We made it to Norfolk, Mile 0 on the ICW! It took us 9 days to come North vs. the 3 weeks to go South. Left the Coinjock Marina at 0745 and luckily made all the bridge openings to arrive before rush hour started. In the last 12 miles ICW there are 6 bridges and a lock to pass through. It made for a fast paced trip. The cold is really tough on us. We eat dinner and go to bed at dark. The wind burn has us both looking like Santa Clause with our rosey red cheeks.
Visiting our friend Brad tonight and of course doing laundry. I believe the hot tub is calling to James.
Tomorrow we are trying for Deltaville and on to the Solomon Islands on Wednesday before you guessed it the next storm. Otherwise we won't be back until Friday.
Enjoy,
J&P
4.09.2007
4.08.2007
Going North: Day 8
As we warmed up with a bowl of soup, Team Helios came to the realization that today was the most unpleasant of our trip. The weather forecaster must have been hitting the bottle pretty hard yesterday. He actually forecast 15 knots of wind with 2 foot seas on the Albemarle Sound. As we rode out the Sound with 20 knots, gusting to 30 and 4-5 foot seas we thought that maybe Joe Weatherman might want to rethink his forecast. It was rough. Oh and did I say cold, so very cold.
After a two and a half hour transit of the Sound we made our way to the Coinjock Marina at MM49. It really is a nice little place with everything the way it should be. We had lunch at the restaurant and then took care of our chores around the boat before settling in for the night.
During our little adventure today, we began to daydream about a cabin in the mountains with a puppy on our lap and a fire in the fireplace. It is all about the need for warmth.
So tomorrow we are off to Great Bridge, VA and then to Norfolk. Life on the ICW is going along as planned.
Cheers,
P&J
After a two and a half hour transit of the Sound we made our way to the Coinjock Marina at MM49. It really is a nice little place with everything the way it should be. We had lunch at the restaurant and then took care of our chores around the boat before settling in for the night.
During our little adventure today, we began to daydream about a cabin in the mountains with a puppy on our lap and a fire in the fireplace. It is all about the need for warmth.
So tomorrow we are off to Great Bridge, VA and then to Norfolk. Life on the ICW is going along as planned.
Cheers,
P&J
4.07.2007
Going North: Day 6 and 7
The forecast was for 30 knots on the Albemarle Sound with 4-5 ft seas and snow! Now we could ride out that kind of weather, but why would we want to? So we decided to stay at the Alligator River Marina for two nights. It is nice to be in charge sometimes.
We arrived yesterday afternoon after a 50 mile day including a trip up the Alligator Pungo River canal, affectionately known by Team Helios as the 21 mile very boring, canal of death. We only had to share this narrow channel of very shallow water with 10 power yachts, a crazy 50 mile per hour bass boat and one very large barge going in the opposite direction. We arrived in the Alligator River and made it through the swing bridge with little trouble. We had a nice boat named "Sleep Walker II" follow us up the river as we talked by VHF. They were from Canada had spent the winter in the Bahamas. We shared our local knowledge with them and they told us about a few nice anchorages in the area. That is the nice part of traveling by boat, it is a community of folks just trying to help each other out. Then it was into the 7 foot channel that lead to the marina.
It is a very windy Saturday afternoon and we have had an absolutely lazy day of movies and music. James had never seen "Rock Star" so we got in a bit of 80's hair band time. I also spent part of the day listening to the new Nine Inch Nails album, Year Zero, which has been streaming online for the past few days in advance of it's official release. Thumbnail review is that Trent Reznor is back on his game. Well worth your time.
After a couple of loads of laundry and very hot showers, we retired to the boat for some TV and a little reading. Tomorrow it is off to the next adventure in a lovely little place named Coinjock.
