Merry Christmas

Location: Vero Beach, FL

For the last month we have been tootling around the north and central coast of Florida. We have enjoyed being more laid back and not feeling rushed. The weather for the most part has been great, shorts & T shirts, and sunny. This time of year lots of boats are heading south to the Bahamas and beyond and we've managed to catch up with many friends and get caught up on each others news. We've anchored in new places, Fort George, Fort Frederica, and some old places revisited, St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US, and Stuart. We've just generally dawdled, doing boat jobs and exploring along the way.

Julie applied for US citizenship back on June 1^st and we finally got her interview notification for December 22^nd in Fairfax, VA. This was what prompted the laid back dawdling. We wanted to leave the boat in Vero Beach and drive north for the interview, almost 1,000 miles each way. The good news was that we got to stop and visit family along the way.

Julie has been studying for the civics and history test and spent lots of time getting all the required paperwork together that she needed to take with her. Finally the day came she was all dressed up and ready. The interview lasted about an hour and a half and the fact that we were cruising on a boat didn't bode too well. The interviewer told Julie he would have to go over all the information she had given him and that she would be notified of the outcome by mail. No indication as to how long that would take. A bit frustrating but we're keeping a good attitude and thinking positive thoughts.

We're now back in Vero Beach for Christmas and deciding where to get next until we get 'the decision'

We hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year with family and loved ones. Today is our 10^th wedding anniversary, we couldn't ask for 10 better years than these.

Cumberland Revisited

Position: N 30 45.924 W 081 28.323

Location: Cumberland Island, GA

You may recall how we always have nice things to say about Cumberland Island. Ten days of R & R at one of our favorite places has really hit the spot giving us plenty of time to enjoy our stay.

We first anchored on the Brickhill River right in front of Plum Orchard, a mansion built by Lucy Carnegie for her son and his family. It was donated to the park service in the 70s, was recently renovated, and has been opened to the public. We had a great guide who really knew lots of interesting information about the house and it's inhabitants. Since it was just the two of us, we had the guide to ourselves and really got the royal treatment.

Wild horses

Live oaks intertwined

After a few more days of long hikes through the live oak forests and along the beaches, we moved down to the southern anchorage near the ruins of Dungeness. At this end of the island there are more trails, boardwalks, and mansions to wander around. What a great time! We saw lots of wild horses, wandered under the wild oak canopies draped with Spanish moss, hunted for (and found!!) shark's teeth on the Raccoon Flats, etc etc. We never tire of this place.

Beach walking with good friends old and new

Before we left the Chesapeake in September we arranged with friends from the Chesapeake to meet at Cumberland Island for Thanksgiving. Luckily they all made it, plus a few more. The weather was great and we enjoyed a big Thanksgiving day potluck at the picnic tables ashore. What fun!



Thanksgiving dinner



On this Thanksgiving we have a lot for which to be thankful. We notice how, over time, the differences between friends and loved ones become less apparent and for this we are immensely grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving

The Georgia Marshes

Position: N 31 30.880 W 081 17.976

Location: Ridge River Mouth, Front River, north of Sapelo Sound

We have avoided traveling the ICW through South Carolina and Georgia since our first year out. Feeling harassed by morning fog, morning high tides, skinny water, and first year jitters, we found this section of the ICW to be beautiful but stressful. It's been easy to talk ourselves into giving it a miss and going south on the outside since then - until this year when we decided to give it another chance.

We've still had morning high tides, which can make it difficult to transit the numerous shallow spots later in the day, and some fog, but we also have much more experience and none of it seems nearly as scary to us as it was four years ago. And the scenery is still as wonderful as we remembered. Miles of golden marsh grasses with very few houses and lots of wildlife.

Yesterday is a good example. We had anchored the previous night behind Daufuskie Island, one of Georgia's outer islands, only accessible by boat or the ferry from Hilton Head. We were up early and hauled anchor at 6:30, barely daylight with just a hint of fog. High tide was at 11am and we wanted to get through a couple of potential problem areas before the tide got too low in the afternoon.

By 7:30 we'd already watched a spectacularly colorful sunrise and had dolphins playing around the boat, leaping completely out of the water right next to us. The sun was up and already warming the cockpit, and we knew we were in for a splendid day. After we'd been weaving our way through the marshes for a while, enjoying the colors and the wildlife, a huge bald eagle soared across in front of the boat just off the bow sprit! It was magnificent!

A bit later we turned a corner and were spat out into the Savannah River. This is the major shipping lane from the ocean up to the city of Savannah, GA, one of the busiest ports on the eastern seaboard. It's only about a quarter of a mile wide where the ICW crosses. Luckily, with our trusty new AIS equipment we already knew that a humongous container ship would be right there when we entered the river. We had a brief chat with the ship and made arrangements to pass each other safely. It's probably the closest we've been to a big ship that was under way, but no worries. We turned to starboard and paralleled the shipping lane until it was past, then scooted across the river and continued along our way.

The day was idyllic – warm, sunny, and calm. We saw a sea otter and many more dolphins, miles of grasses and trees, and loads of birds. Egrets, herons, wood storks, hawks, and kingfishers, among others. And the leaves on the trees were just starting to change color. Finally we dropped the hook just before sunset in a narrow, deep tongue just off the waterway. It had been a 10 hour day but we didn't feel stressed, nervous, or tired - just happy and relaxed. Times change as do we. But we're sure Georgia is just as beautiful as it was before the Spanish and English came here 100s of years ago. Great to know that some things remain the same.



