Man-o-War Cay – East Bay

Today was the ‘best day ever’ since leaving Jacksonville. What made it so special was being met outside Man-o-War Cay cut by Barry and Barb on their 17 foot Whaler. They welcomed us to MOW and led us through the cut. They helped me with the mooring, a maneuver I have not done since 1997 at Catalina Island. After visiting for a while in our cockpit, we loaded into their Whaler, headed to the marina dock so they could show us around MOW Cay. Myron and I had our first conch burgers: cracked conch with buffalo sauce, lettuce, onion, tomato, and sweet potato fries on the side. It was fantastic. Are you hungry yet? Even though it tasted like “nap,” we rustled up some energy to tour part of the Cay. Barb and Barry showed us a church for Sunday and introduced us to a number of their friends. It is easy to see why Barb and Barry call this home. I may talk Myron into staying awhile, at least until our Australian friends on Clementine arrive.
We purchased internet for 30 days for this area. I am hoping it will allow us to post some pictures. The juvenile mahi caught on the Gulf Stream.

From Blogger Pictures

A stunning sunrise at Powell Cay.

From Blogger Pictures

Barb and me after a wonderful lunch at Bradleys.

From Blogger Pictures

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via wifi.
{GMST}26|35.416|N|077|00.126|W|Mooring|Man O War Cay{GEND}

Great Guana Cay – Little Joes Point

I thought the settlement at Green Turtle Cay was a quaint little town. As I mentioned, the people are incredibly friendly and on the whole quiet lovely. We anchored in White Sound. However, it is a very tight anchorage that allows little scope on the anchor rode, therefore it is not a place I can recommend if the winds might be in the 30’s. Even if you take a mooring, you will have several anchored boats around you that may drag.
The winds came on strong at about 2 am with thunderstorms. They quieted down to about 15-20 knots from the NNW when we left the sound in the morning. The wind direction was across Whale Cay Channel. It was a good romp down to and through the cut. The tide was at slack flood when we sailed through Whale Cay cut and just starting to ebb as we turned into Loggerhead Channel. It was rough, but manageable. We sailed right up to the anchorage. We had done so much motor sailing lately, I forgot how much I prefer to have the motor off.
Tonight the winds have clocked around to the NE and quieted down to just a breeze. It should be a much more enjoyable night although the low will be 59F.
We are out of our mahi mahi. We have plenty other food, we just so enjoy fresh fish that we are inspired to do something about it.
Love to all,
Dena
Posted via wifi.
{GMST}26|40.660|N|077|08.380|W|Anchored|Great Guana Cay{GEND}

Green Turtle Cay - White Sound

Late last night our anchorage turned uncomfortable when the winds clocked around to E and then SE. A lee shore makes for very little sleep in the night. At first light, we pulled up anchor and headed to Green Turtle Cay. We started to anchor on the outside of Green Turtle Cay, but the holding ground is quite poor and even our Manson dragged easily. Myron was able to reach Barry over in Man O War via the VHF and get local knowledge about the entrance to White Sound. So we proceeded into that protected area to anchor and prepare the dinghy for Myron's ride to the Custom's office. We followed the instructions in the guide, I stayed on the boat and Myron went to Custom's alone. Alas, this was not what Custom's wanted however and Myron had to make two 2.5 mile trips in this wind, a wet and wild ride, one without me and the second one with me.
On our trip together, we walked around a little, found some homemade ice cream and paid a bundle for it. It was a nice treat to enjoy while we sat on a dock of the bay and watched the comings and goings. The people here are incredibly friendly, locals and cruisers.
Apparently weather conditions are right for 'rage' at the cuts, which means we are here for a short duration. 'Rage on the bar' is the local term for steep, confused overfalling seas due to contrary winds and strong tidal currents between islands. Now that we are checked in, we can explore the island and fish wherever. However, at this point the only agenda item we have is to take a nap!
Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham Radio.
{GMST}26|46.772|N|077|20.158|W|Anchored|Green Turtle Cay{GEND}

Powell Cay

Yesterday was a day off and a time of celebration for the birth of Christ our Savior. We realized that we have not had a day off from working on or sailing/moving Hold Fast since Thanksgiving. Before that, with the exception of an entire Sunday with the Clearmans, the last day we had taken off was to walk around Cumberland Island November 3. We spent time with as many friends in Jacksonville as could be arranged during our stay. It was great to see so many good folks and I miss all of you already. We also accomplished quite a bit on Hold Fast. To give you an idea, here are several of things we listed out: replaced primary bilge pump, installed new secondary diesel fuel filter, new hydraulic steering ram and new mount, transmission oil change, new coil for outboard, new stabilizer fins for outboard, outboard transmission oil change, new mizzen installed with reefing lines, new mizzen stack pack made and installed along with mizzen topping lift, fabricated moisture barrier for aft cabin mattress, fabricate dinghy chaps, install new barometer and clock (these were our Christmas gifts!), install new auto pilot, install new alternator and revise mount, change out jerry can boards – oh, and a new passport for Dena…No wonder we are tired! There were still items on our list that did not get completed, one of those projects has now become a priority: side shade screens. Wow the UV here is intense! It make us thankful to have our hard top.
Today we pulled up anchor before dawn and re-positioned close to Green Turtle Cay. This place is called Powell Cay. We took shelter on the southern side due to a slight breeze out of the north. It is not quite as much the ‘middle of nowhere’ as Great Sale Cay, but we are all by ourselves out here. Still, we managed to get a faint internet signal and Myron was able to repair a problem in our Ham email account. The error (a corrupted weather file from NOAA) was not letting us receive any Ham emails, which includes all the weather reports. We thank God to have that resolved.
Our plan is to pull up anchor early again tomorrow, get to Green Turtle Cay and check-in. Hopefully check-in will happen before noon. After that, who knows!
Posted via wifi.
{GMST}26|53.256|N|077|28.486|W|Anchored|Powell Cay{GEND}

Merry Christmas!

We wish all of you a Merry Christmas!

We are still anchored peacefully in Great Sale Cay, nothing is happened too quickly on board right now. We plan to pull some wind gribs with the Ham radio and figure out next steps. Last night there were eight boats anchored here, and one had Christmas lights on for a while!
This morning we had coffee, biscuits and read the Christmas story according to the gospel of Luke (1:26-2:39). Like the angels and shepherds, we give glory to God in the highest and we join Simeon and Anna in giving thanks to God for bringing the light unto the world and the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
May the true meaning of Christmas warm your heart and soul today and everyday.
Love to all,
Dena

Great Sale Cay, Northwest Harbour

Woo hoo, we are here!! I think Myron did a great job timing the weather window. Crossing the Gulf Stream during the daylight hours gave an opportunity for fishing. He pulled in a juvenile feisty bull Mahi. To our dismay, he also caught in a black plastic trash bag. Our pace was slower than we had hoped which put us at the Matanilla Shoal waypoint after sundown. Still that was an easier approach in pitch dark than exiting St. Lucie's in daylight. I told Myron I really never want to do that inlet again, ever. We were surrounded by all kinds and sizes of fishing boats with fishermen that had been locked down due to weather. These guys were seriously itching to get on the stream. That gung ho convoy of vessels was actually helpful in identifying the channel. I want to note that the inlet is not charted due to its continuous change and shoaling, there is discussion of ceasing to maintain it due to the cost. The inlet was worked up which can make our depth sounder reluctant to give us a reading. I kept running the inlet with the last reading flashing at 13 feet, when suddenly our shallow depth warning went off and the sounder read 3.5 feet. I was sure we were going aground, no matter which way I turned it seemed nothing improved. We were followed by a trawler and he matched my erratic moves, probably assuming that if a sailboat could make it, he could too. We made it, and I think it was by the grace of God.
It was a pleasant crossing. The winds were light, 10 knots or less, out of the ESE. We motor sailed with jib and full main. As the wind lightened, we reefed the main to keep it from flogging itself. The jib was reefed and sheeted inside the rigging. Before sundown the winds increased and turned more SE, which improved our speed. At one point, we had 40 degrees correction on the helm to maintain course against the stream. On my watch, the compass typically read 120 degrees and our actual heading per the GPS was 85 degrees. You have got to respect the stream!
After we crossed onto the banks, the swell quieted down substantially and the winds lessened further. We went through patches of fog and had to put the sails away as they became more of a hindrance than help. We took diver Paul's advice and worked our way about 20 miles onto the banks and found a 15-16 foot shoal to set anchor and wait for sunrise. We did not go to bed right away because we were so taken by the vastness of the stars, the Milky Way and the planets. Jupiter gave a reflection on the water that reached right to Hold Fast.
A hot shower, a couple hours of sleep and we were back in route to Great Sale Cay. It was absolutely peaceful on the banks. Myron put some lines in the water but all we caught was floating grass. We dropped anchor here about 1 pm, settled in and had a tasty meal of that juvenile Mahi with rice and asparagus. That meal is about to be topped off with Hershey kisses that Shari and Paul brought us from China. Dessert treats from China consumed in the Bahamas, who knew? We are figuring out where we want to head and when. The 'plan' is to work our way to Green Turtle Cay to check in. For now though, I am going outside to enjoy this most incredibly gorgeous day!
Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}26|58.732|N|078|13.079|W|Anchored|Great Sale Cay{GEND}

