"Iggy" the Iguana

So, as you all have read, Allan's Cay is the home of giant iguanas. These pre-historic beasts are about 3 feet long and love hanging out on the beach in the sun. Trudie, Ian and I decided to dinghy to the opposite side of the island to escape a stiff breeze and get some water/beach time. T spread her towel on the beach to catch some rays, Ian was snorkeling and I was wading in the water, and walking the beach. Well, out of the brush comes "Iggy" a three foot reptile who wanted to share his favorite beach. The iguana, boldly strutted to HIS favorite spot (which happened to be exactly where T was laying) and got to about 5' from T and stared at her. T was less than thrilled, but appeared willing to share the beach with HIM. (A day before, T would have retreated to the dinghy) Eventually, T and Iggy bonded and both became comfortable with each other, realizing they had something in common.....sunbathing. As time passed, Iggy must have become very relaxed....for suddenly he stood up , stiffened, started "straining", cocked his right rear leg and his eyes closed half-way (literally).....I shouted "oh my god" as he took a big old _ _ _ _ right there next to T. She screamed, "OOOOO.....YUCK !!!!" Ian and I started laughing so hard we could hardly speak. Iggy took a couple of steps, laid down, spread-eagle and promptly fell asleep in the sun. Typical male........(some things haven't changed in 200 million years of evolution !)

We left Allan's yesterday just before noon, and had a quick sail (< 10 nms) to Norman's Cay. When we entered, we were the only boat in the anchorage....kind of disconcerting, "did we fail to get the memo ?" But we were quickly joined by a couple of other boats...including a grey beard. (I will explain "grey beards" in another post). We have not yet left the boat this morning as we have been busy having coffee and french toast (laced with Black Strap Rum) for breakfast. There is a beach bar called Mc Duff's on the island which we intend to check out and will probably do some New Year's celebrating there....

Ian has charted a seaplane to pick him up tomorrow. So, we will spend the next couple of days here as a front is predicted to roll through Fri late afternoon through Sat AM; so, we want to stay here in this "all weather" harbor. We will then decide where we go next depending on our water supply and weather.

So, THE CREW wishes you all a very Happy New Year's from the tropics.

THE EX-PATS

Arrived Norman's Cay

Just a quick note to let you all know that we sailed south to Norman's Cay today.
We had a great sail, and are now anchored; all without incident. But, we have so
much to blog about....but that will have to wait till tomorrow......

Its "sundowner" time.....so the blog will be postponed....do we have our priorities right or what ?

Allan's Cay continues....

We are still at Allan's Cay for another day. We had an action packed day yesterday. Right after a delicious breakfast made by Trudie's Galley; we re-anchored the boat further away from a rocky lee shore when other boats left the anchorage (which was pretty crowded when we arrived). This took a couple of attempts to position Persephone in deep water, away from other boats, and away from the rocky shore. After the anchoring drill, Ian was in the water swimming around the anchorage, literally. Ian snorkeled over our anchor and said it was not set correctly, so instead of trying to re-anchor I decided to set the anchor by hand. So, I pulled out my SCUBA tank and equipment and dove on the anchor. I was able to set it by hand relatively easily....sure beat moving the boat again and re-anchoring.

We all got into the dinghy (with our snorkeling gear) and went to the beach to visit the lizards (iguanas). They have been trained by people feeding them, so as soon as a dinghy approaches, they waddle onto the beach.....about 50+ of them looking for handouts. We were wading in the water, while Trudie practiced her snorkeling. When we returned to the dinghy, it was surrounded on three sides by lizards.....

We returned to Persephone for lunch and then back into the dinghy for more exploring of the small islands around Allan's looking for potential lobster hangouts. The dinghy looks like it was floating on air because the water at 15+ deep it is so clear.....you can see every detail on the bottom as if the water wasn't there at all....beautiful and a great turquoise color.

Back at the boat, it was time for "sundowners" and showers. (Ian took his 3rd swim of the day around the anchorage ....a LARGE mustard color motoryacht entered the anchorage, we T and I held our breaths hoping he wouldn't get run over (it was pretty close).....can you imagine the paperwork we would have to go through !!! Dinner from Trudie's Galley was great as usual; chicken quesadillas always a crew favorite. Afterwards, we all sat on the cabin top, with after dinner drinks, enjoying the warm breeze which had come up to 15-20 knts. There was a nearly full moon and we were able to see the bottom under Persephone in just the moonlight....yes the water is really that clear. The wind was warm, but caused an uncomfortable roll in the anchorage. P-Girl is rolling and bouncing pretty good. Even though, we have decided to stay here for another day of beaching, and snorkeling. We will probably leave here for Norman's Cay tomorrow.

Lots of pix to post when we are able. T and Ian say "hi" to all......gotta hit the beach !

Off to see the lizard.....

"We're off to see the lizards, the wonderful lizards of Allan's !" We left Nassau yesterday with Ian aboard and had a great day moving south to Allan's Cay. We took a dog leg around the "dreaded" (not my word, but the description in one of our cruising guides) Yellow Banks. This is any area of shallow water with patch reefs, and coral heads just below the surface. You must cross this area when the sun is high in the sky so that you can see through the water for dangers. The water is so clear, we could see starfish on the bottom in 16+ feet. The wind was up and down, so we had an opportunity to get in some sailing.

We arrived at Allan's just after 2pm and worked our way in applying the "anchor by Braille" method; as the anchorage has many shallow areas. This consists of working around the anchorage, occasionally touching bottom, backing away and trying another approach. We found a spot and dropped the hook. Unfortunately, we had a wind shift and low tide caused us to begin bouncing off the bottom softly. I didn't want any problems, so we just shifted our spot 50 yards west and re-set the hook; without incident.

T made spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner and we sat in the cockpit as a rain squall went through; all under the Christmas lites. We were all beat, so it was lites out (including the XMAS ones) around 9 pm.

Today we are going to see the lizards. Allan's Cay is one of the few remaining islands which is home to giant iguanas. These prehistoric lizards are about 3' long and very unattractive (read: UGLY) We will post pix when we have "real" internet access instead of "only" ham radio. Think of the Geico gecko on steroids and brown in color.... The rest of the day will be taken up by beaching, snorkeling and dinghy exploring (and of course a couple of "coldies")

Mike, you gotta start making reservations to get down here again before the winter is over....bought a Bob spear for hunting lobster....will let you know how the hunt goes.....

THE IGUANA CREW

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!

Hello all from the sunny Bahamas.....

We are still in Nassau celebrating Christmas and waiting on our friend Ian to arrive. Ian will be joining us tomorrow and will be staying through New Year's Day. T and I are both very excited about Ian coming. So, tomorrow afternoon, we will ride out to the airport and pick him up.....just about cocktail time. PERFECT !!

We have made good use of our time here in Nassau. T has done a lot of re-provisioning, and I have caught up on some basic maintenance. The water here is MUCH saltier than the water in New England.....so it is a constant battle of keeping the salt build up off the boat.

