Picture Perfect

December 23, 2015
Coordinates 30 67073N, 81 46622

Fernandina Beach, FL

Mile 717

We stayed at Fernandina Beach until December 26, 2015 and then moved on.  We headed to Cumberland Island for an anchorage so the mile marker will show that we backtracked.

December 26, 2015

Coordinates 30 76749N, 81.47144W

Cumberland Island, GA

Mile 710

December 27, 2015

Coordinates 30 67073N, 81 46622

Fernandina Beach, FL

Mile 717

December 28, 2015

Coordinates 30 67073N, 81 46622

Fernandina Beach, FL
Mile 717

Don’t judge a city by its entrance.

Here I am again talking about paper mills. It is amazing that the entrance to an adorable little city could be so industrial.  I don’t know why that amazes me.  

We spent Christmas in Fernandina and glad we did, however our dinner was mediocre at best.  But tonight we had a wonderful meal at Joe’s Bistro, so we will now refer to this as our Christmas dinner. I would say the best part of the day was talking to friends and family.

I promised myself that this blog would be short and filled with pictures but I want to tell you about our visit to Cumberland Island, a National Seashore Park.  Someone said that there are wild horses that run on the beaches.  In my head I created a story that we were going to see a herd of horses galloping on the shore.  I chuckled when I thought about this.  If there are wild horses why would they wander along the beach with people.    The closest we came to the horses was seeing several piles of dung.  I thought about tourists who come to Maine to see whales on “whale watches”.  What do they get to see, a fin or some tidbit that the tour guide determines is a whale.  I wonder why we are so smitten with trying to see into the wondrous world of the wild. I know I pretend to be friends with all the creatures we see.  Remember how the dolphin led our boat into Swansboro?  There pelicans here that I know can read my mind so pose for me to take their picture.  I saw a sea turtle today, but I didn’t hit it off with him like I did with the dolphin, although he really was amazing.

Back to Cumberland Island.  The island has raccoon, great horned owl, Fiddler crab, Clapper rail (some sort of bird), Peregrine falcon, Least tern (another bird), and the Ghost crab.  

Speaking of terns.  I heard a joke in the early 70’s about terns and marijuana.  I think it is clever but I haven’t found anyone else that thinks it is as funny as I do.  The story starts with a marijuana raid of a large crop of pot.  Once the bust was made the drug enforcement agents didn’t know what to do with the crop.  Finally it was decided that the crop would be burned on the coastline of northern California, as you can expect there was controversy over this decision.  One point that was made is that burning the marijuana on the coastline would leave-----no tern unstoned.

We are thrilled to be seeing our friends in St. Augustine in a few days.  We met up with some of our other boating friends today in Fernandina Beach and it was really great to see them again.

The pictures will tell the rest of the story.

I wanted to be friends with her but...

She had other ideas

Christmas Eve Service at the United Methodist Church, a beautiful church a wonderful sermon


The Pi's have it 

            

Ken and Will this one is for you.

Fernandina Beach on Christmas Eve

 

...as Rob would say, "this one is the husband"

Another try at making friends

                                      

      

Another rejection

I am sure you can tell that I am fascinated with the Pelican, a huge beautiful bird

I love this picture of my hubby

Tricia

Technical Difficulty Resolved

An $18.00 cab ride to a Go PC company, an extra day at Fernandina Beach and a nice dinner with friends I resolved the problem by researching online.  I am so happy that it works the cost had to come second.  Because the company knew they didn't know anything about the problem I was not charged.  I wouldn't have paid it anyway.

I would be lost without being able to talk with you.
Tricia

TD

I am having technical difficulty with my computer so until I fix that I can't add any photos to my blog.  I am very disappointed for both of us that I will not be able to post with pictures but I will see you again when I fix the problem.  I am working at the end of my computer knowledge so might need professionally help.

Hopefully I will see you soon.

Tricia

Palm or Pine, which would you rather have?

