November 2003

Tuesday, November 4, 2003 Today is my 66th birthday.

We Stayed in Elizabeth City until 4 November. The aft Lectrasan seems to be totally not working now. We left at about 6:49.

Passing Pelican marina as we leave

PIKA and ANNE M were still there, everyone else had left. Bob is still wearing shorts even though he got bitten by mosquitoes last night. It is quite warm, even though it is November. There was no wind- it was flat calm. We had breakfast and it got VERY foggy on the Pasquotank.

Rainbow

We can't see very much and Bob actually activates the fog horn (which works) on the VHF radio.

Elizabeth City Regional airport

We passed the

CG Station which Fred said was the largest CG air station in the US.

Aviation Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City is the United States Coast Guard's technical training provider for enlisted aviation forces

The fog lifts just enough for me to take a couple of pictures. We work our way down the Pasquotank - there is a sailboat behind us about 1/2 mile -sometimes we can see them and sometimes we only see them on the radar.

We see the top of the blimp hanger in the fog. If we didn't know it was there, we wouldn't know what it was. It is the largest wood construction building in the world - built in 1942, it measured 1/5 mile long by 298' wide by 192' high with 180 ton doors mounted on railroad tracks. It housed US Navy Airship Squadron ZP-14. In 1966, the decommissioned facility was sold to Westinghouse. In 1989 Westinghouse spun off the aerostat operation to TCOM, L.P. Commercial blimps such as Bud One, Fuji, and Met Life were built there. On August 3, 1995, during reconstruction of the door supports, the Hangar burned to the ground, causing $100 million in damage. One of these hangers can still be seen from the Pasquotank. I think one of them has been used for furniture manufacture.

Blimp hanger from 2001

The fog cleared as we came out into Albemarle Sound - flat calm and sunny.

Albemarle Sound

We see a crab pot boat full of crab pots.

Crab pot boat

We hear TROUBADOUR calling Dowry Creek in Belhaven on the radio. We are passed by a steamboat trawler COASTAL QUEEN.

We tie up at the Alligator River Marina at 1300 and get 32 gals of diesel. Trip today 36 sm. I did email and Bob did a wash. After we tie up CONTESSA (CSY WT) comes in and docks one dock over. Bob didn't recognize it as a CSY at first - it is one of two WT ketches and has no stripe and no trailboards.

I have my birthday dinner at the truck stop - a 10 oz rib eye for $10.99 with creamed (mashed) potatoes and another side, and Bob had steamed shrimp for $9.99 but he thought the shrimp were pretty small. I also had an ice cream cone. For my birthday, Bob got me a 'daytimer' which had a place to put cards so I can keep the cards of the other boats and marinas in one place.

I reported to Skipper Bob (who published a book on marinas in the ICW) Alligator River Marina is up to $1.00/ft and $4.00 for 30 amp - free cable. Only cold water for laundry. Fuel was $1.14/gal for diesel for small users and $1.04 for the big guys.

Marina lighthouse at night

Wednesday 5 November 2003

I woke up before dawn and looked out the stern ports and saw a big bonfire on shore. Never did figure out why.

Fire on shore

We got underway before 7.

Going through the Alligator River Swing Bridge early in the morning

Tug with crane in the Alligator River

The GPS with the Toshiba isn't keeping satellites very well. We may have rain today or tomorrow. We go across the Fairfield canal and go under the new fixed Fairfield Bridge.

New Fairfield bridge

When we came south in 2000 this bridge was being completed, and when we came north in 2001, they were taking down the old swing bridge. CONTESSA passes and is ahead of us under the bridge. They disappear around the bend, and go to the new marina in Belhaven. A power boat names UH OH II passed.

Edge of the canal

About noon we went by three dredging barges in channel.

Barge with dayshapes

Passing the barge

Each one of the black shapes on the barge has a meaning. For instance this configuration - One line of Two Diamonds and then Ball, diamond, Ball means Vessel engaged in dredging or underwater operations when restricted in ability to maneuver - i.e. I can't get out of your way - you have to move around me. Two balls on the far side means that there is an obstruction on that side.

Danger sign on the end of the pipes

Barge and containment

Dredging operation

We have been 35.4 sm at an average speed of 6.6 mph. My feet have started to swell and look pretty bad. I also have a big bruise across the joint of my left big toe in a cross shape. I don't know why.

Sand on the edge of the canal with hoses

We pass a camp and I take a picture of it, but I can find nothing about it on the internet.

Side of the canal

Maybe it is a part of the Alligator River Refuge. We see a red bumper like power boaters use. Maybe someone lost it off their boat. Or maybe it is marking a snag int he canal. We don't investigate.

Floating Red Bumper Ball

A little yellow and green tug named TAR HEEL passes pushing a crane and towing his own yellow mooring ball.

TAR HEEL pushing a crane

Down near the Wilkerson bridge, two big power boats passed - 2 Carvers TOTALLY WASTED and SPIDER WEB from Maryland and also GET AWAY. Hear them on the radio going into Dowry Creek as we leave the canal and enter the Pungo River. We get to Dowry Creek after 49.4 sm and 7.25 hours.

Dowry Creek

The office/marina people were up on the third floor deck. No one was down in the office. I finally yelled up at them and someone came down so I could register. Dowry Creek is $1.00/ft and nothing extra is charged

I talked to the TOTALLY WASTED people about the best way to pass (most power boaters think they are doing us a favor if they go far away to pass, but there is much less wake if they pass close to us - unfortunately, I don't think they believed me- can't blame them too much - I didn't believe it either the first time.

We also met the folks from LADY LINAKA who were on the radio so much on the Great Bahama Banks in 2002. They run the SSB net in the morning at 0800. They are going to the Bahamas anyway in spite of the new fees.

We can get DirecTV without putting the dish on the Follow Me. I tried pocketmail at the pay phone but none of the numbers worked. I found later that I had two of the numbers reversed.

There is a lot of conversation about the courtesy van. The guy that took it got back to the marina and he'd forgotten to pick up his 'O' ring, and had to go back for it. We took the courtesy van with the the folks from LADY LINAKA and went to eat at the Helmsman and then went to the Food Lion .

Thursday 6 November 2003

We woke about 5 and Bob ran the refrigeration. It's too foggy to see the marks coming into the marina. By the time the sun burns the fog off, it's 0900 and too late to leave to get to Swansboro tonight. So we stay. LADY LINAKA and the catamaran traveling with her left in spite of the fog.

EMMA LOU (the trawler we saw briefly in Elizabeth City) is here too - she's waiting for a part to be sent to her. It started to rain and we had thundershowers so I'm glad we didn't leave. Bob spent the rainstorm up on the porch

Bob on the balcony

I discovered that the RW drive for the black Dell is defective and won't work. I did figure out how to use the data port on the pay phone (with the aid of the directions on the phone) in order to log onto the internet via the 800#. Don't think I could do it with a local number though because I don't know how to pay for a local call. I took the silver Dell up to get it's virus definitions updated and I uploaded some photos . I even managed to get Diane of EMMA LOU's AOL mail. She normally does it via cell phone, and she gets no signal here. She gave me $5 to pay for it because the 800# costs by the minute. I have big bruises on my inner thighs from climbing over the lifelines (no pictures of that).

Friday 7 November 2003 - leaving Dowry Creek

Bob wakes up early and runs the refrigeration. It is slightly foggy, but we can see the marks. We cast off at 7:15 - the Toshiba gets crazy because the GPS has poor coverage. The big boat with the captain that looks about 18 (YANKEE NOMAD) left before us as did a trawler. SEA JAY was still there and so was EMMA LOU. When we passed Belhaven we saw some boats coming out.

EMMA LOU passed - Bob said he drove like a drunk. KITTY CAT - a power catamaran- passed also. We turned into Goose Creek about 0945.

Boats ahead of us in Goose Creek

Tug ODELL pushing a barge

We passed the Hobucken Coast Guard station.

Hobucken Coast Guard Station

Hobucken is remarkable for the shrimping fleet, and the Coast Guard Station. Coast Guard Station Hobucken is located right alongside the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway where they can keep a watch on people who don't obey the 'No Wake' zones. According to their website: "The unit is equipped with two 41 foot utility boats and a 21 Foot Rigid Hull Inflatable. There are 22 active duty personnel assigned to the Station. The station's primary duties are Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement. Station Hobucken runs approximately 100 SAR cases and does 300 Law Enforcement boardings per year. The Coast Guard Station Hobucken, is located on 7.5 acres of land in Pamlico County on Goose Creek Island. " The town of Hobucken, NC is approximately one mile from the station.

Coast Guard boat at the Hobucken dock

The first time I heard Hobucken I thought they were mispronouncing Hoboken, but in North Carolina that is spelled that way. I thought the name was interesting so I looked it up. In 1871, the mail came to Goose Creek Island Post Office by boat across Goose Creek from the village of Oregon, now known as South Creek, in Beaufort County. The mail was carried by horse and buggy to Jones' Bay Side, now known as Hobucken.

Bob going under the Hobucken bridge

Fisherman on the edge of the canal with a cooler

Around 1880, Mr. Wiley Mayo of Hobucken, realizing the need for better mail service, started trying to get a Post Office and a name for the village of Jones' Bay. After submitting two names that were rejected by the Post Office Department, due to other places in the state already having been named that, Mr. Mayo sent in the name "Hobucken", which he had changed from Hoboken, New Jersey, and it was accepted. The name came to his attention from a letterhead he had received with returns on white potatoes that had been shipped there. Mr. Mayo became the first Postmaster of Hobucken in July, 1886. The Mayo name is still prominent in Hobucken as the docks along the waterway largely belong to R.E. Mayo Fish Netting.

Passing the shrimp boats

Shrimp boat docks

We went under the fixed bridge and passed the RE Mayo free docks with all the shrimp boats.

R.E.Mayo free docks

Shrimp boat LAST SUMMER

Leaving LAST SUMMER behind

Saw some folks in a small boat deploying s shrimp net.

Folks in small boats casting nets

Hurricane Boatyard sign

The Island Packet PURPOSE came out of Belhaven ahead of us and is still just ahead. Bob puts all the sails up. SEA JAY (Whidby 42) is overtaking us.

SEA JAY in the Pamlico

Rounded the mark into the Neuse River and Bob took down the jib and staysail. It's pretty windy but not too uncomfortable.

Chart of Oriental

We tied up at Oriental Marina after 51.4 sm at an average speed of 7.4 mph. Their price is $1.25 a ft which includes electric and cable (which we don't need). Their fuel was $1.38/gal for diesel but we still have plenty so we don't get any. Jeff and Carolee of CONTESSA came in after us and were docked beside us. A Mainship trawler with one of those names that is all vowels, but with a dinghy over the name on the stern came into the marina. They call themselves MAINSHIP on the radio. We see EMMA LOU anchored outside the harbor and later they leave.

Oriental was named after a boat. Which is appropriate given that the town is such a big boating town. Oriental was originally discovered by one Louis B. Midyette in the 1870’s. Legend says that "Uncle Lou", as he was known, anchored his sailboat in the protected waters of Oriental, at the mouth of Smith Creek, to escape a gale. He was sailing from New Bern back to his home in Dare County where he was a farmer and a fisherman. The United States Post Office Department established a post office here back in 1886. Ol’ Lou Midyette was named postmaster of what was then known simply as Smith’s Creek. This prompted the need for a formal name for the rapidly growing village. Lou’s wife, Rebecca, had the nameplate from the sunken ship "Oriental". The Oriental was a Federal transport that sunk in a storm off Bodie Island during the Civil War. It was decided that Oriental would be a good name for the village… after all, they already had the sign

No Mooring on Sea Wall

The sea wall next to the free dock

Our boat at the marina in front of the Inn

Oriental had a 10 foot tidal surge during Hurricane Isabel. It was up over the electrical boxes on the pier and to the floor of the office. The Oriental motel has been turned into condos - it is called an Inn. But it still looks like a motel to me. The restaurant is being remodeled. The free docks were destroyed by the hurricane, but they have been rebuilt. There are 3 sailboats there - one each side and one crossways at the end which Bob thought was pushing it. This will make it hard for Jeff to get CONTESSA out as she backs the wrong way. Of course Jeff and Carolee like to 'sleep in' later than we do, and since their boat is faster than ours (as it has a larger engine), they can get to the same place as we do just a little later. Jeff and Carolee told me that they rented a car in Belhaven and did some sightseeing (outside of Belhaven obviously as there isn't much to see in Belhaven and they didn't see what there was).

Bob walked down to the The Inland Waterway Treasure & Provision Companies

Store as we walked to dinner

There used to be a consignment shop in Oriental, but the owner died just before our first trip in 2000. This place has kind of taken its place. They have a selection of nautical hardware, foul weather clothing, books and charts, and they will also loan or rent bikes or arrange for transportation to the grocery store.

The Inland Waterway Treasure and Provision Companies

and then we walked over to M&Ms for dinner. The wait staff here are all nubile young things, but they give good service.

When we get back, the Tiki Bar is in full swing. On prior visits, the Tiki Bar has been under construction or not in operation. However this time, it was in full swing. I was afraid that our friends from CONTESSA would be upset by the noise, but when I went up to take a shower, I saw that they were both there partying with the best of them

Tiki Bar at night

Tiki Bar and the Inn/Condo from our boat

The marina now has a combination lock on the office door so marina guests can go to the bathroom after the office closes at 9 pm. They also have a dataport phone in the passageway next to the office but no directions on using it, so if I hadn't learned how at Dowry Creek I would have had no idea of how to do it.

Saturday 8 November 2003

We cast off before 7.

Oriental bridge

Channel leaving Oriental

Although I look as we go out, I can't figure out where the Oriental Harbor Marina is. I take a couple of pictures hoping that I get it.

Marina and Fixed bridge and boat anchored

It was very rough crossing the Neuse. We passed some shrimp boats and a Corps of Engineers boat going north.

Corps of Engineers boat pushing a barge

When we entered Adams Creek we saw EMMA LOU anchored there. The Toshiba went to the Toshiba screen and froze so I switched to the black Dell.

