Nov 23 to Nov 26 - Florida at last

Mon Nov 23
Headed south!  A lot of fog in the morning,

then severe thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon. We decided to head in early to a marina in Thunderbolt, GA.

Apparently native Americans saw a thunderbolt strike the earth and a fresh water spring erupted there giving the town its name.  Dave and Jacki on "Into the Mystic"from Rock Hall caught up to us here and we had a chance to catch up. The marina had a fancy grill and screened porch, so we hung out there waiting for the storms to pass.

Tues Nov 24
Today started out with a crazy moment as we were untying from the T-dock. Bob was on the dock untying lines and Carol on the boat.  The boat got swept up in the strong current and taken away from the dock. UhOh! Carol on the boat alone now, went out and did a loop, got back to the dock somehow without hitting the other boats.  Got close enough to the dock and Bob leapt onto the boat and off we went! Rain all day long!  Thank goodness for our enclosure.

Anchored in Crescent River, GA. Wind blew all night, so little sleep with worrying about dragging anchor. But, we did ok!

Wed Nov 25
Rain showers all morning, then finally the sky cleared at lunchtime. Hoorah! Sunshine! We arrived in Jekyll Island early afternoon and spent time riding the marina bikes on the wonderful bike trails all over the island.  What a beautiful place, with the beaches very rustic and wild.  Jekyll Island is where the ultra rich (names like Goodyear, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, etc) had their summer beach "cottages".  Their homes did not have kitchens and everyone ate in the dining hall.

This was their  modest dining hall….

Jekyll Island Atlantic beach

Thurs Nov 26
Happy Thanksgiving!  Sunny, very windy! We crossed over into Florida this morning! It was a hard day, with an ocean run leaving Jekyll Island and then running aground on an ICW shoaling spot.  We managed to get off the bottom by putting out the jib on this windy day and heeling the boat. Saw a lot of different types of birds.  Its interesting passing under the bridges, the birds are usually quite segregated, pelicans always on one side and a variety on the other, all lined up.  We are at the Jacksonville town dock for the night. Even though we are in Florida the temp tonite is going down to 38' - bummer!

Nov 17 to 20 New engine install then back the ICW road south

Mon 11/17-Thurs 11/20-
We are still in Charleston!  New engine finally arrived and Bob helped mechanic with the installation.

New engine arrived to our slip on a wagon

New engine boomed into nesting spot

Charleston had a record low temp of 27 degrees Tues night, so we treated ourselves to a night at the resort hotel.  We watched TV and ordered a pizza.  We felt so indulgent! And warm! Next day we finished up the teak stripping project to keep ourselves busy.

Fri 11/21-  Back to sea! Goodbye Charleston!

This is the "Battery" in south Charleston facing the ocean

Our new engine is quiet and has a little more horsepower. The captain is happy!

Today we went through a challenging cut, Elliot's Cut, which other cruisers had warned us about and to time the tide closely.  It was a bit of a wild ride through. Sunny day with high in the 60's. Back to windy marshlands, lots of palms, dolphins and pelicans. We anchored in a quiet spot, only boat in sight.  The stars were beautiful.

Sat 11/22- We hear there is a front with heavy rain and thunderstorms coming Sunday, so we decided to push it and made a run to Hilton Head, SC. Windy, but sunny. We are at dock at Skull Creek Marina on Hilton Head Island and will stay put through Sunday.
Cruising in a new area requires a lot of planning ahead.  Every night after dinner we get out our chart books and guides and try to figure out the next day's destination.  Weather is always an important factor in the decision.
Carol's grandparents made this same trip numerous times in the 1960's. We often talk about how different cruising would have been then. No fancy electronics like a depth sounder, chart plotter, refrigeration, cell phone and internet, and instant weather updates. Wow! Can't even imagine, as we think we are "roughing it".

