Monthly Archives: June 2014
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 – Stuart – Delray, FL
It is Wednesday and the last leg of our journey has begun. Perfect weather and a great disposition both, the admiral and mate display. Good bases for a smooth boating day on the ICW of Florida.
Eventhough mileage wise we are so close to home but boating wise yet so far. It is a densely populated area and the speed restrictions are a constant companion but the views are pleasing to the eye and the homes along Jensen Beach are simply breath taking.
As we cross under the Indiantown bridge we think of our dear friends, Dr.Bruce and lovely lady BettyAnn. This is their hometown and stumping ground which we have visited often lately too.
Just as we passed the lighthouse and turned the corner something troubling emerges on the horizon. Is it a fire or just some smoke of no great importance?
The closer we get and the sooner we have come around the bend in our channel, the more evident it is. It is some serious fire and the alerts through the VHF are clarifying it being a forest fire that is under control and well tended to by the Fire Department of Jupiter. Does not seem to be as much under control to us as we have to pass through some serious smoke and our visibility has been cut to zero. As we alert other vessels approaching our location from any direction so are they alerting us to their presence as well. All eyes on deck and peeled to the windshield! Engines going at a creeping speed! No chances taken here, that is for sure!
Finally after a short period of time, seemingly endless, we emerge out of the smoke and alert others to be aware and vigilant. Thank God that is over and we can safely continue our journey going home!
It takes us a couple more hours and a fueling up of the boat before we reached our home base for the Contessa, Delray Yacht Club Marina, now owned by the Seagate Corp.
The new owners plan to reconstruct the whole property and construction is to begin within weeks. Ah well, ist time to move the Contessa to better and safer grounds before all of that starts.
Our journey of Contessa going North and back home has finally come to an end.
What is to follow time will tell. Stay tuned and enjoy our blog as our adventures continue.
There is nothing to fear but fear itself!
There is nothing to experience unless one takes the leap of faith and steps over the threshold into uncertainty and great possibility!
Bon voyage mon amie!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014 – Ft. Pierce – Stuart, FL
Awakened by a sparkling sun rise I rush to get this perfect new dawning of a day memorized in a photograph. It is calm and the waters are still as can possibly be announcing a perfect new day.
Prepping our morning meals and getting the boat ready to depart for a run as far as it will take us, preferably all the way to Jupiter. Since it is low tide early in the am we linger a bit and depart our dock just a bit past 9 am. 
As we pass by Cocoa Beach and Melbourne riding along the ICW in the Indian River our trip is going smoothly and more swiftly than expected. May it continue as such all the way to our destination hopefully being Jupiter?
I must say I am happy that we are going inland rather than on the ocean especially when looking at our wind indicator showing wind blowing at some 16 KN and more.
Just when we entered Ft Pierce the clouds gathered and it started raining diminishing our visibility quite a bit. While Joe is desperately looking for a marina in the vicinity that has a floating dock available for the night I am at the helm running the boat. Well, it is so that all the marinas are full for the night and we need to move on to Stuart where we might be luckier in finding the appropriate marina for the night. That being so it will shorten our day tomorrow and we will reach our home destination.
As we slowly pass through the rain and the Indian River Waterway we not only have reached Stuart and left the rain behind Joe is lucky enough and finds us a marina that has room for us and even has floating docks which we favor. It makes it so much easier to get on and off the boat that way.
As we slowly enter the channel going towards our designated marine we pass by two well known marinas, The Sailfish Marina and the Pirates Cove Marina. Our choice is the Pirates Marina for it also has a restaurant that we remember from an earlier trip some 13 or 14 years ago. Some fond memories for a family boat trip to Captiva across Lake Okeechobee with my mother, Jessica and Martina on board. Happy with our dock and other amenities we embark on our usual docking duties..
It is time to wash down the boat and make her happy and sparkly again. The sun has emerged from behind the clouds and it is a perfect end of the day.
It is our last night on the way before we return home and bring our Contessa to her home base. Happy boating tomorrow!
