Oriental NC

Would have been good to attend the Annapolis Boat Show and to trek up the Potomac to Washington DC but it just didn't work out that way.We have to get south and on the way we have to call in to Oriental,where our new lifestyle started,and see all our good friends and do 'stuff'.

So this is Oriental.Afternoon gathering to get a spot of sun and talk over the days work....or just tell lies etc.Some people ain't around anymore ,new people arrive and the non-transients,locals that is always make us feel like we're "from around heah".

Lucky for us John had Whampoa on the hard,fixing up a bit of rot,so we've been keeping his slip warm for him.The post Irene mosquito plague has kept socialising to daylight hours but we did have a great night at the Silos (that's a bar in some converted grain silos just down the road)open mike night.Perry and I did our thing,which was a bit of jazz this time,and then we ended up with having a great jam with with a couple of 'outoftowners' John on (great}guitar and vocals and Rich on harp and Chris,who runs da joint on guitar also.

That's pretty much what goes on 'round heah'plus getting all those dockside things done....carpentry,oil changes ,stuffing the the stuffing box and,of course,lotsa varnishing to keep Jabiru looking her beautiful self.
Ever since we first came here I've been amused by a Barber shop on the way to New Bern,that always has lawn mowers outside.Tough ,these North Carolinians.Anyway ,decided to get a photo this time and when we stopped we were lucky to catch the proprietor of the establishment.Ron.A nicer example of good ol'southern you couldn't meet.

He had to show us his barber shop,even though it's people like me who killed the barber trade.For a few years anyway........So he sat me down amidst all sorts of old barbershop stuff,including a large head of a black bear 'stuck 'up on the wall."Ma son shot him .Jus' over the road thar".

He had to give me a hair cut before we left so he carefully selected 'a hair' and ......cut it.
We'll be heading off tomorrow to hopefully catch some fair winds and following seas to Florida.Don't think we're going to get them even though we've been waiting another week for them!Still got to get a sail made before we depart these shores.Speaking of sails we couldn't wind up our 'summer blogs' without introducing you to our angel of mercy from Holiday Hill marina.

She lives on a large motor yacht with her two boys.Her husband is deployed in the mid.east.She drove us around and lent us a car all during our sail 'dramas' and generally mothered us.If you can be 'mothered ' by a 30 something girl!Thankyou Marlene.You're a gem.
Should be able to get another blog done before we leave....probably Miami to

Blank

Can't believe I'm doing another blog.
Not sure if I'm just bored witless(that was the original expression before the 60's)or I'm chuffed about finally mastering the computer...until some geek comes up with a new "user friendly"change of format,or have I at last realised that old musicians never die...they just bore everyone else to death with the same old songs.Can't be that.I've learned at least 3 and a half new ones this year.

Mind you only one of them was written this millenium.

And I wrote that.
I'm reminded of a real oldie 'Camp Granada'..Finishes with:-

Wait a minute,it's stopped raining
Kids are swimming blah blah blah blah
Playing baseball,gee that's bedda
Mudda Fadda kindly disregard this letter
Trouble is.....it ain't stopped raining

Ho hum

Hum ho

Can't leave....Still waiting for the cheque.....Can't cash it anywhere south of here..

No photos...unless you like looking at water and trees...through the rain.


Maybe the odd duck.

Guests

Here's a nice little thing that happened en route to Mexico from Cuba.
We were about half wayish between the west end of Cuba,Cabo San Antonio, and Isla Mujeres on the Yucatan Peninsula.The sun had set and the dusk was getting duskier when 3 little birds spotted us and decided to stop for the night.Birds quite often stop for a rest on boats.Anyway these little guys flew round the boat a couple of times and one set him (or her)self up on a hatch cover and another settled on the bimini.Number 3 decided to sit on my pillow .We had made our beds up in the cockpit as it was a lovely balmy evening.

I had to get a photo,even though I'd freak him out.Flash went off and he didn't blink.A couple of hours later I said to Gail"I've got to lie down.He'll just have to move"So I laid myself down.Our little guest just nestled into my hair and carried on resting.

Eventually i had to stand up and sure enough he just sat on my head as I checked position etc....Had to get a photo of that too.

Now he'd had enough.A birds gotta sleep.So he flapped off my head onto Gails pillow.Likes his comfort.He was disturbing Gails sleep,wriggling around in her hair,so she turned around and left him the pillow.As the sky got light we woke up and saw that the other two had already checked out and as we pulled the heavier cockpit cushion back there was the poor little guy,apparently lifeless,jammed behind it.As I went to pick his little body up he wke up and fluttered up (a few inches )to the cockpit coaming.There he spent a few minutes stretching his wings and shaking his head and as the sun popped over the horizon and his friends swung by ....off he went.
FOOTNOTE. When we were relating the story to Steve and Eva of Music,thats them on the left

they said they'd had the same experience themselves except they'd had five guests.Unfortunately two of them were dead in the morning.....................they have got a cat though.

??Cruising??

