December 2003 to June 2008
(scroll to bottom of sheet or click
here for most
recent updates).
Dec 25, 2003...Christmas Message:
Hi everyone. At last, after nearly ten
thousand miles, we've settled for awhile here in
Gloucester Mass., USA of all places. Not by choice,
of course, since we were on the way to the
Bahamas.
We had to return back to BC by air for a
couple of weeks in September, then Hurricane Juan
ripped through Halifax and made its way as far as
Summerside where, thankfully, Meriah safely rode it
out. Unfortunately we were soon after rammed
amidships by a fishing vessel while at the dock in
Ballantynes Cove, NS., resulting in some serious
hull damage. Temporary repairs allowed us to
continue, but challenging weather conditions
continued to force us to take shelter for up to a
week at a time along the coast of Nova Scotia and
we had to wait two weeks through gales in Clark's
Harbour before finally being able to cross the Gulf
of Maine to Bar Harbour and then on to Gloucester.
The weather was just too crazy and by now it
was already the beginning of December with the
worst early snowstorm ever recorded in the
region... 65 knot storm force winds with chill
factor of -15°C, seas outside the harbour of
up to 50 feet and up to three feet of snow
(remember "The Perfect Storm)! That was when we
decided to stay here for the winter.
Gloucester is one of the largest and most
diverse fishing harbours in the US with a wonderful
"Old Country" mix of Italian, Portuguese and
American culture. The disappearing traditions of
the Atlantic fishery are still alive here and the
community is full of sailing people who are just as
crazy as us. So we have lots of friends, and with
the help of Mark Sheldon, Meriah is safely tucked
in to a little marina he manages with some of the
best resources on the east coast available here for
maintenance and repairs. We're now house-sitting an
apartment for the winter looking out over the
harbour in "Little Italy" with car included!
Finally a chance to slow down and relax with plenty
of time now to catch up with all of you out there.
Phone number here until the first of April is
978-283-8797 in case anyone wants to call.
As we reflect on the whole trip up to now, we
see that it has been far too much at once and
should ideally have evolved over at least a three
year period. Now that we have made it back to
Larry's spawning ground (Atlantic Salmon
fortunately do not die), its time to slow down the
pace and go with the flow. Its interesting, too,
that some of the most wonderful experiences for us
on the way back south in the fall have been
opportunities to meet up with new friends while
harbour-bound by stormy weather. Things might have
been tough, but there have definitely been good
times in this first stage of our voyage; Nicky and
Victoria are still hanging in there.
One great little story has been from our
recent arrival at Clark's Harbour where in 1977 I
first met up with Dewey Nickerson, a retired
fisherman and self appointed ambassador who would
meet all new incoming vessels, welcoming their crew
into the community and taking care of their needs.
So, here we are in 2003, sailing once again into
Clark's Harbour some 25 years later... I climb up
the ladder of the wharf to be met by another
retired fisherman looking out for newcomers. He
asks if I know anyone in the community and I answer
that the only person I knew was Dewey Nickerson,
but that he was probably gone now. Turns out that
the man in front of me is Dewey's son and we are
both captivated by these wonderful circles which
join the present and the past.
So a preview of our spring and summer plans
for the new year after repairs to Meriah includes
slowly making our way up the coast of Maine to Nova
Scotia & Cape Breton, The Magdalen Islands,
Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé and then the
Lower St Lawrence. We will finally continue inland
to Lake Champlain and the Hudson River waterway to
New York and on south to the Bahamas for the winter
of 2004/05. Hopefully our web site will be fully
functional by then, so it should be easy for any of
you to follow our progress.
Larry, Nicky & Victoria Christina
LATEST NEWS FROM MERIAH
... May/04
Well, here we are.
Thanks to our good friend Mark Sheldon we've hauled
out at a little private boatyard at the far inside
end of Gloucester Harbour. Now waiting for our
insurance company to authorize repairs to the
damaged hull. It looks as if the RCMP (Police) have
caught up with the fishing vessel that rammed us
and are getting ready to compare paint samples for
proof, as we were not aboard at the time. There was
obvious damage to the fishing vessel which was
spotted by a friend of ours in Ballantynes Cove
shortly after we had left.
In the meantime, Nicky
is scraping off all the white paint above the
waterline as we prepare to refinish the hull. Larry
has also prepared the damaged area for stripping
back the broken planking and repairing the galley
inside which was displaced about half an inch
inwards by the impact. Through all of this we are
still living aboard Meriah. an interesting
challenge in itself. One great bonus for Victoria
is the Municipal playground which is just across
the parking lot... she is meeting lots of other
kids.
Over the winter
Victoria also enjoyed taking dancing classes with
"Dancers Courageous" and swimming lessons with the
YMCA. We have also been introducing Victoria to
homeschooling after some extensive research by
Nicky. We will soon also register for grade one
with Saturna Island School in a great British
Columbia Gulf Islands offshore education
programme.
Yes, as of this spring
with a brief visit back to British Columbia, we
have moved Meriah's home base from Cowichan Bay to
Saturna Island where we plan to set up a mooring
and facilities in Boot Cove (click
for map)
in preparation for
an eventual return after our voyage is
completed.
GLOUCESTER UPDATE ...