Cheers,
J & P
We arrived yesterday afternoon after a 50 mile day including a trip up the Alligator Pungo River canal, affectionately known by Team Helios as the 21 mile very boring, canal of death. We only had to share this narrow channel of very shallow water with 10 power yachts, a crazy 50 mile per hour bass boat and one very large barge going in the opposite direction. We arrived in the Alligator River and made it through the swing bridge with little trouble. We had a nice boat named "Sleep Walker II" follow us up the river as we talked by VHF. They were from Canada had spent the winter in the Bahamas. We shared our local knowledge with them and they told us about a few nice anchorages in the area. That is the nice part of traveling by boat, it is a community of folks just trying to help each other out. Then it was into the 7 foot channel that lead to the marina.
It is a very windy Saturday afternoon and we have had an absolutely lazy day of movies and music. James had never seen "Rock Star" so we got in a bit of 80's hair band time. I also spent part of the day listening to the new Nine Inch Nails album, Year Zero, which has been streaming online for the past few days in advance of it's official release. Thumbnail review is that Trent Reznor is back on his game. Well worth your time.
After a couple of loads of laundry and very hot showers, we retired to the boat for some TV and a little reading. Tomorrow it is off to the next adventure in a lovely little place named Coinjock.
Cheers,
J & P
4.05.2007
Going North: Day 4 and 5
We decided to stay in port at Oriental, NC for another day. The weather gurus at the Morehead City NWS forecasted that Wednesday would have both thunderstorms and winds in the 28 knot range. A good day to stay in port. The day of course turned out to be sunny and warm. So much so that James went for a swim in the afternoon. Gurus? We did take time to go for a bike ride into town and had ice cream at a place called “The Bean”. All in all a really nice relaxing day.
Today started out at 730 on a much colder morning. We made our way up the Neuse River, around the bend , through the cut and across the Pamlico River to Belhaven, NC. The seas were 3 to 4 feet high with 20 knot winds. Reminded us of our trip down. We stopped for the night at the Dowry Creek Marina. This is the same Marina where we spent Thanksgiving. After a nice dinner of Italian sausage and Jambalaya, we took ice cold showers (no hot water to be had) at the marina and watched CSI until bedtime. Just another day in the lives of a couple of sailors.
Tomorrow we head for the Alligator River and more open water. Fun, Fun, Fun.
Cheers,
J & P
Today started out at 730 on a much colder morning. We made our way up the Neuse River, around the bend , through the cut and across the Pamlico River to Belhaven, NC. The seas were 3 to 4 feet high with 20 knot winds. Reminded us of our trip down. We stopped for the night at the Dowry Creek Marina. This is the same Marina where we spent Thanksgiving. After a nice dinner of Italian sausage and Jambalaya, we took ice cold showers (no hot water to be had) at the marina and watched CSI until bedtime. Just another day in the lives of a couple of sailors.
Tomorrow we head for the Alligator River and more open water. Fun, Fun, Fun.
Cheers,
J & P
4.03.2007
Going North: Day 3
We made it into the lovely little Whittaker Creek Marina at MM180 before 2pm with little fuss. The creek is about a mile north of Oriental, NC. It was a little tricky to navigate the entrance channel since the low water mark is 7 feet. Just in case you forgot, we draw 6 feet. After tying up to the pier, we went about stowing the various charts, guide books, and downloaded papers that allow us to live such a care free lifestyle. If you have never done a water born journey, you would be surprised at the amount of prior planning that goes into moving you boat from point A to B. It can be a bit of a challenge.
While we have one way of cruising. we met a very interesting older gentleman today who definitely had his own style to living his dream. He pulled up to the fuel pier in a 22' sailboat that had seen some action. There were no sails visible on deck. There was a full sized bike lashed to the starboard rail and an outboard motor with the top cover gone and a lot of black electrical tape holding together his rather elaborate steering mechanism. He motored up to the pier and threw a line over the pylon with ease. This skipper could have taught Captain Ron a thing or two about sailing. After pouring a couple of gallons of gas into his tank he wandered over to us to ask directions. His first question was "Where is the Intercoastal Waterway and how do I go north on it from here"? Of course James invited him on board and started showing him all of our charts and navigation literature. He looked over what we had and said thanks. He then said as he left our boat that he needed to get to New Jersey soon to see some friends. With that he was back to his boat and on his way. Just another person that you meet in the world of sailing.
