Combined: Adventures of Louise Michel

[bladedancer]

After a rambunctious, two month, final shakedown cruise, part alone, up to Buzzards Bay, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the Ariel is back in Brooklyn getting ready for the trip south.

Planning to leave mid september, with my partner Madeline, linger a while in the Chesapeake then down the ICW with my son Daniel.  Then across to the Bahamas - Abacos, then Exumas. Haven't done this before so I'm pretty excited.

If all goes well, I will 'hang a right'  when I get to the Turks and Caicos and head west through the windward passage.

Does anyone have any information about having a boat trucked across Panama, or Costa Rica, even Mexico, as an alternative to going through the canal.

[bladedancer]

We?ll be leaving on our big adventure in a couple of weeks. Madeline is coming for a month, down the jersey coast and through the Chesapeake. Daniel will join me for the trip down the intracoastal waterway to the jumping off point [to the Bahamas].
Lists of gear to buy and things to do cover the desk. For a while I seemed to be adding items as quickly as I crossed things off, but now the lists are getting smaller. This week it?s very hot and humid again but last week was warm and dry, which doesn?t happen often here, and we were able to spruce up the paint and add some color. With the yellow canopy and bimini top we are sewing, Louise M will be not just shipshape and seaworthy but looking sharp -as befit?s a sweet, feisty old dame- when we cast off lines and head out of Jamaica Bay.

[bladedancer]

We're underway!. Left Mill Basin early saturday with the outgoing tide. Getting round Sandy Hook was a slog, wind over tide, confused seas,  but after that we made steady progress down the Jersey shore and got all the way to Manasquan Inlet under sail. I have no idea how to rate the conditions at the inlet: all I know is we were very nervous coming in having never negotiated an Atlantic coast inlet before.  We checked out the inlet to port just inside the entrance but ended up anchored between the railroad bridge and the route 35 bridge just outside the main channel. Even though it was a Friday night, and  Manasquan is a busy place, it was just fine.
Coming into Barnegat inlet was awesome as well as scary.  Not only were the swells really big but just outside the channel they were curling over just like waves in surfing movies. And even inside the breakwaters in the marked channel there were 4 ft breakers. I guess it can't have been that bad because we saw another sailboat come in through the breaking waves at the entrance under sail and powerboats playing in the breakers in the channel.
What great little boats these Ariel's are! And hooray for Tohatsu outboards. 

[Captain Smollett]

Congrats on getting underway!  Grog for ye, and Godspeed for a safe continued journey.

[Godot]

Virtual grog to you.  When you get to the Chesapeake, give a holler and I betcha I can turn that into a real grog!

[bladedancer]

We are progressing slowly down the Chesapeake, finally going south after having to backtrack up the Delaware Bay and through the C&D canal. The trip down the Jersey coast was OK. We did one section inside while Igor passed, and entering Barnegat inlet was nerve wracking, but otherwise the challenge was finding a way through the swells that minimized rolling and pitching yet kept us on course. So we were looking forward to sailing in ?protected? waters, and having a choice of anchorages. Hah! So far the Chesapeake has been wetter, windier - and rougher -than anywhere since Sandy Hook the day we left Brooklyn.
The weather changed the day we exited the C&D canal. One day we were swimming, the next watching the clouds roll in and digging out sweaters and rain gear. Twice we?ve had to bail out of what should have been an easy passage and seek shelter up a creek. Actually wasn?t so bad since both were beautiful.
Partly it?s the boat. The Ariel is a delight to sail and plenty seaworthy but she is a ?wet? boat. Going into any kind of short steep chop we are constantly being drenched by showers of spray. On the other hand, with the wind and waves from behind we just fly, especially in the 30 knot gusts. I?m very glad I added a second reef to the main and that we have a roller furling jib so I don?t have to go to the bow. I do most of the deck work but Madeline it turns out is steadier at the helm and has pushed for going on in rough weather when I was ready to bail out. She?s also a more creative cook. Incidentally going without a fridge or cooler has worked out just fine

   
The flood.
When we tied up in the inner harbor in Baltimore the wharf was so high we could barely climb up onto it. By nightfall we were stepping down onto it! There had been so much rain parts of downtown were flooded and it looked like we might float right up onto the dock. Two days later, in the Little Choptank we spent another day holed up in the cabin as the rain poured down. It?s been sunny and dry the last couple of days and the forecast is for more so perhaps we are finally getting an ?Indian summer??well it has been an Indian summer just the one they get in Delhi.

