Monday, July 26, 1993

Really did leave this morning. Got up at 5:30, started the engine, untied the lines, and were all ready for the six o'clock opening of the bridge. Great Bridge opens once an hour from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The lock is supposed to be coordinated with the opening of the bridge, but the good ol' boy who was tending the lock took his sweet time. He was a nice guy and very talkative, but he wasn't about to wear himself out hurrying over to the switch or button or whatever it was he had to push. But we finally got through the lock and took off up the channel. We really lucked out. There were a lot of bridges to go through, most of which opened only every half hour. We just happened to arrive at the right time for all of them, so we didn't have to wait.
Went by Waterside in Norfolk, where we were the other day. Saw the naval base from the water. Even more impressive than from the land. Saw aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines, every kind of ship imaginable.
Went through a very narrow channel to Willoughby Harbor and tied up at the marina. We went there, because the facilities guide said the rate was 75 cents a foot, but it turned out they had just raised it to $1 a foot. If we'd known that we'd have gone to the Waterside Marina, which is much easier to get in and out of and much closer to the center of town.
Ate brunch on the boat and then held the annual stockholders meeting of Jofian, Inc. Two people were present--Roy and me. Not surprisingly, we were both elected to the board for another year.
Found our way over to the street the bus runs on. Had four minutes to get there, so we had to zoom. Fortunately, the bus was late. I rushed up to the bus stop and looked around to see if a bus was coming, even though I was fairly certain it must have gone by and there wouldn't be another for an hour. Saw a little blue van coming, but of course that couldn't be the bus. To my surprise, it pulled up and stopped, so we got on. Apparently, so few people ride the bus on this route that they just use the little mini-bus instead of a full-sized one.
The bus took us to K-Mart. We looked at all their toaster ovens, but couldn't find one small enough. Ever since we bought the new microwave oven, which is slightly wider than the old one, we haven't been able to put the toaster oven in frontward between the microwave and the dish closet, so we're trying to find one no more than a foot wide.
Bought a new Dust Buster and a tape recorder. Also, some stuff from the drugstore section. Then we went to an ATM and liberated some cash. Crossed the street and looked for a toaster oven in some other stores. The one at Woolworth's was almost small enough but not quite. Had a hassle getting them to show it to us. There was none on display, and the clerk refused to take one out of the box. We talked to the manager, and she told the clerk to take it out of the box, which she then did.
Gave up on the microwave. Crossed the street again and ate some ice cream. Barely had time to finish it when the bus arrived to take us back to Willoughby.
Ate supper and enjoyed some really nice showers. Watched an interesting PBS program on wildlife in Australia.

Sunday, July 25, 1993

Walked over to the marine supply store on the opposite bank. It was closed, but the dockmaster let us in. We bought a really good chart book that will take us all the way to New York City. Also bought a Facilities Guide that tells the rates at various marinas. Unfortunately, it doesn't list all of them, and it doesn't show the free ones at all. It's more like one big ad.
When we got back to the boat, another thunderstorm hit. Rain came down in buckets and the lightning flashed right overhead. As usual, it didn't last very long, but we got our water tank filled with good fresh rainwater.
After the storm, we took the boat across to the fuel dock and filled with diesel. We had planned on leaving today, but by then it was so late that we decided to stay until tomorrow morning.
Surprise, surprise--we didn't eat supper at KFC. We ate at Wendy's, but it wasn't nearly as good. We rode our bikes there and just barely made it back before dark.

Saturday, July 24, 1993

Rode the bus into Norfolk. Took nearly an hour. We got off at Waterside. Ate some really good sandwiches for lunch. Then we went on the bus tour of the world's largest naval base. It covers 8000 acres, more than 10 square miles. Over 300,000 people work there, including civilians. We saw submarines, aircraft, ships of all sizes, etc. The base has 3 McDonald's, a pizza parlor, a bowling alley, a ten-screen movie theater--everything under the sun.
It was an interesting tour. Unfortunately, there were two little kids on the bus who made total nuisances of themselves. One was five and the other was 22 months. Neither was still for a moment. They ran all over the bus, talking and yelling. The younger one was the worst. Also, the air conditioning was turned up way too high. We nearly froze. We asked the driver to turn it down, but he said it wasn't adjustable; it was either on or off.
We were going to go out to Sears and do some shopping, but we were afraid we'd miss the last bus back to Great Bridge, so we just went back. Minutes before we reached our destination, a thunderstorm hit. The rain came down in a deluge. Fortunately, we had had the foresight to take our ponchos with us. Without them, we'd have been drenched to the skin as soon as we got off the bus, but with them on, we stayed nice and dry.
As usual, the rain didn't last long. Roy got our blue wagon out. We ate supper at KFC again and then bought a wagonload of groceries at that beautiful market.
Tried to phone Kathy again, but as usual she wasn't home. Roy phoned Al. Unfortunately, Al isn't going to be able to come out at this time; he's too busy.