Kayak Christmas

December 20, 2015

Coordinates 32 01507N, 81.03307W

Herb River, Thunderbolt, GA

Mile 584.3

Arrived 3:15

At exactly the same time as our ICW friends

December 21, 2015

Coordinates 31 66634N, 81.16628W

Walberg Creek

b St. Catherine’s Island, GA

Mile 620

December 22, 2015

Coordinates 31 17929N, 81 41407W

North Lanier Island, SC

Mile 674

December 23, 2015

Coordinates 30 67073N, 81 46622

Fernandina Beach, FL

Mile 717

If you remember we were in Bull Creek the last time I wrote, actually that probably isn’t something that would be on the tip of your tongue.  We entered Georgia on the 20th.  We have been in the state for hours and it still looks like we are motoring through a meadow.  We did not stop in Savannah. If we had, perhaps that would have helped with the absolute boredom of the Georgia ICW. 

 A large part of the ICW in Georgia is shallow, so caution is the best mindset for boaters. One area that we traveled was Little Mud River.  Here is what the Waterway Guide has to say about the river. “Although the Little Mud River is one of the shallowest areas on the entire ICW, this area was not on the list of locations to be dredged with the stimulus money.  The reported reason is that environmental restrictions have prevented approval of a designated spoil disposal site.”  the article goes on to say, “a U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) survey dated September 2013, reported 5-foot mean low water depth along the centerline of the North and Little Mud River channels, with 3-foot depths in both the east quarter and west quarters”.  The article goes on in great detail about markers, flashing green lights etc. as a guide to get through the channel.  To give you a point of reference our boat draws 4’ 3”.  

I understand all of this, but I wonder why any Georgian would want to spend money on anything that had to do with the ICW.  The route doesn’t come close to any stores and only a few marinas.  I don’t see opportunity for the State to collect any revenue from boaters.

Back to Little Mud River.  We followed a sailboat that was motored by an excellent captain and Rob did an amazing job as well, so we both made it through the area.  Phew!

All said and done, I would not swap the boredom of the Georgia ICW for “going outside” which means  traveling in open seas.  Not that I needed anything driving this home, but after LMR we crossed a sound which is open to the outside and I was terrified the entire short period of time we were there...it was a piece of cake.

What do you think...

Imagine you have put your trash in your hatchback and left it open while you take it to the dump.  When you look in your review mirror you are followed by a large flock of terns or seagulls.  Are they after your trash or roadkill?

We were followed for miles and miles by a large flock of birds and I was concerned they were after the bag of trash that we had on the flybridge and  Rob thought they were diving for food that was churned up by our boat.  The birds have gone, the trash is still there.

The Birds

The Bird

Here is another image.  I was at the helm when I heard this loud rap tap tap, the story would not end well if in the middle of the ICW we had someone knocking at the door.  Well I jumped and knocked Rob in the face with my elbow. 

We figured out that a woman working for the Coast Guard didn’t know how to use the mic and was hitting it with her teeth or she was turning it on before removing it from the hook causing a really loud noise, the VHF is next to my right ear the one with hearing loss.

While I have been away from writing my blog we have enjoyed the company of 4 people that we met a couple of stops ago.  Very interesting bright young people with a quest for adventure and I think they are having it.

New Friends

We had them over for dinner on the boat and one of them brought all of us gifts.  The gifts came from DD and if you have a guess for what DD is please email me.  I think we were all interested in our gifts plus she brought something for the hosts.

Goodies

We are here on a dock in Fernandina Beach, FL for the next three days, a splurge to be in a slip after anchoring most of the time.

I hope you enjoyed today, the day before Christmas Eve.

Tricia

Headed North--?

December 19, 2015

Coordinates 32 44844N, 80.56464W

9 hrs, 47.8 nm, 5.3 kts

Dataw Island, SC

ICW mile 522

Arrived 4:35 pm

Add caption

It was 50 degrees in the cabin today and 39 degrees outside.  We checked our route and found out we were going in the wrong direction our equipment malfunctioned and we are headed north.  When technology works it is great but when...

