North Carolina!

Brad: 
Just a quick update before we lose connectivity in the backwaters of North Carolina:

After transiting the "Virginia Cut" from Norfolk, VA to Currituck Sound (Coinjock, NC.), we then crossed the Albemarle Sound to the Alligator River (still NC).  We tied up at the Alligator River Marina- more on that below.

Norfolk is a really interesting place; anchoring in an urban environment (Hospital Point, Portsmouth, VA) with the city sounds and lights in the background was a first for us.  We dinghy'd into Portsmouth- pretty hip little historic town - in search of a playground for Avery.  When we returned to Baila another boat was anchored nearly on top of us... guess we'll have to get used to that!

Another sign that we had left the Chesapeake Bay was the water color: tea brown!  The tannins from decaying pine needles in the lowland waterways that comprise the ICW stain the water (just like tea).  It was such an abrupt change; the first tell-tale sign was when we flushed the head (toilet) and noted the incoming brown water.  Suffering a disturbing flashback to college pranks by friends,  I was quite relieved to discover the benign cause of this feculent-hued water.

We awoke early the next morning to start the slow and serpiginous trip down the ICW.   Leaving Norfolk at sunrise was awesome- see the pics below.  On the ICW there are a bunch of bridges, many of which are "fixed" and tall (Baila's mast is 62' and most of the bridges are 65').  Imagine us holding our breath as we skimmed under one fixed bridge that read 63' on the tide-board!  We were elated to note that our VHF whip antenna didn't touch.   The lower bridges open on schedule and the trick (as we were coached by more experienced friends) is to line up your speed with bridge openings to avoid arriving too early and being forced to wait with all the other boats.  I must say that for ICW newbies we did pretty well!  It was fun to have impatient people fly by us only  to find them anxiously circling around as we rolled in just minutes before opening.

The lock was neat too.   After entering the lock and loosely tying up to the wall,  the massive gates closed behind us as their counterparts on the other side opened.   While the water level equalized for twenty minutes the girls took the opportunity to hop off the boat and do sprints on the adjacent grassy field.

After a brief stopover in Coinjock, we are now on the Alligator River.  One could write a phenomenal novel about this place.  The marina is a gas station (as in a gas station) situated at the base of the Alligator River Bridge with a tiny harbor and ample dockage in back.  Ms. Wanda runs a tight ship here and there are signs all over: "turn out the lights,"  "no dogs in this area," etc.  It's beautiful with a gorgeous view, but it is remote.  This marina is known for their southern cooking (of course there's a kitchen inside the gas station) and it's pretty hilarious to see people arrive in big yachts and proceed up to the Shell station for dinner.   Ironically we stopped at this gas station on our drive to the Outer Banks in 2013.. little did we know!  Lynn recalled the replica of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on the property.

Lynn: The highlight of the day was celebrating Avery's 6th birthday.  We (not including Brad who fell asleep) decorated the salon with all of Avery's toys, cards taped to the ceiling and gift bags hanging over the galley like icicles - we were going for a Frozen/Paw Patrol theme.  Avery waited patiently to open presents until after we were underway and had breakfast.  We waited to have cake until we arrived at Alligator River, but it was still too windy to keep the candles lit.  Avery was so sweet all day and thankful for all her little presents.

Brad again: We stayed at Alligator River today due to really high winds and a kid with belly pain.   But we did get some boat maintenance and other chores done which is hard to do when hopping from place to place every day. We hope to take off early tomorrow and from here on out we will be fairly unconnected- so we will update when possible.

Here are some pics:

Baila looking over to Norfolk

Baila staring at the Love Boat (seriously- when it left port it blasted its massive horns and with all the people waving on the decks I was instantly back in a 1981 Friday night watching Love Boat with my siblings)

Not our usual dinner backdrop!  

So neat to pass these guys on our way out at sunrise.  Awe-inspiring actually.  We saw a Zumwalt-class destroyer.. whoah!  So futuristic appearing.   

Weaving our way out of Norfolk Harbor;  amazing how busy it is even that early.  

Our first scheduled bridge opening.  You can see the line of boats making their way through.  

This is the lock at Great Bridge- here we hold the boat against this wall while the gates are about to close behind us.  We rose a few feet to equalize.   It was really fun!

Girls returning from their lock sprints

Though this body of water is massive (Currituck Sound), it's super shallow and the channel is very narrow.  So despite the strong wind we had to motor right into it and couldn't sail.  This was not particularly awesome but the girls had a blast on the bow getting sprayed! 

