Chapter 1 — We’re on our way
October 5th 1987
A cold but fairly quick run down Lake Ontario with at first north west, and later south west winds. We left the
Toronto Multihull Cruising Club at eleven fifteen in the morning, and arrived at Oswego at nine thirty the following
morning and lowered the masts. There is no charge for a US Cruising Permit—it was explained to me this way: an
annual "administration charge" is levied against Canadian yachts making day trips to the US, but this charge is
waived when a cruising permit is issued. The trip through the New York State Barge Canal was cold and wet but the
fall foliage was spectacular, particularly when a sunbeam broke through the clouds to pick out a small area of hillside
in golds, yellows and reds.
October 10th 1987
We put the masts back up at the Castleton Boat Club. They have increased their docking fee to fifty cents a foot, but
the draught beer is still only forty five cents. The Albany area had received twenty centimetres of snow the day before
we left Toronto, and they only got their power back at Castleton two days before we arrived.
The Hudson River was very cold but we had tail winds and were able to sail the whole way down. In fact we sailed
through New York harbour on a crisp sunny day
at ten knots under mainsail alone.
Between New York and Cape May the days
started to get noticeably warmer although the
nights were still cold. Twenty miles out of Cape
May we lost the wind and had to motor for the
first time since Castleton.
Delaware bay was windless and sunny and we had
to motor through. we left Cape May at eleven
thirty in the morning to take advantage of the
tides, and arrived at Chesapeake City in the dark.
The first day in Chesapeake Bay we steered
compass courses from buoy to buoy through fog,
but on the second the sun came out and we had a
sparkling sail to Annapolis where it was finally
"T-shirt weather". Cheemaun sailed into
Annapolis an hour after us and we learned that
we had left Toronto on the same day, but had not
seen each other till now (and we have not seen
them since).
Our progress down Chesapeake Bay was governed
by a series of fronts coming through every couple
of days. Each front brought strong north winds to
help us on our way, but freezing Canadian air.
Between the fronts south winds would bring
warmth and headwinds.
October 21st 1987
Solomon Island, Maryland. Finally caught up
with Milliwaves. They had been delayed here a week waiting for a head gasket for their Honda. The diagnosis: a
blown head gasket caused by overheating caused by a jammed thermostat caused by salt water corrosion. Honda's
remedy: Daily flushing of the motor with fresh water. Not particularly practical on a cruising boat.
We were held at Solomons for a couple of days by headwinds, but finally sailed in company with Milliwaves to Smith
Island where there have been big changes since our last visit.
They have lengthened the town dock so that you can now get five yachts in instead of two, and Mrs Kitching has
retired on doctor's orders so you can no longer get wonderful home cooked meals at her house.
After a day's wind delay at Smith Island we left with Milliwaves. We were heading for Norfolk direct, while Jim was
planning a stop in at Mobjack Bay. When we left Norfolk on October 29th Milliwaves still had not arrived so they
must have found somewhere they liked. After having a not so great trip as far as New York, I know Jim and Chris
were really enjoying the Chesapeake and were planning how they could spend more time there on the way back.
October 29th 1987
Left Norfolk in company with a dozen other yachts (we tend to get bunched
up by the bridges) and it was interesting to note that at the turnoff for the
Great Dismal Swamp Canal all the powerboats went straight on and all the
sailboats made the turn. Seven yachts accompanied us through the Dismal
Swamp, quite a change from 1985 when we went through alone.
We had generally fair weather with light to moderate winds crossing the
open sounds of North Carolina.
November 2nd 1987
Arrived at Beaufort North Carolina and as in 1985 we found temperatures
in the mid twenties and got our shorts out for the first time on this trip.
Two days later Milliwaves arrived.
November 5th 1987
Left Milliwaves in Beaufort and that night anchored with Klysmos of
Montreal. Some of you may have met my friend Tim Ainley when he visited
the club last July with a model of a catamaran he had designed for a client:
this was that catamaran.
November 6th 1987
Klysmos and Oborea sailed past a group of motor-sailing monohulls at
eight knots. Who says you cannot sail in the Intracoastal Waterway? Later,
in the Cape Fear River, Klysmos rammed a navigation buoy. (Maurice was
downstairs turning the page on his chart at the time) This was not a dinky
little waterway buoy, but a whopping great big-ship buoy. It ended up
wedged on its side filling the space between the hulls and it took the
combined efforts of Maurice, Diane, Jonathan and a Coastguard man two
hours to get it free.
November 7th 1987
We headed on alone leaving Maurice licking his wounds (a hole in the starboard hull eighteen inches above the
waterline; he was lucky)
November 8th 1987
Waved at a passing Canadian yacht and my wristwatch fell off and over the side—so much for being friendly.
November 9th 1987
Nipped into Georgetown for supplies and Milliwaves sailed past us. We followed and anchored together that night.
November 10th 1987
Thunder and lightning today and lots of rain, but by the time we got to Charleston it cleared and the temperature got
up to twenty five degrees.
November 11th 1987
Temperature went to one degree last night and only got up to around ten today. Snow a short distance inland.
Needless to say the shorts have been put away again...
November 12th 1987
Left Milliwaves sightseeing in Charleston and headed on.
November 13th 1987
Had a flock of seven deer looking at us from the bank when we woke up this morning.
November 16th 1987
A nuclear submarine passed us in the Cumberland river: crewmen in fluorescent orange lifejackets against a matte
black hull.
Entered Florida—the welcome station with the free orange juice is gone.
November 21st 1987
Crew is watching Peewee Herman on the one and a half inch television in the cabin while the skipper has only
dolphins and pelicans to look at.
November 23rd 1987
A major stocking up at the discount grocery store in Titusville. We notice that NASA keep both shuttle launch pads
floodlit at night. I guess it is their way of keeping their spirits up.
November 24th 1987
A day of sun-showers, rainbows and strong tail winds.
November 25th 1987
Passed Cheemaun tied up at Fort Pierce. Later that day we had our first swim of the trip in Hobe Sound.
November 26th 1987
Passed Cirrus at West Palm Beach and talked to John and Vern on the radio. Also heard Libran Lady on the radio
and heard people talking to Milliwaves so they can not be too far behind.
November 27th 1987
Lantana to Miami inside: twenty two drawbridges and the constant wake of powerboats—it was pretty awful.
Anchored next to Windchime of Toronto, David and Neila's Wharram catamaran. We have travelled 1,973 miles from
Toronto in fifty three days. Milliwaves arrived late in the evening after having come through the last six bridges in
the dark. Jim says he got on the radio and gave all the powerboats that bounced him around a piece of his mind. I'm
surprised he had any left by the time he got to Miami...
November 30th 1987
The weather is good for a crossing to the Bahamas tonight so over to Milliwaves for a farewell drink (they will not be
ready to go for at least a week) and at eight thirty in the evening we up anchor and at ten thirty we clear the harbour
at seven knots under all plain sail, on course for West End, Grand Bahama.
