It’s a boat: Review of Sailing for two Years, Back to Morehead City, North Carolina, USA

Posted on by by Posted in Boat Projects, Carolinas, Sailings, USA East Coast

I count ‘Right Now’ more than ‘Best Memories’. However, writing this, I am flashing about beautiful memories of blue water, island people, jungles, fresh fish, and culture from the Caribbean… For last two years, we sailed down from Morehead City (North Carolina) to Stuart, Florida, then continuously sailing to Saint Martin, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Spanish Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Bonaire, Curacao, Colombia, San Blas/Panama, Guatemala, and back to the USA (Key West to Morehead City).

After arriving in Morehead City, one of our friends jokingly told me that “You must be tough still living on the boat with John.” During this journey,

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Pictures of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA

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(July 1 to 7, 2016): Wrightsville Beach is near Wilmington, North Carolina. We were there during the Independence weekend. Lots of younger crowd running, walking, stand-up paddle board riding, boating, and etc..

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Sailing to Charleston, the Cultural Capital of the South, South Carolina, USA

Posted on by by Posted in Carolinas, Sailings, USA East Coast

We left St. Helena Sound, South Carolina at 4 am to go out with the outgoing tide. Arriving in the Charleston Channel, we had the incoming tide behind us. Peaceful sailing of 56 nautical miles, we dropped the anchor at 2 pm, about 10 hours of sailing wing-on-wing with a job-pole. (Wind: SW 10-15 Knots)

It was hot and humid in late June in Charleston but there were flowers all over! Entering the Charleston Harbor Channel, we were welcomed by the beautiful fragrance of the flowers. The city seemed to be in bloom.

After anchoring near the Charleston City Marina,

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Pictures of Beaufort, South Carolina

Posted on by by Posted in Carolinas, Sailings, USA East Coast

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Sailing to Savannah, Georgia: Southern Hospitality!

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It says Savannah is recognized as the country’s first planned city. According to ‘Lonely Planet’, “The town has been described as ‘a beautiful lady with a dirty face,’ and in some ways it resembles a pint-sized New Orleans.” At the same time, the seaport is busy with many container freighters.

Before visiting the City of Savannah, I wasn’t able to find much information on “Sailing to Savannah”. After visiting the city, I understood why. There were some difficulties visiting Savannah by a sailboat.

First difficulty is that the tide variance between high and low tide, is 6-8 feet high.

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Gathering Rain Water from Tropical Storm COLIN

Posted on by by Posted in Florida, Sailings

What is the average daily water consumption per person? It depends on your location. Living on a boat, we have to be frugal with water. We have three water tanks on the boat for a total of 200 gallons (=757 liters, 1 Gallon = 3.785 Liters) of water. On the boat, we usually make water each day until all the tanks are full.

Due to the strong wind from Tropical Storm COLIN, while staying at the Mooring Field (Mooring Fee: US$21.30/Day) in Saint Augustine City Marina, we stopped making water because the source of the sea water looked stirred.

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Visiting Friends and Shopping in Walmart in Stuart, Florida

Posted on by by Posted in Florida, Sailings

It takes about two hours by car from Fort Lauderdale to Stuart. Going by sailboat with no wind, it took two days. We motored one day to West Palm Beach and another day to Stuart. Stuart is quiet and easy-going place without heavy traffic. We have friends to meet in Stuart. We were excited to see them again after many years. Sharing time with friends is like enjoying my favorite chocolates. Sweet memories!

Our original plan in Stuart, was to anchor in Manatee Pocket Anchorage or in front of our friend’s water-front house. However, the channel to Manatee Pocket was not deep enough when we tried to pass between the high and the low tide.

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Yachting Capital of the World, Fort Lauderdale, USA

Posted on by by Posted in Florida, Sailings

Fort Lauderdale is known as the Yachting Capital of the World. The whole city is boat oriented: boat brokers, boat related retailers, boat insurance, jobs, services, and etc… You name it. It is here.

Being a resident of Fort Lauderdale, entering the Port Everglades, is like coming back to my sweet home. I remember the sea breeze on the beach and I know lots of restaurants, bars, and stores to go. There are dear friends and neighbors, I want to meet. The only problem is that there is not enough place to anchor the boat. This means staying in a marina which is expensive.

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Pictures of Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA

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Welcome back to America! Key West, Florida, USA

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Things are big in the USA. Entering the channel, we were so amazed how big the channel markers are and the satellite radar is. The anchorage in Key West is wider than anywhere in the Caribbean. All of these conveniences cost nothing to us. It didn’t even cost anything to clear the customs. (***Note this is not completely true as John had to buy a customs clearing number-$40, a documentation license-$20, and do an interview with a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official for a ‘Local Boater Option’. The customs number and documentation have to be renewed every year, but the ‘Local Boater Option’ is good for the life of the passport.) Being a member of the ‘Local Boater Option’,

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