Florida to Maine 2006

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....