Suffice to say we have been busy as we are kind of under a deadline.
With a commitment to be in Beaufort SC to get the 2nd Annual paws4vets Golfing Fundraiser organized – we have to be out of our son’s driveway here in Valdosta Ga in about 10-12 days.
I’ll post a series of videos to show our progress. We are doing our best to leave a little time to be able to visit on the way!
Yowsa!
Two weeks ago we rented a car to visit the boys at Ryan’s place in St Pete. Ian was driving in from Valdosta for the weekend. We were both looking forward to visiting the boys.
We decided to stop by and visit our sailing friends Dave and Cathy for lunch in Jacksonville, then Joe and Sue in Ft Pierce for dinner, stay the night and drive over to St Pete on Sat. Easy.
Dave was showing us around the church where they park their RV and do mission work (all kinds of stuff needing doing with a group called Nomads) and casually pointed out a motor home, laughed and said “you could probably get that cheap” or something to that effect. We looked inside and Shelly said “don’t touch anything”.
The RV had been sitting there for 5 years under the trees, the interior was pretty bad – moldy, dirty, smelly etc. Half the 8 tires were flat, and the body was a lovely shade of green and black to match the trees it sat under. No thanks.
Lunch was nice, and we got on down the road toward Ft Pierce, but I was still thinking about that RV. I did some research and found that a 33′ Airstream motor home was called a Land Yacht by the manufacturer and was known as top of the line for its time in 1990. I also found one for sale in Texas for $5700. Land Yacht? Hmmm.
I sent Dave a text and told him that and that it probably wasn’t worth $2- 3,000 and forgot about it.
We had a great night with Joe and Sue reminiscing about Bahamas sailing days over Guiness and fish n chips in an Irish pub.
On the way across the Okeefenoke we stopped at an RV place to check out 5th wheel rvs, and actually found one we liked. Right about then we get a text from Dave that the Pastor at the church would sell the Land Yacht for $3000. Oops.
That sure started a conversation while driving the rest of the way!
Aside from the $106 towing fee from parking in the Publix lot my so smart son directed us to, we had a great time attending a beer and bacon festival, walking through the (opinion withheld here) women’s march route, and then a super nice Italian meal out on the street downtown late at night.
In the morning we got on the road early (the day of the tornados in Ga) as we wanted to go back and check out the Airstream, and have time to get back to the boat in Brunswick before the storm hit.
In Jacksonville, a closer look at the MH ( motor home ) showed the original quality that might be able to be restored, but two hours of work would not start the motor to see if it ran. We made plans to come back the next day and try again.
To, cut the story short, we own a Land Yacht and have a contract on Yume. We have everything pretty much packed on the boat, and have spent 4 hard days commuting from Brunswick to Jacksonville getting the Land Yacht ready to drive.
The plan is to go to Ian’s house in Valdosta for some serious repair work, then take it to Beaufort SC in March to get ready for the golf fundraiser in May. Then who knows?
I have agreed to help the new owners of Yume (if all goes well with the survey!) sail her back towards Maryland sometime in the next four months so they can learn from my vast experience how to properly behave when running aground and in storms. 😉
Life sure is a funny thing isn’t it? We are sad to be leaving our sailing home but excited to see why lies ahead on the road.
Maybe we will see you there? How long is your driveway and does your homeowners association let you park nice motor homes overnight there? 😉
As I listen to the rain bouncing off the deck of the boat just over my head, and realize we are just two days from Beaufort, I feel as though we have moved into the ‘South’.
It is just something about Live Oaks, Spanish Moss, Saw Grass lining the waterway, and big tides that makes me glad to be here.
Of course anyone who brings a boat down the waterway in late November and early December in an open cockpit should have their head examined. Although it has definitely been milder than previous years, mild is a relative term.
And you have to start in the dark if you plan on getting anywhere. If you are only moving an average of 6 miles an hour, if you start at dark (630) and end before dark (530) at best you run 66 miles. Usually it is more like 50 or 55 and glad to get it. Say 250 miles from DC to Norfolk in open water. Then another 540 to Beaufort SC, and you still have 700 to go to Marathon. It’s a hike for sure so you get in as many as you can if you do not want to spend half a year travelling south!
Last post we were anchored just north of Albemarle Sound which is just south of Norfolk. We motored a long day to end up just south of the Pungo River Alligator River Canal. This is a 24 mile (4 hours!) run at the end of the 18 mile south leg through the Alligator River. We anchored right at dusk and ran Goose ashore for his businesses.
We stopped by the other boat anchored near us to say hello and came to realize they were in Crisfield, MD when we went through the 70 mph storm this summer. Small world.
