Florida Sea Base News

I have made previous posts about the progress of S/V Chanticleer on her quest sailing from the Florida Sea Base to the National Jamboree.  The last two emails ended up in my junk mail and I missed them.  I apologize for the lateness, but here they are.

Sent 09 July 2010

We dropped anchor next to the Yorktown at 4:15AM this morning.  The trip from Ft. Pierce took 60 hours and we traveled 360 nautical miles.  We went off shore about 20 to 30 miles from the Georgia/Florida state line and remained off until we came into the Charleston Harbor.  Sailed for about half of this segment, motor sailed the rest, until we got into thunderstorms around Charleston.  It was a pretty rough entry into the Harbor, lots of lightning, rain, and wind.

Jan and Dutch have toured Charleston today, picked up their rental car and plan on leaving here early tomorrow morning for Sea base.  Gail and I are leaving tomorrow, day tripping for the next 4 days to Oriental, NC.  Expecting a stalled cold front tomorrow with rain so we will see whether we go out or the Inter coastal waterway.  Everyone hit the dock with all their fingers and toes.  It was a great trip.

Scott, Gail, Jan & Dutch

Sent 16 July 2010

After saying goodbye to Jan and Dutch, Gail and I headed back out the Charleston harbor and headed for Georgetown SC.  We had a great motor sail until late afternoon for the daily thunderstorm drill.  As we headed in to go up the Wacamaw River for a great anchorage at Butler Island the winds piped up into the 20 plus range.  The tide was with us and we traveled along at about 8 knots.  Got the anchor down just before the squalls started – although again they mostly skirted around us and then all settled down for the night.  The next day we motored to Southport and took a dock for the night.  Next morning we headed up the Cape Fear River cutting across to Carolina Beach and then on up the ICW to Camp Lejuene SC to anchor for the night.  Again afternoon thunder storms skirted around us but we remain dry.  The marines were conducting an excercise in the bay we anchored and so all night transport boats were moving in and out making for a less than restful night.  The next day we headed on up the ICW to Oriental NC for a dock.  Next morning it was raining and it didn’t let up until 11 AM. We left and anchored off the ICW near Bell Haven NC at the entrance to the Alligator – Pungo canal.  This time the thunderstorms actually caught us and we dropped anchor just before it hit.  Started off at 6 the next morning and made it to Coinjock NC near Curituck Sound. This morning we head on up the ICW and made it to Norfolk about 4 this afternoon.  Lots of big Navy ships and lots of bridges to go through and our first lock – The Great Bridge Lock.  We sailed out of Norfolk and into the Chesapeake Bay with the outgoing tide at about 9 knots and crossed over to Ft. Monroe to a military marina for the night.  We have traveled 947 nautical miles since leaving Sea Base on July 4th.  Tomorrow we sail up the Bay to Reedsville and the next day on to Colonial Beach our final destination for National Jamboree.

Gail and Scott

Thanks Gail & Scott.  I am looking forward to your final report.

Locally, Capt. Dennis Wyatt (who gave up his day off) and First Mate / Commissioner Matt McClure took most of the Galley, Commissary and Ships Store staff out in the morning for a boat ride /snorkel / swim excursion.  Chrystene Matthews gave up her morning off to run the Ships Store while Angela and Katie manned the Galley.  The staff members on the boat included Dustin, John G., April, Toben, Jacob, Ian, Sara, Sarah, Sean, Heather, Wes, Ellen, Maria, Maya, Lenka, Ashley, Jan, Noah, Bob, Whitney, Valy, Mike and Aaron F.  They tried to make it out to the reef but decided the conditions were too harsh.  So they went to White Marlin Beach on the bay side instead.

Check-ins, including the seven scuba crews, went smoothly.  Only one Coral Reef Sailing crew was in for the mid-week fun day.  Capt. Rich and Capt. Carol enjoyed their day off bike riding in the Everglades.  Biting horseflies provided motivation but Capt. Rich reported that at 18 miles per hours the flies were still catching up and taking removing chunks of human flesh.

I checked the long range scientific forecast at about 06:00 this morning and the wet, windy weather is likel to stay with us for at least another week.  El Niño is essentially gone and we are trapped between three strong pressure gradients that won’t move on.  I will have to check a few more details but a strong tropical wave (less than a tropical storm) may be upon us this weekend.  MAYBE we will get a break after that.

Sorry to run.  Make the best of your day.  We will make as much magic happen here as possible.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape