St. Augustine Friday thru Thursday

The only sun we saw Friday (sunrise) told it all..."red sky at morning..."  We left before Bella and had rain all day.
The only bright spot was this gaggle of white pelicans.

Brunelle settled in nicely at Camachee Cove for her holiday sojourn.

I know I left you hanging... would we make it all the way to St. Augustine Friday or not.  We did. We pulled into Camachee Cove Marina at 1705 and were barely tied up when Jay arrived to whisk us off to 12 O (as we fondly refer to Jay and Pegg's house) for dinner and the night.   We settled in and spent the night upstairs over Jay's shop.

Robby and Carol were due on Saturday and succeeded in making it to their marina by 1000.  They joined us at 12 O for dinner after settling in and beginning the process of getting Bella ready for her seven week stay in St. Augustine.  We helped with the process by placing two snakes, one inflatable and one rubber, on their covers.

Life at 12 O has been enlivened by two new members of the family, Lula and Liam.  The term "beyond precious" gets used A LOT!  They play hard and sleep hard.

To celebrate our arrival, Pegg and Jay put on an amazing TUNA party Sunday night.

A friend had returned from a California fishing trip with 700 pounds of tuna which they sold to all their friends.  Pegg picked two of the best recipes the tuna friends had shared with them and the hands down favorite was this rare seared tuna skewered with a piece of pickled ginger and dipped in wasabi mayo.



Monday we drove Robby and Carol to the airport.  The trip included  a stop at a CNG (compressed natural gas) filling station in Jacksonville to fill Bella's three tanks.  There are no filling stations in the Bahamas, so they will have to use it sparingly.  We also visited a new extension of Sailor's Exchange that opened recently in Jacksonville.  A great collection of marine "stuff".  They worked on outfitting their replacement dinghy (yet to be replaced) and we found a few bargains too.

Today, Tuesday we drove to Princess Place Preserve and spent a couple of hours riding our bikes on several of the trails in the 1500 acre park.  It is a very interesting place that is well taken care of.

The Princess Place Estate was a grant from the King of Spain in 1791 and only recently has been open to the public.
The site is now a Flagler County Park and  hosts events including weddings. I liked the porch pillars, each was a unique
tree trunk. The walls of the main house are made of blocks of coquina and some of the trees look like they are as old
as the estate!

Tomorrow we button up the boat and then fly out Thursday morning, back to PA for the holidays.  We'll be back...next year!  ~~~_/)~~~M&D

What!?!? Back to Georgia!

We remembered this long face dock, but had been on the inside
the last time we were here.  The inside was MUCH better than
either the outside or the mooring field!

Thursday, November 14:
We thought we'd be in St. Augustine tonight, but instead we headed north--back into Georgia.  We had enjoyed our "weathering in" at Fernandina Beach. Wednesday was spent puttering about installing motion sensing LED lights in the heads and our cabin, replacing the water pump, installing a new clutch for the main sheed and trying to organize some of our clutter.

We walked up town around noon and had a nice lunch at the Cafe Karibo, a mini home brewery.  Our dock neighbors aboard Chantebrise II  recommended it us.  We're pretty sure our visit to Ft. Myers where son John and his wife Brandi live with include visits to several brew pub as the two of them are brew pub experts, so we decided to bone up a bit.

Back aboard, we checked the SPOT sent by Robby and Carol and saw that they had moved from one spot on the Brickhill River to a different one.  That meant they had been out and about in all this wind!  I called to see how they were doing  and learned they had discovered the dinghy missing when they awoke Wednesday AM.  They had spent the day trying to nose into every creek they could manage looking for it.
We decided we should head up there early Thursday morning so Dan and Robby could use our dinghy to explore further.  So....as everyone peeled away from the Fernandina docks heading south, we headed north!  We arrived and anchored by 0930 and headed off in Bella towing our dinghy to the northern anchorage where their dinghy had disappeared.  Despite forecasts that called for lessening winds, it was still blowing 15-20 knots.  Rob and Dan spent the whole day exploring miles and miles of little creeks and inlets along the Brickhill River.  They returned at 1615  windblown and discouraged.  At least we tried.  We all returned to the southern anchorage where we had left Brunelle and Rob and Carol joined us for dinner aboard  Brunelle.

Brunelle just coming into view as we return from our fruitless search for the wayward dinghy.

The wind finally subsided with the setting of the sun, so we spent a quiet night, BUT without enough signal to write and post the blog.  We were underway before 0700 this morning (Friday) because we were awoken by an Amber Alert that came in on my phone at 0540!  We're not sure how far we'll get today as we go back and forth from making 8.1 knots to barely 5.0 knots depending which inlet is closer. ~~~_/)~~~M&D

FLORIDA!

On the van ride back to the marina last night, our driver said he would pick us up in the morning for breakfast in the grand dining room.  He was true to his word and picked us up at 0915.  We enjoyed the drive through the grounds is the light of day and got a better look at all the "cottages" and the main club house.  I didn't remember my camera, so I had to resort to finding a picture of the grand dining room on line,

The atmosphere, service and food were all excellent!

We had hoped to take a tour of the whole property after our luxurious breakfast, but the forecast for this evening predicted gale force winds that are expected to continue through Thursday morning and Dan was worried if we anchored out for two days (as had been the original plan)  we would have problems with our battery charger.  We have a new inverter/charger waiting for us in St. Augustine, but currently the only way to charge the batteries is to run the engine.   So the best solution was to leave after breakfast and push on to Fernandina Beach Harbor Marina where we could plug in and hunker down for the next day and a half.  

The trip past Cumberland Island was going smoothly until we got to the southern end of the Brickhill River.  There was much discussion about this area and sure enough it was a problem.   The magenta line (for the first time) was WRONG.  Luckily for us (if not for the other boat) the boat in front of us ran aground so we slowed to a crawl and attempted to go around him and the shallow area, but bumped, but only lightly and were able to turn around and ignore the magenta line and follow the buoyage instead.  Oddly enough the buoys that were in question were #60, #60A, and 61...just like the last buoy problems back in NC!   We were sorry to miss Cumberland Island, it sounds like a great place to visit.

As we neared the Georgia/Florida we went past the Kings Bay nuclear submarine base which looms for quite a while as you approach from the north.  There is always a navy security boat on station to keep anyone from getting to close.  We traveled by at a slow pace and kept to our channel, so we didn't get challenged by the security boat.  We're not sure what the large structure that stuck out almost to the channel was for, it reminded us of a car wash (keep those subs shiny??)

We made it to Fernandina Beach at 1445 and they put us on the inside of the face dock.  They didn't want anyone smaller than 60' on the outside, and as I sit here writing this I can agree with that decision!  The wind is already howling and we are listing a bit even though we are well protected by the cement dock to windward.  It isn't supposed to really blow until nearer dawn.  Can't wait!!

Aurora came in right behind us, but only stopped for fuel and headed off....I wonder where she'll be during this weather.

~~~_/)~~~M&D

Brunswick to Jekyll Island

We awoke to a bright sunshiny day and it was made even brighter with a trip to Publix.  What a wonderful supermarket.  Connie Dooley drove us there and shared her of knowledge of Brunswick and particularly the Brunswick Landing Marina which is owned by one of the oldest families in the area, the Torras family.  We weren't in a hurry to shove off because we had to traverse the channel by Jekyll Island at half tide or higher, so we didn't leave our slip until 1130 and with a short stop at the fuel dock we were underway right at noon.  The trip back under the Sidney Lanier Bridge took us out to pick up the "magenta line" and on our way to Jekyll Island Marina.

The trip to Jekyll was all of 9 miles, so it took less than 2 hours.  We tied up on the face dock at the marina and waited for Robby and Carol (my brother and sister-in-law) to show up.  They had left the Chesapeake a week before we did, and we finally caught up and passed them by taking our little jaunt "outside".  It was great to see them slip under the Jekyll Island Bridge and anchor right off the marina.  They had called earlier and asked if we wanted to join them as the ate their way down Jekyll Island.  It sounded tempting, and we agreed to give it a try!  We started with an "early bird  dinner special at the Crane Courtyard.

Jekyll Island has quite a history.  It was chosen by the rich and famous as a winter playground just before the turn of the last century.  It is said that at one time members of the Jekyll Island Club  accounted for one sixth of the world's wealth.  Names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Chase etc. were on the membership list.  One name was Crane (plumbing supply magnate) and he was the first to build a cottage that contained a kitchen (plumbing guy ya know).  It also had 26 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms.  All other members took all their meals at the Grand Dining Room (actually a large building).  The Crane "cottage" is now a restaurant where you can eat in a less formal setting that the Grand Dining Room.

The entire place is now a resort open to the public, but it still has an exclusive clubby air about it.  We were picked up by a van from the JI Club and delivered to the front door.  Ed and Connie Dooley and their friends and golfing partners Bob and Sue Hodes had spent the afternoon golfing on Jekyll Island and joined us for dinner. A great meal and the Key Lime Pie was excellent!  Tomorrow morning - - breakfast at the Grand Dining Room.  ~~~_/)~~~M&D

"Roly-Poly, Pell-Mell, Tumble-Bumble, down the hill they went."

We felt like that quote from The Pokey Little Puppy Golden Book story.  Our trip from Charleston Harbor, out to sea and down the coast to the St. Simons Inlet and then up to Brunswick Landing was definitely roly-poly.  We had the anchor up and were out of Long Creek and on our way the Charleston Harbor after 0800  and made it out to the sea buoy a little before noon.  As soon as we got past the breakwater, we knew it wouldn't be a smooth ride.  The wind and waves were out of the NW and we were heading SW...not the best combination.  But the weather forecast was for the wind to die down and come around to the east in the afternoon.  Well, it didn't!  It made for a sloppy ride, but we were committed.  We tried the jib first, but we were to far downwind for it to work, so we set the main, 2/3 of the way up and worked on trying to keep the constant roll from slamming the boom all over the place.  We tried our new boom brake and had it working fairly well, but haven't perfected a way to adjust if to our satisfaction.  As the wind continued to come even further aft  during the night and we kept ending up by the lee with almost every roll, we decided to roll the main down and just deal with the waves.  I decided not to straighten the horizon of this picture Dan took of the sunrise, it kinda tells it like it was!  ...Waves never look as big as they really are in pictures!

The trip was exactly the length we expected it to be---20 hours from sea buoy to sea buoy, so we arrived outside Brunswick at 0800.  What we are always surprised to find is how long it takes to get back inside and to your final destination.  On the way in Dan began putting things away that we always have on deck during overnight passages like the MOM (man overboard module) the life raft and our inflatable life jackets.  We finally got a hot meal (neither of us was ready to try to cook last night.) and a cup of coffee. 

On our other trips south we have left from Savannah and skipped the rest of Georgia completely, so this was the first time for us to see the St. Simons Brunswick area.  We were surprised how big an inlet it was and how much industry we saw.  Still the best sites were the lighthouse near the entrance and the beautiful bridge we went under on our way up to Brunswick Landing Marina.  Ed and Connie Dooley (CCYC friends)

have been trying to get us to visit here for years.

The Dooleys used to have a Catalina 400, but had a hard time balancing their love of sailing with their love of golf, so they sold the C-400 and now have an Island Pilot that can cruise--or I should say race along at 33kts !  It gets them to the golf course fast.

Here we are nestled next to Ed and Connie.  Oops, the ICW "smile is back, I'll have to get some more ReaLemon tomorrow to wash it off the bow.  Brunswick Landing Marina isn't a frugal stop, but the bathrooms and showers are great and the laundry is free!   We should sleep well tonight, last night was a little less than peaceful! ~~~_/)~~~M&D

Georgetown to Long Creek (10 miles north of Charleston)

The wind continued to howl all night, but when we awoke at 0530 (ancient bladders do it to you) things were a bit calmer.  As I headed up the dock to the bathrooms, I spotted what looked like a bird pooping frenzy on the dock.  Turns out it was foam that had splashed up through the slats of the dock!

All looked calm from the top of the dock, but back out at the end of the dock the foam and all the floating flora from yesterday wedged itself  alongside the dock and Fritha's bow.

The tide really rips past Georgetown Landing docks and on out through Winyah Bay on it's way out to sea, so we left before 0700 to catch what we could of the outgoing tide.  We left the dock with Just Desserts, a Whitby 42 we have been seeing and hearing ever since our second night in the Chesapeake.  We finally met them this morning as Dan helped them shove off.  We stayed within a half mile of them all day as we continued through the "low" country along the SC shore.  The strong (up to 24 knots at times) wind from the north brought a very cool start to the day, but things warmed up by noon and we rolled out the jib (part way) and rolled up the leeward side of the enclosure.  Dan had fun with the dolphins and his camera today.  After frustrating attempts over the past few days he decided to try the rapid shoot feature and got some results:

We are planning on heading out to the ocean when we leave in the morning.  It should be a 20 hour trip (from sea buoy Charleston to sea buoy St. Simons) so we won't have to rush out of here in the morning. We don't want to arrive in the dark!

We anchored around 1400 and because of the strong current, we found we were lying to the current not the wind.  This creek is about a mile off the ICW and the entrance depth was 71 feet!  Luckily we found a spot that was 14 feet, but with 6 foot tides, we wouldn't want to go any shallower. The creek offers good protection from wakes, but not from wind.  Nothing but grasslands between us and the ICW.  The boat we accompanied all day can be seen moving on down the way as we set anchor.  ~~~_/)~~~M&D

Osprey Marina to Georgetown Landing Marina

Between the rain last night and recent high tides, the river was full of floating greenery.  We had it with  us all the way to Gerogetown. We enjoyed a continental breakfast at Osprey before setting of a little after 0800.  We spent the whole morning trying to decide our next destination.  Dan was very worried because the inverter/ charger had given up the ghost, at least the charger portion had stopped working, so the only way to charge our batteries is to run the engine... plugging into shore power or using the Honda generator no longer would work.  We have a new one being shipped to Jay's in St. Augustine, but he felt it left us too vunerable.  We finally decided to stop in Georgetown and try to find a battery charger that would enable us to use the Honda as the power source and connect the charger directly to the batteries is we had to.







We arrived at Georgetown at 1330, got fuel and tied up between two
very different boats.  The schooner's transom was something to behold.




 We asked and called around and figured our best bet was Walmart, a 2.5 mile bike ride away. We dragged our bikes out of the forward cabin and set off around 1430 and with the help of our iPhone GPS found Walmart and the battery charger.  We decided the road to Walmart was too busy so Dan "mapped" a new route home which took us by the downtown area along the Harborwalk and past the site of the recent fire that took out at least three buildings less than a month ago.  It also took us past the shrimp marker so we stopped and picked up a pound of fresh shrimp for dinner. Once again we barely blinked and the sun was already down.  Dan still caught a nice picture.

The wind is howling as I write and we're supposed to wake up to chillier weather, but we can't complain.  It has been a great trip so far. ~~~_/)~~~M&D