St Augustine!

As you can see by the sky in the photo of Flagler College, the clouds were heavy and dark. We did not see any rain but a sprinkle about 4:00. We took the tour train into the city today and plan to do it again tomorrow. The tickets are good for three days but we hope to leave maybe Friday. If not Friday we'll leave Saturday. The storm tracker says the storm won't hit near us like originally projected. We hope they are right.  

Waiting Out the Storms!

With all the storm activity suronding Florida, we decided to stay put today. Comanche Cove is a very protected marina. We felt there wasn't s better place to wait things out. When we got up this morning the weather radar map showed the cells already active out on the Atlantic Coast. With just a spit of land between the ICW and the ocean, it doesn't take long for them to land on us. We don't know how long we will be held up. We will play it by the day. 

Today Larry was able to get some of his work done that is easier to do sitting still and I did laundry. Tomorrow we are going to take the tour bus into St Augustine and be tourists. We will see what Thursday brings. 

St. Augustine!

Our boat tonight sitting at the dock in Comanche Cove Marina. 

This morning we left early again to get high tide for some shallow areas not far from Fernadina Beach. We made it through there without a problem. The rest of the day was just plain fun. First we came to Sisters Creek Bridge, which used to be a bascule bridge and now is a high rise. We figured no problem we could just go under it now that it was a high rise bridge. Then we heard an announcement over the VHF radio letting Mariners know a barge was under the bridge in the opening. They are in the process of removing the old bascule bridge.  Larry hailed the captain and ask if we would be able to pass, he said there was room. At this point the tide was going out and we were moving along at a good clip of 7 knots. We slowed down and did make it through the opening but didn't have a lot of room to spare. 

The next fun item of the day was crossing the St. John's River near Jacksonville. They have been doing a major dredging job and have completely changed the channel. They took away all the small spoil islands that used to be there. At this point we were very confused and a power boat came to our rescue over the VHF radio. He hailed us when we saw us do a 360 degree turn. He ask if we looking for the entrance to the ICW. We said yes please and he shared with us which marks to go around. We got back in the ICW and continued on our way. We had another high bridge to go under and at this point we had tide and current against us. This bridge was difficult to stay straight while going under it. The next bridge was even worse we were down to 1.2 knots of speed. We were not sure if we were going to get through this one but we did. 

Our next fun item was a storm that came in off the ocean. First we got rained on. That was ok but the thunder, lightning and high winds were not ok. We saw over 22 knots of wind and after our fun at anchor the one night we get a little nervous. 

Finally we made it to St Augustine. We are staying at Comanche Cove Marina for the night. We are very tired and the only thing we did after we got docked was to take the courtesy car to the grocery store. 

The winds are picking up again and another storm is blowing in. Hopefully they will all be done by morning, when we plan to leave. 

Florida!

We did stay an extra day at Jekyll Island and it was a good choice. We took a leisurely breakfast and then borrowed two of the Marina's complementary bicycles. We rode to the historic area and visited the Turtle Hospital. After spending some time there we rode to the beach. It was not a beach sort of day so we didn't venture to the water. There were a few brave soles at the water but most were at the hotel pool. A storm cell was moving in so we ducked into a pub to wait it out. The rain came sideways but was short lived. When it stopped we rode back to the marina. 

This morning we got up early so we would have high tide to transit another low area. We got through it without any problems but the two inlets especially the first one at the Cumberland entrance was rough and had new shoals and low spots, plus the wind and tide were opposing. The second one at St Mary's Inlet wasn't near as bad. We didn't have to go out into the ocean for it, we just had to cross the river. 

We got to Fernadina Harbor Marina at about 12:30. It was a short day but were were still on the water for five hours. it gave us time to take a walk into the historic part of Fernadina Beach. 

Some pictures from yesterday and today. 

Hotel in historic Jekyll Island. 

A turtle being cared for at the Turtle Hospital. 

Larry on the bike path on Jekyll Island. 

The logs on Jekyll Island have eyes!

Boardwalk to the beach on Jekyll Island. 

