Arctic Weather Continues...

We've received messages from many of you wishing you were in sunny Florida with us. Well in case you've missed the latest national weather forecast, Florida has been sunny - yes - but not balmy beach weather. Sure we've had highs in the mid-50's during the day, but it has been getting darn chilly at night. Additionally, winds have been fierce - 40 mph yesterday making the trek from the mooring field to the dinghy dock a bit damp and challenging.

We are hoping the brisk weather will break soon!

The Admiral

12/10 - 12/14/10

Man Overboard!!!

I'd like to preface this entry by stating that what you are about to read is true. There has been no (or very little) embellishment to the tale.

Our story begins with a dinner invitation from Alain and Judy on Rhama. The Captain, Eric, Ellen and I were all invited and we dinghied out to Alain and Judy's boat Rhama for our evening of fun. A lovely dinner was followed by great conversation. As the evening continued I excused myself to step into the restroom. At about the same time Eric stepped out on deck for some "fresh air". Moments later I saw a shadow pass by the bathroom window followed by a splash and a short cry for help. I confess, it didn't register with me until seconds later when a much more definitive plea for help in Eric's voice reached my ears.

Meanwhile, the others were continuing conversations in the salon, unaware of Eric's fate. There was only one thing I could do - I shouted to the others from my perch that Eric had fallen overboard. A scurry from the salon to the stern followed by shouts confirmed that Eric was indeed overboard clinging to Rhama's starboard door which had come off its track in Eric's fall.

After assessing that Eric was not in an immediate state of drowning the group did what every friend would do in a similar situation. We pulled out the cameras and immediately started taking photos of the event. You never know when a few incriminating photos may come in handy!!!

Next we saved the door. Its an excellent piece of hardwood that Alain made himself so we had to make sure it was not lost. Meanwhile, Dave took off to save a piece of trim that had also come off in all the commotion.

Finally, we pulled Eric to safety. (We wish we had photos of him doing his doggie paddle, but in all the excitement that shot was missed.) Yet as you can see we have plenty of other great shots. Eric dripping wet after being pulled from the river. Eric being stripped of his wet clothes - not by his wife - but the two other ladies on board. (I think Eric secretly relished this bit of fun.) And finally, Eric dressed in the red bathrobe already retelling his tale of terror.

The amazing thing is I was just wondering the other day what in the world I would have to share with all of you.....who knew Eric would give me a juicy tidbit to post!!

The Admiral

12/9/2010

PS. Yes, Eric is just fine. A bit embarrassed, but just fine!

Central Florida aka the Arctic...

A quick check of the weather had us quickly revising our plans to depart St. Augustine. Our offshore weather window would be closing in 48 hours and while this was ample time for our passage to Ft. Pierce, we always like to have a bit of cushion just in case Mr. NOAA's timeline was off. So instead of a leisurely Saturday in St. Augustine, we opted for a pre-dawn departure.

Now, fellow boaters please take note, when departing St. Augustine in the dark beware of unlit red markers - these are also undocumented on our chartplotters. Fortunately, it was an uneventful departure and we navigated our way past them, but a surprise nonetheless. Offshore proved to be our best run yet. Speeding along at an easy 7+ knots. We dropped the hook in Ft. Pierce about 27 hours later.

After a few hours sleep the question became - what next. We were 2 weeks ahead of schedule for our slip in Stuart and a mere 25 miles away. A quick call to the marina in Stuart and we were on our way again. Not to a slip but a mooring ball. That would do us fine for the time being.

On arrival we quickly started to fall into our routines from last season. Friends Eric and Ellen greeted us and Ellen and the Admiral began making plans for morning walks. The Captain and Eric had other pursuits - rib specials from PA's - as our arrival coincided with their anniversary and ribs were $9.99 and drafts $0.99.

Our arrival was also in time for the Stuart Holiday parade which included the local law enforcement, fire department, classic cars, school marhing bands and plenty of floats. The parade must have been a sign for Father Christmas to add a chill to the air as we've experienced near freezing temperatures each of the last two nights and highs only in the low 50's during the day.

Brrrrrr!!

The Admiral

11/24 - 12/9/2010

St. Augustine...

We arrived in St. Augustine and were greeted by the new site of mooring balls in the north and south anchorages. How wonderful! Gone are the days of worrying about your neighbor dragging anchor.

Ashore, we enjoyed the downtown district taking in the pedestrian street, the fort and enjoying happy hour at Pizzalley. On the advice of friends Kevin and Marlene, we also took in the San Sebastian Winery. We'd walked past it on many occasions previously while enroute to the marine supply store but had never stopped in. It was great and will now be on the list of regular activities for future visits.

