July 13, 2014

With Arthur safely past it was time to resume cruising. But first we needed to visit one of our favorite restaurants, the Cape Breton Smokehouse. Situated in a beautiful log home in the middle of nowhere and run by a German couple who also live in the house, this is one of the more interesting restaurant experiences we have had. Braving serious mosquitoes, Brad and Lorraine from Adventure (the Nordhavn 55 who also hid from Arthur in Little Harbour) picked us up in their tender and we headed ashore. There are the remains of a dock, but it is so badly damaged by wood worms that is has collapsed. So the owner/chef/dockmaster met us at the shore to help us secure the tender and get us to dry land. Then it’s a short hike up to the house where the second level is a stunning restaurant with beautiful views. We asked to visit Bonnie, the resident Russian wolfhound who we had met last year and she was brought out for a visit. Then we enjoyed a wonderful meal of smoked salmon and fresh local seafood. The salmon is smoked on site and is wonderful so we asked for some “to go”. They had an entire half salmon, which we bought and split with Brad and Lorraine. The mosquitoes were even more savage on the return trip and had us dancing and swatting as the chef again helped us board and launch the tender.

Brad, Lorraine, Kathy and Bradley at Cape Breton Smokehouse

Then it was time to move on to Baddeck. Brad (short for Bradford, not Bradley) and Lorraine decided to follow us so we got underway in beautiful conditions. We were about half a mile ahead of Adventure as we approached a bridge which needed to open for us so we decided to conduct a man-overboard drill in order to kill some time and allow Adventure to catch up so that we could both pass through the bridge in one opening. We threw a life ring overboard and then Bradley maneuvered the boat back around while I retrieved it with a boat hook from the swim platform. While not exactly the same as retrieving a person from the water, we do this drill from time to time, alternating our roles, just to ensure we know what to do in the event of an emergency. As you will see in the next post, it turned out to be good to practice this maneuver!

Shear Madness passing through the bridge at Grand Narrows (photo by Brad/Adventure)

Soon we were safely through the bridge and we decided to stop for a visit to Iona, where there is a re-creation of a Highlands village. Here we learned a lot about the history of Nova Scotia – it is a walking tour with people dressed in period costumes recreating life from different eras, beginning with Scotland and progressing through the early Century in Nova Scotia. It includes several authentic buildings that have been re-located from various sites in Nova Scotia. The most impressive is the church, which was brought to Iona via the water on a large barge. From there, it was driven several kilometers to its current location atop a large hill overlooking the water, requiring the temporary moving of power lines along the way. The story of its journey was very interesting and it is a beautiful landmark for all who pass by on the water!  After a great walk and enjoyable visit we were soon back on our boats, enjoying a pleasant and scenic cruise to Baddeck, just a couple hours away.

Brad helps with the anchor roller (see the wrench on Lorraine’s lap)

After dropping our anchor and preparing to attach the snubber line, Bradley noticed that the large bolt holding the anchor roller in place was loose and nearly off. If this bolt comes out, the entire anchor roller would have fallen into the water. So now we had a bit of a problem – the anchor was out resulting in lots of weight on the anchor roller. In order to tighten the bolt, we would have to figure out how to remove the weight of the anchor and then tighten the bolt. Since we have two anchors and two windlasses (the winch that is used to lower and raise the anchor), we engaged the second windlass and used it to lower the second anchor just far enough to allow the snubber line to be brought up through the port roller to take the tension off the anchor chain. The starboard side anchor chain was then raise up and over a crowbar, allowing access to the bolt. Brad and Lorraine from Adventure came over in their tender and with Bradley working from above and Brad working from below, we soon had the bolt tightened and back in working order.

Once safely anchored in Baddeck, we enjoyed some shore time, swiming and kayaking. We met some interesting folks too. First was the crew of Novara, a 60-foot sailboat tied to the town dock. The 4-man crew included the owner, Steve, who is a serious mountain climber, an Englishman, a Scot, and a New Zealander. We had a delightful visit with them and discussed their imminent departure to transit the Northwest Passage and our plans to visit Greenland. We started talking to the Kiwi chap (Ding) about New Zealand and how we had cruised there in our sailboat, an Oyster 56. Turns out that Steve’s previous boat had also been an Oyster 56 named Curious and that Ding knew the people who had bought our old sailboat – he even had photos of it on his laptop!

Adventure underway

And continuing the “it’s a small world” theme, there was an Australian boat in the anchorage, Odern, and we met Bill and Karen who have spent the past seven years cruising across the Pacific. Again we got to talking about our time in Australia and soon realized we had some good friends in common – Geoff and Geraldine on Blue Dawn, who we had met in Cairns and cruised with off and on and who we keep in touch with.

Our friends aboard Migration were due to meet us in Baddeck and while Bradley was out kayaking, I happened to look up and there they were – arriving a day earlier than expected. They were soon tied up at the public dock where it is easier for Captain Gulliver to go ashore. We got together to review the latest iceberg reports and to firm up plans for our crossing to Greenland. We agreed to head first to Bonne Bay in Newfoundland, then to work our way north as the weather allows, up to the east coast of Labrador and crossing to Greenland as soon as conditions allow. Migration will likely continue on to Europe after visiting Greenland, while we will return to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and then back to the US.

After a visit to the local farmer’s market where we procured some of Bradley’s favorite dark German bread, and a dinner out with Adventure, Migration, and Odern at the local Chinese restaurant, it was time to depart for Newfoundland (new-fund-LAND, rhymes with “understand”).  Migration is delaying their departure by a day to wait for some mail to be delivered so we will cruise with Adventure up to the Bay of Islands on the west coast of Newfoundland before heading to Bonne Bay.

A couple new videos have been posted

Hiding from Arthur at Little Harbour

Norfolk Harborfest (from back in June)

Click any photo to enlarge and please send us your comments. We love to hear from you!

July 5, 2014

We were ready for some R&R by the time we reached Lunenburg so we settled in to a nice anchorage and did a bit of exploring. We met our friend Captain George, who I had met last year at the Fisheries Museum. His wife Wendy was under the weather so we have yet to meet her, but George provided us with a nice bag of Nova Scotia scallops – they were fantastic!  We also had an excellent meal at Magnolia’s Grill but a truly bad one at Dockside, which has a great view but awful food.  We visited the weekly farmer’s market where we got some great German bread, some local wine, and a few other goodies. It was nice to see the Bluenose II back in the water – she is the replica of the famous Lunenburg fishing schooner back after a two-year re-fit in Lunenburg.

