MANY THANKS

THANKS TO ALL This trip would not have been possible if it were not for the help of so many people. We would like to say thanks, first and foremost, to the Great South Bay Power Squadron, who kept us safe and taught us everything we might need to know BEFORE we left the dock. A special thanks to Larry Postel who arranged it so that we could take so many classes in a relatively short period of time. To our family, friends and neighbors who we knew would be there to help our kids in any situation that would require it (and did when Christy had to have her appendix removed). To our employees who kept everything running smoothly while we were away. But mostly, to our son and daughter Christy and Steven. If it were not for them this trip would have been over the day we came up with the idea. At 19 & 21 they took on all the responsibilities of running and maintaining our house, properties and companies (which are all still here and in good condition : ). I don‘t think we could have done as good a job at their age. It was a lot of work and a tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility. What an accomplishment…you make us proud! Also, to all our internet friends across the country (in particular the CHB group and American Diesel). These people were my cornucopia of knowledge for my mechanical and maintenance questions. It gave me an amazing piece of mind knowing, that when I was on the Mississippi river 150 miles away from anything or an out island in the Bahamas, I had somewhere to turn if I couldn’t fix something. And last, but not least, to all the great friends and people we met on the Great Loop. Whether it was our fellow Loopers or a stranger in a small town…everyone was willing to help with whatever you needed. It is amazing how many people want to help you attain your dream… thank you to everyone who helped make our dream a reality!

THE GREAT LOOP COMPLETED

MAY 30, 2007 (GREAT LOOP- COMPLETED!) What an exciting year! We were very fortunate to have been able to take on such a great adventure. In the past 360 days we traveled over 5,691 miles, have been to 3 Countries, 17 States, passed through 103 locks, 12 rivers/waterways, 27 islands, 10 lakes and many other bays, creeks, sounds, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. We stayed at 179 marinas, 40 anchorages/walls and used 2,650 gallons of diesel fuel. How do you end a log of such an amazing journey like this? As you know, Joyce has been keeping in contact with other Loopers online by posting comments through the AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association) throughout our journey. I think her final posting is a fitting close: Trinity pulled into her home port marina on Tuesday, May 29th. She actually crossed her wake at the Jones Beach Inlet on Sat., but decided to relax at anchor for a few days over the holiday weekend with some local friends. This was truly a terrific ending to a spectacular year of cruising the loop. As some of you already know and others are still finding out, one day is better than the next. Thanks to all the wonderful people we met along the way, the very helpful lockmasters, the friendly marina staff, the USPS, and the online help and support of the AGLCA for making this the most memorable year of our lives. The experience will never be replaced for any of us. We all feel we are so lucky to have met such an awesome group of people from all over the US, Canada and the Bahamas. Jaycie, especially, will never forget any of you. For those of you out there now and the others we met along the way....keep in touch for years to come and hopefully one day we will all be able to do this journey again and enjoy it just the same. Safe cruising on land and at sea, Joyce, Matt & Jaycie Trinity At rest on Long Island in Great River, NY

Great River

MAY 29, 2007 (Great River) GREAT nights sleep! Woke up to a beautiful day. We checked in with the marina and scheduled to pull the boat (put it on land) tomorrow. Started packing up stuff and made a few trips home to drop off some things. Interestingly enough, it was exciting and not depressing like we had expected. We love being on the boat… but we love being home too. Both our parents came out to see us this afternoon. My Mom showed up with a sign that read, “Welcome home Trinity crew” . We went out to dinner with Joyce’s parents to…you guessed it…Tai Show. The food was great, as usual, but even better because they picked up the tab J. The boat will be pulled 1st AM, so we went home to sleep. It was nice to be home. I will say that our neighborhood is up there with some of the nicest small towns we have seen on the trip. Had we been coming back to a really congested neighborhood or apartment building, it may have been a little depressing.

Zach's Bay to Great River / Home

MAY 28, 2007 (Zachs Bay to Great River/Home) Christy and Billy came to visit and we picked them up on shore. Spent the day hanging out and relaxing. Slowly the boats left the raftup and headed for home….we did the same. Traveling back from Zach’s Bay was really interesting. It was as challenging as the skinny water down south. We eventually made our way into the Connetquot river. We had planned to anchor out for the night and go to dock in the morning. After setting our anchor we saw Bobby and Corey (our neighbors) and other friends on the dock waving. We took the dinghy and went over to say hi. They convinced us to come in to the dock and tie up… so we did. A lot of people from the marina came by to say hi and to congratulate us. Our daughter came by again, along with my brother and his friend. It was so good to see them. We hung out, answered questions and told stories and had REAL NY pizza for the first time in a long time. Christy and Billy drove me and Steven back to the house (but I didn’t go in) . I picked up my truck and headed back to the boat.

Zach's Bay at Jones Beach

MAY 27, 2007 (Zachs Bay, NY) What a beautiful morning. Today is going to be the air show over Jones beach and we have front row seats. First am, my brother Doug shows up with his family. Then our best friends Todd & Jenn and their family. Then my sister Sue and Mark come by car so we dinghy over to the beach and get them. This is the most people we have had on the boat since we left. My son calls with boat troubles so we take Todd’s boat to go pick him, his girlfriend and my niece up at the launch ramp. If we took our boat it might take a couple of hours, but since his boat does 70+ mph….we’re there in minutes…AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! We get back to the boat and the raft has grown and everyone is having a great time. Jaycie is playing with all the kids, kyacking around and having a great time. I tell people that there were really very few kids on the loop. And although Jaycie made a lot of friends….they were all retired! While I was out Rick and Bill came by with their wives, I’m sorry I missed them. Lots of people “toured” our boat, we met a lot of nice people and made some new friends. The air show was great… the party was better! Watching Kevin & Bob manage a “raft“ is like watching Picasso paint a master piece. They move people in and out (from anywhere in the raft), set and pull anchors and turn the entire raft around with their little tugs (dinghies). We’ve gone almost 6,000 miles and been in every type of water and situation you can think of, and yet I am humbled to be in the presence of the “raft masters” : ) Late at night the wind picked up and we got a really nice lightening show. Oh, we also noticed the kyack was gone so Steven and I had to go searching for it in the dark. We found it on shore, on the other side of the bay and brought it back. Tomorrow, afternoon we will head into the Connetquot river to anchor for the night.

