Trenton, ON

Day 291, May 31st, 2010

I was on first watch from 8:00 p.m. to 11;00 p.m. It gradually was getting a little lumpier but the boat was handling it well and the mast was secure. I handed over to John at 11:00 and went down below to sleep.

Then it wasn't so good. Of course, I realised that all motion seems exaggerated in the V-berth, in the bow of the boat, but I couldn't relax. The boat's motion got more and more erratic, it seemed and I got quite nervous. Our course was NNW and a wind came up out of the NE at about 8 knots (according to the weather forecast out of Rochester). This caused an uncomfortable swell on the starboard beam. I'm never very comfortable with the mast down. The boat just doesn't feel right. I was muttering under my breath "I'm never going to do this again!" I got up after about an hour and checked with John. As I reached the cockpit, I could see the moon had come up and the water behind us just looked calm and gorgeous. John reassured me that all was well - he'd checked the mast, and all was tight and secure. I went back to bed and this time was able to drop off to sleep. When I got up again at 2:00 a.m. we'd made good headway with only 8 nm to go to our waypoint on the Ontario side! That made me feel much better too. Its awful what tricks your mind can play on you!! The remaining 8 miles diminished steadily and we arrived in Ontario at 3:45 a.m. As soon as we turned the corner into the Adophus Reach in the Bay of Quinte, the water calmed right down and everything was serene!

I went back to bed at 5:00 and John took us the rest of the way to Trenton. We arrived at 11:30 after breakfast on the run. Lovely little town - where John spent his teenage years as an Airforce Brat!!! Its like coming home to him in more ways than one. How lovely to be back in Canada! We sang "O Canada" as we came into the mouth of the Trent River. Docked the boat, cleared customs etc. etc. and then went for lunch at Timmy's!!! Yeah! Canadian. tradition, as good as ever!! Tonight we're going to the movies and get a pizza afterwards. Haven't been to the movies since Miami!!

Lake Ontario

Day 290, May 30th, 2010

Left Rome at 7:00, thinking we'd stop at the Junction of the Erie Canal and the Oswego Canal!
We did much better than that!!

Did lock #21 and #22 and arrived at Sylvan Beach. Such a pretty little place - it always reminds me of Wasaga Beach! Good thing in a way that we didn't reach there as the boats were rafted up at the free dock, 4 deep!! And then across the 20 miles of Lake Oneida. A little choppy but not bad at all. Some boat traffic but again not bad. It was good to get that behind us as it can really kick up in bad weather.

Just kept chugging along. Couldn't be luckier with the weather - sunny and warm.

Came to the junction around 2:00 p.m. and realised we could make it all the way to Oswego so just kept going. Another 7 locks on the Oswego Canal. Passed the little town of Phoenix where we'd stayed a couple of times before. Built all new docks there, which looked very smart.

Arrived in Oswego, Lock #7 at about 7:30 p.m. and were warned of some kids swimming in the canal between #7 and #8. There are two levels to the canal at that point and there can be very dangerous undercurrents caused by the pipes under the water. The lockmasters were afraid for the kids safety. By the time we reached the kids, they were all out of the water. However, one young lady called out to me, asking if we had any fresh water on board. One of the young boys had hurt himself badly - I could see him holding his shoulder and walking as if in pain. John did a 360 while I ran below and grabbed to bottles of water. Then we sidled up to the canal wall and I threw them to her over the wall. When we reached Lock #8 the lockmaster mentioned the kids again and I told him one of the boys was hurt. He called the police to go see to them.

We came through Lock #8 where we could see Lake Ontario clearly - flat and no wind! Again, we decided to keep going. Thunder storms were forecast for late Monday, so we grabbed the opportunity.

It was just beautiful when we started with a lovely sunset.

Rome, NY

Day 289, May 29th, 2010

We'd hoped to get to Sylvan Beach at the beginning of Lake Oneida, but that didn't happen. Several of the locks seemed pretty slow. So we stopped instead at the Free Dock in Rome beside a park which was very pretty, about half way between lock #21 and #22.

It was a lovely day again with good weather. Lovely scenery of the Adirondacks. Passed some mountain climbers on a rock face; some boys jumping off a railway bridge into the River. There's always lots to see. We were surprised though how little boat traffic there was, considering it was their long weekend.

We arrived at the Free Dock in Rome about 7:00 -a couple of boats already tied up there. One boat kindly moved up to make room for us. A good day.

Lock 13, Erie Cana,NY

Day 288, May 28th, 2010

We left Albany at 6:00 a.m. and set off for the Erie Canal. Met another Canadian boat just before Waterford; they'd just bought their boat in Oriental, NC and were taking it home to Toronto. We went through all the locks together that day. Went straight through Waterford - were surprised to see so few boats tied up there. There are 5 locks, one after the other, called the Waterford Flight, to start with. They are very organized though and as you exit one, they have the doors open at the next. Its beautiful country through there with the high craggy peaks of the Adirondacks. We kept going till dusk, arriving on the East side of Lock #13. Tied up on the wall and pretty much went to bed right away.

Albany, NY

Day 287, May 27th, 2010

Definitely a little cooler! Much better! We didn't get out of bed till 7:00 a.m. What a treat! We slept in!! Even had time to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Angela, Mike and four of their kids, Kate, Paul, Rachel and Michelle, arrived shortly after 11:00. It was so good to see them. They came aboard Periwinkle and saw our modest abode and we talked about our long trip. Then off we all went in their car to a lovely retaurant in Albany for a lovely lunch together. Angela and I haven't see each other since we were kids but it was just like it was with her sisters in Illinois - as if we've known each other forever. When we got back to the marina, Mike set up his computer in the club house and we chatted with Angela's Mom (my aunt) on Video Chat with G-mail. Ain't technology great! It was really special to be able to do that together.