Kathy and Captain George

With Canada Day on July 1, we decided to move around the corner to Prince’s Inlet where we were invited to participate in the celebration at the Lunenburg Yacht Club. The move was only two miles as the crow flies, but 15 miles by water as we had to exit Lunenburg Harbor, go around the corner, and then back in to Prince’s Inlet. It was a beautiful day and soon we were tucked in to a nice anchorage just outside the yacht club where we were able to re-connect with several of our friends from last year. Bob and Edey came to the boat for dinner, then invited us to their house where we met Cheryl, who lives in Malaysia most of the year but spends summers in her home country. I also took a walk to see Susan and Paul, who run a B&B which was quite busy, making it impossible for them to come for a visit onboard. We also saw Ron and Nora who were gracious as always. Ron is the two-time former commodore of the Yacht Club and was heavily involved in the Canada Day celebration, which included a wonderful BBQ and a great fireworks display. Of course, this far north you have to stay up a lot later to see fireworks since it’s daylight for more than 16 hours!Our friends Jane and Jamie, who I had met last year at a Nonsuch sailboat rally at the yacht club, drove down from Halifax for a dinner onboard. Jamie, who is a professional photographer, took a beautiful photo of Shear Madness. We wish he could join us on the next legs of our trip as I’m sure the scenery will be spectacular and he’d be the perfect person to capture it.

Shear Madness at Lunenburg Yacht Club (photo by Jamie Morrison)

I was able to go out for a nice bike ride and decided to head out Second Peninsula Road, where last year I had met Wilifred, the 91 year old, who was out tending his garden. At that time his wife was recovering from an accident in a rehab hospital so I was curious as to how they were doing. As I approached the house after a nice uphill ride, I saw two people out painting the porch. Not sure who they were, I decided to stop and inquire. As I approached I noticed a woman sitting on the porch who I correctly surmised was Wilifred’s wife. The painters were their son and granddaughter and I stayed for a nice visit. Wilifred and his wife are doing fine and his garden is as beautiful as ever!

With Tropical Storm Arthur threatening to become a hurricane and visit us in Nova Scotia, we decided it was time to head a bit further north to the Bras D’or Lakes where we would find good protection. Ron was nice enough to chauffeur us to Costco for a final provisioning trip followed by a visit to The Chickenburger, a classic and iconic Halifax eatery, founded in 1940, which we greatly enjoyed. With Arthur now a Category 1 hurricane, we decided to get moving as we had a nice weather window.

Shopping for lobsters right off the boat

Bradley will be providing further details of our passage and storm preparations in a separate post, but our trip was good, marred only by thick fog the entire 30+ hours! This necessitated keeping a very close eye on radar and regular use of our fog horn, but we arrived without incident at the St. Peter’s Canal. In order to enter the Lakes, we need to pass through one lock, so we had a short wait. At the entrance to the canal, a lobster boat had passed us and was docked on the other side of the canal. We shouted over, asking if they had lobsters to sell. The answer was Yes, for $5 a pound! I didn’t waste any time taking two big buckets across to gather six nice lobsters totaling 11 pounds. At least we would have a great pre-hurricane dinner!

Heading through the St. Peter’s Canal in the fog

Soon we were through the canal and glad we had a track to follow to our anchorage at Little Harbor. We had been there last year and our navigation software keeps a record of our previouse “tracks”. As the fog was still heavy, visibility very poor, and the channel a bit tight with some narrow passages, we were navigating mostly by following our previous track with everyone keeping a keen visual watch to identify every marker and every blip spotted on the radar. We arrived safely at our anchorage and soon were securely anchored in a good spot. All that remained was to cook the lobsters! Although it was a nice evening, the flies were out in full force and they bite as if they are starving, so eating outdoors was not an option. Thus, we had to prepare the salon for lobster eating, which was accomplished by spreading out a large work blanket below our table and a sheet as a tablecloth to catch any flying bits of shell or meat. It worked great and Chef Bradley cooked the lobsters to perfection. Half were eaten with the rest safely secured in the fridge for another day.

Now we are just waiting for Arthur to arrive (he has already left the US and made it to the south end of Nova Scotia). It looks like he will be a tropical storm and will bring some moderate winds with some nice gusts, but we are well protected and feel very secure. We will report more very soon as Bradley has promised to deliver a post by tomorrow! Click any photo to enlarge.

June 24, 2014

This post was written by Bradley contemporaneously during the trip in three separate segments as we cruised from Portsmouth RI, to Shelburne and Lunenburg Nova Scotia.  It was edited by the accomplished and charming blogger Kathy Clark.

Bradley’s Dad and Cousin Barry at Barry’s 85th birthday in 2012

The last 12 to 15 months have been very personally challenging.   My father passed away in Sept.  from a multi-year battle with cancer and his brother passed away the day after his internment in Arlington Cemetery in Dec. following a 10+ year battle with dementia.  Then two weeks ago, my oldest cousin, who was also born on April 27^th, my birthday, passed away.  The silver lining has been seeing a lot of family I have not seen in years – 30+ in some cases and even meeting some family I was not aware of.  (Classical story, family feud at the grandfather level that began to thaw in the 90’s and now our generation just laugh at the history.)

As you know from our earlier post this year, we had a nice time in the Bahamas, but experienced a few setbacks upon our return to the States, putting us three weeks behind our original plan to arrive in Nova Scotia in early June.  Given the current temperature, our delay may have been a blessing in disguise.  We have overcome the challenges – we are now on our way to Shelburne, Nova Scotia.  We are both extremely excited and a bit apprehensive for our summer season.  We are meeting a sister ship in Halifax – a Nordhavn 68 named Migration and Captained by Gulliver, a golden doodle and his two crew.  We plan to work our way north to Labrador and if the weather/wind god Zeus, the sea god Poseidon/Neptune and the ice gods are in agreement we will cross over to Greenland.  We plan/hope on cruising the west coast of Greenland and then return via Newfoundland in Sept.  This winter Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Greenland set 30 year records for ice formation & cold temperatures, so we were hoping for a long warm (by local standards) summer and fall season.  We do not plan to return to the US until Oct.

