The Crossing

Headed due east into the sunrise.

It all comes down to this:  “The Crossing”.  Much has been written in the various guide books, but “How you handle the crossing will determine whether this is a good trip or a bad one.” Skipper Bob, “Bahamas Bound”. 

There are several places along the south Florida coast from which to cross to the Bahamas. Many cruisers choose Fort Pierce or Palm Beach, as these provide the first opportunity for south bound cruisers to cross.  We decided to cross farther south and here’s why.  The ‘problem’ is the Gulf Stream, particularly for a slow vessel such as a sailboat like Layla.  The Gulf Stream will push your boat to the north, and you must steer to the southeast to compensate.  How much you compensate depends on the width and speed of the Stream.  This all sounds quite simple to calculate, but the Gulf Stream can be wider or narrower than its average width of 25 miles, and faster or slower than its average speed of 3 knots, depending on where you are relative to it.  Most honest boaters, no matter how seasoned they are, respect the Stream and will admit to some anxieties about a crossing. 

Weather also plays a role in the crossing conditions of the Stream.  Since the Stream is traveling north, any wind from the north, thereby opposing the north flow, will cause large short waves.  15 knot winds can cause 10 foot waves in the Gulf Stream!  Have you seen a ten foot wave in a small boat?  Therefore, boaters avoid a crossing when winds are from any combination of wind from the north.  Heading East to the Bahamas, a southwest to west wind direction is ideal for a sailboat, and less than 20 knots makes it a more comfortable ride.

And so we decided to head out from Fort Lauderdale and head to West End on the Grand Bahamas Island, with a rhumb line course of 64 degrees magnetic.  This is a slightly longer crossing than Palm Beach, but has more of a northerly course, and we could take advantage of the Stream rather than fighting it.  There are several ways to plot the course to account for the Gulf Stream.  We opted to use a method where we followed a fixed compass heading rather than having the GPS recalculate our course as we veered north.  At a boat speed of 5 knots, with 69 miles to West End, we steered a course of about 90 degrees magnetic, due east.  This compass heading results in an “S” shaped course as you are pushed north.

“S” curve of our course taken from Fort Lauderdale to West End, Grand Bahamas Island.

We had planned, provisioned, re-planned, re-provisioned, and repeated this scenario several more times.  We were ready to go.  Chris Parker, the noted weather guide for boaters on the single side band radio, forecasted southeast winds at 5-10 knots, not perfect, but manageable.  Our crossing began at 4 am.  We simply could not sleep anymore.  We pulled anchor and called to request an opening of the first bridge (Las Olas Bridge) at 4:45 am. We then meandered through the canals to the next bridge near the harbor inlet.  Tracy steered in the dark passing between the markers – green on the left (port), red on the right – Bud showed a spot light to help illuminate the markers.  As we waited for the bridge to open at 5:30 am, the current pushed us nearer and nearer to a marker.  And on the other side of the bridge, nearly the entire view ahead was filled with a ship.  A huge cruise ship was just arriving, like a high rise condo but on the water.  By the time the bridge opened and we passed through, the cruise ship was at the dock and no longer posed a threat.

We turned out the inlet as the first of dawn began to brighten the morning.  Ahead we could see more lights of another cruise ship coming through the channel.  Soon a pilot boat came along side of us attempting to hail us on the radio but his radio wasn’t working.  Now close enough to hear him shout, he said we must move now out of the way of the cruise ship – “There is no room for both of you in the channel and the ship, she is coming fast.  Move south now!”  And move we did.  The cruise ship up close is huge with maybe 15 decks towering above the water – a massive thing on the water.

The day now began with the calm. No winds.  We had to motor.  We set the autopilot to the compass course, steering 90 degrees due East.  As the sun rose, winds filled in from the northeast at 5-10 knots.  Yes, we crossed with winds having a northerly component.  But the seas were calm, maybe 2-3 feet.  It would be a good crossing.

