Sailing Baby Blue

No we didn't rob a bank to pay for our dinner (because a sailboat wouldn't make the best escape vehicle), and we haven't run out of sunscreen. We're just really cold.  For a town we had looked forward to revisiting for months, we really couldn't wait to get out of Beaufort, NC. Not because we don't love it there or didn't have a great time. It is just SO COLD. On our third day in town I hung out on the boat all day, struggling to get warm under layers of clothes and blankets with the heater on. In order to tolerate the journey from Belhaven to Beaufort I had worn four layers of various pant-like items, five layers on top including two fleece jackets, my knit hat, neck gaiter around my face, earmuffs, wool socks and mukluks (my super fancy rubber boots are not warm) and my motorcycle gloves. Yes, motorcycle gloves. For the 397th time I wished I had kept more of my winter clothing. Not because I would be any warmer, but because I'm tired of weari...

Departing from our long layover in Belhaven we booked it over to Beaufort, site of the little sailor's town we fell in love with before we were sailors. It was great to be able to see the town from our new perspective, and the old burying ground and maritime museum were even better the second time around. Stopping traffic again to open the bridge into Beaufort just for us.  To rescue passengers from a shipwreck, up to five adults and six children would be stuffed inside this windowless life-car that is bolted shut from the outside and then hauled to shore.    I wish this maritime library at the museum was in my house...if I had a house. Beaufort Old Burying Ground with graves dating back to the early 1700s.  You can't read the label, but it says "Little Girl Buried in Rum Keg."   My Aunt Dee came down from Charlotte to take us to her beach house on Emerald Isle. She took us out for a lovely dinner at the Spouter Inn in Beau...

What might have been a quick stopover for fuel turned into a four day delay in Belhaven, NC. Since we left the Cohansey River to the sound of our fire/carbon monoxide alarm going off, we've   known we had a bit of an exhaust leak. Before the alarm confirmed our suspicions that exhaust was leaking into the cabin, Jon noticed his eyes watering and one night I had a killer headache. During our stay in Solomon's Island to wait out the weather, Jon crawled into the engine compartment and saw that two of the bolts holding the mixing elbow to the heat exchanger (the equivalent of the exhaust manifold in your car) were broken, and one could not be removed. After breaking several drill bits and an easy-out, we again borrowed the marina's bikes for a ride to the hardware store. Though the threads in the heat exchanger were stripped and the remaining bolts were barely hanging on, Jon was able to rig up a temporary fix to hold things together until we could get to a more ideal (...

 We marked our arrival at mile zero of the Intracoastal Waterway on Thursday 11/6, passing through Hampton Roads then down between Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA. This is an extremely busy commercial area with many giant cargo ships and is also home to the largest naval base in the world. Navy patrol boats followed alongside as we passed aircraft carriers and destroyers. We had heard tales of other cruisers being stopped by the patrol boats for getting too close and taking photos, so we played nonchalant and powered through without taking out the camera. The night before we had heard the Coast Guard announce the enforced 500 yard security zone around Navy ships over the radio, adding that deadly force may be used if any vessel were to get too close.  After a few miles and several bridges we made our choice at the fork in the road, turning toward the Dismal Swamp. We had been told that the alternate route through the Dismal Swamp is well worth the trip providing your draf...

First a few photos from New York I missed sharing in the first post:  Sailing by La Guardia: this is one of about five planes that passed over us on our way through.   Brooklyn Bridge A carousel somewhere in Brooklyn... Seaport  More of Manhattan from the Hudson River This was as close as we could get to this lady.  And lastly, a nighttime view from our mooring off 79th Street. Now for our week of New Jersey. Barnegat Light, NJ  The view from the top of the Barnegat lighthouse  ...and from the bottom. A standout in our growing collection of beautiful sunsets. Anchored on the marshy and lovely Cohansey River near Greenwich.  Not what we would have pictured for sailing in New Jersey, and finally a warm day.  Cut to another cold day sailing through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. At least we're getting some good use out of the foul weather gear. ...