The Godspeed Chronicles

We have "Hit Bottom" in search of free docks!

2012-01-22T09:46:00.000-08:00

It was great to see our Little ship again. Splash she went and in minutes we were tied to the free dock at Stingray Point Boat Yard. This is where the addiction started! We enjoyed a great day dressing our girl back back up for traveling again. Nice thing about docks is plugging into shore power which means heat!!!!!! After a record setting time trial of installing sails, canvas, solar system, dinghy, etc, etc, we were off to the next free dock: Carl & Debi's place up the Rappahannock River about eight miles. We rafted alongside of their beautiful yacht: River Rat. Able Seaman "Hannah" (their cat) boarded Godspeed, conducted a complete "Cat Scan", and said "Meow". At that point we knew all was good with the world!Then we traveled the lower Chesapeake Bay and entered the deepest natural harbor in the world "Norfolk". You guessed it " the Portsmouth Free Dock". Three days of living it up and we needed to move on.Next free dock was Coinjock, NC. It was not free but it was in the low 20's and the heat was very welcome. We then anchored in the Alligator River and saw no gators, might be a touch cold.

Sites along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)

Now, after not having a free dock for a few nights we needed a fix bad, so we sailed into Belhaven, NC and found it. A big beautiful municipal free dock and this is where we "Hit Bottom". We read reviews on this bad boy and there she was, supposed to take a vessel with over 6' of draft and nobody was there, so we moved in for the kill! Heck, we were on the bottom before we even got close. The good thing was the wind was so strong that we were instantly blown sideways and onto the shoal, further and further!Godspeed has always been able to power off when aground but this time mother nature was not going to give her a chance. Not to worry, we have towing insurance just in case this happens, so we called TowBoat US on the radio and there they were... GONE! No answer. So, after calmly freaking out for a minute or two, we launched the dinghy and a 35 lb Bruce anchor, rowed a hundred feet or so, and then dropped it. Lorrie attached the anchor line to a sail winch and cranked Godspeed back into deep water. We returned later in the dinghy, checked water depths and there was no way Godspeed was free docking there.At this point in our addiction we were overdue for a "free dock fix". The next night we stopped at the R. E. Mayo shrimp docks on Goose Creek. This place is right out of the Discovery Channel.

Shrimp boats coming and going and best of all the shrimpers actually talked to us. We filled the freezer with shrimp, scallops, and flounder filets. Then we hung out at the wood stove while the shrimpers told "Shrimp Stories" of 12 inch long 1/2 pound shrimp, we rolled our eyes in disbelief and then they went to thier boat and showed us some!

"Big Shrimpin"!

It gets worse...That dock was $13, so we were in Free dock withdraws!So we set sails for Oriental, NC. Now returning to Oreintal is the complete circle for us, full lenth of the east coast and back again. This is where we bought Godspeed over two years ago and started cruising. As we entered the harbor and were circling our would be anchor spot, a rowing dinghy appeared from another boat and Barry said "hey why don't you tie up to the "FREE DOCK".

Barry

So there we were tied to a free dock in a great location when our friend Dave, that sold us Godspeed, showed up like a pusher and said "hey guys this is a nice free dock alright, but come tie up to my free dock, it's much better"... so we did!We once spent eight months swinging on the hook without being tied to anything. At that point in cruising we were "salty anchor Dogs" and were proud of it! Now look at us,

Free Dock "ADDOCKS"..."Addocktion" is a terrible thing...we need professional help!

2011-10-09T05:00:00.001-07:00

As published by “The Star Valley Independent” September 22, 2011
"Fair Winds and Following Seas"
By Pat Harris

The ship’s radio bellered: Commercial shipping traffic approaching buoy 5TB… inbound… Penobscot Bay shipping channel… standing by channels one five…one six. The clarity of the message and the very professional voice sent shivers up our spines. Either he has a very strong radio or we are very close! Lorrie was plotting our position on paper charts while I was using satellite and radar navigation at the helm. Buoy 5TB and “Mr. Big Ship” were just a couple of hundred yards off our starboard side, on the portside was the “clang clang” of a buoy and the ominous sound of crashing waves against a rocky shore. To really add to the fun, visibility was less than one hundred feet, the closely spaced lobster pot buoys would appear suddenly out of the fog, causing us to travel the pattern of a snake, much like a dangerous game of high stakes of Tetris. Several times we would pick up other vessels on our radar and make evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision just to see them “ghost by” at the edge of visibility in the pea soup fog.
“We are in the big time now… I guess this is where we find if were cut out to be mariners” I said to the first mate (My wife Lorrie). We traveled on passing buoys with horns, gongs, bells, each marked on the charts with distinctly different sounds to guide the fog bound mariner away from danger and to safe harbor. A couple of hours later, Lorrie saw a flashing light that cut through the fog and was brighter with each passing moment. Perhaps we had run into the rocks, or “Mr. Big Ship” had run us over and we had perished. Was this the Archangel Michael guiding us to the Pearly gates… actually it was the “Owl Head Light house’ marking the entrance to Rockland Harbor, Maine. We now see Light houses not just for post cards, but in a completely different light, if you will!
Our journey to complete our trek from Key West Florida to Maine began where it ended, Deltaville Virginia. Last September, after our journey to the Bahamas, we put” Godspeed” (our 35’ Endeavour sloop) to bed for the winter and vowed to be back. After returning from a Wyoming winter, we spent several weeks preparing her which included: new navigation electronics, radar, state of the art solar power system provided by Peter Hatcher of Alpine Wyoming, and the usual bottom paint etc. that goes into a vessel for re-commissioning.
July 1st we slipped the dock lines in Deltaville and sailed North into the Chesapeake Bay, transited the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and into the Delaware Bay. With Delaware on the port side, Maryland on the starboard, a Nuclear power plant looming off the bow, we sailed through the Delaware Bay and into the open Atlantic Ocean to Cape May New Jersey. This leg of the trip went smoothly and we caught and feasted on several Blue fish along the way. The lust for fresh seafood began as we gorged on our all-time favorite “the Chesapeake Blue Crab”.
The next leg began in the evening as we sailed through the night along the New Jersey Coast with our new cruising friends on the sailing vessel “River Rat”. We ghosted along through the night about a half mile apart, keeping each other company on the radio and watching the lights of Atlantic City slowly appear on the bow and slip away on the stern. Shortly after sunrise, the skyline of Manhattan appeared. We set the hook (anchor) in Sandy Hook, NJ awaiting the arrival of our son Dylan.
Sailing by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty struck an emotional chord as we traveled the same path of generations of immigrants. Manhattan seemed to rise straight up out of the water as we headed up the Hudson River. We moored close to a subway terminal where it was quick and easy to explore the city. Dylan arrived and we were New Yorkers for a week, seeing all we could. Godspeed lay on a mooring and was a great refuge to dinghy home to her when city life was overwhelming. Sailing in and out of New York Harbor is quite an experience. The volume of large vessel traffic is very intimidating for a crew from Wyoming but we pulled it off.
We watched the Big Apple disappear as we traveled through the notorious Hell Gate with its extreme currents, comparable to navigating the Snake river in a 20,000 pound sailboat, and then into Long Island Sound. Lobster pot buoys began to dot the water adding a new unwelcomed hazard to navigation. The states get kind of small around there. We realized later that we anchored in a different state five consecutive nights in a row…in a sailboat…that moves about 7 knots (8 mph).
After a couple of days seafood lust, we found clamming on the shores of Massachusetts quite rewarding, we passed through Cape Cod and sailed into Boston harbor that afternoon. Once again we had a front row seat to the city, only a five minute walk from our mooring and we were on the Wharf. “How about those Red Sox” That evening the captain rested while Lorrie and Dylan Took in an exciting game at Fenway Park. After a couple of days enjoying Boston we waived goodbye to Dylan and continued North to New Hampshire and into the cool waters of Maine.
Maine’s marine wildlife is something to behold. On our first day of sailing we had several whales around us, big Bluefin Tuna tearing the water apart and passing through the air like missiles at times while voraciously feeding close by. Dolphins were constantly checking us out, while seals surfaced and would bask and stare at Godspeed as she silently slipped by. Eastern Egg Island host the southernmost colony of the Atlantic Puffin for only a short time while they breed and have their young and then they spend their lives at sea, We sailed by to see if they were home and their bright red feet and beaks gave them away. The young were in groups on the water and the adults were having words with the sea gulls on land. We were treated to see this rare site that can only be seen from the water in a private vessel. The Ocean is alive!
If given lemons, make lemonade! After a hard day of dodging those never ending lobsterpot buoys we decided to partake on what was at the other end of the line. Anchored in Boothbay Harbor, we were directed to by locals to the dock where the lobstermen unloaded. We tied our dinghy up to the dock and watched as one crate of bugs (Lobsters) after another swing by on a crane onto pallets to be processed or shipped live all over the world. We had to time the swinging crates and make a run for the office. We walked in and ask how much for a bug?…five dollars each…great we will take four please! That was three weeks ago and every little port seems to have about the same thing going on if you just follow the incoming lobster boats. The seafood lust continues!
Bet you did not know there is mountain climbing in Maine. While touring Acadia National park we climbed Dorr Mountain (elevation 1270 feet) and lorrie got into Maine’s blue berries and has not stopped yet.
Who is the captain of the boat? Not Pat or Lorrie but the weather. Hurricane Irene was not a surprise to us as the weather report is taken with the first cup of coffee in morning and reviewed just before retiring to the cabin at night. So when she came to visit we had plan A, B, through-Z. We went with plan A and took Godspeed into a little “Hurricane Hole” which was well protected by land on 3.5 out of 4 directions. It was (Say this five times real fast) in the Penobscot Bay up Eggemoggin Reach behind the bar in the Benjamin River. Irene was losing strength and falling apart so we decided to stay onboard for the fun. Lorrie watched movies all day while I read books and was tracking conditions on the internet. The local people were fantastic, they offered us shelter in their homes and use of a car if needed and gave us fresh vegetables from their gardens. Plan B was to abandon ship which we were fully prepared to do at any time but it was not necessary. There were some rolly times in the middle of the night as Godspeed slugged it out with Irene as the winds and seas passed through the unprotected .5 direction. Snug in our Hurricane Hole it was mostly a non-event, we have weathered worse in the Bahamas and were blessed to find this sheltered haven.
We are once again back in Booth Bay Harbor, Maine awaiting favorable winds to ride south. South is not a place but just a direction!