Light house on Cumberland Island

Navel Station across from Cumberland Island. In the past we have seen submarines here. 

This research vessel is moored just off the marina we are at tonight. A cool way to not have the elements affect your sleep. 

Anchored Out!

This was last nights sunset. We anchored in Walburg Creek last night. We tucked up in by St. Catherines Island. The island is a research center and refuge for endangered species. The ringtail lemur is one of the inhabitants. We sat in the cockpit most of the evening and I kept watching but never saw a single lemur. 

The dolphins, though gave us quite the show. 

This was this mornings sunrise. Our anchorage last night was great but it had a shoal at the opening to the creek. We came in at high tide or near it and wanted go exit the creek about the same. We were awake at 5 AM and bringing up the anchor at first light and out of the creek by sunup. 

We had to transit four inlets that came in from the ocean today. Surprisingly they weren't rough given the high winds today. We saw over 20 knots of wind, 5-10 miles per hour were predicted, so much for the weather report. This fishing boat with his nets down was even just inside an inlet. 

We weren't sure how far we would make it today, given the hour we got underway. We are very anxious to get through Georgia. The ICW hasn't been dredged in years and has shoaling everywhere. We have been lucky up until today. We bumped in the channel twice in the same spot. When Larry checked Active Captain ,  other cruisers said they bumped in the same spot. Between the constant diligence while on the helm and swatting horse flies, it will be good to get to Florida. No marsh means no horse flies. They bite so hard they take flesh with them. Even the common house fly like a to bite here. 

Well we made it to Jekyll Island. It's still in Georgia but we needed to stop after 11 hours on the water. I will admit it is a beautiful island. I love the moss covered trees. Today we covered the amount of miles we normally cover in two days. Tomorrow Larry needs to catch up on some stuff for work and we both need a break. It looks like we will possibly stay put for a day and be underway the next day. Besides we have been watching the storm developing in south Florida so we don't want to get there too quickly. 

Georgia!

Georgia with its many waterways and marshes has very high and low tides and some places low water to begin with. This has made it difficult to leave early like we usually do. Having had a full moon last Thursday night has made the tides even more extreme. The planning is very important to be able to not go aground. We have a five foot keel beneath our boat and it's a wing keel to boot. The wing makes it more difficult to get yourself off if you go aground. One advantage if you go hard aground with a wing at least you stay upright. We have seen in the past boats totally on their side when the tide is at dead low. Not a pretty sight. Georgia also has only 100 miles of coastline but with all the switchbacks, it's about 150 miles on the ICW. We in the past, when the weather permits have gone out in the ocean. Weather this time is not cooperating. The thunder storms build by early afternoon. 

Yesterday morning we had to ask for help for the first time to get off the dock. The wind and tide had us pinned tight to the dock. I guess there is a first for everything. 

We went as far as Isle of Hope and took a dock at the Marina. I did some laundry and Larry worked. We didn't have as nice of an evening to sit in the cockpit. There were thunderstorms building off the coast and the winds were high all day and it was very humid. 

We are underway as I write this and plan to anchor this evening. Hopefully the weather won't be like our other anchorage. 

I don't have many pictures to share with you but we did see a very beautiful classic boat yesterday. Even though it is a power boat I'll share the picture with you. 

Hilton Head Island!

We will be glad when we get to Florida, the tides in South Carolina and Georgia during a full moon are a pain. This morning we had to wait until after eight to leave Lady's Island Marina because the bridge opening was before 7:00 or after 9:00. It's closed during rush hour. If we left before 7:00 the tide was too low to get out the Chanel so we waited until after 8:00. We saw in one area 2 feet below our keel. Low tide would have been tough. 

Because we had to leave on a raising tide the current was against us. We only go top speed 5.4 knots, with the current at times we were going as slow as 3.8 knots. 

