2008-2009 Schedule

OK, we have sketched out our cruising itinerary for the next 10 months. Any and all friends & family are welcome to join, check your schedules and make your plans, first come -first serve.



Sept 20-Oct 15- Jay Sea Dee will be on the hard in RI for maintenance, repairs & upgrades. Road trip to Annapolis Boat Show and take car to Charleston SC.

Oct 16-Oct 19: Long Island Sound, NYC, East River, Hudson River ( John Wickes?)

Oct 20- Oct 25: NJ Coast, Delaware-Chesapeake Canal, Upper Chesapeake Bay

Oct 26- Nov 1: Lower Chesapeake Bay, Norfolk, Inter coastal waterway to Beaufort NC

Nov 1-Nov 4: Off shore to Charleston SC

Nov 4 - Nov 30: The City Marina at Charleston, SC (pretend to be "Southern Folk")
(Vic & Virginia Fontaine Nov 5-9, Rich & Bev Worford Nov 12-17)

Dec 1 - Dec 15: Savannah, Amelia Island, ICW to Fort Lauderdale

Dec 15- Dec 18th: Transit to Nassua, Bahamas

Dec 19th- Jan 3rd: Atlantis Resort Marina, Nassau ( Jaq, Jen, Bud, Blake)

Jan 4th- Feb 1: Bahamas, Abacos, Turks & Caicos

February: Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spanish Virgin Islands

March: USVI & BVI's

April 4-11: BVI's ( Tim & Linda Rhodes)

April 12- May 4 Island hop to Antigua

May 7- Start of ARC Europe (leg 1 to Bermuda)

May 20: ARC Europe (Leg 2 to to Azores)

June 13: ARC Europe (Leg 3 to Lagos, Portugal)

June - July: Portugal, Spain

August: French Riviera

Sept: Italy, Sardinia

High & Dry

We arrived back at Greenwich Bay Marina early Friday afternoon. There was alot of concern about what HANNA was going to do. Last fall a wicked storm blew in from the southeast here and nearly destroyed the marina we are currently docked at. They do not have a break water to the east, so any sustained wind from that direction wreaks havoc on the marina, a 65 ft cruiser was sunk. With that knowledge and the fact that 2 other named storms were lining up in the carribean, we made a quick decision to pull Jay Sea Dee out of the water for the 3 weeks that we will be back home in Colorado.

We were hauled by 4pm Friday, hung in the slings of the travel lift over night, and then were moved ino the parking lot, blocked and braced on Saturday morning.

We will get our through hull fitting fixed and replace the zincs while the boat is on the hard. We check into a hotel on Saturday, John is battling a stomach flu, and Jodi is cleaning and organizing the boat. First part of the new replacement canvas is due in today for fit up, and the rest will be completed while we are back home.

Martha's Vineyard after Labor Day

Well, we were going to head to Nantucket but have decided that we love exploring this place instead. We got here on Tuesday night and walked around a bit then went to bed...it had been a long day. Wednesday, we got up and loaded the bikes into the dinghy and off we went. We ended up going on a 17 mile ride around the island. They have great bike paths and cool towns to hang out in.

I (Jodi) made this picture in the sand while hanging out at Gay Head Lighthouse Beach. I want to dedicate it to my friend Bev who first showed me how she did this when she visited beaches. Tomorrow we are off again, back to our second home, Warwick RI. We'll miss the sea in the next month as we travel home but am really looking forward to seeing all of our family and friends.

The "Amazing Flying Obinator"

Many of you have been asking how Obie has been doing. Everyday is an adventure for Obie. He does not like the sailing very much but he loves the fulltime attention he gets from Mom & Dad. He sleeps in the bottom of our bed each night, gets up with Dad in the morning and does his business outside on the poop deck (we actually have a special piece of artificial turf that sits in a plastic tray on the aft deck). Then he anxiously awaits his morning treat at the top of the companion-way. Then just like back home he goes back to bed until something worthwhile happens.

While sailing Obie sits in his little dog bed at my feet behind the helm or in the warm pouch of someone’s hoody.. For some reason he thinks this is the safest place on deck. When things get rough Obie has his own personal lifejacket with a convenient carrying handle. Obie is at home down below, we keep his food and water in our stateroom, he spends his leisure time snuggled on one settee or the other in the main salon. He is the best burglar alarm ever made, any slight sound or intruder is instantly reported.

