Krogen Rendezvous, A Wedding and Travels Back to Florida

October 1 - 31, 2015

The Krogen Rendezvous is a yearly event that we were looking forward to attending.  We left Annapolis on August 30th and arrived in Solomons, just in time to see hurricane Joaquin turn it's full force at our exact location.  That was Thursday.  Friday we left the boat to attend a wedding in Charlottesville, Virginia.  We doubled up on lines and fenders, strapped the dingy to the upper deck, stowed outdoor furniture and cushions and drove away in hopes that Joaquin would turn.  24 hours later our prayers were answered.  Joaquin turned out into the Atlantic and continued away from shore losing strength hour by hour.  This is our fourth close encounter with a hurricane.  And, all of them have been hundreds of miles north of the insurance companies mandated hurricane zone.  They want boats out of Florida and most of the Caribbean from June 1st to November 1st.  I think they better start watching the weather channel!        

Pre-party!  Before heading to the wedding, we had a party on Gotta
Smile for the rendezvous' early arrivals.  Now we know --
23 people can fit in the salon!    

Our good friends, Didi and Peter,
really know how to throw a wedding!
Besides fun parties for three days we
got to see Charlottesville, Virginia.  

The Farmington Country Club that was designed by
Thomas Jefferson.  Those round windows were
intended for Monticello.  We enjoyed two parties
there....lucky us!

Small world experience.....
Our friends, Jan and Steve, from California, visited us
 for three days last month.  When we came to breakfast
in Charlottesville their daughter and her family were
there.  They live in Oregon!

40+ Krogens gathered at Calvert Marina in Solomons. They ranged
from 39 feet to 58.  It's amazing to see the boats laced in place
bow to bow.   Five days of classes, meetings, meals and parties
 from 8:30 AM until 10 PM left us exhausted.  Meeting so many
new friends and seeing long time friends was the best part.  

Sunday morning the rendezvous ended and we
were on our way to this beautiful quiet anchorage.
What a treat to have the whole bay to ourselves! 

Look at that dirty bottom!
Not for long....

We originally met Bru and Sandy on a street corner
in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  As we chatted we
discovered that we both were traveling on Krogens.
That was 5 years ago.  They are thinking about a trip
to the Caribbean.  Of course, we gave them lots of
encouragement. 

Ready to continue our travels with new
bottom paint and prop speed on the
propeller and bow thruster.  We stayed on
board while the work was done. They
plugged us into electricity.  We had water
 and the toilets, but NO heat.  As the night
time temperatures dropped into the 40's we
knew it was definitely time to head south.

Just a couple of weeks ago we saw
Didi and Peter at their daughter's
wedding.  We were lucky enough to
get them to ourselves for a few days
on Gotta Smile.  We originally met
them in Demopolis, Alabama as we
sat out a flood.  They were on their
beautiful Salene and we were on our
39' Krogen.  

The guys loved Norfolk with all of the military and
commercial ships.  Me?  Not so much.....

This rib is decked out with 50 caliber machine guns
 on the bow and stern.  Is that something I could pick
up at West Marine?  

We went outside for two days to make better time.
Nothing but water, water and more water and some
beautiful blue sky.

This is Fall on the intercostal.  Hurricane Joaquin dumped 25 inches
of rain in this area.  Two weeks later the water level is still five
feet above normal.  

The last time we came through here there was a ferry
that transported cars across the waterway.  Now,
there is a boat that turns and stretches from shore
to shore to become a floating bridge. 

South Carolina's sea grass looks like a field of wheat.

We were busy enjoying the pirate in front of this house
and they were loving the name of our boat.  A mutual
admiration....  

We treated ourselves to half a day in Charleston.  It
was wonderful to get off the boat for a few hours, visit
some of our favorite locations and walk until we
dropped.  Our first stop was our favorite restaurant,
Amen.  Those are some very happy faces!

Great history and architecture everywhere.

This stunning home is on the market for
$8.3 million!  Get in line.

Pirates to the left ------

Porpoise to our right -----
South of New Smyrna we saw 60+ porpoise plus
several manatees.  It must be mating season as
they were crazy: leaping high out of the water,
rolling with one another and swimming with us.     

I know this is a beautiful sunrise, but I do NOT like early mornings.
Traveling from Annapolis to Stuart was 1211 miles that required 16
long days each beginning at 6:30.  Luckily I'm a really good sport!  

We arrived in Stuart on Halloween
and it was wonderful.  We were so
glad to finally be at our destination
and to see so many of our friends.
Sunset Bay is our favorite marina.
Lots of Krogens and friendly faces. 

In case you can't see what is going on here --
There is a tug boat, a huge crane on a barge and a
boat that is sitting on the bottom of the waterway
with water most of the way to the roof.  Some one
is having a very bad day.

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!