Captain's Log

16 November, 2015
Posted by tuck on Saturday, November 21, 2015 - 06:27

Goooood Morning!

November 3rd, 03h00.  Boy, it was still blowing 15 knots, but had shifted to the northeast, and the rain had stopped.  The conditions squared with the forecast, which called for decreasing sea states and winds as the day progressed.  It was overcast and dark (I’m talkin’ DARK!).  I headed to the Holy Place to check on the engine and our stillleaking get-home motor.  We were cruising along at about six-and-a-half knots, when Bam!  “Marty, we hit something! “  When I come up to the pilothouse, I check the chart plotter.  Looks like we’re smack in the middle of the wide channel heading out to sea.  Depth sounder says 6’, a little shallower than I would expect.  When I walk out to the bow, I can’t see diddly ‘cause it’s so dark, but I hear waves breaking behind me-Uh oh.  When we grab the flashlight, there’s beach under the bow-we’re about 8’ up on the beach, and the tide is falling.  After about 5 minutes of wiggling and waggling with racing hearts and rising bile, the Admiral says “I think we’re moving!”  I’m thinking that its unfound optimism, but by and by, the sound of the surf is slowly moving back towards the bow.  Following the radar out, the chart plotter says that we’re on the opposite shore.  No worries now, we’d be offshore for the next 10 hours on our way to the Masonboro Inlet, where we would rejoin the ICW en route to Bald Head Island, where we would rejoin our pals Jeff & Susie aboard “Idyll Time”.  The seas did indeed subside over the course of our trip, and were down to 1’-3’ by the time we entered the inlet-75 yards ahead are Cindy & Randy, our friends aboard the Krogen Whaleback “Morningstar”, who had been heading south on the ICW since the Rendezvous.  By 16h30, we were at Bald Head Island, where Jeff & Susie caught our lines in the pouring rain.  Susie had fixed an enchilada casserole for our dinner, and we had a wonderful evening, catching up on our previous months’ experiences.  (Jeff says that we’re brothers from a different mother-like those cousins that you see twice a year but fall right back in with in 5 minutes).  They planned to start a 2 day offshore to Fernandina Beach, FL the next morning, so we broke it up earlier than we wanted.  We got up at 06h00 to throw off their lines, knowing that we would rejoin them in Stuart, FL in December.

We always enjoy our time on Bald Head Island, so we spent the 4th walking and cruising around the island on Betty’s “Guest golf cart”, which she graciously left at the marina after her departure south on her 48’ Krogen “LiLi” (Live Life).  The week before, Jeff & Susie had picked out 3 lots to build a home on, and wanted our two cents worth regarding their choices.  In the afternoon, we met the Ewing’s, who had just pulled in next to us aboard their brand-new 44’ Krogen, “Maria”.  We were off the dock at 06h00 in pea soup fog.  Thank goodness for instruments.  I don’t know how the early mariners did it without instruments or engines.  The fog cleared a few hours later when we were well out to sea.  The dolphins were back in full force, different pods running with us throughout the day.  During the night, with our pilothouse doors open, you could hear them blowing and breathing as they jetted along a few feet off our beam.  It seems like such a big ocean out there, but at around midnight, I found that the 187 mile course that we had laid out would have taken us right through an 800’ freighter anchored at the seabuoy for Charleston Harbor awaiting a pilot.  Day was dawning as we passed the seabuoy for Port Royal Sound, which leads past Parris Island and into the town of Beaufort, SC.  Twenty-eight hours after leaving Bald Head we were tied up on the Tee at Lady’s Island Marina, just in front of Bill & Lisa on “Changing Course”.  Steve, the Harbormaster who lives aboard his boat here, informed us that we had arrived at the right time for “Steak Night” at “The Filling Station”, a “bar” down the street which claimed to be the A.B.A.T.E. headquarters for Lady’s Island.  ($8 for steak, baked potato and a side).  Of course we went-along with a hundred or so Marines and their dates from Parris Island, vowing to be back for “hamburger and hot dog night” later next week.  The next 10 days were consumed by boatchores.  We changed the oil, zincs and impellers.  We sanded, filled with epoxy, and got a couple of coats of varnish on our teak caprails, sanding between each coat.  Gelcoat repairs were a first for us, and I have to say, a pretty good first effort, thanks to Dave Cerrone’s tutelage at the Rendezvous.  More mundane tasks included scrubbing the teak decks and cockpit table, chairs and ottomans (Which also got a couple of coats of oil).  Cushions were scrubbed and waterproofed.  It wasn’t all work, we got some good walks in, crossing the bridge to Beaufort for dinner a few nights, and socializing with our Krogen pals, Bill & Lisa “Changing Course”, and Ed & Cindy “Ka-dee Anna” (who we had met at a Rendezvous many years previously).  Donna & Terry, whom we had met in Solomons this year, were also there on their newly-purchased 42’ Krogen, “Meridian”.  Suzanne found time to cook for the gang one night, and a good time was had by all.  Another evening brought our friends from East Lansing, MI, Chuck & Zoe in from their home on Hilton Head in to Beaufort to join us for dinner at “Breakwater Café”.  The food was good, the conversation better, and, as usual, the evening too short.

