Sunday 11-16-08
After having breakfast aboard, we decided to go shopping for a wall bracket to mount the TV. We have been stowing it in the aft cabin and digging it out and setting it up each time we wanted to watch – a real inconvenience plus always a chance of damage. We also decided it would be nice to have a small lamp located in the galley area to eliminate a dark corner. We found the perfect TV bracket at a Target and the lamp was waiting for us at Lowes in the same shopping center. We installed both items when we returned to the boat and after a quick lunch, we suited up for a long walk.
Someone at the marina had told us about Union Street in Brunswick, which has a lot of old large and stately houses, so we headed in that direction. Union Street is a boulevard in a quiet residential area of town. Large trees, mostly live oaks that have Spanish moss draping from them, line both sides and at a few spots there are some huge trees growing in the greenway that runs in the middle of the street. A few of the center trees are so large that their branches reach out and droop down toward the sidewalks on both sides of the street to form a tunnel of sorts. We walked along one side of the street for about a half mile, then reversed course and walked back on the other side. It is a lovely area of Brunswick but I can’t imagine dealing with the maintenance of the large and mostly wooden houses.
We returned to the boat at the end of our 2 hour walk and relaxed for a bit. Dinner will be based on our last remaining entre from the freezer, meatballs. The menu will be ziti & meatballs with a nice red sauce from a foil pouch and garlic bread made from some of the remaining hamburger rolls.
Tomorrow we will work through the list we made of prep items, for leaving the boat. Tuesday we catch a flight from Jacksonville to Philly for the trip home and we plan to return to Brunswick after Christmas, to resume our cruise to Marathon.

Lover's Oak

Flight awaiting our return

Saturday 11-15-08
WX was nice in the morning and RCB gave the boat a thorough washing on the exterior and rearranged some gear in preparation for leaving the boat until after the holidays – all while chatting at length with Charles and Werner who were both messing about on their boats. Polly spent the morning giving the interior a good going over and putting things in good order. About mid day the sky began to change and some showers moved into the area. When our friends the Greggs learned we were hanging around for a few days, they emailed a list of things to do and see, including a few eating spots worth checking out. The name of one of them caught our attention - Mudcat Charlie’s at Two Way Fish Camp was noted for their fried fish sandwiches. With the prospect of a rainy afternoon we hopped into the little rented Chevy and headed up the coast to Darien, GA to find a late lunch at Mudcat’s – with “fried fish sandwiches” being the key phrase to guide us. Mudcat’s was not listed in any of directories we checked out on the internet or our car GPS, so when we reached the little town of Darien we stopped at the post office and a lady there, directed us to go south on Rt. 17 across two bridges and then turn left at the third bridge. We headed down the road counting bridges and actually at number four we saw a sign for Two Way Fish Camp so we turned and there was Mudcat’s. What was to be a late lunch became an early dinner – everything on the menu sounded great, so we decided to add a few appetizers to the planned sandwiches and when the waitress returned with our order, she placed in front of us, fried onion rings, fried spicy crab balls, batter fried (French) fries and of course, two fried Grouper sandwiches. The only thing on the table that wasn’t deep fried was the beer. That was just cold and good.
We had driven to Darien by way of I-95 but when we finished our fried extravaganza, we headed south on Rt. 17, the old coastal highway, that took us back to Brunswick. The weather cleared in the evening and temperature got much cooler. We spent the balance of the evening watching a series of DVDs that my sister Lorraine loaned us – Backstairs at the Whitehouse (very good).