We also made it out to the lighthouse and old jail before heading off to the airport to drop off Matt. Speaking of Matt, 15 minutes after dropping him at the airport our week of wonderful weather came to an end. The sky opened up and it downpoured. Kudos to Matt's vacation timing.

More to come.

The Admiral
11/24 - 11/26/10

Fort George Island

It was wonderful to leave Fernandina and head south on the intracoastal. We hadn't traversed this area of the ICW since the fall of 2008 as we had bypassed it by going outside into the Atlantic each of the last two years.

The weather was splendid - the best we'd seen in a November while cruising. In fact, the weather was so good that Matt questioned if we'd been lying to you all about previous weather related postings. We promise you we have not. Instead we can only say that the week of Thanksgiving brought with it the most wonderful 75-80 degree days filled with sunshine and such mild winds they could merely be described as breezes.

But onto Fort George and the Kingsley Plantation...

The plantation has had many owners since its 18th century roots but the most notable owners were the Kingsley's in the early 1800's. Zephaniah Kingsley and his African bride moved to the island where they and their slaves produced cotton. Zephaniah would become a very successful plantation owner adding to his acreage over time. He is remembered both for his business success but more importantly for his proactive stance on free blacks and his opinions against racial prejudice.

While the property still includes the old plantation house - now modified over time, the most interesting structures are the old slave quarters. They are built from tabby - cooked oyster shells (for lime), sand and water which when combined make a form of cement. Much of the cabins still stand after all these years and the oyster shells can be seen in the structures.

As interesting as this stop is we must be moving on.

The Admiral

11/23/2010

Florida!

We crossed the St. Mary's river and poof we were in Florida. It felt odd. We've never made it to Florida this early in the season. Albeit we were in northern Florida, but Florida nonetheless. Similar to our southern Georgia wanderings, we would spend plenty of time at Amelia Island - a week on the mooring ball at Fernandina Beach Marina. Why - well its a great spot and we had lots of visitors planned.

Our first guests were Kevin and Marlene. Friends from back home, Kevin and Marlene are in the process of relocating to Florida. We had a great time catching up on each others adventures.

A few days later Dave's brother, Matt, joined us. Matt would be spending the Thanksgiving week with us.

With some wheels to get around in, we experienced Amelia Island beyond the Fernandina Hstoric District. We were quite surprised to see how Amelia quickly changes from the quaint downtown district to the 'burbs' with plenty of shopping and services. While we took the opportunity to stock the pantry, Matt chose more important stocking items - a bottle of Captain Morgan's to toast his holiday by.

While on the island we visited Fort Clinch State Park. Its an old Civil War fort that has been very well preserved. I'd love to show you photos, but unfortunately on this day I would forget the camera. We also enjoyed the beach and just exploring the Amelia neighborhoods.

With our Amelia touring complete it is time to give Matt a little taste of the intracoastal. So south we go.

The Admiral

11/16 - 11/22/2010

St. Mary's and Cumberland Island

After several lazy days at Jekyll Island, it was time to move on. Next stop, St. Mary's Georgia. If St. Mary's sounds familiar to many of you it is because each of the last two years we have spent our Thanksgiving holiday there. Not this year. No, we have other plans. However, we did want to pop into town and check out the second hand bookstore as well as other happenings.

After St. Mary's we moved on to Cumberland Island. Unlike Jekyll, Cumberland has seen little change since our last visit. The mature trees and spanish moss still welcome you to the island. The horses and armadillos still roam at their leisure. The ruins of the old Carnegie mansion still stands large making one wonder what it would have been like to see Dungeness in its prime. The beach is a wonder as well - stretching for miles - it is almost as if you could walk along its white sandy shores for hours uninterrupted.

The Admiral

11/13 - 11/15/2010

Changes at Jekyll Island...

Our offshore passage was what we expected it to be -negiligble winds and flat seas. We motored throughout the night and arrived at Jekyll Island the following morning.

Ashore at Jekyll, things are changing! The gas station has been torn down and a new and larger gas station /convenience store is going up in its place. The strip mall with the IGA and other stores has been vacated and all the shops relocated to trailers about a mile north. With the strip mall vacated, the plans are to knock down the strip mall and the convention center across the street and start fresh.

The new complex will feature more shops, the convention center and a new hotel. When finished it should be quite the sight!

We happened to be exploring the island the day before the mall and convention center were to come down so we thought it appropriate to feature a before shot with hopes that in 2-3 years we can feature the after shot.

More to come.

The Admiral

11/9 - 11/12/10

Land Ho...

After nearly a week, we were ready for a little shore leave. Destination....Charleston, SC. We pulled into the marina and sprung into action. The fun would come but there were chores to be done - laundry, groceries and more.

