Jim and Pat: Plan B

First things first, we have made it safely back to St James Marina in Southport, NC.
When last we wrote we were at the Osprey Marina on the Wacamaw River heading north, but we never did fill you in on our adventures in Charleston. Here are a few images of our tour of the city.

As you would expect there were many restored buildings and churches

One interesting point that our tour guide gave us was the difference between a grave yard and a cemetery. A grave yard is next to a church.

You could only be buried in the grave yard here if you were a native of Charleston. One story started with a young wife from the city dying and being buried in the church yard shown above, but her husband the Governor was not from Charleston. When it was his time, he was be buried across the street in the cemetery. Who knew?


James noticed a lot of cool bars with inventive names.


The town is cut in two by Broad St. So you are either Slightly North of Broad or South. This makes you a SNOB or SOB. Apparently in the social structure you want to be a SOB.

After a day of touring we returned to the boat to prep for guests. The crew of S/V Veranda stopped by in Charleston but we missed them. To Bill and Christy we hope your travels south are safe and we look forward to meeting you somewhere down the road. Keep on cruising.


Bob and Ann arrive for an overnight stay. After a nice visit and a final dinner with Jerry and Sue, we left the next morning for our trip back north


Waving goodbye on a beautiful morning. (Thanks Bob, we didn't have pictures of us underway)


Leaving the marina and turning right.

We had great weather for traveling (see previous post for the beginning of our trip back). After leaving the Osprey Marina we headed up to North Myrtle Beach to a little place called Cricket Cove marina. At the outer dock where we tied up the depth was 6 ft. That is how deep we are at the keel. After "kissing the bottom" on the way in we finally made it to the dock. We were sitting in the mud during low tide. While the marina got a good write up in the guide, we could have done with a little more of their reported depth.

At "O dark 30" the next morning we got the engine stared and left for the final push to Southport. We had to get through three inlets that have very shallow depth and were racing a falling tide. Of course our beautiful weather was gone and fog/rain showed up to make our day a bit more interesting. With the wind coming dead on our nose with gusts at 15 to 20 knots we were little cold to say the least.

With my foul weather gear on and Pat under a ton of fleece, we rounded mile marker 315 at around noon and were tied to the dock in St. James Marina by 1230. It was a sad homecoming and not the place we planned to be. We unloaded some clothes and food and headed for the house.

After settling in a bit and unloading more stuff to the house, we thought some trip planning was in order. Pat used her "Harry Potter like" powers to scour the internet for deals on travel. After a few hours she found us 6 days at Disney World in Orlando so we can visit my mom. After that there is a cruise ship headed to the Bahamas for four days. At the least we can say we made it to the Bahamas by boat. Then there is the killer airfare to Europe that we can't pass up. We think some time backpacking Germany, France and Austria would do us well. Although, the 24 day trip to the Caribbean and South America sounds kind of fun. Which one?? So many choices, so little time.

Over the next few weeks we will be working with the electrician and Raymarine repair folks on the boat issues. Before that drama begins, we decided that a retreat to the Outer Banks to Bob and Ann's place for Christmas was needed. There was a wifi connection that needed a workout and a hot tub that needed testing. It is good to have friends.


Pat and Bob testing out the hot tub. It passed!

We have to be back to St James by the 27th. The movers are delivering the final shipment of household goods for the parents. We have a number of our land things in the truck, but honestly haven't missed any of it over the last few months. OK that is a lie, there are the golf clubs. Poor planning on my part to say the least. Pat has retrieved her paint sets from the boat and is looking for subjects to paint everyday. I think that gnome in the yard is in serious trouble.

We just had a Christmas dinner of roast lamb with gratin potatoes, sugar carrots and asparagus. Not your traditional Christmas dinner but then again we are kind of playing things by ear these days. It really is a nice way to live your life.

Everyone out there have a wonderful holiday and keep yourselves warm and safe and dry.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

JT and Pat

Jim: Rhyme or Reason?

