Our Genie Girl LOVES Wrightsville Beach And So Do We!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Well, we’re pretty sure we will never leave Wrightsville Beach and truthfully, as far as places to break down go, this is THE PRIMO location to have to sit and wait!  It’s true that it took several days to figure out was wrong with our dear, dear Genie (it’s important that she not know she was on the brink of walking the plank)…..normally, she performs beautifully, providing us with AC and water from our water maker and charges up our battery bank not to mention the myriad of other treats and excesses that make a cruisers life considerably more palatable.  The thing is, one day, while running along like the sweet thing she is, she just up and shut down!  Just like that!!!  No more anything!!!!  Uh Oh…is this payback for the days we spent at the beach????   Hmmmm….   Well, as seasoned cruisers know, a day at the marina can often turn into many days at the marina and sadly, we’ve had our share!  The thing is…it’s a boat, and granted, we consider her “our girl” but she hasn’t really gotten to love us yet, and we…..clearly…..haven’t gotten to know her well enough to know that she decides.  Everything.  If she wants to go to the marina, all she has to do is stop something from working and off we go….in search of an engineer who will purr and postulate and in the end, declare….”she’s a boat”!.. Like that somehow entitles her to spend oodles and oodles of her owner’s money and dictate where said owner will stop and for how long and how much it will cost them, thereby determining how long they will actually remain the owner.  I think, perhaps,  she has not yet decided to allow us to own her.  I have an idea that we have a few experiences to go through yet before we will have proven ourselves worthy of her good graces.  Call it a trial by fire.  And so, we continue along, marching to her very specific tune, as and when she desires because, you know, at the end of the day...she always teaches us something valuable or exposes us to a wonderful world that we hadn’t planned to slow down long enough to enjoy.  Now, if she would just stop being such a princess with the spending, we could certainly find a nice yin and yang….right?  Everybody just having a good time on a very loose timeline….ahhhhh….the journey.  :o)

 

Oh, by the way, did I mention Customs and Border Patrol came by today…I think our girl was winking at their boy all the way across the bay.  At any rate, they came along side us and, after finding out (we are such honest Canadians) that we had NEVER been boarded in the USA, they very politely asked if they could come aboard and have a little look around….but that’s another story for another time.

 

We’re having Kalik (Bahamian Beer) and lime flavoured taco chips for dinner tonight…..who says we don’t know how to live the high life!!!!

Until next time….

Love and hugs,

Shelley and Gregg

PS..I am sitting in an awesome, surfer inspired internet cafe/clothing store/surfer art place working on this blog and loving the music!  The staff are really great and if you get to Wrightsville Beach, check out the Annex, you won't be disappointed!

 

It's Raining Again......

Note:  This is an older post from about a week ago...internet access is rather limited out here although I am working on a solution!  Stay tuned. :o)

As we transit from Charleston to Georgetown we are, once again, caught in a thunder and lightning storm that, on a scale of one to ten is about a seven meaning the rain is not torrential but the thunder and lightning are seriously making their presence known.  We released the dock lines around 7:00am and enjoyed a lovely sky right up until 1:00pm and then the fun started…for the next half hour we reduced our speed in order to stay enough behind the storm to allow us a decent amount of visibility.  It is now 2:30pm, we have seen one other boat and it was heading in the opposite direction (perhaps they know something we don’t?) and we have about another three hours to go before we reach our preferred anchorage.  The good news is that there is a rated anchorage about every five miles so we can pull off the ICW should we determine it is prudent.  We are keen to push on as the temperatures in Chesapeake Bay (our eventual destination) sound wonderful compared to the heat we have been enduring here in the south but we will make the decision to anchor, or not as we near each of the available options.

 

 

We said our good-byes to our friends Chris and Leigh last night after a fabulous Italian meal with light jazz playing in the background and hope to see them again in the Chesapeake if not before.  One of the great gifts of a cruisers lifestyle are the wonderful friendships made along the way and we have been amazingly blessed once again to have shared some highly memorable evenings with these delightful Kiwi’s.  Whether on the dock, on the deck or in one of the many pubs and restaurants along the way, these friendships are true and, I believe, lasting!  No doubt you will one day find Gregg and I, enjoying the evening on our deck at home and many (I hope) years from now, reliving these times with “remember when” stories and feeling grateful for the privilege of having lived the cruising life with our fellow adventurers!

