Do I Stay Or Do I Go?

SHIP'S LOG:

Current Location: Duplin River off Doboy Sound:31'25.317N/081'17.742W

The question of the day was do I stay at anchor in the Frederica River in the face of gusty winds and rain and in a location that really is tight or do I run the risk of taking off for my next spot on the change that I'll get rained on and have a bad trip but will end up in a better anchorage? It was an easy decision and made as soon as I got up and saw how close I had swung to the shore. Even though the depth sounder was reading 16 feet, I wasn't 10 feet from the marsh grass and with what was coming it was time to go. And I was gone by 7:30am!

Getting out of the Frederica River was the first task. It is quite twisty and there are no markers for the channel with the exception of crabpots, and crabpots rule! I had to take it rather slow because even with the crabpots, what channel there was was narrow and, like I said , twisty. It meanders from one side to the other of the river and doesn't always respect the belief that the inside corner will be deeper than the outside. I was puttering along at about 4 knots not wanting to "become a stick in the mud." Eventually though, I made it out and got into the ICW when the rains came. They were not too bad. About five hard minutes, followed by five non-rainy minutes, followed by five hard minutes . . . . you get the idea. And that was pretty much the way it was the whole trip.

The wind never quite materialized though there were some rather big gusts. Going through Altamaha Sound, the wind and the tide gave me a great push, but only took it away as I made the turn up into the Little Mud River. Actually it should be called the "Lots of Mud River" and it is a real pain. I caught a sand bar right at the start but was able to work off of it. The channel in this river makes the channel in the Frederica look like a six lane highway. To make matters worse, what wind there was, gusts included, was coming straight down the rive and churning it up. As a result, the depth sounder was going crazy and I couldn't quite be sure if it was reading very muddy water or true bottom. It went from 4.3 to 6.7 to 5.5 to 6.1 to 3.9, man it was all over the place. As far as I can tell though, I never kissed bottom aside from the beginning. One good thing about that little stretch is that the tension and concentration kept me warm. Once out, I was just cold and wet.

I crossed Doboy Sound, right into the Duplin River and dropped a hook dead center about 1/2 mile from the Ferry dock. With the changing wind, ABISHAG has inscribed about 3/4ers of a circle and the water is deep and I come no where near the shore, well no where near as I did at Frederica. I haven't decided whether or not I stay just the night or whether I'll stay another day. The weather should be pleasant for the next couple of days but Friday/Saturday looks not so good. It is not a decision I have to make right now, so I won't.

Did You Ever Have One Of Those Days?

SHIP'S LOG:

Current Location: Ft. Frederica (New Brunswick) Georgia 31'13.047N/081'23.777

It was supposed to be a easy day and it was . . . . for the most part. I made the trip from Jekyll Island to Ft. Frederica in about three hours getting here at 1:52pm. I found a spot and drop the hook and everything seemed fine. I planned it well, anchoring along the west bank of the river as suggested in the cruising guides and in anticipation of the wind shifting to the South West. Anchoring in these little river can be tricky as they are not very wide though they carry deep water up to the shore. Still it is possible to ground the boat if you don't take the wind into consideration. What makes it even more tricky with ABISHAG is that she loves to dance, that is swing at anchor. It is all the free-board which create a lot of windage for the wind to work on. Add to that the current in the river and it creates some interesting effects.

According to the proclamations from the boys and girls at NOAA, the wind this afternoon and tonight is "supposed to be" out of the southwest. As of 8:30, it ain't happened yet. The wind is out of South EAST and from the South but Southwest is a no show. Of course, there is also a chance of thunderstorms later tonight and tomorrow morning (30%) and as we all know, when they give a number, we gets the rain!

But back to the dance. . . . . I thought that I was in a good spot for the anticipated wind, but with it not showing up, I was too close to the shore. So I picked up and moved. Not satisfied with that, I did it again. And again. And again. AND AGAIN! Currently I am in a spot where I can swing in a circle , and I have, without getting into thin water. There in lies another concern, the water depth. Not the lack but the abundance. Currently I am in about 15 feet of water and there is still an hour til low tide. The tides in Georgia are bigger than they are anywhere else on the east coast and the next high tide, at 3:51 AM, will top out at 7.4 feet! Twenty-Two Feet will be the depth where I am sitting and for a nice and comfortable 6 -to -1 scope on the anchor rode, I need to set out 132 feet. That could put me into the bank even though I am anchored in the middle of the river. O well, I still have my Towboat/US Insurance and I haven't seen those guys in awhile.

The Gnats down here are incredible. Up in New England they are referred to as "No see 'ems" and they must have come down here to get away from the cold and the snow. My can of OFF has come in handy, but some local brew called "NO NATZ" works even better and smells much nicer as well. With all the marshes and swamps ahead, I bought two bottles!

I Nearly made a major mistake today. I was in a convoy of boats heading north out of Jekyll Creek. They made all the turns I had plugged into my GPS and I was getting complacent, just following along behind. If I hadn't been watching my GPS, I would have missed my turn off into the Frederica River. As it was I did pass it and had to double back. Once again I learned that you never follow anyone but follow your own plotted course. After all, like today, they may not be heading where I am.

The only decent boat names of the day: Finally; Out and About; Cat's Away; & September Rose.

A reminder that the Internet Access gets "iffy" from here on so bear with me on this.

Sailing Through Georgia

SHIP'S LOG:

Current Location: Jekyll Island, Georgia 311'02.790N/ 081'25.357W

Today I closed the Florida Cruising Guide and packed a way the Charts of Florida. I am now in Georgia at Jekyll Island. And so far the good weather is coming with me. It was in the 90's today and equally high humidity and the only wind was out North contradicting the prognostications of the boys and girls of NOAA.

It was an easy day and surprisingly there was very little traffic on the ICW in either direction. Few boats were traveling today. I would have thought that there would have been a lot more as the weather was very good and cruising is always a good way to enjoy a cool breeze. Aside from local fishermen, I can't say I saw more than half a dozen boats. It stuck me as strange, but what the heck, I had the day to myself. I did encounter "Lesser Light," a Nordic tug from Clinton. CT. we chatted for as long as we were in range but he was doing a couple of knots fast that I was able to do and drifted out of radio range.

When I got into the norther part of the Cumberland River just south of St. Andrews Sound, I ran into something I had never seen before . . . . . Jellyfish. Now I am not talking about one Jellyfish, or a dozen, or a hundred, I am talking miles of Jellyfish. I can't even begin to think how many there were. All I can say that from when I first noticed them, I cruised over two miles through them. And they were not just here and ther but thickly present, like balloons at a New Years Eve Midnight Balloon drop. I have no idea what they were doing there. Perhaps it was the time of the year for Jellyfish to congregate to "propagate the species!" I am not sure what kind they were, but I wasn't going swimming to fine out if they were the type that stung. It was just a bizarre site to behold.

In the east coast boating world, there are to national tow boat operations, Towboat/US(red boat) and Seatow(yellow boat). They boat maintain ceneters in various boating areas which allows you to call over the radio or by phone if you get yourself in a sticky situation. There is a serious competiton going on between the two and they always seem to be trying to get the upper hand over each other. One particularly annoying thing they boat do is responding to requests for radio checks. A hundred times a day, someone will call on channel 16 and ask for a radio check. They are asking if they can be heard and how well. Channel 16 is an international hailing and distress channel and is only to be used for such. If the Coast Guard responds to a call for the radio check, they will remind the caller of this fact and tell them to us another channel for the purpose. Outside of Florida, channel 9 is often used and monitored by the Amateur Radio Relay League. In Florida, channels 26 & 27 will let you monitor your own signal. But back to our competing towboat companies. They always respond to requests for radio checks on 16 with a cheery to the point of making you sick," Radio Check loud and clear at Seatow in Mayport," or wherever. Often times, one company will talk over the other and all you get is gobbledygook. And after you hear the same voice make the same response for the hundredth time you want to throw your radio overboard. It gets even worse when one follows the other in responding and then gets followed by the Coasties telling the caller to do radio checks on another channel which happens 10% of the time. It makes you want to scream!

I will be doing a nice short trip tomorrow, from Jekyll Island to Fort Frederica on the Frederica River. It is only about 13 miles away. I was going to stop on the way down but got hit with a rather nasty storm the night before and the day of and bypassed it in favor of a straight shot to Jekyll Island to dry out and get a nice hot shower. So now I will get to see what I missed!

It Was A LONG Bloody Day! ! !! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

Current Location: Bell's River, Fernandina Beach, FL 30'40.283N/081'128.874W

Gone before dawn. . . away at 6:51 am with dawn at 7:08. A significant moment came at 7:34am when I passed the site of one of my groundings, just outside of St. Augustine. It was approaching low tide as I passed and it was easy to see why I grounded. Despite the MLW(Mean Low Water) depth on the chart of 16feet, sand bars were peaking out all over the place. And so began the search for deep water that will continue until I hit Mile Marker "0" at Hospital Point in VA. I am once again the salve of the depth sounder.

Getting a much earlier than usual start, I neglected to check the condition of the dinghy which was in need of a pump up. As a result of its flaccid condition. it began to drag in the water, a fact that was revealed to me by a passing boat. There was no way to blow it up as there4 was no place to stop to do the deed. Anchoring in the middle of the ICW is a no-no. So I drifted, unhooked the dinghy from the davits and tied the painter to the stern cleat, all the while praying that ABISHAG would suddenly take it into her head to run aground somehow.