We have been at this for a while now and have the lay of the land, but our arrival in Charleston was something new. We traveled to the Isle of Palms just north of Charleston in a rain storm with under 50 feet of viz in dense fog. I got to practice my radar plotting, but won't miss if I never did that again.

While in town Jerry and his wife Sue took fabulous care of us. They had a warm bed and a great washing machine. Did I mention them taking us to a bar named "Reds"? We toured the town learning all the history of Charleston. Thanks so much you two, it was a great time. You really know how to make a couple welcome.

Bob and Ann also came to town and stayed for the night. We caught up and after many G & T's we all went to dinner at a local place. Thanks for the good conversation and the Guardian Angel.

As for the trip in general, we have the following problems:
- The autopilot is a traitor and has a habit of taking over the steering when we don't want him too.
- It is the middle of December and we are only in South Carolina.
- We have a couple of really bad electrical problems that are going to need some serious work to solve.

Our considerations: we need to fix a couple of the show stoppers before we go on and we need a safe port to leave the boat while we have the work done. We need to have transportation and a place to live. We need to take a real vacation and get ourselves in some nice warm water. Time to make the call. Yep, you guessed it. We are heading north.

The marina at St. James has a slip we can rent. My truck is there. Pat's moms house is there. We can fix the problems and leave the boat as we travel. We headed out of Isle of Palms on Sunday and turned right to the north. It was a tough choice, but we think it is the right thing to do.

We anchored in a Minim Creek (MM 415) last night and tonight we are at a the Osprey Marina (MM 373) just south of Myrtle Beach. The cable is plugged in, the shore power is kicking, and Pat has full WIFI coverage. This is kind of like a vacation.

Now we are looking at traveling around a little and seeing some sights. I need some warm water and a Spanish accent. Pat would like to do some painting in exotic locations. We are going on "walk about" and the world is calling us. Life is kind of funny out here on the open road. Lucky for us, we can bend to meet the flow.

Still no sign of Elvis, but we are looking.

JT

Jim: Pit stop in the sea of grass

The view out our window is a sea of grass the likes of which would make the Everglades jealous. We stopped just north of Charleston for the evening. There is a nice channel behind us that has a steady flow of shrimp boats returning home.


The vast sea of grass.

We stayed last night in beautiful little Thoroughfare creek at mile marker 388 on the ICW. We awoke this morning to a light mist and only one other boat in sight. I believe it was about 25' long and of course it was from Canada. The gent on board the "Black Dog" seemed like a nice fellow and he anchored about 100 yards aft of us. He left just before we pulled anchor.

Thoroughfare creek in the morning.

As we headed south the sunshine was a nice change to the recent cold snap. We made our way down to 22 miles north of Charleston and thought we would stop for the night. We are at anchor down in "Five Fathom Creek". The current is about one knot and the dolphins are cruising the point looking for their next meal. Have to love those little guys.

Tomorrow we should arrive in North Charleston at the Isle of Palms Marina. We had a autopilot failure today and we have a guy coming to look at it in the afternoon.

As to the questions and comments on the last few posts, here goes some random thoughts.

For Larry, the bikes we have are Port Runners from West Marine and they work well. They had a very nice write up in Practical Sailor a few months ago. We enjoy them a lot and will add a few pictures when we can.

For Angus that is just a little behind us on the ICW, I am a Renegade too and my call sign is Reallybadeggs. We will be at the Isle of Palms Marina through Sunday. If you are in the area drop by for a drink.

For Joe and Sarah, when they say that cruising is fixing your boat in exotic locations, "they" weren't kidding. More on that later.

For John, the adventure never seems to end, especially that boat maintenance part. We haven't found Elvis yet, but are hopeful

For Ann, please bring that guardian angel and rum!

Finally, Jerry we can't wait for the rescue.

Cheers.

Pat: Update from the Water

We are in a beautiful anchorage on Thoroughfare Creek off the ICW at N36 57.163 W76 18.580. Should be in Charleston late on Wednesday afternoon.

Jim: The Helios Frostbite Tour 2006!!!

Ok, I know we are not breaking any records with our trip south, but this really nice couple passed us on the ICW yesterday:


She seemed a little pushy to me.

The state of North Carolina is holding us hostage. After a week and a half in Southport we were ready to head south. The alternator problem had been solved and the engine tested. Wednesday morning I put "old blue" back in the storage lot and rode my way-cool folding bike the three miles to the marina. Once aboard we disconnect everything and headed out. About 50 yards from the slip, the alternator starts to sound like someone is strangling a cat. A quick check of the engine room reveals the alternator is eating itself. I think to myself, its ok, we can fix it later. No one will notice the ear splitting screeching. Right? Pat gives me the look and we returned to the slip. She really is a good communicator.
We almost got away. DAMN YOU ALTERNATOR GODS!!!

I call Pedro, the terrific boat repair guy that we met and I tell him to come get this %$#$*^& alternator and fix, replace, or exorcise the damn demons out of it so we can get along with our "RELAXING VACATION".

Meanwhile, in the background I see Pat is on-line looking up airfare prices to Aruba. Not a good sign. I think the wife may jump ship. Need to take quick action. How about a day off with some sight seeing and dinner Honey? She agrees. I need a plan. On my bike, back to the truck...

On Friday the parents show up to visit their new house. A family reunion commences and we have a nice weekend. On Saturday night I cooked dinner with a big red wine and we watch "Pirates of the Caribbean II". The alternator is fixed (AGAIN) and we will set out on Sunday for points south. Things are looking up.

Did I mention that the temperature outside last night was 27 degrees. That is a five year low in Southport. As a matter of fact, it is the coldest year that the Southeast Coast has seen in many years. People are freezing in St. Thomas. It is cold in Key West. Dogs and cats are sleeping together. MAN!!! We pulled out this morning with about 1/8" of frost on the boat. No screeching. No smoke. Not sinking. Wife is still aboard and still believes I am a good sailor. WHEW, that was close.


today's date written in the frost.


Dan in the cockpit with the frost on the windows.

We had a nice day motoring down the ICW and we arrived in North Mrytle Beach at a marina named "Dock Holidays". Did I mention that we had a little victory dance when we hit the border. At last we are finally in a state with the word "South" in the title. We plugged in the boat and kicked on the heaters. You see my friends, old Helios has two reverse flow heater/air conditioners on board. I didn't install them, but I am taking full credit. So we kicked them on and the cabin is about 300 degrees right now. I think Pat is going to grow ferns. The marina also had cable TV so we are watching 87 channels of stuff. We decided that this is a vacation and we are going to have max-comfort from here on down.

My lovely bride is sitting over on the other settee with no blankets. She looks comfortable. She is actually not wearing three pairs of socks. This is a good sign.

Tomorrow we get another step closer to Charleston, SC. We have friends there, plus some other friends (Bob and Ann) are coming to visit. I guess they got tired of waiting for us to be in the islands and are settling for SC. So tune in everyone for more interesting adventures of Pat and Jim, two hobbits that must return the ring to Mount... Oh well, you get the picture.

If anyone in the Wilmington NC area needs boat work done, I have to give a big recommendation to Pedro Cordero of Unlimited Boat Services. (910) 231-0837 or Unlimitedboat@aol.com He is the owner. He and his son Pedro Jr. did a great job of killing the evil demons that were living in our alternator. He also put up with all my stupid questions. He knows his way around boats and makes a hell of a good Paella. Thanks Pedro for the help and the lunch. We will see you in the spring.

Cheers,

Pat: Another View II

Tomorrow Team Helios is leaving the warm comfort of St James Plantation, to head down the coast. Before we left I thought you might like to see more pictures of our life on the ICW.


Just like with the bed we have staked out our sides of the boat. This is "my" view from the starboard side.



Just south of Wrightsville Beach the porpoises came to visit.


Here is the sign to the St James Marina. We had been waiting for this moment since Norfolk.


After getting the boat put to bed it was Miller time. 007 has nothing on my man!

