Sunday, 11/8/20 ~
Pete did an oil & filter change, checked the engine, checked the site of our leak (and it's perfectly dry. YEA!) Plus a few other checks since were have put another 100 hours on the engine since we started the trip.
I spent most of the day, working on photos for the blog.
After dinner, we tried to turn on the TV and it couldn't hold a signal. Pete researched it and he thinks it is time to replace it. So instead we read, which isn't a bad way to spend the evening.
Monday, 11/9/20 ~
Pete had a very busy day with a project that needed to be completed today. He spent most of the day on the phone and computer, between conference calls and mapping.
Since the 4 washers and 4 driers here are only $1.00 each and there is a great big table for sorting, I wanted to get the laundry done, especially the floor mats. In between laundry, I did some heavy cleaning on board. It was rather windy, so I had to make sure the rugs were very secure as they dried on the life lines. In between, I did a good clean. Ann and Howie will be meeting us here at the boat before heading over to The Fat Hen for dinner. I was able to get reservations for inside.
Tuesday, 11/10/20 ~
I was glad I did the rugs yesterday. Today we have had periods of heavy rains. With the boat and laundry done, I was able to relax and read.
Pete had a very busy work schedule today. Thankfully, he completed everything prior to Ann and Howie's arrival at 3:30. We also had time to review our travel plans for tomorrow as well as the weather forecasts for the next few days.
Ann and Howie are are their way back from visiting their on and his family in Virginia. They are totally in love with their 1st grandchild. We enjoyed seeing all the photos of Mia and her parents. We also had lots of other things to catch up on. We talked non stop until it was time to leave for our dinner reservation. Dinner was once again, unbelievably delicious. We all opted to complete dinner by enjoying the Pluff Mud Pie that is made locally by The Ashley Bakery.
By the time dinner was complete it was also time to bid farewell to our friends. We will be leaving before sunrise for an 10+ hour ride to Beauford while Ann and Howie will be driving 12 hours back to their home in Delray Beach.
We are ready for our early departure and with our full bellies, it shouldn't be a hard time getting to sleep tonight.
Wednesday , 11/11/20
St John's to Beauford, SC
Today: 62 miles 9.8 hours ICW ST Mile: 536.3
Total: 827 miles 115.3 hours
We were up, Bailey walked and sliding out of the slip at 6:15. The current created a bit of a challenge as Pete needed to back into it, but my captain is r-e-a-l-l-y good! Once into the Edisto River we quickly picked up speed with the current. Today we did have a lot of changing currents, but for the most part we were averaging 7.5 or better. It wasn't much of a sunrise as the cloud cover was initially complete, but slowly patches of sunlight peaked out here and there.
Following Bob's tracks, we had no problem with depth (we had 9 feet under the keel). But, according to Garmin, in this area the maps haven't been updated, so, according to them, we were traveling across land! There were 2 boats ahead of us talking about the skinny water in the channel in this area. They apparently were not following Bob's tracks.
The notorious green marker from Mosquito Creek into the Ashepoo Cut, even at dead low, is still in the water. For years, it was high and dry at low tide.
We did good by leaving to early this morning. Our hopes that the current would cooperate and allow us to make it to the Ladies Island Bridge by 3pm. That is the last opening until 6 due to traffic. We had a 20 minute wait for the Bridge, but we didn't complain.
This is our first time at Safe Harbor Beacon Marina in Beauford. We though we could have a free night due to our membership in Safe Harbor Marinas through our home marina, Safe Harbor the Narrows (formerly Mears Marina). We have received the benefit at all the other Safe Harbor Marinas we have used so far with no problems. Apparently, both here and at Safe Harbor Port Royal, they have black out dates during the winter cruising season. They did, however, give us a slight discount.
We were on an inside slip, which is great for the winds predicted for tomorrow. Currently the predictions are for 20-22 with higher gusts. Apparently many others had the same though as we did. Stay an additional day and let the winds subside. One of the boats that arrived just before us was a 1926 Trumphy Yacht with a fantail, which is apparently very unusual. The MY FREEDOM was completely overhauled a few years ago. She is now a fractional ownership and comes with a crew.
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Pete secured the Steering Wheel
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A big surprise for us was the strong current, as it ripped through the marina. It was so strong, our steering wheel lock didn't stop the wheel from turning. Pete had to secure it further with line.
As Pete walked the dog after her dinner he told me to come up quickly and bring my camera. There was a circular break in the clouds, and the most unique and remarkable sunset we have ever seen. Somehow the inner circle glowed orange with darker horizontal stripes, and unseen clouds created darker, vertical rays extending through the circle. It was hard to capture, but I think I did OK.
Between the wind and rains, we both slept late. The rocking and sounds of the rains are definitely mesmerizing.
Pete had work this morning, so I read. However, once he was done with the table, I claimed it and posted photos to the blog. I found that I had a lot of photos from Georgetown. After getting frustrated fighting the program with so many photos, I opted to use Publisher to arrange the photos. Then I did a print screen and pasted it into Paint. I trimmed the arrangement, then switched back to the Blog, pasted, sized and captioned. I just have to be more mindful to standardize the borders around the photos. It is a couple of extra steps, but worth it.
Sheldon, and The Unicorn started their new season tonight. These are two of our favorite programs, so we spent the evening enjoying.
Friday, 11/13/20 ~
Beauford to Hilton Head, SC
Today: 62 miles 4.8 hours ICW ST Mile: --NA--
Total: 889 miles 120.1 hours
Winds picked up again last night, but were gone this morning. I walked about the downtown and historic district. Beauford is a beautiful, historic, southern town. The old homes are grand, the Live Oak Trees, majestic; the ironwork artistic; the flowers different from those up north; the places that plants find to grow upon intriguing; and the historic cemeteries beckoning to be explored. My walk wasn't at my normal speed, but I did walk 3+ miles, totally enjoyed the scenery and took lots of photos. I was back before noon so that we could head down to Harbortown Marina in Hilton Head.
