Monday 1 December

The storm has passed and we go about our chores in Fernandina. Not much to tell or exciting this day

Tuesday 2 December

Chores, chores, chores today not all fun and games

Wednesday 3 December

We slipped the mooring at Fernandina early headed ultimately to St. Augustine. We stopped for the night in the Fort George River after trying to anchor in an oxbow recommended by “skipper Bob’s ICW anchorages” book, but no dice. When we tried to enter at around mid-tide the depth was only a foot under the keel, so we had to pass it up and press on to the Fort George river. A nice anchorage, but we were here last year and wanted to see something new. Another peaceful but cold night. We are hopeful that the weather will begin to warm soon as we head farther south.

Thursday 4 December

We are in St Augustine. This is a great place to visit, very historic and bills itself as the oldest city in the US. Of course it was the Spanish that first settled here, but the English kicked their butts out and took over the city later. Then of course it became part of the US. There is some extraordinary architecture in the city dating from around the turn of the century (1800-1900). Henry Flagler, the man allegedly behind the success of Standard Oil, did a lot of developing down here in Florida. He made it a second career to develop Florida as a vacation spot by building first a railroad down the Florida east coast (ultimately all the way to Key West) then he built hotels. The one he built in St Augustine is an incredibly ornate structure with lots of innovation. It is built out of the then new material called poured concrete, but it is not your cement block house. It also had such innovations as individual bathrooms in each room. It was for its time a truly modern and luxurious hotel. Now it is part of the buildings on the campus of Flagler College a small boutique liberal arts college with about 2500 students. There are a number of other historical buildings and an entire old section of the city, which is largely a tourist retail sector.

It also has what is probably the largest Nautical junk store in existence. You can get most anything from screws to sinks to hatches, you name it. I was able to get a cap for our shore power inlet that had been broken off and lost by a dock line when we were leaving a fuel dock.

We stuck around St Augustine to see once again the Grand Illumination, a ceremony that dates back to when the English held the city. Each night the troops of the garrison would march through the city with torches and fife and drums to secure the city. At this time they checked to see that any one that was on the streets carried a light, the theory being that anyone up to no good would not have a light that would advertise themselves. On the first Saturday of December hundreds of re-enactors descend on the city to recreate this practice. The re-enactors assemble on the square dressed in elaborate re-creations of the British military uniforms of the day, Indian dress and civilian militia to be lead in a march around the square and through the old town by a fife and drum unit. Trailing behind are a gaggle of people dressed in period costumes carrying lanterns. The procession ends up at the old governor’s mansion (now the tourist information center) on the square where they fire several volleys of musket shots. Then a bloke dressed up like the governor leads the people assembled in the square in Christmas carols. Finally we were serenaded by a group of bagpipers. It was great fun to see all of this once again.

Sunday 7 December

We made 74 miles today, from St. Augustine to Rockhouse Creek. We are trying to make time up because we need to be in Melbourne on Monday. This is where we will leave the boat while we head back to the frozen north for the holidays. We will need to go another 70 miles tomorrow in order to get to Melbourne so it’s off to bed and up in the pre-dawn morn.

Monday 8 December

We made it, just as the sun was setting we pulled into the slip. They had to chase out some Manatees who were sleeping in the vacant slip and they were NOT happy. Tonight we de-commission to boat to leave it for a month. This will continue tomorrow, then we pick up a rental and drive home. The blog will go into suspended animation to be started up again in early January 2009. Hope all you that have been reading these ramblings have the happiest of holidays and a great new year. Can’t wait for January 20^th, what a historical event and the promise of a new era.

A lay day in Brunswick, Terri pokes around in the shops I continue with maintenance. Broken switch on the deck wash is replaced and new stems for the galley sink faucet since they were leaking and I could not replace the washers because the screws were disintegrated. Probably been in the boat since it was built in 1977.

It remains cold with a nasty wind out of the northwest. What we used to call a Canadian Clipper back in New England when I was growing up. Our propane heater is getting a workout. Lest you feel that we are basking in the warmth of this heater, let me dispel this notion right away. At best it takes the chill off raising the temperature from the 40s to the low 50s. The forecast calls for the cold to continue until at least the weekend. The weather has been far colder this year than last. It is a blessing that we have the oxygen tent as we call the full cockpit canvas enclosure. Kinda looks like one, yes. When the sun is out it is positively balmy inside that is if the wind is not screaming. It is a little difficult sailing as you have to open the zipper panels to get to the winches, but it is a sacrifice that is well worth it in our current clime.

Wednesday 19 November

We awoke to the cold once again. Boy is it hard to get out of bed when the temperature is hovering in the middle 40s in the boat. Takes me back to my days as scoutmaster on those cold winter camping trips. We left the marina and slowly motored the 5 miles to Jekyll Island getting there about 2. Walked around a bit and scoped out renting bikes so we could tour the island tomorrow.

Thursday 20 November

Cold again this AM. A catamaran that came in yesterday is high and dry on a mud flat just in shore from us, must have underestimated the 9 foot tides here in Georgia. We are off on a bike tour of this island. It was once the winter refuge of the rich somewhat like Newport Rhode Island except the houses were more modest here, but still quite grand. (see the pictures) The state of Georgia has taken over the caretaking of this historical district used by the Rockefeller, Goulds and Goodyears up until WW2 when they all left lock, stock and Barrel and abandoned the place. Allegedly they left because German Uboats were patrolling the Georgia coast and it was feared that these people were prime targets for a raiding party, true or false I do not know.

The state of Georgia is restoring the houses that are still here along with the “club” where all inhabitants took their meals. Currently the Club is run as a hotel and wedding venue. One of the places we visited was a small chapel with two stained glass windows that were stunningly beautiful, one a signed Tiffany the other from some students of Tiffany. We saw the Tiffany when the late afternoon sun was behind it and let me tell you it was breathtaking. That man had a talent with stained glass.

We bumped into some fellow cruiser who we previously had met in Elizabeth City. Turns out they are the inhabitants of the grounded, but now floating catamaran. When two cruisers meet it is always a time to have cocktails together and so we did.

Friday 21 November

Still hanging around Jekyll Island. Today we go for breakfast in the famous “club.” Nothing to write home about, but one again we walk about the rich man’s compound. One house that any of us would die to live in was used only for the month of February to host grand parties. These people knew how to live. The house, now used as an art gallery, has a grand staircase that I’m sure Terri would have loved to sweep down in a long gown in a bygone era.

All good things must come to an end so tomorrow we move on.

Saturday 22 November

It’s a short hop to Cumberland Island, home of the wild horses. We leave late and arrive early, motor sailing all the way since the wind was behind us for a change. Save a little diesel fuel and exercise the sails a bit, at least the headsail. A wild trip across Jekyll Sound where you have to go out in the Ocean a bit to clear some shoals. Since the wind was hard out of the northeast is was a little bumpy but only for 15 to 30 minutes. This is the nice thing about traveling south on the ICW, it is an easy trip. No, you do not do a lot of sailing, but you’re always in protected water. We walked around the Island a bit, which was once the preserve of one of the Carnegies but they ultimately tired of it I guess and now it is a National Park. One can camp here and a lot of people do even now in the late fall.

Sunday Monday 23-24 November

We are now in Fernandina Beach for a couple of days. We have hit the jackpot and are on the dock rather than out in the mooring field. Apparently the city marina has a person who is not performing their job right and forgetting to write down reservations for the mooring. We had called two days ago for a reservation and when we got here they said that we were not on the books for one and they were all filled. Since this has happened before and the dockmaster knows the problem, he gave us a slip for the price of a mooring. It was nice of him, he could have said tough pay for a slip or anchor out. If we had to anchor out it would have been a long dinghy ride into shore. Sometimes you get lucky.

