Home and Family

     Today we need to prep the boat for our departure.  Tomorrow we head home to join Pete's family for Thanksgiving. The boat has been moved from the municipal mooring field over to the Conch House Marina, where Betty and John are keeping Andiamo.  She had a good cleaning both inside and out.  The enclosure needed to be cleaned and come down once dry, laundry needed to be done as well as the light packing for our trip north.

     Glen and Maureen made a chicken taco dinner over at Jay and Pegg’s tonight.  Martha created a great pink grapefruit and avocado salad to go with it.  The chocolate and ice cream helped to cool down the heat from the tacos.  As we said our good-bys, we wished everyone a good Thanksgiving as they will be celebrating it together. 

     The boat is cleaned and secure, our bag is packed, the blog is caught up and our Thanksgiving wishes have been made.  We just need to meet up with Dan in the morning for the ride to Jacksonville Airport to catch our flight. 

     We are flying to Phili to pick up Heather and drive out to Chagrin Falls, Ohio for Thanksgiving with Jim, Effie, Eleni, Sophia and Victoria, Mom, Pat, Mitch, Kaitlyn and Allison, Chris & Kel plus Effie's sister and her family. It will be a weekend full of great food, lots of laughter and wonderful times. 

Sunset on the San Sabastian River mooring fields

     Unfortunately, Cleveland already has had snow, but we will be back in sunny, warm Florida within the week!

                           ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Race Day

     Lunch was packed, life-vest, jackets on the ready and we were waiting for Martha’s call, when Dan showed with the dinghy.  It was time to get moving onto our respective boats and head out for the St. Augustine’s Yacht Club Commodore’s Race, the final race of the season.  We ladies will be racing on Brunelle, while the gents will be racing Sevilla. We had to make the 11:30 Bridge of Lyons opening to head to the 5 mile ocean course. The winds are very light (10-12 NNE). Fifteen boats ranging in size from 25 to 50 feet in length completed in the either the racing or cruising class.

Everyone jockeys for position.

The race begins.

     I learned that races are run under specific rules. The rules are based from different area of the country and the origins specifies the handicapping for each vessel. (i.e., tall masts vs. standard, wing vs. full keel, standard prop vs. folding, etc.)  Apparently, each race has slightly different rules for starting as well.  We crossed the start on the minute warning gun, not a starting gun so we had to round back on the start.  As a result we were last off the start.

     The race was a great experience for a novice crew.  Martha was a great instructor and captain. Brunelle is rigged so differently from our individual boats, but with some really great ideas.  Of course, when you place women together for any more than 5 minutes together conversation is bound to progress and over 5 hours we surely did our fair share!  We also saw a huge sea turtle sunning on the surface.    

Ladies Day!

The Men of Seville

      The guys on Sevilla thought they had the race made at the start when Brunelle was called for jumping over the line early.  Truthfully, the race committee kept confusing the two boats and called Sevilla as the one that jumped the line.  Anyway, the guys wound up heading straight for the wrong buoy.  Once they realize the error of their way, we had a substantial lead that their handicap could not compensate.

Maureen winning the battle against the Viagra-enhanced buoy!

   We finished the race right behind the 50 foot cruiser, Hunter’s Child, and were asked to head out to pick up the one race buoy. We had to wait an hour and a half for the last two racers to complete that last leg . . .then we had to figure out how to get the buoy on board Brunelle.  With the sun going down, entering an unfamiliar inlet without electronics, shifting shallows in failing light, a bridge opening to make, and dinner at the St. Augustine Yacht Club at 6 PM we told the race committee we were holding on to the racing buoy and Jay would drop it off later.  With a bit of a Chinese fire drill, we were able to secure the boats, return the buoy, attend the dinner and we ladies aboard Brunelle walk away with the St. Augustine Commodore’s first place Trophy for the Cruiser’s Division!

We Girls Rock!

     A great day was had by all.  For all of us novice racers, it was truly a learning experience and not just for racing.

                           ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Shopping!

     Jay and Martha were our designated drivers for a truly mariners shopping excursion.  Here in St. Augustine is the Sailor’s Exchange.  From the small outside storefront, appearances are deceiving.  It is a treasure trove of parts and pieces, whose inventory must be 4 to 5 times that of Bacon’s in Annapolis.  My first thought as I entered was that I wished that Pete’s dad could see this place!  Dad was not only a boater, but a tool and die maker, machinist, and garage sale/bargain finder extraordinaire!  What could not be found here, we scouted for at West Marine, the most important being paper charts of the Floridian inlets.  With our ocean travels, we are not comfortable only having electronic charts.  Should we lose our electronics, we would be “up a creek” as we are in unfamiliar waters with no backup.

