The first photo is what we look like now with the bottom paint completed. The sccond photo shows the shells which were in the starboard engine strainer. These had to enter through the small holes visible in the strainer and then grow in the strainer. The lower left corner was one shell growing attached to the strainer. Wonder why the stbd engine ran a little hot at higher RPM's? The last photo shows Muriel and Shelly painting on the bottom. We all three worked on applying bottom paint on two days.

July 21, 2010 Sunshine's bottom is finally done. We have filled and faired all the blisters and applied six coats of barrier coat. Now we have finally gotten the antifoulant bottom paint applied. All that remains is to install the zincs on the transom and a couple of coats of hard bottom paint on the running gear which has three coats of barrier coat applied and ready for bottom paint. After appling the bottom paint I was poking the paint out of the raw water strainers on the outside of the hull and noticed the sound of shells rattling on the inside. When I removed the strainers I found the strainer for the starboard engine was full of shells. Evidentually they enter through the 3/32"holes and then grow inside the strainer.

It feels great to have the bottom of Sunshine looking so good and ready to go. It will be a few weeks before we launch because Muriel is having cataracs removed on Tuesday and I do not expect the Dr. will want her out in the heat for a while.

These photos show the bottom as it now appears, almost totally covered with fairing compoind and ready to be barrier coated.

May 3, 2010, Sunshine is nearing the point of beginning to apply barrier coat. I estimate two days' work to complete fairing pin holes and filling one last (?) blister. I have also removed the swim platform to repair the starboard 1/3 of which has become soft due to water intrusion. The remaining 2/3 has already been re-done.

During my last work session I went over vertually every inch of the bottom with fairing compound to fair out previous places which I faired and to fill many pin holes in the gel-coat.

The first two pictures show Sunshine with repairs underway to fill and fair the areas which were ground out for blister repair. The grey spots are ground out, the red areas are spots which have been filled and are ready to sand. The third photo shows the damage to the flybridge canvas.

Sunshine spent the entire summer waiting on the Lovetts to finish their yard and house work after being gone for an entire year. On October 1, 2009 Sunshine was hauled for new bottom paint. We found quite a case of blisters which needed to be repaired. Jeff and Anne and I worked for a couple of long weekends grinding blisters and waxing. Jeff completed most of the waxing and also a lion's share of the grinding. Sunshine has set on the hard since then waiting out a long cold and wet winter for the hull to dry out. We have finally begun the repairs on the blisters. As of today we are probably nearly half way completed with blister repair.

We had a storm with winds to 60 mph back in February. The wind pretty well shredded the eisenglass on the fly bridge. So now we have a restitched enclosure with all new eisenglass.

Myrtle Beach, SC to Home Port, Wilmington, NC via Southport.

The first photo is our gold burgee celebration with Connie and Ron and Kathy from the boat next to us in the marina. The second photo is the resident aligator who had to come along side to be part of the celebration. The third photo is the way we were greeted by Connie with ballons. The fourth photo is the sign at the entrance to our marina. And the last photo is the very bitter-sweet farwell on the dock at Southport before we sailed with Blue Max for the last time.

