Wow.....It's been almost 6 weeks since I last posted. So a recap on us. We decided to head back to NC to check on somethings and do some chores. We have been beating upwind I guess you would say. We have just not had fun times for most of this trip. We made the crossing back to the states from the Bahamas on May 10th. It was a very nice crossing from Memory Rock Bahamas to Ft. Pierce FL. We had waited for that weather window and it paid off. We had light wind so we ended up motor sailing across. We left the banks about sunset and did an overnight passage. We were a little ahead of the tide so had to slow to enter the inlet at Ft. Pierce. Much to our surprise when we entered the anchorage right at the inlet our friends on Avalon were anchored there. We spent the day there and checked back into the states. The next day we went on up to Vero Beach for provisions and fuel. I noticed there was a seafood festival on Saturday so we extended our stay until Sunday. Our friends on Avalon joined us at the seafood festival which actually had more crafts and company advertisers than anything pertaining to seafood. There were several vendors serving seafood. The ones we tried was tasty. The next day we headed North. Everyday listening to the roar of the engine averaging about 30 miles a day. Looking at the weather forecast and trying figure a time to get outside in the ocean and make some miles but not have rough seas and also favorable winds. That has been an obstacle the whole trip.

So not having much fun Mike tells me he wants to sell the boat and do something else. No I like living on the water so we will try to figure out something to make some of this fun and come to a compromise. So we are going to put the boat on the hard when we get back to NC and do some land traveling for awhile. Maybe the some of the TAT trail (TransAmerica Trail) which is an off-road trail we can do in the Samuri. Then maybe next summer take the boat up the east coast.

Now that you know our plan I will finish the trip to where we are today. Stopped in St. Augustine for a couple of days to provision they have an Aldi's and we can get Mike's favorite potato chips then headed north on the ICW. At this point the plan was to go to St. Marys Inlet and stage for an outside run up the Georgia coast. You guessed it there were predicted winds for the next week. We decided to get a slip at a marina in Brunswick so we could get off the boat and explore instead of staying on anchor for a week. We reserved a spot at Brunswick Landing Marina where there is lots of activities for the people at the marina. There is a social 3 times a week, a large captains lounge, free laundry, etc. So we decided to be join in with the activities. The first social we went to was a dud. No one spoke to us said hi or anything needless to say we was a little disappointed. So the second one was much better, I took some cheese and crackers to share and got there early. Oh and did I mention free beer and wine I don't drink but Mike had a cup or two. The marina provides the libations for the tenants for the socials. We explored the town some parts nice and some not so nice. Somehow we can always find edgy parts of town everywhere we go. : ) Our week was up so we dropped the dock lines and continued north.

Made it about 20 miles and was going to head out but noticed the engine was hot. Dropped the anchor, checked the raw water strainer and sea cock to make sure we had cooling water coming in....check. went about 1.5 miles and temperature climbed again, deployed the anchor once more, checked the impeller in the raw water pump and one vein broken off...darn! The vein wasn't seen hopefully it passed on through the system, anchor up. Long story short...after another anchoring and a broken bolt in the elbow at the heat exchanger, Mike found the broken vein. Next day we crossed two large inlets and Mike kept a check on the temp of the engine it seems that the readings on the dash read about 20degrees higher than he can find on the engine, not sure why.

I picked a spot for the night where we had anchored in 2018 with the Morgan that was a nice spot with very little boat traffic and wakes. After anchoring for the night I noticed a post about the new anchoring laws in Georgia may have excluded this anchorage since it was near some oyster beds. Oh no, I had marked the anchor on the chart so I measured to see how far we was from the shore...ah well a little over 500 ft. We should be ok as 500 ft was the offset in the laws. I researched the penalties and seen that the anchoring fines and penalties were mostly complaint driven. So if we could behave and not have anyone file a complaint on us we would be ok as we plan to leave at sun up to catch the current with us. When Mike pulled up the anchor much to his surprise was an old crab pot. Took a minute to free but he removed it and we were on our way. Although Georgia has the least amount of miles of coast line it takes forever to pass through as the creeks, rivers, tributaries and sounds weave back and forth. We both like Georgia and think it is very pretty we will opt to go around next time. Timing the tides which can be 9-10 ft and currents being 3+ knots are hard for me to predict. When this is against you then you probably should stop cause you are not making any headway. Finally into SC and motor sailing along with another boat, Pelagic. They were in an earlier anchorage with us and we have been able to keep up with them or them with us. This is the first boat that we could do this with. I have enjoyed having someone to confer with on plans and anchorages for at least a couple of days. While in Church Creek anchorage we went deeper into the creek and Pelagic along with a couple of trawlers stayed close to the ICW. A bad thunderstorm came through and one of the trawlers started dragging anchor, it was some tense moments as we were listening on the radio. The winds was blowing in the upper 20 knots and some gusts to 30 knots and lots of thunder and lightening it turns out that the trawler anchored in a crab pot. He climbed out on the bow of the boat dislodged the crab pot and re anchored for the night. You always have to be ready for Mother Nature as she does not play.

