Sunday, November 30, 2008 10:03am
Friday, December 28, 2007 7:42pm
Tuesday, December 11, 2007 2:31pm
Wednesday, November 21, 2007 7:48am
Tuesday, November 6, 2007 2:56pm
Friday, November 2, 2007 12:08pm
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 7:50am
Friday, July 6, 2007 11:56am
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 8:47am
Friday, April 27, 2007 9:32am
We left Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama, on Monday morning. We had been there for two weeks looking for a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. Initially, our hope was to cross over to St. Augustine and spend a couple days there and then head to Charleston. As they say about the “…best laid plans of mice and men” this was to not be the case. The weather has been sort of aligned against this idea. At any rate, things changed this week.
Monday we had east winds that were to stay that way all week. There was a high pressure system heading our way. Life is great. The weather forecasters really do not have any idea what they are talking about.
As I said, we left Port Lucaya Monday morning, getting the sails up at 11:00 and heading west in a light east wind. Our plan was to sail to the west end of Grand Bahama Island and then turn north and sail directly to Charleston. As it turns out, it was wonderful. The wind remained east and north east at 15 – 20+ knots. As we approached Settlement Point we reefed the main sail and later the jib was reefed to about 70%. POOKA was cruising along at 7.5+ knots. It was really fun. Seas were about 3 – 5 feet on the starboard beam.
By midnight Monday night we were getting close to the Gulf Stream. Seas were 4 – 6, winds about 20 east/north east and we were flying along at 7.5 – 8. Over night we continued to fly along under stars and moon that cannot be described. It was lumpy with confused seas, but all was well. By sunrise Tuesday day morning the wind had gone to 5 – 10 and variable finally settling in from the north east with much calmer seas. Even the winds were light, our boat speed remained really good due to the 3 – 3.5 knot current in the Gulf Stream. Our course was due north (true) so we rode the Stream for about 250+ miles. What an incredible phenomenon the Gulf Stream is. It is so blue, so clear and moving fast.
Our first 24 hours under sail covered 168 nm. That is good. I was hoping to see a 200 mile 24 hour run starting at midnight Monday. We had a shot at it, I believe, because during the first twelve hours we covered 92 miles. However, the winds died at about 2:30 Tuesday afternoon.
Oh well, we went for a swim. The boat was moving at 4.5 knots under main alone. But with the 3.5 knot current of the stream, the actual current we had was about 1 knot. So we dropped a line over to hang on to and spent 20 minutes in the Gulf Stream.
We ended up motoring until about midnight Tuesday night then the winds came back. During the time under motor, POOKA would normally have gone at 5 – 5.5 knots at the RPM that I set the engine. We were doing between 8.5 and 10 because of the Stream.
When the wind did come back it was from the south west. Following seas, stars to the horizon and a bright half moon kept us happy through the night.
We sailed this way north to Charleston, arriving at the breakwater at about 3:30 Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday at daybreak we were entertained by a pod of dolphin. There must have been a dozen of them. They are great. Swimming and diving and jumping all around the boat, they seem to just be enjoying life. We even have a good video of the afternoon show. Wooden says that he has never seen such entertainment before. (Laurie and I do not believe this statement. Wooden get out and about on his own at times and we are never sure what he has been up to.)
We sailed in to Charleston Harbor and arrived at the City Marina at 5:30 Wednesday afternoon. This was an incredible trip covering 396 nautical miles. Our expectation was to get here this morning (Thursday) between 9 and noon. Due to the Gulf Stream we made it 15 – 20 hours sooner than expected. All I can say is WOW.
There is nothing better than sailing at night on the ocean. The stars are incredible. During my morning watch Tuesday (3 – 6 am) I saw at least a dozen shooting stars. The Milky Way covers the sky at times almost like an opaque window poked with holes of the brightest stars imaginable. As we were sailing due north, one really did not need the compass or GPS to navigate, the North Star was certainly “A Star to Steer Her By”.
It is sad to think that this winter’s trip is now ended. But the memories and new found friends will always be there. These past two years have been more than fantastic for me. I hope to be able to do more of this sort of cruising in the future. Living in a little piece of plastic has become so “normal” that the concept of “space” is somewhat daunting. It also really fascinates me that this little boat can handle whatever is handed to her in the way of wind and sea. When you set sail for more than a few hours and are “offshore” it is nice to have a boat that can be trusted. She deserves a few well earned “kudos”.
Laurie will continue her adventure by heading up the east coast to Nova Scotia as paid crew on a powerboat. Well, a very nice motor yacht named “Never Better”. She is a Marlow 65 and will certainly be a great cruising vessel.
I will be here in Charleston for a couple weeks and then head to Catawba to see what actually happens next.
Take care. Have fun. Take advantage of the opportunities to go sailing whenever you can.
Tim
s/v POOKA
Saturday, April 21, 2007 7:36pm
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 8:54am
Friday, Apr 13, 2007 9:53pm
Sunday, Apr 8, 2007 1:54pm
Saturday, Mar 31, 2007 10:46am
Friday, Mar 23, 2007 4:38pm
March 21, 2007
It occurs to me that I have not sent any updates since shortly after arriving in
Nassau; what now seems to be quite some time ago. So here we go with
whatever might end up on this page. I do believe that I shared the tremendous
sail we had from Lucaya to Nassau, so without being too repetitive I’ll just
mention that if you get the chance to sail all night in 10 – 12 knots of breeze just
aft of the beam, don’t pass it up.
We spent a few days in Nassau waiting for a good weather window to cross the
Yellow Banks to the northern cays in the Exuma chain. The crossing we chose
would take us to Norman’s Cay. The banks are scattered with coral heads that at
some times may be too shallow to cross directly over. The water is clear and the
coral easily seen from the deck. It is good to have another pair of eyes at times.
POOKA left the Nassau Yacht Haven (also home of the Poopdeck Restaurant) at
about 0830 on February 15th. The winds were light at the time so we motored out
of the harbour heading for the Exumas. There was another boat crossing with us,
Elsa Jane, carrying Johnny and Judi Walker. We met them in Nassau and as it
turns out spent a considerable amount of time with them over the next few weeks.
They are a really nice couple from Fayetteville, Arkansas. I expect that we will see
them again at some point in time. By the way, Johnny does not drink scotch.
We crossed the banks at 1130 or so, which is a good thing because the sun was
directly overhead making seeing the coral heads
easier.
Our destination of Norman’s Cay was reached at about 3:45 that afternoon
after sailing and/or motor
sailing for 42 nm. Norman’s Cay is famous for having been at one time a major
drug lord’s headquarters, the Columbian Carlos Leder. There are some
interesting stories surrounding the area. There is a small plane awash in the
anchorage and some ruins with obvious gun shot markings on shore. The
restaurant, MacDuffs, is scheduled to re-open “soon”. {That would be Bahamas
time “soon”.} We explored by dinghy and had dinner aboard the first night there.
The second night, Johnny and Judi came for cocktails and we made plans for
heading further south. From the weather reports, it looked as though some fronts
were to be coming through in the next couple
days.
An aside on the weather this year is in order. It seems to me that it has been
considerably windier more often than last year. There have been significant
weather systems rolling through the area that last from 3 – 5 days with winds
steady at 20 – 25 knots and higher. We have spent several days either tied up or
at anchor because it just made no sense to move. There are generally two days
between the fronts that pass through. This will be touched upon as we go to
George Town and return to where we are now, near Staniel Cay. (If I remember to
do so).
Our destination from Norman’s was an anchorage off Warderick Wells near
Emerald Rock. This is in the Exumas Land and Sea Park. When I was there last
year there were no mooring balls, just an open anchorage. The park system has
since placed 27 mooring balls here as well as some in other locations throughout
the park. This really is a good idea in that it allows the anchorage to
accommodate more boats and does less damage to the bottom. The only
drawback to this location is exposure to the west. So, of course, when the heavy
weather came through it was from the west and north west.
