LATITUDES' JOURNEY

A few pictures from Vero Beach

2012-01-23T22:30:00.000-05:00

A little catch-up for our visit here in Vero Beach. A couple of days ago Luke and Dave drove out to Sebastan Inlet, about 15 miles north of here. A nice inlet, but we are blocked from using it due to a 37 foot high bridge near the entrance. We need 62 feet to clear. The day was clear and the water blue. Here is the inlet, taken from that 37 foot bridge. The jetty going out into the water has a fishing pier at the end.

The pier was crowded with Saturday morning fishermen (and fisherwomen)

There is a fish cleaning area near the pier. The birds don't miss out on that! The cute pelicans rule.

Wood Storks aren't cute, not at all, but they sure are in the mix, too. They are big!

Long time family friends Ange and Ray visited on Sunday. We went for a leisurely boat ride up the ICW and enjoyed getting together again.

It's been great seeing Marina and Dave. We've had dinners with them, and they have generously let us borrow one of their cars. That has been a tremendous help in provisioning, errands, etc.

Boat work tomorrow, a PT appointment for my ankle on Wednesday, and then we will probably be leaving Vero for this trip. We do always enjoy our time here, though.

Quick catch-up

2012-01-22T10:02:00.000-05:00

We made it to Vero Beach without any problems. Now we're on a nice mooring in 80 degree, sunny, Florida weather! We love it - Smokey is basking in the sun, quietly surveying her new world.
Shopping and hanging out at the fishing pier in the inlet with friends Marina and Dave yesterday (I'll let you guess who did which!). Today, close family friends Ange and Ray will be here for a visit.
Pictures and more later, probably tomorrow evening.

Roseate Spoonbills and a ROCKET LAUNCH!

2012-01-19T22:43:00.000-05:00

As usual, we left in the morning way too early - at "Civil twilight". That translates into 20 minutes before dawn - the sky is light enough to do things outside without artifical light, but not daylight yet. That would be about 6:50 a.m. these days..... But, as a plus, Luke caught this beautiful shot of sunrise just outside of St. Augustine.

Our 60 mile run from St. Augustine to New Smyrna Beach was mostly a long day of motoring and a few rain showers. Houses along this part of the ICW run the gamut from RV's and single-wides, to monster mansions that you can't believe. We pass through Daytona on this leg of our trip. Daytona is a busy place - lots of those monster mansions and high rise condos. It's busy enough that there are 4 bridges crossing the waterway. 2 of those bridges are high enough that we just cruise on under them. 2 require a request for an opening. The second of those bridges was having some slight technical difficulties....they could only get one of the two opening sections of the bridge to raise. After some waiting, the nice bridgekeeper told us that if we wanted to go through the half opening, we could do so. We did! It was a bit tense, but Luke did a great job of putting Latitudes in just the right place to slip through perfectly. For perspective, that bridge is only 25 feet high when closed. We require 60 feet clearance.

Unfortunately, our friends that we intended to visit in New Smyrna were both ill and we had to postpone our visit until our trip back.

Todoay, we again left at civil twilight and motored on to the Haulover Canal, a short little canal with an opening bridge that worked! The other side of the canal, where the water widens again, is the site of many spoil islands, little islands that dot the waterway. These islands always have the most white pelicans that we've ever seen. They are just hundreds of them, all clustered together on these tiny islands.

But this year we saw something new. A fellow cruiser alerted us to the fact that pink Roseate Spoonbill birds share these islands, at least the islands with trees. This isn't a clear picture, but you can see the pink flutter of the spoonbill. There were dozens of them sitting in the trees.

These big birds look like a cross between the pink flamingos and the ugy wood storks. Here is a picture of one, borrowed from the web.

Next along our route today was Cape Canaveral. With NASA's big cutbacks, it was sad to pass the building, American flag hanging proudly, but apparently sitting empty and quiet along the waterway. As Luke said "the twilight of the gods and their chariots of fire" is here.

But, NO! At dinner tonight (local pizza joint, yum!) we talked with other cruisers. We can always spot each other.... anyway, they told us about an unmaned rocket launch tonight from Cape Canaveral! Our anchorage tonight is in Cocoa, a mere 20 miles from the launch site. Not far at all in terms of seeing the launch. Sure enough, to the minute, we saw the huge ball of light rising in the sky, curving into orbit, dropping red bits of debris in it's path. WOW!

This certainly isn't a good night picture, but will give you an idea of the size of the rocket glow over the lights of the nearby bridge. A few minutes after we began seeing the rocket, the rumbling sound reached us. Amazing.

Tomorrow, again at civil twilight, we leave to make our way to Vero Beach. Friends Marina and Dave are there - we'll be glad to see them. We will stay a few days to visit, provision for our crossing to the Bahamas, and enjoy Vero.

St. Augustine

2012-01-17T19:23:00.000-05:00

ahhh, we feel much better after a good night's sleep!

Luke did awake during the night and notice the Bridge of Lions, all lit up in the dark. It was really quite spectactular, lights relfected in the still water. The center area with no lights is the actual opening span.

The city marina here has a launch service - they pick you up at your boat and take you back to it. It's free, included in the cost of the mooring ball. This is great, as it means that we don't have to take down and put up the dinghy for one trip into town. We took the 10:00 launch into town this morning. Haircuts at the local barbershop. This shop has 7 chairs, all staffed by men and women, and serving everybody. I was certainly not the only woman getting a haircut. And we both got good haircuts.

After that (and a slice of wonderfully greasy pizza!) we set out to explore St. Augustine again. We like the narrow alleys.

The old homes have mostly been converted into shops, museums, or B and B's.

Flagler Collage is always impressive. We didn't take the tour this time, but like to admire the grandeur of the authentic Spanish Renaissance style architecture.

We found one new church that we hadn't noticed before. This is Grace United Methodist Church. Yes, it looks a lot like Flagler! It turns out that clever Mr. Flagler wanted land adjacent to his Ponce de Leon Hotel (now Flagler Collage). He wanted to build a courtyard on the property. But there was already a church on the location that he wanted. So, he proposed to the church trustees that he would build them a church at a new location if they would give him the land where the current church was located. They agreed and the new Grace Church was built in 1886 in return for the land. Now we know why the two buildings look so simiar.

After our leisurely tour of St. A in the 75 degree weather, we took the launch back to Latitudes. There we watched a beautiful topsail schooner sail lazily out through the bridge. (we confirmed the schooner type on Luke's schooner T-shirt from Maine!)

Luke took on one chore - putting relfective tape on our mast. This is the idea of boating buddy Peter. When returning to the boat after dark, we can pick out Latitudes by shinning the high intensity flashlight beam on masts and watching to see which one shines back at us! lol! Hopefully we won't be terrorizing all of the boats in the anchorage and will just make sure we're headed to the right boat. I can vouch that that is not always as easy as it should be.

Off tomorrow, heading for New Smyrna Beach, another 60 miles-ish south. More warm weather!

Florida and shorts!

2012-01-16T21:57:00.000-05:00

ok, just for a little while after we arrived in St. Augustine, but we DID wear shorts for a while! Never mind that we had on thermal undies and sweatshirts for 24 hours before we finally got here!
It was a nice sail from Beaufort, SC to St. Augustine, FL. 24 hours. We picked the short weather window so that the winds were forecast to be from the NW leaving Port Royal Sound, progressing to the E through the next 24 hours. The weather was as predicted, and we were under sail only for about 10 hours of the 24 hour trip. The sailing only part was broad to beam reach, sailing at 7 to 8 kts - quite nice. We had a beautiful moonrise at 12:39 a.m. in a clear black sky, and passed a few lit up shrimp boats along the way. We are 150 miles further south.
I''m still a bit tired from the change in sleep, so this will be short
Smokey is glad to be here at a quiet, warm mooring. She has re-explored most of her boat. I've seen her stretched out on the narrow anchor hanging over the water, prowling the topsides of the dinghy (and inside), on top of the solar panels (THAT didn't last long!), and her new favorite place, perched on the jib furler on the bow of the boat. It's that little round disc that the rope is rolled up onto. It's been a favorite ever since she swatted a bird from there last year.

We entered the harbor of St. Augustine - America's oldest city! - through the newly renovated Bridge of Lions. The bridge has been under reconstruction since 2005 and was just finished this year. Here's the new bridge, opening for an unseen boat to pass through.

Just before the bridge, we get a great view of the historic Castillo de San Marcos from the waterside prospective. This Spanish fort dates back to 1672. The first Easter Mass in the New World as held here. We'll probably walk over tomorrow and visit the fort.

Just at dusk, the sky behind the city turned a wonderful shade of pink.

The bed is definitely calling now. Tomorrow we plan to take the complimentary launch service from Latitudes to town and do a little sightseeing in the 75 degree weather!!!!! I can't walk as far as before, with this air cast, but I do hobble about pretty well!

Rocking the night away outside of Beaufort, SC

2012-01-13T22:35:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, when cruising, you just have one of THOSE nights....that happened last night, Thursday. We motored down the SC ICW from south of Charleston to just a few miles north of Beaufort, SC. It was a very windy day, mostly on the nose, but we were in the ICW instead of the ocean, so it was ok. It took all day to reach our destination, as we ended up motoring against current of 1.5 to 2 knots all day long. I didn't know that was possible, what with tide changes every 6 hours. It just depends on where we are relative to an inlet from the ocean. Anyway, it was dusk as we reached out destination. I went out in the 20 knot wind and did the anchoring. Fortunately, the anchor "set" as soon as we dropped it and we felt secure. With the even higher winds predicted, we carefully chose an anchorage location that would put us on the "leeward" side of land in a relatively narrow creek which is part of the ICW. In other words, we were protected by trees and land that would break up the predicted south wind before it got to us. Well. Shortly after dark, the darn wind shifted unexpectedly to the west, and blew straight down the channel where we were anchored. With wind in excess of 20 knots and gusts to 35 knots, we didn't get much sleep. The boat rocked. It rolled. The various anchor alarms went off (that's good - we like to know what is going on). Everything was ok, we didn't drag our anchor, and the boat stayed where we wanted it. As a special bonus, we had wind against current about half the time, putting us sideways to the 2 to 3 ft chop generated by the 25 to 30 kt winds, and the anchor chain dissapearing at strange angles, like under the boat. What a miserable night - Luke was up every hour or so to check out the alarms and how the boat was swinging around. We were glad for morning. As soon as we pulled up the anchor and motored around the turn to the now sheltered side of the island, everything calmed down. But at least, before the wind picked up, we were treated to a nice sunset (the first of many for this season's blog, I'm sure!)

The cold mornings have a wonderful effect on Smokey - she wants to be a lap cat. I like it! She is definitely toasty and warm when she lays in my lap, although she makes accomplishing anything difficult.

Beaufort, SC has a town dock that is free during the day so boaters can go sightseeing, eat out, etc. Boats can tie up there from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. But not overnights! If you stay all night, you will be hit with a $3000 fine! (yelp, that's three thousand!). We left at 4....

Beaufort itself is a sweet little southern town, established in 1514. It was settled by the Spanish, then the French, and later the British. The big live oaks drip with Spanish Moss, letting you know you are in the low country. If fact, it looks like every plant here drips with Spanish Moss.

We visited the historic Parish Church of St. Helena, established in 1712. http://www.sthelenas1712.org/index.php?page=history Really interesting history!

The wall around the building was built of bricks that were used as ballast for the big sailing vessels coming into the Beaufort harbor.

Within the church walls is the old cemetary. Beaufort honors her own, with each Confederate soldier's grave appropriately marked. A Confederate flag and a CSA plaque mark each grave.

In addition to the many local graves, there are 2 British officers buried here, killed during the Revolutionary War. Their graves are marked, appropriately, with British flags.

Know what else Beaufort has? Grand old mansions, built from the fortunes made by producing rice, indigo, and cotton. These stately homes have been used for movies such as "The Big Chill", The Prince of Tides", and "Forest Gump". They have not been turned into museums; most are still private residences.

And a little botany lesson - Not being from the SC, GA, or FL, I've never seen the fruit of a sago palm until today. The palm plant itself is beautiful...it's much taller than I am. I had to hold the camera above my head to get this picture.

But just look at the fruit in the middle!

Turns out that there are two types of Sago palms. One has edible fruit and the other one is highly poisonous. This is the poison varity. I've just never seen the fruit - these orange balls are at least 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Very impressive!

It's going to be cold tonight, but we are here at the marina dock, hooked up to electricity. Very nice. Our look at the weather gives us hope for an outside run from here to at least St. Augustine, starting on Sunday. I hope it holds up, because we sure are ready for consistently warm weather.

Our first overnighter of the season

2012-01-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

We left Wrightsville Beach, NC, waaaay too early on Tuesday for an overnight run to Charleston, SC. It was very successful, as we are here! Winds were mostly from the NE 8 to 12 kts, and we were headding SW. That gives an apparent wind of 5 kts or less, so we motor sailed nearly the whole way. An overnight run is an easy way to make miles count - we went 143 miles in 28 hours instead of 50-ish miles per day on the ICW. Boring at times, as it gets dark by 5:30 and not light again until 7. Long perids of night. The nearly full moon, hidden above the thin cloud deck surrounded us with an eerie, misty light horizon at times, a luminous haze at others, as we motor sailed along on a gentle sea almost 30 miles off shore, past "long Bay" NC.

from Luke - I'd like examine the last two days to put into into perspective the "inside" (ICW) vs the "outside" (offshore) decisions that we make. The ICW has statute mile (SM) markers. Moorehead City is at SM 205. Wrightsville beach at SM 285, Charleston SM 465 and we are presently anchored at SM 487. To relate this to nautical miles (NM), SM X 0.8695 = NM, or one NM = 1.15 SM. Latitudes happily motors at 6.7 kts or 7.7 SM/hr at the engine rpm we prefer to run. So, since we left Beauford/Moorehead City at dawn on Monday 1/9, 'till we anchored at 11 AM this morning, we have progressed 282 SM in 52 hours, a bit over 2 days. This was with a 10 hour run offshore from Moorehead City to Wrightsville beach, and a 22 hour offshore run from Wrightsville Beach to Charleston.

If we had stayed "inside" on the ICW, we could have theoretically done 7.7 SM/hr X 10 hours of daylight for 77 SM per day. In reality, we have to find an anchorage, we can't just stop. Also, most bridges are "restricted" and don't open between 7 and 9 AM, and 4 to 7 PM, open every 30 minutes in between. In NC, SC and GA we often find currents of 1 to nearly 2 kts with or against us. The net effect, we'd be lucky to average 50 SM per day. So, our 282 SM "inside" on the ICW would have taken us about 5 days vs 2 days with our 2 outside runs. Of course, the trade-off is that we need favorable weather forcasts, which we define as winds from not foreward of the beam, and 15 - 20 kts or less, 15 preferred, and that doesn't happen every day!

When we got to Charleston we stopped for diesel and water. Here is the dock in the early (7 a.m -. ish) light.

We took an hour nap before the marina opened, but, ummm...nobody feels great after 4 hours sleep...

