HIJACK!

Hi, my name is Grety the elf. It is 2:00am.

Me , Teddy, Freddy and Ready  moved into a boat called Midwatch. 

We hide from those giants called humans. Teddy is our photographer, Ready is the oldest,

Teddy and Freddy and I are triplets.  On Midwatch we come out after the humans go to sleep. We are up and moving. We usually go straight to the potty because we have to wait all day and half the night before we can go. Then we help each out washing our hands.   

Our favorite thing to do is to get into the basket with the Clementines. Teddy was too busy eating to even snap a picture.  He is the fat one. Maybe he is because he eats too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took this picture of Teddy after he managed to get into the snack box. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Ready likes to look at the clock because he is our first watch on the time.  We all go back into our little cubbies under the floor at 4.

Sometimes I break the rules and go and visit my best friend Anna. Anna is big but she never squeezes me. We are good friends but I don’t get to see her very much.  

 

 

 

This is Freddy. He loves to fish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is me, sleeping in the human’s bed. They went away on a dinghy ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is me, trying to get the door open to the bathroom.

 

 This is me, writing a list. I am not a very good speller.

 

 

 

 

I need to go get a snack now. Its Christmas morning and we have to take care of the boat while the humans are gone.  Merry Christmas!

A Turtle, by Finn

I saw a turtle and the turtle was swimming around and I saw a turtle and I yelled! “Guys, guys! I see a turtle!” and then the turtle swimmed away.

It was a sea turtle and it had stuff growing on it. It was a little bit smaller than me.

Day 14 - St. Augustine for Christmas

We finally made it to St. Augustine on Day 14. It was a rough start to the day as we bumped hard on the bottom coming out of Fernadina Beach and struggled with shallow water the whole morning.  We went through one opening bridge with the best of luck; the operator opened it as we approached and we flew through without even slowing down.  As we approached Jacksonville, we read all the warnings about currents, military no-go zones and large freighters. Fortunately, when we entered the river no freighters were coming. We searched hard for the markers in the glare of a December noon sun and were able to traverse the river quickly without incident. A radio call had warned us of the rapid current on the south side of the river as we entered the ICW channel, it certainly was strong. We made it through as the tide approached high and we slowly realized that we would be riding the tide down to St. Augustine for the rest of the afternoon. The going quickly improved and we passed beautiful houses in a steady and straight 16-foot deep channel. As the channel opened up in the Guano Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, we were able to put up the jib and we truly sailed down into St Augustine. We made it through the downtown bridge and tied up to a municipal mooring ball for our Christmas stay with Uncle Ted and Aunt Caroline.

Day 13

Can we just skip Day 13 like they do on the 13th floor in high rises?

Day 12 - Fog

We were optimistic on the evening of Day 11 that we would have a good day including an early departure, on Day 12. We had good weather and good tides. This would include ending up somewhere near St Simon’s Island. We were up early and ready to roll only to realize we were thoroughly socked in, fog. We sat until about 8:30 when our neighbors decided to head out, optimistic that it would burn off soon. We decided to follow, slowly. We headed out into Johnson Creek and decided to experiment with the radar system. I managed to turn the machine on…but that was about it for me. Bob quickly went down and got it running and I started following the boat’s progress in front of us on the radar screen while Bob followed the Magenta line (the Intracoastal Waterway line) on the GPS and steering. We were able to see ICW path markers on the Radar and even birds swimming nearby.  All went well and we continued down the creek and out into Sapelo Sound where the programmers of the GPS apparently forgot to add in the Magenta line layer. We could see the boats on the radar screen in front of us and occasionally glanced their tails but we were a bit blind. We also dug out the fish finder and got that turned on. It worked great, no magenta line but the screen was much clearer and between the paper chart, radar and fish finder we were doing great…until the battery on the fish finder went. I was then able to plot a compass course and continue on the old-fashioned way with just a little electronic help. Finally, around 11:30 we managed to break free of the fog and we finally continued on at full speed.

Georgia is notorious for shallow spots in the ICW. Fortunately we hit a good stretch of tides with high tide around noon. This gave us almost the full range of daylight for travelling. We went through the worst stretch in the afternoon, but still saw a minimum of 10-foot depths. We anchored in the evening adjacent a colonial fort, central to the British/Spanish conflict between Georgia and Florida in the 1730s. We ended the evening surrounded by dolphins, eating grilled hotdogs and baking fresh cookies.

Days 7 to 11 - Real Weather!

