Hi All,
I will try to back track alittle every post and eventually all the way back to Oct. 1st, 2009. We arrived in Vero Beach on April 24th after a 27 hour overnight sail from Allens-Pensacola Cay in the Abacos. Makana, a 38ft Admiral catamaran with Rick, Kate and their 6 yr old daughter Hoku on board were our "buddy boat".
Robin flew home on April 26th to be with her sister Val who was scheduled for surgery May 12th. Which by the way turned out very sucessful and she is well on the road to recovery. I got things ready for the trek to NJ. Mostly routine boat maintenance and getting the Cookie Monster ready for new crew. None of this would have been possible if not for our friends, Bob and Deb, who live aboard their houseboat "River House" on a mooring in Vero Beach. This couple is another example of the amazing people you meet while cruising. Robin & I hardly even grabbed our mooring and they dinghied up to our boat to welcome us back and offered to drive us wherever/whenever for anything we needed! Things were tough without Robin on the boat. God knows she is much more organized than me! It took me alot longer to get the everyday stuff done that's for sure .
On May 3rd I sailed for South Melbourne Beach to pick up my new crew of Bern and Marilyn. They accompanied me all the way to Charleston, SC with stops in New Symrna Beach, St Augustine( home of Nancy&Bruce Hoffman with story in the near future!), Fernandina Beach and Jeckyll Island, Ga. This yet another "cruising" story. We met them last Nov. as we were looking for a place to land our dinghy. Florida is notorious for "not being able to get there from here"! There are so many private homes and condos that beach access is extremely limited. As Robin and I are motoring past a dock we wave to a couple, watching the sunset, who in turn wave back. Robin says "why don't we ask them if they know of a place to land the dinghy?"
Me, holding true to being "a guy" am at first reluctant but, soon give in and we approach them. Robin asks the question and they say"right here" and the next thing we know we are having drinks... then dinner in their condo!! Bern was a seasoned sailor who transited the "inland waterway" in his Island Packet from Michigan to the Dry Tortugas west of the Florida Keys. Marilyn is a retired high school teacher who specialized in nursing and was very comfortable being aboard. I was so confident with them on the boat, heck Bern could dock it better than me! This is a personal thank you to a great couple!
After following the ICW all day Tuesday through beautiful wilderness and then closely followed by "foreclosed concrete jungles"... aka Mrytle Beach , we anchored in peaceful Calabash Creek on the NC/SC border. My new crew , Frank and Joe, settled into running the boat. Checking the weather it looked like today would be good to go "outside" by way of the Little River Inlet,SC and sail to the Cape Fear River,NC only about 25nm but we could atleast let the Cookie Monster run instead of walk! We caught the incoming tide 10+mi up the river and arrived in Wrightsville Beach just in time to drop the anchor as a couple of thunderstorms came thru!!!
All for now,
Corbett,Robin(in spirit), Frank & Joe
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Dolphin on the ICW
Great Bridge Lock, VA.
Country Bobbie
A NJ ex-pat moved here in the early '70s. Now he is more local than the locals.It was like having our private historian and wildlife expert onboard!!
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