COOPER RIVER MARINA, CHARLESTON, SC

12 to 15 December, 2004. We started the day in freezing weather in thick fog and had to take turns driving the boat for the first few hours. We saw our first naturally occurring palm tree on the way here at ICW mile 445 near Andersonville, SC. Shortly afterward, we saw some dolphins, and more later in the day. When we arrived in the bay near Charleston, there were many sailboats taking advantage of the wind. There was also an aircraft carrier (decommissioned, from the looks of it) on the northeastern shore. We pulled into the Cooper River Marina at about 5 pm. They have the nicest concrete, floating docks that we've seen yet. The marina is run by the county. Since our boat is actually 26 feet, 8 inches, we are starting to tell the marinas that we have a 26 foot boat since marinas usually charge per foot. We ended up paying for 25 feet since our slip is for a 25 foot boat. At 70 cents per foot and a $2.50 electric charge, we payed $20 here and can stay until just before 9 am on Tuesday (nearly 40 hours) since the fee covers a 24 hour period and the office will be closed when our 24 hours is up. They were very accommodating.

We met Gary, who helped us tie off. He originally came here for one month and has been here for 7 years. His friend, Joe, who drove me to Wal-mart and Home Depot the following day, originally came here for 3 weeks and has been here for 18 months. Apparently, it's hard to leave this place- even we stayed an extra day due to the cold weather ahead. The Wapoo Bridge, about 8 miles ahead, doesn't open between 6:30 am and 9 am which screws up our goal of 50 miles when we leave here. We're just going to have to anchor and freeze before continuing on to Beaufort, SC, where Rocky's mom has sent some deer jerky to the post office there. We were able to get supplies in town, showers, orders processed and lots of laundry done here. We also dried out the damp V-berth and carpeting.

MINIM CREEK, SC

11 December, 2004. We left Georgetown harbor at 1:30 pm (after going to the post office and getting showers and gas) because we knew we were traveling to an anchorage less than 20 miles away. We just wanted to get out of Georgetown. I was very apprehensive about getting back in the river that had battered us the day before. At the gas dock, some sailors who had just arrived, said it wasn't pretty out there, with at least 2 1/2 foot waves and high winds. We set out anyway, hugged the shore and were in a narrow waterway within the hour. When we arrived at Minim Creek, Rocky began preparing the shrimp that we bought in Georgetown. It was great comfort food. The temperature had dropped dramatically and we were freezing even before the sun went down. I did sit out in the cockpit after sunset and had two beers. The sky was brilliant with stars and I've never seen Orion so low and clear in the sky. I saw some shooting stars but I'm seeing those all the time now. We woke up freezing and were on our way by 7 a.m. in the thick fog.

GEORGETOWN HARBOR, SAMPIT RIVER, GEORGETOWN, SC

10 December, 2004. Georgetown was not kind to us. When we left Barefoot Landing, we knew we were going to run into thunderstorms. The rain came at us pretty hard but we just beared it. It occurred to me that our mast was a 30 foot lightning rod above the boat but god chose not to smite us on this day (yet). The weather finally cleared and we changed into some dry clothes. Shortly before we arrived at Georgetown, it began to drizzle. Then the wind picked up. The waves had risen to one foot, then two, then three, then four. We battled the four foot waves, some of them rising to five feet. The boat was taking a beating and I genuinely feared for our safety. We launched over some of the five foot waves and our bow came all the way down underwater. A Coast Guard helicopter hovered overhead. We finally made it under the fixed bridge just before Georgetown and turned into the harbor where we anchored. The Skipper Bob book gave fairly low marks for holding (an anchor) which was verified in the middle of the night as we found ourselves up against another boat, tangled in their mooring line. We decided to attach to one of the mooring balls, unsure if someone was going to come and collect money for it. At that point, we didn't care. Fortunately, noone ever did try to collect for the mooring.

