Return to Sea Level

The Cape Lookout Lighthouse from sea level.

     The onset of autumn marks our fourth year of living aboard and cruising full time aboard theSimple Life. Cool evenings requiring an extra blanket and crisp mornings signal the eventuality of winter. The time to sail south has arrived.


   

Simple Life at Portsmouth, VA
on her way south in 2015

Simple Life hauled for
Hurricane Joaquin

   

After the storm. Simple Life
launched for the southern
migration.

This season has been fraught with a series of events that hampered southern migration for nearly everyone. Hurricane Joaquin's sudden development and unpredictable path of destruction wreaked havoc upon Long Island, Bahamas prior to heading north toward the States. By good fortune, Joaquin's path eventually veered away from the U.S. mainland and out to sea. Although, not before lashing South Carolina with heavy rains resulting in severe flooding, higher than normal tides at bridges where sailboats with 62 foot masts needed to be cautious when transiting. The storm also deposited considerable debris into channels.

 
      Long Island, Bahamas was not so fortunate. The hurricane hit the southern end of the island with a vengeance wreaking massive destruction as it spun out of control while hovering over the island's inhabitants for several days. This is one of our favorite islands and we hope the locals are able to realize their hard won existence once again.

Joe has crabs...again!!

     While the storm threatened and meteorologists made up their minds in the States we all waited. Simple Life was hauled on the hard at Mobjack Bay since two days before Joaquin's forecast arrival landfall predictions were near or directly at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. We visited friends who kindly offered shelter from the storm until the boat was launched after the hurricane's departure. We all made the best of a tough situation by busying ourselves with cooking and entertaining. Joe managed to catch a bucket of blue crabs off the docks with a promise of my delicious crab cakes as an incentive.

Blue crabs await their fate.

Dinner!

   


   Conditions have improved beyond measure since the storm. Boats are on the move heading south once again. Everyone seems to be settling in to the rhythm of life aboard. Weather has been dry and favorable with numerous opportunities for offshore passages.
     


    







      

Cape Lookout Lighthouse, Cape Lookout, NC

     
     Simple Life motored out of the Bight of Cape Lookout on the Outer Banks of North Carolina yesterday morning before sunrise at 4:00 AM en route to Masonboro Inlet at Wrightsville Beach, NC. The stopover at the Cape was our first and it seemed logical to spend a day exploring its pristine 54 mile beach, historic lighthouse and lagoon with hopes of spying the Shackelford Banks renowned wild horses.
 
   

Sunrise Cape Lookout

     At this time of year along with the unpredictability of east coast weather it seems most boaters have their goals and objectives written in...yogurt with a few blueberries in the mix. Vero Beach at Thanksgiving is one of the most popular. Joe and I still enjoy the ride whenever weather and conditions cooperate. Tomorrow morning we plan an offshore overnight passage from Southport, NC to Charleston, SC. After all the reason all of us are out here is joie de vivre. Lets hope for fair winds and following seas.

Cape Lookout Lighthouse at the national seashore

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A Simple Life in France

The Seine, Paris at 10:00 PM

     In the event that you're a blog follower of Sailing Simple Life you may have noticed that we haven't updated our blog in a few months. The reason? We had an opportunity to spend the month of July in France. This may disappoint some in that we didn't sail there given that it was much more efficient to hop a plane from Boston to Paris where we spent a few days before traveling south spending July exploring the Charente and Dordogne regions.

   

The orchard in the side yard overlooking the sunflower field.
photo by Joe Boulay

     Sailing across the Atlantic to France wasn't an option and after traveling aboard Simple Life for months in "slo mo" it seemed almost miraculous flying across an ocean and arriving thousands of miles away within a matter of hours. On a given day while traveling aboard Simple Life we are typically underway for seven or eight hours while covering only 50 miles!

   

Michele with a baguette at the Marche in Aubeterre.
Photo by Joe Boulay

      Last January after several weeks of persistent, strong easterly winds resulting in zero opportunities for Gulf Stream crossings we holed up at anchor in South Beach, Miami. Tough life right? Actually, it was pleasant, but while lying at anchor (not in a marina with any facilities) for weeks waiting for a favorable weather window I longed for a month or so ashore. I was growing weary after a few false starts across the Stream. It was during our layover that I finalized plans for Simple Life's French connection.

