Charleston, SC

Brief update...its late!!!

On Sat in Savannah, we toured the city and even took the trolley tour. A great city...beautiful. Around 1700 it started to rain and we heard a siren (actually lots of sirens). It was tornado warnings so we grabbed a taxi back to the boat. Got there just in time as the skies opened up and it rained like nothing we have seen before. Hail, lightening, rain in sheets and tornadoes within 5 NM. What a night!. Sunday back into Savannah to see the sights. On Monday, up the ICW to the South Edisto Riven where we anchored. What a peaceful night. Today we arrived in Charleston around 1230 and got groceries and I was able to change the engine oil in preparation for the trip to home. Tonight we got up with Murphy and Rebbecca Moore for drinks and dinner. What fun (except it is late for us and way past our bedtime!!!). We may or may not leave in the morning. Friday is showing gale warnings in the mid-Atlantic and we try to avoid these if possible (and it is possible - just don't tell Shirley). More later.

Savannah, GA

After sailing past the Savannah River year after year, we finally decided to stop here and explore the city (leaving in a few minutes so this will be short). In Delray Beach, we celebrated my dad's 91st with my sister Jan and Ron (her significant other). This past Monday we left up the ICW to Vero Beach. Nice marina and mooring field. We walked around the ocean side shops and Shirley did not spend one cent (must have been tired). Early to bed. Tuesday we went a short distance to Melbourne in order to meet with Rebecca & Murphy Moore and Tom and Rue Nance (who moved to Melbourne in the late 90's from VA Beach). We very much enjoyed cocktails and dinner. Seeing good friends is a good way to start easing back into "being home". Wednesday we motor sailed up the ICW again to a little anchorage we are familiar with behind Ponce Inlet. Again, it did not disappoint. On Thursday. we left Ponce at 0630 to make the restricted bridge in Daytona Beach. Our goal was St. Augustine where we planned to take on fuel before heading out in the ocean for an overnight sail to the Savannah River. We left the St. Augustine inlet at 1600 on Thursday as planned and arrived at the Ossabaw Sound (about 15 mile South of the Savannah River) at 0900 on Friday AM. The sail up was rough with mostly 20+ Kts from the SE and following seas of 5-7 feet. The boat wallows from side to side even with full sail and going 8 Kts. It constantly reminds us of the power of the ocean. Shirley doesn't like midnight watches when there are no stars and no moon to see by. But, to her surprise the clouds lifted and the stars came out during her midnight watch (no moon, but you can't have it all). The ride up to Thunderbolt (where we are docked) took hours as the current and tides are unbelievable. The rivers and creeks have up to 9 foot tides and currents running up to 3 Kts. At one point we were going over the ground at 8 Kts and turned a corner in a creek and then were only making 4.9 Kts over the ground. It reminds us of Maine (where the tides are 18+ feet. Early to bed last night and we slept to almost 0800 this morning. Now to Savannah to e tourists for a few days.

Delray Beach, FL

Arrived in South Florida on Thursday to surprise my dad on his 91st birthday on Friday. We could not obtain a rental car anywhere in South Florida until Friday afternoon!!! Spring Break. Since Marathon, here is what has been happening: We left Marathon in the dark and tried to transit Sister Creek to avoid going West in Boot Key Harbor and then back each around Boot Key. We got through the creek in the dark and were within 25 yards of the last buoy entering Hawk Channel when we ran aground (again!). I could get off but could not punch through to get into Hawk Channel. So, back through Sister Creek into Boot Key Harbor - West - out - East - and we only lost an hour. Little wind from the East, so we motored for a few hours and trolled for fish. I thought I caught a whale after a few hours. Line paying out so fast, my heart beating fast, and thinking what I would do with a fish taking line at this rate. Turned out to be a lobster pot and I lost my lure and 300 yards of line. So mush for fishing. But, the wind freshened out of the SE and we had a wonderful sail to Biscayne Bay and anchored outside of No Mane Harbor. The trip was 14 hours. That night,we had the first real rain since leaving on our trip. It rained and rained and then rained some more. Up early the next morning to calm conditions and occasional showers. We were outside and headed for Lake Worth Inlet. It was so calm that we motored until past Miami. Then, the wind picked up and we started sailing. East winds and a good pace going North. Winds were ESE at 18 Kts. Without warning, the winds clocked to the North with gusts to 30 Kts. It was raining so hard we couldn't see shore a mile away. Sails came down and the ride was crazy. No pattern to the waves - they hit from the North, the south and the East. They grew from 3-4 feet to 6-8 feet. From 1100 to 1700 we did nothing but rock and roll in the rain. It was good to get to Lake Worth. Anchored behind Tiger's boat and went to bed early. We are now in Delray Beach (still raining off and on) and celebrating. My sister Jan and her friend are here. So, it is a mini family reunion. We plan to leave Monday and start heading home with stops in Savannah and maybe Charleston. More late (maybe with pictures).

