ST-MARY's, GA -> ST-AUGUSTINE -> DAYTONA -> TITUSVILLE -> COCOA VILLAGE, FL (Dec.1 - 11, 2013)

We left Saint Mary's on December 1st to Sister's creek. We anchored there however there is a free city dock where you can spend the night. We didn't see any literature about it probably because it was built recently, about 2 years ago.  (The following year, we did stay at the city dock).

We arrived in St-Augustine on December 2nd by means of the ICW. We paid $20 a night for a mooring buoy which included hot showers and laundry facilities.

ALPENGLOW MORRED IN FRONT OF THE LYONS BRIDGE IN ST-AUGUSTINE

Notice Alpenglow in the background

St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement and port in the continental United States. San Agustín was founded in September 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez. We visited the Castillo de San Marcos, which was built by the Spanish to protect the city of St-Augustine.


CASTILLO DE SAN MARCOS

St-Augustine is a quaint city with little shops, art museums, restaurants and many B&Bs. We had a lovely dinner of Lobster pot pie and Sea food paella which was mouth watering. How nice not to cook & clean !!!

It so happened that my girlfriend Tammy Burkey from Colorado was working in Jacksonville that week. She drove down to St-Augustine to visit with us. It was so nice to see someone familiar for a change. After drinks and dinner on board, we walked the town to look at all the Christmas lights. 













We left St-Augustine on December 5th towards Daytona (47 nmi) via the ICW since there just wasn't enough wind to sail outside. In Daytona, we anchored then walked across the bridge to the beach just to get off the boat. I can't say that I really like Daytona, so my motto is "DAY"tona is only good for a DAY trip unless you like the speedway of course.

It was somewhat tricky to anchor in Daytona because of the very shallow waters. You have to line up markers behind you so that you don't run aground. Also, there was quite a current going on while we anchored but managed fine. Not too far from us a Catamaran ran aground and got Tow Boat US to tow them off the shoal. So where do you think they anchored ? Right next to us. So close that Tim & I watched them very carefully until, they were just too close for comfort. We asked them to leave and they were very apologetic. They just did not seem to know what they were doing.

December 7th: We left Daytona towards Titusville (41 nmi) down the ICW.

IN TITUSVILLE

 December 8th: Left Titusville to Cocoa village (20 nmi). Being Sunday, there was an outdoor arts & crafts festival going on. I really didn't like much of the crafts so off we went to the Florida Key Lime pie factory. It was only a short walk away. We bought a deep dish key lime pie for $20 ! That should last only a few days !

Good 'ol facebook. I met Mike in New York City in 1985 along with his adopted Grandmother Lady Alice Mead (related to the famous Anthropologist Margaret Mead). I didn't know at the time but Alice is titled, wow, I know royalty or somewhat near to royalty !!!! Mike & Alice are from Australia and at the time they were traveling around the world (they've been around the world twice since then). In 1985, Alice was already in her 80s. For years, Alice would write me a nice long letter and send me a calendar every Christmas until her passing. She was so funny & delightful, I wish I had spent more time with her.

Mike happened to be in Florida and we crossed paths in Cocoa. We met for drinks and talked about when we met and the people we knew. It was pure luck that we hooked up and all because of facebook. Mike has good friends in the Marquesas since he spent many months helping his student open a business. He wants to meet us there in the near future. We definitely will !

I'm sitting here anchored at Cape Canaveral. Dolphins are poking their fins out and manatees are swimming by. It's just an absolutely beautiful day to write. I just wish there was a launch but no such luck.  We did however pass a Carnival Cruise ship.

We are going offshore tomorrow towards Fort Lauderdale. It should only take about 24 hours. Once in Fort Lauderdale, we need to provision and get some more 'stuff' for the boat before our departure to the Bahamas once we get a good weather window.