Bridge at the Cape Cod Canal

We departed the Nordhavn docks in Portsmouth, RI on Saturday morning at 8:00 AM with three people aboard – me, Kathy, and Taylor, who is onboard for the summer.  As we cruised south on the Sakonnet River we were able to wave to our good friends the General and Ms. Burney.  We then turned northeast in Buzzard Bay for the Cape Cod Canal.  The trick there is to make sure you enter the western side just as the flood tide begins; otherwise you can face a 3 to 5 knot current against you.  Our timing was perfect, as going up the bay the ebb was in its last hour and then we started to get a little push on the flood.  Going through the canal, we reached speeds of 12.2 and averaged well over 10 knots in a speed zone of 8.5.  We were going so fast, we were concerned about a getting a speeding ticket – can you image a Nordhavn getting a speeding ticket?  On top of great timing, we were having perfect weather – mid 60’s and sunny.

Really calm seas

Once out of the Canal we headed across the Cape Cod Bay towards the northeast corner of Cape Cod – Provincetown & Race Point on a course of NE.  At 18:00 we rounded the point and picked up our route and new course for Shelburne – a heading of 68 degrees.  Until the sun set, we had an afternoon sea breeze blowing from SE at 10 to 15 knots, but once the sun set, the wind behaved exactly as the weather forecaster had predicted.  Sometimes it does happen.  The wind clocked to the S, and then through the night moved west, and dropped to low single digits.  The ocean had been calm to start with having only 1 to 2 foot swell from the SE, but it too settled and moved around to the WNW at less than 1 foot.

I am drafting this update, as we are 8 hours outside Shelburne, just 50 nautical miles West by South West of Cape Sable.  The Air Temp is 58F and the water 50.   I am sitting in long sleeves, with sweater (Jumper for all my Australian/Kiwi friends) and have slippers on.  I just did our standard hourly engine room check – all is fine – and took humor in the fact that the general temperature of  the engine room is 80, with the fans only on half speed.  It is not uncommon for the engine room to be 110 to 115 with fans on full speed.

Shear Madness underway

We have had  “one of those perfect days on the water”.  This morning (Sunday 22 June) I was on watch from 0300 and by 0400 the glow of the rising sun lit the sky in a brilliant red and bright blue glow.  The sun made its appearance at 04:43 and will not set until 20:09 this evening.  The seas have been flat – in fact so flat, that we have yet to engage our stabilizers – large computer controlled fins under the boat that greatly soften any effects of waves on the boat.  If we make it all the way without them, it will be a record trip for us.  We have also seen many elusive sunfish.  They are large fish 5 to 10 feet, which float lazily below the surface with a fin sticking up above the water.  In one case, I had to pull the throttles to neutral to prevent from hitting one, who barely moved, sliding lazily down the starboard side of the boat.

While we have been trailing two fishing lines all day, we have not had a single nibble.  These waters require a different fishing approach, but we thought we would give it a try.  We always bring the fishing lines in at sunset.

Giday – I am back after a nice early morning sleep.  Temp is 65 degrees and will drop into the high 50’s as we cruise north this morning, with perfect blue skies and a light 5 to 10 knot breeze from the South East.  The pleasure of not being hot or sticky and needing a shower every couple of hours is hard to describe.  One can always add some clothing to fight a chill, but there is only so much one can take off at our age, before it gets frightening and very sunburned – LOL.

Sunset from the flybridge

Upon leaving you last night as the sun set, I caught a couple hours of sleep, as I knew I would be on watch well into the morning, becasue our arrival time in Shelburne was projected for 02:00.  One of the most challenging aspects of cruising is entering a new port or anchorage; it is made even more challenging when doing it at night without the moon (it did not choose to make its appearance until we were about to drop the anchor).  After catching a couple of hours of sleep, I came on watch around 22:00.  The first part traveling up the coast was not too difficult, as it is a well marked and lit coast and we have great charting software.  The more challenging aspect was making the port (left) turn into the Shelburne River and heading up the five miles to find an anchorage.  We know from experience (see last years blog) that there are some unmarked fish farms on the way up the river.  The good news was we had marked our chart from last year, had last year’s plot line on the chart and the night was fog free.

As you travel from country to country via boat, you have to check in upon arrival with Customs.  Some countries use it as a opportunity to supplement customs salaries with tips and gifts, others like most French countries, just make it difficult and then there are the select few like Canada that have wonderfully effective systems.  Upon arrival, there is an 800 number you call, you are asked a series of questions, some data bases are searched and if approved you are given a clearance number to post in boat windows.  We dropped the anchor and turned off the engines at 0300 on Monday 23 June.  Our check in process when smoothly and by 04:00 we had a quick drink and were off to bed for nap.

Wake at the stern during Wide Open Throttle run

Kathy and I awoke around 9:00 am and realizing we had a perfect day – light winds, favorable tides – we elected to make the leap to our next port of call – Lunenburg, rather than launch the tender here.  We also know the weather was supposed to change and we might be stuck in Shelburne until Friday or Saturday.  While Shelburne is a lovely little town and we will definitely spend some time there on the way home, we wanted to take advantage of the perfect conditions to move north.  In Lunenburg there is a wonderful museum, a great hiking & riding trail that goes on for hundreds of miles, a golf course, and some of our new friends from last year are close by.  We will wait in this area until Gulliver & Migration joins us.  Their expected departure from Belfast, Maine is Saturday 28 June.  We need some R&R.

By 10:30 we had the anchor up and were underway.  It is a perfect day.  On the way out of the Shelburne river, we met sailboat Hold Fast that we had exchanged radio calls with on the passage, they were just arriving – the advantages of a trawler, especially in such light winds is that we had already had a nice night’s sleep.  While we were looking forward to having drinks with them, we could not pass up this weather to keep heading north.

Below is the first of what I hope to be many pictures for my dear friend Kim in New Zealand of the local lighthouses.  This one is Gall Rock.

