Long Gone is HOME

Well.....it's been a WONDERFUL year indeed. It's bittersweet being home. We missed our friends and our families while we were away, but it's difficult being home too. The first night sleeping at home was strange for both of us without the boat's gentle rocking motion to relax us. We miss feeding our wanderlust, planning our route, the anticipation of seeing something new nearly every day. We also are back into the "real" world of realizing just how awful our economy has become, worrying about getting jobs and with land-based living, coming to grips on how to curb our spending. When we were on the boat in the Islands, there was nothing to spend money on (besides food of course)! No malls, no large supersized grocery stores, no fast food Burger King's around every corner, no fuel for our automobiles, no delivery of Dominoes Pizza! It was an idyllic life indeed and we are going to miss it, but we feel so grateful for this year. Not many folks get to realize their dreams and we did....and it was better than we had hoped! Thanks to all of you that wrote to say that they enjoyed this blog. I had a wonderful time sharing our adventure with you.

Thursday, March 26, 2009 - We're in Wrightsville Beach, NC

Almost home! The weather has taken a turn for the worse and we stopped into Seapath Marina in Wrightsville Beach. It's gray and dreary, chilly and damp. Ugh. Seapath has a courtesy car which we used to visit the local Harris Teeter store to buy a few things for the few remaining days. It's great to shop in a BIG grocery store again! Even better are the prices! In the Bahamas, for instance, flavored coffee creamer was $7 and today it was TWO BOTTLES for $7!!! And....I found Snyder's pretzels! That might not seem like a big deal, but it's something that I've really missed!!!

Our friends Bob and Debbie Cowen have graciously invited us for dinner and we're looking forward to seeing them tonight and catching up.

I sent my resume to a company that is servicing the Cherry Point base. Back to the REAL world soon. My feet will NOT be happy as I've not worn real shoes in over a year!!!!!!!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - Southport

We're in Southport Marina and will check weather to see if we can move on tomorrow. When I checked yesterday, it appeared that there was bad weather moving in and we may have to delay our northern progress for a day or two. Probably just as well as we have been moving EVERY day for over a week.

We were boarded by the Coast Guard today coming into Southport Marina - a quick visit to see if we had weapons aboard (we do), check documentation, safety gear, etc. It wasn't a biggie.

We're looking at the descending rain cloud and it is COLD!!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - We're in Myrtle Beach, SC

We left Georgetown this morning and were lucky to get a tidal push all the way to Myrtle Beach. Weather Underground predicted 10-15 kts. from the NE. The NE was correct, but it was a steady 20 with gusts to 27....and it was COLD! We meandered our way through the Waccamaw and I just love that area! We'll check the weather tonight, but we're trying to get as close to home before the crappy weather predicted for Thursday and Friday hits. If we get stuck in Southport for a few days, that would be fine as we really love that area. Beaufort would be even better but that's being a bit optimistic.

We're at Barefoot Landing tonight so we'll get off the boat for a bit of retail therapy. See all of you soon.

March 23, 2009 - Long Gone in Georgetown, SC

Well folks, we're definitely bound for home.

It was our "intention" to anchor or take a mooring tonight. We scored a mooring on the first try, only to be told from a trawler anchored next to that mooring that we were too close. I ended up dropping the boat hook while listening to this guy yell at us so it was NOT a good time. We tried to find a spot to anchor in this crowded anchorage but none seemed suitable so we ended up coming into Hazzard Marine - a small price to pay for a good night's sleep with no worries. We're catching up with laundry, we'll have a nice dinner aboard and will most likely stay an additional day. We love this quaint little town, we're a bit "ICW road weary" so would like to actually sit in the cockpit, read a book, walk around (on dry land) and gaze at the historic homes and perhaps grab a glass of wine (or two) at Buzzard's Roost, our favorite watering hole here in Georgetown.

See all of you in New Bern in about 5-6 days or so (weather dependent). Pray for reasonable east or southeast winds!!!!! We're tired of nor'easters!!!!