The Kindness of Strangers
Came ten miles up the winding, tree lined Sassafras River to Georgetown, pop. 900 - and I swear almost as many boats on moorings or in big marinas Our book said there was a secluded anchorage beyond the bridge so I blew one long and one short and, lo and behold, the bridge opened. Paddling around between showers Madeline received an invitation to tie up at someones dock. Not only that, we were treated to a feast of freshly harvested crab, local corn and home grown tomatoes.

Waterworld.
We had our second taste of Chesapeake blue crab on Smith island. A dozen, ?jumbo? size, each. Took us over an hour to eat them with lots left over for crab chowder. We got them at a funky crab shack on the town dock at Tylertown, one of the island?s three villages that perch precariously on the only patches of dry land in miles of salt marshes and water. Unlike nearby Tangier island which is bigger and gets more tourists, Smith Island is sleepy, run down and, to us, utterly charming. Sadly the islands, and their way of life, are slowly disappearing. Lots of the old houses and crab sheds are abandoned and falling down. Many others are on blocks in pools of salt water, with raised wooden walkways to outbuildings. Ironically, there were also real estate signs for waterfront lots, and people seemed to be mowing their half-submerged salt grass lawns. Earlier we had passed a half-submerged lighthouse, all that remains of a once 900 acre island.

Milly and Tilly
The last week has been sunny and warm enough to enjoy a swim. This also means light westerlies, so to make a 30-mile jump to the next anchorage we have to resort to the motor for much of the time. Amazing little beasts, these Tohatsu's. Once cylinder, four stroke, six horsepower, and only 60 pounds. It sounds like an old one-banger motorcycle but it fits in the lazaret so with the cover down, the noise is not too bad. At half throttle we make 4 to 4 ? knots using about ? gallon of gas an hour.  Madeline is not  impressed and points out that?s only 16 miles to the gallon but in boat terms that?s very economical. And with the tiller pilot (Tilly) steering, you can go to the bow and nap or go below and make lunch. Since there is very little boat traffic, once out of the crab trap minefield, we can leave Milly and Tilly to get us safely to our destination.

[bladedancer]

                                                                                 Oriental, NC october28

In the Ditch

In Norfolk Madeline left to go back to New York and I have been joined by my son Daniel for the trip down the ?Ditch?. The Ditch is the snowbirds name for the Intra Coastal Waterway or ICW, a thousand miles of rivers, creeks and sounds, linked by canals, that follows the coast from Norfolk to the Florida Keys.
This time of year there are lots of boats headed south. We are usually the first off in the morning but we go slower and everyone passes us, even the other sailboats. The latter are bigger, newer and equipped with all the latest gear; we haven?t seen any other boats like ours-small, simple, a little frayed at the edges As a result, instead of traveling in a group and stopping at the same places, we meet new people all the time.
We did 50 miles one day but usually we manage around thirty. Anything more than about 30 miles means getting up in the dark and going till dusk. Our slow progress is also because Lulu is a dirty girl but that?s been taken care of now.
We sail when we can but it?s mostly motoring. The land is low lying, remote, a mix of swamps and forest. It?s quite beautiful. Often it?s straight enough and wide enough that we can let the tiller pilot steer and just watch the scenery go by.
Some of the towns along the route are hospitable free docks, rides to grocery stores etc. At Elisabeth City for example if five new boats show up a group of locals hosts a wine and cheese party. Other places just want our money - $15 in Belhaven to tie up for two hours This did include use of a golf cart --grocery store was 2 miles away  It went a little faster than our boat which was probably a good thing since the brakes didn?t work.
Yesterday we had a wild sail. We?d gone up one of the rivers off Pamlico sound to a boatyard recommended by Cap?n Smollet to haul out and clean and repaint the bottom. The place, Hurricane boatyard, turned out to be a delight:  a beautiful setting, a downhome, funky yard with friendly helpful people. Coming back out, with a clean bottom and a stiff breeze, we roared along touching six knots at times - and that?s with the jib half rolled up. The Neuse river entrance has the reputation for being a nasty stretch of water. We kept off the shoals  but the waves were big and steep.
We?re at another free dock in a sweet little town called Oriental. Live band playing at the marina next door, a good wi fi connection from the coffee shop across the street?and best of all a second hand marine store up the street where I spent all the grocery money. But there?s a farmers market tomorrow next to the dock. Fresh veggies and a clean bottom: who could ask for anything more.
                                        Love to all, Maikel

[CharlieJ]

Ah Oriental and "the Bean"  :D

Oriental has a webcam that aims at the town dock, so you can see who's there. We were there just a few months ago before moving the boat up to the Bay River for the winter.

