Waterford, NY, 5-22-11

We are waiting for the Erie Canal Locks to open.  We are at the base of the first lock in Waterford, NY.  They are supposed to provide a schedule for the opening of the locks on Monday.  They have been closed for a while now, due to high water levels from all the rain.
We are reading a lot and looking for other things to occupy our time. 

                                A picture of the CAT wood art at Catskill

                                           Me up the mast at Catskill

                                Some of the tug boats at Waterford Dock

                               Boats waiting for the locks to open at Waterford

                           Our boat at the dock waiting with the others

A wood motorcycle puzzle that Erin put together

                                      A rope bracelet that Erin made

Waterford, NY 5-20-11

We left Croton-on-the-Hudson on the 15th and headed North to Catskill, NY. We got there at about 4:00 PM.  There was very little wind and about a 1 to 1.5 knot current flowing against us at times.  The 3 foot tide helped us and counteracted the current when it was flowing in.  The 3 foot tide goes all the way up to the first dam in Troy, NY where the Erie Canal starts.
In Catskill, NY we retrieved the mast cradle that we had left there on the trip South.  We took off the boom, boom vang, solar panels, Radar, VHF antenna, wind instrument, windex, dodger and bimini canvas.  After securing the mast cradle to the boat, we had the mast removed and set in it's cradle.  Once that was done we put the dodger and bimini canvas back on.  All that took only one day.  The next day Tuesday the 17th we left for Troy, NY.  On the 18th we went through the Troy Lock on the Hudson River.  Before going through the first Erie Canal Lock we tied up at Waterford just in front of the lock, since the lockmaster informed us that it would be a 30 minute wait to start through the lock.  While tied up at the dock we talked to people on a boat that I went through the locks with in October last year.  They convinced us that Waterford was a good place to wait for locks 23 to 26 to open.  It is Friday the 20th today and we are still waiting for those locks to open.  It will only take us 3 days to get to the closed locks from here.

                              A little house on the prairie, on the Hudson

                                       West Point on the Hudson

A kayak with an umbrella sail on the Hudson


At Waterford with the mast down waiting the locks 23-26 to open

                                                A Waterford park

                                 Some unusual down spouts in Waterford

                    Sunset at Waterford

Croton-0n- the Hudson, 5-13-11

We made it from Norfolk to New York City in two days.  The winds started out of the North West and ended up out of the South.  When they shifted to South it became much warmer.  That was a good weather window for us, since for several days after that the wind was predicted out of the North. 
We spent two days in Lincoln Harbor Marina in Weehawkin, NJ. Erin and I spent one day in NYC.  The next day we stopped in Tarrytown, NY.  Erin and I took the train into NYC and went to a Broadway Play,"Mary Poppins".  We spent 4 days in Tarrytown, since the Erie Canal was forecast to be closed until May 23rd.  We also went to a comedy club act in Tarrytown.  Today we are in Croton -on-the-Hudson. We plan to take the train again to NYC and see another play.  Mike's back and foot are bothering him when he walks too much so he has been holding down the fort at the boat. 

                        It was cold with a North West wind. Erin in warm clothes.

                                     A fishing trawler we saw at sea

                       I hope the fate of this boat has no bearing on its name.

                                   Our welcome to New York Harbor

                                   Seaport shopping area in NYC

                                              Erin and her Hero

                                       At the M&M store on Time Square

                                          Erin on Time Square

                             Superman averts disaster

                                        NYC from Lincoln Harbor

This is how many boaters think this is sailing weather!

                      Erin making a new bug screen for the companionway

                                    Mario Andreties race car

                                      An odd building in NYC

                                     Erin at the play "Mary Poppins"

                                       A street artist in Times Square

Norlolk, VA, 5-4-11

In Wrightsville Beach, we invited a couple on another boat over for dinner.  We had so much fish that we had it for dinner and gave a bag of fish also.  The crew and I are getting tired of eating fish.  We gave a lot the dockmaster at Bald Head Island and have been eating fish since we caught that Mackerel on Monday.  The crew threatened to throw me overboard if I threw the fishing line in the water on the trip up from Wrightsville Beach. 

