The return to Rock Hall
We returned to Portsmouth and the boat on Sunday morning 4/5. After getting things squared away and re-fueling, we returned the rental car to Enterprise with the help of Monk friends Alan and Patti Sutton. Because the WX forecast for the next few days was not good, we wanted to move north as soon and as far as possible so we left Ocean Marine at 12:30 Sunday afternoon. We made it to anchor in Jackson Creek by 7:00 PM after a few uncomfortable final hours underway, in following seas that kept building with the southerly wind. Monday we stayed anchored in Jackson Creek and relaxed in comfort as rain and wind moved through the area and severe weather, including some tornado watches, threatened the Norfolk and North Carolina area to our south.
Tuesday’s weather was not great and featured pretty windy and rough conditions on the Bay so we decided to endure a short (27 NM) but uncomfortable run up to Reedville, VA - just south of the Potomac River. We were anchored by 11:15 AM and relaxed for the remainder of the day as the wind continued to blow even in the relative shelter of the creek. Late in the afternoon we discovered we had dragged anchor somewhat, and had to move out into the center of the creek a bit farther and re-set our anchor. The anchor held us fine through the night and in the morning the weather forecast sounded somewhat reasonable (but not great) for our next leg up the Bay to Solomon’s Island, MD.
The first hour wasn’t too bad with moderate wind on our port quarter but as we reached the more exposed mouth of the Potomac we found the seas were well whipped up to 4’ – 6’ by the wind which was blowing against the out-flowing tidal current of the river. This provided a very rough and rolly ride across the river’s mouth that lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Once north of Point Lookout, the ride settled down somewhat for a while but as we got farther north and near the Patuxent River, the wind really increased out of the west. By the time we had to turn into the river, the entire area was a white froth of water blowing right at us. We continued the slog into the wind and waves and finally entered the harbor and called Zahniser’s, one of our all time favorite marinas, and dock master (Ms.) Terry, directed us to a great T-head spot where she was waiting to catch our lines and “welcome us back”.
Once tied up with the shore power cord connected, we turned on the heat to warm the cabin – in addition to the wind, the weather has been quite cool since we left Portsmouth on Sunday. The first thing we did was connect the hose and re-filled the water tank. Then I hosed off a coating of salt spray that had the boat pretty well covered from top to waterline, as Polly set things right in the interior. We had been underway in rough conditions and “living on the hook” for four days, so we both took advantage of the fine bath house facilities at Zahniser’s and luxuriated in long, hot showers followed by naps. We had decided to celebrate our arrival at Solomon’s by having dinner at Stoney’s Kingfishers – one of our favorite seafood restaurants on the Bay. At dinner we toasted the near-completion of our winter adventure, FLIGHT South, with a couple of Yuengling drafts and hoped the good forecast for the next day would hold.
Thursday morning we left the dock before 07:00 with the sun rising over the Eastern Shore and in conditions that seemed to be consistent with the forecast. Great weather - remained with us the entire day. It was pleasantly sunny and nearly flat calm for the entire 8 hour cruise up the Bay. Our enclosed bridge kept us warm and cozy, while we had coffee and breakfast there and later finished off the left over seafood we brought back from last night’s dinner, for our lunch. The auto helm did most of the steering while we took turns at watch standing and relaxed and read as the miles wound away behind us. This weather was a great and heavenly gift we were receiving as our welcome home to Rock Hall and Spring Cove. We were just finishing up our lunch as we approached the Bay Bridge and by 2:45 were tied up in slip E-1 where we will stay for the next few weeks as we haul the excess things off FLIGHT. We topped off our arrival with a big hug from marina owner and friend, Madelyn Reni. It was just as exciting a feeling to be back, as it was to have departed last October.
Trip Summary
v Departed October 3, 2008 and returned April 9, 2009
v 2300 total miles
v 309 engine hours
v 900 gallons diesel fuel
v 3 visits home
v 3 land excursions in Florida to visit with family and friends
v 120 days living aboard the boat
v Many, many interesting acquaintances and new friends
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Eagle welcoming us back to the BAY!Monday 3-23-09
We got another early start again, to beat the worst of the winds that are contained in the forecast for today in the area of Currituck Sound. Again, the strategy didn’t work as hoped – we encountered more wind earlier then predicted, about 30 minutes out of Coinjock as we got into Currituck Sound. The gusty wind created a steep 3’-4’ chop in the very shallow water of the sound. Currituck has only 3’ to 6’ of water in most of it, and even in the maintained channels there is only 8’ at many places. This type of water gets very lumpy in a hurry when any amount of wind is present. We endured the uncomfortable conditions until about 09:00 when we reached the more confined upper North Landing River which leads into the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. The windy conditions continued but in the more confined waterways the surface was pretty smooth.
The next thing we had to look forward to was the collection of lift and swing bridges as well as the lock at Great Bridge that we would have to negotiate before reaching Portsmouth. Most of the bridges only open on a certain schedule, such as on the hour or half-hour. There are also a few railroad bridges that are normally open but can close at any time if a train comes by. We were very lucky with the bridges and schedules and even the lock was waiting for us with its gates open as we approached. We arrived at Ocean Marine right at 1:00 PM and even though we planned to re-fuel with their competitive diesel, we went directly into one of slips that Matt, the dock master offered. The wind was even strong and gusty within their basin and made getting into the slip a bit challenging. Any way, we were finally at the threshold of our home waters – The Chesapeake Bay. Now the only thing we would have to negotiate with to get FLIGHT home is the weather.
We had decided that if the weather wasn’t really nice on the Bay and warmer than what we had been experiencing during the past week, we would leave the boat for a while and go home for a break, and allow spring time to catch up with us. We also want to be certain we can attend our granddaughter Kali’s first birthday party. On Wednesday we will pick up a rental from Enterprise and head home.
Our FLIGHT SOUTH has been a wonderful trip and adventure. Polly and I agree that we have learned some new things about ourselves and our goals and about the great boat we have. We have also tested our skills and abilities to be self sufficient and we have made some great new friends both on and off the water, and reinforced some existing friendships. It is certainly a trip neither of us would have wanted to miss, but for us, a second or third voyage south for the winter, couldn’t possibly be interesting enough or fun enough to do it again. We do say to any of our boating friends that might think about “going south for the winter”, just DO IT.
We got another early start again, to beat the worst of the winds that are contained in the forecast for today in the area of Currituck Sound. Again, the strategy didn’t work as hoped – we encountered more wind earlier then predicted, about 30 minutes out of Coinjock as we got into Currituck Sound. The gusty wind created a steep 3’-4’ chop in the very shallow water of the sound. Currituck has only 3’ to 6’ of water in most of it, and even in the maintained channels there is only 8’ at many places. This type of water gets very lumpy in a hurry when any amount of wind is present. We endured the uncomfortable conditions until about 09:00 when we reached the more confined upper North Landing River which leads into the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. The windy conditions continued but in the more confined waterways the surface was pretty smooth.
The next thing we had to look forward to was the collection of lift and swing bridges as well as the lock at Great Bridge that we would have to negotiate before reaching Portsmouth. Most of the bridges only open on a certain schedule, such as on the hour or half-hour. There are also a few railroad bridges that are normally open but can close at any time if a train comes by. We were very lucky with the bridges and schedules and even the lock was waiting for us with its gates open as we approached. We arrived at Ocean Marine right at 1:00 PM and even though we planned to re-fuel with their competitive diesel, we went directly into one of slips that Matt, the dock master offered. The wind was even strong and gusty within their basin and made getting into the slip a bit challenging. Any way, we were finally at the threshold of our home waters – The Chesapeake Bay. Now the only thing we would have to negotiate with to get FLIGHT home is the weather.
We had decided that if the weather wasn’t really nice on the Bay and warmer than what we had been experiencing during the past week, we would leave the boat for a while and go home for a break, and allow spring time to catch up with us. We also want to be certain we can attend our granddaughter Kali’s first birthday party. On Wednesday we will pick up a rental from Enterprise and head home.
Our FLIGHT SOUTH has been a wonderful trip and adventure. Polly and I agree that we have learned some new things about ourselves and our goals and about the great boat we have. We have also tested our skills and abilities to be self sufficient and we have made some great new friends both on and off the water, and reinforced some existing friendships. It is certainly a trip neither of us would have wanted to miss, but for us, a second or third voyage south for the winter, couldn’t possibly be interesting enough or fun enough to do it again. We do say to any of our boating friends that might think about “going south for the winter”, just DO IT.