We dinghyed to shore and right behind us came Lisa and Joyce, who we met in Elizabeth City, NC. They were going for ice cream so we joined them. They had emailed us the day before, after reading our blog, and told us not to miss the shrimp dock in Georgetown. Rocky and I picked up 2 lbs. of medium shrimp for $4.39/lb. just before leaving there. That was probably the freshest shrimp I ever ate. When we were at the ice cream shop, I ran across the street to the ATM and couldn't believe who was sitting in front of the bank- it was Barbara and Peter, who we met at the Alligator River Marina. I told Barbara we were going to pick up some more rocket fuel and that we'd probably see them again. They were docked at a marina a few miles away and had just come into town for some supplies. I took an expensive cab ride to the post office while Rocky cleaned up the mess from our five foot waves encounter. There was a health club on the waterfront that charged $5 for a day's use of their facilities. I told the girl at the counter that we just wanted to take showers and she said she couldn't charge us just for showers so let us in for free. On our way out, she said that her boss had come in and she had to charge us the $5 each. We had bilge pump problems here, too, which Rocky fixed in the middle of the night. Even when we stopped at the gas dock on our way out, we had to rouse the gas attendant from his houseboat. Georgetown also stunk from a factory right next to the harbor. We will never go back to Georgetown, SC.

BAREFOOT LANDING, LITTLE RIVER, MYRTLE BEACH, SC

8 to 9 December, 2004. We hit a rock with our rudder on the way here. I was in 18 feet of water when we hit. The waterway just before and after Barefoot Landing is called the rockpile- very hazardous! Barbara and Peter, who we had first met at the Alligator River Marina passed us along the way and Barbara yelled over "You got rocket fuel in that thing?" We keep seeing them along the way and always look forward to our next encounter. The journey here also marked our entry into South Carolina. The sun broke through the clouds, it got warm and we got internet access just past the state line. I was reminded at some of the bridges just how much I enjoy being called "captain" by the bridge tenders. And also how much I enjoy them stopping traffic and lifting or swinging hundreds of tons of steel just so we can pass through. Just after crossing beneath the Barefoot Landing Bridge, there is a 500 foot free floating dock next to many restaurants and shops. There are lots of turtles here and an alligotor touring bridge. We didn't see any alligotors. I've been wanting a steak and it was Rocky's birthday so we decided to eat out. We bypassed all the expensive tourist trap restaurants here and crossed the street to Cracker Barrel where we got good food for a reasonable price.

The fog got pretty thick the first night and we knew it was going to continue throughout the following day so we decided to stay another day. The restaurant just above us let us plug into their outdoor electrical outlet so we were able to process orders. We had purchased 2 cell phones a while back and sent one to our friend, Michael, who receives our website mail payments and deposits them for us. Since Verizon to Verizon calls are free, we call him all the time. lately, he's been providing us with music from his vast online libarary via the cell phone. It's pretty cool. We met Bobbie and Gordon here on their trawler and printed up the Skipper Bob updates for them. Our financial situation has been deteriorating ever since ebay screwed us at Deep Creek. We are now relying on the random website orders that are few and far between.

SOUTHPORT FREE DOCK, OFF THE CAPE FEAR RIVER, NC

7 December, 2004. There were many delays getting here, including morning fog, getting gas, waiting for bridges to open, dredges in our way and the rough Cape Fear River that produced 2 foot waves and howling winds. Water was splashing up over the bow and into the cockpit for much of Cape Fear River but it was actually fun, instead of harrowing. We arrived just before dark. The docks were very cool, with lots of local seafood restaurants- a true harbor town. We went into the small town to find a place to buy cigarettes. There was a man and woman hanging Christmas decorations outside a Realtor's office and I asked them where I could buy cigarettes. The woman, who I later found out was named Kim, told me that there was a store about 7 blocks away and then asked me if I was on a boat. When I told her yes, she said "just take my car, the keys are in it." I think maybe a minute had passed since I first encountered her before she was entrusing me with her very nice SUV. So we took her car, got cigarettes, exchanged business cards and back to the docks we went. After that, Rocky said that his faith in humanity had been completely restored. Although it was windy, it was not cold for the second night in a row. It was a nice place to stop.

