Cruising the eastern seaboard from Maine to the Bahamas and the Gulf of Mexico

Blogs, Pt. 2

The Voyage Continues

New York City

The wailing winds of yesterday have muted this morning and backed to the north signaling a hoped for clearing front. Puffin departed Port Washington for New York City via the East River and Hudson River estuary, New York Harbor.

Whether or not you like New York, seeing the City by water is an absolutely entrancing experience - either painted with the palette of greys that today's showers and mist delivered or as I saw it another time, imbued with the soft yellow-red hues of the setting sun.

Walking or driving in New York, city views are very limited by the tall buildings everywhere. On the waterways, the observer sees a large piece of the city all at once and experiences it's dynamism; ships anchored, barges bustling, ferries and water taxis darting around. And everywhere crisscrossd by leviathan bridges crowded with tiny cars. There are helicopters flying close, in the distance an endless cycle of planes landing and taking off. A few miles beyond this breathtaking experience, we dropped our anchor behind the breakwater at Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey to watch the setting sun. Bob - October 1, 2010

Visiting Cape May, New Jersey

Cape May is a attractive city of several parts: a major recreational fishing center, a commercial fishing port, a seaside tourist mecca with its expanse of ocean and beaches and a vacation home locale for many who work farther upstate. It also has a large Coast Guard outpost and training facility. I'm sure there's more but that's all that we've seen so far in the three days we've been hiding here from the intemperate weather

Cape May is also served by a variety of restaurants. Last night we and a few other sailors who sought refuge from the strong winds and rain, gathered at an inauspiciously named restaurant called Lucky Bones. That name might better serve as a nickname for an undertaker; it certainly didn't portend a sumptuous meal. But a splendid meal and certainly upending our low expectations.

Tomorrow we plan to extract ourselves from the seaside charm of Cape May and proceed up Delaware Bay and through the C & D canal that leads to the Chesapeake Bay. Bob - October 5, 2010

The fishing fleet at Cape May, New Jersey.

Visiting Cape May, New Jersey

Cape May is a attractive city of several parts: a major recreational fishing center, a commercial fishing port, a seaside tourist mecca with its expanse of ocean and beaches and a vacation home locale for many who work farther upstate. It also has a large Coast Guard outpost and training facility. I'm sure there's more but that's all that we've seen so far in the three days we've been hiding here from the intemperate weather

Cape May is also served by a variety of restaurants. Last night we and a few other sailors who sought refuge from the strong winds and rain, gathered at an inauspiciously named restaurant called Lucky Bones. That name might better serve as a nickname for an undertaker; it certainly didn't portend a sumptuous meal. But a splendid meal and certainly upending our low expectations.

Tomorrow we plan to extract ourselves from the seaside charm of Cape May and proceed up Delaware Bay and through the C & D canal that leads to the Chesapeake Bay. Bob - October 5, 2010

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Friends leaving Utsch’s Marina at Cape May, New Jersey

Magenta sky, early evening, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

On to Cape May, New Jersey

Yesterday evening's spectacular magenta sky reflecting the setting sun at Atlantic Highlands remains anchored in my mind this morning as we depart before dawn for the long slip slide down the New Jersey coast toward Atlantic City. Viewed from the sea, the coast is largely bereft of geographic distinction save its beaches. But the day is beautiful and the sea has a gentle swell and almost no wind. We travel at the speed of tugs and barges, so we often travel with them. In particular we were a couple of miles from one as we departed Sandy Hook. Sixteen hours and 110 miles later the same distance separated us as Puffin finally turned in to Cape May.

And therein lies the seed of today's small adventure. As we slowly churned the 80 miles toward Atlantic City, an unexpected weather forecast in the form of a low pressure system moving rapidly up the coast promised very poor travel for the following two days at least. Nancy and I decided to push on to Cape May where we could comfortably tie up and wait out the weather and enjoy a great little coastal city of significant interest.

Cape May lay another 30 plus miles beyond Atlantic City at the southern tip of New Jersey. The extra distance would compel a night time entrance at Cape May, which has an easy entrance, but a small, extremely shallow and crowded harbor and we would make our entrance at virtually dead low tide.

Against a backdrop of city lights, we searched out the blinking navigational lights and made our way into the harbor. Once inside, Puffin threaded her way through a narrow channel that eventually shallowed to 7 feet, where we made a final turn for the entrance to the marina we were to stay at.

