The Cape Fear area has smitten me again..
I've made I think 5 trips along the Cape Fear River thus 10 legs. Of those 10 legs only 2 can be called enjoyable.
We had a great run on Wednesday from Osprey MArina to Pipeline Canal near Southport, NC. We had the current with us most of the day. A great feeling after that SLOW passage from Georgetown to OSprey the day before. We left Osprey early and had the hook down in Pipeline just 6 hours later. It was nice there in spite of the small boat traffic to the public launch ramp. The evening was fine and settled and we got off before 6:30am the following day to run the Cape FEar. Forecast was for wind 10 - 15NE and 2 hours of a favorable current. NOT! As we approached the Cape FEar near Southport we felt the wind gusts. We entered the Cape FEar and had 20-25 kts of wind on the nose and the current had already changed. We were doing about 4.2kts and taking spray over the bow. I put up with that for about 10 minutes then turned around and went back to Pipeline Canal to wait for the current to change and the wind to lie down. Low tide was about 11:15am so we waited to nearly 1pm to leave on the rising tide with about 2 feet of tide up. The Canal looked fine with 8 - 10 feet of water. I expected no problem leaving the shallow mouth when suddenly we hit hard on I suspect the submerged dam which should have had 2 feet of water over it. Man we were stuck. We tried to power forward and back to no avail. Seatow went by with grins on their face -- I suspect they were awaiting an assistance call. I put out some sail but could not move the rudder. Why was it stuck!! I horsed it and then set the autopilot and we both went to the bow of the boat to take pressured off the rudder. We had some passing boat wake and then after 10 m minutes we got off. However -- the autopilot would no longer lock down.. Damn.. Something must have stripped in it.
I checked the bilge and it was dry. I checked the bilge cycle counter than rechecked several times and it had not run. Fortunately we were not taking on water. We finally entered the Cape Fear River with the wind blowing 15 - 20kts and some robust waves but our speed over ground was 6.8 kts with the current. We sailed on and arrived tired and broken in Wrightsville around 5:30pm. Man it was packed but we found a nice anchor spot.
Friday we just stayed put and relaxed some. I checked over the steering gear and the Autopilot. The linear drive was definitely free wheeling now. It will have to be disassembled to determine the extend of the damage. Damn...
We enjoyed Wrightsville and walked the beach. It was crowded for a Friday afternoon with mostly 20 something students. A far cry for all the old folks we have been rubbing elbows with these last 7 months.
I bought some fresh shrimp from Motts Sea Food and had a great snack.
This morning we left early like 6:20am to make the Wrightsville BEach Bascule bridge and catch the current to Figure Eight Island Bridge. Boy that worked nicely. The Wrightsville open on demand and we hit the Figure Eight with only 10 minutes to kill. We then had the current with us all day probably averaging 7kts over ground. We hit the Surf City bridge with 25 minutes to kill but a barge came along and they opened early. Then on to mile Hammock Bay but we were going to cross the NEw River Inlet near Low Tide -- not good. Especially since we were having a spring tide due to New Moon and the tide was going to be nearly a foot under the Mean Lower Low Water. We arrived about 1 hour before low tide. Two trawlers had gone through about 20 minutes before us and I called them to see what they had seen. They saw the shallowest was 7 feet. I thought about stopping at the Swan Point Marin but it looked really run down. We ran the Inlet. And to my surprise by staying about 60 - 80 feet to the green side of the red can buoys I saw nothing less that 8.9 feet.
We entered Mile Hammock Bay early like 12 noon but that was due to the favorable current and hitting the bridges just right.
We are the first boat in the anchorage today and will enjoy this. Tomorrow we leave about high tide and will run the troublesome Browns Inlet with nearly high tide water -- hope it is enough.
As a note -- I wanted to dive on the keel of the boat at Wrightsville but the water was too opaque to make it worth while. Since we are not taking on water it will hold to we haul the boat in a couple of weeks.
Tomorrow we hope to make Cedar Creek Anchorage and Northwest Creek Marina -- home port -- Monday morning.
