Washington to Massachusetts - 1 of 2

May 29 – May 31 – Washington DC
Washington was really busy with lots of walking and sightseeing – Washington will forever be "Walkington" in my mind! On Friday we spent most of the day at the American History museum where highlights included: the original Stars and Stripes flag, made to fly over Ft. McHenry near Baltimore, the original Scarlet Slippers from the Wizard of Oz movie, Oscar the Grouch and Kermit the Frog from the Muppets, Archie Bucher’s chair, a collection of Stratovarius violins and violas, a wonderful exhibit on Abraham Lincoln, and a really well done exhibit on transportation in America (sponsored by GM). After lunch, Annie and Dave went to the Holocaust museum and Kristen and I stayed at the American History museum and did experiments in the lab and looked at some inventions like Kevlar and the windsurfer. We left the museum at 3:00 in the middle of another rainstorm. We all met back at the boat, and in a break in the rain, Dave and I walked up to pick up a few groceries. When we got back it really started to pour, and it poured all through supper. We weren’t sure what to do about getting back to t he Smithsonian to see the movie. We donned our rain gear and headed out, and fortunately the rain tapered off shortly after we left the boat. Battle of the Smithsonian was fantastic! We liked it better than the original, and it was fabulous to see it in IMAX in the same place where some of it was shot.
On Saturday, we went to the Boater’s Breakfast at the yacht club. It was a veritable feast (and brownies for dessert!). Then we took the subway out to the zoo. We were able to see the Giant Pandas as well as the regular zoo animals. The elephants are always one of my favorites, and there was a hippopotamus there that was wallowing in a pond and opening his mouth to show us his teeth – they can open their mouths 150° ! After the zoo we took the subway back to a place near the Lincoln Monument and walked down there, and then back to the boat. The Lincoln Monument is really amazing – and very cool to see in person after it was featured in the movie the night before. We walked over the fish market to get some supper and that was quite something. It was a bustling place with lots and lots of seafood on display, and lots and lots of people hanging out and getting their supper. In the end we got some crabs and some shrimp and took them back to the boat. It was really hot out so we didn’t feel much like cooking anything to go with it.
Sunday was a quieter day with some chores like laundry, changing the oil and getting diesel done in the morning and then a trip to the Air and Space Museum in the afternoon. Annie collected some information for her school project on the history of flight, and we found lots of the things from the movie so it was a good outing. We were all pretty tired after so much walking and looking, so we headed back to the boat. Dave and I made another quick trip to the grocery store to get a few things before heading out from DC tomorrow.

June 1 – Washington to Canoe Neck Creek
We were away from the dock before 6:00 under sunny skies. The kids got their school work done as we traveled back down the Potomac. The winds were calm in the morning, but started to pipe up in the afternoon, and we had some nasty seas to contend with again. We stopped a little sooner than we planned as out speed was dropping down to 4 knots and we were all tired. In the end, we dropped the anchor in a nice little anchorage at 6:00, 12 hours and 80+ (statute) miles from DC.

June 2 – Canoe Neck Creek – Solomons, MD
We left around 7:00 and arrived at Solomons around 3:00. It was a really hot day – probably the hottest day was have had on the whole trip. There were a lot of bugs flying around too – not very pleasant. We got fuel and then anchored off the Holiday Inn. Tiffany Rose was there too. We called Seahawk and arranged for Jeff to pick us up around 5;30 and we’d all meet for pizza. We went to shore and walked around the little strip mall. There was a lovely (high-end) grocery store and we picked up a few things we needed (including ice cream!). Jeff picked us up and took us to the pizza place in Lexington Park - about 6 miles away from boat, in the community where they live. While we were there a massive thunderstorm came through and dumped rain on us, and the flag outside the restaurant was whipping around. We were really worried about the boat. It was great to see the Seahawk gang again but it was overshadowed by the weather. Not only were we worried about "Bird" they were pretty sure they’d left all the hatches open on their boat – meaning very wet beds! We got back to the boat and fortunately everything was fine. There was a lull in the storm so we didn’t too wet going back out in the dinghy. The storm continued on all night. The lightning was spectacular – sometimes lighting up the whole sky, sometimes a bolt of lightening would travel all the way across the horizon. It wasn’t like any storm we’d seen before.

June 3 – Solomons – Annapolis, MD
We left bright and early at 6:00. Thunderstorms were forecast again for this afternoon so we decided to do a short day and only go to Annapolis. After going through the Spa Creek Bridge at 2:30 we picked up one of the town moorings in Spa Creek. It was another really hot day. We went to town and had fun going into the little stores – the kids got t-shirts at the Black Dog store in honor of Boom. We went back to the boat and had supper, with plans of dinghying back to town to watch the Wednesday night race in Annapolis. Dave and I went back into town around 7:00, but there didn’t seem to be any race to watch. We aren’t sure if the race was cancelled due to the pending thunderstorms or if the race was already over. Dave and I got showers and then the rain started so we went back to the boat.

June 4 – Annapolis to Chesapeake City, MD
We were up around 6:30 and had to put the dinghy up before we could leave. We figured we’d get through the 7:30 opening of the bridge, but we worked quickly and were able to make the 7:00 opening. It was a wet day, but we knew that the forecast for tomorrow was awful and we wanted to get to Chesapeake City to so we’d be ready to go down Delaware Bay on Saturday. We plugged along all day with the current against us, but the wind was light and there wasn’t too much sea so it was okay. We got to Chesapeake City around 5:00, a few minutes after low tide, and not surprisingly there was no room on the free dock. We started along the channel to the anchorage and slowly came to a halt in the soupy mud. Dave worked the boat back and forth and finally got her turned towards the anchorage basin and we pushed though the mud and got anchored.

June 5 – Chesapeake City
The rain came down in buckets all morning as predicted so we stayed on the boat and got some schoolwork done. No one move off the free dock so we stayed out at anchor. In the afternoon the rain let up and we dropped the dinghy down and went to shore. We looked in the little gift stores and then went out for an early supper at the Bohemian Café.

June 6 – Chesapeake City to Cape May, NJ
The weather was better today and we headed out around 8:00 to catch the current flowing through the C&D canal towards the Delaware Bay. When we reached the bay, the current was against us until around noon, and then with us until around 4:00 when it switched against us again. We were fortunate that the wind was light and there was no sea all day. It was a nice day and there were lots and lots of people out fishing on Delaware Bay. We saw dolphins today for the first time in a long time. We were anchored off the Coast Guard College in Cape May around 6:00.