2011-10-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

Blue crab earings!

All U can eat blue crabs!!!

Is this right?

New navigational stuff.

Worlds problems...solved!

Chow Time

Boston, Check out Godspeeds location... sweet!

Dylan "Koolin' It"

Clam Bake tonight!

Coney Island hot dogs anyone? Yea, we had some and they were GOOD!

Central Park

Father, son, central Park, how sweet!!!

Subway! We did this every day for a week to get around. A bit different than we are used to OK considering where we were.

New York "Under Sail" if you will.

Our evening "Clam Bake"

High tide... check next picture.

Low tide! Same exact spot six hours later-12 foot tide.

victims

Ten dollar dinner! not each...total...well I did not figure in lorrie's butter...so more, lot's more!

Lobster Trap buoys everywhere along with lobster boats! No respect for channels

I see the light. Portsmouth Harbor light, New Hampshire

We saw over half of Maine's 68 lighthouses. Owl Head Light, Rockland, ME

Acadia National Park, Mount Desert, Maine

Pirate Attack!

2011-07-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

You all said it was going to happen and it did! We arrived at Godspeed a couple of weeks later than we wanted with at least 2 weeks of work to do to her. Mainly improvements and routine vessel maintenance. It was during this period it happened! You may not know it but my favorite food "Hands Down" is the Chesapeake Blue Crab.
It was a hot day and Lorrie was at the pool while I slaved away on Godspeed. We had a dozen blue crabs in the fridge just waiting to be cracked when they came. Swashbucklers wheeling mighty swords and hoglegs demanding blue crabs. I offered money and jewels but they said the weak dollar and all... just give us the blue crabs. Harrowing to think that they will attack a vessel on land and get away with the booty! Lorrie doesn't believe me... AGAIN!
Anyway, July 1st we slipped the lines and headed for Reedville VA. It was a little scary for the first two miles as we motored out of the harbor and into the Cheasapeake Bay. We had not done this mariner thing for eight months. Crabpots everywhere and those annoying waves just keep on coming. Nerves were on edge when it suddenly happened, We chilled and did what we have done for thousands of miles, we hoisted the sails and it was all good with the world.
Reedville was a great "time machine". We stepped onto the dock and into the sixties. We had a soft crab sandwich for lunch and unfolded our new folding circus bikes and went on tour. There was a great fireworks show in the harbor that night and a parade the next day. We had homemade ice cream on main street and giggled with the locals until the fireworks started, which we took in on the dock sitting by some local families.
Life is good today!
They don't call her Godspeed for nothin'. We knocked off close to a hundred nautical miles the next day and anchored in Annapolis VA up Weems Creek, a rocks throw from the Naval Academy. Our good cruising friends Jim, Joanne, and Meagan the cat stopped their cruise there but it was great for us to see them. Loads of fun and they carried us all over shopping for provisions, etc. Thanks guys!
Oh, bye the way we had blue crabs... no pirates...dollar getting stronger I guess!
We knocked off another big day and...

"A Year Barefoot"

2010-12-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

September 18th Godspeed slipped into the slings and out she came. After a barnacle scrape and pressure wash she was set on her keel and stands for a long winters nap. It took us several days to winterize and put her to bed. Then we waived goodbye, vowed to return, and flew back to our home in Wyoming.
The renters did not tear the house up and the weather was great for a few weeks as we settled back into a completely different lifestyle.
In "a year barefoot" we learned so many things. First we went from idiots to mariners, traveling well over 4000 miles and spending a 8 month stretch without being hooked to shore electricity or tied to a dock. Navigation, sail trim, anchoring etc. etc. etc...
In "a year Barefoot" we learned many other things about ourselves and the world we live in. Living at anchor and going to shore daily is much like looking in at the world from the outside of a window. Each place is so different from the last and we would go to shore and interact with people just living a life in which we were in no way involved in but were there as observers. Some were in a country way, some in a great hurry, soccer moms in beautiful homes, different industries ( if any) and how that affected the locals lives. It seemed at times that we would watch from the window until we weighed anchor, sail on, and then go to the next window and look in for a completely different show.
Our shopping only consisted of groceries. maybe a movie to rent, and maybe a needed part for Godspeed. We had no place to keep any souvenirs or collectibles and learned there is no need for such things aboard. Our small budget did not have a dining and entertaining allowance, so we cooked on the boat and did not have to worry about what to do with extra money, because we had none, just one less thing to worry about! We went without TV, hair driers, curling irons, utility bills and many of the things we all take as necesary. During this time we have learned how little it takes to enjoy life and be comfortable doing it. Sure it was nice to get our big bed set back up and take a long hot shower, or a soak in the jacuzzi instead of a very short water saver's special. We carried about 85 gallons of fresh water which would last us over two weeks without even trying. Sure we bathed, washed dishes, even drank water just like anyone else but we learned to do it using very little. I think it is called conservation or something like that.
"A year barefoot" taught us to be very in tune with mother nature. Mother nature made all decisions on when and where to move, when to hunker down, where to anchor, and which anchor to use among many other day to day factors that we just don't have to deal with on land or in a marina. Mother nature also told us when it was fine to leave Godspeed and enjoy exploring an island or go bike riding for the day, Or have a wonderful meal in the cockpit while having dolphins or other sea life for dinner guest and splash, play and feed, in a mirror flat sea.
"A year barefoot" also gave us many new friends. Cruisers come from many walks of life. Some seem to have an unlimited budget and some have almost no budget at all, but we are all out there doing it and that seems to bring a common bond that is the great equalizer. Sure there are those that are too good to mingle but that is there loss and the rest of us are enjoying new friends constantly from all walks and instantly forgiving differences in each other because we are "real cruisers" and are a part of a very small community. "Real Cruisers" have a strange bond that maybe comes from traveling many of the same miles, living like most would not understand, and seeing and experiencing life in a way that is only possible from a boat. We visited cruisers well over a thousand miles from where we met them several times, some pre-arranged some just bumping into each other and instantly resume our friendship, watching each others back, and will do whatever it takes to keep all in the anchorage safe. The cruisers were probably our biggest surprise!
Lorrie, Dylan and I, hopped on our snowmobiles and left from the house to cut our Christmas tree yesterday. We rode from the house for ten minutes and arrived at mother nature's tree lot. As we cruised on our "snow yachts" through the forest looking for the perfect tree, we were able to experience a different side of God's great creation. There is beauty everywhere and we have much to be thankful for!
The "cruising kitty" is being replenished and we plan to wet Godspeed again this spring and head north to Nova Scotia and just take it all in!
Merry Christmas and a Happy new year from the crew and we wish you all "Godspeed"!

"Duck Days" of summer!

2010-10-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a long time since I last posted and it looks bad, dog ate my homework? Lost at sea?
We left Elizabeth City NC and took the Dismal Swamp route and My dad, Mr. Harris to you, hopped on Godspeed along with his buddy Tom and rode to Portsmouth VA where we found yet another free dock so we tied up for a few days. We then were commandeered by my parents to get a marina for a month and help them get their home of 42 years ready to sell, so we did. After doing our time, we set sail for Yorktown and anchored in nearby Sarah's Creek. We got a little to used to the place as we had daily shore excursions and Anstasia from the Bahamas was close by and also some other boats we new as well. We ended up staying there for almost three weeks. Every day these three gangster ducks would swim up and demand some type of payment for thier protection services, so we paid them in bread twice daily, in turn they claimed to have kept us safe. We got so lazy that Lorrie and I were finding that it was becoming too much work to just breathe. When we finally found enough energy to weigh anchor, the chain had barnacles all over it, what bums!
Shortly after the "Lazy Days Incident", we were called back to Norfolk for another month of moving Mom & Mr. Harris to another house. So we found ourselves as "dock rats" again and we had actually become celebrities at the marina because we were the only boat that had been anywhere. A month later and "hurricane Earl" later we were cruising the Chesapeake again. Jackson Creek in Deltaville was a great place to anchor. We met up with "Finally" finally and a new buddy boat "Heather" and had some great cruising times. There are these cool old Chesapeake Bay work boats called a "Deadrise". We got to watch them come and go each day and one Called the "Martha Lynn" would unload 20 to thirty bushels of Blue crabs a day. Well, Lorrie dinghyed over one day while they were unloading with a bucket and a twenty dollar bill, a few minutes later she came back with a bucket and a twenty dollar bill. The bucket was full of Female Blue crabs, Captain David set us up and a new friend was made. We shared the Crabs with "Heather" and moved on to Tangier Island.
Tangier Island was settled in the 1600's and the same people just kind of stayed there and kept making people to replace them until now. They speak in old English (would thy like some Gas?) but really nice people and all they do is crab. There is no place to anchor so Mr. Parks has a few really inexpensive slips that have a wicked cross current are nothing short of horrifying to crash land into. After getting Godspeed and Heather secured Mr.Parks began giving his famous golf cart tour of the island and we unloaded the bikes and peddled everywhere. Going slow it took about a half hour! That evening we asked Mr.Parks about soft Shell crabs and a few minutes later a man in a skiff knocked on our hull and sold us two dozen soft shells ready to cook and if that wasn't enough he took Lorrie and I on a personal tour of his facility and explained the entire soft crab business to us,now this is cruising.
We waived goodbye to heather and set sail back to Deltaville. This is to be Godspeed's home for a while...

