Our Epic Adventure....or bust!

Agustus 2023 - Maret 2024
Here we go! After 6 years of painstaking rehabbing, planning, testing and re-doing, we are FINALLY doing it; Taking a trip down the Intercoastal Water Way (ICW) to the Bahamas in What Could Go Wrong. Seriously, what could? Baca selengkapnya
  • 85footprint
  • 2negara
  • 205hari
  • 475foto
  • 9video
  • 5,2kkilometer
  • 2,0kkilometer
  • Hari 18

    Storms are coming!

    7 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
  • Hari 19

    Rock Hall Harbor Shack

    8 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F
  • Hari 21

    Deale to Solomons Island

    10 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    Our trip from Deale to Solomons Island was BEAUTIFUL. We debated the trip, studied the weather, studied the winds and watched the radar like hawks. We jumped up as soon as a cell of rain passed over us and high tailed it to Solomons Island. We had a beautiful trip, got to a beautiful marina and had a peaceful night. Much needed. I even watched a TV show and we got our laundry done.

    What Could Go Right? It makes so much difference being in the rain in a protected cove. Hopefully we will have more of that.

    What Could Go Wrong? We had to replace our radio sadly. But it was pretty easy. West Marine was right next to a place we had lunch and Dave was able to get what he needed and replaced within an hour.

    We are on our way to a dock today so that Dave can fix an oil leak issue and potentially work on the window leaks some more. We are expecting more rain on Wednesday and we wanted to stay put until after it passes. It is a long trip today, about 60 miles. But then we will be set for a few days.
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  • Hari 22

    Solomons Island to Deltaville, VA

    11 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Oh my gosh what a beautiful day! Complete with the tiniest fishing village, our last Maryland Crab Cakes and dolphins! It truly was a spectacular day. I am kind of sad the pictures do not do it any justice. So I am really glad I am journaling a little, because the stories will remind me of the great days.

    We left very early (9am is early!) from our great spot at Solomons to head out to Tylerton Town Dock on Smith Island. Dave had read that they were reported to have Maryland's BEST Crab Cakes. The weather was perfect and the Chesapeake Bay was sparkling. We had the most adventurous entry to the little town dock through a very narrow and shallow channel. We actually did go aground a little when we couldn't decipher channel markers or our maps and made a slightly wrong turn. But Dave got us out of it quick and we persevered. At the end of this little channel was a dock that looked to be about 100 years old and a row of fishing shacks. There were a few people out and about on the little island, but no one at the dock. It was kind of eerie. We docked up and walked the block to the Drum Market for our crab cakes. I was ATTACKED by some kind of biting fly and we had to run inside with the dogs. The owner of the little market was very nice and let us shelter inside with our food. The crab cakes were good, but not the best. I honestly had the best the day before in Deale, but we were not disappointed and the adventure was well worth the meal.

    After Tylerton, we made it another 30 miles or so to Deltaville, VA. Along the way, we were once again greeted with beautiful weather and water. Just before entering Deltaville, we saw another pod of dolphins frolicking. I just love that! Deltaville is nothing more than a lot of boats in the water with very sparse land / town amenities. Dave and I got some groceries and spent the evening on the boat. The dogs love us being on the dock so they can walk easy and there is a little beach to swim at down the road. Duke has gotten to love swimming. Cookie still just loves to lay in the water.

    What Could Go Right? Almost everything! It was just such a perfect day.

    What Could Go Wrong? As I type, Dave is working on those windows! He has plans to work on the oil leak tomorrow. Dave has now developed some sort of rash and I have some sort of numbness going on on my foot I am looking into. We keep saying how glad we are doing this now in our 50's. We are very impressed by those older than us making these trips and suffering these mysterious ailments and getting all these chores done.

    We're in Deltaville for a few days as it is supposed to rain. At least that is the plan for now.
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  • Hari 24

    Deltaville to Hampton, VA

    13 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Deltaville turned out to be a bit stark. Everything was closed until Thursday. Apparently, this is the fall schedule now, and combine that with it being the tiniest of towns in the middle of nowhere, it was not much to visit. The pictures, this time, do do it justice. The marina was industrial and lacking amenities, including water for a whole day. We did manage to get in some neighborhood walks each day, and VA smells so different than Maryland. The pine and sea air were beautiful.

    What Could Go Right? We slept great here. It was so quiet. The marina DID have a car we could use, so we were able to get tools and groceries easily.

    What Could Go Wrong? Ummmm, Dave is getting hit from all areas right now. We hit a log, bending yet another propeller. Our solar is freaking out. Medicare decided to audit our business today. The water leaks, MAY be fixed with minor exceptions, and those are plaguing him. The oil leak needs days in one place to get fixed, so Dave is waiting for a good anchorage to do that (possibly two stops away). What more? I hope today resolves a lot.

    It's hard because the days are very pretty and the adventure is grand. I wish it was easier :), but I'm not sure Dave would love it as much if there wasn't such a challenge.
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  • Hari 25

    Hampton to Chesapeake City, VA

    14 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ 🌙 75 °F

    Hampton was actually a really neat anchorage. The winds were BLOWING! It seems we have gotten the tail end of Hurricane Lee and will have to deal with some strong winds followed by rainy weather. Nothing compared to what is happening at home, but still not ideal for boating. But our anchor held FAST. So fast that Dave was worried we were going to have to un-dig it from the ground. We didn't. It was nice sticking so well even though the sound of the wind ripping through the boat is a very unpleasant one and even more unpleasant when you think the only thing holding me from crashing into that solid concrete bridge is a little piece of steal and some rope.