June 7 – Cape May to Atlantic City
We were underway by 6:00 and we arrived in Atlantic City by 12:00. The winds were light and the seas were calm off the coast of NJ so we motored all day. We had called to make a reservation at the marina we stayed in on the way down, but we were only able to leave a message. When we got to Atlantic City we went and got fuel, and tried to contact the marina only to find out they were full. So was the marina where we were getting fuel, so we had to go to Farley State Marina at Trumps Castle as we didn’t feel comfortable going to shore and leaving the boat unattended at anchor in Atlantic City. I guess we could feel fortunate that it was Sunday and we didn’t have to pay the full weekend rate of $4.00. We got tied up and then took the jitney bus to downtown Atlantic City and the Outlet Mall we spent the afternoon shopping and then went down to the Boardwalk and watched the water show in the mall.

June 8 –Atlantic City to Jersey City (NYC)
We left really early and were away from the dock at 5:00 in thick fog. It was really foggy all morning and the fog didn’t burn off until around noon. We were glad we left when we did as there was a lot of traffic on the radio trying to leave Atlantic City around 6:00 and the fog was so thick they couldn’t see each other. We saw a seal today and a few more dolphins. The sea was calm in the morning, but after the fog burned off the wind picked up a bit and it got a little lumpy. It was our plan to go back to Great Kills on Staten Island today, but we were making good time along the NJ coast with some help from the current and in the end we decided to go up the Hudson River a little way and stay in a marina. We arrived in Newport Marina around 7:30 after having traveled about 90 nautical miles. The marina is in a great place right across the river from Manhattan. It is in a restored neighbourhood in Jersey City, about a block away away from a large indoor mall and the NJ subway, and about 3 blocks away from a grocery store and some box stores. The only downside to the marina is there is a lot of wake from the ferries that travel across the Hudson from Jersey City to Manhattan.

June 9 – 14 – New York City
On Tuesday we spent the morning getting groceries and exploring the area. It was another wet day and we had to dodge the rain showers. In the afternoon we took the PATH subway to New York and went shopping at Macy’s and Build-a-Bear workshop. On Wednesday night we had tickets to see Mary Poppins on Broadway so we stayed in Jersey City in the morning, and then in the afternoon we went over to Central Park. We had quite and adventure on the subway when we inadvertently got on the express train to the Bronx and traveled way passed the stop we wanted and then had to find the local train back so we could get off at 79th street. Central Park is certainly a jewel for New York. What a beautiful place! We had a great walk around, there were lots of people around, and there were leagues playing soccer and baseball. We found the Belvedere Castle and a turtle pond. We were a little pressed for time so we didn’t have time to find out the significance of the castle and why it is there. We took the subway back down to Time Square, only to find out that we were about 10 blocks too far south to go to the restaurant we wanted to go to, and didn’t have time to walk back up to it. We found the Mary Poppins theatre and then got some pizza for supper before the show. The Amsterdam Theatre where Mary Poppins was playing is lovely. It is amazingly ornate with fancywork everywhere. There is a room in the basement with murals of famous scenes from American history. The play itself was great. It was interesting to compare the difference between Hairspray, where the movie was made after the musical and the story was very similar, and Mary Poppins, where the movie came first and the story line in the Musical was quite different from the movie. Fortunately all our favourite songs were still there and we really enjoyed it. The girl that played Jane was a great little singer and actress. We got back safely to the boat around midnight.

May 29 - Washinton DC

May 19, 20 – Oriental
On Tuesday there was school in the morning again. It was still really windy, but Seahawk had spent their two legal days on the free dock, so they left around noon. We pulled in behind them and took their spot. We had another nice walk in Oriental, and Dave started working on the teak.
On Wednesday, the water started leaving the harbour, and the boat on the deeper side of the free dock left, so we moved around to the other side of the dock. It was another quiet day of school, with the added excitement of finally picking a puppy! After much debate, we’ve decided on a black lab pup from Holly Farms, in Belcherville Mass. His Dad is a very well behaved black lab called Oliver, and his Mom is white lab named Sky, and she loves to play frisbee. He was born May 6. We will be able to go meet him on June 13 when we are up in Connecticut, and we will be able to take him home on July 4. We have named him "Boom", and his call name will be "Holly Farm Highlander". While we know we can never replace Rudder, it will be nice to have a dog again. We couldn’t imagine being home without one.

May 21 – Oriental to Alligator River mile 104
We left Oriental at 6:00 after a nice break. We motored up the Neuse River and we were impressed as "Bird" kept up or passed all the other sailboats. We debated back and forth as to whether or not we should go out to Ocracoke… we had pretty good weather to get out there, it would be a really neat place to see… we spent five days in Oriental and we should get moving… we weren’t sure if we would be able to sail all the way there… the Pamlico can get pretty rough… In the end we decided to skip Ocracoke and we pressed on through the Alligator Pungo Canal and anchored at the top of the Alligator river around 5:30. The anchorage was very calm and we had an uneventful evening.

May 22 – Alligator River to Elizabeth City – mile 51
We left at 6:00 again. It was really beautiful pulling out of the anchorage. The sun was rising and making all the trees silver in the mist. We motored down the Alligator River, and pulled into the Alligator River marina around 10:00 to fill up with fuel. We were on our way again fairly quickly. It was a nice little marina and we could see why lots of people recommend it as a good place to stop. We got to Elizabeth City around 2:30 and tied along side a face dock, rather than trying to struggle in the slips like we had in the fall. After we got settled we went over to the Museum of the Abermarle where Dave and Kristen briefly visited in the fall. It is a great museum and it’s free! They have 4 large exhibits representing different periods of history in the region. They had some artifacts that had been retrieved from the wreck of Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship sailed by Blackbeard the Pirate and sunk in near Ocrakoke. There were also two small very old building that had been moved from their original locations and rebuilt in the museum – one was a house, and the other was a smokehouse. Kristen had fun finding all the answers for the scavenger hunt. When we finished the exhibits the kids went to play in the play room, where there were lots of period clothes, a puppet theatre, kitchen utensils and other things to play with. After we dragged them away from there, we walked around town, looking for a place to go out for supper. Nothing really caught our eye, so we ordered pizza instead. While we waited for the pizza, the girls played soccer on the field right by the boat, Dave took the bikes off the boat, and I went for a bike ride and rented a movie "Hotel for Dogs". The movie was fun and the girls enjoyed it.