Friday, July 23, 1993

When I started out this morning, nothing could have been farther from my mind than spending a thousand dollars, but that's what I ended up doing.
First, we walked over to the lock to look it over and get an idea of what we'll be doing when we go through it. It's a very simple lock, vastly different from the ones in the Panama Canal. The water level only goes up or down about one foot! The main purpose of the lock is to separate the salt water in the southern part of the channel from the fresh water in the northern part. Boats go through under their own power at 3 knots. There's nothing to it; it's a cinch. There's a pleasant park and playground next to the lock. There's even a little grandstand where you can sit and watch boats go through the lock. There was just one cabin cruiser going through, so we watched it.
A few weeks ago, the VHF speaker in the main cabin went out, so we wanted to buy a new one. We found out there was a Radio Shack "about a mile" down the road. We know from long experience that when we're told how far something is, the distance is given in terms of driving. A mile driving is at least two miles walking and five miles carrying a heavy load. Anyway, we set out walking and eventually came to Radio Shack. While Roy looked for a speaker, I browsed around. Suddenly I stopped in astonishment. There was a really good notebook computer with a full keyboard and 20 meg hard disk for only $700! I'd been wishing I had a notebook computer to take on the boat, but all the ones I'd seen advertised were around $2500, and a lot of them had dinky little keyboards. This one was regularly $1000, but they had it on sale this month for $699. It weighs less than 6 1/2 pounds and is about 2 inches thick, yet it has a hard drive and a full-size keyboard. I couldn't believe my eyes. When hard drives first came out, they were huge. This price also included a bunch of software, such as word-processing and spreadsheet. It's PC compatible and runs under MS-DOS. How could I resist a bargain like that? I couldn't. They also had a tiny printer for $200, so I bought them both. I figure I'll soon save the cost by not having to go to copy centers to run off the log; I’ll enter it all with the computer and print it out.
Roy found his speaker, so we left the store with our precious boxes. We wanted to take the bus back but couldn't find the stop. Roy finally asked a man who not only knew where the stop was but what time it ran. It's lucky he did; the stop was around on a side street where we never would have found it. The bus ran on schedule, and soon we were back on the boat.
Roy installed the new speaker, we ate lunch, and then we took the dirty clothes to a laundromat. In the evening, we ate supper at KFC again. Then I set up my new toy and played with it. It worked perfectly.

(Note: This is the computer that Mom wrote all her logs on.)

Thursday, July 22, 1993

Rode our bikes again this morning. Went across the bridge so we could see what was on the other side of the canal. Went down a very pretty tree-lined road. On the way back, we were threatened by three large dogs. Roy was a little way ahead of me when I saw a dog with teeth bared charging across a yard towards him. I yelled, and Roy immediately jumped off his bike and faced the dog. The dog slowed down, but then two other dogs came dashing out, and all three kept barking their fool heads off. I expected the owners to emerge from their houses and call off the dogs, but none did. Apparently, they'd gone off and left their beasts running loose. We carefully and slowly walked our bikes past the dogs, while yelling, "Stay!" The dogs followed us a short distance and then returned to their turf, thank goodness.
By the time we got back to the boat, it was nearly noon, so we took off right away. Crossed Current Sound, which was breezy and choppy. Then we headed up North Landing River. Around two o'clock, we crossed the line from North Carolina to Virginia. Everything was going great. Then I really blew it. We were on a very twisty, turny stretch of river. Fortunately, the markers were close together. I was carefully following the markers and watching the chart. It looked as if I was supposed to go between a red and a green and then bear right, but as soon as I did so, the depth gauge started dropping alarmingly and I was unable to see another marker ahead. I immediately reduced the speed, which, of course, brought the skipper popping up from the main cabin. I told him what the problem was, and he told me to stop completely, which I did. Then he took the wheel, while I climbed the ladder to see if I could see any markers. Yep, there they were, in a different channel. By dumb luck, the water was just barely deep enough and wide enough for Roy to swing the boat around and get us back where we belonged. That was much too close for comfort. When I studied the chart some more, I saw that I had taken the boat into Blackwater Creek.
In the evening, we were approaching a bridge and a lock. There were a couple of sailboats tied to a long dock on one side of the channel. I asked a man on one of the boats if that was a public or private dock. He said it was public and it was free. That sounded like our kind of price, so we immediately tied up.
This is a really pretty place. We're right next to a thick woods. To our amazement, when we walked through the woods, we came out on a very busy highway, with all kinds of shops and restaurants. You'd have never guessed it was there from the waterway. We walked up the road a little ways and ate supper at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. They had a lot more variety than most KFC's have. Really good. Roy ate five pieces of chicken to my two, plus a slice of lemon pie. Oink oink.
After supper, we walked a little farther and found the most beautiful super market I've ever seen. Everything was spotless and attractively arranged. Not only was there a bakery, a grocery, and a pharmacy, there was a bank, a bookstore, and a video rental all in this one big store. It was amazing. We bought a few groceries and returned to the boat.
It's remarkable how cool it is here, especially at night and early morning. I'd have been more comfortable in long pants and long sleeves, instead of the shorts and sleeveless top I was wearing. Every time we went into an air-conditioned store, I nearly froze.