Three loads of laundry and a grocery stock up later we were ready to explore. We headed downtown, walked through the market and enjoyed the sights and smells that are Charleston. Along our stroll we took in the architecture that is unique to the city, but you've seen that posted here before. So instead we happened on something we thought truly unique. A Ferrari parked next to a Maserati. Not pictured is the Mercedes that pulled up next to the cars shortly after we had snapped the photo. Quite the neighborhood.

What is next. Well the weather is warming into the 70's. The winds prediced to be negligible. The seas flat. We thought we'd try our hand again at an offshore voyage. Given our last experience we figure we'd prefer not enough wind to too much.

Next stop - Georgia - weather permitting.

The Admrial

11/7 - 11/8/201

At Sea

Monday: On a beautiful morning we left Elizabeth City and motored toward the sunrise and into the Albermarle Sound. The wind picked up and Dave opted to put up the spinnaker. Within no time we were cruising along at 8+ knots. Then it happened....the spinnaker blew out ripping the sail in two. I can't believe it....it happened again. Those of you who have been reading our blog from the beginning may remember that in our first season we crossed the Albermarle Sound and the spinnaker burst - not only on the same sound but also in the same location on the sail. Ahhhh.... the Captain's frustrations were heard for miles.

But we persevere. So up went the main and genoa and we cruised the balance of the day. Certainly not at the 8+ knots we had been, but still a respectable speed. We ended the day with the hook down in the Pungo River (Mile 127.5).

Tuesday: Day two of the cruising adventure started with another gorgeous sunrise and another challenge. Today it would be Pamilco Sound and stiff northerly winds. The parade of boats began the journey and by the time we reached the sound there were sailboats everywhere. The southern migration was obviously in full swing. End day at Mile 187.

Wednesday: Day three was more of the same. Lots of boats. So many in fact that when we reached the anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay we feared we may not find a place to drop the hook. Fortunately we did and our friend Francie would later tell us that we were one of 29 boats in the small anchorage for the evening. Thank heavens Mother Nature decided to bless us with a quiet evening. (Mile 244.5)

Thursday: She got even. We woke to a dense fog the next morning. It delayed every one's start as we couldn't even see the boats anchored next to us let alone the ICW channel markers. Instead Dave and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and waited for the fog to lift. It did and the race to hoist anchors and be off was underway.

Yet Mother Nature wasn't done with her tricks. On this day she brought a fierce rain and cold wind that had Dave and I asking ourselves why we hadn't left a month sooner. Once we reached Wrightsville Beach most of the boaters chose to stop for the evening. Not wanting to experience another evening in a crowded anchorage, the Captain and I continued a few more miles finally dropping the hook around Mile 244.5.

Friday / Saturday: Isn't their a saying that boaters should never begin a journey on a Friday. Perhaps we should listen in the future. The day began sunny and breezy. We exited the Cape Fear inlet and found ourselves sailing along Atlantic waters. The wind was out of the west with an expected shift to the northwest later in the day. But as the afternoon progressed the westerly winds turn more southwest and we found ourselves either headed to the Bahamas or pointed straight into the wind to reach our Charleston destination. As the sun set storm clouds started to pop up and the winds picked up into the 20's with gusts to 30. The ride had become entirely too unpleasant.

Around 11pm making little headway into the wind we finally gave up Charleston as our destination and set course for the more northerly port of call, Georgetown, SC. Unfortunately, our bad luck would continue for as we reached the 17 mile long inlet the outgoing tide was in full force bringing Tropical Breeze to a 2.5 knot crawl with both engines humming. Seventeen miles at two and a half knots is a long way and we were exhausted once done. We dropped the hook and went down for some shut eye. The winds and tides still rallying around us.

The northerly wind shift finally came at 5:30 in the morning. The shift woke me up and I went out on deck. I watched for a while as the boat move with the winds and against the tide. It is always an interesting site to see these two forces battle against another. You never know which will win. Today wind won but in the midst of it all Tropical Breeze found a buoy marker and ran over the top of it. If you could imagine me in my sleepy state suddenly realizing that if I looked underneath the trampolines there was a yellow buoy marker flashing. Oh CRAP! I yelled for the Captain and was scared to death that we would never get ourselves out of the predicament without damage to the hulls. We somehow separated ourselves from the marker (it is all a blur) and were relieved when we realized the marker was encased in styrofoam hence no damage done. Close call!!

Wide awake now we anxiously waited for sunrise all the while keeping an eye on the nearby marker. We didn't want to hoist the anchor before the sun came up as we feared that the anchor chain may have gotten wrapped around the marker and we'd need the sunlight to maneuver our way through the mess. As twilight broke anxiety got the best of us and we began hoisting the anchor. We were happy to realize that the chain had not wrapped around the mark.

Adrenaline overcoming the lack of sleep we continued the journey down the ICW finally choosing the quiet and solitude of Dewees Creek with which to drop the hook. Sleep finally came. We rose to watch a beautiful sunset and could hardly believe that less that 24 hours before the calm that surrounded us now had been fury. (Mile 454.9)

The Admiral

11/1/ 2010 - 11/6/2010

Trick or Treat?

Halloween found us in Elizabeth City. The town is great for cruisers providing dockage at the town wharf and having a quaint downtown to explore. The Captain had high hopes of stopping at the local seafood place for his favorite - soft shell crab. Unfortunately it was Sunday and the restaurant is not open on Sundays.

Instead we enjoyed happy hour on board 'Release' with friends Ken, Francie, Mike, Lu and four legged friend Skipper. Yet it was Halloween so we should do some tricking or treating - shouldn't we? So we all opted for treating and walked up to the local Dairy Queen for our favorite ice cream treat. As you might imagine that made the Captain happy........and yes Dave's his Blizzard was EXTREME!

The Admiral

10/31/2010

The Dismal Swamp...

One of the nice things about tying up at Elizabeth Dock is the next morning, before the first lock, you have the opportunity to have coffee with Lockmaster Robert. We did just that; catching up on all the local happenings. The lock had actually been on a restricted schedule due to drought until a heavy late September rain - 17 inches in less than 3 days. That took the Dismal Swamp from a drought situation to a flood and forced Lockmasters to start draining the excess water out of the canal. The dispersing the excess water created problems of its own. A shoal formed in the canal and a dredge was inside trying to move the excess earth.

After coffee, we continued our journey through the swamp encountering the dredge. We had fears that our wide beam would prevent us from passing. That would not be the problem. Instead the dredge held up canal traffic for 1 1/2 hours to move a pipe. Gridlock on the Dismal Swamp who'd have thought?! Fortunately being one of the last boats in the pack has its benefits. Sailboat ChrisJen stopped at the Wallaceton Tower bulkhead just before the 'traffic jam' and tied off. They let us raft to them. From behind came the power Trumpy Windrush who rafted to us. Now you really had a traffic jam with three boats rafted to each other in the canal. I wish I had a photo!!

The dredge did, eventually, allow traffic to pass but not until we deemed it too late to continue the journey to Elizabeth City. Instead we chose to stop at the dock between the South Mills lock and bridge for the night.

The Admiral

10/30/2010

Photo 1: Robert tending to a boat in the lock.

Photo 2: Robert's banana tree and conch shell collection

Photo 3: The swamp.

And We Are Off!

The wind blew steady all night making Dave and I wonder whether or not we would be able to get off the dock. Come morning the wind had calmed and we took it as an opportunity to begin. Good thing we did because within an hour of our leaving the marina the wind started its steady blast. So much so that even before we reached the Chesapeake, Dave suggested we do something we had never done before - reef the main.

Admittedly we were flying a little blind. Our wind speed indicator is not working but nonetheless we both knew it was blowing a might harder than the 15 knots forecasted. By mid-morning we had our confirmation. Someone from the Navy came over the radio and announced to other Naval ships that the wind had averaged 30 knots for the last 10 minutes. Good thing we reefed the main.

Yet wicked wind is not all wicked. In this case it was out of the NNW and with our southbound heading it made for a fun and fast ride down the bay. We averaged 8-9 knots but at points were surfing 10+ down the waves.

Our journey was so quick that we passed our anticipated stopping point in Hampton Roads, zipped by Hospital Point, crossed underneath the Gilmerton Bridge and successfully locked through the Deep Creek lock and into the Dismal Swamp.

Already two days ahead of our albeit loose schedule, we pulled up to Elizabeth Dock for the night. What a great first day!

The Admiral

10/29/2010

Where Did Summer Go?

Heavens can it be that time of year already? The summer has flown by and while we are excited to begin a new cruising season, it is hard to believe that November is already on us.

We had a great midwestern summer! The midwest heated up this year which made for some great days boating on Lake Michigan. We also spent time in Nova Scotia - beautiful country - visiting our friends Eric and Ellen on West Wind. (Thanks so much E&E!)

Lots of family activities kept us busy. Pictured here are photos from the annual family Corn Roast where we spent a weekend tubing down the river and eating pig and corn.

Boat work also entered into the mix with Tropical Breeze getting lots of pampering. We raised the water line two inches, gave her a new look with lots of bottom paint, modified the bimini, restitched the trampolines, a wash and wax and more.