Atlantic City to Jones Beach

MAY 26, 2007 (Atlantic City to Long Island) Up at 5:30 because this could be another long day. It is a breezy morning, which is not great (we were hoping for dead calm). We hope the wind did not pick up the seas. As we approach the inlet it seems o.k., so we head out. Overall a nice morning with the sun coming up in front of us and glistening like gold on the water. About half an hour out, we get a call from Mulligan, who is leaving their anchorage. Watching Atlantic City slowly dissapear behind us is a really good feeling….we’re going home! It’s amazing, but we have heard more attitude and rude comments on the radio since we got into the “Metro area” than we have heard on the entire trip….and aurally, it’s a little depressing : ). On a brighter note, the water and day are BEAUTIFUL!! We could not have hoped for better. The water has flattened out with smooth light swells (1’ or less). The water has gotten that “glassy” look. To paint a picture, we are about 10 miles off shore now and I saw “radiating circles” in the water about 20 feet ahead of the boat. I looked for a fish as we came up to it and it was a moth that had fallen in the water and was flapping its wings. Today is the complete opposite of the Bahama crossing, which for our last “big water” crossing….was just how we would have liked it. We weren’t looking for a dramatic ending. The boat ran like a champ. As we saw Long Island in the distance Jaycie yelled ‘Land hoe!”. It was extremely exciting coming up on the Jones inlet (even though it was a zoo). Jaycie was so excited that she went down and stood on the bow. There was a very comforting feeling traveling in our home waters (even if they were shallow). Since we hadn’t expected to be back on the island so early (especially Memorial day weekend) and our marina is not ready for us, we will anchor out for the next few days. It will also give us a little time to assimilate. We know that some of our friends from the Power Squadron go to Zach’s bay for this weekend, so Joyce gave them a call. Kevin said they were rafted with Bob and a few other people and we were welcome to join them…so we headed in. As we pulled into Zach’s Bay it was packed (something we are really not used too : ). The first raft of boats start blowing their horns, waving and cheering….it gave us a really warm feeling. It was Rich and Bill and their friends….what a welcome! As we headed past them they pointed to where Kevin and Bob were. Again, we got another great welcoming as we approached their boats….this is going to be a fun weekend! We made calls to some friends and family with boats and they will be coming out tomorrow….can’t wait to see them. Rick and Bill dinghied over to congratulate us. We talked for awhile and they said they would come by tomorrow. We couldn’t have hoped for a better first day back on the island!

Chesapeake City to Atlantic City

MAY 25, 2007 (Chesapeake City to Atlantic City) Up at 5:45, dressed and on the sundeck at 5:50...the couple is already untying their boat and shoving off…disconnected and untied by 5:50...I think that’s a new record! Cool, but nice morning. A beautiful sunrise. With the sun so low all the bridges were in silouette….really pretty. We passed a operating nuclear power plant today and finished the C&D canal. We then entered the Delaware river, which interestingly goes all the way to upstate NY and right in front of our cabins. We saw, what we assume will be our last dolphins of the trip. We crossed Delaware bay and it was calm (we were told this can be a really rough, and long, crossing). Entered NJ through the Cape May canal. You can tell we are back in the NY area because the first three boats we saw, NOBODY waved (and they went by in a narrow channel at speed-no courtesy). We were supposed to stay here tonight, at Cape May, but the weather and water are really nice and we figure we will go, on the outside (in the ocean) straight through to Atlantic City. At this point we have been traveling about 6 1/2 hours and its another 5 to Atlantic City. The seas were 1-3, with an occasional 4. But all in all, not bad. Total travel time was 12 hours, I believe our longest day yet (did I mention I LOVE my autopilot!) I’ve been to Atlantic City lots of times over the years, but it was really something special to see it as we approached from the ocean side. We lucked out earlier when Joyce called ahead and got us into a marina (being Memorial Day weekend). Nice marina. Took the Jitney to the casinos and walked the boardwalk. The mall on the pier was redone since I was here last and it is AMAZING. At our dock we met another looper (from Colorado-some people transported their boat to do the loop) and they are 1/3 of the way through it. When we told them we are finishing in the next few days they asked (as lots of others do) “How do you feel?“. The best way to sum it up is that we are VERY happy to be completing the loop, but not happy it is ending. Back at the boat we listened to tomorrow’s forecast and it looks really good. Our next leg is supposed to be to the Manasquan inlet and we were told, if possible, do it on the outside because the inside is SHALLOW and not fun. If we get to the inlet and the ocean is good, we will take advantage of it and cross to Long Island. We are all very excited!

Annapolis to Chesapeake City

MAY 24, 2007 (Annapolis to Chesapeake City) My Birthday today. BEAUTIFUL morning! Sunny, calm and warm….what a day. Left before 7am. About a 5 hour cruise ahead of us. Fast 2 ½ knot current which worked to our advantage. It got really hot along the way. There was a lot of debris in the water. When we arrived it was a small, quaint storybook town. Perfect place to be for my birthday. Definitely my kind of town. Went walking around town, went to town hall (no, I didn’t have a meeting with the mayor : ) and went out to dinner to celebrate. Jaycie made me a really nice card and a model of our boat out of clay…awesome! Back at the dock we helped Mulligan in, a couple who have cruised from CT to FL every year for the last 42 years (we’re such beginners). We also met a couple from Oakdale….small world. We will leave bright and early tomorrow to take advantage of the currents again (and maybe cruise the outside with Mulligan who is leaving at 6:00).

Solomon's to Annapolis

MAY 23, 2007 (Solomon's to Annapolis) BEAUTIFUL morning! Sunny, calm and warm….what a day. Left before 7am. About a 5 hour cruise today. Fish were feeding everywhere (it almost made us want to stop and drop in a line). We are all getting really excited about completing the loop. Coming in to the harbor dozens of boats were racing in. As we got into the harbor it was a ZOO! I have never seen so many boats jammed into one spot. They were everywhere and we had to wiggle our way through all of them (and their anchor lines). It was really insane. We headed into the marina (yacht club) and it was great. Nice atmosphere. We got to watch the Blue Angels while eating lunch on our fly bridge…awesome. People were were packed everywhere. On every balcony, dock, restaurant and even roof tops. There were people on top of a 4 story high condo looking building sitting up on the peak. Loved the show and couldn’t have had a better seat. After the show we walked into town (which was hopping) and headed to the Naval Academy. Again, really cool. Their own “compound/town” which you really have to see to appreciate. Graduation is this week so a lot of it was closed to the public, but we got in the model ship museum and it is just amazing. There are actually model ships that were made by prisoners of war out of ivory and bones and the detail is beyond belief. Definitely too touristy for us, but still a lot of fun and exciting. Back at the boat we got to watch a sailboat race right off our dock (yacht club members). Jaycie helped me reinstall the starter (and while I was working on it, I decided to do some touch up painting on the back side of the genset). It started up beautifully and ran great. We’ll leave tomorrow and we figure, weather permitting, we should be home in about a week…..VERY EXCITING!

