And, so it begins

Day 1   Thursday, April 20, 2017 -  53.48 miles, 8.0 hours travel
Campbell Creek to Tuckahoe Point on the Alligator River, NC

After five years of dreaming and planning ... we (Cally, Rip and I)  have started the trip of a lifetime. I call day 1 a success.  We spent the prior night on the boat at the home dock, just to make things easier for leaving this morning.

Morning coffee before we start ... the white AGLCA burgee ready to fly
America's Great Loop Cruisers Association flag showing we are in the process of "Looping"

We left our home dock earlier than I thought we could or would and easily cruised out Campbell Creek, out Goose Creek, across the Pamlico River, up the Pungo River and through the Alligator-Pungo Canal to an anchorage at Tuckahoe Point on the Alligator River.

Leaving our home port; thanks for the pic Mel & MJ

We have been to this anchorage once before, with friends Dick and Cathy Harville, on board. There is a boat ramp and finger pier to take the dinghy for Cally to go ashore. The canal back to the ramp is long,  and a bit creepy, yet nice. I always think I am going to hear Dueling Banjos, think Deliverance, playing somewhere off on the shore.

Hard to see, but there are a series of white PVC pipes marking under water stumps
we hit twice on ones not marked on our 2 runs in & out

We were serenaded by 4 fighter jets overhead for an hour after dark. You could only see their lights as they whizzed by us. Guess they were on training flights out of Cherry Point. First night's sleep on the boat came early and was wonderfully uneventful. One of the upgrades to the boat was a new memory foam mattress. Huge comfort improvement over the expensive custom mattress a prior owner had installed.
Cally did great! She really loves the dinghy rides with the wind blowing her ears.

Day 2    Friday, April 21, 2017 -  57.85 miles, 7 hours travel
Tuckahoe Point on the Alligator River to Coinjock Marina, NC

Nice cruise this morning; down the Alligator River and across the Albemarle Sound. After an uneventful crossing of the Sound, Cally was doing great and not fussy about the time, we pushed past our planned stop up the North River and on to Coinjock Marina.

Boats on the face dock and restaurant on the other side; quite convenient

Cally's ramp for getting on and off the boat

Known for their Prime rib, we thought we should make this our stop for the day. FYI - Coinjock should also be known for their homemade potato chips! They were really good. Rip and I got Prime rib and Cally had lots of grassy areas to walk and do her business; plus attention from all the other boat owners on the dock and some of the staff, too. Folks at Coinjock Marina are very nice and super accommodating. Their reputation preceded them, by way of Active Captain reviews, and they did not disappoint. Great dock hands to help boat tie up. Nice bath facilities. The dinner was very good, plus the restaurant had a couple playing playing and singing music until 9 pm. They were good and a fun time was had by all.

A little celebratory bubbly to go with our Prime Rib
We do not like glass on the boat ... so, DuraClear Champagne flutes for us

Concert by the docks!!

Day 3   Saturday, April 22, 2017   -  43.1 miles, 6.0 hours travel
Coinjock Marina, Coinjock, NC to Deep Creek Basin, Great Bridge, Va.

Today took us North on what is called "the Virginia Cut" towards Great Bridge, VA. A route we had not taken previously, but our usual route, the Dismal Swamp Canal, is still closed from damage by Hurricane Matthew. This was a very scenic route. We had a flotilla of 6 boats thru 2 bridge openings and our first lock of The Great Loop. All in all a good day.

The view today; one of the bridges we easily fit under ... 65' clearance underneath

The end of the Albemarle Sound heading into the North River up to Coinjock

That said, there was a mistake on my part when planning for the first bridge opening. I read it opened on the hour and half hour M-F, basic daylight hours. On demand all other times. Rip called the bridge tender ask him to hold an opening as we wouldn't be to the bridge until slightly after the hour and with a large group behind us. He came back with, "On Demand". Yep, today is Saturday and I had no clue. Thought it was Friday. So, the bridge opened on demand once we got close enough. Lesson learned. I need to keep up with the days of the week, not just the date.
We are anchored at Deep Creek Basin tonight; a small anchorage with deep water and sandy beach on all sides for Cally to go ashore. The roar of I-64 can be heard; heck I can see the traffic on the highway from our anchorage. I doubt it will stop any sleep tonight. Since shore is so close by, I used the SUP to take Cally to shore. Rip outfitted the SUP with an attachable seat back; so it really works as a flat kayak. Cally with her leg issues sits weird and off to one side, never straight, so standing to SUP is hard. Seemed to work well. No one fell off. Now it is raining and getting cold ... so the SUP goes up and the dinghy comes down. Way too wet and cold to SUP to shore now. Humm ... lightening and thunder ... someone might have to wait until morning to go back to shore. Cally really doesn't like to go out in the rain at home, betting she will not like going out in the rain off the boat either. stay tuned.

