Heading South: Fernandina FL to Titusville FL Nov 29 - Dec 3, 2013

Fernandina to Titusville

11/29, 2013  At 7:00 am with the wind and current against us, and with some help from fellow boaters and dock hands, we attempted to leave the marina. We could not make the turn so Bob backed into an open area, headed the bow out, and away we went looking like pros.  Well done Bob.  

Great sunrise as we left, the weather was partly cloudy, 40 degrees, 15-20kts wind, very light chop and we were going with the tide at 8.8kts of boat speed.  

For tonight, we reserved a mooring at St Augustine but had to wait for Lions Bridge 3pm opening. 
The wind was again howling and current against us as we went for the mooring, but Bob managed to pick it up without too much trouble and I didn't hit any neighboring boats.  We watched a few boats trying to pick up their moorings, just for entertainment value.  We planned to go into town but the dinghy would not start, may have burned up impeller.  That goes on the list.






A rainbow appeared and that should be a good sign,  no guarantees however. 
















The Boat taxi came by for mooring payment.  Since now we had no transportation we stayed on board for dinner.  

Liz called, There is a good weather window and they are leaving Titusville tomorrow to start heading for Bahamas, we will miss them by a day.
 We will pick up a sail for Spot in Titusville.  

11/30 Departed St Augustine at 7:30am with several other boats.  It was drizzly, overcast, and humid.  We all had to wait at the bascule bridge.  Then the sky cleared and sun came out bringing the temp up to 76 degrees. It became partly cloudy later with the wind shifting to stern. 

We anchored around 3pm at Ponce De Leon anchorage across from a small marina and boatyard. Relaxed, did some  reading and had dinner. Bob had wanted to row in but the wind was howling and the current ripping, not a good idea. 

Running Hard Aground at Ponce Inlet

Sunday Dec 1 we departed Ponce anchorage at 7:30am and promptly ran around going out the shallow, shoaled inlet.  GPS showed the route, but not the correct one.  Hard reverse got us off the bottom but jammed the rudder and snapped a steering cable, and here were are with no steerage and an outgoing tide. 

We dropped anchor and Bob started investigating the problem and decided he needed to dive on it to really see what was going on with rudder.  Bob got set up to dive as the current was reaching full ebb, not the best time, but he managed to see  the rudder and it looked ok.

As we sat in the inlet the Army Core of Engineers dredging boat, Currituck, started dredging out the area where we ran around, a bit late for us.  

After about 3 hrs we called BoatUS and got towed to the Sealove Marina dock. 

Bob spent the rest of the afternoon working on the steering cables, the rudder appeared to be ok.  We will need a new cable made up, after checking around the local area there was no one who could do this so will have to rent a car and drive to Daytona Beach (West Marine) or Cocoa Beach. 

While Bob was working on cables I was fending off the pooping birds that arrived late afternoon.  

Had nice dinner at “Down the Hatch” restaurant. 

Dec 2  Spoke with more marina folks in am, but no one had tools needed to do job, so we rented a car and went to West Marine in Daytona Beach first, because they said they had what we needed, they did not.  Very annoying.  

Now let’s go in the other direction to Cocoa Beach where there is a sail and rigging shop that has most of what we need.   At least the owner knew his stuff and cut us a length of wire rope and nicropressed it.  

Then off to a 138 year old hardware store, Travis Co, to pick up the additional hardware needed.  What a cool place I could have spent the whole day there. 

Bob thought a side trip to Ron Jon’s surf shop would be a good idea, so off we went to an enormous store with a surfing museum attached, what a place. Bob picked up some T-shirts and we head back to enterprise to get our ride back to the boat sitting quietly at Sea Love Marina.

Bob worked late into the night installing the cables but discovered that the rudder was pushed up about 1/2” and the cables would not line up properly.  Will have to figure out what to do next. Right now he is thinking we should haul it out and check it.  
It’s midnight and time to go to bed.

Dec 3  Gave Jamie a call in the am and after discussion with him we decided to make the run to Titusville for possible haul out.  It’s a fairly straight 4/5 hr run and there should be little pressure on rudder or steering cables.  we did encounter some shallow spots, but since it was hight tide we were in good shape since the dredger had also been in the area.  

Haulover Canal

After a fairly straight forward run with some interesting scenery, we arrived in Titusville around 2:30pm and called Westland Marina, no response, did a sail by, but no one there so picked up a mooring outside the basin at the City Marina.  