We were able get one of the balls, E-21. I can highly recommend this one. The
trip from Norman’s was a motor boat ride. No wind at all. I think that this was the
last time we saw any days like that until the Elizabeth Harbour Race in
Georgetown.
As it was a Saturday, the Park folks hosted a beach get together for
all the boaters. Bring an appetizer, your own beverages and they provided ice.
Sailboaters will do just about anything for free ice. It was a great party, met new
people and re-acquainted with others. Wooden went with us and had such a great
time that we forgot to take him with us when we left. It worked out OK, though, as
he spent a couple days helping out Judy in the
Park office.
Sunday brought us the first of the really “interesting” weather. We had
about 30 hours of 25 – 30 knot
winds and 3 foot waves through the anchorage. While I have a lot of confidence in
my anchor, it was nice to be on a mooring ball. At one time on the 18th we had 30
– 35 knots for about 90 minutes with some gusts to 40+. Needless to say it was
like being a cork in a washing machine for a day
or so.
On the 19th it settled down, so we retrieved Wooden and hiked to Boo Boo
Hill and through parts of the Park.
It is really pretty here. From the Hill we could look out over the Emerald Rock
Anchorage and the North Anchorage of the Park, the Exuma Sound and the
shallow waters to the west of the Exuma Banks. The deep blue of the Sound and
the turquoise of the Banks are such an incredible contrast that I cannot justly
describe. You will have to come here to see it
for yourself.
Many of the cruisers we have met the past two years have sailed literally all over
the world. They say that the waters here in the Exumas are the most beautiful
they have seen. I cannot disagree. I have been lucky enough to sail in more than
a few beautiful places and this is pretty hard
to beat.
We were off the ball at Warderick Wells early on the 20th heading for one of my
favorite places, the anchorage off Big Majors Spot near Staniel Cay. This is also
just off Pig Beach. Last year there were four adult pigs wandering around waiting
to be fed scraps from the galley. This year there are also four little piglets that
were born a few weeks ago. (When I get to it, the pictures will be on the web along
with a video of the pigs.)
[I should interject here that there is a CD on the way to the webmaster which has
some of the pictures that I took while driving across the country last October and
November. It was an incredible trip. We live in a beautiful land and every one of
us should take the time to see it. My trip was done too quickly and without very
many chances to see what I was passing through. That said, it would be nice to
do it again.]
We set anchor after a 4 ½ hour sail in 15 knots of SE breeze. Another great day
here in Paradise. We again sailed with Elsa Jane and her crew. We spent a
couple days anchored here, just because we like it and because it is where the
Thunderball Cave is located. This is a good snorkeling place which is lit by a
natural skylight. You probably have seen it in some Bond movies.
On the 23rd we set off for a short sail to the anchorage off Black Point Settlement.
This is the second largest population in the Exumas at something like 300 – 400
people. There are a couple of restaurants, a small grocery and what is certainly
the best laundromat in the Exumas. (Another thing that draws cruising sailors is a
good place to do laundry.)
The next day we sailed a few miles south to an anchorage off the beach near
Hetty’s Land. After a hike across the island we cooked hot dogs on the beach
with Johnny and Judi. This would be the last we would see them until we arrived
in GTown on March 4th. What fun it was. Even
Wooden enjoyed the dogs.
The next few days saw POOKA anchored at Galliot Cut and again behind Lee
Stocking
Island. There were pretty good sails most of the time although on the way to Lee
Stocking we did sail about 10 miles out of the way to better enjoy it all. Lee
Stocking is where the Marine Research Center is/was. They lost their funding last
year and are struggling to get some of it back. Most of their funding was from US
government funded sources. When we were here last year, the primary research
was concerned with coral reefs and the ability to re-generate them. It is a long
and slow process. The estimates of the researchers are that the coral reefs in the
Florida Keys alone are at about 10 % of what
they were 50 years ago.
No sooner had we anchored than we were invited for cocktails (at the appropriate
hour) by Tom and Charlene on a Katy Krogen trawler, “Forever 39”. It seems
that all the people we meet are really great. This might be the first trawler couple
that we have met that did not previously own a
sailboat.
At any rate, we were supposed to leave Lee Stocking and go to Georgetown. The
Cruisers Regatta was getting started and the festivities were getting lively.
However, we had heard about a new marina 6 or 7 miles north of GTown that
offered dockage at $0.75 per foot, free laundry, ice and internet. It seemed too
good to pass up, so we went in for a day or two. Bruce Baumgartner was to meet
us in GTown on the 3rd. The marina is next to a golf course, the Four Seasons
Resort at Emerald Bay, a grocery and duty free liquor store. Yes, a case of
Dewar’s is considerably less here than in PA or Ohio. You get the picture; we
stayed until Bruce arrived on the 3rd and did not get to GTown until the 4th. Oh
well, we missed the decorated pet parade and the
children’s activities.
Hooking up again with Elsa Jane was good. They were having a good time with
Johnny’s sister and a friend, so we joined the fun. At this time of year GTown is
really busy. There were nearly 400 boats anchored in Elizabeth Harbour. This is a
well protected area about 2 miles wide and 15 long. It can get interesting in North
– NE winds, but generally the holding is good.
I was really amazed how many
boats were there that we had met last year.
POOKA being somewhat unique in design sort of stands out in a crowd, or is that
just my electric personality??
Our plans were to participate in both the Around Stocking Island Race (Tuesday)
and the Elizabeth Harbour Race (Thursday). If you recall, POOKA took third in the
Stocking Island race and first in the Harbour race last year. I wish that I could
report similar results this year. The Stocking Island Race was postponed until
Friday due to 25 knot winds and significant seas on the Exuma Sound side of
Stocking Island. Keep in mind that these boats (including POOKA) are set for
cruising. They are our homes for the moment, so to beat the crap out of them for
a race makes little sense. So rather than race, we sat on the boat and read, went
to the beach and did little else. (Laurie played seven games of volleyball one day
while Bruce and I drank a Kalik and watched. It
wore us out just watching.)
Wednesday was more of the same, except that Bruce’s friend, Robin, was due in
that evening. At about 7:30 pm Bruce and I donned foul weather gear, packed a
set for Robin, took some large trash bags to put her luggage in, and headed for
the dingy dock at the Exuma Market. It was windy and the waves through the
anchorage between us and town were 2 ½ + feet. It was a fun and wet ride to
town. The ride back was even wetter. It is always interesting to find your boat in
the dark among many other boats.
Thursday was the Harbour race. I blew it at the start and on the first leg. This is
all that I will say. It also might have helped if I had thought to clean the bottom of
the boat. Oh well. We had additional crew of Mary Boyko from Tranquility. She
raced with us last year as well. She and her husband run the marina at Block
Island, RI in the summer now. When we met them last year, they had just finished
a seven-year circumnavigation. They are an interesting couple. If you get to
Block Island, look for a Tayanna 37 named Tranquility. They have two wind
generators on the back, so it stands out a bit in the mooring field. In addition, the
people from Bad Boy, Sherry and Brian, made arrangements with the local US
Army base in GTown for 10 -12 of the servicemen to join us on the boats. I was
lucky to have a young sergeant from the 101st Airborne join POOKA. Brian Davis
is from Chillicothe, OH and had never sailed before. When I picked him up at the
dinghy dock that morning it was pouring rain, so it was another wet ride to
POOKA. This time I was not prepared for the weather. We all had fun, except for
getting beat by both a Tartan 37 and a Hunter 40.5. Sometimes you win and
sometimes you don’t. However, it was the first time in a race that I have had
cheeseburgers delivered to the boat. As we approached the last turning mark,
Mary’s husband, Rick, showed up in his dinghy with six packages containing
burgers and fries as well as some nice cold Kalik beer. It made me think of some
of those races on Solitude when we had ham and cheese crackers for a couple
days during a Mackinac Race. After the race, the party on Volleyball beach was
good for all. Brian was proudly wearing his POOKA t-shirt. All the servicemen
with the boaters were having a great time. They were amazed at the generosity of
everyone they met. Beers and burgers flowed freely……do you see a pattern
here?
The US base here is about 20 – 25 people. They mainly fly and maintain
helicopters used in drug traffic interdiction and supporting the Bahamas Defense
Forces.
That was Thursday. Friday we planned to head back to the Marina at Emerald Bay
(free laundry and ice and internet). I decided not to do the Around the Island race
because Bruce said that he would take us all to dinner at the “Nice” restaurant at
the Four Seasons Resort. This place required a collared shirt and long pants and
would not allow flip flops. $$$$
Before leaving GTown, Bruce, Robin and Laurie went for a walk up to the
Monument while I went up the mast of Tranquility to replace their anchor light. It
was the least that I could do after Rick delivered those burgers.
We left the anchorage at about 1:00 pm and motor sailed through the harbour as
the boats that did the race were coming back in and through to the finish line. It was
really a pretty sight. I also wish that I had taken a camera up the mast of
Tranquility as the pictures of the race start would have been very nice from up
there.
We sailed north in about 20 knots of wind close hauled with a reef in the main and
about 60% of the headsail. It was beautiful. Upon arrival at The Marina at Emerald
Bay there were 4+ foot waves rolling down the channel. This is a man-made
harbor and the channel is not very wide. As it turns out, we were there for nearly
a week because of the fronts that went through. The channel entrance became a
spectator sport for many of us watching boats coming in on Sunday and Monday.
It is incredible to watch a 150+ foot boat get tossed sideways by a breaking wave.
There were definitely some boats that were more than lucky to get in without
harm. I am glad that I had been in and out in calmer weather before having to do it
when we came in on that Friday.
Dinner at the Four Seasons was great. Thank you, Bruce.
On Saturday Bruce and Robin left for Florida and Laurie went to Nassau to meet a
friend. Laurie and Pete arrived back at POOKA on Sunday evening. Unfortunately
for Pete, this was during the week when no one left the marina. Things were
getting a little stir crazy for many of us. There were some who were trying to meet
a schedule. Fortunately, I am not on a tight one of those. Pete left on Wednesday,
and Laurie and I kept watching the weather.
Finally, after topping off provisions, water and Dewar’s, we were able to head
north on March 16th. We had a weather window to get to pretty much anywhere,
but chose to go back to Galliot Cut and anchor with protection from the west
behind Little Galliot Cay. Even though it was a little choppy when we anchored, it
was a good choice when the winds went west at 25 – 30 and the thunderstorms
rolled through. In talking with people who were anchored that night at Big Majors
Spot (where we are now) we heard there was a 100-foot motor yacht that dragged
anchor during the storm. Fortunately there were
no collisions or damage done.
On the 17th after the squalls went by, we headed north with about 20 knots on the
nose. I knew from the weather forecasts that we wanted to get up here by Sunday
the 18th at the latest. We motored through the passage between Little Farmers
and Big Farmers Cay. I decided to keep moving and get here. It was a good
decision. We went to Staniel Cay by dinghy on Sunday morning hoping to find an
open store for a few things needed.
Jan and Don Seddon will arrive here on the 24th and sail with POOKA to Nassau
over the following week. Our decision to be here was a good one as it has been
blowing 20 – 25 pretty steadily since Monday morning. We have been to Pig
Beach to feed the pigs, been swimming to clean the bottom of POOKA and today
thoroughly cleaned the inside. It is still blowing pretty hard, but we are happily in
the lee of Big Majors Spot. POOKA has a great anchor (touch wood, as they say)
and all is well. Hopefully the winds will stay to the North East next week, but a
little lighter than 20 knots. That would make for some great sailing through a
couple of Cays and back to Nassau.
Laurie and a girlfriend will meet me there on April 1st. Did I mention that Laurie
became a grandmother on February 27th, so she is off to Ft. Walton Beach, FL for
a week to begin the process of spoiling Abby
Sampson as only a Grandma can do.
March 22, 2007
We took “POOKA Mobile”, the dinghy for a 2 – 3 mile ride this morning over to
Sampson Cay. There is a very nice marina and resort there as well as a store for
Laurie to get “Sampson Cay” shirts, etc. for her kids. It was fun. Back at POOKA
we cleaned some more of the bottom (it is almost finished) and then motored
around Big Majors Spot to the Staniel Cay Marina. We will be here until Sunday
morning when Jan, Don and I will head somewhere. I am just not sure yet. Being
here will give me a chance to top off the water and wash some of the salt off
POOKA. Enjoy!
More will follow at some point in time.
Tim
s/v POOKA
Thursday, Mar 1, 2007 1:15pm
Tuesday, Feb 27, 2007 8:43pm
Thursday, Feb 22, 2007 1:49pm
We are currently on Staniel
Cay, Exumas. Our travels since Nassau have been to Normans Cay for two
nights, Emerald Rock on Warderick Wells for three nights and here for the
last two nights and one more.
We will leave here tomorrow for Black Point Settlement, then near Galliott
Cay and on to Georgetown.
I'll get more details to you soon.
Take care.
Tim
Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 10:46am
As I write this, I am sitting in a Starbucks [Nassau]. My hope was that the internet would be available here. It is not working at the marina and is not working here at the moment. But I digress.
We left Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island this past Saturday morning at about 1030 heading for Nassau. After leaving the harbour we motored for about 4 ½ hours; the wind shifted to the northeast at 9 – 12 knots. This gave us a beam reach all night long. It was certainly one of the best sails that I have ever experienced. POOKA was dancing along at 7 – 7.5 knots, waves were less than 2 feet, stars were everywhere. The moon (at least half of it) came out at about 0230 Sunday morning. I cannot begin to properly describe the feeling of flying through the night in perfect conditions. We arrived at the Nassau harbour entrance at about 0600 Sunday morning.
During the sail we were joined at one point by 12 dolphins playing in front of the boat. That is fun to watch. It seems that they are having some sort of contest to see who can come the closest to the boat without touching it.
Nassau is busy and somewhat dirty. It is a crowded harbour with cruise ships, small island freighters, ferry boats, fishing boats (both commercial and private), the “Mail Boat” and lots of cruisers. There is a string tidal current which can make docking something of a spectator sport. It is best to try to arrive at slack water for obvious reasons. Upon our arrival, we lucked out as it was going to be low tide at 0830 or so. By the time we waited for the sun to come up and a cruise ship to enter the harbour it was about 0645. We took our time getting to the marina. The Nassau Yacht Haven is the same place where I stayed for a few days last Spring on the way back to the states.
It is interesting in that there are several boats still here that were here last April. These are some folks who are “working on their boat” with the intention heading out at some point in time. In addition, between yesterday when we arrived and this afternoon 4 or 5 boats have come in that will be heading south through the Exumas at about the same time as we are. Three boats that we met in Lucaya last week came in to a marina next to the Yacht Haven this afternoon. Everyone is here awaiting a weather window to cross the Yellow Banks to one of the northern islands in the Exumas chain. We will probably head for Allen’s, Highborne or Norman Cay when we leave here. Hopefully that will be Thursday at the latest.
