by Judy Handley | Apr 29, 2013 | Little River, SC, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 177, Year 8: Nine Hours to Departure
Date: Monday, April 29, 2013
Weather: Winds SSW 10, High Temp in Low 70’s F—Lots of Rain
Location: Lightkeepers Marina in Coquina Harbor, Little River, SC
In only nine hours, I’ll be departing Windbird and she will be pulling out of the slip here at Lightkeepers Marina headed for Cape Cod. We have been here for five months and have enjoyed every minute of the time here. We have met new boating friends and have spent some quality time with Patsy and Joe. We are going to miss them so very much. And we thank them so much for letting us use their van. This is not a place where you can rely on public transportation as there is none in Little River, so you are dead in the water without a car. We had a fantastic farewell dinner at Patsy and Joe’s tonight. Joe grilled chicken and shrimp and Patsy fixed broccoli and potatoes. And for dessert Joe made shortcake to go with strawberries and whipped cream. Joe does a great job grilling chicken and getting it just right and we grilled the shrimp just like my nephew Tommy did when he was here a few weeks ago. We used a McCormick’s marinade called Backyard Brew and it is the best–not to mention that the shrimp we get here is caught locally and that it is also fantastic.
Lee and Lynda came to Windbird late in the afternoon to get a bit of an orientation and they will return in the morning before 7:30 am. That is take-off time. The weather for the first few days of the trip looks less than perfect, but not bad enough to put off the departure. It’s going to be rainy and windy with the wind coming from the north and east. That is precisely the way Windbird will be headed, so we just have to hope that the winds aren’t so strong that they impede progress. Windbird will be headed up the Intracoastal Waterway to Norfolk and then up the Chesapeake Bay and through the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal to the Delaware Bay and finally out to sea. The trip should take about two weeks. Mark will be emailing me information about each day and I will then write the logs based on his information. So logs will be second-hand, but I’ll do my best to capture the progress.
by Judy Handley | Apr 28, 2013 | Little River, SC, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 176, Year 8: Return Home from Annapolis
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2013
Weather: Winds ESE 10, High Temp in Low 70’s degrees F
Location: Lightkeepers Marina in Coquina Harbor, Little River, SC
We arrived back at Lightkeepers around 3 pm and then started the race to get Windbird ready for her trek to Cape Cod. Since I will not be onboard for the trip, there are lots of things that I need to do before Mark, Lynda, and Lee sail out of here on Tuesday morning. A definite decision was made to not leave tomorrow (Monday) due to the forecast for rain. It could still be raining on Tuesday morning, but Mark plans to leave rain or shine. I will stay with Patsy and Joe on Tuesday night and then fly to Boston on Wednesday.
When we got home this afternoon we went straight to the supermarket to get the fresh food provisions—lettuce, baby spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery, peppers, broccoli, apples, bananas, potatoes, onions, milk, bread, and on and on. Then we went to see Patsy and Joe’s and I washed veggies until I was seeing green. There’s a little more shopping, laundry, and a little more baking to do tomorrow, but basically things are ready. Now if the weather will just cooperate, this show can get on the road . . . uh, rather the waterway.
by Judy Handley | Apr 27, 2013 | Little River, SC, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 175, Year 8: Barbara Jane
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2013
Weather: Winds ESE 8-10 (Little River), High Temp 70 degrees F
Location: RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads, Roanoke Rapids, NC
We’re on our way home from Annapolis and Lee and Lynda are not yet the proud owners of another boat. But they did find a boat that they both agree on and her name is Barbara Jane. She is an Island Packet 32 (1992) and all of us were amazed that the Island Packet 32 seemed to have almost the same amount of space as an older Island Packet 35 (1989). The Island Packet galley is perfect for Lynda, which was a major consideration, and certainly the Island Packet is a stable boat. They both fell absolutely in love with an almost new Island Packet Estero 36 (2010), but her price is $250,000—a little out of the price range. I’m not sure when they will decide whether or not to purchase Barbara Jane or look further, but we did make progress on this trip. Lee and Lynda know a lot more about what each of them really wants out of a boat.
