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.
