Bob’s ICW Anchorages guide. The terrain was gorgeous – a beautiful mix of hardwoods and swamp and Spanish moss. First clues that things may not work out were the two small power boats screaming out of the creek. Then the ‘no wake’ signs posted as we went deeper. At the suggested anchoring location, a small boat was pulled ashore and a child was swimming. Then two other boats powered by us and landed there as well as all jumped out to swim. We circled trying to find shallow enough waters and as we were about to drop anchor a large excursion ferry came around the bend at a fast clip. Maybe things had changed since the guide was written. It was 2pm, we could try one more place before settling for our past anchorage on the Waccamaw. Almost as highly rated was the Bull Creek anchorage. One guide even said if one never anchors anywhere else, this is the place to go! Equally beautiful – with lots of bird and animal noises. We headed to the first bend – not sure we were in the ‘right’ place but found shallow water, and dropped anchor with a trip line (anchor float) in case we snagged a tree stump, at around 4pm. The wind was against current and the boat was sitting parallel to the forest. We figured even if we end up stern to shore, there was soft mud and no real obstacles to hurt us.

Finally, engine off and the first total quiet since departure. We had dinner and enjoyed our surroundings. We also listed the items that had broken enroute – we seemed to have a leak in the engine raw-water pump, our VHF cockpit extension cable had almost worn through, and our fixed-mount GPS – a bit flakey before we left, kept losing its fix at inopportune times. Iris decided to ‘pill’ Frosty before dessert. First bad sign – it took 4 tries and Iris wasn’t sure the cat ever swallowed the meds. Then, while having dessert, Fred said “is that an alligator?” The first was a log. But then the second spot he pointed to surely had eyes pointed in our direction. He grabbed the camera while Iris got the binoculars and the eyes headed in our direction – either enamored of the float or of the choice morsel named Dusty following Fred onto the deck. While up on deck, we noticed that the float was headed towards our stern. Fred scooped it up with the boathook to move it forward. As he was doing this a boat rushing by on the intracoastal came to a sudden stop at the opening of the creek and turned to face us, 1/4 mile in. After stopping for what seemed like hours, but was probably 2-3 minutes, they came full bore towards us and passed us as they continued up the creek. Iris went below and Fred dropped the float. Seconds later, a 2nd boat followed them. Their wakes moved Windwalker around and now the float was gone. What if it’s wrapped around our keel or prop? What if our anchor drags or we’re attacked in the middle of the night (a la Deliverence)? Our vivid imaginations took over as we took showers, ran the air-conditioning briefly to dry out the boat, and prepared for bed in a very steamy boat surrounded by alligator infested zero visibility tannin-brown waters. A good night’s sleep was out of the question!

Frosty attacked Dusty throughout the night – so besides wild-life sounds surrounding us, we heard a lot of growling and hissing. Fred slept in the aft cabin, while Iris slept on one of the settees in the saloon – running fans to get some air motion. Sleep was a misnomer – each of us tried to work out scenarios on how to recover from a snagged trip line. Typically, a prop wrap from a snag would be an easy problem – jump in the water with a mask and snorkle (or Scuba if extensively wrapped) and remove the line. Here though, the water was like dark tea with no visibility, the current was fast, and there were those alligators! Upon review later in the day, our approaches were the same: First we’d put the dinghy in the water and try and snag the line with a boathook. If that failed, we’d take a second anchor out and set it manually and then try to slowing raise the first, without power until we could reach the snagged line. If attempts to unsnag failed, our only recourse would be to call one of the nearby marinas and see if we could get a diver (no way either of us was going in there!) or get a tow and be hauled out to clear the snag. But neither of us discussed this during the night – we just rested and struggled with our own nightmares.

At 6am we both got up – we had to deal with the issue or get going before breakfast. Fred went up on deck and yelled down “We’re lucky!” Windwalker was in her original anchoring position as was the float. We rushed to get ready, raised the anchor and trip line and were headed on our way by 6:45. Breakfast and cat meds were accomplished enroute.

More decisions – how far do we think we can get today? Southport, NC would be great – but bridge opening schedules might not oblige – the current sure wasn’t favorable either. And Fred wanted to change the engine oil. After delays at both bridges, one of which was being repaired, we decided to go into Cricket Cove Marina early (around 2pm), take on fuel, do chores quickly and then unwind. The first part (getting there at 2) worked out. But after changing the oil, Fred decided to change out the engine raw water pump. Meanwhile, Iris was on deck washing the boat and removing the fish scales and other stains caused by the remains of 4 large flying fish which had landed on the boat while in the gulf stream. Finally, we were ready to take ‘real’ showers at 5:30 and get to dinner at the marina restaurant at 6:30. If trying for Southport, we surely would not have been there yet, nor would we have gotten to the chores until 8! Frosty remained amazingly nasty and cruel throughout the day; Dusty was terrorized. Sleeping in a frigid, air-conditioned boat was fantastic.