1000 miles at 6.8 knots

2010-06-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

Doug on Gillaen said it best " it's like driving a riding lawnmower from Virginia to Florida". There is never a dull moment in the Intracoastal Waterway, just when you are cruising along enjoying a part of the US only few get to see something entertaining always and WILL happen!
We left Ft Pierce buddying with our good friends Dwayne and Linda on SeaVeyor and anchored in Cocoa and then again in Daytona before making a two night stop in Saint Augustine. We had a great time traveling, mostly sailing or motor sailing when the winds were light. Our sailing skills have vastly improved as we took all the bridges under sail and negotiated the sometimes tight and narrow channels with barges, tugboats, and just plain sea monsters coming at us and forcing us into tight quarters. This was not even on the menu when we were headed south in November. We dropped the hook (Delta Don)in front of the first structure in the Uninted States, the Spanish fort in St Augustine and felt historic as Delta Don grabbed the anchor ground that many explorers for the last 500 years have used as well. We then blew our entire eat out budget for the whole trip in two days, but it was worth it. Dwayne and Linda are great traveling companions and touring the oldest city with them was a ball. The next day we left Florida in the rear view and anchored by Cumberland island GA. The Girls rowed the Blond to shore and explored the island while Duayne and I Fixed SeaVeayor's generator. We then got on our "riding lawnmowers and continued north, throughout the journey, we would loose Seaveyor for a day or two or maybe a week, just to cross wakes and share an anchorage and travel time again. One day in Georgia SeaVeyor had passed us (they always do) and called back on the radio "Godspeed, it gets real skinny (shallow) up here". We approached slowly and sure enough we found the bottom-four times. As I slipped Godspeed off the bottom and back into deeper waters again, it was clear we would have to wait a couple of hours for the tide to come up enough to transit this spot, so we sent Delta Don down and went fishing. There is one little thing, or hundreds of little things that were really beginning to bug us: Greenheads, horseflies, biting flies. They were swarming under the bimini, but we had some bug spray and that kept them at bay pretty good. About that time, a sailboat came rumbling on by and I held up our handheld radio and motioned for them to talk to us. They did not get their act together in time to get our warning about the skinny water and "Bonk" they hit pretty hard. "Godspeed, Godspeed, we have a bug problem......... oh, we found the bottom too! Now picture this: French Canadians wearing their foul weather gear-hoods up (hot, 90 degrees or so) sitting hard on the bottom only concerned with the bugs. "What do you do Godspeed", Lorrie replied "do you have bug spray, that is working for us". "We have roach killer, think you that work?". We were doubled over in laughter by this time. They dove down below and we slipped through the skinny water shortly after and the Canadians were not to be seen on deck again. That evening, as we were approaching our anchorage, "Godspeed, would you like to make reservations in the resterante SeaVeyor? The menu is fillet Mignon, baked potatoes, and salad. Of course we did and another fine evening on SeaVeyor was had by all, complete with a wild anchor dance of three vessels. It was crazy, there is a nine foot tide here, which means in every 24 hour period 36 feet of water comes and goes so the currents are extreme and when the wind opposes them boats at anchor can do crazy things, we were well entertained as the vessels darted this way and that as if they were haunted. At sunrise we were headed to the dreaded "Hell Gate" named for the constant shoaling and unpredictable bottom that is attracted to keels. Before we reached it the flies got to bugging us in Saint Catherine's sound and we could see the ocean. We checked the charts and it was quite safe so "Exit stage right" We slipped onto the Atlantic and the cooler air sent the greenheads back to land and Hell Gate was bypassed as well. Sailed the day with the big boys and their shipping lanes, Delta Don took a swim that evening in Beaufort SC. Along the way we passed SeaVeyor, which has never been done before because thier lawnmower goes twice as fast as ours. Dwanye was crushed and said we cheated but what the heck, SeaVeyor spent the night in Georgia, and Godspeed in SC. Score: SeaVeyor 50 or so, Godspeed 1, "Kick um while their down".
Pat's Big mean sister Melanie and her esteemed husband Norm spent the next two days with us in Beaufort SC and we dinned on Bahamas lobster, steak, you know the usual cruiser cuisine (usually Vienna sausages or sardines). Toured the town and went for a day sail where capt'n Norm sailed under a bridge and joined the "bridge Club". It was great having them aboad again.
In Masonboro NC we decided to go clamming. We launched the Blonde and had no idea at all of how to do this so we saw a guy and did the unmanly thing, asked how! He said there in the mud, go find them. Armed with this great insight we did just that. Lorrie took the conventional approach and walked around squishing her feet in the mud hopeing to feel them, while I had the scientific approach and used an oar to stab the mud millions of times hoping to make contact with these crustaceans. Lorrie got 4 and I got 2-what a score! She was sooo happy that I could not even hold her precious clams, She was now a card carrying member of the "Hunter Gatherer Club". Just enough for an appetizer for one, so we split it and dingyed into Wrightsville Beach and did the tourist thing. The next morning we were joined by Judge and Chris Point for early morning clamming. In an hour or so we had a five gallon bucket half full and so was theirs, covered in mud like a bunch of kids. Now that is quality time well spent. We then weighed anchor and then headed north to find our depth sounder had quit(that is the thingy that tells you how deep it is). Now this is somthing you need in a cruising vessel and sould not go into unknown waters without. So we did the prudent thing and went anyway- 100+ miles to Bo-fert(actually Beaufort, same spelling as the one in SC but pronounced Bo-fert). SeaVeyor called us and said "we passed O'Canada in Cape Fear inlet today. So another reuinion was had. We had a clambake aboard SeaVeyor enjoying our friends and made a plan to assault the Cobia(big knarly fish that tastes good) run that was on in Cape Lookout. So we all set sail for Cape lookout and were served lemons-no Cobia. But hey, we used our new found skills and found the(you guessed it) CLAMS! I think Elvis had a movie Clambake. Anyway we had some great times again and Jamie played his guitar and sang us into "never neverland" each night with a belly full of calms-Spectacular times!
Then onto Oriental (Still no sounder) where our adventure began. We saw all of our Friends and Dave our Yacht Broker with ST. Barts was cheery as always. OK OK, I finally got a new sounder set up and it is fabulous to say the least. After Oriental, we rafted up(tied our boats together and swung on one hook) to our Friends Paul & Susan on Slow Dancing (nice lawnmower) in a remote anchorage and they made us dinner and breakfast the next morning before we parted wakes. Tonight we are tied to a dock (I know I know, this is bad for our image) in Elizabeth City NC. Before you pass judgment, the dock is a free service of the city, so this should not go against our permanent record. Tomorrow we take on "the Great Dismal swamp" stand by for news! Pictures: Rafted to "Slow Dancing", aboard "Slow Dancing" with Paul & Susan,Jamie & Sean on O'Canada, Worlds smallest "Grey Suit" (shark), Lorrie's Clams!

"Back in the USSA"

2010-05-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it is a long time between posts! Hey you kreeps, it is very tuff to get wi-fi on the aqua trail, and when we do, buisiness is first and land lubbers second. Abacos is what we are talkin' about! We left Spanish Wells early one morning with "Slow Dancing" right behind us. We had no problem heading north to the Abacos. We did not even blink an eye as we navigated the "Devils Backbone". Nobody bothered telling us you always hire a guide boat to get you through this or you will certainly die a horrible death! So we thought nothing of it and easily saw the ominous coral reefs and thought it best not to run into them! no harm done! Back into the deep water we went. Slow Dancing,in thier larger boat, smoked us bad on the Ocean Passage but we caught a nice "Bull Mahi Mahi" and shared some of it with "Slow Dancing" and "Hocus Pocus" the next evening before entering Hopetown. Hopetown is the place of friends from Wyoming, and as we got close the radio sang "Godspeed Godspeed, Touch and Go". "Lorrie answer that, I think it is Peter!" She did and it was Peter Kline! We hooked up and had a great afternoon with his people on thier privite island in the Parrot Cays. The next day Peter (Big Bamboo Outfitters from now on) took me Bone fishing.
Let's get this right, I have guided Peter many times to sucesful elk hunting in WYO and was looking for payback. Payback is what I got! Quick into the hunt Peter said "put it there" so I did and the fight was on! Severeal hours later, the fish was wore out and picture time. Too bad Peter did'nt catch one but it was a great day and thanks Peter! By the way, Please comment, my friend!(or used to be!).
Now that is not all the services Big Bamboo outfitters offers, Mr. Big Deal Kline also fancies himself as a sailboat rigger. Being as we had an open account from the Bone fishing rip off(He actually caught the fish and photoshoped my head on his not as good as mine body, I'm sure you all picked up on that already anyway!) so up the mast he went. I must say my money was well spent (Did'nt give the Kreep a dime!) he actually did a great job, centered, straightened and tensioned the mast. Posed for pictures, looked real pretty, all the things I would expect from a "Big Deal Guy". After it was done he was real lucky or he had it together because Godspeed sailed better and the mast quit "Creeking" during stress. I would recomend the "Mast Tuning" from "Big Bamboo Outfitters" but don't take the bone fishing thing, you are just there to take his picture!
We also visted the second home of Pete and Les Mead from Alta Wyoming in Hopetown and had a great time as Pete schooled me on fishing and Les and Lorrie did girl stuff-great times.
Paragon, SeaVeyor, and Anastsia caught up with us in Marsh Harbor and several great times were had. One day, we went off shore fishing on "Hocus Pocus". We lost a few and then Mr. Lucky went off! I grabbed him and went to work as I watched another rod bend over with a fish and leave the boat with a tuna on it, so if you ever catch a tuna with a rod and reel attached, let me know and I will give you bill's address so it can be returned!
Green Turtle Cay has a place in my heart because I was last there 31 years ago as a starving college kid. The visit was great and it was more developed, but I still was able to find the old places that I remembered so well, little did I know that one day I would sail into that harbor in my own yacht one day, CRAZY TALK I mean CRAZY! We were lucky enough to be there for the pirate festival when Lorrie's favorite 20 year old girl friend hailed : Godspeed Godspeed, Moon Shadow. She screamed and yet another reunion was had. They watched movies and giggled while I made them popcorn and treats-Women!
Three fabulous days of high speed sailing lie in front of us, following seas, hull speed, and the rear view full of "catch Godspeed if you can" (and they did'nt by the way). The "Little Bahamas Banks" was where the buck stopped and the washing machine started, it had enough quarters to run all night! We all arrived early evening and were pertched on the edge of the Gulf stream anchored in 25 feet of water with Godspeeds bow pitching at 15 feet or so. Very uncomfortable to say the least as we had no sleep that night. At dawn Godspeed made her intensions known over the VHF to weigh anchor immediatly and set sail for florida, the next few minutes were not for the weak of heart or stomock as Lorrie did a great job at the helm and I prayed alot while hand over handing the heavy anchor and chain on board in the violent seas. We had a following of vessels and eight hours later we set Don in USA sand for the first time in months. Very important and official US customs people made us take a taxi to the airport in Fort Pierce and show our stuff. SeaVeyor, Not Ha Gan, and Godspeed shared the wonderful experiance and were allowed entrance "back in the USSA"(humm a Beetles song when you say it).