You know that I am kidding, right?

No chance of sunburn, napping in the sunshine with my down jacket

December 20, 2015

Today I am sad about being away from my home at Christmas time.

Guess what!  I have four layers of clothing on including my long underwear, and the heat is on high. Temperature 46 outside.

The comforter is back on the bed.

Hope your homes are filled with the smell and the anticipation of Christmas.

Tricia

Let's Do the Charleston

December 14, 2015

Coordinates 32 44844N, 80.56464W

9 hrs, 47.8 nm, 5.3 kts

Dataw Island, SC

ICW mile 522

Arrived 4:35 pm

December 15, 2015

Coordinates 32.42965N, 80 67443W

3 hrs, 16.7 nm, 5.6 kts

Beaufort, SC

ICW mile  536

Arrived 11:15 am

My favorite pet

I must want to be in North Carolina instead of South Carolina because for two postings I have listed our location incorrectly.

Monday was a long day on the water but especially for Rob who captained the boat all day and says he enjoyed it.  I have several projects going so this works for both of us.  

I thought about writing down what I think about during the day so I wouldn’t forget to tell you, but then I thought if it doesn’t stay in my mind from the days events then maybe it isn’t big enough to tell you about.  

I have to tell you about being in Charleston, SC.  First it was really fun to be there and walk around.  King Street was fun and had very high end stores.  Some where Rob read about King Street being the best shopping street in the US.  Who investigates these things?  I did like one shop called OOPS! that had overstocks, seconds etc., I picked up Chico pants, my kind of store.

What I really enjoyed about being on King Street were the dogs and their owners.  I don’t want a dog because they need too much work, but I sure do love talking to them.  I heard one dog owner say that dogs were chick magnets, he is probably right.  I bet there were as many dog owners as non dog owners.

Prickly Personality

I think that God, or maybe Ginger and Gracie are sending us a message.   It has been nearly a year, December 21, 2014, that Ginger died.  I think that she is up there orchestrating the next cat adoption. I can’t wait.  Rob is onboard, no pun intended, we just have to find the right cat.  Maybe when we get to St. Augustine we will look into adopting, that part Rob doesn’t know yet.

On the 14th we spent the night in another one of those “in-the-middle-of-nowhere places and beautiful at that.  No need to lower the shades in this anchorage since there wasn’t anyone for miles.  Dataw Island was a good stop after leaving Charleston.  We were headed to Beaufort, SC and needed a good point to stop for the night, this anchorage fit the bill.

I really like the anchorages that are so far away from anything because they are so peaceful.

Tuesday we arrived in Beaufort. There is a Beaufort, North Carolina and a Beaufort, South Carolina. They are not pronounced the same way. It is “Beautiful Beaufort By the Sea”, is what I was told.

We spent the day doing chores and errands.  If you have a mooring, for $20.00 a night you can borrow a car for one hour to do errands, it was a challenge but we did it.  Laundry done, most store shopping done, diesel, gas, propane, water, done.  Guess what?  Today we put away the flannel sheets and brought out the cotton ones.  We also left off the wool blanket and put away the down comforter.

We are walking around Beaufort with shorts and t-shirts, the windows open and the Beaufortians talking about how unseasonably warm it is.

There are dolphins, pretty birds and blue skies. Today we are walking around “Historic Downtown Beaufort” and I finally have an appointment for a pedicure. 

We have seen a number of people that are “live a boards” at marina docks.  I am surprised by that. In Charleston we talked with people from New Hampshire that sold everything they had and live on a 53’ boat on the Megadock”.  The boat has a full size dishwasher, full size washer and dryer and two Chihuahuas. They are both still working and waiting to retire.

If you are still reading my blog I have saved the best for last, so you can hear my story.