Anchored

Hey All, Dena dropped the hook around 1:00am allowing us to get some sleep we are moving on to Sales Cay today.
Peace to all
Myron
Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}27|10.140|N|078|45.863|W|Anchored|Little Bahamas Bank{GEND}

Half way

Hey All, we sailed out of St. Lucie inlet this morning at 9:30 and are enjoying a beautiful crossing. We are motor-sailing in 10 kts of wind.
Got to go a fish is on!
Myron

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}27|12.203|N|079|38.037|W|Crossing|Half Way{GEND}

Resting and Waiting

Although this was not our planned route, we managed to enjoy ourselves coming south on the ICW. The ICW has been less frustrating south of Ponce de Leon due to two primary reasons: (1) the course is relatively straight as opposed to the repeated hairpins up in Georgia, and (2) the majority of bridges are fixed at 65’ as opposed to draw bridges with timed openings. If any of you are thinking about coming this way, we highly recommend a stop at Vero Beach Municipal Marina. We took a morning there last night, rafted up with ‘Dream Weaver’ a 42 foot Catalina. Taking a mooring is one thing, but we had never rafter up on a mooring before, and the winds were making Dream Weaver hunt back and forth. Since Frank and Patty were not home on Dream Weaver when we arrived, Skip on ‘Ducks in a Row’, a 46’ Hylas, took sympathy on us and lent us a hand. He boarded Dream Weaver to take our lines and it all worked out splendid. We were ever so grateful for Skip’s help. Later on we met Skip’s wife, Betsy and their miniature long-hair dachshund puppy, Drake. I discovered that Betsy was still in the compliance field in investment banking. It was fun talking, such a small world.
We met a number of great people at the marina, as well as on the free bus ride we took to Publix. It is easy to provision, go to the beach, the movies, restaurants, Tiffany’s for Boaters (West Marine), do laundry, drop off trash, get water. Wow, I can see why Vero Beach has earned the nickname ‘Velcro Beach!’ I liked that place, and I would go back.
This morning we topped off with diesel and water and made way for St. Lucie’s. We had an exciting moment attempting to enter the anchorage on the north side of the causeway. The charts indicate an 8 foot depth, but we saw it rise up to 4 feet and had to quickly move out of there (we draw 5 feet). We are now anchored on the south side of the causeway, a little choppy in the SE winds, but Hold Fast can handle it. Here we will wait for a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas. We are listening to Chris’ weather in the mornings and I would imagine there will be others crossing when Chris says it is favorable. Please pray for light winds from the south.
We heard from Kenny and Barb and they are doing great. It was a long four week crossing with little winds. They are currently in the Grenadines and Kenny is tempting us to meet them in Cartagena. As you all know, and as we responded to Kenny, we just do not know our long term plans. Goodness, we are barely managing short-term plans which, right now, only extends to what we are having for dinner!
Love to all,
Dena

Posted via wifi.
{GMST}27|14.972|N|080|13.284|W|Anchored|Jensen Beach{GEND}

Vero Beach

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}27|39.604|N|080|22.311|W|Mooring|Vero Beach{GEND}

Malabar

There were very few boats on the ICW today. Maybe it is because most folks do not go out in this weather and take 15 to 20 knots on the nose, or maybe it is just because most folks are already where they planned to be for Christmas. In any case, we do not mind a smaller crowd and we learned not to make plans about where to be on any date. All we want for Christmas are fair winds and/or a good anchorage!

Only one draw bridge today, all the others were fixed with 65' clearance. For a few hours we had a little of the jib out, sheeted inside the rigging. It gained us half a knot.

For tonight's anchorage, we tucked in behind a spoil island just south of Melbourne. The wind is still blowing strong and the islands protect us from the fetch. There are only about four other boats anchored in this area. We just finished a nice steak dinner and are hoping for a solid night's sleep before we press on tomorrow. We can hear the ocean from here, must be quite a sea breaking.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}27|59.357|N|080|32.817|W|Heading South|Malabar{GEND}

Titusville at Sunset

Several times today we gave thanks to God our timing was such as to be able to duck into Ponce de Leon inlet when the winds went contrary on us. I say that because last night and today the winds were 15 to 20 out of the SE, almost exactly our intended direction on the outside. Going into the wind on the ICW is much more manageable!

We also thanked God that we did not run Hold Fast aground working to get to our anchorage in the wee hours of this morning. We do our best to keep rested during our off watch, but once at anchor this morning and in our regular aft cabin bed, we slept solid from 5 am until about 9 am. Then we heard calls on the radio about a sailboat that was aground on the very corner we were negotiating just before 3 am. It was low tide around 9 am, by the time we had coffee, discussed next destinations and pulled up anchor, the sailboat was free and on its way.

Our miles made today were better than we imagined, although slow going due to the wind on the nose. We got the anchor down off of Titusville just before sunset. Now it is time to make some well deserved dinner and get a more reasonable amount of sleep.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}28|37.793|N|080|48.582|W|Heading South|Titusville{GEND}

Rockhouse Creek

Hey all we anchored in Rockhouse Creek at 4:00am ouch!
Oh well, down the ICW.
Myron
Posted via wifi.
{GMST}29|03.663|N|080|55.896|W|Heading for Ponce|Rockhouse Creek{GEND}

Heading For Ponce Inlet

Well it was a great ride while it lasted. The winds have moved to the south east so we are heading for Ponce and the ICW.
Myron
Posted via wifi.
{GMST}29|15.964|N|080|43.830|W|Heading for Ponce|Bahamas Bound{GEND}

(no subject)

We got off the dock this morning at 6:30 made good time to Mayport.
Myron
Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}30|18.984|N|081|18.977|W|Heading South|Bahamas Bound{GEND}

Home in Jacksonville Again!

What a pleasant stay at Cumberland Island. Just as we were assembling the dingy to go to shore for a hike, we saw our new friends Don and Sharry cruise by in their boat. We met up with them at the docks and the four of us hiked the island for about four hours. The wild horses were indifferent to us, although one colt was curious.

From Heading South - October 2011

Toward the end of the hike we spent time investigating the ruins of the Carnegie mansion. Lucy Carnegie employed more than 300 people. She was set on making the estate self-sustaining, including crops and farm animals. She had houses built for each of her children as they grew older and/or got married. When Lucy died in 1916, the estate was left unattended and in 1959 it burned and was never replaced.

From Heading South - October 2011

Our hike left us hungry and worn out. After dinner we quickly dozed off, but at 3 am we were awakened by the arrival of a cold front. Cold, raining and windy. It set off our anchor alarm like a radio clock. We weighed anchor at 6:45 this morning in order to make the Jacksonville main street bridge before the 4:30 pm closure. It was still dark as we worked through the Cumberland Sound. Myron noted that we should be seeing a red buoy soon, but I was concerned about an unlighted fixture off our bow. Then we realized the light on the red buoy was extinguished and we were heading right for that target in the dark. Crisis averted! We made such good time across the sound that it was still dark as we came upon Fernadina Beach, just as well, there is a lot of industry in that area. For several hours, we ran the ICW as usual.

Just after entering St. John's River from Sister's Creek, Myron mentioned that two individuals driving in a small boat toward us sure looked like Paul and Shari. In fact, it was them! "Pirates" Myron yelled as they raced up on us. We got them aboard and towed "Gretyl." Poor Shari was wet from the ride. It was a welcome treat to just see them - beyond that Paul insisted on taking the helm to give us a break, so we said he was our harbor pilot. Shari brought Publix sub sandwiches for lunch. I realized how hungry I was and felt suddenly ashamed after I gobbled down my food. They brought their stuffies (Bearette and Geofrey) to see our stuffies (Patches and OT), but that is a different story for another time. Since they had seen us off at this point and now caught up with us upon our return five months later, the whole event was surreal. And pretty cool too!

From Heading South - October 2011

We made it to the main street bridge in time, got through just to see the FEC Railroad bridge closing in front of us, trapping us between the RR and the main street bridges for at least 15 minutes. Paul departed on Gretyl for the marina, Shari stayed on board so we could continue our visit. Glad she did too as another pair of eyes were helpful in getting through the Ortega River Bridge. It is under construction and has only one leaf open. A 25 foot span to squeeze a 13 foot beam vessel, in wind and current. Myron made it look easy. As we came into the Ortega Yacht Club and Marina (OYCM) we received a warm welcome from our dock family and dock master. Even Otis (RJ's dog) gave us a big smile and welcome. It was as if we had been gone for a long time, but never left. Either way, it was good to be home! Fred took us to Moon River to address our five month craving for that infamous pizza.

We are full, happy, secure and ready to sleep for a day.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via wifi.
{GMST}30|16.507|N|081|42.960|W|in the slip|Jacksonville{GEND}

Back at Cumberland Island

We were quite tempted at Wrightsville Beach to head offshore at Masonboro Inlet. We watched Southern Passage, a tall masted catamaran, head out from there, but we stuck to our plans of heading offshore from the Cape Fear Inlet. As I noted in our last blog, the tides worked well for us and we probably gained an hour with the Cape Fear Inlet route.