SLOOP POINT, VIRGINIA CREEK, HAMPSTEAD, NC

6 December, 2004. Their are many "inconsiderate" (for lack of a more accurate term) motoryachts out here. We've nearly been capsized on more than one occasion by their wakes. Just before mile marker 220 at 9:25 am, long before we arrived here, we were nearly capsized by "Defiant" who threw up about a 5 foot wake. If we see him again, we will not be kind. Usually, we can't get the names of the boats who throw up unneccessarily huge wakes because we're too busy turning into the wakes to see the name on the back. Defiant had the name on the side so we finally got a name, not that it will do us much good. Defiant also threw their wake at another motoryacht called "Two Healers" which had just considerately passed us. We saw Two Healers stop for gas and when they caught back up with us, the man on board held out a tubular can. I was under the assumption that they thought we dropped it and they were returning it to us. It was actually a can of cookies that he successfully tossed over to us. I was very glad that I was able to catch it since they had made such a friendly effort. We anchored at Sloop Point in about 6 feet of water. After the sun went down, we were thrilled that it wasn't very cold. Perhaps we had finally got a jump on old man winter. The ocean waves could be heard just beyond the barrier islands off to the east. Much of our journey through North Carolina brought us inland, away from the ocean. It was nice to hear the Atlantic without having to deal with its rough waters. Rocky loves the LED headlamp and wears it nearly every night. The 2 AA batteries that power it last forever. We left here at 8 am in dense fog. Although it looks cool, it's quite a hazard to drive the boat in. The fog is pretty thick and we're just putting along. We hope it burns off or we'll never make our planned free dock going this slow.

SPOONER'S CREEK, MOOREHEAD CITY, NC

5 December, 2004. This is an excellent anchorage, surrounded by million dollar homes and big money boats docked behind them. We had great wind, wake and current protection in the small basin here. We dinghyed to the tiny dinghy dock and walked 2 blocks to Wal-Mart. We bought a $5 lantern to use for our anchor light. Duncan and Stacey had given us 4 bottles of lamp oil so the lantern was definitely the way to go. Besides, a lantern could provide heat if we needed. This was the first time we used the dinghy to leave our anchored boat in order to reach the shore. Previously, we had only used the dinghy to remove, secure and work on the outboard. Although, at Turner's Cut, we took it out to float around and take some pictures of the boat. There was also a Lowes there as well as many other stores. It was very quiet and peaceful. We saw Barbara and Peter at the marina as we were pulling out. We had met them at Alligator River Marina a few days earlier. Just as we got back into the ICW, we ran aground but it was no big deal and we easily freed ourselves. The channel is very narrow in this area and the water depth drops to 2 and 3 feet just outside the markers. Shortly afterward, we were surrounded by dolphins, playing in our small wake and the wake of Barbara and Peter who had just passed us in their yacht. We saw even more dolphins later in the afternoon and were able to snap a few (poor) pictures. We also passed the Camp LeJeune Firing Range which apparently delays many boaters. We got lucky and the light wasn't flashing so we were able to continue through. They fire right across the ICW toward targets on the opposite shore.

TOWN CREEK MARINA, NORTH RIVER, BEAUFORT, NC

4 December, 2004. We arrived here just as our 2nd 6-gallon gas tank was nearly empty. We also have a 2-gallon tank that was full so we weren't in danger of running out of gas completely. Their winter rate was $1.95 per foot which is pretty high but they give a 40% discount for Boat U.S. members which we are. Our menbership gives us unlimited towing which we never know if we'll need. It cost a little more than a hundred dollars per year and well worth it. We were able to plug in for electric heat and light, get showers and even visit Beaufort which has a long history. I got another ride back to the marina from the liquor store. Everyone in North Carolina wants to give you a ride. We met up with another sailor who we first encountered in Elizabeth City, NC. We also met Noah, a young guy with a 35 foot sailboat who had just replaced his engine and was also heading south toward warmer weather. He was traveling with his very friendly beer drinking dog, Krista. I shared several beers with Noah and we partied until 2 am. I'm usually in bed by 8 or 9 pm. We traded him one of our extra compasses for a couple of blocks (pulleys) that we needed for our main sail rigging. It'll be a few more days before he's back on the water but we hope to run into him again along the way.

PUNGO CREEK, PUNGO RIVER, BELLHAVEN, NC

3 December, 2004. We stopped to get gas in Upper Dowry Creek and saw Duane and Flore there. We love meeting up with people that we know. Duane loves to use his radio and we hear "September Morn" (the name of their boat) quite often. We enjoy hearing radio chatter from boaters we know. We arrived and anchored in Pungo Creek next to Duncan and Stacey, who we had been basically traveling with since Elizabeth City. We didn't raft (tie our boats together) because of the possibility of strong winds but we were in yelling distance. They were happy to discover that we had taken some pictures of their boat under sail that we could email them. This was Duncan's third boat and he didn't have any pictures of them under sail. We planned on meeting up with them again in Oriental, which is known as the sailing capital of North Carolina, but we made such good time the next day that we continued on to Beaufort, NC. We hope to meet up with them again.

