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Mar. 23 – Jacksonville, FL

By on March 24, 2014 in The Pearl
Ortega Yacht Club Marina

“The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.” —Dale Carnegie

Our cruise today took us down the eastern coast of Florida and up the St. John’s River past Jacksonville and then into the Ortega River. This area of the Ortega River is very pretty with beautiful homes along the shore, each with lovely yards with azaleas blooming.

Ortega Yacht Club will be our home for the next couple of weeks. We plan to go home for a quick visit later this week…we need a family and Mayven fix and thought this would be the perfect time. When we return we will head further up the St. John’s River.

There are quite a few boats in the area that we know…hopefully we’ll be able to catch up with a few. We spent the evening visiting with Greg and Leslie from Amalia, they were one of the first cruising couples we met in 2011. It’s always fun to spend time with them. Tomorrow we’ll drive down the coast to visit with our friends on Amici.

A beautiful sunrise over Fernandina Beach

Cruising into Jacksonville

A few of the homes along the Ortega River

Leslie and Greg aboard The Pearl 

Mar. 22 – Fernandina Beach, FL

By on March 23, 2014 in The Pearl

Fernandina Harbor Marina Mooring Field
“The most dangerous risk of all – The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”

We’re back in Florida! It seems a little strange…as we walked around Fernandina Beach this evening it felt like we were just here…and it’s been three years.

We woke to grey skies and expected to get rain part of the day, but what we got was a mix of sun and clouds. One minute we’d be cold and the next we would be warm…by the time we arrived in Florida we had a beautiful sunny day. We picked up a mooring ball, relaxed a little and then took the dinghy to town. Fernandina Beach is a cute little town. It has a quaint downtown area with lots shops and restaurants. We could tell it was spring break (and Saturday)…there were people everywhere. It was a lot less crowded the first time we were here. We wandered through a few shops and then had dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Peppers.

We passed more friends going north today…we were hoping we’d get to visit with Jim and Betsy on Smiles before they returned to Isle of Hope in South Carolina…we missed them in Florida by one day. We are going to miss seeing a lot of people this summer, since we seem to be doing things a little backwards this year. Oh well, there’s always next year. We had another relaxing night on the boat watching another beautiful sunset.

Still very flat and open…we can see forever!

White pelicans having breakfast at low tide.

A Black Skimmer…can you tell the top from the bottom?

Jekyll Island Club…one of our stops in 2011. Hopefully we’ll take time to explore here again on our way north. Click here for details.

Cumberland Island State Park…we spend a few days here in 2011 exploring this wonderful spot. Click here for details.

Our view of Fernandina Beach from the mooring ball.

One of the beauty buildings in Fernandina Beach 

The welcoming committee at the marina  

Mar. 21 – Sapelo Island, SC

By on March 22, 2014 in The Pearl

Duplin Creek – AnchorageI know we’ve been through this area before, but I’m finding it very difficult to find any landmarks I remember. The reason could be…it all looks alike. The ICW meanders through rivers, creeks and sounds that are s…

Mar. 20 – Thunderbolt, GA (Savannah)

By on March 21, 2014 in The Pearl
Bahia Blue Marina
“When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble is too difficult to overcome.” —Wilma Rudolph


The first day of spring was beautiful, and we enjoyed every minute of it. We slept in and didn’t pull away from the dock until noon. The tides around Savannah are a little crazy…10-12 feet and the current is very strong. For that reason the captain decided we’d leave later today so we could arrive at the marine close to slack tide. Leaving late meant we would arrive late, but that’s ok, we spent a month in this area on our way north in 2011 and did a lot of exploring then. We did make it in time to go to Tubby’s for their sunset celebration and wonderful crab stew. It’s one of our favorite places to eat in Savannah.

We had lots of company today…dolphins were everywhere. They seemed to be enjoying the first day of spring as much as we were. We never get tired of watching them play in our wake or gliding in front of our bow. 

Beaufort, SC

What a great way to enjoy the first day of spring

Spring…being enjoyed by everyone 

The Captain

Musical entertainment at Tubby’s 

Mar. 19 – Lady’s Island, SC

By on March 20, 2014 in The Pearl

Lady’s Island Marina

“It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”—Jim Rohn

We’re finally on the move…we left Charleston this morning on a cold grey day. All bundled up to stay warm. It definitely felt and looked like winter. By the time we arrived in Lady’s Island the sun was shining and it felt more like spring…hopefully this will be our last real cold day. We passed seven or eight boats heading north…that’s the expected flow of traffic for this time of year. Everyone heading north to spend the summer in cooler places or on their way home from spending the winter somewhere warm. Heading further south definitely is going against the grain, but we’ve never been ones to do the expected or follow the crowd. We’ve traveled this way before in 2011, but it’s been long enough that neither of us remembered that much about this section of the waterway…it’s kind of like having a new adventure. I guess living on a boat is a new adventure every day…definitely not your ordinary life.
Lady’s Island is across the river from Beaufort, an old southern town packed with history and charm. We enjoyed exploring it during our first stop here. Today we stayed close to the boat, we visited with people on the dock, walked to the grocery store and had dinner at a very causal spot above the boat. It was really more of a bar that grills on their deck…hamburger on Wednesdays, pork chops on Thursdays and steaks on Fridays.
One of the best things about cruising is making new friends and spending time with friends we’ve made through the years. One of the hardest things about cruising is leaving those friends behind when our plans take us in opposite directions. Although saying good-bye is a little sad, we know our paths will cross again somewhere on the water, and it will be like we’ve never been apart. We’ve made a lot of good friends in the past three years and look forward to meeting many more. It’s fun to pull into a marina or anchorage and see a familiar boat and have a chance to catch up on all their adventures.


Last picture with Pam

Leaving Charleston 

Views from the Low Country we cruised through today.

Looking at the marina from the deck where we had dinner. 

Mar. 18 – Charleston, SC

By on March 18, 2014 in The Pearl

Ashley MarinaLast weekend we made the rounds to our favorite places one more time. Friday was a beautiful day, so we spent the afternoon riding our bikes through town, eating a late lunch, watching people at the Market and soaking in the sights. We lov…

Mar. 12 – Charleston, SC

By on March 12, 2014 in The Pearl

Ashley Marina”What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”―Ralph Waldo EmersonOur time in Charleston is quickly coming to on end. We’ve been enjoying this beautiful city and some wonderful spring weat…

Mar. 7 – You Might Be a Cruiser If…

By on March 7, 2014 in The Pearl

Ashley MarinaI found this on the Internet and knew I had to add it to our blog. If you’re a cruiser you’ll laugh at how true most of these statements are, if you’re not, you’ll probably laugh at the thought of people living this way.You might be a Crui…

Mar. 2 – Charleston History

By on March 3, 2014 in The Pearl

Ashley Marina“Enjoy the little things in life for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.”Charleston is full of history…everywhere you look and every street you go down has a story to tell. One of the most photographed area…

Feb. 27 – Charleston, SC

By on February 28, 2014 in The Pearl

Ashley Marina”When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.”—Mahatma GandhiWell, staying in one place definitely makes blogging difficult…there just isn’t anything exciting to report…