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I don’t think it has really hit us that the end of our first year is actually so near.  A year! A whole year!  We left Kemah on November 7, 2016 and that will be around the date that we pull back into our driverway in Texas.  What a year it has been.  But we’ll have time to reflect on that later.  As for now, there’s still so much to do.  The boat is under cover at Atlantic Yacht Basin, a very well respected marina/storage/boat yard on the Elizabeth River, just south of Norfolk.  The folks here promise to take good care of her, keep her from freezing, and will check in on her regularly.  Tim and I have cleaned the outside cushions and sunscreens and stacked them in the V berth.  We’re trying to whittle down the food stocks on the boat.  All food on the boat will either be eaten here, taken home or tossed.  I will leave some spices, but that’s all.

Our time in the Chesapeake has been wonderful.  We’ve been able to spend a lot of time making road trips and enjoying towns on the water.  Tom and Doris loaned us their car so we could make a road trip from Urbanna to Williamsburg and Jamestown.  It was a nasty, drizzly, cold day when we went, so we didn’t spend too much time wandering Williamsburg.  We enjoyed being inside the museum in Jamestown better.

After saying goodby to Tom and Doris, we decided to spend a couple nights at anchor before heading to Yorktown for a couple nights.  We anchored out in Corrotoman River across from Urbanna our first night and then moved south to Godfrey Bay.  Both were beautiful, peaceful anchorages.  The moonless, clear night brought the stars and the blankets out.

We spent the next two nights at Riverwalk Landing Marina in Yorktown.  This is a great little marina, super dockmaster, and easy walking distance to historical sites.  The town also has a free trolley that makes a circle around the town, delivering tourists to the various sites.  We went to the American Revolution Museum and relearned so much about the beginnings of our country.  We had a quick tour of the Yorktown battlefield where in 1781 Cornwallis conceded defeat and surrendered, soon ending the Revolutionary War.  

After leaving Yorktown, we cruise past Portsmouth, where Tom and Doris were docked at Ocean Yacht Marina.  Doris took some great pics of us as we cruised past.

I love how Doris captured the busy and active nature of this stretch.

We will have about a week here at AYB before we drive north to Boston for  my brother’s memorial service.  Tom and Doris have also joined us at AYB on their way south.  It’s always a gas when we get together

After a month and a half waiting out hurricanes, enjoying the small town feel and making  new friends, we have finally left New Bern.  I can see why so many boaters stop for a short respite and then end up buying a home and never leaving.  Our final week was spent on Dr. appointments, prepping the boat, and visiting with friends.  We went on a Kitchen Tour and enjoyed the local nightlife at the Octoberfest.  On the 4th, we rented a car and drove to Norfolk to drop Tim’s truck off at Atlantic Yacht Basin, our winter marina.

We timed our departure with the 7:30 opening of the Alfred A Cunningham Bridge and began our 3 day trek north.  I doubt we could have asked for better weather than what we had.  The air was cool, but very comfortable and the water was nearly perfect.  The wide Neuse River had a slight chop from the 6-7 knot breeze.   As we head north, there has been a fairly steady stream of boats going south.  South is certainly the preferred direction this time of year.  I find myself wondering if they think we’re lost or crazy to be going against the flow.  Oh well.  I like not following the crowd, besides we have a different plan in mind.  Having been at a dock far too long for my taste, we decided to spend our first night at anchor.  We cruised about 80 miles, dropping anchor around 5:30 just west of Belhaven and Dowry Creek at the Scranton Creek Mouth.  We had the spot to ourselves although we could see a few boats at other anchorages nearby.  A couple dolphin swam by once we got settled to check out the newcomers.

As the moon set and the sun rose, Tim pulled anchor and we set off for Coinjock.  Again, we had excellent weather and a long day of cruising.  We pulled into Coinjock around 5:30.  We’ve been told by multiple cruisers that if we stop at Coinjock we HAVE TO have their famous prime rib.  Obviously since it had been mandated, we did.  We had a choice between a 16 pounder or a whopping 32 pounder.  I think we both brought back half of our 16 pound monstrosity.  But, it was yummy and Tim added some to our egg burrito for breakfast.

