In Stuart FL and Loving the Sunshine!

Hi Friends,
Andy and Dave arrived in Stuart, FL last Wednesday, 10/19.  I'm posting the pictures from that last day.  Looks like dolphins greeted them and blessed the boat!

Andy has the boat in a slip at the Loggerhead Marina, outside of the Harborage, where our condo is.  The current renter will be moving out on the 26th, so Andy will have a few days to sleep in a bed on the hard before flying home.  I'll bet those first nights are going to take some getting used to!

Andy will be flying home on Saturday, and I will be picking him up in Flint, MI in the evening.  Snickers and Precious (our cats) are already sensing something is up.  How do they seem to know when Andy is coming home??

Thanks to all of you for following The Journey.  I'll have to make some changes to the title page of the blog now that the current journey has been achieved!  Andy and Dave had a goal, and they kept plugging along until they achieved it.  Even with some adversities thrown in the mix of things.  I think the experience better prepared Andy for the next Journey.  I wonder what that Journey will be??

Andy said he will clean the boat....

Hi Friends!
I asked Andy if we could hire the young lady who cleans our condo, to clean the boat before he comes home.  Andy said he would do it, if I would just provide him with a detailed list of what he needed to do.  Here's the list:


Berths:

• Wash sheets, pillow cases, towels 
• Shake out and air out all the blankets on deck, preferably in the sun 
• Shake all the rugs, including the runner (vacuum the runner), and air them out on deck 
• Take off the mattresses and vacuum under them; then wash down where the mattresses sit with Dawn & water 
• Vacuum the ledges and shelves in both berths; wipe down with Murphey’s Oil Soap or Dawn water 
• Remove the covers from the under-floor storage areas, vacuum, and wash out with Dawn water 
• Use lemon oil or Murphey’s, and wipe down all the walls and doors

Heads:

• Wipe down walls 
• Clean toilets, inside and out 
• Take off the covers to the drains and clean out the hair; scrub out with Soft Scrub with bleach 
• Clean the floors with Soft Scrub with bleach 
• Clean sinks with Soft Scrub with bleach 
• Wipe the shower door with glass cleaner in the V-berth head 
• Clean the ledge under the window in the V-berth head 
• Clean windows 
• Clean mirrors

Galley:

• Clean out the refrigerator; throw away all perishables; wash out inside and out with Dawn 
• Take old stuff out of freezer and throw out, wipe out if needed 
• Wash ledge under stove, walls next to stove, behind stove with Dawn 
• Take the grate off the top of the stove, wash down stove top and grate with Dawn 
• Wash front of oven door 
• Wipe down cupboards and cupboard doors with Murphey’s Oil Soap 
• Remove the plates and cups from the top of the cupboard, wash down shelf with Dawn 
• Cover plates and cups with a towel when you leave 
• Wipe down counter tops with Dawn, make sure you get the edges and crevices 
• Clean the sink with Soft Scrub with bleach 
• Wipe down the faucet 
• Clean the coffee pot, use soft scrub with bleach, inside and out, and the strainer; rinse well, dry off with a towel so there’s no spots 
• Clean the area between the steps and the cupboard (vacuum, then wipe down) 
• Clean the steps, along the right side of the steps with Murphey’s Oil Soap, and the metal railing (chrome polish?) 
• Wash out the waste basket, and clean out the area in the step where the waste basket sits, and the underside of the step 
• Vacuum the floor, wash with Murphey’s Oil Soap 
• Clean the storage areas under the floor (vacuum out the dirt, then wipe out with Dawn & water)

Saloon:

• Throw away all unused/old magazines, newspapers, etc. 
• Clean the ledge and shelf under the front windows, wipe down with Dawn water 
• Vacuum alongside and under the sofa 
• Clean under the table, wash floor with Murphey’s Oil Soap 
• Clean the table with Murphey’s, also along the edges of the table 
• Wipe down the walls with Murphey’s or lemon oil 
• Clean the nav desk area, along the edges get’s dusty and dirty, and under the desk 
• Clean the grates for the air conditioning 
• Wipe down all the white leather on the boat (including in the berths, and the cushions for the saloon bed), with leather cleaner, and then spray it all with 303 protectorant 
• Clean the little side windows, inside and outside (throughout the boat) 
• Clean the steps going into both berths with Murphey’s Oil Soap

:)  

10/19/11: Island Time is in Stuart, FL-THEY MADE IT!

