November 26, 2008 - HAPPY THANKSGIVING

We left Jim & Sharon's house in Vero Beach and sailed down the Indian River to the St. Lucie River. The Harborage Marina & Yacht Club is 7 miles up the St. Lucie River and across the river from downtown Stuart. Amenities are plentiful here - 2 pools, hot tub, on site restaurant and tiki bar (WITH frequent live guitar player). We learned of this marina from some folks we met in Baltimore at the Anchorage Marina whom we reconnected with in Morehead City. Photos are of one of the heated pools and a view of the "Captain's Lounge" in the Yacht Club.

Sailing up the Indian River was a bit sad as we sailed right by Chris' dad's old residence in Hutchinson Island. We had always promised him that we would anchor right outside his home, but unfortunately, he passed away 3 years ago.

We hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We'll be cooking aboard (honey baked ham - yummy).

Nov. 22/23 - Vero Beach

We had SUCH a great time in Vero Beach visiting Sharon and Jim in their beautiful Intracoastal home (with a dock for Long Gone). Sharon's mom was also visiting them from California and I hadn't seen her in 20 years--she hadn't changed a bit and is 90 years young! Chris got to meet Jim & Sharon for the first time and Jim & Chris became fast competitors at Jim's pool table! We all went to the Vero Beach boat show and then out to lunch at a cute waterfront restaurant in Ft. Pierce. We were sad to say goodbye but they've promised to visit us here in Stuart where we can hopefully get in a day sail on the St. Lucie River before jumping over to the Bahamas.

Nov. 21, 2008 - We're in Cocoa Beach, FL

Yesterday we traveled from Palm Coast to New Symrna Beach, FL. We arrived fairly early and had a chance to explore. We went into the New Symrna Beach Museum and walked around downtown. It was definitely like walking into the past.

Today was uneventful unless you count the Sheriff's Department boarding the boat. They were checking MSD's (Marine Sanitation Devices) on the ICW. Thank goodness that Chris had wire-tied ours shut so we were cleared in record time and were on our way. We had quite a few opening bridges to navigate today but the bridge tenders were on the ball and no waits for Long Gone. A 1954 Trumpy Motor Yacht passed us by today and she was so beautiful. Dolphins also were just everywhere, but nary a Manatee was spotted (and I was looking!).

Cocoa Beach Village Marina is quite beautiful and within walking distance of everything. Chris & I found an old hardware/marine store in town which was like a Mitchell's Hardware on steroids.

The last 2 days have been lonely on the waterway - we were by ourselves pretty much all day yesterday and only in the company of motor yachts today. We suspect that our going offshore has put us in front of the "pack" that we were accustomed to traveling with.

Tomorrow we're hoping to be able to dock behind my friend's house in Vero Beach. We're a bit worried about depth, but we'll keep you posted.

Nov. 18, 2008 - We are in Palm Coast, FL

Here's a photo of St. Augustine from the water as we were waiting to go through the Bridge of Lions

We took an "easy" day today to Palm Coast, FL, only 37 miles from St. Augustine. We were so wiped out after that 14 hr. offshore sail that we provisioned in St. Augustine, but never got to the laundry, boat cleaning chores, etc. We had planned on making Daytona Beach, but would have arrived at sunset or after so we thought we'd stop here early and get the rest of the chores done. When we went through the Bridge of Lions this morning, it was a parade of boats - there were 12 of us.

Palm Coast is one of those "weird" places that was hit hard by the housing recession. It has a wonderful marina, a huge parking garage with a big condo complex beside it. Plans originally called for a big hotel on the waterway, but then the recession hit and plans just halted. Now it's a half built planned community and houses here are ridiculously low priced. I don't see how the builders even covered their costs.

We walked about a mile or so to a shopping center of sorts called "European Village". It was very cute, but over half the shops had gone out of business and there wasn't very much activity that we saw. We walked around a few of the shops, came back, made dinner of quesadillas and we'll go to sleep early so we can get an early start.

We have reservations tomorrow at Symrna Beach Yacht Club - a private yacht club, but it has reciprocity with the "River Rat Yacht Club on the Pungo River" which we joined earlier this year when we passed through there.