Sad to say goodbye, but now that we've made the connection, we'll just have to make plans for a get together down the road, definitely not leaving it so long!!!!

Tomorrow we're off again. We were able to buy canal passes here at the marina, so we're all set to go. The Erie Canal has just switched to their summer hours - so hopefully we'll make Oswego in 4 days.

Albany, NY

Day 286, May 26th, 2010

Up early again! We'd had our breakfast and were moving the boat into position by 6:45 a.m. The other guys were still on the mooring, nobody in site. We thought they'd join us shortly so just kept doing the next thing. The crane motor was good, although extremely slow - nothing as good as our new fancy system at CYC, but it worked and the remote control thing was extremely good as we could both work on the boat as well. The only other time we've done it with just the two of us, was in Thunder Bay. We hadn't had the boat very long and were pretty green - nearly dropped the b....... thing in the drink until Jim Massey came along and gave us a hand!!!! This time was much smoother. It came down easily and ended up well balanced on the supports. We were pleased. The guys on the other boat dropped the mooring and arrived at the dock just as the job was done! (Something like "dishes diarrhea".)

Scorching hot again! We were lucky we'd made such an early start as the temperature kept rising. It took a while to organize all the lines and shrouds etc. and get it lashed down securely.
Finally we were off around noon. We'd made arrangements to meet my cousin, Angela and her family in Albany the next day, and wanted to reprovision ready for the Erie Canal. We arrived at the Albany Yacht Club at 1:00 and got a cab to the grocery store 5 blocks away. We would normally have walked this distance without batting an eye but it was so hot!!! Going along in the cab we passed one of those eletronic billboards and it gave the temperature as 107 degrees Centigrade. Wow! I don't think I've ever been in such temperatures!!! The air conditioned store felt good, and we weren't all that disappointed when we had to wait nearly 45 minutes to get the cab back.

Our neighbour in the slip next door arrived on his boat and it wasn't long before he had his swim suit on and was going for a swim off his swim platform. "The members of the Boat Club all think I'm crazy but I do this all the time!" "Right", says I "I'm doing the same." Hudson River water does not look exactly clean - its brown, brown, with all kinds of bits floating about, from plastic bottles to cans, old bits of wood, and loads of pollen from the trees. But I'm telling you - that water felt so good! Fortunately our neighbour had set up a hose too, so we could sluice off once we climbed out.

Around 7:30 p.m., when it had cooled a little, we walked the laundry up to the laundromat a block away and looked after that. We were happy that we'd done all the jobs, we'd have a good visit with Angela and her family the next day and then be ready to leave first thing Friday morning.

By the time I got back from having a shower, we enjoyed some lovely fireworks, and then around midnight there was a banging, crashing, thunder storm with some heavy rain. Hopefully it would be a little cooler.

Castleton-on-Hudson, NY

Day 285, May 25th, 2010

Off again at 7:00 and back onto the Hudson. It was overcast but warm. Today we were heading for Castleton-on-Hudson, where the Boat Club has a crane they will rent out for $50.00 for 2 hours to transients to either put your mast up or down. If you going down the East coast and back up the same way, you can even leave all your support lumber there, behind the building, and it will be there when you get back! We did that the last trip!

Anyway, there was very little traffic early in the morning, but the river is wide and deep and we were motoring along outside the channel. There was lots of grass in the river and old logs too, but we didn't think much of it. Then around 8:00 the engine seemed to be laboring. The rpm had dropped and we were only g oing about 4.2 knots with the current in our favour. We reckoned we should have been bombing along. John put the boat in reverse several times thinking the prop. was fouled with grass but it didn't seem to help. (The anxiety was beginning to build, yet again - What now?) Finally we decided to drop the anchor and have a look. John donned his wet suit and snorkel gear. We tied a line around his middle as it was clear the current was strong. I stayed on the deck and held onto the line and he dove on the boat - sure enough he found grass wrapped tightly around the shaft. It was difficult getting it off what with the strong current and the poor visibility but he got quite a bit off and climbed aboard again. Perfect! He was the hero of the day!!! Off we went - all sounded much smoother and we were zipping along well over 6 knots, even up to 7 at times. Ahhhh!!!!!!

We got into Castleton around 2:30, pulling in behind another sailboat with its mast down. It was so hot, we went straight inside to register and sure enough there were these two guys having a long cold drink chatting with the dockmaster, Ron. (We recognised each other from before!) Wayne and his son, Matt, were on their way to Belize, where Matt was going to live on the boat for a bit. We agreed to help each other with the masts. They had some work to do on their electrics yet, and we had to get the rig ready and build the supports.

It was scorching hot but no wind. Really perfect for taking the sails off. We've carried the lumber with us all these miles under the mattress in the quarter berth. Everything had to come out and then get repacked. While I did the packing job, John built the supports again. We were dripping in sweat - the showers felt so good when we were finally done around 9:00 p.m.
Wayne and Matt had taken their boat over to a mooring buoy on the other side of the river but agreed to be back at 7:00 am to work the crane.

Kingston, NY

Day 284, May 24th, 2010

Another short day! We left at 7:00 so we could use the tide to help us up river. Left Pollepel with clouds hanging over the mountain peaks. Once we came around the West side of Pollepel we could really see the castle at its best. Quite the site. It must have been amazing in its day.

It was a quiet day again as we moved up the river. Couldn't use the sails at all as the wind was on the nose. The sun came out close to noon, as we arrived at Kingston. Kingston used to be the capital city of the State of New York. We had intended to anchor at the end of Rondout Creek but instead took a spot on the dock outside the Museum. We walked into town and had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant, picked up some milk and came back to the boat to use the Wifi!