There is bad weather forecast for tomorrow night (of course), so we should be making an early day of it in Myrtle Beach, SC. We will let you know how it goes.

Enjoy

Pat: A Vacation from Travel?

Have you wondered what we do when we aren't sailing? Well the great thing about having a boat is that when you aren't sailing you are fixing.

We have taken the last week to finally connect the propane to the oven so we can cook on something other than the Coleman stove, install our water filtration system for the drinking water and stop the squealing alternator belts. We put all the ceiling tiles back up that needed to be down while we were waiting to "fix" things and lightened the boat of all the extras. The extras included clothes, pots, glassware, linens, and all manner of nicknacks. We dumped at least a couple of hundred pounds of stuff at the parents house. At the same time we brought off anything that could be washed to really break in their new washing machine. I washed down the sides of the boat to remove all the black streaks we accumulated. This job involves standing in the dingy with a brush on an long pole, a pail of soap and a hose. It is one of my favorites! Also washed down the deck and topsides and polished the stainless fittings. Oh yes, I almost forgot that we put a new coat of paint on the dinghy to keep away the bottom growth.

We did take some time for non-boating activities. We went and saw the new 007 movie, two thumbs up. We also received a much needed care package from Larry with the episodes of Heroes that we had missed, getting us ready for tonight. Thanks Larry, we have a reason to live until January.

Now that all that is done the boat is much more comfortable to continue the next part of our travels. It is time to move on, but when? It is Monday night and we are sitting next to the fireplace with a cup of warm cocoa. We would like to make Charleston, SC by this weekend, but I have a cold coming on so we may sit for a bit.. That is the great part about this whole adventure, we are in charge. I told James that it is an anniversary of sorts for me, I have not seen a powerpoint slide in a month. Instead I watched James put new strings on the guitar and it seems he can still remember some of his favorite songs. Life could be a lot worse.

UPDATE: Found some bandwidth and have uploaded pictures of our completed projects. To get a clearer look, just click on the pictures to view at full size.




James looking very happy that the "to do" list in the galley is done.
For those following along at home, we have installed a Technautics DC Fridge (new compressor and coldplate), a Whale water system with accumulator and new collapsible water bladders (140 gallons), a Seagull X-1F water purifier, faucets and a new propane box, regulators and hose run to the stove.


The deck and sides are clean for the first time in 500 miles. Nothing special here except we have been very happy with Collinite's Metal Wax for maintaining the stainless. Expensive, but worth it.

Hope all are well and life is good.

Enjoy

Jim: Belhaven to St. James Plantation NC

We arrived at the St James Plantation Marina around 1230 on Monday 27 November. A big milestone on our journey.

We stayed an extra day for Thanksgiving at the Dowry Creek Marina due to the weather still being nasty. Ted and Mary, the owners, always have a big turkey day dinner for the cruisers that are staying for the holiday, so we thought we would share in the feast. It was an interesting crowd. We had the a 35' sailboat from Canada named "Mysterious Ways" with two adults, two kids; the 37' sailboat "Contented Turtle" with two adults, one kid, two cats, one dog; the 57' Motortrawler "True Romance" with Richard from Texas; and even a little 26' trawler "S.S. Digby". The Digby was a couple in their mid-sixties that were driving to Annapolis to trade in for a bigger boat of the same make. There were also folks from the local area that always attend the meal. If was a nice thing for the folks that were away from home. Thanks Ted, Mary, and Michelle for your hospitality.

After leaving Belhaven we proceded down the ditch to Swansboro NC. It was a great little town right off of highway 24. We stayed at a marina called Caspers. Nice facilities with the whole town within walking distance. Met a gent onboard "Sundancer" that introduced himself as Crazy John from Mississippi. I was going to say I was Black Jim and Curley Haired Pat was in the head, but I thought that the joke would be lost. John turned out to be quite a character with a boat that was also designed by Ted Brewer. He was on his way back to Ole Miss. Solo.
We had dinner in town at the "Ice House" and retired early.