Larry needed to do some work so he went below deck and I was on the helm when we were near the end of Port Royal River where it meets Port Royal Sound and the ocean. I heard a boat approaching from behind and turned around to find a Coast Guard boat full of young Coasties. One made the motion to slow down and I'm thinking I'm almost standing still what do you want. I waved he waved, then he came along side. I ask if we wanted to board, he looked at the fact that I was bouncing around a bit in the waves and replied no. He said have a good day and off they went. I think they thought I was single handing the boat. When Larry came up he said he thought he felt a wake. 

We made it across the sound and into Skull Creek. After Larry did some calculations of tide and hours of the next bridge opening and places to anchor, weather conditions and anything else that needs to be considered, there was no way we could get to where we planned to go before dark so we took a dock at Skull Creek Marina and plan to start out the with a raising tide tomorrow morning. 

After Larry had his conference call we went for a walk in the community. It is a beautiful place and the dock master told us people come here and never leave. I could see why but we plan to leave early tomorrow morning. 

Here are some pictures of today. 

The dredging operations at the opening of the creek. We weren't sure if we could get around them but we did. 

The yard up by the club house. 

Fountain by the club house. 

The hydrangea bushes were beautiful. 

One of the things I love most about the South, the moss hanging from the trees. 

The site of Fort Mitchell. 

Larry doing what he loves best, reading signs about history.  

An amazing view of the ICW, Skull Creek from the site of Fort Mitchell. 

I wasn't able to find out what this little flower is but it is very pretty. They were growing along the path at the site of Fort  Mitchell. 

It was beautiful this evening, so much so that we even ate dinner in the cockpit. Something that it's been too hot to do. We were treated to another amazing sunset. One of many. 

Lady's Isle Marina!

Yesterday we waited for the tide to be on the rise. We had some cuts to go through that had low water. We didn't have a long distance to travel. We were only going to Beaufort, SC. We arrived at Lady's Island Marina at about noon. We were still tired from the fun of the storm at anchor the night before. It didn't take much convincing by our friends to get us to stay another day. Larry had some more work on updates to do on his new work computer and we were just plain tired. 

After we arrived we went to the brand new Publix grocery store for some provisions. That evening we went to Steve and Gloria's boat for cocktails. It was great fun to share stories about all our travels and catch up on happenings since we last saw each other. 

Tonight we went to the restaurant Dock Side for some dinner and then to see Steve, Gloria and Peter on another cruisers boat to bid them farewell until we meet on the waterway again. 

Some pictures from yesterday and today. 

Yesterday someone was actually sailing. Of course they were coming at us the wind was on our nose. 

It's always fun meeting up with a tug and barge on the inter coastal waterway. 

Our friends from Capital Yacht Club. 

Peter, Steve and Gloria. 

Sunset over the river this evening. 

Thunderstorms and High Winds!

We left Isle of Palms this morning about 7:15 this morning. All went well, we even transited the area with shallow water without a problem. All was well until we were about to anchor. The thunder storms were rolling in. We dropped the anchor and the winds were high 30 plus knots. The tide was on the flush and our boat was sideways. It just wouldn't go head to wind. The tide flush was holding us and the wind had us heeled over. It was not pretty and not fun. We are getting too old for this stuff. I can't wait to get to Charlotte Harbor so we can become fair weather sailors. 

Here are some pictures from today. 

Houses along the waterfront in Charleston. 

Thunderclouds just before we anchored. 

The second rain after we anchored. 

Another storm rolling through. 

Held up in Isle of Palms!

Larry had had computer issues with his work computer. We have been on hold waiting for his new one, it came today. He now has to do updates and backups. He worked on it after it arrived and will work on it tomorrow. Our plan is to head south again on Saturday. 

We have been here long enough that I did laundry again today. Yesterday I went shopping with Diane and her granddaughter, Grace. We were gone all afternoon and had a great time. 

After Larry finished working Phil took him on the grand tour of the Island. Even though we have had a great time with our friends, we know it's time to get moving again. We will look forward to Phil and Diane visiting us in Florida. 

Larry and I have gone to the beach a couple of times. The water is as warm as bath water but still refreshing. Here is a picture of the ocean. Beautiful!

Productive Day!

