It's a HARD Life!

Well, we made it to the yard.  Monday dawned early and we prepared for our exit from the mooring field.  After getting to shore for a quick bit of exercise, we grabbed an early lunch aboard and dropped the mooring ball at 12:25 for the 12:30 Bridge of Lions opening.  We made good time to the yard where they had had an unexpected problem with a boat in the lift so we settled onto the dock and enjoyed the sunny day.

Pulling into a lift bay can be tricky business with any current and since we missed our slack tide opportunity with the delay, we had a bit more of an eventful haul.  No problem, just a little more to get excited about with the current pull and Moonshadow's heavy hulk.

The yard here is quite impressive really.  After being hauled, we were thoroughly power washed and blocked in our space.  Every step of the way, the yard maintained its meticulous standards.  Every area is completely cleaned after each job and the staff are professional and friendly.  What a nice surprise!

So we got right to work pulling the first thru hull before dark fell.  A thru hull is where any drain or water intake makes its way through the hull - in other words, the connections between top of the water and bottom of the ocean!  These, of course, are quite important!  Being that our girl is a rescue (think animal shelter!), it wasn't surprising that all of the thru hulls on the boat were leaking and worn.  We feel pretty good about getting this fixed, needless to say!

The first thru hull and another transponder came out with relative ease giving us hope for those yet to be done.  Yesterday was all about exactly that.  We now have 7 thru hulls out of the boat and another hole ready for our new depth gauge (another important MUST HAVE for a boat with 5+ feet under the water!).
We found a new problem needing attention but have contracted the yard to get it done while we're here so the engine will be in fine condition for our journey as well.

I spent the day at first helping Rob before he got into spaces where two couldn't go and then I took advantage of the gorgeous sunshine and warm weather and pulled all the cockpit cushions off the boat for a good bath.

At the end of the day Rob looked like he had been run through the ringer!  A Home Depot/West Marine run was required to we dinghy-ed across the creek to Hurricane Patty's and ran our errands before returning for some happy hour beer and wings and heading back to the boat.  We took our space heater into the showers and had a warm, hot soak after a long day of grinding, sanding, cleaning and otherwise busting knuckles - getting ready for another day (or two or five!) of what is still to come.

Visits from Home!

It all started almost 17 years ago when we relocated from Myrtle Beach and moved to Charleston.  We had just built our plant for the business in Ravenel and found a house close by on 8 1/2 acres.  Rob didn't waste any time and went right to making changes to the landscape of our new property.

That's when our neighbors, James and Gloria Lewis, came by.  Being out in the country, neighbors aren't that close by, but the Lewis's 25 acres bordered ours and our houses were actually quite close together.  James saw us out there working and came over to offer a hand.  Next thing we know, he's got his bush hog and is out clearing brush!  We became immediate friends.





Fast forward - WAY forward - to this weekend and we find James and Gloria deciding to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with us here in St. Augustine.  They arrived around 1 on Friday and we met at the local Mexican place (keeping in tradition with the many lunches at Senor Tequila back home we shared).  At first they had not decided to spend more than one night but quickly changed their minds and their reservations and we had the whole weekend to work with.
The great thing about being with friends away from home is that you really get to know them.  We stayed busy the whole weekend exploring this great city.  We did everything from ride the carousel (I've been wanting to since we were here in spring), tour the winery, "gauk" at the Flagler Hotel that houses the Flagler College students, and visit countless watering holes along the way.  We poked through the country's oldest drug store with the bottles of arsenic and lead tinctures and thoroughly wandered the weekend's Art and Craft Festival.  We listened to numerous bands, ate lots of good food and tried a few new drinks and, all in all, got to know each other better than ever before.

To add to the fun, after the Lewis's left Sunday morning, friends from last year aboard Windward found their way to the mooring next to ours after their adventures offshore and we spent a delightful evening together catching up on this past year's happenings and the upcoming plans.  Ian and Lynn were able to help us put some details together for our son Matt's upcoming visit with us in Nassau, something that is immeasurably helpful.  They are traveling with two other boats and we all went for a walk through town enjoying the holiday lights.

