So much to be thankful for

We have small holiday traditions aboard Lehe Paine, but that doesn't make me look forward to them any less! We moved six miles south to Fernandina Beach, Florida (yay, we are in FL!!!) for a change of scenery, fuel, water, laundry, and some provisions. And by provisions I mean a trip to La Sureña, a Latin grocer and restaurant that serves up amazing food alongside shelves of Latin favorites and piles of fresh produce. Frank and I also snuck off for a beer while the laundry was drying and I was surprised to have mine delivered to the table in a glass from a brewery in Illinois that's only 46 miles from where I grew up!

We had some epic sunsets at this anchorage.

As the forecast started shaping up for a blustery day on Tuesday and good sailing conditions Thursday, we opted to spend Tuesday aboard with the oven cranking for our Thanksgiving feast. I honestly love the challenge this small galley presents me. This year's menu was deviled eggs, turkey breast, gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted brussel sprouts and carrots, and cranberry sauce. The meal was accompanied by a French Rosé in honor of Katreina and dessert was purchased from a local bakery (so I guess I cheated a little). The guys said they wanted to eat at 1600 and don't you know, I had that meal on the table at 1605! I'll take it! The real treat was getting to video chat with Katreina and her host mom while I was cooking so that Katreina could show them an American Thanksgiving.

Another successful feast from the galley!

And Thursday afternoon, we were off! We had a pretty fabulous two nights running offshore down the coast with the exception of about four hours of big swells and a good breeze that was dead on the stern so we gybed and gybed and gybed through lumpy seas. Ugh. A little bit of motor sailing smoothed things out and we dropped the hook in Lake Worth (West Palm Beach) around noon on Saturday and enjoyed a lazy day of boat watching! 

Finally able to sail quite a bit and even got Swab in on some pretty laid-back watchstanding.

And today was another awesome day! We got to video chat with Katreina and her family as they made an American-influenced Thanksgiving! They had decorated for Christmas and were busy in the kitchen as we showed them the sun and sights of southern Florida (her French sister wants to come visit when and where it's warm!) and Katreina translated between us all. I loved it so much. I could listed to her speak French for hours and only catch bits of what she is saying but I simply love hearing it. I'm not sure she will ever be content to sit still in one country and I'm totally ok with that. 

LOVE that her host family did a French-American Thanksgiving feast! We are truly so thankful for this amazing family!

 

So while we are missing our girl we are super thankful for her host family and the joys of technology! We are thankful for our home, health, family, friends, humor, patience, forgiveness, and adventure!

This is the best we can do for a family photo this year!

~Jo, 1st Mate

Cumberland Island, revisited

I fell in love with Cumberland Island National Seashore on our first visit there last December and with this visit, my love is reaffirmed! This time we lingered for days, taking advantage of some pretty good protection from NE winds and the many hiking trails on the island. We tried some of the less-popular trails, hiking over 9 miles on our first day there! We also revisited our old favorites...Dungeness Ruins, the washed up buoy on the beach, the horses! I even got to catch up with a boat mom I met in the Bahamas and meet a few others as we braved 20+ knot winds and a sporty dinghy ride to head ashore for some exercise one morning. We enjoyed our time in nature, on solid ground, with the sweet horses and a ton of cute armadillos! I even braved the cold camp showers just for fun!

A fabulous day of hiking north along the beach to Stafford Camp, then back down the Parallel Trail to the docks (over 9 miles!).

Revisited Dungeness Ruins, the marsh boardwalks, the washed up buoy on the beach, and of course, horses!

I love the adventurous group of boat mamas I reconnected with and met here! We had a wet dinghy ride, but enjoyed a nice run/walk, complete with fresh grapefruit and lots of horses!

We saw so many armadillos on this visit! We decided to do one last hike around the ruins and the Nightingale Trail.

~Jo, 1st Mate

Hopping down the Carolinas

We had a nice "hop" down the coast of the Carolinas! 

