Log of "Our Joy" Norfolk, VA to Key Largo,
FL to Stonington, CT
John and Betty McKinney
NOTE: Most pictures are near end of log.
[John McKinney's Sailing Pictures] | [Return
to Rev Betty Home Page]
Monday, October 29, 2001 - Norfolk, VA
Betty and John arrived at the
Norfolk Yacht and Country Club where John had left "Our Joy" three
weeks earlier. We stocked up on
groceries before returning the rental car.
We met John Philbrick that evening for
dinner. John is a friend from
Poughkeepsie, now living in
Newport News, VA.
John (McKinney) had shared bible study with the Philbricks in Poughkeepsie where the Philbricks
were also members with John (McKinney) at First Presbyterian. ... We had
a great meal sharing about family and friends and philosophy of life.
John at Our Joy's navigation station.
Tuesday, October 30th - Norfolk, VA
to Great Bridge, VA
In the morning John did the dirty
but must-do job of changing oil in the diesel engine. We finally worked our way out of the pilings
for the slip about 1:15 in the afternoon. Within half an hour John had gone aground
(backed off; thank God for the Autoprop which gives good thrust in reverse);
and had run over a crab pot; had dragged the pot for a quarter hour wondering
why our speed was so slow! We dislodged
the crab pot by backing and going forward several times. ... Betty steered magnificently
in Norfolk harbor among the Navy ships, Coast
Guard boats, tugs with tows, high speed motor boats, sailboats and even a
helicopter.
We are in the process of learning
how to go through the many bridges that open and more often are closed. Tuesday afternoon we went through quite a few
bridges and also one lock before mooring for the night just off the ICW in a
small basin. Someone on another boat
told us that it was free dockage. It was
dark almost immediately. A man showed up
who said that we were on government property and that we had to leave. We backed "Our Joy" out in the dark
and went through another bridge and finally found the
American Yacht Basin.
They were glad to put us up for the night.
Wednesday, October 31st - Great
Bridge, VA to The Alligator River in North Carolina
Departed at 6:10 AM and traveled 70
miles (statute miles on the ICW) before anchoring in the mouth of the Alligator
River. For those of you who are not
sailors, please realize that sailboats travel about 6 nautical miles per hour
(knots). Fifty nautical miles is a long
day. 70 statute miles is the same as 61.5 nautical miles. ... We saw beautiful
scenery, trees, grass and wildlife along the banks, some sandy beaches. ... We
used both motor and sail to keep the speed up to as high as 7.2 knots so we could
cross Albemarle
Sound
before dark. Albemarle Sound was tranquil and did not live up to
its reputation for being stormy (Thank God!).
As we came into the Alligator River, John believed the chart and tried
to follow it instead of the navigation markers.
We ran aground for the second time in two days! Again we simply backed off. Two for two, two groundings in two days, we
are on a roll! ... Pulled off the ICW
about 2 miles and anchored in the open.
Fortunately it was a very calm night.
Thursday, November 1st - Alligator
River to Bellhaven, NC
0610 Up for the day, but very dense
fog. 0710 Anchor up but still very dense
fog. Used radar and
electronic charts to creap slowly to the
Alligator
River
Bridge.
Blew fog horn occasionally, but I do not remember anyone doing that
anymore. The bridge tender (bridge
keeper?) said on the radio that he had only 1/8th mile visibility and could not
open the bridge. About 9:30 AM the fog lifted enough for us to go
through. We motored down the
Alligator River and the
Alligator River Pungo River Canal and stopped at Robb's
Marina in Bellhaven. Very clean and friendly
marina. Free golf carts to go to
town a block away; free Cable TV. John
purchased the correct cable to attach but could not get the TV to respond to
more than a couple of channels. Anyway,
why have TV on a sailboat! ... Met Don and Liz Bunch for
dinner. They are friends from
Poughkeepsie, former members of the Poughkeepsie
Yacht Club, participants in Cursillo and Tres Dias, and benefactors for our trip
down the ICW. They supplied us with many
ideas and many things to make our trip easier, safer, and more fun. Thank you Don and Liz.
Betty in golf cart that we drove to breakfast in Belhaven and picture of Our
Joy, our Catalina 380 at Belhaven.
Friday, November 2nd
Beautiful warm,
sunny, shirt-sleeve day. Spent lazy
morning in Bellhaven. Used golf cart to go to
breakfast (huge meal with grits) and shopping in several stores. Did laundry! ...
Did not leave
Belhaven, NC until 1:20 PM… lazy day! Went 20 miles and anchored in
Goose Creek.
Beautiful scenery, clean fresh air and water, waterfowl, sunset and moonrise. Wonderful!
Saturday, November 3rd
Up at 5:30 AM. Anchor up at 6:10 AM and underway through rivers, bays,
and canals past Moorhead City, NC. Early morning the water is so quiet and still
as glass that our speed has been 7 ½ statue miles per hour. Shotguns cracked many times as we started the
day from hunters in Duck blinds. The Intracoastal Waterway is not just canals (or a ditch as
some people say), it is also beautiful scenery, huge bodies of water (sounds as
big as 12 miles or so wide), and a variety of birds and wildlife. In the afternoon we stopped at
Spooners Creek Yacht Basin.
There are beautiful homes in this little land-locked basin and beautiful
boats at each home. We walked a mile and
a half to a shopping center for dinner at Ruby Tuesday and shopping at a Super Walmart. Found
stainless steel ratchet webbing straps for the dinghy. Could not find them anywhere else! During the mile and a half back, decided not
to purchase heavy items in the future!
Sunday, November 4th
We motor-sailed
further South past Morehead City, NC. Porpoise broke the
water in front of our boat. Pelicans
flew close to us. We went past the U.S.
Marine’s Camp LeJeune (spelling?) firing range without
being stopped. Sunday was a good day for
getting past there. We guess that they
do not fire on Sunday. ... We raced for most of the day to reach Harbor Village
Marina in Hampstead, NC before dark (dark at about 5:15 PM).
We were held up because we missed the 4:00 PM opening of a bridge about an hour
from the marina. The bridge-keeper (a
lady) told us on the radio that she could not open for us until the scheduled
time of 5:00 PM unless there was some commercial traffic. John replied on the radio that we would be
praying for commercial traffic. About 4:30 PM a boat radioed that they had a
commercial classification and asked if she would open the bridge. She agreed to open. John said on the radio that prayers are
answered. She replied: “I was just
thinking that.” … We made it to the marina and were tied up just before it was
too dark to navigate on the ICW.
Monday, November 5th
Today we decided to stay put, rest,
and relax. John is recuperating from a
cold and Betty from a possible reaction to a flu shot. Winds are gusting to 25 and the inlets must
be rough with over 30 knot winds in the ocean. … This Harbor Village Marina is
beautiful with clean modern showers (amazing what becomes important to one
while on a long boat journey!). There is
rattle-trap Toyota pickup truck that we can use to go
to a grocery store or the local Chinese or Pizza restaurants. According to a young man on the dock there is
nothing to do here, but I believe that young people always feel that way
regardless of where they are. … There is a magnificent sunset tonight. The artist is very good. We have seen His handiwork all along the way.
... We
telephoned a Chinese restaurant for dinner.
It was delivered directly to our boat.
Great service!
Some additional information:
"Our Joy" is a one year
old Catalina 380 (38 ft) sailboat. It is
a great boat for us; comfortable for two.
We use a combination of motor and sails to maneuver the waterway. John has been sailing since he was a child of
11 years. He learned to sail in the Virgin Islands when he father had a U.S.
Government position there. … We plan to dock our boat in Florida; leave it on Thanksgiving Day; and
fly back to daughter Kathy’s. We will
return to it after the holidays and spend some winter time in Florida.
In the spring, probably the end of April, we will fly back to
Florida and begin our trip back up the Intracoastal Waterway.
We are hoping to make it a more leisurely trip back, stopping to enjoy
some of the historic and interesting places along the way.
Tuesday, November 6, 2001 – 266 to
335 (ICW Mile Markers)
Today we ran down the Cape Fear River.
Betty steered all the way in strong wind and swift currents. ... Later
with John steering and both looking for the channel, we sailed out toward the Atlantic Ocean.
John finally realized that all that open water could not be the
ICW! We turned around, went back and
found were we had not turned correctly.
At dusk we tied up at the Pelican Point Marina.
Paul at the marina drove us and “Tesh” and his
friend from “Lay Over” to dinner at Victoria’s restaurant. Good dinner with two new acquaintances. The restaurant provided transportation back
to the marina.
Wednesday, November 7, 2001 – 335 to
402 Georgetown, SC
Our Joy in
Sunrise on the Intracoastal Waterway
Crossed into
South Carolina about 7:30 AM.
Beautiful home just across the line, plantation style, with raised
walkway and dock out to the ICW (some walkways are two hundred yards long,
ending with large gazebos at the ICW). ... John steered close to buoy 24B just
behind Myrtle Beach, SC. Suddenly the bow
rose up and the boat stopped. This time
we could not back her off. We were hard
aground. A young couple from Canada with children on board their
sailboat, “Priority”, saw our dilemma.
They turned around, came back and passed us a line. With a little pull from them and some engine
we were broken free. John is working on
creating a record for groundings on the ICW.
Betty has not gone aground once!
She is doing great. ... We saw 60 pelicans all close together in a sandy
area looking like they were having their afternoon cocktail party. ... Later in
the day we went down the Waccamaw River.
The water is the color of Coca Cola.
There were cypress swamps on each side, and some Spanish moss. ... We
anchored in quaint old Georgetown, SC; lowered the dinghy; and motored ashore. In the River Room restaurant we saw a picture
of the magnificent schooner, “City of Georgetown.”
BRIAN SLOCUM, Please note that this schooner was captained for its
entire career by A.J. Slocum, your ancestor.
Thursday, November 8, 2001 – 402 to
448 Price Creek
Had a lazy
morning. Moved to fuel dock and
loaded fuel and water at about 10:00 AM.
Moved down the Waccamaw River and entered a canal leading to the Santee River area... miles and miles of grass
growing in the water as far as you can see... Beautiful!
Occasionally we
saw a pelican taking a nap, flopped like a bean bag over a triangular channel
marker. At dusk, we anchored in Price
Creek in the Cape Romain National Wildlife
Refuge. Rushed inside and closed up to
avoid the biting bugs.
Friday November 9, 2001 – 448 to 469
Charleston, SC
John again went aground during a
very low tide while exiting Price Creek.
Again we simply backed off. ... In the ICW we were joined by porpoise
surfacing and diving gracefully around our boat. At times they were so close that we could
have reached out and touched them. They
seemed to escort us for part of the way. ... We passed
Fort Sumpter and motored up to the City Marina
at Charleston, SC (320 slips). The current runs swiftly through the
marina. It was a little scary putting
“Our Joy” into a line of boats and then into a slip (No mishap! John is moving
up on the learning curve; it has taken only 50 years of sailing. J). We plan to
stay here for two nights and enjoy Charleston.
Betty on Our Joy in Charleston City Marina.
Saturday, Nov. 10th, we toured Charleston; walked through the “market”;
enjoyed the “Doin the Charleston” bus tour; had dinner in the famous
Hyman Seafood restaurant (dozen raw oysters for John).
On Sunday the 11th the marina
drove us in a van to refill our propane gas bottle and pick up groceries. We left Charleston midday and anchored that evening in the
South Edisto River.
During that afternoon porpoise played around our boat and we noticed
more of the Spanish moss hanging on the few trees near the channels. This area is very flat with water wandering
through grass as far as you can see. ... We had lots of good laughs that
afternoon after a large motorboat came from behind us at very high speed. John was steering and Betty was seated in the
cockpit wearing shorts, sunglasses, and a fancy straw hat. John slowed down to let the motorboat pass us
slowly without a wake. As he started to pass,
John waved to the helmsman, thanking him for slowing down. Just as his boat came alongside, the young
man at the helm ran to the cockpit and standing like a soldier he saluted John
and said: “I did it for the blonde, Sir.”
John saluted back and said “Thank you.
Carry on.” Betty’s ego was
significantly enhanced.
Monday the 12th was extremely windy with 20 to 25
knot winds and gusts to 30. Many times
during the day we seemed to be on a collision course with fishing boats
dragging their nets. In Port Royal Sound
we were so busy maneuvering to get around one of them that we missed our turn
and once again found ourselves heading toward the Atlantic.
We turned around and worked our way back into the wind with spray coming
over the boat. We were glad to set our
anchor in the New
River. By the time we anchored at 5:00 PM we had traveled another 66 miles
that day. The strong wind continued all
night. John went to the bow several
times to check the anchor.
Today, Tuesday, Nov. 13th, we had a short trip to
Savannah, GA, (actually Thunderbolt, GA) only 13
miles and are safely secured at the marina.
John is learning how to handle “Our Joy.” He was able to dock safely while strong
currents and winds were pushing the boat about. ... We will stay here for a
couple of days. According to weather
reports this strong wind is to last through Thursday. In the meantime, we will explore
Savannah and are scheduled to have the
boat’s refrigerator fixed tomorrow.
Unfortunately, it has not been cooling and freezing. We have put food on ice until we get it
repaired. ... This marina is filled with very large mega-yachts and is a well
known repair facility. Our Catalina 380
is a miniature compared to these yachts. ... This evening we explored shops and
dined on “River” street in Savannah.
The shops and restaurants are in wonderful old buildings facing the Savannah River.
Wednesday, November 14, 2001,
Thunderbolt, GA (Palmer Johnson)
The strong winds continue, gusting
to 30 knots out of the Northeast. Our
refrigerator was fixed. Hallelujah, we
have a cold spot for food. One of the
project managers asked why we need a refrigerator when it is so cold. ... We
taxied into Savannah and toured with Grayline
by Savannah’s beautiful squares and many
historic buildings and mansions. ... Betty believes that shops are God’s gift
for her enjoyment. We spent hours
“shopping” (mostly looking). Actually,
we did find a few Christmas presents.