When I wrote Monday night, we had only let a little out on the jib, more than a T-shirt, but not by much, and we were making five knots. The wind subsequently died and we were at the mercy of disorganized seas with no wind to stop the rock and roll. At dusk, the wind came in from the north at about 30 knots, a little more than forecast. The stiff wind and new direction made it a little more rowdy during the night and we saw up to 8.4 knots. It took several hours for the seas to surrender to their new marching orders. "Windy" did well for the most part, but needed some assistance to surf the conflicting seas. Myron mentioned that it was probably just as well that we could not see the seas. I recalled that comment when I came up for my watch Tuesday morning and witnessed the seas breaking white all around. When dealing with collision avoidance with vessel traffic off of Charleston, the cargo ship captain said he spotted us among all the white caps. During his night watch, Myron was disappointed that Windy was not driving Hold Fast better, requireing Myron to hand steer. Come daylight, he discovered that the pin from one of the pulleys was gone and all Windy's input was never making it to the rudder. The pin was replaced and Windy was back at work in short order. It was a good thing too because we were having quite a run, regularly surfing at 7 or 8 knots, occasionally seeing 9 knots, and at one point I surfed at 10.6 knots. That sort of action was fun, because it was during daylight.

On Tuesday night we lost the wind again, then it filled in from the NE, at first 15 knots later excelling to 30 knots, producing the unfortunate affect on the seas. The good part about the high winds is that we made better time than planned. We could see St. Simon's Island at sunrise on Tuesday. After a wild ride into St. Simon's inlet, during which time we saw Southern Passage heading out (they must have beat us by a day), we poked around the planned anchorage about 12 noon. As much as we wanted to stop, take a hot shower and scarf down a good meal, the anchorage was not agreeable to either of us because it was rough and had poor holding ground. We both agreed to press on another five hours to Cumberland Island, even though that meant working through the St. Andrews Sound in dicey seas. It was only a short amount of pain to gain a really fun romp down the beautiful Cumberland River. We are transforming Hold Fast back to the anchor arrangement verses her offshore set up, pining for our hot showers and salivating for our dinner. Hold Fast is covered with salt from the rowdy ride. We were so pleased to have the hard top and enclosure during our cold and wet ride.

I think tomorrow will be a day to take a break and go for a walk on the island. We have not been off Hold Fast since we left Bath last Wednesday, October 26th.

We cannot express how excited we are to be so close to Jacksonville.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}30|45.674|N|081|28.410|W|Anchored Cumberland|Cumberland{GEND}

Allmost There

Just a quick position update all is well should drop anchor around noon.
Myron

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}31|08.905|N|081|12.759|W|underway|Allmost There{GEND}

Passage update

Just a quick position update all is well.
Myron

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}32|38.300|N|079|24.634|W|underway|At Sea{GEND}

Offshore Departure from Cape Fear

In the event it would work out, we prepared Hold Fast for an offshore run today: putting up lee cloths, setting up Windy (the wind vane), securing gear inside that is typically OK to leave out on a canal run, but not offshore. After careful study of the forecasted winds and seas along our planned route, we continued down the Cape Fear River right out into the Atlantic this afternoon. We prayed about going, about the route, and about the timing of tidal current. We give God the glory that we looked like geniuses shooting out the inlet at 8.4 knots. It took us a while to get to the wind and we wondered if it had disappeared. We put out the jib and Granddad and put Windy to work. We were only seeing 4.5 knots when we had planned for five knots. Then, to Myron's delight and slight dismay to me, we found the wind. We were running at 7.7 knots, too lively for nightfall. As a result, Granddad was retired for the night and the jib is pulling us along at over 6 knots. We guess the seas are around 3 to 5 feet, Unfortunately, they are a little disorganized.

I expect these winds to keep up all night. Our intended landfall is St. Simon's, Georgia, sometime on Wednesday. We heard there is affordable fuel in Brunswick.

Our current course is 230 (magnetic) and our speed now about 5 knots.

We will do our best to put up another post tomorrow and you all can see how well little Miss Dena is doing!

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}33|45.732|N|078|07.686|W|underway Cape Fear|Cape Fear{GEND}

Wrightsville Beach

In the late hours of the afternoon yesterday, the wind was wailing on us at Mile Hammock Bay, a place notorious for bad holding ground. Here comes our plug for the Manson Supreme anchor. The holding ground is soft silt, but the Manson burrowed through the silt and bit into a hard pan, confirmed this morning when we pulled up anchor and had to work to get the white hard pan off half of the anchor. Of course, you do not know this UNTIL you pull up anchor. Hold Fast raced back and forth on her tether for hours, same as the other boats at anchor. One boat could not keep a grip. At dusk they pulled up anchor and went looking for a better place. In route this morning, we saw them tied to the outside wall of a marina.

After sunset, Camp LeJeune became active with helicopters near our location. Myron guessed they were practicing night troop insertion because the helicopters were flying around without any lights on. It is always exciting stuff to us. Last night's weather report called for frost adversaries. We found out today there was a snow storm in New Jersey, severe enough for the governor to call for a state of emergency. Indeed, we were cold, until Myron fired up the coal stove.

Today was a much more pleasant day, still cool but much less wind. Our constant focus was about timing bridges. At one point we came to a crawl against a tidal current, putting the timing of the bridge opening in jeopardy. Then Myron realized the wind was just right for a jib to pull us against the tide. We were thrilled to gain it all back and make the bridge opening, but hey, we are easily entertained.

Now we are at anchor off of Wrightsville Beach, making preparations for a steak dinner. It would be nice to go offshore tomorrow. We shall see.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}34|12.101|N|077|48.178|W|anchored at Wrightsville Beach|Wrightsville Beach{GEND}

Mile Hammock Bay

It is not for lack of desire that we did not go offshore from Morehead City. We cannot do anything about the weather except respect it. Our favorable forecast has taken a turn for the worse. There is a system up north with hurricane force winds and the low near us is working its way north to join the party, apparently they will be united within 24 hours. As a result of that low wailing through here, there are gale force winds off Hatteras and 10-16 foot seas. In addition to that, it is downright cold. We think we were seeing gusts of maybe 30 knots today on the ICW as we worked our way south around Camp LeJeune. We had temperatures in the 40's so I imagine the wind chill could be as low as the 30's. I could not even get the cinnamon rolls to rise, so we are working on solving that problem tonight now that we are at anchor.

We figure we have it good though. We will look for another opportunity to go offshore, yet in the meantime we get to keep working our way south. Our buddies are not so fortunate. Anthony is stuck in Norfork and he thinks it may snow there tonight. Stephen and Marja were stuck in Elizabeth City because the Alligator River Bridge will not open when the wind is over 30 knots. We may have the same trouble with bridges here. At the Onslow Beach Bridge, we kept hoping the bridge tender did not see Hold Fast heeling over in the wind as we waited for an opening. Either way, it is all an adventure and, so far, forward progress.

Our ICW guide notes that the marines could kick us out of this anchorage at anytime. I cannot believe they would take such action just before sunset when we have no where else to go. We are anchored off the boat ramp and there are five other boats here as well. It gave me a laugh to see a sign on the cross road to the ramp that read "Caution: Tank Xing Ahead."

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}34|33.132|N|077|19.468|W|anchored at Mile Hammock Bay|Camp LeJeune{GEND}

Morehead City

As far as the ICW is concerned, we have come full circle. We are anchored at Morehead City and this is where we came in to explore the east coast via the ICW. It has been more than we ever expected. It was unplanned but not unappreciated.

We are waiting for favorable weather to head south outside. The current forecast indicates Sunday afternoon may be the best time. We have no internet now and probably not for a while. We will do our best to do a daily update once we are in route.

We are beginning to get excited to see our dock family and church family in Jacksonville. Ex-coworkers as well. Hopefully it will not be long now!

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}34|42.153|N|076|41.170|W|anchored by CG staion|Morehead City{GEND}

Spring Creek

We left Bath in a leisurely manner, meaning about 9 am, knowing that we would have to wait for the wind to pick up. Indeed it picked up and Hold
Fast was doing over six knots most of the way down to the ICW entrance. Our little romp was over in a quick 2.5 hours and then we headed into the canal. There was plenty of traffic and we were passed by a number of power boats. One was absolutely stunning, she looked like a space ship, probably the most beautiful power vessel I have seen. Her name was Gorgeous Girl out of NY, NY. Everyone was courteous on the canal, we could not have asked for a better day.

Last time we were in this vicinity, we anchored in an open roadsted on Bonner Bay, while Courage, our troller friend, worked up into one of the surrounding creeks. This time, Myron worked us up into Spring Creek for better protection, almost 360 degrees protection, which is good because the wind is blowing strong and steady now. No one else is here, at least not yet. Given that the herd is on the move, this is a rare time of solitude and we will take advantage of it! We will wait here for favorable winds to cross the Neuse River and the hopefully we will go right into Morehead City.

I had woollies on all day today - which tells us it is time to get south!

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}35|08.471|N|076|35.796|W|anchored at Spring Creek|Bonner Bay{GEND}

Bath

We left Pungo Creek a the crack of dawn (7 a.m. now). The wind was already up and out of the NE. We sailed down the Pungo River, closely tailed by a herd of sailboats and trollers.

From Heading South - October 2011

We made a right turn to head up the Pamlico Sound and watched the majority of vessels continue on the ICW toward Morehead City. The wind was great on the sound with flat seas and Hold Fast pressed on at 7 knots. It was sailing at its best, until the wind suddenly disappeared and we had to abandon our Washington, NC destination, start the engine to come up the river to Bath, NC.

