 We made an unusually long (for us) trip from the northern Chesapeake Bay to Sandy Hook, NJ in a 30 hour run over July 25 / 26th. The weather was cooperating and we decided to take advantage of it to make the trip north. That put NYC within sight, but we still had to time our transit through to ensure we were riding the favorable currents through the East River, and, particularly, the appropriately named Hell Gate. We are now in Long Island sound, at Port Washington, with all of that travel behind us. After sitting for so long on shore, it’s hard to believe we’ve traveled so far in such a short time.
Hampton to Mid-Bay
We made a quick trip up the first 150 miles of the Chesapeake Bay. We were making good time our first day out, so we bypassed Fishing Bay (near Deltaville, VA) for an anchorage on the Great Wicomico, Sandy Point, near Reedville. This was probably the hottest, most uncomfortable night we had over the past 2 weeks. The record high heat and humidity told us that violent thunderstorms were sure to come. We just managed to dodge one as we entered the anchorage that afternoon. With this in mind, we left early the next morning for Solomons, MD, wanting to be get in early enough to get fuel and water and secure a mooring before the storms rolled through.
And storm it did.
It was a mercilessly hot day – the classic Chesapeake summer day. By the time we secured the mooring and launched the dinghy, the skies looked threatening. We scurried to shore, quickly paid for the mooring, and practically jogged back to the pool to get a quick dip before the first cracks of thunder cleared the pool – which happened about 10 minutes later. But those 10 minutes felt soooo good. We decided to take a chance that we could shower before the storm hit, which turned out to be overly optimistic. When Cathy emerged from the shower, everyone was running for cover. The winds were roaring through the boatyard in advance of the storm. She ran over to get a look at Orion, which was dancing around, but firmly attached to the mooring ball. There wasn’t much to do at this point, but wait it out. She chose the shelter of the porch, but Dave decided to move so he could watch the mooring field. After watching our flag rip away from its grommets and sail away, we knew we were right to skip anchoring here. Everything else held fine. Dave went looking for the flag, but instead retrieved a life jacket for a neighboring boat.
While in Solomons, we tried to look up some of the people we had met the year before, but had no luck. We just weren’t there long enough. Maybe on the trip back south.
The thunderstorm brought some welcome relief from the heat and humidity, but it unfortunately also brought some unusually high winds for the Chesapeake – from the North, which was, of course, our direction. On Friday (July 20), we managed to get enough angle to motor sail most of the way from Solomons to Annapolis, making great time, but it was a wet ride. The winds were going to stay out of the north for a few more days, so we decided to spend 2 nights in Annapolis to let the winds die down a bit. When we headed out Sunday morning (July 22), we were quickly getting pounded by the 20 knot winds on the nose (what happened to that 10 – 15 forecast?). This caused us to bail out into the Magothy River, since we weren’t interested in pounding north at 4 knots for 12 hours. We tucked in behind Dobbins Island, arriving so early that most of the boats from the prior night hadn’t hauled anchor yet. They probably thought we were nuts. Over the course of the day, the overnight boats left, but were replaced with countless numbers of small boats anchoring to enjoy the beach or just swim. Dave swears that there were almost 100 at one point. Almost all were gone by nightfall. When Monday’s forecast was no better than the day before, we again stayed put and waited for better winds.
 Passing under the C&D Canal Bridge Magothy River to Cape May, NJ
Tuesday (July 24) was a much better day to travel north. The southeast wind was light, so we got little help from our sails as we made our way up the eastern arm of the Chesapeake to the Bohemia River. We anchored right in its mouth, which was just an hour and a half (current-permitting) away from Chesapeake City on the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal.
The C&D Canal connects the northern Chesapeake Bay to the northern Delaware Bay, which provides the outlet to the Atlantic. This was going to be the first of several arteries where the current’s strength and direction needed to be seriously considered in planning our departure times and dates. We had begun researching this back in Annapolis and were told that we needed either a current copy of Reed’s (ours was from 2005) or Eldridge’s. We chose the latter, since it was significantly cheaper and came recommended by the clerk at Fawcett’s. It took a day of studying the various tables to piece together the information we needed to plan the trip through the canal and down the Delaware Bay under favorable current.
We left the anchorage by 5:30am Wednesday (July 25) and rode favorable current the entire length of the canal and much of the length of the Delaware Bay. According to Eldridge’s, we had expected the current in the canal to turn against us shortly after leaving Chesapeake City at 7am. This didn’t turn out to be the case, which was a happy surprise. We made good enough time, and the weather forecast favored Thursday over Friday for a run up the coast, so we decided that if the forecast held as we got to Cape May, we would keep going to Sandy Hook.
One other concern in the C&D Canal is that very large ships use this route to and from Baltimore. By monitoring channel 13 and our AIS, we stayed aware of what large ships were in the canal with us. There was only one that we would need to pass and nothing overtaking us. By 9am, we were in the Delaware Bay, making our way south for Cape May.
 Lewes - Cape May Ferry One of the frustrating things about traveling this route is the need to “backtrack”, heading many miles south on the Delaware Bay before turning north again in the ocean. However, we discovered that we had the right dimensions to transit the Cape May canal which cuts across the northern peninsula that defines the Delaware’s mouth. There are 2 fixed bridges with heights of 55 feet, which we should easily pass under, since we are under 50ft to the top of the antenna. This would allow us to cut 10 miles off the trip. As always happens with these things, we would be entering the canal at high tide. This made us less concerned about the channel depth, but nervous about the bridges. If the heights were less than advertised, we would be in trouble. As Dave drove, Cathy kept scouring the base of the bridge with the binoculars to find the height indicator. Much too close to the bridge, she found it and was able to confirm a 54’ height. The 2nd bridge was easier to read, and we made a smooth transit out into the Cape May harbor by 6pm. (We had to dodge the ferry and a dredge upon entering the canal, but that’s all in a day’s work these days.)
 Sunset over ocean leaving Cape May On to Sandy Hook
As we checked the weather forecast before heading out from Cape May, it remained unchanged from the morning, so we headed out the inlet and turned north. This trip differed from our past ocean excursions because we traveled so close to the coast. We could easily make out the many familiar New Jersey cities, starting with Wildwood and its amusement parks just north of Cape May. Later, the lights of Ocean City’s amusement park and Atlantic City’s casinos lit up the night, making it clear where we were. However, by traveling so close to the coast, there were some unexpected obstacles. Cathy found the lights of the aircraft approaching the Atlantic City airport confusing, and the near misses with several fishing floats required a sharp lookout. Those aren’t going to show up on AIS. Most other big ships did however, and the system provided valuable information to decipher the various lights on the water. Smaller fishing boats and sport boats entering and exiting the busy inlets were easily identified and avoided by monitoring their approach.
We made it to daylight and the approach to the entrance to the NY harbor was surprisingly quiet, since the bigger ships were traveling farther offshore. It looked like it would be an uneventful end to the trip, until around 9:30am when fog closed in. We had heard about the fog up north, but we thought we’d have some time to adjust before dealing with it. We began sounding our horn, and watching the limited horizon to find any obstacles as early as possible. The fog lifted somewhat as we made the turn up the Sandy Hook channel, but we couldn’t relax yet. Apparently, up here, fishing boats don’t think twice about floating around in the channel as they search for their catch. So, we were greeted by hundreds of fisherman on a hundred large and small boats that we kept trying to dodge as we wearily made our way around Sandy Hook to our anchorage. It was with relief that we dropped the anchor around 1pm, and promptly went to sleep. It had been a long day.
 Atlantic Highlands from the mooring field After a false start north out of Sandy Hook Bay toward NYC, we turned back and settled on an Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club mooring on Friday afternoon (July 27). The threat of thunderstorms, the late start (about 1pm) to take advantage of the currents and the uncertainty that we would find an open mooring ball at the W. 79th Street Marina on the Hudson River caused us to regroup and make a new plan. Our first trip to the dock on the launch introduced us to 2 of the yacht club members who graciously offered information about the town and encouraged us to stop up in the bar to talk to Yacht Club members there about what to see in Long Island sound. We were even given a ride to the nearby grocery store.
 Joel and Harley Braverman Sure enough, we were quickly greeted in the bar and had a long conversation with several members, including Joel and Harley Braverman, from Olive Aye. They had lots of ideas for our trip through NYC and Long Island sound, so we agreed to join them on Olive Aye the next day to pick their brain some more. They helped us sort through the mounds of information, some of it conflicting, about how to transit the East River and Hell Gate in NYC. Then we took notes on many ports of call on both shores of the Long Island sound, from City Island to Block Island. We left full of information that we spent the next 2 days turning into routes and an overall travel plan.
With their help, we confirmed that the earliest we could transit Hell Gate with favorable current and weather would be Tuesday (July 31). In the meantime, we took time to do laundry, see the town and visit with our neighbors, hosting both the Bravermans and our neighbors, the Lewises on Restless, who were just beginning their time living aboard.
 Sunrise over Coney Island To Hell (Gate) and Back
On Tuesday, we were up before dawn at 4am, trying to leave as early as possible. Even with this early start, we would be heading through Hell Gate, the point of the fast current as the East River turns east toward Long Island sound, at the time of the maximum favorable current. This would mean an incredibly fast transit, since the current would add 4 knots to our speed. It would also mean standing waves, whirlpools and eddies in the faster current, while trying to stay out of the way of barges traveling the narrow East River. Needless to say, Dave took the helm for this stretch.