Hint for Cruisers:
1 - St-Augustine: at the city moorings, better to be north of the bridge which is closest to the dinghy dock.  There are several machines in the laundry mat & great showers.
2 - St-Augustine: At the Legend, I think it's on Friday nights, they have lobster for very reasonable prices.
3 - Cocoa Village:  Buy very good Key Lime pies at the Key Lime Pie Factory.
4 - Cocoa Village:  You can bike very easily from Cocoa Village to Cocoa Beach or take the bus.  Along the way you will find every imaginable store.
5 - Biscane Bay, FL:  Great little anchorage before heading out to the Bahamas.  There is NO dinghy access at all.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina to SAINT MARY'S, Georgia (Nov.25 - Dec.1, 2013)

After spending several days in Charleston, we left on November 25th and sailed offshore towards the St-Simon's inlet in Georgia. This trip only took us 24 hours however, again, the winds were strong and relentless. More dancing to 70s music.

We arrived at St-Simon's inlet and motored to Jekyll Island. We anchored there and didn't get off the boat. In the morning, we decided to leave at low tide in case we'd run aground and because of the current. We were aground for only about 45 minutes until the tide came up. This was expected. With our center board up, we draw about 4.5 feet so it was pretty shallow in this area.

The very next day we left Jekyll Island towards Saint Mary's Georgia by means of the ICW. We went across St-Andrew's sound against 30 knot winds and it was pretty darn rough....again. I'm certainly getting used to it and our boat handles it extremely well. It fact, sailors do say that most boats handle bad weather better than the crew. That's so true.

We arrived the day before Thanksgiving in Saint Mary's, Georgia where we docked for 4 nights. And what a docking it was. Strong winds made it difficult to get into the dock without hitting the boat but we managed just fine. Being docked meant we had shore power and thus we were able to use our heater. It was quite cold again and finally got some relief from it with our heater. There was no time to waste as the city put on an oyster roast for the cruisers that evening.

TWO DAYS BEFORE THANKSGIVING

At the city hotel, 5 minute walk from our boat, we found 150 sailors swapping stories and getting to know each other over cocktails and oysters. What a feast.

FREE OYSTER FEAST PUT ON BY THE TONW OF ST-MARY'S

I am realizing that most cruisers are older than us by about 10 years. Some have just begun cruising like us others have been on their boat for 15 years and went all over the world. We made numerous friends and hopefully, we'll meet up with some of them in the Bahamas. However, along our route, we constantly see cruisers we've met in other ports. 

NANCY & RICK on s/v ANGEL EYES BECAME GOOD FRIENDS AND BOAT BUDDIES OF OURS

I am speaking French more than ever. There are many cruisers from Québec. Almost everywhere we go, I hear French. Apparently, many go as far as Grenada and leave their boats there for the summer while they earn their stay in Québec to keep their health insurance. I believe they must remain in Canada 180 days a year. From what I've been told, the Government does allow them to remain outside the country for a 2 year period every 5 years or so.

Back to Saint Mary's Thanksgiving bash....There were volunteers willing to drive the cruisers to grocery stores, laundromats, West Marine or any other store we required. We took advantage of this and stocked up on provisions on Thanksgiving day. There was a huge Thanksgiving Pot Luck. Since there were left overs, we were able to bring some home for the next day. All was very delicious. Now, do you wonder how do sailors cook a turkey on board ? They don't or they cook turkey legs. Volunteers from the city cooked turkeys and hams for the pot luck and didn't charge us anything although there were tip boxed. There just isn't enough thank yous for all the locals and volunteers who put on several days of celebrating. It didn't stop at Thanksgiving of course. There were happy hours after that and a pancake breakfast.


On our last day in Saint Mary's, we took a ferry (yeah, we could have motored), to Cumberland Island where JFK Junior got married. It was very windy and cold and slightly rainy. We had all the necessary gear on so we stayed dry and warm. Some people were dressed in fashionable leggins and flip flops. Gads, I'm glad I'm old enough now to know better. We went back to this place the following year and weather was much warmer :)

THE CARNEGIE's HOME

In the early 1880s, Thomas Morrison Carnegie and his wife, Lucy Coleman Carnegie, came to Cumberland Island and established the family's presence, which exists to the present day. They were extremely rich and mostly lived a life of leisure.

The island boasts wild horses and smaller wildlife. The Island now is part of the National Parks service.










