Dave and Sandy Alexander are old friends of several years while Dave & I worked at the City of Austin Electric Utility, now called Austin Energy. The e-mail below is their first one sent via winlink to me. I thought you would enjoy their story as they leave Galveston and head toward the Bahamas....K5GP, Gene 04/20/2001 Hi friends and family, (notice: this is a long one)as you may know, we are presently anchored next to the west jetty of the Southwest Pass, the most southern point of Louisiana. We left from Galveston on Easter Sunday. We pulled up to the fuel dock at the Yacht Basin and found friends from Waterford on their boats who had spent the night there and so we had a proper send off again as we left Texas by boat...forever (maybe). Thanks to Tal and Carolyn for the ice, and to Nancy for the ginger gummiebears...they did fill in when the patch seemed to be waning. We went around the corner into the Galveston jetties and spent about an hour reefing and unreefing our mainsail and got that down to a smooth and rapid operation. Then we headed out and took a southeast heading in a south wind and sailed beautifully at almost hull speed until dinnertime when the wind died and we began to motorsail. Did that through the night. The second day we were sailing again trying to make some northerly progress in anticipation of the predicted norther that was s'pose to arrive at midnight. We battened down everything and overdressed ourselves and had a last warm meal...waiting for its arrival. Did not hit until Tues morning and then it was a wild ride. Dave had done a Gulf passage last year, but this was my 1st and so 25-32 kt winds and 8 ft seas were a little disconcerting for me. I guess this will be a point of reference for the future (like "is this as bad as when we did the passage from Tx-La??) Anyway, the boat was great..sliced thru the waves and never whimpered. We made it to point where we were 40 miles off the delta and ready to turn north...well, the northeast wind was not abating and Dave checked a weather fax that said it was gonna get worse so we fired up the iron gennie and headed north to get to some shallow water where we could let out the hook and SLEEP. This was the 1st time we had to hand steer the boat and it was a workout (I feel like I spent a day working out at the gym and resultant sore muscles). We finally arress to get here. We anchored and immediately crawled into bed and slept for 5 hours, got up and checked the boat over and went back to bed for another ? hours. Dave fixed dinner which we ate at 23:00 and were so beat we didn't do the dishes, went back to bed and slept until 7:30 am. The wind has disipated drastically, but is still n-e and so we will stay here until it clocks to the southeast, south and then head off to Pensacola (maybe tomorrow, Fri 19th). I wanted to let those of you who are interested know what was important gear to have (for us). The helm seat that we designed that put you up high was absolutely great for both visibility and fresh air when it was warm. The weather cloths and doors that connected from the dodger to the weather cloths were invaluable. We stayed very dry and we had some waves that crashed over the bimini! The clear side curtain that I made at the last minute that connected the bimini to the weather cloth was also invaluable and I think I will make another one for the other side in the near future. The 2 million candle power spot light from West that we kept in the cockpit to shine on our sails in the night when we saw tankers in our vicinity got plenty of use. The Henri Lloyd "Breeze" outfits that we got at West were fabulous...light weight, breathable, and totally waterproof...will be my choice in any wet or breezy situation that is not extreme, it was a real coup having them. I would NEVER do a passage at night without radar again (the 1st night we didn't turn it on, and wished that we had:another story). This was my 1st time to do the PATCH and I was worried that I would have bad side effects. It saved the day as far as I am concerned. Still had moments of queaziness, but was totally functional and neither of us ever got sick. When we switched to our second patch, we put it on our butt, as had been suggested, but a couple hours into it we were both feeling worse and so we peeled them off and put them back behind our ear. It would be the thing to do if the patch made one sic for us. I suffered the dry mouth, but no blurred vision. Did have a sour, bitter taste in my mouth most of the time, but am not sure if that wasn't because my internal organs were constantly being rocked and rolled. So far, I LOVE our 66lb Bruce anchor, oversized for this size boat, but we stick and I sleep better at achor. (We do set the anchor alarm on the GPS, but it has never gone off). Other items: the Nexus repeater at the helm, hand bearing compass, red LED flashlight for use at night in the helm, Alpenglow ceiling lights down below and, last but not least, the Captain navigation program and our SEA 235 ham radio (could do without, but wouldn't want to). Lessons learned: take the weather forecast for what it is, unprecise. Never go looking for a Norther, unless you leave when the worst of it is over and you are only planning to go south,east,or west. Have more immediately grabable foods, sandwiches already made, or fruits and nuts, carrot sticks. I made chili before we left and heated that up when I could, but when things got rough we only ate almonds and pretzels and water, and mostly didn't want to eat at all. That is all that comes to mind now, I am sure I will add some observations later. Better stop now before this gets too long to send. We miss all of our friends, but have got a great captain and partner, and YACHT and we are having the experience of a lifetime. Still can't wait to get to the Bahamas. Our best to y'all, Alexus later in the day... From: kd5bzh@winlink.org Subject: Good bye Southwest Pass Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 20:03:00 -0000 (GMT) Left SW Pass at about 7:30 and are having a great run toward Pensacola - 15 knt wind on the beam and doing 7-8. 1-2 ft seas. Making such good time we may have to hove to to avoid getting there before dawn. This is more like it. More later. early next morning... From: kd5bzh@winlink.org Subject: Land ho! Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 00:58:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi from Pensacola. Well, we finally made it and are of course now sleeping off another night passage with unfriendly sleeping accomodations.I realized in my last note that I had not given kudos to the real champions of our cruising equipment - the monitor windvane and=20the wheel pilot...what a wonderful thing to have, the invisible man steering your boat and you are along for the ride!!! We didn't really realize how valuable they were until we left the SW Pass in La. (not a tourist attraction, by the way, so don't plan to go there). This time we really watched and waited for "the weather window" and were sure we had it. Pulled up anchor at 8am and headed on our northeast course with southeast wind. We were close reaching in 15 kts of wind and gentle seas for all the day making close to hull speed and thinking..."this is the way it is s'pose to be". Dave went to turn the steering over to the monitor (we call "Monty") and suddenly turned white. The pendulum was gone and it was out of commision! We lost it the night we hand steered into the North wind (last Tues nite) and didn't even realize it until we were underway. Luckily, the wheel pilot that we had installed took over and did a commendable job. It is a Simrad (we call "Simon") and is only rated for a 40 ft boat, but we installed it for the light air conditions in which a monitor won't work. Well, Simon got a real workout! When evening came the winds started to die and we put a reef in the main, like we agreed to do as the night approaches, and started the engine to do better than 4 kts. Within minutes the wind picked up (weather reports had said 10 kt prediction) and up and the seas picked up and pretty soon they were 25kts and 7 ft seas!....ALL NIGHT LONG! I never realized how noisy a boat is down below in those conditions. I couldn't sleep well and with 2 people you don't get much time anyway. We made landfall at about 8:30am and entered the Caucus Cut, turned