Tomorrow we'll head to Castleton-on-Hudson, where we'll rent their crane to take the mast down.

Its been an amazing few days. We'd felt so despondent last week with all the problems. We'd even thought we might have to truck the boat home. We were worried about the engine, getting back home for Graham and Sheri's wedding etc. etc. Now, here we are again after making such amazing headway. The engine seems okay. We're back on schedule and keeping our fingers crossed our luck will hold. We'd originally planned on going up to Ottawa on the Rideau before returning home to Collingwood, but now we're thinking we'll go straight home. Its like we're a couple of homing pigeons and can think of only one thing!!!

Pollepel Island, NY

Day 283, May 23rd, 2010

Oh that bed felt so good, and it was hard to get up the next morning. It was 8:45 by the time we'd set off.

We felt kind of jet lagged by our marathon run! Only went about 27 nm arriving at Pollepel Island in the Catskills, just north of West Point, around 1:00 p.m. We both felt wiped!
We kept remarking how different it was there after being down south so long. The high peaks of the Catskills, with the cliff faces, densely forested. So different from Florida and the Low Country!!! The architecture is so different too, a much older feel. Variety is the spice of life!!
Pollepel Island is an interesting spot too - where Frank Bannerman, a Scot, built himself a castle at the turn of the 20th century. Its in ruins now. After his death, his family didn't keep it up and sold it to the State of New York in 1967. Its an amazing place. There are guided tours around the ruins, but we were just too tired and spent the afternoon having a long nap. The peaceful sound of the birds chirping is interrupted every 10 - 15 minutes by the dulcet tones of the Amtrak whizzing by on the East bank and the whistle of the freight trains, whizzing down the West bank!!! We laughed, didn't bother us a bit - we would have slept through an earthquake!!
We managed to rally ourselves in time to barbecue and then played Dominoes until we crawled back into bed at 10:00 p.m. and slept again!

Chesapeake City, Maryland

Day 279, May 19th, 2010

We set off with some trepidation at 7:00 the next morning. A delay right off the bat - we got through the first bascule bridge and then the lock at the end of Virginia Cut but then had to wait for the 2nd bascule bridge as it did not open at 8:00 at all. We doodled, meanwhile a bunch of other boats caught up.

We were a little leery, to say the least of anybody coming close and giving us a lot of wake but kept our fingers crossed, nosing right into the wake if somebody came by. It seemed to work.
The weather was fine and the water flat. We plugged on. All the other boats took off, once through the second bridge, we didn't want to push the engine. Then another delay, a railway bridge that is usually open, closed just in front of us and we had to wait for a train to come by. However, water conditions remained good as we entered Norfolk and then Hampton Roads. This was one of our concerns - that the engine would overheat just as we were in the middle of a lot of traffic. On our first visit through the area I'd managed to get on the wrong side of the channel and had to wiggle our way through between a freighter and a destroyer! However, we were lucky, traffic was light, and we came all the way through that heavy Naval area with no trouble at all. Its quite an imposing sight at any time, with aircraft carriers and destroyers, etc. etc.!!!

With the delays, there was no way we could make Deltaville, so instead set our sights on Back Creek off the Poquonson River, just North West of Hampton. We got out onto the Chesapeake and still the water was virtually flat and hardly any wind at all. We looked at each other and agreed - "Lets just keep going!" And we headed straight up the Chesapeake, right up the middle!!! Only one time did we get hit by a bad wake and the popping started, and the high temp. light came on. We couldn't believe our good luck, knowing that the Chesapeake can be quite a challenging waterway with rough seas and heavy traffic. There was none of that. We kept chugging along and started three hour watches when it got dark.

Day 280, May 20th, 2010

38 hours later we got into Chesapeake City in Maryland, halfway along the C & D Canal. There was no problem in arriving just as it got dark as the canal is lit along both sides by street lights! We found the anchorage easily, edging in at low tide. First try we grounded on the mud but second try we sneaked in on the side of the channel and anchored in 10 ft of water, right beside a busy restaurant with the music blaring. It was as much as we could do to secure the boat, turn off the instruments and climb into bed. We slept like logs!

Day 281, May 21st, 2010

The book told us that if we left the anchorage 1 hour before high tide, the current would help take us down the Delaware. We set off at 4:45 a.m. but we had to work hard against a current until we reached the end of the C&D 12 miles further on. However, once we came out on the Delaware River the current worked in our favour and we were sliding down the River and then the Bay as if on a sled. There was little to no wind and still the water was flat, oily flat!!! No trouble at all, the engine kept chugging away. Mr. James Taylor, of Atlantic Yacht Basin, we think you fixed it with the wire coat hanger - the water intake strainer on the through hull m ust have been partially occluded?! There was still some concern, we still had to travel up the ocean and surely there would be some rough water.

We arrived at Cape May at the bottom of New Jersey at 5:00 and stopped at a marina to refuel.
There was some wind at the dock but the weather forecast sounded okay. Winds 10 - 15 knots out of the East, backing to South East, waves 1 -2 feet. We decided to go out and try, knowing that we could always turn back if it looked too much. As we left Cape May we saw another boat we knew anchored there - Beltane of New Brunswick. We had a short chat on the radio - they were going to sleep the night and leave in the morning. We told them that if we didn't like it out there we'd come back and anchor and join them. The weather forecast had also mentioned a "Canadian cold front" arriving on Sunday with winds out of the North East. John and I both felt that we'd be better to try and make it to New York that night. There was a much cooler wind heading in off the Ocean, so I donned my long underwear and layered on more clothing on the top. I was warm and cosy. Even John put on his fleece and fowlies!