    We stayed 2 nights in Hampton, which was a city with a very friendly marina and park. They had a free dinghy dock for general use that made it super easy to walk the dogs and get to the uber we needed to get the things we needed to fix all the things we needed to fix. Once again, Dave dove and repaired a propeller. Not to brag, but I came up with the solution for fixing our solar - unplug it and plug it back in. We are waiting on the oil issue as previously said and our Medicare audit, thanks 1010% to our colleague, Yahaira (with a little help from Aimee), went swimmingly well. Dave and I had great cell availability to get online and get documents that were needed and answer all the questions of the auditor. So all in all, that bad afternoon turned out just fine, if a little expensive (propellers are not cheap) and time consuming.

    With the weather being what it is, we have spent A LOT of time going over where we are headed and how. I really don't like being at anchor when the wind is blowing. Dave hates spending $80/night on a dock. So we negotiate like crazy. It works out fine so far. Stay tuned.......

    We headed out from Hampton through Norfolk, which we will love to visit if we bring the boat back to CT, and down the beginning of the Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW). We LOVED it. It reminded us of home and our river and was so picturesque. Again, we really like Virginia (except the bugs!) and the waterway towns are so pretty.

    What Could Go Right? Thank God nothing major is going on. Other than the wind, we really are facing an easy day of travel today into tomorrow. Dave is truly amazing in what he can do. People would spend thousands and thousands fixing things he fixes with $10 and his ingenuity. (I really wish it was only $10 we were spending, but you get the point.)

    What Could Go Wrong? The dogs are loving boat life overall. The boat has become their home so much they are happy to return and they each find their happy place on board - Cookie with fetch and Duke with a lap. But all this "making it home" means they are very protective of their space which means they can be very vocal at every single thing that passes by. Pedestrian, car, jet ski, other dog, even the birds get a vocal remonstration from our two vicious attack terriers. Cookie even jumped off the boat this morning, which she hasn't done yet, to chase down a local walker and her dog! We are working on this behavior, because as you can imagine, on a dock, neighbors don't love protective vocal pets!
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  • Hari 27

    Chesapeake City to Coinjock, NC

    16 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ 🌙 55 °F

    We were in the ICW all day. We got behind some bigger boats that were traveling at a very slow speed and we felt "forced" to just follow them as we were in a narrow shallow channel the whole way. So we dropped back and enjoyed the absolutely beautiful day at a painful crawl. When we got to Coinjock, I decided to find out why these boats crawled like they did. It embarrassed Dave that I asked, but I learned a lot and I made two new friends whom we had dinner with. (The only thing Coinjock is known for is it's prime rib dinner, so we indulged.)

    What I learned from questioning and during dinner is that these boats fuel efficiency is at a slower speed than ours because they ride the top of the wave different than our boat. So while going slow was behind the wave for us, it was on top of the wave for them. I also learned that it would have been perfectly acceptable to ask to pass over the coms. Dave and I are learning a great deal about how we communicate with the use of the radio. Let me just say, I am way more suited to using the radio than he is. :) Anyway, today we have the same channel issues and the big boats left Coinjock an hour before us, so we know we are going to practice passing. Wish us luck!

    What Could Go Right? We had our first boat couple date with Russ and Sandy from Houston, TX who are doing the Loop in their BEAUTIFUL new to them 58' mega yacht. "It's older", they shyly explained to us lest we believe them to be part of the elite 1%! It's fun when you connect with people you have so much in common. They were close to our age and had 3 kids and were enjoying their time cruising and boating. We had a lot to talk about, the food was decently good (remember, we grew our own cows! nothing really comes close) and we learned a lot from experienced cruisers.

    What Could Go Wrong? In the middle of cruising in that narrow channel, a fan belt broke on one engine. We don't really have the option to stop when that happens unless we want to block the channel. So Dave went down while I kept driving. He fixed one engine, while the other one kept on running. I had to drive through a tiny swing bridge by myself on one engine! While it was NERVE WRACKING, I did it!
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  • Hari 27

    Manteo, NC

    16 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Really liked Manteo. We rented a car today and drove to the two towns we had planned to visit but had to cancel due to weather, Hatteras and Ocracoke. Miles and miles of unspoiled seashore with fine powdery sand. The dogs loved it too, they were allowed off leash to play in the water.Baca selengkapnya

  • Hari 28

    Coinjock to Manteo, NC (Roanoke Island)

    17 September 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    We left Coinjock first thing in the morning to avoid those headwinds we talked about way back in Delaware Bay. There is no tide here, so we weren't working with exactly the same thing, but we still don't love heavy winds against us as we cruise. This time we had a clear path and were free to get to Manteo.

    We were really looking forward to Manteo based on the descriptions, and it truly does not disappoint. What a cute place! We could so easily live here. Although, it is very hard to get to.

    We spent the day walking the town and doing laundry and enjoying the pool. It was nice. We have decent enough cell service to watch some TV and then to a very early bed. We are adjusting to a boater's midnight is 9pm. :)

    What Could Go Right? Such a cute town! Great lunch!

    What Could Go Wrong? Still dealing with dogs being crazy on a dock. Dave took a stab at the oil leak and hopes he has a fix. We are looking ahead at weather and are more than a little concerned, but also feeling like we have a handle on good times to travel. We shall see.
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