NINW Pilates

June 9th-13th, 2023; stormy. A wise hobbit once titled his journal “There and back again”, which is somewhat how I feel about this section of our trip. The IntraCoastal Waterway is wonderful, in that you can travel in pretty much all but the worst weather, stay in safe marinas along the way or choose one of many marked anchorages, however there is a lack of diversity in the sailing conditions or the scenery overall: miles of cut canal with housing along the banks, or creeks with marshland banks, or swamp-style tree-lined canals abound....

Chronicles of Otter: Looping June 9th-13th, 2023; stormy. A wise hobbit once titled his journal “There and back again”, which is somewhat how I feel about this section of our trip. The IntraCoastal Waterway is wonderful, in th…

June 7th, 2023; 74F; sun then overcast; W8mph We are thoroughly enjoying our North Carolina stops this time around: there is something to be said for not having to meet any time deadlines. On our way south we skipped past Beaufort and anchored ‘around the corner’ in Morehead City behind a small island which protected us from the stormy evening. This time we paused again for some stormy weather, but chose to stay in a marina about a mile from the historic town....

Chronicles of Otter: Looping June 7th, 2023; 74F; sun then overcast; W8mph We are thoroughly enjoying our North Carolina stops this time around: there is something to be said for not having to meet any time deadlines. On our w…

Friday June 2nd, 2023; 75F; overcast; NNE11mph We have continued our northern travels and have stopped for tonight in a basin in the Town of Midway Park, which appears to have two (or more) US Military battalions, so we have a constant parade of helicopters and tiltrotors (yes, it’s really what they’re called!) buzzing overhead. We had tried to anchor here before on our southward journey, however a swing bridge further south had been out of action so the anchorage was full of waiting sailboats unable to continue due to their air draft....

Chronicles of Otter: Looping Friday June 2nd, 2023; 75F; overcast; NNE11mph We have continued our northern travels and have stopped for tonight in a basin in the Town of Midway Park, which appears to have two (or more) US Mili…

May 23rd, 2023 it has been a while since a blog post last magically appeared! To find out what’s happening next, please visit my new blog spot, ChroniclesofOtter.Wordpress.com It is time to separate my boat life from my work life. Thanks for encouraging me to continue to blog. At some point I fully intend to return to the real world and teach Pilates once more. all the best, Niki

https://ninwpilates.wordpress.com/2023/05/23/chronicles-of-otter-62/

Chronicles of Otter May 23rd, 2023 it has been a while since a blog post last magically appeared! To find out what’s happening next, please visit my new blog spot, ChroniclesofOtter.Wordpress.com It is time to separat…

March 26th, 2023; sun, 80F; SSE13; 2’-3’ waves We chose to leave Nassau and make the return journey by retracing our steps up to West End via the Berry Islands, rather than heading to the island of Bimini and crossing to Miami. We have been to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale area many times for Rick’s work and, to be frank, it holds no interest for us and is a very expensive part of Florida....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South March 26th, 2023; sun, 80F; SSE13; 2’-3’ waves We chose to leave Nassau and make the return journey by retracing our steps up to West End via the Berry Islands, rather than heading to the island of…

Thursday March 23rd, 2023: more sun: more wind: more waves! We are becoming used to hanging around waiting for conditions to improve: we cannot cross the Gulf Stream with a North wind and the weather patterns seem to set in for days at a time. We have friends who hare been stuck for almost a month waiting for a good crossing window....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South Thursday March 23rd, 2023: more sun: more wind: more waves! We are becoming used to hanging around waiting for conditions to improve: we cannot cross the Gulf Stream with a North wind and the weath…

March 17th, 2023: sun: 75F; SSE 14: 2-5’ waves The journey from Nassau to the Exumas has us crossing deep water then the shallow reef known as yellow bank, then back into deep water again. When we are in the deep water the depth sounder flashes and displays 1.2’ as it fails to find the bottom. As soon as we come to the turquoise waters, it finds itself again....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South March 17th, 2023: sun: 75F; SSE 14: 2-5’ waves The journey from Nassau to the Exumas has us crossing deep water then the shallow reef known as yellow bank, then back into deep water again. When we …

Sunday March 12th, 2023: sun; 78F: S9mph The Bahamas, a potted history: the islands’ earliest settlers were the Lucayans who arrived from other Caribbean islands sometime between 500 and 800 AD. Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 on the island now known as San Salvador Island. The earliest European settlement was in 1648 on the island of Eleuthera, predominantly colonists who had been settled in Bermuda and who left when it became too populous!...