As I made the final two turns into the slip, I watched the depth sounder flicker down to 4 feet. Puffin insists on 4 feet three inches of depth. I apparently misunderstood instructions earlier in the day regarding the precise location of my slip. At 10:30 PM, a little groggy and unsure where else I should be, I concluded that Puffin was going to stay where she was. I advanced the throttle and Puffin slid onto the mud and into the slip. I soon slipped onto my berth and into sleep.

At dawn the next morning the gentle squeaks from the piling outside signaled we were again afloat and underscored the old adage that a rising tide raises all boats. We soon found a more appropriate slip. (I later reflected that I should listen to instructions from others as carefully as I do those from my wife.). Bob - October 2, 2010

<< The accompanying photograph of new friends leaving Utsch's Marina in Cape May on the their Island Packet sailboat also captured the first sunshine we'd seen in four days of blowing rain and a continually thrumming wind that always kept trying to yank my cap away. This was now the weather we'd been awaiting for our trip up Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake and Delaware (C and D) Canal.

The weather cooperated beautifully, but the tides and current did not. Because of time constraints, we were compelled to leave in the morning, the wrong time for the flooding currents we needed, so Puffin argued with an adverse current all the way up the Bay, through the C & D Canal and the first several miles of the upper Chesapeake where we finally slinked into the Bohemia River to anchor at 9:00 PM, 70 miles later - a long day with not so many miles accomplished. But challenging Nature's immutable always has a consequence of some sort.

The Delaware is well known to mariners for a swift current that flows at 3 to 4 knots in places. Puffin experienced 3-1/2 of those knots, nose on, for about half of our trip. The smart way to travel the Bayin a boat such as ours, is to ride with the current and move along faster with less same effort - something akin to frequent flier miles from Mother Nature.

But it was a grand day and nice to be on the water and moving again. The upper Delaware Bay is a major industrial port serving a variety of heavy industries at the upper end, beyond the C and D Canal. It is not unusual to see freighters and barges anchored anywhere on the Bay, awaiting their time slot for docking. The bay is shallow in many areas but the channel is well marked, often with lighthouses from an earlier era.

Dusk fell as Puffin transited the C and D Canal, which is easily navigated. Nancy and I enjoyed a quick evening meal together at the snack table in the pilothouse as Puffin glided through the calm, well-lit waters of the Canal. Bob - October 6, 2010

The Chesapeake

Another glorious rising sun nudged us out of the Bohemia River and into the Chesapeake at daybreak. We were headed down to Solomon's Maryland to meet with a planned gathering of perhaps 30 or more boats all of the same manufacture as our Kadey Krogen. It's an annual affair in a beautiful part of the Chesapeake Bay to which many Krogen owners return year after year. Today's forecast was for strong winds out of the west, so Puffin worked over to the western side of the bay to minimize the easterly fetch of the waves and enjoy a smoother ride.

She also caught an ebbing tide and picked up an extra knot in speed down the Bay (think frequent flier miles again).

The banner picture offers a pilothouse view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, one of several symbols of the Chesapeake Bay. There are others such as the Maryland blue crab, log canoes (a type of racing canoe unique to the Bay), screw-pile lighthouses and that engineering marvel, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. There are other icons, too, from an earlier era such as the oyster skiffs manned by well muscled oystermen with hand tongs, buy boats and my own favorite, the skipjack. The skipjack was a simply built, wooden sailing vessel perhaps 45-to 65 feet in length, sloop-riggged with a raked, gaffrigged mast and an exaggerated bowsprit. It was in actual use up through the early '70's as the way the oysterman could legally dredge the bay bottom for oysters. That industry is mostly gone now but was still active when Nancy and I lived by the Chesapeake in the 70's.

Puffin's arrival in the Bay and the view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a sort of homecoming for Nancy and myself. Forty years ago, we lived here for a number of years near the western terminus of the Bridge itself and minutes from the water. We learned to sail on the Bay, we honeymooned on the Bay in our first and very cozy sailboat and Sara was born here, at the hospital in downtown Annapolis. Our memories of that time ripple with pleasure. Read Michener's book of the Chesapeake for a real feel for the life on the Bay in the first half of the twentieth century; something we were fortunate to be able to share a piece of when we lived here.

