11/28/19

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm typing with the laptop on my lap in the cockpit.  The sun is brilliant behind the sun shade zipped onto the back of the bimini.  A nice breeze blows through the boat wafting stuffed turkey smells from the oven.  The sailboat pie, cranberry sauce and apple sauce are done and cooling.  Big meals take orchestration with a 2'x3' place to stand in the galley and 2 burners on the stove.
We had memorable visits in Stuart with Dale and Roni, Aunt Susan and Ken, and Arnaud with his grandson, Benedicte's son, Ocean.  Time passed too quickly when we were in Stuart.

Ocean, Dale, Roni, Karen, Jerry

Aunt Susan, Ken, Jerry

The view from Aunt Susan and Ken's place looking out toward the boats anchored on the St. Lucie River.

Besides visiting and provisioning for the winter in the Bahamas we had to put down our umbrella-decorated punches, get out of the hammocks and address a few issues.  (We don't really have any umbrella-decorated drinks or hammocks onboard but I thought it made a better story!)  The parts for the boom vang - the gas shock arrived.  Jerry put that back together and also repaired a block that broke.  We exercised and lubricated the spinnaker pole.  When we were on our leg down to Ft. Pierce it was not cooperative due to sitting all summer and mud wasps attempting to ensure their species survival.  The outboards both required some maintenance - cleaning and corrosion control.  What next?
One afternoon, coming back from a walk to the hardware store, we saw a boat we'd seen back in Oriental, NC.  We came alongside to introduce ourselves and chat.  The retired Danish couple sail and live on their 29' sailboat.  They left Denmark 2 1/2 years ago most recently coming down the east coast of USA.  Their plans were to head to the Bahamas for their first time.  We loaded them into our dinghy with their small glasses of sunset-toasting wine and drove over to Persephone.  Jerry showed them our Explorer Charts for the Bahamas and made a phone call to find how they could download the Explorer Charts themselves onto their OpnCpn navigation program.  After our visit, toast to the sunset and "see you in the Bahamas" salutations Jerry ferried them back to their boat.  Living aboard affords us the opportunity to meet people from all over the world!
Friday, with chores done (again) and the food lockers overflowing we decided to head to Lake Worth and catch the next weather window to the Bahamas.  We stopped and topped up the diesel and water then set off for St. Lucie inlet to the ocean.  Light winds 30 degrees off our starboard with the motor to help we made our way south.  And found the secret to a squeaky clean bilge!
A couple of months ago we found a big jug of concentrated Dawn dish liquid had a crack in the plastic.  At least a quart of soap leaked down into the bilge.  It was cleaned up as best we could.  Nothing wrong with a little soap in the bilge.  Then as we sailed south from St. Lucie inlet Jerry turned on the faucet - no water.  We scampered all over looking for a leak in our water system.  Ah ha!  Aft cabin - starboard side!  Bedding, pillows, mattress soaked!  Dripping cupboards above where all my soaked clothes are along with the water hoses that go to the aft deck shower.  After pulling everything out of the aft cabin and throwing it up on deck we discover a split hose.  80 gallons of water soaking everything and filling up the bilge.  80 gallons of hot soapy water pumped over the side with the bilge pump.  We continued our sail to Lake Worth with plans to refill the 80 gallon tank when we arrived.  We still had 40 gallons in the 2nd tank.  On we sailed with full main, jib, quilt drying on top of the bimini, sheets clipped to the shrouds, clothes hanging on every inch of lifeline.  What a sight for those beach goers who brought binoculars!

The sailboat quilt Mom made for me years ago.

Saturday - I get up and see the wind has already clocked to south of east.  Time to go to the Bahamas!  Jerry jumps up, hauls the anchor and mainsail and we're off.  40 gallons of water is plenty!  The first 12 hours are tight on the wind; choppy waters until we reach the banks where the waters are smooth and the winds clocks more to the south.  The next morning the winds drop, the sun is out and baking us as we enjoy a pleasant sail down the Tongue of the Ocean and across the banks south of Nassau sitting on the aft deck marveling at all the stars in the sky.

Sailing to Georgetown

So, here we are in Georgetown with a clean bilge and a stuffed turkey in the oven.  After clearing in to customs and immigration we pulled out our 5 gallon water jugs.  The Exuma Market dock has a water spigot where we filled the water jugs and dinghied them back to the boat, hauled them on deck, and poured them into the tank.  Three trips - 110 gallons of water onboard.  (Which we'll be using to clean up the mess we made in the galley today.)  Happy Thanksgiving!