I have to mention the sail from Lucaya to here. It was more than spectacular. While the sail from Lauderdale to Lucaya was “fun” in the sense that it was challenging, raucous and somewhat hard on the boat, this one was what you always dream of when thinking about the perfect conditions for sailing. POOKA loves a beam reach more, I believe, than any other point of sail. (For those of you who may not be sailors, a beam reach is when the wind comes across the boat at about 90 degrees.) The autopilot worked nearly flawlessly, so all we had to do when on watch was keep an eye out for cruise ships and admire the stars. (Or attach a reading lamp to your head and finish the latest novel.) We were moving along so well that at one point I actually slowed the boat down so that we would not arrive too early. Nassau Harbour is well marked, so arrival in the dark is not a problem. But I did not really want to get to the marina before it opened. So I reefed the headsail a little bit and we arrived just before the sun came up. Can you believe that I slowed the boat down on purpose…after the grief that I gave David on Bella Mia last summer. Oh well.
One of these days I will get pictures to the webmaster….I promise. Maybe tomorrow.
Tim
s/v POOKA
[update written 2/12/07]
Friday, Feb 9, 2007 2:34pm
Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 10:45am
Friday, Jan 26, 2007 8:53am
Monday, Jan 8, 2007 10:03am
Happy New Year! All is well here in Ft. Lauderdale.
Needless to say, I have
been remiss in sending updates. Also, once I get my laptop working again I
promise to get some pictures of the time spent driving around the country
posted on the web site. This is a really beautiful country and I highly
recommend that if you have the chance to do so, you should drive across it.
Heck, even Oklahoma has a scenic overlook.
Anyway, I was in Ohio for Christmas and then to Key West for New Years.
What a strange place KW is at New Years, if not most of the time.
Laurie and Sylvane took POOKA to KW in December. She then had her sons with
their respective wife/girlfriend and her friend, Michael, there during
Christmas week. Six people on POOKA would have been a bit too much for me.
I feel that the perfect boat is one that: "Drinks Six, Eats Four, and
Sleeps Two"
We left KW on Saturday morning at 0815 and sailed to Ft. Lauderdale. It was
an incredible sail. I must say that I really like how POOKA sails.
The weather was supposed to be 10- 15 knots out of the SE. That would have
made for a really pleasant ride. As it was the winds were 20+ out of the
east. That made for a beat most of the way then a close reach once we got
about 30 miles south of Miami. It is cool to be in the Stream, though. We
were doing 9+ knots over the bottom because of the following current for
about 12 hours. Needless to say, that makes up for some lost time.
31 hours and 190 nm dock to dock. So, POOKA is "back under the bridge" at
the Las Olas Marina. POOKA will be here for a couple weeks it seems.
I am headed to Cleveland to work a few days at the boat show. Stop by
Great Lakes Sailboats at the show and see a couple of our new Jeanneaus. We
will have two of the new models for 2007: 36i and the 39 Deck Salon. Both
are beautiful boats. It may just be the time to put yourself in a new
Jeanneau for the 2007 season. How about a 43, 45 or 49?
After the show it will be back to POOKA and looking for a weather window to
go to the Bahamas for a little while.
Have a good day.
Take care.
Tim
s/v POOKA
Monday Dec 18, 12:37pm (phone message)
It’s the 'Happy Road Warrior' here [trans: I’m on land, at Catawba]. POOKA got to Key West yesterday.
Laurie and Sylvane took POOKA from Ft.
Lauderdale to Key West. They left Saturday morning and got there
yesterday afternoon. That was POOKA’s first sail ever without me!
I drove up here with my car on Saturday. I’m going to be here thru the 28th.
I’ll go back to be in the Keys/Key West for New Years.
Tim
p/l Audi
Wednesday, December 6, 9:46pm
Tuesday, December 5, 12:00pm (phone message)
We made it to Fort Lauderdale this morning. We left Charleston Saturday morning and it took us 2 days, 23 hrs to get here. That’s POOKA’s longest uninterrupted sail!
All is well
Tim
s/v POOKA
Friday, December 1, 10:04pm
Friday, December 1, 2:42pm
Wednesday, November 29, 10:24pm
Monday, November 20, 6:39pm
Wednesday, November 15, 11:41am
Saturday, October 28, 11:20am
Tuesday, October 10, 11:14am
I must tell you, this is an incredible
country. The drive so far has been unbelievable. The plains of Nebraska to
the mountains....there are no words that I can come up with to describe the
beauty.
Monday, October 2, 10:05am
Friday, July 28, 8:01am
Good morning.
Monday, July 17, 3:08pm
Wednesday, July 5, 8:45am
Friday, June 30, 7:31am
Saturday, June 24, 5:36pm
Thursday, June 15, 12:45pm
We're at 38º 11' N, 48º 22' W. The last two days have been absolutely spectacular! We had a couple of days of rain and high winds but the last few days we've been bumming along here at 5 1/2 - 6 knots The sky is blue, the water's blue; it's beautiful. We called the weather service yesterday morning to say where we are and ask where the high pressure is going to be; the guy says "Well let's not talk about the high pressure right now, let's talk about Alberto!" But Alberto won't affect us at all.
We've got about 900 miles to go to the Azores. We should be there probably around next Thursday. Celebrated my birthday yesterday -- I actually had scotch! A lot of people say 'What's so unusual about that?' Well I don't usually drink scotch when I'm sailing. (Now I know why!)
There are three of us on the boat: David, Wayne, and myself. Good sailors, very knowledgeable. We've got the main up, the jib up, and mizzen up, and we're going about 6 knots - it's wonderful. This is perfect; this is the way gentlemen are supposed to sail: lounging on cushions....At nighttime we put the plastic all around us and don't even have to put on a sweater. It was pouring down rain the other night and I was sitting here in shorts and a t-shirt. I'll send a blast email when we get to the Azores!
Monday, June 12, 9:55am
Hey there,
we're about a third of the way between Bermuda and the Azores:
37º 16' North, 55º 30' West.
All is well aboard La Bella Mia!
Monday, June 5, 8:05am
Thursday, June 1, 5:50am
Tuesday, May 30, 9:45am
Monday, May 29, 5:44pm
POOKA crew Tim here (formerly!) aboard La Bella Mia in Bermuda. We're in St. Georges, in the harbor. We got here about 2:00 this afternoon. All is well.
Friday, May 26, 3:43pm
We left Nassau Harbor about 2:00 Monday afternoon, and we’ve been motoring for a couple of days because of light air. We finally got to sail without the motor on – it’s a beautiful day. We’re about 350 miles southwest of Bermuda. We should arrive there late Monday or Tuesday morning and will stay there a few days. If the weather’s good, we’ll leave Bermuda a week from Sunday with 2 new crew members. It’s been just two of us on this leg. Bermuda to the Azores should take about 14 days.
Have a
great holiday weekend!
Tim
s/v La Bella Mia
Friday, May 19, 2:32pm
Saturday, May 13, 4:35pm
Wednesday, May 10, 8:22am
Sunday, May 7, 4:38pm
Thursday, May 4, 8:38am
Tuesday, Apr. 25, 12:32pm
Sunday, Apr. 23, 10:30am
Tim reported in from the 'Stream -- they are motoring in about 6 knots of breeze toward Ft. Lauderdale and should arrive there later today. From there, POOKA heads back up the coast to Charleston where she'll be left in dry dock while Tim sails across the Atlantic to Italy. The itinerary starting in Nassau includes Bimini, the Azores, Gibraltar, and on across the Med to Italy. A more detailed update is coming soon!
Thursday, Apr. 13, 9:46am
Sunday, Apr. 2, 1:03pm
Wednesday, Mar. 22, 10:03am
Sunday, Mar. 12, 1:56pm
Thursday, Mar. 9, 4:39pm
POOKA is back at the docks in George Town,
Exuma, Bahamas for a few days. Bruce and Cindy left on Tuesday morning and my
sister, Barbara gets here sometime next week. This will give me the “cruisers”
easy way to do laundry and get water. Namely without having to traverse
Elizabeth Harbour in the dinghy with water jugs and/or laundry bags. It is also
most likely more dry for the laptop this way as well. Also, there was a good
front that blew through here last night, so since I am currently on the boat
with only me and the cat (Wooden, is his name) I felt that it might be best to
not risk dragging the anchor single handled.