Friday 11-14-08
We picked up the Enterprise rental we had arranged for the weekend and did some shopping on the way back to the Marina. Engine oil and spare light bulbs for the boat and lunch for Polly and I at a seafood place near I-95 – great shrimp. We decided to drive to Jekyll Island. Jekyll was originally owned and developed by a group of super wealthy families – Rockefeller, Pulitzer, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Crane etc. in the early 1900s as a winter get away.
Ralph oceanside on Jekeyll Island

Since 1947, the island has been owned by the state of Georgia and is a wonderful place full of natural beauty and history. We were totally surprised by the extent of public recreation sites and beach access that is available on the island – too many things to mention here. Check out http://www.jekyllisland.com/ .
After driving, photographing and walking around Jekyll for the remainder of the afternoon we drove back to Brunswick and the boat. With our departure date approaching we have been working to use up all perishable food so we can turn off the refrigerator, so dinner was a salad using up the remainder of the fresh spinach and left over chicken we grilled the evening before.

Photos from

Jekeyll Island

Thursday 11-13-08
We walked to Daddy Cates coffee shop in Olde Town for a bagel and coffee and found it to be another example of the small town friendliness we have found here in Brunswick. Locals chatted with us as easily as if we were in the shop every day. There was a young mother in the shop enjoying a cup of coffee as her 4 month old TWINS sat in their carriers across the table. We learned she was taking a break from her 3 year old who must have been at daycare. Another fellow came into the shop and ordered a special coffee and told the owner his dad would pay for it later when he stopped in – the young man looked to be in his late thirties and told us “he was the son who moved back home”. Like I said, a real friendly place.
We returned to the boat to top the fuel tanks and move FLIGHT to a slip on dock #5 where she will wait for us to return after Christmas. We were getting settled in at the new marina neighborhood when slip neighbors Charles and Teresa Wilsdorf said hello from the deck of their trawler, EPILOGUE. They now live in the Brunswick area settling here after years of cruising the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America and Caribbean aboard their 59’ sail boat. Charles told me that they stopped here in Brunswick for a respite and Teresa happened to pick up a free real estate booklet and the rest is history.

Charles and Teresa on Epilogue

On the other side of us is a sailboat named WHISPER and owned by a single man named Werner – he pronounces it V-erner (with a German accent. His sailboat does not have a mast but it is obvious that it had one in the recent past. Verner told me “I ran into the Navy down there where they have the U-boats” at Kings Bay, GA. Verner is a bit frugal with chit-chat so I didn’t get a lot more detail than that. Everyone one we met is instantly friendly, with offers of local advice, or to look after our boat or provide transportation, if they have a car.

Captain cleaning the Flight

Wednesday 11-12-08
Following a restless night we both slept past 07:00 AM. We had a pleasant surprise waiting for us when we slid open the cabin door, there on the deck, the marina staff had delivered a local news paper and a bag containing 2 fresh, large muffins. There was no discussion as to what breakfast would be. Another surprise would be discovered a few minutes later when I went on the other side of the boat to fill the water tank. A bird had apparently flown over and sprayed the foredeck, hand rail and parts of the cabin side, with a healthy dose of POOP. It seemed fresh enough that I thought a hosing-off might do the clean up but had to resort to soap, sponge and even a scrub brush.
Slack tide was about 08:30 so we decided to take advantage of the still water to get underway, and left Golden Isle. Having talked after returning to the boat following our evening with the Greggs, we realized that we both had been building up stress and anxiety since returning to the boat because of the pace we had set. During the original part of the trip we had plenty of calendar time ahead of us (so we thought) and allowed us to move at a comfortable pace. The unexpected delay for repairs had turned the trip into sort of a marathon to get to Marathon, with no time to spare for relaxing or unplanned fun or even weather situations. Neither of us was enjoying that situation so we decided we needed a break. Several other boaters had told us that Brunswick Landing Marina in Brunswick, GA was a great stop and since it was only about 10 miles from St. Simon’s, we agreed we would give ourselves a total break and just hang out for a while – not worrying about weather, currents or distances. At the very first contact with Brunswick Landing we got a good and welcoming feeling – “do they have dock space for us”? “Sure do, just come on up the river and we’ll be watching for you” – no hesitation or numerous questions before getting a response to the request, as is the case with some marinas.

