Riviera Beach

     After a good night’s sleep, Pete was up early to get a few things done for work.  The Uber driver picked us up around 9:30 am so we could pick up the rental car by 10.  We had requested a full-sized car and was pleasantly surprised when the sales rep handed Pete the keys to a Dodge Charger R/T!  With the quick pick-up, low grumble when accelerating and the great handling, I can understand why Greg loves his Challenger SRT!

One of the original
Duncan Donut Shops -
A must stop before returning to the boat!

Still amazed by the fish
that swim around the docks

   Pete had to return to complete some things for work.  After straightened up, I walked to the office to see if we could figure out the problem with the WiFi not connecting. Debbie confirmed our password and gave us a new temporary just in case, but advised us to call the WiFi support for additional assistance.

    Once back at the boat, after my walk, I defrosted the refrigerator, showered and then called support.  We need to connect to one of the hotspots with a “G” after the number.  Once I did, the system recognized us from last year, and we had access.

     After lunch, I got to drive "the beast" up to Staples and Publix, with a stop at for fuel.  We will have the car though Sunday.  This will allow us freedom until we pick up the Acura at Charleston Airport on Saturday.

     Once back, I reloaded the fridge from the completed defrosting, and quickly stored the perishables. Then I needed to make dinner quickly as it was almost 7 and we were very hungry.  After dinner we cleaned up and put away the rest of the foods, while watching the Rockefeller tree lighting special. 

     The rest of the boat needs a good cleaning, but that will have to wait.  

~ ~ ~ /) ~~ K & P

Fort Pierce to Riviera Beach, FL

Today:    53 miles, 8.75 hours, ICW, St. M 1018.2

Total:     1141.2 miles, 169.25 hours

      Once again, up before the sun.  We have a way to go today.  It will be pretty, but trying.  We have the 6 bridges to contend with today.  The fun begins in Jupiter.

     As we were leaving Fort Pierce City Marina, Pete asked, “Where are the green channel markers?  There was a whole line of them as we came in yesterday!”  Right now, we could only find one!  Exiting into the main channel, Pete found one barely touching the surface, but at least we could see the drag due to the current.  There wasn’t even a hint of current from the other 4 or 5.  Pete called and spoke with the marina manager and reported what we encountered.  He said that they just received funding to replace the current green and red private channel markers with more permanent ones. Next time we come through, they will be visible.

Our lady of leisure loves
her creature comforts

     The winds were out of the SSE at about 12, but there were gusts upward of 18-20.  We were able to do some motor sailing until the winds changed directions.  When we were successful, our speed reached 8.4; without the wind we dropped to 6.8 mph due to the current against us.

Jupiter Light decorated

     Since Ft. Pierce, we had a gray hulled sailboat behind us.  As we approached the first bridge, Jupiter’s 707, Pete slowed so that he could catch up with us and go through the bridges together. He, too, slowed down! We tried hailing him, but not successful.  When we hailed the bridge, Pete told him why he had slowed, but again that boat wasn’t listening.  We lost about 15 minutes between the slow down and waiting for him at the bridge to catch up. The same thing happened at Jupiter Federal Bridge. When the bridge tender asked him to come closer, he said that he didn’t want to get closed due to the current.  By the time we cleared Jupiter Federal, Pete had to mosey the mile to the next bridge, the Donald Ross.  SV PRELUDE finally decided to call us only to inquire if we had contacted the bridge. It was then that Pete informed him that “we had plenty of time.  We missed the 11 am opening by 3 minutes.  We now needed to wait until the 11:30.”  His response: “Oh.”  This bridge is notorious for being a very slow opening bridge and it did take about 5-6 minutes once traffic is shut down.