Monday, May 19, 20014 – St. Augustine – Ft. Pierce
In the quietness of the early morning and a spectacular sunrise I am greeted by a lonesome dolphin gently gliding along in the marina looking for its morning meal. With such elegance and grace she glides along without even causing a ripple till she finds what she wants and an occasional splash indicates her profitable find.
Our morning duty of getting ourselves and the boat ready for a new day on the waters of Florida has begun. We have finally reached our home state but as we all know it is a long way to home still. My Admiral and Captain has decided to take the ICW for this days run since the offshore option would be a bit rough on us and since we have the intention of reaching Ft. Pierce, it would be a very long day on not so pleasant high seas. It is 9 am and off we go on this new day’s adventure of the Contessa and her two only crew members, the Admiral and his first mate. May it be a special and very pleasant day and may the Spirits of nature be kind to us today!
Indeed it was a long but lovely day on the ICW of Florida’s northern section. We had to pass through very densely populated areas of Palm Coast and Daytona with many restrictions in speed and No Wake Zones , but we managed to get through it all and reach Titusville , FL just about 5:30 pm. Our rout took us through the pristine wetlands of Merritt Island with an abundance of birds and manatees as well as our steady companions, the dolphins. A very peculiar development occurred here as well; our morning started off with the gentle greeting of a dolphin and evolved into a steady accompaniment of white butterflies. They kept on swinging by across our windshields or simply fluttering along side of the wheel house. What a blessing this all has been looking at it from all perspectives of life as it has recently been.
As we have docked at a T dock, being the C dock and the wind pushing us right onto the dock we manage to tie ourselves up without any assistance at all. Slowly, but surely old memories, and skills of us doing that so often during the later part of our journey north are all coming back to us and we are getting more comfortable at it too.
As I am washing down the boat from top to bottom to free it from the salty residue of today’s trip, I notice a strange looking snout more like a nose of an elephant drinking the gently flowing waters at the stern of the boat. As I come closer I recognize it being a manatee drinking water out of a hose, even though it was not directly out of the hose but close to it.
For dinner the only place open tonight was the Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant specializing in shrimp and other shell fish like rock fish. They also make the best clam chowder ever. It contains none of the starchy thickening guck that is mostly used in chowders. Well a good meal under our belt and a glass of wine and beer and off we go to return to our Contessa for a good night’s rest.
Sunday, May 18, 2014 – Savannah, GA – St. Augustine , FL
It is a glorious day today and a perfect day to head out and be on our way going home. Early morning it is for us as we are anxious to get on our way. Just as the Whole Foods opens I run in and make a quick shopping run to get us some fresh supplies for the next few days we are going to be on our way. All things stowed and the boat lift is firing up to get our Contessa and drive her off to the dropping point where it gently lowers her into the water. Earnie, our new friend has arrive to say good bey and to assist in any manner necessary as does Mike the specialist on soundings and electronics. Once all systems are set and checked, we are ready to depart. It is now 10:10 am as all lines are off and we are driving along the river towards the Wassaw Sound Inlet, our gateway to the Atlantic Ocean.
Our goal is to reach St. Augustine today and find a good resting spot for the night.
The passage out is long and caution is very much needed but with the incoming tide almost being at its peak and abiding by the marked channel leads us safely out of shallow and dangerous waters od the Wassaw Inlet.
Once out of the dangerous and shallow area we plotted our course going south going towards St. Augustine. According to the navigational charts calculations we have some 120 nm to cover and at our current speed of some 16-17 kn should arrive at our destination just past 6 pm. Our plan is to tie up at the Conch House Marina. We have stopped there last summer as we embarked on our way going north. Pleasant memories of our stay and the great restaurants of St. Augustine are enticing our appetites.
As ride along we have some happy companions along the way, a pod of dolphins playfully crossing our bow and joyously gliding and jumping along our wake. It is a blessing to see these majestic cre4atures gracing our oceans and intercoastal waterways.
I also just was informed that we are crossing the habitat of the northern right whales. How grateful would I be to see one of these majestic creatures of the ocean grace us on our journey home. As the matter of fact I did see two of them in the distance while there pods of dolphins following in our wake. So I sat down in the back of the boat and prayed and blessed the waters and all creatures of this magnificent planet.
It has been a long ride to St. Augustine and the inlet is a bit difficult to maneuver through especially at dead low tide and if you are not used to it. Common local knowledge is always the best. Nevertheless, we made it and just about 6:30pm we docked at the fuel dock of the marina. Since it was such extremely low tide our depth sounders went crazy and there were alarms sounding all over the place creating a sense of urgency and havoc. Even when we switched over to shore power and powered everything off this ‘blessed’ alarm had no intention of quitting till the final breaker was turned off. Alas, there was peace and the usual docking procedure started; fueling up of the boat and wash down of all the salt we accumulated along the way. Before we turned around it was 9 pm and a late dinner time awaited as the business of a Sunday crowd subsided leaving the restaurant empty. Just what we needed!
It actually was pleasant to sit in one of the seating cubbies erected above the swampy waters of the neighborhood. As the pleasantries of a relaxing dinner subsided and our job of tiding up the boat ended, we exhaustedly fell into a deep trance.
Thursday, May 15, 2014 – Thunderbolt Marina and Boat Yard, Savannah, GA
A new day on our journey arose and it is a gray and mellow day. Our dolphin friends came to say hello and drifted in the river while feeding on some local goodies. Since the area is known for shrimping, I could easily connect those two. Whatever the reason, I am grateful for their presence!
Just as it started to rain easily we were informed that it is time to move the boat towards the lift which is to lift the boat out of the water so that our damage can be assessed.
We ball anxiously awaited the moment of truth and stood around while the mechanics diligently worked in removing the props which to the naked eye looked actually ok.
The GM Ernie took us for a tour of this fascinating state of the art yard which he proudly displayed and did not spare any areas from viewing. Their spray booth is a huge hanger in which some spectacular sized pleasure ships are getting their paint jobs of top quality.
There are individual buildings in which different boat craftsmen ships are house and performed. From very defined wood works to all mechanical work, to disassembly to reassembly of all the intricate parts of a boat and in particular of a mega yachts. As we learned, they all get carefully labeled and properly wrapped and stored while the yacht is being worked on. It most certainly is a very impressive facility and a good kept secret in the boating/yachting industry it seems like.
Their clientele is of some serious monetary funds and as he explained there are those that like to display their beautiful mega yachts and there are those that like to keep their privacy.
Upon our return we found out what the damage to our vessel is. Our port side shaft slightly bent at the tip from what could be determined right on the spot. It needs to be brought to a special shop where they will bring it back to its original position so that there is no vibration on the boat. From what I understand vibration comes from imbalance in any systems and with time can and does create more issues. Alas, it needs to be fixed and realigned. Eric made arrangements for this to be done in an impeditive manner so that by Saturday the boat could be put back into water. 
May all of this come true and may our remaining part of the journey be smooth and uneventful but actually pleasant!
Through the rest of this week and the duration of the repair we are moving into the Hyatt and our Capt. Oscar is flying home to tend to his fatherly duties.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014 – Charleston. NC – Svannah, GA
As usual I awakened with a bright sun rise and a day filled with beautiful sights and some danger as well.
Riding along the rivers and channels that connect them takes us through some wonderful neighborhoods that one would usually not be able to see. Some impressive homes and properties are surrounding the historic old city old Charleston. Occasional visits by our beloved sea angels are such a welcome and a true blessing to me and my companions. Thank you my kindred spirits of the beloved oceans for venturing so far inland and giving your loving vibrations to all those that welcome you!
The winding rivers and waterways are taking us through the famous lowlands of Georgia. It is a special beauty that this land emits to a rare visitor but they also do contain hidden dangers as well. Sandy shawls constantly tend to build up and the Corp of Engineers do not maintain the as diligently as they used to. Unfortunately the funds are being sent somewhere else that is for certain.
It is just about 3:30 pm and we have maybe just 45 min. to go. Riding along and staying in the middle of our channels, abiding by local wake zones, yet just as we least expected it to happen, it did, we ran aground. The boat stopped dead on and things went flying as did my dear Joe. He flew of his chair and luckily was stopped by the helm chair which gave him a bump on his head and his left knee got a nasty scrape where a peace of skin was simply scraped off.