Up at 6:30 for a 7:30 target departure. We’ve got to make around 65+ miles today and need to get going. Rush, rush. Then just as we were ready to cast off our lines, Fred decided to make a last check on the engine. Good thing, because oil was leaking out of the pump he’d replaced yesterday. A quick glance at the Volvo manual showed that he’d left out an o-ring. Messy job done quickly and we were on our way at 8:25. We had to wait 45 minutes for the first NC bridge – one we’ve mentioned in our previous ICW trips. One of the last pontoon bridges of its type in the country. It only opens hourly and the wait was expected. After the bridge, we raised the main (and later genoa) and were able to motor sail past Southport and into the broad area of Cape Fear River. Along with the GPS, our autopilot was acting up and Fred tried adjusting a second control unit. The boat, under full sail, attempted to make a 360. Fortunately, Fred was able to turn off the autopilot and regain control before our unplanned gybe hurt anything. We weren’t going to use that 2nd control unit anytime soon!

On we went towards Wrightsville Beach, anchoring in around 15+knots wind and 2 knots of current. It felt like a good anchor set – better be because we’re pretty close to a fixed bridge should we start to drag. Only 4 other boats were anchored nearby.

After dinner, Iris called our friends Bob and K on fellow Valiant 40 RIMA from TX – to see if our paths would cross. We’d last seen them as they came into Lake Worth a couple of weeks ago. They had just gotten to New Bern, NC, where they’d stay a few days. That wasn’t really on our route, and our next chance to see them would be in the fall, in the Chesapeake. Oh well. Before dark, a severe thunderstorm crossed over us – but the anchor held well and the rains just rinsed off the boat. Sometime during the thunderstorm, Frosty must have had a seizure – we found drool, and she was particularly affectionate and hungry – characteristic signs. Not sure she’d taken her meds – it took 2 tries in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. We talked about alternatives for the next day and agreed on one thing – we weren’t going anywhere in the morning. If weather permitted, we might leave tomorrow night for Beaufort offshore. Alternatively, we could stay another day and do the ICW up to Beaufort – but we hate the particular stretch with its numerous bridges and no great stopping spots. If we tried to leave early tomorrow for the 70+miles offshore to Beaufort – our stopping spots after arrival would be limited and we’d be trying to find a place to anchor after dark if delayed at all. The offshore overnight plan was coming together but still hadn’t gelled. We also needed to buy a new GPS – don’t want to do Maine in the fog without the chartplotter. Iris found an unsecured wireless connection and was able to log on and get weather.

Iris awoke to sounds of a grand mal seizure by Frosty, She found the cat atop the food/water bowls literally trying to climb the bulkhead. Iris grabbed her, placed her on the settee and hugged her until the seizure stopped. Given Frosty’s hunger, it was easy to give her the phenobarbital plus valium. It still was nice to go back to bed and not have to move.

During and after breakfast our plan came together. We called the New Bern West Marine to see if they had a new GPS. Iris had them place it on hold for a Sunday pickup. Affirmative. Iris then called the New Bern Sheraton Marina (where Rima was), to see if they had an opening and to check on rates – sounds good so she made a reservation for Sat. and Sun. nights. We then called Bob and K to let them know we decided to take a short detour to visit with them. Fred plotted our waypoints – it would be a long day. We’d leave the Masonboro Inlet around 7pm, get to Beaufort inlet at twilight or dawn, and then make our way up the Neuse River to New Bern by early afternoon. Doing this inside would otherwise take 3 days. We felt good, and took the remainder of the day to relax, slowly do passage prep, and sleep when we could.

Dinner at around 5:30pm; Frosty medicated and anchor up at 6:30pm. And out the inlet at 7:02pm. We were amazed at the lack of boat traffic. Except for 2 small catamarans racing out the inlet, there were no fishing vessels – recreational or commercial, to be seen. We had 3-4, and then more like 5+ foot following seas along with 15-18 knots of wind behind us. We were able to sail and took less formal watches. Both of us stayed in the cockpit and took turns at the helm. We saw occasional fireworks on shore, along with the natural kind (thunderstorms) further inland. We were making very good time and thought we might have to slow ourselves down on the approach. The boat motion was a little rough however, and the cats were having a hard time finding comfortable positions.

At 4am the excitement began. The GPS lost it’s fix and didn’t come back. We knew where we were, as we manually log and use the chartplotter log of hourly/half-hourly fixes. But we had planned to cut into the channel and needed some precision for that. Iris handed Fred the hand-held Etrex so that we could figure out our speed over ground. Fred headed for the sea buoy. We needed to run the entire inlet channel – which we began before twilight. Our entrance was uneventful and Fred got out the wires and hooked up the hand-held GPS to the chartplotter for fixes as we headed up the ICW, using the buffer amplifier he had built a few weeks ago just for such a need.

