It's Dyna's Birthday!

Today is Dyna's 14th birthday. That's, well, really old in dog years. The hearing is shot. The back legs are weak. Sleeping is the favorite pastime. But let Dylan bark about some looming danger or Mom and Dad grab the leash and she's right there. Dyna ain't gonna miss any of the action.

It's been quite a year since Dyna celebrated her 13th birthday. She spent a leisurely summer back at her land-based home in Castine, Maine.

She ensured the boat and its crew came through Hurricane Irene unscathed.

The biggest change for Dyna came in September. She had life saving surgery in Richmond, VA to help her breathing. Although she is no longer allowed to swim, she still is up for a good romp in the dog park.

She put a few more overnight passages under her belt. Checked out new marinas and anchorages and always found the breezy spot on the boat.

And of course, helped keep a watch on the dolphins.

Thanksgiving was spent with family in Tennessee.

A quiet Christmas onboard but there was no way she was sharing her Christmas treat.

Most of the winter was spent at Ortega Landing in Jacksonville, FL were there were plenty of dog friends.

And even more dog friends.

She supervised aCappella's electronics refit and even endured a week in a La Quinta hotel.

There were two trips up the St. Johns River, one requiring her to entertain two Garmin engineers and a magazine writer. A visit to the Outback Crab Shack. An invite to a fellow cruiser's house for dinner. A visit from Castine friends Sue and Bob when aCappella was in Fernadina Beach to attend an MTOA Rendezvous. Almost daily visitors to the boat wanting to say hello.  And two different stops at Cumberland Island.

No wonder this old girl gets tired sometimes.

As we started heading north, another generation of Dyna offspring entered the world as Dyna's great-great granddaughter had her own litter of 7 puppies. What is cuter than a puppy?

A few more stops at marinas and anchorages heading north including several days at Dowry Creek Marina...

and this season's cruising has come to an end. Dyna supervises the projects needed to be done before aCappella can be given a rest for the summer.

Soon Dyna will travel back to Maine for a few months of R&R while she dreams about her next adventures.

Happy Birthday, Dyna!

Using the new Garmin electronics while underway

Here's an introduction to the new electronics and Garmin setup in aCappella's pilothouse.  We'll shoot more videos over time showing specific functions, how they work, and what they look like.

From the Depths of Hell Straight to Heaven

Jeff has this theory that doing an overnight every so often is good for keeping our skills sharp. He's probably right but even in the best of conditions I find it wearing. It usually takes a day after we get in to get back to normal.

So our habit is to simply drop the hook after an overnight and crash. We catch up on sleep, shower, put on clean clothes, and ready ourselves to re-enter civilization.

This trip we would be stopping in at Dowry Creek Marina, ActiveCaptain's number one most consistently highly rated marina. We wanted to be at our best when we met Mary and her crew.

Our plan was to anchor off the Neuse River relax, nap, catchup on emails, have a quiet dinner, sleep in, have a good breakfast, cleanup, and be at Dowry Creek by early afternoon. Well that was the plan.

Our offshore travel gave us an extra push of current throughout the entire 24 hours. When we arrived onshore we realized that we could go another 40 miles and reach Belhaven to reduce our travel on Saturday (notoriously bad due to weekend small boaters). Anchoring in Belhaven would put us less than an hour away from Dowry Creek and even with sleeping in and a leisurely breakfast, we'd be there before noon. It was the perfect plan. Well, almost...

We pulled into Belhaven just before 5 pm having been underway for 36 hours. It's a good anchorage and we had no problem securing the boat in for the night. Right away the heat surrounded us. We looked forward to it cooling off when the sun went down.

By 8 pm the temperature had barely budged below 90 degrees and the mosquitoes began to converge due to the lack of even the slightest breeze. The mosquitoes were tiny, bigger than no-see-ums but smaller than the Maine variety. There were hundreds that left huge welts with each bite and caused a deafening buzz. Our night of hell had begun.

