We are back...and underway - DC to ....?

Jupiter's Smile was docked at the Gangplank Marina in downtown Washington, DC and we borrowed Dad and Mom's car most of the summer and Fall of 2010, to be able to drive the 20-30 minutes from the marina to their place in Springfield, VA.

Mother and Dad had 24/7 help in their apartment for almost five months from Care Experts and hospice care for about two months.

With Dad is Ophelia.  She, "T" and Janet were Dad's legs, his eyes and helped him and us in so many ways. 

Tom provides some soothing tunes

Dad with his family - Larry, Barb, Jay, Betsy, Mother and Tom

Barb and I almost left on November 15th, but decided not to.  The weather was perfect.  The tide was right, but it didn't seem right to leave just then.  My Dad passed away 18 November, 2010.  

Dad's passing was made as comfortable as possible and he didn't appear to suffer.  In medical school he had won a prize for his knowledge of anatomy and so he had directed that his remains go to the George Washington University Medical School.  This was one of his many ways of "paying it forward."  

All this pithy, family stuff seems to be out of place in a sailing blog, but think about it...... 

After a family gathering to remember the good times with Dad, we departed for a dash to Wilmington, NC with a few stops along the way.  The morning after our first anchorage, we discovered that the motor on the windlass (raises and lowers our anchors) had quit.  Our chain weighs about a pound per foot and the anchor weighs 44 pounds.  I hauled in the one hundred feet of chain by hand.  We only anchored one more time before we pulled into Salt Pond Marina in Hampton, VA to visit with  Jim and Pat Wharry (S/V Shamrock) at their home.

Pat & Jim Wharry - wonderful friends!

The next night, in the Dismal Swamp, we tied up at the rest stop on US 17.

Yes, this IS a highway rest stop!

 - could it be the only rest stop in the US for cars, trucks and vessels underway?  Our mast is the second "pole" from the left.  One can just see our RADAR on the mast.

Cold weather was closing in and we needed to "get South" as soon as possible.  Along the way we took a side trip up the Neuse River to New Bern, NC.  We visited two pairs of friends, Ben and Barbara Watford and Arne and Bev Myrseth.

We had met Arne and Bev on S/V Scandia briefly as we were all going to the Bahamas. They were almost everywhere we went in the Bahamas and we grew to enjoy their fun loving ways more and more.  Barb said "how are you today?" in Norwegian and Arne answered her and went on to expect a conversation.  That phrase was all Barb knew and we have laughed about that meeting often.   Our last meeting was at the Annapolis Sailboat Show last October and we learned that they had a home in New Bern.  They said we should stop by for a visit.  Did I take a single photo?  No!  Here's an old one.

xxxxxx

Ben Watford was my high school chemistry teacher in Smithtown, NY and the only teacher to attend the reunion back in September.  He said that we must stop and visit on our trip south bound and we did.  We had Ben and Barbara aboard for cocktails and then left for dinner in New Bern.  We went to their home the next afternoon.  Ben is a golfer, potter, Model A Ford owner and an author while Barbara, also a retired teacher, does her best to keep him in line.  I hope I am quoting him accurately, "I still own every book I have ever read."  His high-ceiling library is walled floor to ceiling with full bookshelves of every genre.  We had a wonderful visit recalling past history and hearing charming tales spun by the master story teller.

Ben can only hold this serious expression for a few seconds before he gets a twinkle in his eye and his dimples begin to show.  The man is mischief personified.

One of Ben's works and a gift to me.  Thank you for teaching me and for being my friend.

The story of growing up poor, black and self-motivated

We arrived at Bennett Brothers' Boatyard and Marina in Wilmington, December 2nd and went to Tom and Vickie's in Wrightsville Beach.  Barb and I are so thankful for Tom and Vickie's generosity and hospitality, staying with them for four weeks.

Tom & Vickie's home (porch under construction!)

 During that time we had a short, but important list of things to service and repair on the boat at the boat yard.  Unfortunately, the weather turned "unusually" bitterly cold soon after we arrived and that hampered our bottom painting and Tom and Vickie's window replacements, but we both proceeded to get projects finished.

