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2000-2001 Voyages
2000-2001 AdventuresReport #1 -------------------------------------------------- Report #2 --------------------------------------------- Report #3 -------------------------------------------------- Report #4 Dear Familiy and Friends, Lat32 20N Long 64 30 W (Bermuda) We are sitting on
KEWAYDIN, which is sitting on the hard ground, in the St. Georges Boatyard in
Bermuda. We are getting repairs done to damage caused by hitting a bouy leaving
the Chesepeake. We hope to be underway next week, we will see. This is much like
living in a tree house, climbing the ladder to our home. Funny thing - after a
week on the waves, we still think the boat is moving on land. This is the first
full update we have sent, so will start from the beginning. We left St. Michaels
30Oct with Bill Hamilton aboard as crew, exited the Chesepeake 31Oct (tagging a
bouy), and sailed south of Hattaras (following the advice of weatherman Herb),
before crossing the Gulf Stream and heading for Bermuda. We had a windy, but not
stormy ride all the way with winds from the North or NorthWest, and big rolling
seas. We arrived in Bermuda 5Nov, and met all the other boats who had just made
the crossing, most with tales of wind, waves, and miscellaneous damage. Bill
took in the island for a day, and flew home on schedule. Tim Pierie has now
arrived to crew for the next leg to the Virgin Islands, and for now, live in our
tree house with us. Bermuda is not a bad place to be stranded. The local fix-it
community is being very helpful. Lots of socializing with the other Yachties
doing what we are doing - going south. We are anxious to get going, looking
forward to getting back on the water. ---------------------------------------------------------- Report #5 ----------------------------------------------------- Report #6 ------------------------------------------------ Report # 7 Dear Friends and Family, Lat 18 18N Long 64 33W We are sailing south from the British Virgins to St. Croix in the USVI. Unusual ESE winds make this a close reach from Cooper Island. Easy sail - be there by three. The passage down from Bermuda to the Virgins was a fast hard sail. Our arrival was memorable. At 0400 Kim relieved Sandi on watch. As he came up, Sandi said, "Welcome to the BVI". Ahead were the lights of Tortola, and to the East were the lights of Virgin Gorda and the glow of Anegada. Two hours later, at dawn, we made the turn downwind around Jost Van Dyke, and KEWAYDIN relaxed from our hard sailing. The first light of sunrise fell on Sandy Cay with its beautiful white sand beach lined with Palm Trees, less than a mile off to our lee. Easy sail down to Cruze Bay, St. John, where we picked up a mooring, checked in, had lunch, and Tim caught a ferry to St. Thomas, and the airport. Thanks Tim, you have crewed for about half of our long passages. In STX we are going to visit Jerry and Suzanne of Suze fame, at their place. Looking forward to a good visit. Haven't been there before. We had a good time in Gorda Sound with Bill and Janet Hamilton (Bill crewed to Bermuda). They were staying at the Bitter End for their anniversary, and we swapped dinners there, and aboard KEWAYDIN. We had some of our recently caught Wahoo, done on the grill. Scrumptious. Bill and Janet take maximum advantage of the BE waterfront - using about everything they have from Sunfish to Hobie Wave to J24 - all in one day. They absolutely rocketed around the sound in a Vanguard - while we were dinking to Leverick Bay in search of a Laundramat - the cruisers Mecca.Snorkeling, Sailing, Hiking together, having a hyperactive good time. We plan to be in STX for a few weeks, while Sandi takes a Scuba course, and Kim runs off to do some consulting. Love from both of us, Kim and Sandi ------------------------------------------------------ Report #8 Dear Friends and Family, Position: 16 40N, 63 30E Merry
Christmas to All. On Christmas Eve, we are on the high seas - crossing the
Caribbean from St. Croix USVI to Guadeloupe (France). We plan to arrive
tomorrow, on Christmas Day. The weather is fair, with some light clouds, Temp
82deg, and the trade winds are blowing. Condition Normal. We will make
Guadeloupe our home for almost two Months. Geoff and Geri arrive Friday for some
sailing and diving (Sandi is now certified). In January, Skip, Pat and Amy are
joining us for some Caribbean Cruising. Late in January we are leaving KEWAYDIN
and flying up to see the CA gang (including a stop in Tucsan to see Marg and
Leif). In February Bill and Janet are coming down for a week. After that, on to
the next island - Antigua. We send all our best wishes for good cheer at all the
