Bahama Bound II - The Fast Track

OK, we enjoyed the first cruise to the Bahamas,

now we want to do it again without the anxiety of the unknown ahead of us! Here it is we are -

BAHAMA BOUND AGAIN

Day 1

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE CRUISING DOWN THE EAST RIVER.
Here's Gary fresh from California enjoying the East Coast scenery.

As a compromise - Maryanne and I decided that I would put together a crew and deliver the boat to Florida in November while she continued teaching in Manhattan and Bay Shore.  We would leave the boat there until we rejoined it in January when Maryanne will reluctantly retire.  Retirement isn't easy when you truly love your job.

I invited Gary, my cousin's husband, and John, a biking buddy, to help me get "Symphony" south as fast as we could.  I wanted to give Gary time to acclimate to NY but an all too brief weather window required a quick departure from Glen Cove less than 12 hours after he arrived.  Brewer's Glen Cove was helpful - finishing up some last minute jobs for us before we departed.  

New York Harbor - a Light Traffic Day on my ChartPlotter

AIS signals abound on a light traffic day in NY Harbor.  Each red line and arrow represent the speed and course of a boat.  The boats are represented by the triangles while the length of the red lines shows the relative speed of the vessel.
My boat is the red boat symbol near the center of the bottom of the screen.

AIS or Automatic Identification System identifies boats, their course, speed, time of closest approach, distance of closest approach, their names, sizes, and destinations.  It makes it much easier to hail a vessel on VHF.  If you want to discuss your course with another boat that has AIS you don't have to hail "the boat off my port bow."  You can call him by name.  While AIS transponders are required on commercial vessels over 65 feet it's easy to ignore big fishing boats or other smaller boats that may not have AIS.  For that reason you have to constantly be scanning the horizon ahead, around, and behind you in a place like NY Harbor.  This trip wasn't bad but you can see from the chartplotter that you better stay alert!

Snow!

The nor'easter following Sandy provided us with an experience we had never had before: boating in the snow.  When power was restored to our home it was too treacherous to leave the boat until I shoveled the docks.  The Espar heater kept us comfortable in the boat until we could return to civilization.  So far our Caliber has worked very well for us.  We plan to take the boat south again for the winter of 2013/14.

A week after superstorm Sandy we had a Nor'easter that delivered a little surprise: SNOW

This was the view we woke up .

The visibility forward from the cockpit was compromised.

Super Storm Sandy

We were a little annoyed that although we had Symphony ready to be hauled Wednesday before the storm she was never hauled.  We put extra lines on her in preparation for the storm with its projected 12 foot tidal surge.  The surge had the potential to lift the floating docks right over the pilings.  On Tuesday after the storm we approached the docks with more than a little trepidation.  Symphony was unscathed as were all the other boats in the marina.  (Brewer's Glen Cove).  Although we had no power at home we had our batteries, solar power, and engine on the boat to generate power.  Best of all, we have an Espar diesel heater aboard, installed thanks to the ingenuity of Jay Lesynski of Merri-Mar Yacht Basin in Newburyport, MA.

We moved aboard Symphony in the marina.  After a few days of cloudy weather and about 3 hours of engine time the Marina's electric service was restored.  We plugged in and have been here for 10 days. We've used about 12 gallons of diesel fuel.

Our home is frigid but our boat is cozy.  Having lived aboard for 9 months sailing to and from the Bahamas 10 days isn't bad  (but it is BETTER IN THE BAHAMAS!).  Unfortunately, tonight we are experiencing a Nor'easter with thick snowfall and 35kt winds.  The docks are too treacherous to walk on.  We are constantly being startled by loud bangs on the deck.  We have figured that these sounds are caused by falling pieces of ice.  It is so strange to look out the portholes to see snow swirling in the lights and collecting on the deck.  This is a completely new boating experience for us.

The major discomfort right now is caused by all the condensation on the hatches.  When you least expect it you get a nice cold drip on your head or down your neck.  The temperature in the main cabin is about 66 degrees - a little colder in our pullman berth forward - and a whole lot colder in the forward head where you have to be highly motivated to take a shower.  The hot water quickly warms the shower stall so it really is bearable.

This gives you an idea about how difficult it was to get around after the Storm.
Hard to see how electric service can be restored anytime soon.
We have utility crews from Nova Scotia, Alabama, and Massachusetts.

Super Storm Sandy was truly a super storm.  The effects have been long lasting.  Our biggest problem right now is getting gasoline.  The gas stations all have power but no deliveries.  People are waiting on lines outside gas stations overnight hoping that there will be deliveries the next day.  

