Sailing Trance

The adventure began on Friday July 21, 2023 with a drive to Canton, NY for Dan’s 3 day high school reunion event. Actives included a cocktail party, golf outing, dinner, tour of the high school and a picnic.

Sunday July 23, we drove to Maine from Canton, to pick up s/v Alice, for delivery. The sailboat was located in Brooklin, ME, a small village on the coast. Alice is a classic H12.5 Herreshoff, built in the 50’s. She was at Eric Dow Boat Works, where they build, repair and refurbish wooden boats.

The road-trip cross country was pretty uneventful. It was a 5 day journey, spending 3 nights in hotels, and driving through the night twice. We had a great weather window the entire trip!

We stopped a few times playing tourist. The first was at the Badlands National Park, the second at Mt Rushmore, both in South Dakota. The third was at Devils Tower in Wyoming, featured in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

I can now say I’ve been to all but 3 of the 50 US States. I’m missing Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. Dan has now been to all 50 states.

Wine tasting at Fair Winds Winery in Port Townsend. We got to sample Cabernet still in the barrel that will be bottled within a few years. We thought it was really good now!

Dan and I flew home on the red-eye out of Seattle, WA Monday night, arriving in Philadelphia, PA 6:30am Tuesday, August 1st.

Dan joined Bill Southon, on February 18, 2023, in Acapulco, Mexico to help sail Bill’s boat (s/v Epsilon) to Panama and then transit the Panama Canal.

Friday March 24, 2023, I flew to Panama City joining Dan and crew to transit the canal.

Saturday March 25, 2023, provision day for our trip, Cheryl (Bill’s wife) arrived this afternoon. We all went out to dinner the night before our transit.

Sunday March 26, 2023, canal transit day! We are doing the transit in one day, arrived at out wait point at 5:30 am. Dan and I worked the lines on the bow, Andrea (Andi) and Janusz from s/v Sidona, were in the stern. Bill at the helm, Cheryl taking pictures and feeding everyone. Arrived at Shelter Bay Marina around 5 pm, the 6 of us shared a bottle of champagne, then had dinner at the restaurant here.

Monday March 27, 2023, by 12 noon, Dan and I were off to sea aboard Epsilon, an Island Packet Motor Sailor. It has the livability of a trawler, with the ability to sail. We have Starlink on board! Kinda cool to have internet so far away from land. First destination Grand Cayman Islands.

Tuesday March 28, 2023, not gonna lie this wind and waves were very unpleasant. We both got sea sick, luckily the windows are big enough hang out of. We have a slight heal to port, seating is only on the starboard side, makes for an uncomfortable ride always being on the high side.

Wednesday March 29, 2023, still in recovery mode. Funny after 2 1/2 years sailing around the world neither of us were sea sick.

Thursday March 30, 2023, I think we’ll have lots of food left. Day 3 we both don’t feel like eating much.

It seams like the waves and wind caused us to burn excess fuel, we should have had a 1000 mile range, but the distance from Panama to Grand Cayman is about 650 miles.

Friday March 31, 2023, low on fuel the tank reads 1/16 left or about 13 gallons. There may not be enough to get into the bay on Grand Cayman Island. Dan radioed to a passing cargo ship, Condor Arrow requesting if they could provide 45 liters of diesel, and they delivered it to us, free of charge. The ship slowed to around 4 knots, I steered the boat to within 6 ft of the ship while Dan retrieved 4 jerry cans of diesel. In return, we put together a bag of snacks for them, and sent them back using the rope they sent down.

Arrived in George Town, Grand Cayman Island at 8:00pm, attached to a mooring ball.

Pasta Salad elbow pasta, corn, black beans, onion, tomatoes, cucumber with Italian dressing for dinner. Left overs tomorrow, I’ll add chorizo and Gouda cheese with a little more salad dressing. There was enough leftover for a third meal.

Saturday April 1, 2023, we spent a total of 16 hours in George Town, Grand Cayman. Checking in and out of the country, purchased duty free fuel, additional water, then departed for Florida.

Sunday April 2, 2023, Dan made fried eggs with toast and juice for breakfast. We’re finally enjoying food again.