We are tied up to the free state dock in the historical town of Bath. Apparently, it is the oldest incorporated town in the state. We have been told that now by a couple of the residents, as well as a sign outside the visitor's center. Subsequent to tidying up Hold Fast and helping an Allied Seaward ketch dock near us, we set off on foot to explore this small town. We found many historical homes, churches, cemeteries, but no small grocery store to help with our sunflower seed fix. We wound up at the town's only marina and an old salt gave us directions to the General Store. Thanking him kindly, we both walked away hoping the other understood these simple instructions. We pieced together individual comprehensions to formulate a combined knowledge. Right or not, we headed east out of town on 92. After a longer than expected walk and further discussion about our simple instructions, we happened upon the General Store, got our seeds, some ice creams and a jar of the General Store's own brand of Blackberry Preserves. A gastronomical pleasure in which we are indulging at this very moment. So far, we are liking Bath a lot!

Myron wants to do some maintenance, which may put us here another day. Hopefully the winds will be right the next couple of days and we can still get to Washington, NC.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Wifi.
{GMST}35|28.594|N|076|48.917|W|Tied dock in Bath|Bath{GEND}

Easy Day

We had a nice motor down the Alligator Pungo Canal to the Pungo River. Tomorrow we will move west on the Pamlico to Washington N.C. for a side trip.
Peace to all
Myron

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}35|30.680|N|076|38.654|W|anchored at Pungo Creek|Pungo River{GEND}

Anchored at Deep Point-Alligator River

We are anchored at Deep Point on the Alligator River. Not sure why they call it Deep Point, we are in 10 feet of water.

Myron's words this afternoon were "we had a great day!" We did indeed. We stayed more than the 48 hours at Elizabeth City due to weather. The 'Rose Buddies' and reception crew, also considered dock masters, disregard the time limit and prefer that we do not head out on the Albemarle Sound if the wind is blowing more than 15 knots. The wind was over 20 knots Wed and Thurs. Today, however, was splendid. Maybe 10 or 12 knots from the SW. We had a nice sail down the Pasquotank River and across the Albemarle Sound. We motor sailed to run the entrance to the Alligator River and continued until there was no further useful wind. We dropped anchor around 3 pm. It was a great day. We are preparing to make dinner and call it an early night. The plan is to run the Alligator/Pungo Canal tomorrow and end up at Pungo Creek. We so enjoyed our stay there on the trip north.

We are not alone. Try as we might, we cannot seem to avoid running with the herd heading south. It cannot be helped at this point so we will make the best of it. We have a thought of turning right at the Pamlico Sound and going to Washington, NC. We really doubt the herd will go that direction, which makes it more enticing! We consider all plans chiseled in jello, however, so we shall see.

It was a cold morning but right now the temperature is perfect. When we came north through here it was smokey from the fires, still and hot, and the flies were biting us unmercifully. Such a contrast from what we are experiencing now and we thank God for that.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}35|40.455|N|076|03.506|W|anchored at Deep Point|Alligator River{GEND}

Elizabeth City

The Great Dismal Swamp Canal was at its best today. Perfect temperature, no insects, the turning of the leaves and a solitary peaceful calm we rarely find on any stretch of water. We motored down the canal at about 1000 RPM just to make it last longer. We kept thanking God for the blessing of enjoying His creation and reminding each other to drink it in. Sometimes we saw a turtle or two on a log. It was a special treat to see several crowded on one log.

From Heading South - October 2011

Another great thing about coming south on the Dismal Swamp Canal is that it brings us right to Elizabeth City. When Myron asked me today in all our places of travel this summer were might I choose a place to live, I responded either Deltaville or Elizabeth City. We thoroughly enjoyed many of the places we anchored, but these were anchorages and not towns. Besides, we could never afford a place on the Wye East or Choptank rivers, so there you go.

Elizabeth City is packed with cruisers compared to last summer. Our winds will not be favorable for travel across the Albemarle until Friday. I hope Parks and Recreation is merciful and lets us stay beyond the normal 48 hours. We shall see!

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via WiFi.
{GMST}36|17.925|N|076|13.101|W|Tied to the Free Docks|Elizabeth City{GEND}

Back on the Dismal Canal

We are back on the Dismal Canal and loving it! It is easy to be neighborly to other boaters because they are rafted up next to us. This time we have a cream puff Krogen rafted up named "The Good Life." It is their first time coming south and first time on the Dismal. The weather today makes up for yesterday, it has been simply gorgeous. The trees are just starting to turn colors so we have the beginning of reds and yellows mixed in with the pine trees. I am so glad we are doing the Dismal again. Soon enough, it will be over.

Love to all,
Dena
Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}36|30.394|N|076|21.353|W|Tied to the Visitor Center|Dismal Canal{GEND}

Farewell to the Chesapeake

What a joy it has been to cruise the Chesapeake. It was bittersweet to leave today. We had no idea what was in store for us when we embarked upon these cruising grounds. We found favorite places and met the kind of people that we hope will cross our path in the future. It was especially difficult to leave the Wards in Deltaville. We met them at church last July and they made a special impression on us as the nicest people in Deltaville. Jean said yesterday that we are not 'company' (with her accent is it more like "comp-nay"), we are family. We got know most of their family and spent time with them as well. What a great group of people - and the Wards do not get internet so they will never know we wrote this about them. Last Monday, they invited us to tie up Hold Fast to their dock, the dock just in front of their big red tug. I took them cinnamon rolls, we did lunches together and had Jean's homemade ice cream. Just does not get any better than that!

We did not get out of the Chesapeake today without it giving us some feisty weather. The forecast called for 15-20 knots out of the west, gusting to 25. What we got was 20-25 knots out of the southwest, gusting to 30 and then about 35 at the end, maybe more. Our first two hours we made over 7 knots an hour under main and jib. Once we turned the corner at Wolf Trap Light, we started reefing sail and continued to reef as the gusts got over 30. There are not many places to anchor around Norfork. We are at Old Point Comfort, but it is not very comfortable. It is a very lumpy anchorage with these strong winds out of the SW. They forecast the winds will turn west tonight. At any rate, we will move on as soon as possible in the morning.
Love to All
Dena

Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}37|00.536|N|076|19.103|W|Anchored Phoebus Channel|Old Point Comfort{GEND}

Deltaville

What a nice stay in Antipoison Creek. We were blessed with a beautiful sunset and a still night. We were facing the opposite direction in the morning, but Myron does not think the boat moved even ten feet in the night.

From Heading South - October 2011

Try as we might, we did not make Deltaville in time for church. Imagine our disappointment! The narrow entrance to Jackson Creek makes for one way traffic and we had to wait for outgoing vessels before we started in. Before that, the winds were light and the tides were against us. The tides work for you or against you, boss. We will make the best of it and try to see Floyd and Jean later today. Our quest also includes searching out our buddies on Motu. It just might be a big day after all.

It certainly is a bright day. Another perfect day of weather and the forecast indicates this will hold for a couple more days, then wind and rain. Our length of stay in Deltaville is undetermined at this point. It is good to have internet again and hard to leave it!

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via wifi.
{GMST}37|32.688|N|076|20.101|W|Anchored Jackson Creek|Deltaville{GEND}

Back on the Bay after Toiling in Solomons

If you own a sailboat, and especially an older one, you are well aware that something always needs tending to. This ready supply of needed repairs may be a difficult concept for non-boat owners. I imagine that they visualize us always kicking back, drinking lemonade and watching the sunset. While we do our best to enjoy ourselves and keep things on a slow pace since leaving Jacksonville, there is nevertheless much to be done. Some of these fixes and repairs are on a routine or maintenance basis, yet other projects exist because we chose buy and old boat and refit her. I am not complaining, just explaining.

The unexpected stay in a marina slip has allowed us to order a number of items to launch our attack on a new set of projects: our Shakedown Punch List. But first, maintenance. Some maintenance items include oil change, adjusting the valves, flushing and pickling the water maker, emptying and inspecting lockers for mold, and of course cleaning said lockers, washing the deck of a royal bird mess that seems to include the remnants of a massive meal of cherries (those birds know when you are not around!), polishing stainless steel that indeed does stain regardless of its namesake, washing and protecting the isinglass enclosure, and defrosting both top loading refrigerators. I am fortunate enough to have two refrigerators, but unfortunate in that they were so iced over that each frig took an entire day to melt and remove the ice. Oh, and since the evening temperatures are below 70, it is time to fire up the bread making factory - which seems to mostly mean cinnamon rolls. I did not hold out much hope for Hermann (the bread starter) surviving the summer, he looked pretty gooey and lifeless in the frig. We did resurrect him with some sugar and potato flakes, but that was his last show. Another starter dough is in the works, he will also be named Hermann. Consistency is helpful in communications.

Yes, much maintenance. So much in fact, that we never did really get a start on our Shakedown Punch List…
Solomons was good to us during a difficult time. From the ladies in the marina office, to the maintenance guys and all the new people we meet on our temporary GG dock home. Last weekend, we met Ray and Marybeth, and their dog Nala. They have an Erickson and Myron went out for a sail with them Sunday afternoon. Then they took us to their summer home for dinner and lively conversation as we tried to cram in all the visiting we could in a few short hours. They bought their Erickson right before hurricane Irene arrived. We also got to visit with Randy, Sharon and Randy's mom Dorothy. Randy and Sharon have Sea Escape, a Passport 40. We met them last weekend. They were back last night just in time to offer us their car so we could do some shopping without the time and territory limitations imposed on the marina's loaner car (a one hour time limit and NO crossing the bridge). Their generosity was a shocking bit of fortune. We accepted their gracious offer after informing them of our insurance coverage through USAA. Like kids no longer grounded, we headed straight across the bridge to Walmart and Auto Zone. Walmart has Rotella oil at least $10 cheaper per gallon than Tiffany's for boaters (West Marine). All is well again with our provisions.