Dawn came and we were on our way. The day ended in Wrightville, NC. A pretty good size town with a surprising number of power boats. It was a surprise to see that many people in a little town on the Carolina coast. We stayed at a the Dockside marina. Two dollars a foot and there was no restroom. Interesting.

The next day took us down the Cape Fear River and finally to Southport. Along the way we finally had our first dolphin sighting. There were at least four schools of Bottlenose dolphins just playing in the channel and saying hello as we passed. Pat got some nice pictures, but our bandwidth is a little low, so we can't do any pictures at this time. St. James Plantation was just a few more miles up the river and was the destination that we were longing to reach. Now we could have a little downtime at Pat's parents house while doing some work on the boat. By 5 pm that night we had taken baths in the hot tub and were wearing our pajamas. It was a nice change.

The plan is to lighten up the boat with unused stuff, do a little maintainance, wash the boat, and head south for Charleston. Of course, there is a new Bond movie to see and a super Walmart just up the road. And once again, did I mention there is a hot tub?

Thats it for now. Cheers,

Pat: Another View

Well the weather didn't cooperate and we are spending one more night at the marina in Belhaven. Fog, rain and a cold wind in the 40's made the decision easy. Since I have the time, thought I would upload a few pictures to give a sense of our days on the water.


A buoy is the start of the Intercoastal Waterway...Another milestone met


Bridges open with a simple call on the VHF...Big power for a little boat


Leaving on cold morning...Notice who is driving


Sailing across the Albemarle Sound...Beautiful, but 46 degrees


Reading on the deck at anchor...Doesn't this look fun!

You may ask what have we learned so far on this adventure? Patience, specifically that Mother Nature rules and we will go on her schedule, not ours.

Enjoy.

Jim: Norfolk to Belhaven, NC

I would like to start with a few definitions.
Gale: A wind of 32–63 mph
Storm: A heavy fall of rain, snow, or hail with high wind greater than a gale.
Northeaster: A strong Northeast wind, a storm with Northeast winds.

We untied the lines and left Norfolk in our wake on Friday the 17th. After surviving 2 gale-force storms at Norfolk we wanted to get south in a hurry. Brad came down to the pier to see us off. Thanks Brad for letting us use your house and car for the week. Your berth on board for New Years is in the book.


Saying goodbye to Brad.

We made it across Norfolk harbor and into the Inter-coastal waterway (ICW). Mile marker zero is right off of downtown Norfolk. Norfolk is the home of the USS Wisconsin. Battleships tend to make you feel a little small.


USS Wisconsin

Twelve miles down the ICW is Great Bridge. After requesting a number of bridge openings, around bends, under more bridges and through the locks we pulled into the Atlantic Yacht Basin for the night. We had a nice dinner at the Locks View restaurant and went to bed early.


The Lock closes at Great Bridge.

Up the next day and more traveling. We went through the Virginia Cut for 10 hours to land at the Coinjock Marina. The place was deserted until around dusk. Then no less than 10 big fishing boats pull in and tied up. It was an interesting crowd. They have a little restaurant there but we opted for Apple sausages in red sauce over rice. Early to bed as usual. We find it strange that now we get up with the sun and tend to go to sleep when it gets dark. We have turned into our grandparents.

After taking on fuel and water, we crossed the Albemarle Sound to the Alligator river. I didn't see a single alligator, but I'm sure they call it that for a good reason. Through the Alligator river bridge and down to the bottom we dropped the anchor off of Tuckahoe Point in about 9 feet of water. Since we draw 6 feet, we were pretty safe. Dinner was grilled chicken with Sweet pepper sauce over rice with green beans. Nothing like dinner on the hook while the sun sets.


Chicken on the grill.