Island Time!

2010-04-22T02:07:00.000-07:00

There are different time zones like Eastern, central, mountain, etc. Well, we have entered "Island Time". This is not an official time zone but very real, a lot like the "Twilight Zone". We and most people around us have lost complete since of time. Yesterday we laughed so loud (this is good for you) when a Yacht beside us asked "Godspeed, what day is it", "Today is all I Got", "I think it's Tuesday another boat replied", "are you sure", "who cares!". Now that is "Island Time".
It took many months and several thousand miles to cross into it. There is no wrist watch or clock on our boat, and the day's length is judged by the position of the sun. We bought four pounds of hamburger and eight pork chops months ago and they are still in the freezer because we eat fresh caught fish. We have no cell phone, TV, and our vessel has not been connected to shore since November. We make our own power from the sun and harness the wind to move with less petroleum used in 6 months than most use in a week or so. Along with several other boats, we are in the Abacos hesitating to make the mandatory move north that will land us back in the US. Not that we don't love the US but we will cross into the "Eastern Time Zone" and "Island Time" will be lost! The nightly blowing of the conch at sunset, waking up at dawn because you want to, being part of mother nature with no schedule and time doesn't matter, will be lost when we cross the Gulf Stream. Jen on Anistasia was on the radio this morning and said to another yachtie: we are so busy doing nothing that we don't have time for anything else". "Island Time" is not a place or line on a map and is very difficult to enter and maybe harder to exit, I hope you all can someday find your way around the "Twilight Zone" and enter "Island Time", at least for just a little while!
Picture: Linda on SeaVeyor blows the conch at sunset and we all sigh with a smile because we are still in 'Island Time".

"Fish On"

2010-04-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

OK, let's back up to the sailboat race. There was a prize for the biggest fish caught in the race so when I got time, Merrick's majic lure went off the back. Funny thing was when we were in a couple of miles from the finish line and sewing up the victory, I mentioned the only thing we need now is a fi.... It actually happened like that. "Fish On" I caught a nice Mutton snapper and the prize was mine, until the last boat crossed the line with a bigger Albcore. The race crew feasted on delicious fresh snapper that night.
On to Hog key cut on our way to the Jamentos, when we followed Liberty through. As Godspeed entered this narrow shallow cut "Fish On". Only problem I was already over my head navigating with no room for error. The rod was bent and a little drag pulled out so we left it in the rod holder and proceeded with plans to deal with this "not so big fish' when we could. Suddenly I thought of a "Grey Suit" beating us to lunch on the line that was being tow behind us and I said "Lorrie why don't you reel in that fish before the "Man in the Grey Suit visits". She went to reeling and I kept on truckin when she said "the rod is bending really bad and the line is going out", well there he was the lunch stealer...Snap the "Grey Suit" swam away with our lunch and Merrick's lucky lure-sorry Merrick! No worries, I had a really cheap piece of junk bought at Kmart to replace it with and we did. 15 miles to water key "Fish On" and a nice yellow tail snapper came to Godspeed. Wow maybe Kmart isn't so bad. We anchored in Water key by early afternoom and Dwayne on SeaVeyor said "Get your spear and let's go". We took two dinghys for safety, remember there is no one to save you here, and were underwater chasing fish and lobsters in no time. In juist a few minutes I found a nice lobster under some coral and the hunt was on. It took some doing but he was on my spear and the in the bucket in Dwayne's dinghy in no time. I swam over to Dwayne and he was on his way to the bucket with and identical lobster. We had a fabulous meal of Lobster, yellowtail Snapper, and Grouper that evening on SeaVeayor. Dwayne Could not belive that my rod and reel was still alive because it was about my age and way too small for some of the fish that have been caught so at this time he affectionately named it "Mr. Lucky". The next day we dived and explored and found an "Ocean Blue Hole" There were actually three of them nearby, That evening we invited all four boats in the anchorage over to SeaVeyor for Conch Fritters. After the feast, we dreamed up an assault on the blue hole. By mid morning we had SeaVeayor anchored over this 600 feet wide, circular, vertical walled hole, that who knows how deep it is. It was really spooky because the water is as clear as the air and you can see every detail of the bottom and then it goes to dark, dark, blue in an easily seen 600' circle. No one was up for swimming and I just knew there had to be a sea monster or lock ness monster in this hideout. It started out slow but Tom, Rick and John Wayne caught a few pan sized reef fish that we hooked on Dwayne's "big boy reels" and sent them into the asbiss as bait. "Fish On" I hooked several groupers that beat me to their hole and escaped but not all got away ,and had one monster on that got away as well. Now Dwayne is a Carolina sport fisher and so is his wife Linda and he has all of the toys right there on SeaVeyor. It was Dwayne's day, "Fish On" and his massive Penn International rod and reel were smokin'. Yelling and sceaming all over the boat, Get the lines in, move that dinghy, no move it back, get the gaff... Snap, and their he was...Gone! no worries, Dwayne went into killer mode and reached into his bag of tricks and built a super duper shark leader and Rick supplied him with a three pound yellowtail snapper that went from his hook to Dwayne's and he sent him down the wall of the Blue Hole for Mr. Big."Fish On", I know you are getting sick of hearing that but I like it and it's my blog! Wait till you have to gag though the pictures. Anyway, Screaming and yelling as usual, but this time he was not going to get through the leader. It was more fun watching Dwayne catch this than if I was in the drivers seat. He really knows how to handle big fish and big fishing equipment. "The Man in the Grey Suit" was back. I got the first gaff in him and Tom the second, It was a nice Bull Shark like the one I caught a few weeks earlier but mine was just a little bigger (sorry Dwayne this is my blog and after all, this is a fish story!). The anchorage feasted on clean white shark that night and we went south in the morninig.
After the "rescue of Our Freedom" we left Gorgetown with the compass reading North. With the Kmart special in tow just skipping across the surface "Fish On". Mahi Mahi shot from the water like Brett Favre was throwing a "hail Mary". It was a sight to see! Mr. Lucky was in the rod holder, bent over double, drag spooling out and handling things just fine for now. All hands on deck ( Short for "hey Lorrie can you come up please"). We Turned Godspeed into the wind and slowed her to a couple of knots while we furled in the head sail in and held her too close the wind while Otto was allowed to drive towards Spain very slowly until this was over. A half hour later Lorrie scooped up a nice Mahi in our big net. There were several more fish caught and some not like the five foot Baracuda that hung out behind Godspeed in Staniel cay and let me feed him for two days but would not touch the bait with a hook in it- he won! Spanish Wells was my favorite island and when we left Godspeed led the way with Slow Dancing brave enough to follow us through the "Devils Backbone" and out to sea for a 45NM ocean sail to the Abacos. "Land Ho" that is so much fun to say after land has been out of sight for a long time. "Fish On" was the next shout. Mr. Lucky was doing his thang and working overtime. The usual big fish drill of slowing the boat takes a minute or two and this was no different headed for Spain I Grabbed Mr. Lucky and this was a big fish! We saw him do the football jump and I thought "gee wis he looks small". Still taking line out I looked at the reel and there was the other end of the line. That's 700' stripped off and that's why he looked so small, he was more than 2 football fields away. This was a tough cookie and a real bruiser, I would gain some line then he would take it back. Slowly I gained on him a foot at time and this had turned into a "Bar room Brawl". With him still a couple of hundred feet out and full of fight Mr. Lucky locked up, no more today he said. "lorrie, can You get my leather gloves please" and we went "hand to hand". This had turned into a real "Slug Fest" Mr. Mahi had no intentions of boarding Godspeed and I no quit so we just slugged it out, I was standing ankle deep in stipped mono filament and he would run and I would feed the line back at times in a snarled mess. There was a moment when we were both in our corners just holding on when I took a moment to "Smell the Roses". The simplicity and satisfaction were immense, A fish with a hook in his mouth, a man with the line in his hand, on a vessel powered by wind, with a pretty girl at my side, with land now in sight! Well we got the fish to Godspeed and he was finally tired out so I tied the line to the rod and traded it to Lorrie for the Gaff. Missed the first shot but the second could not have been better and he was on board. Lorrie had to measure it because she always says I lie and she asked how big do you think it was and I responded 25 inches or so and she then measured 51 inches, women!