PInk Seahorse House

Adams Creek fishermen

Sea Gate Marina advertising fuel prices

Mile marker 195 in Adams Creek Canal

Adams Creek

Side of the canal

DATE NIGHT said he was going to pass on the port, and then said our starboard, and then actually passed on our port. We passed the high rise bridge and Bock Marine.

Bock Marine

The wind is on our tail at 15 knots apparent. The second half of the range at sm 200 appears to be missing.

Passing shrimp boat

The tide is with us. MAINSHIP passed. Later apparently someone hit him and we heard him on the radio exchanging insurance info with the boat that hit him.

Approaching Morehead City

Channel on the back side of the port

Looking up at the US Route 70 bridge

Bridge abutment

Red Tug at the dock

We can see Morehead City ahead. We came around the corner into the Morehead City turning basin

Turning the corner

and found it FULL of little fishing boats

Fishermen in the turning basin

anchored or drifting around all over the place. We picked our way past.

Docks and water tower

Heard later that the preceding weekend the CG had to clear a way through them so traffic could get through. A sailboat near shore BONNIE CHRISTENE came out and went through the Atlantic Beach bridge ahead of us which cleared out a little fishing boat that was anchored between the fenders under the bridge

Atlantic Beach bridge

Later they (BC) pulled over and anchored. AQUASTATION and BREAKERS - big power boats passed us throwing big wakes and set the depth sounder crazy. Both came back later in the other direction at a more moderate speed.

South of town on Bogue Sound

Approaching Swansboro

We tied up at Dudleys. Dudleys is sponsoring a fishing tournament. It was real hard for us to get into the dock against the wind. The marina is 75 cents a foot with nothing extra for electricity. We got 28 gal of diesel at $1.16.gal.

Fuel hose at Dudley's

In addition to the $32.82 for the diesel and the $33.00 for the dockage, we paid $2.30 tax. They still have a courtesy car - much fancier than the old one.

They've finished the construction on the bridge - the marina took us up to Riverview where we ate dinner.

Driving to Riverview

Inside Riverview Restaurant

My Dinner

Bob had fried oysters and couldn't finish them all.

Bob's Fried Oysters

The Marines are having their birthday dinner ball - a lot of them were in the restaurant in full dress.

Sunday 9 November 2003

It is very windy today and is raining. I convince Bob to stay another day.

Bob on RosalieAnn at Dudley's

We didn't pay the tax the 2nd day. Hear a boat offshore in trouble and they are talking to SeaTow and the CG on the radio.

Monday 10 November 2003

Bob started engine and we cast off about 6:45. I held the forward lines while Bob took off the aft lines and then I let go and the bow of the boat swung out very nicely. We made our way past the shoal and back out to the ICW However the Toshiba first wanted virus definitions and then said there was an error writing to the hard drive, and then asked for a boot disk. So it's back to the black Dell.

Moonset over the Tira plant

We are headed for Hampstead which is about the only place we can stop between the Swansboro/Morehead/Beaufort area and Southport. We passed the TIRA boat plant about 0730.

Tira plant

There used to be an anchorage in their entrance channel, but now that the plant is producing again, they don't want people anchoring there anymore.

We entered the Camp Lejeune marine base about 0752. There were no red flags on the observation towers

Camp Lejeune observation tower

(when they are using live ammunition, they fly a red flag and there are folks with binoculars in the towers to see where stuff lands). There was no warning sign flashing. So everything was pretty quiet.

STOP Do Not Proceed (when flashing)

We passed a big piece of equipment like a tank which had something written on the side, but I didn't get a picture in timeA boat from Road Town (BVI) with maroon topsides passed and went through the Onslow beach bridge at the 8:40 opening..

The Onslow Beach bridge was a pain (again). We took a station pointing upstream to wait (stern to the bridge so we could motor slowly into the current rather than backing into it) after calling the bridge to tell him we were waiting for an opening. A big power boat MONTRACT from Annapolis passed and waited closer to the bridge

MONTRACT ahead of us at the Onslow Beach bridge

backing up towards us sometimes. JOLLY GOOD was back farther. The bridge tender put the arms down at 0900

Arms are down for the cars

and then it was two full minutes before the bell rang and another minute before the bridge started to swing. We had to circle again as we were being pushed towards shore by the wind and current. When the bridge opened, MONTRACT did not go through.

Looking back at Onslow Beach Brdige

He waited until we were too close to maneuver.

Onslow Beach bridge closing

I didn't thank the bridge tender (which I usually do). JOLLY GOOD did a nice pass, but stirred up the mud so that the depth sounder went crazy. We passed the anchorage on Camp LeJeune where we spent the night on our first trip in 2000

Anchorage area at Camp LeJeune

Entrance to the anchorage at Camp LeJeune

Houses along the ICW

Barge with daymarks

Closeup of the barge Dayshapes

Bob pulled out the jib, and then furled it again when we went by New River Inlet where the ICW winds around.

Shrimp boats at New River

New River Marina

Diesel at the New River Marina is only 98 cents/gal. We went by Swans Point and passed the Pink House.

Signs on the bridges say "Shell Fish Relay in Progress between MM 230 and MM 330" Never have figured out what that means. At the next fixed bridge I saw someone stop on top while we went through.

Fenders of a fixed bridge

Towboat US came north towing a power boat

Tow Boat towing a boat

and called the sailboat at marker 14. That was us - but we didn't know he wanted to talk to us because we didn't know what marker we were at. He was annoyed and grumpy that we didn't answer right away and wouldn't say what he had wanted.

Tug parked at a private dock

Bob went back to pump up the dinghy which had deflated due to cold, but he said the sun had done most of the work.

Underground cables - No anchoring sign

We got to the Surf City Bridge around 1100 and went through without incident.

Surf City Bridge

Surf City bridge closing

LADY BARBARA passed and then slowed way down. A stealth power boat (dark hull with the name on the transom covered by the dinghy) passed. A Trumphy type yacht named MARGERITE passed, as did DUTCHESS (a trawler), and sports fishes DEB SHA IV and VERITAS. We didn't really eat lunch.

Entrance to the marina

We got to Harbour Village at 1300 after a trip of 38.8 sm at an average speed of 6.4 mph. The charge is $1.20/ft with no other charges. THey have some kind of special deal now for people "north of the Maryland line" that you can leave your boat there for the winter for a special rate. (6 months starting 1 Nov) They don't say which Maryland line they want you north of (the northern border of Virginia (the Potomac) or Mason Dixon).

RosalieAnn and Bob between two big power boats

There's only one other transient there at that time - BATTEN BAY - a trawler. Later a sailboat from Canada NIKAN, and CONTESSA arrived along with another trawler QUE PASA? and some motor boats. I took the golf cart over to do email, and ordered Chinese while I was there. The delivery arrived at the same time as I got back to the boat. We had an early dinner.

I tried to figure out what is wrong with the Toshiba - the screen goes blank sometimes. And I called our son to tell him our plans for tomorrow.

November 11, 2003 - Tuesday

I wrote my mother: We had a most interesting day. I took over 100 pictures which won't get to you for some time. We are on our way past Wrightsville Beach, through Snow's Cut, and down the Cape Fear River to Southport.

I couldn't get a reservation in Southport, so I eventually called St. James Marina. This was to be about a 50 mile trip with two bridges at awkward distances and some possibly adverse currents, so we wanted to start early.

Getting away from the dock was relatively easy with no wind and no current although we had had a bit of trouble making the turn into the slip when we docked yesterday afternoon. We scraped on the white rubber edges of the floating docks.

We were underway by 6:45. I saw a blue heron on the lawn next to the exit channel but I did not get a chance to take a photo of him. It was cold but the sky was relatively clear. The French Canadian boat NIKAN left before us, and some of the trawlers and motor boats were getting ready to leave also.

Around 7 it started to get foggy.

We reached mile mark 270 by 0714 - a trip of 3 sm (statute miles) from the marina. At 0800 TRITON'S TRUMPET, a big power yacht from Halifax NS that had been in the marina with us passed us. We were aiming to get to the Figure Eight bridge for the 0900 opening because it was 5 miles to the Wrightsville Beach bridge and they only opened on the hour. So if we went through the first bridge on the half hour, we'd have a really long wait at the 2nd bridge.

No hope - by 0830 we were bearing down swiftly on the Figure Eight bridge. It was also getting very very foggy. We heard the bridge tender in channel 13 talking to various boats, and telling them that if they reached the half mile marker that they would be there in time for the opening. We were approaching that marker, so I called and told him. It was getting foggier although I did spot a large full sized giraffe statue on the lawn of one of the houses on the west bank.

Giant Giraffe Statue in the fog

Suddenly Bob said -"There's a sailboat!!" It was NIKAN circling in the channel - presumably in front of the bridge although we couldn't see it. We could dimly see a power boat in front of NIKAN, but could not really make out the bridge at all. Finally the bridge tender called us (i.e. southbound boats) and said "The bridge is open, you can go through now". It wasn't until we got right up to the bridge that we could even see where the opening was.

Going through the Figure 8 Bridge

Figure 8 Bridge in the fog

As we proceeded towards the Wrightsville Beach bridge,

Fog lifting

the fog lifted and it became a nice sunny day, although I was still cold and went down and put on my thermal top.

BIrds (cormorants?) on the dock

Approaching Wrightsville Beach

Of course we got to the Wrightsville Beach bridge at about 0935. NIKAN was there already. The power boat that went through the Figure Eight bridge first had already gone through at the 0900 opening. About 0950, a sailboat from New England with a blue hull named LORD'S PRAYER (with two wind generators) joined the queue. We circled and watched people launch boats from the ramp on the NE side of the bridge (where we were) and the smaller power boats who were able to get under without an opening coming out of the marinas on the other side of the bridge.

The power boat BATTEN BAY which had been in the marina with us also was approaching and called the bridge to say that he was only about 18.5 feet and thought he'd sneak under without an opening. She said that her boards showed only 17 feet clearance, but that she was sure he could get through with the rest of us.

Following us through the Wrightsville Beach bridge

When she opened, LORD'S PRAYER was in front and they went through but NIKAN dragged their feet and did not close up the space nicely. But we all got through the bridge. As we came under the bridge, a Danish sailboat called MASHUA came out of the channel on the other side of the bridge and added to the confusion of folks proceeding down the ICW. At several points we were 2 or 3 abreast

Wrightsville Beach bridge

Looking back at Wrightsville Beach bridge and marina

Eventually we got sorted out with BATTEN BOY way out ahead, then MASHUA, then us, then NIKAN

NIKAN Following us

and finally LORD'S PRAYER bringing up the rear.

Bradley Creek Marina sign

LORD'S PRAYER with two wind generators ahead of us

We saw some kayakers.

Yellow and white kayaks

We passed Masonboro inlet,

Masonboro Marina sign

the Masonboro marina

Scaffolding on a floating dock?

Masonboro marina

and their restaurant Trail's End.

Trails End restaurant

And we passed the Salt Dome House

Salt dome house

The next interesting thing that happened was a helicopter swooped by about mid mast height and very close.

Helicopter right over the river

Helicopter

Speedboats on the left being photographed by the helicopter on the right

Wakes around us

It turned out that they were photographing two small speed boats as they ran up and down the river forward and backward past us. I did get some pictures of them eventually - on about the fourth pass.

Shrimp boats

I figured the currents out and we had the current against us most of the time approaching Carolina Beach and turning into Snow's Cut it was about 1.5 knots against us.

Snow's Cut bank

Snow's Cut isn't very long, and the current wasn't as bad as it could have been - sometimes it is 3 or four knots against us. There are some new Floaters where a shoal has built out from the north side. MASHUA is way ahead of us and NIKAN is holding her own behind us. I look back, and there's a big ship (a small cruise ship but looking very large) about the size of the CHARLESTONIAN or larger bearing down on NIKAN in Snow's Cut. It seems to be going very slowly as it never does pass NIKAN,

NIKAN in Snow's Cut with large ship behind them

NIKAN in Snow's Cut with large ship behind them from the area of Red Floater #162

and after it exits Snow's Cut it disappears, so I decided that it must be going up the river to Wilmington. As we exited Snow's Cut there was a little red CG RIB (Rigid bottom Inflatable Boat) waiting - for what I don't know.

Red Coast Guard boat

In the Cape Fear River the current was flowing out at 2.2 knots, so that made the passage down the river go a whole lot faster. We go down at a great rate doing as much as 11.6 mph.

We passed the Army Munitions Depot and there appeared to be little activity although there were some ships there.

Ships at Army Munitions Depot

Cranes at the Army Munitions depot

The little red CG boat zipped past, and we saw them later towing a similar little boat.

Little red Coast Guard boat towing a similar little boat

This motorized barge with a crane and two 'spuds' passed us. The spuds are the long things sticking up. When the barge is where it wants to stay, they put the spuds down to anchor them to the bottom. I've always seen three of them before, but this barge appears to have only two

Barge with spuds

Southport- Fort Fisher ferry with a speed boat

We saw the Ft. Fisher ferry going to the north side of the river and the other one coming the other way. The ferry passed us on the starboard, and I took some pictures while the ferry passengers took pictures of us. Bob 'drafted' on the ferry for a bit. .

Southport - Fort Fisher Ferry crossing the Cape Fear River

Shrimp boat trolling with a green net

We heard quite a bit of radio talk about a Coast Guard boat that was dredging or diving or something, and eventually passed that.

Coast Guard working boat

Southport -Fort Fisher ferry going into ferry dock on the Southport side

Houses on the Cape Fear River in Southport

MASHUA proceeded out the inlet -either to Bald Head or to put out to sea. Bob almost missed the turn into Southport and had to back up a bit. NIKAN was still following us. Heard BATTEN BAY calling South Harbor Village. We aren't staying there or in Southport because they are having a fishing tournament (like they had when we were going through Morehead City maybe). Southport told me they were overbooked, and South Harbor Village (which was sponsoring the tournament), wouldn't answer the phone. So we assumed they were full also.

Provision Company (restaurant) dock

We passed Southport and saw a sailboat come out of the marina and go into the commercial harbor. Perhaps they were trying to find a slip for the night.

