Cruisers Afar

February 6

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Today was a day for chores and limited travel. We topped off the boat with water, fuel and gas for the dinghy
before leaving Staniel Cay. Then it was a short twelve mile run south to Black Point to make use of the nicest
laundromat in the Exumas. The wind had picked up some and we had a nice sail to Black Point. After anchoring,
we launched the dinghy and made our way to the dinghy dock at the laundry. After depositing the clothes in the
machine we went to Lorraine's Cafe (where we watched the Super Bowl last year) and relaxed with a cold Kalik.
Then it was back to the boat for an early night.

Thursday, February 2, 2012
We got an early start based on the weather forecast and had two plans. Plan A was to go all the way to George
Town if the wind was right (about 50 miles), and Plan B was to stop at Lee Stocking Island, about half way.
We headed out of Dothan Cut to Exuma Sound and the 3000 - 5000 ft depths. Wind was okay the first two hours
but shifted slightly after that so we motor sailed to Lee Stocking Island. We had our line out for a Mahi mahi, but
no bites despite one other boat landing a mahi. Now as experienced sailors we have picked up many a mooring ball,
but at the Caribbean Marine Research Center we were slightly humbled. On the first pass we missed the short float
line. On the second attempt we could have made a movie on what not to do when picking up a mooring ball. Mary
snagged the float, but it was tangled on the pennant and as the wind pushed us away from the ball she lost the
boat hook overboard. She decided to jump in to retrieve it as the boat drifted back over the mooring ball wedging
the ball between the rudder and the prop. Needless to say, there was no concern about Mary getting back to the
boat. At this point we changed places and I entered the water to dislodge the mooring ball. We were successful on
the next attempt. The two root causes were a tangled float line and an extremely short pennant loop that we could
not even get from midship. Add to that the captain's insistence to not be thwarted by that mooring ball (there were
several others that we could have gotten). Tomorrow we will probably stay here as the wind is predicted to be in the
upper teens and from the south.

Friday, February 3, 2012
The wind was as strong as predicted so we had a leisurely day on the mooring ball. We dinghied ashore to visit the
research center, but no one was there so we hiked the island. On the way back to the boat we were hailed by a boat
that had just arrived. They had caught a nice mahi and invited us over for a conch blowing contest and fresh fish dinner.
During the afternoon David spent time in the dinghy helping three other boats retrieve their mooring balls, saving them
the embarrassment we experienced the day before. We had a delightful fish dinner aboard Utopia with Herb and Linda
as our hosts.

Saturday, February 4, 2012
Still too windy to leave so we spent the morning reading. After lunch we headed south in the dinghy to explore the rest of
the island. Mary found a large sand dollar and a beautiful conch shell. Tomorrow the winds are supposed to moderate and
we plan to leave late morning and head to George Town, the Caribbean boaters Mecca.

Sunday , February 5, 2012
It was pretty windy, but 3 of the boats decided to make a dash for George Town and made it thru Adderly Cut with just a
small bit of rock and rolling. The wind was on the nose so we tacked, with only our mainsail, back and forth on our rum line
so we could keep some wind in our sail. It really wasn't a bad sail considering. There are about 200+ boats all around the
anchorage, but we found a space near our sailing buddies from Lee Stocking Island and will see how comfortable this place is.
We immediately spotted Larry and invited him and our mahi mahi chef and crew for cocktails. Since it is Super Bowl, this place
could get pretty wild later on, but there are many foreigners here who dont appreciate American football. We plan on staying
for a week and enjoy all there is to do here. Our friends, Van and Lauren should be here later this week if the weather holds.

February 1

Thursday, January 26
We were up early this morning to get our anchor up and head over to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club Marina
where we would pick up Wayne at the local airport. While Mary made a stop at the local market to get
produce and then to the airport, I stayed with the boat and filled our water tanks, deposited garbage and
made an Internet connection. Wayne arrived almost on time and they headed back to the marina in a
local cab. I finished up with the Internet, paid the bill for the water and garbage and we got underway. Our
first stop would be Cambridge Cay where we took a mooring ball because the wind and current were pretty
strong. The access to Cambridge is a little tricky and we made one wrong turn, but no harm as we backed
out before going hard aground. We went ashore and took a hike across the island to see Bell Rock and Exuma
Sound. We walked the beach and then came back to the other side to find the dinghy we had anchored in
about two feet of water on dry ground. We had to drag it about fifty yards to get it to enough water to float it.
Due to the high winds and current we did not go to Honeymoon Beach or to the Sea Aquarium.. It is a shame
we missed the aquarium. We did talk to the couple on the only other boat in the anchorage and invited them
over for cocktails. They were a nice couple from Michigan and we swapped stories for a couple of hours.

Friday January 27
We got out of Cambridge Cay without incident and headed to Warderick wells. We were at the far end of the
anchorage which was beautiful. Wayne and Mary swam over to the sandbar and walked the sand bar. We enjoyed
a beautiful evening on the boat and went to bed early as we had much to do the next day. We also ran into friends
from our days in Rock Hall, MD. They have retired and after several years of work on their boat, they headed
off to the Exumas. It was fun catching up with them.

Saturday , January 28
After breakfast, we went over to the snorkeling area in the dinghy and had a great snorkeling trip with many small
colorful fish and 2 huge sting rays. We saw about a 5 lb. lobster hiding in the rocks, but since no one can fish for
lobster, he knew he was safe. After lunch, we hiked to the top of Boo Boo hill and left our offering to the sea god
and also to take in the beautiful view of the anchorage and the Exuma sound. As one tee shirt said, "these colors
are not in my crayon box". We sat on the top deck and enjoyed the view, breeze and also visited with the newcomers
as they came to check in. Because there was a party on the beach that night, we had to have a rest period but then
headed out at 5:30 to meet all the cruisers. As darkness increased, the Hutia (small rodents like guinea pigs)
increased so we went off to another boat to continue our party. We mentioned the movie Captain Ron and Lisa and
Patrick had it on board so we all enjoyed the movie. It was an "island drive in movie". We arrived back at the boat
with Mary at the helm of the dinghy and went right to bed.

Sunday, January 29
The guys survived their "fun" and we made our way south back to big majors spot where we took Wayne in to feed
the pigs. This year there is a mother pig with 9 babies. They come running out of the brush and Mother pig gathers
all of the babies around and tells them to stay put while she swims out to the boats for her dinner. They were not
into the table scraps we had to offer, so we took off and went on a tour of the island, landing on a deserted beach
with sand dollars under the sand. We also saw the large orange/brown starfish on the bottom. Wayne kept reminding
us that we were so very lucky to be able to do this. I readily agreed. For anyone who has seen this area, they can concur.

Monday, January 30
We brought the boat over to the marina and after getting tied up, loaded all our snorkeling gear up and
headed to Thunderball cave. The number and variety of fish were incredible. The were looking for food,
but we were in such a hurry, we forgot it, but they followed us around as if maybe it would appear. We
swam into the cave and it was so beautiful, with the blue sky thru the hole, clear water, stalagmites
hanging from the ceiling toward the water and all the fish. We returned to the boat and prepared shrimp
(it had thawed from the freezer so needed to eat) and rum punch in anticipation of our friends Van and
Lauren's arrival. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Staniel Cay club, compliments of Wayne, who again
reminded us that we're so lucky to be able to do this. More later.

Tuesday January. 31
Wayne left on the 9:00 flight to Nassau. After some cleaning on the boat, we retired to the pool for a swim
as there are way to many nurse sharks in the water by the marina. They say they are harmless, but I don't
want to chance it. We plan on going to Blackpoint tomorrow and then on to Georgetown to explore parts of
the area we missed last year. We will have sporadic internet coverage, but will update as we can. We will
have Spot activated so you can at least see where we are located. We love to hear from all of you.

Dave and Mary

January 30

Key West Wrecker's Race Jan 2012

The Fair Winds Team sailed to a third place! I had lots of help - there were six of us on-board. So I had some
local knowledge help. Everyone found something they could do as part of the team. We sailed from the Naval
Air Station marina on Boca Chica to Key West early enough to take a practice run on the heading for finish line
at Sand Key. It was dead down run. One crew member, Dan, brought along a genoa from his Catalina 25 and
we flew it as a second head-sail. (I have the light weight spinnaker from Decision here but I thought 15 knots of
wind was a little too much for a .5 oz spinnaker.)    We had a good start with another crew member, Richard, giving
me help on the timing - we ran the engine up to the starting line as allowed by the rules.  Fair Winds took the
straight to the mark course while some boats with spinnakers took a hotter angle - some on port gybe and some
starboard. We actually finished before some of the spinnaker boats. There was a record turn out with 54 boats
entered so they divided the fleet into a couple more classes then originally planned. We were in the 30-40 ft class
of 13 boats. At the awards party we'd watched the race video 5 or 6 time and the 8:30 awards ceremony still hadn't
happened so we were about to leave at 9:30 and of course the ceremony started. Our award was a Wrecker's Race Pusser's
Rum cup, a Wrecker's Race tee shirt, and $10 gift certificate for Schooner's Wharf Bar. Maybe they'll have results/pictures
from the race on the web site by the time you get read this.

  http://www.schoonerwharf.com/12wreckersrace.htm
Dave ArnoldFair WindsCatalina 36 #1674

January 26

Thursday, January 19,
After our arrival and clearance through customs we spent the rest of the day taking care of a few minor
repairs. We headed to the Poop Deck restaurant for happy hour and an early dinner. Bedtime called early
as well.

Friday, January 20,
After a late breakfast Mary started washing the boat while David changed the oil and the oil and fuel
filters. Then it was off to the old city for lunch and a visit to the new straw market that has opened
since last year. A couple of stops at the marine store and fishing center were required to finalize a
few last minute purchases. After a late lunch we returned to the boat for a game of Rook and another
early night to bed.

Saturday, January 21,
We departed Nassau to begin our island adventure. It was an uneventful motor sail to Highbourne Cay as
the wind was almost on our nose. Since we did not leave Nassau until 10:30, we did not get to Highbourne
in time to go ashore since cocktail hour took precedent over sightseeing.

Sunday, January 22,
This morning we unpacked and inflated our local mode of transportation for the next five or six weeks. The
dinghy had been stowed down below so it was out of the way during the crossing. Now it was time to get
mobile while at anchor. Our first dinghy ride took us ashore on the beach at Highbourne so we could look
for a decent piece of driftwood. For those of you who have never been to the Exumas, it is tradition to
appease King Neptune with a piece of personalized driftwood placed at the top of Boo Boo Hill on Warderick Wells.
We found a couple of acceptable pieces and then were back in the dinghy to visit the marina and it's newly
opened restaurant, Xuma. We checked out the bar/restaurant and then took a walk around the island to see what
new construction had been completed since last year. During our walk we did find a much better piece of driftwood
to carve for King Neptune. Then it was back to the bar to quench our thirst after the walk. The restaurant is a
very, very nice open air affair and has only been open a week. The drinks were inexpensive, but a $12 hot dog and
an $18 hamburger were a bit pricey. We stuck with the drinks. On the dinghy ride back to the boat a giant ray
jumped out of the water abut twenty feet in front of us. What a surprise! We pulled up our anchor and were off
to Shroud Cay for a couple of days. It is a short two and a half hour sail and we had great wind, typically we
were traveling over six knots and approached eight knots toward the end of the trip. Anchor is down and drinks
have been served. Mary is enjoying her drink floating on a noodle tethered to the boat.