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South Sunday March 12th, 2023: sun; 78F: S9mph The Bahamas, a potted history: the islands’ earliest settlers were the Lucayans who arrived from other Caribbean islands sometime between 500 and 800 AD. Ch…

Monday March 6th, 2023; 🌞👙🏖️ We moved on from West End towards Freeport heading to Flamingo Bay Marina, which turned out to be in Port Lucaya, south of Freeport town. The island of Grand Bahama shoreline is sand, beautiful white soft sand, with a surprising amount of tree line, some of which appear to be conferous from the sea. They’re was little boat traffic other than long line fishing vessels, many of which have come over from Florida for the weekend....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South Monday March 6th, 2023; 🌞👙🏖️ We moved on from West End towards Freeport heading to Flamingo Bay Marina, which turned out to be in Port Lucaya, south of Freeport town. The island of Grand Bahama sho…

February 26th, 2023: 😎 80F It’s been a while since I showed our progress since we rejoined Otter in mid-January. She was berthed in Brunswick, Ga and we have now reached West End, the Bahamas. It is strange to be still in summer, having had such a short blast of winter. We have put away our thicker clothes into the less accessible storage areas and brought out our swim and light summer gear, along with the snorkels!!!...

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South February 26th, 2023: 😎 80F It’s been a while since I showed our progress since we rejoined Otter in mid-January. She was berthed in Brunswick, Ga and we have now reached West End, the Bahamas. It i…

(Or rather, she doesn’t….!!) February 2nd, 2023 - February 19th, 2023: we arrive and stay in Eau Gallie Yacht Basin, a small homely marina to the north of Melbourne, Florida. We arranged to come in here to escape some bad weather and decided while here to see if we could get a mechanic to come and sort out our starboard engine, which continued to leak coolant....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South (Or rather, she doesn’t….!!) February 2nd, 2023 – February 19th, 2023: we arrive and stay in Eau Gallie Yacht Basin, a small homely marina to the north of Melbourne, Florida. We arranged to c…

30th January - 2nd February, 2023 St Augustine to Titusville Coolants topped off and all other systems appearing to be normal, we set south once more, heading towards Titusville and Cape Canaveral. As usual, due to our incredible skill and talent we had low water making even the ICW channel very shallow. At one point we were ‘attacked’ by an oncoming trawler who refused to move over from mid-channel and the depth sounder showed 3’6”; don’t know how we got away with that one!...

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South 30th January – 2nd February, 2023 St Augustine to Titusville Coolants topped off and all other systems appearing to be normal, we set south once more, heading towards Titusville and Cape Cana…

January 26th - January 30th, 2023; St Augustine Harbor The first stop on our exploration of this town was the Castillo de San Marcos, constructed between 1672 and 1695 from local stone known as coquina stone. Prior to the stone construction the Spanish, who established the settlement, had built nine smaller forts from wood in order to defend the Gulf Stream shipping route and anchor it’s claim to La Florida....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South January 26th – January 30th, 2023; St Augustine Harbor The first stop on our exploration of this town was the Castillo de San Marcos, constructed between 1672 and 1695 from local stone known …

January 25th, 2023; overcast; S17mph; 1’ waves INLAND! Trouble onboard :(. We left our anchorage and continued through the marshes but after a short while our port engine showed high oil pressure. We stopped it, then ran on our starboard engine only for a short while. After a pause we fired up the port engine once more, which seemed to have recovered and all was well....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South January 25th, 2023; overcast; S17mph; 1’ waves INLAND! Trouble onboard :(. We left our anchorage and continued through the marshes but after a short while our port engine showed high oil pressure. …

January 24th, 2023: sun; 1-2’ waves; light wind We left Brunswick on Tuesday, having waited out some bad weather which came through Sunday into Monday. We decided to go out onto the ocean instead of chugging slowly along the ICW. Initially we felt we should complete the entire ICW, but since it’s our journey and we can compile it as we wanted, we both felt a good run down the coast would be more fun....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South January 24th, 2023: sun; 1-2’ waves; light wind We left Brunswick on Tuesday, having waited out some bad weather which came through Sunday into Monday. We decided to go out onto the ocean instead o…

A new blog post is up! Thank you for all who have said how much they have enjoyed it.

Happy New Year! We had left Otter in Brunswick, Georgia to return to Providence, RI for Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. We booked her into a marina for two months and while we were gone we scheduled an engine service and to have her hauled out to clean the barnacles and seaweed growth from her hull. We, meanwhile, would be spending a good amount of time with our children as we were all off to England to visit Rick's mother, Gill, who would turn 90 in December....