The past week has been great. We have met a
lot of interesting people here. Many off on short cruises like the one I am
doing and many who are either beginning or finishing multi-year journeys to
South America, Europe, the Pacific or around the globe. This week has been the
annual George Town Cruisers Regatta. It is crazy. There are probably 275 –
300 boats in the area. There are parties, for sure. The opening night event
last Friday was a pet parade. There were 20+ dogs, two parrots, a cat and a
hermit crab. People decorated their dogs and themselves and prizes were awarded
for the best ones. Kids events. Bridge and volleyball games. Tennis and
Golf. AND of course some sailboat races.
Saturday was the Around Stocking Island Race. This one takes the boats around Stocking Island (this is the island that protects Elizabeth Harbour and George Town from the easterlies). It was about 20 miles. POOKA was in PHRF Class B with 10 other boats. I am happy to say that with a crew of Laurie Sampson, Leo Hunt, Bruce and Cindy Baumgartner we placed Third in our Class.
Monday afternoon was a buoyed course in the Harbour itself. Twice around a 4.75
mile course that took us near some reefs and right through all the boats at
anchor we took First in our class. We were fourth overall on corrected time
including the big boats. A Beneteau 51 that we did beat and three Saga 43s that
we beat one of. It was a great time.
Crew was Bruce and Cindy as well as Mary Boyko from Tranquility. She and her
husband have just completed a 7 year circumnavigation of the globe and will be
heading back to their home port of Block Island, RI this summer. Needless to
say, Mary was really interesting. This was her first race.
That is all for now. I’ve got to go and put things in the dryer.
Tim
Sunday, Mar. 5, 11:01am
We're still anchored off George Town, Exuma in the Bahamas between Great Exuma and Stocking Island. POOKA's having a good time. We did a race yesterday around Stocking Island and POOKA took third in her class so we get a flag for it! All is well.
Monday, Feb. 27, 11:31am
Sunday, Feb. 19, 9:50am
Saturday, Feb. 18, 8:25pm
Tuesday, Feb. 14, 6:47pm
Friday, Feb. 10, 1:53pm
I am sitting here at 12:20 at the bar in the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. A great place.
Anyway, Judy and I left Nassau on the Monday after the Steelers victory in the Super Bowl. It was a spectacular sail across to Highborne Cay in the Exumas where we anchored with a few other boats, including the folks on Aloha that we met in the marina in Nassau. Bernie and Kate.
After dragging anchor we re-set in a little better place and settled in for some cocktails, dinner and a beautiful evening.
Tuesday we motored to an anchorage on the west side of Warderick Wells Cay. Another spectacular evening. Inflated the dingy and took a tour.
Wednesday we motor sailed in light air to near Staniel Cay and anchored near Big Major Spot near Pig Beach. Yes, there were four pigs that greeted us on the beach. They lost interest when they realized that we had no food.
There was a party on the beach put together by some of the boats at anchor, but we missed what was happening. Oh well. Next time.
Arrived here yesterday afternoon. Laurie Sampson rejoined the crew yesterday as well. Judy left this morning.
This place is great. Very relaxed and laid back. Great spot. We will stay here through Monday waiting for a strong northerly front to pass through. And, there is a party here on Saturday to raise funds for the local library, school, etc. Sounds like a great time.
All in all, the Exumas have been great. I have never seen water of the variety of color as I have seen the past few days. At times it is like someone has drawn a line and said “inside this shall be a light turquoise”. Over here shall be deep blue.
Barring serious injury, all will be well. I tried last night by trippin my way on to the boat. Only a couple bruises. POOKA is doing very well. She has enjoyed the sailing and the anchoring. She is less sure of the dock where she now sits, but all is well. Meeting some great folks and all boaters seem to be there to help one another when needed.
Last night I came to the bar to tell them that we would be three for dinner. The bartender said “what are you ordering?” This was a about three in the afternoon. We had to tell our order (fresh catch of the day…grouper). The dinner bell rang a precisely 7:30 pm. It was great.
Monday, Feb. 6, 5:04pm
Saturday, Feb. 4, 4:31pm
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2:49pm
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 8:35pm
Thursday, Jan. 26, 10:40am
Thursday, Jan. 19, 4:18pm
Wednesday, Jan. 18, 4:53pm
Sunday, Jan. 8, 10:21am
Monday, Jan. 2, 9:18am
Monday, Dec. 19, 4:34pm
I stayed in Melbourne yesterday. Actually, I left at 0745 am and headed out into the Indian River. It was a little foggy in the marina. When I got to the river, visibility was about 50 feet. It seemed to me at that point to be a good idea to go back to the marina and wait for another day.
POOKA is currently in Ft. Pierce FL. We had a nice motor here today from Melbourne. Enhanced by 20 -25 knot winds out of the north. Tied up at the Harbortown Marina. It is blowing hard and sort of raining. But one does not need to shovel rain.
All is well. Plans are to head to Jupiter FL tomorrow.
Take care.
Tim
Friday, Dec. 16, 5:41pm
Just a quick one for today. POOKA and I are in Titusville, FL. A great trip from Daytona Beach today of about 42 nm. That is about enough for one day when looking for the daymarks without another pair of eyes. A great dinner last night with Dave and Mary at their Daytona Beach home. A very nice place, by the way.
Here is some really good news, though. POOKA now has lazy jacks. How very exciting.
Have a good weekend. Headed to the Melbourne FL area tomorrow...weather permitting. Blowing like stink out there at the moment out of the NNE.
Tim
Thursday, Dec. 15, 4:06pm
Here is something of an interesting story. We (Dave Caracci and I) arrived in Daytona Beach this past Saturday. It was a nice day. Mary fixed a great meal in their condo and we watched the Holiday Lighted Boat Parade through the Daytona Beach area.
Sunday morning Dave and I planned to launch their Tiara powerboat. Have any of you done this?
The process, for those of you who wonder what all the fuss is at the launch ramp might be, is to back the trailer (and boat) down the ramp until the boat floats free from the trailer. One would then normally tie up the boat while the vehicle and trailer are pulled safely into the parking lot.
Every so often things do not go as planned. In this case it was not a disaster, just pretty funny. (I can relate one that would be considered a disaster later if anyone is interested.)
Anyway, it seems that Dave had put a few coats of bottom paint on the boat prior to leaving Ohio the week before. There is carpeting on the trailer to protect the boat.
Do you begin to get the picture?
While traveling, the boat is tied down to the trailer. We did remove all the tie downs prior to putting the boat in the water.
It seems that the trailer was stuck to the boat. (Mary suggested that we may have a new adhesive here to be marketed under Swimming Squirrel Enterprises, but that is also another story.)
This does not happen very often. Needless to say, we were perplexed as to what to do. We jumped up and down on the trailer. We pushed and pulled.
We went to have breakfast. Mary and I explored a couple of great used book stores in Daytona Beach.
Dave jacked up the trailer and tried to separate the trailer from the boat. Now, this trailer weighs in at 1700 pounds!!!!
We put it all back in the water thinking that now that it had had time to think about it, the trailer would fall off the boat. We jumped up and down on the trailer. We pushed and pulled on the boat. Guess what.....the trailer was still stuck to the boat. We were still perplexed.
Would it be possible to launch the boat with trailer attached and head out into the ICW to see if it had an affect on the operation of the powerboat? What effect would it have on the speed and fuel efficiency to operate a 26 foot Tiara with a trailer attached to the bottom? Would it damage the outdrive if it fell off under way? Even Jim Dubbert what somewhat puzzled. He kept asking Dave if we had, indeed, taken all the tie downs off the boat.