Wish us luck.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Torture and Jubilation
Yesterday was a "Tortuous" travel day. We left Georgetown about one and half hours before low tide thinking the incoming high tide would catch up to us. It didn't. I wanted to leave early because of the prospect of thunderstorms in the afternoon. The timing was our undoing.
We had current against us ALL DAY. Strong current too. Our speed ranged between 4.8 and 5.2 kts with no respite. It took us from about 9am to 2:30pm to travel about 30 miles through the Waccamaw River. A beautiful place but couldn't really be enjoyed at such a SLOW pace.
We stopped at the Osprey MArina for fuel and water and tied up for the night. It was HOT with a high of 94 degrees. Boy the AC felt great.
This morning we left early about 6:45am to catch a few hours of the rising tide. It was Great.. We had a favorable -- very favorable current all the way to about 4 miles before Little River Inlet or about 30 miles. Once across the inlet the current was against us till we crossed Shalotte Inlet then we had it with us, again against us just before Lockwood Folly Inlet then with us to about Southport then against us again. Overall it was very favorable and we did 64 miles -- our longest run this trip in the ICW in about 8 and half hours .. had the anchor down in Pipeline Canal by 3:30pm.
Tomorrow a short 28 mile up to Wrightsville beach but can't leave until after 10:30am to catch a favorable current up the Cape Fear River. You do not want to fight that current.
Today the high was low 80s and tonight it is supposed to be in the mid 50s -- great sleeping weather.
We had current against us ALL DAY. Strong current too. Our speed ranged between 4.8 and 5.2 kts with no respite. It took us from about 9am to 2:30pm to travel about 30 miles through the Waccamaw River. A beautiful place but couldn't really be enjoyed at such a SLOW pace.
We stopped at the Osprey MArina for fuel and water and tied up for the night. It was HOT with a high of 94 degrees. Boy the AC felt great.
This morning we left early about 6:45am to catch a few hours of the rising tide. It was Great.. We had a favorable -- very favorable current all the way to about 4 miles before Little River Inlet or about 30 miles. Once across the inlet the current was against us till we crossed Shalotte Inlet then we had it with us, again against us just before Lockwood Folly Inlet then with us to about Southport then against us again. Overall it was very favorable and we did 64 miles -- our longest run this trip in the ICW in about 8 and half hours .. had the anchor down in Pipeline Canal by 3:30pm.
Tomorrow a short 28 mile up to Wrightsville beach but can't leave until after 10:30am to catch a favorable current up the Cape Fear River. You do not want to fight that current.
Today the high was low 80s and tonight it is supposed to be in the mid 50s -- great sleeping weather.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Was there a Tropical Storm Ana?
We made it to Charleston City Marina last Wednesday. Fortunately they had a slip for us so we didn't have to suffer "storm" conditions on the MegaDock. We had planned to stay 3 days which then turned into nearly 5 because of the forecast for Tropical Storm Ana.
In retrospect there was no tropical storm. We didn't have much of anything. A little rain Friday night then some on Saturday. No winds above 20kts, in spite of the forecast for gusts to 40 -- didn't happen.
Charleston is a nice city and we enjoy it. Didn't do much other than shopping in the markets and a dismal supper at the marina restaurant. I took long hot showers everyday to get some of my money's worth out of the slip rental -- 100 bucks a day!!
The forecast on Sunday was for likely storms and wind gusts to 40 kts. It sure didn't look that way Sunday morning so we left. We had a nice crossing of Charleston Harbour in winds less than 10kts and once in the ICW we had the current with us all the way. We hit all the trouble spots within 2 hours of high tide -- on the following side -- but no real issues -- just had to stay in the channel. We were helped by the fact that high tide in McClenanville was 1 hour later than Charleston so we cruised on through.
South Santee River is a very nice anchorage however the bugs are terrible. This morning when I looked into the cockpit there were so many mosquitos flying around I though I was in that commercial where the guy plunges his bare arm into a clear plastic bag full of mosquitos. I dressed in long pants and long shirt and sprayed OFF on all exposed skin. I told Karen to stay below behind the screens until we hit Winyah Bay. That worked but it was so annoying having all those bugs flying around me.
