Amtrak to Philadelphia and back in New England

9/1/2026

Update:

We are currently anchored in Newport Harbor. The weather has been great the last few days and we are doing some sightseeing. Last week in Philadelphia we learned that my eye is healing and looks good. The vision in my left eye remains pretty bad. I can see everything but it’s blurry. A cataract operation will probably correct this; I’ll have that done at home in the Fall and as always hope for the best.

We took the Amtrak train to Philly and really liked it. We did not want to rent a car and drive through Connecticut, New York and New Jersey plus you pay a fortune to park at a hotel. For better or worse on the train there is no security, they don’t look at your bags or even your ID. The simplicity was refreshing. The seats were comfortable; we brought our own food and ate, slept and read the whole way, which took 5 hours.

In Philadelphia we learned we have been staying in the Midtown Village area. It reminds me of downtown St Petersburg and seemed especially nice on this visit. Maybe it was the cooler weather or maybe everyone left Philadelphia during the 250^th Fourth of July celebration when we were there last. Close to our hotel, at the 13^th Street and Sansom Street intersection there are restaurants everywhere, all charming and all with outdoor seating. Every place was full of people having a good time. There were also lots of cute little boutiques which I managed to avoid, with effort! We ate at Darling Jacks Tavern and enjoyed it.

The next morning, we caught the 6 am train back to Providence. The train was just as nice on the way back. We got off early at West Kingston, Rhode Island, to be closer to Wickford. The Kingston Station was like going back in time. We exited on to an outside platform and walked to the charming station house built in 1875. It was well preserved and on the National Register of Historic Places. I half expected a stagecoach to pull up instead of the Uber to take us back to the boat.

Moorings and the Florida excuse

It is much more interesting to report on problems than on regular life. Luckily, our problems lately are minor. We left Wickford Harbor on Friday, stopped for diesel, gas and water and made the 2 and ½ hour trip across Narragansett Bay without incident. Well, a small incident occurred in Wickford. To explain, I need to provide information about moorings.

To go to Philadelphia, we rented a mooring from the nice low-key Wickford Yacht Club. We found out about it on the internet, and this was our second stay there. The yacht club has a clubhouse, and docks for dinghies but no bar or restaurant. A guy named Chuck, who seems to be the main worker at the club, is the contact for the moorings. He buzzed out in his dinghy to greet us the first time we were there. He is very pleasant to deal with, has the nicest smile and I swear is always at the club.

Moorings are very common in New England instead of marinas. People keep their boats on moorings all summer and take the boat out of the water in the winter. Moorings are anchored to the bottom and have a large ball or barrel floating on the surface. They are identified with numbers or letters. A heavy rope called a pennant is attached to the ball or barrel; this is what a boater uses to attach to the mooring. Most moorings up here have a barrel shaped top so the pennant can be placed there, out of the water, when not in use. If left in the water, the pennant becomes encrusted with sea life. They can be very gross and dangerously sharp with barnacles or even oysters. I always put on gloves to pick up a mooring.  

When leaving the mooring in Wickford I dropped the pennant in the water instead of putting it on top of the mooring. I was just thinking about getting our lines off the pennant and not putting the pennant away properly. Oh, I was mad at myself. In boating there is a lot of etiquette and consideration for others is very important, plus we wanted to rent from Wickford Yacht Club again. We could not just leave that pennant in the water.

When I was growing up, it was popular to make fun of Polish people, remember that? There were tons of Polish jokes years ago. Now we have the Florida Man and it’s popular to make fun of Floridians. Since I am a native, I decided to use the Florida excuse. I sent Chuck an e mail apologizing for leaving the pennant in the water, saying it must be my Florida heritage at fault and invited him to have a beer or rum drink on our boat the next time we visit. At least we let him know so he could take the short trip out to the mooring in his dinghy and fix it. It worked. I received a nice reply from Chuck. Now we feel comfortable going back there and are looking forward to having Chuck on the boat for drinks.

That will be it for today. It’s great to report on such minor issues! Thanks very much for reading the blog.

Love and Peace,

Frances Lima

 

A week of cruising New England

8/24/2026

Update:

We are in Wickford, Rhode Island on a mooring in Wickford Harbor. Tomorrow we are going to Philadelphia for a follow up at Wills Eye Hospital. My eyesight continues to improve so we are expecting this to be just a check-in appointment. We will take the train and stay for two nights in our favorite Holliday Inn Express. I am not eating any Philly cheesesteaks this trip, but we will visit the Thai food restaurant Grandma’s Philly for the curry puffs.

A week in the Cruising Life:

Things have been going well in New England, short hops and small towns. We decided to take a cruise around Buzzard’s Bay after visiting Newport. Al has been to spots in Buzzards Bay many times, but we got out the cruising guide to look up new places to visit.