May 23 – Elizabeth City to South Mills Lock – Mile 32
We lazed around in the morning. We wandered around the farmer’s market that was set up on the field right by the boat. I called the grocery store for a ride, and went to the grocery store to get some provisions for our trip up the Chesapeake. When I got back, Dave rode the bike up to get the laundry done and to return the movie. I took the girls back to the play room at the museum. After lunch, we went to Port Discovery, a little science center about a block away from the boat. It had some neat things to do, but it would have been more fun if someone had walked us through the experiments. It was a little hard to figure stuff out on our own. By the time we were done there, the wind was picking up and blowing us onto the face dock. We decided to leave Elizabeth City and pulled away from the dock around 2:00. It was a lovely day on the river that leads to the Dismal Swamp – there were lots of people out enjoying the water, wake boarding and water skiing. We got to the lock at South Mills around 5:00. We thought maybe there would be a place to tie up there, but there wasn’t, so we anchored in the river. We saw a huge brown water snake sunning itself on a tree stump near where we were going to anchor. They aren’t poisonous, but it sure was big! A park ranger we talked to thought maybe it was a pregnant female and that was why it was sooo large. After we anchored, "Varuna", a Contessa 26 sailboat passed us and went up an old barge canal to anchor. Varuna has an exciting history as she circumnavigated the world in the late 80’s, sailed by 18 year old Tanya Aebi. We remember reading about her back when we started sailing. Sure enough it is the same boat, and the folks that own her now are the fourth owner since Tanya. They are heading back up to their home in Maine after taking her south for the winter.

May 24 – South Mills Lock to Dismal Swamp Visitors Center – Mile 28
We were up around 7:00 and had breakfast before we pulled up the anchor a little after 8:00. We locked through at South Mills with 3 other sailboats and 2 trawlers. We were through the lock and bridge around 9:30. We puttered down the Dismal Swamp with other boats until we got to the Visitors Center four miles from the lock. When we got there the wall was full with a sailboat and the two trawlers. Varuna was rafted to the other sailboat. The trawlers were only planning to stay for about 30 minutes, so we rafted up to Varuna. After the trawlers left, we moved back onto the wall, and then Varuna left too. It was a lovely day, so we decided to borrow bicycles from the visitor’s center so we could all cycle back to South Mills. We had a great bike ride through the woods along the paved path that runs beside the Dismal Swamp Canal. By the time we got to South Mills, clouds had gathered all around, and the heavens opened up. It poured with rain. We hid out under the canopy of a gas station convenience store until the worst of it was over, and then we biked down to look at the boats locking through. There was so many boats that they filled the lock the first time, and had to lock through a second group. The first group of boats had to wait between the lock and the bridge for the second group to be locked through before the bridge was opened. While they were waiting, the heavens opened again – with even more rain than the first time. We hurried back to the gas station to wait for it to stop. We waited and waited, and worried about the boat because we hadn’t closed any hatches. We decided that when they closed the bridge again we would set off even if the rain hadn’t stopped. Fortunately, by the time the bridge was closed, the rain had stopped and we set off back for the visitor’s center. We only rode a short way before the pavement was dry… apparently it was an isolated rainstorm! As we got closer to the boat it did start to rain a bit, but Dave was able to get the boat closed up before it got wet down below. We beat all the boats that locked through back to the visitors center – even the trawlers. Five boats stopped and tied up, so we had a boat rafted on the outside of us. After lunch we decided to go over to other side of the canal where the little interpretative center is. The rain had stopped so we left the hatches open again. Just as we went in the center, the rain began to pour down again. It was way too wet to go back to the boat, so we figured we’d just have to make the best of it. After the rain tapered down a bit, the girls and I walked the boardwalk and then the short walk through the woods. Dave went back to the boat. Even though our neighbours had closed the main hatches when they saw the rain start the boat was soaked. There was a huge puddle on our bed in the aft cabin that had run down and under the mattress. The mattress was really wet, as was the bedding and the pillow. We got that all mopped up and stood the mattress on end with the fan blowing on it to help dry it and we thought we were done. They Dave started to put the lunch dishes away, only to find that the kitchen drawers were full of water too… So he cleaned that up… Then when he finished that and turned around, he found more water… Finally, we thought we had it all cleaned up and we had supper. We slept in the main cabin.

May 24 – Visitors Center to Deep Creek to Norfolk
We left the visitor’s center around 8:00 after draining all the water out of the dinghy and putting it up on the davits. We motored along the canal down to Deep Creek for the 11:00 opening, but there was a Southbound boat, so we had to wait. We tied up on the wall in Deep Creek and went across the street to the grocery store and got bread and milk, and to the auto parts store to get some oil. We were back in plenty of time to go through the bridge when it opened at 11:30. We went through the bridge and tied up on the wall between the bridge and the lock, so we could go back to the park we had enjoyed so much in the fall. We BBQ’d hot dogs for lunch, and then went for a walk in the woods and along the marsh. We put our bed back together as it was dry now, and when the 1:30 opening for the lock came, we were ready to go on to Norfolk. We locked through with 3 other sailboats and 4 trawlers. At 2:30 we were on our way, down the narrow twisty river. It was full of jet skis and people on wake boards. I was at the helm as we came to a corner and there was a ski boat stopped mid channel. I thought I would take him to starboard, and as I came around the corner we slowed to a stop in the mud. Dave took the helm and backed us off, but it was pretty stressful with five of the other boats from the lock behind us and all the ski boats around. We arrived in Norfolk around 4:30 and pulled into Waterside marina. We thought it would be a good idea to do laundry and get all the towels and sheets clean and dry. We went for supper at Joe’s Crab Shack, and when we were there, guess what? It started to rain again. I went back to the boat just to double check that it was all closed up and to get rain jackets.

May 25 – Norfolk to Mill Creek, Great Wicomico
We headed out at 6:00, planning a long day to the mouth of the Potomac. The day started off quietly enough with calm seas and no wind, and the forecast was only for 10-15 SE. When we were leaving Norfolk, we were told to keep 500yds away from a submarine being escorted into Norfolk - If we didn',t they had authorization to use "deadly force" to keep us away -- they didn't have to ask us twice! By lunch time we had 20 knots of wind right on our beam and the seas were getting larger and larger. We decided that it didn’t make sense to try to go to a new anchorage if we’d been dealing with this kind of weather for 6 hours, so we altered course a bit to the protected anchorage we had stayed at in the fall off the Great Wicomico. It was a long afternoon. The waves were large and close together and they would tip the boat from side to side, as well as wash over the cabin and into the cockpit. It probably would have been fine if it had been a lovely sunny day, but things always seem more ominous when it is cloudy and overcast. We were really happy to turn west at 4:00 and get the wind and waves behind us. The anchorage was lovely and calm – barely a breath of wind! We made hot chocolate and played cards until supper and then we went to bed early.

