Patience is Rewarded!!

Ahhh on the move again. I have learned to be patient while cruising. You cannot always do what you want to do when you want to do it. It just comes with the lifestyle. But – REALLY – 4 days in one week waiting on weather has been hard to take. I could really feel it yesterday when I wanted to get going but couldn’t.

Ahhh but patience is rewarded. Today we awoke to a “mill pond” – flat calm. Once on the river there was maybe 5 kts of wind and just a nice ripple. St Andrews Sound had about a 2 foot easy swell and a little ripple. It was nice – very nice. BUT there is always a snake in paradise that was Jekyll Creek today. The sailing directions indicate only 3.5 feet of water in some areas at low tide – remember I draw 5’ 3”. Well it just worked out that we would be right smack in the middle at low tide!! Prudence says to anchor and wait a couple of hours for the tide to rise. The marinas along it were all full – no one leaving just yet.

Well I thought yesterday I was losing my adventuresome spirit when I didn’t leave in all that wind or complete the alternate passage. Today I was going to try the unthinkable but with such mild conditions – If I bump I just stop and wait for the water to rise.

The creek is 3.5 miles long. We entered it and I traveled at a respectable 4 kts. Karen stayed glued to the navigation software and would CON me to the center of the stream. I adjusted for the shoals I could see. We did great!! Made it all the way. Never bumped and saw only 8.1 feet at the lowest point. Of course the moon affect had the MLW at 1.6 feet ABOVE datum which really helped.

We arrived at Golden Isle Marina in St Simons \Island and took a slip for the day. We immediately borrowed the courtesy car and went to the Harris Teeter Grocery here. Ohhh great selection and we loaded up on the fresh stuff. Then back to the boat for a late lunch and start the laundry -- it’s been 2 weeks. Karen stayed with it since there are only 2 machines and I returned to the boat to fill the water tanks, hose the top sides down and do some general exterior cleaning. I guess I’ll owe us dinner out at the restaurant at the Marina tonight. Hey we have been on the hook since Green Turtle Cay!!

Hopefully we will get away tomorrow and travel as far north as we can go before thunderstorms come in then the same on Monday. Hope to hit Charleston, SC by next weekend or before.

I think I’ll travel with the Canadian pack again. It was very lonely at Pine Island and Brickhill River. They are all moving about 20 miles north of us today but we should catch them tomorrow or Monday – weather permitting.

The Trip to No Where!!

Just got to be flexible!! Today was a replay of the strong winds from yesterday. It never did really lay down last night so I knew that St Andrew Sound would be rough today. I thought maybe we could do the alternate route around the sound. I discussed it with the trawler (Castel Felice) that stayed here last night and he was game to try it first since he only drew 3.5 feet of water.

He left a little after 8am and said it was a bit rough out front of Brickhill River but quite calm in the alternate passage – begins at Floyd Creek. He called back later and reported nothing less than 10 feet as he approached the cut across St Andrews then said he had hit a patch of 4 foot – but it was low tide. I never heard back from him on the rest of the passage where the really shallow water was reported.

So around 9am – low tide – we left. We got out into the Cumberland River and took some spray on the windshield, then entered Floyd Creek and it calmed down but a lot of wind and no trees – we were on a slight heel. We stayed in the center but never saw the really deep water on the chart. Then as we approached the first hair pin turn we encountered crab pot floats which were very difficult to see in all the water foam that was occurring. The wind was blowing 25 plus. Darn – I wanted to try but if I ran aground this strong wind would just exacerbate the issue and could become dangerous. I decided to abort the attempt and go back to Brickhill River and re-anchor which we did with no problem. A nine mile trip to NO WHERE!!

Unfortunately this is the 4th day this week that we are sitting and waiting for the weather to improve – it’s going to take awhile to get home if this keeps up!! I’ll need to buddy up with another boat or boats to avoid this isolation in the future. It really makes the day go long when there is no other boat to commiserate with..

The wind is supposed to lay down tonight and be only 10 – 15 and dropping to 10 tomorrow. We will try and get across the sound in the morning. Unfortunately we have to delay the departure because we need a rising tide to get through Jekyll Creek due to shoaling. Georgia is the PITS for transienting the ICW.

On the radio today we heard at least 3 boats run aground near the same spot I had trouble with yesterday R60. Gosh I hope it moderates because I want to move again!! Plus I need a grocery store stop.

Back to the "Middle of No Where"

Got to be flexible.. The weather forecast was for small craft advisory beginning at 3pm today and a lake wind advisory beginning at 11am. I thought we could make it across St Andrews sound before either event.