ALLIGATOR RIVER MARINA, COLUMBIA, NC

2 December, 2004. We met up with Duncan and Stacey here. Stacey made dinner for us, which she had offered back in Elizabeth City, knowing that we were both going to Alligator River Marina. Rocky and I picked up a bottle of wine for dinner. The marina was basically a regular gas station / convenience store / restaurant that served the road running across the Alligator River Bridge, with some docks behind it and a small building with two washers, two dryers and a shower. It was simple but had the gas, ice and shower that we needed. We met Barbara and Peter who were traveling on their beautiful yacht. They were very nice but we didn't see much of them afterwards. Duncan and Stacey left before us but we quickly overtook them after traveling under the very cool Alligator River Swing Bridge. I stiil get a big kick out of these giant bridges opening just for little old me. We traveled up the Alligator River in 2 foot waves, which was much rougher then The Albemarle Sound that we had been fearing for nearly a week while in Elizabeth City.

ELIZABETH CITY FREE DOCK, ELIZABETH CITY, NC

29 November to 1 December, 2004. Many of the friends we made here previously had continued on. We met up with a boat we had passed on our journey north from Elizabeth City back to the North Carolina Welcome Center. We immediately made friends with them (Duncan and Stacey on their sailboat "Comet"). The four of us went to the Riverwind Health Club for showers and steams. We also met Duane and Flore on their very nice trawler "September Morn." They were docked next to us and graciously offered us electricity for heat, via an extension cord from their boat to ours but we politely refused. There was a sailboat anchored just outside the Harbor of Hospitality. We learned that they had planned on heading out and had encountered engine problems. They had only one choice- to raise their sail and sail back into the harbor for repairs. I missed the whole thing but Rocky watched them come in under sail and nearly crash into the dock. Kurt, the father of 2 girls on the boat, burned his hands pretty good on the stern line as he hooked the piling. His wife was also traveling with them. The ten year old girl said to her dad, "I don't know what you're complaining about, it's a sailboat! All of the great people we meet are definitely rekindling our faith in humanity. We attended another wine and cheese party or two and each time, we met more cool people. Although Elizabeth City is a great place to be stuck, we were getting very anxious to move south.

GOAT ISLAND, PASQUOTANK RIVER, NC

28 November, 2004. We made it all the way back up to the North Carolina Welcome Center before we were able to get orders processed and email done. Then we headed back south and anchored behind Goat Island. It was very scenic here but the wind spun us around all night and we decided to reset the anchor in another spot. In the morning, we headed back to Elizabeth City, hoping that our Thursday window to cross the Albemarle Sound with one foot waves and 5-10 mph winds would remain unchanged.

ABANDONED BARGE-LOADING CHANNEL, SOUTH MILLS LOCK, NC

27 November, 2004. We needed internet access to process orders so we traveled back up the Dismal Swamp Route. We tied up to the old bulkhead in the abandoned barge-loading channel just before South Mills Lock. It was very serene. A hunter came along the path next to us with his two boys. They were in full camoflauge and each of them had an expensive rifle. The younger boy had his face paint black- he was ready to kill something! We took the dinghy out to get some pictures of the boat and got a few nice shots. The morning mist was pretty cool here.

ELIZABETH CITY FREE DOCK, ELIZABETH CITY, NC

23 to 26 November, 2004. I crashed right into dock here even though I was just coasting in with the engine off. The other sailboaters there and the dockmaster, Sam, helped us tie off. This is the place we've been reading about since before we left Harbour North Marina in Maryland. Fred Fearing and his friend Joe began offering a wine and cheese party for the visiting boaters here 22 years ago. Joe passed away about 15 years ago but Fred, now 90 years old, carries on the tradition. He drives around in a golf cart donated by Willard Scott, who visited here some years ago. Another man named John arrived 16 years ago to help Fred with the tradition. The day after we arrived, the wine and cheese party ensued at precisely 4 pm. Fred doesn't like you to be late. Fred made a brief speech about 4:30 pm, telling us about the tradition of the "Rosebuddies" of which he is the original member. Joe would clip roses for the ladies on board the visiting boats, which had become cotton buds for this time of year, picked from a plantation nearby.

