We met a couple at dinner last night who live between Miami and Maine and have run this route for years. She was a dead ringer for Nancy Licata - seriously - same height, same hair, same facial features, and same voice (well except that strong New Yawk accent) They had great tips for todays run-where to run outside safely and where to duck in. We figured it would knock a day off our trip and with any luck we'd be in Little River SC (North of Myrtle Beach) by 3 at the latest.
Luck. Well the two pictures to the left show you how that went. Running outside was easy (3-5fters) right up until we lost our GPS. Yep - good thing Tom has a sharp 1st mate who likes following along on the charts. We made great time to Masonborough (ICW tuck in) but we never got above 10 knots in the ICW. We literally ran into a sailing regatta where they were all dressed as pirates and then we got into what we called "Ben's Bay", I have never in my life seen so many little fishing boats in one waterway. It started raining and still fishing boat after fishing boat. Unbelievable! Then, waiting for bridges. We did see a very cool one called a Pontoon Bridge. The road actually runs across a barge that they float out of the way when a boat comes. So basic. Tom loved it.
The Carolina intercoastal is lined with all these pastel colored houses on stilts. Looks like those paper dot candy strips we ate as kids. It's pretty in a Lily Pulitzer dress kind of way (meaning you could get really sick of it in large doses)
Uncoordinated. That would be me. I have been an accident waiting to happen today. Slammed my finger in the door this morning while taking off. Ow Ow Oww. Looks like I'll be wearing dark nailpolish this autumn. Then we caught a sideways wave and my velcro attached chair that my husband and Mr Franey rigged up came un-velcroed. Then once we made it to our destination at 5:30 pm, in my exhuberance to get tied up and relax, I missed the bottom step onto the transom and landed strangely on my ankle. Yes Nurse Lozon, I iced and elevated and then took 4 ibuprofin with vodka for pain and swelling. I'm hobbling about but will be ready to run in the morning. Clutz. So much for the sharp 1st mate.
We really covered a lot of water today and should make Charleston tomorrow or the next day. It's supposed to be pretty windy tomorrow and I don't know if I'm up to balancing in bad seas. My confidence level has dropped.
On the upside, while waiting for the bridge we saw this really bright rainbow that ended in a patch of golden wheatgrass. With the bright sun shining it looked just like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Sorry no pic but it lasted for mere seconds.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
A Nautical Blog
My husband brought to my attention the fact that my boat blogs lack any true nautical information. In fairness, I did neglect to indicate which port we ended up at yesterday but trust me, Belhaven was an insignificant stop. He is going to assist in blogging this evening.
We left Lat 76 Degree 37 minutes Long 35 degree 32.2 minutes (Behaven, NC) at 1200 hours EST. (We had a leisurly morning - Scrappy got a bath) We cruised south about 12 nautical miles on the Pungo River (I asked the difference between a mile and a nautical mile and he told me that a nautical mile is shorter - is that because you go up and down a lot?) Crossed SW on the Pamlico River 4 Miles to Goose Creek where we continued for 9 miles (which was just enough time to make the beds - no we didn't have a fight and sleep in separate beds - Scrappy pushed Tom out of the bed last night and instantly became Alpha on the boat) that dumped into Bay River where we set a new 135 degree course and passed IWC Mile Marker 165 (evidently this means we've gone 165 short miles on the Intercoastal Waterway since leaving Norfolk - big whoop) to the Neuse River Junction Fl (2+1) R 6s 15ft 5 M Rs Ref (took that baby right off the chart) Took a 217 reading in the Neuse River for 5 miles, changed course to 248 for 13 miles - new heading 141 into Adams Creek. (blah, blah, nautical blah)
He's still reading chart data to me thinking I'm putting it in the blog - So basically we ended up in this great little town ,Beaufort NC, in the afternoon where there are more than 3 restaurants to choose from and lots of darling shoppes. Trust me, these little stores deserved the french spelling - really cute. Oops. Captain caught me.
We are at Lat 34 degrees 43 minutes Long 76 degrees 40 minutes 1606 EST(like I said Beaufort in the afternoon) and we are enjoying a lovely glass of Ironstone Cabernet Franc, courtesy of the Whites whom we visited back in Delaware, which pairs nicely with the Snickers Fudge we bought in town.
