S/V 'Faith'

[Paul]

What a beautiful way to mark a thousand posts.  Way cool... 8)

Best wishes on your adventure.

[dsnyder]

Craig and Rose,
     You describe that sail down to Wrightsville beach beautifully.  I'm glad that all is going well for you. 
     Today is day 6.  You must be down off the coast of Georgia somewhere.  As the sun sets, have a cold drink and say a prayer for all of us poor unfortunate working dogs back at New River.
     Our thoughts (and a few jealous jabs) are with you.

[C. Worthy Shipp]

Will you make Wilmington in a week?......Earl wants to know. I'm home safe, thinking of you, and envious.......but I am cooler than last week. More later. Love, Dad

[s/v Faith]

We had wind on the nose all day yesterday, motoring into 20kts with a following 2 knot current down the cape fear yesterday made for a rather rough ride.

 We took a detour past Southport and stopped at Bald Head Island Marina where we are taking our once a week break in a marina.  Bald Head island is a nice place, but as far as Rose and I can figure they are a cult, pretending to be a resort.  

 Yes, you read it here first... BHI is a cult devoted to the worship of the Golf Cart.  They all have them, they are souped up and running to and fro at a high rate of speed everywhere.  ;D

 Here is a letter Rose wrote to her mom.

Dear Mom,         17 August 2007
   How are you doing?  We are fine.  


Craig sailed in one last race before we left North Carolina.



   So far our trip has been fairly slow.  We had to stay for a couple of days at Wrightsville Beach in order to get a medication that I have to take.  I was low and did not realize how low until I took some and saw I only had one days worth left.  Some Ducks came by for a snack.




   We are still in North Carolina, we stopped for a couple of days at Bald Head Island.  It is really pretty, but very expensive.  A tourist type place.  
   On our trip so far we saw a huge giraffe in front of a house, pretty scenery, and interesting things along the waterway.




We are taking our time and enjoying our trip.  There is no schedule, so no rushing around with our heads cut off.  We are however, missing our baby dog.  I think we will be picking him up before we cross over to the Bahamas.  He is staying with Craig's mom at our house in Pensacola Florida.  
   Well, that is the main things going on right now.  I love and miss you lots.
            
                 Rose & Craig

Met a couple of guys at anchor in Wrightsville Beach.  Noah and Josh were headed north from FL to MD, aboard a Watkins 27.  They had a halyard go free, so I brought over the ATN Topclimber and rigged it so Noah could go aloft.  He got the halyard, but agrees that the topclimber is not a great piece of gear.



Here is a stray picture from day 2 when we were at CourtHouse Bay.  



 That was a major mileage day when we went a grand total of 11.99 nm.   ::)

 As to Earl's and others concerns about our schedule......  there still is none.   ;D

[AdriftAtSea]

looking good craig,

[Great Peace]

Craig and Rose,

Thanks for the start of what shall prove to be a wonderful journal.  Earl and I were out sailing on Legacy yesterday and wondering what part of the ICW you were on at that present time.   Great update.  Vince wrote me yesterday and I have two folks from Wilmington that want to look at Crescendo.  Guess that is one way for the competition to get me off the race course:)  The retirement pics were fabulous.  Tom had an electrical problem yesterday and was close to burning down his boat, but he got it fixed with only a few cuts to his hand.  Everyone else is well.  Getting ready for the Talbee race.  Will keep you posted.   :)

Mark

[Ariel Spirit]

Wow Craig...it still doesnt feel like you guys have left...i feel that i should see the big red truck in the parking lot when i get back to gottschalk...

Rose's journal entry makes me GREEENNNNN with jealousy...we just got back from Ocracoke(crossing the pamlico in the POWER BOAT with 30 kt winds and 5-7 footers to our BEAM)...my mother was not happy....but the island was beautiful(i had to brag a little as our small journey amounts to nothing you are doing, and not to mention i definately didnt want to leave)  The relaxing notion of roses entry is great im sooo happy for you guys...keep us posted where you are...

Vaughn said yall called him when you were in southport...cool town for sure.

