Warm and Playing on the Beach

Mile 878 ~ Titusville, FL ~ 76 degrees - dug out our shorts so I guess we have arrived! We spent two nights in Rockhouse Creek near the P0nce de Leon inlet - it's such a pretty spot and an easy dingy ride to the Ocean. The photos today are from Rockhouse Creek as Titsuville is completely unremarkable. (second tallest lighthouse in US , our dingy & Don on beach ) We are here in hopes of seeing the shuttle landing tomorrow , Sunday, and on Monday with our friends Greg & Michelle ( just can't shake them can we?) we are renting a car and going to the Kennedy Space Center just 1/2 hour from here.. We've heard it's well worth the time and effort.
We dingyed across the marsh and the river going to the inlet to the lighthouse where this funky restaurant is as well. 175 ' tall, Florida's tallest lighthouse and the second tallest in the US - it is still used as an active navigation light. When we got back in our dingy it was low tide so we had to motor our little boat out towards the inlet - it's a holiday weekend and everyone in Florida has a boat so we had to be careful about the large wakes , the wind had come up and i was terrified we were going to end up too far in the inlet. A little excitement ~ fortunately Don got us to shore where we took another nice walk around the point on the river side to the ocean beach. It's wild to see the cars on the beach. The sand is so hard people also bike on the beach.

A nice resting spot after our travels ~ now for Titusville...

Thanksgiving

Mile 842.2Rockhouse Creek, south of Daytona ~ There is much to be thankful for despite the feeling that the world is upsidedown (even Tiller thinks so ) and our safety nets aren't all that safe as it turns out. The sun is out - we're sharing dinner with friends this afternoon , our bellies will be full. We are so much more hopeful now that Obama will be at the helm. We voted before we left home and were in a small creek near Bellhaven, NC waiting out a storm the day of the election. Our travel days were long and cold and we were tired. We listened early to the returns on NPR but hadn't heard much before we went to bed. The winds were very strong that night. At 3AM Don got up to check our anchor and be sure we hadn't dragged - he turned on the radio and we listened to a talk show on NPR but couldn't for a few minutes figure out who won - they finally said it. We cheered and danced around a bit before going back to bed. Hope - that was our biggest emotion. This country is off track.

We feel fortunate to be traveling slow and seeing a slice of waterfront life, historic small towns relying on boating and tourism. WE can't help but notice and enjoy nature at this speed, all the birds, the dophins , the protected manatees. We've seen many bald eagles and endless osprey and pelicans. We love watching the shore brids flit on the beach pecking for food. We are on foot most of the time and don't get out of town to see Walmart and the rest of the big box sotres. We can just for a while pretend the world is even on it's axis. We meet new people daily and see boaters helping boaters. There is so much good about our country and the lives we have been fortunate enough to grow up in - so for that - for friends and family we give thanks.

We were in Daytona last night anchored on the side of the Halifax River in front of the sewage treatment plant that gave us a great sunset ! It looked liked the colors you see on a tacky black velvet painting in a Florida tourist shop. We had a nice walk in Daytona to West marine for a few supplies and found some clothes on the sale rack. Onward to Rockhouse Creek this morning- just a 2 hr boat ride - wishing to be in a beautiful spot for the holiday- and it is. We dingied to the beach and had a nice walk at the ocean - this is the 3rd time we've anchored here - this time 7 of us have squeezed in here. Oh - gotta go - our neighbor from RI has invited us over - so cheers and Happy Thanksgiving with love - Marg -Don & Tiller

Fort Matanzas

Mile~792.4 ~ Fort Matanzas off the Matanzas River south of St. Augustine and just a short walk to the ocean .Another short day – just 2 ½ hours south of St. Augustine. We are anchored in a beautiful spot we visited last year as well. I won’t be taking any nature walks on Rattlesnake Island to our starboard. On the island is the remains of Fort Mantanzas, on a Spanish outpost and now a National monument. If you continue through our anchorage past the fort, to the ocean you can see where an active inlet used to be. The water still goes out to sea, the current is quite strong in the anchorage but a road prevents boats form going in and out.

Across from the Fort on Anastasia Island is a small National park and ferry. We dingy over and take the ferry to the Fort for a tour. The fort was built to protect the back door into St. Augustine. Cannons were fired only twice – with 2 shots fired they defeated a fleet of 6 British ships who were then too nervous to come through the inlet.

We did take a nice walk from the park out their road to the main road and just across it to the ocean beach. We then walked up the beach to the inlet and back to our dingy by the inlet shore as it was low tide. It’s a beautiful spot. We topped off the day by having our friends aboard for dinner.
It’s been fun to have some short days. We still get underway by 7AM to run with high tide but at least we are motoring for 8 or more hours. It’s fun to critique the architecture as we go by so many waterfront homes. Some gorgeous some not so.

It was just 47 when we got up this morning but once the sun is fully up it is warm especially if we are out of the wind. The Floridians are pretty shook up by the cold. How nice that we could be here for their record cold spell. We’ll head to Daytona tomorrow…..ahhh another short day -….
.

St. Augustine, FL

Mile 777.8 ~ St Augustine,FL - Monday 11/24 ~ This is a really neat little city – we took a short day from Pine Island to St. Augustine and anchored right off the city north of the Bridge of Lions around 10 AM. The marina allows us to dingy to their dock for a fee of 10.00 which includes the shower and laundry facilities.

There is a fort right on the waterfront and the town is full of large buildings of Spanish Renaissance Architecture. We toured part of Flagler College which occupies what was once a luxurious hotel built in 1888. We also toured the St. Augustine Basilica Cathedral. Both buildings are magnificent and have gorgeous stained glass. Flagler colleges has walls of original Tiffany glass windows. St. Augustine was founded in 1565 as a Spanish military outpost. It feels very European and has wonderful narrow old streets paved with brick.

It was a fun day to just tour the city . We ogt back to the boat before dark to be cheered by the lights that outline all the buildings on the waterfront. A great front row seat from our point of view.

Etiquette

Mile 765 ~ Pine Island ~ a little spit of land off the Tolomato River 50 miles south of Fernandina Beach and 15 miles north of St. Augustine, FL It occurred to me today as we continue to flee the cold that at least we have had mostly sunny weather. We decided to keep on going south instead of playing around the Cumberland Island area due to the wind and cold. We had a fairly easy day though there were shallow spots and one bridge that was a challenge as the current was about 3 knots – it produced standing waves.
Here we are once again with our friends Greg and Michelle aboard Argonauta – the VT and Maine contingent. They came down today from Cumberland Island – we knew they were behind us somewhere but didn’t see them until they came into the anchorage just minutes after us. This anchorage is shallow with 5 to 10 feet of water. A bit of a trick to get into.

As you might imagine there is etiquette out here regarding passing boats, going through bridges, sailboats meeting motorboats and so on. As Greg was coming into this small anchorage with 4 of us already here, slowly motoring to find a safe spot far enough off shore and just far enough away the other boats, the Canadian boat " Chenous" revved it up a bit and passed between Greg and our bow to nab his spot first. That is just not done ~ we cold only hope he would run aground – but alas he didn’t .

So here we are on the road again, recovered from our adventure out at sea. I just wish we hadn’t been so seasick as the experience would have been much more positive even with the cold front coming sooner than predicted and the high winds at the inlet. Don has become extremely proficient at handling this boat. It’s 32 feet long and weighs 22,000 lbs ( as example a 32’ Benateau weighs just 9,000 lbs. ) Our boat handled the wind and waves just fine out there - it’s solid as a rock and sails beautifully – in fact at one point Don said he was going much faster than he wanted as he wanted to be sure he didn’t get to the inlet until daylight.
When we docked in Fernandina – we were exhausted – the wind was howling and the current was pushing ~ the only space they had was on the inside face dock between 2 boats – the space was about 45’ long – Don literally paralleled parked us to perfection ( we are 40’) with the bow sprit and the thing on the stern. Amazing – It's not like you can successfully back up a double eneded sailboat ! I’m left with remembering the night sky out there and for now content to read the GPS and help us stay out of the shallows on the ICW. On to St Augustine tomorrow. ….
Don and Tiller in balmy FL; Nuclear power plant in Jacksonville; our anchorage - where we are told there are alligators but it's too cold and we won't see any ! Ahhh geee.