Toward the end of the day Puffin anchored at Deale, Maryland, a small, shallow indent on the western shore of the Chesapeake whose low cliffs sheltered us from a waning westerly wind and provided an easy, pre-dawn start right on the Bay,the next morning. Bob - October 7, 2020.

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Best band ever, nobody could remain seated

Headed to Solomon’s Island, Maryland

Friday, Puffin slipped out into the Bay before daylight to make the last few miles south to Calvert Marina in Solomons, Maryland, at the mouth of the Patuxent River. Since we were already a day late with weather delays, our aim was a mid-morning arrival at the annual Kadey Krogen Rendezvous. For weeks, Nancy and I had been looking forward to participating for the first time with our own Kadey Krogen.

A small crew of Krogenites were handily standing by on the docks to shoehorn Puffin and several other late arrivals into allotted spaces. The docking is an elegantly choreographed affair in which about 35 boats are carefully eased, cheek by jowl, into a docking area that would normally be full with perhaps a dozen boats.

The rendezvous draws Krogen owners from all over the coast, many returning year after year. "Krogenites" are bound, I think, by a strong affinity for the water and a particular affection for Kadey Krogen trawlers. These power boats, ranging in size from 35 to 58 feet, are displacement hulled and therefore limited in speed but remarkably fuel efficient, comfortable underway and extremely well constructed, inspiring confidence for those spending time on board. Folks live on them for weeks, even months at a time. Some live on them virtually year round.

Our rendezvous, over three days, offered seminars by day, libations by five, a catered dinner by evening and a warm camaraderie throughout, all leading to a blowout Saturday night with a jumpin' live band.

This year's theme for Saturday night was Woodstock and many rang this bell like the church was on fire........ dancing, singing, even a conga line at one point, all in tie-dyed hues. Elsewhere deployed, I missed that epochal event of 1969 but it was certainly relived on Saturday night with a joyous, sartorial panache while an incredible band kept the mood down and poundin' with dead-on covers of Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, and other legendary bands of that era.

The familiar fragrance of burning leaves was noticeably absent from this event but a few folks wrapped oregano in cigarette paper to lend a costume reality and perhaps offer a fond salute to a special time.........Ya hadda be there! Bob - October 8, 2010

Toys, toys, not enough room. Note the fold-a-bike in the corner.

Report from the Solomon’s

Puffin has remained in Solomon’s Island, Maryland for a few days after the rendezvous to enjoy some mechanical ministrations in the way of routine maintenance while readying for the sojourn south. In the meantime Nancy and I have done some provisioning and enjoyed meeting some great new people. Nancy's brother Richard and his wife Alice drove down for a visit aboard and a very enjoyable repast at the Cafe Bistro; a harbor-side restaurant with more sumptuous offerings than the name would imply. (This seems to be a recurring theme on this trip)

In Solomons, the town envelops several well protected waterways that are the focus of the area so it's often quicker to dinghy across the creek than to walk around, for those without vehicles. This was the case when we visited the Calvert Maritime Museum, an outstanding presentation of Bay history that included a variety of Bay craft from earlier times and distinctive to the area. The museum even provided visitors with a ride on several of the larger, restored watercraft such as the skipjack pictured earlier.

The staff was knowledgeable and very pleasant. A woman working on a recently discovered whale's head from a much earlier era, was painstakingly picking out the dried mud from the skeletal remains with a dental pick and artist's brush. This was the very mud which had amazingly preserved portions of the whale's jaws. She cheerfully shared the background of its recent discovery and how the fragment was carefully removed from the mud bank in which it had lain for eons.

We are awaiting our friends Gerri and Alan who have been sailing down from Maine and have done so in much better time than we did. Their trip included an overnight sail from Block Island, Rhode Island to Cape May, New Jersey in some pretty brisk weather. Bob - October 16, 2010

Spending some quality time at Solomon’s Island

Looking a little like an elephant on a tricycle here, I thought to take a moment and point out that the cruising life is not all awesome adventures and glorious sunsets. From time to time we have to stop and get things; like food and wine and other stuff. And when there's a chance for laundry on shore we take it. Often places that need visiting are beyond reasonable walking distance so I have the folding bike pictured above, that allows me to fetch things farther afield and also get needed exercise. Unfortunately, unsupervised by Nancy, some of the food I buy requires yet more exercise, a foible I fight somewhat fecklessly. Nonetheless the bicycle has been a handy way to get around at times.