We had a beautiful day to pass the city, which made for an incredible view of many famous landmarks – the Verrazano Narrows bridge, the Staten Island Ferry, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Manhattan, the UN, and much more. I guess we got a little too close to the UN for the comfort of the Coast Guard who charged up to us, telling us to maintain our course and speed while they escorted us past the landmark. Unfortunately, we were being overtaken by a large ship behind us at the same time. They wanted us to change course (understandably) to get out of their way. As we glanced at the Coast Guard beside us and the ship behind us, the ship won. We headed to starboard, away from the UN and the ship and Coast Guard soon left us to pursue some other poor boat. The ship’s captain actually waved to us on the deck of his bridge and thanked us. Amazing! Hell Gate lived up to expectations, but without other traffic in the area, we passed it without incident and were into Long Island sound by 9am. We were on a town mooring in the Port Washington harbor by 10:30am. It had already been an unforgettable day.
 Dave bundles up our headsail to take in for repair What about the boat?
We managed to squeeze in a few boat projects despite all the travel.
While in Atlantic Highlands, Cathy noticed some threads flying off the headsail about two-thirds of the way up. This didn’t look good. We dropped the sail the next morning and discovered the cover was coming unstitched on a 3 foot section. While the sail was fine, we weren’t going to feel good using the sail if the cover was likely to unravel. Since it was Sunday, we weren’t sure what we would do. Cathy made an effort to sew it by hand, but it was obvious that this would take days to finish. To our surprise, we were once again assisted by the gracious Atlantic Highlands boaters. The launch operator pointed us to someone on the dock who worked at a canvas shop, which was open on Sundays. She called her boss and he agreed to take a look at the sail and help us out if he could. The Bravermans graciously offered to take us to the shop to drop of the sail. By early afternoon, the sail was in the hands of Jean’s Canvas Shop with a promise to deliver it the next day. Before 3pm on Monday, we received a call that the sail was ready. We picked it up and had it back up ready for our Tuesday departure before 5. We have been the recipients of some over-the-top hospitality in this town, which we won’t forget.
While in the Magothy River, we discovered a couple of smaller items which we had forgotten in our Cetol application in Hampton. The cockpit drain cover and the swim ladder stairs needed to be refreshed. Cathy took advantage of the time waiting for weather to apply a coat of Cetol, while Dave did a more thorough cleaning of that #@!!#& power cord, which he had only been able to clean partially in Hampton.
While in Atlantic Highlands, we decided to clean out the four water pump filters, some of which were pretty long overdue for a cleaning.
The only other item that needed some repair caught us by surprise. Our reliable, but aging, Kodak digital camera broke on the way from Solomons to Annapolis. In an amazingly fast shopping run, we spent a few hours shopping and buying another camera while in Annapolis. We couldn’t imagine passing the Statue of Liberty by boat and not being able to record the event.
The ham radio continues to work well and Dave has been trying it out frequently, expanding his contacts throughout the US and including other countries, such as Belgium, Austria, Columbia, and Italy.
Long Island Sound
We plan to spend about a week in Long Island sound, visiting some of the ports the Bravermans recommended and then we’ll head further north. Surely there will be less to talk about next time. . .
 We are on our way north, heading for New England to visit our friends there. We’ve left the car behind in southern Virginia and are now finally sailing again, as we make our way from Hampton north in the Chesapeake Bay. Gale force winds in the northern Atlantic convinced us to take the inside route (i.e, travel the Bay), instead of making the faster hop outside from Norfolk to Cape May, NJ. We don’t mind traveling the length of the Bay, but it will add a few days to our trip.
 Rainbow over Point Comfort as we leave Hampton We’ve spent the last 2 weeks continuing to enjoy visits with family and friends, including a week at Sunset Beach with Cathy’s family (where they had a surprise 50th celebration for Cathy), a couple of nights in Reston with our friend Cookie, and more trips to Jarratt/Skippers to spend time with the kids and grandkids, including a pig roast the weekend before we left. We also got to know our neighbor at Joys Marina, Steve on Bay Dreamer, a little better, enjoying a BBQ at his house and a day sail on the bay on his boat with someone else as captain.
Hello, this is Ireland . . .
Between trips to visit family and friends, we squeezed in some time to work on some projects on the boat. The biggest of these was the ham radio installation. We had to plan out where the various components would be mounted and how we would route the wires between them. After rejecting some less desirable locations (e.g., under the floor boards, in the galley cupboard (Cathy vetoed that one), in the aft cabin, etc.), we decided to mount the radio itself under the nav station, with the face plate (tuner and microphone) just above the nav station. The antenna tuner would have to be in the aft cabin near the backstay that would support the antenna. We found a compartment next to the bed that would easily hold the tuner and the wires leading to it.
Next we had to find a path to send the wires from tuner to radio that would not have them dangling in view. We found a path under the bed, through the clothes locker, holding tank cabinet, behind the medicine cabinet and into the circuit panel by the nav station. The next decision was routing the copper ground strap ( a 4” wide thin copper roll) from the antenna tuner to a ground. After consulting several people, including the local marine electronics dealer at our marina, Dave decided to use the engine block as the ground, making for a short run under the bed (and fuel tank) in the aft cabin, under the floor to the engine.
After mounting all the internal components, we had to decide how to rig an antenna. We originally planned to run a wire next to the backstay for the antenna, but further discussion about the mechanics of doing this, caused Dave to reconsider this approach in favor of a simpler option. He ran a short wire to the backing plate of the backstay, effectively creating a loop antenna, using the backstay and forestay. The concern about this approach is the risk of RF burns if someone touches the rigging while transmitting. In a ceter cockpit, the backstay is more removed from those in the cockpit, and therefore the risk of accidentally getting burned is much lower. Also, the backstay is grounded, which is a little odd, but it works.
With a ham radio installation, there are so many variables, that the only way to be sure you’ve got it right is to turn the radio on and see what happens. Before rigging the antenna, Dave tried transmitting with a thin wire run up the spinnaker halyard. He was successful in talking to someone in northern Ireland with this set-up. Next, he rigged a temporary connection to the backstay to test this approach, and was successful in talking to Rhode Island and Florida. Finally, he connected the permanent cable, and verified the connection one last time. He talked to someone in Nebraska, Canada and Florida. It seemed the installation was a success!
Now, all we have to do is remember the phonetic alphabet. “This is Kilo India Four Quebec Oscar India calling Victor Alhpa Two Delta . . . “. You see what I mean.
Skin Care
Cathy continues to be plagued by problems with her eyes and skin. To try to solve some of these problems, we ordered an ozone generator to address problems that might exist with the air in the boat. This will be used only once a month or so to deliver a high-ozone shock treatment, which should kill any mold and mildew in the air. A visit to the dermatologist yielded more advice and prescriptions for better sunscreen, skin repair lotions and treatment for eczema. Armed with this new supply, she’s hoping she can brave the heat and humidity of the Chesapeake and the cold winds of the fall trip south.
Getting ready to go
As the date approached for departing, the list of things to do while ashore seemed to get longer. We still had to finish with the various doctor visits, and Dave ordered some prescription sunglasses to make it a little easier to see what’s out there.
We had a number of jobs to take care of on the boat before we could get underway again. After two months in a slip, despite our efforts to keep Orion moving once a week, it was obvious from her increasing drag, that the running gear was pretty badly fouled. We arranged for a diver to come clean the running gear, scrape the growth off the bottom and replace the zinc. (Luckily, we still had some zinc left, but it was getting pretty thin.) After trying to actually sail on our last weekly outing, we realized the outhaul was showing wear, and was therefore making it much more difficult to furl and unfurl the main. Dave replaced the line and saw a distinct improvement in our first sail using it.
Since we would be traveling in new territory north of the Chesapeake, we needed to purchase the necessary charts, both paper and electronic, and load the electronic ones on the computer and chart plotter. In addition, Dave downloaded the latest NOAA charts.
When we last replaced the starting battery, Dave had kept the old one, since he wasn’t entirely sure it was bad. He took the time to wire it into the battery charger, so that it can be used as a spare starting battery in an emergency.
We changed oil, made several grocery runs to re-provision, re-filled the water and propane tanks, mapped out routes for inside and outside alternatives and began stowing all the “stuff” that gets strewn about when you sit for a while. While we were so close to Annapolis, we stopped by to get more zincs from Annapolis Yacht Sales and oil and fuel filters from Bayshore Marine.
Finally, we tetuned our car to our son’s house, where it will stay for the time being, and made our way back to the boat for an early departure the next day.
Within moments of leaving the Hampton River, we were under sail, which was a nice way to start out the trip. Now, if we can just avoid those famous Chesapeake thunder storms . . .
 The tidal cycle on the Hampton River during the June new moon tides were up to a foot and a half above normal tidal range, which left the fixed dock next to Orion under water for as much as 4 hours a day for several days in a row. This would not have been that inconvenient had it not been for the fact that Orion’s holding tank was full. This meant that we had to plan very carefully. You might ask, why we didn’t just go get a pump out to solve this problem. Well, the pump out at the marina was too shallow for Orion to reach. The one that was conveniently located across the river at the Hampton Public Piers was initially blocked by some pretty spectacular schooners for the Pirate festival, followed in short order by a larger trawler that decided to stay put until July 4th. The next marina down the river, Bluewater, had their pumpout at the end of a fairway, that didn’t look too inviting. We finally managed to work our way back to Sunset Marina on a side creek off the Hampton River, where we were able to pump out with an easier approach.
 The high tides weren’t all bad. Here’s some sailors making creative use of the high tides and a nearby bridge. V2DEC this is KI4QOI . .
After much research, Dave finally purchased our new Ham Radio, the ICOM 706MKIIG, to enable us to receive single-sideband (SSB) weather and other communications. We had planned to travel to Rochester, NY for our nephew’s graduation. Our route would take us by a Ham Radio Outlet store location in Newcastle, Delaware. Dave spent over an hour asking all the questions that he had stored up after his weeks of internet surfing and conversations with Fred and other cruisers. We left the store with the new radio and an AH-4 antenna tuner and ideas about how to install the radio on the boat.