to port, went up the ICW to Perdido Bay where we are currently anchored in 7 feet of water a couple hundred yards from my Dad's house. I inflated the dinghy to go over there and do laundry and trash disposal, but energy abated and sleep took precedence. Dave is still napping and so I took some time to give y'all an update. It was fun to sail into the Bay and call my Dad and let him see us sail into his "backyard". We were running on adrenalin when we got into the ICW and couldn't wait to anchor before opening the bottle of champagne that Wayne & Terri sent us off with! So we were toasting our success at 10am...a little decadent...but then, we felt an accomplishment and couldn't postpone the celebration. I know that it is not a major feat that we accomplished when you look at the histories of many of our friends, but it was OUR first and we are thrilled. Now to plan our NEXT adventure. One thing that is for SURE...this boat is great and will handle lots more than we can. A toast to ALEXUS! Stay in touch, or let us know if you don't want to receive our travel notes. Best to all, Sandy From: Subject: Leaving Pensacola Date: Fri, 4 May 2001 02:56:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi all, have been here in Pensacola, specifically Perdido Bay, visiting Sandy's Dad - he has a house on the bay and we anchored about 100 yds off his back porch. We raised anchor yesterday and are now at a beautiful spot off the ICW within 1 mile of the old light house at Pensacola cut that leads to the gulf. What a great spot. The light house was built in 1858 and it sweeps by in the night sky twice per minute. We are close in to the barrier island and can hear the surf crashing on the other side. I was on deck after dinner, smoking a great cigar (thanks Mike) and feeling like the world is alright. We have been watching the weather and downloading weather faxes hoping for a favorable window for a trip to Apalachacola. That's east from here and the wind has been out of the east for the last 5 days and looks to likely continue that trend for another 5. We were looking for the big 4/0x4/0 window, but looks like we will have to settle for a peep hole. Here's the plan, you sailors, and let's hope it works : Can't do the ICW, lot's of 50 foot bridges, wer'e 61.5'. We will do a port tack off shore starting tomarrow at about mid morning (the E wind is strong then, 15knts). Then mid afternoon we do a starboard tack, hoping that the building on-shore breeze will bring the wind around to the south. At night the off shore breeze may give us a north wind which would be great, although it will probably be lite. Is this the way you do it, Ben? A fall back will be to pull in at Panama City if it gets rough, or, if the sailing is great and a NE wind picks up, we will blow past Apalachacola and head for Fort Meyers. We are feeling a little behind schedule and should probably not pass up a big 4/0 if it comes our way. We love this cruising stuff so far and just feel like we need to get our routines down, relax, and learn a few details for it to be the best of all possible worlds. The boat is working great, and we are excited to be under way again. Love to all, Dave Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 22:03:00 -0000 (GMT) We are currently at Apalachicola, a quaint little fishing and tourist spot. Had a good sail over, nothing above 15knts. and seas about 5'. We were close hauled all day against a SE wind and then at night, it die, then in an hour or so, picked up from the north. This was the land breeze we thought might develop from the cooling of the land to the north of us. This lasted for a very nice 4 or 5 hours and then it clocked around to the east and we were motoring to weather for the next 2 hours to get in to St. Josephs Bay. Connect to the County canal that took us to the ICW and we came the back way into Apalachicola about 15 miles later. So we think the land effect thing is for real, we just need a little more experience to know how to predict it and use it. On our way south we may stay fairly close to shore (5 miles or so) so that we can us the land effect, which I think will be an east and west breeze on the beam. We'll see. We're thinking we may head out tomorrow but not sure where to. Ft. Meyers, Tarpon Springs (sponge capital of the world), or maybe we just push on to Dry Tortugas, about a 48hr. sail. We'll send out a short email to let you know. From: Subject: To the land of the Dry Turtles Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 14:39:00 -0000 (GMT) Yes, we are off to Dry Tortugas. We left FT. Meyers on the one whistle this morning early. I thought we might be stopping but Sandy said she was ready to head on. This is our third day, second night since leaving Apalachcola. Yesterday and last night were such good sailing it makes you forget that it can ever get nasty. Right now we are on a broad reach in 12knt wind making 6.4 at 194*. Location is 26* 23'N, 82*33.4'W. (Am only using the one port on my computer and a data switch so I can't do GPS & SSB at the same time, Gene. Need to get the cable and just did'nt get around to it.) We are making great time and the sea is 2-3'. In fact, a little problem is that we are going too fast and will get to DT before dawn at this rate. Of course a lot can happen, so we hate to slow down further,( have one reef in main, 80% jib, and staysail out). May have to anchor outside the park before dawn. Looking forward to Dry Tortugas and seeing Ft. Jefferson, built in 1846 to defend against pirates but was obsolete before it was even finished. In fact it wasn't finished. Now is a national park. From there it will be on to Key West. Other big news: caught my first fish (that's a plural). Yep. Put string on my West Marine special, a fussy thing on the end, and after about an hour, pulled in a 6lb Amber Jack. Cleaned him, put out the fussy, and in 5 minutes had a 5 lb tuna. It's called Little Tuna and from what we read was not considered a prime table fish. After having some of it for dinner we concluded that it's marginal rep is because it doesn't get huge like the others. Both fish were delicious. Had some concern about the Amber Jack after the story from Jane and Jay about cigretera, but we are too far north for that, I think. Fish and crew are fine. Anybody know how far south you have to be to get cigratera or however you spell it? That's it for now. Love to all, Dave From: kd5bzh@winlink.org Subject: A Woman's Perspective Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 23:33:00 -0000 (GMT) HI ALL, well, I guess by now everyone knows that we are on our way to Dry Tortuga. We will make it there unfortunately before sunrise and hope to hove to, or drop an anchor in 24 ft outside of the park. We left Apalachacola on Monday after a quick trip to a tackle shop for the 40# test line to use our trolling rod. Our trip out through the jetties looked uncomfortable, and not the 10kts that NOAA predicted and I was mad that they put peoples' lives at stake by not giving accurate forcasts. Missy and John, glad you made it to Key West, sorry you had an uncomfortable passage. Once we got out, the seas settled and we had 10-14 all day long in 1-2ft seas and had a fabulous sail. Dave caught 2 fish along the way and just as we were dining on fresh fish dinner, the wind and waves piped up and all night long we took big rollers and it was a very uncomfortable ride. We both did not sleep well and our patch was not holding up well in those conditions. The next day, Tues, the sun rose and we had 10-12 all day and it was a great sail again. The radio predicted large seas and wind for the evening so we really prepared for it and...voila, it was a wonderful night of calm seas and gentle winds and a big full moon lighting the way. We both got plenty of sleep for a night passage. I don't know if any man would indicate a negative aspect to this "life's dream". I am amazingly getting more confident all of the time. The scariest parts are no less unsettling that driving a car on an icey road. We are all comfortable with driving...give us an extreme condition and all of a sudden there is a new perspective. The first night when the conditions were rotten I was asking myself "why are we doing this?". The second night gave me the answer. Today, as well, has been glorious. Now they are predicting weather with a