11/20/2009, Fernandina Beach
We crossed the magical line. Three months and 20 days after leaving our home port of West River, Maryland, we slipped across the St. Mary's River from Georgia into Florida. We have had a ball visiting a number of spots along the way - Fishing Bay Harbor Marina, Hi gang!, Blackbeard Sailing Club in New Bern, NC, the Wiles Bunch in Folly Beach, several good marinas and many excellent anchorages. We've seen dozens of sunsets, each one more beautiful than the last. Sunrises have been spectacular. The boyz, Blackie and Red, have reveled "chatting" with other water pooches and are baffled by dolphins. Frankly, they would be happy anywhere as long as their dishes are filled every morning and of course they manage to weedle another treat or two (or three) throughout the day. It's a wonder they aren't shaped like beach balls by now.
People food along the way has been fabulous. Whether it was Charles's home grown tomatos at Fishing Bay or the shrimp and grits with Chuck and Pat in Beaufort, NC, or even a simple hot dog in the cockpit, it gets better the further south we go. We just enjoyed another fantastic meal celebrating our arrival in the promised land at Brett's Waterfront Cafe here at Fernandina Harbor Marina.
When we started, we thought we would try to enjoy each day to its fullest and take whatever came. We have succeeded that goal by miles. PRIM is performing very well. She provides us with a level of comfort and safety beyond our expectations. Living aboard is better than we'd dreamed. The other day someone asked how long we were going to stay onboard. I said, "Until the men in the white coats come down the dock."
We think some savvy entrepeneur should start an assisted living marina somewhere in the south for all us old sailors out here so that we can do this until infinity. We've met a bunch of "us" along the way and enjoyed every single one. And we're all getting younger and healthier every day we're on the water. To think a few months ago our calendar was centered around work schedules, doctor appointments and putting gas in the car. I was never fond of getting up at five in morning to go to work. Now you'll find me in the cockpit with the boyz and a cup of coffee waiting for the sunrise. We pick up, move and marvel at the sights when we want to or park it, maybe meet some new folks, grab a good book off the shelf, or take a nap listening to gentle breezes and rippling water. Not bad stuff for a once-old geezer. My beard can't get any whiter anyway and I haven't had need for a comb in years so every day now is pure no-worries gravy. Whew! OKay, maybe we sound a bit corney but d*mn, this is good stuff!
And this weekend we get to meet PONTE VEDRA! Terri and Larry in Jacksonville.
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Comments [1]
11/20/2009
North is up. We came upon the cat ketch already aground at R-62A. He was right on the magenta line about half way between us and the mark. Two futile attempts to feel our way through led to bottom. The track around east of the mark and over what appears to be marsh had a minimum of 5.5 ft at one hour before low tide. See Lynn's comment below and leave R-60 well to the west also. Gee, as marked. Why didn't I think of that? Skipper Bob's notes this spot, but I missed it as did the others. After we cleared through, we came back to the Brickhill anchorage (to the NE) to kibbitz with the grounders. We collectively scratched our heads, pushed a little and pulled a little to no avail so they waited to float off. No damage, no blood on the decks, met some great folks. Just another day on the Ditch.
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Brickhill is tricky to traverse it's whole length and the southern exit at R60 is a killer! Enter and exit via NORTH entrance for stress free navigation.
11/19/2009, Mile 704 Brickhill River
The place: "R-62A", at mile 704, the southern entrance to Brickhill River
Tide: 1 hour to low
NOTE: this section is very shallow near low tide and the channel is unclear on the charts. Disregard the magenta line or you will be aground. First of all, disreagard "R-60A" that is practically on the beach, the wrongside. Give "R-62A", 20-30 yards clearance [lv. starboad] but stay at least 40 yards off the shoreline [point] on the north. "R-62A" is sitting in 3' of water at low tide. There is also a hump turning inside of "R-62A" into Brickhill River. The entry to brickhill favors the eastern side as if enterting form the south. Then the channel crosses to the west side of Brickhill. Middle of the road will get you 4' at low tide. Use right quarter going in; left quarter after you're in.
It got a little congested here today just before sundown and low tide. Two boats on the hard in a matter of minutes. M/V Aquaholic attempted to back up to one but couldn't get close enough for a line toss. Another MV - a 100'er - offered to wake the one nearest the mark. We feared he would not get himself through at 7' draft but ran a wider arc and found water to clear the inlet. Unfortunately his waking was not successful. Both grounded vessels had to wait for more water. The cutter floated off just about sundown. The cat ketch, that was stranded in the marked channel came off just after dark and was led into the anchorage.