Monday, January 23,
We woke to partly cloudy skies and a warm easterly breeze. After a leisurely morning of breakfast and "book
club", we loaded up the dinghy for an exploration of Shroud Cay. Last year we traveled through the mangroves
of Sanctuary Creek so this year we chose to tour another estuary that was slightly further south. Unfortunately
we were dealing with a falling tide since high tide was at 7:30 this morning. This limited us to not quite
getting to the other side of the island due to low water. We did see two giant sea turtles back in the mangroves.
The outgoing tide did provide for a quick return to the anchorage. We then anchored the dinghy near the coastal
rocks and snorkeled the area. Several things were learned from last Year's travels: wet suits are a must, a
good dinghy anchor is important, a good underwater camera is needed and for those who are upper body strength
challenged, a dinghy ladder is quite helpful. Today we took all of the toys with us, except for the camera which
we forgot and left on the boat. I am happy to report that all of the new toys worked very well. The snorkeling
was decent. We did see our first lion fish, very pretty, but poisonous and a threat to the ecosystem. After a
late lunch back on the boat we spent the afternoon relaxing. The personalized driftwood for King Neptune was
whittled on and no injuries were sustained as a result of the effort. Tomorrow we plan a short sail to Hawksbill
Cay, an island we did not visit last year.

Tuesday, January 24,
Yesterday we had issues with electrical power. Most significantly the refrigeration compressor would not shut off
unless you turned off the breaker. Coupled with a partly cloudy day that hampered the solar panels, our batteries
were being drained quickly. We resorted to running the Honda generator for a couple of hours, but that did not make
a major impact on the battery supply. Finally, late at night we had to shut down the refrigeration as the battery
levels were getting critically low. Early this morning we turned the refrigeration back on at higher thermostat
settings and cranked the diesel up with the 100 amp alternator and started to gain on both the batteries and the
refrigeration. Not sure what the problem was with the refrigeration, but it seems to have corrected itself and
we have turned the temperatures down to their normal levels and all of the frozen food is still solid. We had a
brief shower this morning and then the skies cleared providing us with excellent solar energy to help rebuild the
battery levels. We are happy to report that the beer was again cold by the time we finished our dinghy tour and
swim at Hawksbill Cay. The trip over from Shroud Cay to Hawksbill was a short five mile run. In fact we can still
see the boats at Shroud. We dinghied up the creek on the island, but like yesterday, the tide was low and we did not
get far. Then we visited a cave that was only accessible by dinghy and then climbed to the top of the hill to visit
the ruins of ten houses that dated back to the 1700's. On the way back to the boat we looked for places to snorkel,
but had to settle for a swim on a beautiful, isolated beach.

Wednesday, January 25,
We departed Hawksbill Cay with a 15-20 knot wind on a close hauled tack to head for Staniel Cay and a rendezvous with
our friend Wayne who was flying in from Sc to spend five days with us. It was a fantastic 24 mile sail. Enroute we
were contacted by our friends on Gratitude and diverted to the anchorage at Big Majors. There we met Lauren and Van
as well as Larry on The Dove. We had a great dinner on board Gratitude. Lauren's culinary skills have remained sharp.
Tomorrow morning we will motor over to the marina and meet Wayne at the airport and then depart for Cambridge Cay.

Dave and Mary

January 19

What a great motor sail! We left Sunset lake at 6:25 and made it just in time for the west Venetian causeway bridge
opening. From there we scooted out government cut and hit the open ocean. The winds were light with only a faint
chop so very comfortable for being in the gulf stream. We made it to north rock (outside Bimini) and sailed onto the
Bahamas banks. For anyone who has never been there it is a giant plateau of water. You go from 1200 ft of water to
17-20 ft in a matter of several yards. The water settles down no matter how much wind you have. We actually sailed
for a short while but the winds reduced and were pretty much on the nose, so we needed to restart the engine. It was
so calm that we were able to eat our spaghetti and not have any slide away. Of course, large bowls do help . From there
it was across the Tongue of the Ocean (again depths of 7000-8000 ft). We were heeled over and luckily in the correct direction,
so the person off shift could get some sleep. We passed thru Nassau harbor at around 9:00, just behind the Carnival cruise
ship. We have some chores to do (replace running lights which were working in the AM, but were not fixable in the PM.
Luckily there is no one out there so our steaming lights were adequate. We plan to stay here for 2 nights and head farther
south on Saturday. We will have very limited access to email after that but will send updates as available. Oh yes, for those
interested in the fishing report, one big one got away about 8 miles off Miami beach and not another nibble after that.
Maybe better luck in the Bahamas.

Dave and Mary

January 18

The weather forecast is holding true to the prediction and we got underway this afternoon from Sunny Isles Beach.
We left at 3:15 and traveled to Miami Beach and anchored in Sunset Lake just off the Venetian Causeway. That
will put us in position to leave through Government Cut in the Port of Miami with only one bridge to contend with.
We were joined by our friends Donn and Charlotte who sailed (motored) down here in their boat and joined us for dinner
and a bon voyage party. The anchorage here is beautiful with the Miami skyline lit up in the background and not a ripple
in the water. Lights from the houses on the shore are reflecting beautifully on the water.
We plan to make the 7 am or 7:30 am bridge opening in the morning, depending on how light it is when we pull the anchor
a half hour before the bridge schedule. We will cross the Gulf Stream and head right to Nassau. We are planning a 25 - 28
hour crossing with light winds forecasted from the southeast and clocking around to the west.
You can follow us on the SPOT link sent to you earlier.

Dave & Mary

January 14

Sanity II is straining at its docklines, ready to head east to the Bahamas. We had planned to leave tomorrow (Sunday),
but the winds say otherwise. It looks like a Tuesday afternoon move to get us down to Miami and a Wednesday morning
departure will be the soonest we can leave. Meanwhile we are dealing with a couple of last minute details. The SPOT link
below will allow you to keep up with our travels as we plan to go to Nassau, the Exumas and then up the Eluthera chain
before heading back in early March. I will send out a notice when we get underway and will periodically update you on
our adventures.

Dave and Mary

Link to SPOT

December 3

I'm off on the first "offshore" leg this year. 100 miles from Thunderbolt inlet at Savannah Ga to St Johns river at Jacksonville Fl.
There are two other boats. Another P365 "Lady Ella" with tom and June O'Brien and the third boat is Far Away from Hampton
with Dave and Petra. We should have NE winds at 15 knots or so. Wish us luck. I will enable the Spot locator from time to
time to show progress. We should be in tomorrow morning.

Bill Edelstein

November 16

We are safely tied up in Sunny Isles Beach for the next two months.

We left Jacksonville on Saturday morning under clear, bright skies and headed out the St John's River.
It is a long 20 miles when you fight the current the first 15 miles, but the trip through Mayport to the ocean was fast
and event free. The motor sail to Port Canaveral was also uneventful. We had light E, then SE winds so not a lot of sailing.
Seas started to get lumpy toward the end of the trip on Sunday morning. We stayed at a marina that is just inside
the Port, near the cruise ship docks. That way we did not have to wait on the bridge and the locks.

Monday morning we left Canaveral with a marginal forecast that included SE to S winds of up to 16 knots and seas of 3-4 feet.
NOAA underestimated! We had 3 - 5 ft seas and winds to 20 knots along with heavy rain through the night. Needless to say
it was a lousy ride for the home stretch. We entered Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale) after 25 rough hours of seas and winds
on the bow. Hats off to the admiral who hung in there and did her time at the helm despite little sleep. The highlight of our
arrival in Port Everglades was the aerial coverage we received from one of American Airlines finest pilots, Tim Leighton.
He flew in on a stop enroute to Los Angeles and gave us a call to report on how good we looked coming in. Then it was down
the ICW and five bridges to get to our final destination. A solid meal was also enjoyed on the 1.5 hour trip on the inside.

Our hope was that we would be docking Sanity II at a slip in a nearby condo that was offered to us by one of Mary's yoga
friends. It would have been very convenient (6 blocks from the condo) and very inexpensive. As we feared, depth was
a problem. We came in right after an "exceptionaly" high tide and were seeing under six feet on the approach. With alarms
sounding we backed out and proceeded to the marina where we had a reservation for the first few days so we could easily
unload the boat and check out the aforementioned slip. We negotiated a two month lease that will take us to mid January
when we plan to head to the Bahamas. They put us in a transient slip that was not conducive to spending a lot of time on
the boat over the next two months. So tomorrow we are moving to a better slip where we have enough depth to back the
boat in and it also has a full length finger pier. The marina is 11 blocks from our condo (a bike ride away) and much more
convenient than the slip we had in Ft Lauderdale the past two years. The downside is it is a longer run to open water. This
will be much better for our grandkids since we don't take them out in the "big water" anyway.

Our neighbors Donn and Charlotte waved to us as we passed our condo and then came over to have a celebratory beer and
a ride back to our condo for a nap and then dinner at our son and daughter in law"s, complete with entertainment from our
two granddaughters.

I haven't totaled up the trip stats, but estimate that we went nearly a 1,000 miles during the 17 day journey. The boat and
crew performed magnificently, including the crew we picked up in Wrightsville Beach. Thanks to everyone that entertained us
along the way or took time to join us for drinks and meals. It is always a great social trip.

Dave & Mary

November 11

And I am off on my way. I am off to Florida and the Bahamas for the winter on the boat. Today for a few days I am in Oriental NC.
The weather turned cold and we are in a nice marina for the cold to go by. Our next big stop will Charleston SC. So far the boat is working well.

Bill Edelstein

November 11

Happy Veteran's Day!

Great game Hokies!! The beer was cold at Chicago Pizza and TV reception was outstanding.

As you can see from the SPOT tracker we are still in Jacksonville. The front did not move through fast enough and Sean is still kicking
up big seas. So after a check of the weather this morning we pushed our schedule back another day and are enjoying beautiful
sunshine and mild temperatures.Free dockage with Wi-Fi is also a plus. It is the second day we have donned shorts (the first being
in Charleston). We know we are moving south as the days and nights are getting warmer.

We had a late breakfast at Jacksonville Landing and then enjoyed the Veteran's Day parade that was held one block over on Water St.
It was a large parade and there was a big local turnout, especially due to the fine weather. After the parade we walked across the Main St
bridge to the south side of Jacksonville and got some decent pictures of the boat and Jacksonville Landing. Upon returning from our walk
our friend Larry from Detroit arrived by car. Larry was one of the people that went to the Bahamas with us last year and has his boat in
Jacksonville Beach while he visits friends in Orlando and then flies to Detroit for Thanksgiving. We had a late lunch with him and confirmed
our plans to meet in Ft Lauderdale before Christmas. Tonight it will be back to Chicago Pizza for the UNC-Michigan St basketball game as
well as a number of football games.

Hopefully we can make our exit from Jacksonville in the morning and get to Port Canaveral before a wind shift out of the southeast arrives.

Mary & Dave

November 10

Wednesday morning was a gorgeous day. The weather forecast was promising and we left just before 9 am with expectations
of 4-6 seas, that would diminish as the day went on. We left Charleston Harbor on a falling tide and got a push out to the ocean.
The forecast was correct. It was a bit lumpy to begin the journey, but by noon they were down to 2-3 and by 6 pm down to 1-2.
There were five boats headed south and kept fairly close together, although the two Canadians zig zagged all the way to Fernandina
Beach. We had the main sail up, mostly for stability, but by 10:30 pm the wind shifted slightly and increased to 10 - 12 knots out
of the NE so we rolled out the Genny and increased our speed by a knot. It was a full moon and delightful motor sail.

We arrived in Fernandina Beach at 8 am today to get fuel and a place for the night. Due to dredging in the marina, there was no
space there and mooring balls were at a premium so we went to Plan B. Most people try to stop and smell the roses along the
way. We decided to continue on to Jacksonville and smell the pigskin. We are tied up at the Jacksonville Landing (their version
of Waterside) which is free for 72 hours. We are right in front of a pizza restaurant/bar and can actually watch the VA Tech-GA Tech
game from our boat. We will go inside to get beer and their internet connection. Today's journey covered 203 nautical miles.

