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10/6/2003 from home (Burlington, VT)
The boat is packed (well almost), there is snow on the mountain tops and it is time to go south. We will depart tomorrow morning and should be in Whitehall, NY tomorrow (Tuesday) night. Wednesday night will be the Troy, NY area and Thursday we should be in Catskill, NY to get the mast put back up. The weather forecast is good for the start of the trip, sunny days and cool nights.
The plan is to travel to Jacksonville, FL, arriving around the 1st of December, leave the boat at a yacht club/marina for the months of Dec, Jan, and part of Feb. while we come back to Vermont to spend Christmas and some time in the cold weather. By Feb., we will have enough time in the cold and will be ready to go back to FL. From Jacksonville, we will either go to the Bahamas or Key West - will decide which later.
So until Thursday, I will close now and go back to packing.
Leonard
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10/15/2003 from Chesapeake City, MD
The trip down the lake started at 7:30 AM when son-in-law Steve dropped us of at LCYC. We stopped about 7 miles north of Whitehall, NY when we realized we would not get there before lock 12 closed and we would have to stay at one of the marinas before the lock. Instead, at one of the wider sections of the channel, we pulled off to the Vermont side and anchored in 12 ft. A few minutes later, another sailboat, also southbound, anchored a little further south.
First night on Lake Champlain
The next morning after a quiet night, we got underway with the other sailboat just ahead of us. As we got the narrower parts of the channel we encountered fog such that we had trouble seeing the boat ahead and where the channel went. We were happy the other sailboat was leading the way. Eventually we made it to Whitehall and, once in the canal, had no problems with fog for the rest of the day.
Fog in the morning
It does seem like we have problems with the first lock we come to. In April, the stern got a small scratch at the first dismal swamp lock when the bow swung out and the stern in which happens when I back down to stop the boat when using a port side tie-up. The same thing happened again in Whitehall where southbound boats must tie up to the port wall because of the way water enters the lock from the starboard side. Again the bow swung out and the stern in before we got things under control. The only damage this time was a black mark on the nose cone of the new wind generator which I had tied off such the blades wouldn't be damaged if the stern swung towards the lock wall. I just hadn't expected the stern to get that close to the wall. The rest the locks we did with a starboard tie up and no more problems.
We spent the night tied up on the entrance wall of lock 4. We
had been following the other sailboat through the canal and all the locks
and it was tied up just ahead of us. The boat belongs to the master
carpenter building the canal boat "Lois McClure" for the Lake Champlain
Maritime Museum who is going to the Bahamas for the winter.
Lock 4 Wall in the morning
Replica of Dutch Sailing Ship in Albany, NY
Old lighthouse on the Hudson River near the entrance to Catskill, NY
The next day after a little fog in the morning we made it to Catskill, NY and started getting the boat ready to step the mast. By the time we walked into town, the library was closed. So instead sending e-mail, we went out for dinner at the Firehouse Pub and to bed for the night.
The following morning the mast was stepped and the rest of the day was spent get sails back on and the solar panel back up. There was heavy fog again in the morning which delayed the departure of a couple of Canadian boats also heading south.
We stayed another night at the marina and left the following day in
light fog which lifted by mid-morning. In the Kingston area, we spotted
what we identified as "Tundra Swans" in several groups on the river.
The anchorage for the night was behind Pollepel Island south of Beacon,
NY. The island has the ruins of a castle which had been used as a
munitions depot in earlier times. We didn't try to go ashore. We
spent a quiet night except for the sounds of the freight trains on the
western side of the river and the high speed commuter trains that
run down the east side.
Ruins on Pollepel Island (South of Beacon, NY)
The next day saw us past West Point getting as far as New York City where we anchored north of the George Washington Bridge on the New Jersey side of the river just off the Palisades. We now have 60 feet of 5/16 chain on the primary CQR anchor which keeps the anchor line from wrapping around the keel when the river currents swing the boat around. This is especially a problem when the current and wind are from opposing directions.
Looking at New York City under George Washington Bridge
Palisades Park on New Jersey shore in the morning
Ellis Island National Park in New York Harbor
Statue of Liberty in New Your Harbor
We are now in the Chesapeake City, MD anchorage which is about half
way through the C&D Canal. We made a long hop from north of New
York City to Cape May, NJ and then up the Delaware Bay and to here leaving
NYC Monday morning and arriving here Tuesday afternoon. We had a
beautiful trip from New York with following winds and clear moonlight skies.
We arrived in Cape May in the early morning and listened to the weather
forecast of a coming cold front with first strong south winds then a switch
to strong west/northwest winds. We decided to take advantage of the south
winds and continue on up Delaware Bay. Our plan is to stay here until the
cold front passes and things quiet down. We are planning to go to Baltimore
next - just not sure which day.
