Swimming in the Hudson

7/27/07 – We got up this morning and packed our bags to prepare to go ashore. I dropped Paul and my bag on a dock on shore and I took the boat back out to the anchorage where I set both anchors. As I was about to jump in the filthy Hudson River, I heard Paul call out to me, saying that there was a small colony of rats living in the rock pile that I was planning on climbing up to get ashore. I only hesitated for a moment before realizing that my other option was to pay extraordinary amounts of money to dock in New York Harbor so I quickly jumped into the quagmire and made it ashore.

I put a shirt on and then we walked over to a guy that was fishing to ask him where the nearest place to get public transportation was. His name was Ralph and he told us that it was a very long walk but that he would be happy to give us a ride part of the way. We got into his van and he dropped us off at the end of a path that appeared to lead into a junkyard. We walked down the path and over a short bridge going over an awful smelling swamp. We finally made it to the New Jersey Transit light rail line and took that to a train station. We got on a train that took us under the Hudson River and into Manhattan. We ate lunch at a pizza place and then went to my uncle Andy’s office to pick up the keys to his house.

We took the subway up there and dropped our stuff off and I took a shower to wash the Hudson River off me. We then took the Subway back down and visited Chinatown. We were getting hungry so we decided that the one criterion for a good Chinese restaurant was its dumpiness. We finally found the perfect restaurant: the shadiest little nook of a restaurant that we had ever seen. The food was delicious. Then we went to Little Italy and bought a cannoli. We then went over to Times Square before heading up to Margo and Andy’s house to go to bed.

Sailing Into New York Harbor

7/26/07 – Paul and I woke up this morning and got going early so we would have a fair current when we reached New York Harbor. We motored through a canal and under several bridges to the Manasquan inlet where we left the Intracoastal Waterway and continued northwards. The wind was nearly dead calm so we were forced to motor most of the way to New York. Entering the harbor through the Verranzo Narrows Bridge was one of the greatest feelings I have ever had. We motored up the harbor and dropped the anchor directly between Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, just outside the security zones surrounding each. I had called the Coast Guard and the state police the previous day to make sure that I would not be breaching any laws by anchoring here and both of them told me that they were not aware of any regulations that I would break before telling me to call the other agency for the definitive answer. The view was spectacular but the wind and passing boats made the surface a bit choppy so we decided to move so that we would be in the lee of an island. I checked my charts to make sure that the water was not too shallow and that I would not breach any of the numerous security zones in the area before we motored over there. Less than 60 seconds after we dropped the anchor in our new location, a large and fast police boat came screaming towards us with its lights flashing. They were not happy because I was apparently in a prohibited area. I decided that no good could come from debating my position so I just weighed anchor and went back to our original spot. We stayed there enjoying the scenery until evening when we decided to move to a protected basin right behind the Statue of Liberty. As we were motoring in, a different police boat came speeding down the channel right towards me with his lights flashing. I was even more certain than before that I was not breaking any laws so I was beginning to get upset. Luckily, he sped right past me and went to the end of the basin where a NYPD helicopter and a CBS news helicopter were circling. We never figured out what was going on. We ate a dinner of pasta and then sat and looked at the city for a while before going to bed.

Bay Head

6/25/07 – Paul and I got up and weighed anchor at about 9:00am and motored and sailed throughout the day. We got to a neat little town called Bay Head at around 4:00pm and got some fuel at a marina. We then motored out into the harbor, anchored, and ate dinner. In the evening, we swam ashore and walked into town to buy some eggs and Slurpees from the Seven Eleven. We swam back to the boat and sat out on deck for a while before going to bed.

Surf City

6/24/07 – Paul and I got up this morning and got going on the Intracoastal Waterway. We went through some more neat little seaside villages and anchored in the harbor of Surf City. It was a very picturesque little anchorage and we had a good pasta dinner before going to bed.

Crew Change

6/23/07 – I woke up this morning and was disappointed to hear strong wind and heavy rain outside the boat. I told Kenny that he could stay below while I sailed for the few hours until we got to Atlantic City. We wandered through some very windy canals and went under many bridges to get to Atlantic City. We finally arrived at our dock and promptly got warm showers. I took a taxi cab to the Verizon store to get a replacement for my broken phone. We walked around the downtown for a bit and then Kenny took a bus to New York City to meet his sister. I walked around town for the afternoon and then went to the casinos in the evening while I waited for my friend, Paul, to get into town. He got there and we took a cab back to the marina and went to bed.