     We had a great lunch at a bar on one of the creeks before dropping the off guys so they could head back to the boats, but not before checking out one more stop at a second hand boat shop. Now I have to figure out where we are going to store the fishing rod Pete got such a good deal on and if he finally catches a fish, what do I do with it!  We girls also checked out a second-hand clothing shop, then gathered the makings for sundaes for later this evening and the wines for Thanksgiving.

     The Tree Lighting Ceremony took place in The Square at 6:45 this evening just outside the Marina.  We all walked over to check it out.  It is a little strange to here “Let it Snow” when it is 70 degrees out, but everything looked very pretty and “Christmasy.”

The tree, the grand stand, the trees of the square and the buildings of downtown were lit for the holidays.
Somehow being in shirt sleeves in 70 degree weather just makes it a wee bit hard to believe
Christmas is coming!

      It was a nice walk over the Bridge of Lyons back to Jay’s home for the ice cream sundaes. Peggy returned from her Relay Run, where her group took Second Place overall and took First in for costumes.

     Tomorrow’s the race. The St. Augustine Yacht Club is hosting their final race of the season, The Commodore's Cup.  We ladies will be racing Brunelle under Captain Martha while the guys will be racing Seville under Captain Dan.   We will see how it is done. This should be verrry interesting.

                           ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Thunderbolt, GA to St. Augustine, FL ( Mile 778 ICW)

     We were up early, doing chores in preparation of our blue water adventure.  Pete had to take down the radar reflector.  It had become a spinner whenever it found a breeze. It would spin as fast as it could in one direction and then in the opposite. No matter what solution he tired, the expensive coated wire, that was many times more expensive then the reflector, broke.  We now need to replace it.  Ourboat needed to be moved so that the others could fuel up. I needed to run to the market for water and a few last minute items, unfortunately it meant a taxi ride.  There was also securing the boat to insure nothing “flew”’ out of place if the waves kicked up.

     This was one of the few times we waited to leave until noon.  We need to arrive during sunlight. As a result, the 22-24 hour trip needs to be timed calculating average travel speed of 6 knots, factoring in the sails to assist the engines to conserve fuel during the trip and the proper arrival time. The late departure time also made a couple of us a little antsy to be on our way.

Pelicans keeping watching
 for their friends

   The trip down the Wilmington River was uneventful.  I did see the first sign warning boaters to be cautious for manatees.  Within a few miles of Thunderbolt, we left the ICW and continued down river to the Atlantic.

Andiamo at sunset

     This ocean voyage was slightly different then our first.  We were able to stay closer to shore due to no shallows. We were never more than 18 miles from shore. It was a very clear, bright night, with an almost full moon to accompany us for most of the night. Breezes were very light as were the seas.  Unfortunately, due to such a bright moon, Pete and I were disappointed in only seeing 2 meteors from the Leonid Meteor Shower.  As to sea life, we saw a couple of miles of round brown and tan jelly fish in Georgia.  As we approached St. Augustine, I saw some sponges ...but no dolphins.

    The only “challenging” part of our ride was the inlet into St. Augustine. The charts do not give depth due to the ever shifting sand bars.  Thankfully, Dan’s brother, Jay, was able to guide us in via “local knowledge.”  We had a minimum of 12 feet under the keel as we rocked and rolled with the washing machine rollers courtesy of the winds, waves and outgoing current.

The Castillo de San Marco National Monument

View of the waterfront
 downtown St. Augustine

  

Bridge of Lyons

  Once we cleared the inlet, Andiamo headed for the Conch Marina where he will be using a friend’s dock, while we remaining three boats headed up past the Bridge of Lyons to grab our reserved mooring balls on the San Sabastian River. We were settled in by 12:30 PM. 

     After lunch, did some bills, attempted to read, then we crashed and burned . . . napped for a short while.  Jay invited us all over for pizza at their place, which is only a short walk from the dinghy dock on the other side of the mooring field. Pegg, his wife, is away for a race relay until Saturday. However, the four couples, Jay and Mrs. Bliss never lacked for conversation, but Cruisers’ Midnight came real early for us.  John and Betty needed to be driven back to the marina while the rest of us needed to find our boats in the mooring field. If it wasn’t for the Blog and my phone visit with my friend, Carolyn, I would be in bed already.

