Charleston to Galesville - speedy!

Our week in Charleston was delightful.  The weather couldn't have been better with warm, sunny days and very low humidity.  We are not sure how we got so lucky with that - but we did our best to appreciate it.  Lots of walking, appreciating all Charleston has to offer.  Charleston is our favorite harbor along the trip between north and south east coast destinations.  It has so much culture, architecture, beautiful streets, lovely people, and most important: it's a foodie's delight!  We made certain that we sampled as much local cuisine as possible.  One favorite is the very small restaurant, "167 Raw", a seafood place near the marina that is owned and operated by two guys...one from Charleston and one from Nantucket.  They have great oysters and probably the only good lobster rolls within a hundred miles.  Fun!

During the week we stayed at the Charleston Maritime Center, El Galeon was also there - a replica of a Spanish trading ship that travels the world educating young people on sailing and offering tours of the ship.  It was fun to walk on board and see how similar and different it was from our boat.  When we offered to exchange tours rather than pay the $10 a head, the mates seemed to like the idea at first, but we paid the $10 in the end.  The young people crewing the Galeon are all Spanish and sign up for six month stints.  They become very knowledgable about the ship and the history of this style of sailing.  We engaged one 30-something guy below decks for 20 minutes in an effort to learn more about the ship, but even more about his dedication to it.  The discussion, which was hit and miss Spanish/English eventually evolved to food.  As a result we promised to visit Spain as soon as possible because he promised that Spanish food is better than any other. A very delightful guy.

Click on photos to enlarge

On Monday, May 8th, we left our secure berth at the Charleston Maritime Center and headed out to sea.  Our destination was Beaufort, a 30 hour overnight sail covering 212 nautical miles.  It was a lovely morning as we left the Charleston jetty and headed northeast.  When we rounded Frying Pan Shoal, about half our planned distance, we turned slightly north to head into Beaufort, NC.

We again buddy boated with Cutter Loose and as always it was nice to have company out there.  Interestingly, El Galeon was behind us as well, on their way to Wilmington, NC.  We first noticed El Galeon at night by seeing their AIS signature and radar blip on our chartplotter. They remained well behind, perhaps 20 - 30 miles.  But, it was fun to see them among the other boats and ships we saw that night.

On our way out of the Charleston channel, we passed no less than six shrimp boats on their way into dock.  We love shrimp.  Evidently so do sea birds!

Dream Catcher at sea

As we neared Beaufort we learned that Cutter Loose would continue on up the waterway to Oriental for some needed engine maintenance.  We had been looking forward to our stop at Beaufort Town Docks and a lovely meal at Blue Moon Bistro and were disappointed not to be able to share this with them.  Beaufort is a small, but welcoming seaside town that benefits by its location along the east coast waterway.  The town fully supports the marina where all sorts of beautiful sail and power boats stop for one or two nights along their way.  Our dinner at the Blue Moon Bistro started off with our selection of a high-top table rather than a sit-down formal dinner table.  The server, Jessica, immediately welcomed us back, remembering that we were sitting at the very same table we had last Fall when she so lovingly served our dinner.  What a memory!  Dinner and the service were exceptional!

We missed sharing this lovely destination with Cutter Loose.  But, we caught up with each other the following day and continued on up the waterway.  Our anchorage was a favorite at the head of the Pungo River, surrounded by picturesque marshes and protected from weather.

When we entered the anchorage we motored by Silver Girl, a Passport 50 from Annapolis. We had met the owner, Don Moore, in the Bahamas last season and had him and his crew onboard Dream Catcher for dinner in Treasure Cay, along with friends Roger and Chrisy.  The crew of Silver Girl was busy at the top of the mast, so we thought they had sail problems.  Next day we were able to get in touch and found that they were removing their VHF and AIS antennas from the top of the mast in order to "fit" under the ICW bridges without incident.  Their mast reaches 65 feet above water, the maximum controlling height for almost all of the ICW bridges.  Antennas reach another two feet, so theirs had to come down!  Silver Girl became part of our contingent motoring through the remainder of the ICW to Norfolk, VA for the next two days.

We raised anchor in the Pungo the following morning in intense fog.  Greg learned his ocean sailing in Maine and actually likes navigating in fog!  Our radar overlays our charts on our chartplotter, so we "see" the shores, boats, and any other obstacle as a pink blotch.  Even buoys show up.  Still, we motored at only half speed, about 3 knots, until the fog began to lift.

Dream Catcher in the fog

Next destination was Buck Island, north of Albemarle Sound.  We had fog, rain and clouds, but made the most of it and kept moving.  Buck Island is another beautiful remote Carolina anchorage.  It was serenely quiet and a visual delight.

Sharon remembers as a young woman, her mother being concerned about the Osprey population.  In the 1980's, they were on the endangered species list and rarely sighted on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  Much of this due to the use of DDT.  It was inducing eggshell thinning, lessening the output of breeding pairs.  Since the ban of DDT, we are happy to report that the Osprey population is recovering and is very evident all along the waterway in North Carolina and Virginia.  Almost every daymark had a nest.  And the nests are a work of art!

Look closely, she is in there.  

Awaiting a bridge opening 

The following day we reached Hampton where we anchored in a small basin adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay, but still inside Hampton's protected harbor.  We "enjoyed" the rush hour traffic noise as we were very close to the entrance/exit of the Hampton Roads Tunnel, a 3.5 mile tunnel connecting Hampton to Norfolk.  Our first attempt to anchor resulted in snagging an underwater cable!  The charts showed a cable well behind our chosen location.  But, when Sharon backed down to set the anchor we felt something was wrong. When we raised the anchor we had a bit of a problem!  Releasing an underwater cable from your anchor is no small challenge!  With a little time and patience we were able to free ourselves and move to a better location. All this time, of course, we're hoping the cable won't electrocute us!

The next day we enjoyed some wonderful sunshine and winds as we traveled up the Chesapeake Bay.  A stop at a favorite anchorage off the Great Wicomico River in Mill Creek offered us the opportunity to sit out gale force winds and rain that evening and all the next day in a protected and beautiful spot.  We were happy to be hanging out there instead of dealing with 4-5 foot waves and wind on the nose.  

Mill Creek off the Great Wicomico River (about 10 miles south of the mouth of the Potomac).

Our next hop was to Solomons Island, MD, a harbor we used as our summer home in 2008.  It was great to be back, even though it was only an evening at anchor.  Coincidently, we anchored in a tributary to the Putuxent River adjacent to the harbor.  The tributary is also called Mill Creek!  Two in two days!  The following day we covered the remaining distance to reach the Annapolis area. 

Galesville, MD is a quiet sailing town about 10 miles south of Annapolis where we will hang for a few weeks.  Already, we have enjoyed a couple favorite restaurants, hit Fawcett's Marine Supply several times and a couple other stores.  Greg will be working on boat projects while Sharon works on house projects at her family home in Fenwick Island for the next couple of weeks.  And we hope to catch up with friends, family, hit the beach and generally enjoy hanging around the Annapolis area and Fenwick Island, Delaware.  

'Til next time - 

Marathon to Charleston - Delight and Dismay

The last week at Harbour Cay Club after our return from Cuba we said "So Long" to new friends heading North West, "See You Later" to new friends heading North East and "Have a Good Summer" to new friends living full-time at Harbour Cay Club.  It was a great stay and we hope to return again one day.

Prior to our departure our daughter Courtney and new fiance' Paolo (yes, they got engaged when we were in Cuba) visited us for a weekend on the water.  We took advantage of what makes the Keys special: sailing in light winds, anchoring out in remote areas, swimming in the beautiful blue water and generally hanging out.  We all had a great time.

Monday morning we pulled away from the dock at Harbour Cay Club and headed for the Channel Five bridge and then into Hawk Channel - that protected water way running between the East side of the Keys and the long reef that runs outside them.  We had two glorious sailing days with winds of around 11 knots on our beam, full main and genoa out and rolling along in perfect weather at 6 knots.  We also had two perfect nights at anchor and were lucky enough to get a mooring ball at Coconut Grove Sailing Club, saving us from the crazy waves out in Dinner Key Mooring field.  Yay!  Coconut Grove Sailing Club is in the heart of the town's maritime district and within walking distance to all of the shops and restaraunts.  We also rented a car for two days in order to be able to drive to Courtney and Paolo's home in Boca Raton, an hour north.

Sunrise at Harbour Cay Club

After sharing these two days with Courtney and Paolo at their home we headed out Friday afternoon to anchor at Fisher Key for a few hours.  This is a private island just South of Government Cut, Miami's main shipping channel.  Here we dropped the hook for a couple hours to prepare some dinner and the boat for our offshore trip to Charleston.  Government Cut, Port Miami is heavily used by container ships and cruise ships.  Our plan was to rest a bit and then head into the ocean around 4pm.  In order to beat some scheduled cruise ship departures, we moved that up to 3pm.  On a Friday afternoon, that area is rife with sport fishing boats, large pleasure craft and small runabouts.  Sharon pointed out it would be more calm in the ocean, away from these crazy boaters!

Miami Skyline

Such cool architecture in this skyline!

Port of Miami

The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  With winds at 10 knots on our beam we motor sailed in calm seas, beautiful blue water and blue sky.  It was delightful.  Overnight was uneventful and we each took our watch anticipating more beautiful weather.  Saturday was more of the same - what luck! As we were buddy boating with our friends on Cutter Loose, we were in close contact by radio and were able to match each other's progress.  There is an incredible comfort that comes with having another boat out there with you 70 miles from land - especially one whom you know and trust.  Hopefully, you never need them for anything, except a bit of moral support and an occasional chat at zero dark thirty hours.

At about 2am, Sharon radioed Pat to tell her to look into the Eastern sky to find the blood red last quarter moon.  As it first rises out of the sea, it is so red from the sun's reflection that you aren't sure what you are looking at.  Then, as it rises, it quickly turns its familiar yellow and brightens the evening for night sailing.  Night sailing is amazing when it's good.  Millions of stars are visible, phosphorescence scatters each time the waves bounce against the hull, and a feeling of being out there doing something truly special.

Once we hit the Gulf Stream we were rolling along at 10+ knots.  We usually travel at around 6-7 knots, and so 10 is just amazing. These conditions continued for the entire time we were in the Stream, 340 nautical miles of our 440 mile trip.   So, by late in the day on Saturday, we are all doing new calculations for our arrival in Charleston.  Initially, we had calculated that we would travel at an average of 6.5 knots for the 440 nautical miles from Miami to Charleston.  So - it should take us 67 hours, or 2.8 days.  We left at the time we did to assure we would get to Charleston on a favorable tide in the daylight.  Our calculations gave us an expected arrival around mid-day on Monday.  After re-calculating to match our Gulf Stream speed, we figured we would arrive by Sunday afternoon.  Any time shortening long overnight passages is a good thing!  We love being out there, but it definitely has an impact on one's body - sleep deprivation, constant motion, constant vigilance - wears one out in short order.  So, shortening the trip by a day was a gift!

Cutter Loose at sea

As we prepared for nightfall on the second night we decided to take the main sail down because we knew the wind was going to continue to move more behind us, which would render it ineffective and require work on deck at night.  Also, having only the jib out for downwind sailing makes it much more manageable and often more effective.  So, in the light winds, before nightfall, we dropped the main and motor sailed with the jib.  Good thing!  By nightfall, the wind started to pick up a bit.  By the time Sharon went off shift at 10:30, the wind was up to 14 knots.  We throttled back and hopped along.  But she was awakened at 11:30 by a very bouncy boat.  When you are below on a passage and the weather gets nasty the entire boat can sound like its is going to break apart.  Every cupboard sounds like breaking glass and crashing stuff.  It just kept getting worse.  Finally, we reached our next waypoint that allowed us to turn the boat to stay in the stream, the engine went off and we were sailing downwind.  Our speed reduced from 7 to 6 knots, so less boat bashing and Greg breathed a sigh of relief.  But, then it meant waves on our beam, waves on our quarter in totally confused seas.  Where the heck did this come from?! The forecast dodn't call for six foot sharp swells and chop!

So - 100 miles to go and we have crazy rolling seas, waves from all directions and a boat rolling back and forth like a rubber ducky in a bathtub with a three year old.  We are constantly and happily amazed at how this boat handles these conditions.  The creaks and groans would have you think it would just break up into pieces, but it just does what it is supposed to do.  Finally, at about half way, Greg turned on the engine and improved our waning progress.  So then it became just a matter of getting through it.  With the boat rocking back and forth, every time it did, glass and plastic would crash around and Sharon swore there would be shards of glass everywhere when we reached Charleston.  Amazingly, no breakage, nothing really out of place, just lots of noise. You'd think we'd pack better next time!

We finally got to the breakwater at Charleston Harbor and Sharon was able to raise her head and take the wheel.  Greg is a trooper through these trips.  As he says, you really have no choice - you just do it.  We pulled into the anchorage off the Cooper River where we will hang until we head into Charleston Maritime Center tomorrow.  We had lost sight of Cutter Loose through all the craziness last night, but picked them up just outside the Channel and followed about a mile on their tail all the way into the anchorage.  While gathering up the jack lines (the lines we tie on the inside of the cockpit and the outside deck, to which we clip ourselves so as not to go overboard), we found this guy met his death somewhere during the trip.  We fed him to the bigger fish overboard.

Dead Flying Fish

We are happy to be here, look forward to a week of fun and great food and feel fortunate to have had another great trip at sea.

'Til next time -