Vertigo 1 has arrived in the Bahamas!  

Message from Jan. 23, 2009:

“We’re going to try crossing in the morning. Will let you know when we get to Bimini.  We’re supposed to be able to get on the internet then so wish us luck. Joanna has your Christmas gifts.”

Last weekend my sister, Joanna, came to stay with us for a couple of days.  We both had chats with mom on the phone quickly ($1.00/minute x 2.5 minutes = $2.50 each daughter) on Saturday and on Sunday mom and dad were chatting with us via the internet.  Apparently the weather is quite lovely (REALLY?!?!?!  Would never have guessed…), mom was finding some pretty shells on the beach, walking a lot and they were generally enjoying themselves.  Karen from Whipporwhill even had her first shark spotting, exciting!

 

Hi guys, We are in Miami. We came from Ft Lauderdale this morning – not a bit of wind and waves only from other boats.  Coming in government cut was AWFUL! Anyway, we are anchored behind Miami yacht club and will be here for probably a week. Weather today is nice and sunny and not too hot. Yesterday we saw 2 big-ass iguanas on the bridge supports in the ICW. They were 3-4 ft long, kind of orange-brown. One of them had a spiny back like a porcupine and in Vero Beach we saw a big alligator on the other side of the river.
We will be going into Bimini when we cross. The marina there has a 12 ft entrance and is pretty cheap.  Karen and I figure we can stay in the Bahamas for 3 months before we MUST come back to the states to check out the fresh inventory at the Goodwills. Man, that is the place to shop here. You can even get great furniture.

Mom & Dad

After a month of sitting in Vero Beach, Vertigo 1 is finally moving on south. Now in Lake Worth they are heading out on the town tomorrow to go celeb watching (they hope!).

Well, I just heard from mom and dad that they will definitely be staying close to Vero Beach until at least Dec. 30th for dad’s dentist appointment.  Apparently they have made some friends (dad is quite the social butterfly) and will be joining some other travellers for Christmas potluck when the rest of us all sit down to our turkey.

I asked about the others who crossed to the Bahamas the other day and it seems Southern Cross (Denis and Karen), Brandaris (Walter and Brenda), and Windswept IV (Murray and Heather) have all safely made it to the Bahamas.  So jealous!  In case anyone missed it, the media is saying that we might see our first Canada-wide white Christmas since 1971!  Brrr!

On another note, dad is apparently finding some good ‘deals’ on boats down in Florida, the good old economy is creating a surplus of recreational vehicles on the market.  Anyone looking for a new sailboat, let him know….

Karen from Whipporwhill was nice enough to send me some pictures of wildlife/sealife that they have seen in the past little while.   Here, I share them with you!

Aren’t they cool!?  The first picture is or an armadillo they saw when they visited the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida.  The second and third pictures are of Portuguese Man o’ Wars they saw on the beach the other day in Vero Beach.

Well, mom and dad are in Vero Beach, Florida.  Dad apparently broke a tooth, so he has a temporary crown on now and needs to see the dentist again on December 30th to get the permanent crown.  Obviously this has to be done before they leave for the Bahamas.  Unfortunately for them (fortunately for everyone else) there is supposed to be a four day weather window starting tomorrow that will allow everyone to cross to the Bahamas safely with time to spare.  Mom, dad and Whipporwhill are staying behind in Vero Beach until at least Monday when dad will find out if he can get his dentist appointment moved to before Christmas.  If so, they plan on staying in Vero Beach, if not, they will move further south staying in Florida until his scheduled appointment on the 30th of December which they will rent a car and drive back for.  Rough life, eh?  When all you have to worry about for the next month or so is one appointment!!

So where were we?  Oh yes, we were finally able to leave the boatyard with the engine repaired.  We thought the weather was calmed down enough to catch up with the rest of the fleet in Deltaville VA. We left at 7:00 a.m. and arrived at the yacht club, 15 miles away, at 1:00 p.m.  A rough, cold ride but not unreasonable for the short distance.  The next morning the winds had died down, the waves had calmed, and we made it to Hampton Roads just off the Norfolk harbour. We did a quick tour of the waterfront before the sun went down, tried to crash a homecoming dinner for the class of ’93 (they said we would be welcome, my companions weren’t feeling it and bailed out the front door), and then headed across the harbour the next morning.  The harbour is a major port and is about 10 miles across. With the currents, winds and waves, it took us 2 hours to get across and start at Mile 0 of the ICW. The rest of the fleet were impressed with the navy ships but Tony and I were stunned at how empty it was. 10 years ago it was crowded with war ships but this year, apparently they had somewhere else to be.