So what's the lesson here? The charted magenta line is shown on the wrong side off the marks. At least one other mark on the charts appears to be missing. If you're using Garmin, the Garmin chart shows better water to the right of the red mark. Not so, I tried the magenta line and a few lines around it - no go. The marks in the water are right, but give them seemingly too wide a margin. Simple fix: don't trust the magenta line all the time and/or don't go at less than 1/3 above low tide.
Thr picture shows the cat ketch aground at 62A with Aquaholic backing to attempt a line toss - couldn't get close enough - 3' depth. The cutter was in the mouth of the Brickhill to the left an aground in 4'. At dusk, the cutter floated off and removed to the anchorage. At dark the cat ketch floated and was guided into the anchorage.
We are all safely anchored in Brickhill River awaiting morning and more water.
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Cheryl, we'll be in Fernandina this afternoonn then the naval base in Jacksonville for a couple days. New Smyrna Thanksgiving Day through Christmas.
Florida, here we come.
11/17/2009, Brunswick, GA
We are in the original home of Brunswick Stew. Alas, we haven't found any yet but we decided to stay another day to find some. Shame on us, Pete said it was the home of the bowling ball and Pokey would have blasted that all through town if he hadn't fessed up that he really had no clue. Actually, we decided to stay because it is really nice here. Coming in, we were passed by huge freighters and dodged shrimp boats at work. The short channel up the East River to the marina is lined with commercial docks and colorful shrimp boats. The Brunswick Landing Marina is topnotch. We were met by Cindy, the most upbeat get-it-done dockmaster on the east coast. Let me tell you, this lady is a one-woman band. It appeared she was the only one here at the time, but I have no doubt she can handle the whole place with ease. Incoming boats, outgoing, fuel fills, pumpouts - all hands on and she mans(?) the office as well. She's everywhere and with a smile on her face the whole time.
It's a short walk to the old town section that is a must see. Alright, so you have to cross the train tracks and a four-lane highway, but when you get there, it's 1955 all over again. Newcastle and Gloucester (add a "ch" in the middle) streets are a beautiful throw back to finer times. Treed streets, two-story brick store fronts with striped awnings, dozens of shops of all kinds and a pile of good restaurants. Parking is angled in - remember Mayberry? Opie and Aunt Bea? The stoplights have crosswalk buttons that are a great help, but the four-lane oddly enough only had a crosswalk, no light, no button. We hope the state law is 'all traffic must stop when pedestrians are crossing'. Either that or we were extremely lucky. Running is definitely out of the question for us, so we at least hope the law is with us so the insurance will pay off. (I'll play dumb, cross my fingers and listen for the sound of screaching tires) At one point we actually considered calling a cab to get across the street.
We walked by a wonderful little book store on Newcastle and were met on the sidewalk by the friendliest miniature schnauzer, named Mr. Wiggles. It was like our old Max was saying Hi Guys! We scratched and snuzzled for a few minutes and chatted with his owner, the shopkeeper. We'll go back tomorrow for another "Wiggles Fix". Apparently he has quite a following and is serious about giving everyone passing by a little luvin'.
The Farmer's Market is open three days a week here. Today was one of them and it's practically right next door to the marina. We bought some fresh fruits and vegetables including the biggest oranges we've ever seen and a big bag of fresh Georgia pecans. We confess, we had to buy a second bag of pecans in case the first one didn't make all the way to the boat grin. We stopped in a corner restaurant for two great salads and some light dinner. OK, Pokey had quiche, nice and healthy, and I had a Barkingdawg - a huge hot dog smothered with chili, onions, bacon, cheese and cole slaw. I hope it doesn't start barking at three in the morning. Doc Sullivan, if you're reading this, it was right there, I just had to do it. Besides, it was probably less dangerous than the four-lane. Tomorrow, the search goes on for Brunswick Stew. Unfortunately, a shrimp pasta salad might get in the way. Or a tuna reuben. Or a shrimp quesadilla. Or a..... they've got good stuff here.
We're now within spitting distance of Florida and should officially be in the land of sun, fun, sand and blue hair by the weekend.
And we need a collective crossing of everyone's fingers for our friends on S/V Ruth who are experiencing engine problems. We are disheartened their old Atomic 4 is giving them headaches again. Hopefully it will be up and running smoothly SOON. Al and Jen, we're waiting for you guys and dinner is on us at the Riverview.
