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Rockport Harbor

“The world above is a wonderful place. But everyone knows the true magic lies…under the sea, where the water is clear and the fish swim free.” ―Sebastian, The Little Mermaid

One of the things I enjoy doing when we stay in Rockport is working at the Aquarium at Rockport Harbor. It’s located across the parking lot from the boat, so my commute is very short. Working there gives me a chance to contribute to the community, visit with people from all over the country and get to know other volunteers who live in the area.
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“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.” – C.S. Lewis

We finally have our car back in Texas. It’s been sitting at Ortega River Marina for almost seven months. I drove Stan to the airport in Houston on Saturday and he caught a late flight to Jacksonville. He arrived about 9:45 eastern time and took Uber to the marina. The car was in great shape and started quickly, so he thought he’d drive west just a little before he stopping for the night. Fate had other plans…he couldn’t find a hotel room anywhere from Jacksonville to Pensacola. Every room was full, seems Florida State University played in Tallahassee on Saturday and everywhere was packed.
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Rockport Harbor

Last weekend we had a change to take the Texas Pearl out for a cruise. We went up to San Antonio Bay and anchored close to Panther Lake…a place where Stan has spent a lot of time fishing in the past. The weather was nice, although still a little warmer than we’d like. It as a beautiful evening and we enjoyed watching the Hunter Moon come up over the horizon while doing a little fishing.
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Olverson’s Lodge Creek Marina

“Collect memories not things” —Unknown

We left The Pearl a week ago, so I guess it’s about time I do a blog to close out this cruising year. It’s was a great year that started in Marathon back in January and continued up the east coast to Maine, and eventually back to the Chesapeake where we have the boat stored for the winter. We cruised 3434 miles this year, bringing our total miles traveled since leaving Texas in March 2011 to over 17,000…that a lot of miles when you’re traveling at 8 mph.
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Mill Creek, Solomons, MD – Anchorage

“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” – Denis Waitley

We left Baltimore today and headed south. We’re only a few travel days away from the marina where we will be storing the boat for the winter. Hurricane Matthew is churning in the Caribbean and heading up the east coast. We decided it would be best to get to the marina and prepare the boat while the weather is still nice. The direct path of the storm is uncertain at the moment and seems to change drastically as the National Hurricane Center posts updates every three hours. What hasn’t changed is the fact that this is a powerful storm that will leave destruction in its path.
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Anchorage Marina

“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It is lethal.” –Paulo Coelho

We enjoy Baltimore. There’s so much to do and it seems like there’s some kind of festival or event going on every weekend. One of our favorite things is the Saturday morning farmers market in Fells Point. They have all the regular great produce booths plus arts and crafts, fresh bread, organic cheeses, wonderful food booths and local winery and distillery samples, and best of all it’s a fun place to watch people (and dogs).

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Anchorage Marina

“I have sea foam in my veins, for I understand the language of waves.” —Le Testament d’Orphee

I’ve neglected the blog this past week. There just isn’t a lot to write about when you spend 15-17 hours a day cruising in the Atlantic and very little to take pictures of, except the sunrises and sunsets, which we’ve seen from the flybridge as we’re cruised along. Since leaving Newport we’ve traveled almost 500 miles, most of that in three very long days, although we did have two down days waiting on weather…still uneventful and not worthy of a blog post.
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Sandy Hook Coast Guard Station – Anchorage 

“Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well.” ― Josh Billings

Weather and the tide play a big part in determining the what, when and where in our cruising life. Some places they are more important than in others. From Port Washington we had to travel down the East River to reach the Hudson River and New York Harbor. The current is very strong through this area (5 kn) and can make traveling difficult if you’re not “going with the flow”. So we’ve always timed our travels to go with the tide. We flew through the East River and New York Harbor at a record speed today. It would be wonderful to travel this fast all the time.

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