Beyond Key West

It has been awhile, so this will be a quick update and some pictures. First of all...we are back in Marathon after drinking Key West and snorkeling the Dry Tortugas. The weather has finally come around and we are experiencing E and SE winds (this will change later in the week, but we are thankful for anything out of the South). Warm days with the trade winds always blowing. And, the incredible sunsets!

Monday 3/9/09: The last post. After breakfast, Bucky & Leslie left to return to VA Beach. Chrissy finally got off the cruise ship at 1015 with her friend Kendall and her family. Chrissy promptly announced that their plans were pretty firm for the day...the Duval Crawl (every bar on Duval Street). There were 9 in her party plus Shirley and me. Started with key lime shooters and it was downhill from there. Fortunately, I had an sore throat (thanks for the Keflex Dale) and drank mostly water. At 1600, Chrissy was back on the ship and had promised to wave form the upper decks (Persystence was in the Westin Marina where the cruise ships dock). I called around 1730 and discovered that everybody had gone to their rooms for naps. So much for the wave. Around 1630 our friends Jimmy & Peggy Savin arrived at the Westin to join us for a run to the Dry Tortugas. So, another night on Duval Street.

Tuesday 3/10/09: After a late breakfast at Pepes, we were underway for the Marquesas along with Jack and Alois on Adventurous. The Marquesas are uninhabited and just natural mangrove swamps. Jimmy and I took the dinghy in to explore and determined that there is not much there except a copper boat that Cuban refugees had crossed into the US (they use copper and cover struts to make this trip on 90 miles. I wonder how many never make it? The highlight of the day was seeing the elusive green flash at sundown.

Wednesday 3/11/09: Off to the Dry Tortugas. With the wind behind us, we decided to raise the spinnaker and make it a fast run. What a kick...sailing like it should be - fast and steady. We made great time until it was time to take down the spinnaker. That part took 45 minutes and Jimmy and I were exhausted when it was over. After releasing the tack to de-power the sail, a gust caused it to wrap around the forestay (and jib) at the very top and in the middle. The 'bubble' in between filled with the wind and it was partially powered again without us being able to control it. The waves were 4-5' and Jimmy and I were bouncing around the foredeck. Whenever we tried to grab the sheets to control the sail, the gusts (15-18 Kts) would lift us off the deck like rag dolls. After a battle and different maneuvers, we got it down and pretty much lost the advantage of having it up to begin with except for the fun of sailing. After anchoring off Ft. Jefferson on Garden Key, it was all we could do to get through cocktails on Adventurous and dinner on Persystence.

Thursday 3/12/09: We pretty much hung around Ft. Jefferson. What a structure. The largest brick structure in the Western hemisphere (60 million bricks). We had a private tour (for boaters only) by a Ranger who was so knowledgeable and passionate that even the gals were totally tuned into the history of this place. A relaxing day with good friends, good drink and good food. Oh, and good sunsets.

Friday 3/13/09: We were enjoying the Tortugas enough to stay another day. the highlight was a dinghy ride (Jimmy and me - the girls opted out) to Loggerhead Key (3 miles West of Garden Key). Seas were 3' and the wind was at our back going over. What a beautiful Key with fantastic snorkeling on the West side. Loggerhead Key contains the lighthouse for the Dry Tortugas and, other than a volunteer couple, is deserted. There are a few homes used by the Coast Guard and researchers from time to time. Everything is powered by solar panels (A/C, the light, R/O system, etc). I can't remember a time where I saw so many different fish snorkeling. What a treat. It took twice as long to get back. You probably know the pattern now...cocktails, sunset, dinner, bed.

Sat 3/14/09: Jimmy woke me a 0530 and we left for Key West. A very pleasant day motoring into the wind. We took the 'North' route and were protected from the larger waves by the reefs. Back to the Westin and the Duval Crawl. This time there was a celebration on Duval Street to benefit cancer research. Duval Street was closed to traffic. What a scene. We could not get near Sloppy Joes. We found out on Sunday that Kenny Chesney, Peyton Manning and Dale Earnhart, Jr. were staying on a M/Y Scott Free (also at the Westin Marina). Like Tiger's yacht, we didn't get any invitations for cocktails. And, no we didn't see them. We were in bed by 1930.

Sunday 3/15/09: After breakfast, we said goodbye to the Savins and left Key West at 1100. Anchored in the harbor off the Westin was a 313' motoryacht (the dockmaster told us about it). This bad boy had it all. The tender was a 48' Hinckley. It had a helicopter on a back deck. It had a 40' sailboat on a side deck. We can only imagine what was hidden from view. We sailed back to Bahia Honda to spend the night.

Today: left Bahia Honda this morning for the short run to Marathon where this post is from. Other than checking on email and getting some groceries, we are simply resting to start the trip home. Tentatively, we are planning to spend some time in Savanna and Charleston for fun. Who knows. More later.

Key West

It is Monday and we are waiting for Chrissy to get off the cruise ship. It got here at 0800 but we do not expect to see her until a little later! So, to catch up....where were we? I think the last post was from Marathon.

Tuesday March 3: Still in Marathon. Chip & Linda called to ask if we would like to join them for dinner in Islamorada (about 35 miles away - they had secured a car). We would be joining 2 other couples. When we got to the restaurant, what a surprise. The other couples, Glenn & Jeri on Coral Reef and Terry & Beth on Sea Dog were folks that we had met and spent time with in the Exumas last year. what fun...and what a great seafood buffet

Wednesday March 4: After getting water and fuel we departed from Marathon for a short sail to Bahia Honda Key and the Bahia Honda State Park. Winds (as they have been constantly) were 20-25 Kts with higher gusts. A fast and fun sail, but a somewhat exposed anchorage. We had the anchorage to ourselves until another boat came in late in the afternoon. After "Adventurous' get the anchor down and the anchor snubber set, they had drifted to within about 40 feet of our bow. The captain hollered over that he was going to move. If you have anchored in a windy and exposed anchorage, you know that it is no fun picking up and starting over - particularly with a manual windless!. But, they moved so we would both be safe. Shirley told me I should go over and thank them and I did. We got to talking and discovered that Jack was a University of Richmond Grad two years ahead of me and we have many friends in common. We flipped to see who would host cocktails and Jack won. Jack & Alois indicated that they were also going to Key West so a new friendship has started.

Thursday March 5 thru present: Sailed from Bahia Honda to Key West (winds still pumping out of the NE). Took a mooring ball out of Garrison Bight. As it turns out, the mooring field is so exposed to NE and E winds that it was a bad choice (but it was cheap - $15 per night). We stayed on the ball for 3 nights. Every time we took the dinghy to shore, no issues. But, coming back into the 2-3 foot chop was a wet adventure. Mostly spray from the 25 Kt constant winds. On Friday we hooked up with good friends Wayne & Millie Morris (Irish Fever) for the Duval crawl. George & Kim (from Norfolk) joined us later. Wayne & Millie are living on their boat in Key West and George & Kim are visiting on their boat and may decide to stay. Shirley and I were back on the boat by 1800 because our friends Bucky and Leslie were coming down for a brief visit. Their flight got them into Ft. Lauderdale at 2030 and Bucky thought he could get to Key West by 0030 Sat morning. I had planned to take the dinghy in to get them. I warned him that it would be a wet ride back out to the boat. After landing they called and said they would get a room somewhere and see us Sat morning. What a good decision. On Sat we met Bucky & Leslie on shore and spent the day doing Key West stuff along with Wayne & Millie. Late in the afternoon, the 4 of us with their luggage got in the dinghy to go to the boat. The dinghy was way overloaded and as we cleared the bridge from Key West to Fleming Key we started getting hit by the waves. In hindsight, I made some bad decisions like taking too much weight in rough conditions and letting too much weight sit in the bow. It was a ride to remember. The waves were breaking over the bow and filling the dinghy with water. A lot of water! So much water that the transom was at water level. I had Shirley drive while I bailed. It was impossible to keep up with water coming over the bow. We headed for the first boat in the mooring field in order to have an escape plan. I left the engine running (the gas tank was under water) so it wouldn't cut out on me and we bailed. Another dinghy saw our situation and came over to help bail. Once the water level went down we made it to our boat wet, cold and determined that we would eat steaks on the boat and not go back in to town. Bucky's luggage was soaked - his electric razor shot - but the cell phone survived. Persystence looked like a Chinese laundry with all the clothes hung out.

Sunday - March 8: We left the mooring field to tie up at the Westin Marina (close to the docks where the cruise ships tie up). The first few hours were doing laundry and cleaning up. We had cocktails on Persystence with Bucky & Leslie, Wayne & Millie, George & Kim and Jack & Alois. Then dinner at a great Greek place where some friends of Bucky joined us. Then, to bed.

Monday (today): Bucky and Leslie left at 0800 to get to Lauderdale for their flight. And, we are waiting for Chrissy to get off the ship to spend some time with her. Jimmy & Peggy Savin are on their way to join us later in the day. We plan to sail to the Dry Tortugas for some snorkeling. More later. We have pictures to upload but the PC in the Westin Business Center won't allow me to do it. I'll figure it out later.

Marathon - Monday AM

We see that it is cold and maybe snowing at home. Bummer. However, the front that came through yesterday brought 25-30 Kts of NW wind and it got chilly. Today it is only going to get to the mid-60s. With the wind blowing we feel like we are home! Chip & Linda had invited us to a fish fry last night and we decided not to go about 1600 due to the cold and wind. We watched other cruisers taking their dogs in for relief and none of them looked happy.

Marathon (still)

Another beautiful, warm day with less wind. But (there is always a 'but'), a front is expected this afternoon with winds getting back to 25 Kts and gusty from the NW. Oh well, it might dip down into the low 70s. We got on a mooring ball Friday about noon. We had the folks from home over for cocktails Friday evening and dinner out. We actually stayed up past 2200 (10:00 PM for you land lovers) for the first time since leaving (not counting the ocean sailing 24/7 when time didn't seem to matter). Saturday was another wonderful day. We make the trek to shore to run errands and explore some of Marathon. In the early afternoon we happened across a restaurant named the Stuffed Pig. They were celebrating either their 25th or their 50th anniversary and as part of the celebration, they had pig races. I know what some of you are thinking, but these were real pigs! What a hoot. A few colds ones watching the pigs run around a track in the hot sun pretty much tired us out. So, back to the boat for some wine and a fabulous dinner (pork tenderloin with hoison sauce, grilled fresh pineapple, fresh green beans and fresh strawberries. Asleep at 2000 (Bob in the salon) and to bed by 2130. Oh, and another spectacular sunset. We will probably head toward Key West on Tuesday - or Maybe Wednesday - or not.