May 26 – Mill Creek to Tobacco River, Potomac
We left around 7:30 in the thick fog. We inched our way out with the radar on, and were relieved to find that the seas from yesterday were gone. We motored our way through the fog and turned up the Potomac River. We were lucky that we didn’t have a lot of current against us and we traveled all day without much effect from the current at all. The fog lifted later in the afternoon, and it turned into a lovely, hot day. After looking and looking in the Cruising Guide at options for places to stay tonight, we finally decided to push on about 50 miles up the Potomac to the Tobacco River. It made for a pretty long day, about 65 (nautical) miles, and we dropped the anchor around 6:00. The anchorage was wide open, but the wind was calm and there weren’t any other boats around. It is pretty here. There are steep red and yellow cliffs that lead down to the water, and they are covered in lush green trees. Sporadically, there are huge, older homes that look really spectacular from the water. There are lots of crab pots here where we are anchored so we had to be careful coming in that we didn’t get tangled in one.

May 27 – Tobacco River to Washington DC
We were on our way before 5:30 this morning, trying to stay ahead of the current flowing up the river. We were lucky and had a nice boost from the current most of the morning. Once again it was really, really foggy when we left, but the fog was gone by around 8:00. It turned into a beautiful sunny day, but then it got humid, and by the time evening rolled around there were thunder showers. Coming up the river to Washington was similar to going through New York – very noisy! There were airplanes taking off over our heads, lots of helicopters flying around, and Harrier aircraft buzzing overhead. We were tied up at the Capital Yacht Club a few minutes after 1:00 – a lot earlier than the late afternoon we were expecting! The staff at the yacht club are really friendly and helpful. The yacht club is wonderfully located about a 10 or 15 minute walk from Washington Monument, and the Smithsonian Museums. After we got settled we left the boat around 3:00 and went for a walk up to the Natural History Museum. We spent 2 hours there and still barely touched the exhibits. We bought tickets to go and see "Night at the Smithsonian", the sequel to "Night at the Museum" at the IMAX theatre there tomorrow.

Pictures

At the fort in St. Augustine

Wild Horses in Cumberland

May 18 - Oriental

May 5 – Palm Shores to Daytona Beach mile 830
We had a really long day today. We left early and we traveled all day in the hot sun. We called the marina where we stayed in Daytona, but they didn’t think there was enough water for us to get into their marina! We tried to anchor in a spot where the cruising guide and the chart showed plenty of water, and we could barely find 6’ at high tide! Finally we went to Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona. It is a lovely facility and it was nice to be there after such a long day. We had a nice walk through the "historic" area of Daytona. We tried to find an ice cream store, but everything was closed so we went back to the boat.
May 6 and 7– Daytona Beach to St. Augustine mile 778
Another hot, hot day! We left Daytona around 7:00 arrived at the marina in St. Augustine around 2:00 and got fuel and then tied up. We went for a walk through this historic town, and it is a lot older than Daytona! St. Augustine is the oldest city in North America. Europeans have been living there since the Spanish settled there in 1565. After a while, Dave and Kristen went back to the boat and Annie and I kept walking around and looking in stores. As we were walking down a cobble street, Annie said – Hey, look who that is! It was Chad and LeeAnn of Cambyration. We originally met them in the Exumas and it was LeeAnn that helped the kids win the Sand Sculpture contest in Georgetown. It was so nice to see them again! And hey – they were close enough to kids to count as kids for Kristen’s birthday party. We arranged to call them tomorrow after we settled on plans for Kristen’s big day. After supper Kristen and I checked out some restaurants for her birthday supper for tomorrow. On Kristen’s birthday we had a big day planned! We went to the Castillo de San Marcos, the spanish fort built beginning in 1670, in the morning. It is now part of the US National Parks system and it is a great museum. The walls of the fort are built of Coquina, which is a like sedimentary rock full of shells. They weren’t sure if it would be a good material for a fort, but it ended up being great as there was enough give to it that the cannon balls bounced off it. In the afternoon we played mini-golf at the mini putt right in front of the marina – it was orignally opened in 1949! Then Kristen had a mini scavenger hunt around the marina. We met Chad and LeeAnn for supper at Harry’s Seafood restaurant. The food was great! After supper we went back to the boat for birthday cake and presents. All in all it was a busy, fun day!
May 8 – St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach mile 716
It felt like another long hot day today. We left before 7:00 so that we could get through the Bridge of Lions before the restricted openings started at 7:00. We thought we were doing pretty until about 11;00 when we reached another high bridge, that didn’t require an opening, but they were doing construction and they had the ICW blocked off. They said they could have it blocked until noon, so we dropped the anchor and got ready to wait, and about 5 minutes later they pulled the barge out of the way, so we pulled up the anchor and went through. Not sure why they couldn’t have told us they’d only be 10 or 15 minutes. The ICW was really shallow today and by the time we got to Fernandina Beach we decided we’d had enough. We took one of the town mooring rather than continuing on to Cumberland Island which was our original plan. We had a really nice walk through Fernandina Beach again. We got ice cream at the ice cream shop, a few things at the 5 and 10 store, and got showers at the marina. Then it was back to the boat for supper and a movie.
May 9-10 – Fernandina Beach, Cumberland Island Georgia to Charleston SC mile 469
Dave and I got up and away from the mooring by 7:00. We motored the 5 or so additional miles to Cumberland Island in Georgia, and were anchored before 8:30. We all had breakfast and went to shore to explore this great island. Cumberland Island is part of the National Park system and the government owns 85% of it. There are no paved roads, and the only access to the island is by boat. It was as beautiful as we remembered it. There are big beautiful trees, covered with spanish moss creating a canopy overhead as you walk along the dirt roads and pathways. Lucy Carnagie, the sister-in-law of the famous financier, built an estate near the south end of the island at the turn of the last century, and the ruins of it still exist. There is a little museum with pictures of how it looked in its hey day – it must have been incredible. There are wild horses that have the run of the island and we saw three different groups of these horses – some look a little old and hungry, but others are really beautiful. We looked hard to see some armadillos, but they were being nocturnal, and we saw some wild turkeys instead. It was Saturday, and there was a program for birders on the island. We took part in a obstacle course that tried to emulate what the birds go through on their annual migration. Then we had our picnic lunch and headed back to the boat.
We pulled up anchor about 12:45 and headed out to sea. There was a cold front forecast to arrive tomorrow afternoon and we wanted to get to Charleston before the rain. It was an uneventful night. It was our brightest overnight ever with a 98% moon rising one hour after sunset, and setting 5 minutes before sunrise. During one watch there was a swallow that came out and fly by the boat a couple of times. We also had dolphins with us part of the way. We were fighting our way against the current up the channel into Charleston around 1:00 when the first showers hit. Then there was a break in the rain and were tied up as the Charleston Maritime Center a little before 2:00. Later in the afternoon and over night there were really heavy thunder showers and we were glad we had made it safely to Charleston. The marina was great with free laundry and a terrific grocery store only a couple of blocks away.
May 11 – Charleston SC
It was sunny in the morning so we thought we’d head off to see a bit of Charleston, including the Charleston museum. I thought that all of old Charleston was south of the marina, so without looking at the map we headed south to the Market, and then south down Meeting Street to find the museum. The Market was interesting with lots of stalls of crafts and gifts. Meeting Street was really pretty with lots of big houses. After we had walked quite a ways, I decided to look up the address for the museum, only to discover we should have gone north from the marina. We decided to walk the rest of the way down to see the park at the south end of Charleston at the juncture of the Ashley and the Cooper Rivers (Sheila are you reading this??). The homes were really beautiful. They have narrow facings on the street, and their "piazzas" or porches run along the side of the house, facing beautifully manicured, walled in gardens. For the most part, their "front door" or "Privacy Door" is a door in a full wall, that opens on to the piazza, not into the house itself. Unfortunately I didn’t have the camera with me so I don’t have any pictures of this beautiful part of Charleston. We went back to the boat for lunch and to get a few things done – like laundry. Of course this all took longer than expected and it was 3:00 before we were ready to leave again for the museum. We found it no problem once we followed the map! It was a great museum. The museum was set up in chronological order with the displays taking you through the history of Charleston. At the end was a nature history exhibit that dated back over 100 years. It was really interested to see the artifacts that had been imported into Charleston a hundred years ago to educate the people about the rest of the world. There was lots of taxidermy of animals from all over the world, including a polar bear. There were copies of Egyptian artifacts that had come from museums in England. There was a real mummy! There was also a Kidstory exhibit for children that had different activities for the kids to learn about Charleston History. We left the museum about 5:00, thinking we’d be able to walk back to the Market and do a carriage tour in the evening. The lady at the museum said that the carriage tours had to be finished by 6:00. We rushed down to the Market and got on the last tour. It was fun and informative, but I think it would have been better if we had gone earlier in the day.
We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up some groceries before we went back to the boat to have supper.
May 12 – Charleston to Georgetown mile 403
We left Charleston a few minutes after 6:00 to get through a bridge a few miles away before 7:00. We had an uneventful day and arrived at Georgetown around 4:30. We finally found a good spot to anchor and got settled right off the town dock. Dave and I went to shore to see if we could find a post office while the girls stayed on the boat to play. We bought some shrimp for supper, and then after supper we all went for a walk. We chose to walk away from the water and through the old residential district. The houses date back to 1750, and there are plaques on the houses indicating their ages. It was fun to try to guess how old the houses were by looking at the size of the window panes and the house construction before you read the plaque. The streets are wide and beautiful, and the big old trees create a canopy right over the street. Georgetown remains one of our favorite places!
May 13 – Georgetown to Barefoot Landing mile 354
We had a leisurely breakfast and then left Georgetown around 9:00. We’re getting a little tired of travelling!! We got to Barefoot Landing around 5:00 and decided to go to the marina we were at on the way South. The kids had a great time swimming in the pool. It is one of the nicest pools we’ve ever seen – too bad it isn’t heated. There are little concrete islands in the pool and shallow (1’) sections leading out to them. The girls had fun sliding on their bellies on these little "beaches". Tiffany Rose was also in Barefoot Landing. We first saw them in Atlantic City and also saw them in Vero, but didn’t get a chance to talk to them. They are from Ontario, and are doing this trip with their 16-year-old son who has Downs Syndrome. They had stopped in Barefoot Landing hoping to meet up with another family with a Downs child that has a traveling Downs Quilt. The Quilt is moving around the country spending a week at a time with Downs children. It didn’t sound like it was going to work out for them to get to see the quilt, which was too bad.
May 14 – Barefoot Landing to Southport NC mile 309
We pulled away from the dock at 7:00 under overcast skies and it started to rain a little while later. We didn’t do a very good job timing our one restricted bridge today, and we had to wait for a long time for an opening. We decided to stop in Southport at 2:00 after a relatively short day, rather than pressing on against the current up the Cape Fear River in the rain. We were really fortunate and there was a spot available at the dock in front of the Provision company restaurant where were able to tie up for the cost of our lunch. We had a great lunch at the restaurant and then Dave and I went for a walk in town (in the rain, without our umbrella). We learned that there was a Lowes hardware a couple of miles away, so we went back to the boat and Dave got the bike and biked out to the highway to get more alcohol to light the stove. I took the girls back to town so they could go to this great gift store Dave and I had found. They had done such an awesome job merchandising all the books and stuffed animal by animal type I really wanted the kids to see it. They used every inch of the store, including the ceiling to display their wares – it was really well done!