small craft advisory for Florida Bay and we are only 60 something miles away and we have less than 6 kts! Go figure! Today has been another beautiful day...as Dave was reading your email about your trip to me we were in the cockpit having a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers! I thought I might lose a pound or 2 on this passage, but unfortunately my appetite today and yesterday made up for the 1st day's queaziness. We have continued to have small hitchhikers on this passage. This afternoon our boat was invaded by flies...biting kind. Shortly thereafter we were visited by a bird an American Red Start who landed on our arms, legs, heads...unphased by our presence. He then proceded to capture and eat flies right and left until they were all gone. Dave opened the hatch and he flew down there and wiped out the population in there until he was distracted by his reflection in the mirror and I was afraid he would kill himself diving into it. So I gathered him up and set him outside...still stayed around for hours. Maybe this is a common occurence on boats in this area, but it was unique to me. I continue to be amazed at the quality of our boat, but it is amazing how taking her out to sea and letting her get beat up in huge waves will uncover some of the frailities. Yesterday, early in the morning when I was on watch but could see down the companionway and Dave was asleep on the port settee when he sat up and started making some frantic noises. I could see sparks and smell electrical fire. He quickly turned off the main breaker and the cause was revealed. Some sea water had invaded the boat thru some unknown leak and went thru the box and shorted out the wires. Was over quickly, but was a quick reminder that a vigilent watch should be kept over the workings of a vessel. Within the next hour we went to start the engine and the throttle cable had come disconnected. Thank you, Skipper Dave, to the rescue and within 15 minutes we were back in action. I am so proud to have a captain who knows so much, and so much about Alexus. We saw 2 sailboats today heading north as we went south about 30 miles offshore. One of them had tanbark sails and reminded me of Isabela, Wayne. Otherwise we have seen very little...such a different coast than Tx and La.with all of their oil rigs. I guess the Bush brothers will use their powers to change that...what a shame. Somehow this new landfall represents the real start of our life as cruisers...I am so excited may not get much sleep anyway. Sorry this ended up so long, if you prefer to be on a list that only receives the short ones, let me know...I have always been long winded! Best to all, Sandy (Alexus) From: kd5bzh@winlink.org To: g.preston@ieee.org Subject: GPS/Pactor Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 21:58:00 -0000 (GMT) Gene, thanks for the info. I'll give it a try when I get some place that I can use the internet and order stuff. Right now I can't leave nav software on and do email at the same time. Or weather faxes for that matter. So this would be worth working out. Just got in to Dry Tortugas this am. 420 nm in 72 hrs. Getting enough sleep is tough though. Especially in big seas because there is a lot of noise, motion. Still have a lot to learn about passage making but so far so good. DT is going to be an interesting place. Haven't been in yet, but what a site. Dave (Look at http://k5gp.home.texas.net/aprsgps.txt for the info I sent Dave.) From: kd5bzh@winlink.org Subject: When can we head east? Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 22:01:00 -0000 (GMT) Bob and Fran, great to hear from you and to know you made it safely to Key West. Sandy may have made our trip south sound easy, but it was not. We had up to 25knt wind and up to 8ft seas. If being semi nauseous half the time is fun, count me out. We used the scope patch and really could have done without it. With 15 wind and 5 ft seas, we had no nausea at all. There is still just the hassle of doing things when your world is in constant motion, but that's off shore sailing I guess. So, as I try to figure out the departure scenario, we aren't going to have anything but E or NE wind until Wednesday. The boat anchored next to us says they've been here 3 wks waiting for a weather window. Seems hard to believe. DT is not your hot spot to be. I'd like to see them put in a restaurant and bar, myself. So,unless you see something different, we'll probably hold up here at Dry Tortugas until then, make a day sail to one of the keys between here and there, and then another day sail to Key West. We'd love it if you were still there, but it sounds like your pushing on asap. Let me know if anyone has better weather info. Dave From: kd5bzh@winlink.org Subject: Key West Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 15:40:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi all, have arrived safely in Key West @ 6:30 am Monday after all night passage from Dry Tortuga. More news later. Sandy (Alexus) From: kd5bzh@winlink.org Subject: Dry Tortugas to Key West Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 14:01:00 -0000 (GMT) Arrived safely in Key West yesterday morning after an all night sail from Dry Tortugas. The sail over started with a glorious sunset silhouetting the island and light house, favorable wind from the north, and a calm sea. As it got dark Sandy noticed the phosphorescence in our wake. We had seen it at night in the gulf off shore of Texas and Louisiana: an almost ultraviolet glow emanating from the rudder or keel area, as if there was a light attached under the boat. But as we sailed from Dry Tortugas, it was different. Hundreds, or thousands of tiny lights, like blue fire flies, coming up from around the hull and in our wake. They would stay lit for a second and then they were out. Little jelly fish? Kril? We expected to see phosphorescence at some point, but not different kinds. Maybe there are other types. Has anyone seen this before or know anything about it? Then the stars where blocked off by high clouds and the moonless night went absolutely black. I went below for some shut eye and when I woke the sails were luffing and the wind had completely died. I took the helm to relieve Sandy and soon realized I was completely disoriented - no horizon, no wind, the compass light at the help was out and we were using the compass on the bulkhead. It was far away and bobbing around. If I was told to jump straight up, I probably would have gone overboard. Had no idea of port and starboard, or even up or down. Whew - weird. We got in to Key West at dawn and have met up with Jane and Mark, friends from Waterford Harbor. Key West is no longer the fishing/diving town it was when we were here in the '60s, Dale. It's a crazy scene, bustling tourist mecca. We'll re-provision here, enjoy the town for a few days, and head up the keys. Love to all and bye for now, Dave From: Subject: Still in Key West.... Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 12:48:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi all, it is Friday, May 18, and we are still in Key West. After we spent our 1st 2 days here sightseeing the island and having a great time visiting and dining with our friends from Kemah, Mark and Jane, on "Pegasus" and seeing them off to Marathon, we were on our own. After a 3 day passage from Apalachacola, and a 4 day stay at Dry Tortugas, we had lots of laundry to do. The very next day was assigned to that task. I was ready to head in and find a laundromat. Dave said, "I would rather hang out on our boat and do laundry than go to a laundromat and hang out". I pondered that suggestion briefly and agreed. We set up our system in the cockpit to do the laundry. One bucket with a small amount of Tide and a plumber's friend (plunger with holes cut in the rubber part)to swish the clothes about and a second bucket was there with the fresh rinse water. We ordered, and had on board, an old fashioned clamp on wringer (that we ordered online from the Lehman's Catalog that we heard about from our cruising friends Ed & Glenna-caters to the Amish community) that we attached to the drink holder on our binacle and wrung out the soapy and rinse waters from the individual garments (yes, Lynne, it really works!) Then we hung the clothes to dry on lines that we had in the cockpit so as not to untidy the looks