Since it would be several days before we could get back to Orion and Dave wanted to be sure we knew the radio would work, he took advantage of time with his dad in Rochester to create a set-up that would allow him to transmit. The first attempt, with only about 25 feet of wire run up across the roof, was enough to allow him to receive signals, but no one could hear him transmit. The next night, he improved his antenna by using a 100 foot extension cord run along the ridge of the roof into a tree off the end of the roof. This did the trick. He was now able to be received by several operators, from as close as Montreal and as far away as Atlanta GA. Cathy even had a brief conversation using her newly acquired ham license. It didn’t have the same thrill that Dave and his dad were enjoying. We may have even made a new ham out of Dave’s dad, whose background in electronics were causing him to be intrigued with the possibility of tinkering with all these gadgets and talking to people all over the world. (One conversation we overheard was between someone in NC and Siberia. We couldn’t hear the Siberia end, though.)
Doing Chores
We managed to get a few housekeeping chores done on Orion. Cathy put more coats of Cetol on the gunwales, the only wood not refreshed so far this year. She then waxed the upper deck. Dave spent the time when he wasn’t researching radios cleaning the power cord, which had become sticky with grime, which was fouling every surface it touched. Finally, we added our boat name to the deck box that sits prominently on the stern behind the cockpit. We discovered that we were not getting hails from boats passing us on the waterway, because they couldn’t read our name (on the side hulls) until they were already in the process of passing us. This should help solve that problem.
We also made sure we took Orion out for a trip at least once a week to keep the growth on the bottom from getting too bad.
In preparation for our trip up north, Dave ordered the extra charts we would need, and we got another cruising guide to cover the new territory.
In a less nautical vein, we scheduled time for dentist and doctor appointments, a meeting with our financial planner and eye appointments. Nothing glamorous, but necessary..  If It's June, There Must Be a Graduation . . .
We enjoyed being able to spend Father’s Day with both Bonnie and Adam and their families for the first time in a long time. The following week we headed to Rochester by way of Pennsylvania for our nephew, Jeff’s, graduation from high school. We were able to assist in bringing off the surprise attendance of Dave’s sister Diane, who hosted us in Bethlehem, PA before we took her the next day to Rochester for the graduation weekend.
 We also spent some time back in Jarratt, helping Troy with some wiring, insulation and flooring work in the attic in order to prepare it for an extra bedroom.
Our grandson, Droz, came for another visit on the boat and then a trip up to Rochester, which gave him a chance to try his hand at the helm. Cathy made sure she had a hand on the wheel, since the US Coast Guard was passing us shortly after he took the wheel.
New Neighbors
Our next door neighbor at Joys Marina, Steven, has been interested in our travels this past year, with hopes that he might do the same someday. Through our conversations with him, we realized he had never done a pumpout, since his new boat was the first that he had owned that required it. We rode with him to a nearby marina to gave him a hand with lines and step him through the process. (This also gave us the opportunity to figure out how to get into the pumpout at the Sunset Marina.We’re no dummies.) When Steven had to run some lines between the pilings on his slip, we were in a good position to give him a hand, since Orion made it an easy platform to walk from one piling to the next. This would assist him in grabbing lines as he docks, since his slip has some tricky angles and maneuvering required, especially in windy conditions..
A couple more weeks
We’re only a couple of weeks away from our planned departure for points north, but we’re getting in better shape for the trip each week. After a few more road trips, we’ll park the car again back at its home base and set out again for another trip by sea.
 We finished the last 50 miles of the ICW with a little more drama than we would have liked, traveling from Coinjock to Great Bridge to Hampton, VA in 2 days of travel. Orion is now docked in Hampton, which we are using as a home base to visit with family.
 Dave at helm as we approach Mile Zero Back to Mile Zero
On the day we left Coinjock for Great Bridge, VA, the forecasted winds of 10-15 quickly built to 25-30 kt on the nose crossing the wide open Currituck Sound. Waves were washing over the bow and soaking the cockpit. We’d had better runs in the open ocean. Currituck sound is a wide open body of water, but very shallow outside the marked channel. Dave had to work to keep Orion in the deep water. As we were making little more than 4 knots and had donned all of our foul weather gear to stay dry, we got to watch the crews of the many power boats passing us in enclosed cockpits, standing in shorts and T-shirts.
 With several days of wind in the face, Cathy had taken to wearing safety goggles. Her eyes were becoming increasingly irritated by the long days of exposure to the strong winds. Getting more canvas is now a requirement for us to continue, and no longer just an option we are considering.
 The free dock is very close to the Great Bridge bridge. This tug pushing a Navy craft received an unscheduled opening just after we arrived. Despite all of the wind throughout most of the trip (and the worst bridge operators on the ICW-- one started closing the swing bridge on us as we entered the bridge span), we arrived at the Great Bridge free dock in calm conditions, allowing us to tie up without much trouble. We saw Eleanor M there and met the others who were sharing the small dock with us.
The next morning, we confirmed a reservation for a month at Joys Marina in downtown Hampton and proceeded the final 12 miles (through 5 opening bridges and 1 lock) of the ICW, across Hampton Roads to our slip. We pulled in next to Interlude, the couple we had met in our grounding incident on the Alligator River.
It felt good to be in one place for a while.
Returning to the Hampton Roads area means back to the world of big ships and lots of activity. This is a sampling of the vessels we saw on the last few miles of the trip.
Certified
We had been planning to upgrade our communication technology on Orion by getting a Ham radio, which would give us access to SSB weather and other longer range communication. To do this, one or both of us would need to get a Amateur General ham radio license. Dave had passed the first level (Technician) last year. The General license is the next level. Until April, this level required proficiency in Morse Code, but that requirement had just been dropped.
Dave bought the study book for the General exam while we were in Charleston and had been studying it over the weeks since. Cathy decided she might as well get certified now, too. The General license exam was scheduled to be changed in July, which meant taking the exam now would mean that she could use the same books Dave had used to prepare for his exams. Cathy would need to take both exams to get the General certification – Technicial and General. Since she was starting a little late, this meant a bigger push to get through the material before we took the exam.
After we pulled into Hampton, we found a ham radio fest in Bahama, NC (near Durham) that would be holding the exam Memorial Day weekend. This was only a week away, and Cathy hadn’t finished reading the General book in preparation for the exam. Even so, we decided to gear ourselves up for this exam and stop by to take it on the way to visit Cathy’s mom.
We both passed the exams so that we have received our General certification. Now we just need to get the ham radio and get it installed and learn how to use it . . .
Look for KI4QOI (Dave) and KI4WIT (Cathy) on the air soon.
Pirates!
After receiving all sorts of worried questions from family and friends about the possibility of running into pirates in our travels to the Bahamas, it was ironic that our first pirate encounter took place in Hampton – at the Blackbeard Pirate Festival. Our slip just happened to be in a great location to take in the festival, held the first weekend in June.
It seems that Blackbeard’s career was finally ended off the Ocracoke Island on the NC Outer Banks, but Lieutenant Robert Maynard brought his head back to Hampton and displayed it there as a warning to other pirates (and a guarantee that he would be paid the bounty by the governor for having defeated Blackbeard.) This rather gruesome claim to fame now gives the town the excuse to hold a big party with more pirates and wenches than you can shake a stick at.
Our grandson came to visit us for the Pirate Festival, excited about the possibility of seeing Jack Sparrow (of Pirates of the Carribean fame), No sooner had we set foot on our dock when we heard the first of many cannons sound. Droz was thrilled. We then took Orion out for a sail and motored past the big schooner Kalmar Nyckel at the Hampton Public Dock, fitted out with cannons and pirate flags. How good is that! We were joined by our son and his family the next day as the festival got into full swing. Our grandson got to join in many pirate fights with other small pirates outfitted with wooden swords and plastic flintlocks. He was in his element. Later, there was a live re-enactment of the battle to capture Blackbeard just off the dock of our marina, which ended in hand to hand swordfights on the decks of both ships. The only way to be closer to the action would be on the ships themselves. That night, Orion’s slip was in position to give us a front row seat for the fireworks. Unfortunately, they were cancelled for “high winds”, which we could hardly feel. Maybe the organizers need to take a trip on the Currituck Sound to get some perspective on “high winds” . . . Sunday’s activities were rained out, so we spent time exploring the Children’s Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth instead.
Another month?
We’ve been enjoying the time spent with family in the past few weeks. Orion hasn’t been quite the same as when our grandson Droz was on board. (Who else would have thought to use the winch handle pocket as a holster for a pirate gun?) And our 11 month old grandson, Jayden, seems to be growing bigger before our eyes. As we looked at the number of things we wanted to get done while we were on shore for a while, we decided to stay a second month in Hampton. This will give us time for doctor’s appointments and to make a trip to Rochester for our nephew’s high school graduation and to spend more time with our family here in southern Virginia.
Later in July, we will head north to visit friends in New England. We hope to return to the Chesapeake with Fred in late August (hopefully with some new canvas on Orion as well.) This may mean we won’t spend much time in the Chesapeake Bay until later summer / fall, since we may take the outside route from Norfolk north. Time will tell as we develop our plans for this trip.
 South Harbor Village chapel We've rolled up the jack lines and taken down the red covers for the cabin lights, since we won't be making any more ocean passages for a while. The one possibility was a run from Wrightsville Beach to Beaufort, but the forecast of thunderstorms preceding a cold front's high winds caused us to take the inside route north. The remaining trip to the Chesapeake Bay is an inside run, since going "outside" at this point would involve a long trip around NC's Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks. That's a bit much for us.