We left Lat 76 Degree 37 minutes Long 35 degree 32.2 minutes (Behaven, NC) at 1200 hours EST. (We had a leisurly morning - Scrappy got a bath) We cruised south about 12 nautical miles on the Pungo River (I asked the difference between a mile and a nautical mile and he told me that a nautical mile is shorter - is that because you go up and down a lot?) Crossed SW on the Pamlico River 4 Miles to Goose Creek where we continued for 9 miles (which was just enough time to make the beds - no we didn't have a fight and sleep in separate beds - Scrappy pushed Tom out of the bed last night and instantly became Alpha on the boat) that dumped into Bay River where we set a new 135 degree course and passed IWC Mile Marker 165 (evidently this means we've gone 165 short miles on the Intercoastal Waterway since leaving Norfolk - big whoop) to the Neuse River Junction Fl (2+1) R 6s 15ft 5 M Rs Ref (took that baby right off the chart) Took a 217 reading in the Neuse River for 5 miles, changed course to 248 for 13 miles - new heading 141 into Adams Creek. (blah, blah, nautical blah)
He's still reading chart data to me thinking I'm putting it in the blog - So basically we ended up in this great little town ,Beaufort NC, in the afternoon where there are more than 3 restaurants to choose from and lots of darling shoppes. Trust me, these little stores deserved the french spelling - really cute. Oops. Captain caught me.
We are at Lat 34 degrees 43 minutes Long 76 degrees 40 minutes 1606 EST(like I said Beaufort in the afternoon) and we are enjoying a lovely glass of Ironstone Cabernet Franc, courtesy of the Whites whom we visited back in Delaware, which pairs nicely with the Snickers Fudge we bought in town.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Blowing By Blow Boats
There are two kinds of sailboaters: The Pseudo-intellectual Sailors; the ones whose boats have names like Icarus, Absinthe, Ecolution, who listen to classical music while boating, and are relatively certain that they are enormously ecologically and intellectually superior beings. Then there are the Hippie Sailors; their boats sport names like Reef-er, Deadhead, Peace-Nick. They are listening to The Grateful Dead on their unbelievably cluttered never been washed boats, and they are are fairly certain that the most significant event in US History was Woodstock. They are the ones with the long gray pony tails (the females still have some of that gray hair on the top of their heads - the guys, not so much)
All of these boaters seem to be heading south on the Alligator River (a 25 mile extremely narrow canal that is described on the chart as "foul with debris, snags, and submerged stumps") traveling at about 1 knot to conserve on fuel. Unfortunately my husband respects boater etiquette and keeps slowing down to pass each of these 850 boats. One had the nerve to complain that we snuck up on them at 5 knots and should "learn to use the radio to warn boaters that we are overtaking them" Tom had to wrestle the mic from my hand to keep me from responding. He also knows that there is no bathroom break in his future as I would BLOW by these liberals. (and we know they are liberals) Probably good that he did as we are at our next port, Belhaven NC, and are seriously outnumbered by the ragbaggers. We'll be dining in this evening.
And, despite my constant monitoring of shore, there wasn't a single gator in that river.
Beaufort tomorrow - CIVILIZATION!!!!!
All of these boaters seem to be heading south on the Alligator River (a 25 mile extremely narrow canal that is described on the chart as "foul with debris, snags, and submerged stumps") traveling at about 1 knot to conserve on fuel. Unfortunately my husband respects boater etiquette and keeps slowing down to pass each of these 850 boats. One had the nerve to complain that we snuck up on them at 5 knots and should "learn to use the radio to warn boaters that we are overtaking them" Tom had to wrestle the mic from my hand to keep me from responding. He also knows that there is no bathroom break in his future as I would BLOW by these liberals. (and we know they are liberals) Probably good that he did as we are at our next port, Belhaven NC, and are seriously outnumbered by the ragbaggers. We'll be dining in this evening.
And, despite my constant monitoring of shore, there wasn't a single gator in that river.
Beaufort tomorrow - CIVILIZATION!!!!!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Back at Sea
Okay so we're not actually at sea but are playing it safe in the intercoastal. We left Norfolk this morning after coming to the horrid realization that I left my iphone on the nightstand at home and Tom left his phone charger right next to it. Not being thrilled with the idea of being cell-less, I begged a ride to the nearest Radio Shack from a kid at the marina. I know, I know, people relied on two-way radios for years but I'm simply not willing to be that detached from civilization. I almost posted a Mayday this morning to get someone to run to house and fedex it to me but I thought that would sound too pathetic.
Great cruising today. I think the Virginia shore is just one big Naval Base. We saw some of the coolest ships. Tom made me go out in the rain to get pics for all the guys following this blog - he said you'd think they were cool. We experienced a lock - my first one. It was largely uneventful but good to see how it works for the 44 lock run home in the spring. We made it to a little town (Coinjock, NC) that reminds us of Killarney in Georgian Bay. All the boats we saw along the way ended up here on the walls. (Note to Dave and Lynn, the trawler finally got here at dusk and had to squeeze into the little gap left on the wall. If you decide to get that trawler, better get good at docking or get thrusters)
Weather Report says 7-9 footers tomorrow at Cape Hatteras - we'll be running inside again. Scrappy is adjusting. Check out his new perch at left. Is my canine prodigy navigating???
