Hi faithful Bloggers,
Well this is the last day of our 5 month journey.We decided due to yesterday's experience that we would get up very early and head off.We didn't fancy a repeat performance of the wind and water conditions We got up and left at 6.45am. It was relatively calm and we watched a lovely sunrise as we left the dock.Fortunately the waves were about 1 to 2 feet and we had an easy trip to the West River.We docked into our slip at CYC around mid day.It was good to be back and catch up with our CYC buddies.Had a nice meal at the club that evening, farewelling a lovely couple who are moving to Wisconsin shortly.The club even gave our table a bottle of champagne so we could toast the happy couple off on their new adventure.
On reflection , we decided we really like this boating life style and could quite happily do this regularly.At least while money and health permits.
Thank you for sharing in our journey, we hope you have had fun doing it .We certainly did, and we felt very blessed!
Over and Out.
Erica and Graeme on the Lady Erica.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
6th April last stop before CYC
Hi Everyone,
Well this is our final marina before getting back to home base Shadyside ,West River.We decided to have one more round of 9 hole golf before leaving.The winds were up but we were hoping once underway they wouldn't be too strong.Well, we were wrong.This stretch to Solomon's Island took four hours of hard slog with waves around three feet or more especially where the Potomac Ricer joins The Chesapeake Bay.Lots of swell and chop and then a series of high waves where the boat would just slam down hard.Our coffee pot shattered and most of the items in the cupboards were rearranged.But we held on ,the boat plowed through it all steadily and we got into the Zahnisers Yacht Center Marina in Solmon's Island around 4 pm. We were rewarded with a lovely meal at the Dry Dock restaurant which is attached to the marina.We slept well after a difficult journey.
Over and Out
Well this is our final marina before getting back to home base Shadyside ,West River.We decided to have one more round of 9 hole golf before leaving.The winds were up but we were hoping once underway they wouldn't be too strong.Well, we were wrong.This stretch to Solomon's Island took four hours of hard slog with waves around three feet or more especially where the Potomac Ricer joins The Chesapeake Bay.Lots of swell and chop and then a series of high waves where the boat would just slam down hard.Our coffee pot shattered and most of the items in the cupboards were rearranged.But we held on ,the boat plowed through it all steadily and we got into the Zahnisers Yacht Center Marina in Solmon's Island around 4 pm. We were rewarded with a lovely meal at the Dry Dock restaurant which is attached to the marina.We slept well after a difficult journey.
Over and Out
Friday, April 6, 2012
Tides Inn 4 th &5 th April
Hi Everyone,
Well, before heading to Tides Inn , we decided to spend the morning exploring Norfolk and found it to be a lovely town with lots of interesting restaurants. .We headed back to the boat for lunch on board then departed at just after noon.The Chesapeake Bay waters were smooth and we had a good run up to Tides Inn in Irvington VA.On arrival we were thrilled to see new piers and floating docks.A real treat.Tides Inn marina is part of the the resort so you pay a daily fee here ontop of dock fees.For that you get use of kayaks and canoes, bicycles , free golf plus use of clubs on a fun little 9 hole course on the premises , free use of laundry facilities, a newspaper delivered to your boat each morning and of course there are two lovely restaurants and a lawn area which overlooks the river where you can have drinks and watch the sun set.
On arrival we also couldn't help but notice the large Westport ship docked here called Boardwalk. it has been the talk of the town as a local guy is the captain of this 165' vessel. We got to park right next to it. Lots of crew on board who spend hours cleaning the ship.Got to talk to a nice young South African girl who was enjoying the new cruising lifestyle on Boardwalk.
We ate in the restaurant in the evening and enjoyed some delicious local fried oysters.Yummy!
Next day we decided to try out the golf course practicing our new swing we were taught in Hilton Head. must say I am happy to have my old swing style back and Graeme looks so much more fluid when he swings .So here's hoping we can get back to golf together again!
