A victory at sea moment

For the past several days since we arrived in St Augustine we've been working doing boat chores to fix things we found or that happened on our shakedown cruise along with stuff we didn't do in Oxford because it was cold. The weather since we've been here has been highs around or above 70 during the day with lows about 40. But mostly it has been about learning to really live in the cruising lifestyle. While we've lived aboard since June we were transitioning to the boat, then outfitting the new boat in a hurry to get out before cold weather and now that we are here the rest of our life begins now.

In our cruise from Cherry Point to Beaufort before heading offshore some issues developed that we thought should be examined before heading offshore. So, we pulled into a slip at Beaufort Docks for a night and worked them. In the morning after a pumpout we were satisfied that we could head out and anything at that point could be addressed in warmer climes.

We left the dock at Beaufort about 0945 Friday morning the 12th of December and just outside the channel we raised the sails and shut down the engine. Winds were blowing 15-20 with gusts in the mid-20's from the NW. We quickly gained speed and were cruising in the 8 kt range. Coming out of the Beaufort channel we set a course of 234 to a waypoint just past the Frying Pan Shoals off the Cape Fear a distance of about 95 nm.

Once we raised the sails and doused the engine we had that victory at sea moment. The great feeling that we were now on our way with the wind as our engine was doused and we were off to the future. Feeling the power of the wind and successfully achieving all we've done to get here. The feeling is sort of a Master and Commander or Captain Ron event when moving forward knowing that the enterprise is the result of all your own efforts and skill. Anyone can get in a craft, turn on an engine and go. It is far more difficult to evaluate the craft, outfit it properly and sail it skillfully to achieve the optimum result. When the sails fill and 35,000 lbs of boat are sliding across the water at maximum speed there is a great sense of satisfaction and achievement.

The picture above is shortly after we left Beaufort and the sails filled. During that first leg we caught up to and passed about 6 other sailboats who were on the same course. While IP's will never win a race around the buoys, on an open ocean an IP will provide a fast comfortable cruise with the security  of enjoying creature comforts to make the trip fun. We also passed 2 Navy ships that were conducting live fire exercises off Camp LeJeune

We initially sailed the leg with full sail using all of our primary sails. Around dusk the winds seemed to increase and I pulled in part of the jib and we continued with a full main, full staysail and reefed jib. We were able to keep up speed and made our waypoint in about 12 hrs. Our next leg was about 270 nm at 228 degrees so we adjusted course and worked our way through the night.

The sun came up off the coast of South Carolina and as the sun rose the wind died. About an hour or so we went back to the engine as the wind had come off too much and we motored on. Somewhere during the late morning the engine began to gasp and I knew it was time to change fuel filters. So I pulled out the sails, shut down the engine and changed the filters underway. After completing the filter change we tried to sail but the wind died off and we reengaged the engine that would eventually run for the remainder of the trip.

More to follow

We made it to St. Augustine!

We did it! The two of us completed an approximate 400 nautical mile offshore passage from Beaufort, NC to St. Augustine, FL. We sailed out of Beaufort with a favorable breeze Friday morning the 12th. Amekaya sails quite well! We were really screaming until Saturday morning.  The wind started to diminish so we ended up motoring most of the rest of the way. I was concerned about staying awake during my evening watch but surprised myself by finding myself very alert and taking a much longer shift than expected - 12am-5am. It's breathtaking to see the sunrise and sunset over the ocean. The moonrise is incredible as well. It really doesn't matter what time the clock says. Time is measured by the sun, moon and the stars.

Shortly before our approach to St. Augustine we were greeted by a large school of dolphins swimming around the boat in a flat sea. We arrived in St. Augustine last night about 6:30pm after navigating the hazardous inlet successfully.  We decided to rent a slip at Camachee Cove Marina for a few days - maybe a week to resolve several boat issues that developed during our passage. There are no safety issues unless the fact that these issues are driving me crazy may be hazardous to my well being counts:) I'm sure there will be more about these issues from Maris in a later post. So today we worked on some issues. Won't know if the major one is resolve until it's tested tomorrow. Hopefully it will all be resolved by the end of the week and we can enjoy St. Augustine. The weather has been beautiful! Nothing but sunshine! It's great to be in shorts and tee shirt weather again!