The locals at the marina in Hampton Roads has recommended that we take the Virginia Cut, due to our deeper drafts, rather than the Dismal Swamp.  This turned out to be a good piece of advice since Dismal Swamp travellers bumped the bottom, ran through tree branches with their rigging, and found it to be a harder go that what we found by taking the other route.  The advantage to the Dismal Swamp is the speed limit which discourages the faster power boats from taking that route.  We didn’t mind the occasional “roll” by the big boys because we didn’t hit the bottom once, nor anything overhead.  We did anchor just off the channel one night when a Canada goose made its presence known to a power boat coming through.  The boat sped up, slowed down, sped up, slowed down – we took a look through the binoculars to see what was up.  The goose was flying ahead of the boat and landing in its path.  The boat was slowing down, passing the goose and speeding up.  When the wake caught the goose, he (she?) flapped his wings, took off, passed the boat and landed right in front of it.  On it went until the boat was out of sight.  Pushy Canadian, eh?

We went on the next morning and anchored in the Little Alligator River – no alligators but lots of current and lots of wind. Early the next morning we headed to Belhaven NC and anchored in the bay.  They have a crab cannery there but due to high winds, the crabbers weren’t out doing their thing, so no fresh crabs to be had. We were there 3 days waiting for winds to abate (sounding familiar?) and made ourselves comfortable in the little town. Each morning we went to a little coffee shop and signed on to the internet.  Seven of us had haircuts at the adjoining salon.  They were very friendly and seemed to enjoy our company. When we mentioned that we had hoped to get some crabs, Lisa, the coffee lady, called some friends and in no time a bushel of live crabs was delivered to the coffee shop.  Now the problem was going to be steaming them. No problem, Lisa the wonder lady called her husband at work and told him what he was going to be doing that evening.  At 6:00 p.m. Walter and Lisa arrived at the marina, fired up a propane cooker and started steaming crabs. Since some of the crew were unfamiliar as to how to get into the little suckers, Walter gave an entertaining and informative lesson. Man, the best crabs I ever had! Tender, juicy and so fresh.  A lovely evening and hugs and thanks all around.  They won’t soon forget us in Belhaven, and we are looking forward to seeing them again on our way back north.

We arrived in Georgetown SC on November 12. I had an interview scheduled for the 13^th at my office back home and we were going to do it by phone and internet. We tried to get an anchor hooked but Georgetown and a lot of the state has something known as “pluff” mud.  It can be as deep as 5 feet and is like a soft muck.  Your anchor might sink but it has nothing to grab onto.  Again with the current issues, we went to a dock so that I wouldn’t have trouble getting someplace the next day to do the interview.  A short distance from the waterfront was a United Way office.  The director was still in the office and I explained my problem.  He invited me to come back the next day, use his office, his computer and his phone.  The next day I met the rest of the staff.  Everyone was pulling for me, I did the interview and was satisfied with the whole experience.  (unfortunately, I didn’t get the job, but it wasn’t for lack of support from total strangers.)  A quick tour of the town, a quick stop at the seafood market and we had the “fresh shrimp experience” on our boat to thank our travelling companions for sticking with us while I took care of business.

We left Georgetown on the 14^th heading for Charleston.  You guessed it, lots of wind and we hid out in an anchorage for the next couple of days. When the wind subsided enough to make passage, we headed to Charleston with 2 other boats.  Knowing the tide situation of up to 9 ft fluctuation, lots of current and the ever present wind, we took a dock in Charleston, arriving early enough to hop on the shuttle to get a look at the business district.  So much to see, we had to pick and choose. Ruth and I went through the slave market which has been turned into a tunnel of shops.  It was about 5 blocks long. Imagine its heyday when they were processing all those people for sale and purchase.  Unbelievable to us.

By November 20 we were in Beaufort SC at the private dock of some friends from Sarnia. They winter in Beaufort every year and having met them 10 years ago, we got in touch with them to see if we could tie up at their dock.  Two of us made it the first night and the third arrived the next day.  The bridge had been having repair issues but we were able to walk across it the next day and do a leisurely walking tour of the town.  Beautiful antebellum homes with 3 or 4 floors, wide porches and stately live oak trees draped with Spanish moss. The state has restrictions on trimming or cutting down the live oaks and they pave streets and sidewalks around the trees rather than cutting them down. The following day, I went with the crew of Nice Butt for a carriage tour of the town and heard more about the history of the area. Seems that Beaufort took a strong position in favour of secession from the Union and evidence of that is still present.  Some of the slaves, wiser than given credit at the time, were able to buy up some of the best properties for back taxes – a real slap in the face for the former plantation owners.

We had a quick ride through Georgia with good weather, stopping at Jekyll Island one night and actually getting to the beach that day for a glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean.  It was calmer on the ocean than it had been in the ICW so might have been a nice choice of passage had we had the nerve.  Lake sailors that we are, it just wasn’t there at the time.  We did a quick walking tour of the Millionaires Club – a settlement of houses built in the early 1900s for the wealthy.  I could imagine the ladies with their parasols walking the greens while the men played croquette on the lawn.

We left Georgia behind and headed to Fernandino Beach FL on the 26^th.  It is a lovely town with high end shops, beautiful window dressings and very clean streets. We stopped in a few shops before we realized that the 27^th was Thanksgiving and if we wanted to get to the grocery store, we had to rush.  Caught a cab and did a quick shop, heading back to the dingy and the anchorage after dark. The following day was laundry day and 3 more of the fleet arrived. We were all invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Methodist Church a few blocks away and had a real treat with someone else doing the cooking for a change.

Since the weather is forecast to turn (we’ve had some really good days, although cold nights), we pulled anchor and are on our way to St Augustine where I hope to stay a few days before we have to push on.

 

So we finally left Port Stanley on August 30/08.  We headed straight across the lake to Ashtabula OH, where we stayed for 3 days visiting with friends.  Then on to Erie PA and Commodore Perry Yacht Club. They have wonderful facilities and a hot tub, which we made use of.  The next day on to Dunkirk NY. We always enjoy going there, partly because the people are so welcoming, and partly because they have an awesome thrift shop! We headed into Buffalo NY on September 4 and dealt with the chore of getting our cruising license to enable us to travel in the US without checking in at each port.  Seems that the videophone people aren’t really accustomed to this idea but after much persistence on our part, they arranged to fax our license to the marina where we were to take our mast down for going through the Erie Barge Canal.  The weather was stinking hot and patience was in short supply but eventually Vertigo 1 and Whippoorwill both arranged their cruising licenses and headed on to Grand Island to Anchor Marine.  That was an adventure!  We were winched into the travel lift and got off the boat, only to find that now we couldn’t get back on the boat.  It was wedged into the middle of the slip, too far to step onto.  We found an old wooden ladder in the long grass and laid it across the gap from the wall to the boat.  Luckily, no one fell in, although it was always a question.  The folks at the boatyard did their best but it was clear that they were unaccustomed to such tall masts.  Still, the masts were taken down and stripped, ready to be trucked to Catskill NY at the other end of the canal where we would retrieve them. 

So now we had no sails, but since we had been motoring since we left home, it wasn’t a big deal.  There is no need for them in the canal and it was nice not to have to deal with the mast hanging over front and back of the boat.  We headed for the mouth of the canal, stopping at Wardell’s Boatyard for fuel.  The owner was a bit crusty that we did not come to him for taking the mast down, but we sweet-talked him and he agreed to sell us some diesel.  Lucky for us, because diesel is not as common on the canal as it should be.  We headed to Lockport for the night, tying up on the west side of the first lock, and scouted the town.  We stopped at a Timmie’s for their gawdawful coffee, stretched our legs, and headed back to the boat.  The next day we stopped at Holley NY, which was written up in the guidebook as a great place to stop, with plenty of resources, a library, grocery, laundromat, etc.  Unfortunately, the guidebook was sorely out of date and everything but the convenience store was closed down.  The canalside had been built up and was very pretty, but still… 

So on to Brockport the next day.  The dew was heavy and we arrived at 9:00 a.m., only to have one of our travelling companions slip on the dock at the pumpout, sliding into the water and shattering her shoulder.  Did I mention that Brockport has a lovely hospital?  I spent the morning with Karen in the ER.  We were told that they were going to transport her to a hospital in Rochester so I went back to the boat and Ab left for the hospital to be with Karen for the trip.  Later in the afternoon, they showed up back at the boats, with Karen’s arm in a sling. She had been discharged and was to make her own way to Rochester the next day – which caused a problem since it was no longer an emergency and her health insurance was in question.  Still, that was the way it played out and we all trooped off to Rochester the next day in a rental car for her appointment with a specialist.  Since she would need surgery, the decision was made for her to go back to Kingston ON for the procedure. The Whippoorwills headed off the next morning while the Vertigos stayed with the boats.  Ab dropped her off at the hospital and got back to Brockport later that night, having picked up crew from home. Southern Cross I had now caught up and we headed off to Fairport the next day.  Fairport is a pretty town but since we didn’t need any supplies, and had lost time in Brockport, we left the next day for Rome NY where we tied up to a dock near the dam. The dam is lighted at night but the docks are on the edge of town. We hiked in to a grocery to get some milk and bread and then didn’t feel like going all the way back to tour the fort museum.  The next day we got to Little Falls and were caught there by enormous winds, fallout from Hurricane Ike.  We were glad to have a place to dock, although the wall was high getting off the boat, and the showers/washrooms closed each night at 7:00 p.m. 

We finally made it to Waterford NY after 12 days in the canal, a trip that should have taken only 6.  The facilities at Waterford had been expanded to accommodate more transients, but tug boats took up most of the prime locations, leaving us to again scale walls to get off the boat. 

Our goal through the canal had been to take our time and visit the little towns, but due to delays from weather, health issues, and the business of daily living, it was a trek that we were glad to have behind us.  We left Waterford the next day and headed to Catskill NY to retrieve our masts.  We arrived early afternoon, but too late for them to start stepping masts.  By noon the next day, they were ready to start the first of the 3 masts, and the boats were put back together and rigged by the end of the day.  We left early the next day to find “smoke on the water”.  The mist had come in and was rolling down the river in clouds.  We picked our way along until the fog cleared and arrived behind Pollopel Island in the Hudson River late in the afternoon.  We left early the next morning, pulling up our anchor and almost immediately becoming banked in by fog.  We headed to the edge of the river where we hung back until the fog had cleared enough to continue on, motoring past West Point.  West Point is a huge property at a bend in the river, and known for stopping passing boats for inspection.  However, they seemed to be getting ready for a big football game and no one cared about the 2 Canadian boats slipping past.  We arrived in Nyack NY later that afternoon.  We anchored on the edge of the yacht club and headed to shore. The people there were very friendly and VERY New Yorkish.  Lots of money there! The wind had picked up and we spent an awful night crashing at anchor.  We were glad to leave there in the morning.  Heading towards NYC, we were hailed by a boat we had come across 10 years ago in Atlantic Highlands. They told us about 79^th Street Marina where they were staying and we decided to stop and take a mooring ball.  The current through NYC is very fast and the wind was busy, so we didn’t mind stopping. We took the dingy ashore and headed into the city.  We walked around a bit and got a feel for the city.  It appears to be very clean along the river and there is a grocery every other block.  We got everything we needed and were able to transport it back to the boat in our backpack. The next day we headed out to explore a bit more. We found Central Park and Tavern on the Green.  We didn’t venture very far that day and plan to spend more time on our way back through next June.  We did happen to run across Mark Messier on the street. Believe it or not, he looks just like his pictures!  Well, it surprised me. 

 

 

September 24 we headed out of NYC to Atlantic Highlands, NJ.  There is a lot of traffic on the water and due to a G8 summit in NYC, the East River was closed and helicopter traffic was thick, making sure everyone stayed away.  I’m not sure how much damage they think we could do in our very fast sailboat, but we made sure we stayed away.  We took a path through the freighter anchorage, which seemed to be a bit quieter than the Staten Island Ferry path.  There were other ferries as well, getting people to work in the city.  When we arrived in Atlantic Highlands, we took a mooring ball because the winds were to pick up and the holding is horrible. We didn’t want to worry about the anchor dragging while we were there.

Well, I know that I should have written this many, many days ago, but Andrew and I saw mom and dad over Thanksgiving and they are doing really well.  The weather has been fine, they are heading on south to keep ahead of the cold weather.  We had a beautiful weekend in Annapolis, Maryland and did some sightseeing, shopping and general boaty stuff.  I also grabbed some pictures off of their computer so when I have a minute I plan on posting a selection of them.  They are great pictures of the Erie Barge Canal and the whole locks system.  

Still wishing I was there!

Well, it seems mom and dad are in Annapolis, Maryland.  I received a message from mom this morning letting me know that they are anchored in Back Creek.  The Annapolis Boat Show is this weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving) and Andrew and I are planning to visit them for the long weekend.  It will be approximately a 9 hour drive, but we are bringing them some mail, extra boat parts and hope to slip in a trip to Washington, DC.