Everything flew out of the refrigerators and some items fell out of the cabinets creating a chaos in the galley. Eggs got scrambled all over the floor as did the butter and the yogurt.
Thank God the boat was able to move right out of the inflicted spot and we were able to continue on our way to the Thunderbolt Marina in Savannah. Yes there was vibration felt on our port side but it seemed not as bad as expected. Engine room check seemed ok and all systems were a go. The galley got cleaned up and we all got over our initial shock eventually. Appropriate calls were made and arrangements for lifting the boat out of water next morning were set. We do have props in reserve on the boat that can be exchanged for the damaged one if necessary so that we can continue our journey home.
We all are extremely grateful for all the little miracles that occurred throughout all of this misfortune and I am sure tomorrow we will hear of some more as well.
May Divine presence continue to work on it all and give us a safe and timely return home! Thank you Father and all your divine assistants for keeping us safe and sound and our Contessa as well!
Tuesday May 13, 2014 -Beaufort, NC – Charleston, NC
It was just about 7:30 am when we finally left the marina of Beaufort, NC after some technical difficulty getting the generator started which is an pretty crucial part of the boats mechanical driving force. Guided and initiated through some prayers and divine intervention, followed up with technical advice from our mechanic from Haven Barbour, Mike and some diligent work by Capt. Oscar, the generator started and we were able to move on.
Today is the day intended for a long run on the ocean all the way to Charleston, NC. It is a good 200 NM run. The seas are relatively calm but there is a steady chop pf 2-3 feet and as the day progresses the wind increases to 16 kn/h. Not a pleasant day for me since I am not too keen on the motion of the ocean. It simply does not agree with me longer than 5-6 hrs. The guys were on their own fixing their own lunch which did not consist of any elaborate items either. Joe did not get his coffee fix since our little espresso machine is malfunctioning.
We all were relieved once we docked at the Charleston City Marina after a long almost 12 hr day on the open waters of the Atlantic. 
Our docking was followed by the usual wash down of the boat, ourselves and finally a late dinner at Hank’s. The boat was laden with salt and desperately needed a wash down.
Hank’s is a very good seafood restaurant with a reputation that precedes it, and so it was!
Late dinner, followed by a nice and long walk on the dock in the full moon lit sky over this historic old city of Charleston. By the time we all went to sleep it was midnight and we were so tired.
The plan was to sleep in next morning and take it easy. And take it easy we did.
Contessa going Home- going South
Dear friends and dear family,
It has been a very long winter and our Contessa remained on the dry all winterized and wrapped to endure the harsh winter at Haven Harbor Marina in Rock Hall, MD under the watchful eyes of our newly acquired friends and great craftsmen of the boating industry.
It is May and the weather seems to be stabilizing and it is getting warmer. We are anxious to bring her back south into the warmer waters to which she is much more accustomed to and we are more than happy to accommodate that.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Rock Hall, MD – Chesapeake
It has been three weeks since we arrived at Rock Hall to prepare our Contessa for her journey back south going home. The long and cold winter prolonged Haven Harbor Marina in their preparatory work in launching all the winterized boats they housed for the winter. Our Contessa was one of them. Much work has been done by some amazingly capable talents, very capable hands of a couple of Mikes, Rickie and others, as well as under great leadership and dedicated hard work our Contessa is ready and eager to start her journey home.
There is no one more pleased to stand at the helm and take his ship home, then our own Admiral Joe. Fair skies and calm seas to the admiral and his crew!
The morning is mellow, yet the sky is laden with moisture and a very intense sun behind it all pushing its rays through in the attempt of warming the cold waters of the north.
Its 4:15 pm and we are at our first dockage for the night, Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina, Deltaville, VA. Our journey started just about 10AM and mostly was a smooth ride despite a brief intercept of inclement weather which brought in wind and choppy seas. I have never seen so many small boats out there fishing and trolling as today. I suppose everyone got cabin fever and just needed to get out doing their favorite outdoor thing.