Sunday, March 22, 2009 - We’re in Isle of Palms Marina

Change of plans. We had intended to anchor tonight in Dewees Creek, but we have 30 kts. of wind at the moment (on the nose of course). We had an almost hour delay at the Ben Sawyer Bridge after just missing their on-the-hour opening so that was nerve fraying as keeping Long Gone in the center channel was a chore in the current and wind. Chris made the decision to stop here since there was no protection from this wind at the anchorage and it's cold! Morgan’s Grill is right up the dock from us and they have Happy Hour from 4-7 plus live entertainment--too tempting for us to pass up.

Saturday, March 21, 2009 - Steamboat Creek Anchorage

Position: N 32° .36’.365, W 080° .17’.012
We arrived at the anchorage about 5:30 pm after fighting the wind on the nose all day. After grilling some steaks and playing gin rummy, this crew turned in early.

Friday, March 20, 2009 - We're in Hilton Head, SC

We left the Isle of Hope Marina today about 10 am so that we could time our transit time through Fields Cut on a rising tide. We made it through with no problem and no less than 6.5 ft. of water. We had intended to anchor out tonight but with lows in the 30's, it's nice to be plugged into the dock at Skull Creek Marina. Since we had a "light" day today with only 35 miles logged, we're hoping to make some miles tomorrow and possibly get to Steamboat Creek on the North Edisto River, my very favorite anchorage of all times! It's 58 miles though so that's pretty ambitious for us. See you in a week or so!

March 18 and 19, 2009 Updates

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - Wahoo River Anchorage

Position: N 31° .36’.077, W 081° .12’.789

We fought 22 - 25 kt. winds all day today on the nose and the current was against us too. We stopped about 5:40 pm in this anchorage after transiting Creighton Narrows in skinny waters. The Canadian boat that we have been following off/on named Isabelle, a Tayana 38, ran hard aground today. We could not help as it was such skinny water and we didn’t think we had enough power. She called SeaTow and later joined us in the anchorage.

Thursday, March 19, 2009 - Isle of Hope Marina
We transited through the Florida Passage today as well as Hell’s Gate with no problems, thank goodness. We’re tucked in for the night at Isle of Hope Marina where we borrowed their courtesy car for a Walmart run. We had planned to take the bus to Savannah but the last bus returned at 3:30 pm and it was an expensive cab ride for the return. This crew is tired anyway so it will be an early night so we can be up and at ’em tomorrow.

Photos of Cumberland Island

The wild horses of Cumberland Island grazing behind the ruins.


We were lucky enough to get several shots of the wild horses at Cumberland Island.

The ruins of Dungeness, the mansion built by Thomas Carnegie in 1882 which burned in 1959.

The Greyfield Inn was down the road a bit, but by the time we hiked the trail to the ruins and to the beach, the sun was setting and it was time to dinghy back to the boat.

Oh...by the way, Ivory Lady, the Hatteras from New Bern is in the Golden Isles Marina at St. Simon where we are now.....

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - We're in St. Simons

We stopped at the Golden Isles Marina in St. Simons. We needed fuel since it's 50 miles to the next fuel stop on the ICW at Isle of Hope. It rained most of the morning and was generally dismal but the sun is coming out now. We ran aground once today in 4.8 ft. of water, but it was a rising tide so we gave it a few moments and she floated off. We transited the dreaded Jekyll Creek today, one of the waterway's infamous shallow spots with no issues. We hope to go play tourist in a bit to explore historic St. Simon's Island. I would love to hear that the wind has changed directions since we're right here at the Inlet and it looked to be a really wide and safe inlet. If it's predicted to blow NE still though, it makes no sense for us to go "outside".

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!!

Earlier pix that I didn't get to post

Chris caught his first fish - a Mackeral. He was sort of "bent" a bit from being crammed into our bucket, but he served as our appetizer that night - lightly floured and pan fried in butter/olive oil.


This photo was taken of the trail we took on Manjack Cay. It was about 2 miles long and went from the Sea of Abaco side of the island to the Atlantic side.