We got underway about 9:00 and stopped at North Myrtle Beach Yacht Club to top off our fuel tanks. From there we had the current against us most of the way to Southport. We really got excited when we passed the state line and realized we were back in North Carolina!!! That was when it really began to sink in that we were nearly home. We enjoyed a front porch visit with the Creeches of C-Life. What a beautiful location.
On Sunday morning we decided to get to going about 8:00 to take advantage of the tide running up the Cape Fear River. Good-byes on the dock were difficult. We have traveled with Blue Max almost continuously for the past 10 months. We shared drinks almost every evening during that time. I did not realize the bond which develops in that time. We ran together to the entrance to Snow’s Cut where Sunshine crossed her wake at 9:35 on Sunday, April 26, 2009 after leaving Wilmington Marine Center at 7:00 am on May 12, 2008. At the entrance to Snow’s Cut we turned north for the last 10 miles to our marina and Blue Max continued on through the cut and toward their home. Golly what emotions!!!.
We entered our marina about 11:00 to a welcome home from Ron and Connie and some of the people on the dock there. As soon as we got tied into the slip Muriel and Shelly were over on Ron and Connie’s boat, Lady C, enjoying some wine to celebrate our return, and so went the rest of the afternoon and evening.
On Monday our good friends, Ernie and Dianne Crymes brought our car to us in Wilmington. This gave us the opportunity to introduce them to Ron and Connie, our friends here at the marina. We enjoyed a dinner with them and they returned to Mooresville on Tuesday morning. We had intended to leave on Thursday but when the time we decided to delay leaving. It is now Monday, a week later and we are still on the boat saying we may leave on Thursday. We have driven to Southport twice, once to visit with Golden Lily and once to visit with Wander’n L&M. We enjoyed both these visits very much. These are the last of the loopers we have traveled with still had to pass by Southport.
I am working on refinishing some of the wood on the exterior of the boat. This was intended to be done before we left last May….I am just now getting to it. We have been keeping in touch with Blue Max to follow their progress. They may be starting their travels up the Chesapeake Bay today. We have not heard today whether the weather allowed them to travel or not.
We have enjoyed drinks and dinners several times with others living on boats here at our marina. We missed getting to witness two alligators fighting when one finally ate another. We were watching an 82 foot sailboat being lifted out of the water when the struggle occurred. This morning we got to watch a large paddle wheel powered river boat maneuver out of the marina. It was quite a sight to see such a boat maneuvering in such tight quarters.

The first photo is from our anchorage in Tom Point Creek. The second photo is what the sky looked like right after we docked in Charleston, we did not get it, but some locations nearby were getting half dollar size hail. I do not think the third photo is what I intended it to be, but it is some of the shore line of the Waccamaw River. The last two are from the anchorage in the Waccamaw River near MM375 where we spent Thursday night. This was probably our last time to anchor with Blue Max!!! Emotions are starting to become quite mixed. Excited to be nearing the point of crossing our wake and getting to see all the friends at home but not wanting to leave the new life style and many friends we have made in the past year.