Morning dawned with rain clouds on the horizon. Red sky in the morning sailor take warning. That old adage is really true and comes from pre-Biblical times. It is true because the moisture in the atmosphere refracting the suns light give the red appearance. Some of the worst weather I've ever seen came after red sunrises.

We left the anchorage a bit later than we wanted but still before sunrise. The ominous looking clouds were a precursor to what was coming. For the next few hours we had drizzle, rain, showers and fog but none was so bad as to sow us down.We had sufficient visibility to continue on. We passed 6 other boats also heading our way.

By noontime we were near our destination and heading for Oriental to get fuel.

We got out of Oriental shorty before 1400 and motored on to Hancock Creek at Cherry Point. We found the channel and got to the dock at Cherry Point about 1515 and tied to. Bad weather was in the forecast for the next several days so we made sure everything was secure and then I rinsed her off to clean the salt that had accumuated from our trip down the Bay.

Shortly after we arrived my son and his family arrived to see the boat and then we went off with them to their house for dinner. Our young grand daughter Abby stayed over with us on the boat and Sunday morning we made pancakes for breakfast.

Here are Linda and Abby enjoying Papa's pancakes in the cockpit.


  

Quiet night with a nearly full moon

Well here we are at the anchorage with a nice almost full-moon glistening on the water. Linda is working on another wonderful dinner. Tonight a tempe stir-fry. We need to make tonight another early night to get out early again in the morning.

Should be able to pull out about 630 in the morning. When doing the ICW travel in daylight is the rule so last week I made an almanac of celestial information. I believe we can safely travel from the beginning of morning civil twilight to the end of evening civil twilight. There are 3 phases of the sun that have significance for nautical operations. The very first light of day is the beginning of morning nautical twilight. That is the true crack of dawn. The next is beginning morning civil twilight. Civil twilight is when there is enough light to see what’s going on but no direct light. Then finally is sunrise when the sun comes over the horizon. Sundown and evening have the same events.

So at this time of year there is about 11 hours of useable daylight. Considering that we can travel about 8 miles per hour achieving 80+ miles a day is reasonable if there are no stoppages like bridges or closings. We should have no problem making it to Cherry Point tomorrow afternoon in daylight from where we are. We will probably go into Oriental for fuel and a pump out before going on.

Shortly after we got the anchor down and straightened up the moon came over the horizon. It was nearly full as Saturday night is full moon.

We made signifcant improvements to the boat for living in it

We are enjoying the improvements we made to the boat over the past several months. Our improvements were divided into 3 classes. First was to fix issues caused by the previous owner, second was to add electronics and safety features standard to most cruising boats and third add the amenities we wanted.

We had the boat trucked to Oxford from Racine, Wisconsin where we purchased it. The first day after it arrived I removed the old davits from the stern, removed the name and cleaned out all the lockers. I then removed the deck hardware to refinish the teak and rebed it all. This gave me the opportunity to really learn the boat and ultimately improve the appearance by refurbishing the teak from years of neglect. I remember the first night on the boat. It smelled and was full of bugs particularly spiders. So when I left for the first weekend I set off several insect bombs and I came back Monday to far fewer inhabitants.

We completed numerous power projects. We added a Northern Lights 5kw generator, a D400 wind generator, 4-85 kw solar panels and the necessary controllers and regulators to manage the power. To expand our storage capability we increased the house battery bank from 4 to 6 AGM 100 AH batteries. Our intention is to be self-sufficient with power. The wind and solar should keep our batteries charged to run everything we need. There already was a 130kw solar panel on the boat. Our generator is for when there are a string of cloudy windless days and to run our HVAC system when needed. Hopefully that won’t be often but I expect the first year we’re around the US we may need it often. Once we go offshore hopefully not as much. Additionally, we replaced the alternator on the engine because it wasn’t working so we should be able to sell power back to the grid! J  Also replaced all the lights with LED’s so the power demand is cut to a fraction. 