Like our first trip down we continue to be intrigued and entertained by the names of places we pass. Places like Buttermilk Sound, Rockdedundy River, Wally's Leg, Dog Hammock Spit, Calibogue Sound, Runaway Negro Creek, Cat Head Creek, Cubbage Creek, Skidaway Narrows, and Burnt Pot Island. These names and many others give us insight into the places we're passing through and enrich our days as we transit the Georgia marshes.

Relaxed and enjoying ourselves “on the inside”.

Headin' Further South

Position: N 34 02.974 W 077 53.330

Location: Brickyard Creek, north of Beaufort, SC

A lot has happened since we last wrote and we've made good, albeit slow, progress further south.

After running aground (see last Khronicle) we stopped for a couple of days at Great Bridge, VA to visit w/ friends, buy some groceries, and top up the fuel tank.

Then we continued south through the Currituck Sound, across the Albemarle Sound, up the Neuse River, and on to Beaufort (Bow-furt), North Carolina. On the way we tested our new whisker pole and absolutely love it. We now finally have some down wind mojo!!

Tiger Lily, our 8 year old granddaughter whom we did not get to see during our visit to VA this summer, joined us at Belhaven, NC for a week aboard. We had a wonderful time with her, despite some not so perfect weather and unfavorable seas. She was a great crew member and we enjoyed cooking together, wildlife watching from the bow, teaching her navigation, helmsmanship, knot tying, VHF radio etiquette, and generally 'connecting'. What a special time together. She traveled over 100 miles with us and was a great sport.



Tigerlily learning to play the conch horn at sunset



A couple of days in Beaufort waiting for favorable weather (that never appeared) were followed by a few more days “on the inside” to Little River, South Carolina. We picked up a friend who used to cruise and she accompanied us from Little River to Charleston, SC “on the outside”. Another great sail, also making good use of our new whisker pole. This has proven to be a great addition to our cruising equipment. Julie & Yvonne had a “slumber party”, yakking away their watch in the cockpit, great fun!!

Then after a couple of weeks on the dock visiting friends and doing various boat jobs including a couple of carpentry projects (thanks to the availability of a friend's table saw – thanks, Jim!!) we were ready to continue south. Once again we didn't see any favorable weather in the near future, so we set off “on the inside” and made our way down to Beaufort (Byew-furt), SC where we currently sit.

A big front with 30+ knot winds is scheduled to blow through here tonight followed by what sounds like a good opportunity to get down to Cumberland Island, one of our favorite places on the East Coast. Except for one thing – it's supposed to get down to 35 F (that's just under 2 C) tomorrow night. Brrr. We don't have the luxury of a full enclosure on our cockpit,. That means it's wooly jumpers, knit caps, mittens, foul weather gear, and blankets while we're on watch.

So we're sitting here trying to decide whether we want to brave near-freezing temperatures outside on the ocean overnight or continue on down the inside where we can anchor and snuggle up at night.

Trying to stay warm,

Headin' South

(Note: We're running about a month behind on our Khronicles. We'll try and get caught back up in the next couple of days.)

Position: N 36 45.350 W 076 18.544
Location: Deep Creek Anchorage

We're anchored off Jackson Creek in Deltaville, VA, our old stomping grounds. We decide not to go into Jackson Creek – the weather's supposed to be benign tonight and it will make leaving early in the morning easier if we don't have to negotiate the tight turns and unlit marks of the narrow entrance channel.
We go to bed early and both find ourselves awake at midnight. We toss and turn and try to get back to sleep. Yeah, right! "Trying" to get back to sleep" is a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it? It may have worked some, but we finally decide to get up and make coffee at around 04:00.
Since we're up anyway, and outside the creek, we decide to leave in the dark. We turn on the navigation lights, haul anchor, and and head out into the bay at 06:00. There's a nice breeze behind us, so we get out the big head sail, turn off the engine, and have the best sail we've had so far this fall. The current is with us and we fly down the bay. We don't start the engine and put away the sail until we're well down the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, VA on our way down the Intracoastal Waterway.
We arrive 45 minutes early at the only opening bridge we have to negotiate today. Time to start the "idle into the current to stay in one place" drill while we wait for the scheduled opening. It's our lucky day – right after we head into the current, a barge coming up river calls for a commercial opening (note: bridges that open on a schedule will also generally open at unscheduled times to allow commercial traffic to pass). We call the bridge tender and she lets us slip through on this opening after the barge clears the channel, saving us a big chunk of time.
Since we are ahead of schedule, we decide to do some exploring. We turn off the main ICW channel toward the Dismal Swamp and, about a mile in, enter a small, man-made basin. We've passed this basin every time we've taken the Dismal Swamp route, but we've never stopped here. We feel our way in, seeing nothing less than 9 feet at the entrance and are happy to find 18 feet in the middle. We drop the anchor, back down to set it, and have a peaceful evening all to ourselves.
Days like today are what it's all about – beautiful weather, great sailing, a big dose of good luck, and a quiet place to spend the night.
Note: Of course days like today have to be balanced out by days like tomorrow. We run aground coming out of this idyllic anchorage at 6am the next morning trying to hurry out to make another bridge opening. We are not quite in the middle of the channel. It turns out OK, though. Mark flings himself from one side of the boat to the other to get a pendulum motion going while Julie at the helm is gunning the engine in reverse. Finally he has such a good swing going that the keel comes off the bottom and away we go, just barely making the bridge opening. Sorry no pictures of this hilarious sight you will just have to use your imagination.

