Caribbean Soul Has Achieved "southness" (South Carolina).

Today is day 14 of our journey. We have some pictures for you all, but our internet connection is too slow here just off the Waccamaw River. The pictures will be added as soon as we get to a place in the Waterway that is less remote--we are wayyyy out in the boonies!

Since the last posting, the adventure has had some interesting twists and turns--none of which required going back North. Day 11 started by waking early in the freezing Swansboro anchorage and venturing down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) through Camp Lejuene, NC. It was Saturday and the Marines were not practicing their bomb dropping skills along the ICW .(Sometimes they close this section of the ICW for hours at a time!) We ended up anchoring near Surf City at Sloop Point.

Day 12 (Sunday) --We were still in our long underwear and lots of layers of wool, fleece, and polypro----Brrrr. We got to the town of Southport, NC in the afternoon. Locals helped us find a boat slip. The deal was that transients (that's us) could dock over night for free if you purchased a meal. The restaurant, however, was closed for the season, so it was just free. We took the dinghy over to the brand new Southport Marina for showers. And that ended up being free too! We love Southport. When the pictures are added here, you can see some of the sights in Southport, NC--boats decorated for Christmas, a Christmas/candy store, and a great big ol' pelican checking out our dinghy.

Day13 (Monday)--We decided to let the Caribbean Soul go sailing in the ocean. We left from the mouth of the Cape Fear River and sailed for 5 hours to the Little River Inlet in South Carolina. The weather on the ocean was windy in spots, so Capt. John crawled out on deck to put a reef in the mainsail. Caribbean Soul is always a happy boat, but it seems almost giddy out there in the ocean waves--happy, happy boat!

Day 14 ---We slept in and didn't get up until 8 AM. It was an easy and interesting trip down the ICW. John says it's his favorite part of the ICW. It goes through Myrtle Beach where you can ogle all the mansions and golf courses. Then the ICW turns into the Waccamaw River which is lined with cypus trees and lots of Spanish moss. Every twist and turn brings a new sight. One area had trees full of vultures--2o or more! Nearby the ospreys had taken over a day marker with a nest built so huge it hung over the sides and made reading the marker impossible.


Tonight we are anchored just off the Waccamaw River on Thoroughfare Creek. This area is so remote we didn't expect to see anyone here, but as we rounded the last curve in the creek we spied another boat anchored. Its occupants came by and invited us over. Great folks from London, England. The boat--Corbin 39--was lovely--lots of living space. They've lived aboard for the last 4 years and are heading to Cuba and other spots south. We hope to see them again.

And finally, this is the first night we have not had to run our little propane heater. Ahhh--the promise of warmer weather as we continue to achieve "southness."

Going North to Get South

What in the world is going on with Penny & John? Where are the blog posts? Did they fall off the earth or get swallowed by a sea monster? Feel free to enhance this tale anyway you wish, but here are the basics: On Day One, we sailed out of Beaufort in freezing weather and anchored 25 miles away in Swansboro--we really seemed to be on our way south! Day Two we woke before dawn (brrrrr), weighed anchor, and headed out into the channel where we promptly ran aground because our depth gauge quit. After trying to motor out of the sand, we called TowBoat US and a jolly fellow zipped right over and pulled us off. He said it happens all the time, but we felt that not having a dependable depth gauge would just bring more jolly TowBoat fellows. Trying to be smart sailors. we anchored to think this over. John called a local marine electrician and dinghyed him out to the boat. When he determined that the transducer was fouled below the water we decided the best option was to call Jarrett Bay Boatyard (back home in Carteret County) and make arrangements to have Caribbean Soul hauled out. Yikes! We hated the idea of going back north, but hey, sometimes ya have to go north to get south!


Now we are on Day Three or Four--who's counting? When Caribbean Soul came out of the water--oh-my-gosh! It looked like a giant chia pet with woolly shag growth all over our hull. The bottom paint had failed completely. What a shock. We had just painted that bottom in August. Pressure washing cleaned off all the growth except for under the lifting straps. The strip of growth we hand scrapped is pictured here.














For you fellow boaters, the bottom paint was Pettit's Hydrocoat. The Pettit dealer said is was just a bad batch of paint. He paid our expenses and sent us two gallons of a better batch. We did the painting out at the boatyard and slept in our own bed in Beaufort during this time. Our neighbors Patti and Alan Frank thought they were seeing things when we arrived back at our house. They bolstered our spirits with hot tea and blackberry brandy--thanks. And we had the very best land support a sailor could ever have--Mom (Jean Ferguson). She dropped everything and drove out to the boat yard, lent us her car until we got ours out of storage, and hauled us back out to the boat when it was time to go again. Thanks Mom/Jean!
















On Day Eight of our adventure, we got Caribbean Soul back in the water. The plan was to motor/sail swiftly (shiny new bottom paint, ya know) down to Swansboro again, but the weirdness continued. It was rainy and overcast, but we had on our foul weather gear and were having fun. Then, at the port in Morehead City, the fog settled in around us. It was so thick we could see nothing in front and were losing visibility behind us by the minute. The only option was to turn around quickly and head for any dock along the Morehead Waterfront. Well, we could have continued and gotten acquainted with some more jolly rescue guys, but stopping seemed like a better idea. When the fog didn't lift, we knew we would not make it to Swansboro and with a big windstorm approaching (40 knot winds) a boat slip seemed to be a good place to be. Denard Harris at Portside Marina in Morehead City was most helpful. He found a nice big dock slip for us, helped secure the boat and we settled in to shelter from the storm. Joe and Sue Kreuser who live nearby fed us pizza (thanks guys!) and we weathered a night of serious rocking and rolling at the dock. We were up most of the night--John adding lines and monitoring things outside --me pacing around inside being helpful by not throwing up. In the morning the sports fisherman in the slip next to us said he was watching a video of Perfect Storm all night--funny guy.




Today is Day Ten (December 12th). We said goodbye to Denard and the nice folks at Portside Marina in Morehead City and headed toward Swansboro again. It was cold and overcast, but the skies clears and we rolled out the jib for a nice stretch of motor sailing along Bogue Sound. That shiny new bottom paint definitely increased our speed. We made it to Swansboro in about four hours passing another sailboat along the way. Tonight is getting chilly--we've got to keep going in the right direction--rumor has it that there is warmer weather south of here. We really do want to go south to get south. It's been a little like one-step-forward-two-steps back, but we signed on for an adventure and we're having a great time! Stay tuned.

Wednesday, Dec. 3rd Leaving Beaufort

Well, we're off. It is 8 AM and a frosty 34 degrees! Decks were icy but that ol' engine cranked right up.

Mom and Sallie Lee see us off as we release the Caribbean Soul from her Taylor's Creek mooring.

The camera crew (Mom) snaps us as we motor West past the Beaufort Docks. It's a strange thing that you must go west to go south--but you do. Thanks Mom for emailing us the pictures.

Thanksgiving in Beaufort

This is our Thanksgiving family picture aboard the Caribbean Soul. In the picture are Gladys Weaver (my kids other grandmother), Jean Ferguson (my mom), Finley (my son), John and me.
The grandmothers' combined age is 180! Wow! These ladies can really get around! We had a nice sail down Taylors Creek and back. Now the boat is really ready to head south to warmer weather.

Part of our final preparations was to hoist John up the mast to untangle a flag halyard. We needed to wait until Finley got here because I'm not strong enough to crank the winch. My job was to "tail" the line while Finley cranked. John's trip up the mast was so successful, we hoisted him again with the camera. Here Fin and I are hanging out on the deck while John's aloft.


And, take a look at this thirty year old boat! Yea! Caribbean Soul! She's a good ol' boat! Look sharp and you can see John's tennis shoes on the left.

Still Getting Ready to Go!

So John is changing the oil--yuck! When I took this picture I instantly rolled up the oriental rug. It's just a cheapo thing, but oil is oil. Most of the preparation is messy business.

So, while John changes the oil, I try to pack up all the supplies. Wow-what a job. But if you don't stow all this stuff, you have no place to sit or sleep.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. We will celebrate with family and then probably head out on Monday or Tuesday. Hope the boat still floats after all this provisioning!

November 11, 2008

So here's how it's going. John is hooking up the satellite stuff and I'm making things pretty--painting the boat name on the ring buoy and sanding/varnishing lots of teak. We've ordered a new 2008 cruising guide for the Bahamas and a third GPS just in case something happens to the first two. Guess it's important to know where you are and where you are going!
--Installing in small places.

My art work on buoy.

Teak!

Teak!

Satellite in nav. table.

Caribbean Soul before she gets loaded up for the trip to the Bahamas.

Me and the propane grill--hope to catch some good grillin' fish.

Caribbean Soul waiting patiently in Taylors Creek.


Here are some pics of the interior before we load it up with stuff.

Navigation station--from which we hope to post blogs for you. We're still planning on leaving Beaufort in the first good weather window after Thanksgiving. Our route to Florida isn't set yet--it will depend on the weather. It will probably be a combination of "outside" ocean sailing and "inside" intercoastal waterway motoring. Then from Florida, we'll wait for good weather in January to sail over to the Bahamas.