First, I want to assure our followers that we are fine. I did not have a single symptom!

*****************

Now, back to our regular programming:

If there is an uglier, more boring, more annoying body of water than Delaware Bay, I hope I never have to cross it. More about that later.The first part of the day was smooth, all the way up the Chesapeake Bay and through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. When we reached the Delaware Bay, however, the tide began to ebb (toward the south). Normally, this would be a good thing, because it would speed our progress. Unfortunately, the wind was from the south (in opposition to the tide), and it began to pick up as we went along. 5 knots. 10 knots, 15 knots. When the tide and the wind are opposed like that, it creates very choppy conditions. Two-foot seas, whitecaps everywhere, with a very sharp wave frequency. Not life-threatening by any means, and not the worst we’ve seen, but very uncomfortable nevertheless. And hard on the boat. Guinness was very unhappy.

It also slowed us down. We made Cape May at 2PM, instead of 1 PM as I had expected.

But…we made it! And we are safe and sound in a very nice marina. We also popped over to The Lobster House for takeout: a lobster salad sammy and a blueberry cheesecake as our reward.

So…all is well!

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we are off to Beach Haven to celebrate my birthday.

I want to begin this post by thanking all of you who called or wrote expressing your concern about my health and the wisdom of taking this trip. And I want to reassure you all that I am now feeling fine.

As you know, I had serious reservations about it myself:

When I left on the Key West trip, I felt ten years younger than my calendar age. Totally fit. Totally competent. I knew I could handle the boat, and I was confident that I could handle the navigation. These recent seizures, however, sapped my confidence. I was tentative. Timorous. Not a good way to set out on a solo journey.

Two days ago, I called my doctor about increasing my med dosage. Instead of 900mg per day, I am now on 1300, cleared to go to 1800 if I need it. At 1300, I feel totally different. My energy level is back, and my focus is sharp. I’m pleased with my planning, and the boat is fully prepped and provisioned. I reckon I am 95% OK. The last 5% is just because I am still watching all the time to ensure that my mind is clear and my body is fit. And of course, 95% for me is like 132% for a normal man my age!

So, we are leaving tomorrow for Cape May. Then Beach Haven for my birthday on the 12th, then NYC. All that time, I will be close to home, and I can always just pull into a marina and hole up if something doesn’t feel right. I have lots of friends who have offered to come get me if need be.

But I don’t think that’s going to be necessary. I feel really good.

****************************

As soon as I post this blog, I will be going to the yacht club crab feast, then early to bed for an early departure. It’s good to think about being on the road again.

Love to all from me and Guinness!

Here’s the new itinerary:

It looks like ourMaine trip will take six weeks. That’s a lot shorter than the Key West trip, which was 5 months. Nevertheless, it took a lot of planning. I have all my marinas reserved, except for part of the trip home, which can wait – there are bound to be many changes before then.

I am planning on 12 days to reach Portland, Maine, allowing extra days to explore Newport, RI and Boston, MA. These layover days also provide a cushion in case we need a weather delay. I need to be in Portland by 7/23, because my friend Connie is flying in from Aspen to join us for a week, and I don’t want to leave her sitting alone on a pier in Portland! It is usually a mistake to put yourself on a schedule, because you simply cannot control the waves and weather. And yet, here we are…

As I write this on Thursday, 7/8, the weather forecast looks pretty good. Tropical Storm Elsa will be up in Maine by tomorrow night, and I can follow her up the coast with just the usual threats of afternoon thunderstorms.