Another useful tool more recently acquired was a little two-wheel cart. It has tiny three-inch wheels, a basket the size of a large milk basket and a long handle, but it handily folds into the size of a small briefcase. This is easier to drive that the bicycle and is probably more age appropriate for me. Nancy discovered this gem on a rainy day at the marina laundry at Cape May - another reason for being regular with one's laundry as the data occasionally imparted there be even more useful than clean underwear.

We read recently about the snow on some of Vermont's hilltops, but fail to find the usual fondness for that harbinger of winter. We miss Vermont, home and most particularly our friends and family there, but it is possible to find sufficient succor in the sun-filled days of shorts and tees we are presently enjoying in southern Maryland. And we will soon depart in our continuing endeavor to follow the sun as it makes its way toward the southern hemisphere. Bob - October 17, 2010

Civil Twilight

Alan and Gerri

Civil Twilight, a beautiful 47 foot sailboat, arrived yesterday afternoon here at Solomons, with our friends Gerri and Alan aboard. They're always fun to be with and surprises are not uncommon with them - such as the tray full of delicious crab cakes Gerri whipped up before coming aboard with Alan yesterday to help celebrate my birthday. The crab cakes were uncommonly "noteworthy" as the tray was covered with post-it notes each noting with sly sympathy that there may still be hope for someone of my advancing age. Easy banter, I say, from a couple still enjoying their frolicsome fifties.

Alan is not without talents either. For one, he is without equal in fixing things and not a few of us have profited from his particular penchant for solving a pernicious problem. Like catnip to a cat, popcorn to pigeons, Alan cannot resist a problem. For Alan, a world without problems and projects is not a world worth contemplating. And I know this.

So yesterday I mentioned a problem Puffin had with her auto-pilot. I don't ask for help outright - remnants of an imprudent pride forbid that. I simply mention a vexing issue, Alan asks a few questions, his eyes glaze in thought and - shazam! My problem is now our problem - help is on the way. Over the years of our friendship this is now a standard ritual.

So it was this morning, pre-dawn, I'm munching my Wheaties, I get an email from Alan, anchored nearby, asking for some details......He is on the case and wants to solve it by sun-up. (I have already devoted several hours to this issue, without success!)....I mail back the requested info, thinking "nah, not happening that easily".

Still doing my Wheaties, he mails back a procedure to try. I try it and it works....problem solved.....and sun-up still to come.

So Puffin's always the better for seeing Civil Twilight arrive. Bob - October 19, 2010

The Pelican

I can’t say how many times I tried to capture a pelican diving for a fish. The pelican is quick; flying at perhaps 20 feet in altitude and suddenly diving into the water in a blink. If you are lucky enough to catch it, it is blind luck.

Reedville, Virginia

Puffin slipped the lines that have kept her at Solomons since October 7th and headed out into a boisterous Chesapeake Bay to continue the trip south. Winds of 15 to 20 knots out of the southwest built up a four foot chop that Puffin manages better than Nancy and I. Reedville, Virginia was the destination: it's an old fish processing center that is still home to a sizable menhaden fleet and a processing plant. We anchored well up Cockrell Creek, just off the mouth of the Wicomico River.

The waterway guide warns of an offending odor from the processing plant, but we took a chance and are glad we did. Upcreek (and upwind), of the plant, numerous tendrils of a beautiful waterway reach out everywhere, making a very scenic town seem like everyone lives on or near the water. Main Street runs lengthwise down a small peninsula, a mix of historic and newer homes. Halfway up the street there is and old and modest monument to Elijah Reed to remind us of the town's founding in the mid-nineteenth century.

Today's highlight was clearly the sighting of pelicans several times during the day. The Chesapeake pelican is the Brown Pelican, which uniquely among pelican species, plunge-dives for fish, it's main diet. This amazing bird cruises along perhaps 20-30 feet above the water and very abruptly drops straight down, head-first into the water to seize a fish (see banner photo). That dive ends with a big splash. Wikipedia says that after catching a fish, they must drain their pouch before swallowing the fish. It is an absolutely spectacular sight. Bob - October 21, 2010

Mobjack Bay

The full moon was in its fulsome glory this morning as we awoke to start Puffin on her way south to the Severn River (different than the river of the same name in Annapolis) in Mobjack Bay; another of the magnificent rivers that feed the Chesapeake estuary and make for great and often secluded anchorages on this great Bay.