Find some fun!
Love,
Ralph & Polly
Sunday 3-22-09Most things in life seem to average out. That holds true for boating conditions and the weather. This day’s weather and conditions paid us back in spades for what we endured yesterday. The early morning dawned with the perfect beauty of a religious experience – It was still, clear and cold with dollops of low fog on some of the distant creeks across the Pungo River from the marina. We left the dock at 07:00 along with s/v
LADY ITCHNOR. We traveled together to the entrance of the Alligator – Pungo Canal and continued through the 20 mile waterway as we chatted on the radio about Eagle sightings and other things related to the shore line as we passed. We had breakfast on the bridge and because the conditions were so easy and comfortable, decided to make it a long day and push on to Coinjock, NC about 80 miles from Dowry Creek. The 16 mile open water of Albemarle Sound must be crossed and it has the reputation of being very nasty with any amount of westerly or easterly winds, so today’s conditions would be perfect. The Albemarle was as smooth as a farm pond and we just took turns sitting at the helm as the miles clicked down. 
The, almost boring, time in transit today allowed us to discuss things like – what we should do about dinner – a) thaw something to be grilled, or b) re-heat some chili that Polly had made a while back. We went with c) – fried seafood at the nice little restaurant located at Coinjock Marina. We arrived at the marina about 4:00 PM and relaxed for a hour before using the showers and heading to the restaurant which was literally 25 feet from the side of our boat. The food was great and plentiful enough to provide tomorrow’s lunch, even though the service a bit slow, but then we didn’t have any place we had to be except the bunk on the boat, so we just enjoyed watching some tables near us. One in particular appeared to be a Sunday outing for a couple with 3 young and very well behaved kids along with grandma and grandpa. We were so impressed with the patience of the children that Polly stopped by the table to compliment the parents. She is nice that way, and it put a big smile on the adult’s faces as the children looked puzzled about what the strange lady said to dad and mom.Tomorrow we expect to arrive in Portsmouth, VA – almost home in our beloved Chesapeake Bay.
Barge / Tug passing us while we were tied up at Coinjock
Saturday 3-21-09
The WX forecast called for winds again today but not as strong as Friday and, they were supposed to diminish in the PM. I (RCB) interpreted that forecast to mean a manageable 2 hour transit of the Neuse River if we got an early enough start to avoid the peek winds at mid morning. By then we would be in more protected waters so accordingly, we departed at 06:50 with the running lights glowing. About 30 minutes out of
the harbor we were faced with 20 knot winds blowing right on our nose and 15 minutes after that we were bouncing on 5 to 6 ft. waves with a very short period. Spray was hitting the cabin windshield frequently and sometimes spray would even carry up to and over the bimini top that covered the bridge deck. We soon decided it was time to leave the bridge for the lower helm station in the cabin. That took a little planning, because we had not removed the cover across the front window. I made a trip to the fore deck and removed the cover while PMB gathered up the navigation things we had on the bridge and then together, we both carefully moved into the cabin. The move gave us both a few doses of spray and wet feet from the sea water that was running along the side deck. We were much more comfortable in the cabin and the auto pilot did most of the steering for the next hour and half while we hung onto the overhead hand rails and bounced up and down as
FLIGHT climbed up the steep front of waves before suddenly falling off the back side with a slam – but she kept on churning out the distance to the turn at Maw Point and into the Bay River. Here we found a much more comfortable ride because we had the wind and rolling seas on our starboard quarter. Those first couple of hours might just have been the most uncomfortable we have spent on the water since we have been boating.
The sea state and temperature became more and more comfortable as we continued on to the day’s destination, Dowry Creek Marina. This is a great stop where Mary the owner and a group of semi permanent live-aboard cruisers are available to help you in any way. Later, after hosing off the salt crust that covered
our boat, we joined the weekly Saturday evening “bring what you have” cocktail hour and pot luck supper in the cozy club house. We chatted with Brad & Joyce (from Oregon and live on their sailboat) who we met in the fall, and a new couple who are from Canada and spent the winter at Dowry Creek aboard their trawler, Linda and John and Roscoe, their great dog who adopted them when they were in Brunswick, GA. They furnished the beef stew that fed us all that evening. When things were winding down, a sailboat arrived at the marina and it was the same one that had come into Oriental on Friday and tied up in the slip right next to FLIGHT. The owners live and keep their boat, LADY ITCHNOR, in Kitty Hawk, NC and were out for a local cruise for the weekend. They left Oriental a few hours after we departed and also saw some of the same conditions we had. 
The WX forecast called for winds again today but not as strong as Friday and, they were supposed to diminish in the PM. I (RCB) interpreted that forecast to mean a manageable 2 hour transit of the Neuse River if we got an early enough start to avoid the peek winds at mid morning. By then we would be in more protected waters so accordingly, we departed at 06:50 with the running lights glowing. About 30 minutes out of
the harbor we were faced with 20 knot winds blowing right on our nose and 15 minutes after that we were bouncing on 5 to 6 ft. waves with a very short period. Spray was hitting the cabin windshield frequently and sometimes spray would even carry up to and over the bimini top that covered the bridge deck. We soon decided it was time to leave the bridge for the lower helm station in the cabin. That took a little planning, because we had not removed the cover across the front window. I made a trip to the fore deck and removed the cover while PMB gathered up the navigation things we had on the bridge and then together, we both carefully moved into the cabin. The move gave us both a few doses of spray and wet feet from the sea water that was running along the side deck. We were much more comfortable in the cabin and the auto pilot did most of the steering for the next hour and half while we hung onto the overhead hand rails and bounced up and down as
FLIGHT climbed up the steep front of waves before suddenly falling off the back side with a slam – but she kept on churning out the distance to the turn at Maw Point and into the Bay River. Here we found a much more comfortable ride because we had the wind and rolling seas on our starboard quarter. Those first couple of hours might just have been the most uncomfortable we have spent on the water since we have been boating.The sea state and temperature became more and more comfortable as we continued on to the day’s destination, Dowry Creek Marina. This is a great stop where Mary the owner and a group of semi permanent live-aboard cruisers are available to help you in any way. Later, after hosing off the salt crust that covered
our boat, we joined the weekly Saturday evening “bring what you have” cocktail hour and pot luck supper in the cozy club house. We chatted with Brad & Joyce (from Oregon and live on their sailboat) who we met in the fall, and a new couple who are from Canada and spent the winter at Dowry Creek aboard their trawler, Linda and John and Roscoe, their great dog who adopted them when they were in Brunswick, GA. They furnished the beef stew that fed us all that evening. When things were winding down, a sailboat arrived at the marina and it was the same one that had come into Oriental on Friday and tied up in the slip right next to FLIGHT. The owners live and keep their boat, LADY ITCHNOR, in Kitty Hawk, NC and were out for a local cruise for the weekend. They left Oriental a few hours after we departed and also saw some of the same conditions we had. 
Miniature Bottle Tree - crafted of copper.
Made by John.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Friday 3-20-09
We remained in Oriental because the WX forecast promised very windy and cool conditions. Also, we had a dinner invitation from friends and fellow Monk 36 owners, Madge and Larry Williams, that evening. We spent the day doing nothing in particular, too cold and breezy to think about washing the boat or even getting our bikes set up for riding. We mostly just relaxed and walked around the streets of the original fishing village and waterfront. We walked to a small grocery about a mile from the harbor and picked up some dairy items but resisted any or the other items since we are working to reduce the provisions we have aboard because we are getting closer and closer to the end of the voyage.
In addition to lounging around the boat and reading, we were entertained by some work that was going on aboard a large fishing trawler that was docked about 50 yards from us. Early in the morning the crew had positioned the boat so its stern (back end) was against the dock and the boat was perpendicular to the dock and almost closing off the fairway in the small harbor. They worked all day to replace the steel cables on the winches that are used to haul in the trawl nets. They had the new cable laid out straight right in a side street and it stretched about 4 blocks. Eventually the new cable was all wound onto the winches and the boat was re-positioned along the dock.