Yesterday, we went to the "fish market" for our Christmas Eve dinner. Well, the "fish market" consists of a beat up pick up truck parked just outside the marina. We climbed up on the back of the truck and looked in the large coolers for the perfect dinner. Yes, the fish were "still of the hoof" so to speak. We picked out the perfect grouper, and the mon asked "how d' ya like it ?" Filleted, perfect. So, our dinner to be was tossed onto a piece of plywood, the flys shooed away, and the knife briskly stirred in a bucket of water and the filleting began. Ten seconds later, we had two large pieces of the freshest fish imaginable. We bartered the "right" price and home (boat ?) we went with our dinner. It was SUPER !!

I made breakfast this morning......french toast with cinnamon, fresh ground nutmeg and oh, yes....a "bit" of Black Strap Rum.......Think I over did the rum a bit......T said it burned her throat......I think it was the cinnamon, mon.

We are hanging today, straightening out the boat for Ian's arrival and doing the beer shopping. Yes, all the stores (including grocery stores and liquor stores are open today). It is a beautiful day wx wise, warm, sunny and a light breeze......not a Christmas feeling at all. It is very different here......Christmas is really not a big deal. There are a few subtle decorations about, but none of the commercialism that you see in the states. Most of the stores and restaurants may have a simple wreath, or a small tree....but that's it. And what is really noticeable is the lack of lights.....no colored lights at all. So, we have been enjoying the string of lights I put up in the cockpit 2 weeks ago.

Finally, we have to say that THE CREW misses our friends and family up north. Although we are on our sailing adventure, you have all been in our thoughts during this season.......

So, to all of you from THE CREW, a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. I hope that you all can fulfill your dreams, whatever they may be, the way we have been able to this year. Lastly, "Kinvara" come on....get back to sailing.....you will love it here !!

D + T

Arrived Nassau !!

Had a great sail from Chub Cay to Nassau.....FINALLY !!  We left Chub Cay around 8:30 am yesterday morning for the 36 mile jump over to Nassau.  We put up both sails as soon as we cleared the harbor and took them down at the enterance to Nassau harbor, not once turning on the engine.  AND, we did a passage in daylight.....a real treat for us lately (as the last 2 trips were overnighters).  Very nice to see where you are going for a change.  We arrived at Nassau Harbor at around 2:30 pm (made pretty good time) and anchored just across the harbor from Atlantis on Paradise Island.  WOW, what an operation......you can see the pink building from 15+ miles at sea.  (Antlantis is the second largest employer in the Bahamas behind only the Bahamian government).   If we get a chance, we may go over and check it out, especially the aquarium which is supposed to the spectacular....

We went into our marina this morning to get some boat maintenance done, and check out Nassau.  What a shock from being isolated to being right in the middle of a noisy city.  You walk out of the marina right onto a major downtown street.....WITH CARS and TRUCK traffic.  We haven't seen/heard  that since Florida.  CULTURE SHOCK !!!!

Let me explain "boat maintenance".......  Well,  THE CAPTAIN decided last week to cut a 2' piece of chain to secure the outboard engine to the dinghy to prevent theft.   I had an extra piece of chain aboard, so out came the hacksaw and up to the bow I went where a nice breeze was blowing.....didn't want to get over-heated, you know.   But, not being stupid, I took a large bucket with me to catch the filings. (I was smiling and very proud of myself.....for the bucket idea....old dave was really using his head on this one!!)  The chain project went well and took only about 10 minutes.....great, time for a cold one.    One thing your fearless captain forgot to figure was the breeze.....yup, the filing blew onto the white deck  in a 5' radiius.  About two days later, (in the salt air/water)  the little filing rusted leaving rust spots which looked like huge freckles all over the foredeck.....an absolute unsightly mess !!!!  Holy S&%+@!!!!   Rust stains everywhere......Nice job, Captain "DH" Sawblade. 

So, there I am today, muric acid in hand, cleaning the foredeck for a couple of hours trying to remove  the rust stains.  ( And of course, Captain Reflex lost his balance, and stepped in the acid...burning the bottom of his feet.....some of the skin on the bottom of my feet  is still left)  Got most of the rust spots,  but Captain Acid will be back at work trying to get some more tomorrow.  This could be a very lengthy boat maintenance project requiring at least a case of cold beer to rehydrate me after my toil.

See, it really can be hell in paradise.....all in the shadow of Paradise Island......go figure !  Captain Tenderfoot

Pictures

We got some very limited connectivity last night here at Chub Cay;  Christmas came early !!  We will be leaving for Nassau first thing in the AM.  So, we will probably be out of regular communication until Wednesday when we dock at a marina in Nassau.  Meanwhile, we will be anchored out in Nassau harbor.  Will keep you all updated, but in the meanwhile  here are pictures we promised:

Trudie raising the Bahamian courtesy flag on Persephone (we are required to fly our US flag on the stern and the flag of the country we are visiting on the starboard mast spreader):

Here is the enterance buoy to the Berry Island Club....remember red, right returning....

This is the world famous Berry Island Club....reservations are recommended:

And, finally, after the excitment of the Berry Island Club, Trudie relaxes with a beer (which we had to bring) at the unfinished/abandoned bar at Chub Cay Marina  love the islands, mon!

We are in the populated areas of the Bahamas....50 miles from Florida, 35 miles from the capitol, Nassau...can only wonder what the "out" islands will be like.  More to follow from THE CREW !

Enjoying the weather !!

Enjoying the weather, NOT !! We are riding out our first gale in the Bahamas. We really made the right decision to duck into a well protected marina. The wind is topping out at appx 35kts; so the boat is listing in the slip. Seas outside the marina are running 12-16 feet !! This blow is considerably worse than what we weathered in the remnants of Ida in Charleston (except for the rain).

Yesterday, Trudie and I took a walk across the marina to check out the ocean. The waves were crashing against the shore and the spray was shooting over the trees which are sea pines appx 50 feet tall. The spray was easily clearing the roofs of the two story homes set back from the beach. (This isn't some DP exaggeration, we have the pix to prove it !!) We needed to wear our foul wx jackets to ward off the spray 100 yards from the beach.

So, what would you expect THE CREW to do ?? You got it...we headed for the tiki bar at the pool. As we mentioned, the bar is not completed so we brought own ! The bar stools were all set up looking for "customers". We had a couple of coldies watching the surf pound on the beach....very impressive.

Hanging out, doing some boat projects and basically goofing off today.

(("Kinvara" if you are following along, circle Chub Cay Marina as a good hole to hide in on your way to Nassau; no TV, internet, public phones or cell service, but the security of the marina basin is more than worth it.))

Speaking of a lack of modern communication, I can't emphasize enough the importance of our ham radio equipment for the cruising sailor. This has been our ONLY link to the outside world; it is enabling us to get weather forecasts and safety info, emails, and of course posting to the blog to keep friends and family informed of our whereabouts. Can't imagine sailing without it....guess the only alternative would be a satellite phone....but that is VERY expensive and well beyond our budget. So, here we are relying on 1930s technology. But, you know what...it works great !!
THE CREW

Lots to Drink About......