We provision, shower and do laundry. Terri is off to the antique stores in her quest for fiestaware plates for the boat. Me, I chip away at the “to do” list. Top is to work on the watermaker, which has developed leaks at fittings on the high pressure pump. As it turns out these fittings have been installed incorrectly. Once I install they as specified in the instruction manual, a forty page installation manual, it doesn’t leak. It is turning out that the watermaker is going to be a high maintenance item, with frequent filter changing, fresh water flushing and membrane cleaning. I am sure that it will be a blessing when we get to the Bahamas where good water is scarce and when you can get it expensive and not so good.

Tuesday Wednesday 25-26 November

We are finally in St. Marys where we will spend thanksgiving with a couple of hundred other cruisers. Two of our dear friends that we met on last years cruise are staying on the boat with us for T-day. They are on their way driving back to Albany NY for the Christmas holidays. They stored their boat down in Florida for the summer and were down getting it ready for the jump over to the Bahamas. They have been there 5 or 6 times and are old hands at it. They have graciously agreed to hold our hands and accompany us in our first crossing to show us the ropes. We will all meet after the holidays in south Florida for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. We all go ashore for the nightly cocktail meet and greet where each boat brings in a hors d’oeuvres. Let me tell you, there are some pretty good cooks among the cruisers.

Wednesday we’re off to the store for supplies needed for tomorrows feast. While the town of St Marys provides the turkeys and hams for this cruiser’s feast, the boat people bring all the “side dishes”. Terri will make her signature Leak, Onion, Shallot Gratin dish that she has made in our past home thanksgivings and I a pumpkin pie.

Thursday 27 November

Turkey day, what a feast……. We all gather around noon in the hotel/restaurant/bar that is normally closed for the holiday but they open up for the cruisers. There are about 80 boats in the harbor so this turns out to be about 200 people. Two folks (Bruce and Conny) we met along the way last year at New Bern then later at Boot Key came from Jacksonville by car. When last we saw them they were working in Marathon after having to get a 10 grand engine job on their boat. Apparently the oil pressure sensor blew out and they lost all their oil. The engine was toast after that. They were working in Jacksonville so they decided to come up to St Marys, which is only an hour away. Bruce is an excellent guitar player and he brought it with him so naturally after the feast out came the instruments. Carol and Bob, our boat guests, broke out their instruments (fiddle, flute and guitar) and we had an old fashion hootenanny. We were joined by a local guy on the five string and another cruiser with an electric guitar. I even got into the act with one of the extra guitars after 30 years of not playing, but it is like a bicycle it come back fast except for the lack of finger calluses. All in all we had a great day with many things to be thankful for. We ate well and shared great company, what more can we ask. We did miss our boys, but talked to them on the phone. Perhaps when we stop this gypsy life and they settle down with wives and kids we will all get together again for thanksgiving. We will see them over the Christmas holidays so that we look forward to.

Friday 28 November

It’s a sad goodbye to Carol and Bob today. They are continuing north for the rest of the holiday season, but we will see them after the holidays. We stick around St Marys for another day for showers, shopping and chilling out from the holiday activities.

Saturday 29 November

We are back at Cumberland Island hanging out with the horses, wild turkeys and armadillos. It is a lovely day to walk the beach and the marine forest with its gnarly old live oak trees festooned with Spanish moss and growing amongst the saw palmetto.

Sunday 30 November 2008

We wake to a nasty sounding weather report. T storms, high winds with a threat of tornados. We head off for Fernandina Beach where we have a mooring reserved hoping to beat the storm, but it does catch us. Thankfully the t storms and the tornados do not materialize, but it does rain like hell and we do get some wind but nothing serious (20-25 kts). We pick up our mooring in the driving rain and are now ensconced in our boat sitting out the storm. Our business in Fernandina will have to wait until the morrow.

Friday 7 November
We are in Georgetown SC. Very quaint little town that is a good place to provision on the way down the ICW. A fish market where you can get those great Carolina shrimp which are very different from the Gulf shrimp we get at home. These are incredible tasty, sweet with a nutty taste. Both Terri and I find them better than gulf shrimp which are somewhat bland. We are learning one hundred and one ways to cook shrimp. Not much else going on. Soon we will be entering the marshes of SC.

Saturday 8 November
An incredible long day today, all of it through salt water marshes. We went from Georgetown to Charleston. We arrived in Charleston after dark, crossing Charleston Harbor as the sun set. We were expecting to get there before dark, but we missed the opening of the Ben Sawyer bridge by five minutes so we had to wait for one hour for the next opening. We thought of anchoring there for the night but the only anchorage close by allegedly had wrecked dredging gear on the bottom and a steel beam one foot under the water. It did not sound inviting.

Sunday 9 November
We are anchored in an isolated creek in the Marshes called Parrot Creek. We are the only boat around and it is peaceful and quiet. Once again we made good time. This boat has much longer legs that our previous one. That is to say it moves faster and covers more ground. It’s on to Beaufort SC tomorrow for real showers and mail pick-up.

Monday 10 November-Wednesday 12 November
Well here we are in Beaufort, SC. Terri like this place the best of all places we stopped last year. Rich in history, beautiful architecture. Our original plan was to stay for 2 nights in the marina, pick up our mail, provision and get out of dodge. Well firstly we did not remember it was Veterans day on Tuesday, no mail and secondly our other boat, the Tartan 34 was sold and we had to deal with the paper work involve. So, we decided on another day, but we dropped out of the expensive marine and went to the anchorage.
They say that the two happiest days of a boater are the day he buys a new boat and the day he sells a boat. We have has two such days this season. Praise the lord and pass the biscuits. I hope the new owner will be as happy with her as we were, I will miss her.
I took advantage of the lay days to do some needed service and projects on the boat. Also we came to realize that the reason we were rushing was totally off base. We thought Thanksgiving was next week and we were rushing to get to St. Marys. No it is it two weeks, time to slow down.

Thursday 13 November 2008
We slept in this AM, we’re not is a hurry. Our first business of the day was to go ashore and replace a vital store, olive oil. How can you cook a decent meal or dress a salad without it??? Terri and I are after all of Italian heritage. Then we left Beaufort at a leisurely pace, slowly motoring by Paris Island as the Marine recruits learned the skill of war, crossed the Port Royal Sound through the fog and on to Wrights Creek just before the Savannah River. We are a stones throw from Georgia. We sit here at anchor as the thunder storms pass us by and we breath a sigh of relieve for WE are the tallest thing around here.

Friday 14 November 2008
We continue on at our leisurely pace enjoying the beauty of the marshes, which in some places go to the horizon. The tidal range here is large but we are in the lunar perigee or apogee, I can’t remember which, so the tides are immense. The place we stopped for fuel, right out of deliverance for sure, had a floating dock and a gangway from the land to the floater. We got in at low tide and a swear you needed climbing gear to get up. The tide had dropped 10 feet so the land based pier was over 10 feet above the floated.
We are still having problems fueling up. Tartan in there infinite wisdom placed the fuel fill about in the middle of the boat on the port (left) side. The tank vent is all the way aft, over 15 feet away so you have to have one person filling the fuel and the other listening at the vent to hear when it is full (the sound from the vent changes when near full). Even so you need to be careful that you don’t spew fuel out of the vent because there is a big fine for getting petroleum, (right Brian).
We settle in Kilkenny creek because the issue of Skipper Bob’s Guide that we have says you can buy shrimp at the shrimp docks up there. We are informed by the marina guy that they closed that down three years ago, so no shrimp for us, but leftovers instead.