Friday 20th January, 2023 Happy New Year! We had left Otter in Brunswick, Georgia to return to Providence, RI for Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. We booked her into a marina for two months and while we were gone we s…

Sunday 13th November, 2022; sun; 60F; waves 0-5’ 😱 Charleston; what an interesting stop we had! A very rare November Hurricane, Nicole (category 1), was making its way towards the East coast of Florida and was then forecasted to turn and head north, bringing storm surge, rain and high winds. We had already reserved a spot in a marina in Charleston from the 8th - 10th November, but had to find somewhere to stay on the 7th, so we would be well secured before any threat of the hurricane reached South Carolina....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South Sunday 13th November, 2022; sun; 60F; waves 0-5’ 😱 Charleston; what an interesting stop we had! A very rare November Hurricane, Nicole (category 1), was making its way towards the East coast of Flo…

Monday November 7th, 2022; 80F; sun and blue skies! We stopped in Carolina Beach, NC and the skies were overcast and it had obviously been raining as the drains were overflowing. We wandered over to the beach which was typical of this coast: broad, sandy and quiet. The buildings which ran along the beach were mostly new and vacation style apartments to rent with a few older smaller properties in between....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South Monday November 7th, 2022; 80F; sun and blue skies! We stopped in Carolina Beach, NC and the skies were overcast and it had obviously been raining as the drains were overflowing. We wandered over t…

November 2nd, 2022; 77F sun Continuing on the ICW from Belhaven we pass shrimp boats which are now the predominant commercial boat we see. Which might also describe the size of fish Rick caught when we stopped off in Oriental! Next stop: New Bern. A slightly larger town but with a small town feel, we docked near to the Timeless, a charter vessel out of Newport, Rhode Island!...

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South November 2nd, 2022; 77F sun Continuing on the ICW from Belhaven we pass shrimp boats which are now the predominant commercial boat we see. Which might also describe the size of fish Rick caught whe…

October 29th, 2022; cloud then sun; 20mph NNE; 0-1’ wave First stop on the ICW was Great Bridge where we tied up on the dock alongside the Great Bridge Battlefield Museum where, surprise!, yet another Revolutionary battle was fought! We didn’t go into the museum, but they have an excellent outdoor exhibit, wandering around a pathway with signs explaining the various aspects of the battle fought, including a mock up of the original bridge spanning the swamp....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South October 29th, 2022; cloud then sun; 20mph NNE; 0-1’ wave First stop on the ICW was Great Bridge where we tied up on the dock alongside the Great Bridge Battlefield Museum where, surprise!, yet anot…

October 22nd, 2022; sun; 0-1ft; 73F Backup a few days and we arrived in Hampton, Va, which happens to be the home of the Langley Research Center for NASA. We had not known this before coming here, we had thought the town looked like the best stopover for us to replenish our food supplies before heading into the ICW! We tied up at the downtown dock and set off to explore the town where we discovered the Virginia Air and Space Science Museum, which turned out to be fabulous....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South October 22nd, 2022; sun; 0-1ft; 73F Backup a few days and we arrived in Hampton, Va, which happens to be the home of the Langley Research Center for NASA. We had not known this before coming here, …

October , 2022; full sun, no waves, traveling the Intracoastal Waterways. Wolf Trap Light Heading back in time once more, as I’m still catching the blog up, we left Deltaville and set off for Yorktown. We soon passed Wolf Trap Light which is the main reason we decided to head south, since Rick’s navigational exercises for the US Coastguard Captain’s License were all set around this light and the surrounding shoals!...

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South October , 2022; full sun, no waves, traveling the Intracoastal Waterways. Wolf Trap Light Heading back in time once more, as I’m still catching the blog up, we left Deltaville and set off for Yorkt…

October 19th, 2022; partly sunny; 57F 🥶; 0-2’ We left Solomons Islands for the Potomac River and Washington DC in early October: someone said to me on the dock “you have to have intention to go to DC by boat”! We were leaving Otter there for a week and the Amtrak Acela runs daily from Washington to Boston: super convenient!...

