Shroud Cay

Shroud Cay
12/30/11
24 33.30 N 76 48.44 W

There is a narrow channel through the mangroves which cuts through from the Exuma Bank to the Exuma Sound (Atlantic Ocean) where the current runs swiftly, we motored our dinghy through the cut with the idea of swimming back through with the current - unfortunately a few jet-skis had a similar idea and made it too dangerous to swim - they were going too fast to prevent a nasty accident.  The beach at the Sound end was absolutely beautiful, pristine and uninhabited (until the jet-skis arrived - each adorned with a "bikini beauty" on the back).   From our anchorage at Normans Cay we could see boats anchored in the distance and presumed that was the anchorage for the "swim through" - much to our embarrassment we motored out passed the sand bank from Normans Cay and back in to the anchorage latitude and longitude only to end up just on the other side of where we were originally anchored - it would have been much quicker to go via dinghy !!!

Phil and Sandy on trawler "Stroller" told us of their favourite spots in this area - their advice was spot on and we were very grateful to them.  Warderick Wells was the next stop - it is a marine park that supposedly has amazing snorkeling - we arrived just before sunset which was a bit late to try to get through the narrow and shallow mooring field with our 7 foot draft – they wouldn't allow us to use one of the park mooring balls at the beginning of the channel so turned tail and found an easier anchorage just outside the park as the sun set.

Norman's Cay

Norman's Cay
12/29/11
24 35.10 N 76 48.91 W

DC3 plane wreck

Once the winds eased and the seas calmed down we headed further down the Exumas to Norman's Cay - only a few hours away.  Initially the sailing was great but a front came through (not mentioned in the weather forecast) and torrential rain and wind stayed with us until our arrival.  Visibility was down to 100 yards around our boat, Don and I both kept a constant vigil looking out at a grey rain streaked plastic window trying to spot any other vessels before we collided.  The storm showed as a large black blob on our radar and blocked out any vessels close by - a few large motor yachts cut across our bows at 20knots, I wonder if they even knew we were there - we had slowed down to a crawl.  A tense hour or so until the rain cleared enough for us to see where we were heading.  We anchored outside the protected anchorage of Norman's Cay, the visibility being too poor to "eyeball" our way in.  Finally we are not pitching nor rolling - so nice to be still.  We are hearing reports on the radio of other boats that dragged anchor or spent a worrisome night, another that ended up on a sand spit (no damage), I am glad we had decided to stay where we were.

Sunrise

We have found the nice part of the Bahamas - beautiful sandy beaches and very clear waters - it is certainly a millionaires playground - so many huge  motor yachts whose tenders are bigger than our boat.  All food is double to triple the cost of similar in USA and what look like shacks that carry the title of "Cafe” or “Restaurant" charge dearly for their fare - often in a foam take-a-way container with plastic knives and forks !

The local radio station always manages to put a smile on our faces - the very short news is followed by community service announcements which on a daily basis means funeral notices.  These are not your normal funeral notices - they state the name of the deceased then go onto introduce them then continue with their surviving families names - these include wife/husband, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren - next comes the aunts & uncles, cousins and their progeny - all names are in full - including middle name - the last one we counted listed 35 children, cousins etc - it takes up a lot of air time each morning.  The other amusing section is the Church advertising part - each Pastor (or whatever) has their turn to convince you to attend their particular Church - apparently whether the carpark is secure is a big point, people to meet and greet and ensure safety or assisting the frail, what the sermon will be about and the way it affects you in your life - the promises they make are quite extraordinary - all this comes with volume, enthusiasm and a good gift of the gab.  The Ministers were quiet entertaining and certainly convinced me to visit their place of worship.

Don's friends Richard and Tuula live in Perth in Western Australia.  The family arrive in Georgetown on 7th January - they came here just to visit us which makes us feel so special.  Georgetown is at the southern end of the Exumas and we are moving each day to arrive in time.  Unfortunately the resort they chose does not have an anchorage nearby, they do have a marina but it will be far too expensive for us - the marinas here tend to run at $2-3 per foot and then they have the cheek to charge for power @ $40 - 100 per day ( to put that into perspective, White Rose used $13 in 6 weeks of metered power whilst at Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth) and the marinas here also charge for water @ 50c per gallon which is understandable because they have no natural lakes or water collection areas so most of their water is produced by reverse osmosis which is expensive to make.