The day has been very light winds, 1-5 knots mostly on the nose. We’re motor sailing with Genoa pulled in tight, as there are a few small rolling waves. For lunch we shared 2 oranges and an apple.

Dinner, I made rice. 3/4 c. +1.5c of water, adding a can of Kirkland canned chicken and about 2 teaspoons of a taco seasoning. Meanwhile in a bowl I added 1 can of black beans rinsed and drained, a can of chopped chilies, a tomato diced as well as a small onion diced. To this I added t tablespoon of cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of oil. When the rice/chicken was done, that was dumped into the bowl, mixing it all up. On a wheat tortilla was added thin slices of pepper jack cheese, then a scoop of the rice mix, rolled up to make a burrito. Enough for leftovers, plus we still have one meal left of the pasta salad. We decided to make the burritos today as the wind will pick up tomorrow and Tuesday, alway good to have dinner already made for higher winds and waves.

Monday April 3,

Tuesday April 4, after rounding the western point of Cuba, we headed northeast to jump on the Gulf Stream. It gave us an additional 2 knots of speed sometimes more. We were motor sailing at 9-11 knots.

Wednesday April 5, cruising past Palm Beach, we used the CPB Roam App, and were able to check back into the USA while sailing 12 miles from shore.

Thursday April 6, just after sunrise, we entered the Ponce de Leon Inlet on the ICW. Destination is Hammocks Beach Resort and Marina near Palm Coast, FL. We arrived there around 12:45pm. This the new home for Epsilon.

Marlene completed a book, “Grandpa Dan’s Dream Sailing Around the World“, a whimsical story to granddaughter Cora. Born during Covid, we didn’t meet Cora until our return. In addition to the poem, Marlene filled 90+ pages with hundreds of photos and passage description from TRANCE’s World Tour.

Sunday’s (December 25, 2022) edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer will feature TRANCE’s World Tour. See the Sports Section centerfold! Also more details in the online version, which has a $0.99 trial.

Monday September 5, We were interviewed for a podcast by Jeffry Wettig of The Escape Pods, Shooting the Breeze Sailing Podcasts. Part 2 is now available. You can listen here or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Monday September 5, We were interviewed for a podcast by Jeffry Wettig of The Escape Pods, Shooting the Breeze Sailing Podcasts. You can listen here or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Victory Lap Week 8/8

Monday May 23, John and Joy departed after breakfast. Shortly afterwards we departed from the Town Point Marina in Deale, MD. Our destination is the Wye East River on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake.

Our friend Yana in Hawaii has many friends. Daphne is one of her dear friends. We anchored in front of her house on the East Wye River. She invited us in, we had champagne, dinner and a tour of the property by golf cart. This day reminds me of that childhood song, ”The More We Get Together”…the chorus, “cause your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends”.

4 days to go.

Tuesday May 24, anchor up by 9:40am, destination Annapolis, MD. We anchored around noon on the south side of the Severn River next to the Naval Academy. In the afternoon there was a practice for the Blue Angles, the air show is scheduled for Wednesday. Too bad the sky was gray.

3 days to go.

Wednesday May 25, Annapolis Blue Angels Air Show.

2 days to go.

Thursday May 26, anchor up by 8:15am, moving to Rock Creek, north of the Bay Bridge on the western shore.

The anchor was dropped at 12 noon in Rock Creek.

1 days to go.

Friday May 27, Today is the Day! Anchor was up by 8:00 am destination Tolchester Marina! We arrived at 11:00am, welcomed back by the sound of horns and people cheering. Our family and friends were spread out around the marina on different docks. There was also a cameraman from the NBC Baltimore TV station filming our return into the marina.

The three day celebration begins!

Saturday May 28, day 2 of a three day celebration!

Sunday May 29, day 3 of 3!

Thanks to All who followed our journey around the globe. We enjoyed sharing our adventures and day to day life on a sailboat. There will be more Trance escapades in the future, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, the Caribbean to name a few. So keep an eye on this Blog Page, as well as “Sailing Trance” on Facebook.

Fair winds for all your adventures!

Marlene and Dan

Victory Lap Week 7/8

Monday May 16, decided to stay another day at Safe Harbor Bluewater Marina, as the weather forecast today is stormy.