We made our way up to Deltaville from Hampton, VA.  We fueled up and went for a quick walk through the boat yard identifying the boats on the hard that we had seen in the Bahamas or en route from the Bahamas.  The next day we motored up to the Solomons and stayed at one of our favorite guest docks.  The guest dock is close to Safina, another Caliber 40 owned by Dennis and Carolyn Chandler.  Dennis and Carolyn invited us to dock there and join them for a sumptuous dinner on their screened in porch overlooking the water.  We may be slightly prejudiced but all the Caliber owners we have met so far have been a pleasure to spend time with.  It was fun comparing our sailing adventures in the Bahamas.  We saw them too briefly in Georgetown.  We also talked some potty talk - Vacuflush that is.  We all love the Vacuflush when it's working but Carolyn has a much better working knowledge of hers - having had multiple experiences assembling and disassembling Safina's Vacuflush.  The Vacuflush eliminates the need to manually pump water in and out of the boat's toilet.  It has a vacuum tank that sucks the contents of the toilet out with a sometimes startling implosion and then electrically pumps out the tank re-establishing the vaccum for the next flush.  The Vacuflush uses a small amount of fresh water instead of the odor laden saltwater that most marine toilets use. But enough potty talk.  The Chesapeake is a wonderful cruising ground.

A typical Chesapeake Bay lighthouse -
moved and preserved in the Solomons

More to come!  We've been busy but more info about the last legs of  our return trip will be up soon!  Symphony is now sailing without us and is in Mattapoisett on Buzzards Bay.

Norfolk-Hampton VA

This morning we sailed past the little cove that we were warned against and found that it was empty.  Next time we'll consider staying there.  We tucked in behind a tug who got us through a restricted bridge a few minutes early only to get stuck at a RR bridge for 20 minutes.  We heard a ferry captain make a comment about all the sailboats in the "Southern Branch."  One tug skipper remarked that "It makes me feel so safe when those sailboats run into each other."  It took us a little while to figure out what he was talking about but after passing a bend in the river we saw what looked like hundreds of sailboats wandering around in all different directions across the river.  

Picking our way through them was a real challenge.  We were under power and they were all sailing - so every last one of them had the right of way over us.  We managed to get by most of them but as we cruised along the leeward side of the channel a cannon went off.  We found ourselves at the start of one of the divisions.  I wish my timing was as good in any of the races I've entered.  We crossed the line just as the cannon sounded - a perfect start!

Everyone in the Norfolk area must own a sailboat.  I don't think I've seen so many sailboats in one place since Block Island Race Week!  The wind was gusting to about 25 knots so boats were moving fast and rounding up in the gusts - but what a beautiful scene.

We ended up following this little Hinckley yawl for awhile.
Pretty boat but over-canvassed as were most of the boats in this race.

Combining our boat speed with the true wind we were getting readings of 32 knots in the gusts.  We figured maybe this wasn't a good day for us to motor directly into the wind up the Chesapeake so we headed across the harbor to Downtown Hampton Pier Marina.  The marina is conveniently located next to the Virginia Air and Space Museum.  Last October I had wanted to visit the Imax theater at the Museum but we didn't have the time.  Today we saw the 3D Imax movie: "Into the Arctic."  I love 3D regardless of the quality of the movie.  This one was fun.  I marveled at the divers who swam with the large IMAX cameras under the ice.  Underwater shots of swimming polar bears and walruses made me wonder how crazy you have to be to film them.  Two thumbs up!

Maybe tomorrow we will be able to head into the wind to Deltaville, VA.

We're Baaack!

Keeping up a blog is difficult - especially when you are pushing as hard as we are to get back to NY.
We have covered over 1000 miles in about 25 days not counting the time we took to fly to NY, Tampa, and finally to Wilmington, NC.  It's also hard to be quite as excited about heading away from the Bahamas as it is to be headed toward them for the first time.  We are pretty excited about the progress we have been making.  Tomorrow looks to be a little rough for much of a passage so we'll look for a short run in the Norfolk area.

The Great Dismal Swamp Canal
first built in 1805.  Beautiful.

We are anchored just north of the Deep Creek Lock on the Great Dismal Swamp Canal.  The locktender, Robert, suggested that we might not like the little cove we were originally headed for since it is a crazy Party Central on the weekends.  He told us that we could anchor in mid-channel just outside the lock.   We were the last boat to pass through the lock today so we’re good until tomorrow morning’s opening at 8:30.  It feels a little strange to be anchored right in front of the lock.

Our 2 Calibers in front of Paul and Joyce's Home

We spent yesterday at our friends' dock on the Pasquotank River just south of the GDSC.  Paul and Joyce are generous hosts who give the term “Southern hospitality” new meaning.  Paul helped with a temporary repair on our autopilot.  The autopilot broke free from its mount again in heavy seas on Albemarle Sound.  We hope if we baby it, it will get us home to NY where we can get a proper repair done on it.  Paul also showed me how to properly tighten the fan belt that has been loosening up on my engine. 

It was hard to take our eyes off the Pasquotank River and our two Caliber 40’s from Paul and Joyce’s laundry, dining and living rooms!  The views of the river with the big cypress trees are exquisite.  Paul also cooked us a sumptuous manicotti dinner – vegetarian style for Maryanne topped off by rich chocolate brownies prepared by Joyce.  Once again we had a wonderful time at the Wheeler's.

The Great Dismal Swamp Canal did not live up to it's original expectations because the water in it was not deep enough.  That issue was partially solved with the addition of locks that lift boats 8 feet for a portion of the canal.  Locking through is fun - watching the water boil in front of you as it comes in and the boat rises slowly 8 feet up the wall of the lock on the rising water.

At the bottom

Going up

Higher

and higher

Are we there yet?

OK, We're finally 8 feet higher.
Time to open the gates.