of the boat on deck. With the sun and the wind, they were dry in no time and the whole endeavor took less time than a trip to a hot, boring laundromat. Also helps to contribute to the feeling that we are a self sufficient and independent entity. Now, not to let you think that it is all work and no play, we decided to sign up for a refresher course in scuba (which we were both previously certified to do--like 12 years ago and had not done since) We did that this morning in a pool, and then went out on a dive boat for 2 one hour dives on a reef. It was really great. The reef was beautiful and we saw all types of reef fish of all colors and some lobster hiding under ledges. Such a wonder of color and natural landscaping, only to be seen under the sea! Tomorrow may be back to the project mode. Dave wants to fire up the watermaker that he installed back in Kemah that will make 16 gals of water per hour with a reverse osmosis process. This will enable us to stay out of marinas/docks for anything but fuel and an occasional pumpout of the holding tank. Cross your fingers for us that it works! Will be in touch as we go unless you let us know otherwise. Our best to you all, Sandy (S/V Alexus) From: Subject: Anchor Problem Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 22:08:00 -0000 (GMT) Have a new little problem I thought might be of interest. We're anchored off Fleming Key by Key West in 24 ft of water. The other day it was getting warm so I decided to cool off and dive the anchor. Found the anchor dug in pretty well and about 10ft from an rock outcropping. As it turns out two rocks, each about 6 ft in diameter, 3ft high. So today, it's warm again. Sandy and I both get in the water and I dive the anchor again. Following the chain along the bottom, I come to another chain that crosses our. What is this? I think - someone anchored on us? maybe a broken chain with an anchor I can salvage? On the next dive, I follow the other chain and come upon our achor. Yep. The boat swung around in the tide change last night and the chain wrapped around one of two rocks and is now back on top of itself. But that's only part of the problem (really it's most of it). As I do another dive to see how badly wrapped around the rock we are, I see that there is a large object between the two rocks, right up against the chain, blink blink - shark! About 5ft long, about 3ft in front of me. "Welcome to Florida" is what I think he was trying to say. After getting back on board I confirmed in our fish book that it is a nurse shark, not dangerous, and he'll probably be gone soon. As for the anchor chain, maybe it will come loose with the next tide change. If not, I guess I can put a float on the anchor, undo the anchor shackle, pull the chain out and retrieve the anchor. That will take some pretty good snorkel diving for me, and it could be interesting if my buddy is still there. Will let you know how it turns out. From: Subject: Anchor Resolved Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 16:25:00 -0000 (GMT) Monday, 5/21/01 The anchor problem was resolved, no big deal. On my inspection dive this morning I found that the anchor chain was still wrapped around the rock, but the shark was gone. On a second dive I tried lifting the chain over the rock and found that I could make some headway. It took a couple of more dives but I got the chain up and over the rock. I don't know if it would have come loose just motoring because the chain had tightened around the very bottom of the rock. After the chain was loose, the boat started to drag the slack out of it. As I surfaced and watched the boat drifting away, I had this moment where I wondered if the anchor would hold, or would the boat just drift off and leave me. But it held and all is well again. After all this inspecting and messing around with the anchor, there are several thoughts that come to mind. First, in the future, if we have to anchor in an area with lots of tide (they say it's up to 4knts here), we will use a stern anchor. The bottom here is strewn with big rocks and with every tide change, there is opportunity to become entangled as the boat swings. Second, I got to observe how much damage to the sea bed is done by anchoring. With this moving from north to south twice a day, the chain drags up the sand and all kinds of little critters. Moorings may be the answer to both of these problems. We haven't used any yet but I think that's something we'll do in future anchorages when we can. So there it is. Part of the trick is knowing what to worry about. I haven't figured that out so I just cover all the bases. Dave From: Subject: Marathon, Fl Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 12:19:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi all, We finally arrived in Marathon, on Vaca Key, yesterday. Not that it took a long time to get here, it took a long time to leave Key West! We were prepared to leave on Tuesday (mentally, not physically) but a neighbor from the boat anchored in front of us came by at happy hour on Monday evening and of course we ended up asking him to stay to dinner and so the night went on. We decided to stay another day. Tuesday night the wind picked up and it howled all night thru the anchorage and...the whole day long. (NOAA radio had predicted 10 knt winds and 50% chance of thunderstorms). Yesterday, Thursday, they predicted 60% chance of thunderstorms with deadly cloud to ground lightning strikes, but it sure looked good to us outside (probably the most accurate weather source we know at this point!) Several other boats were leaving the anchorage so we packed up and pulled out too. The whole day was gorgeous. The only thing lacking was wind and so we motor sailed the whole way here. We were worried about getting into the anchorage at Boot Key Harbor because the channel is very narrow and shallow and we draw 6 ft, and because of some electrical power lines near the drawbridge that one chart reported at 65ft and one cruising guide said 63ft (we are 61.5ft from the water). We were coming in at low tide so were not so worried about that. When we got up to the bridge I hailed the bridge captain and asked for an opening. I told him it was our 1st time here and if there was anything else we needed to know about coming into the harbor. "No", he said, "except for the 60 foot clearance at the wires!". "What!?!", "our chart says 65 foot clearance!!!" "Well, except for the telephone line that they installed here a while back" he replied. "Do you think we can get through?" I asked. "We had a 60 footer come through here recently and they got through, but it was a tight sqeeze...but it IS low tide so maybe you can too, although that will be your call". I asked Dave if we would die if we hit the phone line and he assured me not, but I did mention that we might be financially responsible if we knocked it out. Dave inched forward toward the opening in the bridge with his hand on the reverse throttle and as I checked moment by moment with the bridge tender until he said "oh yeah, you got plenty of room, come on ahead". You could never believe them if you look up at the top of your mast...it seems as if it will hit half way down! Anyway, we were through that hurdle and continued along the channel toward the anchorage. Our cruising guide said don't even try to anchor along the channel until you get to markers "20", "21" even though we saw boats anchored along the way. Well, it worked for you Mark and Jane, but before we could even get to the markers we were aground in the channel by an old derilect barge. Cap'n Dave managed us off again (sorry, SeaTow) and we headed back up the channel. I got on the VHF and hailed "any vessel...for local info on anchoring in Boot Key Harbor" and a guy came on and said "t. We found a spot along the channel, albeit tight, had the boat set up in 15 minutes and a cold G & T in hand. Today we inflate the dinghy and go off to explore Marathon...our report...later. Best to all, Sandy From: Subject: Shopping/Marathon Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 13:46:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi all, we completed our second day in Marathon yesterday. It has been cloudy, and rainy most of the time that we have been here. The first day was a scouting mission. We found the local dinghy dock ($3/day) and walked about a mile to