Now we have the problem of how to get them home! ... We had John’s birthday dinner early at the
well-known “The Lady and Sons” restaurant.
See picture of John and Betty at dinner.
After dinner we were peddled by a young lady in a pedicarriage
to a convenience store for needed supplies and then taxied back to the
boat. Wonderful evening!
Thursday, November 15, 2001,
Thunderbolt, GA (Palmer Johnson)
The wind continues to blow, gusting
to 30... small craft advisory for rough seas, high
surf at the inlets, and flooding. We
decided to stay here an extra day. ... Today is John’s birthday. See picture of John at the navigation station
with his new Palmer Johnson logo sweater, a birthday present from Betty. ... We
hope that we can continue South tomorrow even though
the weather forecast is the same through Saturday. We will check the weather forecast tonight
and tomorrow.
Friday, November 16, 2001,
Thunderbolt, GA (Palmer Johnson)
The weather continues to be very
windy with high surf and small craft advisory.
We decided to stay another day and have the drawers in the forward cabin
fixed so we could open them. ... The boat next to us is “Flyway” owned by
Phyllis and David Carroll. David is the
author of “Snowbird Pilot” a book about the Intracoastal Waterway.
They have made the trip South in the Fall and
North in the Spring for over 20 years.
Across the dock from us is “Narnia” owned by
“Jo.” She told us that she quit her job
and started sailing years ago. She
single-hands her 36 foot sailboat.
Saturday, November 17, 2001
583 to Crescent River 643
We were finally tired of waiting and
even though the forecast was a little threatening, we left Thunderbolt. The sounds (exits to the Atlantic Ocean) were not terribly bad... some
bouncing around but not bad. ... We anchored in
Crescent River about 4:30 PM.
It was a pleasant day and evening.
60 mile day.
Sunday, November 18, 2001 643
to Cumberland Island 710
7:15 Anchor up and underway. We went through Doboy
Sound, St. Simon Sound, then for a couple of hours it was
very rough and windy in St. Andrew Sound... surfing off of breaking and white-capped waves. The constant wind out of the North for the
past days keeps us bundled up against the cold. ... About 5:00 PM we anchored
near the dock for the Visitor Center of the Cumberland Island National
Seashore. Today was a 67 mile day. We are now only 38 miles from our
“Thanksgiving-Christmas break” destination in Florida. ... We have come 127 miles along
the ICW from Savannah, but the ICW twists and winds
around and about. Tonight we are
listening to a Savannah FM radio station.
Monday, November 19, 2001 710
to Beach Marine, Jacksonville Beach, FL 748
There was very dense fog in the
morning. We could see less than an
eighth of a mile. We were not able to
start until about 11:00 AM. We entered
Cumberland Sound and at about 11:30 AM we crossed the line into
Florida.
Vegetation is slightly different here in North Florida.
Trees that are sometimes near the banks are mostly evergreens with some
palmettos. The channel continues to
serpent through miles and miles of grass in the water. ... The channel markers in the St. Johns River for the entrance to the southbound
ICW are among many other markers so it is very confusing. We missed the ICW markers and were moving out
the St.
Johns River
a short distance when “Chantacleer,” a sailboat
following us, pulled alongside and after a discussion, we turned back and led
the way into the proper channel. ... By 5:00 PM we were in our slip at Beach Marine
our final destination for this part of our adventure. We leave Thanksgiving Day to fly to John’s
daughter Kathy’s for Thanksgiving Dinner.
We will resume our adventure late in January. ... We celebrated our
voyage with a great dinner in the restaurant here at the marina. There we met an interesting couple who sailed
overnight outside from Savannah, making the trip in two days
compared to our three days. Of course we
stopped each night. They gave us some
interesting information about sailing to the Bahamas.
Tuesday,
November 20, 2001 Beach
Marine, Jacksonville Beach, FL
Today is a balmy warm day. We were lazy about getting up this morning but
we have chores to do to get the boat ready for its two months here and for our
trip home on Thursday.
Betty is
polishing the stainless rails and stanchions. John will change the oil and the fuel
filters.
John has traveled about 1,250 miles
from Stonington, CT.
Betty traveled about 750 of those miles.
Betty did the navigation for most of those 750 miles.
This is the final email for this
part of the adventure. We will continue to
have you on the mailing list when we pick up in January. Please let us know if you would like to be
removed from the list. ... We will be at home in Poughkeepsie for the holidays.
Please have a Happy and Healthy
Thanksgiving. ... Praise God for the blessings he has showered upon us in these
United States.
=========== To Kathy’s & Poughkeepsie for Thanksgiving and Christmas in
Poughkeepsie.
Did income tax and left Poughkeepsie. ===========
Thursday, February 21, 2002 Beach
Marine, Jacksonville Beach, FL
Greetings from Our
Joy. We drove here, arriving two weeks ago. It is great to have a car. We found the boat in pretty good shape; a few
rain leaks but they cleaned up nicely. ... Last weekend we were in
Winter Park, FL for a meeting of the leaders of the
4th-Day Movements (Cursillo, The Walk to Emmaus, etc.). ... Then we
spent two days seeing the Disney Magic Kingdom and Disney/MGM Studios. John is a kid at heart. Betty braved the roller coaster in the dark
in Space Mountain.
During the experience she came closer to her Lord. John is really proud of this lady. Tell the grandchildren that we blasted into
space with Buzz Lightyear to save the galaxy. John had a score of 101,800 on his laser gun.
... We scouted marinas in Ft. Lauderdale and returned here yesterday. The pressure water pump was running and
pumping air when we came on board. John
discovered a leak. The pump had emptied
the middle water tank through the slow leak while we were gone. Nothing is easy. Hours were required to find the right fitting
and try to fix the leak. ... Today we are preparing the boat and stocking
supplies for the trip further south. We
hope to be underway tomorrow morning.
Saturday, February 23, 2002
Jacksonville Beach to St. Augustine, FL
Everything takes longer than
expected. We finally departed
Jacksonville Beach at 11:00 AM.
There is raw cold wind driving the rain.
We are wearing foul-weather pants and jackets with a sweater or a
sweatshirt underneath. Gloves are
required. Everything is wet and cold. ...
We stop early at St. Augustine Municipal Marina after only 31 miles. ...
Betty and John at the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine
Jack
and Anne Isenberg (from Poughkeepsie) graciously meet us for dinner at
the A1A Restaurant right across from the marina and at the
Bridge of Lions.
It was a fun evening with old friends in a high energy café. Thank you Jack and Anne.
Sunday, February 24, 2002 St.
Augustine to Mosquito Lagoon
Another cold windy day, but we make
83 miles (a record for us). We anchor in
the open in Mosquito Lagoon. Fortunately
the heavy wind keeps the mosquitoes away.
The boat moves and pitches during the night. The anchor line makes a snapping sound. There is other noise like voices, probably
produced by the wind. We sleep anyway.
Monday, February 25, 2002 Mosquito
Lagoon to Vero Beach, FL
We are up at 5:45 AM and raise the anchor. We cruise down the Indian River.
