Category: Sailing

We are Home

So it was a long run from Hampton VA. to Deltaville. We met up with another friend and anchored up in a small creek – it was so still it was like a mill pond. We slept great and woke early and left before first light it was still dark but we knew our way out back into the bay. I am so glad we left when we did the forecast was total wrong and we took a bit of a beating in the Chesapeake Bay to make it to Solomons Island, Maryland, it was a sixty mile hop and we were in and re fueling by 2 pm any later and it would not have been pretty out there.

So here we are, reality is setting in we are slowly dragging our way to the Choptank River – we called ahead a secured our slip so we can come in when we are ready.

Already the phone rang again today and a customer wants me at his house first thing Monday morning. Wow is this going to be a big dose of reality I might as well take it intravenously and go for the full dose!!!

So we are chilling on the sailboat and wondering already what the next adventure should be… I know you think we are nuts but hey I resemble that!

As for what to blog about…LOL I am a blogger and I read Buds post so watch out world you might just end up on my blog… hehehe

This was a great adventure, one for the books, six months of fun with many moments of shear terror to make sure we knew we were still alive. I wouldn’t change a thing, the good, the bad, or the Ugly (if you have followed this adventure you know why I capitalized “Ugly”)

So as for the next adventure I guess you will have to stop by and check it out from time to time and see which way our path has taken us.

Wolfbernz

Atlantic ICW Chesapeake Bay Sailing Top Sites Tuesday

Final Run To The Chesapeake

Post author By Wolfbernz
Post date April 24, 2012
3 Comments on Final Run To The Chesapeake

We are back on the water after many trials, the new engine is working well. With all new engines it will need some adjustments, we will do this when we reach Elizabeth City, NC.

We had one heck of a first day out… It was blowing a stink 25 knots or better and large swells. The wind was in our favor most of the time so this made crossing the Pamlico Sound a bit easier but not much.

We are held up in a small anchorage just south of Dowery Creek It was so calm after the day I fell to sleep with the computer in my lap when trying to write my post…lol

So My first thought of this beautiful sunrise day is can it all go this smooth the rest of the trip? I really hope so we could use a bit of a break with the “little” bit of trouble we have had going home 🙂

My second thought is Thank God for friends… Without the help of my dear friend showing up who knows so much about the engine and how to get it all back together we would have been there, stuck for weeks longer I am sure. It is true what they say about sailing…. A few weeks of utter joy and fun coupled with moments of shear terror. But isn’t that just life?

Have a wonderful Tuesday
Wolfbernz

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Tags Engine, Home, Sailing, Top Sites Tuesday Meme

Atlantic ICW New post Sailing

Back On The Water

It’s a beautiful day in Florida sun shinning and warm.

Today is launch day I have rebuilt the rudder after the machine shop brought it back to me in many pieces with the shaft back straight again. I am so glad I had put Fiberglass and resin on the boat along with some under water epoxy. I have spent the last two days making a new rudder from what was left. I really didn’t have much to go by but some pieces to judge what it should look like. I also made a change since I had to rebuild it anyway. I didn’t like how tight it fit to the hull of the boat so I made it about an inch shorter than the original. I had taken a photo of the rudder bent but none in the work in progress, I was to busy fighting the bugs and flying fiberglass as I ground on this thing working as fast as I could to get the boat out of the yard.

So in the water we went, I tied the boat to the dock and let it sit and Trina and I went to look at a custom sailboat while we waited to see if the boat would float and no leaks were present. The other sailboat was awesome but way too much boat for me to deal with! An hour went by and our boat was ready to go no leaks and both the inboard motor and the auxiliary outboard started on the first pull.
So we shoved off and back down Tiger Creek, up Emilia River and back to the ICW. It was a beautiful day with light winds, Dolphins all around and a special treat a five foot around sea turtle came by for a short visit. We were going to stop and anchor before we crossed St. Andrews Sound but since we had the daylight we decided to go for it and make our way to Jekyll Island in Georgia. The sound was very quiet as we went through it (it can be a terrible place when it wants to be…) Trina was a bit relieved because the last time we passed this way the Atlantic Ocean was kicking up some six to eight foot swells. I did have to remind her about our last crossing here when I launched the boat into the air off one of the larger swells hehehe.

At the furthest point where we have to round a red marker on the port side Trina yelled “Hard to Starboard!” We barely missed an old piling that would have surely sunk the boat. Thank goodness she was on turtle watch and saw the piling because I certainly didn’t and it wasn’t marked at all. Who would have thought there would be a piling in 50 feet of water in the channel? Well, another disaster averted, no sunken boat and I didn’t have a heart attack…

So we have made it to the anchorage and have had dinner, We now have an anchor alarm and have it set to go off in case one of us on anchor watch falls asleep. Yes we will do anchor watch the rest of the trip I never want to go through that again.

Here are a couple of photos I took of the latest disaster!

New post Sailing Top Sites Tuesday

Boat Yard Blues

So here it is we left the marina after saying our goddbyes to the kids and watched the car be taken home.
We have checked and double checked the boat and all is well.
There is a storm coming but we decided to go ahead and leave and head to an anchorage just north that will be ok for the next day to wait out the storm.
We arrived at the anchorage just in time to set the anchor with double the line necessary to be safe.
It was nice I had my new TV and Trina had her book and it was total relaxation… “Until” A small boat fishing tournament was on and they kept coming right past the front of the boat, zooming at high speed.
My first thought is don’t they have any courtesy?

