What a nice sail we had yesterday...West-North West wind between 10-20kn under a cloudy sky and all the way to Annapolis...with the sun coming through upon arrival! We left Solomon's Mill Creek at 5h15 and passed the Spa bridge at 15h30! It is good to be here again and we are looking forward to a week stay with several jobs to do, shopping, and a trip to Washington DC...however, what we are most looking forward to at the moment is GETTING OUR NEW DINGHY! It is supposed to arrive tomorrow...we warned the Harbormaster office that it would be a large parcel! Actually, we will be watching for the FedEx truck and highjack the parcel...our Aquamarine dinghy is now desintegrating at a fast pace: it leaks very badly, the air in both tubes is coming out as fast as the water is coming in..sounds like it could be sinking, right? To be sure it will stay afloat, we attached it to the halyard ! It has to do only one more trip to the city dinghy dock...

The last two days have been a bit frustrating: our cruising has been interrupted by thunderstorms or by lack of wind...we stopped at Deltaville and today, 15 miles further north at Reedsville (see picture of the menhaden fishing fleet)..will we ever get to Annapolis????? Although we have time we seem to have our foot on the gas pedal in the last weeks or so...anyhow, we always try to leave early to be less affected by the heat - today was 35C in the boat despite our large sun protecting canvas - and yes, we are longing for a cold front that should give us cooler temperatures!!!

Back in the Chesapeake bay...it all feels so familiar! Our first stop has been in Hampton and we were happy to find the anchorage almost empty! It is useful to already know where the grocery store is and where to tie up the dinghy..ah!yes, the dinghy: thew sun has been so hat in the last days that the seams of the inflatable keep blew up (we had put the dink upside down on deck)...that's it, the thing is really falling apart and we alresdy put an order for a new Zodiak which should be deliverred by Fedex to Annapolis on July 2nd!

Well..no flies until we get some..about half way, around noon when the heat was at its worst! Ah! by the time we got to the dock before Deep Creek Lock, we were tired and just looked forward to seek shelter at the Food Lion store..as we approached the dock, boom! we hit something, a rock or a tree stump? anyhow, the bridge was opening at the same time and we had to decide quickly: do e take the lock or not???? Hoping that the other side would be more hospitable (i.e. no flies), we did just that...and yes, the flies were gone - is there any state boundaries keeping the "green heads" in North Carolina????? The night was very hot, though, with a temperature hovering around 33C even at midningt! and mosquitoes...oh! living in nature can be tough! This mornig, however, we enjoyed the scenery and had a quick breakfast before heading towards Norfolk!

We had an early rise and slowly meandered along the beautiful Pasquotank river...this is one of the most beautiful stretches of the ICW. And guess what..no flies!

Another heat advisory for North Carolina wa in effect for today and this will also be the case for tomorrow...not only is it hot but the flies (marsh flies) are a pest! Today, we were lucky to have only few while at anchor. The rest of the day we sailed the Alligator river and the Albermarle Sound...up to Elizabeth City. Due to the heat, we prefer to anchor in a pretty little bay rather than tying up at the downtown ...locals residents invited us for a drink at their dock and we had a good time. they even gave us two large filet of mahi-mahi...fishes that one of them caught a day earler at Cape Hatteras. Tomorrow will be a hard day: we will enter the Dismal Swamp and expect millions of lies to make our life miserable. With the heat and humidity, nothing to look forward to...

Leaving Broadcreek early, we made it to the Tuckahoe point, a remote and wild cypress area ...with ospreys as only wildlife. Mind you, there was plenty of noise due to fighter airplanes circling the area...The picture was taken in the fall of 2008...and we think that the place has more "ambiance" than in the summer!

There are places whose appeal persist: Broad Creek is one of them for us. With its tall pines and serene waters, we were happy to arrive early enough to enjoy its beauty. There were thunderstorms all around us that evening but none of them touched us.

Back in Beaufort North carolina where we started the trip to the Caribbean in November 2008! It is nice to be here in summer when the winds and seas are friendlier!

The Seafarer's tavern in Charleston has been on this location for 3 centuries! In early 1900, it was the Whiskey Stire, during the prohibition, rum continued to run there freely! It is the oldest tavern of the nation!

Here are some impressions from Charleston..we would never tire of strolling its streets! especially in the evening when the heat was less and the air was perfumed!

Like in the comic strips..here are some convicts with their striped uniform cleaning the terrain of ICW land!

Today is hotter...unbelievable! Heat advisory is in effect once more...And the locals tell us that at least, now, there is wind! because in a couple of weeks, no any more...time to leave. It is great to be able to sit in the library and cool down...hum, that Sierra Nevada Ale is calling me! Weather sounds good for the next couple of days so we will do another 40 hours or so to Beaufort, North Carolina...our point of departure for Bermuda, in November 2008!