Monday morning, Dave took the boat (and trailer) to a local boatyard and asked them to launch the boat using their sling.
It seems that they were a little surprised when the trailer was lifted off the ground when the boat was lifted.
Thinking quickly, Dave lept (literally) into action. Jumping up on the fender of the trailer, he said that this always happens in Ohio and not to worry about. It took four guys jumping up and down on the fender of the trailer to separate it from the boat.
The boatyard employees will have some good stories to tell for the Holidays about this sailor gone powerboating.
I am not sure if there is a moral to this story or not, but it was surely an entertaining event.
Dave and Mary took me for a boat ride after the launch. It is certainly different to cruise the ICW at 25 mph as opposed to 7 knots.
I am headed back to Daytona Beach today from Tampa and will be heading south again. Plans are to spend the Holidays in Ft. Lauderdale and go to the Bahamas around the middle of January.
Enjoy.
Tim
Sunday, Dec. 11, 11:38am
I am in Daytona Beach. Arrived here yesterday with Dave Caracci. He met me at Amelia Island and we spent two days getting here. The stop on the way was in St. Augustine. Very nice.
Last night was the lighted boat parade here in Daytona. Really cool to watch from the Caracci 7th floor condo overlooking the ICW.
I'm headed to Tampa (via car) tomorrow for a meeting and will be back here on Wednesday and plan to head south on either Thursday or Friday.
Hope all is well.
Tim
Friday, Dec. 9, 2:33pm (from Mary Caracci)
Friday, December 9th (Daytona Beach)
Dave and Mary Caracci had such a terrific time with Tim and POOKA in the Erie Canal in September, we tracked the wanderers down in Florida this week. We drove up I-95 from our winter home in Daytona Beach to meet Tim and his floating castle at the Amelia Island Yacht Basin. We enjoyed a wonderful "low country" dinner together at Barbara Jean's restaurant. Dave and Mary ordered a coastal platter of buttermilk battered shrimp, crab cakes, fish, and she crab soup. Tim ordered comfort food - meat loaf, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, and green beans. Could it be that our traveling friend has had his fill of seafood and shellfish for a while?
We spent the night on POOKA, sleeping to the sound of heavy rain on the cabin top. Mary waved farewell to Tim and Dave at sunrise, as they motored off to continue the journey south down the Intercoastal Waterway. Friday night will find them docked in America's oldest city, St. Augustine, at a marina so new, it is not on any of Tim's charts. Are they warm? Yes, the temperature today is 65 degrees. Are they wet? Very, the rain from an old fashioned tropical low pressure system continues today. But, the boys are wearing their summer weight foulies, sou'westers, and boots, so all is well behind POOKA's excellent dodger.
On Saturday, the plan calls for Tim and Dave to motor down the ICW from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach, where POOKA has a reservation at the Halifax Harbor Marina. I will know when they arrive, because I can see the ICW and the last opening bridge from my balcony. The channel into the marina passes by our condominium, and dinner and Dewars will be waiting. More comfort food, I suppose. Saturday night is the annual Daytona Beach "holidy boat parade, which we will enjoy from high on top of Marina Point.
Sunday calls for Tim and Dave and Mary to enter a 17 foot Buccaneer sailboat in the Halifax Sailing Association intercoastal race. We will see whether we can translate our collective Beneteau racing experience onto a little centerboard boat with a hanky for a jib! On Monday, Tim will leave for a meeting in Tampa, driving the Caracci's little purple (yes, purple) pick-up truck. POOKA will be safe at HHM until Tim returns to Daytona mid-week.
The three of us are thinking of our cold and frozen friends up north, as you shovel snow and try to stay warm. We really do miss you, but not the weather.
Mary Caracci
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 8:55am
I am on Amelia Island near Fernandina Beach. This is about 20 miles from Jacksonville.
My plans were to leave here tomorrow, but the weather looks like it will be lousy and raining and windy so I'll most likely wait until Friday.
I hope to get to Daytona by Sunday. Then I have to drive to Tampa on Monday for a meeting or two. Then back to Daytona and going south.
The calendar is changing. I will be in Florida until mid-January. Then I will head to the Bahamas. I need to go to Pittsburgh January 4 - 7 for some meetings. Oh well.
Have a good one.
Tim
Tuesday, Dec. 6, 4:18pm
It is sunny today...although a bit chilly. High in the upper 50's...
We left Isle of Hope near Savannah and went 40+ miles to an anchorage in New Teakettle Creek. It was beautiful. Anchored in about 13.5 feet at low tide. High tide was 19.6 feet. Crystal clear skies, new moon. What more could one ask?
Dinner was spaghetti and a great salad. The spaghetti sauce was given to me by my cousin Valerie while I was in Annapolis. Homemade and very good.
We left there and went to the Golden Isles Marina near St. Simon's Island. Stayed there 2 nights. Ate well. Re-provisioned POOKA. Down to only one bottle of Dewar's. Can't let that happen. A very nice marina with loaner car and a driver to take us to St. Simon's for dinner.
Today we covered 40+ miles and are in the Amelia Island Marina a few miles from Fernandina Beach, FL. This is a great little town with a bit of history. A large shrimp industry. If you get this way the first week of May they have a large Shrimp Festival. I was here a few years ago while it was going on. Lots of different ways to prepare shrimp.
Mike leaves tomorrow morning to head back to Indiana. Too bad. It has been a good week. All is well here.
Take care.
Tim
Monday, Dec. 5, 8:15pm (notes from phone call)
Pooka is at the Golden Isles Marina near Brunswick, GA. Tim expects to anchor near Amelia Island tomorrow, and make it to Jacksonville, FL by Wednesday.
Friday, Dec. 2, 9:03pm
Well, let's see what has happened since the last update.
Mike and I left Charleston on Wednesday 11/30 and anchored in the South Edisto River near Fenwick Island. That was great. Our initial plan was to get to Dataw Island. Unfortunately we spent about an hour aground that afternoon. Hard aground. It was mud and sand. So that was good. A nice power boater pulled us off the hard. It was interesting. One needs to pay attention in these parts. We ended up in about 3 feet of water being pushed by the wind, ebbing tide and current even further than that. There were no substantial injuries. POOKA is doing fine in spite of my attempts to beat her up. A great anchorage and steaks on the grill were well deserved after the afternoon.
Last night was at Skull Creek Marina at the north end of Hilton Head Island. Very nice. Had dinner at a great place. Old Fort Pub, with a long time friend of mine, Walt Lineberger. Many of you know Walt. He is doing very well in "retirement" and says HI to everyone.
Today we went Isle of Hope near Savannah, GA. Great day, although cold and windy. This is, indeed, a beautiful part of the world. The "low country" is incredible.
Tomorrow to an anchorage somewhere and then to St Simon's Island on Sunday. We will be in Florida by Monday. Probably near Fernandina Beach or Amelia Island. Jacksonville on Tuesday.
Hope all is well out there and that you are preparing for the Holiday Season.
Tim
s/v POOKA
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 5:17pm
We are anchored in the South Edisto River near Fenwick Island. It’s a beautiful afternoon/evening here. The sun has gone down now, the sky is turning purple. We left Charleston this morning and went about 40 miles. We had planned to go further but we spent about an hour stuck in the mud…oh well. Nothing serious. All is well here on Pooka.
Sunday, Nov. 27, 4:36pm
All is well here. I went to Richmond last Wednesday for the weekend. Returned here today and will head back into the ICW on Wednesday morning. Mike Smith will be here on Tuesday afternoon. So that should be great.
