T&T: MARY KATHRYN home

[R C Smith Jr]

Just a couple of points of interest on our trip from the Abacos to
Annapolis:

GULF STREAM...I broke the cardinal rule (Don't go with wind from any
northerly quadrant) this time. Was amazed at what 5 to 10 knots can do
against an opposing current. With stabilizers working poorly, we gave up our
NW course to Ft. Pierce and headed to St. Lucie inlet to run with the wind.
ASA we got out of the Stream, seas calmed and we resumed course to Ft.
Pierce.

WIND...Kept us inside all the way to the Chesapeake.

FIRE...we were three days ahead of the Myrtle Beach fire which closed the
ICW for a couple days.

NOAA WEATHER FORECAST becomes SIMULCAST...We visited Cape Charles, VA to
play golf at Bay Creek (super courses, great service, $2 per foot). Heading
north up the Chesapeake last Wednesday, NOAA declared Small Craft Advisories
at dawn (manageable), Special Marine Warning for 30k winds by 1000
(hmmmmm...), then Gale Warning by 1100. We sought shelter in Pungoteague
Creek. Each condition was already factually accurate before the "fore"cast.

SPOT TRACKING DEVICE...While SPOT has real safety features to bring in the
cavalry in case of trouble (EPIRB lite), thankfully we only enjoyed the
entertainment factor this trip. Lots of folks kept track of us, asked us if
we were lost a couple times, thought we broke down (we were golfing) and
generally enjoyed checking the website, including John on Yankee Belle, who
came down to the ICW in Holden Beach to give us a holler as we passed. The
device is not really marine friendly (no external antenna nor power supply).
And since SPOT not only receives GPS signals, but also transmits to other
satellites, having it sit on the window sill was not very effective. So we
stuffed it in a ziplock with a golf ball and closed the forward hatch on it
-- golf ball inside, SPOT outside. Li-ion batteries never needed replacing
in our 140 hours of use. We like it...even if Big Brother is watching us.

Bob
_________________________
Robert Calhoun Smith, Jr.
MV MARY KATHRYN
1977 Hatteras 58 LRC
Lying South River
Annapolis, Maryland