Larry, Jay, Barb and Mother

We all returned to Mother's for Christmas, had a nice holiday....

Larry, Aunt Janet, Terry, Tom, Vickie, Jay, Barb, Mother and Amanda

Mother, Barb, Jay and Vickie ..."did you remember to go to the bathroom?"

and headed back to North Carolina

This is northern North Carolina!

the day after the area was visited by more cold, snowy weather

The roads were pretty dry, but the wind was blowing snow across them

When we arrived back at the boat, the power was off inside and the temperature had fallen to 28 degrees (INSIDE!).  No damage was done except to the handle of the swim platform shower head.  I have fashioned a fix for that.  The MaxProp had been serviced and installed (it looked like jewelry - I hated to have to put it in the water - out of sight.) We were ready to get back into the water and headed toward a warmer climate!  

Barb had met Beth (of S/V Nightingale) in the laundry room and her husband, Stephen, suggested that we all head south together.  I had said I wanted to go as fast as possible - meaning an offshore passage from the mouth of the Cape Fear River to....whenever we got tired.  As we left the river's mouth behind we set a course for the Georgia/Florida border, St Mary's Inlet and the mooring field in Fernandina Beach.

Grand Cayman to Key West

On Tuesday February 9th, we had been advised by Chris Parker, our weather forecaster, that we would have good winds until we got to near 16 degrees North when we would run into squalls if we got there before noon on Thursday.  After that we should have light winds from the south-south-east so we would probably need to motor into Grand Cayman on Saturday morning.  On February 10th we set sail from Long Cay in favorable conditions, Northbound with 4 foot seas and 15 knots of wind forward of the beam.  The next morning, Chris advised us that we should not worry as much about the squalls as we should be concerned about the cold front rapidly advancing on Grand Cayman more than 200 miles farther ahead of us.  We turned on the engine and with the sails up and the current helping a little we were doing eight knots at times.  At noon we were at 15 degrees 59.261 minutes North as we saw the line of dark clouds, but they were dissapating as we came near and presented no problem.  What did get our attention were the fishing trawlers.  As we drew near one they fired a flare!  What was that about?  Were they signaling us?  Why didn't they just call on the radio?  Where they sending a silent signal to their friends that there was a sailboat ripe for the picking?  We were about 100 miles off the coast of Nicaragua where some "problems" have been reported, such as boardings.  The vessel in question was underway and not in any apparent distress so we continued until we saw the floats of the fishing net.  I turned off the engine and that folded our MaxProp and with the strut that extends from our keel to our rudder we were able to glide over the net.  We left the area, keeping an eye on the fishing boats as they disappeared over the horizon. Soon, we approached the edge of the banks in an area known as Thunder Knoll.  Here the northbound currents coming from Panama meet the westbound currents from the Windward and Leeward Islands and the sea floor goes from 90 feet to 600 feet and then to 9000 feet and beyond.  We were beyond the squall line and the wind was diminishing from 20 knots on the nose to almost none, as expected, but the seas were very rough and confused. We pushed on (as if we had another choice) and by nightfall the seas had diminished as well.  By dawn we were making good progress by motor-sailing and it appeared that we might make Grand Cayman that evening instead of the following morning and more importantly ahead of the cold front.

