cruising on the Mary T

We’ve had so many celebrations recently, I hardly know where to begin. Last Sunday  a bunch of Kenny’s Florida relatives joined us in Riviera Beach at the Tiki Hut restaurant for lunch. A fine time was had by all. Brother Jack and wife Mary drove all the way from Tampa. Kenny’s son Justin (from Jupiter) brought his lovely 8-year-old daughter Trynity who charmed the whole lot of us. Almost as charming as Trynity was Cousin Alex and wife Sharon’s dog, Emma — a pint-sized ball of white fluff who never barked. The highpoint of the Kurlychek fest was when I rowed Trynity in our new inflatable kayak out of the marina and across to Peanut Island. She hoped we’d discover some new species while there and she used her best Christopher Columbus voice throughout the voyage.

After the family reunion, Kenny and I departed the marina and anchored in North Palm beach among many other cruisers bound for the Bahamas. I’ve have been making two kayak trips around the anchorage per day examining the luxurious mansions which line the shore as well as the pelicans and dolphins. The weather has been ridiculously gorgeous — mostly low 80s during the day and low 60s at night.

The day before Thanksgiving we were delighted to welcome to the anchorage our fabulously generous and silly friends Corning and Tita Townsend of Maine. We initially met them on our cruise to the Bahamas three years ago and have visited them three times in their home in Maine on our trips north. It was Corning’s birthday the day they arrived so they joined us for much merrymaking and singing of birthday songs on the Mary T. Tita brought a tasty duck dish and asparagus. Last night we had Thanksgiving aboard their boat, Blessed Spirit. I brought the partial turkey and Tita did all the complicated side dishes. Somehow I always get off rather easy…Thank you Tita. Corning and Tita have added a third crew member in the form of the cutest, fluffiest puppy dog in the world. Her name is Demi and she comes from Havana.

The main reason we’re sticking around here for awhile is that we decided we should honor the recommended service schedule for  our life raft. So, we found a service center nearby where we took it to be inspected and repacked. It’s ridiculously expensive, but what can one do. Better pay than to find oneself floating in the Caribbean next to a sinking boat and a life raft that won’t inflate. Thus, some time after next Tuesday when we get the life raft back we will continue south to Fort Lauderdale then to Key Biscayne from which point we will sail away from the good ole USA and jump into the Bahamian world.

Tomorrow Blessed Spirit and Mary T will go and anchor south of Peanut Island for a change of pace. Kenny’s son, Justin and family will return for another visit and Trynity will spend the night on the boat. Trynity was very taken with Mary T and expressed the desire to spend the night on her last visit. We are more than happy to accommodate her.

Since our rollicking time in St. Augustine, we’ve inched our way south on the good ole Intracoastal Waterway. The large seas and Northeast winds in the Atlantic have kept us “inside.” November 17, we arrived in Jensen Beach wearing shorts and t-shirts. Jensen Beach is a must stop because Kenny’s cousin George and his wife Peggy dwell there.

Upon arriving, George met us at our dinghy and drove us at great speed in his convertible Porsche to Conchy Joe’s for cocktails while we awaited Peggy to get off work. All three of us were able to squeeze in the car with the top down. It would not have been possible otherwise. When Peggy caught up with us they treated us to a lovely dinner at the Dolphin, their neighborhood restaurant. I ordered the Dolphin a la Dolphin, which I surmised was the signature dish. It was a lightly breaded Mahi Mahi with a sauce of white wine and capers, etc. I was not disappointed. I am hoping to catch some dolphin fish of my own on this trip. I’ve been busily downloading documents about how to clean and fillet fish. I am somewhat daunted but not discouraged.

You’d think I would’ve learned how to clean a bloody fish during the two years I spent in Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer. My village “mother” went fishing several days a week and prepared dinner, while princess Peace Corps chowed down on the fresh catch, never deigning to dirty her hands. So much for development work.