Approaching Brunswick Landing Marina

The two women who run the marina, Cindy and Sherry, are competent, helpful and friendly – and can even be funny. It is a very large marina situated on a quiet dead-end waterway and within walking distance of Brunswick’s Olde Town Historic District that offers shops and restaurants, to meet just about any need or want.

Sherry and Cindy

Sherry's dog "Killer" showing her femine side.

Our original plan was to take the boat to Marathon and return home for Thanksgiving then return to the boat after Christmas. With the set back caused by the repair, we hoped we could make it to Marathon in time to return at Thanksgiving, but realized that weather etc. might require a plan “B”. As we settled in at Brunswick Landing we thought it might make sense to just leave the boat in Brunswick and return to go on to Marathon after Christmas. We checked with the marina gals and they played around with their slip reservation schedule and finally told us they could accommodate. We then checked out flights from Jacksonville and within 2 hours we had a slip, airline reservations, transportation to the airport and a rental car lined up for us at Philly. We were enacting plan “B2”. Now we could just relax and kick back for a few days and enjoy South Georgia.

Partial view of the mile long marina at Brunswick

As it turned out, plan “B2” was proving to be a savings – the slip rent is about half of what it would have cost in the Keys or South Florida, and the plane tickets half of the cost for the rental car we had planned to use for the round trip home and back. The savings continue the next day when we decided to top the fuel tanks on FLIGHT. We told Sherry we wanted to fuel up before moving the boat to our semi-permanent slip and she said she had to change the pump meter because headquarters had phoned with the new price – about a dollar per gallon LESS than the day before. We took that as an omen that we were doing the right thing.
With all of the business taken care of, we decided to take a walk to get a sense of how large the marina was. We strolled past another couple who we had seen previously near the office, so we stopped and said hello and began to chat a bit about our boating backgrounds and respective winter destinations. The couple, Rich & Carol Wellman, live in RI and used to have an Island Packet sail boat, as did we. They sold their IP about 2 years ago and now have a sailing catamaran. It turns out that the buyers of their Island Packet are very good friends of ours (Dorothy and John Brownley) who keep the boat at the same marina we are at in Rock Hall, MD and indeed Polly and I have been on the boat. Polly and I well remember when the Brownleys bought the boat from “some great people in Rhode Island”. Once again- small world on the water. Of course, we had to call the Brownleys at their home in Columbus, OH to share the story.
We decided to end the day with dinner on the town and ended up at Fox’s Pizza Den on Newcastle Street in the Olde Town area. The recommendation came from our reliable marina gals and Fox’s turned out to be possibly the best pizza we have ever had. We will return for one of their pasta dishes for certain, before we leave this friendly town.

