Pisces the Catamaran - Day 6

December 29, 2024

0635 OhNo raises anchor to a choir of “Peace Like a River” sung by Popcorn and Swabs

0730 Swabs at helm; Pisces is passed by one fishing vessel

0758 Popcorn briefs our land bound correspondent, code name LandLubber

0840 Chocolate chip and banana pancakes for breakfast!

0900 Popcorn at helm. Albino pelican sighting.

0920 Pisces hits 7 knots under full sail!

1000 Pisces overtakes S/V Sailors Delight on Goose Creek. Bald eagle spotted in a tree.

1045 Swabs on watch, navigates under bridge for the first time! Popcorn and OhNo work on screecher halyard tension at the bow of boat. Popcorn attempts to alert Swabs there are shrimp boats ahead by trying to communicate via charades. Pisces passes Coast Guard Station Hoboken.

1120 Swabs studies 101 textbook, attempts to get Landlubber to purchases an updated iPhone so they can see our location.

Approx. 1230 starboard engine suddenly stops on the Nuese River. Chaos ensues: Popcorn yelling, Swabs cleaning, our main resource in a life threatening situation, our $3,000 life raft, nearly slides off the stern as Pisces is rocked by heavy winds, waves and lack of steerage due to being down an engine. Pisces is in an unfortunate position with a lee shoal a few hundred yards to starboard side and winds pushing her closer to shoal.

1315 With Popcorn and Swabs at helm, OhNo investigates starboard engine shut down. OhNo is unable to resolve the issues but there appears to be a lot of air in the fuel system.

1400 OhNo hails TowBoat US for a tow into the town of Oriental, NC

1443 TowBoat “Captain Ralph” arrives on scene. First bridle attempt to attach Pisces to TowBoat fails because bridal is too short for our beam.

1455 Successful bridal attachment of Pisces to TowBoat and we are under tow at 6 knots towards Oriental

1548 Pisces is expertly towed into town dock with volunteers appearing to catch our lines and also take our photo because its a ridiculous scene. We meet our dock neighbors Steve and Robin of Acorn to Arabella!

1700 Crew enjoys hot showers at Oriental Town Marina. Popcorn has sea legs.

1800 Dinner

1848 Leave for anonymous recovery meeting in the rain

1900 magical meeting where we meet many “old salts”

2030 Return to boat, realize the shrimp boat directly behind Pisces has two giant wooden eagles on the bow overlooking our boat

2100 Lights Out

Pisces the Catamaran - Day 5

December 28, 2024

0700 Morning prayers and new batch of chai made fresh on the boat!

0830 Pulled anchor and departed for Alligator River (after a quick Google search, we discovered many days later that the Alligator River is in fact home to alligators as well as black bears, foxes and many other species of animals. We didn’t spot any alligators or bears).

0900 Alligator Swing Bridge opening

0930 Swabs takes helm. Popcorn does her yoga practice. OhNo works on running rigging for the sails. Popcorn prepares yogurt and granola for breakfast.

1030 Swabs off watch, Popcorn on watch. OhNo works on winch.

1200 Popcorn off duty. While on duty, Pisces was passed by two P/V (power vessel) and one small fishing boat. Listens to Jason Isbell with OhNo and sings songs while motoring “down the ditch” (a phrase many sailors use to describe traversing the ICW). Swabs takes helm.

1205 Popcorn and OhNo install “Pisces” lettering on stern of boat

1300 OhNo makes lunch, Swabs off duty

1340 Two bald eagles are spotted by Popcorn who is at the helm. One follows Pisces for almost a half hour

1350 Eagle flies directly behind Pisces, Popcorn almost wrecks the boat trying to film it.

1430 Crew proposes new slogans for North Carolina: “Carolina is for Pines”. “We grow Pines.” “North Carolina, Land of the Pines”. “Pines R Us”. “The Pine Tree State”.

1440 Popcorn has sugar high laughing fest. “Take America back where? The 1800’s?!?”

1520 Pisces passes under Wilkerson Bridge, the lowest bridge on this section of the ICW, with mere inches to spare overhead.