Rough Day

6/22/07 – Kenny and I ate a breakfast of oatmeal this morning and weighed anchor at about 8:00am to get on the ocean. We went out the Cape May inlet and had a 20 knot wind that was from the northeast, exactly the direction that we wanted to go. We tacked several times but made five hard-fought miles toward our destination in four hours. We finally decided that enough was enough and turned around back towards Cape May. We flew there with the wind at our backs and took the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway north. My charts say, “Vessels that draw more than five feet and have a bridge clearance of more than 34 feet can not pass through this section. I draw four feet (no problem) but my bridge clearance is about 32 feet, something to worry about at high tide, which it was. The reason I decided to avoid this section of the ICW in the first place was the long, winding path and numerous bridges that I either barely fit under or had to have opened for me. I had about six inches of clearance from the top of my mast (my flexible antenna hit but that’s why it’s flexible) going under the first bridge and the tide was still rising with two other bridges to go. I slipped under the second bridge with about four inches to spare. The third bridge was the closest with what we estimated to be about two inches…we really hoped that no wakes would come while we were passing through. We tried to motor into a creek to anchor but the entrance ha shoaled since my chart was published so we ran aground. We backed out and found another place to drop the hook and had a great pasta dinner while we watched what both of us agreed was one of the best sunsets either of us had ever seen.

Delaware Bay to Cape May

7/21/07 – I woke up this morning and weighed anchor at 5:30am. I wanted to take advantage of the three knot ebb current for the journey to Cape May and keep from being stranded in the middle of the bay when the current switched. We cruised at record speeds because of the currents and made it to Cape May in the early afternoon. We motor sailed through the Cape May Canal and made it into Cape May Harbor at about 2:00pm. We picked up some fuel at a local marina and then anchored just east of the Coat Guard station right next to the main channel that serviced the harbor. I was a bit unhappy with the spot I had chosen but there were few other options that would be suitable. I set out a second anchor to deal with the strong tidal currents ripping through the Cape May inlet. The anchorage soon filled in with other boats and there was a constant flow of boats traveling by us in the channel. We ate a dinner of pasta with pesto sauce and then enjoyed the picturesque harbor during sunset. A very good band started playing across the bay from us and the sound carried perfectly over the water so we sat on deck and listened to them for a little while. It has been getting a bit chilly the past two nights so I had to dig in the v-berth for the fleece pants I brought with me for the first time this summer.

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

7/20/07 – I got up early and weighed anchor at about 5:45am. Kenny continued to sleep for the first several hours of the day; he said that sleeping under sail was extremely restful due to the gentle rocking, a sensation that would make most people sick. We had a great wind of about 15-18 knots and were on a close reach for the remainder of our time in the Chesapeake Bay. We entered the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, a waterway that connects the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware Bay, in the early afternoon. I had to time it properly so that the very strong tidal currents would be pushing us along rather than hindering us. I usually cruise at around five knots under power (you are not allowed to raise sails in the canal) so a 2-3 knot current makes it imperative that a slow boat plans their transit accordingly. We made it through and anchored behind Reedy Island. I knew that the currents in the Delaware Bay were just as strong as in the canal so I set two anchors so that the other would hold me when the tide switched.

Kenny made some pasta for dinner and we watched a great sunset and some of the best stars I’ve seen this entire trip.

Slipping By a Storm

7/19/07 – We woke up at anchor this morning and motored into Herrington Harbor South to get some fuel. I talked with a guy named Bill that offered to let me use his facilities pass (this is a resort marina) if I were to stay there. I declined, partly because I could never afford to stay there but also because I need to make good time to Atlantic City, NJ. I found out that there was a West Marine at the other branch of Herrington Harbor, about two miles away on the opposite side of Herring Bay. We motored over there and I was disappointed to find out that the book I wanted was not there. We sailed out of the harbor and continued sailing for most of the morning. There was a storm system coming through but the severe portion of it was down near the Potomac River, well south of us. We continued along and just got a little sprinkle and a great tailwind for the remainder of the day. We passed Baltimore and anchored in a nice little harbor and watched another great sunset.

Herring Bay

7/18/07 – We woke up and were still being bounced around by the waves. We ate a quick breakfast of oatmeal and then got going. We were able to sail out of the harbor but as soon as we made it out, the wind promptly died. We turned on the motor and continued along for a few minutes but I was confused as to why we weren’t going faster than we were. A look down the transom revealed the problem: I was dragging a fisherman’s pot. I got out the gaff hook and got it untangled and the performance was greatly improved. The wind continued to be light and variable so we had the sails down for the majority of the time. We anchored in Herring Bay and watched a sailboat race as we were eating dinner. It was a relief to be in a good anchorage in the lee of a wooded shoreline. We watched a good sunset and did a bit of reading before bed.

Crossing the Potomac

7/17/07 – Kenny and I ate some oatmeal for breakfast and then weighed anchor. We motored through the Milford Haven harbor and tried unsuccessfully to buy fuel at two marinas but one was closed and one only sold diesel fuel. We continued along until we got to Deltaville, where we stopped at a marina that sold us fuel and ice and let us use their courtesy car to drive a few miles to buy some groceries. We got going again at about 11:00am and motored north for the afternoon and evening. We had a very light north wind all day so the sails would have been useless. I dropped the anchor just west to Lookout Point, knowing that the light north wind would put us in the lee of the point and make for a very comfortable anchorage. As soon as we had finished our dinner of pasta, the wind began blowing at around ten knots from the south. We had about fifteen miles of open water directly to the south of us so we began being tossed around by the ever increasing waves. We both had a cigar in recognition of the fact that we had just crossed into Maryland and then sat and relaxed before going to bed. It was a very rough night. We were bounced around so much that I sometimes had to hang on to keep from rolling out of my bed.

Into the Cheapeake Bay

7/16/07 – We walked over to a breakfast restaurant this morning and got filling but cheap breakfast. We cast off from the marina and motor sailed out of Norfolk Harbor. We had a hot day but there was a good tailwind of 5-10 knots that pushed us about 53 miles. I decided to make a risky entrance to a perfect anchorage despite very shallow shoals. I was able to make it through without touching once. We had a dinner of pesto and mandarin oranges and listened to some music before going to bed.

Kenny Arrives

7/15/07 – I woke up and began talking to the guy on the boat next to mine. He had a Leopard 40, a neat catamaran that I had seen in Thunderbolt, GA when my grandpa was with me. The guy was pretty nice and told me about his trip. My friend, Kenny, arrived this morning and took a taxi from the airport to the marina. He came aboard and we began stowing his things aboard but it was so hot that we decided to wait until evening. We went to lunch and then began walking around downtown Norfolk. We then went back to the boat and read and talked for most of the afternoon before walking over to dinner at a sports bar. We then walked back to the boat and read before going to bed.

Guest Entry: Kathy Bassett

Tuesday July 10, 2007

Norfolk, Va.

When Zach and his siblings were young I often read to them a story called, The Runaway Bunny, in which Mommy Bunny did whatever necessary in order to follow her Baby Bunny when he tried to get away from her. Later, as they dreamed about where they themselves would go someday I reminded them, “Remember the Runaway Bunny!” And so, on July 10, I flew out to the east coast to visit my son during his sailing adventure.

Zach’s sister Shannon and I arrived in Norfolk, Virginia on the afternoon of July 10 eager to see Zach and his boat. Zach and I had agreed that I’d be more comfortable sleeping in a hotel rather than on his boat so he planned to stay in Norfolk during my visit. In the time that it took for me and Shannon to go up to our room, drop our bags, and return to the lobby, the skies opened up. We were soaked to our undies by the time we arrived at the marina to find Zachary, who was wearing nothing but a swimsuit and lots of facial hair. It was so good to see my boy!

After Zach endured a long, wet hug from his mother the three of us traipsed down the dock to Zach’s slip and there she was, the Erica J. I had seen pictures of the boat, but standing next to it, it looked a little smaller than I had expected. With the rain still coming down hard, Zach instructed Shannon and I to rush inside as soon as he opened the hatch so he could close it up quickly and avoid having all of his belongings soaked…again. Lots laughter, a flurry of activity, and suddenly the three of us were standing inside, afraid to sit down since we were all soaking wet and the seating area was covered with navigational maps, fraying straw hats, a jar of half-eaten pasta sauce, and a few dollar bills laid out to dry. Did I say standing inside? There was just enough floor space for our three pairs of feet, and just enough head room for us each to hunch over—way over—if our knees were bent. There was no room for any of us to move. It was hilarious!

With me sitting on the step/cooler and Shannon sitting on my lap, I watched my 6’7” son contort his body in this very small space in order to put on a t-shirt. I tried to see past him to the head and the v berth, but with the three of us in the cabin this was impossible. The only way I can imagine Zach being able to stretch out while he sleeps is by putting his feet in the sink.

Sopping wet and squeezed into that dimly lit and cluttered little cabin one thing was crystal clear: Zach was completely content with his living quarters, was very self-sufficient, and was quite pleased with how his adventure was unfolding. I was so happy to see this! I was also happy that I was staying in a hotel. We left three wet spots in the public transportation van while returning to the hotel to dry off before dinner.

To demonstrate the physical dimensions of the boat’s living quarters, below is a picture of Zach standing on the floor of the cabin (on a drier day) with the hatch wide open. One can imagine how he folds himself up once inside.

Wednesday, July 11

Norfolk, Va.

The highlight of the day was a tour of the Norfolk Harbor aboard Zach’s boat. Although we tried to put up the sails for a bit, there wasn’t much wind and there was quite a lot of commercial traffic so we motored most of the time. It was really fun! We saw a number of huge ships in dry-dock, and many military vessels. Shannon and I were also fascinated with the jellyfish.

I planned ahead for the heat and wore my swimsuit and a wide-brimmed hat. Forty minutes into our ride, with Shannon basking in the sun on the bow and Zach handling the tiller looking cool as could be, I had resorted to dipping an empty water bottle into the salt water and sprinkling myself. After 42 minutes I was repeatedly dumping salt water directly on top of my head.

