Queen Ann's Revenge

We celebrated New Year’s Eve with about 50 friends at the Navigator Bar & Grill at the Navy Marina. Fresh shrimp, both boiled and skewered, on your own on the grill — delicious.
We’ve started the major maintenance projects on QAR which only get done during an extended period in port. Things like major cleaning, waxing the hull, repainting the deck and revarnishing all the teak trim. And in order for us to get around easily we’ve rented a car for a couple of months. Our marina at Boca Chica is 6 miles from downtown Key West, so we need the “wheels”.
We do find to play as well as work! Last week about 20 of us went to Kelly’s for wings and margaritas (Kelly is Kelly McGinnes who fell in love with KW when she was here filming “Top Gun” and bought the restaurant). I think the wings are better than the Anchor Bar we used to visit in Buffalo where Buffalo wings were invented (Ann disagrees). Key West has many excellent restaurants!
Unfortunately, I contracted Ann’s bronchitis and have been sick for about a week. I’m on the mend now with antibiotics and feeling better every day. Ann has seen both her dentist & her doctor. I’m scheduled for both in the next couple of weeks. Starting to feel like locals! Someone asked Ann the other day if she was a “conch” (the word for locals)! We’re both glad to be back in Key West!
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We have some very exciting news from our Son, Henry IV, in San Diego! He is now a published author with his “The Hour a Day Entrepreneur” released earlier this week by amazon.com and already on their best seller list. Information is at houradaybook.com. Copies are available at amazon.com for purchase.

We departed Miami Beach last Monday at 0900 in sunny weather and the temperature climbing to 78*. It was a pretty trip past Government Cut with six large cruise ships docked and, then downtown Miami with its skyscraper condominium buildings. Crossing under the Rickenbacker Causeway, we sailed into Biscayne Bay and past Key Biscayne. At the south tip of the key are 8 houses on stilts in the water which were once private homes. They now belong to the state, but are in serious disrepair and closed to the public. The water turned a beautiful, clear azure blue/green and we could see the rays scooting along the bottom 10 feet below us. A friendly dolphin paid a short visit, and we watched a seagull try to steal the fish a cormorant had just brought up from the deep. The cormorant dove again to finish his meal and escape the gull’s sharp beak. It was an idyllic cruise the 20 miles to Boca Chita where a circular harbor offers docks, but no electricity or water. This small key was a DuPont family island which was given to the National Park Service who now maintains it. With our golden age National Parks pass, it is only $10 to tie up for the night. This is a very popular spot on the weekends and we slipped into the only open spot as another boat departed. This harbor is mostly empty by nightfall as folks return to Miami and prepare to start the work week.
We cruised south in for about 35 miles in beautiful weather and anchored for the night at Tarpon Basin just off Key Largo. The wind blew 15 kts all night, but the anchor held firmly and we slept well.
The next day we decided to try a new spot and stopped at The Fiesta Key RV Resort and Marina. When I called for a reservation they told me to just drive up to the front gate and check in. It took a while to convey that I was a Recreational Vessel and not a Recreational Vehicle. I think we are about as big a boat as has ever been in this little marina, but we managed to get tied up to a dock just barely large enough to hold the boat. This place is a hoot. An old time Florida RV park from the 60’s that is a bit long in the tooth. Funky and eclectic with friendly folks and a good little cantina restaurant. It has a nice pool and hot tub and a small store for the essentials. Half the fun of cruising is exploring new places and this one is a diamond in the rough. We’ll put it down for a return visit one day.
Another nice day of cruising brought us to Boot Key Harbor at Marathon. Marathon is about half way down the Keys to Key West. This city welcomes cruisers and has installed over 250 mooring balls which are usually full for the winter. There are also a dozen or more marinas, also usually full. This is the most popular wintering spot in the keys. Key West might be, except that it has become so expensive that most cruisers, power and sail, can’t afford to stay here. Were it not for the Navy Marina and its very reasonable rates, we could not afford it either.
We ran into five other boats/ crews that we knew and had a great dinner on board “Odesseyus” with our friends Paul and Carol (we first met them 2 years ago while in the Bahamas). We missed them in their home port of Oriental , NC on the way south, so it was good to catch up. They are headed back to the Bahamas this winter.
Yesterday was a delightful day cruising down the Hawk Channel to Key West. This is a channel in name only as a small reef about 20 miles out separates it from the open Atlantic. This was our fifth trip and on three of them we have gotten bashed about pretty good. Fortunately, it was a nice day with sun, warmth and only 1 foot seas. We trolled for fish, but alas no bites today. We turned into the channel to the Naval Air Station Marina at Boca Chica, which is just east of Key West. This is our “nautical home” and we finally have a permanent slip here at very reasonable cost. As we cruised into the harbor it felt like we were home for the winter and we are now happily tied up at our new permanent dock.
The next three months will involve visits from family & northern friends; much work on the boat that doesn’t get done while we are underway; and much time enjoying Key West’s many sights, restaurants, bars and attractions. We have made many friends here over the years who we call our “military family”. We also say, when asked, that we live in an armed, gated community guarded by US Marines. It doesn’t get any safer than that!
I’ll update the blog from time to time with our winter activities here, but it won’t be as frequent as when we are underway cruising. If any of our readers makes it to Key West, you MUST look us up!

We hope ya’ll have a wonderful and joyful New Year !

