Summertime in Galesville, MD

We got back from our travels and realized that we needed a few things.  When we bought the boat we kept it simple and decided to add parts/systems as we needed them.  As we were sailing into Beaufort, NC we got our autopilot smoking, as in could smell the burning. 

We did some research and decided to buy a Simrad non linear autopilot, and an AIS displayed on a NSE8 chart plotter.  We thought about getting a touch screen chart plotter, but were worried about not being able to use the chartplotter in the rain or if it was cold enough that gloves were needed.

We had to create two shelves affixed and fiber glassed to the hull.  Matt and I made the shelves and strung the electric wires.  MTS, our electronic gurus, came buy and hooked up all the parts and made sure they were working.  Matt and I have no problems doing the grunt work of installations, but when it comes to getting all the parts to talk to each other, we call in the experts.  MTS does a great job.  They are professional and cost appropriate. 

Just had the boat pulled.  We are getting new zincs, the bottom painted, and a set of Spur Sharks installed.  Over the years we have drug crab pots with us until we could safely dive on the prop and cut the fouled line.  The spurs will hopefully cut the fouling line and keep the prop free of tangled stuff. 

Planning on going on a bit of a shake down cruise after we get back in the water.  There are so many places on the Chesapeake we have yet to explore. 

Summertime in the Chesapeake

Getting through the Virginia Cut was fun and beautiful.  We sailed over night in the Chesapeake and arrived in Galesville as the sun was setting.  Got a nice welcome home from the folks on the dock.  Good to back in home waters.

Being in Galesville is great!  We have a car, a slip, metered electric and know the stores and vendors.  Time to get some work done.  When we bought the boat we weren't sure what electronics we wanted to install as the final choice.  We bought an internal antenna chartplotter and a wheel pilot autopilot.  The chartplotter has been a good choice, but the wheel pilot is a bit undersized for large sea applications.  Time for a new autopilot.

We chose a Simrad system.  We are getting an AP24 autopilot with a hydraulic drive, an 8 inch chartplotter and a sonar/depth system.  We saved the money from our original purchase six years ago.  We always planned on upgrading our electronics when we REALLY went cruising.  The time has come for some serious electronics install.  We are working with MTS, a company located in Herrington North.  We have worked with them before in having our SSB radio installed.  We meet with them, they acquire the hardware, we run the wires, and they do the hookups.  We get their expertise and save money by doing the scut work.  Works for us. 

We have become a cruising station for the friends that are moving north.  Annapolis has made some restriction to the anchoring areas.  Galesville has no restrictions.  We have a town dock and we let the cruisers use our marina head and showers.  There are two restaurant/bars close and we let people use our car if needed for laundry or groceries.  Dirk and Silvie stopped by and used a slip while the went back to Germany.  They just finished their circumnavigation and need to get back to Michigan, to sell their boat and their house before starting new jobs in Germany.  Kenny is a fellow Valiant owner we met in Beaufort.  He has family in the area and was hanging out before his trip north to Massachusetts for a major rig refit.  He left his boat in the basin and went visiting.  Matt and Karen, Valiant owners, were in Herrington North.  They stopped by.  Lots of good meals, good conversation and good libations.  Had barbeques and pot lucks with our boaters in transit and our friends from the marina.  It is like cruising and being home at the same time. 

Got to go to Liam's t-ball game.  Watching 4 and 5 year old kids play ball is like watching cat herding.  The boy and girls watch the ball roll by and them scramble to get it.  It almost looks like a rugby scrum.  They lose their hats and gloves.  When they get bored the kids dig in the dirt of the infield.  They watch birds and butterflies in the outfield.  The cute factor is almost too much.  Thank goodness the games are only three innings long.

Galesville Welcome

Our wonderful crew...

Marshall at the ball field

I think Liam found a bug!

Don't even think about stealing second

Liam rounding second

Got to visit my parents and good friends in the Shenandoah Valley.  It feels funny not planning a course and moving around the next bend.  We will just have to take some road trips till all our boat chores are complete.

From Charleston to Beaufort,NC

We left Charleston, SC on April 25, 2012 at 4pm  We picked up Chris and Philbert, got them settled and were on our way.  We cleared the seawall and I got immediately sick.  I have only been seasick twice and both times it was predicated by fumes.  This time it was gasoline fumes from the tank we had stowed under the dingy.  We opened the hatch under the dingy and the cabin was filled with fumes.  We forgot to close the air vent on the top of the tank.  The fuel splashed out.  I immediately closed the vent and the hatch, in between hurls.  The NOAA weather channel predicted 3-5 ft swells, we had 7-10 ft swells.  That was fine, the wind was on the stern, we pulled out the headsail and were nicely making 8 knots with a push from the Gulf Stream.  Matt, Chris and Phil were having a great time sailing.  I kept them fed and hydrated.  They were wearing foul weather gear, harnesses and tethers. 

