October 21, 2006 -Isle of Hope Marina, Savannah, Georgia

We departed Charleston, SC, on October 17th shortly after sunrise. Our route took us across the north end of Charleston Harbor, just offshore of the large historic houses on the south end of Charleston, then through Elliot Cut into the Stono River.

We continued southbound through the beautiful low-country of South Carolina and anchored mid-afternoon in the Ashepoo River, South Carolina. We had been advised by friends on another boat about 15 miles behind us, that there was a rain storm approaching later in the afternoon – as verified by some land-based friends who had been driving along I-95 at the Georgia-South Carolina boarder at the time and had been in heavy rain and high winds. We had listened to the NOAA weather broadcasts and hadn’t heard any such warning, but this first-hand warning seemed valid – and it was getting close to the end of our cruising day. We looked for an anchorage that would be protected from winds from the south, and finally found one on the Ashepoo River, just a few miles off the Intercoastal Waterway. We had a delightful, quiet evening to ourselves, listening to the call of birds in the marshes to the north, and the tall trees to the south.

This was an anchorage that wasn’t mentioned in any of our four cruising guides, so we have written the authors of each to advise them of this nicely protected anchorage.

The next morning (Wednesday, October 18th) we rejoined the ICW and again headed south. About noon we passed Beaufort, South Carolina, and a little later cruised past Hilton Head Island and all the resorts of that area. Later in the afternoon we anchored in the west branch of the Wright River. Again – nothing but the sounds of birds in the low-country grasslands.

Thursday morning (October 19th) we had less than 20 miles to go to reach the marina where we are going to stay while Judy travels to Kansas to see her mother. Our start was delayed by heavy fog with visibility of less than 1/4 mile, but by 0900 it had lifted enough that we had visibiity of about 3/4 mile, so we got underway. Almost immediately we crossed the Savannah River, and a few hours later we were making up to the dock at the Isle of Hope Marina, Savannah, on the ICW about 10 miles from downtown Savannah. The area is called Isle of Hope, but it is still Savannah even though it is definitely “country” rather than “city.” We caught a bus from the marina to downtown Savannah, and spent the afternoon touring the historic downtown area.

Friday morning we were up early to get Judy to the Savannah airport for a flight to Kansas. She’s returning the middle of next week when we’ll resume our cruise back to Florida. I’ll be staying with Sanderling, Juliet, and Khepera while she’s gone, doing a little work that I’ve been putting off during our cruise. The Isle of Hope Marina is a great place to spend a few days, with very clean heads and showers, a loaner car, shopping relatively close by, and a very friendly staff.

After returning from the airport, I noticed a diver cleaning the bottom of boats in the marina, and asked him to check Sanderling’s props for damage that might be causing the vibration I’ve mentioned before. He was able to check the props on the spot, and reported that there was no damage to either prop. That’s a good news and bad news situation – the props aren’t causing the vibration but something else it, either a shaft, the shaft/engine alignment, or the engine itself. In any case, we’ll wait until we get back home before doing anything more about the source of the vibration.

Judy returns on Wednesday (October 25th) and we’ll be departing the marina on Thursday the 26th. We have a little over 300 statute miles to go to our “home” marina, and we anticipate it will take us about five days, weather permitting. We’ll make it home by the end of October, as we had hoped (and planned).

October 26, 2006 -North River, Georgia

Judy returned from Kansas last evening. All of us aboard Sanderling were happy that she is back!

We gingerly backed out of the long dock between two rows of mostly sailboats this morning just after sunrise and waited at the fuel dock for the marina to open at 0800. We filled our fuel tanks, pumped out the holding tank, bought ice, and were on our way about 0835. We need to average about 65 statute miles a day in order to get back home on the 30th. That gives us one day to readjust before Judy starts back to work on the 1st of November.

Today we stopped in the North River, about 60 miles from the Isle of Hope Marina and just south of Doboy Sound, about 1615. We weren’t able to continue because there was a 20 mile stretch with no or unsatisfactory anchorages ahead of us, and with the shortened daylight, we didn’t want to locate a new anchorage after dark.

The cats enjoyed being able to walk around outside the boat as much as they wanted. The temperature is in the high 60s, so we can leave a door open for them to come and go as they please.

The anchorage is in a fairly deep river, surrounded with grassy marshes – beautiful country!

We’ll be underway at first light tomorrow morning.

October 27, 2006 – Amelia Island Yacht Basin, Florida

We made it into Florida today, by about 10 miles!

It was so cloudy this morning that we had to wait until almost 0730 before we could see the surface of the water well enough to get underway from our anchorage. Most of the day was cloudy, with the sun playing hide and seek most of the day. We wound through beautiful marshes and quiet streams and saw very few boats.

We crossed St. Simon and St. Andrew Sound without difficulty. They aren’t big bodies of water, but then can get nasty when the wind picks up from the wrong direction. The route across St. Andrew Sound goes fairly close to the ocean, and by the time we turned back away from the ocean we were in 2 foot seas with the wind from the south. There were at least a half dozen shrimp boats plying the waters with their nets on the bottom behind the boats.

By the time we got to Cumberland Sound and Kings Bay Submarine Base, the wind had picked up to 20 knots out of the south, there was an outgoing tidal current against the wind, and waves were running close to three feet. Even with that, we had a fairly decent ride down the Sound and into the St. Marys River, then past Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island (home of the shrimp festival we attended last spring). However, NOAA weather radio and the Coast Guard were broadcasting warnings about an approaching cold front accompanied by winds gusting to 40 knots later this evening, and warning mariners to seek a safe harbor. We had already picked out an anchorage south of Amelia Island, but by the time we got close the wind seemed to pick up even more (still out of the south) and we realized that we there was no anchorage available to us that had any protection from high winds from any direction! If that were the case, we wouldn’t get much sleep during the night, at least while the winds were up. So – we decided to put into a marina in order to get spend a more peaceful night.

We’re now at the Amelia Island Yacht Basin, a very nice marina with good accommodations at a reasonable cost. We ate dinner at a restaurant about 1/4 mile away, and now are back on Sanderling. The wind is blowing at about 15 knots, and we have the lines doubled up to the dock. Hopefully the storm will pass without incident.

We’ll be on our way south again tomorrow morning provided the weather cooperates (and the forecast for the day is a good one). We’re only 200 miles from home, now, so we should be able to do it in three more days.

October 29, 2006 -Mosquito Lagoon, Florida

About 2330 at the marina at Amelia Island, Florida, on Friday night, the winds picked up and the rain started. It continued for several hours, intermittent rain and high winds, but nothing (we think) approached the 40 knots of wind that NOAA had predicted. Still, we were happy to be in a marina rather than being bashed about in an unprotected anchorage (the only option at that point on the ICW).

We had to wait for the tide to come up a little on Saturday morning in order to get out of the narrow and shallow channel leading into the marina, so didn’t get underway until about 0900 or so. We kept a steady pace through northern Florida, and made it as far as St. Augustine by late afternoon. We anchored in the anchorage south of the Bridge of the Lions before dark, along with many sailboats. It was a quiet night, other than the loud music until late into the evening coming from a bar on shore that drifted across the anchorage.

This morning our timing was off a little because of the change to standard time, and I looked around the engine room a little longer than usual trying to decide if I wanted to hunt down a minute leak in the starboard fuel line that results in the engine loosing rpms frequently. Earlier, I had looked for a new fuel filter (part of the cause of the problem – a filter that is getting clogged with fuel detrius) but I had neglected to buy new ones after changing them a month or so ago! I decided against trying to track down the leak – we can live with the engine rpm issue for another two days. I did discover a lose fan belt on the starboard engine, so took the time to tighten it. As a consequence of my early morning activities, we didn’t get underway until well after sun rise!

Despite the late start, we covered 83.8 miles today, through Palm Coast, Daytona, and New Smyrna Beach to an anchorage at the northern end of Mosquito Lagoon (just north of the Haulover Canal on the north end of Merritt Island). The sky was clear all day, and the temperature reached the mid 70s. Since it was a beautiful weekend in Florida, quite a few boaters were out on the water, some causing we slower boaters no end of problems by creating wakes as the drive by at a high speed rocking us from side to side. By the time we pulled off to the side of the ICW and got the anchor down, the sun had set but it wasn’t quite dark. The area is totally unprotected from all directions, but there are no storms or unusual winds forecast for the night.

We have an easy day tomorrow (Monday) to reach our “home” marina. Only about 55 miles to go. We should reach the marina by mid-afternoon, and will be in our home again tomorrow night for the first time in four months.

November 1, 2006 – Manatee Cove Marina, Florida

We departed our wide-open anchorage in Mosquito Lagoon (Florida) as soon as we could see the few crab trap floats that were in the area – about 0610 (EST) – and headed south through the Haulover Canal. As we finished the southerly leg on Mosquito Lagoon, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise and a view of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and some launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center. The VAB was in sight for the next three hours, as we made our way into Indian River Lagoon, and then turned into the Canaveral Barge Canal heading toward Port Canaveral and the Banana River.

We then turned south on the Banana River, just before the locks into Port Canaveral. We noticed that someone (state of Florida ?) had removed a number of derelict boats that used to inhabit the area just south of the locks in the Banana River. The only derelict remaining is a large coastal transport of some sort – just rusting away.

