We are going to cast off the dock lines here in Hampton in a few short hours – it will be a busy morning no doubt.
Virgin Gorda, BVI here we come!
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Author Archives: Gillian Renz
Brrrrrr…..!!!
Vicki says that we made it far enough north that the trees are changing colors and that’s TOO far north – and I completely agree. Before we got here, the idea of cooler temps and crisp fall air sounded exciting and exotic. That was before my toes and fingers went numb, my nose turned bright red, and my lips chapped. We woke up several mornings to temps in the 30s with stiff breezes blowing over the dodger. We wore almost every piece of warm clothing we have on board, but let’s just say that we have definitely added long underwear to our Hampton shopping list.
Heading North to go South
Our second overnight passage was an uneventful one – just the way we like ’em. Our motor stayed on the whole time except for the quick downwind sunset cruise we took on the second evening. We just couldn’t stand the engine anymore, so we turned a few degrees to starboard, let out the sails and enjoyed the sound of silence to remind us why we love sailing so much. Unlike our last passage, we had a full moon keeping the ocean lit up all night. There is something incredibly…what’s the right adjective here…special, inspiring, mind widening, groovy… about watching the moon set as the sun rises with nothing but blue ocean on the horizon. We got to the Beaufort channel markers just as the sun was coming up and dropped anchor here in Taylor Creek.
Sweet Tea or Unsweet Tea?
Unsweet tea with extra lemons please! Charleston has been good to us. The people are friendly, the food is delicious, the weather is super comfortable, and there is something going on all the time for us to check out – art walks, restaurant week, Greek festivals, marina happy hours. The Charleston City Marina/MEGADOCK is walking distance to downtown AND we picked up a couple of bikes to use while we are here in town, so we are totally mobile.
Gillian Gets Hit in the Face by a Flying Fish
Well, not exactly… What is that terrible smell? Maybe it’s me, I haven’t really showered in a few days. Nah, I don’t smell THAT bad. What IS that smell? Maybe it’s that fishing boat we passed four miles ago, can smell travel that far? Nah, man I must be so tired I’m losing it. Then I hear it, “flap plop flap plop”. What the….? I grab the flashlight to investigate and right next to my seat in the cockpit is a flying fish that flew up onto the deck and was flapping around like crazy trying to get back in the water. And the little fella did! I sat back at the helm and tried to regroup from that bizarre experience and I hear that noise AGAIN! “flap plop flap plop,” this time from the other side of the boat. I leap up to investigate again and I’ll be darned! Another fish was flopping around on our deck. But this time, not for lack of trying, he couldn’t propel himself back into the sea. I run down to the galley and grab a spatula and then proceed to try and help flip him back overboard. There I am standing in the dark, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, holding a kitchen spatula, flipping flying fish off the deck and I started to laugh, “Wow, how in the world did I get here?” Logan and I both ended up flipping fish back into the ocean all night that night – probably at least a dozen made their way aboard from all directions. We added one more lesson to our bag, flying fish smell terrible.
!!!Six Months!!!
August 25th marked our six month wedding anniversary. We are now an old married couple 🙂 It’s hard for us to believe that it has only been six months. Sure we spend a lot of time together, but I think it has more to do with the fact that we have come so far in those six months – physically and emotionally. A lot of people ask what it is we do all day living on a sailboat. Some days are more eventful than others but Sunday the 25th was a memorable one so I’ll use it as an example.
Getting High in the Bahamas
High up that is. Cat Island in the central Bahamas is home to the highest point of all the Bahamian islands – a whopping 206 feet!!! Challenge accepted. Logan and I threw up the sails and set a course to explore another island last Thursday. The 40 mile sail across the Exuma Sound was packed with firsts for us as sailors.
Still in the Bahamas
Logan, Stella Blue, Princess Ding-a-ling and I are still calling Georgetown, Bahamas home these days. So much for this being a two week stop – we have been here since June 29th! We found ourselves in a tricky situation where we wanted to leave to head south/east as soon as the weather cooperated, but we had to buy plane tickets to head back to the states for a few days to attend a memorial service for Logan’s grandpa at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. One morning we just decided to bite the bullet and fly out of Georgetown (of course a weather window presented itself as soon as we made that commitment!). We just got back home yesterday and have once again set our sights on the weather. Now that August has arrived, we are really in the meat of hurricane season – the majority of the storms develop in August and September. Since we feel that this is a secure place to be if a major storm hits, we won’t leave until we can make the passage all the way to the Domincan Republic. There aren’t any secure “hurricane holes” between here and there, so we will be cautious and patient even though we are both feeling the urge to pick up anchor and get back into the unknown. In the meantime, we have been adventuring around – here are a few of the highlights:
Dropping Latitudes
WE MADE IT! We started hearing about the cruisers’ mecca of Georgetown when we were back in Marathon, FL. We finally arrived yesterday and it doesn’t disappoint.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Wow – I can’t believe it has been 3 weeks since our last post. Time flies when you are off adventuring 🙂
We got back to Nassau a couple days ago after vacationing with my family in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for 2 weeks. It was 2 weeks of wedding festivities, exploring volcanic islands, rum punch, queasy ferry rides, fresh produce shopping, and family love.