Philadelphia!

The Piers Marina




We've arrived at our final destination! Philadelphia. Since our last posting, well, Kit Kat's last posting, we've visited friends in Norfolk and Deltaville, VA; sailed north up the Chesapeake Bay via Tangier Island, Solomon's Island (the BEST crab cakes ever), to Annapolis where we were anchored for two weeks. Kristen flew back to the Virgin Islands to work as first mate on s/y Felicia and Hans flew to Barbados to photograph a wedding. No matter how hard we try, we can't really leave the Caribbean! It took two days to sail up to Philadelphia from Annapolis; we arrived at 8PM on Sunday. We are tied up to our new home at the Pier's Marina right in downtown Philadelphia. It's a great location, just a two minute walk from the Old City, 5 minutes from Center City and a bike ride for Hans to Temple. He starts classes on Monday.

Our cruise is over: we're connected to shore power, but we're not swallowing the anchor yet. We plan on living aboard at the marina on Whisper or a slightly bigger boat for the near future. We're both excited about the new prospects that lie ahead in Philadelphia but also a little daunted by the change in lifestyle.

This will be our last Log of Whisper posting. Thanks for reading and for all the comments. It's been great for us to keep a blog for our memories, and knowing that you all were avid readers encouraged us to keep posting. If you ever find yourselves in Philadelphia, get in touch!

Fair winds!
Hans & Kristen
and Kit Kat too. meow!

We were hit with some pretty bad squalls sailing up the Bay. This one included not only thunder and lightning, but hail. HAIL!


Tangier Island


Crab shacks surrounding Tangier Island's harbor.


Whisper flies all of her courtesy flags to celebrate arrival back in Annapolis 2.5 years after we left.

Kristen and Suzanne dance the night away in Annapolis




taking our cocktails for a dinghy cruise around Spa Creek in Annapolis

Kristen and Suzanne catch up

Sunset over West End, Tortola, BVI

squally weather off Virgin Gorda

Captain Chris Bennett helms Felicia. average speed was around 8 knots, we hit over 11 sailing into the north sound!

Culebra from above


Sailing underneath the Bay Bridge just north of Annapolis.


Entering Philadelphia on Whisper.

MEOOOOOW!!!

Life sucks! I feel very indignant. All I wanted to do was to jump off the boat onto the docks and run around and explore like usual, but those two-legs moved the boat as I was about to jump and I ended up in the water! Must I mention that it was FREEZING! And I'm not exactly an experienced swimmer. Still, I managed to swim ashore, in spite of much fuss from those two, and I climbed up a tree... so what if I couldn't get down on my own. I maintained my dignity. Humpf!

Florida to North Carolina

Thursday, April 9, 2009
Southport, North Carolina.

We've been steadily motoring north up the ICW. Our sails remain furled but Boris, our diesel engine, is doing an admirable job. It's cold. There are cold fronts nearly every three days with strong winds, freeze warnings, thunderstorms, rain, and general discomfort. We're trying to make up for the bad weather with good food, as usual. Thinking about it, good food can be applied in every situation: celebrating good weather, bemoaning bad weather, waiting for weather. Go figure! One of the nicest things about the ICW is the large amounts of protected wetlands in Georgia and South Carolina. There are lots of developments, big big houses and bulkheads to prevent erosion, but there are also lots of undeveloped islands and marshes bordering the ICW. It's very pretty for us to look at, and also pretty nice for all the animals!

In other news, our friends the Tillmans on Someday Came have arrived in the Marquesas after a looooong passage from Panama. Check out their blog! Way to go Captain Morgan and crew!

checking crab pots




oops!

looks like a nice spot to have a picnic and go sunbathing, storm drain and all!




Hans is all smiles behind the wheel of Dave's Porsche. vroom vroom!

a couple boats behind us on the ICW next to Jekyll Island in Georgia








Nicely restored and maintained old houses in Beaufort, SC


Here comes the cold front! and yes, it was cold!



Two guys digging for oysters (clams, mussels?) just north of Charleston, SC


We've seen lots and lots of bird life along the ICW. Countless osprey everyday, but the highlight was these two bald eagles.

North up the ditch

April 2, 2009

It looks like we'll be motoring up the ICW until this mess clears up:



satellite image courtesy of NOAA

Florida!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fool's Day!

No, this is not an April Fool's joke...we're back stateside on Whisper, trading in the sunny, dry Caribbean for cool and rainy Florida. ugh!

We sailed from Nassau to Cape Canaveral a week ago, leaving Nassau on Wednesday afternoon and arriving in Canaveral on Friday morning, 288 nautical miles. Overnight we averaged almost 9 knots in the Gulf Stream! Full Speed Ahead! As soon as we entered the Canaveral inlet, the water color changed from blue to brown and we knew we were back on the ICW. We're currently in Fernandina Beach, Florida, enjoying the hospitality of our friend Dave (from s/v Shannon Glynn) and catching up on internet, email, laundry and hot showers. It's been fun slowly making our way up the ICW, watching houses go by and then snaking our way through marshland. At anchor the other night we saw osprey, two bald eagles, a loon and sandpipers on the mud flats.

Great Isaac Light, the western-most lighthouse on the Grand Bahamas Banks. Goodbye Bahamas!


Tell us Hans...how do you really feel about being back in the US on Whisper? (approaching Cape Canaveral)

Our first anchorage in the States. How scenic.

It's a small world: the other day we had the VHF radio tuned to channel 09, the channel the bridge tenders monitor, and we heard the boat "Free Spirit." Our friend Jerry from MA is on the boat Free Spirit...so we hailed Free Spirit on channel 16 and sure enough, it was Jerry! He is on his way north for the summer and we just happened to be in the same place at the same time. We had a fun night catching up and sharing stories.

One of the many bridges we'll encounter on the trip north, this one is in Titusville, FL. The bridges are a pain, but the friendly bridge tenders make up for the hassle. They almost always are cheery and wish you a good voyage.



Hey, aren't there miles upon miles of really nice beaches in Florida? Instead, this group choses to camp and sunbathe on the muddy ICW just a few feet from the highway. charming.

Georgetown to Nassau

Monday, March 23, 2009.

Nassau, Bahamas.

It's getting colder. There is no question about it. Pants and long sleeves at night and while sailing. Ugh!

We've spent the past week sailing up the Exumas with Allaire, an old friend of Kristen's from VT. We enjoyed the solitude and beauty of a few islands before finally ending up in busy Nassau, elbowing our way through throngs of sunburned tourists.

From here we'll sail to the Berry Islands, then it's goodbye clear water and hello muddy ICW.




Kristen and Allaire keep watch.


Stone formations in the Exumas.

Mmmmmmm.... waffles for breakfast with cream and strawberry jam. That's life on Whisper!

Allaire labors over Mahi Wontons while Hans provides the entertainment.

Kristen puts on her own Bahamas Sand and Salt facial treatment at Shroud Cay, Exumas.

Allaire watches Hans jump off a cliff (if you look carefully you can see him) at Shroud Cay, Exumas.



Kristen shows off her guns!


Kristen and Allaire jump for joy.

The three pirates.


Kristen embarks on a fish jerky experiment... yummy!



Secluded beach off Halls Pond Cay.


This is what the Bahamas are really like.

Sushi anyone? No, Kit Kat, not you!


Hanging out with the Gohlkes on their boat s/v Liberty. Dave is an attorney for Skadden, Kristen's old employer in DC. He's currently lawyering from his mobile office!

Luperon to Georgetown photos

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks including:
Luperon
Luperon to Samana Cay (250 miles)
Samana Cay, Bahamas
Samana Cay to Georgetown (130 miles)




Street scenes from Luperon.



Laisa's Pica Pollo in Luperon; our favorite creole style lunch place: stewed chicken, pork or beef, rice beans salad, cold water.






laundry hanging to dry in Luperon.


Wildflowers on the outskirts of Luperon with the mountains in the background.


a Dominican tomato.

One of the produce markets in Luperon.

Hans reefs the mainsail at sunset. We've been taking two reefs in the main at sunset every night...it doesn't slow us down too much and ensures that we won't have to do any deckwork at night


See no evil, hear no evil...are we there yet?

Self-portrait at sunrise. Halfway between Mayaguana and Samana Cay.

Fresh produce from the DR meets lobster from Samana Cay to make a fabulous salad.

A wild orchid on Samana Cay (we think!).

We attempted to follow a trail across the island, got hopelessly lost and had to bushwhack (Rod Miller style) back to the beach; our legs got totally scratched and bloody.

One of the many gorgeous white sand beaches of Samana Cay, Bahamas


Whisper at anchor at Samana Cay.



the beach at Samana Cay.


Hans holds up the mahi we hooked just north of Long Island yesterday morning.



Sailing along the north coast of the DR from Samana to Luperon.