 Kentucky Derby Day with Cape Fear Yacht Club
We arrived in Southport the day before the Kentucky Derby. This wouldn't have meant much to us, except for the fact that the Cape Fear Yacht Club was using the event as an excuse for a party. We joined them in their recently-built clubhouse to renew our acquaintances from the fall. One of the highlights of the event was the parade of "high fashion" (?) hats, which preceded the judging of the competition. We were even honored to be visited by the queen herself, since she apparently decided to make a sidetrip after her visit to Churchill Downs.
 Some other intense competitions were planned to pass the time until the "big event", i.e, the race itself. These involved highly-skilled activities, such as Duck Races (blowing a rubber duck down a water-filled gutter section) and Horse Pile Bingo (tossing a bag of horse "manure" onto a bingo board to determine the lucky winner). Of course, there was also some very good NC BBQ for supper to help us pass the time, which we hadn't enjoyed in a long time.
At race time, everyone gathered around one of the 2 TV's to root for their horse to win. ("Bets" had been taken throughout the afternoon by purchasing a randomly-drawn horse to win, place or show.)
Besides enjoying the activities, we got to get re-acquainted with some of the folks we had met in the fall. It was lots of fun, and once again, we felt lucky to have timed our arrival so that we could join them. On Sunday, we spent some more time with Linda and Rick on Sea Dog to catch up with them and give them tips for travel in the Bahamas.
 Andrea: Named Storms Come Early
We had originally planned to stay in Southport at the South Harbor Village Marina for the weekend and then move on north. However, we had barely secured our dock lines when we were engaged in conversation with a couple from France on a large catamaran who had entered the marina just before us. They had been on their way to New York from the Bahamas, when they ran into the same bad weather that had made our trip so uncomfortable. (They had travelled from France to Africa to the Bahamas to the Caribbean and back to the Bahamas. We didn't feel so bad, when they said they didn't want to continue in those conditions.) This bad weather, plus the terrible forecast for the coming week caused them to decide to come in at Southport and take their chances on the ICW. (They have a tall mast and a wide beam, so they weren't sure whether they could even do the ICW.) We gladly offered them information about the ICW, but we kept coming back to their forecast of stormy weather.
Storm? What storm? (Cathy remembered us being similarly clueless about Ernesto as it began its run toward the Chesapeake.)
We used the excellent internet connection at the marina to learn all about the 35kt (40mph) winds predicted for Sunday through Wednesday. The earliest we could practically move would be Thursday. So, we decided to hunker down for the week.
The worst of the weather came on Monday. As the winds howled, their worst effect on us at the marina was making it harder to walk up the dock to the shower house. However, for others it was not so innocuous. Early in the afternoon, we heard a Coast Guard alert (called a pan-pan)about a sailboat, Flying Colors, whose EPIRB had activated on Monday afternoon. The 54 foot sailboat was on its way from St. Thomas to Annapolis with 4 people on board when their emergency beacon was activated off the NC coast. As the Coast Guard continually repeated the pan-pan about this ship through the day and into the following days, it became apparent that the outcome was unlikely to be a happy one. As of this writing, we still don't know its fate, but it reminds us why we spend so much time studying the weather and ensuring we give it some healthy respect. We know our limits.
It wasn't until the storm was nearly over that the National Weather Service decided to name it Andrea, a "sub-tropical" storm. Somehow, the fact that it had a name, made it sound like it deserved more respect..
The other effect of the weather was that many of the opening bridges on the waterway were closed. Many boaters were stuck wherever they had made it on Sunday. As the weather improved, we started seeing them pass by our slip (we were on a face dock on the waterway). We saw Ciao, who had crossed with us to the Bahamas and R Pelican who had crossed back with us. Most of them were in a rush to get back "home", wherever that happened to be. The delay of the past week meant they were under pressure to move north. We were not feeling any similar pressure. However, once the winds died, the temperatures climbed again, reminding us that we needed to keep moving north.
Back on ICW: Southport to Wrightsville Beach to Swansboro
Once we left Southport, we began to retrace the route we had followed in the fall along the ICW. However, it was so different that it hardly compares.
We left Southport for Wrightsville Beach late Friday morning (May 11th) to take advantage of a rising tide on the Cape Fear River. It was a short trip that found us in the same anchorage where we had stayed in the fall. (This was the one where we woke to find our anchor rode wrapped around the keel. We just like to tempt fate.) We were once again setting our anchor at slack tide, which seems to be a pre-cursor to our problems with anchoring in current. However, we used a technique that we had learned from a fellow cruiser that helped prevent the problem with anchor rode. After the anchor was set, Cathy turned the wheel all the way over, which prevented Orion from turning 360 degrees on her anchor as the current shifted with the change in tides. Sure enough, it worked. Although the anchor chain pointed at an odd angle (straight down), it was never was under the tension pointed astern, which is the sure symptom of the rode being wrapped around the keel. We woke the next morning and Dave had no trouble hauling the anchor up.
The next day's trip would be a longer one, passing the 4 opening bridges between Wrightsville Beach and Swansboro. Cathy calculated that we might be able to make it in 10 hours if we hit all the bridges just right. Since this is largely a function of the tidal currents being with you more than they are against you, it was anybody's guess as to whether we'd make it work. Fortunately, it worked better than planned, and we cruised up the waterway in warm termperatures and light winds. Unlike the fall, when we were traveling with 20 or more other boats, there were very few boats with us this day (which meant less of the annoying pass requests on the radio from power boats). When we passed Mile Hammock, the anchorage where we were crammed in with 25 other boats in the fall, it was completely empty. What a difference! By mid-afternoon, we pulled into Casper's Marina in Swansboro to spend a couple of nights and wait out some higher winds.
Swansboro was a charming little town, with an historic district a short walk from the marina, and a grocery store (next to a Dairy Queen!) a bit longer walk away. We took a walk through town and up to the Dairy Queen grocery store after we arrived on Saturday. We returned to the historic district on Sunday, where Cathy enjoyed her Mother's Day lunch at Yana's, an eclectic 50's themed diner that had been written up in a number of the coastal guides. We enjoyed a delicious, but hardly a low-cal, lunchl
 Marion Square Fountain Warm Enough
The reason we stayed in Charleston was to wait for the weather to warm up. By the time we left, it certainly had. Several 90 degree days in a row were warm enough. We headed north looking for cooler weather, leaving on Thursday, May 3rd for Southport, NC to rendezvous with some friends there.
We had enjoyed being in downtown Charleston, continuing to explore its historic district and the waterfront on the downtown peninsula, even squeezing in a few shopping trips out to the nearby communities.
Rough Seas
Bam! Bam! Bam!
So much for the light winds and low waves that were going to be on our stern the whole trip from Charleston to Southport, NC. We certainly had those conditions as we left Charleston, but overnight, the conditions changed dramatically. The wind shifted from the southeast to the northeast, right on the nose, and the winds and waves began to build. Now we were plowing into waves and struggling to make headway against the wind.
We had been under sail for most of the day. Even in light winds, we were making good enough time to arrive at the Cape Fear entrance by daylight. A brief sound of thunder in the distance never materialized into any storms over the water. The winds eventually died, so Dave powered up the engine and furled the headsail. However as we were bringing in the sail, a gust of wind came up suddenly, which should have been a warning of things to come. After supper, Dave took the watch and saw the winds clocking around, but the waves were still low and the wind strength was only in the low teens. Not what was predicted, but not too bad.
Shortly after Cathy’s watch began, the waves started to build. Orion started see-sawing over the oncoming waves and would, with increasing frequency, rise up on a wave and crash into the next trough. Bam! Cathy checked the wind strength, and was surprised to see that it was never much more that 15 knots. Not bad, but the waves were certainly taking a toll on our speed. At one point, the time to destination on the GPS increased to over 24 hours. There was no way Cathy was going to put up with this torture for another 24 hours. With a few more RPM’s, the speed increased and the ETA moved in to early afternoon. Better, but that still meant 12 more hours of pounding. Ugh!
So the hours ticked by. The conditions on Dave’s watch were not much better. By early morning the waves seemed to moderate a bit as we gained some protection from Frying Pan shoals. As Cathy took over the helm for the next watch, she was puzzling over how the light winds could have produced these conditions. By checking the instruments, she discovered that she had inadvertently left the wind speed display on a setting that showed the wind angle instead of the wind speed. Since we were headed straight into the wind, it never varied by more than 10 degrees. A quick check of the wind speed log, showed that we had actually experienced 30 knot winds overnight. That explained why the waves had built as much as they had. In retrospect, it was probably better that we hadn’t known just how strong the winds were.
We entered the Cape Fear inlet at 10:30 and made it to South Harbor Village marina by 12:30 – exhausted, but glad to be in.
Company
Before we left Charleston, we met another couple of boats who had stayed in the marina last November when we were there. Bob and Jean on Dolphin had halted their trip south last fall at Charleston and hauled Dolphin at a marina further up the Cooper River. They had left the Maritime Center a few days before Thanksgiving. Just a day or two longer and we might have convinced them to continue on with us south. We may hook up with them again further up the ICW or maybe in Maine if we make it there this summer. We also got to see Carolyn and Keith on Whim, who came in for a few days after returning from the Bahamas. They had been our neighbors at Barefoot Landing and at the Maritime Center in November. They left with Dolphin headed north on the ICW.