Another Close Encounter

Date: September 26, 2011
Position: N 38 W 076 17.0 (approximate)
Location: Mouth of the Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay, USA

We've been planning to visit friends in Deltaville and decide to do the trip in a single overnight leg, rather than in 3 day trips so we can spend more time with them. We haul anchor around 5pm just south of Annapolis for the 90 mile trip which should take around 16 hours. The low temperature is going to be in the mid 60s – not too cold - but it will be dark as pitch as there is no moon tonight.

We have just installed an AIS (Automatic Identification System) receiver, which we are thrilled to try out as we have been coveting this piece of equipment for 3 years. The AIS shows any big ships in the area, their name, what course they are on and the closest point of approach. When out in the ocean if a vessel looks like it will be passing very close to us we can hail them on the radio, make sure they know we are there and ask if we need to change course to avoid them. It is not essential equipment but it's VERY nice to have.

As we start to head down the bay there are several AIS targets and we pass the time looking them up and figuring out how this new equipment works, enjoying a new found sense of security from knowing how close they will come. We'll be paralleling the shipping lanes all night so we expect to be kept entertained. We're not too worried about an altercation as all the big ships will stay in the shipping lanes.

Around 11pm Julie goes below for a nap and around 2am we have a change of watch and Mark goes below. It's starting to get a little chilly now and we are approaching the mouth of the Potomac River. This river flows down from Washington DC and has quite a lot of current and more shipping traffic - it's always a bit of a problem area and we need to stay alert.

Julie notices an AIS target on it's way up the bay but it doesn't seem to be any problem. It's still pretty far away and the CPA (closest point of approach) is over ½ mile. She turns on the radar to track the vessel as it may start turning and heading up the Potomac. All the land masses and navigation aids show up on the radar making it difficult to ascertain which blip is the ship. Julie is pondering over the equipment when suddenly a flood light flashes on Rachel.

She jumps up and sees lots of lights closing in on her. Where the heck did that come from? She sees red AND green lights along with lots of white lights. Red and green at the same time is not good, it means the other vessel is coming right for you – head on!! And it was BIG!! Julie calls for Mark, jumps to the helm, and picks up the VHF. Mark is sound asleep, lulled by the steady throb of the engine – he doesn't hear her.

Julie: "Vessel at the mouth of the Potomac this is Rachel".
Other vessel: "This is <garbled>"
Julie: "Do I need to change my course to avoid you?"
Other vessel: "Yes - you need to head east."
Julie: "Roger That"

Quickly looking down at the compass realizes that she's heading SW. Feeling a little confused she gets back on the radio.

Julie: "I'm heading SW. Will you pass behind me?"
Other vessel: "No! I'm passing right in front of you and you need to head east NOW to avoid a collision!"
Julie: "OK."

She madly turns the wheel and slams the engine control to full throttle. The spotlight passes over Rachel again and the lights are REALLY close. Mark pops up from down below. Apparently the engine suddenly screaming at full RPM makes an effective alarm clock.

Mark: "What's going on?"
Julie: "I have no idea where we're heading!"
Mark: "Looks like north east."
Julie: "I know that! I mean I don't know if we're going to have a collision!"
Mark: "Looks like we're moving away – can we back off a few hundred RPM?"
Julie: "NO! Not until I know we are well away from this monster!"

Mark realizes that now would be a good time to just sit and be quiet for a few minutes. There's not much for him to do at this point, anyway, as we are obviously moving away from the other vessel and can only see the green starboard light indicating that the danger of collision is past.

Mark: "I'm going to throttle back a bit now. Are you okay?"
Julie: "Can you take the helm for a while? I'm pretty shaken up."
Mark: " Sure, Petal. What happened, anyway?"

Much discussion ensues about the nature of the other vessel, it's "sudden" appearance, it's lack of AIS transponder, the confusion w/ the radar and the lights, and what could have been done to avoid such a close call. This is interspersed with several comments from Julie similar to "Holy crap!", "I'm still shaking", "Wow! That was close!", and "He was just suddenly there!".

We still aren't sure what type of vessel it was (other than "big"). In retrospect, after referencing our light chart, Julie thinks the lights looked like a "trawler less than 50 meters". That sounds like a menhaden boat, but we're still not certain. Three things we are sure of are: we were having too much fun playing with the AIS; there was no AIS signal; and we totally misread the lights until the other vessel was way too close.

We decide we've been given the opportunity to relearn a lesson we've already learned well: instruments are incredibly helpful, but there is no substitute for an awake, alert, and active watch in busy waters.

AIS is cool, but not all vessels have a transponder. Radar is great, but it can be confusing to read in close quarters. A chart plotter is a big help in keeping track of your position but it can't tell you anything about other vessels in the area. We already know all this, but, once again, we are reminded of it with about as much subtlety as a frying pan upside the head. We decide to add a new ship's policy – from now on whenever we know or anticipate being in a "problem area" we will both be on watch. Four eyes are better than two, that's for sure.

Still a bit shaken,

The Great Escape

Date: September 22, 2011
Position: N38 53.170 W076 31.675
Location: Rhode River, Maryland, USA

We were a bit worried about a visit from Mark's mum this month, about how would she manage on the boat,. After all, she's 84 and not as spry as she used to be. But we had a great 5 day visit - she was a real trooper, on and off the boat; up and down the companionway; learned how to use the head (toilet), etc, etc.