Yall are livin the dream man... 8)I dont know what the taulbee race is gonna be like with out yah...

BTW, my graduation is June 12th, so keep that week open ;D

[atomvoyager]

Hi Craig and Rose

Congratulations on getting underway. If you pass through Brunswick, GA or St. Simons Island we would love to meet you and see your boat. We could give you a ride for provisioning and show you the local attractions. I'll be out of town until the afternoon of August 28, but you can email or phone me anytime at:
912-222-8404
yachtatom@hotmail.com

James

[dsnyder]

Hey Craig and Rose,
     I've been checking your log every day.  Living vicariously through you, I was hoping for an update of where you were and how the trip is going.
     
Your Old Friend,
Don

[psyche]

Hi Craig and Rose,
I do not know how far you have gotten but I live on the Ogeechee River south of Savannah about 8 to 10 miles off up river which is off the ICW. If you would like to stop by or need anything I would be glad to accomidate you at my dock. I can give you a ride to reprovision or to help you get what you need. Keep us posted of your progress. Dan

[CapnK]

Well, Craig and Rose left Georgetown onboard "Faith II" Wednesday, just as soon as I was able to raise the bail money needed to get them out of jail.

It was an, um, interesting week. Kind of tough and surprising (to say the least), but I'm sure that years from now, once the memories have faded, perhaps I might be able to laugh about it all...

I don't want to go too far into the story - after all, it is *their* cruise and story - but to those of you who have invited Craig and Rose to stop by your place when they cruise through, I have a few tips that might help you survive their visit:

• 1) Hide the Saran Wrap. Not just yours, *ALL* of it that you can find, preferably within several miles of wherever they tie up.
• 2) And the Jello.
• 3) Fer the love of all that is Holy, DON'T pull Craigs finger when he asks you to.  Trust Me.
• 4) Here's a General tip for everyone while Craig and Rose travel: Buy stock in the parent corp of "Goo Gone" brand adhesive remover. Georgetown looks like a sailFar.net sticker factory did some sort of guerilla marketing campaign here.
• 5) Keep The Vodka Away From Rose. (Especially if there are firearms in the vicinity.)

That's a start for you, I don't want to ruin all of the "fun".

Anyway, above I mentioned "Faith II". I don't know if I should let the cat out of the bag, but Craig used the money from the (alleged) heist to buy a SeaRay Sunseeker 55. I think it was the A/C in the laundry room that was the big draw for Rose. That way it's just like being in a marina...



Which reminds me - if any of y'all are trying to think of a gift to send Craig and/or Rose, I'd suggest either a towel, or a bar of soap. Seriously. No, not because they smell (mostly), but because they just LOVE to take showers. To the point that now the marina management has instituted a very strict "1-day-1-person-1-shower" policy, since they had to replace all of the plumbing and shower stalls after Craig and Rose left due to - get this - "Erosion"!

If Craig and Rose ever lived in Arizona, then I think I know who REALLY made the Grand Canyon...

The CrewDogs have almost recovered, and Rose does make good spaghetti, but with that in mind, let me stress Rule #3 above again...

Then again, y'all may not have anything to worry about, solely due to Craig's 'navigation' skills. Think about it - John ("Capt Smollett") and I made the same trip in 32 hours that took Craig and Rose something like 12 days.

...'nuff said.

But I was witness to Craig's Captainage as they left the harbour. They flaunted the Chief of Polices warnings to "get away and stay away", and took a trip through the anchorage by town on their way out. I was over at the boatyard when they went by, and saw why it takes them so long to get places - Craig tends to steer in circles.

Maybe it was just that stock of box wine that they loaded onboard last minute...








Fair winds and beam reaches, Craig, Rose, and "Faith"! We loved having y'all here. :)

[s/v Faith]

The truth is not in Capt K.

  We had a great stay in Georgetown, sorry to all for being remiss in my updates.  I let Kurt into my Computer, and after I deleted all of the foreign pop ups my operating system seemed to be having trouble.

  We are in Beaufort, SC right now.  We are staying at the marina tonight, but will probably go out to the anchorage in the morning.

