Nov. 2-5 Into the Beaufort Town Docks, we motored at slack tide because there is alot of current by the docks. Docking is so much easier now and less stressful for me especially. We have been to this marina so many time that we know the dock hands by name and enjoy them. John had a few mechanical issues to deal with and get mechanics lined up so I went ashore and poked around town. It was John’s birthday the next day but our favorite restaurant was closed then so we went our first night. Another funky thing about this marina is their loaner cars which are early 1990’s vintage but they work for errands at the edge of town which is where the grocery stores are located. This year, ours was even adorned with a small rubber frog on the roof above the front windshield! Our last day, we were delayed from leaving by a package we needed. Down the dock came a cruising friend we hadn’t seen since the fall of 2007. At that time, he was building his trawler at the dock by his house in the Chesapeake. Now, he had finished the exterior and was almost finished with the interior. He and his wife were headed for the Bahamas for the winter. I love the kismet of the cruising world. If we had left on time or not been there that day, we would have never known they were on the move.
About 3pm, we left for Charleston, SC. The weather was glorious and the seas low. Overnight, we had a good moon and balmy temperatures which made for a delightful passage. It took all day to get to Charleston but the weather worked for us for once. Coming into Charleston in the main shipping channel any time is entertaining but at night it is more of a white knuckle ordeal. All the lights of the city combined with the aids to navigation take a while to sort out. Our AIS once again proved to be invaluable as many tankers and freighters were coming and going along with us. We felt like a mouse next to all of these lumbering elephants. John was trying to steer while I was trying to pick out the large slow moving objects in the distance from all of the lights. This gauntlet takes more than an hour but we finally pulled off the main channel into our smaller one and anchored across the harbor from the Battery part of Charleston.

Nov. 6-8 We have some friends who live in Charleston and with whom we haven’t connected with the last few visits. Our dinghy is always up on deck for passages so, unless we want to take it down or go into a marina, we don’t go ashore. Our friends came to the rescue and offered us a spot on their yacht club dock. We had the whole place to ourselves and a great view of the harbor to boot. They came for dinner and we all had a jolly evening.
The next morning, we slipped away bright and early because we wanted to get as far down the coast as possible, while we had calm weather. before stopping. It was a great day with even a few dolphins that came over to check us out. Not the large pods we have seen in the past but I’m not fussy! St. Catherine’s Sound, GA was as far as we got and we came in the Sound turned north and anchored off the southern end of Ossabaw Island right next to the ICW (Inter coastal Waterway). The moon was out and the stars in profusion. We made 102NM which was a good long way for us.
Today was sunny but with more wind and confused seas so we were glad we had gone all that way yesterday. As we were leaving the Sound, laughing gulls followed us off our stern thinking we were a fishing boat! They finally figured it out or got tired and left us alone. The channel in to St. Simon’s Island area was very choppy and we were surrounded by shrimp boats dragging their nets. Luckily they stayed out of the channel. It was like coming home pulling into Golden Isles Marina. We had left Windermere 54 here several times while we went home for the holidays. Coming in to the dock with 2 knots of current against us was a new adventure but we landed safely. We will stay here for 2 days because we want to see some old friends from Greenwich here and have them for dinner on board.

Oct 23-24 We are on the move again! Our favorite boatyard finally finished all of the repairs, maintenance and upgrades. They all came out to send us off (and make sure we didn’t hit anything!) The skies were gray but the weather settled for our 5 hour trip down to Fisher’s Island East Harbor. Coming in to Fisher’s Island Sound and on to our anchorage in the dark was a bit unnerving as we hadn’t rigged any night vision covers for our electronic charts. I went out on the deck and looked for buoys with our binoculars while John stared at the charts and slowly maneuvered the boat safely into the anchorage for the night. The next morning we made the short hop over to Skipper’s dock in Stonington Harbor. A good friend was there to take out lines. For most of the day, we rocked and rolled at the dock because there was a southerly wind and the harbor is exposed to the south. We were there to let our friends see the boat which many had not been able to do yet as it was in either Maine or Rhode Island for all of the summer. After the festivities, John and I had a nice quiet dinner at Skipper’s and went to bed early.

Oct. 25-28 Up early and off the dock with no problem. It is sure nice having a boat that maneuvers well in tight places. Down Long Island sound in nice conditions, we motored for the whole day. At about sundown, we anchored in Indian Harbor for the night. This boat has a new tool to us- an AIS system. As the system picks up any boat registered in the system (most large commercial boats and some pleasure boats like us) that are nearby, they show up on our electronic chart labeled by name, speed traveling, and direction traveling. This information is wonderful to have at our fingertips. To be able to call them by name on the radio, as they barrel down on you, and get a response is very reassuring especially in the dark on passage.
The next morning, we pulled into the dock at IHYC and settled in for a few day of showing the boat to friends and family. I am finally calm about coming into a dock! My mother and her nurse even came for dinner, a movie, and spent the night. My son, Chris, and his girlfriend drove over from Long Island and had lunch. John’s mother came too. He has been diagnosed with early prostate cancer and he spent all day Tues. in NYC having tests. We hope he can have treatment in the spring so we can be on the boat all winter in the Bahamas.

Oct. 29-31 After looking at the weather report for the mid atlantic area, we decided to try to go all the way from Greenwich to Beaufort, NC in one fell swoop. We left IHYC at about 9 am and motored down Long Island Sound, down the East River and our into NY Harbor with all of its hustle and bustle. Out the main shipping channel with a good tide and down the Jersey coast we went. By the next morning, we were off of the Delaware Bay area. The first day on any passage is spent constantly listening to things shifting and making noises and “battening the hatches”. We are still learning what objects need to be moved to safer locations. The seas were not bad but coming from several direction (confused). I learned warming even a simple pot of chili on a powerboat with no gimbaled stove or fiddles to keep the pots in place, is quite a challenge. Note to self: design some thing to help with this problem! It was nice to be warm and cozy and have a bed that we could sleep on sideways (boat was slightly rolling) that didn’t slip on its platform. The AIS worked like a dream the whole way. For the next 28 hours, the seas and wind were better. We had franks and beans (John’s favorite) for dinner. Around Hatteras, the seas got confused and choppy because it is shallower there. Also the northern edge of the Gulf Stream seemed to be closer in due to the south wind. For the last stretch to Beaufort, it was sunny but the going was slow due to the current against us from the Gulf Stream. We could tell we were in part of the stream because the water temperature went up to 78 degrees!. Finally around 2 am, we pulled into our anchorage by the coast guard station for Beaufort, NC. We had traveled 462.5 NM in 75 hours. To bed!

Another glorious day greeted us and the wind was blowing from a good direction for Mike and De to have a good sail up the bay. We follwed them and got some good photos of their boat in action. Pickering Island and its protected cove was our destination. After anchoring, an expedition was oragnized to hike through the dense woods on the island out to a point with a grand vista. We had invited some other sailing friends to join us for dinner and just by chance, they came by as we were enjoying the view. That night, we all enjoyed the clams for hors and seafood pasta for dinner.
The next two days, we explored the Castine area and dropped off our guests because it was time to head slowly home. The weather continued to be sunny and pleasant. We stopped overnight in Portland and some friends rowed out in their dinghy and brought dinner. We have connected with this younger couple in the Carribean, Bahamas, and Maine and always enjoy their company.
The weather now got rainy and windy and the seas were confused which made our trip down to Gloucester a bit rolly and uncomfortable. It was nice to be inside and have windshield wipers! Things kept rattling in their drawers, etc. and we had to “batten the hatches”. The toaster oven fell off the counter and was broken but was the only casualty. Gloucester was a welcome site with its big protected harbor where we anchored for the night. The next day, the ses were better and we made our way down to the Cape Cod Canal without incident. The tide was just right as we transited and John saw 10.3 knots for our speed at one point! The next day, we headed down Buzzards Bay and turned in the Sackonnet River heading for Barrington and our boatyard. There is a narrow spot up the river a ways and as we came to it, we noticed kayakers riding the waves caused by the outgoing tide. John safely navigated Windermere through this gauntlet and then under a bridge while dodging all of the little boats around us out for their Sunday cruises. His final moment of glory was docking the boat, for the first time, going sideways using our Z drive while the head of the yard was watching and waiting to take our lines. We got cheers from the other line takers.
Now Windermere will be at the boatyard for almost a month getting everything up to snuff for our trip to the Bahamas for the winter.