Hwy 1 where there was a Home Depot, K-Mart, and grocery stores. A suggestion had been made that we visit the Natural History Museum and so we made that our afternoon "event". We "holed up" in the K-Mart after that to avoid a total deluge from the sky. The rained abated some and we went back to the dinghy and then to our boat, but were pretty much drenched by the time we got there, except our Henri Lloyd "Breeze" jackets kept our torsos dry...still love those. Saturday we went for our first big "provisioning" trip by dinghy (we have bought a couple of bags of groceries along the way, but this was going to be a bigger haul). Our device to transport the "stuff" is one of the hand carts, or dollies from West Marine. It is the one with the long tongue (sku 306110) and we have 2 of the collapsible boxes (sku 261347) stacked on the tongue and bungied to each other and to the dolly. We just rolled it around the grocery and put the items right into the boxes. It rolls down the road easily and silently, and collapses well for stowage in the dink and on the boat. The 2 boxes hold A LOT of stuff, so we are very satisfied with this arrangement. We used to have one of those rolling dock carts with the same collapsible box attached but did't like it as well and 2 of those collapsed would take up more room than the arrangement we have now. Just thought I would share this product info with those that are interested. Today, Sunday, is again cloudy and rainy. We would love to go and snorkel some of the available reefs in the area, but probably would not have good visibility. Guess we will just have to "honker down" with a good book and plan our next destination. Love to all, Sandy From: Subject: Observations on spearfishing Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 20:43:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi, this is a letter we sent to our friend Ed on Meridian who left from Waterford Harbor Marina in the spring of 2000: Hi Ed, guess you are bacheloring it by now. I wonder if I will ever relish the thought of a two week vacation to land again. Hard to imagine now, so entranced in the excitement of this new cruising life! Thanks for the tips on the fishing. Dave has his new pole spear and today we went out in the dink to look for some coral to fish around. We went out off the shore of Marathon and Dave had marked on the GPS some site that was s'pose to be coral. I was unsettled because it seemed that we were going too far away from the shore, and quite honestly, at that point wasn't confident in his navigation in the dinghy. Well, we got to the spot, put out our little anchor, and dove in. It wasn't a fabulous spot, mostly because it was a grey and cloudy day, but there were brain coral, and puffer fish, and hog fish, and lots of other fish that we have the books out to study up on tonite. All of a sudden there were 2 other boats at the same site, snorkeling and fishing, dispelling my doubts about Dave's navigation. Dave's efforts at spearfishing were abbreviated by the "Fish Police" coming up and informing us that we could not snorkel without a dive flag on our boat. News to us, but makes sense. So off we went to West Marine and bought one. Tried a couple of other sites, but the only fish we saw were about as challenging as trying to spear an olive in a martini. Dave here - Just want to let you know that of the e-mails we get, the ones from Meridian are the best. Now then, spearfishing. Met a guy in Key West who is an avid spearfisherman. Uses a hand spear with an amber colored rubber and a single hinged double barb point. Always goes for the head shot - says it stuns the fish so that it doesn't try to swim away if it's a big one, (have not had that problem,yet). I've got an aluminum spear with a black rubber and tri point. The guy said it was not serious enough. Said I need the amber and single point. Also said he uses gloves to protect his hands from the thrashing fish and from the wear of stretching the big rubber. My rig seems to go really slow. What do you use? I used to spear fish as a kid with a "Hiwayan" Sling, a nifty rubber handle job with rubbers built in. All I've found so far are the funky wooden handled ones. I'm looking forward to getting into the spearfishing and free diving. Hog Fish beware! The wringer is a good thing. It not only saves all the hand twisting, it does a better job, AND you can easily put your bucket under the wringer and catch/recycle the water. The thing is about 18" long after the handle detaches. Screw type clamps but some steel parts. Rust is a little bit of a problem and you sure wouldn't want to use salt water. We rinse with fresh water until it is soapy and then use it as the primary wash water for the next batch. We wipe it down with a bit of rust inhibitor on a paper towel to store it. We may get some rust stains along the way, but the amount of flying time on the lifelines is definitely reduced. Sorry also for the lack of brevity on this e-mail...is not a problem for us. We can take mail of quite a bit of length, it is the return of our original message that eats up a lot of wasted time on the frequency. Let us know if a message of this length is a problem for the pocketmail. We try to put you on the short list for sending...if our messages are too long let us know. Sandy is guilty of the long-winded e-mails. Best to you, Alexus From: Subject: Tavernier Key Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 02:11:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi all, we are anchored at Tavernier Key, about 5 nm from Key Largo, having sailed/motored up from Marathon. We are excited to be in the Atlantic, or very close to it, since we came up Hawk Channel between the keys and the reefs. Didn't plan to leave Marathon quite so soon, we had enjoyed being there, but duty called to move on. I think Sandy mentioned we started the water maker (reverse osmosis), and it does a wonderful job. The water tastes great, it makes 15 gallons/hr., and all you need is clean sea water (that's catch number one). The other thing is, because the water comes as if from a natural spring, one may be inclined to use more water that one otherwise might. Mightn't one? That's catch number two. So last night, when we ran out of water, we decided it might be time to move on. We are now positioned in one of the prime dive areas in the US (so, it's not as good as dozens of other places some of you have been, but coming from Galveston Bay, this is GOOD). We even did a little fishing on the way up here and caught a couple of Spanish Mackerel. I read in one of our cook books that some people like to eat them if they are cook right. Well that was too many ifs for us so we set them free. But soon I hope to try out the rubber powered hand spear while diving. Previous experience was with a home made one on the Pecos River where the user was as subject to injury as the fish, remember that trip, canoe guys? From here it will be up the east coast of FL (not looking forward to the Miami and Ft. L area). Wind persists out of the east but as we turn the corner, our heading becomes progressively more north and soon, east will be good. Then there is the Gulf Stream to deal with, or use to our advantage since it will aid out northerly progress by about 4 knts. Love, Dave From: Subject: Goodbye Rodriguez Key Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 01:43:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi to all. This is an update from Alexus. We have just finished our tour of the Fl. Keys and will be turning north tomorrow to do the east coast of Fl. We are sorry to leave the island life. We have really enjoyed the diving and beautiful waters of south Fl. I must admit that it is getting very hot down here. It is fine when we are in the water all day, but at night it gets steamy. We have started running the genset at night for a couple of hours and running the AC. Not as good as being plugged in at a dock, but only have to pay for fuel and not dockage. I have loved this gypsy kind of lifestyle so far, but it may get more difficult as we round the corner to Miami and Ft.L. I do love the opportunities to meet other people who are boaters that the marina environment affords. It is a good thing that Dave & I enjoy each others' company, 'cause that is what we have mostly had for the last 2 months. Two days with