Unfortunately the first 3 days were pouring rain but then it cleared up and we managed to take her out for a cruise. We wanted to give her a small sample of our day to day life aboard Rachel and I think she got a good taste. We sailed all day playing slalom between debris that was covering the Chesapeake. After lots of rain a big dam on the Susquehanna River had opened all of it's flood gates and all kinds of trash was floating down into the Chesapeake. There was trash everywhere! We had to have a person on the bow pointing to avoid 'the big stuff'. It was a bit like being back in the San Blas negotiating the reefs, but with much browner water!

Amongst the usual whole trees, stumps and brush, we also saw things like hot water heaters, big plastic drums, propane tanks, water heaters, car tires, tractor tires, and loads of other junk. Picking our way through debris fields hundreds of yards wide made for a challenging trip but Rachel's crew was up to the task.

Determined to have a good day we slowly sailed south to the Magothy River and anchored out for the night along with our friends Mike & Roberta on Celilo. Mum got to enjoy happy hour on board, the gentle rocking of Rachel at night and the camaraderie of cruisers, among other things. We all had a great time together.

With all of our family visits complete (except one - we're still hoping to get together with our granddaughter Tigerlily along the way) and it starting to get cooler during the day and colder at night, we decided it was time to start heading south again. Marina life is OK but it's not why we choose to live aboard Rachel.

So after a frantic week of preparation getting Rachel ready to be seaworthy again, we cast off the dock lines and made 'The Great Escape', a big 30 mile trip to visit with friends at the Seven Seas Cruising Association get together on the Rhode River south of Annapolis. A big weight was lifted from us, we had our home back and our freedom. Now we just have to sift through all the last minute stuff we tossed aboard before we left, stow what we're keeping, and sell or give away the rest.

Staying ahead of the cold (we hope),

Mark & Julie
s/v Rachel

Hurricane Hijiinks

Position: N39 08.735 W076 30.882
Location: Pasadena, Maryland, USA

While we are down in Virginia visiting family we are continually watching the weather. Julie's brother Tony is coming from England to visit for a week, flying into BWI (Baltimore Washington International airport) and catching the train down, as we did. As the day of his arrival approaches so does Hurricane Irene. She's scheduled to pass by the Chesapeake Bay, where Rachel is moored, the day after Tony arrives. We're in a quandary, glued to the Weather Channel, watching Irene's progress and hoping she'll turn out into the Atlantic, giving us a miss.

No such luck. On Thursday afternoon the models still show her tracking close and we make the decision to drive up and have her hauled. We need to change a through hull fitting anyway, so we'll be killing two birds with one stone. Charlotte graciously offers to loan us her car and we leave Radford at 2:30 Friday morning and make the 6 hour drive back to Oak Harbor Marina. There we strip all the sails and canvas off, stow everything that could get blown away in a hurricane and get Rachel up on land where hopefully she'll be safe and sound.

Then it's off to the airport to pick up Tony. He gets to spend his first night on Rachel on land, climbing up and down the ladder, experiencing all the “fun” that comes with living on the hard. The next morning the hurricane is supposed to hit the lower bay, working it's way north. Rachel's as safe as she's going to be, so we pile into the car and head back south to Radford. This is a tough decision for us – we really want to stay and make sure Rachel is OK, but Tony is only here for a week and we don't want to ruin his holiday!!

As it turns out Baltimore area only got winds in the 45-60 mph range and Rachel was pretty sheltered behind trees so she only saw 30-45 knots of wind and no damage was incurred. Our friends who remained at the boat yard kept a close eye on her for us. We spent four more lovely days in Radford with the family and then traveled back up to Baltimore on the train. The plan was to take Tony out on Rachel for a couple of days before he returned to England.

Mark was able to change the though hull fitting the day we arrived back on Rachel and the boat yard was able get her back in the water early the next morning. We spent the rest of the morning getting her partially back together and left the dock at noon. We had a wonderful day sail in the Bay and spent the night anchored out, giving Tony a small taste of our cruising life. The following morning we gave him a ride to the airport and he's been whisked away back to England while we slowly get Rachel back to herself. Phew what a week!!

...and guess what? Now hurricane Katia is working her way across the Atlantic and may well hit the US near us at the end of this week. Sigh.

Stay tuned,

Mark & Julie

Time passes....

Location: Check, Floyd County, Virginia, USA

WAAAAAHHHH!!!! AAHuuh AAHuh AAhuuh AAHuuh!! WAAAAahhhh---.... uurp!

Babies. They're loud and wonderful and beautiful. And they're porous - they leak from everywhere. But he's so handsome and precious.

We're up in the mountains of Southwest Virginia visiting Mark's son Jeseph and his family, Emilee and baby Baylen. Emilee has left us to watch Baylen while she goes to the library to do some work. Baylen and Oma (Julie) are out on a quilt in the yard. Baylen's belly is full and he's sound asleep and Oma is happily reading Hemingway's “The Old Man and the Sea” for the first time. B'da (Mark, pronounced “BUH-dah”) is enjoying the cool quiet, the sounds of the countryside, and the slow coming and going of sun and cloud. He is also taking various random detours down memory lane from when he used to live in this area. Remembering living here with his family – Jeseph, his older brother Zac, and their mother; revisiting old regrets, some gentle and slow, some knife-sharp; tender moments with family and friends; wild and happy times making music, working, playing softball and volleyball, and just plain general carousal. All three of us are about as content and happy as it is possible to be.

Let's rewind to a couple of weeks ago...