We are approaching 200 miles from Jacksonville Beach without refueling. There is no place to refuel late in the
day. We reduce the speed from 2200 RPM
to 2000 to conserve fuel at a more economical speed. The boat slows. The fuel gauge continues to drop toward
Empty. We reduce to 1700 RPM. Betty is praying that we do not run out. The sun is setting. The fuel gauge is just touching the “E” when
we reduce to 1200 RPM and turn into the channel for the Vero Beach Municipal
Marina. We make it! We also make 91 miles this day (a new
record). On the way in we see beautiful
grand homes along the ICW. We enjoyed
looking at their manicured homes and yards right down to the waters edge. Many have huge screened areas attached to
their homes enclosing porches and a swimming pool. The bugs must be terrible in the summer.
Tuesday, February 26, 2002 Vero
Beach to Palm Beach
Today we continue southward. The weather is pleasant; sunny and warm. We contact marinas by cell phone and pick one
in West
Palm Beach. There are so many
marinas and so many boats that we go past it.
John is talking on the VHF radio to the marina and not minding where he
is pointing the boat when suddenly he increases his record of going aground
once again. Fortunately, “Our Joy” backs
off OK even though we went aground at full speed. The attendant at the marina talks us in on
the VHF radio. The docking is easy and
we are exhausted from so many hours and miles but we are 45 miles from our
southern destination of Ft. Lauderdale.
Shore power permits use of the TV with a news report and weather. Tomorrow promises a cold front with high
winds and record cold temperatures. We
shall see.
Wednesday, February 27, 2002 Palm
Beach to Ft. Lauderdale Beach
We ask the dock master to help us
turn the boat around so it will be easy to get out of the marina in high
winds. The dock master hauls on the bow
line while it is wrapped around the port running light. The port running light is ripped off. Suddenly we are in a situation where we may
not make our schedule. The marina has a
repair facility and they order a new light and promise that it will be
installed by 2:00 PM. For a while that
seems OK but the possibility of further delay gets us moving. We tape plastic around the protruding wires
to protect them from salt spray. By a
little after 10:00 AM we are underway. ... Little do we know that there were 20
bridges that have to be opened between us and Ft. Lauderdale.
Some open on demand and some are scheduled, requiring us to hold the
boat in a narrow channel against the current. ... Betty is holding the boat in
a narrow channel with a swift current running.
We are waiting for a bridge to open.
Finally it happens. The boat goes
aground with Betty at the helm. John is
delighted. He is not the only one to go
aground! Also, his record of groundings
is still intact. The swift current
swings the boat around and the boat backs off easily. ... As the sun is
starting to go down we arrive at Ft. Lauderdale and must put in at a marina near
the beach. They charge twice the rate we
normally pay and the showers are dirty!
In any event we are thankful that we are in
Ft. Lauderdale on schedule.
Thursday, February 28, 2002 Ft.
Lauderdale Beach, New River
We leave in the morning at high tide
when the current is running out of New River. Our
destination is up the South Fork of the New River through 5 opening bridges. The current is running against us which makes
it easier to hold the boat in the very narrow channel of the river. The bridges open quickly, as needed, except
for one. Before noon we are at
Lauderdale Marine Center at a floating dock. The place is beautiful. Our boat is very small compared to the many
huge motor yachts with crews. ... We secure the boat, rent a car, and drive to
Jacksonville Beach where we spend the night in a
motel.
Friday, March 1 to Sunday, March 3,
2002, Savannah, GA – Tres Dias
We pick up our car and turn in our
rental car in Jacksonville Beach and drive to
Savannah, GA.
We stay at the “17 Hundred 90 Restaurant and Inn.”
Our room is antique style and fun.
We are in the historic district. ... Saturday is a good day with all of
our friends at the Tres Dias International Secretariat meeting. John has many opportunities to serve the
people in the meeting. Betty goes
shopping during the afternoon. ... Sunday we have a delightful breakfast with
Tres Dias friends staying at the “17 Hundred 90.” We drive all the way across Georgia and down the Florida peninsular to
Ft. Lauderdale.
Monday and Tuesday, March 4 & 5,
2002, Ft. Lauderdale
These are provisioning days and
preparing the boat days for a planned crossing of the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.
John’s brother Bill is scheduled to arrive from California today. He graciously agreed to come to help crew for
the night time crossings (and to enjoy the Bahamas). ... Unfortunately, the wind is
very strong out of the North and is forecasted to be the same for several
days. When the wind is out of the North
opposing the Gulf
Stream, it
creates “square” waves of 10 feet high or more.
We do not want to be out there at night with that kind of waves. An alternative is to sail further south to
the Keys. We shall see.
Wednesday, March 6, 2002, Ft.
Lauderdale
John’s brother Bill arrived
yesterday from California.
The weather has deteriorated.
There is a strong wind out of the north and there is drenching
rain. We spend the day driving down the
beach highway, A1A through Hollywood, Miami Beach and Key Largo... then a delightful movie in the
evening, “I Am Sam”. We are waiting for
wind out of the south.
Thursday, March 7, 2002, Ft.
Lauderdale
Today there is drenching rain
again. We drive our car to
Miami to U.S. Customs and obtain a sticker
for “Our Joy”. We drive in the rain
north of Ft. Lauderdale to Butterfly World only to find
that we can not come in because they are closing due to the bad weather. Exhausted we return to the boat for the
evening. The weather report sounds maybe
OK with wind out of the east and 3 to 5 foot seas tomorrow night and less on
Saturday.
Friday, March 8, 2002, Ft.
Lauderdale
We leave
Lauderdale Marine Center late in the morning and maneuver
the narrow South Fork of the New River through 5 opening bridges; beautiful homes along the banks,
almost all with boats tied up in front. ... Miracle of miracles we find a place
to anchor just south of the Los Olas bridge at Ft. Lauderdale Beach.
We prepare and also rest. One or
two of us actually sleep in the afternoon, preparing for the night-time
crossing. ... We prepare safety harnesses and life preservers with strobe
lights and whistles. Finally about 10:00 PM we raise the anchor and move down
the ICW to the entrance to the Atlantic. As we start out the
mile long entrance, “Our Joy” begins to pitch from the waves created by the
East wind. A series of
green lights on buoys on our right and red on our left, stretch out into the
darkness. “Our Joy pitches more
and more in the darkness. As we leave
the lights the bow is now almost burying itself in the waves. Spray is coming across the boat in the
darkness. The course is hard to steer as
“Our Joy” is moved by the waves back and forth, left and right. ... John
decides that this is crazy and that we could not possible have the energy to
fight the wheel all night to attempt to hold a course to the Bahamas.
All the cruising books say do not attempt the crossing except with a
southerly wind. He turns back. We are anchored before midnight.
Saturday, March 9, 2002, Ft.
Lauderdale to Miami
Saturday is a beautiful day but
Sunday is forecasted to be windy out of the northeast. We decide to sail south to the Keys. We leave Ft. Lauderdale and sail outside in the Atlantic to Miami.