We quickly closed the doors above and retreated below where we had screens on the hatches and tried to settle in for the night. None of the crew was sleeping. Dyna lasted until midnight and then demanded to go above and out on the cockpit looking for relief. The heat was unbearable so we threw open all the doors certain the monsters would eventually recede with the night. We were so naive.

We alternated between huddling under a sheet to avoid the mosquitoes and enduring the bites to cool off. And through it all was the constant buzz. I don't know which was worse the bites or the sound.

By 2 am we were using every tool we could find to waste those little blood suckers - flyswatters, hands, even the vacuum cleaner.

My twin brother is the sort who believes in killing no living thing and will carry spiders, ants, and other creatures out of the house rather than swatting them. I am fairly certain even he would have been swatting and yelling, "Die sucker!"

At some point we all fell asleep from pure exhaustion. Sunrise had never looked better. We hastily ate some cereal and gulped some coffee and prepared to haul the anchor.

So much for arriving at Dowry Creek refreshed and cheerful. 

Fortunately, we were greeted at the dock by very experienced dockhands who knew which way to walk when I asked for a forward spring line. We were quickly snugged into the dock, met Mary, and heard about the Cinco De Mayo dinner that evening.

We've been here 24 hours and it's clear to see why boaters love this place. There's a strong boating community led by Mary and her crew. We've met so many terrific folks. Every night is a party, tonight the boaters are meeting for take out Chinese. We're happy to stay for a few days while we wait for the winds to die and the Norfolk Railroad bridge to open again.

Right now it's heaven on earth!

Slowing Down

Our previous impression of the ICW through Georgia

aCappella draws nearly 6 feet so cruising through parts of the ICW are challenging. We need to depend on tide to get us through numerous shoal areas, carefully planning our departure time and the speed we travel. So we've fallen into the habit in recent years of just heading offshore for certain portions.

Cruising offshore definitely has its charms. On a really good day you glide along on autopilot enjoying the beauty. The person not on watch can read or nap or more likely work on ActiveCaptain data. And we can cover quite a lot of distance quickly. But when NOAA lies (excuse me, when predictions don't prove to match reality) it can be anything but fun.

The last time we cruised the ICW all the way through Georgia and South Carolina was 2005. This cruise we planned on doing another hop from Fernandina Beach, FL to Charleston, SC, an approximately 20 hour overnight. You know from our April 20th post that on our first attempt we didn't even make it out of the inlet. On our second, 5 days later, we found the "predictions didn't match reality" so we bailed out at Brunswick, Georgia and spent the next week traveling the ICW, stopping at ActiveCaptain Sponsors along the way.

Morningstar Golden Isles

First, we stopped at Morningstar Marina Golden Isles. They have a fantastic, long, face dock. It's the perfect thing for entering and leaving easily. We ran into some fellow MTOA'ers and got to meet Harbormaster Chris and Dockmaster Chick, both true professionals. We had a great dinner at the Coastal Kitchen at the top of the dock. And in the morning we found muffins and a newspaper on the back deck. We still can't figure out how they managed to elude our crackerjack security team.

How'd they get through our security?

We then spent a night at anchor so we could time the tide to go to Isle of Hope Marina. What a quaint and beautiful town.

Isle of Hope Marina - another long, easy face dock for transients

The marina facilities at Isle of Hope are great. They have a loaner car so off to the grocery store we went and even mailed some hats. We just happened to arrive on the night of the weekly boaters' potluck supper. We met tons of other boaters and ate really good food. Dyna and Dylan got to have a play-date with the other boat dogs and Dylan met his new love Tillie - see the previous post.

Beaufort, SC - a wonderful place to explore

Our next stop was the Downtown Marina of Beaufort. Beaufort, SC is a town we had visited previously and loved. If anything it was even better than we remembered. Another long face dock for easy access. We met up with several other boaters for a terrific dinner at Emily's where the waitress exuded southern hospitality. Dylan had another tryst with Tillie. We loved just strolling through the town.