It was gorgeous out there. A little wind, perhaps 10 knots and the waves perhaps 1 foot. We double reefed the main, knowing that shortly we'd be taking watches, and put out the whole jib. We kept the engine running very gently and were going along very nicely at 5.9 knots.
Atlantic City came and left in the dark with the bright lights shining. The wind died when I came on watch at 2:00 and the water was totally flat again. There was hardly any traffic during the night but in the morning we had to watch carefully for a myriad of fishing boats.
Its so beautiful out there, both at night and in the daytime. With each inlet we passed we realised we were getting closer and closer to New York City. (We had each inlet marked on our route, just in case something blew up and we needed cover.) There was one weather forecast by the Coast Guard just before we reached Atlantic City that haunted us a little. He spoke of winds up to 20 knots, small craft wind warning and thunder storms. However, it all looked so benign we had trouble believing him and it certainly never happened. We used the sails when we could and just kept on chugging.

Day 282, May 22nd, 2010

Finally arrived at Sandy Hook (at the mouth of NY Harbour) around 11:00 a.m. We remembered how, hit by a sudden squall, we'd torn the main right across, at this exact spot in 2006. However, nothing like that happened this time. A freighter was brought in under tow - one tug in front and one behind, but that was as interesting as it got on that front. New York Harbour is truly amazing as you come in under the Verazzano Bridge. There are barges, and freighters, anchored and underway. There are helicopters overhead and Staten Island Ferries crossing the channel. Lots of sailboats of every size sailing without a care in the world. Its awe inspiring. We were taking pictures and pointing out the sights of Manhattan and, of course, the beautiful Statue of Liberty. She is really a lovely lady!!!

The tide was coming in as we headed up the Hudson River! How could we be this lucky? At one point we noticed our Speed Over Ground at 8.8 knots!!! It was a rush. Up through New York, past Yonkers, under the Tappan Zee Bridge and there was one of our favourite places - Nyack Boat Club. We took the sails down and headed in. There was the tender and the guys came over when they heard us call out. "Need a mooring for the night?" "Yes please!" "Just follow me!" And in we went. Its a mooring field at Nyack, we'd been there twice before and the people are so friendly. Nyack is a dear little place, artsy crafty little place about 20 miles north of New York. We got settled on the mooring and then went into pay! The last time we stayed there, they'd chased us as we left and gave the money back! This time, they just refused to take it. The yacht club building was all decorated with flags and lots of people were sitting down to supper on the deck. It was the finish of their Sail Past. We were invited to buy tickets for the supper and sit down and join them. It was delicious! Good conversation with the people at our table - a lovely end to a great 38 hours again!

Atlantic Yacht Basin, Virginia Cut

Day 278, May 18th, 2010

Well, funny day!! We had to wait until about 1:00 - but then the chief mechanic came and assessed our trouble. We told him all our woes and concerns, and he had a very good look at the engine. He thought at first it was the water intake - maybe it had got something stuck up there or something was occluding the strainer. He took a piece of wire and shoved it down the intake but there was nothing there and there was lots of water. He checked out the exhaust and reckoned that was fine. The water pump and impeller is fine. He couldn't find anything wrong!! He told John to start her up at the dock and really run her hard, which John did - and everything was fine. We thought it would be - the problem only seems to happen in rough water.
Frustrating!!! Don't know whether to be glad or sad!!

Oh well! I did do the laundry and went to the grocery store. That was good! Had lots of good chats with some really nice people around here. That was good too!

We've been advised that the weather is going to be lousy for the next little while and that it really doesn't take any longer to go up the Chesapeake and down the Delaware, so we'll head off in the morning and see how far up the Chesapeake we can get. If the problem happens again, we shall just have to find help again somewhere else. Who knows! This life on the boat is either blissful or stressful!!! At times you think life can't get any better, and at other times, you wonder what the h.... you're doing out here. I'm longing for my comfortable little condo with the gas fire at a touch, my pretty little kitchen, my comfortable bed and bathroom!!! Oh, better not go there!!!!

Atlantic Yacht Basin, Virginia Cut

Day 277, May 17th, 2010

We felt worried. The weather forecast wasn't too bad though, calling for south east winds at 10 - 15 knots. We figured we would sail across the Albemarle Sound and up into the North River.

We put the main up before we brought up the anchor, but the engine did start okay and got us out of the channel on the Alligator River and into the Sound. As soon as we got out into the open water, we shut down the engine and determined to sail. The weather forecast lied. The wind never did get into the south east but stayed East to North East!!! We don't have wind instruments but we heard another boat report on the radio that it was 20 knots! Again, the Albemarle is huge, 15 nautical miles across, and shallow, around 17 feet deep, which gives a short uncomfortable chop. However, we stuck to our guns and sailed across, making two tacks. We set off about 6:00 and made it all the way across and then up the North River another 5 miles under sail. Dropped the main at the top of the North River, where the channel gets narrow and meanders. Then we had to use the engine again. We hadn't gone very far when another gas guzzler came by and swamped us and the popping started again, and the light came on, etc. etc.!!!

From the North River, there's a series of narrow channels and then you get to the North Landing River where its very shallow. There's a dredged channel, well marked but the area is open and wide with areas of shallow water either side - 2ft, 1ft, 4ft, 5ft, etc. etc. We were able to use the jib for long periods and wind was pretty good. At times we used the engine to help keep the speed up to 5 knots, but then another gas guzzler would come by and we'd go through the routine again and again. Meanwhile the sky got greyer and greyer and it started to drizzle.