The night was uneventful.  Just good sailing with the guys on 4 hour watches.  I was still sick, but could function.

dolphins playing in the waves

Captain Matt enjoying the ride, headsail still flying.

The morning light brought a cloudy sky and bigger waves.  The seas were now above the arch.  The boat was handling the motion.  Matt was taking a break and Chris and Phil and I were watching the dolphins swimming around us.  Some of the dolphins were black, some were grey with spots, some looked like compact dolphins.  They would jump out of the waves and spin.  Some did somersaults, some twirled.  You would look through the wave above your head and see a dolphin swimming.  I was too mesmerized by the display to remember to be scared of the big seas.  I still was seasick, but paused long enough to watch the show.  Chris and Phil were taking videos.  For three hours were enjoyed the dolphins sharing their water world with us.  Then we arrived at Cape Fear and the thunderstorms were are the horizon.  We decided to reel in the head sail.  The sheet got tangled in the roller spool and the sail started to tangle and come apart.    We needed to get the sail untangled, cut the sheets off the roller and get the sail off the headstay.  Matt and Phil started working.  Chris and I tried to turn the boat into the wind and against the Gulf Stream.  We partly succeeded.  Good thing Chris is used to working out and is very strong.  It took 20 minutes to accomplish the headsail removal.  We stuffed the sail down the front hatch and pulled the wet sail into the salon of the boat.  Thank goodness I had the cushions covered by a water proof mattress cover.  I pulled the sail onto the floor and folded it up as much as possible.  I yanked the sheets off the vberth.  We had to walk on the sail, but everyone had a dry place to sleep.  I was still sea sick.


We debated if we should try to go into a closer inlet than Beaufort, NC.  We turned on the TV and were able to see the weather radar showing that the storms were staying south of us.  If we kept going to Beaufort, we might out race the thunderstorms.  We headed for Beaufort.  We saw a large ship on the radar.  Then it disappeared. We saw a warship approaching.  Great.  We tried to hail them on the radio, but no reply.  They passed within 3 miles of us.  It was quite surreal.

We could only see the red and green marks when we both were on the top of the wave.   We managed to get into the channel and find the seawall.  We anchored right off the coast guard station.  Everyone shucked off their wet gear, found a berth and got some much needed rest.

When we are traveling down the ICW our boat seemed a bit stout for the task.  In the ocean the boat performed beautifully.  We slid down the waves without getting water in the cockpit.  The stainless lifeline cage gave you many hand holds.  It was one of those moments in sailing when the awe of the oceans power was everywhere.  It was terrifying and amazingly beautiful at the same time.

I reminded Matt that I never wanted to be in seas that big again.  He laughed.

good morning in Beaufort,NC

Beaufort SC fun

We are having a pot luck dinner with the cruiser's here at the Butler's and the Rae's.  Both the Butler's and the Rae's are so generous with their time and property.  The provide transportation, a place to put your trash, water, electricity and a floating dock to tie your boat to.  The other cruiser's, Mike and Anne, are from England and have been cruising around the world for the past few years.  They had a transmission/engine problem and our hosts found them a welder that worked on a Saturday!   Ken, their buddy boat captain, is cruising up from the islands, on his way to Maine.  He has a Valiant 40.  It was so fun to compare boats and modifications.  I always get such good ideas from other cruisers. 

We were in the grocery store in Beaufort, SC with the after church crowd.  I was looking for stuff and people in the store were so helpful.  Not just the store employees, but the other shoppers went out of their way to help me find the stuff on my list.  I guess they took pity on me.  I must have looked very lost.

Have been watching the swallows catching bugs all around the boat.  I wonder if you could have a swallow as a pet to eat all the mosquitoes, flys and other critters that are such a pain.  There probably is a rule about keeping swallows as pets.