The forecast of rain signaled the end of the varnishing program, so we reluctantly planned our departure for the next morning, the 17th, at 06h30.

-Talk to Ya

 

2 November, 2015
Posted by tuck on Thursday, November 19, 2015 - 07:04

Missed you.

We pulled off the wall at Atlantic Yacht Basin under a crimson red predawn sky.  As we edged down through the marshy lowland of the Virginia Cut, the wisps of mist swirling around us made for a mystical early morning passage.  As the sun rose higher, the mists evaporated, and Alizann glided along through the sunny Fall day.  The Albemarle Sound was benign, with winds under 10 knots.  (Due to its’ shallow depths and long fetch, on a windy day the Sound can often be an uncomfortable trip, with steep, closely spaced waves).  The Girl continued to forge south through the North River, crossing Currituck Sound.  We entered the Alligator River a bit before dusk, and 14 hours after leaving AYB, we were anchor down at Deep Point Cove in complete darkness.  Our radar showed around 17 boats in the anchorage, and from the height of their anchor lights, almost all were sailboats.  We vowed to be out by O’Dark-thirty so that we didn’t have to pass them all in the narrow, long Alligator-Pungo Canal.  We watched the Michigan-Minnesota football game that evening all the way to the crazy end (sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good), as the Gophers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with my Wolverines first-string quarterback injured and on the bench.

With our hook up at 05h47, we entered the canal around dawn as the VHF started to light up with chatter from the anchored sailboat fleet.  For the next 3 hours, the Admiral (a.k.a. Swamp Girl) was in her element as we motored through the swampy lowland that the canal transits.  She regaled me with “rat facts”, recalled from her studies of marine biology and fresh water ecology at The University of North Carolina.  She spent a lot of time tromping around swamps and marshes back then, collecting water samples and tiny critters, and remembers those days fondly.  We were happy that we had made an early start, as there was no one ahead of us, and we heard the clot of boats a couple of miles behind us fussin’ on the VHF most of the day.  Eleven hours later, we had crossed the Neuse River and anchored in Hardy Creek, just south of Oriental, NC.

November 2nd.  Even though we planned on a short hop through Beaufort (that’s pronounced Bowfort in NC, whereas Beaufort, SC is pronounced Bewfort) we got going early.  Bill and Lisa (aboard “Changing Course”) had anchored in Lookout Bight on the ocean side of the Beaufort inlet, and told us that it was really pretty, making it our destination for today.  We figured that after a couple of long days of travel we would enjoy getting in early and exploring around Shackleford Banks with the dinghy, snappin’ a few of the wild horses there.  Well……….the anchorage was pretty, comprised of a nearly circular basin surrounded by low-lying sand dunes.  On our way in, we spied half dozen wild horses on the Shackleford Bank off to our port side.  We got the hook down, and the wind immediately came up to 25 knots with gusts into the 30’s.  The gray skies turned black and the lightning started cracklin’ from the storm front that we thought would miss us to the north.  Long story short, line after line of storms passed overhead throughout the day, and we were never able to get the dink into the water.  Between (and during) the rain drops, I finally figured out what was wrong with our balky, off again, on again wind generator.  Strippin’, crimpin’ and wiring in a new hull inlet brought music to my ears, the generator blasting along in the high winds.  Suzanne took the opportunity to cook up some grub for future consumption.  Toward evening, the rain slowed, the wind changed direction and abated slightly, indicating the passage of the front.  We hoped the change signaled the opening of the weather window for our 26 hour offshore passage to Bald Head Island the following day.

-Later

30 October, 2015
Posted by tuck on Monday, November 2, 2015 - 16:26

Been waaaaay too long.