When we finished our tour of the harbor—which I really did enjoy—I dashed into the air-conditioned building next to the marina and drank cold water. I followed this with a mercifully cold shower in the marina locker room. Zach seemed to have anticipated my limitations more than I did. He was prepared to join us at the hotel and do some sight-seeing during our visit. At home he normally uses brown paper grocery bags as luggage. Since his current home is surrounded by (and occasionally filled with) water, he has graduated to using large ziplock bags to transport his few possessions. The man lives simply!

At night we enjoyed dinner in a neighborhood seafood restaurant on a small inlet away from downtown.

Thursday, July 12

Virginia Beach, Va.

We spent the day at the beach! We swam; we snoozed; we saw dolphins! It was a perfect day. The fighter jets flying overhead every so often added a Star Wars effect to the scene. Zach stepped on a lady while trying to fly a kite.

On the boardwalk in Virginia Beach we saw an unmistakable resemblance between Zachary and Poseidon.

Friday, July 13

Berkley Plantation, somewhere near Williamsburg,Va.

After a pleasant drive through the countryside, we visited a plantation rich in history. Shannon was impressed that most of our first presidents had been hosted at this home; I was impressed that thousands of Union soldiers had camped on the grounds; Zach was impressed because the distillation of bourbon was perfected here. Go figure!

We ended the day by having what should have been a relaxing dinner. Instead, Shannon and Zach had a contest to see who could eat the most breadsticks at Olive Garden. I was so proud.

Saturday, July 14

Williamsburg, Va.

By the time Shannon and I boarded the plane to return home this evening, we were pretty tired. Zach spent the entire day with us at Colonial Williamsburg. Yes, this was my idea, but Shannon and Zach seemed to enjoy it too.

When Shannon and I arrived in Norfolk Zach had just passed the 1000 mile mark on his journey. The buoy below, in the Norfolk Harbor, is mile marker zero on the intracoastal waterway that has brought him this far north. It was a pleasure and a privilege to meet up with him during his adventure, even if I wimped out on the sailing!

Norfolk, VA

7/10/07 – I woke up and ate a granola bar for breakfast. I saw Robert arrive at the lock so I walked over there and met him at the gate. He invited me in and showed me around the lock facilities. We walked into the little house that they have there and he brewed some coffee and told me some interesting stories about some close calls that have happened during his thirteen years as a lockmaster. He borrowed my handheld VHF radio to go operate the bridge (he does double duty: the adjacent bridge and the lock) and I went back to my boat to get ready to cast off. He opened the doors and I went into the lock chamber with David and Anita and one other boat. Outside of the lockmaster’s house, there is a garden with banana trees and is the ground is littered with huge conch shells that have been left by sailors coming north after a winter in the Caribbean. Robert claimed that he was the world’s best conch shell player and he picked one up and began blowing into it. We all left the lock and continued the few miles into Norfolk. We were joined by many big sportfishing boats when we got to the part where the people who took the Virginia Cut route joined us who had taken the Great Dismal swamp route. They were doing some construction on some of the bridges so we had to wait for a little while to get through. Going past the huge naval yard there was really neat. I made it to a marina in Portsmouth where the service department was going to change my oil. They had to go buy some parts but promised that it would be finished in a couple of hours. I went to eat lunch at a local restaurant and went to a maritime museum right on the water, where the doorman was so happy about the trip I was doing that he let me in for free. I finally went back to the marina and looked at my boat. It had been three hours since I arrived and they had not started my oil change so I just left. As I was in the middle of the river on my way to Norfolk, the skies opened up and it began pouring very hard. I made it into Waterside Marina and tied up. My mom and sister showed up pretty soon afterwards and I showed them the boat. I think my mom was less than impressed with the accommodations on the boat and was very happy that she is staying in a hotel. We went back to the hotel and went to a restaurant for dinner.

Into Virginia

7/9/07 – I woke up this morning at the North Carolina Visitors Center and ate some breakfast. I went up to the office where they had a boaters’ book exchange and exchanged some of the books that I have finished reading. I cast off at around noon so I could make the 3:30pm bridge opening at Deep Creek. I continued up the Dismal Swamp Canal and made it to the bridge right on time. I went through and tied up to a free dock on the other side of it but before I got to the lock. I walked over to the auto parts store but they had trouble figuring out which spar plugs should be put in my engine. I got frustrated and left without buying anything. I went over to a local Mexican restaurant where they had some good and cheap food. I saw David and Anita there and they invited me over to their table so I ate with them. The lock master, Robert, walked over to my boat in the evening and told me that I should come over in the morning before he opened the lock for me to go through.

Great Dismal Swamp

7/8/07 – I got up this morning and went to a local coffee shop that had free wireless internet that I could use. I ate a croissant and had a few glasses of cold milk. I was tempted to attend the 8:00am mass at the local historical Baptist church since I am told that that would be a true learning experience in the south but decided that I was raggedy enough that they would immediately know that I don’t belong there, which is completely true. I walked back to the dock and Tom and Karen helped me untie and cast off. I motored up the windy river until I got to the Dismal Swamp Canal. I had to go through a lock which raises boats eight feet to the dismal swamp. I was told that the locks on either side of the Dismal Swamp are to negate the effects of the difference in tides on the bodies of water that border the Dismal Swamp. In the locks in Minnesota, lines are provided for boats going through so I was surprised to find out that the boats needed to provide their own lines in the Great Dismal Swamp locks. I hurriedly got bow and stern lines out while I was motoring into the lock and got them secure by the time the doors were shut. I made it through the lock and continued through the narrow canal. I learned that this canal was dug by hand with slave labor in the 18^th century and that many of the slaves that dug the canal escaped during the end of their job. I stopped at the North Carolina Visitors Center, a highway rest stop that is right on the Intracoastal Waterway and provides free docking for transients. I walked up to the office and signed their guest book. I noticed that Gary and Tonie had passed through recently. I walked back down to the dock and met the owners of the other boat that was there, a 1978 Morgan 41. They introduced themselves as Anita and David. They live aboard their boat full time in southern Florida and are making their first trip north to the Chesapeake Bay. I talked with them for a while and they offered to let me ride one of their foldable bicycles into town, about five miles away. I accepted their offer and departed. I was exhausted after about two miles, partly because I am out of shape and partly because the foldable bicycles with tiny wheels sacrifice an enormous amount of efficiency for the ability to fold them into a tiny package. I finally got to town and bought a cold lemonade and some ice for my cooler. I made it back and continued talking to the folks on the dock. There were a good number of highway travelers who walked down to the docks to see what was going on but most of them were idiots. A flotilla of three large cruisers floated in and tied up the dock as well. The owner of the biggest cruiser, Corey, came back and offered to give me electricity to run a fan in my boat overnight. I told him that I had neither a cord nor a fan so I would have to decline his offer. He frowned and told me that he would loan me his fan and cord for the night. I walked back and had a cold beer with David and continued talking about boats and sailing for quite a while. One of the wives from the big cruisers walked over and invited all three of us to a homemade dinner of southern jambalaya. I excitedly accepted but David and Anita already had a pizza in their oven so they declined. I walked over and ate a hearty meal of garlic bread, salad, and spicy shrimp jambalaya that was delicious. We all ate quickly and retired to our boats because the yellow flies were beginning to swarm. I have bloody bite marks all over my feet and ankles.

Elizabeth City

7/7/07 – I woke up this morning and ate a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. I weighed anchor and continued north on the Alligator River. I was very confused by some of the channel markers that had been moved since the publication of my charts but none of the water appeared to be shallower than my boat draws so I just went straight through the middle. I crossed Albemarle Sound but the weather was too calm to sail early on. I just set my autopilot on a heading and sat back to relax for a few hours. The wind finally picked up when I got to the Pasquotank River on the other side of the sound. I set both sails and continued for another few hours. In the afternoon, I passed a strange looking old building that I read was an old dirigible hangar from World War II that is currently being used by a blimp manufacturing company. I got to Elizabeth City in the late afternoon and was not exactly sure where to go. I had read that they have city docks that can be used for free but was not sure which ones they were. I was motoring around looking confused when I saw an old man waving me over and pointing to a slip. I decided that this must be the right place. I tied up to the four pilings with the help of the old dockmaster and a fellow boater. The old fellow was a cheerful old man who wore a baseball cap that read WWII VETERAN. He told me all the good restaurants in town and was very helpful. I walked around for a bit and stopped at a burger joint for dinner. I walked around for a little while longer and then headed back to the boat. As I was about to climb aboard, I began talking to the family on the boat right next to me. They invited me over and introduced themselves Tom and Karen. They and their two sons, Zack and Caleb, took a year to sail their 47 foot sailboat down to the Caribbean and back. They homeschooled the kids and have plenty of great stories from their past year. They are also keeping an internet record of their voyage at www.sailthalia.com. I learned that they had some difficulty with the same channel markers earlier in the day but it was a bigger problem for them since they draw much more than me. They told me all the best places to go along my route before I headed back to my boat. I called my dad to wish him a happy birthday and then walked over to a nearby bar where they had a reggae band playing.

Alligator River

7/6/07 – The sun woke me up this morning again so I got up and ate oatmeal for breakfast. The wind had shifted during the night so I was no longer on the windward shore; the waves were able to build up for miles before they hit me so it was a bit of a rough location. I got underway at about 9:30am. I raised the main, weighed anchor, and sailed out of the Belhaven harbor. I sailed for about two hours before I got to a narrow canal. There was a bridge with a big dredging barge right under the center span. They would not answer my calls to them on the radio to see if I could get by so I took down the sails and slowly motored up to them. They gave no acknowledgement of my presence for several minutes but then moved so I could get by. The canal continued for about twenty miles. When I was about halfway through, I saw clouds and heard thunder. I could not get the NOAA radio broadcast because I was out of range and I could not get cell phone reception either. I took the sails down again and fastened everything down in preparation for a storm. It began raining extremely heavily and lightning was all around but there was very little wind, which surprised me. It passed over in about an hour and the sky cleared up again. I exited the canal and entered the Alligator River for the evening. I picked out an anchorage near the windward shore and ate some macaroni and cheese for dinner. There is another thunderstorm just to the east of me. I could hear it and see lots of lightning but it doesn’t seem to be moving towards me. It looked really cool just after the sun had set because it was still illuminated in brilliant orange light while everything else was getting very dark.