About two hours later we turned east into the channel leading to our slip at Manatee Cove Marina, and we had lines to the dock at 1310 – a five hour cruise to complete the trip. It was good to be back home.

All in all, we traveled 4244 statute miles or 3693 nautical miles in 556hours 15 minutes underway. The engines logged over 650 hours.

We have many fond memories of this trip, including the friends we made along the way and the spectacular scenery. It will undoubtedly take us a little while to readjust to living on land, in a house, with lots of space, but planning for the next adventure (Canada next summer) and local cruising for the next six months, will keep us involved with Sanderling and the joys of boating.

We’ve failed to maintain this blog as promised at the start of our cruise to Maine, but we did try to let our friends know what we were doing through an email log sent out every few days. Sorry ’bout that!

We had a great trip, and now it is almost finished. We reached Bar Harbor, Maine, as far north/east as we were able to get with the time we had available. That was about 70 miles short of Eastport, Maine, which is on the boarder with Canada. We found cruising in Maine to be extremely rewarding with beautiful vistas, anchorages and towns, friendly people, and boater-friendly harbors. We’re ready to head back at the next opportunity and see more!

We turned around in late August, and after a quick weekend trip to Kansas to help celebrate Judy’s mom’s 85th birthday, have been steadily heading back toward Florida. The weather didn’t cooperate as well on this leg of the trip, and we’ve had to wait for better weather in various places for about 10 days – Oyster Bay, Long Island; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Dismal Swamp Canal, Virginia. As a consequence, and the need to get back to Florida by the end of October, we haven’t stopped to smell the roses as much as we would have liked. Nonetheless, we’ve had some great experiences along the way.

Sanderling is now at the Isle of Hope Marina, Savannah, Georgia, for a week while Judy is in Kansas. Bob is taking care of the rest of the crew and Sanderling, catching up on a little maintenance. When Judy returns on Wednesday, we’ll continue the cruise to Merritt Island – should take about five days once we get underway.

October 5, 2006 – Dismal Swamp Canal

We had a great stay in Solomons, seeing friends and reprovisioning for the rest of our trip south. We stayed thru Monday, using that day to get the leaking stuffing box repacked (luckily, Washburns Boat Yard had a couple of boats that didn’t show up as scheduled over the weekend), turn in the rental car, do laundry, clean up the boat, fill the water tanks, and eat another meal ashore. We walked to a small BBQ place across the highway from the Navy Recreation Center and on the way back after dark saw a huge fox sniffing around the camp ground – it ran away after looking at us for a few seconds.

We departed the marina about 0830 on Tuesday morning hoping to beat some forecast bad weather down the bay. We stopped at Deltaville, on the Piankatank River that night, and anchored for the night in a nicely protected harbor along with about eight sail boats.

We left the next morning (Wednesday) at 0800 for the York River and Yorktown to tour the battlefield. We arrived there in the early afternoon and tied up to a relatively new marina dock just east of the bridge over the river. After finally contacting the dockmaster and
paying our $5.00 to tie up for the afternoon, we stopped at Ben & Jerrys for a late lunch, then walked to the visitors center and saw a bit of the battlefield. Without a car it was impossible to see the entire area, but we got a good idea about the battle. We commented that we’d been in the area where the Revolutionary War started (Boston) and where it ended (Yorktown) on this trip! After we walked back to the boat, we motored across the river and into a little creek where we anchored for the night.

The forecast for Thursday (today) on Wednesday suggested that the Bay would be a bit rough with small craft warnings, but we decided to give it a try anyway and get as far as we could, stopping in the Norfolk area if need be. As it turned out, the waves never did get much over two feet, although we had an opposing current most of the way which slowed
our progress. We got to Norfolk early enough that we were able to make it through the bridges without too much delay and into the lock at Deep Creek on the north end of the Dismal Swamp Canal for the last lock-through – in fact I called the lock at about 1625 to tell them that we were peddling as fast as we could and asked if he could hold the lock
for us for 2-3 minutes beyond the normal 1630 lock time. He did, and we made it.

There is a storm out there in the Atlantic off Cape Hatteras which is going to be kicking up some wind the next couple of days, so we’re going to stay in the canal and the Elizabeth River until it passes. We’re currently tied to a dock used by a small cruise ship/boat which will be here tomorrow afternoon at 1330, so we might have to move; there may be
room for all of us – we’ll see tomorrow. There is a trimaran tied up at the very far end of the dock, and we’re tucked in next to the tri, so the cruise boat has plenty of dock space (we think). If we do have to move, we’ll try the visitor’s center about seven miles south, and if
there’s no room there, we’ll head out the south end of the canal and find an anchorage in the Elizabeth River. All the boats in this area are staying put until the winds pass – that means all the free docks are probably full, and the anchorages might be a little crowded! No matter what, we won’t be heading out onto the Albermarle Sound (south of
Elizabeth City and the Elizabeth River) until the wind dies down!

October 6, 2006 (Friday) – Dismal Swamp Canal
We’re staying put for a couple of days. The weather system off the coast is moving east, but another one is coming across the Appalachian Mountains which is going to kick things up enough that we won’t want to venture out onto the Albermarle Sound to the south of Elizabeth City. All the boaters from the Chesapeake through southern Virginia and
northern North Carolina are finding places to hold up for a few days rather than cross Albermarle Sound.

Here’s what Judy wrote in our ship’s log:
We awakened to the wind and rain that was anticipated. We made the decision to stay here until the storms have passed – this could be Sunday or Monday! We donned foul weather gear and took the dingy to a nearby shopping center [about a mile down the canal] to go to Food Lion. It did rain, but we sponged the water from the dingy and made it back to
Sanderling without mishap. We invited our dock “neighbors” over to Sanderling for happy hour about 1700. Guests included couples from the trimaran Ishmael; the Marine Trader [trawler] The Suzanne; and the small cruise ship Bonny Blue. We had a fun visit – many boating stories shared.

Earlier today, we had been invited aboard the Bonny Blue to ride from inside the lock to the dock where she made-up between Sanderling and Ishmael. A good day for visiting with friends – tied to a dock!

October 7, 2006 (Saturday) – Dismal Swamp Canal
We watched Bonny Blue take her 15 guests aboard then depart for Elizabeth City about 0900 – in a light rain. All the guests were happy and excited about their weekend voyage.

The three remaining couples walked to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

October 8, 2006 (Sunday) – Dismal Swamp Canal
Bonny Blue was due back at 1500, and two of us needed to get water, so
we pulled forward on the dock to the water bib just before “Ishmael.” We
were back in our original positions well before Bonny Blue returned –
guests departed, and all of us at the dock were invited aboard for a
“freezer party” – helping to eat up the remaining food – before the
cruise ship pulled out to get through the lock heading north at 1530.

The couple on Ishmael invited Judy and I and the couple from “The
Suzanne” to dinner aboard, then an evening of playing “Catch Phrase” – a
great after-dinner game! We ended the evening relatively early, as we
all planned to depart on Monday morning heading south.

October 9, 2006 – To Elizabeth City, North Carolina
All three boats at the north end of the Dismal Swamp Canal left the dock
a short while before the southbound boats locked through the northern
lock at 0900, in order to get through a low bridge a short distance from
the lock (the bridge we walked over to go to the Mexican Restaurant on
Saturday night). Ishmael and The Suzanne stopped at the North Carolina
welcome center about 18 miles through the canal, but Judy and I kept
going. We had to wait a little over an hour at the south end of the
canal for the 1400 opening, and then proceeded another 18 miles to
Elizabeth City. A short distance before Elizabeth City we hit a log in
the water which has evidently bent one of Sanderling’s propellers – we
now have an annoying vibration.

We arrived in Elizabeth City just in time for the wine and cheese party
hosted by “The Rose Buddies” – a group that has been welcoming transient
boaters to Elizabeth City for a number of years. The free town docks
were full of boats waiting for the weather to clear up on Albermarle Sound.

We ate an early dinner aboard, then went to the local dinner-movie
theater to see the new Jack Nicholson movie “The Departed.” Great movie
and a nice change of pace for us – we haven’t seen a movie in over three
months!

October 10, 2006 – To the Pungo River, North Carolina
We departed Elizabeth City at 0700 and found the Albermarle Sound to be
quite manageable, with waves about 1 to 2 feet on the northern side and
a good solid 2 feet on the southern side and down the Alligator River.

We travelled down the Alligator River and through the Alligator
River-Pungo River Canal, and are now anchored in a small, quiet bay at
the entrance to the Pungo River about seven miles from Bellhaven, North
Carolina.

Tomorrow we’ll cruise to Oriental, where I hope we can have our damaged
propeller repaired. We may end up there for a day or two for repairs,
but it is a nice city that we wanted to stop in anyway. After that, it’s
Beaufort, North Carolina, and Bogue Sound!

October 11, 2006 – Oriental, North Carolina
We slept in this morning and didn’t get underway until almost 0800! Only intended to get to Oriental, North Carolina, which was only about 50 miles from where we anchored last night, so there wasn’t any rush.

Weather was near perfect, although it was overcast most of the day, but very little wind on the Pamlico River and the Neuse River, both of which can get bad in a 15 knot wind.

We anchored in Smith Creek, just to the west of the town of Oriental, and rode the dingy to a free town dingy dock, then ate in one of the local restaurants near the dock. Searched for anything serving ice cream cones, but the only place in town that advertised ice cream seemed to be closed by 1900 when we walked by. Guess the ice cream will have to wait.

Tomorrow we plan to get underway at first light, and get as far as we can through Beaufort, North Carolina, to Mile Hammock Bay at the southwestern end of Bogue Sound. Wind is forecast to be out of the west/northwest, so we’ll be fairly well protected as we make our way westerly along the coast in the sound. We anticipate being in Mile Hammock Bay (a bay on the southern side of Camp Lejeune – a Marine Corps base) for several days as a cold front moves through with higher winds.

October 13, 2006 – North Carolina Beach

Our last email was from Oriental, North Carolina. Judy reminded me that
I had neglected to mention that although we still have an annoying
vibration from the engines, shafts, or props, we decided that it wasn’t
bad enough to have them checked for alignment issues. Consequently, we
departed Oriental the next day – Thursday, October 12th – at first light.

Our only concern for the day was Bogue Sound – a long body of water
running basically east-west from Beaufort, North Carolina to Swansboro.
Wind from the south can cause problems. When we turned the corner at
Beaufort to head west, the wind was around 15 knots from the west, but a
short distance into the route the wind started to clock to the
north-west, and the sound started curving to the south-west, so the wind
was blanketed by the shore and the water was fairly smooth.

We stopped at a marina right on the waterway in Swansboro for ice and
water, then continued on to Mile Hammock Bay – part of the Marine Corps
base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The bay is a favorite anchorage
along that section of the Intercoastal Waterway, due to its protected
nature. It is, however, first and foremost a Marine Corps base, and the
Marines frequently “play” war games in the area in their small boats.
(The last time we were there we watched the Marines and Coast Guard
security boats practice protecting a WWII-vintage amphibious landing
craft which is beached on the far side of the bay. A friend, who retired
from the Marine Corps and lives in the area, and his wife met us at the
bay. We dingied ashore about 1800 after they arrived. I hadn’t seen them
since about 1991, so we spent an enjoyable evening bringing each other
up to date, and they had a chance to meet Judy! We had a great time.
When we returned to the bay, Sanderling’s anchor light had not come on
(it is triggered by a light/dark activated switch), so our friends had
to shine their car’s headlights on Sanderling while we drove our dingy
the 100 or so yards from the bulkhead back “home.”

Shortly after we returned we were treated to a display by three V-22
Osprey aircraft. Here’s what Judy wrote in our ship’s log about the rest
of the evening:

We had an exciting evening on Mile Hammock Bay. After a delightful
dinner with [friends] we arrived back at Sanderling accompanied by three
Osprey aircraft – they were doing “night ops”  (without lights) until
about 0300! There were also three “stealthy” boats operating without
lights! Very exciting – Go Marines!

The forecast for today was for light winds, so we left Camp Lejeune
about 0730. After waiting a short time for several low bridges, and
shedding outer jackets, then donning them, as the sun and clouds played
hide and seek, we arrived at 1445 at North Carolina Beach (at the north
side of Snow’s Cut) just a few miles from the Cape Fear River. We didn’t
want to continue on because of the lack of good anchorages near the
mouth of the Cape Fear River.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we hope to be at Dock Holidays Marina at North
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on the north end of a lengthy stretch
without decent anchorages or marinas! We stayed there on the way north
last July. We’ll have a chance to get fuel, pump out, and take real
showers before continuing on.

Current plan suggests we might be in Georgetown, SC, on Sunday night,
and Charleston on Monday. We hope to spend a day in Charleston
sight-seeing at the Navy exhibit (at a nice marina) and have dinner with
friends one of the two nights we’ll be there.

October 16, 2006 – Patriots Point Marina, near Charleston, South Carolina

We departed the Marines and Mile Hammock Bay as anticipated on Friday morning (October 13) as we had hoped, with anchors up at about the time a number of other boats were departing the same little bay. It is always quite a site to see a number of boats heading out as the sun’s rays are just starting to peak over the horizon.

We ended the day in an anchorage at North Carolina Beach (North Carolina), just before entering the Cape Fear River. Spent a quiet night there along with another boat that had left Mile Hammock Bay in the morning.

Saturday morning (October 14th) we were again up at dawn and underway before 0700 in order to take advantage of the ebb (down bound) current on the Cape Fear River. We were moving along at 10.5 miles an hour and made the trip down stream to Southport in about an hour. On the trip north in July, it took us almost two hours because the current was against us all the way!

We made good time and were able to minimize the time we had to wait at several low bridges along the ICW in southeastern North Carolina. One of the bridges is a one-of-a-kind – a pontoon swing bridge – which only opens on the hour. We got there just minutes before it opened, after pushing our twin 90-horsepower engines along at 2000 rpm for the last two miles – something we don’t like to do very often.

We crossed into South Carolina about mid-afternoon, crossed the Little River Inlet and stopped at Dock Holidays Marina in North Myrtle Beach. Prior to going to our slip for the remainder of the afternoon, we purchased fuel and pumped out the holding tank. After securing Sanderling in her slip, we went shopping at a nearby grocery store, then returned to the marina and Sanderling for real showers – the kind where you can stand under the hot water as long as you want (within reason) and don’t have to take a “Navy” shower. We ate dinner ashore, then returned to retire early in order to get another early start the next day.

Sunday morning, we slept in late, and didn’t get underway until 0730! On the way to an anchorage we passed Georgetown, South Carolina, where we had spent several days a year ago, and where one of our crew departed on the trip north this year. We didn’t stop this time, but continued on another hour and a half or so to an anchorage at the South Santee River. It was a beautiful, quiet night, with only the gurgle of the slight current down the hull to break the silence. We were the only boat in sight – and we could see for miles across the low grass marshes.

The cats enjoyed being able to roam about the outer decks during the night, and on more than one occasion we heard them jumping around from deck to deck.

This morning we didn’t get underway until 0800. The day was very uneventful – miles of low marshes, punctuated with houses built along the waterway. We ended the day early in Charleston, South Carolina, where we are now at a dock in a marina at Patriots Point where there is a Navy/Coast Guard exhibit featuring the USS Yorktown, a WWII submarine and destroyer, and an old Coast Guard cutter. The USS Yorktown is the most visited attraction in South Carolina, according to their brochure. We walked to the ships and toured the USS Yorktown and the destroyer, then ate dinner at a local restaurant a few miles from the marina. The marina happens to be part of a Hilton Hotel resort, and we were able to get a ride to and from the restaurant from a very nice young man who was on duty as the parking valet. As we ate dinner we watched a charter fishing boat crew fillet the day’s catch for the charter guests. Sign next to the fishing boat indicated that the cost for 3/4 of a day (7am to 3pm) for up to six people was $1200.00! Expensive fish fillets!

Tomorrow we’ll head southbound toward Isle of Hope Marina just outside of Savannah. We anticipate we’ll be there by mid-day on Thursday – taking our time and anchoring out the next two nights. Judy is flying to Oklahoma to see her mother for a few days, while I stay on Sanderling with the cats! We’ll (the cats and I) will be anchoring out near the marina while Judy is gone.

September 16, 2006 – Dering Harbor, Shelter Island, New York

Judy returned from Orlando on Thursday morning, I met her at the airport in the rain, and we stayed the night on Sanderling (in the rain) rather than trying to leave late that afternoon.

Early Friday morning with no rain but overcast skies we moved Sanderling to the marina’s dock and filled our water tanks, got ice, and left our trash, then headed out the Connecticut River into Long Island Sound bound for Shelter Island. After proceeding about two miles slogging into 2-3 foot waves from the east north east (we were heading south east) we decided there was a better way to spend the next couple of hours, so turned to the west to find a place to spend the night which did not involve pounding into the wind and seas. We found it behind a V-shaped well-protected breakwater at Duck Island, just about a mile off the coast and seven miles west of the Connecticut River. We anchored around noon, and shortly thereafter the rain started and didn’t stop until we were well into the evening. By the time we went to bed the wind had died down, and we had a very peaceful night at anchor.

This morning, the sky was clear and the sun was shining. We headed again for Shelter Island, and this time the trip was uneventful with plenty of sunshine and hardly any wind. We took a mooring in Dering Harbor, on the north side of the island. We wanted to stay here the first night so we could rent bicycles and tour the island, which we did this afternoon. We didn’t get everywhere, but did see most of the coastal areas, including some nice little bays we’ll be anchoring in over the next two nights.

The forecast is for good weather for the next few days, possibly extending through the week. We’ll be in the area of Shelter Island for another two nights, then head back into Long Island Sound and westward to Oyster Bay (on the south shore of the sound) and then through the East River into the familiar water of New Jersey by mid-week.

The cats are doing well. They like being able to get outside at night, and we are frequently awakened by the thudding sound when they jump from the upper steering area onto the deck just above our bed!

September 20, 2006 -Oyster Bay, New York

When we last wrote (September 16 – Saturday) we were on a mooring in
Dering Harbor, Shelter Island, Long Island, New York. We stayed there
one night; on the afternoon of our arrival we rented bicycles and biked
around the island (roughly 4 miles by 5 miles) for about four hours. Had
a great time. What a beautiful spot.

On Sunday we did a counter-clockwise circumnavigation of the island, and
ended up in Coecles (pronounced cockles) Cove, on the eastern side of
Shelter Island – an absolutely beautiful anchorage. There were about 30
boats of all sizes and descriptions in the designated anchorage there by
mid afternoon, but by late afternoon they started to leave, and by
evening there were 13 of us remaining for the night. No wind generators
whop-whop-whopping, no loud music, no bright lights – just nice and
peaceful!

Monday morning we headed out for Milford, Connecticut; thru Plum Gut and
a long 40 mile stretch westward on Long Island Sound. The sound was
peaceful, with waves no higher than one foot (that’s good) and a gentle
breeze and comfortable temperatures. Milford is about two miles up a
small river, and the municipal marina we went to was at the very head of
the river, just a few hundred yards from shallow water and a waterfall.
The marina was also just a short distance from town, in a beautiful
setting, with very clean bathrooms, showers, and laundry facility, plus
an extremely friendly staff. We walked around town during the afternoon.
That evening we ate dinner at a small bar/restaurant. While we were
watching a movie, the small boat marina across the river erupted into a
crime scene with the arrival of about six police cars, fire truck, and
EMT truck! We watched through our binoculars as the EMTs treated a man
laying on the road – looked like he had been hit by a car, or mugged –
couldn’t tell. That is not the type of thing you expect to see from your
boat!

Tuesday morning we learned that the only fuel dock in town was open only
during the weekends this time of year, so we had to go to the next river
to the west, the Husatanic, just south of Stratford, in order to get the
fuel we needed, then we headed westward again for about 25 miles to the
entrance to Oyster Bay, childhood home of Theodore Roosevelt, on Long
Island. About half way across the sound the sun disappeared behind
clouds, and by the time we reached Oyster Bay we had to duck inside and
steer the remainder of the way into the bay from the inside to avoid the
rain. Radar helped identify the buoys in the rain and poor visibility,
and we made it to the mooring field of the Oyster Bay Marine Center
without incident.

Today (Wednesday) we walked through the town and had an extraordinarily
good lunch at a Greek restaurant where we had the best gyro sandwich
we’ve had for a long time! Little things can really make your day. We
were too full for ice cream, and we had to pass three ice cream shops on
the way back to the marina.

Tonight, as we do all the time, we’re keping our eye on the weather
forecast. We would like to get through New York City tomorrow and visit
with a friend on Staten Island. We’re experiencing wind gusts of 15-20
knots right now (as predicted earlier), but I just got the weather
forecast for the next five days (I use NOAAs FTP site to get an email
containing the forecast) for the westen Long Island Sound, New York
Harbor, and the coast of New Jersey, and the forecast is good for the
western sound tomorrow (wind topping out at 10 knots and seas 1-2 feet).
Tomorrow morning at sunrise we’ll find out whether the forecast has any
relationship to reality when we head out into Long Island sound for the
15 mile trek to the East River. If conditions are good, we’ll pass
through New York City tomorrow, then hopefully down the coast of New
Jersey on Friday.

We still hope to be in Baltimore on Sunday, Annapolis on Tuesday, and
Solomons on Wednesday in time for the start of TrawlerFest.

September 23, 2006 – Atlantic City, New Jersey

We departed Oyster Bay on the 21st (Thursday) as planned, and had an uneventful trip through New York City and into Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island. The trip down the East River was different from our other passages through this area, as the channel on the west side of Roosevelt Island was blocked by the Coast Guard as a security area (the United Nations was in session and Bush had spoken two days earlier), so all boat traffic was required to use the east passage. Roughly the same trip, but it was interesting using the otherwise seldom used channel.

Great Kills Harbor is a beautiful, small “hurricane hole” along the western side of the entrance to New York Harbor, just south of the Verrazano Bridge. A friend had graciously offered us his yacht club’s mooring for the night, which we gladly accepted. He was then able to join us in the early evening aboard his own boat, and we had a nice evening together with our boats rafted. Before we went to bed, we moved the mooring line to his boat, so we could leave early the next morning without by just slipping the lines which held our two boats together.

We were underway about 0615 on Friday morning, just as soon as we could see the surface of the water enough to weave our way through the mooring field and out of the harbor. We headed around Sandy Hook, and then down the New Jersey coast. We ran at higher RPMs than normal in order to get to Atlantic City while it was still light and before the predicted wind increase. The run was fairly smooth all the way, with a four foot long period swell out of the southeast all day, and by mid afternoon 1-2 foot wind driven waves. By the time we got to the Absecon Inlet (Atlantic City) we were happy to be going into a class A inlet and out of the ocean.

We’re now in a small and relatively inexpensive marina in an area of Atlantic City where we can see all the big casinos but yet in a relatively quiet area which seems to be developing since we were here last. There’s a small aquarium at the head of the dock, and several new restaurants. It’s a 15 minute walk to the boardwalk.

With the wind increasing to 15-20 knots now (temps in the mid-70s) we’re going to stay put for a couple of days. We’d prefer to be moving on toward the Chesapeake, but the weather out-trumps that plan! Consequently, we’ll get to know Atlantic City a little better than we had anticipated. There is a city “trolley” that stops about 100 yards from the marina that we can catch and will take us into the heart of the city (and the casinos); there are several restaurants close at hand; and of course, there’s the boardwalk!

After listening to the forecast this morning, we may not be moving again until Monday. That, of course, will delay our reaching the Chesapeake until Tuesday (at the earliest).

September 26, 2006 – Veasey Cove, Maryland

We were able to depart Atlantic City early on Monday morning with predicted winds in the range of 10-15 knots from the west, and long period swells in the range of 3-4 feet from the east. We were out of the inlet just after sunrise, and had a relatively uneventful trip to Cape May, and had our anchor down west of the Coast Guard station by noon! Saw a number of commercial fishing boats out in the ocean around Cape May – looked like they were fishing for menhaven.

We stopped in Cape May because the wind on Delaware Bay was still in the 15-20 knot range, and we would have had a tide running against us! By waiting until this morning, we were able to ride a fair tide all the way through the C&D Canal into the Elk River at the top of Chesapeake Bay. We were turning rpms for about 7.4 knots, and once we reached the main shipping channel (14 miles northwest of the western end of the Cape May Canal) we were running at about 8.4 knots over the ground thanks to the tidal current! Delaware Bay was a little rough for that first 14 miles, with the wind from the northwest opposing the tidal current creating waves in the three foot range, but once we turned into the shipping channel the waves dropped to about two feet, and when we reached the nuclear power plant the waves were one foot or less and made for a much nicer ride!

When we passed Chesapeake City we noticed that Schaefers Fuel Dock and Marina was for sale! The free city dock at Chesapeake City actually had space for a couple of boats, but we wanted to keep going.

We pulled into Bohemia Bay, just a few miles south of the official Chesapeake side of the C&D Canal, for fuel ($2.40 per gallon) at the Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbor, then anchored for the rest of the afternoon and night in Veasey Cove, on the south side of Bohemia Bay. A beautiful, but shallow, little spot we’re sharing with five sailboats.

Tomorrow we’ll leave early for Annapolis where we’ll meet my daughter for dinner, then it’s on to Solomons on Thursday (weather permitting). We feel like we’re back in familiar waters now that we’re on the Chesapeake.

September 28, 2006 – Annapolis, Maryland

Departed Bohemia Bay yesterday morning and were in the channel southbound by 0800. Pulled into Annapolis around 1400, after a pleasant, mostly sunny, cruise down Chesapeake Bay with the tidal current against us all the way! We’re on a mooring just a few hundred yards from “Ego Alley.”

Met Jennifer and Arik for dinner in town last night – had a nice visit.

Weather forecast last night, and again this morning at 0600, was for southerly winds of 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots, and waves from 2-4 feet today on this section of the bay, so we’ve decided that we really didn’t want to beat our heads into a brick wall for the 50 plus miles to Solomons; instead we’re staying in Annapolis today, possibly tomorrow, while waiting for the wind to shift or subside.

We still hope to get to Solomons for the tail end of TrawlerFest on Friday. In any event, we’ll be heading to Solomons when the weather permits, and will be there a few days to see friends and reprovision before heading further south.

September 29, 2006 – Annapolis, Maryland

Forecast for Chesapeake Bay has improved slightly, with winds from the NW at 15 knots. The tidal current turned south at about 1000 this morning, so that means we’ll have following current and wind astern on the way down to Solomons. So, we’re going to give it a try about 1100 today (Friday).

With any luck, we’ll be in Solomons before 1800 this evening! If conditions are too bad, we’ll pull into the South or East River for the rest of the day.

September 20, 2006 – Solomons, Maryland

It’s difficult to believe that this is the last day of September – we started this cruise 3 months ago today! So far, we’ve covered 2750.7 nautical miles in 414 hours 45 minutes underway! In fact, tonight at a TrawlerFest dinner we won the prize (a small serving tray) for traveling the longest distance by boat to attend the fest! Judy accepted the prize on our behalf.

We departed Annapolis on Friday, arriving in Solomons on Friday about 1715. We are in the Navy marina at the Recreation Center in Solomons, where Sanderling was located for the first five years, prior to our move to Florida. We had dinner with friends from the marina last night.

Today, after getting a rental car this morning and buying a few boat items at West Marine, I attended the “Trawler Crawl” (oggling boats) at TrawlerFest while Judy had her hair attended to. Then we both attended a get together of folks attending the Fest who also are online on Trawlers-and-Trawlering List and the Great Loop List aboard a new 44 foot Krogen trawler owned by one of our list subscribers and a member of the Administrative Team. Then dinner at the Fest with list subscribers. Saw any number of nice boats at the fest, none within the range of our pocket books!

Tomorrow we’ll do some shopping for groceries and other necessities at the Navy Exchange and Commissary, and do a little work on Sanderling. We’ll probably be leaving Solomons on Monday or Tuesday, weather permitting.

August 18, 2006 – Sommes Sound

When I last wrote we were on a mooring in Camden, Maine, waiting for the
fog to lift so we could depart for Wooden Boat School

The fog did eventually thin out enough that we felt comfortable leaving
Camden, and with the radar scanning, and two lookouts keeping a sharp
eye out for boats, floats and land, we headed out into Penobscot Bay
with about 3/4 mile visibility. By the time we reached Eggemoggin Reach,
the fog had, for the most part, lifted and we had an easy time of it the
remainder of the trip (SE down Eggemoggin Reach).

I was surprised to see the large numbers of wooden boats in the water at
Wooden Boat School. When I last attended the school in 1990 there were
perhaps eight of their school-built boats in the water; this time there
must have been sixteen, perhaps more. There were also privately owned
boats on moorings, and a few empty “guest” moorings available for the
the publics use on a short term basis (a night or two). We found a
mooring and dingied ashore. The first person to take our line on the
floating dock was Rich Hilsinger, the school’s director, who had been
the shop manager when I first attended the school in 1988, and then the
director when I returned in 1990. We were able to chat for a short time
about the changes in the school before he had to attend to the
activities on the waterfront where students were being ferried out to
the various boats to become acquainted with them.

Judy and I toured the grounds for a short while (all of the classes were
over for the day), and then went back to Sanderling for the rest of the
evening. The next day we went back to the school, looked in on a couple
of classes working on boat-building projects, and stopped at the store
for T-shirts.

Then we departed for Bar Harbor, Maine, about 30 miles distance from
Wooden Boat School. The trip was, again, spectacular. The sun was
shining brightly and the sky clear. Cadillac Mountain, at about 1500
feet elevation, and other nearby mountains, were always visible. The
water was almost glass smooth. The lobster pot markers, although always
present, were not a problem, except in one area near the south side of
Mount Desert (pronounced “dessert,” like pie) Island.

When we arrived in Bar Harbor we took a mooring thru the Harbormaster’s
office. We dingied into town for a little exercise, shopping, and dinner.

Yesterday, Thursday, we went into town during the day. We first took a
free bus to the furthest town on the south side of the island on a very
scenic route, and then rode the same bus back to Bar Harbor when we
discovered that the end-of-the-line town consisted of only a few
buildings. We had lunch, and then took a 2.5 hour narrated tour around
the loop road and onto the top of Cadillac Mountain in Arcadia Park.
Again, spectacular vistas of the island itself and the surrounding
areas, and a very interesting narrative about the recent history of
Mount Desert Island and Bar Harbor. Learned that the entire town was
almost destroyed by a major fire in 1947, which also burned most of the
mansions built in the early 1900s (said Bar Harbor was similar to
Newport, RI, in its wealthy summer residents) and were never rebuilt.

Back to Sanderling for showers; back to town for dinner; back to
Sanderling for the night! Fortunately, the dock where we tie up the
dingy is only 1/4 mile away and an easy dingy ride.

This morning we’re taking our time getting ready to depart. We’re going
to go to the town dock on the way out to fill up the water tanks, then
head back to the south side of the island where we’ll cruise into Somes
Sound (a fjord) and spend the night in one of the beautiful coves.

We’re then going to check out Blue Hill to see if that would be a good
place for the cats and me to spend the week while Judy is back in
Florida. If not, we’ll proceed back through Eggemoggin Reach to Castine.

Later on August 18, 2006 -Sommes Sound

While at the town dock for water I tried to send several emails I had
composed earlier, but could never get the wireless signal strong enough
to allow me to do so. Seems that with only one bar showing on the signal
strength indicator, I can browse the web and send email, but cannot
send. So these emails will have to wait until we’re in a spot with
better internet access.

We did cruise around to the south side of Mount Desert Island, and are
now anchored in a little cove at the north end of Somes Sound, near a
little town called Somesville. We decided to check out Somes Sound
first, and then go to one of the other southern coves tomorrow before
heading to Blue Hill on Sunday.

Somes Sound was interesting – a fairly narrow body of water (perhaps 3/4
mile wide at the widest spot) and about four miles long. The sides are
fairly steep in spots, but not as steep as the sides of the fjords I
remember in Norway and Sweden. There were a few places with moorings,
but generally it is too deep to anchor.

The little cove we are in tonight has some fairly shallow areas (20 feet
at low tide) in addition to many private mooring balls (none available
to the public) so we were able to anchor in 20 feet of water at low tide
between two mooring fields. The wind picked up to about 15 knots shortly
after we anchored, and we’ve been holding well. The anchor we use only
requires a 3 to 1 scope in theory. I just let out another 30 feet of
scope to accommodate the rising tide (11 feet total) so we shouldn’t
have any problem with the scope as the wind dies down in the late
afternoon when we’re at maximum tide.

August 19, 2006 – Northeast Harbor, Maine

We departed the little cove at the north end of Somes Sound about 1000 this morning and motored 6.6 miles to Northeast Harbor, on the south shore of Mount Desert Island. This is another beautiful spot, with a little town that has shopping, etc. We’ve decided to stay here while Judy flies back to Florida next week. We were able to move to a mooring ball fairly close to the dingy dock, so I’ll be able to get back and forth to the town relatively easily. The free Mount Desert Island buses run right by the harbor masters office, so I’ll have access to the entire island, as well as the Bar Harbor Airport. We’re going to pick up a rental car at that airport on Monday, and I’ll drive Judy to the airport at Providence, Rhode Island for her flight on Tuesday. Everything works out much easier this way!

The Cranberry Islands are just to the south, and last night I started reading “The Secret Life of Lobsters” which at least in part involves the Cranberry Islands and the lobster men of this area! Interesting coincidence.

August 27, 2006 -Northeast Harbor, Maine

Sanderling and at least part of her crew (Bob) has been in Northeast Harbor, Maine, for the past week while Judy flew home to Florida to teach an instructors course for the American Heart Association and attended an AHA meeting in Tampa. She returned to Sanderling today.

While Judy was gone I worked on a couple of boat project, and was able to get our diesel heater working (just in time for cool weather) and rigged removable running lights for the dingy (so we’ll be legal at night), as well as various other small projects.

We had dinner at a small restaurant in town, tonight, even taking the dingy in a light rain in order to get “the best pizza in Maine.”

Tomorrow we’re going to depart Northeast Harbor to take a leisurely cruise to Blue Hill for the afternoon and evening, then Castine on Tuesday for a night. After that we’ll head toward Portland, stopping at a few locations along the way before arriving there on Friday afternoon. At Portland we’ll put Sanderling in a marina while we fly to Wichita, Kansas, to help Judy’s mother celebrate her 85th birthday – flying out from Boston’s Logan airport on Saturday, and returning on Monday. We hope to be able to see friends there for a day after returning, and then start heading SOUTH (rather than west) to get into Long Island Sound for a week or so of sightseeing there. Judy has to fly to Florida again in mid-September (probably out of Hartford, Connecticut) for a day. Then we’ll head SOUTH again to get to the Chesapeake by mid-September. We hope to attend Trawler Fest in Solomons the last few days of September, then we’ll head to Florida in order to be home by the end of October.

September 5, 2006 – Portland, Maine

We made a quick trip to Wichita, Kansas, for Judy’s mother’s 85th birthday this holiday weekend, and returned last night. Had a nice time at her birthday celebrations, and she obviously enjoyed having the company of her family (most of whom live in the Wichita area.

This morning friends are going to take us shopping, and then we’re heading south to warmer weather (and new ports).

September 6, 2006 – Anasquam, Massachusetts

We departed Portland, Maine, yesterday a little after noon. We were going to try to make it to the Kennebunkport area (although not Kennebunkport itself – too commercial and overrun with gawking tourists even according to our cruising guide). As it turns out, the anchorages available at Cape Porpoise weren’t recommended by the cruising guide, so we stopped short at Woods Island Harbor and spent the night on a mooring provided by the Bitteford Pool Yacht Club for a mere $20.00.

We left Woods Island Harbor at about 0830 this morning, and had several long stretches of open water, passing Isles of Shoals about six miles off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, before arriving at Annisquam, Massachusetts, on Cape Anne – a few miles west of Rockport, Massachusetts, where we spent two delightful nights on our way north. This is the north end of the Blynman Canal, which runs from Gloucester to Annisquam and is a short cut through Cape Anne which avoids having to go further east around the Cape. Tomorrow morning we’ll cruise through the canal to Gloucester, where we’ll get diesel and water before heading south across Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay to the Cape Cod Canal.

To date, on our trip from Florida to Maine and return, we’ve cruised 2050.7 nautical miles with 313 hour and 45 minutes underway. Our half-way point (furthest north/east) was at Bar Harbor with 1832.0 nautical miles and 281 hours and 40 minutes underway.

