High ZZ’s has come full circle, resting peacefully in her slip at Bay Point Marina in Little Creek, VA.    When she left here in February, she experienced 9 F temperatures and 10 in of snow on the deck.  She was trapped by the biting cold, snow and even ice in the very salty water.   Upon her return, it was sunny and warm (78F), and there is no sign of snow shovels and melting salt.   So much has changed!  Not just the miserable weather and coincident attitude of her crew, but the experience and comfort level with what it takes to keep a 40 foot cruising sailboat afloat and its systems working.  When she left, her crew cringed and their hold on the wheel tightened to a death grip whenever a new dock was approached or a narrow and shallow waterway was encountered.  Now, although constant vigilance is still required, there is a calm planned approach and a considerable confidence that whatever is encountered, the crew has the experience and ability to weather the difficulty, and the boat the physical strength to endure our foibles.   Not that the learning has ceased.  We know how to change all four fuel and oil filters, equalize the house battery bank, trace down wiring and replace main electrical switches…but just as with other experiences, this is just the tip of the iceberg of cruising boat maintenance.  On the “boat chore” and new experience schedule in the next few months are motor mounts, cutlass bearing and stuffing box replacements, not to mention rudder repairs, bottom paint…..as we said, cruising is just working on boats in more exotic places than your backyard.

High ZZ’s crew is looking forward to a summer of warm weather boating, starting first with a reunion cruise of the Pamlico Sound with our Claytor Lake Sailing Association cruising club.  As there are four weddings to attend, we will stick around the Chesapeake and Pamlico, at least until mid-September.  We know these waters well, but have not experienced them traveling in such luxury as High ZZ’s.   Flip a switch, reheat your coffee in the microwave.  Miss your favorite sitcom, fire up the flat screen and Big Bang Theory appears in living color.  August too hot and steamy to sleep in, High ZZ’s AC unit will freeze the balls off of a brass monkey (it is a nautical phrase…not nasty… look it up).   Life is Good!

Well it had to happen sooner or later.  High ZZ’s and Miss Deb both lost their virginity last week….I mean their “Offshore” virginity.  In concert with Rachel, High ZZ’s completed a 2.5 day passage from St. Augustine, FL to Cape Fear (South Port) NC in the deep blue Atlantic; and blue it was!  Two hundred, eighty-five nautical miles offshore in nearly perfect conditions: 5-15 kts of winds aft, 2-5 ft seas, no rain or storms, warm days.   Only got a bit of “rolly” for 12-15 hrs.   None of it would have been possible without the help of able-bodied seaman, Marshall Spoon, from our Claytor Lake Sailing Association.   We all stood 3-hour watches at night (well, Shep actually had 1.5 night watches since he had to sleep on deck during Miss Deb’s watch in case she got nervous), enjoyed open time during the day, reading, napping…and enjoying the company of our pictured fine feathered hitchhiker, who stopped to rest on High ZZ’s and was not the least bit timid about chatting with the captain.   Can’t write an entire “Ode” about Mr. AIS and Mr. Radar, but both were quite handy.  Our AIS tranciever picks up signals from other AIS equipped vessels, especially large freighters, and could warn us many miles ahead of close encounters.   When a close pass with a big ship was noted, we would call them on the radio to make sure they “saw” us and had a plan for how to pass without crushing us.   Mr. Radar was able to pick up small craft not AIS equipped if we did not see their lights, and was especially helpful since Rachel’s radar was on the fritz.  On-watch crew from both boats chatted, exchanged navigation information….THANKS MARK and JULIE!  Although offshore passages can be tedious and taxing, the great benefit is that we covered the distance in 2.5 days going north that it had taken nearly 2.5 weeks going south….AND with much less stress on the navigator.   All those shallow bit on the ICW in GA and SC were bypassed, as was the stress of hitting something and going aground.   The enemy of boats is land, not water! We had a nice three-day visit to Beaufort NC and a quick stop in Oriental (minus the 6 in of snow on the deck).  We are now enjoying a few days in one of our favorite places in NC, Ocracoke Island.   A few days on the beach will totally recharge the batteries for our last leg back to the Chesapeake.