Lynnea Sailing in the Atlantic off the New Jersey coast
Sunset at sea off the New Jersey coast
From Chesapeake City anchorage with a large ship in the main channel
Antares in the Chesapeake City anchorage as seen from the bridge
The library is closing and will send more at a later time.
Leonard
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10/18/2003 from Baltimore, MD
We arrived yesterday (Friday) afternoon and are staying at the Inner Harbor Marina. The west winds blew hard all day Wednesday and we had both anchors out to hold us in place. We left Chesapeake City Thursday about noon on the high tide after spending about 20 minutes of washing sticky mud off the anchors which had been well buried by the winds. The entrance to the anchorage is very shallow and boats that left at low tide were running aground. We spent Thursday night in a narrow, shallow anchorage up Turner Creek off the Sassafras River. The tide was out when entered and even a bit more out when we left and the keel drug in the mud a little getting in and out.
Yesterday was cloudy and with a north wind but not quite enough to sail
down wind. It was chilly out on the bay and it was nice to get into
the harbor for the evening. Today the sun is out, and it is very
comfortable. Last night was $5 night at the aquarium so we took advantage
of this special deal along with what seemed like most of children of Baltimore.
Today the Baltimore marathon is in progress about a block from the boat,
so there is plenty to see and do.
The Inner Harbor Marina at Baltimore, MD.
Our mast is just visible on the leftmost finger dock.
We are playing tourist today and plan on heading for Annapolis
tomorrow.
Get back to you again from the next library.
Leonard
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10/19/2003 from Annapolis, MD
We had a nice time in Baltimore. Yesterday we spent most of the day walking and sightseeing the various neighborhoods around the waterfront. Dinner was at a brew pub and after a pint of beer, we went back to the boat and fell asleep during the first inning of the world series game on TV.
This morning there was a major bicycle event in the park next to the marina. There were bicycles everywhere. We finished the laundry, did some last minute shopping and departed around noon.
The winds were right for once and we sailed all the way to Annapolis. We arrived just in time to see the end of the power boat show and were lucky enough to pickup a city mooring right off the show site. The show has blocked the dinghy dock and we had to take a bit of dinghy ride and hike to get into town.
We are writing this from a bookstore/coffee house just across the street from where the boat show is being dismantled. It is getting dark. We have had an ice cream dessert and now it is time to go back to the boat for dinner.
We haven't decided where we will head tomorrow or when we will have a chance to e-mail again. But everything has been going well and we are enjoying the trip.
Leonard
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10/21/2003 from St. Michaels, MD
We left Annapolis yesterday as they were pulling up pilings and ferrying docks away from the boat show. We really had front row seats both Sunday night and Monday morning with the boats parading past (at low speed due to no wake zone) so it was interesting.
We dinghied into Annapolis to go to the Post Office and run a few errands
before we headed out toward St. Michaels on the eastern part of the bay,
arriving in time to find a nice spot to anchor in the harbor off the maritime
museum there. We were able to find a good anchorage and given today's
weather (lots of S & SW winds) opted to lay over and visit the maritime
museum here. We dinghied ashore (we're getting good at launching the dinghy
and attaching the outboard now) and went exploring before dark. St. Michaels
is a bit touristy, but nice. We found a convenient grocery store
not far from the dock to
resupply our larder and also got some good crab soup to go at the
restaurant.
Antares at anchor as viewed west from the Maritime Museum lighthouse
A skipjack being repaired and the main part of town to the south
Today we are touring through the Maritime Museum. It is a lot like the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, but with an emphasis on Chesapeake Bay activities. It has grown a lot since the 20 some years ago we last visited. We are also enjoying walking through the town. We will head either to Oxford (where we had a tremendous thunderstorm in 1980 and didn't see much other than waves) or back to the western shore to the Solomons area on the Pautuxent River.
So far the weather has really been nice - most days are sunny and milder than we'd have had at home, and the nights aren't all that cold since the water is still about 60 F. It is supposed to get cold tonight - they are forecasting frost warnings - in the western sections of the area. We'll just snuggle down under our sleeping bag and fleece blankets until morning. Hopefully the wind switch will not come in the wee hours before dawn.
It is quite nice not to have to be anywhere at any given time. Much less stressful than having deadlines. I asked Leonard if he wanted to call his (ex)-boss and thank him for retirement, maybe he'll send him a post card from Key West.
That's all for now. Don't know when we'll find another library
or
place where we can use e-mail.
Lynnea
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11/2/2003 from Hampton, VA
We're back in contact with civilization again. We don't find much in
the way of libraries when we're hanging on the hook.