We remained in Oriental because the WX forecast promised very windy and cool conditions. Also, we had a dinner invitation from friends and fellow Monk 36 owners, Madge and Larry Williams, that evening. We spent the day doing nothing in particular, too cold and breezy to think about washing the boat or even getting our bikes set up for riding. We mostly just relaxed and walked around the streets of the original fishing village and waterfront. We walked to a small grocery about a mile from the harbor and picked up some dairy items but resisted any or the other items since we are working to reduce the provisions we have aboard because we are getting closer and closer to the end of the voyage.
In addition to lounging around the boat and reading, we were entertained by some work that was going on aboard a large fishing trawler that was docked about 50 yards from us. Early in the morning the crew had positioned the boat so its stern (back end) was against the dock and the boat was perpendicular to the dock and almost closing off the fairway in the small harbor. They worked all day to replace the steel cables on the winches that are used to haul in the trawl nets. They had the new cable laid out straight right in a side street and it stretched about 4 blocks. Eventually the new cable was all wound onto the winches and the boat was re-positioned along the dock.At 5:00PM Larry showed up and drove us to their home. Their house is a waterfront property situated on a creek just north of the village of Oriental. Their home is beautiful and their boat is docked right at the end of the back yard. Madge served a wonderful dinner and the four of us talked and laughed the evening away until Larry chauffeured us back to the boat. We certainly appreciated their hospitality especially since they were preparing for a month long trip to China. Larry is hoping to bring back some nice souvenirs from the land where all things seem to be made these days. Bon Voyage, Madge & Larry – we will be waiting to hear about this latest adventure when we see you again
Note man climbing out the boom.
What a job!
Thursday 3-19-09
After a still and comfortable night at anchor, we were underway by 07:15 in the semi-darkness of dawn. The only thing else that was moving as we got our anchor up, was a solitary sailboat headed north on the ICW. We weren’t the only early birds on the water after all. We followed behind the sailboat (about a mile or two) all of the way to Oriental, NC. The only thing notable about the 50 mile voyage that day was the weather – SPECTACULAR- bright blue sky with a light breeze for the entire voyage, with nearly other traffic on the waterway.
We did see a helicopter flying very low over Bogue Sound. The chopper was equipped with some strange looking gear – external booms that we guessed might hold electronic sensors for surveying the sea bottom. Or maybe they were counting the Dolphin – we did see a few of them. There also was a ship being unloaded in Beaufort harbor that had several small guard boats patrolling the ship’s perimeter.
We arrived in the little harbor of Oriental a bit after 1:00 PM and after we got the boat squared away and relaxed a bit, Polly phoned our friends Madge and Larry Williams, who later stopped by our boat to visit and invite us to dinner Friday evening (the invite also included pick-up and delivery). They were away on a trip to Australia and New Zealand when we stopped in Oriental last fall and now they will be leaving on Sunday for a trip to China – no wilting flowers are the Williams. They also own a Monk trawler and one of their problems is making time to cruise in it between travels. It is a real treat to know Madge and Larry.
After a still and comfortable night at anchor, we were underway by 07:15 in the semi-darkness of dawn. The only thing else that was moving as we got our anchor up, was a solitary sailboat headed north on the ICW. We weren’t the only early birds on the water after all. We followed behind the sailboat (about a mile or two) all of the way to Oriental, NC. The only thing notable about the 50 mile voyage that day was the weather – SPECTACULAR- bright blue sky with a light breeze for the entire voyage, with nearly other traffic on the waterway.
We did see a helicopter flying very low over Bogue Sound. The chopper was equipped with some strange looking gear – external booms that we guessed might hold electronic sensors for surveying the sea bottom. Or maybe they were counting the Dolphin – we did see a few of them. There also was a ship being unloaded in Beaufort harbor that had several small guard boats patrolling the ship’s perimeter.We arrived in the little harbor of Oriental a bit after 1:00 PM and after we got the boat squared away and relaxed a bit, Polly phoned our friends Madge and Larry Williams, who later stopped by our boat to visit and invite us to dinner Friday evening (the invite also included pick-up and delivery). They were away on a trip to Australia and New Zealand when we stopped in Oriental last fall and now they will be leaving on Sunday for a trip to China – no wilting flowers are the Williams. They also own a Monk trawler and one of their problems is making time to cruise in it between travels. It is a real treat to know Madge and Larry.
John O"Bryan, Madge and Larry Williams at the 2008 Monk Rendezvous.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Wednesday 3-18-09
We were both up early and it was still dark so we had our usual breakfast cereal and coffee and still had plenty of time to get underway by 07:30. Southport is located right where the ICW joins the Cape Fear River and the first 2 hours of today’s trip would require going up-stream on the river before turning off at a short land cut to Carolina Beach. From the bridge of our boat while still in the marina there appeared to be a glob of fog hanging over the river so I made a radio call to one of the many ferries that run between Southport and Bald Head Island, and requested a report on the visibility. A ferry captain came right back and said there was 4-5 miles on the river, so off we went. Indeed the conditions on the river were pretty good except the outgoing tide held our ground speed to about 6 knots all the way to Snows Cut. After we cleared the cut and turned north on the ICW the visibility began to lower and after about 30 minutes we had only about ¼ mile and that condition stayed with us for about 2 hours. It was pretty much IFR with the radar pointing out the major obstacles in our way about 3 minutes before we could actually see them – our GPS / chart plotter is worth 10 times what it cost in conditions like this.
The fog lifted and we could see it drift off the coast and just hang there, but we were enjoying a bright blue and sunny sky a half mile in shore from the beach. In the early afternoon we came upon some boating friends that we had met in the Bay last summer – Kay and Jim White aboard their Grand Banks trawler named BENCH REST. Jim is a retired judge and they live in Alabama which is pretty evident when you hear Jim call on the radio. They were headed south with another boat planning to go to the Bahamas before returning back north for the summer. Unfortunately, when we came upon them, they were hard aground about 100 feet outside of the channel. We stopped our boat (remaining in the channel) chatted with them across the water for 10 minutes or so before moving on. They were awaiting the arrival of Tow Boat U.S. to help them get afloat again.
We pushed on north of our originally planned stop, to Swansboro, NC and
anchored in the little harbor for the night. For about an hour and half before reaching Swansboro we traveled through the Marine Corps base, Camp LeJeune and we could hear the sound of artillery and were entertained by multiple passes of a flight of 3 Osprey aircraft passing over our boat numerous times on practice approaches.
We were anchored by 5:00 and had a simple dinner of grilled burgers with nice boiled red skin potatoes. After that, an hour of DVD entertainment and into the bunk.
We were both up early and it was still dark so we had our usual breakfast cereal and coffee and still had plenty of time to get underway by 07:30. Southport is located right where the ICW joins the Cape Fear River and the first 2 hours of today’s trip would require going up-stream on the river before turning off at a short land cut to Carolina Beach. From the bridge of our boat while still in the marina there appeared to be a glob of fog hanging over the river so I made a radio call to one of the many ferries that run between Southport and Bald Head Island, and requested a report on the visibility. A ferry captain came right back and said there was 4-5 miles on the river, so off we went. Indeed the conditions on the river were pretty good except the outgoing tide held our ground speed to about 6 knots all the way to Snows Cut. After we cleared the cut and turned north on the ICW the visibility began to lower and after about 30 minutes we had only about ¼ mile and that condition stayed with us for about 2 hours. It was pretty much IFR with the radar pointing out the major obstacles in our way about 3 minutes before we could actually see them – our GPS / chart plotter is worth 10 times what it cost in conditions like this.
The fog lifted and we could see it drift off the coast and just hang there, but we were enjoying a bright blue and sunny sky a half mile in shore from the beach. In the early afternoon we came upon some boating friends that we had met in the Bay last summer – Kay and Jim White aboard their Grand Banks trawler named BENCH REST. Jim is a retired judge and they live in Alabama which is pretty evident when you hear Jim call on the radio. They were headed south with another boat planning to go to the Bahamas before returning back north for the summer. Unfortunately, when we came upon them, they were hard aground about 100 feet outside of the channel. We stopped our boat (remaining in the channel) chatted with them across the water for 10 minutes or so before moving on. They were awaiting the arrival of Tow Boat U.S. to help them get afloat again.
We pushed on north of our originally planned stop, to Swansboro, NC and
anchored in the little harbor for the night. For about an hour and half before reaching Swansboro we traveled through the Marine Corps base, Camp LeJeune and we could hear the sound of artillery and were entertained by multiple passes of a flight of 3 Osprey aircraft passing over our boat numerous times on practice approaches.
