So where have we been?
Where haven't we been, that's the question.
We ended up buying a minivan and driving north. We went to the Catskills in NY to see my sister, Albany to see my son and Massachusetts to see Bev's family. We also spent some time in Newburyport visiting some sailing friends and in Hyannis visiting Bev's friend Jane. Along the way we did a bunch of sightseeing.
Some of the highlights of the trip include an exhibit of Grandma Moses' paintings, Thomas Jefferson's house at Monticello and the Ludwig von Mises institute in Auburn Alabama.
Now we're back on Queequeg cleaning, fixing up and getting ready for a trip south. Our current plans are to spend the winter in the Keys, then come back to Brunswick and pick up the car for another road trip. This time we'll include a cross country trip to California to attend my granddaughter's graduation and visit Ben and his family.
During this summer's trip, we cleaned out my storage locker and had a yard sale. Anything family didn't take, went. We did bring back some clothing so now we have to triage all our old stuff to make room for what we brought back with us. At least we have the minivan to store the overflow. We REALLY need to lighten the boat!

Our $2000 Mininvan

What's happening?

Well, we're stuck.
We're in Brunswick, GA at the Brunswick Landing Marina. It looks like Queequeg won't make it any farther north this year.
We started out great, making good time. We were a month behind our times from the last trip when we started, but we caught up to within 5 days. Had we been able to keep going, we would have reached NY ahead of schedule, but thing just didn't work out.
First Tropical Storm Beryl cost us a week. We had a great time waiting her out in New Smyrna Beach, but still it put us behind.
When we reached Jekyl Island, a cold front came by and stalled, giving us thunderstorms every day. We moved a few miles further, stopping at Brunswick.
By the time the front had moved on and the weather became more favorable, we discovered an oil leak in the engine.  So now, we're sitting here waiting for parts to fix the engine.
The marina is very nice, with free laundry, nice showers, etc. The town has a few things to offer while we stay here. And it's a great hurricane hole.
It will be another week until the engine is fixed, and that makes it too late to head north. We'd reach NY and MA just in time to turn around and head south again.
So now the plan is to buy a cheap used car and drive north. Not what we really want, but it will get us the chance to visit family while keeping the boat safe from storms.
Wish us luck finding a decent but REALLY cheap car.

Waiting out the storm.

A bit of tropical weather is brewing offshore so we've decided to sit tight for at least one more day. It looks like the storm will come ashore somewhere north of here, near the Georgia border.
We'll just sit tight, change the oil, do some other maintenance and be on our way once this storm clears.
Hard to believe it's out there. Here it's a beautiful day.

When was the last time...

You had a real sundae at an old fashioned soda fountain?
We're in New Smyrna Beach at a place called "Little's." It's a real old time drug store with a soda fountain.
We had planned on anchoring tonight but our favorite spot was shoaled in too shallow for Queequeg, so we stopped at the city marina. We needed a pumpout anyway, so here we are.
Early enough in the day to walk around town and we discovered Little's.
I know, it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

The Indian River

A most interesting day.
About sunrise this morning, we raised anchor and rolled out the genoa. Sailing off anchor is always a treat, but today it was so quiet! We had, maybe, 3 knots of wind so we ghosted along at a gentle 1.8 knots most of the morning. About 11 or so we added the main and continued at about 2.5 until just after noon. Then the sea breeze kicked in and we were up to 5! As the breeze continued to build I noticed more weather helm than I like. We started flattening and triming the sails to reduce the weather helm and Queequeg said "thanks," kicked up her heels and took off at 6! After a bit, the weather helm came back so we trimed again. Like a thoroughbred racehorse, Queequeg took off at 7! What ride!
After a short while the weather helm came back and we got nervous. We rolled in the genny and the boat settled down to a nice, sane, and comfortable 4.5. We made it to our planned anchorage right on schedule.
I can see that under the right hand and in the right conditions this boat is a rocket!

OK, so I can't diagnose engine noises...

It turned out that our squeal was a loose alternator belt, not a transmission problem.
Whew! We'll be underway again tomorrow, St. Augustine by next weekend.

I guess it's to be expected...

With a 30 year old boat.
After over 200 miles, we are in a marina for repairs. The transmission started making a loud squeal when we revved up. I ckecked the fluid and it was a bit low. Added more fluid and the noise went away, but why is it leaking?
So we stop to check it out. There is a Yanmar mechanic on site, if needed. I hope not as it would seem there's no easy fix.
As we pulled in yesterday we spotted Great Old Broad, a boat we know from Marathon. Sally is in Chicago at a conference, but Ed drove us to the grocery store and later we met for a few drinks at the bar.
Just pray I can solve the transmssion problem without outside help.