After a bit of indecision we left St. Michaels and headed to Oxford, also on the eastern shore. In 1980 we had a huge weather front come through while we were anchored out and only got to see a bare minimum of the town before rushing back to the boat to reset the anchor. True to form, as we approached Oxford, the sky darkened, it started to rain and the wind came up. We even had some flashes of lightening, so rather than try to fine a place to anchor in what looked to be a rather small harbor, we anchored in Plain Dealing Creek across the river from town where we spent most of the next day waiting for the wind to let up a bit. We had sailed 40 some miles to have gone about 5 miles further south as the crow flies.
Sunset from Plain Dealing Creek north of Oxford, MD
The next day, the wind died just before dark, so we pulled anchor and went over to Oxford and found a place to anchor for the night with plans to visit the town in the morning. It is a very charming town with lots of interesting old homes, but the library was about the size of our boat and was not connected to the net. We left about noon and wanted to go the Solomons Island area on the western shore, but realized we would get there too late in the afternoon so we anchored out in Dun Cove on the eastern side of Tilghman Island and went to Solomons the next morning.
We spent several days in the Solomons, MD area anchored back up Mill Creek to wait out a weather front. There seem to be a lot of Mill Creeks in these parts. We visited its maritime museum and walked through the town on Sunday, but didn't see anything like a library anywhere. The museum has a large collection of fossils taken from the limestone cliffs along this section of Chesapeake Bay. Coming back from the grocery store, we got to watch remote controlled sailboat races at the museum.
On Monday between showers we dinghied up the creek about as far as we
could go. It was interesting to see how many boats were tied up on
docks much further upstream than we would have thought possible given the
depths on the chart (usually 1 - 3 feet!). The awaited storm didn't
really do anything other than rain and change wind direction, but it was
good to take a day off for rest.
Solomons Anchorage
We departed on Wednesday morning after stopping to get some diesel and headed over to Tangier Island in hopes of getting a good crab dinner. It seems that we are now "past season" so almost everything was closed. We did enjoy walking around the island - much of which was under water since it was at high tide and also they had received several inches of rain the night before.
We had to tie up to pilings in a cross current to get into the slip at the marina. We managed quite well considering how much we love doing pilings. The only hitch was we were bow into the dock, rather than stern to, which made disembarking problematic since the "finger dock" was about 3 feet long and only one plank wide at the end and to get to it we would have to climb over the bow pulpit. We felt really good while we watched a big power boat come in with twin screws and a bow thruster who managed to hang himself up sideways on the pilings several times while his wife looked on in disgust. Eventually he opted to tie up on the one face dock available, and that wasn't very graceful either.
When we went to the harbor master's house to pay I found a very loving cat who they said like to stow a way on boats. We figured he couldn't get on ours since I (Lynnea) had such a hard time getting off. But when we came back to the boat to get the camera, he came along and hopped up like it was nothing and wanted to spend some quality time in my lap. I made sure not to entice him the next morning - they said some folks had to return because he had stowed away on board only to be discovered after they had departed.
Lynnea with the friendly Tangier Island cat
Crab Shacks on the other side of the entrance channel. There were no
homes on that side of the channel. The fisherman got to their big work
boats by small skiffs.
A broken lawn mower used as a boat mooring.
At high tide the boats were just at the water's edge.
From Tangier Island, which by the way is in Virginia, we headed for the Deltaville, VA area and made our way up the north branch of Jackson Creek to anchor. The depths were shallow, about 9 ft, but we had no problems going in to anchor. However, the next morning, as Leonard was on deck stowing the anchor, I ran us aground while leaving the anchorage. The boat backed off without a problem and we proceeded out the way we came in the night before. Then, Leonard proceeded to run us aground when he got off to the side of the channel. Again, the boat backed off easily and we went on our way south.
Following a recommendation in our cruising guide, we headed up Mobjack Bay and wound our way up the East River to anchor in Woodess Creek. That night we had a beautiful sunset and it was very peaceful until the waterman came by in the morning to check his crab pots. I would have liked to spend the day dinghing around the area - lots of places to explore, but the larder was getting stretched so we headed back out and then up the York River to a place that was supposed to be convenient to shopping.
A crab boat pulling pots just after sunrise.
I'm not sure what convenient means to the waterway guide, but after going several miles up the creek by dinghy and finally through what amounted to a drainage ditch we could see the back of the shopping center as advertised. HOWEVER, the only way we could see to get ashore was to wade through knee deep water of questionable origin and leave the dinghy in a very remote place with no way to secure it. We went back to the boat to finish up what few odds and ends remained in the 'fridge.
We arrived in Hampton, VA this noon, in time to see the Caribbean 1500 drift out toward the ocean on their start. We are currently docked at the Hampton Yacht Club and once again in search of food and water. We found the library on the hike to store so here we are.
I still need to figure out where to do the laundry, but it's warmer here now, and I haven't hit my summer clothes yet. The weather is warming up and I guess I won't need my fleece tops for a few more days.
Hampton is a nice town, but almost everything is closed on Sunday. We are enjoying our walk, and who knows, maybe we'll find the laundromat yet. People have strange ideas about what constitutes "too far to walk" which is what we normally hear when we ask for directions. For the most part it is only a nice jaunt.
Don't know where we'll go next, we'll leave that 'til later. We still have almost a month before we have to get serious. The weather is supposed to be warm and the winds light for several days yet. We did have some nice sails to and from Tangier with enough wind to get us most of the way before dark and we enjoyed being a sailing vessel.
Lynnea
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11/12/2003 from Beaufort, NC
This is the latest installment of our travel log. We arrived yesterday
and anchored off the north side of Beaufort in the Town Creek anchorage
Today we do laundry and re-provision for the next stage of the trip.
So I am typing and Lynnea is at the laundromat.
The last note was from Hampton, VA and I am having trouble remembering the stops since then. I think we left on Tuesday noon stopping in the Norfolk - Portsmouth anchorage off the Elizabeth River for a quiet evening with only a occasional wake from the passing tugs and barges. On Wednesday, we motored most of the day past the Norfolk bridges and down the Virginia Cut canal into the Currituck Sound. We were entertained by the Navy fighters doing low passes off a Naval training base for several hours.
The Norfolk Battleship Museum as seen from our anchorage in Portsmouth,
VA.
There is a canal between Currituck Sound and the North River off Albemarle Sound with the small town of Coinjock about halfway along the canal. We spent the night at a marina there. We tried out their hot tub and showers - was quite nice. The hot tub water motion seem to bother Lynnea in that she had trouble with her balance afterward - seasick from the hot tub!
After an another quiet night and talking to some of the other travelers, we left the next morning with light fog at the marina which turned to heavy fog when we left the canal and entered the river. I had set GPS courses and we had the radar going, so we didn't have much trouble, but we kept found boats anchored off the channel waiting for the fog to lift or someone to come along they could follow. Our biggest problem would be the big power boats that would come charging up behind us. We would pick them up on the radar and eventually they would appear out of the fog just behind us. We really hoped they saw us on their radar as well. About halfway across the sound, the fog lifted and the wind started to blow from the south, the direction we were motoring.
Later that afternoon, we got a fresh water rinse from a rain shower just as we were approaching the Alligator River where I had planned to spend the night at anchor. The visibility got bad with the rain and we had to spend some time next to a channel marker waiting for the rain to let up. The radar did not find the next channel marks in the heavy rain and I hadn't programmed any GPS way points ahead for this part of the trip. Just like the old days before GPS and radar. We did get anchored and spent a quiet night just off the channel in the river.
Next morning, Friday I think, we motored down the Alligator - Pungo Canal. As we entered the canal, we saw an eagle eating a fish in a tree on the edge of the canal. Once out of canal in the Pungo River, we actually sailed the rest of the way to Belhaven, NC and anchored in the harbor. We spent the next day exploring the town and getting more provisions. We decided to stay the night and spent some time exploring the harbor from the dinghy.
Sunday, we left Belhaven and took a side trip sailing up the Pamlico River to the small town, Bath, which our waterway guides had described as one of the original towns of North Carolina and also a home to the pirate Blackbeard. It also had a free town dock that we stayed at. The town is small, about 4 streets, and some historic buildings. We toured the whole thing in about a hour. The nuts had fallen from the pecan trees and we filled our pockets picking up ones we found on the ground. We enjoyed shelling and eating them back on the boat after which it was dark and time for bed.
The town dock at Bath, NC. We were the only boat there.
The next morning leaving Bath, we sailed back down the Pamlico River toward the sound. We thought about taking a sail out into the Pamlico Sound on our way to Oriental but the wind was blowing hard and due to shift which would turn a pleasant sail into a bash to windward. So we took the land channel over to the Neuse River and then had the wind off stern for some good sailing. By this time, the wind had built some good size waves which required constant attention at the helm and the sailing became work.
We are one of many boats heading south and, since Oriental has a limited anchorage area, we decided to explore the area opposite Oriental going up the South River. As it happened a small fleet of boats decided we had a good idea, came in after us, and headed further up the river from where we had stopped. We had chosen a spot off the cemetery of an abandoned town. The wind died down during the night and, in the morning, we went ashore to look at the cemetery which was founded in 1810. We did find a few gravestones from the civil war but nothing earlier. The land around it was posted and we were hearing gun fire, so we went back to the boat.