We were anchored by 5:00 and had a simple dinner of grilled burgers with nice boiled red skin potatoes. After that, an hour of DVD entertainment and into the bunk.
Tuesday 3-17-09
It’s St. Patrick’s Day and also the third anniversary of our purchase settlement for FLIGHT. The weather is supposed to begin an improving trend today, so we are underway at 07:30 in cool and overcast conditions with a noticeable wind out of the NNE. Even with the wind blowing directly on the bow, the sea state allowed a comfortable ride but we were soon chilled to the point we closed up the bridge enclosure.
On the north end of Myrtle Beach (actually called North Myrtle Beach) there are several dock-side restaurants and near one of them there were two small casino ships tied up. As we passed, one of the gambling boats made a security broadcast indicating they were getting underway – “outbound for sea”. We began to watch astern and sure enough the “BIG M” was following us at about ¼ mile in the fairly narrow ICW so I gave her a call and arranged a spot for us to allow her to pass. We watched as the mini liner turned off the waterway and threaded its way to a nearby inlet leading to the ocean – have fun suckers. 
Later that morning we approached Shallotte Inlet, which is notorious for shoaling, there was a large dredging rig working on the north side but there were no buoys or markers to be seen anywhere around the dredge. Even some of the navigation buoys were lying in the shallows near the shore. When we finally got a response to our radio call we were advised to stay close to the dredge and leave him on our starboard side. That was good advice because as we went by, we could see the steel 12” pipe floating about 30 feet along the side of our boat and it continued about 300 yards.
The only other interesting thing for the day was our good luck with the floating pontoon bridge at Sunset Beach. The bridge only opens to recreational boat traffic once an hour – on the hour. We measured our distance to the bridge and did some time-distance-speed calculations (actually the GPS did it) and the results were that we would be at the bridge about 30 minutes before the hour so we slowed the boat down a bit to kill some time. We were listening to the bridge frequency on the VHF radio and just after we slowed down we heard a shrimper call the bridge and since all commercial vessels can get an opening at any time, the bridge was going to be opened at about half past the hour.
We called the bridge tender to be sure we could transit with the shrimper and then hit the throttle. We arrived at the bridge just as the opening process began and slipped through with the shrimp boat.
We arrived at Southport, NC, our planned stop for the day, at about 3:00 PM and took a 1 hour walk about the town. A landmark restaurant that we were told about called The Provisions Co., was not yet open for the season so PMB whipped us up a nice chicken & rice skillet dish. We hit the sack early in prep for another early start in the morning.
It’s St. Patrick’s Day and also the third anniversary of our purchase settlement for FLIGHT. The weather is supposed to begin an improving trend today, so we are underway at 07:30 in cool and overcast conditions with a noticeable wind out of the NNE. Even with the wind blowing directly on the bow, the sea state allowed a comfortable ride but we were soon chilled to the point we closed up the bridge enclosure.
On the north end of Myrtle Beach (actually called North Myrtle Beach) there are several dock-side restaurants and near one of them there were two small casino ships tied up. As we passed, one of the gambling boats made a security broadcast indicating they were getting underway – “outbound for sea”. We began to watch astern and sure enough the “BIG M” was following us at about ¼ mile in the fairly narrow ICW so I gave her a call and arranged a spot for us to allow her to pass. We watched as the mini liner turned off the waterway and threaded its way to a nearby inlet leading to the ocean – have fun suckers. 
Later that morning we approached Shallotte Inlet, which is notorious for shoaling, there was a large dredging rig working on the north side but there were no buoys or markers to be seen anywhere around the dredge. Even some of the navigation buoys were lying in the shallows near the shore. When we finally got a response to our radio call we were advised to stay close to the dredge and leave him on our starboard side. That was good advice because as we went by, we could see the steel 12” pipe floating about 30 feet along the side of our boat and it continued about 300 yards.
The only other interesting thing for the day was our good luck with the floating pontoon bridge at Sunset Beach. The bridge only opens to recreational boat traffic once an hour – on the hour. We measured our distance to the bridge and did some time-distance-speed calculations (actually the GPS did it) and the results were that we would be at the bridge about 30 minutes before the hour so we slowed the boat down a bit to kill some time. We were listening to the bridge frequency on the VHF radio and just after we slowed down we heard a shrimper call the bridge and since all commercial vessels can get an opening at any time, the bridge was going to be opened at about half past the hour.
We called the bridge tender to be sure we could transit with the shrimper and then hit the throttle. We arrived at the bridge just as the opening process began and slipped through with the shrimp boat.We arrived at Southport, NC, our planned stop for the day, at about 3:00 PM and took a 1 hour walk about the town. A landmark restaurant that we were told about called The Provisions Co., was not yet open for the season so PMB whipped us up a nice chicken & rice skillet dish. We hit the sack early in prep for another early start in the morning.
Bridge tender on Pontoon
Friday 3-13-09 thru Monday 3-16-09
The weather was crappy and forecast to stay that way for several days so we arranged to stay at Osprey Marina. Why not? Their rates are great, the facilities nice and the folks that run the place are as good as they come. Friday we fueled and cleaned up the boat, relaxed, read and then at 6:00PM Mike Scatori arrived to take us to his restaurant where we had reserved a table for dinner. Kevin, the chef, came right to our table and “said” he remembered us from our stop in October. Dinner was again excellent, and after we did a bit of shopping at the supermarket next to the restaurant, Mike returned us to the marina.
Saturday was true to the forecast with fog, drizzle and cool temps so we checked into a rental from Enterprise and by 2:00 we were on our way to check out the Myrtle Beach area from shore side. We drove to the town of Georgetown, SC and found a pleasant little town trying to stay alive by re-tooling as a cute tourist spot – we hope it works out for them. We found MB to be a linear small city that is a combination of tourist shops and golf courses with some very large camping resorts and high-rise condos. Apparently it has become a wintering spot for Canadians from Ontario and Quebec. The local Sunday news paper has a separate sect
ion devoted to news from Canada and what’s going on within the Canadian community.
Sunday was more of the same weather so we drove down to Murrells Inlet. Murrell’s Inlet is a small beach community south of Myrtle Beach and it has a bit of water front charm unlike Myrtle Beach. They have a dock / boardwalk called
The Marsh Walk which is about ½ mile long and extends out into the shallow water and marsh land. We saw a number of shore birds but the low overcast and fog didn’t let us see all of the beauty I’m sure it offers in nice weather. We stopped by Scatori’s for a pizza at lunch time and at a Wal-Mart for a few miscellaneous items before returning to the boat. 
After returning the car, Monday, it began to rain in earnest, so we decided to stay another night and leave with the better weather forecast for Tuesday. Most evenings during our shore side stay we entertained ourselves by watching the DVDs my sister, Lorraine, loaned us for the trip. We finished out all of the Brit comedy series and got back to the series called “Backstairs at the White House” which gave us a refresher course in presidential history. We are hoping the next good weather window will allow us to push another couple hundred miles up the ICW.
The weather was crappy and forecast to stay that way for several days so we arranged to stay at Osprey Marina. Why not? Their rates are great, the facilities nice and the folks that run the place are as good as they come. Friday we fueled and cleaned up the boat, relaxed, read and then at 6:00PM Mike Scatori arrived to take us to his restaurant where we had reserved a table for dinner. Kevin, the chef, came right to our table and “said” he remembered us from our stop in October. Dinner was again excellent, and after we did a bit of shopping at the supermarket next to the restaurant, Mike returned us to the marina.
Saturday was true to the forecast with fog, drizzle and cool temps so we checked into a rental from Enterprise and by 2:00 we were on our way to check out the Myrtle Beach area from shore side. We drove to the town of Georgetown, SC and found a pleasant little town trying to stay alive by re-tooling as a cute tourist spot – we hope it works out for them. We found MB to be a linear small city that is a combination of tourist shops and golf courses with some very large camping resorts and high-rise condos. Apparently it has become a wintering spot for Canadians from Ontario and Quebec. The local Sunday news paper has a separate sect
ion devoted to news from Canada and what’s going on within the Canadian community.Sunday was more of the same weather so we drove down to Murrells Inlet. Murrell’s Inlet is a small beach community south of Myrtle Beach and it has a bit of water front charm unlike Myrtle Beach. They have a dock / boardwalk called
The Marsh Walk which is about ½ mile long and extends out into the shallow water and marsh land. We saw a number of shore birds but the low overcast and fog didn’t let us see all of the beauty I’m sure it offers in nice weather. We stopped by Scatori’s for a pizza at lunch time and at a Wal-Mart for a few miscellaneous items before returning to the boat. 