Lighthouse at Gall Point

Another day with no stabilizers and a perfect cruise.  I hope we are getting a taste for how the summer season will go, and not spoiled by the perfect conditions.  We arrived in Lunenburg at 19:30 local time, just as the sun was setting.   We are anchored, will launch the tender tomorrow morning during the Generator run and go ashore for a long bike ride – Bradley and a run – Kathy.

We did have one funny incident today (in retrospect) – as we were cruising along, we elected to deploy the fishing lines.  For the first time in my 30 plus years of boating, one of the Canadian government’s illustrious maritime regulatory organizations came roaring up directly in our stern and managed to run directly over our fishing line.  Kathy was working on her computer and heard the line being taken – she started yelling Fish! Fish! not realizing we had actually hooked a boat! So much for one of our favorite lures and some very expensive line.   When I asked him if it was his normal pattern to approach a boat in its blind spot his reply was he had never seen a boat like ours fishing.  It goes without saying, we did not catch any fish and they did not have a clue regarding sea etiquette.

Check out updated book reviews and latest recommendations. Click any photo to enlarge.

Hope you enjoyed the beginning of our adventure.  Look forward to hearing from everyone.  Have a great summer/winter.

The Sea is Selective, slow at Recognition of Effort and Aptitude, but fast in Sinking the Unfit.  – Felix Riesenberg.

June 21, 2014 After a final farewell dinner with John and Sue from Uno Mas and Jimmy from Serenity, we were ready to depart from Portsmouth, VA en route to Portsmouth, RI. The weather was good – not perfect – but we were comfortable and made good time, arriving as scheduled at the Nordhavn dock on the Sakonnet River.  The trip was about 380 miles and took us 48 hours. On the last part of the trip we encountered heavy fog, allowing us a good test of our new Kahlenberg horn controller, which allows us to use our big, loud air horn as an automatic fog horn, sounding one blast every two minutes. It worked well and we kept a close eye on the radar as visibility was very restricted.

With Bradley’s cousin Allan in New York

Upon arriving in Portsmouth, we rented a car for a quick trip to New York for a memorial service for another of Bradley’s uncles and a visit with family. Then it was back to Portsmouth where we changed the oil in both main engines, did a repair to our fuel transfer pump, and shopped around for a good price on diesel fuel. It seems the price of fuel has gone up nearly 20 cents a gallon in the past month, but at least we were able to get a reasonable price for 2849 gallons delivered by tanker. One last problem was our searchlight which was not working. This bright light, mounted on our roof, is a necessity for navigating into harbors at night or in limited visibility (like fog), which we expect plenty of further north. Unable to get the light to work, we called an electrician, who helped us to diagnose the problem – the  system was not getting power and there is a power supply box which is supposed to have a fuse inside. The only problem was figuring out where that power supply box might be. It was finally located in a cabinet in the flybridge and it seems it has an on/off switch which had somehow been turned off – most likely when the Air conditioner guy was crawling around in the cabinet installing a part. Fortunately, we were back up and running quickly.

Kathy with Dave and Ben at Nordhavn office

Before departing, we had a chance to catch up with our good friend and yacht broker Jeff Merrill, visiting from California as well as Ben, Dave, and the young and beautiful Champagne, at the Nordhavn offices. They were, as always, very helpful and friendly. We visited family friends Jack and Mary and also traveled to nearby Exeter for a wonderful dinner with our friends Rob and Tish from Kittiwake, who we had met last year in Nova Scotia. Finally, we had a chance to meet Brad and Lorraine, new owners of a Nordhavn 55. We enjoyed a very nice dinner out with them. So for now, all the repairs are done, we have our bear spray, immersion suits, and cruising guides, and we are underway en route to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. From there, we will meet up with our friends George and Marci and begin our adventures to Newfoundland, Labrador, and possibly Greenland. How far we get will depend on the weather and especially the ice.

Gotta go for now – hoping to start spotting some whales very soon!

June 10, 2014

We left the boat safely secured to the dock in Portsmouth, VA, and headed north by car to Northern Virginia. There we had a great visit with Bradley’s daughter Margy, husband Bryant, and grandson Tyler, who was celebrating his 4^th birthday! We also got to “see” and feel Tyler’s little brother, who is set to enter this world in early July! Everyone is excited about that!

Bradley with Tyler, Margy, and soon-to-be new grandson

A group of Smarthinking employees and friends got together for a reunion lunch at Clyde’s in Georgetown and we also caught up with some good friends for dinner at the wine bar Dolce Veloce, owned by our good friends Joe and Sharon. We also visited with Wolfgang and Christeen and their daughter Sophie, who is growing up fast! Then it was off to a board meeting for me, and then a drive to New York for a memorial service for Bradley’s uncle Richard who passed away in December, the day after his brother – Bradley’s father – was buried at Arlington Cemetery. The service was in Garnerville, NY and we visited the Military Academy at West Point, where I deposited a Vietnam Veterans “geocoin” in honor of Bradley’s father in a geocache at the visitor center. Geocoins are part of geocaching and hopefully this one will be carried by many people to visit military monuments and memorials in honor of Colonel Theodore “Mr. Magnificent” Rosenberg.

The Geocoin and accompanying info placed in the geocache

From NY, we returned to the boat where we continued with preparations for our summer adventures. The plan is to head north to Nova Scotia in mid-June, then to meet up with friends on a Nordhavn 68 in July and to cruise in Newfoundland, Labrador, and if the weather allows , Greenland! As our research has progressed, we have grown increasingly excited and a bit nervous about these plans. Even in summer, icebergs are a hazard, the water is cold, and there is a threat of polar bears should you venture away from your boat. These issues raise questions about safety equipment and bear deterrents. We have purhased two immersion suits –  orange rubbery things that help you survive if you fall into chilly waters. We’ve also elected to use bear spray rather than carry guns for a variety of reasons, including the difficulty of bringing weapons into Canada. We’ve purchased new charts and guidebooks, talked to many people who have cruised these high latitudes, and hope we are prepared for whatever comes our way!