When we left today, it dawned on me that what demands our attention changes based upon proximity to a harbor. Leaving a slip has its own challenges, but the traffic we encountered today coming out of Back Creek, at 7:30 a.m. no less, was surprisingly heavy. We prefer not to be with the 'herd' of boats heading south, yet we found ourselves in a full on stampede! We had two very uncomfortable encounters with large power boats. Sailboats are slow and tend to go in a straight line. That must make it tempting to fast boats to pass in front of or near us. I just wonder if driving erratically might make these boats keep better distance. Once all mariners got some distance from each other, the next obstacles were crab pots, when those finally ended we were in the right depth for a fleet of pleasure fishing boats. Once out in the Bay and especially if we are in the shipping channel, we must be ever aware of tugs and cargo ships.

Aside from that epiphany, it was a gorgeous day as we headed out at this morning. We had a light easterly breeze on the beam, enough wind to keep the sails full and we gave a little help with the motor. We lost the wind in the last two hours, but there were some die-hards out there trying to squeeze all they could out of the light breezes. One of those die-hards just came in and anchored behind us on Antipoison Creek. Our guidebook notes a legend that this creek is where Native Americans provided Captain John Smith with a poultice that counteracted venom from a stingray's dart, hence the name Antipoison. I will also note that Stingray Point is on the south side of Rappahannock River. I imagine that point is where Captain John Smith was stung by the creatures!
It is delightfully peaceful here. It was not an easy entrance, however well worth the effort. Hopefully our plan will come together to get a good night of rest, get an early start tomorrow and be anchored and cleaned up in Deltaville in time for church.

Love to all,
Dena
Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}37|37.904|N|076|20.375|W|Anchored Antipoison Creek|Antipoison Creek{GEND}

Back on board.

Dena and I are back on board Hold Fast in Solomons. It feels good to be back after such a difficult trip. We will remain in Solomons to get some choirs done then head to St Marys around Oct 8.

Thank You for your thoughts and prayers.
Peace to all
Myron

Posted via Wifi.
{GMST}38|19.555|N|076|27.168|W|Calvert Marina|Solomons{GEND}

Celebrating the life of my father

We thank you for your prayers and we appreciate your support during this time of grief. We are working through the grief and into the celebration of the life of my father who passed away September 9th. Working with the family to sift through years of photographs was surprisingly helpful in dealing with my loss. There are many great memories and only a portion where caught on film. Please keep my family and especially my mother in your prayers. Soon the visitors will dwindle down and she will be left to start a new life without her husband of 58 years.

Peace to all,
Myron

La Trappe to Solomons

We had quite a romp down to Solomons yesterday. The forecast called for 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25, seas at 3 feet. In the northern portion of the sail, we could have added 5 knots to all those numbers in the forecast. We encountered small squalls throughout the trip. As to the wind and seas, the bulk of the heavy work was exiting the Choptank River with wind against tide. We started with a single reef and then had to triple reef the main and sheet out only a tee shirt of jib to keep her under six knots. Our purpose for slowing down was to gain better control in the close seas. The wind and swell eased up the further we came south. We sailed through the bridge and motored up to Mill Creek. Our anchor is dug in at a protected anchorage to wait out the blow and some thunderstorms. We are expecting favorable winds tomorrow for making more miles south. The weather for this time period is the result of a cold front encountering the remnants of TS Lee.

From Choptank River

We enjoy this anchorage on Mill Creek because we have room to put out more scope for holding and when the wind is right, we are on the final approach for the military aircraft at the research facility. It is hard to get anything done when we run out every 10 minutes to look at another plane!

I think I have mentioned we have been told we are heading south too soon, that everyone waits until October when it is cold to head south. As Arizonans and former Floridians, in our opinion 65 degrees is cold. Hey, we saw the geese working south already! While it pulled at our heart strings to leave the pleasant cruising grounds around the Choptank River area, we feel drawn south. For now, we will try to take advantage of the cold fronts coming from the north.

Again, we thank you for your prayers and thank God that Katia is making a turn north and forecast to go eastward. Now we shall watch tropical storm Maria as she is making her way west.

We have received news that Myron's dad is in the hospital and we are trying to get further information. We ask for your prayers for Myron's dad, mother and all the family. We do not know at this point what impact this may have on our cruising plans.

Love to all,
Dena


Posted via Wifi.
{GMST}38|20.138|N|076|30.210|W|Mill Creek|Solomons{GEND}

La Trappe to Cambridge

We pulled into Cambridge Municipal Yacht Basin Saturday morning. Myron planned to do engine work here and had parts delivered before our arrival. Although this marina is lumpy and we jerk hard against our piling lines, we still feel more secure doing engine work here than on the hook. I just finished working through a mountain of laundry. Yesterday we provisioned with as much as we could carry in backpacks on bikes.

We enjoy the town of Cambridge, and even more the Baptist Church. We attended church there again today and received the same fellowship in the Spirit that we did a month ago. What a blessing.

We appreciate your continued prayers about Katia. The forecast models, by people a lot smarter than me, show her heading eastward after Bermuda. That would be good, at least for us. We will probably see some rain from TS Lee, but do not expect the winds. Praise be to God.

Not sure where we are headed tomorrow, the winds are not favorable for heading south. If we can communicate, we will let you know after we drop the hook.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Wifi.
{GMST}38|34.568|N|076|04.423|W|Cambridge Marina|Cambridge{GEND}

San Domingo Creek to La Trappe

San Domingo Creek allows a round about way to reach St. Michaels. We took our dink in, tied up and explored. Mostly we explored with new found friends on a 65' Choy Lee. It is a quaint town and a pleasure to wander for a couple of days. We highly recommend a stop to that town from the south side. We also ran into friends we made back at Elizabeth City. It would have been a really quiet anchorage except for the chain saws and mulchers busy removing evidence of hurricane Irene.

Labor Day weekend is upon us. We were not sure where we should go to avoid crowds, and not entirely sure that is at all possible. Our plan is to be in Cambridge and attend the church we so appreciated. After that, we are not sure. It all depends upon the weather.

We still appreciate prayers that TS Katia turn easterward and leave the coast alone.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Wifi.
{GMST}38|37.954|N|076|07.186|W|Anchored La Trappe|La Trappe{GEND}

San Domingo Creek/St. Michaels

Riding Out Hurricane Irene
We are originally west coast sailors and have never experienced a hurricane; it is such an east coast thing.

In summary I would say that the most stressful aspect of a hurricane is the waiting. During the waiting, major decisions are made that could have a profound impact on results. A primary concern was where to go. We dismissed the hurricane hole because of close quarters with derelict boats. We dismissed the headwaters of Harness Creek since we knew boats had trouble finding good holding ground and many docks and boats lined the creek, all hard objects to encounter as opposed to mud on the main cove shores. We finally settled on staying in the main cove, but would move closer to the protection from the land and tall trees on the east and north. We re-anchored Friday and the other boats shifted around us to also gain protection. Now we had to live with our decision.

Our devotion for Saturday morning could not have been more perfect. “How long will it be ere they believe me?” (Numbers 14:11) It was about Joshua and Caleb, their positive report about the Promised Land and how disappointed God was when the multitude grew faint at heart at the giants in the land. It reminded us that the Lord will see us through things that look impossible, we just need to have faith in His deliverance and we have to do some fighting.

We visited with the other cruising boats and checked in on their plans. We felt it would be helpful to get to know others we would share an anchorage with during a storm. Everyone seemed to deal with the stress a little differently. Some masked it with jokes. I have been told you can read my face like a book, I have no doubt it was advertising my concern in neon lights. We all compared weather reports and found them to be a little conflicting, ranging from 30 knots with gusts to 40, or 50 knots with gusts to 65 knots. We knew it was best to prepare for the worst. We removed our jib and granddad (mizzen) and made sure the main was securely zipped with no front openings. The decks and cockpit were cleared of readily airborne items. We set out a second storm anchor, a 66 pound Bruce with 50’ of chain and 200’ of 5/8 double braid rode. We put all that out with the dingy in about 5 feet of water. If it held well, it was going to be hard to retrieve. I focused on the part about holding well…we could deal with the retrieval aspect later.

While waiting in the dead calm and high humidity, a great stress reliever was our friendly family of ducks we had been supplying with oats during our visits to Harness Creek [these were bulk oats that we did not like, not the good Quaker Oats given as a gift from Shari!]. The oats sink from the surface rather quickly and the young ducks would reach under water further and further until they had to paddle to reach down, all the while their unsinkable derrières darting and bobbing and often bumping into siblings’ bobbing derrières. This just never got old. It was a relief to giggle during the stressful waiting. We thanked God for these silly ducks. We were able to feed them up to about 15 knots, at which point we wore more oats than we fed them. Momma insisted that we try anyway. Finally she left and tucked her four ducklings away for the storm.