May 15 – Southport – Mile Hammock Bay mile 244
We had a little walk around Southport in the morning before leaving at 8:00. We knew it would be a long day, and we knew we wouldn’t be able to get off the boat tonight. We were away from the dock at 8:00 as planned, but we must have miscalculated the current a bit as it was still against us, instead of being at slack water. We pressed on anyway and had an uneventful trip up the Cape Fear River. It was dark and gloomy in the morning, but it didn’t rain, and by the afternoon it was sunny and warm with a nice breeze. When we turned off the Cape Fear river and went into Snow’s Cut the depth kept shoaling up, then it seemed to get deeper again before "thunk" – we hit bottom. Fortunately we pushed right through it and didn’t get stuck. We were once again thankful for having a full keel and a steel boat. We had three bridges today with restricted hourly openings and so we had to travel slowly between the bridges rather than spend 20 minutes at each bridge doing circles waiting for an opening. It gave us a chance to sail slowly along the waterway without the motor, as there was no point in going at speed. We saw lots of nesting Ospreys today – it seemed like there was a nest on every marker in the channe. A couple of times we were able to see the babies in the nest and that was really neat. There were a bunch of other shallow spots, but fortunately we didn’t touch bottom again. We arrived at Mile Hammock Bay at around 6:00. It is on the Camp LeJeune forces base and so you aren’t allowed to go to shore. It was a pretty uneventful evening. There were about 10 other boats in the anchorage, including "the Dove" and we talked to Larry for a while on the radio.
May 16 – Mile Hammock Bay to Oriental NC mile 182
We left Mile Hammock Bay at 6:15 in order to be through a restricted bridge 5 miles away before 7:00. A couple of other boats also left around the same time. One was called Radical Jack and is a 34’ sailboat from just outside Yarmouth, NS. We (ok, I) had a confusing time getting through Beaufort and Morehead City. There were lots of small boats out fishing on a Saturday afternoon – it is amazing how they think they can anchor right in the channel! We arrived in Oriental a few minutes before 4:00 and decided to go into the marina rather than anchor off, as it was pretty windy and the anchorage isn’t that protected. We had a nice walk to the grocery store that is about a mile away, and then someone offered us a ride back to the marina. We heard from Seahawk and they are going to be here tomorrow so we are thinking we may wait out the cold front here
May 17, 18 – Oriental
Dave and Kristen went for a bike ride around Oriental on Sunday morning, and then the girls went for a swim in the pool. A little before noon the rain and thunder showers started, and shortly after that Seahawk arrived. We went over for a visit to Seahawk in the afternoon. It rained really hard and there wasn’t any opportunity to go for a walk, which was disappointing. Seahawk knows another family here - they spent quite a lot of time traveling with this family from Ontario with 6 kids. They are in the process of selling their boat and moving aboard a 42’ catamaran they just purchased outside of Oriental. Seahawk went over to visit them later in the afternoon. We went back to Bird to look at the rain and have supper.
On Monday we did school in the morning. It is still raining really hard! Dave and I walked up to the grocery store in the afternoon, and on the way a man asked if we wanted a ride. We said it was ok, it’s a nice walk. Then he asked if we’d like a ride home in 20 minutes, we said it was no big deal… we went on to the grocery store and were finishing up the groceries when the man came into the store to find us and see if we were ready for a drive back to the boat!! Seahawk came over for a visit in the evening.
The high wind is blowing all the water up the river to Oriental and the road is flooded!