About 5-10 miles out, we realized that the GPS and compass were differing by 30 degrees!  This was wacky.  Which one do we believe?  We reread the guide books on the crossing and realized that this wacky GPS was normal.  The GPS was showing course direction, while the compass showed our heading.  The Stream was pushing us sideways.  We were “crabbing” to the Bahamas.  We could see from the track through the day that we were making the distinctive “S” shaped curve.

Looking back (west) at Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

We lost sight of land and could no longer see the high rises of Fort Lauderdale and Miami further south.  We passed into the indescribable cobalt blue of the Gulf Stream – flying fish scattering ahead and to the side.  The winds shifted to the east.  We put the Genoa up (the most forward sail on the bow) and increased our speed about a knot.  We were going 5-6 knots and sustained that much of the day.

Several hours later we began to see land on the horizon – not much elevation but a water tower of West End.

We had made it!  We anchored around 7 pm only to find when we dove on the anchor, the entire ‘anchorage’ was hard coral covered with a dusting of sand.  We put out more chain and put on the anchor drag alarm.  We were fortunate that the winds were light and the seas calm, and stayed put all night.  A good end to a great day.

“Q” flag (quarantine) hoisted after anchoring outside West End.

Next:  Arrival in the Bahamas.  Remember, you can click on the map in the upper right hand side of the blog and see where we are anytime.

You know it is time to go….From West Palm Beach and on to Fort Lauderdale

When you stay so long in West Palm Beach, they give fireworks to celebrate your departure.  Actually, the fireworks were for a private party.

You can see a lot when you stay in one place, but at some point you realize that it may be time to move on.  We planned on staying in West Palm Beach for two days, and ended up spending two months.

Young sailors honing their skills at the Palm Beach Sailing Club.  We came here for showers, laundry, and internet.

When do you know it is time to go?

1.  First and foremost, when the weather says, “go soon”, it may be time to go.
2.  When you start to recognize all of the town “characters” on your walks to the library and grocery stores and they acknowledge you as a local not a tourist, it may be time to go.
3.  When you have stocked up on the most essential food items and have replenished them multiple times, it may be time to go.
4.  When you say, “We know West Palm Beach”, you know it must be time to go.
5.  When you realize all of the things you did with extreme urgency, such as the passport renewal, could have been done without expedited service, it may be time to go.
6.  When you realize with your “old timers status” in the anchorage that you can now suggest to new arrivals that they have anchored too close, it may be time to leave.
7.  When you lose your lock to your dinghy at the same dock, not once but twice, it may be time to leave.
8.  When you have a nickname for every boat owner in the anchorage – that ranges from the dead mans’ boat, the vultures boat, the howling dog boat, the Auzzies, the Brits, the sausage makers boat – it may be time to leave.
9.  When you have checked out every episode of multiple seasons of “House of Cards” and “Orphan Black” from the library, it is time to leave.
10.  When you find that most things work most of the time, it definitely is time to go.

We left West Palm Beach for Fort Lauderdale cruising on the outside (yes, sailing) with the intention to wait a few days for a good weather window to cross to the Bahamas.  As we have learned many times, cruising is less about schedules and more about intentions.

While we were in West Palm we helped rescue a wayward sailboat that had dragged anchor while the owners were ashore.  As a reward the owners offered us a couple of nights gratis at Pier 66 Marina in Fort Lauderdale.  We simply had to tell them when we wanted to stay.  We had access to all the luxuries including swimming pools (yes, 3 of them at the adjacent Hyatt Hotel), laundry, internet, and interesting neighbors (mostly the crew) on mega yachts.  We delayed our departure during one weather window to indulge ourselves with all those amenities.  We then returned to an anchorage nestled near the Las Olas Bridge in central Fort Lauderdale and near the canals with many extravagant estates (you just can’t call these homes).

Hanging out amidst the megayachts at sunset at the Pier 66 Marina.  What a nice treat.

Sunset at our anchorage just north of the Las Olas bridge.