Jerry peels apples on deck for our pie.  The monument at "Monument Beach" in the background.

"Sailboat Pie" made with Granny Smith Apples and Cranberries

Time for dinner!

11/17/19

We made it!  To sunny Florida!  After a wonderful visit at Donna and Jerry's we skidaddled once chores were complete, cupboards filled with food, and Jerry's root canal complete. 
We had big north winds to push us south from Beaufort, NC to the St. John's River where we stopped to let a cold front pass through.  Ron and Deb on Scheherezade sailed along with us.

The leg from Beaufort, NC to St. John's River, Jacksonville, FL was rolly with following seas.  Dolphin were leaping out of the waves all day long.  What a show!  I tried to video and if you watch carefully you'll see a few.  Then back onto the ocean before the next cold front.  Another fast sail south to Ft. Pierce, where we had a scrumptious dinner aboard Scheherezade, and then motored the rest of the way to Stuart, FL. 
More rain and fronts passed through as we worked on maintenance projects on the boat................

Jerry works on rebuilding the water pump from the engine.

We took off the oil cooler from the engine, pressure tested it, and put it back on.

We'll be here in Stuart, FL visiting with Dale & Roni, Aunt Susan and Ken, Arnaud.......while waiting for parts to fix our rod kicker (it holds up our boom - the gas shock in it blew out) before heading to the Bahamas.  Send news - what's going on with you?

10/22/19

"Bluejacket" (Donna and Jerry), "Dyad" (Dave and Kathy), "Salty Paws" (Jim and Bentley) and "Persephone" are in their "spots" once again at Luh's Landing on Broad Creek, Oriental, NC!

As we hang out here in Oriental for the next week or more visiting with family and friends, doing provisioning, working on a few projects, making a dentist appointment, kayaking the creeks I thought you'd enjoy an entry from 15 years ago.  Brings back memories!  And we're much farther ahead this year than we were in 2004! 

October 19, 2004

After rushing around in 40 degree temperatures – loading treasures, blocking and covering the car, doing laundry, cleaning up some of the messes we’d made at the Date’s Estate, we said goodbye to Curd, the cat, and shoved off.  We waved to Curd, the one being who will truly miss us, breakfasts together, companionship, laps of cold milk from Jerry’s bowl, deburring, and scratching behind the ears.  He stood on the dock in the drizzle and watched us, perplexed, as we headed out onto the Oneida River.

It’s a relief in many ways, even though there will be things we should have done and things we’ve probably forgotten, a relief to actually be leaving, not to just prepare and talk about leaving.  Finally on our way!

The 5 to 10 knot wind on Oneida Lake turned out to be 15 to 20 from the east.  A choppy ride indeed.  We weren’t planning on any bashing about until NY Harbor at least but there we were, slam, bang.  The 20 bags of cereal in the bow may be powder by the time we get to Sylvan Beach!

It was a most enjoyable ride for me, Karen.  Jerry was in charge of the helm so I went below.  What should I do on this four hour trip?  Cook something to warm up the cabin!  I peeled 3 humungous northern spy apples we had picked Monday, sliced them up, and put them on the stove to cook for applesauce.  Next, preparations for chicken stew.  What better way to warm up the cabin and simmer smells for the captain to dream of as we bounce across the lake.  Fiddles, small metal arms that clamp to the rail around the stove, prevent the pots and pans from sliding around while enroute.  I haven’t had time to enjoy cooking a meal for quite some time.  Most of our meals this fall have been thrown together after working on boat projects all day.  By the time we got to Sylvan Beach everything was ready for a heart-warming meal.  Cooking so preoccupied my thoughts that I forgot all about our dilemma in the middle of the lake.  The weight of the mast and dinghy (filled with water from waves) was too much for the radar arch on the starboard side.  One of the posts popped a hole into the hull on deck as it came down with a wave.  Our mast and everything on the radar arch (dinghy, anchor, solar panels, outboards, radar, barbecue grill, and wind generator) could have gone over as well.  Jerry jerry rigged support to ease the load on the leg that made the hole through the fiberglass. Jerry will be able to grind the fiberglass and patch the hole with resin and cloth (which we have on board) after we get to Kingston, NY to put up the mast.  For the time being, and the peaceful canal ride that lay ahead of us, the boat will be fine.

10/20/04

Today is Wednesday and we sleep in until 7:30.  It is a luxury to go to bed so early (8:30 to read) and sleep in so late.  It is also a necessity as the temperature is about 40 and we have no heater.  Before we can leave I have a bill I have to mail.  Every morning for the last 2 months or more we’ve started our day with a 3 mile walk or a bike ride.  It felt good to get up this morning and walk to the post office.