Fast Turtles and buddy Boats

2010-04-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Racing turtles can be fun if you have the fastest turtle! This is a big deal in Georgetown Exuma where there are more than 300 turtles (sailboats) anchored. The morning of the race Bob on Paragon had to get SeaVeyor to move his boat because his anchor was directly under SeaVeyor, Then Paragon was maneuvered to the side of Godspeed and we "rafted up" (tied the boats together) and they both swung on Godspeeds anchor while a bunch of stuff like spare anchors, fuel jugs, etc were loaded onto Godspeeds deck to lighten up the 15 ton Paragon. We had to turn this turtle into a rabbit! When all the work was done and right on time this sailor named German showed up, tied his dinghy to Godspeed and jumped on, he was the rest of the crew. After a bunch of jocking for position the race committee said GO!!! And that we did. We were first across the start line which was quite exiting until we realized we had no one to follow. This race was 20NM or so and it is around Stocking Island which is surrounded by treacherous reefs. in addition to that it requires rounding certain way points (Latitudes and longitudes). So here we are out in front adjusting sails and such and Bob says: Where are going! Bob was the helmsman (steering wheel guy) German stood on the foredeck and yelled orders, Pat was the brawn on all the winches and lines, Pam and Lorrie assited where they could and were great help. Bob had a wadded up piece of paper in his pocket and he handed it to Lorrie and she read off the waypionts as Pat put them into his handheld GPS. So the next three hours went something like this: German was constantly shouting stuff like, gimmy some ginny, OK stop now gimmy some main, let's work on that mizzen. So while all this constant sail trimming is going on Bob the driver is shouting "where am I going". Pat would yell something like gimme 5 degrees more to port, OK maybe a couple more, looking good Bob, hold that course. It was crazy, thirty or so boats behind us an we held them off. After our victory, We sailed Paragon through the anchorages and were "real big deals" as we took the victory laps between all the anchored yachts. It was definitely the "odd bunch", German was a brilliant sailor, Bob a great helmsman, Pat and lorrie beginners but navigating and trimming sails along with Pam and sending this 1969 41 foot Morgan Yawl to victory. "We had the fastest turtle" so heck yea, it was a blast!
So this was regatta week in Geogetown and there were other events as well. The Blackbeards Sailing club entered the "Coconut Challenge" and needed help so Pat was included in this event. Basically this is designed to make grown men look like idiots! Four guys get in a dinghy with their life jackets on upside down, no motor but each guy gets a swim fin to paddle with, and pick up coconuts that were dropped in the water. We stuffed about 100 or so and it was aload on Blondie with the four of us too. It was a battle but team "Our Freedom" won 2ND place and had a ball.
Shortly after dawn on March 15Th, Bob and Pam from Paragon boarded Godspeed with coffee and breakfast. Out of nowhere came the kazoos and then they played happy birthday! They then gave Pat an official Paragon shirt which is very cool, Great start to a fiftyth birthday. We spent the rest of the day preparing to head south into the Jementos and Ragged Islands. At dawn we weighed anchor and followed Liberty out of Elizabeth harbor and into the wilderness of the Bahamas. We sailed south to Hog Key where there is narrow shallow cut that would save us a day if we could get through. At high tide we would barely have enough water to pass if at all. Liberty has been through before and said "no problem, we will go ahead and call depths back to you, and that he did. Godspeed crossed the cut with maybe a teaspoon under her keel. It turned out to be a great day, we sailed another 35nm and saw several masts on the horizon. As we parted ways with Liberty and wished them "Godspeed" the radio bellered: Godspeed Godspeed, Our Freedom. Well here comes "Our Freedom and Non-linear" from Blackbeards sailing club along with a few other boats we know. We all ended up that night anchored in Water Cay. We spent the next few days lobstering, spearfishing, and Blue hole fishing which will be covered under the title "fish On". We then parted ways with our good friends on SeaVeyor as they headed north and we headed south.
We were within 100 miles of Cuba when trouble struck. The Ragged islands are nowhere to breakdown. There are no services, no search and rescue, and if you have trouble you are on your own. Boaters tend to Buddy up to help each other in case of trouble and these islands are not traveled much due to this. Tom on Our Freedom came over one morning with a jar of transmission fluid that looked like mud and said,"No Go"I have no motor. Well we all talked it over and decided that his boat is a sailboat. The big problem is setting anchors and the numerous reefs will not always be safe to sail, so he said he was heading back north to Georgetown right now. Lorrie and I decided that we would stay by Our Freedom's side until she was safely anchored in Georgetown. So off we went, and as luck would have it the wind shifted and it was dead on the nose. To add to the fun Tom was having GPS problems and this was no place for this. We turned around and led Our Freedom into safe waters while John and Marsha on Non-Linear launched their dinghy into the 2 to 4 foot swells. Tom prepared a tow line while Pat prepared a tow bridle on Godspeed. John maneuvered his dinghy along the underway Our Freedom and took 150' of anchor rode from Tom and fed the coils off with one hand as he maneuvered the dighy to underway Godspeed shouting "get closer, hold your course", stuff like that. Now John is a little guy that is a computer tech with a belt with radios, tools, basically a "Bat Utility Belt" At that moment seeing this unlikely guy pull this off so well we named him "JOHN WAYNE". Well the fun continues as Godspeed Tugged Our Freedom which is twice her weight to Water key and safely to anchor. The next morning Our Freedom sailed off the Hook and was headed for Hog Key Cut 35NM away. Godspeed stayed by her side until we had the cut in site and left her behind as we raced forward with Non-Linear (John Wayne)to get our vessels through the cut and anchored on the other side so we could deploy our dinghys for the next ridiculous feat.
Pat and John Wayne raced their dinghys back through Hog Key Cut and then about three miles across the banks to the now anchored Our Freedom. John Wayne tied his dinghy to the port side and Ollie (Tom's wife and first mate) tied theirs to the starboard aft and Pat and the blond tied to the starboard bow. We all had radios and Tom said "gimme some power, lets do it". So we we started our dinghy motors and gave tom about 40 horse power. This was one violent ride! Ollie and Pat were on the windward side and taking seas that slammed us into the hull. After Our freedom gained speed the Blonde was in the bow wave and within a few seconds was rapidly filling with water. I(Pat) began to analyze an exit strategy when I realized "Hey I'm in the Blonde, she is full of hot air and therefore can't sink" and it was true. The bow wave flowed over her port side and over the stearn, at times only the powerhead of the motor and the bow were above water but she was gittin' it. Ollie took one heck of at beating and John Wayne had it made on the lee side and stood up the whole time, I love that guy! Anyway, a few hours later Our Freedom "set the Hook" safely in Georgetown with a show of excellent seamanship. We would not have missed it for the world! Now let's talk Fishing!

The "Man in the Grey Suit"

2010-03-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

Nassau passed into the rear view and we were on a beautiful sail to Allen's cay, our first overnight in the Exumas. We were warned by a couple the night before to not leave too early because their is a field of coral heads that has to be navigated by sight and the sun angle has to be right to see them. Well here comes the coral heads, they were everywhere. Lorrie was on the bow pointing which way to steer as we slipped by, between, but not over them. It was quite hectic but finally we got through and Allen's cay was in sight. We ended up staying about a week in Allens and weathered a big blow here along with eight or so others, four of which were from New Bern NC. All members of The Blackbeard Sailing club, Our Freedom, Non Linear, Delphenis, and Windfall have been allot of fun as we continually find ourselves sharing anchorages. We found several conchs while in Allen's and made conch fritters- yum yum. My valentine had a Cracked conch dinner on V-day along with a big group of cruisers on Norman's Cay. Then we woprked our way to Staniel Cay where we visited the wild pigs, What a hoot, they swam out to the blond as we approached with "No Fear" We fed them some scraps and wished them well. Down the islands we went at will.
Farmers key found us hiding from yet another big blow, we had a pleasant surprise one evening when O'Canada was anchored beside us. These two young men just finished thier bachelors degrees and are sailing the Carib. several times we have shared anchorages with them and this time proved to be a doozy. We Had breakfast on Godspeed with O'Canada and Paragon when I mention to them that while spearfishing earlier, I had found a large grouper hiding in a cave, they eagerly signed up for the hunt. First we speared some smaller reef fish for bait then we went to his cave for a date with the big boy. To our amazement, within minutes we had a hook in him but he ran into his cave and wrapped the line around the rocks and enjoyed his free fish breakfast. We moped off and had lunch, a siesta, and headed for the next spot. A large snapper for four joined us for dinner that night as we made plans for an all out assault on this newly discovered fishery. Armed with some newly speared reef fish we were skunked again. Then suddenly we had two fish on and the 100 lb. leaders were cut almost instantly. Sean said "shark" and that is when I first saw the "Man in the Grey Suit" We were had! so off we moped again. Hey wait a minute, shark taste good! This time we came back with steel leaders, more fish and armed for bear, or sharks maybe. We hooked a big one and he quickly made off with Sean's line. My leader was shortened by a couple of feet the same way. The next hour or so was a blast. We got very selective trying to hook a smaller (less than 5 feet) "Grey Suit". They "Men in Grey" were everywhere now, one even had an orange suit. We were pulling the bait fish right in front of them as they were trashing with fins above the water, trying to steal our bait. Lorrie got some great video and finally Mr. Right was spotted. I put the bait fish in front of him and with a lighting fast grey thrash, FISH ON! 200+ yards of line was headed to sea. I kept the rod as bent as possible without breaking and kept dialing more drag on the reel until I dared tighten it anymore. The equipment was at the breaking point with the reel whizzing, the rod in a "u turn" and the line all but gone! Our prayers were answered and the fish let up, I looked at the line spool and could see the other end of the line, not good! As the fish took a breather I got some line on him, he ran again but not as far. "We will need the gaff, I think we can land him!" Sean & Jamie hopped into the blond and took off to Godspeed, returned in record time, Lorrie did cheer leading, gasping, screaming, and even told me I was going to die!. I worked the now tired "Grey Suit" to the rock bank and they gaffed and dragged the trashing fish into a large hole in the rock and now he became the "MEAL in the Grey Suit"
We ate like pigs and O'Canada left the next day with all they could eat, a fine time was had by all! We spent the next few days island hopping to Georgetown, hiding from a big blow with our good friends aboard the Paragon.
We slipped into Elizabeth Harbor and there was the Blackbeard sailing club, O'Canada, Paragon, Heck everybody was there. The annual regatta is on so we are racing the Paragon tomorrow. We have never been in a sailboat race but I think it is allot like racing turtles, We will let you know!