Fort Lauderdale is all about boats, boats and more boats.  From the cruise ships, the countless mega yachts, the long distance sailors, and the weekend day cruisers, Fort Lauderdale is the center of a boating industry probably unrivalled anywhere on the east coast.  So if you want boat stuff, you can probably find it here.  Going ashore and leaving a dinghy is difficult in this area. Fortunately, Southport Raw Bar offers boaters a deal.  You can use their dock for $10 and if you eat there, you get that taken off your bill.  It was a pretty good deal.  We had ready access to many stores, virtually anything you could want.

The Southport Raw Bar dinghy dock.  Our access to land while in Fort Lauderdale.

One of the many yummy lunches we had at the Southport Raw Bar – an avocado burger with bacon mayonnaise.  Mmmmmm.  And Tracy ate the whole thing!

The negative side of shopping by dinghy is of course you have to carry all that stuff you are buying back to the dock.  We walked a lot.  We shopped the marine hardware stores (Sailorman, West Marine, Boat Owners Warehouse, and MacDonald’s hardware) several times, and stocked up on spare parts.  We needed a spare alternator belt and it made us walk more than we could have imagined.  Nobody carried it in stock and with ordering and returning the wrong part, and then re-ordering and picking it up from yet another store, we walked 12 miles for that damn belt!  But we kept saying, “think of how difficult it may be to find it at sea!”

Sometimes things are not in stock, and you have to walk 12 miles.

We finally tested our water maker (de-salination unit) and made our first gallons of water just like magic!  This will be a real treat in the islands.  We found a nifty rod holder for the fishing rods to secure them in the cabin and keep them from being lethal projectiles during the passage.  We re-stocked our food stores at the grocery stores several times.  We continue to think this is our last provisioning for a while.

Quiet times at anchor.  Tracy catching up on her journal.

Front row seats at the Ford Fort Lauderdale Air Show for two days over the anchorage.

We have again secured the dinghy to the deck and the outboard motor to the stern.  We are ready, Layla is full and it is now time for us to leave THIS anchorage.

Now we just wait for that elusive weather window…

Remember you can follow us from the link to the InReach Satellite tracker above.

One Month in West Palm Beach, FL

Banyan tree on the walk to the grocery store.

Now that you can follow us via satellite we realize there is one problem - Now you want to know, ‘Why are you still in the same place?’  We understand you like to see Layla moving along and there is some adventure in that.  Sitting in one place is not very exciting and you want us to move.

Yes, we are still at anchor off the waterway in between two bridges, Flagler Memorial and Royal Palm bridge, sandwiched in between West Palm Beach and Palm Beach.

West Palm Beach viewed from our anchorage.

Palm Beach (east) viewed from our anchorage.

This protracted visit started when we realized we needed to renew our boat documentation with the Coast Guard.  Layla is a US documented vessel which is renewed annually. This year it was supposed to be pretty simple.  We simply go online and complete the renewal form. 

We need to carry a hard copy of the documentation on the boat which meant, of course that we needed the paper document sent to us.  But, remember we are not at home!  We are on a boat.  Where do you sent it?  We thought about that and now have a mail forwarding service.  Thousands of cruisers do this.  Just use their address.  Simple.  We did that.

The expected time to receive the certificate of documentation is about two weeks - maybe three weeks if there are holidays or snow days. Nothing arrived. The Coast Guard said, “it is not me”.  The mail forwarding company said, “it is not me”.  We went back online and filled out another form and payed a few more dollars to request a certified copy of the lost document.  This time we decided to have it sent to General Delivery at the US Postal Office in West Palm Beach.

Meanwhile, we decided to get a passport renewed.  With only five months remaining on the old passport, many countries want at least 6 months. We didn’t know how long we would stay here and of course, we did not want to sit here waiting in West Palm Beach for the usual expected six weeks for the passport.  We opted to spend a few dollars more to expedite the application with the hope to receive it in 2-3 weeks.   We got new passport photos and went to the post office to complete the form and request overnight shipping both to and from the Department of State.  