Solomon's Island

MAY 22, 2007 (Solomon’s) Borrowed the owners truck but ended up running out of time and couldn’t get to the repair shop (long story). Joyce did school with Jaycie and I caught up on some sleep. We headed to the maritime museum and on the way down the dock met a new looper. They were just starting and loaned us their car to get our solenoid…awesome. Went through a Menonite area (like Amish) and it was great (saw a few horse and buggies). Got to the repair shop and not only did he have the right part, but he put it on and tested it for me ($20 for the part and $5 labor!!! Unbelievable). On the way back to the boat we stopped at the museum. When we got back to the boat, Tim (Carol H) who we met in Canada, was waiting for us. We went back to his house and saw Carol, Shawn (their son / Jaycie’s friend) and Jack (their dog…Boo’s friend). Had a great time, but very strange being in a house and on a deck in a back yard. We caught up on everything and then they took us out for dinner. Great seeing them again. Great people and a great night. Later Joyce and I discussed a lot of the side trips we could do here in the Chesapeake. There are SO MANY that we decide to head home and make the stops that are on the way. We will come back another time when we can spend a couple of months here exploring the area. We will leave in the morning to go to Annapolis. On the news tonight we heard that the Blue Angels will be doing a show right over the marina we will be staying at. Should be great. We really liked Solomons.

Crisfield to Solomon's Island

MAY 21, 2007 (Crisfield to Solomon) Up early and gone by 7:00. We are trying to be very cautious cruising the Chesapeake. Last night NOAA said 3’ waves, this morning they said 2’ (except if the wind is going against the current and then it can be bigger… We figure we can handle a lot and if things are that bad we can always turn round and come back. The sun’s out, but it’s cool and breezy. Saw Vagabond had pulled anchor and radioed to see where he was. He was about an hour ahead of us and said it was a little bigger than reported out there. Once again most of the day was bow into the swells and wind. Although the other boaters think we are crazy for saying it, we really have fun in the swells. Today we “hobby horsed” the entire 5 hours. White caps were everywhere. It was a steady 2-3 with the occasional sets of 4,5 & 6‘s. Once we even put the bow sprit under (only the second time in 5,350 miles). Although we only passed commercial vessels while traveling, it was so much better than a boring “flat water” run. We were spraying water almost constantly and getting “misted” every now and then on the fly bridge. Everyone wanted to take a turn at the helm. Jaycie had a blast! Once we turned into the river which led to our marina, it was like a different day. Relatively still and hot. The marina we stayed at is the one where we went to a Trawlerfest to prepare for this trip. We saw a few loopers and heard some tried to leave this morning, but turned back because of the rough water. Once in I pulled the generator starter (which wouldn’t turn over) and tested it. It seems to need a new starter solenoid, so I found a local place and the owner of the marina is going to loan me his truck in the morning to get it. Joyce got in touch with Tim, Carol & Shawn from Carol H (we met in Canada). They live here and will come out to show us around and go out to dinner tomorrow. Look forward to catching up with them. Going to go into town after Jaycie finishes some tests.

Deltaville to Crisfield

MAY 20, 2007 (Deltaville to Crisfield, MD) Cold morning. Left 7:30. Big open water. Water mellow at first then picked up, along with the wind. 5 hours across with nothing to really see…boring! We crossed the Maryland border today (getting really close to home). We were going to go to Tangier Island but decided to go straight through to our next stop across the water (Crisfield). We heard the marinas on Tangier island are very exposed and that we should take a ferry to see it. Crisfield was kind of like a ghost town. Nothing to see or do. We were also told that Tangier island doesn’t really “open” until Memorial Day and there isn’t a lot to see… so we skipped it. We’ll be out of here in the morning.

Norfolk to Deltaville

MAY 19, 2007 (Norfolk to Deltaville) Very overcast and cool morning. The Chesapeake wind (5-10 knts) and wave heights (1-2’) sounds good, so we left around 7:45. Ultimate Taxi left a few minutes before us. There were some huge military ships and aircraft carriers we passed on the way out. As we came out into the Chesapeake, NOAA was wrong once again. Every time a big set would come and we would send spray flying we would look at each other and say, ‘It’s only 1-2 footers”. Luckily we were bow into the swells, but it was very lumpy the entire 7 hour cruise. It made it a little more challenging. Like when Joyce went down to make breakfast or I had to go down and change a fuel filter, while under way (I may have to consider changing to a 5 micron filter, instead of 2, because they are only lasting around 20-30 hrs). Other than the excitement of the water, it was a long monotonous cruise. Big water, kind of like the great lakes and wide open. We saw a couple of really cool lighthouses along the way. We heard some boats looking for a place to “tuck in” to get out of this. When we arrived at Deltaville the winds were pretty strong (I’m guessing around 20). When we docked we heard other Loopers talking about what a terrible cruise it was and how one wanted to go to a hotel for a week! We considered it pretty sloppy and choppy with occasional big swells, but not rough (although we did get “misted” up on the fly bridge a ½ dozen times-which almost never happens). I think after our experience crossing from the Bahamas, a lot of things are going to seem “not too bad” to us. Thank God we were taking it head on and not on the beam. We met a few new loopers and a few old ones. We took the loaner car into town. Nice town, real small, lots of land, real spread out…..LOVE IT! Back at the boat I changed the other fuel filter, tried to pull the starter from the genset (no luck yet) and put on my wet suit, mask and head lamp and dove under the boat to check our zincs. Sames zincs we left with from NY and they still look decent. They should be o.k. until we get back and haul her. We found out that boats have been waiting for 8 days for decent weather to go out in the Chesapeake. It is suppose to be the same, or better, tomorrow so we would like to take advantage and move on. We here the Chesapeake can get really nasty. They say that there is almost always a small craft advisory out and if not, a small craft warning. Joyce is checking the cruising guides and charts to see where we will go tomorrow. Triton’s Trumpet is about 2 days behind us right now.

Norfolk

MAY 17, 2007 (Norfolk) Overcast morning, but nice. Met a couple of other loopers last night and looks like we will all staying for a couple of day. We do some school work and business and then head into the city. We go on the battleship USS Wisconsin and are in awe. To give you an idea of the size, our boat weighs 45,000 lbs. Their anchor weighs 35,000 lbs….and they have 2 of them! We could only walk the decks because it is still an active boat in ready reserve. We then walked to the mall which was beautiful (with all the high end stores). Movies are back to $9 a ticket (far cry from the $4 in Alabama). Came back to the boat, played some games, watched some TV and called it a night. Weather is suppose to be “questionable” tomorrow, so we will see if we will leave when we wake up. If we have to stay, there is a lot to do here. (like Hooters having a bikini contest…but that stuff doesn’t interest a happily married man : ) MAY 18, 2007 (Norfolk) Woke up at 7, weather was heavily overcast, so went back to bed until 9. Joyce and Jaycie were still sleeping so I went to go on the sundeck and….WOW! I open the door and there is a MASSIVE white “moving object”. It is one of the largest navy tall ships from Spain, coming in to dock about 30’ behind us, perpendicular to our stern. They’re so close that when they threw a “monkey ball” (the ball with a thin line attached to their monster lines) it hit our boat. Our boat just keeps getting smaller and smaller : ) Suddenly a band starts playing (on board the ship) and I run down and get Joyce and Jaycie up. What an amazing sight. All white uniformed sailors on deck at attention. Someone from the ship threw one of their hats to the people on the dock. A fellow Looper (Sea Sea) caught it and gave it to Jaycie. What a great way to start a day. Did our typical school and work and then headed to the movies. The theatre was so big (and empty) that we made it a double feature day. As we walked back to the marina, we saw Ultimate Taxi at the dock (the 68’ Hargrave). We haven’t seen them since Mississippi. We talked for a while. It was nice to see them again. Funny that their boat, which was HUGE in the river system, is now very average looking and kind of small compared to what is around here. Back at the boat we got to watch fireworks down the river and the tall ship had a party (w/music) going on behind us. Nice night. Side note: When we arrived it definitely felt like a city, but after staying a while it seemed to get smaller. Really nice place to visit.

