Merry Christmas & Happy New Year To All

 

Susan & L.A.

 

Our Hosts - Renee and Stacy

 

Christmas Dinner on "Pipe Muh Bligh"

We were invited to have dinner on Stacy and Renee's Boat with L.A. and Susan. What a feast we had; turkey, stuffing, ham, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans wrapped with bacon, corn pudding, salad, rolls, chess pie, and pumpkin pie. The event lasted 5 hours, and then we rowed home. Today was (is) incredibly windy with gusts to 35. We are just hanging out on "Kismet" doing chores, and watching for dragging boats in the anchorage.

View of The Atlantic from Judy & Ken's

 

Judy & I & "The Half Car"

 

Bringing Judy Out to Kismet

 

Merry Christmas From North Palm Beach, FL

We spent two very nice weeks in Vero Beach, Fl; living the easy life. Friends from NY who recently moved to Florida; Andrea and Matt, took a drive over for a visit. It was great to see them again. We then headed down to Hobe Sound to spend a fun two days with Judy & Ken, friends from high school that we try to visit at least once a year. Now we are in the North Palm Beach anchorage where we will hang out for several more days. It is very convenient to do shopping, etc here. We are celebrating Christmas with Stacy and Renee on "Pipe Muh Bligh" & L.A. & Susan on "Genesis". It is sunny and in the 70s today, but we are expecting another cold front later tomorrow. May have another night below freezing!

Happy to Be Back Together

 

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been!

Well, now that the Captain has updated his adventure, I will fill you in on how I spent the past 3 weeks. It was a great day on 11/20/2010, when we started our trip south from Cooperstown, NY. We stopped at the Halls' in Annville, PA, before driving to Baltimore, MD to catch a plane on 11/21 to Phoenix, Arizona, where my dearest friend Janet and her husband, Dennis live. Janet thought that it would be a great place to recuperate and she was absolutely right. I spent two wonderful weeks there. In addition to relaxing, having a delicious Thanksgiving, and laughing our heads off, Janet and I took a road trip to L.A. to visit Elena, my Mom, and my sister. As a bonus on the way back to Phoenix, we stopped at a breeder and brought home a gorgeous 5 year old golden retriever, Sierra. Dennis and Janet had been thinking about getting a dog for awhile now. On 12/5/10, I flew from Phoenix to West Palm Beach, Fl, where Mo (wife of George who was with Jim)picked me up and we stayed at a friend's house in Vero Beach waiting for the boys to arrive! On Tuesday, 12/7, Jim and I were back together on "Kismet". Anyway, I am healing well, and I am having a hard time believing that the diagnosis, surgery, and radiation all happened in a time span of a little more than two months. I am so grateful to my friends and family for helping me get through this time. I am especially thankful for Janet and Dennis, Mo and George, and Dick and Anne.

Captain ADHD

 

Captain Kermit

 

Captain Richard

 

A few of the many

 

We made it to Vero.