     The next bridge, is about 3 miles and, in the past, we were able to make it by running the engine fully open (8.2 mph without current). Unfortunately, the current was against us and we missed the opening by 6 minutes, so, Pete danced in the current for the 25 minutes until the opening.  As the bridge sounded it horn for the opening, I saw the 45-foot power boat heading north along the eastern side of the channel.  Unfortunately, this bastille bridge opened and lifted to the west.  We and PRELUDE were southbound, on the eastern side as the bridge began to rise.  The “----” (you fill in the blank) in the power boat, maintained his eastern part of the channel course.  Pete requested he move to the western side, so we could safely pass. “Dumb sail boaters.  You don’t travel that side on 95!” Pete tried to explain about our mast, but he just continued his course right at us.  Pete has to throw the engine in reverse when the ---- was 15 feet from our bow!  He continued berating us and moved only slightly, about 5 feet to the west, to pass us. Needless to say, we were speechless!

The "bird" to the right is really the drone!

     We did pass a north bound brand new 70'+, luxury, fishing boat. It was being circled by a drone! no doubt they were filming a promotional video for the boat.

     The other two bridge openings were uneventful, and we slid into our slip at 4pm.  Thankfully it was slack tide and we were able to back in.  Since this is our home for the next 2 months, it will make it easier to get on and off, fill the water and do the pump outs and most importantly, provide shade during the hottest part of the day.  The dog was walked, and we had dinner.  Early starts and fresh air poisoning made it an early night.

~~~ /) ~~ K & P

Vero Beach to Fort Pierce, FL

Today:    15 miles, 2 hours, ICW, St. M 966

Total:     1198.2 miles, 160.5 hours

     Debbie invited us for breakfast.  She made great breakfast sandwiches.  I wish I had remembered to take the banana nut bread out of the freezer last night.  Hopefully, Mike and Deb will enjoy it over the next few mornings.  Once again Bailey got quite a few of her new treats.  I know she would gladly go wherever Debbie goes. Talk about disloyal crew!

     By 9:15 we said our final good-byes and headed out.  It was a short day.  It is a bit incomprehensible to be at our destination after just 2 hours. It was an easy ride with the current.  We did get behind 7 other sailboats. Unfortunately, the last four in front of us kept varying their speed between 5 and 6, while the current had our cruising speed at 7.8.  Since we would have to wait at the bridge for everyone to catch up, we just moseyed along at their speed.  After all, it was just a 2-hour ride.

     Once docked, Pete spent most of the day working.  I did some reading and a lot of writing for the blog.  I kind of fell off the writing wagon. I also called the Vet for additional medication for Bailey’s ear.  Things are getting worse.  When we see him in the spring, he will reevaluate medications and the possibility of a biopsy.  We just feel bad for her.
  I am constantly awed by the minute to minute changes in lighting with sunrises and sunsets. Only 2 minutes separated these two photos!

    

View towards the sunset 3 minutes later

     Originally, we figured we would just push on to Riviera Beach.  However, with the close timing of the bridges today, we don’t want to arrive to the marina after dark and after they close. With the strong currents and narrow fairways, we decided to arrive tomorrow afternoon, after a slightly shorter ride, sunlight and deck hands available.  One more day of travel and then we will stay put for a while.

~~~ /) ~~ K & P

Cocoa Beach to Vero Beach, FL

Today:    54 miles, 7 hours, ICW St. M 951

Total:     1183.2 miles, 158.5 hours

Sunrise from Cocoa Beach

     As I prepped to get underway, Pete walked Bailey.  The parking lot is full, cars are looking for additional parking, hundreds of people (including kids) are around a carnival like atmosphere across the street and it is only 6:45 am!.  Today is the Half Marathon/10 K Charity Walk/Run.  The race kicked off at 7 am.  It is popular not only for being on Thanksgiving Weekend, but it runs though some special neighborhoods; closing popular streets off from traffic. We left the dock at 7:10 and by the time we were 5 miles south, we could still see hundreds of runners and walkers along the road along the western shore of the ICW.

     Today, we went through the San Sabastian area of the Indian River.  This area is populated with small waste islands that were created out of the dredged channel.  Many of the islands had boats beached, with people swimming, fishing or just wading in the shallow waters.  A few even had tents pitched on the islands.  What a cool place to camp! One sailboat, who was motor sailing through here at 4 mph, is the kind to give us good sailors a bad reputation.  He told a couple of power boats that he had the right of way as he was sailing!  Just south of there is Wabasso Beach.  It is a beautiful, windy river area, with interesting homes lining its shores.