Saturday 15 November 2008
Up late off late, we’re not in a hurry. More Georgia marshes unfold before us. About mid-day NOAA weather starts talking about a strong cold front coming through with strong wind, heavy rain and t-storms. Of course that is what they said about last night and all we got was the rain, but today it looks threatening in the west. Being prudent mariners we look around for cover. Now friends let me tell you, in the middle of the marshes there is not much cover and YOU are the tallest thing around for miles. After scouring the charts I do find a creek with trees on both banks, so we run for cover. We are settled in with at least 4 other like minded souls to wait out tonight frontal passage, secure in the knowledge that we’ve picked a good spot. Time will tell, so we’ll see in the morning if Duplin Creek has filled the bill.

Sunday 16 November 2008
Well the frontal passage was anticlimactic, just a little wind, rain and no lightning. Now it is cooooold. Brrrrrrr. Here we are in southern Georgia and we’re expecting a frost, jeez. Today our destination was Fort Frederica, which we missed last year. The problem was that the dinghy dock at the fort could only be used begining 2 hours before and two after high tide, because any other time the dock was high and dry. We were there last year at the end of the day when the dock was dry because high tide was a noon. Even the next morning we could not get to the dock so we left. I grumbled about this complaining on the stupidity of the people at this National Monument. Well someone must have been listening, because when we got there this year, at high tide this time, there was no dock because they were rebuilding it, hopefully so one can get to it at any tide. We’ll try again on the way back. Hopefully the dock will be finished by then and allow access regardless of the tide.
So no fort again therefore we decided to push on to Brunswick a day earlier. But the marina is full until tomorrow so we wait on the hook a couple of miles away.
We need marina time to shower with lots of hot water, laundry and groceries. We also need some internet time to post this blog.

Monday 17 November 2008
Well we got it all, shower, laundry and groceries but most important propane for the heater and cook stove. We were minutes from running out. There is internet access as well. The trip from Beaufort, SC through Georgia was a vast internet wasteland, but stunningly beautiful.
We were pleased to find a couple from Canada who we met in the Keys last year. They keep there boat in the Brunswick Marina for the summer months while they return to Canada. They got down here a month ago and are commissioning the boat for another winter’s cruise. It was good to reconnect with old friends and hear what transpired with them after we left. And of course we had to show off our new/old boat, we are very proud. This old girl is beginning to grow on us. I finally solved a vexing problem we were having, the autopilot. While not essential an autopilot can be a valued third hand, steering the boat while you accomplish other tasks. The problem was it was schizophrenic for it would go along steering the boat then for no reason it would start turning left and right in ever increasing arcs, so you could never trust it. It ran us aground once when it turned hard over on to the side of the channel. It was not to be trusted. Reading the manual I played around with something called rudder gain without success. Then buried in the text after reading the manual several time I found something called autotrim. I decreased this by one setting a voila the autopilot now works like a charm. I wonder if the previous owner suffered with this for as long as he had the boat because this setting was buried deep in the setup. Now all is right with the world and we have our "extra hand".

Tuesday 28 Oct

We finally are out of Elizabeth City heading for warmer climes. Have I mentioned that it has been bloody cold on this trip compared to last year. We are blessed with a propane heater on the new Abraxas which takes the chill off in the morning and evenings but we aren’t able to sit around in a tee shirt and shorts. However, warmer weather WILL come.

In my haste to post the last edition of the blog I forgot the tell about the Billy boo-boo. Remember I told you that Billy of Zanhisers had spilled diesel fuel while working on our engine and that the smell was permeating the cabin? Well when we got to Elizabeth City I decided to clean up his spill so I opened up the engine compartment to remove the absorbent pads only to see that the pan under the engine was awash with diesel fuel. I got out our oil changing pump and drained out one and one half a gallon, with more absorbed in the pads. Later inspection showed that Billy had only finger tightened the fuel line from the fuel pump to the engine fuel filter and it had been leaking fuel since we left the Solomons. So much for quality work at $100 an hour.

We had a bracing trip across the Albermarle on a beam reach with 20-25kts of wind with the occasional 35 kt gust. The 37 handled it with grace with only the jib up and still going 7+ kts. The occasional large steep 5 foot wave would give us a good thump but nothing to be distressed about. We ended up at the head of the Alligator river/pungo canal entrance for the night. All in all a great sail in a great boat.

Wednesday 29 Oct

We’re off early hoping to get close to Oriental NC. From here it’s a motoring trip through the canal and short sail past Belhaven on the Pungo River Then back in a canal past Hobucken. We anchor in a secluded creek called Bear Creek feeling our way in with the depth finder and chart plotter managing not to run aground even once. Tomorrow a short trip into Oriental which calls itself the sailing capital of NC.

Thursday 30 Oct

It’s in to Oriental to hook up with some delightful friends we made down here last year, Mary & George Duffy. We will treat ourselves to a marina right in the center of town. Take a look at the Harborcam @ http://towndock.net/harborcam . the Marina is to the left behind the little building which is the local coffee shop called The Bean. Great coffee and scones in the am. We had dinner with the wonderful company of Mary & George. We are very impressed at the sense of community in this wonderful town with a sailing problem, the number of boats outnumber the residents by at least 2 to one.

Friday 31 Oct

We are still in Oriental and Halloween in oriental, very spooky. Terri has decorated the boat with paper lanterns and a string of skull lights in anticipation of trick or treaters. There are two boats in the harbor with kids aboard who are excited to t or t. Later T and I go to the bar in the marina where they have live music and dancing to old rock and roll tunes. Also this day I finally get the name on the stern of the boat so we are finally official. People can call us on the radio by the boat’s name rather than by the dark blue sailboat.

Saturday 1 Nov

It was to be a short day today, heading for Moorehead City and the Sanitary Restaurant, but when we got there the dock was fully occupied so we pressed on to the infamous, from last year, Spooners Creek.

Sunday 2 Nov

An uneventful trip with the exception of three groundings. The first shortly after we left Spooner’s when Hal the autopilot took us out of the channel while I was busy lubricating the zippers on the cockpit enclosure. Hal the autopilot is not well. He seems to steer along for a while then has a nervous breakdown and begins to oscillate side to side in even increasing arcs. Got to figure out the proper adjustments. It took about 15 minutes for the tide to raise enough for us to get off the bar then we were on our way again.

The second grounding can when I cut a corner a little to close, my bad. We got off rather easily, not losing too much time. Both of these were preludes to our grounding at the site of last years infamous grounding in Sloop Creek. This time we decided to avoid the site from last year and try a new one recommended be Skipper Bob and where the chart plotter showed 7-8 ft of water. The plotter showed that we had to round a point giving it a wide berth then turn to the right, but the plotter was wrong as to how far the shallows extended from the point so bump we were aground again. Since we were going dead slow we easily backed out. All of this goes to show that if you’re headed down the ICW and you don’t run aground you’re not trying. Oh and by the way, for those times when you cannot extract yourself, the towing insurance is invaluable. It is estimated that the average cost of a tow for grounding is around $500. Well worth the $130 spent for the insurance.

Well we finally got in and spent a peaceful night but the forecast is for rain and winds tomorrow.

Monday 3 Nov

A wet trip down the ICW to Carolina Beach, NC. The wind is picking up and the forcast is for a classic noreaster for the next two-three days. We will hunker down in Carolina beach for the duration. While the canvas cockpit enclosure largely protects us from the elements, there are some leaks all of which are over the helms mans station; So I am in full foul weather gear because of the leaks. When we finally get to Carolina Beach we find that the holding for the anchor is abysmal. The anchor hooks into the bottom but slowly drags along, so after an hour we have moved about 100 feet. Unacceptable for a good nights sleep. This time we set reeling out 160 feet of chain and that does the trick. Just for insurance we drop in danny, our big danforth anchor, so between danny and Robert the Bruce, our 44 lb Bruce anchor we feel a good nights sleep is in store for us.