In the afternoon we rode the bicycles down to the little town of Irvington. Two lovely boutique shops there ! One for ladies The Dandelion and one for men Jimmy Sook ( the names of crabs Jimmy male and Sook female) Came back , and I tried out the kayak.We then turned on the Masters golf and watched TV til 6pm. Had dinner on board and a nice relaxing evening.
Over and Out.
Well, before heading to Tides Inn , we decided to spend the morning exploring Norfolk and found it to be a lovely town with lots of interesting restaurants. .We headed back to the boat for lunch on board then departed at just after noon.The Chesapeake Bay waters were smooth and we had a good run up to Tides Inn in Irvington VA.On arrival we were thrilled to see new piers and floating docks.A real treat.Tides Inn marina is part of the the resort so you pay a daily fee here ontop of dock fees.For that you get use of kayaks and canoes, bicycles , free golf plus use of clubs on a fun little 9 hole course on the premises , free use of laundry facilities, a newspaper delivered to your boat each morning and of course there are two lovely restaurants and a lawn area which overlooks the river where you can have drinks and watch the sun set.
On arrival we also couldn't help but notice the large Westport ship docked here called Boardwalk. it has been the talk of the town as a local guy is the captain of this 165' vessel. We got to park right next to it. Lots of crew on board who spend hours cleaning the ship.Got to talk to a nice young South African girl who was enjoying the new cruising lifestyle on Boardwalk.
We ate in the restaurant in the evening and enjoyed some delicious local fried oysters.Yummy!
Next day we decided to try out the golf course practicing our new swing we were taught in Hilton Head. must say I am happy to have my old swing style back and Graeme looks so much more fluid when he swings .So here's hoping we can get back to golf together again!
In the afternoon we rode the bicycles down to the little town of Irvington. Two lovely boutique shops there ! One for ladies The Dandelion and one for men Jimmy Sook ( the names of crabs Jimmy male and Sook female) Came back , and I tried out the kayak.We then turned on the Masters golf and watched TV til 6pm. Had dinner on board and a nice relaxing evening.
Over and Out.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
April 3 rd Early Start
Hi All,
Well today is our big journey as we needed to get to Norfolk this evening so Jean and Gene could get back to their home .A total of 135 miles on the ICW our longest yet in one day!
We did depart at 6.45 am.The sun had just come up and it was a glorious morning.Water was calm and still and a gentle mist was rising on the surface of the water. A fishing boat which had been docked in front of us at the Bellhaven marina had left just 10 mins earlier than us also bound for Norfolk. so we followed them all the way including a stop for fuel at Coinjock in NC .Coinjock had been our original stop had we not got stuck in Bellhaven the second night.It sits right on the ICW a long face ( side dock)and is purely a place to park for the night, fuel up and eat at its little restaurant.We saw lots of Osprey nesting on the way usually at the bouy markers. They mate for life so presumably come back to the same nesting spot.They fly up from their winter spots in South America around mid march .We crossed through into Virginia territory and approached Great Bridge area with its one lock and the crazy bridge openings which open on this hour or half hour.I.E this meant we traveled very slowly in between each bridge ( not so bad if you are a sailboat going 6 Kts ) but three bridges were only 3 miles apart and you have 1 hour to travel that distance!The last bridge we had been told was 11" height , but then the lock master told us it was 17" After some research we found the bridge height was infact 15 " .If we didn't go under this one , we would be caught waiting for 2 and 1/2 hours! So we calculated we had about 6 " to spare if we did not count the antenna, and decided to risk it. Made for a scary moment but we made it allowing the whippy anntenna to bend just under the bridge.The other boat we had been following and another boat that had joined us on the way ,did not have the same luxury and had to wait it out. We arrived into Waterside marina in Norfolk at 5pm. Jean and Gene headed north in a rental car and we spent the night having dinner on board after a drink in the cockpit watching the sun set . Relaxing evening with some TV watching and then bed.Along day but very pleasant. It was such fun having our friends on board for this journey and confirmed to us why we did such a crazy thing and bought this new Sabre 48
so soon after our new Sabre 40.The 48 is so much more suitable for two couples.
Over and Out on the Lady Erica.
