11/28/18

Greetings from Florida!  I said it was all about the weather and it was too cold in NC.  Here we are in Stuart, FL with tonight's temperature forecast: 38 degrees.  Brrrr!!!  We have 80 to look forward to by the weekend though.
Our first leg from Beaufort, NC to Jacksonville - 72 hours.  We knew we'd have some southerly winds to bash into at first.  It ended up a little longer bashing than we'd anticipated but the wind finally came around to the west and north.  And "the new" Persephone doesn't really bash like "the old" Persephone where we'd lose teeth bashing into the seas.  Now, head on seas knock down our speed some as we bounce up and down but no bashing.
We arrived and anchored on the St. John's River in Jacksonville in the same spot as last year at the same time.  We had the anchor down at 6 am took a nap, and then started in on cooking up turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes......

Thanksgiving Dinner on the St. John's River

We called our friends Chris, Amy and Andrew nearby and they came and spent the next day sailing on the St. John's River.  We tacked back and forth, back and forth into the wind, against the current, explaining "This isn't what we usually do!".  Our sailing back and forth between NY and the Caribbean or Bahamas involves very few tacks!  It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed every minute of it and were so glad to have friends who appreciated the sailing opportunity.

Amy takes a turn at the helm after building up her winch muscles.

Amy at the wheel looking down the St. John's River.

We had to do a short tack to avoid the container ship you see in the background.  The pilot called us to ask our intentions when they spotted us coming up the river at them. 

Chris relaxes at the helm for the downwind part of the trip.

Andrew at the wheel on our way back to the anchorage.

Andrew and Chris down below.

Then the next leg: Jacksonville, FL to Stuart, FL.  A 36 or so hour sail close to the coast.  There was a cold front coming off the coast so we started with southwest winds and went through areas of heavy rain and gusty winds before the winds clocked to the west.  Then a nice downwind sail to Fort Pierce and short jaunt down the ICW to Stuart.  We are sitting at our friends Dale and Roni's place right now, the savory smell of soup wafting from the kitchen, sure is nice to have good friends where ever we go!  Look forward to seeing Arnaud, maybe Benedict and Ocean if they're around, and Ken and Aunt Susan while we're here too.
We are in Stuart for a short time before heading out again to wait at West Palm for the right weather to head to the Bahamas.  Not sure if I will have wifi again to update the blog so you'll have to keep checking the SPOT next week to see where we are.

11/18/18

It’s all about the weather!  We arrived in Oriental to wait for the right weather to head offshore to the Bahamas.  We always enjoy our time here with everyone but as the weather gets colder we’re more anxious to head south.  We both caught a cold while here and were miserable for a bit.  A pleasant surprise while in Oriental - our friend Sunny drove up from Myrtle Beach with her dog Sky and spent the night aboard.  We moved to Donna and Jerry’s dock on Broad Creek a week ago.  We’ve tried to help out Donna and Jerry as they prepare their boat to head to the Bahamas.  There probably is no window to sail all the way to the Bahamas as we had hoped so Persephone will head south this week, starting Monday, and see where we end up.  If you check the SPOT link you’ll be able to see our progress.  (You may need to zoom in or out to see land for location reference.)

Send news about what’s going on in your world when you have a chance!

Jerry and I, Bob, and Ron came along with Jerry Luh when he brought Bluejacket from the boatyard to their dock at their home.   Here’s Jerry, Jerry, and Bob on the bow.

Jerry inspects Bluejacket’s new spinnaker pole as we try it out for the first time.

Persephone and Bluejacket at Donna and Jerry’s dock on Broad Creek.

Here’s Jerry working on projects in Donna and Jerry’s workshop.

A couple of fronts came through with high winds, heavy rains, and cold temperatures.  Nice sky though at sunset!

Another sunset shot.

11/6/18

Greetings from Oriental, NC!  We had a long day upon leaving Hideaway Marina in Kingston, NY on the Hudson River arriving at Atlantic Highlands at 8 pm.  Saturday morning, 10/13, we head out for the ocean, 1 overnight, and then anchor at Hospital Point, VA on 10/14.  15 knots of wind from the NW and then N gusting to 25 zipped us down the coast.  We had talked about stopping in Cape May but the promise of low temperatures in the 30s and winds turning south next week spurred us on.  A humpback whale feeding along the coast passed us as we approached Cape Charles.  Our reward for not stopping – we woke up to a warm sunny morning!

