Not quite as cold today because the winds have stopped. 47º on flybridge @ 8:30 as we left Ft. Walton Beach.
Passed a heron standing on one leg. Reminded me of fellow Looper, Tom Conrad’s weather muse that says – if you see …
Tag Archives | trawlers
Where Have We Been?
Kismet leaving the dock at Stock Island in the Keys with Tab, the new owner, and Jim. We helped Tab take the boat up the Florida coast last month. If you see Tab and his wife Susan on cruising the…
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Vero Beach
Wednesday, December 1, 2010, Day 66. Well, we only thought yesterday’s scenery was boring. From Daytona to Vero Beach, with the exception of the Space Center Area, there is very little of interest along the ICW. We set out from Titusville with the intention of anchoring at Dragon Point near Melbourne. We arrived there before noon and decided to press on to Vero Beach. There was little scenery on the trip from Melbourne to north of Vero Beach. Then, in Wassabaw, beautiful homes began to appear along the waterway. We are told (and we will see and report) that Vero Beach is the beginning of what is referred to as the Treasure Coast — The stretch of Florida from Vero Beach through Miami.
We went into the first protected anchorage we’ve seen in a long time, the Vero Beach Municipal Marina. One of the many mooring ball rafts in Vero Beach contained a Nordhavn, a Korgen, and a Selene (Live Wire!) (see banner photo). Corey from Live Wire came to greet us in his dinghy–we finally get to meet! We’ll see him and Linda soon. The weather is a bit chilly with a high of 75 and a low of 44.
Thursday, December 2, 2010, Day 67. We launched the dinghy in the morning and picked up a rental car (Enterprise weekend special $10/day). We went to Jim’s and Nancy’s beautiful home, which Linda was seeing for the first time, and marveled at their layout, space and new pool and pavers. They’ve found a great place. We had lunch and enjoyed driving around some neighborhoods, getting a bearing on the town. We are considering this town as a possible land home when we get back from the Bahamas. We both like it and house prices are compelling, and we feel that not much will change before May. We had drinks with Jim and Nancy, then dinner on the beach at the Ocean Grill.
Temperatures are really cool today for southern Florida with high of 68 and a low of 43. Locals are dressed in their winter clothes. Typical daytime temperatures should be in the mid-70s.
Friday, December 3, 2010, Day 68. The dinghy engine failed. This really put a crimp in our plans; since we’re on a mooring, we have to hitch rides every time we needed to go ashore and back. The wind and current was so strong that rowing was impossible. The good news is that it failed here rather then in the Bahamas or later when Kevin and Courtney are with us. We tried to row the now engineless dingy back to Escapade with the wind and current in our favor but sailed right past Escapade and had to get a tow back!
We had to cancel our dinner plans with Jim and Nancy, as they had no way to get to Escapade. Temperatures remained cool in the morning but warmed up into the mid 70s by afternoon.
Saturday, December 4, 2010, Day 69. We got a ride to shore and provisioned. Ken and Joy (Slow Dancin’) arrived in the afternoon. With the aid of their dinghy ferry service, we got to shore and went to a cocktail party at friends of Jim and Nancy, then dinner at Jim and Nancy’s. We met their great neighbors and had lively discussions and a great time.
Sunday, December 5, 2010, Day 70. We began to commission the water maker without much success. Flooding the system is a challenge.
With Ken and Joy, we drove to Stuart, provisioned at West Marine, had lunch at a great little shack in Ft. Pierce called 12A Buoy, and picked up the floorcloth that Linda commissioned from Judi Knight Goldfarb, an artist we met in St. Marys. In the evening, Corey dinghied us to Live Wire for drinks, appetizers and good conversation with him and Linda. We enjoyed their years of knowledge–having done this eleven times!–and seeing how they’ve provisioned their Selene. We hope to see them again many times in the Bahamas.
Monday, December 6, 2010, Day 71. We returned the rental car in the morning. Ken worked with Customs and Border Protection to signup for the Small Vessel Reporting System. Jim and Nancy, and Ken and Joy came to Escapade for dinner. We had a great time, filled with lots of laughter. And we made a cruisers’ pact together.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010, Day 72. It is really cold here, with a morning low of 32, an afternoon high of 62, and another cold front coming in on Sunday. The Mobile Marine shop is still working on our dinghy motor. First, they thought they might return in on Monday, definitely Tuesday. Now, they are predicting Thursday. It seems that the carburetor is so badly clogged that they couldn’t be clean it and it has to be replaced.
Nancy drove us to town, where we shopped for groceries and liquor as this is one of the last opportunities to provision before we cross. Linda got her snorkeling equipment. Ken got his watch repaired, and got a wetsuit. We took the free Vero Beach bus–a great amenity of the town–back to the marina where there is still no WiFi or pump-out. Had a quiet afternoon here on Escapade, the first in many days. We heard from neighbors Gail and Bruce on Orient Express that there hasn’t been a good weather window for crossing since the second week in November and there are only three boats anchored in Hopetown Harbor in the Abacos. Another very strange, cold season…..
Wednesday, December 8, 2010, Day 73. It is cold. The temperature in the salon when we arose was 50, 37 outside. But temperatures began to warm through the day. We are hear waiting on our dinghy engine. Ken and Joy hosted Jim and Nancy, and us for dinner aboard Slow Dancin’.
Thursday, December 9, 2010, Day 74. It was noticeably warmer in the morning — low 50s, but it rained. The two Kens helped Jim put new batteries aboard Solitaire. Linda and Joy went shopping. In the afternoon we got the call that we have been waiting for. The dinghy motor has been repaired and will be delivered tomorrow morning at 8:30. We’ll get the dinghy aboard; get fuel, water, and a pump-out; and be underway by noon. (Knock on wood)
Pensacola to Ft. Walton Beach, FL
Needed a day to recoup before heading out & because of the winds we took 2 days. Left Pensacola this morning in the cold and the wind. We knew we would be less than an hour out in Pensacola Bay where if we were going to get beat up beca…
Great Loop Cruising Blog – Info and Photos on Doing the "Loop" 2010-12-05 04:32:39
Read the review in the current NOV/DEC – 2010 issue of PassageMaker Magazine (News and Notes Section – page 28)
The post appeared first on Great Loop Cruising Blog – Info and Photos on Doing the “Loop”.
Great Loop Cruising Blog – Info and Photos on Doing the "Loop" 2010-12-04 21:15:30
Check out Lisa’s Article in….
The post appeared first on Great Loop Cruising Blog – Info and Photos on Doing the “Loop”.
Off The Boat
Rented a car Nov. 13 & drove 7 hrs. to Daytona to drop off our baby, Beaner, at Greg’s Mom for our flight out to AZ next week. We had an absolutely wonderful time in AZ celebrating our granddaughter’s 2nd birthday plus Thanksgiving. Now…
Golden Isles to Fernandina Beach
Ah Yes!! After having a chilly but beautiful evening at Golden Isles…..
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| Sunset at Golden Isles |
We were going to have an easy cruise today. Well, not so much.
We did plan to leave at dawn again which was about 1.5 hours after flood tide. The winds had settled some to 15-20 knots out of the north, but we were able to get through the St. Simons and St. Andrews Sounds (where Georgia’s big rivers run into the Atlantic Ocean) without incident. We knew that this timing would get us through the much-warned-about Jekyll Creek portion of the ICW approximately 2-3 hours after flood. Even so we were surprised at some areas and had to search a little right or left to find more comfortable depths. Other than Jekyll Creek there were no more “warnings” online of shoaling or shallows along our route for the day. Even local knowledge knew of no other concerns.
But then we came to a portion of the ICW called the Cumberland Dividings at about one hour before ebb tide. And there was plenty of water in the very narrow channel, so we proceeded slowly and carefully. However, there were also trap markers IN the channel and while Mark was dodging one of these traps suddenly there was no water under Grateful and we ran aground. During that time, I was down below fixing drawer runners in the V-berth. To those of you who know what would have been my reaction to this situation last year, would have been amazed (as was my husband) that I continued to work on the drawers. Yes, I did….. and I prayed a little – a lot! But I knew that the tide would be rising in an hour, and we would most likely be on our way. And I also knew there wasn’t anything I could do or say that would help Mark at that moment. Well, the good news was that the ebb tide was strong enough to push Grateful off the mud flat and we were on our way within moments.
I came up after finishing my chores, and found out that Mark wondered if I was injured or had passed out down below when we went aground. FUNNY. Anyway, the rest of the Cumberland Dividings was nerve-wracking, and we came upon markers that were not in our charts. In order to follow them, our GPS and charts showed us cruising over an island! Mark found the following online post yesterday that was an account of that very same area just the day before (December 1st)…….