Vero Beach - May 3

April 22 – May 3 – Vero
We had a long and busy stop in Vero. The first highlight of the stop was when we went to the children’s bookstore and saw that Mary Pope Osbourne, the author of the Magic Treehouse books, was going to be there for a book signing on Wednesday. These books have been some of Annie’s favorites since grade 1, so on Wednesday, Annie and I rode our bikes back to the bookstore to meet her. I have never seen a bookstore with so many people and kids in it!! It was a great event and Annie got a couple of books signed. On Saturday, Dave’s brother John came to visit us for a week with his wife Ingrid and their six year old daughter Margaret. They rented a really nice house where there was room for all of us – as well as a pool (and a washer and dryer!!) We played the tourist and had a car too. They arrived on Saturday afternoon, so we went to their house where the kids swam and we had chicken on the bbq. On Sunday we all went over to the boat so they could see the marina and where we were. On our way out to the boat in the dinghy with Margaret, we saw some dolphins up close and that was great. We had lunch on the boat and then Dave, John, Margaret and Kristen went back to the house and Ingrid Annie and I went shopping. On Monday we traveled north to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. It is huge! You couldn’t really see it all in a day, and it was pretty hard to figure out what to do first. We went to the space shuttle exhibit where there is a mock up of a space shuttle that you can go inside and see the cargo bay and the control station. There is also a shuttle launch simulator that is really neat! You sit down and buckle up, as if you are in the cargo bay, and they take you through the launch and out into orbit. Very cool! We also took the bus tour out to see the shuttle launch platform and the Apollo/Gemini exhibit. Not only did we see interesting stuff about the space program we saw alligators, raccoons, roseate spoonbills as well as eagles, ospreys, herons and egrets. We finished the day by watching a 3D IMAX film on the building of the international space station. It was really well done and really interesting. Even Kristen who hates 3D movies kept her glasses on for the whole thing. On Tuesday we had a quite morning, and then went to the Environmental Learning Center on Wabasso Island in the afternoon. There was a great boardwalk through the mangrove swamp and there was a scavenger hunt for the kids. We managed to find everything on the list including green anoles (lizards), animal footprints, a bat house, and butterfly, as well as learning about the mangrove swamp and the Indian River Lagoon – did you know that sea horses lived in the Indian River lagoon? On Wednesday we to the Oceanarium in Ft. Pierce. It is similar to the environmental learning center, but there are more exhibits. They also have a big pond with sport fish in it, and we watched them being fed and learned about the different species. Then we walked their nature trail which was very well done, with lots of plaques with information about what you are seeing. The mosquitoes in that swamp can produce 38million offspring in a single summer! After our walk we fed the stingrays. That was really neat. Their mouths are underneath their bodies. To feed them you stand a shrimp or small fish up between your fingers, and then place your hand flat on the bottom of the tank. They swim over your had and suck the fish out from between your fingers. It feels like a vacuum cleaner! On Thursday we headed up to the Brevard County zoo in Melbourne where we had gone for Annie’s birthday. We did the kayak trip, fed the lories, petted armadillos, a monitor lizard and alpcas, and fed a huge giraffe. When you fed the giraffe, you had to stand back a couple of feet from the edge of the platform. The giraffe would reach over and stick out his 18" black tongue and wrap it around the cracker and pull it away from you! He really didn’t want us to pet him, but he loved to have his ears scratched by the keeper and the curator of the zoo. We went for supper at Unos, and then the guys went off shopping while the rest of us when to see the Magic Treehouse Musical, based on the Magic Treehouse books. It was very well done with great effects like a beautiful flying stag, dragons guarding a magic caldron and huge white stallion with a red knight. It was interesting to see how they made the dragons really beautiful so they weren’t as scary for the wide range of kids in the audience. On Friday we went for a kayak tour on the Indian River up and around where the marina is. We didn’t see as much wild life as I would have liked, but it was really nice and peaceful. On Friday night we went for a lovely supper at the Ocean Grill restaurant in Vero, and then went back to the house for an early birthday party for Kristen and John. At Kristen’s request we had 60 candles on the cake – 10 for Kristen and 50 for John! On Saturday we tidied up the house and said goodbye to them as they headed back to Orlando to catch an early flight to Toronto on Sunday. We had a busy afternoon trying to get some shopping done. On Sunday we got up early and drove to Orlando to meet our friends the Quanns at Seaworld! It was pretty neat that it worked out that their Florida vacation coincided with us being so close to Orlando and at a time when we already had a car rented. We had a great day and I think we saw the whole park. Probably the coolest thing was the brand new roller coaster Manta was unofficially open and Annie got to on it with the Quanns (Dave Kristen and I went and did the Shamu express). Apparently it is the only roller coaster in the world where you are strapped in and then tilted so you are facing down for the whole trip. Annie says that it feels like you are flying! (I think I’ll find anther way to learn how to fly). We also saw four shows: the Dolphin/Whale show which was fabulous, with acrobats and beautiful birds as well as the whales and dolphins; the sea lion show; the Shamu killer whale show; and another show that was done with cats, dogs a skunk and a pig that all came from animal shelters. So like I said, it was a busy busy time in Vero!


