Onset, Teddy and Beyond

Hope all you guys are well!

“Teddy” seems an inadequate name for a 100+ MPH hurricane that is expected to bring 50 foot seas close to the northeast coast. Instead, perhaps we should give them names like ski resorts use for difficult trails; Black Hole, Sudden Death or Freefall!

We’ve braced Valeria with multiple mooring ropes so I think we’re covered for Teddy’s wrath tomorrow. If the storm stays on track, the winds should calm down by Wednesday evening and we’ll continue our journey south. The weather ultimately decides when we can travel so we’ll wait for calm seas before leaving Onset, Massachusetts.

Weather plays a key factor in our travels so we try to keep our schedule flexible and plan by the month instead of the week. In October for example, we hope to be in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and somewhere near Virginia. After that, we have a VERY ROUGH idea as to how we’ll spend the winter.

November 2020 Southeast USA including Florida
December 2020 Florida, Bahamas
January 2021 Caribbean; Bahamas, Turks, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
February 2021 Caribbean including Virgin Islands
March 2021 Caribbean including Virgin Islands
April 2021 Caribbean including Virgin Islands
May 2021 Southern Caribbean; St Lucia
June 2021 Southern Caribbean; Grenada, Curacao, Aruba, Barbados and St Lucia
July 2021 Southern Caribbean; Grenada, Curacao, Aruba, Barbados and St Lucia
August 2021 Southern Caribbean; Grenada, Curacao, Aruba, Barbados and St Lucia
September 2021 Southern Caribbean; Grenada, Curacao, Aruba, Barbados and St Lucia
October 2021 Southern Caribbean; Grenada, Curacao, Aruba, Barbados and St Lucia

The boat is getting close to being ready for guests so start thinking of places you’d like to visit and let us know! We’ve really enjoyed Onset’s amazing little harbor with an incredible number of birds, wildlife and an abandoned island to explore. However, its getting cold and we need to go.

For those who want to begin mentally planning for a warm winter: Kendall and I should be able to accommodate 4 additional people fairly easily on the boat. Of course travel restrictions will likely be in place for a while longer and I expect some countries will have specific requirements or restrictions so we’ll need to plan accordingly.

We’ve spent the summer making the boat more comfortable, safe and fun. We also picked up a few more toys this summer like a snuba setup, paddle boards and bicycles to enjoy more of the great outdoors.

So take a look at our rough schedule and LETS GO!

Goodbye Pat and Curt!

So we’re in Onset, MA right now. Normally, I would write about how happy we are to be somewhere new or how gorgeous the view is.

However, we already miss Aunt Pat and Uncle Curt so our new temporary home has an overcast and doesn’t shine as brightly as Boothbay Harbor. In real estate, they say location, location, location is the most important thing about value, but we’re social creatures and I think family, friends and love have more worth overall.

We were lucky enough to spend over two months with Pat and Curt which also allowed us to spend more time with Lainie, Shelby, John, Conor and Campbell. I doubt we’ll ever have that opportunity again so I’m especially happy to have spent the time as we did. In fact, while I was there Pat and Curt would both ask us why we didn’t borrow the car more to go and see Maine. At the time, I wasn’t able to articulate my response but I’ve had some time this morning to contemplate and I think I can explain it better.

No, we didn’t see much of Maine. We visited the town of Boothbay and we traveled to Acadia and a few other places. We shopped for food, parts and supplies and we went out to eat a few times. What we DID experience has far greater value:

• We learned that Aunt Pat is the best chef we’ve ever known.
  • Variety, complexity, sauces, desserts and any other genre you can imagine. Even though she’s “retired” from that kind of work, she manages to meal-plan everyday and she can make a masterpiece from random ingredients.
• Pat and Curt are completely openhanded with anything and everything.
  • You want to borrow a car, drink all their wine or leave an anchor in their garage? You’ll get no complaints, no judgmental stares or sharp words! Instead, you’ll find the keys to the car, more wine appears and more floorspace has been cleared in the garage so you can store more junk.
• Pat and Curt are absolutely open minded and supportive about any decision you make.
  • Have you ever spent 2 months with someone and never been questioned about “why” you did something or how you could have done something differently?
  • Since we were there for so long, we watched the same respect with and from Lainie and Shelby.
• Pat and Curt have an amazing relationship with their kids and grandchildren. There’s an endless well of openness, care, generosity and respect with the Norreds that flows in every direction.
  • Conor and Campbell take every opportunity to visit Pat and Curt and are regularly found washing dishes, running to the store or helping with tasks.
  • Shelby and Lainie stay with Pat and Curt every time they can and run errands, sweep floors, do yard work and any other task that’s needed.
  • John could be Pat’s apprentice chef if he didn’t have enough skills of his own! Like Pat, he takes his time and uses his experience and creativity to create fantastic meals. However, its also the way he asks Pat to “relax and leave it to me” and to “take the day off” that better explains this mutual respect I’m trying to define.
• Covid is really impacting the generations before me. I’ve seen it with our friends Russ and Mickey and I’ve seen it more closely this summer. Covid may not be as lethal as some people believe HOWEVER we can all agree that people with existing pulmonary or heart conditions should be careful. Unfortunately that means less contact with family and friends. Fewer social visits with friends and family or even cancelling the traditional birthday party is commonplace now. Even those who subscribe to a Covid-Conspiracy theory must recognize the social impact to people is real.

We did learn some about Maine like how the lobster industry controls what happens on the water, when the weather starts to get ugly, how the locals (sometimes) feel about visitors, and the definition of a Masshole. We also learned that some Mainers (yes that’s the official term) like to fly their Confederate flags. (We saw two of them proudly on display but I never learned why.) Also, don’t trust any of the boat repair shops near Boothbay harbor! Actually, Boothbay Hah-bah is the correct pronunciation.

It was much more heartening however to learn things that were not specifically related to Maine. Shelby has a new job she loves, Conor proudly drives his new “classic” Integra, John’s business is thriving, Pat and Curt have mixed feelings about leaving Maine but are soldiering their way through it, Lobster rolls are FAR better when you make them at home on subway/hoagie bread, the secret to flavoring nearly everything is olive oil, salt and a squeeze of lemon. We also learned how to be a better host/parent/spouse, how to live in the present instead of the future and what time UPS delivers packages!

Thank you Pat and Curt for a place to stay and for continuing to be an inspiration.

Love Steve and Kendall

Acadia and Isaias

Nature. The more you see, the more you respect it. While the world bickers about what to wear and what to think, nature continues to show it’s fierce beauty and unbridled power. Last week we had the opportunity to visit Acadia National Park; initially donated to the Federal Government by George B. Dorr’s corporation. In 1926 President Wilson signed the initial act that established the park which was later renamed to Acadia in 1929.

We’ve only been to a few national parks so far and in each case I’m overwhelmed with a feeling of gratefulness. I’m sure that sounds odd, but I can’t help being thankful with it’s creation, my country for protecting it, my wife for sharing it with me and I’m thankful that my health allows me to experience it.

We were also very thankful that Aunt Pat lent us her convertible Mercedes so we could get there in style!

In short, Acadia is just an example of Nature in her most serene and tranquil moments.  This was only a day trip so we explored and hiked as much as we could but we’re coming back in an RV when we’re done sailing!

Another side of nature is hostile and unforgiving and we were reminded of it’s wrath last week with Hurricane Isaias. The outer bands of the storm gusted through our anchorage at a merciful 35 knots instead of the 50+ that was  predicted.

The Carolinas and other states took far more damage than Maine as shown in the terrible photo shown below. Our insurance won’t even let us keep our boat south of 36th Parallel which is roughly around Kitty Hawk, NC.

We made sure we had enough lines for redundancy and closed and sealed the boat before the blow.

The tide dropped and fog rolled in as the seas picked up. The heavy chop didn’t pick up until dark but it stayed rather chilly throughout the night. We had to dig deep to find our sweats and coats.

We rode it out in the boat in case intervention was needed but everything held tight. We had lots of howling and chops but things were calmer than expected. The duration of the heavier winds were truncated so aside from restless sleep and a failed Wifi antenna, things went well.

By 10pm, the fog had lifted and the moon lit up the bay so we could see the waves and the chop clearly. I regret not taking any photos of that! Its been calm ever since and the weather has returned to a glorious 70’s and constant breeze. Long may it last!

 

 

 

Maine. Wow.