Good morning from the Berry Islands, Bahamas !!

This is being sent via ham (amateur)radio as we have no other device for communication as you will read.

We want to update everyone on what's been happening aboard Persephone for the past couple of days....As we posted, we left Lucaya at around 5pm on Tuesday evening for a night sail south. We had been advised by the "weather guru" that the wx was going to turn nasty later in the week. The Berry Islands are low lying, very shallow with a minimum of all wx harbors. Simply we didn't want to get caught in a less than ideal anchorage; although beautiful. So, we decided to head for the Berry Island Club on Frazier's Hog Cay which is said to be a place to ride out bad weather.

The Berry Island Club is billed as a "full service marina" with a well marked approach channel, docks and secure moorings at $15/nite; including WiFi, laundry, telephone, restaurant (reservations suggested) and a dinghy landing. We jumped on the idea of picking up a mooring and using the marina facilities to wait out the wx. We tried phoning the marina to make a reservation....the phone wasn't working.... no problem, must just be an island thing.

We arrived on Weds morning and started working our way up the 1.5 miles along the east side of the island to the marina. Our first clue that all was not ideal was one of the green entry buoys was up on the beach....(yup, we will keep the beach on the left....but buoys are usually floating....dah !) After that, we didn't see another buoy. OK, so we worked our way up the unmarked channel reading the water colors...staying in the deep blue, and away from the light green. Perfect.

We arrive at the marina, not a single boat was at the docks which on a second look were dilapidated. We turned into the mooring field (only 3 mooring balls), and picked up a mooring a man on shore was point toward. As we looked around we saw several other mooring balls washed up on the beach, and one entangled under the dock with broken lines still attached..... (that's a bit unusual)

We set up the dinghy and went to the docks to check in. We had to climb up some less than well secure, flimsy ladder to the dock (so much for a dinghy landing). Two large barking dogs chained to a tree greeted our arrival. I asked about the security of our mooring. "No problem with your mooring mon....it's chained to a sunken truck...that truck is going nowhere mon....ha ha ha".

Can I get the WiFi code to log onto the internet...."sorry mon...hasn't worked in a long time, mon" "How about the phone", I asked ? "No phone, mon..we use the internet" (Skype?) OK.... By this time we were in the office, "restaurant" and bar combination. I suddenly realized why reservation were needed....to make sure the "cook" was on duty. How are the conch fritters, I asked....."no mon....conch hasn't been delivered in days...." We went back to Persephone, and went to the beach for the day (which was really nice)

On Thursday morning we again listened to the wx, and the guru said the approaching front was one of the worst in years (literally) with 30+knt gales and squalls to 50kts+ I decided to check out the mooring a little closer....yup there is the truck on the bottom, and a very light chain was connected to it....."Trudie, I have a bad feeling about this place...." "Let's get otta here...NOW !" Great idea, she replied.

We decided take a short hop next door to Chub Cay Marina. This is billed as a "full service marina" including a pool, and island store for groceries. Sounds great....but more expensive than a mooring....

We arrived yesterday just before noon. The docks are state of the art, floating docks in a man-made lagoon... very wx protected. "Can I get the WiFi login code ?"..."sorry mon, internet hasn't worked in a long time..." "OK, how about a pay phone so I can use my new Bahamian phone card ?" "No, mon....been otta order long time now..." "OK"....as I sighed. The pool is a two level pool where you sit looking out over the beach and ocean.....when sitting at the pool, you can't tell where the pool stops and ocean starts....gorgeous ! The pool has a tiki bar in the middle with swim up stools. But it is all abandoned and unused, so we had it to ourselves. In fact, we are the only boaters we have seen in the entire facility....there are several sportfishers here, but no one around. So, we spent the afternoon, at the beach, with hi end beach chairs, and at the pool all by ourselves. Apparently, reservations are needed at the restaurant....for the same reasons as the restaurant at Frazier's Hog.

So, here we sit, in hi winds, with approaching squalls, safe, sound, alone, at a beautiful facility, unconnected and very happy. We are just learning the island ways....what I have described is inconsequential to the beauty of the water, beaches, and the big smiles of people who tell you nothing works. They're not the ones with high blood pressure! Maybe they DO have the right philosophy.......

(Will be uploading pix when we have internet access....can't do pix easily via ham radio)

Island Time

Hey all....

Just a quick note to say we have NO COMMUNICATION. All is fine aboard, and we are safe in Chub Cay Marina; waiting out ugly weather. The phones at the last two places have not been working or vandalized (including the pay phone here). We have NO Verizon cell service. In addition, we have NO INTERNET. "WiFi not working mon for a long time now" Our ONLY communication is ham radio.

We will post a blog with all of the detail tomorrow AM. THE EX-PATS

It's five am.....

It has been a very busy nite aboard Persephone. There is a great deal of commercial ship traffic between Freeport (which is next to Lucaya) and Nassau. Five cruise ships, multiple tankers, and freighters have passed us; some pretty close. So we have been kept busy watching the radar, identifying light patterns to determine which way the ships were going and checking the AIS (an electronic gadget which tells the distance from us to commercial ships and their range, bearing and how close they will come to us).

On the bright side, you couldn't ask for a nicer evening on the water. T-shirts and shorts, soft warm breeze and pretty flat seas make for a very enjoyable passage. We have about 30 miles left to go.....

You can always check our location at www.shiptrak.org and type in my call letters: N1ELQ.

Our current position is 25 39.943 N 077 42.120 W at 5am....

On the move again.......

Can you believe it ? We are on the move again !!

We spoke to our weather router this morning and he was still predicting snotty weather for later in the week; so we decided to leave tonite for the Berry Islands.

First things first, Lucaya was nice....the people could not have been nicer or more helpful. We would definitely recommend using Lucaya as a point of entry into the Bahamas. (Although, the "officials" that did our paperwork granted Persephone one year to remain in the Bahamas, but THE CREW was given only 100 days !! Go figure....that is just the way it is in the islands !!) The main attraction in Lucaya is the Market Place. Sort of an assortment of tourist-type duty free shops catering to the cruise ships which frequent Freeport. We saw lots of "condo commandos" today complete with matching belts and shoes. Just made you proud to be from the states !! So, 36 hours was enough for us in Lucaya.

Again, we are doing a night passage...guess we don't sail during the daytime anymore. We didn't want to get stuck for days in Lucaya waiting for weather to continue our trek south, so that also factored into our decision to leave tonite. In addition, if we left in the morning we would arrive at our destination in the evening...or after dark; not good in the islands.

