April Fool

Vessel Name: April fool
Vessel Make/Model: Pearson 38
Hailing Port: Annapolis MD
04 April 2014 | Little Alligator River NC
23 March 2014 | Thunderbolt GA
21 March 2014 | Georgia
21 March 2014 | St. Augustine Florida
15 November 2013
13 November 2013 | Delegal Creek
10 November 2013
07 November 2013 | Charleston
04 November 2013 | Graham Creek SC
01 November 2013 | Southport NC
26 October 2013 | Dowry Creek Marina off the Pungo River NC ICW M131.8
22 October 2013 | Portsmouth
Recent Blog Posts
04 April 2014 | Little Alligator River NC

Almost home

At the rate we are moving we should be home next Wed. or Thurs. The last three days have been wonderful--sunny, 80 degrees and calm. The wind is picking up tonight though, SW 11 with 20-23 gusts but we are in a well protected anchorage on the Little Alligator River. Tomorrow we will be crossing the Albermarle [...]

23 March 2014 | Thunderbolt GA

On to Savannah

We left Cumberland Island after waiting for the fog to lift, headed for St.Simon's Island. We stopped there on our way south; it is beautiful with many large live oaks. And we liked the Coastal Kitchen near our marina--great food, especially the shrimp and grits. And the marina delivers great muffins [...]

21 March 2014 | Georgia

Cumberland Island National Seaashore

We spent our first night on a mooring in Fernandina Beach FL after a cool cloudy trip from St Augustine. It was a long day but we wanted to make it to Cumberland Island National Seashore early the next day. We made good progress with only one bridge opening and a favorable current most of the time. We got to the Cumberland Island anchorage at 10:30 a.m. on Wed. and soon took the dinghy to a park dock. We spent several hours on Cumberland Island, walking trails to the ocean and to ruins of a mansion built in the late 1800's by a Carnegie. Most of the island is now part of the park. We saw wild horses and turkeys and many shore birds. The only way to get there is by boat; a ferry runs from St. Mary's GA. It was cloudy and cool but no wind so it was not a bad day for exploring. Definitely worth a return trip--there was much more to see.

21 March 2014 | St. Augustine Florida

Traveling North

Tues., 3/18/14: We are leaving today to make our return trek to Annapolis. We have had a wonderful time but are ready to get on our way again. We did go south as far as Vero Beach in early February, looking for some warm weather. And it was much warmer than St. Augustine. We made stops in Daytona Beach, [...]

18 November 2013

Fernandina Beach-St. Augustine

When we got up this a.m., we had a nice surprise, muffins and a newspaper

15 November 2013

St. Simon's Island

When we left the marina (located on Skidaway Island) the wind was not as strong but there was a 3 knot current to deal with. We made it out of the slip all right, thanks to a permanent slip holder who guided us out. Not so with our friends--they hit another sailboat, but fortunately the damage wasn't [...]

Fernandina Beach-St. Augustine

18 November 2013
When we got up this a.m., we had a nice surprise, muffins and a newspaper
delivered to our boat, courtesy of the Golden Isla Marina. Our destination today was Fernandina Beach Fl where we had reservations for a mooring ball. We went past Jekyll Island, Little Cumberland Island and Cumberland National Seashore. The sunny warm weather turned cloudy and windy later in the day. There were a couple of places where we had glimpses of the ocean and could see sailboats. After we got to Fernandina Beach we took the dinghy, the first time we used it, to shore to explore this historic town. There were many Victorian houses, shops and restaurants in the historic district. The weather was better so we had dinner on the patio of The Salty Pelican. It was raining and foggy when we left the next morning. The ICW took us down the Amelia River and past Amelia Island, across the St. John's River and through the outskirts of Jacksonville. An interesting stretch was the 10 mile Cabbage Swamp Canal with many very large homes with very large power boats for several miles and then back to marsh on one side and trees on the other. There were more dolphins today, some right beside the boat, and we saw five bald eagles. We anchored near Pine Island off the Tolomato River, a quiet, secluded anchorage. It was a very pleasant evening with a full moon. Very warm and sunny when we got underway today, only 17 miles to St. Augustine. We were very near the ocean along here, and again saw many large homes. We were soon in the heart of St. Augustine, and through the Bridge of Lions which opens on the hour and half hour. We had to push to make it for the 10:30 opening, but the bridge tender kept it open long enough for us to make it through which he didn't have to do. We have learned that if you are nice to the bridge tenders they will be nice to you, wave and wish them a nice day. We arrived at the River's Edge Marina at 11:30 where we plan to keep the boat at last to mid-January. We are renting a car and driving to our house in Duck NC for Thanksgiving with our kids and grandkids, then back here for a couple weeks before we fly to Annapolis for Christmas. After we return we are not sure what we will do; we are thinking about going farther down the ICW, maybe as far as Vero Beach. It has been a great adventure and we have enjoyed it all. We were fortunate to have good weather most of the way, and no major problems with our boats which would have delayed us. Thanks for the comments, and Matt, Dick has had a fair amount of "juice" along the way. Always some new beer to try!



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