Mark & Jane from dock 13 while in Key West, but otherwise just Dave, Dave, and more Dave. We are having a blast though and would not turn back for anything. All kinds of equipment have had their moment of revolt...keeps an engineer on his toes! Well, if this were easy there would be more people doing it!!! And there are lots of people doing it. We haven't had any congestion yet in anchorages etc, but I think it will be coming. We anchored in Rodriguez Key for the last 4 nights, doing day trips/dives to reefs along the Keys and returning there for the night. Today we did the furthest reef north of the John Pennekamp Park and tomorrow will just have to start heading to boating metropolis...and the east coast of Fl. We think we may start heading more quickly now to parts further north...heard someone on the HF radio this am from Myrtle Beach saying it was 59 degrees there this am. Want that kind of sleeping temp.! We are always anxious to share our enthusiasm for what we are doing and hope that we aren't inundating our mailing list with too much information. Sandy From: Subject: Alexus update/6-5-01 Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 20:29:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi from Key Biscayne, we arrived here on Sunday after a day sail from our last anchorage on the north end of Key Largo. I really couldn't believe we were so close to Miami but about 4 hours into the sail Dave passed me the binoculars and said "look at the horizon over there". There, in the haze, Miami stood. I guess I have been in culture deprivation...we haven't seen a big city since passing through Houston in March. I wasn't very excited about rounding the corner and heading north, away from "island time". I think I now have begun to realize that that can also be a state of mind. Biscayne Bay was buzzing with lots of power boats...they all seem to be in a rush to get somewhere. I guess it was "home" because just about 6:30, things got quiet in our anchorage and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the city of Miami behind us and a view of the beautiful homes on Key Biscayne in front of us (one of which is the one that Richard Nixon used as a summer escape). By 10 a.m. the next morning we were the only boat left in the anchorage. We fired up the dinghy and explored the Key finally ending up in a little harbor called "No Name Harbor" which is in the Key Biscayne State Park. We tied up and walked through the park to the lighthouse (built in 1865) which was amazingly beautiful, a giant white stiletto spiraling into the sky, surrounded by giant palm trees. After that we walked to the beach on the ocean side, had a swim, and returned to Alexus after having dinner at the park restaurant. The most notable fauna that we saw on our walk was a big green iguana resting on the wall above our dinghy. Have never seen one in the wild. We were ready to head on to Ft. Lauderdale this morning, had the engine warming up to leave, and the heavens let loose and it rained, and rained. By 11 a.m. we decided not to leave at all and are making a day of lounging, reading, and napping. We have not allowed ourselves this luxury so far in our trip...what a treat! Will report periodically about our adventures up the coast as we pick up the pace to get to the Chesapeake before the major hurricane season begins. Best to all, Sandy (Alexus) From: Subject: Miami to Ft. Lauderdale Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 18:57:00 -0000 (GMT) If you ever need to feel humble about your boat (who would need that?), just come to Ft. Lauderdale. We have seen the biggest, the prettiest, and the biggestprettyiest boats ever, right here. Not to mention the beautiful waterfront homes, each with it's own mega yacht. We enjoyed our anchorage behind Key Biscayne with a great view of what we thought was Miami (it turned out to be a small fraction of Miami, but it looked good). Beautiful sunsets, full moon, quiet bay. But we lifted anchor on Sunday and motored right in to the Miami harbor and, it seemed, down town area, to pick up the Government Cut, the main channel that takes you out to the Atlantic. Only ran aground three times, once so hard that the bow took quite a dive. Fortunately, the bottom was sand, and with our Max Prop, we get full reverse thrust, so we were able to get off easily. We went about two miles off shore where we got into the Gulf Steam which heads north with about 2-3 knts of current. So with only 10 knots of wind on our beam, the GPS said we were doing 7.5 knts. Now that's more like it! Coming from the Gulf of Mexico you feel that mother nature is always working against you, so this was a treat. We have taken a slip at the Hall of Fame Marina, very posh, and will be here two days, leaving tomorrow morning early for North Palm Beach, where we will visit our friends Larry and Peggy Smith. Will probably go off shore again since on the ICW, there are 19 bridges in the 45 nm between here and there. Amazing. Hope all is well with everyone in Waterford Harbor and that this tropical storm was the worst you will see for the year. It was a wake up call to us that hurricane season is nearly upon us. Time to pick up the pace on our way north. Bye for now, Dave From: Subject: Miami to Ft. Lauderdale Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 18:57:00 -0000 (GMT) If you ever need to feel humble about your boat (who would need that?), just come to Ft. Lauderdale. We have seen the biggest, the prettiest, and the biggestprettyiest boats ever, right here. Not to mention the beautiful waterfront homes, each with it's own mega yacht. We enjoyed our anchorage behind Key Biscayne with a great view of what we thought was Miami (it turned out to be a small fraction of Miami, but it looked good). Beautiful sunsets, full moon, quiet bay. But we lifted anchor on Sunday and motored right in to the Miami harbor and, it seemed, down town area, to pick up the Government Cut, the main channel that takes you out to the Atlantic. Only ran aground three times, once so hard that the bow took quite a dive. Fortunately, the bottom was sand, and with our Max Prop, we get full reverse thrust, so we were able to get off easily. We went about two miles off shore where we got into the Gulf Steam which heads north with about 2-3 knts of current. So with only 10 knots of wind on our beam, the GPS said we were doing 7.5 knts. Now that's more like it! Coming from the Gulf of Mexico you feel that mother nature is always working against you, so this was a treat. We have taken a slip at the Hall of Fame Marina, very posh, and will be here two days, leaving tomorrow morning early for North Palm Beach, where we will visit our friends Larry and Peggy Smith. Will probably go off shore again since on the ICW, there are 19 bridges in the 45 nm between here and there. Amazing. Hope all is well with everyone in Waterford Harbor and that this tropical storm was the worst you will see for the year. It was a wake up call to us that hurricane season is nearly upon us. Time to pick up the pace on our way north. And to Mike and Linda who are leaving that area headed east, good luck and God's speed. Bye for now, Dave 6/7/01 From: Subject: Riding the Gulf Stream Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2001 19:40:00 -0000 (GMT) We left Ft. Lauderdale in our humble little boat yesterday, and fought our way out the cut in to the Atlantic, headed north. We were right behind another sailboat about our size. He turned north as soon as it was deep enough, and got full sail up in a hurry in the 6 knots of wind we had from the south east. We continued on out to deeper water because we wanted to make fresh water with or Reverse Osmosis machine, and because we wanted to be well beyond the three mile limit when we pumped the holding tank overboard. The other boat was a quarter of a mile up the coast before we even got full sail up, but I thought that with a little help from the Gulf Stream, we might be able to catch him. Well, it took about ten minutes to catch up, and in an hour, he was several miles behind. With the light wind, enough to move the boat at about 3 knots through the water, we were doing 7.5 over land (per the GPS) and up to 9.5 when the wind picked up a little. Less than one foot seas, beautiful dark blue clear water, very little healing, and we're traveling at more