We had "separation anxiety" today from "Enchantment" since they went on yesterday to Daytona and we stopped in St. Augustine.

November 17 - we're in St. Augustine, FL

We left Walberg Creek yesterday when the tide was favorable and also the winds were "supposed" to diminish later in the day. As usual, winds were higher than predicted (15-20 kts with gusts even higher). I loved sailing during the day, but as the sun set, it became cold very fast and by 7 am after 14 hrs. of sailing offshore, I felt like a popsicle. The good news is that winds were WNW and the 3 boats were able to sail. We got some gorgeous sunset pictures of "Enchantment" and "Second Wind". Our autopilot went on the fritz last night so we hand-steered all the way to St. Augustine. THAT was painful! Chris unscrewed the control panel when we arrived at Comanche Cove Marina and it appeared that it was probably a condensation problem because it works just fine now! Sheesh! The marina here has a courtesy car which we have reserved from 2-4 pm so that we can go downtown to St. Augustine and also go by a grocery store for fresh fruit, veggies and bread!

We said goodbye today to "Enchantment" and "Second Wind". After spending the last 3 days with Lew and Joe from "Enchantment", it was hard to say goodbye. But....we will hopefully meet again in Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas where "Enchantment" is headed.

We also heard a familiar hail from Ray and Susan Cope from "Copeing" this morning as we came through the Inlet. They cruise on a beautiful 65 ft. Outer Reef - a boat that all of us fell in love with when Long Gone and Enchantment rafted up next to them when fog on the ICW made it impossible to continue. Ray has lots of knowledge about the best anchorages and inlets and is willing to share and we are grateful for his knowledge. He is the one who turned us on to Walberg Creek which was one of the most beautiful anchorages that we have ever visited.

We're pooped today but Chris is washing salt off the boat and I'm headed off to do laundry. Already he's fixed the auto pilot and the transmission cap (there's always a list). After a visit to downtown St. Augustine (a city that we really love) and a provisioning run, we're looking forward to a HOT dinner and a WARM bed tonight!

We had planned to stay here a few days, but the weather is really cold so we changed our minds and hope to make Daytona Beach tomorrow. Maybe another 55 miles south will make a difference in these miserably cold temps!

November 15, 2008 – We are in Walburg Creek Anchorage, Saint Catherine’s Sound, GA

Here's a photo of Bonaventure Cemetery - made famous by the movie "In the Midnight Garden of Good and Evil".

Our position: N31º40’.737, W081º09’504
Last night was “challenging” only in that I got up 6X to double check our anchor. We traveled through “Hell’s Gate” today, one of the 4 problem areas of Georgia. We saw 6.5’ of depth at mid-tide – yikes! Tonight we are anchored in a gorgeous anchorage off St. Catherine’s Sound. “Enchantment” is still with us and “Second Wind” is also anchored here. We are all planning to go offshore tomorrow for a long run down to St. Augustine, about 130 miles – our longest offshore passage to date. Winds appear to finally be favorable and we are looking forward to raising a sail. Our plan is to leave about noon tomorrow on a falling tide and then sail through the night to arrive in St. Augustine about daybreak. Tonight’s dinner was chicken quesadillas, black beans and rice just so you know that we aren’t starving! We traveled through Skidaway Narrows today in GA and the homes along the ICW were incredible – I would name a favorite only to recant and rename another favorite 10 minutes later. Wish us luck tomorrow – I don’t want you all to read about us in the Sun Journal!!!! You’ll have to wait for pictures as I’m using my cell phone as a modem and it is S-L-O-W!!!!

November 14, 2008 – We are in New River Anchorage, South Carolina

Last night we took a slip at Beaufort Downtown Marina and treated ourselves to a night on the town. The Captain and Crew from “Enchantment” joined us at Luther’s in downtown Beaufort for burgers, etc. We were a bit apprehensive coming down Brickyard Creek as that is where the keel met the bottom on the last trip, but the tidal Gods were with us and we came through with no problems.