After departing New Bern midday (post laundry, grocery delivery, and UPS delivery) we spent a peaceful night at the north end of Adam's Creek with a few other boats in sight. The next day we had a decision to make--stay in Beaufort or Cape Lookout for the next frontal passage, or get fuel and head offshore. We just didn't feel like doing the ICW so it wasn't really a choice. We went with a hybrid plan--get fuel, head out the inlet, assess conditions, and either head for Cape Lookout or press on to Masonboro Inlet (Wrightsville Beach) for a nighttime arrival. Fueling at Town Creek Marina was a breeze and we headed out! I've been dying to go to Cape Lookout, but conditions were pretty good so we pointed south. We ended up having a fairly uneventful trip, coming into Masonboro Inlet around 2300. Some of the channel markers aren't lit, but with a well-pointed flashlight I was able to keep track of them. The first anchorage off the inlet was busy so we decided to head up a little more and see what we could find. It's harder to judge distances between boats and night and if we could avoid making a neighbor nervous, we would! We actually found the "Wrightsville 1A" anchorage to be quite open and have great protection for the forecast winds...hook was down and set by 2340. In the morning we could see that we had a fantastic spot and decided to stay put right there! I did a Veteran's Day zoom with an elementary class in my hometown, Frank fixed the outboard throttle, and we headed into town for lunch and a walk on the beach. 

Sunset at sea, a little Veteran's Day fun, a fixed throttle, and LUNCH (real food was involved, I promise, but this IPA was really good, too!).

Friday we decided to ride the midday ebb out to sea and head for Charleston. It would be an overnight (I love overnights!) and seas weren't forecast to be bad. In fact, we ended up motoring into a light wind most of the time. We banged into the seas a little, but really nothing terrible. And we were able to enter Charleston well ahead of sunset Saturday to anchor off the Battery. That anchorage can get wakes from passing boats, but that usually chills out at sunset and we had a peaceful night. With our one marine head acting up and a need to take on fuel we decided to take grab a slip at Safe Harbor Charleston City Marina for a night so we could knock all of it out and maybe even enjoy the city we were married in! We had a sweet spot on the mega dock and got to work cleaning the boat and dealing with the crappy work on the head. Several expletives and lots of bleach later...the head was put back together and we stretched our legs with a walk to town. We had an early dinner and caught the marina shuttle back so that I could knock out a load of laundry before we left. Trent and I also got to work in the galley to prep food for another overnight and he made a really good pesto-artichoke orzo dish! In the morning we topped off water, sent trash ashore, grabbed a last shower, I made a quiche, and we were off the dock with an hour of ebb to whisk us out to sea!

LOVE an overnight offshore run! We had a pretty sweet ride past Frying Pan Shoals and into Charleston. (And I'm sporting the Citadel beanie like a good Citadel bride.)

Mega Dock life is nice! Well, except for the head repair. Still had time to enjoy the city a little and prep for  another hop. 

We did have to motor, but we managed to motor-sail and ended up having a really wonderful night at sea. I had to weave through anchored cargo ships off Savannah on my watch, but otherwise there wasn't any excitement. Just the moon, stars, dolphins...and a busted steaming light (again!). I hate festoon-style bulbs. I'm sure when I go up the mast that I will find that the bulb is fine but just slightly off its mount. Grrrr... Anyway, awesome trip and we rode a little flood current into St. Mary's Inlet--we were on the Georgia/Florida state line!

I really love having Trent on watch with me! And after weaving through anchored ships I had a glorious night of stargazing.

We had options at this inlet…north to Cumberland Island National Seashore or south to Fernandina Beach, FL. We actually really like both but decided to start over in Georgia! And just like that the hook was down for a lazy afternoon in a beautiful, peaceful anchorage. Aaaaahhhhh….

Back at Cumberland Island...one of my happy places.

~Jo, 1st Mate

New stop! New Bern, North Carolina

Having booked a week at the New Bern Grand Marina & Yacht Club for the crazy reasonable rate of $4.50/foot/week (plus electricity) we had plenty of time to explore, even with some crappy weather in the forecast! The dock we were on led right onto one of the main streets in old downtown New Bern which made it super easy to pop out for a walk in the morning. 

The sunset views from our dock were pretty nice!

The town has a rich history as one of North Carolina's colonial capitals (and the last one before the Revolutionary War) and celebrates that history with placards throughout town and via the North Carolina History Center at Tryon Palace. We spent an afternoon touring the replica palace, some of the original buildings, and the amazing gardens. We also explored some of the darker history of New Bern with a Ghost Tour! I know, I know...touristy...but it's also a fun way to learn some actual history among the ghost tales. It was super windy and a little rainy the night we went, but it was still fun! And we even visited the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, “the taste born in the Carolinas.”

Tryon Palace and Gardens

Kind of neat to see where a global icon started!