Coinjock to Norfolk, Va

MAY 16, 2007 (Coinjock to Norfolk) Lots of bridges (and a lock) to try to make on the hour or half hour. I was up at 5:45 (don’t ask why) and by the time I got on deck ¾ of the boats were gone or leaving. It was just light enough to see things…so Joyce got up, we prepped the boat and were gone by 6:15.…WOW! Cool morning, but nice. It was a beautiful sunrise (can’t say we have seen all that many of those-although lately we seem to be getting closer to them). Lots of narrow and large bodies of water. We expecting about 6 hours of traveling. Caught up to all the other trawlers and sailboats (the “go fast boats” were long gone). Got the first bridge and had 30 minutes to make the next bridge opening. If we could get ahead of the sailboats and slower boats (about 8 of them) and cruise at our 8 ½ knots we would make the second bridge without having to wait the extra ½ hour. Then we would get breakfast at a restaurant on the lock wall while waiting for the other boats. Passing took some time so as not to wake them and for some reason one boat was blocking the left side of the channel while not passing (kind of like 30 mph in the left lane of the LIE). Eventually we got passed them and pushed the engines a little to try to make up for the time. We got the then next bridge and were told, by the operator, that we missed it by 2 minutes!!! Ouch! So we hovered, in the wind, eating our breakfast aboard (not the relaxing breakfast served dockside I had imagined : ). ½ an hour later, all the boats caught up (you could almost hear the giggles from the sailboats) and the bridge opened and we headed for the lock. The lock was packed and unfortunately one boat couldn’t even get in and had to wait an hour for the next lock. Without trying to sound cocky, it was only a 3’ drop with a smooth and easy drop. I don’t know why they didn’t have him just raft to someone. We all headed out of the lock and for the final opening of the day…the twin railway lift bridges. When we got there we had to wait for the opening. We waited 15 minutes. Then, when they went to open, the second bridge broke and we were told to sit tight while they get someone to fix it. There were about 15 boats waiting (ranging from a small commercial barge, couple of 70’ yachts, powerboats and sailboats in a variety of sizes). With current and wind pushing everyone towards the closed bridge it was like a 3 ring circus (I should have taken video). For the non-boating readers, each boat, due to draft (hull under water), windage (height above water), weight, size, shape, single or twin engines, etc… will react and handle a little differently in wind and current. So every boat is “blowing/moving” in it’s own unique little pattern. Add to that, that some boats prefer to fight to stay in place, while others drift and others motor around….quite the scene! Then to add to the mess, the bridge we had just come through, lets another load of boats through which add to the “pile up”. Amazing that no one “bumped” boats out here. After about 40 minutes, or so, the bridge finally opens and we are off. Something I find interesting is that the slow boats don’t like being waked by the fast boats…and yet, will not let them “slip by” before going under the bridge, making them have to pass them as soon as they get going on the other side…go figure?! Anyway, as we get closer to Norfolk it is like we are back in the river systems again. Heavy commercial, industrial type operations all over the shores. You can start to feel the Naval prescence as we get closer to the city. HUUUUUGE military ships! Really AWESOME ! Suddenly “Turmoil”, the 210’ expedition tralwer yacht with the 3 boats on her bow…is a TINKER TOY! The wind is still blowing pretty hard and the marina we go to is very narrow and tight. Although I was concerned, docking went well. We are right in the heart of downtown Norfolk, VA. It looks like a great place to be. There are other loopers here, which we have not met, so we will go see them after we settle in. We are pretty sure we will be staying here for a little R&R for the next day or two.

Dowry Creek to Coinjock

MAY 15, 2007 (Dowry Creek to Coinjock) We got up around 7 and were gone by 7:30. A nice morning with light wind. Coming out into the ICW we ran into Philomenia. We traveled in front of them the whole way. Lots of narrow channels with shallow (1’) water on both sides. The cruise was beautiful as usual. We heard some other loopers up ahead talking on the radio. We are heading to Alligator river marina (about 5 hours), just before the Albermarle sound. We figure we will lay up there and pick a good day to cross. The Albermarle is a large body of water (2 hours across) that can get ugly. Along the way we talked with Skinwalker and their companion boat. They are going to try to cross today. When they get to the end of Alligator river, they are going to “poke their heads out” and see what the water is like. When we get to the last bridge, we catch up to Skinwalker while waiting for it to open. Our marina is just on the other side. Philomenia heads into the marina and Skinwalker heads for the Albermarle. The wind is at our stern, it looks a little lumpy…but we would be going with it. We hover in the channel trying to decide what to do. Jaycie says she wants to do it even though it could be rough and its another 3 ½ hours of travel time (total 9 hours). We radio 3 sailboats who are coming at us and appear to have just crossed. They say it was a little rough and bumpy, but since we are going with it …it should be fine. And so, we’re off! Very shallow approach with markers not where they should be. We get out fine. Skinwalker is going to do the Dismal Swamp, but we have decided against it, we will take the Virginia Cut (ICW). They head to the left and we head to the right. We call and cancel our reservations at Alligator river and Joyce gets us a slip in Waterside marina in Norfolk, VA. Other than a sailboat, in the distance behind us, we don’t see any other boats while crossing. The crossing was fine with a lot of up and down and some rolling (everything seems fine… compared to our Bahamas crossing). We come into Broad Creek and the wind has picked up and is really gusting at times. We have to roll up our flags because the bow and bridge staffs are shaking so much I am afraid they might break. By the time we arrive at Coinjock, the really heavy gusts have let up but it is still really windy. The marina warns us about a really strong current and tells us if we can’t get into the basin to go on the fuel dock. With the current and wind going in the same direction, as soon as we turned broadside to the wind (the same as the opening) we were traveling fast, sideways, down the waterway. With the engines split (one forward/one reverse -to turn the boat), trying to fight the wind and current, the boat wouldn’t even move. It just stayed sideways moving down the waterway (even when I gave it throttle). I went into neutral and let the wind spin me around and then docked at the fuel dock. The current wouldn’t have been a problem, but when my sundeck and all its canvas turns sideways to the wind, it is like a sail. We had a long day and figured we would stay here tomorrow. Our sailing friends from Amityville, NY were here (who we met at the Tiki Bar in Oriental) and said there is NOTHING here. They are doing some engine repairs and are “stuck” here. The people were great and we took advantage of their pool, their Jacuzzi, ate at their restaurant….and decided we would leave in the morning. Nice place to visit……