I hope I don't forget too much since we have been here since Tuesday morning and it is Saturday evening.
Dick and I left Elizabeth City and had another good sail down the Alligator River to Tuckahoe Pt. We were bound for Oriental N.C. to pick up George of "Passages" (Vermont) fame. We met George and Mo at River Dunes Marina (land of the best showers). Mo would continue south to Florida to meet with Laurie who was flying in on the 5th of December.
The trip from Oriental to Swansboro N.C. included even more sailing as we downwind sailed the entire Bogue Sound. The next day was much more typical ICW as we missed the bridges or got there too early. The stretch to Wrightsville is always tough but we did make the 1700 opening and were anchored down ready to leave with the weather window we had been watching for Thursday am.
We transited Masonboro Inlet with a couple knots of current and set course around Frying Pan Shoals. The current to Cape Fear wasn't good like it had been last year. We sailed and motored until evening when the wind picked up and the sailing became fast in a bit of a confused sea. George unfortunately lost a battle with some bananas he was retrieving for me at the helm. The worst part was I don't really like bananas, certainly not enough to make a friend throw up. Our 24 hr log was 141NM.
The next day was much warmer than the 41 degree night.(The greenhouse was great). About midday we were joined by a pod of 25+ speckled dolphins who stayed with us for more than half an hour. The water was blue and very clear at our position about 50 miles off the coast. It may have been a bit of the Gulf Stream because our speed through the water increased to 8+kts but our SOG(speed over ground) was only mid 6's The wind dropped off in late afternoon and to reach our goal, Fernindina Beach Fl we started the engine. Shortly after dark we could hear and feel the wind coming back. Unfortunately it was not the forecast NW 15-20kts but rather SW with rapidly growing chop. Our arrival in FL went from 0915 to 1805.
We thought maybe we could sail west and pick up an angle towards our goal. This didn't work well and so we picked up our course of 235 motoring into the chop which had now gotten bigger. The GPS by this time decided that we couldn't get there from here. We concurred and began to go west. We powered into some large waves and were able to make progress toward St Catherine's Sound. When we got closer we called Sea Tow and at 0330 he gave us local info for entering the inlet at daybreak. When daylight came it was if we had been in the "Twilight Zone", close to shore the wind had diminished and the sea was calm.
We diverted again to go to Brunswick Ga. so Dick could catch a Greyhound to get back to "Grey Hound" in Annapolis. We arrived at Brunswick Landing Marina where Sheri and "Killer"(her chihuahua) guided us in. George and I slept like dead men. The weather for the next day was forecast 20-30kts NW. We had planned on taking the ICW to Fernindina but when we went by St. Andrews Sound, it was flat with 15kts NW. We were already under sail so out we went with many options to come back in. The sailing was again fast. The wind did build and the waves grew but "Kismet" was happy and "Otto" was on his game.
When daybreak came, there was a mist on the water from the temperature difference and 7' waves with a 6 second period on the stern. Our top speed was 10.9 kts coming down the face. We were flying. The weather said the next evening the wind and waves were going to increase. New plan, head into Cape Canaveral which we would reach around sunset. As we neared the Cape the wind moderated and veered more west.
Another change of plans, round the Cape and get close to shore. We setup 4 miles from shore and had an easy fast sail to Fort Pierce. A kayaker had been lost off Melbourne Beach and a search was under way. We watched out for him all the time hoping we wouldn't run him over in the dark. We turned the engine back on after 39 hours of sailing and followed the range lights into the inlet. 570 miles from Wrightsville Beach we anchored down in a anchorage where only about half the boats had anchor lights at 0330 Tuesday.
Up at 0800, we made Vero Beach 1100 and waved to Laurie and Mo on the dock.

Making Progress

The Thanksgiving dinner became a reality courtesy of "Right Boat" and "Bad Dog". We were also joined by "Sanuk II" from Austria and "Wings" from "The Deadliest Catch"(Really,I was cold talking to them).We locked through at South Mills for the hop to Elizabeth City. There was only one boat at the docks which was fortunate because our bow in entry was concluded by a stern entry 2 slips down without ever exiting the pilings. A miscalculation on my part to say the least, but we did it without touching anything. Well almost nothing, Captain Dick did have sea gull excrement on his hand while brilliantly maneuvering the anchor past the pilings.
Saturday we had nice wind 12-15kts WNW to sail to the beginning of the Alligator-Pungo Canal. At the bottom of the river we got a call from "C-Note" whose main engine had failed and was anchored. He was going to use his dinghy to move his boat but was concerned that he was short on gas. We gave him the gas we had for "Portie", which I think qualifies as another "Portie to the Rescue".
Today we made it to Goose Creek in preparation of picking George,from "Passages", up in Oriental tomorrow. We are hoping to be able to do some offshore but the weather doesn't look conducive yet.
Laurie is having fun with her friend,Janet and visiting Elena,her sister and mother. I am guessing it wasn't 29 degrees there this morning.

Yahoo! What a Ride

Kismet departed Kiptopeke yesterday at 0715(a bit early for Captain Dick). The winds were 20-25kts Northwest with 4'seas. All seemed well with a proposed course of 245M. except the waves were about 15' apart Well after a few 45 degree rolls, we decided that 270 was ALOT more comfortable. Since we were traveling between 7&8 kts. under staysail and main, the extra mileage wasn't an issue. We arrived in Hampton Roads and found we wouldn't make the 1330 locking at the Dismal Swamp. After meeting Robert, the legendary lock master&conch playing mistro we tied up at Elizabet's Dock and went for $1 tacos at La Familia. Had coffee and muffins with Robert and left at 0930 with the 4 other boats that locked through. Everyone trimmed trees as we were avoiding the dredge pipe enroute to the NC Visitors Center. There is some talk of one boat making Thanksgiving dinner, no matter, it is going very well in every other way.