Well today is our big journey as we needed to get to Norfolk this evening so Jean and Gene could get back to their home .A total of 135 miles on the ICW our longest yet in one day!
We did depart at 6.45 am.The sun had just come up and it was a glorious morning.Water was calm and still and a gentle mist was rising on the surface of the water. A fishing boat which had been docked in front of us at the Bellhaven marina had left just 10 mins earlier than us also bound for Norfolk. so we followed them all the way including a stop for fuel at Coinjock in NC .Coinjock had been our original stop had we not got stuck in Bellhaven the second night.It sits right on the ICW a long face ( side dock)and is purely a place to park for the night, fuel up and eat at its little restaurant.We saw lots of Osprey nesting on the way usually at the bouy markers. They mate for life so presumably come back to the same nesting spot.They fly up from their winter spots in South America around mid march .We crossed through into Virginia territory and approached Great Bridge area with its one lock and the crazy bridge openings which open on this hour or half hour.I.E this meant we traveled very slowly in between each bridge ( not so bad if you are a sailboat going 6 Kts ) but three bridges were only 3 miles apart and you have 1 hour to travel that distance!The last bridge we had been told was 11" height , but then the lock master told us it was 17" After some research we found the bridge height was infact 15 " .If we didn't go under this one , we would be caught waiting for 2 and 1/2 hours! So we calculated we had about 6 " to spare if we did not count the antenna, and decided to risk it. Made for a scary moment but we made it allowing the whippy anntenna to bend just under the bridge.The other boat we had been following and another boat that had joined us on the way ,did not have the same luxury and had to wait it out. We arrived into Waterside marina in Norfolk at 5pm. Jean and Gene headed north in a rental car and we spent the night having dinner on board after a drink in the cockpit watching the sun set . Relaxing evening with some TV watching and then bed.Along day but very pleasant. It was such fun having our friends on board for this journey and confirmed to us why we did such a crazy thing and bought this new Sabre 48
so soon after our new Sabre 40.The 48 is so much more suitable for two couples.
Over and Out on the Lady Erica.
April 2 nd Still in Belhaven
H Bloggers
Well after checking the weather forecast and seeing the large American flag outside our boat window flapping strongly in the breeze, we realized we would not be going today .The conformation was a call to the Alligator bridge we had to go under was closed. This is the only bridge to my knowledge on the ICW that does not open for traffic when the winds reach a certain speed.Ironically there was another marina near this bridge ( about 21/2 hours drive away for us)but it was just north of the bridge and we were south of it . So we were stuck here for another day but it didn't really bother us too much. Jean and Gene did a "recky " ( check out) of the town to see if perhaps we could get dinner out as it was Monday .Well that wasn't good .However we did end up going for lunch at the local cafe. Meat and two veg cooked by 3 ladies out the back in the kitchen.In fact it was quite good. Jean and I checked out the Pharmacy and bought some items including our dessert called Mud pies wrapped up in cellophane.Kind of marshmallow sandwich covered in chocolate. Graeme was already thinking about dinner so Brenda took the guys to the supermarket 2 and 1/2 miles away and guess what we were in for ,more salad and spaghetti sauce! Jean and I relaxed reading and then later the guys did the whole meal and served it. The ladies did the dishes.The sunset was spectacular this evening .Such a treat to see it from the boat.
We had an early night as we were going to be leaving really early in the morning Before 7 am!
Over and Out
Well after checking the weather forecast and seeing the large American flag outside our boat window flapping strongly in the breeze, we realized we would not be going today .The conformation was a call to the Alligator bridge we had to go under was closed. This is the only bridge to my knowledge on the ICW that does not open for traffic when the winds reach a certain speed.Ironically there was another marina near this bridge ( about 21/2 hours drive away for us)but it was just north of the bridge and we were south of it . So we were stuck here for another day but it didn't really bother us too much. Jean and Gene did a "recky " ( check out) of the town to see if perhaps we could get dinner out as it was Monday .Well that wasn't good .However we did end up going for lunch at the local cafe. Meat and two veg cooked by 3 ladies out the back in the kitchen.In fact it was quite good. Jean and I checked out the Pharmacy and bought some items including our dessert called Mud pies wrapped up in cellophane.Kind of marshmallow sandwich covered in chocolate. Graeme was already thinking about dinner so Brenda took the guys to the supermarket 2 and 1/2 miles away and guess what we were in for ,more salad and spaghetti sauce! Jean and I relaxed reading and then later the guys did the whole meal and served it. The ladies did the dishes.The sunset was spectacular this evening .Such a treat to see it from the boat.