As we motored out of Reedville, lights from the fishing fleet signified how early their day starts as well. Beyond the fleet the sun was just preparing to cascade the Bay with its reddish yellow curtain of color. Nancy and I live in the wooded hills of Vermont and don't often get a first look at a sun as it rises or sets right at the earth's horizon.

The wind promised to be brisk at twenty plus knots, but out of the northwest which will provide Puffin a rollicking but comfortable ride to her first stop in Virginia. Many more pelicans made their appearance today including a squadron of five, who showed up a two different times. As we entered Mobjack Bay, one pelican was fishing on a parallel course with Puffin, but perhaps two hundred yards away. While it does not speak well of his fishing prowess, I was amazed at the repeated dives he took without respite over perhaps a twenty minute period before I finally lost track of him. It is his picture I used for yesterday's post banner.

The Severn in Mobjack is a wide, shallow, meandering waterway spotted with the occasional splendid homes built on a very low-lying shoreline. We arrived in mid-afternoon followed shortly thereafter by Alan and Gerri aboard Civil Twilght. They will continue to accompany us (hopefully), much of the way south from here and share with us some of the intricacies of the intra-coastal waterway that they've learned on two previous trips to the Bahamas. Bob - October 22, 2010

Mobjack to Norfolk

A peek out of the port this morning startled us with a reminder of Maine - fog! It wasn't pervasive and impenetrable as it so often is up north, but it was a rare fog on the Chesapeake nonetheless; presumably because of an elevated dew point and the fact that fall weather was finally announcing itself with temperatures in the very low 50's while the water was still a reasonably balmy 64 degrees.

Shortly after departing our anchorage, Puffin burst out of the fogbank. I turned and saw the moon over the fog and had to snap it. (I acquired a digital camera this summer that seemingly takes pictures in the dark, has a stabilized 20x zoom that captures diving pelicans two hundred yards away from a moving boat and compels me to point it at anything of even the least moment) Even so, this picture did not quite capture the magic of the moment.

Today's trip to Norfolk, Virginia was itself quiet, short and uneventful as a cruise. Norfolk Harbor is, however, anything but. Being warm, sunny and a Saturday to boot, several dozen sailboats were out in full sail; some racing, some cruising, before Puffin even entered the harbor.

Norfolk is a massive harbor; home to the largest naval base in the world and a major commercial shipping port as well. A future blog will endeavor to describe Norfolk's impact on us in more trenchant detail as Puffin and Civil Twilight will stay here for a couple of days to visit friends (Civil Twilight) and see new sights (Puffin). Bob - October 23, 2010

Civil Twilight and Puffin at anchor — ***Civil Twilight*** and ***Puffin*** at anchor

Exploring Norfolk

Puffin is now in Norfolk and to my surprise, there is insufficient time to do all the things we'd like, despite three days here already and counting. Puffin is docked at Waterside Marina, a city owned facility in downtown Norfolk that's an integral part of a massively renovated city downtown and waterfront area.

Unusually wide and handsomely landscaped walkways lead us like a brick carpet to the three-story Nauticus, a navel museum and other things nautical that includes an entire, floating battleship. The Wisconsin, armed with some of the largest guns ever made at sixteen inches, was built during World War II and only recently retired. It was an incredibly massive piece of engineering and metalwork.

The earlier mentioned herringbone brick walkways took us on to a large section of artfully designed townhouses. Perhaps unique in setting this area apart visually from other renovated cityscapes elsewhere were the foundation plantings in front of all the houses, which were then fronted by the brick sidewalks and sizeable trees bordering the streets and providing shade and a visually soft texture to the city's masonry.

These walkways continued on to an opulent three story mall and a food store that was a delightful mix between a large chain type and gourmet food store with lots of eye appeal.

Nancy and I also visited the old town section of Portsmouth across the Elizabeth River: a historic group of houses many of which date back to the America's revolution.

Tomorrow Puffin and Civil Twilight move on to North Carolina and Puffin's first lock adventure. Bob - October 25, 2010

Puffin’s engine room — **Puffin’s** engine room

Still in Virginia

We left the bright lights of Norfolk early to make a tight schedule of several opening bridges and a lock in the ICW, all within the space of 20 miles. Miss one bridge and wait an hour before the next opening! Although the ICW, or the Ditch, actually starts much further north, mariners count its start in Norfolk, as Mile Marker 0, and we have switched our instruments over and are now tracking our progress in statute miles instead of nautical miles. It will be about 1,000 statute miles to Florida and although we think of it as a straight north-south line, the ICW actually winds and curves up and down so much that I am already finding it confusing to figure out where north and south are. In fact, the guidebooks take this into account and just use left/right directions, so at least I am not alone in this.

Well, our plans to do 56 miles today stopped right in the lock, at Mile Marker 12. We safely tied off bow and stern and proceeded to await the lock's reopening. As a courtesy, we had turned off our engine to keep the fumes down. Once the lock tender gave the go ahead, we tried to start the engine, and no dice. Bob waved some magic in the engine room and was able to jump-start the failing solenoid so that we could move out of the lock the following hour. But that put us behind schedule enough that we couldn't make another port in time, so we pulled into the Atlantic Yacht Basin for new parts and another tie-up for the night. On the plus side, we got some exercise walking to the Farm Fresh Market, one of Virginia's hidden treasures.

For you nonboaters, picture this scene. Right here, we are tied up right in the ICW, which is about 300 ft wide here. Behind us, about 200 ft, is the Great Bridge bridge, busy with traffic to and fro. Every hour this bridge opens and up to 10 boats stream through at slow speed. One of the lazy things everyone does is sit and watch the boats going by. Suddenly I spy John and Barbara on Soleig IV, friends we met in Maine and again in the Solomons, going past. A quick wave and maybe we'll catch up to them at some point. Everyone in the ditch is friendly. And across from us, some locals have been sitting in their chairs, fishing, maybe discussing the problems of the world or maybe just hoping they can bring dinner home.

We are now out of synch with friends Alan and Gerri on Civil Twilight, but imagine we'll catch up at some point. Nancy - October 26, 2010

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Civil Twilight on the Alligator Pungo Canal — **Civil Twilight** on the Alligator Pungo Canal

North Carolina

Today we passed miles of swamp, marsh grasses, cypresses and loblolly pines as we crossed from Virginia into North Carolina. Absent were the brilliant hues of autumn in Vermont, but we are content to enjoy the truly tropical weather. We'd been wondering for some time about the absence of bugs, but it seems they were all waiting for us here in the North River. After returning from a great dinner aboard Civil Twilight, we found about 100 bigs inside our boat That looked like mosquitoes yet just buzzed about quickly and never tried to bite us. Nonetheless, we spent some time evacuating them.

Those of you who have been down this way before will of course want to know if we stopped at the famous Coinjock Restaurant for it's-32 oz steak. No, we passed on by and pulled in north of Buck Island, just a few miles south and spent a restful night at anchor.

For any making the trip for the first time, the guidebooks are right to stress the importance of depth sounders, in addition to all your paper and electronic charts. Luckily Puffin only draws 4' 3" and so has a little leeway. It is nonetheless absolutely amazing to see hundreds of square miles of bays, creeks and rivers that are only two to five feet deep. We can only pass through because there is a dredged channel 60 to 100 feet wide and perhaps twelve feet deep. Nancy - October 27, 2010

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The Coastal Plain of North Carolina

So Puffin continues on today in North Carolina: now from Buck's Island to the end of the Alligator River, wending through the heart of North Carolina's coastal plain. This area, larger in size than the state of Connecticut, is an amazing amalgam of scenic waterways and wetlands.

Beginning with the early history of North Carolina's settlement, individuals and governments have stitched together a contiguous, dredged, navigable passageway through some of these waterways, which today is roughly twelve feet deep from Norfolk, Virginia to South Carolina: and through which Puffin is fortunate to travel. The earliest of the connective canals, like the Dismal Swamp, were, incredibly enough, hand dug to facilitate early transportation in these remote areas.