Now our attention needs to turn back to the passage from Little River to Cape Cod. We will arrive home tomorrow afternoon, check the latest weather, and make a decision on whether or not Windbird will head north on Monday or Tuesday. The take-off time was set for 6:30 am on Monday, but the weather looks horrid at this point. If it still looks that way tomorrow, the take-off time will probably be changed to Tuesday morning. One way or another, there are lots of things to do, so we’ll hit the ground running when we get back to Little River tomorrow afternoon.
by Judy Handley | Apr 26, 2013 | Little River, SC, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 174, Year 8: Annapolis Spring Boat Show
Date: Friday, April 26, 2013
Weather: Winds E 10 (Little River), High Temp in the High 60’s
Location: Duncan Family Campground, Lothian, MD near Annapolis
It was a sailor’s day. We went to the Spring Annapolis Boat Show and looked at boats and looked at boats—and then looked at more boats. Then we met with a broker from the Annapolis Yacht Company and went to look at a couple of Island Packets at nearby boat yards. I had walked over to the Annapolis Yacht Company earlier in the morning to see if the ad for Renaissance 2000 was still in the window. It was and I also found out that a broker named Harold might be able to help Lee and Lynda look for a boat. By the way, Renaissance 2000 belongs to our friends Ken and Jean Powell from Canada whom we met as we sailed around the world. When they got home, they left Renaissance in Annapolis for sale and returned home to Canada. It ends up that Harold, the broker we met with, is the same broker that handles Ken and Jean’s boat. Lynda and Lee were looking at Island Packets today and tomorrow we will meet with Harold at 8 am and re-look at the boats we saw today and took at a couple of other boats. We are hopeful that Lee and Lynda might find boat that they would like to buy amongst the boats we looked at today. So we will look again tomorrow morning and boat or no boat, we will head home to Little River. We will probably go part of the way tomorrow and then reach home on mid-day on Sunday.
by Judy Handley | Apr 25, 2013 | Little River, SC, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 173, Year 8: Full Moon in Annapolis
Date: Thursday, April 25, 2013
Weather: Winds NE 13 (Little River), High Temp in the mid-60’s
Location: Duncan Family Campground, Lothian, MD near Annapolis
It was a long day on the road today, but we made it to the Annapolis area by 6:30 pm, got settled in the campground, and then went out to dinner. We drove here in Lee and Lynda Kaufman’s club cab truck pulling their Passport Ultra Lite travel trailer. Tonight we are staying in the travel trailer in a campground near Annapolis and tomorrow we will head into town for the Spring Boat Show. The trip was long but the dinner at the end of the day made it almost worth it. We drove from the campground out to the water to Herrington’s Marina and ate at Calypso Bay. It is a sport bar with an adjacent restaurant. The main entrance to the restaurant was closed for renovation, so we had to walk through the bar. Our expectations were lowered a bit, but not for long. Our waitress, Kim, originally from Jamaica, was great and the food was even better. I had my favorite, a Maryland crab cake, Mark and Lee had Ahi tuna, and Lynda had a pineapple hamburger. The food was fabulous. After dinner, I went to the restroom in the bar and on the return I saw the overhead sign which read, “The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.” And then we walked out and saw that beautiful full moon. Perfect ending to the day!
by Judy Handley | Apr 24, 2013 | Little River, SC, Sailing Logs Year 8 |
Day 172, Year 8: Fueled Up and Ready to Go
Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Weather: Winds ENE 10; Temp in the 70’s F—Sunny and Warm
Location: Lightkeepers Marina in Coquina Harbor, Little River, SC
Windbird is fueled up and ready for her trek to Cape Cod. But now she just needs to sit for a few days while we take a quick road trip to Annapolis with friends Lynda and Lee Kaufman. We leave at 7 am in the morning and will return on Saturday or Sunday. Lynda and Lee are looking for a sailboat to buy so we are heading to Annapolis for the second ever Annapolis Spring Boat Show. We have often gone to the fall show in Annapolis so it will be fun to see what is offered for the spring show. Then as soon as we return from Annapolis, we’ll do the final food shopping for the passage and Mark, Lee, and Lynda will be off for the two week trip on Windbird to Cape Cod. I will see them off on the dock on Monday and then I fly to Boston on Wednesday.
Tonight we had dinner at a kicky little restaurant on the waterway in Little River with Brian and Judy Thompson. The restaurant was called Key West Crazy and I’m sure the guy singing thinks he is really Jimmy Buffet. He was a definite sound-alike and we enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. We probably won’t see Brian and Judy again before we head north, so this was our farewell dinner. It is getting late now and we have to get up early, so it’s time to close and get to bed. Tomorrow’s log will be written once we reach Annapolis. Stay tuned for the ‘on the road’ adventure.
