If there are no hurricanes to dodge we expect to leave Jamestown soon after Labor Day for Annaoplis via Long Island Sound, the East River, the Statue of Liberty and Cape May. After a short layover in Annapolis we will head for Norfolk and hope that the Dismal Swamp Canal is open which takes us past Elizabeth City, NC en route to Albemarle Sound. Here a side trip to the Outer Banks, Manteo and the Elizabethian Gardens is possible!
Around 1 NOVEMBER we will be south bound from Little River, SC to Fort Myers, Florida and have openings for one week to 10 day segments along that passage. First passage will take us through all of the quiet Low Country of South Carolina with possible stops at Brookgreen Gardens, Charlestown and Beaufort contiuning on to Hilton Head and Savanah, passing the barrier islands of Georgia and disembarking in Daytona Beach, Florida.
For the Okeechobee Waterway passsage join us in Melbourne, Florida 16 NOVEMBER for a trip down the Indian River, up the St Lucie River, through the locks, across the Lake, around a portion of the Rim Route from Clewiston to Moorehaven and down the Caloosahatchee River with a stop in Turkey Creek and a possible stop to see a cloned big cat. Disembark in Ft Myers, Sanibel, Boca Grande or Englewood!
Start planning now for your winter vacation! Join us CHRISTMAS WEEK in Marco Island for a 7-10 day excursion to the Everglades or for a possible 10 day trip to Dry Tortugas and Key West. In January and February we can meet you in Key West or Marco Island and will custom tailor a 7-10 day sailing vacation to suit you and your schedule. Whether you like remote places, quaint villages, nature without a lot of people, beach combing and shelling, snorkeling and swimming, or day sailing mixed with stops in bustling small ports with entertainment, shopping, and restaurants we can make it happen this winter. Call us NOW to save time for your winter 2002 vacation.
Our first trip in ten years from Key West to Miami was such as success that it will be a permanent addition to our schedule. Join us in Key West around the 20th of March. Take a day ashore in Key West, then sail...literally....in Hawk Channel stopping nightly in various harbors enroute to Miami. Bahia Honda has 2 beaches, Marathon has a museum, Largo Sound is home base for Pennecamp State Park. In Key Biscane National Park we found a safe place for a short drift snorkle. Reefs along the way have mooring balls to make easy snorkeling stops. In Miami it is possibe to visit Fairchild (shore side) Gardens and to take MAI LING almost to the head of the Miami River.
Maimi to Melbourne followed by Daytona Beach to Little River, SC takes most of April. We like to leave Little River, SC in mid MAY for Norfolk via the Outer Banks stopping in Ocracoke and Manteo, and from Norfolk to Annapolis. The last leg north is to Jamestown, RI...... North bound in the Atlantic ICW we travel with the spring blooms and fragrances. We like to return to RI in the second week of JUNE.
Join us for a few hours to capture the magic and majesty of a leisurly sail around Newport Harbor and for a close-up of visiting yachts from all over the world. Sail the Bay and watch the 12 Meters glide gracefully through the waves. Last minute departures from the Jamestown Town Dock can be arranged to fit your schedule. Pick up a picnic lunch on the dock and off we go!
Try a mini cruise in the protected waters of Narragansett Bay. Sail on an even keel. Swim off the boat in a quiet anchorage. Visit the historic waterfront communities of Bristol, Wickford or East Greenwich. Get up close to half a dozen lighthouses. Try your hand at the helm. Or just relax and enjoy the sights.
The Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals will be held again at the Fort Adams State Park on the waterfront in Newport on the 1st and 2nd weekends in August. One of the best ways of enjoying the music is at anchor off the park and away from the crowds and parking problems.
Join us for all or part of any Event and or Passage.
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Keep checking for possible changes to the dates and the schedule.
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Update 30 June 05, from Little River, SC
This extra long gap in updates has been filled with attention to our family. (Jolie lived until July 03 and worked until the last month). On a positive note, most recent family activities have included two graduations and a wedding which kept us driving between New England and Florida since mid May. Now we are ready to start north on MAI LING and are looking forward to the trip and spending the balance of the summer in Jamestown.