Aubeterre a medieval village in the Charente region.
Photo by Joe Boulay

   

Michele & Porgey enjoying the warm evening at the house.
Photo by Joe Boulay

     The simple life in France was à la bonne heure. The historic country home we lived in was akin to living life on French film set. Visualize a French country kitchen with exterior provincial blue shutters shielding the midday sun. An aloof pure white country cat. Geraniums blooming in every window box. A menagerie of copper pots hanging over the red tilled back splashed stove. Floor to ceiling windows cranked open sans screens filling the rooms with warmth and sunshine and a few bugs.

Flowers and vines adorned the exterior of the house.
Photo by Joe Boulay

Evenings by the pool with wine & fromage.

      Back yard views of undulating hills of sunflowers and freshly baled hay, c'est magnifique! I must admit that five years of French in high school and college (I'm certainly not fluent in French) were helpful, but did little to prepare me for actually speaking French in the countryside. I've included a number of photos in this blog from France even though we were land trekkers and not technically living the simple life abroad.

   

Bee on a sunflower
by Joe Boulay

      Living aboard the Simple Life consumes most of our year and believe it or not occasionally there are times when we long for shore leave. Not for long periods of time mind you, just something to whet the pallet offering an hors d'oeuvre if you will of life ashore. A block of time when we don't always have to be so connected and concerned with wind, weather and whether or not our neighbor's home might drag into ours during an unexpected nighttime storm.

Joe loves cheese

   

Cheese vendor at the Aubeterre march.
Photo by Joe Boulay

     Our French hiatus was splendid, better than expected. A life unexpected. We had no preconceived expectations! We knew little of where we were staying. Everything including a trip to the InterMarche (the local market) was a new adventure. That was how we lived our simple life in France.


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Journeying North to Chesapeake Bay

Simple Life underway on the ICW
photo by Tricia Wehmer

     One of the FAQ's from our blog followers has been, "How do you guys manage to continue this migration year after year?" We sail offshore along the Atlantic seaboard whenever weather and seas cooperate which is also exhausting and not always feasible. This season Tropical Storm Ana had everyone running for cover. We sought refuge in the Stono River in Charleston, SC. "Don't you find it grueling?" The answer is, yes it is arduous if a plan of action isn't in place. One method that is primarily dictated by just how exhausted we become is stopping every few days to rest, recover and enjoy our anchorage area. A few days ago, we had a day of shore leave in Wrightsville Beach where we walked a couple of miles along the beach and enjoyed the funky beach town and a dinner ashore at Tower 7 a Mexican restaurant with surfer inspired decor.    

Simple Life on the Intracoastal Waterway
photo by Tricia Wehmer

   



     While underway on the ICW we use every available piece of information to plan our day. Now that we are back in the States mornings begins with coffee and Chris Parker's https://www.mwxc.com live Atlantic Coast weather forecast via SSB HF radio at 8:00 AM. Most of the time we're well underway at sunrise while monitoring his forecast in the northern latitudes. We also check VHF forecasts and weather apps such as Wind Alert.

An anchorage in the low country of South Carolina
Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge

      When transiting the ICW we rely upon numerous resources. Our favorite being Skipper Bob's Anchorages Along the ICW www.skipperbob.net/. I am fastidious about jotting notes in the publication with valuable information we've gleaned over the years. The margins are filled with tidbits on grocery shopping opportunities, laundry access, WifI hotspots, the best places to purchase fresh shrimp right off the boats and most importantly, notorious shoaled areas from lack of government dredging funds. I also augment the Skipper Bob publication with Mark S. Doyle's iBook publication AnchorGuide for the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) Volumes 1 and 2 www.onthewaterchartguides.org/on-the-water-chartguides-releases-eboo....

This little buck decided not to cross our bow in the
Alligator Pungo Canal in North Carolina

     Recently, quite a buzz surrounding the Active Captain https://activecaptain.com/ software program has proliferated among those who travel the waterway. Boaters can join the site allowing them to read and submit comments pertaining to shoaled areas, marina reviews, lift bridge schedules, fuel and marina prices along with virtually any issue arising during an ICW transit. This free website has enabled us to travel without grounding this season due to updated information on problem areas. Do we still stress even though we have access to an array of information. Of course we do. Though, sometimes it feels like information overload, but shoals shift and that's a fact of Waterway life.