The cruising guide informs us that Georgetown Port Security wants to be called while the vessel is ten nautical miles from the port.  At four PM, I called and said that I would not be anchoring at the port on the exposed west side of Grand Cayman because of the approaching cold front.  I also did not want to use the alternative southern mooring field because the swells from the storm would affect that area as well.  I informed them that I would prefer to round to the northern side of the island and anchor in the protected Governor's Harbor.  They said I could do that and that I should call when we were anchored securely and that we must not go ashore until we were visited by the authorities.  Roger that!  Oh.....by the way..... we will probably not be able to clear the reef on the north until after dark.  Could you give us waypoints to safely negotiate the reef and then to find the entrance to Governor's Harbor?  Long pause.  You have not been here before?  No, sir.  Long pause.  He gives us five waypoints that I immediately plot on our chart plotter.  As darkness falls, I fire up the RADAR and I check its alignment with the chart overlay and with what we can still observe visually.  The waypoints I am given take us through the reef, but not in a buoyed area, but if you can't trust Port Security, who can you trust?  The chart shows as little as six feet of depth in a couple of spots, but the seas were calm and we draw about 4.5 feet.  So, with RADAR, SONAR and chart plotter holding my gaze and Barb with a spotlight on the bow we inched our way through the reef and into North Sound.  It is a straight shot across the sound to the harbor entrance and through the mangrove lined channel into the anchorage.  We dropped the anchor and backed down to the south in preparation for the weather to come.  We reported our position (19 degrees 21.25' N and 081 degrees 22.62' W), thanked him for his help and fell asleep.  At four in the morning the wind and rain began.  We heard a sailboat calling Port Security from the port anchorage reporting that they were dragging toward the rocks ashore and the seas were very rough.  They got themselves sorted out avoiding disaster and I was very glad that we were not in that location.  The wind was strong, but Governor's Harbor was a snug little spot so there were no waves.  The storm continued until dawn and stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

We called Port Security to inquire about when we could expect the authorities.  They would be admitting two cruise ships in the south mooring field and they would probably not get to us until after noon.  DO NOT go ashore.  No problem.  A little rest was welcome.  We got a call at about 2PM that the officials were at the dock and I should dinghy in to the Governor's Harbor Yacht Club to meet them.  The customs agent was there in her skirt and heels and the immigration officer was looking at me strangely.  I soon figured that I was not going to transport them to our boat and that I should have had our boat documents and passports with me.  I will go back to the boat and get those items and 'is it okay for my wife to come as well?'  'To be sure, I'm certain she wants to touch land.  No problem.' All in proper Queen's English.  All that got done and the weekend clearing fee was waived since it was their fault we had to wait for them.  In fact, there were no fees at all.  'Welcome to Grand Cayman' and a discussion of transportation, provisioning and sightseeing left us with good information and a feel for the friendliness of the island.

We assembled our bikes and began our sightseeing.  Hurricane Mitch had blasted the island years ago and the yacht club was no longer a yacht club.  Half the docks were in place and they had no electricity at all and water only sometimes.  It is now a major day trip, SCUBA diveboat and fishing charter embarkation point and diesel fuel was available from a stainless steel tanker truck.  A half mile away was the main road that runs north and south the width of the eight mile wide island where most of the resorts and activity is found.  Having the bikes was wonderful as public transportation is somewhat erratic and certainly expensive.  Grand Cayman is reputed to be the most expensive island in the Caribbean.  It is very civilized and it was embarrassingly comforting to be back amongst English speaking, first world people.  Now, as we pedalled around, laundry on our backs and in baskets, I felt like the poor-visiting-the-privileged instead of the other way around like we had experienced for the last two years. 

The beaches are beautiful, but the snorkeling is only mediocre.  The diving is supposed to be great, but we did not do that.  We dinghyed out to Stingray City where Barb enjoyed petting the huge stingrays in waist deep water.  We biked to the turtle farm,

to downtown Georgetown,

 to see where we would have anchored (see the surf better by clicking on the photos to enlarge them)

to the southern mooring field (Spotts),

and to Hell and back.

