Petey was the small green gray bird who sailed with us for a short time as he was seeking asylum and respite on his wayward journey. He touched our lives during his short visit with us – reminding us to help others along the way and bring a bit of joy to those who do help us out. Unfortunately Petey was too weary and succumbed while aboard Magnolia. (He scared the bejesus out of me when I found him under the settee pillow.) We held a funeral at sea for him. Magnolia has lost one small soul. Thanks for visiting us, Petey. RIP.

Magnolia and crew are safely pierside at Coinjock, NC. Expect to pass through Norfolk and onto Chesapeake Bay on tuesday. Vessel and crew are well.

Sunday 2230
Magnolia is anchored in 15ft of water along the ICW 66 miles NE of Morehead City, NC. Have a lond day planned for Monday and a passage through Norfolk, VA on Tuesday and arrival in Galesville, MD likely on thursday.

Forgot to mention that Neptune has provided us Dolphin Guardians through the entire journey. Within minutes of leaving the dock in Tampa we had our first siting and even today 25 miles inland we were watched over. The water here is more fresh than salt so no Dolphins here at anchor but hope to see more in Norfolk.

Vessel and crew are well.

Sunday 2230
Magnolia is anchored in 15ft of water along the ICW 66 miles NE of Morehead City, NC. Have a lond day planned for Monday and a passage through Norfolk, VA on Tuesday and arrival in Galesville, MD likely on thursday.

Forgot to mention that Neptune has provided us Dolphin Guardians through the entire journey. Within minutes of leaving the dock in Tampa we had our first siting and even today 25 miles inland we were watched over. The water here is more fresh than salt so no Dolphins here at anchor but hope to see more in Norfolk.

Vessel and crew are well.

Sunday 2230
Magnolia is anchored in 15ft of water along the ICW 66 miles NE of Morehead City, NC. Have a lond day planned for Monday and a passage through Norfolk, VA on Tuesday and arrival in Galesville, MD likely on thursday.

Forgot to mention that Neptune has provided us Dolphin Guardians through the entire journey. Within minutes of leaving the dock in Tampa we had our first siting and even today 25 miles inland we were watched over. The water here is more fresh than salt so no Dolphins here at anchor but hope to see more in Norfolk.

Vessel and crew are well.

After three days at offshore, we ducked into Moorehead City, NC today Saturday about 2pm. Speaking of ducks that’s Anthony’s new nickname because he’s such a lucky duck. Greg’s new nickname is Eeyore. He’s always concerned about what might go wrong. Not a bad thing because we have now have spares just in case at Greg’s recommendation.

Wednesday was so choppy that I went from Dramamine to Scopolamine patch promptly. I wasn’t of much use at all. Thursday the sea laid down making it much more tolerable. Friday was more of the same. We had prepared some dinners in advance in Ft. Lauderdale so we ate well despite the seas and the heat of the day and oven. Dolphins visit each day. And a bird hitched a ride for awhile too. A flying fish made an unfortunate landing on our deck this morning. The sea was a deep sapphire color out in the gulf stream (so deep our depth meter didn’t register) and changed to a vivid green as we got back to shallower waters along the coast. The stream added 2-3 knots to our boat speed. Much appreciated. Not much boat traffic at night – just a bit to test our boat light id skills or rather build them.

Tomorrow we’ll refuel diesel and water and head up the ICW avoiding going around Cape Hatteras. That will mean no night watches since we won’t be offshore; we’ll anchor at night. (Insert happy dance here.) It also means that we may not arrive in Galesville until Thursday.

All is well here. We are over halfway home. No thoughts of jumping ship at this point. We are all having a good time and learning a lot. We even had ice cream for dessert tonight. Safety first then keep the crew happy says Captain Duck. Best to all, Annette

Entering Beaufort , NC. Vessel and Crew well. Update later tonight.

Thur 1000am
Magnolia stood down in Ft Lauderdale on Monday afternoon and Tuesday, getting underway on Wed morning. There were a couple maintenance issues to deal with and getting around South Florida crew and vessel needed a nap.

The forecast for south FL was calling for strong easterlies through the weekend. Since the forecast was fixed the only option was for Magnolia to slog east out of the channel and get as far north as quick as we could on Wed. In the last 18hrs Magnolia has had 7hrs of 9knt plus averages and blasted through a 100nm 12 hour run. All by the way under a double reefed main and partial jib. She appears really likes a strong wind and a reef or two. We are currrently 86nm miles east of Daytona Beach and will pass Charelston tonight around 2200. Anticipate Beaufort, NC late on Saturday evenning do not know yet whether we will be able to make it around Hatteras or be forced into the Intercostal Waterway for trip into the Chesapeake Bay.

Do not expect to have cell coverage till tommorow so will send out then. Magnolia and Crew well and hope you are as well.

Be Safe
Anthony

Here are the facts I know so far…
-This is only the delivery. This is only the delivery. My mantra of the trip.
-I don’t hate sailing or the boat-yet.
-I have only wanted to sell the boat and get a plane home once or twice.
-I am willing to keep going knowing that the more experience I get and the more used to the new environment I get the more I will develop confidence. With more confidence I’ll enjoy it all more.
-It’s not bad at all at the dock especially with decent showers.
-It’s stinking hot in south Florida in May and even hotter on the dock at noon. I didn’t know I could sweat so much.
-Four hour watches are ok. You can’t fall asleep if you are standing. Naps are encouraged which is good.
-You can have as many boat pretzels (peanut butter centers) as you want on watch. (Thanks, Suzanne for introducing us to boat pretzels.)
-We couldn’t have done this ourselves. We are currently in over our heads.
-We are extremely fortunate to have our friends, Greg and Marie, helping us.
-My husband is about as happy as I’ve seen him and that is worth a lot.
-Annette

Magnolia lies at her berth in Fort Lauderdale taking a day for the winds to subside. An updated route map is available at www.a2baker.com, “Where is Magnolia now” Vessel & Crew are well