The Crossing
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- Written by Dave Dave
- Category: Captain's Log Captain's Log
- Published: 09 April 2022 09 April 2022
- Hits: 215 215
Note: Photos will be sparse for the next few weeks. We are currently in the Abacos out islands where reliable and fast wifi is not readily available. We do have internet via cell phone hot spots; however, photos consume a lot of data which our plans don’t have. The waters here are gorgeous shades of turquoise and gin clear, the bottom can be seen in 15 to 20 feet of water.
Wednesday, March 30, 2022: The weather forecast for Gulf Stream crossing on Friday afternoon looked promising. Winds would be light and shifting from the southeast to the southwest. Caribbean weather guru Chris Parker said, “E bound sailing vessels can depart Fri1 morning from FL with the mildest conditions in the S ROUTE. Sat2 is more uncertain, but a possible E bound motor-sailing day, best in the S ROUTE.” Time to begin final preparations.
High on the To-Do List was receiving the new prop for our new electric dinghy motor. The new gas fueled Honda was not reliable and needed warrantee service not available in Marathon. As a result, we purchased an electric outboard, a purchase we had been considering anyway. Within days of the new motor arriving, I managed to break the prop. A new one (and a spare) was on its way via UPS overnight service.
The Not So Dismal Swamp Canal
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- Written by Dave Dave
- Category: Captain's Log Captain's Log
- Published: 27 March 2022 27 March 2022
- Hits: 201 201
The race was on. Arriving at ICW Mile 0 on Halloween we were on schedule. In three days, it would be us against the cold weather as more cold fronts would pass through. Might our cold weather gear remain sequestered? How dismal would the Dismal Swamp be? These were some of the questions on our mind as we sailed and motored into Hampton Roads and Norfolk.
Located in southeastern Virginia, at the confluence of three major rivers, James, Elizabeth, and Nansemond Rivers, Hampton Roads is a large deep-water port at the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay. The world’s largest navy base, Naval Station Norfolk is located in the city of Norfolk along the Elizabeth River. Entering the river, we passed an impressive number of naval vessels from small support craft to large aircraft carriers while helicopters passed overhead.
Transmission Woes, Again.
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- Written by Dave Dave
- Category: Captain's Log Captain's Log
- Published: 22 March 2022 22 March 2022
- Hits: 189 189
A lot has happened. We left St. Augustine last January and headed south. Arriving in Vero Beach (aka Velcro Beach) we rafted off a friend’s boat in the mooring field. A week later, resupplied with food, beverages and our new snorkeling gear we were again southbound. Dreaming of snorkeling the reefs in the Florida Keys we arrived in Key Largo meeting with friends sailing a sistership to Second Star. Then, on February 5th, it all fell apart, literally.
The transmission we had replaced last August, broke free of its mount. We were dead in the water, fortunately the transmission failed in a large empty anchorage and not a marina Just to add a little drama to our story, while sitting on an anchor with a broken transmission, we were thrust into the dark with the failure of our main DC on/off switch, no lights, no radio, no refrigeration. Yuck, warm beer just when a cold one was desperately needed. Since the February 5th incident, we have been consumed with repairing the transmission, updating the website has fallen off the priority list.
Farewell St Augustine: We'll Remember You Fondly
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- Written by Dave Dave
- Category: Captain's Log Captain's Log
- Published: 17 January 2022 17 January 2022
- Hits: 280 280
Tomorrow morning at slack tide Second Star will depart St. Augustine, Florida. Our stay has been productive and fulfilling. A long list of boat projects was shortened, Susan’s son David visited, and we fell in with a group of like-minded sailors and boaters. The marina at which we spent most of our time was nicer than any we have ever visited, with large stable docks, clean and comfortable shower facilities, affordable laundry, and best of all friendly and welcoming staff. Finding this marina is a story unto itself and has its roots in our Dismal Swamp Canal days. More on that coming soon.
Tomorrow will be a long day as we plan to reach Daytona, about 45 nautical miles south. With St Augustine low temperatures forecast to be in the mid 30s for the next couple of days, we hope Daytona and then Titusville will be warmer.
Omicron
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- Written by Dave Dave
- Category: Captain's Log Captain's Log
- Published: 25 December 2021 25 December 2021
- Hits: 279 279
The sounds of metaphorical tires screeching to a halt echoed along the Florida Coast just before Christmas. In response to the rising number of Covid-19 infections the Government of the Bahamas instituted new travel restrictions. The new requirements, while adequate for those traveling by air or cruise ship pose new challenges for boaters making it difficult to visit the Bahamas.
The entry requirement changes are causing Susan and me to rethink our itinerary, as much as there has been one. We are both triple vaccinated and because of our lifestyle at little risk for contracting Covid and at even lower risk for becoming so ill we need hospitalization. That is not the only concern. Medical facilities in all the island nations are limited. Any significant outbreak in the Bahamas will quickly overrun their ability to provide care for their citizens and visitors for any accident or illness. We are as or more concerned about non-Covid illnesses and accidents.
Two years ago, when we began final planning for our adventure, we labeled the plans, Plan A, Plan B, etc. Many events have transpired causing unforeseen changes in our plans, I think we have just about run out of the alphabet, our plans are now getting double letters, starting with Plan AA.
Plan AA has us sailing to the Florida Keys and perhaps out to the Dry Tortugas. If the latest wave of Covid subsides quickly we may return to prior plans to visit the Bahamas. We have time, our last Bahamas plan had us leaving Florida at the end of January and spending 90 days in the Islands. At this point a short visit in late March or April remains feasible before we head back north. We’ll see, our plans are always written in sand at low tide.
Public Domain image from the CDC. https://phil.cdc.gov/Details.aspx?pid=23311
Southbound
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- Written by Dave Dave
- Category: Captain's Log Captain's Log
- Published: 19 December 2021 19 December 2021
- Hits: 286 286
Leaving Annapolis after a full week we headed for Oxford Maryland on the Eastern Shore for the last stop in our “Friends and Family” tour. We visited with fellow Sabre sailor Rick who gave us a tour of the area, shared lunch, and graciously helped us support the local economy at a small-town hardware store.
The next evening, we went to dinner with Syracuse friends Mike and Kathy. Back in Syracuse their sailboat Colorme was docked next to Second Star’s predecessor. Mike and I retired from the same school district and it has been several years since the four of us had been together. The evening was filled with laughter and stories, some of which might have been true. It was great to see them!
From Oxford, we headed south to Solomons with the intention of sailing over to Smith Island, a small waterman’s community accessible only by boat. We had looked forward to spending an afternoon exploring the island, however, the weather had different ideas. A forecast calling for several days of gale force winds prompted us to wait in Solomons for a fairer forecast.