1545 Full rainbow all the way across the sky behind Pisces

1600 Anchor in Pungo River

1630 Crew plays game of Scrabble and OhNo wins by a landslide

1811 Crew enjoys dinner of baked feta, tomatoes, roasted green beans and chicken

2020 Lights Out!

Pisces the Catamaran - Day 4

December 27, 2024

0630 Leave free dock at Great Bridge in Chesapeake, Va with frost on the decks. Plan is to leave early so we can get a full day of travel in.

0700 Captain OhNo calls for a bridge opening at Centerville; bridge tender responds that they are on restricted hours and won’t open for another hour and a half. Captain OhNo responds to the bridge tender “Oh no” thus sealing his call sign for the trip.

0710 Tie up at closed fuel dock just north of the Centerville Bridge. First Mate Popcorn makes roasted potatoes, broccoli, squash, kale and onion breakfast slam

0815 Sailing Vessel (S/V) Southern Cross approaches from the north and we all freak out thinking we might miss the bridge opening

0831 Bridge opens

0930 North Landing Bridge opens 35’ of the bridge. We squeak through with 3’ on either side and S/V Southern Cross at our stern

0930 - 1030 Popcorn at helm. Uses the radio for the first time during trip to call Motor Yacht (M/Y) Vienna to pass on port side, which they do. Here is a transcript of the conversation: Popcorn: “Motor Yacht Vienna, Motor Yacht Vienna this is Sailing Catamaran Pisces off your bow on channel 16.” Motor Yacht Vienna: “Pisces this is Vienna, go ahead on 16.” Popcorn: “Good morning, Captain. We would like to keep our current course. Would you like to pass on our port side?” M/Y Vienna: “That would be just fine for us, Pisces. We’ll give you a slow pass on your port side. Standing by on channel 16.” Popcorn: “Thank you, Captain. Pisces standing by on 16.” (*many times this is pronounced as one-six instead of sixteen)

1030 - 1130 Lt. Swabs on watch. Immediately goes off course after being left high and dry by Popcorn. Captain OhNo helps redirect Lt. Swabs.

1130 - 1230 Popcorn at helm. Brings boat into Coinjock for showers and fuel.

1230 - 1315 First fuel up; diesel spills and one fuel tank doesn’t take much fuel. Everyone showers in the men’s bathhouse because the two men aboard M/Y Vienna have taken over the women’s room. Everyone is in and out in 45 minutes! Pisces shoves off fuel dock and continues.

1415 Crew has a pizza party!

1517 team meeting decides to take on the Albermarle Sound which means traveling in the dark for 2 - 3 hours. ETA to anchorage is 2000.

1700 Lt. Swabs and Capt OhNo watch sunset from starboard deck

1730 Full dark. Popcorn on watch.

1830 Popcorn on bow with spotlight watching for potential navigational hazards, Lt. Swabs and Capt OhNo at helm.

1845 Lt Swabs installs fairy lights at stern of Pisces

1915 Anchor in the dark at the top of the Alligator River near entrance to East Lake

1945 delicious dinner by First Mate Popcorn

2030 Lights Out

Pisces the Catamaran - Day 3

December 26, 2025

0630 Sunrise at Mobjack Bay

0700 Depart Mobjack for Great Bridge

1015 arrive at Norfolk Harbor Entrance

1200 Enter ICW at Norfolk Hospital Point

1530 Enter Great Bridge Lock

1605 Tie up at free dock south side of Great Bridge

1615 Captain OhNo and Popcorn go for walk on the waterfront trails

1800 Lights Out

We boarded Pisces The Catamaran on December 24, 2024 and pointed her south in a part shakedown, part healing and grieving trip.    Notes are pulled from our handwritten, on board log book.  Crew are:

Captain Clay (captain and owner of Sail & Surf Adventures, married to Ally); call sign Captain OhNo

First Mate Ally (head chef & lead investigator of all maritime mysteries, married to Clay); call sign Popcorn

Second Mate Carly (Ally’s mom, Clay’s mother-in-law, one-woman cleaning crew of Pisces); call sign Lieutenant Swabs

Dahlia (the cutest ship cat); call sign DD

*there is a very important and traumatic and magical process of getting Pisces that we are working on sharing here.  We figured if we waited to start updating until we figured out those words though, we might never start updating at all.  Know that there was a before and an after and this trip is part of our grieving process for our brother/son/friend Jacob.*