North Miami, FL

We arrived in Miamia this afternoon after battling the Gulf Stream all night. Apparantly, it comes closer to shore than the charts indicate. So after truding along we decided to head into the Ft. Lauderdale inlet and trek down the ICW again. However, we had many bascule bridges to condend with so it was a slow go. We did make it to an anchorage north of the Goverment Cut into Miami. We will probably be able to see the New Year's Eve fireworks from here without all the craziness of the downtown anchorge. It is really beautiful in here and we hope to do some exploring in the morning. We may not even make it to midnight though since our overnighter last night took it's toll on us. We did have an awesome steak for dinner and we even treated ourselves to our favorite wine, Il Ducale Ruffino. Pictures and more to come later. Happy New Year to all!

Visiting Vero

After leaving our anchorage yesterday (just 4 or so north of Vero), we headed into Vero Beach Municipal Marina to fuel up before heading to Miami. Since the day was beautiful and the place looked pretty good, we decided to take a mooring for the night (at a whopping $10.66 +tx). It is expected that boats will be rafted here, but we were assigned a free mooring. We took the free bus right from the marina to the shopping center a couple of miles away. After walking around a couple of hours (and sweating our butts off!) we headed back to the bus. When we realized the bus would also take us to beach, we stayed on and headed to the ocean. It was awesome and we could've hung out there all day. However, by the time we got there it was already after 1500. We checked out the waterfront and stopped in Mulligans for a drink overlooking the ocean. It is just beautiful here! (Be sure to see our comical pictures from beach!)

We arrived back at the boat just in time to see a sailboat heading over to raft up to us on the mooring. We hurred back to help them and everything went smoothly. The couple from Seattle on Spirit, Lane and Marilyn took a tour of our boat and then invited us over to their boat where we were offered a glass of wine. A couple hours later (cruiser's midnight to be exact, we headed back to our boat). We hadn't realized that it was so late and we hadn't even had dinner (except for an assortment of delicious nuts). Michele went to bed anyway, because she didn't really mind skipping a meal after eating so much over the holidays. Steve opened a can of chili before retiring.

This morning, we took our time securing the boat and shoving off. We plan to head out at Fort Pierce Inlet to sail overnight to Miami. So hopefully we will be in Miami by tomorrow afternoon. We will update our position if we get a connection. We should be close enough to shore because we don't want to run into the gulf stream which is only 17 miles offshore. That would make heading south just a little more difficult in the northern gulf stream current!

Pictures at: http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=102133856

email Michele if you need permission to view photos mpapile@papile.net .

Vero Beach, FL

We left Titusville yesterday afternoon and travelled approximately 20 miles along the ICW to a little south of Cocoa Beach. When we first left the marina, we were followed by a couple of very aggressive birds. After a while there was a whole flock of them. I thought they were going to fly right into the cockpit, but they were dive bombing into the water just behind the boat. It was a little creepy. We must have been stirring up something good (or maybe they just liked the smell because we just pumped out at the marina before we left). We had to slow down to wait for a bascule bridge to open and then he birds lost interest and left us.

It was a short, easy day since we didn't even leave the marina until almost noon (after Steve readyed the boat and I photographed the manatee). We were both tired and just wanted to head out of Titusville and get more south (we're obsessed). We wanted to hop outside but it didn't make any sense because with 15 to 20 knt. south winds right on the nose we wouldn't be able to sail anyway. Plus the seas were going to be 3 - 6 feet depending on how far offshore we went, and there no sense enduring that when we don't have to. Today, was pretty much the same except the south winds were a little lighter. We may go into Vero Beach tomorrow or we may just keep going. At some point we may hop out of the ICW and do a quick jump to Miami, if the winds and seas are favorable. Otherwise, we will be taking our sweet time. The weather is awesome now (yeah), and that is one of the reasons we're doing this trip.

After leaving our anchorage this morning around 0800 today, we travelled about 46 miles along a very scenic part of the ICW. We saw lots of dolphins and Steve even saw a manatee or two (again, I cannot confirm the manatee sightings :). I do have pictures of the dolphins though.

Aren't you glad we're back at the helm? It's good to be on the move again. Thanks for following along with us.

Pictures at: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=249622487/a=102133856_102133856/t_=102133856

(if you want to see pictures but can't please email Michele at mpapile@papile.net .

Back at the Boat

We arrived back at the Titusville Municipal Marina yesterday afternoon. Beth and Caroline accompanied us back to the boat, and Beth was very reluctant to leave. We had an awesome week at the Miller household. Of course, Christmas with 4 kids was very over stimulating, but we had a blast. There certainly was never a dull moment.
See pictures at: (http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=249610193/a=102133856_102133856/t_=102133856) NOTE: If you don't have permission to see the pictures and would like to, please let me know and I will add your email address to the album mpapile@papile.net .

Christmas eve we went to dinner at Tom's brother's house. Tammy made an excellent soup, salad and stuffed shells. We brought eggplant and chicken parmigiana. It was a great night, but the kids were already exhausted before they even went to bed. Nathan and Ginny came into Ashley's room (where I was sleeping) at 4:00 a.m. to tell her that Santa had come. I shooed them out since their mom said they couldn't open anything until 6:00 a.m. anyway. It was a present frenzy after that! We had an excellent brunch and Michele and Steve made a turkey dinner while the Miller's went to Gram and Pa's house for more presents and dinner. At 7:00 p.m. we had a most excellent turkey dinner (which Michele and Steve insisted upon since we couldn't cook a turkey on the boat). So Beth and Tom had two Christmas dinners (sounds like our day on Thanksgiving).

Steve and I splurged and bought ourselves dive equipment for Christmas. So now we have everything except our own tanks, which we hope to pick up used along the way to the Keys.

So today we are finishing readying the boat for our departure south. We were going to hop outside of the ICW and head straight to Miami, but the winds will be right on the nose as they are coming from the SE until Monday. With opposing winds and seas 3 to 4 close to shore and 5 to 6 20 knots out, we decided to do the ICW for at least another day. More to come later. Gotta go, we're shipping out.

Titusville, FL

We arrived in Titusville at approximately 1530 on Monday. Again lots of beautiful scenery and dophin appearances. We had dinner with Dennis and Trudy on their boat. Trudy did an excellent Mexican cuisine with enchiladas and tostitoes with homemade salsa and guocamole and refried beans. Everything was delicious. We didn't get back to our boat until almost 2300 which was well past cruisers midnight. Those Groom's are a bad influence on us (like we need anyone to twist our arms). Yesterday we explored Titusville and walked a couple of miles to the Publix grocery store. We opted to take a bus back which proved to be quite interesting and LONG. We took the scenic route. Between the wait for the bus and the actual ride we could have walked back to the Marina, dinghyed out to our boat, put the groceries away and had lunch. But it was fun!

Steve and I decided to get a slip at the Marina for a week and go to the Miller's house (Michele's sister) for Christmas. Beth and the kids will come to the boat on Friday afternoon and sleep over. We'll tour the Kennedy Space Station at Cape Canaveral on Saturday and then head back to Lutz (just north of Tampa) to spend the holidays. And we don't even have to rent a car :). Since the weather has finally warmed up (yesterday 80 degrees), we decided it's okay to stay here for a few days. Titusville is also the shortest distance to Tampa, so it's a great place to hook up the with family and spend Christmas.

After showering at the Marina we saw a manatee just floating around the docks (I imagine it was asleep). There were also tons of fish swimming around and a dolphin even came in for visit. I'm so surprised that they come right into the marina and just hang around between the boats in slips.

Today we are just hanging out at an Internet Cafe. Trudy and Dennis have friends they are meeting in town today and then heading out tomorrow. We will be sad to part company with them, but we're hopeful to run into them in the Bahamas.

In case I don't write for a few days, hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Happy Birthday Joseph

Heading to Titusville, FL

This morning we left Daytona Beach and we are heading to Titusville which is approximately 10 miles north of Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. We spent the day ashore yesterday checking out Daytona. It was beautiful, but like a ghost town. Not much was open along the main strip. When we strayed a little off the beat and path, we found some not-so-nice areas. Luckily there were 4 of us. After walking around most of the day, we settled down at Carribean Jack's for happy hour cocktails. At around 4 we headed back to our boat and Dennis and Trudy went to their boat. Michele made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner and then off to bed around 9:30.

Of course, Dennis was up at the crack of dawn (he used to have a farm) and left the anchorage before us. We headed out around 7:50 to catch an 8:15 bridge opening. At that point we caught up to and passed Rapscallion II. There is quite the parade of boats going down the ICW together today. We've had at least 30 dolphin sightings. Of course, it's very difficult to time the picture when they come up for air. But they have been swimming all around the boat today. We also had a our first flamingo sighting, but we're still waiting to see an alligator and a manatee (although Steve says he saw one the day before yesterday, but I can not confirm that!)

We are now below latitude 29 and the cabin temperature is 74 degrees. The sun just started to make an appearance this afternoon and it is pretty warm, YEAH! I haven't worn shorts yet, but Steve has. I'm glad I hung in there, and we're finally getting the weather we came for.