Tall ship in the Parade of Sail

Back in Portsmouth, VA we spent some time with Nordhavn 40 (Uno Mas) owners John and Sue, checking out a great new Mexican restaurant. We also were here for the Norfolk Harbor Fest, which included a chance to see a Parade of Sail with tall ships, military vessels, and many other boats, demos of assault vessels by the US Navy, rescue demonstrations from the US Coast Guard, tuboats playing like they were monster trucks, and a fabulous fireworks display. Friends Gary and Cookie with daughter Ruth visited us and watched the tugboat display from our flybridge – truly a front-row seat. The marina was full and the habor packed with boats for a fun weekend.

Actor Josh Sticklin portraying Austin Hobart Clark

We also met Nordhavn Dreamer John who lives near the marina and had spotted the boat and sent me an email. We had a fun visit – it’s always fun to meet people who love Nordhavns. Before departing from Portsmouth, Virginia, we made one more trip to DC, this time for a play produced by the Smithsonian as part of World Ocean Day. The 30-minute, one-man play was about my grandfather,  Austin Hobart Clark, who spent his career at the Smithsonian as a zoologist focused on marine life. The play covered his trip on the research vessel Albatross in 1906, including his time in San Francisco during the great earthquake! It was a fabulous show and well worth the trip. If anyone is interested in seeing a video of the play please email me and I can provide a link.

While in DC we also attended a book signing party for our friend Deborah Kahn who has just released a book called The Roads Taken – Complex Lives of Employed and At-Home Mothers available on Amazon. I haven’t read it yet, but will include it in my next Book Review update!

We are now back in Portsmouth, VA making plans to depart for Portsmouth, RI where we will fill up with fuel before heading north to Canada. There is a new video of our trip into Portsmouth up the Elizabeth River. We wish we could visit with all of you who are reading this. Please do send us a note by reply email – we love to hear back from you!

May 18, 2014

On April 18, April, my step-daughter, departed to head home to Maryland and Gary departed to meet a friend in Nassau for a long weekend. We dropped them ashore at Fernandez Bay for their flight out of Old Bight airport, then pulled anchor and headed north to Arthur’s town. We had some perfect weather and took the tender out near Little San Salvador where we enjoyed some very nice snorkeling. Bradley speared a couple of nice size grouper and we saw plenty of fish, a large turtle up close, and several sharks.

Kayaking with megayacht Wheels in the background (Photo by Darren L.)

When we returned, a large mega-yacht, Wheels, had anchored in the same bay. She’s a 150-foot or so boat, apparently owned by a prominent Nascar guy. She was loaded with toys – an 80-foot fishing boat, a smaller tender, jet-skis, kayaks, and more.

I took the kayak for a long paddle up Orange Creek, a shallow but very scenic creek that runs north from Arthur’s town. On the way back to the boat I stopped in at the grocery store at the Orange Creek Inn. As I was securing the kayak to a dock, I noticed a man nearby with a very nice camera taking photos of the boats at anchor. We struck up a conversation and he introduced himself as Darren. His mother is the owner of the Orange Creek Inn and Grocery Store. He walked with me up to the store and introduced me to his mom. After picking up a few fresh veggies and some milk, we walked back down to my kayak and I invited Darren to come out to Shear Madness later that day.

Darren on board with his new shirt

Darren didn’t have a boat so we arranged to pick him up in the tender at 5pm. But that was low tide and the entrance to Orange Creek is so shallow that even the tender can’t get in. So Darren had to wade out to meet the tender but soon we had him aboard. We spent a wonderful couple of hours in the flybridge and learned a lot. Darren was born in Nassau but had grown up on Cat Island after his parents decided to move there. He has been living in the US for the past few years and had returned to Cat Island six months ago to help his parents when his youngest brother had moved to Turks and Caicos to take a job. He was planning to return to the US soon, but had a lot of great insights about the Bahamas and Cat Island in particular. We greatly enjoyed our discussion with him.

We enjoyed some more nice weather and some snorkeling but all too soon it was time to head back to the US. Our destination was North Palm Beach, FL, where we planned to stop in for a week to address a few boat projects and drive to Naples to visit some friends and family.

Today’s fresh catch – 20 lb Mahi-mahi

Our passage was about as good as it gets! We had prefect weather (for a trawler that is) with very little wind and seas that often looked more like a lake than an ocean. Our trip was 270 miles, taking about 36 hours. Along the way, we caught a 20-pound Mahi-mahi (aka Dorado or dolphin fish). That was quite exciting as even when we slowed to idle speed we were still doing 4 knots. I had to turn the boat around to head back towards the fish the while Bradley reeled it in and Gary stood by with the gaff to bring it aboard. It was a beauty – I think the largest fish we have caught so far. Soon it was filleted, vacuum sealed, and in the freezer and we were back underway. The rest of the trip was uneventful, but we arrived at the entrance to Lake Worth inlet at night. Hoping to anchor for the night just inside the inlet, we were disappointed to find it crowded with boats, leaving no safe place to anchor. So we decided to continue on to Old Port Cove marina, a little more than an hour away. We prefer to go to and from Old Port Cove at high tide or on a rising tide as there are some shallow spots where we can easily touch bottom. But the tide was falling and it was a dark night. Fortunately we had good track lines from our previous entrances and exits and with careful navigation and Gary on the bow using his young and sharp eyes to look for any possible trouble, we made it to the marina with no problems. Just after midnight we secured to the dock, celebrated our safe arrival with a drink, and settled in for a good night’s sleep. We had several issues to address in Florida and had scheduled people to come to the boat so that we could hopefully turn everything around in just over a week. For a list of projects and technical issues, scroll down below photos.

Kathy with cousin Bri, sister Joan, and brother-in-law George

For the weekend, we rented a car and drove across to Naples to visit Bradley’s sister and mother for an early Mother’s Day. We watched the Kentucky Derby and I got to play golf after many months of not touching a club. I’m thinking I should have long layoffs more often, as I had 3 birdies in the first 5 holes! I think that’s more birdies than I had in all of 2013! I also drove to Vero Beach to visit my sister Joan, her husband George, and our cousin Bri and daughter Katie, who drove from Central Florida. We had a great visit, including some leftover Kentucky Derby mint juleps!

Back at Old Port Cove Marina where there are always plenty of Nordhavns, we met Spirit of Ulysses, a 76-foot Forward Pilot House design. This is the exact same boat as Shear Madness, except with a four-foot extension of the aft deck. Next to Ulysses was Tango, a 76-foot Aft Pilot House. It was the first time we had been together with three boats of the 72/76 series. We had a great time getting to know Richard from Ulysses and we also met three new couples who have recently purchased or are in the process of purchasing Nordhavns and enjoyed dinners out with each of them.

