Boat with dock underwater, The antique at a mall named after him

Away we go....

Finally the rains stopped, the water receded and Noah, his wife Pam and the Ark (Cloud Nine) set sail for the southland.We didn't get two of each animals on board, but Devlyn, the wonder dog is fine and well and becoming a great boat dog. He learned to poop on the bow of the boat right where we told him to poop (now if I could only train Tom)

Day 1 (November 16th, Monday)

We left Sarah's Creek on the York River at 0845..the sun was out and it was warm! Our rusty boating skills came back as we fired up the GPS, dusted off the charts and learned to navigate once again. Our route took us through Norfolk Va to the entrance of The Dismal Swamp Canal.Norfolk is always hairy because of the heavy commercial and Naval boat traffic.The US fleet is here and there are gigantic war ships and aircraft carriers plying the water. It is awe inspiring to get right up next to these ships. As we were headed south on the Elizabeth river, just outside Norfolk, two helicopters swooped down and hovered over a small cruise ship.The next thing we knew, the helicopters lowered a bunch of navy men onto the ship. Meanwhile, 4 coast guard inflatables with armed men in the bow surronded the boat. Since we were now alongside the cruise ship they motioned us (with their guns) to stay away.Yikes!!!!Tom got on the radio and asked if we should move somewhere...the coast guard replied that they were doing an "exercise" and not to be alarmed. I felt like I was in the middle of a movie.

Last night we made the last lock through onto the Dismal swamp. It was 4:00 pm and the lockmaster, Robert, remembered us from 2 years ago. He held the lock for us and thank God he did...there was no place to anchor and it was dark by the time we made fast to the dock outside the lock.There were 4 sailboats tied up and Robert invited us all for breakfast this morning.How cozy to be inside the lock tenders house having coffee and pigs in a blanket with our fellow boaters. All 4 of the sailboats were headed to the Bahamas and points south. All 4 were full time live aboards. One couple had lived in Europe on board their sailboat for 8 years!

We're now at the south end of the canal and headed for night 2 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

More later

The Almost Perfect Storm

Well after a nearly two year absence Tom and I are back on board "Cloud Nine" to deliver her to Miami Florida where she will offer her wonderful accomodations to other boaters in a charter service run by our good friend, Jim Brinckerhoff.

We arrived here in Gouchester point Virginia on Tuesday night along with our new dog, Devlyn. The weather was warm and overcast and we stowed our belongings and assumed our favorite position on the aft deck to enjoy the serenity of Sarah's Creek.

A slight drizzle fell softly so we went below to make dinner and enjoy our first night on board. That slight drizzle persisted and got bigger and the winds increased and the boat, even though it was tied to the dock was really rockin' and rollin'.

All day Wednesday the rains slammed down on us and soon the docks were covered with a couple inches of water. Still, we stayed on board hoping the storm would pass. By Thursday afternoon the weather channel was predicting record high tides in the area and wind gusts were over 50 mph. Our dock had about 12 inches of water over the top and this was 2 hours before high tide. We were worried that if the tide became too high electric boxes could be impacted, and the boat could slip its mooring. Tom put two more lines on the boat, forward and aft and we prepared to abandon ship. We got into our foul weather gear, rolled up our pants, put on boat shoes and got off the boat. I went first. The only way to get off the boat was by the stern ladder onto the stern platform. I then had to pull on the lines to get the boat close to the dock. The wind was blowing about 30 mph and the rain was coming down in sheets. I finally got the boat close to the dock and had to step down into the water until my foot finally found the wood. I sloshed over to the middle of the boat where Tom handed me the dog. He put a life perserver on Devlen and then used a boat hook through the preserver to lower him to the dock. Devlyn was a trooper and followed me slowly. It was scarey walking through the water with the winds howling so hard I could barely stand up.
I put the dog in the car (that was also surronded by water) and sloshed back to the boat where Tom handed me the computer. Tom then checked the boat for the hundredth time and got in the car.

We found a nice, warm dry motel that takes dogs. It's completely full, and if we hadn't left the boat when we did we probably would not have found a hotel room. Bridges here are closed, ferry service has stopped, and there is massive damage to the dunes that protect the shore on the ocean.While this storm is not categorized as a hurricaine, the locals here say its impact has been almost as great as Ida, the last storm through these parts. So, bad weather is a part of boating. After a two year absence and our confidence level about boating already a little rusty, this experience was trial by fire. BUT, what's that old saying? Oh, I know, "that which will not kill me will only make me stronger" Right On!
We'll keep you posted. Oh today's date, Friday November 13, 2009