Daytona Beach, FL

We did a ton of miles today and made it all the way to Daytona Beach. It's a tad warner here. When we arrived it was after sunset, but we had a little light left to anchor. We picked the first anchorage we came to in our Skipper Bob's book. We ran aground when we first came in (becoming the story of our lives), but we were able to shove off and find enough water to anchor. Shortly after we anchored, a holiday flotilla passed right by our anchorage. You can check out the pictures within the next couple of days when I post them. This was the latest (1730 - 5:30) we arrived at an anchorage and Steve was a nervous wreck. We did attempt to anchor earlier, but there really wasn't anywhere that had enough water. We tried anchoring where we saw another couple of boats a few of miles north of here, and ended up going aground. So we pressed on, and here we are in Daytona. We saw lots of dolphins today and Steve even had a manatee sighting. I missed it though. The houses along this stretch were amazing too.

After anchoring we noticed another sailboat enter the anchorage (after dark) and Michele thought that it was Rapscallion, but didn't follow up because the flotilla started coming through. After the flotilla went through, sure enough Rapscallion haled us on the radio. They had arrived in Daytona an hour or so before us and anchored a little south of us. After checking our facebook page, they realized where we anchored. Their anchorage wasn't that great, so they decided to join us.

We have also talked to Ray from Rigamarole. Their boat is docked in a couple of miles south of us and their house is 20 miles inland from here. We may try to hook up with Ray and Helen tomorrow evening. They offered to let us stay at their house for the night, but unless we get a slip, we really don't want to leave the boat anchored overnight without us on it. But we may still meet them for dinner.

I also talked to my sister who lives in Lutz (a few miles north of Tampa). We will definitely hook up with her and her family at some point during the holiday season. Things are going really well at this point (knock on wood). The weather is a little warmer and we are putting miles behind us.

Trudy and Dennis and Steve and I are going ashore tomorrow to check out Daytona. We'll probably see Ray and Helen at some point, maybe for dinner. Beth is having her ornament party tomorrow, so I won't see her until next week after the kids get out of school for vacation. The holiday season is upon us :-).

St. Augustine, FL (almost)

We left Fernandino Beach this morning around 0830. It was only 47 degrees when we shoved off, but with the wind chill, it was more like 40 - but at least the sun made an appearance in the afternoon. We motored down the ICW sometimes with the current at 7.5 knots and sometimes fighting the current at 2.8 knots. There were a couple of "hairy" areas where the current was so strong - especially going under the McCormick Bridge with the current against us, the boat was fishtailing and a huge powerboat coming through the bridge heading northbound also fishtailing in the current - both trying to squeeze through a very narrow channel under the bridge. But the captain kept the boat under control and we made it through safely - and with only 5 minutes left in the day for the bridge to allow traffic through it! Because of construction the bridge is only open for boat traffic between 1200 and 1300, Monday through Friday.

The scenery through this part of the ICW is spectacular. The large marshy area abuts untouched forest area and it is a wildlife sanctuary. The houses that did line the shores were amazing.

We caught up to our friends on Rapscallion (who left Ferandino Beach yesterday and then came back because the tide was too low for their 7 foot draft causing a couple of groundings, and then left this morning about an hour ahead of us.) Just before St. Augustine's we decided to anchor in a cute little cove. Although we'd love to stop and see St. A's, we really just want to get to warmer weather - which at this point we are doubting even exists!

Fernandina Beach, FL

Yeah, Florida finally! We left South Carolina on Monday morning and headed out to sea for an overnight passage to Florida. The winds were blowing 10 to 20 knots off and on for most of the day and night. The seas ranged from 2 to 4 ft. then increased to 6 to 8 ft. which wasn't too bad when they were following, but when they cut across the beam the rolling got a little nauseating for Ms. Michele. It was pretty cool though, that when we left Parris Island (where Steve became a Marine many years ago) and started heading out, our friends from Rapscallion II passed us on their way in to Hilton Head after doing an overnighter from Charleston. When they saw us and learned that we were headig to Florida, they turned around and came along for the ride. So it was nice to be travelling with another boat in sight and radio contact. Also pretty cool is the marine life that we've been seeing. Dolphins still seem to excite Michele every time she sees them. The birds that we're seeing are also awesome. Pelicans have been plentiful since Virginia. They look like left over animals from the Jurassic era. They like to fly right up to the boat and then veer off at the last second. We're still hoping to see a whale though preferably during the day!

We arrived at the St. Mary's inlet around 0700. With the current against us and the seas chopping all over the place, the ride into Fernandina Beach was extremely uncomfortable and seemed to last forever. To make matters worse the anchorage boasts two huge paper mills with a lovely view and odor. We were tempted to keep going, but Michele had enough of traveling for one day (and night). We ended up taking a mooring for only $15 which allowed us access to the dinghy dock, laundry and showers, and trash disposal. Additionally, the tide here is 7 feet and the current is strong, so Steve didn't want the worry of anchoring. Although, we arrived here fairly early in the morning, we were too exhausted to go ashore. So we thought after a nap, we would head into town. That never happened though.

On Wednesday, we were pretty well rested and able to deal with setting up the dinghy to go ashore. We stopped by Rapscallion to visit with Dennis and Trudy and invited them over for dinner. After putting in laundry and showering, we started exploring the area. The historic downtown area of Fernandina Beach was a pleasant surprise. The town is very quaint with many little shops and restaurants. We ate lunch at very popular little restaurant called the Marina (which wasn't really at the Marina, but just up the street from it). The food was good and the service was incredible. Every couple of minutes someone came over to our table to see if we needed anything. After lunch we decided to head to the grocery store which supposedly was 3 or 4 miles away. We started walking with the intent of calling a taxi if it was getting to be too far. Well, turns out the Winn Dixie and Walmart were only 2 miles away. It was nice walking since we had been on the boat since last Friday when we left Charleston. The weather was partly sunny and close to 70 degrees. When we got there, we met another couple who were cruisers and shared the cab ride back to the Marina.

After picking up the laundry and loading up the dinghy with all our provisions, we barely had room for ourselves. It was 1600 when we got back to the boat, so we set about stowing all the groceries and preparing dinner for our guests. Michele made an artichoke dip and Trudy brought her awesome collection of cheeses, crackers and olives. We had a big salad and chicken parmigiana with linguine. We ran out of time to prepare a homemade dessert, so we just had an assortment of chocolate and cookies. And of course, we had plenty of wine. We love hanging out with Dennis and Trudy and hope we'll be seeing them again along the way.

Today we are hanging tight as a severe weather system moves through the area. There is a tornado warning in effect until later this afternoon. The winds are gusting around 30 to 40 knots and it just started raining. The skies are very ominous right now, but we have everything secured pretty well. If it does clear up later, we might go down river 10 or 15 miles to get closer to the McCormick bridge near Jacksonville which only opens between 12 and 1 pm. due to demolition of the old bascule bridge which was replaced with a high rise bridge. If we don't head out today, we will certainly be moving tomorrow if the weather calms down. There is a cold front moving through, but at least we're not freezing anymore.

Florida Bound

We are leaving from Parris Island this morning and heading out of the ICW to sail outside of the rest of S. Carolina and Georgia. We plan to sail through the night and arrive in Florida sometime tomorrow afternoon - probably around Fernandina Beach. We will update if/when we have Internet.

Leaving Charleston, SC today

We are currently at the fuel dock of the Charleston City Marina topping off the fuel and water tanks before heading back into the ICW for a 30 mile jaunt towards Beaufort, SC. We anticipate staying at anchor one night and then (weather permitting) hopping out of the ICW and doing an overnight trip to get to Ferdinando Beach, Florida.

Our stay in Charleston was great. We went ashore on the first day here and did laundry and food shopping. We also had lunch at a famous local restaurant, Jestine's and walked around Market Street with all the shops. That night we went to Dennis and Trudy's boat for drinks and they insisted we stay another day to come over for dinner the next evening - which we did. Friday morning it was rainy anyway, so it was good that we stayed. They put an awesome feast of stuffed cornish hen, baked potatoes and asparagas with little shrimp cups for an appetizer. Everything was very delicious and we always have a great time hanging out with them. They are the first cruising couple that we've met on this trip way back in Oyster Bay, NY and it's always really nice when we see them again. They are staying another day in Charleston, but hopefully we'll hook up with them again in Florida or Bahamas.

We'll update our location later today and keep everyone posted on our float plans.

Charleston, SC

We made it!!! After a miserable, cold and wet morning yesterday, the day gave way to sunny skies. However, the temperature stayed in the high 40's. The course we needed to take once we left Cape Fear was more southwest than just south. Of course, the wind decided to stay southwest as well. It was predicted to come from the West and then NW. Well, that never happened. So for a few hours we had to sail due south and away from our rump line and the shore. Michele was not one bit happy! I know it makes us go faster and in the long run probably quicker if we head in a direction off the wind. However, Michele was having none of that! She couldn't see the shore, and didn't like it one bit. Plus, we were beating into 3 to 4 foot seas which slowed us down quite a bit and made the ride very bumpy. So, it sure didn't seem like going away from our rump line was going to get us anywhere quicker. After a while of seeing how miserable Michele was, Steve started the engine and we motor-sailed closer to our rump line. After putting on a few more layers of clothes and having a bite to eat, Michele calmed down and was able to do the first watch starting at 1630 until midnight. Steve took over after that, and stayd up until 0600. It was a long nght, but we finally arrived in Charleston, SC by 10:00 a.m.