Sunday August 16^th was a sunny day with light winds. We raised anchor in Newport harbor and sailed up Buzzard’s Bay to Hadley’s Harbor. The trip took 6 and ½ hours. Hadley’s Harbor is a small, protected harbor at the eastern end of Naushon Island. The island is owned by the Forbes family; it is in a natural state except for a few very nice houses. The public are allowed to anchor or pick up one of the free moorings provided by the Forbes family. There is one small area where people can go ashore, we only saw people with dogs go there. The afternoon we arrived it was very crowded; all the moorings were taken and every anchoring spot as well. Fortunately, a large boat left as we were motoring around so we anchored where he left an opening. People were finishing up their weekend fun, swimming off the back of their boats and enjoying the sunny weather. I was not terribly impressed, it was small, lots of people, but sometimes you have to wait for the good parts.

Monday August 17^th we woke up to rain, and it rained all day, so we spent the day cooking. I made chicken soup using the pressure cooker and Al made chourico and peppers for dinner. The most striking thing about this harbor was an experience of quietness I had on the night of the 17^th. The rain had stopped; there was no wind and after a lazy day I couldn’t easily fall asleep. I decided to just listen. Our berth is surrounded on 3 sides by ports that are a few inches above the mattress. I listened very hard. I thought I heard an engine in the distance, then a plane flying overhead, after that there was no sound. The lack of sound traveled in my ears and to the center of my head. It seemed to touch an ancient area that loved the sensation of no sound and at the same time longed for more. It seemed very right but I also felt sad because I knew this was a fleeting experience. The feeling was profound, as if a deep need was satisfied. I am hoping we can go back there.

Tuesday August 18^th we raised the anchor in Hadley’s Harbor and moved the boat across Buzzard’s Bay to the small town of Marion. The cruising guide described the town as lovely plus neither of us had been there. The trip took two and ½ hours. We picked up a free CCA mooring. Al is a member of the Cruising Club of America; they have a few moorings in the area for members. Marion Harbor is ringed with nice houses, the Beverly Yacht Club, one or two small marinas, the Harbormasters Office and the Tabor Academy. The harbor is filled with 1000 moorings. It was cloudy and rainy; we stayed on the boat and ate dinner onboard.

Wednesday August 19^th we went ashore in Marion and first checked in with the Harbormaster to make sure we docked the dinghy in the correct place. We have learned in these small towns you don’t want to anger the Harbormaster. Marion is a picture-perfect New England town. We had lunch at the Front Street General Store and then went to the main attraction, the Natural History Museum which was in the library. The best part was walking around the quiet streets checking out the colonial houses and their gardens. I love looking at houses. We went back to the boat and then had dinner at the Beverly Yacht Club. It’s a nice small yacht club with a screened-in back porch open for dinner. They even picked us up in their launch and brought us back to the boat after dinner. It was nice.

Thursday August 20^th we dropped the mooring in Marion and moved to Bristol Harbor which was a 9-hour trip. The consistent cloudy, rainy weather in the last 3 days had not been good for our solar charged batteries. We needed to get to a dock and plug in. We anchored for the night in Bristol Harbor and had dinner on the boat.

Friday August 21^st was another rainy day. We waited for the rain to let up and then motored over to the Herreshoff Marine Museum dock in Bristol. They only have 4 or 5 slips, so we were lucky to get one. The museum summer sailing camp was wrapping up another week of sailing classes. All the young sailing instructors came over to ask about our boat because it is unusual for New England. We gave them a tour and had fun chatting with them. After we tied up the boat Al and I walked to a tavern we like for a late lunch. We plugged in and the batteries charged up. We like to sit in the cabin on chilly rainy evenings and read or play double solitaire. I have read more books on this trip than I have in years.

Saturday August 22^nd was a day to do our chores but with a twist. We took an Uber to a laundromat at 8:30 am. Friends of ours from St Pete, who now live in Rhode Island picked us up at 12:30 and we all went to lunch in Bristol. Then they took us to the grocery store and waited while we bought some groceries. They took us and our laundry and groceries back to the boat; we put everything away and that turned out to be a full day. I believe we had another double solitaire tournament that night. I used to win every game, but Al is starting to win some now, too.

So that is a full week of cruising. It’s a beautiful area and especially nice when it’s not raining. We miss our friends from home, but we do have some friends here too, which is great.

Well, that’s all for this blog. Thank you very much for reading.

Love and Peace, 

Frances Lima

Newport, Rhode Island

 8/15/2026

Update:

We are in Newport, Rhode Island, a mecca for mega Yachts, sailboat racing and classic sail boats. A great pastime here is sitting in the cockpit watching the activity in the harbor. It is rare to see a boat that is not beautiful and well cared for. We are in the anchorage and it’s surprisingly not crowded. When we visited here 15 years ago it was difficult to find room in the anchorage because so many boats anchored here all summer. Now the Newport Harbormaster instituted a 14-day maximum stay. Most boats in the harbor are on a mooring and the mooring field is huge. Launches come and go all day to take people from their boats to town. Sailboats head out every day to race in the protected harbor nearby. During the week tiny sailboats with little sailors fan out from the summer camp bases to learn how to sail. Classic sailboats of every size are everywhere and are a delight to see especially if sailing. Today I saw a schooner leave the harbor under sail and towing a dinghy. I have never seen a cruising schooner before.