After returning the car, Monday, it began to rain in earnest, so we decided to stay another night and leave with the better weather forecast for Tuesday. Most evenings during our shore side stay we entertained ourselves by watching the DVDs my sister, Lorraine, loaned us for the trip. We finished out all of the Brit comedy series and got back to the series called “Backstairs at the White House” which gave us a refresher course in presidential history. We are hoping the next good weather window will allow us to push another couple hundred miles up the ICW.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunrise at RedBird CreekMonday 3-9-09 thru Thursday 3-12-09
This morning we left Brunswick Landing to start the cruise northward. The WX forecast for this week looks like it should provide a good window for us to push on up for a pretty fair distance. Conditions were good and we had chosen a spot nearly 78 miles to the north called Red Bird Creek, to anchor for the night. We arrived there at 5:15 and still had plenty of daylight since the clocks were changed over to reflect day light saving. We also found plenty of no-see-ums at Red Bird. They are biting gnats that are almost invisible until you feel their pin-prick bite. We were told that if you rub your exposed skin with fabric softener sheets it will repel the n-see-ums – it doesn’t work. We had to close up the boat and use the generator to run the A/C until darkness fell.
During the day we heard some radio traffic that included a couple we had met at Brunswick and were from the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. Gordon and Sheila Nelson aboard their sail boat CELEBRATION had left Brunswick Landing on Sunday and were now only about 15 miles north of our position at Red Bird. We talked with them and will catch up on Tuesday.
By 07:30 Tuesday there was just enough light to get the anchor up and be on our way. There were a number of shallow cuts we would be passing thru but the tides would be favorable with good depths at the time of our passage. We were heading for Port Royal Landing, a marina near Beaufort, SC that came highly recommended by several boating friends
. About 10 miles south of Port Royal we caught up with CELEBRATION and they too were heading for the same marina. We arrived at 3:30 PM and within 15-20 minutes the Nelson’s arrived and we helped them with their lines. Later we all had a light dinner together at the marina’s casual restaurant and bar. Great Cheeseburgers!
The WX was holding true to the forecast so we left PRL on Wednesday morning early and set our sights on a marina just a bit north of Charleston harbor, about 81 miles north. We arrived a bit after 5 PM but the staff was still on hand to catch our lines and check us in. Isle of Palms is unremarkable and the marina is satisfactory with its biggest plus being that it is right on the ICW so there is not lost time getting underway again.
The WX for Thursday was still looking OK but there were forecasts for strong winds so we planned a very early departure. We got underway just after 07:00 AM Thursday and had to show our running lights because it was officially still dark. Our plan was to make it to Georgetown, SC if the high winds slowed our progress too much. The wind came on as forecast by 09:00, blowing about 20 kts. with gusts to 30 or so. It was mostly right on our bow so the ride wasn’t too bad and didn’t slow our speed a lot. By the time we reached Georgetown we estimated we could push on to a favorite stop at Osprey Marina, near Myrtle Beach. Crossing Winyah Bay at Georgetown was the worst conditions we faced all day because it is an open stretch of water where two rivers flow together to carry on to an ocean inlet. It took us most of an hour to clear the rough water and get into the Waccamaw River where we were more sheltered from the NNE wind. It turned out to be a long day but worth the effort to put the 84 miles behind us. It was a little past their quitting time but Miles and Rich were waiting on us to help with our lines. We will take a break here at Osprey for a few days, because it is a super, well sheltered marina with a great staff and facilities. It also has the best rates we have experienced on the entire cruise. We have moved almost 300 miles north since departing Brunswick on Monday.
This morning we left Brunswick Landing to start the cruise northward. The WX forecast for this week looks like it should provide a good window for us to push on up for a pretty fair distance. Conditions were good and we had chosen a spot nearly 78 miles to the north called Red Bird Creek, to anchor for the night. We arrived there at 5:15 and still had plenty of daylight since the clocks were changed over to reflect day light saving. We also found plenty of no-see-ums at Red Bird. They are biting gnats that are almost invisible until you feel their pin-prick bite. We were told that if you rub your exposed skin with fabric softener sheets it will repel the n-see-ums – it doesn’t work. We had to close up the boat and use the generator to run the A/C until darkness fell.
During the day we heard some radio traffic that included a couple we had met at Brunswick and were from the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. Gordon and Sheila Nelson aboard their sail boat CELEBRATION had left Brunswick Landing on Sunday and were now only about 15 miles north of our position at Red Bird. We talked with them and will catch up on Tuesday.
By 07:30 Tuesday there was just enough light to get the anchor up and be on our way. There were a number of shallow cuts we would be passing thru but the tides would be favorable with good depths at the time of our passage. We were heading for Port Royal Landing, a marina near Beaufort, SC that came highly recommended by several boating friends
. About 10 miles south of Port Royal we caught up with CELEBRATION and they too were heading for the same marina. We arrived at 3:30 PM and within 15-20 minutes the Nelson’s arrived and we helped them with their lines. Later we all had a light dinner together at the marina’s casual restaurant and bar. Great Cheeseburgers!The WX was holding true to the forecast so we left PRL on Wednesday morning early and set our sights on a marina just a bit north of Charleston harbor, about 81 miles north. We arrived a bit after 5 PM but the staff was still on hand to catch our lines and check us in. Isle of Palms is unremarkable and the marina is satisfactory with its biggest plus being that it is right on the ICW so there is not lost time getting underway again.
The WX for Thursday was still looking OK but there were forecasts for strong winds so we planned a very early departure. We got underway just after 07:00 AM Thursday and had to show our running lights because it was officially still dark. Our plan was to make it to Georgetown, SC if the high winds slowed our progress too much. The wind came on as forecast by 09:00, blowing about 20 kts. with gusts to 30 or so. It was mostly right on our bow so the ride wasn’t too bad and didn’t slow our speed a lot. By the time we reached Georgetown we estimated we could push on to a favorite stop at Osprey Marina, near Myrtle Beach. Crossing Winyah Bay at Georgetown was the worst conditions we faced all day because it is an open stretch of water where two rivers flow together to carry on to an ocean inlet. It took us most of an hour to clear the rough water and get into the Waccamaw River where we were more sheltered from the NNE wind. It turned out to be a long day but worth the effort to put the 84 miles behind us. It was a little past their quitting time but Miles and Rich were waiting on us to help with our lines. We will take a break here at Osprey for a few days, because it is a super, well sheltered marina with a great staff and facilities. It also has the best rates we have experienced on the entire cruise. We have moved almost 300 miles north since departing Brunswick on Monday.
Ship building and repair yard
Monday, March 16, 2009
Our Month at Brunswick Landing MarinaWe had a great month in Brunswick and did quite a variety of things and met a number of interesting people. As we had planned, we drove to Orlando and spent 4 nights with Matt, Kris and our 2 youngest grandchildren. We were actually the guests of Judy and Art Williamson, our daughter-in-law’s parents. They hold a number of time shares and had arranged for a pair of condos, side by side at a luxury resort near Disney. It was a lot of fun sharing the Williamson’s apartment while our shared younger
family was right next door. We grandparents enjoyed the tap-tap-tap at 06:30 each morning which meant the grandkids were ready to join us in their PJs while their parents took the time to get things in order for the day. The later evenings also gave us time to reflect on our children, “grand”children and how we did things in “our day”. It was a fun time and we really appreciate the hospitality the Williamson’s extended us. We arrived back at Brunswick on Sunday afternoon and son Matt called to report his family was all checked in at the train station for the over-night AutoTrain trip back to the DC area where there was a forecast for SNOW when they arrived. “Sorry, son” is all we could say.We had rented the car for 2 weeks so that we would have it for another visit to see friends in Florida a bit later. We decided to take a day trip to visit the
Okefenokee Swamp and National Wildlife Refuge. It is a vast area (hundreds of square miles) located about 50 miles SW of Brunswick, GA and actually straddles the border between GA and FL. There is a nice visitor’s center and we took a tour (by boat of course) into the swamp where we saw alligators and a variety of birds. The interior area also contains large floating islands of peat and several of the gators we saw were sunning themselves on these floating islands. This road trip gave us an opportunity to see a bit of the interior of Georgia – flat, long straight sections of road and pine trees.Thursday morning we found ourselves heading down I-95 toward FL again. This time we were headed for New Smyrna Beach, one of our favorite boat stops when we were cruising up the coast. Friends Dorothy and John Brownley (and Charlie) had rented a condo for the month of March and invited us for a visit. The Brownleys live in Columbus, OH and keep their IP-380 sailboat at Spring Cove Marina in Rock Hall, where we became friends. The timing of our trip coincided with “bike week” in Daytona and there were 500,000 people with motorcycles spread over the region for miles and miles. It added a lot of traffic but also created somewhat of a festive atmosphere since the motorcycles folks were mostly in a party mood. But if you want a quiet winter get away don’t go to the Daytona area during bike week.
