Lady Liberty, put a check mark here

check out the currents

I’ve driven across this bridge

still big and beautiful

One of the items on my ‘bucket list’ are (were) to anchor under the Statue of Liberty.  The symbol of freedom and opportunity in the world that brought immigrants here to build the America’s, including my grandfather.  Well, a check mark goes here, we did it.

Entering New York harbor required watching the tide and current tables, so we anchored in sight of the Verrazano Bridge and waiting several hours.  I tried fishing; I think the fish left New York years ago.

When the tide shifted, we motored in, eyes wide with delight at the huge buildings, traffic, ferries and people.  When we got closer, our eyes were wide not with delight, but fear and concentration.  There are so many buildings, traffic, ferries and people.  Every one of them believes they have the right of way, and have absolutely no reason to slow down or change course, so they don’t.

We were caught once in St. Georges Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence with 10 foot breaking waves, and that is exactly what the close ferry wake is like when you can’t get out of their way.  Good thing “Pot ‘O’ Gold” is a sturdy old boat.

We arrived at the Statue of Liberty in late afternoon, and moved right in beside her, along with (what seemed like) 200 ferries of tourists, after all, it was Memorial Day.  We took pictures, admired her, thought of the past, and then, to my horror, realized that the flame she is holding is FAKE.  All my life, I thought the flame was real.  Ah well, another letdown and highlight at the same time.

We anchored in a basin behind the Statue; we were the only boat there for the night, strong winds kept us awake.  I tried to get pictures with the Lady all lit up at night, but they didn’t turn out.  The pictures are in my memory, and the photo of the sunset is incredible.

Leaving New York harbor, we had to go  by Manhattan, right past the Empire State Building, then through an area on the East River called ‘Hells Gate’ (true, check the charts).  This area has very fast currents, and must be navigated at the correct time, which for us meant we had to leave the anchorage at 05:30.  Our speed reached 11 knots through this area.  What a ride!

Upon leaving New York City into Long Island Sound, the tide and current changed, and we had 20 knot winds on our nose, so we stopped in a quiet anchorage for the day and night.  We’ll be moving towards Cape Cod this week.

It was such an exciting couple days; I wanted a separate blog entry.  Have fun, everyone.

Joe & Mary Beth

What were we thinking?

We decided to take an inland route to Chesapeake Bay called the “Dismal Swamp”.

I wonder why, I would even think it would be a nice, sunny, warm route where we would enjoy our privacy, scenery, and be a nice trip.

As soon as we pulled into the lock for the beginning of this canal (I know, another side trip, two more locks, this one will be another ‘last lock’), it started to rain.  As the lock started filling with water, the rain started coming down harder and harder, until, when full, it was pouring.  All the big motor boats in the lock with us left first, and then found out that this canal was shallow, so crawled along at about half the proper speed for here.  There were eight boats in the convoy (so much for privacy), travelling along at 3 knots, when the complaints on the radio started.  Not only is there nowhere to pass, there is nowhere to dock, with the exception of the NC Welcome Center at the Virginia border, and there is only room for a couple boats, everyone else is expected to raft.

The 50’ motor boat that was crawling so they didn’t hit bottom got on the radio and said they expected everyone else to stay away while they docked, then everyone else could fend for themselves.  It would have been fun to have a recorder to record the radio comments.

The Welcome Center was closed (not welcome on Sundays or Mondays), so we didn’t get the ‘t shirts’ we wanted, and with all the issues these folks were having, we decided we would be better off getting wet than rafting there, so we trucked on, as did another motor boat, and another sail boat.  Places to dock or anchor the boat were almost nonexistent, but we found a small government dock that we stopped for the night at, as did the other sailboat, the motor boat just drove hard through the end of the canal.

We were soaking wet, but had our privacy, and could enjoy the evening without having to walk over everyone else’s boat.  It was too wet for a pot luck dinner, and there was nothing open at the center anyway.

The next morning, up early, went to the end of the canal in the pouring rain, again, and met up with ‘Lady Margaret’ at the lock wall.  We rafted with them, to wait out the rain and get provisions.  We no longer wonder where the name “Dismal Swamp Canal” came from.