Finally, Johesa arrived a couple of days before we left. We had met them in Marsh Harbor. They were friends of Joanne and Ralph on White Bird. They had been with White Bird in Green Turtle Cay while White Bird was waiting for a transmission replacement. Unfortunately, Johesa had to begin their trip back to the states, leaving White Bird before the repairs were completed.  Spirit of SC Tall Ships On the Way
The tall ships are coming to Charleston on May 17-20. Four of them will be at the Charleston Maritime Center, including the newly launched Spirit of South Carolina, which we saw under construction last November. She pulled up to the end of our dock on the Tuesday before we left. Her standing rigging (masts, shrouds, stays, etc.) were done, but her sails had not yet been rigged. She is a beautiful ship, and a lot of work (and several million dollars) has gone into her. Like many tall ships, she will become a training ship.
 After our first 2 days back in Charleston saw temperatures in the high 80’s, we were given an abrupt reminder that we had come back north. As Easter approached, the temperatures plunged to the 30’s, making us re-check the calendar to be sure it really was Spring. As a result, we decided to extend our planned stay in Charleston to a month, giving the weather time to warm up again before heading further north.
Reunited - At Last!
We finally heard from both Marianna and Merlin once we reached Charleston. We were not surprised to learn that they had crossed to the US at different locations. Donna and Dave on Merlin had crossed from the Bahamas to Beaufort, SC. They would be arriving in Charleston via the ICW on the Saturday of Easter weekend. However, Pat and Fred on Marianna were still in Florida, on their way to Vero Beach, when they called us. They had crossed to Lake Worth and planned to take the ICW north to Fernandina Beach. From there they would look for the right weather to head north outside to Charleston, bypassing Georgia (Fred said he will never do Georgia on the inside again.) They hoped to arrive the following Tuesday.
Merlin arrived on schedule early on a windy Saturday morning, having weathered the same high winds overnight at a nearby anchorage. They were having to deal with one of the perils of traveling with animals on board, since their cat Lydia had developed a serious ear infection over the previous several days. Donna wanted to get the cat to a vet as soon as possible. Dave helped her locate a vet within walking distance of the marina, who was willing to see Lydia Saturday morning. After helping them dock, we agreed to meet later for supper on Merlin. The next day, Donna joined us for a trip to church on Easter Sunday morning, which required us to bundle up in our foul weather gear over our best khakis. Not exactly your typical Easter finery, but the folks at St. Phillips Episcopal had the good graces not to make us feel out of place. So, where was Marianna?
Fred and Pat were still in Fernandina, hoping for the weather window to jump north. On Sunday night, Dave relayed weather information to Fred from the NOAA grib files and buoy reports. It looked good for a Monday departure from Fernandina, so we told them we looked forward to seeing them Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, Marianna arrived as planned at the Maritime Center in much calmer weather than Merlin had seen as they completed their outside run from Florida. We had hugs for everyone after we secured them in their nearby slip. Giving Pat and Fred some time to settle in and sleep, the rest of us took advantage of access to a car for the day and agreed to gather later for dinner. Since no one was enthusiastic about cooking, we instead ordered pizza, a gourmet treat we hadn’t enjoyed in 6 months.
Ah, the good life.  Marianna heads out for points north We knew that Pat and Fred had to be back in New Hampshire by May 1st. This would be incredibly aggressive, given their delayed start. Donna and Dave were not under quite so much pressure, since their deadline was June 1st, but they would likely leave with Pat and Fred, since the marina had no room for them past Saturday. Despite our hope that they could stay longer, it became apparent that they had to leave no later than Friday morning in order to get some miles behind them before a nasty storm came through late Saturday night. We regretfully said goodbye, but held out the hope that we might travel to New England in the summer to see them.
 The Port of Charleston is CLOSED!
You know that the weather is something to pay attention to, when you hear that a busy commercial port like Charleston is closed for all traffic. This happened the Sunday after Easter as the winds were howling at a steady 35-40 knots (40-45mph) with gusts that we clocked up to 60 mph. (The port officially recorded a 70mph gust.) We had added additional dock lines the night before, but continually adjusted them under the stress of the persistent high winds and assisted our neighbors with theirs as well. The river looked more like the open ocean with 4 foot rollers just outside the marina opening.
We watched in awe as more than one huge freighter made their way up what, for them, is a narrow channel in the incredible wind. Their high profile gives them enormous windage and makes the likelihood of being pushed out of the channel a real possibility.
They also had to contend with some idiotic little sport fishing boats that were darting in front of them as they made the treacherous trip up the channel. Repeated warning signals (5 blasts on the horn) seemed to go unheeded by the little boats, which looked like minnows next to a whale. (What were they thinking?) It wasn’t surprising when the port was closed shortly after the 2nd freighter docked that morning.
 The dinghies in the foreground are usually in 2 feet of water at low tide, instead of sitting in the mud. The boats in the background are sitting on the bottom. The next day, as the winds were still blowing, although somewhat less than Sunday, we were shocked to look at the interior slips in the marina to see no water at all. Luckily, there were only dinghies left high and dry by the extreme tide, which had been driven by both the new moon spring tide and the persistently strong westerly winds, blowing the water out of the marina. The boats at the edge of the shallow water were obviously aground. Cathy quickly checked the depth on Orion to see with relief that we still had a little over 2 feet underneath us. (However, we usually have no less than 4 feet under our keel in our slip.) We remembered the “thundersnow” of last November, and were beginning to wonder if perhaps our visits were causing the weather extremes. Maybe, we should leave so that things could return to normal . . .
Who’s Out There?
One of the unnerving things about traveling on the open ocean at night is the possibility of a close encounter with very large, fast-moving commercial ships. We had always assumed radar was the only solution for being able to locate and identify these vessels and to determine whether they were on a collision course. However, we learned that a less expensive technology would give us a significant leg up on identifying these ships and their potential for intersecting our course.
The solution is an Automated Identification System (AIS), which uses the VHF antenna to receive transponder signals from commercial vessels. These are packed with information on these ships, which include their name, bearing, closest point of approach, time to closest point of approach, and much more – even their destination in some cases. For much less than a radar installation would cost, an AIS unit can be installed, taking advantage of our existing VHF antenna. Dave ordered a receiving unit along with a splitter to connect it to the antenna.
The Charleston harbor is so busy with commercial traffic, we immediately started receiving a couple dozen signals once Dave linked in the AIS signal to our Fugawi charting software. There were freighters, pilot boats, a cruise ship, even the immobile Yorktown across the harbor appeared on the screen. We were so fascinated, we played around for an hour or more, watching the screen like you would watch TV. Two pilot boats left the harbor to meet an incoming freighter. We heard them hail each other on the VHF, and then saw their speeds and bearings synchronize as the escorts joined the larger ship for the trip back into the harbor. It was even more fascinating watching the graphic representation of the pilot tugs turning the freighter around, when we could also actually see the ship spinning around just outside our slip.
Cool!
The downside of AIS, is that not all ships show up on it, so it cannot be used exclusively, but it will be a huge help for our next ocean voyage. Having a ship’s name and bearing, makes it much easier to hail them to ensure we stay out of their way.
Seeing the Sights
We stumbled onto a number of events while walking around Charleston that reinforced our decision to stay here longer.
One night we took in the King Street Design Walk, an event sponsored by a number of upscale merchants who provide wine and h’or d’ouvres in their shops to get the foot traffic through them. Long before we had made the entire circuit, we had enjoyed enough goodies to fill us up. On the way back home, we discovered that the City Paper was sponsoring a free movie in the Marion Square park, which they do for 4 Thursdays in a row. This night it was A Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller, which was a cute movie. Since we were caught by surprise, we didn’t have anything to sit on and could have used a little warmer clothes for the breezy night. Next week is Casino Royale. Assuming we make it again, we know what we need to take, so we’ll be better prepared.
Another find was the free ice cream cone day at Ben and Jerry’s on April 17th. Apparently, they have this every year as a customer appreciation day, but we had never seen it before. How could we pass this up?
We made use of the bus system to take us out to Wal-mart and other stores that we can’t find in the city proper. The bus system was easy to use, and the all-day passes allowed us to transfer freely from the suburban routes to the in-city trolleys, which stop near the Maritime Center.
A Little Longer
We will be staying here through about May 3rd, depending on weather. The temperatures haven’t returned to the high 80’s yet, but the days are warm and the nights not too cold, so it’s fine with us. We’ll continue to explore the city and get to know our neighbors at the Maritime Center while we’re here.
 If anyone had told us that we would be in Charleston a week after leaving Great Sale Cay in the Bahamas, we would have scoffed. Not us. We don’t like to travel that fast. Well, what do we know? After weeks of paralyzing weather, a week of calm winds and waves was too much to resist. Also, not having heard from Marianna and Merlin, we continued to speculate that the further north we could go, the more likely it would be that we would see them.
 The Crossing
The final check of the weather on our planned crossing day, Wednesday, March 28th, confirmed our crossing window was still there. It also confirmed that the window was closing behind us faster than originally predicted. We stayed on our original schedule, but the change in forecast caused Lunasea to decided to travel close behind us.
Three boats, Nantileas, R Pellican, and Orion, left around 11am to allow for a easier sail over the bank, with a little less stress on the engine. We hooked up with Sea Holly and Slow Dancin’, who left an hour later, at Mantanilla Shoal just before entering the ocean at about 8pm that evening. The winds and waves were on our starboard quarter (i.e., at an angle off our stern). The winds being mostly behind us meant that we would experience them as calmer than almost any other angle. The wave angle meant that there was still some rolling, but not as bad as having them on our beam (i.e. side). We were relieved to find that the possibility of 5-6 foot seas didn’t materialize. Instead, we were experiencing 2-4 feet. This we could handle for 14 hours.