We spent a wonderful week at Cooley’s Landing Marina in Fort Lauderdale — a well-run city facility, A five minute walk from downtown and reasonably priced, it is one of our favorite stops in Florida. Dining here is always fun: The Floridian- an old time restaurant on the main drag of Las Olas Blvd. has great food at reasonable prices and is packed 24/7. Lester’s Diner- a Ft. Lauderdale tradition with good food and prices. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse which has unbelievably high prices (try $60 for a Porterhouse ) but has a great happy hour with ½ priced drinks and a prime steak sandwich or burger for $10. We had our farewell dinner here with Jeff and Izzy from the “Izzy-R”. We have cruised over 7,000 miles with them in the past 2 years. They are headed to the BVI’s while we winter in Key West. It will probably be at least a year before we see them again! We’ll miss them. We also dined at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza. Pizza pie doesn’t get any better. BTW, they have about 30 locations from Mass. To Fla.. If you ever see one – try it ! We also shopped and reprovisioned during the two days we had a rental car. We shopped West Marine’s new super store here (the size of a Home Depot) Boatowners Warehouse and Sailorman (the largest used and consignment marine store in the US) If it’s for a boat and you can’t find it in Ft. Lauderdale, it probably doesn’t exist. Most consider this town the single largest in the country for boat repairs and services. Mega yachts abound as do the yards that service them. During an average day at Cooleys Landing you will see 10 – 100’, 3- 150’ and 1or 2- 200+ foot mega yachts being towed up or down river to or from the yards. Ft. Lauderdale is just one neat town and we always thoroughly enjoy a stop in the city called the “Venice of America”. The fact that the weather has been mostly sunny and the high 70’s and lower 80’s doesn’t hurt either! However, the wind has continued from the North and East kicking up the Gulf Stream to uncomfortable 8 to 12’ very steep seas, so we continue to see many dozens of boats waiting to cross to the Bahamas. Its only 90 miles to West End, Grand Bahama, but you don’t want to do it when it’s rough. There hasn’t been a weather window for crossing for 4 weeks, so a lot of anxious folks waiting and tired of waiting.

We stopped for fuel on the way out of town. $3.36 for diesel which is the cheapest we’ve seen in a year and it’s coming down. Thank heavens ! While the cruise to Miami Beach is only 20 miles, most of it is no wake zones due to the manatees, so we only made an average of about 6 MPH.

We tied at Pelican Harbor Marina (another nice city owed facility that is reasonably priced. There is also a Pelican Rescue Facility here which is very close to QAR. Run by a wildlife agency, it takes in injured Pelicans and either nurses them back to health for release back into the wild or, if too badly injured, lets them live out their days in comfort. There is a chain link enclosure about 30 by 80’ where they are fed and cared for. What is most interesting is the 50 or so pelicans who sit atop the enclosure or along side of it. We guess they are either visiting injured relatives or they themselves were patients at one time and are hoping for a free hand out of food like they got when they were inside. The sign says “visitors welcome” so we’ll go find out during our stay here. We are right next to this enclosure (30 yards) and it is fascinating to watch them fly in and out. When we are downwind in their flight pattern their wings come within a foot or two of our sundeck as they come into the wind for a landing on the enclosure or to roost in the big tree next to it for the evening. As the sun is setting this is one very busy flight approach pattern with a bird about every 30 seconds. By the time it is dark there will be 30 or more in the tree and a like number on and around the enclosure. It is also interesting when a school of fish come into the area. 6 to 12 Pelicans will take to the water, form a line and try to heard the fish to shallow water… ( This marina isn’t called Pelican Harbor for nothing) Sometimes they form a circle to keep the fish in the middle where they can catch them. Much like we have seen dolphins herding baitfish into a bait ball then taking turns swimming through the bait ball for dinner. Nature is really quite amazing when you are afforded the wonderful opportunity to observe it up close and personal.)
It is December 21st. — the shortest day of the year. YEAH !!!! I used to hate waking up in the dark, going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark. I felt like a mole. The only time I saw the sun was at lunch time. While it is a bit better this far south, the sun sets at 5:05 instead of 4:30, it is pitch dark by 5:30. UGH. Now the days will get longer and that is a very good thing !
Ann managed to catch a bronchial infection and after 3 days of being miserable, she finally went to a clinic, saw a Doctor and got some meds to fix her up. Unfortunately, that has laid her low during our visit to Miami and beyond our bus trip to the clinic, she is just chilling out and recovering. Someday, I am going to convince her to not to suffer so long and go to a clinic sooner. Right ! Queens can be so damn stubborn !
We did manage to bus out to Miami Beach on Christmas Eve and have lunch at the famous Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant. We spent last Christmas Eve there waiting for a table and finally ate at the bar. It was a great meal. Our lunch was a little less so. The crabs were still great, but some of the other items were a bit disappointing. Ann is still recovering and was tired after lunch so we returned to QAR for a quiet evening to watch for Santa Claus.
We cooked a standing rib roast for Christmas. Ann has a recipe called “No peeke roast beefe” and it comes out crispy outside and pink inside. Mmmmmm. Conversations with family and grandchildren across the country filled out our Christmas day.
We’ll pick it back up with our trip down the Keys to Key West. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

On Tuesday the 4th (Happy Birthday, Hope!), we got underway at 0830 in mild 70* weather which turned to 80* with clouds and sun all day — a nice day of cruising to Titusville. We can see the huge shuttle assembly building at Cape Canaveral from 20 miles away and are now within 3 miles of it. The fact that we will assemble no more shuttles here and the Russians will have to haul us into space is, in my humble opinion, thoroughly disgusting and a total failure of our government to do its job. The Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations all failed to provide for a follow on to the shuttle and now we stand with our space suits around our knees. Pretty darn disgusting for the country that put a man on the moon !
On to Patrick Air Force Base whose primary mission is support of the space program and which is now a shadow of its former self. Tens of thousands of layoffs and lost jobs. What a shame. Anyway, it remains a good marina with a large commissary and exchange within walking distance. A good place to reprovision and is our last military stop before Key West. We arrived at 1430 and four different people we’ve met cruising came by to greet us before the cocktail hour. Lots of friendly military folks here.

