Adventures of the Jubilee

St. Augustine, FL to Brunswick, GA

May 14, 2009 -- St. Augustine to St. Mary's River/Cumberland Island - 62.7 Miles

We caught the 7:30 a.m. bridge opening and headed out the channel into a 3-5' swell along with three other boats, all north-bound.  Once clear of the steep confused seas where the swell crossed the 16' bar and broke on the shallows to either side of the channel, we turned north, raised the main as a steadying sail, and motored in the 2 to 4-knot easterly breeze and accompanying easterly swells.  The hot and humid air had the feel of likely thunderstorm generation later in the day, but barring that complication our slightly over 60-mile passage promised to be fairly straightforward.

And it was.  During our passage we saw several cells producing heavy localized rains on shore, but thankfully everything missed us.  We only took a few sprinkles while working our way up the St. Mary's River entrance.  Sometimes it helps to be a bit lucky.

The day's only excitement came as we neared the St. Mary's entry channel.  There we first had to snake our way through several shrimpers while at the same time a submarine exited the channel under the guard of constant helicopter over flights.   In addition, while in the entrance channel a small container ship was exiting.  There has to be a little excitement every day, and all of ours for today happened during our last 5 miles of travel. 

Arriving at Cumberland Island's National Park Ranger Station with the anchor securely down by 5:30 p.m., we were ready to explore the island-park tomorrow.

May 15, 2009 -- Cumberland Island Lay Day

We had heard so much about Cumberland Island that unlike our first two trips when we quickly passed through this area we vowed we wouldn't miss seeing the island this time around.  Spending a full day on the island for this visit we wondered why we didn't do the same on our prior trips.

Cumberland Island has a rich history from it's original Native American residents, to the Spanish, to an attempted French incursion, and more recently the English and Americans.  But Cumberland is perhaps best known for the imprint left by the Andrew Carnegie family.  It turns out Andrew and his wife Lucy had been denied membership in the Jekyll Island Club (see prior posting) because they weren't considered "old money".   As preposterous as it might sound today, that would be like denying Bill Gates membership in an organization because he made his own billions rather than inheriting them!

Rebuffed by the Jekyll Island old money crowd, the Carnegies built their own retreat just south of Jekyll on a 4000 acre Cumberland Island tract.  Over 400 workers were employed in building the main mansion, Dungeness, surrounding buildings such as the recreation center, dairy facilities, ice houses and the like, plus mansions for each of their married children and living quarters for their staff.  Dungeness became the heart of a vibrant social life where senators, statesmen and celebrities were guests at elegant parties and functions.  Today some Carnegie heirs still use certain parcels of the property, but gradually the remaining life leases are running out under the provisions of an elaborate will where the Carnegies called for the property to transfer from their heirs to public control over time.

In 1959 an arsonist burned Dungeness down.  At that time the mansion had not been occupied for about 20 years and it was not rebuilt, but the magnificent ruins remain as a reminder of the grand days of yesteryear.  Note the attached photos, and photo copies, showing the current grounds today and in years past.

But aside from the ruins, one indelible mark left by the Carnegies is the pristine natural beauty of this island where developers were not permitted to develop and speculators were not allowed to strip the land of its resources.  The Carnegies even specified that the horses on the island be protected and allowed to roam free, creating a wild herd that now numbers around 130 horses (although wild is perhaps a misnomer ... these horses are well-accustomed to visiting tourists snapping their pictures).  From its beautiful live oak forests to the salt water marshes along its western shoreline and its stunning miles-long Atlantic coastline beaches, Cumberland is simply a gem.  We will be back, next time renting bikes to travel further afield along the island's narrow dirt roads.  Definitely stop and check it out if you're in the neighborhood.  If not coming by boat, it's also possible to get a ferry from nearby towns for a day visit.  You'll find it well worth your time.

May 16, 2009 -- Cumberland Island to Brunswick Landings Marina - 48.3 Miles

Rather than deal with the shallow spots and tide timing for the winding ICW trip up to Brunswick, we decided to again take the outside route.  We were rewarded with another easy, light wind, motor sail day in about 8 knots true but only 3 or 4 knots apparent wind as our course left the wind off the stern quarter most of the day.

However we did enjoy about 40 minutes of great flat-water sailing as soon as we entered St. Simon Sound from the Brunswick entrance channel, turning slightly upwind toward Brunswick's Lanier Bridge and Brunswick Landings Marina.  In no time we had our diesel tanks topped for Jubilee's upcoming summer and fall storage, moving on up to pier 12.  We're now docked adjacent to Jerry Cucci and Diane England's Night Star, an arrangement that would allow us to tie our two boats together to position both boats a bit off of their respective docks as one more bit of ensurance should any significant heavy weather hit the area.

We left the Abacos based on Chris Parker's longer term weather outlook, and his advice turned out to be spot on.  Each of our passages, from the Abacos to Brunswick with every mile done "outside", had been as easy and comfortable as one could imagine.  Parker had been admonishing northbound cruisers to find shelter by Sunday.  Having safely arrived in Brunswick Saturday afternoon, we were snugly secured in our slip when Parker's forecast front arrived with thunderstorms and rain Sunday afternoon and evening.  Monday brought more rain but with cooler temperatures (in the 50's!) and gale force offshore winds from Central Florida almost all the way to Virginia, with the rainy weather and winds forecast to remain for the next several days (see NOAA forecast at left).  The wet windy weather definitely slowed our exterior decommissioning tasks, but being "home" in Brunswick during this snotty weather sure felt good.

And thus ends our cruising chronicle for the 2009 tropical cruising season.  Watch for one last posting in the next day or so, reflecting on this year's Florida and Bahamas cruising experiences.  After that we'll be putting our cruising blog to rest for a while as we head back home to Minnesota.

  

Ft. Pierce via Lake Worth, FL, to West End, Grand Bahama

March 24, 2009 - Ft. Pierce to Peck Lake Anchorage -- 25.2 Miles

We waited for slack water (no current) before departing our Ft. Pierce slip around 9:40 a.m.  Unlike our miserably failed slip entry in the cross current two weeks prior, departure this morning was a piece of cake.  It sure felt good to be on our way again.  Hooray!

Much of our day's run followed the Indian River, a wide spot in the waterway that was whipping up a slight chop as we followed the comparatively narrow marked channel.  Much of the Indian River is just a few feet deep, so it was important to religiously follow those markers.

That said, it was a pretty easy trip.  We went through two bridges, both of them high and fixed, so we didn't have to work around any opening schedules. 

With Lake Worth almost 50 miles south of Ft. Pierce, we decided to take it easy and split the trip in half at Peck Lake, a wide spot in the waterway having a small anchorage billed by one of our guides as "the prettiest anchorage on the ICW".  We don't know that we'd accord it those honors, but it was nice and very comfortable for the 9 boats anchoring there with us.  Our new Delta anchor held securely in the breezy conditions as we turned in after our first day back in the saddle.

March 25, 2009 - Peck Lake Anchorage to North Lake Worth Anchorage -- 21.5 Miles

The stretch below Peck Lake was totally different than the prior day's run.  The waterway narrowed here and was more picturesque, much like some of the stretches we experienced up in North Carolina.  We also started to encounter more bridges ... 7 bascule bridges in all, about half of them opening on demand and the others following an every half hour opening schedule.  And the closer we got to Palm Beach the more the adjoining waterway property was developed ... one mega-waterfront-home after another, and where there wasn't already a mega-house a new mansion was under construction.  We weren't in Kansas anymore.

North Lake Worth's large anchorage basin was filled with boats.  Many were working their way up and down the waterway, some just chilling out here for a while, and others, like us, waiting for a Gulf Stream weather window.  A couple from Breckenridge, CO, on Drake's Dream, a powerboat we had chatted with on VHF the prior day, stopped by to visit after dingying their dog to shore.  They completed the Great Loop in 2006, and were now thinking about doing the Downeast Circle out the St. Lawrence and around Nova Scotia much like we did last year.  They were also curious about pilothouse sailboats.  It turned out they were starting to think about a switch to sail, in part to reduce fuel costs, while at the same time we often envy the space and relative speed of powerboats like theirs ... the grass is always greener on that other side of the fence.

While anchored in Lake Worth we dingied to shore and walked to Publix and West Marine for some things, picking up some recent sailing magazines at West for reading in the Bahamas.  Of special interest was the April 2009 issue of Cruising World, which we knew contained Bill's recent "Classic Plastic" article on the Tayana 42 sailboat (our boat).  It was fun seeing it in print.  If you're interested in an on-line look click http://www.cruisingworld.com/boats-and-gear/boat-reviews-and-previews/vancouver-42-a-stately-passagemaker-1000070378.html to view the article on Cruising World's web site.

March 26-April 1 - Waiting at Worth for a Weather Window (and other things)

Each day Lake Worth seemed to be more and more populated with anchored boats while strong winds were whipping up heavy seas outside, and especially in the Gulf Stream.  We talked with one boat who had gone down to the inlet only to return after briefly experiencing the seas on the outside.  Even Lake Worth itself was getting rough, with white caps and the constant whine of the wind.

It was during this time we started experiencing problems with our freezer.  We couldn't get the box below 18 or so degrees even if the genset and compressor were run for three hours, and at that temperature we weren't even freezing the eutectic holdover plates.  Something was seriously wrong.

On Friday we were able to get a slip at the nearby Old Port Cove marina and schedule a technician to look at our system.  Bottom line, our 18-year-old compressor was simply giving out ... no longer building proper pressure, not good but not surprising for a unit that old with that much use over the years.  Luckily a replacement compressor was available locally for installation on Monday. 

Having to experience yet another repair delay was frustrating, but on the other hand we had nowhere to go due to the unfavorable weather window.  20/20 hindsight, it was good that this problem turned up when it did.  Had we jumped over to the Bahamas by now such a quick repair might not have been possible.  Plus by being in the marina over the weekend we had access to shore power to run the compressor continuously, keeping the box just cold enough to hold our frozen meats. 

Old Port Cove is a secure-gated high rise and marina complex situated on a peninsula jutting between the North Lake Worth anchorage and the ICW channel just to the west.  Billed as a Megayacht facility (although they also had scores of slips for more modest boats like ours) several huge yachts were berthed here, including Tiger Wood's 155 footer (photo at right ... note little Judy beside her dream yacht).  You golfers out there, keep working on that game and you can have one of these reportedly $20 million dollar yachts too!   Among the several other mega-yachts at Old Port Cove was High Banx, one of several huge yachts reportedly owned by the France family who has the NASCAR franchise.  We were in pretty good company here.

Sunday brought a special treat.  Nick Morgan and Sherri Smith (Sweet Time), who we buddy boated with for several weeks in Canada and New England last summer, stopped by to join us for lunch while driving through Palm Beach from Marathon in the Keys to Sherri's brother's home in Melbourne, FL.  It was great seeing them again, and fun sharing our separate experiences of the past few months.  Next week they plan to get underway again, leaving Marathon for Annapolis and eventually working their way up to Canada before returning to Marathon again next winter.

Sunday night we got together with our slip neighbors, a couple also "en route" further south.  Originally from England and now New Zealand citizens, Bill and Rosemary on Levity, a beautiful Nordhavn 43 trawler, were completing some equipment upgrades prior to a jump to the Eastern Caribbean for the remainder of the current cruising season.  Their ultimate plan in a year or two is to run through the Panama Canal and cross the Pacific to Australia or New Zealand.  Big plans, but they certainly have the boat to do it!

Our refrigeration guy was at the boat by 8:30 a.m. Monday to remove the compressor assembly. (Doesn't it look like fun removing a 60+ pound compressor unit from a near-impossible location?  A good job for contortionists.)  The tech returned a little after 1:00 with a new compressor and other new parts all pre-assembled and bench tested.  By about 4:00 it looked like we were in business again!  Knowing that we wanted to leave for the Bahamas early the next morning while this weather window held, our technician volunteered to return at 5:30 a.m. to test everything again before we left.  It was good he stopped by early.  The compressor was clearly working well, but from our overnight trial it appeared the new thermostat was defective, starting another round of diagnosis and parts replacement that continued through Wednesday morning, when everything was finally working.