Great cruising today. I think the Virginia shore is just one big Naval Base. We saw some of the coolest ships. Tom made me go out in the rain to get pics for all the guys following this blog - he said you'd think they were cool. We experienced a lock - my first one. It was largely uneventful but good to see how it works for the 44 lock run home in the spring. We made it to a little town (Coinjock, NC) that reminds us of Killarney in Georgian Bay. All the boats we saw along the way ended up here on the walls. (Note to Dave and Lynn, the trawler finally got here at dusk and had to squeeze into the little gap left on the wall. If you decide to get that trawler, better get good at docking or get thrusters)
Weather Report says 7-9 footers tomorrow at Cape Hatteras - we'll be running inside again. Scrappy is adjusting. Check out his new perch at left. Is my canine prodigy navigating???
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Blog Break
We are back at River Bend. We have to come back for our Baby Ella fixes. Scrappy is soooo happy to be back in his own yard. But, he has left his "mark" on 5 states so far. We left the boat in Norfolk and will head back on Oct 26th. The blog will resume then. Thanks for following.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Annapolis to Norfolk
We ran from Lewes DE to Annapolis via the D and C canal. It's a 20 mile canal that connects the DE bay to Chesapeake Bay. Pretty much a smooth trip with the exception of the tossed salad Tom made for lunch. See he had a problem with one engine so with no warning he shut it down and put the well behaved engine in neutral. This left us bobbing around, well...like a cork in the waves. Fridge flew open and everything piled out on the floor. Grapes on the bottom. I guess we're having wine with that salad. The rest of the day was uneventful. Annapolis was beautiful. We were docked with the big boys. I'll load a pic of our boat neighbor. Of course we only met the crew.
On our way to Norfolk now. We're moving at about 26 kts with a nice following sea. The Chesapeake Bay is impressive. Tons of sailboats and not those MI sailors motoring along with wimpy engines. These guys have earned the right to claim Eco-superiority. They're actually under sail. It's so pretty and colorful.
On our way to Norfolk now. We're moving at about 26 kts with a nice following sea. The Chesapeake Bay is impressive. Tons of sailboats and not those MI sailors motoring along with wimpy engines. These guys have earned the right to claim Eco-superiority. They're actually under sail. It's so pretty and colorful.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Uncorked Fitness Center
I was worried about staying in shape while leisurely boating this winter but I have since realized it won’t be a problem. You see I have a personal trainer, Captain Tom. Here’s an average day at The Uncorked Fitness Center.
We wake up. Within 10 minutes Tom has accomplished his two major morning goals; drinking coffee and that other morning event that seems all too important to all men. (hint: rhymes with ship) So with that, he is winding in the power cord and pulling the lines. The Captain is ready to cruise and evidently it doesn’t matter whether the First Mate has finished battening down the hatches, putting away the coffee maker, or walking the dog. We call this The Morning 50-Foot Dash. If I win, all is good. If I lose, it generally leads to a verbal boxing match.
We start cruising up on the bridge. In his eagerness to get to sea Tom has preset nothing so he begins a set of drills that goes like this: “damn, I left my coffee down below”, “have you seen my sunglasses?”, “where’s the chart book?”, “I thought I had a pair of reading glasses up here”… this is my aerobic workout on the Stair(for)Master.
The course is set so we can get out of the frigid morning air and go down to the lower station. The Captain takes the helm (see pic left), getting nice and comfy in his Starship Enterprise-esque chair and observes, “we didn’t have breakfast – aren’t you a little hungry?” This means it’s time for Galley Lunges, as that’s the only way one can balance on an inclined floor while running across 2-3 foot rollers. Then there is this amazing outer thigh exercise that I call the “Loaded Diaper Walk” that I have to do to climb the incline and deliver the Captain’s meal.
Tom has mentally planned our day and as I clear away the last of the galley mess he announces, “I called our friends and told them we’d meet them in 2 hours.” Okay, that leaves me no time at port to make the bed or take a shower, which means I now begin a series of deep stretches in order to hold on while making the bed and then off to the head for a very robust little routine I call “Shower Yoga” That’s all the visual I’m providing.
I’m back up to the salon. Captain’s still in his cushy chair and with a twinkle in his eye he says, “isn’t it 12 o’clock somewhere??” Back to the galley for “Bar Squats” Not a bad idea though, the mimosas are yummy.
Finally settling in with a book. “What?” Captain needs a bathroom break so I diaper walk to the helm. Hey, this is one comfy chair. I may need to take a Power Squadron course when we get home and let Tom have the morning workout instead.
We made it to Cape May, finally. We are crossing the bay to Lewes to visit Patty and Martin White. That one will be an overnighter. But off to Virginia Beach in the a.m. Provided the winds stay calm.