March 16, 2009 – Dungeness Anchorage

Position: N30º 46’.266 W081º 28’233

We are currently anchored in the Dungeness-Greyfield Channel

We wanted to go outside at Cumberland Sound but the wind has turned NE so we continued up the ICW. Claiborne Young’s Cruising Guide recommended this spot so we dropped the hook, lowered the dink and went ashore to tour the ruins of the Dungeness Mansion built in 1882 by Thomas Carnegie. It burned down in 1959 but the ruins are still spectacular. We hiked through the forest to the beach and saw many of the wild Cumberland Island horses. We took lots of photos, but can’t post them tonight as we’re using my cell as modem and it is SLOW! We’re planning to travel north on the ICW tomorrow through as much as Georgia as we can tolerate. It has just started to rain here. See all of you in a few weeks! We’ll post photos as soon as we have a fast internet connection.

March 10 to 14, 2009 Updates - Leaving St. Augustine

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 - A BAD Navigation Day and almost Jail Time!
We left Port Marina around 10 am figuring we had an easy day up to the anchorage near the Space Shuttle Launch. WRONG!!!! I did some laundry, hung it out on the rail, we went through the bascule bridge right by the marina and into the lock. The Waterway Guide claimed that there were line handlers at the lock but that wasn’t the case so I was hopping around quickly trying to set lines in the place to get through the lock. Then I was worried about the laundry hanging on the rail getting dirty in the lock so it was a busy time! After we came through the lock, there was an “intersection” and I (as the navigator) told Chris that we should turn “right” (north). HOWEVER….and this is a BIG however, we were to go straight another 6 or so miles before turning “right”. We actually turned up the Banana River, a NASA restricted area and also an area where NO motor vessels of any kind are allowed. We went up the river to the first bridge and we called, but there was no reply. Now, I knew that the marker numbers were not matching the marker numbers on my chart but I attributed that to us having an old chart. When we called the McAuliffe Bridge and told them we wanted an opening, we were informed that they couldn’t “see” us. Duh…..that’s because we weren’t in the Indian River, but instead the BANANA River. Once I realized our mistake (an hour too late), I also realized that we were in the restricted zone. We hightailed it back to unrestricted water, but as our luck would have it, we got stopped by a FL Law Enforcement boat. He informed us to drop the anchor which we then asked if we could do in deeper waters, we apologized over and over. He told us that being in that restricted area was a $132,500 fine, impoundment of the vessel, and 6 years imprisonment. OH LORDY!!!! About that time, a Fountain go fast boat with triple engines went speeding by us and the Officer ended up going after that boat. I told him that we were going to Harbourtown Canaveral on the Barge Canal so I figured he would meet us there later. He didn’t show….WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ONLY cool thing about the day is that we had an EXCELLENT view of the shuttle sitting on the launch pad. Kind of is a scary thing though that we actually got as close as we did before getting stopped. Oh….and we saw our first wild pink flamingos!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - Space Shuttle Day
Position: N 28° .32’.437, W 080° .45’.164
We got to the anchorage about 1:15 pm along with a dozen or so other boats. We were SO excited. Our excitement was dashed when at 4:00 pm they announced that the launch was postponed until Sunday - BUMMER! By that time, the bridges were closed for the 5 pm traffic so we turned on a great XM radio station, grilled some burgers, drank some wine and just chilled in a beautiful spot.

Thursday, March 12, 2009 - Daytona Beach
We motored the 52 miles to Daytona Beach (boring) and treated ourselves to a Pizza at Stavros and walked around the downtown area a bit. The Halifax Marina was a very nice marina with great facilities.

Friday, March 13, 2009 - St. Augustine Anchorage
Position: N 29° .53’.758, W 081° .18’.549
We anchored in a TIGHT anchorage north of the Bridge of Lions and it was so foggy that visibility was only about 50 ft. It was not a restful night as we were afraid that since Long Gone swings so much at anchor, we may swing into another boat.

Saturday, March 14, 2009 - St. Augustine - Camanchee Cove Marina
We’re out of groceries so we took a slip at Camanchee Cove so that we could use their courtesy car. Chris and I went to Walmart and the liquor store (we were almost out of wine - horrors!). We were wowed by the prices and probably bought two of everything. In the Bahamas, the groceries were so expensive. Like a bag of Tyson frozen chicken breasts in the Bahamas was $32 (no lie) and at Walmart it was $8! Tom and Linda from Tomlin Too came over for the last time (sniff) as they are going to their home in Arizona and leaving their Hunter 450 in St. Augustine on the hard. We’ve been traveling with them for well over a week. We grilled some steaks, they brought some wonderful shrimp which we grilled and of course, drank some wine!