than hull spead. What a way to sail. When we approached the cut into North Palm Beach, I knew the combined vectors of our sails and the Gulf stream would be interesting, kind of like figuring out a billiard shoot(eight ball in the side pocket). The bow was pointed one way and we were actually moving at 45 degrees to that. I came close to sinking the ball in the pocket, but had to start the engine to make the final adjustments. We're now in the anchorage at NPB, very nice area with a big grocery store up within a couple of blocks from a place we can leave the dingy. Plan to stay through the weekend or so. Dave From: Subject: Leaving FL Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 16:04:00 -0000 (GMT) We left North Palm Beach this morning at 10:30 headed for Beaufort NC, or possibly direct to the Chesapeak Bay if the weather is good and we are holding up ok. Had a very nice stay at North Palm visiting our friends Larry and Peggy Smith, ex cruisers and now yacht brokers. Great meals, good conversations, and a good anchorage. Stayed longer than planned because I had some kind of confounded foot problem (overuse from snorkeling, arthritis, gout, who knows)that had me limping around for a week. About the time I was mending, Sandy gets a cold. But we are both fine now, and I did get away with Larry's snake oil salve for what ever ails you - thanks Larry. Presently we are in the Gulf Stream again, motoring at 2800 rpm (no wind) and doing 9.2 knots over the ground. Love it. We figure at 7 knots average it will take us three days to get to Beaufort. From Beaufort we can get the ICW headed north and be in the Chesapeak in 200 nm, or about 4 days (anchoring at night). If we stay off shore and go around Cape Hatteras, it's just a day or a little more into the Bay. 6:00 pm Now under sail in very light wind (5 knots). Woke up from a little nap and Sandy says "you've got a fish". Pulled in a 3 lb Mahi Mahi (dolphine). Just in time for supper. Could use a little more wind, but a least it's not blowing 35. Will keep in touch as we progress. Bye for now. Dave From: Subject: Best Made Plans Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2001 08:18:00 -0000 (GMT) It's 10:00 am on day three of our three day trip to Beaufort NC. Unfortunately, we have about 200 nm to go, Which is about 35hours. We started off from North Palm and everything was going great, thought we might get in too early. We knew there was a front in the mid west when we left, it was headed north east and was supposed to tail off were we were going to be not much trouble. And a wind from the north west would help, right. So yesterday evening we hit the front, not a terrible big blow, some thunder heads that we watched on radar and steered around. But here is the kicker; the wind was out of the north east - exactly were we are trying to go. So we lost some time dodging the thunder heads, but worst of all, we are now tacking our way to Beaufort. The front is past us now and the wind is supposed to clock to the east sometime today, so that will be good. But it looks like another night out before we get to Beaufort. Considered switching to Charlestown, but it's 80 miles away, which puts us getting in at night. So there it is. If anyone knows why a front from the nw would blow from the ne, please send me an email. Why, it Texas, a norther blows from the north like it's supposed to. Bye for now, Dave From: Subject: The Best Made Plans and Alternative Plans Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 17:24:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi there from Charleston. We beat to weather most of Monday, thinking the wind would move to the east, as predicted by NOAA. Monday night, though, we had all we could enjoy of tacking into a 20 knot head wind, so we changed course for Charleston, SC. Slowed the boat down so we would arrive at dawn, and had a nice run in to the bay. We are now at the City Marina, a little pricey at $1.50 per ft., but very nice. And Charleston looks like a place we can stay for a few days and enjoy. There is an anchorage right across from the marina we may move to tomorrow. The marina has a dingy dock available at $5/day. We have met several other cruisers who came into Charleston to take shelter from the unexpected NE wind. It's a consolation that we were not the only ones who didn't figure out the nature of the front. Of course, this afternoon, the wind finally shifted to the east, just one day later than it was supposed to. Getting more accurate forecasts, if they are even available, is becoming a priority. Thanks to my friend Jack Durham, we got some good weather info, but we were already committed by the time we got it. We'll try again if you're willing, Jack. Still hope to catch up with Pegasus and Tenacious sometime, but not next week as we had hoped. We caught another Mahi Mahi, about 6 ld, while we were having dinner on the first one we caught Sunday afternoon. Beautiful fish - we felt that this was going to be the ideal passage. I guess one of the problems with long passages is that if you are out long enough, you're bound to get some unfavorable weather and/or seas. Bye for now, Dave From: Subject: N. Palm Beach to Charleston Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 16:52:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi Everyone, I know that Dave sent out an email letting everyone know that we did the passage from N. Palm to here, but I thought I would give my perspective (for what it's worth). We intended to go to Beaufort N.C., and if the passage was good and the weather kindly, we would even entertain going around Cape Hatteras and into Norfolk, Va. Well, the first day fit that description, and then went downhill shortly after a nice dinner, feasting on the mahi mahi that Dave had caught that day. I planned to do the off-watch from 9-12 because I have always, historically, been able to fall asleep right after a good meal and a little wine. Unfortunately I don't sleep so soundly out in the ocean when it is raining, with thunder and lightening, and winds howling at 35 knots. That is what happened right about 9 p.m. Luckily we saw it coming and reduced sail to only a double reefed mainsail and put up all of our panels that assist the weather cloths in keeping us dry. We had the autopilot on and so we honkered down right behind the dodger and watched it through...together. It was really quite exciting and the boat was as steady as a day sail on calm waters. It lasted just a few hours, but the next day we dodged thunderstorms all over the place and as a result of the storm fronts, the winds became consistently high and eventually the waves increased to match its intensity. We spent the 2nd day pounding to windward...all day. We had fought our way out of the Gulf against the prevailing so'easterlys and had high hopes for the Atlantic...NOW we will finally be able to have a decent point of sail! Dave even had the spinnaker out and ready to deploy! So what did we get? Wind right out of the North, AND, in the middle of the Gulf Stream. All of a sudden the wind and the current are in opposition and it is not a fun ride. Luckily, my great captain suggested that we detour to Charleston, about 80 miles to our west. "YES", I said, and we changed course. It took us an evening and all night to get there because we slowed the boat down to 4 knts so we would arrive at daybreak instead of at 4 am. We also were not going fast enough to keep the boat from rolling with each wave that was coming from the beam and so it was quite a rolly ride. This point of sail seems also to be the noisiest down below. Anything loose at all slides one way, and then the other. All of our pillows suddenly became cushions for the canned goods. Every cabinet that is opened becomes a chute from which projectile objects fly...in unison! We were prepared for a rough ride this time because we cleared out the back berth to use as our "sea berth" and I prepared a big plastic crate with all kinds of easily grabbed things to eat, so we wouldn't have to open cabinets (except to stuff in pillows so they would be quiet!)which we kept in the aft stateroom as well. I might add, that Davey Jones added some objects from our boat on this passage to his infamous locker. We lost one of the cockpit cushions that I made, and an aluminum boathook. Guess it was time