From Hurricane Irene

As Myron suspected, by 11 am we began to feel the winds strengthen. We were thankful that the vessel next to us gave us access to their internet service. This allowed us to keep current on Irene and the winds at Thomas Point Light just east of us (see chart below). As the winds increased, I found the noise to be incredible. I told Myron I thought I heard a jet flying around in this, but no, the noise of the wind was so loud it sounded like a jet engine. Around sunset, the trees were breaking around us. It sounded like a shotgun and then you would see a tree or a large limb fall. Once darkness set it, there were brilliant flashes, usually one or two orange flashes followed by a blue then a green flash. This was not lightning. It was the canopy purge (falling trees and branches) putting the power transformers through their paces. We watched the power go off and on around the shore and knew that the land folks had enough troubles of their own.

From Hurricane Irene

We had an exciting time when we chose to re-anchor to gain distance from another vessel that was coming near us. At about 2 am, we started up the motor, Myron drove Hold Fast taut against our secondary anchor and we pulled up our primary, the Manson. We reset the Manson further away from the other vessel. It was a risky action conducted in the dark when we were getting gusts of over 40 knots, but limbs and vessel were spared and we were able to get better separation. We prayed before and thanked God afterward. We pulled up the Manson a second time before daybreak, but did not reset it. At this point we were on the Bruce and later took the Fortress off the port stern with the dink to keep us off the shore. We heard talk on the radio now, many folks excited that the worst was over. However, we were watching the barometer climb as rapidly as it had fallen, forming a “V” on our barometer tracker, a good indication that we were in for more strong winds. They hit hard from the NW about 6:30 am and lasted for several hours. This may have been the worst for us because we were no longer protected by the point with tall trees. It is one thing to knock Hold Fast on her side momentarily; it is another to hold her there. I was extremely excited when I could finally see blue sky to the southwest beyond the end of the hurricane bands. Oh happy day!

From Hurricane Irene

Recovery of the Fortress and the Bruce was a chore indeed. We could not pull up the Fortress with the dingy, nor could we pull up the Bruce over the bow. We abandoned the Bruce and retrieved the Fortress over the stern with the jib sheet winch. It actually pulled the boat down! That Fortress must have gone four feet down in the mud. We got it up and moved to re-anchor then set about to retrieve our Bruce. At 66 pounds with 50 feet of chain at more than a pound a foot, this was going to be hard work. In the water, I could feel the edges of the Bruce near the surface of the mud. We worked the Bruce backwards with its chain and finally felt it give. Getting it up in the dingy was a major accomplishment as well. Miracle retrievals by the grace of God. With all that done, it was a matter of cleaning up the mud and putting the boat back into working order. It was Sunday evening and we had only about an hour of sleep since Friday night. By 8 pm, the anchorage was peaceful, true again to its name “Quiet Waters Park.” Unfortunately my ears were still ringing though the noise of wind was long gone.

We were basically up for 36 hours under physical demand, it was time to eat, shower and sleep. We bade Irene adieu and hoped never to see all that again.

Tonight we are at a new anchorage and we just stepped on deck to take in this beautiful calm night, so calm we can see the reflection of the stars on the water. That is a first. Yet while here in a dead calm, we see on the internet that Katia is making tracks towards the eastern shore. Really?! *SIGH*

"He leadeth me beside the still waters..." These are the most still waters we have seen yet. I am going to bed and enjoy the serenity. Will ponder the Katia dilemma tomorrow.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Wifi.
{GMST}38|46.147|N|076|13.441|W|Anchored San Domingo|St. Michaels{GEND}

Boby Owl Cove

Hey all,
It was with a heavy heart that we left Quite Waters Park/Harness Creek today, it had become one of our favorite places. We sailed across and down the bay to Choptank River then up Broad Creek to Boby Owl Cove. The Cove is beautiful with deer on the eastern shore. Dena and I are doing well just need to catch up on sleep.
Peace to all,
Myron
Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}38|44.760|N|076|16.166|W|Anchored Boby Owl Cove|Leadenham Creek{GEND}

Holding Fast

We thank everyone for their prayers and we give God the glory for getting us through the night. It is not over yet as we still have over 30 knots steady in the anchorage with gusts of 52 in the last hour. It is supposed to lay down tonight.

After we do some clean up and get some rest, I will share interesting details about riding out a hurricane 90 miles from her track. The purpose of this note is to thank you and communicate that we are safe.

The number on the right(980.1) is barometric pressure at our location only 30 millibars higher than Irene's.

I will add this now, Myron and I cannot recommend riding out hurricanes.

Love to all,
Dena

Digging in at Quiet Waters Park

Our internet access here is intermittent, therefore I am very pleased to be online and able to give you an update. We thank you for your prayers and thank God that the current track of Irene will miss Jacksonville.

Now we are currently under a Tropical Storm Watch and there is a possibility that we could see 50 knots or more sustained. We are hoping that our Manson Supreme anchor is dug in well and we have as much chain out as our surroundings will allow with a second snubber ready to go in case this one gives. We are removing sails, clearing our deck, and making ready to deploy an emergency anchor. We will strap the dingy down on deck tomorrow. There was no room around to get hauled out and a number of boats at the marinas have been asked to leave as it is marina policy to send boats away during a named storm. We have five other boats in or near our anchorage and expect that more may arrive tomorrow.

As you can imagine, we are anxious, not only for ourselves, but also for the friends we have made in our journey through North Carolina. They are in our prayers. We would really like to see Irene take a right turn soon. We are asking for your prayers, not just for us but also for the other cruisers around us. It seems to be a cooperative lot and we all keep checking on each other. The two boats near us both have dogs and the dogs seem to sense the heightened stress among the humans.

Tomorrow is a busy day for us and I doubt we will be able to update you until the storm has passed.

Love to all,
Dena

Sassafras River to Quiet Waters Park

While the Sassafras was pretty, it does not afford many coves that we can tuck into and escape the power boat wakes. We had intended to stay longer until we caught the weather forecast for NW winds at 20. When the winds are favorable, we want to go for it. Initially we thought we would head to Chester River, but we were zooming along at over 7 knots and went right past the entrance. With the help of an ebb tide of under half a knot, we shot through the Bay Bridges at 7.7 knots, all three sails pulling.

We sailed 45 miles today and it was a joy. That joy was very welcome as Myron and I are both suffering from 'get south-itis.' Our shakedown has identified some fixable items that we are ready to work on.

For those who are apt to pray, please pray for our friends in Jacksonville as it appears they are in the path forecasted for hurricane Irene. Please pray this storm goes east out to sea.

Love to all,
Dena


{GMST}38|56.010|N|076|30.597|W|Anchored|Quiet Waters{GEND}
post via wifi

Quiet Waters Park to Sassafras River

As we passed under the Bay Bridges today, we recalled that 20 years ago we were on the beach northwest of the bridges. We had recently moved to Alexandria, Virginia and a few things amazed these two westerners, (1) that the sand was so brown; (2) that there were so few beaches we could take our dog; and (3) all those boats, where did they come from and where were they going? Well we were one of those boats today, and we were headed for the Sassafras River. It felt like some kind of closure, something come full circle.

A Saturday journey has one benefit, fewer commercial cargo ships. The reason? They want to avoid all the pleasure craft. At least that is my theory after an unnecessarily exciting journey with weekend pleasure boats, including a 90 to 100 MPH pass by a all out race boat. We were passed so closely by another boat that Myron was wondering if they were going to hand us a beverage. We came to appreciate the mid-Bay's quieter waters.

The Sassafras has its own beauty that makes the trip worthwhile. The evergreen lined shore is contrasted with orange clay cliffs. Earlier our anchorage spot was lumpy due to water skiers and race boats. I started up dinner hoping the smell of onions frying would make them all want to go home or go to a restaurant and eat. I cannot take responsibility for the tranquility we are currently experiencing, I think that has more to do with the sunset. We will do more exploring of this river this week and let you know what other jewels we find.

Love to all,
Dena

{GMST}39|21.943|N|075|58.685|W|Anchored|Sassafras River{GEND}
post via wifi

Repositioned to Quiet Waters Park

We were happy to dig in at the Wye River during uncomfortable weather and contrary winds. In our quest for a viable alternative in obtaining crabs, we took the dingy out on our cove and met a local crabber. We happily supported his business. The crabs in Wye River are large. In Crisfield we did away with a dozen crabs in one sitting, but could only take on six per meal of these big fellas from the Wye. Our local contact, Mike, tried to get us to try to soft shell crabs. Without the proper aerating equipment, it was not easy. They were both females. By the end of the evening, one of the ladies had shed her shell - it is called 'peeling.' She was very docile after that and we could even pet her. This was a big mistake, we got attached. We researched how to prepare soft shell crab and were struggling with killing and eating our new friends. By morning, they were both very docile or, well, dead and we let them go when we crossed over a shallow area at the entrance to the Wye. I see the wisdom in eating soft shell crab, it is all meat and no shell. I realize now that I cannot spend any quality time with them before hand!
Our plan was to go north from the Wye, but the wait on the weather extinguished some of our supplies as well as clean clothes. Today we crossed the Bay, made water and are now repositioned at Harness Creek. We did laundry, will provision tomorrow and then look for a weather window for heading north.
I made up a calendar with places we would be over the next two months or so. Those of you that know me could see me planning this all out: so many days at this anchorage, laundry done here, provisioning there. We were only a couple days into my glorious little schedule when it got all bunched up. I will still make my plans because I cannot help myself, they just will not be blogged until they become reality. At least, that's the plan.
Love to all,
Dena
Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}38|56.082|N|076|30.557|W|Anchored Harness Creek|Quiet Waters{GEND}

Wye River

The stay on the Wye has lived up to all the hype in the guide by Shellenberger. We are spending our time on the east river because it appears to have less of a housing population. Our two days anchored under the Wye Heights Plantation were as perfect as we could have ever wished. On a daily basis, we took the dingy out to see the black sheep grooming the plantation’s large lawn.

