As I write this, we are sitting on the couch in Greensboro going over lists of things that need to be procured, fixed, or checked before our planned departure this week. Our goal is to leave the dock on Thursday, November 14. If you have read these blogs in the past, you know that the key word in that earlier sentence is “planned”. In all we do we must accommodate ourselves to the wiles of Mr. Ocean and Ms. Weather.
Regina Maris Waiting for Her Crew
We’re headed back down to New Bern NC (where we keep Regina Maris) on Wed 11/13 ready to “cut the lines” and head south. The forecast is calling for some very cold temperatures this week and nasty weather beginning Friday so we will probably leave the marina early Thursday morning, go through Beaufort inlet out to the Atlantic that afternoon and only be able to do a 24 hr “hop” offshore before heading back in through an inlet to the relative protection of the ICW. Looks like we will be in the ICW after that at least until next Monday to avoid the 50 knot gusts and 18 foot seas that are projected in the ocean over the weekend. We are headed to Fort Pierce FL where we will leave the boat for a short time while we rent a car and drive home for Thanksgiving. We are meeting three other boats with friends in Fort Pierce and will hopefully travel to the Bahamas and celebrate the Christmas holidays together so we won’t be totally lonely without our family!
Above is a crude diagram of 3 route alternatives to get to Florida from New Bern NC
You can watch our progress through this link once we are underway:
https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/ReginaMaris
The longer-term plan is much complicated by our new puppy Riggs…
Our New Crew – Riggs: 8 Month Old “Mini” Golden Doodle
Note that he is 24 inches tall – not conducive to in-the-cabin under the seat airplane travel.
Originally we planned to sail to the Virgin Islands this season and leave the boat in the Caribbean while we flew home for the summer. That plan allowed us to pick up next year where we leave off and get further down in the Caribbean chain without the long, time consuming ocean transits. Based on his parentage, we expected Riggs to be about 15 pounds when grown so we planned to fly home with him in June in a soft crate under the seat in front of us. However, he is still growing, has passed the 21 lb mark and is much taller than expected. This means he cannot fly in the cabin with us, and because of the summer heat in June, putting him in cargo is not an option. So the “plan” now is to bite the bullet and do the 2 weeks at sea from the Virgins back to NC in late May or early June of next year to get us home. We also have the option of bringing the boat back to Florida instead of NC and driving a rental car home.
The most frequently asked question we get about Riggs is if he has a life jacket. Yes, he has two! The next common question is where will he do “his business” while we are underway. He has a “grass” mat on a plastic tray that we put on the front of the boat. The tray keeps everything from getting all over the boat and we can dump it overboard periodically. Riggs much prefers going ashore for this, but he will use the mat. Although we have brought him with us to the boat many times since we got him in May, we haven’t actually left the dock with him so “doing his business” while the boat is moving will be a new experience. We have found him pretty adaptable so far so we are hopeful this will work itself out. He is still a high energy puppy though and needs lots of exercise so this is our biggest worry. It will be an adventure!
Captain Riggs is ready to go!
You can see his green mat in the background. We added safety netting all around the boat to (hopefully) keep him from falling overboard. Note, this is a dog that jumped out of the window of a moving car at three months old, so we won't be surprised if he tries to jump over the netting to chase a dolphin! We will keep him tethered whenever we are underway.
As we write this, the weather is unusually unstable off the US east coast and we are not seeing a “window” long enough to get all the way to Ft Pierce FL offshore in tolerable conditions. We will keep in close touch with our “weather router” and see how the weather develops over the next couple days as we make our way toward Ft Pierce.
Captain Riggs' first sail may indeed be a memorable one for him!
Stay Tuned!
David & Mary Beth