This is our first post in two years. We purchased an older RV a couple years ago to try and see some of the USA sights. In September of 2023 we made a trip to Tennessee and stayed at Roan Mountain State Park. On the way we stopped in Boone, NC to meet a friend and have lunch at Mike’s Inland Seafood. Great food if you’re in the area. The weather was perfect all week and we hiked every day. The RV is perfect for the two of us. The campground was super, we were able to get a spot fairly close to the bathhouse and the campground wasn’t too packed. We had slightly warmer than expected weather but the mornings were chilly. We took different hikes each day, I rode my 30 year old bike to one hike and surprised myself being able to peddle the whole way back without walking on the uphills. I even attempted to ride my unicycle, it’s been 20+ years. On the way home we again stopped at Mike’s Inland Seafood. Would be nice if the mountains were closer to home as this is a 6+ hour ride. Definitely looking forward to more trips and adventures.
Up at 2am and out the door by 3:15 to get ahead of Elsa we saw plenty of deer on the way to Little Washington. We had a little rain along the way and only heavy traffic around Raleigh and Winston Salem. Traveling through Boone to Butler was a little tense not being familiar with the winding roads along the steep banks. We passed our cottage and continued to the town of Butler arriving at 10:30am. Checked out the Trading Post, went to the Butler Museum but it was closed, drove around Lake Watauga a bit as the roads got even smaller. Ended up back at the Trading Post for lunch. Calley our waitress gave us a little history of the town. The residents and some buildings were relocated so a dam could be built creating Lake Watauga. A map on the wall shows the roads and train tracks under the lake.
We headed back to the cottage and parked facing traffic in the small driveway. As trucks came up it looks like they’ll run right into you so we turned around as not to see it coming. It was only 1pm and check in was 4 but talked them into an early entry. Planned on going to Banner Elk for the music festival but another hour each way didn’t thrill us.
7/9
I went for a walk this morning to the Smith Hollow boat ramp 1.5 miles away. The road split and I took the one that looked like it went down towards the lake, I determined it was the wrong road after I had an uncomfortable discussion with a mixed Rottweiler mutt who I’m pretty sure he/she was telling me I was trespassing on his/her turf. He back off as I walked away, putting my pistol back in the holster. After that extra mile I went down the correct road to the boat ramp. It is one of those mountain back country roads with a deep ditch on one side and a steep hill on the other with tall trees and brush, perfect for hiding a Bear or Sasquatch or something. About this time I’m wishing I had my hearing aids on. Luckily other than a few stray cats and two penned Peacocks these are the only critters I encountered. The Boat Ramp area was really nice and the view was worth the over 3 mile round trip. Walking the 1.5 mile trip down was a little easier than the return.
On the way back I picked some flowers for Michelle from the side of the road.
We left for Grandfather Mountain around 10am. The traffic got pretty heavy once we reached the town of Banner Elk. The Highland Games here this weekend is supposedly the largest in the country. The games are at MacCrae Meadows at the base of Grandfather mountain so it was bumper to bumper for 20 minutes or more. Once in we went straight to the parking area for hikers and hiked the .5 mile trail to the Swinging Bridge. The wind was blowing hard, wish I had my wind meter. Almost lost my hat once and after returning to the vehicle I realized I lost my glasses. Then we attempted the Black Rock hike but after a half mile of scrambling over rocks we turned back and drove to a site overlooking the valley and had lunch. We finished our visit at the caged animal section, couple bears, Elk, otters and two cougars that refused to show themselves. Treated ourselves to some fudge for the trip home. Stopped at the Captains Table restaurant for some calamari overlooking Lake Watauga.
Awesome day.