Since we have a short run today, we slept in and headed north around 9:30.  We’ve had a couple of “huh??” moments on this leg of our trip.  One is we keep seeing dark gray to black painted john boats.  We’d wondered why anyone would paint their boat such a dark color.  We found out last night when we looked inside one docked at Coinjock.  The bow of the boat was filled with duck decoys and the stern had freshly cut pine boughs in it.  “Ah ha” we both said.  This is duck country and this is the season.  We have passed some duck blinds in the river and it all came together for us.  The other big ??? are these netted off areas along side the ICW.  A cluster of poles seem to support a large net that drapes into the water.  We think they are holding pens for something.  Crabs maybe.

The rest of the trip into Norfolk was pretty uneventful.  A couple of bridges to have opened, but just another day of wonderful cruising.  We are now at Atlantic Yacht Basin doing chores and we’ll try to get some sight seeing in this afternoon.  Tomorrow we will head to Hampton for a short trip that will make our run on Tuesday easier.  We’ll be going to Bridges Marina in Urbana to spend a week with friends Tom and Doris Sanders.  See you there!

Yes, we are still here.  Irma, Jose and now Maria.  It seems like the storms keep poking their noses this way.  Luckily they have just threatened us and have not come to visit.  Today is the day we were supposed to start feeling the effects of Jose and yet it’s really pleasant here in New Bern.  That tells me a couple of things.  1.- Jose didn’t come nearly as close to NC as originally projected.  2.- New Bern is a great place to be when a storm does hit.  We are 20+ miles up the Neuse River from the Outer Banks and that gives us good protection.   Tim just told me that several boats from Ocracoke (south of Hatteras on the Outer Banks) have moved into the marina, out of the path of the storms.  To move north, we’d have to go out into more open waters.  We need to cross the Pamlico River, run up the Alligator River and then on to the huge Albemarle Sound.  The Albemarle is relatively shallow and in a west wind can kick up some nastiness that we prefer to avoid.  So, here we stay, waiting out the alphabet of storms.

Since it looks like we’ll be at New Bern Grand Marina for a while, we’re making our selves right at home.  The other cruisers have some great traditions and we’ve enjoyed joining in.  There’s the Taco Tuesday dinner at the Prohibition Grill.  5 bucks for 3 tacos and since it’s outside Maggie gets to join.  If inclined one can go to the bar at the Doubletree for Wednesday night wings.  I recommend the garlic Parmesan crusted ones.  Thursday morning the ladies and gents separate for breakfast.  Ladies enjoy a dignified brunch at the museum restaurant while the guys go to the local dive.  Then every other Friday the marina has a free lunch for the cruisers. If that isn’t enough, there’s always the other great restaurants to check out.  Tim likes the burgers at The Beer Army and we both had fun eating at the bar at MJ’s- fresh steamed shrimp, crab, mussels, etc.  Anyway, we certainly won’t go hungry while here.

And because we now have Tim’s truck, we can head off on more road trips.  We decided to do just that last Thursday.  Neither of us had ever been to the Outer Banks so off we went.  We enjoyed the little town of Manteo, checked out the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, and drove the length of the skinny barriers islands down to Hatteras.  Maggie and I strolled the beach while Tim took in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.  It was a relaxing and fun couple of days.

  

Yes, we are still in Hilton Head.  Our original plan was to only be here for a week.  That changed when I decided I needed to spend a week in Maine with my brother.  We had hoped to move the boat, Tim and Maggie to Beaufort, SC since there would be more for them to do that is within walking distance.  Unfortunately everything in Beaufort was booked up for their annual 10 day Water Festival.  Once we pay for 2 weeks dockage, we are basically paying for the month.  So we decided to take advantage of the whole month and use HH as a hub for exploring Savannah and Beaufort.  We also have used it as a maintenance stop.