Nov 11 - 16 Still hanging out in Charleston

Nov 11-16, 2014

We are still here and awaiting the delivery of a brand new engine!  Our 28 year old engine was difficult for the mechanics to find replacement parts for.  We decided we really like our boat, so we are investing in a new engine for a more confident trip.
Charleston is a great place to be stuck!  As a tour guide said, In Charleston, there are two kinds of people, "the haves" and "the have mores"!   So many historic southern mansions, and cool restaurants and bars!

Walking along the "Battery" - unbelievable mansions that look across Charleston harbor and out to the ocean

Typical Charleston homes have a common theme - a small road front footprint then extend back a long way.  These homes all have a small front door that leads to impressive porches.  The porches face the prevailing ocean winds for summer cooling.  Most of these houses are from around 1700!!

Skinny house - note door on bottom left in front of car

Same house, now showing the substantial porches

We have walked all over the city, been bike riding, bought fresh shrimp off the dock, swam in the hotel pool. Our primary mode of transportation is the Hotel/Marina free trolley car.  Every 2hrs the trolley goes to/from downtown Charleston and then on the off hours is available to take guests to the grocery store, hardware store, etc.
 

Molly the trolley - we are off to the grocery store

Carol returning from  the grocery run

Rode bikes to Sheem Creek boat docks and bought shrimp right off the dock

We went on a day trip to Sullivan's Island and walked the beach at the ocean.

We even found a Deer Park like bar complete with "The Raven".

We met a delightful young couple at Poe's Tavern - Erin and Bubba.  Now we really know we are in low country.

Saturday Nov 15th we went to a BBQ cook-off competition - odd thing was you could only get a sample from each vendor (about 25 competitors).  You could not buy a sandwich.


So, back on there trolley to downtown to get a BBQ sandwich and then attend a French Film festival showing "En Solitaire" (Turning Tide)- a  french competitor in the Vendee Around the globe alone sailing adventure with english subtitles.  Great sailing shots.












We even squeezed in a little boat maintenance- striping old varnish off the teak.

Our engine is due to arrive tomorrow, Monday Nov 17th, and as soon as it is installed off we go.  It is starting to get cold here at night, so we want to get south now!

Nov 6- Nov 10 Extended stay in Charleston, SC

Nov 5- Anchored in a salt marsh about 30 miles outside Charleston - great sunset:

Nov 6- There is a lot of current and very large tidal differences here in South Carolina. A 5-6 foot  tidal

 range is normal, very different than the Chesapeake.  Our low tides are magnified by the full moon.

We docked at The Charleston Harbor Marina, part of a resort hotel. Pool, bicycles, free trolley to town.  We are situated by The Ravnel Bridge.  It is a an eight lane cable-stayed bridge, is the 3rd largest in the US (2.7 miles long) and has a full walk/bike path.

Our first day we went to Patriot's Point and toured an aircraft carrier (USS Yorktown), a submarine (USS Clamagore), and a destroyer (USS Laffey - which survived a kamikaze raid in WWII). The size and workings of the aircraft carrier were amazing!

We are docked right behind the sub

watch your head in the sub!

USS Yortown

Carol on the Command Bridge

Amazing how skinny a destroyer is

Nov 7- The mechanic came today and worked all day but wasn't able to make much progress. Temp 80 degrees and Carol swam in the pool. Took the trolley into Charleston for the evening.  What a cool city with its historic harbor front. Tons of bars and restaurants. Think Annapolis x 10! Very preppy. We ate at a "community table" by the bar at Hanks on the suggestion of a boat neighbor. Charleston College is located close by and has a big fleet of sailboats for students use in our marina.  Many cadets in town from the Citadel in uniform, also makes you feel like you are in Annapolis.


Nov 8-  Mechanic back.  Unfortunately now it looks like we need some parts ordered.  Oh well… There are certainly worse places to be stuck! We have heard the phrase that cruising is "having your boat fixed in exotic places"!  Met up with some other cruising friends from Rock Hall, MD in Charleston for dinner.

Nov 9- Its Sunday,  no mechanic, so we decided to just have fun today.  Took a long bike ride to Mt Pleasant, a quaint village with nice waterfront on the back creeks of Charleston.

Notice shrimp boats in back...

Yeah palms trees

 Also had time for some needed grooming.