Our oldest grandchild Alex comes up to visit us for a week on Rachel. He's 9 ½ years old and loves being on the boat with us. He's been going out on boats with us since he was a baby and always seems to enjoy his time aboard with Oma and B'da. We sail over to the Chester River and spend several days gunkholing, swimming, and exploring in the dinghy. Then it's time to head back to the dock so we can close up Rachel and go visit our three other grandchildren for 2½ weeks.


Time passes....

We decide to take the train from Baltimore, Md to Lynchburg, Va where Charlotte will pick us up. A friend drops us off at the train station about 10 minutes ahead of schedule and we get on the train. It's so much nicer than flying! No security checks, no arriving an hour or two before your scheduled departure time – it's actually quite pleasant. The conductor helps us find four facing seats so we can sit together and we're off. After the stop in Washington, DC we find a table in the cafe car and play games for much of the rest of the trip. The cafe car is closed about an hour before our arrival in Lynchburg and we return to regular seats where we read quietly until we arrive. As always, Alex is a great traveling companion!


“Look! There's Mommy!!” he cries as we prepare to disembark. Sure enough Charlotte's standing on the platform scanning the passengers as they exit the train, her head turning left, then right, like she's watching a tennis match from center court. We step down, she spots us, and there's a flurry of hugs, kisses, and “I'm so happy you're here!”s.

After a two hour drive we arrive at Charlotte's house in Radford, Va at 9pm. Alex is too excited about going home to fall asleep during the drive, although we doubt Emma, our 3 yr old granddaughter will still be up. Boy, are we wrong! We open the door and hear gleeful cries and are nearly bowled over as she runs to greet us - especially Alex, whom she has missed terribly for the past week. Kelly ushers us inside, welcomes us in his usual generous and genial fashion, and we settle in for a week of visiting, catching up, and playing with Alex and Emma.


Time passes....

We borrow a car from friends and drive up into the beautiful mountains to Floyd County, where Mark lived for 15 years, and his son Jeseph spent his first 6 years. Last fall Jeseph decided to return to his roots and bring his daughter, Tigerlily, and lovely, pregnant lady Emilee with him. Baby Baylen was born a month ago and this is the first time we've met both him and Emilee! Unfortunately, Tigerlily is away, visiting her Mom in Hawaii. We're really going to miss seeing her this visit. We discuss getting together with her somewhere on our way south later this fall with Jeseph, who'd also like to get in a couple of days of surfing.

Back to the present...

Little Baylen's tummy and bum are making lots of funny noises. Poor thing seems to be most comfortable lying face down on an arm, walking and gently bouncing around the garden looking at things and feeling the cool breeze. He especially seems to like having a running commentary on where we're going and what we're seeing. So Oma, B'da, and Baylen are playing tag-team, taking turns walking around, bouncing, talking, singing, Khronicling, making lunch, tidying up, and generally enjoying this precious, precious time together.

Missing large portions of our grandchildren's lives as they grow up is probably the most difficult part of our cruising lifestyle. As we age and they continue to change so quickly it's getting harder and harder to leave them and head out again. Their laughter, smiles, joys, and sorrows tug at our heart strings. They are such wonderful little people.

Time passes....

Mark & Julie

s/v Rachel

Log Canoes

Position: N 29 08.735 W 076 30.882
Location: Pasadena, MD, USA

We finally got off the dock for a weekend and decided to go watch the log canoe races at St. Michaels, Maryland, about 35 miles away.

As usual, we had wind on the nose. And when we made the turn from West to Southwest, the wind followed us. We had a motor boat ride in light wind the whole way, arriving at anchor just before dark. But it was so nice to be back at anchor, we hardly minded.

The log canoe races were great! We'd never seen them before and were impressed. We understand that around the turn of the century, log canoes were the “pickup trucks” of the Chesapeake Bay. Captains would race each other back to port, purportedly because the first one in got the best price for their catch. Over time more sail was added. This required boards set to windward for the crew to counteract the heel caused by the sails. Now the boats carry more canvas than any other boat their size we've seen! Luckily for us the wind was light, allowing us to follow the boats around the course in our dinghy. We had a great time. Here's a link for more info on the log canoes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log_canoe

Unfortunately on our way back on Sunday afternoon we had a bit of a “holy shit!!!” moment at Kent Narrows ridge. This is a narrow opening bridge which usually has quite a bit of current going through it but it saves a good 2-4 hours off the return trip. We usually try to time our passage for slack tide. We didn't want to get back too late, however, so we cut the corner on the tide by a couple of hours. At that time, we had about 3-4 knots of following current. This was exacerbated by the 15-25 knots of wind from behind us that was being kicked up by a nearby thunderstorm.

We were about 10 minutes early for the opening, so we turned into the wind and current and were able to hold our position using the throttle. The bridge finally opened and all the power boats that were in front of us went through, we got turned around and were making about 8 knots at idle speed as we approached the bridge.

For those of you who don't know, the marine “rules of the road” dictate that vessels going with the current have the right of way over those going against the current, especially at bridge openings. This being the case we we weren't too worried about oncoming traffic. All the same, Mark got on the radio and let all the opposing traffic know they should hold their positions because we and another sailboat were coming.

As we made the final turn to head through the bridge we saw a BIG fishing boat heading into the opening from the other side. And there's only room for one boat at a time! There was no way we could stop with the current behind us. The fishing boat slammed into reverse and did start to back up but he also “walked” a little to the side – our side. Julie braced herself to hit, she was sure there was no way to avoid it. Mark was at the helm and with quick thinking, full throttle, a bit of luck, and masterful maneuvering managed to squeeze between the fishing boat and the bridge with about a foot to spare on either side – and without catching the mast or rigging on the bridge before the hole closed.