There was a boat parade of lights in Charleston.  I really wanted to see it so we sat at the waterfront dock for hours waiting for it to start.  It was so cold and I was not dressed for it.  The most fascinating part was the rounding up of all the boats.  The Coast Guard with their red lights and the Charleston water police with their blue lights were there for hours hoping to make this parade work.  There were two great parts for me.  There was this little boat, I have no idea what the boat was, that crashed the parade sauntering in and going the wrong direction. They had strung lights from the boat to a peak of the mast, making it a moving tree. Every time another boat went by the wake caused the boat to roll and the lights to jiggle. It was so fun to watch.

Sunset from the Charleston dock

There were several kayaks that came from under the dock and I am pretty sure they didn’t pay to be in the parade. The boats were all decked out with lights and one had a Santa Claus to wish us Merry Christmas.

We abandoned the parade after that and headed back to our dinghy.  OH MY GOD!  It was dark, there were lots of big boats in the harbor and we had 2.2 miles to go. Rob used his GPS (Garmin Blue Chart Mobile), that he mapped out, to get us back to our boat. I held the iPhone with the GPS guiding us back.  It was a harried ride with two bridges to pass under a bit of the channel to cross and wake from other boats.  It was an amazingly successful trip back but not without fear. 

Christmas is in the air in Charleston

The End

Tricia

The 17th we are still in Beaufort.

For the Birds

December 10, 2015 

Coordinates 33 06569N 79 46369W

4 hrs, 24.9 nm, 6.2 kts

McClellanville, SC

Five Fathom Creek

ICW mile 430 

Arrived 3:10 pm

December 11, 2015

Coordinates 32 76508N 79 98126W

7 hrs, 37.6 nm, 5.4 kts

Charleston, NC

Wappoo Creek

ICW mile 472

Arrived 3:40 pm

The birds are one of the best parts of the ICW.  I will never tire of seeing them.  I have a bird book and look up the ones that I see, but it was hard to identify them, sometimes I give up and just enjoy them.  One of the things that I know is there are more variety  gulls than I ever imagined and I had no idea that there were cormorants this far down the coast.  I am fascinated with the Pelicans because they soar, they are huge and more attractive than I expected.  We also saw more dolphins.  We agreed that we would never tire of seeing dolphins, just like we never tire of seeing loons on Salmon Lake.

I want to apologize to you South Carolinians for listing Georgetown as Georgetown, NC when it is in South Carolina.  We loved being there and will return should we pass by there again. We tried to leave Georgetown but delayed it because of the fog.  We were not the only ones to delay, some of our friends we had met along the way were also held up.

On our way down the ICW there wasn’t any traffic. We anchored in the middle of nowhere SC.  I will send pictures that will show just that. We were the only boat anchored in what seemed like the middle of grass.  In the evening we saw about twenty shrimp boats come in and about 8 go back out to sea the next morning.  One of the articles that we read about this anchorage described it as eerie because  of all the high grass it seemed that the shrimp boats were moving through grass instead of water, it was fascinating to say the least.  All was not lost though, we put up our Christmas lights.

Our travels on the 11th were challenging.  Rob receives the Waterway Guide Cruisers Update and it arrived today the 12th via email, one day after we had already traveled through the challenges. Here is what the guide had to say.

"Dredging of the ICW Channel started yesterday, Dec. 3, 2015 near Sullivan's Island and the intersection of Breach Inlet (Isle of Palms).  The dredging is expected to be completed mid-January. 

Please exercise extreme caution and arrange for passage, as the dredging equipment may occupy most or all of the navigable channel, and sections that have not yet been dredged may have on 2 to 3 foot depths at MLW, (average low tide)." We draw 4.3".

Rob had to radio the captain of the dredging barge, who very clearly stated which side we were to go around the barge, to keep within 5’ of the barge and not to get more than 10’ away or “you will go aground”.

Here is what happens if you are an uninformed boater on the ICW.

Waiting for high tide to move

Dredging the ICW channel without them there wouldn't be a trip south for us

Shrimp boats return from sea

Our Coast Guard at Christmas duty

Christmas will not be stopped

We are thinking about bringing our dinghy out tonight, about one mile away to watch the parade of boats all decked out for Christmas.