Holiday Celebrations. ------------------------------------------------------ Report #9 Dear Friends and Family, Lat 15 52N Long 61 36W Happy New Year. We celebrated the Bon Anne with Geoff and Geri here in the Saints, just south of Guadeloupe, by finishing the Champagne by 830, and going to bed by 10. We were wakened to the fireworks ashore here (all but Geoff who slept through it) at midnight. We have been diving and exploring these wonderful islands, originally settled by Breton fishermen. Three dives on Pate, Le Jardin du Corale, and Le Cabrit. Turtles, Moray eels, Scorpionfish, Frogfish (the first seen by the dive operator), Garden eels, Flying Gurnards, and lots of regular fish, along with wonderful corals and sponges. Very scenic diving. The dive operator - Luc - was our divemaster, and had to work to keep us four together - we all get fascinated by different things. After a few dives, we got to know some of the other people on the dive boat - mostly French tourists. Americans are rare here - at least now. New Year's day we walked over to Baie de Pointpierre on the Windward side of the main island. That is the walk where we saw so many iguanas two years ago. Lots of Iguanas this year, too, with several bright green small ones, as well as the Turquoise Big ones, all roaming in fields with chickens, sheep and goats. Over at the Bay we explored the rugged islands on the seaward side - the ones you have to wade across to. Found new clefts and blowholes in the rocks, and with a good surf running, got lots of showers - better than an amusement park ride. Lunch was crepes at Le Creperie - accompanied by Breton Cider - so French! We plan to go up the West Coast of Guadeloupe today - to Pigeon Island - the site of the Jacques Costeau Underwater Park. The heights of the mountains of the interior also beken.... Love from all of us, Sandi, Kim, Geoff and Geri P.S. The French Connection Works! (the Adapter made up to plug into the 220 ashore) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Report #10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Report #11 Dear Friends and Family Loc: Guadeloupe I am back on KEWAYDIN,
Sandi is in PA with her Father. Tomorrow I am off to do some consulting. Sandi
is coming down next week, and we will take off when I return at the end of the
week. Destination: the Virgin Islands - both US and British. Sandi received many
kind notes of Sympathy - and thanks you all very much for thoughtfulness. First
stop in the Virgins - St. Croix - new windlass. Then Martha and her sister Sue
will be aboard for about a week. Next, Fred and Linda will come to the BVI.
After that Sandi's dad will come down for a week. The three of us will fly to
the states April 2, leaving KEWAYDIN in St. Croix. That gives us April in St.
Michaels. In May, we fly back down to make the voyage home via the Bahamas. A
crew berth is available at the end of May to go from the Bahamas to the
Chesepeake. Anybody interested? Love from both of us, ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Report #12 Dear Friends and Family, Loc: Lat 18 deg 20 min N, Long 64 41
W We are in the SE bay on ST. John in the USVI, between guests, catching up.
Martha and Susie just left for the snows of the North, and Linda and Fred are
arriving tomorrow from Oregon. Martha and Susie arrived in St. John, so we went
twice to Skinny Legs - bar and restaurant - in Coral Bay to see all the 60's
dropouts. Reminded Me of their old summertime hangout - Provincetown, Cape Cod.
We met up with Suze, in company with Empathy and Lom Libra. Had good drinks
together in Salt Pond Bay, around the corner from here, comparing our various
voyaging experiences, and the inevitable equipment talk - "Refrigeration
out - again?", "How's your windlass?", "let me tell you
about the latest on my Autohelm". The big weather system that dumped up to
three feet of snow on the Northeast up there, was so big that it dragged a cold
front all the way down to Cuba and Hispanola. We were forecasted to get it here,
so we took refuge in Gorda Sound - not a bad place. Clean, Turquoise water
surrounded by Reefs and White Sand beaches, and Resorts and uninhabited islands
with plenty of anchorage for lots of boats including big square riggers and mini
cruise boats. Good snorkeling and island exploring. That cold front never got
here - dissipated over Puerto Rico - but we did find Stampede - Stu and Julie
Conway back from their three year around the world odyssey. We came down here
together in the 1998 Caribbean 1500. We got some of their stories, lots more to
go. Also saw Dave Heaby - fellow Chesapeake Island Packet "SLOW
DANCING" - and also on the infamous '98 1500. We left the refuge of Gorda
Sound and experienced the big swells coming down from that Northern Weather
System - up to 12 ft forecast, though we never saw anything over 6ft. We did
have a rolly night in Great Harbor on Jost Van Dyke - up at 3am to set a stern
anchor to point into them and minimize the roll. It worked. Today, when Marth
and Susie left, the arranged-for Taxi didn't materialize over here. The fix was
a'la St. John - hitchhike over to Cruz Bay. A good ride was found in 2 minutes.
