Out longest sail of the trip (From Beaufort, SC to Cumberland Island, Ga) was immediately followed by our second shortest. We are now anchored St. Marys Harbor awaiting a slip, which has been promised for Monday. It is nice to just relax. When we arrived, the current was from the east and the wind was strong from the west. Boats were lying in every direction depending on how much they were influenced by the wind and the current. A boat dragged into another on a mooring. Levity couldn’t deal with it and moved to the town dock. Later everything calmed down.
Sunday, October 24, Day 28: Everything is calm now and we enjoyed being on the hook. Levity re-anchored and we had lunch together aboard Escapade. Later, we went to town and enjoyed the Halloween decorations of the local businesses.
Monday, October 25, Day 29 through Wednesday, October 27, Day 31: We remained at anchor while Nat (Lang’s Marina) tried to arrange a slip. The weather was hot and humid with daytime highs approaching 90. Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, Lang’s found us a mooring and we moved there, tied-up, and plugged in. During the day, we went to Cumberland Island.
Thursday, October 28, Day 32 through Sunday, October 31, Day 35: On Thursday we took a trip with Bill and Rosemary (Levity) to the West Marine in Jacksonville and had lunch at Jacksonville Landing. Friday we attended the “unofficial” yacht club breakfast where cruisers get together every week to meet each other and talk–no agenda. There’s also an official yacht club that meets on an old houseboat in the “basin” every Saturday evening. In the evening, we attended the St. Marys Haunted History Tour where local folks acted out ghostly stories at various haunts in the historical town.
On Saturday, Smokey departed this world. (See Story) I am sure that she is in a better place, but we will miss you, Smokey. Rest in Peace.
Monday, November 1, Day 36 through Thursday, November 4, Day 39: Linda left for Sarasota to visit her mom. Ken did the needed periodic maintenance including changing the fuel oil filters on the gen-set and the lube-oil for the main engine. He also replaced the Bullet (WiFi amplifier). During this week, they were filming “Eye of the Hurricane” (working title, see right) in St. Marys.
Friday, November 5, Day 40 through Wednesday, November 10, Day 45: On Friday, Ken joined Linda in Sarasota for the Barker family reunion and Winnie’s (Linda’s mom) 106th birthday celebration. Linda stayed on until Wednesday. Ken left on Monday to visit friends Jim and Nancy in Vero Beach.
Thursday, November 11, Day 46 through Wednesday, November 17, Day 52: We are ready to leave — too long in one place, but a few things prevent us from leaving. We have to stick with our original plan. Thursday and Friday we looked around Jacksonville Beach and St. Augustine as potential places to move. We felt that they were too crowded. Saturday, we went to the St. Marys Yacht Club Party. Sunday, we just hung out all day. Linda scrubbed the boat. On Monday we visited a home builder to understand the cost of building in St. Marys, and drove to Brunswick to look at housing. Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning we visited Ken’s dad in Leesburg.
Friday, November 18, Day 53 through Thursday, November 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving Day) Day 60: On Friday, we attended the “unofficial yacht club” breakfast. On Saturday, Linda went to the “Official Yacht Club” cookout and ran into an old American Express colleague, Maryanne. On Monday, Tim and Susan (Whaleback) and Ken and Joy (Slow Dancin’), both friends from Herrington Harbour North, joined us in St. Marys. Tuesday: Linda took some cruisers to the airport in Jacksonville and shopped. Ken and Joy rafted with Escapade. There was another cruisers cocktail party. Bob and Maryanne joined us aboard Escapade for late snacks. On Wednesday, Thanksgiving activities went into high gear. We started the morning with the daily Turkey-net, followed by a seminar about anchoring in Florida. In the afternoon there was a Painkiller party, then an oyster roast. On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, We attended a seminar on anchoring in the Bahamas in the morning, followed by the cruisers Thanksgiving dinner. There was over a hundred boats, and we heard, 270 people including locals. We had a great time with lots of fun conversations. Later we visited Maryanne and Bob, and dropped off our cars for storage. Linda washed the decks. Ken prepared the engine room. We are ready to go. While necessary and fun, we’ve been in one place tied to a dock too long. It is time to move south.