So it gets even worse… One of the little boats cut our anchor line just enough that in the middle of the night with just a single strand left it broke and sent us ashore in the three foot swells and on land.

Of course this kind of thing only happens in the middle of the night! So we did everything we could to secure the boat and then we called for the tow boat.

Sure enough he was able to get us off the land but not without rudder damage. Rudder damage means no steering so off to the haul-out yard we go. Yes you guessed it the rudder was bent sideways. I have spent the day on Monday making the repairs and will finish the last of it today. This brings me to my second thought. I have no anchor, no anchor line and this boatyard is in the middle of nowhere. How in the heck am I going to get to a marine store? It is 60 mile to the nearest one, a cab will cost more than the anchor! I am beginning to think that Bud is right I am never going home lol, ok maybe but just not as soon as I had hoped

Have a great Tuesday
Wolfbernz

New post Sailing

Tuesday’s Two Thoughts

So this is the last week we will be here in the marina. Hollywood, the trawler we were working on, is finished and it is time to head north before the heat and bugs come out. I hope to be home by April. There are many places we didn’t see because we were running from the cold.

My daughter is here and we are having a blast, other than her plane was six hours late.

We are going fishing in the river close by today on the boat it should prove to be an interesting ride.
My first thought today is in Florida they do not let the small fishing shops sell the fishing license – you have to call and do it over the phone is what the man at the local bait shop said. Then he also said with a frowny face, “You can go to Walmart and purchase one there, the big chain stores get to sell whatever they want I guess.” So I wonder why the state would want to hurt the small bait shops, isn’t it small business that makes this country great or am I just thinking too old school?

This Friday we should have everything finished and then we throw the dock lines and start our trip north and head home. So far there have been no glitches but as usual Murphy hasn’t stepped up to the plate yet …lol

The boat is in good shape, the divers have cleaned the bottom and changed the zinks, some of the lines have been changed and some of the rigging has been changed or fixed for better performance. We even added a deck light so when we are at anchor we will be able to see well out on the foredeck.

Thought number two is should we go through Georgia or skip it? It’s a long ride but it is nice so I guess I have a few more days to decide. The ICW twists and turns so much in Georgia they could have dug a six foot connecting channel in some places and saved us ten miles in some areas. All fun things seem to come to an end and now the new adventure home begins 🙂

Have a great Tuesday
Wolfbernz

Tags BlogDumps, Sailing, Top Sites Tuesday Meme

New post Sailing Top Sites Tuesday

Cruising The Boat Yard

Trina and I took the thirty six foot Egg Harbor Trawler we have been working on to St Augustine Marine to have them haul it out of the water and do all the bottom work, new paint, new through hull fittings etc.

This will finally complete our work on this boat they will be finished by Friday and then we bring it back to it’s slip up the coast.

We looked at a beautiful sailboat while we waited in the yard, the gentleman that owned the boat came over and we talked for a bit. Come to find out the sailboat was only sixteen years old, it looked like an older one.

Then this nice man told us he and his daughter had built this in their back yard! The boat was a nineteen thirty’s design. My first thought is how in the heck did they get this sixty foot sailboat out of their back yard? (And I thought I did wild and crazy things)

The craftsmanship was incredible definitely something to be proud of but I do not think I would last the nine winters it took them to build it, I would loose interest much sooner. We are headed that way again today so if I remember to I will take a photo of this incredible piece of work and add it to this post.

My daughter is flying down here to Florida to pick up the car because we are going to be on the move again. I can hardly wait for both. She is excited to be coming down and spend the week with us on the boat. We have been here long enough to have scoped out some fun things to do, we will have so much fun. This brings me to my second thought When she leaves no more car! After we provision our sailboat we shove off and when on the ICW what you see is what you get or call a taxi from a port to get to a particular destination. I am going to miss this convenience it has been really nice to have the car here.

So this is what TV has come to? Ooopps third thought… lol The heavy set guy get a date with nice looking woman and says this after she said I would love to…

On Mike and Molly – “Can I stand here a minute cause my knees are locked and my shoes are full of butt sweat”

YUCK that is just gross!

Have a great Tuesday
Wolfbernz

New post Sailing

Getting Ready To Sail North

Post author By Wolfbernz
Post date February 14, 2012
2 Comments on Getting Ready To Sail North

We are working on different parts of the sailboat getting it ready to sail back north to the Chesapeake bay in Maryland. It’s not like there are things that need to be fixed it’s more like things that would make the trip a little nicer or easier.

My first thought this Tuesday is it is the 14th and our tentative leaving date is the first of March I hope we have enough time to get everything arranged to make the date to leave. It would be nice not to be in a hurry when we leave to go back, we want to be back home by April. There are so many things we didn’t get to see because we were trying to get to warm weather and skipped some spots that would be nice to see.

My second thought of the day is it is cold again here in the sunshine state!? I never realized it would get cold down here. It hit the 24 degrees mark and Gail force winds… Yikes, long underwear and jackets, ice on the docks heater running full blast all night. The shocker is that the weather man said it will be 75 to 80 degrees tomorrow.

I am headed out the door of the boat all bundled up hoping the sun will be a bit warmer today but knowing it will be nice tomorrow helps.

Have a great Tuesday
Wolfbernz