Friday April 13, 2011.  We woke up around 7:00 am and was feeling well rested.  We wanted to get out of the slip so we would be able to flow with the tide out.  We got out of the slip around 8:30 am.  Paul backed Moonshadow perfectly out of the slip and we were off again.  Next destination the Chesapeake Bay.  The winds are blowing 10 to 15 knots out of the South East.  Perfect!  There is another front we have to go through today.  It has been lightening pretty far away from us for a while now.  At least it is not close!  Everyone is feeling refreshed.  We have about a 4 day trip ahead of us.  In the afternoon we had some decent sailing.  We made blacken blue burgers for dinner on the grill.  They were awesome.  The wind had died to 8 to 10 knots out of the south and we were averaging 5.8 k

Well we were able to sail all night!  we are sailing along at 5.5 knots.  The wind is blowing 12 to 18 knots out of the north east.  Great sailing day!  We are about 50 miles away from Cape Fear.  We are planning to go to Southport Marina.  There is a 3 knot current through the channel.  So, we are planning to go into the channel at slack tide.  That way we will only have .5 knot current to deal with.  We got to Southport Marina at 12:30 pm and didn't run out of fuel!  We pulled up to the fuel dock and filled up both fuel tanks along with all jerry cans aboard.  The diesel was only $4.00 per gallon and already had treatment in it.  We ended up with a total of 101 gallons of diesel.  Next they moved us into a slip for the evening.  Beer Time!!  We all went over to check in.  The one gentleman that

I woke up for watch at 6:00 am.  Paul was up with Dan still.  We were in another storm with lighting and rain.  They told me to stay below and make some coffee.  All sail were down and we were just motoring.  Around 7:00 am the engine died.  The starboard tank was low and the sediment on the bottom got all stirred up, switch clog the fuel filters.  Due to the filters being clogged the engine shut down.  Now we are just bobbing in the ocean heading toward the gulf stream.  Around 9:30 am we put the stay sail and a reef in the main.  At least we are sailing now!  We are only a 100 miles away from Cape Fear.  Which we decided to goto yesterday to ride the storm out and re-fuel.  Paul and I took fuel out of the starboard tank and filtered it into the port tank.  We used multiply paper

Tuesday May 10, 2011.  The winds died down to 5 knots around 5:00 am on Paul's shift.  So, on went the motor again.  I attempted to take some pictures of sailing jellyfish.  The fishing line was out again.  Still no fish.  I made eggs, ham, tomato, onion, potato, and Parmesan cheese all mixed together for breakfast.  After my shift it was going to be my first attempt to make bread on the boat.  I decided to make chocolate chip cookies and corn bread as well.  I started with mixing up the bread so it could sit and rises twice.  Next I mix up the corn bread and let that sit.  Then I mixed up the chocolate chip cookies and put them in the oven.  I am not sure the exact temperature of the oven, so I guessed and watch everything closely.  Everything turned out perfect and the guys were excited to have cookies for desert tonight.  

It was another rough night.  There was another low coming off of Georgia just where we were.  Dan saw heat lighting.  The wind picked up to 25 knots and had confused seas due to the wind shifts.  We were trying to hit the waves on a 45 degree angle, but that did not always happen.  The bow went under the water numerous times.  During my watch we were on the cusp of the front.  By 8:00 am we managed to get out of the front and the wind shifted to the NE.  We headed north for a little while to stay clear of the front.  Around 11:00 am we were heading west again and the winds were very lite.  We were still motor sailing.  By 4:00 pm we were under sail alone again.  It was blowing 10 to 15 knots.  It felt fantastic!  We kept seeing multiple sailing jellyfish.  We also were blessed with dauphins again.

Happy Mothers Day!  Paul woke me up for watch this morning.  It was a rough night!  The wind is blowing 10 to 14 knots out of the NE.  We still had reduced sail up.  I told him to put out the genoa and take a reef out of the main.  We were moving along at 6.5.  I topped Dan's speed of 8.4 knots and had 8.6 knots Baby!  Crew has decided it only blows when I am at the helm now.  So, now they want me on all the time.  We all called our mother's to wish them a Happy Mothers Day!  I got some bad news.  My grandmother is probably going to pass in the week coming.  So, I said a pray and hoped we would be back in time.  Afterwords the wind died.  Time to turn the engine on and drop the sails.