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Voyage 2006-2007: Chapter 4

The Spring Break Cruise

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11 Apr 2007, Plan B - What's New, 34 02.514 N/ 077 53.520 W

Our ordeal continues. Ann is still not fully well. In fact another operation may be in the works as her pain and draining have not stopped. She is eating well and looking great, but our 'Spring Break' cruise with Collin did not happen. In fact, not much has happened except land trips between Wilmington and Washington DC. Still we have plans and hopefully we will meet up with Moony in the summer (either on the water or on the road).
We had Collin for the Spring Break and we had a chance to play on Jule III. However, Bob did not feel comfortable sailing her with a young child and a weak Admiral. Call us wimps. Collin helped Bob work on some new upgrades and general cleaning on the boat. Bob had more fun than Collin. Later, we caught the ferries to Southport and Bald Head Island and explored these 'remote' regions. We had a great time. but it would have been more fun on Jule III.
Collin and Bob played several games of bocce in Wilmington where Collin 'won' a game and Bob won the other. We had great weather and Ann was the referee. She cheated! As it was Collin's spring break, we tried to show him many of the Wilmington sites including the zoo, the beaches, and local stuff. Collin helped Grandpa burn the hundreds of pine cones that were in the back yard. We had great fun burning stuff.
We met up with the Todd Junior family a couple of days ago on our trip back to Wilmington (after the latest doctor visit). We got to watch Emily during her soccer practice. She did great! Rob and Anne (not us, Bob and Ann) are doing great with Emily and Lauren. With both of our children, we are so blessed to have such great kids and grandkids! More to come as we sail Jule III back to Baltimore next month.

16 Apr 2007, Thinking about Heading North, 34 02.514 N/ 077 53.520 W

It has been a busy winter but sadly little sailing and lots of doctor time. Our winter home in Carolina Beach NC is full of gracious people that have been very supportive. Mr. Randy, the dock master of our marina here has always been helpful and concerned over Ann's condition. He has made our yearly stay here very rewarding. His sidekick, Matie (yellow lab) keeps the docks free of tennis balls and other varmints.
We are readying Jule III for here trip back to Baltimore. Most of the winter tasks are completed. On Wednesday (when the Nor easter dies out) we will take Jule III on a a quick trip around the buoys to be sure everything works. Jim of SV Wanderer has volunteered to assist Bob in moving Jule III back up the Chesapeake Bay. We will have a crew meeting soon to discuss the specifics of the trip. Jim is very capable and we are excited to have him aboard.
We got a new toy! It is an Automated Identification System (AIS)
where large vessel transponder information is displayed on our charplotter. This will be very useful on our overnight voyages on the Chesapeake and the Atlantic. We are using the Smart Radio series of AIS equipment with excellent results. We get all sorts of good information, including ship name, MMSi number, size, type of vessel, SOG, COG, Lat/Long, and other stuff. Not bad.

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