PS: The Little Mud River at high tide is a piece of cake. We were also able to cut off a bunch of corners during the high water. These unusually high tides have made navigating through Georgia's thin spots much easier. And in these parts, as Pokey says, "It's not location, location, location. It's currents, currents, currents." You're going along making 9-10 mph - remember, the ICW is statute, not nautical - then you turn a corner and suddenly you're back to 5. You learn not to count on the 10's or, thankfully, the 5's.
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11/16/2009, South River
We are making tracks through Georgia. Beautiful coastal marshes, beautiful weather, calm water, and a bit of help with the currents. There are a lot of islands in the midst of the marshes but not a lot of homes that we can see. This is wild country, seemingly tame, but wild. Courtesy rules on the ICW and is very apparent here. Much of the radio traffic pertains to passing or water depth down the line. Once in awhile someone recognizes another boat and they go to an off channel to chat.
The water can get skinny here. In addition, high tides have been increased by Nor-Ida's remnants and there are reports of coastal flooding in some areas around here. For us, the high water is good, for the folks on shore, not so good. We holed at up at low tide this afternoon just short of the Little Mud River that is notorious for its shoals. PRIM is anchored in South River, Mile 653, with three other boats. We'll take on the Little Mud in the morning at high tide. Chicken? Nope. If we'd made it through this afternoon, the next anchorage is another ten miles down the line. Tomorrow is a shortie anyway. We're putting in at Brunswick for fuel, the usuals, and a dodger repair.
Blackie, Red and I are basking in the sun and we had trouble getting Blackie to come below this evening. For what reason we are not sure. I think he wants to talk to a dolphin. Both of them enjoy being on deck all day, snoozing, playing, stealing Pete's lunch, snoozing some more...you get the picture.
We've enjoyed anchoring through the Carolinas and Georgia and we're getting the process down to a science. Pete picks the spot and hands the helm to me. We use "Marriage Saver" head sets so he can talk me into the spot while he preps and deploys the anchor. The only thing I would really like to do is floor it once in awhile but he said he'd probably be thrown off the deck if I tried it. Rats!
We're planning on three shore stops ahead for some sightseeing, maybe a burger or two and should be in Jacksonville by the weekend. Pete's retired civie DoD card is starting to pay off. We'll be at the Jax Naval Air Station's Mulberry Cove Marina for at least a couple days. You won't believe what they charge for their service. When they said "9-7-5" we thought, "$9.75 per foot?" No, per day for the [whole] slip. Yikes, we may change our plans a bit to take advantage of that one. Thank you DoD. Thank you USACE.
PS from Pete: if you've missed it, dredging at Hell Gate was completed in August. I'm sure the Guide will update that in the next printing. Skipper Bob online has it current. No problems going through there. Not so with the Little Mud, yet. There are some skinny parts in the 630's and 40's at low tide but none less than 6' that we saw about an hour before low tide. There were some longer stretches that were 7-10' within two hours of low tide. Our GPS signal strayed now and then so pay attention to the marks in the water and stay on the ranges when available. When the current is strong, you will see the tide lines - lots of junk in the water from the extra-high tides. Check your strainers. Toodles.
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11/15/2009, Big Tom Creek
Somewhere in Georgia. Somewhere in the middle of a marsh, again. Somewhere where the sunset is sure to be as beautiful as it gets, again. We left Bull Creek about 8:30 this morning and ground up about 50 statue miles in the Ditch. We even crossed through Hell Gate at low tide. I'd had reservations about that and called TowboatUS for local knowledge. Before I could get them on the cell (VHF Savannah was breaking up), a local guy came back on the radio and said Hell Gate was just dredged. I saw no less than 8.5' in the middle at MLLW. Whew! PRIM is now anchored in Big Tom Creek, Mile 614, and the bug screens are in place. We'll watch the sunset tonight through a port and leave the noseeums for the next guy in line. I'm not being mean, it's just that I fed the d*mn things last night. It's someone else's turn
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Short day for us. The marina guys were very busy this morning getting boats off the docks, fueling, pumping out, shooing line crashers away and keeping their cool through it all. In the meantime TowboatUS brought in a huge ailing Hatteras that was a bear to get dockside in the current. We waited about three hours to walk Prim forward to the fuel/pumpout slot. Unfortunately, they have a very short pumpout hose so we had to slide forward again to get the aft tank. Oh well, finally out of there by 12:30. We made it to Bull Creek opposite Hilton Head at Mile 365 in time for another beautiful sunset and noseeum time (which you CAN see when they're swarming around you). Now it's time for those leftovers we've been dreaming about all afternoon - the remains of last night's roast beef, potatoes, onions, carrots and brussel sprouts. God, I love that pressure cooker!
