Norfolk, VA
To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.
We're planners. CA and I can't do much without a detailed plan. We worked for a company that liked to have an MBM (Minute-by-Minute) for software deployments.
It's cold at Mom's. It's pretty cold in Charleston. It's not so cold in Key Biscayne. So. That's our objective.
Not so fast …
We're starting to plan our southward trip while wintering at mom's. It's right cold around here.
This means helping clean out her closets. She's not a nomad, but she'll be moving sometime later this year. It seems like she's got bunches of old stuff that no …
First, let me vent. Details of the journey will follow, when not blocked by freight trains using the tracks.
US rail needs numerous improvements. The lack of high-speed tracks is an ongoing national embarrassment. The long-standing, goofy fetish with "privatization" needs to end. No individual exploiter should get rich providing …
When we left Herrington Harbour, we left our truck behind. When we moved aboard in 2012, we sold the truck, and had no vehicle. This — it appears — was less than optimal. This time around, we're keeping the truck.
Now that we're in Charleston, it's time to move the truck down …
We're leaving Red Ranger for a few weeks. This is an important lesson learned when we lived aboard in 2012-2013.
We're taking "The Palmetto" north to find our truck, Seeker. Then we're taking the truck further north to say hi to St. Judith.
Once we have Seeker, we can …
Let's not get too excited. We're staying in Charleston until Feb 15 more-or-less. But. What's next?
What's next is to get further South. It's right cold in Charleston.
While the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia call to us, it's winter. So we aren't listening to their call.
We're …
Nighttime lows have dipped to 2°C (40°F?). This means heaters. Since we're at the Cooper River Marina, and we seem to have reliable shore power, we can run electric heaters in the evenings and mornings. There are a lot of steps between shore power, dock power, boat, and …
Life at anchor means taking the dinghy everywhere. When Red Ranger is our home, the dinghy, named Scout, is our car. We're looking at a replacement. We really like the air-floor because they're light.
She was new in 2012. It's been a good, long run. But. Her days are numbered …
CA loves the marshlands around here. Bird heaven. Our neighborhood hawk is making sure CA's not here to grab the delicious rock pigeon.
There are other neighbors, too.
In case we needed any reminders that we've moved south.
Upgraded our mid-ship cleats.
Here's a picture of one of the old 6½″ cleats.
Good for ½″ line. Rock solid.
You can see the new dock line behind the cleat. It's ⅝″ and you can't really make a proper clove hitch around …
This isn't our first rodeo. We lived aboard in 2012 and 2013.
Great experience. The 2012 year, in particular, everything was new. We had a million questions and asked everyone. Lots of people gave us much needed advice on how to live on a small boat in a big ocean …
We're not going anywhere until February.
Time for sight-seeing and general post-passage relaxation.
Time for home handicrafts.
This is the Bruce "Claw" anchor that broke loose at sea.
This is not how it was secured then. This is new.
I've got three points of contact …
Going to sea requires a bit of humility. If things go wrong, a problem rapidly escalates to absolute catastrophe. Of course, Murphy's Law applies here — anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Did Murphy describe Poseidon's essential cruelty and get all the credit by having a law named after …
We're glad we decided to wait one more day in New Bern.
The wind is still from the N and cold. But it has moderated from Gale force and Storm force down to simply a cold wind. There are only whitecaps in the river under the gusts.
Last dock day, we think. Here's the river whipped to whitecaps by the wind. It's blowing in the 30's, gusting higher.
I'm not used to seeing rivers with whitecaps rolling down them.
But the wind is blowing straight down the river, providing maximum fetch to create …
Tied to a dock, with shore power, listening to the wind howl.
I prefer to be at anchor in high winds. We have really good ground tackle. It does, however, mean we're trapped the boat. We're not up to playing dinghy in high winds.
But. I also prefer having …
Tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday have a forecast of rain. More than that really. We're looking at this forecast for Zone AMZ137:
"GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING"
That's alarming.
The whole RED-ALL-CAPS styling really adds to the sense of impending doom.
And …
Too windy (and cold) to do anything. Rain was expected. So we stayed put.
Counting the days between today (Thu4) and this forecast: "Stiff N wind becomes milder Mon8 with a HI nudging offshore. The HI completely collapses wind Tue9-Wed10."
We're going to try to do …
Starting our fourth week of this cruise with a few more days of waiting for weather. Here's the latest from Marine Weather (MWXC).
"Stiff sailing along the coast Sun7, becoming milder Mon8. Motoring Tue9."
This Tuesday thing appeals to us. The NOAA Marine Forecast doesn't quite reach that far into …
Weather Watch in New Bern. Having fun going into town.
Not having fun with the dinghy. The floor can no longer be pumped up. The hole got bigger through lack of attention. The floor is a rubber bag at this point. I think it can be repaired. I'm secretly hoping …