Have fun chasing the warmer weather down the ditch, and be SURE to stop in Georgetown to see CaptK.

[Mario G]

we are about to make our way south ourselves, I'm hopeing that we don't have to do the diches all the way down and back.  Being our first time I will rely on advice from others as we go.

[boblamb]

Great to hear of your progress...please keep us all posted.  I'm hoping to do that "ditch" sometime soon  8)
  What kind of boat are you sailing?

BobL

[Mario G]

Hey Bobl. and all I'm happy to say we just moved aboard a Endevour 32.. Think Irwin 32 .I hope it still falls in the small boat class. its not loaded. It sails so nice it was hard to believe how smooth it glides. Not much changes from original, to many gagets confuse me ;D

[bladedancer]

                                                                                                                                      Walkabout2, 11/13/10
Marshes, Mansions and Mega-yachts: A Low Country Lament.

I added up how far we have come in two months. It averages out to less than 20 miles a day! While others hurry south: we are taking our time in keeping with the KISS principle --and a kiss should be slow, n?est-ce pas. Simple, slow and sacred.

There have been lots of places we could easily have stayed longer --the eastern shore of the Chesapeake, Oriental NC, Charleston SC,--to mention just a few. Nor did we go to the Outer Banks. And every creek we pass invites exploration, every marsh beckons. The Atlantic ocean is often only just the other side of a dune.

Unfortunately our side trips seem to end up taking longer than anticipated. At one place we tied up to a wildlife refuge dock just off the ICW for lunch and walked over to the ocean. Had I paid more attention to the chart and less to the scenery I might have noticed that the dock was in the ?blue zone?. We were sitting having tea after our walk when I realized we were stuck?and likely for several hours. Indeed it was after dark before we were back afloat.

Another time we turned off the ICW, at a place called Parrot Creek [Louise Michel?s colors are blue, yellow and green], anchored in a side creek deep in the marshes and set off in the kayaks through the marsh to a nearby island. The island turned out to have monkeys living on it. Really. Dozens of them.

On the way back we got lost. I had climbed a tree ashore and could see our mast but in the kayaks all we could see was marsh grass. No compass, only the setting sun to guide us. Passed an anxious hour, visions of spending the night in the marsh, no food or drink, in shorts and shirtsleeves, till we finally stumbled upon a channel that led back to where the boat was anchored.

We finally managed to get weather and tides right for an outside hop. We considered going out at Beaufort but the forecast winds and waves were outside our comfort zone. We went out at Cape Fear with a good ebb tide but turned back after an hour of crashing and bashing into a headwind. At the other Beaufort we went out Port Royal inlet and had a fast run almost 50 miles down the coast and an easy re-entry

As some of you know I have traveled far and wide throughout north America but never to the southeast and never down the coast. This section through the Carolinas and Georgia is really beautiful. The ICW winds its way up and down rivers through cypress swamps further north and now miles of golden marshes and islands covered with dense stands of oak, loblolly and palm trees. It is green and lush.

The newly built up sections on the other hand are depressing. One section in particular in south Carolina, where there was one gated community with a golf course after another, had me ranting away to Daniel about the lack of taste or sense of aesthetic of the modern bourgeoisie. If you?ve got it flaunt it seems to be the motto. Then we saw one house under construction and I realized they were just stick houses: what I had thought were stone and adobe walls were just a facade.

On the water the KISS principle is also little in evidence. Indeed I have yet to see another boat under 30ft headed south Most are 35ft and up and loaded with all the latest gear recommended in Practical Sailor and Nigel Calder. I wonder if they have the Pardeys on their bookshelf: bet they don?t have Moitessier or Allcard [two of my favorites along with Maurice Griffith and Annie Hall]. On the other hand they are probably more comfortable than we are.