The Brownleys were wonderful hosts and we enjoyed our visit very much. John prepared a gourmet chicken dish for dinner the evening we arrived, and we got all caught up on things going on in our respective lives. The WX was nice and we actually wore shorts on Friday for our walk with Charlie and our tour of the light house at Ponce Inlet. To get to the light house we chose to take the water taxi (another boat ride of course) and spent the afternoon touring the museum and walking the grounds around the light house. On the drive from the water taxi station at NSB we decided to stop at the Publix grocery store for the supplies Polly needed to make the Stromboli she was offering as our dinner. While waiting at the deli counter, Steve Morris walked up to us, he and Sue (the couple from Idaho we met and became good friends with during our stay in New Smyrna) had stopped at the Publix to pick up a few items. What a small world it is – we were very happy to see the Morris’ again.Saturday morning we said goodbye to the Brownleys and headed north on I-95 along with at least 100,000 motorcycles – some being ridden and many others being hauled on trailers with license plates from all over the U.S.A. and Canada.
During our month in Brunswick we kept busy between visits to FL with a variety of things. On various days we took our bikes to St. Simons and Jekyll Islands and also up to Darien and rode the local roads.
We used the time on nicer days to work on getting FLIGHT’s teak bright work back up to snuff – some areas were starting to show signs of cracking and fading. We also were able to have the vinyl lettering on the two trail boards replaced by the gal at a local sign shop. The original letters were curling at their edges, apparently from sun exposure. We took dingy rides around the marina and RCB did some kayaking as well. We went to Fox’s for pizza (several times) and a few mornings to Hungry Hannah’s for a diner style breakfast. Of course, up to Mud Cat Charlie’s for fried fish sandwiches.One evening we had our friends Kathleen and Jeff Gregg, who live on St. Simons, aboard for dinner. We had a lovely evening sipping wine and dining on grilled salmon. We used the large dock-side gas grill supplied by the marina and about 10 minutes before we were ready to start cooking I went to the dock and turned on the grill to pre-heat it. When it was time to cook the salmon, Jeff and I got things together (including a couple glasses of wine and a flash light) and headed up to the dock patio where the grill was warming. The BBQ grill was one of those big stainless steel mothers that you see for sale outside of Lowes and Home Depot stores - the model with four knobs plus a side burner, and I was surprised to see one of the knobs laying on the deck in front of the grill. I couldn’t figure out how the knob fell off until I tried to adjust the burner for cooking. Turning the knob had no effect on the flame because the hub of the knob was as soft jello – all the plastic knobs had melted! After returning to the boat for a pair of pliers we got the salmon in process and in a few minutes we were enjoying dinner. The next morning when I reported the grill damage to the marina, Sherry said it happens all the time and to just throw the melted knobs in the trash. The marina has about a dozen grills and apparently none of them are in great condition.
One of the great things about our stay in Brunswick was the people we met. Some were winter snow birds like us, but there were also a number of full time live-boards. On our dock alone there were four of our neighbors who have been cruising a long time. Bob & Gail still have property in California but have been cruising on their sail boat for the past 18 years. They have circumnavigated the globe, transiting the Panama Canal and have spent several years at a time in places like Australia and South Africa and ports on the coast of South America. They would fly home from time to time but for the most part have lived on their boat. They have been at Brunswick since July of 2008 and have now decided to put their boat on the market and move back home. It seems their daughter-in-law is expecting their first grandchild. Imagine that.
There is another fellow who lives on his boat full time on dock #4 and he is a supervisor at the county water department in Brunswick – we didn’t get to know Ray too well because the silly guy works all the time.
Lisa and Kirk have been cruising full time since they sold the marine canvas business they owned and operated for 8 years in Baltimore. They own no property ashore at this point and do not have a car. Lisa writes novels for Harlequin and is working on the third in a series she has committed to. Polly read the first one and reports that it is not of the smutty variety. Her husband Kirk serves as a sounding board and pre-editor by letting her know when she writes something that “no guy would ever say anything like that”.
Robert was by far the most entertaining fellow on our dock. A Single (divorced I am sure) 76 year old bachelor who actually left Tolchester Marina four years ago in his 32’ forty year old sail boat to “go south”. When he got to Brunswick it seemed nice enough and he has been there ever since. This is confirmed by the noticeable growth on his bottom, waving just below the surface. Whoever eventually does a bottom cleaning on the boat is going to need a power mower. When we first met Robert he was working on his engine so he could have the boat ready for the “cocktail cruise” season when he hopes to be able to entertain some of the younger (50-55 year old) lady friends he has by taking them down under the big bridge for an evening on his boat. We were recently told that he goes to the covered dish suppers at the Baptist church so he can meet new eligible women. It seems he doesn’t always get his calls returned – another dock neighbor suspects it has something to do with the kind of jokes he is prone to telling in mixed company. Robert is a carefree and friendly man who seems to enjoy his life and is able to take things in stride a day at a time.
One of the first nights we were on dock #4 at Brunswick Landing, all of the above folks and a few more, had planned a dock BBQ and included Polly and I. Bob and Gail had just purchased a smoker cooker and there were several whole chickens and two 6-7 pound pork roasts to feast on. Bob had not used a smoker before and thought we should be eating by 7-7:30 that evening. So we all sat around on the dock patio with snacks and drinks as the slow-cooking smoker did its thing. 7:00 o’clock came and went and the meat was not nearly done. With darkness came a cool breeze and after a number of people returned from their boats with more and more jackets and sweaters layered on, talk began about abandoning the party and going to our respective boats to keep warm. It became clear that we had the only boat with good heat so we moved the extended cocktail hour aboard FLIGHT and switched on the central heating units. In no time at all 9 of us were shedding layers and the rum was flowing. Bob would check on the meat fest from time to time and finally at 10:30 he was carving pork and chicken. Four people returned to their own boat to eat, but five of us dined together aboard our boat. It was a lot of fun and served to expose Polly and I to our new neighbors quickly.
Wave patterns on the Jekyll Island Beach.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Flight "settled-in" at BrusnwickMonday 2-9-09
We got underway at 07:40 which was about a half hour before high tide. It was important to have as much water depth as possible because this section of Jekyll Creek has some notoriously shallow spots and the tidal range here is about 8.5 feet. We hit it just right with plenty of water beneath our keel and a slack current. We only had about 10-12 miles to travel since we were headed for Brunswick Landing and when we cleared the creek and entered St. Simon’s Sound, we turned to port and up the Brunswick River. Just upstream of the large highway suspension bridge we found the buoy that marks the entrance to the East River where Brunswick Landing Marina is located. We hailed the marina on channel 16 and almost immediately we heard Sherrie’s voice respond with “welcome home FLIGHT – switch to channel 68”. This is where we left the boat when we returned to PA for the holidays and Brunswick does have a “home” feel, for Polly and me. We will be here for a month while we wait for the weather up north to warm a bit before we start our homeward voyage back to the Chesapeake. We will take a break and drive to Orlando later in February to have a visit with our Son and his family, when they are vacationing there.