Today I got our laundry done and Larry caught up on work. The weather was beautiful, sunshine but very hot. This being a resort area, lots of boats were on the water. 

Diane went to pick up her Granddaughter this morning and won't be back til tomorrow afternoon. Larry and I took Phil out for dinner at the little restaurant/bar at the marina. Since it is just outside his community we took the golf cart. 

After dinner Phil took us on a tour by golf cart to see the area. It's a very beautiful community, with many very large homes. This area reminds me of the community Dad lives in. With the way it's layed out around a golf course and they use a lot of the same plants and shrubs. It makes me anxious to get down to Florida and see Dad. 

Some pictures from tonight. 

This was a view of the sky overlooking the marina. This was actually a reflection of the sunset that was behind me. Reminded me of the display of the Northern lights I saw years ago from the south shore of Lake Ontario.

This was amazing. All the white dots you see on the trees were Egrets. There were hundreds of them settling down for the night. This was a pond near the golf course. 

Visiting with Friends in Isle of Palms!

We held off leaving Georgetown yesterday morning until 8:00. We were trying to plan for a rising tide through McClellanville. There are several little inlets and lots of shoaling in this area. South Carolina hasn't dredged through here in years and it was much worse than our last trip through. We saw depth readings of one to one and a half feet under our five foot keel. We would have never made it through that area at low tide. Thankfully we didn't go aground or even bump. 

The entire day was a bit stressful. About an hour on the helm was all either of us could take, so we took shifts of an hour on and an hour off. 

Going out to the ocean at Georgetown wasn't a good choice either the direction of the winds and waves would have been on our nose. We decided to take our chances on the ICW. 

We were both exhausted by the time we reached our friends dock at Isle of Palms.

Phil met us at the dock and helped with our lines. When we got settled Phil took us by golf cart the short ride to his house. We had a very lovely evening catching up on what has happened in all our lives since we last saw each other in Marathon Fl. 

We pooled our resources and had a great dinner. When we got back to the boat it was after 11:00, the latest Larry and I have been up in along while. 

Here are some pictures from the day. 

At the entrance to the canal the ferry has been replaced with this floating swing bridge. We are not quite sure how it works but it looked neat. 

We had so much winds coming at us 10-15 knots, even the seagulls weren't taking flight. They were lined up on the long piers taking a rest. 

These are our friends Diane and Phil. We had a great evening together. 

Our plan is to stay here until Tuesday morning so Larry can do some work that requires sitting still and I will do laundry and some provisioning. I'm also enjoying relaxing in the morning and not getting up and taking off at sunrise. 

 

 

Georgetown, SC!

We left Myrtle Beach around 7AM this morning to travel 50 miles to Georgetown, SC. The picture above was taken on the Wacamaw River, very beautiful. We saw our first alligator on the river today. Sorry I didn't get a picture. He was big though. 

The trees were interesting along the river. Some like this one were growing in the water. 

Some were dead like this one!

We arrived in Georgetown about 3:15 this afternoon. It was pleasant out on the water with a nice breeze but very hot when we docked. It was great to plug into the electric and start the AC. After cooling down, I took a walk into town. Larry started the water maker and did some work. It was a warm walk and most stores closed at 5:00 but I found a few open and wandered in, mainly to get cool. 

Georgetown has a nice Boardwalk along their waterfront and this park was one of the many accesses to it. Very inviting!

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!

Yesterday we let go of the morring ball at the usual time about 6:45. Our first transit was through Snows Cut. The current can be swift through here but had maybe a 1/2 knot current coming at us. We were remembering our first time through this cut.  I think we were a little more relaxed this time. When we came out of the cut and into the Cape Fear River we were pleasantly surprised to find calm water and the tide with us. We were going 7.8 knots most of the way. We arrived at Southport around 9:30 in the morning. We took a dock at South Harbor Village Marina. We have stayed here many times in the past. 

Larry worked and made water and I was able to do laundry. I met a live aboard cruiser at the laundry and he let us use his car to go get groceries. We had planned to get a taxi but this was even better. 