We anchor in Marine Stadium (abandoned) amid personal water craft and
water skiers who keep the boat rocking until sunset. The colors of the sunset over the skyscrapers
of Miami are spectacular. Later, we sit in the cockpit and enjoy music
from the stereo and the lights of the Miami skyline. We hear heavy breathing, snorting sounds near
us in the semi-darkness. A porpoise
breaks the water about 15 feet away and breathes in air. Bill brings out his night vision binoculars
and we see stars that can not be seen by the naked eye.
Sunday, March 10, 2002, Miami to Key
Largo
Before we leave, Betty decides that
she must have a shower and unloads the multitude of items stored in Our Joy's
shower stall. We have a warm shower (a
real luxury for sailors!). We sail down
shallow and placid Biscayne Bay and through various sounds; most of the time with only one
to two feet of water below the keel; and once with only inches. We pass a 39 foot ketch exactly like brother
Bill’s in California.
We converse with them by VHF radio.
They tell us that they waited for several weeks to make the passage to
the Bahamas and finally gave up and are also
sailing to the Keys. By 3:45 PM we are tied up at Gilbert’s Family
Paradise Resort and Marina at Key Largo. Remembering the
famous Key
Largo
movie, we looked around for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
but do not see them. Do not let the
words “Paradise Resort” fool you. They are just marketing terms! Betty fixes an excellent dinner of chicken,
rice, salad, vegetables, and fruit for dessert.
Monday, March 11, 2002, Key Largo to
Key West (by rental car)
Brother Bill and Betty at
Heminghway Home
Just for fun, John rents a Cadillac deVille and we drive to Key West along the over-the-sea highway
(southern most part of U.S. 1). We tour
the Ernest Hemingway home where he wrote 70% of his work; a marvelous old
mansion with many antiques and 61 cats.
All the cats are descendents of Hemingway’s multitude of cats.
We do the Key West thing and join the hundreds maybe over a thousand people
(including Spring Break “kids”) congregating at the waterfront to view the
sunset. Jugglers, Houdini-style escape
artists, acrobats, Jesus preachers, artists, incense vendors, tight-rope
walkers, etc. are all through the crowd.
Afterward we have a fun dinner at Billie’s in the waterfront area. Tonight we are in the historic district in a
delightful bed and breakfast. [Note not included in original:
Betty and John stayed in the Margaret Truman room at Authors bed and
breakfast.]
Tuesday, March 12, 2002, Key West
A beautiful sunny and warm day
started with breakfast with John’s brother Bill in the patio of Authors bed and
breakfast. Bill, Thank
you for treating us to the bed and breakfast. ... We did most of the key
tourist things. Mel Fisher’s
Maritime Museum was the most fascinating.
Betty and brother Bill with canon from treasure ship. We all lifted a bar of gold weighing about 4
pounds. The description of life at sea
hundreds of years ago made us glad that we were in this century. The rats, food, and sanitary conditions were
beyond what any of us would tolerate
We climbed the 88 spiral steps of the
Key
West lighthouse museum.
Betty had a discussion
with a cigar store pirate. ... The Harry Truman Little White House
was an interesting look at our history. ... We all enjoyed dinner at
Hemingway’s haunt, Sloppy Joe’s.
March 13 to 17, 2002, Key Largo to
Vero Beach, FL
In warm, sunny weather, we motored
up the sounds and bays to anchor again at the Marine Stadium opposite
Miami.
The next day we motor-sailed outside to
Ft.
Lauderdale and up the New River back to our same
berth at Lauderdale
Marine
Center.
Friday, we reluctantly drove Bill to the airport for his flight
home. Bill, Thank you
for your help on the trip. ... Saturday, John and
Betty motor-sailed outside to the Lake Worth inlet at
Palm Beach where we anchored
for the night. The wind had been out of the east and was
perfect for the run along the shore. We
made excellent time. ... The next day with an east wind 10 to
15 knots, John finally put up both sails and we motor-sailed at up to almost 8
knots. The sailing was so
pleasant that we turned off the motor for lunch. ... The roughest part of the
trip was the Fort Pierce Inlet. The
water was boiling out of the inlet. Large
power boats smash through close by throwing wakes that rolled us side to side pitching things to the deck in
our cabins. Inside in the ICW we had a
tranquil ride with the jib assisting the motor for the 12 miles to
Vero Beach.
We were on a mooring for the night.
Monday, March 18, 2002, Vero Beach
to Port Canaveral, FL
The wind was out of the east again,
giving us a steady sail with the genoa jib and the
motor. ... We decided to visit the Kennedy Space Center.
We were hoping to get through a drawbridge on the
Port Canaveral Barge Canal when a large tow caused it to be
open during its restricted time. On the
radio we heard that an ambulance would arrive at the bridge in 4 minutes and it
must be closed. Fortunately the tow came
through and we sneaked through right after it, in time for the ambulance.
... The next obstacle was the lock on
the canal. Other than scraping the
outboard motor and the dinghy on the side of the lock we did OK. Then in pushing off, one of Betty’s shoes
went in the water in the lock. John lay on the side of the boat and put his body over to reach
it. He decided that a shoe was not worth
falling in the water in the lock. Then
we backed Our Joy close to the shoe and Betty retrieved it with a boat
hook. This sounds tame but there was
much adrenalin rushing on board Our Joy.
... We anchored for the night in
a bight just inside Port Canaveral. The
sunset was spectacular (See picture.).
Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19 and
20, 2002, Port Canaveral, FL
Landing at the marina’s dock was a
circus. John hates those slips at fixed
piers with short finger piers and piles at the end of the slip. They are hard to enter, especially in a cross
wind. The problem is to avoid the other
boats while not smashing up your boat.
The dinghy on stern davits, the dinghy motor, and the toss line bag all
were pressed hard against the piles at some point. Finally all was settled and she was tied
up. It was hard to tell if the dock
attendant learned any new words from John!
Betty was embarrassed as a proper Methodist Minister should be. ...
After we were tied up we discovered that the fancy ad for this marina which had
promised good transportation to the Space Center was an advertising man’s
dream. It was necessary to rent a
car! This is Spring Break time. Cars were hard to get. We walked about 3/4ths of a mile to a
restaurant for lunch. John finally found
a “Budget” car at twice the usual rate. ... Our luck changed, the afternoon
ticket to the Space Center permitted us to enter and to return
the next day. We enjoyed a talk by an
astronaut and visiting a mockup of the shuttle.
Wednesday, March 20, 2002, Port
Canaveral, FL
Bright and early we entered the
Space Center.
We decided to go on the “NASA Up Close”
tour.
We were transported to a site a
mile or so from where Atlantis is already on the pad for the next launch,
scheduled for April 4. A simulation of the count-down and blast off
of an Apollo was a thrill. The room contained
the actual consoles and some of the equipment used for Apollo.
Thursday, March 21, 2002, Port
Canaveral, FL to New Smyrna Beach, FL
Back through lock.
NASA Assembly Bldg visible for many miles. Through automated railroad
bridge. Motor-sailed
with jib. Good east wind. Through Mosquito Lagoon. Anchored at New Smyrna
Friday, March 22, 2002, Daytona
Beach, FL
Wind blowing out of North
strong. Waves and
current. Narrow
channel into marina. Had to make
quick turn and land with the strong wind and current pushing us into the slip
with fixed pilings. ... Saw Thea and Bob Bense. Helped them
set up their booth for a weekend of selling Thea’s shell-flower arrangements. The previous weekend she sold over a thousand
dollars of her arrangements.