Obie’s favorite time is shore-leave. He can smell land long before any of us see it. Obie has snuck onto many beaches, restaurants, stores, and museums inside his special carry bag. He will ride the bus, he goes on the dinghy, the ferry, the taxi, or any other conveyance, just so long as he gets to go with us!!!

Obie loves to go for walks, cruise the shopping district, and ride bikes. He has a special bike basket that quick mounts to our bike and has a roll cage for his protection. Jodi is considering becoming a sales rep for the company that made the carrier...she could have sold hundreds by now, even with paying Obie a commision!!!Everywhere he goes, he brings a smile to young and old, Obie has been greeted by perhaps thousands of people wherever we travel, there are many many Dachshund lovers in the world, he has become an incredible ambassador for the canine world. Here’s to the “Amazing Flying Obinator”: the greatest dog in my world.

Gloucester ( forget the "uce")

Yesterday we left very early and sailed down the coast to Gloucester, pronounced "gloster". It was a beautiful day and a long one too..85 miles. To get to Gloucester from Portland Maine, you can either go outside Cape Ann to the east of cut inside taking a shortcut on the Annisquam River. I chose the latter because I did not want to get near the twin lighthouses on Thacher Island. Ever since we sail by these scary looking deserted monoliths 2 years ago, I have had nightmares about the place. It's like my own personal version of the "Ring". Not sure what it is, but to me, these look like 2 large columns marking the gates to hell and if I can steer clear than I know I'll be better off.

The trip down the Annisquam River was interesting. Plenty of current and plenty of drunken boaters out enjoying Labor day. The channel was very narrow in many places and I saw the depth get down to 7.5 feet at one point. There was one fixed bridge, an opened railroad bascule bridge, and another small bascule bridge right before Glouster. The last 2 bridges were only 40 feet wide at most, however we made it through unscathed.

We settled in on a town mooring, BBQ'd some yardbird, and then went on an evening dinghy cruise around the harbor. We eventually we to town and walked around for an hour or so. Glouster is a very large commercial fishing center, more fishing trawlers and fish packing plant than I have seen anywhere so far on our travels.

Today we are off to the cape cod canal, if we hit it just right the east-west current will be 4 knots. Last time we came through I recorded a speed over ground of 13.2 knots.

Portland, Maine

While on our way back down the coast of Maine, I had recalled that my business partner, Barry, had a cousin that lives on a small island very near Portland Maine. I called Barry and he hooked us up with Patti and Cyrus who graciously hosted us for the weekend. Little Diamond Island is about 2 miles northeast of downtown Portland. There are about 50 homes on the island, no cars. It was a special weekend with an “Around the Island” race sponsored by the Little Diamond Island Homeowners Association. Of course the only rules were that any rule can be broken and cheating was encouraged. Jay Sea Dee did not enter, but we did join in the fun at the start/finish line.

Saturday evening we cruised over in Cyrus’s tender to Big

Diamond Island and had a very nice dinner at a restaurant that use to be an old Army base at Fort McKinley. Sunday morning we were forced to move Jay Sea Dee to the other side of the Island. Winds were building and we started to drag anchor in front of Cyrus and Patti’s house. Cyrus helped me move the boat to a private mooring owned by one of the residents…THANK YOU.

Sunday afternoon was the big annual Little Diamond Island lobster bake. LDI Casino is celebrating its 100th year. (A “casino” is an old term used for meeting places other than churches). The crew running the lobster bake started at 6 am. They dug a pit at the beach, lined it with big rocks, built a fire, then place a large welded steel container on the fire. The container was layered from the bottom up with sweet potatoes, corn, 125 lobsters, hot dogs, sausage, and whole eggs. Each layer is separated with a packing of seaweed.

Shortly after we arrived, they reached in the seaweed and pulled out eggs from each corner of the container. The eggs are ceremoniously dropped on a wooden crate like a golfer making a drop. If the egg does not break open and is hard boiled, the feast is ready to eat. The lobster was delicious with a hint of a smoky flavor. Hats of to Jeff, the fire tender, and youngest of 3 generations of a family that does the cooking. Thank you to the Hagge’s for being a wonderful host on Labor day weekend.