The weather which had been blue skies when we went ashore turned foggy as we got ready to leave. Once again back to GPS courses and radar. One has to be careful as the GPS points are typically a buoy or a fixed mark. Following the GPS blindly in heavy fog, you will hit the buoy or mark if you are not watching.
As we leave the South River, the fog rolls in.
Once back out in the Neuse River the skies cleared and we continued on our way to Beaufort. We plan on spending a couple of days here as the forecast is for strong winds and the bridges south of here don't always open in strong wind conditions.
Besides, Beaufort is a nice town to visit.
Leonard
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11/17/2003 from Georgetown, SC
After the last note from Beaufort, NC, we spend a very windy day on the boat at anchor listening on the radio to tales of various boats dragging and of the bridges refusing to open because of the high winds. It was too windy to leave the boat to go ashore.
At anchor in Town Creek, Beaufort, NC with 30 Knot winds.
The next day the winds were somewhat less and we continued on pulling up our two anchors and getting fuel at the marina the first thing in the morning. We were underway by 8:30 AM and, as we left the Beaufort/Morehead city area and turned into Bogue Sound heading west, the wind increased to 15 to 20 knots right on the nose. We motored and splashed along most of day covering the boat in salt.
We planned to anchor for the night in Hammock Bay which is a part of Camp LeJeune, a marine training base. As we approached the camp, we found the intracoastal waterway was closed for live ammo firing practice. All the big power boats who had sped past us were also waiting. After about 20 minutes, the all clear signal was given and 4 power boats and 6 sail boats raced to get to the next bridge which only opened on the hour. The bridge tender did keep the bridge open for the last sail boat which wasn't us - we beat him by about 5 minutes.
This also meant we'd all arrive at the anchorage at the same time. Fortunately not all the power boats went in and there was room for everybody. One power boat did come back because there was no room at the nearby marinas. It was a quiet night with temperature outside getting into the 40's.
The next morning we got underway early in order to catch the bridges. some of which only open on the hour - others on the hour and half hour. The trick is to program the bridge coordinates in the GPS and then adjust your speed such that you arrive just as the bridge is scheduled to open.
We stopped after the 2:00 PM opening at Wrightsville Beach and followed the guide book's recommendation to go up a channel to an anchorage by town. The channel was much deeper than shown on the chart. There was a lot of room and we anchored and took the dinghy ashore for an evening walk on the beach in shorts and short sleeves. We also took the dinghy back up the channel in order to buy fresh seafood - the first we have been able to get this trip. We also replenished our snacks and drinking water from a very convenient grocery store.
After a beach walk at low tide the next morning, we decided to take advantage of the weather forecast for light winds, and being tired of the narrow channel and large power boats of ICW, we went out the Masonboro Inlet into the Atlantic heading for Georgetown, SC. This was another case of the water being much deeper than the charts indicated.
We motored south in calm wind to go around Frying Pan Shoals. The wind had come up and, as we rounded the shoals and set sail, we had a group of dolphins playing around us. Three of them were keeping pace with the boat swimming about a foot under the bow as the boat was going up and down in the waves. We didn't get any pictures but took their visit as a good omen. The water was 67 degrees and we stopped briefly so Lynnea could go swimming. Didn't see any sharks.
We were able to sail from sunset until about 1 AM when the wind died and we started motor sailing. The moon came up at midnight and, with clear skies, it was a beautiful night. Before the moon rose, our wake was glowing because of the phosphorescence in the water, making it look like the boat had a comet's tail.
I had the sunrise watch and just before dawn, I saw lightening behind us in the east. As the sun rose, I could see a line of clouds, probably over the Gulf Stream, behind us while the skies overhead were clear. Also on the sunrise watch, I was joined by more dolphins and various birds.
Sunrise at sea off the approach to Georgetown, SC entrance.
The line of clouds on the horizon is where I saw the lightening.
Coming up the Winyah Bay channel in to Georgetown, we saw several eagles, both bald and golden, fishermen pulling their nets with a multitude of birds around them, and what appeared to be wild pigs on some of the islands we passed. We are now anchored off the Georgetown waterfront which is not as nice as the guide book indicated. It comes complete with a paper mill nearby. We will stay the night and probably continue south tomorrow. We are due for another cold front on Wednesday which may bring some thunder storms. Right now it is sunny and hot outside.
The anchorage in Georgetown, SC.
That's all for now.
Leonard
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11/22/2003 from Charleston, SC
The last note was from Georgetown, SC where we spent two more days waiting for a cold front with stormy weather to go by. Georgetown has some interesting old homes with some houses dating back to the 1700's. It also has a paper mill with the associated aroma and a rusting steel mill all close by the anchorage. This was OK as long as the winds were from the south or north - not OK with a west wind.