159 / 967 Total Statute Miles                           ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Savannah's Southern Charm

These are the wonderful friends sharing our advneture ~
Dan & Martha   Betty & John   Glen & Maureen
Bliss               McElderry           Nemecek

     The weather gods continue to be kind.  The rain that skirted us during the trip down yesterday carried a lot of rain and wind. There was substantial damage in Virginia and New Jersey yesterday, while New England will deal with it today. We had clouds and some drizzling with a little rain during the night, but awoke to clear blue skies this morning.

Reminding us it is fall.

A duplex - southern style!



The fountain in Forsyth Park

    

           Pete did some “home” work while I straightening things up before we all met to take taxi’s into Savannah at 10 AM. I will have to go into the blog and correct all the mile notations at the bottom of my daily blogs.  We discovered that the notations are in nautical miles instead of statute miles. Oops! 

City Hall with its
golden dome

    Our driver was very informative both for sights and culture during the short drive.  Once in town we opted to do the Old Town Trolley Tour so we could have the narrative tour and still have transportation with on/off privileges.   The ten-square block area is filled with a series of square parks with monuments, surrounded by beautiful restored historic homes, interesting architecture, lots of brick, shutters, iron work, mini courtyards and gardens, huge live oaks draped with Spanish moss.  

Definately worth the wait!

     Autumn has come to this area and the few “northern” trees that have invaded this area are changing their colors.  Though there are many restaurants to choose from including Paula Dean’s, we opted to follow Lynn and Dick of MV Absolutely’s suggestion of “Mrs. Wilkes House.” It was a well worth hour and a half wait for a southern family style meal of 26 dishes, and all for $16.95 per person.  We sampled everything and the food was unbelievably delicious. We walked down to Forsyth Park to catch the trolley. After completing the tour, we walked over to City Market and decided to head back to the marina.  

Betty making the most of a photo op!

A charming view
inside and out!

     We gathered on Andiamo just to round out the day and discuss tomorrow’s strategy for our ocean cruise heading to St. Augustine. The weather is supposed to be clear, winds and seas light. The Leonid Meteor shower is at its peak right now. We will depart around noon with the out-going tide. With our first blue water experience behind us, we are all looking forward to the 22-24 hour cruise.

 

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Skull Creek to Thunderbolt, GA (Mile 584 ICW)

The sunrise that greeted us before the clouds dominated the sky.

       Rain and thunderstorms were predicted for this afternoon, so the decision was made to leave at first light.  Engines were started and anchors pulled by 6:30 AM.  As we emerged from our creek, we were passed by American Glory, the same coastal cruise ship we had come across in Charleston. Navigating her on some of these ICW areas must be very challenging.  She seemed to have dropped anchor off of Harbor Town (Hilton Head) site of the famous PGA golf course.  We tried to get pictures, but the conditions were not optimal.  We will just have to stop there on our way home. I am sure Pete will need a shirt from their pro shop!

Homes and entry to one of the marinas on Hilton Head

Andiamo & rainbow
 clouds were angry
to the west/northwest

     Shortly after sunrise, the winds and clouds increased, but the rains skirted just to our northwest.  I wonder if that cruise ship travels south from Hilton Head on the ICW. . .if it does, it will have issues as the water gets skinny is a number of places.   We were passed by a Hinkley Sport Fisherman, Four Aces. Dan asked if he would report back on any shallows in the channel. His report was valuable to us, but given on a channel other than 16.  We arrived to find another sailboat had just run aground.  Thankfully, with the help of her sails, they were able to free the boat. We all were able to pass slightly to the left of the channel with no problems.

     We gave our names and homeports to the Causton Bluff Bridge Tender. He then told us that the bridge is currently experiencing problems.  Only one side of the bridge will be opening. The west span is frozen, just center on the east side of the bridge.  As the first of the five boats began to traverse south, a small boat under sail decided it had right of way and wanted to sail through the bridge, even though we started our passage.  He was angry he needed to divert.  The bridge tender told him to drop his sails.  He chose to ignore that and sailed through after we five passed through the bridge.  Some people!

     Our planning paid off and we were able to tie up to the dock by 11:15.  The afternoon was spent doing laundry, small chores and reading.

    We met for cocktails at 5 up at the sun room for the marina and still managed to find thing to talk and laugh about for 2+ hours. We plan to explore Savannah tomorrow.

28.8/818 Total Statute Miles        ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Mosquito Creek to Skull Creek, Hilton Head (Mile 554 ICW)

Our "Fleet" at B & B Seafood Dock in Mosquito Creek





      We left at 8:30 AM after some of the shrimp boats had left, but not before we lost the wonderful morning light. Pete still had to call me back so we could cast off, but, it was well worth it as I was able to grab some great shots. 