But before we get too far down the road a few shout outs:

Thanks to Jim and Kathy (and Murphy too) on Charm who have agreed to take care of the "Silver Bullet" during our journey.

Also a call out to Dave, Shirley and Christopher. Sorry we missed your last blog comment until now. We hope you - and many others - had a wonderful summer on Tiffany Rose. And yes Christopher, I am once again in search of the elusive manatee this season.

So we are ready!! Let the southern journey begin!!

The Admiral

10/28/10

A Season Wrap Up...

From Annapolis we traveled to the eastern shore community of Oxford which is another quaint town along the Chesapeake. There we met with fierce winds as we attempted to tie up to the town courtesy dock but once ashore enjoyed exploring town, seeing the waterman mural and taking in the views of all the picnic boats at the Hinckley Yard.

From Oxford we traveled the short way to San Domingo Creek and went into St. Michaels from the back door. Unlike many of the other small communities we visited, St. Michael's was open for business and I walked David's feet off viewing all the shops. After we were done the Captain rested his weary toes and sipped on a beer to recover.

With St. Michael's complete, our Chesapeake adventure was quickly coming to a close. It was time to head to the marina for - must I say it - haulout - ugh!

Fortunately, all went well with the haul and we have returned to the Midwest for what is shaping up to be a splendid summer. The Captain and I will part company with you here, but please join us again in the fall when the Adventures of Tropical Breeze continue. Who knows maybe, just maybe, we will FINALLY make it to the Bahamas!

Enjoy your summer!

The Admiral

Annapolis...

We've seen Annapolis by land and by sea but no matter how we approach Annapolis, it is always one of our favorite stops.

Yet this time was different. It was the first time we approached Annapolis by sea during the sailing season and for the first time we learned exactly what it is like to approach the US Sailing Capital by water dodging other boaters as we approached.

Once in Annapolis I was anxious to get to land. We'd been to plenty of interesting little towns in the last week or so but one thing they all had in common was that their shopping districts were still closed for the season. Annapolis would be different. Shopping would be plentiful. In the end, we didn't buy anything, but we did find something we hadn't seen before - the electronic yodeling pickle. Perhaps, I'll just close with that.

The Admiral

5/16/2010

Tangier Island...

Of all the places on the Chesapeake, the one 'must see' that everyone consistently spoke of was Tangier. So as we left Onancock on an overcast morning and set sail into Tangier Sound, the anticipation was high of what was to come. Our decision to approach from the Sound side was ideal. The minute we entered the channel we understood what makes Tangier Island so special. Along the channel was a long series of docks. The docks were filled with lots of local fishing boats, small shacks and more crab pots than we'd ever seen. It was an amazing view and in many respects we felt as if we'd stepped into Michener's novel "Chesapeake" for this was undoubtedly a community of watermen both past and present.

I'd read somewhere that over 60 million crab are fished out of the Bay each year. An unbelievable number. With a harvest that size annually it is amazing that the species is not overfished, but here is the amazing thing - just one female crab has the potential for laying 8 million eggs annually and the time to maturiity for a crab is 12-18 months. Talk about an amazing replenishing supply!!! I suppose the trick is to not contaminate the waters and somehow disrupt the ecosystem of the crab.

We eventually weaved our way up the channel and to Parks Marina where we tied up for the night. From there we set out on foot for a tour. The community has established plaquards to signify the location of historical places in the island's history. We enjoyed the stories of who's who in Tangier Island's past and quickly realized that the community was founded by about 5-6 families as the military monument and the cemetery headstones showed.

Unfortunately, our arrival was early in the tourist season and most of the island shops and restaurants were closed. In fact the only things we could find open were the grocery and the local sandwich shop. Nonetheless, we had a marvelous time.

The Admiral

5/13/2010

Onancock...

After a great stay on the Rappahannock, it was time to move on. So we headed to the eastern shore to the small community of Onancock. It was a blustry day with the wind on the nose making for a rocky ride even with our two hulls. Yet the trip was well worth it. Once we serpentined through the Onancock channel and into the creek we found homes scattered across the waters edge.

The community is made up of about 1500 residents and Dave and I were amazed that everyone we passed waved to us - talk about small town hospitality. In fact the only thing missing was a bunch of townfolk sitting on Liar's Bench telling stories. So Dave improvised instead telling me how he loved pickles and had never had a DQ Blizzard - yeah right.

Back on the water we took the dinghy up the smaller creeks to enjoy the views of the shore before retiring back to Tropical Breeze.

Next stop Tangier Island.

The Admiral

5/11 - 5/12/2010