Hints for cruisers:
1 - Thanksgiving activities start a week before Thanksgiving so get there early.
2 - Across from the hotel, there's a candy store that has coined laundry. in the back
3 - If you don't want to take your big boat to Cumberland Island, take the ferry

MOREHEAD CITY to CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Nov.19 - 25, 2013)



PREPARING THE JIB FOR AN OVERNIGHT PASSAGE

          

ROUGH PASSAGE

From Morehead city we sailed outside for 225 nmi. Winds were constant at around 25 and gusts to 37 kts. The boat was constantly rocking back & forth for 36 hours and surfing down 12 foot waves. The XM radio on the 70s channel sure helped pass the time while hanging onto the back shrouds, otherwise, I'd get bounced around. I was very happy that it was a full moon, so much so that I sang almost all the time while on watch & did some dance moves to keep warm.

We arrived in Charleston, South Carolina on November 21st. After a hardy breakfast & a nap, off we went visiting this Colonial city. Charleston is the oldest and second-largest city in the southeastern State of South Carolina. We visited the historic and French districts. The large, I mean 14,000 square foot large Colonial homes are very impressive and absolutely beautiful along South Battery street facing the river. I was vey impressed how many colonial homes are still standing all throughout the city. Most are renovated, some need a little TLC.






















FREE TROLLEY

SAFE CITY

Getting around Charleston is    easy and the use of the free Trolley brings you to almost everywhere you'd want to go.






AT MAGNOLIA PLANTATION

The Magnolia plantation is  surrounded by several types of gardens, lakes with alligators, romantic bridges and of course the many acres of land for growing rice. 


My favorite meal in Charleston was shrimp & grits with an amber beer, of all places, in an Irish pub. We also purchased okra chips at the market. It's a great snack but never ever would I eat it raw, it's just way too slimy that way.

DELTAVILLE, VA to ELIZABETH CITY, NC (Nov.8 - 11, 2013)

          

IT WAS VERY COLD !

It's time to leave Deltaville, Virginia and head south before it gets too cold.  OOPS, too late, it's freezing !

Renaming of the boat: Done.  Life raft on the deck: Done. Ditch bag: Done. Fixing this and that: Done. It's all done so time to leave. Better yet: It'll never be done so let's just go and have fun. So, off we went on a Friday...I know, some sailors say never to leave on a Friday, but we did just fine.

Friday, November 8th. Departure time: 7am. Weather: Sunny. Wind: N10. Temperature: 45F. It was cold. Very cold. We had everything warm we owned on our backs. The winds were pretty weak at the beginning of our sail but soon picked up to 15 and gusts to 25. We sailed all day except for when we had to take evasive action when a huge aircraft carrier was coming out of it's slip. We motored to get out of his way, because simply, he was so big, it was quite intimidating. In no time, we set sail once more.



WISCONSIN WAR SHIP

We travelled 52 miles and finally anchored in Norfolk, Virginia across from the Wisconsin War ship and the Nauticus Museum. It was still quite cold so heating up the oven for pizza that night was a nice treat.
Tim caught my cold but he was well enough to spend the day with me visiting the Wisconsin war ship & the Nauticus Museum. We dinghy'ed across the channel and tied up next to the Wisconsin.





SAILLING BY SEVERAL LARGE SHIPS

Since it was nice and warm, we wanted to spend some time outdoors so we walked downtown Norfolk and along the historic district. For a Saturday, the streets were very quiet. Well, we found the crowd ! They were all at the mall. We entered the mall to get some batteries at Radio Shack and ran out of there as soon as we could. 

We spent Saturday evening discussing our next route and read under the warm covers of our bed.

Sunday, Nov. 11th. Time of departure: 8:30am. I'm not sure how cold it was but it was certainly much warmer than the last few days. We spent most of today in long pants and t-shirts. The Gilmerton bridge was opened at 9:30 so there was no use in leaving any earlier. We started down the ICW at Mile marker 0 ! We decided to go down the Dismal Swamp. We had no choice anyhow because the lock on the other route is dissabled.

There were 7 boats going thru the Deer Creek lock. It took one and a half hours to get thru ! Much longer than the 12 locks we went thru this summer down the Champlain canal. We already met a few people going our way. A young couple from New York, Rachel & Jonathan. It was their first lock and bridge. How exciting ! On a large Cat, Brian & Jim delivering the boat to Mexico. Jim & Linda on a troller. Jim used to work at the Naval Academy in Annapolis taking care of their sailboat fleet. He retired last May. A couple from Nova Scotia and more.

At Mile marker 28, is the Dismal Swamp Visitor's center. 7 boats rafted up and we had cocktails all together swamping stories. It was such fun. After dinner, many of our new friends came aboard and we served them hot tea, cocktails and brownies I just took out of the oven.

Next morning we all left pretty early to go thru the Mills lock. We had a more difficult time in the lock whereby the current took our stern along with other boats and well, we ended up pointing north. No worries, we were able to turn around, however the lock attendant wasn't too happy because we all took too long. Oh well.

ICW - LEAVES WERE TURNING COLOR

This part of the ICW was really nice as the trees were turning color. The weather was really good, cool but sunny and not too windy. We arrived in Elizabeth City, docking at their free city docks on Monday, November 11th. Our neighbors are a mix of sailors from Vancouver, Quebec city, and the Netherlands. Some are new to cruising, other's have been around the world and on their boats for 15 years.

We would of left this morning to go south however the weather is calling for NNW winds up to 21 mph and rain/snow mix tonight. If the winds stay NNW, we'll be leaving tomorrow.

 

ELIZABETH CITY DOCK



HAVING DRINKS WITH NEIGHBOR CRUISERS

IT SNOWED THAT NIGHT

STAYING WARM with JONATHAN & RACHEL

Hints for cruisers:
1- In Elizabeth city, the city docks are free.  There's not much room but you can look at their webcam before you get there to see if there's room. 
2 - From the city dock, there's a shop, 2 minutes away that have loner bikes.
3 - You can shower at the gym for $5.
4 - Walking distance to the library with fast free wifi.
5 - Museum is not to be missed.

RENAMING CEREMONY (November, 2013)

We finally had a ceremony to rename the current name of our boat. One must do a proper ceremony to ensure safe passage and favorable winds. 

We purged the old name 'Kristinly' and asked Neptune and the God winds to bless the new name of 'Alpenglow'. Our neighboring sail friends joined us in the celebration. Lots of champagne was poured and cake was served.

What a wonderful day !
     

Hints for cruisers:  

1- We stayed at the Boat yard at 519 Deagles Road in Deltaville, VA.  It has laundry, showers, and a loner truck.  It is a good boatyard and it is rough.  I've seen better but they are friendly and very helpful. 
2- The airport is more than one hour away.  You can get a car from Enterprise, ask them for a corporate rate reduction.

RACING VIDEO

          

When we are not cruising, we're racing on Lake Dillon. Check out this awesome video of us racing;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqn3PLQZdNY

NEW YORK CITY to DELTAVILLE, VA (Aug.7 - 19, 2013)

          

Sailing out of Manhattan takes some guts. There were so many ferries zipping back and forth to New Jersey, going full speed, they seem not to notice the little guys or they simply don't care. All eyes were wide open looking 360 degrees. I said good bye to the Statue of Liberty and to friends Vicki, Sasha & Simona.

We stayed only a few nights at Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club. The little town had all the necessities however it is a very small, quiet town. Really, not much going on but a nice place to re energize. The laundry mat was closed due to renovations however the owner was there and offered to do my laundry for me, BONUS ! I certainly liked that.
During our short stay, we took the local bus and visited the nearby town of Red Bank. It had a nice little shopping area and nice marina. It was so hot, we ended up having a cold drink in a very air conditioned restaurant.

We sailed overnight along the shore of New Jersey to Cape May passing Atlantic city. It's really neat to see all the lights in Atlantic City from the ocean. Tim & I did 2 hour watches which seem to work well however maybe we'll try 2.5 or 3 hours next time. We arrived in Cape May around 7am and dolphins were there to welcome us.