Baskets on the Dock



Part of the regular fishing fleet

    













Today’s float plan is to travel as far as we can with the current as it is and drop anchor by “4ish” before we lose the light. The currents today were not as favorable as they have been previously.



Sevilla aproaching the green marker 177
at Mile 516 in the ICW





   In fact, the same green channel marker that had been suspicious last trip for Brunelle for the Asheppo Coosaw Cutoff, was one again high and dry due to low tide.  We had a substantial (almost 1.5 hour) delay waiting for the Ladies Island Bridge. It was down for mechanical problems. Twelve boats gathered waiting for passage.  Once again we needed to provide boat name and homeport. We continued on past Paris Island Marine Base and on towards Hilton Head.  Due to the later start, currents and the delay we only did 18 miles.

     As we travel, I tend to hear the names of the same boats over and over.  I guess we sailboats travel in packs just staggered along in clumps. In most cases it is comforting.  Unfortunately, just before we dropped anchor, we heard the Coast Guard Helicopter removing the captain from SV Zephyr as the boat was in eminent danger, heading towards the jetty. We believe this is the same boat we have heard in trouble twice before. 



There be a change in the weather a-comin!

     We dropped anchor in Skull Creek just off the ICW.  We had a power cruiser follow us into the creek before he realized we were going to stay the night.  The interesting challenge with anchoring here is that setting the anchor was not a problem if it were the Chesapeake.  We had a good 23 feet under the keel and plenty of scope.  The problem is that there is a 7 foot tidal drop.  When we checked at 9 PM, the reeds were now up on cliffs instead of sticking out of the water as they were when we dropped anchor.  I am pleased to report that everyone did fine.

20.7/789.2 Total Statute miles            ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Charleston to Mosquito Creek (Mile 512 ICW)

American Glory passing through
the Wapoo Creek Bridge

      Departure from Charleston Marina on the Cooper River was under clear skies, cool temperatures, and light breezes at 7:30 AM.  As we approached the Wapoo Creek from the Ashley River, the cruise ship, American Glory, takes the lead towards the bridge. The Wapoo Creek Bridge tender is the first bridge tender we have come across who has requested the name and homeport of every boat transiting the creek. 

Our forward view of the ICW & Brunelle



 We all wonder why???  We were joined by Semper Fi, a Catalina 350 from Annapolis, but she is being brought down to Key West for her owners. We are pretty sure the owners were members of CCYC a few years ago, but thought the captain stayed with our group, he wasn’t interested in conversing. We also heard the Coast Guard Helicopter hail SV Zephyr, the same boat that was hard aground yesterday.  She was again aground, waiting for the rising tide. 



One of the homes on the Elliott Cut

 

Elliott Cut

       Elliott Cut was very interesting. It was very narrow, very deep with very high banks, a mix of homes line with trees covered with moss and lots of reinforcement to retain the banks, some of which were very creative. We have also come across our forth “Alligator Creek.” The scenery continues to be beautiful with areas of civilization; areas of what we believe are rice patties due to the high earthen walls and irrigation pipes, and estuaries. 

Tugs traveling the ICW in tandum

      Based on Dan and Martha’s recommendation from their last trip, we moseyed over off the ICW to Mosquito Creek to the B & B Seafood Pier for shrimp and to spend the night. Though the dock space was for 2 boats, she allowed us to raft the other 2 boats and collected $25 each for us to spend the night. A number of fishing boats are docked in this creek. 

     We all chipped in to by shrimp for dinner.  Betty made shrimp cocktails while Martha made a shrimp, rice and veggie medley that was fabulous.  Add some leftover bread and dipping oil, wine, dark chocolate and peanut butter candies from Trader Joe’s for desert along with the great company and it was the perfect evening.

71.3/ 768.5  Total Statute miles            ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

The Sights and Tastes of Charleston

     Originally we were to head out to catch the water taxi at 10, but Dan was helping John install the replacement navigation lights for the bow of Andiamo.  We all appreciated the extra hour to get in gear this morning.

     Based on the recommendation of one of the crew from the Water Taxi, we walked down from the Aquarium to the Fleet Landing, which used to be for the Navy.  We arrived for an early for a very delicious lunch.  By the time we were done, the place was packed and there was a line. We all went our separate ways and will meet again for dinner aboard Andiamo this evening.