We reentered the ICW in Charleston. How about this boat??? Think the "fishing camo" will work? -- or maybe it's a decoy to attract fish --- We thought the paint job was great.

Smokey was glad to get back on the quiet ICW. She showed her appreciation by helping us read the chart....and then her daddy found her tummy - she LOVES a tummy rub! A good reward for a good boat cat.

She is sound asleep in the back berth - I'm going there soon! Tomorrow we want to try to get to Beaufort, SC. Maybe Savannah late on Friday. From Savannah we can wait for a good weather window to take an outside run to St.Augustine. FLORIDA!!!!

Beaufort, NC, New Bern, and dozens of dolphins!

2012-01-09T21:38:00.001-05:00

We had a nice ICW trip on Jan. 6 to Beaufort, NC. We motored slowly past R.E.Mayo, a fishing/ shrimping boat dock. A little run-down, but very picturesque in the early morning light.

Here is a nice view of the waterway and it's many little shallow areas, shown from a bridge. The only place boats can go through is the narrow blue water on the far right side of the picture.

Our friend in the area, Michael, was able to arrange for us to borrow a wonderful dock from one of his buddies. This dock was the best! Only a few blocks from downtown Beaufort, safe and secure on the floating dock, complete with electricity. What a great favor!

Friends Phyllis and Peter picked us up and took us to their home for the weekend. It was a wonderful visit, although folks must have wondered about Phyllis and me....she also is wearing an aircast due to a foot injury. Two peas in a pod!

We both love to knit and do crafty stuff - she taught me a new "something" --- I'll show it when I'm done! Peter and Luke both have similar backgrounds and enjoy talking technical geek stuff, so we're all 4 happy!

While in Beaufort, Michael and his wife Connie invited us to a dinner party. It was nice to meet new folks, plus the meal was delicious. That was a real treat!

Today we took the outside run, not the ICW, and moved from Beaufort to Wrightsville Beach, NC, another 70 miles further south. It was a downwind motor sail, 15 kts diminishing to 5 kts by the end of the day. We had the most amazing experience - at least 30 dolphin rushed to the boat as we were about 9 miles offshore. They came blasting in from every direction. For at least an hour and a half, they played beside, in front of, and under the boat! WOW! These pictures can't do the experience justice, but here are 3 views. If you could see this picture well, you could pick out 10 dolphin just crusing beside the boat.

This group is playing in the wake just off of our bow.

From both sides, they would scoot just under the bow, crossing our path. Sort of like a game of "chicken"..

We've seen some beautiful things on our trips, but this surely was one of the best!

Not as cold as last year!

2012-01-05T15:04:00.001-05:00

We left Coinjock in a blistering 22 degrees, but the wind had died and with a combination of thermal underwear, layers, flannel lined jeans, jackets, woolie caps, and gloves, we managed quite well. This was the scene about 7:30 AM.

In fact, the sun was shining, giving us a lot of warmth in our enclosure. Smokey liked the warmth of the sun. Her winter coat has filled in and fluffed out so much that she looks like she's gained a few pounds. She is soft and warm.

The warmth was deceptive. It was cold outside, never getting above 34. These salt water icicles from freezing spray of the Albemarle Sound near the bow are proof! We sailed across the sound in 10 to 18 kts, mostly on the beam, meaning salt spray over the side of the boat.

We anchored just north of the Alligator-Pungo Canal. Surprisingly, we were in company of 4 other sailboats. Guess we are the "after the holidays" group. Last night wasn't so cold, only 34. With our propane space heater, generator-run heat pump, AND electric blanket we stayed comfortable.

Our trip this morning began with the Alligator-Pungo Canal. This is the canal that was ice covered last year, where we were breaking ice as we went. Much better this time! Captain Luke was at the helm.

The canal was quiet and calm. It runs through part of the Mattamuskeet Wildlife Refuge. http://www.fws.gov/mattamuskeet/ "Popular with hunters" the guidebook says - and it must be. We heard the shotgun blasts of duck hunters and saw their little duck hunting boats the last couple of days. It is a beautiful area. I just realized that today's picture looks much like the one taken as we neared Coinjock a few days ago. We love the reflections in the water.

Some parts of the refuge have apparently had forest fires. This is sad, but the tall, dead trees apparently give good vantage points to eagles, waiting for their prey. We saw 2 today. One was a Bald Eagle, the other one either a young Bald or a Golden Eagle. Oh, also saw 2 large Great Blue Herons flying low over the water.

Latitudes is SAILING across the Pamlico Sound as I type. A nice 15 knot wind is doing the job for us, heeling the boat over by 15 degrees. Smoke has been undecided about either staying below with me or going up top to sit on Luke's lap. The lap won.

Tonight we will anchor in Adams Creek, only 40 short miles from Morehead City, NC. That is about 200 miles south of Deltaville. Hurray! We'll be at anchorage early enough - and it's warm enough - for hot showers in the boat! Maybe even a sun-downer in the cockpit if the enclosure stays warm enough.

Heading south - the smart way!

2012-01-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

OK, the weather has been beautiful, especially for late December, early January. But, tonight/tomorrow, winter hits here with lows around 20 and gale force winds (gusts of 35 knots +). Having lived through 17 degrees and snow in Elizabeth City last year, we decided NOT AGAIN! We left Portsmouth at 7:30 this morning and made the 50 mile trip down the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, generally known as the Virginia Cut, to Coinjock, NC. Leaving Portsmouth/Norfolk always brings more pictures of our navy ships. They are impressive! Your tax dollars afloat.

This year we decided to take the "Virginia Cut" instead of the Great Dismal Swamp Canal. We had too many hits of the bottom of the boat last year and decided it's not worth damaging the keel. The VA Cut is pretty - not quite as picturesque as the Dismal, but still pretty.

We also had about 5 bridges to negotiate. They aren't big bridges, but little ones, some only 4 feet above the water. But we sure can't go under them! Many open only on the hour or half hour, so you are busy trying to time getting to each bridge. Some bridges are "bascule", meaning that the bridge arms raise into the air, creating an opening. This "swing bridge" just swings open, out of the way.

Coinjock is but a step on the Intercoastal - a little area consisting of 2 marinas, 2 restaurants (closed for the year), and a NC barbecue restaurant/post office/hardware store 1 mile away. We opted for a marina with electricity (HEAT!!!!!) for the next 2 nights. Secure dockage against the high winds. The marina also has nice, clean showers only 50 ft or so away. Luke is filling up the water tanks just as dusk begins to fall.

Over all, it was a good day trip and I'm glad to be here, warm and safe, for the next cold weather and blow. On Wednesday we hope to leave and make it across Albemarle Sound and to the south end of the Alligator River. South is good!

What a hassle but we are finally at the boat

2011-12-30T22:06:00.000-05:00

The best laid plans....sigh....we left Roanoke bright and early on Wednesday, the old Subaru with 205,000 miles (the car that we leave at the marina during our trips) packed to the gills, and one unhappy cat in my lap. 50 miles later the radiator burst... We got a tow to the nearest Subaru dealer who put in a new radiator. By then it was 7 pm and we opted to head back home instead of the remaining 4 hours to Deltaville. By the time we got home, the engine temp was still OK, but liquid had spewed all over the engine compartment. On Thursday, bright and early, we moved all of our stuff, cat included, to the Toyota and headed back to the Chesapeake. We have moved aboard, unpacked, provisioned, etc, etc, etc. A few things are left to be put away. Now we are waiting on the weather to cooperate so we can leave and begin our cold trip southward.

Smoke remembered the boat immediately - especially the sun drenched enclosure. She's content as long as we sit quietly.

The next hurdle is the weather. It's pretty amazing. There are a series of fast moving cold fronts that have 15 + kt winds blowing from the S and SSW, essentially on the nose for heading south. While we could force the issue, it wouldn't be much fun to slog into the Chesapeake bay chop. Right now Sunday is looking somewhat promising for leaving Deltaville. We're closely watching the weather!!!

A wonderful Christmas

2011-12-25T16:09:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to you all!!! And best wishes for a wonderful, healthy, and happy new year!

We have had a great family Christmas in Roanoke this year. Dad and my daughters Heather and Nikki are all here. We started with a traditional unhealthy breakfast - cinnamon rolls. Yum! Nikki and dad are waiting, only somewhat patiently.

After a quick breakfast, we gathered in the living room to exchange presents. Nikki helped me sort them out while Luke built a fire (not really cold enough for one, but it IS Christmas!)

It is good to have dad here.

Heather is slowing off new bull riding earrings with the roaring fire as a back drop.

Smokey has kept a low profile - too many people in her house. She couldn't stay away completely, though, and watched the gift opening from a safe distance.

Santa Luke enjoyed Christmas, too!

Nikki and Heather are in Ronaoke now, visiting family on their dad's side of the tree. We are relaxing (aka napping for dad) and will have left-overs later. Tomorrow Heather will return to NC and I'll take dad back to Charlotte. Tuesday will be preparation day and hopefully we'll be able to leave for Latitudes on Wednesday.

Again, a Merry Christmas and love to all!!!

It's almost Christmas and time to head south!

2011-12-22T16:52:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's almost Christmas! We are looking forward to a good one this year, the first time in about 6 years that both of my daughters and my dad will be able to be with us in Roanoke. That was the plan - to have a family Christmas this year. Of course, seeing all of our friends has been great, too! We visited friends Phyllis and Peter in New Bern for a few days, went to Savannah for Beth's big 60th birthday party, had Thanksgiving with neighbors Neva and Dave, and have had many wonderful Christmas parties/visits with our local friends. Dad will be here tomorrow, Heather and Nikki arriving Christmas Eve. Can't wait!

I've hit a bit of a snag, but we do NOT plan on letting it stop our trip to the Caribbean! I've not mentioned that my right ankle has bothered me for about 1 1/2 yrs. Swollen, hot needle pricking pain, popping sensation....I tried anti-inflammation drugs and a couple of Cortisone shots - they didn't work and the problem has gotten worse. I finally saw an orthopethic doctor who specializes in ankles rather than the general ortho. SO-guess what I need to have surgery on --- yulp, my right ankle. Torn ligament. As the tear is progressing slowly, he is willing to wait until we return in July, so it's not a desperate situation. BUT--- I learned that good ol' Anthem denied my MRI and pending surgery. They want me to wear a full air cast for a month and take another month's worth of an anti-inflammatory as a last ditch effort to heal the ankle instead. The doctor is as annoyed as I am. But, I'm dragging around in the damned thing around now. I walk like a mountain goat. It's lovely....

When I get back in July and almost certainly have surgery to repair the tendon, the recuperation won't be fun - 6 weeks in a cast and crutches, 6 weeks or so in this brace, and then PT. No driving for 6 weeks at least! UGH! We'll be home next summer. Guess I'll be teaching Luke Laundry 202...

That said, I do have a little protective brace that fits in my shoe and isn't as high. It's much more comfortable and convenient to wear. I can use that when necessary on the boat. I'll be wearing this most of the time when I'm on board or ashore. I'm going to need a bigger backpack to lug this thing back and forth to shore!

Meanwhile, Luke has spent about 4 man-hour weeks getting the paperwork together and approved for getting our little princess into the various Caribbean islands that we hope to visit. With the innoculations, tests, ID chip, and need for USDA certification, we are considering renaming her "Goldie". It's been a tough road, but Luke has managed the process well and thinks we are almost done.

Our plan is to take dad back to Charlotte on the 26th, pack up, close up the house, and leave for Deltaville on the 28th. After a couple of days for moving in and provisioning, we will leave, pray for good weather, and make the fastest tracks possible to the Bahamas and then the Caribbean. Don't plan to be back in Roanoke until July. Hope to post from warmer climates soon!

Changes, changes...

2011-11-19T19:39:00.000-05:00

So, the only constant is change, right? Well, we've got change! Never a dull moment. At the last minute, we found that our usual dock space in Savannah is not available. We completely understand the reasons and are totally ok with it. But, that did mean that we needed to find a new dock for a month in Savannah while we came home for Christmas. By the time that we figured out that we'd spend for dockage, leaving Latitudes there, renting one-way cars both ways, gas, etc, it was way too expensive. One way drop off charges are just unreal these days! We decided that the smartest thing to do is to simply stay in Roanoke for the holidays and leave the week after Christmas for our southern cruise. It will be cold the first couple of weeks, but we've got heat in the boat and we all three (yulp, Smokey, too) will be ok.

So here we are, on the hard in the marina in Fishing Bay (Deltaville), painting the boat bottom, cleaning the prop and the ICW mustache from the hull, living 10 feet above the ground with no water but 2 electric heaters. The nearest toilet and running water are about 200 feet away. It's not all bad, but it'll be better on Tuesday when we finish up and go home.

I just love painting the boat, especially the part where I kneel on rocks and paint over my head. Love the way the paint splatters my face. My neck, arms, knees, and most other parts ache. See that smile? But we did get both coats of paint on the hull!

We did get back out newly regalvanized chain and anchor. They look great! That gray mess on the ground is the chain and anchor, awaiting their turn.

SO! Thanksgiving and Christmas at home in Roanoke! We will enjoy it all! And we plan on a big southern cruise starting in January!

Visiting Heather

2011-11-13T18:14:00.001-05:00

I made one more trip to Heather's in NC before we leave for our winter trip. We always have fun. I think we had too much fun yesterday afternoon at lunch - we ate and giggled too much. Yes, a small amount of alcohol was involved.

Last night we stayed up way too late and idly watched about 4 Grade B monster movies. I didn't know there were so many bad ones!

Heather has been doing some major projects to her house. The most recent was to dig out 20 feet of sewer pipe (not toilet sewer, but washing machine sewer line). She dug it up, replaced the pipe, and just finished repacking the soil today. I'm so proud of her! Here is Heather, along with Isis and Lily, and a very short section of the 20 foot line.

She's been playing scrabble with me while I'm here. I love this coincidence....Heather is ahead by 12 points, I have only 5 letters left, and look at what they spell.....

giggle...

Pizza in, beer, and NASCAR tonight - A great visit!

Beginning to get ready to leave

2011-11-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

First few steps..... off to Deltaville for an overnight visit. We picked up the sails and put them back on the boat. They needed a little replacement stitching, some tape replaced, and a general check-up. Getting them back on was a major accomplishment, as we can't do that when the wind is picked up at all. The wind catches them (as it is supposed to!) and flaps them around while we're trying to feed them into little groves. Fortunately, we had a calm morning.

Next housekeeping item was to take the 200 feet of chain and the anchor off of the boat, load it into an oversized cart, into the trunk of the car, and off to a shop in Richmond. The chain had begun to rust badly, not a good thing when we rely on it to hold us in place every day! We were a bit dissapointed that the chain rusted after only 4 years or so, but then, we've used it almost every day, down and up, for 9 months of three years. Our quick guess was that's about 2000 trips in or out of the anchor locker. The shop in Richmond will re-galvanize the chain and anchor, making them as good as new. Not a fun project, but a lot cheaper than buying new! They should be ready for pick up next Friday.