Portsmouth, VA has public docks to which we moored making it easy for friends to stop by and visit.  Ryan and Harmony, Haley and baby Braxton all came for dinner and visits.  We hopped in Ryan’s Tesla to do some errands.  Jerry had the honor of taking the plug off the charger at the charging station and plugging it into the car.  

Jerry and Ryan at the charging station.

Here’s Haley using the charging station as a changing station for Braxton.

This is Zoe finding a good spot on top of a pillow pile onboard while Ryan visits one last time before we leave Portsmouth.

 

Portsmouth to Great Bridge the next day – 12 miles.  We stopped to buy fuel and water along the way before going through the lock at Great Bridge.  The weather forecast was calling for gusts to 50 knots the next day so we decided to stop here along the wall between the lock and bridge.  Jerry found a 39’ spot to dock our 39’ boat between a trawler and a 50’ catamaran.  Good thing he’s a professional!  One lady came out in the rain and kept saying, “How did you do that?”

Overnight and into the next day the wind howled!  We were happy to be tucked in for the blow before heading south.  Three more days of motor sailing the ICW and anchoring each night in some protected, crab pot loaded creek, smelling the NC pines, and watching the sun rise and set on a flat horizon.   We changed the engine oil before dinner one night on Goose Creek then arrived in Oriental, NC the next day.  Our home away from home.  The streets were lined with piles of soggy home  insulation, trees, and debris from Hurricane Florence.  Lots of damage here due to water and wind.  Mostly water as the Neuse River rose beyond flood stage.  We borrowed some bikes to get around and have been enjoying friends and family here in the area.  Some of you have sent e-mail wondering if we’ve already left for the Bahamas – nope.  Not yet.  Maybe in another week or so.

Sunset on the Alligator River.  (We’ve never seen an alligator here.)

Jerry, Donna, Ron and Deb come over for dinner while we’re at the town dock in Oriental.

October 2018

After traveling for a couple of days I decided to look at this blog to see where I left off.  Perfect!  Kingston, NY - that's where we are today!  Preparing for mast stepping.
Last Tuesday we made one last trip to the grocery store, other errands, finished blocking up our trusty car and covering it (in the rain), and were on our way.  From Brian and Deb's dock, what we refer to as the Pennellville Yacht Basin.  It's difficult to begin the journey - have we found/done everything we had intended before leaving?  I remember one year Brian had to find our battens in his attic and bring them to Albany.  Thanks Brian!  We only motored to Brewerton to fuel up and take on some water but it's a relief to actually have left the dock.  In the past, our thoughts upon leaving were, "Will Kurd be okay for another NY winter?"  The last few years we tried to put him inside so he wouldn't sit on the end of the dock watching us leave.  Sadly, Kurd was not there to follow us around, help with projects, warm our laps, or see us off.  His 9 lives and 17 years were up.  His presence was sorely missed.

Kurd on the table.

Kurd on Persephone

Kurd helping with projects.

When we arrived in Brewerton we received a phone call and found out that our friends, Bill and Nita from Isle of Palms, SC were on their boat .25 mile from where we left from!  They were at Pirate's Cove Marina enjoying the hospitality of Patti and Paul White.  Bill and Nita borrowed the car, picked us up and we had a splendid evening of boat stories while dining out.  Bill and Nita have been traveling from the Chesapeake area since the beginning of spring and are leaving their boat up here in storage for the winter and will be back to continue their voyage next spring.
Onto Oneida Lake the next morning for another short day - to Sylvan Beach.  Mike and Liz live nearby at Callahan's Marina and joined us for dinner and our first apple pie of the season.

Pie Art by Jerry

Mike and Liz at Sylvan Beach.

Two wet days on the Erie to Waterford, NY.  The beginning of the Erie Canal.

Here we are on the Erie.  I'm modeling my foul weather grocery bag boots on the bow between rain clouds.

Not exactly yacht status but we kept dry with a green tarp rigged over the cockpit.

The mast is up as of Tuesday afternoon.  We're waiting to see what impact Hurricane Michael has.  Probably leaving Friday for Sandy Hook.

While Jerry spent the summer working on cars I was sewing:

My second stack pack or should I say Pakk Pack.  This one is lined with Dacron and should not need another boot to cover up the front of the sail.  It is supposed to lace up when not in use.  I'll let you know!