Charleston Harbor Marina - Wow

We finally made it to Charleston on Saturday, a week "late." We're staying at the Charleston Harbor Marina which is a beautiful resort marina. Every boater deserves a little pampering now and then. Of course, we love Charleston and have been here many times. But the Charleston Harbor Marina is a real step up from the others. A beautiful pool, whirlpool, nice grounds to walk on, and easy access to Charleston with their free shuttle or the inexpensive water taxi. We've been having a great time.

We left each place with the feeling that we wished we would have stayed longer. So we've been asking ourselves. What's the hurry? Moving inside is fine with the right information - thank you ActiveCaptain contributors - and a small amount of patience. We're rewarded with many wonderful destinations and fun times with other boaters.

So while offshore still has it's charms, we'll also be planning more travels "inside" with longer stops and more destinations. Hey, when you're on your boat, it's all good!

Dylan's new girlfriend...

Springtime in Savannah, Georgia.  Sweet magnolia in the air can only mean one thing - falling in love.  And the bug has bitten Dylan.

First, the meeting.

Her golden brown color.  Her fluffy tail.  But will she play?

Tillie (formal name Tiller) is from Nordic Tug Quest.  Word has it that both boats are heading to Beaufort, South Carolina tomorrow and another play date is scheduled there.

How Great is Dyna?

When we woke up this morning we had a text message with this image attached. Dyna's great-great-great-granddaughter, Sophia, gave birth to her 7th puppy at 6:00 am. 4 girls and 3 boys!

JoDee and I once tried to count how many beautiful puppies Dyna was responsible for but it was too much. You can see our precious girl in her prime on the Birchwood Labrador Retrievers site. The second picture down is Katie:  Dyna's daughter, Tucker's sister, and Dylan's mother.

No surprise to me that our beautiful Dyna produced such beautiful offspring. But if you happen to get one of the girls beware, she has quite a stubborn streak too.

The Most Difficult Turn

There is one turn that is nearly impossible to make on any boat. It doesn't matter if you're power or sail, large or small, one engine or two. Making a 180 degree turn and retreating once you've left the dock or anchorage is difficult. Not necessarily technically difficult, but emotionally difficult.

We've just completed a terrific MTOA Rendezvous held at Fernandina Harbor Marina and had a wonderful time - good meetings, good venue, good marina, and great people. Our plan A was to leave and head offshore for an overnight to Charleston for a stay at the Charleston Harbor Marina - a new ActiveCaptain Sponsor - to visit dear friends, and to get our much needed Charleston fix. Plan B was to divert into Brunswick, GA by early evening if the weather was not good to stay with another Sponsor, Morningstar Marinas at Golden Isles. Plan C was to head back to Cumberland Island and anchor until we could execute Plan A or B.

All week we've been watching the weather forecast. It's hard to remember more confusing or changeable predictions. There's a system coming through mid-weekend and it was never clear from one forecast to the next what we should do.

So we decided this morning we'd throw the lines off and just stick our nose out and see what the conditions actually were. After all, we had some pretty good alternative plans at the ready.

We knew the inlet would be bouncy as we would have current against the wind but the wind wasn't predicted to be terrible - how bad could it be?

As we came around the first bend, I was still on the bow stowing the lines and fenders, I commented to Jeff that it seemed windier than I'd expected. He agreed. And sure enough as we started out the inlet we had a moderate bounce. The captain informed us we had about 20-30 minutes and then we could turn into the ocean and hopefully find calmer seas.

Another 10 minutes and aCappella was bouncing and bucking like a wild stallion. We could hear various items we'd failed to stow finding new locations on the boat, including Jeff's guitar. Fortunately, nothing was damaged.

The kids began to mutiny and the captain wisely said, "We're turning around."

So we're tucked into our favorite anchorage off Cumberland Island. Sunday is predicted to be the worst day, so maybe by Tuesday or Wednesday we'll stick our nose out to sea once more. No matter what, we're on our boat with those we love in a beautiful place. What could be better than that?

Her Chariot Awaits

Dyna will be 14 years old next month. That's like 90-something in people years. Her hearing is mostly gone, her back legs are weak, and who knows about her eyesight...