I put the screens up to keep the bugs out but soon realized that I had trapped more flies inside the cabin than were out on deck. I opened the screen to try to get them out but they seemed very content to stay inside. They kept waking me up throughout the night because they were very loud and they used my face as a trampoline every few minutes.

Sailing to Belhaven

7/5/07 – I had to get up early because there was a charter fishing boat right next to the restaurant who was leaving at six o’clock. I had to move my boat over in the slip so he had room to get out. I put the boat back after he left and went back to sleep for a short time. I got up at about 7:30 and ate breakfast and cast off. I immediately regretted not going for a morning swim because I could feel that it was going to be a warm day. I stopped at a marina in Beaufort to get some fuel. As I was pulling in, I heard my name shouted and I looked over to the opposite bank and saw the guitar player from the night before waving at me. I waved back and wished him a good day. I got my fuel and began my way north. There were some narrow canals for the first five or ten miles so I motored through those but then they opened up into huge rivers and sounds. Tonie and Gary passed me early in the day so we all waved at each other as they went by. I had a south wind at 10-15 knots…absolutely perfect for sailing. I turned off my motor at about 10:30am and never turned it on again for the rest of the day. This was the best sailing day I have had this whole trip by far, I averaged over 6mph which is absolutely amazing for my boat. I got to the place where I had planned to anchor at around 5:00pm but I was having such a great time sailing and making such good progress that I decided to go until sunset. I made it to Belhaven, a record 70 miles in one day. I dropped my jib right inside the town’s breakwater and sailed under my mainsail across the town’s waterfront and threaded a needle through some shoals before heading up into the wind and dropping the hook. I felt like a true sailor.

Fourth of July

7/4/07 – I woke up this morning and went for a swim off the dock. The water was very nice so I stayed out in the channel for about a half hour. I then went back to the boat to dry off and eat breakfast. Gary and Tonie had woken up and were preparing to cast off. I chatted with them for a few minutes and they took me on a tour of their boat. After living on Erica J. for over a month, their boat, Bear With Me, seemed like the Taj Mahal. I said farewell and helped them cast off. I walked into town and got a newspaper and brought it back to the restaurant to read it on the porch. When that was done, I walked over to a place nearby and got a cheeseburger for lunch and then came back to take a nap, my first of the trip. I took another swim when I woke up and talked to one of the waitresses who was sitting on the dock. She left to start her shift and I got out and walked up to grab a table.

I started talking to some guys who invited me over to their table on the porch and bought me a beer. Their names were both Mike and they were moving to Morehead City to begin some construction work. They were friendly and very interested in my trip but didn’t seem like the brightest fellows in the world. One of the Mikes kept talking about the dumbest things and I just smiled politely and was looking for some way to get away from their table without insulting them. They finally decided to leave and they both said farewell and took off.

I went back out and had a few drinks before ordering dinner. I got barbecued shrimp which was delicious. I watched the sun set over the water as the restaurant began to fill with people waiting to see the fireworks. I was sitting there as I heard my name called; I looked around and there were Gary and Tonie again. They had moved their boat to the city marina on the other side of the island and had walked over to see the fireworks. My table had the best view of the fireworks staging area in Morehead City so I invited them back to sit with me again. We were able to see fireworks from other nearby shows for a few minutes before the Morehead City ones began. They were shot off from a barge on the other side of an uninhabited island called Sugarloaf. The show began but before long we began to see flames coming from the trees on Sugarloaf Island. They only continued to grow as the show progressed and soon firefighting boats were rushing to the scene. One of the locals shook his head and said, “Geez, this is the third time in seven years that they’ve started the island on fire. Last year they sank the barge as well!” I thought that perhaps they should hire a new crew to light them off in the future. Most people left after the show was over so I sat and enjoyed the cool evening on the porch. They restaurant had a classical guitar player that night who played everything from Bach to Led Zeppelin. We started chatting and he came and sat at my table for a few minutes. I offered to buy him a drink but he said that one perk of his job was that he gets all the free drinks he wants. He was from Grenada and works during the day as a carpenter and at night as a musician. I asked him all about the Caribbean and he had a few good stories to tell. He left and I went down to the boat to go to sleep.