Anyway, Cousin George has been most generous with us. He took us out for a major shopping trip so we could stock up on food items before we jump over to the Bahamas in the next week or two. The second night in Jensen Beach we dined at an Italian restaurant owned by friends of Peggy and George. Everyone at the restaurant was terribly friendly and the ambiance and appearance of the wait staff made one feel as if on the set of the Sopranos.

Prior to arriving at Jensen Beach, we anchored at Daytona Beach, then Melbourne, and finally took a mooring at Vero Beach, often referred to as Velcro Beach. Apparently some cruisers have a hard time pulling themselves away from the cozy harbor, free bus service to shopping areas and nearby public beach. We’d never stopped there before and were curious about the place. Taking a mooring at the Municipal Marina is compulsory as there is no space for anchored boats in the tiny harbor, and the marina often puts 2 or more boats on a mooring. When we learned we would have to share a mooring we almost declined and went elsewhere, but changed our minds and decided to give it a try.

Much to our surprise and delight we found ourselves sharing a mooring with Ruth and Barry on Another Adventure. We’d met the couple from Appleton, WI, on our previous trip to the Bahamas in 2007-2008. They’d heard us on the VHF radio and told the marina to raft us up with them. They put out fenders and we slid up next to them and jumped into their cockpit for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. In addition to being very generous and loads o’ fun Ruth and Barry are a wealth of knowledge re/sailboat maintenance and cruising. They develop and sell boating paraphernalia for Cruisingsolutions.com. Ruth and Barry cruise with their parrot, Buddy, who enjoys whistling and laughing with people. I have yet to hear him utter a word, but they say he has quite a vocabulary.

In addition to meeting up with Ruth and Barry, we also had a chance meeting with the Sayres aboard Spartina. Their hailing port is Claiborne, MD, where friends John and Susanne Scott have a home. We asked if they knew them and sure enough, they’re close neighbors and good friends.

We just arrived in Lake Worth near North Palm Beach and dropped the anchor. Saturday and Sunday we’ll get a slip at the Riviera Beach Municipal Marina while Kenny’s many relatives come to visit. We are expecting to see brother Jack and wife from Tampa; son Justin and family from Jupiter; and cousin Alex and wife from Delray Beach. We’re looking forward to it! Nothing like a Kurlychek fest!

After inching our way down the ICW with hoards of other boaters, we decided to take a crack at sailing on the outside from the Cape Fear River, NC to Charleston, SC. The weather looked favorable: NW winds of 10 -20 knots with only a slight chance of rain. So on November 5 we coasted down the Cape Fear River on an ebb tide and into the welcoming swells of the North Atlantic.

Unfortunately, the wind was not as strong as predicted and we soon found ourselves motoring. No sooner were we lamenting the lack of wind when a black cloud appeared on our horizon, disgorging buckets of rain. We dropped sail and managed to skirt the worst of the little squall only feeling a few rain drops.Darkness fell as the the wind picked up considerably and we managed to raise the mainsail and double reefed in preparation for a wild ride. Turned out the wind was more westerly than northwest and our course was southwest, so we found ourselves on a close reach with 15-20 knots of wind and short choppy seas. For 12 long hours, we raced like a bucking bronco through blackened seas. It was so rough we failed to make log entries or mark our position on the paper chart. All we could do was hold on for dear life and curse the NOAA meteorologists and comiserate with other cruisers over the VHF radio.

It was quite a relief to enter Charleston Harbor the next morning. We stayed there three nights, but only left our marina once to go into town. We feasted on a grits-based brunch at Fleet Landing on the waterfront. It was so filling we didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day. Love that southern cuisine. In Charleston Market, Kenny bought me another wedding ring as I seem to have lost the original somewhere on Mary T… The cool weather has caused my ring finger to shrink, allowing the wedding band to escape. Replacement was mandatory, lest I forget my status. After resting up in Charleston, we were ready for another tour at sea.