Since Cathy had been sick on the last 24-hour trip, we never developed the watch schedule that is necessary to keep the person on watch rested. This time, we alternated sleeping in the Main Saloon and taking our turns at the helm. It worked well. Neither of us had to do a marathon session at the wheel. Neither of us got sick, and we were able to go below to complete simple tasks, without risk of seasickness. Which isn’t to say we weren’t tired arriving at Port Canaveral at 11:30 the next day, but we were better rested than on our first 24 hour trip outside.
To make our arrival more interesting, as we entered the relatively narrow Canaveral Barge Canal, we discovered we were arriving as 2 gambling ships and a large freighter were leaving dock for sea. Most of our group had already passed by the commercial docks when we heard the blast on the horn of the ship we were passing that indicated it was leaving the dock. However, he began following us into the canal. Cathy scrambled to hail him to understand where it was going, when we heard the “Securite” announcement that the freighter in front of us was also preparing to depart. Cathy was now trying on channel 16 and 13 to hail the 2 boats, when someone said they were trying to hail us on channel 12 (12?!!). Cathy managed to talk to the first ship, who told us that if we sped up we would be out of their way as they entered the turning basin to turn for sea. (No problem!. We can speed up.) Also, the freighter would be leaving right behind him, but we should be clear of them by then. He also said the 2nd gambling ship ahead was about to leave. Before Cathy could hail that ship, she heard them say they planned to wait for the freighter. Phew! We were glad to get past them to the marina, which was still in the shadow of the large cruise ships from Disney, Carnival and Royal Carribean.
Just Call Me
Upon re-entering the US, we were required to clear customs and immigration. This of course, was going to be simple, since we had taken care of getting our customs sticker and registering with the local boater option with immigration. One phone call and we should be done. Right?
Not so fast.
Dave called as we approached the entrance to Port Canaveral, and was told that we needed to be tied up to a dock before we could make that call. (We later learned that this was to ensure we could be boarded by surprise, if necessary). So, when we arrived at the dock, Dave tried again, and got placed in a queue for the “next available agent”. Sigh! He then found out that we needed to call a different number for Port Canaveral than that for south Florida. After working his way through the voice prompts to the right one for clearing customs, the recording informed him that we must appear in person and then hung up. Click.
So much for the one phone call.
So, we joined the 8 other boats (3 Canadians, 1 British and 4 US) for the 2 mile walk in the sun to the Customs office. Thankfully, our group of 6 managed to hitch a ride there with a sympathetic marina employee. Then we stood shoulder to shoulder in the cramped entry hall of the Customs office, smelling a little rank, since we had all needed showers pretty desperately. Another customs officer entered to find the crowd of us and seemed dismayed at the backlog. Dave took the opportunity to explain that we wouldn’t be there at all if we could have registered on the phone. She took a look at our paperwork and agreed that we should have been able to clear with a phone call. To the chagrin of our fellow travelers, she took us immediately back into the office and had us work with an agent who completed our sign-in. She said that the phone message would be fixed so it didn’t happen again.
The agents were very helpful and generous to all the boaters, ensuring they were all processed as quickly as possible – even giving out bubble gum to the kids and joking with those of us in line. But as we continued to hang around, ensuring our fellow travelers were taken care of, they politely suggested that we should leave if we had been processed already to relieve the congestion in the crowded hall. (Perhaps they were thinking it would freshen the air a bit, too.)
So, even though we didn’t get to have the “one phone call” clearance process, maybe we made it easier for someone else.
Cumberland Island
Three of the boats in our flotilla -- Sea Holly, Slow Dancin’ and Lunasea – decided to leave the marina on Saturday to travel north to Cumberland Island, GA, the next logical stop on the outside run up the coast. This would be a 26-hour trip, so another overnight on the ocean was in store. We agreed to join them, since the marina was much too expensive to stay longer than the 2 nights we had booked, and we still hadn’t heard from Marianna and Merlin. According to an earlier e-mail, the St. Mary’s/Cumberland /Fernandina inlet was likely the southernmost port of entry for them.
We were nervous that conditions were not going to be as placid as forecast, as we plowed headlong into 6 foot waves and 20-25 knot winds as we left the Canaveral inlet. Luckily, soon after we turned north the conditions settled down to the forecasted conditions which were calm for the rest of the run until we entered the Fernandina inlet the next day. The waves and winds had once again kicked up making for a rough ride into the inlet.  Cumberland Island is a beautiful island, formerly owned by the Vanderbilts, with a pristine beach, wild horses, ruins of the former mansion and scenic beauty to explore. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any time to explore the island, because Sea Holly and Slow Dancin’ had decided that the best weather for the jump to Charleston was going to be over the next 2 days. This meant less than a 12 hour turnaround before heading out for another 26-hour run.
Dave and I looked at each other to decide whether we could do this again. On the other hand, we still hadn’t heard from Marianna and Merlin. Maybe they were already north of us. At least, if we went there, we were sure to run into them. They couldn’t be north of there. So, we signed up for the next hop and wearily began getting ready for another run outside.
Anchor Woes
We knew we needed to get to bed and sleep well if we were going to start out early the next morning for our trip to Charleston. We had to first head to Fernandina beach to re-fuel and then out the inlet to Charleston. But Dave began to worry that the anchor was not “right” as he checked it before going to bed.
Coastal Georgia has 7 foot tides by Cumberland Island and the current associated with the rising and ebbing tides can have a dramatic effect on the boats position – equal to or greater than that of the wind. When we set the anchor the wind and tidal current were in the same direction, and the anchor set well. However, the current changed shortly after we set anchor and would change again around 10pm. Sometime in the intervening hours, when the boat turned with the current, our chain must have caught on the keel. Dave could see the anchor bridle taut and heading back from the bow instead of forward away from the boat. Cathy was too tired to take in this bad news, so we went to bed anyway, thinking it would work itself out. However, at 2am, we were back up again, Dave checked the anchor and it was no better. Now, Cathy couldn’t sleep either. This could mean our passing up on the trip to Charleston if we couldn’t resolve this before morning.
So, at 2:30 in the morning, we decided to launch the dinghy, mount the outboard motor and use it to spin Orion around. Thanks to a full moon and a clear night, we could see what we were doing. Cathy stood at the helm and spun the wheel in the direction we wanted Orion to spin. Then Dave positioned the dinghy at the bow and pushed on the hull to start the spin.
The first attempt did nothing. The bridle was still angled back. Nothing accomplished. We thought about it a bit and tried to pull Orion backward from the stern in the direction that she should be laying. It didn’t work, so Dave went back to the bow and gently pushed Orion’s bow in the other direction. Within a quarter turn, the bridle shifted forward. Cathy looked at the GPS and we had obviously dropped back to our original position.
It had worked. We were both amazed and relieved that we had actually fixed the problem. We collapsed into bed, knowing that the morning would come much too early.
 On to Charleston
The Fernandina inlet was dramatically different from the day before – flat calm with little wind. The ocean was equally calm, which made the conditions more comfortable. However, there was little help from the sails in the light winds. We eventually got some stronger winds in the evening and managed to pick up 0.5kt from the headsail. As we approached Charleston, the winds died again and we motored in on a rising tide into the harbor. We couldn’t have asked for an easier entry. At the Charleston Maritime Center, the water was so calm, we just floated in. Perfect.
The one near miss came as Cathy was positioning Orion to enter the fairway into the marina, which had her concentration so engaged that she didn’t see the Fort Sumter tour boat departing its dock next to the marina. As she recognized the collision that was coming, she threw the engines into reverse, which caused Dave to look up to see what the hell she was doing. Thankfully, we easily avoided them.
Putting our skills to use
The maritime center is in the middle of Charleston’s waterfront, surrounded by activities. Since this was a holiday week, the docks around us were busy with families touring the sites. We were busy with chores on our boats after docking – Ken on Slow Dancin’ was up the mast working on his lights; Sea Holly was changing their oil; Dave and I were preparing to do the same. Dave was below and Cathy on the dock when we heard a chilling scream from the pier ahead of us. This was not the scream of kids having fun. Cathy leapt off the boat to head toward the sound of the scream, discovering a child in the water who had fallen from the pier above. The mother, unable to reach her daughter, was frantic. The boaters nearest the incident, Sea Holly and Slow Dancin’, reached her first and pulled her out. Cathy went back to the boat to get a towel and the first aid kit, while Dave assessed her injuries. The little girl had been walking along the benches on the upper pier and had somehow slipped and fallen into the water. She had several cuts and bruises from hitting something on the way down. However, she was incredibly lucky that nothing more serious happened. Her mother was going to take her to the hospital, so Cathy gave her a dry T-shirt to wear and let her change on Orion. Dave worked to reassure the mother that she had made the right decision not to jump in after the girl. He managed to put in a plug for taking the Red Cross courses in First Aid and CPR.
In discussing it afterwards, in the confusion of the moment, Joy and Heather initially thought that Ken had fallen from the mast. Ken, on the other hand, up on the mast saw the whole thing, but was powerless to help. We were all grateful that nothing worse had happened.
Good Company
When we pulled into Cape Marina in Cape Canaveral, we once again ran into Jed and Paige on Spellbound. They were in the marina for a couple of months while they prepared their new boat, Watercolor, for launch. We joined them for dinner on our second night there, along with Jerry and Will from another sailboat. The same day, we also were surprised to see Discovery, whom we had met in Treasure Cay, tied up to the dock in front of us. They were hoping to go straight to Charleston from Canaveral, but not until they had fixed an electrical problem that had caused them to cross from the Bahamas without navigation lights.
We finally heard from Merlin --who had crossed from the Bahamas to Beaufort, SC—and Marianna – who had crossed into Lake Worth, FL. We were north of both of them, but they were, as expected, headed to Charleston. So, we decided to wait for them. This meant saying goodby to Sea Holly and Slow Dancin’ who needed to continue to head north to the Chesapeake.