We have the Green Light to start the Loop

I don't usually "post" but friends and family have been asking for the past 2-3 weeks "when are you leaving on the Loop?".  Until yesterday, we couldn't really think about setting a date.  We were in that limbo hell of waiting on medical results.  On Friday afternoon of March 17 Beth found out she would need a biopsy, the following week came the surgical consult, the week after a core needle biopsy, then the added agony of waiting... yesterday morning we finally got the results.  Benign!  Relief!  Smiles!  Some decent sleep!

Still haven't set a date, likely to be during the last 10 days of April.  Watch out fellow Loopers - - here comes Cally!

Rip

2016 - The Year of Upgrades; Prep for Living Aboard

After 28 years in commercial management and development with the Minkoff Company, Inc/B&R Mgmt in Bethesda, MD; Rip retired Jan 15, 2016. Rip has spent 2016 and most of 2017, so far, upgrading Lab Partners. From electronic upgrades to adding storage and from canvas/sewing projects to brightwork and waxing - he has done it all. SO, when I say "we" did something ... remember, "we" means Rip! Yes, I handed him tools or held the ends of things and, yes, he engineered sewing projects while I did most of the actual sewing, but not all - this multi-talented guy sewed, too.. Thank goodness for the Sailrite LSZ1 sail makers heavy duty sewing machine and our garage loft, we aptly call the Sail Loft.

Completed projects to make the boat more comfortable, safer and generally more fun for living aboard for a year include:

Repainted house doors and glazed lower section

Installed Galvanic Isolator

Replaced autopilot with new Raymarine Evolution EV-200

New LED lighting Throughout cabins

Replaced Xantrex with Magnum MS2012 True Sine Inverter/Charger

Helm seat brace

Install holding tank gauge

Storage in master (port aft)

Webasto Diesel Heater

Replaced Shorepower switch with 4 pole version

Install new 140 Amp alternator and controller

Replaced Radar with HD Radar

Install Sterling smart charger

Installed Vesper XB-8000 AIS transceiver and antennas

Replaced Norcold Fridge with Noval Kool

Trimming the top rail

New Noval Kool Frig installed within the old opening yet, 
we have 2.2 cubic feet more interior space! On a boat ... that is a lot of space.

HD Radar!!

Installed and ready to go back up

Doors repainted & new glass added ... now, including glass on the bottom panel!
Interior is so much brighter with bottom panel of glass.
Thanks for the idea Maurice & Renee of Le Marie Sophie!

Central Vac installed - a MUST with a Lab aboard

New teak chart book box; lid lifts to access the stored charts,
while the top with fiddle rail holds the current chart displayed

Teak rack is a charging station for our 2 phones and 2 tablets

New salon curtains; wasn't on the list until I washed the original ones & they started to shred
(this was done before the new glass was installed at bottom of doors)

New master stateroom curtains made to go with the switch in bedding

Made a bag for the inflatable SUP ... we made bags for EVERYTHING
Bike, bike trailer, awnings, stern anchor, dinghy davit lines & more
Look who is ready to help, right there by her daddy's side 

Cally helped, too!

New winch and sheet bag for the dinghy davit

Hatch covers to block light and heat in the staterooms

Hidden storage for the screen from the new opening center window
This is ingenious, but hard to appreciate unless you are on the boat
it just disappears in the ceiling of the salon

New Helm (& Co-Pilot) chairs & cushions
and the long one is Cally's cushion.
Seat slides to centerline for use or to port for clear aisle.

Made window screens to help block heat & filter light
from inside.  You can still see out really well

New Life Sling bag - hope we never need this Man Overboard tool
Bag for the stern anchor; ready for quick deployment

Cally's Dock Box -(behind the sign) hidden inside this Sunbrella/Phifertex wrapped aluminium box
are her 2 ramps( to access docks from the boat) and her steps (to access the dinghy)

HUGE storage locker added into unused space in transom
access thru master stateroom

Tons of space for storage
Locker goes higher than you see and further to the right, also

added easy access to easily reach the storage space under the settee 

where there is a project ... there are tools and sweat

Step for salon helm chair with tool storage

Removable brace to hold the helm chair in place in rough seas
it was top heavy and prone to moving before

Picture frame is actually mounted via a TV wall bracket
It switches with the TV (left side) when we want to watch TV from the master stateroom
Otherwise TV is safer, out of harms way, off to the side; as shown

Knife rack so I don't cut myself when searching thru a drawer
and safe from falling on Cally if we are in heavy seas.

New 2-Burner Cooktop
this looks tiny, but it is good sized

Custom Bamboo & Teak cutting/prep board over the new cooktop
really extends the work space

Storage shelf added behind a closet
was completely unused space previously

Made awnings - shown deployed to shade the cabin from sun/heat
also provides a place to bring Cally under to be dried off before entering the cabin

Awning covers the side decks shading the cabin door

Rip had a running list of things to do ... over 125 items to do. Some items were routine maintenance, many items we decided to do along the way were never listed. Now, some of the items were parts of the whole item, or steps to take, but still ... the amount of work and the fantastic results are nothing short of amazing. So much more storage space to stow things, more things can be safely and correctly put away; everything is more organized.

Upgrades & Updates for M/V Lab Partners 2014-2015

We bought an immaculate Monk 36 Trawler, built in 2005, one of the last Monks built. Buying her in 2013, 4 years before we hoped to depart on The Great Loop, was on purpose to have time to use her, get to know her and to upgrade her for our purposes, comfort and safety.

Coming into the home dock for the first time ...
Delivery trip from Beaufort SC to Aurora, NC 2013

Because of Cally's leg issues and recovery (see Sept 2013 post), Lab Partners didn't move much for 9 months. That didn't mean we weren't working on her. We were. And by we, I mean Rip, was working on her. But, I helped, sort of. We moved her from our NC dock to The Marina on the South River, MD (Boyd Tompkins place) near our Annapolis home so she would be near by for cruising and updating.

Rip and crew, Dick Harville, head off at 0'Dark Hundred from
The Marina in Edgewater MD to Delaware Marina in Delaware City MD

Delaware Marina
waiting for haul out

After a couple months of work in the summer, she went to Delaware City Marina, on the hard, for a winter. First in, first out ... so we went in EARLY in the season! Not too much work done; but several trips to check on her and the status of the batteries, etc. Very pleased with the new battery bank discharge (or lack of) while on the hard and not being charged.

Lab Partners with her winter cover on (i.e. the fly bridge enclosure is down)
I actually thinks she looks better without the fly bridge enclosure

As the Captain looks on; across the street she goes back into the
late Spring of 2015 (or was it already summer?)

Hartges Yacht Center on the West River, MD

Then back to the Annapolis area with a short stay at Hartge's Yacht Yard; where many more upgrades were done; AND we met slip mates and now new friends Anthony & Annette aboard Magnolia. Check out her sewing blog at http://a2baker.com/seamlesssailorblog/
They have been to the NC House by boat (they live aboard) twice so far to visit!!  Third visit is coming up soon.

Lab Partners coming into Hartges

Cally enjoyed spending time on the boat at Hartges

Slip mate, Anthony, taking a shot of our girl leaving for Olverson's
Hey, Anthony - did you send me this pic? 

Next move - further south with a stop at spider haven, Olverson's Lodge Creek Marina, on the Yeocomico River in Lottsburg, VA. Fred Olverson & crew are very nice, but LORD, the spiders!! And, where there are spiders there is Spider Poop to clean up.

The view was great; nice protected creek

Access was easy enough; but all those covered docks meant spiders

Then onto Portsmouth with a short stay at Portsmouth Boating Center where her was hauled for work; her rudder was enlarged (typical update for Monks); great hull wax job and the bottom was cleaned and painted. Very happy with Mike & crew at Portsmouth Boating Center. Not a large place, but SO very neat and clean. hardly a blade of grass out of place. Nice communication, and pics of the work they did and how she did during a rare tropical Storm that blew their way.

Lab Partners to the left (another Monk on the right)
Water over the bulk head and in the yard during Joaquin

Beautiful sunrise as we leave spider haven

nearing Portsmouth, VA

Arrival at Portsmouth Boating Center (PBC)

PBC office with updated showers/bath house underneath

thought this was cool; they filter the run off water from wash downs through this attractive set up. 

Quiet, cute place; not big but really clean

Being hauled to go on the hard for work ...
Rudder will be enlarged, haul waxed and bottom cleaned and painted

Finally, the last move back to her dock in NC.

Approaching one of the locks on The Dismal Swamp

Not sure, but maybe this is why they call it
The Dismal Swamp

Getting close to home port

Home, sweet home!

This catches you up to the end of 2015 ... next up ... all the work Rip has done to the boat in these 4 years!