Tonight we are at position: N32º06’.898, W080º54’772 in an anchorage off the New River. Originally we had planned on anchoring in the Wright River but the weather report predicted strong thunderstorms for tonight with high winds and Claiborne Young’s Cruising Guide informed us that this was a more protected anchorage.

We hit dense fog today coming by Hilton Head but fortunately it cleared and here we are. Tomorrow’s plans call for anchoring in Walberg Creek so that we can get out St. Catherine’s Inlet and take advantage of the NW breezes on Sunday.

Steamboat Creek Anchorage

We departed Charleston Harbor Marina this morning and made the 9 am bridge opening in Elliott Cut (along with 12 other vessels). We arrived at the anchorage about 1:15 pm and it is BLOWING like crazy at the moment and I'm glad to be safely anchored (at least we HOPE it's safely anchored). "Enchantment" the 40 ft. Cabo Rico Motor Sailor is also anchored back here. We had hoped to go offshore tomorrow morning with them through the N. Edisto River Inlet and onto Fernandina Beach, FL. The winds are scheduled to blow SSW 15-17 kts so my vote is "no" because I'm tired of beating. We already had 2 offshore days this week where we were beating into the wind for hours on end. I'm going to check the new site that Dave Hawley gave us http://www.windmapper.com/ before we make a final decision. If we don't go offshore, we'll just motor on to Beaufort which is not a bad place to get stuck in the rain (which is forecasted for the next 3 days). My hope is to find a period of 24-48 hrs. with NE or NW winds to push us to FL. I don't mind surfing!

Photo added 11/24/08 - Here's a photo of the 3 boats (Copeing, Enchantment and Long Gone) all tied up to Copeing, a 63 ft. Ocean Reef. It was so foggy that you couldn't see to navigate!

We're in Charleston

We spent last night in Georgetown, SC and visited an old haunt for dinner - Buzz's Roost. We looked for a boat from New Bern's Bridgepointe Marina as he had indicated he would be the chef for that restaurant, but we never located them and quizzing the bartender at Buzz's Roost didn't reveal any clues.

We made lots of progress today because the tidal Gods were with us - we went through the Minim Canal where we saw EAGLES - yes, Bald Eagles. It was wonderful. Dolphins were with us most of the way down the ditch. Originally we had planned to stop in Isle of Palms, but since we got a favorable push from the tides, we pushed onto Charleston. We made "friends" with another boat, "Enchantment" because he led the way and called out depths. In the 8 months since we've been this way, the waterway has shoaled even more - 8 ft. depths and less were a common theme. Last year, it freaked us out, now we're alot more relaxed about it.

In the "small world" department, we had a boat hail us that had "Ernie the Pharmacist" aboard. He owned an Island Packet 2 slips from us at the Sheraton in New Bern. He was helping a friend deliver a sailboat to Beaufort, SC. He and Kathy are still in Wilmington, NC now.

The sunset was beautiful - see Chris' pic enclosed. The full moon is rising and I can't wait to anchor out tomorrow! The current plan is to anchor out tomorrow at Steamboat Creek off the N. Edisto and then head offshore to FL, but then again, nothing is for certain when you're cruising!

We miss all of you!!!!

Barefoot Landing, Myrtle Beach, SC

We did another "ocean day" - departed Southport and went out Cape Fear Inlet. The inlet was much calmer than last time but still no "piece of cake". We had one wave break over the boat drenching EVERYTHING and unfortunately, I had the hatch boards out - live and learn.

We motored down the coast and came in at Little River Inlet. We were a bit worried about taking a lesser known inlet but it all worked out just fine. We had discussed going outside again tomorrow to Georgetown but decided to do the ICW and take a break from the bobbing and beating. We love the Waccamaw River as it's just so scenic and intend to anchor at Bull Creek tomorrow night - a secure anchorage that we found the last time heading south.