We enjoyed some time together touring Charleston, watching a DVD and a farewell dinner at at the Southend Brewery in the historic district. We bid them goodbye as they headed up the ICW for Georgetown on a windy Good Friday morning, with promises to look for them when we get back to the Chesapeake.
Chris and Margaret also called us as they left Charleston for points north. They had followed us to Charleston a day later and now were on a beeline to Annapolis, where they would leave their boat to be sold. Chris is starting a new job in Atlanta in May.
So, we are waiting for Merlin, who should arrive on Saturday and Marianna, who should arrive next week and the opportunity to catch up with them on their travels since we parted company in January.
 Orion leaves her mark on Allans-Pensacola Cay  Manjack Cay Manjack Cay
With a prolonged forecast of high winds, we decided to take advantage of a closing window of opportunity to cross through the Whale north to Manjack Cay on Thursday (March 15th). We had an easy passage and proceeded the short distance up to Manjack Cay, where we were to ride out the nasty weather forecast for the next week. The same weather was keeping Marianna and Merlin holed up in Georgetown (in the southern Bahamas) for much longer than they had wanted. Instead of joining us in the Abacos, they decided they needed to make a beeline for the states. So, we agreed to try to hook up with them at West End on Grand Bahama island and cross back together from there.
On Sunday, we managed to get a little exploring in on Manjack Cay before the weather forced us back on to the boat for several days. The same day, Bill and Leslie (the only long-term residents on Manjack Cay) hosted a bonfire for all of us cruisers in the harbor. We all brought h’or d’ouvres and something to drink and got to meet each other, as well as Bill and Leslie, their guests and Paul, a former cruiser who is building a place on Manjack.
 An oddity about our earlier than expected departure is that we now seem to be keeping company with a lot of boats that wintered in Georgetown. One of these is R Pelican, another Beneteau 36cc like ours. We got the tour of each others’ boats, comparing pluses and minuses and making notes for the changes we’d like in ours. Pat and Alex live in Canada, but leave their boat in the Chesapeake, so we hope to run into them again before they haul it out at the end of May and return to Ottawa.
 Blowin' In the Wind
When we heard the forecast of 25-30 knot winds for days on end, we kept hoping it was just an overly pessimistic forecast, which would be proved wrong. Unfortunately, they got this prediction right.
The first blow came Friday, just after arriving at Manjack -- all day and all night. The winds were blowing from the southwest and then clocking around to the northwest. These were the directions where we had no protection from the island. There were only 3 other boats in the anchorage for this reason. So, we gave ourselves a lot of room from the other boats and from shore to give us time to react if the anchor dragged. We also put out all of our chain (130’) and then waited for the winds to build and shift direction. The worst of it came Friday night as thunderstorms built to the north and west and finally came over us around midnight. The winds went up to 40 knots, the worst we’ve had on anchor. To ensure we could react if we started to drag, we started the engine and kept it running until the storm had passed and no others seemed imminent. We could see by the GPS track that we had moved back about 5 feet, whether due to drag or the stretching of the chain, we’re not sure. However, we held there and began to swing in the new pattern. The next day, the winds continued to shift until finally they started blowing from the north, giving us some protection from the island. The waves didn’t calm down for most of Saturday, so we were rolling a bit as they hit us at an angle to our beam.
After a beautiful day Sunday, the winds started again, building to over 30 knots on Thursday and rarely dropping below 20. Luckily this time, they were coming from E to NE, which is where the island provides the most protection. Although we could have anchored much closer to the protection of the island with these winds, we were reluctant to pull up our anchor which had been holding so well for so long. So, we decided to stay put and take a little more exposure in exchange for the secure knowledge that we were not likely to move. As an added precaution, we backed down on the anchor in the new direction to ensure it was set.
We had no more problems and were grateful when the winds finally began to subside on Friday.
 Poisonwood
On the path leading up to Nippers on Great Guana Cay, there is a tree with a sign attached, describing it as “Poisonwood”. All who pass are warned not to be tempted to climb it. Well, Dave didn’t climb it or even get near to it, but somewhere he managed to have a close encounter with some poisonwood, which developed into a rash on his leg, very similar to a typical poison ivy reaction, but much more ferocious. He doesn’t usually break out in this way, so we didn’t identify what the red spots were initially. Once we decided it was probably poisonwood, we looked for the remedies that we carried on board that might help. He started soaking it in Domeboro solution twice a day, which was keeping it in check, but wasn’t completely getting rid of it. We were also running out of this remedy, and it was obvious the rash needed more treatments than we would be able to give.
Then at the bonfire, we learned that a local remedy for poisonwood was Crystal solid deodorant. Leslie offered to let him have a chunk to use on his rash. This finally did the trick and the rash started subsiding. When we get back to the states we plan to add this to our medicine cabinet.
To express our gratitude, Cathy baked a Apricot-Date Coffee Cake and sent it over to Leslie and Bill to say thanks. It was well-received.
Positioning for the Crossing
With the onslaught of bad weather, we realized that our plan to meet Marianna and Merlin in West End was unlikely to work. West End would be an expensive place to wait for them, with no anchorages. Also, as the weeks passed, they would feel increasing pressure to make up time by making a big leap north with a long ocean voyage that bypassed West End. This was likely to mean we would miss them completely. So, we decided to get back to the US and hook up with them there.
In looking for a new group of “buddy boats”, we found several headed back to the US who were anchored in Manjack. Sea Holly, Slow Dancin’, Nantileas and R Pelican were planning to cross from Great Sale Cay to Port Canaveral in Florida, a 24 hour trip. We talked it over with them and decided to join them for the crossing.
Great Sale Cay, the departure point, was too far to make in a day’s sail from Manjack Cay, so on Sunday (Mar. 25th), we moved to Allans-Pensacola Cay, an uninhabited island further north. We would move to Great Sale Cay the next day and then wait a day before beginning our crossing.
Allans-Pensacola has a long sandy beach that collects flotsam from the Atlantic like a huge vacuum cleaner. We discovered that there is a tradition on the island that visitors personalize some bit of debris and attach it to a tree by the water. There are now several trees covered in buoys, hard hats, driftwood, life jackets, plastic bottles and other trash collected from the beach, which has been turned into a unique “guest book” for the island. We, of course, added our own signature piece and became a part of the tradition.
We moved to Great Sale Cay on Monday as planned. Great Sale is another uninhabited island that is a common staging point for the trip back across the Gulf Stream. It has a large anchorage, which was largely empty when our flotilla arrived on Monday afternoon. Given the long stretch of bad weather, this surprised us, since we were convinced a large number of boats would be already positioned there waiting to cross.
We decided to spend Tuesday readying ourselves for the crossing and giving the seas time to calm down from the high winds that were still blowing strong when we arrived at Great Sale Monday evening. Cathy spent the day preparing food for the next 36 hours. Dave stripped the deck of any unnecessary items and then ensured everything else was firmly tied down. He checked the engine to ensure it was ready for 24 hours of motoring, and completed a checklist of preparations necessary to ensure it would be a smooth passage. We compared waypoints with the other boats to ensure we would be traveling the same course, and kept watching the winds, which seemed to be slow in calming down. This could make the difference between a calm crossing and a miserable one.
Once all preparations had been made, we had nothing more to do but get some rest and wait for the planned departure time, which was noon on Wednesday.  Chris and Margaret join us on Orion at Great Sale Reconnecting
We were thrilled to get a surprise hail on the radio as we left Allans-Pensacola Cay from Lunasea. Chris and Margaret were ending their tour of the Bahamas and heading back to the states at the same time we were. We actually got to see them at Great Sale Cay and caught up on their travels over the past 6 months. They were planning to cross at the same time to Port Canaveral, so we agreed to stay in touch for the crossing. They returned our zinc grouper, which we had loaned them in Solomons – a well-traveled fish. Also, they told us we had to try fishing on the crossing, so they gave us a lure to help us catch something. Cathy was still a little less than excited about the gutting and cleaning process ( you need to let it bleed out in the cockpit), but maybe . . .
Why don't you write me?
Leaving Manjack Cay meant we were also leaving any means of communicating to anyone back home. Our internet connection was gone and we had no radio other than our VHF, which will only reach about 25 miles. This was worrying, since we weren’t able to communicate our plans to those back home before leaving. It also meant we were without any weather information for the crossing. Luckily, Sea Holly graciously offered to let our family know about our plans by sending an e-mail using their SSB radio. This was also the source of their daily weather updates from Chris Parker, which they shared with the rest of the group.
We knew about the SSB radio before we left, but also knew it could be pretty expensive to install. What we learned once in the Bahamas was that it was possible to get an SSB receiver for 1/10th the cost of a complete SSB set-up that allows transmissions. Also, Sea Holly was actually using a ham radio to get their SSB capability, which is much less expensive. It is also much easier to implement since April, when the ham radio license removed the morse code requirement from the certification test. We plan to look into more of these options if we decide to return to the Bahamas next year.
Next Stop – Florida
The next stop would be Port Canaveral, where many cruise ships use as a departure point. Hopefully, we could avoid their arrival times. . .
 We made an unexpected discovery about the process for extending our immigration visa that altered our plans a bit. More about that later. After spending a little over a week in Marsh Harbor, we moved a little further up the coast to Treasure Cay, a resort with a beautiful beach. We moved from there to Great Guana Cay as we begin a slow return through the northern Abacos and across to the states.
Immigration woes (or “you can’t always get what you want . . .”)