Subject: Severe shoaling Cumberland Dividings
Dear,
Thank you for speaking with me. I have attached a pdf with photos and chart segment. I came through this area yesterday, an hour before low tide. When I came on the scene, a 48+ ft Sea Ray was sitting to the East of the Red 60 completely out of the water and partially spun around at the base of the marker. They WERE in the channel according to the markers and the chart but there was no water. Tow BoatUS was on the scene and guided me around thankfully. From Green 59A to Green 63 stay well East (at least 25 yards) of the Reds and almost to shore on the green side. The small little island that is shown on the charts east of Red 60 is NOT there. In fact that is where you need to be. My chartplotter showed me driving right over it as I followed the Tow BoatUS around safely. There was 10ft of water close to shore at low tide. Coast Guard MUST put drop aides here, this is a serious risk to boaters.
I was extremely disturbed when I discovered this significant discrepancy which has the potential to end with tragic consequences. I have since discovered that there are multiple groundings in this spot each week, there are no Securite calls warning of the hazard (until I called Jacksonville yesterday), no mention in the LNM and this problem has existed for at least a year. I feel drop aides are essential, require minimal effort and should have been placed long ago. I thank you for whatever you can do to correct this problem.
The small island shown on the chart at:
30 50.951 N
081 28.687 W
This island does not exist and is in fact where the proper channel should be.
Current safe water is found by staying close to G 59A and following a arced course over the little island to G 63 . Remaining at least 25 yards East of Red markers. Red daybeacons should be removed and drop aides placed until either dredging can occur or the deabeacon can be properly moved.
Thank you,
John Webster, USCG Master #2851625 USCGAUX 1155849
Dear,
Thank you for speaking with me. I have attached a pdf with photos and chart segment. I came through this area yesterday, an hour before low tide. When I came on the scene, a 48+ ft Sea Ray was sitting to the East of the Red 60 completely out of the water and partially spun around at the base of the marker. They WERE in the channel according to the markers and the chart but there was no water. Tow BoatUS was on the scene and guided me around thankfully. From Green 59A to Green 63 stay well East (at least 25 yards) of the Reds and almost to shore on the green side. The small little island that is shown on the charts east of Red 60 is NOT there. In fact that is where you need to be. My chartplotter showed me driving right over it as I followed the Tow BoatUS around safely. There was 10ft of water close to shore at low tide. Coast Guard MUST put drop aides here, this is a serious risk to boaters.
I was extremely disturbed when I discovered this significant discrepancy which has the potential to end with tragic consequences. I have since discovered that there are multiple groundings in this spot each week, there are no Securite calls warning of the hazard (until I called Jacksonville yesterday), no mention in the LNM and this problem has existed for at least a year. I feel drop aides are essential, require minimal effort and should have been placed long ago. I thank you for whatever you can do to correct this problem.
The small island shown on the chart at:
30 50.951 N
081 28.687 W
This island does not exist and is in fact where the proper channel should be.
Current safe water is found by staying close to G 59A and following a arced course over the little island to G 63 . Remaining at least 25 yards East of Red markers. Red daybeacons should be removed and drop aides placed until either dredging can occur or the deabeacon can be properly moved.
Thank you,
John Webster, USCG Master #2851625 USCGAUX 1155849
Mr. Webster,
Appreciate the heads up on the shoaling issue at this turn. Believe it or not, this was the first that we heard of the issue. The same day that we were informed of the shoaling I dispatched my crew and established 2 temporary red buoys to help mark the inside turn a little more adequately. We also discovered that the #63 had been knocked down, we set that temporary buoy further outside the green side of the channel to hopefully draw boaters to that side.
The Coast Guard cutter Hammer is scheduled to be in that area in early December to restructure the turn. They were forwarded the pictures so they can plan accordingly.
Thank you for your assistance.
Respectfully,
BMC Rob Lehmann
Officer in Charge
Aids to Navigation Team Jacksonville Beach
Appreciate the heads up on the shoaling issue at this turn. Believe it or not, this was the first that we heard of the issue. The same day that we were informed of the shoaling I dispatched my crew and established 2 temporary red buoys to help mark the inside turn a little more adequately. We also discovered that the #63 had been knocked down, we set that temporary buoy further outside the green side of the channel to hopefully draw boaters to that side.