Well it didn’t happen. I knew we would have an adverse current at the start of the trip but it should get better. It didn’t. It wasn’t terrible but we were in the low 5s at the beginning. The wind was under 17 but on the nose. All was proceeding then near R60 where the Brickhill River empties into the ICW we bounced on the bottom a couple of times. No warning just 10 feet then 5 feet. Once you feel that sudden deceleration it just keeps coming at you for awhile. Almost simultaneously the wind piped up to 25 – 27 kts. Speed over ground dropped to 3.1 – 3.3 kts and the waves began to build and we were not even in the St Andrews Sound. It was uncomfortable. I checked the charts and we were about 2.5 miles from the mouth of Brickhill River which has an excellent sheltered anchorage area. We made for it. Once in it was like someone switched a switch off on the wind and waves. It was comfortable. I hailed some of the boats behind us but they plugged on – we went in and relaxed by 11:30am. Tomorrow we will try again to get across. We are just 20 miles from Golden Isle Marina now.

Unfortunately I have delivered Karen back to “in the middle of nowhere”. This is Cumberland Island and there is nothing but beautiful landscape/marsh scapes here. Some wild horses too. Here is where we stay for tonight.

The anchorage is sheltered by trees from the NE wind which is blowing in the 30s but less than 20 in here. Holding is good and just a ripple on the water. Not bad except for not being able to make the marina and grocery store today. Hopefully tomorrow but if it does not lay down tonight then we will be here again tomorrow.

Be sure to check the satellite view of our position report today and you will see – we are in the middle of nowhere.

I posted a picture of the waterway but they never do justice to how wild it can really get.

Just 2 more miles of Florida!!

What a difference a day makes. Today was a very pleasant day with mild winds. Unfortunately the timing of the tides was terrible and we had an adverse current most of the day -- maybe 20 minutes it was favorable. As we approached the St Johns River from the South our Speed over ground dropped to 4.1 and avg 4.5 for several miles.

At any rate we made Fernandina FL by 3:30pm and anchored in Bells River just across from the mooring field of the Marina. We are just 2 miles from the Georgia border. Unfortunately the next several days are not good for going offshore so GULP -- we will take the ICW through Georgia.

Ohh we passed the site of that terrible boating accident that occurred a couple of days here near the Palm Bridge. A 22 foot power boat with 14 persons aboard (grossly overloaded) slammed into a parked tug working on a dock at 7pm – still full daylight – and injured all persons aboard and killed 5!! The site was pretty clean but the damaged tug was easy to spot. No reason – visibility is excellent here.

Winds are supposed to come back strong tomorrow afternoon 10 – 20 with gusts to 30 but we hope to be tied up at Golden Isle Marina on St Simons Island by that time. Time for fuel, water. Laundry, and fresh groceries – they have a courtesy car there.

Tonight it will be a Euchre game for the world championship between Ian and I and Karen and Sharon --- Boys against girls like it should be. Never Husband/wife against husband/wife!!

Should be a fun evening. Sand Castle and Sweet Chariot will join us too. It will be nice to have some company after 2 very isolated days at Pine Island.

WOW -- What a wind GUST!!

Ohhh what a night!! It has been a long time since I have felt the grip of a 70 mile an hour wind gust. I felt it several times last night!!

It started about 11pm. Just sleeping comfortable and suddenly I was awakened by a violent jerk and roll from the boat and Karen rolled on top me. That was the first gust and it was long duration. The boat turned into the wind and righted itself and I got up and stuck my head in to the cockpit. Even with the full enclosure the wind driven rain was getting in. The wind and rain was so thick that I could see no lights on the boats around us. I could see nothing. Just feel the pull of the boat on the anchor and hoping it was not dragging. This went on for about 20 minutes then settled down after 30 minutes. Boy I hope that doesn’t happen again. Fortunately the night remained calm after that.

This morning the weather forecast had changed and they had a lake wind advisory again today from 11am to 1pm. Then around 8am another thunderstorm came in with strong winds but not 70kts. Unfortunately it never stopped. It blew hard and long with lots of rain for nearly 4 hours. There were occasional gusts to 50 but a steady 25 – 30kts for 4 hours.

I was turning the wind generator on and off to keep from overheating it when suddenly we heard the roar of an airplane propeller. I missed my timing and the wind generator had gone into free run mode and was screaming but not generating any power. I waited for a lull in rain and wind and then went and grabbed the control lines and feathered it so I could put a tether on the blade. I hate that sound. Supposedly it does not hurt it but amongst all the other high wind sounds it is best to avoid.

Our anchor held. Then around 10am we heard a mayday go out from the sailing yacht Brilliant. They were on a mooring near Jacksonville naval air station and it parted. They dropped an anchor but were blowing towards rocks. They called Coast Guard. They sent a helo to investigate!! The yacht skipper said he had 300 feet of chain out and was still blowing towards the rocks. He said once the boat grounded they would get off and walk ashore. Ohhh depressing. We heard later that 7 boats near that area had blown aground. I should have went into the marina yesterday!!