We had a nice short run in to Georgetown, SC where we anchored on the waterfront. Launched the dinghy and did a lightning trip to a Piggly Wiggly for fresh lettuce and Karen stayed and shopped. We had lunch at the Riverfront restaurant then back in the boat to watch some thunderstorms come through. Fortunately none too bad because the holding here is not good.
Tomorrow we will do a late departure to catch the tide through the Waccamaw River to Osprey Marina. We will top the fuel off and plug in. It is just too buggy to be anchoring in the Waccamaw right now.
In retrospect there was no tropical storm. We didn't have much of anything. A little rain Friday night then some on Saturday. No winds above 20kts, in spite of the forecast for gusts to 40 -- didn't happen.
Charleston is a nice city and we enjoy it. Didn't do much other than shopping in the markets and a dismal supper at the marina restaurant. I took long hot showers everyday to get some of my money's worth out of the slip rental -- 100 bucks a day!!
The forecast on Sunday was for likely storms and wind gusts to 40 kts. It sure didn't look that way Sunday morning so we left. We had a nice crossing of Charleston Harbour in winds less than 10kts and once in the ICW we had the current with us all the way. We hit all the trouble spots within 2 hours of high tide -- on the following side -- but no real issues -- just had to stay in the channel. We were helped by the fact that high tide in McClenanville was 1 hour later than Charleston so we cruised on through.
South Santee River is a very nice anchorage however the bugs are terrible. This morning when I looked into the cockpit there were so many mosquitos flying around I though I was in that commercial where the guy plunges his bare arm into a clear plastic bag full of mosquitos. I dressed in long pants and long shirt and sprayed OFF on all exposed skin. I told Karen to stay below behind the screens until we hit Winyah Bay. That worked but it was so annoying having all those bugs flying around me.
We had a nice short run in to Georgetown, SC where we anchored on the waterfront. Launched the dinghy and did a lightning trip to a Piggly Wiggly for fresh lettuce and Karen stayed and shopped. We had lunch at the Riverfront restaurant then back in the boat to watch some thunderstorms come through. Fortunately none too bad because the holding here is not good.
Tomorrow we will do a late departure to catch the tide through the Waccamaw River to Osprey Marina. We will top the fuel off and plug in. It is just too buggy to be anchoring in the Waccamaw right now.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
A real Lady and ever so slowly
We are still sailing our plan and made Bull Creek easily. We had a favorable current most of the day. Bull Creek was a nice anchorage except it being a Sunday we had to endure a lot of small boat traffic and accompanying wakes -- there is a marina further up the river.
The next day we had a great run to Beaufort, SC. We had a favorable current all the way across both Calibogue Sound and Port Royal Sound. We made Beaufort around 10:30am. We thought about picking up a mooring at the City MArina but then would have to time the departure in the morning with the Lady Island Bridge schedule. We have heard folks rave about the LAdy Island Marina on the other side of the bridge and found they could accommodate us for one night. We took it.
TJ the Dockmaster met us at the dock and helped land us in a strong current. Once tied up and checked in which was a very pleasant process we had some lunch on board. Checking the literature they gave us we found that they had everything from drug stores, food stores, hardware stores, Laundromat, eateries all within 1 mile of the marina. No wonder folks rave about this place. We took a walk and took it all in. We stopped at the Publixs for some fresh veggies and lunch meat, checked both drug stores for the electronic fly swatter we had heard about from Madeline -- found one at Rite Aid and then back to the boat. We had dinner at the restaurant there called Dockside with John and Madeline from Chanceaux -- ohhh they beat us here because they went offshore for a while but found it uncomfortable and came into Port Royal the day before.
The shower and bathroom facilities are first rate -- very nice. Wish we could have stayed longer but because of the bad weather forecast for latter in the week they had reservations to honor and we had to leave -- we will be back.
