Sigmachi Views From The Crew

SIGMACHI is home in her new slip near Baltimore after 8 months of our cruise to Florida and back to Chesapeake Bay Country. Three of us (including Molly,our cat) left the most wonderful Olverson's Lodge Creek Marina of of the lower Potomac River on Dec. 15, 2019 and headed South to Florida!...  A one month delightful stay a Palm Coast Marina was elicited by its most delightful dockmaster "Ro!" The we headed south through SIGMACHI's home port of Hobe Sound headed for Marathon... Then the specter of the "Chi-Com Flu" closed the Florida Keys and most marinas to "transient" boats we were fortitutiously "marooned at the lovely Soverl Harbor Marina.  After a two and 1/2  month lockdown in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla... and a delightful stay with our friend Betty Legare in Jupiter,  SIGMACHI retraced our track northward on the AICW.  We stopped a a few favored marinas and enjoyed the use of our new Maxwell winch and new 55# Mantus anchoring often. A plan...

Greetings! Tonight (Tuesday) we are anchored in Little Bay near Anti-Poison Creek ( the Southern part of Fleets Bay...just North of Windmil Point near Kilmarnock, VA.) Have to fuel up in morning at Chesapeake Marina (4 miles away) then head for Solomon's, MD on Wed.  (About 51 miles)If we get away from Little Bay early enough...might try to make Deale.  (About 83 miles!)  We expect to be home Thursday late afternoon or Friday.  We have been cruising or quarantined at our friend's house in Jupiter, FL since Dec. 15, 2019....Jeanne & I enjoy cruising! Molly, our car, has mixed feelings! Tight Lines! Alan Alan & Jeanne Cecil Aboard SIGMACHI!

Greetings! Tonight (Tuesday) we are anchored in Little Bay near Anti-Poison Creek ( the Southern part of Fleets Bay...just North of Windmil Point near Kilmarnock, VA.) Have to fuel up in morning at Chesapeake Marina (4 miles away) then head for Solomon's, MD on Wed.  (About 51 miles)If we get away from Little Bay early enough...might try to make Deale.  (About 83 miles!)  We expect to be home Thursday late afternoon or Friday.  We have been cruising or quarantined at our friend's house in Jupiter, FL since Dec. 15, 2019....Jeanne & I enjoy cruising! Molly, our car, has mixed feelings! Tight Lines! Alan Alan & Jeanne Cecil Aboard SIGMACHI!

Wow!  Looking at the storm track of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Isaias was a "shadow" of SIGMACHI's uneventful cruising track from Palm Beach Gardens, FL to our current location at Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, VA. [See attached " storm article" below.] The photos of Southport,  NC in the devastated aftermath of  Isaisa are particularly disturbing to Jeanne and I because about 3 weeks ago we first anchored in the "town harbor"in shallow water when the VHF sounded a hail from Robert Creech. Robert and hi wife Kay are " AGLCA Harbor Hosts" for Southport. Robert's home is near the harbor and he suggested that because of shoal water we might want to dock for free at one of the waterfront restaurants...we did and the next morning our gracious "Harbor Host" assisted us in casting off. (A call to Robert and Kay was answered Saturday morning..he left a message. Apparently the Creechs and their home are OK....some branches and a lot o...

Good Morning All SIGMACHI  is at Atlantic Yacht Basin, in Chesapeake, VA . The boat is hauled for fixing a trim tab  and rudder post repairs and some other things.  This is a great place to be with the threat of Isaisa scheduled to come this way Tuesday morning. Monday Jeanne, Molly (our boat cat) and I moved to the Red Roof Inn in Chesapeake for the next three nights because SIGMACHI 's air conditioner does not operate while the boat is out of the water.  We also chose a room on the second floor.. as  the tropical storm's tidal surge and rains might cause flooding.  Jeanne is so wise! This "winter cruise" on SIGMACHI will have lasted 2 weeks short of 8 months....didn't have any destination other than Florida.  Now, for the first time we have a schedule to keep....Both Jeanne and I have medical appointments commencing August 11th. It will take at least 3 travel days to reach Pasadena,  Maryland from Chesapeake, VA.   James Taylor, at Atlantic Yacht Basin, has inst...

Whew!  SUNSHINE on a Saturday, coupled with folks being "penned up" for four months led for crowded/crazy traffic on the NC coastal portion of the AICW!  THEN, Bogue Sound a combination of offshore wind, tide coming in, and SIGMACHI's  propensity to "roll when being passed at "flank speed" by several large sport fishing boats...gave Capt. "Seaweed" a lot of steering exercise to maintain course. Thank heaven for dual charplotters (my built-in Garmin 8610 and my IPad running Navionics! ) Wow!  If Bogue Sound was something... the Harbor of Morehead City  was the water version of the LA Freeway on Friday! Jeanne is such a wonderful Co-Captain! We pretty much have anchoring mastered with SIGMACHI 's new Maxwell windlass! Tonight we are near the northern extremis of Adams Creek where it meets North Carolina's Neuse River.  We are sharing a beautiful anchorage, Joaquim Creek,with three sailboats. Tomorrow's "run" is about 34 miles t...