Wednesday, July 21, 1993

Today was a good day. We didn't go aground, even though we threaded a lot of very narrow channels between shallow shoals. Guess we're starting to figure out how to run this baby. They say, "If you haven't gone aground, you haven't run the ICW."
In the morning, we crossed the famous Albemarle Sound. It was almost like being on the ocean, especially since the day was overcast and rainy with limited visibility. We couldn't see anything but gray water and gray sky. The rain came down in buckets for a while, but soon quit.
We were glad we had the GPS. Albemarle Sound is 14 miles wide, and the markers are so far apart that you can't see the next one, especially when visibility is poor, but with the aid of the GPS, we found our way across.
In the North River, we saw a sinister-looking deadhead in the ICW channel. It was about 12 inches in diameter and perhaps 6 inches protruded from the water. If a boat ran into it, the results would have been disastrous. I VHF'd the Coast Guard and told them about it. A little later, we heard them broadcasting a warning of a hazard to navigation in the North River. So I had done my good deed for the day.
We were amazed by the number of eagles' nests we saw. Most of them were built on the tops of channel markers. There were usually two to four half-grown eagles on each nest. (Later found out those eagles were ospreys.)
Around three in the afternoon, we tied to a marina in Coinjock. I use the term "marina" very loosely; it was a row of pilings along the channel. There were no restrooms or showers, but there was electricity, and it only cost 50 cents a foot. The marina across the way, which didn't look appreciably better, charged $1 a foot.
We walked a couple of blocks, and then went back to the boat for our bicycles. We rode to a produce stand that was just closing. They gave us all the peaches we wanted for free. (The peaches were ready to be thrown out.) We bought six ears of corn for $1.25 and six cooked crabs for $2. (He tossed in an extra, so we actually got seven for $2.) We took the stuff back to the boat and then rode our bikes some more.
Roy went to the right, but I turned left because I wanted to see what was at the end of the road. I knew it was only about a quarter mile. When I got to the end, I turned around and went after Roy. Pretty soon I saw his bike parked in front of a store on the other side of the road, so I went over there. As I suspected, Roy was inside eating ice cream. I had some, too, and then we rode a few more miles down the highway.
I kept seeing signs for a "Pig Pickin'" and wondered what on earth a "Pig Pickin'" was. Finally, I asked someone. She said they roast a whole pig and then people "pick" at it. That is, they eat it.
North Carolina is a beautiful state. Everything is so green and lush. The woods are dense, and the crops are thriving. We saw acre after acre of tall corn. No hint of drought here. And there's so much vacant land! And so much water!
Roy phoned his son Steve and his friend Al. Al might fly out and sail with us a while. That will be fun.
I phoned the Yacht Registry in Wilmington and asked them to sit on our mail until we get there, instead of forwarding it to Steve.

Tuesday, July 20, 1993

Well, it happened again, exactly as it did two days ago, except this time Roy was at the wheel instead of me, thank goodness. We left Belhaven around nine. Less than two hours later we were aground in 3 1/2 feet of water. I don't think Roy quite believed me the other day when I insisted we were in the middle of the channel when we went aground, but today he had to believe himself; we were right smack dab in the middle of the channel when we went aground. While we were sitting there, I wrote a polite letter to NOAA, letting them know what I thought of their ICW.
Roy made several attempts to kedge us off, but the bottom was mud, not sand, so the anchor didn't hold. Several boats went by, including a tug, without offering to help. Some of them kicked up quite a wake, and we hoped the wake would float us off. The boat moved a little bit but didn't get off the shoal.
We thought we'd have to sit there until the tide came in, which wouldn't be until five or six o'clock in the evening, but around one a very nice couple came by in a large powerboat named "Vitamin Sea". They pulled us off in about ten minutes. After that, it was easy. We went for miles up a straight canal that was 14 feet deep at mid-channel. We stayed a couple hundred yards in back of the "Vitamin Sea", going at their speed of 6 1/2 knots. That's faster than we usually cruise, but we didn't want to lose the "Vitamin Sea". We figured as long as we were directly in back of them, we couldn't get into trouble; they'd have to go aground before we did.
A lot of Navy jets kept roaring overhead, probably out of Norfolk, 100 miles from here, a few minutes for those babies, 2 or 3 days for us.
In the evening, Nancy and Carl on the "Vitamin Sea" called us on the VHF. They said they were going to spend the night anchored near Bay Point and wondered if we'd like to stay there, too. They invited us over for a glass of iced tea or whatever. We thanked them and soon were anchored snugly in very calm water.
We paddled over to their boat and were dumbfounded by its size. It's 44 feet long, 18 feet wide, and weighs 44,000 pounds. The interior is like a house. The engine compartment alone has more room than our entire boat. Roy could actually stand up in it! When he goes into our engine compartment, he has to fold himself up like an accordion. I always say he looks like a bunny rabbit going into his little bunny hole.
Everything looked so new and shiny. There were oak floors, lots of cabinets, a real shower, a large dining area, etc., etc. But I'll take the Jofian any day.
Carl lived in Petaluma many years, so he knows right where Richmond is. Nancy's from Pittsburgh, PA. Now they live in Florida, where they own a boat-storage business on Lake Okeechobee.
We invited them over for supper to thank them for pulling us off the shoal. It was snug, but everything went well. They're a very pleasant couple.