Pretty simple?  We completed the form in BLUE ink. We missed seeing the very small type at the top of the form stating that the form must be filled out in BLACK ink.  We had to fill out another form in BLACK ink.  Actually, the postal expert was very helpful, and made all of this less painful.  We sent it with the hope to pick it up at the post office - General Delivery.

Farmers Market in West Palm Beach was a real treat.  It made waiting for documents less painful.  

Excellent bread at the Farmers Market in West Palm Beach.

Since we were having to sit here anyway, we decided to order a few things for Layla - a new gasket kit and a new saltwater pump for the galley because the old pump is leaking badly.  We ordered it to be shipped via the US Post Office.  We learned that we do NOT want to use United Parcel Service (UPS) because the post office will not accept it.  We also learned that you don’t call the post office to see if your package has arrived.  If they do answer the phone, the answer is as expected - the package is not there.

Oh, and how do we get to the post office?  Remember, we are on a boat at anchor.  Simple.  We just take our dinghy to the dock in downtown West Palm Beach and walk about 7 blocks to the post office.  Well, it should be simple, but a boat show was coming to town and it was a BIG boat show with crews with barges and cranes and floating docks (oh my) to accommodate the 1.2 billion dollars of boats.  The police reminded us with a friendly visit to the boat one afternoon, “Do not even think about going ashore between the two bridges or use the dinghy dock for the next three weeks”.

Chaos in the anchorage as yachts arrived for the boat show.

More boats waiting to dock at the boat show.  A little close for comfort. That is Layla's bow.

West Palm Beach waterfront transformed by the boat show.

The marine patrol and police made it very clear that we were not permitted to go ashore anywhere along the mile of shoreline.  We could not simply drop someone ashore.  We were stranded.  We scouted our options outside the city waterfront and found a small beach near a parking lot.  We could drop only one of us there and then come back for a pick up.  Our simple task of going to the post office, or anywhere in town for that matter, was now more complicated.  Only one of us could go, and now we had an extra mile to walk to the post office. 

Our old dinghy started leaking water badly after a couple rough rides to the drop off point.

One benefit of the West Palm Beach boat show - our new tender.

If the wind was blowing, and it did for about 10 days in a row, we got very wet in the bouncy dinghy ride.  Once there, we had to take our shoes off, wade ashore, put our shoes back on, and hike to the post office.  Of course, you know where this is going - When Bud got to the post office (he had to go since it was in his name and you know "there can be no substitutes") there were no packages or mail. Despite tracking numbers and conversations with shippers that said otherwise - they would say with a smirking smile, “You have nothing today-Maybe tomorrow.”

OK.  Is that tedious?  And if that isn’t fun enough, we decided to do our taxes while we were here. (We had considered getting colonoscopies too, but decided against that.)

How did that go?  The new passport was a surprise.  It came back in 10 days, and the old passport was returned a couple of days later. We might be on a roll here. The boat parts came in about nine days, just three days late.  We picked up the copy of the boat documentation 6 days after it was stamped “received” at the post office, nearly one month after we started the process.  And taxes were complete after heroic efforts by 3 different IRS agents who had to look up the information from last years’ fraudulent filing to get the submission accepted.  (Yes we had been victims of identity theft on last year’s return.)

So you see, it was quite simple.  We had little choice in staying in Palm Beach…for a while.

When we could go ashore we found oysters from Maryland on the half shell.

We have learned that patience is essential to life on a boat. Now we will wait for the weather to cross to the Bahamas.

From Beaufort, SC to Vero Beach, FL

Morning skies overlooking New Smyrna Beach, FL.

In this second report of our southern trek, we report of travel from Beaufort, SC to Florida. When we headed out of Beaufort the weather was still cold, cold, cold.  But we are heading south, to "where the butter melts", and "every decrease in one degree of latitude warms the temperature by five degrees or so".  At least that was our guide.