We have eaten at our favorite restaurant, Clarke Cooke House and we went to a great outdoor play tonight about the American Revolution. Yesterday I was shoe shopping in town by Uber and discovered that the Ulta store had a hair salon in the back. That was super convenient; they had time to see me right then. There is nothing too exciting or risky to report. No close calls and no overnight passages. I am not sure how long we can keep up this pace. We may be addicted to excitement and resort to doing something potentially dangerous again soon. Regardless, we are moving on to another harbor tomorrow morning.

The subject for this week’s blog is Middle-Class Boating:

I know they say the middle class is disappearing, but it was around a long time. Middle-class boating is a term I developed for the type of boating we and all our friends do. I have watched this level of boating for decades and feel I am an expert on the middle-class boater. I will describe it in detail since it is something not many people are familiar with and a dying breed. A middle-class boater is a person or a couple who work full time and decide to buy a fairly large sailboat. By that I mean a 30 to 50 foot sailboat that stays in the water full time, in Florida that is 12 months a year. The boater of this type usually cannot completely afford the boat but the lure of the sea and envisioning the fun they can have overrides reality.

Picture the systems in your house such as plumbing, electrical wiring, running water, refrigeration, bedding and storage and put them in a continually damp, saltwater environment that is always moving. In addition, the boat has sails, rigging, navigation equipment, steering mechanisms, computers, sophisticated batteries, communication equipment and one or two engines. The middle-class boater typically buys a used boat and learns how to repair and maintain all the above systems themselves. Middle-class boaters become expert bargain hunters. They scour boating flea markets, consignment shops and e bay. When they take these boats out on day sails or for the weekend it gets interesting to see what works and what doesn’t. This is why the camaraderie and companionship of fellow sailors is so strong. Boaters are always discussing their latest repair problem or new project. We have all kinds of mishaps and adventures along the way but are constantly learning.  We learn from our friends, take classes and always try to do as much as we can ourselves. It is like developing a second profession. It is a knowledge base developed over time and with experience. But this is the beauty of this type of boating. The boater can become independent, knowing they can fix problems by themselves out at sea. This is where the freedom to travel widely comes from.

My secret weapon is Al. He knows how to repair almost anything. He got started on this early in life, working on cars as a teenager. His repair and maintenance abilities just continued from there. He learned how to sail and then built his own boat. I am a good boater, but Al is the reason we can travel on our boat like this.

It is amazing what you can develop in life with time and experience and the interesting and beautiful times you can have as a result.

I believe that will be all for today. Thank you for reading!

Love and Peace,

Frances Lima

 

Cape May to Rhode Island

8/8/2026

Hello!

Update:  We are in Bristol, Rhode Island, anchored in Bristol Harbor. We plan to stay in the Rhode Island, Massachusetts area for the remainder of the summer. The weather is great and there are dozens of picturesque towns and harbors within a day’s sail.

Leaving Cape May:

My eyesight continues to improve and the folks at Wills Eye said it was healing well at the follow-up on July 29^th. We did walk to the Philadelphia Reading Market for sandwiches and Bassetts Ice Cream before driving back to Cape May the same day. We turned in our rental car on July 30^th and motored out of Utsch’s Marina at 6 am on July 31^st. The weather was clear and warm, and looked good for an overnight trip to Block Island, Rhode Island. I am happy to report it was an uneventful trip! 

Several hours into the trip we noticed a sailboat behind us on the AIS. AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a live tracker. If a boat has a tracker, and most boats do, they show up on our chart plotter as we travel. The system gives you information about the vessel such as their name, type, speed, and if you are on a collision course with the vessel. The collision information is very helpful so you can change course and not collide! The boat behind us was a sailboat named Angelfish, about our same size and speed. After a few hours Al called them on the radio. We learned they were also on the way to Block Island, so we checked in with each other from time to time during the night and the next day. It was such a calm ride I thought I was on a cruise ship. The boat hardly rocked at all during the entire 22-hour trip.

A short stay in Block Island:

Block Island is a popular Rhode Island stop for boaters and tourists. It’s 9 miles offshore and has a few nice lighthouses and beaches plus bars and restaurants. We stopped there in 2011 in the early spring and loved it. I think we were the only boat there in 2011. Our new friends Angelfish have a lot of recent experience cruising in New England. They decided to anchor in Block Island. We motored into the inlet lined with small boats pulled up on the sand banks enjoying the sun and busy with boats coming and going. The entire harbor was packed with boats; I even saw a mega yacht docked at the marina near shore. We attempted to anchor several times in the designated anchorage but there was just no room. We then went over to the mooring field and picked up a mooring. The two boats on either side quickly yelled over that the mooring was reserved so we dropped it. We then called the Harbormaster on the radio. After a short wait the Harbormaster pointed out a mooring we could use.  We hooked up to the mooring, and shortly afterwards while paying for it we were told we had to be off the mooring by 10 am the next day. It was a Saturday and the busiest time of the year for Block Island. New Englanders who keep their boats on land all winter and endure that cold season like to make good use of the spring and summer when the weather gets nice. We decided to leave Block Island the next morning and head for quieter harbors.