SV RESOLVE on her mooring
with a boat already on her port side

    We slid beside SV RESOLVE, in the mooring field just after 2 PM. We will be rafting with them overnight. Here in Vero, they raft 3 boats per mooring.  Another boat is on the port side.  Once secure, Debbie started feeding Bailey some special treats, well a little more then some! Bailey was besides herself with silliness while trying not to slip overboard in her excitement.

Bailey's attention solely
 on Debbie with her treats

      We talked about cruising this year.  Usually they head over to the Bahamas after provisioning in Marathon, but this year they will be skipping Marathon.  Unsure if all the sunken boats have been removed, most of the small shops are closed and the Food Lion has raised prices now that Winn Dixie is closed for the better part of a year. Instead, they will probably jump from West Palm or Rodrigues Key.  They will again stay in the Abacos and Exumas due to Mike’s mom’s health.

      Jon picked up around 4:15 at the dinghy dock.  We then headed back to Jon and Marilyn’s new home here in Vero Beach.  We sat out in the lanai, laughing and catching up. After some hors d’oeuvres, we returned inside to have Marilyn’s delicious chicken enchilada dinner. For desert, I made an apple cheese torte. Good fun, yummy food and great friends.  A totally enjoyable evening. 

~~~ /) ~~ K & P

Daytona Beach to Cocoa Beach, FL

Today:    77 miles, 9.5 hours, ICW St. M 897

Total:     1129.2 miles, 151.5 hours

The view from our dock
 just before sunrise 

The observers to our departure
on the boardwalk destroyed by Irma

Local hangout

     We were away from the dock at 7 and dropped off the key to the dock hand with the fishing net by 7:05. We were one of 2 sailboats heading south at this time of the morning. The warming sun was cool by the clouds, but it was a pretty sunrise. As morning progressed, the clouds lessened.

More local hangouts

Ponce De Leon Light from Rockhouse Creek

      On the ICW, passing by the fishing camps before Mosquito Lagoon, there was extensive damage to almost all the docks.  It was far worse than Matthew’s damage to this area last year.  However, with all that damage, we saw very few sunken or displaced boats onto shore.

Destroyed dock with its new occupants

Floating fishing shanty

    Being the holiday weekend, we did see lots and lots of fishermen. Just outside the fishing camps, was a pontoon boat with 5 fishermen, three of which had fish on their lines, all about 8 inches and looked similar in shape to a damselfish.  The majority of fishermen were in the limited area of Haulover Canal.  At each end of the canal were 10 or more small boats with 2-4 fishermen apiece. In the canal were about 40 more boats spread out over its ½ mile length. Every open space between the trees that lined the banks of the canal we a couple of hundred people with fishing poles. There were campsites, cars and trucks.  It was remarkable to see.  It was also remarkable that one of the fishermen anchored in the middle of the channel on the western end of the canal.  He was totally blissful and ignored us when we passed.

Eastern entrance to the canal loaded with fishing boats

Can you find all 9 fisherman?

Looking back at Haulover Canal

Cloud maker over Indian River before the wind came up

Bailey likes her comfort

    The winds finally came up around 2 and we were able to do a little motor sailing. Around 4, we got a call from the harbormaster at Cocoa Village Marina.  He wanted to know how far from the marina we were and our current speed.  It turns out, they close tonight at 5 instead of 6.  Thankfully, we should be there with about 10 minutes to spare.  I rigged for a port side tie, but unfortunately, to hook up power, our 30-foot cords will not reach unless we turned the boat around.  Pete did a masterful job of doing so and the harbormaster was able to leave at 5.  While Pete walked Bailey, I headed up to the laundry room.  They have a beautiful facility; 4 washers and 4 driers in a separate room from the men’s and women’s locker with 4 showers.  After starting my two loads of laundry, I went back to the boat to cut up the vegetables and prep for dinner.  Then it was time to switch machines.  I headed up with my shower bag and took advantage while the laundry was drying.

Cocoa Village Marina at twilight

  The laundry and I were clean and dry and heading back to the boat by 7.  I finished making dinner.  By 9, we both headed to bed.  We have an early start again tomorrow, but less miles to travel.  We will be meeting Mike and Debbie, SV RESOLVE in Vero Beach tomorrow. Then we will head over to Marilyn and Jon’s (SV ESCAPADE) new home.  It will be good to see them again.

~~~ /) ~~ K & P

St. Augustine to Daytona Beach, FL

Today:    57 miles, 7.0 hours, ICW St. M 830

Total:     1052.2 miles, 142.0 hours

     Woke at 1:30 this morning to the howling winds.  Current conditions reported winds N at 29 mph with gust to 42 mph! Though it had stopped for a while, the rain has also returned.  I thought about the wisdom of traveling tomorrow, but decided to sleep on it.  Instead, Pete woke me around 5:30 and told me to turn off my alarm.  We aren’t going anywhere in this mess.  We will re-evaluate later once we get up.

    So… we got up around 8 and it appeared as if the winds might finally be lessening.  The rain promised to be spotty for the next few hours.  After breakfast, we decided it was good to go.

     As we passed the St. Augustine Inlet, you could see the angry waves pounding the inlet.  Thankfully, the ICW was pretty calm and the North wind helped speed us south.  The only hiccup was waiting for the 10:30 opening of the Lyons Bridge.  With the strong current, Pete had to work to keep PEKABU a safe distance from the bridge.  He had the engine in full reverse keeping us in place.  Once through the bridge, we had the current and the wind aiding us in reaching 8.9 mph for most of the morning.

     Monitoring 09 for the bridge openings, we had a good chuckle when the Crescent Bridge female operator replied to an inquiry, “when are your openings?” with “I am on request.”

     By noon, the rains had stopped, and the winds were breezes.  Pete was able to transfer diesel from one of the onboard fuel cans.  Hopefully, the other two will be transferred into the tank by the time we get to Riviera Beach.

     Just north of New Smyrna we began seeing lots of dolphins. Just south of it we saw a cormorant chasing another cormorant, who had an eel hanging from its mouth. It finally attempted to swallow the eel and we could see the huge lump in its throat. During the rest of the day, we probably saw more than 100 different dolphins, but only saw about 8 manatees.

     I had to do some laundry tonight, but by the time we arrived at Halifax Marina, topped off fuel, did the pump out, got settled in our slip and straightened up the boat, it was dinner time.  Pete had problems with the gate key so after dinner, it was easy to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow!” 