We had an early night as we were going to be leaving really early in the morning Before 7 am!
Over and Out
First of April: April Fools Day
Hi Everyone,
Well you had probably thought I had given up on blogging! No April Fool on board except Graeme.He got an email from a couple at CYC who were changing slips today They said a new member was in their new slip Graeme had just assigned them.Poor Graeme was fooled into believing the note and was busy scrambling in his mind who was this new member and how he was going to solved this issue. Anyway they fessed up so all was well!Hope you all fared Ok with this day and with no surprises!
Anyway back to the journey North.
We departed New Bern at around 11 am as we were able to go to a Palm Sunday service at an Episcopal church in town. Jean and Gene enjoyed it and found the liturgy very similar to their Catholic service. Stopped on the way back to the boat at the locals bakery and coffee shop with wonderful homemade cinnamon buns.Bad but delicious!
We had a good trip on the ICW and arrived at the Belhaven Marina around 3 pm.Time wise that is a very comfortable journey for us.The marina is small and run very efficiently by a married couple.They live on the premises in a big RV (caravan) which sits on a manicured lawn and has a lovely garden and gazebo.Brenda has an artistic flair which was evident when we went to the bathrooms . The ladies room was decorated in a sea and fishes theme in fact you felt like you were under the water ,so many fish adorned the walls.The men's room was full of 2 nd World War posters and letters. It was all tastefully done and a real surprise.We wandered into the town of Belhaven .Not much going on.I fact we were told the restaurants close on a Sunday at 2 pm after church! We did find ask Ace hardware store with all sorts of interesting things to buy Graeme even found a bottle of North Carolina wine for sale which he bought to try.Fortunately I had bought some backup meals on board and we had a wonderful salad followed by a great spaghetti and meat sauce done Italian style. We sat eating dinner watching the sun set and couldn't have been happier!
Over and Out on the Lady Erica
Well you had probably thought I had given up on blogging! No April Fool on board except Graeme.He got an email from a couple at CYC who were changing slips today They said a new member was in their new slip Graeme had just assigned them.Poor Graeme was fooled into believing the note and was busy scrambling in his mind who was this new member and how he was going to solved this issue. Anyway they fessed up so all was well!Hope you all fared Ok with this day and with no surprises!
Anyway back to the journey North.
We departed New Bern at around 11 am as we were able to go to a Palm Sunday service at an Episcopal church in town. Jean and Gene enjoyed it and found the liturgy very similar to their Catholic service. Stopped on the way back to the boat at the locals bakery and coffee shop with wonderful homemade cinnamon buns.Bad but delicious!
We had a good trip on the ICW and arrived at the Belhaven Marina around 3 pm.Time wise that is a very comfortable journey for us.The marina is small and run very efficiently by a married couple.They live on the premises in a big RV (caravan) which sits on a manicured lawn and has a lovely garden and gazebo.Brenda has an artistic flair which was evident when we went to the bathrooms . The ladies room was decorated in a sea and fishes theme in fact you felt like you were under the water ,so many fish adorned the walls.The men's room was full of 2 nd World War posters and letters. It was all tastefully done and a real surprise.We wandered into the town of Belhaven .Not much going on.I fact we were told the restaurants close on a Sunday at 2 pm after church! We did find ask Ace hardware store with all sorts of interesting things to buy Graeme even found a bottle of North Carolina wine for sale which he bought to try.Fortunately I had bought some backup meals on board and we had a wonderful salad followed by a great spaghetti and meat sauce done Italian style. We sat eating dinner watching the sun set and couldn't have been happier!