The first three legs are fundamental to getting things off to a good start:

• First, we have to get from the Chesapeake Bay to Cape May, at the southern tip of New Jersey. This requires us to head north to the top of the Chesapeake Bay, then east through the Chesapeake&Delaware Canal, then south down the Delaware Bay to Cape May. The Delaware Bay can get sloppy, because it’s shallow, and wind can create a nasty chop. But it can also be as calm as a millpond. We’ll see. We’ve done this leg before, and that helps.
• We’ll exit Cape May on the ocean side, and head north to the Great Egg Harbor Inlet, where we’ll duck inside to celebrate my birthday with our Key West marina friends Steve and Jane in Beach Haven.
• On the third leg, we go back out of the inlet, back into the Atlantic, and run all the way up the New Jersey coastline to New York Harbor. I’ve done this before, and it is easy if the sea conditions are moderate. Once we get to New York Harbor, we are in inland waters – until we get to Cape Cod. We travel up the East River, east across the length of Long Island Sound to Greenport (it’s on the northern fork of Long Island), and on to Newport and Onset, MA. I chose to stop in Onset because I like the name, and because it positions us to transit the Cape Cod Canal the following day. I am a little apprehensive about that, because the Canal handles a lot of commercial traffic, and there are strict rules for transit. But I’m sure we’ll be fine.

Once we exit the Canal, we head straight for Boston, and then we are outside (in the ocean) the rest of the way to Portland, ME.

We’ll spend the next week exploring many of the most charming harbors in and around Penobscot Bay:

• Boothbay Harbor
• Rockland
• Rockport
• Camden
• Castine
• Pulpit Harbor
• Buck’s Harbor

These tend to be on everyone’s “Must See” list.

When Connie leaves on the 31st, we’ll head farther east, and we’ll spend five days exploring the area around Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park. It’s a famously picturesque cruising ground.

We hope to turn our bow toward home on Friday, August 6th.

Let me hear from you if you have any “insider” tips about places to see and things to do!

We’ll post again in a couple of days.

Hi Everyone,

We’re planning to leave for Maine on July 11^th – just a week from today!  It’s the day before my 77th birthday. We’ll be gone for about six weeks.  Back in mid-August.

I can’t believe it’s just a week away; I sometimes feel like I just got back from Key West.   Also, my planning has been rather time-compressed; I did most of it over the last two weeks. 

***************************

So what’s the problem?

Here’s the reason it feels time-compressed: I haven’t really been myself the last three months.  Since the day I returned from the Key West trip in April, I have been having “seizures” – not Grand Mal seizures, but episodes where I get a thrumming in my ears, and then a severe headache, and then I just get “frozen” and can’t seem to control my voluntary muscles.  I am conscious – and standing –  but I just can’t think straight or move my arms or legs.  I’m just frozen. I am conscious of the fact that I am frozen, but I can’t do anything about it. Weird, huh? Very unsettling. These episodes last about 2 minutes, and then I am OK.

It does not happen when I am seated (as in driving the car), but it did happen once while I was driving the boat. So it seems like it has some type of blood pressure connection – (stand up, get dizzy.) But my blood pressure is and always has been fine.

I have had every type of cardiological and neurological test imaginable (2 CT Scans, 3 MRI’s, EEG, EKG, Doppler Ultra Sound my carotid arteries, etc.), and I have an Echocardiogram of my heart scheduled for Tuesday. All the tests to date indicate that I am in excellent shape.

So…No obvious cause for the seizures, but my cardiologist has me very focused on hydration (which affects blood pressure) (who knew), and my neurologist has me on medication (Gabapentin) which should address the headache and seizure symptoms. Amusingly, this is the same drug I give to Guinness to lower his anxiety for vet visits and grooming.

We are still tweaking the dosage, and I am hopeful that I’ll be OK by next week.

*******************************

I realize that the earlier paragraphs sound very scary, and I won’t go unless I am asymptomatic!

But if we pull this off, we will have done the entire East Coast of the US.  I am estimating it’s about 5,000 miles round-trip, including the Key West leg.   (I said 6,000 in my earlier email, but I over-estimated.)  And we will have done it solo.  At 77 years of age.  Pretty cool.

It should take about 10 days to get to Maine.  Then we kick around up there for two weeks and take another ten days to return. ( I plan to publish our Float Plan in a day or so. )

I am really looking forward to going, and I have put a lot of effort into the plans.  But please be assured that I will not put myself, or Guinness, or Freedom at risk! I am prepared to abort the trip if I must.

As always, I welcome your comments on the blog posts.  They make me feel like I am away but not alone.