You just cannot miss Cape May. This was one of my favorite places. The walk down Washington street is like walking thru time. Most of the homes are beautiful Victorian houses all very well maintained and decorated. Near the beach is a pedestrian walkway with cute shops and several restaurants. We took out our folding bikes one day and visited a bird sanctuary and the lighthouse on the point. It was hot and humid so swimming in the ocean was a real treat ! We stopped at the Fisherman's House and waited in line to buy some Macaroni & Cheese with Lobster, fresh fish and desert. This market had so many choices of fresh fish it was making me dizzy. I would certainly like to return to this city one day.

 We then sailed on the Delaware Bay from Cape May to Reedy Island. As soon as we finished anchoring, a Policeman came up to us and was the nicest guy ever. He welcomed us and just wanted to make sure we knew about the tides and what to see around the area. Oh my, if we had a welcoming party like that everywhere we anchored, it would be heaven ! I'm sorry I didn't get the guy's name.

The very next day, we motored thru the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the North end of Chesapeake Bay. We sailed down the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis. We had the best sail ever ! The winds were at 25 knots and we were at a broad reach going 9 knots ! YEEHA !

We arrived at Annapolis City Marina on a Wednesday race night ! All the racing boats sailed by our boat so we had a great view. Etchells, all sorts of J boats, you name it, they were there. The most exciting part was that they sailed thru the buoy field to their finish line. A bit strange and dangerous if you ask me but it was exciting to watch.
Annapolis has this water way called "Ego Alley". It is a short and narrow water way with open bars along the side. Everything passes thru there, dinghies, paddle boards, kayaks, seadoos, sailboats and huge multimillion dollar yachts, therefore, calling this place "Ego Alley". It's a hoot to watch.
Right at the end of Ego Alley is the dingy dock and the downtown area. You can walk past all the shops and restaurants up on the hill to visit the state Capitol. This state capitol was once the US Capitol for about 6 months in the 18th century, I'm not sure why. Don't miss the $1 oyster shots and do have a cocktail at Pussers on Ego Alley. We visited the Naval Academy which we could see from our boat. Definitely, this is not to miss.

From Annapolis, we took the city bus to Washington, DC at 7am. It was quite direct and only took about 75 minutes. We walked all day visiting every memorial you can imagine along with the White House, Capitol and Botanical gardens. An old friend from Montreal, Franca, met us in DC. I had previously been to DC but it meant more this time being an American. My feet were killing me at the end of the day. Franca drove us back to Annapolis and we of course, had cocktails and dinner at Pussers. After dinner and too many cocktails, Franca wanted to see our boat. Franca wasn't used to climbing on board our boat and proceeded to drop her camera in the water. OOPS ! Not good. A bit of a bummer to end the day however she was a good sport about it. BTW, thanks Franca for the Champagne !

Soon to be named "Alpenglow", she is now on the hard in Deltaville. Next Blog, probably middle of November.
To view pictures, click on the gallery.

MANHATTAN, NYC (Aug.4 - 7, 2013)

ALMOST IN NYC !



79TH STREET BASIN, NYC

 As soon as we arrived at the 79th street Boat Basin Marina, friends Vicky, Sasha & Benji were there to greet us. They treated us to lunch and brought us walking 'The High Line' which is a railway turned into an incredible park. I was most impressed with the Chelsea Market which is an enclosed urban food court & shopping mall. The fish selection was incredible ! We passed by the Carrie Bradshaw's apartment ('Sex in the City' TV show). They weren't kidding when they say there's a lineup to the Magnolia bakery where the girls frequented. Crazy tourists ! We were royally treated to an incredible Indian dinner that evening. It was so nice to see my old friends from my years at McGill University.


SUSAN & VICKIE AFTER SEVERAL YEARS

SPICE STORE AT CHELSEA MARKET



CARRIE BRADSHAW'S HOME

BIKING ON THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

The next day, we biked from our boat along the Hudson River's bike path to the World Trade Center Memorial. That's always something not to miss. We went thru Wall street but only saw tourists, not many suits. The Exchange building is heavily guarded.