We upped anchor on a chilly morning and blazed through the North Carolina cut to the Pungo river. Just up the river is a nice little place called the Dowry Creek Marina. Ted and his wife Mary run the place. Ted was out doubling up lines because, wait...wait for it, there is another gale expected tonight. And for those of you that are keeping score, that makes 3 gales in a two week period. It figures that we would head south on the year that has record cold and rain. This gale was going to be the worst yet. It could even turn into a storm. So, we tied everything down and put over many lines and waited. At 0600 on the 22nd, the wind hit 40 knots with gusts to 50. Two sailboats just down from us lost their forward sails and a lot of awnings were torn too. We didn't get any damage due to the fact that I was on deck from 0600 to 0900 in my foul weather gear. That was fun. It was the "old man and the sea" show.

The forecast is for good weather tomorrow, so we will head out at dawn to continue our trek south. Thanksgiving will be a nice meal on the anchor. Maybe some turkey salad on chips. Our new goal is Southport, NC by Tuesday. Cross your fingers that the weather holds.

Jim: Down the Chesapeake to Norfolk

We have arrived at our first major destination. We reached Norfolk Naval Marina at 1330 on Saturday the 11th. On our way down the Chesapeake we had little wind for sailing. The good part of this is we also had little waves for motoring. It was a great passage of approximately 170nm.


It is weird being the biggest boat in the marina.

Now for a look at our voyage. We had just rounded our home channel marker and headed out on day one when we passed the sailing ship "Pride of Baltimore II". It was ghosting along at about 2 knots and looking beautiful. I was a little worried about the cannons aimed at us, but we made it by without incident.


Pride of Baltimore II

The scenery in the Chesapeake is incredible. Every morning we would wake to a beautiful sunrise and a hot cup of coffee. Not too shabby.


Sunrise at Mill Creek off the Great Wicomico



Sunrise at Chissem Creek off the Poquoson River

As we passed through the Norfolk shipping channel, Pat got her first taste of sitting next to a bazillion ton ship going 30 knots.


Big boys play here.

After the container ships passed, another type of Big Boy came around the corner. The USS Wasp was coming up the channel to complete a 10 month cruise. The boys were all in their dress blues manning the rails for the docking. I remember doing that about a million times. We always hated it, but it does look pretty cool for the shore crowd.


See the little figures on the rails?


She is just a small carrier, imagine the big ones.

No major equipment issues so far. We did realize that we had seriously underestimated our need for Internet usage. Without Internet access, the ship's Chief Meteorologist (Pat) didn't have the tools to give us a proper weather update. On Sunday the 12th, a surprise storm overtook Norfolk. Lucky for us we were tied to the dock with all lines doubled up. The wind blew at 25 to 30 knots constant with gust to 50 knots. I was down on the boat for about 2 hours when the storm was at its worst. Even in the marina, it was a heck of a blow. I don't want to scare you but I did manage to take this picture of a ship that I saw out in the storm.


I sure hope those folks are OK. It was called the "TI" something, I couldn't make out the name.

We hunkered down at my buddy Brad's house and he lent us a car for our errands. The first thing we bought was a Verizon WiFi card to follow the weather more closely. That's our excuse. And what good is a new card without a new laptop. The on-board weather station now consists of a Toshiba with WiFi card and all-you-can-eat Internet access. This should also make it easier to update the blog. So now we have more computing ability then the Apollo space program.

We plan to leave the area on Friday and head into the Inter-coastal Waterway (ICW). The reason for the long stay is that another big storm is projected to hit us on Wednesday night and continue until Friday morning. Being the ships Chief Coward, I convinced the rest of the crew that sitting next to a dock in big winds is a lot better then sitting in some cove with two anchors out and lines tied to trees. "I learned that in Rehab" :-) The fact that Brad has a hot tub had nothing to do with our decision. Honest!

Cheers to all,

J & P

Pat: From Dawn to Dusk

Great weather so we used all the daylight we could and made ~50 miles. Spent the night at N 37 11.00 W76 25.00 on the Poquoson River. Should be in Norfolk tomorrow and have WiFi for a longer post with pictures. Enjoy.

Pat: Moving Again

We had a great day on the water and are anchored at N 37 47.55 W76 19.50 Mill Creek on the Great Wicomico. Good weather is forecast, so another adventure tomorrow. Enjoy.

Pat: Fog and Rain

We decided to stay put and wait out the weather. Will move on in the morning. Tune in tomorrow to find were we make it to. Enjoy.

Pat: We can update our position from the phone

This is a test update of the blog from our phone. We are headed to Patuxent Naval Base. For those mapping geeks (you know who you are): N 38 17.6 W 76 26.9.

Jim: Sitting on the launch pad with our helmets fastened

Sunday is done and another stray WiFi signal has found us. We made our road trip to North Carolina and "Old Blue" is safe in his locked compound. If was an emotional time for us, leaving our land yacht behind. After a fifteen hour drive down and back we stayed the night at Larry's house. Thanks a million Larry for taking a little road trip with us.


Giving Blue a final hug.

After the night at Larry's, Kevin loaned us his Volvo to continue with the outfitting of the boat. We had the car from Sunday until Saturday and put over 400 miles on her. She was a great ride and we have an "evil clockwork plan" to steal it upon our return. Don't tell Kevin. :-) Kevin, Lisa, Larry and his daughter came down on Saturday to buy us a farewell meal and retrieve the car. As they pulled out of the marina lot, we realized that another milestone had been reached. We have no land vehicles. No house, no storage, nothing holding us back. Yikes, we are out of excuses. This is getting scary.

The final projects are getting completed. The new boat davits are installed. The new refrigerator is installed and working. The forward cabin is ready for any guest that comes our way. The aft cabin is all set up with cushions, memory foam, and a heating blanket that Pat has fallen madly in love with. I have named the blanket Roberto, due to it's country of origin and I am keeping an eye on it. We don't want this to turn into one of those great Mexican soap operas where Selma Hayek was discovered. Pat runs off with the blanket as soon as we reach Key West. Lucky for me it can't cook and it damn sure can't navigate :-).

The final bill on the last minute steering repairs came to around 3.5 boat units. Thanks again to Richard at MTS for the fast fix. You are the man. We started to tie everything down and checked the engine and generator. The food is stored. The booze is stored. The clothes are stored. The aft head is leaking. WHAT!!! Just a small leak and it is not a show stopper. We wanted to leave on Monday the 6th, but Tuesday is going to be the day. Then we can have everything secure in its place. With any luck, we can make Mill Creek on Tuesday and Norfolk by Friday. We can visit Brad and hit the military supermarket. Gotta love cheap food.

This morning I used our new form of transportation to retrieve a paper, breakfast, and some chocolate. Folding bikes rule!!!


Have milk crate, will travel.

So that is where we stand. We have another day of stowage and last minute fixes. My lovely wife is currently watching a PBS special on our 13 inch TV while laying on the starboard settee with "Roberto" keeping her warm. Watch yourself Roberto. When we hit Key West and the sun is warm you will be cast aside like a program at a Neal Diamond concert. OK, I'm may be being a little dramatic. But a man has to watch out for his Boo.




Cheers to all,

James

Jim: Did someone speed up the clock?

Hello to All,

Have found a stray WiFi signal, so here is the latest.

We finally got out of our apartment on the 14th. To help the moving process along, we broke down and rented a 5 x 10 store-it space close to the boat. It gives us a chance to go through things one (or two) more times to decide what stays and what gets onto the boat.

After moving out, we found ourselves homeless. Lucky for us, our friend Dewey was having his 50th birthday bash for the whole weekend. His wife Jody found us a nice bed in the basement and we lived there for the next three days. The party was a great time, with a fire pit, fireworks and plenty of food and alcohol. There was a report of a drunk guy dancing around a field with a boat flare in each hand, but I don't remember seeing that. :-)
Thanks so much Jody and Dewey, we had a terrific time.

It was time to get serious about making the boat ready and so we moved into a room at the Marina Inn. That way we could work on the boat during the day and not have to get everything back into shape to live on her in the evening. I did the finishing touches to the water system and we filled the tanks. With the water system up, we hooked up the toilets and just like that the boat was once again habitable. Progress!!