Day 7 - Anticipation

After the quiet of the swamp and fresh water we returned to salt water and began to prepare in earnest for the approaching weather we knew was coming. We traveled through Georgetown, South Carolina, a real industrial town, and hurried on entering the Romain National Wildlife refuge north of Charleston that offered no protection from the wind. We anchored in Price Creek, a salt water marsh that seemed to stretch forever. We later found out the SV Dalmatian from Stratford, NH was anchored just one creek over. We are sorry to have missed them. We struggled with anchorning a bit, but soon settled in for a good evening. We were sorry to leave that beautiful spot.

 

Day 8 - Rain

The rain started in earnest on Day 8 as we approached Charleston. We passed several barges, an opening bridge and then entered Charleston Harbor. We thought of stopping but it was a busy bustling place and we were anxious to keep moving. The rain didn't make it sound all that inviting either. We were once again behind Sangaris and travelled across the harbor right behind them. There was a large freighter anchored in our path. The ICW is marked by navigational markers with yellow squares and triangles and we spend all day trying to stay on the correct path to avoid trouble of all kinds. The anchored freighter radioed to tell the three tiny boats entering the harbor to go around their bow, we were sure glad we weren't in the lead as we stryed from the marked trail!  Finally free of Charleston, we hurried on, through another bridge and entered what is known as the Elliot Cut. We had read a caution that the current was fast, but Wholy Smoke, it was ripping! It was beyond doubt the scariest bit of the trip so far. We entered the cut with a little sail boat that had been following us for two days, right on our tail. The cut was just that, a cut between two natural water bodies and rocks lined each side of the narrow channel. Bob steered and I continued to add power as we went through, full throttle at a crawl. Finally, free of the heavy current, we continued until we found Toogoodoo Creek that offered some protection from the ever increasing wind. We had to travel a considerable distance to get in behind some trees but finally anchored and settled in for the evening. Bob or I were awake pretty much the whole night as the winds rocked the boat at 20 to 25 knots but we made it through and were happy to be on our way the following morning.



 

Day 9 - Wind and water

The winds continued on Day 9 as we traversed several large bodies of water. The wind and waves were enough that Kim, Anna and Finn all began to feel a little green around the gills. Kim solved the problem by taking the wheel. Anna and Finn slept it off, Anna in the cockpit and Finn in Mom and Dad's bed. Once we were out of the sound, things quieted down and all were well again. We had been keeping an eye open for a place to stop near a West Marine and decided a stop in Beaufort, SC would serve the prurpose. We pulled in at the Port Royal Landing Marina just south of Beaufort and were greeted by the dock master, retired police officer, Dale, from Bath, New Hampshire.  Bob and I had been in Beaufort before and it was just as cold the first time we were there! Hats, mittens and full gear, I even had on gloves and mittens together at one point. Dale said we must have brought the bad weather with us. We both agreed though that it was probably worse in NH. We had a nice dinner at the little bar and grill at the marina except for the smoke, we are just not used to that anymore! We even did an extra load of laundry to wash all the closthes worn to the restaurant.



 Day 10 - Glorious and had a real sail

Day 10 dawned, still windy with steep waves. The night had been bumpy and wrestless even tied to a dock. The tides were extreme due to the wind and moon and boats were waiting to pass under the fixed bridge adjacent the marina. Bob was able to use a loaner car from the marina and took a trip to West Marine and the grocery store to stock up milk and vegetables. By the time he returned, the sun had come out and the wind was beginning to settle down. We spent the morning tidying up the cabin and had some lunch and pulled away from the dock  to make time before sundown. As we got into the Port Royal Sound, south of Beaufort, Bob was able to coach me into getting the main up for the first time. I was truly nervous but followed the captain's strict orders and we got the main and then the genoa up. Bob cut the motor and we sailed in peace throungh the beautiful afternoon weather. The sail was short run and we continued on finding a quiet anchorage in the New River just north of the Georgia border. It would have been the first real restful evening at anchor except for the little guy that crawled into my spot, relegating me to a thin slice of real estate in my own bed, around 12:30 A.M.

 

Day 11 - Entered Georgia

We left the New River and pulled in behind two other sailboats heading south, one turned out to be from Maine. I am afraid to admit that school has not been the top priority over the past few weeks and we finally decided we are not going to go another day without getting through Anna's math facts test. The math book requires a three-minute maximum for 100 facts. We decided at the beginning of the year that we would have the facts down solid before moving on to multiplication and division. It was a gray day, cold and dark. The tides are still extreme so we were able to travel in relative ease most of the day, only hitting lows in the late afternoon. Sangaris once again caught up to us and talked us through anchoring at Cattle Pen Creek, a quiet but narrow creek. We anchored at slack low so Bob, Anna and Finn were able to take off for a lttle paddle in the dinghy and some visiting with Scott and Tina on the Sangaris and one other boat, Harmony. Thanks to Evie on Harmony for the sunset photos of Midwatch and the candy canes.

Still not warm here but we have gone far enough south and west to extend the afternoon significantly.

Sunset over Midwatch on Cattle Pen Creek.

Day 5 and 6 - Sunny weather and the Rock Pile

After the dense fog on Day 4, we were thrilled on Sunday morning to wake to warm, sunny weather. We were stripping off layers rapidly and the kids changed into bathing suits and reclined on the deck in their bean bags. It was Sunday; people were out boating and enjoying the beautiful weather. We spotted a bald eagle and a pirate ship! They even shouted "Arghh" and "How much for the Child?" We crossed into South Carolina at the end of the day and found a nice spot; the kids played in the dinghy, Bob hooked up the barbecue and our neighbors at the anchorage stopped over to say hi. We enjoyed a fine meal in the cockpit of kielbasa, cabbage and potatoes.

We knew that we would be traversing the area known as the "Rock Pile" on Day 6. Our neighbors from the Sangaris, seasoned cruisers, gave us some additional information on the ominous stretch and I spent the evening before reading up on it. We also knew that getting out of the anchorage would be a little tight so we planned on an early departure, just after high tide and an hour or so before dawn. Unfortunately we woke to fog and waited until full day to leave. We traversed the anchorage exit without difficulty and headed south, slowly, towards the rocks waiting for us in the fog. We had heard/read about the accidents there and the loss of assorted boat bottoms and equipment to rocks, mostly having to do with boats passing within a narrow stretch. We had also heard that women cruisers generally take to the radio like fish to water but I was still struggling with it, never mind Bob,(AKA: Mr. Snuffalufagus) but I bravely announced our entrance on the radio channel used by tugs and barges and we traversed the section without incident. With four opening bridges that day, each requiring a radio call we took turns and are beginning to build some comfort with radio use, if not radio etiquette. With the four bridges, the nice folks on the Sangaris caught up to us and we enjoyed friendly radio chatter and mentoring with them all day. 

We passed into fresh water during Day 6 and anchored in the swamps of the Waccamaw River. The area was the wildest we have seen on the trip so far. Anna looked hard to find an alligator but was unsuccesssful. Due to anchoring concerns, we placed a trip line on the anchor to assist in freeing it in the morning. Unfortunately, we blew over the trip line and caught the float under the boat on the rudder. This popped the anchor and we drifted to the edge of the creek and got stuck in the mud. Bob spent the wee hours of the night lying on the swim platform, trying to remove the rope from under the boat with a boat hook, hoping no alligators came by. We finally got out of the mud, with the help of the sail, as the tide came up.   We tried to look on the bright side and beyond the mosquito bites. We did see something swimming around the boat around 3 A.M. and of course thought 'alligator' but it turned out to be a very curious beaver. We saw shooting stars and talked on the deck in the warm night air. We saw several boats whiz by, duck hunters on the way to blinds. We pulled anchor early and were escorted out by a chorus of gun shots.

 Traversing through one of the many movable bridges enroute. Thanks to new friends Tina and Scott from the Sangaris for the photo.

 

Finally a day with glorious weather!

 

 Do I look relaxed yet?

 

Bath time

 The kids enjoying a few minutes of play in the dinghy near the NC/SC border.

 

 

 

You never know what you are going to see on the Waterway!

Day 2 to 4 - Changing weather

After a beautiful send off for Day One, we have seen a variety of weather including thick fog near the mouth of the Cape Fear River, entering the ICW again at Southport, North Carolina. Day Three was eventful with three 'opening' bridges and a pretty good grounding near Black Mud Channel. We were able to get ourselves unstuck with the aid of some fisherman, hoisting a sail and sending big Momma to the starboard side. We just missed the next bridge opening and had to wait. Just before the bridge opened, a motor yacht, MV Migration, came along and went right through. We let him pass us but were surprised to see him slow down. I hypothesized that he was timing it perfectly so I called to ask. He had it down to the minute when he would arrive at the next bridge so we followed him through the next one at Wrightsville Beach where he pulled into a marina. We anchored a little way out of the channel for the evening, did some sail work and Bob even went to the top of the mast to change some light bulbs.

 

Day four was very exciting as we entered the Cape Fear River and navigated through a huge expanse of water. Things got a little hairier as thick fog rolled in making motoring from marker to marker more difficult. We have a GPS but we also used our charts and had a good lesson in degrees and the compass with Anna as we followed the compass instead of visual markers. As we approached the entrance to the ICW channel at Southport, we realized that there wasn''t even a bouy to mark the entrance and we would have to go down to comple reliance on the GPS or dead reckoning. Just at this moment, our new best friends on MV Migration pulled up behind us and asked if we would like to follow them into the Marina. We had been planning on picking up one of the free docks (3) or anchorage (1) in town but he informed us it was the night of the Christmas parade, fat chance we were going to find anything free (never mind that we couldn't find ANYTHING in the fog) so we called two marinas and opted for the second a little further out of town and a little cheaper.

Dinner near Camp LeJeune at Mile Hammock Bay. Lots of ordinance explosions, helicoptors and excitement at this anchorage!

Anna testing out the Bosun's Chair at Wrightsville Beach.

Finn helping out with the dishes and Anna taking a math test in the rain.

Day One!

We cast off from More Head City, North Carolina for Day 1 (December 5) of our trip south on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) at 10:30 AM, destination Swansboro, North Carolina. The day was beautiful, upper 60s with a light breeze. Bob was thrilled as we motored around Sugarloaf Island and headed south…well west on the ICW. We had a goal of 24 miles and made it easily in four hours with only one grounding (I was driving) which fortunately we were able to back right out. There is still some debate as to whether we were out of the channel or if there was a shoal in the channel. ..perhaps a little of both? 

What Anna says about the day:

We were sailing along and my Dad said ‘dolphins!’ Finn, Mom and I went running up to the bow.  The dolphin came to at least two feet away, I could have reached down and touched it. When it breathed out I got wet!  It was fun today. Our first day out was even better than expected because we saw 11 dolphins.   

Finn says:

“I went up to the Bow and then the dolphin came close to our boat! That was cool!

Here I am figuring out how many feet there are in a hundredth of a minute, using the GPS method of determining if the anchor is slipping.  There was quite a current but we were holding. Bob had gone to bed early, expecting several strolls around the deck in the wee hours.  Unfortunately, he only got a little sleep as a real front went through swining us wildly. We bumped ground and decided to move the boat. In pulling the anchor I jammed the windlass.  Bob manually pulled the anchor and I drove (nasty wind, tide and current) and then we really grounded. The grounding was a little alarming, the kids were really scared, but it did give us a chance get the windlass back in order, the tide came up and we drove out. We anchored again, somewhat closer to the channel.  We stood watch all night and left as early as we could in the morning. Ready to say good bye to that beautiful little town we hope to never have to anchor in again.

I have to admit, we have been quite lax in the homeschooling realm in the past few weeks as we struggled to get the boat in the water, made five last shopping trips, and dealt with all the little last minute details before departure. Dropping off the car for storage was a big step and felt quite liberating.

We met a lot of neat people in More Head City including Russ from Russell Yachts, a real artist with boats, and Craig, who brought us fresh, warm bread by kayak one morning. Everyone we met was warm and friendly from the UPS man to the onlookers as the mast went back up at the boat yard. 

 

 Here is Anna at one of the great playgrounds we found!

 Finn, upon realizing we were finally "Sailing Away" (well...motoring away, at least)

Bob chasing down the $200 dinghy connector. When asked why I only got one picture, I told him he gasped so loudly when he went in, I put the camera down in case I had to save him.  

Anna in the front row for the More Head City Christmas parade!

Fun at the beach.

Do we need a cow?

When asked what he would like to tell everyone on the Blog, Finn said, “I want to tell everyone that I have been drinking milk.” It’s more like, what has he been ingesting other than milk? I know every kid goes through a non-eating stage but other than an occasional yearning for yogurt and pizza, Finn’s only request is for milk.

We have been trying to figure out how to deal with this milk addiction, knowing that soon, we won’t be able to run over to Aldi on a dime for the freshest stuff short of owning a cow.  (Yes, in my professional opinion, Aldi absolutely has the best and freshest milk.)  We have been trying different types of powder milk, rice milk and UHT milk while we still have a car. I had avoided dairy for a few months when Anna was an infant and really don’t like soy milk but had settled at that time for rice milk.  We had perceived that dry milk was cheap but quickly learned that it is even more expensive than fluid milk.  So, on each shopping trip I would bring home an alternative for a family opinion and evaluation.

I started with what I assumed would be the most affordable place to buy dry milk, Aldi. A box there was close to $8 which I quickly back calculated to about $6 per gallon. I now realize this is the least costly alternative but still far above what I had anticipated.  I didn’t give up and hunted down the dry milk at Wal-Mart, not my favorite place but it has certainly proved useful in provisioning, stocking and searching for odd and useful items.  Wal-mart sells powdered milk in single batch packets (1 quart), versus loose in a large box covered with waxed paper, which seemed very useful to me for use in a damp environment. Anna mixed up a batch for a family trial. Finn drank it without complaining, Bob and Anna deemed it “not bad” and I decided if Finn drank it without complaining, I would manage a few months without the good stuff.

Again at Wal-Mart, I searched for UHT milk, milk that has been heat treated to allow a shelf life without refrigeration. I had tried it years ago at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin and had seen it while travelling in other countries but I wasn’t sure if it was really main-stream here in the U.S. or not. I had looked in the vicinity of the powdered milk and didn’t see anything. I even went and found a friendly Wal-Mart employee, who called and asked. We went to another part of the store and found individual serving-size, organic UHT milk. Although expensive, pack of six for over $6, it would be a better than no-milk alternative in a pinch. So I held my breath and added the pricey item to my cart; knowing this wouldn’t be the most expensive special item for the trip. I stopped for a haircut on the way back from the shopping expedition and the familiar, “I want Milk!” chant started from the back seat.  I dug through the bags and pulled out a carton and Finn sucked it down, no complaints, a big smile on his face.  A big light bulb lit up over my head, this stuff is great and saved my @#$ before we even got home from the store. It is definitely worth having a few on-hand, for any milk-drinking family.

After returning home, I did a little internet search and realized that Wal-Mart does stock a traditional (non-organic) UHT milk item in a more reasonable unit (Parmalat quart, about $12/gallon). It was October in a location from which a significant number of cruisers depart for points south, apparently the More Head City store had been sold out.  

I did a lot of pondering over the next few days on what the best choice would be. The rice milk was tried and ended up in a pie; and was crossed off the list. Finn actually asked if we could bring a cow, and as much as I would have enjoyed owning a cow again, we are too space-limited for an additional passenger. I finally decided that with limited water capacity, the UHT milk would be a better decision as long as we could find space.

Now that I had made a decision I went to the internet and started a true search, eventually settling on Amazon. As the boxes rolled in, the folks at the boat yard finally, just had to ask,

      “What are you buying?”

     “Milk, of course!”  

We have now finally found space for all the cartons, three cases of 32 oz. Parmalat and four cases of 8 oz. Horizon Organics Best, under floor boards, inside pots and tucked between the crackers and cheerios. Of course, we ended up buying bins for all the milk to keep it in secondary containment in case of a breach. So the cost per cup has been increased considerably. The good news though is, with each cup consumed, our waterline will come a little closer back towards normal.

 

Launch Day - November 20

We had been aiming for a November 15 launch date but were still pleased to be almost ready on the 15th with just a few items remaining on our to do list. Anna posted on her page about our launch yesterday. Check it out! The day before we had the engine aligned and the propeller installed. The wind has been quite crazy here since hurricane Sandy with only a few calm days so we had waited to get the dinghy onto the boat and finally did it with the help of our new friends Artie and Stein. Our wonderful new friends Stein and Virgina went into the water just a few hours before us and we were sad to see them go; but looking forward to meeting them again someday.

Installation of the dinghy onboard

 

Stein and Virginia shoving off on the Anna Rose.

We had a lot of helping hands for the launch, Finn was headed out onto the launch pad with the rest of the guys, I had to chase him down. The atmosphere was festive and all our helpers seemed genuinely excited for us (or happy to see us go :)

Anna documented the day on Mark C's video camera. Thanks Mark!

Although we had to wake Finn for the launch, he was his cheery self by the time the boat splashed and was thrilled to see the boat floating. Our boatyard-neighbor Greg taught Finn how to neatly stow the dock line and Finn was given his first permanent deck-hand-assignment. Thanks Greg!

Our new boat yard friends Keenan and Patrick. These guys keep this place running and still have time for a little game of catch with the kids. We will miss them!

We just had word that we will be heading to our first onboard destination, Morehead City, NC, on Monday morning. Hooray! Happy Thanksgiving!