After hot showers and a nice sunny day, we are feeling pretty darn good. We're going ashore this afternoon, since we haven't been off the boat since last Friday! We're also hooking up with our friends from Rapscallion II later on. We plan to stay in Charleston for a couple of days before heading out to Beaufort, SC on Friday. That's all for now.

Leaving North Carolina

We broke anchor this morning around 0650 heading south down the ICW to the Cape Fear River and then heading outside the ICW right to Charleston, South Carolina. This trip will take a little over 24 hours so we anticipate traveling through the night. Charleston will be a welcome sight and hopefully we can go ashore when we arrive as we have not been off the boat since we left Jarrett Bay on Friday morning. We were not able to go ashore at Wrightsville as it was raining and cold on Sunday. Monday brought gale force winds, so of course we didn't leave the boat. Today it is freezing cold (well 50 degrees but feels colder) and a little rainy so we'll see how we do. We will update as long as we have Internet. Wish us warm thoughts and safe passage.

Wrightsville Beach, NC

We left Jarrett Bay on Friday morning and made it to camp LeJeune without any problems. The dripless shaft seal was dripping a little at 2200 RMPs so Steve fixed it last night, and now it's fine. Today we left early to make it to Wrightsville Beach before a parade and fireworks. I'm not sure that they'll be doing that with such lousey weather though. Now Steve is on deck in the rain arguing with power boaters to get off of our chain. There is one power boater, Smooth, from Wilmington, NC who is just a complete SOB and anchored right over our chain. So we're hoping that this anchorage doesn't turn out too badly.

It was raining and cold most of the day today. The only fun part of the trip here was seeing dolphins everywhere. They were swimming so close to the boat that they startled Michele when they came up for air right besider her. We had to wait for three different bridge openings which wouldn't have been that bad except two of the bridges only opened once an hour on the hour. The other bridge at least opened twice an hour on the hour and the half hour. We seemed to arrive at a bridge just after the previous opening and had to wait. The current was always going the wrong way too. When we wanted to go slower the current was pushing us faster and when we wanted to go faster the current was against us. So that was a little frustrating. At least the scenery along the way pretty too. The houses along this leg of the Intracoastal Waterway are amazing.

Anyway, this should be our last stop in NC. Thank goodness we will be leaving this state soon. It was fun but.... We will probably hang here tomorrow since the forecast is promising more rain. We will post again when we plan to depart and upload some pictures from Jarrett Bay and Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

John Ray is finally back in the water as of yesterday afternoon. We are staying at the dock in Jarrett Bay Boat yard and getting ready to depart first thing tomorrow morning. Our plan is to stay in the ICW until Wrightsville Beach (with a stop for the night in Camp LeJeune). After that we will hop out and do an overnighter to Charleston, SC. From there we will continue on to Florida and hopefully warmer weather. This morning there was a frost on the canvas and docks, but the day has turned out beautiful. We went for a long walk this morning and passed by cows and chickens and a very noisey rooster.

Steve and I will be having our own private Thanksgiving dinner on board with a roasted chicken (turkey doesn't fit in our oven and we even got offered a free one) with stuffing, roasted potatoes, carrots and onions, and mashed potatoes too. We'll also be having string beans, cranberry sauce, corn bread, and dinner rolls. Later tonight we head over to the Back Street Pub to pick at some more food and hopefully find some pie. We're looking forward to a fun time. But, we are really, really looking forward to getting back under way with a nice smooth ride and all our new shiney parts working wonderfully - and yes Carl, we even put on a new zinc. We're good to go.

So have a happy day all! Enjoy the 4 days off!

Quick Update

The boat is being worked on. The shaft is going in as we speak (well, as I write)! (old and new shafts and new prop)

We decided to stay in Beaufort for Thanksgiving and join the festivities at the Back Street Pub. Everyone here knows about it and says it's a great time.

Michele is having elevenes :-)

More to come later.

Boat Yard Blues

We've been here for a week now. Since I last wrote, we have done quite a bit. On Friday night we met Janet and Tom, friends of Pat's. They picked us up and we went out to dinner at El Zarape in Beaufort. We had an excellent time, especially Michele who had a 16 oz. Margaritta :).

On Saturday, we decided to go for a walk. It was a beautiful, sunny day - chilly at first, but warmed up nicely. As we started walking, we thought we would try to walk all the way to Beaufort. We thought we were only about 5 miles away from the waterfront, but it turned out to be more like 7 miles. After about 4 miles into the walk, a woman pulled over and asked if we'd like a ride. We graciously accepted it. Thank goodness, because just after we got into the car, we saw the sign that said Beaufort 3. We spent the day at the waterfront walking around shops, going to a flea market and checking out the Maritime Museum. It was a good take and we couldn't beat the price - free! As we were coming out of the museum we bumped into a couple of friends that we met in Annapolis at one of Leighia's parties, Ans and Gerjan. It was great to see them, and also nice to know that we're not the last ones to get south. After a long day in Beaufort, we took a taxi home.

On Sunday morning (yesterday), Michele met Erika who lives aboard Moonshadow here at Jarrett's. Later in the day, we met her boyfriend Ryan and invited them over for dinner and drinks. Great kids... I say kids because they're in their mid 20's. Erika is getting her Master's degree at North Carolina State in Marine Biology and Ryan works at the Atlantic Beach Sheritan where we stayed last February when we drove down here. Ryan is from NC and Erika is from CT. They are really nice and quite interesting. We are impressed with their lifestyle aboard. They plan to head south to the Keys when Erika finishes her master's degree.

Today, we were hoping the boat would be worked on, but there was no action there (at least not that we could see). The prop shaft is still being fabricated at the machine shop. Hopefully, tomorrow they will start the work. At this point we don't really mind. It wouldn't be terrible to be here for Thanksgiving. We learned about the Back Street Pub's big Thanksgiving potluck dinner. The Pub a big hangout for cruisers, so it will probably be pretty fun. Ryan and Erika are planning to attend (along with another couple we met today at Food Lion that we've seen before). We were able to go to Food Lion and do laundry today because Ryan let us use his car since he didn't have to be at work until 2:30. Things always have a way of working out.

Another big achievement today was running new wiring to the new shower sump. After installing the new pump a few days ago, the sump still didn't want to work. As it turns out the old wiring was not tinned which probably made it deteriorate. As we worked, the boat was trashed because we had to pull everything apart and twist and turn into small spaces to run the wire. So thankfully that project is finished. Sometimes it's nice to be at idle. It gives us a chance to work on projects that otherwise would be more difficult under way. We also had groceries to put away. The bed was also stripped to clean and dry out. We also pulled off all the ship shades to wash and bleach. We put in full 8 hour day today, if you can believe that!!

So for now, we are comfortable and happy. We have electricty and hot showers, and we seem to get transportation when we really need it. And we still have each other . . . what else could you ask for? Nuthin. That's it for now blog fans.

Beaufort, NC

It looks like we're here through the weekend! Jarrett's took off the prop and the stern tube to replace the cutless bearing. Yes, now I know what these things are, how exciting! Steve bought a new prop and decided to also replace the prop shaft. We will have a whole new drive train by the end of this stay. We're hoping the prop shaft will come out without taking lifting the boat to take the rudder off. So that's where we stand now. (stern tube coming off the prop shaft [cutless bearing inside the stern tube] in case you were wondering.)

The staff at Jarrett's has been extremely nice to us. On Tuesday a staff member let us take his truck to buy groceries. Tuesday was also that crazy weather day when it was sleeting, snowing, raining and then sunny and windy and freezing and then snowing and then raining, then sunny, etc. Michele's mood was also chaning as much as the weather that day tool. So, yesterday the office brought us a little electric heater so we didn't have to use all our propane to heat the cabin. It got down into the 20's last night too, so it was great to have heat. Another staff member let us borrow his car today so that we could go on a field trip to Morehead City. We went to Walmart bought our own heater and a few other supplies we needed. It is very maddening that we left our little electric heater at home. Who knew we'd be in cold weather this late into the season or that we'd be plugged in long enough to use one. We also refilled one of the empty propane tanks from turning on the oven so much for heat And of course, there's always the trip to West Marine.

Tomorrow, we are planning to go to dinner with friends of Pat's who used to be cruisers, but now are land locked in Beaufort. They are also inviting another sailboat couple that are docked in Beaufort. We're going out for Mexican food. Yeah Margaritas!

And so the saga continues. But it's all good. This work on the boat is something Steve planned to do anyway. It would have been nicer to do it all in Florida, but we'll get there soon enough! What else are we doing???? Nuthin' So what day is it today? (I never know what day it is, it's terrible :>.

Stay tuned....

Happy Birthday




Domenic - Today !









Ashley - Nov. 6th









Nathan - Nov. 13th







Tom - Nov. 29 th








Chuey - Nov. (some day this month)

It's SNOWING in NC, UGH!!!