We planned our trip to Georgetown including the places we wanted to visit along the way - the timing worked out perfectly and the weather was kind.

We had a lovely few days at Normans Cay - Don snorkelled over a plane wreck that was in a few metres of water, we took a very long dinghy ride to visit new friends anchored close by and just swam and relaxed on the beach - this is what we had been waiting for !!

Highborne Cay

Highborne Cay
12/24/11
24 43.07 N 76 50.00 W

Our anchor chain crossing debris in Nassau Harbour

As soon as the weather allowed we weighed anchor and headed out for a quieter anchorage. There are two bridges which cross the channel to Paradise Island. The chart shows a clearance of 69 feet – our mast height is about 67 feet, unfortunately we had to go through at high tide to get through the reefs and shallows in daylight – we calculated we may only have 1 foot clearance (cutting it a bit fine !) so we held our breath and crossed our fingers and approached as slow as we could considering the current running – obviously we made it or you would have heard on the news about the sail boat stuck under the bridge in Nassau on Christmas Eve !

Our first choice was Allen's Cay in the Exuma island chain - it has a narrow channel that leads to an internal anchorage - very protected.  We reached Allen's Cay late afternoon only to find a couple of boats anchored inside but blocking the path for deep draft boats (like us) to manoeuvre past them to anchor - we tried to anchor twice but each time ended up too close to other boats or the rocks so pulled anchor and headed down the path to the next anchorage.   It is absolutely necessary to enter an anchorage with the sun behind our backs (ie after midday) so visibility is at its best - the waters here are very shallow and dotted with coral heads and reefs.  I used to panic when I saw the depth sounder indicating there was only 5 metres of water under our keel - this was when we were anchoring - now we are sailing along with only 2.5 under our keel - it is scary.  We are anchoring in 1 metre and keeping a sharp lookout for coral heads and rocks just under the surface.  We reached Highborne Cay just as the sun was setting and laid anchor as soon as possible.

The next morning we took the dinghy for a run to the private beach - what a cheek to make a beach private - in Australia all water lines are public - you may not be able to walk on private land to get down to the tide mark but once there is it public land.  We swam in the refreshing water and basked in the sun.

The following 2 days were terrible, a Norther came through and White Rose bucked and rocked but the anchor held, I was a little concerned when the other 3 boats left before the storm arrived.  We thought it best to stay where we knew our anchor was well dug in and secure.   All we could do was read or watch dvd's, walking around required more hands than we possess and cooking was difficult so we had to put our Christmas Turkey on hold.  The front bought cold weather with it and we had to dig out our winter clothing that I thought we had finished with. At least it was cool enough to enjoy our hot turkey dinner after the wind and seas settled down.

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau, Bahamas
12/21/11
25 04.72 N 77 19.82 W

Our first few nights were spent in Nassau on the island of New Providence.  Checking into this country is straight forward - the interest is mainly on the payment of $300 for our cruising permit.

The anchorage at Nassau is between the main island and the elongated Paradise Island just to the north creating a narrow channel which is well protected and very close to all facilities, also very popular as marina fees are extremely high in the Bahamas.


After moseying around the anchorage we found a spot with enough swinging room for us and settled in nicely.  The catamaran "Tortortuga" (it was in Portsmouth for a few weeks) anchored close to us and our fears were correct - in the middle of the night when the tide changed and the wind against tide caused all the boats to swing in different directions  (those with deeper keels swing differently to cats and trawlers with shallow keels - a bit like an orchestrated waltz) Tortortuga came very close to us and on the other swing (minutes apart) they almost hit another sail boat - we all spent many hours fending each other off in the dark hours.  At one stage Don and I were laughing because Tortortuga and the other sail boat each had their boat hooks pushing against the other's boat keeping them away, it appeared they were sword fighting.  Much to our relief Tortortuga moved the following morning - that afternoon another boat anchored in a similar spot - once again we were up at 2am when the tide changed and the boat began to swing dangerously close to us - they were horrified and pulled anchor and spent the rest of the night anchored just outside the anchorage - the following night yet another boat anchored in the favourite spot - I yelled at them at 3am - they were only 4 feet away from our boat so they woke easily - they got such a fright at being too close to us they pulled anchor and moved straight away - I felt guilty - I was trying to tell them that this will go on for a few hours then boats will settle back down with the current - I was asking them to help fend off - I think they were French speaking and didn't understand me.  Now just so you get the general idea of our state of mind - 6 nights at sea with less than 3 hrs sleep at a time and now 3 nights up for many hours in the middle of the night and I am beginning to feel a tad tired.