     Tomorrow will be another full day, so it will be another early bedtime with an early start in the morning.
      No photos today!  I even checked all the photos again.

~~~ /) ~~ K & P

Thanksgiving in Comachee Cove

     The predicted rains arrived around 5am this morning.  It was enough to awaken Pete, but I blissfully slept on.  Since we were too tired to anticipate the rains last night, he got up to set up the drip cloths in the galley area.  We have had issues with the windows leaking.  He had removed and resealed them last spring, but the butyl tape he used was dried out.  Since then it has been a challenge to find the leaking spots to seal.  As a result, we always drape the plastic over the galley along with containers to collect the drips.  To keep me from waking, he turned on the red lights we use for night cruising as was very quiet. 

     Before returning to bed he wanted to check the radar. As he went to grab his glasses from next to the bed, he realized they were not where they should be. Pete’s vision is so bad that anything more than 15 inches from his face become fuzzy blobs. He compensates well, but he really can’t see.  So, the red lights went back on and he began checking other areas of the boat where he might have left them. When they could not be found in the main salon, he tried searching by the bed. Since it was still dark outside, he needed additional light from the flashlight, which he cupped with his had in an effort not to wake me.  Unfortunately, after 20 minutes with no success, he woke and told me to be very careful where I moved or walked because they could be anywhere; in the bed, on the floor, who knows. I get out of bed very carefully, watching where I put my feet, and start searching.  He had already checked to see if he had the glasses on his forehead (which he sometimes does when he is looking at something very close up.  His close-up his vision is better than perfect!) and they were not there. After about 5 minutes, Pete starts to chuckle and calls to me.  He couldn’t figure out why, with the light from the flashlight, the patterns on the bed cover and the cover of the books by the bed were so clear.  He finally touched his face and found the glasses perched on his nose.  It took a while to stop laughing.  Apparently, looking for glasses under red lights confused his brain!

      Since it was only 6 am, we returned to bed. I was able to catch a few more zzzz’s, but Pete was wide awake.  He used the time to research dinghy motors.  With the Black Friday deals, he hopes we can get lucky. He spent quite a while researching different engines and checking out prices between Defender and West Marine.  In the end, Black Friday deals didn’t cover the engines.  We decided to order through E-bates for West Marine, Delaware.  That way we don’t have to pay sales tax or shipping and get money back from E-bates PLUS West Advantage Rewards Cash Back.  That made it quite a deal!

     When we checked in yesterday, we were told that two of the liveaboards here in the marina, were hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner for cruisers.  Unfortunately, with all the rain and wind, we never found out where it was to be.  Instead, we had our own Turkey dinner onboard, watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the Westminster Dog Show, the movie “Overboard” and some football.  I did write up some of the blog, but again the internet was poor.

     The rain was quite heavy at times, but it was the wind that was a surprise.  Our weather app on the phone showed the hour to hour forecast of winds NNW at 11 with 50 – 100 % chance of rain. However, the radar had an orange / yellow blob over St. Augustine all day long while the current conditions gave the wind speeds at 20-25 mph with gusts of 35mph!  Passage weather confirmed the higher gusts through early tomorrow morning.  Hopefully, they will have lessened up by our departure in the morning.

     We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

~~~ /) ~~ K & P

Hilton Head Island to St. Augustine, FL

Today:    184 miles, 26 hours, ICW St. M 775.6

Total:     995.2 miles, 137.0 hours

  

Great parking lot sign!

    We still planned on heading out later today, so I started a Tuscan Ham and Bean Soup in the crockpot for dinner tonight.  I totally enjoyed my walk this morning.  This community has the large, beautiful, townhomes around the marina. On the road that rings the outside of the marina homes, the houses ranged from townhomes and duplexes, smaller single family to McMansions.  All of the roads, sidewalks, mailboxes and common grounds are beautifully kept.  I can’t imagine what the HOA fees might be, but probably a lot more than I would want to spend.

Inviting walkways . . .

Beautiful homes . . .

Prepping for sailing lessons

PEKABU from across the lagoon

Surprised by Bee!

Color variations by Mother Nature

     Pete completed the final engine checks while I brushed another ½ dog off of Bailey.  I don’t know how she can have any hair left after the second brushing in 2 weeks that yielded another bag of hair.  We also got a text from Mike of SV CHEROIKA.  They and a few other boats will also be making the jump tonight also.  They will clear Port Royale Inlet about the same time we depart Windmill Marina at 2:30 pm. The rain forecasted for tonight might be accompanied by some thunder and lightning and the chance of rain has increased to 50% late tonight and early tomorrow, but we are prepared and it’s manageable.

Fall colors in the South!

Houses along the estuary

      We left as planned at 2:30. The clear skies of the morning have clouded up and by the time we were at the Hilton Head/Tybee Inlet, we could see the rains approaching from the south. The waves for the first 2 miles of the inlet were 5+ feet and from many directions.  There is substantial shoaling that contribute to these wave formations. Our plan is to head out 2 miles from the inlet and draw the line to the MOA buoy off of St. Mary’s Inlet/ Fernandina Beach.