Early on, we met a British couple, James Stewart and Lucy Kennedy aboard Snow Leopard.  They had the use of a car and we toured the eastern end of the island with them. On March 1st, we heard Kaija's Song on the radio, a vessel that we had heard before, but never met. They reported that they had lost their engine and then that they lost a shroud and were coming into the harbor under sail alone.  We returned their call and assured them that they would have no trouble sailing into the harbor where we were and that we would dinghy out to tug them in should they need it.  They negotiated the reef and the channel and anchored without a problem.  We let Gary and Kaija recover from their stress and then spent the next three days with them as they arranged for repairs and did some sightseeing with us. Meanwhile, the wind continued out of the west and the northwest, the direction we planned to sail so we waited until Thursday, March 4th to check out of the country.  The entire paperwork check in/check out in Grand Cayman cost $3 and with our check out documents we could purchase our diesel fuel without paying duty on it.  The next morning we bid farewell to Grand Cayman, transitted the reef and sailed toward Isla Mujeres reporting our sea conditions and float plan to Port Security and to the Northwest Cruisers Net.  We had light wind and very favorable current as we approached Isla Mujeres and dropped the anchor in their harbor in the late afternoon of the third day at sea.  The next morning on the VHF the cruisers net reported that after the next few days it would be favorable for a passage north to the US so Barb and I decided we would not clear into Mexico and continue our journey after resting at anchor.  We heard radio traffic from our friends from two years ago, Gary and Nicole on Chateau so we called them to say hello.  They were leaving the next morning for Fort Meyers, FL.  Have a safe journey!  In a few minutes were are hailed by Patrick on Stolen Child.  On May 5th, 2008, we had left the US from the Dry Tortugas to head for Mexico and arrived with Stolen Child. We enjoyed Patrick and Nancy's company in Isla Mujeres.  Our paths crossed again in Roatan a year later.  Here we both were in Isla Mujeres again and they were planning to return to the US at Key West at the same time as we were!  What symmetry!  So we got together aboard Jupiter's Smile and discussed our strategy for navigating the Yucatan Current and the Gulf Stream together.

On the 9th of March, we pulled out of the harbor together and began executing our plan.  We were hailed by Michael on Sea Biscuit who reported that they were leaving as well and we agreed to set up a radio watch schedule to track each other and report conditions for the duration of the trip.  We had met Michael and Robin in Roatan as well and attended Robin's birthday party there the year before.  Michael served as a radio net controller for the Northwest Caribbean Net and had a very good radio signal.  The journey started well, but late in the day the wind increased beyond the forecast twenty knots and we found ourselves in twelve foot seas on the beam through the night.  We were making good progress until the next day when seas came down, but we lost the favorable current.  We spread out to try to find it again.  Sea Biscuit was closest to the Cuban coast and we were farthest north.  Sea Biscuit reported that they had found the current again so we headed southeast to pick it up ourselves.  That is one advantage to traveling with company and staying in touch.  That evening, at our scheduled 10PM SSB radio check, I heard a very faint voice calling us.  It was Nicole on Chateau, the boat that had left a day before us.

The signal was weak and Nicole has a thick French Canadian accent so it was difficult to determine the nature of her distress at first, but we were able to learn that Gary had taken the dinghy to land on the north coast of Cuba to give their black lab, Alpha, a potty break earlier that evening, before dark.  Nicole had heard gunshots and Gary was still not back at the boat.  She was frantic. We discussed plans to help and determined that Sea Biscuit, farthest from Nicole's position, but with the strongest radio would continue on, but head toward the Dry Tortugas and call for assistance along the way even though they were unable to hear Nicole.  Stolen Child would turn toward Nicole's position since they were closest to her and maintain radio contact with her.  We would remain in place to relay messages between Stolen Child and Sea Biscuit.  Michael began his appeals for help on all the emergency frequencies, but got no answer from anyone.  Patrick was doing a great job of reassuring Nicole, but was still seventy miles away.  I said I would check back with Patrick every ten minutes, but that I was going to start scanning all frequencies and call for help as well.  The only answer I got was from Sea Biscuit.  Then, at 1:30 AM we heard Gary reporting that he was safe with Alpha on board Chateau.  He had gotten lost in the mangroves, it got dark, he ran out of gas.  He came upon a fishing camp and a fisherman and a guard towed him back to Chateau. The guard was along to make sure the fisherman did not leave Cuba with Gary and to check on the sailboat.  Tragedy averted, we three boats resumed our journey towards Key West.

Patrick and I knew we would not make Key West before dark on the 11th so we sailed slowly through the rest of the night and day and let Stolen Child catch us (and in fact they passed us.)  Sea Biscuit called us at our scheduled 2PM radio check and said that they would probably make Key West just after dark and would not call again unless something was amiss.  At dawn, on the 12th, the wind had died and we were just outside the ship channel into Key West together, when a huge cruise ship approached from the east.  Patrick hailed them, but they ignored him.  Not knowing what the ship was intending to do, we both started our engines and diverted to avoid them.  Once they cleared us, we motored up the channel and made note that the ship that ignored us was the Celebrity Century.  A note to Celebrity Cruise Lines yielded no satisfaction  making me question their attention to seamanship and safety.  We activated our cell phone and called Homeland Security to check into the US and received a clearance number. We were advised that we needed to report to immigration in person with our passports within 24 hours.  We saw Sea Biscuit anchored and we anchored nearby.  We were home!