Good  early morning from the M/V SIGMACHI  anchored in what Jeanne and I consider the most beautiful and serene anchorage we have found yet on the AICW.  I'm sure others have their favorite spots! This little bit of Mother Nature's "Best" is an alternative route...a creek off of the Waccamaw River ...about 25 miles North of Georgetown, SC..  Deep water, a free moving current, wide width, and woodlands on either side..all absent any signs of civilization.  It was a destination anchorage for SIGMACHI.  Yes, I realize that I have been remiss in posting my blog.  I will catch up some day soon... As we chug along powered by our recently refurbished J&T  DD 671Ns headed to the Chesapeake Bay country we are constantly reminded by  the MSM of the Chinese Virus "epic of the day" only by the occasional TV that we watch or the headlines on the Internet forums.  Cruising in my 40' Pacemaker is the realization of a lifetime ambition.   Having my loving and advent...

Good Morning America! After a late start at about 12:30 pm  on Monday June 15 th we pulled anchor and from the SE corner of the Titusville, FL bridge and went to the west side of the Indian River and fueled up taking on about 154 gallons of diesel. We have been taking our DETROIT DIESEL mechanics advice and running the engines at 1500 to 1800 RPM...he advised that 200 RPM would be fine on the refurbished engines!  Ah but the fuel usage.  Hank Arnold, our mechanic, out of the Jupiter, Fla area has worked on Detroit Diesels for over 30 years!  He disdained my previous running speed of 800 to 1200 RPMs.  "Diesels are made to work," Hank advised, and 800 RPM pushing a 40 ft boat with twins isn't working them hard enough." We hand some sloppy wind out of the NW in going N on the Indian River.  Windshield wiper weather!  Dousing spray pelleted SIGMACHI's lower helm windshield.  I have  preference for the lowerhelm.  All of my new navigational instruments are at that st...

Looks like we will be in Murrelle's Boat Yard in Lantana, Fl. until Monday afternoon. Waiting for a water strainer for the A/C. Oh well, the co-captains don't have doctor check--ups in Maryland until August. Surveyor on SIGMACHI now for boat insurance (new policy) through John Horton. (MTOA)  We are well and love the boating lifestyle.  Life is great in wide open Florida! With both 671N J & T modified Detroit Diesels fully refurbished by Hank Arnold (Hank's Mobil Marine).  A new Maxwell H 10-10 anchor winch that has 61 ft of chain sppliced to 300' of 8 brait 5/8" line (custom made by Miami Cordage) was installed by Capt. John Seagraves & Capt. Betty Legare.   Molly, our cat, is perfectly content in her floating domain! Tight Lines! Alan Alan & Jeanne Cecil M/V SIGMACHI   

Greetings from Jupiter, Florida where Jeanne and I have been staying with a dear friend for 5 weeks while SIGMACHI has been undergoing a "revitialization" of her J&T 671N diesels at Soverel Harbor Marina in Palm Beach Gardens.  Hank Arnold is the the master DD mechanic who has replaced, made, or serviced all hoses, fuel lines, changed belts, water pumps, oil lines, gaskets, seals, pencil zincs, cleaned transmission coolers and professionally painted the engines and transmissions.  It should be the big maintenance finale for a refitting of the boat which includes a 100% new HVAC System, a 9KW Onan Generator, and Garmin 8610 chart plotter/depth sounder and Horizon/Standard VHF-AIS receiver. We hope to install a new Maxwell HRC 10-10 winch and cantanary in the next two weeks. After that we will commence our slow trip back to the Chesapeake Bay country. Tight Lines! Alan Alan & Jeanne Cecil  M/V SIGMACHI  See attached pictures:

Greetings!  Yes I've be remiss in my postings... We've beenPalm Coast Florida for a month since arriving in Florida.  I promise to "backtrack" on our journey later this week...   Our next Major stop is Jupiter, Florida. Hey, check what I did using the Navionics Boating app! #Navionics #BoatingApp https://boating.page.link/35i7g2EKAJggFjGi6 Should be 200 miles on the AICW to Jupiter. New reconditioned propellers max efficiency stated at 1100 rpm. Should be less rattling... We are leaving Palm Coast on the 10th of March embarking for a 4 or 5 day trip to Jupiter  Florida. Will get new EZ Anchor Puller installed on the bow there. We will be in WPB  area about a month...then maybe a trip across  Lake Okechobe   to Florida+s West Coast. We had no set destination...just Florida and warmer weather... We have to be outta Florida by June 1, 2020 to comply with our Ins Company regulations ...We will slowly make our way northbound, perhaps stopping at places we skipped on our la...