Southport Marina free dock at their restaurant

Gazebo out at the river edge

Southport Marina - fully booked because of a fishing tournament

One part of a Range

Passed the ferry dock for Bald Head.

Bald Head Island ferry terminal

We passed South Harbor Village where there was a big German ketch with stuff drying on the lifelines on the outside face dock, plus BATTEN BAY on the inside of the face dock

Big Sailboat at South Harbor Village

Table One Grill and Raw Bar (South Harbor Village Restaurant)

After we went under the fixed bridge a big PDQ catamaran named STARLIGHT passed us. We went past an airstrip and saw a small plane take off.

Private dock on the ICW

Entrance to St. James Marina

We turned into St. James Marina at SM 315about 1500 after a trip of 48.6 sm at an average speed of 6.1 mph. The dockmaster was helping a trawler named BAHARI to dock, so he yelled to the transient folk on GREAT ESCAPE in the next slip to help us and they did. They are from RI. Also in the marina was a transient from Canada named WINDSWEPT I. They have floating docks for up to 8' draft.

The rate is $1.25/ft/night (minimum 30 feet - maximum 50 feet) but they have a Boat US discount which brings the price down to 95 cents/ft. Electric was $5.00 and they only had 50 amp at our slip, so it was lucky that we had our own converter. THey only charged us for 30 amp - 50 amp is $7.50 and there is no discount on electric. By the week it is $1.10/ft (7 night minimum) and by the month $8.00/ft. They also have dry storage rates. I saw some white ibis on the lawn when I was coming back from registering, but did not have my camera with me. However I already have 100 pictures from today, it's probably just as well

This marina is sort of strange. While they have no problem with taking transients, but they have no services - no showers, and no laundry although they do have water, ice and fuel, pump out, and internet access The bathrooms are in the marina trailer which is locked from 1700 to 0800 in the morning. There is a restaurant that is about 1/2 mile away. They also apparently have bikes.
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Wednesday, 12 November 2003

Today we had the Sunset Beach pontoon bridge to do. We left the marina without any difficulty at about 6:45 as we usually do.

Leaving the marina

The sun was coming up and it was calm with lots of nice reflections in the water.

Reflections

Reflections

Reflections

The bimini enclosure is covered with heavy dew condensation on the outside. The almost full but waning moon is still high in the sky.

ICW Red Marker (you can tell by the yellow triangle - that makes it an ICW marker)

ICW Green marker with a yellow square

I had fixed the color problems on the Toshiba, so we were using that for charting. As we were proceeding, I spotted something in the water - turned out to be a lawn chair. A small Contender fishing boat named JOY BEE was running up and down - back and forth.

We see several sailboats behind us. They pass us one by one. First a Gozzard ketch named SWISS9ER from VA, then a gold hulled ketch with a green stripe named FLUTTERBY. (FLUTTERBY had a Martin Bird broker sign on the bow so it was for sale and she was probably being sailed by a delivery skipper.) We passed another restaurant named the Provision Company (that was the name of the one in Southport) with a free dock and other restaurants such as this one which also has dock space for while you eat.

Dock Here to Eat

We passed through Holden Beach

Holden Beach Seafood

and there was a shrimp boat with "Shrimp" on a sign - a guy came out of the wheelhouse and yelled at me did I want to buy some shrimp. Bob didn't hear that or we might have done. Also saw a shrimp boat with a life ring from another boat.

Shrimp for sale

We thought initially that we'd be at the pontoon bridge by 10, but it is now 0827 and we are only at mm 325 -- still 12 miles to go. MAJIK SEEKER from NY NY passes us V E R Y slowly. LUNATIC FRINGE, a Canadian sailboat passes, and finally WINDSWEPT I - also Canadian who was in St. James marina last night passed.

Houses on the ICW

BOAT HOUSE

Kayaker

Saw a house with an ICW #87 marker up on the balcony. Not funny or classy.

House with stolen intercoastal marker

0943 - have gone 17.7 sm and are in Gause Landing, so we still are about 4 miles from the bridge.

A small red tug CAVALIER STATE passes us going north.

Fixed bridge

Just as we get to the fixed bridge, the Toshiba goes bananas, so I get the old Dell out to do the charting. When I try the Toshiba later, it works perfectly OK. There was a sign on the bridge warning of an underwater sewer line, which I did not get a photo of.

Barge with a dredge

A small trawler FANNIE'S BOY passed apparently thinking they would get to the bridge for the 10 am opening - no way. FLUTTERBY gets through by the skin of his teeth, but when we get to the bridge we see the other three sailboats that passed us and the trawler are all waiting. We all sat idling in front of the bridge for about a half an hour.

Waiting for the pontoon bridge to open

Eventually a UK boat called PENLEE CHALLENGE and a power boat named SEA TULIP from Annapolis joined the group. There is also a power boat waiting to go north.

Boat heading north

When it is time for the bridge to open the boats are all jockeying for position, but none seems to actually want to go through the bridge. PENLEE CHALLENGE is ahead of us but waves us to go first. I took lots of pictures as we went through.

Going through the pontoon bridge

Bridge tender's house on a pontoon. Sign says Do not enter draw until signaled by bridge operator

Bridge tender writing down boat names

Single lane road to the pontoon bridge - traffic switches directions every half hour

End of he road on the pontoon

Caution ----------- Utility crossing. DO NOT DOCK

PENLEE CHALLENGE and SEA TULIP come through the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge after us.

Looking back at the pontoon bridge

I saw a sailboat and 2 power boats that did not make the opening about a mile back. I think the power boats expected to make it.

MAJIK SEEKER gets behind us but the rest of them go racing ahead. Eventually we hear them at the Little River Swing Bridge. The bridge tender has an accent that is so southern that I can barely understand him. Listening to the Brit lady on PENLEE CHALLENGE talking to him is a trip. We come by the REALLY PINK house again. THe house that everyone calls the Pink House is up near Swansboro and is a spectacular house with a tower etc. on the waterway. This one is just an ordinary house painted a really aggressive shade of pink.

The Really Pink House

Crab traps with colorful flags

I call the Little River Swing Bridge (channel 9 in SC and not 13 like in NC) and we go through

Little River Swing Bridge

with MAJIK SEEKER who is still trying to call on 13 or 16.

Lighthouse Marina sign (not a real lighthouse)

We have decided to stop at Dock Holiday's before Barefoot Landing. I hear later that they are so full down there that some people have come back up to Dock Holiday's because there is no room. We get to Dock Holidays's at about 1312 after a total trip of 401 nm.

RosalieAnn at Dock Holiday's

The charges were 95 cents/ft,(without a discount) $5 electric and $2.50 for cable and $2.20 tax. . You can download e-mail if you bring your laptop in to the marina office.

Dock Holiday's Marina

RosalieAnn at Dock Holiday's

Bob goes to the Food Lion, and then does the laundry ($1.50 for wash, $1.50 for dry) and takes a shower. I go up and do email and get to sit in on a Chamber of Congress meeting which is in the same room (they are discussing a golf tournament and the Thanksgiving Xmas parade). Then later I also go and get a shower.

CONTESSA comes in and is put in a slip beside us. They were in South Harbor Village last night. There was an Oyster 43 at the fuel dock because at low tide they can't get into the marina over the lump at the edge. (draft 6'6")

Outdoor seating (we ate inside)

The new restaurant there is terrific. It is called "Fisherman's Marketplace" is open for the first time in two visits, so we go up for the early bird specials. It's pretty empty this early. Bob has steamed Gulf shrimp, baked potato and salad for $7.95 and I had the rib eye (also with baked potato and salad) for $8.95.

We've decided that we are going to try to make it to Georgetown tomorrow instead of stopping at Wacha Wachee, and then try to get to Charleston on Friday. It should be possible.

Thursday 13 November 2003 - Heading for the Rockpile

Maybe we should have stayed in N. Myrtle Beach another day. CONTESSA is staying another day as there are predicted to be wind gusts to 35 mph or higher - which was accurate. But as it turned out, if we would have waited, we'd have had a headwind instead of the tail wind that we had helping us along.

We cast off about 6:45 am. It was low tide so we could actually see the rocks sticking out in the Rock Pile portion.

Rockpile Rocks

Rock ledges at low tide

The banks on one side of the canal were in shadows.

Ladder instead of steps

Before we got to the Barefoot Swing bridge we heard a Viking 47 saying that he would sneak through as he was only 18 ft air draft (height from the water). The bridge tender told him that if it had been high tide, he would not have made it as the bridge is only 17 feet.

Approaching Barefoot Landing

A sailboat with the mast on the deck caught up to us at the Barefoot bridge. He was faster than we were and we heard people talking to him ahead of us all the way along.

Barefoot Landing bridge with Sailboat with the mast on the deck ahead of us

You can see how close the bridge is to the deck of the boat (I'm taking the picture standing on the deck so I'm probably about 12 feet above the waterline - Bob doesn't need me to be in the cockpit to go through a bridge). Our mast is 58.5 feet, so we definitely have to have the bridge open to go through.

Going under the Barefoot Landing bridge

As we passed Barefoot Landing, we saw a lot of boats there, but not as many as there were in 2001.

Sailboat JOWARI with solar panels along the life lines at the Barefoot landing free docks

(The Barefoot Landing docks are free but have no electricity.) We saw PENLEE CHALLENGE, EMMA LOU, and WINDSWEPT I.

Greg Norman's restaurant

The trawler CORAL BAY was down in front of Greg Norman's restaurant

It's still only 0800 when we come across this construction site on the west side of the waterway. This scruffy looking construction worker emerged from the shed on the barge as we went by.

Construction on the side of the Rockpile section

What interested me was the little bull dozer or back hoe or some kind of construction vehicle going up and down the ramp between the barge and the land. I kept waiting for it to slide down or fall off of the ramp. But it didn't do that at least while I was watching.

Going up and down the ramp

We go under the 'old' fixed bridge - that is the Conway bridge, which was unfinished for so long that the ICW guides said it would never be finished.

Next we come to the Skyway to the Waterway Hills Golf Links. I try to get a picture of the cars going across the waterway, but they pass when we are pretty far away.

Golfers tramway

The literature says: "This is truly one of the most unique courses in all golf. First, it is designed by golf's most celebrated course designer Robert Trent Jones. Second, the only access to this 27-hole golf preserve is by glass-enclosed cable car across the Intracoastal Waterway. Once you touch down, you'll find it is one of the most tranquil and unspoiled settings you've ever encountered."

One end of the golfer's tramway

The east side of the Skyway is on US Route 17.

Waving mannequin with SLOW sign

Then we came to the mannequin or statue that appears to be waving. In 2001, Lucette waved at him before she realized that it wasn't a real person. This year, he has a "Slow" sign.

New bridge that was being constructed in 2000

The next thing we came to was the new bridge which was just being started in the fall of 2000, and now is completed. There is small truck about halfway down the hill under the west side of the bridge and there were two men standing between the bridge piers.

Two men at the foot of the bridge

The sun gradually illuminated the other side. It's relatively calm at this hour in the canal. We saw the sailboat BONNIE CHRISTINE aground - probably trying to run after dark or at high tide.

BONNIE CHRISTINE aground

Red floater up on shore

This buoy is a legitimate red channel marker which is a bit off its mooring (which would be on the west shore).

Bascule bridge open

Just past the blue RR bridge (this bridge used to be a dual railroad and road bridge) and the fixed bridge that is north of the Socastee Swing Bridge,

Looking back at the new bridge and swing bridge

when suddenly ahead, we see two red markers way over on the port side. Just about a half an hour previously, we had seen a displaced red marker up on the left bank. Red ICW markers are supposed to be on the starboard (right) side. They are too close to the docks for us to go between the marker and the dock.

With the binoculars, I determine that these are not ICW markers but are actually "No Wake" markers.

Red "No Wake Zone" marker

NO-Wake markers are supposed to be white with an orange stripe. Red ones are confusing, probably illegal, and dangerous.

I guess the people who live along here in the big fancy houses think that they don't have to abide by the regulations, just as the power boaters don't pay any attention to the regular No Wake marker

Golf course

We pass some more golf courses. We came down to the Socastee bridge and found that there was a construction barge there and that they were working on the bridge. The bridge tender warned that the bridge couldn't swing all the way open because the equipment on the barge was in the way and to open the bridge they had to swing the crane back onto the barge.

Construction barge and the partly open Socastee Bridge

I found out later that the construction on the bridge had started January 2003 and was to have been for 10 months. They were to renovate the bridge completely and paint it blue (like the fixed bridge and the railroad bridge). We went through the Socastee Swing bridge with CORAL BAY (which had caught up to us) and FRANCES - a new green Gozzard.

Bridge tender's house

Just between us and the next following boat (CORAL BAY), a parade of ducks crossed the canal from one side to the other.

Ducks crossing

It was very funny to see but I didn't get a good picture as they were too far away. We then went down and through the fixed bridge.

CORAL BAY was chicken to go farther in the high winds on the Wacamaw and went into Osprey Marina. We proceeded down the river toward Bucksport. FRANCES passed us fairly quickly. We were waked very badly by a power boat with a red hull named SUREFIRE from RI. We passed Bucksport and saw a sailboat there named L'AIR.

Advertising fuel prices

The Wilds of the river near Brookgreen Gardens

Red marker

The treadmaster on the cockpit floor has not cured properly and they keep shifting. Bob was on the side trying to push one section off the cockpit drain outlet when he looked up and the spreaders were into the cypress trees on the west side. We were still in 24 feet of water.

Red marker in a tree

We passed

Wacca Wachee marina

and just past that were waked by a sports fishing boat named BIG MAMA III. SEA TULIP, another trawler passed, and then ODYSSEY, an Endeavour Trawler Catamaran from Vero Beach came by.