Over and Out on the Lady Erica
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Last Day of March
Hi Y'all,
We departed 10am heading for New Bern, NC.We have friends Bill and Caroline who live there but still keep their boat on West dock at CYC.We last saw them at CYC in November and hatched the plan to met up in North Carolina.After passing Morehead City on the ICW we turned inland and up into the Neuse river ,reputed to be the widest river in USA at its mouth.We made the 1.30 hours off the ICW up to New Bern.We docked at the New Bern Grand Marina.After docking we had a call from Bill who picked us up for a tour of the town then Jean and I went out to see their lovely home with a dock in a community with a water area called a hurricane hole.Supposted to be very sheltered. Later in the early evening Caroline and Bill came n board for drinks bring with them freshly fried oysters .They were delicious ! We went out for dinner at Persimmons a local restaurant which served great fresh fish and even NZ lamb!These southerners like NZ food it seems!It was a lovely time catching up with friends and well worth the deviation!
Over and Out.
We departed 10am heading for New Bern, NC.We have friends Bill and Caroline who live there but still keep their boat on West dock at CYC.We last saw them at CYC in November and hatched the plan to met up in North Carolina.After passing Morehead City on the ICW we turned inland and up into the Neuse river ,reputed to be the widest river in USA at its mouth.We made the 1.30 hours off the ICW up to New Bern.We docked at the New Bern Grand Marina.After docking we had a call from Bill who picked us up for a tour of the town then Jean and I went out to see their lovely home with a dock in a community with a water area called a hurricane hole.Supposted to be very sheltered. Later in the early evening Caroline and Bill came n board for drinks bring with them freshly fried oysters .They were delicious ! We went out for dinner at Persimmons a local restaurant which served great fresh fish and even NZ lamb!These southerners like NZ food it seems!It was a lovely time catching up with friends and well worth the deviation!
Over and Out.
March 30th onwards north
Hi everybody,
Initially Seas and wind direction looked good with predicted following winds, but on heading out into the ocean it was the dreaded NE wind and they were stronger than expected. So once agin we decided that 4 hours of bumping along was not a great idea and we headed back inland to the ICW. Easy trip up but as as we were going slower ,we decided to dock at Swansboro instead of Beaufort ( remember this one is pronunced Bowfort )We found a nice little Marina close to the historic town of Swansboro.It was run my a family grandmother and two grandsons . The guys hosed down the boat and Jean and I set off for Piggly Wiggly supermarket.Saw lots of evidence of military families living here , buzz haircuts gave it away!
Started the evening with the usual cocktails and then headed off to the historic part of town where the action was.The restaurant we chose the Ice House had a wait time for a table of over an hour so decided to eat at the Italian Restaurant .Gene and I had the NZ mussels and yes they were the green lipped ones. Again lots of old houses in the town , more modest than some of the other southern towns we have seen, but very quaint.Back on the boat we sat round chatting and discussing the world's problems. I think Gene and Jean are finding that this trip by boat is seductive after all , just like we did!
Over and Out
Initially Seas and wind direction looked good with predicted following winds, but on heading out into the ocean it was the dreaded NE wind and they were stronger than expected. So once agin we decided that 4 hours of bumping along was not a great idea and we headed back inland to the ICW. Easy trip up but as as we were going slower ,we decided to dock at Swansboro instead of Beaufort ( remember this one is pronunced Bowfort )We found a nice little Marina close to the historic town of Swansboro.It was run my a family grandmother and two grandsons . The guys hosed down the boat and Jean and I set off for Piggly Wiggly supermarket.Saw lots of evidence of military families living here , buzz haircuts gave it away!
Started the evening with the usual cocktails and then headed off to the historic part of town where the action was.The restaurant we chose the Ice House had a wait time for a table of over an hour so decided to eat at the Italian Restaurant .Gene and I had the NZ mussels and yes they were the green lipped ones. Again lots of old houses in the town , more modest than some of the other southern towns we have seen, but very quaint.Back on the boat we sat round chatting and discussing the world's problems. I think Gene and Jean are finding that this trip by boat is seductive after all , just like we did!
Over and Out
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