Sunday, March 15, 2009 - Leaving St. Augustine
We’re leaving here as soon as Chris finishes changing the oil so if you don’t see an update for a few days, you’ll know that we are traveling and don’t have internet!

March 6 to March 9 Updates - Sorry no internet until now!!!!!

The beach at Powell Cay on the Sea of Abaco


The coral banks at Manjack Cay



Friday, March 6 - Powell Cay Anchorage
Position: N 26° .53’.999, W 077° .29’.051
We sailed the mere 10.5 nm to the Powell Cay Anchorage where secluded beautiful white beaches were waiting. Oh…we caught our very first FISH!!!! We were SO excited. Thanks to Joe and Roxy who brought us the lucky lure and fishing pole! We were trolling along using a yellow skirted lure and a 2 ft. long Ceral (spelling?) Mackeral caught the line and Chris reeled him in. We weren’t sure exactly what he was so we took him over to Tomlin Too who helped Chris clean him and later we all got together for some Chili and Cornbread on the Long Gone with the fish for appetizers. Tom dredged him in flour, salt and pepper and fried him up and he was DELICIOUS!!!

Saturday, March 7 - Great Sale Anchorage
Position: N 26° .58’.713, W 078° .12’.912
It was 42.8 nm from Powell Cay to Great Sale. We had anchored here before on the way to Marsh Harbour so we knew the holding was excellent. Tomlin Too, a Hunter 450 traveled the southern route and we went over the top as we had on the previous trip. We arrived basically at the same time and another couple from Boat Harbour, Toucan II was also in the anchorage. Linda again cooked us a wonderful meal of lasagna, I brought the salad, Toucan brought the appetizers and much wine was consumed and stories swapped.

Sunday, March 8 to Monday, March 9 - The Crossing
We left Great Sale about 10 am in ROLLING and confused seas and no wind. Yuck. Fortunately about midnight the seas calmed a bit and the wind picked up a bit. Then we hit the Gulf Stream and that definitely changed our outlook. We were making 9.9 kts in only 7 kts of wind. WOW! What a ride. We are currently in Cape Canaveral at Cape Marina, right off the barge canal and about 6 miles from the ocean. Chris and I were actually here about 10 years ago because the Royal Caribbean Ship, Majesty of the Seas is directly across the canal from us. Lots of boating activity around here so it’s kind of rolling in the slip, but it was great to have a long hot shower after 5 days of anchoring out and worrying about running out of water. NEXT time we will definitely have a water maker!

We called Customs upon arrival and our presence was required at the Homeland Security Office so we started the 2 mile trek and were offered a ride by a commercial fisherman who was sitting in the marina parking lot. It was much appreciated because we are really TIRED. These all night sails are not good for sleeping but with the full moon last night, it was really gorgeous! I think Chris got in about ½ hr and me about the same. The auto pilot gave up the ghost AGAIN last night so it was hand steering all the way over. Yuck!!! Originally we had planned to go into Ft. Pierce Inlet but we were making such great time with the stream’s push that we would have arrived in Ft. Pierce before daybreak so decided to alter course and come in here. There’s a space shuttle launch (we are SO lucky) that Chris is dying to see so we’ll leave the marina tomorrow and go find a suitable viewing spot for watching. It’s a night launch and should be spectacular!

March 5, 2009 - Still in Manjack!

The winds have been fierce and we thought it prudent to stay anchored in this protected anchorage (with internet!). We had a WONDERFUL dinner last night aboard Tomlin Too with Linda and Tom. We're hoping that the winds calm a bit today and we'll be on the way to Powell Cay. It's our intention to stay there a night, go to Great Sale and then do the big overnight crossing from Great Sale to Ft. Pierce Inlet, but.....as you know all is weather dependent. We'll keep you posted when we can!