Monday, July 19, 1993

The wind's blowing about 20 knots out of the south today. To our surprise, the new anchor dragged about 100 yards. We didn't think we'd have that problem with a 75-pound anchor. Fortunately, there weren't any other boats around. We returned to our original position and re-anchored with more chain. This time we stayed put.
The sky was overcast all day, and the wind kept blowing. There were a few little sprinkles of rain but no thunderstorms.
Around two, we paddled to shore. Wanted to see the town and buy a few groceries. Belhaven is another sleepy, quiet, peaceful village, not as wealthy as Oriental but with a lot of lovely old homes and large, green, shady yards just the same.
There is a marina not far from the boat with a little ramp just right for Royaks. They let us pull up there no charge and leave our Royaks on the lawn. The marina rents golf carts for only $2 to go shopping with. There is also a magnificent, porticoed old southern mansion with tall white pillars. Everything is in excellent condition.
We strolled uptown. Found an interesting museum. It housed the things a woman had collected over the decades. She lived to be 92, so there was a lot of stuff, mostly from the 1800's: clothes, kitchen utensils, farm implements, etc. There was even an original newspaper from April 15, 1865, headlining Lincoln's assassination.
When we left the museum, we went to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, that actually had a soda fountain! We thought we'd gotten bargains in Oriental; here the sundaes were $1.19! And they must have had a pint of ice cream, crammed into very deep glass bowls. Boy, were they good!
It was another mile to the grocery store, so I talked Roy into going back to the marina and renting a golf cart. What a fun ride! We zipped down Main Street at 12 MPH. Bought a whole bunch of groceries. What luxury having the cart to take them back in instead of having to carry them!

Sunday, July 18, 1993

While Roy was helping me bring up the anchor, we blew into 3 1/2 of water. We thought sure we were stuck, but the bottom was soft mud, so Roy finally managed to pull loose.
I'm beginning to think we'd have been safer going around Cape Hatteras. Parts of the ICW are too narrow and too shallow. A little before two, we were in an extremely narrow channel, only a few feet wide, but we were carefully staying inside the channel. All of a sudden, we went aground in 4 1/2 feet of water. That's really disgusting when you're in a channel that's supposed to be at least 6 feet deep. (That was an editorial "we"; I was at the helm.)
An elderly couple came along in a little sailboat and offered to help us, but their boat was much too small. They went to get their powerboat, but before they got back, Roy kedged us off. Fortunately, the water was fairly deep on our starboard side; it was only shallow to port.
We arrived in Belhaven shortly before dark and anchored behind the wooden breakwater.
Thank goodness, the weather has cooled off. It was around 100 degrees most of the time we were in Morehead City, but now it's in the 80's. Sure a lot more comfortable.

Saturday, July 17, 1993

Today, we tried out the Intracoastal Waterway for the first time. All the way from Key West to Morehead City, we went "outside" in the ocean, and we were going to continue that way, but we were advised not to try going around Cape Hatteras, the ships' graveyard of the East Coast, so we bought some more charts and headed up the ICW.
The Intracoastal Waterway is more than 1200 miles long. It provides a safe, inland waterway from Norfolk, Virginia, to Key West, Florida. In some places it's less than a quarter mile wide, and in other places it's many miles wide. The depth is usually 10 or 12 feet, but a lot of silting takes place, so sometimes the depth is 6 feet or less, which is rather nerve-wracking when you draw 5 1/2 feet.
The ICW is a pleasant change of pace for us. On the ocean, we saw nothing but water and sky, but here the banks are thick with lovely green trees, and occasionally there are houses or marinas. And there's a constant stream of boats, coming and going. Now we know why we never saw any other boats on the ocean; they're all on the ICW.
The "La Bullit" with the kids on it left Morehead City an hour before we did, but by the time we got to Oriental, we were ahead of them. They hailed us on the VHF, and we were surprised to see they were directly in back of us.
We dropped anchor in 6 1/2 feet of water, half a mile from shore. Then we hopped in our Royaks and went exploring. My strength (what little there is of it) has fully returned. I feel great and can paddle for hours without getting tired.
We went up Whittaker Creek and all its little side channels. We were amazed how many boats were tied up there--hundreds of them. It's a very pretty area. The woods are dense and green, with many expensive homes hidden among the trees. And, of course, they all had private docks along the creek.
We went ashore on a tiny little beachlet and strolled around town. This is a lovely, peaceful, quiet, old-fashioned village. Some of the prices are remarkably low. We bought a thick, hard-covered anthology of Jack London for a mere $11! It would have cost at least $35 anyplace else. We went to a cute little ice cream parlor. Roy had a delicious sundae for $1.35, and I had a banana split for $1.45! I haven't seen prices like that for twenty years. Most places, a banana split is more than $5, and a sundae is $3 or $4.
We saw the free municipal dock and were very glad we hadn't tried to tie up there. The entire dock is about 30 feet long. Our boat is 39 feet long.
Ran into a couple we had seen in Morehead City--Dale and Herb from the "Solaris". They greeted us like long-lost friends and talked for nearly an hour.
We went part way up the bridge to see the harbor and adjacent waters. Then we went down a side street and were delighted to find a group of old-timers putting on a free musical presentation. They played and sang good old down-home country music. They were really good. We listened for a while, but it was getting late, so we had to leave.
We had planned on asking the "La Bullit" kids over to watch Roy's new tape of scuba diving around Key West, but by the time we got back to the boat, they had left. We watched the tape anyway. There were a lot of really great underwater shots. I had never realized how thick the fish are down there.