Morehead City

7/3/07 – I slept in this morning and got underway at about 9:30am. It was a very sunny day and there were tons of recreational boaters out, presumably due to the holiday tomorrow. The unfortunate thing was that they wind was strong and straight out of the northeast and for most of the day I was forced to motor. There were a few good portions where I was able to sail but it shifted so often that I had to take down the sail every so often. I was able to turn off the motor and sail for about two or three hours during the day. I got to Morehead City at around 5:00pm and went to the dock at a restaurant that provides free docking as long as you buy your dinner there. I had talked to “Chef Dan” on the phone so he and a few of the busboys came out to help me dock. They helped me tie up by tying my bow line on and I hopped off and tied the stern line. I thanked them and they went back into the building and I began tying some spring lines up. As I was working, a guy came down from the restaurant and began retying the bow line that one of the busboys had tied. He introduced himself as Wayne and told me that if he had ever tied a knot as awfully as the busboy had, he would have been on deck swabbing duty for weeks. We talked on the dock for a few minutes and he bought me a beer that was brought out to me on the dock. After I was done putting away the things in my cockpit and tidying the boat up, I walked up and joined him at his table. We talked for quite a while about all sorts of things. He had all sorts of good stories about his career in the Navy and his various jobs as a delivery captain for large sailboats all along the east coast of the United States and the Bahamas. He was surprised that I felt safe doing this trip without a gun aboard. He told me that he never left port in the Bahamas without at least one firearm aboard. He then got into stories that included how useful his guns have been in the Bahamas. I was of course glued to my seat because I was interested in what he had to say but he eventually had to leave to get back to his wife and stepdaughter that he kept telling me how much he disliked. I walked through the town a little bit and bought some beer and ice as well as another book to read. I came back to the restaurant where I was docked and got a table for dinner. As I was walking back from the restroom, I saw Chef Dan again, a chubby fellow that appeared to be in a perpetual jolly drunken mood. I later learned that he was the owner of the place and he took great pride in selecting the best local fresh fish for the menu. Chef Dan came to it with me at my table for about fifteen minutes and he told me about the great times and not so great times he had living aboard his boat in Key West. I told him about my trip and he thought that it was very neat. He told me that I should stick around for the fourth of July at his dock because it is a very big deal around here.

My boat was not the only one on the dock, there was a 36 foot motor yacht there as well. That one needed to be moved so Chef Dan and I walked down to the dock to help them scoot down the dock so there was room behind them for another vessel to tie up. I began talking to the woman who told me that she and her husband were doing the “great loop,” a circumnavigation of the eastern half of the United States. They introduced themselves as Tonie and Gary and I invited them to my table in the restaurant. They were extremely nice folks and had plenty of good stories about their trip. They are also keeping an online journal of their trip, which can be located at www.bearwithme.talkspot.com. It was really neat comparing stories about places that we had both been and the adventures that we have had there. They gave me a business card with their contact information on it that indicated that Gary was the captain and Tonie was the skipper. After we had finished eating, Gary and I went to help two boats dock with Chef Dan. As we were sitting back down at our table, we saw Chef Dan briskly walking up the dock with two big brightly colored boxes with a huge grin on his face. He disappeared and about 3 minutes later, we were treated to a great fireworks display that appeared to come from the other side of the building. Chef Dan and the rest of the restaurant staff came out to the outdoor seating area to watch the show. Tonie, Gary, and I continued talking well into the evening until it was time for all of us to go to bed.

New River

7/2/07 - I was awakened by the wakes of passing power boats this morning and I got up and figured out a plan for the day. I had to schedule my departure based on the Wrightsville Beach Swing Bridge’s schedule. I got through that and made it to the next swing bridge in perfect time. I continued for most of the afternoon with a headwind but no problems. I got to a nice anchorage just north of the New River inlet in North Carolina. There is a large derelict-looking military vessel docked here and there are several fishermen on shore casting into the anchorage. I ate dinner and then spent about an hour sitting on deck watching the sunset. This was the second night since leaving North Palm Beach that more than a couple of mosquitoes appeared so I reluctantly left the perfect evening to go below where the screens would protect me.

Algae and Barnacles

7/1/07 - I slept in this morning and then walked over to a restaurant across the street. I sat down and ordered when Crystal walked up to me. She and her housemates were there eating as well. After breakfast, I walked over to the bathroom at the marina and took a shower before heading off. I went for most of the afternoon but decided to stop early at Wrightsville Beach because there was an excellent anchorage and I was tired. I anchored and decided to clean off the algae and barnacles from the bottom of the hull. I took and old rag with me when I jumped in to do the work. It worked poorly so I had the idea of using a credit card. It would be hard enough to scrape off the stuff on the hull but not so hard that it would scratch my hull. That worked very well and I got the job done in just over a half hour. I reset my anchor after someone pulled in pretty close to me in the anchorage just to be safe.

