Sunday, October 30, 2016

The Dog Days are Over!

The weather has been a big part of the days of our lives lately.  Hermine and Matthew became close friends of ours, and have now left us with a few lessons on life aboard.  Thankfully, we have had a hurricane plan since we arrived in New Bern, and were able to follow through and keep both us and the Tatiana safe.  In between, we spent the better part of September working on the boat, getting it ready for the trip south.  We are now sporting a brand new dodger, or windshield.   We have stripped and re-varnished various teak parts around the boat, and tracked down some whirring maintenance with the propeller.  Matthew also allowed us the opportunity for some haul out maintenance on the boat, including some new bottom paint and renewed shine to the hull.

In the boatyard before re-launch....


Tatiana is sporting her new dodger!


Following Matthew, the weather cooled dramatically, and our wandering toes are getting itchy.  Thankfully, it was not a case of athlete's feet.  We instead set our sights on Ocracoke, NC.  A couple of nights anchoring in the South River and then in Silver Lake at Ocracoke were just what we needed to renew our focus in cruising and getting ready to head south.  Unfortunately, Matthew left many others in less fortunate situation that ours, and our path ahead is full of uncertainty.  So, we are taking our time before we head off, so we can make sure there are no new navigational hazards in our path. 

At Ocracoke, we were able to head to the beach and check out the local lighthouse. 




A view from the anchorage of the lighthouse...


This called too smooth sailing, also known as motoring


Enjoying some OBX beach time!


For now, we are back in New Bern.  We have just a few final projects and a few final goodbyes to all our new friends.  It has been a great summer here in NC, and we look forward to coming back one day.  But, you know, summer's over, so it's time to head south again!




9 comments:

  1. Great glad to hear you are safe and on the way. Where are you? We will be in mobile around the the 14 th.

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  2. Great to hear you are almost to Mobile. I'm sure you are looking forward to enjoying the Gulf coast before it gets too cold.

    We are at Cape Fear in NC, working our way south again. For anyone reading, you can check out the map page to see our latest location and where we have been thus far in "season 2".

    Keep in touch and happy cruising!

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  3. See you two are on the way. Are you headed to the Bahamas? We are in mobile on dog river working in some projects. Hope to be in the keys around the first of Dec. Glad to see you finished your projects and are headed south

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  4. See you two are on the way. Are you headed to the Bahamas? We are in mobile on dog river working in some projects. Hope to be in the keys around the first of Dec. Glad to see you finished your projects and are headed south

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    1. Wow, you guys are really moving fast! Welcome (back) to the salt. Did you unstep your mast for the trip?
      We just finished an overnight trip offshore from Hilton Head, SC to Cumberland Island, GA. Yes, we are hoping to return to the Bahamas, aiming for the Exumas this winter, with maybe a few side trips to the out islands beyond. Are you staying in the keys for the winter?

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    2. Glad to be in the salt. We are leaving dog river in the am after a week of projects. Plan to stay in the keys for the winter. May head to the Bahamas not sure. Heard good things about the exumas. Will let you know if we head that way. Daft travels to you as you head south.

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    3. Glad to be in the salt. We are leaving dog river in the am after a week of projects. Plan to stay in the keys for the winter. May head to the Bahamas not sure. Heard good things about the exumas. Will let you know if we head that way. Daft travels to you as you head south.

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  5. Daft travels to you, too! :) I'm sure you know more places to go in the keys, but we found our six foot draft limiting there. Since we wanted to make the Bahamas last year, we chose to leave after about a week in Marathon. It'd be awesome to see you in the Bahamas, definitely let us know if you head that way!

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