Louise Michel has no dodger or cabin heater. Getting out of a warm sleeping bag when it?s 40 degrees out -and that?s in the cabin-is hard. Explains why we aren't underway at dawn. They wave as they pass, one after another, in shirtsleeves inside their fully enclosed cockpits while we are bundled up in coats and mufflers and wool hats. When there?s a chop it?s worse. We get soaked and it?s a bit too chilly for solar showers in the cockpit at the end of the day.
But we are having a truly wonderful time. Let them all hurry south.
                                         
                                                                 Regards to all, Maikel

PS Check out Daniel?s blog?http://www.stonesouptravels.blogspot.com.
He has pictures.


_{Edit by s/v Faith,  for readability and repair link.}

[CharlieJ]

Aren't the monkey's something? A friend of ours is one of the anthropologists who works with them. We spent a night anchored off the dock there and saw hundreds rhe next morning at dawn. Pretty neat!

Laura loved the Georgia marshes also.

Sounds like you are having a great trip. Good wishes for the rest.

[s/v Faith]

Thanks for taking the time to type this up and post it.   Here is a grog to enjoy in the cockpit.

  It sounds like you are on a similar schedule to what Rose and I choose... only way to do it.

   It is really a wonderful run!  Sometimes I wonder about the folks who gripe about the ICW.  Like you mentioned, there are some parts (mostly developed) that are less magical, but by in large it is a wonderful way to go south (0r north)!

Fair winds!  Look forward to the next update.  ;D

[Captain Smollett]

This is beautiful; thanks for posting and Grog to you for sharing this.

                                                                                                                                     
and a kiss should be slow, n?est-ce pas. Simple, slow and sacred.

Oui.   :)

On the way back we got lost. I had climbed a tree ashore and could see our mast but in the kayaks all we could see was marsh grass. No compass, only the setting sun to guide us. Passed an anxious hour, visions of spending the night in the marsh, no food or drink, in shorts and shirtsleeves, till we finally stumbled upon a channel that led back to where the boat was anchored.

This is so cool (to me); some may view getting lost as a negative, and while it may be a bit stressful at the time, it's part of the adventure.  There is no script, but the beauty and fun is where/how we find it.

If you?ve got it flaunt it seems to be the motto. Then we saw one house under construction and I realized they were just stick houses: what I had thought were stone and adobe walls were just a facade.

Yep...shameless displays of wealth seem to serve only the purpose of "look what *I* have, nah, nah nah."

And just like the adobe walls, it's all illusion anyway.

But we are having a truly wonderful time. Let them all hurry south.
                                         

Very good.

Please keep posting as your trip allows.

[bladedancer]

                                                                                                            Boot Key Harbor, jan 17

      I hadn't planned to come to Marathon, or anywhere in the  Florida Keys for that matter. I thought that by now I'd be in Marsh Harbor.  Not sure if I lost my nerve, but after four back to back cold fronts, and talking to other SBLD cruisers,  I began to have second thoughts about trying to cross to the Abacos in December. It didn't help that the little Tohatsu, which has worked perfectly for two years and which ran day after day, sometimes for ten hours non stop, down the ICW, began to cut out....and of course at the most inopportune moments. I think the motor is fine and the problem is the installation - the poor thing is suffocating on its own exhaust. And the design ? if it didn't have such a skinny ass it wouldn't squat so much. But then Alberg didn't design the Ariel as a cruising boat  Problem is where else do you put all that stuff? 

Everyone says  Pearson Ariels are great sea going boats and I'm sure they are. Not sure anyone has actually sailed around the world in one, maybe someone out there knows. All I know is I was not relishing the prospect of fourteen hours of hand steering and being drenched by waves over the bow or over the side which is what seemed likely unless conditions for crossing the Gulf Stream were perfect. And, assuming I/we got across safely, the weather would be much the same, but with fewer all weather anchorages and still  being pinned down by cold fronts for half the week.  Maybe it's that I am older, or maybe global warming really has altered the climate, but I don't remember cruising in the PNW, even going around Vancouver Island, being this hard.

I thought of going to Cuba instead, getting round to the south west coast, and hopefully  more sheltered cruising, but Daniel didn't want to do that. The prospect of going solo, in this boat, was just too daunting. So, Daniel went back to North Carolina and I came on down to the Keys. I spent Christmas and New Year in No Name Harbor... thinking at times  that I was in Cuba...then moved on to Key Largo and now Boot Key Harbor.