Wine and Roses

Mile 716.5 ~Fernandina Beach,FL . I know some of you who are reading our blog often think this cruise is all wine and roses. See that jump in mileage - that is a jump out on the ocean ! My first. Don did several ocean passages last year when he brought the boat from Maine to Virginia. He loved them. I, however had lots of mixed feelings about trying it. The photo caption is " before the #%&@ hit the fan" So there we are out on the ocean. We went down the Savannah River and were nervous about the ship traffic because where the ICW crosses the river it is very narrow. Below is a photo I didn't zoom in of one of the markers in the river to try to show how narrow it is - remembering the size of the tankers that come up the river. We lucked out and didn't run across any ships until we were out in the ocean but still in the shiping channel as the shallows continue for about 4 miles out beyond the entrance. Don called the ship pilot to let him know we would cross to the red side where there was room for us to be out of the channel. Wow he was big ~ he safely passed us but it's impressive to be a tiny ant and watch thousands of containers go by on one ship. Another photo below shows the ships out a the end of the shipping channel where they wait for their turn to come in.

Our passage from Savanah to Fernandina Beach Florida was about 120 miles - 11:00 AM Thursday to 8:30 AM Friday . It started out very calm , sunny and surprisingly warm
The ocean temperature is about 70 degrees , making the air temperature the warmest we had felt I think since Beaufort, NC .We spent the afternoon enjoying the warmth, enjoying the relaxation of being in 35 feet of water instead of worrying about going aground, and discussing watch – what I needed to learn to be at the helm alone while Don rested. We would do 2 or 2½ hours on and off. Don is a day napper so I took over around 3 in the afternoon while he went below and rested. We have a GPS that has the nautical chart on it showing the water depths and the buoys but our navigation is always with our charts, our cruising guide and the GPS. I was to mark in a notebook our latitude and longitude every 30 minutes to an hour so we would have a good gauge if our electronics failed as to our position. We watched the sunset together at 5:22 ( in our notes ! ) , prepared toasted egg and cheese sandwiches for dinner, then I went below for a nap. Don’s notes show light winds from the WSW at 8:14 ~ at 9:03 he noted the winds had picked up slightly. I came out around 9:00 – we spent time together sorting out the lights we saw. A couple of large fishing boats and two very distant lights farther out in the ocean. At 11:37 I noted the winds were 14 – 16 knots and Don took over watch ~ at 2:00 AM we were at 21 11 32 N 081 08 47 W and that’s where the log ends. Fortunately we are here to tell the rest of the tale. Mind you our boat has an open cockpit and the "log" was a spiral notebook that got soaked. I came out from below and the first thing I said was "wow ! " The night sky was incredible. So many stars – Don told me about seeing orange lights or something high in the sky – they hung for a bit and then fell. He saw this five times.
Don sat out with me for a while because the 2 distant lights were now close , the lead boat close enough to be of concern. We tried to call – in hind site we should have been more generic. We were quite sure from the configuration of lights they were fishing boats. It turns out they were 2 sailboats traveling together ~ they had white lights mid mast making them appear shorter – like a fishing boat. Don finally made radio contact with the lead boat – she let assured us she was aware of us on her starboard and she would watch carefully. Don went below to sleep and 10 minutes later I told him we were on a contact course with them. I called her back and said I think we are headed for the same way point – what is your course and speed? She said she was on a course of 214 degrees, I responding we were on a course of 200 and that I had both sails up – they had no sails up – We now knew we were on a collision course – she responded she would have to consult with the captain who had gone to bed – I immediately backed off our engine as we were motor sailing but let her know I had not adjusted the sails. She finally came back on the radio saying they had sped up and I should tuck behind them – when I tucked behind them ~ mind you we are 8-10 miles off shore – in what felt to me like the middle of the ocean and I found myself less than a boats length from another sailboat ! How the heck?? The winds had picked up and our boat had not slowed much. I quickly fell off the wind 20 degrees to get them out of our way. It just felt surreal to me. I then listened to them call their friends who were 30 minutes or so behind and explain that we were too close – I’m not sure she grasped the reality of the fact we were sailing , she wasn’t and she should have adjusted her course – I’m pretty sure I’m right on that point. Anyway – a little excitement.
I then watched for other lights – feeling like the smallest person in the smallest boat on the biggest body of water – we have an automatic pilot that will hold the tiller for us – I didn’t need to adjust the sails, just keep us on the course Don had mapped out on GPS earlier in the day. I checked the wind speed a couple of times when it seemed really strong and it was 18 –20 – Very doable – not that scary – but by then I was already sea sick. It was around 4:00 AM and I could hear Don below, who I prayed was sleeping even though the boat was now really bouncing up and down through 5 or 6 foot seas, getting sea sick as well.
The challenge begins. I hung in there as long as I could and finally had to call Don to come back out. At around 4:30 he came back out to take the helm. I went below and never recovered. I got so seasick I couldn’t get off the bunk. Don had to sail the boat the rest of the way by himself including into St Mary’s inlet ~ the inlets can be dangerous coming off the ocean ~ at the very least they can be challenging depending on the tide and the winds the pull of currents can be very strong . By now the seas were 6 – 8 feet and the wind speeds were 30 knots. I could feel the current pulling our boat and finally got my head up - Don was quite the site. Hanging onto the mainsheet to hold himself steady ( he couldn’t get the sail down without my help and even with our life jackets and harnesses didn’t want to chance leaving the cockpit) he was freezing – the cold had come with sun rise and land fall, his face was red from the previous day’s sail, intense and concentrated ~ he sure looked like a sailor. A tired, stressed sailor – but a sailor. We called the marina here in Fernandina – this is a great spot – Cumberland Island and St Mary’s , GA are right here as well as this historic beautiful little waterfront town on Amelia Island of Fernandina , Florida.
We rented space on the dock for 2 days. Today is Saturday – we are recovered, spent yesterday and today cleaning the inside and outside of the boat, showers, laundry, walking around town, hired a cab to get to the grocery store, talked to lots of people on the dock. Tiller the hit once again. A cruise ship was parked across the dock from us – great entertainment for a bit – I was happy when they left – just a little too much interest in this crazy life we are living and the cat on a leash – I can’t blame them but enough is enough. Two nights out at a great Italian restaurant we are ready to continue south. Disappointed we aren’t spending time in St. Mary’s and on Cumberland but the cold won’t let up so south we go…….

We are the small fish on the far left of the cruise ship!

I Thought It Was a Costume Ball

Mile 570 ~New River ,SC - very near Savannah, GA ~ We left Beaufort, SC Wed. Nov 18th after just one night because of temps in the high 20's overnight - just too cold and very windy so south we go. Now girls ~ the outfit ~ On top my hot chilli's long underwear, turttleneck, thick flannel fleece hooded sweatshirt, 2 layer North Face Arctic gear ski parka ~ On the bottom - 2 pairs of smart wool socks into which I have tucked my flannel pj's, then jeans, then mens wind pants pulled artfully up over the sweatshirt so not a breath of air can tough my back side. Nice huh?

We were actually warmer today because once we got going the winds weren't nearly as bad as our trip the day before to Beaufort. We wound through rivers, sounds and cuts and canals, mostly smaller water and slightly more protected from the elements.