Phew. It was the closest we've ever come to losing Rachel. The bridge tender was yelling at the fishing boat captain to turn on his radio and pay attention!! We were just shaking. Mark didn't even try to call the other captain to give him a piece of his mind, he was so shaken up. After the adrenaline wore off we agreed that we were just happy that neither us nor Rachel got damaged.

To get a feel for what it was like, take a look at this short video we found on the Internet. Imagine a boat nearly as wide as the bridge opening coming at you as you enter the bridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItE_waN121w&feature=related – yikes!

Needless to say we'll not be trying Kent Narrows at other than slack tide again.

After that, the wind lightened up a bit and we had a wonderful beam reach back to the marina. All in all, a lovely end to a lovely (albeit a bit too exciting at times) weekend.


Mark & Julie

Afloat Again

Position: N 29 08.735 W 076 30.882
Location: Pasadena, MD, USA

After 24 days of living on Rachel while she was on dry land we're finally back in the water. Wolohoo!! No more climbing down the ladder to use the head in the middle of the night! No more dust, sand, and grit everywhere!

Rachel's bottom is all clean and freshly painted with (hopefully!!) enough bottom paint to last a couple of years. We cleaned and inspected all the underwater fittings, replaced a couple of thru-hulls, raised the water line (due to all the 'stuff' we have on the boat), and waxed and polished all the topsides paint (much easier to get at with scaffolding rather than from the dinghy). She's looking all sparkly ready for the 4th of July.

Now we need to spend some time cleaning out the inside of the boat, get rid of stuff we're not using and do more boat jobs. Julie is working in the marina office and picking up some canvas sewing jobs while Mark is working on the boat. We're hoping to also get to do a little fun stuff like cruising on the Bay while we are here too. We haven't done much exploring up at this end of the Bay so now's our chance.

Happy July 4th

Mark & Julie

Back on the Bay

Position: N 29 08.735 W 076 30.882
Location: Pasadena, MD, USA

Only 46 days and 1942 miles since we left Panama and we're back in our old stomping grounds, the Chesapeake Bay. We had a great trip up the east coast stopping in Isle of Palms, SC, Beaufort, NC, Deltaville, VA, and Annapolis, MD to visit friends for a few days each. This really helped to break up the trip and gave the crew some R & R time. It is always great to catch up with old friends – it always feels like we've never been apart. Now we need to do some inland trips to visit family.

Rachel is currently hauled out and we are giving her bottom some much-needed attention. Living “on the hard” is, as always, annoying. We have to climb up and down a step ladder to get on and off the boat, deal with sand and dust constantly, and the boat just doesn't move right . We're looking forward to getting back in the water.

Our current plan is to spend the summer here working in the area to put some of the money we're spending back in the “cruising kitty”, working on the boat, and visiting family.

More as it unfolds.

Fair winds.

Florida is a REALLY long state

Location: Cumberland Island, Georgia
Position: N 30 43.009 W 081 18.184

We just spent 3 days and 3 nights traveling 483 miles along the coast of Florida. The passage was not one of our best but we got a lot of miles under our belt. The winds were fairly light and not strong enough to sail most of the time, other times they were dead on the nose and we still had to motor into them. The good thing is we are now at one of our all-time favorite spots - Cumberland Island. GA. We've spent the last couple of days walking the beaches and through the live oak forests. Great after being on the boat for so many days.

On our way into Cumberland Island a huge submarine passed us on it's way to the base upriver

Today we are leaving again for an overnight passage to Charleston, SC

Culture Shock

Position: N 24 34.175 W 081 48.206
Location: Key West, Florida, USA

After crunching some numbers here are some interesting facts about our trip north:

Total miles traveled: 1,157 nautical miles (1,331 standard miles)
Total travel time: 7 days 20 hours
Average speed: 6.1 knots (7 standard miles per hour)

We feel compelled to give a huge thank you to our wind vane 'Helga'. She's been on the boat for almost three years now and we haven't really used her that much, but this trip was so long we decided to take the time to get to know her better. On the first day we learned the wonders of wind vane sailing. Not to get too technical, it's a self-steering system which uses the wind to steer the boat. No electricity, no battery power, no fuel...only wind. You set a paddle to point into the wind, adjust the sails so they are set perfectly (this is the hard part), then engage the lock to Rachel's steering wheel. That's it! Now sit back and watch Helga do her magic - silently and using no electricity!! She steered the boat almost the entire way back - we love her.

Why is she called Helga, you might ask? Well!! Our wind generator in called Wendy (windy), our electric auto pilot is called Otto (auto). As the wind vane was a close relative of Otto she also needed a Germanic name. After a few days of discussion underway, and with not much else to do, we decided on Helga, because she's a 'hell of a gal'. Can't help it if we're not all that creative...

We are finally getting caught up on our sleep and are starting to feel like our old selves again. Except that we're in Key West. Key West is a wild and crazy place, at the best of times, but after spending months in Central America and our most recent time in remote Kuna Yala, we are having culture and sensory shock. So many shops where we can buy anything, and we mean ANYTHING in Key West. So many people. So much noise. We've probably spent as much money in a week as we spent in Panama in 3 months - Yikes!!

Since we've been here we've seen a battle for the independence of the Conch Republic that involved among others biplanes, schooners, a Coast Guard fire boat. It was quite impressive.

