Friday, November 23, 2007

Merengue sails from New York to Miami.






Marked in red is our off-shore route from New York to Cape May, N.J.
This is an overnight sail past the lights of Atlantic City covering 123 nautical miles .



Beach front homes and B&B's in Cape May.


More beautiful homes.......I think I could live here!

Walking the beach in Cape May.






Winter was closing in behind us so we skipped the Chesapeake Bay and headed off shore from Cape May, N.J. to Norfolk/Portsmouth, V.A. It was an overnight trip covering 169 nautical miles in approximately 30 hrs. The course is marked in green.
Beautiful full moon!

Entering the Dismal Swamp Canal, a beautiful section of the Intracoastal Waterway(ICW).

It was anything but dismal!


Doing the Dismal!

Rafted up at the North Carolina Visitors Center dock on the Virginia/North Carolina border. The boat next to us was captained by a female single-hander, one of the few we've seen.

How can you call this dismal?

Mile 28 in the Dismal Swamp, surrounded by beautiful fall colors.

Following a boat through the Dismal.
Fall in North Carolina, spectacular! We might have left Milwaukee later than we wanted to but it afforded us the opportunity to see the fall colors at their peak as we traveled south.

Fading light on the Dismal Swamp canal as we head for a dock for the night.
The Parrot Peek-a-boo!

1st dolphin sighting, early morning in North Carolina. We new it would be a good day!
This became a daily event that we never tired of.




Dolphin riding the bow wave of a trawler on the ICW.

Early morning mist on the Alligator River, N.C.



Three pictures of our anchorage on the Alligator River

Merengue and Jim in the marina in Oriental, N.C. Jim's waiting for me to take the picture so we can head to the Tiki Bar for happy hour. This is an eclectic community of artists, business people, retirees and boaters.


Merengue at the dock in Beaufort, N.C. We loved this town. The dock is right on the main street of shops, restaurants and historic homes. A free courtesy car at the marina made it easy to get around town.


Beautifully restored civil war era homes in Beaufort, N.C.




The day after Thanksgiving and we were going to head out but heh, Santa's coming!



Reindeer aren't much good at sea (sorry Rudolph). You need a cool boat and some cute elves.
"Hey Santa, I want an official Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time."
"You'll shoot your eye out kid!"

Merengue at the dock in Myrtle Beach.



The public dock in Myrtle Beach borders a large shopping and entertainment center.
We had our first taste of She-crab soup here. Fabulous! We loved tasting the local delicacies along the way.

Token rainbow shot.



Part of the fleet. We're seeing more and more boats as we get farther south.



Spanish moss and the boats in Beaufort, S.C.


The historic homes of Charleston, S.C.










Wendy and a new friend in Charleston.


Wildlife on the ICW.


He's hoping we'll stir up some fish!


Shipwrecked shrimp boat in Georgia.

We were amazed at how many wrecks we saw along the way.



Welcome to Florida!

Jim's finally not cold.


Florida home on the ICW.







Merry Christmas 2006 from Jim, Wendy & Bailey.

We spent Christmas in St. Augustine and New Years in Vero Beach, FL.



There's no room for a tree but we still showed our holiday spirit.



The Miami skyline.






"Party Boat" in No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, FL.



Fisherman with his net in No Name Harbor. By the way, this is illegal.



We're rarely in a picture together so a friend shot this one of us in the park on Key Biscayne.



The palm avenue leading to the lighthouse.


The lighthouse on Key Biscayne.


Wendy on the porch of the light keepers house.

Jim wants to live here.


The view to the north from the top of the lighthouse.


The light keepers house as seen from the top.


The S/V Warm Rain in No Name Harbor.

Merengue & Warm Rain crossed the Gulf Stream and cruised the Bahamas together.



We were treated to the most beautiful sunsets in No Name Harbor.



Spectacular sky at sunset. Stay tuned for the Bahamas ......