Cooking: I do most of the breakfasts and many of the lunches on board plus the occasional dinner. Our 3 burner electric stove has small burners and it is difficult to get pots/pans to fit on them. Additionally the stove is surrounded with a stainless steel railing to keep pots and pans from sliding off at sea. About the only way to get a decent size skillet on one of these burners is to have a square one that fits in the corner of the railiings. I have been looking for 6 months for a square skillet with 1” sides to fit our stove. Well, I finally found one at the Exchange and it’s by Paula Dean. I like Paula and have watched her show occasionally for several years. As her fame grew, so did she, and I started calling her “Pudgy Paula”, much to the Queen’s consternation. Anyway, PP came through with the perfect skillet and I am now a happy cooker on board. Ain’t life grand !

We had a great three day stay at PAFB. We enjoyed cocktails with Roger and Jackie on “Pelican”. Both are retired Navy Captains (0-6) and delightful people who we first met in South Carolina. Bob and Judy on “Sanderling” who we met on Lake Champlain came aboard for cocktails and took us out to dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant. Bob also took us in his car for a run to the commissary for provisioning. Nice folks who we hope to see again.
While we were at PAFB we got to participate in their “Wounded Warriors” program. About 30 wounded vets came to the marina and were entertained with food, music and drinks. It is a yearly event and very well attended. Those who have been wounded in the service of our country deserve our highest respect and thanks. They enjoyed the evening and seemed very appreciative of the active duty and retired folks who were there to honor them. It was our privilege to participate.
We departed PAFB and had a nice day cruising to Vero Beach where we tied at the City Marina. There is a lovely yacht club next door who invited us to use their facilities, but have no guest dockage. We ran into Arne Myrseth and his wife Bev. Arne had been a sales rep for Grass Hardware and sold us hinges for our cabinets when we owned our millwork company. I took them sailing our C&C 29 on Lake Rathbun in Iowa and they liked it so much that they bought a sailboat for Lake Perry near their Kansas City home. They then moved up to a C&C 34+ and now have a Catalina 42 which they have retired on. They sail to the Bahamas often and have a condo in New Bern, NC. Good to catch up with an old friend.
We are really quite surprised that out of some 300 boats in Vero Beach, we seem to be the only boat decorated for Christmas and showing Christmas lights at night. Not sure why, but I am trying to find out.
Vero Beach has a free shuttle bus which we took to town for breakfast and runs to West Marine and Publix supermarket. Underway froom Vero Beach at 1030, we had a rainy trip to Sunset Bay (Stuart) where we reconnected with Mike and Renee Curreri from “Blue Grotto” and their golden retriever “Luca”. We celebrated having just gone over 20,000 miles of cruising with a great Italian dinner that evening at Casa Bella Italian Restaurant.
Rain, rain, rain — over 3” overnight and Saturday morning with no signs of it stopping anytime soon. We commandeered the boaters’ lounge for the Army/Navy game and a BYOB party of about 20 veterans. Mike led the Navy cheerleading (he is an Annapolis graduate). Navy won for the 11th year in a row!
Sunday morning, we had the Blue Grotto crew for breakfast on QAR and then all went to the local farmers’ market. The rain finally stopped and we got underway for Palm Beach, where we reconnected with “Izzy-R” for cocktails while we were both anchored in Lake Worth. Our anchorage is a stone’s throw from Jack Nicklaus’s house and dock. There is a 45’ sport fisherman and about an 80’ motor yacht on the dock, which I assume are his. But, there was no sign of the “Golden Bear”.
Between Vero Beach, Stuart and Palm Beach there must be 200-300 boats (mostly sail) waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. They have been waiting 4 weeks as the winds have been consistently strong from the north and east. When the wind blows that way against the north flowing Gulf Stream it builds up very short and steep seas up to 10 and 12 feet. Not something you want to be in for a 12 hour crossing in the open ocean! It will be quite a flotilla when the weather finally breaks and the fleet can cross.
We had an interesting radio chat with folks on a 42’ sailboat that had just returned from the Bahamas. Their home port is Jackson, Tennessee, as is ours. There can’t be very many boats around with Jackson on the transom. We also saw a sailing ketch with the home port of Pocahontas, Iowa. That is a pretty small Iowa town and there can’t be many boats with that as a hailing port either. Both towns are landlocked!
We spent the night at Old Port Cove Marina in Palm Beach as 30 knot winds were forecast, and that is a bit much at anchor. For the second time since we have been cruising, I saw an American Flag on a boat that was so bad it brought a tear to my eye. About 2” of it left on the front edge. I went to the marina store, bought a new one and presented it to the two young sailors as a gift to their boat. They were obviously short on funds and appreciated the new flag. I also relearned something I had forgotten. There is no sales tax on our country’s flag.
On Tuesday morning we cruised to Delray Beach and docked at the marina of old friend and fraternity brother, Terry Persily. Many, many years ago, on one of our college “road trips” in Terry’s purple GTO, I met Jeannie Bracie. She was the cutest little sorority girl I’d ever seen and I introduced her to Terry in hopes she’d find him a date for the evening. Terry really liked her, so I wound up with her girl friend who I never saw again. Terry and Jeannie married a couple of years later and have been together ever since. Terry is a great cook and we had a delightful dinner at their condo with some of their friends. It was a great stop with lots of old Colgate memories to relive.
On to Fort Lauderdale and a favorite stop of ours at Cooley’s Landing Marina. It’s well run by the city and is close to downtown shopping and eateries. We’ll stay here a week and then move to Miami Beach for “Christmas in Miami”.