Hi Everyone,

I know there are a bunch of people waiting to hear when Andy and Dave will be in Stuart.  They arrived there late afternoon yesterday!

Andy said they are in a temporary slip at the Harborage (that's where our condo is located).  Today he will be getting Island Time settled into a more permanent location.

It was a long day yesterday and it was rough in the ICWW, but they chugged along until they reached their destination.

Andy told me he would have more pictures for us today.  He will be back in Michigan next Saturday, 10/29.

We'll continue to keep you posted regarding our travels.  Tentatively, Andy and I will be driving his car down to Florida at Christmas Break time, and we will be sailing east to the Bahamas for a short get away.  Then I'll fly home, and Andy will stay in Florida.

Cape Canaveral 10-17, Vero Beach 10-18, Stuart, FL 10-19

Island Time saw Cape Canaveral yesterday.  Andy and Dave got a slip there.  Today the weather is supposed to be nasty (take a look at the weather at the left side of the blog), so they will stay in the ICWW and go to Vero Beach.  They are planning on getting a slip there.  They are planning on arriving at their destination, Stuart, FL, on Wednesday.  Andy is making plans to fly back to Michigan on Saturday 10-29.

Here are some pictures from their journey to the Cape yesterday.

Anchored at Daytona, FL

Andy and Dave spent the day anchored in Daytona, Fl. They are just inside the inlet of New Smyma Beach, just south of Daytona. Andy and Dave joined Walt and Loris Hayward on their Nomad for a boat ride around the area. Walt and Loris were kind enough to take Dave and Andy to the store for provisions.  Sounds like their having a wonderful time there.

Tomorrow they will continue on to Cape Canaveral.

10-15-11 St. Augustine to Daytona

Captain Andy

Spinnaker Sail

Miscellaneous Pictures South Carolina 10-13-11

The Guys Are in St. Augustine, FL 10-14-11

It's been a busy week for Deb, so I'm just getting around to updating the blog.  I'm working on my food for the tailgate party tomorrow, MSU vs. U of M....  GO GREEN!! Every night this week I've been up doing IEP paperwork, so tonight it's a pleasure to stay up late and do something enjoyable and fun.    Cooking, watching Lenno and then Jimmy F., updating the blog, and having a glass of Witch's Brew.  Yum!

At the last post, the guys were sort of weathered in at Beufort, SC.  Finally it stopped raining, and they were able to go out into the ocean and make some good time.  They weren't able to sail because the wind was on their nose, but they arrived in St. Augustine yesterday.  Upon their arrival they promptly were "showered" with a nice, warm, Florida shower, and the salt was washed off the boat.  Andy was going to spend some time polishing the bright work today, because there are the beginnings of some rust spots from the salt.

Today the guys explored the fort there: Castillo de San Marcos
The slide show today are the pictures that Andy took at the fort.



Dave and Andy are enjoying St. Augustine.  The weather is sunny and in the 80's. Their next stop will be Daytona Beach.  Stuart FL is about 200 miles from St. Augustine.  Andy will be back in Michigan by the end of the month (October). I think he's going to find it a bit chilly compared to the weather in Florida!

10-10-11 Columbus Holiday in Beufort, SC, Second Day

When it rains, it pours.  And pours.  And the wind blows.  And it pours some more.

There was 100% possibility of thunderstorms, rain, high surf warnings, rip tides, flooding, and wind.  Andy said that one gust was 56 MPH.  Island Time held at her anchorage in the river near the Saint Helena Sound.  But it's been a rough ride through a nasty day, and there's more harsh weather tonight.  They are hoping to be on their way tomorrow.

Here's a video that Andy took for me today, of the river where they are anchored, and of the weather.
 So when he says "Hi Honey," just know he's talking to me (unless your name is Honey, of course!)