Oriental to Dowry Creek

MAY 14, 2007 (Oriental to Dowry Creek) Wind died down a little and cold front arrived. Had to put on long pants, sweatshirts and hats. There’s a 1-2’ chop with occasional 3’s. Water is spraying high across the foredeck….but we stay nice and dry. The waterway is quite wide at this point (wider than the Great South Bay). The day warmed up a bit and got nice and sunny. The first 4 hours (or so) was just big open water. The last hour and a half the waterway narrowed and got nice again. The marina seemed a little exposed, but it was a beautiful warm day and we arrived around noon. The marina is really nice, but in the middle of nowhere. They have a loaner car which we took into town. Drove around and checked out the area. Wind picked up again and was slapping the boat (luckily it didn’t get real bad). Side note: We are all still excited about the trip, but we are also excited to go home. We look forward to seeing our family and friends, but also there is tremendous excitement about “completing” the loop! Coast Guard boat and shrimp boats along the way

Oriental (Mother's Day)

MAY 13, 2007 (Oriental) Small front coming through today. Overcast and a little windy. Went to “The Bean” for Mother’s day breakfast and then rode our bikes all over the neighborhood this morning….LOVE IT!. Capped off the fuel tanks for the leg home. Wayne & Lynn from skinwalker (the ones who drove us to the airport in Turkey Creek) showed up on our dock. Nice to see them. We should be seeing them along the waterway going up north. Jaycie played with her friends and went fishing and netting. Other than being a little cool today, it was a nice day. Took Joyce out to dinner at a small local restraurant for Mothers day dinner. Nice day. We will move on tomorrow, but will always remember this town.

Beaufort to Oriental

MAY 12, 2007 (Beaufort to Oriental) Up bright an early and off we go. Nice morning, a little hot (already) and still. We see Virgil (Vagabond) as we leave the harbor, but he’s not leaving until a little later. He asks us to radio him with a report of the water depth in “the cut” (the cut is actually a shortcut to the ICW). The tide is about an hour from dead low. We make the bridge opening within 5 minutes of opening. We run the cut and are about 100’ from the ICW. We call Vagabond and tell him there is 13’ minimum the whole way…except for as I spoke to him I saw 7’. 2 minutes later we hit a sandbar/shoal. We dragged (or as they say down here, drug) ourselves off backing out, but had real trouble finding deeper water. We called Vagabond and told him about the situation. The chart showed plenty of water and we were in the right place, but dragging in every direction we tried. For the first time I felt blind. You couldn’t use the chart because the data was inaccurate. We would just move around trying to find deep water while NOT trying to get stuck “hard aground”. With the tide dropping as we are doing this, I must say it was getting a bit stressful. Finally we retraced our steps backward and used a side channel, which, according to the chart, was a risky choice being much narrower, shallower(?) and no clear connection to the ICW at the end of it. We went as slow as we could (so we wouldn’t go aground hard if we hit) and “felt” our way toward another bridge and then U-turn into the ICW…it worked! Phew!!! As we came back, on the other side, of where we had run aground we saw a sailboat heading for that same bar. We tried to hail them, 3 times, but they didn’t respond….and ran hard aground (if they had their radio on we could have saved them and told them how to get into the ICW). Back in the ICW things were much better, although the water was still skinny and you had to pay VERY close attention. The rest of the cruise was nice and enjoyable. The weather cooled noticeably with a nice breeze. As we came into the harbor of Oriental we got that “I like this place” feeling. We haven’t felt that in quite a while. After docking we loved it. Nice, cozy small town and the people are really friendly. We are told that the population is about 600 and there are about 1200 boats here. Vagabond came in shortly after us. They have a pool and it’s the first time we have been swimming in a long time…it was great. We took our bikes down and road all over town and the neighborhood. Great town! Everybody waves or talks to you as you go by. Even the kids say hi. Back at the boat Jaycie made lots of new friends her age and played while we went to a happy hour at the Tiki hut and met a lot of great people. Most of the locals here are transplants from other areas and most of them found out about this place by boating through it. We will definitely stay for Mother’s day!

Swan Point to Beaufort, NC

MAY 11, 2007 (Swan Point to Beaufort) Very Calm and still this morning. Shorter cruise today, only about 4-5 hours. Enjoying it a lotm. Skinny water in many spots. Came to an intersection and after discussing which side we should be on….made the wrong call….and ran aground. It didn’t stop us, but we felt the jerk as it slowed the boat (love that prop protecting keel!). We road right through it without stopping and turned hard onto the right side and into the deeper water again. The chart showed it on our port side…but we definitely needed to have it on our starboard side! Not the first time we have seen markers in the wrong spots. It got real sunny and hot and the water is like glass. We got to see a military camp on the side of the ICW, but no “war games” going on. Triumph called us on the phone to tell us they were in NY. We heard Vagabond on the radio and he’s ahead of us by about an hour and heading into Beaufort now. The port fuel filter finally clogged completely and stopped the engine about when I expected. Went below and changed it under way while Joyce manned (or is it “womaned“) the helm. It only took around 5 minutes (I’m getting good at it now : ). I’ll change the starboard one when we got into port. Arrived at Beaufort town dock. We saw Vagabond and Philomenia. Nice “old style” town….but very “touristy”. There is a music festival on the dock tonight…and we will have front row seats! The port/dock is very active with lots of energy, like a big party is going on. I needed some more fuel filters for stock, but the closest West Marine was 10 miles away and it was too late to borrow the loaner car. We want to leave in the morning so I can’t go then either. After speaking with the West Marine it ends up that they have an employee who is going to the music festival tonight and will deliver our filters to our boat for us….SWEEEEEET! We got 3 “beer tokens” from the marina for tonight, which we gave to him with a few dollars and he was a happy camper. The music was a nice mix of quality bands. Different and fun night.