Now in Florida, we shed the long underwear about a week ago, and wore shorts and short sleeve shirts for the first time here in Vero Beach.  The temperature two days ago was in the mid 80’s.  The scenery with the vegetation and beaches looks tropical. We are moored amidst the mangroves and the water at the beach is clear blue green.

Walking through a live oak canopy (in shorts) on our way to the beach in Vero Beach, FL.

Clear blue green waters at Vero Beach, FL.

The biggest challenge on this stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is the constant shoaling in certain areas.  Sometimes an area will have only 4 feet of water at mean low tide.  Layla is a big girl with 6 ½ feet of draft.  So, we had to be strategic.  We timed our day to travel through the well-known shallow areas at high tide if possible, or at least on a rising tide with at least 7 feet of water predicted in the area.  None of this would have been possible without Active Captain and tide data.  Active Captain is a community-based sailing website, and gives information on hazards to navigation, as well as bridge, marina, and anchorages.  We have the Active Captain database integrated into navigation software on our tablets, which plots the hazards on to the chart, making it very easy to see upcoming hazards while navigating the waterway.  We typically spent about an hour each evening reviewing the upcoming day’s journey.

Doing homework at anchor along the ICW using Active Captain to plan the next leg of our journey.

Our homework paid off, and we successfully navigated the notorious shallows of Georgia and North Florida without going aground.  Among these we transited “Hells Gate” (chart makers love to scare the living daylights out of mariners) with no less than 11 feet under Layla (we anchored about 2 miles from Hells Gate for about 5 hours to get our timing right), Amelia River just south of Fernandina Beach with about 6 inches under our keel, and Matanzas Inlet on a rising tide we touched bottom a couple of times.  There was much drama at this inlet before and after we made it through.  We were contacted by three vessels before entering the inlet, warning us of shoaling in the inlet.  We saw four boats aground as we snaked our way around the buoys and heard of several more boats that later went aground, including an Army Corps of Engineers survey boat!  All of the boats aground had drafts at least 2-3 feet less than ours!  We felt a little smug about that.

Not every cruiser was as fortunate going through Matanzas Inlet.  From left to right, a trawler is aground, SeaTow is pulling off a sailboat, and the Coast Guard is repositioning one of the green nuns.

Our trip down the ICW would not be complete without a boarding request by the Coast Guard for a “free” safety check just north of Brunswick, GA.  There is deep water in this stretch of the ICW (we saw 60 feet!), and there is no way to say “no” to the Coast Guard.  (The Coast Guard probably has this stretch of the ICW dredged so cruisers cannot use the concern of grounding due to shallow depths to refuse a boarding request!)  This is the exact same area we were boarded by the Coast Guard three years ago heading north.  With the experience from three years ago, the safety inspection went smoothly.  We just need to buy some new flares; the flares from our last trip had just expired.     

We waited out a winter storm in early February at Brunswick Landing Marina up the East River about a block from downtown Brunswick, GA.  There were wind gusts over 40 mph, and sustained winds over 30 mph for two days.  We were glad we were protected in a marina about 10 miles upstream from the inlet.  This marina has a lot of nice benefits.  Number one, it provides free beer all day long, every day.  No joke.  Number two, they have a happy hour for the cruisers, providing beer and wine, while the cruisers provide snacks three times a week.  They have loaner bikes available for free to get around town.  And the washers and dryers are free….no quarters needed.  We did a lot of laundry while we were there, and drank a fair amount of beer.

Flags flying stiff in Brunswick, GA during one of the many winter storms we came across on our trip down the ICW.

We participated in one of the happy hours while we were there, and met up with a cruising couple we met in the Vero Beach City Marina three years ago, James and Donna Ostby.  Back then, we were in the galley making some coffee cake, when we heard a knock on the hull.  Tracy popped up into the cockpit, and a man in the dinghy said that he knew one of the previous owners of Layla.  We invited him on board, and listened to some fantastic stories over coffee and cake.  The stories continued at Brunswick Landing at happy hour, and then again for an afternoon and evening aboard their 38 foot Catalina. 