Sunrise at Deep Point anchorage in the Alligator River, NC

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Surf and Turf in St. Augustine

   

Our view of St. Augustine from the harbor

   The modes of transportation may be different; one a sailing yacht the other a land yacht, but the lifestyles are to a certain degree parallel. A recent stop in St. Augustine offered a rendezvous opportunity with cherished friends, Christine and Donald from New England. For some reason it's more exciting reuniting with friends in a place other than the familiarity of home. Christine and I have a friendship that goes back many years to a work setting with a maniacal leader at the helm. Those days bonded us and we often reminisce about our shared experiences. The coup de grace resulting often in hysterical laughter and retrospections.

Chris & Donald's RV at the campsite on Anastasia Island
St. Augustine, Florida

 
       Now that we have been freed for a number of years from work bondage our lives have once again become more or less parallel with fewer aggravations weighing heavily on enjoyment. Joe and I sail the Atlantic coastline to the Bahamas. Chris and Donald travel in their RV during winter months along the eastern seaboard to Florida. The course being similar in that both circumscribe the Atlantic coastline. They have a truck which tows their RV. We have a sailboat that tows our dinghy.

   



   

Chef Donald

     Last week our paths crossed during coincidental migrations north in St. Augustine, Florida. Chris and Donald called and invited us visit them at their campground on nearby Anastasia Island to see their new fifth wheel RV! They recently traded in their older model for the new improved, roomier, with all the bells and whistles version. This one has two massaging recliners! Not exactly roughing it. Their invitation included a tour and a steak dinner! Christine had been following our blog all winter and assumed we might be tired of eating all the fish Joe caught. Dinner was perfect. Grilled steak, potatoes and salad. Just what we'd been craving.

Great food, wine and friends

   

Michele & Chris enjoying G&T'a

   

Donald & Joe taking a break from the surf

   
   
      During the afternoon the boys went boogie boarding at the beach behind the campground. For the next hour Christine and I enjoyed conversations that drifted down old roads while watching our boys in the surf all from the comfort of our beach chairs.
   

The Lightner Museum
and Cafe Alcazar

    The highlight of our get together came a couple of days later when Christine suggested meeting for lunch in St. Augustine at Cafe Alcazar located,in the bottom floor of the former Alcazar Hotel now the Lightner Museum built in 1887 by Henry Flagler.

The largest indoor pool in the Alcazar Hotel
now the location of Cafe Alcazar

    The cafe is situated in what was once the world's largest indoor pool. The setting and lunch was as Christine described. Elegant. White tablecloths, attentive waiters, aromas of garlic and fresh seafood and a fine guitarist entertained us with his eclectic repertoire.

Cafe Alcazar as it is today

Christine & Donald enjoying great food,
wine and music

     The lunch was exceptional and the food exceeded all expectations. We lingered over wine well into the afternoon knowing that soon we'd all resume our separate migrations. Christine and Donald will be back in New England within a couple of weeks. We on the other hand will travel much slower possibly another month. Travel speed and weather restrictions hamper our progress. As of this weekend tropical storm Ana has restricted our travel plans. Simple Life has been hunkered down in the Stono River near Charleston, SC for a few days while the storm formed north of the Bahamas and took her time gathering strength and momentum north. She is expected to make landfall Sunday morning 50 miles north us us at Winyah Bay, SC.

As tropical storm Ana churns off the coast we
hunkered down near Charleston, SC 

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Location:St. Augustine, Florida

Abaco Islands

   

Joe takes a closer look at an approaching
squall line on the horizon.

     Both Joe and I agree that sailing conditions in the Sea of Abaco are comparable to our home cruising grounds of Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound, Rhode Island. Of course there are differences concerning depths and coloration. The Sea of Abaco is warmer, shallower and depending upon sunlight and time of day morphs from viridian to cerulean blue with shades of cobalt and ultramarine. An entire day without brilliant, warm sunshine is rare. A cruising sailor could easily become complacent in the Abacos with numerous all weather protected harbors and spectacular sailing conditions.

Reflections of the Hopetown Lighthouse
by Joe Boulay

   
Hopetown became our base of operations in the Abacos with a two week stay on a mooring. The pristine beach was delightful for a walk and swim with only a few tourists speckling the area in front of the resort leaving the remainder of the beach relatively secluded. The resort was actually a pleasant stop for a Kalik before heading back to the Simple Life.