The entire boat has new upholstery!  This is how it looks.  If you came aboard right now it doesn't look like this - I found some sacrificial upholstery fabric to cover the new upholstery from our grimy fingers.

5/23/18

Happy mast unstepping day!  We are tied to a dock at Hideaway Marina in Kingston, NY on the Hudson River unstepping our mast.  That's a long way away from Beaufort, NC where I last posted.  From Beaufort, NC we motor sailed to Oriental, NC where we spent a week visiting with friends and family.  Then 2 days of motor sailing on to Portsmouth, VA.  There are two basins in Portsmouth where the Elizabeth River ferry comes in to pick up and drop off passengers.  The basins have room for 4 or 5 boats to dock.  The grocery store is only a couple mile walk and Portsmouth is a good place to depart for NY; only a few hours out the Chesapeake Bay onto the Atlantic.  While in Portsmouth waiting for a favorable weather window we visited with other boaters, locals, and friends in the area.  Realizing there was no good weather window for our sail from Portsmouth to NY we decided to leave for Cape May, NJ.  Seems the winds were southerly to Cape May and then turn to the north.  We left in the rain, sailed in the rain, encountered areas of dense fog....but we arrived in Cape May just before another front came through bringing more rain, cold, and high winds.  We love our 75 pound Rocna anchor and 3/8" chain all the time but especially in times like this!  We stayed below warm and dry and didn't worry about dragging or having to reanchor.  Then when the winds stopped blowing from the north and northeast we sprang to action, hauled the anchor, and headed out the inlet.  And enjoyed another uneventful passage sailing and motor sailing when the winds were light.  In to New York Harbor, up the Hudson River, and anchored at Haverstraw Bay.  We had a rain and wind squall that blew through before we reached our anchor spot for the night.  A quiet peaceful night was splendid!  And now, here we are in Kingston hanging out with our friend Vince at Hideaway Marina.  The engine that we took out of a sailboat here at Hideaway had been repaired and delivered the day we arrived.  We spent 2 days putting it back together, making sure it ran, and then installing it back on the boat.  That was in addition to unstepping our mast, helping step a mast on another boat, and a variety of other projects going on.  Now we're ready to continue motoring up the Hudson to Waterford and the beginning of the Erie Canal.  Not far now!

A quiet night anchored on the ICW at Pungo Ferry just across the VA state line.

Our friend Bob (the 80 some year old single hander) in the foreground - Persephone in the back.

A sad farewell to Ron and Deb as they head back to Oriental, NC for a new engine.  We had looked forward to traveling with them back to New York.

Our view looking out at the river at Portsmouth.

Our morning view of the Bear Mountain Bridge.

Our view after the Bear Mountain Bridge when we could finally see more than 1/4 mile.

Another view of the Hudson River on a calm day.

A great day to take pictures of clouds!

We love the Hudson River!

Just thought I'd include this.  I helped cousins Dick and Georgette with some projects.  Georgette pulled out some napkins and matches for me to take home with me.  1962!

4/29/18

We arrived at Beaufort, NC Saturday morning at 6:30 am after a 3 day passage.  Our phone works now!  I can call my mother!  And when Mom says, “now you can update your blog” that means I have to get to work!  There is even the luxury of a coffee shop here in Beaufort to use the wifi.  No excuses.

Last I wrote we were in the Abacos at Guana Cay.  For my birthday Jerry gave  me a yard of the famous “Androsia” hand crafted batik canvas.

Androsia fabric is made in the Bahamas on the island of Andros.  I got out my sewing machine and made a tote bag.

Here’s my purple Androsia sea turtle bag.

Me, Deb and Cindy from “Oopsea” at Nippers on Guana Cay.

From there we sailed here and there, back and forth, to and fro around the Sea of Abaco with Scheherazade as Ron and Deb had a friend, Anna, fly in from Syracuse.  We helped entertain for the week!  I had a chance to make my lobster pizza with carmelized onions again.  At Hopetown on Elbow Cay we climbed the 101 steps to the top of the lighthouse again.  The view is worth the climb!

The view from Elbow Cay Lighthouse looking south.

The view from the lighthouse looking east.

I also noticed something I hadn’t seen the first time from the top.  An Albin 25 that is at the marina below the lighthouse.  It’s just like my Albin 25 that is back home.

Nemo at Hopetown.  Abandoned?  Forgotten?

Nemo – Albin 25

Just like mine!  Sure hope someone comes back to take care of this boat.