Later we enjoyed a great dinner at Joseph's, a restaurant on the Marina property. It's been several years since we dined here, it brought back memories. 

We got up this morning and pulled off the dock at 7:15. It was very humid especially after spending the night in air conditioning, not that I'm complaining. 

We saw several fishing boats wrecked on shore, not sure if this was due to some storm that came through. Some were at inlets and some were at docks. This one was in the ICW at Little River Inlet. 

We arrived at Barefoot Marina around 2:00 this afternoon. After we were docked and plugged into the electric and ran the air to cool down we took a walk over to Barefoot Landing and visited the shops. It was a hot walk over so we took Uber to come back. 

Tomorrow Georgetown South Carolina. 

Unexpected Visitor!

We lifted our anchor about 6:45 this morning. That seems to be the magic hour. The sun is up the winds are calm and it is a little cooler than later in the day. Cooler is a matter of speaking seeing that at that hour it is in the 80's. That's better than later in the day. 

Our goal was to go into Masonboro Yacht Club and Marina. I had planned to do laundry, Larry was going to rinse off the boat and make water. After we went through the Wrightsville bascule bridge, Larry called for a slip. We have stayed there in the past, we figured no problem getting a slip. Boy did we figure wrong  they no longer take transients. Now we had to switch gears and make a new plan. 

Larry called Carolina Beach to check on the availability of a mooring ball. They had some available. Of course this means no air conditioning or laundry. That will have to wait till tomorrow in Southport. With this heat and no air conditioning we have a constant need to do laundry. Clothes don't get repeat wears. 

We are in the cockpit with the sunshades up and enjoying the breeze and waiting for the boat to cool down. Running the engine for 8 or better hours tends to heat up the cabin. Another reason not to run the water maker without air conditioning. 

Osprey will build a nest in strange places. How this one has stayed up on top of this channel marker is beyond me. 

You can also see the thunder clouds building. 

Some of the inlets with their white sand we're inviting. People were enjoying them all along our trip today. 

When we were settled on our mooring, I went below to take a shower. I was drying off and looked up in the corner of the shower and noticed this little guy. I looked on the web and I believe he is a green squirrel tree frog. I called Larry and he said he had one in the anchor well this morning. I ask him did he get it off the boat he didn't know where it went. Had to be the same one. We put him off the boat don't know if he'll find his way back aboard. Hopefully not in our bed, the shower was one thing, I draw the line with the bed. 

Moorhead City!

Yesterday the wind and waves and thunderheads were building and the tide was against us. Our speed was only 4.2 knots, very sad. We were crawling and decided to throw in the towel early. We arrived in Moorhead City at 10:30 and decided to stop at Morehead City Yacht Basin and take a slip for the night. Normally we would have gone much further but the weather is so unpredictable and we don't want to get caught in a thunderstorm. Too many of our fellow cruisers have been struck, we don't wish to be one of them. Our house had been struck on two separate occasions, now the boat is our house and we don't wish for a repeat performance. 

After we tied up at the dock and got checked in at the office we went for a walk into town. There wasn't a lot to see but the walk on the waterfront was nice and so was lunch out. 

Morehead City is big into Marlin tournaments and the statue of the Marlin, in the picture, has all the tournament winners listed in stone around it.

This morning we were off the dock by 6:45 and underway. We were headed toward the bridge and this barge was coming up on the other side. We, of course, gave him a wider berth and waited till he transited under the bridge first. 

The sun was already high up in the sky and very hazy. The sky was clear but it didn't take long for the thunderheads to start to build. This has been an every day occurance. 

We have seen Dolphins again today. Sorry this is the best picture I could get. 

We are anchored at Mile Hammock, an anchorage frequented by cruisers. It's just off the ICW and within Camp LeJeune  Marine Base. We have anchored here many times on our way North and South. 

This was the beautiful sunset we were treated to while sitting in our cockpit. 

We did see another pod of dolphins here in the anchorage but they were just a little to far away to get a good picture, maybe tomorrow.