7/10
An easy morning, no walks since we will be walking more today. First stop was a trip to Bristol Caverns. Just under an hour away, we arrived about 10am. They were just opening and we waited for our tour guide “Tanner” to arrive. As we started our tour we had to wait for another guest to join us. Michelle, or curious Mike, started asking poor Tanner with questions about plants, school, his job and more. He answered as best he could in a quiet tone like a shy guy and was probably glad to see the guest approaching. We moved to the beginning of the cave tour and Tanner came alive speaking loud enough for a group of 20 and obviously trained to not fall behind by also speaking very fast. He was very informative and we enjoyed the 45 minute tour with him. The caves are awesome with lighting to show all the special areas. Pretty much like other caverns I have been in but this one was better with wide open areas, a little creek at the bottom, challenging stair cases(for some) to bring us down 180’ and back. Back at the gift shop the gentleman was also very informative and the 5th owner. We purchased a few postcards to send out and left a little after 11am.
We drove through the town of Bristol and down the Main Street where the border of VA and TN are divided right down the middle of the road. Typical tourist town with Antique shops, coffee houses, breweries and high end clothes stores. The drive through was enough.
Our next stop only 25 minutes away was Appalachian caverns. Not as popular as Bristol Caverns but it has other features like bigger stream and pools, a wider walkway although some areas were slippery, the guide was more experienced and knowledgeable about the geology and Bats. He also had a good sense of humor. We did not see any bats but he pointed out some dark spots on the ceilings where they hung out. The dark spots are caused by bat urine which keeps things from growing on the rock. He then pointed out that urine goes up but bat poop falls to the floor and shined a light on the pile at our feet. At Bristol we were a group of 3, here the group was about 12.
The two caverns were vastly different but both were interesting.
On the way back to our cabin we stopped at a State Park to finish our lunch and watch the swimmers in lake Watauga.
Pretty much the end of our day.
7/11
The Highland Games on Grandfather Mountain. The games here are the largest in the states drawing Clan members from coast to coast. There were more activities here than at others we’ve been to including kilt runs, 440 yards for little kids and 1 mile for grown ups. They had a sheep dog demonstration that didn’t go very smoothly with the crowded field. We left around 2:30.
7/12
We packed up and left for Chimney Rock at 6am. It’s around a 2.5 hour drive and even though the gps took us the long way around we arrived 25 minutes before the park opened so we walked around town( the 1 street) for a bit. The park is amazing, the trails are steep with lots and lots of stairs on very well built structures, many overlooks of the town and Lake Lure. Carrying on our tradition of being the first to arrive once again proved worthy. The only trail we did not hike was to the top of the falls which was another hour each way with some very steep grades. On our way back down there were crowds of people at all the overlooks. Total steps today, I think, since my phone went on lockdown for 20 min, was 13,688 steps and 68 floors climbed. We were dripping with sweat when we went to lunch with Christy and David Bare who were on Steppin Up about 4 years ago and live nearby.
After lunch we had a 5 hour drive to a Fayetteville hotel to split up the ride home.
We finished the trip with a stop at Sams Club for groceries and were back home by 10am.