From Quiet Waters Park to Shaw Bay

The absence of osprey was explained by our daily observation of the two local bald eagles. Snapping turtles abound and we have seen a large ray feeding near the mud flats. Our first evening under Wye Heights dazzled us with a stunning sunset.

From Quiet Waters Park to Shaw Bay

Staying in that tight anchorage could only have been comfortably accomplished with nightly lows below 70 and no strong winds out of the NW. Myron planned our stay there based upon the weather forecast, and this time the forecast held. Although the days may still climb to the 90’s, we are thankful for experiencing the coolest evening weather yet. Lately, the mornings and evenings have a fall-like feeling. Is it really still August? The cool nights make us feel as if we are tardy in commencing our journey back to Jacksonville. That is until we pull up the Jacksonville weather report. It is clearly still summer there!

For fun we have played around with ‘chicken-necking’ – the term for an amateur’s crab line. We do not have chicken necks, so we tied chicken bones left over from our dinner to a line with a small weight and sent it to the bottom next to Hold Fast. The theory is that the crab will hang on to his ‘catch’ as you pull up the line. We certainly see something working the line and can feel something on the line as we slowly bring it up. It is about half way up from the bottom that the theory fails and our potential dinner discovers the freedom in letting go. I heartily longed for a net yesterday when I saw a very large crab swim up from our chicken line and then alongside Hold Fast. I am not sure whether it was thanking me for the meal or taunting me. Either way the score is dismal, we are skunked and the crabs have picked clean at least five bones. While we are content with our rice and beans dinner, today’s adventures just might involve a small transaction with one of the local crabbers.

Love to all,
Dena

Posted via wifi.
{GMST}38|53.100|N|076|05.809|W|Anchored|East Why River{GEND} 

Skipton Creek

Beautiful here, no internet access. We will write a longer post in the coming days.
Love to all,
Dena
Posted via Ham radio.
{GMST}38|53.105|N|076|05.815|W|Anchored Wye Heights Plantation|Skipton Creek{GEND}

Quiet Waters Park to Shaw Bay

Our stay in Quiet Waters Park was a mixed blessing. We were thrilled to see the miles of expansive park that surrounded our little anchorage and knew this was the perfect place for Marie to bring the kids, and only a three hour drive from where she was visiting. As for us, not only is the West Marine within a mile or so walking distance, but so are some good eats at ‘Gramps’ and the Giant grocery is just around that corner. We hit ‘Tiffany’s for Boaters,’ dined on eggs benedict and did some provisioning including preparations for the kids. On our way back, we met a mother a son on the long park path. With camera in hand, she was attempting to digitally capture the local species of birds, including a particular woodpecker. Her son seemed to have an endless arsenal of rapid fire of questions when it seemed to hit him that we really had a boat anchored close. We offered to show them Hold Fast. His mom sized us up, and then put us in her vehicle to drive us to the end of the park and location of our dingy. Her son was not timid and wanted to see and understand everything on the boat. It was great fun!

Coming to this anchorage was part of our ‘plan’ to meet Marie and the kids on Saturday. It was not to be. Marie’s car had other plans. Plans that required temporary fixes until a proper fix was arranged, all before she made her long journey back to Jacksonville. We exchanged emails, left each other messages and finally talked on the phone. The closest we got to the kids that weekend was to hear their squeals in the background on the phone. Plan B is to meet in Jacksonville sometime in October. In the meantime, there is always Skype.

We had been warned that this anchorage would be busy over the weekend as it was a favorite place by the locals. A fair warning. Boats of all types came and went. Even with the turnaround of boats, there tended to be about 20-25 boats in the anchorage at any time during the day. At night, it was reduced to six or so. We feel blessed to have met a local couple that frequent the spot. They are interested in moving from a Rinker 31 to a trawler in a few years and doing some coastal cruising and/or the Loop. We tried to help them with any questions or concerns they might have. In the process, we were able to share with each other our love for Christ. This opened all kinds of doors for discussion. We spent Saturday evening and all Sunday with them, talking about boats and the Bible, and they fed us a wonderful meal. By dusk, they were the last boat to leave the anchorage. Suddenly we were completely alone in the anchorage that had been so vibrant during the weekend. I think I know now how mom felt when everyone left her house after Christmas. You do not want it to end, knowing very well it will, then seem surprised by the loneliness. We worked silently stowing the dingy and engine and preparing for our sail the next day. Sad it was over but thanking God we had met new friends that we will never forget. We hope to see them again, either on the Chesapeake or out on mission.

Today’s sail was the best we had yet on the Chesapeake. Winds were NW and most of the time we could keep our course on some doable point of sail. A lot of jibing and only about 45 minutes of patiently waiting on better wind when we dropped down to two knots of speed. It was such a fair sailing day that one sailboat came out of their way to cross out path and say ‘hello.’ Shaw Bay is a fairly open anchorage, plenty of room. There are four other boats anchored here tonight, most of us sailed all the way up to the anchorage. Some days we are frustrated with Hold Fast. Today, she redeemed herself. Another blessing!

From Quiet Waters Park to Shaw Bay

So far, our Alfa long-distance wi-fi is working flawlessly.

Love to all,
Dena

{GMST}38|51.375|N|076|11.072|W|Anchored|Shaw Bay{GEND}
post via wifi

Pirate’s Cove to Quiet Waters Park

Trippe Creek (Pirate’s Cove) was an enjoyable anchorage off the Choptank River’s Tred Avon River. The anchorage was protected enough to keep any significant fetch down and large enough to anchor several boats. Even so, the first night we shared the anchorage with one boat and the remaining two nights we were all alone. Our last day included more explorigating in our dingy. Yesterday morning the Tred Avon was so calm that our dingy raced along over 18 knots. The five miles to our destination at Easton Point Marina was over in around fifteen minutes. It seemed like it took longer to figure out a safe place to tie up the dink. There was not much to see at Easton Point, but we did buy and devour a couple of ice creams out of the tiny market’s freezer before jetting back to Hold Fast.
Our destination for today was unplanned, at least until last night. I thought we were done with the western shore, but our Jacksonville adopted daughter, Marie, and her three kids have occasion to be in the tippy top corner of West Virginia, and she wants to make the three hour drive from there to see us on Saturday. Call her crazy and us too, but we are going to try to make this work out. Myron found this anchorage off of Quiet Waters Park, which affords Marie a parking spot very near where we are anchored. We obtained permission from the boat rental joint to use their dock to pick up Marie and gang. These are our best laid plans, maybe it will all work out. Unlike Trippe Creek, this is a very small anchorage and yet there are about four boats in here tonight. We have found this is more often the case in the much more populated western shore.
The journey here was full of about every point of sail, on the Tred Avon, on the Choptank, dodging crab pots crossing the shoals between Tilghman Island and the former Sharp’s Island, and we were beginning to tack up the Chesapeake until, as you can see by our track, the wind died forcing us to motor-sail the rest. It was a refreshingly cool day at 85, mostly due to cloud cover and occasional showers. Much of this was marred however by another equipment failure. Upon arriving, we had to drop anchor in a hurry, Myron had to identify and trouble-shoot the issue, and then fix it. I help where I can. We dropped anchor just after 4 pm and were done with the concern about 8 pm. It is another disappointment for the shake-down’s equipment failure list. On the bright side, we did not see any sea nettles (jellyfish) which gave us the freedom to jump in and wash the engine room heat out of our memory.
Tonight I will leave you with a story disclosed in one of our guides about Sharp’s Island, named after its owner Peter Sharp. It was south of Tilghman Island, and in 1675 it was about 900 acres. By 1847 the Chesapeake’s weather had reduced the island to 473 acres, and then the erosion accelerated. The present lighthouse was built in 1882 on a 5-acre circular plot of land that disappeared along with the rest of the island. The lighthouse was tilted by ice in 1973 and again in 1976.

From Sharps Island

Our guide says “Periodically, the Coast Guard proposes to remove the lighthouse. So far it has survived both the weather and the Coast Guard.”
Love to all,
Dena
{GMST}38|56.045|N|076|30.569|W|Anchored|Quiet Waters Park{GEND}
post via wifi

Cambridge to Pirate's Cove

The staff were very helpful and kind at Cambridge Municipal Yacht Basin, it made up for the rolly mornings and evenings we endured in the slip (it is a basin not a harbor). Although we were mostly focused on tasks at hand, we had a good time in Cambridge and met up again with Russ and Jane on ‘Luna.’ On Sunday we rode the marina’s loaner bikes to First Baptist Church about a mile from the marina. It is a small church and it was great to see the Holy Spirit move. We were blessed and we were told we were a blessing to them. We will visit that church again if we get back in Cambridge.