I also stumbled across an event at the local Civic Theater while I was looking for things to do--Rock of Ages was opening the weekend we were in town! The Skipper and I went to opening night and had the most fun we've had on a Friday night in a long time! The venue was old and a little rough around the edges which worked perfectly for Rock of Ages, the music was awesome, and the cast was AMAZING! They can really sing and perform! We loved that the male lead was a local junior high science teacher...I love that community theater is neighbors coming together to put on a show. SO much fun!

We added to the fun factor by stopping at Beary the Hatchet for a night of axe throwing! It was actually "Broke Axe Monday" so an hour of throwing was only $15 each. There was great music, a really good beer lineup, and axes! What's not to love?

This town also hits some good food notes, and the portions are "13-year old boy approved." We went to Baker's Kitchen for their amazing cinnamon rolls and southern fare (a few times!), Captain Ratty's for a teenager-satisfying breakfast buffet, MJ's Raw Bar & Grille for super fresh seafood (a few times!), the Cow Cafe for a casual lunch stop, Bella's Cafe for morning coffee, and the Chelsea for a slightly more upscale southern evening. Yeah, I didn't cook a ton, and there are other places that we would like to hit on a return trip. There was also a really good farmer's market only a block from the marina on Saturday where we got some beautiful vegetables (and pork cracklins!).

I added lots of reviews to Google Maps while we were here! The Crabby Bloody Mary at MJ's was awesome; the farmer's market was lovely; and the cinnamon rolls at Baker's were HUGE and yummy!

This made a good "cruiser stop" for me for quite a few reasons. The marina was reasonably priced (actually, cheap!), had good wifi, had cable (WOO HOO, FOOTBALL!!!), everyone on our dock was really nice, staff was super helpful, bathrooms were clean, it was easy to get mail shipped here (we got some parts!), laundry machines worked (and took credit cards), they had pump-out options, and they had recycling. Only thing missing was fuel (but another marina had it). I was also able to get a grocery run via Instacart from Publix right to the head of our dock. The fact that the town was super walkable won me over instantly, but the fact that there were great businesses within that walkable area was really nice. There is a health food grocer just a few blocks from the marina that even had a live aboard  discount! And of course, the cultural offerings were great, too. Don't be surprised if we go "off the path" to stop by New Bern again sometime in the future!

~ Jo, 1st Mate

Where to hide? A coastal low is coming!

With an impressive coastal low creeping into the forecast models as we made our way through North Carolina, we again had to make a decision about how to keep our home and crew safe. We had hoped to head to Beaufort and hop outside for a run to South Carolina, but that definitely wasn't going to happen. 

Ugh...we don't do 30-40kts offshore! The wave forecasts were scary!

Options were:

1. Secure a slip somewhere in Beaufort, NC. This would put us close to the inlet and ready to jump offshore at the earliest opportunity without having to deal with bumper boats in a crowded anchorage. And we like Beaufort! Depths at some marinas are tight for us, but there are options if they have space.

2. Secure a slip in New Bern, NC. It's a little out of the way, but we've never been there and many friends have spoken highly of the town. Depths and prices were good and it seemed there would be plenty to do.

3. Anchor. We trust our ground tackle and technique, and there are plenty of creeks we could head up and be relatively protected (albeit possibly out of cell service coverage).

4. Secure a slip in Oriental or Bellhaven, NC. That would be back-tracking and visiting places we'd been before, but could work.

We decided to go after option #2--it was new, there was the hope of good wifi, and the town offered things we like to do. We made a reservation request and waited, continuing to look at our other options. As we dropped the hook outside of Oriental we received a confirmation from the New Bern Grand Marina & Yacht Club--we were booked for a week! 

It was admittedly a bit of a slog up the Neuse River in cold north winds today, but after slipping through the bridge we were guided into our slip and tied up in a jiffy. 

First impression--the town is cute! And the marina is great! The bathrooms/office are maybe 2 blocks from the boat, but I quite like the walk. The Dockmaster is very nice and clearly loves this town--he took the time to tell us all about things to do while we are here. The weekly rate is a bargain, restrooms & laundry are clean, trash is easy, wifi is pretty good, and we even managed to hook up to cable for the first time in 2 years. I think we will enjoy this stop and even better, we feel safe here.

This marina has some great protection from the forecast north winds.

The weather decisions are hard. We watched on various forums as other cruisers faced the same forecast and debated costs, schedule, and safety up and down the eastern seaboard. This could be an interesting few days for the cruising community. But this is exactly what cruising is about for us. We don't cruise on a schedule...we like the flexibility to deal with weather, but also to take advantage of experience opportunities when they pop up. And sometimes weather is what presents us with the opportunities!