In the midst of all this, on Tuesday afternoon the Palm Beach area was hit with a number of ferocious thundercells, and possibly even a small tornado.   Power lines were blown down, there was street flooding, roofs were damaged, trees overturned, and numerous electrical lines were down in the area.  About 3-5" of rain fell in an hour.  65 mph winds were reported in some areas, but the adjacent high rises probably shielded us some.  Dock boxes & other stuff were blown into the water all around the marina. 

A ~38' sport fisher docked across from us was in the ICW just North of Worth when it hit.  They're convinced they were in a small tornado, as the winds turned their boat right around like a top.  With literally zero visibility they couldn't see either the shore or the channel marks.  Their radar was useless because of the incredibly heavy rain.  We were in our slip and couldn't see a thing, but weathered just fine, albeit things were a bit tense for a while.  TV weather radar subsequently showed the system moving east toward Grand Bahama.  Maybe it was good that the freezer thermostat had to be replaced and we couldn't jump across on Tuesday ... it couldn't be much fun in the open ocean when a cell like that hits.

However this, too, passed.  The thunderstorms cleared out and the weather started to take a turn for the better.  With that, after almost 3 weeks of delays this past month plus months of anticipation before that, we were finally ready to jump to the Bahamas at first light Thursday morning!  It was time.

April 2, 2009 - Lake Worth to West End, Grand Bahama Island - 66.9 Miles

  Leaving West Palm at first light Thursday morning (~6:45 am), we arrived in West End around 5:30 pm.  Through the fastest flow of the gulf stream we needed to point between 20 and 30 degrees further south than our course to offset the northerly set of the stream (2.5 knots and above!).  As a result we had to add a few motor revs to our sail power during the first part of our crossing, as we were pointing too close to the wind and wave trains to punch through the seas and keep up our desired speed.  But when the stream started moderating as we went further east, and as the wind correspondingly came up a bit, we were finally able to kill the engine and enjoy a great, albeit lumpy, close reach the rest of the way (in deference to accurate reporting, Judy probably wouldn't rate it a great sail -- 10 hours of rocking and rolling into 6' seas with lots of spray flying).  Winds started the morning at 12-15 S, gradually rose to 20+, and then dropped to the high teens as we approached West End. 

West End's harbor entrance is straightforward and deep, albeit a bit narrow (see photo).  We were in our slip by 5:30 p.m. and cleared our customs formalities by 6:00pm, our brand new "Q" (quarantine) flag flying all of an hour.  Up came the Bahamian courtesy flag.  We had officially arrived!

At West End we anticipated a laid back Bahamian harbor.  We were in for a surprise.  The former Jack Tar marina was now the Old Bahama Bay resort, a luxury hotel and marina complex that apparently materialized on the former Jack Tar property over the course of the past couple of years.  The place was first class all the way ... a PGA championship golf course is even under construction next door!  The only downside was the accompanying first class pricing. 

But with the "first class" pricing came a number of nice amenities.  Bikes, kayaks, Hobie Cats, a pool, work-out facility, and everything else on the gated premises was available to slip renters as well as hotel guests.  We took a bike ride toward "the settlement", but beyond the immediate area of the resort there wasn't much of interest.  And our timing was perfect!  Every Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. the beach bar has a free cocktail hour for all resort guests, accompanied by a nice appetizer spread (conch fritters, fried fish pieces, smoked salmon on toast points, etc.).   We definitely felt welcome.

Meanwhile outside it blew like a bandit all day Friday, exactly following all the forecasts (see photo at right of the harbor entry taken Friday morning).  It was a good day to chill out and start enjoying the Bahamas.  Tomorrow morning (Saturday) the winds are supposed to sharply moderate for about 48 hours, opening a perfect window for an overnight run to Nassau.  But more on that in our next posting.  As we always say ... stay tuned!

On Our Way Again

3/10/2009 - 3/24/2009 - Repair Layover at Ft. Pierce

It took a while ... a long while, but Jubilee is finally "whole" again.  As of Tuesday morning the 24th we're finally moving on from Ft. Pierce after two weeks delayed here.

We were fairly easily able to track down a stainless steel fabrication shop to work on our stem head/bow roller assembly, but they couldn't get to the project until the following Monday, 3/16.  It took their two people plus Bill about two hours to get the old assembly off the boat ... Tayana doesn't build anything light.  By then we had also received our new Delta anchor, so the SS Fab guys now had both our bow assembly and the two anchors we'd need riding on it when the re-work and re-design to accommodate the new Delta were completed.

The next day a woodworker was out to help repair the teak deck pieces damaged in the accident and from removal of the bow assembly.  There wasn't much work to do, but without a planer and good tools it wasn't something Bill could tackle.  The job was done in less than half a day and very reasonably.  Things were looking up ... that is until we received a call Wednesday afternoon from the SS shop indicating they needed to get more material for the job, their new estimate for completion being Friday afternoon.

  Friday afternoon they arrived around 2:00 pm, and the assembly was back on by 5:00.  By 7:00 p.m. Bill had the other previously-removed hardware remounted and we were back together again except for hoisting the sail.

Which brought us to our next issue.  A front moved in late on Friday, bringing with it several days of strong NE and E winds.  We weren't able to re-raise the sail until a slight lull on Sunday (see dockside photo of Jubilee, whole again with the sail back on), but then we decided to remain sitting tight in Ft. Pierce until this thing blew through.  Because of the wind intensity and direction out on the ocean, a Gulf Stream crossing was going to be out of the question until at least the end of the week anyway.

So after some more exploring of Ft. Pierce, including part of Sunday afternoon spent at Archie's, the biker/beach-bum/boater bar near the beach about 8 blocks from the Yacht Club (great burgers btw), and then a car and cab trip on Monday to explore Vero Beach about 20 miles to the north, we are finally able to wave goodby to Ft. Pierce.  We're planning to head south down the ditch, anchor somewhere near the Lake Worth Inlet, and wait for a good departure window.  Hopefully our next posting will be from the Bahamas in about a week. 

'Til then, stay tuned!

Brunswick, GA, to Ft. Pierce, FL

March 6, 2009 - Brunswick to Cumberland Island Anchorage -- 46.8 Miles

After a late night of final prep and only 4 hours sleep before our 6:00 a.m. alarm, we were ready to start our 2009 cruising.  It's amazing how settled in one can become after a boat has been marina-bound for over 3 months.  It took us a while to organize for departure ... and clear the cobwebs out of our heads to remember all the things that were so automatic to us just last fall.

During our cruising break the Bill Gates gremlins had been at work too (or perhaps they're the Steve Ballmer gremlins now that Bill Gates has retired).  Somehow the data link between the GPS and our computer "unconfigured itself" during the past 3 months.  We finally got underway by 7:45 a.m., only 15 minutes later than our target departure, quickly passing under Brunswick's signature Sidney Lanier suspension bridge headed toward the ocean.

During the prior day's hectic debugging of our satellite phone's data access capability we had downloaded grib files (wind vectors over a 4-day window), a surface analysis forecast and the 7-day text forecast.  We could easily have accessed this same information for free over the marina's WiFi network but we wanted to make sure that our data link worked and we knew how to use it.  It did, and we do (actually Bill does - Judy).

Today's conditions called for near-calm winds and seas, and that's what we had ... a great day to take the "outside" route rather than constantly worrying about depths while following the crooked line on the charts that defines the ICW's twisty "inside" passage. 

On our way out we passed by the lighthouse that Al Potter and Bill had climbed just a few weeks earlier (see photo at right and photos taken from the top of the tower in a recent prior post on Brunswick).

After motoring most of the way we were able to motorsail the final couple of hours with just the jib out.  We would have put the main up too, except for the Coast Guard's repeated VHF radio calls indicating that a "US Government Vessel" would  be under tow while exiting the St. Mary's channel, accompanied by several other vessels and requiring strict adherence to  a "security zone" well outside the channel.  Knowing the St. Mary's river was home to the largest submarine base on the east coast, we suspected a nuclear sub was exiting.  It was.

The whole process was quite a thrill.  You don't see this on Lake Superior!

Further up the channel we rounded the southern tip of Cumberland Island to anchor for the night in the vicinity of the Park Service Dock.  Judy saw three of Cumberland's wild horses as we came in, but only told Bill later for fear that he might be distracted and run over one of the crab pots near the anchorage (life isn't always fair - Bill).
 
Our anchorage for the night would be both secure and quiet, accompanied by only three other sailboats and two powerboats anchored in this spacious basin.  Traffic is down compared to last November, as the majority of cruisers are no doubt well south by now.

March 7, 2009 - Cumberland Island to St. Augustine, FL, plus March 8th Lay Day -- 62.4 Miles

Just before we raised anchor we tried to connect to the Snyders and Waffensmiths in the Exumas via our SSB radio.  We knew they were conversing each morning at 7:30 a.m., but we were unable to hear them in Brunswick.  This morning we connected with Bob, and with a weak signal from Wally!  It was our first-ever successful transmission on the 18-year-old Single Side Band radio that had come with the boat.  We had no need to use the SSB on the Great Lakes, and no one to talk to with our SSB before. 

This was a big milestone in that it verified our old radio was working and that we should now be able to communicate with friends via SSB, participate in cruising nets (including the Caribbean/Bahamas weather nets), and transmit on emergency distress frequencies if need be.  (For serious distress situations we also have an EPIRB - Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon - which if activated will transmit a distress signal to a worldwide satellite-based distress network.  We hope we never have to use it.)

Upon departing the St. Mary's Channel and turning south we were now in Florida!  Another milestone met.  We felt warmer already.

The trip to St. Augustine was a piece of cake, albeit a cake requiring some diesel frosting.  Winds were very light and mostly on the nose.  So much for sailing.  The only downside of the trip was a .6 to 1-knot adverse current which we were unable to find a way to avoid.  That pesky shore current added about an hour to our trip.

Despite reports in the guide books that St. Augustine's Lion Bridge reconstruction project was supposed to be completed, it wasn't.  The temporary lift bridge remained in place adjacent to the historic bridge's restoration.  We just missed the 5:30 bridge opening, so had to bide our time 'til 6:00 p.m. before we could get a bridge lift and proceed in to the City Marina immediately south of the bridge.

St. Augustine is a great stop.  The city was filled with droves of "northerners" who like us had fled south to Florida for a short winter respite.  On Saturday night we dined outside in the historic old section of the city, and then followed that on Sunday with a full day of touring.  St Augustine is the oldest continuing European settlement in the continental United States, with a wealth of history at every turn.  We started our exploration with a 1 1/2 hour trolley tour to get our bearings, then made our first stop at the 300-year-old Castillo de San Marcos.   The fort was only breached once despite several intense attempts over the years.  The only reason it did change hands (Spain to Britain to Spain to the US) was as the result of treaties, not armed conflict.  (Oh yes ... that one breach ... it's been overrun by hoards of tourists for several years now.)

  After a few hours of touring we made a late lunch our meal of the day, dining at an outside table at a crab restaurant (love those crab cakes!) before continuing our explorations.  We appreciated at least one St. Augustine shop who adheres to "truth in advertising" (many of the other shops in town could have displayed that same sign).  Returning to the boat we just had to take a picture of the little fellow at left doing a tightrope act on our dock lines ... very entertaining! 

It had been about as perfect a day one might imagine for touring, and after a long day we retired a bit early.  We had a couple of full days ahead of us as we tried to take advantage of forecast calm seas for a long overnight jump down the coast.