Today we had a VERY SLOW run to Church Creek in SC. WE left on a rising tide and had a fast 7kt run to the Coosaw River then had to run for hours against the tide for all of the Coosaw, channel cutoffs, South Edisto River and North Edisto River. n the North Edisto our speed was in the low 4kt range!!
Church creek is a nice anchorage but we had some strong sea breeze against a strong current which has us forward on our anchor tonight. Not dangerous but annoying and noisy. The wind should lay down after dark and we will swing to the current all night which we are looking forward to.
Tomorrow it is only 18 miles to Charleston but the current is strong and will be against us near the end. Ohh well.
Not sure how long we will stay. There is an unusually early strong low pressure system building Wednesday which could be come a names storm and may impact South Carolina. We need more info to decide to either weather it at Charleston or move on to Georgetown, SC and weather it there.
Today all the models are mixed with some calling for 30kt winds and others for only 5kts. hat's a girl to do. Hopefully we can make that call tomorrow after checking the latest forecast in the morning. Obviously cruising is not as easy as sitting around and chewing the Lotus leaves.
The next day we had a great run to Beaufort, SC. We had a favorable current all the way across both Calibogue Sound and Port Royal Sound. We made Beaufort around 10:30am. We thought about picking up a mooring at the City MArina but then would have to time the departure in the morning with the Lady Island Bridge schedule. We have heard folks rave about the LAdy Island Marina on the other side of the bridge and found they could accommodate us for one night. We took it.
TJ the Dockmaster met us at the dock and helped land us in a strong current. Once tied up and checked in which was a very pleasant process we had some lunch on board. Checking the literature they gave us we found that they had everything from drug stores, food stores, hardware stores, Laundromat, eateries all within 1 mile of the marina. No wonder folks rave about this place. We took a walk and took it all in. We stopped at the Publixs for some fresh veggies and lunch meat, checked both drug stores for the electronic fly swatter we had heard about from Madeline -- found one at Rite Aid and then back to the boat. We had dinner at the restaurant there called Dockside with John and Madeline from Chanceaux -- ohhh they beat us here because they went offshore for a while but found it uncomfortable and came into Port Royal the day before.
The shower and bathroom facilities are first rate -- very nice. Wish we could have stayed longer but because of the bad weather forecast for latter in the week they had reservations to honor and we had to leave -- we will be back.
Today we had a VERY SLOW run to Church Creek in SC. WE left on a rising tide and had a fast 7kt run to the Coosaw River then had to run for hours against the tide for all of the Coosaw, channel cutoffs, South Edisto River and North Edisto River. n the North Edisto our speed was in the low 4kt range!!
Church creek is a nice anchorage but we had some strong sea breeze against a strong current which has us forward on our anchor tonight. Not dangerous but annoying and noisy. The wind should lay down after dark and we will swing to the current all night which we are looking forward to.
Tomorrow it is only 18 miles to Charleston but the current is strong and will be against us near the end. Ohh well.
Not sure how long we will stay. There is an unusually early strong low pressure system building Wednesday which could be come a names storm and may impact South Carolina. We need more info to decide to either weather it at Charleston or move on to Georgetown, SC and weather it there.
Today all the models are mixed with some calling for 30kt winds and others for only 5kts. hat's a girl to do. Hopefully we can make that call tomorrow after checking the latest forecast in the morning. Obviously cruising is not as easy as sitting around and chewing the Lotus leaves.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Moving with a vengence!
We finally left Saint Augustine on Thursday. Finally... The NOAA forecaster and Chris Parker have cost me some dollars. They have both been painting horrible weather these last several days (that's why we stayed in the marina) and virtually none has happened here... I'm just going to move inspite of the forecasts.