On Wednesday the cold front came through with a severe thunderstorms and tornados forecast. We only got some rain and minor winds, but did need to shift our anchors when the wind switched to the northwest. Wednesday night we celebrated the storm's passage and my birthday by having dinner out.
Thursday morning we left in calm winds and decided to motor down the intracoastal towards Charleston. As we left the Winyah Bay on the ICW, we saw several pairs of eagles overhead. After a land cut, this section of the ICW is mainly salt marsh passing along uninhabited barrier islands and estuaries with lots of bird life.
For the night we anchored about 15 miles north of Charleston in a little side creek that gave access to Caper's Island which the guide book called a state park. We dinghied over to the island to check it out before sunset. The island was largely deserted with a nice sand beach on the Atlantic Ocean. We did see an alligator and a lagoon full of birds. As it was getting dark and the bugs were out, we cut our exploration short and hurried back to the boat.
The alligator
We decided to stay another day and explore the park in greater detail when the tide was out. The tidal range is about 5 ft in this area and we were surprised to see an oyster bar appear not too far from where we had anchored. We watched the shore birds gather on the bar as it appeared from the water.
Back at the island, we saw another sand bar that we had unknowingly dinghied over the night before. We walked on a different path looking for a ranger station and/or a map of the park. After walking about 1 1/2 hrs. and having one trail come to a dead-end, we reached the beach. We were the only people on the island.
Lynnea walked north looking for shells while I sat in the shade and did some reading. The beach is being eroded and was covered with ghostly dead trees and tree stumps. When Lynnea returned, we had lunch and walked back along the beach toward where we had left our dinghy. The tide was rising and we wanted to be back to where we knew there was a path to the dock. Just as we were about to leave, a park ranger came up riding an ATV picking up litter. He said the park is generally unmanned and unfunded. He did give us a hand drawn map just as we were getting in the dinghy to go.
Lynnea on Capers Island beach with all the tree remains.
An interestering tree stump
The salt marsh at twilight. What looks like a side channel actually
dries out at low tide.
This morning we departed for Charleston and got delayed at the only bridge in this segment which on weekends only opens on the hour. On week days it opens on the hour and half hour, we had neglected to read all the fine print! Our weather has been clear skies and light winds. The days get warm (hot today) and cool at night - low 50's.
The library is closing. We will stay here tomorrow. After that will probably go offshore to the Savannah area. The forecast is for continued light winds and sunny skies.
Leonard
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11/23/2003 from Beaufort, SC
The continuing saga. We left you in Charleston, SC on Saturday afternoon. We also spent Sunday there doing re provisioning, laundry, and some sightseeing of the interesting streets and homes. We had planned to leave early Monday morning on the high tide, but due to the new moon Sunday night, the water level was higher than normal and we no longer had sufficient clearance to pass under the bridge just past the marina. The bridge clearance was 53 feet and we need at least 55 ft. Normally this is a 56 ft bridge and we have been under it 3 times with no problems. Fortunately we saw the problem before we left the dock. This caused us to wait until noon when the water level had dropped some before we left.
The ICW from Charleston south goes through a land cut which we had been warned could have strong currents (6 K.). I looked up the time for slack water (no current) in our Reed's Pilot book and thought we would be OK as we would get there about an hour before slack water and the current, although against us, should be doable. It just was! The cut is relatively short but when we arrived the current was about 5 knots against us and, with the engine at near max., we inched (it seemed) our way forward through the turbulence and standing waves.
It is hard to believe 1 hour could make such a difference. More likely the neap tides from the new moon added to the flow. The max. current predicted by Reed's was 3 Knots which would have been no problem. The actual current was worse than those we have experienced in Hell's Gate and/or Wood's Hole. Our previous boat, Gulf Wind, might not have made it.
Once through, the skies turned dark and as we were expecting a cold front with winds and showers, we decided to call it a day and pulled off the ICW and anchored for the night. We had only made about 5 miles from Charleston - not a good day's travel.
The night past with occasional bursts of wind to wake us up but otherwise no problems. So in the morning, we got underway again on the high tide (still higher than normal) with a favorable current. The skies were clear with a cold north wind. The ICW in this area tends to be narrow and shallow with strong currents. We would go through cuts between rivers and the current direction would change. At one point we had the current with us and were traveling over the ground at 8.5 Knots (a current of 3 Knots). These conditions tended to pull the ever present crab pot buoys under the water making them hard to see.
At the end of the day, we had a scare. We were going through one of these land cuts near the time of low tide with a power boat astern that wanted to pass. We slowed down to let him go by and, just afterward, we hit one of the crab buoys that was right in the center of the channel. It had gotten hidden in the power boat wake. Also we had been watching a sailboat that was aground on the side of the channel. There was a loud THUNK and as we looked back we saw the buoy. Now we had a vibration from the prop when we went back to cruise RPMs. Backing on prop didn't help. So we motored slowly to the next anchorage and launched the dinghy to investigate.