The fish is finally gone.  We sailed off the coast from Wrightsville Beach to Beaufort, NC.  We spent two nights in Beaufort.  The Island across the river from Beaufort has wild horses on it.  We sailed off the coast from Beaufort, NC to Norfolk, VA.  That took us two and a half days.  We spotted two large turtles sunning themselves.  We got to the Marina at about 9:00 PM.  It is raining and cold today, so we are staying here. 

When we got close to Norfolk, the Navy got us on the radio and asked us to alter our course, since they were conducting training with live ammunition ahead of us.  We complied, but did hear the machine gun firing. 

                                  Sunset at anchor behind Cape Lookout.

                                        At our Marina in Beaufort, NC

                            Wild horses on the Island near Beaufort, NC

                            One of the turtles at sea. Not much wind at this point

                             Erin enjoying a good book and the sail at sea

                                                Mike at the helm



 

Wrightsville Beach, NC, 4/28/11

We left Bald Head Island and took the short cut to Wrightsville Beach.  We sailed up the Intracoastal Water Way.  That made our trip only about 25 nautical miles instead of 70 miles, due to the reefs that extend out 20 miles into the ocean.  There was only a one mile long narrow spot with very shallow waters on both sides that we had to slow down for.  We did not go aground!
The weather today is predicted to be severe with high winds, so we are staying in Wrightsville Beach for the day.  Tomorrow is supposed to be much nicer.  We plan to go to Cape Lookout tomorrow.  Winds are up to 23 knots right now.  Gusts are predicted to be up to 35 knots.


                                       At the dock at Wrightsville Beach.

   

Bald Head Island, NC, 4/26/11

The marina at Hilton Head was 15 miles from where the markers for the harbor entrance started.  There are a lot of reefs along the coast.  The water is only 50 to 70 feet deep along the coast, until you get close to the golf stream which is about 50 miles out.  We left Hilton Head, SC at about 0630 on the 23rd and arrived the same day in Charleston, SC at 2100.  We saw several bottle nose dolphins not too far from the boat.  The reefs ran out about 10 miles off shore and are marked with buoys.  We met our new crew member, Mike, in Charleston. We also met his twin brother and sister-in-law.  We went to their home, swam in a neighbors pool, walked the beach, played some cards and had a great time.  We stayed the night with them and left the next day at 1100 (Monday).  We arrived Tuesday at 1100 at Bald Head Island, NC.  We caught a King Mackerel that was about 40 pounds and 4 feet 6 inches long.  We have enough fish in the refrigerator for lots of dinners. 




                               Sunset at sea on our way to Charleston, SC.

          Container ship coming out of Charleston Harbor as we were entering.

                                                Erin hoola hooping

                            Where we spent the afternoon in Charleston

The crew in front and Mike's brother and sister-in-law behind us

                                                  The fort at Charleston
                                    


                                 This is where the fish get cleaned.

The King Mackerel we caught shortly after leaving Charleston.

                           Old baldy light house on Bald Head Island





St. Augustine, FL, 4/20/11

We left Port Canaveral on Monday morning and arrived at St. Augustine on Tuesday morning at about 9:00 AM.  It was high tide.  On the way up I caught a Spanish Mackerel.  We also say 3-5 bottle nose dolphin swimming at our bow and all around the boat for about 10 minutes.  They were having fun and we enjoyed seeing them up close.  One jumped about 3 feet into the air.  We also saw a big sea turtle on the way up.  The winds were only 6 to 10 knots out of the East.  We sailed about half way up.  The wind dropped to 5 knots, then we decided to motor and get to St. Augustine before low tide.  They have a 6 foot tide in St. Augustine right now.  We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in St. Augustine exploring the town and seeing many of the sites.  We also took a kayak tour on the river in town. Tomorrow morning we plan to go about 5 miles off shore, then head North to St. Simons Island in Georgia.  It should take us about 24 hours.

                             The girls planning Amber's baby gift registry.

                                               The Spanish mackerel

One of the buildings in St. Augustine

                            This shows the low tide on the river in St. Augustine

                               The fort in St. Augustine from the water. 

                                  Erin flirting with the town sheriff

                      This is what happened to me when I tried to break them up