We slept fairly late on Sunday morning and got a slow start. After bagels for breakfast we started preparing to get underway. Jeff and Anne got away a little before 11:00 and we got under way about 11:20. The skies were mostly overcast but it was warm, upper 70’s. This was a pretty cruise through the marshes of southern South Carolina. We arrived at our intended anchorage in Tom Point Creek about 3:45 and got the anchor set nicely in a pretty well protected area surrounded by trees on shore. I got the dingy down and it started right off and ran fine. I am sure the problems a few days ago were because I connected the gas line before I opened the tank vent and that flooded the engine. We will share drinks and snacks with Blue Max in a few minutes.
We got away from Tom Point Creek at 7:00am, some kind of a record for us, so that we could arrive in Charleston at low tide to avoid the swift current in the Cooper River while docking. This worked perfectly, we flew through Elliot Cut with a very swift current and arrived at the Charleston Maritime Center Marina at low tide with just about no current but the wind was blowing quite hard. We walked downtown for dinner and a bit of a look around. The next morning at about 5:30 we were awakened by the sound of the engine on the tall ship, Spirit of Charleston, docking just across from us. After breakfast we all walked to the bus stop and rode to the visitor center where we split-up. Bill and I took a bus to down town to tour the new destroyer but when we got there we found the line was so long that they had closed it because the ship had to leave the dock shortly after noon. The women took a horse carriage tour through the historic district and Muriel learned about a special church service at the Circular Church. The driver told them not to miss the service because part of the service would be in Gouhla, a low country dialect spoken by slaves. Muriel and I went and enjoyed the experience. The entire audience was involved in singing, clapping, foot stomping and hand waving before the service was concluded.
Freedom’s Turn had arrived in the marina in the afternoon and we got to visit with them for a while. They said they planned to leave about 7:00 in the morning. We got away about 9:15 and they were still in the marina.
We left the marina intending to anchor about half way to Georgetown and then continue to Georgetown the next day. But when we got to the area where we had thought we would anchor the wind was so strong and there was so little shelter that we just continued on and arrived in Georgetown about 4:15. While we were getting tied into the marina we met another couple who had just arrived also. They spent the winter in Florida aboard their boat and are on the way home to Cape May, NJ. After a short visit we all walked into town for dinner. We have to stop eating out so much. We will all be like blimps.
Like I said last night we are all going to look like blimps. We got up this morning and walked into town to get breakfast at Thomas Café. Freedom’s Turn told us they had good and inexpensive breakfast. They were right on target. We finally got underway about 10:00 To head up the Wacamaw River to anchor in an ox bow. While eating breakfast Bill saw in the news paper that there is a large wild fire in the Myrtle Beach area. During the day we heard the Coast Guard announce that the water way is closed in the Myrtle Beach area until further notice. We talked to the marina there and they said they expect whose homes were destroyed by the fire. After we got anchored and started to settle we saw Dean on a small sail boat converted to power boat coming up the river. We haled him and he entered the ox bow and anchored nearby. We invited him over for drinks and then dinner which we all shared. It was an enjoyable evening for all. He has been on the loop for four years, starting in Bar Harbor, Maine.
We have ordered our gold looper flag sent to the marina at home and asked Ron and Connie to pick it up for us. We spoke to them today and they will still be on their boat when we arrive on Sunday or Monday. It will be great to have them there. Their boat is probably sold and we thought they may be moved off by the time we got home. We also started to call people to let them know when we expect to be back home. It is exciting to anticipate returning and yet it is disappointing to think that this great adventure is about to end. We will hate to see our friends go on without us. Blue Max will continue on toward their home and several other boats still behind us will pass south of Wilmington and we will miss seeing them. Wander’n L&M, Golden Lily, Freedom’s Turn, and Kismet are all boats we ran with off and on and we would love to see them again.
We spent the evening and the night in a very peaceful anchorage on the Waccamaw River. It was an ox bow with enough room for several boats. There were nine boats there before the evening was over because of the ICW closing. We met Dean on Dolcimea again. We have been seeing him ever since we were in Frenandina, Fl. We invited him to come over for drinks and dinner and had a very nice visit. The nicest people play about on boats.
This morning we delayed leaving this morning because the ICW was closed due to the fires at Myrtle Beach. About 10:00 I called the Coast Guard and they said the ICW was open to all traffic so we got underway and arrived here about 1:00, Barefoot Landing. We enjoyed a burger and then walked around the shops. Tomorrow we plan to move on to Southport. The next stop will be home in Wilmington.

Isle of Hope to Beaufort, SC

Ben and Jerry's in Charleston had free ice cream the day we were there. The second photo is what we saw as we entered the river to cross at Savanah. The third photo is from Savanah. That must be us at another ice cream parlor!!