Our number one maintenance job was finding the source of the leak along side the aft door exiting the salon.  With heavy, extended downpours we have had water dripping in the side wall and under the door frame.  It as been agonizing to watch the wood in that area discolor even as we search every possible area we can think of that water may be leaking in.  

With boats, finding the source of the leak is a real challenge.  Rain water can run along stringers quite a way before appearing inside.  We tried fixes while at Seabrook and we tore through lazarettes searching for potential sources while at Marsh Harbor.  We scraped off old caulk, cleaned and recaulked suspicious areas when we were in New Smyrna.  Still, we had a leak.  Our frustration level has been building and we decided NOW was the time to stop that damn leak once and for all.  In the past, we started our search in high, forward areas like the eyebrow.  Then we worked our way back to the lazarettes on the upper helm.  This time we decided to start with the leak and move to areas where the water would flow downhill toward the rear door.  Using the drill, Tim bored small holes in the bottom of the platform that covers the port side.  

We figured if we drilled a hole and the core was dry, we were going in the wrong direction.  If we drilled a hole and the core was wet, we were heading in the right direction and needed to keep going.  The first hole Tim drilled was a wet one.  So we kept going.  The second hole was a drainer.  Brown water drained out of the hole.  Pay dirt! This told us that water was definitely getting to this spot and had been for a while.  The next couple holes were also wet.  We finally drilled a dry hole about midway as we worked our way up the platform.  That put us just forward of the arch.  This is the area where our new bimini was attached to the platform.  Our old Bimini had been snapped down, but when Banks Sail installed the new Bimini, they used a bolt rope and track.  Surely, surely when they took out the snaps and installed the track they sealed the snap holes.  Right?  We had to be sure.  I unscrewed the track and we had our answer.  They did use silicone to secure the new track screws, but NO they did not seal the old holes from the snaps.  I cannot begin to tell you how angry we were when we discovered this.  

It would have taken a minute to seal the holes.  Tim used 5200 to seal the old holes and we resiliconed the screws for the track.  And then we waited.  We waited for the next rain. When it finally came we cheered.  Finally, no water ran down the wood or under the door.  I think we found the source.

Tim and Maggie held down the fort while I spent a week in Maine with my older brother, Dennis.  Two years ago, Den was diagnosed with a glioblastoma.  Many of you know that John McCain has recently been given the same diagnosis and Ted Kennedy and Beau Biden passed away after suffering from the same disease.  Glioblastoma is a very aggressive type of brain cancer and unfortunately there are very few survivors.  My brother has fought hard against this disease.  He has undergone 2 brain surgeries, immunotherapy, radiation and chemo.  I am so very proud of him and his strength to keep going.  His wife, Karen has been beside him cheering him on the entire time.  Despite all of this, they were told that the cancer is growing and even the wonderful doctors at Dana Farber in Boston who have been treating him do not have the answers we desperately wish for.  It was wonderful to be able to spend time with Den, Karen and many family members who were able to get to Maine to see Den.

We did a little touring of Savannah.  One day we took Maggie for stroll through the historic district.  Uggg it was almost unbearably hot and humid.  We didn’t last too long, but took a few pictures.  We returned with George and Jacola Bolger and took  the Old Trolley Tour of the area.  Since it was a rainy, overcast day, it was much cooler and more enjoyable.  But, we didn’t take any pictures.  Oh well.  

   After our trip to Savanah we remembered that the movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,  had been filmed in many of the areas we visited.  So Tim downloaded the movie for us.  It was fun recognizing fountains, gardens and houses that we saw while visiting Savannah in the movie..Strange movie by the way.