This is one of the last hitchhiking holdouts around. We have been hearing from
all you North Americans about the snow, earthquakes, and other natural disasters
up there. Just thought you needed to hear that we are occasionally threatened
with a little rain and a five degree temp drop - not that it happened this time.
Spending a leisurely afternoon lazing in the sun and turquoise waters before the
run up to our anchorage off the Tortola (Beef Island) Airport tomorrow. Maybe
I'll scrub the bottom a little... ---------------------------------------------------------- Report #13 Dear Friends and Family Lat/Long St. Michaels, MD We are back on land, in St. Michaels, for the month of April. KEWAYDIN is in St. Croix USVI awaiting our return May 2. We are at 410 745 6166 cahlers@bluecrab.org After our last update, we did get the bottom scrubbed a little - holding my breath, swimming down underneath and scrubbing, and then coming up for air. It's slow that way, but then, we have time... We had a super visit with Fred and Linda - meeting them at the Beef Island Airport on Tortola where we hike a half mile from the Terminal, down a dirt road, to a dock, where the dink is tied up. Thence out to KEWAYDIN on a mooring in Trellis Bay. A very scenic way to arrive. We went to Virgin Gorda North Sound (one of our favorite places), the Baths, Peter Island, and Salt Pond Bay on the South Shore of St. John, and Leinster Bay on the North Shore. We finished up with a good (motorsail) up the North coast of Tortola, stopping at Sandy Cay for a swim (the most idyllic small tropical island I know), and back to Trellis to catch the plane. We had a full day getting them to their 0700 flight, going around to RoadTown to check out, and sailing to St. Croix to get Kim on his flight to UK. When Kim returned, Don (Sandi's father) had arrived, and we had a good dinner with the Suze crew - Jerry and Suzanne - before taking off for St. John and the BVI - again. Went to Hurricane hole for a quiet anchorage, and toured the island via the dollar bus to Cruz Bay. We also visited the North Sound (toured the Bitter End) and Jost, before returning to St. John to visit the Partons - Don's friends from Kirkland Village. They have been coming to St. John since the late 60's, and have a very nice house high on the hill above Cinnamon Bay with a great view of Tortola, the Thatches, St. Thomas, and Jost Van Dyke. We had a good day with them ending with a fantastic sunset dinner. From there, back to St. Croix, tied KEWAYDIN up in Green Cay Marina, and fly north to the Spring. The daffodils are up in St. Michaels. That is why we are here now. This is a wonderful time of year. The next update will be from mid-ocean, somewhere on our voyage from St. Croix to GeorgeTown in the Exumas (Bahamas) with Jerry as crew. We are still looking for crew for the leg up from the Bahamas to the Chesepeake in late May. Any takers? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Report #14 Dear Family and Friends 22 44N 73 43W We are still at sea - after making some stops for repairs. We are about 22 hours out of Georgetown, our destination. The last Update reported the Battery replacement in PR. Next problem was a blade falling off the propeller. We were motorsailing along, charging the batteries, when Sandi noticed a sudden increase in vibration. We played around, and concluded that something was very wrong with the prop or shaft. That made us motorless - for propulsion. We looked on the chart - nearest "port" is in Turks and Caicos - about a day away. Jerry got out his SatPhone, and we called the boatyard in Provo, and made arrangements to come in, get hauled, and have the prop replaced. Kim carries a spare - the old fixed bladed one. The channel to the Caicos Shipyard is 16 miles long, shallow, and reported to be strewn with coral heads. We reached back and forth at the entrance in 25 kt winds,light rain and 8 ft seas, screwing up our courage, then made the move. Once inside the reef, things got better, and we were able to sail the channel, without having to tack - until the last half mile, when the boatyard sent out a boat to tow us in. Sixteen miles of 10 ft. water. We dodged all the dark spots. We tied up, were told that we would be hauled first thing in the morning, and broke out the beer and wine. That Heinekin was good! In the morning, we were hauled early, got help popping the 2/3 AutoProp off, and installed the new (original) prop. We got the bottom cleaned, relaunched, put the boat together (forestays, etc) and were underway by 1PM Wednesday. We have just gone overnight south of Mayaguana, up around Acklins, and are heading for the top of Long Island, where we turn left for Georgetown. David will be there either this PM or Friday PM, so rendezvous still mostly OK. Good News - the sailing is great, best on this leg in three years. Love, Kim Sandi and Jerry ---------------------------------------------------------- Report #15 Dear Family and Friends, 24 24N 76 38W We are in the Bahamas Land and Sea Park, on the Park Moorings at Warderick Wells. With David aboard, we sailed North from GeorgeTown on the Outside in the deep Exuma Sound. A boat nearby lost its rudder while underway (how do you do that?) and became immediately helpless. Another boat, trying to help, got the prospective towline wrapped around their prop - now two boats helpless, about 2 miles off a lee shore lined with reefs and coral heads. All worked out - "rudderless" was towed by a boat that came out from shore, and "wrapped" dove down and untangled. We came onto the Banks at Farmer's Cut - running against the out rushing tide. Once on the Banks, all is peaceful and calm. We found a solitary quiet anchorage, and went ashore on the mostly uninhabited island for a good sunset exploration. We managed to find our way across to the Ocean - Sound side, and stood on sharp eroded limestone and watched the waves crash in and do more erosion. Yesterday we motored North on the Banks in rain showers to Staniel Cay. The weather shaped up at noon time, so after lunch, David and Kim went over to snorkel Thunderball Cave - of the James Bond movie fame. Fabulous large domed cave inside a hollow island, with entrance and exit by diving under for short stretches. Inside the light comes in through natural holes in the roof, and underwater from the entrances. Truly amazing. Some big Barracuda too. Today, we came up here to W. Wells - we are on the Banks until Nassau. After a quick lunch, we snorkeled the narrow cut into the anchorage - the favorite spot - and saw a large Eagle Ray, Nassau Grouper, several lobsters, Queen Triggerfish, and lots more. This place is always good. Tomorrow we continue up the Exuma Chain, to get to Nassau Wed PM. There David will fly to Miami, and Will Howell will join us for the passage North. Love Sandi, Kim, David ------------------------------------------------------ Report #16 Dear Family and Friends, 25 11N 77 23 W We are departing the Bahamas, bound for St. Michaels. We had a glorious last few days with David in the Exumas. The last morning we were anchored on a white sandbar in about 10ft of water, near some small cays, all by ourselves. The wind was still, and the water like glass, looking beautifully turquoise. It was like being suspended in the air. Saw some sharks swimming in the cut on the way out. We crossed the Yellow Banks into Nassau in good form, and put into the Nassau Harbor Club Marina in time for Will Howell's arrival. The four of us had a good supper ashore, cracked conch. In the morning, David left for the Airport. We did our chores, folding up the dinghy, etc, fueled up, and departed at noon. We are under power, as there is almost no wind. Will is at the helm learning the ropes. We should have wind filling in from astern in a day or so. Love from all of us, Kim Sandi and Will --------------------------------------------------------------------- Report #17 Dear Friend and Family, 31 59N 78 14W We are Wing and Wing, rolling up the Gulf Stream somewhere off Charleston. We found the Gulf Stream with 83 deg water and 1-3 kts current. We have been riding it for the last two days, making great mileage - 196 miles the last 24 hours. We expect to round Hattaras tomorrow (Monday) night, well ahead of the Gales forecast for Wed PM. We expect to be into the Chesapeake by then, either outrunning the weather, or holing up until it blows over. Fair weather, and moonless nights with plenty of stars. Mars is big and red in Sagittarius past midnight. Sandi and Will each claim that we sailed over whales during their respective watches last night. The depth sounder went from "deep" to 35 ft momentarily, then 24, etc. The only time we have correlated that reading with anything was last year when the juvenile humpback swam under us several times, registering. So? Love from all of us, Kim Sandi and Will ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Report #18 Dear Family and Friends, 36 40N 75 37W We are approaching the mouth of the Chesapeake. My the water and air are cold! Below 70 degrees! Get out the Woolies! The weather really shifted when we came out of the Gulf Stream rounding Hattaras - from 80 deg water and air - to this. We lost the Gulf Stream somewhere off Charleston, and only recovered it off Cape Fear. Where did it go? Got to look at a sat shot when we get home. We blew the nice graphite whisker pole in the middle of the night running wing and wing. Bang! Will was on watch when we came out of the stream at 0500 today. From reaching in 25kt SW wind under reduced sail in medium seas, (a real ride) to more quiet seas and winds under the protection of Hattaras. He saw dolphins jumping at dawn. We will enter the Bay sometime this evening - giving Red 2C lots of berth. With a 120 mile run up the bay ,we plan to be home in St. Michaels late afternoon Wednesday. Love, Kim Sandi and Will
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