 

Liberty Ships at Sunset

 

Heading for the Water

 

 

 

Kismet is floating

With Laurie safely in Phoenix, Capt"Dick(Grey Hound) and I watched Kismet renter the water yesterday. The forecast winds were southwest 15-20 kts. This precluded a run to Norfolk, so we were presented a choice, sit and wait for the forecast North wind Wednesday or go sailing. After at least a microsecond of deliberation we made plans to sail to Kiptopeke on the Eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay about 17 mi Northeast of Hampton Roads(Norfolk). It was a great sail to a state park where they sunk 9 Liberty ships to create a break wall. Wish we had more time to spend here but tomorrow we will catch the aforementioned North wind and hopefully enter the Dismal Swamp.

All Done With Radiation

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yesterday was the last of the 5 day course of radiation. I literally had no side effects. We celebrated by going out for dinner at the Hawkeye Grill in the Otesaga Hotel. Then I was off to bed by 2000! One more week to hang out in Cooperstown, I hope! Today, friends Rich and Nina from the Albany area came to visit. It was great to see them.

Treatment is Continuing - Making Progress

We arrived at the radiation oncology Department yesterday morning at 0700. Had a CT scan and ultrasound to confirm that everything was good to go - 20 minutes later the radiation treatment was done and we were free to leave til our next appt at 1400. Same drill except no CT scan. It has been cold, cloudy, and wet for the past few days. Yesterday we about an inch of snow!!!!!!!!!!!By Friday PM I should be finished with the radiation. Yeah!

Good News

Well, this will be a quick update - I went back to the surgeon today to get path results and get set up for the mammosite radiation that starts next Monday. All the margins were clear and there was no spread to the lymph nodes! The report couldn't have been better. (unless they said just kidding - no cancer)! So now I have 5 days of radiation, another week to recover, then hopefully free to go! Love to all. Thanks for your love and support.

Time in Cooperstown New York

WE left Deltaville VA on Friday the 29th; and drove to Annville PA to visit Ray & Susan Hall for a couple of days. Then, arrived in Cooperstown NY on October 31st along with some scattered snowflakes....BRRRRRR! WE are staying at a lovely house overlooking Glimmerglass a.k.a. Otsego Lake generously loaned to us by Mark (my ex) & Pam, his S.O.(who is a wonderful friend). I really can't thank them enough. My surgery was done on Nov 1st; pretty much took all day, between all the stops I had to make - ultrasound, nuclear medicine, and finally surgery. The folks at Bassett were wonderful. I was able to go home by 7:00pm. All went well - we will get more results on Thursday - so far so good! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Celebrations & A Change of Plans

The month has had huge "ups and downs" for us. On October 1st we left "kismet" on a beautiful dock at Still Pond, Md. Michael & Grace Boylan generously opened their dock and home to us while we traveled to NY to attend Lauren & Adam's wedding in Rochester, check on our house in Norwich that new renters were moving into, and do several "routine" doctors appointments. The wedding was everything we had hoped for. The bride & groom were beautiful, and the festivities were perfect. We also were thrilled that Emily & her fiance Joe also tied the knot in a very small ceremony in BInghamton, NY on October 22nd! Visits with friends, Linda & Jim Karl, Bob & Brenda Polhemus, and James & Peggy Finnegan were great fun and much appreciated. We also loved seeing many other friends Skip & Nikki, Hospice friends, and Sue & Rolly from the New Berlin Practice. What we didn't expect was that my routine mammogram didn't turn out so well. After two ultrasounds, and a biopsy that was performed on Oct 18th, it was confirmed that I have breast CA. Fortunately. it is very small - couldn't be felt and didn't appear on last years mammo. So I am very hopeful that we caught it early. Upon getting this news, we returned to "Kismet" and sailed her further south on the Chesapeake to Deltaville VA; where we will have her hauled and leave her "on the hard" while we go back to Cooperstown NY for surgery on Nov 1st. We will figure out what happens next once the surgery is done. I feel good and hope that this is "just a bump in the road". But i also know that we have many steps to take to get this behind us. Jim has been wonderful & ALL of OUR MANY FRIENDS & FAMILY have been a tremendous support. Love to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10,000 Miles

Yesterday we logged our 10,000th mile since we left Lake Ontario in August 2008. And we did it undersail in the beautiful Annapolis Harbor. We have spent the past week cruising in the Chesapeake. We left friends, Jon & Yvonne in the South River, and had a beautiful sail 40+ miles north to Still Pond. Ray Hall met us there to introduce us to his friend that is letting us leave Kismet at his dock when we go to NY on October 1st. Then we went to Bodkin Creek where we met Dave & Mary on "Mon Amie", then to Rideout Creek where we spent the day with "Cambia", then finally yesterday to Weems Creek. We will leave here tomorrow to hopefully sail to the Rhode River to attend the Seven Seas Cruising Association GAM this weekend. It is a weekend gathering of other cruisers with social events & seminars. We went last year and had a great time.

