Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Fishing Fever

Apparently I have a fever...fishing fever. Today was the last day of school before the winter holiday and I rushed home! To my sweet husband who had the boat all ready to go...again!

Even though the sun was almost setting we set out to see if I could catch a fish!



We trolled out to the bay to find the fish. I assisted in the navigation (which I actually like to do), commandeered the boat and using the combo GPS/fishfinder guided us (okay...the boat was on autopilot!) to a spot!


We set out the fishing poles with the lures from Sunday and slowly circled the targeted area. Nothing. Absolutely nothing!


Nothing except a beautiful evening on cold, tranquil waters with my loving husband on OUR boat! No fish, but a great time and more learning for me. And a breath-taking vista.


The "fishing" is the fun part!

Monday, December 18, 2017

First Fishing Foray

Shawn and I went on our first fishing foray on the YellowBird! I have to confess that I am a fishing novice. I mean, I did the cub scout thing with my two boys and fished off a platform on a fresh water lake with a bamboo pole and a string. I went on one of those off-shore fishing trips from Murrells Inlet, South Carolina when I was in my late twenties. And I went with my son on a fishing excursion on a stocked fresh water pond this summer...but FISHING....real FISHING only once with the kind Captain Smooth and Shawn when "I" (and I use that pronoun VERY loosely as in the excitement, I believe Shawn actually did most of the work helping me reel it in and netting it--that sucker felt HEAVY!!) caught a cobia, fell in love with it and released it!



So enough of the backstory! I have been wanting to go FISHING...real fishing on the YB. So Shawn located all the necessities, loaded the boat (as my wonderful husband always does! ) and away we went.



Armed with our gear, we trolled out to the Bay to a top secret spot. It is rockfish season after all and there are lots of fishermen out there!




By the way...did I mention it was COLD??? So we were bundled up but it was a good cold. Plus the heater Shawn installed kept the salon toasty warm. My plan of action is to stay outside and enjoy the cold until it gets frizzy cold and then race inside to the heat and "assist in the navigation" while I thaw out and then repeat the cycle! It works great! :)



When we got to the fishing spot, I received a quick lesson in using lures and weights and O. M. G.--

did you know fishing lures have nicknames like "Stretch"???



 I got to fish and fish and fish and fish. I  waited (patiently!) and waited (impatiently!)...but no fish were biting! I was not disappointed at all. Seriously. I had a blast. I loved casting and that jolt of excitement when you think you have a bite only to find seaweed tangled in your line.




And I did avail myself of the rod holders when I got cold and would go inside to get warm (and have an adult beverage--I was drinking wine which does not go with fishing at all...next time I will take beer!).

While I was thawing, Shawn would check the lines for me!

So we had a great after fishing....no catches...but lots of fun being together on the YB out in the water where we love it best! 


It gets dark WAY too early now. Happy fishing!

Sunday, December 3, 2017

It's What We Do

Saturday morning, Shawn spent a few hours installing a HEATER on the YellowBird! Yay! Now I will not be cold as we spend time puttering around our nearby creeks. The heater installs onto the engine, using the heat from the engine as the heat source.  He created a vent in the stairs so the heat blows into the passageway between the galley, head and stateroom. It is quite comfortable now after sundown. Some of the heat naturally rises into the salon. A most excellent placement, in my opinion, to give us the best bang for the buck.


Heater
 
So to test it out, we gathered our provisions of wine, ale and snacks and headed out to the bay. Just in time to catch the last rays of sun. It was about 51 degrees outside and the heater kept the inside at 63 degrees which is a good temperature for us in the boat.
Flag-flying proudly

We returned to the dock, intending to head to the house to cook dinner, when we saw that despite the clouds, the moon was beautifully (almost) full and shining. So we untied the lines again and headed out to see the moon! As soon as we cleared our creek, the moon went behind the clouds again, but we decided to stay out until we saw it again. After a brief game of hide and seek, the moon appeared. Very bright and beautiful.
Moonlight


Monday, November 20, 2017

Happy Hour

I love how we race home after work on Friday afternoons, grabbed some snacks and wine to zip (haha---putter) to our "happy hour" spot. 
Ready for a boat ride?


Heading out of the creek.

Can we just head south and keep going?

We are flag waving members of the MTOA.


Destination ahead
Our "uncharted desert isle"
Beauty in the clouds


We can always find a seat for our happy hour.


Sunset
A special order sunset
Serenity

We have a wake!
Just us. Wine. Snacks. Music. Our fiberglass dance floor on the the flybridge. This is absolutely THE LIFE! (Until we can head south and stay there!). Shawn orders a beautiful sunset each Friday evening just for me! 

Monday, November 6, 2017

Fall Fun

I LOVE MY BOAT (and my husband!). What a wonderful life!

Friday was another perfect summer day! And in November! As I said in the last blog post, the weather gods are smiling upon us and I am grateful!

In preparation, I gathered provisions on Thursday evening after work (yep...fixings for those ham biscuits for the morning!). So as soon as work was over on Friday afternoon, I raced home. Shawn and I gathered up all the necessities for anchoring out. Wine, cheese, crackers, coffee, creamer, honey, HAM BISCUITS!!!

Shawn showed me this really cool website Windfinder so we could check the wind. While Friday was beautiful and calm, the wind would pick up at 11pm so we stayed close to home and anchored out off of Hughlett Point in one of the creeks near us.

It was perfect!!! We saw the most amazing sunset. And moonrise. The photos simply do not capture it. The moon was ORANGE when it began to show over the horizon and it was almost like watching a time-lapse video as we watched it rise over the trees into the sky.















The morning sunrise was superb! And it did indeed get rough. There were what Shawn calls "elephant ears" out on the bay. But our anchor spot in the cove was protected.



I will admit that I am spoiled. Shawn is the one who makes the coffee on board and brings to me. I did contribute the ham biscuits this time!



A beautiful day and leisurely ride back to the home dock to begin our weekend chores!


 I am eagerly anticipating more fall cruising and overnights on the Yellowbird!!


Monday, October 23, 2017

First Foray

With beautiful weather and calm seas, we decided to spend our weekend reaping the delights of all our hard work. I feel as if the weather gods are smiling upon us and rewarding us for all of our hard work by granting us a "summer weekend" in October.  We started our weekend by zipping (haha!! in the trawler) over to Hughlett Point on Friday after work for a quiet leisurely evening enjoying the warmth and the gorgeous sunset while sipping wine.












Saturday was another beautiful day. We rendezvoused with some friends and made our way to the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Festival by boat. My first ever seafood festival and overnight on the boat anchored out! Our friends have a Chris Craft.

We tethered our two boats together since we were both overnighting.







The morning dawned crisp and clear. Cool, but not cold. We used a denatured alcohol burner to make coffee (my wonderful husband did that).





It was a bit chilly in the morning, so we used a portable heater. Which does an amazing job--a must have for our overnights in the cooler weather for me. Our friends were more prepared than I as they had made ham biscuits for the morning. I had not really given a thought to breakfast on board. So I will be prepared next time!



Our anchor windlass has not been re-installed, but luckily I have Shawn! We weighed anchor and spontaneously decided to spend the day cruising the area rather than going home.







I got to pilot the boat!



And enjoy the cruise!
I think we need some type of remote control so Shawn and I can sit together and enjoy the cruise.











A wonderful weekend and a phenomenal first overnight on the boat for me! I cannot wait for more!