Friday, October 16

Yesterday, we arrived in Beaufort (pronounced Bowfort) NC at 2:15. It had been cool and cloudy, but then the weather turned sunny and warm. Beaufort is very nice, something like Oak Bluffs. we had a wonderful dinner (oysters and tuna) at an outdoor restaurant overlooking a beautiful harbor. Across from us was an island which has wild horses. We didn't see any, but we did see more dolphins. This would be a great place to spend more time. Very close to the outer banks.

We were warned by other boaters not to go outside the intracoastal, as it was "snotty", meaning very bad seas.

We left Beaufort this morning at 10am and traveled 9.5 hours to arrive at our final destination, St. James Plantation Marina in SouthPort, NC, which is at the end of North Carolina, near the Cape Fear river. We're glad to be here, but sorry the journey is at an end. We passed Camp Lejune on the way, which was very interesting. At times the intracoastal is closed if the Marines are shooting or doing amphibious excercises.

I have learned so much about navigation, and realize how much more I need to learn.

Thanks to everyone who followed this blog and shared this interest. We'll be home soon, but will be planning more journeys.

October 14

We are now in Belhaven, NC, mile 137 on the intracoastal. We traveled 6.5 hours today, mostly at about 12 - 14 knots because this stretch is shallow and narrow. The weather was cool and cloudy, with rain at late afternoon. It is still very interesting, different scenery. We saw a school of dolphin in Albermarle sound. We are at the River Forest marina, which has a manor house, built in 1840 and spent the evening with a couple from Toronto who own a 65 foot boat. We visited them on their boat which is a 3 story floating condo!

We took on 128 gallons of fuel. People at marinas say there is much less traffic this year. We plan to be in Beaufort tomorrow. That is mile 204. Distance is measured in statute miles, not nautical miles. Our final destination is St. James River Marina at mile 315, so we should be there by Friday. We've been traveling for two weeks and haven't gotten tired of it at all.

I thank the government for using my tax dollars to maintain this waterway!

October 13.

We had a layover day in Portsmith, VA. Unfortunately, since it was a holiday, many things were closed. We still had a good relaxing day. I got a comment about food, mentioning the crabs. We had dinner one night in Annapolis, and when the waitress asked if there was a problem, I said , Yes, I will never have crab as good as this again!

WE left Portsmith today at 8:40 and arrived at Coinjock, NC at 1:45, and got 83 gallons of fuel. This is the real intracoastal, and it is everything I expected it to be, narrow, slow, lots of bridges, very interesting. We were in a convoy of 5 boats. When we tied up at Coinjock, we met with one of the boats, who are on their way to Key West. We are at mile 50 of the intracoastal and our final destination is at mile 315, so we expect to be traveling for a few more days. OUr traveling is much slower now. This is similar to the Charles, or to Cape Cod Canal. Some of it resembled Lake Winnepesauki. The weather today is fantastic, 75 degrees and sunny. David wanted to keep going, but at 1:45 after 5 hours, I said, let's stop and enjoy the beauty, which we did. I am still not tired of this journey and this may become a way of life!

at mile one!

October 11 Sunday, 7:00pm. We left Solomon Island at 9 am and arrived 6 hours later at Ocean Marina in Portsmouth, VA, What a beautiful ride down the Chesapeake Bay. We had not expected to make such time today, but the weather was so good, that we didn't feel the need to stop. We're now relaxing, after cleaning, having dinner and cocktails. The people here are so friendly, a mix of permanent residents and fellow travelers. We'll stay here two nights so we can enjoy the area, although we are ready to start down "the ditch". We traveled 120 miles and took on 186 gallons of fuel. The ride through Portsmouth was smooth, considering the number of navy vessels. Our Navy is quite impressive. The port is also immense, watching the cranes made David miss work, (not). This trip keeps getting better and better.

October 10

We are now in Soloman Islands, Maryland. We left Annapollis at 9:40 with warm weather and calm seas. However, the seas picked up after 2 hours and we pulled into Soloman at 12:30. It's really nice here. We rented bikes and had a good tour of this very small island. Annapolis was fantastic. We were unaware of the sailboat show, and had some trouble finding a space, but finally got a slip at Petrini boatyard. On Saturday, we got reciprocal privileges at the Annapolis Yacht Club, Thank you Marilyn, and had a great day. Annapolis is a very pretty city, with lots to do and see. The weather was fantastic, 80 degrees. Today is cool and cloudy.

If the weather cooperates we will be in Virginia tomorrow.

We used 156 gallons of gas today and traveled 54.9 miles. The coast guard approached us as we passed a power plant, but did not make us stop. People here are very friendly.

I hope we make it to Yorktown tomorrow, but whenever we have to stop, we have a good time.

