Catch up on the blog.

Between working on the boat (getting it ready for and recovering from the crossing), playing, having trouble with the Internet, playing, having trouble with new computer with windows 7 (junk...I'm buying a mac) and playing. Did I mentioned playing? ...Not a lot of posting going on. Tried twice in the last four days: first  time worked for a hour and then Pusser"s lost their power, second time I worked for a hour and windows had a hiccup and the work was lost. This is the third try.

Here are Larry (Swabby),Di, Brian (photographer/ delivery skipper ) and Andy (USAF fighter pilot), the Sea Gate Marina crew. Together we plotted the weather  for 3 days to decide the best time to leave. Andy keep saying you have to have wind in order to sail........well Andy, we had wind!

Brian and Andy heading for the Bahamas.

 Land Ho............BVI on the left and USVI on the right!

Coming into Jost Van Dyke.

Foxy's is on the right, Customs in the middle. I'm at Foxy's a week later doing this.

The salty crew is smiling because we are heading to Soper's Hole to wash the salt off . Our clothes, our bodies and the whole boat! Yup, the inside too!

Soper's Hole, Tortola

Norman Island

This small boat pulled up and dropped an inflatable slide so the kids could play while the old folks went snorkeling.

Our life right now is dropping the anchor, going snorkeling, eat, go snorkeling, play. Move to the next island , maybe go out to eat and dance (dance once) and just go swimming.
More to follow.........Happy Sail's................rr

Passage from Morehead City NC to Jost Van Dyke, BVI

Sinbad’s Ocean Passage: Nov. 7-18, 2011

After a nice rest at the Sea Gate Marina on the ICW south of  Oriental NC, where we were welcomed and entertained by the local marina folk and sailors Brion and Andy, delivering a boat to the Abacos, we departed for Morehead City NC to pump out the waste tank and fuel  up.  We headed offshore at around 1pm, under sunny skies and mild conditions.  Our auto pilot was not working dependably, and soon quit altogether, so we hand steered for almost the entire trip. We stood two hour watches 24 hours a day for the entire twelve days. The weather outlook predicted one chance in seven of encountering gale conditions offshore.  Well, we got lucky, and hit the one chance!  After leaving the lee of Cape Lookout, the wind rose to 20kts and built throughout the night.  We crossed the Gulf Stream with wind blowing 29 kts, and waves like pyramids on the Gulf Stream current.  The gale blew for four days, and we logged winds gusting sustained blasts of up to 44 knots, and swells of 30-40 feet (measured top to bottom).  Fortunately, they seldom broke, and Sinbad performed in her rugged dependable way.  Di, however did not. She was seasick and out of commission for 24 hours.  Yee haa.  We hove to on Tuesday night (Nov . 8) because we were exhausted and sea conditions were unrelenting and we needed rest.  We flew the double reefed mizzen sail and furled the jib, and the boat rode fairly comfortably and held position well, so we could rest. On the 9^th we dropped the mizzen and raised a working jib, and ran with the waves south to get out of the weather system, which we later learned had become a named tropical storm “Sean”.  For two more days the wind blew sustained velocities of 29 kts and we ran south at good speeds. On Friday, Nov. 11, the wind dropped to 21 kts , and Larry got to go fishing.  ON Saturday, waves began to build, but he kept fishing. He caught 4 mahi mahis, filleted three of them, and hooked two other fish which he let go.   Weather was still rough, and remained rough until Monday, Nov. 14^th.  We sighted a Bermuda longtail, a type of tropic bird, and raised the triple reefed mainsail for the first time, so we could sail closer to the wind and acheive our necessary easterly course.  Tuesday, Nov. 15 the weather moderated to 20-24 kts, and with fairly choppy waves we continued to bear Southeast. For two more days we continued east southeast, under moderate condition which nonetheless required our constant watchfulness.  On Thursday the 17^th, at 630 am, we turned south at last to approach the BVIs with 138 miles to go.  Fatigue was beginning to have it’s affect on Sinbad’s faithful crew, and we had to check and double check our plans for sailing through the night and  approaching land, by possibly in darkness.  As it turned out, Randy sighted the lights of the BVI and St. Thomas, and we slowed our approach and stood off 20 miles or so, so that we would enter the Great Harbor at Jost Van Dyke, BVI by daylight.  We checked in with Customs, who directed us to dinghy in when we were ready, so we anchored, cleaned up a bit, and headed ashore to clear in and relax.  We could not walk a straight line on the dock, and staggered around for the rest of the day, trying to remember how to walk properly on solid ground!  We pub crawled from Foxy’s Tamarind Bar all the way back to the dinghy dock, had a nice meal at Foxy’s  and went to bed 6:30 pm.  At last we can relax and not stand watches constantly.

Swabby Larry performed well.  He was promoted from Swabby, to Able Bodied Swabby after the gale, and  to Swabby First Class after he caught all the mahi mahi.  We celebrated his promotion with fish tacos underway, and again at Foxy’s once ashore. Three cheers for Swabby!

Long Busy Oct. Early Nov.

Sorry that it's taken so long to update this blog. We have been busy getting things done on the boat and when we weren't doing that we were playing. No time for typing!

The Chesapeake is a interesting body of water. It's really shallow, 12ft is a good depth, muddy looking until you're about 40 miles north of Norfolk VA (had dolphin playing in our bow wave). There are all kinds of rivers and creeks that you can go up and anchor in. The creeks here are bigger and deeper than most rivers in Michigan.

So......Sinbad has a new hard dodger,(we love it) a new 10ft RIB (thanks Matt), a new SSB radio (not impressed with the performance) 2 new SPOT GPS Messengers (the first quit on us after using it 4 times) Kiss wind generator (love it), new main sheets, mizzen sheets and reefing lines. What Sinbad doesn't have anymore is a auto pilot (Garmin less then 2 years old quit).
Well, I need to sign off. We are heading offshore tomorrow and I need to make sure we are ship shape.
Happy Sails...........rr

Guest Blogger

November 4, 2011

Greetings from deep in the bowls of Sinbad! This is your guest blogger Swabby Larry Mitchell reporting on the progress of Randy & Diane on their long journey around the world. Since they both are so busy with the daily chores of running a live aboard boat and keeping up with the maintenance of said boat, I ask if I could sit in as your guest blogger to get every one up to date. Much to my surprise, they agreed. Go figure.

I joined on as crew in Norfolk, VA. Sunday, October 30^th, so most of the info I can give occurs after that date. After sitting around Blue Water Marina & hob-knobbing with the big wigs for 3 days, we headed south along the ICW motoring as we went. Now for all you land lubbers, the ICW is the Intercostal Waterway (actually, I just learned this today, along with a thousand new words about sailing). We were kinda forced into this decision because of terrible weather out in the ocean that was gonna hang around for 3 days. By sailing south during these 3 days along the ICW, we will be that much closer to our final destination, the British Virgin Islands. The first 2 days were beautiful. Lots of sun, calm winds, nice scenery. We dropped anchor for the first 2 nights in sheltered bays along the ditch (another name for the ICW). No problems, life was good. When we awoke this morning, before we could stick our heads out of the hatch, the dreaded pitter-patter of the rain could be heard 

hitting the hull of the boat. No problem, we all had rain gear. Off we motored, down the ditch. Then the rain started blowing sideways & the wind blew up to 35 mph. with a sea that was mighty angry at every one in her path.  Then the silly Swabby (me) decided to go below to make more coffee. Big mistake! After picking up the pot and old coffee grounds up off the floor, mopping up, breaking a couple ribs and stowing things back in place, this Swabby went back topside!

After 8 hours of riding the wild seas, we docked up here, Sea Gate Marina. I have no idea where we are, but we will be staying here for a couple days for provisions & a couple minor repairs. It seems our alternator is acting up, our auto pilot stopped working, our Spot radio decided to quit, & our SSB (single side band) radio needs a little tweaking. That’ll all be on tomorrows to-do list. Randy & Diane always have a to-do list. Those of you with boats know this. Just imagine living on your boat 24 seven. Like a good friend of my always says, “its complicated”.

Well that brings us up to date. Of course I have not mentioned anything about putting the boat on a semi-truck & hauling it half way around the country, or spending big wads of money on things that every modern day boater needs these days. I will leave that subject alone. I think it’s safe to say if you figure out

how much money it will take to rig a new boat, triple it & add another thousand. That will get you in the ball park.

I do know one thing for sure. I’ve been on this boat for 6 days now & I haven’t seen a beach yet! Haven’t even wet a line! Haven’t seen any bikini’s neither! I thought I signed on to the Love Boat. But it’s looking more like Gilligan’s Island! But the captains are fair & good to me. They have promised me warm water to swim in and delicious rum when we get there. I’ve learned a lot that I shall never forget. And it’s only Friday!

Thanks for listening

Larry

Tied up at Blue Water Marina



Sailing along on the ICW

Sinbad is a Sailboat Again!

It’s been a busy two weeks for Sinbad and crew! It all started on Sept. 20^th after we left the Eire canal and arrived at RCR Yachts in Buffalo NY. The boatyard guys hoisted Sinbad’s masts off the deck and wrapped them to load on the semi-truck and then loaded Sinbad on the truck. Our driver’s name was Dave, the owner of M & N Transportation, Inc. out of Armada, Michigan. Good company and a good guy. We would recommend them to anyone. Three days later Galesville Harbor Yacht Yard splashed Sinbad into the Chesapeake Bay. When we got to the yard they let us know that they couldn’t handle Sinbad’s main mast and we needed to hire a crane (with operator). Great……more money! Oh, and the crane will not available for four days and you need to hire a rigger because my guys don’t do triatic stays at the top of the mast or tune rigging. We had called them two different times and got a total price and none of this was ever mentioned, in spite of the fact that they later claimed to have launched dozens of Whitbys. That is when the old fat retired pipefitter said “b--- s--- we are not hiring a rigger-we will do it ourselves”.

The Flying Sinbads went to work, first connecting the triatic stay between the main and mizzen masts...

After the masts were stepped and the standing rigging connected, we went back to our slip at Pirate’s Cove Marina. There we tuned the rig and the second member of the Flying Sinbads Aerial Team put the spreader boots and lazy jacks on.

Next we bent on the three sails and two fancy new sail covers (complete with broken zipper), reconnecting all the wiring (radar, anchor light, steaming light, spreader light and wind anemometer). Basically, we put Sinbad back together so she’s a cruising boat again.  After seven days we are almost (but not quite) done.

 Back to the Buffalo part of this story, our friend and fellow Whitby owner Patrick Cornelius drove all the way from Delaware to Buffalo to pick us up.  We left after the boat was loaded on the truck and was waiting to receive final permit approval from the State of NY.  Patrick then drove us back to his home, which took almost nine hours.  There we were welcomed by his lovely wife Lisa, with her good company and great chili and cornbread.  The next day Patrick again helped us to get some chores completed, and later we closed down the joint partying in the hot tub ‘til all hours. The next morning Patrick drove us down to Galesville, MD to meet the truck so we could oversee the unloading and launching of the boat.  Our heartfelt thanks to Patrick and Lisa.