Thursday we had a nice day planned to travel to Fort George to anchor for the night. Well it didn't work out. We arrived at Fort George about 45 minutes before low tide and I could not get in. I tried 4 times and ran aground four times -- gently though and got off by ourselves. Victoria Gaye caught up and we decided to continue to Fernandina. A long days travel of 63 miles vs the 43 planned for Fort George. We did well until we hit the South Amelia river at low tide. I ran aground in charted 13 feet of water, got off ran aground again and waited. Victoria Gaye tried to find the water and ran aground twice then found some deeper water. I tried to get there but I was stuck. I could see deeper water just a few feet in front but the keel was on the bottom. I put out some sail and backed it rocking the boat and with the engine SCREAMING finally got off. The boats that went around us were complaining of bouncing in places. We anchored for about 45 minutes till the tide came up about 2 feet then went on. It was dicey and slow but we made it to Fernandina -- a nearly 12 hour travel day.
We pow wow and thought that going out front to Charleston would not work in the short term. I decided to move on in the inside. We left early Friday morning and had a good ride to St Andrews sound -- it was a bit rough and we took a lot of spray to the windows and top sides. Once in Jeykel Creek we were 2 hours from low tide and tried to pass. It was tough in places and quite shallow but we made it with out running aground. We had planned to go to "Wally's Leg" to anchor but gave it up early and anchored in the Frederica River. That was nice for awhile but the current changed direction and the wind picked up and we were driven forward on the anchor with waves from the aft end. Very uncomfortable but even with the Rocna short scooped and us doing nearly 360s and going forward on the anchor it held. Around dark the wind died and we had a nice evening.
Today we left early to hit the troublesome places of Buttermilk Sound and Little Mud River. Passed with plenty of water. We pressed on and passed 5 sounds today. Buttermilk, Altamaha, Doboy, Sapello, and St Catherines. It was a great day for the sounds with 10 kt or less wind from the NW. It was frustrating because when you pass a sound you get a push from the current in one direct and adverse in the other. Thus at one point you do 7.4 kts then 4.9 kts. We ran during low tide today but it occurred at none of the troublesome spots -- you just had to pay attention to depth and chart plotter to stay in the center of the charted channel. However there were a few places where the chart was wrong so you had to use best judgment.
Hopefully the 60+ mile days are done and we can get back to a conservative 40+ to 50 mile days.
Tomorrow we need to run Hells Gate but from this anchorage we will hit it just before high tide. The worry is we will hit Fields Cut and Elbow cut about 2 hours before low tide. If we get through okay then we will anchor at Bull Creek which is in South Carolina and Georgia will just be a memory
Thursday we had a nice day planned to travel to Fort George to anchor for the night. Well it didn't work out. We arrived at Fort George about 45 minutes before low tide and I could not get in. I tried 4 times and ran aground four times -- gently though and got off by ourselves. Victoria Gaye caught up and we decided to continue to Fernandina. A long days travel of 63 miles vs the 43 planned for Fort George. We did well until we hit the South Amelia river at low tide. I ran aground in charted 13 feet of water, got off ran aground again and waited. Victoria Gaye tried to find the water and ran aground twice then found some deeper water. I tried to get there but I was stuck. I could see deeper water just a few feet in front but the keel was on the bottom. I put out some sail and backed it rocking the boat and with the engine SCREAMING finally got off. The boats that went around us were complaining of bouncing in places. We anchored for about 45 minutes till the tide came up about 2 feet then went on. It was dicey and slow but we made it to Fernandina -- a nearly 12 hour travel day.
We pow wow and thought that going out front to Charleston would not work in the short term. I decided to move on in the inside. We left early Friday morning and had a good ride to St Andrews sound -- it was a bit rough and we took a lot of spray to the windows and top sides. Once in Jeykel Creek we were 2 hours from low tide and tried to pass. It was tough in places and quite shallow but we made it with out running aground. We had planned to go to "Wally's Leg" to anchor but gave it up early and anchored in the Frederica River. That was nice for awhile but the current changed direction and the wind picked up and we were driven forward on the anchor with waves from the aft end. Very uncomfortable but even with the Rocna short scooped and us doing nearly 360s and going forward on the anchor it held. Around dark the wind died and we had a nice evening.