The next morning saw a norther passing through. With a 30mph wind behind us we flew under sail down the Pungo River, into the Pamlico River where it got a bit rough (and cold) and on up to visit Bath NC. It was only 12 miles out of the way but took a few hours and some rough water to get to a really nice sheltered anchorage. Bath is the oldest town in NC and was once the home of Blackbeard the pirate. He ended up coming home for the last time with his head cut off and hanging from the bow of a British warship that finally caught him. The little town is worth a visit!
With a dying wind we made Beaufort NC the next day where we hung out with out friends Kenny and Nancy Bock at Bock Marine for a few days before moving on south.
From Beaufort, a southbound boat hits the coast, turns to the west and follows it just inshore from the beach through Swansboro to the Camp Lejeune Marine base anchorage for the night where Shelly stepped out of the dinghy on the ramp, slipped and busted her patootie on the slippery boat ramp we had used to get ashore. Luckily bruises heal much more quickly than broken bones.
The path then winds through Wrightsville Beach and into Carolina Beach where we able to drop an anchor and actually walk the beach. The next day was a wild ride down the Cape Fear River with more 30 mph winds blowing us into Southport and back into the river system again. Down into Shallotte, Myrtle Beach, and into the Waccamaw River towards Georgetown took another two days.
It was fascinating to see the very clear mark in the woods 4 feet above normal from the recent storm and docks still,stuck up on top of pilings. A bridge tender told me the bridges were closed for 10 days and no traffic passed. This was in the middle of the fall north to south boat migration so I guess it was a mess! She also said she watched people’s docks float off down the river for days after the storm.
From Georgetown it is a short run down Winyah Bay into the back channels again, on past McClenaville SC (where the Oct Storm came ashore) and another 40 miles to Charleston.
We will be off in the morning and plan on an anchorage in a creek halfway to Beaufort for arrival on Wednesday to see who is interested in doing another golf fundraiser in the spring.
And that catches me up. And I can go back to the awesome book I am reading about the Washington State rowing team who won the Olympics in Berlin in 1936!
Southbound – First Week.
This is the view back towards the west heading out Washington Channel and Gangplank Marina where we stayed this fall. The Washington Monument is to the left and all the new construction for The Wharf DC is to the right.
Dropped the dinghy in the dark and took Goose in for a beach run. I could hear him running to and from but couldn’t see him! Back on the boat and underway as the sun was beginning to lighten the sky in the east. It turned into a blood red (red sky in morning – sailors take warning!) sunrise but we could not get that in the picture.
Motored all the way to St Mary’s River and up to a marina called Denis Point to wait out a blow. And blow it did. From 70 degrees it dropped to 30 and blew gusting to 45. We were snug!
Left Tuesday morning on a very cold blustery day heading out of the Potomac towards Smith Point Light where it was still blowing 30 mph with 4 ft seas; round the light turning south and tightening the sheets for the 20 mile run to Windmill Point on the Rappahannock River when the boat seemed to slow down. With that wind and surfing down the waves hitting 10 knots there was no time to check it. When we finally arrived in Deltaville, Va, cold and tired, and got into some shallow, clear water Shelly could see the crab pot line trailing behind the boat.
We were able to cut the float from behind the rudder and pull up the trap. We wonder what those four crabs were thinking all afternoon flying through the water? We let them go free and set the trap up on the local dock for someone to have. TTL the trap did not get up in the propeller! The water temp is 49! Body parts shrivel just thinking about having to go in after it!
Anchored in a very quiet cove, with stars seeming to touch the boat.
Out at daybreak to an absolutely gorgeous red dawn that burst into a beautiful (but chilly) day. Sailed/motorsailed/motored down the Chesapeake through a very quiet Norfolk and Hampton Roads and on past mile #1 of the Intracoastal Waterway. With a quick phone call our plans changed as the Dismal Swamp Canal is closed until further notice due to trees down from the fall storm.
Made our way through the lock at Great Bridge and the bridge itself (site of the first revolutionary war battle in VA – won by us!).
Up early for a quick walk in the light rain – then on 45 miles (rainy and cold the whole day) to Coinjock for fuel and another 5 miles to an anchorage for the night and a tuna steak Thanksgiving dinner!
Gotta get going early though to make it through the Albemarle Sound and Alligator River before another strong cold front pushes through this weekend.
Florida sure is going to feel good!
Life is a Yume! (That’s Dream in Japanese!)
We decided a long time ago it was infinitely better for us to be doing what we love doing all the time and working when we can.
Learn how this is accomplished by scrolling through the menu. There is lots of good stuff there from years and years of writing!