3/28, Y’all are probably wondering, where’d he go. Home. So this morning (3/28)I got up at 3am and went outside to check the current, the fog was thick. I figured I was going to be here for awhile. Had coffee and went out again at 4, fog had lifted some and I could see across the harbor pretty good. I decided to leave after breakfast and pulled out at 0445. My next and last bridge opening was the Onslow Beach Bridge only 3.5 miles away and I had 45 minutes to get there for the 0530 opening. They open every half hour on request and will not open if your a couple minutes late. The fog was thick and Had a current behind me. I was only running the engines at 1200 rpm but with the current I was moving at 5.5 kts. I have the radar on which helped a lot in the narrow channel. Visibility was 75-100′ and I could see the shore line to my right. I tried to slow down a couple times but the problem with going to slow in the current is the current starts to steer the boat. The electronics do not respond as quickly as one would like and then you’d up zig zagging a lot having close encounters with the shore. I called the bridge when I was .5 miles away, I only knew this from the chart because I could not see the bridge yet. The bridge tender responded back that she could not see me as well, my lights are on. I saw the bridge lights at 200′ but could not see the bridge until I was within 100′ and I was there at 0525. I lingered for 5 minutes, most tenders announce that the bridge is opening, this one did not. I was only 50′ from the bridge when I saw it was opening. This is a swing bridge and the moisture in the air must have all the gears lubed up because I did not hear it start to open. I made it through and continued through the fog. Before I pulled the anchor I added 5 gallons of fuel to each tank, I have three 5 gal jugs on board, as I did not know when I would get fuel. Although the gauges are new (1 year old) they haven’t been very dependable. So I track my hours and average .75 gal per hour per engine. I have travelled 40 hours since my last fill up and should have used around 30 gal of the 45 in each tank. No worries. As I crept along the first marina I came to at 0630 showed less than 4′ depth on the chart, can’t go there. The fog stayed with me for the next few hours and I kept moving at 5.5 – 6 kts which is pretty good at 1200 rpm so the current must be moving pretty fast. This went on for 27 miles going through Swansboro and the Bouge Sound. My speed had decreased along the way varying from 3.5-5.5 kts. I was 3 miles from the Atlantic Beach Bridge when just like someone threw a switch I could now see for over a mile and getting better. Hammer down now cruising at 8 kts. Looking back I could see a wall of fog behind me. I decided to get fuel at Jarrett Bay Marina after passing through Morehead City. I came across several dredges working in the channel after Morehead City, this area is known for shoaling. All day long there was absolutely no wind, after Morehead City it picked up. I had gotten several weather alerts about approaching storms. A couple miles from Jarrett Bay Marina the wind had reached 25 kts from the SW. I assumed the outgoing tide would slow me down but instead it did the opposite. Adams Creek was draining towards the Neuse River and I was doing 9 kts when I entered the creek. The current and the wind would make getting off the fuel dock miserable so I passed and planned on getting fuel at the dock in Hobuken. Approaching Daybeacon #12 I was only moving at 6 kts and the winds were down so I put the headsail out and idled the engines and maintained 6 kts. It felt good to have the new headsail out, for 1.5 miles. The wind picked up again as I approached the turn at Beacon #9, to 27 kts. Damn! Turning into the wind and trying to roll up the sail was very difficult. Once letting out the sail so I could roll up more the rope was dragged through my hand and I felt the burn across my fingers. A millisecond is all it took to burn my fingers. The sail rolled up so tight I ran out of line and had 2′ of sail hanging out. I entered the Neuse River with winds around 25 kts and water depth at 7′ for the next 1.5 miles having the 2′ waves hitting me broadside until I could reach deeper water and turn down river. I have not had many good experiences on the Neuse and this is no different. I have 15 miles to go and it couldn’t go fast enough. After 5 miles the waves and the wind settled down and the ride was much better. The wind was directly behind me switching side to side so sailing was out o the question for the next 5 miles. At mile 10 I had to turn more north putting the wind off my port side at an angle I could sail in, so out went the heads and I stopped the engines and had a pleasant ride for the next 8 miles into Bay River. Two miles from Goose Creek and BAM, again the winds came slamming in at 25 kts. Again starting the engines and turning into the wind to take in the headsail was no joy. I shut down one engine as I entered Goose Creek, I tried to call the R.E. Mayo Dock about fuel but could not get an answer. Dave Parisi had found their website and told me they were closed on Sunday. I was running the starboard engine so I through the last 5 gal of fuel in that tank and continued on. The wind had passed after entering the creek and I was moving comfortably at 6 kts. As I entered the Pamlico river I started the port engine and headed for North Creek, just 5 miles away. Of course by now, in the open, the wind decided I was having too good of a time and brought on another challenge. Once again I was getting broadsided with 2’+ waves after 2 miles I received weather warnings of an approaching storm and I could see it coming down the river. Being low on fuel in this situation has been a problem in the past, as some of my readers are well aware, with junk in the fuel getting sucked into the lines and stopping the engines. After my last experience with this the tanks were cleaned and I have been using a product to break up the junk to prevent this from happening again. Of course this is the first time in this situation since then and it’s been kinda on my mind if it was working. As I reached North Creek I figured it must be working. I let Gary Knight know I was in the creek so he could meet me at the dock to assist with the lines. Inside the creek the winds again died down and it was a smooth ride into Steppin Up’s space. This was around 6:30pm, Chatted with Gary for a bit then started unloading Steppin Up. I stopped after an hour, showered and had dinner. Went to bed at 9pm but couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind of things to do. Got back up and went back to unloading the boat. By now the winds had picked up and were reaching 40mph. I reset the fenders against the dock and added another to keep Steppin Up from hitting the dock. Before going to bed I ordered windows from Lowes for the garage and received notice they were ready for pick up. Back to bed at 11:30.