It really is amazing how little it takes to sail the world. I guess it is all about your perspective.
Cheers,
J & P
While we have one way of cruising. we met a very interesting older gentleman today who definitely had his own style to living his dream. He pulled up to the fuel pier in a 22' sailboat that had seen some action. There were no sails visible on deck. There was a full sized bike lashed to the starboard rail and an outboard motor with the top cover gone and a lot of black electrical tape holding together his rather elaborate steering mechanism. He motored up to the pier and threw a line over the pylon with ease. This skipper could have taught Captain Ron a thing or two about sailing. After pouring a couple of gallons of gas into his tank he wandered over to us to ask directions. His first question was "Where is the Intercoastal Waterway and how do I go north on it from here"? Of course James invited him on board and started showing him all of our charts and navigation literature. He looked over what we had and said thanks. He then said as he left our boat that he needed to get to New Jersey soon to see some friends. With that he was back to his boat and on his way. Just another person that you meet in the world of sailing.
It really is amazing how little it takes to sail the world. I guess it is all about your perspective.
Cheers,
J & P
4.02.2007
Going North: Day 2
Leaving the marina this morning we knew that we had an interesting day ahead of us. This particular stretch of the ICW is very shallow, lots of shoaling, possibly full of Marines shooting real bullets, swing bridges to wait for and of course crazy boaters. Not to mention tons of houses.
As we made our way through the first draw bridge of the day we knew we must be looking good because we got a standing ovation from the local critics.
On their feet cheering.
As we passed through the shallow stretch we hit a couple of spots with just about 6 inches under our keel. We could only hold our collective breath and continue on. Yikes. Next we found that the Marine Corps finest were out in numbers. We had F/A 18 Hornets dropping bombs on targets about a mile inland from us. On both sides of the waterway there were old tanks and APCs that had taken their share of bullets and a company of leathernecks preparing to assault them one more time. It was just another day on the water.
Now it is time to let you in on a favorite Team Helios boat game. House spotting. You cannot believe the variety.
There are little houses
Round houses
And of course, really silly houses.
We arrived at MM229, Casper's Marina and decided to call it a day. After mooring the boat up tight, we walked through the town of Swansboro and found dinner at the Gourmet Cafe. It was a beautiful night and there is no finer way to end a day then with a full moon over the water.
Swansboro in the pale moon light.
So that is day 2.
Cheers to all,
P & J
As we made our way through the first draw bridge of the day we knew we must be looking good because we got a standing ovation from the local critics.
On their feet cheering.
As we passed through the shallow stretch we hit a couple of spots with just about 6 inches under our keel. We could only hold our collective breath and continue on. Yikes. Next we found that the Marine Corps finest were out in numbers. We had F/A 18 Hornets dropping bombs on targets about a mile inland from us. On both sides of the waterway there were old tanks and APCs that had taken their share of bullets and a company of leathernecks preparing to assault them one more time. It was just another day on the water.
Now it is time to let you in on a favorite Team Helios boat game. House spotting. You cannot believe the variety.
There are little houses
Round houses
And of course, really silly houses.
We arrived at MM229, Casper's Marina and decided to call it a day. After mooring the boat up tight, we walked through the town of Swansboro and found dinner at the Gourmet Cafe. It was a beautiful night and there is no finer way to end a day then with a full moon over the water.
Swansboro in the pale moon light.
So that is day 2.
Cheers to all,
P & J
4.01.2007
Going North: Day 1
As we sit in the cockpit with a nice cold sundowner, a calm sense of accomplishment settles over Team Helios. Starting at mile marker 315 we dropped the lines at 0750 and motored North. After a nice drive up the Cape Fear River we headed through "Snows Cut" and into the coastal Intercoastal Waterway(ICW).