Leaving Portsmouth

Leaving Portsmouth, VA
12/13/11

We hope to leave for Bermuda any day - most likely in 3 days as there is a low pressure weather system out there that we do not want to get up close and personal with - we are members of 2 radio skeds/nets where professional forecasters advise  the best time to leave and which route to take - Chris Parker will advise us along the way if another system pops up and steer us away from it - tis difficult to make this passage between hurricanes finishing for the year and the winter storms coming from north.

We have been so busy - I am exhausted - farewell parties, private farewells and presents - so much food - we moved the boat into one of two basins in the centre of town and are getting more visitors - Cliff (Fran's husband) arrived with a hot baked apple pie for us - I was amazed at his generosity and of course with the amazing apple pie - we ate it for days - wonderful  - I might just stay.   Fran gave both Don and I two very special presents, Fran is an artist and makes jewellery.  Her gifts to us touched my heart - Don received a pin depicting a tiny sail boat - Fran had made the entire piece herself - the tiny keel and sails - it is amazing, I received a beautiful heart on a chain - gifts we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls
12/01/11
43 05.00 N 79 04.00 W

Don and I invited ourselves to Dick's apartment for breakfast, Fran cooks an amazing breakfast that only the Americans can do justice to and we enjoyed every mouthful ...  our hire car is a little embarrassing - it resembles a black jelly bean with its head cut off - I didn't know they made such small cars.  It is a two door vehicle and does have a back seat but we need to push the front seats back against the back seat in order to get our legs inside the cavity therefore the back seat is useless!!!  It looks a little ridiculous when next to a typical big American pick up truck. The tiny Fiat 500 drives very well and hugs the slippery freeway at 70mph surprisingly easily, of course for fuel economy and parking it makes the gas guzzling pickups look a bit ridiculous ! We both became quite attached to the little black bug - it would fit nicely on the back of our boat!!

We left Portsmouth in the rain which gradually became heavier and heavier for our first stop - the historical Church of St Lukes.  It is the oldest existing church of English foundation in America and the nation's only surviving Gothic building   "Old Brick Church" is dated to 1632.  Whilst I had visited St Lukes previously, I wanted Don to experience the peacefulness and serenity of the Church and its graveyards - unfortunately the Church was undergoing restoration and the colourful tarps, scaffolding, muddy men yelling and machinery noise did not support my claims of a little peace of heaven.  Don (still being allergic to rain) hid under the trees whilst I yelled and pointed encouraging him to see and feel the beauty surrounding us.



After leaving St Lukes we drove east toward the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley (remember Take Me Home Country Roads – John Denver !). Unfortunately were a couple weeks too late to see the spectacular fall (autumn) leaves – they were all pretty much lying on the ground now. However the views along the ridge top Skyline Drive were spectacular looking across to the Chesapeake on one side and down into the Shenandoah Valley on the other. There are many historic locations along this route from the Civil War and it was a shame to pass by all this history without stopping to do it justice.

Up early the following morning with 9 hrs of driving ahead of us we stoked up on free strong black coffee and we were off.   We headed northeast through West Virginia and then into Pennsylvania. After a few hours we found a McDonalds for breakfast - I can almost hear the sighs of disgust but their yogurt parfait and oatmeal are not too bad - anyway Americans are the most friendly people on this earth (or so I have found) and a local felt he needed to offer advice to the travelers and explained in great detail the route to Niagara Falls - apparently there had been an accident involving a black bear on a highway junction, the bear being injured but not killed, the highway patrol were out hunting for the bear and roads closed.

The weather continued to deteriorate as we drove into the higher elevations  of the Appalachian Mountains hail then sleet then snow.  I was checking out the buttons on the console of the car and pushed a button to see what would happen - a short time later my bottom became warm and continued to heat up until I could barely sit on the seat, I wondered if I had had some unmentionable accident and whether I should mention it to Don or not. I had discovered electrically heated seats ! - Ohh was it wonderful - from that time onwards my little button was continually pushed.  What an amazing invention - we definitely need this in Tasmania!!  I wonder if they have seat coolers for the hotter climates.