Tuesday 4 Nov

Election day. Today we have a lay day, waiting out the storm that is blowing through and listening on Sirius radio the storm they call election day. Also, today is a maintenance day. Top on the list are the windlass (the device that picks up 44 lbs of anchor and 150 feet of chain so I don’t wack out my back) and the sink faucet which leaks. Just like home don’t ya know. The first is successful, the latter only partially so.

Terri cook yet another fantastic meal and we sit down to listen to the results. We are pleased that our man has made it and that we have witnessed history in the making. Being a child of the 60s, I for one did not think that an African American would be elected to the presidency, but here we are. I am sorry to see that history was not made in the other side, a bimbo elected to the second highest office in the land. I am not counting it out that a real female candidate may be elected to the #1 or #2 spot in my lifetime.

I hope for a coming together of both parties to get the business of our country done without partisan politics rearing its ugly head. Jeez haw did we get so divided and polarized. Soap box mode off.

Cooking. How is it that on this trip of ours south, I eat far better than at home and still shed pounds. Now that Terri has a refrig and a propane stove with an oven she produces even MORE fantastic meals than last year. You want to lose weight, sign on for a trip south with us.

Wednesday 5 Nov

The weather has broken and we’re out of Dodge. Not much to say with an uneventful trip to the NC/SC border. Our hardest job this day is to time our arrival at the Surf City Pontoon bridge so we would not have to wait a long time for it to open since it only opens once an hour. We made it to Calabash Creek for a peaceful night at anchor.

Thursday 6 November 2008

We’re off and running in South Carolina, past Myrtle Beach, the magical cypress swanps, the abandoned rice fields along the Wacama River finally to rest in Thoroughfare Creek, just north of Georgetown SC. Just another uneventful day in paradise. We see beauty all along the way. We have seen less wildlife along the way this year than last. We’ve seen fewer pelicans and dolphins and other birds. We have seen only one eagle, where last year there were many spottings. Also fewer flocks of migrating birds. Perhaps they have all gone through. We speculate that it is because of the colder weather we have been experiencing.

Southbound Redux

These are the voyages of the starship…..no wait that is 1960s TV program!!!! These are the voyages of Abraxas and the Musto’s. We finally cut the lines on Sunday the 19^th a little later than we had hoped to leave, but leave we did with many things left undone. As some of you may know we acquired a new/old boat this summer, a 1977 Tartan 37. We decided that if we were going to continue this cruising life we needed a boat with more “creature comforts” and that was a trifle larger. So after searching the east coast for most of the early summer we found what we were looking for, a beautiful dark hulled Tartan 37. I spent the rest of the summer getting her ready to travel.

We left the dock around 2 and our first day brought us to Harness creek on the South River just at dark after a easy sail. It was great to just get going after a summer of intense work painting the house, restoring the windows, getting one boat ready to sell (the T34 from last year) and getting one ready for a trip to warmer climes.

Monday 20 Oct 2008

The day started calm as we motored out headed for the Solomon’s, but around 1:00 the stuff hit the fan. The westerbeke started to smoke, which I first attributed to the old fuel in the tank, but then it started to make more noise. His kinda alarmed me so I shut old westy down to check the oil to make sure the known westy leak had not gotten worse. To my surprise we had about a quart and a half more oil on the dip stick. At this point the alarm bells went off when I remembered talking to a chap down in Marathon last year who had the same symptoms. His problem turned out to be a leak in the fuel pump diaphragm that allowed fuel to pass through into the crankcase thus diluting the oil. Crap was my first word then my second was; Terri what is the number for Tow boatsUS. Once again we were saved by purchasing the unlimited towing insurance from BoatUS because we were dead in the water with no engine and no wind and 5 miles from the Solomons. Anyone who does this trip without buying this is insurance must also like playing Russian roulette. It was an hour and a half tow into Zanhingers Marina to late to get any work done.

Tuesday 21 Oct 2008

Early this morning Billy the mechanic came with his bag of tools to look at old westy. Now the hatch leading into the cockpit locker is the access point to get to the engine and it is so narrow that I have to turn sideways to get into it. Most of you know I am not a substantial person in girth. Well Billy can be best described as round and substantial but after “sucking it in” he manage to squeeze himself in, but I was uncertain that he would not be taking the rest of the trip with us trapped in the locker.

To make a long story short Billy extracted himself and the fuel pump and bench tested it proclaiming that it did not leak so back on it went. In the process he had to remove the engine mounted fuel filter spilling diesel fuel into the engine pan when he did this (remember this for later). He proclaimed that our problem could have been due to either a leaky fuel preheater or a leak in the seal between the high pressure fuel and the block. We ran the engine hard at the dock doing our best to pull out the pilings but the problem did not rear its head again.

Wednesday 22 Oct 2008

Out of Dodge in a glorious breeze, blowing 25-35 kts out of the northeast with a scrape of the jib rolled out doing 7+ kts. The boat handles this like a dream. We made it to Deltaville Va just about dark and anchored protected from the wind which blew all night.

Thursday 23 Oct 2008

We left Deltaville early hoping to make it to Norfolk by evening. The wind not as strong, 15-20, but still out of the north. Again we made good time and got to Norfolk around 2 some we decided to press on to the Dismal Swamp canal entrance to anchor for the night a wait for the morning locking. Our timing suggested that we would make it just before dark----wrong. When we got to the Glimmerton Bridge we had to wait for just over ½ an hour for the railroad bridge to open while a huge coal train passed. We negotiated the first part of the Dismal swamp canal in the dark using the chart plotter and depth sounder to keep in the channel but make it we did. Talk about tension.

Friday 24 Oct 2008

Woke up to a beautiful morning at the entrance to the Dismal Swamp lock. Mist on the water not a breeze blowing and just us and another boat ready to lock through into the canal. The canal itself is very magical. High banks lined with trees and not much wider than a country road. It can be raging a gale outside, but in the canal all is quiet. We did, however, have a few surprises in the form of deadheads. Deadheads are submerged stuff (usually logs) that get stirred up from the bottom. We hit one with the keel and skeg hard, bang-bang. A short time later we hit another with the prop which started a vibration suggesting that we bent something. This necessitated that we go slow all the way through the canal and on to Elizabeth City, NC. Getting there later than the closing time for the shipyard we were destine to stay in Elizabeth City for the weekend.

Monday 27 Oct 2008

Up early for a 8:00 AM date with a travel lift to be hauled out of the water to look for damage to the prop. I had been fretting all weekend about whether we would have to ship this fancy propeller out to California to be repaired if it was bent or broken. Shipping it to CA would mean we would be sitting on the hard for a week or two while UPS got rich on express shipping our prop coast to coast and back. As the boat lifted out of the water I could see that my greatest fears were realized, one of the blades was bent. As I muttered profanities about the crap that was about to hit the fan the good old boy shipyard owner said that if it was all right with me he could hammer it back into shape. After he described how he was going to do this I said, what the hell, give it a try. And try he did rendering it back to its former shape. In four hours we were back in the water as good as new and ready to go, but it was too late to leave for the trip across the Albermarle Sound. We will save the Albermarle for tomorrow.

Home are the sailors, home from the sea.