We depart Colombia to go to Panama and.....Colombia, headed home

We sailed from Cartagena, Columbia to the San Blas Islands of Panama to San Andres to Isla Providencia to Grand Cayman to Isla Mujeres, Mexico and to Key West in about two months.  It feels like we are home.

When we left the Bay of Cholon on January 15th, we motor sailed about seven miles to the Rosarios Islands.  We had drinks aboard Joule with our Austrailian friends, Peter and Nani along with our German friends, Bert and Inge from Boree and Derrick and Anika from Narid, another flagged boat - maybe Dutch?. The water is clear and the anchorage is good on the south side of the islands so we spent a couple of days exploring by dinghy.  There is an aquarium where they have a shark show for the tour boats, but we came a little late for that.  There is a fee for the show, but after hours you can come and walk around, unguided, for free.

Another free attraction is the aviary - Palmar.  It has a very extensive collection of native and exotic birds and we went ashore with Peter and Nani to see it.  At the end of our very enjoyable stroll it was suggested that we might purchase a piece of jewelry at a very reasonable price and the profits from such sales went to support the aviary.  Barb bought an ankle bracelet that she has worn almost every day since.

The weather window we sought was in place for the voyage to the San Blas (Kuna Yala) Islands of Panama, so we departed at about midnight, on January 18th, negotiating the cut through the reef following  Joule.  Joule is an Island Packet 40 so we sailed compatibly on light winds, arriving at the reef off Snug Harbor at dawn a day and a half later.

We played in Snug harbor a couple of days.  We left with Joule and Narid and passed through xxxxxxxxxx, where the anchorage was somewhat cramped and rolly, to the Devil Keys.  A check of the weather presented us with a decision.  Stay and enjoy Kuna Yala and let a rare weather window pass by or go toward the Colombian Islands San Andres and Providencia off the coast of Nicaragua on our journey back to the USA.  We ambivalently elected to take the opportunity now to make headway toward the US realizing that there were many miles between us and Washington DC by June.  With that in mind, we bid adieu to Joule and sailed from the Devil Keys to the west end of the Holandais Keys and a deep water anchorage with the intent of leaving at first light toward either San Andres or Providencia.  Since we had not been to San Andres that was our first choice.  We snorkelled from the boat in exquisitly clear water.  We could see that our anchor was buried in the sand forty-five feet below us!  We launched our dinghy and went to the island and explored the entire coastline.  This is a very pleasant spot. 

Just before sundown a vessel we had heard on the radio came into the anchorage and began nosing around for a good spot to anchor.  Consort decided to anchor very close to our bow, but since the conditions were settled it did not present a problem at that moment.

We had heard them discussing their autopilot not working properly and that they were sailing to test their repairs before coming to anchor.  They were also heading for either Providencia or San Andres.  So, we called them on the VHF radio and discussed our respective plans.  Duncan and Janet, a British couple, on Consort  intended to sail to Providencia, but in addition to their autopilot repairs they had concerns about their engine consuming belts at an alarming rate.  They were only getting a few hours of service from a new belt and they were down to having only one belt in reserve.  We said that we would stay in touch as we both headed west.

The winds were light and remained light as we sailed on January 24th.  We checked with Consort on the SSB radio periodically and all was well.  The autopilot was working and they ran their generator once in a while to keep their batteries up so they were able to save their main engine (and its belt) for the upcoming anchorage. The wind and current made the way to San Andres an easy run, but heading to Providencia was too close on the wind for Consort so they settled into a course to San Andres as well.  We arrived after two full days of sailing at dawn on 26 January, as planned, and sailed in a stiffening and clocking wind most of the way up the channel with Consort right behind us.  We anchored off Nene's Marina and dinghyed ashore to check into Colombia again.  These far flung islands are National Parks so there is a $45 fee to anchor that is good for a year.  I checked our documents from our stay in Providencia and discovered that we had already paid the fee almost a year before and that it was still valid.  We celebrated our good fortune with cerveza.

