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We safely arrived at Glocester Point, VA at 11 a.m. on the 19th of August.  It was a great trip.  95 percent pleasent and 5% terror.  The storms of the first 36 hours did not dampen our spirits and we look forward to many, many more cruises.

We will be back in VA on Tuesday a.m.  I think my earlier comments might have been confusing.  I couldn’t remember what day it was today.

John

We will be back in VA on Tuesday a.m.  I think my earlier comments might have been confusing.  I couldn’t remember what day it was today.

John

Last evening and early morning today were very pleasant.  We’ve had a mixture of smooth motor sailing and a little sailing without motor. When we’ve added sails, we’ve generally added a knot or two, so it has seemed a bit like sailing. It is very nice when the engine is turned off and the peacefulness of the ship becomes the most notable factor. 

Yesterday, while off the coast of North Carolina, we had a bunch of dolphins swimming in our bow wave and at one point a juvenile broke off and made two huge jumps in the air.  My girls would have loved to see that.  Then, he or she swam above the water and cackled to us, making one final small jump (I guess as a bow) and he disappeared into the sea.  This morning we had more and one of them jumped, but I didn’t see it.  We’ve probably seen 50 dolphins on the trip. 

Everyone is fine.  Besides the first day’s sea sickness, nobody has suffered.  Of course, everyone is looking forward to the next shower.  It will be three nights and part of 4 days without one.  The cabin below is quite hot in the evenings because we have to keep the ports closed so rain or splash doesn’t enter the cabin.  So, we’re getting pretty rank.  Jack and I haven’t shaved since Charleston and we look horrible.  Diana finally insisted I comb my hair yesterday.  For those of you who know my friend and employee Howie, my hair looked like his a few years ago.  He went to a stylist and spent hundreds of dollars. I just sleep on my hair and what I get, I get.

We expect to be in Glouchester Point (our actual destination) early in the morning on Wednesday.  We could make it back tonight, but we’d be coming in during the dark and we don’t know the channel yet, so we are going to wait until the a.m.  You can expect your loved one back on either Wed. night or Thursday morning. 

I’ll make one more blog entry after we’ve safely docked.  I’ll load lots of pictures once we get back and send everyone a new link to look at them all.  This blog website is too slow for loading pictures.

John

33.30.23 N

77.25.31 W

Ahoy everybody!

We left Charleston harbor at about 1000 and have been running the engine ever since.  It is now 1000 on Sunday.  There is nothing worse than being in a sailboat and having your engine running for 24 hours. I take that back, there are a lot of things that are worse. Either there hasn’t been enough wind, or the wind is in the wrong place for the course we want to take.  We could tack back and forth, but that would really slow us down.  So, we move along like a big stink pot chugging along with our diesel.

The weather has been fine.  Last night, we changed our course to avoid a thunderstorm.  Lots of lightening, not something we wanted to mess with.  In doing so, we successfully went through a 30 mile deep thunderstorm with about 2 miles on either side of the ship completely free and clear of the storm.  It was like Moses and the red sea.  And, 30 miles takes a long time when you are only moving at 6 knots and the storm is pretty much sitting still.  We had a good light show.

During the midnight to 0300 watch last night, Mary Ann had a flying fish jump right in the boat right onto her feet while she stood behind the wheel.  They weren’t even sure what it was until they reached down to pick it up.  She ended up grabbing it by both wings and chucking it over the side.  It was only about 8 inches long.

On the 0600 to 0900 watch, there were dolphins swimming with us on the bow.  I understand Mike got some pictures.  Haven’t seen them yet.

It has been a good 24 hours and we hope to get some wind, but the forecast is for wind tomorrow afternoon.  We expect, without anything unforeseen happening, to be in Yorktown by Tuesday some time.  I will keep you posted.

Love to all.

John

Preparing to make our last leg to Yorktown.  A little more organizing, some block ice and off we go.  We are hoping for nice sailing weather.  A nice 20 knot wind would be great.

It is now 1230 hrs on the 15^th and we are tied up against the pier at Charleston City Marina.  Diana as at the helm all the way through the channel, right up to the point we entered the marina.  Then she turned it over to the captain.  The crew is busy cleaning and reorganizing the boat.  It is amazing how in just two days half of what one brings, ends up misplaced.   During all the excitement, I forgot to report some other nice things we experienced.  We saw a couple dolphins on their own, and then saw a pod of about 15.  We also saw some flying fish.  As we entered the main channel to Charleston, there were several dolphins swimming around a fishing vessel (probably a shrimp boat) and who appeared to be going in and out of the nets eating the booty.

Showers are the order of the day and the next priority for everybody. 

Sorry we’ve been late updating the blog.  Excitement and fatigue prevented it until now.  For the excitement, after sailing for about 13 hours and just off the coast of Ft. Pierce, Florida, we were hailed and boarded by the Coast Guard.  Routine stuff…checking papers, safety equipment, etc.  They go down a check list.  We passed with nearly flying colors.  We had one less fire extinguisher than we were required to have.  We’ll get one in Charleston (by the way, we’ll be there by this afternoon). 

On our first evening, at 2000 hrs (8 PM), it was reported by our watch captain that the night was beautiful with a full moon.  The first night was uneventful

The morning of the 14^th, our second night, was a different thing.  The midnight to 0300 watch left the helm with decent weather but building seas. There were no log entries between 0300 and 0700 because the Capt. and well qualified crew (John and Mary Ann MacEvoy) were busy. We went through a squall at about 0400 that lasted about 2 hours.  Winds reached 32 knots and the seas were about 6 to 8 feet.  They had a blast.  Those of us below, who had no real idea what was going on, bounced around our bunks and began the chain of sea sickness that pretty much got a hold of everyone, except for the Captain and Diana.  By the afternoon watch, after things settled down and we had some great sailing (by the way, we always averaged more than 8 knots per hour and were making great time). By 1000 we had building seas 6 to 8 feet and went through our second squall.  This one had a top wind of 42 knots.  This boat is made to take it and if you were up top the cockpit, it was thrilling, if down below, quite the opposite.  The sea sickness continued until early evening.  The seas smoothed out down to 2 – 3 foot swells and a 20 knot wind.  Last evening was great.  At about 1800 hours we began working our way across the Gulf Stream from west to east and we were in much smoother water.  Everyone began to feel better and we all, including the Captain and John  Mac (neither of whom had slept more than 2 hours for the first 28 hours, both got good 2-3 hour naps. 

On the morning of the 15^th at between 0600 and 0700 hrs we tacked the boat dead east to avoid another squall and to get out of the Gulf Stream.  The stream pushing us further North West and would cause us to beat into the wind for the rest of the trip into Charleston, so bearing off early was the right thing to do.  We crossed the big cold front that came out of the pan handle of Fla. and Ga and it smoothed out immediately.  We’ve been motor sailing (sailing with motor running) since about 1900 hrs on the 14^th.  Everyone is happy, safe and feeling much better.  All crew members had a hardy breakfast of toasted bagels and cream cheese, coffee and juice.  I am feeling well enough to type this below decks at the chart table.  Couldn’t’ have done that 18 hours ago. 

We finally completed our sea trial today.  It was great.  We put up all three sails.  Made 8.32 kts.  We also did an engine test with the sails up and engine at 3900 rpm’s – running with the wind and made 10.12 knots!  She is a sturdy and fast vessel. 

The provisioning is finished, stowed and we are ready to leave at 0615 (6:15 a.m.) and be on our way.  We are all excited and plan on getting a good nights sleep.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

John