We moved out of the room on Friday morning to get ready for, you guessed it, another party. But this time it was for us. After working anywhere between 12 to 16 hours a day for a week, we needed a little break. We were being thrown a Bon Voyage Party by our friend Laurie and along with the party came an invitation to stay the night.

Laurie went all out with a margarita machine, keg of beer, silly hats and more food then we could eat in a week. Our friends showed up in force to wish us well. It really was a blast to see everyone and tell them of our plans. My friend Brad from Norfolk came up to attend and ended up staying on Laurie's couch.


Thanks Laurie for everything, your vacation on the boat is ready whenever you can get there. And thanks to everyone for coming to the party. You are the best friends anyone could hope for.

On Sunday, after dropping Brad off at the airport it was back to the boat. We checked back into the Inn and got to work. We prepped the back deck for the new davits and I filled in old davit holes with epoxy and cut pieces of starboard for davits bases. Pat started the varnish project in the cockpit and we continued to pack the boat with our cloths, blankets, spare parts...

On Thursday, Richard from MTS came down to do our check ride and set up the new electronics. This is the first time Helios has been out of the slip since August. Half way through the trial, the engine died. I dropped the anchor and dived into the engine room to trouble shoot. After switching fuel tanks and fuel filters, I bleed the fuel line and the engine was running again in about 10 minutes. WHEW!!! That was fun. Then autopilot was having trouble turning the boat. Richard determined that we needed a bypass valve to keep the hydraulics happy. It looks like it will be about a 2 boat unit fix. (For those of you that don't know, a boat unit is $1000. It sounds so much better) Also during the check ride, the wind speed indicator stopped working. That is about a 1.1 boat unit fix. Good thing we have a secret stash of gold buried in the sand down by the boat. Now where did I hide that treasure map?

All in all it is going well. We have paired down about four times now and we still have a lot. As the song goes, "Times are tough and I got too much stuff".

This weekend we are taking the big blue truck down to North Carolina to store it in a lot by Pat's parents new house. Old Blue will have a nice winter nap while we are away.

Until next time, we will keep our eye out for Elvis and doing the finishing touches to the boat.

Pat: Prep, Prep and More Prep

The last two weeks have been busy with moving out of our land home and onto the boat, plus the continuing upgrades and fixes needed before we leave. James finished the water system this week and I worked on the teak in the cockpit and on the deck. This week we hope to get the new davits installed and start to provision. We still are planning on leaving November 1st, that is if we can get everything done!

Pat: Nine Inch Nails as a cure for separation anxiety

Day two of my leave of absence and I spent it cataloging important papers. Felt just like work.

Friday was my last day of paid work and I was overwhelmed with nervous energy. It was surreal to think about not working when I have had a job continuously since 14. The only thing for it was rock music played as loud as I could stand. Picture a frazzled woman with iPod ear buds firmly attached, listening to Nine Inch Nails while moving amongst the unsuspecting suits. (Elvis just wouldn't do in this situation)

My Assistant Linda did a fantastic job planning a going away party at lunch to give the day that bittersweet tinge. Tiki lights, parrots and hula dancers lined the conference room along with the call from all in attendance for "Fair Winds and Following Seas".

When the day was done it hit me that we were finally leaving on this adventure.


If we can get everything packed that is....

Enjoy

Pat: Getting rid of...well everything

For the last month we have been getting rid of or storing everything we own. I had thought this would lead to a sense of liberation, but knew I was wrong when it was time to sell my car.

Yes, my Mini Cooper needed to be sold.

Now I have never really been a car person, but five years ago I saw an ad in a magazine for the new Mini and had to have one. After a 9 month wait, I owned the 16th car sold in the area. I added a hula dancer to the dash and it was more than 4 years of car bliss.

I don't know if we can plan on what "things" will be important to us. I know that family and friends are first, but I can now say that a car can be a close second.

So last week, with TIKI42 license plates in hand, I actually waved goodbye as she turned the corner. I guess I will need to start reading car magazines again.

D Day is getting closer and closer.

Enjoy.