Update 30 July 02, from Jamestown, RI
Our most dramatic news since the last update concerns our oldest daughter, Jolie. Long story short she is a miracle in progress. Because she is responding so well to her chemo her oncologist finally admitted to her earlier this month, that in February after her surgery none of her doctors thought she would be alive now!!!!!!!!!!!Thank goodness, no one said that in so many words to her or us then. We are gratefull for Jolie's positive attitude, prayers from all over the United States and the wise doctors. If you are one of those kind soles praying for Jolie, please keep it up and thank you.
We have had charters this summer. We also had the pleasure of taking Jolie's step daughter, Amy, and her entire bridal party (in two groups) for a day sail on Narraganset Bay last Friday. With a sigh of relief it is nice to be able to report life on MAI LING is pretty much back to normal and on schedule again.
Update 10 November 01, at anchor in Daytona Beach during a THUNDERBIRD Show
What a summer! In early August MAI LING made the front page of the Providence Journal pictured UNDER SAIL with 2 America's Cup boats also undder sail plus the thirty one New York Yacht Club yachts all loaded and secured onboard the Dockwise Yacht Transport SUPER SERVANT 3. The Transport was headed to Cowes, England for the 150th anniversary of the first America's Cup race.
SUPER SERVANT 3. Notice S/V Tigondera on port side.
SUPER SERVANT 3. Loaded and ready to leave Narragansett Bay for Cowes, England.
Update 09 July 01, Jamestown, RI on a mooring by the Town Dock
Finally returned home the day before our first afternoon day sail charter of the summer season. MAI LING responded nicely to our efforts to spiff her up after many miles of travel. More than half a dozen 12 Meter vessels and the new replica of the 120 foot AMERICA sail daily in Narragansett Bay. We are enjoying afternoon sails, great weather, and being with family and friends....The other day we visited the Museum at Beavertail Lighthouse. There is 4th order Frensel lens on display that I touched and opened!
Update 18 June 01, Cape May, NJ anchored off the Coast Guard Station
So much has happened since I last posted...a new to us 25hp Mariner outboard motor for the dinghy, a cell phone that allows me to get email and post these UPDATES without taking the computer ashore, a dinghy trip from Beaufort to sighting distance of the Cape Lookout diamond painted lighthouse, a side trip across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke and then on to Manteo and Norfolk. Anchoring in Silver Lake and walking to the nearby Ocracoke Lighthouse early in the morning was a special treat. The village has resisted slick modern looking structures and has
We walked by the SILVER LAKE TRADING CO. en route to the lighthouse.
old fashion curb(there aren't any curbs)appeal... In Manteo we connected with an old crusing friend who now owns and runs a Tall Ship for day sails and is also Dockmaster. </>Taking a whole roll of pictures up close of six Chesapeake Bay lighthouses as we zigzagged up the Bay was fun! RITZ CAMERA in Norfolk with the Ocracoke roll and again in Annapolis with the Bay roll have failed to produce my pictures on a disc. So no new pics till I try RITZ in Newport.
We had the good fortune to be anchoring in Annapolis by the Naval Academy when the shift failed to engage. There is literally nothing a sailor a cannot get in Annapolis to keep his boat running. One vibration damper, one heck of an engine room operation, two sore hands (Bob's), and one week later we pulled away from Bert Jabin's Yacht Yard dock under our own power and were back at anchor. Thank goodness for Bob's uncanny ability to fix anything that goes wrong on MAI LING! Waiting on mechanics could have taken weeks! While the work was progressing we had hard to find goodies like Swiss Chocolate with almonds and tabooli fresh from Trader Joe's new store in Annaolis. Yum! We still have some left.
Update 9 MAY 01, Little River, SC
We have enjoyed a few detours to get close up photos of the lighthouses along or near our route north. The tide was outgoing in the Savanah River and turned after we came a beam of Tybee Light and Fort Pulaski. For the 12 mile detour a favorable current the entire way was a welcome surprise. If we had taken the time to anchor MAI LING and taken a short dinghy ride ashore, the photos ops would have been perfect. So far most of the lighthouses we have passed are situated so that anchoring and dinghying ashore is possible weather and time permitting! Photos I took of Jupiter, Ponce Inlet, HarborTown and Coquina Harbor lighthouses are posted on the Circuits page.
This photo shows MAI LING anchored off Sanibel Island and the dinghy also anchored close ashore when our mission was to get close up pictures of the lighthouse at Point Ibel.
Update 28 Mar 01, West Palm Beach, Florida
We sailed around the Key West area before heading for Miami. Got as far as the Marquesas where we anchored on west side for the night. In the morning we dinghied ashore under circling frigate birds. We had the beach to ourselves!