Then yesterday we got to see the bed races. Yep. That's right. They shut down 6 or 7 blocks of Duval St. (one of the main streets in town) for a few hours and have a "parade of beds" and "bed races". Different groups (and we mean "different"!!) dress up and push a "bed" on wheels up the street in a parade, then race back against the clock. Hilarity and mayhem were the order of the day.

We're looking for a weather window to head East to Miami, then to points further north. It looks like next Wednesday will be the earliest we can leave, given the easterly winds we're expecting to have through next Tuesday.

It feels good to be back and we're looking forward to seeing all of you soon.

Fair winds.

Land Ho!

Date: April 28, 2011
Position: N 24 34.175 W 081 48.206
Location: Key West, Florida, USA

Our last 2 days have been busy and tiring. We slogged along the north coast of Cuba for a day and 2 nights, into the wind, which is never fun. However, there were times of reprieve when the winds died down and made the ride a little more comfortable. Our plan was to head for Miami ahead of some bad weather this weekend, but after checking the weather this morning we saw the wind was expected to shift more easterly. This meant 2 more days of close hauled sailing into the wind and waves. Suddenly Key West was looking much more attractive!!

We turned Rachel toward Key West and immediately she rode the waves better, sailed faster and more easily, and we all felt much happier.

About 50 miles off Key West we got a call on the VHF radio from the Coast Guard. They asked for basic information about the boat and told us to stand by. About 5 minutes later they call back and say they'll be sending a boarding party to do a 'safety check'.

US Coast Guard cutter

A pretty good sized Coast Guard cutter suddenly comes into view, they lift a big inflatable into the water off the side deck, 4 officers get into it and they head toward Rachel. While we are still sailing 3 of them jumped aboard Rachel to do our safety check. Everything went really well, they were very professional but friendly and after about 30 minutes they were on their way. We told them it was so nice to talk to someone other than each other and they got a chuckle out of that!! Apparently the Coast Guard cutter had been 300 yards off our boat while we were sailing along the Cuban coast last night, we had never seen them (even using our radar!!), and neither did Osprey, our travel companions.

30 miles from Key West a pod of dolphins came to play with us. About 15 of them swam in front of the boat doing tricks and leaping out of the water. What a lovely welcome back!!

20 miles from Key West we started seeing a lot of port traffic and hearing LOTS of chatter on the radio. All vessels with a VHF radio are required to monitor channel 16. Unfortunately, there is so much yakking on that channel that we looked at each wondering why we came back. We couldn't even have a conversation with each other without interruption. The constant chatter really got on our "last nerve". We'll take a dolphin welcome, any day!!

Despite the constant interruptions we managed to communicate with each other and slowly work our way into Key West harbor in the dark. We anchored at 9:30 pm and are safe and well. Tomorrow we have to figure out how to check in to the US here. Until then it's a good nights sleep for Rachel's crew. And we get to sleep at the same time for the first time in 10 days!

It's good to be back. Good Night

More plan changes

Position: N 20 13.427 W 85 58.843
Location: Heading for the Yucatan Channel

Yesterday was an uneventful day except the seas were rolly and not too comfortable. In the evening Julie was sitting in the cockpit on night watch looking up at the stars when she felt a flutter near her cheek. She turned on the flashlight and there was a dove sitting on the cockpit floor. We were 120 miles from land to the west and northwest, poor thing must be tired she thought. Not too happy about it pooping all over, she shooed it to the stern of the boat and it fluttered again landing underneath our solar panel. There it sat for most of the night and when we looked this morning it was gone!!

After downloading the weather this morning and talking to our weather guy we, along with Osprey, have decided to keep on going, heading to the Dry Tortugas off the Florida Keys (or perhaps further), if the weather holds. Our other 2 friends kept on going to Isla Mujeres so now we are a fleet of two!

Stay tuned.

Cayos Cajones

Position: N 17 54.573 W 84 38.792
Location: Caribbean Sea

Well we just spent 1 1/2 lovely days at the Hobbies Cays (Cayos Cajones), tiny islands sitting behind a reef in the middle of nowhere. The small island next to which we were anchored had 2 young Honduran guys living on it. They said they were there for a month and as far as we could gather they were caretakers and guards for the hundreds of lobster pots piled all over the island. One of them, Federico, paddled out to our boat and asked if we had cigarettes and we had a nice chat in our pidgin Spanish.

The snorkeling and fishing around the reefs here is reportedly amazing, that's the main reason people stop here. We did manage a snorkel yesterday which was awesome and yesterday afternoon had a happy hour gathering on a tiny beach island by the reef, surprisingly there were 7 boats anchored here.

Baracuda caught on our way into the anchorage

Saturday, April 23, 2011

After listening to yesterday's forecast we all decided it was time to head further north before some stronger winds settle in on Tuesday, so this morning we hauled anchor at 06:15 and continued our journey to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. So far it's a bit rolly but the sun is shining and the fishing line is out. Today is our 4th anniversary living aboard Rachel, it keeps getting better. As the sun set we sat in the cockpit eating a special dinner with sparkling water!! We were rolling still pretty badly but the rolling allowed us to see 2 green flashes one after the other as Rachel rolled gunwale to gunwale. Good AND Bad
A quiet night, we saw no ship traffic.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The four boats who set out together from the Hobbies for Isla Mujeres (Osprey, Tashmoo, Mentor, and Rachel) all seem to be fairly well matched - we're all still within about 8 miles of each other, making it possible to have nice chats on the VHF radio during night watches. It's nice to hear friend's voices during those dark hours. It's been very rolly with light winds and big waves - not one of our favorite 24 hours of passage making, that's for sure. Everyone has had trouble sleeping. We're hoping to get things a bit more stable during the day today and see if we can catch up on some sleep.
Adendum - since writing this the other 3 boats have sprinted ahead of us, we're still in VHF range with 2 of them though

Change of plans (go figure...)