  We had a beautiful night on the Ashepoo river, and reached and ran all the way down here.  I was a little sad to start the motor to come into the marina, but the current had just switched.

  Beaufort is a really nice town.  I had come down here a couple of times on business before, but had never really SEEN the town (as every place is completely different when arrived at by water).

  I will try to get some updates from the last couple days, but we left Georgetown on Thursday, and sailed to Mcclensville.  We anchored in 5 fathom creek and sailed out the inlet (a smaller inlet not found on the charts) in th morning.  We went off shore to Charleston, and while the approach was nice, the city was a little bit of a disappointment.  The City Marina was a $2 a night deal, with little to offer and a 35' min.  Paying $70 (+power!) seemed a bit extreme, especially when most of the attractions were across town.  We anchored in the town anchorage and only dingied ashore for some water and to stretch our legs.  (note: there are no publically accessable dingy docks near the Charleston anchorage, we stopped along side a nice liveaboard for the couple minutes we were there.)

  We did see some nice fireworks, and got a chance to rest up.

On our friend Don's advice we went a couple miles down the ICW on Sunday, and stayed in a nice anchorage.

  Here is an excerpt from Roses last letter home;

Dear Mom,                  28 August 2007

    Here is a picture of me onboard Faith as we sit at anchor in Calabash Creek.  Craig had rowed our dinghy over to another boat to invite the man to dinner.  The guy had already eaten.  It was a busy anchor with a lot of boats passing by.  Some got closer than necessary. 

We got a good nights rest and enjoyed the time. The sunset was gorgeous, we watched it for a while until the sun was down and the moon came out. Time to sleep.

On the way to our next stop, we watched the gondola.  We went right under it and got some great pictures.  It was soooooo cool. 



The pelican was sitting above us on the pole we were tied to at Southport.  It was so need, we had to get pictures of it.  It even posed for us, we thought once we talked it would fly away, it calmly looked at us and stayed where it was.



Rain at Georgetown Landing marina.





  This is where we are now.  We will be leaving tomorrow, depending on weather.  We stayed here to visit with Kurt for a week and do some shopping and odds and ends.  It has been a good time except one day when we tried to turn the boat around and the current was to strong and we almost crashed he into the marina. 

We are fine and enjoying retirement.  Love and miss you lots,   Take care of yourself.                         

    Love,   

Rose & Craig
       

[Faith 1st Mate]

Here is one he missed;



  Craig was rowing the dingy over to ask a guy on another boat if he wanted to come to dinner. I was cooking dinner sitting in the Cockpit.

[Faith 1st Mate]

Here is one taken at the same anchorage at sunset;

[Faith 1st Mate]

Thanks Kurt.  Is spite of what you wrote it was nice to see you and meet Annalisa and spend time with you guys and the Crew Dogs.

  Craig said it is still hard to believe you are living aboard a Beneteaux 465 though, and wants to know when you are going to come out of the closet about it?  ::)

. :)

Here is a little more info on the trip so far.

I have been keeping a log, and here is some info that may be of interest.

  First, here are the milage totals at each stop, and some more pictures;

11 August Start at Gottchalk's Marina, go to CourtHouse Bay Marina
11.99 nm (we were really tired and emotionally drained from the retirement)

12 Aug Surf City anchor 28.2 nm

13 Aug Wrightsville Beach anchorage (banks channel) 48.68 nm

16 Aug Bald Head Island Marina 74.74 nm

18 Aug Southport Courtesy dock 77.92 nm (short day!)

19 Aug Calabash Creek Anchorage (did not write mileage)

20 Aug BareFoot Landing Dock 118.39 nm

21 Aug Prince Creek 114.35 nm

Sailing to Georgetown;



22 Aug Georgetown Landing marina 164.04 nm

We saw John's Alberg, which used to live in the slip behind us at Gottchalk's marina.  She is looking good John!



She was looking good not like 'Sabrina' the Flicka that the designer used to own.  She looks like she needs a good home (Our friend Dennis has one just like this, in nice condition though).