Another gray day today as we motor east on the Erie Canal.  Jerry and I take turns at the helm which consists of sitting in the companionway on the tent stool (which I broke later in the day), staring ahead through the plastic window of the dodger, and pushing the buttons for the autopilot to stay in the middle of the canal.  The one who is not steering can sit in the cabin under the blanket or with a burner turned on to warm up.  By sitting in the companionway to steer you can keep some of your legs near the warmth coming up from the cabin.

The traffic on the canal today consisted of two trawlers headed west.  There were a number of workboats on the canal dredging, tugs with barges moving around mud, and areas where cranes were taking the mud loads off the barges and piling them on shore. 

Sitting on the tent stool staring out the front for hours gives lots of time to look at trees, water, and herons.  I spent a lot of time studying the colors of the leaves on the trees, the shapes of the trees, the ways the trees grow, the shapes of the branches.  Have you ever noticed how different trees are?  Some trunks and branches are straight, straight up, straight out, straight.  Others start straight at the bottom, split in two, and wind up to the sky.  And then others curve up a bit, branches go here and there twisting and winding with no apparent symmetry.  I like to look at trees.

So, here we are in Jacksonburg.  You know – Jacksonburg, Lock 18 on the Erie Canal.  We tied up to the lock wall, had dinner, listened to a dirt bike riding around the grounds, and the occasional train not too far off.  After having baked potatoes for dinner the cabin is warm and toasty, the lights low as Jerry reads out loud from Moby-Dick.  I’m glad my mattress isn’t made of corn cobs and broken crockery. 

Did we ever tell you how much we prefer to sail on the ocean rather than the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway)?  On the ocean we wait for a good weather window, head out and keep a watch schedule.  No worries about keeping in the channel, running aground, traffic, radio chatter, and no bridges.  But the ICW route allows us to stop and visit with friends.  And to make progress south when there are no offshore weather windows.

Last post I wrote we had arrived in Norfolk where we tied to a dock in the Portsmouth ferry basin.  Our friends Steve, Heidi, and Addi came to visit.  What a joy to spend time with 4 year old Addi.  Oh yeah, Steve and Heidi too.

Heidi, Steve and Addi come aboard Persephone in Portsmouth, VA

Karen, Addi, Jerry

Then we headed north out of Portsmouth!  Yes, north.  We had word that our friend from St. Thomas, Kari, was flying in to visit her family near Deltaville.  With south winds we sailed north in the 90 degree temperature (our apples are NOT liking the heat).  Nice visit with Kari, her grandson Braxton and Kari’s Mom and Dad.  Another bonus – we stopped at the Deltaville Library and visited with another friend, Tom, who is a librarian there.  

 

Peaceful picture perfect anchor spot in Jackson Creek, Deltaville, VA.

Kari's Mom and Dad, Braxton, Kari

Kari, Braxton, Karen

The day after our visit in Deltaville was the day that the wind was coming from the north so off we head back to Portsmouth.  We were tight on the wind, heeled over to start our 40 mile jaunt (hold on apples!), going 8 knots before turning with the wind on the beam.   An overnight at “our spot” in Portsmouth before heading through Norfolk and the beginning of a series of railroad and vehicle bridges.   Thankfully, most of the vehicle bridges are now 65’ so we don’t have to call and wait for an opening.  Just one – the Gilmerton which has a railroad bridge right next to it on the south side.  The railroad bridge is usually open/up and only closes automatically when a train is coming.  Luckily, after waiting for the Gilmerton to open for us, the railroad bridge didn’t start to close until we were through both!  And listening to the vhf radio we hear that the railroad bridge was in the closed/down position for an hour.  Glad we made it through before that train!

Tied to the dock after the Great Bridge bridge. 

Next through the Great Bridge lock and the Great Bridge bridge (opens on the hour), the Centerville Bridge (broken for vehicle traffic but good for us!), the North Landing Bridge (had to anchor and wait an hour for an opening)…..see!   This is why we prefer the ocean route!  (But no weather window to do so.)

After crossing the Albemarle Sound we anchored in a protected spot (South Lake).  Here we waited while a low pressure system churned off the coast making the wind blow from the north at 25 knots gusting to 30.  Great for heading south but the next bridge, the Alligator River Bridge, is broken!  By Friday, after working on the bridge for 4 days, the bridge engineer scheduled a few openings, and the low pressure system churning off the coast was named Melissa.  Melissa is heading north and east – goodbye Melissa.

Two days of sunshine, warm weather, the smell of pine and little boat traffic to arrive in Oriental.  https://towndock.net/harborcam  A spot at the town dock was open so we pulled in, did 3 loads of laundry and went to the Bean for ice cream!  Lots of visiting here – so many friends we’ve made.  After dark we hear a knock on the hull – it’s Ann (she and Neville have a Cape Dory motor sailer).  She wants to know if we need anything and comes aboard for a visit and stories of her adventures as a single hander in Ireland and England.  Ah!  Nice to be back in Oriental!  We'll be here a few days before heading north.  Yes, back north 10 miles to Jerry and Donna's place on Broad Creek.

Happy Columbus Day

Karen and Jerry

9/29/19

9/29/19

First apple pie!  We made our first apple pie upon reaching Waterford, NY at the end of the Erie Canal.  And we had good reason – our friend Lisa Church, who recently graduated with a degree in chemistry from the university here in nearby Albany, just started her first job about 10 miles from where we were docked..  Many reasons to celebrate!

Nice visit with Lisa - she drove to Wateford for dinner.  Enjoyable visit.  Apple pie too!

Of course, we made another pie when we reached Kingston on the Hudson to take down our mast.  We always make an apple pie for our buddy Vince at Hideaway Marina.  He sure takes good care of us!

Two more days on the Hudson to Atlantic Highlands, NJ where we visited with Marianne and her friend Richard before heading to sea.

Another picturesque day motor sailing the Hudson River.  Spectacular and warm!

I’m always intrigued to see what new structures have been built in New York City.

Hmmm….maybe we’ll see how this turns out upon our return in the spring.

We’re heading out to go under the Verrazanno Bridge as a “box boat”/freighter is coming in.  Looks close for clearance but he had plenty of room.

And the tomatoes you saw on the cabin top in the last group of pictures…Had to take care of the tomatoes before heading out to sea!

Our route in the past has been one hop from Atlantic Highlands to Norfolk.  Because of all the southerly winds this season we took a short hop from Atlantic Highlands, NJ to Barnegat, NJ – almost enough northerly winds before they built from the south as we neared Barnegat.  The exciting part of that leg – we were playing backgammon in the cockpit and keeping watch.  I happened to look towards shore and saw a 60’ whale jump straight up out of the water!  A number of times!  (But not enough times for me to get the camera in time.)  Also, lots of dolphin stopped to swim with Persephone for a few minutes before going about their business all along the coast.

From Barnegat we had a fantastic sail down to Norfolk!  The winds clocked around, as they do with an approaching cold front, from west to north, to east.  All about 12 knots give or take.  We finished the passage with a southeast wind coming into the Chesapeake Bay.  Ron and Deb on Scheherazade just behind.  Sure has been a warm trip thus far!

9/18/19

What a busy summer…graduation, wedding, family reunion, reuniting with friends and family, the Clayton Boat Show for Debbie and I and my parents,  cars, projects galore!  It seemed like we arrived a week ago and we’re already on our way south!

The last big project was to haul and paint the bottom at Callahan’s Marina on Oneida Lake.  With that done, we headed back to “home base” at Brian and Debbie’s, loaded up the boat and were ready to leave – the earliest we’ve ever left!  The weather should be better, the days longer, less stress as we head south a couple weeks earlier.

If you click on the SPOT link (upper right hand corner of this page) you  should be able to follow us this winter thanks to my brother Brian, our neighbors Laurie and Bill, fellow sailors Liz in NY, Sunny in NY & SC, Arnaud in FL,  Tracie in CT, colleague from Trumansburg Elementary Pat, friend from grade school Bernadette, family friend and wooden boat enthusiast Anne, and Ya-Shian who was a 3^rd grader in my class of my first ever teaching position in Ithaca many years ago!  Thank you for funding the SPOT tracker.

We traveled the Erie here to Waterford, NY with Ron and Deb on Scheherazade.  Tomorrow onto the Hudson where we will put the mast up, head to Sandy Hook, NJ, and then on onto the Atlantic.  Our first and foremost concern will be, as always, the weather.  We always carefully watch the weather, especially now as we are still in an active hurricane season, and we will travel with plans to duck into safe harbors if and when needed.
PS: There are harbor cams at the Waterford Visitor Center: http://www.town.waterford.ny.us/harbor-visitors-center.html  I don't think we're on the camera (we're closest to the lock) but maybe you'd like to see Waterford!

My niece Kira's graduation in Maine

My niece Marjatta's wedding in Candor, NY.

A picture of the rearview mirror of a classic wooden boat - Miss Thousand Islands in Clayton.  You'll see the driver, me, Debbie, Dad and Mom enjoying a beautiful ride on the St. Lawrence River.

One of the castles along the St. Lawrence River boat ride.

Screens, handrails, and companionway trim freshly varnished.

The anchor chain is pulled into the yard and marked so we know how many feet we're putting out when anchoring.

Persephone is ready to put back in the water after new bottom paint application.

My 4 five gallon buckets produced a load of roma tomatoes on the cabin top.

Apples on the aft deck.  No pies yet but soon come!

Persephone and Scheherazade tied up at Lock 15 at the end of a long day of motoring.

Up early from Lock 15 and headed down the Erie with the fog.

Looking back a Scheherazade in the fog.

Fog clears - another glorious day on the Erie!

This morning's approach to the Waterford docks.

5/20/19

Where's Persephone?  On the Hudson River at Kingston ready to put the mast down and continue on!
Since the last post we had some wonderful sails in NC..........
Here's Persephone and Bluejacket trying to sail with little wind and no motors on the Neuse River from Oriental to Broad Creek.

Bluejacket with Jerry and Donna aboard

Persephone - if we're carrying that spinnaker we're gonna use it!

Just another day at Donna and Jerry's with a few cruising friends on the dock!  What fun we have at Luh's Landing.  Jerry figured there must have been a total of 100 tons of boats at the dock with all 6 boats.  Of course we all congregated at the house for a potluck, visits and stories.

Donna and Jerry's dock.

2 sailing catamarans, 1 trawler, 2 sloops, and 1 power cat.

What a beautiful place!

In VA we stopped at Portsmouth.  This photo is taken from the ferry we're on to go see Ryan and Harmony and Ryan's parents across the river.  Persephone is in the back corner.  Life on land is so busy but we're lucky to have friends who make time to visit when we sail into their neighborhood.  Thanks!

Portsmouth - Persephone at left corner.

Steve, Heidi, and Addi came by to pick us up and take us to Norfolk Botanical Garden.  Lots of walking - just what we needed with a few rain showers along the way.  Then dinner aboard Persephone.  We've watched Addi change and grow each time we stop.  Cute as can be!

Jerry, Addi and Steve

We started our sail from the Chesapeake Bay to NY with our good friend Bob just behind.  Bob is still single-handing his 37' Gulfstar from NY to Palm Beach and back each year.  For the last 20+ years.  When I'm in my 80s I hope to be in such good shape!

This is a menhaden fishing boat just off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.  There are smaller boats with nets that round up the menhaden fish.  The big boat has a "fish vacuum" that sucks the fish from the net into the boat.

We had westerly winds for the trip from the Chesapeake to NY arriving to Sandy Hook just before the rain squalls.  It's hard to describe how pleasant it feels to anchor and just sit back without reaching for secure hand holds for each step you take after 36 hours of non-stop motion.
Sandy Hook has become one of our favorite stops as we have the opportunity to visit with Marianne.  Her son Andreas happened to be in town and he came to the boat for dinner.  Our first time to meet him and hear his stories of sailing.  He is taking charge of some sea scout boats back where he lives and he had many questions for Jerry in order to maintain the vessels.  It was a wonderful evening.
What was difficult at Sandy Hook was the weather.  We had some acclimatizing to do (with the help of our diesel furnace - thanks Marianne for helping us attain the control panel we needed from Germany!)  On Mother's Day the wind picked up to 35 knots out of the east creating rollers coming into our anchorage and splashing over the bow.  As a power boat dragged to the beach and another sailboat trying to anchor got caught around a mooring ball line we hauled anchor and tacked back and forth at 3 knots using the motor to go 2 miles across the bay to Horseshoe Cove.
Click here to see the video we took:  https://youtu.be/W4ZpVgKkTFk
At Horseshoe Cove we had protection from the east winds and they continued to blow for 2 days!  And rain!  And cold!  Yuck!  Luckily, the winds died down, we had a nice jaunt up the Hudson River to Kingston.  Even a little sun!  We are here to put the mast down but haven't been in a hurry to do so - the Erie Canal has delayed the opening due to high water.  They say they will be opening more of the canal this week.  Looks like tomorrow may be the day to put the mast down and then we'll head to Waterford!  When we move I'll hit the SPOT button at the end of the day.  Cheers!  Karen & Jerry