10/09/11 Update on Miles Traveled and ICW Info

Here's a a good link to the ICW info:

ICW South Carolina & Georgia

Update on miles traveled:

Last update 9/12/11, to Rochester NY: Total 1017 miles

9/16/11 Rochester to Annapolis, over ground: 414 miles

9/23 to 10/06/11 Annapolis to Charleston, SC 437 miles

Total miles to date:  1454 by water, 414 by land, total 1868

Pictures of Andy and Dave leaving Charleston City Marina 10-09-11

Headed Out This Morning

Getting ready to leave. Now they have gale warning up. Guess we will be staying inside again. :( Headed for Beufort today, Savannah tomorrow. Hopefully can go outside to Jacksonville, on Tuesday.

Dave got to spend some time with friends in Charleston last night.  Oysters on the half shell...yum!  We also went to the Historical Museum, America's First Museum.  Really interesting...

http://www.charlestonmuseum.org/home

Charleston, SC, City Marina Web Cam

Andy and Dave are at he Charleston City Marina in South Carolina (home of the megadock), and you can see them on the web cam.  Here is the link:
http://www.charlestoncitymarina.com/web_cam.html

Here are some pictures I captured of them.  Andy is on the deck in a couple of them, waving to the camera...

Andy's Latest Photos and They Are in S. Carolina now

Hi Everyone,
Here are a few pictures from Andy.  They are seeing more dolphins and also more salt, because they talk about cleaning the boat every day now.

The word today is that if their friend Bill can join them, they are going out into the ocean to sail for the next few days.  The wind will be right for that.

Andy sounds happy when he calls, and that is a sign that things are going well.

North Carolina, in and out of The Ditch

OK, here are a few pics.

Was only 49 degrees when we left the dock at Bald Head Island, NC, today. We left the ICW and went into the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Fear. (I wasn't afraid). Wind was 10-15 gusting to 20. Great ride! Got to sail about 4 hours before coming back into the Ditch, :(

Another 4 hours in the Ditch and are now in a cozy little marina we got for $1.00 a foot. And it's very nice. 

Dave cooked some of the best burgers we've ever had in our lives, and I gave the boat a bath to get all the salt off, from the sail today.

We have been told that the ICW in Georgia is very long and out of the way. Are considering going out into the ocean at Savanna and staying out, about 15 hours, to Jacksonville. We are hoping Bill will be back on board by that time.

Thats it for now.

Dear Mr. Frey,

This is such a great story. I had to reprint it in the blog so that we could share some of Andy's trials and tribulations! And it's also kind of funny!

from Andrew Mattingly andym0097@gmail.com
to mayor@dunkirktoday.com

cc jdagostino@observertoday.com,
gsnyder@observertoday.com
bcc debramattingly@gmail.com

date Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 7:09 PM
subject Dunkirk City Employees?

Dear Mr Frey,

I am writing you to inform you of a recent experience I had while docked at your Municipal Pier.

I became aware of the pier in Dunkirk as a result of my use of a web based software, called "Active Captain" (https://activecaptain.com/terms.php) Active Captain lists your municipal pier as a "Free" pier. While en route to Buffalo, on 8/29/2011, we decided to stop and take advantage of this "Free" pier. We stopped, went into town and had a nice dinner and some Ice Cream and retired for the night, aboard our 44' sailboat. Good experience, at this point.

Following our night on the pier we were about to cast off, about 8:00 AM, on 8/30/2011, when we were approached by a very rough looking tattooed man, who looked like a vagrant. He said he worked for the city and he wanted me to pay him $10 for staying the previous night. He could not produce any ID so I told him to bug off. He left, cursing me and in a few minutes another, portly looking, man came to the boat to dun us for the $10. He claimed to be the Harbor Master. We asked to see some ID, which he also failed to produce .
He left. As we were leaving, we were once again cursed by the original visitor.

There is nothing on the pier indicating to check in anywhere or anything about any charges. If I owe you the money, please let me know? I am surely not going to try and beat anyone out of $10, while on my $400,000 yacht. I believe these were 2 panhandlers trying to take advantage of transients.

I thought you should be made aware what is taking place in your city.
Any questions, please feel free to call or write

Andrew Mattingly