 As we drove then drove it became very clear which States put road maintenance high on the priority list and which think it is unnecessary - one road was a mere bumpy goat track.  Hail, snow and sleet accompanied us for the next four hours, but it was beautiful from the comfort of a heated car.

We arrived in Niagara Falls to a chilly 31 degrees Fahrenheit - for those who do not know how to convert just know it means freezing (literally)!!
We entered our room, put all the clothes we brought with us (not nearly enough – we had neglected to check on what temperatures to expect) on our backs and ventured out to find the falls in the dark.  We were not disappointed - they are magnificent and were lit up with colored lights - not my idea of beautifying a natural wonder but I am sure most people think it is pretty.  Apparently during the night and tourist “off season" up to 50% of the water is diverted to make electricity so what we were seeing was probably a fraction of the normal fall.  It was definitely “off season” we were the only ones wandering around by the falls at night and our 5 floor hotel only had 1 floor operational at this time of year.

We walked until we could no long feel our toes and fingers then stopped for dinner at TGI Fridays (an iconic USA chain restaurant). Waitresses in USA are generally unbelievably polite and friendly - sometimes to the extent that you feel like offering them a higher tip if they leave you alone to eat - this one was bubbly, friendly and helpful - such a thoughtful girl.  We were escorted to a booth which had sides taller than our standing height and seating for at least 8 people - I thought that was a little strange as there were many tables vacant which sat 2 or 4 people.  Her first comment to me was to give very detailed instructions to the ladies restroom - by now I was insulted.  After assuring her I did not need to use these facilities she left - I asked Don if my nose was on backwards or if I had hair like an electrified duster and he assured me in complete truth and honesty that I looked wonderful, pretty, attractive etc - I swear I will never allow him to get glasses.  Anyway the food was ordinary and the tip very small.

We spent the following day walking around the falls - they are amazing and I am so glad we made the effort to see them.  The sun peaked out for a while and the snow stopped - a perfect day.

Our trip home included Annapolis - a beautiful quaint port town on the Chesapeake where you could explore for days.  The US Naval Academy is housed in Annapolis down by the river - we spent many hours walking through their grounds and visiting the buildings - their museum alone would take days to do it justice. Once again is was enlightening to have such free and easy access to such an institution.

We stopped at historic Williamsburg during the return trip - Williamsburg is a tourist "must", an historic town with working stores, period costumes, horses and carriages etc - a wonderful place.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving
11/24/11

I offered to cook my first Thanksgiving dinner at Richard's apartment.  Richard (Dick) has a face like Father Christmas, a very cheeky grin and a wonderful sense of humor and the best story teller I have ever heard.   Now a little background .... Dick was brought up with his matriarch Grandmother ruling over the household - his mother had to bow to the Grandmother at all times and was not even allowed in the kitchen.  Dick's family were very wealthy and respected in the area and had a great number of slaves back in the plantation days - later becoming servants known as "the help".  Dick's Grandmother's wet nurse became part of the family and helped raised Dick also.  So in that context Dick “the southern gentleman” was used to formal dinners, perfectly prepared and presented meals and good manners.  Dick was the curator of the oldest Church in the East (St Lukes). We used the "old family" dinnerware - the crystal glasses that were a wedding present to his Grandmother (my goodness was I nervous washing and drying those !!!) and silver dinnerware with the family crest.  The table looked beautiful and Dick had tears in his eyes.  Dick would normally spend Thanksgiving with his caregiver and friend, Fran and her husband Cliff, we were so fortunate to be able to spend that time with him.

I wanted to cook a traditional dinner (I had been instructed on some of the recipes by Dick) - the turkey had to be roasted after being thawed for days then allowed to dry in the fridge for 24 hrs - pity because we didn't purchase the bird until 48 hrs before so ours was short changed from the beginning.  Thanksgiving dinner consists of Turkey, gravy, dressing (stuffing if it is cooked inside the bird), beans, cranberry sauce, a sweet potato dish and of course to finish with - pumpkin pie.