A couple more nights on anchor and I wanted a land shower. We made it to Hazzard Marine in Georgetown SC and stayed for a couple of nights to avoid winds again and provision. Can't imagine what happens to all that food : ) We ate at two restaurants in town both were good. It is a nice little town but if you plan to walk to Walmart and Uber or Lyft back it may take a while. Public transportation or ride sharing in Georgetown is not as easy as in some other ports. We left this marina continuing our journey north and wanted to stop in the Waccamaw River area for a few days. We feel like this area of the ICW is the prettiest and most peaceful area. This time we were also delayed by the Socratees Swing Bridge as they have limited opening times due to repair from a car running through the barricade and off the end of the bridge when the bridge was in the process of opening for marine traffic. Luckily for our friends on Pelagic who had passed through earlier in the morning. The car and the body of the driver of the car was recovered, but the bridge sustained damage and road traffic and marine traffic has been limited or closed. Now the bridge is open 4 times a day for marine traffic so the predicted winds will slow tomorrow and we will get the first opening of the day at 9 am as we head north. But for the rest of the day we will enjoy watching and listening to the wildlife. There is a nest in a tree near us with baby Osprey chicks and boy can they make a bunch of noise.

Thanks for following our wakes and hope to be back to Bayboro then High Point in the next 7-10 days. Yes that is hopeful thinking as we are about 200 miles away and traveling at 20-30 miles on our travel days. Until next time you are now caught up.........

Well as we have always said "Sailor's plans are written in the sand at low tide", meaning that plans are ever fluid and changing. We are heading back to the States.

Our journey before plan changed as follows. We stayed in Man O War for about 5 weeks visiting and then went to Hope Town in Elbow Cay. We spent the day with Cara our favorite massage therapist and doing laundry. She showed us Elbow Cay from one end to the other and we had lunch at On Da Beach. After leaving Elbow Cay we headed south to Tiloo Cay for some wind after riding out the little blow and front bringing through 35+ knots of wind and rain we began return north as we feel like we need to check on some things back in High Point. Nothing to worry about but decided not to continue further into the Bahamas at this time. Now to battle the winds and fronts to get back to the states.

We went back to Man O War for a week. As we went back into town everyone was surprised to see us and welcomed us back "home" saying that we just could not stay gone long. After a week we waited on some winds to go through or around the Whale Cay. This is a little Cay that can get quite sporty or dangerous with the wrong winds and tides. There is also a sand bank between Whale Cay and Treasure Cay with a passage (Don't Rock Passage) for shallow draft boats but is not used by many cruisers. After looking over the charts and reading reviews I wanted to give it a try left the mooring at Man O War went to the fuel dock topped off and we out the harbor and headed north towards Whale Cay and ultimately the states. Across the sand bank along Don't Rock Passage on the west side of Whale Cay and on to Manjack Cay anchorage for the night. It was an uneventful day and we did the Don't Rock Passage at rising tide with plenty of water under the keel. The shallowest water I seen was 3.5 feet under the keel. We stayed at this nice anchorage in Manjack for a couple of days and then moved to Crab Cay. We made plans to leave Crab Cay/Angelfish Point and sail to Foxtown for the next night. When we sail it is a good idea to pull the sail drive out of the water to decrease the drag in the water and gain a small fraction of speed. We set the sails and cut off the engine. Mike decided to pull up the sail leg, however it was "stuck". Now the idea was if we put the engine in reverse to bump the leg and get it unstuck. Well that's what we did, but the rope on the drive leg wrapped up in the prop. Now we had to unwrap the prop so we could motor into the anchorage and around the rocks in Foxtown anchorage. Warning....don't try this at home kids....We lowered the dinghy into the water which were on the davits. Then pulled the dinghy up close to the back of the boat and Mike got into the dink being pulled by the big boat under sail. He unwrapped the prop and we released it back into the water and pulled the dink behind Windsent and sailed on to Foxtown. Once the situation was corrected I told Mike I was thinking the other day that we had not wrapped the prop on this boat, well that can not be said now. He said I jinxed us. We spent a rolly night at Foxtown. Due to some predicted incoming westerly winds we left for Cave Cay at early light as the winds were forecast to increase during the day. Cave Cay has a shallow anchorage with clear water with a grassy sandy bottom. The anchor bit and dug in good. Only one other vessel in the anchorage when we arrived. It is supposed to be a out of the way anchorage so the other vessel M/V Avalon was surprised to see us arrive. The crew came to the boat and introduced themselves on their way to the beach. The next couple of days we rode out the west winds. After the winds settled, we got off the boat and checked out the beach and visit the neighbors on M/V Avalon. Nice couple and offered to share some water with us after running their water maker the next day. As we were visiting them, we looked out across the anchorage and noticed 4 other boats had snuck into the anchorage.....now the secret is out about this quite secluded anchorage. The next day the crew from M/V Avalon came by with the water and a delicious loaf of fresh baked English Muffin bread and recipe. We also shared and discussed weather which is always a topic of conversation amongst cruisers. Thank you so much M/V Avalon. They left the following day heading for Great Sale Cay.

We followed the next day to Great Sale Cay on the Eastern side in Tom Johnson Harbor. This is a shallow little cove to be protected from northeast to east winds on the eastern side of Great Sale Cay. The wind was blowing in the right so we headed out. Put up the head sail and the stay sail. Now having wrapped the prop a couple days ago and not wanting to repeat that experience again. Mike again got into the dink and we released the drive leg....again don't try this boys and girls. So we sailed for about 4 hours then motored 1.5 hours to the anchorage. When we arrived dropped the anchor and went to back down on the anchor to make sure it was securely dug in. I put the engine in reverse and the boat was not backing up. I looked back and noticed there was water splashing up meaning that the drive leg was not properly locked so Mike came to check and we put the motor back into drive and broke the lift line but the leg is locked in position. The lift leg is an issue we will address when we haul the boat out when we put her on the hard in North Carolina. We noted via AIS (Automated Identification System) that the main harbor at Great Sale looked like it was full of boats so I felt like this area (Tom Johnson Harbor) would be a better refuge. So here we sit bouncing around however not uncomfortable in the 25+ knot winds. So what do you do when you are sitting on the boat during the winds....today we are binge watching a series off the hard drive.

We are hoping to get a weather window to get back to the states next week. We may move Monday then plan on crossing Tues to Wed. Only weather will tell. We plan to enter at Ft. Pierce Inlet. It should be a 125 mile crossing from Great Sale. It should take us 24-30 hours depending on the winds and any help from the gulf stream as we will be generally travel at 4-5 knots.


Until next time......Thanks for following us.....

Greetings from the beautiful blue waters of the Bahamas! We have been here in the Bahamas for a month. Time really does fly, not sure where it goes but some days just sitting on the boat waiting on weather.