George and Jacola also joined us on a trip into Beaufort for the afternoon.  It is another one of the beautiful, historic towns along the South Carolina waterfront.  We were told that one of the old mansions along the waterfront played a role in the movie, Prince of Tides.  And its author, Pat Conroy, grew up in the area. So……. yes, we downloaded that movie too.  The house we were looking for only appeared for a minute, but we sat through the entire movie.  Hmmmm…Not a good film if you want a “pick me up”.  Next movie may be The Big Chill.  Jacola told us that it too was filmed in Beaufort.

We will be in Hilton Head until the 27th.  Then it is back on the ICW for us, heading north toward Charleston.

Well, things don’t always work out as planned.  And we certainly didn’t plan to be back in Marsh Harbor today.  We had thought that today would find us hauling anchor at Great Sale Cay and heading across to anchor tonight on the Bahama Banks.  That plan was canceled when my left thumb and our anchor had a wicked impact yesterday morning.

We did leave Marsh Harbor as planned on 5/30 and anchored out at Manjack.  With high tide coming around 1pm, we didn’t get out of Mangoes until 11.  We need to have enough water to leave the dock.  That put us into Manjack around 3:30.  We had hoped to dinghy in and tour the mangroves and see all the rays, sharks, and turtles that we have heard so much about, but instead our nerves had us continue to prep for an iffy crossing.  We paid professional marine weatherman, Chris Parker, for a personalized forecast because we were still wondering if our decision to go was a good one.  After a conversation and early morning email with him, we decided the crossing was still doable but we had a good chance of encountering thunderstorms on the way.  He was pretty clear that the sooner we crossed the better because our window was fixing to slam shut with storms moving across Florida.  We put the dinghy back on the roof for the first time since arriving in the Bahamas.  We entered the waypoints for our route back and Tim programmed the new route into the Raymarine.  We did everything we needed to do and then had a much needed cocktail to calm our nerves.  Making the decision to cross the Gulf Stream is not one we take lightly.  We knew the conditions would be less than ideal, but as long as they weren’t going to be bad, we were ready to tackle it.  We did know that if we didn’t make this crossing, the next one wouldn’t come for at least 7 – 10 days and possibly longer.  We opted to sleep that night  in the V-berth in hopes of getting more breeze.  We may have gotten more air flow, but we also got more noises.  Tim and I have never slept in our V berth; we now have greater empathy for friends and family who have.  The sounds made by the anchor chain pulling and relaxing, waves slapping the hull, and the movement of the boat back and forth as the wind shifted , coupled with our bad case of nerves, made for a difficult night’s sleep.  We woke to a beautiful morning and despite our lack of sleep, we felt good about or decision to move on.  Since we had already done our prep the previous night it didn’t take long for us to be ready to haul up the anchor ad be on our way.  I pour Tim and I glasses of iced coffee I had made while at Mangoes to give us a cool kick of caffeine and we assumed our positions for leaving.  Our strategy for bringing up the anchor has Tim at the helm and I take up the bow position.  I step on the windlass switch to raise or lower the anchor while he drives the boat in the direction of the anchor.  We work closely together to make sure the windlass is under minimal strain as the chain rode is hauled aboard.  The tricky part comes when the shank of the anchor breaks over the roller and is pulled on board.  We have a stainless guard over the roller that the chain and shank are pulled through.  The problem is that as the shank rises above the roller, the chain can jump out of the gypsy that feeds the chain into the anchor locker.  To avoid this, I hold my left hand near the guard to push the shank back down as the chain feeds in.  Not an easy maneuver nor one I m comfortable doing,  but it is what it is.  In the past, I’ve managed to do it without harm.  This was not going to be one of those days.  Instead I must have gotten my left thumb between the anchor shaft and the guard when the shaft bounced up.  I do wear a pair of gloves when anchoring and I think if I had not had them on the damage to my thumb would be even worse.  Tim headed the boat slowly out of the anchorage while I tried to stem the bleeding.  Once he had us headed in out, he turned on the autopilot and then came down to assist me.  Jointly we agreed that I needed to get medical services, the cuts were too deep and had bled too much.  After a lot of discussion we decided that the smartest thing to do was turn back and find a clinic in Marsh Harbor.  We knew that doing this would end our chance of crossing now.  Dr. James concurred with our decision.  I had cut through an artery on one side of the thumb and cut down to the bone on the other side.  He stitched me back together- 3 on one side, 5 on the other side- and sent me back to the boat with some antibiotics.  So here we are.  Dr. James said to give the thumb at least 7 good days before attempting to use it, so I imagine we’ll be sitting tight at least a week and then the window watching will begin again in earnest.  Oh well, waiting in the Bahamas isn’t so bad. 