Tonite is even nicer than our passage on Sunday nite. The weather is almost identical, but the sea is table top flat. There is very little wind, so we are again motorsailing. We are bypassing most of the Berry Islands tonight as we don't want to get caught out if the weather is as nasty as predicted. The Berry's are sparsely populated, and there are very few deep, protected anchorages. Most of the anchorages are just tucking up behind a cay out of the prevailing easterly winds. However, it is no place to be in a gale or heavy squalls. So we have opted to go to the bottom of the Berry's to Frazier's Hog Cay. (Gotta love the name) We can snug up to the island, perhaps get a mooring and have relative protection. Frazier's Hog is just short of 100 miles south of Lucaya, so we won't be arriving till around noon tomorrow.....perfect time to "read the water" going up the channel next to the island. (The charts of the Bahamas are sketchy at best, lacking the detail that we are used to in the states....so you have to learn to read the depth of the water by its color.....it is all on the job training...a passing grade is not hitting a reef, or coral head. You can guess a failing grade :(

So, I have to go take a look around....I'm looking at the radar as I'm typing and all is clear 6 miles around us.....but it never hurts to take a look-see (or is that sea ??) Later...........

On the Move.....

Hi all........

We hve decided to leave Lucaya tonite and head for the Berry Islands in advance of a potent cold front which may bring gales to the area.  We will be leaving around 5 pm to get out to sea before dark.  Will update post via ham radio while at sea.    THE CREW

Arrival

Well, we got into Lucaya just before 9am. The water at the approach went from 500+ feet deep to appx 10 feet deep in about a 150 yards !! (Just a bit disconcerting...) The water color and clarity is post card pretty. In 20' of water you can clearly see the bottom and fish swimming around....

We got tied up promptly and had to take a water taxi to Customs and Immigration. Another boat ("Stolen Moments") arrived just before us, so we all went together. Craig kept humming the Crosby Stills tune "Immigration Man" (Half way through the song the lyrics change from Immigration Man" to "Irritation Man"...will you let me in ??) As in the song, we we spent 4 hours waiting to get cleared in (which included going to lunch to wait for a second person). A couple of Kaliks (Bahamian Beer) eased the process.

We got back to the boat, got her squared away, and Trudie went to the pool to get cooled off and work on her tan and I gave Persephone a bath. I got as much spray on me as the boat 'cause it was so hot.

We are hanging at the dock tonite, and crashing early. We haven't yet figured out when or where we are going next ! We'll let you all know.

THE Ex-Pat CREW

Arriving....

We are off Lucaya with about 4+ miles to go. We should be arriving at the channel entrance in less than an hour. Easy, uneventful passage. We both were able to get some sleep, and are rested. Simply, couldn't have been a better passage.....(except we could have used a bit more wind). All is well aboard...and looking forward to our arrival in port.

26 26.93 N X 078 41.25 W at 7:20

Beautiful night

We just had a change of watch here on Persephone. I hit the bunk at midnight, and just got up at 3am for the remainder of the night. Trudie had a busy watch "dodging" commercial ships traversing between Bahamas and Florida. The electronics on-board are a real help in identifying the ship, its speed and direction...they even tell us how close the ship will pass us. So, Trudie altered our course to stay out of the way. (I have what is known as the "tonnage rule".....if it is bigger than us, keep otta the way...even though we are a sailboat !

The stars are incredibly bright without the moon, and there have been a great number of shooting stars. It is very warm, with flat seas making for a great motorsail; although I would like a bit more wind so we could shut down the engine. Oh well, can't have everything.

Back to my "watch"....(not like there is much going on here :) )

Underway

This is being sent by ham radio. We are underway from Lake Worth to Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island. It is a beautiful nite with warm temps and lots of stars (but, no moon). We could use a little more wind to help push us along. Right now we are motorsailing as there is not enough wind to keep us moving. All OK aboard... Trudie is sleeping, and I have to get back to my watch. More to follow.

24 Hours and counting.....

The last 24 hours has been a whirlwind.  Completing our lists, finishing shopping/provisioning, 2 trips to the pharmacy, water, fuel, weather checks.......wow !!.....our heads are spinning......

The Christmas festivities started last night in Vero Beach Marina.  There was a parade of boats decorated in holiday lights, illuminated santas and of course tacky reindeer complete with blaring music.... The parade ended next to Persephone:

To add to the festivity, there were about 15 kayaks (all decorated with lites) paddling around the anchorage singing Christmas carols at each boat.   We joined in by putting up lites in the cockpit and blowing our horn as each boat passed.  It was great fun and got us in the holiday spirit !!                                                       

I was up at 6:45 this morning to listen to the weather forecast, and speak with our weather router.  We wanted to head over to the Bahamas in the middle of next week.  The weather guru said no way....a major front is forecast to cross the Bahamas from Tues until later in the week making a crossing unwise.  He said go and go NOW, he gave a window of Sunday night into Monday morning.  So, we immediately started to prepare the boat to get underway today down the remaining 60 miles of the ICW.                                     

What does this all mean ??  We will exit the ICW via the Lake Worth Inlet late tomorrow afternoon and do a night sail across to Grand Bahama Island arriving on Monday morning.  We will be going to Lucaya to clear customs etc and wait for the front to roll through.  Once we are in the Bahamas our cell phones will NOT work.  You will only be able to contact us via email and then only if we have access to the internet which may be spotty in the outer islands.                                                                                              

So wish us luck, and follow along on ShipTrak as we cross tomorrow nite  (D +T soon to be X-patriots)                       

                                                   

Test

This is a test for posting via amateur radio email system. 

Countdown Underway.....

Guess I'm still in space center mode with the "countdown" stuff.....anyway......

Persephone and THE CREW are still in Vero Beach, FL working on our checklist.  We have been very
busy with provisioning and waiting for spare parts to arrive.  For example, we have loaded 25 pounds of boneless chicken, 15 lbs of hamburg, 20+ boxes of pasta, and tons of can goods.  We are lucky the  boat still floats !  Trudie has spent hours with the Food Saver (vacuum sealer) making dinner sized portions for freezing.  In addition, sugar, flour, rice etc are all sealed in the Food Saver to prevent moisture, and bugs (yes we are in the sub-tropics).  The last of our spare parts should arrive tomorrow (half a dozen fuel and oil filters, a spare starter motor, spare solonoid for starter etc).  Engine parts are difficult to obtain in the out islands of the Bahamas and we don't want to depend on a mail boat which may or may not arrive at a remote island once a week....never mind the lack of ability to order parts from the US and duties to inport them.  So, we are trying to be pro-active and self-sufficient.

We have joined a weather routing service to obtain specifie weather forecasts for the trip across to the Bahamas and for wx info while we are there.  Weather forecasts are spotty at best, and there is no weather  radio in the Bahamas.  So, we must rely on old fashion short wave radio broadcasts (now called marine SSB) and the weather service which we can speak with each morning; again by short wave.  Sort of like being thrown back into the 1930s. 

If all proceeds as planned, we should be able to leave Vero on Saturday and make a 2 day "inside" run down to Lake Worth were will stage out of for the Bahamas.  We will wait in Lake Worth for a weather window, which may be as soon as Monday-Tuesday next week.  We will leave Lake Worth in the early evening so that we will arrive in the morning at Lucaya, on Grand Bahama Island.

We will keep you all updated on the weather window.....   THE CREW

Lots to talk about....