Wickford

Our next stop was Wickford Harbor, Rhode Island. The entire harbor had probably 300 boats in total and was the typical New England type place we wanted. In Rhode Island the shoreline looks natural in most places and where there is a house or a building it is attractive, usually with colonial type architecture. We picked up a Wickford Yacht Club mooring ball. The club is a low-key place that has a clubhouse, dinghy dock and 5 moorings they rent out to the community. Our friends Joy and Mike picked us up from Wickford and spoiled us with good food, sightseeing and laundry services for 3 days.

Bristol

We are now in Bristol Harbor, anchored next to Angelfish. We finally met them face to face. They are a couple about our age who have been cruising on their 45-foot sailboat for 5 years, going up and down the coast of the US. We plan to spend more time with them to get to know them better and trade sailing stories. Al has family here so we will be visiting them as we travel around the area.

I am planning to write uneventful and boring blogs like this one from here on out! Since Al grew up in this area, we are in familiar surroundings plus we are not facing any daunting challenges. I will try my best to keep it interesting though. 

Thank you for reading. Please keep in touch. 

Love and Peace,

Frances Lima

Cape May and regaining sight

7/26/2026 

Hello! 

Update: We are still in Cape May, New Jersey, at Utsch’s marina. I have a follow up at Will’s Eye Hospital on Wednesday, July 29 in Philadelphia. It is very exciting to report that I am regaining vision in my left eye, as expected. The vision is returning from the top; it started out as a sliver, increases every day and is pretty clear. After this week we plan to move north to Rhode Island and Massachusetts. We will visit people, visit some lovely New England harbors, relax, have fun and hopefully have some family join us. We may leave the boat in New England, but either way, we plan to be home in St Petersburg for the winter. Even before we started this trip, Al said he wanted to be home for the holidays. I thought we were going to go sailing for several years. In retirement I have learned that plans are fluid and can change easily. 

Changing my first impression of Cape May and recuperating from eye surgery: Some locations we visit I love immediately while others I have to warm up to. At first my impression of Cape May was of an overcrowded tourist town. We went to the tourist traps on our first day of sightseeing, the shops on the Washington Street Mall and the Fish House restaurant on Sunset Beach at the most crowded time of day. But, in the past week or so I have discovered the appeal of Cape May. During a memoir writing class on Monday, I met some locals including the Poet Laureate of Cape May, Sylvia Baer, who led the class. She has published several books. There were such nice people there and the class was right on the water at the Convention Hall. Afterwards I had a chance to look out at the ocean, listen to the waves and walk on the Cape May promenade. The promenade is a wide sidewalk running along the beach between the sand dunes and the road. Large beautiful Victorian houses still line the road across from the beach. I could picture how lovely it was long ago. Being a beach lover that helped me see the charm of the “shore” as they call it here. Plus I discovered a restaurant, McGlades, that seats you right in the dunes. I will be going back to the beach before I leave. Al and I always hit the historical sites to get the feel for a town. We went on tours of the Victorian Physick Estate house, Congress Hall, the Harriet Tubman Museum and Fisherman’s Wharf. We also visited the Cape May lighthouse. Cape May has a central cultural group, MAC, that runs the tours and museums and was the force that started the restoration of the town. This is a charming small town with interesting history and some very nice people. 

It doesn’t sound like it from the description above, but I have also taken a lot of time to rest. It’s surprising how long it takes time to recuperate from surgery on such a small body part. My left eye gets tired and just occasionally painful. I also have found it tiring to have clear vision in one eye and very poor vision in the other eye. I have rested when I needed to and eaten a lot of good food which I know is helping my eye! 

It struck me this week how debilitating this injury was. All activity stopped except the basics like eating and dressing for several weeks and has returned gradually. Just this week I was straightening out an area in the galley, making things organized and attractive. It’s something I really like to do and hadn’t done since before the injury almost a month ago. Illness can take away the part of ourselves that makes us who we are as a unique person. It can rob you of the energy to do things that truly feed your soul. I am fortunate and extremely thankful to be returning to normal but hope I remember this observation when helping others in the future. 

I believe that will be all for this week. 

Thank you for reading and thank you also for your words of support and encouragement. It has been incredibly helpful and meaningful. 

Love and Peace, 

Fran Lima

Philadelphia, Wills Eye Hospital and back to Cape May

7/12/2026

Hello! 