We’ve had 12 wonderful days with great friends, Mark and Beth Atherton and now it’s time for us to head to new places.

Tim and I have valued the time spent with friends- old and new- more than we ever imagined we would.  We find that we do more, experience more and enjoy more when we have company.  Not that we don’t enjoy each other’s company, I think we try harder to make the most of the limited time we have with friends while they are with us.  We want to be sure that all of the “Gotta dos” get done and all the extra stuff gets fit in as best we can.  We certainly did that with Mark and Beth. Continue reading 5/30/2017. Friends are Gone, Time to Move On.

Finally the winds have begun to subside.  Here that means movement as everyone starts pulling anchor or untying from the dock.  We have had such high winds for so long that many cruisers have delayed heading back to Florida or changed their cruising plans.  Now there is a stream of boaters heading west over the Whale to get ready to cross the Gulf Stream.  Our friends Rob and Kim, All is Good, have already crossed back with Long and Day, on Lucy.  Today a couple of DeFevers will begin their trip back.  Slow Flight and Izzy R plan to anchor tonight somewhere past Great Sail Cay on the banks and then run up to Ft. Pierce.  

Us?  We’re spending the day chillin at Leeward on Green Turtle.  This area has become a favorite for us.  The marina is friendly and small enough to be quiet.  Yet we are close to town so its easy to find noise and fun times when we want it.  Gilliam Beach is just a short dinghy ride and walk away.  The water there is some of the prettiest Ive seen.  At low tide you can walk in  white sand and knee high water way out to a sand bar where you can sit and be amazed at the beauty surrounding you.  It’s great for shelling and finding sand dollars.

Yesterday we took a snorkel trip with Brendal’s out of White Harbor.  We’ve realized that we aren’t going to be able to get our big boat close enough to reefs so we decided to book a trip.  So glad we did.  The dive boat took us on the oceanside of Manjack snaking through the coral reef to anchor in crystal clear water.  Tim and I were joined by a few other snorkelers.  The trip also had some scuba divers along.  The reef was pretty shallow, maybe about 20 feet at the deepest with many coral heads barely a foot below the surface.  This shallow reef meant that snorkeling gave us as good a view as the divers got. Our big mistake was not bringing the GoPro with us.  A Hawksbill Turtle stopped munching on sea grass to swim up to me allowing me to rub its shell and neck.  It seemed to have no fear of us as long as we moved slowly.  He was happy to swim with us several minutes.  After a short break, the boat was moved to another side of the reef.  Following us were 3 reef sharks.  Evidently this is pretty common and since they didn’t seem to bother the dive masters, I wasn’t going to let them bother me either.  Tim unfortunately skinned an ankle on coral during the last swim and decided to sit out the afternoon swim.  It is a strange feeling snorkeling along watching sharks swim a few feet below you.  Too cool. ​

http://www.mvsubjecttochange.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/img_5609.mov​We also took advantage of the calmer weather to enjoy more time at Hopetown.  We took a mooring ball at the foot of the lighthouse for a few days.  From here we were able to dinghy south to Tahiti Beach and over to Cracker P’s on Lubbers Quarters Cay.  We got an interesting history lesson at The Wyannie Malone Museum.  In the 1800’s life being hard on Elbow Cay with farming impractical due to the poor soil and little means of support, many inhabitants found salvaging shipwrecks as a way to provide for themselves and family.  So when the government decided to build a lighthouse to help guide ships through the shallow waters and to minimize wrecks, the locals were not happy.  Many protested and sabotaged the building of the lighthouse.  Despite their efforts, the lighthouse was completed and there were fewer shipwrecks.  Rough life.