But she's happy and engaged and she still wants to be a part of it all. She loves dinghy rides and the beach and finding a good smell. She's not ready to sit out any adventures, especially if it involves a dinghy ride.

The last time we were at Cumberland Island we took the dinghy in every morning to take the kids to the beach on the ocean side. It's a beautiful walk through a canopy of old live oak trees draped in Spanish moss. The beach is wide and goes for miles offering the perfect paradise for a Lab. And of course there's always a chance of seeing the wild horses.

As we began thinking about our week here at Cumberland Island, we began wondering how we would get our precious girl the nearly 2 mile walk to and from the dinghy dock to the beach and then back.

Our spoiled girl didn't need to worry. Her dad procured a dock cart from the ranger station and turned it into Dyna's chariot. She quickly learned to just settle down, enjoy the ride, and arrive at the beach ready to frolic.

Farewell Jacksonville

It was with such mixed feelings that we finally threw our lines off at the Marina at Ortega Landing and pointed our bow north. We had stayed there longer than we have ever stayed in one place and it was certainly beginning to feel like "home."

It was sad to leave friends both old and new. Not to mention our personal Publix and many restaurants we came to love. We won trivia night twice at Tom and Betty's and should have won a third time but Jeff, well, that's another story. The whole crew had a wonderful time and we look forward to returning.

But it was time to go.

Our original plans were to leave by the weekend but there was a perfect weather window on Thursday and the weather was falling part after that until next week, so off we went. In fact we were part of a flotilla as Al and Bette on Plane to Sea took advantage of the same window and Paul and Dinny on Carry On used it to calibrate their instruments.

It was a terrific day offshore as we headed to Cumberland Island to anchor for a week. This is most definitely on our list of all time favorite anchorages. The island is wild and beautiful and has the most magnificent beach on the ocean side.

As soon as we rounded the island from the inlet we saw some of Dyna and Dylan's old buddies, the wild horses that live on the island. If you've followed the kids for some time you may remember the up close and personal encounter they had the first time we went ashore on the island. You can see the video here.

It's now Friday afternoon and the winds are starting to howl. Jeff is a little anxious as we had to drop the anchor 4 times before we were satisfied with the holding. It'll be a good test for DragQueen (our anchor alarm for iPhone and Android). We have a few days of poor weather and then the crew will disembark for jaunts on the island and who knows, maybe another meeting with the wild horses of Cumberland Island.

How Many Engineers Does It Take...

It's been a busy week for the kids. Monday two engineering managers from Garmin arrived and more people onboard means more potential for treats, belly rubs, and cuddles. Always a good thing.

We headed back up the St Johns River giving us a chance to delve even deeper into our new electronics with the ultimate experts. They took the opportunity to discover how to improve on their already great products by observing and participating in the trip planning and execution.

Also in tow was a writer from PassageMaker magazine. Fortunately, he had left the boat before the engineers became enthralled with the raising of the anchor. But I had my phone ready and was able to snap them in the act.

It was a fun trip. Good to be moving on the water and even better to be sharing the time with people we really like. Dyna and Dylan were the perfect hosts and look forward to having them visit again. And next time Dylan is hoping Otis will come too.

Painting antennas...

Since every person walking down the dock had the same reaction to this project, "I didn't know you could do that!" I thought it would be a good idea to document it a little.

Many boats like ours have white, fiberglass antennas. Over time the fiberglass starts to come out causing uncomfortable handling as the microscopic shards penetrate skin. And especially at the top of the antennas that bend in the wind, paint flakes off over the years.

About 3 years ago we thought the antennas were starting to look sad and were becoming painful to handle when we needed to lower them for bridges. We decided to have them all replaced as part of the electronics refit.

Then we had the owners of Lambs Yacht Center over to our boat and for some reason, the topic came up. Downing asked a key question: "Are the antennas still working?" Well, yes, in fact they were performing as perfectly as the day we first keyed the mic on any of the radios 9+ years ago. "Then why not just paint them?" he asked.