to pay our dues! Now we are in Charleston, an unintended destination, and are really enjoying it so much that we will stay for several more days. We will probably take the ICW from here to Beaufort NC as it is supposed to be some of the most scenic. We haven't done but about 5 miles of the ICW to this point, and so it should be interesting since it goes through many National Preserves. Will let you know how it goes. Best to all, Sandy (Alexus) From: Subject: Charleston Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 07:18:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi everyone, I am realizing that our emails are centered mostly on the journey and not on the destination. Maybe that is because this passagemaking is all new to us and being a tourist isn't. Anyway, our objective was to travel and see the world, and the boat became the chosen vehicle. We just didn't realize that the learning curve would be so exciting. Charleston was not a chosen destination, but we have really enjoyed it. There are a LOT of tourists here. We didn't realize that it was so popular as a vacation destination. Ft. Sumter is here and most everyone will remember that as the site where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. It is a clean and friendly town. The peninsula that comprises Charleston is accessible by walking, but they have a bus that looks like an old time trolley that you can ride all day for $2. The grand old homes are beautiful and most have a historic plaque on the front designating them as such. They all seem to have a decorative wrought iron gate to a private and beautifully manicured garden. There is a central "Market" place where vendors have booths to sell their wares and there are black women on the street corners making baskets that they learned how to make from their ancestors,an art that dates back to the slave days (We are told it is a dying art). The baskets are a unique style made from sweet grass and pine straw and one artisan told me they take a week to make! I fancied having one, but the $75-$450 price tags slowed my enthusiasm. (I also had to remind myself that baskets are not a good item to choose as a collection on a boat!) Luckily, we were adopted by the neighbors anchored next to us on our first day here. They are Charleston residents and have a car and have toured us around to the many sites and their favorite restaurants. I told Dave that this tourist thing is really going from one eating place to the next and all of the things in between are "connect the dots". Crabs are a favorite culinary item here and the "she crab" soup is one of the items that each restaurant touts theirs as being "the best". It is made exclusively from the female crab (with roe) and is creamy and finished with a drizzle of sherry...very rich. We plan to leave here tomorrow. Will have a final dinner out with our new friends from here and will head up the ICW to Beaufort, NC. This will be our first extended trip on the ICW and it is supposed to be one of the prettiest. Looking forward to the flora and fauna. Best to all, Sandy From: Subject: Up the ICW with out much wind Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:19:00 -0000 (GMT) Hi all, We just got anchored here at Georgetown SC, and are getting ready to go in for dinner. Anchoring was not easy, the bottom is soft mud and it is tight amongst the other boats. After we did our first anchoring, we realized that it was high tide and we were in nine feet of water (tide range here is 4 1/2 ft). Uh oh. It looks like an interesting town and we may stay tomorrow. It is the third oldest town in SC and supposed to be very charming, dispite the steel and paper mills at the end of town. Bye for now. Dave To: engstromle@hotmail.com, g.preston@ieee.org, N9XA@winlink.org From: Subject: Headway vs Weather Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2001 23:02:00 -0000 (GMT) Mike and Linda, glad to hear from you. We fully understand the problem of making way without getting beat up too bad by the weather. Once you get down the peninsula of Florida, the lightning storms really pick up. Evidently the shore breeze from both the east and west cost meet on their way to the center of the mainland and collide, rise, and have a lot of friction in the middle, causing spectacular lightning storms that drift to the east coast. I saw the most and the fatest lightning strokes I have ever seen on our offshore run off N Palm Beach. When it hit the water it looked like bombs had been dropped. FL has the highest density of lightening strikes in the nation, right Gene? It gives the electric utilities hell. We were planning to make a run from Georgetown SC to Beaufort NC, leaving tomorrow am early. Then I learned more about the weather and realized we should have left yesterday. A major front is coming through Beaufort about 4 hours before we would get there. Juggling the weather, daylight landfalls and departures, and your own schedule get complicated. I have had a minor breakthrough in our weather info gathering. The verbal weather forecast on vhf and ssb are difficult for me to listen to, understand, and sit through, plus, I don't like having be at the radio on their schedule. So today I uploaded the text from WBOTAX. I got inquiries FZNT22.KWBC: W CENTRAL N ATLC CONTINENTAL SHELF AND SLOPE WATERS BEYOND 20 NM OFFSHORE...S AND E OF 1000 FMS TO 65W, and FZNT24.KWNM : Navtex Marine Forecast, Coastal and Offshore Sandy Hook NJ to Muerrels Inlet SC. Then I used a few weather faxes to correlate the info, and felt like I had the best weather picture I had gotten so far. Unfortunately, it said we were too late and the window had closed. But, I think if I use this approach, we can avoid sailing into something we don't expect, and I can accumulate the data when it is convenient to me, rather that when it is broadcast. Thanks for the info about beseeching the mbo's for more time. With the lengthier weather downloads I will probably need to do that. We get good connections to WBOTAX and have not yet found an east coast substitute. Best to you, hi Lynn, Gene. If you can add to this topic, please do. We are finding that weather dominates - need all the help we can get. A direct line to God would help. Dave To: KD5BZH@winlink.org From: Subject: Re: Headway vs Weather Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2001 16:44:00 -0000 (GMT) Cc: engstromle@hotmail.com, g.preston@ieee.org Dave: My best source of weather continues to be the daily WX Fax bulletins for this area. I copy them on the SSB every night at 7:00 p.m. and do not have to sue a lot of power since we are in receive mode. NOAH VHF is only as good as looking out the window. Thunderstorms cannot be predicted and can be nothing (like toady) or hell on wheels (like at Morgan City). We are still repairing all the crap from Morgan City and did not get a direct hit. Replaced VHF and now need to get into a port to replace anchor light. Linda does not want to send me up on the anchor windlass when we are anchored> I do not understand why, but love her because she cares enough not to drop me on the deck. Although, there have been a few times when she should have. We are worried about Hurricanes later, but must push on for now. We made our bed, now gotta lie in it. (or is it lay) Roger that, bye! Love Mike and Linda Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2001 08:29:01 -0500 To: , engstromle@hotmail.com, N9XA@winlink.org From: g.preston@ieee.org Subject: Re: Headway vs Weather >FL has the highest density of lightening strikes in the nation, right Gene? Hi Dave and Sandy. At this time of the year FL is covered with T storms most of the time. If you had gotten to FL a month earlier it would have been much quieter. I am posting your daily updates at http://k5gp.home.texas.net/KD5BZH.TXT . A few land locked sailors tell me they are keeping up with you through this posting that is listed at http://k5gp.home.texas.net/index2.htm . 73 es 88 de K5GP, Gene To: g.preston@ieee.org From: Subject: Re: Headway vs Weather Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2001 10:53:00 -0000 (GMT) Cc: engstromle@hotmail.com, KD5BZH@winlink.org Well if it gets much worse, we are going to have to come up with another plan. Sitting in a Marina in Biloxi today and tomorrow due to bad weather. The forecast was accurate for a chang :-) Mike and Linda