Sailing Fizzgig
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In Moving About

May In The Chesapeake

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May passed in a whirlwind of work, adventures, and travel. We covered over 500 nautical miles, primarily motor sailing. Our journey included a brief stop at the anchorage near Zimmerman Marine, a two-week stay in Washington, D.C., and a few days in Newport, RI. We also made our annual pilgrimage to Wilmington, NC, for doctor visits. Heading north in May has turned out to be a great idea. From Salt Pond Marina in Hampton, we ventured down to the Phoebus anchorage to wait a day or two before heading up to Matthews. Before stopping here, we were warned by the crew of SV NoChuz that the holding closer to the bridge is not great due to the bottom being stirred up by construction. Keeping this in mind, we anchored towards the channel. Instead of using the public dinghy dock, we paid $10/day to use the dinghy dock at Old Point…

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In Moving About

Northbound

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On Monday, April 15th, we departed from Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas, bound for Norfolk, VA. Our friends, the wonderful Jerda and Jeremy, had flown into Marsh Harbour a few days prior to join us for what was anticipated to be a four to five day passage. In terms of distance, this journey promised to be our most extensive yet. Utilizing the Gulf Stream for efficiency, we charted a course from the Bahamas to Virginia. Exiting the Abacos just north of Manjack Cay, we set our sights northwestward once we cleared the outer reef. It took approximately 24 hours for us to reach the Gulf Stream. Tuesday and Wednesday blessed us with near-perfect conditions. We enjoyed winds ranging from 6 to 15 knots, favorably positioned just behind the beam, while a 3-5 knot current propelled us northward. During these two days, our average speed surged to an impressive 10…

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In Boat Life

2023, One Heck of a Year

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“Beware the Ides of March.” – Shakespeare, Julius Caesar March 15, 2023 at 4:52AM Fizzgig was struck by lightning. Fizzgig is a Lagoon 450F with a 75’ air draft. Chapter One: The Strike or “Crazy Harry Plays With Electricity”Ryan and I left George Town a day earlier, expecting bad weather coming our way and looking for a safe place away from the busy Elizabeth Harbour, where over 400 boats were anchored. Our destination was Thompson Bay in Long Island, and the sail was amazing. We had a great combination of wind speed and direction that pushed us smoothly out of the harbor and straight to Thompson Bay. These moments, where everything works together nicely, make the difficulties of cruising worth it. When we got there, we anchored, readying ourselves for the strong weather forecasted. The wind was blowing hard and woke us early on the 15th, before it was light…

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In Cruising

Maine

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We are in Maine and it has been worth the wait. As my daughter once exclaimed upon rolling down the windows on our way to Redmond from the Sea-Tac airport after spending several months in the Sea of Cortez, “I smell trees!!!” The scenery is similar to Puget sound. We are surrounded by pine trees and rocky cliffs. The weather here is not oppressive and lightning not as ever-present as it is further south. It is has been so enjoyable, we decided we are going to come back again next summer for a longer period of time. There is a lot more of New England I want to experience and explore and time just keeps moving faster. This trip has has been deemed a scouting mission for next year. Here are some highlights from the past few weeks. Wood Island Harbor (43°27.250’N 70°21.070’W) This was our first stop on the way…

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In Waponi Woo

A quick announcement…

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Tap tap tap. Is this thing on…. *feedback squeal* We have an announcement to make, before your heart sinks, read to the end. The mighty Waponi Woo is for sale. Yup, she is on the market. Spread the word! She is ready to go ‘round the world with you and your family. Did I ask earlier to spread the word? Yeah, please do that. Tell all your friends, even the land-locked ones! Details on the boat are in the listing. Q&A: What happens next with you guys? We will be spending the hurricane season in the PNW between the Seattle area and Sandpoint, ID. Are you going to stop cruising? NO! We really like this stuff. Are you getting a different boat? Yes! We are looking at Catana catamarans. Why get a different boat? Many reasons. 1. Caroline likes to go fast, a Catana has dagger boards that let the…

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In Boat Life

Worldwide Community

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Our generator died. Ryan started it up and it would cough and sputter in a sickly idle. The generator did not rev up. Two months in Panama sitting unused did our reliable Honda in. Since we are dependent on the generator to run our watermaker, getting it running or replacing it was going to be necessary and is not necessarily an easily accomplished task in Central America. Some fellow cruisers we have been crossing paths with since La Paz had arrived in the marina shortly before we splashed back in the water and had mentioned their Honda had recently experienced a catastrophic pull-string failure so they purchased a new one. I decided to ask where they purchased the new one in the hope of not having to make Ryan try to board an airplane with a suitcase generator as a carry-on. They kindly gave me the information and offered to…

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In Boat Dog

Mexico to Panama With a Dog

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A little over a year ago India, Rover and I decided to go to Central America and the Caribbean (Ryan was on a four-week stint away for work at the time. India, Rover and I were in La Paz) I told India we could go west to the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia but we would have to find a new home for Rover; while it is possible to take a dog to the South Pacific and beyond, it can be prohibitively expensive and there are some lengthy quarantines involved. On the other hand, if we decided to head to Central America and the Caribbean we could keep Rover as those areas are much more welcoming to traveling pets. Much to Ryan’s dismay and Rover’s satisfaction, we chose to keep the dog and head east. So far, we have entered Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama with Rover.…

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