Around 4:30, the temperature light was on again. Each time John was having more and more trouble getting her to cool down. We were getting really concerned that damage might be done to the engine. So we decided to get help. The wind was still in our favor, and the channel was long and straight but we felt that it was only a matter of time before the wind would change and then we could go aground. John called Tow Boat US. We had a hard time making contact at first. His transmission was breaking up. Then a big cruiser passed us and told us that Tow Boat US were trying to call us. We asked him to relay and he did, which was very helpful. It wasn't long before the local Boat US guy, in Coinjock, called us on the cell phone and said he'd be along in about 90 minutes. It was then that we looked ahead on the chart and realised that we'd better just drop the anchor right then as there was an area of 6ft just off the channel. We shortened sail, came up wind and dropped the anchor. It was pouring with rain by then and we were both sodden. When in times of stress - EAT!! I quickly warmed up yesterday's spaghetti sauce and added more noodles and we sat down to a warming plate of spaghetti and mugs of hot tea!!!

That helped. Just as we were sipping on the tea, just an hour later, and there was a "Ahoy, Periwinkle!" from outside. It was Cap'n Wayne, the Tow Boat US guy!! In the blink of an eye we had the anchor up, the line was slipped over the bow cleat, and we were underway. John had called Atlantic Yacht Basin and they were holding a place for us at the end of their dock. Wayne hummed along with his 200 hp Merc. at 5.6 knots while we took turns at the wheel to keep the tow boat immediately infront. The rain just poured down the whole time. I felt bad for poor Wayne who stood out in that weather the whole time, and when we reached the dock I saw he didn't even have a wind shield at his driving station!!!! At least we'd had a hot meal and had some cover! Anyway we reached the dock at 8:30 p.m. and there was somebody there to meet us. Wayne came alongside, tied up to us and nudged us to the dock very smoothly. We were happy to arrive safely! Our thanks to Wayne for a job well done. He said his wife would be waiting up for him with a hot drink!!

(Does this bring back memories, Darvin and Marilyn?)

Little Alligator River, NC

Day 276, May 16th, 2010,

Off we left at 8:00 a.m. up the last of the Pungo River and then into the Alligator/Pungo canal.
Gorgeous day, not quite as hot. In the canal we passed a motor cruiser stuck well and truly in the mud on the side! They asked a passing power boat for help but no luck. Needless to say we couldn't help.

All was fine until we reached the Alligator River where the water was more open and rough with a northerly wind. The river is about 2 miles across at this point and its shallow. Just as we were feeling more confident in the engine, the exhaust started popping again and this time the high temperature light came on. That hadn't happened before, although we had been shutting it down very promptly. Again, after a short while we were able to get going again. The wind was on the nose so we couldn't sail but we chugged along.

Just before the Alligator River gets out to the Albemarle Sound there's a swing bridge. We were just going through the bridge and the idea did pass through my head "Oh, I do hope it doesn't happen again right now!" Sure enough, we'd not cleared the bridge when the popping started again! John had no option but to push it until we were clear - with the wind on the nose we pulled out the jib and had to bear off to get some forward way before we could shut the engine off. The temperature light was on and John couldn't get the engine to cool off, so we had to give up on the engine. There was a choice of two anchorages on that side of the bridge. The preferred anchorage was on the east side, described as a good spot to wait out bad weather on the Albemarle - however, according to the chart the entrance is quite narrow and as we sailed the wind clocked around to the east. It would have been impossiblel to enter with the wind on the nose. So, we chose the west anchorage at Little Alligator River. There was a little hook behind an island there but that didn't seem like a good idea, seeing as we might have continued problems with the engine. So we dropped the anchor in the open - very open, windy and lumpy with 2 ft waves. We set the anchor alarm in case we dragged, and went to bed, not too hopeful of sleeping very much. Sure enough, I was awakened at 12:00 with the alarm ringing off. We scrambled out of bed but everything looked just the same - just a wide swinging, we figured.
We did sleep a little off and on. The wind diminished a little but it didn't quit, and neither did the waves. Not the best of nights!

We're homesick!

Belhaven, NC

Day 275, May 15th, 2010

We left Oriental at 7:00 the next morning. The Neuse River was good and we motor sailed up across the Neuse and then across the Pamlico Sound into the Pungo River. Said a mental goodbye to the dolphins as they don't come further north than the Pungo! All was fine until some motor cruiser went by at high speed sloshing us in his wake. The pop, pop, popping started again from the exhaust and the engine started overheating. We shut it down and waited a bit and then were able to start it again and continue on our way. Rest of the day was fine. John's original thought was that it was a water cooling problem but Breck, the mechanic, had been so sure it was dirty fuel. John did change the impeller while we were in Oriental but the impeller was absolutely fine.

However, we arrived in Belhaven around 3:00 p.m. and tied up in a lovely little marina there. We were their only customers at first. What a sweet spot. They'd made it so nice with a screened gazebo on the front. It was scorching hot and humid. I picked up my papers and sent them off by UPS - that was a bit funny as the poor girl had never sent a package internationally before and it kind of sent her into a spin; eventually her boss had to come in and sort out the paperwork!! We went for supper over at the local diner across the street and sat outside on the deck where there was a lovely breeze off the river. I ate catfish again - I really like catfish!!! (Thanks Mike and Cindy & Co.!) After supper we walked back to the marina, collected a bag of drinks, our books, my knitting and the Dominoes, and went to the gazebo. It was such a lovely evening. I finished a little sweater for Abby while John took a nap. Then we played a game of Mexican Train Dominoes - all in the lovely comfort of our bug free gazebo!!!