Tuesday 11-11-08
We relaxed at anchor after breakfast so that our arrival at St. Simons would be later in the morning to coincide with our friend’s arrival at the marina we were headed for. The tidal current was in our favor so we ran the engine at idle speed to slow our progress over the 10 miles we had to reach our destination.
As we reached the point where we would turn off of the ICW to enter the Frederica River we were hailed by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel and they advised us they would like to board us for a safety and regulation compliance inspection – would we prepare for them to board? Men with side arms and on a boat with a machine gun mounted on the foredeck – you bet they can board! Instructions were to maintain our course and reduce speed to a “slow bell” – nautical talk for as slow as you can go and maintain steerage. At that point Polly had to take the helm so I could meet the four Coast Guardsmen on deck and provide them the information they requested. The CG vessel approached from our port quarter and adjusted to our speed and with a bump put their fendered beam against FLIGHT and four of the services finest stepped aboard and asked permission to enter the main cabin. They introduced themselves and asked some basic questions about what our last port was and where we were headed. Was I the captain and owner and did we have any fire arms aboard? Yes and NO. We also discussed location of PFDs (life jackets), fire extinguishers, ship’s documentation, copy of navigation rules, and horn. All found to be as required. Was the vessel equipped with a sanitary toilet system with a holding tank and “Y” valve and was the valve locked in the position to prevent overboard discharge? Yes and absolutely. One of the men asked the questions as another filled out a form. The other two moved about checking and looking for the items as we discussed them. The questions and form were finally completed and I signed and was given a bright yellow copy and told that they referred to that as the “good as gold certificate” and if within 6 months we are approached by another CG vessel for a possible inspection, the printed number on that form should satisfy them and we would not be boarded again. However, they have the right to board any vessel if they have any suspicion that it is in violation of any regulation or law. The boarding ended with “thank you captain, have a nice voyage” - another bump from the CG vessel and the 4 Coast Guardsmen stepped off our deck. The whole event took place in about ½ hour and Polly did a great job of handling the boat and finding the entrance to the Frederica River as the CG vessel trailed behind.
Our friend Jeff had arranged for us to have a free slip at the condo marina where he keeps his boat and soon after the Coast Guard left us, we were off the marina and saw Jeff waving to us. He gave us specific directions to locate the slip he had arranged for us, along with some advice on how to deal with the fast running current that was flowing through the slips. The tide range here in Georgia is 8’ to 9’ and the tides change every 6 hours so in order for all of that volume of water to move in and out, it must flow very fast – some places up to 2 or 3 knots. We made two attempts to back the boat into the slip but each time the stern got near the floating finger pier, the wind would push the bow too far to the right. After two misses I decided to go to the alternate, a commercial marina right next to Jeff’s marina. The commercial marina has a very long floating dock that is parallel to the river and tidal flow, so it was much easier to approach and get safely tied up. The marina is called Golden Isle and is quite nice. Jeff came by after we got settled in and offered to take us on a quick tour of St. Simon’s Island which is very beautiful and has a lot of history connected with it. After the car tour, we returned to the boat to cleaned-up and changed for the evening.
Jeff came by for us again and we went to the Gregg’s lovely home where Kathleen was waiting with great hors d’oeuvres and wine. After we caught up on each other we went to a local favorite of the Gregg’s called Fish Bones and had a wonderful dinner and more great conversation. The Greggs are as interesting as they are friendly, they both had careers with a major airline and since moving to St. Simon’s, Jeff has taken a job to operate pilot boats that transports ship pilots to and from ocean going commercial ships that are coming into, or leaving, the port of Brunswick, GA. Polly and I will look forward to seeing them again on the north bound part of this sojourn.

Low tide and High tide at St. Simon's Island

Monday 11-10-08
We got underway at 07:00 AM in calm, clear conditions and Peter Colket helped us with our dock lines. He was up early to be ready for a golf game with a friend in the Savannah area. We have learned that experienced ICW cruisers like Peter and Nancy develop a very linear “circle” of friends. The Colkets actually have their car with them – between family members and friends who are located along the east coast, they have no trouble getting help to shuttle their vehicle for them.

Bill & Ralph fishing???

The WX and sea conditions were absolutely perfect all day long, so we chose a spot to anchor at the end of the day that was about 60 SM from Isle of Hope. Polly decided to go below and check our email (I am still awed by the technology we have for our everyday use even here in this water wilderness of Georgia!) and we were happily surprised to have an invitation to stop at St. Simons Island for a visit and dinner with a boating couple we met last June on the Bay. Kathleen and Jeff Gregg were in the Bay for a summer cruise when we ran into them in Portsmouth, VA and mutually tried to make another connection later in the summer but our schedules just never put us close enough. The Greggs both retired from airline careers and moved from Atlanta to St. Simons. We were thrilled with their invite and decided to push a bit further so we could be closer to St. Simons and make Tuesday a short run to allow more time with our friends. The day was great so we pushed on down the ICW crossing St. Catherine’s, Sapelo, Doboy, and Altamaha Sounds as well as Buttermilk, before anchoring in a notch of water called “Wally’s Leg” just off the ICW near MM665. That put us only 10 miles from St. Simon’s Island after a 76 mile day.