Bob before haircut

Hopefully mechanic will be back tomorrow.

Nov 1 to 5, 2014 To Southport, Myrtle Beach, Georgetown and Whiteside Creek near Charleston

Nov 1- Randee and Dave hosted a wonderful dinner for our group. We dined on oysters, grouper, rice and beans, plantains, with key lime pie for dessert. What a nice respite off the boat on a rainy, windy day.

Randee even took us grocery shopping and let us do laundry at their house during dinner.  The simple things that become a challenge living on a boat…. Mechanic came and we have a temporary engine fix until Charleston when a certified Yanmar mechanic can hopefully fix the problem.

Nov 2- Too windy and a blown out tide force us to stay put in Southport, NC.  We had a great lunch with Randee and Dave, then the group cheered on the Eagles game at a pub.  Hoping for better weather for departure tomorrow.

Nov 3- Our coldest morning yet- 38 degrees!  Did warm up later. We crossed into South Carolina today.  We survived the "Rock Pile" cut  (miles of jagged rocks along water edge)
and saw shrimpers at work.

Spent the night in North Myrtle Beach (Barefoot Landing).  A shopping mall on the ICW actually had a dock for boaters! We are trying some southern type food- had fried pickles and shrimp and grits.  We walk around town at every stop to get some exercise.

Nov 4- A windy, cooler day.  We wind down the Wacamau River and see many sphagnum moss laden cypress trees and an occasional floating log (deadhead ).

 Motored to Georgetown, SC, an historic seaport known for indigo in the 1700s, then rice plantations, now steel and paper mill factories.  Many majesties historic homes with gorgeous live oak trees lining the streets.  These oak trees grow wide not tall. The side walks are 20 ft from the road!

There was a lovely boardwalk at the harbor and we had a great dinner out at The River Room restaurant (fresh seafood).  Wish we had time to ride the bicycle built for 2 at the marina, but it was getting dark.  Cruising is early to rise and early to bed.  Georgetown sunset:

Nov 5- We had a sunny and warm day today, almost 80! Hit some shallow, shoaled areas on the ICW,  (full moon exaggerates tides) but did not run aground!  Stayed in a beautiful anchorage in low country and cooked up some fresh shrimp.  Our highlight of the day was a dolphin who followed along with us for quite awhile.

Oct 31, 2014 Wrightsville beach to Southport

Oct 30-  We are loving North Carolina! The ICW runs along parallel to the beaches and the water is a beautiful teal green color.  The picture does not do justice to how pretty the water really is.

Here we are passing the Carolina Beach Inlet - fisherman parked on the top left and waves crashing in the inlet with us about a quarter mile away motoring down the ICW.

Its warm and sunny.  Dolphins sometimes follow our boat.  We have tried many times to get pictures of dolphins right by our boat but they are too quick.  We will keep trying to get a good picture of one.
There are numerous bridges that require opening, most on the hour and half hour so you have to time your travels by the bridges in some sections of the ICW.
Bridge closed - everybody waiting.

Bridge swings open - time to scurry through.

We travelled to Wrightsville Beach today and anchored in a bay 1 block from the ocean. Then we hopped into the dinghy and went to shore to the dinghy dock.  We took a lovely evening stroll on the beach.

This is the Wrightsville Beach fishing pier - our son Lee says the piers are the best places to surf….
















Oct 31-  We went back ashore the next morning and had a nice walk to a great breakfast place, Causeway Cafe.  Now we are looking for shelter as a strong cold front is expected this weekend. Headed down the Cape Fear River where winds and tides were a bit challenging.  Made reservations at a marina in Southport.  Bob's sister, Randee and her husband, Dave have a beach place near there.

Nov1- We are safe and snug tied up to the Southport Harbor Village Marina dock now.  Randee came and took us grocery shopping.  She and Dave are generously hosting a dinner for our group tonight.  Its pouring rain now and temperature is dropping.

We have developed a small diesel fuel leak and waiting for a mechanic to come and hopefully fix the problem.  Boats need constant attention….