The new turbo charger worked like a champ and we made an average of 7 knots over the 7 hour sail. At mile marker 268 we stopped at the Harbor Village Marina. A nice place tucked into a cove off the ICW.
As fate would have it the sailboat that we were racing up the Cape Fear River is now docked behind us on the pier. According to one of the two guys aboard the navigator made a wrong turn and should have been going the same way we did. There was much ribbing going on. It is a newly bought boat and they are returning it to Annapolis. They seem to think that they are going to get there by Saturday. Good luck guys.
We are shooting for Morehead City tomorrow but we may stop sooner at Swansboro.
Only the tide will tell.
Cheers,
P & J
The new turbo charger worked like a champ and we made an average of 7 knots over the 7 hour sail. At mile marker 268 we stopped at the Harbor Village Marina. A nice place tucked into a cove off the ICW.
As fate would have it the sailboat that we were racing up the Cape Fear River is now docked behind us on the pier. According to one of the two guys aboard the navigator made a wrong turn and should have been going the same way we did. There was much ribbing going on. It is a newly bought boat and they are returning it to Annapolis. They seem to think that they are going to get there by Saturday. Good luck guys.
We are shooting for Morehead City tomorrow but we may stop sooner at Swansboro.
Only the tide will tell.
Cheers,
P & J
3.31.2007
Go North Young Boaters
Underway again,
Here we go. With the new exhaust installed and the turbo charger rebuilt, we are once again heading out on our epic voyage to points unknown. Well, not really unknown, just up the way a bit to the Chesapeake Bay. We figured that leaving on April Fools day was a great idea. That way if something goes wrong...it wasn't us.
The boat is packed, the fridge is full, the rum is loaded and we are all set. Tomorrow we will set sail for the beach side town of Wrightsville Beach, NC. With a weather forecast of morning sun followed by afternoon rain and the chance of thundershowers it sounds like our kind of day.
Cross your fingers out there. We hope to be in Norfolk within 10 days. Then we can take our time going up the bay. We should be able to post daily with at least our position information. You never know what young teenager has left his home wifi signal unlocked.
Until next time, good night and good luck.
P & J
Here we go. With the new exhaust installed and the turbo charger rebuilt, we are once again heading out on our epic voyage to points unknown. Well, not really unknown, just up the way a bit to the Chesapeake Bay. We figured that leaving on April Fools day was a great idea. That way if something goes wrong...it wasn't us.
The boat is packed, the fridge is full, the rum is loaded and we are all set. Tomorrow we will set sail for the beach side town of Wrightsville Beach, NC. With a weather forecast of morning sun followed by afternoon rain and the chance of thundershowers it sounds like our kind of day.
Cross your fingers out there. We hope to be in Norfolk within 10 days. Then we can take our time going up the bay. We should be able to post daily with at least our position information. You never know what young teenager has left his home wifi signal unlocked.
Until next time, good night and good luck.
P & J
3.21.2007
AC/DC said it best,,,
We're "looking for a truck". We are waiting for a part that will make it possible for us to start up the engine and point the bow north. James asked our boat guy Pedro to please point out the person he had to sleep with to get this part faster and he replied that a rather large, hairy truck driver would be a good start. The jury is still out on that one.
So meanwhile back at the ranch, we have turned into every working persons dream; Slackers that sleep until 10; then play on the computer until lunch. After that, there is usually a trip to the store to buy food, maybe some reading, or a "Gilmore Girls" episode. James putters around the kitchen making snack plates with drinks, we grill out dinner, maybe a nap before the Daily Show and Colbert Report...all in 70 degree weather. You get the picture. And we have a slow hairy truck driver to thank for this. Maybe James should sleep with him?
I have been listening to a lot of music and have once again discovered my love of Nine Inch Nails. What a coincidence, I have extra time on my hands and there is a great viral campaign for the new NIN "Year Zero" concept album. In case you haven't been following along, it involves the end of the world; websites with detailed characters, organizations and events leading up to 2022 and leaked tracks of the disc. More fun than Lost. I also bought the "Beside You In Time" concert DVD the other day and we played it on the big screen with the sound blasting. OK, I played it while James had on head phones listening to his IPod full blast. A quick note to the uninformed, Jimmy Buffett does not drown out NIN even with the volume on full blast. Sorry Jimmy. We do tend to have different taste in music with some similarity in the middle.