Saturday, March 23, 2002, Daytona
Beach, FL
Rented car and drove to
Ft. Lauderdale.
Picked up our car. Returned rental car. Drove back to
Ormond Beach to see Benses. Our car is now in
Ormond Beach.
That will save us about 7 hours when we have to go get it to return
home. ... Changed the oil in the engine in the evening. Discovered leak in the engine’s saltwater
pump. Finally to bed
at 1:30 AM.
Sunday, March 24, 2002, Daytona
Beach to St. Augustine, FL
Had breakfast in the restaurant at
the marina, eggs, ham, coffee, grits! Departed without scratching up the boat! At Noon.
Motor sailed 78 miles North and anchored just
north of the Bridge of the Lions in St. Augustine.
Sunday, March 24, 2002 (Addenda)
A mother and daughter porpoise hitched a ride on our stern wave for about 20
minutes. We can not describe the joy of
being with these beautiful creatures as they flowed smoothly through the water
and looked up at us from a few feet away.
There are many beautiful homes along
the Intracoastal
Waterway.
Monday, March 25, 2002, St. Augustine, FL
Sunday night we anchored north of the Bridge of Lions near the Castillo de
San Marcos (fort) so we could leave early this
morning. The bridge will not open in the
morning and afternoon during rush hour. It
is so pleasant here that we decided to stay for awhile. ... We put the dinghy
in the water and miracle of miracles, the outboard motor started after sitting
for months. Ashore, Betty finally had
the opportunity to do one of her favorite pastimes, “shopping”. We decided to walk across the
Bridge of Lions to a restaurant on the other
side. After about 5 blocks we wondered
why the map showed the restaurant just across the bridge. After another 5 blocks we wondered if it
existed. After another 10 blocks we
found it. It was closed on Monday! We went into the first seafood restaurant and
enjoyed a good meal. It was a long walk
but we need the walking exercise after two months on the boat.
REVISION: The previous "Adventure
#13" incorrectly labeled a dolphin as a porpoise. Thank
you Jack Isenberg. ... John thought that porpoise, dolphin,
and Mahi Mahi were all the
same thing.
Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, March 26-27-28, 2002,
St Augustine, FL
This is such a pleasant and interesting
town that we continued to stay in St. Augustine.
We toured the town on a trolley-train.
We drank from the Fountain of Youth
that Ponce de Leon drank from in 1513.
See how much younger Betty looks. ... We visited the site of the first
Christian worship service on this continent.
That is Betty at the foot of the cross.
This stainless steel cross is the tallest cross in America.
Granddaddy John admired baby girl
dresses in anticipation of the birth of Kathy and Brian’s daughter at any time
now. ... We had intended to leave about Noon on Wednesday but we were enjoying
ourselves so much that we stayed until after dark. We motored the
dinghy in the dark out to “Our Joy” but there was a different boat where we
thought she should be. We motored around
all the anchored boats looking for her but could not find her. We became concerned that she was stolen. A couple on an anchored boat told us that she
had been dragging her anchor and the Florida Marine Patrol had come on board
and tried to anchor her but to no avail.
“Our Joy” had drug up against the couple’s boat but they were able to
push her off with little effort. They
said that SeaTow had come and towed “Our Joy”
away. The City Marina helped us call SeaTow. SeaTow very kindly picked us up in their pickup truck and
delivered us to our boat which was safe and unharmed in a marina (Thank
God!). The next morning we retrieved our
dinghy at the City Marina and motored north to Jacksonville. ... We arrived early enough to
rent a car and retrieve our car from Ormond Beach.
Friday, March 29, 2002, Jacksonville, FL
“Our Joy” was hauled at Pablo Creek
Marina. She will stay on land for the
month of April and have her bottom painted with antifouling paint. The antifouling helps prevent barnacles and other
marine growth on the bottom. ... We discovered that a piece had been knocked
out of one of the blades of our Autoprop.
It is amazing that the prop continued to work very well and did not
vibrate excessively. ... We are writing this while driving north on I95 to the
cold north country. We plan to be back
on “Our Joy” in May and hope to find Spring in the Intracoastal Waterway as we
sail north through the Carolinas and the Chesapeake.
Wishing you a
Happy and a Blessed Easter.
April 30 to May 2, 2002, Jacksonville, FL
When we arrived in Jacksonville, the city was without power. Our hotel room was on the 5th
floor. Nothing was working: elevators,
lights, phones, etc. We drove to
St. Augustine for dinner and a hotel. Monday and Tuesday we worked on launching,
stocking and preparing “Our Joy.” Our AutoProp did not arrive from England in time for the launching, so we
installed our spare 3-blade propeller.
The 3-blade proved to be much less powerful in reverse and less powerful
in forward; requiring a much higher RPM than the AutoProp.
May
3, 2002,
Jacksonville to Little
Cumberland Island, GA
True to form we were underway just a
few minutes away from the dock when John drove “Our Joy” hard aground. Tug boats were a few feet away but there was
a shoal between us and them. This time
we could not back off. TowBoat/US came and towed us off. Later in the day we went aground two other
times but were able to back off. We are
keeping our record of groundings intact! ... In the afternoon we were in
Cumberland Sound when a U.S. Coast Guard cutter approached us and told us to
move outside the channel and stay 500 yards from a U.S. Navy ship that was
coming down the channel.
Here is the Coast Guard stopping
another boat. Later two large sea-going
tugs appeared, apparently as escorts.
Two small fast gun-boats appeared with men in battle gear including
helmets. They were manning machine
guns. Finally the ship appeared.
It was an atomic submarine. We were delayed, but the show was worth
it. Later in the day we anchored beside
Little Cumberland Island.
May 4, 2002, Little Cumberland Island to Wahoo River
Today was the first day of droves of
horseflies. We swatted literally
hundreds. Betty was bitten many places
on her ankles and legs. They seemed to
start swarming on us about 10:00 AM and were less active about 3:00 or 4:00 PM. .. We continued our grounding
record but could go aground only once this day. ... We pulled off the ICW and
motored up the Wahoo River to anchor. We could not see another human being for
miles. The place was beautiful with
pines along one side of the river and grass and water as far as the eye could
see. A bald eagle soared in the sky. An egret flew by skimming across the river
and settling on the far shore. We ate
dinner sitting on the forward deck just enjoying the Lord’s creation of this
beautiful earth.
May 5, 2002, Wahoo River to Hilton Head Island,
SC
The weather which had been very hot
moderated and was cooler in the morning but again hot in the afternoon. Horseflies swarmed with the heat. Again we swatted hundreds. As we were crossing the Savannah River, an enormous container ship was
bearing down on us. John turned directly
across the river and moved along close to shore. We were dwarfed as she passed. ... We saw
many large bird nests built on the navigation markers. Baby bird heads were sticking up with a
mother bird along side. It must be the
season for hatching of new babies. ... We anchored just south of
Windmill Harbor at Hilton Head Island.
