Thought I would share with you my plan for the trip north. My calculations (at the end of the article) show that we get to Hingham Massachusetts in 9 days if the weather cooperates. I have a crew of two for this trip. Wylie Crawford is a frie…
April 27 – Isle of Palms
Wild Dunes Yacht Club
“It does not matter how slow you go, as long as you do not stop.” – Confusius
We’re finally on the move again. Although we didn’t go very for today…we stopped at Isle of Palms to visit with the crews of Smiles and Swede Dreams. It was just a ten mile day and we were tied to the dock at Wild Dunes Yacht Club by 9:30.
CONTINUE READING HERE…»
April 26 – Charleston, SC
Maritime Center Marina
“On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.”— Jules Renard
Sometimes I forget how much I love Charleston…then we come back and I remember all the reasons I could live here full time. It’s still my all time favorite place we’ve visited. The people, the food, the architect, the history, the parks, the shopping…the life. I love it all.
We had a wonderful week in Charleston. We spent time with friends, rode bikes, went to festivals, sat in the park, shopped, ate a lot of good food and soaked in as much of the scenery as we could. It’s a fun place to be with so much to do. Most of the blog entries from this past week were repost from our time here in 2013…I took the week off so I could enjoy every minute we had in the city. Here are a few of the highlights of our week.
Charleston is a great city to spend the day sight seeing. This is the United States Custom House on East Bay.
Waterfront Park is one of our favorite places to just hang out when we are Charleston
Tourist can take horse drawn carriage rides or the local trolly to learn a little more about the city.
The City Market is a historic market complex in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Established in the 1790s, the market stretches for four city blocks from the architecturally-significant Market Hall, which faces Meeting Street, through a continuous series of one-story market sheds, the last of which terminates at East Bay Street.
The Charleston’s Farmers Market is something we have always enjoyed. It is more than just fresh veggies…it’s a festival in itself. This lady sell locally made sea salt.
Some of the fresh vegetables offered this week
The view from the top of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. We rode over the bridge Sunday to go to the Blessing of the Fleet in Mt. Pleasant. The span of the bridge is 2.7 mile. This is a view of the Maritime Center Marina…you can even see The Pearl if you zoom in.
At the top of the bridge
The Blessing of the Fleet in Mt. Pleasant
See the bridge? That’s what we rode over to get to the festival. Lots of music, food and crafts.
Dinner with our friends Charlotte and Magnus at The Darling Oyster Bar. We had a great time.
Our last day in Charleston we ate at Slightly North of Broad…it was very good.
S.N.O.B. kitchen
Stan’s flounder…it was amazing
My shrimp & grits…the very best I’ve had in Charleston
Our home for the week
The view from our flybridge this past week…not bad
Smitten By St. Croix
A week or so ago we embarked on our second Caribbean expedition of 2016, flying into St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands where AVATAR and crew were awaiting us. Before our luggage was even Read More …
Sony Mirrorless Cameras – Getting Better
We’ve been testing the Sony 6300 mirrorless camera with Canon lenses, and we have been pleased with results we are …Read More
2016-03 Heading Northward
Sunday, April 24, 2016: Anacortes to Vancouver
On Sunday at 6AM we exited Anacortes’ Skyline Marina for Vancouver, BC. It was nice going for most of the morning with flat seas but building light breeze. The run is around 8 hours or so. By 11AM as we entered Canada just north of Tawassen, the winds and seas built causing an uncomfortable pitching motion. At the South Arm of the Fraser River, a vast wall of whitewater was the barrier keeping we Americans at bay. After a rough and rocky ride through the River’s outflow for 500 yards or so, we turned to starboard following the coastline towards Point Grey. Now the sloppy seas pushed by 25 knot gusts, were blasting into Wild Blue’s port side serving up a rolly ride. We were happy to clear Point Grey by 2PM for the final leg into False Creek. After clearing Customs, we tied up at Quayside Marina with a spectacular view up Davie Street into Yaletown.
| Entering False Creek, Vancouver, BC |
| Moored at beautiful Quayside Marina |
| Wild Blue’s boat deck view up Davies Street into Yaletown. |
On Monday, we enjoyed the sights, sounds and tastes of our favorite city. We bought local fresh-baked French baguette’s at Wholefoods in Cambie, provisioned at Urban Fare market and BC Liquors, then added food specialties from the Granville Island market. Later we dined at the Tripadvisor #1 ranked Vancouver restaurant….. Blue Water Cafe. The experience was special and lived up to everyone’s expectations.
We dined with our crew Sid and Virginia Findley, longtime friends from San Luis Obispo, and Mike and Susie Miner, boating friends from nearby Shell Beach. This was a fine dinner and a fun way to celebrate Pat and Alex’s 35th wedding anniversary.
| Seeker, Mike and Susie’s Selene 50, prepares to moor at Quayside Marina, Vancouver |
Tuesday, April 26, 2016: Vancouver to Comox
A little past 5AM it was just light enough to see, so Sid and Alex disconnected from Quayside moorage and headed outbound from Vancouver. By 10AM the ride was a bit bumpy with 27-knot winds from astern with lumpy seas. At 11 in Sabine Channel the winds softened to 10 and the seas flattened for the remaining three hours into Comox. The Comox Bar was only slightly ruffled and we tied up at the Harbour Authority’s east floating breakwater.
We entered the quaint town of Comox which is mostly a retirement community in search of the Filberg Park. At the heart of the Filberg site is the 1930’s heritage lodge, the former home of local pioneers Robert and Florence Filberg. The park features 130 varieties of trees, seasonal gardens, and hundreds of rhododendrons. Pat, our garden guru, said the grounds reminded her of the various gardens she has visited in England.
LAst days of summer
April 27, 2016Somewhere off the Tutukaka Coast(Rounding Bream Head, at Whangarei)We left Whangarei this morning, after a short visit to California. DOMINO, safely docked at MArsden Cove Marina, was itching for a ride, her hulls slightly slimed. &…
April 25 – Charleston Churches
Maritime Center Marina
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you’ll ever know.” —A. A. Milne
Charleston is known as the Holy City because it was one of the few places in the original 13 colonies that practiced religious tolerance. From the beginning, the city was a melting pot for people of all faiths, especially those who had been persecuted elsewhere because of their religious beliefs. Along with religious freedom came a skyline of some of the oldest and most beautiful houses of worship in the country. Here are just a few of the wonderful churches that are in Charleston.
CONTINUE READING HERE…»
FPB 78-1 Monitoring The Situation: Update – A Great Monitor Find
In the process of wrestling with monitor tradeoffs, we have come across a great new monitor. It is the Samsung …Read More
On the "Hard "
Hauled in Le Marin, Martinique, shrink wrap guys have the webbing in place, very efficient yard. We are stored on concre! Nice.