We crossed the Gulf Stream from West Palm Beach on 2/24/2023 to check in at West End, Old Bahama Bay with Customs and Immigration. It was supposed to be a 10 maybe 12 hour crossing with smooth seas. Part of that was right it was a nice crossing with smooth seas motorsailing comfortably, however about halfway across the motor started to loose RPMs and chug almost cutting off then the RPMs would increase and run as it should. This continued becoming increasingly shorter times between episodes until the last couple of hours it would do this every 3 minutes. We opted to make landfall about 12 miles N of Old Bahama Bay in West End Bahamas at Memory Rock since we could anchor there on the banks (shallow water) and it was closer given it was going to be after dark and not sure how much longer the engine would hold out. We knew we had plenty of diesel in the tank, but didn't want to shut it down to clean the fuel filters in the Gulf Stream and maybe have difficulty getting it started back. So we kept chugging along and when she would start chocking and sputtering I would talk to her(the boat) and tell her how good she was doing and it was only a few more miles and not to leave me stranded in the dark. She would take another drink of fuel and cough and continue on. Now she would have done this wither or not I talked to her but I guess it made me feel better. We hit the banks and anchored down about 15 hours after we departed the US. Ran up the "Q" flag and got a small dinner and took a nap. Relatively a quite night. Next morning after breakfast we began to tackle the issue of the engine as we had narrowed it to a fuel issue. We sucked up some scum and trash off the bottom main fuel tank and then cleaned the fuel/water separator as well as a new fuel filter. Now to clear customs and immigration. Taking the banks route along the shoals we motored to West End and anchored out, launched the dinghy and headed to the office to check in. I had completed the Click to Clear electronically prior to leaving the US, so I thought all would be good. Customs had all of our paperwork but said they needed check the boat since we declared weapons on board. I told the customs agent we anchored out and could take him out to the boat on the dinghy. He declined our offer and told us to bring the big boat into the dock. Well I really did not want to bring the big boat into the dock thus the reason for anchoring outside the basin. Oh well we had not choice so we went back to the boat and hoisted the dinghy and went to the fuel dock. Bought fuel and checked in, got our years cruising permit, fishing permit, and 180 days on the visa good to go. Since we were gonna have to anchor anyway and were on the move we decided to go out on the banks again and anchor since right outside the basin was crowded and only so so holding and it was gonna be a quite night with little wind. What a great night for the banks.....still water, nice sunset, nice moon light and warm clear Bahamas water after a long day. What a nice feeling.

Next day we headed east...stopping along the way in search of a SIM card for the phone and data. No SIM cards in Foxtown or Green Turtle Cay so we headed to Marsh Harbor. We knew that our friends, Michael and Nancy Albury were rebuilding Conch Inn and Marina, so we snuck in to say "Hello" and see their progress. Well not having seen it before it was flattened by Dorian I have nothing to compare it to, but it is a fabulous place. The marina is in tip top shape and friendly assistance on the docks to help with your lines. They also have fuel at the end of the dock now and sell water which is a great help to boats without water makers or when rain has been scarce. In addition to the docks in the marina they have a few moorings on a first come first serve basis. The showers and Laundry is nice as well. Just a real friendly staff and great facility. We stayed a couple of days here and got an Aliv SIM card. All set.

Headed "home" to Man O War! Picked up a mooring that a local allowed us to use. Thank you kind Sir! What a reunion. It is great to be back here. Walking around the settlement talking to everyone and catching up was so good. The island is looking so much better. The harbor is clean with moorings and lots of new private docks, homes rebuilt and being rebuilt very few blue roofs (tarps on roofs that was placed by Samaritans Purse). Boats being built. The Albury boats are very nice and sought after. No restaurants yet but take always for food available. Snacky Shack is open for lunch and dinner, Russell's convenience store usually has a meal special daily and fresh bread/rolls a few times a week. A several times a week Outsiders Takeaway and Grill has lunch and Dinner. Then different families will cook and offer meals for sale. The museum/coffee shop is open on their regular schedule. The Sail Shop and Joe's Gift shops is also open, lots of comings and goings.
Progress is ongoing and great to see.

We are currently in the Eastern Harbor on the mooring and almost in the same spot our Morgan 41OI was in before Dorian. Most afternoons we watch the sunset and anchor TV. Now you might ask what is that....it is the "show" out on the water with boats coming in to get a mooring for the night. It can be quite entertaining as new boaters and charter (rental) boats try to pick up the moorings. Some do just fine, some have a rough go at it and others miss the mark completely and run aground in the channel before getting into the mooring field. There are several of us that will go out and help to get them unstuck. One night it was dark and we were headed back to the boat after dinner when we noticed something that looked odd. Now perspective is everything sometime, but there was a green light that looked out of place then we seen a mast light.....oh no that sailboat is not supposed to be there. When we got to the boat they were grounded and with the tide going up and the wind blowing towards the shore. We ask them to give us their anchor as we would take their anchor out and drop it for them and they could kedge off. So we took the anchor in the dinghy and headed out to deep water before we dropped the anchor I looked and they were following us. We had pulled them off with the dinghy....not exactly what we expected but they were free and we helped them catch a mooring now they could rest easy. What fun! Always a first for everything. They thought we were experienced but not it just worked out. So far in total over the last 2-3 weeks we have helped 4 boats off that shoal.