Happy Holidays Ya’ll!!!!!

Bears Bears Bears:
On our drive to Apalachiola we kept seeing road signs for black bears. Ann shouted, “bears!”, and we spun the car around, stopping in front of a cemetery. Sure enough on the far side, about 75 yards away, was a mother bear and a yearling cub. We talked to them — and the cub stood on his hind legs to get a better look at us before they wandered off into the adjacent woods. I guess the signs are right — there are bears in the panhandle of Florida.
We left St. Marys on a chilly morning with our lovely clean boat all dirty from the high winds which had foamed up the river and the blown the foam all over the boat leaving big brown splotches. UGH ! Crossing into Florida we travelled on down the ICW to the St. Johns River and the fishing town of Mayport. Mayport is also home to the Navy Base where I was stationed for three years on Destroyers. We could see the masts of the Navy warships in the distance, which naturally brought back memories of my time stationed there and especially of the very special evening at the Officers Club where I met my Queen Ann.
I have probably told this story before, but indulge me in a little nostalgia. The Navy invited college educated young ladies in the community to the O Club Wednesday evenings to meet the junior officers. The Navy properly called it “Blue & Gold” or “Stars & Bars”. The junior officers more affectionately called it “Hogs and Dogs” or “Bores and Whores”. That notwithstanding, it is where I met the adorable little Southern redhead who stole my heart and has been my lover, roommate, crew, Queen and best friend for 42 years. What a lucky man I am!
We spent the night at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach and reunited with Jeff & Izzy on the Izzy-R, our buddy boat for over 7,000 miles. It was a grand reunion after two months since Annapolis, and we celebrated with a wonderful dinner at Marker 32 Restaurant at the marina. Also interesting was the used car dealership which has sprung up in the roadside section of the marina building. Not exactly your normal used car dealer, we met the owner and saw the following in stock: 3 Porsches, 2 Ferraris, a classic GTO & Corvette, a Viper, a Bentley, a Maseratti, a Lambourgini and an Aston Martin. Most were in the 150 to 250K range. A treat to see so many of the truly great motorcars of the world all in one place. I know what you are thinking “What, no Rolls Royce ?” Yes, they have a Rolls Royce too, but it was off site for detailing.
Another lovely warm cruising day of 50 miles and we tied to the dock of Bill and Einie Stein in Palm Coast. My sister Hope and Einie have been life-long friends and this is the third time we’ve stopped to spend the night with them. Einie (a Swedish name) has been fighting breast cancer, is almost through with treatments and doing very well. It was great to see how good she looked and what great spirits she is in. We keep her in our prayers.
After a wonderful breakfast at the Steins, we got underway for Daytona Beach and tied at the Halifax River Yacht Club. This is a large, elegant club right on the ICW and, after helping us dock, the harbormaster Brian took us on a tour of the facility. This is the oldest club in its original location on the eastern seaboard of the US. It was founded in 1896 and a hall full of memorabilia are displayed, depicting the club’s colorful history. There is a wonderful picture of the club’s third Commodore smiling, smoking a big cigar and surrounded by lovely ladies. He had built the casino just down the street and the house of ill repute associated with it. No wonder the big smile! The members and staff are extremely friendly and the docks were abuzz with folks decorating for the Christmas Boat Parade to be held Saturday night. We had a drink in the bar adjacent to the main dining room and watched as several hundred members in Christmas attire dined and trimmed the tree. This club is simply a delight to visit. We had tried to stay here several times previously, but this is the first time they had guest dockage for us. Next time we’ll make reservations well in advance.
HRYC was able to accommodate us for a second night so we walked the downtown on Beach Blvd. and had breakfast at a delightful outdoor café. Weather in low 70’s and sunny. There is a famous chocolate factory here, Angell & Phelps, and we took a tour of their manufacturing facility, sampled some of their wares and came home with some purchases. Even The Queen (who, if the truth be known, is a bit of a chocolate snob) was duly impressed. A walk to the nearby West Marine store provided some needed bits and pieces. We dug out the Christmas decorations and QAR is now decked out in holiday dress. The tree is trimmed, the stockings are hung near where I keep my pipes (closest thing we have to a chimney) and every night we nestle in our bed. The world is good.
Jeff & Izzy joined us on board for cocktails then we all went to the Flag Room of the Club for a delicious dinner. The escargot, steak and rack of lamb were excellent and they even put a Past Commodores flag on the table for us. A touch of class which distinguishes really good clubs.
On Saturday morning, the farmers market at the Jackie Robinson ball park provided fresh produce for the larder and breakfast at a Cajun bistro got us fueled up for the big move of the day. We had to vacate our dock at HRYC as they needed the space for their members who are “dressing ship” for tonight’s big lighted boat parade. We repositioned two miles north to the Sunset Harbor Yacht Club where our first night is free with reciprocity from our home club. A lovely and large facility which was supposed to have a large condo next door before the real estate bust hit. It is now used for weddings, banquets, parties and balls in addition to member events. Santa will arrive by boat tonight to greet the member’s children and hear their Christmas wishes. There is also a private party for 400 tonight in addition to the regular bar and dining room activities. A busy place and we have the catbird seat at our dock on the ICW to watch the boat parade. Two delightful clubs within two miles and our three nights cost $80 which is the price for one night at the municipal marina. A good deal all around. (Between the military marinas, yacht clubs and discounts on marinas and fuel through Boat US, MTOA & AGLCA, we save significantly on our maritime travel expenses.)
About 25 boats participated in the parade and some of the decorations were really elaborate. The boats passed about 30 yards from us so the view was just great. We sounded our horn in appreciation as each one passed. A great way to end our 3 day visit to Daytona. This morning we headed south to Titusville, but without our buddy boat Izzy-R. She is having prop nut issues and will likely be here a few more days getting repaired.

The small town of St. Mary’s hosts a Thanksgiving dinner for sailors. When we departed Tuesday a week ago, there were over 40 boats anchored and another 40 or so docked here. When we returned on the Friday after Thanksgiving, there were over 100 boats at anchor. This is probably the biggest Thanksgiving gathering of sailors on the east coast and people make it a destination cruise stop. On our dock were a couple from the UK who sailed their Najad 40 across the pond and will cruise on to Cuba and South America. An Australian father/son team bought a Ted Brewer designed 45 footer here and will be sailing her through the Panama Canal and back home. Without exaggeration, there are boats from around the world here for week of holiday celebrations. In addition to the Thanksgiving dinner, the city has several other events over several days, like a jazz night in the park.

However, we had other plans for Thanksgiving, and after Enterprise picked us up, we had a leisurely drive across northern Florida to Apalachiola in the northern Panhandle. We took some back roads where we saw nothing but cattle ranches & pine tree logging “camps. Passing by a small cemetary, Ann said she saw a couple of bears. We turned the car around & then spent about 5 minutes watching a mother black bear & her half grown cub (didn’t get too close) — exciting to see.

Apalachiola is renowned for its excellent oysters — the best in the world, in my opinion. We took the causeway out to St. Georges Island where friends Jim and Karen from Des Moines had rented a beach house on the Gulf. Several members of their familes were there and we had a houseful for the holiday.

On Wednesday, Jim had chartered a fishing boat and guide. The five guys headed to the West Pass out of Apalachiola Bay where we drift fished with the tide. I landed an 8lb. Redfish, which was a keeper. Bob landed a real lunker, 26 lbs and 37 “. This was over the size allowed and released. I then hooked into another big one which took 25 minutes to get into the boat. It was 23 lbs and 36”. A lot of fun — my arm was sore. He was over the size limit too and was released. We then did some flats fishing and the 12 year old boy Charlie boated seven small redfish. Those were too small to keep. All and all, it was a great day on the bay with over 20 fish landed. Cocktails and beef stroganoff fished off a great day. While we were fishing, the “girls” enjoyed great lunch of oysters & finalized plans & shopping for dinner the next day.

It was a laid back Thanksgiving with brunch at 10 and dinner at 6. I managed to get a dozen oysters in between the two. Turkey with all the trimmings and even chestnut stuffing which I haven’t had in 40 years.
Friday morning we said fond farewells and began a leisurely treck back across northern Florida. We picked up a bag of oranges which we’ll juice for breakfasts on board. We needed a new juicer and bought an electric one at the Navy Exchange.

As it cost less to rent the car for a week rather than the five days we needed it, we had wheels for visits to the Navy Submarine Base at nearby Kings Bay. We have 6 Trident, Ohio Class, ballistic missile subs stationed here as well a couple of Los Angles Class nuclear attack subs. It is a newer base founded in the 80’s with a medium sized commissary and exchange. It was also less to rent a slip at the marina for a weekly rate than 5 days, so we spent a week based at St. Marys. It is a nice old historic town with good restaurants and nice shops, not to mention a good submarine museum. We’ve enjoyed getting to know this part of south Georgia, but now we’re ready to move on to Florida. We’ve been in shorts and flip flops for the last 10 days, but the weather is turning and it is time to follow the warmer temperatures South.

I forgot to share one of the best things about being at Louis and Dianne’s beach house. They always give us the downstairs guest room with bath and the four towels Dianne has hanging in the bath kind of sum up the whole beach house mentality. They are as follows: “If you are lucky enough to be at the beach, you are lucky enough”. “You will always be my best friend, you know too much”. “You never know how many friends you have until you buy a beach house”. And my all time favorite “Guests of guests may not bring guests” 