Southport to Swan Point

MAY 10, 2007 (Southport to Swan Point) Up bright and early (about 6:15), had the boat prepped and ready to leave. Joyce got up (about 7:15) and we were gone by 7:30. Really nice day, wind is much better than yesterday. So far, the people here in NC are really nice. Today, this upcoming stretch doesn’t have many marinas with much to see (a lot like this one). So we will make it a long day (probably around 8 hours) and push on to cover some ground. When we got to Cape Fear river, and made the turn up it, our speed dropped to about 5 knots. This lasted for about an hour and a half. Once we turned off the river and caught that incoming tide again, we were back up at 9 ½ knots (making up for some lost time). We have a couple of “on the hour” bridge openings that we must make today. The “no wake” zones create problems for staying on any sort of time schedule (especially when you don’t know where they are or how long they will last). We got to the first bridge at 11:00 and were ½ mile from the bridge …..it was open! We called to tell them we were in sight would and could they hold it for us….they said, “see you at 12:00. We passed Adirondack docked along the side, just before the bridge. Luckily, when we got to the bridge that said there was a 19’ clearance, we were on an extra low tide. With Joyce standing on the sundeck and her head next to the radar dome, our highest point (checking for clearance), we were able to “squeeze” under the bridge with a “comfortable 18” to spare…NIIIIIICE! The cruise was really pretty and scenic. We saw lots of AMAZING homes (hard to believe some of them were single family homes…but they were!). For the past 2 days we keep hearing the coast guard announcing Pan-Pan for a missing kyacker (who wasn’t wearing a life vest in this weather!) and a 56’ sailboat that was offshore (yes, in this noreaster!) and who’s EPIRB went off (usually meaning they sunk or were in serious trouble) 2 days ago and they are still hoping someone has seen or heard from them…it doesn’t look good. All together we have heard 3 sailboats that were “rolled” (turned over) and one that is lying on the shore of a local beach with the waves pounding it (that crew was saved). We arrived 20 minutes early for the final bridge opening of the day. Better early than late! The waterways are really beautiful and you can really fall in love with all the “open space” around here. The “marina” we are heading to tonight, has no electric on the dock….but has a loaner car. We arrived at the marina (to our surprise they had electric), tied up, got the loaner car and headed to town. We saw lots of military personnel , some very intense looking military RIB’s and helicopters. We hear Camp LeJeune is nearby (hopefully we will get to see some maneuvers). The town was real nice and definitely had the “small town” feel. We saw a hair salon named “Gussy up”- not quite sure it would go over all that well in NY. It was nice to drive around and see the area. That night I realized that the “electric” on the dock was only the outlet itself. There are no lights anywhere and with the condition of this dock/marina…they really could use some light! That being said, it’s a nice quiet marina and good place to stay for the night. We will leave in the morning and head to Beaufort. Everybody tells us its great there…really looking forward to it. Little side note: The engines have been running great. I am watching the vacuum gauges on my Racor fuel filters to find the exact amount of vacuum at failure. Then I will know exactly what vacuum I have to change the filters before failing. Once it fails I will change the filter under way so we don’t lose any time.

Myrtle Beach to Southport

MAY 9, 2007 (N. Myrtle Beach to South port, NC) Very windy…so what else is new?! It’s suppose to be the last day of the Nor-easter. Half the boats are leaving and ½ are staying waiting for tomorrow when the weather is suppose to get much better. We decided to leave. Had a little trouble getting off the dock because we were being “blown on”. But, eventually, we got off and were on our way. We passed what looked like some sort of hurricane center, with a lot of radar domes on top. Don't know exactly what it was. At first the weather was pretty nice, but then the sky turned really threatening looking. Enough that we stripped the fly bridge of everything and closed the bimini. We were prepared to go inside just in case things get violent. Behind us, where we came from, looked sunny and beautiful. Ahead of us….ominous! There’s a big difference between a sky that turns black and the one that looks like something bad is going to happen. It’s hard to describe, but this isn’t the first time we have seen it on our trip. I began to wonder if we made a bad choice in deciding to leave. We got gusting high winds and short down pours….but nothing overly dramatic….thank God (I was definitely concerned). The dark (typical storm type) clouds came and went all day. We passed a few inlets and the wakes were still pretty big. The wind kept howling. I’m hoping it dies down a little before we get to the marina, wouldn‘t want to dock in this. We still have quite a few hours before we arrive…so we’ll see. We entered into North Carolina today and also passed through a “float bridge“. Very interesting because the middle section of bridge is on a barge and they actually “drive” it out of the way so you can pass….wild! By the time we arrived at the marina the wind had died down a little (no longer those huge gusts) and it was “semi-protected” . Docking went smoothly. Marinas nice, but no where to go and nothing to do. Stayed aboard and a neighboring boat gave us a bucket of blue claw crabs. Joyce cooked them up, but we’ll have them tomorrow. Going to get an early start so played a game and went to bed a little early.

Myrtle Beach Stay

MAY 6, 2007 (N. Myrtle Beach) Overcast and windy. Not sure if this is ahead or behind the front. We’ll look when we get a chance. Nice to stay put and get caught up on some things (like this blog). Stayed aboard all day doing some business. Joyce and Jaycie went to the outlets (which are right across the street). The wind has been howling all day. Very strong gust hitting us broadside and leaning the boat over. A couple of sail boats came in today and when I heard a commotion at my bow, went out and watch the sail boat just miss our bow. Tough dock, but he didn’t hit us….job well done! A little while later we heard someone yelling Trinity. When we went out, Adirondack had arrived here and was looking for some extra hands coming in. He docked like a pro and we got him tied up. Nice to be here during these high winds. After listening to NOAA, it sounds like we may be here for a while. They are talking even higher winds tomorrow and possibly for the next few days. When I went on the internet it looks like bad weather as far out as the forecast will go (10 days!). This is the first time we heard NOAA say 39’ in the Gulf stream with hurricane speed winds….WOW! Good thing we made the move from Georgetown when we did. This is a great place to “be stuck”. There’s a lot of places we can go and things we can do. That being said, our weather is nothing compared to what the people of Greensburg, Kansas have just been through. 95% of their town has been destroyed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them. On a happier note, we heard from TT tonight and they are now 2 days behind us. Unfortunately, ML is still stuck in Welaca and have just been told it will be another 2 weeks before their engine work is done!!! We wish them luck and hope they get back on the water soon. MAY 7-8, 2007 (N. Myrtle Beach) We ended up staying here for 4 days. There is a huge Nor-easter just off the coast and the winds are really gusting here. They say about once every 6 years a storm this size forms this early, before hurricane season. We here on the VHF that some sail boats were rolled (turned over) off shore. I don’t know how anyone could have got caught off guard on this one when it is so big and has been building for a while. We’re glad we are here because it’s a pretty safe location with a lot to do here. The dock is packed with all boats waiting for the weather. We did the usual Walmart thing (only this time by bicycle), a couple of happy hours and dinners. Made friends with some sailors who are traveling up the coast. Gave us some good tips about the Chesapeake Bay area. We even got to see some Bengal tigers here with 3 cubs…AWESOME! Real nice place, real good time. If the weather lets up tomorrow, maybe we will move on.