Truly the best part about cruising are the friends you make and the visits from family and friends - keep it comin'!

Little Galley, Big Cookin'

It wouldn't be right if I didn't report on our Thanksgiving day.  Although it started out a bit weary, with the waves kicked up and the weather turned sour again, I managed to pull through the blues (of course, calls from my kids certainly did help!) and we packed up and braved the dinghy ride to take a walk through town.

St. Augustine was hopping.  The stores were open and people were everywhere!  We found a couple shops we hadn't searched through before and even found a Christmas present treasure or two.  Exercise and a change of scenery is a good fix for "what ails you" and it did just that for us.  We spent a couple hours wandering in and out of the streets around town and worked up at least a bit of an appetite before heading back to the boat.


Now we haven't done much talking about the logistics of boat life.  If you haven't visited Moonshadow, it might be hard to imagine the cooking setting we have aboard.  My "kitchen" consists of about 18" of counter space, a double sink, a cutting board area and a three burner small propane stove.  I have 2 refrigeration compartments that are like box freezers - they're deep with 2 shelves.  If you need something on the bottom, you first have to remove EVERYTHING on the top.

So I have to say that turning out a full Thanksgiving meal was quite an accomplishment even if I do say so myself!  Our dinner consisted of a chicken stuffed with a butternut squash/apple stuffing, sweet potato casserole topped with Rob's requested marshmallows, roasted brussel sprouts with shallots,  freshly made cranberry ginger compote, our traditional cranberry fluff salad and a warm wheat baguette.  Finally, as would be expected at any feast of it's sort, we had pumpkin pie with freshly whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup and a touch of cinnamon.  How'd I do?!

It was a really wonderful meal and it all managed to come to the table hot and fresh.  After a picture or two, we filled plates and took them up to the cockpit where the enclosure was cozily being warmed by the sun despite the conditions outside.  So after a slow start, we managed to pull off what ended up being another memorable day.  

Happy Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all of our family and friends a beautiful, cozy and joy-filled day.
May you have close friends nearby and a holiday to remember.
Know that I'm wishing you were ALL here with us!
XOXO  Hugs to all!

Thanksgiving morn aboard Moonshdow.  

Passing Days

I was feeling kind of guilty just writing about our day to day, not so unusual adventures.  I mean, even I thought that we'd have a lot more to report from day to day and I found myself wondering why we left as early as we did.  With the weather being so dreary, it's been really hard to connect with other cruising boats in the area, people tend to huddle and stay close when being outside is no fun.

So as the days passed, I had to keep reminding myself that these days are in fact exactly what I need to learn about life's journey.  I have been being sure to take advantage of and appreciate small treats that we find along the way.  Things like a magnificent sunset or the sparkling lights of the city from our position on the water.  Finding a painting in a store here that grabs me unlike any I've seen in years.  The sun peaking through the clouds, even if it's for just a short time.  Stopping for a coffee at a sunny outdoor cafe.

We have had a couple of real treasure in the past few days, the first being an event celebrating the 450th anniversary of St. Augustine.  Did you know that St. Augustine is the oldest city in the USA?  It's been continually occupied since 1565!   They have begun a four year celebration of the anniversary this year and there are a lot of fun, informative and creative events planned.

We caught one of the first ones which was a "MYTH BUSTER" night of St. Augustine history where local re-enactors participated in a Hollywood Squares game with history trivia.  The mayor was the game show host and the contestants were from the audience.  The costumes were authentic and well done and the actors were spot on!  It was absolutely hilarious with the mayor being quite a character - a natural it appeared for the role of MC.

Later that night I talked Rob into taking me dancing.  I had found a local bar that had a swing dance lesson and dancing so we headed out and after walking further than either of us expected, found a funny, local bar (Mardi Gras Sports Bar) with the local "Arthur Murray" dance crowd dancing their hearts out.  We seem to have found our own dance style in the past few years and got in a couple of good dances, a totally unexpected change of pace and a great night.