3/29, Picked up windows at 0700 and spent the rest of the day unloading the boat. It is absolutely amazing how much stuff there is. I ran out of bins to carry stuff in so the rest will have to wait until Michelle gets home to put things away. 🙂
It’s good to be home, now I need to focus on getting Steppin Up ready to sell. She is not show worthy and needs some cleaning up and some minor repair work. I have owned Steppin Up for 15 years, had many a good time with friends, have travelled many many miles, seen many different countries and islands and has made a good living for Michelle and I over the last 10 years. It is time to let her go.
The days are getting warmer, temperature reached 80 degrees today. With the changing winds on the ICW there’s no constant breeze under the Bimini and it felt even hotter at times. I made it to the SC NC border by 7pm and dropped anchor in a cove that we’ve used several times in the past at the mouth of the Little River Inlet. Every time we have stayed here before the Trawlers would come in at night, but not tonight. The water was calm all night, however the bridle came off and got tangled with some floating debris which I cut off early Saturday morning. Travelled 87 miles today, hoping to do 80 again tomorrow. The moon was bright enough to see at 3am, the full moon is tomorrow.
3/27/21
Today had a variety of weather. Got up at 0230, untangled the bridal, wrote yesterdays blog, made graded potatoes and eggs for breakfast. The moon was bright and almost full, I could see all the shore lines and markers so I pulled the anchor at 0450 and headed out. I was able to maintain 7.5 knots up until 0745 when the fog fell.
Around 0730 Got a call from Debbie and Jerry Stubberfield(used to live in Bailey Pointe). Jerry looked out his window and saw me passing by. It was good talking to them.
The fog only lasted an hour but slowed me down to 5 knots while trying not to run into any docks or markers.
Once it cleared up I had the current keeping me from reaching above 6 knots. This lasted all but the last hour of the day. As I reached Shallotte Inlet, an area notorious for grounding vessels (once by me) there was a working dredge in the channel blocking my path. They had an alternate path very close to the docks. Prior to reaching this area I was thinking how glad I was that it was going to be high tide.
When I reached the Cape Fear River the fog again set in for around 4 miles. Luckily there were no ships traveling in the river. The rest of the day went pretty casual except for the many power boats rocking me around. Finally made it to the anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay.
3/25, Winds were mostly light today and the temperature was in the high 70’s. I pushed to put some miles behind me and to make the next 2 bridge openings. As I approached the Wapoo Creek Bridge with 20 minutes before the 2:30 opening there is a channel (Elliot Cut) to go through with a very strong current against me. My speed slowed from 7.5 kts to 4.5 kts, giving all Steppin Up has to get through I thought I might not make the bridge opening, the last one for 3 hours. The cut is just over .5 mile long and the current eased up on the other side. I made the bridge with 5 minutes before opening. The next bridge is the Ben Sawyer Bridge on the other side of the Charleston Bay 6 miles away and the last opening is 4pm. As I crossed the bay there were a lot of sailboats having a good sail day, as I motored past. I reached the bridge at 3:40 and they opened at 3:45. No more bridge openings until late tomorrow. I still had 3 hours of daylight so motored on. I did have the opportunity to put the head sail out several times today to gain .5-1Kt but they were all short intervals. Bouncing from starboard to port and back to manage the sail is actually fun and less boring than just steering. I anchored by 7pm in the same spot as I did on the way south around Bull’s Bay. It has an open view of the ocean from the anchorage.
3/21, The wind and current were in my favor this morning so I was able to raise the anchor and get back on the ICW. The water was considerably flatter even though the wind was still in the high 20’s. Using both engines I was able to maintain 4.5-5.5 knots and made Jacksonville by 11:30. I pulled into Beach Marine for fuel and met Michelle for a lunch date. So far I travelled roughly 200 miles using 45 gal of fuel. After lunch Michelle headed back to Greg’s and I headed north. The plan was to stop and anchor just a little north before crossing the St John’s River, however the winds had lessened to 15-20 as I moved north so I text Michelle that I might continue on. WHAM, 42 knot gust and sustained over 30 kts. Back to the plan and I anchored just south of the route 10 bridge. I anchored here on the way down and the holding is very good. The wind was still in the high 20’s with gust in the 30’s adding to an already strong current, this made anchoring challenging. I dropped the anchor in 12′ but the wind and current drug me 100′ before the anchor could grab hold. This put me back in the ICW so I picked it up and reset it. Now out of the channel and a strong hold with over 100′ of chain. A couple hours had passed and I’m still holding good, that is until a CG boat flew past (in a no wake zone) and causing a 3′ wake knocking things off the shelves, I drifted back about 50′. The winds are now 15-20 kts and the current is changing so I picked up the anchor again and moved to shallower water. Dropping in 10′ of water closer to the bridge. This time the anchor set quickly however, the current and wind were having a tug of war with Steppin Up. Wind pushing and current pulling. The anchor set but was under the boat. Made several attempts to straighten with no luck. I was not going anywhere and figured when the current changed all will be good. Sure enough when the tide started coming in all got straight. Had stuffed shells for dinner and watched Rambo II & III to pass the time.
3/22, Anchor up at 7am with no trouble. The day was better than yesterday but still no joy. Winds still blowing 25-30 kts but the water was much flatter making for easy travel. Not a lot to say about the day, guess that’s a good thing. But the end of the day was special. I’m on the Mackay River in GA just north of Saint Simons Sound, smooth water, 15 kt winds and warmest it’s been in days. I coasted up to the anchorage in 10′ of water, eased the anchor down to 25′ and waited for the current to start setting the anchor, let out another 25′ and it set nicely. Put the griddle on and locked the chain. Standing there thinking how nice that went, I pulled it up and did it again for fun. HAHAHAHA NOT. Made dinner and watched the sun set.
3/24
Happy Birthday to my Grandson Jake, 8 years old already.
Yesterday went well, I think. Should have taken notes. I actually slept late, 0700. I imagine the peace and quiet and no bouncing around had a good effect in my sleep. Anchor up at 0720. Motored hard all day to make up for the lost 20 minutes . HAHA. I made an attempt to go out into the ocean however the weather apps didn’t agree with the actual weather. Lost an hour coming back in. Rest of the day went well. Not so good for this guy.
Today, I had good currents all day. Just lucky that I was changing rivers and creeks at the right times. But, the Ladies Island Bridge closes from 3pm – 6pm and I arrived at 3:30. Took the opportunity to fuel up while I waited. Dock Master would not let me hang out for 2.5 hours so I anchored just south of the bridge. A little out of my normal day I made an early dinner and sat at the table to eat rather than the helm while moving. Did a little maintenance, washed dishes, planned for tomorrow and picked up the anchor and waited 30 minutes for the bridge to open. Got through the bridge and travelled 7 miles to the Coosaw River. It is a very wide area with shallow (15′) to anchor in. Looks like another peaceful night.
3/19, Woke up at 4am, winds were 10-15 mph and the water was calmer. Plan on leaving by 5 in order to get to the first bridge by 6am, it stays closed from 6:30 -8am and I wouldn’t want to hang around for 1.5 hours. Left after breakfast at 4:45 and made the bridge by 5:50. It was a little challenging to start but the flashlight lit up the markers pretty good. Finally got light enough to put the flashlight away at 7am. The rest of the day was unexciting until near the end when I was scrounging for an anchorage. The ICW in this area was thin and lots of housing which all have docks. There was an anchorage on my Navionics chart but I had my doubts about the depths. I didn’t reach it until 7:30pm and it was already dark. As I expected the area was shallow and too close to shore so I moved on and found another spot a couple miles further up. A little close to the channel but plenty of room to swing. All settled by 9:30.
I’ve checked my position several times through the night and all is good. Woke up at 3am, wind blowing pretty hard and will stay that way all day. Also the temperature dropped into the mid 50’s and this also will be the high temp of the day. Checked Fort Pierce’s temp for today, mid 70’s. Jacksonville will be warmer the rest of the week.
Each Day can be so different
3/20
Woke up at 3am and checked my position, all good, winds in the 20’s. I was hungry so I had coffee and Pop Tarts to hold over till breakfast. Was not planning on leaving until sun up. Took a nap, too cold to sit around till 7am. Got up at 6 and checked position again, not all good. Wind increased to 48+kts during my nap and drug the boat over 100’. Still in deepwater but only 20’ from the shore. Another plan bites the dust. Pulled anchor at 6:30 in 30kt winds. Back and forth from the anchor to the helm a dozen times will get your blood flowing after waking up. Back in the channel in the dark I worked my way towards St Augustine hoping to take an anchorage there for the night and maybe explore the town on Sunday. It became easier after the sun came up and I didn’t need the flashlight but 25-35kt winds in tight shallow channel makes it challenging. As I reached St Augustine the winds were steady at 30kts, the anchorage was now a mooring field and not easily maneuverable with the winds and seas as they were so I checked with the bridge tender to see if the bridge was operating in these winds. It is and the next opening was in 8 minutes so I positioned Steppin Up for the opening. Now this bridge is known for its strong currents on a normal day. 30+kt wind is creating 1-2’ waves at the bridge coming towards me. Pushing Steppin Up at 2300 rpm I creeped through at 2.5kts. On the other side the waves were bigger and the wind was 35-40kts. Please don’t lose an engine now going through my head. St Augustine inlet is just passed the bridge and the cause for the current. I finally pass the inlet and things get a little better for awhile. Travelled another 6 miles to an anchorage which I used last March 26th. Getting here the weather kept getting worse, seas to 3’ and wind steady at 35kts. Finally anchored around 10:30am, felt a lot later. Couple guys from another boat came by, we chatted a bit as they came from St Augustine as well. They each had about 30’ monohulls. The water is flatter here but the wind is whipping around, pretty sure I caught a crab pot with the anchor chain, extra holding. Since all I had to eat was the pop traps at 3 and an apple (when I picked up the apple and saw the sticker on it I had to wonder if the one I ate last night had a sticker on it as well) I made coffee and a cheese burger then went for a nap or watch tv or write this blog, anything to relax some.
More tomorrow I’m sure as the adventure continues.
3/17/21, Happy Birthday to our Dad, miss him so much. Happy St Patrick’s Day to everyone. We left the north inlet side and fueled up this morning when the winds were low then went to Causeway Cove Marina dock and filled the water tanks. I went shopping (low on Peanut M&M’s) while Michelle packed things for the car. Wind picking up from the south all morning and when I returned it was pretty bouncy on the dock. Fenders were placed well so Steppin Up was ok. Amanda in the office offered to let me stay on the dock for the night, although bumpy it was better than trying to get off with 20 kt wind pushing me against the dock. Wind will ease off after midnight and I am planning a 4am departure to the open ocean. Goal is to make Ponce De leon Inlet in Port Orange for the night. Then I can make Jacksonville on Friday. After Friday I have to travel in the ICW for a few days until the weather clears.