Georgetown to N. Myrtle Beach

MAY 5, 2007 (Georgetown to N. Myrtle Beach) It’s heavily overcast. Joyce immediately checks weather and it is definitely borderline. NOAA says no “hazardous” weather. We discuss it quickly and are prepped and gone in 15 minutes (8:30). Beautiful! Like a well oiled machine : ) It’s very cool this morning and we have long pants, sweatshirts, hats and hoods on. What a change in temperature. It’s about a five hour cruise and we hopefully will beat the weather to our next destination. We have our wet weather gear ready just in case. The reason we had to make a quick decision this morning is because, by leaving early, we could use the incoming tide to shorten our travel time. This portion of the ICW (Waccamaw River) is very winding. It is like traveling on a path through the woods with tall trees all around you. This is the cruising we enjoy the most. Waiting in anticipation of what awaits you around the next corner. The water is the color of tea (not all that pretty). This is what puts a “mustache” on your boat (the brown stain on the front of the bow just above the water line). Boy, am I glad we waxed the hull before leaving Brunswick! The variety of scenery we saw today was amazing. Wilderness, houses (every kind you could imagine), woods, marsh and, of course, condos. In “the ditch” (a long straight section of the passage), you could see lots of building going on. We saw a sign for a brand new, big waterfront home in a nice wooded setting for $275K (some of our fellow New Yorkers may be packing as you read!). By around noon the sun came out, and it is HOT. We are so glad, we chose to leave. We also have to travel long sections of no wake zones, which also translates to “no breeze”. When we arrive at Myrtle Beach it is nice, with outlets near the docks and right away we see 2 fellow loopers there. Partners in paradise, who we met in Kilkenny Creek and Vagabond (Virgil) who we met in Old Port Cove, N. Palm beach, but haven’t seen since the Bahamas. It’s always exciting to run into old friends. Someone else came up to us and said that we have mutual friends. Tritons Trumpet! They were old sailing buddies from way back. After talking, for quite a while, we headed into the stores and got a bite to eat. We then decided to walk to the mall to go see Spiderman 3. It was very entertaining. We called a cab…which never came….and walked back to the boat (about 1 ½ miles). We like it here and will definitely stay tomorrow.

Charleston to Georgetown

MAY 3, 2007 (Charleston to Georgetown) Another calm, still morning. It’s going to be a hot one today and we have another long day ahead of us (not that I’m complaining : ). Beautiful and interesting waterways. We saw an alligator in the water and got bombarded by greenflies (but no one got bit-hard to believe). I swatted flies, Joyce manned the helm and Jaycie threw the battered fly carcasses overboard. What a team! We arrived at the “marina” and it was run down…and empty….but close to town. It is right behind the Times newspaper plant (the oldest paper in SC) but not a big or noisy operation. The cruising guide said this marina was nice and they were getting cable and new docks in 2005 (guess they’re a little behind schedule). There is still talk of a big front coming through starting tonight and going through the weekend. Jaycie was out cleaning the boat when we heard 2 HUGE claps of thunder and lightening that knocked all the power out. I never saw Jaycie move so fast! She was in the cabin in record speed with that “Holy crap!” look on her face. The power came back on quickly. Just in case, we disconnected our shore power cord from the boat (in case the marinas electrical system takes a strike) and ran our genset until it looked safer out. When it got nicer we took a walk into town. It is a very quaint, old style town. We had dinner at a really interesting restaurant. It had an early African American motif…it was Mexican night….and they had live jazz! We decided to order dinner accordingly (kind of). We had crab stuffed mushrooms, shrimp quesedillas and chicken and mushroom pizza : ) Nothing was really open, but we like this town and will probably wait out the weather here. Back at the boat we played some games. MAY 4, 2007 (Georgetown) Drizzly morning. We took the umbrellas and headed into town. A lot of really interesting shops, unfortunately, most shop owners weren’t all that friendly. The people on the street weren’t either. No one said hi or even made eye contact. Suddenly, are changing our mind about this town. There’s a grocery store a couple of miles away and they actually sent a car to pick us up so we could go shopping. Amazing. Back at the boat we are still watching weather closely because if it will be possible, we are ready to move on! Nice place to visit…but don’t want to stay.

Beaufort to Charleston

MAY 2, 2007 (Beaufort to Charleston) Got up at about 6:30 (beat the 7am alarm) and got ready to leave. The weather is pretty calm, but looks heavily overcast. I listen to NOAA to see what’s going on, but everything seems fine. They do say that air quality will be terrible today (especially for seniors, small children and asthmatics). The current is moving, but should help us get off the dock. I prep the boat and have it all set with the standard 2 “tie backs” (so you can leave the dock without getting off the boat or getting assistance- if I haven’t mentioned that before). Joyce wakes up, takes Boo for a quick walk and we are gone. It’s now about 8:30 and the day has an eerie feel to it. It feels like a stormy day or late night…and yet it’s very calm and warm. The overcast / haze is smoke from the wild fires. That’s why NOAA was warning about air quality. It is a really strange feeling cruising in this haze. A lot of the sections we are cruising today are just 100% nature. As far as you can see is just marsh, water, bushes and trees. The only man made things are an occasional marker in the water. It is really very peaceful and relaxing. Tide is high again, so we don’t have to worry too much about shallows (although we still stay pretty strictly within the channels). We traveled in smoke almost the entire day. It’s amazing to travel for hours without seeing any real civilization. On the long desolate stretch we passed only one boat (in about 4 hours of traveling). As we turn toward Charleston, who do we see, but the 210’ yacht. This is the 3rd time now that we are seeing it. Got into Ashley Marina, Charleston, South Carolina. Arrived at slack tide which was nice. There’s a 4 ½ knot current here when it is moving. Long day. Not sure yet if we are staying tomorrow...but we might need the breather. We’ll see.