We also caught up with friends Tom and Marlene from Jupiter and Bina from Singer Island for a wonderful Thai dinner. Tom and Marlene had just returned from a trip to the Bahamas aboard a friend’s boat – named Shear Madness! This is a boat owned by Bruce and Rhonda Shear and we had met them briefly a couple years ago during another dinner with Tom and Marlene. In all our cruising, this is the only other Shear Madness we have ever met, and Tom and Marlene just happen to be good friends with both!

Another beautiful sunset at sea en route to Chesapeake Bay

Then it was time to begin the next leg of our journey – 720 miles north to the Chesapeake Bay. The trip was pleasant – we had winds of 10-20 knots most of the way but mostly from the southeast or southwest, so it was a comfortable ride, though not quite calm enough to put out the fishing lines. We were in the Gulf Stream, a strong current which flows south to north, so our speed was over 9 knots for much of the trip (we normally average 7.5 knots). We arrived at the entrance to the Bay just around midnight and dropped anchor for the night, in what we dubbed the “heavy metal pasture”. This is an area near the Bay Bridge tunnel where large ships anchor, waiting to go into port to take on loads. There are often more than a dozen of them waiting for something and we snuggled up among them for a comfortable night. In the morning we headed in to Portsmouth, VA, just across from Norfolk. Unlike our passage where we rarely saw other boats, this short trip required quite a bit of attention as there were big ships, tugs with barges, sailboats, and small motor boats everywhere!

Bradley and Kathy with Bruce and Rhonda on the “other” Shear Madness

Soon we were docked at the Tidewater Yacht Marina and soon another Norhavn came in – it was the 50-foot Serenity. Serenity and Shear Madness have one thing in common – they both began life as “The Good Life”, both built by a couple named Adie and Dudley, who owned several Nordhavns. Both these boats are now being greatly enjoyed by their new owners and we are very fortunate indeed to have a boat that was commissioned by people as knowledgable as they were! Another boat soon arrived that we also have something in common with – it was the other Shear Madness! They are on their way north to Nantucket but stopped in to wait for some better weather. We had a chance to go out for a fabulous dinner with Bruce and Rhonda and really enjoyed getting to know them. Their Shear Madness is a 90-foot Ocean Alexander, a beautiful boat but much different than ours. They cruise at 13 knots, burn 60-70 gallons per hour, and primarily do coastal cruising as they carry about 3000 gallons of fuel. We cruise at 7.5 knots, burn 8 gallons an hour, and go wherever we want!

Kathy with Gary, Cookie and Ruth

In Portsmouth we also had a chance to visit friends Gary and Cookie and little Ruth, who is now 21 months old and already an accomplished swimmer! Gary and Cookie have a pool, so Ruth has been getting swimming lessons for several months and can already turn herself over to float and propel herself short distances through the water. She is also awfully cute!

We left the boat in Portsmouth so that we could do a short trip to DC and NY for some family visits and business meetings. There is a video of our passage from Cat Island to Florida (6.5 minutes) and one showing some underwater shots of our anchor and snubber line (2 minutes). Scroll down below photos for more technical information. Please send us emails or comments – we love to hear from you!

Below are a few of the issues we had to address in Florida:

1. Computer crash. Our Dell Optiplex computer that acts as our primary data server for functions other than navigation died. While in the Bahamas I was able to contact Dell support and diagnose the problem. A tech with a new motherboard and I/O port was dispatched to meet us upon our arrival and within half an hour of his arrival the computer was back up and running. We have had very good service from Dell in the past and this was no exception. The computer is 2 years old and we fortunately had the 3 year Pro-Support plan, making it a very hassle free experience.
2. Fresh Water Pump – in the Bahamas, our main freshwater pump, a Headhunter Mach 5, quit working. We switched to our backup pump, a Headhunter Excalibur, which initially worked but with very low water pressure. We discovered, with the help of the Nordhavn Owners forum, that the bladder in our accumulator tank was not at the correct pressure. We re-pressurized it – similar to inflating a tire on your car – and the backup system worked fine. The primary pump still would not work. Given that it is 9 years old, we elected to acquire a new pump, which we picked up in Ft. Lauderdale on our way back from Naples. It was installed but initially kept getting air into the system and shutting off. It took a few tries to get everything tightened up just right, but its now working just fine.
3. We had been having some problems with our Sonar. While in NC back in January, we had begun getting a “Tilt/Train” error on startup. We called our local expert who began trying to diagnose the problem and during the course of his work, the sonar began working again. Against the advice of the Furuno sonar expert who we consulted by phone – because quote “those boards never fail” we ordered a new “Train/Tilt” circuit board which we believed was the problem. As we did not need it at that time, we just put it into our spare parts inventory. We had no further problems until we were in the Bahamas and Bradley was diving to work on the bottom of the boat. He asked me to lower the sonar, which I did. A short time later he came back up and said “would you lower the %^*$# sonar!”. I replied that I HAD lowered it and we soon realized that, although the lights on the control panel indicated it was down, it was not actually lowering. A call to the Furuno expert was not encouraging. He again did not think the circuit board was the problem (again saying they never go bad) and expected that we had a problem within the sound dome, the physical unit that controls the raise/lower and tilt/train functions. Fixing a problem there would involve the need to haul the boat out of the water. Back in FL, Brian from Celtic Marine came aboard and after some diagnostics; he believed it was indeed the circuit board. Since we had the spare on board, we swapped out the old and – voila – the sonar was back in business. The faulty board has been shipped back to Furuno so they can determine what happened.
4. 