Tonight we met two other boats from New Bern (Flash II, a Niagara Sailboat which we met the last time we headed south) and Margareta, a center cockpit Island Packet. Flash II is a cruising veteran and Margareta is a first-timer and we are all headed to the Bahamas. We are at Barefoot Landing and tonight all 3 couples decided to treat ourselves to wine, $3 Long Island Iced Teas, and lots of affordable appetizers. Each couple ordered 2 appetizers and then we just shared. A great time was had with many stories swapped. We'll learn a lot from the veterans aboard Flash II (Sonja and Brian).

We made a month long reservation at a marina in Stuart, FL that is very reasonable. Chris' oldest daughter, Rachel will be coming down around Dec. 12 through Dec. 30 and Paige, his youngest, will come down on Christmas day through Dec. 30. The marina we chose is downtown and close to shops and restaurants so should be fun!

We're looking forward to an "easy" waterway day tomorrow.

We're in Southport, NC

Wow....what a ride. We left Morehead City about 1 pm yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful sail out the Beaufort Inlet. We were having such a good time that we decided to change our plans and head straight for Cape Fear Inlet at Southport, rather than coming in at Masonboro Inlet in Wrightsville Beach (a 24 hr. trip rather than 12 hrs.).

As they say, best laid plans and all that. When we left Beaufort Inlet, the weather forecast was favorable - 10-15 kt. winds with 2-3 ft. seas. But when we got out in the ocean about 27 miles, the winds shifted and picked up. We had steady 20 with 25 kt. gusts and 4-5 ft. seas. It was like riding a bucking bronco. Dinner was a hastily thrown together turkey sandwich and for the next 12 hrs. we felt like we were living in a washing machine. At 5 pm, we were so happy, by 7 pm, not so happy and by 10:30 pm I would have traded the sailboat for a nice fast power vessel! We arrived at the Masonboro Inlet around 3 am, but because of the waves, waited until daylight to go through. We ran the inlet at first light, came down the Cape Fear River going about 7 kts. and arrived in Southport. We had company, a 40 ft. Lord Nelson sailboat also came in with us from Morehead City. We hailed each other on the radio and bemoaned our predicaments - it was a really "challenging" night.

WE ARE TIRED!!! After 32 hrs. of being awake, we just finished dinner and are probably not long for this world. We'll check the weather (not something that we have great faith in) to decide what our plans will be for tomorrow. We took a short walk around Southport but mostly just had boat chores to complete since there was not a square inch without salt! Enclosed is a photo of the waterfront in Southport - we love it here. It's charming and has a real small town feel.

Morehead City, NC

Pat King picked us up this morning at 6 AM on the dot (she's so good) and took us to the boat. We pulled out of the slip about 7:15 am and arrived in Morehead City about 2:30 pm. We had 20+ kts. of wind going down the river so sailed most of the way down the Neuse and about halfway down the ICW until it just got to be a chore. It was really very chilly so thank goodness for the wonderful blanket that Tim & Chris gave us during our last cruise because I was wrapped up tight! We actually met up with a boat (M/V Bohemia) that was in the slip across from us at Anchorage Marina in Baltimore (small world) so that was really great seeing them again. We docked in steady 20 kts. beam wind (eek) but managed not to hit anyone.

Here's a photo of downtown Morehead City for those of you who have never been. It's a quaint town with lots of seafood restaurants and small gift shops, not to mention charter fishing boats. Dinner tonight will be done on the grill aboard (hopefully the wind will die down) with LOTS of wine, congratulating ourselves for a good docking job! We miss all of you and hopefully you'll come visit!

Our task tonight is to get on buoyweather.com to see what tomorrow's forecast will bring and then determine whether we will come in at Masonboro Inlet (my vote) or to just go all the way to Wynah Bay, Georgetown, SC or Charleston, SC.

Stay tuned!!!!

Tracy & Chris

November 1, 2008 - Delayed Departure

Well folks, we're still here. Chris went to Cincinnati last week to see Paige run in an important race and her team won! So...this weekend they were in the State Championship. Chris drove back up to OH to see the race so our November 1 departure date has been postponed. Unfortunately, weather this week is not favorable for offshore travel (5-7 ft. waves) so we'll either have to go down the ICW or wait and hope that next week's weather will be better. Stay tuned.