Here at Pirate’s Cove we have also been welcomed warmly.  Friend and fellow Whitby owner John Cece met us the first day and took us to the grocery store and Bacon Sails to buy food and boat parts, and to drop off three sails for consignment sale. A couple of later days, Jim, owner of “Beckoning” a Catalina 47, tossed us the keys to his jeep, so we could make another run to West Marine and the grocery store (we get mighty hungry these days). And last night, after seven long days of working, when we were getting pretty worn out, John Cece called and invited us to the Friday night BBQ at West River Sailing Club. It was just the thing- we relaxed, ate some great food, and enjoyed the hospitality and good company of fellow sailors at the boat club.  Starting Sunday, the West River  Sailing  Club ( which is only about 100 yards from Pirate’s Cove where we are docked), will host the Whitby-Brewer Rendezvous where over 40 people and 14 boats will gather to hear some really good presentations, make boat visits, and enjoy each other’s company for three days.  And after that, the Annapolis Sailboat Show!!!!!

  

Life in the Erie Canal Time Warp

Because of the damage to the dams and the locks caused by hurricane Irene, we are waking up everyday in the same town waiting for word from a trucking company on when they can haul Sinbad to the east coast.

This is a picture of Mike Czarnopyski.  Mike is new to sailing, he just bought Endeavour and we've shared more than one bottle of wine with him. I was asking him where I could rent a car so I could take Diane to Niagra Falls for her birthday, he thought for a minute and said "Just take mine". Cool! He dropped it off the night before and we took off Sunday morning.

The bridge behind Di goes to Goat Island, we walked across to check out the rest of the falls.

Check out the Black Hole or Time Warp at the bottom of the falls in front of the Maid of the Mist. I don't know, but I think that if you went in it you would end up on the Erie Canal.

We went to the bottom of the falls to check out the Cave of the Winds.

We had a real nice day at the falls. The only problem was the next morning we woke up on the Erie Canal.
Happy Sails...........rr

Life on the Erie Canal,

Well, it’s day 12 on the Erie Canal.  Our progress was blocked by substantial damage caused by Hurricane Irene; at least two of the locks have been badly damaged, another had a channel washed around it, and they are not expected to open again this year.   For two grumpy days we proposed different scenarios to each other, and none of them were good.  We decided that the “least worst”choice was to load Sinbad onto a flatbed and ship to Catskills NY, on the Hudson River, and resume our intended course toward the Chesapeake.  Then came Tropical Storm Lee, pouring torrential rain onto NY and PA, and actually causing the NY highway system to cancel trucking permits, which forced us to stay on another week and more, up through today.

We’ve been enjoying  the lock towns.  Lockport, our first stop and first and deepest locks on the Canal, introduced us to the history of the canal in their interactive discovery center and the old museum right on the original lock.   Middleport has not developed quite so much to cater to boaters, but their biker bar was friendly and served  tasty fish and chips.  The dockage is free there too, which helps a lot, given the unexpected expense of shipping the boat.  Brockport has embraced boaters by building a brand new boater facility with showers, laundry and internet access, staffed by volunteers. Many of the staffers are retired faculty from SUNY @Brockport, and were engaging to talk with.  I chatted with Fransisca for nearly an hour, a retired reference librarian at the U., who escaped from Hungary during the revolution in the 50’s. What a story!  Once we accepted that we had to turn back, we backtracked to Medina, where again the dockage is free, the farmer’s market sets up next to the docks, with luscious peaches and other local produce still glistening with the morning dew.  We hang out withour new friend Mike, who is the owner of the sailboat next to us, and he graciously loaned us his car for a day trip to Niagara Falls, where Randy took me for my birthday! There is also an affectionate, snow white cat who works the docks and comes to visit.

Here are some pix of my birthday at Niagara Falls!

 

All the waters we have known in Lakes Michigan and Huron rushing over the escarpment. Awesome.

 

The bridge tenders and lockkeepers of the Erie Canal have gone out of their way to be polite and helpful, and  to personally welcome boaters.  Likewise the townspeople along the way.  This has been a nice experience; we’re lucky to have been marooned  in such hospitable circumstances.  We could have been stranded in a disabled lock, could have been high and dry with the boat on a truck that can’t deliver, and all the while paying for rental car and hotel… could have been caught in the flooding or if we had left a week earlier…we’re glad to be here!