Coming into Coinjock

A decorated salon for Avery's birthday! 

She was so excited for her cake - rainbow sprinkle cake with blue icing, more rainbow sprinkles, gummy bears and worms!  She talked about it all day!

A few random shots:

After I spent 2 hours scrubbing the boat spotless I found this..

Historic Virginia

Hi all, 

Brad: We sit here at an ancient splintered picnic table next to the marina laundry, the girls doing school while we process laundry and take advantage of WiFi to plunk away on the laptop amidst cans of Pringles and half-consumed Capri Suns. Our table looks like the aftermath of an elementary school frat party.  Three Canadian boats just arrived, so add some background throaty french and you've got a good mental image of our current situation. 

Hold on- Anna has just stopped math and appears to being doing some form of antiquated calisthenics.  She notes with rolled eyes that this is gym class.  Duh, dad.  And then there's recess.  And lunch.

We are in Yorktown, Virginia.  Anchored near a marina on the north shore of the vast York River, we have been here for five days soaking in American history.  After sailing from Solomons to the Wicomico River last week, we enjoyed several nice anchorages and on two separate occasions we were greeted by friendly pods of porpoises.   The sail here started early last week as we wanted to beat some potentially heavy weather later in the day.  Despite thermal layers it was still cold at 5am.  We eagerly awaited sunrise.  And what a treat that was: a massive orange dome rising to our east bathed us in its warmth and lit the world around us. The day did warm up but not before a blanket of fog enveloped us for one hour.  It was amazing to watch the fog bank roll towards us and within seconds diminishing visibility to less than 100 yards.   Taking advantage of a chance to practice with the radar, Lynn and I kept tabs on surrounding boats' headings, speeds and trajectories, etc.   

After arriving here we rented a car and have tried to digest as much of Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg as we can in just a few days.  In no hurry to jump into the still-swollen ICW waters, we figured a few days to immerse ourselves in the history of this area would be time well spent.   And it has been for sure.   We have been most taken with the historic settlement of Jamestowne.  This is the active archeologic site where they are continuing to uncover this original settlement.  The girls got to stand in the exact spot where Pocahontas married John Rolfe in 1614!   

Back to the present, I had a personal first this morning.  I gave myself a haircut in the marina bathroom.  Prepared to do the job on the boat, I was re-directed by Lynn hoping to avoid a hairy boat mess.  On shore, standing amidst clumps of my shorn hair with my razor gently humming,  I felt somewhat awkward as men entering the bathroom simply hoping to perform their morning ritual were clearly confused and annoyed by me.   I was tempted to make a Larry Craig reference to this one particularly ornery old fella',  but I figured that perhaps southern Virginia is no place to joke with men in public bathrooms.  

Avery (transcribed by Brad, written in capitals because Avery is loud):  WELL, YEAH, I LIKED DOING THE JUNIOR RANGER THING AT THE MUSEUM (the Jamestown Settlement archaeology site).  AND I LIKED THE DOLPHINS.  OH AND THE ROCKET LAUNCH LAST NIGHT.  I MISS WALTER AND ALL OF MY FRIENDS.  And she's gone- ran off yelling about something. 

Anna's Random thought of the day: Sometimes my ears hurt from Avery- she is that loud. 

The rocket launch was pretty fun. I guess I expected more from all of the rocket launches Mr. Mac showed us: fire coming from the bottom, a long trail of smoke leaving the scent of barbecue (mmm, barbecue), and a loud boom! I don't really know about the sound part though. All I heard was "DADDY IS THAT A ROCKET? DOES IT HAVE PEOPLE ON IT? CAN WE HAVE ICE CREAM? I BET THAT ROCKET SHIP HAD ICE CREAM... " You get the idea.

Izzy: finally! We've gotten into more of a routine!  School this week was really going to museums and seeing stuff even though most of the information went in one ear and out the other!   I really loved the Jamestown Settlement and the actors were awesome too.  The rocket launch last night was amazing!  It was pretty much just a ball of fire, but knowing it was going off into space was the coolest part. I expected to see the actual rocket, and I'm glad it didn't explode! 