Yesterday dawned sunny and beautiful and we spent it almost entirely preparing for today's holiday.  We went to a craft store for a few supplies for me, did an errand or two for Rob's preparation for the boat yard next week, hit the grocery store for our Thanksgiving chicken and the fixings, and then home to warm the boat up as the wind picked back up again.

I've been reminded all week that Thanksgiving isn't just for one day a year - it's one day that serves as a reminder that EVERY day is for being thankful!

Chance Encounters

One of the more surprising elements of cruising is how many times you run into people you know - even in the strangest places.  The winds were so high when we woke up again that I somewhat expected not to leave the boat at all.  I put myself to work on a Christmas project (it's a secret!) and was happily making progress when Rob announced he was ready to go ashore.  In that there WAS a farmers market I had set my eyes on, I donned my "foulies" and we made our way in the wind and waves.

The farmers market was a good walk away and the exercise felt good.  It was a simple and quiet market, probably due to the poor weather, but still diverse and quite good.  Raw milk, grass fed meats, several specialty bakeries and numerous produce vendors made for a selection of nice things to take back home.

We walked a different direction and found some new areas of the town and even a shortcut of two.  While walking, we received a call from a Charleston harbor friend, Banff Luther, who happened to be passing through St. Augustine on his newly purchased liveaboard catamaran he just brought back from the Virgin Islands.  He was on his way up the ICW and wanted to say hi although didn't expect to stop.

On our walk back to the marina, the strangest thing happened.  The sun peeked through the clouds and gave us our first glimpse of sunlight in 5 days!  And then it found an actual opening in the clouds and showered us with even a little warmth.  And then the clouds starting moving off to "one side" for a full on show of a sunny day . . . when the wind died down to, well, NOTHING!   You have no idea how welcome every step of this process was!  Like a gulp of air after holding your breath underwater!!!  I swear the angels sang!

We proceeded back to the marina, and went to the dockmasters office to acquire some info incoming sailing friends had requested when the radio piped up as Banff hailed the marina to do a stop by for some engine oil.  We saw him just off the marina and went out to catch his lines.  He had not intended to stop at all although he needed to wait out the bridge opening for 15 minutes so we were able to catch a quick tour of  "OM" and sent him back on his way up the ICW toward Charleston.

With the sun out, we quickly grabbed all of the sea water soaked cushions still waiting attention after our sail down and brought them ashore for a thorough fresh water soaking.  One at a time we lugged the full sized cushions in our dinghy - salty on the way in and dripping wet on the way back.  But, aaahhh, a step in the right direction!

On our last "soaking" run we received a phone call from Paula Byers and family.  She, her daughter, grandson and her brother Eddie,(my favorite Special Olympics athlete buddy in Charleston) were at the fort here and thought they saw our boat on the water, thinking they'd give us a call.  Now that was certainly unexpected!  We lugged the final cushion to the boat and met up with our chance guests for a beer (okay, I think the cider is addictive!) and an app before they headed to a family reunion further on down the road.

Returning to the boat, we were disappointed to watch the clouds filling in and the wind pick back up to a good scream.  Somehow the whole scene was easier to take after a day filled with surprise sunshine and friends.

Little People!

Well, it's been a few days and we've really had not a lot to report.  The weather is, well, not exactly friendly. We've had high winds for days and days.  Today it all increased to a constant 20-25 mph and it's becoming prohibitive.  Getting from the boat to the dinghy and vice verse is an adventure in itself.  The waves have been as high as 2 feet and you can imagine trying to get into a dinghy while it's jumping around like a bucking bronco!

Our friends from Charleston, Jack and Nicole Midence arrived in St. Augustine yesterday and we connected today to journey to the sailor's mecca, West Marine, together.  Jack and Nicole are quite the sailing couple, living aboard with their 2 year old adorable daughter, Marrietta and their 4 month old son, Jack, who was born on their boat!  And they're braving this crazy weather with the whole family - along with all of the usual paraphernalia of parenting including a big double stroller!

