News from the Deep Blue

This just in, this just in, Peter, Gale, Perry, and Frank (Perry and Frank decided to crew with Peter and Gale for the trip down) were able to get the SSB radio working and sent a message saying that they are fine. I'm sure they had to keep it short and sweet to get it relayed, but good news. We're figuring their arrival probably Saturday night, but who knows. We'll hear more when they land.
Meanwhile, in other news, Noah caught a flounder with his brand new birthday "Pirates of the Caribbean" fishing pole within the first few casts! Fidelis is getting an audio upgrade... satellite radio, and in Egyptian news, King Tut's face and hands have been unwrapped and are now on display thanks to technological upgrades in mummy uncovering enhanced biological preservation science (deap breath) to keep him from turning to dust. That's all for today, going to movie night, Fidelis signing out.

Peter and Gale's "Shakedown"

Well, they went out today to test out there new wind vane steering. Everything went well. The dinghy is tied down on the deck, the food's packed in, and Perry has went over everything with Peter to make sure the boat is ok. They'll leave out Tuesday morning if all goes well with weather, and head down staying somewhat close to shore till Cape Fear, and if everyone's comfortable they'll head out and toward the Bahamas. Bridget and I are very excited for them, they're doing it! I remember meeting Peter at the pool many months ago, when they had just started on their boat. It had been sitting there on the hard since the day we bought our boat, and quite some time before that. There was more than one instance where Peter and Gale both came climbing down their ladder covered from head to toe in oil and grease. They've sanded, buffed, painted, varnished, wired, and cleaned every inch of that boat. It doesn't even look the same. Jabiru is her name, it's an Australian stork.

We've laughed alot, and had some great times since they've been here. Next week at this time they'll be looking at the shadow of their boat on the sandy bottom of clear water, with the opportunity to dive on beautiful reef, and bask in pure clean air and Caribbean sunshine. We're very excited for them both, and Bridget has said it's just not going to be the same without them around. Gale has been very close to the boys, especially Noah. She's threatened to stow them away for the trip. They will certainly miss her and Peter both.

We wish them both fair winds on their journey, with moonlit nights and good memories ahead. They've been encouraging, and positive, always looking on the bright side! We'll post more on Tuesday when they leave.

Quotes About Sailing

This is just a small collection of quotes that I like that pertain to sailing.

"In the love of narrow souls I make many short voyages but in vane - I find no sea room - but in great souls I sail before the wind and never reach the shore"

Henry David Thoreau

American essayist, poet and philosopher, 1817-1862

"We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, driven from end to end"

Blaise Pascal

French Mathematician, philosopher and physicist 1623-1662

"Wisdom sails with wind and time"

John Florio

"We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds"

Aristotle Onassis

Greek shipping magnate and businessman, 1906-1975

"Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel"

August Hare, 1792-1834

"The winds of God are always blowing, but you must set the sails"

Anonymous

"As we sail thru life , don't avoid rough waters, sail on, because calm waters won't make a skillful sailor"

Unknown

"O friend, never strike a sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or sail with God the seas"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American poet, lecturer and essayist, 1803-1882

"Twent years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

American humorist, writer and lecturer, 1835-1910

Feelin' Like Geography?

Some of you may have already messed around with Google Earth. I am attaching a link to download the Google Earth program if you don't have it. It's a really cool program used to show locations from satellite view with all kinds of extra information. Here's the link for the program.... http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html

Places to look up once you get it installed

The listings that are given first will show you exactly where we are and have been (of course the islands are still in the plans for a future endeavor)

type the location into the search bar and wait for it, takes a little time to focus from satellite

Triton Yacht Sales Inc. Oriental, NC ( once zoomed in you can just see our boat)

Beaufort, NC (We sail here alot through the Adams Creek Canal) 4-5 hours sail away

New Bern, NC 5-6 hours sail away

Cape Lookout, NC (Through Beaufort inlet and out to the bight, we anchor near the lighthouse) 6-8 hours sail away

Ocracoke, NC (fun inside trip up through the Pamlico Sound) 8-12 hours away

Dry Tortugas ( a place in the Keys that we want to visit with the boat some day) roughly 4 weeks sail away through the Intracoastal Waterway

Bermuda (just to show you where it is, if you don't know)6 to 10 days

Bahamas 4-6 days sail open water

My Friend Phil

I've only been working at the yard for a few months.... but it seems like longer. Not too long after I got started over there I found myself doing bits of mechanical work on fuel systems and engines, learning as I went, being coached by the guys. Phil Harwick was pretty much the man I went to to find out about something, or get my next "assignment." Phil is a person that never said anything negative to me at work, if I made a mistake he calmly said "don't worry about it, what'd ya learn" and then tell me to "just keep going." Nothing seemed to phase him. When you approached him with something that you felt was pressing or "earth shattering" even, he was always calm and methodical.

When our boat was on the hard, Phil machined a strut to replace our worn out strut that was and still is an impressive part of our boat. I laughed with Phil in the cabin of several boats, making jokes about different ways to fix a boat, and he made me feel like he truly was the type of person that has a wonderful heart. Always on the go he was, and always happy to help you out if you needed a hand. He gave me a hand countless times, without me asking... He'd just offer. He seemed to stick up for me, when things were'nt going my way at work, even when the "crap hit the fan."

This morning on the way to work on his motorcycle, Phil hit a car in the fog. He didn't make it.

Phil will be missed, and his family is in our thoughts and prayers. Thanks for being there Phil, thanks for all your helpfulness, and kindness.

You can read more about Phil Harwick on the town website. http://towndock.net/

Different Takes

Where Are We?

These are some photos of the dock where our boat is. It's kinda interesting, we take showers in a bathhouse, we go swimming in the pool in the summer, and there's a great gazebo for local potlucks and get-togethers. Not a bad place to live, but I'd still rather be in the islands! There's also a picture of the backside of the boatyard where I work. Some mornings we stand on the balcony and look out into the channel where the river opens up and just soak it up.

More photo's from that great trip

More About the Ocracoke Voyage

Prior to leaving for Ocracoke we found out that Anne was looking for any opportunity she could get to get in some time on the water, so we asked her if she would like to come along for the weekend and help crew the boat. She packed up a bag, grabbed a pillow and said, "let's go!" She made an awsome apple crisp Saturday night, and did an excellent job at the helm. We had a great time with Anne. On our arrival back to home port, her husband Doug had leg of lamb and all the fixin's waiting on us... and it was yummy.

Sending off Norn

Sending off Norn

Southern Migration

This morning we woke up to someone knocking on the boat. "We're leaving" she said, and before we knew it, we were all standing there at the dock helping them send off. Ben and Kristl and their daughter Amber were the first couple that we met almost three years ago here. Ben has given me all sorts of advise, and help on our boat, as well as at my job (where he also works when they're here). This picture was taken this morning, before they left. This evening will probably be under a starry sky on the deep blue, headed south to Grenada. Their boat is a Venus, and it is absolutely spectacular.
More photos of their sendoff coming.

Another Angle

Here's another angle of the same with the lighthouse in the background.

Noah and Max

Fishing, swimming and swinging around on the boat are just a few of the things the boys love to do. Max and Noah are learning how to row the dinghy (a small rubber raft used to get from the boat to land) and also went to swim camp this year. They toured one of the fishing boats downtown that you can see at the towndock. Here's a website about the town we live in that has a really cool live camera that shows the towndock and the fishing boats right now. http://towndock.net/harborcam.shtml The boys also got to see shrimp being unloaded after a big catch from the trawlers.

Our Aussie Friends

So we met this Australian couple that went nuts and decided to buy a 41 foot Cabo Rico cruiser and move aboard in a foreign country (good old U.S.A). They've been working diligently putting countless hours into her. We decided to take a voyage to Ocracoke (10 hours on the water) in 25 knot winds. It made an exciting sail, averaging good speeds, and we enjoyed the entire trip. Peter and I just recently earned the title of Captain from the US Coast Guard after much homework and studying. It was alot of fun, and alot learned. This is a picture of us rafted up in Ocracoke after a long sail over.

Another View From Aloft

This is a full picture of the boat from aloft. Peter and Bridget had to operate the winch for the lift line and the safety line to get me up there. They said they weren't going to let me back down once I got up there... funny ....

So while aloft doing some work at the top of my mast (installing a wind speed indicator) I took a picture of Max and Noah. Their in full salute of course. The mast is 45 feet tall so this was a sort of zoom in. More to come.

"Yeah, we live on a boat"

2 and a half years ago we bought a 36 foot Catalina Yacht, not knowing for sure whether the idea "would float" (so to speak) and we named her "Fidelis". This blog is to keep everyone somewhat up to date on what's going on with us, our boat and our crazy ideas. We hope you enjoy it!