On the Move Again

After a month at Charleston, taking care of mechanical issues, plus going back to Columbia for Doctors' and dentist appointments and condo issues, we finally threw off the lines at Charleston City Marina on Wednesday, May 4th, headed for Georgetown, SC.   It was great to finally be on our way north again.  Once we passed the Isle of Palms, this was all new cruising territory for us.

It was great to be on our way again, and everything was working perfectly. After a 7 and a half hour cruise, we approached Georgetown and Harborwalk Marina, our destination for the night. Upon arrival at the marina we were heading into the wind and current which would be just perfect for a starboard to dock landing, but at the last minute the dock hand directed us to make a 180 degree turn around the end of the dock to the inside with both wind and current against us for a less than ideal docking situation, to say the least! Oh, well, we made it.

Georgetown has a lovely waterfront area with various restaurants, so we treated ourselves to a delicious dinner at Portofinos. Yum!

The next day we cruised north along the Wacamaw River, one of the most beautiful stretches along the ICW. Here the salt marshes turn to cypress lined channels.

And the tannin from their roots turns the water to rootbeer color.

But thanks to our newly waxed hull, we didn't get the mustasche that marks most boats cruising these waters. 

Since we had visited Myrtle Beach several years ago, we decided to give it a pass on this cruise, but we did enjoy the view from the water as we passed on by.

We especially appreciated the cable car crossing the ICW, complete with golf bags.

Next came Barefoot Landing, which we had also visited before.

We continued on to the town of Little River, near the South Carolina, North Carolina border, but most importantly, this meant that we had successfully navigated the infamous "Rockpile," where many boats have run aground and had their hulls ripped out.

Here we stayed at Lightkeeper's Marina, a delightful spot to lay over before our move on to North Carolina. Here we are on our approach, with Ken preparing the fenders for our arrival.  The marina entrance is at the faux lighthouse seen in the distance. 

We probably chose this marina because of our weakness for lighthouses, and even though we had to navigate our way into the marina and dock ourselves without assistance because the dock hand was on his way back from Walmart, it turned out to be a great choice.  We were only charged $1.00/ft. dockage and were given two hand towels with their logo embroidered, plus two free drinks, and the place is absolutely charming.

On Friday, May 7th, we crossed into North Carolina, Headed for Bald Head Island.  Along the way we passed shrimp boats,

as well as floating casinos, what a contrast!

But, after seven hours of cruising, we finally made it to the famous Cape Fear River, where we turned toward the ocean and crossed the inlet to the entrance to Bald Head Island. The current here runs perpendicular to the channel entrance, which is very narrow, and one has to make sure no other boat is traversing it before entering, but we made it with no problem, and are now safely tied up inside this gorgeous harbor.

This place is definitely worth more time!  Our next blog will document it.

Back in Charleston

Leaving the dock at Jekyll Harbor Marina on the morning of March 23rd was a bit tricky with the current from behind and the wind pinning us to the dock.  But Randy, one of the dock hands, taught me a new trick. He coached me to put both engines in forward and turn the helm toward the dock.  As the bow of the boat pushed into the dock, the stern came away from the dock, and then the current caught it and moved it out toward the channel. Then, all I had to do was back out into the channel, away from the two boats we were sandwiched in between.
It was only a couple of hours after low tide, so Jekyll Creek was pretty shallow. In fact, we just barely made it through,  but this would put us at the Little Mud River and Hell Gate at higher tide, which was important. As we cruised along, we must have been stirring up some bait fish, because a flock of seagulls followed closely behind us all the way through Jekyll Creek and beyond.

The west wind and incoming tide made the various sounds we crossed rather rough with small waves breaking, so we alternated between surfing the waves, getting broadsided, or taking them head on, depending on what direction we had to go at the time.

Finally, we approached Walburg Creek where we decided to anchor for the night.  This is a lovely spot where we had anchored last fall when we were heading south.

It was a rough night at anchor, especially when the tide changed so that the wind and current were at odds with each other, but any night when the anchor holds is a good night, and we were also rewarded for our trouble with a beautiful sunset.

High winds were predicted the next day, but we didn't want to spend another rough day and night at anchor, so we decided to head for Isle of Hope Marina to sit it out. On the way there, however, we changed our plans.  We noticed some troubling engine fluid leaks, so we continued on to Hinckley Yacht Services in Thunderbolt, Georgia, to get them checked out.