May 6, 2002, Hilton Head Island to Wadmalaw Sound
Today we again fought off the
horseflies in the heat of the day as we moved north. After three days we have determined that the
horseflies have banker’s hours and seem to work from 10 AM to 3 PM.
We anchored in Wadmalaw Sound, south of
Charleston, SC. ... Today was John’s grandson,
Christopher’s birthday. We called on the
cell phone and sang happy birthday to Heather and Willie’s answering machine!
... We ate our dinner sitting on the cabin and again enjoyed the beauty of
God’s world (water, creatures, growing things, life teeming all around us.
Tuesday, May 7,2002, Wadmalaw
River to
Charleston, SC
Arrived midday at Charleston City Marina; cleaned
boat of dirt and horsefly bodies. ... John’s cousin, Adelaide Gantt and her
husband, Richard Gantt, arrived with a bottle of Champagne.
We all enjoyed dinner in a gourmet Italian restaurant under the stars on
the patio. Adelaide and Dick very graciously invited us
to leave the boat for a bed at their house in Charleston.
We eagerly accepted the change.
They live near Easley, SC, but Adelaide owns the house in Charleston.
Wednesday, May 8, 2002, Charleston, SC
The day started with a delightful
breakfast prepared by Adelaide.
We spent the day walking through historic Charleston; viewing antique homes and
beautiful gardens.
This inn is a few houses down the
street from the house used in the “Gone With The Wind”
movie.
John and Betty
John, Adelaide, and Dick Gantt
Lunch was at A. W. Shucks, seafood
restaurant; Ice Cream at Ben and Jerry’s; dinner excellently prepared at a
small French restaurant.
Thursday, May 9, 2002, Charleston to Santee River, SC
Dick graciously drove us to pick up
laundry and groceries and delivered us to the boat. After doing the necessary fueling and taking
on of water, we departed about 3:00 PM.
We decided to go until dark to make as much mileage as possible. We arrived at the Santee River just as dusk was fading. There were fish pot buoys everywhere. We used our spotlight to find the pots but
could only see one at a time in the spotlight.
After about 20 frustrating minutes we picked what might be the best
place and dropped the anchor. We decided
to leave it up to God. We were just too
tired.
Friday, May 10, 2002, Santee River to Myrtle Beach, SC
A miracle occurred! We did not foul any of the pots during the
night. Happily we continued north. ...
The Waccama River had small trees growing in the
water that looked like they had been place in large pots and planted
there. The ICW was very shallow at
Myrtle Beach. We passed large barges
with machines dredging the waterway. We
stopped at the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club for the night. As we docked a thunderstorm hit with torrential
rain and high winds. The dock boy and
John were drenched but we landed the boat OK.
Saturday, May 11, 2002, Myrtle Beach
The weather was still rainy and
windy so we rented a Jeep. After driving
for miles past hotels and cheap trinket stores we spent the afternoon in a
Wal-Mart buying all kinds of “could not live without items”. Betty received roses for Mother’s Day. Lunch and dinner were ashore, a treat for a
change.
John and "Our Joy" at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club.
Sunday, May 12, 2002, Myrtle Beach to Carolina Beach, NC (51 miles)
Today was Mother’s Day and Kathy
McKinney’s birthday. We called all our
children to wish them a happy Mother’s Day and sang Happy Birthday to Kathy.
... Betty was treated to Mother’s Day breakfast ashore, her favorite meal out.
... We motored to a protected anchorage at Carolina Beach with houses all around; had
munchies and wine in the cockpit and enjoyed the setting sun.
Monday, May 13, 2002, Carolina Beach to Bogue
Inlet, NC (67 miles)
Motor sailed up the coast past the
Marine Corps’ Camp Lejune firing range. There were personnel carriers on the beach
beside the ICW. They appeared to be
there for target practice, judging by the bullet and shell damage. ... The wind
was very strong. About 4:00 PM we arrived at Dudley’s Marina, told them that we had 5 ½ foot
draft, and asked for a berth for the night.
They directed us to a berth. We
went aground about 50 feet from the berth.
When I asked them why the directed us there if there was not enough
water, they said that this was the only place they had for us. I still do not understand the logic unless
they simply wanted the revenue. The wind
was gusting up to 30 and we were aground off the dock. John was able to slowly force the boat
through the mud to the dock. The wind
and waves were smashing the boat against the dock’s pilings. The rub rail was damaged before we could get
proper fenders in place. Betty came up
with good ideas about the fenders that protected us during the night.
Tuesday, May 14, 2002, Bogue Inlet to
Oriental, NC (47 miles)
This morning Dudley’s Marine graciously repaired the
damaged rubrail as best they could. ... We
motor-sailed to Oriental, NC, advertised as the boating capital of North
Carolina; anchored in the harbor; lowered the dinghy; and rowed ashore for
dinner.
Wednesday, May 15, 2002, Oriental to Pungo
River, NC (54 miles)
Again spent a
lovely evening in the cockpit enjoying the Lord’s creation.
Betty with her Mother’s Day roses,
Pungo River, NC
Thursday, May 16,
2002,
Pungo River, NC to Pungo Ferry, VA (100 Miles!)
Motor-sailed the
Alligator River, crossed Albemarle Sound in strong winds and spray across
the bow; ditto across the North River and Currituck Sound and through the
North Landing River.
Anchored just below the bridge at
Pungo Ferry, VA.
Strong winds all night.
Friday, May 17, 2002, Pungo Ferry, VA to
Norfolk, VA (34 miles)
Worked our way
through all the opening bridges at Norfolk; past the massive
U.S. Navy ships, to the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club.
Fortunately the wind was only moderately strong as we landed ourselves
at the dock. The wind increased during
the afternoon such that it was smashing the boat against the pilings of the
dock. We put out fenders and our fender
board along with spring lines. ... John and Linda Philbrick,
friends formerly of Poughkeepsie and bible study group, joined us
for dinner at the Club. Dinner was
beautifully prepared and served. We
enjoyed ourselves. ... The wind continued smashing the boat against the dock
during the night.
Saturday, May 18, 2002, Norfolk Yacht and Country Club
The weather broadcast said that at 9:00 AM the wind in Norfolk was 36 knots with gusts to 43. Unfortunately the wind direction was directly
up the Lafayette River several miles creating waves that
pitched us up and down against the dock.
About noon a thunderstorm struck with intense wind and rain. Notice the limited visibility in these
pictures of the storm taken from Our Joy’s companionway.
As the storm passed the wind came around
more to the north and pushed us out from the dock, Thank God! As we are writing this there is the sound of
strong wind but we are riding comfortably out from the dock.
Sunday, May 19, 2002, Norfolk Yacht and Country
Club to Deltaville, VA
We motored out of
Norfolk Harbor past a vast array of U.S. Navy
ships. ... There were three foot seas in the Chesapeake Bay as we motored into the cold
wind. At times the bow of the boat
buried in the waves and green water washed over the boat and up onto the dodger
at the front of the cockpit. At times,
from inside the boat, you could see the windows (portholes) covered with
cascading water as if she were under water. ...
