The fun with the Salty Dawg Rally doesn’t stop when the rally ends. Read on to find out what we did when we all got to port at Blue Water Marina in Hampton.
Our cruising friends, Jackie and Dan (sv Chill), are share owners in a lighthouse near Hampton, Virginia. When we arrived from BVI they asked us if we would like to come out and see their lighthouse. We’re definitely not going to say no to that, since we missed the opportunity last year arriving a day after they did the annual tour.
Middle Ground Lighthouse
So the day after all the Dawgs arrived, Jackie took 6 of us in her brother-in-laws van to another marina/work dock, where Dan would pick us up in their transport boat. Meanwhile, Dan took another 8 of the Dawgs out to the lighthouse. We took Charlie along in his car carrier, knowing we’d need to put him on our back to climb the ladder up into the lighthouse.
Here’s the boats that joined in on the fun filled day: White Star, Charmed Life, Zipporah, Adagio along with us.
Having never been to a lighthouse and seeing this one was really special. Jackie and Dan and family and friends spent 4 years reviving this lighthouse to it’s current glory. Every space was so inviting and well put together. I just can’t imagine all the work that went into this. When they bought it through a US Government Auction it was run down and was a regular home to birds.
Salty Dawgs in the kitchen
Having lunch at the big table
Taking in the view (Zipporah, White Star)
Jackie and Vladimir
Salty Dawgs ready to tour the lighthouse
Stairwell, exposed brick
Nautical touches
Nautical touches
Mural media wall
Seating in media room
Solar
Light
A view from the top
Signing the visitors wall of fame
Jackie, Gwyn and Charlie
Jackie, Gwyn and Charlie
Looking up
Bedroom
Bedroom
The coastguard still maintains the light, but the rest of the lighthouse is a delightful useable space for friends and family. Thanks Jackie and Dan, for the tour and the lovely lunch. It truly was a joy.
Later that same evening, Chill held a happy hour aboard their boat. White Star and Sapphire brought over some infused vodka. I was skeptical at first, but once I tried it, I was hooked. I’ll be making some of my own one day.
Departing the turquoise waters of the Caribbean is always hard, but joining fellow Salty Dawg Rallyers makes letting go a lot easier knowing we’ll be traveling together out there in the big open ocean (farthest point from any land was 432nm).
We left Little Harbour, Peter Island, early on Saturday May 16 sailing heading for Soper’s Hole, Tortola. (P) Bye bye last barracuda who took up residence under the boat our last night. Stayed on the paddleboard to untie the stern line!
In Soper’s Hole Paul cleared us out with BVI Customs while I deflated the paddleboard. We then went ashore for one last trip to the store for a few things and also to give Charlie a final feel of land before we headed out. Paul dinghy’d over to Sapphire and let Charlie get some sniffs of his girlfriend Zoe and picked up our departure bag (great goodies from the Rally). He then took the motor off the dinghy and stowed it on the rail. Then he pulled the dinghy up on it’s davits and double secured it and pulled out the plug (we don’t need it filling up with water while underway or dropping into the ocean unexpectedly).
At 1430h we let go of our mooring and headed away from the BVI. We quickly got into our routine of 3 hour shifts and embraced our passage, just another day in the life of a sailor. We started a new log book as our old one is already full (thank you Ester and Aviel – the notebook you gifted us when we left works perfectly as our new log book). (P)The only excitement the first day was spotting a waterspout (aka tornado on water) to our northwest – a first for us. Photo is pour because it was evening and the photog had two negative stops dialed in to stop the blur – but increase the noise.
The first morning during our 8am shift change while writing down our lats and lons in the log book we realized we’d just hit our 10,000 nautical mile since we moved aboard nearly 2 years ago (Paul keeps a spreadsheet). We celebrated with a kiss and a hug and I headed to bed. ((P) Unfortunately at sea with only two aboard there is no “we” headed to …). So this was our first milestone of the trip.
Our second milestone was our 2 year anniversary of living aboard the boat on May 20th. It was a windless day like last year and we believe we were in approximately the same location with identical weather (low wind and no waves). Paul spotted dolphins on his morning shift, but didn’t have the heart to wake me not knowing how long they’d hang around. I must say at this point in the passage, I was grateful for the sleep.
Swimming at the bow
On the 21st we got some wind back and were able to fly the parasailor for the entire day ((P) Means 2 or 3 knots more speed than with our normal sails). We could have left if up overnight as well, but we knew the wind would be picking up at some point and it takes two of us to get it down ((P) maybe 3 if the wind gets really strong but we only have 2) so we just took it down at dusk and motor sailed until the winds picked up again.
We had a lot of wind on the 22nd. A shore bird joined us for a rest at dusk. We kept Charlie under control to allow the bird a break. He stayed overnight and made his way into the cockpit in the wee hours of the morning. Well rested he flew off sometime during P’s morning shift.
Shore bird coming in to land
Egret on the bow
Egret on the aft
We were making good time and enjoying the passage. I read 4 books. Just after we crossed the gulf stream I turned on some music and we had at pod of 10-12 dolphins show up swimming at our bow for at least 30 minutes.
Dolphins on the bow
More dolphins
Notice the clear water
So surreal
Love the reflections on the dolphins
The clear water made for good dolphin viewing
A few hours later the wind died and while motoring on water that turned to glass we spotted whales. We slowed the motors down to allow them to cross out path. One of them swam right along the side of our boat while we passed them. What a sight to see! (P) You could see his trail of bubbles around the boat as he surveyed us – then moved on. Attempted a picture but in the dusk the dark shape next to the boat was declared not focusable by my camera, so we had to just thrill to the moment without evidence :-). NP.
Whale fin
At this point in the passage we start getting what we call “get there-itis”. We lose our patience with the wind that was fickle and just motor sailed towards the Chesapeake. Just as we were nearing our turn towards Hampton Virginia we noticed a lot of boats hanging around in our path and (P) were about to curse the seemingly impenetrable flock of fisher boats when we discovered they were all fascinated by 3 pods of dolphins swimming about (obviously voraciously feeding at the ebb tide). What a treat to see more dolphins. I say it’s a good sign – they are welcoming us back to the USA. Albeit the penalty was a 3 knot negative current through the Chesapeake entrance – slowed our progress dramatically! But the sight was worth it.
So all in all the passage was the best we’ve ever had. We made it in 8 days, 23 hours; record time for us with minimal motoring.
My sister-in-law, Sue, used to make a slaw that was the first cold slaw I ever tasted that I liked. I remember asking her for the recipe, but she was likely already in early stages of Alzheimer’s at the time and she couldn’t tell me what was in it. So over the years I’ve looked for recipes that came close to matching it and finally found one that came close and I’ve been tweaking it ever since. Here’s what I came up with so I’ve named it after Sue.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups green cabbage, chopped (approx. 1/4 of a medium cabbage)
2 cups red cabbage, chopped
2-3 carrots, julienned and chopped
1 granny smith apple, cored and chopped into 1 inch thin sticks (peel if desired)
1/4-1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
2-3 TBSP Veganaise (or mayo of choice), to taste
1 lemon, juiced
DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, mix well, adding additional mayo to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and serve.