When we were anchored at Elbow Cay we also had a chance to visit our friend Nick again and also Dan and Sharon from Oriental, NC.  We went to trivia night with Dan and Sharon.  It was a good thing we had Sharon on our team!  We didn’t win but we did very well.

My view of the anchorage at Manjack Cay

After saying goodbye to Anna we stopped sailing in circles around the Sea of Abaco and headed north to Green Turtle Cay and Manjack Cay.  Beautiful snorkeling in calm conditions on the ocean side of Manjack!  Coral structures that rose 20 feet up from the bottom and surrounded by all manner of fish and sea creatures.  Jerry invited a hog fish back to Persephone for lunch.  There were more places to snorkel in the bay where we were anchored.  Two wrecks, old barges it seems, provide the perfect places for many fish and other creatures to live.  We snorkeled along in the schools of fish feeling like we belonged.  Lots of fish of all colors and sizes.

Manjack Cay also has an area with creeks through the mangroves.  At high tide we took the dinghy and went up the creeks.  Sea turtles galore.  Another day I took my kayak through the mangroves near low tide. There were many deep water holes where the turtle and small nurse shark wait for the tide to come back up.  Manjack has a beautiful stretch of beach on the ocean side.  Bill and Leslie, who have lived on Manjack for many years, maintain trails on the island to hike.  We walked the beach with Ron and Deb from Scheherazade and Joe and Mary Beth from Sapphire.  Joe and Mary Beth are from Lake Ontario.

Manjack beach walk.

From Manjack we sailed to Double Breasted timing our entry at high tide – the only time we could pass around some coral, over some shallow sand bars, and around a sand spit to a deep pocket to anchor with 2 other boats.  I went for a short swim here at Double Breasted.  It was like being on a treadmill with the strong current.   My last chance to swim the Bahamas for this season.

Anchored at Double Breasted, the sand spit behind dries out at low tide, our dinghy is on the foredeck secured for passage.

Another view at Double Breasted looking out towards the sand spit we have to go around to leave.  Follow the dark water for the deeper water.

The next day we timed our exit from Double Breasted to stage for our departure from the Bahamas at Grand Cay.  Scheherazade and Sapphire, also headed to NC, were at Great Sale Cay 15 miles south of us.  A cold front blew through overnight providing west winds for the beginning of our sail north from Grand Cay to Beaufort, NC.  We had a variety of conditions on our 3 days of sailing.   

Here's a youtube link for a video Jerry took at sea.  https://youtu.be/Hx5xkJ6-Xbg

The wind was always in a favorable direction – which means it did not have any northerly component.   At times when the wind dropped below 10 knots we started the motor and motor sailed.   We had an additional 3 or 4 knots of speed thanks to the gulf stream flow.  We stayed in the center of the gulf stream and kept our speed at 9 knots give or take.  A couple of times we hit 12 or 13 knots as we surfed down a wave.  Friday night black clouds and lightning came off the coast of Georgia/ South Carolina bringing heavy rain for a bit.  We were able to call Scheherazade and Sapphire on the vhf to discuss weather, sea conditions, sailing, or whatever all the way to Beaufort.

And here we are, back in the states, anchored out in Beaufort, acclimatizing ourselves to the temperature, traffic, people, news, the pace of life.  It’s a good place to transition – we’re anchored out here somewhat isolated until we choose to come to shore.  After 5 months the old flip phone is a novelty to use once again.  And the news….we didn’t miss not having the news as we went about life onboard in the Bahamas!

Send a note when you can and tell us what’s going on in your world.  We would love to hear your news!

Bonus video - My first time online to be able to publish another of Jerry's movies.  Here's our sail in the Jumentos to Southside.   https://youtu.be/mXE4N0K5sXc

4/6/18

The Exuma chain in the Bahamas, where we spent a couple of weeks, is very popular.  Only 90 miles from the big city of Nassau with an airport, cruise ship terminal, and resorts galore.  Large groups of tourists are ferried by high-speed boats to see the sights of the Exumas - Norman’s Cay with a wrecked plane to snorkel, pink iguanas at Allen’s Cay, the “Thunderball” grotto to snorkel where a James Bond movie was filmed near Staniel Cay,  the infamous pigs at Big Majors Spot, the Exuma Land and Sea  Park, and miles of beaches.  More traffic zipped by than we’ve seen in the past 18 years of visiting the area.  After dark the traffic stops the stars come out and we enjoy the peace at anchor in the beautiful Exumas.