Here are some pictures that were taken along the way that I didn't get to post.  We are off tomorrow am to find an anchorage for a few days.  The weather is warm, but the wind is a bit cool.  TTFN

saw this little plane land on the water while we were anchored in MacKay Creek, SC

the blimp hovering over Hilton Head Island for the RBC Classic golf tourny

Back in internet zone

We have been traveling and anchoring out the past week.  We finally have gotten comfortable using our ground tackle.  Ground tackle is the anchor and chain or rode (rope) you use to secure the boat to the bottom of the river or body of water you are cruising through.  We carry a 65 pound Delta anchor and 250 feet of 3/8 inch chain.  Before we left we marked every 30 ft.  Before that, we had a very shaky idea of how much chain we put out.  The 'books' say you should have a 7 to 1 scope.  That means, for every foot of water under your keel, you put out 10 feet of chain.  So seven feet of water means 70 feet of chain.  We also carry a 55 pound Bruce (claw) anchor.  Attached to the Bruce is 30 ft of chain and 200 ft of rode (rope).  We have a small stern anchor.  It is a 25 pound danforth with 10 feet of chain and 100 ft of rode.  The stern anchor is used to keep the boat from swinging into a channel.

We are traveling to Charleston to pick up our boys Chris and Philbert.  The guys arrive on the 25th of April so we are donking around.  We anchored in the MacKay Creek, across from Hilton Head Island.  Hilton Head is jumping this weekend.  The RBC golf tournament is going on.  The blimp is circling.  Boats are zooming everywhere.  Staying tucked in a creek seemed like a good way to avoid the activity.  The first place we anchored, at high tide, seemed great.  The tide went out and we were VERY close to the shore.  We raised the anchor and were making for deeper water.  Of course I did not see the small sand bar and we ran aground.  Waited about 15 minutes for the tide to come up and went searching for a good place to move.  Got the anchor down in 12 feet of water and put out 120 feet of chain.  We checked the weather report and saw that some wind was supposed to come up about 2 pm the next afternoon.  We had dinner and got tucked in our beds.

Both of us bolted from our berths at 2:15 am.  Seems mother nature decided to trick us and sent the wind in about 12 hours early.  The wind went from 5knts to 20 knts in a minute, and it was still building.  We checked the GPS and we were in the same position, but with the wind howling, we could drag on the anchor and end up on the shore.  Matt got dressed and headed for the bow.  He got the Bruce ready and deployed.  The Bruce was at a 45 degree angle from the Delta, so if the Delta came loose the Bruce would catch and we wouldn't drag into the shore.  We got the little stern anchor ready just in case.  We checked the GPS every 10 minutes and we were still in the right place. I checked the wind and the velocity was up to 47 knots.  Ok, so of course, I went to get some sleep, while Matt stayed up and kept anchor watch.  The wind died down about sun up.  We took around the boat to see if there was any damage.  We looked over the grasses, behind the red mark and saw a mast at a 30 degree angle.  The folks that had anchored there must have drug into the shore and were now on their side.  It was low tide.  We saw some fisherman come by us.  The asked if we were ok and we told them we were fine, but could they please go check on the boat behind the red mark.  The fisherman said they couldn't see any one aboard.  We got on the radio and heard them, and many others, calling for TOWBOAT US (like AAA for cars).  TOWBOAT showed up.  They asked 'how did you stay anchored last night?'  the boat captain said the was towing boats that had drug all morning.  We told him what we were using for ground tackle.  He laughed, and shook his head.  'You must be one of those crusiers....they know how to anchor'. He asked about the wind last night and we told him.  The other sailboat finally got off the ground during high tide.  They said they were local sailors and had never had any problem before.  We told them home was Annapolis and they said....'WOW, you are one of those cruiser folks!  We saw them passing through, but never met any. ' 

I guess that makes us part of the cruiser's group.  The amount we have learned in the past months is amazing.  It sure is nice to tackle new challenges and actually learn something.

Turning North

We decided to make the trip back to the Chesapeake.  We turned the boat and headed north.  The Travon Martin incident happened about 30 miles from Marineland.  We got tired of seeing confederate flags and only being able to hear right wing radio.  We never met any people that were rude or mean.  The tension and feelings were palatable and we just didn't want to venture further south into the land of bars and high price marinas.  There are many articles that deal with the anchoring fights between Florida land owners and boat owners.  Time to head to Maryland.

We headed north and were, of course, had to deal with a head wind.  We made it through the two bridges we had to open.  This time the Bridge of Lions was an easy opening.  No pushing through the yellow light.  After we passed St. Augustine we heard aircraft.  A fighter plane with a red star on the side was doing acrobatics.  The plane barrel rolled, did loop de loops,  and buzzed our boat.  We waved and cheered.  For over a half hour we were treated to an air show.  I throttled down and just watched and cheered.  The sky was clear and beautiful.  We had shorts , flips and tshirts on. We were motoring on our boat and were being treated to a free air show.  Such fun! We made it to the oxbow anchorage and had a quiet night.  