FREEDOM TOWER

 



EATING DRAGON FRUIT IN CHINA TOWN

OK, then it was rush hour and we biked thru China town, Little Italy then thru the center of the city back to our boat. It is indeed suicidal to bike thru NYC especially without a helmet, YIKES ! Biking thru Central Park was much more safer. That night, we walked thru Time Square & the Empire State building to see all the lights. Our last day brought us to the Statue of Liberty, dinner in Little Italy and a walk thru Central Station. I especially liked walking in China town where I ate a Dragon fruit for the first time. Don't miss going thru a Chinese market, I saw some marinated tongue & live frogs for sale, YUM ! 

 

STATUE OF LIBERTY

We had an awesome time in NYC...time to move onto Atlantic Highland Yacht Club in New Jersey.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN to CATSKILL, NY (July 30 - Aug. 2, 2013)

       

AT LAKE CHAMPLAIN

Busy month of July ! After purchasing our boat in June, we finally boarded her on July 2nd with 200 pounds of tools, galley essentials and a few clothes. On July 4th, while sitting on deck, we saw 7 firework shows around Malletts Bay. As much as we wanted to stay on the boat, we had prior
family commitments so off we went to Montreal & Shediac, New Brunswick to celebrate my Mother's 80th birthday.

Back on the boat in mid July, we set off to stay the night at Spoon Bay on Valcour Island with some friends from Montreal. We were awaken at 1am by 40kt gusts. Oh joy ! Our anchor held however we were too close to shore for comfort. Off we went to the lee side of the island and got some sleep.
My friends did great! I'm sure glad we didn't scare them away.

At the end of July, we took our mast down for our trip south thru the Champlain canal & Hudson River. There were a total of 12 locks we went thru. I was quite impressed thru the first lock as it was my first time ever !



TAKING THE MAST DOWN

Tim & I were very grateful that the previous owner of our boat, Randy, helped us thru the de-masting process, going thru the locks and stepping the mast. Honestly, the whole process went extremely well, only just a very few minor issues.

Our next stop will be New York City !
 

FIRST SLEEP OVERS (July 22, 2013)

After visiting family & friends in Montreal and Shediac, New Brunswick; eating lobster, listening to Acadian bands, going to bed too late ect ect.... we are finally back on our boat on Lake Champlain, Vermont.

We had our first visitors sleeping over for the week-end, my very good old friends, Nat & Max. We got just about every possible weather over the week-end from torrential rains, to 40 knot winds , 3 foot waves in the middle of the night, hot & cool temperatures but mostly sunny & comfortable.

We attempted to sail from Mallets Bay to Spoon Bay on Friday however 40 knt winds made us turn back for the night. After we hooked up to our buoy, torrential rains came but not for long. We saw one of the nicest sunsets I've ever seen along with a rainbow. Just spectacular !

The next day, we were able to sail to Spoon Bay for the night. Around 1am, we were awoken by rough 3 foot waves. Many boats were leaving already or getting ready to go. Our anchor was holding however we were close to shore so we decided to motor to the lee side of Valcour Island. That was a good choice and we all slept better after that. We found out later that the storm hit hard in Montreal, just north of us and took out power lines.

Lesson learned: Never forget to wear shoes while sailing ! I hit my little toe so hard, my toe and half my foot is now black & blue. Also, don't touch the BBQ; my arm is now burned. Tim also cut his finger and left blood all over the boat. These little cruising accidents are more painful than racing bruises !

WE BOUGHT A SAILBOAT (June 2013)

After several years of dreaming, thinking about 'it', planning and searching, we finally bought a 38' Island Packet cutter rig. She is currently in Malletts Bay, Colchester, Vermont. Her current name is KRISTINLY and after the required ceremony, we will change her name to ALPENGLOW.

Why the name Alpenglow you ask? Alpenglow means 'The rosy light of the setting or rising sun seen on high mountains'.  We live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where there is lots of Alpenglow.  We also got engaged at the Alpenglow Stube restaurant in Keystone, Colorado.

Randy, the former owner will be helping us bring her down the Champlain canal and onto the Hudson River this summer. We are very lucky to have Randy help us with this as he's done it several times. We will end up in Virginia until after the hurricane season then onto the Florida keys and Bahamas this winter. After that, you'll just have to wait and see !