The voyage is over. We had two and 3/4 uneventful days motor sailing up the Chesapeake. When we got to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which is only about 5 miles from our home dock the winds picked up to 20 kts and the direction about 60-70 degrees off the bow. The famous Chesapeake Bay chop built up quickly and we pounded the last few miles home, but home we got to. We are now what the cruising world calls dirt-dwellers. It does feel nice to take a shower on demand and sleep in a bed that is larger than the small twin we have been sleeping on and with a better mattress.

How was the trip you may ask—GREAT. We had a ball and yes we are prepared to do it again so stay tuned for further developments.

Still on the move, Part 2

Hold up we did for three days at the Alligator Marina, along with about one dozen boats all waiting for a decent weather window to cross the Albemarle Sound. The Sound is a shallow stretch of water with a long fetch in the east/west direction so when the wind blows hard out of the east it sets up a wicked train of close steep waves which run across the path of anyone venturing to cross it. This is exactly the situation that kept us at the Alligator River Marina. Now let me tell you about the Alligator marina. Imagine if you will the end of the earth, well the Alligator River Marina is just past that to the left. The only thing that could be said is that the grille made a real fine cheeseburger and the biscuits in the morning melted in your mouth.

Well we finally went stir crazy after three days there and took off at 6AM hoping the get across before the winds picked up and the T storms marched over. We had 15-20 kt winds about 40 degrees off the bow so we were able to roll out enough of the jib to help us power through the chop (2-3 feet) as well as keep us from rolling and we motor sailed across in about two hours. We felt so good about it that we kept on going though Elizabeth City to the beginning of the Dismal Swamp Canal where the canal lock was open and ready to lock us through, so we did. Then we motored the length of the canal, so much for stopping to smell the roses. The closer we get to home the more antsy Terri is getting to be there. Can’t say I blame her. She worries about the grass and the weeds, etc.

We could not go through the northern most lock because it was too late, but there is a free dock just before it that has a shopping center, (Viz, grocery) and a Mexican Restaurant. Guess where we had dinner.

The next morning we caught the 9:00 am lock through and steamed into Norfolk and past mile zero of the ICW, then on to the mighty Chesapeake where we are now motor sailing along trying to make Deltaville VA. If we do we should be back to home base in two days, but here is a cold front approaching and THAT could hold us up once again because it would bring strong northeast winds down the bay, which would NOT be a fun trip. Along with this would also come the showers and T-storms. I do not care to be the highest thing on the water when one of these babies comes through. The winds I can handle but the lightning is another thing.

getting close to home

Well we eventually got to Mile Hammock Bay. The weather was a just a bit better than that of our trip into Wrightsville Beach. It was only blowing 20 kts on the nose and a little cold (see picture of Terri). Mile Hammock Bay has an interesting history. It is just on the edge of Camp Lejeune, the Marines training base. It is a small bay and in one corner of it there is an old derelict ship (see picture). This ship was used during WW2 to train the Marines for amphibious landings. The slung cargo nets down the side and the lads scrambled down into waiting landing crafts. The bay is still used to this day as a training venue for the leathernecks. After you leave Mile Hammock heading north you cross the Marines shooting range where they do live ammo firings across the waterway. There is a large sign with lights on it that states: “If the lights are flashing do not enter, live fire in progress.” We did not see the lights flashing, although I am told they also station a patrol boat to block passage. We did hear some low thumping farther inland, so I guess they were shooting something (inland of course). From Mile Hammock we had a long day, doing over 60 miles to Oriental, NC. Oriental is a delightful town of 900 persons with 3000 boats. It is truly the boating capital of NC. If it has something to do with boating you can get it in Oriental. We also visited again with George & Mary Duffie, who we met on the way down. They are fellow Tartan 34C owners. We went to dinner with them and I had a quintessential southern dish called shrimp and grits. Now before you go ugggh let me say it was mighty tasty. The shrimp were sautéed along with some onions and sausage then laid over a bed of grits mixed with cheese.

We stayed in Oriental for two day but are making tracks again. One jump to the Pungo River, then the next jump to the mouth of the Alligator River, staying at the Alligator Marina where I am typing this post. We are hold up here waiting for better weather, like in no thunderstorms and rain. We need to cross the Albemarle Sound which can get kinda testy if the wind is blowing hard from the east. Big waves that are close together. We are now less than 90 miles from Norfolk, but will slow down and smell the daises as we traverse the Dismal Swamp Canal once again. After that if all goes well, like in weather, we will be home in three days. Gosh it seems like only yesterday that we left. We are like horses coming back to the barn, running full tilt.

still on the move

Our stop at Beaufort, SC was extended by several days at Terri was laid low with some intestinal bug so we did not extensively tour the town as we did on the way down. We did walk to the “Big Chill” house to see the site of our generational film. Note to self: Got to rent that movie for another look. From Beaufort we got a late start and ran to the North Edisto River, close to the site where we helped Mike G on the way down unground his boat. This time with lessons learned from the incident in the Duplin River we anchor well off the shore and in fact we were not set upon by hoards of no-see-ums as you see we were still in the marshes of SC. However, when we woke up in the early morning a thick fog had descended and the visibility was less than ¼ of a mile. We could not see any of the shore that surrounded us, but it eventually burned off and we were off, only an hour later than usual. We got to our next destination (Wappoo Creek) early enough to take a hike to the grocery store to get needed groceries. Wappoo Creek is just outside Charleston, SC. Grocery shopping is a major consideration as we move along the ICW. We have to be attuned to the presence of stops that have grocery store within easy access and we have to do it with some frequency since we can’t store fresh foods for long because the ice locker doesn’t keep stuff cool as the home frig. Terri has manage to provide us with a rich diet in spite of no refrigeration (except for ice) and an alcohol stove to cook on and a galley with about 6 square inches of counter space. With regard to our diet, we are NOT camping. All said and done I am sure that she will be glad to get back in her kitchen at home.

We woke once again in Wappoo Creek to a thick fog, again unable to see the banks of the creek we were on. But again we waited it out and got a later start. However, when we entered Charleston Harbor we were greeted with a large dense fog bank that sat on the harbor. Now Charleston Harbor is a major seaport with lots of big fellas going in and out, fog or no fog. We could hear them announcing themselves on the radio. All of my dead reckoning skills we put to use and we felt our way outside the major shipping channels to our ICW mark. About half way there the fog thinned and finally burnt off. After passing Charleston we passed along Price Creek. Since Terri’s maiden name is Price and her genealogy traces back to South Carolina we made the assumption that this may be named after some relative. Moreover, as we were transiting the Creek we passed two houses on islands at the creek side (see pictures) which we assigned as the Price homesteads.

Our travels took us on to the North Santee River where we again put into practice anchoring well off the shore away from the marshes, no bugs. This time we awoke to a clear morning, sun shinning and it was on to Georgetown for another small grocery stop and a search for an auto parts store where I could buy diesel oil because it was time to change the oil. This is something that needs doing every 100 hours of engine running time, with a filter change every other oil change. Yanny the Yanmar must be kept happy and thus far other than the fuel filter problem has performed flawlessly, knock wood. While this trip could have been made with the Atomic four gas engine, and has been by the previous owner, I am glad that I installed the diesel. It has more power that is delivered to the water and burns about ½ the fuel that the A4 burned. Last but not least, the A4 was looong in the tooth.

Georgetown was a drive-by stop since we got our stuff and hit the road (ah water) continuing on to the cypress swamps of the upper Waccamaw River to anchor in Bull Creek. It is beautiful country with the tall cypresses coming right down to the waters edge. A peaceful anchorage far from civilization.

From here it was on to the Shallotte River where we stayed on the way down, but this time we knew how to avoid the shoal that sits in the middle of the river and anchored for the night. We are in “horse to the barn” mode on the trip home. We are not lingering as we did on the way down. It’s long days with early morning departures. Based on our present track record we should get back to MD in the first week in May.