About an hour before we reached Wally’s Leg we encountered another power boat that came up on our stern and we hailed them on the radio to arrange for them to pass but they were content to follow along behind us. The boat was named ELLIE-MAR and the owners live in western PA and they were on their way to Key West for the winter, where their son is involved in real estate sales. Our radio conversation with ELLIE-MAR prompted another boat – a sail boat named FIRST LIGHT – to call us and the couple aboard are also headed to Marathon, our destination. We all agreed to keep a look out for one another in the keys.
Our night at anchor in Wally’s Leg was calm, there was only one other sail boat that came into the anchorage and they must have left before day light the next morning, because there was no sign of them when we turned to in the morning. We grilled burgers with cheese and sautéed mushrooms for our dinner and went to bed with the sun. Reflection at Wallys Leg

Almost full moon peeking over the mast

Wide open spaces-for miles !! Sunday 11-9-08
We were up at 06:15 to find daylight at 06:30 and we were away from the anchorage by 07:30. Generally the days included many different natural waterways connected a number of dredged cuts that were very shallow – especially the ones that we transited at low tide. There were some spots as we approached the Savannah River crossing where we had only 1 to 2 feet of water beneath the keel. The WX was cool, sunny and breezy to windy all day. Some of the more open water passages were choppy enough to cause some fine spray to reach our fore deck and windshield.
We had made a reservation to stop for the day at Isle of Hope Marina (near Savannah, GA) where we arrived at 1:00 PM. Isle of Hope was recommended to us by a couple we met back at Myrtle Beach, and we were very pleased that we took their suggestion. The docks have easy access and the staff is friendly and capable. The marina also has several courtesy cars for use by boaters – all you have to do is sign up for a 2 hour time slot and show them your driver’s license. We needed a few perishable grocery items and some boat soap so off we went to a Walmart and a West Marine store. Isle Of Hope Marina
Before we left on the shopping run, another boat arrived and tied up just behind FLIGHT. Aboard the trawler, SEA ANGEL,were MTOA members Nancy and Peter Colket, a couple we had met in September at the rendezvous in Cambridge, MD. They live in Oxford on the Chesapeake. We agreed on a get-together later, after we all had dinner, to play a special version of dominos that Nancy suggested. They came aboard FLIGHT and we began with the usual style of conversation that newly acquainted couples engage in, how we got into boating, kids, previous careers etc. and it just flowed on. Polly and Nancy have sewing and needle crafts in common and Peter and I talked about boats and cruising. The Colkets have many ICW trips under their keel and Peter very kindly shared a lot of good first hand information with me about tight spots to navigate and good anchorages along the Florida coast. Also – they will be our neighbors at Sombrero Marina in Marathon this winter. We never did get around to the game since Peter and I have the same bed time curfew – 9:00 PM. We will be looking forward to enjoying their company as we while away the winter in the sun.

Dolphins won't pose!! Many attempts to get them to.

Dredge in the ICW

Saturday 11-8-08
We were both up early and ready to be underway again. Enterprise would not be open until 9:00 AM so we used the time to get everything on the boat ready to set sail. We decided to find some breakfast ashore and discovered a Shoneys very near to the Enterprise location and after omelets we rolled up to the office right at 9:00. We thought there might be a delay in getting a ride back to the marina but as soon as the paper work cleared, Kevin, a part time worker reported for duty and he had us back to our boat quickly and we were out of the slip at 09:38 – to be precise.
The WX was cooler but sunny and pleasant. We were southbound (again) headed for Beaufort, SC (it is pronounced Be-you-fert here in SC – not Bo-fert as it is in NC) located about 60 SM south on the ICW. The WX remained lovely all day but did get a bit breezy in the open water areas. We always have the VHF radio tuned to the universal calling channel and heard some traffic from a boat we know at our marina in Rock Hall. Al & Arleen Mauger are also heading to FL for the first time aboard their sail boat. We gave them a call and learned they were about 15-20 miles north of us and traveling at a slower pace than we could now afford. They will be spending most of the winter near Stuart, FL. The Maugers are the other couple that was featured with us in the Mariner magazine article written by our mutual friend, Jean Korten Moser. Jean is a professional journalist and free lance writer for several Bay and boating publications. Maybe we will bump into the Maugers some time along the way. There were plenty of other boats headed south now, before our problem arose we were ahead of most of the snowbird migration. We called the Municipal Marina at Beaufort and learned that they were full at that point but put us on a wait list. We had already decided on a spot to anchor when our cell phone rang and the marina had an opening – great we thought. When we approached the fairway to the slip the current was running pretty strong and along with the wind, was pushing us toward the slip and at a critical point with the bow entering the slip, I put the boat into reverse to slow us down. The following current pushed the stern to the left and twisted the nearly sideways with about a third of the length already into the slip. I could see no way of recovering other than to get out of the fairway. With the help of the two dock guys who were waiting to take out lines and Polly on our deck, I managed to get turned around and we went out into the river and anchored. That experience was the closest to a real disaster I have ever had