We exited the Charleston harbor November 9 on a bright sunny morning headed for Florida. This time there was NO wind. We motored all the way to St. Augustine, FL on glassy seas. For several hours we glided through piles of grapefruit-sized jelly fish that resembled acorns in shape and color. Then a fearless little brown bird paid us a visit. He stuck around for awhile and lounged in the cockpit like it was his own nest, casually hopping across our laps and feet. I thought of all the years as a child I chased birds around the back yard brown bag and now I had caught one without even trying.

We arrived in St. Augustine yesterday and headed out to meet our Canadian cruising friends Greg and Corinne with whom we sailed in 2007 on our first trip to the Bahamas. We had a jolly time visiting three different venues for food and drink and live music. Everyone in St. Augustine seems to sing and play guitar. An eccentric one-armed dancing man showed up on the outskirts of two of the outdoor venues to hop and twirl to the tunes. I almost went and danced with him, but my seldom seen more conservative side kept me seated.

Now we’re relaxing in the gentle breeze on a mooring south of St. Augustine’s Bridge of Lions planning our next foray into America’s oldest city. A fierce nor’easter is building strength in the Atlantic so our next jumps south will be on the good ole Intracoastal Waterway. Tomorrow Daytona, Inchallah.

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We arrived in Carolina Beach after a long day on the ICW. It was slow going despite having the wind and current with us. We had several bridge openings to time and actually had to spend a good bit of the trip in reverse so we didn’t pile up at the bridges along with the large number of other boaters heading south.

Since leaving Norfolk, VA, it’s been Great Bridge, VA, where Amy bought a ukelele, Coinjock, NC, Broad Creek, NC, Pongo River, NC, South River, NC, Beaufort, NC, and Mile Hammock Bay, NC. We hope to get to the border of NC and SC tomorrow, weather permitting.

–Kenny, 11/2/10

The ukelele is proving to be a delightful cruising companion. I am working on mastering 2-chord favorites including Skip To My Lou and Polly Wolly Doodle and Rock a My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham. Kenny is suitably encouraging.

Speaking of cruising companions we have added another crew member to our party — Dickey Bird an old British WWII veteran. He is our imaginary friend whose primary role is to keep us calm and cool when we start to get anxious and disagreeable about the shallow depths, bridges and heavy boater traffic on the ICW. We want Dickey to be relaxed and enjoy the trip, so we do our best to keep things light and mask any stress we might feel. Calm and cool sailors are we. Dickey shares war stories with us which is yet another reminder that we have no reason to complain.

As the weather is a bit gray and gloomy we’ve decided to remain in Carolina Beach, NC for a couple of days. We went ashore for a walk about, beverage and nosh. The place is pretty dead as it’s mainly a summer getaway kind o’ place. Back aboard Mary T I am baking my first banana bread ever. We had a lot of bananas and they started getting kind of mushy so…

I would like to extend my condolences to all my Democratic friends who are disappointed in the outcome of the recent elections and my congratulations to all my Republican friends who are overjoyed.

– Amy, 11/3/10

Our trip to the Caribbean has officially begun. We left Deale, MD, on Monday, October 18–only two and a half weeks after our target date. Although we had been preparing for this trip for about a year, the month of September was especially frantic.

We had the boat hauled out and did all the bottom cleaning, painting, waxing, some minor hull repairs, along with the installation of our new solar panels. We stayed with our dear friends, Tim, Viki, and Annie while Mary T was out of the water. As usual, they treated us like family and never put any pressure on us to get a move on.

We didn’t want to live aboard Mary T on the hard. For one thing, the boat sits at a steep angle with the bow higher than the stern so the rain won’t collect on deck. Secondly, it’s not very romantic.

At the time we were getting hauled out, Hurricane Earl was a potential threat to the Chesapeake region, so, Robert, the yard manager at Shipwright Harbor Marina, placed Mary T in a safe place amongst some larger vessels and also put additional jack stands under her as a precaution. Robert was also very helpful with advise on some of our repairs.