As you all know, we have had the third crew member Mike aboard all week. It’s been a blast and we miss him now that he has gone back north. We have alternated playing tourist, mechanics and boat movers all week.     
Boat movers:   In this past week we have moved the boat approximately 250 miles down the Florida coast (Mile Marker 715 to 951). The last two days of the trip was nearly dead straight down the canal system. It was so straight, I had to tap the compass a couple of times to see it was still working. It also rained very hard….the kind of rain if you look up, you could drown!! The bimini kept us dry and the 18 packs of Corona eased the effects of the rain. (Yes, Corona is sold in 18 packs down south).
    
Boat Mechanics:   Mike and I got lots of “stuff” done on Persephone…oil and filter change, bilge cleaning, fixed an oil leak on the genset. ..etc, etc. The biggest project was the replacement of all of the ship batteries. There are five large batteries (70+ lbs each) which provide power for the lights, electronics and all of our electrical needs. The batteries were 5 years old, and I knew they were on their way out…..but being cheap, I wanted to get the last electron out of them !! And I did.  Last week, we had a complete electrical failure, including alarms and equipment shutdowns. Yep, the batteries died….I didn’t even bother to try CPR….DONE DEAL. We were at Cape Marina in Cape Canaveral which is a large “do it yourself” type marina. We ordered new batteries and they had them at the boat in hours. Mike and I spent the afternoon installing all 5 and it has made a huge difference. Lights, the computer, stereo and refrig can all be going without fear of running the batteries into the ground. NICE.
    
Tourists:   On Wednesday, we rented a car (well, it was a Chrysler 300 land yacht…sort of a “gangsta-mobile”) and rolled to the Kennedy Space Center for the day. KSC is a study in really really big and really really small. The rocket and capsule which took John Glenn into orbit is amazingly small. ( I think you can buy fireworks rockets at the local pyro store which are bigger than the redstone rocket ! And the Mercury Capsule….well see for yourself. It is amazing that a guy in a spacesuit could fit in this thing !!

The Apollo moon capsule is not much bigger….it is about the size of a Volkswagon bug with 3 stretchers for seats….you need a shoehorn to pry the guys in. But the guys themselves were small. The space suit of G. Cernan (last man to walk on the moon) was on display, so I had Trudie stand next to it….. T is 5’ 5” tall…..

 The Saturn V rocket is absolutely HUGE. It dwarfs the other rockets, including the rockets attached to the space shuttle. To give some perspective…..here are Trudie and Mike standing under the solid rocket boosters and external tank of the shuttle….get what I mean by BIG !

!
We were a bit disappointed by the lack of hands on exhibits and real science. I wanted to be convinced that we really landed on the moon. Looking at the equipment, it is amazing it got off the ground, never mind landing on the moon !! Persephone has more sophisticated electronics !!  This is the Apollo 14 capsule that carried the "astronuts" to the moon:

We are currently at Vero Beach for the week. We are getting ready for the next phase…provisioning for 3+ months and preparing for the crossing to the Bahamas. Bahamas or bust by Christmas !!

Heading South

We arrived at St. Augustine at about 10am on Saturday morning.  St. Augustine is an absolutely beatiful city.  It is dominated by a Spanish motif with ornate buildings trimmed in wrought iron.  The downtown is filled with little shops of every description, many of which cater to the Cuban population.  Much of the city center is pedistrian walkways so cars are not an issue.  We really enjoyed our day puttering around the city.

We wanted to stay another day, but the desire/need to keep moving south won out.  We again went "outside" into the Atlantic (not wanting to deal with the ICW) and motored along the coast at about 3 miles out.  We traveled about 50+ miles and it was time to seek an anchorage for the night; so we turned into Ponce de Leon Inlet right at sunset:

As it was getting dark quickly, we had to get the anchor down as soon as possible,  The shallow creeks are no place to be moving around after dark.  (Although we have come in at sunset so many times on this trip we are thinking of renaming the boat "Late Arrival")       The "official" anchorage was about 2 miles south of the inlet  down a creek through some pretty "skinny" water.   This was not a viable option as it was almost dark, so we looked at the charts and instead of heading south inside the inlet, we went north and found a spot just behind the lighthouse on the inside of the inlet.  Ice cold beers and burgers on the grill was the evening fare as we looked at the scenery from the cockpit:                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Not a bad view on a warm evening ?!

We were off and running first thing this morning.  I am typing this post from the nav-station as we are motor-sailing down the coast bound for Cape Canaveral.  We intend to spend a couple of days at the Cape and visit the Kennedy Space Center and do some maintance on the boat while we have Mike aboard.  I have been working on his "to do" list since I learned he was coming.  All for now, THE CREW plus ONE

                                                                                                                                                 

Thanksgiving 2009

We picked up Capt. Mike at the airport who arrived right on time.  We returned to the marina where Thanksgiving festivities were just underway.  Pete and Jane met a couple from Ireland who had just arrived at the marina and invited them to dinner.  They were from Ireland and had done a transatlantic a couple a years ago and have been cruising America since on their boat "Safari".  Here we all are just sitting down to dinner:                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Trudie and Jane did a GREAT job preparing turkey (I had earlier said it was going to be chicken...but was wrong) and all the fixing right down to a Trudie original homemake apple pie...Delicious !!!! And, here are the boys cleaning up after dinner:                                                                                                                

We had planned on leaving at first light for a motor down the ICW to St. Augustine, but the entire crew of Persephone overslept.  We awoke at 8 am and didn't get underway until just before 9 am.  We didn't make it to St. Augustine so we pulled off the ICW into a little creek to spend the night.   Again, we are anchored in an isolated area far from civilization.   Trudie is making dinner as I type, and Mike is drinking a beer.  Yes, all is in balance aboard Persephone.                                                                                                                

THANKSGIVING SURPRISE !

Hey all.....

As we mentioned in our last post, we got a call a couple of days ago.  The call was from our regular crew member Mike who said he had to take some vacation time from work by the end of the year or he would lose it.  SO....Mike asked where we would be for Thanksgiving and he was flying in !!  What a great Thanksgiving surpirse!!  We decided the closest airport to our position was Jacksonville, and Mike immediately booked his flight.  Mike will arrive here at 4 PM today, so we rented a car to pick him up at the airport. Mike will be spending the next 10 days aboard while we wind our way down the coast of Florida. We want to keep moving so we can get far enough south to cross over to the Bahamas for Christmas.

We have been working on the "to do" list for Mike since he called.  A light is burned out halfway up the mast, a piece of tape needs to be redone up the mast as well.  (I don't do heights !!!!)  We have been experiencing some battery charging issues for the past week.  (We may need to replace our entire battery bank consisting of five large batteries....read BIG bucks.)  MacGiver Mike will sort it all out....we hope!!

After picking up Mike, we will be going to "Kinvara"  for a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  A turkey won't fit into a galley sized oven so chicken is the bird of the day.  Trudie has been busy making the side dishes to bring along.  It's going to be a great dinner, and our first holiday since cutting the dock lines and going cruising.  Sure doesn't look like Thanksgiving outside with bright skies, palm trees and warm weather. We will just have to make do :)  

Gotta go and clean up "Mike's Room" and get some directions to the airport.....  Happy Thanksgiving to all !!   THE CREW

Lions, Tigers and Bears...Oh My !!!