Ashore by MAI LING's dinghy: Bob and Don on desereted Marquesas Island 20 miles west of Key West.
Our first trip from Key West to Miami in over 10 years was outstanding and we will put it on our regular schedule. The waters are bluer than I remembered, the snorkeling is easier with mooring balls in strategic places, the anchorages ample, the sailing in Hawk Channel is great, and Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park is as delightful as ever. En route to Angelfish Creek we picked up a mooring ball at Basin Hill Shoals off Hawk Channel. With my waterproof disposable camera I snapped this shallow coral formation.
Snorleling from MAI LING on Basin Hill Shoals in Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park off Key Largo, Florida
Please excuse the out of sequence updates. I am changing the order of posting to most recent first instead of last and do not have time now to change everything.
UPDATE: 12 Mar 00 from Key West
Just back from Dry Tortugas!!!!!!!!!! What a vacation.
Bob and friend John in Parade Grounds at Dry Tortugas.
No phone. No weather on the VHF. No newspapers. No TV. No place to spend money other than the bookstore at the Fort. No services ashore. Only sandy beaches...nesting sooty terns who chattered day and nite...constantly gliding magnificent frigagte birds.... great snorkeling no matter what the wind direction....fishermen who traded lobsters for corn bread.... and the largest brick building in the world complete with a mile around mote.
Bob getting a closer look at the well thought out and constructed vessel.
Bob was fascinated with a small home made vessel tied up at the Park dock. It was made of oil drums complete with a frame for an awning and brought tewnty five Cubans safely to our shores but not before running out of fuel.
Jinny snorkling by ruins of coal pier at Fort Jefferson.
Jinny snorkeling off beach south of fort in shallow water. Bob is walking on moat wall in background.
Update: 14 Apr 00 from Melbourne, Florida
With our guests from Key West to Marco Island in mid March we had excellent weather if a little on the warm to hot side. Hightlights included snorkling off Newfound Harbor just south of Little Palm Island where the movie PT 109 was filmed and a day under sail alone from Marathon to the Little Shark River. On a dinghy exploring trip off Indian Key near Evergaldes City we spotted several white birds in the mangroves. They had a beautiful dusty shrimp coloring on their wings and backs. Bob thought they were cattle egrets. They are pure white and there were no cattle in the mangroves. A check with Peterson Guide indicated cattle or not, those birds were indeed cattle egret....with the mating feathers! Pelicans also have a change of coloring to yellow from white head feathers when the mating mode.
We left MAI LING in Turkey Creek while we made our fourth trip to Rhode Island since October to visit my mom who had a tough winter. Mom is a good sport and is graciously accepting her move to the "Assisted Living" side of the retirement center.
Friends met us at the Tampa airport upon our return to Florida, drove us back
Our friend fishing on the Okeechobee Waterway.
to MAI LING and accompanied us across the Okeechobee Waterway. We detoured to Peck Lake south of St Lucie Inlet for a walk on the beach. The next day we detoured down a canal north of Fort Pierce Inlet to get a closer look at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Research Institute. We found out they run tours daily!Update: 22 Apr 00 from Jeckyll Harbor Marina
Much was accomplished with a week of R & R with gracious friends on the Grand Canal.
MAI LING on Grand Canal near Melbourne, Florida.
We were able to liesurly do necessary maintainence on MAI LING, and I added two new pages to MAI LING's web site. It never would have happened without the encouragement of our hostess. Please bear with me on the Schedule/Updates Continued page. It is still a huge challenge for me to make it all come out correctly!Update: 5 June 00 from Little River, SC at the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
After car trips to RI and to Florida (to see our granddaughter, Kim, graduate from high school) we plan to leave here mid week and head for RI. We expect to make good time by taking advantage of the long daylight hours, make brief layovers in Norfolk and Annapolis, and hope to be in Jamestown around June 20th in plenty of time to be ready to greet the TALL SHIPS at the end of the month!
