# 1 - Chesapeake Bay gunk-holing - Hampton Rds, Virginia
We spent 3 nights anchored off Hampton Rds. Virginia.
We found the visitor's centre here to be most accommodating as we made use of their showers, and free wi-fi.  The weather channel on the centre's t.v. predicts tropical storm Emily will come up the coast and reach our area by the end of the week.  We formulated a plan to return and tie up to the town dock here should Emily arrive as predicted.
The extreme heat continues to kick-up severe thunderstorms.
We are shocked to see very limited hours of operation on the "tourist" shops.  Definitely a sign that tourism is extremely low.

Virginia
We spent 3 hot, steamy nights amidst the beautiful crape myrtle trees in the park area at Great Bridge's town dock.  We took the opportunity to provision, do laundry, get propane and undertake repairs (alternator etc).
The locals had great luck crabbing on the dock alongside us, while we watched in awe as the huge barges made their way through the bridge and into the adjacent lock.

We navigated the strong current into the north bound lock on July 3lst and made our way in the cool rain to Norfolk - mile one of the ICW. We'd travelled 790 miles in 17 days.
As always we found the scene in Norfolk to be an intimidating one.  The shore is lined with all manner of warships.  We didn't wave hello to the fellow on the roof-top who had his machine gun pointed in our direction.  Norfolk never seems very welcoming.
It was with great relief that we set off into the open water of Chesapeake Bay. 

North Carolina
By the time we reached Cape Fear River our waterpump had broken.  Barry continued to work on the engine in an effort to keep us moving along, but, as always finding replacement parts proved to be a challenge. 
At Carolina beach we delighted in a beautiful evening breeze after yet another day of travelling with a heat advisory.  It was fun to watch the ferris wheel off in the distance that night, along with a fireworks display. 
A stop at Wrightsville Beach for parts proved to be a futile effort however we did enjoy their gorgeous beach which is adjacent to Wilmington. 
Our progress was slowed greatly by the dreadful silting problem in the area.  It seemed that every time we passed an inlet we'd be aground.
We're certainly not alone anymore as we find ourselves passing through areas of heavy boat traffic and jet-skis. We put the jib up whenever possible to catch the ocean breeze and motor-sail. Finally, we've reached 35 degrees north latitude - great news as our boat insurance is now valid.
The extreme heat and thunderstorms seem to be constant.  In the Pungo River we were unable to find shelter and were forced to drop anchor in the open water for 2 hours as we endured 30mph (plus) sustained winds during a storm.  We both ducked as lightning crashed just off our stern .  The resulting thunder rolled and repeated across the heavens for many seconds.  Our hearts were thumping!!
We are diligent about monitoring the weather as the depressions continue to keep forming and strengthening.
Finally on July 27th we had a change of weather.

Unfortunately this delayed our progress as heavy fog blanketed Albemarle Sound.  Our late departure left us caught without an anchorage location for the night and we were forced to drop anchor at dark along the edge of the narrow, shallow channel.  We positioned ourselves beside a flashing green mark and left our radio and several anchor lights on.  The extremely narrow channel is edged by shallows or pilings.  We felt no one could possibly navigate it in the dark.  What a huge surprise it was when a 300 foot barge (pushed by a tug boat), passed beside us in the night.  We lifted anchor at first light, made our way along the Albemarle and Chesapeake canal, through 2 lift bridges and happily tied up to the free town dock at Great Bridge, Virginia.

South Carolina - Heat, Expensive Homes, Beaches, Swamp and Alligators
After miles and miles of monotonous travel through the Georgia marshland we were thankful for more interesting scenery in South Carolina.
We continued to monitor the weather diligently.  On July 17th we heard news that tropical storm Brett had formed in the Bahamas and was expected to strengthen and head our way.  News like this kept us worried and pushing hard northward. 
Now that the sails are finally attached we started motor-sailing to ease the boredom of the ride.
We enjoy watching the great number of dolphins that share the "ditch" with us but were quite surprised when we saw a large alligator swim across in front of us.  Yikes!!
We continue to go aground quite regularly in the shallow, silted waterway.  We're told dredging operations are at a stand-still due to financial problems the states are experiencing plus it's off season - not a priority.  Luckily, Barry is very good at getting Sea Star to slide her way through the shallows.
This has got to be a record hot summer!!  Heat advisories continue to be issued.  July 10th - 110 degrees - absolutely sweltering!!
At times we still find ourselves in the marsh, though here it's referred to as the "low lands" - that does sound better. 
We viewed hundreds of Osprey and turtles as we passed through the cypress swamp (National Wildlife Refuge).
Tropical storm Cindy formed just as we made our way into North Carolina.

It's lonely in the Georgia Marsh
While travelling through Georgia's marshland we continued to experience extreme heat and record rainfall.  We keep working on refitting Sea Star (wind generator, sails on, solar panel, dinghy repairs.....) By the time we get her together it will be time to start taking her apart again.
Our travels through the 8-9 foot tidal flow of the Georgia marsh is by way of winding canals, rivers and past sounds (opening on to the Atlantic Ocean).
We are continually delighted by the many dolphins and Osprey that keep us company.

Florida (& Sea Star) bound

On July 5, 2011 we set off by car from our home in London, Ontario for Sea Star in Green Cove Springs, Florida. She had been laying on the hard for 14 months. Our plan was to launch her and motor north along the Inter-coastal waterway to Chesapeake Bay where we would, in 6 weeks time, once again haul out and head back home until next summer.

As we were travelling during hurricane season we planned to make haste and get as far north as quickly as possible as our insurance was void as long as we were south of 35 degrees latitude.

We spent a week sight-seeing by car on our way south, stopping to camp in 4 different National Forests: Allegheny National Forest - Pennsylvania, Monongahela National Forest - West Virginia, First Landing State Park - Virginia Beach, Virginia and Neuse River Croaton National Forest - North Carolina.

We explored the Atlantic Seashore (Outer Banks) in North Carolina, stopping to watch the wild surf crash on the spectacular beach for as far as the eye could see.

While In St. Augustine, Florida on July 11th, we enjoyed dinner and "caught up on the news" with fellow cruiser friends, Jeff & Carolee (boat Contessa).

We launched Sea Star on July 12th in a record high heat wave and spent the next 2 nights tied to the marina's pier while we provisioned, cleaned, repaired and re-fit her for travel.

Severe thunderstorms due to the extreme heat slowed our passage as we made our way on July 14th amidst the dolphins out the St. John River to the ICW.

We travelled nearly all alone amidst an amazing variety and proliferation of shorebirds which included egrets and ibis. We even had 3 separate sightings of pink spoonbills.

To our delight we sighted 2 manatees alongside at the Florida/Georgia state line (Amelia Island). We drifted silently along beside them to observe and marvel at their beauty.

Video - Nassau harbour - New Providence Island, Bahamas

Video - Dolphins - Inter-coastal waterway, Florida As we sailed from Grenada to Florida while repositioning Sea Star, we caught some glimpses of our passage on video. This video is of dolphins that were playing along-side us in the Inter-coastal waterway, Florida.

Video - Barry's Birthday - Sailing on-board Sea Star in the Bahamas

Video - Sea Star's Repositioning Cruise - Grenada to Florida As we sailed from Grenada to Florida we caught some quick glimpses of our passage on video. This video is of Big Sand Cay in the Turks and Caicos.

Videos - Sea Star's repositioning cruise - Grenada to Florida Along the way, as we sailed from Grenada to Florida, we caught some quick glimpses of our passage on video. This video was made shortly after we left Guadeloupe, sailing north, as we passed by the active volcano on Montserrat.

Up the Creek

Green Cove Springs, St. John's River, Florida

La 30.00.7'N Lo 081.41.1'W

Sea Star will be stored for the 2010 hurricane season in Green Cove Springs which is located 40 miles up the St. John's river (near Jacksonville in northeastern Florida).

We timed our passage on the river to take best advantage of the flood tide. Even still our progress through the strong current was tedious, averaging only 3 knots for the 6 hours it took us to travel the 18 miles to Jacksonville.

We motored along in the St. John's distinctive copper coloured water past extensive industrial, commercial and national defense operations: nuclear power plant, warships, freighters, numerous tugs pushing barges, many container ships being loaded and unloaded and even a cruise ship.

Sights along the way

On our passage northward along Florida's eastern seaboard we travelled through many marine parks, water-fowl and wildlife refuge areas.

One such area, our first night underway, was the Indian River lagoon. This area has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as the most biologically diverse estuary in the United States.

It was fascinating to anchor over-night, alone, in vast open marsh areas, resplendent in several varieties of waterfowl such as heron, egret (including snowy), ibis, flamingos, osprey, pelicans, cormorants and eagles (including bald).

As we motor-sailed along we took great delight in watching the many dolphins that frequent the waterway. Luckily we missed seeing the many 'gaters that are also reported in the area (we did hear lots of horror stories though).

The sections of waterway not reserved for conservation were heavily developed with expensive homes. The current difficult economic climate was obvious by the large number of properties for sale. It looks like it's a good time to buy in Florida.

Along the way we shared the beauty of the area with many tour boats, dinner cruises etc.

Bridges on the ICW

Early, on Sunday, April 25th, 2010, we passed through the Ft. Pierce bridge and started on our way north along the Indian River section of the Inter-coastal waterway.

The 240 mile route to our destination on the St. John's River (inland from Jacksonville, Florida) would take us through and under more than 40 bridges of varying designs: high, lift, bascule, train and swing.

Along this passage we experienced tidal fluctuations ranging from 5 feet in St. Augustine to 1 foot in the St. John's River.

Manatees After our visit to U.S. Customs in Ft. Pierce we took the opportunity to tour the Manatee Observation and Education Centre located there. The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. It is found in springs, rivers and shallow coastal waters in Florida and adjacent states. We were delighted to have the good fortune of making a few sightings of these unique, plant-eating mammals during our travels north on the Inter-coastal waterway.