Yes, that is correct. Not only is it snowing, but it is coming down horizontally! The winds are supposed to kick up even more tonight - gale force warnings.

If you checked out our position, no, I didn't put in the wrong coordinates. We are on the hard at Jarrett's Bay Boat Yard, just north of Beauford, NC. The boat was hauled out this morning to do some repairs on the drive train. Not sure how long we'll be here, but one thing for sure is that we should have brought our electric heater. We will definitely have to purchase one! More updates will follow. North Carolina is becoming a difficult state for us to get through.

This is John Ray after a being hauled and having a bath :-). She was very dirty coming down the ICW.

Hoping to Leave Monday

The new parts are installed, but we may still have some engine vibration. The boat will probably need to be hauled out to install a new cutlass bearning, but we are still planning to leave Belhaven on Monday. We hope to go towards Beauford, Morehead City, NC and haul out at Jared Bay Boat Yard to have more work done. Belhaven was a nice stop, but it's definitely time to move on. Tomorrow we will fill the tanks and the fridge and get ready to leave at first light on Monday. We might need to anchor near Oriental for night before moving onto Beauford. We should have a good weather window by then too. So we're keeping our fingers crossed and looking forward to moving on.

Parts are Here! :-)

Finally, all the right parts are here! We actually had them all the other day, but one of the couplings was incorrect. J.W. is working on the boat as we speak! I'm not sure if it'll be fixed tonight or tomorrow. Once the parts are installed, we still have to align the shaft and engine. There's also some weather to contend with. Either way, we probably won't leave until Sunday.

JW working

The new part








If you've seen the pictures I posted of Belhaven, the town does look a little deserted. The pictures were actually taken on the weekend when there really wasn't anyone around. Many of the stores were shut down too. When we went to the Farm Boy Restaurant, we found tons of people. I think the whole town was having lunch there on Saturday. During the week, the place is more active. Steve and I went to Fish Hooks twice for their lunch buffet. It was pretty crowded both times we went. And the food was great. If I don't leave here soon, I'm going to turn into a piece of southern fried chicken with corn bread for eyes.

For the past two days, the weather has been lousy. The marina is completely full tonight! The restaurant at the Inn is open every night and many people from their boats hang out there too. We know all the staff here now and we are always chatting with them too. We're actually starting to like it here. I hope we still remember how to sail when we finally leave!

More to come on our departure soon .... I hope! Au Revoir.

P.S. Happy Birthday Carl!

Waiting for Parts in Belhaven

Today makes a week that we've been at the River Forest Marina. If you count the days we were anchored out in the Pantego Creek, we've been here for a week and a half. (At least the hook was free though.) We're waiting for the UPS delivery for today to see if the parts we need will arrive today. Then we'll still have to see if the engine can be aligned without hauling the boat. So there really isn't anything to report on that end.

On the positive side, we've had hot showers every day. Michele has gone out running three days this week so far, and we've also gone for long walks every day. Yesterday we even went on a field trip to Washington, NC. The dockmaster let us borrow his truck to go to West Marine (30 miles away) to look for a part for the shower sump. We were unsuccesful on that end, but did get some other errands done at CVS and Walmart. On the way back we even drove thourgh Historic Bath, NC. It's pretty cool driving by all the farms and creeks, passing huge cotton fields (some that haven't been harvested yet either), horses, sheeps and goats! It was extremely nice to get out of Belhaven for the day because there really isn't much to do here. Although, Belhaven is beautiful, it is a very sleepy town. There aren't any shops or too many restaurants. We did get some pretty cheap grub at the Farm Boy Restaurant the other day though.



We also ran into some friends that we met in Cape May and then say again in Solomons. Dave and Linda from Chimo II came into Belhaven on Monday and left early this morning. It was nice to know that everyone wasn't more than south than we were! They came over for drinks Monday night, but didn't stay for dinner because they planned to go to the Manor Restaurant. Since we had just eaten there on Sunday for their smorgasborg buffet, we declined the offer to join them. Besides, Michele made fresh pesto from our basil plant (the way it was done in Italy before food processors were invented). see -------------->


So, here we sit in Belhaven, me on my rocking chair at the Inn looking out over the water and watching all the other boats come and go and typing this blog. If we have any more updates, we will certainly keep ya'll posted!

River Forest Marina, Belhaven, NC

Our next stop was going to be Oriental, NC which is a good 50 miles from here. However, we didn't want to leave today because the winds were still gale force. Yesterday they were actually blowing steady around 20-25 knots with gusts in the 30's and this morning they were still pretty strong. Steve wanted to stay at anchor and go ashore via the dinghy. However, Michele wanted to go to the marina up the way and fill up the water tank, do laundry, and go grocery shopping before our long haul to Oriental. Long story short, Michele won :), much to Steve's chagrin. He had every right to be unhappy about the decision because it was going to be very difficult trying to get into a slip with the winds kicking up so much. But off to the marina we went - and so far on this trip going into marinas has been a problem every time. This time proved to be no exception.

Problem #1. Michele was at the helm and while rubber necking another boat that we knew, she realized that she was out of the channel and that the depth sounder was flashing 3.5 feet. We touched bottom and got stuck until Steve took the helm and rescued us! Steve kept his cool and said hopefully that will be it for this attempt. Michele was getting a sickening feeling in her stomache.

Problem #2. When we got to the marina they told us to pull into a slip after they already promised that we could pull up and dock parallel to the dock. John Ray doesn't maneuver too well in general, never mind when the wind is blowing us away from the slip at 20 knots. And when we go to back up, the stern always pulls to starboard, which brought us very close to a piling, a break wall, and very, very shallow water. Again, we touched bottom. That was attempt one. Attempt two, was even worse. We had to go back into the very narrow channel and turn around to approach again. All the while, the wind was puching the boat in the opposite direction from where we needed to go. The second time didn't work either and on the way out to turn around again, we almost got blown into a piling. Michele pushed us off in enough time to just clip the outboard, but not to destroy the davits and rip the dinghy off.

Problem #3. Since we were at a slip and he had the chance, Steve decided to check the drive shaft because the engine has been vibrating at different RPM's. After checking it out, he decided to have the Yanmar mechanic look at it because we don't have the right equipment to work on it ourselves. Long story short, we have drive train problems and may be here for at least a week. We're hoping the work can be done with the boat in the water and not have to haul it out. The wind finally died down and we are safe and sound at a marina where we will be until at least next Tuesday. (Darn, I get to take long, hot showers as often as I want.) In actuality, it is a very good thing we stopped here! Steve knew we were having problems that needed to be resolved, but was hoping to get a little more south to deal with them. I guess Belhaven, NC isn't so bad. We're glad that we have the chance to fix the problem before it got too bad and possibly left us stranded somewhere waiting for a tow. I guess things happen for a reason.

The River Forest Marina where we will be holed up for a few days is actually quite nice. There is an Inn, restaurant, laundry and showers on the premises. The town is only a short walk away. The Food Lion is little further, but the marina has electric golf carts that you can take to the store. What a trip that was. We ended up hooking up with another couple and driving the golf cart to the Food Lion. The first part of the trip wasn't too bad, but then we had to turn onto a pretty busy street where the Food Lion was about a 3/4 of a mile up. That doesn't seem like much, but this cart only goes about 4 miles an hour and there wasn't much of a shoulder for us to ride on. The fact that the cart's brakes didn't seem to work too good didn't help much either. It felt like the Flintstones mobile when we had to come to a stop as we had to stick our feet out to use as brakes. Pretty interesting experience. Anyway, all is well. Hopefully, this little stop won't cost too much! We'll keep you posted!

Belhaven, NC

Not much to report. We arrived in Belhaven on Monday, and we are anchored in Pantego Creek. We haven't been off the boat since we got here because the weather is pretty bad. In fact, we haven't been off the boat since we left Elizabeth City early Sunday morning! There was nowhere to go ashore at the anchorage in Alligator River since it was just all swamp land around us. When we arrived here on Monday, we were too tired to go ashore, and, besides it was getting rather late. Since it gets dark so early now, we didn't want to drive the dinghy back to the boat in the dark.

Yesterday was miserable. It was windy and rainy. Today is mostly just windy! Really windy! It has been blowing steady at 20 to 25 kts with gale warnings until this evening. Going ashore would mean leaving the boat alone in high winds - not really a good idea. We're hoping they calm down a bit this afternoon so we can go stretch our legs a bit. (As I'm writing this post, it just started raining though). I may be getting a little cabin fever! The weather is supposed to calm down tonight so we are hoping to head out of here tomorrow. It will be sad if we stopped here and didn’t get to see the town. (I’m sure we’ll get over it.) Besides, who could be sad today? Barak Obama is president. Sorry to all you Republicans. We were good citizens and sent our absentee ballots back in Hampton. Au revoir George Bush!!!!!!!! And thank God no Sarah Palin. That was scarey!

So here we sit all by our lonesome selves (but we have each other :), waiting for a good weather window to head more south and get some additional miles behind us and the cold weather. Caio for now.