 

Let’s try a new font and see if I can cut and paste it onto the site-may be more readable.  The new clutch (3rd this year) finally came in from Tehas.  Scottie came on board to help me puterin.  Sometime in the past few months, he had an epiphany and thinks that he knows why they keep failing.  So….we placed a couple of shims to move the clutch 64/1,000” closer to the generator to take the preload off the bearings.  I guess we’ll see.  Anyhow, we got out of Solomons early on the 28th for what proved to be a long ride down the Chesapeake Bay under small craft warnings-4’, 4 second seas on the nose with 22 knot winds from the south.  Bang, bang, bang.  The coffee carryometer was stuck at “7” all day long.  (a “0” is you can sip while walking, a “10” is “take a step, take a dive, splash”).  Still, it felt great to be back to our world.  Not like we’re world travelers or anything, but I just don’t feel like I belong when I’m fightin’ the crowds on dirt.  Cruising is my Xanax.  Ten hours later, we were anchor down behind Gwynn Island, about ¾ of the way down the Bay.  Our anchorage was tucked in under the north shore, as winds were predicted to gust to 40+knots as a front passed through during the evening.  The wind generators were making money, the rain was rinsing off the salt, and life was good.

The hook was up by 05h37.  The winds were down, the rain had stopped, and the seas were less than 2’ under gray skies.  We made good time to Norfolk, and the skies had cleared enough that the sun was bright and the temperature was in the 70’s.  As we made our way down the harbor past the Naval repair facilities on this now familiar leg, we kinda wished that we had time to hang for a day or two, but the South and warm weather (as well as many friends) are calling. As usual, we are the ones bringing up the rear of the fleet.  Our early arrival at todays’ destination, Atlantic Yacht Basin was delayed a bit, as belied by our log entries: 1400-waited for N & PBL rail bridge construction crew; 1500-waited for Great Bridge Lock; 1600-waited for Great Bridge opening.  By 1700, our thoughts about sitting in the sun at the dock, were pretty much scotched.  After we had put on 900 gallons of diesel and were tied up at the face dock, the sun was low and we did a few chores before the Patriot’s game on Thursday Night Football.

We had to take an unexpected “personal day” on Friday, so remained at AYB.  It gave us a chance to make arrangements to store the Girl here next Summer so that we can travel to Michigan, Europe, and family vacations.  The delay also gave me a chance to witness the following vignette, taken right out of the “Boating Don’ts” parody video that has forming in my brain over the years.  I’ll try to paint the picture for you the best I can:  So, I’m up on the boat deck scrubbing, and Josh, the dock dude, walks down the dock looking like he’s getting ready to catch the lines of a boat coming in to the space behind us.  (we’re on a face dock which parallels the ICW).  Nobody coming.  He walks back along the face, and waves to a motor cruiser throwing lines to folks on the dock with red pilings (that’d be the gas dock).  Words are exchanged, and the aforementioned cruiser pulls out, and motors to the spot behind us, where Josh and another boater are waiting to catch lines.  The spot is, maybe 70’ long, the twin prop boat with bow thruster, 50’, max.  There’s a kid, maybe 13 or so on the bow, and a middle-aged guy at the aft midship cleat, both in position ready to toss the lines to the dock.  All of the yard crew is gone for the day, the sun is low-it’s that time of day before dinner that is so peaceful and quiet.  That’s when the feces hit the rotor. The guy driving the boat from the upper helm, who looks like a shirtless slightly overweight Jabba the Hut (not judgin’-just tryin’ to paint a picture here), starts screaming like a man possessed.  He’s yelling at his crew to change lines to different cleats, and etc.  The verbage is sprinkled, no laden with “F Bombs” and other various depradations regarding his crews’ lineage which should not be recorded in this polite company.  Worse, he’s like a broken record, nothing new, just the same sentences over and over again, each time at a higher volume (I didn’t think louder was possible, but like I said, this was a big man).  Maybe 20 times- no exaggeration.  By this time, Suzanne has roused from the computer in her office, as she can hear the commotion outside over the music from her Ipod.  We agree that it’d be best not to make eye contact, and go back to our business.  When the noise subsided, I looked over and the boat was safely tied, the dockhands nowhere to be seen.  Another boater walks past the Girl, looks up at me, and says “Never a dull moment at AYB”.  I make an appropriate but sensitive comment,  maybe echoing Chris Christie’s exclamation, asserting that “That was rude, even for New Jersey” (the boat’s registered in NJ) and he says “that boats’ name should be changed from “Crazy Lady” to “Crazy Man”.  There’s another chapter, but I’ll let it go at that.  Funny thing was, he had the boat lined up perfectly at the outset of the screaming, and could have just eased her in.  The moral of the story is simple.  Buy 2 way communication headsets.  I did, and now no one but me hears the Admiral when she talks to me like that.