What next.....well after Easter when the wind is right we will head south. I would like to get down to Cat and Long Island, Conception, Rum and San Salvador Cays. Until next time thanks for following our trip through the islands....

So it has been a month already and I have not been so good at sending updates. I have good intentions and just don't do it. Well in the last blog we were in Mosquito Lagoon and had a quite and peaceful New Years with fireworks in the distance 360 degrees around. In the morning we encountered fog which started to burn off and we witnessed the most incredible site was a "fogBow" at least that's what I called it and many of you have seen our pictures of it. That night we picked up a mooring ball it the Titusville Marina and watched a space launch the next morning around 10am. Then it was off to get groceries at Aldi's. That entails walking about a mile to the bus stop catching a bus ride for 20ish minutes get the groceries most of all we gotta have the Clancy potato chips (Aldi's brand cause they are the best). Along with a case (10 bags of chips) and other groceries stuffed in our backpacks we return back to the bus stop for the return trip. To the marina, into the dinghy and back to the mooring. And that is sometimes what it takes to get groceries a days travel and time but what else do we have to do....oh yea continue south. Next stop was behind some spoil islands along the ICW. Not a bad spot if you use the island as a wind break. There was a little beach and we were entertained by some guys in little sailing catamarans having a big time in the brisk breeze. Night fall brought quite and still waters. Next stop was Pine Island to be protected from some incoming wind. We stayed here for 4 nights. There was nothing there to do. It was a nice anchorage with little tide and current and not any noticeable wakes from the ICW traffic. While we waited we made provisions to have mail and things from Amazon shipped to our next stop which was Vero Beach Municipal Marina where we picked up a mooring. Now the last time I went into this marina I chickened out and left. Why you might ask ....well it was our first year and I was intimidated driving the boat scared i was going to hit something I could not afford to buy or repair in that heavy Morgan that was number 1 and number 2 was that you had to raft up to at least one other boat if not two. For those of you non boat people that means tying your boat to another 1 or 2 boats that is attached to the mooring ball. So your have neighbors that are real close. Well this time I proceeded to the fuel dock and took on diesel, gasoline and pumped out the poop tank as well as a couple gallons of drinking water yes it was from a hose : ) The guys assigned us a ball and told us that we would not have any problems from the other boat as the owner had recently died and the boat had been sold. Well imagine my surprise the next morning when I went on deck there was a man standing in the cockpit. I thought to myself...huh has this man come back reincarnated or is this a ghost, he did not look like an apparition. Come to find out he was the new owner. Nice 70 year old man who along with his son left on Monday and took the boat to haul it and do some work on it. So we were on the mooring solo. Now Vero beach is sometimes called Velcro Beach because cruisers and others come and stay. I can see why it is a very easy place to get around. There is free public transportation, nice facilities and laundry. As well as a community of like minded people. So we hopped on the bus (#1 route) and made our way around to the Neighborhood Walmart the first day. The driver whose name is Ian was awesome. He knew where every stop you wanted was and how to get there if you needed to change buses. He also knew his stops down to the minute. He told us when we got off the bus for Walmart he would pick us up on the other side of the road at 36 minutes after the hour. Sure enough the meter showed 5:36 when we got back on the return bus. What a great asset to the Vero Beach community. The next day we went to Aldi's again and the regular Walmart that involved changing buses. On Saturday we went on the bus again to a nice farmers market, then to Publix and tried a Mexican restaurant. On Sunday the bus does not run so it was laundry day and what I did not know was that everyone else had the same idea. So doing the laundry took several hours. After finally completing the task we went and tried out the new drone to get a feel for flying it before we tried it over or around water. We initially were supposed to leave on Monday morning but decided to stay after hearing about a get together with some others from the mooring field at a local restaurant, Mr. Manatee's. It was a dinghy ride out of the marina, across the ICW and down a canal to a dinghy dock behind the restaurant. The next day we got up to leave and did not feel good but did not want to stay at the marina when we could hang out on the hook for a couple of days. Our plan was to provision good in Ft. Pierce then go out Fort Pierce Inlet and down the coast for 20ish miles and turn east and make West End Grand Bahamas. Well still not feeling well the next day and thinking we probably had the flu we did a COVID test and it came back positive. Dang it for 3 years ran from that virus and now that we slowed down it caught us. So crossing over had to be put on hold and we quarantined for two weeks on the boat. The first week was the toughest as we felt bad and mainly slept and coughed and watched the sunrises and sunset. We stayed in Ft. Pierce anchorage a couple days and then went to Manatee Pocket in St. Lucie. Now getting in off the ICW was a trick the tide was against me and Manatee Pocket has a large Sport Fisher Boat population due to its close proximity to the Inlet. It posed a interesting situation as I am going about 3 knots and these big sport fishers are zipping around me about 10-15 knots and throwing very large wakes rocking me around. This makes it hard to drive and control the boat. Luckily it is not but about a mile into the no wake zone and it all gets better. We entered the anchorage and started setting the anchor. First try it bit but did not set. We went for a second try when another boater jumped in his dinghy and came over to us. He told Mike not to back down on it so hard that the bottom was silty and so the next time we went slow and backed down on it easily....Caught. All was good next day we had a little wind then calmed down. The following evening the wind picked up and was blowing 20 mph. Knowing that the bottom was silty I did not trust our position even though I was watching the GPS unit and tracking. Between 8-9 pm I was making my checks around deck and noticed the boat that was anchored in front of us looked odd. I went forward to look closer and low and behold it was not anchored it was moving through the anchorage free. I began to call out loud and holler for the captain, but as Mike approached the front deck he noticed there was no dinghy so there was not one aboard the boat. As it cruised about 10 feet from our boat I continued to yell out.....BOAT ADRIFT....BOAT ADRIFT.......Finally someone started blowing an air horn. In the end the boat came to rest against another boat and the captain was located and re-boarded and re-anchored his vessel. Then right after that on the other side of us another boat began drifting, however the captain was aboard and controlled and re-anchored his vessel. Needless to say that was a sleepless night. Next morning we were out of there. Leaving the anchorage I did not pay attention to the tide and it was incoming so leaving that one mile channel with several fishing boat made it a little difficult but we made it and was only going about 6 miles to Peck Lake. A popular spot for locals and cruisers alike. It is a protected spot with plenty of water in the lake center but the entrance is a very narrow slot. It was described like a wine glass and you should go to the marker before you made the turn into the entrance as to the north of the entrance is a sandbar. As you are coming south down the ICW it looks like you can just turn east and be in the anchorage. Well lots of people try it and close to low tide it is only 1 ft deep but hard to tell unless the light is just right. Several boats got stuck and most got off but at least one had to be towed off by TowBoat US over the week that we stayed there. Not only were we staying put and quarantining but one of the opening bridges we needed to go through was broken so if you are taller than 35 ft for this particular bridge you could not pass. We are 46 feet to the top of the mast including instruments. Estimated date for repair was February 1st. However they finished the repairs early so that meant that all of the sailboats heading south that was waiting along the ICW could proceed south and continue on unloading the anchorages that were filled. We enjoyed the anchorage and was able to dinghy to the beach and then walk a couple hundred yards on a path through the palms and sea grapes to the Atlantic Ocean and splash our feet for few minutes. Still to cold to swim for me at least. We moved on down ICW into Hobe sound for a couple of nights. The weather was calm and flat at night. During the day you get a few wakes from boat traffic but not much. We walked the small sandy spits there as well. Seen a couple of brittle stars, which are a relative to the star fish but it has thin and long legs. Kinda reminds me of a granddaddy long leg spider but they do not move near as fast. I know this is long and if you have made it this far thanks for hanging in with us .Our next stop is North Palm Beach to look for protection from the Northeast winds. Now we are feeling better and have been quarantined for almost 21 days so on to trying to make it to the Bahamas before hurricane season.: ) From our Hobe Sound anchorage to North Palm Beach Anchorage which is about 14 miles there are 6 opening bridges. Two are on request meaning that you call the bridge when you get there and they stop the traffic for you and open and let you through. The other four bridges are on a schedule so you have to time your arrival for their opening. Most are on the hour and half hour. But some are only every hour or on the quarter and three quarter hour. So after running the gauntlet of the bridges we arrived at the entrance to the anchorage and going down the channel much to our surprise and delight a sport fishing boat pulled up beside of us and it was our friend Knox! He is a guy who we met after Dorian who had a house on Man O War and we worked together for the first months. We knew he lived in south Florida, but did not know exactly where. So excited to be able to see him again. So now you are all caught up and we are waiting again for weather to give us a window to get across to the Bahamas. We are being picky as to hopefully not get beat up and enjoy the passage this time. We will hang out, get groceries, watch the sunrise and sets, enjoy our blessings and make memories together.....Until next time.......Thanks for following us on our misadventures.....