Florida or Bust!! - Crossing the Stream

Anchor to Anchor

April 22, 2010 Mackie Shoal, Great Bahama Bank to Ft. Pierce, Florida

28 hours - 140 miles

La 27.28.3'N Lo 080.19.6'W

With a fair wind upon us we abandoned our plan to stage for our crossing to Florida, at Bimini, and decided to start our passage from Mackie Shoal, on the banks.

We sailed on a course of 316 degrees true off of the Great Bahama Bank with perfect wind (N/E 10-15 knots) into an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful sunset. While marvelling at the multitude of colours in the sky we noticed a red squiggly line in the distance at 330 degrees true. A cruise ship was passing and we wondered if they had fired a flare but we quickly concluded that the space shuttle had launched, (Cape Canaveral being 130 miles across the open Atlantic waters off our starboard bow).

We watched in awe as the shuttle sped (seemingly) towards us overhead, the air visibly streaming around it, vapour trail pouring behind. As it appeared to reach our location we clearly viewed the fuel tanks dropping away. The look that Barry and I exchanged was priceless as we both attempted to ascertain whether the shuttle's discarded appendage would burn up in the atmosphere or drop into the sea (or our cock-pit). Well, we didn't see anything splash so we can only assume it burned up.

As we slipped off of the Great Bahama Bank into the very deep Atlantic Ocean waters we were over-whelmed by the strong smell of fish. Obviously the waters were dense with them as they came up against the shallow banks.

We had a great sail through the night but regrettably at dawn as the brilliant red, fire-ball sun rose behind us, the wind died out. We were about half way across when we commenced motor-sailing.

We rode the Gulf Stream north as best we could between the towed barges and freighters and worked our way north along Florida's coast, entering at the Ft. Pierce Inlet.

Unable to reach U.S. Customs by phone on the toll-free number we received in Culebra when we bought our cruising permit, we ended up both going by taxi to the Ft. Pierce airport to check in.

Florida found - l831 miles and 84 days from Grenada

Staging to Cross the Stream

Our weather sources agreed on an opportunity 4 days in the future of 3 days of southeast 10-15 knot winds; possibly our weather window to sail across the Atlantic waters (Gulf Stream) from Bimini to Florida.

Unfortunately, the interim 3 days in which we needed to cross the Great Bahama bank from Nassau to Bimini was fore casted to be squally with light and variable winds. We felt that too little wind was better than too much and with our eye on the future weather window we started on our way.

Our first day out was great sailing with favourable 15-20 knot winds. We spent that night anchored in the Berry Island chain behind Bird Cay.

On the second day, with the favourable wind still blowing 15-20 knots we made our way across the Tongue of the Ocean to the Northwest Channel Light and onto the banks. We made it about half-way to our next overnight anchorage location of Mackie Shoal before the squalls, laden with numerous water spouts rolled in. Twice in a very short distance we dropped the sails and set anchor to ride the weather out. This was a long day for us as we ended up motor-sailing, arriving at Mackie Shoal after 10 p.m.

The Great Bahama Bank is very shallow (2 to 7 metres deep) and stretches approximately 70 miles between land. It's an odd experience to drop anchor for the night in the middle of open water with no land in sight.

Today, as we sat unhappily anchored, bouncing in the choppy swell and strong wind while the severe weather passed we were awed as a tiny yellow bird landed right beside us in the cock-pit. It rested and looked at us as we marvelled at how far it must have flown in such nasty conditions. As it was, another yellow bird and a huge dragon-fly took respite with us the next day.

Day 3 brought light winds, unfavourable to make Bimini but okay to sail north-west so we decided to just ride with them and exit the bank further north at the Hens & Chickens.

Anchor to Anchor

April 20, 2010 Nassau, New Providence Island to Bird Cay, Berry Islands

8 hours - 33 miles

La 25.24.3'N Lo 077.50.7'W

Anchor to Anchor

April 21, 2010 Bird Cay, Berry Islands to Mackie Shoal, Great Bahama Bank

14 hours - 44 miles

La 25.38.1'N Lo 078.38.3' W

Freighter Full of Fun - Family Islands Regatta and Star World Championship

Sailing is a very competitive sport in the Bahamas.

While anchored across from the Atlantis resort in Nassau harbour we witnessed a freighter leaving on its way to Georgetown. It was packed full of Bahamian sloops and their crews on route to the Family Islands Regatta which was scheduled for the end of the week.

As we made our way past Porgee Rocks on April 16th, on our approach to Nassau harbour, we viewed Star World Championship boats as they raced past us.

This racing competition, in which 2 man racing crews vie for one of the most cherished prizes in competitive sailing, is hosted annually in various venues around the world. Luckily for us, it was hosted by the Nassau Yacht Club and happily a Canadian couple clinched the 6 race series. Congratulations to the Canadian team of Richard Clarke and Tyler Bjorn.

We're proudly flying our flag.

Bahamas National Flower

The yellow elder is the national flower of the Bahamas due to its bright, sunny colour and hardiness.

Anchor to Anchor

Highborne Cay, Exuma Islands to Nassau, New Providence Island

35 miles - 7 hours

La 25.04.8'N Lo 077.20.l'W