Puffin has enjoyed anchorages so remote in these waterways that no houses or even lights can be seen in any direction. Seemingly desolate from the human perspective, these areas in fact host some of the richest biodiversity found anywhere in the world. Today, from the pilothouse, we were privileged to see an eagle, herons, turkey buzzards, egrets and a multitude of diving terns, not to mention gulls and other more usual birds. The rich and wild carpet of marsh grasses and plants share territory with loblolly pine, gum and cypress trees and support a nearly interminable list of reptiles and mammals as well as dozens of species of birds.

Perhaps it is the graying skeletons of dead cypress trees, whose fabled resistance to rot allow them to remain standing years after they died and shed foliage, that suggest to the eye the pall of death in certain areas that are, in fact, alive with an abundant and thriving natural diversity of life.

It has been a rare and significant treat to travel North Carolina's coastal plain.

Ten states, three to go

Since leaving Maine, Puffin has crossed the waterways of ten states with three more to go. You haven't heard much about adventures on the high seas because Nancy and I would rather read about them than live them - Secretly, we're barely one step removed from armchair sailors.

We've traveled the open ocean from Maine to New York and then along the New Jersey Coast and tried to pick smooth weather with the benefit of modern weather science and electronics. Once up Delaware Bay Puffin has enjoyed the relative protection of inland waterways. The plan is to continue traveling the mostly calm waters of the intracoastal waterway all the way to Florida. We will avoid open water until crossing the Gulfstream to the Bahamas. At that point we will watch events closely and await propitious weather for the relatively short crossing of 90 miles or so.

And so, if you expected tales of heavy seas, rails down and decks awash, the mournful hoot of distant foghorns, it's probably time to pick up a copy of Patrick O'Brian or Richard Henry Dana. Our adventure better resembles the easy amble of a (Mississippi) riverboat; passing through a coastal America impossible to experience without a boat. North Carolina is a classic example - today we passed through a narrow and very still canal and at other times, boisterous, wide open rivers to reach an anchorage in Bonner Bay/Bay surrounded by low marshes.

Sometimes small pleasures make the highlight of the day. Yesterday, we sighted our first bald eagle on this trip, sitting on a loblolly pine tree. Today we passed another boat from Charlotte, Vermont (Wings) - Vermont is such a small state that it is still exciting to hail another Vermonter. Despite the fact that the folks aboard live 3 hours away from us, it turns out we have mutual friends, Bill and Maureen Little. A final highlight was offering an assist to a boat that had lost its steerage and run aground in the Alligator River - Pungo River Canal. First we created a wake for them and they moved a few feet closer to clear water. Then we threw them a tow line and they moved off to a safe tie-up. There is something interesting every day and for today Puffin was the little tug that could. Bob & Nancy - Oct 29, 2010

Headed to Beaufort

Puffin and Sylken Sea at Beaufort docks — **Puffin** and Sylken Sea at Beaufort docks

Today we moved on from the Bay River, down the wide Neuse River, through Adams Creek and Adams Creek Canal into Beaufort. The narrow Adams Creek Canal was a treat - picturesque houses with their boats parked out front at their private dock, often on a lift to keep the boat out of the water when not in use (resulting in less maintenance). In this tight canal, Bob had to maneuver by a large tugboat pushing two barges that suddenly appeared around a corner. Nancy was glad it was on his watch.

We are seeing more and more small recreational fishing boats, often with as many people as possible on the craft. It seems everyone likes to fish down here, if not on a boat, then off a pier or bridge.

We arrived at Town Creek in Beaufort and toured the waterfront part of this southern town. Had our first exposure to a "wine machine" that keeps an open wine bottle totally fresh using argon. Wonders never cease. While sipping, we spied three wild horses across the way, either on Shackleford Banks or Horse Island, can't be sure.

The food (ribs and fries) and service couldn't be better at Fish Tales, the restaurant here in Town Creek. Be sure to try them if you come by this way.

Nancy - October 30, 2010

Woke up this morning to a great sunrise behind Civil Twilght, who is anchored next to us here in Beaufort.

Another sunny, warm, wear shorts kind of day. How lucky can we get. (Too bad Vermont has been getting snow flurries this month). We stayed on in Beaufort today, doing boat maintenance in the morning, and taking walks and bike rides in the afternoon, stopping for an ice cream treat with Alan and Gerry. Toured the marine museum here, a very nice museum with interesting displays on early lifeboat-saving techniques and the salvage nearby of Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge. Nancy - October 31, 2010

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