We mentioned the failure of the Bullet 2HP after only seven weeks of use. It is on the list of disappointing gear failures. Even before we realized the importance of the bullet, its advantage in staying connected, and its incredible 4.5 mile range, we were diligent in our care of it and would take it down for stowing if a storm or strong winds threatened. On inspection, Myron found condensation inside the bullet. Clearly we need a more robust solution. After hours of research, Myron settled on testing an alternative: Alfa 1000mW USB Wireless G/B Adapter (AWUS036H). It is a USB solution as opposed to the bullet’s Ethernet. Our departure from the marina was delayed until the Alfa was delivered, another helpful marina staff accommodation. Myron briefly tested it in the marina, and then we were off. We should mention that Alfa also has a Tube-U water resistant solution that we will likely test out as well. In any case, we realize that we need a backup, as with all essential equipment. When at anchor, the internet access is handy for monitoring thunderstorms and their proximity to us.

We motor-sailed the majority of our short trip today. We pulled in sail at the Tred Avon entrance to better maneuver around a gang of prams. We love to see the kids learning to sail and the last thing we want to do is traumatize them, even if they were hogging the entrance channel.

From Cambridge to Pirate's Cove

We are anchored in Pirate’s Cove. You could describe it as a big cove or a small bay. There is plenty of room for several boats, our favorite sticky mud, and we have 360 protection. Any fetch would require at least 40 knots and still should not be substantial. Just a few hours after anchoring, we had a thunderstorm blow through with winds over 30 knots. Thankfully it was not the main cell, we know this because of the internet! We also know there are more storms coming throughout the night. On the bright side, it keeps things much cooler!

From Cambridge to Pirate's Cove

Today is Myron’s birthday. No huge celebration, but I did make a pasta, zucchini and sweet Italian sausage dish, even in this heat, and then chocolate pudding for dessert. We are stuffed. This time I made the pudding with real milk. A few weeks ago I learned that almond milk does not cut it for making pudding, the result was more like something you would drink with a straw!

Love to all,
Dena


{GMST}38|42.673|N|076|07.267|W|Anchored|Pirate's Cove {GEND}
post via wifi

La Trappe Creek to Cambridge

The stay at La Trappe was fantastic. There was just one house within close view of the anchorage. We discovered that it was rented out for a family reunion, inclusive of cool water toys such as kayaks and a john boat with a Honda motor, thankfully there were no jet skis. Their significant grass yard was well shaded and was alternatively used for bad mitten, soccer, tag and tents. There was a pool, as if the creek and cove were not enough, and a dock with crab traps. At one point, there must have been 30 kids running around and three grumpy old men fishing off the end of the dock. It was actually a blessing to hear the happy squeals of children…at a distance. We called it the kid camp and it was very active. They brought their own chicken necks, tied them on a weighted line and rang that line at least 20 times a day to keep themselves eating crab throughout their stay.

Every morning we were greeted by low flying Hogs, aka A10 Warthogs. The comfort of familiarity must have set in because our last day we saw the lowest and closest flyover yet – we giggled with pleasure at our own air show. We also occupied ourselves at La Trappe by swimming and ‘explorigating’ in our dingy. We went to the head of La Trappe Creek a couple of times and checked out Trappe Landing, a former boat building site and now very quiet marina, boat yard and storage. We were amazed at what we saw up there in about five feet of water. Three travel lifts (lift boats out of water) and huge work buildings. We also took a long trip out on Choptank River over to Island Creek. According to the charts that creek entrance is too shoal for Hold Fast. Just as well, we discovered a heavy population of McMansions that gobbled up the shoreline. Now and again, we could detect the original farm houses and caught a glimpse the golden corn beyond the trees. Take a gander at our tracks on the Google map.

From Solomons to La Trappe Creek

As we pulled up anchor today and washed away that sticky beautiful mud that holds us so well, some adults from the kid camp came over in the john boat to say goodbye. We expressed our apologies that we might have interrupted their scenic cove, but they felt an anchored sailboat was part of the beauty of the scene. I cannot think of a better compliment!

We left for a temporary stay at a marina, something we do not particularly care for, especially after the serenity of the hook. It was the "lesser of two weevils" however as the temperature reached 102 today with a heat index of much worse. Today was about provisions and seeking to solve our Wi-Fi antenna dilemma. We fared better than the last heat wave as there is much less pollution on the eastern shore. Hopefully the heat index tomorrow will be 105 or less. I have reserved the marina bikes for a trek to Advanced Auto, a computer store and groceries. The Dockmaster did not think we would have any competition for the use of the bikes. Please note that a primary purpose of our trek in this heat is our quest to restore our long-range Wi-Fi abilities. If that is not accomplished tomorrow, we will be less frequent on our communications and we will lose our ability to upload tracks. Please bear with us. I threaten to write a blog on all the equipment that has failed us in less than two months, much of it new. Although it is part of the shake-down, it is much too depressing and I find myself easily distracted by something else, pretty much anything else.

Love to all,
Dena
{GMST}38|34.583|N|076|04.448|W|Docked|Cambridge{GEND}
post via wifi

Solomons to La Trappe Creek

It is indeed a small world. At Calvert Marina we docked behind Diamond Girl, a 36’ Nova. Bud commented on my Camarillo Flight Center hat and, within what seemed like seconds, we realized we shared the stomping grounds of Ventura Yacht Club back in the ‘90’s. Bud was the Commodore and Myron and I used to crew for John Grether on Strider, his J35C. Bud and Elaine have been cruising between Florida and Chesapeake for about six years and just celebrated their 48th anniversary. Not only do they have longevity, but they also have true grit – Diamond Girl has no air conditioning, just fans. They expect that our hot weather might last another couple of weeks. They are working for Waterway Guide and were kind enough to give us some tips on primo anchorage spots. They also gave us a new Skipper Bob guide – woo hoo!
One of the anchorage tips was La Trappe Creek. I was ready to pass it by, too shoal an entrance to risk, but they encouraged us. The air during the trip over was thick, a prime thunderstorm making day. As the day wore on, we sensed the thunderstorms chasing us into the anchorage. My prayers were frequent that we would encounter the thunderstorm before or after the entrance, just not during. Our latest routine is that it is my job to get us to the entrance, and Myron’s job to get us through the entrance. As he rounded the second channel marker he told me to brace myself because the bottom was shoaling quickly. We were expecting to see a minimum of ten feet on the entrance, but it came up to six feet. Thank God the six feet held. We were holding our breath as well and let out a collective sigh as the bottom dropped down to ten feet again. We dropped the hook in eight feet and grabbed right away, probably in that sticky mud, the perfect match for our Manson Supreme anchor. A second sailboat arrived shortly before the thunderstorms and now a third is here. We are tight in this little cove, but the holding is good, the water is skinny, so not much scope is required, which makes us all play well with each other when swinging only on one hook.
The thunderstorms were perfect timing and a God send. It is cooler now, the rain stopped, a slight breeze continues and we can open our ports. It should, we hope, be a pleasant night’s sleep.

From Solomons to La Trappe Creek

As a side note, we were unable to attend church on Sunday. There was nothing within walking distance and we are only allowed to borrow the marina car for an hour at a time. We will see if it holds true, but our theory is that churches are more readily available within walking distance in small towns.
Love to all,
Dena
{GMST}38|37.917|N|076|07.163|W|Martin Pt|La Trappe Creek{GEND}
post via wifi

Calvert Marina/Heat wave

Today we moved to Calvert Marina to suffer thru this heat wave in air-conditioning.
Myron
{GMST}38|19.941|N|076|27.438|W|Calvert Marina|Solomons{GEND}
post via wifi

Crisfield to Mill Creek

Crisfield was a nice stay, and not just because of the air conditioner, although I must admit, that was dreamy. It must be a fact that they are the crab capital of the world. We took a walking tour of the crab processing plants via a worker at the local museum. We got to touch things on the tour, like soft shell crabs and feisty hard shell crabs. Mostly the sales were soft shell crabs, but they also pick steamed crabs – and at that place I bought one pound of jumbo lump crab for only $18. We had crab cakes tonight, some crab on pasta the other night, and the rest we will have with eggs. We also bought a dozen steamed hard shell crabs for $20 and ate those at a picnic table (not on Hold Fast please!) We found a church on Sunday and met more of the locals. All in all, a great stay and we recommend a visit.
Then the time comes for more adventuring. We took on our first fuel this morning, at $3.66/gal for diesel, plus tax, and that was with the BoatUS discount. Today’s forecast called for 10 to 15 knots out of the South. We never saw it. It was a hot and steamy day, teasing us occasionally with five knots out of the NW, the direction we were heading. Hold Fast needs more wind than that, and on at least a 45 for tight reaching. We started to head in to Solomons, but ‘Luna,’ another Whitby 42, had just anchored outside the creek and told us that all the creeks were full with boats at anchor, probably left over from the four days of racing. We swiftly sorted through the gunkholing guide and found Mill Creek further up the Patuxent. We found a cove with no houses on 75% of the shoreline, very well protected and good ‘ol sticky mud. Even with the water-skiers, this is still a very nice place. I have not seen a jellyfish and we saw others swimming this evening. That may be on the agenda for us tomorrow.
Love to all,
Dena
{GMST}38|20.189|N|076|30.188|W|Mill Creek|Solomons{GEND}
post via wifi