While in Marsh Harbor, we had planned to stop by the Immigration office in order to extend our visa past the end of March. (If you remember from our initial entry after crossing to the Bahamas, we were given only 50 days. Most people are given 90 – 120 days.) We were told by Immigration in Marsh Harbor that we could only extend our visa on the day it expired or maybe 1 or 2 days earlier. Also, the only places in the northern Bahamas where we could make the extension were Marsh Harbor, Treasure Cay, Freeport and West End. (There are several out islands where a customs officer will handle immigration for clearing into the Bahamas, but they are not permitted to extend the visa.)
Marsh Harbor and Treasure Cay are only a few miles from each other on the eastern end of Great Abaco island. We expected to have already left these ports behind well before the end of March. However, Freeport and West End , which are on Grand Bahama (and therefore further west toward the US), were not going to be much help either. Freeport requires a trip on the open Providence Channel, which didn’t appeal to us, and West End was the jumping off point for the crossing back to the US. If we made it that far, we wouldn’t need to extend our visa. So, we were left with a decision to make. Stay near Marsh Harbor until March 28th in order to extend our visa then, or head out of the Abacos much sooner to ensure we could clear Bahamian waters before our visa expired. We decided to do the latter.
Since we didn’t want to be forced to travel on a specific date (which can be disastrous if weather doesn’t cooperate), we investigated what would happen if we couldn’t leave by the visa expiration date. We were told that a) the extension is usually granted without problem and b) if it wasn’t extended, we just couldn’t go ashore, but we could stay in Bahamian waters waiting for a weather window. While many cruisers told us not to worry about the extension, since it is unlikely to be checked, we didn’t feel comfortable with that approach.
So, we left Marsh Harbor after filling up with fuel and fresh vegetables, and started working our way north. The first stop was Treasure Cay.
 Treasure Cay anchorage Treasure Cay
Treasure Cay is a resort community with a small, well-protected harbor. By paying an anchoring fee, you get access to the resort’s amenities, which include showers and a nice pool. We also sat in the deserted open air bar each day to get internet access. This became a cruiser networking spot as we used the bar stools and counter as impromptu office desks. The bar also had a game with a ring suspended on a long string that you tried to swing onto a hook on a nearby pole. Dave got very good at this before we left.
 A short walk away is a 3 mile long, crescent shaped beach, with soft white sand and gently breaking waves. As the resort advertising reminds you, it is rated one of the top 10 in the world by National Geographic. It certainly was beautiful. It is on the Sea of Abaco, but has some exposure to the open ocean, protected somewhat by a few of the barrier islands. (It was amusing to us to realize that a short walk across the street to the beach here took us “around the Whale”, the infamous open ocean passage around Whale Cay. Unfortunately, Orion couldn’t cross the street as easily as we could.) We walked out to the eastern point at low tide and found some beautiful shells, including 3 whole sand dollars and a starfish. Two of the sand dollars were the tiniest we had every seen. There were some very expensive looking houses on the beach, but we had access to its entire length. At the Coco Beach Bar, there were umbrellas and chairs for hire, but the rest of the beach was mostly unoccupied. As Spring Break week began, that was slowly starting to change.
 Back to Great Guana
We had continued to stay in daily contact with Bonnie Lass, but we hadn’t been able to connect for over 2 weeks. They had moved to Man of War Cay and then to Marsh Harbor after we left. We finally hooked up again in Fishers Bay on Great Guana Cay, where we moved on Sunday (Mar. 11th). When we arrived, the bay was as full as we had seen it – a likely result of the combination of the start of spring break week and the Sunday pig roast at Nippers, which attracts huge crowds. There was still plenty of room for us to anchor comfortably, even with a 125ft motor yacht that preceded us into the bay. (Their tender was almost the size of Orion.)
 After spending Monday morning doing laundry and internet, we met up with Graham and Val on Bonnie Lass, who had just sailed up from Marsh Harbor to Fishers Bay. Sunday’s crowds had departed, so they were able to anchor pretty close by. We took them on a tour of the island, and then joined them on Bonnie Lass for a toast to our reunion and the beautiful sunset. The next day, White Bird also joined us in the anchorage and we all went ashore to enjoy the beach and the pool at Nippers. White Bird had spent several weeks with Bonnie Lass in the Titusville marina. So, it was a happy reunion for all of us. After spending Monday morning doing laundry and internet, we met up with Graham and Val on Bonnie Lass, who had just sailed up from Marsh Harbor to Fishers Bay. Sunday’s crowds had departed, so they were able to anchor pretty close by. We took them on a tour of the island, and then joined them on Bonnie Lass for a toast to our reunion and the beautiful sunset. The next day, White Bird also joined us in the anchorage and we all went ashore to enjoy the beach and the pool at Nippers. White Bird had spent several weeks with Bonnie Lass in the Titusville marina. So, it was a happy reunion for all of us.
We managed to snorkel some for the first time here in the ocean, just off the beach, but the winds were still making the waters a little too rough to risk going too far from shore. We saw some blue tang, some fan and brain coral. Afterward, we rinsed the salt water off in Nippers pool and spent some time enjoying a frozen Nippers drink, while relaxing in the sun by the pool.
White Bird had purchased a “hogfish” in Marsh Harbor, whose appearance lived up to its name, including some unfriendly-looking teeth. Joanne was tired of having it stare up at her from her freezer, and so, after asking our advice on how to cook it, she invited us over to help do it in. Val made neat work of filleting the fish, and then we disposed of it quickly, since it tasted far better than it looked.
We said goodbye to White Bird and their guests, Mike and Kathy, on Wednesday morning with promises to see them again further north – maybe in the Chesapeake, maybe in Rochester.
Can you hear me now?
Soon after leaving US waters on our crossing, our cell phones stopped working. Although we’ve seen some analog signals in a few places since then, they mostly sit on the shelf like 2 lumps of coal, uncharged and unloved. The cost of making a cell phone call just didn’t make it reasonable to try to use them unless an emergency arose. However, it wasn’t long before we began to hear about another calling alternative called Skype, an internet-based telephone service that allows you to make international calls for a few cents a minute.
In Spanish Cay, Bonnie Lass let us use their connection to call home to let loved ones know we had made it safely. We decided to sign up for the service, but we had a few obstacles to overcome in order to be able to use it.
First, we needed a secure internet connection to purchase the service, so we wouldn’t risk our credit card information being stolen. The manager at Spanish Cay offered the use of her business wifi connection, which was a security-enabled connection. This worked initially, but then we realized we had paid for the US-to-US service, not the international calling “credits” that we needed. It took another week to work that out and to find a place to make the additional payment for the credits.
Next, we needed a headset to give us a microphone for the computer and speakers that would keep our conversations private. After checking stores in all of the out islands, we finally find some pricey ones in Marsh Harbor. These were in short supply as well, as fellow cruisers discovered the wonders of Skype.
Finally, we needed a strong enough internet connection to support a reasonable call quality. When we first used the service on Bonnie Lass’ computer in Spanish Cay, the satellite internet connection provided for clear call quality, but an awkward delay between speaking and being heard. It meant we were constantly stepping on each other or waiting for the other to speak. In Marsh Harbor, Dave discovered that a wifi connection that was easily strong enough to do e-mail only allowed him to make the call connection. The person being called could not hear him, although he had no trouble hearing them.
However, with a strong internet connection, we were able to call loved ones back in the states and keep up to date with things happening there. This has made us feel not so out of touch. E-mail is still more reliable, but the ability to call periodically is reassuring.  Cathy with a fresh loaf of bread Being domestic
While we are at no risk of running out of food, one of our provisioning assumptions was that we would be baking bread, rather than buying it. It costs $4-5 a loaf in most stores. Cathy was thinking that this wasn’t such a high price to pay, considering the effort required for the alternative. Dave, however, said we had bought all this flour, yeast, etc. to make bread, so . . .
So, we broke out the flour, yeast, and the pressure cooker and took a day to make a loaf of bread. Since it had to rise for 3 hours, it took the better part of a day to make. Dave had read a method of baking bread in the pressure cooker, which we tried as well. Much to Cathy’s surprise, the bread smelled good and tasted even better. The pressure cooker approach meant that it didn’t have the same golden brown crust that would make it pretty, but the taste and texture were unaffected.
However, given the time involved, maybe next time we’ll make two loaves instead of just one.
Heave-to!
We had been looking for an opportunity to practice heaving to, a technique of setting the sails so that the boat sits at a comfortable angle to the wind and waves, but makes little headway. This is a storm survival tactic that is good to know. We found our opportunity on the sail from Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay. The wind was on the beam and steady at about 15 knots. We tried various combinations of main and headsail furled to varying sizes. We did successfully stop our progress, but didn’t get the angle we were hoping for. After doing some reading about this later, we decided we needed to have more mainsail for the lighter winds we had in our trials. We plan to try again to see if we can get this technique down. Once we do, we’ve been told we should then try it in 30 knot winds to see if we can make it work then too.
Of course, we would have to be willing to travel in 30 knot winds . . .
Information Exchange
In Treasure Cay, we met Lena and Ron from Discovery, who had been with us briefly at the Bluff House Marina in Green Turtle Cay. Lena let us use her connection to make a Skype call and we exchanged information about how to get weather information. Dave showed her the electronic grib files he could get from NOAA and how to bring them into her navigation software. She showed us the weather faxes she could get on her SSB receiver radio, which requires a much smaller investment than a full SSB radio with transmit and receive capability.
Discovery wants to travel back to the US around the same time that we do, so we promised to stay in touch in the event that this will work out.
Back North
We’ve heard from Marianna and Merlin, who are ready to travel north from Georgetown to the Abacos to hook up with us. However, weather is not cooperating yet. We will move slowly north and anticipate their joining us before long. They always travel much faster than we do, when left to our own devices. Who knows where the next update will find us?
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