We added electronics since the boat lacked them. It did have an old chart plotter that we retired to the Nav station to be a repeater and had to update software to do that. We replaced it with a Garmin 810 that has all sorts of cool sailing software that we haven’t a clue how to use (but will figure out).We had to add an auto pilot (believe it or not there was none). We also had to add wind instruments (imagine a sailboat without wind instruments), depth sounder (guess you don’t worry about depth in the Great Lakes), speed and a complete NMEA 2k backbone to network everything together. Amenities we added were a stereo system and a 32’ HD TV. We replaced the TV antenna with a Glomex model which pulls in tons of stations. There also were no DC outlets in the boat so we added 3. The 2 we added in the cabin were duplex so there is a cigarette lighter plug type on top and 2 USB chargers on the bottom so we can recharge phones without turning on the inverter which we also had to replace because the previous owner didn’t have it wired in correctly. We also replaced the GFCI electrical outlets because they didn’t work. As a result of all this the electrical panels were completely rewired linking circuits together on busses and fusing everything Also forget we added cabin fans since there really weren’t any

In addition to refinishing the teak we had the hull and deck compounded and waxed to replace the oxidation caused by being stored outside in Wisconsin winters for many years. But the big outside addition was changing the color from brass to toast. We replaced the cover for the hard top that was frayed with a new cover and also replaced the panels with hard stratiglas that gives us full visibility and lots of headroom under the dodger. We added a bimini (which the boat did not have) and a full cockpit enclosure so that when we are in cold or wet weather we can stay comfortable. With the sun the cockpit becomes a sun room even on cold days. We are also getting screens to keep bugs out where they are a problem. We also purchased and attached a teak cockpit table and drink holder to replace the fiberglass ones that were on the boat.

For the engine we did a routine 1000 service but there was an overheating issue when we bought the boat. The previous owner had the adjustable Vari-prop greatly overpitched and as a result the engine couldn’t reach max RPM. When running at the top end the engine overheated so we repitched the prop and did a trial and the engine overheated. We removed the heat exchanger and it was covered with residue of old anti-freeze and an acid bath did not remove it. After some research I suggested a bath in acetone and that removed the residue and so far the engine has run great.

We updated the sail plan and rigging. When we did the sea trial on our boat the previous owner had a head sail that did not fit. Hard to tell how he ever sailed but the boat was not rigged correctly when we did the sea trial. So, when we restepped the mast we ensured it was. We also replaced all the running rigging with no stretch halyards and very low stretch sheets. We also added a whisker pole to the mast where there wasn’t. We also found that the mast was never attached properly. There is a stud that goes through the deck collar and the mast to unify them and that was missing. In fact, the mast was not even drilled. So we drilled that and inserted the pin. We also added sheaves and clutches to expand the capability for controlling the rig.

We also replaced the ground tackle which was relatively non-existent. For the primary anchor we replaced the 45# Danforth with a 73# Rocna. We found 300’ of 3/8” chain in a locker so I attached that to the rocna and attached 200’ of rode to that giving me 500’ of primary anchor that should work in any situation. For the secondary there was a 45’ CQR in a locker that I put on 30’ of chain and a 250’ rode. The previous owner had a 35’ Danforth anchor that I attached to his previous primary rode of 10’ of chain and 220’ of line. So we now have 3  anchoring options that should exceed any requirement.

I also stripped, cleaned and greased all the winches since they were really difficult to turn.

We also scrapped the previous owner’s inflatable dinghy that had no motor. We purchased a used 2011 AB dinghy with a 2 stroke 9.9 Mercury outboard engine. After that we found a Yamaha 15 hp 2 stroke that is the envy of every long-term cruiser. So we have 2 engines in case 1 gets stolen or damaged.

In addition to general and thorough cleaning and repairing I think that is the sum of our updates. It was a lot of work and I’m glad it’s over. But, I have a list of things to continue working. Since this our home we want it to be the way we want it.

The final version after all the improvements sitting at the dock at Cherry Point, NC.

The Second Day

We are now motoring through the Alligator River-Pungo River canal. This isn’t a real-time post because there is no cell service and probably won’t be until we get to the Neuse River. Hard to believe that there are actually places without cell service. So despite all the advertising, nobody is everywhere.

It is still hard to believe that we are actually underway and that this is the real beginning to the rest of our lives together. Is still hasn’t fully sunk in that we don’t have to return to go to work or that today is Friday and there is a weekend coming. That this trip will just go on. Part of the reason for the lack of revelation is that the last year was so eventful with fixing up the houses, selling them, buying a boat and trying to sell our other one. Not to mention the last several months of working on the new boat. We transformed this boat into what will be for us a very comfortable long-term home.