Its not possible for me to describe Maine accurately. It would take years and years to collect enough experiences to assemble the vocabulary and to sort out the contradictions. For example, the weather we’ve seen so far this week has been terrible and wonderful. The days and nights have been warm and cold, windy and calm. From what we’ve learned from the Norred’s, the local population can be both inviting and resisting. Even buildings and structures we’ve seen so far in our isolation have been a mixture of new and old. Even now, with this fantastic boat next to us; I’m unclear as to who is the anachronism.

Pat and Curt have summered here for over a decade and it’s taken us far too long to make time to come and visit their gorgeous house. I hope they don’t regret inviting us as a flood of deliveries is en route! We haven’t had an address for while and we hope to complete our boat preparations this summer before we head south again. For example, we MUST build or buy a cockpit cover before we leave here. It was COOOOOLLLLLDDD at night while we were sailing north and we really need to protect the person on watch.

Did I mention that it’s gorgeous up here?

We have much to see and much to do while we’re here but I am proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. We’ve learned much about our boat, our skills and tolerances along the way. After this round of upgrades, we should enjoy safer and more pleasant passages as we head south again.  We’ve logged 2,583 miles since we left Savannah which equates to roughly 400 hours at sea and we still have much to learn but we have enough time under our belt to expand our range a bit and see a little more or the world.

Once we get a cockpit cover, build some cabinets, install radar, install a clothes washer, 110V Inverter and a ton of other things I expect we’ll be ready to spread our wings but we’ll have to see how far we can actually go with Covid lingering around. If other countries won’t let us in, we may end up getting better acquainted with the Florida Keys or perhaps Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. We’ll know more as time passes but the good thing is we’re amazingly flexible both with time and location plus self-quarantine is not really a challenge on the boat!

Stay safe!

 

Rhode Island Fly Transport

Hope you guys are all safe and well. We’re in Block Island which is a 6 X 3 mile island about 8 miles from the the Rhode Island coast. Its really an amazing place and we hope to get out and explore some of it today.

We did experience an odd thing during our sail however in that hundreds of various sized flies came aboard in the middle of the night. We then became a fly transport of sorts bringing new generations of flies to the island. You’re Welcome Rhode Island!

Really not sure where we picked them up since we were nearly 40 miles offshore when we first noticed them.

We were also surprised as to how we managed to stay so dry during the trip. We were chased from New Jersey by rain clouds that drenched the ocean just south of us. Just as we escaped one downpour, we’d spot another storm to our west heading our way and barely miss getting wet again.

We had some great success with our new Mantis M1 anchor last night and we’re hopeful that our anchor problems are behind us. We caught the edge of a storm and survived moderate 19 knot winds with no dragging to report. We spun around like the other boats near us but no one dragged and we had a great night of sleep. The anchorage is a bit crowded and I expect we’ll move to a more secluded spot after some of the weekend boaters clear out this afternoon.

I’m pretty anxious to don my mask and explore the island today. It’s an amazingly beautiful place and seems to offer opportunities like hiking, exploring, paddle boarding and I really need the exercise. After that, I hope to tame my Covid hair a bit. Not sure if I’ll try a mohawk or mullet but I have to do something!

With any luck, we’ll be able to sail north this week or perhaps on the weekend. Until then, we’re going to try to see what this island has to offer.

Take care!

Hello Atlantic City!

It’s Fathers Day today so I can sit idle a little longer this morning enjoying my coffee and looking out at the Marina. It’s also quiet this morning and rather peaceful now that the fog has lifted and people are starting to clear out before the work week begins.

We’ve had a few people ask why we stopped in Atlantic City instead of Ocean City or Cape May as we sail up the coast. I’m in a contemplative mood this morning and think I can try to put our thoughts to “paper”.