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South October 19th, 2022; partly sunny; 57F 🥶; 0-2’ We left Solomons Islands for the Potomac River and Washington DC in early October: someone said to me on the dock “you have to have intention to go to …

October 15th, 2022: sunny 75F; SW15mph; 0-1ft wave When last we met at the end of September Otter was at anchor in Chesapeake City, which was a truly delightful small anchorage with a large reputation for having a lively boat crowd, particularly in the bars and restaurants which line the small protected basin. We were there on a Sunday night and there were no shenanigans and we had a peaceful night....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South October 15th, 2022: sunny 75F; SW15mph; 0-1ft wave When last we met at the end of September Otter was at anchor in Chesapeake City, which was a truly delightful small anchorage with a large reputat…

Sunday 25th September 2022; 65F; sun and thunderstorms. We arrived back in Buzzards Bay from our Down East Loop and spent the first few days hopping backwards and forwards between our land base in Providence, Rhode Island and Otter in Padanaram, Massachusetts. We were intending to close out the season and haul Otter for her regular winter in storage, although we had half an idea of heading further south following in the wake of the now good friends we had met in Canada....

Chronicles of Otter: Otter Heads South Sunday 25th September 2022; 65F; sun and thunderstorms. We arrived back in Buzzards Bay from our Down East Loop and spent the first few days hopping backwards and forwards between our land base in …

Saturday August 27th, 2022: 80F; overcast then sun; ENE6mph: 0-1’ wave We made it! We have pulled our mooring in Padanaram Harbor and Otter is home. She has brought us 2630 nautical miles in 105 days with 249 engine hours. She has pushed through fog, waves that felt bigger than she was, under bridges that she didn’t fit under without having the mast lowered, touched bottom once, avoided tree trunks, lobster and crab pots, withstood 40+ knot winds and pouring rain with no leaks and kept us warm and dry throughout....

Chronicles of Otter Saturday August 27th, 2022: 80F; overcast then sun; ENE6mph: 0-1’ wave We made it! We have pulled our mooring in Padanaram Harbor and Otter is home. She has brought us 2630 nautical miles in 105 da…

Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th August, 2022; 80+F; humid; 0-1’ wave A slow start to allow the fog to lift or move offshore, then out past Eastern Point once more for a speedy uneventful ride to Boston. Glass flat sea once more with a distant mist made for a pretty day. We came in past the Boston Lighthouse which we used to round on our sailboat when we sailed out of Boston harbor....

Chronicles of Otter Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th August, 2022; 80+F; humid; 0-1’ wave A slow start to allow the fog to lift or move offshore, then out past Eastern Point once more for a speedy uneventful ride to B…

Tuesday August 23rd, 2022; sun; 73F; ESE 5mph; 0-1’ wave leftover raindrops on main hatch cover Waking up to clear blue skies after the downpours of yesterday, the pattern of the drops on the hatch above the bed was lovely…. We left York Harbor and set off for Gloucester where we will meet friends for dinner. Gloucester has woven itself through our lives since before we even moved here; on our first visit Henry was a mere 9 months old when we traveled from Virginia to Montreal and stopped in Gloucester for a day to take our first ever whale watch trip....

Chronicles of Otter Tuesday August 23rd, 2022; sun; 73F; ESE 5mph; 0-1’ wave leftover raindrops on main hatch cover Waking up to clear blue skies after the downpours of yesterday, the pattern of the drops on the hatch…

Monday 22nd August, 2022; wet, 67F. We are sitting on Otter in the very pretty York harbor, it is grey, gloomy and pouring down with rain, but it is actually a very enjoyable time, having had a really lovely weekend. Our dinner at the Chebeague Island Inn was delicious, far and away the best food we have had since Quebec City....

Chronicles of Otter Monday 22nd August, 2022; wet, 67F. We are sitting on Otter in the very pretty York harbor, it is grey, gloomy and pouring down with rain, but it is actually a very enjoyable time, having had a rea…

Friday 19th August, 2022; 83F; W9mph; 0-2ft wave Looking back, it seems as if I have not had a post for 5 whole days!!! ???!!! Probably because we have actually done so little, the time has passed without a lot of pictures or events. Time to catch up! Rockland: we did manage to go to the art museum, which was small but had a nice new gallery with paintings and studies by Andrew Wyeth, plus an eclectic mix of other mixed media....

Chronicles of Otter Friday 19th August, 2022; 83F; W9mph; 0-2ft wave Looking back, it seems as if I have not had a post for 5 whole days!!! ???!!! Probably because we have actually done so little, the time has passed …

Sunday August 14th, 2022; 75F; S8mph; 0-1ft wave Swans Island was named after James Swan, a Scot, who bought the island in 1784 and was a merchant and a bit of an activist, participating in the Boston Tea Party, protesting against the special status accorded to the East India Company who could sell their tea without a tax levy and which eventually led to the American Revolutionary War....