Bob thought that the steering was better, so he dove on the rudder and noted that it had it appeared to be resetting and the cables were no longer rubbing the quadrant.  
We saw the rocket launch, that was fun and then we rowed the dinghy into the marina. 
Budget picked us up for our rental car, we set up a 7 day stay at $18/day with the City Marina and rowed back out part way to boat and then got a tow from some fellow boaters.  
We packed up, rowed back in, left dinghy at the dinghy dock and drove to Orlando to drop off rental car and check into the Hyatt Regency at the airport.  
We found an Italian restaurant, had nice meal and back to hotel for some sleep. 
Leaving for Boston on JetBlue tomorrow morning. 

Heading South: Charleston SC to Fernadina FL 11/25 - 11/28, 2013

Charleston SC to Fernandina FL

11/25:  7:45 am departure From Charleston City Marins. The wind pinned us to dock, but we got off fine with a few extra hands pushing us along.  We forgot to check the bridge schedule, the bascule bridge was not opening till 9am, so we anchored off to the side and had breakfast.  The wind picked up to 25kts, but it was clear and sunny with a temp of 36 degrees.  We anchored at 5pm just outside of Beaufort SC at Ladies island in factory creek since the bridge to town would not open till 6pm.  The forward head faucet had been left on and now there was now no water in the tanks.  I think I had bumped it when putting things away.  Bummer, we had just filled it.  Fortunately I had  filled up the gallon jugs as back up, even though Bob had scoffed at me.  Who appreciates it now???

11/26:  We departed from Ladies Island, factory creek at 6:30 am to make the bridge opening. 

It started out nice but quickly became overcast with some sprinkles about 52 degrees.  What do they say about red sky in the morning????

We fueled up at Thunderbolt Marine, Savanah Ga, and filled the water tanks again, in the now pouring rain.  The dock master was not very enthusiastic but did take one line for us, gave us the hose and went back to his office.  

The wind picked up but it was warm, this was also about to change. 

Bob checked the weather and found that gale force winds and possibe water spouts were predicted.  Oh joy!  So we found a spot off the ICW to sit it out for the rest of the day.  Breakfast Creek was fairly protected, but still lively with 43kts winds throughout the night.  

11/27:  Departed Breakfast creek at 7:25am in 29kt winds, dark clouds, and rain.  Looks like the storm covers the entire east coast, but we are close to the bottom end of it.  Our first little bit of excitement was a VERY shallow crossing that we dredged slowly through.  There are too many spots with shoaling made worse with the high winds.  As we crossed two sounds close to the ocean the winds picked up to 42kts, the waves 3 to 4’ and we were continually sprayed with salt water as we headed just off the waves.  The winds were incredible, healing us over as though we had sail up.  And yes all the hatches leaked, but this time I had everything covered. 

  It was a long slog to get to our closest doable anchorage, Buttermilk sound at 4pm.  Nothing buttermilk about todays will ride.  Tomorrow is supposed to be better, cold but less wind and some sun. 

There actually was a sunset, nice that the sun came out at the end of the day, gotta love those black menacing clouds.  Salad for dinner and bed. Tired. 

11/28 Happy Thanksgiving!  At a very cold 6:30am we leave the anchorage with steam rising from the water, sun coming up, 9kts wind, light chop, and back into winter clothes and ski gloves.  

Crossing the St Simon sound was much better than last two days.  Going into Jekyll creek was again shallow, -.7 and we dredged our way up to the Jekyll creek bridge.  OMG!  This it nuts!

Crossing the St Andrew sound was good also, and we put out the jib, and enjoyed the slack tide.  

A call to Fernadina Marina, on Amelia Island was made for reservations and we pulled up on the inside facing dock in a long line of boats, two  friendly deck hands help tie us up. 








 There were lots of boats pulling up all day that was fun to watch, but the showers were calling.  When the train goes by it sounds like it is going right through the showers, just a little unsettling.  

A few recommendations were made for places having Thanksgiving dinner (2). We selected Jack and Diane's, a funky place, with funky clientele, and had a nice time.  

 On way to and from the boat we walked through the village checking out all the closed shops, and local color, its a very cute place. 

Back at the boat, amaretto was being served over ice, in the solarium.  It turned out to be a nice way to spend Thanksgiving.  Welcome to Florida

Heading South: Portsmouth VA to Charleston SC Nov 19 - 24, 2013

Portsmouth VA to Charleston SC

11/19: We decided to have Ocean Marine Yacht Center do the oil change, since it should only take about 20 minutes, and we did not have what we needed to do it ourselves.  This turned into another project, the hose for the oil and transmission fluid was crossed, this we corrected and after two hours the oil was changed.  

We left the dock at 12:20pm and headed down the ICW to Great Bridge.  The Great Bridge lock was not working properly and could only open at low tide.  Since we were there before dead low tide, we anchored off the ICW, had lunch, got stuck in mud, worked our way out and about 4:15 pm went went through the lock with 3 sail boats and one large power boat.   The Great Bridge opened at 4:30 so we all made it through. Some boats went into the marina but we pulled over to the free dock and tied up for the night.  Two other boats were already there and helped with the lines.  A light dinner and wine and the day is done.