The Coast Guard cutter Hammer is scheduled to be in that area in early December to restructure the turn. They were forwarded the pictures so they can plan accordingly.
Thank you for your assistance.
Respectfully,
BMC Rob Lehmann
Officer in Charge
Aids to Navigation Team Jacksonville Beach
It would have helped if we had read this notice before we traveled, but we are ever so grateful that swift action was taken by the USCG and the temporary markers were in place when we went through.
The rest of the trip was great. We passed more shrimp boats and this one was pulling in a net – notice all the birds waiting for a possible meal.
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| Birds waiting for a meal |
This tour boat passed us with this unusual paint job.
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| Nice paint job |
We again went by King’s Bay – a facility where up to 6 submarines can be moored – and this time we saw one being worked on. It is impressive.
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| Submarine at King’s Bay |
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| Notice the men on the top of the sub |
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| Guardians of King’s Bay |
Then as we crossed St. Mary’s Sound and nearing FernandinaBeach we watched this container ship come into port (just north of the marina we stayed in). In a matter of three hours this ship had docked, been unloaded and moved on.
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| Escort Tug |
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| Escort approaching |
Again, we liked FernandinaBeach – a pretty little town. We went out to eat at the Irish pub, and I purchased some fine chocolates to get us through these chilly nights.
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| Fernandina Harbor Marina |
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| Are we in Florida |
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| Town Hall |
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| Christmas tree in marina |
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| Main Street in Fernandina Beach |
South Carolina and Georgia
December 1, 2010
We are cruising a 64 mile day on the Georgia ICW. And today has been more exciting than most so far on our trip.
Let me start out by saying by way of explanation that for the last two days we have been concerned about travel because of the predicted severe storms and the extreme high winds. Yesterday we squeezed our short 26 mile trip in between two rain/storm fronts. A warm front off the coast is running into a cool front traveling east from Mississippi (it’s probably the other way around meteorologically). Not only were we concerned about weather, but we were trying to time our trip to take advantage of the tidal swing – 8.5 ft.
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| Low tide |
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| High tide |
We wanted the water to be low enough for Grateful to get under SkidawayBridge, but rising enough to get Grateful through “Hell Gate”. Hell Gate is infamous (obviously to deserve the name) for shoaling and shallow water. We passed at mid rising tide and had no problem. Landing was a little quicker than usual because of wind, current and tide, but I was ready with all our fenders out – Kilkenny Marina’s docks are a little rough. (We picked up fuel there because we could save about 30 cents per gallon – we needed 317 gallons at $3.09 – do the math – YIKES!)
Last night we waited for the second wave of storms in front of the cold front to hit. There was no TV or computer to check the weather status. Other boats also sought shelter at Kilkenny – s/v Talisman from Sister Bay, WI, s/v Extra! Extra! from Annapolis, MD, and m/v Miscellaneous. We got some rain, lost electrical power for part of the night, but the inverter took over and we at least had a fan. It was 70 degrees and humid when we went to bed (after playing a game of Scrabble) and we woke up to 47, clear and WINDY!!
So yesterday was the easier of the two days. Today the extreme winds – 20-25 knots with gusts up to 35 knots – have compounded the effects of tides and current. In the narrow channels and rivers, it is better than in the Sounds. Georgia’s ICW is mostly rivers joining sounds with some manmade cuts when needed. Also, for several years, Georgia has not budgeted much money to maintain the ICW. Therefore areas that are prone to shoaling in most cases have not received attention for awhile. Our 64 mile trip to St. Simon’s Island has taken us through St. Catherine’s, Sapelo, Doboy, Altamaha Sounds so far and we will need to go partially into St. Simon’s Sound to get to Morning Star Marina of Golden Isles. St. Catherine’s Sound was first and was quite refreshing!! Grateful got a saltwater bath and we were rockin’ and rollin’. Most things in and on the boat are secure for waves, but not for the winds and pounding sea spray. I was laying towels down to soak up water both down below and in the upper salon and then noticed that the canvas cover for our tender was hanging over the back windows! I got to drive for a bit while Mark went to the upper station to secure the cover. He commented that it wasn’t at all as bad as trying to fix the chocks on the way to the Bahamas. Then he had to go out to tighten the ropes on the kayak as wind was lifting and shifting it on the deck. There he said he could believe that the gusts were 35 knots as he had to hold on to stay on.