Pete and I had reviewed the weather and currents from various sources. Tonight looks like the best time to jump. Weather is mild (60-75 degrees), breezes light 1-8 mph from the west, wave heights 1-4 feet. The current will push us down river to the ocean and at St Mary's Inlet so it will also give us a push. There is no moon, but all things considered, tonight is the best time to jump.
The skies cleared and the breezes were light. It is a short ride considering, but we did see and unusual site. While crossing Port Royal Sound, we heard a very loud splash. When I looked, I didn't see any pelicans (as they usually make this sound as they dive for fish.) Instead, I saw ray about 2 foot long, jump 5+ feet in the air!
Outside Windmill Harbor Marina, there was a sailing school or a race - - not quite sure. There were 2 classes of young racers. some were from Hilton Head Yacht Club and the others from AYC. Not sure which yacht club they belong to (definitely not Annapolis Yacht Club!) At one point the dolphins were checking out the sailors.
We continued down to Harbortown as we had arranged to arrive shortly before closing so that we could top off the tanks for the off shore jump. When we called in, we were given a slip assignment then asked if we needed a pump out. We told them we just needed fuel. It turns out that they had a yacht too off her tanks with 6000 gallons earlier and their tanks were sucked dry. NO FUEL! There is no way we can make the jump without the fuel. Pete explained our problem. She was apologetic but there was nothing she could do. She did suggest Palmetto Bay Marina, which is about 4 miles back the way we came. Pete called to check that they had fuel, which they did. Then he asked if they could put us up for the night. He was told, "No problem. You can stay on the Fuel dock."
As Pete was preparing to swing around to the dock, one of the Freedom (Share) Boats cut us off. I had seen him not paying attention to us and warned Pete. We headed to the dock once that boat was secured. The dock hands were great. The price for fuel was very reasonable and when Pete went to square up the bill, they only charged us for the fuel. Since we were only using the dock for a few hours, there is not charge. (But if we still are there in the morning, we will be charged.) That's more than fair.
We had no electrical, but it was a good evening to catch a few winks, with the hatches open, mild breezes and cool temps.
Saturday, 11/14/20 ~
Hilton Head to Fernandina Beach, FL
Today: 122 miles 18.3 hours ICW ST Mile: 716.8
Total: 1011 miles 138.4 hours
The alarm woke us up at 11:30 pm. Pete managed a solid 3 hours while I just dosed on and off.
Dog walked, boat ready and lines off by midnight. As we headed south on the river, the last ferry was heading home. We stayed out of the center and very close to the anchored boats. Even with our running and steaming lights, we still caught him off guard. He came within 100 feet of us. He then blinded us with his spot and sounded his horn. The other delicate spot was at Red 4. When heading to the Marina, we spotted an anchored float just at the water line. It once hosted one of the cylinders signs; probably "No Wake Zone." Definitely a problem maker if hit. Thankfully, we were able to spot it with the high powered light. Once past this area, we increased to cruising speed.
The stars were brilliant. There was no moon to brighten the sky. We did have some cloud cover for about 3 hours, but the stars once again sparkled magnificently.
We exited the Savannah River Inlet only being passed by the Harbor Pilot boat. We could see 4 ships lit on the horizon, but no encounters in the channel. Once we exited the channel, there was both an inbound and and outbound ships we would have encountered if we had been delayed by 10 minutes.
As predicted, winds were light, waves 3-5 and the current gods were mostly favorable. We actually picked up a number of Gulf Stream eddies, that increased our speed to the mid 8's! Our course was a direct 100 mile line from the Savannah Inlet to the St. Mary's Inlet. The temps climbed during the day from low 60's to the mid 80's.
The wave action was interesting. There were 2 different ocean waves. One from the east (5 seconds interval on our port beam) and the other from the northeast (6 second interval on our port aft quarter) while the light breeze added a small wave from the northwest. With the right timing, the boat rocked irregularly and substantially. Bailey grew increasingly anxious so I gave her an antistressor med. She spent a lot if the trip, wedged between the seat and the pedestal, and less stressed. Unfortunately, when she did get up, you could tell her rear knees were hurting.
I took the helm at nautical twilight, around 6 am. Shortly after Pete went below to sleep, I must have surprised a sleeping turtle. I didn't see him about 4 feet off my port bow, but heard him when he turned, splashed and dove. At least I think it was a turtle as I only heard and saw the splash. Sunrise was interesting, but not spectacular. The cloud bank hid the rising sun, except for a small hole on the horizon, and slight "God rays" above the cloud bank.
Once Pete was back on the helm, he saw a number of large ray's on the surface, a squid that was about 2 foot long and hundreds of brown jellyfish. They are about the size of a softball, brown on one side and cream squiggles on the other, floating about 7 inches below the surface and seek the sun with the cream side. According to Google they are Cannon Ball Jellies.
The current as strong as 10.2 mph in some areas, gave us a nice push into Fernandina Beach. We were secure at the dock by 5:15. 18 Spot messages were sent over the 17-hour trip. Needless to say, we're tired and Bailey was so looking forward to water, walk and food in that order, once we docked. She doesn't drink or eat while underway, nor will she pee on board. As Pete walked Bailey, I shut down, took the readings, straightened up the cockpit. Since we decided to go to Sister's Creek tomorrow, we don't have a 60 mile/ 9 hour day. That leaves time in the morning to catch a few more Zzz's, settle the bill and still leave by 9.
After dinner I read for a short bit while Pete napped on the sofa. Bailey was walked again and we looked forward to showers and a good might sleep!
~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K & P