11/20:  We departed at 6am, got through the first swing bridge and saw a nice sunrise on the way.  It was calm, cold and clear, and with the heater going in the "solarium" it was nice and toasty.  

We passed a sailboat from Hull, MA  with three older men on board, they were with the group that went throughout the lock and bridge with us. They apparently kept going last night and ran aground at one of the many turns.  Tow BoatUS was pulling them off the bank as we went by.  And that is why you don't do the ICW at night.  

The Alblemare crossing was rough with 3ft swells and 25kt winds.  We made it to Tuckahoe PT, which is just in front of pungo/alligater canal, at 5pm.  It was a very shallow entry into the anchorage.  







11/21: 6:30am departure from tuckaho creek to the 20 mile canal.  It was overcast with some sprinkles, 50 degrees and not much wind in the canal. Bob took this opportunity to rinse off the windows.  

We need to ask Kinder what is the best way to clean the vinyl glass.

We started down the Pungo River around 10am. There was a light chop with 10kts of wind out of the NNW.  We contacted Oriental Marina for a slip and pulled in late afternoon.  There was about .3’ beneath the boat.  

The people were very helpful and friendly, This appears to be a local spot at their popular tiki bar, even in the cold.  



This is a working harbor with Lots of fishing vessels. 
Dinner at the local restaurant was not the best.  

11/22:  We look our time in the morning and had a late departure at 8:50am. 

The conditions were great, clear, flat calm water,

We made it to Beaufort NC around noon and headed out into the same conditions.  

Lots of fishing boat were in the channel, lots of birds were enjoying the scraps. It was a nice way to start our outside run to Charleston. 

BUT, it's all about to change.  We encounter 25kts of wind, on the nose, with 3 to 4’ swells also on the nose. We had to go around the Cape Fear shoals which brought us out too far where it was much worse.  So as soon as we could we headed in towards shore.
 just slogging along. Incredible! 

11/23:  At 8:30 am we took the Little River Inlet to go back to ICW, since we were not going to make it to Charleston before another storm hit.  It was overcast with rain and mist, but at least the seas were calming down as we entered the inlet and  we needed a rest from the bad conditions.  
The ICW was good except for the driving rain, which did wash off the salt that covered the boat.  Water plants covered the ICW, it was a bit weird, and trying to avoid them was tricky.  We did have to stop to remove some debris from the rudder.

The most common scene along the way, other than the water plants, was lots of golf courses, and condos across the canal from the large estates, nice view.    

Little fast fishing boats (carolina skiffs) were everywhere, they only use one speed, full throttle.  

We grabbed a buoy in Georgetown SC at 4:30pm.  It was a bit shallow but doable.  Several groups of derelict boats decorated this old style harbor.  We needed some sleep and crashed early.

11/24:  6:45am departure in very cold weather, N wind at 8kts, clear sunny, light chop and increasing winds as we headed toward Charleston.  

There was some interesting scenery along the ICW.  You had to watch out for low spots as we crossed intersecting rivers.   

The duck hunters had some of the most amazing floating boat blinds, all trying to look natural to fool the ducks.  Not sure you have to try that hard.  

The wind was howling by the time we crossed over the bay to get to Charleston City marina.  They docked us at the very end of the megadock with wind pushing us hard onto the dock.  We made it just fine with some help from dock hands. 

As always, the mega dock had some extreme mega yachts, very nicely appointed yachts and the clampetts squished in between.  A shower and Laundry were mandatory at this point. Dinner at Hymans was good, took a cab back to marina, then the long cold walk back to boat, we were at the furthest point out.

Heading South: NEB to Norfolk VA Nov 15 -18, 2013

Let's try again to start our Journey south.

Friday Nov 15: At 7:30am we start South again, our destination is Norfolk, we leave on an outgoing tide, with 19kts of  SSW wind. At the Newport entrance the waves were stacking up from 3’ to 6’ft Plus.  Halfway to Block Island the wind picked up to 23kts and the occasional 12’ wave made for a rough ride.  At long Island we were at 30kts and going a slow 4 kts, as the waves crashed over the bow. Everything was getting wet inside and out, all hatches and many portholes leaking. The rocking and rolling helped spread around any loose stuff below.  There was a 60' Oyster heading south also so we got to watch him bounce around for a while.  Nice to have company I guess.

Sat Nov 16:  the light couldn’t come too early, the winds and waves started to slow, the skies were as gray as our spirits.  We had not eaten and it made for some queasy times.   Instead of going along the coast we headed directly across to Norfolk to make up for lost time. We had to adjust the main sail, it was stuck.