• First, we can’t get into many harbors due to our height At 68’11”, we can’t use most of the ICW nor can we enter most populated bays where there’s fixed bridges. Instead, we have to look for:
  • Less populated areas that have fewer bridges
  • Regions that support taller boats like a Navy base, transport ships or a larger sailing community
• We love, love, love Mooring fields. We stayed on a ball in St Augustine and really enjoyed it.
  • The rates are far lower than a dock but they have similar amenities; laundry, bathrooms, mail room, etc. as well as a convenient place to dock the dinghy.
  • The balls are usually chained to the floor of the bay with concrete anchors so they can handle high winds and rough conditions
  •  The breeze is nearly constant so we can open the windows and turn off the AC
  • Mooring fields are subject to wakes and waves but a catamaran doesn’t roll or rock as easy so we rarely notice the water.
• Marinas are safe and have the amenities we need right now but we don’t particularly like them.
  • We pay anywhere between $80-150 a night
  • We can’t fit in most marinas due to our 24’ beam
  • The places that can accommodate us are typically filled with luxury yachts and they’re not overly fond of liveaboards.
  • We seem to have far more in common with thrifty cruisers that avoid the expensive marinas!

• We like staying as close to the ocean as possible.
  • The water is cleaner and so the watermaker works better
  • There’s less chemicals/sediment in the water and far more visibility
  • There’s much more wind so the boat air stays fresh and cool
  • Very few flying bugs near the ocean.
  • It doesn’t take long to come in from the sea or to leave
• We like large, open anchorages
  • If the anchor drags there’s less chance for collisions
  • If the anchor drags it takes longer to get wash up on shore!
  • Large bays are usually deeper and support larger boats
  • Larger anchorages sometimes have more on-shore amenities
    • We still need laundry (until I can order and install a washer/dryer)
    • We need to buy groceries
    • We like to top off the fuel tanks to reduce chance of condensation

Having said that, I work full time and require a safe, quiet-ish place to work during the week preferably with fast Internet and great cell reception so Marinas fit the bill right now. Working also limits our sailing to weekends if there’s a good weather window. Mornings at sea are special of course but they’re not always picture-perfect!

We’re learning a lot and getting much better at working the boat and figuring out the processes and conditions we like best. By December, I think we’ll be ready to take on longer sails and more remote locations. We’ll have better skills, more confidence and upgraded systems that can support us as we leave the nest. We also need to find a place to store bikes! The Marina in Hampton had loaner bikes and so we did some exploring with my Covid hair and stern face!

We hope to be in Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard next weekend weather permitting. Until then we have boat work and cleanup to do. Until next time!

Leaving Norfolk and the joys of anchoring

We’re planning to leave Norfolk soon and continue heading up north. We had this unreasonably romantic idea of the Chesapeake and so it naturally failed to live up to our high expectations. In short, its industrial and offers little in the way of wind and wave protection down near the Atlantic. Further up towards Annapolis its renown as a sailors paradise where many folks like us spend their summers. However, it would take 1 day or 2 for us to get up there and honestly we’d rather be in Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket in that amount of time.

As we approached  Norfolk last week, we picked up some visitors in the form of 30-40 dragonflies. We’ve no idea why they were 5 miles offshore but they found shelter on Valeria and we brought them in safely to the harbor.

Now for the fun part; anchoring. The thing about anchoring is its free and there are LOTS of safe, tested, documented places to drop the hook and stay as long as you want. We have a watermaker and can make about 80-100 gallons of drinking water from salt water each day. We also have a moderate solar bank which can generate most of the electricity we need. If we need more, we can start the generator and if we get hot we can run our air conditioning. In short, we can be self-supportive for weeks as long as there’s a convenient place to dock/beach the dinghy to walk the dog. This allows us to stay in absolutely gorgeous (mostly calm) places for free. To make this process safer, we’ve upgraded our primary anchor to a 72lb Rocka Vulcan and we now have 200′ of chain as primary ground tackle

Unfortunately, in the last two weeks our new anchor has dragged twice under heavy winds causing us some stress and anxiety so we’ve GOT to find a way to make it more foolproof! The first time was in Beaufort, NC and was made worse when our port propeller got caught in a crap trap rope reducing our ability to steer and maintain control of the boat. The second was last night when 42 MPH winds leading a thunderstorm drug us about 700 feet in the bay. The first time it happened we were in a small anchorage surrounded by marinas. The drag alarm went off and we cranked up the engines and managed to get to a safe spot. Last night I let the anchor drag until it took hold naturally since we had about half a mile to spare and no boats behind us. Even though the 40+ MPH wind, rain and lightening were intense, it was comforting to know we had plenty of leeway in this “protected” bay. We’re getting better at risk-mitigation!