March 9-10, 2009 - St. Augustine to Fort Pierce -- 178.1 Miles

The sun was just coming up as we caught the 7:30 a.m. bridge opening and headed out the St. Augustine inlet to an absolutely calm sea.  From all indications this would be an all-diesel overnight, thanks to a huge high pressure area hovering over Florida's east coast.  Being able to run this entire coast on the "outside" has been a treat, even if it's been under the diesel.  It sure is nice not worrying about twisting channels, tricky shallow spots, and constantly watching the tides while negotiating the ICW.  On the outside we just set an autopilot course and then keep a watch for other vessels, the occasional dolphin, and, if we're lucky, experience a Right Whale sighting. 

At this time of year the northern Florida and southern Georgia coastlines are favored feeding grounds for this endangered monster whale.  The Coast Guard reminded us of that fact with their repeated VHF radio announcements asking mariners to keep a sharp lookout at all times.  Our charts are similarly filled with these warnings.

By around noon we had picked up a very slight easterly.  Unfortunately it wasn't enough to move the boat well on its own, but it was enough to again provide a little boost to the diesel.  Soon we saw that we needed that boost, as we again started encountering adverse currents, cutting our speed over ground by about 6 tenths of a knot compared with our speed through the water.

While we didn't spot any whales, at around 4:00 p.m. we did have visitors.  A good omen ... six or eight dolphins joined us for half an hour, swimming and playing off the pressure wave from our bow.  Although Judy and I had experienced this on other boats in southern waters, this was another first for Jubilee.  What a thrill!  

By coincidence we also had a nearly full moon and clear sky for our overnight run.  The conditions were about as good as it gets, if one discounts the lack of any appreciable wind.  To top it off, at Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center they were preparing to launch the Shuttle Discovery.  Security zones around the  Cape were being enforced and we were hoping to possibly witness a nighttime launch.  Between about 8:00 p.m. and midnight we tried to keep an eye on the lights of the launch gantry from our 8-miles-offshore course as we rounded the shoals extending out from the Cape itself.  At that point a quick satellite call to Wayne LeBlanc back in Minnesota, and his subsequent internet check, revealed that there was to be no launch while we traversed the area that evening.  Darn.

Later we were double-blessed as another group of Dolphins came to play alongside Jubilee around 1:00 a.m., their silvery bodies glittering in the near-full moonlight as they swam just below the surface and occasionally rolled up for a breath on either side of our cockpit.

Our ideal crossing continued all the way in to Ft. Pierce as we entered the inlet around 11:30 a.m.  It had been one of our easiest and most pleasant overnights ever.  And we were finally south enough to truly be warm ... even overnight while offshore.  With our cooler northern travels out the St. Lawrence and through the Maritimes last summer we realized we hadn't fully experienced "summer" for over 20 months!  It felt good to be down here in south Florida ... especially knowing that the temps were in the low single digits back home in Minnesota.

March 10 plus Lay Days in Ft. Pierce ... Oops!

Having previously called ahead to the two main marinas in Ft. Pierce, we were told that Harbortown was the only one who could accommodate us given the extreme low tides associated with the full moon at this time of the month.  Unfortunately they were wrong.  We ran aground half way in to the first two slips they assigned us ... and it wasn't even low tide yet.  They were then going to put us at the end of their fuel dock, but our keel was just touching there with another foot or more of tide yet to flow out.  It was time for plan B.

Harbortown suggested we try the Pelican Yacht Club, a private club near the inlet.  We called and they had a slip with plenty of water, so off we went.  What resulted was the most difficult docking maneuver we'd ever attempted, as the tide was flowing strong, perpendicular to our outside slip.  Our first attempt had us swept past the slip before we were even close.  For our second attempt we ran up-current at an angle to intercept the slip, hoping for our momentum to carry us in as we turned sharply into the slip.  We again backed off on that attempt and tried a third time.  To make a long story short, we got into the slip but only after hitting our anchor and bow roller hard on the finger pier piling as our stern was being swept down-current keeping us from turning as we had planned. 

The good news is that no one got hurt or was even close to getting hurt.  The bad news was that we would need to stick here in Fort Pierce while we got a new bow roller fabricated and replaced our now-destroyed Taiwanese "clone" CQR anchor (a true CQR would probably have emerged unscathed, but we would still have damaged our bow roller).

20/20 hindsight we should not have made that 2nd and 3rd attempt at the slip.  We should have insisted the marina put us on their fuel dock until slack tide, or decided instead to go back to a hole just off the ICW and anchor for the night.  That's what we should have done ... but we didn't, and now were paying the price in time and repairs.

In truth we had been seriously looking at switching out that CQR clone for a Delta anchor, generally regarded as a much more secure anchor in almost all conditions ... especially for the Bahamas.  What had held us back was the fact that we knew we'd have to modify our bow roller to fit the Delta.  That decision has now been made for us. 

On Wednesday we met with a custom SS fabricator who will be starting the job Monday morning ... a fairly involved process that will require removing the integral stem head fitting, bow rollers and head stay chainplate so they can take the damaged assembly back to their shop for repair.  They think they can have it done in two days, but we're guessing three.  By Thursday West Marine had received the new Delta anchor we ordered, so everything is now pretty much set for the fabricators on Monday.

Some say sailing is like standing under a cold shower tearing up $100 bills, and in a way that's what we feel like right now ... except that the showers here have plenty of hot water.  Knock on wood, after some 40-years of sailing we would have to say that this is only the first significant boat mishap we've experienced, and this one wasn't that terribly significant in the broad scheme of things.  Hopefully we can go another 40 years without another (and if we do that we'll probably be setting some other records along the way <g>).

Plus we know there could have been much worse places for something like this to happen.  The Yacht Club here is very nice. (See photo at left next to an 80' Hatteras ... that Hatteras had sustained $25,000 in damage a few months ago from a boat much larger than ours experiencing the same docking problems coming into the same slip we did.  Our damage was minimal compared with their's, and luckily we didn't tcome close to touching any other boats!)  

Many of the boats on our pier have professional captains working on them all day long.  The boats here are spotless.  And the club has offered us half price on the slip while we're here for the repair.  Just across the street there's a small but amazingly complete Safeway store, an unbelievably compact but incredibly well stocked hardware store across the street in the other direction, a barber (Bill is getting a bit shaggy), and several restaurants nearby.  Adding to that the weather has been beautiful (low to mid-80's in the day and slightly cool at night), so while we're here Jubilee is starting to get the deep cleaning she needed but never received during those cold days in Georgia. 

Hopefully we'll be back on our way to the Bahamas by the middle to latter part of next week.  'Til then ...

____________________________________

P.S. for Skype users:  Bill was reading this morning about the soon-to-launch Google Voice service, which sounds pretty impressive.  That said, the article also referenced its current major competitor, Skype, saying that Skype already has 400 million registered users with 350,000 new ones added every day.  Wow!  Sounds like there aren't too many folks around who aren't Skype users (of course these are worldwide figures).

2009 Pre-Departure Boat Prep and Fun in Brunswick, GA

1/20-2/8 2009:  Happenings in Brunswick

Many of you are probably starting to wonder just what happened to us after the New Year.  No, we haven't sailed off the edge of the earth, or even found ourselves shipwrecked on some desolate island.  We've mostly been here in Brunswick, GA, getting the boat ready for our next leg in between touring and visiting with special Twin Cities friends.

One day after arriving in Brunswick by car we drove to JAX (Jacksonville, FL, airport) to pick up Golden Valley friends Wally & Connie Waffensmith (Summer of 42).  They had stored their boat here in Brunswick for last year's hurricane season and were returning to jump south and over to the Bahamas for the winter cruising season.  A few days later Andover friends Bob & Judy Snyder arrived by car to re-commission their boat, Greenstone, for a couple of months in the Bahamas too.  Between boat projects it was like old home week.  Great people, great weather, great time.

We then picked up our special, long time New Brighton friends Judy and Al Potter at JAX on Friday the 30th.  Unfortunately along with them came cooler weather, and soon after they arrived it was downright cold, at least in the evenings (by Georgia standards anyway).  But temperatures notwithstanding we thoroughly enjoyed their visit.

Early Sunday morning we saw Snyders and Waffensmiths off as they departed for points south.  Hopefully we'll be catching up with them down in the Bahamas by late March/early April.

Our side trips with Al and Judy started with a Saturday excursion to Fernandina Beach, FL, to browse some shops and lunch at the restaurant on the pier (inside, thankfully).  That evening we ate at Cargo in downtown Brunswick.  Cargo has been cited as one of the 10 best restaurants in Georgia.  We agree with that assessment.  Outstanding.

Continuing on a culinary roll we took in the Sunday brunch at the nearby spectacular and exclusive Jekyll Island Club (see photo at right).  We'd been hearing of Jekyll's Sunday Brunch for months, and it certainly lived up to all the hype.  Dress codes are relaxed for their Sunday brunches, which is good as we "forgot" to pack our formal wear.

Monday we took two cars and accompanied Potters to Savanna for another visit to that wonderful city.  This time in addition to our general tour we visited the Andrew Low house, a beautifully maintained pre-Civil War mansion complete with period pieces in all the rooms.  One of the bedrooms and bedroom sets was used by Robert E. Lee when visiting various times.  Another interesting connection with the Low house ... Juliet Gordon Low, daughter in law of Andrew Low, founded the Girl Scouts in Savannah, GA, in 1912.  This was by far the best of the 3 Savannah mansion tours we had taken so far.  Don't miss it if you come through this way!

Potters went on to spend a couple more days in Savannah and Hilton Head while we returned to Jubilee and some additional boat projects.  When Al and Judy returned to Brunswick on Thursday we toured St. Simon's Island with them, including a trip (Bill & Al) to the top of the St. Simon's lighthouse (only open for visits on Thursdays ... good coincidence).

By Friday temps had started returning to South Georgia norms for this time of year ... unfortunately just as we drove Al and Judy to JAX for their flight back to Minnesota.  We felt bad that they had come down south to warm up only to find more cold, but it was still great having them down for a visit.

Shortly after our arrival in Georgia our daughter Jill and husband Thomas contacted us with some great news.  The adoption of their 2nd child had been confirmed for travel to China around the 10th of February.  With that fantastic news we immediately decided we would stay in Brunswick a little longer.  Rather than moving the boat further South we decided to fly to China out of Jacksonville to be with Jill, Thomas, and Li An for the adoption of Li An's new little sister Kaitelin (see 8-month-old photo at right), along with a little China touring in between appointments in the adoption process.  Stay tuned as the "Log of the Jubilee" diverts from the usual boat ramblings to chronicle the high points of this very special trip.  We plan to continue our cruise south and to the Bahamas shortly after returning from China the end of February.

That's all for now.  Next stop China!

Beaufort, SC, to Brunswick, GA ... our last run for 2008

11/16-17/2008 - Beaufort S.C. to Brunswick, GA - ICW Milepost 680 -- 111.9 Miles

On Sunday morning the fog and the southerlies were gone, replaced by SSW winds which later would veer to westerlies, even slightly WNW.  The forecast looked perfect overnight and through the next day, so we decided to "go for it" on the outside, thus avoiding Georgia's many ICW trouble spots.

Our planned course called for a 107 mile passage from Grogen's dock in Beaufort to the Brunswick Landings Marina in Brunswick, Georgia, near the Georgia-Florida border.  We decided on a 2:00 p.m. departure to get us out of the Beaufort entrance channel (Port Royal Sound) well before dark.  Our plan would allow us to ride the ebb out of Port Royal Sound, and then ride the flood into Brunswick's St. Simon's Sound the next morning just after sunrise.  Perfect.

But while it was an almost perfect plan, our execution was a bit faulty.  First, the ebb current at Port Royal Sound literally spit us out of the Beaufort area at over 9 knots over the ground, immediately putting us about an hour ahead of schedule by the time we reached the Port Royal inlet cardinal buoy and turned south.  Next, the forecast drop in wind speed didn't happen.  Instead we found ourselves reaching along in 15-20 knot winds all night long.  The conditions made for a pleasant trip, but we would need to keep our speed down in order to avoid a night time arrival.