It was getting very gusty - we had no sails up, but were still doing 8 mph - Fortunately the wind was behind us so I guess we were sailing on the bimini. Heard a large power boat names SUSAN A call the Boat Shed. Also heard FRANCES call them - they had intended to anchor and said there wasn't room. Also SEA TULIP calling Georgetown Landing Marina and hoping for a dock that he could get into easily from the wind. I saw buzzards circling but every time I focused on them,

Buzzards being blown around by the wind

they were blown out of their tight circle formation and had to regroup. We smell the paper mill in Georgetown which I think smells like cooking cabbage. After a wild ride down the Waccamaw River in gusts up to 35 mph we docked at the Boat Shed in Georgetown - rate $1.10/ft- no charge for electricity.

Boat Shed marina

However the fuel is a rip-off. We were charged $1.55 for fuel - if we had gotten over 50 gallons it would have been only $1.35/gallon -- but still!!! The amount shown on the tanks was different on each side. (one showed $46.98 and the other side showed $46.92)

At the dock in the Boat Shed

For dinner, we walked up to the Orange Blossom Cafe,

Bob walking ahead of me to dinner

but it was closed and under new management. The Rice Paddy also appeared to be closed.
So we ate at the Dogwood Cafe.

Dogwood Cafe sign

Bob had a half rack of ribs, which looked good, and I had a 'low country' shrimp dish with grits(?) and ham. It also had hush puppies, which were burnt and the Caesar salad had globs of mayo on the bottom leaves. I had peach cobbler for dessert which was good.

Friday 14 November 2003

To get from Georgetown to the Ben Sawyer bridge before the restricted hours at 4 pm (which I assume is still restricted) we have to make 62 sm. Otherwise we will be stuck on the other side until after dark. Then we will have a hard time getting to the Enterprise office on Sat am as they are not open in the afternoon and the only one open on Sunday is at the airport. To make it, we left before 6 am in the dark, and motored and motor sailed hard all day.

We got underway about 558. It is DARK. Bob was in the channel according to the charts on the starboard side and running out of water - it got down to 5.1 feet and we will go aground at 4.6 feet. I got him to go over to the port side of the channel where we had always gone before and where the water is deeper.

Sunrise over Winyah Bay

The Toshiba froze because the GPS was refusing to keep ahold of the satellites, so I brought up the black Dell. At 0705 we have done 8 sm and are turning into the Esterville Mimms canal. The sun is just up.

There is some surface fog over the canal. The free running ferry doesn't appear to be running

Ferry

but they were launching boats at the boat ramp.

Boat launching

Lots of egrets and some blue herons along the canal banks or roosting in the trees. We turn off the nav lights

Wading birds at dawn

0757 - sports fish FLOATING RAINE (?) waked us, but didn't get the camera on in time. I'll use the film camera for this in the future.

Tower over the former rice fields

0800 - Big boat with a green hull SEA OWL from Georgetown in the Cayman Islands passed and also the sports fish BLUE SKY.

Blue Sky passing us

0920 - have gone 22.2 sm - one third of the way - we are being helped by the current.

Birds sitting on the railings

1000 - We are making pretty good progress. We've gone 26.2 sm at an average speed of 6.5 mph. We are passing through edge the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and crossing the North and South Santee Rivers with their confusing markers and cross currents.

Birds following a shrimp boat

The Cape Romain area is mostly uninhabited. In fact in Claiborne Young's "Cruising Guide to Coastal South Carolina and Georgia" quotes James Henry Rice, Jr. in "Glories of the Carolina Coast" who wrote that it was "..a region so wild that you can readily believe yourself in Africa or Asia."

ODYSSEY passed us just before McClellanville. We passed a somewhat scruffy houseboat with two outboards pulling a Boston whaler type dinghy going the other way.

1100 In the upper reaches of the Harbor River, SILVER MOON (with several dogs, a cat and a young child aboard) the boat who was docked ahead of SUSAN A at the marina passed as did AFTERNOON TEA. They were also at Dowry Creek with us. There are now houses along the banks.

Two power boats ahead of us

1103 - trip so far is 33.1 - half way there. Bob predicts we will be there before 2. I will just be satisfied if we get there before about 3:30. I know that the tidal currents in this stretch can as easily be against us as with us, and I'm not ready to predict victory yet. We pass some nice houses and one of them has a lot of birdhouses.

Hanging gourd birdhouses at the dock

We pass a small UK sailboat named SALTICUS. I see FRANCES behind us. They obviously left way after we did, and it has taken them until now to catch us. We are at about mm 440

1210 FRANCES and BATTEN BAY both pass while I was fixing lunch. We are now going through the Francis Marion National Forest recreation area. This is a no wake zone to protect the launching ramp

Boat ramp

from marker #50 to marker #51. We see campgrounds with trailers and tents along the shore. We see a big power yacht being towed north by TowBoat US.

Towing a large boat

1344 We hear PENLEE CHALLENGER calling the City Marina. We can now see the Isle of Palms fixed bridge. I think we are going to make it. We come by the Isle of Palms marina at 1415 (2:15 pm)

Flock of birds over the marina

and I see that there is a new restaurant open for business there. We also pass a Parasailing boat docked just past the marina.

Para Sailing boat

We go under the fixed bridge south of the marina at 2:34 pm

Fixed bridge

and pass the golf course right by the ICW.

Golf course

As we are approaching the Ben Sawyer bridge

Ben Sawyer bridge

It starts to open pretty early.

Looking up at the Ben Sawyer Bridge

But we do get down to the bridge and get through it. I look back and see the traffic backed up as the bridge closes.

Charleston Maritime Center had no space except for one night on the gas dock, and when we went to visit a friend there, it seemed much more exposed to wakes than I remember it being. Buzzard's Roost said they had been so busy that they could not take advance reservations. Toler's Cove said they were completely booked. I thought Isle of Palms was too expensive, and ditto the City Marina.

So I called the Charleston Harbor Marina at Patriot Point - it is $1.50/night and 30 amp electric is $4.00. But by the week it is only $1.07/ft/night, so that's where we are. We got to there by 1544 - total trip 505 nm - today's trip 64.1 sm with an average speed of 6.6 mph and a max speed of 8.4 mph. It took us 9 hours and 45 minutes. We were both tired. Bob says we are never going to do that again. Of course he says that every time we do one of these long days. Maybe we should have just waited a day at Dock Holiday's and taken it more leisurely

We normally only stay 4 or 5 days with our children, but at this marina it is so much cheaper by the week that we are going to stay a week. It is also cheaper to rent a car for a week. Normally our son works 2nd shift Thursday through Monday and has Tuesday and Wednesday off. That's what we've based our schedule on- to be here Saturday and leave next Friday. But we find out that his hours are going to be different this week. He's working 2nd shift Saturday and Sunday and the working first shift Monday through Friday.

I checked us in at the fuel dock and Bob walked around to see where everything was. We went up to have dinner at the Reel Bar at the Hilton. We didn't want to bother with a full dinner at the 'real' restaurant. The girls behind the bar brought our dinners to us while we sat in the lounge chairs and we ate off the coffee table. There were some cute kids there presumably with their parents and grandparents. I looked at the TV while we ate.

I also look and the dates on our registration slip are wrong, so I go get it changed. We are on D dock - not very far from the gas dock, which is good because I don't have so far to walk to the bathrooms there.

Bathrooms on the gas dock

They have green and red markers as men and women's signs. They no longer have phone lines at the slip so I go up and send emails.

While I was downloading email in the main office, I heard about a guy who worked for DNR who'd been out in a boat about 45 minutes away who had a heart attack, and was being brought in to the marina. Reportedly, the Coast Guard refused to come and get him - he died.

Sunset

Sunset at the marina

Saturday 15 November 2003

Our oldest daughter D is having trouble getting email to me - pocketmail seems to have put filters on without telling me. We get our rental car from Enterprise, and Bob stopped by Radio Shack to buy a cable. He watered the batteries and then we went to our son's house and got our schedules organized. We left when he went to work after I downloaded email, and we picked up the prescriptions that had been forwarded by our daughter.

Daughter-in-law and son in their kitchen

We then went down to the Maritime Center and visited CSY 33 deLight, who was docked there. There is a big sunken sightseeing boat in the inner basin which the dockmasters are upset about.

CSY deLight at the dock

Max was not on the boat, but we waited around a bit and found that he'd been taking a shower. Then we drove out into town to find a place to eat. We went by Hyman's and there was a line already and it wasn't even 5:30. We found someone leaving a metered parking place and slid into it and started to walk. We stopped at two Italian places - neither one opened until 6, and one said he was full and had no room anyway.

When we saw the sign for Vickery's, our friend said it was a kind of pub/bar place. So I said - they've probably got a happy hour and are open now. So we went in, and they were. There is another Vickery's on the other side of the river in the Mt. Pleasant area.

Vickery sign

Inside the restaurant

They seated us inside (it was too cold for outside) and billed each of us separately - I guess the waitress could not figure out who went with who. Our friend Max had two appetizers and two Rolling Rock beers on the happy hour specials (wings and quesadilla). I had black eyed pea fritters ($1.00), a cup of gazpacho (very spicy with a lot of onion), and a tossed salad with bacon and drank iced tea, and Bob had a chef's salad with salmon and also drank tea. The whole bill for the three of us was $36.52 including a $6.00 tip. I would have had dessert, but the two guys were falling to sleep.

Sunday 16 November 2003

Looking across to Charleston

Knotted dock rope

It has been glassy calm the last couple of days - we do have some mild wakes from the freighters going in and out of the harbor.

Reflections in the marina

RosalieAnn at the dock

My stepstool to get onto RosalieAnn

Looking down the sterns of the boats in the marina

There is a wireless network in the marina, which I eventually get to work. Bob washed the boat. He says the alternator bracket is broken and he can find no one in Mt. Pleasant who will do the welding.

We left the boat at noon and he went to Walmart and Home Depot. Then we got caught in a motorcycle cavalcade. We went to Robs and stayed until he left for work.

We were driving around in the dark trying to find a place to eat. We tried the restaurant next to The Trawler and couldn't even get into the parking lot. So we went there.

View from The Trawler restaurant

The place was almost deserted. I see by searching on the internet that it has many bad reviews, including bad service. I didn't think it was that bad. I think Bob had shrimp appetizer as an entree

Bob's steamed shrimp

and

Bread pudding $4.50 for dessert.

Creme brule

I had creme brulee for dessert for $4.95- that's something I get almost every time I can. The whole dinner including tip was $46.70 for two of us. Then we got gas in the car.

Monday 17 November 2003

I called Dell and after 1.5+ hours on the phone being shifted from one person to another around and around, I finally gave up on getting credit for the RW drive which makes the black Dell hang, and ordered another one.

Bob went out - still unable to find anyone in Mt. Pleasant and drove all the way back to Summerville where the Caterpillar place did the welding for him for free. They gave it to him red hot (on a wire) and he quenched it in a mud puddle so that he could put it in the car without burning it up. He also found a Perkins place and ordered a replacement bracket. He reinstalled the bracket on the engine.

We didn't go to Robs because he was working 4 to midnight Sunday and then 8-4 on Monday. We went up to Andolini's Pizza. You give your order in at the counter, and pay and then sit down at a table and some apparently free lance waiters bring you your order. I considered getting a Calzone, but eventually we just got a large cheese pizza and some breadsticks. The pizza and bread sticks were $21.50 and we left the waiter $2.00. There was too much to eat so we took some back to the boat.

Andolini's pizza

Their website says: "We make our own dough, grate our own cheese, and make fresh sauce daily. N.Y. style pizza comes naturally to us, as Michael Rabin, the founder of Andolinis Pizza, was born in Queens, New York. Edie, his wife, not only makes all the dough, but she helps make it all happen too. Michael's brother, Neil, was born in Brooklyn and is our "chief cook and bottle washer." As you can see, we are family owned and operated and have been serving great N.Y. style pizza to the people of Charleston since 1991. "

Tuesday 18 November 2003

They delivered my RW drive to the boat (I put my slip number on my order). They also delivered Bob's new bracket, but in spite of the fact that he spelled the name of the boat for them 3 times, they sent it to "Roady Ann" and the marina couldn't figure out who that was. So we didn't get that until November 20th. We went to Rob's and we got two of the packages that D sent, but not the photoworks package. It never did come and I had to order a replacement.

We watched our grandson playing basketball

Bob and son's family at basketball practice

Stretching and Basketball practice

Wednesday 19 November 2003

Bob insisted we'd have good wind and should go outside down to FL on Friday. He went to Shem Creek and bought shrimp and steamed them. Rob came over after work (he works just around the corner from the marina) and we ate them.

Thursday 20 November, 2003

Bob found that his part had arrived, and then we went to the commissary and exchange. We went to Rob's but the last package had still not arrived.

TV room

Grandson's guitars

Granddaughter's new bed

We took the family out to dinner at Oscar's before we left Charleston. This is my DIL's favorite place.

Oscar's

My husband had Three Amigos dish ($8.95). My DIL had she crab soup first ($3.95) and then she had two crab cake appetizers.

Two Crab Cake Appetizer $8.95

My granddaughter had hamburger and fries ($2.95). I had the

Sirloin special on spinach and sweet potato fries

with a side salad for $18.95, and for dessert - ice cream crepe for $3.25. The ice cream crepes are now $4.50

Friday, 21 November 2003

Bob returned the car to the office. I could not boot up the Toshiba, so I prepped the black Dell and had a shower. We cast off about 0920. Other than my having some difficulty holding the boat to the dock so Bob could get back on, we had no difficulty getting out of the marina. We set off to go out of the harbor into the Atlantic

Overnight to Florida

When we last saw our intrepid sailors they were bravely venturing forth out of Charleston harbor.

Brown haze over the city

The sky over Charleston is a funny yellowish color down by the city. The rest of the sky is blue and clear. We went past Ft. Sumter

and Ft. Moultrie on Sullivan's Island.

Fort Moultrie

We've visited Ft. Sumter with our grandchildren, but we have not yet been to Ft. Moultrie. We pass the Sullivan's Island lighthouse and I take several pictures as we go along.

Sullivan's Island lighthouse

When I look for information on the internet, I find that the lighthouse is triangular and was built in 1962. It has been declared 'surplus property' by the Coast Guard, but it is not open to the public.

Fort Sumter with the ferry

We see the Fort Sumter ferry approaching the fort at 10:15.