We met Gary and Mary on their 44 foot sailboat. Gary would mix mudslides (made from rum, not vodka because sailors drink rum) in a blender that ran on a weedeater engine. It was pretty funny to watch him pull-start it. We spent a few evenings on their boat with some of the other people we met there, having drinks and plotting courses beyond the Albemarle Sound. Gary and Mary are hoping to be in Key West, FL for New Years Eve. We'd love to meet up with them there but that looks doubtful. We also met Richard and Frances on their 50 foot sailboat. Rocky was very impressed with Richard because he thoroughly explained the reasons for the advice that he gave. We also met Lisa and Joyce who were traveling on their 36 foot sailboat. I spent a lot of time talking with Lisa who also had some great advice. Sam and Charles were another couple who we met there. All ten of us got together and had Thanksgiving dinner at The Golden Corral.

Rocky moved us over to the $15/night docks next door one night (managed by The Thornton Development Corp., behind a lawyers office) because the restaurant (Grouper's) was blasting music so loud that the bass was pounding through the hull of our boat. When he went over to ask them to turn it down, they were less than kind and even less accomodating. The following morning was a Saturday so there was noone to take our money. We got some free elctricity out of that one. Other than that, everyone we met in Elizabeth City was totally cool. Everyone wants to give you a ride since they know you came in on a boat and have no car, especially Sam, the dockmaster. The "Harbor of Hospitality" is supposed to limit your stay here for 48 hours but they've never enforced it. We were waiting out the weather in the Albemarle Sound so they were happy to accommodate us for several days. The Riverwind Health Club here offers a full days use of their shower, hot tub, sauna, steam room and indoor heated pool for $5. We took advantage of that. This might just be the friendliest place on the eastern seaboard.

DEEP CREEK FREE DOCK, CHESAPEAKE, VA

22 November, 2004. This dock was directly behind a mexican restaurant and there was a Food Lion grocery store right across the street. We got full bars here for internet access and so were able to get some work done. I went a few blocks to fill one of the 6-gallon gas cans and some guy saw me struggling with the heavy gas can and gave me a ride back to the boat. We discovered that ebay decided to change their billing schedule, which they informed us of via an email sent at 1 am, indicating that a timely reply was required. At 4 am, which was apparently their definition of timely, they wanted $900 instead of the $450 which we always paid after the first of the month. If we paid them the $900, we would be broke so we decided to let the auctions run out and take care of the bill when we could. Ebay always finds a way to screw us just when things are going good. But we knew that we were heading into several hundred miles without internet access so maybe it was for the better. Besides, we're getting sick of selling the CD's even though it's relatively easy money. We had an old friend stop by and had a great time. When we left here to continue south, we crossed into North Carolina and stopped at the North Carolina Welcome Center. We had our first fire here. The rain had gotten into the cigarette lighter adapter that transferred battery power to our inverter and on to our laptop. We used up most of our aft fire extinguisher so we now need to replace that. The welcome center offers a Florida Cruising Guide which I highly recommend to anyone who stops there. A little boy there asked us if we had to jump in the water to get a shower. We should think harder about doing that after anchoring for days on end with no shower. It was much easier to find showers when we were traveling in the microbus.

GREAT BRIDGE FREE DOCK, NORFOLK, VA

21 November, 2004. We proceeded up the Virginia Cut Route of the ICW to the free dock at the Great Bridge. The Skipper Book told us that there was a Mal-Mart two miles north but we discovered that it was actually four miles with our hand-held GPS. After spending nearly $300 on a new marine battery, a low-end 1.3 megapixel digital camera, an LED headlamp and some other necessities, we decided to cab back. The battery alone was probably 40 or 50 pounds. I met Tyler and his best friend who liked to hang out at the bench right next to our boat. We had a few beers and they eventually went out to get pizza and brought it back. This was going to be our only excursion into the Virginia Cut Route of the ICW. We planned on back-tracking and taking the Dismal Swamp Route because it was more scenic, quicker and attracted less traffic.