Update:

We are on the boat in Cape May, New Jersey, at Utsch’s Marina. We moved to a hotel in Philadelphia on June 30^th after learning that I was to have eye surgery the next day. The procedure was a vitrectomy and repair of retinal detachment. It required me to lie on my right side for 5 days and follow up with Wills Eye in one week. We stayed at a downtown Holiday Inn Express until the day after the follow up and then took an Uber ride back to the boat. 

The current state of my eye and how it happened

The vision in my left eye is expected to return in several months, 2 to 6 depending on what I read. The eye looks completely normal, but when the ophthalmologist puts up one large letter on the eye chart, I cannot read it. I can see light and different colors. I love being in a familiar place like on the boat but venturing out and walking around town is a little tricky. Lots of people have vision in only one eye so I’m sure I will adjust to this hopefully temporary situation.

We raised the anchor early on June 26^th and put the fore sail out to help our speed down the Delaware Bay. At 9 am we decided to furl in the foresail. I loosened the sheets (ropes on the sail) on port and starboard. Al held the furling line to pull it in by hand, which rolls up the sail on the front stay. The sail was out on the port side and that sheet flapped wildly due to the wind. I leaned towards the wench to pull in the flapping sheet and was hit in the eye by the sheet. It was a pretty hard hit. After a minute I opened my eye and could see black streaks as if black ink was swirling in water on top of normal vision. My vision got worse as the day went on and we both knew I needed to get help quickly.

I have never hurt myself so severely. What I am trying to figure out is why I let both sheets go at the same time. If I had slowly released the port sheet while Al pulled in the furling line this would not have happened. I do not believe things happen for a reason. I believe that there is an explanation for things that happen and the important part is our reaction and response to things that happen. The best explanation I can think of is a lapse of good judgement at the moment. I’m also trying to determine if there are any other lessons and take them to heart. Life goes on and there are many worse things that can happen to a person. I am determined to carry on, enjoy the challenges and joys that life offers and always hope for the best.

Thank you again

The kind and encouraging comments posted were so helpful. I can’t thank everyone enough for reaching out and staying in touch. It means so much to me and I’ll never forget it. I could not have come through this without friends and family and also and especially without Al.

Philadelphia, not a bad place to be for America’s 250^th birthday

Our plans to be in New York City for July 4^th were scraped but we found ourselves in quite an interesting and appropriate place. The surgery went smoothly on July 1^st at Wills Eye Hospital. It is probably by design that they have the eye patient stand up in the recovery room when ready and walk out of the hospital. It made me feel almost normal. The hotel was comfortable, had free breakfast every morning and a television of course. We don’t have TV on the boat, so it was fun to watch one of my favorites, Law and Order SVU plus learn about soccer. The hotel was in Midtown Village, an area with a variety of good restaurants. First, we ate every meal in the hotel room, Al doing the fetching. I was allowed to sit up for meals. Grandma’s Philly was across the street with delicious Thai food. We had to sample the Philly Cheesesteak at Uncle Gus’ in the Reading Terminal market.

The hotel was just a few blocks away from the main historic sites.  On July 4^th Al set out to see something and ended up in the line for Independence Hall. Meanwhile a high school friend, Marilyn Meagher, came to visit me. She happened to be in town with the Pinellas County marching band The Second-Time-Arounders. If you know Marilyn, you know what a treat this was because of her incredibly buoyant and fun personality. She also brought me a Philly cheesesteak. We talked and laughed during her entire visit and there was even food left over for Al. Independence Hall turned out to be very popular on July 4^th; Al waited in line for over 5 hours. He said it was very special to be on that day. On July 5^th, Al went to the Museum of the American Revolution. After I could move around, we went to Elfreth’s Alley, a well-preserved historic street dating back to 1736. There was one house for sale there which of course I wanted to buy. On July 8^th, around 5 pm, we were walking near Independence Hall and happened on the National Park Service employees handing out copies of the Declaration of Independence and conducting a public reading.  We learned the original reading was on July 8^th, 1776, at noon. It was very inspiring and we plan to frame the copy for our home.

Thank you for reading. The journey continues!

Love and Peace,

Fran Lima

6/28/2026

Hello!

Update:

We are currently in Cape May, New Jersey at Utsch’s Marina. It has been an interesting past two days which I will get into later. 

Three wonderful things about last week:

We are far enough north to have some cooler weather. It finally happened one morning in Annapolis. We emerged from our air-conditioned cave at the marina and noticed that it was actually nice out. Now we can anchor out again when we want to. I have been looking forward to this weather change, and it is the reason we are heading north for the summer. 

A day of rest, yoga and great food in Annapolis. Since leaving the Bahamas we have been moving the boat north as often as possible. When we stop, we are often busy with chores. It was great to take an entire day to relax. Bad weather was predicted for the day we were in Annapolis, so we weren’t moving the boat.

In a city it’s easy to find a yoga class within walking distance of a marina and sign up online. I prefer exercising in a group and really miss that on this trip. I ended up at Groundswell Yoga for a noon Yin yoga class that was great.