Just thought I would peak interest or not. So it is the last time you will hear from us this year. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

So since the last post we have just been running from the cold, one of Mikes least favorite things. We left the Isle of Palms Marina with a new battery, boat parts and new ear buds (the last pair donated to the water one at a time). Picked up a couple of anchorages along the way and fought the currents on a daily basis. Our next adventure was one evening we were headed to our anchorage and I noticed that the oil pressure gauge numbers were going down. I asked Mike about it as this gauge has never been steady, so we have not trusted it. He just said watch it as the temperature was fine and the oil light was not on. However a short time later all the lights come on and we shut down the engine and dropped anchor. With some investigation the dip stick showed no oil....now there was oil under the engine....hum.....we added a little over 2 qts of oil cranked the engine and all lights out. Pulled the anchor and continued about another mile and dropped anchor again for a couple of days. During this time the wind was to blow and we would be in a somewhat protected place from the wind. During our stay here Mike continued to investigate the oil issue and found that where the oil pressure sending unit goes into the block was a different thread from the engine thread and it had vibrated loose and leaked the oil around the threads. He took the gauge off and put the original oil pressure sending unit back to the block cleaned up under the engine and collected almost right at 2 quarts of oil. That was the same amount that we put in so it must have dripped out as the tube got loose. Left this anchorage and motored to Lady's Island which is very close to Beaufort, SC. Again I picked an anchorage that was to help in some wind and when we got there we shinnied up a creek. Yes we ended up there in the mud sitting on the bottom for a few hours. The anchorage has shoaled in from what the chart said but with this boat it just sits down and then will re-float when the water comes back unlike the other boat(a monohull) it would lay over on its side. As we prepared to leave the anchorage we had to time it to go under an opening bridge. AS we were getting the anchor up I hear a call over the radio from another boat calling the Bridge. It was a couple and their son who were at Hurricane boatyard with us. How funny was that they had caught up to us. We went through the bridge together and to a marina to get fuel. Our plans were to go out (into the ocean) at the next inlet which is Port Royal and head down the coast to Jacksonville, FL thus missing the rest of South Carolina and Georgia. We discussed our plans with Peace, (the boat from the boatyard) and they decided to go out as well. The winds were to be 8-12kts and the seas 2 ft at 6 seconds and then decreasing from that during the night. The winds from the east meaning a nice broad reach sail. Predictions look like a "Dream" sail. That is what it was a dream. The wind died slightly during the night and the seas were a good consistent 2-4 feet all night with the winds staying around 15-20 gusting 25 knots. It was not comfortable. I kept watch through most of the night. Oh did I mention it was cold out. I hunkered down in the corner watching the instruments and every 15 minutes or so I would get up and look around to make sure I did not see any new lights or objects not seen on the charts. Morning came and we decided to make a run back to the next inlet which at the Florida and Georgia Borders. I radioed Peace and let them know that we had a change of plans and was taking back to the ICW. They continued on going down the coast of Florida. We turned south at the Inlet and picked up a mooring ball at Fernandina Beach Marina. Nice to have a warm shower. From Fernandina we made it to Sister's Creek right outside of Jacksonville to a free dock. We tied up in front of a trawler with the help of the captain of that trawler. During the afternoon more boats came in to tie up for the night. In all there was 7 boats tied to the dock that night. In the morning we were not in a hurry to travel south so the trawler want to leave so we moved our boat up 50-60 feet on the dock so he could get by our boat to leave. I should also say there is a current ripping through there. We were helping him with his lines and he was trying to leave I was pushing on the stern (Back of the boat) and his wife started yelling for him to stop as the dive platform on the back was rubbing the dock. He slowed but was heading to our boat from the current pushing him, Mike said go I guess he gave the fuel, as he left so did I right into the drink. Yes the water was 59 degrees and I was 50-60 foot from the boat. So thankful I was not swept under the motorboat or the dock, but popped up and was able to get the edge of the dock. I swam to the boat where I was able to get up on the boat ladder and onto the boat. Wow, was I cold. I changed clothes into some dry clothes and got under the heating blanket. It took 45 minutes or so to warm back up. Once I warmed we continued our journey south. Hung out in a creek for a few days killing time to get into Marineland Marina for a week. Since a very cold snap was predicted and Christmas was on the way we decided to go to the marina thus being able to plug in for heat and share Christmas with Dr. Mac and his bride Sheila (and the girls...their two poodles) on Saving Grace. Dr. Mac was the doctor who first came to Man O War after hurricane Dorian. We had a wonderful week and fun week while we were there. Time to leave and I tried to back out of the slip at low tide. I backed up but could not get the bow (front of the boat) to turn after trying several things I went back into the slip. About an hour later we tried again this time with more hands on the lines and Dr. Mac and Sheila on their dinghy pulling the bow around and ....sha zam....I was headed out of the marina. More than one way to do something. We made it to Daytona for the night and the next day to Mosquito Lagoon. Now you are up to date with our fun and adventures. Today it is gray and foggy with little to no wind so the shallow lagoon is quite and peaceful. Next year we will continue to head south excited to see what we get into....