So I researched it a bit and even on Shakespeare's site they give advice that you can paint the antennas:

http://www.shakespeare-antennas.com/media/faq.asp?c=9&q=17

This would save a lot of money and avoid hassles of running cables through the bases of the arch. I honestly had no idea this could even be done.

So we purchased a quart of Easypoxy white from Defender for about $30. I lowered and disassembled the antenna sections and hung them in reachable areas around the upper deck. After some cleaning and light sanding, 2 coats of the paint were applied. To complete the job, another light sanding should be done and a final coat should be applied - I'll probably let these coats harden well and do that last part at Olverson's in May.

I found that Easypoxy went on better with a normal brush than a foam one.  The brush strokes seem to magically fill in and produce a nice, glossy finish. It all cleans up easily with mineral spirits.

Replacing the 16' VHF antenna and 22' SSB antenna would have cost around $800.  It would have taken about 3-4 hours of effort. Instead, the cost here was about $35 and an easier 3-4 hours of effort (not one curse word).

Unfortunately, the very shiny antennas now show how badly our boat needs waxing! There's a team coming to do that job next week. Then we'll be all shiny and ready to head back north.

A spin around Murphy Creek...

Ahhhhh!

Life at the Marina at Ortega Landing is nice. A few blocks walk to Publix for fresh meat, fruit, anything you might crave. Restaurants nearby. The field where the dogs play with their buddies. There's even a pool and hot tub and a beautiful clubhouse. You're surrounded by fellow boaters who are always ready to get together for cocktails, a walk to dinner, or just to chat or help out. We even have a car!! We'll talk about that in a future entry. To say we have been spoiled would not be an understatement.

We've pretty much been at the dock for 4 months, longer than we have ever stayed in one place before. It has become extremely familiar and comfortable. So we've been wondering, when does it stop being cruising and become a floating condo?

We knew it was time to get away. We needed to do a sea trial of the new equipment and do some calibrations. We'd never explored the St. Johns River. Mostly we wanted to feel like we were cruising again. The big question, would the crew remember what to do?

Friday we finally threw off the lines and headed up the St Johns River. It was a beautiful morning. There was light fog as we headed out the Ortega River. Just enough to let us really test the new radar. Dyna quickly found her bed in its new spot by the starboard door as our new helm chair no longer left room for it under the table.

Dylan still managed to squeeze in between the helm chair and the helm, his safe spot.

The first night we anchored near Six Mile Creek because everyone, and we mean everyone, told us we had to go the the Outback Crab Shack. There's a shoaling spot that prevented us from taking the boat all the way up and staying on their free docks. So we launched the dinghy and had a wonderful 2 mile ride up the creek.

The best part, the kids got to go. Jeff had called and asked - well, begged, really - if we could bring them and sit outside as it was too hot to leave them onboard. "I promise, they'll be really, really good dogs." Really?

The food was good, the atmosphere was unique, there was plenty of leftovers for the next day, and the kids behaved pretty well. All along the docks are signs warning against feeding the alligators. Maybe it's just for the tourists but we kept the kids close just in case.

The next night we went beyond Palatka were the river becomes quite narrow and remote and anchored behind Murphy Island, a spot recommended by some local cruisers and with great AC reviews. It was a creek really but quite deep. There was lush vegetation and we were told we'd see alligators.

We barely had our chairs out on the cockpit before Jeff spotted one sunning on a log. He stayed there for hours but we didn't see any others. We searched on the iPhone to find interesting alligators facts. Did you know they can go for 2-3 years without eating? Don't know if it's really true but it's a cool tidbit. We also found that alligators eat by "lurking." They just hang out somewhere until food happens by and then they grab it. Guess you can do that when you can wait 2 years for supper. Jeff suggested we let Dylan take a swim...

The night was so calm it felt like we were still tied to the dock. We awoke surround by light mist coming up off the water. In Maine we would have called it sea smoke. Don't know if there's such a thing as "river smoke." We imagined there were alligators hiding on the mist as we began our return trip.