   Quality Ed with his T-shirt

   Panasonic phone system. We have a small Panasonic PBX phone system, which provides an intercom in each cabin and other spots in the boat and also ties in our satellite phone. We don’t use the system a lot – mainly when on passages to give each other wake up calls when you’re next up for watch or to call when you need an extra set of hands or eyes while on watch. We noticed as we started out on the trip north from Florida that all the phones were dead. It wasn’t a high priority until we decided we wanted to make a call on the satellite phone. When the PBX is operational, it connects to the sat phone docking station which in turn connects to the sat phone external antenna, so you get great signal and can make a sat phone call from anywhere on the boat. With the PBX down, you have to make a call using the sat phone handset, which requires you go outside and point the little teeny antenna at the sky as you yell into the phone to offset the wind. So we were motivated to diagnose the PBX problem but were stumped. It was plugged in and had power but was dead as a doornail. The on/off switch had no effect and nothing we could do would bring it back to life. We further learned that this unit is discontinued and not supported by Panasonic – bad news in that it seems also difficult to get this unit repaired and any replacement would entail changing all the phones as well. We called the local distributor in Norfolk, who referred us to a local dealer, “Quality Ed”, who arranged to come to the boat the next day. We removed the unit from its home under the pilot house bunk, carefully disconnected all the phones and inputs and the unit was ready for Ed. He took it apart, determined that there is no internal fuse that could have blown, removed the power supply and inspected it but saw no obvious problem. Parts for this unit are not available but he knew of a unit at a warehouse in Norfolk that he though we could get. Before doing that, though, we decided to just plug it in one more time and lo and behold – it worked! Seems like there must have just been a loose connection somewhere. Ed stayed until we re-installed the unit and had all the phones re-connected and tested and everything was working fine. As Ed was departing, I said “Wait, how do we pay you?” His response “Well, I didn’t really do anything, so you don’t owe me anything. Besides, you gave me a shirt”. All he would take was a Shear Madness T-Shirt and a photo of him with the boat. No wonder they call him “Quality Ed”!

5. Hydraulic Hoses. We decided to replace some of our hydraulic hoses. We have had some periodic issues with some pulsing in our hydraulic system and some of our hoses are run such that you cannot visually inspect them, nor reasonably replace them. (All hose runs and wires on a boat should be laid with the expectation that they will have to be replaced at some point in the future.) Given that they are nine years old, it was recommended that we replace them, which of course is easier said than done. But with patience and persistence, mixed with many unprintable words, the old hoses were removed and new ones installed.

April 8, 2014

Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos is a beautiful resort town. Clean and polished, the main means of transport is via golf cart. The island is small so there are very few cars. There are plenty of restaurants and shops and it is clearly geared for tourists.  We did most of our exploration by foot and enjoyed our stay. While out exploring in the tender we noticed a nice boat anchored in a small cove. We went closer for a look and soon met Joe and Susan who invited us aboard where we met Baci, their small cruising dog who was a delight. Their boat is a Grand Banks 49 and we got a tour, which we reciprocated aboard Shear Madness the following day.

Darin at the beach

Darin and Dick were soon to leave us as they had flights departing from Nassau. We had booked them on flights from Treasure Cay to Nassau and on March 22 departed to head to Treasure Cay. Upon arrival, the swell made for uncomfortable anchoring and we could not get into the local marina, as the depth at high tide is only 6 feet. So we went to plan B – head to Great Guana Cay to the east. Though a short trip of less than ten miles, this required exiting through Whale Cay Channel into the ocean, then back in through another pass as the waters inside are too shallow for us to navigate. Great Guana is a larger island than Green Turtle, but it is still a resort – very clean and nice with plenty to see and do. We explored on foot and by bike and tender. I searched for two geocaches and found one – at the famous “bobber tree”, a native tree decorated with numerous floats used to mark fishing locations. We visited the famous Nippers bar on a beautiful beach and had breakfast at a local restaurant where Bradley tried the chicken souse – a native kind of stew. It was yummy as were our bacon and egg sandwiches.  We had a chance to enjoy some snorkeling and spearfishing and Bradley nabbed his first fishes via spear – two nice snappers on a small reef. They made a wonderful dinner! In the Bahamas, you are only allowed to use a pole spear or Hawaiian sling, not a spear gun. Unlike a gun which shoots a spear, allowing it to travel a much greater distance, these more rudimentary devices require you to be much close to the intended target. Bradley is very good at stalking fish until he can get a good shot off.

The “Bobber Tree” on Great Guana Cay

On March 24^th, the day of Dick and Darin’s departure we pulled anchor with a plan – head towards Treasure Cay towing the tender. When we got to the point where we would turn the big boat south to head towards Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco, Dick, Darin, and Gary would offload onto the tender and proceed to Treasure Cay where Dick and Darin would make their way to the airport and Gary would then catch up with us en route (the tender can go much faster than our 7-8 knot cruising speed). This plan worked well and soon Dick and Darin were off, Gary was back on board, and the tender was again happily being towed behind us.

As we approached Marsh Harbour, the weather forecast was not promising. Though not dangerous, we knew we were in for some strong winds over the coming days, so we needed a place where we would have good protection. That turned out to be Sugar Loaf Cay just outside Marsh Harbour.  On the way in, we spotted three other Nordhavns! First was a pretty yellow boat called South By West who we chatted with on the radio. Next was Tabula Rasa which was very exciting because we have been following each other’s blogs and have emailed back and forth but had never met. Finally was Let’s Dance, who was anchored just across the bay from us. Once we were safely anchored, we jumped in the tender to go meet Scott and Paula on Tabula Rasa. We had a great visit and it felt like we were getting together with old friends rather than just meeting. Philippe from South by West stopped by in his tender and we made plans to meet him later. More good friends were soon to come – George and Marci with their cruising Golden-doodle  Gulliver stopped in briefly to pick up guests so we caught up with them to visit and to finalize some plans for summer cruising in Canada and possibly Greenland. George also showed off his latest toy – a remote controlled helicopter drone which carries a GoPro camera and takes amazing aerial video!

Bradley’s first speared fish of the season

The winds continued to blow but I got out for a little paddle boarding. There was a stretch where I had to fight some strong winds and currents, but once inside a small lagoon, it was quite protected and just like being in a big swimming pool – except for the amazing fish and turtles I saw!  The day after we meet Philippe we heard him put out a call to the marina for some help.  As the winds clocked from west to north, his anchorage became uncomfortable, so they had decided to pull the anchor and move into marina. However in the process of pulling the anchor in, the boat became grounded on a large flat area.  Gary and Bradley decided to take our tender through a narrow pass to see if we could help.  Once we arrived, Bradley dove in the water to check out the situation.  The good news was it was not too bad and just to his port the water got deeper.  Simply by letting him know where the deeper water was, he was able to gently turn his rudder and put his boat in reverse.  With each wave that rolled S by W, he slowly freed himself and was safely away.  Even thought we really did not do much, to help, Philippe and his wife Claude invited us to South by West for a wonderful dinner a couple of days later. We really enjoyed getting to know them and in the “it’s a small world” spirit, it turns out they had known one of the previous owners of our boat and had been aboard her in the past.