Then we went out through the jetties, which are under water at high tide. Sometimes people who aren't familiar with the harbor and have no charts come to grief on these jetties because they don't see them or know they are there. The tide was going out at about 2 knots (our SOG i.e. speed over ground) is 7 knots but through the water we are only doing 5.3 knots), so we have a BIG boost and are going 8.8 mph.

Fishing boats

There are lots of little fishing boats inside the jetties. When we get out past the jetties we turn south. I look back and see the morning sun on Ft. Sumter and the brown haze over the city.

Fort Sumter

Bob pulled out the main and staysail, but there wasn't much wind.

Morris Island lighthouse in the distance

We can still see the shore, and we see a lighthouse south of Charleston which I believe is Morris Island Light near Folly Beach. We see dolphins which play 'chicken' with the boat for 15 minutes or so - racing alongside and then darting across in front. Again I didn't get any pictures because I was afraid if I went to get the camera, they'd be gone.

1240 - I still have enough of a signal on the bag phone to do pocketmail. We've been 25.5 sm and 22 nm.

1346 I took a nap. While I was napping, Bob said that a CG helicopter buzzed us and also buzzed some other boats.

1435 - trip 39.5 sm or 34 nm approaching St. Helena Sound. There's very little signal on the bag phone and none on the ATT phone. Wind is 10-11 knots from the SE. I took another nap. Bob refuses to nap.

1600 Retrieved pocketmail - ATT cell phone has no signal.

November 21, 2003 - Evening

1735 (5:35 pm) - Trip 60.3 sm or 52 nm. The sun has set and the lights are on. We are between Port Royal sound and Savannah. We've eaten dinner.

Bob went down at about 1745, but came up at 1945 saying he couldn't sleep. While he was attempting to sleep, I dodged some freighters, saw some more dolphins and saw a meteor. I can still do pocketmail. We are hearing radio traffic from Charleston, and Savannah both. We do get some warning when the big ships say they are going out the channel.

Night time - November 21, 2003

The stars are very bright except near shore where I can see the glow in the sky from the various cities we pass - first Charleston and then I guess Beaufort (dimmer) and then Savannah. I try to take a picture, but am unsuccessful.

There are big rollers coming from the east, but the surface of the water is pretty smooth and I can see the low stars reflected. Sometimes I can't tell that it is a star and not a ship - until of course it gets above the horizon a bit. There's also some kind of strobe thing west of us.

I went down and slept from about 2000 to about 2330.

2344 - Trip 102 sm. I reminded Bob that he never could sleep underway in the aft cabin, so he went down to the main saloon. I started hearing the CG asking if anyone had seen a red parachute flare, but I had not.
0130 - Bob said he'd slept a little, so I went down to the aft cabin (I can sleep there perfectly well) and stayed there until 0530. Bob went to the forward cabin to try and rest again.

Dawn - November 22, 2003

Dawn on the Atlantic at 6:50 am

At 0630, the sky started to lighten up

0648 - trip 150 sm - average speed 7 mph - 130 nm Water depth is 60 feet, course 218 deg. Wind 8.4 knots - SOG 5.7 knots - speed through the water 5.8 knots - there is a little current against us.

The sky gets lighter as the sun begins to come up.

Dawn - is that land to the East?

It looks like there is land to the east of us (which I know is not so). It's a bank of low lying clouds. The ships in the Savannah River are complaining about fog. I turn off the night colors on the computer (the night time vision lights are red like in a darkroom so as not to destroy our night vision) and turn off the GPS lights but leave the running lights on. I try hard to get a picture of the sun coming up behind the clouds

Sun rising 7:15 off the coast of Georgia

0700 - I estimate about 30 sm to go to the St. Mary's River inlet. By 7:30, the sun is well up. At night-time you can see the lights of the ATON (Aids TO Navigation) for a long distance. In the daytime you can't see them as well because they don't stand out as much. OTOH you can see the ships better during the day.

I see the rollers up ahead look like breaking surf, but it isn't. Later, Bob said that he saw that phenomena yesterday but didn't say anything to me because he thought I might give him a hard time about it (I don't like big waves).

Someone with a DSC radio (Digital Selective Calling) has broadcast a distress signal. There is considerable traffic with the CG in various places with other folks who have a DSC radio who got the distress signal. We don't have a DSC radio. Apparently the DSC radios give the number of the radio broadcasting the distress call and the other radios can read the number.

0805 - Off St. Andrews Sound (Brunswick GA). Trip 158 sm average 7 mph. 18 sm to the inlet. Bob got up and shaved and we ate breakfast.

0847 - trip 163 sm - 14 sm from the St. Mary's channel

0930 - trip 168 sm. We can see the stacks of the paper mills at Fernandina in the distance.

Paper mill

We saw a big power cat heading north. Someone has called the CG to report the sighting of a whale (black) The next day I heard a funny story about this inlet. We were talking about the current. Someone said that a friend was out fishing and not paying much attention to where he was. He drifted back and forth with the current and tide. When it was time to go home, he headed for the mills that he could see. But the inlet didn't look familiar to him. It turned out that he had gone in to Brunswick Inlet instead of the St. Mary's River. (Brunswick also has paper mills - the Inlet is one that shouldn't be done without sufficient local knowledge.)

I called Fernandina on the bag phone - there's no signal on the ATT phone. I know that they don't take reservations, but I'm hoping to get there in time to get space on the inside docks which are less exposed to the weather. The bag phone has an external antenna (we are using the antenna as a flag staff which is on the stern of the boat), plus it has a bigger, heavier and more powerful battery. That's why it gets a signal when the little cell phone cannot.

0944 Bob went to the head, and the alternator started to squeal and the apparent rpms went down below 10K. He looked and said the house water system pump was leaking on the alternator belt and that's what was causing the squeal. The bilge was also almost full of water. He started the bilge pump and he turned off the pressure water system and said we wouldn't have water until that was fixed.

1000 - Finally have one bar on the ATT cell phone. At least there is something, although it is too little to actually have a conversation. We played chicken with a shrimp boat trailing nets, but "let him" win.

Shrimp boat

There are shrimp boats all over - north of the inlet - south of the inlet - converging - diverging.

Bob notes that the lighted range markers have us outside of the channel.

Approaching a range

Hear a boat repeatedly calling a Navy vessel. I think it is a tug calling.

Tug in the inlet by Cumberland Island

Don't see any Navy vessel and never hear the Navy vessel answer. But we do see a tug.

They've renumbered the buoys in the inlet and the one marked #16 on the chart is now #10. This doesn't make a problem for us because we have the chart on the computer and it shows us where we are in relation to the shore, but for cruisers on the ICW who are turning at a certain buoy number, rather than going to a location by GPS, it means that they might end up in St. Mary's Georgia instead of Fernandina Beach, Florida.

There is a LOT of current in the inlet channel. It takes us about a hour and a half to get in the inlet

Kayaks in the inlet

Shrimp boat

Fort Clinch

Range marker in the channel

because the current out against us made our progress so slow.

Fort Clinch park dock

Crane

Boats in the anchorage

We finally tie up at the marina after a trip of 187 sm (or 163 nm - nautical miles) with an average speed of 6.8 mph - maximum speed of 10.4 mph. It took us 27.5 hours to do the trip, and we've saved 5 stops, but Bob is extremely cranky from lack of sleep.

We are too late to get an inside dock. The outside docks are really unsafe and certainly uncomfortable in a NW wind. But the weather is calm and sunny so it shouldn't make much difference. Before we tie up for good we get 41 gals of fuel and try to pump out the new holding tank, but there's not enough in it to pump it out yet. The marina has an internet connection in the office. They have showers, fuel and ice. The old town is right there in walking distance, but a grocery store is about 2 miles away.

Tied up behind FOUR SEASONS

The dock people take pity on us and put us right behind a power boat named FOUR SEASONS instead of all the way down at the end of the dock. Down there we'd have to walk a quarter mile just to get to the bathrooms.

Yellow catamaran at the end of the docks

One of the foreign boats that is anchored in the anchorage across from the marina - a big catamaran from Scandinavia, came in to get fuel.

We had dinner at the Marina Restaurant early,

The Marina Restaurant.

but they don't have Early Bird specials on weekends. The Marina Restaurant is not the restaurant at the marina. It is near the marina in town.

We walked up to Fernandina Fudge This shop makes their own candy and also sells ice cream. They advertise "Our Fudge and Chocolates are made in the traditional way using all natural ingredients, cooked in a copper kettle and made on a marble slab."and Bob got fudge and I got a half pound box of pralines for $5.00

Fernandina Fudge Candy store

The CG boat SHRIKE (which is the name of a bird) was at the dock getting fuel when we got back to the boat.

Coast Guard boat SHRIKE

Bob said he had trouble sleeping.

Sunday, November 23, 2003

My sister made arrangements to go to Amelia Island Plantation for a couple of days before Thanksgiving for a short break. She was going to meet us at Fernandina. She was supposed to fly in on Saturday, but my BIL was very sick, so she postponed the whole vacation a day.

We talk to various people on the docks.

Electric pedestal at the marina by RosalieAnn

Bob got the dink down from the davits and scrubbed the diesel smoke off the aft end. We talked to John and Barbara some Canadians who had two goldens - an older male and a 3 month old female puppy. They have a Krogen on the inside of the south side of the docks and are leaving it here and going home for Christmas. The south side docks closest to shore have no water at low tide

Low tide at the inside southside docks

Bob discovers that John was a naval aviator in the Canadian navy. Bob also cycled out to the Winn Dixie and we spent some time watching people smoke their tires trying to retrieve their boats at the boat ramp. I did email and found out from Kevin, the dock master, that the tides are especially high - they are 8.8 feet since it is a new moon.

THe CG boat moved to behind us

Coast Guard boat docking - will it crush the little yellow catamaran?

and I thought they were going to crush the yellow catamaran behind them. It's a whole lot more difficult for them than it is for us - mostly because the helm and the line handlers aren't in contact with each other. Everyone is very careful not to make wakes with the CG here.

Pablo Creek is the place we normally stay just before St. Augustine, but they aren't answering the phone. I find Beach Marine is just a little farther along past Pablo Creek. so I make a reservation there for Monday.

We had conversations with my sister Barbara on the phone. They landed in Jax, but they lost her bag. They checked in to the hotel and our BIL George took a nap. Bob bought some shrimp at the seafood market next to the marina bathrooms and steamed them, and then Barbara and George came down to the boat and we ate shrimp.

Eating shrimp in the cockpit

They had trouble figuring out how to get down to the boat. It is simple from the dock to the land - there's only one way to do it. From the other direction it looks as if you can get out to the transient dock by walking along the south side docks.

To the south side docks

My sister's photo of the incorrect dock access

But there's no connection between that dock and ours.

High tide

After we ate the shrimp that Bob steamed, we got into their car and looked for a place to eat that we might not be able to get to on foot. But my BIL had just been very sick with a high fever and didn't feel like eating very much, or anything very spicy. He also doesn't eat much meat or fat. So we ended up at the Loop Grill which is a chain of franchises with headquarters in Jacksonville which is mostly in Florida, but also has some locations in Georgia, and NC. They have pizzas, burgers, salads, wraps, soups and desserts

The side of the Loop Grille with my sister BIL and husband walking in - part of the neon sign is out (the OP of Loop isn't lit)

Barbara had a walnut salad which looked good.

Walnut salad

George and Bob and I had the black bean soup which added impetus to our lower digestive trace for several days. Bob and I also had a chicken caesar wrap

Bean soup and wrap

and Bob had a milkshake.

We challenged my sister to ride from Amelia Island to Jacksonville with us, and she decided to do that.

Monday, November 24, 2003

Sunrise from the marina

We were up early because we wanted to leave at high tide as far as possible to avoid the shoaling in the Amelia River and Nassau Sound. I took some pictures of the plovers on the pier.

Plovers on the docks at 7:45

Barbara boarded earlier than she probably wanted to (being a night owl), and we cast off at 0745.

Amelia Island marina sign with Manatee area sign

She ate her breakfast, which she brought with her. We came down to the railroad bridge

Railroad Bridge

and were so close to it when we went through that I could read a notice stenciled on it about lead paint. But I didn't get my digital camera unlimbered fast enough to take a picture of the sign. As we went through, I looked back and saw someone on the bridge. When I used the binoculars, I saw someone clambering around on the bridge, and pretty soon, the bridge CLOSED. I'd never seen that bridge used before.

Closed Railroad Bridge

Bob made my sister take the wheel for a bit,

My sister at the wheel

but I missed the fact that there was a range and she wouldn't know what that was. So when we came to it, she asked which way to go, and Bob said it didn't matter. Since it was high tide, there wasn't any particular indication as to which side was the shallow side, and she picked to go on the wrong side of it, which mean that the depth sounder went off.

So Bob took over and promptly ran aground. The tide was high (remember 8.1 foot tides), so we'd have been aground well before this at low tide. The depth sounder starts to sound at 7 ft. and we stop forward movement at 4.6 ft. Bob backed off without any problem.-

She took a nap in the main saloon. While she was napping, we crossed Nassau Sound and I think I saw some of the buildings of their hotel up on the ridge. Most of those buildings seem to look the same from a distance. I didn't want to wake her up and ask her.

Fixed bridge

We also saw the Nassau Sound bridge which is currently non-functional because the inlet is closed.

Nassau Sound non-opening swing bridge

My BIL will be traversing the bridge by car on the way to pick up my sister. He will also have to take the Ferry from Ft. George Island to Mayport.

We got to the Sister's Creek bridge about 10, and went through without any problem.

Approaching Sister's Creek bridge

Sister's Creek bridge with a tide board showing 19 feet clearance at the center when the bridge is closed

Our mast and the raised Sister's Creek Bridge

We passed the boatyard that is hard by the bridge,

Shipyard by Sister's Creek

and could see the big ships going up and down the St. John's River ahead of us. I took some pictures of the yard on the north side of the river and then we managed to cross. We saw ships going down the river before we crossed it,

Approaching the St. John River

and we saw ships going down the river after we crossed it, but when we crossed there were no big ships going up or down. We only had to worry about the current in the river and finding the entrance to the ICW between the rock jetties on the other side.