We had a fun walk together, dodging the flood waters in town and otherwise finding our way.  Rob and I had gone to West Marine here a few days ago so we knew the ropes along with a restaurant that was nearby called Falafel Queen.  I think the mention of falafel was what enticed Nicole to pack up the gang for the adventure so when we arrived, that was our first stop.  Once again, we were not disappointed.  The food was delicious and I had a dish made up of fava and garbanzo beans sauted with tomatoes, onions, parsley and mint.  I've never had anything like it before and it was delicious!

Spending a day with little people was a real treat.  Marrietta is a little angel and her baby brother is as sweet as he can be.  Of course a 2 year old moves faster than the eye can see and we spent many moments trying to keep up with her antics.  I had forgotten what having a 2 year old in a retail establishment was like!  Sure does put West Marine visits in a new light!

We did our little shopping stint and headed back to town where we couldn't pass up the chance at the wine tour at the San Sebastian Winery.  After the tour and tasting, we went to the rooftop bar and ordered . . . BEER!  Ha . . . so much for their wine!  They had a duo playing sax and guitar and we enjoyed an hour before the kids decided it was time to move on.  We made it to the next bar and continued our fun with the kids asleep again from the stroll.















Tonight was the Light the Night celebration here where they lit the holiday lights in town so Rob and I grabbed a quick bite aboard and headed back in for the show.  It was really a simple, quaint little ceremony but the lights are always a great way to herald in the holiday season.  Happy Ho Ho Ho to all!

The New Normal

Just a quick update from the mooring . . .

First, let me say that a day should never pass when we remember how lucky we are to have special people in our lives!  As we made our way out into the wet and the wind yesterday, the reminders of wonderful family and friends were everywhere.  I put on my new warm, cozy and perfect headband knit by our son Jacob (a newly acquired talent of his) and slipped into the boat shoes that were a gift from our other son, Matt.  We braved the wind and waves to pick up the package I had been waiting for.  A dear friend we met on last year's voyage, Penny Lloyd Baldridge, had offered to knit me one of the gorgeous Irish cable knit sweaters I watched her work on last year.  We stayed in touch and I sent her yarn a month or so ago and without a measurement, this amazing woman knit me the most beautiful sweater I now own!  It was even more of a treat to get a package away from "home" and I put it on immediately to show off her amazing workmanship.  You truly are AMAZING, Penny!!!
 We had spent the morning finding all of the ways salt water had made it's way INTO the boat during our voyage.  No, that's not supposed to happen!  Moonshadow is an old girl.  We've done countless changes and have worked nonstop to clean her up and "make her new" again but she's still an old girl.  No matter how many places we plug and seal, somehow sea water still finds its way through stanchions and rails and the like.  This trip actually topped any to date.  We're assuming it was all of the work we did on rigging and rails this year that must have shifted the seals but we had a LOT of water come in.  The rug in the main salon was wet.  The cushions in the v-berth are wet.  And salt is NOT an easy thing to rinse out!  So, yes, we have a few more items to add to the "fix it" list to keep us busy.

Later in the day we returned to the boat to grab some laundry and pack up our shower things as well and head back to town.  Marinas normally have "cruisers lounges" with a TV, internet and laundry facilities.  Yesterday, it was definitely the PLACE TO BE.  Everyone came and went, kids did homework, families ordered in Chinese . . . it was fun and social and different.  Windy and wet outside with the dryers humming and people laughing inside.
We finished our loads and just made it to the final lecture by Helen Whitney that covered Mormonism and finally Forgiveness.  From start to finish, we were reminded of the importance of family, friends and relationship and settled into our floating home feeling warm and blessed.

A New Life

When you spend months and months working toward a goal of "getting away", it's quite the change when you find yourself "there" and the pace slows to an uncharacteristic crawl.  Such was the case with our arrival in Saint Augustine.  After the long preparation and the wild ride down, we weren't in any hurry to get moving yesterday morning.  We puttered around the boat enjoying the sunshine.  Rob surveyed the boat and worked on initial repairs of what "went wrong" on the voyage.  I caught up on the status of the boat interior and, of course, wrote the all important blog.