Today we left early to hit the troublesome places of Buttermilk Sound and Little Mud River. Passed with plenty of water. We pressed on and passed 5 sounds today. Buttermilk, Altamaha, Doboy, Sapello, and St Catherines. It was a great day for the sounds with 10 kt or less wind from the NW. It was frustrating because when you pass a sound you get a push from the current in one direct and adverse in the other. Thus at one point you do 7.4 kts then 4.9 kts. We ran during low tide today but it occurred at none of the troublesome spots -- you just had to pay attention to depth and chart plotter to stay in the center of the charted channel. However there were a few places where the chart was wrong so you had to use best judgment.
Hopefully the 60+ mile days are done and we can get back to a conservative 40+ to 50 mile days.
Tomorrow we need to run Hells Gate but from this anchorage we will hit it just before high tide. The worry is we will hit Fields Cut and Elbow cut about 2 hours before low tide. If we get through okay then we will anchor at Bull Creek which is in South Carolina and Georgia will just be a memory
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Surprise Surprise
Well not really. We are still in Saint Augustine waiting for some really poor weather to pass. The worst is expected today and tonight through tomorrow morning. A strong low pressure system is expected over New Orleans at mid day today and then move to over Fernandina by mid day tomorrow. Rather than just sit in some anchorages holed up from the rain for a couple of days we elected to just stay here in St Augustine until it passes. Much better weather is expected to build in Thursday and for the next several days so we should be able to make some real progress north, possibly even an offshore passage to Charleston -- we will see.
St Augustine Old Town area is really different on a weekday vs the weekend. It was quite quiet here yesterday. It was a cloudy day and quite comfortable with a high of only 78 degrees. Sunday the temps got up to 94 degrees -- thanks for the air conditioning. It was pleasant here plugged into the marina.
Let's see - Saturday we visited the Lightner Museum. It was very nice and surprisingly after I had to check my back pack they told me I could take my camera and take all the pictures I wanted. Now when has a museum offered you that?
We hope to take advantage of the lay days today and tomorrow and get some chores done and a visit to a grocery so come Thursday we can travel for several days without stopping. Still hope to be in North Carolina by mid May.
Oh yes we had a big surprise on Sunday. I was below looking out a hatch when I noticed a large sail boat backing into the slip next to us. This was very surprising because with the strong current in this Marina any movement is difficult and backing is usually not considered. Well I watched until I saw the helmsman and exclaimed "that's John and Madeline on Chanceaux!". Old friends from New Bern and haven't seen since December in Vero Beach.
Note -- John is known to back his boat in all conditions and he does it very well. It's like ol home now.
St Augustine Old Town area is really different on a weekday vs the weekend. It was quite quiet here yesterday. It was a cloudy day and quite comfortable with a high of only 78 degrees. Sunday the temps got up to 94 degrees -- thanks for the air conditioning. It was pleasant here plugged into the marina.
Let's see - Saturday we visited the Lightner Museum. It was very nice and surprisingly after I had to check my back pack they told me I could take my camera and take all the pictures I wanted. Now when has a museum offered you that?
We hope to take advantage of the lay days today and tomorrow and get some chores done and a visit to a grocery so come Thursday we can travel for several days without stopping. Still hope to be in North Carolina by mid May.
Oh yes we had a big surprise on Sunday. I was below looking out a hatch when I noticed a large sail boat backing into the slip next to us. This was very surprising because with the strong current in this Marina any movement is difficult and backing is usually not considered. Well I watched until I saw the helmsman and exclaimed "that's John and Madeline on Chanceaux!". Old friends from New Bern and haven't seen since December in Vero Beach.
Note -- John is known to back his boat in all conditions and he does it very well. It's like ol home now.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Northern Florida is Great
We have had 2 absolutely perfect travel days. We went from Daytona Beach to Palm Coast Marina yesterday under absolutely perfect weather. We had a very favorable tide part of the way too. The Temps and wind were ideal.
We got into the marina around 11:30am and easily tied up. After a quick lunch I had to tackle a very despicable job -- that Y-valve I cleaned and lubricated the other day is leaking and needs to be replaced! I hate sanitation plumbing.