The "Keys to Kids" and a "Ship in the Night"

2010-02-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

Afton & Dylan flew into Key West early in January. The weather had us pinned down in Marathon so we took the bus fifty miles for $5 (that was for us both) to pick them up. Thier first day was nice, we went for a sail and they both swam and sunbathed. That evening the weather changed a bit. It began breaking records day after day and was just plain cold. I know 35 degrees is not that cold but when you are sitting on the water and surrounded by it, well it wears you down. Godspeed has no heater unless you are plugged into power (no way) so we made lots of cookies, baked bread, basically found any reason possible to use the oven which did a great job of warding off the cold. We made the best of it and played hearts, cribbage, watched movies, playoff games, and enjoyed other shore activities like walking in the freezing rain to keep spirits up. The last few days of their visit it started a slow warming trend and we set sail for Key West. The amount of dead fish due to the cold was astounding. We could fill the net in less than a minute while sailing along. Anyway we made Key West and their last couple of days turned out nice and we had a great time. We had to leave Godspeed at about 4:30 am to get them to the airport and it was something like this: Navy Seal team Bravo departs destroyer in 25 knots head wind with large seas in total darkness to make contact with dock 1 mile from departure point, no casualties reported but entire team wet, disoriented and wandering how they ended up at the destination and why. Anyway we said goodbyes and stayed there another day to eat conch fritters and watch the Minisoda Vikings beat the Dallas Cowgirls. The next morning we went to weigh anchor and I must say it weighed allot. I could only get about 20 feet of the 90 feet of chain we had out. Realizing we were snagged on something, we snugged up what chain we could get and maneuvered around attempting to break free. No dice! so we got a little more aggressive and realized whatever we had captured we were dragging about. That was good because it was no too heavy. We rigged some lines from the chain back to a big winch and cranked it up. It was down about 25 feet so it took a bit, Lorrie was on the bow waiting to see what it was. Suddenly, like a streak of lightening and only slightly louder, she headed to the Stearn "IT'S A BODY". Well it was a body of dead coral, about 300 to 400 lbs. just a wiggle of the chain and back to her watery grave she went. We were very glad to get that off because we did not want to leave our new anchor "Don" behind (a 45 lb Delta fastset named "Delta Don" I think he had a relative named "Delta Dawn"-she had her own song in the 70's) Then we set sail back to Marathon to capture Cody and Beth for round 2.
They flew into Miami and took the bus system all the way to Marathon for, you guessed it $5 (each). We hung out in Marathon for a few days waiting on weather and then we headed north. We stayed a night at Indian Key and the next day headed for Angelfish Cut. Great day, the wind was dead on the nose so we motored and "zinnnng" went the fishing reel. Spanish Mackerel, we filleted him and caught 2 more that day as well, that kept us eating well for a while. Then we crossed Biscayne Bay and enjoyed seeing Miami from the water. We anchored in South Beach and went provisioning (Mariner talk for groceries and such). The storm drainage system in South Beach is a Fantastic way to get around if you are equipped with a dinghy. We were able to drive the blond all over town without stoplights or traffic while cruising right beside both. Any stop in South Beach would not be complete without a visit to the home of Merrick Pratt. Seal Team Harris was able to penetrate the drainage system to within a few blocks of his home and he grilled the largest steaks this seal team has ever seen, made key lime pie, and sent us on our way with a packet of lures guaranteed to catch fish in the gulf steam and the Bahamas. Great evening Merrick!
We weighed anchor in the pre-dawn darkness and motored towards Government Cut With Cody and Beth on the bow as lookouts as we picked our way to the busy harbour in the dark. As the light came, we found ourselves in our "little ship that could" pretty much the only thing moving in this busy harbor. After steaming by all the giant cruise ships and shipy ships the harbor ended and we were taking some nice size swells with a powerful current on the bow. High Drama! 50 nautical miles off the bow lies Bimini and the Bahamas, 2500 feet below Godspeed lies the bottom, we passed the outer marker and up went the sails and we set our course 15 degrees south of Bimini to counteract the northern flow of the stream and we were off for the Bahamas.
The sea state was confused and we were on a close reach which made kind of an annoying ride. At 23nm we lost sight of the Miami skyline and the good ship pushed on. Ten more nm and "Land Ho!" we could see Bimini-YaHOO!
As we approached from sudden rise from the deep, we were all quite exited to see the water color change from a deep blue to a light blue and spirits were high. "Zinnnng" there goes that fishing reel again. Cody grabbed it as I watched in horror as the line stripped of like mad. With only a few yards of 50 pound test left I tightened the drag on the reel until it stopped striping line and Cody held on. We were moving way to fast to fight this fish so we furled the head sail and pointed her into the wind to slow down. We just drug the fish awhile and tired it out and took turns getting line on it when we could. It is not the size of the fish in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the fish! We dined on Amber jack that evening after a great little battle. Merrick's lure was the hero of the day!
Once Godspeeds hull was slipping through the crystal clear water of the banks, the sea state vastly improved and spirits were high and wind speeds were low. We changed out the head sail to our light wind Genoa and were moving along smartly again. sunset found us watching starfish slip by on the bottom 20 feet below us. After a group vote, we decided to keep on truckin'. Pat gets the first watch, then Cody and Beth.
The moon came up at about 9:00 which greatly improved visibility. There were other boats making the same trip and they began passing us up with their sails up and motor running as well. We were sailing not motoring and it was very cool seeing the other boats in the moonlight with only the sound of the hull slipping through the water and the wind in the sails, I felt like a pirate on a "raid for the booty".
About 1:00 am Cody scampered on deck and took over, Beth joined him and I went below to be awakened shortly before daylight as we approached the "Tongue of the Ocean". 55 nm across deep water lies Nassau. The sea state was not great and Godspeed was on a close haul again with 15+ degrees of heel. We had some squalls visit us so we got a bit of reefing practice in and finally sailed into Nassau with 1 reef in the main and the Genoa furled way in. We took a slip in Nassau that evening as the immigrations and customs officers visited and cleared us in. When we were done we removed the yellow Quarantine flag from the mast and replaced it with the Bahamas courtesy flag- we made it!
Cody and Beth arranged for flights back to the states and we took Godspeed to the other side of the island for a night to a beautiful little bay and anchored. The next morning Cody and Beth took the blond exploring. We saw them go to shore and beach the blonde, funny thing was later we saw blondie headed back to Godspeed on her own! After a nice swim Cody rescued the wayward little vessel, picked up his damsel in distress and made it back to the mother ship. The next day we said goodbyes. They were a great help and it was fun to have them along on this journey.
We supperbowled in Nassau and set sail the next day to the Exumas and that's another story!

Once in a "Blue Moon"

2009-12-31T08:59:00.000-08:00

Well It's like this, We had the choice to sit and write blogs or enjoy the great weather and blue clear water of the Florida keys. That is really the best reason that we came up with for this long dry spell.
Boot Key harbor in Marathon Key is where Godspeed lies tied to a mooring ball. There is over 200 moorings here and it is a community on the water complete with a cruiser's radio net in the morning that keeps us up on organized activities, buy sell trade, trivia, stuff like that.
Ok, ok so you want the dirt do you? I (Pat) got to meet this great Caribbean gal in North Palm Beach on a bicycle trip back from Home Depot. There she was in her rather crappy mini-van waiting to turn into the four lane highway. I was pedaling along down the sidewalk and made eye contact with her, slowed down and proceeded to pass in front of her when Louis Jean proceeded to pull into the highway. It wasn't so bad while I was on the wedge shaped hood, or while the bike slowly was sucked under the front end, the terror started when the bike pulled me along. Luckily I managed to get a bent leg and a good stiff arm on the bumper which prepared me for the journey ahead. I was kind of glad she decided to find the brake after a couple of lanes and her exceptionally slow reflexes allowed me to kind of get untangled before she put it into reverse and punched it. Well the good thing was I was free of the van, the bad thing was my bike and I were one now and the traffic light had just turned green. There was no time for self pity but a massive adrenaline rush and a rather interesting and athletic dive for the curb with the bike in tow. Louis Jean never got out of the mini van but sat there and told me that I ran into her and she had to go see Jerome and did not have time for this. I kept turning the conversation to -I need my bike fixed or we are calling the cops. No you ran into me mister! I calmly explained to her that all the damage to the bike was in the back so therefore I had to have been riding my bike at about 30 mph "BACKWARDS" to have got the job done. She finally got the bike fixed and even added a new kickstand for our trouble. When she dropped the bike off and I told her "God bless you, you did the right thing" she smiled and said "I still don't think it was my Fault!"
We rented a car and went to Fort Laurdadale to buy a head sail for stiffer wind conditions that we were in great need of. David Jenkins and Justin Sandner of Alpine Wyoming called us up and said we are in Port Everglades. Well, it was like 5 miles away, so we had a great lunch with them at Jack and Linda's place right on the inlet. It was quite obvious that they were there on business, Bare feet, flip flops, fruit drinks, subtle clues like that made it clear so we bid farewell and headed back to North Palm.
"Mon Ammie" I hollered to Lorrie as We watched Dave and Mary on "Mon Ammie" motor in and set their anchor. We enjoyed having them in the anchorage and got to watch Dave climb the mast in record time one morning to change a bulb. We met them in Oriental and they are professional cruisers. We learned a bunch from them!
Down the ditch we went, During the stay in North Palm we finished prepping Godspeed to hit the Ocean. As it worked out we could not get outside for one reason or the other and the next thing we know we are facing a 56 foot bridge. Now in our preparation for this possibility we had made several measurements and concluded that the mast is 54', maybe, We think,we hope. So there she stood like a great judge with the final word. I slowed Godspeed to a crawl and just wanted to be on the other side. We crept up and I realized the current was pulling us into it so we pulled a u turn and let mother nature take her course. This allowed us to inch up to the bridge in forward gear and have the ability to escape in forward if we made contact. Bam, just like that we were under it and high fiveing each other. Now all we had to do was take a left into Government Cut (one of the busyist ports on the east coast) drive past all the giant ships turn into a side channel and toss over Bruce, Right? It was really neat turning into this super busy harbor to find that we were the only ones moving. Godspeed seemed kind of small in that huge channel surrounded by cruise ships and big shipy ships. "No traffic Lorrie", this is great just us and a fast moving boat with flashing lights, loud speakers, and big guns! These kind gentlemen told us the harbor is closed turn around now, they were very convincing, so we did! Homeland security closes that harbor when certain ships transit it, so now we know! It is now about dark and we can't get to our anchorage, so into Biscayne Bay we turned and cruised by the rather impressive Miami skyline. Right at dark we spotted some masts in what looked like a cove so we felt our way in and tossed Bruce. In the morning we figured out that we slept in the middle of the Miami water speed way, there were grandstands around us with all the cool racing stuff, so we weighed Bruce and raced on outta there!
Before noon we Raised all sails in the Hawk Channel and "We Be Sailin" Since we left the mainland, using the engine only to charge batteries, tight maneuvering, and anchoring. Godspeed loves the open water and slips along swiftly in light winds, reaches hull speed quickly and have not seen her heel more than 15 degrees. We are getting used to it but it seems strange to see the bottom most of the time. When we dingy up we can see the rudder and keel underwater. Shortly after we arrived in Boot Key harbor we spotted Friends from Oriental, Randy and Ellen On "Bella" and have enjoyed thier company. This morning just before the Cruiser's net radio show Dennis on "Majic" dingyed up, Knocked on the hull and asked if we Knew Peter Hatcher from Wyoming, of course we did and he too lives in Alpine. Then we met a Game warden and school teacher from Thermopolis WY just leaving the harbor. For those of you back home shoveling snow, don't think you have to rush right down, Wyoming is well represented in the Keys and after all somebody has to move the snow or it would melt on its on without being noticed!
Pictures:
Dave up the mast
Miami speedway anchorage
Great white heron that lands on the blone each night
Happy new year!
The "Blue Moon" on New years morning in Boot Key Harbor