With sustained west winds of 20-25 mph, gusting to 30 mph, it was difficult to get the boat over to the dock, even with thrusters, but port forward and starboard reverse finally helped while three guys on the dock caught and secured bow, stern, and spring lines.  The problems were diagnosed as an oil leak in the port engine fuel injection pump, as well as a coolant fluid leak, neither of which they managed to fix. 

So, after several frustrating days of waiting around, we decided to continue on and get these taken care of in Charleston. We were then only waiting for an appropriate weather window, which didn't appear to be anytime soon.

On the morning of March 30th, we awoke to cloudy skies, calm wind, and no measureable current, so we decided on the spur of the moment to leave. Big mistake!  Soon we were enveloped in a series of rain storms, very heavy at times, and with lightening and thunder, some bolts very close and very scary.  Visibility was almost zero at times, so we followed close behind a sailboat for a while because it seemed that they could pick their way along the ICW, and if they made it through, so would we without running aground.  At one point, we were passed by an inland waterway cruiseship and wondered what the passengers thought about their cruise.

Ken spent most of his time sopping up rain water that came through the zippers on our strataglass windows.  He could barely keep up with it, the volume of rain pouring from the sky was so great. In fact, when we finally made it to Beaufort, SC, where we ended up that day, we found about four gallons of water in the bucket where he had been wringing out the cloths.

Upon arrival at the Downtown Marina in Beaufort, we saw the cruise ship, American Star, already there tied up to the pier.

Then we went ashore and had an excellent dinner at Emily's, followed the next morning with a great breakfast at Blackstones.

Although we only planned to spend two days in Beaufort, the weather had other plans for us.  The wind picked up again, which made the prospect of leaving undesireable.

So, we stayed for two more days, just enjoying ourselves in the lovely parkfront setting of our marina, with roses and azealias in bloom.

Our boat was tied securely to the dock and just as content as it could be, so why go anywhere?

We were rewarded for the wait on March 3rd, which dawned with a beautiful sunrise and calm weather.

So, we threw off the lines for the trip back to Charleston.  And now, after seven months of liviing aboard the "Docker's Inn," cruising 1,300 miles, and consuming about 850 expensive gallons of fuel, we're back at Charleston City Marina where this adventure began last September.

Heading North

After a week of waiting for an appropriate weather window to cross the Gulfstream to the Bahamas, and with no favorable prediction for the week to come, on March 7th we decided it was time to begin heading north.  We were disappointed that we didn't make it to the Bahamas this winter, but conditions and events conspired against us.  First, we were plagued with engine problems, which had to be dealt with and which left us wondering what might go wrong next. Then, as the boat began to behave better, the weather turned against us.  And, as all experienced cruisers know, it's far better to be sitting at the dock wishing you were on your way across the Gulfstream than to be out in the middle of it fighting angry seas and wishing you were still back at the dock. The great thing is that it'll still be there next year!

We were already beginning to meet other cruisers who were heading north to complete their own Great Loop Cruises, which made us realize that it was time to begin ours as well. So, we left lovely Boca Chita Key and pointed the bow of the Docker's Inn north. It was breezy with a light to moderate chop on Biscayne Bay as we headed for our first stop, which would be Ft. Lauderdale. Along the way we passed through the Port of Miami where a cruise ship was docked, and wondered what it would be like to pilot one of those monsters.

As we retraced the route we had taken just a week ago, it didn't seem as complicated to weave our way through various channels which now looked a little more familiar. Before we knew it, we were approaching the Las Olas Bridge and the marina which was our destination.

We ended up in a slip on the north side of the bridge, conveniently located near the marina office and facilities, which include very nice restrooms with showers, plus an enormous laundry room.

The Las Olas Marina is one of three municipal marinas in Ft. Lauderdale, which offer a 25% discount for BoatUS members. It's also an easy walk to the beach and restaurants.  That easily made up for the noise of being right by a bridge.

Shortly after arrival, we walked down Las Olas Blvd. to the beach, only to realize that this was the first week of the rolling college spring break. Right across the street from the famous Elbow Room, the beach was just covered with one solid mass of college kids.

Luckily, just south of that intersection, it was a little less crowded, so all was well.

This is an area where we had spent Christmas vacations many times in our own youth and we were anxious to see what it looked like now. One big difference is that women's bathing suits are a lot skimpier than they used to be, but Ken saw that as an improvement!