      We were hailed by CHEROIKA. They are a few miles to our north. We will have company through the night. Those approaching showers were small, but in some cases, very intense. There was even some lightning in a couple that passed us.  The 40-50% chance of showers were 100% for quite a while. We didn’t realize in the planning of this jump that the Gulf Stream would be this close to shore.  Bailey was uncomfortable and couldn’t find a spot in which to settle in.  Usually, she plants herself on her bed, right in front of companion way and stays put, but not tonight.  She tried to stand for half the night. We had seas 5-7 feet and CHERIOKA confirmed that we were in the stream base on the water temperature of 90 degrees.  The crew from one of the other boats, SV TRUE BLUE, didn’t fare well with the wave action.  Most of her crew had become sea sick. Since we were out about 14 miles off shore, we decided to head in to about 10 miles.  Thankfully, we picked up some eddies off the Stream that increased our speed from 5.4 to 7 mph. The seas calmed down and finally, so did Bailey. I was able to catch some sleep, but Pete was awake and engaged.

     SPOT messages were sent about every 2 hours. Around 4 am, the skies cleared, and the stars were magnificent since the moon had set earlier in the night.    With the assist from the favorable eddies, we were able to arrive at the St. Mary’s MOA at the time we originally anticipated, around 6:15 am and be by the Fernandina Beach mooring field by 7. 

Sunrise at St. Mary's Inlet

Boats damaged by Hurricane Irma

Sunrise + steam and architecture = cool silhouette!

     We were lucky to grab the only available mooring ball in Fernandina Beach.  However, once the dinghy was lowered and Pete almost ready to take Bailey into shore, the dinghy engine finally gave up the ghost.  The ’92 Mercury Mariner 8 hp engine has worked like a charm until last summer.  The mechanic has gotten it working twice, but reminded us of its age and the possibility it might need replacement.  It is unfortunate that as of this morning, that time has come.  We are in strong current and it is too far to try to row to shore.  Bailey will not be able to wait for us to get to the next marina. It is 27 miles and about 4 additional hours south. Instead, he maneuvered PEKABU to the closed dock while Bailey and I walked the dock for her to take care of her “immediate issues.”
    We continued south and once again Bob 423’s notes were invaluable for transiting the thin areas just below Fernandina. We, and the 3 sailboats that preceded us had no problems.  It also helped that we came though this area at high tide.

MV WHO CARES
backing into dock for repairs

     The crew of ANDIAMO requested that we take note of bridge clearances.  For most of the trip we have seen no problems at high tide, but a few of the bridges were transited at mid- or falling-tide. However, on the ICW just south of St. John’s River, Jacksonville, the first 3 bridges might be a challenge at high tide.  One tide board measured 63’ at high tide.

MY LE GRAND BLEU

Amazing Facts:  LE GRAND BLEU was built in 2000 for an American financier.  She sold to a Russian business man in 2002 and then was given to a friend after a gambling loss in 2006.
    She is 371 feet long with a 58' beam and a 15' draft. She is powered by 2-9,730 hp engines. Her top speed is 17 knots, but cruises at 15 knots.
    She has a 73' sailboat mounted on the port side while a 68' powerboat is mounted on the starboard and has 10 guest cabins.  She also has 35 crew.

Fishing Boat with hitchhikers

The birds! The birds!

Shoreline along the Amelia River

     The areas we traveled south of the Amelia River are even prettier than that the waterway above Charleston.  The ICW meanders marshes dotted with islands of pine, palms and other trees.  There are many feeder streams that create some interesting cross currents. Apparently, the dolphins also like these currents.  We saw a pod where many of the dolphins were jumping out of the water. I am bummed. I took some photos of the dolphins, but because I had tried to photo the sunrise and changed my speed setting, my jumping dolphins were not clear. 

      After completing our journey through “Roscoe Row” in Palm Valley (where many of the docks have the street address on “Roscoe Road, Boulevard, Avenue , North or South”), the river widened.  As I was sitting at the helm, two large birds flew right in front of the bow then proceeded to fly and swerve around the boat as the mature eagle chased the juvenile eagle with the fish.  It was really cool to see up close!

Egrets just hanging out!

     There were more dolphins the further south we got on the Tolomato River, but not jumpers.  We also had the ebb current in our favor.  We actually hit 9.9 mph at our normal cruising speed, which is 6.8 –7 mph.