On a side note, I recently read the August 2013 issue of Pacific Yachting and while I enjoyed the entire issue from cover to cover (Including the letter to the editor from our neighbour back home, Hu Wallis) I was very happy to read the submission by Michael Robertson, a former Southern California boater who compared blue water cruising down south to boating in BC.  Michael says he has become a more competent boater after just one year of sailing in BC and says “Indeed, sailing in the open ocean, and especially in these northern latitudes, demands preparation and respect.  But it’s hard to imagine a group of sailors better prepared to head out there and experience any of the world’s cruising grounds, a group who should approach it with less trepidation, than folks who’ve spent time behind the helm on these waters.’  While it’s true we have only been out for four months, and the majority of our time has been spent along the AICW, we have crossed the Gulf Stream twice, sailed some of the northern Bahamas and made a few jumps north up the eastern US “on the outside” only to find we are considerably more adaptable than we had, at first, imagined and that our home sailing grounds of the Pacific Northwest were a grand classroom for our current adventures.

As of August 15, the Captain and the Admiral are in deep discussions regarding a miss on Georgetown in favour of an overnight passage between Minim Creek, SC and Cape Fear, NC….stay tuned!  ;o)

Until next time....

Love and hugs,

Shelley and Gregg

Doin The Charleston!

We have now been to Beaufort and various stops in between before finding a lovely marina here in Charleston.  The staff are amazing and there is a shuttle bus to West Marine and Teeter Harris grocery store!  Perfect!!  We have also had the pleasure of meeting a delightful Kiwi couple (Chris and Leigh aboard MV Ividius) who are running the ICW north, as are we for the most part, and have enjoyed many nights sharing great stories, laughter, good food and good wine so despite the heat,  we have found enough diversions to keep us all entertained.

 

Gregg relaxing in the shade in Beaufort, SC



Historic Beaufort is everything you would imagine the old south to be with beautiful big old houses lining the streets and a lovely waterfront park offering boutique shops and restaurants on one side and a view of the river on the other....a very relaxing and enjoyable stop along the way.

Typical architecture

 

While there are many picturesque sights to see as we mostly motor our way along, I have to be honest that the insects, heat and humidity are truly a challenge. I simply cannot express how suffocating this heat is! The most frustrating bit of nature being noseeums as it is almost impossible to protect yourself against these nasty little micro sized biters who must feel they need to inflict your body with a toxin of some sort creating the most intense itch and lasting for weeks!  They are small but mighty little warriors and I dream of lazy days in Bahamian breezes, playing in the water.  Sigh.... 

 

Chris and Leigh in front of Hanks

 
We have been out to dinner at Hanks, with Chris and Leigh, here in Charleston, an amazing little restaurant downtown where we met another couple at the community table, a grand long table in the centre of the room allowing those of us who haven't made reservations to join other to a lovely meal with bar height chairs and good company.  Leigh and I spent the next day shopping and generally enjoying the downtown area while Chris and Gregg toured the aircraft carrier Yorktown which I understand was very interesting though lacking in air conditioning!  Yikes!
We're off again for a little dinner and jazz then up and away in the morning.

Until next time.....

Love and hugs,
Shelley and Gregg

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin on the River...... :o)

Hello all!!!  Here we are in Savannah, Georgia and it is all that the guidebooks said it would be!  We have spent a day walking along the river and through the historic area which boasts 25 squares!  These adorable little parks with statues, trees, sometimes a little fountain and lovely wide walking paths offer a delightful little spot to rest and chat as we tour the town.  It is also very, very hot!  With temperatures in the 90’s mostly (that would be in the 30’s for my Canadian friends) we will walk a block then pop into a store for the air conditioning, have a look about, maybe buy another bottle of water, and carry on.  I can’t believe I was complaining about the cold at home last winter!  And when it rains!!!!  It’s like nothing I’ve ever encountered where we have been soaked to the skin after being caught downpours with deep, rolling thunder and bright white lightening for added effect.

 

River Street, Savannah, GA

 

In celebration of having sold our previous boat, Tingara, we took in an evening at the Historic Savannah Theatre where they are running a musical presentation of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.  It was awesome!  The cast, the costumes and the comedy made for a wonderful night out.  On our way there, one of these incredible rainstorms occurred and as we stepped off the bus, one block from the theatre, we landed in a pond of water up to our ankles!  Fortunately we had brought along jackets, just in case, but we were soaked through!  We laughed and headed for the nearest shelter…hiding out until the rain let up a little then ran for the theatre.  Once our tickets were secured, we headed over another block to a little English Pub for dinner and the patrons joined us in a laugh over us two, very drowned rats, looking for a meal.  A good natured bunch of folks in the traditional English style!

 

Gregg, checking the map in Chippewa Square

which was made famous in the film Forrest Gump!

 

We are currently docked at Thunderbolt Marina which is a full service facility and have decided to repair our stainless steel water tanks.  This will hopefully be the last of the major repair/refit list and we will be on maintenance mode for a bit…I know, tempting fate, I am, but it would be so nice!  The laundry and showers are clean and well looked after which is always much appreciated and the folks here have been just wonderful!  We will mark this location as a stop on our migration south in October.

Well, time to finish the laundry and prepare our girl!  Until next time…..
 

Love and hugs,

Shelley and Gregg

 

PS…Congrats to very good friends Jim and Kathy on your successful circumnavigation of Vancouver Island!  Not long now and you’ll be on your way south!  Whoot, whoot!!!!

 

Also….congrats to dear friends Ryan and Heather on your engagement…so, so happy for you and your little family!!!

Hello???? Tourist Information, Please......

Some of you may have been wondering if I have fallen off the edge of the earth and I am here to tell you, I have not.  The thing is, I grew up on the idea that if one hasn’t something nice to say, one might opt to say nothing.  While I’ve been struggling with this idea for the past week I fear I must come clean, so here goes.

 Our transit along the ICW took us through some beautiful marshland areas with birds overhead and dolphins playing in the river.  We happily sailed along, anticipating our arrival in the quaint little town of Fernandina Beach, researching the guidebook as we headed north considering all the things we would do and see on arrival.  A day at the beach?  Historic sightseeing, perhaps?  I can tell you that we were completely shocked by what awaited us as we rounded the bend into the mooring field of the harbour marina….what appeared to be a cute little basin was flanked by a pulp mill on one side and a sawmill on the other with water the colour of a rusted out washbasin and sulphur scented air.  I wanted to cry.  This was to be our “relax and enjoy” time and I couldn’t let the Captain see my disappointment….he had, after all, taken us safely through our route and it seemed a rather unkind to start to this leg of our journey.  “Looks like a nice marina” I said as we both looked from right to left, then left to right at the glut of industry flanking an otherwise lovely little spot and then we heard it……the train whistle announcing that the iron horse would be running right along the waterfront transporting who knows what from here to there.  Ugghhh.  Time to go sign in, find the showers and check out the Captains Lounge.  Once I had the shower stall in a condition that I could step in without worry of developing some dreaded rash, I turned on the water to the find my senses being assaulted by the pungent odour of sulphur….oh, my….I did cry.  What the?????  Not one single guidebook, and we have several, mentioned this fact and with no weather window to move on, we were stuck here.  No worries, I’ll just shower on board once we have completed our provisioning.  A two and a half mile walk to the grocery store is something we typically enjoy although by the time we arrived, we were soaked to the skin in perspiration from the heat and covered in dust.  It was good of the folks not to stare at these two rather weather beaten sailors and I suspect, we are not the first of our kind to grace their presence.  We also, typically, call a taxi to return us to our “home”, a mere two and half miles, maybe eight dollars in fare.  Once underway we were advised that the ride would cost $16.00 no matter where we were going at which point Gregg suggested a trip to Fort Lauderdale….turns out the driver had no sense of humour.  Well, dear reader, I could truly go on and on but I’m sure you get the idea.  We did go walking and out to the mouth of the inlet in the dinghy which was very therapeutic in terms of CLEAN, BLUE, ATLANTIC OCEAN AIR AND WATER!!!!!  This time I cried with joy!!!  Several thunder and lightning storms, with accompanying torrential rains, later, we were finally on the move, yipeee!!!!

 
We are currently in St Simons, Georgia, on the hook, and the truth is, Gregg has gone ashore several times while I am happy to putter around on our girl, reading and preparing myself for tomorrow’s outing when we will rent bikes and “cruise” the little island together.  We do have a church very close by that plays carillion bells on the hour and have found ourselves singing along to the hymns of our childhood….our parents would be proud!

Until next time……

Love and hugs,

Shelley and Gregg

PS  You may want to visit “The Captain’s Corner” page which is now up and running!  This is where you will find Gregg’s musings about our adventure and what it means to be the Captain of our girl, Simplicity II!

Saint Augustine for the Fourth of July!

July 6, 2013

Our transit to Saint Augustine was relatively uneventful except for a wee bit of tidal misinformation that found us almost grounded and running around in circles but I'll leave that story for Gregg to tell...I am currently in discussions with his agent to see if we can strike a deal to have him write the occasional post from "the Captains" perspective.  Could be entertaining!  ;o)

Our loose plan was to be in Saint Augustine for the July 4th celebrations and we were able to arrive here by the 2nd so managed to find a mooring ball and get ourselves "hooked up". There are about 50 mooring balls in the basin and I can assure you, this exercise is not for the faint of heart when you factor in depth, wind and current.   It is always amazing to me as I watch Gregg maneuver through a mooring field, chock full of all size and shape of vessels as though he is taking a leisurely stroll through the park and then, about the time my very last nerve is about to shatter, doesn't he just gently ease up to the mooring ball and all but put the mooring lead right into the boat hook as I'm reaching out....seriously, it's not surprising he is such a good negotiator because I, for one, don't really believe he is feeling anywhere near as calm as he looks!  It is pretty cool though...