There was lots of northbound traffic and unfortunately we were all headed into the current and into the wind( despite what the boys and girls at NOAA had proclaimed that very morning). As a result it was a rather slow slog up the ICW, getting a few boost, one at the St. John River and the other at Nassau. But what they gave with one hand, they took away with the other and the boost only lasted for a mile or so before it was back down to slogging.

There was a lot of "tag playing " between boats, people catching up and passing boats from previous anchorages and marinas. Lots of joshing on the radio back and forth. During the trip through Palm Valley, I saw my first and, so far, only Alligator swimming in the ICW. Probably a couple of feet long. Truth be told, you can't see much but there is no mistaking what you do see.

I am heading into a portion of the ICW where there is some serious barge traffic. I had to avoid two today. I also had to avoid a mini-cruise ship, American Glory, on its way to Jacksonville or St. Augustine. Talk about a tight squeeze.

After leaving at 6:51am, I dropped the hook at 4:45pm after a little over 55 miles as the dolphin swims. The worst part of the whole day, aside from the times of crushing boredom, was the constant passing of powerboats at unacceptable speeds that produced big wakes and rocked me all over the place. May one out of 30 actually did a slow pass. After awhile, I was wishing for a canon!

Some of the boats today were: Keep It Reel; Knot Enough; Smile Doctor; Livin Large; Poor Frog(from Montreal);No Payment Due; Paper Trail; Slice of Life; Sunday Funday; Over Budget; Getting Better All The Time; It's About Time;Wet Wings.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I shall leave Florida behind an head into Georgia

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Cell phone coverage and Internet access in Parts of Georgia, North & South Carolina is a bit spotty. There will be days when I will be "out of touch." Just a head's up!

Onward Northward

SHIP'S LOG:

Current Location: St. Augustine : 29'53.175N/ 081'18.245W

Today got off to a rather exciting start. About 7Am, a fire truck, siren howling and lights aflashing,came roaring into the marina. Naturally it got every one's attention. I look around to see what boat was on fire, after first checking my own, and it turned out that none were. Several firemen went rushing down the far dock carrying, not fire fighting equipment, but obvious medical equipment. As they did so, an ambulance roared up, so it became clear that it wasn't a fire but a medical emergency. Eventually, word got around that the wife of one of the boaters had had what appeared to have been a "small stroke." At last report, is was alive even if not too well and in the local hospital.

What actually woke me up this morning were the birds. Not the gulls and pelicans and other sea birds, but real birds, song birds and they were singing up a storm. Last night it was the peepers. They too were singing long and loud. Spring is definitely here for "love is in the sir." It is probably not the case further north, but today, down here, it certainly was!

It was an easy jaunt from Palm Coast to St. Augustine, a little over 20 miles. The only place of concern was the Matanzas Inlet. There has been a lot of shoaling recently and the buoys in the water are far different than those on the charts. I remember that when I came down here in December, it was a hairy passage of a little over a mile which ran you, or appeared to, right up along side a bank on the western shore. Taking the passage slowly and following the track I made in December that was still in the GPS didn't necessarily take the jitters away but it turned out that it took me through with no real problems at all.

Speaking of the GPS, it seems to have developed a"glitch." As it loads each new map section, it slowly "greys-out" the top 10% of the screen and they clears it, only to do it again a few seconds later. And again, and again. If I set it out at a range of 200 feet or more, it does do it, only at 120 or closer. Of course, right now the most useful settings are those of 120 or less. Of Course. It is more of a nuisance than a real problem. On the way down, it went through a couple of hours of feezing( didn't everyone in December) but eventually unlearned that trick. I am will to bet that the same will happen this time. Maybe it just doesn't like the maps of northern Florida.

Had a great time with Martha and Rich last night, along with their friends Kathy, Frank and Debbie. It was well worth the wait for them to get back from the Left Coast. Rich is/was a dentist who loves to kid around. He even looks like a dentist. You know, the one played by Laurence Olivier in "The Marathon Man," . . . . "Is it safe?" Truth be told, he and Martha are really warm and wonderful people who opened their home to me. And I am honored to call them friends.

The northern migration has definitely started. Lots of boats heading north including some I encountered on the way south. Among the more original names: Hops & Scotch; Wings & Jeans; Knot Too Late; Sea Yawl; Doyle's Elbow; Ol' Spice; Tourist; My Time Too; The Office; Cat Ching(a catamaran) ; Biech to Beach(from Beich, NC) Sea Dick & Jane; Happy Feet; Chubby Ducky; Iffin; Reel Luv; Liquidity; Official Business; Bewitched; Long Haul; Gravity Storm; Run Tum Tiger; Moonlight; Moon Struck; Tropical Blend; Gail Winds; Anadante; Two Gether; Brat; Watts New( an electric powered boat).

