Author: Phil

After pulling into Marineland Saturday afternoon we spent Sunday and Monday getting the car and packing for the trip,  Tuesday morning off for Richmond VA, and our first medical appt on Wednesday.  It all worked out and we were back in Colonial Beach Wednesday evening for a week with medical appts and enjoying Colonial Beach.  We’re certain that driving a boat is much more fun than driving a car after this whirlwind trip.

We enjoyed visiting with many CB friends and had time to attend the Colonial Yacht Club Holiday party and Change of Watch for the new club bridge. It was great fun!

After the last appointment, we headed south again and pulled into Marineland Marina on the evening of the 18th.  On the way, we found out we have to redo one test, which will be on January 2.  We’ll enjoy Marineland until then and continue the trip after the 2nd.  In the meantime, we’re having Hanukkah with Carey’s cousin Jerry and his daughter Pam in Cocoa Beach, Fl.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone.

We’ll start posting again after the retest. (Double-click pictures for a larger view, and the back arrow to return to this page.)

 

 

It was cold when we pulled into Duplin River last night so we kept the generator running to use the heat pumps.  We tested the carbon monoxide alarms, turned on the engine room blowers, and were glad we had the generator engine exhaust system replaced when we bought the boat.  We felt safe and glad we did because it was VERY cold.

DUPLIN TO FERNANDINA BEACH

Underway Friday morning from Duplin River, we headed for Fernandina Beach, our first stop in Florida.  Traveled the North River, Little Mud River, and Buttermilk Sound in the AM, then traveled on the Mackay River into St Simons Sound.  The wind was at 15+ and waves 2-3 foot.  We sat back and enjoyed the rocking and rolling for about an hour until through this Sound.  We passed Jekyll Island and into the very small St Andrews Sound.  At this point you have to go around a shoal by entering the Atlantic for a short period or follow a carefully crafted route inside the Sound.  We chose the latter as the winds were 15 knots and more.  Unfortunately, the ocean waves were pushing into the Sound, so even the inside route was rough with 4/5-footers.  Luckily, it was a quick-hour trip.   We then jumped into the Cumberland River and headed south to Kings Bay GA, a key facility for our nuclear submarine force.   We stopped for the evening at Fernandina Beach and learned a hard lesson.  This marina had been rebuilt after an earlier hurricane and had new protocols for electric systems. Our older Grand Banks was not compatible without some rework, so we had a slip but no electricity from shore.  No problem, just use the generator, fixed just days earlier.  Not so fast.  The generator would not start so we now have to find the real cause of the generator problem.  It also meant we slept very close together with lots of blankets.  Luckily we are in Florida and the cold was not unbearable.

FERNANDINA BEACH TO MARINA LAND MARINA

Cold getting out of bed this morning, but we rushed through the preps (ours and the boat’s) to get underway.  By seven-thirty, we were off the pier and heading south to Marineland Marina, an 80-mile trip.  We started on the Amelia River, then the South Amelia River (original?), and through Nassau Sound and Sawpit Creek before arriving at Sisters Creek which feeds into St John’s River that we crossed into the Jacksonville area.  Palm Valley was next where many millions of dollars were spent on waterfront homes. Sorry we did not get many pictures here, but it was mile after mile of overly large homes and docks snuggled side by side.  We focused on pushing hard to get to Marineland.  One of several rivers we traveled to St Augustine was the Tolomato River.  We passed St Augustine early afternoon, one of our favorite stops but not for this trip.  We made it safely through the Fort Matanzas Inlet shoal and into Marineland Marina. We’ll leave the boat here for twelve days as we drive back home for medical appointments.  We’ll return on the 19th and continue our trip, including a stop at Ft Pierce to have Christmas with Carey’s cousins and see friends and relatives near where we used to live in Port St. Lucie. Then on to Palm Beach to cast off for the Bahamas.

Don’t expect many updates until we continue the trip later this month. Here are a few pictures of the last two days. (Double click for large version, then return arrow to get back to here.)

 

I was either vindicated or just lucky, but the battery was the problem with the generator.  The mechanic was here this morning after installing the new battery, which would not start the generator last evening.  We were prepared for who knows what.  After installation, it became part of the boat’s charging system and we found it was not a “fresh” battery and during the night was charged to its required level.  The generator started this morning quite handily and we were off on our trip. We were underway by 10 AM and pushing hard to make up time.  We traveled by Skidway Island and Isle of Hope (a great marina we have stayed at).  Next was Moon River that inspired the song of that name by Johnny Mercer.  While the song is great, the River is not a mile wide by any stretch nor stunning.  After the Bear River we crossed St Catherines Sound, with winds at 15+ and 3 footers for waves.  Sure is nice to be on BenjOllie — she seemed to say “just my kind of water.”   We then jumped in the North and South Newport Rivers with good protection until we next had to cross Sapelo Sound, with more wind and seas. Later, after several other rivers, we came to Teakettle Creek with more twists and turns than one would expect, but a fun bit of water travel.  And interestingly, we were traveling with 3 sailboats and a beautiful Nordhaven Blue trawler that would have been happy in the open ocean. We passed it at 11 knots and they were surprised at our speed and congratulated us!  We finally arrived at Duplin River, a favorite anchorage we’d bypassed the last few trips.  The weather should be good for an anchorage.  It is finally getting a bit warmer.  We don’t like the noise of the generator needed for the heat pumps and taking a chance we won’t need the heat.  Tomorrow we’ll pass across the St John’s River into Florida.  South Carolina and Georgia transits can be boring with continual spans of lowlands and marshes, but we enjoy the familiarity of the passages and the challenges.

A few pictures taken today are below.  Double-click for a larger view.  Use the back arrow to return to this page.

 

Left Beaufort, SC, and headed south. Carey borrowed the Lady Island’s Marina courtesy car at 9 AM and went for a quick shopping trip,  Back at 10 we started the engines and, oops, the generator decided to say “no go” this morning.  We shifted all the 120 volt stuff to the inverter and headed out.  We had been using the generator during the day versus the inverter (that makes 115 current out of the DC batteries) because the generator is required for the heat pumps to keep us warm.  Luckily the day proved to be fairly warm.  Maybe this cold snap is going away.

We headed south past the marine facility at Parris Island, traveled on Port Royal Sound, then, after passing Hilton Head Island, joined the Calibogue Sound to get us to Daufuskie Island, the Wright River, and finally crossed the Savanah River.  We’ve entered Georgia country now.  A few miles later we approached the Thunderbolt area and moored at Savannah Bend Marina.  I had called ahead and had a battery ready to be installed, as that was my diagnosis of the generator problem.  Not to be, as the new battery did not solve the problem,  We’ll do a review of the situation in the morning, but probably will continue traveling with the inverter and batteries.  It is getting warm enough during the day heat is not needed as we travel and we have shore power for heat at night.  We’ll schedule a full look-see while we are back in Virginia mid-December.  Meanwhile, pasta dinner aboard and a surprise delivery of breakfast biscuits by marina staff in the morning.  Very hospitable marina.  However, we usually dock on Savannah’s historic downtown dock wall and miss strolling around the area.  Will do it on the return.

We were busy all day with navigation issues through South Carolina and Georgia so not get many pictures were taken, except for a seldom-seen trimaran.  Oddly enough, their crew took pictures of us.   Remember, double-click for larger view, and use the back arrow to return to this page.

 

Worried about the travel time today, we pulled out of Isle of Palm at 7:15 heading south to Beaufort, SC, an 80-mile trip.  We passed through Charleston Harbor, through Elliot Cut, and meandered through the Ashley River, the Stono River, the South Edisto River, the Coosaw River, the Ashepoo River, and probably several other smaller rivers as we traversed this section of South Carolina.  There were several very skinny water sections in this portion but we lucked out. The timing of our travel had us at or near high tide for all the worst spots.  We loved it, sat back and enjoyed the views.  The tides were also our friend today as they were strong (plus 2 knots) in our direction more than against.  We made the trip averaging 10 mpg, more than we had planned.  Tied up and relaxing by 3:30 was the result.  It allowed us time to get ready for a great meal at Dockside, not the one in Colonial Beach, but a true competitor of our hometown place.

We’re now planning our car trip to Colonial Beach from 9 to 16 December for all those winter activities the elderly have—doctors’ appointments! We hope to stop in Marineland Marina in Marineland, FL., this Saturday and make this necessary car trip. We’ll return and continue heading south,  hoping to cross over to the Bahamas by the end of the month.  Getting excited.  This will be our seventh trip cruising the Bahamas and possibly our last…older age being what it is!

Here are a few pictures of the day. Remember to double-click to enlarge the view and use the back arrow to return to the page.