The beach Hopetown, Elbow Cay, Bahamas

   







 

Friends Kitty & Scott from Tamure aboard
Simple Life in Hopetown

Michele & Guy playing at the Hopetown Harbour Lodge Resort

   















   

Pete's Pub, Little Harbour, Abaco

 




      Little Harbour was also on the itinerary this year since we hadn't stopped there for eleven years! The last time we'd visited we hitchhiked 20 miles from Marsh Harbour with our Kiwi friends Bob and Robin. This time we sailed there timing our arrival for high tide to avoid running aground on the shallow bar at the harbor entrance.

     A couple of highlights of Little Harbour are Pete's Pub owned by sculptor Pete Johnston whose family settled Little Harbour when it was virtually uninhabited in 1951 and the Johnston's Foundry which was built by Pete's father, sculptor Randolph Johnston in the early 1960's. The foundry was closed to visitors during our short stay, but we did enjoy lunch at the pub and a walk on the beach.

Joe ordering Kaliks at Pete's Pub, Little Harbour, Abaco

Rowing in Little Harbour, Abaco

Dolphins on the Little Bahama Banks off Simple Life's bow

Joe & Michele at the Jib Room
Marsh Harbour
by Hayden Cochran

    After a final provisioning at Marsh Harbour Simple Life sailed through the Whale Cay Cut to Great Sale Cay in the northern Abacos where we staged for an overnight Gulf Stream crossing to Fort Pierce, Florida. The crossing was successful with enough wind to sail during the entire passage. The only drawback was the number of cruise ships and cargo ships that crossed our path during the darkest hours of the night. One cruise ship crossed astern within less than a half mile. I stopped counting after spotting 13 ships.

Dolphin escorts as Simple Life exited the Little Bahama Banks

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Location:Bahamas

The Berry Islands and Beyond

Simple Life's anchorage in Devils Hoffman Cay

  The most recurring comment among cruisers transiting the Bahamas this spring has been, "This sure was a rough winter weather wise in south Florida and the Bahamas." During prior years, there were more opportunities for Gulf Stream crossings in early January. The crossing opportunities this season were few and far between. In late February some boaters who managed to cross chose to head south, but several like us decided to skip the Exumas Island chain since the season was shortened in favor of remaining north in the Berrys and Abacos.                                                          
                                                                                                                         
                                                                   

A ray transiting the shallow banks surrounding the anchorage

Joe enjoying the view of the Blue Hole in the Berry Islands

Showering aboard Simple Life with 2.5 gallon Sun Shower

           The end result happened to be a positive one for the Simple Life. It was our first visit to the Berrys and we enjoyed the isolation and fishing in Devils Hoffman Cays. The islands also provided adequate protection from numerous days of strong easterly winds in the 30+ knot range while offering an unspoiled scenic anchorage; a pristine marine environment unscathed by development. The resident four foot barracuda seemed to enjoy the shade Simple Life provided and we were treated to a tribe of Green turtles who frequented the anchorage.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
     
   

The triggerfish that almost got away!

   
     When planning a few days in this area provisioning becomes imperative. There are no stores, pharmacies, clinics or settlements nearby. In other words the boat needs to be well stocked with food, drinking water, adult beverages and a crew familiar with self reliance. Weather kept us anchored in nearly total isolation for over a week since the cut from the ocean to the cays became treacherous and impassible due to high winds from the east. While there we caught more than enough fish enabling us to save food supplies we'd brought along.

Triggerfish filets for grilling.

   







                                                                                                                                                               

Jim Austin & Bentley Smith enjoying the sunset
aboard Salty Paws

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The winds eventually abated, the cut became negotiable and we headed across the Northeast Providence Channel to Royal Island and Spanish Wells, Eleuthera. During transit we landed a Mahi Mahi, spotted two pods of dozing dolphins, a school of tuna and two bull Mahis leaping out of the water as if competing in the long jump!
   

Sunset at Meeks Patch with Salty Paws

     After arriving in Meeks Patch and spending a few days with friends Jim and Bentley from Salty Paws we continued sailing north across the Northeast Providence Channel to the Abacos with plans of devoting  a month to visiting areas we'd hurriedly bypassed on previous return trips to the States.