I used one of those "chucks" or inconstancy pad rather than sacrifice a towel. Worked Great!!
The job was just as daunting as I thought, since I had to remove 3 1 1/2" hoses from the valve that had been on for 7 years. A lot of wiggle, screwdriver plying, and the heat gun got the job done. The new valve is working great with no leaks.
Karen and Vickie went to the Publix here by taxi and bought a few groceries -- mainly a cart full each for both of them!! Oh man we are going to undo all our weight loss from the Bahamas in short order.
After my job I went to Victoria Gaye to help Buck with his leaking fitting on the water heater. Boy that barb fitting was shot and nearly broke off. We had to break it the rest of the way then extract it from the pipe. Since it was nylon we got it out easily -- just drove a knife into it and turned it out.
Buck was able to get a ride to the hardware store and get a replacement -- working fine now.
We had a nice evening and got to sleep in this morning. We needed to navigate the Mantanzas Inlet and need to do that near high tide. We left around 10am this morning and had a great ride to the Mantanzas with a favorable current pushing us along at nearly 7 knots. The inlet was not too bad with one area around 8.2 feet for a hundred yards then fine after that. We made St. Augustine at 1:30pm which was a good run.
We took a mooring ball for 2 days and then will go to a slip at the marina for 2 days to weather some really bad storms expected this Saturday and Sunday. Ohhh the mooring ball is number 69 and the second to the last in the mooring field. It is a L O N G dinghy ride to the marina to tie up.
St Augustine is a great place to spend a few days. So much to see and do in the downtown historic district for example a jewelry store called "Jewelry for the Filthy Rich"! Lots of places to eat drink, art stuff and just other cool stuff. Karen wants to tour the Lightner Museum too.
Looking forward to enjoying St Augustine since the weather is putting a crimp on our travel plans -- this is what it means to be a cruiser -- don't keep a schedule and stop to enjoy when the weather makes travel difficult.
We got into the marina around 11:30am and easily tied up. After a quick lunch I had to tackle a very despicable job -- that Y-valve I cleaned and lubricated the other day is leaking and needs to be replaced! I hate sanitation plumbing.
I used one of those "chucks" or inconstancy pad rather than sacrifice a towel. Worked Great!!
The job was just as daunting as I thought, since I had to remove 3 1 1/2" hoses from the valve that had been on for 7 years. A lot of wiggle, screwdriver plying, and the heat gun got the job done. The new valve is working great with no leaks.
Karen and Vickie went to the Publix here by taxi and bought a few groceries -- mainly a cart full each for both of them!! Oh man we are going to undo all our weight loss from the Bahamas in short order.
After my job I went to Victoria Gaye to help Buck with his leaking fitting on the water heater. Boy that barb fitting was shot and nearly broke off. We had to break it the rest of the way then extract it from the pipe. Since it was nylon we got it out easily -- just drove a knife into it and turned it out.
Buck was able to get a ride to the hardware store and get a replacement -- working fine now.
We had a nice evening and got to sleep in this morning. We needed to navigate the Mantanzas Inlet and need to do that near high tide. We left around 10am this morning and had a great ride to the Mantanzas with a favorable current pushing us along at nearly 7 knots. The inlet was not too bad with one area around 8.2 feet for a hundred yards then fine after that. We made St. Augustine at 1:30pm which was a good run.
We took a mooring ball for 2 days and then will go to a slip at the marina for 2 days to weather some really bad storms expected this Saturday and Sunday. Ohhh the mooring ball is number 69 and the second to the last in the mooring field. It is a L O N G dinghy ride to the marina to tie up.
St Augustine is a great place to spend a few days. So much to see and do in the downtown historic district for example a jewelry store called "Jewelry for the Filthy Rich"! Lots of places to eat drink, art stuff and just other cool stuff. Karen wants to tour the Lightner Museum too.
Looking forward to enjoying St Augustine since the weather is putting a crimp on our travel plans -- this is what it means to be a cruiser -- don't keep a schedule and stop to enjoy when the weather makes travel difficult.
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