Despite yesterday’s hot and humid weather, we went to town and enjoyed walking under the live oaks, admiring once again the beautiful streets of Charleston. We left the dinghy at the Municipal Marina where the daily fee is now of $5.00. Heiner negotiated one evening and one day for the price…at least we feel safe to leave it there, even at night time! We enjoyed our walk on Montagu street and went for a Mexican meal and $1.00 beer in a student restaurant…it was fun and we were so hungry and thirsty! No need to say that beer is an absolute must in those temperatures!!!

Saturday June 12 was the last day of the Spoleto festival – THE Art festival of Charleston – and we managed to visit the art exposition in the park. All artists of the region were showing their works there and it was a very interesting and inspiring affair. After an hour or so of internet work at the beautiful city library and shopping at Harris Teether, we “schlepped” our groceries back to the boat and rested under our su protected canvas…that we put up for the first time since we left in 2008. It is a huge canvas and a must in sunny and windless conditions! That evening, we went back to town and strolled King, Meeting, and Market street where irish music lured us in a great pub! These guys were great and made an astonishing interprettion of the Pink Floyd Wall. Heiner tasted the Palmetto Beer, from a local microbrewery and Marleyne raved about her Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which was just amazing. Yes, we are enjoying Charleston!

At about 70 miles south of Charleston, we are exiting the Gulf Stream although there is a current of about .5 knots still in our favour. The winds are light and we hoist all sails until about 9pm, when large thunderclouds appear to advance towards us. Lightenings illuminate the skies in the west and darkeness makes it difficult to detect in what direction the storm clouds are moving…knowing how strong Tstorms related winds can be, we put the mainsail down and keep only both jibs up…the clouds advance, move North and East..so we decide to head back south for a bit, to wait and see. When a bit of rain starts falling, we put our _oh!so hot rainsuits_ on…this back and forth dance lasts 2 hours with the clouds mostly disintegrating above us and no rain! By that time, it’s 11pm and we are tired…usually we take naps in the early evening! Oh well, that’s passage cruising…the winds are now from the west between 10 and 15 knots and the remainder of the night is comfortable. In the early morning, dead calm hits and we must motor the remainder 20 miles to Charleston with up to 1.5 knots of current against us. It seems to take forever and we finally are anchored at 14h00! The air temperature is 35C and there is no wind….

At 7h30 am, we pass through the Cape Canaveral lock: a very slow affair for a couple of inches! Nothing to compare with the Erie canal! Then there is the bridge and we finally start motoring between the sea buoys…the east wind is not strong but dead on. There is a large shoal around which we must sail around and it takes almost 2 hours before we can head North. But for such a distance…it does not really matter! The winds remain East-South East 10-15 until 3am…by then, we have reached the Gulf Stream (40 miles offshore) and we have a speed up to 8 knots! Ah! It is fun to sail with that speed!

While the stretch on the Indian River is not the most scenic, we were able to motorsailed all day long and rewarded by the passage between Indian River and the Cape Canaveral Lock. The Canal linking both Indian and Banana Rivers is a little tropical gem! Anticipating North Easterly winds that evening, we anchored in the protection of the lock wall. So many dolphins and manatees are surrounding us! It’s fun to be in their company for the whole evening. And, another plus, is the lack of thunderstorms which we had every evening since our arrival in Florida. The worst we had were winds of ca.30 knots with torrential downpour!

Sunday..in the intracoastal waterway..very quiet ride...sure, everybody is north! There is a cold front coming tomorrow with northerly winds...we did not feel like waiting in Lake Worth so we decided to use the ICW. After sailing in the Caribbean, it felt really strange to motor in a canal..today was our second day, 50 miles, and no engine problems. Since we got rid of the heat exchanger, the engine runs smoothly! But it is hot, there are lots of bugs, lots of TStorms and rain in the evening and thetemperature inside the boat reached 35C today! We decided to keep moving until the forecast in good; latest in North Florida, will we do a run for Charleston, The new 2010 Skipper Bob indicated that there is not enough money to keep the ICW dredged in Georgia and South Carolina...although we have purchased a contract with TowBoat US (the first time ever!) we don't really feel like putting ourselves in a situation where we have to use it!!! So, slowly but surely, we are making headway...enjoying the wildlife along the ICW and wondering at the huge mansions now lining almost all the shores of the Indian River. We are anchored at Pine Island tonight, 5 miles North of Vero Beach; the "castles" on the opposite shoreline appear empty but somewhere there is an Internet connection...