We’re not sure how far towards the Cape Cod Canal we’ll get tomorrow. We’re going to wait until near slack water to transit the Blynman Canal (currents reach six knots in one area) and we then need to stop in Gloucester for fuel before heading south. It’s nearly 60 miles from Gloucester to the eastern end of the Cape Cod Canal (and a marina), so if we don’t depart Gloucester by 1000, we’ll probably stop short at Plymouth or even further north on the west side of bays. In any event, we should be through the Cape Cod Canal and into Buzzards Bay by Friday.

Weather is warmer, but that may not necessarily be due to the fact that we’re another 50 miles further south!

September 8, 2006 – Padanaram Harbor, Massachusetts

We departed Annisquam, Massachusetts, on the Blynman Canal about 1000 after waiting for high tide near slack. We were glad we did. We transited areas on the river between markers were the depth would have been less than five feet at low tide due to the unseasonably high and low tides we had on Thursday. The transit took no more than about half an hour with a one knot favorable current.

Stopped in Gloucester, Massachusetts, for fuel, and cleared the harbor by 1145. We cut directly across Massachusetts Bay and the upper Cape Cod Bay for Plymouth, which was as far as we could get with the late start. The long off-shore cruise was essentially uneventful, EXCEPT for the small humpback whale we saw (and who circled Sanderling four or five times before departing) about 1400 in the afternoon, and the fog which rolled in from the east and chased us into Plymouth. By the time we took a mooring the visibility was closing in on 300 yards, and within an hour  of our arrival the visibility was less than 100 yards and stayed that way much of the night. This morning was clear as a bell, but Sanderling was wet as though it had rained throughout the night.

We left Plymouth this morning in time to catch the beginning of the westerly current through Cape Cod Canal. By the time we reached the town of Buzzards Bay near the west end of the canal, we were moving along at 10.5 knots (3 knots of current). Fortunately, the south-west wind was no more than about 10 knots, so the square waves at that end of the canal had just started to erupt!

We proceeded about 15 miles west on Buzzards Bay to this little bay just west of New Bedford. We’re the only trawler in a mooring field of perhaps 100 sail boats! The launch driver knew just were to take us after we returned from a stroll through the little community to stretch our legs.

Tomorrow we’ll head west. Depending on the weather we might run up the Sakonnet River and back south through Newport to Point Judith or Westerly, Rhode Island. Sunday’s forecast is for some ocean swells along the coast (from the remnants of TS Florence), so we’re going to head into Long Island Sound early on Sunday morning to avoid them perhaps stopping in Mystic, Connecticut at the Seaport Museum for the night.

Temperatures increase slightly every day! For the past two days we’ve actually been able to sit in the sun in short sleeve shirts!

September 12, 2006 –

Connecticut River, Connecticut

We departed Wickford, Rhode Island, EARLY in the morning (before 0700) on Sunday (Sept 10) in order to cruise past Newport on the East Passage of Narragansett Bay before heading into Block Island Sound and turning west to enter Long Island Sound. By 0815 we had passed the Naval War College and entered Newport Harbor. Actually, not much to see from the water, other than the tall masts of big sailboats in marinas behind the obtrusive hotels, and the large mooring field to the south (not nearly as large as the others we’ve seen, however). The place has really changed from the late 60s! Progress?

We passed Point Judith and then turned west to parallel the south coast of Rhode Island and had a pleasant, smooth trip into Fishers Sound at Watch Hill, RI, then up the Mystic River (no relationship to the movie) to Mystic Seaport Museum Marina. A beautiful area with many nice, old homes right on the water, and thousands of boats (mostly sail). We tied to the wooden pier at Mystic Seaport Museum, not too far from the Charles W. Morgan, the restored 19th century whaling bark (the only surviving whaler). For the cost of staying at the marina there ($3.75 per foot – the highest we’ve encountered this trip) we got to tour the grounds 24×7 and see all of the exhibits while they were open during the day. They also had immaculate heads/showers – the best we’ve ever seen in a marina. We met friends from Hartford for dinner in the “happening” area of Mystic that evening.

Rather than paying the high cost of staying another night, we departed the museum on Monday morning. We were going to head to a small bay in Niantic, Connecticut, about 15 miles distance, to anchor for the night. However, as we progressed west on the sound we became concerned about the weather developing from the effects of hurricane Florence on Tuesday and whether it might create very rough conditions on Long Island Sound – so instead of Niantic we headed for the Connecticut River (another 10 miles beyond Niantic) and the small marina at Old Lyme. By the time we entered the Connecticut River the wind was piping up to around 15 knots on the sound, and we welcomed the relatively calm water of the river.

We’re now on a mooring in a small side-branch of the Connecticut River, just north of the I-95 river bridge. We’re going to leave late this afternoon by rental car and stay the night with our friends in Hartford; I’ll drive Judy to the airport early tomorrow (Wednesday) morning so she can catch her flight back to Orlando for a meeting. She returns on Thursday.

While Judy’s gone I’ll take care of the cats and do a little boat maintenance.

The weather is cold (high 40s this morning) with clear sky and very little wind! The NOAA weather radio is still predicting winds up to 30 knots later today and tomorrow, with high tides and big surf along the ocean (not the sound) beaches as hurricane Florence passes 500 miles to the east of Nantucket later today. We’re glad we’re tucked into this nicely protected spot.

August 6, 2006 – Rockport, Massachusetts

We did depart Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Wednesday morning, the 2nd of
August. The day before we took a trolley out to Plimoth Plantation. What
a change from my past visits. There is now a very politically correct
emphasis on the role of the Indians who inhabited the area for centuries
before confronting the Pilgrims – and it certainly makes a nice,
balanced presentation. We got there just after the Plantation opened at
0900, so we were finished before the heat of the day (and a hot one it
was). That afternoon Judy did the laundry while I changed the engines’
oil and filters – I think Judy got the better part of the deal.

We left on Wednesday morning, after delaying a bit because the wind had
picked up and we had to convince ourselves that it wouldn’t be as bad on
the Bay as it sounded at the mooring. In fact, it was a very calm on the
Bay, and we had a nice cruise north to the Boston area. We ended up in
Winthrop, Massachusetts, at a marina very close to Logan Airport. The
only purpose in going there was so our friends from Virginia could get
to us easily when they flew in on the morning of the 3rd. Shortly after
they arrived by taxi, we left for Salem, Massachusetts.

In Salem, we were able to get a spot in a marina right in the downtown
area in the midst of the historic area. We could only stay one night
because of a maritime festival that was taking place the next day, and
there were no anchorages in the area. We were able to see a few of the
witch trial sites, and visit the area around the House of the Seven
Gables, Hawthorne’s birthplace, etc. As we were getting ready to depart
Friday noon, Judy was carrying a big bag of ice down the gangplank from
the marina office to Sanderling, when she slipped in the rain, and cut
her knee open, requiring a taxi ride to the emergency room for stitches!
Needless to say, we were all (except Judy) worried for awhile, but in a
couple of hours we were on our way with Judy’s knee properly stapled
shut and a nice soft cast wrapped around her entire leg to remind her
not to bend her knee for a few days!

We headed to Rockport, Massachusetts, at the eastern tip of Cape Anne, rather than Gloucester – an excellent choice for our next port-of-call.
Rockport is the quintessential small “Maine” village – an absolutely
beautiful spot and a very quaint artist colony. We’re all happy that we
didn’t pass it by. We were fortunate enough to get a spot on the
bulkhead by the “most photographed building on the east coast” according
to the harbor master. Again, no anchorages nor moorings available!

Our course took us along the south coast of Cape Anne, past Gloucester and Thacher’s Island, then north in the ocean, and then back to the southwest to enter the harbor. The view of the beautiful homes built atop the large rock outcroppings was absolutely spectacular.

After securing Sanderling to the bulkhead using 10 foot fender board provided by the Harbormaster, along with long spring lines, both of which were to deal with the eight foot plus tidal range, we went off to enjoy the town. We ate dinner on a small second balcony of a very nice restaurant overlooking the small harbor immediately to the north. As the sun set, a small sailboat worked its way into the harbor among the numerous crab pots.

On Saturday we did more sightseeing/shopping in Rockport, then took a scenic bus to Gloucester (about 20 minutes through the countryside). The streets of Gloucester were packed with tourists, all searching for something related to “The Perfect Storm.” My guess is that most of them had no knowledge about the real working Gloucester, with its long history as a commercial fishing port. We walked along the waterfront to the fishermen’s memorial and the Blynman Canal, and tried to get down into the real commercial area with the boats that fish the Grand Banks, but those areas were almost inaccessible by foot. We took another bus back to Rockport along the ocean scenic route, and saw the spectacular homes and rock outcroppings from the land side.

After visiting Gloucester, we were again happy that we chose to spend a day or two in Rockport! This village reminds me of the Cape Cod villages of 30 to 40 years ago. Although there are some tourists and day-trippers, there is a sizeable stable year-round population.

Saturday night we ate aboard, with Ro’s marinated chicken cooked on the grill.

Ed and Ro departed this morning about 0815 by limo to head back to Logan Airport for their mid-morning flight. We had a great time together, and are sorry to see them leave.

We just completed pumping out the holding tank – a service provided free of charge by the Harbormaster, and will soon be departing. We’re going to stop in Anisquam for fuel, then head north to either Newburyport, Massachusetts, or Portsmouth/Newcastle, New Hampshire.

The weather continues to be sunny and clear, with little wind. We may see some scattered showers in the next couple of days, but for now we are basking in sunny days with daytime temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s.