Oriental, NC

Day 273, May 13th, 2010

Breck came pretty promptly in the morning and replaced the polished fuel tank, hooking up everything again. However, when it came to changing the oil seal on the engine, it wasn't there! So thats as far as things could go. Disappointing!

I walked up to the grocery store for a couple of bits. Its a pretty little town with a really rural feel. People tell us there are more boats than people! (And most of those are sail boats which is a bit unusual.) We barbecued for supper and then watched a movie to take our minds off the waiting.


Day 274, May 14th, 2010

Hooray!!! We're fixed!!! Had to wait for an oil seal to be sent from New Jersey. We waited all day yesterday but it didn't come. We were disappointed. When the morning came and went today, we were thinking we might have to wait until Monday. "Breck", the mechanic, stopped by to say it wasn't in the morning delivery but still may come. He did leave a message at the supplier asking for the tracking number though. Shortly after 1:00 I went up to the office and asked the girl to check if the guy had called in the number. We looked it up on the website and it said the package had been delivered in the morning! It was just that the packaging was a little different than usual. We called Breck on his cell phone as he was working at another site, and he said he'd come in about an hour and a half. True to his word he came to the boat and had the seal changed in less that 15 minutes!!!!

We shall leave first thing in the morning to Belhaven on the Pungo River. John's got the GPS plotted all the way to New York. Hopefully there won't be any more problems. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a weather window to do the long leg between Hampton and New York.

Oriental, NC

Day 272, May 12th, 2010

Well, after having trouble stopping in Oriental before, now, it seems, we can't get away!!!
We have made progress today though. The mechanic came yesterday and reckoned it was mainly dirty fuel. He was back today and took the fuel tank right out. Its been "polished" and is ready to go back in tomorrow. Couple of other little bits too but we should be okay then.

I did the laundry while John helped "Breck" the mechanic. We walked to the local diner for supper and it was really good. If all goes well in the morning, perhaps we'll get going in the afternoon? Our fingers are crossed!

Oriental, NC

Day 271, May 11th, 2010

We thought we had about 41 nautical miles to do today to Belhaven, NC so decided we didn't have to leave at the crack of dawn. We walked into town to have breakfast somewhere first!
However, the marina was all locked up, we walked several blocks but couldn't find a cafe that was open. We were just too early! By the time we got back to the marina I tried the door again to the little store and sure enough they had a little cafe in there! Great! We were greeted by a very nice young lady and sat down with orange juice and a cup of coffee to wait for breakfast. As we sat there, a gentleman arrived and ordered breakfast too. Having established he was alone, we invited him to sit with us. We had a lovely chat with "Larry" over the eggs and bacon! He had an appointment with the yacht brokerage. Having sold his boat sometime ago, he felt it was time to buy another! He lives about 3 hours inland and will keep his boat here inOriental again. (We are so lucky in Collingwood to have our boat just 10 minutes from the house.)

John approached one of the marina staff about the night's stay. Apparently we had tied up on the wall of a private marina and they don't deal with transients. There was no charge. That was a very pleasant surprise!

We returned to the boat, got ourselves organized and set off at 9:30. We didn't get very far. There was a stiff wind, on the nose, and choppy water. We put the sails up but it was very apparent we had an engine problem. It didn't take us long to decide to turn back and get a mechanic to have a look. The book showed "Sailcraft Services, Inc." to be the right yard to go so we called them on the radio and they gave us instructions to get there. We turned up Whittaker's Creek and ended up rafted onto another boat outside the yard. Lots and Lots of boat here - kind of reminds me of Back Creek in Annapolis! Very busy yard with lots of boats in various states of togetherness or not.

Its taken all day, but the mechanic just left. He recommends we have the fuel tank polished which he'll try to push through tomorrow. John is going to change all the fuel filters himself and the water impeller. Lets hope we have only 2 days delay. We were congratulating ourselves on making such good progress. Not to worry, we still hope to be back in Canada for June 10th.

Oriental, NC

Day 270, May 10th, 2010

A bridge, just 5 miles from the anchorage, was restricted through the day from 7:00 a.m. onwards, so we decided to get there early and request an opening so we wouldn't have to be delayed. We pulled up the anchor at 5:45 and made an early start!!! (Those of you who know us well must be laughing - John and Gill up and going at 5:45!!! It can happen!!!!) The temperature was much different this morning - back to sweaters and all weather gear to keep out the cold chill. Again, wind straight out of the north so no possibility of using the jib.

Pretty uneventful day really. Thank goodness for Mondays - all the locals back to work! Just other cruisers on the water today. We passed through the bridge with two other sail boats, a catamaran "Tortuga" and a monohull, "Stella Maris". We got into a quick conversation with Tortuga on the radio. Usual questions - where are you from? where are you headed? It turned out they were from Illinois but kept the boat in the Kentucky Lakes. "Oh, I wonder if you know of a marina called Pebble Isles - we had a lovely stay there and were sorry to leave?"
and he replied "Yeah, thats our home marina!!" So we had a nice chat about the extremely nice owners there and the excellent cinnamon buns each morning! Tortuga is going onto Boston or so and then will turn around and go back to the Bahamas. (He still has a couple of Bahamian dollars he hasn't spent yet.) When I suggested they continue onto Canada, he reckoned they would be "half looped" by the time they got to Boston!

Later in the day we were passed by a trawler with a Canadian flag called "Falkor". They hailed us on the radio - "Didn't we meet you in the Benjamins last summer?" Sure enough! They had given us all kinds of tips about the river system. We thought we might meet them on the way down but never did. Apparently they spent the winter in the Exumas having had a quick and comfortable crossing.