The day ended in a beautiful anchorage just north of Savannah. Don needs to change the oil - a messy job - we'll tidy up the boat and breathe a bit - 3 in the afternoon and some warmth from the sun. We contemplate going to the Isle of Hope marina and venturing into Savannah for a couple of days. There are no trees, just march land between us and the Savannah River. We can see the container ships - it looks like a small city gliding across the grass. The wind has died , it's quiet, cold but without wind our heater is working well. Plans change in a minute - we have been listening to the weather and talking with Greg who is in St. Mary's GA - to give us the latest reports where we would be coming in off the ocean~it looks right to do an outside trip from Savannah to the St. Mary's inlet bring us to Fernandina , FL in an overnight. We'll sleep on it .......

Now That Was a Lot of Fun !!

Mile 536.3 ~ Beaufort, SC . Tiller says it all. Woke this morning to temps in the 30's - had a fairly restful night as the winds kicked up for only part of the night - we were prepared after a gorgeous sun set and calm evening for the predicted winds. Out here you feel it all, every little gust . We got up a little later than our usual 5:30 and pulled anchor at 8:00 - playing the tides as today was full of cuts between rivers. The rivers for east and west and the cuts south - the water can be very shallow at the end of the cuts or at the bends in the rivers. By the time we got into the first river the wind had kicked up to 20 -25. Sometimes it doesn't sound like a lot - we watch tv and the hurricanes in someone else's back yard - 100 mile an hour winds - I can't even imagine. I don't want to imagine. I don't want to experience that kind of wind. 20 - 30 knots that is blew all day is a lot of wind particularly sitting in the open cockpit of our Westsail 32. by the time we got to the Coosaw River that is quite wide, the waves were crashing over our starboard side - we were able to put the automatic pilot on our tiller and Don went below to warm up and put his storm pants on. We had on our ski gear and believe me we were freezing ! Tonight I feel that burn on my cheeks just like a long day on the slopes. Hmm somehow this just wasn't quite as much fun.

Tiller was afraid of the wind and while Don was below he came out of the boat trying to find refuge and crawled as you can see in our chart book. It didn't last long but I did have my camera out between waves.

We love this town of Beaufort. We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving here last year but are early this year as Thanksgiving is late. We had to sit on the boat for a while after we arrived because the wind gusts were up to 30 knots and we had to be sure the boat was anchored securely and we were far enough from other boats. We finally launched our dingy and went to town, did a little Christmas shopping, had an appetizer dinner at one of the local restaurants. It felt good to walk around town. We didn't partake of the shower facilities because washing my hair and then getting in the dingy with these temps - no thanks.

So with the high winds expected the next several days but the tides high mid day we think we will stick with the icw instead of heading out the Port Royal inlet as we thought me might - and as a PS ~ our friend Greg is safely in St. Mary's Georgia/Fenandina beach, FL but he paid for it. We made the right decision not to go outside. The winds were high, the waves were high and the inlet was hell. Why you ask? So do I ! .......Margaret

these photos get bigger but then you have to push back button - our email is baysiderent@gwi.net and to get the same hair-do just don't shower or brush-use your fingers to part it but be sure not to have a mirror , then twist is anyway that will fit under 2 hats.

Inside ~ Outside

Mile 505 South Endisto River ~ south of Charleston, SC ~ We got up at 5:30 AM this morning – cold – in the 30’s - put on layers of clothes as this was to be the day we headed off shore. Me for the first time, Don for the first time in over a year. One of the first things we do each day is listen to the NOAA weather station – the report had changed from last night – a cold front is blowing through and predictions increased the winds to 25 knots and a small craft warning. We had decided we would only take this 30 hour 180 mile jaunt if all the pieces were perfect. With disappointment we decided to call Greg and Michelle and let them know we didn’t think we would take on the journey given the new weather report. Greg is far more experienced than we are and has a 46-foot boat. The wind predictions were still from a favorable direction so they decided to go on.

We left Dewees creek around 7AM and headed to Charleston together. When we got into the channel at Charleston harbor they went left and we went right. We spent a few moments lamenting our loss and then quickly got to work as a large container ship was entering the channel, coming in from the ocean. It’s a very busy harbor and pleasure craft must be completely aware of all the commercial traffic, ships, barges, ferries , Naval ships and more. It was amazing how fast he went form being a spec on the ocean to a huge high-rise behind us. We scurried across the channel, knowing he would head up the river behind us and not towards the ICW.
We had a good day, getting farther than we anticipated as we waited for a 10:30 Am bridge opening just outside of Charleston. We were alone at the bridge happening and only saw one other vessel all day. We have been travelling is such a pack of boats each day with lots of motorboats passing us and usually 5 or more sailboats together that it felt very different. The sun was out, the sky blue and the winds light but the winter air was old and bit our faces the entire day. There were a few skinny patches along the way but we were graced with high and half tide most of the day as we wound our way down several river sand through several cuts that connected them. Those are the tricky spots and at times the current can be as much as 3 – 4 knots. A 9 hour day – at around 4 we came into our chosen anchorage on the South Edisto River and we were the only ones here. By 5:00 2 other sailboats had come in to anchor for the night.

We were treated to flocks of shore birds silhouetted against a deep red and orange sky. A wonderfully large and majestic great blue heron stood on the river bank 60 feet from our boat and stared. Maybe the cat? Maybe we are an intrusion. Maybe he was just listening for his dinner. For now a peaceful gorgeous spot with a sky absolutely full of stars. The night is supposed to bring us 25 knot winds and more cold. They have predicted 20’s for the morning - holy cow !………..Margaret
Can you spot the kitty cat on the bow? In Dewees we had oyster stew on Argonauta and got to take a few photos our our boat ! A sail in the distance coming down the icw - Heron surveying things in our anchorage.

On The Beach Again

Mile 455~ Dewees Creek, very near Isle of Palms and just north of Charleston harbor ~ post subtitle ~ Never a Dull Moment. In this photo you see 5 stays that go to the mast - if you look real carefully to the left of the most left stay is a white spec - it's a sailboat travelling theICW - we are in our anchorage- can you see all the protection? The few blades of grass that are meant to keep us safe from these winds that won't stop howling.

Saturday 11/15/08~One of those hard frustrating days on the water. We overslept – Friday night because the wind came up strong – we were up often checking our anchor and retrieving a fender we remembered we left over the side. At 4:30 we heard voices – in the anchorages you always pop up if you hear voices. It was Greg – one of the 40 knot gusts had twisted his anchor and he dragged more into the channel that is lined with commercial fishing boats. Not a big problem just not much fun to reset the anchor. We had blissfully not had our radio on and did not know that the big storm passing over with lightning and thunder had also put us under a tornado watch.
Our alarm went off at 5:30 but a quick snooze and suddenly it was 7. Argonauta was already slowly underway – we jumped into action, got our anchor up and got under way- making coffee and breakfast on the road. The current was against us all da meaning we cold only do 4.3 knots or so. The problem can be that there are long stretches where anchoring is not possible. Or there are anchorages that the holding is not good or there is no protection at all from the current wind direction. The winds blew very strong all day and we were headed right into them making our progress even more challenging. Gregg and Michelle were about an hour ahead of us. They called back to let us know some low water spots. Here we were again – going through a series of trick spots but at high tide – constantly calculating where we would be at low and it wasn’t good news.
At 3 Pm – sure enough in a spot where Greg had seen 5 ½ feet to 6 an hour before us – we grounded. A motorboat had also called back to us and tried to guide us through – we made it past 2 red markers that had caused others peril but we were travelling in a narrow river( at dead low ) , there are lots of rivers and creeks that intersect it. At each one there is shoaling and there are a few of these creeks and marshes that are open to the ocean. As the crow flies most of the day we were just 2 miles or less from the ocean. The tide pulls and pushes depending where the nearest outlet or river that flows to the sea is. The currents can be very strong. A Krogen trawler came up behind us – we radioed to try to help him through and he grounded behind as well. Two other motor oats came along and inched their was through reading us the depths as they went. The gave us a wake to try to bump us off – it worked for the Krogen. For us it pushed us quite close to the starboard bank. The Krogen gave us more information as he inched on. Alone again, 3:40 or so we thought we were really screwed. Dark would be coming soon, a storm was coming and we thought we were so close to the bank that we would have to wait quite a while for the tide. Don walked around the decks try to bounce the boat a little with his weight. We did think we felt it move so revved us in reverse (backing a double ender sailboat is a real joke ) ~ we moved – re ran up front, pulled the anchor, we did a circle in reverse the best we could hoping we were far enough into the deeper water – it worked – we were off and thanks to the Krogen slowly crept through where he had found just enough water.
The squall hit hard – I wear glasses and Don had to go below to get his rain gear. I could see the red mark in the distance but that was all – scared ot death I was going to ground us ~ Don got back at the helm but I had to steer him with the GPS – the rain was pelting so hard he could keep his eyes open – after just a few minutes the squall pushed away and it was just raining – we decided to keep on – keepin’ on and make it to our destination good Dewees creek where by the way I spent the worst night of our trip last year !! High winds, opposing tied, wind and waves – Yippee for Dewees !

{ Just as I was finishing this Clunk ! – something hit our boat – it’s Sunday morning we are at anchor, the wind still blowing about 44 degrees – the current here is very strong – we are having a day of rest (that’s what the boys call it ) Don flew off his bunk I grabbed jackets, we started the engine and stood in the cockpit trying to figure out what was wrong. We are in a rare 20 feet of water - We were very close to one of the banks – our anchor line had grabbed a cab pot – the boat just tosses back and forth with such strong wind, current and tide so the crab pot line twisted and twisted and eventually pulled the pot up and it hit the boat. It’s freezing our in the wind but I stood at the helm while Don tried to pull the anchor, cut the line and figure out which way we should go – the current was taking us downwind so we just let it not wanting the get the line he cut from the pot around the prop. We got as far as Argonauta – we are the only 2 here this morning. – put it in gear – went back upstream and anchored – or tried to – it was impossible to stay headed into the wind the current is just too strong so we had to just let the anchor drag and hope it would catch – it did – we think we are set but will keep a close watch all day as the tide changes. Hopefully this afternoon the winds will soften. Greg heard the commotion, came out to tell us just how exciting our life seems to be – we laughed thinking some of you think we are just traveling a ditch and planning our next cocktail party – we could use a day like that ! } Stay tuned - tomorrow - Monday we head out to sea - we will go out the Charleston inlet and come in at Fernandina Beach,FL on Tuesday - estimating 28 hours - my first off shore experience.





our anchorage views of the marsh

Georgetown,SC

Mile 403 Georgetown,SC ~
Mile – Arrived 11/13 Departed for Charleston, SC area 11/15

This is our third visit to Georgeton and we love the place. It’s a funny town in a way – On the water with a paper mill and a steel mill – not so attractive but with a downtown that is very attractive, charming and trying to revitalized. As we walked around we noticed more shops had opened though a nice restaurant where we had eaten lunch had gone out of business. We walked the mile or so to the Piggly Wiggly ( don’t you just love it ! ) and of course then got to see the traffic headed to the mills, the McDonalds and all the other crap that goes with it. But back in the old downtown of Georgetown are blocks of beautifully canopied residential streets with a real mix of old quite run down homes where the poor still live , newly renovated homes and larger stately old homes some of which are law offices or B& B’s but some still one family residences. The canopy is from "live oaks" so called because though they lose their leaves, new ones are right behind so they never lose their foliage and are green year round. We walked to the fish market on the waterfront – bought fresh off the boat shrimp – sautéed it in garlic – Yummmm!


Saturday morning fog








Tiller loves to hop on the dock when we stop for fuel - he's always a big hit and he's very friendly to all the dogs we see and not very nice to cats. Our guess is over 50% of cruisers have a pet aboard.

This is an interesting bridge we had to go through on our way to Georgetown. It's a floating pontoon bridge. Part of the road is actually on a barge, the bridgetender moves the barge to the side, drops a cable and lets the boats through. If you click the photo it does get bigger but then click back or the blog disappears.

downtown Georgetown,SC