Around 10am, Frosty had a mild seizure based on her behavior. She had her pheno at 6am so perhaps it was the stress of the passage? These cluster seizures aren’t good. We got to New Bern around 1:30pm and asked the marina for directions. The dockmaster on the radio was giving us one set of instructions, while a dock-hand was waving us to another slip and Bob and K was at the end of the dock waving too. We pulled into the slip the man waved us to – tied up with his and Bob and K’s assistance and then found out that this was indeed the wrong slip. Backed out and were moved to within a boat of Rima. Bob and K visited with us briefly as we made plans for later in the afternoon. After a quick straighening up, Fred stayed aboard to do a thorough boat wash and to connect power etc. Iris (together with Bob and K), took the Sheraton courtesy van to West Marine – Bob and K continued on to Walmart while Iris returned with her booty. As Fred opened the GPS box, he discovered that it had been returned (the prior purchaser’s receipt was in the box) and had possibly been installed. Iris called West Marine, but the manager didn’t know the history of the return. Fred did a quick trial to see if it worked using alligator clips – but we wouldn’t know if we had an issue until he did the install himself. Meanwhile, Iris logged on using the marina’s broadband connection, which unfortunately, only has a usable signal from the cockpit. At around 5:30 Frosty had another grand mal seizure while we were below. Valium then and pheno right before we left for dinner.

We headed out at 6:30 with Bob and K to find a place to eat. While we selected a spot that had a reasonably priced, interesting menu – the food was not up to par, nor was the service. Not one of our better selections. But we had a nice walk and caught up with our collective sea-stories. We made tentative plans for tomorrow – and have an invite to Rima for dinner along with Brian and Linda – another Valiant couple who live in the area.

An alarm (probably GPS lost fix) came on sometime in the middle of the night. Turning off a breaker solved the intrusion into a good night’s sleep. At 6:20, Frosty jumped onto the bed wanting food. Earlier Iris had heard sounds which sounded more like Frosty playing ball than Frosty seizing. But perhaps it was the latter as she was famished and friendly. In any case, Iris was up – and full of energy. By 8:30 she’d taken care of kitties, bought a newspaper, done a load of laundry, connected the cable tv and cleaned up adhesive residue from where we duct-taped openings for passage. By then Fred was up as well and we went to breakfast at the Sheraton. Post breakfast – we watched some of our Sunday morning news shows, read the Raleigh paper and started on projects: Fred installing the GPS while Iris worked on Windwalker website. We may explore New Bern with some of the local walking tour information with Bob and K. We’re thinking about staying here an extra day – it’s pleasant having access to the hotel facilities and after all – we have to get back into the serendipitous cruising behavior. While we’d like to get to the Newport, RI area by mid August – we have no other commitments besides a dr. apptmt in NYC on 9/18………….

By evening, we’d decided to spend another day – sightseeing and having Bob and K over to dinner tomorrow night.

Iris got up early and saw that the washer/dryer were free right before 7am. But before she could return with the laundry, someone else had gotten there first. We had a ‘date’ to meet Bob and K at 9am so that we could tour the Tryon Palace. Iris managed to get to the washing machine and dryer right at the end of each cycle and laundry was done around 9:10. Meanwhile, Bob was trying to arrange for delivery of a new cellphone – his had gone overboard on Windwalker while Iris was demonstrating our side-mounted swim ladder on Saturday. We all have fears of dropping something valuable (besides ourselves 😉 overboard! So we got going at 9:30. The Tryon Palace and several other 18th century homes comprise a Williamsburg-like collection of attractions. The Palace, originally the North Carolina Colonial Governor’s home, burned down in the 1800s, but was entirely rebuilt according to original plans and furnished with period appropriate furniture and fixtures. The city of New Bern played an active role in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. After an enjoyable tour, we traipsed over to Chelsea Cafe, a restaurant which had caught Bob’s eye a few days earlier. Lunch was fantastic! Afterwards, refreshed, we continued on our tour which included the New Bern Academy – a museum which was originally the site of the first public school in North Carolina. The museum included rooms on period architecture, military history, and educational history. Late in the afternoon we headed to the Galley Store – a newly-opened convenience store not too far from the marina. The store is trying to cater to cruisers – with additional fruits/vegetables, staples and frozen meats. Our needs were minor, but had we stayed longer, we would have purchased more.

We enjoyed Bob and K’s company aboard for dinner. Afterwards, we made plans for an 8:30 am departure. Next stop, we hoped, would be the vicinity of Belhaven, NC.