After we reached the end of the Dismal Swamp Canal, the “dismal” ended.  We travelled with Lady Margaret for a couple days, stayed at a dock, had some fresh shrimp, then stayed at a marina and took a rental car to Williamsburg.  What an interesting City that was.

It is restored to Colonial times, as its claim to fame would be during the Revolutionary War, and they have restored several buildings, including residential to that time period.  The buildings open to the public have folks working inside that are dressed in tune with the times, and everything is built, made, or baked there.  Jewelry, Blacksmiths, clothing (right from the ball of cotton), and even bricks made on site.

It was a fun trip, made better with great company to do it with.  Thanks Pat and Colin (Lady Margaret)!

From Norfolk, we again ventured outside in the Ocean, deciding our weather window was more important than visiting the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays.  In preparation for our Cape Cod to Nova Scotia sail, we did an overnight from Norfolk to Atlantic City, NJ and had a grand time.

We spent the night in Atlantic City (nope, I did not get a chance to try out my system for winning at the ‘Crap” table), then got an early start stopping just short of New York City.  We are stopped at Shark Inlet, anchored for the night, and will head to the Statue of Liberty tomorrow morning.  Once again, just like Quebec City, the currents will play a very important role dictating when we can get in.

Love to everyone, we’re still having a ball.

Joe and Mary Beth  S/V “Pot ‘O’ Gold”

Life is not about avoiding the storms

show’s over, look who’s on the wall!

MB is eyeing her possible replacement

MB wants to take this home for a pet……….

we are still getting incredible sunsets

This through Myrtle Beach, they’re still everywhere

Life is not about avoiding the storms; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
Author unknown

The trip through North Carolina certainly had to do with storms.  Gone are the fresh breezes of the Keys, with gentle lapping rain that only lasts a few minutes.  One thunderstorm caught us so hard we had to drop anchor in the river, when I tried to get out of the channel it was too shallow to navigate, so we dropped anchor on the edge of the channel and kept a “securite, securite, securite” call out on the VHF for safety.  It is a strange feeling being out on the water alone, with a 45 foot metal stick pointing at the sky, saying “I dare you” to the lightning.

We finished the day, and moved on only to sit out another thunderstorm; we pulled into a marina and sat this one out with other (higher) masts around us.
So far we have been successful at staying at free city docks for our supplies, and the one very inexpensive and nice marina.

We crossed Albemarle Bay under sail and had a wonderful day, only to arrive at a city called the “Harbor of Hospitality”, in Elizabeth City, NC.  Free City docks, the mayor himself was on hand to tie up boats.  There was a wine and strawberry party for the arriving boaters, where the ladies were given a rose, we were all given a welcome and verbal tour of the town of 20,000 people.  They call these parties and welcome the ‘Rose Buddies’ which were started years ago to welcome boaters.  This city found out a long time ago, that cruisers have to spend money too, and will spend it where they are wanted.  Cruisers provide a lot of economic spinoff to this welcoming community.

One dockhand gave me a ride to the Gas station to buy fuel and ice, the grocery store came and picked MB up and brought her back to the boat for groceries, we visited the Museum, and then went to have dinner with “Blackbeard and his crew”.  It turns out that Blackbeard was killed in this area (Ocracoke in 1718), and it is believed that some of his booty is buried near here.  It made for a good time, of course we had “bar-b-que” for supper and after dinner, some wenches were auctioned off.  Check out the video of the Pirates singing on the sidebar.

Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first manned motorized flight in Dare County (in this area) December 17, 1903, so the museum had lots of history to show.  North Carolina sent their men to both sides in the civil war; there are lots of displays for that as well.

Tomorrow is “Potato Festival Day”; apparently they grow a lot of potatoes in this area.  Since we are from PEI where we also grow a lot of potatoes, we absolutely have to stay and watch the boat races (speedboats), the Moth Boat Races (one man sailboats designed and built in this area), free French fries, live music and a potato peeling contest, all on the waterfront, it should be a grand time.

Then we will be on our way again, headed up the “Dismal Swamp” Canal.
We’re starting to see a mist on the water in the cool mornings; we are in no hurry to see the fog start.

I hope everyone is having a good spring, we still are!