the last Supper and Thanksgiving

2009-12-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile so there is another post right after this one. We spent 3 days in Fernandina Beach tied to a mooring ball and decided to make a hard run south to Melbourne Beach for thanksgiving dinner with nephew Tyler Gustafson and wife Jess. Things went great until we passed the Port Orange Bridge south of Daytona. As we slipped under the bridge I looked back and smiled as I remembered catching a very large Pompano from that spot in 1978-good times. Then came the weather. We have rigged the GPS/Chartplotter to be taken forward under the dodger along with the autopilot remote for times like this and it works great, you can drive with your fingertips anywhere on the boat while ducking for cover or whatever but we still stay close to the wheel. Yea, it was blowing and carrying on-so what, right?
Well, we entered a big sound area after New Smyrna Beach that was "yee haa". Nice rollers off the port quarter in rapid succession that made Otto(autopilot)get confused so it was hands on and very busy for about 2 hours. Then Lorrie tells me it is about time to duck out of this sound and into a man made cut to the next sound. Oh by the way, and there is a low bridge in the middle with 25 knots of wind on the Stearn and a wicked current with very little room to do anything but pray that the bridge operator would not be too slow today. We have never seen such a great concentration of dolphins as in this cut, I was glad they were there to take some of the pressure off as we transited the bridge just fine and now comes the fun!
As we slipped into the next sound it was quite apparent that the first was merly training for what was to come. A narrow channel in 2 feet of water with big rapid rollers moving at a fast pace to the starboard quarter. It got worse as we progressed and that is when Lorrie put on her foul weather gear and all the trimmings and prepared the "last Supper". Cheese and crackers were great at the moment and I was very busy keeping Godspeed off the shoals and water under the keel while mother nature did her thang. We stayed in Titusville that night and slipped under the bridge at first light Thanksgiving morning, At high noon we sent Bruce to the bottom in Melbourne. Later on Tyler picked us up at a park we dingyed to and what a treat we were in for!
Jess and her sister Melanie made their first Thanksgiving dinner and it was as good as we have ever had, complete wih pie and ice cream. It was a great time seeing these guys and meeting Drew (Melanie's boyfriend) and also Jess's grandfather. The next day Tyler and Jess rode their bikes over to the park and we dingyed them to godspeed for a look. We dropped them off, said goodbye, and took off in the Blonde(that is the name of the dinghy because she is full of hot air and "just a little dingy"). The indian river was smooth and the Blonde wanted to run so I gave her all the rein and off we went. Tyler & Jess had quite a look on their faces as they biked down the bridge 20 minutes later to see us walking in front of them.
Pictures:
1000 miles
Tyler and Jess

Three Passages in one!

2009-11-20T06:03:00.000-08:00

After five days and 5 nights at the Mega Dock in Charleston, we set out once again for points South. As we left the dock and turned into the channel, I noticed there was very low oil pressure and we immediately turned into the anchorage and sent Bruce down. After a bit mechanicing and considering our safety in this particular situation, I determined we were OK to continue, not the best start but we were once again off. That night as we slipped into the anchorage of our choice, our new friends from Dreamer were the only boat there. Just as Bruce grabbed a hold, Pete dingyed over and invited us over for wine and cheese, a couple of local dolphins supplied the entertainment and we had a great evening on Dreamer!
We anchored in Beaufort SC that night(said like it sounds not to be confused with Bo-fert NC). The next few days we took on Georgia, We started out with an 80 mile day and into the big sounds and marshes we went. This leg of the journey was highlighted by the lack of man, the abundance of nature and marine life, and NO FUEL FOR 100 MILES!!!!!! We were sicking the diesel tank constantly watching it slowly disappear. The tidal change in this area is between 8 and 9 feet, so the currents scream to move this amount of water every 6 hours so there wasn't much chance of sailing. There was one boat that Godspeed just could not shake, the Fiscal Stray. We got to know Tod and Anne and shared anchorages for a couple of nights and we were sure glad they were near us. After explaining our situation, Tod offered a jerry jug of diesel to us and being the only way out, we excepted. Fiscal Stray adorned with fenders on her starboard, Godspeed on her port, Anne held Fiscal Stray at a steady true course and I maneuvered Godspeed alongside and Tod made the passage of jerry to Lorrie. We Fed the "Iron lady" and completed the passage again, waved goodbye to Fical Stray at Brunswick GA and into Florida we came. Three passages in one, Two jerry's and one Georgia!
Pictures:
Godspeed leads the pack
Dreamer
Sunrise at anchor
Fiscal Stray has our back
After much abuse, anyone can comment- have at it!

Hurricane Holeing

2009-11-10T02:15:00.000-08:00

Just came in from setting all the ground tackle we have (anchors, chain, etc). Hurricane Ida is expected to mow us over. The Coast Guard rescue helicopter is circling overhead begging us to evacuate, but were not leaving Godspeed!
The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed, if it wasn't for the courage of the fearless crew, Godspeed would be lost!
OK, OK, we are actually tied to the City Marina "Mega Dock" in Charleston Harbor just livin' it up.
Backing up to Friday, we were making our cruise to the Isle of Palms area and I watched the depth sounder slowly count down, 8, 7, 7.5, 6, 5, 5.5, and down she went. In horror I slipped Godspeed into full reverse and slowed almost to a stop and slowly continued (wrong decision). For the first time we felt her bump bottom the the bow surged downward and we were officially aground. Clearly we were in the channel and "Christal clearly" we were on the bottom! After a holding the throttle at about half reverse and a sharp turn of the rudder we slowly slipped off. Then sheer terror set in! We inched our way into deeper water. As we continued we passed several abandoned boats sitting on the bottom, it had the Erie feeling of a graveyard. We made it to a nice anchorage at dusk, relaxed, and counted our blessings.
Saturday evening, my two sisters Melanie and Melinda, accompanied by adult supervision Norman (Melanie's hubby), boarded Godspeed at Isle Of Palms, SC. In the morning, after running aground again, we anchored at a remote spot and Melanie baked biscuits, made gravy, and all the fixins while I baited hooks and removed the catch of the day for perhaps the best "trash fisherman" man has ever encountered, Melinda. She was like a little kid starting with "I don't like to fish". Then came "here Melinda reel this one in", Sheer "Joy" (her middle name) followed and some of the finest trash fishin' the world has ever seen was witnessed by all aboard.
We made a very slow cruise to the Ben Sawyer swing bridge to hit the "on the hour opening" and then into Charleston Harbor. Out came the sails and we spent a fabulous day sailing around the harbor. After docking Godspeed's 35 feet in a 34 foot spot on the Mega Dock, Melanie did the "surf and Norm grilled the Turf" for a great evening meal on Godspeed. We giggled ourselves to sleep and said goodbyes in the morning. It was fun having them aboard, even for such a short time.
We had planned to move off the dock to an anchorage when some other cruisers told us that Ida's storm track had changed and could threaten us. After checking the weather, we walked to the dockmaster and asked if we could stay a few days, then the phone rang and someone else was turned away and we were told we could stay. Now that's cutting it close! Although this little stay will put a gouge in the kitty, "Safe than sorry" is the card we are playing as we watch the storm's progress, safely attached to this massive structure. It does not appear it will do much more than rain buckets here. Anyway, we took the courtesy van to the Charleston visitor center and spent the afternoon as "world class tourist" enjoying watching the horse and mule drawn carriages, eating boiled peanuts on a park swing, and enjoying the deep history of Charleston by foot, eventually walking all the way back to Godspeed.

The Backdoor/ Land of my people!

2009-11-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

Godspeed motored out of Masonboro about 8:00am Monday morning into an overcast and dreary sky. We stopped at Carolina Beach for fuel and were pleasantly surprised to see Godspeed had only sipped 12 gallons of diesel in 24 hours of motoring. It was the next 2 days when we really began to appreciate our vessel, she is very nimble at the helm and has long swift legs that steadily will out distance most other vessels which is a great advantage when you arrive at an anchorage way ahead of the pack and have a place to send Bruce down for the night. Several times we have made timed bridge openings, slipped through when many others are far behind and have to wait for the next window as we head to the next anchorage early. Godspeed is the right name!
After the fuel stop, we found ourselves in a wide sound area which ia a major shipping lane. A dredge had all but a few feet of the channel blocked and a shoal on the other side. The good thing was there was a strong current and a 15 to 20 Knot wind sucking us into the shoal, It was very exiting for a few minutes as I held Godspeed at a 45 degree angle to the channel crabbed along and made only forward progress. We made it through ok and beside the big boats we went. After a 60 mile run we sent Bruce down and we stayed the night at Calabash, just a few feet inside South Carolina near the Little river Inlet. When we arrived, there was one nice spot left amongst 5 other cruisers. The sky cleared overnight and at dawn we were the first out and headed for the dreaded "Rock Cut".
'Rock Cut" is about 20 or so miles rated as the worst on the ICW. It is a man made cut through rock that is high walled with submerged trees, floating trees, rock ledges and much shoaling. Lorrie read all this to me as I was gleaming about our boat's speed. Suddenly I wanted to be in the back, are the other cruisers playing us like a fiddle or what? Anyway we picked our way through and were glad to see that several bridges we encountered opened on radio request which was great due to the stiff current pulling us into them.
The next section was a Cypress swamp which for the most part had deep black water which gave Godspeed a dark mustache for a while. we began to see palmetto plants and I realized as we passed the mouth of the Pee Dee river that this is where the "Barefoot clan" is from, my mother's people. Later we saw the Barefoot marina, several other business named Barefoot and even made the Barefoot Brige open. With another 60 mile leg behind us Godspeed motored into the Seaport of Georgetown SC at about 3:00pm. Bruce took a swim and I hoisted the dingy over the side and rowed the 100 feet to the shrimp docks. A few feet further and we docked at the town "dingy dock". It is really neat showing up at a new place, not by plane train or automoblie, but walking through the "Back Door". Banana sized shrimp still "wigglin" came to the galley for dinner!