March 3, 2009- Manjack Cay Anchorage

Manjack Bay Anchorage

Position: N26º 48’.595 W077º 21’849

We are currently anchored in Manjack Cay, north of Green Turtle Cay. Winds were forecasted to be from the NE tonight, but instead they are from the west and we are bouncing and surfing in the anchorage. There is one house here on Crab Cay with an open router so we have internet! Who would have thought. We tried our hand at fishing today for the first time but nary a nibble. The passage through the Whale Cay today was bouncy but thankfully non-eventful. We followed Tomlin Too from Marsh Harbour to here and are planning to stay put for another day to explore the beautiful beaches here. We were treated to a magnificent sunset tonight and the crew from Tomlin Too came over to enjoy 5:00 pm happy hour aboard Long Gone.

The weather looks great for the remainder of the week (quite unusual) so we may cross over Saturday or Sunday into the States. If it’s cold, we’ll stay in FL, if it’s mild, we’ll start the trek back to NC. We miss you!!!!

Long Gone leaving Marsh Harbour March 3, 2009

We'll be out of range for a few days, but when we can, we'll update the blog to tell you all where we are. The weather looks favorable (although right on the nose, of course) to make the passage north. Stay tuned and stay warm!!!!!!!!

Feb. 28 - Trip to Hopetown Fair

The "Ambition" crew - Cindy and Merrill


The Hopetown Burial Society!


One of the colorful homes on Elbow Cay


The beach at Hopetown and notice the doggy! This was right before he came up the path and jumped up on us with sandy, dirty and wet paws!

The Sea of Abaco was finally calm enough for us to dinghy over to Hopetown on Elbow Cay. Their Fire & Rescue Department was having a fair to raise money for new equipment. There were hamburgers, hotdogs, a silent auction and even a demonstration by the US Coast Guard! It was weird to hear the Coastie’s helicopter because you just don’t see or hear those at all here in the Bahamas! We walked around Hopetown looking at all the beautiful houses there - it’s just so colorful! Every time I find a house that I think is my favorite, another more colorful one pops up around the corner.

Last night we said our goodbyes to Merrill and Cindy aboard ‘Ambition’, a Beneteau 411. They are leaving later today to go down to the Exumas (although the weather is crappy today so they may be delayed). We all tried to convince the Long Gone captain to follow along, but we’re trying to get back to the States in time for him to fly to OH for Easter break to see the girls. Our plan is to leave on Tuesday morning with another Hunter (a 450) named Tomlin II. They too would like to leisurely sail north taking in the sights that they missed on the way south. Our tentative plan is to go to Treasure Cay first, perhaps over to Great Guana, onto Manjack, Spanish Cay, Great Sale and then onto West End to wait for a window to cross the Gulf Stream. After that it will depend on weather - we can choose West Palm or if the Stream is really pushing us, we may try for Ft. Pierce or even points further north. It’s just hard to plan with cold fronts coming down every 3 days or so.

As we were saying goodbye to Cindy and Merrill, Lew and Teresa came into town from Norfolk. They are on 'Enchantment' - the Cabo Rico motor sailor that we were with for about 4-5 days coming south. It was great to see them again and the plan is for them to follow along to Treasure and Great Guana before coming back here to Boat Harbour. They will leave their boat here until May and then take her back to Norfolk. Because of the comings and goings, we thought that was reason enough for a party aboard Long Gone so Chris threw on a pork tenderloin and some chicken and the girls and I cooked green beans and mashed potatoes and kept the wine flowing. We definitely won the prize last night for the most bottles consumed in this marina!

It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to the Bahamas as we’ve just had such a wonderful time. The water here is unbelievably blue and even though we’ve had cold fronts one after the other (and the locals declare this the coldest winter ever), it has been great. We’ve learned a LOT on this trip! It’s even harder to say goodbye to the great folks we’ve met along the way, but we’re still keeping in touch with the cruisers that we’ve met on the way to the Chesapeake so good friends truly never lose touch. We're also looking forward to being back in New Bern and hanging out with all of our friends at home whom we've really missed! Wish all of you could have come too!