From June 6/04
At last, approval from
the insurance company for Larry to do the repairs
himself. We found some great western red cedar at a
local lumber yard and with the generous offer of
shop and table saw use from Barry who lives in a
condo next to the boatyard and offer of an
industrial router from Ed who lives nearby, we
quickly got started. The ten damaged strip-planks
were routed out and new scarfed lengths from three
to six feet glued and screwed back into place with
West System epoxy. This was all faired into the
shape of the hull with planer and sander and then a
six foot length of three inch by five inch oak
through-bolted inside across several frames (ribs)
for additional support to the damaged area. By July
6th all was completed, including a new paint job to
the topsides and another coat of copper bottom
paint to the hull below the waterline. We were now
ready for launching on the high
tide.
ON FRIDAY, JULY 16TH WE
WERE READY TO DEPART GLOUCESTER FOR THE 260 MILE
RUN TO SHELBURNE, NOVA SCOTIA. WE ARRIVED IN
SHELBURNE AT 5:30 AM ON JULY 18TH AFTER A WONDERFUL
SAIL CROSSING THE GULF OF MAINE WITH AN OLD
CREWMATE, JACK SANTE, ABOARD WITH US. (We were all
seasick, by the way!)
We will soon be back on
the air with the ham radio to update our APRS
positions. (Installing a new tuner).
July 18th to 21st:
Shelburne, Nova Scotia... A wonderful time docked
at the new Shelburne Yacht Club. We visited all the
local museums and managed to repair our alternator
which had "fried" on the way across the Gulf of
Maine. Not only did we meet new friends here, but
also an old friend, Willa Magee, who recognized me
walking down the sidewalk in town! She and her
husband are doing exciting aquaculture work with a
rare mutated species of seaweed which contains
kainic acid and dihydrokainic acid. Along with
other benefits, these have the potential for
repairing nerve sheathing of the central nervous
system.
July 21st & 22nd:
Shelborne to Halifax... At sea for one day and one
night (110 miles). Depart Wed 1pm ... Arrive Thurs
8am.
July 22nd to 27th:
Moored at the Armdale Yacht Club just in time for
the two for one steak dinner. Lots of old friends
here and a real surprise to meet up with "Spray
Venture", last seen at Key West, Florida in
June/03. We paid a visit to the Citidal Fortress
Museum and also checked out King's University where
Larry took his degree in Sociology and Psychology
before heading on to Carleton in Ottawa for
postgraduate work. Finally we took Cathy Osborne
out for a sail with her father and mother... Don
was one of the last of Canada's lighthouse keepers
on St Mary's Island in Harrington and, finally,
Souris, Prince Edward Island.
July 27th: Halifax to
Sheet Harbour... At sea for one day (60 miles).
Depart Tues 11am ... Arrive Tues
11pm.
******
Aug 8th: We have
since left Sheet Harbour and stopped at Port
Bickerton and White Head Haven, then into the Bras
d'Or Lakes, stopping at St Peters and Little
Harbour, with several days at Baddeck. We've now
returned to St Peters and are planning to visit
Ballantynes Cove, Charlottetown, Summerside and
then on to Anse à Beaufils and the
Gaspé Penninsula. Will try to sit down
somewhere soon for a proper update of text and
charts.
******
Aug 24th: Now at
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Québec waiting for
headwinds to die down before continuing up the St.
Lawrence River to Rimouski and then Rivière
du Loup. We rented a car today so we could at least
drive to Cacouna for a visit. We hope to head out
Wednesday night to arrive in Rimouski by noon on
Thursday.
******
Aug 28th: After
spending two days at Rimouski it was a sometimes
gusty overnight run to Gros Cacouna where we
arrived just in time to anchor in the lee of the
Island and be protected from screaming easterly
winds and torrential rains.
******
Aug 31st: Arrived
here at the Quebec City Yacht Club this morning
after a dark and stormy night of sailing from Iles
aux Coudres. We had rested there at anchor until
midnight, waiting for the tidal currents to be with
us after the pleasant Monday daytime run from
Cacouna.
******
Sept 14th: After a
great long weekend visit at Quebec City with new
friends, we finally departed on the next Wednesday
morning for Sorel (beginning of the waterway to New
York City). On the way we stopped and spent an
extra day at a well protected little marina at
Batiscan while the leftovers of hurricane "Frances"
blew by as gale force winds. Here at Sorel we took
down Meriah's masts and once we have properly
secured them on deck will finally be ready by
Thursday to head into the Richelieu River on our
way south. Have set up a jury antenna for the ham
radio so we can continue with APRS position
reporting and e-mails aboard Meriah. Today joined
by an old friend, Chris Ross, for the trip to
Chambly. We're having wonderful warm and sunny
weather!
******
Sept 16th: Arrived
in Chambly, Québec... first stop after a
day's run on the Richelieu waterway which leads to
Lake Champlain, the Hudson River and New York City.
Drove with a rented car to Niagra Falls, visited
with friends & family, and met up back aboard
Meriah with Helen, the girl next door in Montreal
from some fifty years ago, and her husband,
Nick.
******
Sept 28th: A short
day's run through the Chambly Locks to
Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu at their south end. We
will wait here for the remains of hurricane
"Jeanne" to blow by south of us (it never came, but
we had lots of chores to do anyhow). I'm sure Nick
had a great game of golf.