Well, we'll get to lions, tigers and bears in a second....

We left Hilton Head after a couple of days of R + R.  As we said,  the place we stayed was beautiful:

You can see Persephone in the foreground.  The "Kinvaras" climbed to the top of the lighthouse to take pictures.  T and I stayed firmly on the ground.  One hundred-fifteen stairs on a hot day didn't interest us !!

We left from Hilton Head and left the ICW for a sail in the ocean to St. Catherine's Inlet.  It was a blustery sail, with a moderate breeze but big rollers.  We anchored in Walburg Creek adjacent to St. Catherines.  St. C's is owned by the NY Zoological Society (Bronx Zoo people) and used to raise and breed exotic animals.  The island is off limits to the public so we couldn't go exploring.
Walburg Creek is in the middle of nowhere...no people, services or supplies...NOTHING except nature.  A real contrast to our Hilton Head experience.

We left Walburg at first light and went back to the ocean.  "Kinvara" opted for inside down the ICW route.  Our destination was St. Simon's Island about 30 miles from St. Catherines.  We were making great time and weather was favorable, so we made the decision to press on to St. Mary's inlet.  (An additional 25 miles) The St. Mary's River is the divider between Georgia and Florida.  We arrived at the inlet just at sunset.  The inlet is 5 miles long but very well lit.  Once inside the inlet it was pitch dark and there were three intersecting channels with red and green bouys flashing everywhere.  (We later counted 78 bouys at the channel junction !!)  We picked our way up the channel and turned into an unmarked channel leading to Cumberland Island.  We got the anchor down and had an emergency beer.  Trudie exclamined that her "legs were like jelly".   Our electronic navigation equipment really paid off that night.

Cumberland Isand is a US National Park donated by the Carnegie Estate.  The ruins of their summer home called Dungeness (interesting name) is what remains.  Mrs. Carnegie in her will ordered the release of all her horses upon her death.  The horses roam wild....we saw 5 horses yesterday romaining the ruins.  In addition, we saw a flock of wild turkeys, and several armardillos,  The beach is inspiring....huge rolling dunes, and a flat beach which streaches for literally 10 miles in each direction.  The only access to Cumberland is by boat.  So, there are only a handfull of people at any time on the isand.  We have spent two days here enjoying the scenery.  But it's time to move south into FLORIDA.  When I am done with this post, we will haul our anchor and take a quick hop over to St. Fernandina, FL. 

We got a phone call a couple of days ago......we received a REALLY BIG surprise which we will share....but, that has to wait till tomorrow.  (NO, Trudie's NOT pregnant)  Stay tuned.  THE CREW

On the move again

Good morning all.


This is just a quick update. We left Beaufort, SC yesterday afternoon. We had been waiting for some important mail to arrive via “general delivery”. In order to receive mail, we have to “guess” where we will be in a week or 10 days. We then notify our mail forwarder which sends the mail to the local post office we designate. We then go to the post office everyday to see if the mail has arrived. Sort of like the pony express……


Anyway, we motored down Port Royal Sound to Hilton Head. We intended to anchor out but the anchorage was swirling with currents due to the large tidal ranges. It was getting late in the afternoon, so we opted to call a marina recommended by Bob and Lori on “Pride”. What a great choice !!


Harbour Town Marina (not mis-spelled) is gorgeous! This is a marina in a gated community surrounded by upscale shops and ringed by a championship golf course. The method of transportation is golf carts, and bikes.

Our plans are to do some clean up on the boat, a fresh water bath is first on the menu and then do some sightseeing including checking out the beach. THE CREW

BEAUFORT, SC

On Saturday, we were transiting from Charleston to Beaufort, SC down the ICW. The tides rise and fallhere approximately 7 feet which creates swift currents in the rivers and canals:


“Hey T, look at this…..our speed over the bottom has jumped up to 10 knots !” (That’s flying in a sailboat under power) “Wow !! we are up to 12 kts and increasing !!! “ “I’ve never seen 13 knots !! “Boy, we are getting one heck of a push from this current; we are going to get to Beaufort before noon !!” “Hey captain, we don’t seem to be moving all that fast…are you sure ?” “Kill-joy !! Of course we are…look at the speedometer.” “Hey captain, what does KM/Hr on the speedometer mean ?...never saw that before” “Well, it means kilometers per hour….”WHAT THE %&#$ !!!!!!!” “The speed is reading in kilometers per hour, NOT KNOTS…a km/hr is about half of a knot” Someone must of leaned against the instruments and changed the setting. DAMN….no speed record, no early arrival, no hero stories about the planning the tides and currents perfectly, and NO bragging to “Kinvara”.


We arrived in Beaufort, SC at 3PM (with Kinvara who had gone about 25 miles further than we did) on Saturday to a very attractive town. We are anchored just off the City Docks looking at the waterfront shops, bars and restaurants. Yesterday was a maintenance/cleanup day…..laundry, clean up the boat and some sewing got done. We are heading to breakfast ashore at a waterfront coffee shop this morning and plan on site seeing and shopping this afternoon.


And, yes , I have to pull out the manual for the speed instrument and find out how to reset it back to knots!


THE CREW

Chained to Charleston

Get us otta here !!

Charleston is one of the most beautiful cities we have seen on our way south.  You could blink and swear you are in Boston; but the southern charm confirms you are in Low Country.  (Low Country is the southern part of South Carolina which is very flat and dotted with marshes and wetlands. This is where grits, hominy, pork rinds and okra are served a thousand different ways)

Now for the tooth report.....We went to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and met with a maxio-facial surgeon on Monday.  He suggested a wait and see course of "action".  This being a teaching hospital, he turned to his young resident and asked: "have you preped our next patient yet,  ya know he's 80 years old !"  The student admitted that he had not done the prep.  The doctor turned and instructed: "Give him a couple of Viagra, I don't want him rolling off the table when I'm working on him "!!!  Trudie's mouth (which was stiff and sore from all of the recent work) dropped open. 

There was no improvement on Tuesday, so we went back to Dr. Viagra.  He extracted the tooth and T has steadily improved.  One down, one to go......

Now for the hurricane report.....  Ida just won't give up.  Although it is a "remnant low" it is spinning right over Charleston.   We have had a couple of days of driving rain (several inches) and howling winds.  Seems we have been under a gale watch for days with no relief until the weekend.  We are safe and sound at a huge marina, but are very anxious to get underway.  Maybe tomorrow.

We are thinking about renting a car today and driving down to Beaufort, SC to pick up our mail, and see something different.  We have invited Peter and Jane of "Kinvara"  to come along for the ride.  They, too, need a break from the boat.

We are only 148 miles from the Florida boarder......so close, yet so far......  THE DAMP CREW

Hurricanes and Toothaches...the same ?

How are hurricanes and toothaches alike ? The answer on Persephone is that they both cause major headaches !! As we mentioned in our previous blog, Trudie had to have a root canal last Wednesday while we were in Southport, NC (near Cape Fear). She was experiencing some discomfort but nothing significant, so we decided to do the overnight hop on Thursday from Cape Fear to Charleston; a distance of approximately 100 nautical miles.


While underway, the Coast Guard announced that a shrimp boat sank leaving a debris field a mile square with 3’ X 3’ pieces of the boat floating. Hitting a piece at our cruising speed of 7.5 kts could do very serious damage; or puncture the hull. We plotted the location of the debris field and yup, it was right in our path. Several other boats were making the same trip and there was much discussion on the radio about which way to go to avoid the debris. I made the decision to do an arch of 10 miles around the area and headed east out to sea. We wound up appx 40 miles “off the beach”, which worked as nothing went bump in the night.


As the night progressed Trudie’s tooth got increasingly worse. He face swelled up and she looked like she had a golf ball in her cheek. She wanted to stand her watch, but I only allowed her to do so for a couple of hours…..she needed to rest and felt horrible. As we were at sea, there was nothing we could do but press on. (A cell phone doesn’t work much more than 5 miles out at sea)


We arrived in Charleston harbor at 8 am Saturday and T called the dentist who prescribed some heavy duty antibiotics and painkillers. (Painkillers are pills, not the famous rum drink….but that would have worked too !!) We laid low all day Saturday, relaxing from the overnight and hoping T’s condition improved.


On Sunday there was little or no improvement in T’s condition. This is when we began dealing with the second “headache”…..Hurricane IDA. We have been getting every update issued by the Hurricane Center (NHC). We are only 140 miles north of the FLA boarder and the remnants of the storm are predicted to pass just south of our position. Obviously, we are monitoring this situation very closely. Right now the forecast is for lots of rain, but only breezy conditions. Boy, we both hope the NHC is right !!


This morning (Monday) T’s tooth has gotten worse. The antibiotics are not helping and the swelling increased. There is a major medical/dental school and hospital a short distance from the marina. We intend to go there first thing this morning. We will let you know how T makes out. (We have only been in the South for a short while and T may already be having a tooth pulled out…..I know, she just wants to “blend” ! )

Hope we can cure both headaches today….anyone got an Advil ??

Underway

Hey......

We have spent the last couple of days in Southport, NC (Cape Fear) having a blast catching up with old friends, and making new ones.  There were just two negatives;  Trudie had to have a root canal and I celebrated my 60th birthday.  I put them in the same catagory !  We will fill you in on the details in our next post.

We are leaving around noon for our next offshore jump.  We will leave here for an overnight sail to Charleston, SC.  The trip will take approximately 18+ hours; so we plan on arriving in Charleston on Saturday morning.  This time we have a favorable forecast for nice weather with a good breeze coming over our shoulders so it should be ideal sailing conditions for a fast, safe trip. 

As usual we will be "off the grid" and unreachable until Saturday morning.  Follow along on Shiptrak.Org  (call letters N1ELQ).  We will be posting our position as time, power and weather permit. 

See y'all in Charleston !!   The Fateful Crew

Change of Plans....

Change of Plans.....due to weather forecast in the Cape Fear area, we have postponed our departure to early tomorrow morning.  The entry to Cape Fear is calling for winds gusting to 25 knts from the North.  After rounding Frying Pan Shoal (gotta love these names) we would have to turn northwest with an outgoing current until noon on Monday.  Too many negative variables, so we decided to stay here in Beaufort for another day.....how bad can that be? And, Trudie gets to watch the Yankess again tonite.  Win Win.

Next update will be by ham radio at the Shiptrack site.  

SNAP, CRACKLE, POP......

SNAP, CRACKLE, POP, SNAP, SNAP SNAP….!!!



“What the heck is that”? “Uhhh, I don’t know”? “Sounds like it is sleeting or freezing


rain bouncing off the boat.” “Can’t be….it 80 degrees outside, and the sound is coming


from UNDER the boat”. “Hey, it’s getting louder”! “What the +#@% is it” ????


SHRIMP !! SHRIMP ?? Yup, tiny shrimp eating the slime and growth off the bottom of the boat. They are really loud and have been munching on the bottom growth for the past three days. I didn’t think the bottom was THAT dirty…..well the feasting continues. Very strange…..another new one for The Crew.

We have really enjoyed our stay here in Beaufort, NC. (pronounced BO-Fort, not to be confused with the city of the same spelling in South Carolina pronounced BU-fort.) The town is small, but loaded with shops, bars and restaurants; many with outside dining and nightly entertainment. Simply we have had a blast, especially in a town which loves to celebrate Halloween:

This is Peter and Jane from "Kinvara"  Kinvara is a town in Ireland where Peter was born and raised.  We met Peter and Jane doing laundry in Annapolis and have been buddy boating with them down the coast.  They arrived yesterday, just in time for some Halloween libations!

Follow them along at http://www.kinvara43.blogspot.com/   They have done
a great job with thier site.

THE CREW partying on the docks in Beaufort:

What you can't hear is the "****kicking  band in the
background blasting southern rock and country.

Now we know were are really in the south !!


 But, we are ready to get underway after three days in port. We plan on leaving early afternoon for an off shore sail from here directly to the Cape Fear, NC area. This is a sail of approximately 80 miles. So, if we leave early afternoon, we will sail through the night and arrive at first light either at Masonboro Inlet or we will go directly to Cape Fear. (Nice, inviting name….) The decision will be made as we sail south and will be weather dependant.



We plan on spending a couple of days in Southport with Bob and Lori from “Pride”. We will arrive on the ten year anniversary of “Pride’s” departure from here directly to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. That 12 day offshore adventure is still the highlight of all of my sailing. We are really looking forward to spending some time with Bob and Lori catching up.


We will be incommunicado for appx the next 24 hours as we will be offshore and not in cell or internet range. We will be posting our position at Shiptrac. org.,  weather and circumstances permitting. Will post and let you know how our next “overnighter” offshore goes……


D + T Southern Express

Beaufort, NC

Hi y'all

Gotta love the drawl.....We arrived in Beafort, NC yesterday, late afternoon.  We are staying at the docks which are right "downtown"; town being appx 6 blocks by 6 blocks.  But everything we need is here.  We plan on being here through Saturday and then we are going to do an off-shore jump to the Cape Fear area.  This is a 70 mile shot so we won't be able to complete the trip in daylight.  So, we are still planning the time to leave for a daylight arrival and a flooding tide at the Masonboro Inlet.  Right now, the weather window looks good for Sunday.  

Today is going to be a day of cleaning both the boat and the crew.  When we get a chance to explore the town we will let you know how we make out.  All for now.........   The D + T Express

Beaufort, NC Here we come

Hey !

Well we have been traveling down the ICW since Sunday.  We have had quite the adventure. 