I made my own cranberry sauce and wanted something to be a little different so I found a recipe that adds orange zest and brandy - the sauce turned out too sweet and orangey so I had the "boss" taste it and declare my thoughts were correct so I cooked up another batch without sugar and orange and mixed them all together - it was really good.  The long green beans are always served with caramelized shallots - I couldn't get shallots so tried to caramelize onions - I had little burnt crisp bits in with the beans :-).  Fran made two sweet potato pies and gave one to us for our dinner - now this is the very strange part - to make sweet potato as a vegetable you cook it and either leave in lumps or mash, cover top with brown sugar, pecans and marsh-mellows - and yes that is considered a vegetable - if you want to turn it into a dessert pie you add egg and a crust !!!  Fran says there is a reason Americans are soo large :-).  The latest is deep frying the bird - yuk !!  Oh and mashed potatoes - not baked !!!!

Dinner was wonderful - beans undercooked, turkey tender and moist, dressing a little crunchy and mashed potatoes left in microwave and totally forgotten but we had a great time and full tummies.

Now back the to subject of salads and veges - jello (jelly for us) is mainly used in salads here - you can add grated carrot to a lemon jelly etc.  I went to dinner the other night and Rowena served a dish which was red pears cut in half and the core taken out, the gap filled with cream cheese and chopped walnuts then put back together and placed in a rectangular dish.  Green jello covered the pears - very pretty and tasted wonderful but we ate it before the main meal as it is considered a salad - boy do I love this place - dessert before and after the main meal !!!!!

Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene
08/28/11

Hurricane Irene was heading this way and it always amazes me just how correct the predictions are on the paths of these monsters - it was spot on !!!  We had weeks of updates and predictions.  Don kept an eye on weather reports via NOAA online and assured me the storm would not hit but veer off or be mild - I was listening to reports here and began to pack up the boat just in case.  By the time Don realised it was serious I was mostly done - each time he sent an email to me it contained new instructions of jobs to do to the boat before we were hit - you know - just little things like take down the mainsail and pack it away (hummm !!!) the next one was to disassemble the wind generator and put away (the tornado had fried our wind generator and we had just had it repaired so I already had that down), the next email - take down the solar panels - these were big jobs of which I had no knowledge !!!  It got to the stage that I didn't want to open his emails anymore :-)   I tied the boat up as best I could and took photos then emailed them to Don for approval - he thought I was great !!!  All the men on the dock came to check on the "little lady on the boat on her own" and of course offered expert male advice as to how to tie the lines correctly - after making changes to suit each different male the day before Irene hit I became totally tired of all the advice, locked up the boat and went and hid in a cafe for a few hours for a break from well meaning men !!!

The storm began Friday night but did not become serious until the next morning when I picked up my bags and left our home - that was when I really became sad, it finally hit that I may not see her again.  I took all my special things with me, had already put a backpack full of boat papers, passports etc. at a friends house.  The long slow walk down the dock, was one of the saddest walks, I kept thinking that if I stayed on the boat I may be able to do something to save her should she be washed away from the dock but in reality that was wishful thinking.  I could have stayed on the boat for a few more hours but my new friends were worried and constantly phoning telling me to leave- it was easier to leave than to worry them.  As I walked down the dock it was challenging to stay in the middle of the path with the strong winds - I visited the ladies bathrooms on the way past, mainly to dry my eyes and fix my haggard appearance before facing Richard.  I had great difficulty getting the door open to get out - the wind was holding it closed.  I stayed with Richard in his apartment - Richard uses a wheelchair to get around, the aftermath of a stroke.  We watched the storm brew out his huge windows, the television giving us constant updates as the storm moved closer and became stronger.   I went out in the eye of the storm to check on my boat - I could not get close as everything was flooded but could see her mast - Richard lives a few hundred metres from the marina and I could walk through a mulit story car park so not as dangerous as it may sound.  Irene was not nearly as strong as predicted, damage was done but minor really.  Maximum wind gusts were 60mph through Portsmouth though out to sea on the other side of the hurricane winds were 110mph so it could have been a different story had we been struck by those. Sadly a few people were killed but the first 2 were people out in the storm having a look around when they smashed their car - stupid people, people like that just make more work for the emergency workers who are already inundated.