No anchor can protect against all conditions and these were in part caused by tropical storms unsettling the weather patterns. We actually only caught a fraction of what happened just north of us in Delaware and lower  Pennsylvania. Winds up there reached nearly 80 MPH when a very rare derecho swept through.

So the lessons I’m learning here is that a tropical storm 1,000 miles away can directly affect our ability to sleep easily. Those storms have an ability to rip air currents at high altitudes which creates disruptions that increase the risks of squalls, thunderstorms and overall unstable weather patterns.

We have a few choices; rig up better ground tackle, stay in marinas or find better protected shelters. Marinas are probably the safest bet especially since I’m still working and can afford the $80-150 nightly rates. Trying to find creeks and tributaries may also work since it gives us the chance to practice hurricane protection techniques like tying lines to trees and using all the anchors. For now, I think we’ll spend more time improving our anchoring techniques as this offers the most flexibility. Setting the anchor with more engine power, resetting if there’s an approaching storm and setting a Bahamian mooring are all good techniques for increasing the hold under adverse conditions.

We have a pretty stout second anchor with chain so I think this technique offers the best protection. Both times we’ve drug were a result of an abrupt change in a fierce wind that caused us to cross the embedded anchor loosening (presumably) it’s grip to the floor. By setting 2 anchor to the anchor bridle the boat should move far less and each anchor will stay oriented in the position and provides the most “bite” during a strong tide change and/or a strong wind change.

Of course, we need to practice this technique and rig a block or some other method to lift the secondary anchor from the ground. We learned in Beaufort that raising an embedded 40-70 pound anchor and chain by hand is not always possible so we need to practice this in good weather until we have it down. This technique will also help us in tight anchorages since it dramatically reduces the swing of the boat.

Sorry for all the tech talk but writing this down helps me process the content and remember it better. I’ll end this with a few more pictures as requested. First is the Norfolk Navy base which is quiet at night but they have regular helicopter traffic during the day which is pretty cool to watch!

Lastly, is a good shot of my Covid hair while practicing Boat Yoga. I’ll try to include more photos of the various yoga techniques possible while working on a boat. This pose is called “Risky Reach” and often used for electrical work and repairs. It works on core but mostly lower body and can last 20 minutes.

Until next time!

 

The weirdness of 2020 continues!

It looks like 2020 is going to have some real weather for us. Earlier in the month we had to prolong our stay in West Palm in order to let tropical storm Arthur pass by. This storm developed slowly and it was easy to watch and dodge.

This week, tropical storm Bertha popped up out of nowhere and chased us into Hilton Head. It was a shame as we were on the tail end of a beautiful 2 day sail from Fort Lauderdale and were within 6 hours of Charleston when Bertha’s effects hit us. Seriously, we were FLYING for 2 days at speeds approaching 11 knots at times! This allowed us to cover more than 200 miles a day which was outstanding. As we approached Charleston, the wind picked up considerably, the seas raised to around 5-6 feet and started to crash over themselves. The boat can handle much more, but the ride became uncomfortable and very wet so I turned west and we sailed into Hilton Head for cover. It was the next day that we learned the storm had increased and became the 2nd named storm of the year.

We still have a few hundred miles to go and we have a weather window opening up today that should allow us to travel to Wilmington or perhaps even all the way to Beaufort, NC. Once there, we can wait for a window to round Cape Hatteras.

Sailing for 3 days straight would not have been possible if it weren’t for Judy and Hank. They both took shifts, sailed the boat and were troopers when things got rough and uncomfortable. Hank has many years experience at boating and Judy’s sailing experience was a blessing to us. Once inside Hilton Head, we were able to clean up, get some rest and sleep and hit one of the restaurants for a hot meal.

We still have a few days sailing left in order to meet the insurance requirements but it’s still possible and we’re going to try our best. Judy and Hank offered to help us on the next leg (today hopefully) and we’re very happy to have the help.

Until next time!

West Palm and Fort Lauderdale

So it turns out there’s lots of people who love the idea of sailing full time. I’ll share a couple of reasons why I agree with them starting with a sunset in Fort Lauderdale:

Of course a photo can’t hold a candle to the real thing but honestly this photo came close! Sharing moments with family is also part of the reward even if the “moment” is a stress-filled passage with rough seas, high winds and salt spray coming in the windows. Those sharper moments are then softened by figuring out to open coconuts you found on shore or seeing a sea turtle or porpoise.