On Monday, November 7, Robert Creech cast off our lines at 0800 and we departed on a cool, sunny morning from Southport. Thanks, again, Robert & Kay for a great time in your town. The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) wanders through the low country (marshes) and passes little beachside towns. It is peaceful when there isn’t much traffic. We arrived at Coquina Harbor in North Myrtle Beach in the early afternoon. Frank Erwin, a Past President of MTOA, lets us use his vacant slip there and we always enjoy the stop. This is a large marina and home to the Myrtle Beach yacht Club, with a pool, restaurant and all the amenities.
We soon found “Licker” had come for a visit and was wandering around the boat. He is a nice orange cat that lives on the dock since his owner passed away and is cared for by the liveaboards there. We are into OPPs (other people’s pets) as we no longer have one and it is always fun to have an animal to pet for a time. Licker is very affectionate and will take all the petting you want to give, and then some.
It was another nice cruising day past the many beach towns surrounding Myrtle Beach. There are golf courses galore here and a dozen or so that front the ICW. One even has a gondola ski lift to take golfers from the parking lot over the ICW to the clubhouse and course on the other side (while our clubs are onboard, they get very little use).
We stopped for fuel at Osprey Marina which had the lowest prices in the state and topped off with 150 gallons of diesel. Finding marina rates and fuel prices was a real chore when we started cruising. I’d get on the cell phone and make 10 or 20 calls and perhaps still miss the best price. Now with web sites by Waterway Guide, Active Captain and others, it is a five minute point and click job on the computer. The technology is amazing and saves a lot of time.
We cruised down the Waccamaw River, which Ann and I think is one of the prettiest we’ve encountered. Unspoiled, it winds through the abandoned rice patty fields of the old South. This area once supplied rice to the world and the area had many rice plantations. One or two remain as tourist sites. We docked at Georgetown, SC which is a quaint little town of good shops and eateries. It is a stop we always look forward to and the friendly folks at Hazard Marina always remember and warmly welcome us.
Underway at 0830 it was a warm and partly sunny day. We were both in shorts and T-shirts by 0900 with temps at 80. Love it  There isn’t much between Georgetown and Charlestown except marsh lands, but they are pretty with lots of birds and the occasional dolphin by the inlets to the sea. We anchored at Dumerees Creek about 20 miles north of Charleston. The shores are covered with oysters and Ann immediately wanted the dingy launched to retrieve some. However, a sign on the bank of the creek indicates the number to call if you wish to lease this oyster bed from the state and unless you do you are “strictly prohibited from harvesting shellfish”. Damn ! Our new oyster shucking knife will remain in the drawer.
Fog thick enough to cut with a knife delayed our departure from anchorage until 0930. Even then we crawled down the ICW with the RADAR, GPS and AIS all helping to keep us in the channel and out of harm’s way. Much like flying the plane on instruments, you trust your gauges and stay safe. We made the Charleston Maritime Center at 1130 following the “Northern Highway” , a 617’ car carrier full of Japanese 4 wheelers, into port. We took a pedicab to the old French Quarter for lunch at the Fleet Landing Restaurant. During WWI & WWII the Navy anchored many of its large warships in the harbor and took sailors by launch to Fleet Landing for liberty ashore. It is now a nice waterfront restaurant which maintains many of the old photos and Navy memorabilia from the past. It is a favorite stop of ours for lunch.
My second to last tour of duty in the Navy before retiring was as Commanding Officer of USS Semmes DDG-18 based out of Charleston. She was a guided missile destroyer of the Adams Class measuring almost 500’ with a crew of 350 men and 14 officers. The last time I put to sea and returned in her was from the Cooper River in Charleston, which we sailed up today. More than a touch of nostalgia for this old, retired Destroyer Skipper.
Charleston was, for over 100 years, a major Navy Base and Naval Shipyard. It was surpassed on the East coast only by Norfolk, the largest Naval base in the world. Sadly the Navy has departed, the base and yard are gone and the Naval history in this bastion of the Old South is but a faded memory. It is especially poignant for me to see the Navy gone, as this is where my Naval career culminated with command of one of our country’s warships. Sad, but still good to be back on the Cooper River. The current in this river hasn’t changed. It challenged my ship handling skills 25 years ago and did so today, albeit I am driving something a bit smaller these days 
We had picked out Mercado, an Italian restaurant in the French Quarter for dinner. It did not disappoint. The lasagna and chicken parmesan were superb. A “pedicab” ride home finished a great day in Charleston.
We had a long motor the next day to B&B Seafood dock. There is no town here, just the commercial shrimping pier, the seafood seller and room for two visiting boats. We bought a pound of shrimp and cooked them up for dinner. In the past we have been fortunate enough to catch local oystermen bringing in their catch and been able to buy some dirt cheap. Unfortunately, no oystermen this evening and B&B only sells them by the bushel for $25. That is about six dozen and we couldn’t possibly eat that many. Aw shucks, nothing to shuck! We did meet a very nice retired Navy couple Roger and Jackie on the Great Harbor 37 “Pelican”. Both are retired Navy Captains ( O-6) and both had been stationed at one time at NAS Boca Chica (Key West) where we are headed and have a permanent slip. Nice folks who we hope we see again.
We departed at 0800 for a great day of cruising to Hilton Head, SC. There are four yacht clubs listed there in the American Yacht Club Directory. Two were out of the way and one had no guest dockage. I called the fourth and was told we would be welcomed with a “letter of introduction” from our home club. I e-mail our home club, YYC, and they faxed a letter introducing Past Commodore Evans. That worked and we tied in front of the absolutely lovely South Carolina Yacht Club. The office manager and club manager were there to handle our lines and welcome us.

This is a large, elaborate club with formal and informal areas, ala RCYC. The upstairs bar ( Chartroom) is built like the interior of a ship right down to the teak and holly floor and decorated with half models of every J boat ever built. Lots of models of old “woodies” (antique mahogany speedboats) and marvelous old pictures of the J-Boat era. They required a letter of introduction which we got around by a call to YYC, but I have asked the Commodore for a letter of introduction that I can carry with me. This is the third time we have been asked for such. This club is just wonderful and very friendly. The $50 guest fee is far less than any commercial marina in the area. Their Friday evening roast beef special was just magnificent and the Queen’s steak was superb. The club manager, Dana, went out of his way to make us welcome and even put a small Past Commodore’s flag on our table. This is a classy touch that I have seen in few of the 100 + clubs I have visited. I told him how much I appreciated it and that his club was in very good company. Our home club at YYC does this and the only others I have seen do it are the St. Francis YC in San Francisco, the San Diego YC, the St. Petersburg YC and RCYC ( Royal Canadian Yacht Club). That puts them in a pretty rarefied atmosphere.
I had the club’s continental breakfast for $5 the next morning. Nothing “continental” about it. Eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. etc. What a delightful find was SCYC and we shall return. We went through the small lock from the harbor and back into the Calibogue Sound heading south. We passed the famous red and white stripped light house at Harbor Town which you see in the commercials for Hilton Head and during the PGA tournament they hold there the week after the Masters in Augusta. Past Savannah and Thunderbolt. Docked there for a refit is Mirabella V, the largest single masted sailing yacht in the world. She is 250’ long with a 300’ mast and spreads 36,000 sq. ft. of sail. Truly impressive, she will exceed 20 knots under sail. We could see the mast over the marsh lands of Georgia from 15 miles away. We went on past Isle of Hope and it was a delightful day of cruising 64 miles to our anchorage at Cow Pen Creek, GA. (Try to find that on your Google map) Peaceful and serene with a gorgeous red sunset, we are the only boat anchored here for the night. As the sailors say “red sky at night, sailors delight” so tomorrow should be good weather.
Another marvelous day of cruising with sun, warm weather, light winds and calm seas. It just doesn’t get any better than this. We docked at Jekyll Island, Georgia (near Brunswick) for the night. This is home to the famous Jekyll Island Club (now a hotel) where J.P Morgan, Vanderbilt, DuPont and others spent their winters, back in the day. A lovely stop we have enjoyed before.
Cruising Georgia is a challenge. Seven large open sounds bordering the sea connected by shallow narrow cuts where boats frequently run aground. It takes constant diligence at the helm to keep the boat safe and most folks are usually glad to get through the state. However, there are good stops and towns like Savannah, St. Simon Island, Jekyll Island and Brunswick are charming and make it fun.
We docked at Lang’s Marina in St. Mary’s, Georgia where we have stayed several times before. We will leave QAR here for several days while we rent a car and drive to Apalachicola on the Florida panhandle to visit good Iowa friends Jim MacKay and Karen Reichart who are renting a beach house there for Thanksgiving. The blog will continue after the holiday. Ann and I have so very, very much to be thankful for, not the least of which are the friends and family who read our blog. We wish you all ya’ll a very Happy Thanksgiving !

Last Monday, we made port at Coral Bay Marina at 1400 where Louis had arranged a free dock for QAR. He pulled up just as we secured lines and the party began. Dianne arrived a short time later and invited us to spend a couple of days with them at their lovely Beach House. The home is at Atlantic Beach with the ocean at its back a couple of blocks and the back deck overlooks Bogue Sound and the skyline of Morehead City, NC. There is no finer place for cocktails than in the rocking chairs on their deck looking at the marvelous view. Dinner followed at Cox’s, which is our favorite place for “meat & three”. For those of you not raised in the South (bless your hearts) that is the meat entrée and three side dishes from a list of about 30. Good southern stuff like collards, butter beans, sting beans and sweet potatoes. The special that night was turkey and with all the sides — it was a full Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings three weeks early. Mmmmm, Mmmm, Good !!
Dianne prepared a wonderful breakfast to start our day which mainly involved shopping ( i.e. ladies finding treasures) and boat work ( guys working on broken stuff with help from West Marine) Of course lunch at the famous Smithfields BBQ highlighted the mid-day. More cocktails on the deck with a visit from friend Frank Erwin, a Past President of MTOA, and a take-away dinner from the famous Bo-Jangles Chicken. This chain is spreading slowly out of the deep south, but it puts the Colonel, Chik-Fil-a and Popeyes to shame. If you happen across one of these in your travel, stop and try it. You’ll be glad you did.
Louis and Dianne Wade are the people they used for models when they wrote the book on “Southern Hospitality”. Delightful and entertaining, they will make you feel at home to the point where you won’t want to ever leave. We so much enjoy our visits with these wonderful friends and will look forward to seeing them in Marathon and Key West this winter.
After another great breakfast, they took us to QAR and we shared fond farewells before departing at 0900 for a delightful day of cruising to Surf City, NC and the Beach House Marina, arriving at 1600.
Note: Damn standard time! Typing away on the sundeck of QAR and the sun just set at 1710 (5:10 for you landlubbers). Ugh! I hate the short days of winter. (Note to self : Get South old man and quick!)
Note to all: Happy Veterans Days. We have a boat on one side flying the Marine Corps flag and one on the other flying the Air Force flag. Of course, Queen Ann’s Revenge flies the Navy flag.
Thanks to all who have served and made this the greatest free nation on earth. God Bless America !
Another nice cruising day and on down the ICW, through Snow’s Cut and into the Cape Fear River. We docked at Southport, met by legendary harbor host for both AGLCA and MTOA, Robert Creech. Much to our delight “Jim N I” docked alongside a couple of hours later (cruising friends we haven’t seen for almost two years). Kay Creech cooked a wonderful ham dinner and we all enjoyed a wonderful evening at their waterside home on the harbor. Robert and Kay have been recognized by both organizations for their exceptional efforts in making visiting yachtsmen feel welcome. We’re welcome, not only at their home, but also at their truck (the keys are always under the mat of the pickup in the driveway for trips to the grocery, Walmart or whatever else you may need). Jay & Susan on “Sails” showed up and we all had a delightful dinner at Mr. P’s. Saturday morning, the other two boats took off, but as the mail was not delivered on Veterans Day, we had to wait for the Saturday mail delivery. Jim was a Marine, Robert was in the Army in Nam so we all had a wonderful Veterans Day together. Ann’s sister, Gene, had mailed a box full of her wonderful canned goods & used our mail to pad the box – all arrived intact. And Ann’s cousins, Judi & Mark, sent a box of New Yorker magazines to Robert & Kay’s address. We were so thankful for a mail drop!
Saturday evening we had a farewell dinner with Robert & Kay at the Provision Company and made ready for our departure Sunday morning. It is simply a delight to spend time with them in their charming little town of Southport.

It was calm as a millpond for the 35 miles down the North River and across the Albermarle Sound to Alligator River Marina. This establishment is a gas station, café, general store and marina all combined at the end of the three mile bridge crossing the mouth of the Alligator River. There is nothing within 20 miles, cell phone service is marginal and the internet is iffy, at best. This proprietor of this whole dog and pony show is Ms. Wanda. She is a “strong” woman and runs the place with an iron hand. Everywhere you turn there are signs by Ms. Wanda telling what you can and cannot do. Heaven help you if your dog is unleashed and not in the designated doggie play area. According to the sign, Ms. Wanda will require you, your boat and your dog to leave immediately and no refund will be given. If you see Ms. Wanda coming round the corner in her big old Caddy, you better straighten up and fly right, cause nobody messes with Ms. Wanda. On the bright side, the food is pretty good and the country ham “bikets” for breakfast are excellent 
We departed in the rain with three power and four sailboats for an easy day down the Alligator River and the Alligator/Pungo River Canal. This is a boring 20 mile long ditch with exactly one turn in the middle. The Pungo River was choppy and we listened all day to forecasted Gale Warning starting that evening. About 5 miles below Belhaven, the rain finally stopped and we swung west into Jordan Creek and tied at the RRYC docks. A Navy friend, Bud Seeling, used to keep his boat here and this is our 4th time to stay at the River Rats Yacht Club (yes, you’ll even find this listed in the American Yacht Club Directory). The club burgee looks like the head of Mickey Mouse, but the people are super friendly. The facilities are modest and they never charge us dockage. Cell phone service maybe if you stand on the bridge on your tippy toes, but usually not. Wi-Fi from the club, but we are far enough into the boondocks that our Verizon air card doesn’t work. We are so far into the boondocks that good friend and lifelong NC resident Louis Wade, who we will stop and see in Morehead City, didn’t know where we were and had to look on his state map to find us.
The gale winds blew all night and bounced us around. They blew all day and bounced us some more. We were invited for homemade pizza at the clubhouse and the winds blew all night again. Finally this morning the winds abated and we got an early 0730 start. As we had broken a throttle cable to the bridge, I had to drive from down below to get underway. We had to run down to the inside steering station every time we needed to change speed on the port engine. We had some rocking and rolling on the Pamlico Sound left over from the two day gale, but not too bad. We arrived at River Dunes Marina near Oriental at noon. This is always a favorite stop. A country club like setting with good restrooms & showers. There’s a pool, billiards, bikes and even croquet on the lawn. At 60 degrees (air), the pool will have to wait for another day. We’ll have hamburgers on board tonight & tomorrow we’ll travel about 35 miles to Morehead City & a couple of days with our friends Diane & Louis.

It took a couple of days to recover from the Red Eye out of LAX back to the East Coast. Once back to Norfolk, we got an Enterprise car on their weekend deal — $9.99 per day. Picked us up at the Navy Marina Friday morning and returned us there on Monday morning and the bill was $34. How the heck they do that is beyond me, but we sure like it! Jack Taylor who founded Enterprise was a Navy fighter pilot in WWII flying of the original USS Enterprise in the Pacific. He is 85 and lives much of his time on his Mega yacht the VF-15. We saw her several times in Maine. VF-15 was the name of his fighter squadron.
We have toured around the Hampton Roads area several times, so we didn’t need to do that again. We re-provisioned and made a run to the exchange along with other errands. Ann had some of her favorite Bo-Jangles Chicken. (A southern chicken chain that is just way better than Chic Filet a, Popeye’s or The Colonel). Boat chores got done (five loads of laundry) and we got the new AIS system working. That gives us info on all the ships in the area and commercial vessels so we can call them by name and avoid collisions with them.
We departed Little Creek Monday to avoid the forecast 6’ waves on Tuesday. We tried for a free dock coupon we had gotten at the Annapolis Show in Hampton, VA., but they were full-up with sailboats mustering for the start of the Caribbean 1300 rally. About 40 boats will depart together, when they get a good weather window, and sail to the BVI’s. There’s safety in numbers and they have a large powerboat mother ship with them. So we wound up at Old Point Comfort Marina at Ft. Monroe for the night. This had been a military marina until about 3 months ago when the Army closed the Fort. The marina is not nearly as well-managed under civilian control, as it was by the military.
We had a nice cruise from Old Point Comfort past the Navy Base at Norfolk, the largest in the world. About twenty ships in port, including the carriers USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and the USS Eisenhower (CVN-70). As the largest warships in the world, it’s pretty impressive. Norfolk is also one of the largest seaports in the world with dozens of ships from all over the globe. In downtown at the Nautilus Center rests the USS Wisconsin (BB-64), one of the 4 Iowa Class Battleships from WWII. These were the largest Battleships built by the allies and sported 16” guns that could fire over 22 miles (The German ships Bismarck and Graff Spey were about the same size and had 18” guns).
On Tuesday, we docked at Top Rack Marina on the Elizabeth River and fueled. Thank heavens for the Internet which lets us shop for Diesel prices anywhere and find the best deal. Unlike the gas stations on opposite corners, there is significant variation in marine fuel prices and when you are buying several hundred gallons, 10 cents makes a difference. If you buy fuel and eat at their Amber Lantern Restaurant, overnight dockage and electricity are free. Fortunately, the food is great and we had a delightful meal.
Chilly and clear we were underway at 0900 for the bridge opening. We waved “hi!” to good friends Mike and Renee Curreri and their dog Luca whose boat ‘Blue Grotto” was out of the water at Atlantic Yacht Basin getting its bottom painted. One lock and four bridges later we were free to head on south and arrived at Midway Marina in Coinjock, NC at 1500. We had hoped for good weather to transit south via the Outer Banks of NC (Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Hatteras and Ocracoke). We had done that this spring and it was a delightful journey. Unfortunately, the weather does not look conducive, so we will take the inside route on the ICW. We’re here at Midway Marina in Coinjock, NC for the night. This marina & the one across the channel are both very full for the night of boats heading south for the winter.