Juan Sebastion Elcano from Spain leaving Narragansett Bay
Update 9 July 00 from Jamestown, RI
Tall Ships in Newport attracted publicity state wide and we were sold out for our "UP CLOSE & PERSONAL" 2 hour tours for six. In fact we adjusted the schedule from 3 trips a day to 4 trips daily to try to meet the demand. In spite of the busy schedule we were able to make one trip with our daughter Jolie and her daughters Kelly and Abby to see the fireworks and thanks to a lot of help from several sources our first born granddaughter Katie and her boy friend Travis were aboard for the Parade of Sail. They flew in to Providence from Florida at 10:30 AM on the day of the Parade of Sail and inspite of the thousands spectators heading for Jamestown they were on board by 1:00 PM in plenty of time to catch the exciting departure of the visiting ships. Due to southwest winds the route for the Parade of Sail had to be reversed. The ships had to motor
Cadets from the Russian Krusenshtern awaiting the launch to Newport
into the wind and out of the Bay, set their sails off Beavertail in Jamestown and Parade north under sail, proceed under the Newport Bridge, then retrace their route. Watching the fleet tack out the Bay on a perfect summer day produced some spectacular photo ops! A big THANK YOU to all of our guests for choosing MAI LING for your tour of Tall Ships.
The Bluenose from Nova Scotia in Parade of Sail, Tall Ships Newport 2000
Update 10 SEPT 00 Hauled out at BREWER'S Wickford Cove Marina, RI
After a brief cold snap following Labor Day, summer has returned. The summer flew by. It was cool and much wetter than usual. We were successful in our new efforts at booking day charters and promoting short cruises in the safety of Narragansett Bay. And yes, we did get rained out on occasion... My uncle came again to celebrate Mom's 91st birhday. And Mom is out of the nursing home where she landed this past winter and is happily settled into a new Assisted Living Residence overlooking the harbor in East Greenwich, RI... We now have 2 granddaughters in college in Florida: Katie is a sophomore at Stetson studying Organic Chemistry and Dance, and Kimberly is a freshman at University of Tampa studying Spanish and getting certified to teach Kick Boxing. We took their RI cousins, Kelly and Abby, to Boston the Monday before they resumed Middle School classes in Wickford, RI. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts was exhibiting a collection of Van Gogh portraits called FACE to FACE. Kelly had studied Van Gogh and Abby studied Monet in art class. Even though we discovered that the nearby Isabel Stuart Gardner Museum (my favorite) is not open Mondays we all were treated to many visual delights at the MFA.... MAI LING is out for routine maintainance, keel repair, a new shaft and propeller and the application of a new (to us) acrylic product, NEW GLASS, to the hull above the waterline. We were not satisfied with a previous Penetrol application done two years ago so we are trying the acrylic product to deter the "Waterway Mustash".
Update 26 SEPT 00 BREWER'S Wickford Cove Marina, RI
Launched MAI LING yesterday. The bilge is BONE DRY after 28 hours in the water... The acrylic product went on easily (all five coats) and even returned some of the luster to the hull... Our guest for the passage to Annapolis is here and as soon as the weather permits, we are off!
Update 25 OCT 00 MYRTLE BEACH YACHT CLUB, Little River, SC
We had fair winds (not too strong) and comfortable seas for our passage from Jamestown to Annapolis via Long Island Sound and the East River.
New York skyline from MAI LING in the East River
Our guest learned the nuances of handling the helm quickly and enjoyed his time at sea (off the New Jersey coast)...In Annapolis Bob went to the Boating Accessories Mart, a huge traveling consignment shop where boaters look for bargains/treasures. For $10.00 he found a complete and in excellent condition used COMBI unit, electronic instrumentation which gives boat speed, wind direction, depth of water, and mileage, costing $3,900 new. Bob returned to the boat ecstatic. COMBI is out of business and replacment parts are getting hard to find. So now we have a complete set of spare parts for this very fine instrument...We have been looking for a replacement for our inflatable dinghy and in particular have been looking for a LOGIC, a state of the art instructable rigid plastic boat with pontoons which looks and acts like an inflatable except it doesn't leak air. Through a former Logic dealer who was contacted by our friends, Susie and Walter Brigman at Masonboro Yacht Club in Wimington, NC, we found a little used 12' LOGIC OPEN, the exact model we wanted. We never saw the dealer, we never had direct contact with the owner of the Logic, it never left the water. After we struck the deal we went in MAI LING to the marina where the Logic was tied astern of a Tollycraft Cruiser and Bob paddled the Logic to the
Bob paddling our newly acquired dinghy to stern of MAI LING in Wilmington, NC.