After a simple lunch we headed to town.  Saint Augustine is never a disappointment.  The cobbled streets, the quaint cafes, the fort - it all draws you in.  We strolled up and down and sideways through town, recalling places (bars?) we went this past spring and looking at those we wanted to try on this go-around.  It was just enough to be here with the sun shining.

Later in the afternoon, we just HAPPENED to find ourselves in front of the neighborhood pub (the one with 70 international beers on tap) and saw it was just the right time to take a break.  A beer break.  The sailor's snack.  HA!  Rob had a pint of Left Handed Milkstout from Colorado and I had an amazing combo of Angry Orchard hard cider with a Framboise Cider.  I'm not normally much inclined toward raspberry beverages, finding them fake tasting but this stuff tasted like fresh raspberries through and through.  The combo was the suggestion of the ever knowledgable barkeep - I think I'll be trusting her judgement from now on!  To add to the moment, the happy hour offering on the menu was a brat with sauerkraut on a toasted roll and a homemade baked pretzel with hot mustard - both which Rob couldn't resist.  I still wasn't ready for anything so heavy so I had a nutritious second cider!  (8oz size this time!!)

We made a quick return to the boat to grab shower items and then I actually convinced Rob to accompany me to a lecture at Flagler College I read about in the local weekly rag.  I mean, why not, right?  Helen Whitney is an internationally acclaimed writer, producer and director who has done major works for Frontline over the years.  She spoke on her 40 year career with an emphasis on Faith and Doubt.  What an amazing woman with an incredible perspective.  The talk was 2 hours and flew by like minutes.  Both Rob and I were captivated and can't wait to attend tonight's finale on her series.  She's definitely one worth finding online if you want a good shot of provocative programming.

After this inspiring interlude, we showered and returned to the boat both feeling honored to be living this unusual new life of ours.  Every moment presents itself as a chance to grab onto opportunity - and I'm ready to take it on!

It's a Love/Hate Thing

We are rocking gently on our mooring in St. Augustine.  The fort is softly lit to one side, the Bridge of Lions's lights are shimmering in the water on the other.  The quaint town of Saint Augustine beckons with the gaslights of the shops casting a glow . . . . AAAAHHH, we've arrived!   Yes, this is what is so magical about this lifestyle.  Visiting ports from a different perspective than the "everyday" tourist.  Having a sundown cocktail aboard while the breezes blow - yup, it's good stuff!

I just wish, I SO wish . . . I like to SAIL!!!  HA, you laugh.  No . . . really . . . sailing and I just don't agree!  It takes a hearty soul out there, and I do my very best at being a good hearty girl.  But get me offshore where the winds nor waves are doing what the forecasters promised and I lose my "heartiness".

We left our cozy anchorage after waking up with the sun on Sunday, the sunrise was beautiful, the pelicans were making their way, skimming in a long line along the water.  We headed out the inlet and began our journey.  The winds did not present themselves in a way that allowed for good sail configuration so we kept the motor running and set the plotter on the Saint Augustine Inlet.

We were making good progress without a lot of conflict from the waves and had dolphins "dancing" on our bow wake before we knew it.  That's always one of my favorite treats, the dolphins.  You can always tell they're coming because they announce their arrival with leaps and jumps coming from every direction.   They race in and take turns jockeying for position on the bow.  Neither we nor them seem to tire of the fun and we spend an hour up front enjoying the show.

With the mainsail up and the nature's entertainment, we were making our way nicely and then the weather began to change.  The winds shifted as did the waves and things just weren't as pretty anymore.  We couldn't find a sail configuration that wasn't compromising with the winds and wave throwing us to and fro.  Being that I had spent three days of the week fighting off some sort of food poisoning, this situation wasn't exactly helpful.  It wasn't my stomach so much, we have pills for that, but just an overall YUCK sort of thing.

