Hello Everyone.  Our trip is on hold..  Oceana needs an engine repair.  She's docked at the marina in Beaufort NC.  awaiting service.  We're disappointed we had to stop short of Charleston.  It appeared the repairs might take a week or two, so Don and I decided to stop here, and consider picking up on the trip as soon as possible.

Thank you for Sailing With Us.  And Thank you to everyone who Adopted a Creature or donated to Oceana.org. 

Your emails, comments, texts, phone calls surprised us, entertained us and amazed us.  We heard from neighbors, co-workers, school kids.  I even got a surprise email from my high school basketball coach!!

Thanks to my friend and neighbor Hannah for being the first student to get permission for a school class to follow us.

Thanks to my family for supporting me in this adventure.  Thanks to Chris Pauley for the idea of offering to talk directly to school classes during the trip.  It was a fantastic idea.

Thank you to everyone who offered a thoughtful "send off" gift.  You know who you are.  And thank you to those of you who said our trip inspired you.  That's the best comment we could hear.

Thanks to classes in Fishers, IN, Muncie IN and New Bremen, OH.  The questions the students asked were amazing and fun.  We hope you had fun following us.  We had fun sailing with you.

And thanks to my lifelong friend Don Kuck.  Sharing this trip with him, enjoying his enthusiasm for the trip, was a blessing for sure!  He proved to be a worthy sailor, a problem solver, and a flexible traveler.

We're sorry to stop early.  We hope we didn't let you down. 

Steve

We had mechanical trouble as we passed under a bridge in Beaufort NC, just north of Wilmington

Had to be towed in by a tow boat.  Sitting at a marina in windy rainy conditions.  Waiting for boat repair that won't happen til Monday.  Ugh.  Big storm went thru here last night.   But, we're safe, and secure and waiting.

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile (4,800-km) waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals. It provides a navigable route along its length without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea.
The shipping hazards and safe havens of the Atlantic coast were well known and appreciated since colonial times, and considered of great communication, commercial and military importance to both the colonial power and the newly established, independent United States. The physical features of the eastern coast were advantageous for intracoastal development, resulting from erosion and deposition of sediment over its geologic history, but also enhanced and redistributed by the action of the Atlantic ocean currents along it. Since the coastline represented their national border and commerce of the time was chiefly by water, the fledgling government established a degree of national control over it. Inland transportation to supply the coasting trade at the time however, was less known and virtually undeveloped, but when new lands and their favorable river systems were added in 1787, a radically new and free national policy was established for their development and transportation use.^[1] Over time, internal improvements of natural coastal and inland waterways would develop into the Great Loop, which provides water-borne traffic circumnavigation of the eastern continental United States, using minimal ocean travel, with the Intracoastal Waterway providing its eastern and southern route.

6th Graders from New Bremen Ohio asked Don Questions about Sailing and Adopting a Creature.

Hi Mrs. Niemeyer and students…

We apologize for not getting back for a couple days as we had very low wifi and cell phone connections. Steve and I anchored last night in upper NC, sailed and motored down through the Pamlico Sound to just above Beaufort NC. Tomorrow we hope to get going early and make some time up, but Sunday’s weather may be an issue, we’ll just have to wait and see.

To your questions, the boat has 2 sails, a main and a jib. The jib is the smaller sail on the front of the boat and the main is the “big one” that provides the main sailing force. Unfortunately we’ve not been able to use the sails as much as we would have liked due to either no wind or it blowing directly towards us.

I didn’t bring a fishing pole although Avery asked if I was. We actually really haven’t had time to fish as we’ve been sailing roughly 10-11 hours a day and haven’t and an opportunity to do so. We’re going to attempt to make it to Wrightsville NC on Sat and the see what that weather does for us going forward..

As far as Steve and I having disagreements; no we have not had any so far. He’s the Captain and I’m the first mate so what he says is what we do, unless it has something to do with where we’re going to stop to eat or stay. We really do get along because we both know that you have to work together all the time plotting courses, looking for marker buoys, and approaches to the route. That’s what teamwork is all about!.

By all means send any more questions and we’ll try and answer.

We have about 300 miles to go.

Don

Heading for Wrightsville Beach Saturday.   Hoping for good weather.

Chugging along on the Intercoastal Waterway.  We wondered if this
shrimp boat was retired!

Don Thninks He's Working  Really Hard On The Boat
Heading into Oriental NC for fuel and water

It's cold and windy as we sail from Norfolk to North Carolina.  The water was very rough coming in to Norfolk.  Although our boat can handle rough weather, it was very challenging coming into the harbor
and we were really tired when we found the Tidewater Marina just in the intercoastal coming off the Chesapeake Bay.

First Mate Needs Something To Do So Gives A Boat Tour

How it looks and feels sailing in open water

We sailed into Norfolk Harbor Wednesday, past the U.S. Navy Base.  Our boat was very clost to the battleships, aircraft carriers and other vessels.

The Battleship Wisconsin

School Kids Following The Sailing

Hello Everyone.  Thanks for Sailing With Us.  Don't forget to go to Oceana.org and Adopt a Creature
https://store.oceana.org/



First and Second grade students in Muncie, IN wrote and asked many questions  

Here's some answers to some very good questions. The boat is 31 ft and made of fiberglass. And it has a diesel engine we use if there's no wind for sailingg

We haven't gotten seasick. We do have medicine for that. But sosometimes you jist have to sleep to get over it. If we got hurt we have a first aid kit. We also have a radio and could CALL THE Coast Guaed for help

It"s about 560 miles yo Charleston. Anmd we go about 7 miles an hour (kind of slow)

The boat could tip over but not likely. There's a lot of weight in th bottom$ of the boas ( the keel) that keeps it safe

Usually the water is calm in the morning and rougher in the afternoon. Usually more windy in the afternoon.

We leave early each morning. Around 6 30


It's chilly on the water. Have a sweatshirt on today
If GPS stops we have marine charts and a compass. Marine charts are like road maps or mapquest


If we get stuck on an island we'll call you on our cell phones!!

Moving South on the Chesapeake

Taking off for Norfolk VA

A peaceful night at the dock in Solomon

Day 3 Sailing to Norfolk Virginia  Lots of wind.  Moving fast.
Sunny day. Will be in Norfolk by 5pm or so.
Thanks for your emails and questions.  Send more stevecashdollar@aol.com

We think this is an eagle on the river heading out of Solomon Island

Heading Out Day 2

Day 1 for Adopt A Creature. Go to oceana.org

Day 1 Sailing To Solomon Islands MD