The water is a dirty brown and I could only see about a foot under water. I probed with the boat hook for awhile but wasn't sure I could feel anything on the prop. After much hesitation, I decided I would try going in the water which was cold for me - Lynnea who doesn't mind the cold won't put her face under water, especially dirty water. I at least stuck my face under, couldn't see a thing, and decided that was enough without trying to get under the boat with the current flowing.
We put the dinghy back on deck and wondered what to do next. The sunset was very nice with a new moon just showing. We would see what the next day would bring.
Sunset in Bull Creek.
We decided to proceed to Beaufort and, if necessary, have the boat hauled. After raising anchor, and starting out of the anchorage, the vibration was gone and life was good again! So instead of stopping at a marina outside of Beaufort to haul the boat, we went back to the original plan of staying at the downtown docks.
We will spend the day here sightseeing, walking around, and will decide where to go next. The weather forecast is for a high near 70 today and another cold front with showers for Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving to All.
Leonard
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11/29/2003 from Savannah, GA
We left Beaufort, SC on Thanksgiving Day about noon to have favorable currents. We tried sailing across Port Royal Sound in light winds but found we were being swept out to sea once across the sound. So back to motoring which has been the case for much of the trip as the winds have been generally light or on the nose.
As we left the sound, we were waved down by a group of people on the side of the channel whose boat had been stranded high and dry by the falling tide. They wanted us to come pull their boat off. After trying an approach we decided we too could be stranded if we got close enough to pass them a line. The current would have taken us into shallow water and with the tide going out, we would have been stuck. Our maneuvering alerted a passing power boat who came over and tried to pull their boat off but couldn't even with two 150 Hp outboards. We continued on our way and listened on the radio as some other boats were trying to help. They were stuck on an island across from Hilton Head Island not far from a marina, so there was plenty of help available. I think they may have had to wait until the next high tide to free the boat.
We went another 10 miles before anchoring out for the night. By accident, the anchorage we had chosen was on a dolphin watch route. A tour boat passed us as we were anchoring and gave a long talk about how currents had created a 50 ft deep hole at the convergence of two creeks and how the dolphins would gather there to feed. As we watched the sunset, about a dozen dolphins were circling, first the tour boat, then our boat. After a lovely sunset, the no-see-ums (little gnats that bite) drove us inside where we could hear the dolphins splashing and breathing around the boat during the night.
We had considered going offshore from Beaufort to Brunswick, GA but the weather forecast of a strong cold on Friday caused us to head for Savannah on the ICW instead. We motored up river and found space on the city dock by noon. We tied up between a sailboat from Denmark and a young couple from Australia who just purchased the boat in Maryland and are sailing it home. The Danish boat has been cruising for 7 years and is planning to head back to Europe in the spring.
We spent yesterday walking around town and watching everybody put up Christmas decorations. Santa Claus arrived by river boat ferry for the start of the holiday season. Lynnea is having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit when the temperatures are this warm and everything is green.
Antares on the Savannah, SC town dock. This is just after a shower
and some people are still in short sleeves. Note the river boat that
brought Santa Claus.
The cold front came through about 3 PM with some rain and strong gusty winds from the west. The Christmas tree on the dock by the boat that was just decorated got blown over by the wind. A second front came through about 5 AM this morning and the temperature has dropped. What was short sleeve shirt weather yesterday is now fleece and jacket weather this morning.
Our plan is to depart this afternoon on the falling tide and do an outside overnight hop to the Brunswick, GA area about 100 miles further south. We should have sailing winds even if it will be cold. From there, we continue on the ICW arriving in Jacksonville early next week.
So that's it for now.
Leonard
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12/10/2003 from Burlington, VT
From Savannah, we had planned an overnight sail offshore heading for Brunswick, GA. We left in the afternoon on the high tide to have favorable currents down the Savannah River and out the entrance channel. The wind was northerly and once we were out of the entrance, we set sail and headed south. With the favorable currents and good winds, it was soon apparent that we would arrive at the entrance of the long channel into Brunswick, GA about 4 AM - not ideal timing. This prompted a change in plans and we headed for our alternate destination, the St. Mary's River which is the border between Georgia and Florida. The GPS was predicting an arrival time of 8 AM which coincided with a favorable current up the river to St. Marys, GA.
With sunny skies, water temperatures in the mid 60's, a following wind, and the autopilot steering, this was much better than motoring along the meandering, narrow, shallow channels and the changing currents of the ICW though Georgia. The sun set clear and the wind held until about midnight when the jib was furled and we began motor sailing. The moon was out and it's reflection on the water was a silver path we were traveling down. As the moon set, it and the reflection in the water formed a silver cup and saucer which sunk below the horizon on Lynnea's watch.