Location: Cayos Cajones, Honduras
Position: N 16 01.837 W 083 06.199

Wow! Talk about on the edge of nowhere! The Hobbies Cays (Cayos Cajones) is on the edge of nowhere!! Really! It's probably the most remote place we've ever been. We're sitting here looking out at the Caribbean Sea with nothing between us and all those waves but the reefs that surround these small, low cays. It's amazing.

Oh. We guess we should tell you that this morning we decided at the last minute to stop at the Hobbies to wait our some less-than-excellent weather that was expected over the next few days up near Isla Mujeres. Our friends on Osprey and Tashmoo, whom we are traveling with, stopped also. Funnily enough there are 3 other boats already here and we already know 2 of them from Honduras! Small world eh? We've heard there's great snorkeling here so that's what we'll be doing for the next couple of days.

It's amazing. We came in here at around 3pm today. It happened to be only a few miles out of our way, anyway - what could be better? When we dropped the anchor we were amazed to find an absolutely flat, calm, yet breezy anchorage on the edge of the shelf that extends all the way out here from Honduras. This after bouncing around for almost 4 days getting here! We're sitting here with only the barrier reef between us and the Atlantic Ocean and it's FLAT! This is so cool!

On the way here we hooked a 4' mahi mahi, but it got away as we were bringing it alongside the boat. DANG!! Images of delicious fish dinners reluctantly begin to fade ..

Then, just as we were turning in and had to haul in the fishing line, we hooked a 30" barracuda! Talk about teeth..man, these things are toothy! We'd never eaten barracuda before, but on the advice of friends anchored here decided to try it. WOW! It's delicious - a nice white meat without the fishy taste other fish sometimes have. We had a wonderful dinner and are now ready for some well deserved rest & relaxation. A glass of wine and a rum drink, sitting out on deck, just soaking it all in...

Wow. So. Awesome. We're taking an unexpected, albeit welcome "pit stop" on our way north. Sometimes the best things just sort of "happen". What a cool life we have!

All our best,

Mark & Julie

San Blas to Isla Mujeres - Day 3

Position: N 15 34.252 W 082 36.641

We've had a great day 3 and got another 142 miles under our belts. We're currently 40 miles south of the Hobbies (Cayos Cojones), off the coast of Nicaragua - about half way through our trip to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We had sun all day, winds on the beam at 8 to 10 knots, sailed almost all day, and only saw maybe one boat ALL day.

We're finally getting caught up on our sleep and starting to feel human again. It always seems to take until the second or third day for us to get acclimated to a passage. Not much happened during the day except for the 20 or so dolphins that came to play in our bow wake. As usual Julie ran up to the bow and spent a good 15 minutes watching them jump and play before they peeled off to play somewhere else. We had a lovely dinner in the cockpit, watched the sun disappear below the horizon, and were treated to a small green flash. The perfect end to a perfect day.

During the night we dodged a few squalls and enjoyed playing 'identify the cloud creatures' with the big black clouds in front of the majestic moon. "This one's a dragon with a lady on it's back." "That one is a man with a pointy nose and a big chin!"

We have to entertain ourselves as best we can!

Mark & Julie

Under way

Location: Just East of Providencia, a Columbian island off the coast of Nicaragua
Position: N 13 39.624 W 81 14.394

We're starting day three of our passage. We've just got the weather from our SSB radio weather guy, have downloaded the latest GRIB (wind and wave forecast model) files, and it looks like we'll have great weather to make Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Our first day we had winds on the nose and boisterous seas, 5 - 8 feet, causing us to be a little uncomfortable. But we made good progress and after the first 60 or so miles, we were on a nice, fast close reach.

Our first night we got to see the Big Dipper pointing at Polaris, the North Star, off our bow, the Southern Cross off our stern, and a full moon above us. A fantastic display of three of our favorite stellar bodies. While we are sad to be leaving one of our favorite cruising grounds, and happy to be on our way back to family and friends in the US, we are also excited - this will be our longest passage to date on Rachel.

We've seen lots of big ship traffic heading toward and away from the Panama Canal, making watch keeping a bit exciting at times. The wind shifted a little more east and the seas died down to only 3-6 feet making us more comfortable. We made 140 miles in our first 24 hours, good for us.

The winds and seas held through our 2nd day, this is always the hardest day as we could both use a bit more sleep, but sleep is coming easier as we get into the rhythms of making passage. The ship traffic was less today, lovely sunny skies and we saw 3 dolphins.

Through the night we again had great starlit sky and the full moon, just past, rose at 8:30 pm to help us through the night. We got more sleep so we're feeling a bit more human and the seas have died down to 3-5 ft. We made another 150 miles today, awesome.

All is well as we start on Day 3, we're happy and healthy, and are just passing Providencia, feeling nostalgic for the times we spent there over Christmas. Rachel is cranking along on a beam reach at over 6 knots in light winds. It doesn't get much better than this. The constant movement, the rush of Rachel's movement through the waves, the wind in the cockpit, the sounds of friends on the radios all begin to keep us awake less and less as we acclimate to being on passage.

Oops - it's 7:44 in the morning! Time for bed for one of us!