Monday, April 23, 2018

B & B Shrimp to Charleston, SC.

Today:    45 miles, 8.9 hours, ICW
Total:     2162.4 miles, 337.1 hours

B & B Shrimp Co
Our view this morning to the East
     Pete saw Elijah as while walking Bailey this morning and said “Thanks and looking forward to seeing you in the fall!”  I took advantage of the time to wash down the Isinglass as it was coated in salt from the winds yesterday.
Views up and down Mosquito Creek
   


  

A dredge train heading south
MV WISHING STAR
SV FATE passing
close  on our starboard!
  
    We were underway by 8:40 am. It is a pretty ride, but I opted to get more written for the blog and if possible process the current photos.  While we traveled, there were a number of interesting vessels that Pete pointed out.  One was a dredging train.  For this one, the load was split between two tugs.  I don’t know why there are no “Securite’s” announced for these large floats.  We also saw a barge with cement pipe exchanges and a beautiful old Trumphy, MV WISHING STAR. We were passed midway in our day by a SV FATE, a Benteau 53, which passed quite close to our starboard.  He then called to us to suggest we change out our engine impeller, as our engine was emitting steam. Rather than be annoyed at his close pass, we were thankful for his concern.

Marker with a
gauge, but it
doesn't match
PEKABU's readings!
    Sometime during today's trip, Pete decided to check the depth finder as the readings under PEKABU are different than the Navionics Sonar Charts.  He was surprised and concerned.  Today we went through some very skinny waters at dead low. Our off set on the depth finder, usually off-set about 4+ feet so we know the water depth beneath our keel.  Somehow is reset to "0" feet.  It probably means we just about touched bottom or grounded in a lot of places for who knows how long!  YIKES!!!  
Approaching Elliott Cut
     Being a Saturday, there were lots of people in small boats out enjoying the water.  There were also people in SUPs (paddle boards) and a few in kayaks. The 3 in kayaks were traversing back and forth in Elliott Cut.  With all the traffic and strong current, I think they were a bit deranged and dangerous to boats coming though the cut.
Homes along the ICW
     After coming through the Wapoo Creek Bridge, I started rigging the dock line for a starboard tie and set the fenders.  I had finished before getting into the windier and more rocky waters of the river.  That’s when Pete started to suggest I need to rig the port side due to the wind.  Thankfully, we called in for a slip assignment and was told, due to the current, we should rig for a starboard tie. Whew! That was lucky.  We were placed stern to stern of that beautiful Trumphy, Wishing Star.  I’ll bet you, Pete will find a way to talk to the owner before we leave.
     There is a private yacht that must be close to 250 feet, one of the American Cruise Line ships, a large red sloop that was here when we passed last time and hundreds of other boats.
Cruise Liner AMERICAN STAR departing at sunset
from City Marina Megadock

Heading back at the end of a beautiful day
     My after-dinner plan is to process as many photos as possible.  Tomorrow, we have the rental car, so we can drive down to Brunswick, retrieve our car, and stage it at River Dunes. We will retrieve it once we are back in Maryland.  Monday, after a small provision run, I hope to get everything posted to the blog and hopefully, be current.  At least that is my plan.