Folks who don't sail often ask if we anchor at night in the ocean.  The answer is no.  Passage making involves sailing the boat 24 hours a day between destinations.  The two of us take turns sleeping.  While one of us is sleeping the other is running the boat and keeping watch.  We also cook and eat while on the move.  Our stove is gimbaled so that it stays level when the boat heels (tips), allowing us to cook in almost any conditions (see photo of a hot dish being heated up on the swinging stove during our overnight).

Our trip down to Brunswick was one of the easiest and fastest overnights we've had aboard Jubilee.  Once we turned the corner at the Port Royal inlet cardinal buoy we held the same tack all the way to Brunswick.  To keep our speed down we almost immediately threw an unneeded first reef in the main to reduce sail area.  Shortly after that we began rolling in more and more of our headsail to further reduce sail area to only a little handkerchief of jib.  But even with those measures we kept creeping up toward the mid to high 6's through much of the night. 

Finally at around 5:00 a.m. we dropped all sail about 3 miles from the St. Simon's inlet cardinal buoy, inching the boat forward under an idling engine at about 2 knots until the sun came up.  We were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise off our stern as we turned into the St. Simon's Inlet channel and started meeting Brunswick shrimp boats heading out for a day of offshore shrimping.

It took us a couple of hours to run the inlet, motor up St, Simon's Sound, head under the Sidney Lanier suspension bridge, and arrive at our final 2008 destination, the   Brunswick Landings Marina just across the street from downtown Brunswick.  By 9:00 a.m. we had topped our diesel tanks at the fuel dock and moved Jubilee to her assigned slip.  Over the next four days we gave Jubilee a deep cleaning inside and out, attended to a few minor repairs, changed oil and the oil and fuel filters for both the Yanmar and our genset, did several loads of laundry (washers and driers are free at Brunswick), and generally got things in order for Jubilee's upcoming 6-8 weeks of storage. 

After some 5 1/2 months on the water we departed Brunswick by one-way rental car on Friday, November 21st., for a holiday break back in Minnesota.  Neither of us had explored the southeast United States before, excepting during business trips (hotel and conference rooms are the same everywhere).  We thoroughly enjoyed the drive.    One of our stops along the way was Paducah, KY, a Tennessee/Ohio River port town that many of our "Great Looper" friends have visited by boat.  Along with Paducah's vibrant historic district we were particularly impressed with what they had done to their waterfront, particularly how they have transformed their flood control seawall into a several-block-long series of murals depicting the area's history.  See attached photos.  Neat.

And so, except for our 2008 recap which follows, our blog chronicles for this year have come to an end.  Watch this space again in January as we resume our travels down to Florida and over to the Bahamas for the 2009 winter cruising season.  As we always say ... stay tuned.

 

South Carolina ICW Travels

11/5/2008 - Osprey Marina to Georgetown, South Carolina - ICW Milepost 403 -- 29.1 Miles

We decided to stay put, chill out a few days, and wait out some forecast wet and windy weather with Jan and Francoise in Osprey's comfortable and secure marina.   It was also a good place to watch (and celebrate) the election results on Tuesday night.  Too bad the Osprey Marina isn't further down the line ... it would have been a great spot to leave the boat over the holidays.  Unfortunately, as Osprey is in northern South Carolina leaving our boat there for the holidays it would place us much further north than we'd want to be when we pick up the trail again in January.

Grey and overcast skies were the order for the day for our relatively short trip down the Waccamaw river to Georgetown.  But notwithstanding the gloominess it turned out to be an easy day ... good depths throughout, no particular trouble spots to watch for, and increasingly wider water as we traveled further downstream.

Most of today's trip followed cypress swamp-lined channels.  Every boat that travels the ICW for any length of time tends to acquire brown "mustache" on the bow.  The photo of our bow wave at right shows why.  Note the deep brown tannin color in the water from the surrounding swamps and wetlands.  It's not very pretty but it is clean, just brown.

  We arrived in Georgetown's Boat Shed Marina before 3:00 pm, giving us plenty of time to explore the city.  Named after George the Prince of Wales, later to become King George II, Georgetown was settled in 1729 and is the third oldest city in South Carolina.  The city's historic district has over 50 homes and commercial buildings dating back as far as 1737.  We strolled the city with Jan and Francoise, particularly enjoying Prince Street which was chock-a-block with beautifully maintained and restored older homes.  See the attached photos and the Georgetown/Charleston/Beaufort/Savannah Historic Homes photo album link to the left of the main blog page.  After our walk we stopped at the Goat Island Grill for dinner together.  Excellent!

11/6/2008 - Georgetown South Carolina to Dewees Creek Anchorage -- ICW Milepost 454.9 -- 47.7 Miles

Skipper Bob, the ICW Bible for current information on shoals and other ICW issues, was full of cautions for our trip today.  After reading our printed copy for this section, then checking Skipper Bob's web site for late breaking information, Bill created 15 "caution" waypoints:  favor the green side, favor the starboard side, time for at least 2' of tide, ... etc.  Knowing we wouldn't be able to make the final bridge near Charlestown before it closed for the 4:00pm to 6:00pm rush hour, we initially decided a 9:00 a.m. departure would give us our best tidal boost over some of the shoal areas.  However in the morning we decided to leave at 8:00 a.m. with several other boats, knowing that should we encounter a problem we could hopefully just wait for the tide to rise a bit more. 

After entering the Waterway below Georgetown we were almost immediately stopped by flashing lights indicating a small one-car-at-a-time ferry would be crossing the canal.  We suspect that that this small crossing operation would be around for years to come.  It's doubtful any government agency will ever be able to justify a new 65' clearance high bridge to replace such an inexpensive, low tech, limited ferry operation as this one.

For all our concern about tidal depths, the day turned out to be pretty straightforward.  By following Skipper Bob's suggestions, coupled by timing our departure for reasonably good tidal lifts over the tricky spots, we were able to carry 10-12' or more through most of the canal.  There was one point that was close.  Very close ... about 6 1/2 feet (we draw almost 6).  Starting an hour later would have given us a little better clearance there, but we were through the trouble spot within a couple of boat lengths.

A few miles before the Ben Sawyer Bridge and channel that would lead us into Charleston Harbor we ventured off the ICW into Dewees Creek for the evening.  Dewees is comprised of a meandering set of channels that were surprising deeper than anything we'd seen in the waterway all day.  We dropped the hook in 23' with swamp grass on both sides of the channel as far as the eye could see.  It was a little spooky looking across the swamp grass ... almost like over-looking a wheat field while seeing only the tops of boats in the distance, their hulls hidden as they worked their way down the waterway.  This might not be a good site in much of a blow, but for tonight it was a near-perfect anchorage.

Goosebumps joined us in Dewees Creek just as we had our anchor set.  A little later we dingied over to their boat for a glass of wine and some appetizers before we separate paths tomorrow.  Jan and Francoise had visited Charleston before, so were going to skip the city and continue on south, eventually to the Keys and up the Gulf Coast to their home in Punta Gorda, Florida.  We had so enjoyed our days cruising together since Morehead City.  Hopefully our cruising paths will cross again sometime in the not too distant future.

11/7/2008 - Dewees Creek Anchorage to Cooper River Marina, Charleston, S.C. -- ICW Milepost 464.1 -- 15.2 Miles
11/8 & 11/9 Lay Days in Charleston

Our relatively short trip from Dewees Creek to Charleston also took us through our shallowest passage so far without actually touching bottom ... 6.4' in the area above the Dan Sawyer Bridge.  Whether we over-favored the red side as Skipper Bob advises (& getting ourselves beyond the west side of the channel), or whether the entire channel was simply that shallow (we were within a few inches of low tide when we passed through the area), we'll never know.  In any case, caution is advised for those transiting this stretch.

Charleston Harbor has one of the most spectacular bridges along the waterway ... the new Arthur Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River.  We would pass directly under this beautiful bridge twice ... once on our way to our Charleston marina, and once on our way out.  See photo at right.

Unable to find dockage at the more convenient Charleston City Marina or the Harbourage near Patriots Point, we secured a slip at the Cooper River Marina.  While not as convenient for touring Charleston, Cooper River turned out to be a quiet and secure spot to berth while we toured the city.  Each morning one of the marina staff members gave us a complimentary ride into the heart of the city, and each evening we returned via cab.  When cab and tip costs were added to the lower rates at Cooper River it netted out equal, price wise, to the closer-in alternatives, but Cooper was much quieter.

Originally known as Charles Towne, founded by the British in 1670 and named after King Charles II, Charleston, South Carolina is a wonderfully preserved historic city.    After the Civil War, Charleston underwent a long period of hard times during which little building or demolition was occuring.  During that period other southern cities were busily renovating, effectively destroying much of their architectural heritage.  Charleston, on the other hand, has retained many of their pre-Civil War homes and public buildings now lost in other southern cities.  A stroll through Charleston's streets is like a stroll back in time.  We took advantage of two historic mansion tours: the fully-restored Nathaniel Russell House, and the Aiken-Rhett House and slave quarters which are being conserved in their current condition.  The Aiken-Rhett house had remained in the same family until its relatively recent transfer to the Historic Charleston Foundation, but for decades many if not most of the home's rooms had been closed off and thus well-preserved in their historic state. 

In addition to these houses we walked and walked and walked the streets of Charleston, taking in home after home and public building after public building from the pre-Civil War era.  See the attached photos and the Georgetown/Charleston/Beaufort/Savannah Historic Homes photo album link to the left of the main blog page. 

On Saturday afternoon we also took a water taxi across the river to Patriots Point, home of the decommissioned WW II Aircraft Carrier Yorktown, Destroyer Laffey, Submarine Clamagore, and Coast Guard Cutter Ingham.  We toured all but the Ingham, and were particularly struck by the difference between serving aboard the massive, 3500-man, Yorktown and a cramped diesel-electric-era submarine.  Planning an upcoming party?  Judy was thinking that perhaps you might find the attached recipe handy (see photo) ... chocolate chip cookies for one day for 3500 hungry aircraft carrier sailors!

Oh ... and the food.  The food in Charleston was outstanding.  The attached photo of Judy shows what was billed as an appetizer tray for one at A. W. Schucks seafood restaurant.  Having stopped there in late afternoon for appetizers, we never did get around to dinner that evening.   We also thoroughly enjoyed Hyman's Seafood Restaurant, one of Charleston's signature restaurants.

Much as we had thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Charleston we needed to keep moving on.  On Sunday afternoon we learned that Brunswick Landing Marina in Brunswick, GA, would have space for us to leave Jubilee over the holidays and into January.  Brunswick is the last harbor in Georgia before the Florida border, so we still have some southing to make starting first thing tomorrow morning.

11/10/2008 - Cooper River Marina, Charleston, to Bull River/Wimbee Creek Anchorage - ICW Milepost 521.0 -- 55.3 Miles

We departed Cooper River Marina a little before 7:30 a.m. to be sure to had enough time to make the first opening of the Wappoo Creek bridge after the morning rush hour.  Just past the bascule bridge we saw our strongest currents of the day ... over 3 knots against us in the Elliot Cut.  Once through the cut we fought a roughly 1.5-knot opposing current for about two hours, after which the tide switched and we started getting a knot and a half boost for much of the day.  Those tidal currents don't sound like much, but when comparing speed made good with a boost like that, vs. speed made good when fighting a current of that speed, the resulting speed difference over the ground turns out to be about 40% of nominal boat speed ... a huge difference.

Bill had filled our electronic chart with over 20 "waypoint notes" for today's run, advising of such things as shoal areas to watch for, channel sides to favor, buoys that require a wide berth, etc.  We've found these "electronic notes" to be the best way to ensure that we don't forget to take precautions as we approach various trouble spots along the way.  When simply using a list of paper notes or stickers on a paper chart, we sometimes find ourselves well into a trouble spot before we realize it.