Rainbow Row



A fountain in Waterfront Park

Pete and I followed the Cooper River down to Waterfront Park then over to East Bay Street to see Rainbow Row, which is the longest collection of row homes in the United States and dates back to the 1670’s.  We walked some of the side streets, captivated by the great architecture, ironwork and plantings; Meeting Street filled with antique shops and eventually worked over to the upscale shops on King Street, where we found the Apple Store. Pete wanted an IPad for Christmas, so. . . .guess what came early?!!!  After seeing what Martha could do with the navigating software on her IPad, my options for Christmas dwindled down to one. As I sit and write, he reclines and explores his wonderful new tool.

I love the charming way
folks personalize the
front of their homes.

The steeple of this church
can be seen across the harbor.

     We continued our stroll and take advantage of the photo ops as we made our way over to the food market. We have now been to our second Harry Teeter. I really like the upscale market and the variety they offer. Unfortunately, I don’t think the Middletown, Delaware area would readily accept a store where the variety carries slightly higher prices. My neighborhood complains about the prices at Acme being too high.

     Once our shopping was completed we had to walk 5 blocks to meet the shuttle back to the marina.  We made it to where we thought it was the correct rendezvous spot, but did see any of our “gang.”  We asked some of the vendors, but we could not get any definitive answers as to where the exact pickup spot was located.  Thankfully, Martha answered her phone once on the shuttle and we were picked up one block from the designated spot.

We might be the sightseers, but these guys are always checking out the sights!

    At 6 PM we gathered aboard Andiamo for the CCYC Southern Contingent’s Italian Feast joined by Lynn and Dick from MV Absolutely.  Salad, bread and oil for dipping, angel hair pasta with shrimp and scallops in marina sauce and Key Lime pie for dessert was shared.  Forty of CCYC’s members are gathering at Marie and Mike Yeates home in Maryland this evening for the CCYC’s Italian Feast and Election of Officers. At 7, we called the Yeate’s and we listened in as the election took place.  John was elected Commodore and Martha was elected Vice Commodore for 2011 along with Mike Davis as Secretary and Lisa, Wind Dancer, Treasurer, rounding out the slate of officers.

The CCYC's Southern Contingent at Charleston Marina

       With all our walking today, it is definitely bedtime. Departure is 7:30 AM.  Good night!

               ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete

Beginning the Best of the ICW and on to Charleston (Mile 465 ICW)

The ferry crossing on the Estherville Minim Creek Canal

SV Zephyr left the channel and now
waits for SeaTow--not a good day.

     This group is good.  We agreed to leave at 6:45 AM and that is what we did.  Pekabu was the lead boat for this leg of the cruise due to the areas of shallow water that might be encountered. We are will to “test the waters” for the group. The journey down stream was not scary at all in daylight.  However, we did take the Western Channel off of Winyah Bay then the 90 degree right turn into the Estherville Minim Creek Canal.

     Our concerns about low water in McClellanville never panned out.  However, coming cross the North Santee River we suddenly went from 6 feet under the keel to 2, so we adjusted our course in that area for the rest of our “fleet.”  The only fixed bridge, we caught on the falling tide and current.  Thankfully, the boards read 64 feet, so Andiamo, who needs 63 feet, was able to sneak through.  His final words before entering under the bridge were to Brunelle, “Thankfully you’re behind me.  You can pick up anything that get’s knocked off!”  We have been extremely fortunate in that we have had the currents in our favor for most of our travels so far.

The Estuaries are so vast is can be difficult to find the
inhabitants.  These came to watch our parade of sailboats.

     Bruce and Lin Olsen, SV Alize, friends who have made this trip a few times before, have stated that this is their favorite part of the ICW from mile 410 to The Ben Sawyer Bridge at mile 462.2 Now I can understand why. The water is blue/green instead of the brown. The marshes are estuaries with trees and winding creeks, sandy and gravely shores, distant forests, variety of birds, breathtakingly beautiful and pristine.

     Our plan was to make the Ben Sawyer Bridge by 4 PM. Due to the favorable currents, we made the bridge by 2: 40 PM.  We were in Charleston Harbor Marina by 3:30 PM. We are in a marina that deals with a substantial current, but we are in floating docks which help somewhat.

Yes, that is the Yorktown docked "next" to the Charleston Marina, not "at" the marina.
She sure is majestic!

     Martha and Maureen decided to use up some of their food supplies so we all contributed to a potluck dinner.  Of course a good time was had by all aboard Brunelle.

64.4/697.2 Total Statute miles            ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete