Back again...

We are back on Wind Spirit after two significant events. The first was a fun trip to California where we had a lovely visit with all Bill's family, his Mother who is as feisty as ever, all the brothers and

sisters-in -law, their families, and nephews and delightful girl friends.

We were specifically happy to see Bill's younger brother, John who is feeling better after a rough time with surgery and radiation treatment for melanoma. It was a treat to see him starting to get his joie de vivre and energy back after a long haul!

We also attended the lovely wedding of our great nephew Josh and his lovely bride Rachel in Riverside, and had a family dinner at John and Sally's the following day. It was a treat to see everyone. Thanks for the birthday celebration which did preempt Fathers Day ...sorry all of you Dads in the family, but hope you you enjoyed the wonderful cake.

The second event after we went back to Atlanta, and met my brother Ray at the airport was moving my mother back to Canada. The 23rd we had packers in to finish packing mother's apartment. They loaded the rental truck for us the following day, and Ray drove the truck up to Quebec where Mother will now be living full time with he and Carla. We hope she will be very happy in her new place with them and that all goes well for everyone with the transition.


We have been back on Wind Spirit now for 5 days and had the great pleasure of having Frances and Will with us for a couple of days. This was a first for them to stay on a sailboat and we hope they will come back for a longer stay next time. We had some sun and some rain...more rain than we wanted but we need rain too. We did do some sailing and motoring down toward Harbor Town and Dafuskie Island as well as exploring Beaufort with a car tour CD. Frances and I had hours of uninterupted visiting which was fun as we are used to visiting in quick bits between patients. Retirement is terrific when you can spend time with good friends!





We heard from Christine today that she will be here tomorrow for a couple of days and to see the fireworks with us. We will have a front row seat as they are setting them off from a barge on the river close to us. Hoping the wind is blowing away from the boat. We will miss Mark!

In the mean time lovely sunsets, interesting people, boat work... always, dolphins, birds, otter and sting rays to watch.

Our plans are to head north on Tuesday if the weather is good we will go outside, and if not, inside on the ICW. Will keep you posted as we start another adventure.

Living aboard Wind Spirit...

We have spent most of the last 2 months aboard Wind Spirit and are generally very comfortable in our condo on the water. I am finally getting back to writing on this blog again. For most of May and early June we were dockside at Port Royal Landings Marina. We had a pleasant time and it was actually very relaxing. Had dinner with Beth and Helen one rainy evening on the boat while they were at Fripp. Somehow didn't get any pictures.

Joan our neighbor came down for 4 days over Memorial day. We had some great sailing weather while she was with us. Had dinner out at 11th Street Dockside in Port Royal.
While Joan was there we had a bit too much excitement as there was a PAM PAM call ( just under a MAY DAY level) that someone was in the water. The Coast guard finally canceled the emergency call pending further investigation, but we saw helicopters out searching. Also saw a boat aground which brought back some memories for Bill and I. When we came into the dock the current caught us turning us perpendicular to the dock. It took some help to just swing the stern around and tie up safely. We were a little bumped but mostly humbled by the experience. Just as we were tied up another large motor boat came rushing in with the current, totally lost control and crashed into us. Joan had ducked and hidden her face. Too much going on all at once.. Wind Spirit had a few scratches we discovered later but more importantly Howard, the captain, had seriously cut his thumb trying to fend off from our anchor and boat.

He docked on the outside dock, and Bill went over and helped tied up and closed up his boat so they could get him to the hospital for stitches. We met them later, and they came for drinks on the boat. A bottle of McCallen also changed hands. Thanks Meaux and Howard. Hope the hand is better soon. Interesting ways we meet folks. Rather do that with less trauma for everyone however!

Friends and fellow sailors at the Port Royal Marina have been so helpful and patient answering Bill’s million questions and helping learn to do boat work including cleaning filter systems on board, helping repair the bilge pumps, and giving him suggestions when docking. The staff there is also amazingly supportive. We are so appreciative and do hope to go back there and keep it as our home Marina.

Lots of dolphin all around when we go sailing and even around the docks. Green backed herons wake me up every morning with their chortle-like cry. The marshes are full of oyster catchers, egrets and snowy egrets with bright yellow feet, great blue herons, little blue herons, and lots I can't id yet.


Bill and Nancy were with us for a few days the first week of June. Such fun sharing the boat with these sailing buddies. We spent a day in Beaufort which is such a lovely city and so picturesque. We love to spend time there. We toured the Verdier Museum on Bay street and drove around The Point. This city was a Union stronghold during the War between the States and was left virtually intact so has lovely old antebellum homes. We sailed over to Hilton Head with Nancy and Bill and had a wonderful day on the boat. Best sailing yet! Had dinner at Hudson’s the oldest seafood restaurant on Hilton Head.

We have had a week at Hilton Head at Skull Creek Marina in the Hilton Head Plantation. The Dockmaster, Granville has been great. But we do miss PRLM. Favorite restaurant there is Skull Creek Dockside!

Bruce and Kelly and the Will and Andrew have been at a beach house in Sea Pines this week and next with all her family including cousins Lanie, Reid and Emma. We visited, and they spent some time on the boat with us. Bill went fishing with Kelly's Dad, Fred, Bruce and Kelly. Kelly was the star fisher woman that day pulling in a 39 pound King Mackerel. Can't download the pictures this time''have tried!! They said it was delicious eating when Bruce cooked it on the grill.
Bruce and Will spent an afternoon sailing with us. Will loved it and we were so pleased to have them with us. The kids loved the dinghy ride too!




































Bob and Anne Chandler were also in Hilton head last week with family, and had their first sailing experience with us on Wind Spirit in Port Royal Sound. They said it was their maiden voyage. We loved having them aboard for a day and caught up with their family news. Hope they will come with us again. Think the pictures of them were all on Anne's camera!

Christine and Mark came on Thursday and stayed until yesterday when we all headed home. Had some great sailing and wonderful meals out and with Kelly’s family at the beach house. It was super hot all the time they were there in the high 90's. Thanks goodness we have AC on the boat. It sounds crazy, but with the humidity is necessary and has kept us very comfortable. We didn’t go looking for AC on a boat but it came with it along with a great heater . We have been grateful for both in the last 6 months.

Our favorite meal for this month was Frogmore Stew which we have made twice and loved it. Local shrimp are in season and are delicious!

We just love filling the boat with friends and family! Such fun to share our adventure.



Enjoy hearing from all of you who are following this retirement journey. Our plan is to return to the boat after a couple of weeks at home, and then after the 4th will head north.

We are in the process of moving Mother to Canada to live with my brother and his wife. Will write more later. Please keep in touch.

Practicing...

Well, we have been back on Wind Spirit at Port Royal Landings Marina for a lovely week. Weather has been amazing except for one rainy day which didn't slow us down too much.

Our friends, Nancy and Claude came down to spend a few days with us which was fun. We ate well and drank a few V&Ts... it is summer here already. Peggy and her brother Bill joined us for dinner on Tuesday. As the sun was going down there was an amazing double full rainbow so huge we could not get a picture of the entire arc.

We went out for a sail on Monday. Wind and waves were a bit rough again in the sound, but calmed nicely on up the Broad river and going back up the Beaufort River. Nancy and I both had a bit of trouble on the sound, but definitely appreciated the calmer waters. We watched for dolphin, but they were in hiding that day.

We explored Beaufort in a horse and buggy which was a true learning experience about this small city that was a Union stronghold during the Civil War. All the old ante bellum homes and churches remain, and are surrounded by huge moss-draped oak trees. We also found a wonderful book store that specializes in Low Country writers. Bill is hooked on Pat Conway! We'll check the shelves at home before we head back to the book store!

The Nina and Pinta were at the City Marina dock in Beaufort, SC while we were there. Unfortunately we were not aware they were in port and were open for touring. They are traveling up the east coast and into the Great Lakes then down the Mississippi on a great loop tour so if they are near you, they are worth visiting. Their schedule and more information about building them in Brazil is available at www.thenina.com

Bill and I took Wind Spirit out on Thursday in gentle winds. The mainsail and jib were out fully and it was wonderful. The boat sailed like a dream. We were so grateful to have the feeder replaced and the mainsail functioning like it should. We saw lots of small fishing boats in the Broad river and sound. Today we learned that the green herring run in May and June,and that the Cobia follow them in so they are fishing for the Cobia which are pretty big, fighters and good to eat.

Saturday we found the Bluffton Village Festival which was an interesting activity for a very hot (93 degrees) sunny day. We found a hammock chair which I am sure we will enjoy hanging off the davits on the back of the boat. We had yummy French Crepes for lunch...really and lots of cold drinks. We shared an afternoon tea plate at the United Church. We had reserved a lobster dinner at the Back Porch Grill with some friends from other boats, a real bargain for wild lobster from Canada... delicious and my Mother's Day treat! Sounds like all we did was eat...maybe we did!

On Sunday we motored about 10 miles up the ICWand into the Coosaw River which was beautiful. We saw lots of birds and dolphins.

We are getting some practice sailing when the wind is not too strong so we can gain confidence in what we are doing and so far so good. Planning to go out and do a loop in a couple of weeks, going out the St. Helena Sound and coming in the Port Royal Sound. Will anchor out a couple of nights when we do this short trip.

Boat chores today, and then a move to another dock as our present boat slip has a permanent owner who is coming back. Bill may sink into total depression as we have been on a busy main dock and he loves to meet and greet and share stories with the sailors who pull up here.

Concerts in Atlanta this weekend including a Benefit for Haiti at Covenant. Also a sad (for us) goodbye to Lori. Dr. Lori is graduating today from Emory with a DPT and MPH. She then heads to DC, Oregon and traveling in South America before she starts a job in DC in the fall. Know we will see her again before too long. We have so enjoyed having her with us.

Sail Feeder Fixed

On Friday the 23rd we received a wonderful phone call that the feeder had arrived from France. However as we needed to get home this week we had North Sail from Charleston come to the marina at Port Royal on Saturday morning.

It was cloudy, and sprinkling rain, but they arrived, put the feeder on, checked that the sail worked, checked both the jib and stay sail in the front of the boat as the furling systems are also made by the same company...ProFurl. All is well and the control on the main feeder works perfectly now. It was amazing watching them replace it on the mast.

Unfortunately the weather continued to not be wonderful on Saturday. We wandered and found the Port Royal Soft Shell Crab Festival which was lots of fun with yummy food and great stuff to look at.

Sunday was windy and rainy so we just packed up, closed up the boat, and came home. Will be back before long after we get Mother off to Quebec for a visit with my brother and his family.

This time we really will get to sail on Wind Spirit!

Waiting...

This has been a quiet few days as we wait for the ash cloud to dissipate in France and the feeder part for the main sail to be sent. We are also waiting for a new stove-top coffee percolator.

We have had great fun socializing in the evening with fellow boaters... some trawler folks and some sailors. Last night we had dinner with an interesting and fun couple from Halifax on Nelleke, who are headed north, but are waiting for some repairs to be done too. They are sailing a 1980 Moody 42 that has 3 cabins and 2 heads. It is an interesting and a very seaworthy boat. Dinner was just delicious, and we had a great time getting to know them, and learning how they live aboard.

Friday and Saturday evening all the Marina folks meet up at the top of the dock and BBQ and share a dish. No-see-ums were a bit rough both nights but we did have fun.
Have been to West Marine almost every day and Publix about every other day.

Bill pumped us out and filled the water tank Saturday so we are functional again However, we learned today that we need to filter the chlorine out of the water when we put it in as it reacts with the aluminum water tank. Always something new! Bill has been changing water filters today. There are 5! A friend from another Island Packet, The Gideon, came over and coached him through the first couple, and Bill has just finished the rest. People are so generous sharing their time and knowledge and we are so grateful for the help! You cannot imagine some of the positions Bill has to get into to work on stuff! He says he has muscles where he never knew he had any!

We went exploring in the car yesterday and found Ft Fremont and the beach at Lands End south of Penn Center, which we sailed by on the way through the Port Royal Sound. There are tons of tomato farms out on that part of the islands so now we know why there is a tomato processing plant on Hwy 21. Also, we found the Migrant workers camp which made us think of Lori, the Emory student staying with us at the house as her thesis is about migrant farm workers in south GA.

All is well as we wait here at the dock for the ash cloud to dissipate. We are planning to be home for a while at the end of the month.

The French Connection...

Well, we are still dealing with a main sail that will not stay in the track when we pull it up the mast. Bill is still working on getting the feeder working, that puts the sail into the track and holds it. We want it to tighten down to hold the sail as it goes up.

We did talk further to Mack Sails in Stuart FL again after the sail did come out of the track going up and went back in coming down. "That doesn't happen with this system" ...yes it does! However we don't want to go down there right now so needed another option.

We have had great communication with North Sails in Charleston who have located an old style feeder part like ours. The new redesigned one, of course, is not compatible with our 10 year old system. North Sails has located the one that will fit from the manufacturer. It is ordered! So we are now waiting for it to come in... you guessed it from France.

Well, we think we might just motor up the ICW to Charleston this weekend or early next week so we will be closer for North Sails to repair it when the part comes in. This trip May involve another rental car to come back to get our car here so we can go home around the end of the month.

Another beautiful day! Bill did laundry this AM while I looked at charts and books and Salty Southeast Web page figuring out the way up the ditch to Charleston. We have an old salt Capt. Bill visiting right now and Bill is just having a great old time talking sailing and trading stories as y'all can imagine.

Will keep you posted.

Docked

We have been back in Beaufort,South Carolina on Wind Spirit since last Tuesday afternoon. We met friends,the Pages, from Sutton Quebec here as they were on their way home from Florida. They were our first overnight guests and seemed to be comfortable even though they have not been on a boat like this before. They were on our Catalina 25 years ago. On Tuesday evening we went out for seafood to the 11th Street Dockside at Port Royal which was fun and good. We watched the sun go down over Battery Creek.


Wednesday was warm and sunny at the dock, we decided to go sailing. When we motored out to the Port Royal Sound we needed warm jackets as it was cool and pretty windy. As we put up the sail it was off the track on the mast and was flying free on the halyard. Down it came on the boom furling. We motored back to Beaufort, anchored for lunch just off the park, and Pages had a nap. We decided we had rolled down the main too far the last time we had had it up, and pulled it out of the feeder. We came back to the dock for drinks and dinner on the boat at sunset.

After the Pages left on Thursday morning Bill was able to get the sail back into the feeder and we were able to get the sail up and down at the dock with no problem. Friday we decided to go out and try it again in the sound. The winds were blowing at 15 to 20 knots. When we put the main up it seemed to come out of the track but when pulled back down was fine. It took a couple of tries and we had it up part way or reefed. We put some jib out after a bit. The winds got stronger and the water in the sound was very choppy. After I fed the fish we pulled down the sails and headed in. Not a prolonged or wonderful experience and we still were not happy with the performance of the main sail.

Saturday we puttered and decided we would contact the ProFurl people who make the rigging and installed it for some advice. We sent them pictures today and had a great conversation. Think we may have figured out what happened on Friday.

But it is not all work and no play as we drove out to Hunting Island State Park Sunday afternoon and went down to the beach which was very windy. The water felt warm, but not too many folks in swimming. The light house is beautiful. We had climbed it with the kids years ago and did not venture up again. We stopped for lunch at the Johnson Creek Tavern. The food was good when we got it, but the service marginal. Enjoyed watching the osprey feeding their young and also some of the Masters.


On the way back, we stopped at my favorite gallery, The Red Piano at Frogmore. Am still looking at a bird painting by W.J. Wiley. Saw the paintings 2 years ago when we were here boat-hunting and still like them. They don't fit on a boat however!
We drove out and looked at the marina at Dataw Island which is lovely, but just a bit out of the way right now. Might be somewhere to stay later when we are not running around so much. There was a lot of current there too. The community is just beautiful with azaleas in bloom all over. We headed back to the Port Royal Marina and the boat, but stopped at the Back Porch Bar at the marina for a beer and to watch more of the finals of the Masters. We don't have TV on board which is an adjustment for some of us.

The live oak trees all over this area are the most amazing green this week. Think most of the leaves froze this winter so new ones have come out and are the most luscious color. Will try to paint it but doubt I can match it! I have yet to open my paints since we have been on the boat, but am getting closer. Saw the sunrise this morning...yes I did see it... and it was lovely and bright reflecting across the Beaufort River.



Well other than mainsail issues and having visitors life has been pretty quiet on Wind Spirit and that is fine with me as we adjust to living aboard.

Christine just called, and Mother is on her way to Tucson for a visit with a cousin for a week.

All is well with us. Please keep in touch.