Love Joe & Mary Beth S/V “Pot ‘O’ Gold”

Southern Hospitality at its Best

Last spring we met some folks on the Great Loop via email who were doing part of the Loop we are doing, the unusual northerly route on the St. Lawrence River, Gaspe, Nova Scotia coasts.  Their motor blew up in Rimouski, and they stopped their trip, making repairs and planning to finish this year.  They sent us an email that said they had a spare dock on the ICW, and expected us to stop for a visit on our way through.

Chuck and Claria Gorgon live in Beaufort, SC (pronounced Buefort, unlike Beaufort, NC, which is pronounced Boefort).

Beaufort SC, Savannah GA, and Charleston SC were all left unscathed during the civil war, as both Generals had ties to this area, so the history is absolutely amazing.  Claria Gorgon made sure we saw it all (or at least as much as we could in the given time).

When MB and I dock for the day, we usually like to have a cocktail, relax, watch a movie or listen to some Jimmy Buffet tunes, then early to bed for our visiting and touring the next day.  HA, Claria and Chuck would have none of it.

We walked the park like setting of their island home, visited some folks in the neighborhood garden, another boat landed, Chuck moved his small sailboat to land, we visited, discussed routes and charts while sitting on their huge friendly porch in scenic comfort.

Claria then proceeded to make a 3 course meal, we ate, talked, relaxed on the porch, and we said good-bye to Chuck, who was off for a couple days, and Claria made sure we were ready for a busy day tomorrow.

We did a horse and carriage tour of Beaufort, which was enough for us, these tours are great, they give you a good overview.  Claria then proceeded to take us on a walking tour so she could explain everything the tour guide missed.  The waterfront (beautiful place to take a family), the shops, the   architecture, the food, and the Oak trees.

Bob, Ginny and George (no photo of George, from the vessel “Time Out” were leaving their boat on the dock for the summer, and had to fly out of Savannah the next morning at 7 (an hour and a half drive), so Claria was up early, drove them to the airport, came back, picked us up, and drove us back to Savannah.  “You absolutely cannot leave here without the Savannah tour”.

We toured Savannah by tour bus, the guide was great and we stayed on the bus for the whole tour, then did it again, getting on and off at several points of interest.  The Pirate House for lunch (had my mint Julep here, Claria says it wasn’t very good, she can do better), cobblestone roads, the wrought iron railings were fabulous (there was an iron foundry here, the owner said whatever they can make out of wood, he can make it in iron).  His house was built with iron columns, I didn’t bother with a photo, and you can’t tell the difference.

The streets with the overhanging trees in the city are breathtaking, the alley where gentlemen used to duel, the Churches are like a high-rise.  We toured  a huge Anglican Church (if I remember right it was the first one built in the US), MB found a statue in honor of John Wesley, who started the Church she belongs to, the police barracks with the old 50’s cars in front,  the Spanish moss on the trees, it just goes on and on.  Both Beaufort and Savannah are exceptional cities, so close and yet different, with history that just goes into your pores.

Home, then another 3 course meal of fresh shrimp.  I called Claria the energizer bunny, the woman never stops.  She was bound and determined that we were going to tour Charleston the same way and wanted to take us.  When she found out there were some folks we were going to meet there for a visit and tour she relented, but explained how upset she would be if we didn’t tour the city.

We met with Flint and Leslie Firestone in Charleston, from “GraceFul”, also on the Loop on temporary delay, for a visit and a tour.  The last time we saw the Firestones was last summer in Canada.  They have PEI ties, and we hope to meet up with some of their relatives when we return to the island.

We did a tour of Charleston by horse and carriage, we went to dinner, and we toured some houses and had a great visit.  Thanks Flint and Leslie.

There are a group of folks called “Gullah” who learned to make a living weaving marsh grass baskets.  They are not cheap, but are absolutely beautiful; they sell them at the market, while weaving them on the spot.  The same person picks the grass, dries it, and weaves it.

As you can see, we are exhausted!  We need a couple days cruising on the ICW to wind down.  Remember Marathon, a big day was going in to take a shower and drop off the garbage.

Thanks Chuck and Claria, I’ll get you back when you arrive in PEI this summer.

We are almost out of South Carolina now; we’ll see what North Carolina has in store.

Love everyone,
Joe & Mary Beth, S/V “Pot ‘O’ Gold”