Ships at Mayport

After we crossed the river we could look east and see the Mayport Navy boats and a helicopter. Our nephew (my sister's son) was stationed there for a time.

They are building a new high rise bridge which doesn't appear to be 65 feet - it was only 63 or 64 feet on the tide boards.

Tideboard with only 64 feet

We went under it without a problem as our mast is only 58.5 feet.

Under construction bridge

Construction

Standing wave from current by the bridge

We passed Pablo Creek - or what WAS Pablo Creek. It is gone completely - leveled to the ground. Now I understand why they didn't answer the phone. Apparently the area is going to be used to construct condos with their own slips.

Where the Pablo Creek marina was and no longer is

It is now almost one o'clock and my sister is starving to death. But I've become accustomed to Bob's habit of not eating until after we've safely anchored or tied up unless we aren't going to arrive until after 2 or 3 pm. She went foraging around and found some crackers to hold her over.

Beach Marine is a couple of miles farther past where Pablo Creek used to be. There is a Florida Fish and Game building on the north side of the channel with a big antenna.

Florida Fish and Game building

There is another marina across the way, but it doesn't have enough channel depth for us. We tied up at Beach Marine after 31.3 sm at an average speed of 5.6 mph (we've had the current against us a lot of the time) at about 2 pm. We've done a total of 694 nm this trip. Beach Marine cost was $1.25/ft Electric and tax added up to $9.20. I wasn't able to use the internet although they say they have some. Their website says they have wet slips for travelers, laundry facilities, dry storage, T docks, easy safe access to the Intracoastal Waterway. Diesel and marine gas are available as well as parts and supplies. Nearby stores and shops provide everything one needs. Permanent dockage for on-board living features phone service, 30 and 50 amp electrical service and cable. There isn't much current in the marina, but the current through the McCormick bridge which is right next to it is *extremely* fast at some states of tide

Fairway at Beach Marine

RosalieAnn at the dock

While I went up to pay, Barbara and Bob went up to Billy's Boathouse Grille (the restaurant on site) to have a late lunch.

Billy's Boathouse

Bob had a coconut shrimp basket, and Barbara had a grilled snapper sandwich and I had a chicken sandwich with cheese and bacon. Barbara also had three appetizer crab cakes which she didn't care for as they were fried. The sauce was good though.

When I went up to try to do email (at which I was unsuccessful), I heard from the marina folks that there was going to be a vote tonight on whether to turn this marina into a condo arrangement too. This is very worrisome as there isn't really another good spot to stop between St. Augustine and Fernandina.

Sisters

Sunset at Beach Marine

George meanwhile took A1A down the coast including a ferry and arrived at the marina about 5. We went out prospecting for a place to eat dinner that we wouldn't walk to from the marina and ended up at Tsunami, a Japanese restaurant in Jax Beach.

Tsunami restaurant

George and Barbara apparently did a piece for US 1 (their local free newspaper) where they ate at 6 different Japanese restaurants in 7 days, so they were able to help us with what to order. But Bob was so tired I thought he might fall asleep at the table (he still hadn't caught up on sleep from the 27 hours offshore) and I was also tired.

I had a seaweed salad, which wasn't quite what I expected,

Seaweed salad

sweet potato tempora (which was good but a little greasy tasting when cold)

Sweet potato tempura

and steak Kushyuki which was on skewers. Bob had the steak also.

Steak Kushyuki

George had the 16 piece of fish sushimi dinner with miso soup and Barbara had 6 piece sushi appetizer which included white tuna, red tuna, salmon, shrimp, yellowtail and snapper.

6 piece sushi appetizer

She also had the sunomono salad which had conch, octopus, crab, shrimp and cucumber in vinegar.

Sunomono salad with octopus

Bob and I took most of our steak back to the boat. We were really too tired to appreciate a new type of food. But George was quite enthusiastic about the restaurant. He paid the bill which was $72.10

George discussed the water massage that he had. Then they returned us to the boat and they went back to the resort. Bob told me later that I should never sign him up for anything like that.

Tuesday 25 November 2003

Bob was up at the bathroom 3 times list night and said it was due to the black bean soup we had in Fernandina - I had similar but less intense problem.

I called Robert about 7 to tell him where we had gotten to and where we were going. Then we cast off nicely. Problem was - the McCormick Bridge only opens on the hour and we had to wait until 8. The current was going through the bridge at a couple of knots and there was a wind. So we called the bridge tender and told him that we would wait in the entrance channel of the marina until he started to open and then go through. As soon as the bascule started up, Bob dove for the opening - we went through when the bridge was barely up.

Looking back at the McCormick bridge

It's overcast and chilly today. We see evidence of another condo on the west bank. We go through Palm Valley and there are huge houses on the east side

House in Palm Valley

but no one around except yard workers and construction crews making more big houses. We did see someone inside one house on the phone. We came by a house with 4 dogs out on the pier and Bob and I bark back at them. The other side is completely wild.

Wild side of the river

The Palm Valley bascule bridge has been replaced with a fixed bridge. I note that the tide board ends at 61 feet, so I guess if your mast is taller than that you have to hope you guess right as to what the clearance actually is.

Palm Valley fixed bridge with truncated tide board

BLUE MARINE the catamaran passes us. PARADOX, one of the multitude of Carvers that were in the marina last night also passes.

I called Oyster Creek and obtained dockage for 3 days. Oyster Creek says we can come if we promise to leave Friday morning before 11 as they will need the dock then. Then I canceled St. Augustine (which I don't like because they charge for the internet access and Oyster Creek doesn't plus it is more expensive overall) and also pushed back Daytona reservation which I made for tomorrow to Friday. I figure no one will be open Thanksgiving, so there's no point in pushing it. We heard folks going through the Bridge of Lions at 1130 and 1230 (they don't open at noon).

We went by the little airport and Vilano Beach

Villano Beach pier

Conch House Marina near the lighthouse

St Augustine lighthouse

and across the St. Augustine Inlet. There were breakers all the way across the mouth of the inlet.

Waves across the inlet

I have seen it that way several times before. There was a presumably local sailboat sailing out near the breakers of the inlet.

A sailboat and breakers across the inlet

Bob was swore that it was NOT the inlet, but he had to admit that it actually WAS, when the place he thought was the inlet was a landlocked dead end.

We approached the Bridge of Lions and found BANDERSNATCH on the green side of the channel.

Bandersnatch and the White Rabbit (dinghy)

The normal anchorage is on the west (red) side. When we saw that White Rabbit (their dinghy) was there, we called on the phone and talked to them, and then also called across between the boats. We had to wait until the 1300 opening for the bridge anyway.

Our friends said that the channel markers had been moved so that the channel was wider and the anchorage was narrower, but there was plenty of room where they were and the holding was good. It would just be a longer dinghy ride to the dinghy dock.

Green light on the Bridge of Lions

When it was time for the bridge to open, there was a sports fish on the other side wanting an opening and Bob thought he'd go through first, because he was upstream. But he hung back and then when we started to go through, he went at the same time.

Following us through the bridge

A large scruffy looking buff-yellowish power boat with a for sale sign on it also followed us through. We'd heard them calling 'the sailboat' for a pass and had no clue who or where they were. Our name is written in letters over a foot high on the stern. Don't know why they couldn't see it.

They went up the San Sebastian River before us and we heard them docking on the radio. The dockmaster was very explicit in his directions - he told us later that as he assisted them to dock, the lines were falling apart in his hands.

SCARLET LADY Trumpy style yacht

We docked on the end of C dock T head about 1400 after a trip of 34.5 sm - maximum speed 11.4 mph, average 5.9 mph. The trip took about 6 hours.

After I checked us in (Boat US discount makes it 97 cents a foot), I used the bathroom and took the computer up to the internet. I looked up phone numbers of places that delivered food in the phone book in the cruiser's lounge, and we ordered pizza from Papa Johns. It was delivered very quickly.

Papa Johns

Wednesday 26 November 2003

Bob walked to the Sailor's Exchange but didn't buy anything. He also walked down to West Marine. They said that the restaurant here (which is closed Mon and Tues) would be open Weds for lunch, so we assumed it would be open Weds night as well. NOT.

Oyster Creek - closed restaurant

It was closed for "Thanksgiving eve". So we walked down to where the restaurant La Pentola used to be. La Pentola had moved downtown, and there was a new restaurant there called La Cocina Restaurant which had just been in operation for eight days. We were the only people there, so the service was excellent.

Inside of the restaurant

I had carrot soup and Bob had French onion soup - both very good.

Bread basket and Bob's onion soup

Then Bob had ravioli appetizer as an entree and I had the ribeye special which was $16.95.

Ribeye Special

It was very good - it had a sauce on it, and was presented with rice, a squash corn vegetable dish and cactus. There was also 'garlic bread' which was in a basket of 5 and was replenished 3 times as we ate it. It had a bit of red (tomato maybe) on top.

Reflections at Oyster Creek

Thursday Nov 27, 2003 - Thanksgiving

I wrote up some stuff and went up to send it.

RosalieAnn at Thanksgiving

Bob cooked the turkey breast and we had Thanksgiving dinner about 3 pm. Bob spent most of the afternoon watching an "At Home with the Braithwaites" marathon. Also watched a little bit of football.

Sunset at Oyster Creek

Friday -28 November 2003

We cast off at low tide - the stern swung out so we could turn around.

Leaving Oyster Creek - looking back at B dock and SCARLET LADY

We didn't have much water - depth gauge showed only 5.2. We idled slowly down the creek - me at the wheel and Bob stowing lines and fenders. The sky is a brilliant clear blue. I'm a bit worried about the forecast front going through and showers this afternoon, but there's no sign of it now. We are being given a boost by the tide coming in the St. Augustine inlet. We pass the stern wheeler dinner boat JEAN MARY which has been under renovation by the yard farther down the river.

JEAN MARY - dinner cruise boat

We had to be off the dock today because this boat is coming from there to be docked at the dock we just left at Oyster Creek this morning. We get down the San Sebastian River and go under the fixed bridge there before 0800.

Fixed bridge next to the San Sebastian River

A sports fish called JACKPOT wakes everyone and I hear other folks complaining on the radio. He doesn't know how to give folks an easy pass with little or no wake, or he doesn't care.

House with a cupola which is on the charts

When we got to the Crescent Beach bridge, we go through by ourselves (there is a significant amount of current against us)

Crescent Beach Bridge all the way up

after another boat about a mile ahead called KALUHA. There are two or three boats behind us, and the bridge makes the first two of them wait and we go through together.

Houses on shore south of the Crescent Beach Bridge

A sailboat from Florida with the US flag flying from the spreaders (not correct flag etiquette - should be from the backstay or from a flagpole at the stern - flags that fly from the spreaders are courtesy flags of a country you are visiting, or yacht club pennants etc.) comes north and she makes him wait for the next opening.

We hear a commercial fishing boat reporting to the CG in Mayport that a sportsfish is taking on water and dragging toward the Matanzas Inlet bridge from the ocean side.

Fort Matanzas from the ICW

Since it has be dredged, this inlet hasn't been as troubling for us. People still tend to follow us (even though we are slower than they are) so that if anyone is going to go aground, we will do it first.

Ketch way behind us in Matanzas Inlet

We can't see anything of the inlet itself from the ICW, as we go inland around the delta of shallow water at the entrance of the inlet. We do see kayakers along the shore.

Kayakers near the inlet

It is a nice day, and it is a holiday weekend so a lot of people are out and about. We also see people launching boats along the river,

Launching boats on the ICW

and we pass the inlet without incident.

SEAFOX, a large power boat with a tent/cabana on the top aft deck and a mural below that passed. As we passed the old Marineland about 1000, Bob said that he saw a dolphin jumping in the old stadium. I didn't see it. The stadium and marina closed down before our 2000 trip, but I have heard rumors that they might reopen.

Old Marineland complex and stadium

We actually catch up with KALUHA (from Norfolk with a tan hull) and pass. As we pass them, we see someone standing almost in the channel and the water is only up to their thighs. He's completely captured the attention of the man at the helm of KALUAH.

Man on KALUAH looking back at someone fishing in the channel

This sign on the Palm Coast side of the waterway says:

Sanctuary development sig

"SANCTUARY" (which I think is the name of a development)

"Estate Size
"Homes Sites
"Available"

with a phone number and tacked on the right edge

"Coming Soon"

We pass the north end of the Palm Coast waterways and canals, and look down the canal at all the expensive houses. I guess these are 'estate sized'.

Palm Coast houses on a canal

Palm Coast Marina from the intercoastal

We pass a large area on the east side of the canal which appears to be some kind of construction project for a marina or something. The channel goes all the way in to a basin.

Large cleared area with harbor

On the other side (the Palm Valley side) we see a relatively wild area, but with houses and things visible through the trees.

Couple with a boat

We note that many of the fixed bridges are not 65' at high tide. This bridge doesn't have any numbers on the tide board at all.

Fixed bridge with no numbers on the tide board and fisherman behind the fender

Note the fishermen peering out from the other side of the fenders. It doesn't concern us of course - we are only 58.5' but we hear some questions on the radio about whether the boats behind us will have to wait for low tide. It's low tide for the bridges and high tide for the shoals.

The blue ketch that went through the Crescent Beach bridge on the opening right after ours hangs in behind us for awhile. Their name turns out to be BIGGLES and I hear on the radio that they are from Wrightsville Beach NC but it's not on the boat anywhere. Their anchor is perched on the bobstay, and their outboard is dotted with pink and white polka dots.

KALUAH and BIGGLES

Kayakers about 1130

We are going through a canal known as Fox Cut now which is just a straight cut - no aids to navigation as there's no way to get lost. You just go straight ahead. Two trawlers, RETREAT and BLUE (with a wide blue hull stripe) pass. Finally CLEO a Nonsuch catboat from Dublin NH passes, and a trawler named POLLYANNA passes north of Ormond Beach. We pass an osprey or bald eagle on the top of a palm trunk which has no leaves.

Osprey on a palm trunk

It has gotten quite windy.