JORDAN BRIDGE FREE DOCK, NORFOLK, VA

20 November, 2004. We crossed the mouth of Mobjack Bay for our final day of roughing it out in the Chesapeake Bay waves. Just as we passed above the Interstate 60 Bridge Tunnel, we looked back to see a huge cargo ship coming right up on us. By this time, we were already trying to stay far outside the buoys that marked the Norfolk Naval Air Station. We didn't want to get too close to the military installation for obvious reasons but I turned toward it anyway to avoid being plowed over by the ship. In all the excitement, we forgot to turn our marine radio on which the captain of the ship, and possibly even the Naval Base was probably trying to contact us on. The ship veered starboard and we were able to put some more distance between us and the naval vessels. We counted five aircraft carriers there. It was pretty cool to see them from below. We also saw a Princess Cruise Lines Ship in dry dock.

It was very empowering when I called the bridge to request an opening and the bridge tender proceeded to lift hundreds of tons of steel just for me. All the landlubbers had to wait while I pleasure-cruised on through. You don't even need a license to drive a boat if you were born after 1972 (or something like that). We tied up at the free dock and immediately went down the street for chinese food (which we knew was nearby from the Skipper Bob book). Although there was development and docked ships right there, it was a very peaceful spot. There was a small boat ramp there that fishing boats used throughout the night and a large pavillion. We were happy to finally be out of the bay.

HORN HARBOR, NEAR NEW POINT COMFORT LIGHTHOUSE, VA

19 November, 2004. The longitudinal coordinates in the Skipper Bob Book for Horn Harbor were wrong but we found it easily with our chartbook and GPS. We plan to email Skipper Bob with the coorect coordinates. We anchored. The next morning, we went to a nearby marina to get gas. A very nice lady suggested that next time we stay there, they have a courtesy truck you can take into town for dinner.

SANDY POINT, WHERE INGRAM BAY MEETS THE GREAT WICOMICO RIVER, VA

18 November, 2004. The waves and rain were a bear all day, especially as we crossed the mouth of the Potomac River. We were finally out of Maryland and into Virginia. I couldn't wait to get out of the bay. Sandy Point was easy to get to with plenty of water and just a few other boats anchored a good distance away. The boat rocked all night but in a good way which offered us a good night's sleep. It was uneventful and that was good.

SPRING COVE MARINA, SOLOMANS ISLAND AREA, MD

17 November, 2004. This marina was just a few hundred feet from our last anchorage. We got gas before renting the slip. The guy that pumped the gas didn't seem very happy but when we met his boss later in the day, we understood why. The facilities were great but the people here were pretty dry. This was my first experience backing into a slip and I think I did ok. They accidently cut power to our slip as I was printing invoices and weren't very apologetic about it. But we didn't mind much because we were able to take showers, do laundry, get gas and plug in to process orders. Our Skipper Bob Book indicated that there were other Skipper Bob Books available here so we bought "Marinas Along The Intracoastal Waterway." They didn't have "Cruising Comfortably On a Budget" which we also wanted.

SOLOMANS ISLAND AREA, ON THE PATUXENT RIVER, MD

16 November, 2004. I fought the waves all day today and couldn't see the shore for most of it. II was a nervous wreck. We arrived in the main harbor after dark but there was plenty of light coming from the businesses and marinas onshore. We dropped anchor alongside several other boats. There were several large swans swimming in the harbor and I saw a few shooting stars. Just before dawn, we realized that we had drifted a bit so we reset the anchor and watched closely from that point on. It was time to process orders and we needed to do laundry, take showers and get gas so we decided to find a nearby marina to spend the day and night at.

CANTLER'S RIVERSIDE INN, WHITEHALL BAY, ANNAPOLIS, MD

15 November, 2004. We decided on Rideout Creek in Whitehall Bay (on the western shore) as our next stop. The Skipper Bob Book rates each stop by Holding (for an anchor), Wind Protection, Current Flow, Wake Protection, Scenic Beauty and Ease of Shopping. This place was rated very high for everything except Scenic Beauty and Ease of Shopping. We were far more concerned with safety than scenery and shopping at this point. The current was fierce as we passed under the William Preston Lane Memorial Bridge in Annapolis on our way to Whitehall Bay. We went from 7 mph to 9.5 mph in short, harrowing bursts. We missed the turn into Rideout Creek after entering the bay so we turned around and headed back. It was already getting dark. We remembered passing a bar and restaurant with a dock so we decided stop there and get some hot food instead of searching out the anchorage in the dark. We were hoping that if we spent some money there, they might let us dock there overnight.

We both ordered the jumbo shrimp When we asked if it was possible for us to dock there overnight, they told us that it was no problem, as long as we were out of there by mid-December. The food was great and it was happy hour at the bar, with $1.63 (half price) domestic beers. Apparently, Cantler's serves the best crabs in the whole of Chesapeake Bay and is famous nationwide, winning many awards for their food and service. After dinner, Rocky had one drink at the bar with me and then went back to the boat for bed. I stayed awhile and met some of the locals. In the morning, Mr. Cantler invited us up for coffee before opening and gave us the grand tour. There were many photos on the wall of famous people who had eaten there and even more of the Cantler's Family History. There was even a world record pink spotted fish (I can't remeber what type of fish) mounted on the wall. Mr. Cantler showed us photos of his father and grandfather who had been fishing and crabbing on the bay for over 100 years. Everyone there was extremely friendly. Rocky and I were very happy that we missed Rideout Creek and ended up here. If you're interested, they have a website at www.cantlers.com.

STILL POND CREEK, BETTERTON, MD

14 November, 2004. We were monitoring the radio and learned that there was a small craft advisory for the waters ahead so we decided to end our day early and find an anchorage. Explosions from the Aberdeen Proving Ground carried across the bay all morning. A week or so earlier, Rocky had bought a book online called "Skipper Bob's Anchorages Along The Intracoastal Waterway" which provided some great information on free places to anchor and dock. We decided on Still Pond Creek, an anchorage on the eastern shore, near Betterton, MD. It was about 2 pm when we arrived. Our first 16 miles was behind us. Rocky dropped anchor and we had officially arrived at our first of many stops on our journey south to Florida. The water was very still, hence the name, and that pleased us to no end. We saw a bald eagle and a Blue Heron and there was a crescent moon in the sky. I was a little freaked out that we would be spending the night in the water with no access to shore. Of course, we had the dinghy but there was no place to dock it even if we decided to go ashore. A few beers calmed me down and we were quite pleased to be where we were. We woke up around dawn and there was a very cool mist on the water which we admired over coffee. We set out around 9:30 am.

OUR MAIDEN VOYAGE (TO THE GAS DOCK)

13 November, 2004. It was pretty scary to untie the dock lines and leave the relative safety of land for the first time. We started the engine. Rocky took the tiller and we let go of land. Almost immediately after inching away from the dock, the boat started to turn sharply in the wrong direction. The water was calm and we were at about half throttle so we immediately concluded that our 9.9 HP engine wasn't going to provide enough power to control this boat. After a short burst of panic and folly, we discovered that we were stuck in the mud. Rocky got us moving in the right direction and we rounded the corners toward the gas dock. We got stuck in the mud again but managed to power our way free and secure ourselves to the gas dock. The plan was to get gas and head out.

Jason also pumps the gas for the marina so we headed to the office to get him. He had been following the weather and convinced us that we should wait another day to leave. His houseboat had been pulled out of the water a few days earlier and he was now staying at his house in MIddletown, Delaware a few miles away. He invited us to sleep there in comfort for our last night as terrans (dirt dwellers) and we graciously accepted. We went back to the marina the following morning, got gas and headed out at about 9 am. I had learned the most important lesson of boating when Jason and I went to pick up a boat in Dundalk, near Baltimore- "Red Right Return, Red Left Leaving." I took the tiller this time and guided us away from the marina and southwest into the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal. I was pretty comfortable at the stick and we began to put some miles behind us. There was no chance of us raising sails until we were out of the bay and into warmer weather.

THE DINGHY

12 November, 2004. We bought a dinghy today. There was this very nice inflatable dinghy with a hard wood bottom and motor mount that had been in the back of the office for awhile. Jason pulled it out and assembled it. It was still brand new but it was missing the front florboard. Its retail value was $1,200 but we picked it up for $500 because of the missing floorboard. It was the perfect match for the 6 HP engine, now that we had the 9.9 HP engine for the boat. So it turns out that we paid over four times as much for the dinghy as we did for the sailboat. The dinghy serves the dual purpose of getting us to shore when we're anchored and serving as a lifeboat if the need arises. We stocked up with food and water, got a small propane stove, a compass, a depth finder, bought a $100 hand-held GPS and a $100 marine radio. We've got charts and maps and our Wilson trucker antenna is secured to the spreaders on the mast, about 30 feet above the water for our wireless internet. We're ready to untie from the dock and make our maiden voyage to the gas dock, a few hundred feet away and around a few corners.

RAISING THE MAST

11 November, 2004. We raised the mast today with the help of Jason and one of the marina crew, Brian. Bryan, the marina owner's son, who was working nearby, said we looked like the guys at Iwo Jima raising the flag. I thought we looked more like the 4 Stooges. We finally got all the rigging secured and the boat took on a whole new look. And up until that point, we had been working around the mast because it was lying across the entire length of the boat and then some. When we traded the Tidewater for the Buccaneer, we were told that there were sails for it. None could be found. Jason contacted another marina in Annapolis, MD where we were able to pick up some sails that might fit our boat. We lifted a few mainsails and found one that fit and also kept a jib that we hadn't tried because it was too cold and rainy. Jason had given us everything from life preservers and raincoats to nautical charts. He saved us tons of money on necessities and we are eternally grateful to him for everything he's done for us. We were also given a 9.9 HP outboard by Bill, another sailboater at the marina. The gears were tore up but Rocky fixed it in a day. We were dreading the thought of throwing $1,500 at an outboard engine because we knew the 6 HP that we had wasn't going to cut it. Without Jason and Bill, we probably wouldn't have what we needed to set out. If you ever want a good deal on a boat, call Jason at 1-800-262-8004. Bill's website is www.bluehenvinyl.com.

SPLASHING THE BOAT

9 November, 2004. We splashed the boat today (put it in the water). It was very exciting to finally get it out of the mud and weeds and into its intended environment. We were quite pleased that it didn't begin filling with water and sink. We kept it tied up to the floating dock even though we had already paid for a week in a slip. The floating dock had electricity and water nearby so we didn't feel the need to move it. Balance is very important in a boat which we soon found out. It was a little aft-heavy, which put the through-hole where the bilge pumps out, too close to the waterline. Water would splash up into the hole and into the bilge. Rocky angled the bilge hose upward and helped to solve that problem. We also shifted more weight to the front. It was still a mess, needing paint, carpet, etc. but it was finally in the water.

FROM VW MICROBUS TO SAILBOAT

15 October to 21 October, 2004. Everything from the bus is now in the boat. It's a mess. A 40-50 mph gust of wind ripped the awning off the van but we got it back on. We're selling the van to pay our way south. We got the basics of the kitchen re-installed in the boat and as soon as we can pay our tab, we'll put it in the water (and pray for no bottom leaks). We've been fighting topside leaks against the rain but we've pretty much got them under control. It rains constantly and we've been living in the mud for weeks while fixing the boat. We're now sleeping in it but the power goes out at some point every night so we wake up freezing most of the time. We can't wait to get back to Florida. The spiders here are huge! And I saw a snake the other day near the burn pile, where we're collecting some of the wood and other stuff to get the boat ready. There's an Army Corps of Engineers campground near Ft. Pierce, FL that we can dock at for $8/day (with our Golden Access Pass) for up to 30 days. Everyone here at the marina is very cool but we still can't wait to get out of here. There's supposed to be a sail for the boat on the premises but we haven't verified that yet. The mast and boom are laying across the top and they look to be in pretty good shape. Hopefully, we'll have some photos to post soon.

HARBOUR NORTH MARINA, CHESAPEAKE CITY, MD (PART 2)

17 September to 14 October, 2004. We ordered the adapter to connect our wireless internet card to our Wilson trucker antenna and it works so we've got internet access now. We completed the 24 foot Tidewater sailboat and traded it for a 27 foot Bayliner Buccaneer which is nearly ready to go into the water. It was literally rotten to the core. We had to remove the core and replace most of the wood as well as some of the portals. We painted the boat after repairing some fiberglass damage and also applied a fresh coat of bottom paint. There's still much work to be done but it's getting cold here and we want to head south. We've got a 6 horsepower engine that still needs some work ($41 on ebay) and it just might be enough to move us against the tides when necessary. We're eyeing a 30 foot Seidelmann sailboat that's been filled with water for over a year but we're not holding our breath that we'll be able to trade for it. Hopefully, we'll get some pictures posted before too long.