Trip Summary

as of November 11, 2001

By: Bear Downing

You are welcome to apply any part of this article to your own personal use. Please do NOT publish any part of the article or apply any part of it to any non-personal use without the express written consent of the author.

The original plan for Kit and Bear's Eastern Seaboard cruise aboard Volant started in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. From there they were to work their way in short coastal legs to Mt. Desert, Maine, where they hoped to be by July 4, 2001. From Mt. Desert they planned to visit Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy in July, go up the Saint John river in New Brunswick and back to Maine by mid- August, harbor-hop their way down the coast to New York in September, on to the Chesapeake Bay in October and return to Ft. Lauderdale by the end of November, 2001.

That was the plan before they left the dock. Here's what they actually did:

They left their dock in Ft. Lauderdale on May 19, 2001, for a short motor along the ICW to get away from the dock. Their first night was at anchor in Lake Santa Barbara.
From Lake Santa Barbara they sailed to Lake Worth Inlet (Palm Beach), Florida, to finish last minute repairs on Otto van Steerer, their erstwhile autopilot.
After completing repairs, they departed on May 22 for Beaufort, North Carolina.
After 2 1/2 days of sailing Otto was having trouble keeping his course. They put into Charleston, South Carolina, for repairs and a bit of touristing.
Otto proved he was fit after a 1-day trial run to Cape Fear, North Carolina.
Bear spent a week doing boat projects while Kit returned to Ft. Lauderdale to complete some agreements.
After waiting in vain at anchor for two days for the remnants of Tropical Storm Allison to clear out of the way for an outside passage, they elected to head northward via the ICW. June 14 found them at anchor just off the ICW in Morehead City, South Carolina.
Changing plans yet again, they headed for Manteo, Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Their the plan was to be tourists until the weather window opened up, then leave North Carolina via Oregon Inlet and head offshore for Newport, Rhode Island.
But Oregon Inlet turned out to be not appropriate as the extreme currents and narrow channel required more than just local knowledge to negotiate. So they modified their plan and headed to Norfolk, Virginia, via Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and the Dismal Swamp Canal.
From Norfolk, a 3-day offshore passage got them to Newport, Rhode Island, arriving in the early morning of June 28.
From Newport they visited Cuttyhunk and Onset, Massachusetts, transited the Cape Cod Canal and laid over in Duxbury, Massachusetts, for a few days before proceeding to Portland, Maine.
They arrived in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on Sunday, July 15, after a 32 hour passage from Portland. They spent several days in Yarmouth, then moved on to Westport and then Digby.
Crossing over to Saint John, New Brunswick, they cruised the St. John River then headed for Grand Manan Island where they arrived on August 1.
Leaving Grand Manan on August 4, they arrived in Cutler, Maine, where they cleared Customs and Immigration. From there they cruised the Down East Coast of Maine, stopping at Roque Island, Great Waas Island, Roque Island again, Jonesport and Milbridge.
From Milbridge they went to Northeast Harbor on Mt. Desert Island. There they explored a number of harbors in between making repairs to their refrigeration system.
Completing those repairs they continued cruising the coast of Maine, working their way down the coast. Stops included Buckle Harbor, Bucksport , Castine, Buckle Harbor again, Rockland, Tenant's Harbor and Jewel Island.
From Jewel Island they went to Little Harbor (near Portsmouth), New Hampshire, then on to Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. After exploring Salem and Boston by land, they sailed directly to the Cape Cod Canal and transited it.
From there they went to Mystic, Connecticut, by way of New Bedford, Massachutsetts and Block Island, Rhode Island.
Because of the terrorist attacks they bypassed New York City. Instead they sailed directly to the Delaware Bay entrance, a 2 1/2 day passage, then up the Bay and River to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After playing tourist for a few days they headed down the Delaware River to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, transited the canal into the Chesapeake Bay and on to Baltimore, Maryland.
From Baltimore they went on to Annapolis, Maryland, where they stayed for just over a week. After completing repairs to the boat's heater and refrigerator, and after a side trip to St. Michael's on the Eastern Shore, they moved on southward, stopping at Solomons Island, Maryland, and taking 3 days to get to Hampton, Virginia.
While Kit was away at a week-long in-residence watercolor class, Bear took Volant singlehanded down the ICW. He anchored just outside the ICW for two nights, then spent a few days anchored at Oriental, North Carolina. From Oriental he moved to New Bern, North Carolina, where Kit rejoined the boat.
From New Bern, they went to Beaufort, North Carolina, via the ICW. Leaving the ICW they then made a direct passage to Fernandina Beach, Florida. Rejoining the ICW, made their way southward, stopping at St. Augustine, Florida.
Staying in the ICW, they worked their way down to Ft. Lauderdale, stopping in Melbourne, Florida, for the annual SSCA on the way.

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