Tonight we're anchored in Doctors Lake and tomorrow we pull back to the dock. All systems worked well and the crew passed with flying colors. I guess it's like riding a bike.

Splash!

The schedule was to have aCappella back in the water by 1:30 pm Friday - high tide. We all know the saying about boating and schedules. But I'll be darned if they didn't release the slings at precisely 1:30 pm Friday afternoon. She floated out of the hoist and we were back "home" in the Marina at Ortega Landing slip before 2:00.

We'd hoped to make this entry before now but we spent the weekend putting things back together. At least, as back together as we could given there's still more electronics installation work to be done.

Dyna and Dylan are thrilled to be back onboard and more or less back on their schedule. We are still living in the midst of boxes and dust and workman. But the kids have found their place on the settee and this afternoon Dylan has a playdate with Abbie. What could be better?

La Quinta

It is a tough few weeks for Dyna and Dylan. Last week the boat was swarmed by electronics guys starting the work on our helm refit. Ceilings were exposed, wires hung down, boxes piled up, and furniture was rearranged. Dyna and Dylan were lucky to find a good spot on the settee in the salon. On the positive side, electronics guys were there, so that meant pats and excitement and the possibility of food.

This week the boat was hauled at Sadler Point Marina to change some transducers, clean and paint the bottom, and other various projects. That meant a trip to the La Quinta Inn for the crew. Now this crew is no stranger to commercial sleeping establishments having spent many a night in a Red Roof Inn. But the La Quinta is a step up and its pet policy allows two dogs in a room. No sneaking in one dog at a time a la Red Roof Inn.

But first we spent most of Monday hanging out in the car at the boatyard. The kids split their time between napping and staring out the window at their home up on stilts. Needless to say we all were a bit antsy by quitting time and anxious to get to the room.

Of course, a new space is always interesting and they checked out every nook, cranny, and trashcan. Then someone came to the door with Chinese food. Dylan thought, "I'm gonna like this place." The best part - a kingsize bed, room for everyone to stretch out.

Now it's evening of the second day. Dad spent most the day at the boatyard ensuring that this adventure doesn't last any longer than Friday. Sadler Point is promising a splash by 1 pm Friday.

Dyna and Dylan spent much of the day in the room with Mom with a couple of walk breaks, excitement when Dad came back for lunch, and big time excitement when the nice lady came to clean the room.  We're all getting a little bored and itching to get back on the boat.

Only two more days. At least we hope so!

Sad Goodbyes

One of the aspects of living onboard is frequently meeting and then leaving friends. It's a mix of emotions. You're sad to say goodbye, excited about their, or your, next adventure, and always looking forward to the next time you will meet again.

That's one of the best parts of cruising, knowing that you will run into your friends again and again yet never knowing quite where or when. And then taking up where you left off as if you just saw them yesterday.

This is true for Dyna and Dylan as well. They have made dog friends in nearly every port. And also have pals they meet again and again. Charleston, Vero Beach, Miami Beach, Callao, even back in Castine, the kids meet their buddies and play. Dog play, the best kind of play there is.

But some goodbyes are a bit harder.

Today Oddie and Salty left Ortega Landing to start their next adventure. For many weeks now Dyna and Dylan have enjoyed daily play dates, impromptu visits, and stares and barks across the sterns. It has been pure pleasure to watch them.

Oddie and Salty are far from their homeport in Turkey and have been traveling around the world with their people, Nur and Bahadir. Today they started their journey back south and on to, who knows where.

Of course, we all hope to meet again and maybe we will. Life on a boat is full of the unexpected. We may one day pull into a secluded anchorage and hear, "Woof, woof, woof" and say, "Is that Oddie?" We hope so.

Nur took many beautiful pictures of their time together. Here are just a few.

Dyna, Dylan, and Oddie waiting for a treat.

Salty makes the catch.

Air Dylan.

Oddie is, you guessed it, barking.

Dyna, the Queen.

The field where is all happens.

Salty and Dylan keep their eye on the ball.

Dyna takes a rest.

Dyna, Dylan, Oddie, and Salty - BFF's.