May 4 – Vero Beach (951) to Palm Shores (909)
We finally got away from Vero about 10:45 after getting groceries, returning the car and filling up the water tanks. We had an uneventful trip, getting back into the routine of travel on the waterway. It was a really hot day – mid to high 80’s with a 15 knot SW wind. We decided to anchor in Palm Shores around 4:45, as we were looking for some protection from the southwest, and there wasn’t anywhere else to anchor for the next 20 miles with any protection. We pulled off the waterway on the side of the bridge and carefully sounded our way into a spot with about 8 feet of water. We had a couple of dolphins come over to see us. I went snorkelling in the murky, murky water to try to clean off the growth on the knotmeter so it would spin again. I’m not sure how successful I was. I guess we’ll see tomorrow.

April 24 - Vero Beach

Pictures to follow....

April 15 – Green Turtle Cay
We had a quiet day today. School in the morning as usual. In the afternoon, Dave took the girls in the dinghy to go into town. On the way a guy whose dingy motor had quit flagged them down. They ended up towing him back to his boat with our little dinghy. We went into shore and had a swim in the pool, and then Annie and Kristen and I took Lily, the dog off Hale Kai for a walk. In the evening, Dave and I went in to hear the band that was playing at the Green Turtle Club. They were really good! It was a neat evening sitting out under the stars, watching the band playing under this big tree that was all covered in little white lights.
April 16 – Green Turtle Cay to Crab Cay
We left Green Turtle around 10:00. We weren’t in a big hurry and we wanted to make sure there was enough tide to get out safely. We rolled out the jib and motor sailed about 18 miles to Crab Cay. We got there around 2:00. Hale Kai was there, and they came over to see if the girls wanted to go to shore with them to walk Lily. Dave and I tidied up the boat and then went in too. We had a great walk. The beach isn’t sand here, it is either stone or rocks. We walked across the cay, and then back around the end of the island. It ended up being quite a long walk! We found lots of milk conch shells that are smaller than queen conch, but still really pretty. There was a deserted camp there too, made up of old sails and tarps. It was kink of weird!
April 17 – Crab Cay to Great Sail Cay
We left fairly early, around 7:00. It was a great day for a sail and we put all the sails up. We had a glorious sail for the entire day, and covered about 38 miles, arriving at Great Sail around 2:00. As we turned to go south after we went around the top of great sail, about a dozen dolphins came up and started swimming with the boat. There was one little one that was having a great time zig-zagging in front of the boat and then dropping back and catching up again. They swam with us for 20 minutes or half and hour. When we got to Great Sail we dropped the girls off on Gotta Life and Dave and I went for a walk on the shore. After our walk we picked up the girls, and then went back to the boat for supper. After supper we went back over to Gotta Life for a visit.
April 18 – 19 – Great Sail to Vero Beach Florida
Our original plan was to stay in Great Sail today, and then leave in the morning to cross to Fort Pierce in Florida tomorrow. As we listened to the forecast, we decided that we would prefer to sail the 50 miles across the bank over-night and then cross the 60 miles over the Gulf Stream during the day tomorrow. Based on that, we planned to leave at 7:00 tonight. The girls did some school in the morning and then went over to Gotta Life to go swimming. I went up Hale Kai’s mast to free up their topping lift that had broken free and gotten tangled. Annie Erin Dave and I went for a walk on the beach. We found some pieces of silver honeycomb that was likely dropped off from the space shuttle. We also found a 50lb bail of raw rubber. It would have been pretty hard to figure out it was, but they had one on display at the museum that we visited in Hopetown. The bales of rubber were being transported from South America to Europe during the second world war, and the ship was sunk by an Italian U-Boat. The bales of rubber have been washing up on the bahamian beaches ever since.
We had supper and left Great Sail at 7:00 as planned. Several other boats left around the same time, and we kept in contact with them throughout the night. We had a very uneventful night. We sailed off the bank and out of the Bahamas around 4:00am. The seas in the gulf stream were predicted to be quite high, but in the end it was fine. The waves were big, but they were far apart so we just went up and down without being rolled about too much. We went in the cut to Fort Pierce around 2:00pm. We had planned to spend the night in Fort Pierce, but the marina was full, so we went the additional 15 miles to Vero Beach and picked up a mooring. Dave called into customs, and they told us that we would all have to show up at immigration within 24 hours, so we planned to rent a car tomorrow to go do that and get some groceries. We got settled in, had showers, went for a walk, had an early supper and went to bed.
April 21 – Vero Beach
We rented the car at noon and went to Fort Pierce to get registered at immigration. It was no problem at all. Then we went and had lunch at Subway! We went to Walmart to get groceries! All and all an uneventful day, but pretty fun when you haven’t seen any of these things for a couple of months.

April 14 - Green Turtle Cay (with pictures)

April 6 – Black Point to Treasure Cay It was flat calm when we woke up in the morning – the calm before the storm! We left around 9:00 and headed up to Treasure Cay, on the other side of Marsh Harbour. There was a strong cold front forecast and we decided to tuck into the marina there. By 11:00 the wind was really piping up, and sailing was great. It was really shallow going into Treasure Cay, but we made it down the channel all right. Then, just as Dave was making the wide turn to get into the marina slip, we ran aground! It was kind of funny really, the gang from Gotta Life and Sandpiper, and the guy from the marina were all there waiting to take our lines, and we were stopped, dead in the water, about 50 feet from the dock. Some one came out and offered to try to get us off, but we knew we were on a rising tide and it wouldn’t be long before we were off on our own. We were just settling in for a half hour (or so) wait when there was a big gust of wind and Kristen said "We’re moving!" Sure enough, the wind blew us off the shallow spot and we were floating again. We got tied up after that with no more problems! Treasure Cay is a lovely spot. There is a nice marina with a pool, a great grocery store and a beautiful sandy beach. After we all walked around the little shopping center we went to the beach for a swim. The girls and Mark stayed in the water until suppertime! After supper the wind really blew up (over 40 knots) and we were all glad we were safely tied up.
April 7 – Treasure Cay It was school in the morning, with a trip to the bakery for cinnamon rolls at recess – they certainly know how to make cinnamon rolls here! When school was over, Annie Kristen and I went for a walk back to the shopping center and met a family from Miami that were over in the Abacos for a week on a charter boat. They are planning to go cruising next year so they were very interested in what we were doing. We went back and took a look at the tug-style boat they were chartering and are thinking of buying – there was lots of room! In the evening they came over for a visit and to take a look at the materials we were using for home schooling.
April 8 – Treasure Cay to Great Guana Cay
We left a little after 9:00 in the morning, not wanting to hurry away from Treasure Cay, but a little worried about the falling tide. We had a short hop over to Great Guana and dropped the anchor a little before 12:00. When we came into the anchorage there were only 3 boats, and within 15minutes of us dropping out anchor there were a total of 14! It’s a pretty busy spot. In the afternoon we went exploring on this pretty island. There is a small town that is very pretty, and then you can walk across the island to the popular "Nipper’s Bar and Grill". It is a fun and colorful spot that overlooks a great beach and the ocean. We had a good walk on the beach. On our way back to the boat we swung by a boat registered in Halifax. As we pulled up they asked if we were off "Bird on a Wire". They were glad to meet us as they had actually thought about buying "Bird", but in the end decided it was too much work! In the evening we went over to Gotta Life to play dominos.