Friday, July 16, 1993

Very calm this morning. As soon as Roy got up, he decided to back the boat out of the slip before the wind and current pick up. He was outside untying lines before I'd even finished brushing my teeth. Fortunately, the man from the next boat came over and helped him. He had no problem at all getting the boat out. Tied to the fuel dock temporarily.
We had planned on leaving around noon, but what with one thing and another, it got to be three o'clock, so we decided to wait until morning. We'd already paid for tonight anyway.
Roy had to go glub-glub and install a new perry-nut zinc. The old one was completely gone. He also went to the store for a few things. A couple of kids came by and greatly admired the boat, so we talked with them for an hour or two. By then it was too late to leave.
Around 4:30, there was a loud bang. The current was so strong, our bow line had nearly come loose, and the stern had crashed against the dock. Since we'd been planning on leaving in a few hours when we tied to the fuel dock, we'd only used two dock lines, which was careless of us. If the bow line had let go, the bow would have swung out into the channel, and the stern would have smashed against the dock and the piling. We immediately added two more lines and several more fenders and got the stern away from the dock.
The current here is so strong, we went 16 miles while tied to the dock. That is, the odometer racked up 16 miles in a week's time from the current flowing past it.

Thursday, July 15, 1993

Felt well enough today to ride my bike to my doctor's appointment. I've lost several pounds; I'm down to 119. No wonder I feel weak.
My lungs were x-rayed again and they're clear. We can leave any time we want to.
We used the $10 we saved on cab fare to eat lunch at Johnson's Restaurant. Boy, was it good! Best chicken and baked potato I've had in years. Sure glad I can enjoy food again. For a while, nothing tasted good.
When we got back to the boat, we went over charts for our hop up the ICW to Norfolk.
In the evening, we had a jim-dandy thunderstorm. Thunder, lightning, wind, rain--the whole ball of wax. Some of the lightning seemed to be directly overhead, and the thunder was deafening. The rain came down in sheets, but we stayed dry and snugly in our nice little doggie house.
When the storm passed, the wind died to nothing. It was calmer than it's been in days.
Incidentally, I guess we're all over our barracuda poisoning or whatever it was we had. We haven't had any weird symptoms for a long time.

Wednesday, July 14, 1993

Wind is really blowing and cooling things off, thank goodness.
Did another load of laundry this morning. In the afternoon, a very nice woman named Sheryl from two boats over drove me to a grocery store, so I was able to stock up.
Roy spent most of the day working on the boat.
In the evening, we enjoyed a pleasant stroll and delicious ice cream bars.

Tuesday, July 13, 1993

Did a load of wash in the morning. Roy rode his bike to the grocery store and bought some groceries. In the afternoon, he bought a new 75-pound anchor and installed it.
I'm feeling much, much better. Feel like a people again instead of a lump. Even paddled my Royak a little this afternoon and went for a swim.
We have another mystery. At night there's a strange little noise in the aft cabin. It's irregular; sometimes it's every second or two; sometimes the sounds are ten or more seconds apart. It's not a squeak or a rattle; it's more like a little beep or moan. Roy says it's almost musical. It's only audible in the aft cabin. When I go up to the cockpit or outside, I can't hear it at all. It's loudest on the starboard side. Strangest of all, as soon as the sun comes up, the sound stops. I have two theories: either it's some nocturnal critter that chirps at night and sleeps during the day, or it's something so hypersensitive to temperature changes that it contracts in the cool of night, making the noises, and silently expands in the warmth of day. It doesn't really sound like something alive, though. Whatever it is, it's driving me bananas.

Monday, July 12, 1993

Spent most of the day sitting around waiting. We were supposed to go to Med Center One first to pick up my x-rays and then go to Carteret General Hospital for a CAT scan, but the cab driver got confused and went to the hospital first. We got him straightened out and went to the Med Center. They didn't have my x-rays ready and had to hunt for them. Finally found them and we went to the hospital. Then we had to wait and wait. They stuck an IV needle in my arm and pumped blue dye into my veins. At long last I got scanned. Then we ate lunch at the hospital cafeteria for practically nothing. Then we waited some more. Finally they said I could leave, but I had to go to Dr. Reece's office. It was just across the street, so we walked over there and waited some more. Finally the doctor saw me and said the CAT scan didn't show anything other than the pneumonia; I don't have a tumor or anything. I asked him why I keep getting pneumonia, and he said it's possible my immune system was damaged when I had bronchitis in '88, so I'll look into that when we get to Kaiser.
To my surprise, there was no charge for today's visit. I'm to return Thursday for a follow-up check of my pneumonia.
We walked a block to the Post Office. Mailed a letter and bought some stamps.
Looked for a public phone to call a cab. Found a very nice restaurant with reasonable prices, so next time we eat out, we'll go there.
When we got back to the boat, Roy assembled his bike and went off to get information about hauling out. The yard was closed, but he bought some good fish for supper and found 62 cents in change scattered along five miles of road! I never knew anyone who found money as often as Roy does. Scarcely a day goes by that he doesn't find at least a penny, but 62 cents in an hour's time--that has to be a record! He found three dimes, a nickel, and 27 pennies. Later, he found a quarter and another penny.
After supper, Roy bought a pint of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Boy, was it delicious!

