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St. Augustine, FL

“The first this, the oldest that” begins Lonely Planet’s description of St. Augustine. The town the Spanish founded in 1565 retains dozens of historical buildings ranging as far back as the Spanish era and now is a popular tourist destination. We spent two night anchored off town, enjoying the sights from the water and ashore….

Cumberland Island, Georgia

Cumberland Island is Georgia’s southernmost barrier island and is a popular destination full of hiking trails and dramatic scenery. In the 1880s, Thomas M. Carnegie, the brother of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, and his wife Lucy built Dungeness, a 59-room Scottish castle on the island’s southern tip. Fire later destroyed the mansion, and the Dungeness…

St. Marys, Georgia

Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is the the east coast home to the US Navy’s Ohio-class nuclear submarines. Nearby St. Marys has a museum packed with submarine memorabilia and even a working periscope. The attractive town also is the gateway to the popular Cumberland Island National Seashore. Following a half-day run from Brunswick, Georgia we…

Brunswick, Georgia

We got another chance to see a Metal Shark boat in action during a routine Coast Guard inspection on the way to Brunswick, Georgia. We were trying to reach Brunswick Landing Marina to fuel before they closed for the day, so would have preferred not to have been boarded, but the Coast Guard officers were…

FPB 781 Cochise

We are interested in all ocean-going power boats, but right near the top of the pack is the FPB series from Steve and Linda Dashew.  We’ve seen many FPBs over the years as we completed our around-the-world run and the first things that jumps out is they are unfinished aluminum. When we were in New Zealand…

Hilton Head Island

The National Weather Service recorded peak wind gusts at 88 mph 5-10 miles off Hilton Head Island on October 8th, 2016 during Hurricane Mathew. We saw the resulting damage from those winds first-hand after an 86nm run from Charleston to Hilton Head Island. Palmetto Bay Marina, pictured, was completely destroyed. Many of the docks along…

Charleston, SC

We enjoyed our time in Charleston, SC so much that we twice extended our stay. We loved the view to the Ashley River from our Charleston City Dock outside berth and had a great time exploring the city by tender, bicycle and on foot. The city lived up to its reputation for excellent food and…

Charleston By Water

The Intracoastal Waterway continues south past Charleston through Wappoo Creek. We returned briefly to the ICW on a tour of the area by tender that included a run up the Ashley River beyond our marina, and a pass by the Port of Charleston where we watched the tugs Moira McAllister and Patrick McAllister assist the…

Historic Charleston

Charleston, SC was founded in 1670 and has done an excellent job of preserving its heritage and historic sites and buildings. On a surprisingly cold and frosty morning, we did a bicycle tour along the city’s historic waterfront. Trip highlights from January 8th, 2017 in Charleston, SC follow. Click any image for a larger view,…

USS Yorktown

The USS Yorktown is the second of twenty-four Essex-class aircraft carriers launched during World War II. The Yorktown served in World War II and Vietnam and was the recovery ship for Apollo 8, the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon. Today the Yorktown is a National Historic Landmark and open for tours as part…