It was all over by 7am the next morning, as was predicted.  I left Richards to check on the boat - all was ok, minor damage and a few leaks.  Electricity was out and stayed out for the next 24 hrs so I was very popular taking thermoses of boiling water to the "oldies" for their cup of tea - something to be said for gas and independent living.  I cooked up big pasta dishes and ferried them out for dinner also.  I really felt sorry for Don - these things are always more difficult for the person who has to imagine what is happening than it is for the ones going through it.  I was able to keep in contact with him via the internet until after the storm, then all communication went down - I sent a phone message (text was ok but could not call) to Bianca and Alisha in Australia who emailed Don on the ship so he knew White Rose and wife were ok - what an incredible world we live in.

There was only 1 boat casualty that we know of (a Hunter 41 sailboat) – one of our former neighbors from the marina. Strangely they decided to move the boat to Annapolis the day before the hurricane was due. They only just got out of Norfolk and after some engine problems anchored in a small relatively unprotected bay. The boat was washed up on the beach as the hurricane roared through and they were lucky they didn't drown getting off the boat. The boat was wrecked though there was talk of salvage it mysteriously caught fire on the beach and ended up a charred pile of garbage – a sad end to a nice boat.

                                                                        

Most of the damage from hurricane Irene was caused in the aftermath by the high tides. The high rainfall coupled with the low pressure and spring tides meant the tides were up to 6 feet higher than normal high tides. The floating docks were right at the top of the pilings – any higher and the whole lot would have floated away. A lot of houses in town had flooded basements and without electricity to pump them out made a big mess to cleanup.


Apart from all that I have been giving our boat a face lift - after 7 years at sea she definitely needs it.  We had one leak which came down on either side of a bulk head - one into the aft head down the shower wall and the other side is the navigation table and switchboard.  The problem was under a winch so we removed that and decided to re caulk the teak in that area - realizing that all the teak caulk was sun damaged I decided to redo the whole top deck - hummm !!!  What a mess - digging the old caulk out, sanding the tiny little channel then putting black sticky stuff back in - I end up looking like the tar baby each time I did a section.  I then looked at the fiberglass between the cockpit and the teak deck and decided it was well worn, the gel coat was in poor condition and I would paint it - so that is where I am as I write this - caulking out in places, fiberglass sanded and ready to paint but we have had solid rain for days now so the boat is leaking like a sieve and no work done.  Just to make life interesting I decided to varnish the next section of floor inside - the main cabin so I have that pulled apart and have wet varnish around - poor Don came home to his beautiful boat looking like something that should be buried at sea.  I don't think it will be long before he decides working on a survey ship is better than my list of jobs for him here :-).  We laugh about it a lot.

Washington DC

Washington DC
08/12/11
38 53.38 N 78 00.85 W

We didn't want to leave the east coast without seeing the nation's capital so Don and I jumped on the greyhound bus at 6am to spend a weekend in Washington DC.  We got a great hotel deal – staying at a 5 star hotel for the price of a cheap motel. Being the country's political and administrative center the city becomes practically deserted on the weekend when all the government offices are closed which makes` it the ideal time to visit as a tourist.

What an amazing place – The White House, The Mall with The Capitol (Congress) on the hill at one end, The Washington Monument in the middle, The Lincoln Memorial at the far end near the Potomac River and the Smithsonian and other museums and art galleries along the sides. Shopping was forgotten, we spent every spare moment in museums.

We had great weather for our visit in fact it was quite hot walking out in the parks and it was nice to be in the cool of the museums. Of course the disadvantage of the weekend (and school summer holidays) is that the museums and the Capitol are immensely popular and get very crowded. It is great to see that entrance to all these institutions is totally free.

We killed our feet with all the walking trying to get in as much as we could in 1 weekend – of course it is not possible to do such an important city justice in such as short time but glad to achieve some of the highlights. We did not get to visit were the White House or the Pentagon - they both require advance applications - probably so they can check you out.

We though we would try a different mode of transport for the return trip – the train (AmTrack) not having used train travel in the USA before. Although more comfortable and spacious than the bus it took much longer and the condition and cleanliness of the carriages left a lot to be desired. It felt like the US train system was in a past century compared to train travel in Europe.

Cigarette boats

Cigarette boats
07/12/11

Each year the marina is booked out by a group of "cigarette" racing boat enthusiasts - the first boat arrived thumping and humming very loudly, it made a grand entrance into the marina and tucked into a berth - the takeover continued for hours - we had one park beside us - the stupid captain could not get his boat into the berth without me fending him off our boat - if I had not been there he would have stuck his stupid pointy bow into White Rose!!!  They are all show off and no skill !!!  Every berth in the marina was full and the party began - boom boxes were set up on the dock and loud music infiltrated every boat - dancing began - I hadn't realized until later that it was a dancing competition - each boat supported a bikini clad bimbo that lazed on the front of the speed boat with an aura of "look at me", most of these girls were in the dance competition and eventually got voted off.  When only 3 were left the clothing (what little there was) began to come off - it was at this stage that I was walking down our dock wondering why all the oldies were on the top deck of their trawlers, deck chairs, beers, cameras and binoculars - stupid me !!!  3 naked, breast enhanced bimbos were gyrating close by.  Eventually one was named naked bimbo of the year and the party continued on at a local pub- thank goodness !!  This group even pay a helicopter to film their arrival and dance !!!  Don and I laughed as a Navy helicopter spent over 1/2 hr going around and around in circles over the top of the gyrating girls - I wonder what the tax payers think of that way their money is spent :-)


Grace

Jim and Kay on their catamaran "Grace" called into Portsmouth on their way to Maine and on their way back - it was wonderful to see friends, swap books and recipes and hear about their recent travels.  I wanted them to stay longer but they had a schedule to keep - they wanted to be further south and in a marina by Thanksgiving.

Boat Jobs & House Sitting

Boat Jobs & House Sitting
06/30/11

BOAT JOBS

We had quite a list of boat jobs when we arrived in Portsmouth and they just kept coming, almost everything on the boat had died or developed a problem - here is the list that needed work .....

main diesel engine, diesel genset, both water tanks require cleaning, both fuel tanks require cleaning, fridge & freezer not working properly, wind generator killed by tornado, solar panels not generating power, dinghy outboard motor not running, battery charger failed, hatches leaking, deck leaking, cockpit dodger leaking, water heater leaking, forward head u/s,  fresh water pump dead - even the globes in the lights began to die.

Whilst Don was away I emailed and talked to a few diesel mechanics wanting to get someone to look at our high oil pressure problem, preferably someone who had a vague idea of what the problem may be as they charge over $100 per hour.  I always received the same reaction - little lady doesn't really know what she is talking about - engines develop low oil pressure not high - you are mistaken - "have another look at the pretty little needle belonging to the oil pressure guage, now when you start the motor see how it stays low - if it were high the pretty little needle would jump over to the far right of the guage - never mind it is an easily made mistake ......"  oh boy was I getting fed up and so mad at them - we had high oil pressure not low !!!

I have been cleaning out the water tanks today - oh boy - anyone would have been horrified at the colour of the water - yuk.  Best not to describe it in too much detail or we will never get any visitors.  I often wonder why people install stainless steel water tanks - the damn things expand and contract and break the welds, we have been lucky so far - no leaks but I am sure the time will come !!

Don began to pull the engine apart to service the oil cooler - when some oil spilled into the bilge - humm - guess who was skinny enough to fit in the tiny gaps therefore had the job of scooping up the mess then scrubbing it out.  I did the aft bilge and Don did the forward bilge.  The bilge is very clean again and the engine still in thousands of bits.

House Sitting

I have had two house sitting jobs since I have been here.  The first was in a large home with swimming pool - it even had a large theatre room, Rich and Shari offered their house to give me time off the boat.  It was wonderful although I do become bored easily in someone else's home without my own belongings so I took lots of projects - I even had a bright yellow hummer to drive around in !!!

The second sitting job was at Merry and David's home.  I thoroughly enjoyed that one as I had a little dog to keep me company - Tony is a toy poodle - very old and deaf - I was praying he wouldn't expire whilst on my shift - he likes chasing foxes so I kept him inside with me most of the time.  I took a sewing machine and material with me to Merry's place and set myself up in the basement and sewed a new boom bag for the boat. Don was away both times I house sat which was a shame as it would have been wonderful to have him there also.

Tornado

Tornado
05/23/11
We thought we were well out of the hurricane zone and safely tucked away upstream .....