A quiet afternoon of showers and dinner and next day, we were off to check out the town and it was just adorable!  So steeped in early Spanish and American history with tons to see and do.  Just what a couple of stir crazy cruisers need to stretch our weary limbs.  There is music in the bandstand of the local park for every taste from symphony orchestra to jazz, blues, rock and everything in between...museums, cathedrals, art galleries and ancient hotels.   The day after, we toured the Fort which is an engineering marvel for it's day and has apparently never been taken in war but has changed hands through negotiation.  Quite a feat, I would say.

The evening of the 4th found us tucked into the cockpit of Simplicity II with a lovely dinner and a glass of wine, awaiting the fireworks.  I can tell you that the good folks of Saint Augustine did not disappoint as all around the bay there were shows going off from backyards, waterfronts and beaches right up until the big show being launched off the site of the Fort....spectacular!  As we watched the show we were missing friends, Tom and Lydia and family, Caitlin and Mr Man who had shared the Symphony of Light in English Bay, Vancouver BC and wishing they were here with us for yet another wonderful show on the back of our sailing vessel.

Yesterday was laundry day which is always an opportunity to meet other cruisers an live-aboards and we spent the afternoon chatting with some lovely folks who we expect to see along the way as we move north.  One more day in Saint Augustine and we are off to Jacksonville area and out to the ocean for our transit north of Georgia to the Carolinas.  It would seem Georgia has decided to opt out of the dredging so cruicial to passage for a sailing vessel so we will miss all that this state has to offer.

 Well, that's all for now!

Until next time....

Love and hugs,
Shelley and Gregg

PS Thinking of Jim, Kathy and Dave on their transit around Vancouver Island, fair winds and following seas to you!

Titusville Take Care Of Its Cruisers....BIG TIME!!!!

So Cocoa Beach was interesting and while we didn’t find the “surfer beach, we did come across what must be one of the biggest surfing stores we’ve ever seen!  It’s called Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and believe me….it has to be as big as a full city block!  So we had some fun wandering around the store and then went across the street to the Shark Pit Bar and Grill for one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time!

 

Cocoa Beach

Ron Jon's Surf Shop

The little village of Cocoa was just a delight, with cute boutiques, little street side bistro’s and a wonderful old fashioned ice-cream parlour…..guess where we ended up….the ice-cream parlour!  And all along the street music was playing to the tune of 60’s pop…it was hard not to just dance my way around and you really couldn’t help singing along!

 

City of Cocoa

 

We were very keen to see the Kennedy Space Centre and asked around at the nearby marina, unfortunately, they were of little or no help, assuring us we would have to rent a car if we wanted to anything at all, including grocery shopping!  When we asked about the next town along, Titusville, we were advised that the situation would be the same.  Well, off we went anyway, to see what the next stop had on offer and are we ever happy we did!

 Titusville Municipal Marina is a true gift to the cruising community.  The staff are extremely friendly and helpful, the facilities are clean and well cared for and I would recommend this as a stop on any ICW cruisers itinerary.  The amenities are awesome and they even have a free pump out station!  As if all of this weren’t enough, they even have a free…yes, that’s right, I said FREE, shuttle so we hopped aboard and headed off to the Kennedy Space Centre.  Honestly, we were at a point where we thought we weren’t going to get to the space centre as it would have cost us about $200.00 by the time we rented a car and so on, so we were just delighted!  Titusville, we salute you and the good people you have working hard for us cruiser’s!  If any of you do stop and take advantage of the shutte, don’t be afraid to offer a little donation to keep it going!  (http://www.titusville.com/sectionindex.asp?sectionid=52)

Our transit between Cocoa and Titusville was not uneventful.  We had a short storm cell come through where our visibility was about 100 feet and then to add to the excitement of this particular adventure, as we neared a set of overhead cables and checked the charts, the notation showed a mere 44 feet of clearance!!!  I don’t have to tell you that with our mast at 60 feet, we were more than a little concerned and no matter who we hailed on the radio, no one could “confirm” the cable height so we circled in front of it for a bit and considered our options….truthfully, we really thought we would be on our way back to Cocoa for some facts!  As we circled, I jumped on the i-phone (reach OUCH!!! In terms of $’s ) and did a look up of overhead cable heights on the ICW and found a site, current to January 2013 that confirmed we were good to go, so, hearts thumping, we motored through and it was no problem.  Gregg’s heart definitely got a good workout that day!

Kennedy Space Centre great fun and very informative.  We did it all, including the Space Shuttle Simulator and pictures in space suits!

 

We are now tucked into our little home for night and will enjoy a quiet day of of strolling the townsite and provisioning tomorrow before we continue our journey up the ICW.

 

Until next time….

 

Love and hugs all around,

Shelley and Gregg