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| Hard to capture how wild the wind was |
Today we also traveled with the cruise ship, American Star. We caught up to her as we were coming out of Sapelo Sound and moving into the FrontRiver, CreightonNarrows and Old Teakettle Creek. The tide also had just shifted from ebb and was rising. The American Star has a draft between 7-8 feet so she traveled slowly and extremely precisely through those critical areas. As the river widened into Doboy Sound we were able to pass and move on at a little faster pace.
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| No passing in narrow and shallow channels |
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| Narrowly able to pass |
I can tell already that this is going to be another long blog, so while I have you I want to tell you about our past week. It was terrific!!
We traveled from Isle of Palms, SC to Beaufort, SC, on Wednesday, November 24. Because it was an 80 mile trip we were up at daybreak and moving by 7:00. Mark and I don’t usually experience this time of day – what a novelty.
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| Sunrise |
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| Dawn over Fort Sumter |
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| Surprise! A towboat |
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| Finally past |
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| Nature’s Christmas colors |
We made good time and landed at Downtown Marina of Beaufort around 3:30. Hank & Ann, m/v Queen Ann’s Revenge, were already there and we made plans to go out for dinner. We ate at Plums and had a fabulous meal – I had the server take a picture before we destroyed the evidence.
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| Dinner with Ann and Hank |
Hank & Ann went on to Port Royal Marina for a Thanksgiving feast while we stayed in Beaufort for a few more days. Thanksgiving Day is all about eating and Mark and I were all over that. We had the traditional meal that I made on the boat and then we sat around and were lazy. Friday was rainy so we used the courtesy car and got groceries and I did laundry. Saturday was a day of working on the steering and repairing a leak on one of the engine exhaust hoses. (We discovered the leak on our way to Beaufort when it took the bilge pump one hour to expel the bilge water when normal is about 2-5 minutes.)
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| At work in the engine compartment |
After the chores we took a carriage tour of the area. The homes were spared in the Civil War because the Union Army moved in and occupied them.
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| Beaufort Christmas tree |
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| Waterfront Park |
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| The Rhett house |
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| Street in Beaufort |
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| Oldest church still holding regular services |
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| The tombstones of the church were used for surgical tables during the Civil War |
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| Arsenal built in late 1700s never fired upon |
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| The “Hanging tree” |
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| Angel tree – live oaks where the branches extend out and touch the earth |
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| 1000 year old live oak |
We moved on to Isle of Hope, Georgia, on Sunday. The trip was OK – Mark’s fixes to the engine exhaust hose worked, but the fix to the auto pilot and steering did NOT. The Isle of Hope community is just outside of Savannah. Mark and I took a morning walk along
Bluff Street
Bluff Street
. I continue to be enchanted by the live oaks covered in Spanish moss. Both Beaufort and Isle of Hope have many trees that are near 1000 years old – awesome.
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| Bluff Street |
The homes on
Bluff Street
Bluff Street
are both grand and charming – this area was a summer “playground” for Savannah’s elite in the early 1800s. Most of the homes are antebellum “cottages” that I would call mansions. Christmas looks beautiful here.
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| Nutcrackers guard the door |
Titusville
Daytona to Titusville. This had to be among the most boring days of the trip so far. The current was against us all day. (How is that possible?) The scenery was sparse, albeit, there were a few interesting places. For most of the trip, there was little to see but broad expanses of shoal water and low marsh lands. Although, the Florida ICW is better dredged and wider than further north making steering easier, we still had to hand steer all of the way. Note for the future: This is a good area to go outside.
There are many good anchorages around Titusville, and we did find an excellent one directly off of NASA’s Cape Kennedy complex and the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB, see banner photo). When it was built in the late 1960s, this was the largest building in the world (in terms of interior volume).
We are told that this is an excellent anchorage from which to witness space launches. Unfortunately, there are no launches scheduled this week, and no shuttle launches scheduled for a month. Maybe, we’ll be able to see them from further south.
We learned that fellow Selene 43 owners, Linda and Cory (Live Wire II) are anchored about 500 yards from us, but we can’t see them because of the causeway in between. We’ll investigate tomorrow.
Ken and Joy (Slow Dancin’), friends from Herrington Harbour North are about a day behind us. We plan to meet up with them on Saturday in Vero Beach.
For our friends up north, our high and low temperatures were 81 and 70. It was overcast most of the day, but no rain. It is supposed to cool off a little tomorrow.