We stopped at several towns for a couple days each.  We visited our cruising buddy, Stein, in Fernandina Beach, FL.  He and Virginia took us to the local farmers market and to a beautiful state park, Fort Clinch.  In St. Augustine, FL, we shopped at the Sailors Exchange, a marine surplus store.  We scored a tether to attach to a jack line (safety line for staying on deck).  Each of these towns has a really nice downtown area with quaint little shops and excellent restaurants.  Layla is too full for any more of the “knick knacks”, and so we avoided those, but we ate well.

Bud and Stein at Fort Clinch State Park in Fernandina Beach, FL.  Notice the pants, coats, and hats.  It was in the 50's in Florida in February.

The weekly Farmers Market in Fernandina Beach, FL.

Eating well at the 4th Street Deli and Salads in Fernandina Beach, FL.

Vero Beach is an interesting town.  For cruisers, it is the northern-most jumping off point to the Bahamas.  Almost all cruisers going up or down the ditch stop here to re-provision, and because of many amenities, it has become also known as “Velcro Beach” (i.e. once you are here it becomes hard to leave-you are stuck).  One of the reasons for the popularity is the town has a free bus system.  The bus picks you up at the marina every hour, and takes you to the grocery store, liquor store, library, West Marine, WalMart,  hardware stores, and the mall…..all for free.  All this convenience makes provisioning easy.  The marina has a nice cruisers lounge with decent WiFi, a good selection of books for swapping, two TV’s (one permanently tuned to the Weather Channel), and a jigsaw puzzle table.  With a nice bank of washers and dryers next door, and the bus stop across the road, there is always a group of cruisers in the lounge, and always interesting conversations.  The only challenge with such a great marina is finding a place at the dinghy dock, and then finding your dinghy when you want to head back to the boat.

Where is my dinghy???

This time of year, normally most cruisers are starting to head north again.  The marina here at Vero Beach is full right now, with nearly all of the 57 mooring balls occupied, and about ten mooring balls with two boats rafted together on one ball.  Evidently, this was nothing compared to this past December, where we heard that all of Vero Beach’s 57 mooring balls had three boats tied together while waiting for a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas!  This was an unusual winter for cruisers, as the weather window closed before it even opened.  Many cruisers never crossed to the Bahamas.  Some stayed in Vero Beach, and some headed for the Keys.  We heard that the major marina in the Keys, Marathon, FL, which has about 400 balls in their mooring field, had a waiting list of over 50 boats wanting a spot in Boot Key Harbor.  We expect Vero Beach’s City Marina to be really full this spring.

We need to get going…. 

Brown pelican looking for a treat in Fernandina Beach, FL.

Breakfast for the opportunist in New Smyrna Beach City Marina, FL.

As we do our "homework" at the Vero Beach library a mural of a Marine Archeologist soothes
 the stresses of doing taxes and otherwise catching up to responsibilities of the "land-based life".

If you would like to follow our progress, click on the link below:

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From Beaufort, NC to Beaufort, SC

Bundled up for the day down the waterway.

We report on the first leg of our journey from Beaufort, NC (pronounced BO-fort) to Beaufort, SC (pronounced BU-fort).  We left our anchorage in Morehead City, NC on 20 January, with high temperatures in the 40’s.  Sunny, but cold, cold, cold.  We made it to Mile Hammock Bay near Jacksonville, NC just in time to wait out the winter storm Jonas, trying to keep warm with long underwear, several layers, hats, blankets, the propane heater and oven, and hot water bottles.  Did we tell you our journey started off COLD???

Hanging out in the cockpit with long underwear, jeans, sweatpants, turtleneck, sweatshirt, two coats, two blankets, and a hat.

Popping up after turning on the oven to warm up the cabin.

Some mornings you just want to stay in bed.  Cold days on the waterway, especially.  Some mornings you are rewarded for your efforts to get up.  The sun rises and sets everyday – we tend to forget that. Living “outside” helps remind you.