August 9, 2006 – Portland, Maine

We departed Rockport, Massachusetts, on Sunday, August 6th, after Ed & Ro departed for Logan Airport and their trip back to Virginia. We had a beautiful cruise around the tip of Cape Anne, heading for Portsmouth, New Hampshire. At times we were five miles off the coast, but generally closer, and still had to dodge lobster pots from time to time. It’s difficult to imagine putting a lobster pots in 150 feet of water, then having to haul in that much line every time the posts are checked. Other than the pots, the trip was uneventful, except we did see a whale of unknown species when we were about two miles southwest of the Isle of Shoals. We stopped to watch it, but it was too far away and heading away from us.

We took a mooring at the Portsmouth Yacht Club on the Piscataqua River in New Castle, New Hampshire (just east of Portsmouth). A cold front was predicted to come through the area on Sunday night or Monday morning, and we wanted to be well secured to the bottom. We had planned to go into Portsmouth and visit Strawberry Banke on Monday morning, but about the time we were getting ready to call for the launch for a ride ashore, we heard an announcement on the VHF radio that the Coast Guard Bark Eagle was going to depart the Portsmouth Coast Guard Station at noon. Consequently, we stayed on Sanderling and watched as Eagle, escorted by about eight small security vessels, came downstream and passed less than 100 yards away from us. It was very exciting, with people lining the banks of the river to watch.

After the excitement, we went ashore and spent the rest of the afternoon in Portsmouth and Strawberry Banke. It is a different city than the one I remember when I lived there for a year between 1967 and 1968! At least the downtown area has changed dramatically, and Strawberry Banke now has a number of houses restored and open to the public.

On Tuesday, we departed Portsmouth after taking on fuel and water at the Yacht Club docks. The trip up the coast to Portland started in relatively calm waters, but by 1000 the wind had picked up to 15 to 20 knots, and by about 1200 with a few waves coming over the bow, we decided to go below and steer from inside. The increased wave height made the thousands of lobster pots more difficult to see, and steering from inside at a lower helm station made it even more difficult, so we had to keep a constant eye out for the pot markers. It was no easy cruise.

By about 1500 we rounded Cape Elizabeth where friends Norm and Nancy have a home close to the water, and by 1630 we were in a marina in Portland Harbor. It was a tiring trip, between the waves and having to stay always alert for lobster pots. While coming into the harbor we saw a harbor seal swimming on the surface; it was the third we’d seen since we saw the first in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Norm and Nancy graciously invited us for dinner and to spend the night with them, and we gladly accepted. Today they took us grocery shopping and then to a lobster shack near Freeport, Maine, just north of Portland on Casco Bay where we had lobster rolls for a late lunch. Then after a little shopping at the DeLorme store, we came back to Sanderling where Judy and I had some work to do stowing the groceries and taking care of some preparations for tomorrow’s departure, then had dinner in a great restaurant associated with the marina, sitting on the deck while the sun went down. We enjoyed catching up on our friendship with Norm and Nancy and their hospitality.

Tomorrow we depart Portland and start the real “Maine” part of our cruise. We anticipate meandering around Casco Bay for a couple of days, then heading down east.

August 10, 2006 – Cliff Island, Massachussetts

After a rolling night due to wakes from boats in the Portland harbor, we
awoke to no fog and partial sunshine this morning. We had some work to
do to get ready, and then had to wait until the office opened so we
could buy ice to fill up the ice chest. Not a big deal, since we had
decided last night that we would only go a very short distance from
Portland today, and planned to seek an anchorage that would protect us
from SW and NW winds, as a storm front was forecast to cross the area
later in the day with winds from those directions.

We had a very pleasant cruise to the northeast, past some beautiful
islands, all in very calm waters abounding in lobster pots. We soon
learned that most of the pots were n water that was over 40 feet deep,
so tried to avoid the deeper water (some depths approaching 120 feet)
and staying in the “shallow” stuff. The tide was rising, and for most of
the trip was between low and mid range, but even then we came very close
to running over a couple of pots that were submerged.

We worked our way around the northern end of several islands, and headed
for Cliff Island, which is basically in the form of an “H” sloping
southeast to northwest. We anchored in the upper part of the “H” with
good protection from winds from all directions except the north. Only
cruised 8.9 nm today – probably a record for the shortest day! There
were several mooring balls in the anchorage, but we assumed they were
private moorings which we shouldn’t use. However, later in the afternoon
when we visited with some lobster men and another boater using one of the
moorings, we were told that anyone could use moorings until the owner
showed up, so about 1830 this evening we moved to a mooring – just
before a storm hit!

After we tied up to the mooring, we decided it was time for dinner, so I
lit the grill to heat it up for our hamburgers. About the time I put the
first hamburger on the grill, I heard wind whistling through the trees
onshore, and then the wind hit Sanderling! Must have been around 25
knots for a short while, followed by more wind and finally rain. I
retrieved the one hamburger from the grill when the rain subsided a bit,
and we finished our burgers inside on the stove.

When we came into the anchorage today we noticed that there were several
platforms filled with what appeared to be lobster baskets and other
lobstering gear. During the course of the day, several lobster boats
came by and deposited lobster baskets on one of the floats, and then a
larger lobster boat showed up that stayed the rest of the day and seemed
to be helping the other boat crews unload lobsters – they would pack the
baskets, weigh them on some scales, put the baskets in the water where
they floated out behind the platforms, haul baskets obviously loaded
with lobsters from the other boats to the platform, etc. Later in the
afternoon we took the dingy over to the platform where two guys from the
larger boat seemed to be waiting for something, and had a chance to talk
with them about lobstering. Turns out, they were a sort of mother-ship
for the slightly smaller boats, and their job was to accumulate the
catch from the other boats, and take it to the wholesaler in Portland.
They said that each of the other crews tended about 800 lobster pots
each, checking about 1/2 of their pots each day for two days, then
taking the third day off – in essence, the pots get checked and rebaited
every three days.

Now, about 2030, the storm has passed and everything is quiet. The tide
in the area is about 10 feet, which at low tide in this anchorage
resulted in “new” land close to the boat which had been covered with
water at high tide. There is very little, if any, tidal current, since
the opening to this little bay is so broad.

Tomorrow we think we’ll visit Eagle Island to the north where
Commodore Peary had a summer home he built in the shape of a ship and
which is open to the public and contains various artifacts from his
Arctic explorations. Then we’re going to head a short distance further
north, but still in Casco Bay.

August 11, 2006 – Snow Island

We left our small anchorage at 0915 and about an hour later were on a
state-provided mooring at Eagle Island in front of Commodore Peary’s
house. A runabout from the state park brought us ashore, and we had
about two hours to explore the house and the island. What a fascinating
place! The house was built by Admiral Peary in the shape (more or less)
of a ship (no pointy end – it was rather blunt, actually). The house
contained various photos, newspaper and magazine articles, and letters
relating to the Admiral and his family. The view in all directions was
magnificent, and the whole island (to the south of the house) contains
trails established by the Peary family over the years.

When we departed Eagle Island we headed up Cauhog Bay to an anchorage to
the east of Snow Island – another picturesque spot. When we arrived in
the early afternoon there were a few boats anchored and on moorings, but
as the afternoon progressed more boats arrived. Our guess is that they
are out for the weekend. We were the only ones departing this morning.
The course to Snow Island was a maze of lobster pots, which make it
impossible to navigate and steer at the same time – we take turns to
relieve some of the stress.

After arriving at Snow Island, we took a long dingy ride around the area
to see the various coves and inlets with homes built overlooking the
water. All the surrounding hills are covered with pine forests right
down to the high water line (10 foot tides in the area).

August 12, 2006

We departed Snow Island around 0800, and are now heading to the area of
Tenants Harbor on Penobscot Bay. We decided last night that we’d head to
Peobscot Bay now to see what we wanted to see there, then perhaps check
out the more southerly areas between Casco and Penobscot Bays on our way
back later in the month. As I write this final paragraph, we’re rounding
Cape Small at the east side of Casco Bay. The sun is shining, and the
wind is less than 10 knots on our stern. We’re going to have an easy 50
nm trip today!

August 15, 2006 -Camden, Maine

When I sent our last report, we were rounding Cape Small at the eastern
end of Casco Bay. We’re now on a mooring (anchorages aren’t that readily
available in some busy harbors) in Camden, Maine.

The night of the 12th we were in Tenants Harbor, Maine, on the western
shore of Penobscot Bay. The trip from Cape Small was uneventful, even
though the wind did pick up for the leg from Monhegan Island into the
Bay and on to Tenants Harbor. Then there were the lobster pots as we
approached Tenants Harbor. These lobstermen must try to out pot each
other; there must have been pots laying on top of pots, if the number of
markers were any indication. Literally, I couldn’t take my eyes off the
water or disengage my thought processes for an hour or more as we
threaded our way through the maze of pots. We were constantly turning to
avoid the next pot or to get into an area that was slightly clear of
pots! This continued until well into the mouth of the harbor.

We took a mooring for the remainder of the afternoon, and dingied into
the dock for a delicious dinner at a little lobster place, returning
just before dark. This is a neat little area with quite a few boats. Not
a lot of tourists, and a fairly quiet harbor. We’re in awe of the number
of schooners of all sizes in these waters.