It's a good thing that I'm such a patient person (AARRGGHH%$%@#*?!#$%@!$)Oooh....that's better.
Well Irene was windy and wet but hardly bothered us.North Carolina took the worst of her but she did drop a lot of water on nearly everywhere except the Big Apple.Domino skidaddled ,with a flottila of boats,100 miles or so up the Hudson and had a far worse time of it(check thier blog) because of the flooding.We left a day or so later and dodged logs and all sorts of stuff on the way to Sandy Hook,the gateway to NY harbour.We were too busy winding our way through it all to think of photos but just imagine lines of garbage and whole trees and ex trees,as in telegraph poles , in long drift lines stretching for 10 to 2 or 300 yards at a time.Dodgy.

Anyway we had a calm anchorage at Atlantic Highlands and a beautiful sunset lighting up the Manhattan skyline and it was good night and goodbye to NY.
Next morning we started the overnight trip to Cape May and arrived to a beautiful morning and dropped the anchor off the Coast Guard station right next to.....DOMINO.So we popped over for drinkies on thier expansive 'back porch' as the sun went down behind Jabiru and the Coast Guard and Jean-Pierre and I took turns in being photographed with a 'chick' under each arm !

Thats where the fun stopped.A day later the sails arrived.The genoa was fine but the main just didn't fit.Richard took it back and was going to meet us in the Sassafrass River in a few days when he was going to doing a sailing regatta and all was looking good.Meanwhile.... Hurricane Lee (or was it Leigh) had swept over Alabama and on up the Appalachians causing massive floods all the way up the east coast.The entire Chesapeake Bay was full,the worst since 1972,of mud , trees and everything that gets swept along by floods.Roads were blocked,bridges down etc so the regatta was cancelled and Richard couldn't make it.There was nothing up the Sassafrass,except charming scenery,so we picked our way through log barrages down to Annapolis so we could get the sail sent to somewhere there.

We remembered that Steve from Music was staying at a marina just south of there so after checking that it would be OK we moved (cautiously)down to Rhode River to await the sail.Couple of days and it arrived still didn't fit so back it goes to Richard.Meanwhile(ya still with me?)Richard calls and says he cant be bothered with all this ,he'll give us our money back.We just want to get going so that's OK.One week later we're still here,cheque(that's English)is in the mail.Looks like our visit to DC is out .That's 3 days up the Potomac and 2to 3 back and the Potomac is still 100 miles from here.
Charlie Watts,when asked how it was playing with the Rolling Stones for 30 years said "5 years playing and 25 years hanging about."Hey Charlie ...try cruising!
Is this cruising?

Or is it this

Actually...I can't think of anything else I wanna do.
Yes dear...I'll stop complaining.

Big Ugly Woman Going to Visit

Well everybody from the Caribbean through the Bahamas to the US east coast knows who she is but to those of you on the other side of the world who mightn't have noticed,nasty ol' IRENE has got everyone on edge.She's giving the Bahamas a beating today (thursday)and is heading for Cape Hatteras next.She then wants to visit the New York and Long Island area over the weekend but we'll all be happy if she changes her mind and hangs a sharp right turn and heads off into the Atlantic.I know John has already boarded up his Hatteras house and Perry is flying back from Chicago and we hope all our friends back at Oriental get away without too much (or any!) damage.Got a call from my friend Porgy in Bimini and he said they're getting lots of rain and wind but should miss the worst.

Anyway the last week has been very pleasant.We left Liberty Landing at 6.30 am and caught the incoming tide up the East River in drizzle and a headwind but still did a 'thrilling'10knts through Hell Gate and into Long Island Sound.We picked up a complimentry mooring at Port Washington where we spent a couple of days just enjoying the town.We took off for Port Jefferson with Philip and Heather in Picaroon but were soon left behind as they cheated and used their genoa and went in a straight line.We jybed away with our remaining sails in a vicious 4 to 6knt SW until we got to Oyster Bay and gave up.

Oyster Bay is a lovely big wide bay withfar more space than appears here.It was the home base of Teddy Roosevelt and as I was reading about the building of the Panama Canal while there, it was interesting have it referred to here and there through the text. The whole bay is surrounded by enormous mansions and one that we were anchored opposite is owned by Billy Joel.The guy in the little boat in the foreground is raking up clams with an enormous rake on a pole.Don't ever complain about the price of clams!

Richard rang to say our sails are ready but of course we wont be heading to Cape May to get them 'til Auntie Irene has left town.So yesterday we thought to come back here as it's a bit smaller and closer to NY and a better town really.So it was bye bye to Billy's little place and back to Port Washington

......but....wouldn't you know it...Todd and Melody have been up here having a break and he rang and said to follow them back down to New Jersey tommorrow and tuck in at our little sanctuary at the end of the old Collins canal which is the work dock at Liberty Landing.What do we do to deserve friends like this? Oh yeh ....Gail's really nice!

Hopefully Irene won't be able to get at us here (this is sunset from the work dock,Manhattan is behind us) and we can get back to you to report that Jabiru (and us) are well and ready to start heading south.