stern of MAI LING. Our thanks to all involved. We have already recieved many comments and compliments on MAI LING's sleek new white dinghy...And a follow up on the application of NEW GLASS to deter "Waterway Mustash". There isn't any!!!!! And smudges on the hull wipe off easily!Update 13 Jan 01 Marco Island, Florida
At last more pictures have been posted in the text above and one special one here. This manatee played with us for almost a half hour when we were northbound last year. We stopped mid day at the Haulover Canal anchorage between the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon at the north boundary of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It is almost certain that manatee will be found in this spot. As you can see we were not disappointed. We watched and took pictures from our dinghy. All the while this playful and responsive female entertained us, a larger presumable male manatee "stood by" more or less motionless about 15 feet away.
Manatee on her back in anchorage off Haulover Canal at south end of Mosquito Lagoon.
Update 27 Feb 01 Marco Island, Florida
It had been cold for Florida at the time of the last update and I obviously was in denial since I did not report on anything we had done. Soon after a wonderful Thanksgiving with family in Englewood, Florida, we "sailed" north in MAI LING, passing through Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay, past Davis Island and anchored at the mouth of the Hillsboro River right in the middle of Tampa. We could see the glistening stainless steel minarets of the former Tampa Bay Hotel, now the University of Tampa where our granddaughter, Kimberly, is a freshman. We dinghed a quarter mile up river, under three bridges, tied the dinghy to a floating dock used by the crew teams and VOILA! We were on campus.
Downtown Tampa from MAI LING anchored at mouth of Hillsboro River.
During Christmas break we had two sets of wonderful guests for trips in the Everglades. We dined at the Rod and Gun Club in Everglades City on Christmas day. The meals were delicious and the decorations were appropriately and refreshingly old fashioned. In January from Park Headquarters in Flamingo at low tide, we went on a dinghy ride in search of flamingos. Never got a positive id on the pink birds but I did get a shot of a huge flock of large birds in flight over exposed mud flats. We saw plenty of birds including six roseate spoonbills but not close enough for a pic without a telephoto lens.
From MAI LING's dinghy east of Everglades National Park Headquarters at Flamingo.
Today we returned to Marco Island from a week with more delightful guests and perfect weather. We sailed, swam, collected more shells, circumnavigated Everglades City by dinghy, basked in the warm soft air, and enjoyed brilliant star studded night skies.
Update 17 Mar 01 Key West, Florida
On our last trip to the Everglades we sat out a three day blow in the protected waters of the Shark and Harney Rivers and explored more deeply into the wilderness than on previous trips. Equiped with with my usual disposable camera I was delighted to take pictures of 12 members of an Outward Bound group canoeing along the Wilderness Waterway. As we approached Cane Patch camp site in our dinghy, the leader warned us of an agressive resident "trash" alligator....one that is fed by the few humans who venture more than 35 miles from civilization to this fresh water creek. One picture is candid the other is posed....wanted to be sure to get all of their faces in one picture.
From MAI LING's dinghy: Outward Bound group preparing to leave Cane Patch camp site in the Everglades.
With the wind still howling over the Gulf the next day we motored MAI LING down the calm waters of the Harney River toward the Gulf. At the mouth of the river and still in protected waters our guest and I took a dinghy trip with a lead line to check out depths looking for 5' or better. Not there! We poked the dinghy into a narrow creek just to look around and enjoy being completely covered with the huge mangroves while peering into the dense growth. On a whim, I snapped a picture of a BURL, the prominent knob on the tree trunk below. Our guest is a woodworker and he pointed it out to me.
From MAI LING's dinghy: BURL on tree trunk by creek near mouth of Harney River in the Everglades.
The next day we we anchored MAI LING near the Harney River chickie and started north in the Wilderness Waterway by dinghy. We met the Outward Bound group again just before we entered a wide passage covered with low brush and this was before the NIGHTMARE passage. Two canoes had gone ahead to see if this tangled challenge was passable. It was. This picture says it all for tangles!
From MAI LING's dinghy: En route to the NIGHTMARE passage in the Wilderness Waterway north of Harney River in the Everglades.
FOR MORE INFO: Wireless 401-965-5154 / PO BOX 505
JAMESTOWN, RI 02835
jinnyandbobclarke@earthlink.net
If you would like more info please give us a call at 401-965-5154 which is the quickest way to reach us if you are trying to make last minute plans.
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Last Posting: 30 June 2005