 Lots of draggers were out and pods of dolphins kept us company.  As the day progressed we lost all the wind and got rain and 2-3’ rolling seas.  Off Atlantic City the seas calmed to about 1 to 2 ‘ rollers, it was overcast, wind at 6kts, and we were traveling at 7.9kts, the lasagna was in the oven, Bob reading a book, no one in sight.  

A little dark colored bird landed on the railing and tried to figure out how to get in out of the rain. He hopped around the stern and back to railing and would look at us and chirp, with attitude.  Time for the bird feeder!  

This all sounds like a very relaxing sail, with not a care in the world, the worst is over; 

BUT WAIT, it’s just about to begin.  

At about 5pm near Cape May we decide to transfer the 40 gals of fuel from the aft tank to the main tank.  The fuel pump made all the correct sounds so we thought it was successful.

11/17/13  2:00am:  Apparently the fuel transfer pump was no longer working, bummer!  OH and by the way the fuel gauge is not working. 

So time for calculations, and dip the tanks, which requires taking apart the salon bench and floor and pull the mattress(s) off the aft bunk, and unscrew the tank access.  We confirm that the 40 gallons did not transfer, not going to make it without the 40 gallons.  

So let’s fix the pump, nope, impeller melted, all efforts fail (Bob spent a lot of time on this) 

How about cutting up the fresh water hose and using the Dewalt drill pump and run it from aft tank to main tank, good idea, burned up that pump.  

How about just use the hose and suck the end to get the flow going, bad diesel taste, spit spit, and only a trickle comes through. Not rewarding at all.  

How about using the 6 gal gas can and grey hand pump from dinghy (to fill gas can) and transfer the fuel by hand.  OK, that was annoying but there is more fuel in the main tank. The boat reeks of diesel.

To get all the fuel out of aft tank lets use the bigger blue dinghy pump and tape the end to the hose to keep it from leaking, that worked, too bad we didn't think of that earlier.  
This is the only time I thought it was OK to take a picture.  

But by now, no sleep, boat is a major mess, and we still don’t think there is enough in the tank. sooo time to call BoatUS for a gas delivery, OK they can do that at 2 pm.

Now there is fog (less than 1/4 mile vis) and we are in the middle of the Cheasapeake bay channel at marker C2 with a coast guard cutter coming up the channel blowing his horn.  I did contact them and advise of our situation; they didn't run over us.

After we found BoatUS in the fog, the fuel was quickly and successfully transferred and we headed into Willoughby Bay for the night.  Heated up Lasagna, and crashed. OMG, What a night...

11/18/2013 We went across the bay and fueled up at Blue water Yacht Ctr, the closest one we could find and the most expensive, of course,  and then headed to Ocean Marine Yacht center in Portsmouth VA.  We pulled up to the facing dock on the canal side. 
Time for laundry, showers, and the required 50hr new engine check in the afternoon, all good.  Decided to go out for dinner in Norfolk at Hell’s kitchen and had a great meal and a fun ride on the ferry.  Alls well that ends well.  ;-}

Rudder post leak repair Nov 10 - 15

NOV 10 - 15 rudder post leak repair 

Sunday Nov 10, 2013 Jamie, came by and checked out the rudder post leak.  Jamie, Bob and Bill put their heads together and up with a solution to set a new fiberglass tube in the rudder post raising the seal further above the water line.  We also discovered a bigger problem with the rudder quadrant bolt, it was bent and twisted, which could cause loss of rudder control (steerage) if it sheared off. 

The Genset was next, it was blowing 3 amp fuses. Bill, Bob and the NEB electrician worked on that and discovered it was wired for 240 volts not 120 volts.  Rewiring it for 120 did not work, now we believe the regulator is wrong.  Go figure. 

Sally gave Bill and I a ride home to Portsmouth NH. We were getting out of town just as a nasty storm was approaching 

Monday Veteran’s day Nov 11, 2013.  

I returned with the truck to find Bob working in the aft lazarette digging out the large rubber seal at the bottom of the rudder post.  It took all day and Bob was exhausted. After using many different tools I went to Home Depot and bought Bob a Dremmel.   It made the job easier but still a long process.  

While Bob worked on the rudder I worked on reorganizing just about everything.  I will never find anything.

Tuesday Nov 12

We woke up to snow!!!  I guess we didn’t get out before snow fall. 

Wed Nov 13 - I continued to clean the boat, while Bob continued to work on the rudder post and quadrant bolt. 

Thur Nov 14  I had lunch with Kathy then dropped off truck at Jays since we plan to leave again on Nov 15th.