At Moorehead City, NC we took the main channel inland, completely bypassing the lovely little town of Beaufort, NC. We'd been there twice before but have never visited Oriental, NC so decided to skip Beaufort this time. Oriental is about 17 nautical miles north of Beaufort on the Neuse River and we thought we could just make it before dark. We'd wanted to stop in Oriental before but it hadn't happened so we thought it was a must this time. I'm sure Tom Witort at CYC told me he bought Holuk from Oriental, so that gives us another reason to say hi to this dear little town - "the Sailing Capitol of North Carolina" according to the billboard in town.

It was just about 7:50 when we came up the channel. The book told us there was a free dock, so I had the lines and fenders set up. However, there were several boats in the very small anchorage and as we cruised the anchorage somebody told us that there was a free dock but it was pretty much always full. We decided to drop the anchor instead. We did that but then a wind came up out of the south east and all theboats changed direction - then we realised that if the wind became very strong and the chain stretched out, the boat could wind up on the marina wall at our stern. That didn't seem a good idea. Up came the anchor again! Nobody answered from the marina on the radio so we decided to tie up on their wall and settle up in the morning.
We were both exhausted. Having set off at 5:45, it was almost 9:00 when we finally were happy with our set up and climbed into bed!!

Pics: Coming through the port of Moorehead, NC, and further up the river where the houses are smaller; note how the trees have changed - tall pines and cypress, no palms!

Sloop Point, NC

Day 269, May 9th, 2010

Slower start today. A little business to take care via internet (Wifi connection here) and John got the fuel topped up again at the gas dock, so we didn't get away till 9:30. Unfortunately Barefoot and Cakaro will be delayed as Wayne went to do his engine checks this morning only to find out his water pump was on the fritz. Thanks goodness we all came onto St. James Marina yesterday instead of the anchorage at Calabash Creek! They will wait for repairs.

Much cooler this morning! But, the wind is all from the north, i.e. on the nose!!! Also, strong current against! However, we set off and the dear old boat putt putted along. Out into the Care Fear River, where it was pretty open and windy.

Passed lots of development again along the waterway, all with long piers out to the water across the marsh. Again, it seems as if there has been so much more building than there was 4 years ago. Loads of activity on the waterway with weekend traffic. Speed boats, fishing boats, jet skis, sports fishers - everybody whizzing by. Cruisers are kind to each other, under sail or power, and call on the radio to ask permission to pass "a slow pass". Everybody else - well, they go whizzing by and we end up slopping from side to side.

We got to Wrightsville - wow it was crazy busy and we had to wait nearly an hour in the channel, to get through the swing bridge. But the timing was good - it was only 4:00 and with a good three more hours of daylight, we decided to keep moving. We ended up in an anchorage about 20 miles north at a point called Sloop point. There was a row of houses on the ocean side and we were tucked behind them in a thin little channel. Going in we passed a motor trawler - he'd tried to put the anchor down a little too soon and ended up on the mud but joined us at the anchorage 10 minutes later with no damage.

St. James Marina, NC

Day 268, May 8th, 2010

John and I got going at 7:00 again. The other two boats, with their bigger engines, were leaving after us. We set off again and thank goodness it was a little cooler with a bit of a breeze which improved as the day went on.

A lovely day moving north through South Carolina. Wow! what a change since our last visit in 2005. There has been so much development along the waterway with beautiful homes, each of course, with their own long pier across the marshes to the dock. The cable car gondola is still there across the waterway where the golfers move from one half of the golf course to the other.
There was lots of traffic with fast speed boats and jet skis along the way. But it was a good day and we made good progress again with a good southerly breeze pushing us along.

We stopped for the night in St. James Marina, in North Carolina. Cakaro and Barefoot arriving just before us. The last time we were here (with Bread & Roses) the place had just opened. Now its a busy place with lots of boats and all the gorgeous homes are occupied. We had supper in the restuarant with Wayne and Bobbie from Barefoot and then set about to do chores.

Thoroughfare Creek, SC

Day 267, May 7th, 2010



Maybe today we'd see Cakaro?!! We left at 7:00 again. It was hot already. Not a breath of wind. It gradually got hotter and hotter - we got out our little thermometer and read 100 degrees Fahrenheit!!! I had a great idea which helped though - got the wash down pump out and had a refreshing rinse on the bow a couple of times as we were going along!! It felt gorgeous!!

We chatted with Cakaro on the radio during the day and agreed to meet them at Thoroughfare Creek. It was going to be a long day.

Fun though - Morning Star was ahead of us and then another traweler called "Skooch". Morninig Star called back to us and said they'd seen an alligator on the starboard shoreline justing getting back into the water. We looked and looked but couldn't see it. Then Skooch called back and told us they saw it on the port side in the water by the pier. This time we did see him - swimming in the water but we could see his head clearly!!!

We got into Thoroughfare around 5:00 and there was Cakaro and Barefoot anchored together!!
What a lovely sight. They were swimming at the beach and it was fresh water!!! What bliss!
We all went for a swim and it was gorgeous. Somebody mentioned there were alligators further up stream but none where we were and that was just fine. The water felt so good!!

After our swim we all brought something and had an impromptu pot luck supper on Cakaro and caught up on everyones' news. A lot had happened since Marathon!

One thought - only very few palm trees to see now, back in the cypress swamps!!