    It was great to finally tie to the dock at Comachee Cove Marina at 4 pm. Once secured, Pete went to register while I took Bailey for a long-deserved walk. It has been a long day. Once the boat is put back in order, we walked over to Vinny's Pizza for a quick, delicious dinner.  Bailey was walked for a last time.  It was a very early night with hopes of sleeping in in the morning.  It takes a lot more planning and awake time, I am glad we did the jump.  Georgia is more challenging and stress full than doing a jump.  Since we resume our travels on Friday, we should only be a week late for Riviera Beach Marina, our home for the next two months.

~~~ /) ~~ K & P

Mosquito Creek to Hilton Head Island, NC

Today:    67 miles, 6.5 hours, ICW St. M 588.5

Total:     771.2 miles, 111.0 hours

     Well, for once the weatherman got the forecast right.  When we woke at 6:30 the temperature was 41, but the wind chill took it down to 36 degrees. I am so glad we grabbed the extra blankets last night!  It was just hard getting up from under them.

Mosquito Creek at sunrise

     By 7:30 we were heading out.  With it still being so cold, I made up farina.  It was perfect for such a cool morning.  Once again, we are so glad we have the enclosure.  However, the sun played hid and seek with the clouds, so it took quite a while for the interior to warm up.

ARCHIMEDES and her solar panels

White, sandy shorelines instead of mud or gravel

     Half way through our travels, we could hear the Marines Corps jets doing touch-and-go’s. We passed ARCHENEMIES and I still can’t make out what make her hull once was.  Currents once again varied, but we got real lucky about 1 mile from the Ladies Island Bridge.  We had to clear the final green marker by 10:28 in order for the bridge tender to start the process. We caught just enough of the current to increase our speed so that we were able to make the opening without stopping. 

Paris Island Marine Base Warning

    We passed Paris Island Marine base after passing through Beaufort and Port Royale. There is a hospital in Beaufort that has a dock on the ICW for emergencies. Beaufort is supposed to be a wonderful stop.  Perhaps one day, we’ll be able to stop here and do some exploration.

Windmill Point homes on the ICW, Hilton Head Island

PEKABU, as the lock fills
Pete, too!

Entry to the lock is between
 the two pagodas

     Pete had done some research on marinas in Hilton Head.  He found a real gem.  We have seen its very unique entrance when we passed by here in the past.  There is a long, narrow boardwalks out to gazebos. In between is a narrow channel, that leads to a small, private lock.  When we exited the lock we were surprised to see so many boats and docks. Windmill Marina is surrounded by beautiful, southern townhomes.  The marina accommodates probably 500 boats of various sized.  Pete did some research and found that the home ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 Million. He even found a 46’ slip for sale for $56,000.  I was very motivated to walk around this beautiful development.  Even though the laundry was just done, I was trying to see if there was anything else that might need to be washed.  Windmill has by far the best deal for laundry.  It’s free!  Just have to ask the dock master for the key to the laundry.  The only negatives we could find for this marina was that the WiFi was terrible and even with our satellite dish, we could not get TV reception.  I guess the buildings are too tall around the marina.  It was a good excuse to read.

Just transited the lock - very narrow!

Marina office and fuel dock

Some of the boats in the marina

Townhomes along the marina 

     We will be heading out around 2:30 tomorrow afternoon since we plan on sailing through the night.  We will by-pass Georgia completely.  We have been keeping a close eye on the Passage Weather for the off shore forecast.  Tomorrow night definitely looks the best for the 18-hour trip, however, the forecast is now including a 30-40% chance of rain showers.  With winds only 10-15 from the NNE and seas 3-5 feet, we should be OK. Pete checked the engine and safety equipment so that everything is ready for tomorrow’s jump.

The South Carolina Yacht Club at Windmill Point
They were closed on Mondays so we could not visit!

     We plan on sleeping in later in the morning, knowing that we will be sleep deprived tomorrow night.

~~~ /) ~~ K & P