******
Sept 30th: A
wonderful sunny run south to Rouses Point, NY...
the beginning of Lake Champlain. We cleared US
customs here and then continued south another 15
miles to Carry Bay for the night. Much to our
delight, we met some great people here at the North
Hero Marina and were invited out for a steak BBQ up
the hill.
******
Oct 1st: Another
great day south to Partridge Harbor, a cosy little
cove and perfect shelter for the 30 knot south
winds forecast for tomorrow.
******
Oct 3rd: Sunny
weather again for the run to Whitehall, end of Lake
Champlain and beginning of the Champlain Canal.
Tied up with free moorage at the Municipal Dock
here and enjoyed Chinese food at a nearby
restaurant.
******
Oct 4th: Foggy in
the morning (no radar with the masts down), so we
waited until noon, and another wonderful sunny day,
before departing for Fort Edward, only 20 miles
south and where the canal system meets up with the
Hudason River. Another free Municipal Dock, but
only just enough water for Meriah to get up the
narrow channel winding back from Lock #
7.
******
Oct 5th: Sunny
again this morning, but with a nip of cold in the
air reminding us of why we are heading south. On
our way to yet another free Municipal Dock at
Waterford, NY. This is where the Erie Canal system
meets the Hudson River at the end of the Champlain
Canal... After the Lock at Troy, just a couple of
miles south and still some 150 miles up from New
York City, we will be back in Atlantic tidal
waters. Very much enjoyed our stay here with
friendly volunteers to welcome us and lots of other
cruisers also heading south with dreams of warmer
waters. So we decided to stay here a few days extra
to celebrate Nicky's birthday. This was also an
opportunity for us to rent a car and go out looking
for a facility further south where we could put our
masts indoors for maintenance and then have them
installed back into place... Heavy duty work with
the main mast weighing nearly a thousand
pounds.
******
Oct 11th: A day's
run down to Catskill...and up a creek. Actually, a
great sheltered anchorage, though we had to use two
anchors (Bahamian Moor) due to poor holding on a
rocky bottom. Here we had found one of the best
facilities on the Hudson for dealing with our
masts... heavy duty crane, an inside work area, hot
showers and best of all, an excellent restaurant
right on the same property at Hop-O-Nose Marina.
There is even a bulding supply centre right across
from the anchorage. Here we had to make a new
starboard spreader for the mainmast... the old one
had rot and we fortunately caught it just in time
to save losing our rig! Also an opportunity to oil
the traditional "service" protecting our rigging
wire and to put a new coat of paint on the masts.
Nice to be inside for this... the rain was finally
falling in buckets, but we were ready for it.
******
Oct 27th: Another
couple of days after re-stepping our masts to get
our rig back together and we're on our way to a
free dock at Mariner's Restaurant just north of
Poughkeepsie, NY. Here we enjoyed a wonderful "all
you can eat" seafood & pasta buffet. Great to
have Meriah's rig back in place again, though it
will still be a few days before everything is back
in order for ocean sailing.
******
Oct 28th: Here we
are securely anchored off the community of Nyack,
NY after an enjoyable day with bright fall colours
interrupted by fascinating castles and grand
estates spilling down to the water's edge. We will
stay here a few days visiting sailing friends and
giving Victoria a chance to play with other kids,
watch the Halloween parade and do her "trick or
treating" in a friendly neighbourhood. We are also
enjoying the hospitality and facilities of the
Nyack Boat Club as we await a good weather window
for the run down the Atlantic Coast to Cape May,
NJ. We are only a half day's run away from New York
City.
******
Nov 2nd: A blustery
S wind in our teeth all day on our way to New York
City. With high winds forecast for tomorrow, we
decided to stay at Liberty Landing Marina... a good
jumping off point for the trip down to Cape May.
(Late breaking news - With 30 to 40 knots
forecast and poor weather over the next few days,
it looks as if we will be staying here at least
until Sunday. Check with our APRS for further
update).
******
Nov 9th: A weather window at last!
Shortly after midnight we depart New York for the
275 mile run (two nights & two days) to
Norfolk, Virginia at the mouth of the Chesapeake.
Leaving the harbour at night was an interesting
experience in itself with non-stop shipping traffic
for us to avoid. Once offshore we have moderate
northerly winds and sunny skys to make this a
fairly comfortable run, though the temperatures are
hovering only just above freezing. We are warmly
dressed, though, and the furnace hums away to keep
it toasty warm down below where Victoria happily
sleeps or plays and occasionally joins us in the
cockpit as we stand our watches. For us it's simply
sleeping & steering.
Nov 10th: Another fine 24 hours, passing
Cape May on the New Jersey coast just before
midnight and continuing offshore down the Delaware
Coast through the starlit night... sunrise at
7am... sunset at 5pm... and then by 10pm fimally
arriving off the Municipal Docks at Hampton.
Another busy harbour entrance with immediate
communication from the Pilotage Authority wanting
to know what size of vessel we were and what route
we would be taking as we entered. We're right
across from the city of Norfolk where the
Intracoastal Waterway begins under the watchful eye
of the US Navy's east coast fleet... now a tired
but happy crew with the most challenging (winter
offshore) portion of our trip south finally behind
us. We'll stay here and rest a bit. From here on we
will be heading south down the sheltered ICW system
which follows inlets, rivers creeks and canals from
here as far as Miami, Florida , all just inside the
Atlantic coast of the US.