After a overnight stop at the Carolina Beach State Marina (a bargain at $20/night with free electric) to do some needed laundry, we left headed for an anchorage called Mile Hammock but the winds were not cooperating. It began to blow a near steady 20 knots with 30 knot gusts right in our faces so we diverted after going only 14 miles to Wrightsville Beach once again to sit out high winds. As you may recall we spend two days here on the way down when the tropical storm Noel was raging out in the ocean. We hope to get out of here tomorrow if the winds settle down a bit. We are the only boat anchored in this very large anchorage unlike when we came down in the fall where we could hardly find a spot to put down an anchor. Now we have it all to ourselves.

Out of Florida

We’re out of Fla and now in Savanna. It took us two days to traverse Georgia and get to this lovely city that is on the Georgia/South Carolina border. We left Fernandina in a dense fog and felt our way along until it lifted. We passed the submarine base at King’s Bay but this time we saw no submarines. We had an uneventful trip until we reached the approach to St. Andrews Sound going down the Cumberland River. We were treated to the effects of a strong wind against an equally strong tidal outflow. It was kinda ugly going for about 3 miles with steep and close together wave which anyone from the Chesapeake will recognize. One we got out into St. Andrews Sound proper, it all settled down and it was smooth sailing. We continued on bypassing Brunswick Georgia and finally stopped as the sun was setting in the Duplin River for the night. The cruising guide advised us that the creek was used by shrimpers and that we should surely display an anchor light. I took this advise a step further and anchored close to the shore. Now mind you, the Duplin is a channel that meanders through the marshes, which stretch for miles around. Since it was later we put in the screens, ate dinner and crashed. I woke up early the next morning prepared my coffee and stepped out on deck to savor it as the sun rose over the marshes. I was not out there two seconds when the swarms hit. The boat was covered with millions of no-sums and I was on the menu. Swat, swat, swat. At this point I could not g back below behind the protection of the screens for in the process I would have brought with me at least ½ of the million of these wretched creatures. So, it was lift the anchor and flee time. I think I set some sort of record for getting the anchor up and getting underway. Flee we did, but 6 knts is not fast enough to outrun the speediest of these bugs so they continued their feast with me as main course until the wind picked up. Lesson learned—do not anchor close to land in the marshes.

Our next stop was the Herb river, which is a stones throw from the town of Thunderbolt where we were to stay at the Thunderbolt Marina while visiting Savanna. You see it is extremely difficult to visit Savanna by boat as there are no safe anchorages. The currents rage in the river front of Savanna, changing directions with the tides. So boats visiting Savanna stay in thunderbolt, which is about 5 miles from Savanna on another river.

Savanna is truly a beautiful city. They have taken historic preservation to a new level. You couldn’t throw a stone in that city and not hit a beautifully restored piece of historic architecture. We took one of those motor coach tours of the city with a truly entertaining and knowledgeable guide. Though a drive-by tour, it hit all the hot spots of Savanna and later we hit on foot the most interesting to us. As I always do where ever we go we hit a local brew pub to sample the brews. I was treated to an exceptional IPA that was hopped wonderfully, smooth with a palatable citrusy taste. It was voted as one of the best of the trip by yours truly.

We left Savanna on a dreary, cold and rainy day heading for Beaufort, SC. Terri extolled the virtues of this town on the trip down.

Still on the move

We’re on the move, truckin north. We left Stuart and had a long day to just north of Titusville where we anchored in a small boat basin that had a number of browsing manatees. These slow moving large mammals feed on the grass that grows on the bottom. They move so slowly that barnacles grow on them. At one time they were endangered, but due to waterway rules are making a strong come back. So much so that the power boaters are lobbying to get them off the endangered species act because part of the legislation requires that they go slow in the manatee habitat zones. The single most killer of manatees are power boats. As I was raising the anchor to leave in the morning one of these gentle creatures can up to the bow where I was pulling in the anchor and gave it a look as if to say, “What is this thing in my domain?” He/she of course was over 6 feet long and weighed about 400 pounds. By the time I got the camera it was gone, submerged to the bottom to feed on the grass, bored with the anchor.

On the way to this anchorage I decided to drag a lure to see if we could haul in some fish for dinner. Sure enough after dragging the lure for untold mile we heard the reel buzz as the line ran out. My first thought was that I had snagged a crab pot so I grabbed the pole and started to reel in the line when what ever was on the line decide to jump. Well it was “fish on.” This one I decided was NOT going to loose by going for the dingy. Well after a hard fight I brought it on board and subdued it with a shot of gin poured into its mouth, consider it a pre-marinade. To my eye what we caught was a bluefish, but T disagrees. Look at the picture and decide for yourself. It was fish Provencal on the menu that night, yum.

After we left the Manatee anchorage we were head for what was going to be a two day jump to St Augustine. The day started out well until we got to the Ponce de Leon Inlet when all hell broke loose. One power boat after another passed us in both directions. It was like being in a washing machine. You see it was Sunday and the morning was beautiful so they were out in force, but the weather was beginning to turn bad (wind and rain) so they were all beating it home as fast as they could. This continued until we got North of Daytona where by this time the weather had deteriorated. We of course continued on until we got to a quiet anchorage with the funny name of the cement plant. You see there was at on time a cement plant down this quiet canal, but not there is just a plant that makes Sea Ray boats. Since there were trees on both sides of this narrow canal we were spared the wind, but not the rain, but all in all it was a peaceful night. The Sea Ray plant served as our early morning (6:30AM) alarm clock so that we could get an early start to St Augustine. The weather started out as cloudy, cool with wind and rain then went to clear and sunny when we got to St. Aug. We had a short day from the Cement plant anchorage so we had the luxury of a walk around the city. It is a beautiful one at that, old and quaint. We (I) had a pint at the local brew pub, which served a very likable red ale (nicely hopped, rich and malty) to wash down some well done calamari served with a spicy wasabi sauce. Life doesn’t get much better than that. Then it was showers and back to the boat for a good nights sleep for we were leaving at first light so that we could get all the way to Fernandina, which is on the Ga/Fl border. It was a long but un-eventful trip except for coming across some old friends who we met on the way down it Vero and Stuart. It is truly amazing how you seem to run across the same people again and again.

I am typing this as I sit in the laundry at Fernandina waiting for the clothes to dry. Terri is off to the super market. We have pick up a mooring here and have decided on a lay day, staying two nights to rest, re-provision and relax. We will get off tomorrow and make a dent in Georgia intending on stopping off in Savanna for a visit since we missed it on the way down. The warm weather is holding so we want to get as far north as possible.

Well we’re on the move again. We apologize to those of you who might have been waiting for more frequent reports, but we were busy having fun. We left Boot Key Harbor with strong winds out of the south east, initially going west so that we could go through Moser Channel and get to the Florida Bay side of the Key where we hoped the ride on the lee side of the Key would afford us a smoother ride. NOAA had told us we were in store for winds in the range of 15 to 20 knots, well boy did they get that wrong. It was blowing a steady 25 with gust to 32, but the old girl was able to handle it, thank you Sparkman & Stevens (designers of the venerable T34C). Once we got into the lee of the keys the waves settled down and we were able to raise a little sail. While it was a rough trip we made good time and had a right nice sail. We spent the night off of Islalamorada in the Cowpens anchorage (N24 59.1290 W080 33.7250). By this time the winds had settled to 10 to 15 and we had a peaceful sleep rocking to the winds. Our next jump was to a small key just south of Miami call Boca Chita (see the pictures attached) (N25 31.4489 W080 10.5079). This little key was the province of the bloke that started The Honeywell Company back in the 30s. He built a bunch of stone buildings out of coral there as a retreat, including the light house you see to the right. He also built a nice little protected harbor where you see Aeolus moored. Currently it is part of the National Park that is Biscayne Bay. The only down side was that the bugs were fierce, Moseys and no-see-ums. If you went out at dusk, you gave blood but not to the American Red Cross. From here we had an uneventful sail up Biscayne Bay to Miami this motored up the ICW to Hollywood, Florida where my brother lives. Here we stayed for two nights on the hook, visiting and provisioning. We got hassled here for the first time in our trip. Apparently Hollywood has an ordinance against overnight anchoring and someone complained. So the police boat came up and told us, very politely that we could not anchor here overnight. We did not press it but we knew that such ordinances have been rule against by the Florida Supreme court. They can not regulate boats in transit (such as us) but can so called live aboards.

Our next jump took us off shore and along the Florida coast from Fort Lauderdale to the Lake Worth/Palm Beach inlet, about a 40 mile jaunt. For the first time we trailed a fishing line and sure enough we hooked something. A Chinese fire drill ensued in and attempt to slow the boat and pull in the dinghy which was trailing behind. As I reeled the fish closer to the boat we realized that we had hooked a Mai-Mai due to its shimmering turquoise color. We had visions of a great dinner that night, but the fish had other ideas when it made a bee-line for the dinghy where it cut the line on the transom. Fish one, Aeolus, zero, dinner it was not to be. I rigged another lure in hopes that we would could even the score. We did pass right by a fish roil where some small tunas were feasting on some small fish, but none were fooled by the green day-glow lure we were trailing.

We made the Lake Worth inlet around 3:00 and proceeded to motor in when the diesel began to run rough. Being low on fuel I expected that perhaps we were either sucking air into the fuel lines or crud which was blocking the filter due to the washing machine water at the entrance. We idled back the engine and came in under sail, limping our way into an anchorage just south of the inlet where the motor just died so we just dropped the anchor (N26 45.4440 W080 02.6379). My first thoughts were to get more fuel in the tank so that we could be sure that we were not sucking air or crud, but by the time I got the dinghy motor on and got to the closes marina, it was closed. I went back the next morning and got 5 gallons of fuel, dumped it into the tank and proceeded to bleed any air out of the system. This is where the gremlin appeared. As I was expunging the air from the fuel filter I noticed what appeared to be a drip of diesel fuel from its bottom. Reaching down under I felt what appeared to be a plug on the bottom so I though it must be loose. When I grabbed it and turned it with my fingers it broke off completely allowing a steady stream of diesel fuel into the bilge. I did my best impression of the Dutch boy and the dike while Terri got me a container to catch the flow of fuel. We caught about a quart of fuel which emptied the filter whereupon we removed the filter to asses the damage. Apparently the head of the nylon bolt that they used to plug a hole in the bottom of the filter had sheared off so for the next 5 hours I spend in Palm Beach trying to find a replacement, which I finally did. By this time the wind was blowing 20 -25 out on the anchorage and I have to ride the dinghy straight into it for about 2 miles. Talk about a bucking bronco thank god I had a 5 horse engine to push me along.

The replacement plug stemmed the leak and after we bled the air out of the system the Yanmar was running like a top. I speculated that the problems we had at the inlet were related to this broken plug, allowing the engine to suck in air into the fuel system and finally stopping us. Problem solved, but we stayed another night here because of the heavy winds that were howling out of the north and it was late.

We are currently in Stuart again after an uneventful trip from Palm Beach. We did have one amusing incident. We can up on one of the five draw bridges and announced ourselves to the bridge tender “PGA bridge, PGA bridge, PGA bridge this is the northbound sailing vessel Aeolus standing by for your 11:30 opening”. PGA bridge back to us “roger that, the bridge will open in 4 minutes”. About three minutes later the PGA bridge response to us “Aeolus I don’t see you”, us to PGA “we’re right in front of your bridge next to the Idle speed sign”, PGA bridge to us, “I still do not see you”. AT this point the Parker Bridge tender breaks in and says “I believe you are waiting in front of the Parker Bridge.” I looked up at the sign on the bridge and so we were, the next bridge up the line was the PGA Bridge. Slightly embarrassed we went through the Parker Bridge and motored up one mile to the PGA Bridge.

another day in paradise

When last we left you dear reader, we were eating fresh fish caught with our own hands. The adventure continues here in Marathon (Boot Key Harbor). I have been some what delinquent in my postings on the blog because we are doing so much that I can’t easily find the time. Bob M from Takoma Park (home) came for a visit and we did some sailing and more fishing. A side trip to Bahia Honda was a beautiful sail down the Hawk Channel which runs along the reef on the ocean side of the Keys. Going down (west) we had the wind on our stern quarter blowing about 15-20. We were able to tuck in behind the key to get out of the wind for the night, but the swell from the ocean still curved around and bounced us a bit. We fished for a while and caught dinner. Don’t know what the fish were except good. The next day we had a great sail back to Boot Key Harbor. After a tack off shore to gain some room, we sailed slightly off the wind all the way back.

Later in the week, Terri and I, with Lenny from Dreamer, went out to Sombrero reef to do some diving. Florida has set up diving sanctuaries all along the keys. In these sanctuaries there are mooring balls that one can tie up to and snorkel in any where from 2 to 20 feet of water. It was spectacular to see the living reef with hundreds of small fish around and the various bottom life that abounds. The water is soooo clear. Even Terri braved the “cold” to take a peek, but cold by our northern definition it is not. If any of you have been in the water north of Cape Cod, that is COLD.

Right now we are sitting on the boat being held hostage by the wind. A cold front moved through last night and the wind is blowing 20-25 with higher gusts. While this is not a problem in this protected harbor, we will get wet on the dingy ride to shore if we choose to make the trip, so here we sit reading and writing. Life is a series of adjustments. Oh how Zen of me.

Another day and we are back to paradise. Mid 80s nights cool to sleep by, what more could we ask. We are on cruiser time and tasks. Read a bit, maintenance on the boat, meets with friends, trips to Key West, etc. Our thoughts are now turning toward the return trip home. We have come as far south as we are going to do and now it’s head north and try to keep just below the cold weather. We expect to be back in mid May so that we can attend Pete’s graduation from Bridgewater. But again, to recite the cruiser’s mantra, no schedules are carved in stone but judged rather by wind and weather, so at best we will get close enough to fly home to Pete’s graduation temporarily leaving the boat behind.

The Keys at last

It’s bye-bye Miami and hello Marathon/Boot Key Harbor, but I’m getting ahead of myself. It finally quieted down at the Star Island anchorage (N25 46.6120 W080 09.2449) and we got some sleep. We were tired of civilization and wanted to get to the Keys so we got up at dawn and started out. Down through Biscayne Bay, a huge expanse of water some 20 miles long and a little less than 8 miles wide with water around 8-10 feet deep punctuated by occasional reefs some exposed and other just under the surface. On occasion one must pass through these reefs, but the passages are well marked and present no serious problem although it could get exciting if the visibility were to be compromised. The marks are rather far apart in some places requiring some dead reckoning work, not hard but in need of paying attention. This first day we got around ½ the distance to Boot Key, our ultimate destination. We were helped by winds first on the beam then from off the stern quarter, which we took advantage of by rolling out the head sail and catching some wind. This got us to Sunset Cove in Buttonwood sound (N25 05.7060 W080 27.0119) where we nosed our way to the shore and anchored in about 5 feet of water. It was somewhat un-nerving to see the bottom so clearly, but this was an advantage since we could pick a spot where there was no sea grass to drop the anchor.