We hear a tug on the VHF radio, calling to traffic ahead of him. He is concerned that the wind will blow him into the shallows, or that he won't be able to make the turn ahead without being blown onto the side of the canal. So he wants to stay on the west side of the canal instead of passing oncoming traffic port to port as is normal. We are happy to oblige..

Barge being pushed by a tug

A big power boat named CHARM III passes and wakes us. We hear other folks on the radio complaining about him when he passes them, and he is highly indignant as he has passed far away from them, so what are they complaining about? (Closer is better in this case.)

Blimp

No wake sign on a couple of old boats

House near Ormond Beach

Ormand Beach fixed bridge at 3:15 pm

We see Charlie and Sandy Jackson's boat WINDSTAR (another CSY like ours) is still at Caribbean Jacks.

Windstar between two power boats

We go through the Main Street bridge in Daytona (the first of two opening bridges there). Unbeknownst to us, Charlie was sitting in his truck on the bridge and saw us go through. They ask us our final destination, and I lie and say the Bahamas. I think (although they say it is the CG that wants to know) that this is a ploy to track down boaters who are in FL more than 90 days to collect registration from them. Then we go through the Seabreeze bridge with the mosaic murals on the columns

Seaborne bridge with less than 65 ft clearance

The Seabreeze bridge (both spans) and several other bridges north of it are only 64 feet at high tide. Of course the tide has been unusually high because of the new moon.

Main Street Bridge opening

We go through the Memorial Bridge which is the second opening bridge in Daytona at 1610. I note that there is an 'advertisement' for the municipal marina on the side of the bridge.

Memorial Bridge with advert for municipal marina

It is a green sign that says

Daytona Marina available at
-- Halifax Harbor Marina--
Slips and Fuel at
Marker 39A
500 yards Ahead
Contact on Channel 16

We tie up on the J dock at Halifax Harbor after a trip of 53.6 sm at an average speed of 6.0 mph. Halifax Harbor is now $1.35/ft plus $5.00 for 30 amp. (Our bill for 2 days was $118.80 for 44 feet).

After we tied up, I called Caribbean Jacks to find out Charlie's phone number, and he calls me back right away. He tells me that he saw us go through the Main Street bridge. It starts to get very windy and cold and then starts to rain heavily. I'm happy that the rain held off until after we got docked.

We walked up to the parking lot and Charlie picked us up and we go back to Caribbean Jacks for dinner. Caribbean Jacks costs Charlie more than $800/month. This restaurant has been built since we last stayed at this marina, and it is BIG and popular. They have had to put in reserved parking spaces for the live-aboards - otherwise the restaurant patrons would leave them no place to park in their own marina. Charlie gets free meals for taking care of their salt water fish tank. Charlie figured there wouldn't be as many people here since it was rainy and nasty out - particularly there wouldn't be many motorcyclists out. Even so the restaurant was quite crowded and busy.

The special on the entrance board was Tilapia (fish) for $17.95.

Fishtank collage

The fish tank was at the entrance and you could see through it to the kitchen. There was also a window at the far end looking out onto and across the river.

Bob's half rack of ribs

My Teriyki chicken

Charlie's salmon special

He paid with his free meal card, so I don't know exactly what the total was.

Sandy is currently working in Tampa and living there. Charlie is getting ready to go back to their place in VA and fix the damage that Isobel caused. He said it cost him $5K to have the downed trees removed. $1K to have all but two done, and $4K for those two. He said that all the contractors are salivating to repair the damage and get big bucks.

The rain has more or less ended and Charlie takes us back to the marina. It is quite windy during the night, and it gets cold.

November 29, 2003 Saturday

The temps are about the same as they are in Baltimore today (Saturday).

Bob did a laundry. Washers were $1.25 a load and so were the dryers, and Bob said they were super efficient and dried quicker than most. They actually dry all of a load. Bob liked the West Marine here better (more complete) than in St. Augustine. I sent emails. Not much activity at the marina or on the waterway (we have the VHF on). The charmless CHARM III left early before I had a chance to 'educate' him in how to pass correctly - probably just as well.

Only happening of note - Bob checks the aft holding tank (the new one which he installed before we left) and discovered it is overfull and backed up into the toilet inlet. We tried to pump it out at Fernandina Beach, and they said there was nothing there. So we plan to get a pumpout in the morning before we leave (it's free here). He switches the forward head to the holding tank so we can get that pumped out too.

This means we can't use the toilet in the aft head next to where we sleep tonight. This is VERY inconvenient, as we normally get up a couple times a night and since it is VERY cold here (down in the lower 40s or upper 30s) that means we have the hatch boards in. So to 'go' we have to put on clothes, take out the hatch boards, put them back (so the other person doesn't freeze) and either go forward or walk up to the marina bathrooms. I decide to sleep in my clothes (with the key to the bathroom in my pocket) in order to eliminate one step.

Bathroom key

The forward head is very cold as we don't have a heater up there.

Sunday 30 November 2003

Bob got up about 0610 and ran the refrigeration. We undocked (I actually managed to flip a line off the cleat!!!) at 0655 and went over to the fuel dock for a pumpout. (It doesn't open until 0700) I did OK at throwing the bow line to the dock guy, but when I went to throw the midships line, a screwed up because I got parts of two different lines from the pinrail.

At the pumpout and gas dock - Marina office on the other side of the fairway

We had a successful pumpout of both tanks and Bob put the forward head back to Lectrasan. I then motored out of the channel while Bob stowed the lines.

Ocean side of the Halifax River in Daytona

For some reason, Bob always switches off autopilot whenever he hands over to me. I have trouble steering a straight line without it. I got into shallow water close to the edge of the channel and panicked but managed not to run aground.

He was finished stowing lines etc. by the time we got to Seven Seas Marina at Port Orange. The bridge in Port Orange is between several islands and the river narrows here. This makes for a Venturi effect at the marinas (like Seven Seas) upstream. Fortunately the bridge is a fixed bridge (even though the tide boards on the bridge show that at high tide it's only 64 feet),

Clearance of the Bridge

so we don't have to wait in the current for the bridge to open or worry about going fast enough to get through before it has to close. Bob pulled out the jib.

Ponce Inlet was our next obstacle, with shoaling reported down to 4'6" in some places. My observations of the tell-tails on the posts led me to think that the tide was going out. However the tide tables said that it was already out and coming in. If we were to go aground, coming in would be better.

In any case we entered the estuary of the inlet (with the red lighthouse on our east side

Ponce Lighthouse

and were passed between marker 1 and marker 3A by a big power boat which stirred up the bottom and made it impossible to tell what the depth actually was. We were passed by ANYTIME and by a Grady-White who didn't come off plane, so they didn't stir up the bottom much. Bob didn't go over behind them - partly I guess not to get out of the channel. If we steer into the wake of a power boat the wake is less. At the G5 we saw 5.5' on the depth gauge. when the power boats were long gone. We draw 5', but we don't actually go aground until the depth sounder says 4.6'. But it is anxiety producing when the thing starts beeping loudly at 7 feet. A power catamaran GADZOOKS came out of the anchorage and passed us.

GADZOOKS coming out of the anchorage

I'm sure they don't have any problem with the shoaling as their draft is probably much less than ours.

Anchored catamaran and lighthouse

Bob pulled in the jib. EXCEPTION passed.

Lighthouse and ATON

Near the Green 19 there was a red floater and the red side got shallower so we stayed closer to the green.

We got to the Coronado Bridge (North Causeway Bridge) in New Smyrna Beach at about 9:35. The New Smyrna bridges are painted pink. As we came into New Smyrna Beach, the sailboat behind us (named as we found later DUSO) which drew 7 feet ran aground briefly. We found that the Coronado bridge which used to be on demand is now on a schedule of every 20 minutes. A trawler passed and went under without an opening.

Pink Bridge clearance when closed

Marina and Riverview Hotel and Restaurant

We went through the 0920 opening with DUSO and a white ketch.

DUSO and ketch going through bridge

We passed the municipal marina.

New Smyrna Municipal marina

A sailboat was docked at the Sea Harvest restaurant which advertises free dockage.

Sea Harvest docks

We saw the red catamaran (with the difficult to pronounce or remember name) from Norway (I think) that we saw getting fuel in Fernandina Beach. They were tied up to what looked like park docks.

Scandinavian catamaran

There are signs on the docks, but I can't read them in the picture.

Pink fixed bridge

After we went under the pink fixed bridge, DUSO passed (I think he is single handing) and called across and asked if this was our normal speed because he never passes anyone. We see a park on the starboard side.

Riverfront Park in New Smyrna Beach

Playground in New Smyrna Beach

There is a children's playground a little farther along. I took this picture of an interesting barge as we passed.

T-Storms barge

Fishing is big here. We go past a bunch of fish camps, parks and trailer parks.

Fisherman's boats on shore

Boat ramp, pontoon boat and egret

Bassy Bay Fish Camp

Indian Mound Fish Camp

Trailer park

Going down through Mosquito Lagoon we met a barge and the tug ALIA from Stuart.

Tug ALIA and barge

Birds on an ATON in Mosquito Lagoon

Unlike Mosquito Inlet which has been renamed Ponce de Leon Inlet, Mosquito Lagoon has not been renamed. It's pretty quiet and there's very little to look at - Bob considers it boring. We see dolphins playing in the channel and some white pelicans. There's one little sandbar that's so thick with birds that it looks like it is covered with gravel. There's a boat putting out crab pots. Much of the Lagoon (outside of the channel) is very shallow.We are passed by a motor boat named PRUSSIAN PRIDE who asks us on channel 17 if we knew a doctor in Leonardtown who had a compound of 5 houses. I can't think who that can be, and he doesn't remember the name.

DUSO slowed down - I think he wanted us to go first, but we were at the turn into the Haulover Canal. Bob complained that it was a bad place to pass, and I reminded him that he didn't HAVE to pass, he could slow down too.

Fishermen near Haulover Canal

There were a lot of fishermen at the entrance to the canal and I briefly mistook one of them with a red shirt for a red marker on the green side.

Fisherman with a red shirt on the green side of the channel

Fenders of the Haulover Bridge

DUSO went through the Haulover bridge ahead of us

Following DUSO through the Haulover Bridge

and he stayed open for a blue hulled ketch (RHAPSODY?) that was behind us.

Looking back to Haulover Bridge

DUSO keeps looking back at us, and is talking on a phone, and isn't steering very well. He doesn't seem to know about the tanks that you can use as a range on the far bank of the Indian River.

Tanks to use as a range coming out of the Haulover Canal taken when we are closer

The spoil islands right at the exit to the canal have brown and right pelicans, cormorants and a couple of rosette spoonbills.

Pelicans and other birds on a spoil island

Off beyond one of the spoil island sandbars covered with cormorants there's a sign - I take the binoculars to read it - it says "Resume normal safe operation."

We are now crossing the Indian River toward Jay Jay and closing in on Titusville.

Going through the Jay RR bridge

Blue hulled ketch goes through Jay Jay RR bridge

After we go through the Jay Jay Railroad Bridge (followed by the blue hulled ketch), DUSO goes into the anchorage.

Anchorage from the marina

Anchorage from the marina

We come into the marina and get fuel and tie up. I pay for 2 days.

RosalieAnn in Titusville

The rate with Boat US discount is 95 cents a foot, but the fuel is $1.389 which isn't particularly cheap - total trip 812nm Today's trip 48.3 sm

Every time we come to Titusville we walk across the highway and across the parking lot of the shopping center and go to Azteca for dinner. The food is plentiful, and good. It seems to be a family run place. In the daytime the nearby courthouse workers probably come to eat here.

Bob walking in to Azteca

We came here on Nov 30th and it was decorated for Xmas.

Angel on the tree like one we had when I was little

There was a Xmas tree as well as exterior lights. Bob had the taco platter

Bob's taco platter

I had a taco salad. We also each had a frozen ice cream. The service wasn't as good as before and I didn't think the food was as good, but it is still a good restaurant.

Taco salad

After dinner I talked to a guy from a power boat and he told me about the fire in the St. Augustine anchorage. This is what the live-aboard list had to say about it.
It was a brand new trawler on it's maiden run from up north. A retired couple and their little black dog lived on it. When it first caught fire it was tied up (so we heard) to a green floater not more than a hundred yards from us. I only wish I had known. We are very sensitive to the danger signal. There were no whistles. ... But by the time we were aware of the fire the local cops had it towed to the flats north of the anchorage and were letting it burn.

The couple and their dog escaped in their dinghy. They were on TV that night. The skipper said he lifted the engine room hatch and could only see black smoke and no flames to squirt a fire extinguisher at. They couldn't think of anything to do about it but to abandon ship. I suspect it was an electrical fire.

Monday 1 December 2003

Did email. Bob walked to Eckarts and the Box and Save, but only bought lactaid. The weather sounds ominous. Bob says the power plugs for 110 on the forward port side of the boat aren't working.

The second day we were in Titusville, we figured that we'd spring for a cab and someone recommended this place. After we got here, we found that they would have delivered to the boat, which would have been way cheaper as the cab fare was $7.50 each way plus tip.

Kelsey's sign

The place was much better than the chain pizza places, and was nicely decorated with murals on the wall. They had half portions on the menu which is good for us as Bob doesn't want what most places give you as a full portion.

Mural on the wall

Murals on the wall

Garlic bread

Bob had spaghetti, and I had a pasta dish without sauce which I thought had a bit too much garlic. They have a notice on their menu which said that Italian cooking had to have garlic in it, and not to even bother to come in if you didn't want garlic. I also had garlic bread.

Pasta dish without sauce

The bill was $23.22 and we gave the waitress $4.00 tip

Sunset in Marina December 1st

Tuesday 2 December 2003

Sunrise at 0710 from Titusville

No wind this morning. Cast off about 0700. I was at the wheel and Bob managed the lines.

Leaving Titusville Marina

I forgot to put the external antenna on the charting GPS and it and Bob both complained. It said it wanted an INIT method, but as soon as it got the first satellite, it forgot about that.