The major event of our September occurred on the 19th, when we went to Gloucester, MA to get married aboard the sailing vessel, Windfall, a Hinckley 49. Windfall is owned by our friends Raffi and Lisa who charter her out of Gloucester in the summer, and then, out of the Abacos in the Bahamas for the winter. Massachusetts is one of the few states that allows ship captains to perform weddings. So, when Amy and I got engaged, it was a no-brainer to ask Raffi to officiate ours. My brothers Jack, and Bob, along with all of Amy’s family came aboard for the ceremony. We left the dock, circled around Gloucester harbor, and then head to Misery Island near Salem and Marblehead. What better place to start a marriage, eh? It was a splendid day aboard Windfall, followed by an exquisite meal at Duckworth’s Bistrot back in Gloucester. (yes, that is the way they spell “bistro.”) We highly recommend Windfall to all who may be looking to charter a crewed sailboat. (www.defiancesailcharters.com) (Go to: Wedding Photos)

Our trip to Massachusetts, by car, was a great opportunity to visit crusing friends Lou and Jane in Nyack, NY, as well as Corning and Tita in Edgecomb, ME. It was a very special ten days. Kind of like a “pre-honeymoon.” In between, we stayed at Amy’s sister, Molly’s, place in Littleton, MA. Molly, husband Tim, and son Woody, hosted with the mosted, making us, along with the rest of Amy’s family, feel like royalty.

We had to complete all our boat work after the wedding when we returned to Maryland. Weather played a small part in our delayed departure but most of our time was spent re-organizing our lives. With daughter Kai-lee’ and family headed to Finland in May, 2011, we realized that we had better get all our stuff out of their garage and attic. Then there was the unexpected passing of Peter, the Berke family dog. Kai-lee’ and Rory had raised Peter since his puppy-hood in Hawaii and his passing was very painful. He was special and will be sorely missed. Here is a short film Amy did when we were pet-sitting Peter a few years back.

So, after several farewell dinners with friends and family in October, we thought we were ready to set sail on the 14th. But then, during a routine trial of the motor, we found that our motor gauges were going crazy. Needles were flying all over the place while others were normal. We looked everywhere for some clue as to why, but found none until Sunday. That day, we found a wire with a broken ring connection to the alternator. Once that was repaired, we were golden. Or, so we thought.

We left Deale Monday despite the fact that the tachometer was not working. We did not understand that that meant the alternator was not putting juice into the batteries. Fortunately, Monday was sunny so our solar panels were charging the batteries. We made it to Solomons where we had a rendezvous with sailor friends David and Peggy for one last farewell dinner. Tuesday, we saw by way of our boat’s regulator, that the alternator was functioning but failing to charge the batteries.Tuesday we arrived in Deltaville, VA, and were very fortunate to find a highly recommended mechanic, Henry Lackey. Dripping with southern hospitality and charm and an accent to match it, he came out immediately to Mary T to help us. He found yet another broken wire that was a completely different issue from the one I had found a couple of days earlier. All is well now: alternator, regulator and tachometer all working like a charm. Henry showed up later in the evening with a promised gift of two bottles of his home-made wine — one tomato and the other crab apple. We sampled the tomato, which was white and tasted nothing like tomatoes. Hard to say what it tasted like…but we were touched by the gesture.

In Norfolk, we anchored in Willoughby Bay surrounded by Naval ships. Rebel Marina owner, David Briggs, was very kind to us and let us tie up our dinghy at one of his docks and borrow the courtesy car. We needed to drive our portable Honda generator to a Honda dealer for repair. David also offered us the use of his marina’s showers, morning coffee… and he always had plenty of time to chat no matter if he was in the middle of a million tasks. Now that’s southern hospitality.

Cruising married is much different than it was when we were lovers. Amy won’t stop telling me what to do and I scowl and mope.