From Rudder Cay to Black Point, Pipe Creek to Norman’s Cay we slowly headed north.  All with excellent places to snorkel for fun and dinner, walk on the beach looking for seaglass and shells, kayak, and live at anchor.

A view of the anchorage at Little Bay, Black Point at low tide.

Ron, Deb, Karen and Jerry sitting on the beach at low tide, Little Bay, Black Point.

Persephone and Scheherazade at anchor in Pipe Creek taken from Thomas Cay.

We walk a beach on the Exuma Sound side of Thomas Cay.

Lobsters and hog fish from the Exuma Sound while we were anchored at Pipe Creek.

A message in a bottle we found along the trail on Thomas Cay.  I wrote an email to the kids who placed the message in the bottle but haven’t heard back.

 

Another picture of Persephone and Scheherazade at anchor in Pipe Creek.

Ron, Deb and Karen return from snorkeling.

What to do with all that lobster?  Make pizza.  Carmelized onions,  tomato slices, lobster, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Ron saw a lizard acting funny on the trail one day.  He didn’t notice the snake that was ready to strike the lizard until the snake was attached to his foot instead.  He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It looks bad in the picture but he had no snake bite related problems – other than a new nickname, Snake Bite Ron.

One of the many pink iguana on Allen’s Cay.

A “Disney” boat at Allen’s Cay with tourists who came to see the pink iguana.  We called all the tourist boats “Disney boats”.

Norman’s Cay in the northern Exuma chain has always been a favorite stop.  This year we saw a massive construction project.  Someone is building a marina for yachts.  The runway was extended to accommodate larger planes.  We could come ashore to walk as long as we stayed out of the way of the construction.  Normans Cay still has the ruins of a huge house that belonged to a drug lord from the late 70s or early 80s.  In the old days you could take your laundry ashore and draw water from the well at the house to put into buckets to do the wash.  Those ruins have been blocked by construction materials and equipment. 

The houseboat is still there on the hill.  Legend has it that the drug lord asked the owner of the houseboat to go away; anchor at some other cay.  The houseboat owner chose not to.  When he came back to his houseboat the boat was gone.  The drug lord had somehow airlifted the houseboat to the highest point on the island.

Walking up the hill at Normans Cay to the houseboat.

The houseboat at Normans Cay that was placed on the top of the hill during the early 80s. 

 

A panoramic view from the top of the houseboat.

The sea plane taking off from Normans Cay after the guests snorkeled the old plane wreck.  Not far from where we were anchored.

Karen kayaking with the look bucket (clear bottom bucket) at Normans Cay.  Looking for conch.  No conch.

Persephone anchored at Normans Cay.

Sunset from the little island at Normans Cay.  I used to call it Lone Palm Island but the palm, as you can see, fell down.

From the Exumas we headed north to Spanish Wells and Royal Island.  We met a wonderful family from Savannah, GA and enjoyed meeting Andras and Hanmari with their boys Eric, Matthew, and Brian.   And Grace the dog!  They were on a 3 week vacation from Savannah and brought supplies for an orphanage and some churches in the Bahamas along the way.  In Spanish Wells we husked coconuts together on a beach.  And when we arrived in Marsh Harbor, Abacos Jerry gave the boys lessons on cleaning conch.  They had found some while snorkeling, found someone to show them how to get the conch out of the shell and then froze the conch.  Now they are experts on the entire process.  With only  a few days left for them to get back to Georgia we had to say goodbye.  Hope the conch was tasty!

This is Grace.  She stopped by to visit from "Providence" with her family.

Currently we are in the Abacos enjoying the company of  old friends and new.  Ron and Deb on Scheherazade are here and introduced us to cruisers they’ve met.  A boat named “Cayuga” from Ithaca, NY came in to anchor near us at Guana Cay and we introduced ourselves.  We had a chance to visit with Nick from St. Thomas who happens to be in the Bahamas this winter on his beautiful ketch Marie Elena.  We will be in the Abaco area for a couple more weeks before heading back to the states.

Three young sailors enjoying the breeze off Guana Cay, Abacos.

One more picture from Pipe Creek that Deb from Scheherazade took.  We brought our fancy chairs to sit at low tide on the area that dries out for sunset happy hour.

The  next time you hear from us we will probably be back in the states.