A Tale of Two Cats

I shall attempt to fathom the mysteries of computers yet again.Fearlessly I shall breast the keyboard and even upload a couple of photos.
In this cruising game you meet some wonderful people and to try and tell of them all would be a books worth.They come from all walks of life and just about every nationality.I was discussing (not whinging.......Me!!)with a fellow cruiser one day the unsuitability of being a brass and woodwind tech. as far as earning some money while cruising.He said he had the same problem."What do you do?" 'I'm a neuro surgeon".See what I mean?
I digress as usual.Just felt like introducing a couple of 'Cat' people.

Ed and Sue Kelly we met first at Mayaguana,down the bottom of the Bahamas.They live on a 12 metre ( USA 12 meter but pretty much the same size)Catalac catamaran.Angel Louise,named after Ed's mother,is a big heavy lump of a craft that Ed jokingly refers to as a squashed trawler.Let me tell you that Angel Louise has taken them to more places than most of us have been.When we first met this mild mannered couple (though I don't think I'd like to be 'interviewed' by Ed in his old job as a prosecuting attorney)they gave us their card that says 'We choose not to arrive at the end of our lives in perfectly preserved bodies,but rather to skid into the grave broadside,thoroughly used up,totally worn out-and loudly proclaiming:"WOW!!! what a ride!" and we thought Hmm.Now that we've known them for 3 years or so and bump into them every year or so ...we know they mean it.They've just crossed the Atlantic and are having a ball in England and are now talking about hitting the French canals.I think if they got in their heads to go to the moon they would have old Angel Louise strapped on the back of a shuttle one way or another.Unfortunately I can't direct you to a blog as they write personal journals that go to "honorary" crew members of which we are fortunate to be.

This is the only photo I have of these two together.Marie and Jean-Pierre Dufour are the ones each side of the bikini chic.She's Debbie who lives in Marina Darsina in Cuba where she is welcoming committee,interpreter and tour guide and several other things.Anyway we met Marie and JP in Cuba then Mexico,back in Miami and then up in Cape May.They were just round the corner from us in NY and I know they're doing grand kid things just a couple of bays up from us in Long Island sound right now.We 've had lots of good times with them but the amazing thing with them is their boat.It's a gigantic motor catamaran that they built in the middle of South America in Paraguay.Took them 4 years and and all sorts of hurdles.Not too bad for a doctor and nutritionist!Fortunately Marie writes a great Blog and I recommend a look at it for the whole adventure.As well as their boat building story you'll see in their more recent blogs some great descriptions of a lot of the places we've been and a good variety of photos to go with them.Check it out dominocatamaran.blogspot.com or domino20.blogspot.com.
Well those E addresses didn't come out in blue for linking so I give up for today

Back To Joisey

I think I was saying something about plans.Well whatever they were... this is what really happened,or is still happening.It came to my notice that the bracket that our forestay is shackled to had a couple of cracks.I think they might have been there a while but I only noticed them while inspecting the post 'blowout' damage.That was looking like removing the entire pulpit and finding a welder in Cape May.Then I thought "our old buddy Todd from Liberty Landing is a welder. Lets go to Jersey City"
Wind was right behind us but ,of course,we have no genoa to pole out(but a lovely new pole!)so motored the 100 miles o/night and approached the Big Apple at dawn.
The bright lights in the middle are the sun hitting Manhattan before it came over the horizon and the chart plotter shows the Queen Mary 2 beating us in to New York.We had just received an email from our friends Ed and Sue on Angel Louise saying that she (the Queen )had passed them coming out of the English Channel as they approached Falmouth at the end of thier epic Atlantic crossing.Well I guess it wasn't epic but they did have a dreadful trip from the Azores to Falmouth.We are the black arrow head, by the way,and the Queen and most of the other boats were out of sight.Looks cool though eh?By the way 'Eh' is very Canadian as well as Kiwi eh.
Well we had a quick nap at Sandy Hook and headed up under the Verrazano Bridge and past our beautiful big green girl and back to our 'Joisey'residence up the back of the marina in the work section and amongst our companions the Ellis Island and Liberty cruise boats and the tugs etc.We love it.We also have our families of geese and ducks and not forgetting our Liberty Landing buddies ,particularly Todd our 'saviour' from last year. This time we got to meet his bride Melody and have a great night out at the marina restaurant.
Well New York is still the best city in the world.It's like visiting a whole bunch of countries/cities at once.COSMOPOLITAN this is the real deal.The people ,like all Americans that we've met are the friendliest,most polite and helpful folks you could hope for.(anyone from the government reading this ......put a word in for residency would ya!!) The architecture is varied and beautiful,there are lovely parks everywhere,from tiny to enormous and the many extroverts (who are not in your face....,just doing thier thing)just top it all off.
While we're here getting welding and new lifelines done , and now new batteries,we've managed to go to a couple of FREE concerts.Dr John in beautiful Prospect Park in Brooklyn and Mavis Staples at the Lincoln Centre and in between all sorts of great musicians and bands just round the streets and entertaining all in Central Park.Dave Mathews Band and Bela Fleck and Flecktones are together at Governors Island right here at the end of the month.Hope we can make that one.
Got a chance to see little nephew Scott ,who was visiting with Lee and 'little' Brittany and had a nice arvo in Central Park.Is there something wrong with this photo?Is Gail shrinking or what?

Brittany learning the bubble trade