TYCO, another sailboat, was waiting for the Titusville Swing bridge's first opening at 0715, but the bridge tender saw a trawler coming out of the marina and waited to open until she saw that the trawler was heading north.

Anchorage in Titusville

Bob pulls out the jib. The bridge finally swings open at 0719, letting the sun shine across the water. The sun turns the bridge into a silhouette.

Sun rises opposite the Titusville bridge

When we go through at 0720, the rising sun shines on the golden tan concrete against purple and pink clouds.

East side of the bridge in the morning sun

After we go through the bridge, Bob pulls out the jib. The Indian River is one of the few places on the ICW where we could actually sail

Titusville bridge closes as cars wait

Cape Canaveral launch building

High tension power lines high over the ICW

We got to the NASA bridge after 0800

NASA bridge opening

TYCO ahead of us at the NASA bridge

and went through with TYCO

NASA bridge restrictions

Do not drag anchor sign

Cormorants on the bridge fenders

and a trawler named SHIRLEE-J.

SHIRLEE-J as the NASA bridge closes about 0820

Traffic was backed up past the end of the very long causeway. Bob said they should have left for work earlier.

Model missile on shore

We went by the Canaveral Barge Canal, which I've never paid much attention to before. This time I watched out for it because we had considered whether it would be a good place to go outside or to come in.

Looking from the ICW to the Barge Canal

Several little power boats turned the corner before the fixed bridge and went down this channel.

There are several power plants on the west shore of the river,

Power plant on the west side of the river

and associated with them are big overhead power lines on very tall concrete poles. Authorized clearance 45 feet, except 85 feet over the channel.

Electric lines framed by lines on our boat

Power lines crossing the river

SEA CAPER, a dark hulled sailboat passed us.

Under fixed bridge

A pair of Pelicans on the bridge fenders

SEA CAPER behind us at the fixed bridge about 1000

About 1015, some big grey dolphins came up and splashed water at us on the windward side. They got water all over Bob's sunglasses and over the curtains on that side. I didn't get any pictures because I was afraid that the camera would get wet. We are coming down by Cocoa with its huge water tower with the American flag on it

Cocoa's water tower

Shore of Cocoa

Leaving Cocoa

. Bob complained that the wind was not as strong as predicted and took down the jib.

Intercoastal Marina sign

Then the wind picked up, and Bob put up the jib. We really sailed along, and reached the Melbourne fixed bridge by a little after 1230.

Going through the fixed bridge

Since we have a strong NE wind now, we need to anchor SW of something for protection. The Melbourne bridge is the last place I know of where we can get this protection. So we anchor after a trip of 40.6 sm by 1300.

In the lee of State Route 516 fixed bridge

Bridge abutments NE of us

There is a sailboat named OMEGA closer to shore,

OMEGA closer to shore

and a little later, there is a fire on shore and fire engines come. Since there is high wind (18-25 knots) and it is dry, there is a significant fire hazard. But the fire is soon out.

Smoke lingers after fire on shore is out

A barge and tug come through the bridge and go south.

Barge pushed by a tug coming through the bridge

There are bad wakes at this anchorage during the day. But they die out during the night. Bob has forgotten to run the refrigeration, so he turns on the engine to do that, and we eat dinner on the boat - very nice tender steak.

The windmill ran hard all night, and we have very good TV reception of several local channels so we don't even bother with the satellite TV. We got the big quilts out of the V-berth, but do not need them as it did not get cold.

Wednesday 3 December 2003

Melbourne at 0638 in the morning

In the morning we were pointed east. I made Bob get up and start pulling the anchor, although he grumbled that he couldn't see the crab pots yet. The GPS said we went 1.2 sm last night (swinging on the anchor).

Indian River about 0900 December 3

Bob said he had trouble getting the snubber off the anchor, and I had to motor up to it in order to get it up off the bottom - trying to keep the boat from swinging too much past where Bob wants it to be headed. Bob said the last 4 feet of chain was caked with black sand and shell.

We see wind gusts from the SE of up to 25 knots although the weather is still saying the wind is east. We run the engine driven refrigeration and it is making a funny noise.

0823 - As we come past an anchorage at the spoil islands, a grey hulled sailboat named ELAN came out and passed us. They pulled out their jib and eventually Bob pulled out the staysail. He says the wind is borderline too strong.

Computer charting program

Spray droplets on the dodger

We are getting too much spray on the windward side of the boat for me to risk the digital camera. ODYSSEY, the power cat that passed us in Bucksport and again after McClellanville passed us again at 0950. We are about halfway to Ft. Pierce now.

Houses near the ICW near noon 116

Power plant

We had hot dogs for lunch. Ominous clouds are building up. It is still really windy. We pull in the staysail when we get to Wabasso where it is a bit more protected. Bob goes out and washes off the curtains so he can see a bit better.

Bob washing the dodger

1400 - ABOUT TIME, an Albin 40 passed along with GNATLOOP (another trawler). I see a pontoon boat from the Harbor Branch marine studies laboratory on the east.

Pontoon boat

Little barge 1215

We go by Vero Beach and I finally get a picture of the boats rafted on the moorings.

Vero Beach rafted boats on moorings

Vero Marine Center sign

17th Street Causeway

We get to the North Ft. Pierce bridge, which has a barge anchored in front of it - in front of us are two more sailboats and the two trawlers. ABOUT TIME asks about the clearance and the bridge tender says he won't be able to see because of the barge, and just to wait that he is opening. So the bridge opens for the trawlers and the sail boats also eventually get through.

Approaching the North Ft. Pierce bridge

We can't make it so we throttle back. Eventually two more power boats pass us so the bridge opens again.

Barge by the bridge

Workers dangling

We get to our slip (H15) after a certain amount of maneuvering - there are two slips and Bob doesn't know which one to go to - since the dodger (windscreen) is buttoned down he can't hear me. That means that he has to turn the boat sharply in a restricted area to get in the nearer of the two slips (there is a big power boat in the way so he can't see). This causes the sailboat on the other side of the power boat to think that we have bow thrusters!!!

Anyway, the end of the finger pier is right next to the shrouds so we have to go out the gate and walk along outside the lifelines and then step over onto the finger pier.

Rosalieann's deck

We get tied up after a total of 887 nm and a trip this day of 46.9 sm at an average of 5.9 mph. Harbortown in Ft. Pierce is now $1.00/ft with the BoatUS discount and electric is $4.00. They still have the email line outside the office.

ABOUT TIME is here too over on D dock (also leaving tomorrow), and AFTERNOON TEA (we saw in Dowry Creek and Georgetown among other places) is here getting some hoses replaced.

The weather report says that there are going to be strong winds and big waves on Friday, plus possible showers and it will be even worse weather Sat and that a front will go through. We had planned to go to Miami on Friday, getting there on Sat. But I think we will stay here until the wind dies down and the waves subside.

I went up and did email. Bob was upset when I came back because he can't make the 110 refrigeration work. The pump works, but won't turn on. He has fixed the problem with the plugs on the port side though. There was a short brief shower with the sun still up which gave a nice rainbow. I took a film picture of it.

Rainbow in Ft Pierce

Pink clouds

Marina cat

Then we went and ate dinner at the marina restaurant - Since I knew to ask for the early bird specials (4-6 pm), we each ate for $9.95 which included soup or salad, one of four entrees (crab cake, broiled flounder, strip stake or pasta primavera) rice, pasta or baked potato, vegetables and key lime pie. I had crab cake which proved to be fried (which I don't mind at all) and VERY large,

Early Bird Crabcake dinner

and Bob had flounder.

Tree pelicans about sunset

Then I went and got the black Dell it's virus definitions and and took some night pictures of the pelicans in the trees. We watched TV.

Bob watching TV in the aft cabin

Thursday 4 December 2003

Bob is washing the boat, and I am writing emails. The 110 refrigeration is now working again. I'm thinking of going up to use the pool - but I didn't - I did go up and get a shower.

At the dock in Ft. Pierce

When I went up to do email I talked to a guy who said Friday was the best window we'd have for awhile. There are supposed to be light winds from the south and then after midnight to come around to the NE with possible thunderstorms. So I reconsidered, and thought we might get to Miami before the thunderstorms and decided to leave after all. I went up and paid.

We had dinner at the marina restaurant again.

1717 - sun going down

Sunset

Marina cat

Early Bird steak

Night in the marina

Bob found a CSY in the yard - after we had dinner, we walked up there to look at it.

Friday 5 December 2003

Bob ran the refrigeration, and went up to the bathroom and turned in the keys. I let him back in to the dock gate. We cast off about 0715 and went out the inlet.

Leaving the marina

Harbortown Marina entrance

The marina looks very peaceful as we leave and there is very little wind. Bob goes on the wrong side of one of the ICW markers, but there's no problem - just a little shallower than the main channel.

Anchorage outside the marina

The tide is supposed to be high, but is still coming in according to the current.

Coast guard ship

Red and white range marker

We go by the CG station and out between the stone jetties.

Powerboat in the inlet

The inlet is relatively calm with just a little surf on the jetties and some fog over the beaches beyond it.

Fort Pierce through the morning mist

Breakers on the jetties

There are BIG rollers (well 8 ft anyway) from the east, as the wind has been from the east for awhile. Sort of uncomfortable because the wind is from the south and we are going south so we roll a bit.

Bob saw a turtle, but all I saw was the ring in the water where it had been. After awhile of the wind being from the south, the roller smooth out. Big cumulus clouds build up over the land - we are on the outer edge of them.

By noon, we've gone 30 sm and are past the St. Lucie inlet. We can hear people calling the bridges as we pass. We are going 6.6 mph and are being helped a little bit by a current flowing south. We have lunch (tuna sandwiches). We pass a tug pushing a barge north.

Tug and barge

We see a big ship with the name CROWLEY on the side in big white letters. We also see a green oil ship going north. At 1618 there is a current against us of about a knot, but the water temperature is only 73 degrees, so it's not in the Gulf Stream - it's probably the tide going in or out Lake Worth inlet.

Rain in the distance

We see a small cruise ship (too far away to make out the name - the Palm Beach Princess maybe?)

Small cruise ship

going into Lake Worth.

Sailboats

Bob asks what the line of buoys east of us is. We are passed by some racing boats which appear to also be headed from the inlet. Eventually we get close enough for me to tell that the line of buoys is in fact a line of sailboats. There must have been a race somewhere, or there is going to be a race off Lake Worth inlet. We speculate where they could be coming from. I think the Bahamas is unlikely given the reporting requirements, so I think they must be coming north from Miami.

Lowering skies

Coast at about 1700 (5 pm)

We had dinner - I ate my beef from last night. There was a brief shower. I went to lie down, but Bob called me up because there was a torrential thunderstorm (with lightening) and the bimini appears to have stretched a bit and is funneling water between the gap in the side curtains right onto the computer box. I bring up towels, but soon all of them are soaked. Eventually, I sit on the top of the computer box with an old throwable cushion on my head to push the bimini up. We kept going south and eventually the shower passed.

About 2100, Bob decided on his own to go down for a nap and left me with the main and jib up. I listened to the VHF and spent my time avoiding ships. I also tried to take a picture of the skyline at night. Fortunately, most of the inlets between Lake Worth and Ft. Lauderdale are 'local knowledge' only, so no big ships going in or out.

I heard a (presumably) big ship talking to the harbor pilot - he was asked if he needed a tug and his answer was "I don't know, I've never been to your harbor before." Also heard the tow boat people in Miami and Ft. Pierce talking about a boater who was near Dodge Island in Miami and wanted help.

Shoreline at night

The most exciting drama was passing Ft. Lauderdale when a guy called to say that he'd lost his rudder about 3 miles off shore (44 ft sailboat) and that a cruise ship was running down on him.

Saturday, 6 December 2003

Eventually, the wind was shifting around to the NW, and I was concerned that I'd gybe the jib, so I waked Bob up about 1230. I then went down and slept until about 0230. We were approaching Miami, and Bob still had the sails up, and needed help pulling them in as the wind was now gusting to 25 knots. I don't know why he insists on keeping the sails up like that. Eventually he had to use the winch to get the jib in and it is now wrapped REALLY tight.

We came in the inlet without a problem - passing the Fisher Island ferry. Bob refused to try to get into our slip in the marina at night although I knew it would be marked. But I also knew it would be hard with the wind without someone to help. We could not find the little floaters that used to be at the west end of the channel, but we did revisit the unlighted day marks going south along the ICW - not as close as the other time we'd done it though.

We anchored on the SE side of the Rickenbacker Causeway at about 0400 after a trip of 134 sm at an average speed of 6.4 mph. It took us almost 21 hours. Our total trip is 1004 nm.

We slept until we could get into the marina. Holding was good and there was protection from the north wind. The anchor came up with a white clay type substance on it which didn't wash off very well (still on there). After we got settled, we went to sleep. I woke up a couple of times as the wind generator was running and went up to check on our position.

At 0730, I waked Bob up and insisted that we get up and pull the anchor and go into the marina. We actually went back under the Rickenbacker Causeway about 8. It was about 3 nm back to the marina,

Dec 6 0803 Approaching Miami from anchorage

Approaching Miami from anchorage

Miami from the water

Statue on the waterfront

and we were there by about 0845, and got tied up. The dinghy was battered by the downwind piling and no matter what we did, we couldn't get the boat over to the upwind piling to put a line on it.

RosalieAnn in the marina

Also the marina rates have really gone up - now $1.85/ft. Lots of empty slips. There are no other charges except of course for tax. It is $25/ft/month and they will kick you out during the boat show which I think is in Feb. They have instructions for how to call customs and go to immigration at the south FL ports. One of the showers in the ladies is plumbed backward which makes it confusing to get hot water.

The boat next to us is a brand new SeaRay and the owner has absolutely no idea how to handle it - it was brought in by a delivery skipper.

After we logged into the marina, Bob wasn't going to take a nap, so I called to see if we could pick up the car and he walked over across the Miami River drawbridge and got it.

Drawbridge over the Miami River

Hotel where we rented a car

Then we went out to our daughter B's house.

They had a bunch of people there and were making deer meat chili. We were pretty tired, so we just ate a venison chili potato at her house and drove back to the boat.