The worst trouble spot for today's passage was the Ashapoo-Coosaw cutoff, a short stretch between two rivers where severe shoaling to as little as 3.5' had recently been reported.  But today we were in luck.  Dredging had begun in the cut just 4 days before, and although dredging was far from done the worst spots seemed to have already been addressed.  We had timed our passage to arrive here on a rising tide about 4' above low mean water ... an extra precaution.  Bottom line ... no shoaling problems today.

Running all the way to Beaufort wasn't going to be an option for us.  At our cruising speed we simply didn't have enough hours remaining between the bridge opening after Charleston's morning rush hour and the afternoon rush hour bridge closing at Beaufort.  The Bull River/Wimbee Creek Anchorage provided a well-timed spot to stop for the night just below the Ashapoo-Coosaw cutoff.  Surrounded on two sides by swamp grass at the meandering channel's edge, and on a third side by higher ground with trees and a couple of houses, we dropped the hook, fired up the barbeque, and grilled some lamb chops while the sun was setting to close another good day on the waterway.

11/11/2008 - Wimbee Creek Anchorage to the Distant Island Yacht Club (Chuck and Claria Gorgen's home) in Beaufort, S.C. - ICW Milepost 545 -- 26.5 Miles

Our first two hours today were spent fighting 1 1/2 to 2 knots of current, but on turning the corner into narrow Brickyard Creek the faucet immediately switched to provide a 1 1/2 to 2-knot boost.  Such are the ways of the waterway, as one goes from one stretch of water influenced by one inlet to another stretch of water influenced by a different inlet. 

Occasionally along the waterway we would run across "for sale" signs, but the attached sign was particularly intriguing: "Plantation for Sale".  If any of our readers would like to purchase their very own plantation let us know ... we'd be glad to help you locate that parcel of land.

Beaufort welcomed us with open arms (actually open bridges) when we arrived between scheduled bridge openings but just as a tug and barge were approaching the bridge north-bound.  Commercial traffic always takes priority, so the swing bridge immediately opened for the tug and we scooted through on the opposite channel.  No waiting lane 2.  Kewl. 

Our destination for the day was a little beyond Beaufort proper, as we turned up Cowen Creek just opposite the Marine's famed Parris Island training camp.  Not too far up Cowen Creek is Distant Island Creek, where Chuck and Claria Gorgen built their retirement home a few years back.  Their location is ideal ... on an island, inland far enough to be well protected, with deep water access right to their dock, cooling Atlantic breezes in the summer time, and moderating temperatures from the surrounding water in the winter.  With immediate access to the waterway and creek systems around the area, and easy access to the Port Royal Sound inlet from the Atlantic, their little piece of paradise is just about perfect for a couple who has been active in sailing and boating circles from their teens to their retirement years.

Those of you following our summer blog postings may remember Chuck and Claria.  Originally from the Twin Cities area but later moving around the country with various work assignments, most of their boating lives had involved racing small boats and scows, gaining several 1st place national trophies along the way.  Their new-to-them Hatteras motor yacht, the largest boat and first cruising boat they had ever owned, brought them to a new and very different type of boating.  They jumped in with boat feet.

We first met Chuck and Claria this past July in Chrysler Park on the Ontario portion of the St. Lawrence River.  Having done the great loop the prior year (East Coast/Hudson River/Erie Canal/Great Lakes/Illinois/Mississippi/Tenn-Tom/Gulf/Florida and back home via the ICW), they were mid-way through their Downeast Circle cruise when we met. 

We subsequently saw them again in Quebec City, and then again in Rimouski, Quebec, where they had water locked and blown one of their engines as a result of waves forcing water up one of their exhaust pipes.  They were able to find and install a replacement engine with the boat in Rimouski, but given the engine delay the completion of their Downeast Circle cruise would have to wait for another year.  They've been hosting a steady stream of St. Lawrence, Great Loop, and Downeast Circle cruisers at their home and dock ever since returning to their South Carolina home this fall.  When we arrived on Tuesday afternoon another boat, Time Out, had just departed that morning.  Chuck and Claria are wonderful, gracious hosts.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them in Beaufort.

Before we had completed tying up at the Gorgan's we couldn't help but notice the distinctive sailboat sitting on the dock.  When we asked Chuck if that was a Reed's Scout he looked at us in disbelief ... he couldn't believe someone would actually recognize a day sailor that was in production back in Minnesota some 40-50 years ago.  Chuck had designed that boat while in college and working at the old Reed's sailing center in Wayzata.  The Scout was one of the most stable training and day sailing boats ever designed.  See photo of the Scout and her proud designer. 

11/11/2008-11/14/2008 - Lay Days in Beaufort, S.C.

Chuck and Claria are the kind of welcoming people you quickly feel like you've known all your life, when in fact you've only recently met.  They quickly made us feel a part of their Beaufort community, starting right away on Tuesday night when we joined them and the Lady's Island Business Association (kind of like a Chamber of Commerce) for an Oyster Roast.  What a feed!  Each couple had brought a dish to pass for pot-luck to go with the oysters, while the business association supplied the oysters.  We went through bushels and bushels of oysters that night, all steamed over a roaring fire.

    On top of the fire was a long, flat bottomed, iron trough into which a couple of bushels of oysters in the shell would be thrown in at one time.  Oysters in the shell were poured and raked flat in the trough and then covered with damp burlap bags.  The bags and oysters were then wetted down well with a garden hose.  About 5 minutes later that batch would be steamed and ready to be shoveled out with a scoop shovel or pitch fork and dumped on three shucking/eating picnic tables.  While the eating commenced, another couple of bushels were being thrown into the hot trough on the fire ... a process that must have gone on continuously for two hours.  What a feast ... and what an experience!

Wednesday was "tour Beaufort" day.  We started with a horse drawn carriage tour through this city filled with history and historic homes.  We'd highly recommend the tour for a good grounding in the city's history, including its more recent discovery as a prime location for filming movies. 

Thursday brought fog with the threat of rain and higher winds, so we decided to "stay put" at the Gorgans and drive with them to Savannah to tour that city.  Savannah was founded in 1733 when British General James Oglethorpe and the 120 passengers of the "Anne" arrived in February. Oglethorpe named the 13th American colony "Georgia" after England's King George II, and Savannah was the colony's first city.

Oglethorpe, a city planning visionary, laid out what is now the city's historic district using a series of grids that included wide streets intermixed with public squares and parks. Savannah originally had 24 squares.  21 of these squares still survive, resulting in one of the most beautiful cities for strolling we've ever seen.

Like Charleston, Savannah's long economic depression assured survival of many of the city's historic structures ... no money was available for tearing down these structures to replace them with more "modern" homes and buildings.  The 1950's brought a resurgence of historic preservation interest as civic leaders began to appreciate the treasure they had along their waterfront.   The result is the beautiful historic district we enjoy today.  See the attached photo and the Georgetown/Charleston/Beaufort/Savannah Historic Homes photo album link to the left of the main blog page. 

Friday brought more fog and stronger winds from the south, exactly from the direction we would be heading for our next leg.  Consequently we would not be leaving today.  Instead Judy and Claria drove down to Hilton Head to visit some yarn and needlepoint shops and do some shopping, while Bill & Chuck stayed put to greet the two other boats arriving at Gorgan's "Distant Island Creek Yacht Club" (Gorgan's dock and some neighbor's docks without boats presently on them).  The first to arrive were Joe and Kathy Pica on their trawler Carolyn Ann.  Later in the day Greg & Barbara Franklin on their Mainship GonCruzn III also arrived.  Everyone joined Chuck and Claria for dinner at their home that evening. (L-R: Barb, Greg, Chuck, Claria, Kathy, and Joe)

Given the weather forecast for Saturday (more rain and wind out of the south), a Sunday departure "on the outside" for Brunswick, GA., looked to be the most prudent plan.  We would be staying at Grogan's dock one more day, as would the Carolyn Ann and GonCruzn III.  Beaufort has been one of our most enjoyable stops on the trip thus far.  Chuck and Claria are the most hospitable hosts one could ever imagine, and our days with them in Beaufort and the surrounding area will be long-remembered.  But Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and we need to move on to Brunswick as soon as the weather allows.  Don't touch that dial ... stay tuned.

Through the North Carolina IWC

10/26/2008 - Belhaven River Forest Marina (North Carolina) to Mathews Pt. Marina - ICW Milepost 183 (+ ~7miles to Marina) -- 48.2 Miles

  Saturday night we were treated to a beautiful sunset (red sky at night) and, finally, near-calm winds in Belhaven ... a good omen for our Sunday morning departure.  With Sunday dawning clear and warmer, everyone started moving again.  Up and down the ICW there must have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of boats departing south between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m.  We counted over 30 in one little stretch alone as we departed the gentle wide bend in the Pungo River.

Our course today took us down wider river paths, unlike our ICW experiences to date which generally followed narrow channels and canals throughout the day.  We trekked down the Pungo River, across the Pamlico River, through one canal cut to the Neuse River, and then up the Neuse to Clubfoot Creek and the Mathews Pt. Marina. 

At Mathews Pt. we were assigned a berth right next to Hi Flite, Dale Longtin and Cori Breidenbach's beautiful Pearson 424 ketch.  We hadn't seen Dale and Cori since they left the Twin Cities area and their slip at the Apostle Islands Marina for North Carolina about 4 years ago.  It was clear that the live-aboard lifestyle was suiting them well.  Full time cruising is on their not too distant horizon, and they have a great boat that should carry them anywhere they want to go.

Dale and Cori have a beautiful setting at Mathews Point ... great protection topped off with beautiful sunrise and sunset views and strategically located for a short commute to each of their jobs.  That evening Cori barbecued some Mahi Mahi filets that Marina dockmaster, Al, had recently caught.  Al joined the four of us for dinner that evening in the marina clubhouse.  Delicious.

Coincidently Bill got to talking to another Marina slipholder in the parking lot that afternoon.  Turns out he was heading to Kathy Schurdevin's for dinner that evening.  Kathy had the UK sail loft in Bayfield before she left for North Carolina a couple of years ago.  She's now working at a Morehead City loft.  Small world. 

10/27/2008 - Mathews Pt. Marina to Morehead City Yacht Basin - ICW Milepost 204 -- 24.9 Miles (Plus 10/28-29 Lay Days)

With Dale and Cori off to their jobs on Monday morning, we departed Mathews Pt. to continue down the ICW the relatively short distance to Morehead City.  We found the Morehead City Yacht Basin (see photo) a first class facility with relatively new floating docks, clean showers and laundry, all well protected from seas in any direction.

After her work day Cori met us at the marina to drive us to West Marine and Walmart, followed by dinner with Dale at Beach Bumz, a local pub.  When we went into Walmart the temps were in the 70's but with a stormy looking sky on the horizon.  Departing Walmart about 20 minutes later the temps had dropped to the 50's or lower.  Leaving Beach Bumz after dinner we found a full gale outside.  Back at the boat we had to start the engine and motor in reverse in our slip at over 2000 rpm in order to pull the bow back from the dock against the fierce winds (the springlines had stretched to where the bow was a scant 4" from the dock).  We quickly repositioned those springs, added two more, and doubled up some other lines.  For a while the winds were blowing 40 knots with higher gusts ... and cold.  Sure glad we weren't spending the night on a hook somewhere.

About 30 minutes later the winds settled in at 25-30 knots for most of the night.  The good news was the lack of any sea in our well protected spot, but overnight temps dropped to the high 30's.  Ugh ... it looks like winter has caught up with us.