Southport, NC

6/30/07- I woke up this morning and got underway after a breakfast of oatmeal. I had anchored a few hundred yards south of the North Carolina border so I crossed into a new state right away in the morning. In the morning, I sailed past many large and impressive houses which were very cool. There was a storm system just north of me but it seemed to be moving parallel to me. I called my roommate, Peter, to have him check on the online weather radar. He told me that it would probably miss me if it did not shift or grow. A couple of hours later, I saw some very dark clouds forming directly behind me and moving towards me. I called Peter again to get another weather update and he confirmed that there was something that looked pretty heavy moving right towards me. I decided that it might be best to pull into a marina to wait out the storm. I called the Southport Marina and reserved a slip. I pulled in and filled up my fuel tanks and then moved around the dock and tied up. The sky was looking extremely dark so I put on more lines than usual just to make sure nothing bad would happen if the storm were fierce. I bought some ice, drinks, and batteries in the marina office and went back to the boat to ride the storm out. It began drizzling after a little while and continued for about an hour. Then it abruptly stopped; that was the extent of the terrible storm that I had expected.

I decided to go into the town of Southport for dinner so I took my raincoat just in case it began raining again. I started off walking in the general direction of the downtown area. I walked by some people on the street and I asked them where the best local places to eat were. They introduced themselves as Crystal and Arthur. They told me to go to a place called Provision Co. We kept talking for a minute and they invited me to their house after I was done eating dinner. I said good bye and took their advice and went to Provision Co. It was a really neat restaurant; the seating was all outdoors and was right on the Intracoastal Waterway. I ordered a crab cake sandwich and went outside to wait for my food. There was a sailboat pulling up to the restaurant’s dock so I walked out to help them tie up. It was a nice looking hull but everything on deck was in awful condition. There were lines hanging off into the water, the mainsail was crumpled up and a single sail tie was holding only the very center of the sail to the boom. The passengers obviously had no idea what they were doing but we eventually got the boat tied up to the dock and the fenders out. I heard my name called and one of the servers was carrying my crab cake sandwich out onto the dock for me. I thanked him and went and found a seat. The sandwich was very tasty. After I was finished, I walked out to the dock and stood there as I finished my drink. A lady came by and introduced herself as Jackie. She invited me back to the table where she and her neighbors were sitting. I talked with them about everything, including accounting, industrial tool making, the civil war, religion, and nuclear war. The restaurant eventually cleared out so we got up and I began to walk back to the boat.

As I was walking past the spot where I had met Crystal and Arthur earlier, I remembered that they had invited me to their house earlier in the evening. I followed their directions and found the house that they had described. I went in and was welcomed wholeheartedly. I hung out and talked with them for a couple of hours. I learned that Crystal will be moving to Scotland in the fall to work on her PhD in early Christian studies. Another guy there was in the Navy and worked on the big nuclear submarines. He also had many stories to tell about his experiences in the military. I finally wandered back to the marina and went to bed.

Myrtle Beach

6/29/07 – I slept in this morning longer than I normally do. The sun usually wakes me up when it rises but I was too tired to notice this morning. I ate a breakfast of powdered sugar donuts and weighed anchor. It was high tide again so the cypress swamps looked far different than they did when I dropped anchor the day before. I motored through the cypress swamps for about two hours and saw some interesting things, including a sunken boat and some strange buildings built on barges. The remainder of the morning and much of the afternoon was spent in a narrow canal that passed Myrtle Beach. I lost count of the number of golf courses that I passed. There was an eighteen mile stretch of canal called “the rockpile” because there are many rock ledges that extend out from the banks but are submerged at high tide. This means that you need to stay in the center of the channel even if it appears that you would be safe venturing out to the edges to pass someone. The notes on my charts warn that, “Mariners should use extreme caution to avoid grounding in this area.” When the tide came down, I saw the exposed ledges and how menacing they would be if I were to hit them. The timing worked out perfectly today so that I had a favorable current for nearly the entire time that I was under way.

As I came to a spot that I had found on the chart to anchor, I found that two boats had already taken the spot, one sailboat and one small runabout. I went to a nearby spot that looked pretty good but found that it had shoaled since my chart was published in 2001 so I came back to find that the two ladies on the runabout decided to leave and were beginning to pull in the anchor line. I figured that I could swipe the spot as soon as they left so I quickly motored up there. One of the ladies was old and very fat and the other was younger and skinny. It quickly became apparent that neither of them knew what they were doing. They took turns motoring the little boat up so it was right on top of the anchor and trying to pull up. As the boat drifted over the anchor, they couldn’t hold the line any more so they had to let it go. They did this over and over again so I temporarily dropped my hook about two hundred feet from them to wait for the spot to open up. They continued to do this for nearly twenty minutes. I was just out of shouting distance so I couldn’t tell them to cleat the anchor line off as short as they could get it and back into it with the motor. This would have solved their problem in less then a minute. I just stood on the bow of my boat and chuckled while they wrestled with it until they finally got it up. I lifted my anchor (without any trouble) and motored over to take their spot. Then I went for a nice long swim. I had a big pasta dinner and did some reading before going to bed.