From SIGMACHI... Deep in the swamp on the Dawho River, of SC in 16 ft of water...taking a break today Jan 24, 2020.  Around AICW MM# 496.  BEAUFORT, SC is about 60 miles away.  by water...and that is the only way we are going to get there. Let me catch up on this Blog...from my viewpoint.  Jeanne posts here rendition individually No,we won't be able to attend the Lodge Creek Yacht Club Change of Command festivities this year...I just hope we are out of South Carolina by the 1st of Feb.  Seems like traveling these rivers of the Lowlands that for every ten miles traveled that you only male 5 miles of due South distance toward the Sunshine State. We docked at Harborwatch Marina in Georgetown, SC. Wonderful marina and town!.  Love it when dockmaster (Chris) knows it is SIGMACHI coming by the throaty purring of those Johnson &Towers 671N diesels!   The most competent independent contractor...Ernie Owens changed oil on the 671Ns...He said the oil in my engines was the cleanest oil he...

Such a nice, tucked away anchorage!  But don't anchor - it is too shallow.  We voluntarily stayed here two nights just to chill out, rest, whatever you want to call it.  After all, we are not in a race or anything like that.  Just heading south to get warm.  When we finally pulled anchor (and I mean pulled....) to tackle a few more miles going south, we discovered that, just because you are going south, it doesn't mean it keeps getting warmer!  What is wrong with this picture?  We are headed south and it is getting COLDER!!!!  Brrr....  But at least our forecasts are NOT for snow and an icy mix like our neighbors at home. Alan had planned for us to anchor at South Port but I started looking at places just before South Port because everything at South Port that was free or an anchorage specified one or two boats.  What if we get there and there isn't room for us???  It will be getting dark and I, at least, am tired....

We stayed 2 days at the Church Street Dock.  Very nice folks and very much mainstream America sleepy little town.  The floating docks with rubber bumpers were very nice.  Water and electric at the dock but that is all.  $1.50 per foot wasn't bad either.  No one to help tying up or leaving made for some fun times!  All I can say is, I may be 76 but, after wrestling with a 55 lb. anchor and pulling on a line and moving a 40' boat so I could get back on, you don't want to take me on!!!  It's a beautiful sunny day.  All the time we were in Swansboro, we could hear the boom, boom, boom firing from Camp Lejune.  And now we are cruising past their range with warming signs that, if the light is flashing, they are firing!!  It wasn't flashing thank god!  Occasional glimpses of palm trees make me feel like maybe, just maybe, we might make it to Florida this year! Jeanne L. Cecil, Broker Turnock Real Estate Services, Inc. 4...

Greetings from SIGMACHI  located in fogged in conditions in Morehead City, NC harbor!  Really fogged in and forecast is for Ocean Fog all day!   After a week in Oriental NC we left Whittaker Pointe Marina on Monday morning and almost as soon as we entered the Neuse River...fog enveloped us again.   In wintertime I operate SIGMACHI from the lower helm which is comfortably enclosed with a 360° view   The instrument panel is directly below the Radar array mounted on the front of the flying bridge.  Radar showed us the way...HOWEVER...we later found out that the radar transmission signals interfered with the reception signals of both navigation programs on the Garmin chart plotter and my IPad.(This I didn't know until fellow mariner Rip Tyler wrote an evening Email to me expressing concern that we were traveling in a "fog warning" and probably using Radar with the two navigation instruments located on the dashboard of SIGMACHI  (located BELOW the "open array Radar antenn...

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Ahoy and Greetings from the Crew of SIGMACHI! Present Location:  Campbell Creek, NC...Just 1/2 mile off of Goose Creek-AICW near Aurora, NC....at docks of AGLCA Harbor Hosts- Rip &  Beth Tyler Weather: Sunshiny and up to gale force gusts, small craft warnings "up." Jeanne and I are status quo in Campbell Creek, NC.  Winds are up to gale force.  We shall see about moving down the AICW to the Neuse River and turning West to Oriental, NC the 30 miles from here by boat on Monday. Today our host, Rip Tyler, briefly came aboard and did some "pre-service examinations. The radar works but the antenna sometimes sticks at startup.  It can eventually be prompted to turn.  Rip says it being a 1998 model probably should have a tech grease the antenna motor etc.  Other than that it is a  welcome addition to SIGMACHI's helm! Rip said he can't say anything about the autopilot...it doesn't seem to begetting power to it and the black box to rage Robertson 2500 series is lo...