Thank God we made it to our dock just in time for this huge storm to pass by. It brought strong gusty winds ranging up to 40 KN and plenty of rain to follow. Maybe a half hour later everything calmed down and we were able to go check in and go have an early dinner at the Railway Restaurant across the creek. As the craw would fly it would be a short run but we needed to drive around the creek and a couple of coves to get to the only restaurant in the neighborhood. The food was decent yet more on the deep-fried side but there was a choice of salads too. The restaurant was filled with people and as the evening progressed more were emerging from the convoluted forested flat areas embracing the coves and creeks of the local area. Early retirement with a dramatic sunset in the distance was very much welcomed as we adjust to our boat living with ease and grace.
Monday, May 12, 2014 – Coinjock – Beaufort, NC
Leaving Coinjock at just about 8:15am and it is a foggy and very calm and serene day. We thought that we left the fog behind last September when leaving Nova Scotia and Main behind but here it is again. It seems that the long and cold winter as well as the Spring rains have delayed the warm and sunny days that are still to come. All the sunny days so far have indicated the intensity of the sun already and as our voyage progresses and we are approaching mid day we witness the rays of the sun burning through the fog clouds above. The waters of the Albemarle Sound are as calm as can be and the visibility is drastically increasing too. May the rest of our journey bless us with calm waters and friendly skies!
Our destination today is Beaufort, NC, a quaint city located along the waterway and close by the Beaufort Inlet with its wide and deep channel accommodating even big ships.
On the historical note; Pirate Edward Teach, mostly known as Blackbeard, lost his ship Queen Ann’s Revenge in 1718 after running aground at Beaufort Inlet. There is a fascinating multimedia display of his story at the Beaufort Maritime Museum. It was just about 4:15 pm when we safely docked.
The marina is located right at downtown area with a few very renowned good restaurants.
Good place to stop over and enjoy a good meal and be safe for the night. Our meal at Blue Moon Restaurant was the best meal we had since on our journey south. 
Sunday, May 11, 2014 – Mother’s day
Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers here and now and all those long gone!
We know that you have never left our sides just your sphere of existence has changed but you still are doing the same as always or even more than ever, intercede for your children.
Thank you for your precious and unique kindness and persistence that never ceases to exist!
A mother’s creation is never less then precious. Her work never seems to be done and it’s done with ease and a smile. The common denominator is love, unconditional love! Thank God for this gift and for this experience!
At 8 am we have left our first resting port of Deltaville, VA. The morning that emerged is the one of a sunny blue skies and smooth waters of the Chesapeake upon which we are seemingly effortlessly gliding along on our way south.
As we leave the Chesapeake behind and enter the vicinity of Norfolk, VA, the home for some proud Navy fleets and sailors that proudly serve their country year in and year out. This time it seems that one of those fleets has just returned from a “cruise” or officially known as deployment that lasts months serving its country in far and distant oceans and seas. These young man and women have exposed themselves to numerous dangers being the watch dog of the world. I wonder when is that going to end and when finally peace in the world will settle in. I have hope for humanity and pray for its evolution and transition into a peace making and loving existence. May it come soon so that many lives are spared of suffering!
After passing a number of low bridges and one lock we end up in the vast Nothlanding River and are able to move along more swiftly. The only occasional traffic we encounter are the boats that are being moved north for their owners to enjoy cruising in the northern part of the East coast. Several hours later we arrive at our next resting spot for the night, Coinjock, NC. There is a restaurant in the marina but it being Mother’s Day makes it a bit harder to get a reservation. Nevertheless, we are in and after a rinsing down of the boat and a refreshing shower we sit down for our main day’s meal. Unfortunately it’s nothing spectacular but it beats cooking and yes, today being Mother’s Day made it a very busy day for the only restaurant in the neighborhood. They served over 300-400 meals today and that number still is to climb for the day is not over yet.
Thank you for this very beautiful and sunny day and thank you for calm waters and a smooth ride! May our days to come be like it or even better!
contessagoesnorth 