We arrived at Isle of Hope just after noon so we got a courtesy car and made the necessary Wal-Mart run and returned to put the groceries away. Then we went back out to eat dinner at a nearby restaurant which some others had said was good. We enjoyed the dinner but mine was not as good as expected. The others, Muriel and Bill and Eileen were very impressed with their meals, an excellent chef.
We were up early this morning and out to catch a bus at 8:00. We rode into downtown Savannah and took a tour of the old historic district. We were very impressed with the old buildings and the quality of the restorations.
We plan to get underway about 8:00 in the morning and run to Beaufort, SC. This will be the longest run we have made in some time, a little over 50 miles.
The forecast this morning was for winds at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 25 mph from the northeast. We were a little apprehensive about the day’s trip because we had to cross Port Royal Sound to get into Beaufort, SC. We decided to head out and if the wind was too strong when we got to the sound we would turn back a few miles and anchor but the forecast for tomorrow was the same. We left Isle of Hope with fairly strong winds but they decreased as the day progressed. We crossed the sound with only a moderate chop and arrived in Beaufort at dead high tide so that docking was as good as it gets in Beaufort where the marina is notorious for strong currents. As we were tying up Judy walked up. They stayed an extra day here to say hello. They have been running a day ahead of us for some time now. As soon as we got settled, and registered, we all walked into town for an ice cream treat and a chance to visit.
On Friday morning I got up early and checked the engines so that would be done whenever we start to move again. Then Muriel and I walked into town for breakfast. We walked into a restaurant and found Les and Judy already seated so we ate and visited with them. Soon after breakfast they left. They are going to do the down east loop this summer so we will probably not see them again any time soon. This afternoon we walked around some of the old homes in Beaufort and decided to take a narrated carriage tour. We enjoyed it and learned some about the old homes here.
Jeff and Anne arrived before noon on Saturday. So we walked into town to the bagel shop and had bagels for lunch. We enjoyed visiting during the afternoon and then decided to enjoy happy hour at a couple of the local pubs. Muriel and Anne really enjoyed the happy hour. Bill and Eileen were with us and we all had some good laughs and plenty of snacks. We finally got back to the boat about 8:00 after also visiting with some of the local boaters who were having a pot luck on the dock. Muriel insisted on fixing a dinner. It was very good but we were all already full from the snacks and drinks. Later, after dinner, Muriel and Anne used the excuse that they were going out to walk Carlie and they went back to the pot luck to get some of their banana pudding.

Jekyll Island to Isle of Hope via one anchorage and Kilkenny Creek

The first photo is the dock at Kilkenny Marina. The second photo is the old village hotel at Kekyll Island.

We got a fairly early start for us, underway from Jekyll Island by about 7:40. The winds were light and we had a good beginning. The forecast was for 15 to 20 miles per hour from the NE. We figured this would not be too bad in the ICW. Before long Muriel said she was seeing gusts to 49 mph on our anemometer. Crossing the sounds was not nearly as bad as I thought it might be with that much wind. We intended to anchor in Back River but when we got there we found virtually no protection from the NE winds and the water was too deep to anchor where there was slight protection. We decided to move on and look at a couple of other possibilities further along the way. We selected New Teakettle Creek. The water depth is better for anchoring and the wind gets very little fetch to produce waves however the wind does keep the boats in constant motion dancing before the wind. This is Easter and Muriel has prepared ham and potato salad. We are looking forward to dinner.
We have reservations at marinas for the next couple of nights because the forecast is for thunderstorms Monday evening and 60% chance of them continuing into Tuesday. Hopefully we will be able to get into a marina tomorrow before the weather turns bad.
We got underway Monday at 7:30 to try to get passed the two inlets and on to the marina before the weather turns too bad. The wind was already coming into Sapello Sound off the ocean by the time we ran down the sound. We had three to four foot waves in the sound on our bow. We were able to get into the lee of the north side of the inlet before we had to turn broadside to the waves. This worked well for us. In St Catherine’s Sound the wind was not nearly so strong but we still had some fairly large waves coming in from the ocean. From there we had a short run up a narrow channel to get to Kilkenny Marina. Shortly after we got secured at the marina, about 12:30, the wind started to pickup and a little after that we had tornado watch issued for this area. There is a line of heavy rain on the GPS weather radar moving toward us. Glad we are in the marina, even though it is not much of a marina.
The tornado watch became a tornado warning and the wind blew and the lightning popped and it rain hard for a while then steadily for several hours. On Tuesday morning the weather was still forecasting a chance of more rain and T-storms but it looked pretty good so we took off at 9:00 to arrive at Hell Gate with a favorable tide. This worked for us but we had to idle along for an hour to arrive at Isle of Hope near high tide so we could approach the dock for a starboard tie. This is a beautiful facility. We have signed up for the courtesy car to make the inevetable Wll-Mart run. It has been a few weeks since we have been to a Wall-Mart. Tomorrow we plan to ride the bus into Savannah and spend the day touring the City.