I promised some more photos that I wasn’t able to post last time.  So here are some from when Jess and Mackenzie were with us

We are anchored in Lake Worth ready for the crossing tomorrow.  The float plan has been filed with Customs, we have the Bahamian customs papers filled out and ready, Maggie has had a potty and run on the beach at Peanut Island and I have a glass of wine at my side.  I think we’re ready.

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Ive said it before and it still holds so very true.  Damn, it’s a small world.  I mentioned last post that we were going to have a buddy boat.  These are folks who posted on the AGLCA site about wanting someone to cross with.  We responded but then had all the “issues” crop up.  Well weather wasn’t in their favor so they didn’t cross.  Now we’re ready and so are they.  We met up today in Lake Worth.  We put the dinghy in for the potty run to Peanut and stopped by their boat to introduce ourselves.  I knew immediately that we had met somewhere, but couldn’t figure out where.  As we walk around the island, Tim and I kept thinking back to where we could have met them.  Key West- no, Sarasota- maybe, Fort Myers- no.  We stopped back by after the run to chat some more.  As soon as we did I knew- Carrabelle!!!  We met them during our 2 week layover in Carrabelle.  They were docked further down the marina from us and he, Long, has since grown a beard.  They took their dinghy out for the Carrabelle Christmas boat parade and won 1st prize in their class.  (They were the only boat in their class.).  So, our new buddies are Long and Day on a Monk 36 from Massachusetts.

We finally left  River Forest Saturday afternoon and continued our trip down the Okeechobee Water Way.  Tim set a timer and checked the temperatures of the new shafts couplings every 30 min.  We knew they would run a little hotter than normal until the packing was worn in.  It seems that the work we had done has fixed our vibration, but Tim will continue to monitor it closely.  Here’s another “small world” event.  As we were cruising toward Clewiston, we were overtaken by a Grand Banks.  As Tim and I looked closely we realized that we knew the boat.  It was Inheritance Theif, a boat that had just been sold by our Seabrook Marina friend, Ray.  Tim spent a couple weeks on Inheritance Theif helping Ray take it to Dog River, Mobile Bay.  Ray had hoped to go to Cuba when we went last summer, but had crew issues and only made it to Bradenton.  Anyway, as luck would have it, Inheritance Theif was also docking at Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston.  We enjoyed meeting Tom, the new owner, and his crew- Keith, a fellow De Feverite (he has a Grand Alaskan) and Richard who were taking the boat to her new home in Miami.

Sunday we crossed the great Lake Okeechobee, 2nd largest fresh water lake in the 48 contiguous states.  Lake Michigan is the largest and the other Great Lakes don’t count because they are partly in Canada.  We were a little apprehensive about crossing Okeechobee because we had heard that it could get really rough if the winds kicked up.  It’s very shallow, we saw depths from 7′ to 8″ in areas.  If the wind is strong out of the north, there’s a long fetch to get it cranked up as the channel used for crossing is more southerly.  If it weren’t for the alligators and the nasty water, we could have waterskied across.  Speaking of gators- OMG there were some biggies out there.

It was a really interesting trip down the ICW from Stuart.  As expected, there were some really beautiful, mega homes along sections of the trip.  The amazing thing was sometimes right next to them would be older, small, cute cottages, holdouts from the past.  Cruising along we also had a ring side seat to watch some of the mega yachts that had been in the Palm Beach Boat Show parading by.  The show just ended Sunday and today many of them were being delivered back to their home ports.