Steel Mill at George Town;


Just beyond the anchorage at Georgetown, there is this active steel mill. I did not know there were any domestic steel mills still in operation, and it seems strange to find it in a small port town. It does not detract from the great little town, but adds to it.

Kinda neat. :)

29 Aug 5 Fathom Creek 192.96 nm

we visited McClealensville, and saw the fishing fleet;



At anchor at 5 fathom creek;



30 Aug Offshore to Charleston anchorage 234.23 nm

Here is a picture Craig wanted me to take showing how calm it was;



Navigation is hard work!



This is enough to wake you up though.... lots of traffic in the channel;



Did not see much at Charleston, not too small boat friendly.  Did have a front row seat for some nice fireworks;



We watched these guys go from boat to boat for a while thinking they worked for a marina Craig called the Coast Guard when he saw they were sawing the mount off of the outboard on this sailboat.



The Coast Guard came out and looked around but they had already left. :(

1 Sep Anchored behind island just past Charleston 238.05 nm (it was beautiful, thanks Don!)

2 Sep Ashepoo River anchorage 272.8 nm

3 Sep Beaufort SC City Marina 293.49 nm

  We had a nice dinner here so far, and took the marina courtesy car for a spin.  Will update more later!

Thanks to all who are following this and especially for your thoughts and prayers.



 
More updates to follow!

[dsnyder]

Hey Craig and Rose!
     What a great adventure!  You've had everything from friends to fireworks! 
     5 Fathom Creek looked like a nice place to anchor.  Good info on Charleston not being small boat friendly (I wouldn't have thought that).
     Rose, careful you don't drop your plotting instruments overboard as you work so diligently on the navigation.   ;D
     Looking forward to your next post/update.
     Stay safe!  Smooth Sailing!

Don

[Frank]

You 2 sure seem to be havin fun....GREAT !!!  I see you have encountered the 'rath of Kurt'...don't take his ramblings personal...they are alcohol enduced. Thanks for making his Beneteau 465 public. I was sworn to secrecy about it on my visit. The big screen TV is kinda cool tho....and the crew dogs seem to like the built in AC on those hot summer days. Wishing you's a continued exellent adventure.Next stop...Georgia  ;)

[Paul]

Great reading!  So, glad you're enjoying the cruise.

But, if I may, the mill you photo'd is possibly a paper mill.  There are several in the coastal areas around Charleston, as well as scattered around NC and SC.  Had you been downwind, you may have confirmed this for sure.  They have a certain rotten odiferousness about them.   :o  Worse than any finger pullin', I can assure you.   ;)  Be glad it was a clam day.

Great photos.

Best wishes on a great cruise.

Paul

[s/v Faith]

Great reading!  So, glad you're enjoying the cruise.

But, if I may, the mill you photo'd is possibly a paper mill.  There are several in the coastal areas around Charleston, as well as scattered around NC and SC.  Had you been downwind, you may have confirmed this for sure.  They have a certain rotten odiferousness about them.   :o  Worse than any finger pullin', I can assure you.   ;)  Be glad it was a clam day.

Great photos.

Best wishes on a great cruise.

Paul

  Thanks for the post, I could have taken a picture of the wrong plant  :-X

There is a paper mill also,  I figured that one was the steel mill since there was a dock where they seemed to beunloading scrap.  I have a paper mill near where I live in FL,
so I know all about that smell.  Whatever they are doing in Georgetown somehow has avoided that smell.

  It really is a neat little town.  ;D

[CapnK]

I don't know why you people want to tell such lies about me...  ::) ::) ::)

Craigs operating system runs BETTER now, since I put Linux on his laptop...

Frank - as you are the Alcohol INDUCER, don't try to kid the rest of us, eh, ya hoser! Take off! :)

Faithers - I gave y'all that ICW Chartbook to use for *navigation*, NOT for use as a pillow and drool-catcher for Rose... Geesh...

;D

In the pic, that *is* a steel mill. It converts scrap into a high strength wire (like baling wire, not electrical wire). Back behind it there is also a paper mill, however, but you can't see it in that pic.

The way the paper mill is sited, we very rarely smell it because of prevailing winds. The stench was definitely Craig...