We wake up. Within 10 minutes Tom has accomplished his two major morning goals; drinking coffee and that other morning event that seems all too important to all men. (hint: rhymes with ship) So with that, he is winding in the power cord and pulling the lines. The Captain is ready to cruise and evidently it doesn’t matter whether the First Mate has finished battening down the hatches, putting away the coffee maker, or walking the dog. We call this The Morning 50-Foot Dash. If I win, all is good. If I lose, it generally leads to a verbal boxing match.
We start cruising up on the bridge. In his eagerness to get to sea Tom has preset nothing so he begins a set of drills that goes like this: “damn, I left my coffee down below”, “have you seen my sunglasses?”, “where’s the chart book?”, “I thought I had a pair of reading glasses up here”… this is my aerobic workout on the Stair(for)Master.
The course is set so we can get out of the frigid morning air and go down to the lower station. The Captain takes the helm (see pic left), getting nice and comfy in his Starship Enterprise-esque chair and observes, “we didn’t have breakfast – aren’t you a little hungry?” This means it’s time for Galley Lunges, as that’s the only way one can balance on an inclined floor while running across 2-3 foot rollers. Then there is this amazing outer thigh exercise that I call the “Loaded Diaper Walk” that I have to do to climb the incline and deliver the Captain’s meal.
Tom has mentally planned our day and as I clear away the last of the galley mess he announces, “I called our friends and told them we’d meet them in 2 hours.” Okay, that leaves me no time at port to make the bed or take a shower, which means I now begin a series of deep stretches in order to hold on while making the bed and then off to the head for a very robust little routine I call “Shower Yoga” That’s all the visual I’m providing.
I’m back up to the salon. Captain’s still in his cushy chair and with a twinkle in his eye he says, “isn’t it 12 o’clock somewhere??” Back to the galley for “Bar Squats” Not a bad idea though, the mimosas are yummy.
Finally settling in with a book. “What?” Captain needs a bathroom break so I diaper walk to the helm. Hey, this is one comfy chair. I may need to take a Power Squadron course when we get home and let Tom have the morning workout instead.
We made it to Cape May, finally. We are crossing the bay to Lewes to visit Patty and Martin White. That one will be an overnighter. But off to Virginia Beach in the a.m. Provided the winds stay calm.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
My name is Kathy and I'm an addict...
I have discovered THE MAGIC SPONGE! Incredible little thing. The Franeys hooked me up and I can't stop. The vinyl seats on the bridge look new again - no more dingy white. I've been rubbing little stains everywhere. This thing is truly magic. Tom finally took my sponge away and said he was beginning to worry about me.
Still too windy to run - but tomorrow we are going for sure. Forked River has it's charms but....
Still too windy to run - but tomorrow we are going for sure. Forked River has it's charms but....
Socked in at Forked River, NJ
Well, we spent the night at Wilbert's Marina in Forked River, NJ and were hoping to get to Cape May today. Unfortunately, we are getting "forked over" by Mother Nature. The forecast calls for 30 knot winds and 5-7 foot waves. Yesterday they said we had 4-6 footers so I'm pretty sure we're staying here at ol' Wilberts today.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Leaving the Bronx
We have been stuck in New York because of high winds and are eager to get under way. First stop - fuel dock. We decided that Liberty Landing Marina in NJ was the closest stop. As we were topping off the tanks gale force winds picked up. So, looks like day one took us all the way to Newark. Nice marina. We're looking at the Manhattan skyline and waving hello to Lady Liberty again. If we had to get socked in, this was a great place to have it happen. There is a fabulous restaurant on site and guess what? This particular Thursday there's a special six-course gourmet dinner with wine pairings.
The meal and pairings were incredible and the entertainment was right up my alley - jazz standards. Yes I did get up and sing with the band and it was so much better than my Birdland performance. Maybe New York is just more intimidating than Jersey.
Got up early Friday to make another go at it. It's windy and wavy but tolerable here in the river so we're committed and going. Unfortunately the 2 footers didn't settle down the got bigger, and bigger. Our goal was Cape May but we are getting beat to hell - Scrappy hates us. We're tucking in 50 miles short of our goal. My liver hadn't quite recovered from last night - I think I felt it slamming into my kidneys with each free fall off the waves. What fun boating is. We are all exhausted.
The meal and pairings were incredible and the entertainment was right up my alley - jazz standards. Yes I did get up and sing with the band and it was so much better than my Birdland performance. Maybe New York is just more intimidating than Jersey.
Got up early Friday to make another go at it. It's windy and wavy but tolerable here in the river so we're committed and going. Unfortunately the 2 footers didn't settle down the got bigger, and bigger. Our goal was Cape May but we are getting beat to hell - Scrappy hates us. We're tucking in 50 miles short of our goal. My liver hadn't quite recovered from last night - I think I felt it slamming into my kidneys with each free fall off the waves. What fun boating is. We are all exhausted.
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