We spent a quite night here and since the weather forecast predicted the wind from the same direction and with the same intensity we got out of bed early again to try to make the other half of the trip. Again we weaved through sounds and over bars in this skinny water, never over 10 feet deep even though shore was at least a mile away. For the last eight miles we were able to cross over from the bay side of the Keys (north) to the ocean side (south) by going under one of the few 65 ft high bridges (channel 5 bridge) and raise both the jib and the mainsail, actually sailing something we have not done since North Carolina. Yes we have done a lot of motor sailing (for the non sailors this is sailing with the motor on—duh), but this time the diesel was silent. We managed to sail to just a mile off the Boot Key Harbor entrance when the wind die. It was a perfect sail for the Tartan, wind off the beam, blowing at 10-15 knots for three quarters of the trip then it came from the stern quarter. We entered Boot Key Harbor via Sister Creek and to our good fortune they had one mooring left out of the 250 they have there. It is a very popular harbor. The mooring fee includes a weekly pump-out, trash removal, dinghy docking and all the showers you can take. The people here are extraordinarily friendly. the one short-coming is that the internet is not free. Every morning at 9:00am there is a harbor net that meets on channel 68 to welcome new arrivals, good bye to departing boats, announcements, trivia questions, buy, sell, trade and any one needing help. At the end of the day as the sun sinks in the west many of the boats blow conch horns to say good bye to the sun. Every Wednesday there is a meet and greet on the shore where people bring a appetizer to share and chew the fat with other cruisers. We will make Boot Key/Marathon our home base for about a month before we turn around and head back north.

20 Feb

We rented a car and drove down to Key West to do the tourist thing and also meet up with some old friends from our days in Hoboken/Jersey City. Jane G and her partner Terry W have a house down there and were to be visited by Gene, the Singing Plumber, who still lives in Hoboken. Terry was a drummer in a band that Terri and I use to dance to in our BK days and Gene was a singer/song writer in another band that we trip the lights to. He wrote such memorable songs as “A Six Pack and You.” Terry was to play a gig at a local spot and we are hoping that Gene would do a sit in and by god he did playing among other things “A Six Pack and You.” It was great fun to get up and dance to this song once again after 20 some odd years.

We did some other tourist things, bought some trinkets and had a beer at the southern most brew pub in the US, Kelley’s. A good trip except for the late night drive back to the boat.

23 Feb

Went for an off shore fishing trip today sailing off the reef into the deep water (150 feet) to hunt for some big fish like Miahi or tuna. It is really impressive to see the water color change from a turquoise on the reef to a deep blue almost instantly as we fell off the reef into the deep water. From a distance you can see a distinct line where the color changes. We saw numerous Portuguese man-o-wars and one very large sea turtle, but no fish deigned to bite at our lures so we went home hungry except for the beauty of nature that we witnessed.

25 Feb

Another day in paradise. Have I told you that a tee shirt and shorts are too much clothes?? Days are in the 80s and the nights cool off to a comfortable 70s. Today we went fishing again with Lenny from the boat Dreamer and Verne from Chicqui. Verne is the experienced fisherperson here. We anchored next to seven mile bridge (which is just short of seven miles) and put a net bag of ground up menhaden over the side. Within minutes there was a swarm (what is it with fish? Herd? Gaggle? Group???) of fish around the chum. Then we tossed in the baited hooks and hauled them in. Well it was not quite as simple as that. They were masters of escape and bait stealing, but we did get enough for a fish fried for 4. We still do not know what kind of fish they were, but they sure tasted good---yumm! All the “experts” though that they were some kind of snapper or croaker for sure. They were fighters as well, one broke my brand new pole.

Along with the herd of fish we got some uninvited visitors as well. Two very large sharks, one at least six feet long and the other slightly smaller. They manager to pluck a few hooked fish off the line (perhaps they were responsible for the broken pole), but they did let us have our share, after all we bought the chum. We also saw a group/herd/gang of Leopard Rays, some as big as a table top.

We brought the fish back and Rose, of Chicqui, oven fried them and we ate them with a salad and cheese grits (so called Georgia ice cream) along with a good Pinot Grigio. It’s a tough life but someone has to do it. Thus ended the great day of fishing, but I need to now buy a new pole.

11 Feb

We are on the move again. I am done with the docs and we’re heading for the keys. Our first stop will be Lake Worth about 35 miles down the way. Our plan is to jump out into the ocean at the Lake Worth Inlet and run the coast until we get to the Port Everglades inlet (AKA Fort Lauderdale) an approximately 50 mile run. We do this to avoid the twenty draw bridges in that stretch of the Waterway. Each bridge has its own opening schedule so it is a nightmare for a slow moving boat like a sailboat.

13 Feb

Well we got to Lake Worth and spent a rough night here with winds out of the south which is the direction that LW opens to. We took off real early because we had a change of plans, since the weather refused to cooperate. Winds were to come out of the south at 20 kts with showers and T storms so the ocean route would have been rather unpleasant to say the least. SO----- it’s 20 bridges. With the GPS positions of each and that wonderful box they call a GPS we were able to regulate our speed up or down such that we would limit our waits at each bridge, but wait at many of them we did. All the time we were buffeted by southbound motor yachts being delivered to Miami for the upcoming Boat show. They were in a hurry and showed no mercy. It was particularly intense is a 30 mile stretch called the canyon where the waterway banks have been replaced with bulkheads so the wakes bounce back and forth creating a maelstrom. Hang on for your life my dear. This was in addition to the strong southerly winds we were plowing into. Then to top it all off we were subjected later in the day to intense squalls with driving rain and 35 kt winds. We were fortunate to be in the canals at this point because you could not see ahead and the only reference points were the canal sides—just stay equidistant between them. Our original plan was to anchor out in a place called Lake Santa Barbara but Terri convinced me of my folly and we booked a slip in the Sands Marina. In retrospect we probably should have stayed put in Lake Worth or even Stuart but……. Hind sight is always 20/20.

Now the Marina is another story. They had only one slip available and it was on the outside and entry would require moving perpendicular to the wind and current both of which were going in the same direction. Needless to say the first attempt nearly resulted in an insurance claim, which was averted by millimeters. We redeemed our pride somewhat on the second attempt with the help of the dockmaster and a guy off one of the potential insurance claims. We did however come up against the pilings which were covered with oysters in the shell. We managed to get some scratches in the paint (note to self---talk to Bob L about painting the hull). We did finally get fenders and a fender board to hold us off the pilings and oysters. Our next hurdle was to get a 5’ 2’ crew member (T) from the boat up and on to the 5 foot dock---it was dead low tide and the docks were of the fixed variety. No ladder.

That night we were thankful to be at a dock because the winds and rain was intense. I think both Terri and I slept more soundly. The next morning the forecast was more of same so we anted up for another night tied to the dock even though I was greeted with a beautiful rainbow when I woke up the dark clouds behind it portended of something less so.

15 Feb

We left the Sands marina and went to Hollywood, Fl where we connected up with my younger brother for dinner and talk. I haven’t seen him since his 60^th birthday party some years ago. Good reunion. Then we were off for the long delayed trip to the keys, but first we had to negotiate the 4 or 5 bridges that we between us and Miami. We were not so lucky this time and we ended up waiting a great deal at each bridge, but get to Miami we did and anchored off of Miami Beach to do some heavy duty provisioning at a waterside grocery store. Very convenient. We made a tactical error by anchoring off an island called Star Island. Little did we know that it was this home port for some big name stars (Gloria Estafan, I think, for one) and the tour boats came by at regular intervals to show the tourists the homes of the stars (get a life people). Each time one can by we were rockin and rollin.