Sunset at our first anchorage of the journey in Swansboro, NC.

Sunset at anchor in Mile Hammock Bay, NC.

Sunset on a mooring in Carolina Beach, NC.

We are adjusting to our life back on the boat.  Some of it is easy and fun.  Some of it, well, tries our patience.  We need to work on that.

One easy and fun thing is laying in the berth listening to the quiet of the water lapping the hull and the gentle rock of the boat in a calm evening.  Among the things that always challenges the patience are the things that break, and break again, and demand that you fix them now.

We made it to Charleston, SC on 30 January, just in time to enjoy a warm spell with temperatures reaching into the 70’s.  Last time we headed south to Charleston, we were welcomed with a warm spell in the 80’s.  Charleston has been good to us.  Today we are moored in Beaufort, SC with temperatures in the 50’s, waiting for a rain front to pass through.  Winter in the Southeast, just like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.

Sunset anchored in Charleston Harbor, SC.

Sunrise at anchor in Charleston Harbor, SC.

Much has been said and written about going down the “ditch” traveling the Intracoastal Waterway.  Some say the first time is not to be missed.  The second is tedious and the third time is horrid and something to be missed.  On any one day we may have all of those sentiments.  It can be complicated on the waterway. 

Yesterday was one of those days.  The day started as we delayed our departure to time our passing through difficult cuts (man-made passages through the marshes) with a rising tide.  Nevertheless, in some areas we had no more than six inches of water to spare under our keel!  Following the shoaling challenges, we entered the broad exposed water of St Helena Sound with the full force of 30 – 40 mph winds.  After the rough sound crossing, we snaked towards Lady’s Island Bridge in Beaufort, SC to request the last bridge opening before car traffic rush hour would close the bridge for two hours.  The last challenge was to discover that things had changed in the anchorage since we were here last.  The area was now a mooring area with a very tight field, which meant we had to wiggle in beside other boats while maneuvering in gusty winds and contrary currents.  The day ended with a rum drink in the cockpit while watching a sandpiper munch on critters on our mooring line.   

I heard it said that a wise man understands that most of us actually do get everything we want – we just don’t get it all at the same time.  You should be happy with that.  We are.

Remember you can follow us on our MapShare site:

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The Polar Plunge

Layla always looks cool from this perspective.

Weather windows be damned.  We weren’t going to wait any longer.  It is only going to get colder.  We have launched (on 14 January, 2016).

Ah...back in the water...

At the Morehead City Docks, just two blocks from our house.

We packed Layla and closed up the house.

The last of the stuff in the house bound for the boat.

A little more chaos and almost there.

We headed south down the waterway.  We are gone.  So the big question, “When are you guys going to leave?” has been finally answered. 

The next big question, “Where are you now?” 

Tune in again for the next dispatch and part of the answer.  Hope you are wearing your hats.  We are.  

Happy New Year!

First walk on the beach for the new year

We took our first walk on the beach of the new year here at Fort Macon State Park on Atlantic Beach in North Carolina.  It was a wonderful day with temperature in the 70's.  Of course the weather then changed and it has been below freezing at night and in the 40's during the day for the last several days!

The boat yard was closed for the holidays and then they decided to dredge the launch area. We have not put the boat in the water. As most family and friends know all too well- "cruising is more about intentions than schedules".

We intend on putting Layla in the water next week and move her to a slip for a few days while we make our final arrangements to leave. Yep. The big jump.  We will keep you posted.

Related to the issue of staying in touch, we have discovered a locator device (by InReach) we hope will keep us in touch. We will be able to send short messages (60 characters or less) to email addresses via satellite. Also, those interested will be able to see our location on a map to follow our travel. We will provide some more information shortly. If you think you want to be included in the list of contacts, let us know by sending an email or send a comment here. 

Wish you all the best for 2016.

Remember the words of Mark Twain,

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”