5 January - 27 February 2015... We Had No Idea!

Puttered down the ICW to the boatyard, in the slings and up. All good. On the schedule, bottom paint, watermaker check and investigating a fuel leak. Thought we'd be on the hard a week. Found out we had a hole in one of the fuel tanks and had to have it replaced. In order to remove and replace the tank, we had to remove the floor and fabricate a new tank since it was a custom fit to the hull. Huge operation. We also thought we should try to refresh the topside. We agreed to a new paint job. Supposed to be 3 weeks - with weather delays it became 6 weeks. Meantime we also got a new fuel pump for the engine room, and some other assorted goodies. We imposed on Irv & Renee and Eileen & Marvin for places to stay while the work progressed.

Happy with our experience, we splashed on 27 Feb and motored back up to WPB. Thanks to the team at Palm Beach Yacht Center -- Brett, Barry, Edwin and their crews for taking care of us and doing fabulous work. Thanks too to Water Works (Earl) for a beautiful topside job. And to Dick at Murray Marine for giving us back our lifeline -- a working watermaker.

While waiting for work to be completed we spent time walking around Delray at Gleneagles and Green Cay. John took lots of photos and even entered a wildlife photography contest. One of the entries was a roseate spoonbill we had seen at Green Cay. We had traveled all the way to the Mexican Yucatan to see spoonbills and didn't see any. Who knew we only needed to go a couple of miles away! Other nice shots were of herons, limpkins, and cormorants -- here are some of them.

12 December 2014 - 5 January 2015... The Palm Beaches

Departed St Augustine after some of the fog had lifted, and actually got some sailing in on the way south to Palm Beach. Entered Lake Worth and got the 9:15 Flagler Bridge opening. Gem had saved us a spot between the bridges opposite the WPB town docks. Vectored in by Shane, we settled in for a wonderful homecoming. Of course we did our thing -- walks in Palm Beach and West Palm, a photo seminar at the Society of the Four Arts, multiple visits to the gardens there, visits back and forth to Gem.

We had a special outing with Renee and Irv, Eileen and Marvin to the Society of the Four Arts garden. Irv consulted with Churchill and Roosevelt on matters of great importance, then we met MV for brunch at the Alchemist on Clematis Street. Good time was had by all -- the small band even played Fly Me to the Moon when Irv requested a Sinatra song.

While Shane was away working, we had MV to ourselves. New Years Eve on Anhinga proved to be more exciting than we thought -- with police and fire inspectors from the two municipalities not coordinating their approvals of our location for the fireworks. John and MV moved her boat to accommodate their request. The champagne smoothed out those issues and we were able to really enjoy the fireworks once they started. We had never been so close to fireworks before. Excellent display! Lots of oohs and aahs.

With the new year we arranged our annual haul out at the Palm Beach Yacht Center for 5 January. Turned out to be more of a refit than we ever imagined.

Palm Beach: 26d42.497'N 80d02.716'W

November - December 2014...Finally, NC to FL (by boat)

One more trip to Delray Beach by air from New Bern, then back to Anhinga to move south. By this time, it was frigid, and we swore we would never again catch ourselves so far north this late in the year. (The marina was shutting off water to the docks because of the freeze.) Chugged down the Neuse and Adams Creek, anchored in Beaufort to wait for weather to move out the inlet and south. Lost the weather window for a change, and bit the bullet to keep driving on the ICW. That night anchored next to Camp LeJeune, eating dinner to the sound of Osprey aircraft landings. Next day, up with the frost, puttered south to Wrightsville Beach. Was it our imagination, or was it actually warming up? We started peeling layers during the day. Onward. Down the Cape Fear River, catching a 3 kt current that whooshed us south. Continuing on to sleep in the marsh at Shallotte River. Crossing into South Carolina, we felt the temperature slowly rising (or were we just being hopeful?) Back to the beautiful Waccamaw River, we settled in for a couple of days in Prince Creek -- scene of our alligator encounters from a couple of years back. Another blow was coming through and we could stay protected in the creek.

Waited for weather to leave for an offshore passage via Winyah Bay. 10 kts in the bay, fierce 25-30 kts out the inlet (against us of course...where did this come from?) We fought our way out and as soon as we turned off the wind to put up the sails, yup, the wind died. You can't win. Driving to make miles and put the cold behind us. Next day the cold was gone and the beauty of the waters off Georgia made us forget winter. We had at least 7 dolphins swimming with us for quite a while and watching them play was the highlight of the trip. With quiet weather the next day, we pulled into St. Augustine inlet, got our mooring assignment (#25), and tied up. Florida! A few days after our arrival, Gem sailed in after their odyssey from the frigid Chesapeake. We took MV and Shane on a whirlwind tour of St Augustine, snapping their photo at Flagler College.

