11/06/2009, Fernandina Beach

We are safe and sound in Florida! It was a pretty exhausting trip so I will keep this short. Docklines were dropped in Charleston at 09.00hrs. We followed the long shipping channel back out to the Atlantic. The first half of the trip was amazing - perfect in fact! Warm sunshine, beam NW winds (as forecast) and dolphins playing in the bow wave. The wind died out at sunset (not forecast) so we were motor sailing. About 1.00am the winds picked up again, from the NE, and were accompanied by increasing seas and swells - exactly as forecast! At this point it was all hands on deck and strapping on for the ride. I have never been so glad to see the sunrise - everything looks better in the light! Our "bail out" plan (remember it had been forecast to get "challenging") had been to duck into St Simon's inlet first thing in the morning if it was nasty but after much thought and discussion we decided it was safer to carry on to the St Mary's inlet which is bigger, deeper, wider and has jetties built out to protect you from the swells as you make your way in. This meant another four hours of crashing about in nasty 5 - 6 ft swells. But Osprey handled it like a champ and once I realized how well she was riding the waves I was less afraid. So, we made it in - have learned a lot and feel relieved to have gained some experience without breaking anything! We're off to dinner with "Charisma" tonight.

Nav Notes: Distance: 167 nmiles. Time : 25 hours. Av speed: 6.6 knots

Cruiser's Notes: Fernandina Harbor Marina - not the most scenic of spots but v. convenient from the inlet. $1.75 a foot. Showers / laundry room have been refurbed since we were last here - v. nice. Moorings are first come first served - none available when we arrived at 10.00am!

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11/04/2009

Photo is of the sun rising this morning over the Schooners docked at the Maritime Center

Boats sailing together offshore usually keep a scheduled radio contact for safety, exchange of information etc. As we sailed through the night on Monday there were several boats regularly conversing and although we did not join in (not being part of the original group) I learned a lot by listening to these, obviously seasoned, mariners. For instance, it had never occurred to us to call the Harbor Pilots as we pass by a major shipping channel to find out about big boat traffic. However, I digress. The following is a verbatim transcript of conversations heard between the Captains and Admirals of two boats:

Approx 01.00hrs:

Captain #1: How're y'all doing?
Captain #2: I'm cold
Captain #1: Ugh!
Captain #2: How's your seasickness?
Captain #1: Lord Nelson said it best "the only cure for seasickness is to lay down under a tree" right now I'm looking for a tree.
Captain #2: Uh, too bad. Oh well - switching back to one-six
Captain #1: Roger that, switching one-six

Approx 0300hrs: - The Admirals are now on watch.

Admiral #1: Good morning, how is everything?
Admiral #2: Everything is fine thanks - how are you?
Admiral #1: Very well, we're doing good. How about that moon?
Admiral #2: Oooh yes - it's nice to see it
Admiral #1: Are you going in at Charleston?
Admiral #2: Yes we are - our daughter lives there so we cannot sail by. Also she has our cats and we love to see our cats!
Admiral #1: Oh how lovely. Yes we are headed in as well. Did you hear about the report from the Charleston Pilots: There's no traffic in or out until this afternoon so we should be all clear. But there is a dredge south of the channel and we need to keep clear of him.
Admiral #2: Yes, we see the dredge on our AIS. We will let you know if he comes into the channel
Admiral #1: Ok that sounds good. Well, stay safe and let us know if you need anything, we'll switch back to one-six.
Admiral #2: Thanks very much and the same to you, switching back to one-six

I know it's a cliché and I will let you be the judge, but I do believe this illustrates the point that men are from Mars and women are from Venus.

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11/03/2009

Here we are in Charleston, South Carolina! We pulled anchor in Wrighstville, NC, at 06.30am just as it was getting light. We then headed down the ICW to the Cape Fear River (stopping to top off fuel and water tanks at a handy marina on the way). Once we made it into the River our speed was boosted by the ebbing current and we were on our way! It was a grey, cloudy day but the forecast North winds were blowing and we were optimistic we would have a good sail - we were not disappointed. Once we were spat out of the River we hoisted all sail, switched off the engine and were off. The wind stayed steadfastly out of the North - a perfect beam reach. It did build in strength however until we were down to a double reefed main and jib and still were on target to arrive at Charleston in the dark. After one particularly lusty gust which had us surfing down a wave at 9 knots, we furled in the jib completely and sailed along much more steadily under the staysail - thanks heavens for a cutter rig. We sailed the whole way, not switching the engine back on until we were in Charleston Harbor itself. Our only complaint was that the seas were a bit rough and confused so it was difficult to sleep soundly because of the motion of the boat. We both snatched some sleep but didn't feel up to continuing on for another 24 hours to Florida. We arrived in Charleston at 7.00am and had to wait until 8 to call the Maritime Center. We totally lucked out (Grandma's luck!) as they had had a cancellation and were able to squeeze us in. This is our favorite place to stop - good price with a Boat US discount, close to the wonderful City and only 2 blocks from a great Harris Teeter grocery store. We are able to wheel the cart from the store to the boat - as seen in the picture. We always feel a bit like "bag" people but actually Tom is truly in "High Cotton" as our cart contains a case of beer, 3 boxes of wine plus a "good" bottle to have with dinner tonight. We are staying here tomorrow and hope to head out to Fernandina Beach on Thursday - another 24 hour run. We really hope the weather forecast holds - as we hope to meet our dear cruising friends from "Charisma" and "Legacy" in or around Fernandina Beach on the weekend.



Nav Notes: Total trip=151.8 nm in 24 hours (with about 5 hours on the ICW)
Total mileage to date=896 nm (1,030 statute miles)

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11/01/2009

After a peaceful night in Mile Hammock Bay we were up at sunrise this morning, pulled anchor and set off down the waterway. It turned into a beautiful day and we enjoyed the scenery as we made good progress. There was a lovely pine scent to the air, there were pelicans, blue herons and skimmers flying around and to crown it all - many dolphins accompanying us along the way. We timed the first bridge perfectly and eased through with no fuss. However, an increasing procession of boats gathered and by the second bridge there was a whole mess of us lining up for the opening. Add in a bit of current, a jot of impatience and a lot of anxiety about reaching the next anchorage in time to get a good spot and there is a recipe for a stressful time. By the third bridge it was a zoo! At this point we left the mad crowd and headed back up stream and did not turn back again until it was time for the bridge to open. By now we are at the back of the line for the left hand turn into the Wrightsville Beach anchorage. As we make the turn our fellow boaters are already out of sight and we realise we did not "brief" our approach into the channel. Before we know it the alarm on our new depth sounder is beeping and we are aground!!!! Instinct led us to turn towards the docks where there are many large power boats tied up, sadly the channel lay to the opposite side and as it was low tide we ended up on the shoal, which is uncharted but common knowledge amongst the locals who passed by as we sat waiting for the tide to come in. Before too long we were able to wiggle free and we gingerly made our way to the anchorage. We were dismayed to see that it was jam packed and far too crowded for our liking. There was, however, plenty of room on the other side of the channel. Here we had a lot of difficulty getting the anchor down satisfactorily mainly beause the current and wind were opposing so we were lying at a weird angle to the anchor. To crown off the whole day, Tom got poohed on by a seagull! Somehow it ended up in his shoe! At this point we both burst out laughing and realized that things could only get better from here.

We have had a lovely supper, the wind is picking up and it is drizzling a bit - Oh the joys of cruising. Tomorrow, with any luck, we will be headed out onto the ocean via the Cape Fear River, we are hoping to make it to Charleston by Tuesday morning but may even press on further if things look good and we are not too tired.

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