We enjoyed meeting the crews from Consort (finally face to face), Roger and Linda on Sand Castle (thanks for the piloting advice into the anchorage), Jack and Cynthia on Duchess and Julian with his charter crew on Tropic Bird.  We spent ten windy days exploring the holiday oriented island alone and in company with our new friends.

On the tenth day, we moved to a popular cay to anchor near the mouth of the channel to make a predawn departure to Providencia possible.  On February 6th, we awoke and set out into the channel with only one channel buoy and the sea buoy to mark our way.  Heading southeast, the channel buoy was spotted easily, but the light of the sea buoy was extinguished.  It was "visible" only on our radar screen and with that aid, we had no problem piloting beyond the reef and into deep water.  We turned north and began the close hauled sail into 12 knot winds (true) with 5-6 foot seas aft of the beam, fifty-five miles to Providencia.  Sand Castle and Duchess set out after dawn from the anchorage at Nene's.  We kept in touch with VHF radio and we were overheard by a vessel in Providencia's harbor: Gone, our friends Daniel and Jacline, from previous years in the Bahamas, Guatemala and Roatan. They called out reporting that they were the only boat in the harbor.  We had a joyful (wine,etc) reunion with them.  Sand Castle and Duchess came into the harbor to anchor nearby and with our new and old friends we dinghyed to the Santa Catalina side of the harbor to have dinner and revisit our gracious hosts from the previous April at Bamboo.

Next day (Superbowl Sunday), Daniel and Jacline came aboard and we bombarded them with information about Panama and their upcoming journey.  We asked the local agent, Mr. Bush, about a location that might have the Superbowl on television where we could all meet and enjoy the annual spectacle.  He suggested that we join him at his home and we did that.  We all surrounded a nineteen inch TV and in between munching and drinking we explained the game of United States football to our foreign friends.  Well, we, in fact, were the foreigners, weren't we?  It was a great game and a great evening on a great island in the company of great people.

The wind direction was forecast to remain on the nose for the next couple of days so we stayed put until Tuesday, February 9th, when we moved eight miles to Long Cay and anchored for a head start toward our next destination, Grand Cayman.  I will resume our story in the next post.  Look for it soon.

Jay & Barb

Cartagena, Colombia

We spent about a week in the Bay of Cholon revisiting old friends Tisha Baby and Valentina and making new friends in this lovely, tranquil spot.

It is a nineteen mile sail (or in our case this morning, a motor sail) to the harbor in the city of Cartagena (pictured - with Sea Star off our starboard bow).  Here the anchorage varies from about 9 feet to 45 feet in depth.....

The old, walled city is very picturesque.....

.....and the beach in the new part of the city is inviting.........

....the port is busy with container ships and cruise ships coming and going and it provides a good deal of entertainment every day and unfortunately many nights as well.  The sounds of civilized industry.....

......and the wakes of inconsiderate sport fishermen made the anchorage less than desirable.  Also note the highrise building under construction.  The conrete dust from construction settled quickly on every horizontal surface while the rate of growth on the bottom of the boat was accelerated by the nutrient rich, warm, but fouled (toxic?) water in the harbor.

Experiencing the city and its people was worth the trip. 

Meeting new friends........

Robert and Carmen, the "Constable and goddess of Cholon" aboard Manatee and the keepers of "the Crow's Nest."

Ken and Marilyn on Dream Ketcher

David and Kate on Hello World

Left to right: the crews of Joule (Peter and Nani), Jupiter's Smile (us), Sea Star (Dan and Cathy), Equinox (Hank and Betsy), Navy Blue (Eddie and Valma), and La Sirena (Mike and Mary).

...........  and reuniting with old ones is always a joy.

(pictured-Bryan of Pearl S. Buck and Wim and Annetta of Thetis)