December 1998

News from Oak Ridge,

We left Oak Ridge on April 5th, in a rented car. E. Galois was at Margaret and Flemin in Turkey Creek Fl. We repainted the bottom at Glades Boat Storage. We had hoped to sail to the East Coast through the Okeechobee and the St Lucie Canal but due to the El Nino rains we were 3 feet too tall to go under the railroad bridge. So on the 13th we left Glades for Fort Myers Yacht Basin. We were anxious to make up for lost time, having to sail around Florida, but the forecasts were for strong, 15 to 20 knots, South winds. We stopped in Fort Myers Beach, Naples and Little Shark River before reaching Marathon. It was rough going to windward all the way!! Of course, we had barely arrived that a front came trough followed by strong North winds. We waited for 2 days before leaving Marathon, but it was worthwhile since we then got 15 knots winds from the SE. We therefore sailed without stop all the way to Fort Pierce where we arrived on the 19th just as another front came through. We therefore decided to motor up the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) to St Augustine.

On the way North we met Claude, Isabelle and Sylvain in Ithaque a Swiss boat that had stopped at Turkey Creek and met Margaret and Flemming. Although the mast of Ithaque is also 48' tall, they had gone through the St Lucie Canal by healing their boat under the railroad bridge, they confirmed that we would not have gone under it because of E. Galois' stiffness. We anchored in Melbourne with them and planned to meet again in Hampton. We stopped in New Smyrna with very strong NE winds before reaching St Augustine. We stopped there for a day and went on to Fernandino Beach. Having anchored early, we listened to the weather forecast and it appeared that we would have a clear sail North, so we pulled anchor and hurried to gain high seas before night. In our hurry we missed a turn of the ICW and ran aground!!. Fortunately a motor boat came by to help, so we spent the night anchored in Fernandino Beach. We left the next day and had a nice offshore passage but as we neared Charleston the forecast was for an approaching front with: North wind! We therefore entered the ICW and anchored 6 miles North of the bridge in a side channel about half a mile from the ICW. At about 10:30 the front came with a vengeance. We barely had time to set a second anchor before it blew more than 30 knots. The next day was slow going with strong wind and current against us. Two days later we are in Myrtle Beach where we stayed one day. There was an exciting crossing of the Cape Fear River in another blow and buoys that were not marked as on our recent chart and ICW cruising guide. After another couple of days we arrive at Beaufort NC. The O'Dells have left, but we get our mail from the student who lives there. After two days in Beaufort we head North and just after we anchor that evening a front comes by. It must have been blowing more than 50 knots, torrential rain with visibility nil, on two anchors and the engine on we appear to be holding, according to Claire monitoring the GPS down below Possibly the strongest wind we have experienced to date. We arrived in Hampton on May 7 and anchored in front of the City boat dock. On the 13th Ithaque arrived. We sailed to Cap Charles with Daniel. Claude left with Ithaque for Gibraltar on the 20th. The next day we drove Isabelle and Sylvain to Dulles Airport, they will wait for Claude in Spain. From May 26 to June 18 we flew to France for a family reunion, leaving E. Galois in the marina where Daniel keeps his boat.

On July 2nd we leave Hampton to sail North. We spent 9 days in Chesapeake Bay visiting: Onancock, Tangier Island which we enjoyed very much on the 4th of July, up the Pontomac River to Yeocomino River, Solomons, Oxford, Annapolis, Fairlee Creek and Chesapeake City on the C & D canal. We leave Chesapeake City on July 12 with the current at 6:35 AM and at 6:30 PM we are anchored in Cap May. Since there is a good forecast to sail up to New York, the next morning we leave at 6:00 AM in light air. Gradually the wind picks up from the West and we have a nice overnight sail up the New Jersey coast. In fact we arrive at the entrance of New York harbor before day break and wait a couple of hours before entering the channels. We make a little detour to salute the Statue of Liberty, sail past Wall street up the Hudson river and pick up a mooring, $10 a night, at the New York city marina just off 76th street. Although the marina appears pretty run down and our mooring is a quarter mile from it, it is mighty convenient to leave the dinghy and we are two blocks from the subway! Not quite as nice as being at the Concorde on the Seine in Paris but terrific just the same.

After two days in New York city we motor up the Hudson to Croton Point where we will finally meet in the flesh Ray and Mary Crawford, after more than a year of almost daily radio contacts. We stay two days at Croton Point. The tides on the Hudson are very strong, we will feel them all the way to Schenectady, and going up we time our departures to have the current with us. We anchor just up stream of West Point on our way to the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club where we pick up a mooring in 55' of water. The Hudson river is really not a river but a deep fjord. Ruth and George come to visit us and leave us a car so we visit Vanderbilt and FDR's Estates. From Poughkeepsie we make it to Castleton Yacht Club where we can operate ourselves the crane in order to take the mast down. When we arrive Rob and Linda in their 26' sailboat Beau have just finished dismasting and very kindly wait and help us dismast E. Galois. Rob and Linda, from Maryland, are going up to spend the summer on Lake Champlain. They will return to the Bay of Chesapeake after and go South to Florida for the winter. We both take a Club mooring for the night. The next day we leave early and head up to Troy lock and enter the Champlain canal. Five more locks to reach Lake Champlain. We dock at lock 5 for the night, when Beau arrives. The next evening we are in Lake Champlain and anchor across Chipman Pt. Marina. The next morning we raise both masts, a very nice marina. That evening we anchor at Fort Ticonderoga and have a picnic on the beach. The next day we anchor off Fort St. Frederique and Crown Point Fort, which we visited. The next day we caught up with John in Baron Rouge and rafted to her. Francine is at her mother in Montreal. We stop in West Port on our way to Shelburne Bay, just South of Burlington. Francine is coming back in two days with their car which we will borrow to visit Paulo and Hans. On July 31st we leave E. Galois anchored in Shelburne Bay while we are in Ayer's Cliff.

Upon our return we go up to the Inland Sea, on the way we meet Beau at Valcour Island and they come with us. On August 9th we are anchored at Burton Island and must return to Shelburne Bay since Paulo and Hans are coming tomorrow for two days. Rough going back to windward in 25 knot winds. With Hans and Paulo we go to Four Brothers Island and spend the night at Quaker Smith North anchorage. Two days later Christophe and his family come for the day. On August 16 we leave for Marina Gagnon in Quebec. We meet Ginette and Jacques Robitaille of La Toison d'Or. Francine and John arrive and decide to ship Baron Rouge to B.C. We secure E.Galois for the winter and leave the Marina Gagnon on the 22nd of August..

Best wishes to all our friends on land or at sea.