Bradley, Philippe, Claude and Kathy on North by West

Marsh Harbour has stores and restaurants, but is not a resort town like Green Turtle or Great Guana. We made a run to the local grocery store – large and well stocked – for some fresh fruits and veggies and explored the town and surrounding areas by foot and bike. Before departing we invited Scott and Paula from Tabula Rasa and Bill from Let’s Dance over for drinks on Shear Madness, after which we went out for a wonderful dinner with Scott and Paula. We are honored that Scott included a review of us in his “tiki bar” reviews (which sounds even more fun to do than my book reviews!)

As the winds settled, we made plans to depart to begin our journey southward.  We did a short trip to Lynyrd Cay where we anchored to position ourselves for an early morning trip out of Little Harbour Cut.  After anchoring we went ashore at Little Harbour, home of Pete’s Pub and more importantly, coconut palms! We obtained several coconuts during our walk, which meant a new project for the boys! If you’ve never had a coconut fresh off a tree, it’s not all that easy to get into! A small arsenal of machete, hammer, screwdriver, a few words that can’t be repeated, and a little time resulted in some wonderful fresh coconut meat!

Gary Battles the One that Got Away

On March 31 we exited through Little Harbour Cut and headed towards the top of Eleuthera Island. Soon the fishing lines were out as we were heading for deep water and prime fishing territory. It took some time but we eventually hooked a fish – a large one as it turned out. Even slowing the boat to idle speed did not allow us to get the fish in, so we had to turn around and head back towards the fish, making gradual progress until the fish got slowly but surely closer to the boat. Soon we were ready to bring it on board – this was without a doubt the largest fish we have caught! But at the last minute a sickening Snap! And the line went slack as the fish swam away. Darn – we had just snapped 80-pound test line! Probably our own lack of expertise as we were trying to manhandle the fish on board. Oh well, it’s the one that got away!

After a beautiful passage we anchored just off Royal Island near Spanish Wells at the top of Eleuthera. Gary and I went ashore to Royal Island, I on my paddleboard and Gary on his surfboard. Once ashore we went for a nice walk through what seemed to be a vacant resort and a housing development that some time ago had been divided into lots but never built. There were dirt roads cut which made for easy hiking and some wonderful views. Bradley and I boarded the tender the next day to head into Spanish Wells, a nice town with several commercial fishing boats, a marina that is being rebuilt following hurricane damage many years ago, and some nice shops, marine stores, and restaurants. We noticed some heavy equipment clearing lots on Royal Island and I was up for another walk before departing, so I paddled ashore again on the morning of April 2, my birthday. I had been walking for a little while when a truck approached. The driver said he was responsible for maintenance on the island and that it was private and they didn’t really want people walking around the construction area. At first he said I could continue walking where I was going and began to drive away. Then he seemed to think better of that and returned, politely offering me a ride. I tried to convince him to just let me walk, but he gently offered again so I climbed in. He proceeded to give me a tour of the island, saying that new owners were trying to get the development going again. He took me to the resort area, which had some gorgeous buildings, a beautifully maintained pool, restaurant, and gym facility. Apparently the resort was operating until recently but is now closed until the next phase of development is done. It’s a beautiful place and hopefully will succeed this time. It was a very nice way to be escorted off the island! When I returned to the boat, I got to test my birthday present – a new boarding ladder for the tender! Bradley and Gary had spent the morning making if from parts Bradley had purchased a while ago. After some testing and adjustment, it works just fine! I will now be able to get back into the tender a lot more gracefully after swimming or snorkeling! After a wonderful day, Bradley and Gary prepared a fabulous dinner of lamb chops and baked potatoes accompanied by a magnificent sunset.

Shear Madness anchored at Royal Island

Our next destination was Ship Channel Cay at the north end of the Exumas. We had a perfect day for this 50-mile, seven hour trip. Once in deep water we hooked another fish. Gary brought it in so easily after the last one that I thought it must have got away. But indeed there was a very nice Spanish mackerel! The good weather continued as we anchored and soon were experiencing the most delightful snorkeling and spearfishing yet! We feasted on a fabulous 7-pound Nassau Grouper (well some of it is in the freezer) and Bradley also nabbed a fish we are having trouble positively identifying. So here is your challenge – please help us identify this fish (see photo). Everyone who correctly identifies it will be entered into a drawing for a Shear Madness shirt! Click here to submit your entry.

Mystery Fish – please identify!

Speaking of fish identification, in our last post we included a photo of the fish we caught on our last trip. That has been identified as a Little Tunny or False Alabacore, which has sparked some discussion about whether it is a good fish to eat. Many people apparently scorn this fish, but we enjoy it. Our fish guide has this to say about it (see photo).

My book says the Little Tunny is good eating

After two days of beautiful reefs, crystal clear water, and lots and lots of fish, we departed to head towards Cat Island. Once back into the deep waters of Exuma sound, we once again hooked a fish. This time it was an 8-pound mahi-mahi. Too bad we had already planned a chicken dinner! But it was good the next night. As the weather remained perfect, we decided to stop for the night at the south end of Eleuthera Island. We anchored by mid-afternoon, launched the tender and set out for some more reef exploration. We found several beautiful reefs, and a few big fish, but they were wary and Bradley couldn’t get close enough for a shot at any of them. Nevertheless it was a great day in the beautiful waters! From there, it was on to Cat Island, an uneventful trip even though the wind and waves picked up a bit. Soon we were safely anchored at Bennett’s Harbour, ready for our next adventures.

Click for new Book Reviews and a new Shenandoah flag photo (the flag was LOB – lost on board for a bit, but has re-appeared so is back to being photographed). Click any photo to enlarge (photos are lower quality this time due to limited bandwidth connection).