So Living the Life on a boat without working like we were in St Thomas for this sailor has been pretty boring. I look forward to the chores and projects back home. I hope to cut the trip home by 8 days, getting some open water time and longer daytime should help cut off a few days.
We had 6-7 people look at Steppin Up for purchase but no takers. There are 3 couples in NC that wish to see her (can I still call a boat her/she without offending anyone?). If there’s no sale I will clean her up back home for future prospects.
3/18, If you don’t have a plan then nothing can go wrong. Left the dock at 3am. The wind was light and Steppin Up came off without a hitch. I anchored on the north side to secure things and raise the mainsail so I could start sailing as soon as I cleared the channel to the open ocean. Expecting 17kt winds from the SW so I secured the the sail with the first reef in case of higher winds. Not the only one up at this hour, there were a couple guys fishing around the red buoy near where I anchored. I motored out about 4 miles to clear the channel and turned north only to find almost dead calm wind. The sea was fairly calm with 3′ swells as I motored along. 2 hours later the wind started to pick up from the S-SE. Not helping me as I head N and not wanting to head easterly away from shore with the approaching weather, I continued motoring north so at least one part of my morning plan was successful. I cannot say as much for the meteorologist that entered the information on Ventusky and a couple other wind apps. Around 9am there was a burst of wind over 25kts and the following seas were 5-6′. I decided sailing wasn’t going to happen so I pointed into the wind and dropped the mainsail. Looking like the weather could get worse I changed course and headed for Cape Canaveral to travel in the ICW. The decision was made quickly however it took over 3 hours to get into the channel and through the bridges and locks. The best part of the day (it is only 2pm) as I turned onto the ICW the wind still from the S at 15-20 kts I let out the head sail and turned off the motors for couple miles of peace and quiet. With the approaching storm and the next bridge not opening from 3:30- 6:30 I anchored for the night in a wide opening of 8-10′ of water.
Made a few phone calls to let others know I was secured for the night, had coffee and a cheeseburger, one episode of Covert Affairs on Roku and I fell asleep around 5pm. Woke up at 9pm to 35mph winds and 1-2′ waves. Anchor is holding well and by 10pm the winds let up some the water is calmer. Hope I can fall back asleep now.
So I’ve been on the ball for 13 days Michelle has been here for 10 days. There were a few sunny days with temperatures in the high 50’s to high 70’s and we logged in a couple 4.5 mile walks. Except for the last couple days it’s been pleasant. This morning it’s 35 degrees with a wind chill of 32. We watch the storm crossing the north east and worry about family and friends dealing with the snow and cold up there. The wind has been our biggest issue over the last couple days with continuous 25 to 30 mph wind and gusts over 40 mph. With the front passing the days are looking better and we might even get off the boat for a walk today, after it warms up. If you have not heard I decided to put Steppin Up for sale and have posted it in several listings. Several people have shown interest. I’ve owned Steppin Up for 15 years and have had some great vacations and adventures with her and friends. It’s time to move on to other projects back home in NC. We had friends on Sunday, when the wind was blowing, the dinghy ride was quite bumpy, we had lunch outside while sheltering from the wind. We’ll get to watch the Super Bowl at their house next weekend. Hoping for some warmer less windy days soon but I doubt we’ll be hitting the beach anytime soon.
Mooring balls are scarce so as soon as one was open I took one yesterday over at Causeway Cove Marina. I have a list of items, of course, of things to work on on stepping up but first I went for a walk this morning down to the inlet it’s almost 5 mile track round-trip little chilly when I left, sweating when I got back. Several fisherman down there but nobody catching anything while I was there. There wasn’t a whole lot of people, I got back just before 10 o’clock so it was still early. There were a couple people in the water looking for shells, the tide is out so it’s a good time for it. Going to get to low 70’s today.
sunshinesailingcharters 