Inlet Creek, SC

Day 266, May 6th, 2010

We up anchored at 7:00 and were off. It was foggy at first but that soon cleared. It was hot but there was a lovely wind and again we were able to use the jib. The tide was on its way out, which was a bit unfortunate at 8:45 when I took us too close to the edge of the channel and we got stuck on the mud!! I shoved it in reverse but nothing happened. Low tide was going to be at 9:45 and we were making such good progress!!! However, we saw "Morning Star" approaching from behind - a trawler we'd met several times. I called them on the radio and asked if they could give us a fast pass, creating a good wake in the hopes we could hop off. They tried but this didn't work either. They kindly came around, John threw them a line and they pulled us off. Thanks Morning Star!!! It wasn't bad - a soft landing and we came off easily thank goodness.

We were thinking we'd stop in Charleston for the night but did so well we decided to go on further. Especially when we heard from "Cakaro" on the radio that they were just ahead of us and would be stopping in Dewes Creek for the night. We hoped to meet them.

However, there's a swing bridge before Charleston which closes from 4 till 6:30 p.m. and we didn't get there till close to 5:00 p.m. So, there was a nice spot to anchor there so we dropped the anchor and had supper while we waited. Also John fed Periwinkle more dieself and I plotted a route further ahead on the GPS.

The short rest was good, we got through the bridge and continued on. It was lovely to pass Charleston and see the lovely homes on the waterfront and the battery. Got a couple of good shots of Fort Sumter and managed to avoid a freighter.

We didn't make Dewes Creek as the light was failing, so instead stopped at a good spot called Inlet Creek. It was about 8:00 and we were exhausted!!!

Pics: First one - where we stopped for supper just before Charleston, 2nd - the gorgeous homes along the waterfront at Charleston, 3rd - Fort Sumter in the distance, where the Civil War started.

Beaufort, SC

Day 265, May 5th, 2010

Cloudy sky but blue patches. Thunder storms a possibility in the afternoon apparently. Anyway, we set off again at 7:00 and the what wind there was was on the nose!

Arrived in Beaufort, SC at 9:45 and fuelled up at the marina first of all. Then moved over to the free dock where we can tie up for the day. We have happy memories of Beaufort - sight seeing with Darvin and Marilyn on our way south in 2005. And stopping again on our way north with Ray and Cheryl. In fact we find ourselves thinking of both and Bread & Roses and Perfect Peace all the time along this route, remembering funny events and stories from before!!! Happy days!!

We're in the Library right now catching up with the Blog and checking our e-mail! We'll get some groceries next and then get back to the boat. We're hoping to push on to South Edisto River, just south of Charleston, tonight but who knows how far we'll get. Oh - by the way, the sun came out and its hot and humid here today.

....Well! Things didn't happen quite as planned. We didn't get back to the boat until 4:00 and felt it was too late to move any further so we decided to anchor in Beaufort for the night.
Just before we let go the lines from the free dock, two people came up to us and said they were Canadian too. The one lady lived in Beaufort and her cousin had just arrived from Nova Scotia on vacation. We chatted for a while and said goodbye. We waited till 6:00 p.m. and then went through the swing bridge just north of the town (Lady's Island Bridge) and went up the creek on the other side of t he waterway. This area is also part of Beaufort, a part we hadn't seen before. We dropped the anchor right infront of some new condos there. Hadn't been there very long when we heard voices calling from the dock - it was the Canadian lady and her cousin. They had just arrived at a party on the dock and invited us to join them for a glass of wine. Off we went in the dinghy! They were such nice people. The host and hostess had just moved into one of the condos and were celebrating with their friends. We had a great time with them. Southern hospitality is really something!!!

Skull Creek, near Hilton Head, GA

Day 264, May 4th, 2010

Off again at 7:00 a.m. The weather didn't look too bad. The thunder storm that had been forecast overnight never happened and we thought all was well. We heard a weather warning on the radio that a severe storm was meant to happen 20 miles off shore with water spouts - so were glad we'd made the decision to go "inside". Anyway, about half way through the morning it started to drizzle and then clouded over completely. The rain got harder and continued without stopping all day. Visibility wasn't bad though so we kept chugging along. Very little wind so no fun! I'm glad it was John's day! There he stood in his rain jacket, soaking wet all day!! I retreated to the cabin. Finished knitting a sweater for Abby. Made a nice salad for lunch - handing it out to the poor Cap'n. And made stew and home made biscuits for supper!!

Managed to get to Hilton Head (didn't see any golfers this time) where we found a really good anchorage at Skull Creek. Little more cover this time with trees and some lovely homes.
Just as we got settled, wouldn't you know it, the sky broke up, the sun came out and there was a beautiful rainbow!!! By the time we'd finished the chores, i.e. fuelled up, plot the course for the next day, had supper and done the dishes, we just had time to snuggle down and watch a movie!!!

Cattle Pen Creek, GA

Day 263, May 3rd, 2010

My day to drive!! (We're still holding to our plan of alternate days at the helm. We both enjoy being captain for the day and on our day off we read our books in between supplying the cap'n with food and drinks and managing the jib if need be.)

Another beautiful day - hot sunshine with lots of wind from the south! Perfect! Jib was out all day as we meandered up the ICW through the marshes. I kept John busy jibing the jib so he hardly had time to read a couple of pages consecutively!! We were lucky too with the tides - we hit the shallow areas (Jekyll Island and Little Mud River) on a rising tide, and the currents seemed to push us along too. At one point we were going out one of the Sounds at 8.3 knots!!! Good old Periwinkle!! (Hull speed 6.5kn.)

We finally called it a day around 6:30 p.m. when we reached a lovely spot called Cattle Pen Creek. One other sail boat was anchored there - a young couple heading south. I was totally exhausted and could only come up with egg on beans on toast for supper, an old English standby!! By the time we'd finished our chores we climbed into bed!!

Pictures above show a Naval installation at King's Bay Channel, where we passed a submarine and other Navy ships. You can't see the sub very well at all -left hand side of the first picture.