******
Nov 15th: Heading out for the
Intracoastal Waterway and our first stop at Great
Bridge, a total run of 22 miles for the day. Passed
lots of Navy ships heading out to sea as we entered
Norfolk. In the Waterway there were several "lift"
or "swing" bridges for us to pass through as we
motored along at about six knots. Great sunny
weather, with cool north winds behind us. We're
travelling along with "Painkiller", also heading
south with Earl and Debbie aboard. We met up with
"Painkiller" at Catskill while getting ready to
install our masts ... and met again the other day
when they turned up in Hampton after transiting the
Delaware and Chesapeake.
Nov 16th: Stopped at Coinjock for fuel on
the way to Broad Creek, NC where we anchored for
the night.
Nov 17th: Anchored off Bear Point.
Nov 18th: Anchored in Campbell Creek,
just off the waterway.
Nov 19th: Anchored in Cedar Creek just
off the waterway and close to Beaufort, NC at the
south end of Cape Hattaras.
Nov 20th: Arrived in Swansboro, North
Carolina at Dudleys Marina for rest, showers and
grocery shopping.
Nov 22nd: Arrived in Wrightsville where
through Victoria and their kids we met Jack
Kilbourne and his sister, Kristine Thompson.
Victoria had a wonderful time playing with her new
friends and we were all invited to a wonderful
Thanksgiving dinner together with the whole family.
A great holiday stopover!
Nov 26th: Anchored in the Shallotte
River. At three in the morning the tidal current
and contrary winds caused "Painkiller" to drag her
anchor right down onto Meriah. By some almost
impossible chance our bowsprit became entangled in
Painkiller's anchor gear, nearly ripping off our
bobstay as the flooding tide began swinging
Painkiller around. Fortunately we managed to pry
the gear loose and bring Painkiller alongside for
the rest of the night. A close call which could
have resulted in losing our rig. At least our Bruce
anchor held!
Nov 27th: A brief stopover at North
Mrytle Beach to visit West Marine, then on to a
free dock at Barefoot Landing.
Nov 28th: Arrived at a dock at
Georgetown. Its Sunday and all stores are closed,
but Victoria found the only place open. An ice
cream shop!
Nov 29th: Here we are rafted
alongside a shrimper at Leland's in McClellanville.
Fresh shrimp for dinner... and we also discover
through the manager, Dwayne, that the original
Herreshoff "Mobjack" (sister ship to Meriah) is
just ahead in Charleston. Dwayne grew up with Fred
Wichmann who, with his son, "Bunky", had rebuilt
Mobjack several years ago. "Bunky" had contacted
Larry through this web site some five years
ago.
Nov 30th: Now in Charleston at
Uncle Henry's dock next door to Fred's and the
Mobjack. A great opportunity to meet "Bunky" and
all the rest of the family. Victoria was delighted
to find that there was also another six year old
Victoria... the two of them had a wonderful time
together and we were all invited to dinner with
Laura and Preston.
Dec 3rd: Arrived to anchor in Rock Creek.
While checking out water depths Meriah was carried
down by the ebb current right onto the sandbank.
Anchors out and a line to the top of the mizzen
were all too late to pull us off, so we had to wait
until 9:30 PM for the tide to come back and set us
free. Meriah stayed fairly upright through the
whole ordeal, but we all moved aboard "Painkiller"
for the evening. It was a simple matter to winch in
the chain to be anchored safely in deep water for
the night.
Dec 4th: Broad Creek's anchorage was
full, so we spent the night dockside at the nearby
marina. A good restaurant meal.
Dec 5th: Here we are docked at Savannah,
Georgia. Weather is really warm and we are enjoying
the waterfront shops restaurants and pubs.
Dec 8th: After a nice break
visiting pubs, restaurants and ice cream
parlors, etc. in Savannah, we now continue south to
Kilkenny Creek. Probably our most difficult day
going through the Intracoastal Waterway. Water
depths are particularly "thin" in Georgia and other
boats are frequently going aground while under way.
We had our depth alarm set at seven feet to keep it
from ringing all the time and even then managed to
touch bottom as we slowed down for the alarm. We
backed off OK, though, and continued on to
Kilkenny. The marina here offered us our first
experience of being eaten alive by blackflies and
the washer & drier had to be "jimmied" in order
to even accept our quarters. The big surprise was
the excellent restaurant next door to the marina in
this isolated little community. We had a good
feast... likely as good as the one that the
blackflies had on us!
Dec 9th: A great anchorage this evening
in Cedar Creek, just off the Crescent River. Quite
narrow here, so we set bow and stern anchors to
keep from swinging with the tide... big
mistake ... when the tide turned with the
current against the deeper keel at our stern, we
swung closer to shore and by midnight were aground
with only three feet of water instead of the five
we needed to float free. Needless to say, we were
well heeled over... so Nicky read a book while
Larry prepared lines for setting a "Bahamian" moor
...Connecting the stern anchor line directly to the
chain of our forward anchor, therefore allowing us
to swing with the tide but pivoting only around the
point where the two anchors were attached. At 2:00
AM we were afloat, the srern anchor attached, and
now ready in deep water for tidal currents from any
direction. No more bow & stern anchoring for us
when in tidal waters!