I miss Daniel. He and I discovered boating together when he was just a kid.  I remember us being  towed back to port when an early season gale ripped our makeshift blue tarp sail to shreds, sleeping on the beach wrapped in a sail because the wind was too strong to get home. Then, as we became more proficient, and our boats got bigger ? 26' instead of 16',  and with motors - we began to spend summers cruising together in the San Juan Islands and up and down  Georgia Strait.

I'm also enjoying having the boat to myself. For one person as a liveaboard it's plenty big enough.  I'm also enjoying being 'at loose ends'. Even though we took our time the trip down the ICW was a slog.  I'm quite content to just be here, on a mooring, taking care of chores, visiting with other liveaboards and watching the sun rise and set. My FM radio quit and to get internet means a long paddle to the marina. Not having these easy distractions means more time for introspection.... some of which is good and leads to valuable insights, lessons in humility and acceptance and so on. But mostly it's the same old nonsense that's been rattling around in my head for years. I probably need professional help but psychiatrists are even more expensive than boats....

My partner Madeline will be joining me in a few weeks for two months. By then hopefully the worst of the winter storms should be over.  Current plan is to cross to Bimini and then on to the Exumas. Beyond that I'm  not making any plans. I still want to go to the western caribbean in april/may [Jamaica, Honduras, Belize] but that depends on finding someone to go with me.

[Captain Smollett]

And the design ? if it didn't have such a skinny ass it wouldn't squat so much. But then Alberg didn't design the Ariel as a cruising boat  Problem is where else do you put all that stuff? 

Everyone says  Pearson Ariels are great sea going boats and I'm sure they are. Not sure anyone has actually sailed around the world in one, maybe someone out there knows. 

Wow, thanks for taking the time to write that and post.  It is great to hear from you and about your trip so far and your plans.

I do have a question: Is there something specific about the Ariel that gives you pause about her seaworthiness?

They have crossed oceans.  I know there are first hand accounts of crossings on the Ariel forum (or there used to be).  Eric "starcrest" here was one such "long distance" cruiser aboard an Ariel.  I don't think he ever posted his whole account here, but I think he did on the Ariel forum.

In any case, please keep us up to date as you can.

[CharlieJ]

The Ariel is very similar to our Meridian and we share the same problem. She squats by the stern.

Reason is- almost all of her storage capacity is under the cockpit or aft. Engine, fuel , under cockpit storage combined with a fine hull. Plus us there too. Tehani is probably worse because of the 7 foot beam opposed to 8 in the Ariel.

We load 80 feet of chain in the bow and try to keep the bow water tank full. Helps but still lower aft. If we really want speed under power, Laura sends me to the bow ;D

But seaworthy? Bet your buns she is! We've had her in some rough stuff and never worried a bit.

She would be ideal as a single hander, but we spent a quite nice year aboard as a couple.
And look forward to more. In fact neither of us desire a larger boat.

[bladedancer]

Maybe I'm talking more about seakindliness and suitability as a cruising boat rather than seaworthiness. For sure most boats can take more than their crew.  My previous boats, both 26 footers, one a shallow draft, hard chine, centerboard yawl, the other a whaleboat with a ? keel, had somewhat more freeboard and more flared, higher bows. This meant less waves coming over the side into the cockpit and less spray over the bows. They were also higher in the stern which made me feel more secure. Both heeled about 15% when close hauled: on the Ariel it's more like 20-25%. I understand why Alberg designed the boat this way but it makes it much less comfortable if you have to do it for any length of time. The short waterline also means it's relatively slow downwind.
The boats Alberg designed for Pearson all have gorgeous rear ends. But quite apart from the problem of where to put all your cruising gear if not in the stern I do think a fuller stern would mean not having to reef so soon and, if it were higher, would make for a prettier sheer.

[w00dy]

Bladedancer, I've been having some of the same issues with my boat. The designer meant to have a lot of the weight up in the bow. Unfortunately, it's not convenient and the cockpit lazarettes offer much easier access. I've been doing my best to think about ways to get weight forward, but have had minimal success. Having a 60lb outboard, fuel and water tank aft makes it hard on proper trim.