Dolphins, Blunders, and Oysters

2009-11-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

We waited in BO-Fert until 10:00am to "ride the tide" south. We picked up our first of many dolphin pods in Morehead harbor. They sure are entertaining to watch. Mile Hammack Bay was the anchorage for the night. It sounded like a really cool place on Camp Lejune. You cannot go ashore or you will get shot or taken prisoner and might end up with "Dead on you". We got there eariler than we thought to find a Marina and bridge in the spot we had navgaited to-bummer! Lorrie hailed the Marina on the VHF and they replied that we were lost, but the good thing was, all the other cruisers got to hear it-rookies.
Godspeed motored into Mile Hammack Bay a couple hours later and it was a unique anchorage. Some poor soldier doing survivor training gave us no end to bad looks as we barbequed chicken from the stern pulpit. He had a cast net and no dinner, poor guy! At first light we weighed anchor, proud of ourselves for an early start and excited to get a jump on the other 25 yachts in the bay. As we turned into the channel we were last in line, how could that be! Rookies again!
Early afternoon we arived in Masonboro NC, and called Robert Point's (known as "Pidge" from Thayne WY) brother Judge. He isn't really a judge but he looks like one. We took a slip in the marina 100yds across the inlet from thier home. That evening Judge, Cris, and Cris's mother Renee picked us up for sushi. We arrived at an undisclosed location- the home of Mark and Karen's place and had a fantastic time. They have a beautiful place on the ICW, we laughed and giggled for hours and the food was great. The next morning Judge and Chris kayaked over to Godspeed for burnt biscuits and the fixins, another fine time. About noon, Lorrie's niece Karina and her children visited us on Godspeed for a few hours and had gourmet hot dogs and they made muffins.
While that went on Judge showered us with many useful items-spare dingy fuel tank, fishing rod, winch handle, too many things to list, but well needed, thanks Judge! About six that evening we went to Judge and Chris's for an oyster roast and Chris's birthday celebration. Another fine evening of southern hospitality in a beautiful setting!
The next morning we were sent on our way with brunswick stew, birthday cake, and a sunflower for Godspeed.

Underway Jose

2009-10-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight we "swing on the hook" (lay at anchor) outside Beaufort, NC (pronounced Bo-fort) after negotiating Adam's Creek. Communications amaze me as we are 1/4 mile from land and I sit at the navigation desk in contact with the world-with no visable means of support.
Last Sunday we slipped off the dock lines, motored out of Oriental harbor, and rolled out the genoa. "Whosh" we were off to New Bern NC to see the sights and visit a bit. The genoa was reefed down a bit and Godspeed shook out the wrinkles and jumped into a high lope and that was all the sail she needed. It was fun with a nice following sea and was fairly uneventful until we hit this narrow channel and decided to navigate it under sail. As we turned into the fist marker we also turned into the wind on a close reach (about 45 degrees into the wind with the sail pulled in tight to the boat) our leeway (side slippage) was too great to stay in the channel and sail at the same time, something to do with that shallow shoal a few feet downwind caused me to start Mr. Yanmar and burn a little deisel. We motored the last 45 minutes to the Trent river and sent Bruce (one of 3 anchors) to the bottom.
Interesting night! There was a 45' bridge(our mast is 54') about 200 yards behind us with 20 to 25 knots of wind on the bow. I slept (not a wink) in the cockpit stareing at the bridge all night and when my eyes closed I saw the mast drifting closer and closer to the bridge as the anchor dragged. Funny thing was, when I jumped up we had not moved an inch. This senario happened at least 1000 times that night until the wind stopped and Lorrie showed up and said "I'll take over the anchor watch now" That's my first mate!
The next morning we found ourselves trapped behind the now closed rotating railroad bridge. About 10 am "Candybar" a little working skiff, raised enough caine on the vhf to get it opened. We quickly pulled up Bruce and turned for the bridge just in time to see it closed again. The next 2 hours we took turns motoring in a lazy oval pattern raising some caine ourselves and got to play a game of bridge with the RR.
Helen met us at the docks and we had a great time. She took us on the town tour, did a little shopping and she dropped us off at the dock. From there we motored Godspeed to the Northwest Creek marina. We were treated to a slip, showered, and off to Helen's dinner party. After a tour of Zepher, Helen's Endeavour 40, Gil and Joanne from 3 doors down showed up and we had a fun evening. Before our trip back Helen gave us some much needed anchor chain, that Godspeed is swinging from as I write this, and some jerry jugs for extra fuel. If that wasn't enough, she drove to Oriental the next day bearing more gifts and best of all, cruising advice! What a
gal!
Dave Wright from St-Bart Yachts stopped by to wish us on our way and Lorrie conned him into a picture. Dave has been a great help and way above the call of duty- thanks Dave! Now we head south down the ditch, watch the depth sounder, and connect the dots!

Casting Off!

2009-10-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today we hoisted the dingy on the foredeck and are ready to sail away. The last month has been non stop preparation and modifications to our little sturdy ship. My high school buddy Rich came and helped us for a while, it was great to see him again and I still have to get him back for the "incident in Miss Eggo's class". I installed an additional battery bank so we can run electrical items while under sail like electronic navigation, autopilot, frig, tunes, whatever. This is "house power" and is separated from the engine start system. Also installed new marine refrigeration and tricked the bottom portion of the frig into being a deep freeze, it works great and consumes way less power. We had some great neighbors for a few days, they took us to Bayboro on a provision run(groceries and such). We filled the trunk of his rental car and stuffed it away on Godspeed. George is a wealth of sailing knowledge, spends 9 months a year on his 40' Island Packet, how cool is that. They left at dawn this morning and will take the ICW for 2 days until the weather clears and then jump into the ocean until they reach Brunswick GA, we hope to see them there in a couple of weeks. Lorrie has been little miss pack and consolidate, making boxes smaller and then they disappear. Our waterline is getting smaller and smaller, we raised it by two inches when bottom painting and when we finish provisioning it should be just right-lucky guess.
Cody and Beth sent us some climbing gear to get up the mast, so I tried it out and changed a light bulb at halfway up 26' or so, Great fun! Lorrie was the supply Sargent passing tools and such in a bag tied to the flag hoisting lines.
I snuck away from Godspeed for a few minutes today and walked down the dock with my fishing pole when I heard the slave driver giggling as she caught me playing. Just as she walked up wham, a nice spotted trout joined us for dinner! If the weather is OK we plan to head to New Bern tomorrow for a shakedown cruise and visit our new friend Helen(cruiser extraordinaire), ride bikes, maybe a little provisioning, anything but boat chores.

Cheap motels, expensive campgrounds, and well fed mosquitos!

2009-10-13T04:27:00.000-07:00

We prepared our house for renters, sold all kinds of stuff, stuffed the rest in the barn and saw it all disappear in the rear view mirror August 17. Fosston Mini-soda was the first stop to see Lorrie's family for a few days and it was a good visit. Then for our first circumnavigation- Lake Superior, in our land yacht. One fun place we went was the site of our first DATE - "Eighteen Lake" near Isabella Mini-soda. One summer evening 28 years ago, we drove to this lake in Lorrie's Dodge Colt and swung on a rope swing splashing into the lake, google eyed, laughing, and having the time of our lives. The tree was still there, however it has fallen into the lake now but what fun to see that spot again. Pat cooked up a few walleye fillets with a fried green tomato, and we laughed about the swing and Lorrie's "Green Bikini". Then we camped and moteled our way down through Ohio and made a few calls on sailboats in the northeast. After a few conversations & Yankee hospitality, we immediately turned south to the Mason-Dixie line. We stayed with Pat's parents for a few days, rode our bikes, and studied available sailboats. After a whirlwind trip to Florida, and a whirlwind trip back and found ourselves in Oriental North Carolina, they claim there are more sailboats than people and it is actually true. Dressed as true yacht buyers, shorts, flip flops and a garage door t-shirts, we found her.
"Wind Breaker" looking a little neglected on the surface but a very solid boat with a new Yanmar diesel, good sails, and below looked like a fine furniture store. She did not have the "funky boat smell" many of the others had so we moved forward, beat the owner into submission and bought the boat. We finished the paperwork and such at the yacht brokers office, all excited, we hopped into our trusty Tahoe and as we started rolling she came to a grinding halt. The transfer case was toast! So we pulled our bikes off the back and continued to our new home. Later that day, we limped the Tahoe(1 mile per hour) to Jonathan's, the only fix it shop in town. Well funny how things work, we were going to put it up for sale that same day anyway and Jonathan could not believe it had no rust and had to have it. SOLD! Two bikes and a boat, What fun is that!
We had her "on the hard" for 12 days doing hull maintenance, buffing, and bottom paint, while Lorrie removed the old name, faint images of other lettering slowly appeared "Amazing Grace" that had been covered up by "Wind Breaker", Our U. S. Coast Guard paperwork had already been sent. so "Godspeed" she is.
We have been back in the water a week now at Pecan Grove marina in Oriental. The morning we were put back into the water, the wind had blown most of the water out of the Pamlico sound and it was very shallow. Dave Wright, the yacht broker that sold us the boat, is one great guy. Dave jumped aboard and guided us through the shallow waters and raging winds to the marina. the trip over was only a mile or so, but horrifying. The depth sounder was oscillating 4', 5', 4' ,5' and we draw 4'10" of water. Dave took the helm at the end and expertly tucked her into the slip and here we are. Now we are taking day sails and adding some long range equipment to her, preparing to cast off for adventure.

Sailboats - a bad investment!

2009-10-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

So we set out to buy a sailboat to sail the seven seas, or maybe one. In our search, we fell in love with the beautiful golfing communities of the south. It is true, we have never been known as golfers but what a great sport to learn. The hunting and fishing should be great on the course after hours and Pat can get a part time job fixing golf carts and caddying for his superiors. Lorrie was swept off her feet when meeting the members of the local garden club and her new sport of speed walking/talking. After all, sailboats will always be a bad investment and real estate couldn't be a better buy right now. So as not to disappoint everybody, we did the right thing......

WE BOUGHT THE BOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Endeavour 35 just back in the water after twelve days "on the hard"(not in the water) and our journey beings.