Sunday 4/22 – Pete went up to meet the Uber driver at 8:40 so he could be at Enterprise when they opened at 9.  As they were opening, Pete commented “The early worm gets the Vet, right?”  They enjoyed the laugh, but we still received our Ford Fusion, a basic, noisy and not very comfortable rental that meets our needs. Bailey and I met him in the parking lot and we were off to Brunswick to retrieve the car. 
       Deb and Hugh asked that we stop by once we get down there.  With the storm predicted for tomorrow, they decided to bike ride over and tour Jekyll Island.  We are sorry we missed them, but I know we will be seeing them soon.  A quick glance at the marina and we saw that the motor cat, BONEFISH, had returned Brunswick.  I hope the return was planned and not necessary. With stops at Firehouse Subs for lunch and Pet Smart for dog food, we were on our way back to Charleston.
     This road trip, thankfully, was uneventful, with only one traffic delay on our return trip.  Our detour enabled us to fill up and rejoin into the same group of cars, who continued through the delay.  
     Once approaching Charleston, Pete continued on, in the rental, back to the boat. I stopped at West Marine and Harris Teeter for last minute provisions. Once back at the boat, I pulled apart my food locker and reorganized.  About a month ago I reorganized, thinking I had a better system.  The new system turned out to be a disaster. I could not find certain items, hence I now have extras of those.  That is not usually a problem, EXCEPT when space is very limited.  I have used the KEEP App on my phone. It has a list function which enables me to check off things, but maintains them, greyed-out at the bottom of the list.  It is super for grocery and now inventory lists.
     Pete took the time to replace the impeller for the engine.  He had recently bought the tool to expedite the procedure. It worked perfectly and once he started the engine, viola! No more excess steam from the engine exhaust!  He also checked the antifreeze.  Unfortunately, it is once again slightly lower than desired.  He will check the new water heater to make sure a leak is not coming from any of the connections. As he was replacing the engine cover in the main salon, Pete lost his balance, and fell backwards about a foot. No damage to his head or torso, but in the process, he twisted his right knee and saw stars.  This is the knee that needs replacement and does not flex as it did during the fall. The immediate Advil, no weight, elevation and ice pack made a big difference, but it will be sore for a while.
     On a fun note, Pete sent info to the kids on our rather large dock mate, MY ELYSIAN. She is a 253-foot Feadship yacht, worth about $90 million. She has 6 guest suits, a gym, as massage room with sauna and steam room, pool with cascading water fall, helipad, and 5 crew quarters for 20 crew members.  She is owned by the owner of the Red Sox's.  We have seen members of the crew dressed in official, black, cruise uniforms walking on the dock.  It is amazing the information that can be found on the web.  There was even a photo of the owner, who I had earlier passed on the dock and said, “Good morning!”
     After dinner, I got things ready for a 4 am departure so we can continue to stage our car to River Dunes, NC, tomorrow.
     About the same time, the boat started to rock. The winds are increasing to about 15-18 E-ESE, in front of the storm.  Bailey was walked before any of the rain arrived. It has skirted around us for most of the evening, but we won’t be that lucky for long.
     3:30 am comes quickly so I’ll say, “good night!”

Monday, 4/23 – We were in bed by 9:40 last night.  Unfortunately, the winds continued to build, and we were hobby-horsing well past 2 am.  Bailey could not find a comfortable spot and kept walking around the cabin in search of one. I kept hearing the water slosh/bang in the water tanks as well as the stern and bow slam into the waves. Around 2:30 am, Pete commented that the winds were gusting to 35 mph.  Though they are supposed to lessen somewhat over the next hour, winds for tomorrow will continue in the low 20s though most of the day with higher gusts.  With the boat on the Megadock, there is little protection.  We will be staying on board for today and moving the car on Tuesday instead. The winds must have shifted and lessened shortly thereafter.  I finally got to sleep until after 3.  We had the foresight to turn off the alarms scheduled for 3:30 am! 

     Pete woke around 8:10 this morning, checked the weather radar and managed to get most of Bailey’s walk in before the rains started again. As the morning progressed, the winds began to build again, the boat began to rock, but Bailey appeared OK for the moment.
     Pete was busy for a most of the day with work, while I worked on posting to the blog.  The internet has been undependable, but I am determined.
      Gusts increased around 2 pm to 36 mph and fog began to roll in. How can it when there are such strong winds!?!  We are back to experiencing lots of hobby-horsing. When Pete stuck his head up to check, he noticed that the Northwestern Trawler in front of us has broken its swim platform.  With each wave, it is flapping as the supports have pulled out and the swim ladder was eventually lost.  Pete donned his rain gear and went over to help.  She was all for Pete coming aboard and helping as they now have water coming in down below from where things have torn off the transom, but he stated dangers of trying to board in these waves (1-2 feet here at the dock) and damaging his side door for boarding.  He was even opposed to Pete’s suggestion for securing the platform.  Pete eventually returned, soaked to the skin, while the platform on the other boat continues to disintegrate. He had hoped to get into the starboard aft locker to check the heater connections, however, with the wave actions in the gusts that increased to 40 mph, the waves are washing into the cockpit from the transom.  With any luck, there will be time once we return from River Dunes tomorrow
    Well, I need to prepare dinner and reorganize again for our 4 am departure tomorrow morning.  Thankfully, the car rental and the marina allowed the one-day extension.
    At least temporarily, I am all caught up!!!   Hopefully, I will be more current for the rest of the cruise.  We’ll see. . . .

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~  K & P

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