There was a diver in the water, working on the boat next to us. Dan inquired if he could check our zincs. Zincs are sacrificial anodes that degrade to prevent degradation of other metal boat parts under water, by oxidizing quicker than the metal it is protecting. Ours are mounted on the propeller, bow thruster and on the strut between the keel and rudder. Two zincs were replaced, they last about a year.

11 days to go.

Tuesday May 17, departed Bluewater Marina by 7:40am, destination Deltaville.

Dan and The Man! Bob Sherer, Editor of The Waterway Guide, aka Bob423. We provided him with directions, to the laundry at the marina! His sailboat s/v Fleetwing is a Beneteau 423, hence the nickname.

For dinner we had pizza with Ty and Brandie along with Rosemary, Mark and joined by their friends Jill and James on m/v Alvin James.

10 days to go.

Wednesday May 18, laundry day then dinner with Ty and Brandie. We purchased steaks and grilled them at the Marina.

9 days to go.

Thursday May 19, departed Deltaville by 7:00am heading north on the Chesapeake. Destination Herrington Harbor to meet up with old acquaintances.

We anchored near the Fairhaven Cliffs at 7:30pm for the night, and tomorrow we’ll go up river a couple miles to Town Point Marina for a few days. The marinas closer to town, restaurants and shops were all full.

8 days to go.

Friday May 20, arrived at Town Point Marina around noon. A few boat projects were completed then just hung out on the boat all day. This marina is about 5 miles from the town here. There are no restaurants or stores within walking distance. They don’t get many transient boats.

7 days to go.

Saturday May 21, we stopped in this area to reconnect with Rick and Mei on s/v Mei Hua. We had followed them on Instagram since we first met in Morro Bay, CA in May of 2020. Their boat will remain here on the hard while they fly home to Colorado. Rick, Mei and Dave, Rick’s high school friend, picked us up by car, first stop was The Boathouse for happy hour. There was fabulous entertainment playing, the Borderline Blues Band. Later the 5 of us stopped by their marina to sample homemade wine from boat neighbors. There we met again Dan and Lori, s/v Bebe, whom we previously met at Shelter Bay Marina in Panama, January 2020. For dinner Rick, Mei, Dave, Dan and I went to Happy Harbor Restaurant. It was a great day!

6 days to go.

Sunday May 22, Mac McDermind stopped by to say hello, s/v Hamba Kahla an IP37, also a follower of this blog! While he was with us our friend John and Joy came by. They are on their way home from Jacksonville, FL after racing in Thistle Nationals. John and Joy sailed with us, bashing up the west coast, in 2020 from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to San Francisco, CA.

John, Joy, Dan and I had dinner at Skipper’s Pier Restaurant & Dock Bar during a severe thunderstorm with torrential rain. They spent the night on Trance.

5 days to go.

Victory Lap Week 6/8

Monday May 9, wind forecast has Gale warnings on the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. The swing bridge crossing the Alligator River will not open in winds 35 knots or greater, it’s been closed for several days. On the ocean, strong winds coming from the North against the Gulf Stream flowing North creates big waves. Good time to just stay put.

Dan and I took a golf cart ride to the marine store to check on hoses for the engine and to the Food Lion for a few groceries.

For dinner I made a grilled vegetable pasta salad with orzo.

18 days to go.

Tuesday May 10, Dan removed the hoses from the fresh water engine pump in anticipation of replacing them. The overnight shipment did not arrive as the airplane had issues.

Sundowners with Robin and Joe on their boat. I made roasted red pepper hummus. It had a great texture, next time I’ll adjust the ingredients a bit.

*Sourdough Notes* Levain was started mid morning, with the heat on in Trance, it grew quickly. Did I mention it’s cold here too? Baked a Belle loaf at night, love the smell of baking bread!

17 days to go.

Wednesday May 11, The afternoon was spent replacing the pump hoses and engine thermostat as well as the belt.

16 days to go.

Thursday May 12, departed at 7:30am from River Forest Marina heading North on this rainy, cold, damp day.

We dropped anchor near Elizabeth City at 7:15pm. Chicken Cacciatore over rice was on menu for dinner.

15 days to go.

Friday May 13, we woke in a fog this morning…our plan to make the 8:30am bridge opening will not happen. At least the sun is trying to clear the haze. By 9:30am all was clear and anchor up.

The Great Dismal Swamp is the oldest operating artificial waterway in the United States. It is also a National Wildlife Refuge and is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Construction began in 1793 and was completed in 1805. Flat boats and log rafts manually poled, because the canal was shallow, were used to transport wood products taken from the swamp. The canal was was dug by hand, mostly by slaves. The slaves became very familiar with the swamp which eventually became a haven for runaways. In 1940-1941 concrete and steel locks were built at South Mills and Deep Creek, both are 300’ by 52’. The locks and drawbridge operate 4 times daily, 8:30 am • 11:00 am • 1:30 pm • 3:30 pm if needed. The locks raise and lower about 10feet.

On a side note, we anticipated cruising the Swamp would be a quite peaceful event. Did not foresee the sound of car traffic on Route 17, that parallels the water. Takes away from the ambiance of the Great Dismal Swamp. Bucket list ✅.

14 days to go.

Saturday May 14, by 8:30am we had departed the free dock at the Visitors Center.

Arrived at Safe Harbor Bluewater Marina at 5:30pm. This is the first place we stopped at when our journey began in 2019.

13 days to go.

Sunday May 15, lunch with an old friend! “Hawaii Beth” we called her as to not not confuse her in conversation with our daughter Beth. We first met in Hawaii, 2020, she’s back in Virginia now. Great to catch up with her!

12 days to go.

Victory Lap Week 5/8

Monday May 2, at 7:30am we departed Southport Marina along with s/v Revival with a favorable current.

For dinner, pan fried Mahi-Mahi topped with marinated raw tomatoes with red onion and cheesy mashed potatoes.

25 days to go.

Tuesday May 3, Rise and Shine, s/v Revival took this photo of us as they passed by where we are anchored early morning. They stopped at a marina last night.

On the way today, we noticed the voltage regulator was not working. As a result, the engine was not charging batteries. The solar panels and wind generator were still working though. Upon investigation, MacGyver Dan found a broken wire, thus it was an easy fix.

Anchor was dropped for the night near Sugarloaf Island in Morehead City just off the ICW in North Carolina.

Baked meatballs with linguine and a red sauce for dinner.

24 days to go.

Wednesday May 4, arrived in Oriental NC around noon. We were able to get a slip at the Oriental Harbor Marina, nestled between another sailboat and a large trawler.

The world is really that small. As we were sitting at the Tiki bar with a boat here from Alaska, up to us walks Igor! We first met in Reunion Island, October 2021, then saw him again in South Africa. He sailed single handed around the world, even rounded Cape Horn! Igor is originally from Ukraine and he lived in New Jersey.

23 days to go.

Thursday May 5, we had dinner Igor, it was great to catch up with him!

22 days to go,

Friday May 6, Happy Birthday Alyssa! Departed Oriental at 7:30am, destination Belhaven, NC. We would have stayed in Oriental till next week but the marina was booked as there are big winds coming from North.

Arrived in Belhaven around 2pm, just before the wind increased.

Dan has been noticing for several months a small amount of antifreeze under the engine. Upon further investigation he discovered a leaky hose on the engines fresh water pump, which is actually the pump for antifreeze not water. There is a marina store that carries Yanmar (the engine brand) parts, they said they could new hoses early next week. We will replace all three. Looks like we are here till the engine hoses get replaced.

The marina has golf carts to use for those staying here. We drove one around town then stopped at The Tavern at Jack’s Neck for dinner.

21 days to go.

Saturday May 7, sundowners on our boat with new friends, s/v No Problem, Robin and Joe, s/v Harvest Moon (IP 380) Christine and Neil.

20 days to go.

Sunday May 8, there are big winds coming expect to last through Thursday.

Quick tour of the Manor, part of the River Forest Manor and Marina.

Dinner at the Tavern, joining us was Cindy and Kevin s/v Shenanigans who were docked next to us in Oriental. They walked in just as the six of us were sitting down so we all moved to a bigger table to include them.

19 days to go.