April 9 – Great Guana Cay to Man-O-War Cay
We had another short day today to go to Man-O-War Cay. Again, we needed to time the tide so we had enough water to get into the protected mooring field. Gotta Life and Sandpiper decided to anchor off rather than go into the harbour and get a mooring. We finished up school and then went off exploring. Gotta Life had the same idea and we met up in the North harbor. We had a great walk through the town. There are some great shops here. In one canvas shop, there were three women sewing the canvas bags on old sewing machines. The bags were great, but we didn’t buy anything. We walked out towards the north end of the island and the girls looked for shells on the beach. Sheryl and I left the rest of them there around 4:00 to go back into town to pick up a few things at the store. By the time we got back, we discovered that all the gift shops closed at 4:00. Oh well. As we walked back to the dinghy we were looking in a shop window and the lady was just running back into pick something up and she said we could go in if we wanted. I ended up getting t-shirts for the girls (50% off J ). The ice cream shop was going to open up again at 6:00, so we agreed to meet Gotta Life and Sandpiper back at shore after supper for some ice cream. Ice cream was great but Dave ended up talking to some guys on the dock and missed out altogether! April 10 – Man-O-War We did school in the morning and then called Gotta Life in the afternoon to see if they still wanted to go snorkeling. They ended up moving to Hopetown in the morning as the wind had shifted around and they were getting bounced around in the anchorage. It was overcast and pretty chilly for snorkeling (yes, we are getting spoiled) so we went for a walk in town again. All the stores were closed for Good Friday. After we stretched our legs we dinghied back down to the sand bar and collected lots of sea biscuit shells (like sanddollars except fatter). April 11 – Man-O-War to Hopetown We left Man-O-War at 8:00 while we still had tide to get out, and headed the 8 miles to Hopetown. We got to Hopetown around 10:00 and there was still enough tide to get in. We eventually found a mooring and called Gotta Life, who was anchored outside. Hopetown is another really pretty Bahamian town. The beautiful red and white striped lighthouse overlooks the town and is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. Like Man-o-War, it is pretty touristy with lots of really high-end rentals and vacation properties. We went to the museum that was really interesting and well done. It was interesting to read that the Hopetown lighthouse was pretty controversial when it was built as it put an end to the wrecking industry in Hopetown. Up until that point, the locals supplemented their farming and fishing existence by salvaging thing off ships that ran aground on the reef – fortunately it wasn’t all greed and they saved a lot of lives too! After the museum we went back to the boat, and then went to visit the lighthouse. This lighthouse is pretty special as it is one of the few manned light houses left, and it is still lit by a kerosene lantern, and uses a fresno lens to magnify the light so it can be seen for 10 miles. The lens is turned by weights that must be wound every two hours throughout the night. The workings of the lighthouse have remained the same since it first started operating! We had heard that you could arrange with the lighthouse keepers to go up with them to light the light, so we knocked on the lighthouse keepers door, and sure enough, he said it was okay to come back at 7:30 to help light the light. We made a quick trip back to town for some groceries, and then went back to the boat for supper. We got back to the light at 7:30 and met Gotta Life, Sandpiper and Fred from Casa Mara there. We spent about an hour at the top of the light, watching the keeper prepare to light the light, and then light it. It works pretty much the same as the stove on our boat, where the pressurized kerosene needs to be preheated with alcohol, then the burner is lit. It does have a mantle (which our stove does not) and that generates the light. We wound up the weights with a crank, and then the lens started to turn around. It was a great experience!

April 12 – Hopetown.
The Easter Bunny found Bird on a Wire and left a trail of bunny chocolate! Gotta Life and Sandpiper left in the morning to go up to Green Turtle Cay, and we decided to stay another day in Hopetown. We had a great walk on the beach and found lots of sea glass. We spent a quiet afternoon on the boat and then got dressed to go out for an ‘Early Bird" Easter supper. Supper was great. It was a real treat to go out for supper! After supper the girls went back to the boat and Dave and I went for a dingy around the harbour and watched as the lighthouse got lit.
April 13 – Hopetown to Green Turtle Cay.
Kristen’s entry: Today we debated about going through the Whale cut or not. We were scared it was going to be rough, but if it was okay it would be stupid not to go. Eventually we went and it wasn’t that bad because we went at slack tide. We got to Green Turtle and we saw where Gotta Life was. They were anchored outside of White Sound. We went in White Sound and picked up a mooring. Then, a little bit later, we called Gotta Life and asked if they wanted to go town. They said yes, so about and hour later we went over to Gotta Life for a while. Then we took the two dinghies and went to town. Annie and I went with Gotta life and Mum and Dad took our dinghy. Because it was Easter Monday everything was closed. The town was neat. There was an "Olde Gaol" painted pink with green wooden doors that anyone could have broken out of any day (even me). There were a lot of chickens, and white picket fences around every yard. While we were waiting for Brian to come back with the dinghy after getting diesel, Mum asked Sheryl if Erin and Geneva could come for supper and a sleepover on our boat. She said yes, so Annie and I went back in their dinghy to Gotta life to get their stuff, and then we all went to Bird. Mum took us all to shore to go swimming and to have showers while Dad made supper (and brownies). We had a really fun time. (end of Kristen’s entry)
April 14 – Green Turtle Cay
We had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and then Brian and Sheryl came to get the girls around 9:30. We made another trip to town so they could actually go in the shops before they left to go to Angelfish Point. (We planned to stay a few more days in Green Turtle.) In one store we found a Bahamian steel drum, so Annie and Kristen bought one with their allowance. Gotta Life got one too – I wonder what the concert will sound like! After Gotta Life (and Sandpiper) left we went back to the boat and had lunch and then did school. Dave worked on tightening the motor mount that had slipped again. Later in the afternoon we went into the pool and had a swim and a shower. We met Val and Peter off Valerie Arden, a Baba 40 that seems in the same places as us every night! They were really friendly, and gave us a brand new game "Voyagers" that they had had on their boat for a long time and had never played – they thought a family should have it! We had a fun time playing it after supper. As we were playing there seemed to be a lot of activity in the anchorage and then there was a lot of chatter on the radio about a squall coming. We turned on the radar and could see it coming towards us. There was a lot of thunder and lightning all evening, and lots of rain in the squall, be we didn’t see the really high winds that had been forecast. In any event, we were really glad to be on a mooring and not worrying about dragging anchor in the poor holding in White Sound.