Monday, Nov. 21, 5:02pm
Back in Charleston SC after several days in Phoenix. POOKA handled being here alone very well.
Today it is raining and windy. Forecast for this evening are for 30 - 40 knot winds, water spouts and all sorts of good things. Needless to say, the fenders are getting a work out today.
All is well. Headed for Richmond on Wednesday for the Turkey Day thing.
Loulie has added some pictures to the web site.
Tim
s/v POOKA
Monday, Nov. 14, 10:56am
We arrived in Charleston SC on Saturday afternoon. POOKA is doing well.
Prior to getting here we were in Little River, Myrtle Beach area, Georgetown SC and Isle of Palms. The weather has been great. Georgetown was a nice little town off the Waccamaw River. Francis Marion aka Swamp Fox spent a lot of time there.
In all the trip is excellent. I even had the webmaster herself with me for a couple days. Masonboro to Myrtle beach.
Charleston is, of course, beautiful. A long time friend from high school days lives here so that has worked out well. It has probably been 15 - 20 years since I've seen Kathy (McCague) Pease. She is an avid sailor here and has arranged for me to have a guest membership at the Charleston Yacht Club which is next to the City Marina. POOKA will call this marina home for a couple weeks while I head to Phoenix and then Richmond for the Turkeyday holiday.
We did get to have a great sail in the Charleston Harbor yesterday afternoon. Tides are interesting. All is well. Take care. Drop me a note or give me a call if you want to join me for a few days along the way.
Tim
s/v POOKA
Friday Nov. 4, 6:12pm
Last night we were in Morehead City. Today we came about 55nm to a place called Hampstead NC at the Harbour Village Marina. It’s an upscale place with million dollar houses ringing it. They gave us a golf cart to get to the restrooms and showers, and surprisingly it’s one of the cheaper marinas I’ve stayed in! We had a glass of wine with some people we bumped into a few days ago, then ordered a pizza (because there’s no restaurant nearby), which will be delivered shortly!
Thursday Nov. 3, 7:43am
Sunday Oct. 31, 7:45pm (transcribed phone call)
We left Norfolk this morning around 8:00am and headed down into the Intracoastal Waterway. We’re now in Coinjock NC. Had a long day today, with about a 2-hr delay at a bridge – with bridges only opening on the hour. We went through one lock on the ICW. We were with about 25 boats milling about, all heading south. Of course all the power boats took off, leaving 2 trawlers and 3 sailboats in their wake.
We’re here in Coinjock with my sister Barbara. I’m not sure where we’re going to go tomorrow. We talked about going to Bellhaven but that’s about 75 miles; I don’t think we’ll go that far, so we’ll find a place to anchor. Took the Virginia cut on the ICW – it’s beautiful, really gorgeous, really fun.
Had dinner at the Coinjock Marina Restaurant and Lounge, which is along a cut in the canal where there’s one marina and restaurant on one side, and a marina and restaurant on the other side. There are a bunch of boats tied up, and behind us is a 40-ft trawler whose anchor is almost sticking up over my stern.
The weekend in Pittsburgh went well; really enjoyed it. (The timing of the trip was perfect because it rained here all weekend.) I was ready to get back to the boat! I was looking forward to getting back to Norfolk Sunday morning. The lock on the boat was broken; I had to crawl in through the front hatch. Barbara got here yesterday afternoon, I finished changing the oil, we went to the grocery store, had dinner at a restaurant in the marina in Portsmouth, and left this morning right at 8:00am.
Got to the 1st bridge but it doesn’t open between 6:30 and 8:30 because it’s rush hour. So at 8:30 there was a parade of boats heading south. At one point, I counted 27 boats sitting there waiting for the bridge to open. Boats everywhere, on both sides of the canal, idly waiting to head south. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and today it was 70 degrees. So late afternoon as the sun went down, we got in around 5:30pm. We only went 50 miles today; because of the delays at the bridges and lock. It took us 9.5 hrs to go 50 miles which should have taken us 6 hrs. All is well!
Friday Oct. 28, 5:20pm
Monday Oct. 24, 5:49pm
Made it to Norfolk. It was a long [indecipherable] motor into the wind and waves getting down the bay...probably the worst, messiest, lousiest day on the water I think I ever had! But I'm here at Portsmouth, Virginia across from Norfolk at the Tidewater Yacht Marina. All is well. Going to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for a couple of days, then back here on Sunday and heading into the Intracoastal Waterway. I'm currently parked at mile zero on the Intracoastal.
ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Thursday Oct. 20
I left Annapolis yesterday (10/19) and went to Solomons Island off the Patuxent River. Very pretty. Stayed here today to wander around. I'll probably head for the Great Wicomico River tomorrow. The Rappahannock River on Saturday. All, of course, weather permitting. Plans still have me getting to Norfolk, VA on Monday or Tuesday.
PS. I love the dodger.
UPDATE: Thursday Oct. 20, 5:56pm
I [sent the webmaster] some additional pictures today. Including some of the wind generator. If you are over 6 feet tall, don't stand in the starboard aft corner of the deck.
I am on Solomon's Island today. Plan to leave here and go to Reedville tomorrow (Great Wicominic River or something like that).
It still looks like we will get to Norfolk around Monday or Tuesday. I'll be going to Pittsburgh for a few days next week.
Barbara will be joining me from October 31 to November 5 or 6.
Looking for crew for the following dates. This will all be Intracoastal Waterway.
November 6 -13 or 14. This will be traveling from Wrightsville Beach area to Charleston SC.
Mike Smith has indicated that he may be with me from November 28/29 to December 5/6. This will probably get us to somewhere near Savannah or maybe a little further along.
After that I'm looking for anyone who wants to explore the ICW along southern Georgia and Florida. There is no time table after Thanksgiving.
Let me know. I plan to take my time heading through Florida.
Have I mentioned that I really like the dodger??
Thursday Oct. 20, 3:06pm
I'm on Solomons Island in Maryland, off the Patuxent River. I'll be leaving here tomorrow (got here yesterday).
UPDATE: Monday Oct. 17, 4:40pm
As of 4 o'clock this afternoon, POOKA has a wind generator. Pretty cool looking!
[Webmaster's note: Looks like Tim decided not to wait for the results of Dave's poll on the Message Board!!]
Monday Oct. 17, 9:02pm
Wow. It is hard to believe that it is mid October. I guess that it has been 5 weeks now. Still having a good time. I am not sure if I mentioned that I did get to the sailboat show in Annapolis last week with my sister Barbara. It was fun.
POOKA is back in Mill Creek in Annapolis. We returned here yesterday after the Mirabella III gathering in Baltimore over the weekend.
It was a great weekend. We arrived in Baltimore Thursday afternoon after a motor ride into 20+ knots and waves in our face (I love the dodger). It finally quit raining on Friday and actually turned out to be a great day on Saturday.
Terri and David came over for dinner on Friday. Barbara came and joined the gang for lunch on Saturday.
The Mirabella III get together was great. The original group from 2 years ago on the big boats got together and had some fun and beverages. Dave and Cheryl Lenaburg joined us for dinner Saturday night.
Sunday Patty Meyers, Hank and Mindi Cushard and I sailed back to Annapolis. Winds were steady at 27-30 knots of the starboard quarter with gusts somewhat over 33+. It was a raucous and fast ride down the bay with only a reefed main up. Steady speeds of 7.5 and some surfing over 10.
Sunny since Saturday and all is well.
Thanks to Pat Saether, Hank Cushard and David Lenaburg at Banner Life for getting the M 3 group together.
I'll probably leave Annapolis Wednesday morning. Anyone want to go for a ride. The weather looks like it will be good.
Saturday Oct. 15, 4:42pm
It's Saturday afternoon and I'm in Baltimore Inner Harbor Marina. I got here Thursday. It's a beautiful day today, and I've got a whole bunch of people here that were with me on the Mirabella III trip two years ago, and we're celebrating that. We're having a real Mirabella reunion!
Wednesday Oct. 12, 8:49am
Still here in rain in Annapolis. Spent today with my cousin Valerie's husband, Dick Tudan, gathering pieces and stuff to install a wind generator. It will be good to have in the Bahamas.
Other than that, there is not too much to report. I'll be heading to Baltimore on Thursday. It appears that there will be a good party there on Saturday as the "Mirabella III" gang gets together.
I'll be back here on Sunday afternoon for a day or two and then will be heading south to Norfolk.
Anyone interested in sailing for a few days from Annapolis to Norfolk is more than welcome. POOKA is doing well.
Saturday Oct. 8, 5:27pm
Stuck here in Fairlee Creek at the Great Oak Landing Marina. Rain and more rain all day long and it continues. Annapolis has to wait for tomorrow to receive me.
UPDATE: Thursday Oct. 6, 6:16pm
POOKA and I are doing well. The trip has been great.
We left Sandy Hook yesterday and after 30 hours arrived at a marina in the C and D Canal. Annapolis this weekend (I have dockage available at a cousin’s house near there). Rock Hall and Baltimore late next week. I will be leaving Baltimore late morning or early afternoon on October 18th. My plans are to head for Norfolk arriving there on the 25th. Anyone out there looking to join me for any part of that trip is welcome.
Thursday Oct. 6, 6:04pm
We arrived in Bear, Delaware yesterday at 3:00 in the afternoon after a 30 hour 195 nm trip from Atlantic Highlands, NJ (Sandy Hook). It was a beautiful day and great starry night. We sailed about 7 of the 30 hours. Light air and mixed up seas kept us motoring.
We are in the North Summit Marina again tonight and will head to either Rock Hall, MD or the Annapolis area tomorrow. The boat show is in Annapolis this weekend, so it will be busy.
Tuesday Oct. 4, 12:05pm
POOKA is sailing/motoring along the coast of New Jersey in 70 degree weather and a light wind. They left Sandy Hook at 9:00am and are passing Bradley Beach and Shark River, about 85 miles from Cape May. They hope to make the Delaware Bay tonight or tomorrow morning, and should be at Chesapeake City, MD via the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal tomorrow night. If all goes well, they expect to arrive in Baltimore on Saturday or Sunday.
Sunday Oct. 2, 10:00am
Update:
POOKA is in New York City. Went under the George Washington Bridge at 9:15am,
and currently at the 79th Street Bridge. “All of New York and Hoboken New
Jersey are around me.” Will be in Sandy Hook tonight.
--Tim, from Swimming Squirrel Enterprises
Friday Sept. 30, 5:48pm
Tim called with an update: they’re in Tarrytown NY, about 20 miles north of New York City. The Hudson River is gorgeous. All is well. The mast is up, the sails are on, and POOKA is happy. They expect to be in NYC Sunday and plan to make it to Sandy Hook, NJ by Sunday night. Tim has had very little Internet access but hopes to send pictures soon.
Sunday Sept. 25, 5:18pm (from Dave & Mary Caracci)
Saturday Sept. 24, 1:12pm (from Judy McKenna)
Had a phone call from Tim 1pm Saturday afternoon - they are through the Erie Canal - now on the Hudson River in Troy NY - thru all the locks, officially at sea level as tidal. I leave late tonight taking the train over to Albany to meet him tomorrow and will spend the week floating down the Hudson with him.
UPDATE: Wednesday Sept. 21, 9:37pm
Here is a quick update of what is happening so far. We are in the Erie Canal in Brewerton NY on the western bank of Lake Oneida. Hopefully we will get through the rest of the canal by Saturday afternoon and be in the Hudson next week. Things are going well.
Please do not respond to this email as I have had limited access to the internet so far. Working on that one, though.
POOKA is doing well. I'll be sending some pictures to the webmaster tonight, maybe, as an update of some stuff so far.
One thing that I want to mention to everyone is how it made me feel at the party on Catawba a few weeks ago. All of you from the CIC Club and others who have wished me well and have been such great friends make me feel really good. Many of you have given me gift certificates to West Marine and BoatUS. These were used to purchase a well needed item for the portions of the trip that will be off shore. A very functional EPIRB. So thank you very much. I hope that I never have to use it, but it is good to have along.
All
is well here in Brewerton NY. Dave and Mary are sleeping.
We plan to leave here tomorrow before 6 am and head across Lake Oneida.
Enjoy and thanks for your support. Go to www.timtrip.com for the latest.
Check out Loulie aka: webmaster@timtripcom and her latest updates. She is the one who is doing the web site for this trip.
Tim
Wednesday Sept. 21, 9:57am
Spent the night of the 19th in Medina, NY and the night of the 20th in Newark, NY. We hope to spend tonight in Brewerton, NY. The Canal is beautiful. Having fun.
Monday Sept. 19, 4:30pm EDT
Tim called with a verbal update -- he hasn’t had internet access or email since last week.
Erie to Buffalo:
Pooka arrived at the Buffalo Yacht Club around 6:00pm Saturday with Don and Susie disembarking here.
Buffalo to Tonawanda:
Don and Mary Carracci joined Tim on Pooka Sunday, and they motored to Tonawanda, where they stopped at Wardell’s Boatyard to prepare for un-stepping the mast.
Tonawanda to Medina:
At 9:30am Monday, Pooka was fueled for the Erie Canal, and they took the mast down. It was placed on the blocks and beams that were prepared on the boat in advance, and Tim has to remember that Pooka is now 25 feet long! They entered the Canal by 11:00am. Pooka successfully negotiated her first two locks today near Lockport. Tim says the Erie Canal is gorgeous, really interesting. Tomorrow the Canal will actually take them over a road!
UPDATE: Friday, Sept. 16, 3:46pm EDT
Planning to leave here (Erie) around 0530 tomorrow morning and get to Buffalo around 1730 tomorrow evening. We will be at the Buffalo Yacht Club. I'll get the sails and boom off there.
Dave and Mary Caracci are joining me there and we will head to Tonawanda to take the mast down and head for the canal.
Friday, Sept. 16, 2:45pm EDT
Hi there. This is an update of what is happening so far.
We made it to Cleveland in fine shape on Tuesday afternoon. Got there right at 4:30 pm (1630). The Lakeside Yacht Club was nice and friendly. The food and bar were great. As it turned out we motored almost all the way due to no wind until around 3:30. We did sail for about 30 minutes. Had some visitors. A friend, DeAnne, stopped by for a drink before dinner and Don and Jan Seddon stopped by after dinner for some drinks both at the bar and on POOKA. Cool.
Wednesday we left there at around 8:30 (0830) and headed to Ashtabula. We sailed for about the first 45 minutes and the wind died. Oh well, go figure. Arrived in time for the 3:30 (1530) bridge. So POOKA went under her first opening bridge. One of the bascule type. We stayed at the Ashtabula Yacht Club for the night, had a great meal at the L.A. Cafe in town. Very commercial river. Trains and coal and all that all night.
Left Thursday morning with the 0830 bridge opening. Winds were 20 - 25 with gusts over 30 right out of the north east...right on the nose. POOKA handled it well. Some of the crew did not. We motor sailed with the main reefed on a close reach all the way to Erie. 6 + foot waves and all that. But it was a beautiful day. Arrived here at the Erie Yacht Club at about 1600. Beautiful area and very nice club. Dinner here and live music. Very busy club.
Today we awoke early to find torrential downpours and lightening and very high winds (again out of the north east). Decided to stay here for the day and leave early Saturday for Buffalo. A friend loaned me a vehicle so we were able to hit a grocery store and pick up a few things.