The next day, wind wasn't strong until past noon.  The wind hadn’t gotten up yet and we heard a lawnmower noise in the air.  It was an ultralight.  After yesterdays’ fighter jet, this was a totally unexpected scene.  He dove at the mast and we clapped and cheered.  Another air show ensued.  We slowed and engine and just watched.  Some fisherman joined us and we laughed, and clapped .  The ultralight pilot waved back and headed away.  The fisherman went back to fishing and we throttled up and kept moving north.  Never know what you will see on the water. The wind came up and the wind indicator registered 20 to 33 knts apparent wind.  The first place we stopped to anchor, Ft. George, gave us the hee bee gee beees.  No real real reason we could pin point, but we have learned to trust your gut.  I have always thought that our boat has ways of letting us know when we might be making a mistake.  This was one of those times.  We turned out of the river and went back up the ICW.  We had 10 miles to go to the next anchorage.  We battled the wind and made it to a cut behind an oxbow it the Amelia river.  Dolphins were jumping and greeting us.  Seems like we made the right decision to push northward.  We anchored in 14 feet of water at low tide.

The new Kraft Alfredo and cheese dinner mixes are easy to store and make a fast and easy meal.  I have pre cooked hamburger, chicken and ground turkey in the freezer.  It is easy to boil the pasta with the meat and freeze dried vegetables that we keep in the pantry.  It gives us a warm one pot meal.  Easy cleanup and a warm meal after a long day makes you feel so much better.

We sleep until we wake up.  No set wake up time means that you sleep as long as your body needs to recover.  There are times that you need to get up on a schedule, but it seems like we are healthier and thinner.  No stress and fatigue means no cortisol and extra fat build up in your body.  Cortisol is used by the body to cope with stress.  It is one of the limiting elements that keep fat around your belly.  I always thought some of the hype about stress was just a way to sell diet pills on infomercials.  Without the 21st century version of stress in our lives, we seem to be coping much better.  It feels like I have lost around 20 lbs.  My clothes fit better, I sleep better and seem happier, while living and traveling on our boat. 

Arrived at Fernandina Beach.  Got fuel, water and paid for a mooring ball.  Fernandina Beach is a destination for bus tour groups.  As we pulled up, we were asked questions by the visitors to the dock.  We got quite a few, "you really live on your boat?", the biggest question was, " don't you miss your stuff?".  The dredging is finished at Fernandina Beach, and the price is reasonable, but I would rather be on a mooring ball away from the dock walkers.  You start to feel like you are part of the tourist attractions. 

A little slice of Paradise

We worked our way south to Marineland Marina.  The marina has been newly rebuilt in August 2011.  The old marina was destroyed by the storm surge from Hurricane Floyd years ago.  The channel is well marked and easy to navigate.  We arrived at mid tide and had enough water.  At low tide we sink into the murk. Tied up to the face dock, the view of the channel/ICW is great. 

Marineland is part of the Georgia Aquarium research facility.  Across  the street from the marina is the main Dolphin building.  They give people the opportunity to interact with dolphins (for a fee).  The dolphins in the exhibit were either raised in captivity or were injured and were brought to the facility to heal.  Dolphins that could not be returned to the wild stayed with Marineland.

All around the marina there are salt water ponds that house all sorts of marine life.  We walked around all of them and tried to figure out what some of the big things were in the middle of the pond.  A fresh water pond located in the former campground is home to turtles, fish and an alligator.  Nature abounds at Marineland!  You can go across the street to the beach, take a kayak tour of all the preserve islands across the ICW, walk the nature trails or just sit on the stern of the boat and watch the dolphins play by the green marker.  There are no bars or restaurants.  A few of the  restaurants from the Hammock do deliver to the marina.  We borrowed the dock masters' car and went to the Publix to pick up a few things.  To us, this is a paradise.  We happened to arrive during Daytona Bike Week.  Motorcycles of all shapes and sizes were blasting down A1A.  We went over to the Marineland garden area, sat down and enjoyed the show.  Next came the Spring Break crowd. The bikini's and surf contests were a great spectator event. 

The winds have shifted from the North to the South-East.  It is time to head back to the Chesapeake.  The winter this year has been mild so the bugs are out in force.  Bugs in muggy anchorages are NO fun!  We are going to try and make it to Beaufort and send plane tickets to two of our three sons, Chris and Philbert.  We'll grab onto the Gulf Stream and book to the Chesapeake Bay.