-Later

22 October, 2015
Posted by tuck on Thursday, October 22, 2015 - 13:39

Brrrrrrr………

So..haven’t heard from me lately, ‘cause we’re ashore doing dirtchores and Docs appointments.  And yes, that IS snow outside the Admiral’s window.  We’ll be back to The Girl shortly to beat our feets South.  The rest of the Krogen flotilla was at Bald Head Island, NC last night.  I guess they had a big blowout at our friend, Betty’s house there.  She supplied the meat, emptying the freezer in preparation for her winter cruise.  The 35 attending Krogenistas brought the sides and booze, and a good time was had by all.  I’m guessin’ there were no departures today due to an epidemic of “Brown Bottle Flu”, but you can never tell, as these people are professionals.  I think that many of them were inoculated at the Rendezvous the week before.

Talk to you soon,

…………Freezin’ in Michigan

1 October, 2015
Posted by tuck on Friday, October 16, 2015 - 16:16

Ola Muchachos.

It’s amazing what a good nights’ sleep will do for you.  When we got up in the morning, tropical Depression 11 which had turned into Tropical Storm Joaquin, had morphed into Hurricane Joaquin.  …….Sweet!  You know how the story ends, but we didn’t then.  Most of the models had the storm making landfall on the southeast coast of the U.S., and we were headed directly into its’ teeth.  You really don’t want to be at a dock during a hurricane, because the high water caused by storm surge often lifts docks off their moorings, and boats tied up to rise over the pilings which then hole the boats.  We scrambled to find a few “hurricane holes”-sheltered anchorages where we could put down the hook and ride out the storm.  We also called a marina in Solomon’s, where we were headed, and scheduled a haul out, just in case.  With more than a little trepidation, we cruised down the Chesapeake Bay to the Choptank River, where we spent a very windy night on the hook.  Confident with our anchor, we had a great nights’ sleep, with the wind howling overhead.  Our last leg down the Chesapeake was on 4’ seas with a 4 second interval.  Fortunately, the wind and waves were on our stern as we bashed along through the rain.  We contacted the “Sandy Hookers”, who informed us that they were at the end of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and weren’t moving until the following week.  The forecasts were predicting Joaquin  to be tracking slightly to the East, and it looked like it might miss us.  We still had the Nor’easter to contend with, and the track of the hurricane was far from certain.  When we called Calvert’s Marina, where the Rendezvous was to be held, they told us that the docks were closed to transients because of the predicted high winds and tides.  We asked them if we might be able to pull in for a few hours to put on water and go grocery shopping with the “marina car”.  No problemo.  We docked and picked up food and water.  The wind was only 20 knots or so, so we asked if we could stay the night.  Permission granted.  The next morning, forecasts looked even more favorable, so we were granted another day.  With water and electricity at the dock, we had a very exciting day,doing laundry and boatchores.  As the day wore on, it looked more and more like the hurricane would miss us, and we were breathing sighs of relief.  The #&%#!! Clutch had been starting the “Ting, Ting, Ting” thing again, so I pulled it off again, and Scottie (who was on the scene to service the arriving fleet) sent it back to Texas.  Since our episode in Marathon last year, he had figured out why it had been repeatedly failing, and told us that a few well-placed shims would keep it from heading south again.  The problem was due to questionable engineering at Northern Lights (the manufacturer).  Since these puppies aren’t cheap, we’ll try to get a little love from Northern Lights on our replacements-I’ll keep you posted.  We had a visit from our pals, Kevin and Jess last night who drove down from their home on Kent Island.  They’ve been thinking Krogen thoughts for a few years, and will probably pull the trigger soon, now that their kids are out of the house.  We had some sips, salads with Newfoundland Halibut, and good conversation before they had to trek back home. Anyway, the water’s been high, the wind strong, but the rain has stopped on this Sunday evening.  Our responsibilities for the Rendezvous are starting to kick into gear (Suz is our webmistress and we are chairing the Rendezvous next year), so I’ll sign off for now.  After next weekend, we’ll drive back to Michigan for appointments, visits with friends, and to button up the house for winter.

-until next time.

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