Last Updated 12/03/2009
One
of Susan's old homes
Rocna is "Anchor" spelled backwards, well sorta!
Cumberland Island
Where is the sky?
"Pesto" Swamp
Frog shows Rachel the Guitar Barre
Mystic Seaport
January 30, 2008: left for the Bahamas - Click here to see our Bahamas 2008 log ....
January 26, 2008: We met up with Doug & Helen
of Morning Glory in Miami, and were introduced
to felow catamaran owners, Bob & Chris of On Watch. Miami is
a good place for cruisers to stop- the bus costs only 25 cents, there are
two Publix stores nearby, and it's fun to walk through South Beach and see
the sights- Art Deco Buildings and scantily clad locals. Doug kept saying
that there must be a lot of poverty in Miami, since none of the ladies on
the beach could afford tops for their swimsuits. 
We left St. Augustine on January 16th and headed south. We stopped in Daytona Beach, New Smyra Beach, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, & North Palm Beach, arriving in Ft Lauderdale on January 23rd. We had a quick visit with Susan's Stepmom, Chabuca, and also lunch at the famous Southport Raw Bar. We toured the canals va dinghy & checked out the houses where Susan grew up- they were so changed that they wre almost unrecognizable.
Nov-Jan: We spent Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's with Susan's Mom, Pam, in St Augustine. We enjoyed many wonderful meals since she's such an excellent cook, and helped organize things a bit, now that Vince has passed away. Susan spent time helping making frames for Mom's artwork. She got quite a kick out of it- seems she was channeling Vince when she said "Just a minute, I have time to glue another corner". Susan found out that making frames is not nearly as easy as it looks.
We hauled TabbyCat out, had the bottom painted, waxed the hull and replaced the Zincs (huh? - For our friends in Baltimore, we did NOT replace the sinks on the boat!!). We also installed our new 25 kilogram (55lb) Rocna Anchor. We were in St Augustine so long that we acquired a temporary pet! A small bird, called a Ruddy Turnstone started coming by whenever the wind started blowing near gale force, so we named her "Gale" .
November 17: arrived in St Augustine, FL in time for Susan's Birthday and the Grand Illumination, which is when they light up all the lights downtown. Of course, Mike tried to convince Susan that he had arranged the lighting for her birthday...hmmm.
We also had one of those great encounters with total strangers that suddenly become friends. Ginny and Jason were standing in the crowd and they informed us the real purpose of the Grand Illumination. They correctly figured out we were "cruisers" and immediately asked if we were on a catamaran. When we replied, "Yes" and said we were on a Maine Cat - they floored us when they said they knew what a Maine Cat was. We exchanged phone numbers and they came for a sail. Ginny and Jason also happen to live in the most modern house in St. Augustine - we visited and it is totally cool!
November 2007: We stopped in Beaufort, SC. The locals pronounce the name of their city "Bew fort", unlike their northern Neighbors in North Carolina, who pronounce it "Bo Fort" . There is lots of Spanish Moss, and lovely Victorian Mansions along the waterfront. Like many Southern towns, they paint their porch roof undersides blue. It was believed that this fooled the bugs and birds into thinking that it was the sky, and discouraged them from landing on and inhabiting the porches.
October 27: We anchored behind Goat Island, after travelling though the swamp. The anchorage was very protected, and we got an excellent night's sleep. We sailed across the Albemarle Sound in 10-20 knots of winds, and wound our way into Catfish Point. As you can see from the photo to the right, the deadheads sticking up from the water are quite alarming, but once we got inside, we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset and a protected anchorage. Mike enjoyed watching the frogs jumping along the edge of the marsh, some leaping as far as 20'.
October 25: We always enjoy chatting with Robert Peek, the friendly lock tender at the Deep Creek Lock, leading into the Great Dismal Swamp. For those of you who have not met Robert, well he is the only lockmaster we have ever met who can play a conch horn, cook cruisers breakfast, provide a ton of helpful information and grows bananas right next to the lock! Robert loves his job and it shows.
This time we stayed a little longer - initially we were delayed because we helped pull Carol Too, which had gone aground just before the lock out of the mud. Then Robert convinced us to stay for the morning breakfast. There was a big enough crowd at Elizabeth's dock to warrant the full breakfast at the locktender's house: bacon, sausage, rum raisin pancakes, sticky buns, and all sorts of other goodies. There was a lot of pollen in the swamp, prompting someone to say they were "cutting the key lime Pie". Susan thought it looked like Pesto.
October 2 - 18: Annapolis is
always a long stopover for us. We replenish food, shop at the
numerous marine stores, and visit our stuff in storage. Oh yeah,
we also meet up with friends and meet new ones along the way. Our
southbound visits to Annapolis are timed to coincide with the sailboat
show and the Great Chesapeake Bay
Schooner Race (GBSC), so it's a busy time. Susan's Mom came
up to visit, and introduced us to her friend Frog, who
plays and builds
musical instruments. Rachel & Steve from
Silk Road caught up with
us, so Frog was able to demonstrate his Guitar Barre, a device that
helps you play musical chords, to Rachel. The schooner race was
fabulous - we were able to go for a ride on Virginia for the Parade of
Sail the day before, and the winds at the start on Saturday was really
blowing. We found out later that the Virginia set the
record for the fastest time and beat the Pride of Baltimore II by
about 10 minutes.
September 25-27: Susan had been wanting to visit the Mystic
Seaport, so we spent a couple of days
exploring the town and the museum. The exhibits are too numerous to
list, but we particularly enjoyed the figurehead display, the art
gallery, and the rope walk.
The bridge at Mystic is unique- built in 1922, it uses just two 40 hp electric motors and a big counterweight to lift.
September 16-18: We had heard Jewell Island, ME was worthy of its name, so paid it a visit. It's now a nature conservancy with lots of hiking paths, butterflies, and lovely coves. Cruisers have built stone hearths, so many people have had lobster bakes on the island. Back during World War II, the island served as a lookout post, and there are tall towers and moldering bunkers to explore.
Virginia
the
Rope Walk
Jewell
Island