Al was across the street at an Irish Pub. I sprinted over there because it was raining. They had a cabbage roll dish I am still thinking about. Cabbage stuffed with mashed potatoes and corned beef covered with some kind of yummy sauce. The beer on tap went great with it.

For dinner we stumbled upon perfect steamed mussels in a beautiful setting. We walked toward town from the marina, went in The Choptank restaurant and got a rooftop table. Steamed mussels are one of our favorite things to eat. The restaurant did them perfectly plus had excellent bread to sop up the garlic white wine sauce. We were in heaven. The weather had cleared and the views were fun of the waterfront and downtown.

Al was working on the boat some in between the meals and we did go to West Marine twice but I managed to get in several naps to round out the perfect day.  

Anchoring behind Reedy Island

We left Annapolis Thursday and headed north through the C and D canal. The upper Chesapeake Bay is very pretty, and the weather was cool and clear that day. It was a nice easy uneventful trip. At 8 pm we anchored just outside the canal behind Reedy Island in the Delaware River. We were surprised by a lovely evening, flat calm water, coolish air, and the sun setting over a beautiful shoreline. We had our favorite arrival boat drink and some snacks as we watched the sun set and the night come in. It was the type of evening that revives my soul and one of the reasons I love the boat.

An unfortunate and serious problem we are experiencing now:

Retinal tear and vitreous hemorrhage, left eye

On Friday we left Reedy Island early to go down Delaware Bay to Cape May, New Jersey. While furling in the jib my left eye was hit hard by the line and my vision changed in that eye. We proceeded as fast as we could to Cape May, arrived in the late afternoon and took an Uber to Wills Eye Emergency Room in Philadelphia. They diagnosed a retinal tear and vitreous hemorrhage. I am to cease all strenuous activity, not lie flat, and return to Wills Eye Hospital, on Wednesday to reevaluate and hopefully repair the retinal tear. There was too much blood in the eye to do the repair right away. We are concerned but these retinal tears are fairly common and once repaired my vision should return to normal.

On Friday after it happened, I made several calls and was told it would be best to see an Ophthalmologist for a diagnosis; that a regular emergency room would not have the proper equipment. Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia was suggested, and they have an Ophthalmology Emergency Room open 24/7. It is an hour and 30 minute drive away from here but we believe this is a good place to have this treated. On Monday we will start checking on options and making final plans. All we can do at this point is see what next week brings. The boat is comfortable, and I will not be involved in moving the boat anywhere until this is fully healed. 

If anyone reading has experience with retinal injury, we would appreciate any helpful information. 

Thank you for reading. Life has its unexpected twists and turns sometimes and this is one of them. 

Love and Peace,

Fran Lima

North Carolina to the Chesapeake Bay

 6/20/2026

Hello!

Update:

We are in Gloucester Point, Virginia at the York River Yacht Haven marina. We stayed in Beaufort for several days, watched the last day of the Big Rock marlin fishing tournament while anchored across from downtown and then moved to a dock the last two nights. It’s a little too hot for us to be at anchor. Beaufort is such a nice small town, with tons of restored historic homes. I saw several I would like to own. North Carolina has a rugged coastline with high winds and coarse sand dune islands that look like they could move overnight to a new place. Very different from the sweet easy beaches of the Florida west coast that I am accustomed to.

Our goal is to be in New York City for July 4^th so we are moving north whenever possible and not sightseeing. One of our friends watching on the Garmin tracker asked if we were on vacation or “a delivery.” Well, it’s a delivery. We are stopping for weather or mechanical issues only. Once we get to New York, we will start the pleasure trip again. 

In Beaufort we befriended another sailboat, Nordik Light. We sailed together on Tuesday the 16^th out in the Atlantic to round Cape Hatteras. Nordik Light had taken the trip many times, so we were happy to accompany them. The winds were very light and the rounding went smoothly. After getting through the shoals and finally turning north instead of east it was after midnight. I came up on watch to relieve Al. This is when a series of issues began that caused Al to work on the boat the rest of the night. It was nothing serious, but it all had to be done.  

We arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in daylight. At the bay entrance there was a lot of large boat traffic, plus several naval warships. The Coast Guard had announcements on Channel 16 every 5 minutes about live fire drills and safety zones around the Tall Ships moving in for a parade. Once we got in the bay, things settled down and we proceeded to our planned stop at Gloucester Point on the York River. We docked the boat at 5:30 pm on the 17^th. 

Older Cruising Boats

The next part will explain how we manage to deal with the mechanical issues that invariably come up. Cruising boats like ours can be compared to a house or a city. There are systems for generating electricity, distributing electricity, holding water, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, lighting, diesel fuel storage, a steering system and autopilot, navigation GPS systems, the sails, rigging and lines for sailing plus the all-important and beloved diesel engine. Almost everything is custom and fortunately Al can fix almost all the systems. Take these systems, put them all on a vessel that vibrates, rolls and flexes as it moves through the water and plus everything is slightly damp all the time; so things need attention frequently.  