Savannah to Beaufort

APRIL 30, 2007 (Thunderbolt to Beaufort, SC) We woke up to a ½ dozen Crispy Cream donuts on our deck. That’s what this marina does for its transient boaters. NIIIICE! This morning the air is still and the water is like glass. Its suppose to hit 89 degrees today. We would love to get going, but I am waiting until 9:00 to call American Diesel about my injector check valve. If everything goes smoothly, we will leave then. Pulled and cleaned the injector check valve without incident. Hopefully ,that will do it. Left the dock around 10am and unfortunately, within a very short time, we have the loss of rpm’s in the port engine….again! I call American diesel and discuss it with them. After hearing that air escaped when I remove the check valve, they tell me I have an air leak somewhere in my fuel supply lines. We discuss how to trace it and then I remember….this is the same thing that happened to my starboard engine back at the beginning of the trip. They say I have an air leak in the fuel line. I ask if a the supply fuel line from the tank to the lift pump could “get loose” over time and he tells me “absolutely”. So I head down to the engine room and….sure enough! The supply line nut is loose. I turn it the wrong way and we lose the engine. Tighten it up….restart…and voila! Problem fixed. It wasn’t filters, fuel or check valve….just a lose fuel line. I didn’t see or smell fuel because it was on the suction side of the pump. What a great feeling to track down, what ended up, a petty problem. So nice to hear those diesels humming in harmony again J. By afternoon it was really hot, but nice. Talked to Miss Liberty along the way. They may drive down to meet us tomorrow (they are still waiting for their boat to be finished up). Passed by Hilton Head, SC. Pretty island with nice homes. The intercostals is as tranquil and pretty as usual (so far). We got into Beaufort around 3:00. The tide was ripping! While docking that, and the wind, were blowing us off the dock heavily. A little bit of a challenge, but we got in just fine. Not so lucky for a boat that came in after us and hit another boat. Luckily, no serious damage. We warned Jaycie to be extra careful on the dock because if she falls in the current will definitely take her. Settled in for the day and met another Looper on a power cat ( ). Jaycie and I gave the boat a really good washing (it was covered in salt- miss that fresh water). We caught up on home school and some business. We will go into town tomorrow and check it out. From our view it looks really nice. MAY 1, 2007 (Beaufort) Nice morning. Finished up school work and business. Headed into town to look around. What a nice town. Old fashion and neat and clean. A lot of nice shops with interesting items. We met a couple who’s family started their store in 1902. They are in their late 80’s and have been married 50 years. Great people with great stories. We walked around some more and found out that there is going to be a world class bicycle race in town tonight. It is going to be a night race which, evidently, is uncommon. We went back to the boat for dinner and then back to the races. At the marina, we saw a mother duck with her duckling resting on the reeds in a boat slip. The town roads were shut off and for the one mile track, they lined both sides of the streets with metal railing/fence and hay bails. It was really a lot of fun. Music playing, people everywhere (even yelling from the balconies). Women raced first and later the men. They travel about 50 laps doing each mile at just over a minute. There’s around 50 bikes racing. Very exciting…Jaycie loved it. They give out bells to ring to motivate the racers. Luckily we had a “race expert” (seriously) next to us to explain everything about bicycle racing. We got back to the boat pretty late, so we watched everybody loves Raymond and went to bed. We have a long day tomorrow and have to come in mid afternoon to hopefully catch the tide at a slow time. These 6-7’ tides, twice a day really make for some aggressive currents!

Kilkenny to Savannah

APRIL 29, 2007 (Killkenny Creek to Thunderbolt) Beautiful morning. My ankle is much better than last night but I’ll still have to go easy on it. Port engine wouldn’t start so I quickly changed the filter and it started fine. About 20 minutes into the cruise the engine acted up. Since we are going to Thunder Bolt, which is right by Savannah, I will pull the injector check valve there. This way, if anything goes wrong, I am at least near civilization. Total cruise is only about 3 hours today. We hit Hellsgate (a very shallow and strong current cut) at the perfect time. The water was high and it was really no trouble. When you have a 6’ tide and draw only about 4 ½ feet…any water on the chart turns into “good water”. We are passing some really nice homes with large columns and beautiful woodwork. Once again, there are so many wildfires burning in Georgia, that you can smell it in the air. Dolphins, pelicans, fish and birds are everywhere. It really is a beautiful state. I must say we all love to be cruising again…it feels great! We got into Thunderbolt and it was a relatively busy Sunday on the water. Lots of boats and watercraft. The marina is really nice and as we pull in we see Adironadak at the dock waiting to help us with our lines. Jaycie and I go for a walk around the marina and check out the “BIG” yachts. There are some real beauties here. When we get back I go into the engine room to look at the injector pump check valve….but can’t determine where it is. Since it’s Sunday and American diesel isn’t open, I’ll have to wait until the morning to call. While playing Mexican train dominos we see a lot of lights flashing outside and find a large (approx. 90’) Azimut yacht being towed in by 3 tow boats. Not sure what happened, but interesting to watch.

Brunswick to Kilkenny Creek

APRIL 28, 2007 (Brunswick to Killkenny Creek) Weather is breezy, but a nice morning. Got an early start (7am) and headed for the fuel dock. TT met us over there to say goodbye. Jaycie was very sad to say goodbye again. They assured her that they would catch up with us, probably around Norfolk and will be definitely stopping in on Long Island to visit us if not. John drove up to the large suspension bridge down the waterway and took our picture passing under it. (He’ll email it to us when he gets internet). We have a 70 mile day today and have been warned about a lot of “skinny” water. We could have gone on the outside (in the ocean) and skipped the shallows, but NOAA said it was 5-7’s (and we know what happened last time they said it was 2-4’s!). The first bad water was called Mud river (I guess the name says it all). The water ranged from 4’1 (yes we draw 4’3) to the 6’ range with the tide not at dead low. Definitely a little nerve wracking because the tide range is about 6’ and if we go hard aground we could end up laying on our side before the tide comes back and “floats” us off. All went well, so “it was easy”. A really nice cruise and for the first 4 hours we didn’t even see another boat. There aren’t many houses either, so it is just like boating through a huge nature preserve. The waterways are winding and twisting almost the entire way….we love it. Interesting note, about 2 hours into our cruise we hear Adirondack on the radio. We met them back in the rivers. It’s really pretty wild that as far away and as desolate a location as we are…we hear another Looper’s voice. Awesome! We’ll see them up ahead in the next few days. Looper Rendevous was in Charleston and ended last Friday. That’s about 75+ loopers. We are looking forward to crossing paths with a lot of our old friends…and a lot of new ones too. Still seeing a lot of dolphins along the way. The boat is running great…except….the one engine is still dropping rpm’s. I polished the fuel and change all the filters and it started about 3 hours in (way too early for a filter). We haven’t lost the engine, it just drops down about 100 rpms every 10 minutes or so). When I get to the next stop I will check and clean the check valve on the injector pump (I think that is going to be it…hopefully). Winds started gusting, but when we arrived at Killkenny marina it was totally protected. Cute little marina. While Joyce & Jaycie walked Boo, a fishing boat came in and they got to look, up close, into a tiger shark’s mouth. That evening there was a small sailboat race (440) right behind our boat. We watched for awhile and Jaycie said she would love to try it someday. The dock here is extremely “wobbly” and when jumping down from the boat I rolled my ankle. It doesn’t seem too bad. We headed to the restaurant for dinner and met some of the racers. Dinner was great and the view was spectacular. By bed time I was having a really hard time walking. Hopefully, with a little rest tonight, it will be better by morning.