A note about the lessons learned regarding lobster pots. In water less
than 150 feet deep, there could be pots all over the place occupying
every available square foot of water. In water between 150 and 200 feet
deep, expect to dodge pots regularly. In water between 200 and 300 feet
deep, there will be a few pots requiring some attention at times. In
water over 300 feet deep, there are generally no pots.

We left Tenants Harbor on Sunday (the 13th) heading for Camden, and
arrived mid-afternoon. In the process we were held up by the deepest
water we’ve encountered on our trip – almost 400 feet in the middle of
Penobscot Bay! With the mountains visible all around, it’s easy to
understand why the flooded valleys are darned deep!

Camden is a neat town, with more schooners per capita than any place
we’ve been to date. One of our cruising guides states that Penobscot Bay
has more schooners than anyplace else on earth – you just have to see it
to believe it. All sizes, from a small 18 footer to the 100 foot plus
three masted schooners which are called “wind jammers” and take folks on
multi-day cruises along the coast. There are about five of them based in
Camden, and we watched several of them depart the harbor this morning
(Monday) when we went into town for the day.

We took a launch to the marina/boat yard which owns the mooring we’re
on. It is a huge boat yard, working on spectacular sailing vessels (for
the most part). There must have been six or seven immaculate sail boats
at least 55 feet in length tied up at the boat yard, and more out of the
water. These are, for the most part, big racing boats – sleek, all the
go-fast stuff, radars, satellite systems, etc! It’s great to see such a
yard busy.

After coffee and a little late breakfast, we decided to climb the
Battey mountain for an osprey’s eye view of the area! We found the trail
head on the outskirts of town, and headed up, and up, and up. After
about a half hour climb, we reached the plateau and the breath-taking
vista of not only Camden (and Sanderling in the harbor) but a great deal
of Penobscot Bay to the north and south, and Cadillac Mountain on Mt.
Desert Island to the east! We took a road down, thinking that at least
it would be an easier hike, and it was – but much longer. The road
connected with route 1 to the north of Camden, and our walk back into
town was through the B&B area of Camden with beautiful homes built in
the early 1800s.

We took the launch back to Sanderling and a good nap, then showers
aboard, and then went back into Camden for dinner. We expected to fall
soundly asleep by 2100, but about the time we were finished reading in
bed, a swell came up out of the bay through the entrance channel,
hitting us on the beam, and rolling us enough to toss us from side to
side in the bed! I assumed that it would stop when the tide changed at
around 0300 in the morning, but no such luck! Evidently the swell is
driven by higher winds in the ocean, and they’re still continuing as I
write this.

Now we’re waiting for a slight fog to lift so we can get fuel and water,
then head across Penobscot Bay to Eggemoggen Reach where we hope to
anchor at Wooden Boat School (I’m an alum from 1988 and 1990) for the
night, then make our way over to Mt. Desert Island for a few days. Judy is removing some of the stitches from her knee injury (I’m not watching)!

Judy has to fly back to Orlando on the 22nd for some meetings so she’s rented a car at Bangor for the 21st and will drive to Providence to catch her flight, while I stay with the boat and cats in either Blue Hill (northwest of Mt. Desert Island) or Castine (northern end of Penobscot Bay). I’ll probably be staying in Castine (a friend has offered the use of his mooring) as it has much more to offer and is better protected in case we get a storm.

July 16, 2006

We departed our anchorage at Cape May, NJ, at 0635 this morning in light fog. Encountered 1/4 mile (perhaps less) visibility as we transited the inlet, then into relatively clear skies once we got outside into the ocean. Now we’re about 20 miles north in bright sunlight and 1 foot swells.

Caroline and Charlie remember this as a rough place; couldn’t be nicer, today!

We anticipate getting as far as Manasquan Inlet, perhaps to Sandy Hook, by the end of the day. If we make Manasquan tonight, we’ll go into New York harbor tomorrow and anchor just south of the statue of liberty, then run up the East River with the tidal current on Tuesday morning and into Long Island Sound. If we get as far as Sandy Hook tonight, we’ll try to make it through the East River on Monday.

July 18, 2006

We departed our anchorage in Manhasset Bay this morning about 0730, and
by noon had decided that we’d try for Montauk on the east end of Long
Island. Despite six hours of adverse current, which changed to favorable
about the time we entered the Race at the eastern end of LI Sound, we
made it through the breakwater at 2010 and anchored at 2030. We did
boost the engine RPMs to 1800 to get an extra knot of speed out of
Sanderling, but even with that we were moving at a mere 5.3 knots at times!

Anyway, after a slightly more than 100 statute mile day and 13 hours
underway, we had soup for dinner. We just finished taking down part of
the bimini and securing a few things on deck in anticipation of a severe
rain/wind storm heading this way. We could use the rain to give
Sanderling a good washing; we’d just as soon not have the predicted
40-60 mph wind!

Tomorrow we’re going to find an anchorage on Buzzard’s Bay, then on
Thursday proceed to the Osterville/Hyannis MA area. Talked with Frank
Thatcher today, and he’s checking with some friends for dock space and
someone to get our little Honda outboard working!

The VHF radio is full of calls from boats in distress tonight! Haven’t
heard that until now on our trip. Must be due to the storms on LI Sound.
The Coast Guard has also been broadcasting special marine warnings re
the storms – something we don’t normally hear in Florida from the Coast
Guard.

We’ll be safe here in this “lake” at Montauk. We really backed down on
the anchor tonight in anticipation of the storm, so we’ll hold well.
Even if we drag anchor, we have nothing but eight feet of water all
around us! The closest anchored boat is about a mile away.

July 20, 2006

We departed Cuttyhunk (I’ve been convinced that that is the correct spelling now) in a 10 MPH wind from the NE this morning about 0730, heading for New Bedford (home of the famous Whaling Museum). Buzzards Bay was relatively calm, with waves no more than one foot.

Are now tied stern to in a very small, out-of-the-way (cheap) marina where we’ll stay for the next couple of days while we travel by car to Cape Cod (and coincidently, wait out the tropical storm).

When we get underway again we’ll get to the south side of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vinyard, then proceed into Cape Cod Bay for exploring the area between Cape Cod and Cape Anne.

As luck would have it, the marina has a mechanic who is going to work on our outboard while we’re here.

After 15 days of cruising every day, we anchored Friday night at the north end of Delaware Bay. Now we’re fog-bound on Saturday morning, hoping the fog will lift by 1000 so we can get underway.

Great trip so far. We should be able to make Cape Cod on the 20th of July without any problem (unless we encounter more fog).

We stayed Thursday night at Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, a short distance
south of Annapolis on the western shore. Got an early start, and made it
as far as the northern end of Delaware Bay last night after being slowed
substantially (2 knots) by a westward tidal current through the
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

We’re anchored behind an island (Reedy Island if you have a chart) out
of the way of the passing ship traffic and protected from the wind and
some of the current. We were up at 0530 for a 0600 underway time, but
the fog is keeping us in our anchorage. Although we have radar, we’re
not willing to use it when the visibility is less than 1/4 mile and we
have plenty of time to get where we’re going!

We had hoped to get to Atlantic City tonight, but now may only make it
as far as Cape May (about 50 miles down Delaware Bay from our location).

Watched TV for an hour last night (first time on the trip) and tried to
get some national news at 0600 this morning, to no avail. We don’t have
much of an idea of what is going on with the new “war” in the middle east!

Took advantage of our delay and the cooler engine room (93 degrees) this
morning to do a little maintenance on the stuffing boxes. Also worked on
our anchor light which seems to come on for awhile and then turn off.

We realized two days ago that we didn’t have charts or a Waterway Guide
for north of Cape May. I brought the wrong chart book by mistake. We
called a bunch of marinas along our path yesterday, and none of them had
the charts we needed. So as we pass through Cape May today we’ll stop
and take a taxi to West Marine to get what we need to continue!

Cats are enjoying a respite from the engine noise!

We departed our small anchorage near ICW mile 30 (north end of Currituck Sound, VA) Wednesday morning about 0615. Made all the low bridges with restricted openings in good time, and by 1130 we had crossed mile 0 off Hospital Point in Norfolk. Pulled into the Rappahannock River Yacht Club (friend arranged a slip for us) at nearly 2000 last night – really tired and ready for a shower and dinner. No “pizza” listed with the information operator so couldn’t order out! Had a quick meal of hot dogs and beans aboard, after visiting with our friends for a short while.

Departed this morning about 0730, later than we had hoped due to some concern about the condition of the Chesapeake with winds from the west at 15. However, not a problem, and although we had some bumpy seas between the Rappahannock River and the north shore of the Potomac, the waves were no more than two feet (nothing to write home about on the Chesapeake).

Now we’re back in calmer waters, making about 7.2 KNOTS. Not sure where we’ll end up tonight as I haven’t projected that yet. We had hoped for Annapolis, but the long run from the Yacht Club to the Chesapeake and the late start cost us over 2.5 hours, so we may be stopping short (of Annapolis).

We’re switching everything from statute miles to nautical miles for the rest of the trip north. Only the ICW uses statute miles and miles per hour; everything in the Chesapeake and north is nautical miles and knots. To refresh your recollection, a nautical mile is 2,000 yards – longer than a mile. Seven nautical miles equals eight statute miles; seven knots equals eight miles an hour!

Forecast for the next 3-4 days looks good, so we’re still hoping to make Cape Cod by the 21st at the latest!