The winds and rain finally died down around noon and it was quite pleasant till about 1:30pm when the wind came back 20+ kts. They have another lake wind advisory till 7pm tonight.

Fortunately tomorrow looks quite mild as well as the next few days. We will get an early start and make Fernandina tomorrow.

I thought about moving on this afternoon but my anchor has been so well tested here (in the middle of nowhere as Karen likes to call Pine Island) that we will remain for tonight. A couple of boats have come in this afternoon so it should not be too lonely tonight. Gosh I wonder how the anchored boats in St Augustine faired last night and today?? Glad I left..

Enjoy some pics from Pine Island – this place grows on you after awhile then again Karen says it doesn’t.

Just Waiting Weather

It was time to go.. That anchorage at St Augustine is okay but the derelict boats there really take something away. The one that was dragging around the first night we were there was re-anchored yesterday and it dragged again last night. I thought about going into the marina to sit out this weather system but why should I spend $200 for that!! After discussing the plans with the Canadian contingent and hearing thoughts of anchoring at different spots across the ICW on the way to Fernandina we decided to leave this morning and run 15 miles to Pine Island anchorage and anchor there. Funny thing happened though.. Almost all the Canadian cruisers changed their minds underway and all took slips at Palm Cove marina in Jackson beach. We are the only ones anchored here in Pine Island this afternoon. Now there are two other boats a smaller sailboat and a trawler anchored here too but none from my group.

Hopefully it will not be too bad. There has been a Lake Wind Advisory in effect since 11am this morning which surprisingly is when the winds really piped up and should be over by 7pm tonight. This afternoon it has been blowing a steady 20+ kts with gusts to 30. This anchorage is exposed but short fetch so not too bad. Just the usual anxiety of an anchor drag but it seems to be stuck well here – so far. Forecast is for thunderstorms later this afternoon and tonight with very heavy rain. We will see.

The Easter parade was interesting yesterday with the usual contingent of baton twirlers, motorcycle clubs, race cars (with bunny ears), and assorted other groups looking for any excuse to parade. It was all right.

There was a group of 16 cruisers gotten together for dinner at Harry’s on the waterfront and that was great fun and good food except just before ordering Ian and Sharon received a call that their boat was dragging anchor and had to leave to address that. What a bummer for them!! Fortunately nothing bad happened and they anchored near me!! They didn’t drag last night.

Tonight we will just sit tight and take what weather we get. Not one of the more fun days when cruising but all part of the experience. Depending on how fast this system moves through tonight we may stay again tomorrow or [possible leave mid to late morning and head for Fernandina. Time to leave Florida

Happy Easter

Happy Easter all. Like my bunny picture??

Actually this is the Miss Kalik April 2009. I haven’t had good internet in awhile but I do now. Enjoy the pic – missed sending it on the 1st of the month.

Today has been pretty nice. Although disconcerting this morning. Some sail boat anchored behind us with clanging halyards had moved during the night – by itself!! I awoke this morning to halyard clanking coming from a different direction and that boat had moved during the night to a spot in front and to the side of us.. Ohhh grief!! It was very close to another derelict boat and eventually was bumping into it. I think/hope his anchor is fouled with that one and will stop moving.

When I checked into the marina office this morning to register the dinghy I mentioned the boat to the dockmaster and he was quite interested. When I pointed it out he said “Glad I moved my boat to the North Anchorage”. That was it!!

We wandered about town a bit this morning. The dinghy just barely made it into the marina. Ohhh I hate it when this stuff doesn’t work well!! They have a ships store here and I tried to buy new plugs for it. All they have are Champion plugs and mine are NGK. They had no cross reference chart or engine application chart. Damn you would think this was the Bahamas except the plugs were less than $4 each vs. $16 each in the Bahamas.

I called Andy and he got on the internet and looked the cross reference up. I bought 2 plugs and tried them in the engine. One at a time. Lo and Behold the first one made a HUGE improvement. My 15hp engine is now the equivalent of a 8hp motor vs. the ½ hp it was doing on our way in. I believe this is another Al gotcha. He left a gallon of no name 2-cycle oil I have been using and I think this stuff fouls the plugs. The previous set was new and only in for about a month till this happened. The motor is at least serviceable now.

This afternoon there is a parade planned at 3pm and the cruisers want to do dinner at 5:15pm tonight. We will head back in and do both. Maybe take some pictures too…

Not sure about the next couple of days. Forecast is for lots of storms and rain (2 – 3 inches) beginning tomorrow afternoon and then all day Tuesday. Might just stay here till Wednesday -- Decisions Decisions.

Time to get ready for the Easter parade today.