This trip also gave us an opportunity to review how the boat is doing ---- she needs a "bottom job"... we had hoped to avoid that. The barnacles are growing like wild weeds and the bottom obviously has growth. Sigh. So, when we go back next week for our final push, we will have Latitudes pulled, put on the hard, and clean/fast paint the bottom. If all goes well, the chain is ready, and the wind gods are smiling, we should be able to get back into the water and set southward sails on Monday. Smokey will be so excited.....

We did make a dinner stop in Charlottesville to visit Luke's cousin Miette and her husband George. Had dinner at a REALLY GOOD funky little pizza shop in Crozet, named appropriately enough Crozet Pizza. If you are ever in the area, try it! It's a couple of miles off of US64 exit 107. But the really nice part was seeing Miette and George again.

So, things are coming together for a big southern cruise - more on those plans in a bit!

The tooth fairy....

2011-10-27T18:03:00.001-04:00

I've had some on/off pain in a wisdom tooth for several months and a visit to my dentist confirmed that I needed to have the tooth extracted. My dentist recommended a very good oral surgeon for the job and today was the big day. Out it came, stitches in, antibiotic and pain pills picked up, and I'm home. Not feeling so great, but the pain pills are doing their job. Unfortunately, the combination of them, the antibiotics, and a very limited diet has resulted in nausea. The tooth fairy better come see me!!

Show me the way to go home...

2011-10-22T19:23:00.001-04:00

"Show me the way to go home...

I'm tired and I want to go to bed..."

Does anyone else know that old 1925's song? My ex-father-in-law, sweet soul that he was, used to sing that, especially when he...

"had a little drink about an hour ago

And it went straight to my head"

So, we DID find our way to go home, with the help of GPS and our maps! We're glad to be here after a couple of weeks of car traveling. It's so different than being "home" on our boat.
Sweet Smokey had lots of care and loving while we were gone, but she - and we - are glad to be here. But it WAS a great trip! ok, time for some kitty-lap sitting and relaxing.

Bedbugs!!!!

2011-10-21T20:33:00.000-04:00

NO, we did NOT experience them, but we did learn from a hotel about checking http://www.bedbugregistry.com/ to see if a hotel has had any reported bedbug incidents. Actually, this saved us from several suspect hotels (we aren't exactly staying in Hiltons). Check it out before you make reservations.

We are in Grayson, WV; home tomorrow. Yeah! We're a little tired of driving. But the trip has been great and we've seen a lot of beautiful places, not to mention beautiful grandchildren!

4 Presidents and a wild wilderness

2011-10-20T22:25:00.000-04:00

Mt. Rushmore is one of those places I assumed I'd never see. Not even sure which state it was in... But, here we go, bright and early, into the Black Hills of South Dakota, to Mt. Rushmore.
http://www.npca.org/parks/mount-rushmore-national-memorial.html?adwords=1&gclid=CIzspPGI-KsCFYxU7AodGCF0AA
Wow, it's impressive! You can see it from the highway, but we opted to pay the $11 parking fee (good for 1 year and no admission fee....) to see the boys up close. It's awesome to see as you approach it from the park entrance.

But when you get to the viewing terrace, the work becomes incredible. One eye is about the height of a man. The sculpture took almost 20 years to complete.

There is a nice Presidents' Walkway around the base of the mountain, letting you view the sculpture from other angles. The part we liked best was the presence of a goat family, confidently grazing just next to the path. Baby was the cutest.

The parents were close by. One was grazing also, the other one was on watch.

A much smaller denizen of the park was just as cute....

Next, off to the Badlands National Park. http://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm I've never seen anything like it and I can't describe it well enough. The park is made up of geologic deposits, full of fossils. This is the most desolate, barren, ruggedly beautiful place I've ever seen. Here is a sampling of our pictures but they can't begin to do the park justice.

One of the park area is Prairie Dog town. Lotsa little ones, running amok, calling, and chirping at our intrusion. They are fat, little rolly-polly guys.

Stayed at a really dumpy hotel last night, sped through SD today, and are spending the night in Grinnell Iowa. Home (and Sweet Smoke) are calling.

Home on the range (South Dakota range, that is)

2011-10-18T23:49:00.000-04:00

Home, home on the range...

Where the deer and the pronghorn antelope play

Were the buffalo roam (in the road)

Where seldom is heard a disparaging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day

And those prairie dogs! My gosh, they are cute, but the fields are overrun with them! Imagine a field full of over-sized hamsters....

We drove from CO today through eastern Wyoming on our way to the Black Hills of South Dakota. WY is beautiful in it's own strange way. Endless highways

All going through barren land

We made our way to the southwestern corner of South Dakota, to the Wind Cave National Park.
The park consists of over 132 miles of cave, all layered beneath a square mile of land. It's the 5th longest cave in the world, as measured by total length of explored passages. The wind through the cave is caused by changes in the barometric pressure as air in the cave is constantly trying to equalize the pressure within the cave to the outside. When the barometric pressure falls, wind rushes out of the cave. When the barometric pressure rises, the wind rushes into the cave. Cool, huh! The natural entrance to the cave is only 10 inches in diameter. Needless to say, we took the man made entrance!

It was impossible to get good photos inside the cave. If you are interested, please check out the webpage. http://www.nps.gov/wica/historyculture/index.htm

As we drove toward Rapid City for the night, we passed the Crazy Horse Memorial. http://www.crazyhorsememorial.org/ Started in 1948, the project has never been finished. It's been on hold for a long time, but is "in process". VERY impressive!

Tomorrow we'll visit Mt. Rushmore! Then the rest of the day in the Badlands National Park - after that, we start the long march home. It's been a great trip.

Estes Park and the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-17T16:24:00.000-04:00

Sunday was one of those chrystal clear, sunny, perfect days. We left Longmont early and drove the 45 minutes to Estes Park, at the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park http://rockymountainnationalpark.com/.

So beautiful! All views are breath taking.

The snow has already falled on the peaks.

The leaves on the aspen on the higher elevations have already blown down, but the lower trees still have the bright yellow leaves.

Elk live in the park - and thrive! This is a normal herd, a harum of about 30 female cows per one bull. This group was just at the outside of the park.

The bull was relaxing behind them, carefuly watching his little household, strategically placed between his many cows and about 15 aspiring younger bulls.

After our wonderful ride we met with the rest of the family at a pumpkin ranch. Great fun for kids! Simon really likd the pumpkin field.

Evelyn prefered the "train" ride.

It was a great time for all!

The trip so far...

2011-10-15T10:29:00.001-04:00

We left Roanoke waaay to early on Wednesday and headed westward, across the many states. First, the mountains of WV, already showing fall color.

Of course, you can't leave out the shinning dome of the capital building in Charleston, WV.

The next photo is the St. Louis Arch, high in the gray sky of MO.

The wind turbines of western KS, hundreds and hundreds of them dotting the skyline.

Then the flat, flat, flat praries of the Midwest in eastern CO.

FINALLY, 2 1/2 days later, the high Rockies in the distance.

By lunchtime on Friday we reached our goal - newest grandson Kiran, 3 months old now.

And wow, have the 3 year olds, Simon and Evelyn, grown!

They had a most excellent tea party with Bompa.

Today promises 86 degrees and sun - yeah! We all plan to go to the local farmers market here in Longmont and then a pumpkin patch. I think there is some pumpkin carving in our future!

Westward into CO

2011-10-14T10:33:00.000-04:00

1506 miles since Wednesday morning --- about 150 more to go. I may have some pictures later, when we download them, but it's pretty hard to get good pictures from inside the car at 75 mph! We've averaged about 700 miles each day.
The first high Rockies are in sight on the horizon. The rest of the landscape is endlessly flat. We'll be in Longmont around lunchtime today!

Friends

2011-10-11T19:39:00.000-04:00

No pictures, I'm afraid...where did I go wrong!??!?! Friends from New Bern, NC came to visit after the Annapolis Sailboat show. We had the BEST few days, not long enough! Phyllis and I visited/supported quilt shops while Peter and Luke went for walks and diagnosed the Subaru's squealing problem. They left today and are home safe and sound, but we miss them - a great visit.
Tomorrow we leave for 10-12 days, heading to CO to see Luke's daughters and grandkids. We look forward to it, but hate to leave sweet Smokey for so long. Susan and Yvonne are taking turns at Smokey care and Yvonne has offered to spend some quality time (and cable TV time) with Smoke. It makes me feel better, but I'll miss my widdle furry baby.

Rodeoin' in NC

2011-10-08T15:48:00.001-04:00

Spent the night with dad and headed off to Spring Hope, NC, to see Heather. From there we took off for the Pitt County Fair. As usual, the fair was filled with people

and screaming rides.

BUT! The real attraction is the Wicked Bulls rodeo. Heather is the official rodeo photographer for many bull riding competitions, including Wicked Bulls. So, off we went to the bull riding. The opening ceremony includes a wild but precise swinging of flaming balls.

Then come the cowboys! Out of 10 riders, only 2 managed to stay on the required 8 seconds. That's a looong 8 seconds....

Sometimes the bulls don't exactly play well with others and the bull wrangling dog Possum has to be called in to lend a hand...er..foot...That groundhog looking creature by the rider's hat is Possum. He'll distract the bull, nip at his legs, or herd him into a pen. Whatever it takes. Go, Possum!

Rodeo pictures above are compliments of Heather!

Tonight we'll go back for the second bull riding of the fair. It's always fun!

Relaxing in Tybee

2011-10-04T19:11:00.000-04:00

It's been a nice 3 days. After the guys left, Connie and I continued our morning walks to the lighthouse to watch the sunrise.

Sister-in-law Beth drove out to Tybee to meet us for lunch on Monday - great to see her, always!

This morning we rode bikes to the beach and then along the wet, packed sand. It was a good ride. The water was calm today, with a bit of foam on the shore.

After we recovered from THAT, we did our best girlie suff --- off to Savannah! First the mall to pick up a few things for Connie's cottage. Next, to the river front area for some shop brousing and a wonderful lunch. We had lunch at the relatively new Bohemian Hotel. To start, a toast of prosecco on the roof top bar Rocks on the Roof.

Check out one of the chandeliers at the roof top bar - they are all made from local oyster shells! Very tacky and appropriate!

The roof top gives a wonderful view of the Savannah River and her large container ships and ports.

Next, downstairs to the Rocks on the River restaurant. Great drinks and food - I recommend both places!!

Of course we had to check out the river front shops. Yes, we picked up a few little things.

I don't have Smokey with me so a puppy will have to do for this post. This very large pooch was waiting patiently outside of a restaurant for his master. The big fellow is real - his little buddy is stuffed.

A post of Savannah wouldn't be complete without a little history. The gold leaf dome of the city hall, located along the water front, gleams.

Tomorrow is my last day here, sigh. Another walk/bike ride and maybe a pedicure. This being lazy and girlie is sure fun!

THE book signing and Tybee

2011-10-02T19:37:00.000-04:00

The big day finally arrived - the first book signing! Dad's independent living facility graciously offered to let him hold it in their living area. It was a great hit - he sold all 100 copies on hand and took orders for 20 more. A bit of the crowd, below...

After the crowd left, dad signed books for the family

He was pooped after the long day! But he was so excited - this was a dream he never thought he'd achieve. After all, how many aspiring writers finally get published - and at 92!

We left early on Saturday and drove to Tybee Island to friends Connie and Mike's cottage. We caught up over a wonderful diner and hit the beds early. This morning, before dawn, we all left and walked to the ocean near the Tybee Island lighthouse to watch the sunrise. It was a strange predawn. The sun lit up the back of the clouds and created an errie picture, complete with a green glow above the pink glow in the sky.

The Tybee lighthouse sky had a distictive purple haze.

The risen sun brought a red, orange, yellow, and then blue glow to the sky.

It was a very colorful sunrise!

After breakfast, we hiked the 15 minutes or so back to the lighthouse to climb to the top...all 178 steps...all 150-ish feet high...a looong way down...

It's a nice setting; the lighthouse, lighthouse keepers house, assistant lighthouse keepers house, and second assistant lighthouse keepers house (all in descending order of size), and an outside summer kitchen. The US Coast Guard took over the keeping of the lighthoue in 1948.

The lighthouse is lit by a first order fresnel lens, only one of two on the eastern coast of the US.

Luke has left with Mike to return to Roanoke. I'm staying with Connie for a few days - girl fun! I've hear from both Yvonne and Susan that Smokey has warmed up to their attentions. I'm glad - Cat Mommie was worried about her. Sigh.

Brunch, blue mushrooms, and applesauce

2011-09-28T07:56:00.001-04:00

We're still doing the social thing...caught up with Yvonne and Charlie over wine a few nights ago, and then brunch at Ali and Charlie's. Below is the brunch crowd, all from the neighborhood - Yvonne and Charlie, Connie and Mike, Ali and Charlie, and Luke. It was a great meal; they are both wonderful cooks. The getting together of everyone was wonderful.

Next, a dinner at Lois and Gerry's. They live on a beautiful 100 acres, full of pastures and forests. With all of the rain, we decided to go mushroom looking. Lots of red ones, white ones, yellow ones, round ones, and flat ones. But how about BLUE ones!!! There were several of these, each about 4 inches across. The phone camera couldn't do the blue justice. They are a "little boy blue nursery" blue.

Smokey had a fun trip to the vet who pronounced her healthy. Not happy, though. Her little paws sweated the whole way, she hissed about in the examination room, was good for the vet, and then gowled at the kittens in the "adoption room". Guess she doesn't want a sister....

Nikki came over last night and we made applesauce. Lots of applesauce! And had only one broken jar during the processing. It was fun and we always enjoy seeing her (Smokey doesn't growl at her). She even spent the night, waiting until this morning to leave and go work.

A dental appointment today and then we get ready to leave for Charlotte on Friday - dad's first book signing! I'll also spend time in Savannah and with Heather before I return on Sunday week.

Rain, rain, go away....

2011-09-23T16:31:00.000-04:00

Days of rain, some of it showers, some downpours. I'm glad we aren't on the boat!

It hasn't kept us from getting out, though. Dessert with friends Neva and Dave for us and shopping with Lois plus lunch with Amy for me!

The sun is out right now, temporarily, according to the weather forecast, but we'll take it. It does let me see all of the stinkbugs waiting to get in....ugh...

Luke has stayed busy editing our videos and pictures from New England. We'll gladly bore anyone who's interested... I'm starting on things like a permit for sweet Smoke to get into the Bahamas. Smoke is whiling away the time between long, deep naps and absolutely killing toys. The killing includes wild romps through the house - I'm glad she can really stretch her legs.

Sewing with Nikki

2011-09-19T13:03:00.001-04:00

We finally have everything from the boat put somewhere...well, it's stashed and sorta hidden. Luke is off running errands while I get to watch the rain delayed Chicago NASCAR race!

We caught up with friends Susan and Gordon on Saturday night. It's great to see them again.

During the day on Saturday Nikki and I shopped, had lunch, and got manicures. Perfect for daughter/mother bonding! On Sunday she came over and spent the day learning to sew. This wasn't her first experience with a sewing machine, but it was her first at using patterns to make something. And she did great! First, an apron for herself...

Next (yes, TWO projects in one day!) she made a baby bunting for a best friend's newborn. Teddy Lee offered to be a model for the bunting. Teddy Lee (also fondly called "Salad" --- no, no clue) was my brother's favorite stuffed animal, handed down from me when Don was only 2. Teddy Lee lived with Don until he passed away. My sister Beth inherited him and kept him until she passed away a year ago. Now I proudly and sadly have him back. He's special.

This baby bunting will be special, too. After all, how many wee ones have a widdle blue spider bunting???

So, we are relaxing and enjoying our time here.

Roanoke!

2011-09-16T12:32:00.000-04:00

We're home! REALLY home! It was a long car ride for Smokey. She was fine, stretched out across our laps or curled up in Luke's lap for the first 3 hours. But after dark she became panicky. Maybe it was the lights from the traffic. The poor little thing howled, gurgled, yodeled, cried, and paced across us for10 minute stretches. She'd pant and her little paws were soaking wet with sweat. Then she'd settle down on a lap for a while, then start again. For 2 hours. She was so glad to get home, running around the house, going muurrrr in each room. Last night she slept near my pillow, a sure sign of a little extra neediness. Today she's great and settled in already. She's "helping" me blog by sleeping by my side on the sofa.

We are NOT settled in - wow, why do we need to bring home so much stuff??? And, the car registration tags were outdated, so I had to take care of that this morning. It''ll all get done.

Neighbors and friendsYvonne and Charlie made sure the house was ok during our trip and had it all ready for us last night - the refrigerator was cold, the freezer had ICE, water was back on and hot, and our waterbed had been turned on in plenty of time to ensure it was warm enough to sleep in. ahhhh.... there is no place like home, Toto...

Back to Deltaville

2011-09-13T19:23:00.000-04:00

It was a long few days, 60 hours to cover 379 nautical miles, from the Cape Cod Canal to the Chesapeake Bay entrance. The first half of the trip was a bit boisterous, with 15 to 20 kt winds, gusting 22 kts, fortunately on our port quarter. This gave us 4 to 6 ft quartering seas and boat speeds from 6.5 to 8 kts, keeping our autopilot very busy. Sunday afternoon was a mild sail down the Jersey coast. Then we motor sailed in very light winds until we were run over by an evening thunderstorm off Cape May. We motor sailed past Cape Henelopen and Ocean City MD during the night, and passed Chinquoteague shortly after dawn. Long days, but everything worked well, and we're glad we did it. Now we're in Deltaville, safe and sound, tied up in a nice big slip for the next 2 months or so.

The last day of our trip was uneventful, no waves, big long swells, and almost no wind. As we approached Cape Charles and the mouth of the Chesapeake we watched a very large, fast boat going through the bridge span that we wanted. It looked a little funny, white splashing all around it instead of just at the bow. A hover craft!!! Military, of course, taking a wild ride on top of the water. It was so cool!

Sailing under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge ---- back in the Chesapeake!!

Our schedule had gotten us there around 5:30 p.m. so we sailed for about an hour more to a Virginia state park, Kiptopeke. http://www.baygateways.net/general.cfm?id=40 Kiptopeke was an old rail road ferry wharf, connecting the Eastern Shore to Norfolk before the Bay Bridge was built. To create breakwaters to protect the wharf, the state used discarded ships --- concrete ships from Word War II. There are 2 big lines of them. The old ships have taken a beating over time, but certainly still serve the purpose.

Entering the Kiptopeke, area we saw the familiar Chesapeake fish weirs http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Fishing_and_Shellfishing_by_Early_Virginia_Indians (go to the section about "Fishing Methods") These weirs seem to be somewhat still in use. At least the birds thought so - one bird per each weir pole.

When I anchored, Smokey came to help me, as usual. This time she was also pretty interested in finding out if that little tern might still be on the bow pulpit.....it wasn't...

She liked being back in the flat, calm waters of the Chesapeake. We allowed her to sit on the side of the boat and watch her world float by (yes, that pink thing is her harness).

We are truly back in the Chesapeake. Late summer haze, flat water, and a sole fishing boat.

So, the New England adventure for summer 2011 is over. It was a very good trip. We traveled about 1600 miles in almost 3 months. Also, we managed to explore 12 new places this trip, plus many of our favorites. We saw old friends, made new friends. We are glad to be back, though, and really look forward to going home to Roanoke to see family and friends. I'll keep the blog up, a little less often, but a bit for the 6-8 weeks that we'll be home.

57 hours into 60....

2011-09-12T14:22:00.001-04:00

We are along the VA coast, 3 hours from turning in at Norfolk. We'll spend the night around there and hope to make it back to Deltaville on Tuesday! A few chores will get done before we leave for Roanoke later in the week.
The remaining trip has been uneventful. Smokey is just bathing and sleeping. I'll be happy to get a shower and good nights sleep, too. Glad to be almost home again!

33 hours out of Onset

2011-09-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

We are 33 hours from Onset, 6 miles off shore from Atlantic City, NJ. We can see the high-rises of NJ in the distance. It was a rocky night, but the winds have decreased and the waves are settled. We've both taken turns napping during the day; Smokey has napped all day.

Before we left, I had to have ready 6 meals for dinners and 3 a.m. dinners, just in case the waves made it uncomfortable to go below and cook during the passage. That was a lot of cooking for a small galley! I'm glad that I did it - it was definitely uncomfortable below last night.

6 days of sitting in Onset and everything is fine. 6 hours out of Onset, and the refrigerator dies....Lucky I'm married to a wonderful engineer~ He researched, tracked down, and fixed the problem! All while underway, his head buried in the frig, and never sick! (I think the quarter of a sea-sick patch helped.....) Mah hero!

Luke is also a boater's hero. We spotted (couldn't miss it) a huge log floating in the ocean, about 11 miles off of Block Island. It was about 30 feet long and about 3 feet in diameter. That could really damage a boat. Luke called out on the VHF radio a "securitie, securitie" and gave the info and location to all boaters in our listening area. The Coast Guard promptly called him back, got the info, and issued a formal warning, based on Luke's info. Luke the Good Boater!

About 27 more hours to the entrance of the Chesapeake!

Ready to leave Onset

2011-09-09T17:08:00.001-04:00

As things look right now, we still plan to leave Onset, MA, in the company of another boat, on Saturday morning. The waves and wind will have settled and we look good for a run of 2-3 nights, 3-4 days out to sea from here to Norfolk. When we reach Norfolk we'll either wait out the night or go ahead to Deltaville if we have daylight to do so. It's a long run, but we will have company and we plan to stay towards shore as much as possible to have internet/cell coverage and to allow us to stop our trip and go into a NJ seaside port if we or the weather change our minds. We have the usual safety devices ready - emergency raft, a device that alerts the Coast Guard to our exact location if we pull the little trigger, another boat, and 4 days worth of food already prepared! We'll be fine. As we have cell/internet, I'll keep you updated on our progress. This has been a wonderful trip, but I do hear home calling softly.

And!!!! Happy birthday, sweet Smokey! She's 2 years old today!

Rain and Smokey the bird cat

2011-09-08T21:57:00.000-04:00

Rain and rain. The last of Lee, I guess. We finally got a bit of a break this afternoon and ran off to town. Glad to get off of the boat for a bit, we met Christine and Peter at the bus stop. For $2, we got a good overview of the town and what it has to offer (like a real grocery store, strip mall, etc). The day turned misty and chilly, so we headed back to our boats.

After we returned, Smokey was just determined to be outside. I found out why....a tern had decided to sit on our bow pulpit railing. Totally oblivious to Smokey, it preened and sat happily. As we watched in disbelief, Smoke sneaked up to within inches of the unwary bird. Up she stood slowly on her hind legs, inching closer and closer. Finally, close enough, she swatted the poor bird! The bird flew off and all I got was a picture of Smokey perched on the bow of the boat, earnestly waiting for the bird to return. The bird was sitting in the middle, on that shiney metal bracket.

We were afraid Smokey would jump for the bird, but I guess she figured out that she would end up in the water. After deciding that the bird wouldn't return, Smoke sniffed everything, including climbing up on those wet, round railings. Tail flailing to keep her balance, she did manage to walk on them a bit. That is until I got there, retrieved her, and brought her below. She must be a cat....

The weather is still looking good for a Saturday morning departure, with Norfolk as an ultimate goal, three sailing days later.

Sailors and the rain...

2011-09-07T11:11:00.000-04:00

So, what do a bunch of male sailors do when it rains? Bond over electronics! Just look at the computers and such!

The women stayed aboard their own boats and spent the 4 HOURS of their own time. I stayed in the cockpit and knit socks. Smoke watched them warily from our bedroom as she catnapped.

We've enjoyed our stay in Onset. Nice little town with bus service everywhere. Except it doesn't run on Sundays. So, the crowd of 4 boats met at the local pizza place and ate. And the bus doesn't run on holidays (like Labor Day....) contrary to earlier info, so 3 of the couples walked the 2-ish miles to Wal-Mart and the fast food strip. It was a cool, nice day and the walk was easy. We had lunch with Christine and Peter, then we caught a ride back with Coleen and Bruce. Seems they met up with friends who had rented a truck. Yes, some of the guys rode in the truck bed along with groceries, bottles of wine, and Wal-Mart loot..

Tuesday it rained all day and is promising to continue all day today. If it lets up this afternoon we'll meet others in town and ride the buses just for the hell of it to see where they go. Where else can you get that sort of town tour for $0.50 each!

With the wind from the SW, we've been bottled up in Onset. We've been watching Katia for the last several days, and were at the proverbial fork in the road. One option was to move out when the winds turned NE on Wednesday, get down Buzzards bay, further away from Katia, and on into Long Island Sound, through New York City, down the NJ coast, up the Deleware Bay, down the Chesapeake. To get as far as Cape May NJ that way would take 5 to 6 days, discounting possible lost days with the current being adverse at the Race (eastern end of Long Island), and through NY harbor. The other option was to wait for Katia to go by, in our good, proven anchorage at Onset (closest approach is Friday morning), leave for Block Island on Saturday morning, pass it, and go directly to Cape May. That's about a 260 mile run, about 40 hours. If that goes well, and the weather smiles on us, keep on trucking, and get to Norfolk in another 130 miles, or about 20 hours. Rain and gusty winds today pushed us over the edge, and we chose option two. The drawback is that we're counting on weather forecasts 4 to 5 days ahead. Stay tuned!

All that said, we will probably be here until Saturday morning, and then if the weather continues to be as forecast, head out for our run towards Norfolk. There are a few ports along the Atlantic coast that we can abort to if we or the weather change our minds.

Darn those hurricanes!!!!

2011-09-04T21:56:00.001-04:00

We can't believe both Lee and Katia are both capable of bringing us nasty weather! In Onset now, staying for a few days until we can get a good handle on what is going on. The wind is from the SW and supposed to be up tomorrow (already building) so we can't go anywhere anyway. We'll be here until at least Wednesday, and then hopefully we can make a decision on where to go. The big decision is if we can go south, directly to someplace on the east coast in a couple of long days or if we will need to step our way through Long Island Sound, through New York, and down the coast.
On a good side, we found ourselves anchored beside friends from the Bahamas in 2009, Colleen and Bruce, from Canada! It's great to see them again. And, we finally got to really meet new acquaintances Christine and Peter, from NC. Our boats have been passing each other for several weeks now. Colleen and Bruce are friends with a French couple from Ottowa, so we all got together for drinks and then pizza in town. It's wonderful to catch up with friends and make new ones.

Portsmouth

2011-09-02T21:52:00.000-04:00

We had a nice run to Portsmouth, past Portland's multiple light houses in the dawn's early light. First, as we were leaving, the Bug Light.

Then the Portland Head Lighthouse

Once we arrived in Portsmouth, we left Latitudes at a mooring at the Portsmouth Yacht Club and took a few days worth of stuff to friends' Gail and Eric's house. That "stuff" included Smokey. She wasn't pleased at the ride on the launch (the yacht club boat that comes out to get you), nor did she like the 5 minute car ride to Gail's. She did a quick, skiddish survey of the house and then we showed her the upstairs apartment where we would be staying. Once there, especially with just the 2 of us, she settled down quickly. And why not! She had a bed to hide under and to sleep on with us, big windows to sit in and watch the world, plus a nice sunny carpet to stretch and play. Smoke stayed happily up there all 3 days, with apparently no interest in going downstairs to the main house. It worked better than I had hoped.

Our friends Marina and Dave are the ones who winter in FL and summer here in NH. So, we get to see them on each trip! They've moved to a new house (from the apartment at Gail's) and had us over for dinner. The house is beautiful and I loooove it when someone cooks for me

Gail and I did laundry, groceries, had a girlie lunch, and ran lots of little errands. The boys went to the rifle range and plinked with Eric's black powder Civil War era musket. Here is Eric, hard at work....

On Thursday Marina and I did pedicures again! Nice sparklie toes again! Dave, Eric, and Luke took Dave's runabout out on the Piscataqua river, through Portsmouth, and played at fishing. The Piscataqua river is known locally as the second fastest running river in the country, up to 4 kts, they say. Locally they don't know what the fastest river is. We had a last dinner at Gail's and scooped up Smoke to take back "home". She leaped aboard the boat, took a quick inspection, and then settled down into one of her favorite nests. She slept there all night, apparently never budged. Ahhh...home is comfortable.

This morning we left way too early, at 6 a.m. First we passed the twin lighthouses of Cape Ann.

We went out of our way to cross the Stellwagen Bank, world renowned for it's large population of giant bluefin tuna and whales. Apparently the way to catch tuna is to use a use a kite or helium balloon, and a hook baited with live pogies. Tuna as large as 1000 pounds have been caught on the MA bay, sold for over $20,000 to the Japanese market. The local fisherman that catches the prize tuna gets about 1/3 of the money. We saw the kites and helium balloons today in the myraids of boats. No, not quite sure just how those kites and balloons work, but apparently they do!

We did see whales, too, two of them. One only showed its back, the second flashed its flukes - just like in the movies! I am sure that one also passed directly under the boat. The depth finder went from 265 ft to 9 ft, setting off an alarm. The 9 ft depth slowly changed, getting a little shallower and then slowly deeper. About long enough for a 50 ft whale to pass!

We are again in Plymouth, MA. The 11 hour trip got us here late, and we simply anchored outside of town. Smokey is back to her old spots, watching the water, birds, and other boats. Quite happily, I might add.

Tomorrow we hope to go through the Cape Cod Canal --- One step closer to home.

To Portland, ME

2011-08-29T22:39:00.000-04:00

Today dawned so glorious and calm, we decided to prepare Latitudes to sail again and head for Portland. It didn't take too long and she was sea worthy again. The seas were a bit choppy when we hit the Casco Bay, 4-5 ft chop left-over from Irene. Notice how that red nun is being pushed over by the current and how choppy the seas are as they hit the "ledges" (rocks).

They were soon calmed. It was a really beautiful sail - looks just like Maine!!!

Once we got to Portland, we met up with friends Marge and Arnie. Smoke pouts and watches when we leave the boat. It may be a little hard to see her sweet face in the back stern port, but she's there.

Portland has more restaurants for it's population than any other city in Maine. We belive it! We ended up in a wonderful outside seating seafood restaurant.

You get a plastic lobster when you order. When your food is ready, the little red guy hums, vibrates, and flashes lights. Really tacky and cool!

After dinner, we returned to our marina only to find that they had closed the place up tight --- no way in. Well, Smokey was on the boat and so was all our stuff. Not to be deterred, Arnie found a weak point in the fence. As he and Marge held it down, Luke clambered over. --- never far from an adventure!

I followed....thank God there aren't many cops around...

Back "home" and ready to head for Portsmouth, NH tomorrow. Tonight is our last night in Maine this year...poo....

Goodbye, Irene

2011-08-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

The wind blew, slowly lowering until around 3 a.m.. We were comfortable enough to leave Latitudes to her alarms. All is well this morning. We have sunny skys, warm air, and relatiely calm seas. We are grateful and glad it's over.

Goodnight, Irene

2011-08-28T20:28:00.001-04:00

I think we've made it. It's not over yet and the forecast calls for high winds until midnight. But here at Latitudes, we see a gradual change in the wind direction and the speed of the gusts. Things seem to be calming down. Now, we still have 25+ knot winds, but that's ok! We will still maintain watches until we are satisfied that everything is ok for the night. The highest gusts we've seen have been at 37 kts, about 43 mph, and there were very few of those.

Smoke did fine, really. She definitely noticed the more frequent boat movement and the howling gusts of wind. I expect that she also picked up on a little tension from us. She is a bit more needy - but we like that sometimes...she becomes a lap cat, and helps us keep watch.

So, unless something changes, we'll call it a night for the blog. Hopefully we'll be able to call it at night here, too, before too late! Thanks for all of the concerned e-mails - we love you all!

Wind

2011-08-28T13:39:00.001-04:00

Just hit 30 knots. But the rain has stopped for now and that's good. We expect the winds to get higher and continue through Monday morning (Irene is one biggggg storm). We continue to be comfortable enough to stay below and do stuff, with a regular cockpit check on instruments, position, anchor, etc.
So far, so good!

Irene is slowly waltzing our way

2011-08-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Rain all night, heavy fog now, and winds are beginning to pick up and gust a bit, up to 23 knots. We expect 50 knots steady, with guests over 60 knots. The latest is an arrival of the tropical storm of around 2pm, over by 10. That's good - it's much more comfortable if you can see what's going on around you instead of depending on the GPS and radar.

Sweet Smoke has no idea what she is in for. She is adamant about being outside when the engine is running. We will probably run it fulltime after the storm starts, just as a safety precaution to have some control of Latitudes. She isn't going to like the wind and rain. Yes, we have the enclosure but that won't stop tropical force winds from blowing rain under and around it. I'll put a towel out for her to sit on and maybe she'll forgive us in a few days !

I read dad's book. It is a nice book, kept my interest, and is a wonderful little story. It's a quick read, only 289 pages. I will say that I think it is more of a woman's book. My only problem was that it took the first 50 pages before I stopped hearing my dad's voice as I read his writting! LOL!

Rain..

2011-08-27T21:24:00.000-04:00

Just started -we are in the outer bands of rain now - maybe this thing will speed up and we can go through it during daylight. I'd like that a lot better.

Still waiting for Irene

2011-08-27T20:46:00.000-04:00

Irene is getting closer and we're waiting, along with 10 or so more sailboats at anchor in the cove with us. Deciding to be a little more cautious, we decided to take the jib sail completely off the roller forestay, to reduce windage. Not a hard job, just ...mmm...tedious. And the sail is heavy.

Just as we got the monster thing laid out on the deck, along come the owners of the big, nice mooring that we had picked up the day before. Not a problem to leave it, just bad timing. So now we are at anchor, with a 150 ft length of 5/16 th inch chain and a 66 lb Bruce anchor, safely away from all other boats, and waiting. When we got up this morning, it was foggy. I thought it might be associated with the storm, but it lifted early.

However, the clouds associated with Irene began to fill the sky by late afternoon. The continued forecasts all indicate just a tropical storm instead of hurricane force winds here. We are counting on that! But still watching. Rain is supposed to start tomorrow morning. We'll just be glad when it's over.

Waiting for Irene

2011-08-26T21:39:00.000-04:00

It is such a beautiful day. Sunny, clear, warm. The cold front passed through yesterday with the rain, leaving the gorgeous weather. It's hard to believe that in 36 hours the first waves of Irene will be reaching us. The storm should hit around 1 a.m. Monday morning ---why is it always at night!!??

We are determined to enjoy it while we can. The other anchored cruiser boat came over today and introduced themselves. In true cruiser fashion, off we went to go exploring with them. We are anchored in Snow Cove at Snow Island. Snow Island is a small private island, but the owners generously allow hikers on their trails. Very nice.

As we got back to Patty & Roland's dinghy (actually a Fold-a-boat: it does fold up!) we realized that there were mussels to be had on the rocks. Low tide and lots of mussels. We collected a couple of big bags full. Here is Patty, gathering.

Back at the boat, we called the red-tide hot-line. Sigh. We are in 1 of only 2 areas in Maine that are at risk of red tide (causes paralysis or death....). So, back into the water went the mussels. Oh, well, it was fun gathering them.

Those Blue Angels yesterday? Practicing for today's Mane Air show! We couldn't see the low maneuvers like the belly-to-belly passes from Latitudes, but we sure got a good show anyway.

Sun-downers with Patty & Roland, dinner, another check of the weather, and we are settling in for the night. Even Smokey has finished with her wild evening romps up and down the boat. Lots of mosquitos out there - she enjoyed jumping for them.
So far we have convinced outselves that the worst this anchorage will see is tropical storm conditions. We've done that a couple of times and aren't very worried about it. Apparently others feel the same way. The two boats anchored here have grown to 6-8. We expect more will drift in tomorrow. Safety precautions are started - ropes around the jib to keep it from flapping open and tearing, ropes secured, most stuff brought in. We went to the local marina today and filled up with diesel, gas, and water. If it looks like the storm will be worse, we can go to shore by dinghy (early, not after she starts!) and local friends will pick us up. It's better to stay on the boat if we can. We'll keep you posted!

Second Post, Same Day...

2011-08-25T14:45:00.000-04:00

This is what happens when you sit around in the rain....and have a cute cat. Don't even bother with this one if you're not a cat person :-)

Remember the tapping-of-the-head game? Here she is, laying in wait for an unsuspecting head to pass her way.

After a little hands on playing, I threw her a favorite catnip laced toy. She's posing nicely with it.

THEN. The fun begins. She often does this routine - first, you wash the toy vigorously, getting it as wet as possible.

Next, a good face washing, using the now wet toy as a washcloth.

Face freshly scrubbed, now it's time to bite and rabbit-foot the toy.

Worn out from the fun, a good catnip fueled nap is last.

It's raining nicely, supposed to last 12 hours. Smokey is inside, curled up in one of her nesting places, I'm getting ready to knit, Luke is messing with the computer. It'll be a lazy afternoon unless the wind picks up.

Maine's Main Artist Island - Monhegan

2011-08-25T13:20:00.001-04:00

Monhegan is a jewel of Maine - an island of choice for artists - local, famous, and just happy painters. It didn't start that way. When the Indian wars broke out in 1676, over 300 colonists from the mainland fled to the outlying islands. First to Damariscove (earlier blog) for a few days and then to Monhegan. We, too, fled to Monhegan, but for different reasons! It IS beautiful!

Our plan had been to make a run from Rockland to Monhegan. We left early but only made it as far as Tenents Harbor due to high winds and choppy seas. But, at 6 a.m. the next day, we set our sails for Monhegan, and sailed all the way there. It was a glorious day and a perfect day to be there. The nice harbor master had arranged for us to use (rent) one of the lobstermen's extra moorings. Good thing - it's a tiny harbor. And no lobsterman takes kindly to coming back to his mooring after a hard day at sea only to find it taken by a pleasure boat. Here is a view of the harbor - and town - from the vantage point of the lighthouse. That tiny strip of water between the islands is all the harbor there is.

The view of shore from Latitudes.

Once in town, we remembered the narrow, unpaved streets that wander past old homes, galleries, and small shops.

Tourists (and there are plenty) come over for the day or week on ferries from the mainland. First on most agendas is the relataively easy walk to the lighthouse.

Further into the island, through a wooded path, and wow! THE views from the cliffs. More tourists....

The view without them...

We opted to sit on the rocks, drink in the views, and have lunch. Unfortunately, the "street smart" seagulls there are quite accustomed to unprotected food. One turn of my back and off this fellow flew, with my sandwich bag in tow. Fortunately, a nice young man chased him down, screaming at the bird, and the rascal dropped the bag. The seagull let us know he was displeased.

After our successful lunch, we decided to take the hike around part of the coast. I don't mean the word "hike" lightly. Yes, I'm on all 4's, climbing these rocks on the trail and yes, that green moss under me is a long ways down.

But it was worth it. More beautiful views. This artist is taking it to the limit. He's set up his easel on the very edge of the rocks, but it must be worth it. I personally can't imagine dragging all of my art supplies and easel up those rocks.

We eventually gave up the hike and took the "fairy house" trail back to town. Trail walkers have built small fairy houses all along the trail, using only natural bits and pieces. I liked this one.

Back into town, we saw more artists. I'm not sure what this fellow was painting, but I can tell you that it was definitely his version of reality. Bright and colorful, though!

Ant then ---

Can't judge a book by it's cover - by Luke

While getting the dinghy ready to go back to Latitudes for a bit, we were joined by a young man who was politely interested in the boat. He looked at the numbers on our dinghy, which start with "VA" for Virginia, and said -- "that's a long way to come in a dinghy!" "Ha, Ha - yes it is, but we carried the dinghy on our boat moored out there". He was visiting Monhegan with his wife and child. He asked some questions, which is not unusual for us when people find out we've sailed from VA. Then he said he also had a boat - a Cape Dory 30 ketch. OK, so that makes him a sailor, and raises his stature a bit relative to an interested landlubber. And then he says "I've also done some crewing on a 56 ft ocean racer". Stature goes up again - this guy probably knows a lot more about sailing than we do. "Yeah, I'm just back from the Fastnet Race". Stature gioes into orbit - this is a 600 mile race along the south coast of England and up to Ireland and back. It invariably runs into severe North Atlantic weather, and related disasters and safety lessons learned. http://fastnet.rorc.org/ "That's a pretty rough race is my understanding". (Luke trying to appear knowledgeable) "Yes, in fact "Rambler", a 100 ft boat, lost her 15 foot deep keel, capsized immediately, 11crew clambered onto the hull, 5 others floated in the water for 3 hours, all were saved". His raceboat is owned by "a prince" who sends the crew to safety school and outfits them with all of the best safety equipment available.. Just goes to show you can never, EVER judge a book by it's cover.

And, speaking of small world, you may remember this picture of "Rambler" that we took in Lake Worth on our way south last year.

We had dinner on the boat, but returned for "Jamboree" in the church. Jamboree is an open talent show for locals and visitors. There were over 20 performers! Some were wonderful, others I could have done without.There were the ususal singing guitar players, some very good. There was also a young man who is an absolute virtuoso flautist playing an incredibly difficult and complex piece, and a superlatively capable young woman playing violin works. There were others who had written poetry or songs who provided balance. But we enjoyed it. The small old church still has gas lighting. A gentleman carefully lit each lamp by turning on the gas in each and holding a candle into the mantle.

We left before 6 a.m., needing to make it back to the mainland before afternoon winds picked up. It was a bit breezy. Smoke - ever becoming more and more of a boat cat - wanted to wander the decks in the wind. She had to be restrained with her harness and leash. Not a happy cat, but she resigned herself to watching the water sternward. Those big ears are turned back, listening to me take her picture and wondering if I'm going to release her.

We are waaay up a creek in Casco Bay now, anchored to wait out winds and rain tonight. We are religiously watching Irene as she heads towards us. Moorings and slips are long gone, but we are on one waiting list. If it looks like just tropical storm winds, we'll ride it out on the boat, having done that before several times. If she's coming in with full fury, we'll desert the boat at her anchorage, have friends pick us up nearby, and hope for the best. There are at least 5 boats in this anchorage, all waiting.

wow, wow, wow!!! The Blue Angels are roaring overhead! Gotta run watch them!

Dad's book is out in paperback!

2011-08-23T23:43:00.000-04:00

It's in print now!

http://www.amazon.com/Leahs-Journey-Home-Gil-Ballance/dp/098303575X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

His book signings start in late September, and yes, he's excited. So are we!

Castine/Holbrook Island/Camden/Rockland

2011-08-22T18:07:00.000-04:00

Our visit to Castine was short, but always nice. Castine is just a beautiful little town, full of history. http://www.castine.me.us/pages/AboutPages/history.html will give you all you wanted to know! The little town of 1300 (includes 700 college students at the Maine Maritime Academy) has over 100 plaques that document what happened where and when. This is one example.

Old buildings from the 1700's line the streets. We saw one beautiful, waterfront home for sale, built in 1695. Can you imagine keeping that warm in a Maine winter! A town square, a block or so away from the docks, boasts a small library, the original school house, church, and this town building, now serving as the home of the historical society.

The church is a simple building, but I really liked her wind vane.

Something else that is special about Castine is her Elm trees. Apparently many US cities were planted with Elm trees in the 1830s. The Dutch Elm Disease was imported from France in about 1930, and subsequently wiped out most of the Elm trees. Castine has about 300 of the only remaining elm trees in the entire state of ME. Threatened by the Dutch Elm Disease, these trees are cared for, marked with little silver tags, and an inventory taken each year. This lucky house has 3 Elm threes. They are truly large and majestic, as can be seen in comparison to this large three story house.

In addition to wandering about Castine, we hiked around Holbrook Island, a land and nature preserve. The island has been occupied in the past, but the one house is now used for educational programs. A few of the old farm implements remain.

Most of the island is trails through the dense forest

All trails on the island lead to water - of course!

We awoke to fog, again, the next morning. Apparently the local yacht club was having a regatta, fog or no fog! Who needs to see where they are going, anyway!

We waited out the fog (so we thought - again, it caught up with us mid trip) and sailed to Camden for a short visit. Camden is the home of many of Maine's schooners in the tourist trade.

And she has one VERY busy harbor!

With enough schooners to make it feel like old times - maybe

We knew the weather would be too bad to stay anchored in the rolley outer edges of this harbor, so we left once again, and went the 8 miles back into the fog to Rockland. There we got a secure anchorage, snuggled in the SW corner from the SW winds, and slept safely through the 30 knot winds and rain. When we awoke this morning, the sun was bright, the sky blue, the clouds white, and the waves...well...apparently ok. Off we left, sailing past Owls Head Lighthouse. You can see, a picture perfect Maine day!

Our plan had been to sail to Monhegan, the island artist colony about 25 miles southeast of Rockland. Once we cleared some of the small islands and got into the early sea swells, we knew we had better make different plans. With 5 foot swells, about 6 seconds apart, and 18 knot winds directly on our bow, it wasn't a hard decision. So, we are back in Tenents Harbor, again safely anchored out of the wind and swells, spending a nice afternoon of whatever. Smokey's "whatever" included a serious killing of mousie, a long romp with her tail, and now a nap of deep cat sleep. The weather, as of now, promises a nice sail to Monhegan tomorrow. We shall try again!

Thanks!

2011-08-21T21:57:00.000-04:00

I'm sure I don't know who all of you are, but I'm amazed to say that Latitudes Journey has received over 100 "hits" in the last 48 hours! Wow! I hope you enjoy reading about our trip as much as I enjoy telling about it.
It's a wonderful adventure for us and we are soooo lucky to be able to experience it!

oh, Maine...

2011-08-19T22:14:00.000-04:00

We are in Maine. Sitting in our anchorage in Holbrook Harbor, just outside Castine, ME http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castine,_Maine we can see the lights of Castine and the Maine Maritime Academy to our stern. From our other 3 views, we see the tall, straight, green evergreen trees coming up from large, white boulders of stone, slowly showing more and more of the stones as the 12 foot tide receeds. On the newly exposed rocks, seals bask, either lying on their tummies with fins and heads upraised or flat, like dead fish. They are settling in for the night. The fog is slowly, but surely, creeping in from the seaward side of the anchorage. It's quiet and just beautiful. This is why we come back to Maine.

Before going on, I want to add this one great panarama picture that Luke did of the fog in Carver Harbor, Vinalhaven. It really makes the point!

After retreiving our 3 pairs of well dried jeans from the laundry, we filled Latitudes' water tanks and set sail for Castine. Yes, set SAIL for Castine, past the Rockland lighthouse on her long jetty into the harbor.

From there, we sailed across the Penobscot Bay, towards Castine. On our way, we passed several schooners, all plying their tourist trade out of Camden. They are all beautiful ships.

Once anchored in the harbor, we found the seals on the nearby rocks, as interested in us as we are in them.

And the tall trees and bare boulders

Especially in the evenings, sweet Smokey has invented the most wonderful of games. There is a small opening hatch between our cockpit and the narrow "hall" of the boat. Smoke loves to "hide" in the cockpit and tap us on the heads as we pass her vantage point. Needless to say, it does exactly what she wants it to do - get our attention and a bit of interactive play and, if she's lucky, a tummy rub through the port.

We are watching the weather for the next few days. We may stay here for a day or go to Camden. Either one is ok with us!

Stonington and Vinalhaven

2011-08-19T07:58:00.001-04:00

Before the rains on Monday afternoon, we headed in for a short visit to Stonington. Aptly named, the area is famous for granite stone cutting and carving. Although the quary on nearby Crotch Island has been dormant for years, we understand that it has reopened on a contract basis. There was certainly new wiring on the big cranes and the humming of large equipment as we sailed past the island.

The small town of Stonington is definitely tourist oriented. Cute shops and wonderful seafood places to eat, all in an old Maine setting.

We treated ourselves to a warm lunch splitting a haddock sandwich and a bowl of Stonington clam chowder. Let me tell you, Stonington clam chowder is NOT Chesapeake clam chowder. I'm used to - and spoiled by - thick creamy chowder that you can stand a spoon up in. Nope, Stonington advertises - correctly - it's chowder as thin broth with full clams. It is. Thin and biggg rascals of tough and chewey clams. Tasty, though.

It began to rain on Monday evening and poured all day on Tuesday. Just as well. I came down with a miserable sinus headache and sniffles. Slept all day. By evening, the rain broke and gave us a beautiful sunset, promising the nice day on Wednesday.

A mere 12 miles later, on Wednesday, we negotiated the minefield of lobster floats to enter the Vinalhaven harbor. Vinalhaven http://www.vinalhaven.org/ is the only town on the island, located in the midde of the Penobscot Bay. This is definitely a working town, with the most densely filled mooring field in Maine, according to the guidebooks. Not desiring cruising boaters, there is only 1 guest mooring in the field of over 100 boats. We were fortunate enough to ask the right lobsterman about a mooring we might rent. He offered his extra mooring to us at no charge! Took us to it by his little boat and helped us secure the mooring ball! This photo cannot begin to show the boats in this harbor.

Securely moored within inches of the next boat, we set off to explore the island. Here is a bit of town from the water view.

As the only town on the island, this place is great! PO, big grocery store, restaurants, YARN shops, used book shop, library, handcrafted jewelry store, art museums, ice cream, town park, newspaper store, and on and on, right on main street.

As soon as we docked the dinghy and came ashore, we couldn't help but notice this huge building.

For a size reference, that is the PO beside it, on the left. This is the historic Star of Hope Lodge built in 1885, with a mansard roof. A concert hall today? Nope, the private home of Robert Indiana. We didn't recognize the name, but he is the famous artist/sculpture who did the LOVE sculpture in 1964! http://www.scottsdalepublicart.org/collection/love.php He is said to have lived here year round until his death in 1999.

Loberstering is important here - here is Vinalhaven's local sculpture, located at the ice cream shop.

A walk through town took us to the town park, where we found a restored "galamander". This finally answers our questions about how the heck the granite workers moved those huge rocks. The large horizontal beam on top is a lever, pivoting on the rear axel, which lifts the stones off the groubnd for transport. The back wheels on this thing are 9 feet in diameter. Pulled by a team of oxen, the galamander dragged the carved stones from the quary to the dock.

Beautiful grand old homes, with upkeep that I cannot imagine!

We ran into a couple who told us about a nice walk behind the local medical center. It was a gradual climb, up the granite rocks and shrubs, to a nice overview of the ocean.

It also gave me this view of our flag, flying high above the tree line. Makes you feel proud, doesn't it.

More patriotism, this is the granite sculpture at the town dock. The eagle is probably 4 feet tall, sitting on 5 foot tall blocks of granite. You can see where the blocks were mined and cut in the granite quary by the numerous small cuts at the top of the blocks. Small holes are chisled into the rock along the desired cut line. Small split steel rods are then inserted, and a wedge inserted into the split. The wedges are driven into the split steel rods all along the cut line untill the rock splits. What you see is 1/2 of the small chisled holes remaining. Italian granite chislers were brought in to do all of the fine chisling. No wonder there was low unemployment!

We awoke on Thursday morning to dense fog - again.

So, we made lemonade out of lemons and took the dinghy back to town to go again to the used book store, jewelry store, yarn shop, and a bit of walking. By 2p.m. the fog had lifted and we sailed the 15 miles to Rockland. The harbor master graciously left the 1 washer/dryer room open for us after he left. Laundry was completed by 10 p.m. last night and we plan to head for Castine today (after we go back to the laundromat and retrieve the 3 pairs of jeans that I left in the dryer.....)

Buckle Island

2011-08-16T14:54:00.000-04:00

Buckle Island is a small uninhabited island about 24 miles from Winter Harbor. As we left Winter Harbor we passed it's beautiful light house, lit by the morning sun, and framed by a questionable backdrop of fog.

It was probably a pretty ride, but we had the densest fog I’ve ever seen – and that’s all we could see! It wasn’t foggy when we left (or we would have stayed in Winter Harbor), but about an hour into our 5 hour trip, the fog billowed in. We figured it was coming as we passed Cadillac Mtn in Acadia.

It was the pea soup kind – we could see about 2 boat lengths around us and that was it. It made looking for lobster pot floats and toggles, as we were watching our radar, course and location, extremely difficult. We ended up with Luke at the helm and me standing outside, watching for the floats to appear. Depending on the local current, it was toggles then floats, or toggles left and floats further left, or the opposite, all pairs connected with a rope waiting to snare our prop. Not a fun trip. It did clear up about an hour from our new anchorage at Buckle. The air was clear but not sunny as we approached the island.

As we arrived, we were treated to a beautifully restored, old wooden lobster smack.

Never deterred, we dropped the dingy and off to shore to explore Buckle. The views from shore are completely Maine. Here is the rocky beach where we could land the dinghy.

On the way to the beach, we ran over some sea grass. Sea grass always wins – definitely slowed down the dinghy motor!

The rocky ledges, full of mussels (yes, we got some!) You just lift the bottom layer of that seagrass at low tide and they are attached to the rocks.

Seals basking on some of the rocks.

The other side of the island is green and grassy.

The interior of the island was devastated by micro bursts a few years and is still a mess. The trail around the island is an adventure in itself!

But the good parts of the trail are just beautiful.

Luke found his favorite place on the island – the mysterious green door. The green door is where light meets dark. A walk through a dark part of the forest….

Leads you to the green door!

You can see the light on the other side –it actually opens to a less dense part of the forested island. Light does meet dark!

On Monday morning we left Buckle early to beat the predicted rain. It worked – we made the whopping 8 miles to an anchorage between islands Devil and Bold, about 1.5 miles from Stonington. We did manage to make it to Stonington and back before the rain came. The rain is steady now, but the wind is calm, so it’s a nice evening indoors. The next blog will cover Stonington and, if the rain subsides, walks on the islands. I’ve come down with the miserable beginnings of a cold and just wanna go back to bed for a while.

The Lobster Boat Races!

2011-08-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

Note --- this is the second of 2 posts back to back. Don't miss the one immediately before this one!

Off to the races!!! It turns out that lobster boat racing is comprised of many "heats" (23 in this event) of drag-strip type racing. The crowd was there, lined up on both sides of the strip, anchored, floating, rafted up together. This is only a few of the 100 or so spectator boats. We were - surprise - the only sailboat, obviously "from away's", the Mainer term for non-natives.

It all started out the same - boats lined up at the start line and ready to rumble! A "pace boat" started with the boats on each heat, dropping the start flag when they were all underway and lined up. Heats consisted of between 2-8 boats

And the duels heat up!

Oh, and the joy of winning!

This fellow won every time he ran - look at that exhaust pipe shooting out black smoke! Needless to say, he was loud and fast! This is NOT your working lobster boat.

Not everyone was concerned with winning - these guys liked eating better.

Even Fred the Dock Master took his boat out on a run, but, loaded with friends, it was just for the thrill of the chase.

After the races were done, all of the boats congregated at the harbor. The small harbor was packed, awaiting the awards!

We took the dinghy to the harbor, but opted to walk to town to see the craft booths, get a little ice cream, and watch the parade. It was local and cute, full of area fire engines, candy tossing to the crowd, and Masons in "lobster boats".

And, of course, you have to have the few restored cars.

All in all, it was a nice "small town" day. We enjoyed it. The next plan is to head for Buckle Harbor and explore the uninhabited island there. A big change from lobster boat racing!

and Two if by Sea . . . . .

2011-08-13T20:29:00.000-04:00

There was something sinister about the big cat that prowled out of the Maine mists into our snug little harbor at Somesville

It was the "Cats Meow", the biggest catamaran we'd ever seen. 78 ft long, 35 ft wide, and a 6 ft draft. Curiosity and the internet proved us right. The Cat had been drug trafficking for years, and her owner sentenced to 18 years in jail in March of this year! All the details in http://www.justice.gov/usao/gas/pr/2007/53_07Chupurdy.pdf We met the owners, Don and Levonne, who didn't strike us as drug traffickers, and in fact turned out to be on a different leaf, chartering the boat. For their story and some impressive pictures of the Cat: http://www.sailtrekker.com/the-catamaran.html

Friday morning opened beautiful, and we left our cozy harbor of Somes Sound for THE RACES on Saturday in Winter Harbor. We sailed (yes, sailed) past the beautiful hills

and the rugged rocky cliffs of Acadia

into Winter Harbor. We dinghy-ed around the inner harbor, where the boys were getting their boats ready for THE RACES!

and the competitors were gathering,

including this harpoon equipped, long nosed tuna hunter

Later that peaceful evening, we were treated to a full moon

complete with its glow worm on the placid waters of Winter Harbor, while we eagerly awaited the lobster boat races of Saturday. (and for those of you who don't know the Mills Brother's 1952 song "Glow Worm", check it out on YouTube and you, too, can have it on your mind for days! Try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8myK93FqbYc for a live 1957 performance on the Nat King Cole Show)

One if by Land . . . .

2011-08-13T08:12:00.000-04:00

Tendrils from NASCAR were pulling us to the LOBSTER BOAT RACES at Winter Harbor on Saturday, only 10 miles away! So, after being rained in on Wednesday, we decided to spend another day in Acadia. To hike along the rocky shore line.

It was cloudy and foggy, but still spectacular

While it may be the big outdoors, it's by no means isolated - this is the crowd overlooking Thunder Hole, where, with the right tide and wave conditions, waves thunder in and spray flies high. Three million visitors per year to Acadia National Park.

Overlooking some spectacular cliffs

and success in the struggle for survival.

Leaving the shore, we trekked inland on a trail of almost all rock with a stream running down it

with great slabs of granite grey and bleak in the foggy afternoon

and small bursts of color to warm the scene.

Next installment, Acadia by sea...

Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and the Lobster Whisperer

2011-08-10T12:27:00.001-04:00

Back to Bah Hahbah (yes, that's how they say it) and the beautiful Acadia Park. Friends Phyllis and Peter brought their camper up from New Bern for a few days so we joined up with them for sight-seeing. When in Bar Harbor you must join the throngs of folks at the waterside park. Here we are, along with the 4 masted schooner Mary Todd behind us.

Here is a little better picture of Mary Todd, except for that bright red lobster boat beside her.

The four of us spent much of the day catching up and getting an overview of the area. We ended up at the camper for a lobster dinner. Peter The Lobster Whisperer showed us an amazing trick! He picked up the wild lobster with its claws flailing every way possible, and began to rub it's head slowly, in the direction from the tail to the "forehead"....

Within moments the lobster went totally limp, claws hanging at it's side, in a sort of sleep/trance state.

No scrambling and clanging about in the pot when he gently placed them in the steaming water. Amazing!

On Tuesday morning, Luke and I caught the free park bus in beautiful little Somesville, the town where we are anchored.

Phyllis and Peter met us in town and we began the drive up Cadillac Mountain. The views en route began to show us Maine from the vantage points.

From the top, you can see forever.

With the water at low tide, the bar of land that gives the town of Bar Harbor it's name becomes visible. You can walk across the bar now; at high tide the bar is completely covered by Maine's 12 foot tidal range.

Back down the mountain, lunch, and off to see Sand Beach. LOOK at these people! It's 60 degrees, the water is 63 degrees, the wind is blowing, and the sun isn't shinning. And they are IN THE WATER!!!

We warmed up in the truck and drove to a beautiful walk around the island. The walk is lined with wild flowers. We aren't sure what this one is, but it is interesting that the pedals are almost non-existant. I assume this is to protect the bloom from the constant ocean wind.

From here the views are fantastic - tall Maine evergreens...

Rocky ledges...

Here are Luke and Peter, snapping up the views.

Another nice dinner at the camper, along with Phyllis' 2 grandsons and son-in-law, and we said our good-byes for now. They left for the return trip to NC this morning. We are aboard Latitudes, the rain and wind have returned, and it's a whopping 62 outside. Time for a warm lunch!

More Maine

2011-08-07T12:33:00.000-04:00

Next stop, Winter Haber, about 15 miles from Rockland, across Penobscot Bay. En route we passed through Vinyl Haven and who should pass us in his boat? Artist Jamie Wyeth! He’s the one in the back with the curly dark hair. He did turn around and wave - I thought it might be in bad taste to take a picture then.

We also begin seeing the beautiful schooners, so much a part of the Penobscot Bay.

Arnie & Margie came to the boat for dinner and Arnie showed us how to cook and shuck the mussels we had collected.

Yum! The dinner was great!

Guess what we found in the mussels??? Pearls!!! Two tiny ones. Luke & I had the remaining mussels tonight (Aug 6) and found a black pearl! I need to find something to do with them. (yeah, I know, terrible picture)

We did a little exploring in the dinghy before dinner. A partially submerged row boat (Arnie said it has been here for years).

And look a that current! Eddies swirling in the deep water as the tide changes.

On Friday Luke & I set sail for Frenchboro, a small island of a dozen or so lobstermen and their families.

We saw seals! Lots of seals, basking and sleeping on the sunny rocks of several "ledges", small rocky islands that are awash or submerged at high tide in the 11 ft tidal range here. They remind me of dead fish scattered about.

The anchorage in Frenchboro is beautiful.

You can see the Acadia area from there.

We took the one of the log lined trails around the island.

Lots of fresh, new purple pine cones.

Some of the trails lead to the other side of the island, with its rock beaches.

Those beaches are really made of rocks, round, tumbled rocks of various sizes.

Back through town, past the little church

On to the only restaurant on the island for lobster, and a good nights sleep. We left early on Friday, braved the fog for about 12 miles, complete with lobster floats and toggles, to the Mount Desert Island (Acadia), and anchored in Somes Sound. Somes Sound is a six mile long "glacial river valley drowned by the ocean among the geologically old, rounded mountains of Mount Desert Island". This is the only fjord on the eastern Atlantic seaboard. We took one of the free buses from Somesville to Bar Harbor and did laundry and groceries.

Today we are waiting out the cool rain in our cool dry boat. Tomorrow should be better weather, so we'll go to town and be tourists.

My dad's book is published today!!!!

2011-08-06T08:25:00.000-04:00

My 92 year old dad worked for several years on this book, researching his family and historical details. The book is "fiction" but based largely on his mother's life and the era of the early 1900's. Today the e-book is available on Kindle and the bound copy will be available later this month. We are all so excited and proud of him! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FQSPCE/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_alp_yckpob1RGT0GJ

Dix Cove

2011-08-03T22:16:00.001-04:00

Wednesday morning awakened us to blue skies and beautiful Maine weather. We decided to explore the little islands in the cove, but needed to do so during low tide. This area is completely covered with water, thanks to the 12 foot tidal range at high tide.

What a beautiful place! We are so fortunate to be able to experience it.

And, just what do you think these two "bottoms up" guys might be doing????

Collecting mussels! Lots of them, like 10 pounds worth!

Low tide exposes the mussel beds. Arnie did check the "red tide hot line" at the Maine Department of Marine Resources. They said the mussels are from a good area and to enjoy them! Right now they are in a bag behind Arnie & Margie's boat, hanging in the fresh, cold water, and cleansing sand and mud. Arnie has promised to cook them tomorrow night.

The Dix Cove islands were once important, booming granite quarries. The small island of Dix alone supported 2000 granite cutters and 150 buildings. The quarries were worked until WW1. These huge slabs of stone were cut by pounding small rods into the stones at appropriate places and then inserting wedges between the cuts. Pounding on the wedges forced them deeper, resulting in nice clean breaks in the granite. These are not minor stone pieces - the largest columns cut from granite quarries in this part of Maine were for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. The four columns each were 64 feet long, 8 feet in diameter, and weighed 360 tons!

The cut granite was shipped from man-made wharfs such as this.

We spent most of the morning exploring the islands. Around noon we took our boats to Rockland for the Rockland Lobster Festival. Marge and I did some "retail therapy" while Arnie and Luke checked out the local boat store and did grocery shopping for us. The day was capped by lobster dinners at the festival.

Matinicus and the fog

2011-08-02T21:21:00.000-04:00

Lobster buoy, then toggle…. Lobster buoy, then toggle…all we could see to our 100 foot horizon was lobster buoys, toggles. The current was coming towards us, so we figured out the buoy/toggle system pretty quickly. The radar showed the boats ahead, so we knew where they and where the shore was. The chart plotter showed us where we were, a few hundred yards from the harbor. We found the promised mooring float, with its attached plastic bottle for the honor system payment, in the middle of the small harbor well before we could see the rocky shore 50 feet away. And, so we arrived at Matinicus Island, completely enveloped in the famous dense Maine fog. We tried not to travel in the fog – awoke at 4:45 Monday morning to take advantage of the current, but “waited out the fog” until 8. Nope, it found us about ½ way to our destination, Matinicus Island, 20 miles out to sea from mainland Maine. We thought it was bad when we arrived – here is our nearest moored boat.

And here she is about 30 minutes later…see her? No, we couldn’t either…

The fog stayed all day, so we just enjoyed our visit to Matinicus. Back to that lobster smack --- that is a “buy boat” arrangement that services this outer island. The boat provides (sells) to the 21 lobstermen of the island their fuel and bait each morning. Then, after a long day of pulling 1/3 to 1/2 of their 800 lobster pots, each boat returns to the “Dutchess” smack boat and he buys their lobster catch. Every other day, the Dutchess runs the 30 miles to Rockland to sell the lobsters. This costs him about $240 in diesel each way! But, the owner of the Dutchess told us that Mantinicus is the most productive lobster ground in Maine. The 21 active fishermen last year harvested 3 million pounds of lobster!

A little about Matinicus - as mentioned before, this is the outermost Maine island inhabited year round. 30 or so brave souls stay all year. The one room, all-grade school has about 3 -9 students.

Matinicus is also the home of some of a few “lobster wars” in the past years. Tempers run high, especially regarding lobstering territory. A couple of years ago one incident ended in cutting of pots and a shooting. The shooter was found innocent but we were told that the island is now pretty much divided. Not good when you have only 50 or so permanent residents.

The fact that this is a working harbor became real as we approached the harbor in our dinghy. This is not a tourist town.

Here is the inner harbor later, when the sun make brief showing.

And we knew we were in a unique place when we saw this sign on the wharf.

A slow walk down the main road on the island.

We lucked into the unexpected – a college student, home for the summer, set up her own “lemonade stand”. Burgers and drinks on the lawn. The only restaurant on the island! This was later described by the island bakery person as a real improvement to the island.

Back to the boat, a rest after our 4:45 awakening, and the local guy who sets out the guest moorings was in his lobster boat next to us. He came over to collect his mooring fee and offered to sell us lobsters just caught. We took them! 2 lobsters, about 1.5 pounds each, for $6 each! One was enough for tonight –

The other has been cooked also, picked, and in the frig for later. Smoke couldn’t help herself – she wanted to help with the lobsters.

Today we left in the same ol' fog we arrived in. Fortunately the fog lifted after just a few miles, giving us good visibility. We finally met up with Maine friends Margie & Arnie! They are out on a 2 week vacation cruise. The weather was too variable to go to shore ("if you don't like the weather in Maine, wait 5 minutes - it'll change...). And it did change from sun to cloudy to fog to sun to fog to cloudy to windy.. you get the picture. But it is great to see them again!!!

Our plan for tomorrow is to explore a few of the islands in Dix Cove and then to Rockland for the Lobster Festival with Margie and Arnie! oh, the lobster dinner there and the "county fair" attractions! Can't wait!

Purple at night...

2011-07-31T20:23:00.002-04:00

Sailor's delight????

Maine cool in Boothbay

2011-07-31T18:16:00.002-04:00

We awoke Friday morning to typical Maine cool - it was overcast, breezy, 70-ish. We spent the day sight-seeing in long pants and sweatshirts. What a change from the triple digits that the mideast coast is experiencing!

Boothbay is a nice tourist town - full of quaint shops with lots of tempting goodies.

They love to use the colorful lobster pot floats as decorations of the Maine scene. Yeah, they're colorful, but you can come to dislike them when you're trying to sail through them!

We are trying to see some new places this trip, so we opted to visit the Maine State Aquarium in Boothbay. http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/aquarium/index.html Just a short dinghy ride across the bay and we were there. A whopping $3 admission, but the aquarium is only one large room. We were initially disappointed and thought "oh, well, supporting the state", but once we were inside, we were delighted. Each individual aquarium is filled with a variety of local fishes, plus good info on each of them.

There is the usual "touch tank" plus a special one with rays and cat sharks that literally lifted their heads out of the water in order to be petted!

Rain all night - blissful, gentle, cool rain. Saturday morning broke clear and we headed for the Penobscot Bay, our favorite of the Maine bays. We decided to go to Tenants Harbor and anchor in Long Cove. Never been there before, so it seemed like a good idea. We had a good SAIL the entire 24 miles, but weaved through constant colonies of lobster floats. For the first time, we actually caught one under the boat. It's not a pleasant feeling to see a long lobster float line being towed behind the boat in 60 degree water. Fortunately, the pot "popped" free as we got to the end of the rope. whew!!!! Good thing we were actually sailing for a change, without the propellor turning.

Entering the chanel into Tenants Harbor, we loved the sight of the South Island Lighthouse.

As we are anchored just past it (on the other side) we were determined to dinghy over this morning and explore it....until we learned that the island and lighthouse are owned by Jamie Wyeth and visitors are not welcome for some strange reason! Seems the family owns quite a bit of property in this region.

Our anchorage in Long Cove is beautiful and calm today. Maine blue sky, crystal clear northern horizon, it's like having our own little cottage "On Golden Pond".

We settled for a ride into the town of Tenants Harbor. Cute houses, a small grocery store, PO, fish house/restaurant, and Lodge of some sort make up the entire town. So, we bought aluminum foil, checked out the local art show in the lodge, and bought 2 meals worth of freshly, locally caught haddock for a whopping $9. Dinner tonight!

You know it's a small place when someone leaves a painted sign like this for the city grass mower.

Here is a nice shot of the harbor from land.

Tomorrow we plan to leave around 5 a.m. to catch the outging tide to another new place, the remote island of Matinicus. Matinicus is the outermost Maine island inhabited year round and not a frequent tourist destination.

Hopping around the Midcoast of Maine

2011-07-29T10:20:00.001-04:00

We left the beautiful Goslings for yet one beautiful place after another. On our way to Five Islands, we stopped at Seguin Island, home of the second oldest lighthouse on the coast of Maine. George Washington himself signed the deed for the island! It was a little foggy as we approached the island.

There are two guest mooring balls that are placed in the small cove. We tied up to one and Luke rowed the short distance to the little beach. This rather reminds me of some of our Bahamian pictures.

Then it is a slow walk up the hill to the lighthouse, along the path beside the old railway (formerly used to haul anything that needed to make it to the top! It was discontinued shortly after the platform failed to stop at the bottom, killing a lighthouse keeper's wife and child).

Finally, the lighthouse!

In 1985, after 200 years of manned service, the lighthouse was automated and abandoned. Fortunately for us, the Friends of Seguin negotiated a lease with the Coast Guard and acquired the lighthouse. Volunteers live there during the summer months. It must be a great place to live during the summer - the views from there are magnificent!

The Friends of Sequin made another big step a few years ago. The lighthouse has a rare, historical, and powerful Fresnel lens, the only first-order lens north of Rhode Island. This is a huge lens assembly about 3 ft in diameter, and 6 ft high. The U S Light Service directed that all US light houses must have this superior technology lens by 1858 to improve the visibility of its light houses. In the 1970's the Coast Guard wanted to convert it to solar power, and a high tech modern lens. 7000 signatures were gathered, convincing the Coast Guard to leave the lens there.

Next, to one of our very favorite spots in Maine, Five Islands. This is a postcard shot of small Maine harbors. One island has only a working lobster dock, a lobster house that sells fresh lobsters and lobster dinners, an ice cream store, and a small boat company that sells gas to the lobster boats (oh, plus a few picturesque Maine homes).

Another island has a few homes and a small yacht club that generously maintains 5 free guest mooring balls for transients (that would be us!). The locals a the homes here have a variety of beautiful little run-abouts.

But the best thing about Five Islands is our friends Gloria and Mike. We met them on our first visit to the Bahamas in 2008. Mike keeps five "recreational" lobster pots and has the freshest lobsters you have ever tasted! He and Luke personally plucked those rascals out of the cove for us while Gloria and I visited with their grand Bengal Cat, Ben. It was a great visit and wonderful dinner. Even Smokey got a little left-overs when we returned to the boat.

From Five Islands, we hopped our way to Boothbay. First, a stop at Damariscove Island. Damariscove Island is 1.7 miles long, 1.4 mile wide, and almost completely divided in two by a narrow strip of water. That narrow strip of water is where we anchor.

The swift current and narrow channel require two anchors - the usual bow anchor and a second stern anchor, set to the rear of the boat. Not a real challenge setting them (drop the bow, go backwards and drop the second one, and then pull both anchor ropes to set the boat in the middle of them).

Damariscove Island ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damariscove_Island )has an amazing history - it has been used by English fishermen and trappers for over 400 years, long before Jamestown or Plymouth. In fact, the pilgrims on the Mayflower stopped there for provisions before landing in Plymouth! By then, Damariscove was a year-round fishing community! When the Indian War broke out in 1676, (and lasted 56 years), 300 colonists fled to Damariscove for protection. After Indians boarded a boat there and beheaded the owner of Damariscove Island, the colonists largely moved on to Monhegan Island. Legend has it that the beheaded fellow and his dog haunt the island today. We didn't see him, thank goodness! The Island was deserted again, except for seasonal fishermen and the Coast Guard, during he Depression. The Coast Guard deserted their station there, too, in the late 1950's. Around 1985 the old Coast Guard Rescue house was sold to private owners who have restored it. They are the only residents now. That's Latitudes mast in the narrow channel in front of the house.

And back to that anchoring ..... we are glad they are there! It got a bit tricky getting that second stern anchor up. We were doing it, but with some difficulty and a lot of slow effort. The owner of the home paddle-boarded over to the boat and offered to help. He got on board with us and helped Luke pulled up the stern chain and anchor and get the stern anchor back to the bow. Very nice!!!

The 360 views from this island are the best! Here we are on the rocky ledge.

And yet another view.

Although there are no trees on the island, the paths on it are often narrow and lined with really tall bushes.

This stick and lobster pot "artwork" is pointed towards Boothbay.

But are we going there yet?? Noooo.... yet another stop; this time at Squirrel Island. Squirrel Island, a mile from Boothbay, has been an exclusive summer retreat for generations. The 94 homes are pretty much only resold within families.

The only businesses here are Town Hall, an ice cream shop, and a post office.

No vehicles, bikes, skates, or skateboards are allowed on the island, so the entire island is linked with paths.

Once again, the friendly folks of Maine maintain one free guest mooring, giving us the pleasure of exploring their island.

Finally, about 6 p.m., we wandered into the anchorages at Boothbay, setting down for the night. Smoke was more than tired of the constant stopping and starting of the hated engine. She, too, settled down in her favorite place - on our opening hatch just outside of the screened cockpit.