I’ve been a little late with my posts as we continue to make our way south for repairs and upgrades. We sailed from Port Canaveral to West Palm with some family and then Kendall and I sailed from West Palm to Fort Lauderdale last weekend. (BTW, Fort Lauderdale is hot and muggy right now.)

We’ve started to write down the problems and lessons in a log in hopes of finally learning from our mistakes. In fact, I’ll write it down here as yet another log that I hope to remember; be sure to close and seal all hatches no matter how calm the weather appears. Any other would-be sailors please process these tips as well. We witnessed first hand how quickly a squall can sneak up on you even on a calm day. As we were approaching Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, calm weather turned into a maelstrom in less than 30 minutes. We went from 12 knots of wind to 25 in a matter of minutes. We had the foresight to take down the mainsail and were thankful as the seas picked up considerably.

We also don’t have a tested solution for Mocha as she gets anxious in rough seas and follows Kendall around all over the boat. I’ve joked about a doggie-downer for her but another idea may be a series of removable net partitions so we can block doors and contain her in the main cabin or outside. She’s an honest boat dog most of the time but she can’t relax in rough seas and she needs to be close to Kendall to feel safe!

We also learned that we need a better anchor. We do have alarms that kick in when the anchor drags but its not the kind of 2am wakeup call you really want. Our scenario has been where a river meets the ocean and the tide pulls your boat back and forth while a contrary wind pushes the boat.  For us that sometimes results in the anchor being pulled loose so the boat drifts until it digs in again.

The image above shows us holding nice and firm one moment and then being pushed 30-40′ until the anchor digs in again. So far, this situation has been unsettling but not really dangerous since we’ve kept a considerable distance from land and other boats. Unfortunately, we can’t always choose an empty harbor so we’re picking up a much larger anchor while we’re down here. We hope that will reduce our anchor drag risks to a level that allows for a little more relaxation and ease.

A lot of people have asked for boat photos but it’s tough to get a good shot from the boat. We’ll probably need to take some shots from the dingy once we have a a calm day and I can free some time from projects. We’ll do that soon for sure.

We hope you are well and safe. Kendall and are great, but anxious to get these upgrades done so we can sail to cooler weather. We really enjoyed the Annapolis area and would love to get back there if we get a good weather window.

Until next time!

 

Good morning Canaveral!

Living on a boat is essentially “Boat repairs in exotic places” but mornings like this one take your breath away and you can’t imagine doing anything else.

If you zoom in super close you should see a Norwegian Cruise ship as we’re anchored in the Banana river just outside the locks. Its our first time at anchor and so we have to keep an eye on things as anchors can come loose and you can end up on shore or entangled into other boats. Two nights ago, we woke up at 2am to find ourselves very slowly dragging towards another boat due to high winds and a contrary current. We had to move the boat that night and find a better spot and all is well now.

Experiences like that is where I show my weakness for technology. There’s probably an old sailors trick to monitoring anchor drag but I tend to put too much trust in tech and of course there is an app for that! Our boat is equipped with some tech that can monitor anchor drag and fire an alarm to wake us next time. The tests went well and so I have again lulled myself into a false sense of security. The app is pretty cool as it keeps track of your location in an adjustable radius. If the boat gets outside that radius, the system triggers a hard-wired alarm.

That helps us sleep better but we also wanted to be more like Ricky Bobby and go fast! In St Augustine we were able to install some more tangible tech that made an incredible difference to our speed. We mentioned folding props in my last post but this it what they look like.

It’s quite a valuable investment as it helps us to sail 10-20% faster and increase our motoring speed by substantially more. These ingenious devices allow the props to fold when you’re sailing. This reduces the drag considerably so you glide through the water more efficiently. More importantly, since drag is no longer a problem this prop is slightly larger with an extra blade so when we do have to motor we get considerable more thrust and far greater fuel efficiency. In fact we had to motor quite a bit on our last trip and we only had to use one engine at a 2000 RPMs to cruise a 6 knots. Before these props (and dragging a foot of weed) we had to run both engines at 2200 RPMS to reach 6 knots.

We’re getting ready for our next sail south so we probably won’t get to see any launches but we’ve very much enjoyed our stay. We’ll be back for sure.

Until next time!