Tomorrow we will leave late morning and head back outside. Same forecast as yesterday with lumpy seas to begin and then
diminishing. That journey should land us in Port Canaveral on Saturday afternoon and within striking distance of Sunny Isles Beach.

Mary & Dave

November 8

To All:

It is Tuesday afternoon and a few changes have been made to the Plan.

Saturday morning we left Murrell's Inlet with bright sunshine and light wind. We even had the current with us for the short run
to Georgetown, making it in 2.5 hours. After fueling and getting tied up for the weekend the four of us headed off to get lunch
and explore the town. Every sailing trip needs to be turned into and adventure. To make our trip interesting Mary and I purchased
a rather large picture in Georgetown and then had the challenge of getting it aboard the boat and securing a 40" x 50" framed
picture. We considered mounting it over the solar panels, but that would be counter productive to making power. We then
considered mounting it as a stay sail, but could not furl it. The final solution was to put it in our "garage" (the front stateroom)
and to drape the cargo net over it to keep it in place. So far, so good, no glass splinters yet, of course we have not been outside
yet.

We spent Saturday and Sunday at the Hinman's in De Bordeau, SC, near Georgetown. Mary's brother and his wife cut their
fishing trip short and went home before we got there so we did not see them. Sunday we had a nice walk on the beach and
enjoyed an alligator tour of the community. The afternoon was spent playing a trivial pursuit game involving wine. The ladies beat
the guys.

Monday we left Georgetown with just the two of us on board. We planned to go outside to Fernandina Beach,but there were large
waves forecasted for Monday night. So we decided to go inside on the ICW to Charleston and spent two nights there waiting for
a weather window to go outside to Fernandina or further. Pat C.,the inside route to Charleston is about 30 miles shorter than going
outside. Right now it looks like tomorrow morning will be okay. We spent today cleaning up the boat and preparing for the outside
run. This afternoon we walked the docks and talked to various people we had seen along they way. Tonight our friends,
Robbie & Joanne Bock met us for dinner. They are living on their trawler and are spending the next month here in Charleston.

Not sure when we will have internet connectivity again, but will give you an update when we get there.

Mary & Dave

November 5

We are making good progress on our journey south and are back on schedule after the one day delay in getting underway
due to the weather last Saturday.

Sunday was a beautiful day with light winds and sunny skies. We made it through the bridges and the Great Bridge locks
without incident and proceeded past Coinjock to anchor south of Buck Island with six other boats. It was chilly in the morning
with 49 degrees inside the cabin. Monday we headed for the Belle Haven area with wind out of the north and we were able to
motor sail with the the headsail a good portion of the day. We anchored in the very protected Slade Creek with two other boats.
During the night the wind came up and it started to rain. We felt very little of the wind and our anchor held firm. The rain
subsided after a couple of hours and we had a restful night.

Tuesday morning was a bit warmer and we had clear skies. We were underway as daylight was making an appearance.
The trip to Morehead City through the Pamlico Sound and Neuse River was enhanced by the north wind that once again let
us take advantage of our headsail. We were in the marina by mid afternoon and completed all of the necessary boat tasks in
time for an evening dinner in town. Wednesday morning the winds were perfect for an outside run to Wrightsville Beach. We
had 10 - 15 kt winds out of the north with 1 - 2 ft seas. Conditions held until around 1 pm when the wind died. We were motor
sailing all morning doing 8+ knots. We ended up motoring into Wrightsville Beach around 5 pm in time for happy hour with
our friends the Boyd's. We spent Wednesday night at their house.

Thursday morning the Boyd's got on board for the next few days of the journey. We left at a reasonable hour for a change
and headed for Southport to visit my brother Bill and his wife Charlotte. In Southport the ladies shopped while the guys found
a comfortable place to relax. We met another couple from Norfolk who keep their boat at Norfolk Yacht and Country Club and
were headed south. They joined us for happy hour and dinner, but were staying for a while longer in Southport. During the
night we had rain, but it let up by the time we were departing. Friday we had a long day of motoring to get from Southport to
Murrells Inlet. During the day we heard several weather alerts about storms in the Wilmington, NC area. We were unaffected.
The sun finally came out in late morning and it warmed up. By mid-afternoon the clouds returned and the wind picked up to
12-15 kts. The temperature dropped and it got a bit chilly, but no rain. We did experience a little drizzle as we approached the
marina at Wacha Wache. That evening we had dinner at the home one of Mary's college classmates and her husband and
we were joined by another of her classmates. What a delightful evening.

It is Saturday morning and we are headed for the next stop on our social circuit. We have a short run today to Georgetown,
SC to stay with our friends the Hinman's for two days. We also plan to see Mary's brother and wife who are there fishing for
the week. Our plan is to leave Monday with just the two of us and hope to make a couple of long offshore runs to get us to South
Florida. Hope the weather cooperates. Will send the next update in a few days.

Dave & Mary

November 1

Hello, Everyone.

ADAGIO will be spending this winter in the frozen Northern Neck waters of the Corrotoman River!
Yes, we have abandoned her for better climes in Sunny Florida, where we have recently acquired a residence
in our favorite small Florida town, Englewood. We have a little dock on a salt water canal that leads back out
to Lemon Bay and the Gulf, where all our favorite beaches and Tiki Bars await. Not to worry, we will be back
next summer to cruise the Bay with our Fleet 30 friends, and hope to take ADAGIO back to Florida the following winter.

Attached are a couple pics of our new abode.....

Love, Denny & Rhonda
1393 Kingfisher Drive, Englewood, FL 34234

August 14

Many of you will remember Connie and Dodge Hickman (Tejas) along with their loyal companion Max. I had the pleasure
of visiting with these HRF30 members at their beautiful treetop home in Oriental, NC. The Hickman's are doing very well
enjoying the waters of the Pamlico sound aboard Tejas, the open roads of the wild American west with their camper and
the rural byways of eastern North Carolina with their police model Harley. On and off the water the relationships facilitated
by HRF30 remain enduring. We wish Connie, Dodge and Max continued happiness and good health.

eric fee

s/v big E

May 13

Hello, fellow boaters. Well, WE MADE IT (again)! We arrived in Hampton (Southall Landings Marina) this morning
after a wonderful trip up the ditch from Florida. We took the Dismal Swamp route this time, and were able to dinghy
into Lake Drummond with friends Bob and Jayne (Lady Jayne). We're excited about the Fleet 30 cruise schedule,
and looking forward to seeing all our cruising friends, some of which we saw last nite at the Harborfest (not Octoberfest)
meeting at Waterside.

Love to All, Denny and Rhonda (ADAGIO)

May 10

As my friend Kerry May once said: "We go outside and miss all that". Well, we just spent the last two weeks going thru
"all that", and it was wonderful! Get yourself a slow boat with no mast and a shallow draft, and see what going thru the Little
Mud River at low tide is all about. Talk about excitement!

We are at the Dismal Visitor Center with five other boats in a big raft. We plan to dinghy into Lake Drummond tomorrow, on
our way to the Captain's meeting for Octoberfest on Thursday. We'll be at Waterside, so come on by and see us.

Denny & Rhonda, M/V ADAGIO

May 10

To All:

Mary & I are heading north tomorrow. The weather looks good for the next few days and we are planning to head to Cape
Canaveral in the first 24 hours via the Atlantic Ocean. We plan to be on the outside in the Atlantic for most of the journey
and will not have the ability to send daily updates. From Morehead City/Beaufort we will transit the ICW into Norfolk. However,
you can track our progress on SPOT, the satellite tracker. I have included the link below. We plan to be in Norfolk on or
after May 21.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0fhT5FTENEnZ1soLBTmKQVaJ0bYLClagJ

Dave & Mary

January 12, 2011

To all friends and family,

The boat is ready, we still have some provisioning to finish and the weather forecast needs to improve. Otherwise we are ready
to head to the Bahamas. We are planning to sail with another boat on Sunday to Key Biscayne to meet a third boat. Preliminary
weather forecast says we should have a weather window for the crossing of the gulf stream on Monday. We will keep our eye on that .
Tentative plan is to go to Bimini, Nassau, and Chubb Key the first few days and then work our way south to George Town in the
Exhumas before heading back to FL for a scheduled March 1 return.

I have attached a link to our SPOT satelite tracker so you can follow us and hope to send e-mail updates back periodically as we get
internet access and the enthusiasm to write up our adventures.

Click here for tracking information.

Mary & Dave

Sanity II

December 13

Hello, All. We are well, and loving the Florida Winter, especially as we watch the news of what's happening up North. ADAGIO is
well protected from the winds, and the temperatures, although a little cool, are much warmer than last year. A cold front blew
through today, and we might see lows in the 40's for the first time this year, but it will be back to highs in the seventies by mid week.
The marina owner provided us with a free storage bin, so your "stateroom" (vee berth) is always ready. Please come for a visit
when you can. Just let us know. Merry Christmas!

Love to All, Denny & Rhonda

Cayo Costa Stopover

Chadwick Cove Home

Knotts Island Schoolbus

December 1

To Family and Friends;

Where does the time go? Here it is, the 1st of December and we have not updated anyone since November 17 - not that
there is a lot to update BUT. We did finally leave the Space Coast area after sharing a dinner evening aboard Slow Dancing
- our cruising friends Richard and Beth's vessel - at anchor just off Dragon Point. They will be remaining there on a mooring
while Richard completes a hard bimini for the boat before continuing southward. We had a really great time exploring their
vessel and the various modifications and additions they have made to suit their 'cruising activities' (we always enjoy getting the
deas from other folks for future Casual Class updates) - and we shared some 'boat recipes' as well. As we were leaving the
Dragon Point area, we talked with a power boat who was over-taking us as we left the harbor - they indicated that they were
from Portsmouth, VA (we guess since our hailing port indicates Norfolk, VA) - as they passed we recognized the boat as one
who had been in our marina for several years before we left - the world is getting smaller and smaller. Our next stop was Vero
Beach where we picked up a mooring buoy (actually we were assigned to raft to another boat already on a buoy - the practice
in this welcoming cruiser town is that so as not to turn folks away when all of the moorings are full, you must agree to have other
vessels raft to you - it is a great practice and there were moorings with 3 and 4 boats rafted together - what a great way to meet
folks. The boat we rafted with was a 1977 Gulf Star 50 that the current owner (Jonathan) had rescued from the soon-to-be scrap
yard and had totally refitted her - the boat was absolutely beautiful - the scariest part was rafting to them without causing any
damage (Stew is known for sometimes 'bouncing off of docks, piers, etc.). Once we got tied up to Calypso and met Jonathan
and his son Alexander, we looked down the fairway and saw what we believed to be another boat we knew from the Tidewater
area - it was indeed Ed & Sandy Mitchell aboard Genesis on their every other year sojourn southward - again, the world is
getting smaller and smaller. We stayed two days - long enough to share a cocktail session aboard both Calypso and Genesis -
emptying a bottle of our rum sangria on both occasions - even though Vero Beach is gaining the nickname of Velcro Beach
since it is so welcoming to cruisers with nice facilities and good rates that many cruisers spend weeks or even months there.
We anchored one night in Fort Pierce and then moved on to Stuart - again picking up a mooring buoy at Sunset Bay Marina &
Anchorage - a recently updated facility with fabulous amenities AND affordable rates. We spent several days with Stew's sister
(Carolyn) and brother-in-law (Steve) over Thanksgiving (great meals - they have been restaurateurs for many years and Steve
is a CAI chef - they have been most helpful in the area of transportation and the location of needed services for boat project stuff
- imagine needing to fix anything on a boat - who would have guessed. Then our friends who were instrumental in getting us
involved with sailing in the first place back in the early 70's picked us up and took us to their place for a two day visit - Robert &
Anne Lyons relocated from Portsmouth to Jupiter about four years ago so Anne could become the Assistant City Manager -
we had a great visit. We have now been here 8 days with at least several more to go - Ed & Sandy have also arrived here and
we ran into another Portsmouth friend, Larry Bryant - who is just two moorings away - who had guests in town today from Fort
Lauderdale who knew the father of one of Diana's students from 15 or so years ago who had been pulled from school to sail around
the world with her family - the world is getting smaller and smaller. Adding to the boat 'fix-it' list was the little dinghy incident
yesterday - while arriving at the dinghy dock at a lower tide than normal, we felt the dinghy bounce a little just before a large amount
of bubbles exhausted from the starboard pontoon - yes we cut the hull and were sinking fast - we got everyone and everything safely
ashore (including the engine) as fast as possible and got the dinghy onto the floating dock - with very wet feet and shoes I might
add - and discovered a 5 inch cut. We were able to take it to a place for professional repair and the marina folks have been most
cooperative in assisting us - even lending us a pickup for transporting the wounded dinghy - we will be picking the repaired dinghy up
sometime tomorrow so we can stop depending on others to transport us to and from land - although Larry has been 'Mr. Johnny
on the Spot' in this regard. There is the Stuart Annual Holiday Parade this weekend and the weather has taken a turn for a while
(now low to mid-70's daytime and upper 50's nightime) so we may be here for a while longer - nowhere we have to be - no schedule!!
We wish all of our family and friends the best for the upcoming Holiday Season and New Year - we will be updating at a later date.

Hugs & Kisses from Diana / A hearty ORZA from Stew

MORE EXCITING DETAILS TO FOLLOW IN 2011 !!

MERRY CHRISTMAS,

HAPPY HOLIDAYS,

HAPPY HANUKKAH,

AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

TO ALL OUR FAMILY OF FLEET 30 !!

November 17

Hi to family and friends!

Yes - we still are afloat. We spent four days on a mooring buoy in St. Augustine FL. What an interesting and beautiful town.
We took care of business one day (grocery store, West Marine, etc.), toured the fascinating fort Castillo de San Marcos and
happened upon a music festival another. We have gotten into the habit of searching out local bakeries for fresh bread like the
Cuban bread we found here. We also like to pick up homemade sweets especially breakfast kinds (scones, croissants) that we can
have with our coffee and hot tea in the morning while we are underway - they provide a yummy break from the cereal! Of course
we did the tourist walking tour of the town. Between this stop and our next extended stay we continued south, did boat repairs (Stew),
"house-cleaned" (Diana) at a couple of different anchorages. Then we decide to SLOW WAY DOWN! We got to Cocoa FL ,
dropped the anchor, and stayed for nearly a week! Our Brother of the Coast, Gary lives in Cocoa Beach and he insisted that
we stay long enough to enjoy the flavors of this area. A typical day went like this: we dinghy in to a pier at the wonderful Cocoa
Waterfront Park, Gary picks us up, takes us across the bridge to Cocoa Beach, I put a couple of loads of laundry in at a local
laundromat, we walk across to a Tiki Bar on the beach and have a refreshing adult beverage, we go back to put the clothes in the dryers
and walk to a shop owned by a sculptor friend of Garys - he creates Tiki Totems, wonderfully creative sculptures from drift wood,
paintings, etc. - interesting character - very nice! Then we go back to finish up the laundry, take a quick tour of his house and then
on to the Cape Canaveral area for another Tiki adventure, more adult beverages (only 1 per stop), some dinner, live reggae
music, and back home to the pier, dinghy, and boat. Everyday we met more interesting friends of Gary, saw more local color,
listened to more fantastic live music! Whew - it'll wear one out but someone has to do it - or else the local economy would fall apart!

We finally decided to move on southward a bit today. We don't need to be in Stuart FL until next Tuesday where we'll meet up
with Stew's sister, Carolyn and her husband Steve for Thanksgiving - yum! yum! We also want to stay in this area to welcome some
long time cruiser friends, Richard and Beth, who we met in Portsmouth just before we left. They have been cruising for more than a
decade and were a great help to us before we left. So that about updates our adventures for the past couple of weeks. Oh, if you're
wondering if there have been any more "Diana mishaps"? Yes, trying to do a good deed of cleaning the deck of the boat, I lost a
bucket and our only long handled boat brush overboard - they floated long enough for me to get the boat hook and then floated away
and sank. No more good deeds for this chickie!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Hugs and kisses, Diana and Stew

November 5

Brothers And All,

It has been a while since I've brought you up to date on our adventures - time really flies when you're having fun. We enjoyed
Charleston (what's not to like) and proceeded slowly down the ICW making our way to the Savannah/Thunderbolt area - arriving there
around noon on 10/26. This was a great place to enjoy the company of the Savannah Table which we did on Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday - the entire Table made our stay very enjoyable and they went above and beyond in helping us celebrate Diana's B-Day.
Upon departing Thunderbolt on Friday, 10/28, everything revolved around timing of the tides in order to deal with the many areas in
southern GA that have thin water issues at low tide - we took it slow and were successful in getting through areas like Hell Gate,
Little Mud River (literally), Jekyll Creek and Cumberland Dividings. We thought we were home-free when we crossed the St. Mary's
River and entered FL - think again - our timing here was not the best and the trip from Fernandina Beach (very little water here at low
tide - we found the bottom) and the entire day was slow and in search of at least 6' of water - very taxing and nerve racking. We said
at the beginning of this adventure that we would do the entire ICW through to Ft Lauderdale this first time, but after the last week or so,
the offshore route from Savannah to St. Augustine makes a lot of sense.

Speaking of St. Augustine, we arrived here yesterday, 11/4, and secured a mooring buoy just south of the Bridge of Lions (managed
by the Municipal Marina - $20 per night which includes use of the dinghy dock, laundry and shower facilities). We will be staying on
here through Sunday night taking care of the laundry, grocery shopping, West Marine, and 'tourista-ing'. A front rolled through
last evening and night with heavy rains and wind and, as predicted, brought cooler temperatures and windy conditions - mid 60's with
clear skies and sun - still some wind.

I do want to thank everyone who voiced an opinion in discussions I've held over the past several months with regard to battery charging
capabilities. The upgraded alternator certainly does its job when motoring along but, Brother Cruz & others appear to be correct in that
a combination of solar and wind are the way to go. We are on day 8 since being last plugged in to shore power and all is going well in
the battery charge arena - even when at anchor for several days without moving or sitting here 4 days on a mooring buoy (only using
the engine for enough to heat water when needed), we are holding our own.

Once we leave here on Monday or Tuesday, our next stop is in the Titusville / Cocoa Beach area for the Swedish Navigator Tiki Bar
Trek Tour - we have allowed several days for this comaraderie event and are looking forward to it.

On a much more depressing note, we are sorry to hear of the events surrounding Brother Piper and Shanty. We know he is in good
hands with Brother Lookout & Company assisting him but it is really a sad time - we hope for a successful repair and that we will join
up with him down the 'highway'.

ORZA For Now,

Blue Stache - that's Stew for you non-Brotherhood types - and Diana sends hugs & kisses

October 31, 2010

Hey ya'll - Happy Halloween to young and old! We are anchored off of St. Simon's Island, GA. The older of the Martin Clan
will remember our six months that the family spent here when daddy was getting commissioned. We lived in a summer house
near the beach. That winter was the coldest on record and the pipes froze. They came in with blow torches to unfreeze the
pipes and the house caught on fire - memories - ah! sweet memories! We had a wonderful 3 days in Savannah, GA.
The Brothers of the Coast from the Savannah Table rolled out the welcome mats for us big time! At the get together on Diana's
b-day we were treated to homemade Savannah soup, fresh bread, and the most delicious cake - Karen's mom visiting from
England made it - orange cake with butternut frosting topped with coconut and candied orange rind - yum! We stayed at a marina
in Thunderbolt (nearby Savannah) and one day Diana decided to walk to the historic Bonaventure Cemetery - about a mile off.
On the way one of our friends passed by and gave her a ride the rest of the way. Diana spent several hours walkingthe cemetery
grounds taking pictures of the angel statues, lost track of time and the darkening skies. When she went to walk home, the skies
opened up - no big deal - but she walked and walked and soon realized she had taken the wrong turn onto Bonaventure Rd. and
was in a not so nice neighborhood - her sense of direction has never been that hot! She called Stew, who called Karen, who came
and rescued a soaking wet Diana from a McDonald's in that not so nice neighborhood - good news is that Diana got a McD's sweet
tea!!! Always an adventure and we're loving it! Tomorrow we continue to head south and will stop
again once we get to St. Augustine, FL - can't believe we've come this far already!!

Love and hugs! Diana & Stew

November 5

Greetings, All. Rhonda & Denny are in Florida......Temperatures Plummet!

The cold front caught us in Lake Okeechobee with 20 knot winds and 4-foot seas abeam. We headed for the rim route and
had a pleasant trip once we got into the protected water. Rhonda got this picture of the manual (we mean it!) bridge opening
at Slim's Fish Camp on the Okeechobee Rim Route. This route has lots of birds and other wildlife (including gators), and beautiful
foliage, like this cypress tree with the bird up in the top. We spent last nite at the Moore Haven City Dock, where I took this picture
of Rhonda under a humongous Cypress Tree in the nearby park.

We plan to stop today at Franklin Lock, which has a nice RV campground and large docks with water and electric for $12.00
(if you have a Golden Age Pass). Then on to Cayo Costa, our favorite island retreat. We should be in Chadwick Cove (Englewood)
later in the week.

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda.

November 1

CASUAL CLASS HEADS SOUTH

October 1, 2010

Hello all!
We left our home slip as scheduled on Oct.1 and got as far as Great Bridge in Chesapeake. We were stuck there an extra
day because of bridges stuck in the closed position - can't get our boat's mast under closed bridges! Woke up Sunday to
wind, rain and general gloom but decided to head south to Coinjock Marina in North Carolina. Saw 3 magnificent eagles
and as many osprey along the waterway. Had a wonderful dinner out at the marina restaurant here. Rain, near gale force winds,
and more general gloom made us decide to wait a day in Coinjock til the Albemarle Sound calmed down a bit. Slept late (Diana - she's
all Martin), did some laundry, Stew did some boat maintenance, and there is no more rain, less wind, and the general gloom
was actually lightened some by the sun and bits of blue sky trying to poke through the clouds. We are looking forward to sailing
across the Albemarle Sound tomorrow/Tuesday and will be anchoring for the next couple of days. Love to all! Diana and Stew

October 8, 2010

Hi all!
It's been a week today that we have been moving southward. Tuesday made it across the Albemarle Sound, lost some time when
we ran aground entering the Alligator River, had a chilly but very fall-like anchorage with another eagle! Wed. transited the Alligator
River-Pungo River Canal - would probably be outstanding in a couple of weeks when the leaves change, and anchored near
Bellhaven. Thurs. traveled up the Pamlico River to NC first town, Bath. We were planning on staying here 2 days leaving Fri. for
some engine repair and general down below boat cleaning. Much to our surprise upon pulling up to the pier we noticed we had
arrived at a crime scene. Just like CSI - yellow crime scene tape everywhere, dozens of law enforcement people with guns doing a
thorough search of the grounds - it looked like law officers came from all the surrounding counties- never seen so many different
types of uniforms and police vehicles. It turns out that on Tues./Wed. a 51 yr. old community college prof in a wheel chair was
murdered. They had just found him about 3 hrs. before we showed up - welcome to Bath! Of course that was just the excuse that
we needed to go check out the pizza place up the street. The cops helped us figure a route to the street around the crime tape, we
had a tasty Italian meal, and Diana found a sweet tea source! The weather just gets better and better (70's,blue skies, and sunny).
We're off to another small quiet river town tomorrow called Washington. Taking our time, staying ahead of the cold weather, and
cruising. Love, Stew and Diana

October 9/10, 2010

Hi all!
Took some more time to stop and smell the roses - stayed Sat/Sun Oct. 9/10th in Washington, NC - absolutely delightful town with
a wonderful waterfront that provides free dockage for 48 hrs. incl. showers - YES! Hit the bank machine, West Marine, auto parts
store, and WalMart for some groceries. Went to dinner to celebrate Stew's birthday - it's a big one - #60. Mon. we topped off on
water and then left Washington to head south to Goose Creek to anchor out - huge mosquitoes - thank goodness for our screens
and netting for the companionway! Tues. 12th motored (no wind but delightful temps) to Oriental, NC - again we are tied up to free
dockage on the waterfront (no water, elec., showers etc) and had another chance to walk around and see the sights - very
small, clean, artsy kind of town. When we aren't touristing we read (both have been enjoying Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum
series, Stew the new Anthony Bourdain book) and Diana continues her Suduko and crossword puzzles. Naps and general relaxing
also take up our time - we are adjusting well to this lifestyle!!! Love, Diana and Stew

October 17, 2010

Hi ya'll!
We're in South Carolina! Anchored just over the border last night and will spend our first full day in SC today, Sun., Oct. something
or other. It's a little before noon (we've been underway for about four hours) and Stew just fixed us a delicious brunch of maple
sausage and sweet potato pancakes - yum!yum! We are heading southward down the ICW along a portion called "the rocks"
(don't wander off to the side of the channel or else - you know what - yes, rocks!) and "The Strand" - a 60 mile stretch of resorts,
restaurants, shopping, and miles of golf courses. The scenery has changed from NC: the sides of the ICW has higher cliffs, the
foliage is lusher (and the further into Oct. we get the more color change in the trees) BUT the temps are still cool during the day
and downright cold at night - great cuddling weather! The wildlife has been great even though we have seen no mammals or reptiles
but lots of different kinds of birds - all varieties of heron, egrets, osprey, etc. Oh yes, we have seen dolphin too from time to time.
Thanks to all who have mailed to send good wishes and safe voyage. Happy Fall, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. that we have
missed along the way. Love and hugs to all, Diana and Stew

October 23, 2010 – CASUAL CLASS HEADS SOUTH

Hi ya'll (pronounce the ya'll with a Paula Deen accent)!

It's Sat. Oct. 23 and nearly a week since our last update so this one might go on for awhile. We anchored in very poor holding
ground in Georgetown, SC for two days - even did an all night anchor watch to make sure we were holding. When Monday arrived
we were still at anchor so we put the dinghy in the water and the outboard engine fired right up! Went into town, took a delightful town
tour, arranged for mail to be shipped to the local Chamber of Commerce, and had a late lunch. Tuesday found us still in friendly
Georgetown: did some boat projects, ate lunch at Thomas Cafe (real old time and the grits are great!), picked up our mail, and fresh
bread and other supplies at a local specialty shop. Got back to the boat, dinghy on board, and prepared for the 2 days til
Charleston. Wed. continued to motor south, extremely low tides so had to keep alert, lots of bird watching, some more very playful
dolphins, anchored in Inlet Creek, Diana wished she had night vision binoculars so she could see the birds making the racket.
Thurs. tied up to the Charleston City Marina at noon, cleaned the boat, engine chores, did laundry, took showers, read all of the
tourist propaganda that the marina provided. Fri. took off for downtown on foot to do the tourist thing. Absolutely great weather (we
have been so lucky), beautifully restored old Southern homes and gardens, lots of young folks as we passed through the College of
Charleston, houses starting to decorate for Halloween - lots of spiders -eek- even saw a huge real one - freaked Diana out!
Along the way we saw an older gentleman fall as he was crossing the street onto the curb. We assisted a young mother who stopped
her car when she saw what happened - Stanley had gashed his head in the fall so she called 911, Diana kept pressure on the head
wound with Kleenex, we kept him calmed and talking, called his ex-wife (he was taking a pizza to her - it was squashed - they live
in the same bldg.) to come, the EMT's arrived as did his ex, so we moved on. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the shops,
handicrafts like sweetgrass baskets - very pretty but expensive - Diana got a purple tee shirt - our first souvenir, stopped for some
sweets - iced coffee, sweet tea and snicker doodle cookies - what a sugar high!, went to Harris Teeter for groceries and got
a ride back to the marina via their courtesy shuttle van. Later went to dinner at a restaurant near the marina - had some great fish and
beer bread with honey butter - yum, yum! So it's Sat. and we continue southward - will anchor for a couple of days and plan to be in
Savannah Tues. We'll link up with some Brothers of the Coast there - sounds like a party ready to happen! Take care and love and hugs!
Diana and Stew

October 29

Hello, All! We are anchored in Crescent River, GA, hoping to cross into Florida tomorrow afternoon. We have not seen
a wave bigger than a ripple the whole trip. We spent a couple nice evenings with Bob and Lynn (Traveller) at Dudleys Marina
and the Federal Point Yacht Club in Carolina Beach. Thunderstorms held us up for a day in Southport, and that was nice.
Since then we've been logging 11 hour days, taking advantage of the great weather.

We have lots of sunrise and sunset pictures, but this one was a little unusual.

As the sun rose, fog rolled in and totally enshrouded us just after we raised anchor. A small fishing boat in front of us ran aground,
and almost T-Boned us as he was trying to get off the shoal. We didn't see him until the last second. No harm done, but a scary experience.
Your chart-plotter sees in the fog, but it can't see things like that!

Denny & Rhonda

June 3

We are sorry we missed everyone at Mobjack....but...

The diving is great, the food is great; 3-4 dives per day, lots of fish and other creatures and lots of new friends.

See you all at Harborfest.

Jay, Robin, Larry, & Sandy

May 17

Escapade and the O'Kanes are home!

Final Day Return Dismal Swamp

J.J. O'Kane

April 14

Bye-Bye Chadwick Cove

Hello, everyone. Well, we finally got some good Florida weather, and it could not have come at a better time and place.
Chadwick Cove (see picture) is just a wonderful place, and the friends we found there are already more like family.

We are now sitting in a Corps of Engineers dock at the Franklin Lock on the Caloosahatchee River, on our way to Lake
Okeechobee. Today we went on a dinghy excursion with Gary and Mick Wiggins (Little Mick, formerly of Southall Landings
Marina). They took us up a small (but LONG) creek through the everglades, where we saw all kinds of wildlife, including
many turtles, alligators and birds. At the end was a waterfall (see pictures).

We plan to spend a few days in Stuart (again), then head north, with a week on the beach in Daytona along the way.
Maybe we'll see some of our fellow cruisers on the trip up the ditch. We hope to make the Harborfest skippers' meeting
in Norfolk on May 13th.

Love, Denny & Rhonda

April 13

hi.

here are some photos from the most recent leg of our journey back to hampton. i hope you enjoy them.

icw oriental to elizabeth city, nc

i also want to take a moment to give a special thanks to my friend, johnny. he has made the return trip home such a
pleasure and ease for me.

go sailing. have fun.

eric

April 11

ahoy,

this old boat is on the move again. i really appreciate your sincere interest in my travels. sharing the stories with friends is
virtually as fun as experiencing the voyage first hand.

wow, my friend johnny and his rv deliverd me to the "big e" last friday in oriental nc. for some unknown reason, you gain
alot of undeserved respect when you arrive at a marina in a 50ft rv! not sure i will be able to drive my little pick-up again to the dock.

after a refreshing dip to clean her bottom, i departed oriental at 6 knots, flags flying, sails hoisted, warm winds abeam, sunny skies,
jeans and a t-shirt. too bad i did not coin the phrase "life is good".

arrived at the southern plantation, river forest, in belhaven nc in record time. with the canopy out, lawn chairs positioned just right
and tom's grill adorned with steaks/onions/potatoes cindy, johnny and i prepared to watch the another glorious sunset.

sleeping under the stars with the hatch wide open (hello, its only april) is just too cool. i rest really well after a day of peace
enjoying only nature's beauty and the company of friends.

did i mention that johnny can cook! with a full belly from breakfast i am heading to the alligator river marina today.
really it is a gas station disguised as a marina...ed mitchell is the best cruising guide to the icw anybody needs to know!

back to reality, my old friend is going to rest for a few weeks in elizabeth city nc. after going almost 1000 miles over 7 months,
she is a very good old friend.

we both look forward to eventually finally coming home to hampton with mixed emotions. a little boat and a little man with a big
story to tale as the result of casting their docklines free.

go sailing. have fun.

eric

April 5

6:21 AM Launch of last Discovery Shuttle; from the cockpit of Escapade - Awesome!!!

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/7f2417d5161bcdc4016664649e9f1364/video/12407307

JJ and Anne

March 1

Hello from the West Indies:

I am fortunate and blessed to be writing to my friends and “family” of Fleet 30 from the ports of beautiful St. Lucia, (Soufaire,
Canaries, Castries and St. Vincent, (Wallibou and Curtons) and The Grenadines – Baquia. Wow, what a wonderful, wonderful
experience. My gratitude goes to my friend, and yours, Trisha Birdsell aboard s/v ‘Restless’ a beautifully equipped 40’ Cape Dory
owned by friend, Ted Vander-Weiden. My gratitude also goes to Michael who picked up my slack, took care of the “children” Salty
Dawg, Chessie and Schooner and afforded me the two week trip.

Captain Trish, myself and another friend, Dodie from British Columbia, sailed into ports made famous in films such as Dr. Doolittle
and Pirates of the Caribbean. We enjoyed the perpetual trade winds, the awesome water depths and swells and the flavor of the
islands and islanders – shopping, sunning, sailing and self awareness. Thank you Trish for your awesome insights to wellness – in mind
and body. You are an awesome Captain!

I appreciate Eric Fee, Jim Dombey and Melissa Francois for ‘running the show’ for the last two winter educational series classes during
my absence. Our classes conclude March 3 with Dr. Robin Garelick’s emergency suturing class. I thank all educators – Dave Wilbar
(Sailtime Sailing), Chandler Clark (Signature Canvas) Jim Dombey, Don Gulliver (Yacht Systems Services), Dr. Robin Garelick, and others
who participated in our winter educational series.

March 6^th, Fleet 30 will be visiting the home of Eric Fee to review and finalize the 2010 Cruising Schedule. Bring an appetizer to share
and any special beverage of choice to this cruising party…I mean….planning meeting. Onward into March, we’re looking for a location to
hold our annual “Sock Burning Cruise/Party”. This and all other cruising destinations will be discussed.

See you all on March 6^th!

Dawana

s/v Inspiration

March 1

Please check your address book and change your email address for William Edelstein. My address is changing to
wedelstein0@gmail.com. That is a zero. My old email is supposed to close on 8 March.

Life in George Town Exumas Bahamas is good here. this is the highth of the season. There is about 300 cruising boats here.
The winter is a little rough with winds into the 30 MPH range and lows in the mid to high 60's. Most days it is normally between
71 and 79 degrees and sunny.

March 1

Hello, Everyone. We've been here in Chadwick Cove Marina in Englewood for 3 weeks now, and we really like it. It would be
better if the weather were warmer (we know, don't even go there with friends enduring the snowiest winter in VA in YEARS!),
since the beach is right across the street. But this has been by far the coldest winter we've ever had in Florida. After we left
Boot Key Harbor in Marathon (Jan. 13), we made our way back north to Stuart, where we reunited with some of the Southall gang.
From there we crossed Lake Okeechobee and spent 1 nite in Ft. Myers Yacht Haven, a nice place to visit. Then on to Ft. Myers
Beach mooring field and a few really nice days at the beach (see picture). There we ran into Gary and Mickey Wiggins (Little Mick),
formerly of Southall Landings.

We then headed for the Charlotte Harbor Boat Yard for 2 weeks to do the bottom. It was good to be able to live on the boat while
doing the work. Getting into the boat yard is an interesting experience because you pass through a manually operated-one boat lock.
Took a few minutes to figure that one out, but it was truly exciting. While staying at the boat yard, we were visited by Dave and
Mary Alexander (Sanity II) via their "land yacht". We enjoyed a day in and around Englewood with them. Then, we drove back down to
Ft. Myers Beach to meet Steve and Emily Struck (Sea Struck at Southall) to enjoy a great lunch at Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille --
that's right, THE Doc Ford, hero in many of Randy Wayne White's Florida based action novels. It was a short day trip from Ft. Myers
Beach to Chadwick Cove. Being here is great because we are so close to Denny's daughter, Holly.

Denny goes to Santa Fe March 9-16 for a grand-kids "fix", and Rhonda has a friend coming to the boat from Virginia at the same time.
We plan to leave Chadwick Cove April 1st and take a lazy 3 weeks to get to Daytona, where we have booked a timeshare week on the
beach. Then a leisurely trip up the ditch to Hampton in time for the Mobjack cruise.

Love to All, Denny & Rhonda

February 23

Today appears to be another good day in the Bahamas. I am still in George Town, Exumas, Bahamas. The normal morning
temperature is about 70. Most activities are on one of the several beachfronts on Stocking Island. Yesterday I attended a lunch talk
on boat wireless communications, then I went into town to do some shopping, then an evening sundown get together. In the
evenings they hold a poker tournament or trivial pursuit game. Nothing much is breaking on the boat so most of the day is a little
house cleaning, cooking and little things like that. Email and telephone communications are still spotty. This morning appears to
have good WIFI connection and email. That's the news. I will be here for another 2 or 3 weeks.

Bill Edelstein

February 6

hi.

well you may have thought i forgot about you. but as the great republican governor of california said
"I"LLLLLLLL BEEEEEEEE BACKKKKKKKK".

yes, no itsy bitsy storm could stop this sailor from returning to his soulmate. we met for the first time in 3 months in southport nc.
and it was like we had never missed a step!

she was clean as a whistle after being drenched by several inches of rain. inside she welcomed the return of freshly laundered linens.
and goldy the engine climaxed with the first push of her button!

we departed southport to begin the first leg of the journey back home. it was lonely on the icw this time of year but the BIG e did
7.5 knots with the help of current, a freshly painted bottom and a new stainless steel shaft.

as you will see in the photos below, i suspected foul play...but was pleasantly surprised to find a prop as smooth as a baby's bottom!
needless to say, i experienced significant, although reversible, shrinkage.

i was prohibited to travel by car into the state of nc. home state of john edwards - go figure. no worries. my friend johnny came
to the rescue with his "BOUNDER". i could fit my miata in the front seat of this monster!

expecting to make oriental on tuesday. and after a friendly blast of the horn from a coast guard cutter as i made my way up the cape
fear river today i am certain of my destiny.

go sailing. have fun.

eric View Eric's pictures : ICW Return Southport, NC

Morehead City to Oriental

Wrightsville Beach to Swansboro

February 4

Just another day in paradise. I spent my first whole day in George Town, Exumas. During the night the boat bobbed all night.
I woke up at 6:30 am to listen to the weather forecast out of Lakeland, Florida. Chris Parker was barely readable. There is rough
weather coming this weekend so the harbor will be more rough for a few days. Next was the amateur Radio network to tell them
that I am here safely before they call for me to be found. This runs into the local what’s going on net on the Marine radio. Now
comes time to fix breakfast. I get out the pancake mix to find it lumpy. By lumpy I mean one or two major lumps all stuck together.
After the radio net, we all meet on the beach for the dogs to run and play. Laddie may want to be there but she does not play.
She just goes around in circles guarding me from the other dogs. After breakfast I started the engine to run the refrigerator
and charge the battery. While doing that I decided to move the boat to a more peaceful anchor place. The big outing today was
a trip to town. After a 20 minute dingy ride across the harbor I found that I had forgotten my glasses and I did not take the laptop
to avoid getting it wet. I wear swimsuit and bring dry clothes in a plastic bag. I shopped for food, filled the dingy gas tank, tried
to use the public pay phone that did not work and paid for harbor internet service. The dingy ride back was 5 times wetter than
the trip over. After drying off I went to the volleyball beach near the boat for a beer and a hamburger. I finished sifting the pancake
flour. I will find out how well it makes pancakes. I expect that getting it wet then breaking it up again does not make great pancakes.
That is a full day in the cruising experience. It is now sundown and tomorrow will start again.

Bill Edelstein

February 2

........a picture of my new toy... a 2004 HD 883 with 2100 miles. Looking forward to warmer weather to ride more.

Dodge, Connie & Max

January 24

hello there.

i hope all is going well for you.

i just returned from Belize, Central America, for some pleasure and medical work. interesting place. working to send the
eldest daughter of a family we have adopted to high school - then hopefully college.

my real job is going along fine. we are still in the honeymoon phase of this marriage so who knows. working at 2 offices
now as one doctor married and went to pennsylvania. i like bouncing around a bit.

home on the beach is more than anyone could ask for. what a pleasure to wake each morning to the sunrise and surf.
then go to bed after a relaxing soak under the moon and stars on the beach, still exercising though. did a 10 k yesterday.
and have a half-marathon each month for the next 3 months now. got some more weight to shed.

family is all well. dad just had hip surgery and that went well. this will be the first year of the harry c fee scholarship award
that i begun at my high school. i like education.

niece and nephews are growing up fast. their parents are trying to keep up with them.

my boat is still in southport, nc. hope to start to bring her home the first week of february. then when the waters warm i am
looking forward to giving the "little e" (my hobie cat) a splash.

still enjoy riding my scooter when i can too. i am a biker dude in all leather now. and plan to attend bike week on the obx
with friends this year.

ok, so this brings you up to date some with my goings on. your turn.

your friend, eric

January 19

I made it to Bimini in the Bahamas. The Gulf Stream crossing was uneventful. We cleared customs and I will go on to
Chubb Key through Nassau and on to the Exumas. I am out of cell phone range. Email will be sporadic. Wish me luck.

Bill Edelstein

January 14

Hello, everybody. We decided to head North and try to get warm. It worked! The temps have gotten steadily warmer
as we've moved north. We're headed back up the east coast of Florida, and plan to cross Lake Okeechobee next week.
We just couldn't face the Gulf of Mexico with all this unsettled weather. And besides, we heard JJ and Anne were in Stuart.
Not to mention friends of ours from Richmond. And Where's Kokomo? And Morada? And Traveler? Maybe we'll have a
big rendezvous in Stuart.

This picture is sunset on our last night in Boot Key Harbor-Marathon.

Love to all, Denny And Rhonda

January 5, 2010

Hey there MY FRIEND!

Just got your message - please say a great big Texas "howdy" to all of our Fleet 30 friends. We will be there "in thought"
with all of you this coming Satuday night.

We are still at Brunswick Landing Marina in Brunswick, Georgia - been here since 2 days before Thanksgiving. We were
only staying through Thanksgiving, but then, given the lack of a "weather window", we decided to stay here through Christmas
and New Years, so we could be with people we knew rather than just "out there somewhere" by ourselves. Now, the problem
is the COLD weather!! It is everywhere! There were several boats, including MORADA, that were going to leave heading farther
south yesterday, we are "socked in" with frigid temperatures until at least the middle of next week. But, hey, it's not a bad place
to be! In fact, it is pretty nice here! This is a wonderful marina with concrete, floating docks, "free" washers and dryers, two
Captain's lounges, cable t.v., a friendly staff who keep the marina really nice and lots of friendly cruisers! The big thing is that
they do not turn the water off during the winter!!!

We had a really nice Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, in which the marina provided ham, turkey and prime rib, and each of
the boats brought a dish to share. Then, we had a great New Year's Eve Party in the lounge, and also, we have a regular
"happy hour" in there every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. We even went to a wedding on board a boat here in the marina on
New Year's Eve day. So, life is good even though it is cold!

Happy New Year to everyone and stay warm.

Fair winds,

Sherri and Clyde

December 5

I split from my friends and went it alone when I did the coastal hop to Fernandina Fl. The overnight was indeed
cold, dark, and lonely. I was not too tired when I arrived and I got in OK and secured about 1:00 PM. I spent 2 days
hanging around there then went across the river (5 miles ) to St. Mary's where there is a large Thanksgiving
celebration for the boat cruisers. There was about 200 boaters there. I spent 4 days there then moved on in a fast
manner to St Augustine and New Smyrna Beach where I have friends. This is where I am now and will stay through
Christmas. My friend Peter ferried me around yesterday where I did shopping. I have done some upgrade projects
that showed up on the way down. There include larger batteries and an electrical monitoring system to help me manage
my usage. I also need to change the engine oil and filters. After I was here for 5 days my other two friends passed
by on their way to Vero Beach Fl. They will leave their boats there and to home for Christmas. I will see them after
1 January. So far the coastal hop to Fernandina was one of my best decisions. While they have been working every
day running the boat like a automobile on a highway down the ICW, I did my one night at sea and have been playing
around relaxing since then. From my point of view my vacation started when I got to Fernandina.

Bill Edelstein

December 5

Greetings, one and all. Sorry to hear about your inclement weather. We’ve had high humidity, and
a little rain, and with the temps in the low 80’s, it gets uncomfortable. We sometimes turn the A/C
on while the generator is running. Please no sympathy cards.

In our last missive, we failed to report our exciting rendezvous with Casa Galla and Chuck and Susan
Westmoreland. Chuck and his crew of one (Jesse) were bringing the boat to their new home near
Port Canaveral, and they detoured to Stuart to see us. Susan drove down for dinner, and it was really
great to re-connect with former Southall-ers. Chuck: I’m still waiting to find out if you got under those
bridges (see picture).

Yesterday we took the dinghy exploring and discovered Sombrero Beach (Atlantic side) only 10 minutes
away, at the end of Sister Creek. It just keeps getting better. (See Picture). To top it off, the TV hadn’t
found a station for the last 3 days. I just turned it on and scanned again, and got 45 channels. The first
thing we saw was the Muppet Christmas Special.

That’s it for now. Will write again when something exciting happens, or when we get some visitors
(hint, hint).

Love to all, Denny and Rhonda.

December 2, 2009

Hello, everybody.

These two pictures were taken within 10 seconds of each other. This was yesterday, Dec. 1st, at 5:26PM, about
an hour after we arrived in Boot Key Harbour (Marathon) and picked up our mooring ball for the next month.
It was kinda like the sun and moon joined together to welcome us. This is such a great place, we might be tempted
to stay longer. Today, Fred Olverson gave us a nice car tour of Marathon and it's side streets.

Sorry we'll miss the Phoebus celebration this weekend. Phoebus Rio--Break a Leg!

Love to all, Denny and Rhonda

November 14, 2009

Since last we wrote, we have been to:

Beaufort (Bew-fort) SC at anchor. Went into the city courtesy dock for a couple of hours
before anchoring and took advantage of the southern hospitality. Walked around town looking for
groceries. Did you know that there isn’t even a convenience store within an easy walk from the docks?
We finally found a deli that would sell us a loaf of bread. As it turned out, that was one GREAT loaf of bread.
We had it for breakfast, lunch (as a makeshift pizza - yum) and dinner for days.

Walburg Creek anchor. Traveling here we saw a dead shark (about 12 feet long) floating in the
Chechessee R near Port Royal Sound. When you see something like that, don’t you wonder if there are MO-O-RE
of them around, maybe not so dead? Something to think about.

Fernandina Beach Moorings. Ok, this one was a challenge. One of Rhonda’s fav spots ever and what
an entrance we made. The seas were 3-4 feet and we were fighting to keep a straight course when THE ENGINE
ALARM GOES OFF. What to do? All instrumentsshowed everything was A-ok, but the alarm wouldn’t stop.
We kept heading for the mooring balls with the alarm screaming at us and Denny trying to figure out what was causing it.
Now, many of you may not know that on our very first attempt to travel on the ICW in 2000, that alarm went off and
it meant the end of our engine. Oil leak caused it to seize up. This time we got off much easier (and cheaper) - the alarm
malfunctioned. Denny worked on it and got it to calm down, but it still chirped as we continued.

St. Augustine (Oyster Ck Marina) was uneventful (yay), and we could easily walk to Winn-Dixie.

                Mosquito Lagoon anchor. Just as we got settled into one of our fav spots (you can see the NASA VAB
(vehicle assembly building) we heard an announcement by the Coast Guard that the area would be secured early the next
day in anticipation of a shuttle launch.  BUT, they also announced that the Titusville (swing) Bridge was stuck in the closed
position, and that is our only way south (we did NOT want to retreat north). We rose early the next a.m. and headed toward
the bridge. It was still not repaired (this has been an ongoing problem, but they are building a new high rise expected to be
completed in two years) but we chugged onward. When we got there, the bridge tender told us the east span had a 15’
clearance. We thought we needed 16’. We did some measurements and decided it was worth a try.  Slowly we approach,
Rhonda driving, Denny spotting. Then we switch, Denny drives, Rhonda spots. We cleared by less than six inches.
From what we heard, the bridge didn’t get repaired that day, so a lot of cruisers were anchored on the north side for a long time.

Melbourne Beach anchor. Made one final stop to visit friends in Melbourne Beach. Anchored off the city dock
and dinghied in with winds howling. Had a great visit with Dave and Dan and spent the night bobbing in the waves.

FINALLY. Arrived in Stuart, FL yesterday afternoon and picked up a mooring ball to hold us until after Thanksgiving.
Sunny, low 70’s.  This place has really changed since we stayed here two years ago. The new Sunset Bay Marina appears
to be about full, with quite a few mega-yachts. The restaurant opened this week, and there were hundreds of people checking
out the outdoor bars and huge dining patio.  We walked into town along the riverwalk and had dinner. We were really fortunate
to miss most of the weather from Ida, and the nor'easter that followed. Steve and Emy Struck and Ron Charlton sent us pictures
(Thanks!) of the marina and some of the flooding over on 1^st St.  Our tenant had 3 feet of water in the garage, and is dealing
with the clean-up.

It feels good to be in one spot for awhile. After Thanksgiving in VA, we’ll return here and continue on down to Marathon for
a few weeks. After a trip back home for Christmas, we’ll likely move up the west coast of Florida to our winter hangout in Englewood.

We spoke to JJ and Anne (Escapade), and they are in Charleston and doing fine. Have not heard from Traveler or Kokomo.
Hope everybody made it thru the weather OK.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and smooth Cruising.

Love, Denny and Rhonda

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

November 12, 2009

Ahoy,

We hope you and your boats are safely tucked in for the next few days, we are. We are at the Isle of Palms
Marina, 10 miles north of Charleston waiting for calm winds (down from 35mph) and less rain (pounded the boat)
so we can continue on to Charleston for the weekend. Charleston is one of our favorite places to visit whether
on land or sea and we are looking forward to it.

So far our trip has been great. We have seen the sun, no sun, warm days, cold days, rain, no rain and of course
wind, no wind and too much wind; beautiful sunsets and great sunrises all of which makes you look forward
to what’s around the bend.

We have seen 1 alligator and believe it or not 2 deer that crossed within 10 feet of the boat. I was at the wheel
for both deer and I know if I would have hit one I would surly take way the “Crash Award” for the year (sorry M&M guys)
but luckily they were quick and got to the shore and ran off.

So far we met Denny and Rhonda at a beautiful anchorage call Mile Hammock and enjoyed a happy hour on
Escapade together. It was great!

Thanks for the phone calls and e-mails that we have received; we enjoy hearing from you and the latest news from home.

We wish you a great winter – keep in touch-we will.

JJ/Anne

s/v Escapade

November 6, 2009

Howdy, Folks. Sorry we missed the Halloween party, but we decided to get ahead of the storm.
We made it all the way to the Alligator River Marina Halloween nite (10:00 PM, and yes, we crossed the
Albemarle Sound at nite), and the wind hit the next morning. From there, after a one day layover, we made
it to Oriental (Pierce Creek), where we had a fantastic dinner and domino contest with Dodge and Connie Hickman.
What a beautiful place they have! But going into that creek at night is a real challenge, especially with the fog and mist.

The subject line refers to two bridges that will soon be replaced with progress. In one picture, the Sunset Beach
pontoon bridge can be seen with giant concrete pillars in the background being erected for the new bridge that will
finally replace it. You'll no longer have to wait for the "cable to drop" to get thru there. The second picture shows the
topic of much discussion before we left Hampton. The Ben Sawyer bridge at the entrance to Charleston Harbor can
be seen with a new 4-lane highway approaching the old 2-lane pivot span. A new 4-lane pivot is on order, and this will
close the waterway for 10 days after Thanksgiving. We passed under this bridge today, and are anchored in Wappoo
Creek just south of Charleston. ADAGIO is performing well, if I would just leave her alone! I replaced some stuffing in
the stuffing box last nite, and cross-threaded it when I put it back together. Then I couldn't get it apart, but finally
was able to get two pipe wrenches on it and loosen it again. Fortunately, it didn't break, and it re-threaded easily,
and I had no further problems. But it could have been ugly. (I almost called Kerry!)

Have a great Winter! We'll be thinking of you often.

Love, Denny and Rhonda

April 5, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello Everyone. We spent today anchored in Peck Lake (one of the pictures), a beautiful ICW anchorage just
south of the St. Lucie Inlet. It looks like a lake, but just over the dune is a nice Atlantic Ocean beach.
We left Englewood Monday and crossed Lake Okeechobee via the "Rim Route" (the other picture).
We missed running aground by 3 inches, so we do NOT recommend this route for anyone needing more than
feet depth. Most of the Okeechobee Waterway will be closed this summer for lock maintenance.

We detoured south to North Palm Beach to work on Rhonda's condo. Denny fixed just about everything on
the list in one afternoon, so we headed back north this morning and stopped here for a nice break. We decided
not to go to Key West, since we couldn't go straight from Englewood due to high winds in the Gulf.
Sorry Wayne & Millie; maybe next year.

We're ready to get back to Hampton and start cruising the Bay.

Love to all. Denny & Rhonda

I forgot to mention, the picture of the Okeechobee Waterway has an alligator in it. Rhonda stopped counting them at 20!

March 8, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello, Everyone! Well, Winter is winding down, and we're making plans to cruise northward soon, hopefully by way of Key West.

Denny has been having fun playing and singing at a local watering hole (they love John Denver!), and we enjoyed visits from several
more Fleet 30 friends after Jay and Robin (see pics). The picture with several people on the beach at Cayo Costa includes Dave
and Mary Alexander, Rhonda, and our boating friends from Illinois, Paul, Tari and Sam (the Black Lab). This place just gets better and better.

See you all in a month or so.

Denny & Rhonda.

January 15, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello everyone. Remember the "Banana Song" (Daylight come and me no wanna go home)? Well.......

it's unanimous! "Cayo Costa Me No Wanna Go Home" is the new hit of Southwest Florida. Come visit us on
ADAGIO and you'll get to sing it with us...

Jay & Robin got to write their own verses to this timeless melody as we spent a wonderful interlude on this
beautiful island, complete with a visit to the Manatee Hole, where we saw an alligator! Maybe that's why we
didn't see any Manatees.... But we DID see Bev and Mark MacMahon on Calypso anchored in the very same
lagoon. Small world! The pictures don't come close to the experience we had and the sights we saw. Even the
vultures were interesting, if not all that picturesque.

Love to all. Denny & Rhonda

PS: Jay: I'm trying a new e-mail technique using BCC's so everyone's name doesn't appear in the list. Let me
know if you got this twice, which is the intent. If you only got it once, then probably nobody else got it. So
let me know. Thanks.

Everyone else: In keeping with the above, feel free to let me know that you got this.

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

November 21, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello, everyone. We made the move to Englewood yesterday, after 10 glorious days at the anchorage in Sarasota.
We loved being right in the city, but the dinghy landing area is all shell and rocks, and one of us had to get his/her
feet wet every time we came in (guess who!). Now we're back "home" in our favorite marina. The eagles are still here,
and all is well.

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda.

November 8, From Denny and Rhonda

Well, we made it to Stuart (again), but this time just for one night. We've had a great trip so far, with near perfect
weather after we got out of the Carolinas. Pictures are from the ocean beach on Cumberland Island, just before
you enter the Cumberland Sound to the St. Marys River and Fernandina beach. It's a great place to stop over.
The anchorage is behind Drum Pt. Island after you pass Kings Bay. Tomorrow we cross Lake Okeechobee on our
way to Sarasota, where we plan to anchor for a few weeks before settling in Englewood for the winter.

Picture from Cumberland Island.

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda.

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell

411 Walnut St #4189

Green Cove Springs, FL 32043

757-846-6154 757-846-6300

ADAGIO

October 31, From Fred Drummond

Hello All! Pat and I (Fred) are in Beaufort, SC aboard Royal Serf! We are running south as fast as possible to get ahead of high winds
and this darn cold weather. Plans are to cross from Lake Worth to the Abacos as early in November as possible. Royal Serf has a slip
for the winter season at Boat Harbor in Marsh Harbor. Pat will be fly back to visit with family over christmas so that's why the rush to get
over to the Abacos. If we cannot get over before December 1, I will have to try to find someone to help me take Royal Serf across after
Dec 1 when a suitable weather window develops.

For Al and Ramona: Please give me a call or email. Pat and I will be floating around the Abacos this winter (for the 3rd winter I might add).
Hopefully we can connect. My cell phone is 757-652-0616. My email is: royalserf@earthlink.net.

Fred Drummond

October 30, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello, All. We left Salt Ponds last Sunday, and made it to Dowry Creek near Belhaven before the wind stopped us. After a day there, we
headed to Oriental for a visit with Dodge and Connie Hickman in Pierce Creek. They fed us and we had a very nice visit. After dinner
(and the World Series finale), Rhonda and I went back to the boat, and I decided to fill the water tank. It was late, cold and very dark. I had to
walk a plank over to Dodge's boat, then jump over to the dock. I realized as I hit the water that it was much further from the boat to the dock
than I reckoned. After clinging to the piling for awhile, Rhonda came out and rescued me. Of course, my cell phone was attached to my jeans.
It no longer functions, although it looks fine. This little accident had absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that Dodge has a tapper keg with a
virtually unlimited supply of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

We are now in MIle Hammock Bay, N.C., where we had a nice visit with Al and Ramona Cameron of Third Star. They are on their way to the
Abacos. Pictures will follow in the next update. Meanwhile, if anyone needs to contact me, please call Rhonda at 757-846-6300.

Thanks again to Dodge and Connie for a very memorable evening........

Denny and Rhonda

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

May 23, From Wayne and Millie Morris

Hello family Friends and Fellow Sailors--

Living in Key West has brought many changes in our lifestyle.

Someone gave Millie a bike at work the other day, a men's bike 3 speed.

Millie decided that we should start riding bikes together, for good exercise.

Well, we went to the used bike shop and she got a used bike the color of a bright YELLOW canary, an old bike like a beach cruiser,
with fat tires and a fat seat. She named it The Yellow Canary. She was a little jealous because my bike has a basket and hers does
not, however, now I have to carry everything.

Well, yesterday at about 4:30PM she wants to go bike riding. Mind you now, Millie has never exercised in her ENTIRE life, hates to
sweat, and has not ridden a bike in at least 30 years.Also, let me remind you, we are in Key West, it is 90 degrees outside, traffic is
starting to get heavy, and she wants to go bike riding.

The first block went well, no problems.

Then we had to cross a major intersection on A1A and US1 with traffic coming in all directions. Unsure of which button to push for the
crosswalk, she pushes them all, and all traffic stops, and we proceed to cross the street.There is no bike path so we are riding in
the street with the traffic, and she is having a hard time keeping The Yellow Canary to the right of the road, so we decide to cross the
street, and get on the sidewalk. Unable to judge distance and speed, she gets off of The Yellow Canary and walks it across the street.

I am now quite a ways ahead of her.

We continue to peddle our bikes and she is getting farther and farther behind me, so that I had to stop and wait for her and The Yellow Canary.

She catches up to me and said she is hot and tired and needs something to drink. We did not bring any water with us.

Her face is fire engine RED! Hoping that there would be a store/restaurant ahead, we peddled on.

After about 100 more yards, she stops gets off of The Yellow Canary, and sits on the wall gasping for air, saying she is nauseous
and feels like she is going to faint. The next thing I see is Millie laying down flat on her back on the sidewalk.

She said she is trying not to faint or throw up.

What kind of nurse is this that I am married to?

After five minutes of this we decide to turn around and go back to the marina.She gets on The Yellow Canary and pedals about 100 feet
this time, and gets off and lays down again. I was quite concerned as people were stopping and asking if we needed any help. I told them no.

A few minutes later we continue our journey home.

Another 100 feet and Millie stops again and decides to walk The Yellow Canary as she can no longer peddle, saying she feels like she
is going to faint or throw up.

Again we cross A1A and US 1. We are now in front of the Hyatt Resort and there are lots of shade trees. She gets off The Yellow Canary
and lays down, sprawls out flat on her back under the trees. If you have ever been to Key West, you probably all ready know there is a
large homeless population. The homeless hang out near the Hyatt and are frequently being hauled off to jail for loitering. The police were
driving by and I told her to get up and let's go home. Again walking, we managed to cross the bridge and now we are on College Road
where Sunset Marina is located.

ALMOST THERE!!!!!

Well, Millie can go no further, she has given up completely.She sits down where the homeless people sit and tells me to go and get
the truck, and come back and pick her up. I proceeded to bike to the marina and get the truck. When I come back, Millie sitting with
the homeless people, and The Yellow Canary waiting for me. We put The Yellow Canary in the truck, and I take her back to the boat.

She immediately jumps in the shower, cold water only, and is feeling much better.

I made her drink about a quart of water and take an aspirin, in case she had a heart attack or stroke.Feeling much better now, she is
sure she must have rode her bike at least 8 miles.To prove to her we had not, we get into the truck, and follow the route we had taken.

It was only 2 miles each way.

She was very discouraged because she thought for sure we had gone about 8-10 miles.

We decided to go get pizza and beer and celebrate our first biking experience and also her new bike, The Yellow Canary.

She is keeping it in the back of her truck so it doesn't get stolen, even though she has a bike lock that I bought her.

I told her no one wants a bike that looks like a bright Yellow Canary.

She actually looks like Big Bird coming down the street.

I think I hurt her feelings.

We plan to continue our biking but only after the sun goes down, and we will remember to put in my basket, plenty of water for Millie
and The Yellow Canary, aka Big Bird.

Wayne Morris

s/v Irish Fever

Cell 757-404-3433

May 8, From Denny and Rhonda

I Made It!!!!!

ADAGIO is a marvel of 1972 technology. Without a whimper she took me from Englewood, on the west coast of Florida,
to Indian Key (in the Everglades), Tarpon Basin (Key Largo), Lake Boca Raton, Grant Farm Island (friend with a mooring ball),
Daytona, Drum Point, Georgia (went "outside" at St. Augustine and back "inside" at Jacksonville, then thru Fernandina
Beach and up to Drum Point all in one day), Moon river (Ga.), John's Island SC, Barefoot Landing (Myrtle Beach-glad there
was room to tie up), Mile Hammock Bay, Pungo River (south entrance to Pungo/Alligator River Canal), Great Bridge, Saltponds.
Whew!

Special thanks to Rhonda for staying with her Dad and taking care of things at home after the death of her mother, and Kerry
May for technical and moral support by phone along the way. Have not unloaded the camera yet, but I took sunrise and sunset
pictures every day. Will send some pics to the Fleet 30 website when I get a chance. I saw Wayne & Mille Morris (Irish Fever)
in Ft. Pierce as we passed each other. They are now in Key West at the Sunset Marina.

We will be in the Salt Ponds Marina for the next month, then on up to Yankee Point for the summer, and more cruising
adventures with Fleet 30.

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda.

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

From Wayne and Millie Morris, May 2008

Hello Family, Friends, and Fellow Sailors,

We are tied up at the dock in Key West.

Wayne and Nonne left Hampton April 21 at 0830 taking the ICW down to the Cape Fear River, and out into the ocean,
in at Fernandina, FL leaving the next morning, taking the ICW to Lake Worth due to weather. From Lake Worth,
outside in the ocean to Key West, arriving Friday, May 2nd.
TOTAL DAYS 11 ... Amazing....time considering it took us 6 weeks in November 2006 to get to Lake Worth, before
crossing to the Bahamas.

Wayne said leaving Lake Worth he had a VERY difficult time steering to starboard to continue south as the boat wanted
to go to port back to the Abacos, to Great Sale, treasure Key, Green Turtle, and MOST of all to Great Guana to go to
NIPPERS, my favorite bar in all of the Bahamas.

Millie "officially" assumes her position tomorrow morning as she has been in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Kendall, and
Philidelphia, for training and nursing conferences.

The weather is BEAUTIFUL and finally Millie is not complaining about being cold.

IT'S WARM 85 degrees today, winds 10-15 from the East.

The marina is very nice and quite protected, with Condos surrounding us.

There is also a huge mountain landfill like Mt Trashmore for those of you in Virginia, that offers protection also.

Please continue to keep in touch and come visit any time.

We have a forward berth that is a full size bed for guests, with their own separate head/shower.

Here is our new address:

Wayne & Millie Morris

s/v IRISH FEVER

c/o Sunset Marina

5555 College Drive

Key West, FL 33040

Wayne Morris

s/v Irish Fever

Cell 757-404-3433

March, 2008, From Denny and Rhonda

Greetings friends and fellow boaters. This picture shows the view from our new marina, the Royal Palm. It's still in Englewood,
just a little further north.

Our previous marina, Cape Haze, had an issue with "live-aboards", or "long-term cruisers". So we came here, and we love it!
The view of Lemon Bay and the ICW is great, shops and restaurants are nearby, we can walk to the 93 acre bayside park,
and the new Tiki Bar opens tonight. This dock is more exposed, so when the wind blows, we get rocked to sleep.

We plan to head for the Keys mid-April, and should be back in the Bay by mid-May in plenty of time for the Memorial Day
cruise. We might even make the Mother's Day weekend in Portsmouth. ADAGIO is out getting a bottom job, but will be back
in the water tomorrow for more local cruising before we leave. We've been staying on the dockmaster's 40' Silverton, which
is very nice.

Happy Cruising. Denny & Rhonda.

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

January 2008, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello, All. We made it up to Cape Haze in one day after leaving Marco Island. The Gulf was so flat, we went all
the way to Boca Grande Pass on the "outside". Cape Haze is a few miles south of Englewood, which is south
of Venice. Except for the occasional "cold front" (lows in the upper 40's, highs in the upper 60's), the weather
has been wonderful (lows around 60-65, highs in the mid 70's to low 80's). Today we took the dinghy to a very
secluded beach on Don Pedro Island, a state park accessible only by boat. But they still have a large pavillion,
picnic tables and "facilities". It's amazing how Florida has carved out so many state parks in areas dominated
by multi-million dollar homes and condos. The picture attached shows Rhonda in her element, searching for shells
on a nearly deserted beach. Looking forward to a visit from a Baltimore friend in early February. Anyone else
interested?

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda

PS: Please forward to anyone I missed. Also, let me know if you got this more than once. Thanx.

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

January 2008, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello, Everyone. We had a great New Years celebration with cousins in Miami. Watched the fireworks from the rooftop pool of a
Marriott in South Beach. We got there by anchoring at the entrance to Collins Canal, taking the dinghy up the canal and walking
the 8 blocks to South Beach. Coming back to ADAGIO that night was scary, going under bridges a foot higher than our heads,
with local homeless people sleeping on the banks. Then, on to the Keys, and a 5 day wait for winds to die down. We spent 3 nights
in tarpon Basin, and 2 at Islamorada. By then at least we could dinghy ashore and enjoy the fun at Lor-e-lei's. Denny even got to
play a few songs at one of the local pubs. We left Sunday and followed the West Coast up to the Little Shark River in the Everglades.
This picture was taken near sunset, but hardly captures the serene beauty of this place. Dolphins could be heard breathing all night
long. Today we had a nice ride up to Marco Island, on emerald green gulf waters that were remarkably flat. We hope to be in Sanibel
tomorrow, and Cape Haze (Englewood) by Wednesday for a couple months of R&R at the marina of the same name. We'll be close
to Holly and some old friends in Sarasota, and hope to receive guests from up North (hint...).

Love to all
Denny & Rhonda

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

From Denny and Rhonda

Well, we finally left Stuart this morning, after a wonderful Christmas in King George with Rhonda's parents. We are anchored in
Lake Boca Raton about 40 miles north of Miami. We hope to hook up with cousins in Miami tomorrow who are in town for the
Orange Bowl (yes, they're Hokies). Then on to the Keys, and up to Englewood on the west coast, if all goes well. Here's another
sunset picture. When we got here at 4:30, this place was full of boats rafted up and partying. Now all is quiet....

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda

ADAGIO

December, 2007, From Denny and Rhonda

Hi, Folks. Not much to report. We love it here. Low 80's during the day, and upper 60's at night. Very little rain. Great little
town with lots of shops and restaurants. We now have Florida drivers licenses and tags. Here's a snapshot of the anchorage
(mooring field). Can you spot ADAGIO?

Love to all. Denny & Rhonda

Cruisers Afar

February 6

February 1

December 3

November 16

November 11

November 11

November 10

November 8

November 5

November 1

August 14

May 13

May 10

May 10

December 13

Love to All, Denny & Rhonda

Cayo Costa Stopover

Knotts Island Schoolbus December 1

MORE EXCITING DETAILS TO FOLLOW IN 2011 !!

November 5

November 5

November 1

June 3

May 17

April 14

Bye-Bye Chadwick Cove

April 13

April 11

April 5

JJ and Anne March 1

March 1

March 1

February 23

February 6

February 4

February 2

January 24

January 19 I made it to Bimini in the Bahamas. The Gulf Stream crossing was uneventful. We cleared customs and I will go on to Chubb Key through Nassau and on to the Exumas. I am out of cell phone range. Email will be sporadic. Wish me luck.

January 14

January 5, 2010

December 5

December 5

December 2, 2009

November 14, 2009

November 12, 2009

November 6, 2009

April 5, From Denny and Rhonda

March 8, From Denny and Rhonda

January 15, From Denny and Rhonda

November 21, From Denny and Rhonda

November 8, From Denny and Rhonda

October 31, From Fred Drummond

October 30, From Denny and Rhonda

May 23, From Wayne and Millie Morris

Knotts Island Schoolbus

December 1

JJ and Anne

March 1

January 19

I made it to Bimini in the Bahamas. The Gulf Stream crossing was uneventful. We cleared customs and I will go on to
Chubb Key through Nassau and on to the Exumas. I am out of cell phone range. Email will be sporadic. Wish me luck.