And just what has poor Luke been doing while I typed this saga? Laboriously changing a shredding V-belt on our main engine. Good thing he caught it, but a tedious and dirty job. I love Luke!

On to Boothbay in a bit, for some city life (that means tacky shops and ice cream). Actually, the town runs complementary shuttle buses all over town - like to the grocery store! We hear there is an aquarium in town and a wonderful botanical garden. We may well try to visit both during our stay here. Oh, and it's 70 today~

Maine, sweet Maine

2011-07-27T08:43:00.002-04:00

To the Goslings for the night - now this is Maine! 70's, sunny, rocky, beautiful. We passed the Cape Elizabeth lighthouse as we entered the Casco Bay. This is a typical Maine lighthouse, but a little larger and better kept than some.

The Casco is full of lobstermen and their lobster floats. It's a narrow, winding passage through the mass at times. Look carefully at all of the little colored dots that surround the boat. That is what we have to navigate through.

We must have seen more than a dozen lobster boats, all tending various numbers of pots. One lobsterman threw out 8 undersized guys from just one pot. It's incredible that there can be that many lobsters in such a concentrated area. And that's over all of Maine!

Smokey is fascinated with the pots. She sits on the cockpit edge (not the boat edge) and carefully watches as each passes.

We borrowed a mooring in the shallower waters between the Goslings. That is a standard practice in Maine - if a privately owned mooring is unused, it is expected that a transient or recreational boater will pick up the mooring. If the owner boats up and wants his mooring, you of course politely move to another unused mooring. One of those four boats in the distance is Latitudes. We are standing on one of the Goslings.

Most of the "sand" on these islands is actually either rock or shells. This island has a sandy beach of snail shells.

The interior of this small island is typical Maine green, full of moss, tall evergreens, and ferns.

The view from the eastward side of the island is impressive.

and Seals! We finally found basking seals, lots of them. Babies as well as adults. The fur colors were interesting - many different shades. They were equally interested in us.

It was a nice rainy night - that means a clean boat and clear air this morning. We left the Goslings and are en route to Five Islands, with a possible stop at Seguin Lighthouse on our way.

sailing in jeans and sweatshirts!

2011-07-25T22:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a difference a couple of days can make. Today we left Portsmouth, NE in jeans and sweatshirts. And STAYED in them. Can't wait to sleep under a blankie tonight.

It was a great visit in New Castle with Marina and Dave. The Piscataqua River, where we moor, has an ebb current in excess of 1.8 knots. That's really moving through the water at a mooring! Portsmouth, the "big" city, and New Castle, where the yacht club and its moorings are located are really great, clean, quaint towns. Luke and Dave visited the Stratham fair http://www.strathamfair.com/ - a local fair, it concentrated on livestock. Dave loved the calves.

Luke was impressed with the log toss (as simple and hard as it sounds). 37 feet was the winning toss.

and the ax toss (note the lack of bystanders near the target!) The large ax is in the middle of the blue tent. In the middle of the bull's eye is a soda can -- instant positive feedback!

And from Luke: The fair was very impressive in several respects. It was heavily 4H oriented, and the young teenagers with their animals were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, informed, and quite willing to discuss their areas of expertise. A few nuggets of knowledge:

Talking to a sheep farmer: Sheep get sheared twice per year. Raw wool sells for $0.25/lb. 30% of sheep farmers just throw it away. It's not worth getting it to a spinning mill. Getting their own wool spun at a mill is very expensive. The money is in the meat. $6.00/ lb is break even for what seemed like a small high quality operation.

Talking to a goat farmer: Goats are raised either for milk or for meat -- two different breeds. If sheep meat is mutton, goat meat is "chevon". (I sure didn't know that.) http://www.goatmeats.com/

A chicken farmer: Different types of chickens lay different color eggs, including pink and blue varieties. Egg purchasers do not differentiate among chicken types, as long as the eggs look right.

A biologist: Texas A&M has developed domesticated quail. If wild quail are released, they head for the brush. Domesticated quail follow their human around.

Marina and I did more ladylike stuff - like getting great pedicures. Just take a look at these blue sparkles~

We just downloaded this picture --- en route to Portsmouth, we had a hitch hiker...suddenly a young robin appeared on our lifeline, about 8 miles from shore. It rode with us for a long time, much to Smokey's delight. She was quite aquiver. Eventually the robin flew off but we can't imagine that it made it back to land.

It's a sad, sad day. My younger daughter Nikki had to make that one last trip to the vet with her 15 yr old cat. The vet said Mr. B probably had cancer and didn't suffer, but it was indeed time. We are all very sad - it's heartbreaking to lose your pet of many years.

We are at a mooring in Biddeford Pool, ME (made it to Maine!!!). An expensive little town with a grocery/restaurant, gift shop, and small local yacht club. And a gazillion rental cottages on the Atlantic shore. No high-rises, just homes for rent. It rained earlier and should rain tonight. With some luck that will be it and we can head further northeast.

Whew...

2011-07-23T18:52:00.000-04:00

It finally cooled off last night and we slept comfortably. This morning brought showers and cool temps. This afternoon brought back the oppressive heat (as you all know TOO well!). Thanks to good friends, we have a car and did mall shopping today and grocery reprovisioning. Later, we are at their home, had showers and are doing laundry. Made dinner here, too. We'll go back to the boat before the last 8 p.m. launch service to take us back to Latitudes for the night. It was relatively cool there when we unloaded the groceries. Tomorrow is a play day with Marina and Dave. Supposed to be cooler, too!

Portsmouth, NH ---- 103 degrees~~~~

2011-07-22T17:17:00.000-04:00

10 hours to northern New England and whadda ya get??? 103 ambient degrees... no idea how high the heat index is. I came to New England for 103!!!!!???????? More later when everything cools off and I can think.

To Onset to Plymouth

2011-07-21T22:49:00.000-04:00

We left Block Island at 5 a.m. oh-god-early to go the 53 miles to Onset, our staging area for the trip through the Cape Cod Canel. Leaving at dawn gave us favorable current all the way. Onset is a cute litte town that we like. There is plenty to do there if you need - groceries, laundry, hardware, clothes, ICE CREAM, a little park overlooking the beach, etc. We took the dingy in to go to the hardware store and ended up with a pair of shorts for me, too. The name "Onset" means
"Beach Landing Place" as you can see by the endless beach on the shore. Lotsa folks gather here for the water.

From Onset we transited the Cape Cod Canel at a blazing 9+ knots. That really IS blazing for us!
We had considered going across the bay to Provincetown or straight up the bay to Gloucester. But, the winds were not for that - too much windpredicted from the wrong direction. SO --- we opted for Plymouth, MA, home of the Pilgrams in 1620.

It's a long way in through the channel into Plymouth - past the first light house on the high rocks in the Atlantic coast.

Then past the secondary light house towards the channel into Plymouth.

We ended up in a 400+ mooring field of various boats. No mind --- we are in Plymouth! Home of the Pilgrams! And the origional landing site of Miles Standish and all. We are assured that the Plymouth Rock is the one in this monument. I did take a picture, but it didn't turn our so well. The rock is engraved "1620" and covered by seawater at high tide, uncovered at low tide.

Plymouth has lots of historic places, like these old houses. Interesting --- all of the doors are placed away from the ocean. Pretty smart, I think....

Next, a visit to the Mayflower II, a reproduction built in England in 1956 and sailed to Plymouth.

I have to admit , I never thought of the "Mayflower" as anything but a name until I saw this on the stern...duh....

Look at how long and narrow she was! 90-ish feet long and 25 ft wide. We are half that length and carry 2 people and a cat comfortably. For 66 days she carried 102 passengers (2 babies born aboard), all of their belongings to settle a new world, 25 crewmen, a few goats, chickens, horse, sheep, etc., all in the same "below" compartment. Here is a shot of that, but it cannot do justice.

A little more about her... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower

In addition, a 33 ft boat was cut into quarters and stored in the same living conditions - had to get ashore somehow when they reached the new world.

And land they did.... straight into native Indian territory, which the Pilgrams believed rightfully was ceded to them by the king of England. Many natives and modern day Native Americans feel differently....

We visited the Plimoth Plantation (yes, it is spelled correctly) where interpreters give both the Indian and Pilgram views of the time. Here is the entrance...no, I don't understand...

First, there is a presentation of Indian life in the 1600's, starting with the winter huts, usually housing 2-3 generations (or "fires").

Indian speakers describe the life in the 1600's - fully self-sufficient and comfortable. I thought it was interesting that families were limited to 3 children. More was considered "greedy". Children were spaced from 5-7 years apart and birth control was through a local herb.

Unfortunately, the entire tribe was wiped out by European born diseases after the Pilgrams arrived. The fort of Plymouth was founded on the Indiand lands.

A family of 6 lived in this house, plus two local Indians. No, there is no more room.

The Pilgrams eventually won out, as we know, and Plymouth was settled and expanded. Here is the oldest Uniterian Church in New England.

We met one sailing couple in Onset, then three more couples at different times in Plymouth. Finally we all realized that they are traveling together (same yacht club) so we all met to tour Plimoth Plantation. Here we are with two of the native American children, playing in a log canoe. We expect to see them more as we sail Maine (the sailors, not the children!)

It was a great visit to Plymouth - a real eduation in the truth of the Indian/Pilgram relationships.

Onward for us tomorrow - hopefully to Portsmouth, NH.

24 hours to Block Island

2011-07-17T21:43:00.000-04:00

We left Barnegat before 6 a.m. (ugh) on Saturday, needing to catch the current out of the channel. AND to avoid the gazillion fishing boats that zoom through it. There were literally hundreds of fishing or sail or pleasure boats in Barnegat Bay when we went the 8 miles from Linda and Jim's to our anchorage near the inlet on Thursday. Many are rental, with no clue of boating etiquette. Even at 6 a.m., there were these little fishing boats, drifting with the current, some in the damned middle of the channel, as we made out way out to the Atlantic. At least there were none of the big fishing charters, zooming at full speed, literally tossing us about and throwing waves of water over our bow. RUDE. My bias comes out,but there seems to be more of this behavior here than we see in the South... y'all...

It was a long, uneventful trip. All overnighters are long. It was 145 nm from harbor entrance to harbor entrance. Fortunately, we had the expected mild weather with SW winds 5 to 15 kts. Unfortunately, that wind speed and direction dictated that we motorsail the whole way, with the main sail up, and the engine helping. Poor Smoke...she's never happy with long voyages, but eventually she just settles down, the "cat" takes over, and she simply sleeps.

She hates the engine noise. Maybe it hurts her ears. But she does hate the noise, and she refuses to go below when we are motoring. So, we do accomodate her by putting food and water in the cockpit for her. But the litter box ---- that's another story. When we have long passages, I admit that every 6 hours or so we succomb to using sails only and turn off the engine for 20 minutes or so to give her time to do whatever she needs. Yeah, I know....crazy old cat owners... but we do.

On any overnight passage, we really look forward to the sunrise. First, the glimmerof the spectacle to come...

And then the main event ... (you didn't think you'd get out of this blog without sunset/sunrise pictures, did you???)

When we arrived at Block Island, at 6:15 AM on a Sunday morning, we found what we expected - a crowd. This big 150 ft or so sailboat didn't have a anchorage inside the harbor.

Once we got into the harbor and anchored, we noticed a few more "significant" boats. How'd you like to own your own tug? This baby is big - look at the anchored sailboat behind her.

Or your own ship? (yes, check out the sailboat again) Note her flag - that is a Bermuda flag. Many, many big money yachts owned in the USA are registered in British colonies to avoid taxes. This baby is lit up tonight like a casino.

Once you get to to town, you'll find cute, big, New England style B&B's.

But don't be confused - this B&B is filled with tourists from the mainland. Most come over on the numerous ferries that run back and forth multiple times per day. Some are "people" ferries; some carry cars and people.

And why are they all coming over? For the beaches, bars, and the shopping strip.

Not that we're complaining! We love the place. Today we wandered through the many shops, people watched, visited the beach, split a $15 clam dinner, had locally made ice cream, and visited the historical sites. oh, and bought a few groceries.

The weather today was good, but turned windy in the afternoon. Monday promises to be VERY windy, with thunderstorms. We will wait it out here and hope to get to Onset, to position ourselves to time our scoot through the Cape Cod Canel to Provincetown.

We had only about 2 1/2 hours sleep each last night and a 2 hour nap this morning. Time for bed!

Barnegat

2011-07-15T17:42:00.000-04:00

We had a great visit with Linda and Jim. On Thursday we took the short drive to Tuckerton, NJ. http://www.tuckerton.com/
Tuckerton is a small seaport town down one of the many fingers off of Little Egg Inlet, south of Barnegat. The river down to Tuckerton is small, narrow, and winding.

There is a nice marine museum in Tuckerton, the Tuckerton Seaport and Baymen's Museum. http://www.tuckertonseaport.org/ It was a wonderfully cool afternoon, so this seemed like an ideal little trip. There is a working boatbuilding facility there. They make "sneak boxes", boats used to sneak up on game birds! or to sail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakbox
Here is a new one under construction.

They carve decoys here, too

A boardwalk runs around most of the museum. Here are Jim, Linda, and Luke.

Luke found washtub to play.

A walk to the top of theTuckerton Light House finished our visit.

Full of diesel, we have safely transited Linda & Jim's lagoon, past the masses of fishing boats and sailboats in the Barnegat Bay, through the narrow, winding Oyster Creek, and are anchored in again in Myers Hole, awaiting the slack/outgoing tide tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. to exit the inlet into the Atlantic. With continued luck, that will take us to Block Island in 24 hours. Back then!

To Barnegat

2011-07-14T10:41:00.002-04:00

Back to Barnegat! We sailed with friends Margo and Clive from Atlantic City to Barnegat. Atlantic City from the water...

Entering Barnegat, the waves they were a-crashing, but we made it in fine. Barnegat Light is one of the tallest lighthouses on the east coast.

It was low tide and we couldn't make it into the lagoon where friends Linda and Jim live. So, we anchored in Myers Hole near the inlet for a few hours while the tide rolled in. Luke did a few small chores, I defrosted the freezer, and Smoke guarded the boat from our dinghy.

Linda and Jim live about 1/2 way down a lagoon off of Barnegat Bay. We squeeked Latitudes into the entrance to the lagoon with a mere 1 inch under the keel! But we made it, and here we are tied up at their dock in the lagoon, along with their first "Winsome".

Linda and I did a walk each morning while it was still cool, along with neighbors Mary and Agnes. I also got bit of groceries, cat food and toys, etc. On Wednesday, Linda and I did fabric shopping at a fantastic discount fabric shop in NJ. I got pattern for a shirt and one for a T-shirt (or T-shirt dress) at half price, plus the fabric for both. Can't wait to start on them!

Wednesday night was a wonderful dinner at Margo and Clive's, along with Linda and Jim.

More walking today and the guys have gone on a bike ride to the nearest strip mall. We hope to leave on Friday and anchor near the inlet. From there, a dedicated run overnight to Block Island if the weather forecast doesn't change.