Today (Sunday, Oct. 24) we continued on to Great Bridge, VA where we sit presently, tied to the side of a canal with other cruisers watching the Canadian geese swim back and forth. The tachometer has stopped working again. Henry!!

We started our voyage to the Caribbean by moving Mary T a few miles south down the Bay to Deale, MD. We’ll be berthed at Shipwright Harbor Marina for the summer and then take off in earnest in October.  Although we’ll miss the location and amenities of the West River Yacht Harbor in Galesville, we’re happy to be in Deale. The staff are very friendly and helpful, it’s affordable to us, and it’s one of the few places we’ve found that graciously welcome live-aboards and do not require a 12-month lease. We’ve been here before. Shipwright is where we kept Mary T until heading off on our first major voyage in 2007.

We’d like to thank our good friends Spencer and Carol for helping us with car logistics and docking.  The sail down was delightful and their company was much appreciated.

Thanks go out to Adam Cort of Sail Magazine for putting “Cruising on the Mary T” on their Web site. Scroll down to “Destinations + News” and look for “It’s Pirate Friday!”

Also, we are thrilled that Good Old Boat Magazine will be sending out a very positive review by Susan Peterson in the June Newsletter.

Tuesday, April 6, was unseasonably warm with a perfect breeze out of the south west. We took Mary T out for a day sail just to see if all was in order. All mechanical and electronic systems  seemed to work fine with the exception of the batteries. Even though they had been charged all winter, pressing the autopilot button caused a low battery alarm to sound. The autopilot continued to work and the motor started when needed so we’re not sure if the alarm is false or what.

The crew, although a little rusty, eventually remembered how to sail. We toasted Posidon, Neptune, and all other gods and supreme beings, asking for a safe and happy season on the water.

We’ve moved our blog from ClickBert.com using Blogger to CruisingontheMaryT.com using WordPress. This was due to the fact that Blogger will stop supporting blogs that use FTP. But enough of the technical stuff–it’s all the same to readers, anyway.

We’re seeing the last of the snow melt away, the Canada geese are starting to head north, somebody’s already prepped and painted the bottom of their boat, and we find ourselves turning the heat down from time to time. So, we figure spring may be truly on its way.

The film you’ve all been waiting for is finally here. Amy recently completed the editing of our 2007-2008 trip up to Nova Scotia and down to the Bahamas. We call it a docu-comedy. For more information, go to www.cruisingonthemaryt.com

We are back in slip C-61 at the West River Yacht Harbor in Galesville. Our thanks to the Tates for renting us their slip again. We’d also like to thank our dear friends Tim, Viki, and Annie for allowing us to stay at their house while we renovated our V-berth. The work involved removing the head-liner, cleaning all the mold, painting the fiberglass, and varnishing the teak. We hope to continue cleaning, painting and varnishing the rest of the boat as weather permits.

We also had our diesel inboard repaired. There was a messy fuel leak and an oil leak that had nagged us throughout our trip back from Newfoundland. The oil leak from our raw water pump was the result of sloppy work by a mechanic in Maine. The arrow in the photo points to the broken gasket he covered up with a new gasket. To their credit, Robinhood Marine Center fully reimbursed us for the cost of this job after we e-mailed the photo at right.

Another important item we were able to cross off our “to do” list was the replacement of our wind speed instrument. This device had not been working for a number of years. We lived without it for most of that time but missed it at night when looking up at the wind indicator at the top of the mast becomes very difficult.

How about that big snowstorm December 18 & 19? We heard it was coming so we abandoned ship and headed to the home of Ken’s daughter and son-in-law. It wasn’t so much the snow that concerned us as was the very strong winds that were predicted to blow from the northeast. The slip we occupy is exposed to choppy seas when the wind is out of that direction and that makes life aboard quite unpleasant. We returned on the 20th and spent about 45 minutes shoveling the snow from the boat and the dock. Hopefully there won’t be any more blizzards like that this winter.