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See you in Marathon,
Vicky & Tom
11/13/2009
A few months ago I noticed "Site Meter" on several other blog sites here. Being the poster child Blogger Dummy (I checked out 'Blogging for Dummies' from our local library back home to find out how to do this), I had only a tiny knowledge of what we would gain out of putting this thing on our site. Mike and Lynn from Nelleke and Silverheels III, respectively, were talking the other day about reaching 25,000 'hits' on their blog sites. That is a wonder. Now I wish we had started sooner because it is very interesting indeed to see where people are logging in from.
We have readers from literally all over the world which continually amazes us. When we started this blog, the intent was to let our family and friends know where we were and what we were doing and to keep a running log of this 'great adventure', our first. When we get home next year, I'm going to hit "Print" so I can see what I've been up to for the past twelve months. Instead we get not only that, but a world of interest that we hadn't expected. Britain, France, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Sudan(?), Canada and the Maritimes, China, Thailand, almost all the States and more. It is fascinating to see where all of you are from. We began to recognize locations that are in fact family or friends at home. We also see others that we know from their blogs are in some particular spot or other. And then there are the repeaters whom we have no idea about. Who are you? How did you catch on to our little trek? Welcome to our site and our lives. We enjoy the company.
We sincerely hope you are enjoying these little notes that we post. It would be a treat to meet all of you at some time as you have truly sparked our interest. For example, Ponte Vedra Beach, we know where you are but not who you are, and we notice you take a look every day or so. We are intrigued. Lake Mary, FL - we will be there with family for Christmas but they are still in Virginia. ??? Bellevue, MI - is that close to Traverse City? Some of the European, Pacific and Asian interest seemed to come via our story and photos about the Ring Andersen and we're glad you stopped in. It appears many of you came back again and again. Thank you. Others popped in via another blog site or a Google hit. We have a niece in London so that accounts for one of you Brits but the others, that's an eye opener. Welcome.
Whoever and wherever you are, we are humbled that you continue to click on us and follow PRIM. Drop us a note once in awhile. There's an email contact on the right. Ponte Vedra, we will be passing by you in a week or two. We chuckle every time we see you've logged in and you are, in fact, the impetus for this post. Coffee?
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11/13/2009, Beaufort
It was there a minute ago. Now it's gone again. I think it was the, whaddaya callit, the sun! Yeah, I remember now.
Finally, boats are starting to move again. Several left Beaufort this morning to catch the rising tides through some skinny parts ahead of us. To our advantage, the courtesy car here just might be available today for a change. And we hope the line at the laundry has dwindled a bit. Tomorrow the weather from here to Florida should be mid-70's and clear with lesser winds. We'll finish our errands here today and leave in the morning. Next stop? Beats me - south I hope.
Small world item: I was standing at the counter yesterday waiting to buy another night of wind, current and rain at the dock while a red-haired guy was breaking out his plastic for the same thing. He mentioned something about upstate NY so I asked him where he was from. Rochester. Oh, I grew up there in Irondequoit. Which, east or west? Both, sort of. He and his wife asked simultaneously, Oh, do you know CP Maloney?
Of all things, I'm 600 miles from home, surrounded by marshland and Marines in the deep south, 1000 miles from the Genesee River in Rochester and Red and his wife Marilyn were partners at Braddock Bay Marina with my old buddy CP from 30 years ago. I suppose if I pulled into some port in Thailand, or New Zealand or some other exotic place, some bloke would ask, "Oh, you're from the states. Do you know CP Maloney?" CP, if you ever see this, you continually amaze me. Here's one for O'Laughlin's.
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11/11/2009, Beaufort, SC
Okay. Enough with the showers already. Everytime we would get ready to go to town, it would start up again. I suppose I just brought hellfire and damnation down on myself with those few words, but we'd really like to get on the move again. Instead, we're cleaning (always), doing some minor repairs and making barley soup. The soup is the best part - smells so good it's hard to wait. Guess I'll try bisquits to go with it. 'Keeps me out of trouble. Later.............
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