Inside the harbor at Deltaville all was calm as we settled in for the
night with our electric heaters against the temperature in the forties. We thought that the South was supposed to be
warm!
Monday, May 20, 2002, Deltaville to Crisfield, MD
The wind was still out of the cold
North as we motored into it across the Chesapeake to Crisfield, MD to meet friends,
Don and Liz Bunch on Misty. They graciously helped us tie up. We all enjoyed an evening of good talk and
dinner of lump crab concoctions.
Crisfield claims to be the crab capital of the world.
Tuesday, May 21, 2002, Crisfield to Solomon’s Island, MD
The weather continued cold as you
can see from this picture of the Bunches, Betty, Misty, and Our Joy in the
background. ... We again motored into the cold wind to Solomon’s
Island, MD.
Wednesday, May 22, 2002, Solomon’s Island to Annapolis, MD
Betty
feeding swan at Solomon’s Island.
As we neared Annapolis we saw 4 Navy fighter jets doing
acrobatics over the Naval Academy.
When the show ended a couple of hundred boats started coming out of
Annapolis in our direction. We then wove our way through the harbor where
another couple of hundred boats were still anchored. They had all been there for the aerial show
put on by the Navy’s Blue Angels.
Luckily we did not collide with anyone. ... We discovered that this is
Commencement Week at the Naval Academy.
The town is crowded with parents and family of midshipmen.
Thursday, May 23, 2002, Annapolis, MD
The day started with a healthy
breakfast at the Marriott.
We toured the
Naval Academy taking in the last parade of this
academic year.
We toured the William Paca House and Garden and had our picture taken in the
doorway of the Hammond Harwood House.
They claim that it is the most beautiful doorway in America.
William Paca was one of four signers of the
Declaration of Independence who lived within a few blocks of each other here in
Annapolis.
Both of these homes were built by these men when they were in their
twenties.
Ken and Pat Kessler drove over from
the Washington, DC area to go to dinner with us at
O’Leary’s.
Friday, May 24, 2002, Annapolis to just south of the C&D Canal
After a healthy breakfast at the
Marriott (Betty’s favorite meal out) we left about 11:00 AM.
Picture is of the
Chesapeake Bay Bridges and ship that had been heading
straight at us. We quickly moved out of
the way.
Other than avoiding massive ships,
the day was uneventful. Thank God! ...
We pulled over out of the channel and anchored just south of the
Chesapeake and
Delaware Canal.
Saturday, May 25, 2002, C&D Canal to Cape May (Est. 80 Nautical Miles)
The day started off calmly. We transited the canal with no problems. We had intended to anchor in the Chossay River in Delaware Bay but we were making such good
time that we decided to push for Cape May, almost 100 nautical miles by our
intended route, the ship channel.
Again we were avoiding ships in the
channel. Part way down the Bay we
decided to cut across and use the computer to take us through the Cape May
Channel which does not have any buoys.
By this time we heard that there were “Small Craft Warnings” for the
mouth of the Bay. The waves were coming
over the bow and at times washing up to the windows on the dodger. The boat was rolling and pitching. We tried a cut through the shoals as shown on
the computer but the water quickly shoaled faster than the computer
showed. We turned and luckily (Betty was
praying, so maybe it was not luck) we found deeper water. We rolled and pitched into Cape May.
At the marina we expected calm and rest but there was a swift current
running through the marina. The stern
was slammed against an opposing dock.
Three people were pulling our lines and finally had us alongside the
dock. ... We gratefully went to dinner at the Lobster Shack. They must seat several hundred people. It was good.
Sunday, May 26, 2002, Cape May to Atlantic City
We encountered dense fog shortly
after we started. We used the radar to
“see” other boats and avoid collision.
The wind was light but the waves were still 3 to 4 feet. The pictures do not reveal the rolling and
pitching or the visibility for maybe a hundred yards. Notice Betty’s wide stance to keep from being
pitched about. The left picture shows
her intently watching the radar. The
right picture was a forced smile for the camera! A cabinet door came loose and everything fell
onto the cabin floor. ... Finally we rolled and pitched in the fog into
Atlantic City to the State Marina. ... Betty
announced that she was not going out tomorrow.
She had had enough! She insisted
on waiting for a better day. She spent a
couple of hours cleaning up the mess and cleaning the accumulated salt off the
boat. ... After dinner we walked the boardwalk and the Steel Pier. The size of the casinos is almost
unbelievable. The massive number of
people pouring money into them is really unbelievable. “People-watching” was the most fun. There appeared to be every race and
nationality, all ages, many physically challenged, and many caloric
challenged. The kids on the rides were a
joy to watch.
Monday, May 27, 2002, Atlantic City
Marina
Walking the Boardwalk
John captures escaping dinosaur on
Steel Pier while Betty window shops.
Tuesday, May 28, 2002, Atlantic City to Sandy Hook, NJ
The ocean was placid compared to
previous days. We made excellent time
and arrived at Sandy Hook by mid-afternoon and anchored behind a breakwater.
Sandy Hook was alive with fish. We saw a man in a small boat throw a seine
net and pull it on board with up to 40 fish; many were 24 to 30 inches long.
Wednesday, May 29, 2002, Sandy Hook to Port Washington,
NY via NY Harbor
U.S. Navy Cruiser under
Verazanno Narrows Bridge ... Manhattan Skyline at Battery
High-speed Ferry Circle-Line
around Manhattan
Betty steered the entire way from
the Verazanno Narrows Bridge, around Manhattan, up the East River and into Hell’s Gate.
United Nations from the East River
Thursday and Friday, May 30 & 31, 2002, Port Washington to Port Jefferson,
LI, NY
We had a leisurely sail in the
afternoon to Port Jeff and anchored in the outer part of the harbor. The weather forecast for the next day was for
thunderstorms so we moved to the Setauket Yacht Club and stayed an extra
day. Port Jeff was a delightful quaint
village with interesting shops and restaurants, not at all what we expected for
Long Island. The Port Jefferson ferry
seems to always enter or leave the harbor while we are also in the entrance.
We were on a mooring at the yacht
club and used the launch to go back and forth to shore. ... During the evening
a thunderstorm hit with 40 knot winds.
We were tossed around and pelted with rain, but we felt secure at the
mooring.
Friday, June 1, 2002, Port Jeff to Stonington, CT
Betty was delighted that this was our last day! We were both ready to go home after a total of
4 and ½ months on the boat during the period from October to June 1st. Betty has traveled 3,000 miles on “Our Joy”
and John 3,400 since July when we purchased the boat.
Betty baked biscuits while underway at
7 knots in the middle of Long Island Sound.
... We arrived early in the afternoon at our mooring in
Stonington, CT.
We rented a car and drove to our daughter, Heather’s and Son-in-law
Will’s in Sudbury, MA.
Their 5-year-old son, Jamie, had just been diagnosed with diabetes. Please pray for the family. ... We were glad
to be home the next day. Our kitty was
even more glad, thanks to our daughter, Susan, who kept her healthy and well
fed.
Sending our love from “Our Joy”,
John and Betty
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