16-31 May 2006
St Augustine, Fl. to New River Inlet, NC
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| Date | Location | Log and Pictures | |||
| 16 May | St Augustine, FL | Up early because last evening a small tug stopped by our anchorage and informed us we were anchored in a construction zone for the building of a bridge and we must be gone by 7 am. We were and moved to the St Augustine Municipal Marina where we had reservations, a short run of 1 mile. After fueling we pulled into our slip by 8:30 am and spent the day in a rental car, shopping and getting my new drivers license at Green Cove Springs Fl, some 30 miles west of St Augustine. The mundane chores of life still must be completed and we did our share today. Returning to the boat we had Rich and Lee over for drinks. They arrived in town just this evening after a bad experience as a large wave from a passing 50 footer pushed them out of the channel and their props hit the sand. They will be pulled out tomorrow to check the damage. After drinks on board we went out for pizza, a treat we could not enjoy in the Bahamas. Great evening. |
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| 17 May | Fort George Island, FL | Laundry, vacuuming and washing the boat started our day. Finally underway at eleven, we headed north with the tide and anchored near Fort George Island at 4:30 pm. Along the way we noted a boat named "Lauren" (my daughter's name) and passed a dredging operation in Pine Island Cut. At anchor, we have a view of Kingsley Plantation, built by the Scot and notorious slave trader, Zephaniah Kingsley. It is part of the island park and available for tours. The weather is beautiful; 75 degrees during the day and mid 50s at night. It makes for great traveling on the ICW. |
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| 18 May | Fernandina Beach, FL | The port shaft has been "clunking" every time we shift gears for the last few days. This morning before lifting the anchor we completed some investigation that indicated the port propeller was loose on the shaft. We found a diver in Fernandina Beach so we stopped here to check it out further. He confirmed our fears but was able to remove the old damaged sleeve between the propeller and shaft and replace it with our onboard spare. Fixed and feeling good we celebrated with dinner on the town, and enjoyed the lights of the town, shown below right. | |||
| 19 May | Jekyll Island, Ga | A lazy morning with coffee and a nice walk started the day. Underway at 11 am we traveled the short 30 miles to Jekyll Island, enjoying beautiful weather and a fabulous sunset. |
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| 20 May | Duplin River, GA | After a restful evening we moved on this morning with the rising tide toward Duplin River, GA. We've stayed here before and it felt like old home week as we dropped anchor after an easy 35 mile trip. The wind was up to 20 knots but dropped off to near zero as we finished dinner. | |||
| 21 May | Turner Creek, GA | We enjoyed coffee and calm winds this morning as we waited for the rising tide to leave Duplin River. Underway at 10:30 we ran 60 miles to Isle of Hope Marina to anchor and use the marina's dinghy dock. They were full so we continued another 5 miles to Turner Creek; a narrow band of water of the Wilmington River that is loaded with boats in numerous small marinas. Along the creek we even found a boat that decided to float no more. The weather is warming up and we wait for the sun to go down to cool off. Rich and Lee came by for drinks and we really are trying to polish off the Rum we purchased in the Bahamas. We made a good dent in it today. |
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| 22 May | Savannah, GA | Short trip this morning, 20 miles, to arrive in Savannah, GA. The skyline arriving, behind Crazy Eights (Rich and Lee), was pretty but hazy as the temperature was already in the high 90's. We spent the afternoon touring the city and enjoying the numerous parks throughout the city. Later we enjoyed one of the local restaurants followed by a walk on the river walk watching the large container ships, one after another, come into the busy commercial section of the city. |
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| 23-24 May | Beaufort, SC | Lazy morning as we enjoyed coffee on board and wandered the streets of Savannah to find a nice breakfast. After a relaxing meal, with Rich and Lee who we are still traveling with, we got underway for Beaufort, SC and moored at Lady's Island Marina at 3 pm, an easy 50 mile run. Sophie then got a haircut by the new barber in the family, Carey. As the sun set we walked to our favorite restaurant, Steamers and enjoyed ribs and Frogmore Stew. The next morning I found a dentist and went for a check up of a problem tooth. Ouch! A couple hours later I was back aboard and ready for a quiet day so we stayed another day in Beaufort. | |||
| 25-26 May | Charleston, SC | Up early and underway at 8:15 on the 25th we headed for Charleston, SC where Mark (Carey's son) was going to join us. We arrived and moored at Charleston Harbor Marina at Patriot's Point about 4 pm, a 67 mile run. Mark arrived at 6 pm and we enjoyed a relaxing dinner at the restaurant in the Harbor Marina resort club. We decided to enjoy Charleston another day, and after morning coffee we toured the marina, the carrier Yorktown, and an old submarine and destroyer at Patriot's Point. We toured downtown Charleston and watched as a 50 foot sailboat lost power and crashed into the pier. Luckily no boats were seriously damaged. A highlight of the day was touring a 95 foot Fedship powerboat that was for sale. The owner was "taking offers" so we toured what was once a beautiful boat, but had been neglected too long. Fixed it would be beautiful again but we'd need several serious money toting partners to get it back to its original beauty. |
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| 27 May | Georgetown, SC | Easy start to the day. After coffee we were underway at 8:30 for Georgetown, arriving at 3:30 this afternoon. It was hot today and the big black flies controlled the agenda. They land on you and bite. Boy they bite. We've had them around when underway, not when stopped, for the last 3 days and can't figure out how to get rid of them. The conversations on the VHF radio are all about the flies and we offer mega bucks to those boats that have screens or fly swatters. Mark did a good bit of the driving today and we were introduced to alligators in the water. The picture below doesn't do the creature justice but we saw enough of them today to say "we were not going swimming this evening." | |||
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| 28 May | Bucksport, SC | Easy trip from Georgetown, just 27 miles to Bucksport, where we anchored and enjoyed the quiet of a beautiful anchorage. Local residents have anchored "townhomes" on the water that appeared to be a great way to enjoy the water. Mark enjoyed the dinghy and ran a few gallons of gas out of it around the area. | |||
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| 29 May | Barefoot Landing, SC | Mark was being picked up to head home today so we stopped at Barefoot Landing so his friends could easily pick him up, an easy 27 miles trip. We were moored and cleaning the boat by noon. | |||
| 30 May | Carolina Beach State Park, NC | Easy underway this morning about 9 am for an easy 59 miles to Carolina Beach State Park. I've passed this place several times and never thought to stop. A mistake. It is a beautiful park with a decent size well protected marina directly off the waterway. The total charge, including electricity, is $20 per night. A real bargain that we will not pass by again. | |||
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| 31 May | New River Marina | The carbon monoxide alarm woke us at 6:30 am. No generator running so we had a hard time finding the source but we moved up on the back deck and aired the inside of the boat. We'll watch closely but think it was just a fluke. After the tide starting rising we headed out. Bridges with hourly opening schedules and many no wake zones kept us moving slowly so we stopped after 49 miles at New River Marina. The views were amazing as you can see on three pictures below. When we moored we had reason to celebrate as we purchased diesel for $2.49 (2.29 + 7% tax), our cheapest price to date. New River Marina is a fish camp with trailers and small fishing boats but the hospitality was great. | |||
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