The past 48 hours have been hectic, enjoyable, daunting and underwhelming for such a dramatic beginning. For several hours after we left Oxford the wind was passive so we elected to motor. I also wanted to be sure we made it to Norfolk by Thursday morning to avoid bad weather coming in, the cold and to get to Cherry Point to see my grandkids. We motored through the night and with the benefit of the main sail, strong northerly winds and steep following seas we crossed the Hampton Bridge-Tunnel at Norfolk before 0600 in darkness and got into the Elizabeth River as day was dawning. We made it from Oxford to Hampton in less than 15 hours. But not without an issue.

Several hours after we left while we were navigating around a barge I noticed the engine seemed to be running rough but we kept on hoping that it clear itself or reveal the problem. We thought about pulling in somewhere but that would set us back a day probably and bad weather is coming. The engine continued acting like it was gasping for fuel and I realized I could not accelerate anymore so I guessed that the fuel filters were getting clogged since the previous owner had very old fuel in the system. At that point we discussed and agreed to press on to Norfolk and we could sail if we had to and then call Towboat US if necessary. Well, the motor labored on losing power until we stopped in Portsmouth and tied up to a dock where I changed the filters and we were off on our way.

So, instead of making the first opening after rush hour at Gilmnerton we were an hour behind. We made it through the lock and bridges in the Tidewater area and sprinted to Coinjock, NC making it just after 1700. And just before dark. We made it from Oxford, MD to Coinjock, NC in 26 hours.

Last night at Coinjock Linda made a really nice pasta dinner and salad that we enjoyed with a celebratory bottle of wine and after cleaning up fell asleep on the couch from the 2 days of traveling. During the night on the Bay neither of us really got any sleep with the slalom sailing and the engine issue plus it was cold. We started out with the generator on and a heater in the cockpit but once it got rough we had to stop the generator. It might have run off the inverter but I didn’t want to burn it out.

Tonight we plan to anchor in the Pungo River and then on to Cherry Point tomorrow. Motoring today was pretty uneventful although traveling is challenging many places in the ICW because the channel is not very wide and the consequences of getting outside are severe. The marks aren’t always in the deep water. Coming down through Currituck Sound yesterday we almost had to find the channel by feeling. Out in the Albemarle Sound this morning we tended to drift a bit as the wind and current blew us off course so we constantly needed to correct our heading.

The ICW is challenging and it helps to have experience before venturing into it. But, of course the only way to get experience is actually doing it. Lots of people just do it and get into trouble. Lots of people just do it and do ok. If you don’t have a schedule it can really be fun. When we took our 380 south we had a schedule both ways because we were working. Our only schedule now is to stay ahead of the cold.

Motoring down the Alligator River in NC

We did it. We actually did it. We got underway today at about 1515 and we are now passing the Potomac.

We had hoped that if everything fell into place that we could get out by 3 PM today so that we could be in Norfolk for the post rush-hour bridge openings. And things fell into place. We were able to get our work done and the canvas arrived as promised so we now have a full enclosure which is beautiful. We are sitting here inside our dark sun room. But, we have the generator running and a space heater going so even though it is cold outside it is comfortable in here.

We will share the duties through the night napping as we can and then plan to catch a good night's sleep tomorrow night in Coinjock, NC. We should be able to make it there by mid afternoon.

Leaving today seemed like such a normal event that its significance was overcome by the routine of getting the boat out of the slip. This was the culmination of years of planning and a solid year of work with several months of work by the guys at Oxford Boatyard and me. I will detail all the work that went on to document it and offer insight to anyone else who may want to follow.

We have now left on the trip of our lives and maybe for the rest of our lives. From here, it is where the wind blows. We have a few plans right now. Our first stop is Cherry Point, MCAS, NC to visit my son and his family, Then on to JAX Florida to drop stuff into our storage and then on to my daughter's in Orlando for Christmas. From there we go farther south and we plan to be in the Keys at Marathon to visit with some friends who will be there for 2 weeks in February at their timeshare.

After that? We'll see. But, we need to make it through the night.