Most marinas have a book exchange. Cruisers drop off books they've read and pick new one for the trip ahead. I picked up three, though one I'll never read. It was a James Clavell book Guaw Jin . . .. but what I didn't realize until later was that it was in SWEDISH! ! !! ! ! !

Rainy Day IV: Man The Pumps!

SHIP'S LOG:

What is it with Florida? Anybody know? It seems as if it can't just rain down here. Today(Tuesday) we had another one of those "special storms". It started about 8am and finished up here in Daytona about noon. It was typical, you know rain(torrential), wind(gusts to 60mph), thunder( LOUD!), lightning("frequent and excessive" according to NOAA), hail(only "dime size" this time), and tornadoes(though these all showed up as waterspouts). Can't it just bloody rain!?

Actually it would be easier to deal with if it all happened basically at the same time, but it doesn't do that either! It seems as though you get the wind first. This morning, it was clear skied but then the wind came and blew in the clouds and kept blowing, running up from a mere nothing to a solid 30-35, and then the gusts. This time, the early wind oriented ABISHAG and the others in the anchorage to the right direction before the onset of the gusts so that the first indication that the storm was really here was not getting laid over.

Then suddenly the wind stopped, or at least dropped below 20 and then came the rain. I don't know how much but it is always a lot when it blocks you from seeing any of the other boats around you. I think NOAA reported about 2 inches all told by the time the storm went its merry way out to sea.It fell like some one playing with a faucet. Hard and fast, slow and light, hard, slow, light , hard . . . . you get the idea.

It was funny that the thunder and lightning came when the rain was light. There some really fantastic bolts, though all for the most part seemed none too close. The thunder you felt through the air and then through the hull of the boat. A real one - two punch..

Then there was the hail. Not much of that, thank God, and it was pretty light. Even at "dime size" it rather stings should you get struck by it.

It appears that the major parts of the "squall line" went more south of Daytona. The places I was just some weeks ago really took a beating. There were few spots down there, around Titusville and Melbourne, that I would have like to have ridden out this storm or the ones last week.

Just before the curtain riser at 8am, a sailboat left the Aquamarina right near by and headed north. I really couldn't think of what he was doing. At that time, the weather from the north was awful according to the NOAA reports. He was basically ridding right into the teeth of another line of thunderstorms with all the fun features of the ones we would later experienced. I hope he got to where he was going all right. I wonder if he even checked the weather before he left for it didn't make a whole lot of sense to take off with what was in the offing.

I will have to admit that the boys and girls of NOAA, as badly as they seem to be at times, really have their act down when they deal with a serious and immediate weather problem. If they say something will begin at such and such a time, they are right on; if they say that it will move in such a way, it does; if they say it is going to end at this time, it does. Now if they can only get that good with the regular forecasts!

O well, the sun is out now and though the wind is still a bit up(15-20), the skies are clearing and tomorrow is supposed to be just fine. It will be good to be moving again, though the wind, what there will be of it, will be right on the nose. No Sailing tomorrow, unless NOAA got it wrong and what are the chances of that happening?

Rollicking! ! ! ! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

It has been a rollicking day down here in Daytona! This morning at sunrise, there was barely a stirring in the air. By 8am, the wind had cranked up to a solid 25 and remained there all morning. During the afternoon, it got up as high as 30. Now these aren't especially "terrible" numbers, but in the shallow water of this anchorage, such "breezes" do set up a nasty chop. It is tough to put anything down and have it remain in place and if a liquid, to remain un-spilt. It does not appear that it will die down all that much tonight as this wind is the harbinger of a front that will move through later tonight insuring, according to the boys and girls at NOAA, that it will be another one of those days. You know, rain, thunderstorms, hail, high winds, possible tornadoes. Right now, it is making snow sound good.

I replaced the final hinge on the doors to the windlass locker. All four of them gave up the ghost on this trip and have had to be replaced It is a weird item to break in the first place but to have all four of them go in the space of a few months is hard to believe. But believe it or not, they all went and, even stranger, I had replacements available in my "What not" locker. With all the other odd items located there in, the prospect of more "weird" replacements in the future is not fun to contemplate.

I am starting to think in terms of fall. It is as though I have gone through my "summer" and am now approaching the end and what "should" be ahead is fall. But actually, it is SPRING! I think my biological clock is going to go a bit off in the weeks ahead.

For a few weeks now, I have been trying to locate the source of a tapping that seems to come in the early evening. It is as though there is a "mad" woodpecker tapping away somewhere. Y p until today, I have only heard it at night and I have actually conducts hunts to try and locate the source of the noise. I narrowed it down to the port side of the boat near or around the engine somewhere, but couldn't get any closer than that . . . . until today. I was sitting up in the cockpit reading when I heard it and it was right next to me. I looked down and it turned out to be a unsnapped metal snap on the dodge. The wind was causing it to "tap" against the retaining stud. Well that's one "mystery" solved, a 1,000 more to go.