Update from Rod and Marianne on Nana Maria for the Caribean 1500

I think that some of you did not receive our first update so I am resending the first part and have updated to date. Our emails have been delivered sporadically it seems.
We finally left Winnipeg on Tuesday morning and made it to Annapolis in 3 days. When we arrived the boat - Nana Maria was torn apart by fridge repairmen and the Satellite TV repairs guys. No room on the boat so we had a picnic lunch on the dock. Both repairmen left without finishing their jobs. Captain and admiral not happy!

Janel & Marianne were for busy for several days cooking and provisioning the boat. Rod and Mark were busy with other various boat projects. The weather has been quite cool (cold in fact) for most of time. Saturday night was a pot luck dinner & going away party for Mark & Janel on a 58 foot Hatteras motor vessel.

Tuesday morning we left Herrington Harbour (south of Annapolis) to sail down to Hampton. We were up early and ready to go at first light. The weather on Tuesday was really lousy. As we were leaving it was very cold and pouring rain. The tide was extremely low and we grounded going out the channel. Didn't look encouraging but we backed up and tried another spot and made it through with more light bumps. The weather forecast had been for winds of 25 gusting to 35 knots. But not so. It continued to build and we were seeing sustained winds of 45 with gusts to the 60's with following seas. The conditions were worse when we went across the mouth of the Potomac River which is 5 miles wide (10 to 12 foot swells). It really was an ugly day but Nana Maria handled it quite well. Our next concern was getting into the anchorage in those high winds but the winds dropped as we got close to land again and we were sheltered so it was uneventful and we had great dinner of steak and lobster.

Up early again the next day and headed to the marina at Hampton, Virginia. The winds weren't quite as high (35 - 45 knots) but it was cold again. Thank God Nana Maria has a full enclosure to keep us dry and a bit warmer.

Howard and Kelly, our other crew joined us on Thursday. The past few days have been spent attending a few seminars, boat checks, a bit more provisioning and social get tog ethers). Part of the rally events was a Women's Roundtable. Janel, Kelly & Marianne attended. They were quite interesting and would be very useful for many of the women who had not done any crossings before and/or had limited experience. Lots of good ideas and tips.

But, Friday, they announced that start of the race will be delayed from a Sunday start to Thursday (and now delayed until Friday). There is a nasty low that is building out at sea of Florida that would make heading out into the Gulf Stream not wise. (The Gulf Stream can be extremely rough when there is a north wind). A sailboat off Atlantic City, New Jersy had 40 -50 foot waves and winds and one person died and 2 were air lifted by the coast guard to safety.

The delay has caused a lot of unhappiness in boats that do not have flexibility in time. Many of the boats have (had) crew that had specific time lines and flights booked out of the Virgin Islands that they will not be able to meet. Apparently quite a few crew members have had to back out of their plans to crew, leaving boats scrambling to find new crewmembers or sail short handed.

West Marine does run a shuttle service from the marina to their store. Rod has walked up and down each aisle several times. We decided to share a car rental with another cruiser so we could get around over the next few days. So yesterday we went shopping and Rod walked around West Marine again and then Boaters World. Last night we had a great pot luck dinner up in the tent organized by Janel. Tons of great food. The sip and socialize events continue to run every night at 5:30 however seem to be running low on rum and wine. A good chance to meet the other cruisers. Today is rainy and overcast. We have 3 computers on the boat and all are in use. Marianne bought a new wifi antennae/booster so can pick up free wifi access in the marina slip. I have managed to keep working. Did a few business card orders.

Many boat people seem to be happy that their elections are over and they have a new President with new changes to come. We are going up to the tent shortly for the morning weather meeting, communication strategy, crossing the gulf stream and the Gulf stream current which is a huge issue with to regards to moving south .

If you want to see a few photos, you can check the web-site http://www.carib1500.com You will find one of Rod, another of Janel and a third one with Mark, Marianne & Rod along with 2 others and another of Fozzie.

Take care.

Rod & Marianne

PS: I have also included Kelly's update since she has a great sense of humor. . .
As you can imagine, sailors are often faced with unknowns and challenges. Frequently we have to change sails, adjust course, or make decisions that ultimately can affect the comfort and well being of everyone on board. We are in just such a situation aboard Nana Maria. Our exciting adventure out to sea aboard Nana Maria has been delayed by weather. An ugly Low Pressure system has started working its way off the Carolina coast. If we were out there today, we’d be facing 20-30 knot winds on our nose and 12-15foot waves. Not a pleasant experience. So, we’re “hove-to” in Hampton until Friday!!!
To prepare ourselves for this harrowing part of our journey, we’ve reprovisioned so that we’re sure to have enough to eat and drink during this precarious time. We’ve found some wonderful homemade chips at a local grocery and we’ve restocked our supply of Jack Daniels for our captain and Diet Coke for Rodney and Howard and white wine for the girls. With those sorts of fundamental staples on hand, we should be okay for a while, I think.

Some of the boats are losing crew who cannot wait for the weather delay, As it turns out, my cousin Mary Jane’s husband, (Ed Giannattasio) has decided to drive down from Pennsylvania and crew aboard s/vFruition, a Palmer Johnson/Peterson 43 that is docked just behind Nana Maria. In fact, Fruition and Nana Maria are in the same racing class so there will be a bit of a competition going on in the Reed-extended family. Ed’s shipmates are Bill, Bill and Bill. I can’t wait to hear what happens when Ed yells, “Hey, Bill, it’s your watch!”

Many of the boats are finishing up on projects that they didn’t think they’d have time to complete. With the known delay, they’ve been able to have parts shipped in and have workers come aboard. The staff of West Marine organized daily shuttles back and forth from the Marina to their store so that the participants can get any last minute items that they may need.

On Friday (Halloween), we had our “Farewell Dinner” even though we’re not leaving for another week. There are a lot of kids coming on the trip and they were all decked out in their scariest outfits as they collected candy from the boaters. Since then, the Rally has been sponsoring nightly “Sip & Socials” for everyone. Last night, there was a great Pot Luck Dinner. All of the boaters brought up food to share. Roast beef, sausage & peppers, ham, scalloped potatoes, pasta salads, pear cobbler with lime whipped cream, spinach salad with pomegranate, cabbage slaw, General Tsos chicken, rice salads, steamed shrimp, stews, cakes, pyrogies, brownies, chile, cornbread, and on and on. It was great. There was too much food to taste everything, but it sure was fun looking at it all. There were at least 3 or 4 tables full of food. Tomorrow night, there is an Appetizer contest and Davis (one of the race organizers) will be judging the winner. Rodney will be making his famous honey-garlic meatballs.

Lots of folks have rented cars to take the opportunity to explore the area. A few went to Fort Monroe and the Mariner’s Museum with a local resident and had an exceptional experience. Another local rally participant was able to bring some fresh rosemary, basil and bay leaves from her home garden to share with everyone. Howard and Rodney are at the new Air & Space Museum in downtown Hampton.

Normally, without the weather delay, you spend all your time at this end rushing around finishing tasks, stowing gear and doing your final provisioning. One of the nice things about this delay is that you get the chance to really talk to people and get to know them before the race starts. And you learn so many interesting things from other boaters. One entertaining tidbit: Do not swallow your cherry pits if you live aboard your boat. They end up making a horrible rattling noise in your LectraSan for an indefinite period of time. (For those of you who don’t know, the LectraSan is the sewage treatment system found on many boats… sort of a cross between a pool chlorine generator system and a garbage disposal.) The conversation gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “That’s the pits!”