on the water.

Low bridge!!

We stayed anchored in the river for the night along with several other boats. We opened a bottle of wine and we both had a glass before squaring away the boat and starting dinner. We kept it simple – chili and the rest of the bottle of Bogle white.

Friday 11-7-08
We are back.
After talking to the people at Ross Marine earlier this week, we were assured that FLIGHT would be back together, with all of the factory defects corrected, and floating by this morning. We left home yesterday morning and drove to the Charleston vicinity and got a hotel for the night. First thing this morning we headed to Johns Island where Ross is located, and found our boat waiting for us in a slip. We checked in and proceeded to load our things aboard. The only thing that remained to be done to her was a final adjustment of the engine mounts to precisely align the prop shaft coupling to the coupling on the transmission output flange. This is an important thing and can only be done while the boat is afloat in the water long enough for all stresses and flexing on the hull to be neutral and supported completely. The faces of the two machined flanges must be parallel to one another within .002” - .003”.
The problem: What Ross discovered was that the two bearings (keel cutlass and outboard strut) that support the prop shaft were not aligned properly with one another, and that caused excessive friction load on the shaft. The noise that we were beginning to hear was due to the excessive wear on the bearings and shaft surfaces caused by the misalignment. This required taking the boat out of the water and complete disassembly and removal of the prop, shaft and both bearings. After inspecting the shaft and installing new bearings, they had to add a fiberglass pad (1/4” thick) to the bottom of the hull in order to remount and properly position the outboard strut to be in alignment with the hull bearing. Then reassemble all of the related components.
While we waited for Murray to come aboard to do the adjustment, Polly and I gave the boat a good washing on the exterior and Polly also did some interior cleaning and organizing. Murray was still finishing up a job on another boat when lunch time arrived so we headed out to a Walmart for some groceries and supplies and then checked into returning the rental car early Saturday morning. After we returned, Murray was still involved with the other boat and we began to feel that maybe we would not be able to get away on Saturday after all. I talked to Carlos Baker, the service manager, to see if we needed to make hotel and car arrangements for the weekend since Ross does not work on Saturdays. Carlos assured me our boat would be completely finished by the end of the day – it was. At 3:30 we were out on the river for a sea trial with Carlos onboard listening, feeling, watching all areas of the boat involved with the repairs and after about 30 minutes of forward, reverse, neutral – fast, slow, stop, he pronounced that all was fine. It was - things operated smooth as silk and quiet in all modes. The people at Ross Marine “know their stuff”, it is a top notch operation. I asked the Ross staff what could possibly have caused the problem – “it was born with it”, was the response.

When we arrived at Ross Marine we saw something that put our problem in proper perspective. There was a large sail boat (50’-55’), center cockpit and ketch rigged (2 masts) and the masts were wooden. The main mast was broken and the upper third of the mast was hanging down toward the deck and all tangled up with stays, shrouds and miscellaneous rigging. The owner was transiting one of the rivers in the Charleston area and attempted to go under a bridge that he thought had enough clearance – it didn’t.