Don was away when I experienced my first tornado - and (I hope) my last !!!  I was happily relaxing on the couch in the salon when the sunlight disappeared - I rushed upstairs to get the washing off the lifelines and within seconds the day had turned into night, pelting horizontal rain drenched me and strong winds made retrieving the washing very difficult.  At the time we had an awning covering the boat - the wind immediately broke the first two lines holding the awning down which set up a domino effect- the lines continued to snap as the awning sailed up in the air - it came to rest on the mast now forming a sail which in turn, with the wind behind it, rammed White Rose into the dock knocking me off my feet.  Two boaters came to my rescue and helped pull the awning down to the base of the mast where I grabbed rope and tied it in a bundle - Dick (Dickinson) being one of the rescuers noticed all my hatches open and dropped them from the outside - we were all drenched, clothing sticking to our frames.  The wind whipped up waves of several feet in the quiet little bay.  The rain was followed by hail - yes hail in summer! the size of golf balls!  I ended up with many bruises on my arms and legs from the hail.  I was shocked that such a ferocious storm could hit without any forewarning – no one had forecast it nor knew it was likely.  I was shaken and the inside of the boat was drenched - which as luck would have it included my new computer - I turned it upside down and drained a cup of water from its insides - that was the last straw - I cried - what else could I do ??  I tried to phone Don but couldn't get in touch with him which was probably a good thing no point worrying him also.

No damage to the boat but really scared me - usually radio and tv give warnings with alarms of expected bad weather but there was none for this one, it took everyone by surprise.  I found fishing tackle boxes which were packed away inside lockers with cushions over the top that had their handle cavities full of water - that was the strength of the rain.  The storm passed over after only 10 minutes but seemed like hours.  I turned my computer upside down in a V to drain and it gave me the fright of my life 2 nights later when it started up - did the start up chiming and blue glow - spooky !!!  It has permanent damage but I was able to copy the information from the hard drive.  For the next few weeks I was constantly nervous about the weather and leaving the boat, the tornado had really unsettled me.  There were reports of 75 mile per hour winds with trucks blown off bridges, lots of trees down and houses with damage.

Portsmouth, VA

Portsmouth, VA
05/02/11

Our plan for the next 6 months while waiting out the hurricane season was to sail the Chesapeake including stops in Washington DC and Annapolis,  maybe go up the coast as far as Maine and make our way back down to Virginia via New York - something like that - it doesn't really matter now because reality was very different.......

Our first anchorage in Virginia along the Chesapeake was Deltaville - a protected anchorage alongside a beautiful country town - we soon found out that beauty is not everything - with no public transport - not even a taxi and with the nearest shops being further than walking distance, provisioning White Rose became problematic.  Our diesel engine "Mr Engine,Sir" was having problems which stumped us - high oil pressure!!  We really needed a spot to stop with a marine and hardware store nearby.   We emailed around trying to find a marina with reasonable dockage fees - no such thing in the Chesapeake apparently.

05/08/11
36 50.44 N 76 19.95 W




Eventually we decided upon Tidewater Yacht Marina in Portsmouth and headed back the way we had come - carefully and slowly to keep the oil pressure gauge happy !!!  As it turns out we could not have chosen a better spot - we were there for 6 months and loved every minute of it.  Within days we became part of the scenery and the community.  Our next door neighbor, Dickinson on "The Ninth Wave" became my adviser and friend.  Dickinson showed amazing patience with our constant boat jobs which at times included noisy electrical tools and dust - all I needed to add would have been loud music and I think he may have blown a gasket - as it was he was understanding and encouraging.
We spent every Saturday morning at the local pub for breakfast.  We were thoroughly entertained by the friendly bickering of our new friends who discussed all the usual no go subjects of religion and politics with great enthusiasm.  Don and I gorged ourselves with a breakfast that only Americans can produce - sausages, eggs, pancakes, grits, and the list goes on - the serves were so large that Don and I always shared one between both of us and at times could not finish it - we found we could not eat lunch and only a small token dinner - so good was breakfast - nothing like a good serving of starch, fat, cholesterol and sugar to keep you going all day.



Portsmouth is simply beautiful, it has an "Old Town" section with the most amazing very old colonial homes - some for sale at very inexpensive prices for 3 stories !!  It has its bad areas where we are warned not to go walking at night (black neighborhoods mainly) there is still a lot of racial problems here - Don and I are always the only whites on the buses and have lots of fun talking to the African-Americans, listening to them banter or sing - they are a happy lot and they find us amusing.  The children are simply gorgeous, usually shy with fuzzy black hair that would be perfect for a duster - usually done in tiny little ponytails with bright bands - they are so cute.