An Armada of Flemings Traveling to St Michaels

 

On The Beautiful Wye River

 

Susan With Our Catch

 

Hooligan Sailin' to the Wye River

 

So Much Fun!

When we finally left Georgetown, after Hurricane Earl's passing; we had a great sail down Chesapeake Bay to meet friends Susan & Raymond on "Hooligan". We spent 5 funfilled days with the Halls. Day 1 was in Mill Creek, day 2 in Weems Creek, day 3 in Pickering Creek in the Wye River, day 4 in St Michaels, and day 5 in a cove near Kent Narrows Bridge. Susan gave me intensive workshops on "crabbing" and knitting. We caught two dozen crabs and dined for 2 nights on them! The Wye River is particularly beautiful. We highly recommend spending cruising time there. It was sad to say goodbye on Friday when The Halls went back to Middle River and we sailed to the West River, then onto the South River on Saturday to spend a few days with Jon & Yvonne on "Speranza".

The Lap Of Luxury (Cruiser's Standards)

Yesterday we arrived in Georgetown, MD (about 7 miles up the Sassafras River), after driving Kismet into the mud doing some exploring into Turner Creek (whoops! we were on the wrong side of the green marker!) Oh, by the way Captain Jim was at the helm! We did some successful kedging off, but decided to get the heck out of there! Then we arrived at the dock at Georgetown Yacht Basin, alittle abruptly, due to a strong current pushing us sideways. After refueling (since we motored all the way from Long Island), and refilling our water tank (because Jim inadvertently drained most of the water while flushing the watermaker). Because it looked like Jim needed some rest, we decided to pick up a mooring ball. They were offering a "stay 2 days, get a 3rd day free". So for $55.00 we will be here for 3 days. It's a good deal - showers, laundry, launch service, bicycles, kayaks, a beautiful pool, and protection from Earl. It is 97 degrees today, so the pool will be nice.

"Kismet" Racing Down The East River at 10 Knots

 

"Sojourner" by the Brooklyn Bridge

 

View of Lady Liberty Through the Bridges

 

In The Cheasapeake

We did start heading for Port Washington on Friday; however early in the trip we decided to head further; through HellGate, NYC, on to Atlantic Highlands. Then, by the Throgs Neck Bridge we saw "Sojourner", friends that we met along the way, they were going to do an overnight down the Jersey Coast, and suggested we come along. So that was our newest plan. We had a good current all the way to Sandy Hook. The wind was supposed to blow from the NW - a good direction for our passage; but the weather guessers were wrong again. The wind blew from the South; so we motored all night long. At least we had a beautiful full moon, and the seas weren't rough. And the best part was we arrived in Cape May NJ at 12:00 noon on Saturday! We caught a few winks, then set out to buy a few groceries, and pick up some New England Clam Chowda & shrimp at the Lobster House. The current was going to be perfect for a run up the Delaware on Sunday; so we were up early, weighed anchor at 0615, and headed out the Cape May Canal. The wind was supposed to be from the West, BUT guess what? It blew from the NW right on our nose - so again we motored up the Bay. But, It was a beautiful day, and the seas were fairly flat. We passed Chesapeake City, and motored on to the mouth of the Sassafras River where we anchored for the night by Betterton, MD, a former popular beach spot on the Bay. We actually had a mini IP rendezous - "It's About Time" & "Foggy Notion" anchored here as well. Tomorrow we will go further into the Sassafras & anchor near Georgetown, MD. Waiting to see what Earl is going to do!

La Brea Tarpits!

 

Mom, Gail, & Me

 

Mom & Elena

 

Time To Go Cruisin'

I had a great trip to California - visiting with Elena, Mom, Gail,and Hank. Mom is doing great in the independent living facility. I flew back on 8/24; and we left Port Jefferson on 8/25. Sailed & motored about 25 miles to Oyster Bay Harbor, one of our favorites. Did laundry today, and toured around town. Tomorrow we will head to Port Washington.

Exiting The Connecticut River