Saturday & Sunday 2-7 & 8-09 
We departed at 08:45 after a cold night, but no frost or ice. Conditions were very calm and nice and the bright sunshine quickly warmed us as we proceeded up Cumberland sound through the U.S. Navy’s Kings Bay Submarine Base. The only thing stirring around the massive facility was a couple of guard boats standing station near where the ICW gets real close to the degaussing structure. There happened to be a submarine within the very large open steel structure as we passed. We motored on up the waterway that separates Cumberland Island from the mainland and at this point we were getting a boost from the outgoing tide as the water rushed toward St. Andrew Sound to the north. We would later have to cross St. Andrew to enter Jekyll Creek.
We were tied up at the marina’s long face dock by 12:30 and a little later we set up the computer with our web cam so we could have a visit with our Son and Grandson. Cameron was more interested in seeing things that we have around the boat, than visiting. We had to hold the camera and pan it around the cabin so he could see the clock and other details that he remembers about the boat.
Later, just before dark, Tom, our slip neighbor from St. Augustine, came in and we helped him tie up his Mainship trawler right behind us. His wife is away for a while and he decided to take a solo cruise up the ICW to some indefinite destination. Later in the evening while Polly and I were having a bite of dinner at Sea Jay’s, the marinas little restaurant, Tom came in and joined us at our table.Sunday morning the beautiful weather and warming trend continued so we unloaded our bikes and set off to explore Jekyll Island taking advantage of the network of great bicycle paths that total about 25 miles. We didn’t cover all of the trails but did get to the north end of the island and back by way of the little shopping center, before returning to the boat. After a short rest, we gave the boat a quick wash job to remove some of the salt spray we had picked up since St. Augustine. We focused a lot of attention on the vinyl windows of the bridge enclosure. They had picked up a filmy coating from the salt air and condensation over the past week or so. Evening brought a beautiful sunset and we ended the day with a couple of burgers done on the grill. We have another fairly early departure planned for morning because we want to have a much tidal dept as possible when we transit the remainder of Jekyll Creek
.
We departed at 08:45 after a cold night, but no frost or ice. Conditions were very calm and nice and the bright sunshine quickly warmed us as we proceeded up Cumberland sound through the U.S. Navy’s Kings Bay Submarine Base. The only thing stirring around the massive facility was a couple of guard boats standing station near where the ICW gets real close to the degaussing structure. There happened to be a submarine within the very large open steel structure as we passed. We motored on up the waterway that separates Cumberland Island from the mainland and at this point we were getting a boost from the outgoing tide as the water rushed toward St. Andrew Sound to the north. We would later have to cross St. Andrew to enter Jekyll Creek.
We were tied up at the marina’s long face dock by 12:30 and a little later we set up the computer with our web cam so we could have a visit with our Son and Grandson. Cameron was more interested in seeing things that we have around the boat, than visiting. We had to hold the camera and pan it around the cabin so he could see the clock and other details that he remembers about the boat.
Later, just before dark, Tom, our slip neighbor from St. Augustine, came in and we helped him tie up his Mainship trawler right behind us. His wife is away for a while and he decided to take a solo cruise up the ICW to some indefinite destination. Later in the evening while Polly and I were having a bite of dinner at Sea Jay’s, the marinas little restaurant, Tom came in and joined us at our table.Sunday morning the beautiful weather and warming trend continued so we unloaded our bikes and set off to explore Jekyll Island taking advantage of the network of great bicycle paths that total about 25 miles. We didn’t cover all of the trails but did get to the north end of the island and back by way of the little shopping center, before returning to the boat. After a short rest, we gave the boat a quick wash job to remove some of the salt spray we had picked up since St. Augustine. We focused a lot of attention on the vinyl windows of the bridge enclosure. They had picked up a filmy coating from the salt air and condensation over the past week or so. Evening brought a beautiful sunset and we ended the day with a couple of burgers done on the grill. We have another fairly early departure planned for morning because we want to have a much tidal dept as possible when we transit the remainder of Jekyll Creek
.Sunset to port
Full Moon
to
starboard
starboard
BRRR!!
Friday 2-6-09
We stayed at Fernandina for 2 nights so that we would have a full day to explore. It is certainly a larger town than we expected and there is a nice restored section adjacent to the waterfront. We rode our bicycles to the ocean side of town and then on to Fort Clinch State Park. There is a 3 mile long road within the park that leads to the historical fort on the north point of the island where it overlooks the inlet to Cumberland Sound. We saw on the little park map that there was a service road that seemed to lead more directly back to the edge of town (Fernandina) and would save us the 3 mile pedal back to the main road, so we decided to give it a look. As we approached the end of the service road we saw that it was gated but as we were discussing our options, a park service vehicle drove up to the gate and it opened.
When we saw what was happening we sped off toward the gate and Polly kind of waved to the driver and he left the gate open long enough for us to pass. What a nice break – we pedaled on through the north end of town and back to the marina.
We decided that shrimp would be nice for dinner so we bought a pound of fresh, wild shrimp at the Atlantic Seafood store located right next to the marina and grilled them that evening. Tomorrow morning we sail for Jekyll Island.
We stayed at Fernandina for 2 nights so that we would have a full day to explore. It is certainly a larger town than we expected and there is a nice restored section adjacent to the waterfront. We rode our bicycles to the ocean side of town and then on to Fort Clinch State Park. There is a 3 mile long road within the park that leads to the historical fort on the north point of the island where it overlooks the inlet to Cumberland Sound. We saw on the little park map that there was a service road that seemed to lead more directly back to the edge of town (Fernandina) and would save us the 3 mile pedal back to the main road, so we decided to give it a look. As we approached the end of the service road we saw that it was gated but as we were discussing our options, a park service vehicle drove up to the gate and it opened.
When we saw what was happening we sped off toward the gate and Polly kind of waved to the driver and he left the gate open long enough for us to pass. What a nice break – we pedaled on through the north end of town and back to the marina.We decided that shrimp would be nice for dinner so we bought a pound of fresh, wild shrimp at the Atlantic Seafood store located right next to the marina and grilled them that evening. Tomorrow morning we sail for Jekyll Island.
Bridge
tender says, "Come on thru." ???
tender says, "Come on thru." ???Thursday 2-5-09
It was cold – the overnight low temperatures were in the mid 20s and there was ice on top of the fenders when Polly was taking them in. We began taking in the power cords as soon as we had enough light and by 07:00 we were on our way out of the San Sebastian River bound for Fernandina Beach, the northern most town in Florida. There was still some left over wind from the frontal passage and when we turned north on the ICW we felt the full effect of the 15 kts. with higher gusts. We had completely zipped up the bridge enclosure and were wearing wool socks, caps, jackets and gloves but even that didn’t prevent the cold air from seeping in to chill us. We kept reminding ourselves that NOAA was promising less wind and warmer temps by afternoon but we were still COLD. We moved down to the lower helm station in the pilot house and cranked up the generator so we could make use of the central heating system. Soon we were in shirt sleeves and sipping hot tea as the miles slipped by. We had two unexpected delays along the way – the first occurred as we approached the Jacksonville Beach area. The McCormick Bridge was undergoing some construction and the ICW was closed from early morning until 4:00 PM except for a one hour period between 12:00 and 1:00. We would have been at the bridge about 11:00 AM but when we heard the news on a Coast Guard broadcast we slowed down to adjust our arrival at the bridge for noon. The second unexpected delay happened as we approached a railroad swing bridge just south of Fernandina. All of the cruis
ing guides we have say that the bridge is unattended but always open except for the occasional train that must cross to handle freight to / from the paper mills in Fernandina. I (RCB) was at the helm just enjoying the shoreline sites as we were approaching the open bridge and about 100 yards from the bridge Polly says “is that bridge moving?” It sure was, so I stopped the boat and about 5 minutes later we heard a train whistle. Eventually, a slow moving engine with 4 or 5 cars came into view, and proceed across the bridge. About 5 minutes later the old bridge slowly swung open and off we went to dock about 4:00 PM at the Fernandina Beach town marina. We whipped up a batch of super nachos for dinner and opened the nice bottle of Pinot Noir that friends Jean and Carl Moser gave us as we left on this cruise.