Dec 10th: In spite of headwinds gusting
up to 25 knots which slowed us down quite a bit as
it worked against our rigging, we are finally in
Brunswick,, Georgia. This is one of the best (and
least expensive) marinas we have found all along
the waterway. Here we have all the facilities most
cruisers dream of! It is such a friendly and
comfortable place that we've decided to stay here
for Christmas! Temperatures are still a bit cool,
but we have heard that most of the facilities just
south in Florida are all booked up with vessels
from marinas damaged by hurricanes further south.
We also hear that facilities in the Northern
Bahamas are in serious trouble due to hurricane
damage, so we may head for the Exumas first.
Dec 25, 2004...Christmas Message:
Well, its been a great year for slowing down and
smelling the roses as well as meeting new friends
along the way. Quite a shift from the headlong pace
of getting here from British Columbia.
Our year began with a first experience of living
ashore in many years... in Gloucester, Mass. Our
friends, Al & Barb Boudreau, offered us their
apartment and car while away south for the winter
and Mark Sheldon provided winter moorage for Meriah
and haulout space to make hull repairs in the
spring. With a playground right next to our dock,
Victoria was kept busy with an endless selection of
playmates and we all enjoyed new friendships as a
result of chance meetings out there in the
community. We also had an opportunity to enroll
Victoria in dancing classes and swimming
lessons.
The next stage of our voyage was to head back
north up the coast of Nova Scotia. Our good friend
(and Victoria's "Godfather") Jack Santé,
joined us for the trip across the Gulf of Maine as
far as Shelburn. In spite of the usual fog, good
weather followed us most of the way until our
approach to Cape Breton. Here, with cold and foul
weather following on our tail, we passed through
the "magical" portal of St. Peter's Canal into
another world... an instant transition to the
wonderful sunshine and sheltered waters of the Bras
d'Or Lakes. Here, up at Baddeck, home of Alexander
Graham Bell, we met up and enjoyed a visit with
Diana Banks-Ross, a family friend from years gone
by, with her husband, Dan. Thanks to a generous
offer of their car we were able to drive around the
"Cabot Trail" and enjoy some breathtaking mountain
views looking out over the Atlantic or back into
the forested hills and valleys behind us. Even had
a chance to visit with cousin, Hammy Carter up in
Dingwall, way up north by Bay St. Lawrence.
Retracing our path from last year, we sailed
back through the Canso Cut to visit friends in
Ballantynes Cove and then on to Prince Edward
Island. At Wood Islands we joined the car ferry
"Confederation" as honerary crew on a run across
the Northumberland Strait to Pictou and return with
good friend, Stirling (Boots) Macphail, the Chief
Engineer. Much of our time after a good meal aboard
was spent up on the bridge and Victoria was even
allowed to push the horn button to announce our
arrival! Then on to Summerside Yacht Club and a
rental car to visit friends in Victoria and other
parts of the Island.
Contunuing the eastward path, we next sailed up
to the Gaspé Coast where we could spend time
at Anse-à-Beaufils before beating our way
against wind and tide up the St. Lawrence River
towards Québec City. A short rental car run
from St-Anne-des-Monts to Cacouna for a visit while
waiting for a weather window ... then heading on to
Rimouski where we met up with Pierre, Marie and 5
year old Laurence; we will see them again later in
Québec City. Catching the good weather as it
comes, we make a run for Gros Cacouna where we ride
out another storm at anchor in the lee of Cacouna
Island. We are just at the beginning stages of the
fall season frontal systems which come across from
Canada's northwest and meet up with others coming
up the Atlantic seaboard... so you make a run for
it when you can.
Next, the final run to Québec City with
beautiful weather, anchoring off the ferry dock at
Ile-aux-Coudres to wait for the flood tide. Then
the headlong rush through the night, now in
torrential rain with heavy shipping traffic and up
to six knots of current pushing us along at up to
twelve knots in the shadow of the north shore
mountains. We fly down along the southern edge of
the Island of Orleans, past the Citadel and
Château Frontenac and just making it to the
Québec City Yacht Club in time as the tide
begins to turn against us.
Our new friends, Pierre, Marie and Laurence had
also arrived back from their sailing holiday and we
very much enjoyed spending time with them. Pierre
also arranged for us to get a car, so getting
around was made easy. We spent a week enjoying
Québec City and its wonderful old world
heritage. Larry explored his old haunts of some
fifty years ago, including the "Lower Town" along
the waterfront. Here he remembered the poverty of
local residents which was reflected by street
urchins begging in the cobblestone streets and line
upon line of drying laundry hanging high above
across the narrow lanes with echos of shouting
voices up and down the alleyways... a far cry from
the cultural mecca of today.
All too soon we are on our way again... under
the Québec bridge and up the narrowing St
Lawrence River. Just before Three Rivers we tuck
into a river estuary dock to ride out the reminants
of Hurricane Frances which still packed a good
fifty knots of wind with torrential rain! With
improving weather we sailed on to Sorel, not far
from Montreal, where it was time to remove our rig
with a crane, laying the masts fore and aft on
deck. From here on the bridges across the waterway
heading south are too low for our main mast's 60
foot height above the waterline.
We have been joined by Larry's old friend, Chris
Ross and with all lashed in place we begin the
first stage of heading down the Richelieu,
Champlain and Hudson River waterways to New York
City. Our first stop is Chambly where we tie up
Meriah and rent a car for a bit of overland
adventuring. First to Niagara-on-the-Lake where we
visit Peggy Walker, our good friend and connection
to Cacouna. Of course its an opportunity to see the
Niagara Falls... an awesome experience for Nicky.
