Low Country

Tired..

But back in FLA.
Flip Flops!

It has been pointed out...

That if you look at the Marine Traffic Website, the name of our vessel is not 'Istaboa', it's 'Memphis'.
We made this change deliberately. It's a long story, but since we've made that change, we are hailed on the radio more often and have had more useful communications resulting from being contacted.
Me thinks... Folks find it difficult to pronounce 'Istaboa'.
We've heard:
Itsaboat
Istabola
Ebola
Isabella

We answer to those names also.

Thanks, Larry T.

(edited when I could think using a nearly functional brain.)

Well...

We had great intentions.

Pulling into Beaufort just in time to make the inlet in daylight, we forged ahead with a weather forecast that appeared to be near perfect... and it proved to be so for about 3 hours.

The seas looked so good out from Beaufort that we dropped Plan A and went with the quicker route toward Charleston.
And, that's where it all went to shit.

The farther out we went, the worse it got. At about 10PM we made a course change to head back west toward shore; in hopes of finding smoother seas and some sanity.

Needless to say, the boys weren't happy and we weren't either. The seas weren't deadly, they were more like water torture. Constant water torture.

So Plan A was right all along. Should've stuck too it.

We still had to head east and dig back into it to get around a 15 mile long shoal—and that turned out to be the end of our long run with Two Drifters.

Rich and Ronnie have 10 days to move their boat to Florida... we don't have a schedule.
As we passed through Frying Pan Shoals Slue and we were still having our asses handed to us, Crew Istaboa made the call to change strategies and head back to shore to seek protection from the wind.
Even that didn't help.
So we bailed... and while we're comfortably tied up at Southport Marina off the Cape Fear River, Two Drifters are still out there slogging through the muck.
We truly hope the forecasts have finally been realized and Rich and Ronnie are having a beautiful evening amid very calm seas.

I just read an email from Active Captain where they made a point that applies well in this situation... The *most* dangerous thing to have onboard is a schedule.

Tru Dat!

Cheers,

Istaboa

ps... got some great pics as were leaving Beaufort. Will process later.

The Long Run

Yesterday's run started out kinda bumpy. Crossing Albemarle Sound turned to be as rough as we've been told it would be in a blowin' WNW wind. The boys didn't appreciated that at all.
After the 2 hour crossing everything settled down.

The plan was to meet our friends on Two Drifters, but we made good time and the winds were brisk/northerly/cold and the designated anchorage didn't look too inviting so we pushed on the Dowery Creek Marina in Bellhaven, NC — about 30 miles further

This morning we start the first, and hopefully the only leg of our long run back to Florida.
We'll meet Two Drifters early this morning somewhere between here and Morehead City then try to make Beaufort Inlet in daylight.
After that? The long slog in —what we're told will be— fair seas.
Our plans are to stop in Fernandina if there's daylight, on to Cape Canaveral or further south if not.
Normally we do straight shot point A to point B runs, but this trip, due to the westerly winds, we'll be running fairly close to shore in order to take advantage of the calmer seas. A little longer, but less annoying.

If you care to, you can follow us via spot... here
I'm not sure Marine Traffic is working, but you can try... here

Of course, this whole plan is weather dependant... if it's not good as we go out the inlet at Beaufort... Never mind.... we'll try again.

Wish us luck, please.

Adios,

Istaboa

Today's Pics

Those who stay at Atlantic Yacht Basin long enough will see 'Aphrodite' come in and tie up. The artisans here are the best in this part of the world at working with wooden boats and keeping their finishes looking like new.

She's a true piece of history and a work of maritime art.

Built in 1837 

APHRODITE was built by the Purdy Boat Company and launched in May of 1937 for Wall Street financier and later Ambassador to the Court of St. James, John Hay (Jock) Whitney of Manhasset, Long Island.

Best described as a "Commuter Yacht", this elegant and sleek 74-footer would each morning whisk Mr. Whitney from his large two-story boat house westward down Long Island Sound and thru the East River to his Wall Street office. During the 45 minute commute Mr. Whitney would go up to the forward cockpit and read the Herald Tribune to catch up on the day's news.

APHRODITE'S guest list over the years reads like a "Who's Who" in the worlds of government, business and entertainment with such luminaries as Fred Astaire, Sir Laurence Olivier, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Henry Ford II, FDR advisor Harry Hopkins and Nelson Rockefeller aboard for summer day cruises down Long Island Sound. APHRODITE also once served as the site for a birthday party for Shirley Temple.

She's been restored beautifully.... the whole store here THE RESTORATION OF APHRODITE


Istaboa is crankin' up this morning and starting to move south. We may be out of touch for a while unless I find net... and I usually can.

I'll send out some Spot messages and you can track us via Marinetraffic.com  if you wish.

It'll be good to be movin' again, plus it's getting cold.

Adios,

Istaboa

Today's Pics

It's looking like we may buddy boat with Two Drifters for our run south, .... A couple we met back in 2007 in the Abacos and they're staying here at AYB preparing for the long haul.
Two Drifters is a 50 Nordhavn and can make about the same speed as Istaboa so we should be a pretty good match. We've crossed paths several times over the years and have talked about traveling together.

Two Drifters anchored in White Sound, Green Turtle, Abacos

Sunset in Whitesound

Rich and Ronnie have done the non-stop run from Beaufort, NC to Ft. Pierce, Fl many times. We may do the whole trip with them or stop off at St. Simons Island, GA. We'll see... sea conditions will be a large factor in this decision.
Their destination will be back to the Abacos sometime this spring before returning to AYB for the summer.

They're driving down from New England and should arrive here today... We'll discuss more later.
This could be fun.... Never done a long passage with another boat.

Cheers,

Istaboa

Aww Man...

Mr. Las Vegas's boat sunk.

Mr. Las Vegas’ yacht sleeps with the fishes.
A 65-foot luxury houseboat belonging to Wayne Newton filled with water and sank Friday morning at a marina on the Arizona side of Lake Mead.
No one was on board the boat named Rendezvous when it went down stern-first in about 45 feet of water, leaving the bow sticking straight up out of the water in a covered slip at Temple Bar Marina.

Today's Pic

Is a weird one...
Woke up early and heard the geese... stuck my camera out the pilothouse door and snapped this shot  off without focusing... you can tell, huh?
Anyway... I like the visual.
Hope you do too.

Cheers,

Istaboa

Today's Pic

Every hour... the horn blows and the parade starts. It is thinning out a bit.
The weather's been good and I believe a lot of the crowd has moved on south.
Maybe time to join.