With snow flying from Pennsylvania to New York, temperatures plunging throughout the east coast, and the 500mb charts showing the jet stream dipping way south almost to the Florida-Georgia border, it appeared we were in for several days of unseasonable cold and higher winds.  As a result we wimped out and decided to stick in Morehead City until Thursday when the jet stream was supposed to return to a more normal northerly course with the local winds forecast to drop down a bit.  On the down side it appeared it would remain ccccold for a while.  Thankfully we weren't up against a hard schedule so we could afford to stay put for better conditions, attend to some boat chores, and explore Morehead City a bit more.
 
10/30/2008 - Morehead City to New River Inlet/Swans Pt. Marina - ICW Milepost 246.5 -- 39.6 Miles

We departed a cold Morehead City at sunrise with the promise of sunny skies and slowly rising temperatures.  Later we learned that the temperatures had dipped to 33 degrees overnight along the waterway.  But today with the wind down even the cold morning temperatures didn't seem to have the same bite. 

Running the ICW is a lot like playing one of those race car videogames where the player tries to keep the car from crashing outside the confines of the video road while careening down the race course.  On the ICW, of course, everything is in slow motion, (6 to 7 knots), but the dredged "road" on the chartplotter is generally only 1 city block wide, often much less, even when crossing wide bays.  Channel markers are sometimes a fair distance apart, so the best steering aid is often the chart plotter screen.  Stray outside the channel even a little bit and one is likely to "crash" into the bordering shallow sand or mud bottom.  As a result our days running down the ICW are spent constantly keeping the boat within in those lines, adjusting for currents that sometimes try to push you sideways off the track and of course avoiding other boats, fishermen, fishing nets, crab floats and the like.  It's not hard, but it does require constant attention.  A little lapse and you're off the course.

One of the side effects of the past 8 years of government infrastructure cut-backs has been sharp reductions in ICW maintenance.  As busy as the ICW is, it just hasn't had a high enough priority for the Army Corps of Engineers (USA CoE) to maintain the waterway's charted depths in many of the places subject to silting.  We encountered one of those areas today, gingerly following a winding course laid out by the Corp of Engineers and published in the cruising guides in order to work our way around mid-channel shoals (see accompanying chart snap of our track in this area).  Note the course looks like it went on land.  The NOAA charts also showed our track going over land.  Of course we didn't, but we sure did get close.

Along the way today we also passed through the Marine training facility at Camp Lejuene.  Our first notice of the camp was this ominous sign: "Stop Do Not Proceed When Lights Are Flashing", set up to warn when live ammunition practice was underway downstream!  Later we saw abandoned military equipment along the shoreline ... possibly placed there for target practice.  The lights weren't flashing today.  Luckily we passed through the area unscathed.

With the continuing chilly weather we decided to stop in a marina again tonight so we could plug in our ceramic heaters.  The following days are supposed to be getting progressively warmer.  Let's hope that's true.

10/31/2008 - Swans Pt. Marina to Wrightsville Beach Marina - ICW Milepost 283.3 -- 33.1 Miles

Friday brought another day of winding ICW paths, many of which appeared to be large bays (some with interesting names like Alligator Bay), but all had only narrow marked channels we had to strictly follow.  To break the monotony we had three opening bridges to negotiate today, two of them opening only on the hour and the one in between which opened every 30 minutes.  Powerboats are generally able to time all three by adjusting their speed, but a sailboat has no hope of maintaining sufficient speed to make each bridge's opening schedule in turn.  Between the 2nd and 3rd bridges we slowed to a crawl for the five miles between and 1 1/2 hours of time before the Wrightsville Bridge would open for us.

  To complicate matters, at the Wrightsville Bridge two tugs with a huge double-barge between them was coming up-bound and of course had priority to go first while we tried to hover outside their path in the narrow channel above the bridge.  A Pearson 365 ran hard aground in the process and had to kedge off with an anchor.  We touched with a "soft" grounding twice, but were able to back off to deeper water, careful not to back into the tugs and barge passing through just off our stern.

We initially had planned to stay at the Wrightsville Yacht Club, a bit off the ICW, but were told we'd have to be out by 5:00am (2 1/2 hours before sunrise) or stay all day, since they were serving as the start and finish of an Ironman race (endurance marathon running/biking/swimming race) on Saturday.  Instead we stayed at the Wrightsville Beach Marina right below the bridge ... a beautiful and fairly new (if a bit pricy) facility with easy walking access across the bridge to a grocery and other stores.  We took a quick hike into the shopping area, bought some peel and eat shrimp for dinner that evening, returned to the boat and called it a day.

11/1/2008 - Wrightsville Beach Marina to Holden Beach Marina - ICW Milepost 322.3 -- 36.0 Miles

Today was to be our most eventful day on the waterway thus far.  The first part was relatively straightforward as we took the inside passage down to Cape Fear and the Cape Fear River (don't you just love these names?).  Interestingly, the inside passage for this stretch is shorter than the outside passage because of the added distance involved in rounding the cape. 

At Southport near the mouth of the Cape Fear River a starboard turn brought us to back into classical "ICW Ditch" navigation.  About 12 miles down from Southport lies one of the two worst trouble spots on the North Carolina ICW ... Lockwoods Folly Inlet.  We knew we could not get through there at low water, so had timed our departure from Wrightsville to hopefully give us a sufficient tidal lift to allow us to pass over the shoal areas.

What we hadn't counted on were the hordes of fisherman congregated in and around the channel at the most troublesome part of the channel.  Most were anchored and none would get out of the way.  We turned off-channel just a couple of feet to avoid one boat and immediately went from over 12' beneath the keel to 5 1/2' (we draw 6).  Quickly reversing to back us off, the current (now about 1 knot) pulled the stern around and further into the shallow water putting us firmly aground.  One fisherman with a large outboard tried to help careen us using our main halyard and a dock line from the masthead, but by heeling the boat we still weren't able to reduce our draft enough to get over the shoal.  Thank goodness for BoatUS towing insurance.  They were there in 30 minutes with their twin 115 hp outboards.  Between their towboat and our 75 horse diesel and MaxProp we finally got off with no damage done except to our pride. 

We've always heard that one hasn't cruised the Chesapeake or the ICW unless they've run aground.  We managed to avoid grounding in the Chesapeake, but today's grounding should firmly establish us as ICW cruisers. 

A side note on the fishing boats.  Everyone coming through there was having trouble with them.  They simply ignored requests to let cruisers through, apparently not having the least understanding of the depth problems many cruising boats deal with there.  While we were aground a barge and tug came through, and they wouldn't respond to their horns either ... at least not until the barge was about to run them over.  Interestingly the barge and tug ran aground about 100 yards down from our position (see photo of barge just before it ran aground).  After running aground the tug and barge immediately swung broadside across the channel.  Fishing boats were anchored just behind the now-sideways tug that was doing everything it could to free the barge and get out of there ... BUT THE FISHING BOATS DIDN'T EVEN MOVE FOR THE GROUNDED TUG!  Go figure.

So why the name Lockwoods Folly?  Turns out a man named Lockwood lived near the inlet many years ago and decided to build his dream boat on the nearby river.  Much to his dismay, after completing his boat Mr. Lockwood found it drew too much water to negotiate the inlet's shoals to reach the ocean outside (sound familiar?).  He ultimately left his dream boat to simply rot in the river, the derelect vessel becoming known as Lockwood's Folly.  Thankfully we got off the shoal today, so hopefully the inlet won't be re-named Jubilee's Folly in future years.

The rest of our trip to the Holden Beach Marina was uneventful.  Once there we were given a guano-splattered floating dock next to the ICW and harassed by 20-something foot fishing boats running past us at full throttle until after dark.  We're not sure what those fishermen are thinking (if they are), but they might be trying to get back at some of the relatively few but very inconsiderate big power cruisers who don't slow for other boats, leaving huge, sometimes dangerous, wakes in their path.  Luckily most of the larger power cruisers we've met thus far on the waterway have been very considerate, but there are always those few who aren't.

11/2/2008 - Holden Beach North Carolina Marina to Osprey Marina South Carolina - ICW Milepost 373 -- 44.7 Miles

After the prior day's excitement an easier day today was more than welcome.  With the switch overnight to standard time we had full light for a 7:00 am departure, again timed to give us a high yet still slightly rising tide at another North Carolina trouble spot, the Shallotte River Inlet.  We required a tide to get across the bars there, but thankfully the Corps of Engineers had issued a sounding survey from September of this year that provided us least mean water depths across multiple "slices" of the channel.  Their depth charts also offered four waypoints which charted the best course through the area.  The attached chart snap shows the Corp's recommended "route" on our plotter (in red) along with our actual track (blue, which mostly overlays the red route).  Note particularly how this route deviates from the normally-recommended channel center as shown by the dashed line.  Religiously (after all it was Sunday) following the suggested Corps of Engineers waypoints took us through the area at about 8:30 a.m. with least depth of about 9 1/2 feet, but at low water even that would have put us aground.  Thank you USA CoE.

In the afternoon we passed through the exclusive Myrtle Beach resort area, a stretch with first class marinas, resorts, condos and incredible homes along the waterway.  No recession was evident here (but we did see a number of "for sale" signs).

Along this stretch the ICW cuts the Waterway Hills golf course in half with an aerial tramway, almost like a ski hill chairlift, carrying golfers over the waterway from the east-bank holes to the west, and visa-versa.  We had never considered golf and skiing to be such similar sports.

Today was also "bridge day".  In addition to running under several 65' clearance fixed bridges and three high bridges under various stages of construction, we went through three swing bridges which opened on demand, one bascule railroad bridge which is generally open (it was open for our pass), and one pontoon bridge.  The pontoon bridge was interesting in that it's the last pontoon bridge remaining along the ICW.  The road surface is built on top of a hinged pontoon affair manipulated by cables.  When open, part of the bridge hinges so it's parallel to the shore (see photo).  When closed the bridge is pulled to connect with the pontoons coming out from the other side of the waterway.  It's hard to say how long this pontoon bridge will remain in operation, while new high bridges are being built across the watery nearby.

During the course of the day we also crossed the border from North to South Carolina.  The further south we go the more the waterway is changing.  We're starting to see more palm trees on developed lots, a slightly different mix of trees elsewhere, and a generally much more scenic waterway.

We motored down the windless waterway today, buddy boating with Jan Trojanowski and Francoise Tibout on Goosebumps.  We had first met them back in Morehead City where they took the slip next to us, and we've been running roughly parallel ever since.  Their Bill Tripp-designed Block Island 40 has to be one of the prettiest sailboats ever designed, as evidenced by the accompanying picture.  The BI-40 had a roughly 40-year production run, and Jan & Francoise happen to own the very last one ever built (1999).  Jan and Francoise are recently retired from the airline industry, and both seem to have adjusted well to traveling aboard Goosebumps at about 1/100'th of their prior cruising speed.

We picked out the Osprey Marina not only because it seemed about the right distance for our day's travel, but also from the pictures and description on their web site (http://www.ospreymarina.com).  Unlike many marinas that abut the waterway, Osprey is located down a narrow, quarter-mile cut which leads off the waterway to a little hurricane hole with great docking facilities, beautiful grounds, well-maintained laundry, clean rest room and shower facilities, and a short order grill on premises ... all for $1.00 a foot!  And beyond that, their welcome bag included a 1-pound package of Cracker Barrel cheese, a large packet of crackers to go with the cheese, cookies, and other goodies along with information about the area.  We couldn't believe the place.  With possible heavier weather forecast for the next day or two, we might find ourselves sticking here for a couple of days.  It would be a great place to do just that!  If passing this stretch of the waterway definitely check out the Osprey Marina ... it's worth the stop.

Our next stretch of waterway will take us through the remainder of South Carolina toward Georgia.  Watch this space as the journey continues.

Starting Down the Intracoastal Waterway

0/21/2008 - Norfolk, VA, to Coinjock, North Carolina - ICW Milepost 50 -- 44.2 Miles

Our first day on the ICW was almost as exciting as when Bill and Wayne had left Norfolk on their previous Caribbean 1500 excursions.  Like the start of the 1500, we were again one of numerous boats all charging off together ... destination south. 