October 8

We left Cape May at 8:15 after a two day stay. Many other boaters were debating whether or not to leave this morning. Yesterday it was blowing 4o miles an hour, only one boat, with 3 elderly people on board left. The youngest person was 83! We didn't hear any bad news, so I suppose they are ok.

Today is still windy, after leaving Cape May CAnal, we entered the Delaware River, with seas from 4 to 6 feet. Very rough for at least an hour, after that, the winds subsided and by the time we got to C&D Canal, it was calm. We got to the end of the canal at 12:30 and we had planned to stop at Chesapeake City, but since it was so calm, we decided to fuel up and continue on. We planned to go to Baltimore, but continued on and ended up in Annapolis at 6:30 pm. We didn't realize a boat show was going on and had some difficulty getting a space, but finally got one at Petrini's Marina. He is quite a character, all bent over with arthritis, but very pleasant. He apologized for charging $4.00 a foot, but said the city was killing him with taxes. David wanted to leave first thing, but Annapolis is too exciting to leave, so we'll stay one more day. The boat show is for sailboats, so there's no danger he will buy one. We're still having trouble with water leaking (fresh water, not salt) which is frustrating. Other than that, everything is great. We are enjoying meeting other travelers and learning a lot. Thank you for your comments.

Tuesday, October 6

We left Atlantic City at 9:35 a.m. The weather was beautiful and we had no problem getting to Cape May. We arrived at 12:30 and got 72 gallons of fuel, cost $203. The slip is $2.00 per foot. This is a nice marina, very friendly staff, lots of transients heading our way. The town of Cape May is about 2 miles away and is very nice. We could have continued because the weather was so good, but Dave wants a new chip for the gps which will not be here until tomorrow. We met a great guy in Atlantic City who will get it and send it down with one of his workers on Wednesday. The weather is predicted to be bad (high winds) all day wednesday, so we most likely will be here for two nights. The boat next to us is heading to the Chesapeake so maybe we can travel with them.

Hope all is well at home. We are still having a great time.

Monday, October 5 8:30 p.m.

We had some work to do on the boat, we thought there was some vibration on the left prop. We had a diver go down to check, luckily, there was only a slight bend and he was able to fix it. We took it out for a test run, and everything is fine. We took on 153 gallons at a cost of $475.

The rest of the day, we explored the famous boardwalk. It was a beautiful day.

The casino experience is something else, I'm not sure what this says about the American culture, but it isn't anything positive!

We did meet a nice couple from Cambridge. If we're lucky we'll be able to leave tomorrow, however the forecast is for high winds and even the inside route will be tough. We met a couple who are traveling on their trawler from California. They have been cruising since last October. They arrived today from Cape May and it took them seven hours on the inside route, as it is very shallow at many points. Since we have already had one scare with the prop, we don't want to take any chances. This is a good place to be stuck as there is a lot to do.

Saturday, October 3

We left Port Washington at 9:10, the weather was cloudy, humid, but calm seas. We traveled down the East River, past the UN, past the statue of Liberty and Ellis, I think this is the best thing we have ever done. We are now in Sandy Hook New Jersey at the Atlantic Highlands Marina. We arrived here at 12:30 and took on 68 gallons of fuel. We decided to spend the day because of threat of thunderstorms, which happened while we were at the lookout bar at around 2:30. It's nice now, and the forecast is for nice weather tomorrow, so we may be on our way to Cape May. It's been good to hear from people. Thank you for your interest.

Judy

October 2, 2009

We left Point Judith at 7:30 am, beautiful sunrise, and calm seas. We had planned to go to Connecticut, but because of calm seas and great visibility, we changed course and headed to Long Island. We arrived at Brewers Marina at 1:00pm. Peter Gilson warned us about high fuel prices. He was right. $4.00 a gallon. We needed 202 gallons. Slip fees are $3.00 per foot. The marina is very nice, lots of amenities, water taxi restaurants, access to shopping.

The trip here was excellent. 6 hours passed very quickly and I am learning to navigate.

Dave is currently trying to fix a fresh water leak, and thinks he has found the problem.

We may be here for two nights, depending on weather. That would be fine.

I tried to e-mail the link, and then lost the connection, so I hope that went through

Oct.1,2009

We finally started our journey. Left this morning at 6:35, just at sunrise. The weather was cool, but a beautiful sunrise. We made the canal by 9:20 and made it out by 10:00am. Crossing Buzzards Bay was a little rough and bumpy. Seas about 2-4 feet, no problems. We arrived at Point Judith Marina at 1:00pm. We fueled up with 189 gallons. Cost: $662 which includes dockage. The harbor is beautiful, very quiet with two restaurants. The weather is still cool, partly cloudy.