The sun went under the clouds - and so did I!  We had the usual challenges of the year's first offshore voyage finding the details of our new systems that would need to be amended or changed which presented their own set of situations to deal with.  We had rain storms and squall lines and passing ships and the toll of hour after hour of offshore conditions on the boat.  Picture taking every cabinet in your house - no, make that your WHOLE HOUSE - and throwing the contents in your dryer and you can begin to imagine how things were progressing.

After countless issues and 30 hours, we made the turn into the Saint Augustine Inlet and rode the wave of incoming tide through the channel.  Within the next hour, we were rocking gently on our mooring and the breeze began it's work of melting the memories of the just passed voyage away, one minute at a time.

And here I sit, the morning after, having slept a blissful 12 hours and Rob and a hot cup of tea by my side.  With a dolphin swimming by and the sights and sounds of Saint Augustine luring me into their trance, I just can't help but think that there just isn't anything quite like this crazy life of cruising!

We're OFF!

And it has begun!  Anticipating a November 5th exit, our November 10th departure is really not much of a disappointment.  We enjoyed our last week in Charleston and tied up lose ends with business, friends and family to finally find that the "lists" were accomplished and we really were ready to go.

It's always the hardest to say goodbye.  We have had a lot of great visitors in the past week or so and especially enjoyed time with our boys.  I guess there's something about taking off for a while that makes time together just feel that much more special.   Thanks to Lois/Kim, Pat/Joel, Sharon/Charlie, Chris/Alice, Paul/Joan, David/Gretchen, Rob B, Donna C, Susie/Gene, Cindy W, James/Gloria, Dick/Karen, Norie and others who made special appearances!

We really had our sights on setting sail Wednesday with our new friends Steve and Rachel Marcotte coming alongside with their Cabo Rico 38' to our first destination of St. Augustine.  Well, that plan was obviously not meant to be.  First off, I managed to get completely sick (really sure it was some form of food poisoning!) on Tuesday night.  Best bet it was some tofu in the Vietnamese Vegetable Soup I ate for lunch while provisioning - won't be doing that again!

So while Rob settled in to the gift of another day before departure, I flogged around from the sofa to the bed hoping to find someplace where the nausea would give me a break.  Wednesday now GONE!  Thursday comes and Rachel now finds that she and Steve cannot come alongside due to restrictions with her job - lots of sad faces followed that news.  And I'm still feeling punky at this point so being offshore is not an option for me.  Thursday GONE!

One would think we'd be bored by now!  Okay, not quite!  Preparations continued through the THIRD day with a new engine project Rob tackled and then into the night when the bicycles, lawnmower, motorcycle, car and other "normal life" belongings were put in place for our absence.  We managed to get home after 11 last night feeling that we were now really ready to GO!

We looked at tides and currents and times and such and realized that we were better off not trying to get offshore on our first shot today so we went ahead and planned on a casual departure getting off the dock at slack tide at 11am to avoid any trouble with getting caught unexpectedly in the current.  SO SMART we can be!

At 6am this morning, we woke to a CRUNCH.  The folks in the large, fancy cabin cruiser across the dock from us didn't understand the current in our marina so well.  They tried to leave with an outgoing tide and had ground their boat to a complete halt with the neighbors anchor carefully crunched through their windows and the side of their boat!  WOW - drama to start the day!!!

That provided everyone in the area enough entertainment to while away the couple of hours (along with our celebrating Rachel's birthday - Happy Birthday, Rachel!) before we planned our exit from the dock and we did so without a hitch . . . YEAH!  We fueled up and left the dock just after noon for the 12:30 Wappoo Cut bridge opening.

We had the most perfect time motoring the intercoastal on a beautiful day with gentle breezes, bright sunshine and sparkling water - all the while making steady progress to the North Edisto Inlet where we have anchored for the night waiting for an early rise and offshore leg to St. Augustine.  We were welcomed to our anchorage by a family of dolphins who played in our bow wake on our approach and a most amazing sunset to finish off the day.

It's 9pm and past the sailors' bedtime now.  Cozy and gently rocking, we ate a warm dinner in our quiet surroundings and then took the blanket on the foredeck to enjoy the star-show.  Yes, goodbyes certainly are hard, but there's just something about this lifestyle . . .