Al started working on the boat issues before we arrived at the marina. The marina staff said they had a diver who could come to the boat the next day, great!  We arrived at 5:30 pm and happily saw a restaurant at the marina. We had both been up most of the last 48 hours. Walking up the dock a diver and his helper were working on a boat. They were not the diver the marina contacted but we stopped and chatted for a bit and took their card just in case. 

A wild and windy day at Gloucester Point / How we keep this boat going

As predicted, the winds were very high on Thursday June 18^th. That’s why we were not traveling but coincidentally there was also boat work to do. Our boat was still in a bit of disarray from the passage, and we were tired, but the repairs had to get started. Al rolled out of bed at 7 am and started on a fuel filter issue. As soon as businesses started opening, he contacted a diesel place to get an alternator part. Amazingly, Trans-Atlantic Diesel where we purchased our Cummins diesel engine, was in the next town. After several calls and e mails, they agreed to deliver the part. Al also had a cold, so we did a telehealth call with BayCare at 8 am and had antibiotics called in to the local CVS. We were being blown on to the outside T dock by the winds gusting to 32 knots, so we needed to add fenders and adjust the lines early in the day. A small sailboat was on the T dock in front of us and they looked very uncomfortable, bouncing around.  

I took an Uber to CVS and back for the antibiotics. During the ride Al called and said that someone had hit our boat. He was down below and could not come up quickly to see the boat that hit us. As I walked down the dock back to the boat a man following me called out saying “I hit your boat. I am so sorry, the wind caught my boat, and I thought I could make the turn.”  He came on board and we discovered he was on a trip on his sailboat with his 12-year-old son and his son’s friend, also 12. When he left the T dock in front of us the winds were so high it was very difficult to maneuver.  We chatted for a while and decided to talk later.  

Right after he left the diver arrived with his father. We had called the guys we met the night before because the other diver was not around. The diver found a minor problem and fixed it. I think I was trying to take a nap at this point. Shortly after I started resting another man came aboard and followed Al down the stairs. He was with Trans-Atlantic diesel and wanted to see the set up as he delivered the alternator part. I think I again tried to take a nap right after he left. Throughout the whole day the wind was blowing like mad, it was cloudy and gray and Al was running a fuel polisher that was giving off a constant loud sound.

During dinner that night at the marina restaurant again, Al said to me “So are you all rested up now?” To me it was a hilarious question. Compared to Al, I’m sure it appeared that I had a restful day. But these last few paragraphs are really to show Al's skill and knowledge in managing a boat. Without him there would not be much of a trip. For some reason, this all works for us. We like to work hard, and the payoffs on a trip like this are worth the occasional workday or two. We are now friends with the man who hit our boat. He is a dedicated boater and very interesting person. The young men with him were a pleasure to meet as well. However, I am looking forward to this “delivery” to be complete and the fun to start again.

I think that should be it for today. 

Thanks so much for reading! 

Love and Peace,

Fran Lima

 

Moving up the East Coast

6/13/2026

Hello!

Update: We are in Beaufort North Carolina, anchored behind Fort Macon State Park. We are working our way up the coast toward the cool weather of the northeast and need to take every chance to move northward. Our stay in Charleston was short. The Charleston City Marina was huge. So big that you can call for a golf cart to pick you up from the boat and take you to the parking lot. They have a daily shuttle to West Marine, and the shuttle will drop you off or pick you up anywhere in the city of Charleston. The boats matched the marina. We looked like a little dinghy there. Large yachts were staying there or came and went daily to get fuel and pick up charter passengers. We were able to have a quick visit with my niece, get to West Marine and do laundry before an opportunity to move north came up. Our passage from Charleston to Beaufort NC took two nights. The winds were high and right behind us the last part of the trip. We transited the inlet to Beaufort at 2:30 am on Friday June 12^th and anchored behind Fort Macon State Park at 3:30 am. We are looking at options for the next step. We can either go up the intracoastal or sail in the Atlantic around Cape Hatteras. The weather will be the deciding factor.

Some impressions from the past few weeks: 

Marinas and docking:

When you decide it’s time to stay in a marina it’s easy. Just call them on the VHF radio or by phone and make a reservation. Getting the boat in the slip is another matter. Our boat is quite old-fashioned in terms of maneuverability. It has one engine and no thrusters. Most power boats and many sail boats these days have at least two engines plus bow and stern thrusters to push the boat sideways. This is where Al’s experience and skill come in. He started boating before double-hulled boats, thrusters and joysticks were common.  All captains must consider the wind, current and dock characteristics plus the specific ways their boat performs to dock a boat. Docking at the Conch Inn and Marina, Marsh Harbor Bahamas required Al’s skills plus an experienced dock master. We pulled into the marina at noon. The wind picked up right before we approached the slip, blowing broadside to the boat. Al  had to increase the engine power to keep the boat moving straight and not get pushed sideways. The mooring lines were ready on the bow, midship and stern and we knew the dock would be on the starboard side of the boat. We entered the slip and I threw the dock master the bow line. He immediately said, “I’ll take the midship line next.” He tied the bow line off to a piling, came to get the midship line and told Al to put the boat in reverse. The extra power needed to get in the slip with the wind blowing was going to slam our bow into the dock. Reverse! Captain, Reverse! We were both yelling. It worked, and we did not hit the dock. But the wind was blowing our stern sideways and dangerously close to the boat next to us. The dockmaster tied off the midship line and jumped on our boat. He made a large loop in the stern line, stood on the back of the boat, threw the loop into the wind and lassoed the piling on the first try. Then we could pull the boat over, so it lay straight in the slip. After that feat, the pressure was off and we finished tying the boat up. The dock master’s skills were impressive. He was also very personable, calling me “Boss” when he gave me instructions while we were docking. What a pleasure it was to meet him and spend time at that marina.

We are unintentionally retracing the steps of our 2011 trip, visiting some of the same places, but 15 years later. What a difference 15 years makes. In the Abacos, most of the buildings and infrastructure were destroyed by hurricane Dorian in 2019. Now every marina is new, most of the houses are new, the stores are new, and there are large businesses dedicated to construction. There seems to be an air of prosperity that was not present 15 years ago. They are somehow maintaining a uniform style to the houses, hotels and restaurants and they do not seem to be building too much. One woman we met who has been coming to the Abacos for decades said that before Dorian the power used to go out regularly in Hope Town. Now the power never goes out because the entire power grid was rebuilt. The owner of Wally’s Fine Dining in Marsh Harbor said their restaurant had not been completely destroyed. The building has a sturdy old colonial feel to it, with Spanish tile floors and an archway separating the property from the street. It was very important to her that they restored the grounds and entryway exactly the way it was. She said people had been coming to her restaurant for generations and she wanted to preserve the original look and feel. She remarked that while many others were interested in updating, she needed to maintain tradition. I can see the importance of both. People had to rebuild and the Abacos seem to have adopted an attractive building style and color scheme. Many establishments show pride in keeping a clean and neat appearance. It was also wonderful to see traditions and history being preserved and honored.

I think that should be it for today.

Thanks so much for reading!

Love and Peace,

Fran Lima

 

Heading back to the US

 Hello!  6/6/2026

 Update:

We are on a passage from Marsh Harbor Bahamas to Charleston, South Carolina. My sister Helen Landmesser joined us on Monday in Marsh Harbor. We had fun running around the Abaco Cays. We rented a car one day to see Little Harbor and Cherokee Sound. She helped us prepare for this passage and is a great, experienced boater; she has joined us on Jade many times.

I’m thinking that we west coast Florida boaters like Al and I are just not used to the Atlantic because it seems pretty rough out here. It is a full body workout just fixing coffee. No need for the gym this week. There have been a couple moments I was asking myself, “Why do we do this type of travel?” Maybe I’ll have a good answer before this 4-day, 3-night passage is over.

Here’s what my sister has to say about the trip this morning as I write this: “The boat smells like truck stop!” We put fuel in the tank, so a little diesel spilled in the cockpit. The coffee preparation and drinking caused three coffee spills. One in the microwave, one on the cabin floor and one in the cockpit. I say we do need several more days to perfect all this and clean up our mess. Good thing we are starting to laugh about it.

Back to the questions. Something we are asked:

How are you and Al getting along with each other on that small boat?

A lot of people asked us this question before our first long cruise in 2011-2012. We did not even understand the question because we had not had issues getting along since we met in 1998. It was a second marriage for both of us, Al was divorced for just about a year when we met, I was single and dating for 8 years. I kept getting college degrees since I had not met the right man. For the first 10 years,  Al and I fully enjoyed his 31-foot classic sailboat Christine. We did two-week trips to the Florida Keys, Charlotte Harbor and Cuba plus extensively explored the anchorages near Tampa Bay.

However, the 2011-2012 trip brought out any and all fault lines in our relationship. Just this past weekend after a discussion about plans for later in this trip I said to Al, “Well, it’s nice that we can tell each other what we are thinking without the horribleness.” To me that sums up the difference between now and then. I think we all know what the “horribleness” entails, yelling, criticism, insults, not being completely honest, letting things build up so they are a huge thing. Yep, that’s where we were on the first trip. Even though we kept going and had a lot of fun the tension was bad at times. Thank goodness we learned how to get along because there is so much we enjoy about each other and so many similar ways we like to enjoy life.

I need to get this out on Starlink and prepare to take watch. It’s actually a very nice day, sunny, not super hot, just bumpy waves coming at us regularly on the rear starboard quarter. Soon, we will be in the Gulfstream and hope to pick up speed. The weather predictions are good for the rest of the trip. Al checks in with our weather router twice a day. And will keep working on our coffee making and drinking skills!

Thanks for reading!

Love and Peace,

Fran Lima