Sunday, July 11, 1993

Spent most of the day loafing on the boat. In the evening, Roy heard the Jofian being called on the marina's loudspeaker, so we turned on the VHF. It was Linda phoning us! What a pleasant surprise!
She has a phone now and gave us her number. The poor kid's still in a great deal of pain when she walks. She's going to have to have her right foot amputated and replaced with a prosthetic. What a shame! She was always so athletic and loved to run.
Linda has one semester to go to complete a two-year degree in Health Education. She should be a natural for that field.
Little Gina's going into third grade. How time does fly!
Both Linda and Gina are looking forward to going sailing with us when we reach Baltimore.
I noticed an article in the paper saying David Wingate, the basketball player whose car hit Linda and Gina, has signed a four-year contract at half a million a year. That's good news.

Saturday, July 10, 1993

I'm coughing less today but still feel extremely weak. Feel as if I could collapse in a heap on the floor and not be able to get up.
Moved the boat to a nicer and less expensive marina. (Not that I did much of anything.)
After lunch, we took a cab to the clinic. The doctor wants me to have a CAT scan at the hospital Monday. He also gave me some more pills.
When we got back to the boat, Roy went to the convenience store across the street and bought a pint of cherry vanilla ice cream. Boy, was it good!
The medicine is starting to do its thing. I'm coughing less and regaining my strength.
In the evening, two boats crashed into each other not far from here. We saw the Coast Guard towing one boat in and the ambulance coming. Two people died and a third is in critical condition.
After supper (cooked by Roy), I felt strong enough to go for a little stroll with him in the cool of evening. This is a more attractive area than I had realized. There are lots of restaurants, shops, and little parks. Across from our boat is a nice little beachlet where people swim.
That reminds me, in the middle of the afternoon, when Roy was gone somewhere and I was resting, I heard a loud banging. I immediately went outside and saw that the wind had shifted and was banging the boat against a corner of the dock and the end of my Royak against a piling. I tried to push the boat away from the dock so I could slip the flat fender between the hull and the dock, but of course I didn't have the strength. Fortunately, a young man came along and pushed the boat out while I tied the fender in place. Then he attached two lines from the stern to another piling and pulled the boat away from the piling my Royak was crashing against.

Friday, July 9, 1993

I felt worse than ever today. I'd been hoping we could make it to Baltimore, where there's a Kaiser, but it will take us at least a week to get there. I'd never make it.
We arrived at Morehead City, North Carolina, early in the morning. Dropped anchor and ate breakfast. Then I went back to bed and slept till after two. We moved the boat to a marina and tied to a dock. Found out there's a clinic called Med Center One about five miles from here, so we took a cab over there. To our surprise, the fare was only $5. We had expected $15 or $20.
They were very nice at the clinic. X-rayed my lungs. Sure enough, pneumonia again. That's the third time in as many years. Why, why, why?
They gave me three injections and a bunch of medicine to take back to the boat. Said to return around noon tomorrow.
Took a cab back to the boat. Roy cooked supper and washed the dishes. I ate, took my medication, and went right to bed. Roy is so good to me.

Thursday, July 8, 1993

We fearlessly passed Cape Fear and continued motoring northeast towards Cape Lookout. Very calm, warm, uneventful day.

Wednesday, July 7, 1993

Roy is almost completely well, and I feel much better.
We both paddled ashore this morning. Mailed some mail, made a phone call, and bought a few groceries.
When we got back to the boat, we took Jofian to the fuel dock. Filled her tank and five jerry cans with diesel. Also filled the gasoline can for the generator. Then we took off. Motorsailed northeast towards Cape Fear (lovely name).

Tuesday, July 6, 1993

I felt much worse today. Spent most of the day sleeping. In the middle of the afternoon, I was awakened by a strong gust of wind blowing through the boat. I jumped up and made sure everything was secure. Roy had gone to town to get a few things. Turned on NOAA weather, and they kept repeating severe thunderstorm warnings. I brought in everything that might blow away and kept watch in the cockpit to be sure we didn't drag anchor. Pretty soon I saw white paddles dipping up and down. Here came Roy, paddling along as casually as if it were a lovely, calm day. I let out the floating line, but he didn't need it.
By four o'clock, the storm had blown on by without dumping any rain. Roy went back to the chart store to see if they had the Hurricane Havens Handbook, but they'd never heard of it, which seems strange. You'd think it would be a best-seller in this part of the world.