On the way back we visit Jack & Pat
Santé in Toronto, then on to Ottawa for more
visiting with friends and especially Larry's family
there... Lara, Katy and Andrew. Victoria is so
thrilled to have her older brother and sisters!
Back to Meriah in Chambly where we connect with
Matthew and Loretta Pierce from the old days with
Canada World Youth some 20 years ago in Nova Scotia
and Jamaica. They have a young son, Nigel...
another great friend for Victoria. Our proximity to
Montreal also allowed us to re-connect with Helen
(Gibb-Carsley) Farrell and her husband, Nick. Helen
had been "the girl next door" to Larry in those
early Montreal days. She brought along an old
photograph of the two of us... a touching memory of
the special friendship at age 9.
With fall colours blazing, we continue on our
way south through canals, locks and swing bridges
to the headwaters of the Richelieu at Lake
Champlain and on through the Champlain Canal to the
Hudson River. The 250 miles from Sorel to Troy
Locks and beginning of the Hudson Waterway is all
easy going for us when compared to the beating we
could take off the coast of Nova Scotia with the
frequency of fall season frontal systems and gales
increasing daily, now all well to the north and
east of us. The weather here during this same
period has been mild and sunny most of the time
with warm breezes drifting over sun-drenched fields
and forests. Nicky loves it... with lots of
similarities to the canals back home in Holland! We
stopped for awhile at Waterford, just north of Troy
to celebrate our anniversary and Nicky's
birthday.
Just a short hop now down to Catskill, our
chosen facility up a sheltered creek for taking
care of maintenance work on our masts and rigging.
Then the job of re-stepping the masts and "tuning"
the rig. After two weeks we are once again on our
way down the Hudson River and fully prepared for
the offshore run from New York City. The weather is
now starting to break down, though, as frontal
systems from the northwest begin dipping further
south. We enjoyed several days in Nyack at the Boat
Club anchorage as guests of sailing friends met in
Halifax this past July. It was Halloween and
Victoria was thrilled with the Main Street Parade
and an evening of being a vampire princess for
"trick or treating".
Now only a day's run to New York City and the
very comfortable Liberty Landing Marina. But it
blew like stink on and off for about a week. While
waiting here for the offshore weather window, we
had an opportunity to visit the emotional site of
the World Trade Centre... It was a powerfully
humbling experience!
Back at the Liberty State Park next to the
Marina, Victoria was able to ride her bike past the
Statue of Liberty and spend time at the playground
having fun with other kids. Here we met up with
Kelly, Jason and their daughters, Alexandra and
Isadora... two new friends for Victoria. We got
together for dinner that evening at the Lightship
Restaurant and a couple of days later, at the
height of our stormy weather, enjoyed an overnight
stay at their home in nearby Chatham, New
Jersey.
Finally, the window arrived. A night departure
out of New York Harbour, past "Lady Liberty" with
her torch all lit up... and shipping traffic all
over the place for a good exercise in night
navigation. Wonderful sail, though, with northerly
winds of 10 to 20 knots. Two days and two nights,
past Cape May, New Jersey and all the way to
Norfolk, Virginia where we tie up well after dark
at the Hampton Municipal Marina... weather window
still holding! Time for some rest and
relaxation.
Here in Hampton we met up with Earl and Debbie
Chappell. We had met Earl back in Catakill aboard
his vessel, "Painkiller", where he waited for his
wife to return from a visit to Ontario. He and
Debbie had left well before us and taken the inland
route south from Cape May via the Delaware and
Chesapeake... with our direct offshore run we had
arrived here ahead of them. As they came ashore in
their dinghy, Victoria greeted Debbie with, "So you
finally came back!". They have since become very
best friends and as our two vessels have continued
sailing south together down the Intracoastal
Waterway, Victoria is always looking forward to
visits with her favorite "Aunt Debbie".
The "Intracoastal", a sheltered waterway of
rivers, creeks and canals, lies just inside the
southeast coast of North America. It is fairly well
maintained from Norfolk, Virginia south to Miami,
Florida, though budget cuts in maintenance combined
with silting caused by stormy weather at ocean
inlets have made the run much more challenging in
recent years. A good idea to be travelling with
another boat in case one of us gets into trouble!
And, yes, we have been aground on one occasion, but
still able to slow down and back off on our own
thanks to the alarm on our depth sounder which
gives us advance warning. We've also been nearly
high and dry at a couple of anchorages... mainly
due to strong tidal currents swinging us into the
shallows... but then we're off again with the
rising tide and safely into deeper water.
Again, the weather has been with us most of the
time with sunny skies and warm breezes only
occasionally interupted by frontal passages. Since
there is very little open water it is mostly
motoring day after day with overnights at anchor
and the occasional treat of marinas or municipal
docks. Lots of interesting landscapes and
communities along the way, but we always look
forward to joining up with "Painkiller" at the end
of the day to enjoy the sunset with a few beer or a
good home-cooked meal. Victoria has even enjoyed a
couple of sleepovers at her Auntie Debbie's.
Thanksgiving at Wrightsville was a very special
experience for all of us thanks to Victoria. It all
began with the sound of children playing up on the
dock... Victoria had to go up and join them. Before
we knew it we were invited up the street for pizza
by Jack Kilbourne along with his sister Kristine
Thompson, including Grandpa, Great Grandmammy and
all the kids. We had a wonderful time together and
were delighted with a generous invitation to join
the whole family at Kristine's for Thanksgiving
dinner.
The next special event began at McClellanville,
Just north of Charleston, South Carolina. Here we
were informed that the original Herreshoff
"Mobjack" was based just the other side of
Charleston. Some five years ago I had received an
e-mail from "Bunky" Wichmann who had found our web
site... he and his father, Fred, had discovered
"Mobjack" in very rough shape near Fort Lauderdale
and totally rebuilt her! I still had "Bunky's"
address and by the next morning we had an
invitation to stop over at Uncle Henry's dock right
next door to Fred's and "Mobjack's" berth. It was a
great reunion and wonderful opportunity to meet
"Bunky" and most of his family. We hardly saw
Victoria at all during our time here... "Bunky's"
sister, Laura, also had a six year old Victoria,
and our own Victoria spent virtually every day
visiting with her "twin". It was also great to see
Meriah and "Mobjack" next to one another.
Now, here we are at Brunswick Landing Marina for
Christmas. With all the hurricanes further south in
Florida this past summer there are few facilities
available, and what's left is very expensive. We
have great facilities here, however, with free
showers, free laundry and a very comfortable lounge
with phone and internet access. All of this at the
least expensive rates we've found so far all the
way down the Intracoastal... what more could we
ever ask for?
Our New Year's Resolution? Getting down to the
Bahamas!
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We'll be taking care of text
and photo updates as soon as we can.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 25/05 Depart Brunswick to Fernandina
Beach, Florida.
Jan 26/05 Depart Ferninandina to
Jacksonville Beach.
Jan 27/05 Depart Jacksonville to St.
Augustine.
Jan 29/05 Depart St. Augustine to Daytona
Beach.
Jan 30/05 Depart Daytona to
Titusville.
-----------------------------------------------
Mar 10/05 Depart Titusville to Sebastian
River.
Mar 11/05 Depart Sebastian to Fort
Pierce.
Mar 12/05 Depart Fort Pierce to
Bahamas.
----------------------------------------------
BAHAMAS
Mar 13/05 Hawksbill Cay o/n
Mar 14/05 To Green Turtle Cay
Mar 20/05 To Treasure Cay
Mar 24/05 To Marsh Harbour
----------------------------------------------
April 19/05 - April 22/05 Whale Cay,
Bahamas to Morehead City, North Carolina
April 22/05 - April 29/05 To Annapolis,
Maryland for the whole summer at a mooring
Nov 08/05 - Nov 09/05
Annapolis to Hampton, Virginia on the way back
south to the Bahamas again.
Nov 11/05 - Nov 15/05
Hampton to Beaufort, NC via Intracoastal (Great
Bridge, Broad Creek, Pungo River & Cedar
Creek).
Nov 18/05 - Nov 19/05
Beaufort to Charleston, SC... Two days &
one overnight offshore. Then waiting for
weather.
Nov 25/05 - Nov 26/05
Charleston to Brunswick, Georgia, a day and
overnight run. Here for Christmas and New
Years.
Merry
Christmas to All!
We'll have our Annual
Update ready soon.
Jan 11/06 Depart
Brunswick down the ICW to overnight at Amelia
Island Yacht Basin near Fernandina Beach,
Florida.
Jan 12/06
Continuing down the ICW to St. Augustine's
Municipal Dock for the night.
Jan 13/06 Again
down the ICW to Daytona Marina & Boat Works
where we wait for a storm system to blow
over.
Jan 16/06 On down
the ICW to Titusville where we will stay a few
weeks and visit Disney World with Victoria. Strong
north and easterly winds dominating the weather, so
we wait here until a more gentle westerly flow is
forecast to help us across to the
Bahamas.
Feb 15/06 Weather
window on the way for this coming Friday and the
weekend. Heading south again to head out to the
Bahamas from Fort Pierce. Overnight at a small
unnamed island (now "Victoria Island" for us) 10
miles north of Sebastian.
Feb 16/06 Made it
to Fort Pierce Harbortown Marina by early
afternoon. Now well positioned to head out the
ocean inlet with the tide early tomorrow
afternoon.
BAHAMAS
Feb 17/06 - Feb
19/06 Heading out for the overnight run to
Little Bahama Bank, arriving at the Outer Bank
around 6am. At about 10am we reached the shallower
Inner Bank and our next "adventure"... We were
just entering the Northern Bahama Bank when our
engine broke down... I thought it was a fire, but
it was steam billowing out of the pilot house as
the engine's cooling system blew out. Turns out
that the housing on the engine that contains the
thermostat is made of aluminium... it was so badly
pitted on the inside (I can't imagine why) that a
hole opened up with a huge blast of steam as the
system emptied out. Fortunately it was daylight
with sunny skys and calm seas... but not all that
great for sailing. So we launched our dinghy and
with our 15hp outboard were able to push Meriah at
up to 5 knots for the last 30 miles to Great Sale
Cay! Two other sailboats changed course from
further south to stand by just in case, and we all
arrived just after sunset to enjoy a beautiful
starlit night quietly at anchor in a sheltered
cove. Next day we took the engine apart and managed
to repair the thermostat housing to "like new"
condition using a burnishing tool and epoxy putty.