We spent three days in Ft. Lauderdale (the limit of consecutive days for the 25% discount) and then headed north up the ICW toward Palm Beach Gardens where we had another reservation. The weather forecast was not exactly perfect, with light breezes and 40% chance of scattered showers predicted, but we thought it would be OK for cruising. Boy, were we wrong! Although a good portion of our route was in protected waters of the ICW "ditch," we also had to traverse Lake Worth, and as luck would have it, that's when we got caught by a horrendous storm.  Just as we entered the southern end of Lake Worth, we heard a Coast Guard warning for the area which advised boaters to seek shelter.  One minute later, we were in 30 mph winds, gusting to 50 mph, with torrential rain pouring down on us in sheets so thich that visibility was practically zero. So much for seeking shelter.

Luckily, we were traveling with a buddy boat, the "Tony M," with experienced Great Loop cruisers, Pete and Joanne onboard.  They were right ahead of us, so I struggled to keep them in sight, while Ken rushed around lowering and zipping up strataglass panels and then mopping up all the water which was pouring in through the zippers. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we made it through the storm and pulled in to the fuel dock at Loggerhead Marina - Palm Gardens, where we spent what turned out to be a beautiful night. We were rewarded with an exquisite sunset, as we remembered the old adage, "Red at night, sailor's delight."

The next morning dawned sunny and breezy, but after what we had experienced the day before, 10-15 mph winds didn't bother us at all. We had a pleasant cruise to Loggerhead Marina - Stuart, where we planned to spend a few days before heading north again. It felt like coming home again as we pulled into the same slip we had left back in late February. We wasted no time in contacting our cruising friends Steve and Jean onboard "Sun Cat" at a neighboring marina and inviting them to join us for Happy Hour at Wahoos at the foot of our dock.

While in Stuart we did our laundry and stocked up with provisions for our trip back to Charleston. We also drove our car (which we had left at Stuart) to Sebastian and left it with Ken's brother and sister-in-law.  This was also an excuse for a nice visit with them before leaving Florida.

March 18th, the day of our departure, was a beautiful day. The current was with us and we made good time, so we cruised past our planned anchorage at Wabasso and continued on to just south of Melbourne before dropping the hook. Along the way, we were joined by three dolphins who were surfing and jumping our wake.

They stayed with us until we had to slow down for a "No Wake" zone.  We enjoyed the scenery in the Wabasso area, including some lovely waterfront homes.

One of the benefits to local boaters in areas along the Indian River is that dredging for the ICW channel creates "spoils" islands which end up being nice recreation spots on weekends.  We anchored between two of these at Statute Mile 925. Cruisers can go ashore with their dinghies to explore them.

The next day, once again, it was such a wonderful day for cruising that we just kept going until we felt like stopping, passing Melbourne, Cocoa, and Titusville along the way. Then we crossed the Indian River and entered the Haulover Canal toward Mosquito Lagoon. The canal was fascinating, with lots of people either in small boats or lining the shores fishing, probably because it was Saturday and a beautiful day to be there.

We followed the Mosquito Lagoon to the Indian River North, to New Smyrna Beach, and past Ponce Inlet.  In this area we had to be careful to stay on the ICW and not get lured into a wrong channel.  When we reached Rockhouse Creek anchorage (Statute Mile 842) we found it full, so we continued on to an anchorage at Daytona Beach.  This turned out to be a great spot to watch the "Super Moon" rise which, unfortunately, we couldn't get a good photo of, but the sunset was pretty nice from there, too.

That whole day we were seeing things as if for the first time because, when we passed them in the fall on our way south, it had been raining with very poor visibility, somewhat like our crossing of Lake Worth this time around, but without the wind.

The niext morning we pulled up a very muddy anchor and moved on. We passed by the municipal marina and passed under various bridges as we left Daytona Beach, then past Flagler Beach and Palm Coast.

We arrived at St. Augustine in the early afternoon and decided to continue on, since we had visited there in the fall.

We noticed as we passed by that anchorages north and south of the Bridge of Lions are now mooring fields, leaving little space for other cruisers to anchor there anyway. So, we continued on another 13 miles to the Pine Island anchorage (Statute Mile 765) where there was only one sailboat already there.

Our final day in Florida turned out to be probably the best cruising day we have ever experienced, with breathtaking views created by mirror-like waters in front of us.

We stopped briefly at Fernandina Beach to fuel up and pump out our holding tank and then bid Florida adieu, continuing on to the anchorage at Cumberland Island in Georgia.  But the best cruising day was followed by one of the worst nights we have spent at anchor.  During the night, the wind kicked up as the tide changed, and we ended up being broadsided by swells that kept us awake hoping that the anchor would hold. Of course, it did, so all was well except for the lost sleep.

This morning all was calm again, so we pulled up the anchor and took advantage of the rising tide in the morning so as to arrive at Jekyll Island around slack tide just before noon, with a slight breeze which made crossing St. Andrew Sound quite easy.  Along the way, we did experience one incident which could have turned out much worse that it did.  At the Cumberland Dividings, the trickiest part of this route, my sleep deprived brain allowed me to temporarily forget that, when travelling north on the ICW, one must pass red channel markers to port (left side), not starboard (right side).  Luckily, we reached this area on a rising tide and did not run aground as I went out of the channel briefly. Ugh! What an awful sound as we hit bottom, but kept going. Hopefully, we didn't damage the props.

Coming in to the dock at Jekyll Harbor Marina was easily done thanks to negligible current and a slight westerly breeze to ease us in between two other boats to a safe landing.  Tomorrow we will continue our journey north.

Boca Chita, the Rest of the Story

When we left Stuart, we knew that we wanted to get at least as far south as Boca Chita Key before turning around to head north again. Why?  Because we had been there five years ago on someone else's boat and vowed at that time that one day we would return, but this time cruising on our own boat. So, when we entered that beautiful harbor, it was the fulfillment of a dream.

Another good thing about this location is that it is just south of Hurricane Harbor and No Name Harbor on the southern end of Key Biscayne, both of which are popular departure points for the Bahamas.  So, we figured that we could spend a day or two at Boca Chita Key and then go to No Name Harbor to await an appropriate weather window to make the crossing.

The day that we arrived was beautiful, just perfect for a swim.  So we gathered our snorkeling gear and walked to the little beach on the ocean side of the island.  The current here can be swift, but it was low tide, so no problem.

As we headed back to the harbor after our swim, we noticed a familiar looking boat arriving.  Sure enough, it was none other than the Miami Mermaid, the trawler upon which we had first come to Boca Chita in March of 2006, when we did Trawler School with Captain Bob (http://www.trawlerschoolcharters.com/).  Now we had really come full circle.

So, what's special about Boca Chita as a destination?  It's part of Biscayne National Park, and as such is maintained by the National Parks Service.  Although there are no electrical hook-ups or fresh water available, restrooms are provided for use of park visitors. There's space for about thirty boats of varying sizes to tie up in the protected harbor either for the day or overnight for up to 14 days, for a daily fee of $20 ($10 with a senior pass!). On shore, there are campsites, picnic tables, and barbeque grills.  Visitors carry out all of their own trash.

But this island also has an interesting history.  In the late 1930's it was purchased by Mark Honeywell, who developed it as a family retreat, including building an ornamental lighthouse at the harbor entrance. According to information presented on a placque, after his wife died suddenly as a result of injuries sustained in a fall, he lost interest in the island and sold it. However, the placque doesn't provide any details of that fall.  Rumors abound, including claims that she committed suicide by jumping off the lighthouse after discovering that her husband was having an affair, or even worse, that she was pushed!

Park rangers provide additional information on their daily visits to the island.  (Of course, their version of events denies the rumors.) They also open the lighthouse for visitors, which provides an excellent opportunity for a bird's eye view of the island.

The day after our arrival at Boca Chita, the wind began to build.  A resident flock of seagulls and terns provided us with an accurate reading of wind direction each day as they sat on shore near the seawall, heads pointed into the wind.

Day after day we experienced sustained winds of 15-22 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph. To see some of the wind's effects, look at the American flag in the photo showing our arrival and compare it with the one taken on our last day from the top of the lighthouse. Since we were tied up securely to the bulkhead, we were comfortable and happy to stay right where we were until conditions improved.  Obviously, these were not the right conditions for a crossing to the Bahamas. In fact, marine weather reports indicated that swells in the Gulfstream were ranging between 8 and 12 feet.  On the positive side, the wind kept the mosquitoes and no-see-ums in hiding, so we had a wonderful time.

Now, it's time to turn north.  We are beginning to meet other cruisers who are in the process of doing the Great Loop Cruise, and we don't want to be left behind. So, when the weather finally became more favorable for cruising, we left Boca Chita and headed to Fort Lauderdale and Las Olas Marina, where we are spending a few days before proceeding north again.