Happy Pat.
Happy James.
Another interest that has raised its ugly head is the HGTV network. Everyone is rebuilding, remodeling, flipping, selling, and re-doing a house. You know that you watch to much of this stuff when the "True and Amazing" vacation home theme song is stuck in your mind. With all this new knowledge we are sure that we could buy a nice place in the Northern Virginia area and fix it up to make us millions. Its all in the crown molding, I'm telling ya.
Anyway, I am sure these obsessions will fade when we finally load the boat and head out onto the water. At least I hope so.
Say a prayer we get that part delivered , otherwise James might discover the QVC network and I will never be able to pay the Mastercard bill again.
Enjoy,
P&J
So meanwhile back at the ranch, we have turned into every working persons dream; Slackers that sleep until 10; then play on the computer until lunch. After that, there is usually a trip to the store to buy food, maybe some reading, or a "Gilmore Girls" episode. James putters around the kitchen making snack plates with drinks, we grill out dinner, maybe a nap before the Daily Show and Colbert Report...all in 70 degree weather. You get the picture. And we have a slow hairy truck driver to thank for this. Maybe James should sleep with him?
I have been listening to a lot of music and have once again discovered my love of Nine Inch Nails. What a coincidence, I have extra time on my hands and there is a great viral campaign for the new NIN "Year Zero" concept album. In case you haven't been following along, it involves the end of the world; websites with detailed characters, organizations and events leading up to 2022 and leaked tracks of the disc. More fun than Lost. I also bought the "Beside You In Time" concert DVD the other day and we played it on the big screen with the sound blasting. OK, I played it while James had on head phones listening to his IPod full blast. A quick note to the uninformed, Jimmy Buffett does not drown out NIN even with the volume on full blast. Sorry Jimmy. We do tend to have different taste in music with some similarity in the middle.
Happy Pat.
Happy James.
Another interest that has raised its ugly head is the HGTV network. Everyone is rebuilding, remodeling, flipping, selling, and re-doing a house. You know that you watch to much of this stuff when the "True and Amazing" vacation home theme song is stuck in your mind. With all this new knowledge we are sure that we could buy a nice place in the Northern Virginia area and fix it up to make us millions. Its all in the crown molding, I'm telling ya.
Anyway, I am sure these obsessions will fade when we finally load the boat and head out onto the water. At least I hope so.
Say a prayer we get that part delivered , otherwise James might discover the QVC network and I will never be able to pay the Mastercard bill again.
Enjoy,
P&J
3.11.2007
Culture shock DC style
Oh my goodness, we leave the world we know for a few months and it went kooky. Where did the extra 10,000,000 people come from on the DC beltway? I will tell you a secret, in a few months you can become a traffic wimp. Without our all important FastPass, I think we went through 100 quarters in a weeks time. Lucky for us our friends were gentle and took great care of us.
I don't remember the 495/267 intersection being this bad
We only had time to visit a few of our friends. The list would include:
Laurie, Layla the Brave, Kevin, Lisa, Larry, Sandy, Dan, Bob, Ann, John, Beth, Sue, Sue, Sue, Gary, Jen, Doug, Tom, Deb, Fran, and of course Sammy the Pug. If we didn't mention you it's because we are bad people with bad memories and we apologize.
While we had many tasks planned for the week, we did get to see some new things. We hit a great new restaurant downtown called Temperance Hall. Good brunch with a classy neighborhood bar feel. Doug worked on the menu and did a wonderful job.
3634 Georgia Ave NW is a great place to meet.
The gang having a little brunch.