Turns out that we will also have to replace our
heat exchanger and possibly the engine's head
gasket (from overheating). Though everything works
for now, we decided to give Nicky and Victoria a
treat and stay at the marina in Green Turtle Cay
when we get there. I'll pick up new parts when I
fly to BC in March and we can do more exploring
around the Abacos when I get back.
Feb 20/06 Depart
Great Sale in company of our friends Earl &
Debbie aboard "Painkiller". Anchor overnight at
Hawksbill Cay.
Feb 21/06 Continued
on to Green Turtle Cay where we clear Customs &
Immigration then make our way to anchor for the
night in White Sound. Tomorrow we go to the Green
Turtle Club Marina where we stay until the end of
March.
April 1/06 Well,
another month gone by and our engine definitely has
big problems. When we removed the head it was clear
that its surface was pitted between #2 and #3
cylinders... probably the primary cause of all our
other engine issues. Fortunately there was a good
machine shop in Marsh Harbour, so we took the ferry
to Treasure Cay on Great Abaco, rented a car and
had a bit of a Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbour land
adventure while the head was being re-surfaced.
Also had to have eight washers for the fuel
injection system sent to us from Seattle... we
received them the next day with UPS! The washers
were worth $10.00 and the cost of shipping
$100.00!! Anyhow, the engine was finally back
together by April 22nd and was working better than
the day we first installed it in Meriah some ten
years ago. Through all the time we were here, and
in spite of the engine problems, we had an
absolutely wonderful time at the Green Turtle
Club... one of the best marinas around with lots of
other kids, beaches and a pool for Victoria ... a
great dining room at the nearby Bluff House where
Victoria also enjoyed a fun Easter Egg Hunt... the
charming little community of New Plymouth with its
grocery store, shops, our favourite Bahamian
restaurant (Harvey's) and the school fair where
Victoria had lots of fun with the local
kids.
April 25/06 At last
we're on our way again from Green Turtle only a
short day's run to Marsh Harbour where we will hang
out for awhile visiting sailing friends and our
cousin, Sid, who owns the Lofty Fig Villas
here.
June/06:
Presently in the Chesapeake... Update coming
soon.
Guess what!
We've had a new baby, so our cruising itinerary is
on hold for a bit.
A new
adventure begins!
Thursday,
December 20, 2007
After three
weeks sailing south down the Intracoastal Waterway
from Town Creek on the Chesapeake we began our
crossing to the Bahamas. Departed our Vero Beach
mooring early in the morning and exited the Fort
Pierce Inlet at about 11:45 am with the tide. We
arrived at the edge of the Little Bahamas Bank at
about 6:45 am Tuesday morning.
Here is our
description of what became the trip through hell:
We've been
recovering from "The Trip Through Hell"... Our
wonderful Thursday weather window's noon departure
allowed us to get 2/3 across from Ft. Pierce to the
Bahamas when all hell broke loose. Winds rather
quickly increased up to E to SE 30 knots or more
with gusts along with rather square confused seas
of up to 15 feet... Meriah was often virtually
airborne and slamming into the troughs, more like a
submarine. Our 12 hour crossing became 18 hours and
from Vero I had been at the helm for 20 hours
without a break. Nicky had to physically peel me
off the wheel when we finally reached the lee in
the Little Bahamas Bank... every muscle in my body
had stiffened up and it was only adrenalin that was
keeping me going. Now a lot of Nicky's anxiety
about wind and seas have been put back into
perspective and 20 knots is is now simply 20 knots
for her!
Anyhow, we
kept on going through the day, past Great Sale
heading for our anchorage at Fox Town (Hawksbill).
Couldn't enter safely when we got there, with the
wind now strong NW, so had to continue through to
midnight all the way to Green Turtle Cay where we
are now at the Green Turtle Club Marina as our base
for the duration of our Bahamas stay. We will be
exploring the other Abaco islands from
here.
When on our
way to Fox Town while cleaning up the topsides I
found a broken plank on deck and remarked that some
other vessel must have been damaged or
"shipwrecked" during the storm (there were a number
of others out there, we discovered... all having
big problems). When we arrived at Green Turtle I
found that most of the protective gumwood around
our waterline from the stem to amidships on the
starboard side had been torn off and that our
trailboards (with gold leaf scrolls fwd) were on
their way off as well. So that piece of "shipwreck"
was ours!
We've found a
good supply of teak at Man-O-War Cay to replace the
missing gumwood and will be grounding out Meriah
alongside one of the marina docks here in White
Sound for repairs. In the meantime everyone is
having a good time and Victoria is finding lots of
friends.
All the best for
the New Year,
Larry, Nicky,
Victoria & Serena
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Click
Camera for Photos of Our Fall of 2007 Trip
South Down the ICW from the
Chesapeake.
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Click
Camera for Photos of Our Winter of 2008 in
the Bahamas.
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Tues, April
18 2008
Heading back
north from the Bahamas!
Larry and Marsh
Harbour resident, Bill Haddad sail Meriah offshore
to Port Canaveral, Florida and on to Titusville.
Nicky, Victoria & Serena will then fly from
Marsh Harbour to Melbourne, Florida where Larry
will pick them up with a rental car. We will then
continue sailing north to the Chesapeake where
Meriah will spend another summer at her Town Creek
dock near Solomons.
See Charts
Below...
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