Lynn - I'm not in the mood to write now because Anna just flung liquid eyeliner all over me (by accident) after I had showered -  she is practicing for Halloween and SHMS next year.  I agree with the above accounts.  It has been a great week in Yorktown and we are ready to sail on tomorrow.  Our tentative plan is to anchor off Hospital Point in Portsmouth, VA and enter the ICW the following morning.  We are still debating the Virginia Cut route vs. the Dismal Swamp.  The Dismal Swamp just opened after having been closed for several weeks before and after Hurricane Matthew due to flooding. Anna is now playing Hot Cross Buns on her tin whistle, Izzy is twirling Avery around some poles supporting a large awning and Brad has disappeared to chat with some fellow boaters.  SOS!

Ok- photos: 

I love their expressions.  Kidding- but the sunsets are beautiful. 

Izzy learning how to determine the bearing of another vessel

School

Yelling "dolphins!" causes a signal in our pre-teens' midbrains to transmit to their dominate hand and grasp cellphone.  It's incredible- phones are up before the dolphins finish taking their breath.  You can just make out a fin in the distance.  Hopefully we'll have some better shots soon.   

Yep this was fun.  Remember the above- mentioned 5am cold departure?  Hilariously that's when the engine decided not to start.  It was apparent that it was just a loose wire and simply the act of removing this panel cover juiced up the ignition and everything started (don't worry- it's easy to 'jump' start the engine if that hadn't worked!).  So later that day at the dock I had to figure out what was loose.  Ironically this was made more difficult by the fact that everything was functioning at that point.  After an hour of checking voltages and jiggling things starting at the battery and making my way up the problem was apparent: a loose terminal on a battery wire at a terminal strip just prior to the ignition.  I'm learning that diagnosis is much more laborious and difficult that treatment with boats!

School today

Leaving the Wicomico River at sunrise

Izzy with the Jamestowne Settlement Church in the background

The girls really enjoyed the actors!

Yorktown artillery demonstration

Anna getting the chance to get involved with the artillery demonstration

This is gross: fruit flies!  We started noticing these guys a few days after leaving Annapolis.  Turns out they just love us and have had lots of kids.  Lynn learned from a fellow cruiser that a concoction of vinegar, sugar and dish-soap traps and kills them.  

View from Baila at our current anchorage

Anna in Williamsburg

Avery probably in the act of contracting lice

Because we needed more instruments aboard

Mutiny!  Lynn and I are trapped! 

Until next time!

Let's try this again...

BRAD: We're off- again!  We decided last week with the looming hurricane to head back up to Annapolis rather than seeking refuge more locally (which would have put us closer to some nasty weather).   This ended up being the right call and we had a really great week there.  A highlight was our day trip to Washington, DC where we all enjoyed the American History Museum.   We gave a knowing nod to some fellow homeschoolers there!  As well, after several projects and heavy weather prep refits (made easier by familiar surrounds, access to a car etc.), we now consider our first week the "shakedown" for our year ahead.  Great to see family friends again after so long at sea!

Good news: the low-profile anchor light (on top of the mast) that we found so hard to see last week is now a foot higher and (as we just noticed motoring back to Baila) much more visible.   I was able to mount it to a sturdy extension tube raising it up for better visibility.   Lynn enjoyed the chance to learn from my dad how to spot me as I climbed the mast and secured in at the top.   The most challenging part for her was how to lower me back down; she did great and I had a nice smooth 55 foot descent.   She missed her chance to torture me.  Anna and Izzy both jumped at the opportunity to ride up (a portion) of the mast (see pics below)!  I enjoyed rocking them while they were up there;  Lynn who was down below at the time didn't enjoy that as much. 

After leaving Annapolis this morning (yes, again), we're out on the Bay headed south once more.   It feels really good after a challenging week with regard to Mother Nature, homeschooling challenges, and morale!    Though we're behind our initial schedule we'll take our time in the southern Chesapeake and take the chance to visit Williamsburg, VA and other historic sites.  

Regarding school stuff:  rough start!  We've been so preoccupied with weather and plans that it's been really tough developing any semblance of routine.  However, it finally seems to be clicking (slowly).   We've integrated some Calvert School courses so hopefully there will be a bit more structure. Our lunch conversation with the girls today involved wind vectors and true versus apparent wind- so hopefully we're sneaking in some learning!  

Here are Anna and Izzy:

ANNA: We have finally gotten into a routine after two weeks: Every morning we start school at nine-ish. We have all been very thankful for the Calvert School Courses, because now school is a little less painful. At twelve-ish we break for lunch and usually call it a day. We are then free to do whatever crazy things we can think of, such as walking two miles to the grocery, finding playgrounds and backflipping off the swing set, climbing the mast, and checking to see if the water is getting any lighter on a scale from Chesapeake (brown-blue) to Bahamian (light blue)! I miss you all and can't wait to get back to hanging out with my friends and constant wifi, but I think i'm going to enjoy my time of no homework and constant family time for now.

IZZY:We have finally left (I hope)!  So far things have been rough because it's been stressful with the weather, but I think that once we're really gone all the stress will vanish!  We have done some really cool stuff like scavenger hunts, climbing the mast, meeting other people who have done this for many years, and seeing my Nanny and Poppy one more time.  Somethings that I miss about Swarthmore are seeing my friends at school, my house, my stuff, all of my friends, sleepovers, playdates, the pool (even though that's closed now), and everyone in Swarthmore!!!  I was really sad to leave Swarthmore but I'm really happy to be having this once in a lifetime adventure! I cant wait to get to the Bahamas and see all the amazing fish and crystal clear water!  I miss you all and think of you guys constantly!

:) bye!! :)   :)

Anna

Izzy

Avery tonight with her first boat friend this trip

Baila's Storm Update

Since our last post we have been totally pinned down by some very nasty weather here in Solomons- very windy with some gusts to 40kts (mph). We did ok on the anchor and in fact got pretty used to swinging around in the heavier blows. This evening the skies cleared and we even had our first "neighborhood hangout" aboard Baila with a few nearby boat-folks coming aboard for cocktails. That was a really nice break after days of constant rain, wind and storms. 

Amazingly, around the same time that we left last week, far from the Chesapeake was an infant tropical disturbance that would mature into "Major Hurricane Mathew." Yes- on our first week out, after 6 days of constant rain and wind, we now have a Cat 4 hurricane heading our way (maybe)! The path predictions are all over the place but what's clear is that it's headed north and it's gonna be big. Apparently this will be the biggest hurricane since Felix in 2007. So, even if the "eye" doesn't make landfall it's still going to get nasty. Or maybe not. That's the problem- nobody knows.

Here is the gist of the intense and omnipresent deliberations that have dominated our discussions for the past few days: Initially we thought we'd just continue further south and hole up in a protected creek somewhere to ride this out. This plan is reasonable for a tropical storm or maybe even a typical hurricane- but this storm could be horrendous and that plan could prove dicey. Some folks get their boat hauled out at a boatyard to weather a storm like this. But, as we leaned from Hurricane Sandy this isn't fail-proof either. Tying up at a marina can be tricky too; in addition to the boat getting slammed against the dock (which is why you have to have good fenders and lots of extra lines securing the boat) the surge can lift the water level so high that boats can simply float off the too-short pilings.

After lots of discussion with some very smart and experienced folks, it seems that the most prudent plan is for us to ride this out back in Annapolis in our protected creek on our recently maintained (ie reliable) mooring. Since we're still at out first stop it's only a day-sail away. So, tomorrow we'll sail to Annapolis (actually good weather to do the sail), spend the week getting the boat ready for the storm (removing the sails, canvas, storm-securing the solar panels, etc), and ride out whatever comes our way and then start anew post hurricane.

Total bummer. But, then again we've already learned a lot this week, and with having a few more days back in Annapolis to get the boat better prepared for hurricanes all in all it's probably a net positive (this is me convincing myself). We so appreciate the helpful discussions that we've had with a few of you about this over this past day.

So, we'll rack this up to having done a "shake-down" cruise and relish the opportunity to fix and revise a few things and start fresh with a bit more experience, perspective and preparedness for heavy weather stuff. To quote a friend, this is simply the 'cost of doing business.' Plus, Lynn was really bummed we hadn't made it to Washington, DC with the girls, so I see an Obama meeting in our immediate future.

Rough start for sure. But, we did have some really nice times this week including a fun scavenger hunt for Avery ashore (see pic), playing charades, movie night on Baila and meeting some good folks on boats around us. 

Also- it turns out that when you don't have a car and need to get to the boat or grocery store, this involves a tremendous amount of walking along rural roads. We are grateful to Jeff, the kind fellow-cruiser who himself lived aboard with his kids, for taking pity on us and picking us up.

So, to those of you who doubt us: in our first week we are a) unemployed, b) hitchhiking and c) on a boat in a hurricane. See? We're totally fine. Relax.

Hope everyone does ok with this hurricane- good luck.

-Falks