Chronicles of Otter Sunday August 14th, 2022; 75F; S8mph; 0-1ft wave Swans Island was named after James Swan, a Scot, who bought the island in 1784 and was a merchant and a bit of an activist, participating in the Bos…

Saturday 13th August, 2022; 68F; overcast Our day in Bar Harbour ended in a surprising fashion; there was an unbelievably beautiful sunset, when the sun went down between Bar Island and Mount Desert Island with the most incredible orange glow, reflecting purple glory into the clouds surrounding the area. After dark, suddenly there was a bang and there were fireworks from a rather nondescript barge which we had watched the cruise liner ‘taxis’ travel around all afternoon, ferrying their passengers from ship to shore....

Chronicles of Otter Saturday 13th August, 2022; 68F; overcast Our day in Bar Harbour ended in a surprising fashion; there was an unbelievably beautiful sunset, when the sun went down between Bar Island and Mount Deser…

Friday August 12th, 2022; partly cloudy after foggy start; 73F We traveled from Jonesport to Winter Harbor, almost at Bar Harbor, and picked up a mooring for Thursday night. As we left Jonesport the fog began to blow in from the ocean behind us, but we had good clear visibility, extremely useful for dodging lobster pots! Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island was clearly visible ahead and we met very few other boats out and about....

Chronicles of Otter Friday August 12th, 2022; partly cloudy after foggy start; 73F We traveled from Jonesport to Winter Harbor, almost at Bar Harbor, and picked up a mooring for Thursday night. As we left Jonesport th…

Wednesday August 10th, 2022: Sun 🥳: SSE 5mph; 68F; 0-2 ft This morning was clear! Tempting though it was to stay the extra day, we took the opportunity presented to us and set off from Yarmouth, NS to Jonesport, ME. On the way out of Yarmouth Harbor we saw a fishing wharf with colorful beach houses on the shore that were completely fogbound on our arrival....

Chronicles of Otter Wednesday August 10th, 2022: Sun 🥳: SSE 5mph; 68F; 0-2 ft This morning was clear! Tempting though it was to stay the extra day, we took the opportunity presented to us and set off from Yarmouth, NS…

Saturday August 6th, 2022 - Tuesday August 9th, 2022; FOG, FOG, FOG So, there aren’t many interesting photos for this post so I have accumulated the days together. The morning was clear in Lunenburg on Saturday but pretty soon the mist began to evocatively roll in; by the time we left it was light but very firmly in control. We turned down the coast to head for Liverpool where we planned to anchor for the night....

Chronicles of Otter Saturday August 6th, 2022 – Tuesday August 9th, 2022; FOG, FOG, FOG So, there aren’t many interesting photos for this post so I have accumulated the days together. The morning was clear in Lu…

Friday August 5th, 2022; fog Leaving St Margaret’s Bay we saw neither shore once again, which was a shame as we missed Peggy’s Cove, which is marked by an apparently iconic lighthouse, we will never know, will we?!, and was Nova Scotia’s only whaling station. We also missed the Mahone Bay Islands where Captain Kidd was rumored to have buried some treasure and Shut-in Island where the pirates hid from the Navy vessels, as it appears to be a part of the coastline but is actually separated by a pretty cove with a nice anchorage!...

Chronicles of Otter Friday August 5th, 2022; fog Leaving St Margaret’s Bay we saw neither shore once again, which was a shame as we missed Peggy’s Cove, which is marked by an apparently iconic lighthouse, we will neve…

Thursday August 4th, 2022; sun, calm sea We left Halifax on what seemed like a perfect day: glorious skies and clear calm seas. This coast from Halifax to Yarmouth is known as the Bluenose Coast, more specifically the area from Halifax to Shelburne is locally known as the South Shore and is one of Nova Scotia’s premier cruising grounds as it has many sheltered bays, picturesque villages and uncrowded anchorages....

Chronicles of Otter Thursday August 4th, 2022; sun, calm sea We left Halifax on what seemed like a perfect day: glorious skies and clear calm seas. This coast from Halifax to Yarmouth is known as the Bluenose Coast, m…

Wednesday 3rd August, 2022; 🌞; 78F; 👰🤵‍♂️💒 Our 37th wedding anniversary! No fog this morning: a bright clear beautiful day. We got the scooters out and headed off to provision as we will be leaving Halifax early tomorrow. This is the first time we have had them out since Rimouski where we bought them: they really are a lot of fun and are surprisingly stable with packed bags hanging from the handlebars....

Chronicles of Otter Wednesday 3rd August, 2022; 🌞; 78F; 👰🤵‍♂️💒 Our 37th wedding anniversary! No fog this morning: a bright clear beautiful day. We got the scooters out and headed off to provision as we will be leaving…