Thank you for following us ......Happy New Year.....until next time........

Since our last post we have been enjoying some welcomed unseasonable weather. We left Georgetown and hung out in a couple of anchorages. The first anchorage after Georgetown was Minim Creek a short 12 nautical miles from the marina but due to the current and tides we needed to leave around lunch time and did not want to make a hard push with lots of miles as we were waiting on a boat part to be sent in from Canada and it was scheduled to arrive around December 7th. This is a nice wide anchorage and plenty of room for many boats, in fact Brynli joined us for the night. However the easterly wind and the current did not play well making this a rolly anchorage. The next night we tried another anchorage only 3.5 NM (Nautical Miles) further south to North Santee River. Forecast winds came blowing 20-25 knots with gust to 35 knots. The boat was doing fine and riding well. We heard a noise on the cabin top and quickly went out to discover that the wind had taken 2 of the new solar panels and donated them in the drink... Not good. At any rate we have enough to keep the batteries charged. Well don't know but the next day Mike discovered an issue with the batteries. After investigating his diagnosis is one of the batteries has a bad/dead cell and are draining the other 2 batteries. At this point we can not trust the battery bank so we order another battery. A large 400 amp hour lithium battery will fit in the same space as the 3 100 amp hour batteries we currently have. We were fortunate that it was to be sunny and we were okay until we could get to the marina to pick up the new battery. We moved again to Graham Creek which was 19 NM closer but we had at least another week to wait for parts, and batteries to arrive at the Isle of Palms marina where I had made reservations and a place for pick up. We just piddled around on the boat doing little projects, playing on the phones and a lot of nothing well maybe watching the sunrises and sunsets. A couple of notices came in from the boat part stating that it was going to be delivered early, then it was delivered, and finally that it was being sent back. Not a good feeling when the part came from Canada and we are in the water on a weekend not able to call until Monday. On Sunday we received a message from our friend who let us know she had picked up the package for us. Not sure what was going on with US Postal Service. So I moved up the reservations at the marina and we crept another 8.5 NM south to Price Creek and 7.7 NM from the marina.

Arriving at the Marina we checked in and looked for the battery and another order. The other package was there but not the battery. To make a long story short, after the 3rd day we called FedEx and it was finally delivered that day. So doing laundry, taking showers and provisioning are priorities however a little goofing off is in order as well for me at least.....I had contacted a college roommate who is living in Charleston and we were able to get together and spend a nice warm sunny afternoon in downtown Charleston walking around and sampling pralines. I left Mike at the boat doing projects. He put in the battery and wired it up. After finishing up that we were picked up and taken to our friends house for dinner. The following day she came and got us for provisioning and lunch. What a whirlwind couple of days. Planned on leaving the next morning but having to plan for the opening bridge about 4 miles away that does not open for boat traffic from 7-9 am due to increased traffic with people trying to get to work. Well when we awoke the wind was howling and the ICW had small choppy waves and it was cold. We decided to stay another day in the marina. However if we would have waited until after lunch the tide would have been in a better state and the wind had died down. Oh well we will try again tomorrow. Continuing to head south. May make Florida by Christmas.

Thanks for following us and until next time........