For once there was no boat traffic to worry about although Lynnea did see a cruise ship heading out on her watch about 3 AM. Our course took us about 15 miles offshore where only the loom of the towns and an occasional radio tower flashing on the horizon were visible. By the time I came back on watch at 5 AM, Lynnea had shut down the engine, unfurled the jib, and was sailing again with the wind now from the Northwest. By 7 AM, the sun was just up and I had spotted the marks off the St. Marys entrance. I was able to sail in the entrance and only had to begin motoring again when the channel turned Northwest. This hop was most sailing we had at one time on the trip.
By 10:30 we were tied up on the dock at a marina which I got to by backing the boat against the current which had carried me past the dock - the 8 foot tides here create some interesting currents. We walked through town and found a few more pecans that had fallen from the trees at the Kraft Paper plant parking lot. The National Park Service runs a ferry to Cumberland Island National Seashore from St. Mary's and much of the town's business is aimed at the tourist trade.
Next Morning after picking up a map of Cumberland Island from the park service, we motored back down the river and north off the ICW to a anchorage a bit north of the park dock. The Navy's Kings Bay Submarine Support Base was across the marsh to the west but we didn't see any submarines or much other activity.
The park on Cumberland Island was created by the residents who donated much of the land after fighting a plan to develop the island. In return they retained some homesteads on the island that are scattered about the park and are permitted to operate vehicles on the few roads that are otherwise only used by the park staff. As part of the agreement there are no bridges linking the island to the mainland. Park visitors are ferried over in the morning and back in the afternoon. If they miss the ferry, they either spend the night camped out or find a private party to take them back to the mainland.
The afternoon was spent walking on the sea shore and the island paths. The beach was wide and flat with a lot of shells and some shore birds. On this island, the beach is expanding and we had a long walk through the sand dunes from the trees to get to the beach. We saw some of the wild horses that roam the park. In the early 1900's, one of the Carnegie family had a estate house, Dungeness, here which is now in ruins and part of the park's attractions. In the evening walking back dinghy, we saw a number of armadillos which are the parks newest residents. They have no fear of people and we could get within a few yards of them as the rustled in the ground cover.
Wild horse in the sand dunes
On the beach with the sea birds
One of many armadillos
The ruins of Dungeness
Back at the boat, we watched the sun go down and the antics of the dolphins that were feeding around the boat. One just behind the boat had a small fish, about 6 inches long, and would toss it in the air and then catch it and toss it again - like a cat playing with a mouse. Another group off by the marsh were splashing and jumping - not sure what they were doing but they were having a good time.
The next morning (12/2/2003), after a quiet night with light winds, we started back down the ICW planing to go off shore to the St. John's River entrance approach to Jacksonville. The previous evening's weather forecast had been for northerly winds of 15 to 20 Knots which would be a fast sail in somewhat rough seas. However, this morning's forecast was for wind speeds to 25 Knots with higher gusts and seas 6 to 8 ft. We started out the entrance channel motor sailing with the jib unfurled and, as we got out of the lee of the island, got hit with a 30 knot gust and the channel was a froth of breaking seas. This made us reconsider going off shore. So the jib was rolled back up and we turned around and went back to take the ICW south. This was a good decision as the winds got stronger during the day and being offshore would have been a rough ride.
Winds in the St. Mary entrance. We are still in the lee of the
island.
We did sail most of the way up the St. Johns River into Jacksonville.
This time the bridges all opened in a timely manner unlike the spring trip
where we were delayed by a train stopped on the railroad bridge.
The approach to the Ortega River was shallower than we remembered as the
depth got down to 7 feet a couple of times when we need 5 feet. Once in
the river the depths were 10 to 14 feet and docking at the Ortega Yacht
Club Marina was accomplished without any problems.
Antares at Ortega Yacht Club Marina
We are now back in Vermont, arriving here on Monday to a snow blocked driveway. (It seems the snow that was up on the mountain tops when we left in October had migrated down the hills in our absence.) There was a light frost at the Jacksonville airport when we left. The temperature at the boat was higher than that, probably in the low 40's, due to the moderating influence of the warm water. The trees were green and the flowers were blooming around the marina - they aren't here. Leonard spent yesterday morning snow shoeing with the bicycle club he joined last spring.
Flowers in Jacksonville
Snow in Vermont.
It took us less than 3 hours of flying time to travel the distance we traveled 8 weeks by boat. The plan is to return to Jacksonville in the middle of February and continue taking the boat further south. We will decide if we cruise in the Florida Keys or the Bahamas, or both, once we are back on board. By then we will have had enough of winter. That's all until then.
Leonard & Lynnea
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