Elizabeth City, NC

We arrived here in Elizabeth City, NC on Thursday and are docked at the city's free docks. Elizabeth City is known as the Harbor of Hospitality and they are true to their name. Every night they have a wine and cheese get together and the mayor stops by for a chat and to let all the newcomers know what's going on. The grocery store will come and pick up boaters and drive them back to the dock when they're finished shopping - which we did yesterday. We finally bit the bullet and joined the rest of the boaters that drink boxed wine! Black Box Cabernet was just under $20 and equals 4 bottles. It doesn't taste too bad either. It sure is more economical and we don't have to worry about recycling the bottles. Much easier!

On our way down the Swamp we passed through a couple of bridges and another lock. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Although it was a bit chilly, the sun was out which made the trip enjoyable.

This morning there is a farmers' market right next to the boat. Lots of fresh produce and baked goodies. That's why we decided to stay another day here. Also, the boat rafted to us, Nelleke, was planning to leave tomorrow too. So that made our decision easier. We met Mike and Barbara (from Canada) back in Rock Hall, MD. We ran into them again at the Welcome Center a few days ago. When they got here to Elizabeth City and the docks were full, we suggested rafting up to us.

They have their cat and a dog aboard with them. Of course, their dog isn't a psycho like my little pal Chuey. They can actually leave their dog aboard while they go off for a couple of hour to sight see. Last night, they stopped by after dinner for dessert and wine. We had invited them to dinner, but they already had planned to go out to eat. They invited us out to eat, but we had already ate out the night before. Since we made sauce and meatballs and sausages. It seemed a little extravagant to eat out two nights in a row. Well, now I'm just babbling, so I guess it's time to sign off.

The Great Dismal Swamp

Our first night in the Swamp at Deep Creek Basin turned out to be very challenging. Almost right after dark, it started to rain (horizontally). We were anchored very close to the shore with plenty of depth, but the trees seemed to be getting closer. It was difficult to tell if we were dragging or not because there were no lighted landmarks to help us. We pulled the boat up, and Steve put out a second anchor. We were soaked and freezing! In the morning the basin was calm and beautiful (see the pictures).

We arrived at the Deep Creek lock at 8:45 a.m. It was our first time going through a lock with this boat. (We went through the Charles River Lock a few years ago on Danny Sullivan’s power boat.) Once we were in the lock and the water level was raised, the lock master didn’t open the gates to let us out. Instead he told us to get off the boat and come into the office. I was nervous that something was wrong, but instead, there was a small crowd of boaters (anchored behind the lock already) having pancakes and sausages. So we were locked in the lock for about an hour having breakfast and chatting while U-turn (the lock master’s dog) ran around and entertained us. Immediately after the lock was a draw bridge the lock master had to run down to open for us too. He’s a busy guy.

Motoring down the Dismal Swamp Canal was amazing (you must see the pictures!!!). After a couple of hours we arrived at the NC welcome center where there is a free dock. When the dock fills up, boats simply raft up to each other and it is one big party. We stayed for two nights. We are rafted to trawler belonging to a very nice couple from Michigan who are both retired teachers. Another boat from Nebraska rafted up to us and all three boats hung out and drank wine last night.

This morning the cabin was only 39 degrees. Of course we turned on the oven to heat up the boat, and why not bake blueberry muffins? Since some boats were leaving early this morning, it was pretty funny watching all the boats jockey around to let the inside boats out. We will also head out to Elizabeth City after the frost melts off the canvas. So do check out the awesome pictures from this stop!

The Great Dismal Swamp, VA

We are at mile 8.5 in the ICW - just before the first lock at Deep Creek. We probably ended up doing about 20 miles today, and we are now in the Great Dismal Swamp. The ride was chilly today, but pretty awesome going by all the Navy ships in Norfolk. The anchorage we are at is referred to as the Whole in the Wall. As you can see on Google Earth in the position location, it really is just a little man-made basin. There's around 4 or 5 other boats here too. Hopefully, that will be it for the night. We're in a great position to get the first lock opening in the morning at 8:30 a.m.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Keep them coming, and we hope you enjoy reading about our adventures.

What a Great Stop!

. . . and we’re still here in Hampton. We may leave today just to head over to Norfolk - the entrance to the ICW. But since it is only an hour trip (5 miles), we don’t have to rush.

So, let me summarize our stay here if I can. The first two days, we just explored downtown Hampton while taking in a shower and doing laundry. We checked out the History Museum, Hampton University, and the Education Resource Center at the Air and Space Museum while doing our chores.

On Friday, we took in the Air and Space Museum which was an amazing take. We even did a simulation of a jet flight, but Michele couldn’t hack the rolls and turns so Steve had to lay off the 360’s. We also took in an Imax movie while at the museum. It was a great time.

Saturday was a somewhat long dinghy ride to Sunset Creek with a short walk to the grocery store. Our stores were running very low so we had to pick up quite a few groceries. Saturday afternoon/evening, Chris and Veronica came to the boat for some wine and cheese and then they took us out to an amazing restaurant for dinner. We were out until almost midnight (the real midnight 12:00 a.m. – not the cruiser’s midnight 9:00 p.m.)

Sunday morning, Steve and I went to the historic St. John’s Episcople Church for the 10:30 service. Veronica picked us up and took us to Colonial Williamsburg. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the leaves turning just made the scene even more spectacular. There were drum and fife parades, bonfires, cannons, and plenty of other entertainment. After walking around and checking it out for a while, Chris joined us for lunch and then we hung out in one of the Old Town Taverns, complete with live entertainment (music from old instruments we didn’t recognize and magic shows). Another great day. This time, we got back to the dock after dark, but before cruiser’s midnight. We will miss Chris and Veronica;

they’ve been great to us. We hope they will come to the Bahamas and visit us while we’re there, but we will definitely make this a stop on the way back up North in the spring.

However, we then visited with some other folks that we met in RI two years ago. Another small world story… A couple of days ago, Rich and Carol pulled into the Hampton Public Piers where we dinghy to shore every day. Steve and I were messing around with the dinghy – filling up the floor and the tubes as the cold air seemed to have compressed. We started chatting with Rich and realized that he looked familiar. He asked what boat we were on and when we told him the Island Packet, he mentioned he used to have an IP. We knew immediately who they were because two years ago when they were selling their IP380 to buy a Cat in Narragansett, RI. Steve and I looked at their boat. We loved it and wanted to buy it. (Michele really wanted to buy it, but Steve thought we should probably sell the house before splurging on a 380). For the next two years, we kept saying, “We should’ve bought Rich’s boat.”

Anyway, I’ll try to upload the pictures from this stop shortly. They are definitely worth checking out!

Hampton, VA

We arrived in Hampton around 4:00 p.m. last evening and anchored in the Hampton River at approximately 5:00 p.m. We sailed most of the day with 5 to 20 knot winds. They were light in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. We left Deltaville at around 8:00 a.m. with at whopping 55 degrees. It was quite chilly – as you can see from this picture! (I didn't sign up for this.) Gradually it warmed up a little, but the cockpit never really had direct sun because of the tack we were on. The headsail blocked it for most of the morning. Sitting behind the dodger kept most of the wind out though.

It was a 45 mile jaunt which made us put in another full day’s work. Whew! We’re not used to this 9 to 5 stuff. We'll need to take the rest of the week off. Luckily, we’ll be staying here for about a week. Chris and Veronica Papile agreed to be our mail stop, so we’ll be picking up our mail when we go over their house for dinner Thursday evening. They also offered us the use of a car which will be great as we need to re-provision before heading into the real ICW and the Dismal Swamp.

Today we will go ashore and check out the area. We have to go to West Marine to pick up a new motor for the shower sump – which was on the fritz but finally stopped working altogether yesterday. Luckily we got our showers in before we knew the sump wasn’t working. No big deal anyway, as the water just overflows into the bilge and then can be drained from there. Taking a shower ashore is only $1 at the marina across the way so that will do in a pinch.

This morning the cabin was a chilly 56 degrees until Michele made cornbread and Steve cooked breakfast. At 11:00 a.m. it is now a balmy 68 degrees. The Globe says it was below freezing in Boston last night though. So we don’t feel so bad.

We’ll post again in a couple of days. Feel free to leave us your comments (even just to say hi). It’s nice to know that people are actually reading our blog. We miss everyone at home. Hope all is well.

Also, if you haven’t seen the photo albums and would like to be included in the invitations from Snapfish, send Michele an email at mpapile@papile.net.

Deltaville, VA

Yesterday we arrived in the Deltaville area of Virginia after a long day on the Chesapeake. We left Solomons at around 7:45 a.m. and anchored at Fisherman’s Bay (just south of Deltaville) at around 5:30 p.m. last night. All day, we watched a parade of sailboats moving south with us. However, there was an Island Packet that kept pace with us right from Solomon’s. We were going to hale them on the radio, but they ended up calling the John Ray. Turns out, we knew them. They were also from the same marina as we were, NEB in Portsmouth, RI. Norm and Linda sold their house last year and did this trip south. So with a year experience under their belts, they were a great source of information for us. We followed them into this anchorage and visited them on their boat, Ariel (an IP 380) last night. Again, it is a small world!

Today will be another long day as we head to read Hampton Roads. We will probably stay there for a few days and visit Steve’s cousins. We may also have some electrical work done on the boat as well. Steve will also service the engine before we enter the ICW in Norfolk, VA next week. More updates later.

Guess We Like it Here

We're still sitting on the hook at Solomon's Island. We planned to leave here on Thursday, but ended up staying. So we lost our weather window. Yesterday was cold and rainy so we stayed on the boat all day and read our books. Michele made chicken parmigiana for dinner and of course we had wine. Today we went ashore and walked around the Calvert Marine Museum - which was mostly closed because of their annual ball this evening. We were able to walk around the grounds and check out the small craft exhibit and the lighthouse. They also have the Presidential Yacht that JFK used during his presidency. We also walked to Food Lion and ran into some friends that we met back in Cape May - Dave and Linda from Ontario, Canada. They may join us later for drinks. They also planned on leaving when we did, but didn't. Now it looks like we're all here until Monday since the wind and seas have been kicking up in the Chesapeake.

It's a riot being here though. Every time we go ashore and hang out at the strip mall we run into so many cruisers. If it isn't the back pack or the white beard that gives them away, they might also have a West Marine wheeling cart and/or big canvas bags. We've met quite a few of them this week alone and I'm sure we'll bump into them all along the way. We met a couple from New Jersey who had their dog with them - a black lab. She was much smaller than Junior. We also met a couple from Maine. And even if the people we met today weren't cruisers, they stop and chatted because I had my Boston Red Sox cap on.

Not much else to write since we haven't moved in 5 days and will probably be here until Monday. We have been all around the Solomon Island area though. We took a bus to a Mall that had Loews, Target, Walmart and tons of other stores. We also took a bus the next day to an Ace Hardware which was pretty far. We have to stop going ashore though, because we keep spending money every time we set foot on land. That's all for now. Until we have something more interesting to write about - signing off!

Solomon's Island, Pawtuxent River, MD

It's a small world. Here we are at Solomon’s Island up the Back Creek of the Pawtuxent River. A remote place for many people, but not so for cruisers. Barbara and Dave our friends on an Island Packet 420 from NEB told us about their friends who were in the Port Washington area (a few weeks ago) cruising south also. They told us in an email the name of their boat was Rigamarole. Since we didn’t go to Port Washington, Michele read the email and forgot about it because she thought, “we’ll probably never see them.” After Jenni reminded her that the Frost’s friends were cruising south too, she thought she should look at the email again and check out the name of the boat. When she mentioned it to Steve, he said, “We’ve seen that boat a bunch of times. As a matter of fact, they keep beating us to anchorages.” So when we pulled into Back Creek who do we see (again just beating us to the anchorage J) Rigamarole. So we introduced ourselves as we drove by them since we couldn’t anchor at the same spot (no room at the inn and our anchor wasn’t holding in the only tight spot we found.) Later that afternoon, Ray and Helen came by our boat and we had a glass of wine. The next night we went to their boat for wine and appetizers. As it turns out, Helen and Michele are both school teachers (with Master’s in Technology and Education from Lesley University) and Steve and Ray are both Technology/Software Engineers. It was really great meeting them and we look forward to seeing them again along the way – and we won’t mind if they beat us to the anchorage.

Well, that’s not even all. When we went ashore, we started chatting with a couple of guys outside the Laundromat and after a couple of minutes Steve realized that his friend Danny Sullivan had mentioned this guy to Steve before – and not even his name. He only mentioned that this guy at the Lynn Marina, used to have a Benneteau but sold it and bought a catamaran. This guy says he’s on the catamaran, Whisper and he’s from Boston area. Steve then asked him if he used to own a Benneteau and he did. So turns out to be the same guy and Ray also retired from the MBTA. Ray’s wife Patti is also a teacher. She took a leave last year to cruise, but is working this year. It’s all just very ironic. This cruising stuff is great! It’s funny how we keep bumping into familiar people along the way.

Today we will go ashore again and head out tomorrow to The Great Wicomico River approximately 35 south of here. I hope you will return to read our next adventure! Until next time…

Leaving Annapolis

This morning we broke anchor at around 7:30 a.m. to head south to Solomons Island area at the mouth of the Pawtuxent River. After spending four days in Annapolis we thought it was time to move on. When we arrived in Annapolis at around 10:00 a.m., we were immediately invited to Leighia and Cameron’s boat for a game night. We never played any games, but we had a great time and met some interesting people (as I already wrote about in the last post). The next day we spent the day at the boat show and walked around town a little bit before heading back to John Ray and having dinner with Trudy and Dennis from Rapscallion II. The next morning, we also hosted breakfast on John Ray and then chilled out the rest of the day waiting for the Halloween Party on Tranquility (Leighia and Cameron’s boat) Saturday night. There were at least 12 people and 5 kids, lots of great food, drink and conversation. Steve and I were the first ones to leave and this time Steve didn’t fall in the drink!! Oh wait, didn’t I mention that before? Okay, let's see. Steve was getting into the Dinghy on Thursday night while Leighia was holding the boat while he got in. There were several dinghies bouncing around their swim platform. I wasn’t there so I don’t know exactly how it happened, but when I heard the commotion I came on deck to find my husband swimming with all his clothes on. Oh well, I guess it happens to the best of us (and usually at least once). I’m glad I already had my turn (at least my excuse was trying to hoist Junior on board at a really rocky anchorage J and I was still an amateur). Luckily the dinghy ride was very short and no harm was done – except maybe a bruised ego.

Sunday was also an excellent day. We went ashore and took a long walk to the grocery store which enabled us to see quite a bit of Annapolis. We stumbled upon the State House of Annapolis on our way which we hadn’t really expected. It was also really good to get the exercise.

Hope all is well with everyone at home. We will post again when we arrive at our next destination. Happy Columbus Day!

Annapolis, MD

After Michele pouted for the night at Mill Creek, Steve conceded to go into Annapolis Harbor. Mill Creek was a beautiful anchorage, but I wanted some action! We headed out around 9:00 a.m and it only took about 45 minutes to get into Annapolis. We are anchored just south of the Naval Academy. It is not half as crazy as we expected it to be with the boat show and all. The anchorages are busy, but we have lots of room around us. The harbor was very calm last night and we slept quite well, but woke up early to the Navy Ships honking at around 7:00. We're usually up by then anyway, since we go to bed shortly after sunset. Except last night we were out partying on our friend's Leighia and Cameron's S/V Tranquility. Trudy and Dennis from Rapscallion II were also there along with a couple from Denmark and another couple from England. It was a great night. The Dutch and English couples were quite interesting. Both have traveled across the Atlantic and have been cruising the world for years. They've been to many, many countries and had lots of stories.

We also went ashore yesterday and walked all around Annapolis. It reminds me a lot of Newport with all the shops and restaurants. Finding a spot on the dinghy dock was quite challenging though. We were tied up three dinghys deep. We had to climb over everyone elses dinghy to get to the dock. The boat show was promising a new dock configuration today. We will see when we go ashore to the boat show this morning. We will be here for a couple of days (we think). Leighia (the social coordinator) wants to have a halloween party before everyone takes off. We'll see. Still a little early for the goblins.

Mill Creek - N. of Annapolis, MD

We headed towards Annapolis today, but decided to go up the creek instead of heading into the harbor with all the craziness of the boat show. Beautiful anchorage - lots of scenery, but not sure how we'll get to the show. May have to find a more convenient anchorage, but we don't want to be part of the madness. Not sure what we'll do at this point. Maybe we'll just have a glass of wine and contemplate it, hmmmm! Otherwise, all is swell :-) on John Ray.

Haven't Moved

In case you haven't noticed, our position hasn't changed much in three days. We were at Haven Harbor Marina for one night and then moved across to Swan Creek where we have been anchored for three days now. It is such a beautiful and calm spot with easy access to land and showers, that we haven't wanted to leave. We will probably head over to Annopolis tomorrow for the boat show this weekend and to meet up with some friends.

Yesterday we spent the day ashore walking around Rock Hall (the town took only 5 minutes to walk through). The neighborhoods are quaint and the marina's are plentiful. There are hundreds of Island Packets here (that's the make of our boat for those who don't know). We looked at an IP 40 that's been on the market for quite some time. It has been neglected for a couple of years and needs some work though.

So not much else to report. Michele made a banana bread for breakfast to warm up the cabin. Will make a sauce and meatballs later. We had a beef stew Saturday night and a roasted chicken dinner on Sunday night. Yesterday we ate out at Waterman's Crab House. It was good, but very pricey. I was just happy not to have to cook - although I did make an excellent breakfast of scrambled eggs with spinach, tomatoes and cheese with toast yesterday morning. And such is the leisurely life of cruisers. We also met other cruisers on walk. You can tell them from a mile away. They are usually 40-60 years old. They carry backpacks and carry a map. But the dead give-away is the guy with the white beard! He gives it away every time.

Rock Hall, MD

Yeah us! We are finally in the Chesapeake Bay. This was a huge milestone for us. Many miles behind us and closer to warmer weather. We plan to go to the boat show in Annapolis next weekend and meet some of our friends. (Jenni and Pat you should fly down and meet us :)

Let's see if I can remember everything. We left Cape May on hmmm what day? I guess it was Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. We went through the Cape May Canal into Delaware Bay and then spent a long day (with good wind) sailing up the Delaware to the C&D canal. The C&D was at least 20 miles long and took a very long time to traverse. We anchored at Veazey Cove at the mouth the Bohemian River at around 4:00 p.m. It was an excellent anchorage. Very serene and pretty. A very calm night indeed. Next morning we headed out around 10:00 to go Rock Hall area. It took forever to get into Swan Creek - a long narrow, shallow channel with lots of sailboat traffic.

This morning we are at a slip at Haven Harbor Marina. We were going to get a mooring in this area somewhere. However, when we called, they didn't have a mooring so they offered us a slip for a great price. We couldn't resist. But maybe we should have - ugh! Yes Jenni, we are officially on the ICW and the bottom has risen significantly risen. We've found it twice in one day. The first time wasn't a big deal. Steve even says it was just because the anchor wasn't fully up, that we weren't really touching. But I was at helm and I know that we weren't moving for a few minutes. The second time was after a long day of traveling (albeit a very nice and sunny day - with no wind though). When we finally got to the marina and located our slip, we had to turn around to get back to it as we passed it to see what our approach would be. When we turned (just next to the channel in the morring field where they were going to put us if there was room) we went aground! Captain Papile was just a little bit angry. As it turns out, this happens all the time even to the people who live here. They complain about it all the time. We were stuck pretty much right next to the slip we were supposed to go into. It was a little frustrating. It wasn't long before we were off, but we are 0 for 2 on marinas. I don't think we'll be going into another one real soon. But on the bright side, we filled our water tank and get to take a long hot shower and do some laundry. Food shopping is on the agenda this morning too. The woman in the slip next to us offered to drive us to the market so that's pretty good. My freezer is finally getting empty from when we first filled it in Quincy. Not bad provisioning if I do say so myself!

Since we have to be out of this slip by 1:00 P.M (the owner is coming back), we are going to find an anchorage nearby so we can explore the area. This area has a huge Island Packet dealership, and there are a few for sale that we may check out - just looking :)

Windy, Windy

We planned on moving out this morning at around 6:30 a.m to catch the current and tides going up the Delaware River to the C&D Canal (Chesapeake and Delaware Canal) to bring us into the Chesapeake Bay where we plan to hang out for a while. However, when the winds picked up last night and they are still blowing around 20 knots with gust up to 30. So today we stayed put. Steve made an excellent breakfast - scrambled eggs with peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese with English muffins. Michele baked cookies this afternoon and chicken cacciatore for dinner. Life is good !

Oyster Bay to Cape May

Whew! A lot’s happened since my last post. Before our departure from Oyster Bay, we had a spaghetti dinner on Maleki (Alex and Joe’s catamaran). Trudy and Dennis brought an awesome salad with fresh greens from their boat garden. They also brought cheese, crackers, and a baked garlic bulb (like they do at Vinnie Testa’s). Alex made a delicious spaghetti dinner with sausages, and Michele made cup cakes for the kids and cake for the adults. As you can see from the pictures the kids hated the cup cakes J. Leighia brought us all bamboo shoot plants for good luck. We had a great last night at Oyster Bay. But time to move on.

We headed out just after Malekai and headed west in Long Island Sound through Frog’s Neck to the East River. Going through Hell’s Gate in NY was a trip! The currents were crazy (again see pictures). Of course with Steve’s excellent planning and Navigation Skills, we hit Hell’s Gate at perfect timing to get pushed along at 10 knots (probably a 6 knot current). We motor sailed most of the day since the winds somewhat light. Although you can see the awesome trim on the sails as we traveled towards New York.

Not only was the current interesting, but we had planes going overhead, helicopters taking off and landing on the helipad. We had ferries coming and going and container ships and barges in front of us, behinds us and also anchored all around. We passed the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty just to name a few of the attractions. I had a blast snapping pictures while Steve was courageously manning the helm.

After leaving the East River and going through Raritan Bay into New Jersey, we had to make a decision whether to stop for the night or sail straight through. We opted to sail straight through since the seas were calm and wind was favorable. We sailed through the nights. Michele took first watch at 7:00 p.m. and stayed up until 1:00 a.m. Steve took over until 6:00 a.m. Even though I got up, he still stayed up for a few more hours. As the sun came up, the winds died out and we had to turn on the engine. We motored along the New Jersey coast past Atlantic City (and no, mom, we didn’t stop) into Cape May at around 2:00 p.m. yesterday. Calm night, beautiful sunset and taps from the Coast Guard Boot Camp right beside us.

Today we went ashore and did some sight seeing. Cape May is a National Historic site, so it was very interesting checking out all the old Victorian houses off all different colors. We spent a couple of hours at the library to do some computer stuff without having to worry about power.

After the library, we strolled down to the beach and watched dolphins swimming back and forth. I say there were hundreds, but Steve thinks it was only 30. I’m sure I’m right! I tried to take pictures when they surfaced, but not sure how they came out yet. We splurged and went out to eat at the Lobster House which was absolutely delicious (cheaper than a slip and just a little more than a mooring would have cost – well worth it).

Finally, We're on the Move!

Destination Sandy Hook. But, maybe, an overnighter to Cape May. I'm feeling adventurous. Besides waiting it out so long we kind of want to make up some time. We'll keep you posted. We'll be close enough to land the whole way that we'll probably have Internet. Bye for now.

Waiting at Oyster Bay.....Still

Well, we sure picked a great place to hang out for the weather. We have four other boats that are waiting it out with us so it's not so bad. We had another get-together last night on Rapscallion II. Then this morning we all went ashore and did a long walk to Stop & Shop (2 miles) - stopping at MacDonald's on the walk back. Another get together at Maleki tomorrow night. I baked a cake to bring and some cupcakes for the kids. These kids are a riot - and so well mannered. They are certainly a joy to be around. I'll upload some more pictures later.

I must power down the computer now though because no sun or wind charging the batteries today.

Love to all!

Still at Oyster Bay

Good Morning, to all our faithful readers. We are still in Oyster Bay sitting on the hook. We just finished an excellent breakfast of scrambled eggs with peppers, onions, tomatoes and cheese accompanied by toast, bacon and orange juice, after a long day of sightseeing and a long night of partying yesterday. Today we are just laying low on the boat as it is rainy and windy.

Since we are stuck at Oyster Bay for a couple of days waiting for the weather to calm down, we took advantage of the opportunity to sight see. Oyster Bay was the home of Teddy Roosevelt and his family before he became president. He continued to use this house as his summer white house during his presidency and moved back after being president. Both he and his wife passed away in the house years later.

When we decided to go ashore, we noticed another couple from the boat anchored next to us going ashore as well. So we asked them where there was good place to park the dinghy. We followed them into the Oyster Bay Marina – very long dinghy ride. After chatting with them for a little while we parted company. Steve and I walked all around town and then headed to Sagamore Hill where Roosevelt’s House is located. Unbeknownst to us that this was going to be a very long walk! It took us at least an hour and ½ so it must have been about 4 miles away – mostly up hill. But we were not complaining because it was great to be off the boat getting some exercise. The scenery was beautiful as well quite the affluent community with luxurious houses along the water. The long dinghy ride ashore could have been very short had we just dinghy ashore behind our boat, as this is how where we walked to. We could see the boat just minutes away from us on our long walk. However, there really isn't a public dinghy dock to tie up to, but we probably could have docked on a private one without much notice. Then we wouldn't have seen the town either - so no big deal.

We took a tour for a measly $5.00 (the only way you can enter the house). The tour was excellent and lasted at least two hours. The house was amazing decorated with many gaming trophies. (Not that I’m in favor of hunting animals for a sport.) Back in those days too, there was no cap on gifts the president received, so Roosevelt kept most of the gifts received from other foreign diplomats were displayed. The house was in tact exactly as it was when he lived there with his family. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside the house, but you can view pictures of the outside on snapfish.com.

On our way back to the boat at approximately 3:30, the wind had picked up and the water was pretty rough. The rain held off though. As we got near our boat, the couple (Leighia and Cameron – 2 kids Maya and Fynn) on the boat (Tranquility) anchored behind us, flagged us over to invite us to a pot luck dinner at 5:00 with some other cruisers anchored in the area (including the couple Trudy and Dennis on Rapscallion II that we followed ashore earlier and Alex and Joe with their 2 kids Courtney and Joey on Malekai).

We had a great dinner and lots of fun and didn’t return to John Ray until almost 10:00. By this time it started raining so we wanted to get back to the boat (2 minute dinghy ride) and check everything out. The winds were blowing pretty good all night, but this anchorage is very well protected and it wasn’t really rough. Our night at Milford was 100x worse and there wasn’t any wind.

So all is well. We plan to stay put until Kyle is no longer a factor. Depending on the conditions we will leave Saturday or Sunday and head for Sandy Hook, NJ. In the meantime, there is another get-together tonight on Rapscallion with our new friends J.

Oyster Bay, Long Island Sound

After a terrible night of rolling on boat, we got up early and headed out at 7:15. We couldn't stand just sitting in Milford Harbor rolling around for a second longer. So we had our coffee and tea to go, and off we went. Michele cooked egg and cheese sandwiches while we were under way. Once we got moving the seas were much smoother. We had absolutely no wind... maybe 5 knots from behind. So again, we motor sailed. It was a nice, easy, smooth, sunny, relaxing day.

Just after NY City skyline came into view, we were at our destination. Oyster Bay is known for, guess what? Oysters. Actually, it is also where Teddy Roosevelt was born and had a summer white house. Since we will be tucked in here until at least Friday waiting for inclement weather to pass, we can do some exploring. But for now, we are tucked way in the bay and safe.

More to come later after we explore the area.

Milford, CT

We left Cedar Island Marina today around noon after laundry and a long hot shower. We also filled the propane tanks too. (The marina just let Steve take their van and go get it – a couple of miles away). A nice family run marina.

Not much wind and it was coming right from behind us. So we motored along with a 2 knot current helping us out and arrived at Milford Harbor at around 4:45 p.m. It was a very relaxing trip with the sun shining and the seas just a slight ripple.

Just a little rolly here, but we’ve certainly had worse!

Tomorrow up and out early to head across the sound to Oyster Bay to tuck in before some expected storms.

All is well. Love to all our family and friends following our journey.

Clinton, CT

Plan A was to get up and out early for a 48 mile trip to Port Jefferson. The winds were supposed to be favorable (ha) so we figured we could keep a 5 knot pace and be there in 10 hours. Very ambitious don't ya think? Well, when we first tried to started engine, no go. Then Steve tried to do a couple of things to make it go, but nothing. (But Michele has to have the fridge running to keep the meats frozen. We did have an excellent pot roast dinner tonight though!) But seriously for some reason the power is drawing down the batteries too quickly or the engine just wants more than we're equiped to give it. We finally had to pull out the protable generator that we have and charge the batteries enough to start the engine. And voula'! Our friend Yanmar came to life. So we were off an hour behind schedule.

When we started the winds were 10 -15 knots, but again on the nose - which was okay, but not ideal. In order to keep the wind even a little off the bow we had to head more west than southwest. Which again was ok, we would go way out then tack back. Well not so much. The wind decided to die down to about 3-8 knots. We were chugging along at only 3 knots per hour and heading in a different direction than we wanted.

After a couple hours of this, we realized that Port Jefferson was not going to be in our immediate future. On to Plan B. Find a spot on the Connecticut side of Long Island sound. Water was running low and we could probably use fuel too. We chose Clinton and decided to get a slip for the night. The channel into Clinton is only about 50 ft.wide and the markers leave a lot to the imagination. We went to the left of the dolphins (pole) instead of the right because we were trying to quickly set up the lines for docking at the fuel dock and didn't see the next red marker. After a minute, Michele realized that we weren't moving and asked Steve if we were in reverse or something. We weren't in reverse and yes, we did get grounded. (Don't laugh Pat we meant to do that as we were practicing for the ICW.) After several attempts to back out, we called Sea Tow - (AAA for boats). Luckily we have a membership and the $1,000 towing fee was free.

We fueled up and went to the transient dock - another adventure thanks to Michele. I caught the spring line and cleated it off (or so I thought). Then I went to grab the bow line and cleat it off. However, the spring line came undone and wind carried the stern out. Long story short, Steve had to back out and go around again. The 2nd attempt proved to be as disasterous. So Steve (on the boat by himself at this point) decided to approach the dock port to. No problem except all the lines and bumpers are set up on starboard. With not much room to turn around (very low depths) he managed to get the lines transfered to the port side and bring the boat to the dock. Michele was able to tie off the spring and bow lines this time before the boat drifted away again. Whew! What a day.

Cedar Island Marina was very accomodating to us. They gave us a ride to the grocery store which had an auto parts store and West Marine right next to it. We bought a portable jumper unit to help with the Engine start problem, but we still need to figure out why the batteries are not charging enough to start the Engine. The portable jumper unit needs to be charged up before using it. It is supposed to be 24 hours, but we're hoping 18 will do the trick. The unit also required an extension cord. We had one, but the plug had 3 inputs which made it not fit into the unit. (By this time, Steve is beside himself). Luckily the office had one we could borrow. I made it up there as they were locking up for the night. Today was like a comedy of errors. I'm sure there will be many more like this. Ah, such is life on a boat.

For the night we are docked at a slip with shore power and showers. We can plug everything we want and not have to worry about the power consumption and shower as long as we want and not worry about drawing down the water tank. It's all good.

Block Island to Orient Harbor, Long Island, NY

September 21, 2008
After a nice day onshore yesterday (Saturday), we decided to get up and out early to start the long trek to Long Island. Our goal was to find a place on the inside of the Island (called the Fishtail) because after careful inspection of the charts there isn't really a good anchorage on the northern shore of Long Island for quite a few miles into the Sound. The problem with that plan is that it is at least an hour to get back out into Long Island Sound. (No Pat, there isn't an outlet from the fishtail back to Long Island Sound - you have to go out the way you came in.) So we chose Orient Harbor because it was the fist anchorage we came to without going too far into the fishtail. The trip was uneventful (yeah). We made excellent time. The wind was 5 to 10 knots on the nose (bow). So we had to have our friend Yanmar help us. (For those of you who don't know Yanmar - he is the diesel engine on board). You can start to worry if I obtain a basketball, name it Wilson, and talk to it.

We did see a tall ship pass us on the way to Orient Heights. Pictures are posted on the snapfish site. If you don't have permission to view them, email Michele (mpapile@papile.net). Here is the link to snapfish photo album.

Orient Harbor is very scenic with an excellent beach; however, we are too tired to go ashore. This trip was 7 hours long. And tomorrow may be even longer as we would like to get to Port Jefferson before dark (approx. 50 miles away).

We arrived in the harbor and anchored by 4:00 p.m. We had dinner and retired early.

More to come later.

Block Island

Yesterday we sailed all the way from Cuttyhunk to Block Island. We left Cutty at 8:00 a.m. and headed out for a 37 mile trek to Block Island. We had 10-20 knot winds behind us with seas around 2-4 feet but increased in the afternoon to 3- 7 feet. It was a rolley afternoon. We arrived at Block around 3:30 p.m. Michele was very beat after that long day. She cooked chicken cacciatore for dinner, but was a little seasick to enjoy it. After eating she felt a little better, but went to bed fairly early.

We decided to stay at Block Island for the day on Saturday so we could go ashore and mosey around. Michele read in the Cruising Guide that you could take showers on shore so she packed a bag. We didn’t know where we could possibly do this, but we talked a family who comes here frequently. They told us that they use the pool and showers at Champlins. So we filed that information for later use. We proceeded to walk for miles around the island. We went to the Southern Lighthouse and found a geocache, and then we walked down to Old Harbor where all the cute shops and inns are located. It was a very sunny and hot day walking all around so we stopped at Aldo’s for some homemade ice cream. After our ice cream and tea we headed back to Champlin’s where we enjoyed a long hot shower on land. We headed back to the boat around 4:00 p.m. for an excellent supper of left over chicken cacciatore (only this time with pasta instead of rice). It was an excellent day off the boat. It did remind me of Chuey since he came here last time with us and we saw a few dogs today too. I miss him, but I’m so happy he didn’t have to live through yesterday’s sail – he would have been so freaked out! It wasn’t too bad for us, but for a nervous dog it would have been terrible. Thanks again Jessie for fostering him.

Now we are planning our trip to Long Island – sitting up in the cockpit and watching the sunset. The Great Salt Pond is very peaceful and calm. Life is good.

Remember – if you want to view pictures of this photo album ask Michele to add your email. Or go to http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=248762915/a=102133856_102133856/t_=102133856 and see if you can access it that way.

Also note – you can add comments at the end of each post – below where it says comments just click. We’d love to hear from you.

Hadley Harbor to Cuttyhunk

After going ashore and spending a couple hours in Onset, we headed out around noon yesterday. The winds were light so we had to motor sail. Hadley was uneventful - which is a good thing on a sail boat. We caught a free mooring, had hot dogs and beans for dinner and went to bed early listening to the Red Sox game on radio for a while.

This morning we were up and out early to head to Cuttyhunk which is only 16 miles away from Hadley. Cuttyhunk is one of the last islands of the Elizabeth islands first discovered by the explorer Gosnold in the 1600’s.

Sailing was great as we had 15 – 20 knot winds the entire way on a run cruising along at about 5-6 knots with a double reefed main and reefed on the headsail as well. We arrived at Cuttyhunk at noon. Catching the mooring was challenging in 25-30 knot winds, but we finally got one. Getting another line on it is the big challenge now. Going ashore tonight will not be an option in the dinghy with these winds. On the plus side, our batteries are being charged so I can use the laptop with a/c power and the inverter. The Internet connection is sketchy here though. Hopefully, I can get a connection long enough to post this blog. Pictures will have to come later.

The plan is to head to Block Island tomorrow. Bye for now!