It was cold – the overnight low temperatures were in the mid 20s and there was ice on top of the fenders when Polly was taking them in. We began taking in the power cords as soon as we had enough light and by 07:00 we were on our way out of the San Sebastian River bound for Fernandina Beach, the northern most town in Florida. There was still some left over wind from the frontal passage and when we turned north on the ICW we felt the full effect of the 15 kts. with higher gusts. We had completely zipped up the bridge enclosure and were wearing wool socks, caps, jackets and gloves but even that didn’t prevent the cold air from seeping in to chill us. We kept reminding ourselves that NOAA was promising less wind and warmer temps by afternoon but we were still COLD. We moved down to the lower helm station in the pilot house and cranked up the generator so we could make use of the central heating system. Soon we were in shirt sleeves and sipping hot tea as the miles slipped by. We had two unexpected delays along the way – the first occurred as we approached the Jacksonville Beach area. The McCormick Bridge was undergoing some construction and the ICW was closed from early morning until 4:00 PM except for a one hour period between 12:00 and 1:00. We would have been at the bridge about 11:00 AM but when we heard the news on a Coast Guard broadcast we slowed down to adjust our arrival at the bridge for noon. The second unexpected delay happened as we approached a railroad swing bridge just south of Fernandina. All of the cruis
ing guides we have say that the bridge is unattended but always open except for the occasional train that must cross to handle freight to / from the paper mills in Fernandina. I (RCB) was at the helm just enjoying the shoreline sites as we were approaching the open bridge and about 100 yards from the bridge Polly says “is that bridge moving?” It sure was, so I stopped the boat and about 5 minutes later we heard a train whistle. Eventually, a slow moving engine with 4 or 5 cars came into view, and proceed across the bridge. About 5 minutes later the old bridge slowly swung open and off we went to dock about 4:00 PM at the Fernandina Beach town marina. We whipped up a batch of super nachos for dinner and opened the nice bottle of Pinot Noir that friends Jean and Carl Moser gave us as we left on this cruise.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
St. Augustine 1/29 thru 2/4/09
We took the slip for a week since the rate was a lot more economical, plus we just wanted to hang around St. Augustine for a while. We walked to the historic area (about a 20 minute hike) and got acquainted with things. We found a nice bagel / pastry shop and had coffee and bread pudding as our lunch that day. The remainder of the day was spent lounging around the boat and marina.
Friday we again walked to town and had breakfast at the pastry shop – the special was a croissant with fresh baby spinach and feta plus two eggs. We decided to try out the local bus system so we found a schedule and learned we could ride for 50 cents per person each way. We found the terminal stop for the Blue Line and rode out to the WalMart on Rt. 1. After picking up a few items we caught the bus right in front of the store and it dropped us off about 50 yards from the marina. Since the weekend was upon us we checked with the local Enterprise rental office and they had a week end special – half price rate for 3 days. So, for $66.00 we had the use
of a BRIGHT yellow V-W bug until Monday noon.
Saturday AM we picked up a local tourist map and headed south on scenic A1A to Fort Matanzas National Park.
What a gem it is – while small, the fort dates back to the 1500s and is actually located on a small island.
Visitors are ferried to the island by a park operated pontoon boat where costumed guides present a very entertaining history of the fort. We headed farther down A1A from the fort, to a state park called Washington Oaks Gardens which is a display of gardens, plantings and water features including ponds with large fish that you visit by way of groomed walking trails. 
The entire site is set amongst mature trees and is situated along the ICW. We remembered seeing folks strolling along the shore when we transited the waterway north to St. Augustine. 
On Sunday we bought a tool (a hole saw) and some trim hardware items at Home Depot and routed the wires to our TV set through the side of the cabinet it is mounted on. This allows the set to be connected to the cable box and power outlet all the time and eliminates the need to keep the cabinet door open when we want to have TV on. After all the heavy work was complete we drove to St. Augustine Beach and walked on the sand for an hour or so.
We also were entertained by several dozen surfers (in wet suits) floating around waiting for the big wave that never came that day. 
Since the WX was to become rainy we arranged to keep the car until Tuesday – we didn’t want to be confined to the boat for the 24 hours of bad weather that was forecasted. The rain held off until Monday afternoon so in the morning we drove north along A1A to Jacksonville Beach. It proved to be a dull and unremarkable trip, nothing at all like the 25 miles of coastal road south of St. Augustine. The rain began just minutes after we arrived at the boat and continued all afternoon. Polly bought the things needed to build a pot of Chili along and with baked potato, made a great dinner. Having the oven on to do the potato also made the cabin nice and comfy. During the evening the rain continued in bucket-filling amounts and we just hunkered down for the night.
After dropping off the car we did some chores around the boat and got ready for a visit with new friends Sue & Steve who were driving up from New Smyrna Beach. The four of us walked to the historic fort on the waterfront and after taking the self-guided tour, we went for pizza at a neat Italian place in the historic district. It was kind of special sharing the Morris’ wedding anniversary evening with them.
We originally planned to leave St. Augustine on Wednesday morning but the forecast was calling for very high winds with gale force gusts, so we extended our departure for a day. The weather forecast proved to be accurate, it was extremely windy and much colder all day. We bundled up and walked to a diner for a real diner-style breakfast which was really great. There is nothing better than pancakes, eggs and ham to fortify you for a cold walk to windward. That evening we dined on left over chili and got the boat ready for a very early departure the next morning.
We took the slip for a week since the rate was a lot more economical, plus we just wanted to hang around St. Augustine for a while. We walked to the historic area (about a 20 minute hike) and got acquainted with things. We found a nice bagel / pastry shop and had coffee and bread pudding as our lunch that day. The remainder of the day was spent lounging around the boat and marina.
Friday we again walked to town and had breakfast at the pastry shop – the special was a croissant with fresh baby spinach and feta plus two eggs. We decided to try out the local bus system so we found a schedule and learned we could ride for 50 cents per person each way. We found the terminal stop for the Blue Line and rode out to the WalMart on Rt. 1. After picking up a few items we caught the bus right in front of the store and it dropped us off about 50 yards from the marina. Since the weekend was upon us we checked with the local Enterprise rental office and they had a week end special – half price rate for 3 days. So, for $66.00 we had the use
of a BRIGHT yellow V-W bug until Monday noon.Saturday AM we picked up a local tourist map and headed south on scenic A1A to Fort Matanzas National Park.
What a gem it is – while small, the fort dates back to the 1500s and is actually located on a small island.
Visitors are ferried to the island by a park operated pontoon boat where costumed guides present a very entertaining history of the fort. We headed farther down A1A from the fort, to a state park called Washington Oaks Gardens which is a display of gardens, plantings and water features including ponds with large fish that you visit by way of groomed walking trails. 
The entire site is set amongst mature trees and is situated along the ICW. We remembered seeing folks strolling along the shore when we transited the waterway north to St. Augustine. 
On Sunday we bought a tool (a hole saw) and some trim hardware items at Home Depot and routed the wires to our TV set through the side of the cabinet it is mounted on. This allows the set to be connected to the cable box and power outlet all the time and eliminates the need to keep the cabinet door open when we want to have TV on. After all the heavy work was complete we drove to St. Augustine Beach and walked on the sand for an hour or so.
We also were entertained by several dozen surfers (in wet suits) floating around waiting for the big wave that never came that day. 
Since the WX was to become rainy we arranged to keep the car until Tuesday – we didn’t want to be confined to the boat for the 24 hours of bad weather that was forecasted. The rain held off until Monday afternoon so in the morning we drove north along A1A to Jacksonville Beach. It proved to be a dull and unremarkable trip, nothing at all like the 25 miles of coastal road south of St. Augustine. The rain began just minutes after we arrived at the boat and continued all afternoon. Polly bought the things needed to build a pot of Chili along and with baked potato, made a great dinner. Having the oven on to do the potato also made the cabin nice and comfy. During the evening the rain continued in bucket-filling amounts and we just hunkered down for the night.
After dropping off the car we did some chores around the boat and got ready for a visit with new friends Sue & Steve who were driving up from New Smyrna Beach. The four of us walked to the historic fort on the waterfront and after taking the self-guided tour, we went for pizza at a neat Italian place in the historic district. It was kind of special sharing the Morris’ wedding anniversary evening with them.
We originally planned to leave St. Augustine on Wednesday morning but the forecast was calling for very high winds with gale force gusts, so we extended our departure for a day. The weather forecast proved to be accurate, it was extremely windy and much colder all day. We bundled up and walked to a diner for a real diner-style breakfast which was really great. There is nothing better than pancakes, eggs and ham to fortify you for a cold walk to windward. That evening we dined on left over chili and got the boat ready for a very early departure the next morning.
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