On Monday we motored down from Coinjock to the Albemarle Sound, which we were able to sail across.  What a NASTY body of water.  The winds were howling and we had square shaped,  steep waves rolling the boat from side to side; all while it was raining.  We arrived at the Alligator River and anchored behind an island near the mouth.  There wasn't another boat to be seen.....we soon learned why.....the current swirled around the island causing waves to roll through the anchorage !  The boat rolled as if  we were still in the Albemarle Sound.  That night a thunder storm hit with high winds (30+ MPH) and again driving rains.  We got little or no sleep.  The spirts of the Albermarle just wouldn't give up.  Trudie has repeatedly said that the Albermarle is the worst place she has ever sailed and has vowed NEVER to return.  (I second her opinion !)  We have sailed in some pretty snotty weather, and "tuff"conditions, but the Albermarle wins. Not dangerous, just plain rotten......enough said.

We had a great anchorage last night and slept 10 straigh hours to make up for the previous night's loss of sleep.  The last two days it has been  mostly hours of motoring down channels and canals, many of which are man-made "ditches" carved through the wetlands of North Carolina.  Yesterday we motored down the Pungo Canal for 22 miles....it is about 200 feet wide, and straight as an arrow.  There is a bridge toward the end of the canal that you can see literally 10 miles up the canal because the terrain is dead flat and the canal so straight.  The canals are lined with trees all of which look the same so there is no way to tell how far you have traveled down the canal (without use of electronics).   The scenery is all identical.   Every five miles there is a Mile Marker so you have a clue where you are.

Tonight we are anchored in a little creek off the Neuse River.  We are in a completely unspoiled wetland, tucked behind an island for wind protection.  There is absolutely NOTHING here.   I don't think there is any civilization for 5 miles around.  We are the only boat and the tranquility is awesome, broken only by the pelicans fishing for dinner.  A perfect ending to the day.  

In closing, the following is a picture of Persephone taken at dawn  by friends on "Luff Affair".  It really was that pretty !  Thanks Don + Mary for a great shot !

 

Where in the World is Persephone ??

Hi All......

Several of our friends and followers have asked: "where in the world is Persephone"?  We use the Blog as a secondary way of posting our position.  Often times we have no cell service especially when we traverse rural areas (read: swamps of North Carolina) or are sailing off shore.  This morning we have very limited cell service, so I am hoping to be able to post this Blog.

The principal way to follow Persephone is through an amateur radio site which we are able to connect to nearly always from the boat.  We regularly check in and post our postion daily and often several times a day when underway.  We do this so that others will know our exact location in case of a problem and so the you can track our progress in nearly real time.  It's real easy......go to http://www.shiptrak.org/  (note there is no "c" in trak)  In the upper left type in my call letters which are N1ELQ.  This will bring up a world map and we will be plotted on it.  There is a log function at the bottom of the page to see our previous positions.

Hope this helps answer the question of "where in the world is Persephone"?  Hope to be in Beaufort, NC by the end of the week.

The D + T Express  ........

BYE TO THE BAY....

We have been on the move all week, heading south down the Bay.  The creeks and coves we anchored in for the night have become a blur; each one as pretty, secluded and tranquil as the next.  On Thursday, we left the Bay and entered Hampton Roads, VA which is the home of the US Navy.  Every type of craft the Navy has, whether it floats or flies,  is stationed here.  Security is very tight with  boats and aircraft regularly patroling the sky and water.  We cruised by the "Long Grey Line" of moored battleships, aircraft carriers and assault ships:

The might of the US Navy displayed here is awsome !!

We proceeded down the river which separates Norfolk from Porstsmith VA.  This is a water transport system which includes military craft, husge tugs + barges, commercial ships, full size cruise ships and of course small boats (read: Persephone) all mixed together.  We navigated and weaved our way safely through and are anchored at Mile Marker 0 of the Intercoastal Waterway.  As we mentioned before this is series of rivers, canals, and bays linked together so that boats large and small can travel south without going into the ocean.  The ICW is marked in miles from Mile 0 (where we are anchored) to Mile 1095 at Key Biscayne, FLA.  Guess we have a LONG way to go !!

We plan on starting down the ICW tomorrow morning going to Mile 50 at Coinjock, North Carolina.  We will stay there for a day at a marina to do maintainance, laundry etc.  We haven't been to a marina since we left Annapolis; so a pit stop is well deserved.  We wanted to go through the Great Dismal Swamp (sounds great doesn't it !!) but we can't due to depth.  Most of our friends are going this way, but the "Swamp" is only 6' deep, and we need 6.5 to float. 

We are really enjoying our stay at Portsmouth/Norfolk.  The weather is warm, and people even warmer.  This is the view from Persephone in the evening......  Enjoy !

SOGGY !!!

Rain, rain go away.....this chilren's nursery rhyme has become the mantra on Persephone !  We left Annapolis on Thursday which was a blustery, driving rain kind of day.  You can tell the type of day it was when the marine radio was dead quite and there was not another pleasure boat to be seen.  But, yes THE CREW was out in the elements:

My favorite part was the sleet pellets bounching off our foul weather gear !!  NOT what we saw in all the sailing magazines
touting the cruising lifestyle...beaches, bars, bikinis...???



We arrived at dark (again...that is all we have been doing since arriving in the Bay) in Solomons Island.  Solomons is a town built around boating.  It has been raining and blowing since we arrived.  Our plan was just to stop over one night and continue down the Bay.  However, weather conditions have been awful:  highs in the fortys, blowing like heck (we are under a gale warning again today for 40 knt winds (48 mph)) and constant hard rain.  We have made the best of it by catching up on our provisioning, including several trips to CVS.  In order to leave the boat, we have to get in full foul weather gear as pictured above, bail out the dinghy, motor to town and then walk to the stores, wrap all in plastic and return to the boat all while it is driving rain.  We are not complaining, but this life style is so different from when we were "dirt-dwellers".     In Connecticut, it would be strange to see people walking around a store in full rain gear, but here all the cruisers are dressed the same and no one bats an eye. 

We have been very fortunate to meet up with a cruising couple, Jane and Peter on "Kinvara".  We met them in Annapolis and  hooked up with them in the Solomons.  Jane invited us for dinner on Thursday nite, but we had to take a "rain check" (literally) because we were half-drowned by the time we got the anchor down.  On Friday nite, Jane prepared chicken parm on Kinvara.....it was a hot, delicious feast on a cold wet night.  The dinghy ride back to Persephone in soaked  foulies was a special treat !!  (Our rain gear has become saturated due to constant use)  Peter and I walked to the West Marine Store yesterday, and Trudie hung with Jane while doing laundry.  Hanging with another couple has been  the antidote to cabin fever. 

Last nite, Trudie roasted a chicken on P-Girl, with all the trimmings including fresh, homemade cranberry sauce.  I was forced to listen to the Yankees while Trudie cheered or booed at each play !!! The game was tied and still going after midnite !!  Ultimately, the Yanks won and all was in order aboard. 

We hope to be under way tomorrow (Monday) morning heading south for the Reedville, VA area.  Yes, you read right... VIRGINIA !!!  Reedville is appx 50 miles south of where we are.  We will keep you updated on the ham radio tracking site. 

Hoping for a break in the weather.......we NEED to dry out......  THE CREW