Monday, July 5, 1993

We both felt quite a bit better today, especially Roy. We paddled ashore and took the shuttle bus to the Visitor Center. It's the biggest and fanciest visitor center we've seen yet. Found out we could get passes to ride all three shuttle buses as much as we wanted all day for $1 each, so we got them. Two of the buses kept going around and around the "historic" (tourist-trap) area, but the third took us to a poor residential area. Charleston struck me as an old, dying city, struggling to revivify itself. Undoubtedly, there are some nice, new, modern sections, but we didn't see them, although we did visit an attractive waterfront park with big fountains that kids were playing in.
We finally found the Piggly Wiggly and bought a few groceries. Thunder began grumbling, and lightning streaked the sky. We thought surely we'd get drenched before we got back to the boat, but surprisingly, it didn't rain at all.

Sunday, July 4, 1993

We spent most of the day just lying around, resting. We'll stay here in Charleston until we get rid of these colds and start feeling halfway human again.
In the late afternoon, we managed to paddle to the public ramp and walk around a little. We accomplished three things: we got rid of the trash, we mailed the mail, and we bought a quart of milk at a convenience store. We also found out where the buses stop and where a chart store is. Tomorrow, we'll ride around on a bus and see some of the town.
This is the windiest harbor we've ever been in, and the water's very choppy. I wasn't at all sure I'd be able to make it back to the boat, but it turned out to be not as hard as I had expected. In fact, it was fun. I felt a lot better for getting some fresh air and exercise.
Roy didn't think I'd be able to make it back either. He let out 100 feet of floating line so I could grab it and pull myself to the boat, but I didn't use it; I paddled all the way.
In the evening, we were sitting out on the deck, enjoying the cool breeze. We saw nine zillion boats zooming past us, all heading in the same direction. We figured they were going to the fireworks display, and that's exactly where they were going. It turned out we had an absolutely perfect spot for viewing the show; we couldn't have picked a better place even if we'd known where it was going to be. And after the fireworks, we saw the zillions of boats zooming back to where they'd come from. That was as exciting as watching the fireworks. It's a wonder they didn't bump into each other, there were so many of them. But there were lots of Police boats and Coast Guard boats, too.
Then we saw a second fireworks show, in a different direction. Most of the people missed it, they were in such a hurry to get home, but we saw the whole thing.

Saturday, July 3, 1993

The approach to Charleston goes on for miles . The jetties alone extend out three miles, and the approach continues way past the ends of the jetties. It took us three hours from the time we passed a buoy until we dropped anchor near the municipal marina, and we hadn't even gone all the way out to the first buoy. The harbor is large and windier than the open sea. We turned off the engine and sailed all the way down the approach. We could have continued sailing, but there are a great many small boats bopping around, and it's easier to maneuver with the engine.
Saw a small sailboat that had flipped over and dumped its three occupants into the briny. Roy headed over there to help them, but before we got there, two of them had righted the boat, gotten back in it, and were on their way to the third guy.
A larger sailboat nearby had multiple problems, but we couldn't do anything for them. Their engine had quit and the rudder was broken. They had already radioed for assistance, and a boat was on its way.
I guess a three-day weekend isn't the smartest time to bring a sailboat into Charleston Harbor. The City Marina was full and so was the Ripley Light Marina. There are other marinas here, but we didn't bother to contact them; we just dropped anchor.
On our way in, we went right past the famous Fort Sumter.

Friday, July 2, 1993

Very calm day. Almost no breeze at all until late afternoon.
We decided to bypass Georgia and head straight for Charleston, South Carolina. It'll be an overnighter, but it will save a week's time over harbor-hopping. Just getting in and out of harbors wastes half a day.
All the Kaisers in Georgia are clustered around Atlanta, which is a long way from the seacoast. My best bet is the Kaiser in Baltimore.
Motorsailed northeast peacefully all day.
We are amazed how shallow the continental shelf is on the East Coast. Even fifteen miles from land, the ocean is only fifty feet deep!

Thursday, July 1, 1993

Great. Now Roy's caught my cold. Just what we need--both of us sick at the same time. If he feels as knocked out as I do, we won't be able to go anywhere.
Motorsailed twenty miles north to Fernandina Beach. Doesn't sound very far, but with all the ins and outs, it took several hours.
We can't understand why the marinas on the East Coast charge so much more than the marinas on the West Coast. Nearly every marina in Florida charges close to $1 a foot. In California, we thought 50 cents a foot was outrageously high. Most marinas charged 30 to 40 cents a foot. And the marinas in Florida certainly aren't any better than the ones in California; most are worse.
I freaked out when Roy told me he paid $36 to tie up at the wrecked Sisters Creek Marina. That's outrageous!
We anchored out in Fernandina Harbor and paid $5 for the privilege of tying our Royaks to the marina dinghy dock.
This is a quaint old town, reminiscent of the antebellum South. Most of the houses have verandas with wicker rocking chairs.
I phoned my doctor in California and told him about my cough. He gave me the name of a medicine to take, but he said I probably couldn't buy it without a prescription, which turned out to be the case. He advised me to see a Kaiser doctor in Georgia. I'd been planning on doing that anyway. There are Kaisers in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, but none in Florida.
We went to a drugstore and bought some more cough syrup and cough drops. Roy stopped at an ATM and popped out some money. I crossed the street to the Post Office and cashed a $70 money order that I had sent to the FCC several months ago, but they had refused to accept it and mailed it back, which is fine by me, since we no longer need that license anyway.
We were walking along the sidewalk, looking for a grocery store, when a young couple in a car pulled up and offered us a ride. They had done a lot of sailing and said we looked like cruisers looking for a grocery store! They drove us right to the nearest Winn-Dixie super market and told us they thought the store would drive us back to the marina. They were right; we talked with the assistant manager, and he said he'd arrange a ride for us. Wow, what service! We had planned on buying only two things, about $4 worth, but now that we had a ride, we stocked up and bought $35 worth of groceries. We were very glad we didn't have to walk to the marina; it was quite a ways.
Paddled back to the boat, and then Roy took the gas can to the fuel dock and bought a couple of gallons of gas for the generator.
We're right at the state line. Tomorrow we'll be in Georgia!
Heard on the radio that the Jacksonville area had severe thunderstorms this afternoon, with wind gusting to 81 MPH! We just got out of there in the nick of time. A sailboat came limping in to Fernandina with its headsail in shreds.

Wednesday, June 30, 1993

Motorsailed to Jacksonville. Actually, we didn't go to Jacksonville; it's about twenty miles up the St. John's River. This is a very wide river. We motored around not far from the entrance, trying to find a marina. Once we dropped anchor, and we should have stayed there, but Roy saw a bunch of masts in the distance and figured it was a marina, so we picked up the anchor and went down there, but it didn't much look like a marina close up, so we wandered around some more. Heard someone on the VHF talking to the Sisters Creek Marina, so we decided to go back there.
The place was a wreck. It had once been a nice marina, but a tornado had clobbered it. The dock is twisted every which way, and one of the buildings is almost completely destroyed. Nevertheless, we tied up there. We wanted to go to a store and get a replacement for the broken Sumlog cable. Also needed eggs, but we found out there isn't a store within miles of this place and no buses to take us to town.
There was a very nice couple on the boat in back of us. They gave us a lot of useful information. Said Fernandina would be a good place to buy things. We gave them most of the bluefish that had been given to us at Port Canaveral, since it was far more than we could eat. They in turn gave us four eggs, which was very nice.

Tuesday, June 29, 1993

Pleasant day. Warm without being hot. I had a coughing fit for the first two hours, but after that I was ok.
We paddled around a while and then went ashore. Explored the Castillo. It was built 300 years ago of coquina, which consists of zillions of compacted shells. The walls are very thick. The fortress is still in quite good condition.
Ate lunch at Mamaw's Kitchen and then went to Dairy Queen for ice cream.
Went through the Robert Ripley Believe It or Not Museum. Lots of interesting things. We especially enjoyed a passageway that seemed to be rocking back and forth, but actually only the walls were moving.
Went to the Visitor Information Center and watched a movie about St. Augustine. It's the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in North America. It was founded in 1565.
Strolled through the old Spanish Quarter. Saw a lot of buildings that were 200 or more years old, including an old schoolhouse.
This is an interesting town. We also visited a diving museum that had lots of old diving helmets and shoes.

Monday, June 28, 1993

We were approaching St. Augustine by 8:30 in the morning, sailing along nicely in a light breeze. I wanted to keep going to Jacksonville, about thirty miles to the north. It seemed a crime to waste such a lovely day, but the weather forecast was for afternoon thunderstorms, so Roy insisted on putting in to St. Augustine. We dropped anchor about 11:30, near the old fortress of Castillo de San Marcos. Roy took a long nap, while I read and listened to the rain on the roof.
The rain quit for a couple of hours, so we got ready to go Royaking, but by the time we were ready, the rain started again, so we stayed on the boat. The rain really cooled things off. I can't believe it's this cool in Florida in the summer.
The harbor here is very shallow. We touched bottom coming in, and we were in the channel. Fortunately, we didn't get stuck.

Sunday, June 27, 1993

Felt much better today, after thirty hours sleep.
We filled the fuel tank and left Port Canaveral about one p.m. Two hours later, the Coast Guard broadcast a warning of approaching squalls and thunderstorms. Sure enough, the wind started picking up. Roy had to hurry outside and take in all the sails. The rain hit while he was out there.
The storm didn't last long. By five o'clock, all was calm, and we continued motoring north to St. Augustine.
Our Sumlog has quit working, so we no longer know our speed or mileage through the water. The GPS gives us our speed over the ground.

Saturday, June 26, 1993

Now I'm down with a cold. I always get a cold when I don't get enough sleep. Managed to drag myself out of bed long enough to return the rental car. Then I went back to bed and slept most of the day.
Roy had a great view of an Atlas rocket blasting off. He saw the white fire and the rocket climbing into the sky and the boosters dropping off. The booming roar was tremendous. Everything shook. If we'd been in California, I'd have thought it was an earthquake, but since we're at Cape Canaveral, I knew it had to be a rocket. Got up to look but only saw the smoke trails in the sky.
Roy spent most of the day riding all over on his bicycle. He bought some charts and things. In the evening, he cooked supper. The dockmaster had given him part of a big bluefish he caught yesterday. I wasn't hungry, but I forced myself to eat a little to keep up my strength. Then I went back to sleep.