All my best to you during this holiday season

Tricia

Water like a mirror

December 7, 2015 - December 10, 2015

Coordinates 33 36444N, 79 28268W

7 hrs, 44 nm, 6.3 kts

Georgetown, NC

ICW mile 403

Arrived 3:10 pm

We arrived in Georgetown on December 7, 2015 and we are leaving tomorrow December 10, 2015.  It has been a delightful time in Georgetown, although my first impression of the town was negative.  We had been in some pier perfect (my phrase for pretty as a picture) little villages and this town did not strike me as a place that I wanted to stay, but of course we did.  The following day we went into town and the main street (Front Street) was such a delightful place to walk.  I am trying not to stumble across my words, in my excitement to tell you all that has happened while we were here.

The stores in the town were so smartly decked out for the holidays and the keepers of the shops were so friendly.  My favorite store was the Rice Museum, a good size store with very special treats made locally and from far away places.  The prize in the store was Tess Trueheart, many of you older than me, will know who that is.  I now know that Tess is a wonderful tiger kitty 13 years old.  She purred when I touched her and let me rub her head.  I was in heaven.  We talked for awhile with Kevin, Tess’s best friend, so now we have the scoop.  We didn’t buy anything but Kevin didn’t mind.  I returned the next two days to say hi, one day Tess was not available but on the last day I said good bye.  Do you think that we will be able to find a kitty that likes boating?

Several stores later we happened on a knitting store.  A fun store with the size needle I have been searching for.  I will omit the information about the other items that I bought. What you don’t know what hurt me.

We had lunch today at a great restaurant, Thomas Cafe, they have what I call Rose Bowl Restaurant or Pine Tree Restaurant food.  Hamburgers smothered with gravy and onions, the best onion rings and home fries, Rob had shrimp and grits with fried green tomatoes.

After that great meal we headed to Verizon to see if we could lower our phone/data bill.  Nope, unless of course we decrease our data plan.  We are now looking into Straight Talk from Walmart.  I won’t give any details here since you either already know or don’t need to know. We will save a significant amount of money if we switch. Our home phone is on the boat we probably have received 2 phone calls of interest since leaving home.  Even Mom called my cell phone.

I am sitting on the boat in Georgetown Harbor looking at the beautiful town Christmas Tree all in white lights with a white star, what a treat!  

Speaking of Christmas decorations. You will not believe it, but Rob wanted to buy one of those blowup thingies that people put on their lawn. Rob wanted to place it on the front of the boat when we are anchored.  Are you surprised? I was, but you know what he has the Christmas Spirit and if that is what he wanted I would go for it.  BUT today at Walmart we bought a set of 200 color lights for the cabin instead. 

Just prior to arriving in Georgetown we came across Bucksport, SC at mile 377

“Enterprise Landing was once the departure point for the huge shipments of yellow pine and cypress.  This was the domain of Capt. Henry Buck, who brought over 100 shipwrights (think ship builders) from Bucksport, ME to Bucksport, SC. where they built the 210-foot sailing ship, Henrietta which carried cargos worldwide for over 30 years.”

We have met such great people along the way and this town was no exception.  As I have said many times boaters have a connection with each other that otherwise would not happen.

Today we talked with a man from a boat that we had seen on and off during our travels.  We were very curious about who was in this catamaran and today we found out.  We both enjoyed a long talk with the man while on the dock, wonderful stories were told including this man’s hobby of working with fine stainless steel wire.  When we returned to the boat there was a bag hanging on the rail with a bracelet made from wire for me.  See what I mean people are just a wonderful surprise.

There are free town docks that we could stay at for the day but there was a heavy fine of $1092.59 if a boat stays overnight.  We stayed on the dock during the day so we could come and go without having to bring in the dinghy, then go anchor just before sunset.

It is mealtime, so I will say good night and see you soon.

Here is a little slice of Georgetown, SC history, the town is full of historical interest.

International Paper Company smoke stack on the right.  I recognized the small of the mill straight away

What's really in a picture