19 Nov: Radio Island, Beaufort, NC 34d42.798'N 76d40.784'W
20 Nov: Mile Hammock Bay, NC 34d33.065'N 77d19.439'W
21 Nov: Wrightsville Beach, NC 34d12.341'N 77d47.981'W
22 Nov: Shallotte River, NC 33d54.894'N 78d22.237'W
23 Nov: Prince Creek, SC 33d34.885'N 79d05.832'W
27 Nov: Winyah Bay, SC 33d13.773'N 79d11.978'W
30 Nov: St Augustine, FL 29d53.042'N 81d18.226'W

Cruising Again

Hello! We are now in the Bahamas and are working to update our blog (so we are 6 months behind...) We are loading text today -- photos to follow when we get to internet access again. Stay tuned.

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6-25 September 2014...On the Oregon Trail!

Well, sorta.  Not by conestoga wagon, but by plane to PDX.  We decided since son Jay was in school out there, we would take a few weeks to visit with him and travel around.  For a few days we were on our own in Portland.  To get a feel for the city, we stayed in a couple of different neighborhoods -- in Southeast at a guest house on Division St. and in Northwest in a Victorian house through AirBnB.  We walked up Mt. Tabor in the east and through Forest Park in the west.  We spent a day at the International Test Rose Garden (a must in the Rose City) and got our first views of Mt. Hood.  We ate a different kind of ethnic food for each meal, drank a lot of coffee, craft beer, and Oregon wine, and learned our way around town on buses and trains.  We loved our days here, but came to the conclusion that indeed, Portland is weird. 

We drove out the Columbia River Gorge, stopping at some of the parks.  Wow -- howling winds out at Vista House.  Who knew it could be so windy inland?  We learned that the Columbia River attracts windsurfers from all over the country because you can really get moving out there.  We met the crowds at Multnomah Falls, and it is easy to see why everyone goes there. 

Lets not forget the BIGGEST attraction in the Columbia River -- the Bonneville Dam fish ladder -- first reported on by John Johnson in the 4th grade.  Watched the salmon going through from a window underwater.  We learned how to tell the difference between farmed fish and wild fish, and were shocked that it is so much fun watching fish swim by.

Again, via AirBnB, we found a terrific place to stay out in the 'Fruit Loop' -- a little barn with a view of Mt. Hood.  We stopped at fruit stands and stocked up on pears, apples, and hazelnuts.  (More about hazelnuts later...)  Communing each night with the llama and horse out back of the little barn, we could definitely see why people from all over flock to Oregon to live.  What a beautiful place.

OK, so Mt. Hood.  We drove up to the Cloud Cap trailhead and hiked up from there.  Not to the peak, but high enough to see the top as well as Mt Adams, Mt St Helens, and Mt Rainier in the distance.  We didn't find out till later that the road up the mountain had just opened.  Big forest fires a couple of years back felled trees that were blocking the road.  Again there were fires to the west, and the smoke traveled miles.  You can see it streaking the sky in our photos.

On to Corvallis.  After picking up Jay at PDX drove south to Oregon State University.  Watched the race car being delivered from Europe and helped unpack the crate and get the car settled back in the shop.  Four races -- four wins.  Great job, Global Formula Racing!

Took Jay out to the coast.  First stop, Cape Perpetua -- beautiful rocky coast in central Oregon -- Thor's Well, Devil's Churn -- the power of the water is evident here.  Loved the hike.

Up to Newport for lunch and then on to Depoe Bay, where we stayed at an apartment right on the coast.  From the balcony overlooking the sea we saw whales!  Right there!  Next day took a boat ride to see them up close.  Easy to see -- harder to photograph.

We followed the coast north to Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia River.  Historic port city, remaking itself as an arts center and of course a craft beer hub.  We walked up the Astoria Column for more views.  Stayed in a frilly B&B -- perfect for Jay!

Drove back through beautiful country to Corvallis.  While Jay was busy with school and car stuff, we explored, went to the farmers market in town, and visited the Tyee vineyard south of town.  Had to hit at least one Willamette Valley winery, right?  In addition to grapes, they grow hazelnuts here.  Lots of nut growers here.  Did you know that Oregon grows 99% of the US hazelnut crop?  And that it is the state nut?  Nuff said.  There is so much to love about Oregon, we were sorry to leave.  But Anhinga was waiting back in North Carolina.