We found ourselves in a pack of about 10 boats through much of the start of the morning and early afternoon.  The combination of the upper ICW's 6-knot speed limit and the pace of the several opening bridges (generally every half hour ... see photo of our 63' mast and antenna passing under the first 65' bridge), plus the one leveling lock, kept the slower boats and the faster boats running at roughly the same pace.  There were no doubt similar packs running ahead and behind in about half hour increments after the first "after rush hour" bridge opening at 8:30 a.m. in Norfolk.

The sailboat contingent finally got their due at the leveling lock.  As a tug and barge were already moored to port inside the lock, there wasn't enough space to accommodate some of the larger power boats on the starboard wall.  All the sailboats were called to the head of the pack, leaving space for only two or three powerboats for this locking.  It took most of those powerboats two hours or so to finally catch up with the sailboats.

Much of the ICW winds through narrow channels alongside wooded or grassy swampland shores.  Other portions follow narrow dredged channels across deceptively open large bays like the North Landing River or Coinjock Bay.  Northerly winds through these bays in the afternoon allowed us to open up the jib for a little sail boost as we tracked through the narrow channels in about 12' of water. 

At around 5:30 pm we arrived at Coinjock, a narrow ICW channel just inside the North Carolina border with marina tie-alongs on both sides.  The west bank's Midway Marina turned out to be a great stop for the evening.  Other people thought so too, as both Midway Marina and the Coinjock Marina on the opposite shore were filled to the brim with boats.  Kumbaya, a boat out of San Diego, CA. who was traveling in our informal "pack" and with whom we'd chatted on the radio during the day, docked right ahead of us.  On board were Jerry Allen and Barb Schmalhofer who have been out cruising since 2002.  Talking with them at dockside we learned that they were friends of our Twin Cities sailing friends Jerry Cucci and Diane England, Nightstar, Bob and Judy Snyder, Greenstone, and Scott and Donna Nichols, Saltine, all of whom have been cruising the Bahamas the past few years.  Small world.

We might mention that ICW mileposts for some reason represent statute miles, not nautical miles, thus the difference between our recorded distance and the milepost distance.  ICW notwithstanding, we'll be continuing to record our distances in nautical miles while also recording the ICW statute mileposts.

10/22/2008 - Coinjock to Alligator River Newport News Point - ICW milepost ~102.5 -- 45.6 Miles

Today we had only one bridge and no locks to slow us down, allowing us to truck on down the twisting ICW channel, cross part of Albemarle Sound, and then run down the wide Alligator River to our anchorage behind a cypress swamp just off the ICW (see the sunset at our anchorage at left).  Ten other boats anchored here with us, plus we could see a number of others anchored at another ICW wide spot just down the way.  With few spots to anchor in this stretch of the waterway, those few good anchorages along the way are bound to be popular stops.

For some reason our primary navigation laptop slowed down to a crawl this afternoon, with our Fugawi navigation software consistently taking 97-99% of processor cycles.  Although we were still getting good navigation and tracking information, response to keystrokes was so slow as to make the system almost unusable.  30 minutes on the phone with Fugawi support yielded a few ideas, but no immediate solutions, so we switched to our other computer for the remainder of the day's trip.  Redundancy has its advantages!  Suspecting a corrupted executable, we'll re-download and re-install the software once we reach Belhaven and a good internet connection. 

10/23/2008 - Alligator R. Newport News Point to Pungo River NW of Alligator-Pungo Canal Exit - ICW milepost 127.5 -- 23.5 Miles

We were now a bit ahead of schedule for Wayne's Friday rendezvous with ex-Unisys employee Bob Korn at Belhaven, North Carolina.  Bob now lives about 2 hours from Belhaven, and was planning to drive to his son's home near Annapolis on Friday.  It turned out to be near-perfect timing for Wayne to hitch a ride back toward his car at the Pier 7 marina near Annapolis.

Not needing to be in Belhaven until Friday, we made a short day of it and anchored just off the end of the Alligator-Pungo Canal in a Pungo River anchorage.  Friday morning we would then run the remaining 10 miles down to Belhaven and our reserved slip at one of the marinas there.

Except for one bend, the 20-mile Alligator-Pungo canal cuts a narrow slot straight as an arrow through the cypress swamps, with cypress stumps showing along both sides much of the way down.  One simply tries to stay in the middle of the channel away from the stumps and snags, allowing you to carry about 15-19 foot depths most of the way through (the upper portions of the ICW were about 5' shallower).

We anchored in about 12' surrounded by crab floats with low-lying marsh grass to the south and trees a bit inland from the marsh grass to the north.  We would feel the wind here, but there was no fetch for any waves to form ... perfect for a good, secure evening on the hook.

10/24/2008 - Pungo River Anchorage to Belhaven River Forest Marina - ICW Milepost 135.5 -- 10.8 Miles
1025/2008 Belhaven Weather Lay Day

Friday morning we had a short downwind trip to Belhaven and the River Forest Marina.  Belhaven is a small North Carolina town with numerous large, stately homes near the waterfront from wealthier days gone by.  The marina was a slight step up from Pier 7 in Annapolis but more than adequate for our needs, its most interesting attraction being the turn of the century (meaning 1890's) mansion that serves as the marina office, bed and breakfast, and restaurant/bar. 

We were told that this home was actually one of the old Sears mail order kit houses, complete with stately front porch, colonnades, carriage entrance, and all.  The interior had been significantly upgraded when the structure was built, including loads of beautiful interior woodwork, carvings, and multiple fireplaces.  Over the years the inn was said to have attracted the likes of James Cagney, Tallulah Bankhead, Burl Ives, Roy Clark, Walter Cronkite, and others ... even Twiggy. 

Sadly, Belhaven was the point where Wayne needed to leave us.  We tried but couldn't talk him into staying all the way to Florida.  It had been a full two weeks since he left home for Annapolis, and it would take him a few additional days to return to his car and drive back to Centerville.  He'd been the perfect extra hand, helping keep Jubilee on track as we followed the narrow cuts and canals.  We'll miss him.

As a front rolled through with associated gusty winds and rains we decided to stay an extra day in Belhaven, as did almost everyone else at the Marina Friday night.  Right on schedule the front passed us by around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. Saturday night, portending a good travel day on Sunday.  Sometimes NOAA gets it right, and this was one of those times.

With an extra day in Belhaven we got to do a little land exploring.  The town yielded several pleasant surprises.  To get around town the marina has two golf carts to lend out, but the downtown area was fairly close so we walked (the grocery is further, and would require a bike or use of a golf cart).  In addition to the restaurant at the marina, there's a cafe and restaurant/bookstore downtown.  The Fish Hooks cafe is great for lunch, and the Wine and Words Back Bay Cafe' (www.wineandwords.biz) is not to be missed for dinner ... a continuously changing menu, outstanding food, all prepared from scratch at the restaurant, great wines, friendly staff, and reasonable prices.  The one downside is that they're only open for dinner Friday and Saturday nights, with brunch on Sunday and lunch Wednesday through Saturday.  However, if their hours fit your schedule, do plan to stop on your way through.

On our trip to the grocery we knew for sure we were in the South.  Adjacent to the grocery store was this cotton field.  Given the performance of the stock market these past few weeks, we gave more than a passing thought to stopping and picking cotton for a little extra income, but decided to pass on that idea and instead wait for the market to recover.  We'll have to see if that was the right choice or not. 

Another great find is the little ice cream shop on Pamlico Street, just across from the drug store.  As we strolled around the town it was hard to believe that much of the area was under water from Hanna's tidal surge just 7 weeks ago.  At the marina the water had been above the docks, and salt water had filled their swimming pool which is well away from the shoreline.  Even without a storm raging, part of the main street had saltwater along the curbs when we were here.  Most of the town's houses have first floors set several feet above ground level ... a precaution for the sure to come occasional hurricane-generated tidal surges. 

But luckily there were no hurricanes brewing this week.  The weather had settled down by Saturday night, so on Sunday we'll continue south to re-connect with Bayfield Yacht Club sailing friends Dale Longtin and Cori Breidenbach.  Dale and Cori relocated to North Carolina three years ago, and are now liveaboards (Hi Flite) near Oriental.  After catching up with them we'll be heading on to Beaufort/Morehead City and our first "outside" jump since the New Jersey coast.  Watch this space as the journey continues.

Chesapeake Bay (From Annapolis)

10/8/2008 - Magothy River to South River Pier 7 Marina - 23.2 Miles

For Wednesday the 8th we had only a relatively short distance to travel.  Easing right and south after exiting the Magothy, we first ran under the impressive Chesapeake Channel Bridges and then continued south to the mouth of the South River, just 4 miles past the turn into Annapolis. 

Most of the trip was spent motorsailing almost directly upwind against a 10-knot breeze and opposing current, but on turning the corner up the South River at the Thomas Point Shoal Light we unfurled the genoa, cut the engine, and literally flew up the river for our last 7 miles. 

We found the Pier 7 Marina tucked away on the south side of the South River just below the Highway 2 bridge.  Pier 7 isn't by any stretch of the imagination the most luxurious marina we had stayed at this year (there was a reason the slip charges were far lower there than anywhere else we called), but the dockage was well protected and the location extremely convenient for our next six days in Annapolis.  Branwyn also docked at Pier 7, just a few slips down from us.  And on the immediate horizon, the weather forecasts were calling for several days of moderate temperatures and sun ... very promising signs for our stay in the Annapolis area.

10/9/2008 to 10/13/2008 - Lay Days in Annapolis Area for Boat Show and Provisioning

Thursday was boat chore and provisioning day ... defrosting the freezer, buying groceries, getting and installing boat parts ... the usual stuff that builds up between stops in ports with convenient access to stores and services.  Friday and Saturday were spent at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, by far the largest sailboat show in the nation.

This year we were selected by Cruising World Magazine, one of the two leading sailing publications in the US, to serve as judges for their annual BOTY (Boat of the Year) competition.  New boat models introduced since last year's boatshow are eligible for BOTY competition, and this year over 20 boats were entered for judging (see photo at left of one of the boats we reviewed).  Cruising world has a small team of professional judges who review and sail every boat, while we and three other sailing couples chosen from the over 20 who had applied were asked to add our perspectives as potential buyers and end users of the boats. 

Each couple was assigned a set of boats to review as "secret shoppers" ... the boat manufacturers didn't know we were looking at their boats from a judging perspective.  Our entire day on Friday plus some additional time on Saturday was spent going over the six boats we were assigned to review.  We had drawn some of the larger boats at the show, including four that were fifty feet or over, plus a 42 (the length of our boat) and a 46.5 footer.  Prices ranged from the mid-$300,000's to about $750,000 (boy have new boat prices gone up ... thankfully our Tayana Vancouver 42 Jubilee, now 18 years old, is still going strong).

On Saturday afternoon a Cruising World staffer individually interviewed each couple on their findings, followed by a photo shoot aboard a tall training ship (see photo at right) to capture some pictures for the upcoming Cruising World BOTY Award issue.  Wrapping it all up was a reception for the participating couples plus some of the professional judges, hosted by Cruising World staff .  All in all it was quite the experience ... an extremely intense 2-days, but also a lot of fun.

The Annapolis Boat Show is an annual event for a number of Lake Superior sailors.  Friday and Saturday we joined about 10 other Madeline Island sailors for lunch (left photo) and dinner.  It was great seeing so many of our Lake Superior friends again.  Also at the show we caught up with Karen Larson and Jerry Powlas, friends of ours from Maple Grove who publish another leading national sailing magazine ... Good Old Boat.  And we finally connected face to face with Bill's frat brother from college days, Barry Hammerberg and his wife Ruth, who were working the Cruising Solutions booth at the show.  We'd been corresponding with Barry and Ruth ever since re-connecting after we saw an article by Barry published in Good Old Boat magazine a couple of years ago.  On the way down from Maine Barry and Ruth had always been a few days ahead of us until we finally caught up at Annapolis (to see details of their cruising exploits click the link to their web site in the cruising friends links on the left side of our blog).  It was good to reconnect.  No doubt we'll be seeing more of each other as we each travel down the ICW and off to the Bahamas over the coming weeks and months.

Best of all in Annapolis, our friend Wayne Leblanc drove all the way out from Centerville, MN, to join us on Sunday for the next leg down the Chesapeake and into the ICW.  It will be great having a third experienced hand on board!

The Annapolis show is a convergence point for the scores of folks working their way south to Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean from the Great Lakes and the Canadian Maritimes.  While at the show we again caught up with Alfredo and Nicoletta (Jancris) who were about ready to lay up their boat and head back to their Italian home for several months.  We, Joe and Joan (Branwyn) and Wayne also met Nick and Sherri (Sweet Time) for a marvelous meal at a local Spanish restaurant.  Being at the boat show was like a homecoming celebration.  Great time!

  On Monday Judy did the Annapolis shops and toured the Naval Academy (she highly recommended it) while Bill & Wayne checked out the Catamarans at the final day of the boat show.  The three of us then met Joe and Joan from Branwyn on the deck above Pusser's to watch the show "takedown", where all the docks, boats and displays were removed in about two hours.  The attached "before" picture shows one segment of the display area intact, with its floating docks, floating exhibit tents, in the water boats, and all, and a contrasting "after" picture of the same spot less than an hour later with almost everything removed.

As we left Buddy's Crabs after dinner that night, the entire end of the boat basin was already filled with powerboats for the national powerboat show, set to start the following Thursday.  Within the span of 4 hours one entire show was dismantled and another partially in place ... an amazing transformation!

As we returned to the boat Monday night we were exhausted.  It was time to slow down and do a little cruising again.  But although our days where were a bit hectic, we wouldn't have traded these six days in Annapolis for anything.  It was one great time.

10/14/2008 - South River to Little Choptank River's Hudson Creek - 36.1 Miles

The great weather we'd been having these past few days was the result of slow moving highs passing over the Chesapeake, leaving us with comfortable temperatures, no rain, and almost no wind.  The highs looked to continue for the next few days, giving us comfortable weather as we moved on south, but also very light to non-existent winds.  Consequently we motored across the Bay and south to the Little Choptank River, trying to sail a bit as we turned the corner into the river, but quickly turning the motor back on as it became clear we wouldn't be able to do the last 12 miles in daylight under sail.

Hudson Creek was another Phil and Sharon recommendation, and true to their past recommendations it was an excellent stop.  Lying behind a little barrier spit about 8 miles up from the mouth of the Choptank, our anchorage almost made us feel like we were in the Bahamas.  Eight other boats were with us in the anchorage that evening, but there was plenty of anchoring space and the bay could have easily held several more.  It was good to be away from the hustle and bustle of town.  After grilling some steaks, most of the crew turned in early to catch up on sleep lost during all the hustle and bustle of the prior week.

10/15/2008 - Hudson Creek to Mill Creek in the Solomon's Island Area - 29.2 Miles

Wednesday brought even less wind than Tuesday.  We did raise the main to see if we could motorsail, but most of the day was spent in dead calm or near-calm conditions under the engine.

Rather than being a true "island, Solomon's Island is actually a small, sheltering, peninsula off the mouth of the Patuxent River that breaks off into several little bays and creeks once inside.  Over the past 30 years the area has become a yachting haven for this part of the Bay, with numerous marinas, restaurants, a few mooring balls, and several anchorage areas in the various fairways.  For Wednesday night we motored about 2 miles up Mill Creek to a peaceful anchorage amongst the creek-side homes that dotted the waterway.  Mill creek was smooth as glass, leaving a perfectly still platform for Wayne and Bill to temporarily remove the main starboard upper and lower stays & re-bed the starboard chainplate that they connect into.  That old sailing adage was once again reaffirmed ... cruising is all about repairing your boat in one beautiful spot after another.

10/16/2008 - Zahnister's Yachting Center, Solomon's Island Area

Our absentee presidential election ballots hadn't yet reached our home when Wayne left for the east coast, so we had Judy's brother Gene UPS Blue Label them to Zahnister's Yachting Center.  To pick them up we upped anchor and moved Jubilee to a mooring at Zahnister's.  This also gave us a chance to explore the "happening" areas of Solomon's Island a bit. While cruising we had been tracking election happenings via the internet, listening on satellite radio, or when available, watching on TV, including the conventions and all the debates. The only thing we lacked were the hours of negative ads we would have been bombarded with back home.  Cruising does have some hidden advantages!

Our "voting booth" was an outdoor table on Zahnister's patio, and Judy dropped our ballots in the ballot box (i.e. mail box) down the street.  After that we went off to explore the Solomon's on foot, with a stop for mid-afternoon appetizers and drinks on the deck at Solomon's Pier Restaurant.  The whole area had a Caribbean-like feel to it.  Solomon's is definitely another don't-miss spot when coming through this way (see photo of Drum Point Lighthhouse Museum Light at Left).

The prior day we had left a phone message with Chuck and Barrie Charmichael, sailing friends from way back days on Lake Pepin and Lake Superior.  Back in the 80's Chuck, Barrie, and their daughter Kelli moved to Michigan and then the Chesapeake Bay area, but we've continued to keep in touch over the years.  We called at just the right time, as they were just about to leave their dock in Hardyville, VA, for a couple weeks of upper Chesapeake cruising.  A rendezvous at the Solomon's worked out perfectly for everyone.  It was great seeing Chuck & Barrie again over dinner at the Naughty Gull, one of several Solomon's Island eateries.  We couldn't have asked for a better way to cap off our Solomon's Island visit.

10/17/2008 - Solomons Island Area to Mill Creek near Reedville - 47.7 Miles

Friday dawned cloudy with off and on rain.  Clearly the high and its associated pleasant weather over the past several days had moved on to the east.  With its departure also came some cooler temperatures.  Although we had hoped otherwise, we knew the prior 10-days of beautiful weather just wouldn't last all the way to Georgia. 

After showering ashore at Zahnister's, having breakfast on board, and taking advantage of the city's free pump-out facility to empty our holding tank, we got a late, 10:30 a.m., start for our over-45-mile trip to the Reedville, VA, area and yet another "Mill Creek" anchorage.  Initially we had plenty of wind for sailing in the mid-6's, but by about 1:00 p.m. the northerly winds had moderated.  Needing to average 6 knots or more to arrive and anchor while we still had some daylight, we decided to supplement our sails with a little engine boost as we worked our way south in the 2 to 3-foot following seas.  As the day wore on the rain set in for a damp ride up Mill Creek.  Pilothouses are certainly a godsend in weather like this.

Mill Creek's entry wound around numerous shoal areas and ultimately brought us to a totally protected mid-creek bay with excellent holding.  With stronger winds in the forecast for the evening we knew we would be well protected here.

10/18/2008 - Reedville/Mill Creek to Mobjack Bay's Severn River - 50.3 Miles (plus 10/19 lay day for wind)

Overnight someone turned on the wind machine!  Although our Mill Creek anchorage was totally calm, as we worked our way out the creek and Ingram Bay to the Chesapeake we found the wind and waves cooking outside, so decided to fly only a partially unfurled jib.  That one reduced sail proved to be more than enough horsepower to drive us downwind in the 20-25 knots of NNE breeze, regularly gusting up to 30 knots true.  It was a great ride as we almost surfed down the 6' seas, running in the mid-6's to low-7's all day long. 

With the northerly came brisk temperatures.  Steering outside was a cold but exhilarating job (see photos).  That said, we finally decided to steer the last hour from inside the pilothouse ... the spray really flying after we turned the corner onto a broad reach up Mobjack Bay (Wayne found the spray the hard way, receiving a good Chesapeake Bay dousing).

The Severn River provided us near-perfect protection with excellent holding after our boisterous day-long sail.  It proved a great spot to end a fantastic day on the water.  Notwithstanding our prior plans, once safely anchored in the Severn we decided to sit tight for a day when the winds were forecast to ease.  It was definitely a good spot to sit out Sunday's even stronger northeasterly at anchor. 

10/20/2008 - Mobjack Bay's Severn River to Norfolk VA Waterside Marina - 40.7 Miles

It was downright chilly last night.  And the days are getting shorter.  Sunrise today was at 7:18am.  Breakfast done and the sail and wheel cover off, we started raising anchor shortly after 8:00am.  If any potters are reading this, we'd highly recommend the Severn river bed as a source for good, thick, clay.  It took a full 45 minutes to raise our 125' of chain about 2 to 3 feet at a time while continuously blasting it with our deck wash to remove that tenacious muck before it got into our chain locker.

Winds on the Bay had eased considerably from the last two day's blow.  After completing the 7-mile exit from our Severn River anchorage to the mouth of Mobjack Bay, we found ourselves motorsailing at about 6 1/2 knots just a bit off the 8-10-knot NNW breeze, leaving only about 3 to 4 knots apparent for any sail boost.  It was quite the change from our Mobjack Bay entry two days prior.

After encountering our first naval warship of the day at the mouth of the York River near Mobjack Bay, we immediately found ourselves traveling in the thick of 10 other sailboats also motorsailing their way south.  No doubt 90% of them had the same destination in mind as we did ... Norfolk and the entrance to the Intracoastal Waterway.  It turns out that one of them was a cruising couple from Winnipeg & Thunder Bay whom we had met in August way back in Port Hawksbury on Cape Breton Island.  The annual fall cruiser migration was definitely in full swing.

The approach to Norfolk brought back good memories for Bill and Wayne.  Between the two of them they had departed from the Norfolk area on three separate Caribbean 1500 Rallies to sail offshore, non-stop, for the British Virgin Islands.  Unlike those trips, this one should be much more laid back.  This year we expect to be at anchor or on a dock each night as we cruise the waterway, rather than running across the open ocean 24 hours a day.

This was also our first trip down the Elizabeth River and past all the Navy yards there.  Norfolk is said to be the largest naval base in the world, a claim that's easy to believe after passing the area from the water.  And in addition to the numerous naval vessels berthed there or undergoing upgrades, Norfolk is also home for the battleship Wisconsin which forms the centerpiece of Norfolk's National Maritime Museum. 

Like many other cities, Norfolk has actively developed its waterfront over the past few years.  They're proud of the result, and they should be.  They've done a striking job.  The city-owned Waterside Marina where we were staying lies right in the heart of all the action.  With over 60 restaurants reported to be within walking distance of the marina, a major downtown shopping mall, an excellent grocery for reprovisioning, numerous condos, the Maritime museum, a lively arts scene (artist-decorated signiture mermaids were found throughout the downtown area and waterfront), ... and more. Norfolk has become a great stop prior to departing down the ICW.  In fact the city Marina lies roughly at "Mile 0" of the ICW's 1243 miles to Key West, making it technically the "only" place to start.

To celebrate our transit of the Chesapeake and the start of our ICW adventures, Wayne treated us to dinner at Espeto na Brasa ... a wonderful Brazilian restaurant just a few blocks from our Marina.  None of us had ever experienced a Brazilian churrascaria (Portuguese for "steakhouse") before.  A little like a tapas place, and a little like a steakhouse, we worked our way through nine sampler meat courses (ribs, top sirloin, sirloin, lamb, chicken, mini-filet mignons, sausage, and more) which were brought to our table and carved or served off of fancy scewers by a server.  And the salad bar before hand was also to die for, with fresh salmon, prosciutto-wrapped asparagas, various cold salads, and more.  Thanks, Wayne, for the wonderful dinner and great dining experience.

And so we end yet another segment of our travels and start a very different adventure as we track our way down the waterway.  As we always say ... stay tuned.