In fact I think we gained 10 pounds from all the fantastic meals. We were lucky enough to be in town for a dinner party hosted by John and Beth. Beth created food to die for and John just kept opening incredible wines as a complement to the meal. James couldn't decide what he liked best; the food, the wine, the company or the gorgeous kitchen with copper pots everywhere. He was in culinary overload.
The weather was another story. From sunny North Carolina to cold, snowy, windy, Virginia. Who knew that a couple hundred miles could make such a difference. Our blood has thinned out quickly and horror of horrors, we had to find our socks.
Ole Blue with a fresh coat of the white stuff.
We had other more mundane tasks to accomplish on this trip north. Fun things like getting our taxes done, going to the DMV, getting our hair cut, making sure we still had jobs to come back to. You know little things like that.
We spent a good amount of our time trying to figure out where we would live after bringing the boat back north. Since we had downsized our lives, we could choose any kind of lifestyle we wanted. Did we want to buy something or rent? If we rented, where and what kind of unit? Way too many choices that made us nightmare clients for our realtor Sue Fitzhugh. She had seen our kind before and Sue was great to show us about 200 apartments and townhouses in just a couple of days. We think that Reston will be the where we hang our hat, but we have not yet pinned down the exact location. We will leave that for when we return.
For now, we have a boat to get ready. We need to resupply the food and drink, as well as give Helios a quick shakedown to check the idle systems. The trip north should prove to be a great time. With room for crew, we look forward to having some visitors. Hopefully the weather will be nicer to us then it was on the way down. Knock on wood.
Right now we are snug in our bed in NC reading the Sunday paper and watching HGTV. While there is a lot to do to get ready, you don't want to push yourself to hard.
Enjoy,
P & J
I don't remember the 495/267 intersection being this bad
We only had time to visit a few of our friends. The list would include:
Laurie, Layla the Brave, Kevin, Lisa, Larry, Sandy, Dan, Bob, Ann, John, Beth, Sue, Sue, Sue, Gary, Jen, Doug, Tom, Deb, Fran, and of course Sammy the Pug. If we didn't mention you it's because we are bad people with bad memories and we apologize.
While we had many tasks planned for the week, we did get to see some new things. We hit a great new restaurant downtown called Temperance Hall. Good brunch with a classy neighborhood bar feel. Doug worked on the menu and did a wonderful job.
3634 Georgia Ave NW is a great place to meet.
The gang having a little brunch.
In fact I think we gained 10 pounds from all the fantastic meals. We were lucky enough to be in town for a dinner party hosted by John and Beth. Beth created food to die for and John just kept opening incredible wines as a complement to the meal. James couldn't decide what he liked best; the food, the wine, the company or the gorgeous kitchen with copper pots everywhere. He was in culinary overload.
The weather was another story. From sunny North Carolina to cold, snowy, windy, Virginia. Who knew that a couple hundred miles could make such a difference. Our blood has thinned out quickly and horror of horrors, we had to find our socks.
Ole Blue with a fresh coat of the white stuff.
We had other more mundane tasks to accomplish on this trip north. Fun things like getting our taxes done, going to the DMV, getting our hair cut, making sure we still had jobs to come back to. You know little things like that.
We spent a good amount of our time trying to figure out where we would live after bringing the boat back north. Since we had downsized our lives, we could choose any kind of lifestyle we wanted. Did we want to buy something or rent? If we rented, where and what kind of unit? Way too many choices that made us nightmare clients for our realtor Sue Fitzhugh. She had seen our kind before and Sue was great to show us about 200 apartments and townhouses in just a couple of days. We think that Reston will be the where we hang our hat, but we have not yet pinned down the exact location. We will leave that for when we return.
For now, we have a boat to get ready. We need to resupply the food and drink, as well as give Helios a quick shakedown to check the idle systems. The trip north should prove to be a great time. With room for crew, we look forward to having some visitors. Hopefully the weather will be nicer to us then it was on the way down. Knock on wood.
Right now we are snug in our bed in NC reading the Sunday paper and watching HGTV. While there is a lot to do to get ready, you don't want to push yourself to hard.
Enjoy,
P & J
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