2/26/2019; Dr's Lake, Florida

Not really a lake, 'cause it is openly attached to the St Johns River; in today's PC speak it is an inlet. Heck of a conversation starter, eh? Anyway, Scooter and crew departed good  ol' Palatka again this morning and headed north. Kind of a grey and dreary day on the river. A bit of rain here and there, some wind generated chop ( not suey, Chuckie, waves), but all in all, not a bad ride. Plan is, weather permitting, to go thru the FEC RR bridge tomorrow between 1145 and 1300, then thru the Jacksonville harbor complex to Sisters Creek; hang a left and park for the night at the Jacksonville City dock. Forecast calls for T-storms and rain most of the day, so we'll have to see how it goes.

Before Scooter left for this voyage, the crew updated the electronic navigation equipment. Garmin was the stuff of choice at the time. After many miles of hair tugging, some impolite mumbling, and a lot of experimenting, we finally got the nav units to operate together; as in display the same thing at the same time. The upper station unit showed the boat on land, but with depth numbers, while the lower unit showed us in the water. Now, we're in the water on both units, but the upper unit still has some "what in the ..... is that all about" stuff going on. Talking to the support folks is a blast. We'll get'er done, somehow, sometime.

Thoughts on the St Johns River; big in the northern end, small in the beginning, Interesting and scenic after Palatka, not so much before that; Like everywhere else, some really nice folks here, and, some not so much. The hard hits that the hurricanes dealt out are  quite evident in a lot of places, as are the efforts to get it all put back together; most places.

By the end of the week Scooter should be in St Augustine or Daytona Beach... who knows for  sure at this point; South, anyway Catch you on the flip side.

North bound; down the river.

With an "urnk, urnk" here and a "urnk, urnk" there, we spent the night tied to the ground in Morrison's Creek. Also lots of moaning and groaning(easy, Chuckie) from the Ibis roosting trees next to the creek. One of the more interesting audio take aways from last night, was the peeper band.  Sounded a  lot like a drunken banjo group. Actually, at times, had a pretty good beat. The "urnk"s came when the Ibis's decided to aviate; even if it was just to change branches. With all that exotic noise going on, I half expected Tarzan to come blasting by.

Given the weather forecast, Scooter's crew decide to do an early up and at'em to avoid the winds that were going to hit the lake. Decision was wise, as the winds jumped in a bit early. Scooter does not like, or tolerate, lots of wind or wave action on the stern (backside, Chuckie). Compared to Chesapeake Bay seas, thus was mild, but certainly annoying. The angle was such that there was a good bit of induced roll involved as well; uncomfortable at best.

Anyway,  across Lake George, quick stop for fuel and ice at Renegades on the River, one of two marinas on the St Johns with available diesel fuel. Between Bubba and the wind it was a memorable experience! Moving downriver again, thru the Buffalo Bluff bascule RR bridge, into Dunns Creek. The intent was to find a protected anchorage in the untamed wilds of Florida; get shelter from the T-storms bearing down on us, observe some wildlife, and hope for some cool air. So ,around the bend we go, and whoa, looky here! Buses, airstream camper, and for your lifting pleasure, a small crane. "Noble Phoenix" is the name. I tried looking it up and got a variety of answers; some interesting, some believable. Lots of strange stuff like this in the Florida waters we been thru. This ship is occupied, as were some of the other boats we've seen derelicting their way to oblivion. Interesting phenomenon. Costly for the state and local governments, but it seems hard to stop.

Tomorrow, we'll keep heading North. Weather is to turn wet, and, blessedly, cooler. Jacksonville, turn right twice and head for St Augustine. we'll keep you posted. Stay happy. Catch you on the flip side.

Annnnd here we go again......

Palatka, Florida; put together in the 1800s as a trading center; often referred to as the "gem city of the St Johns River". A raging fire in 1884 put an end to a lot of that prosperity. Its kind of a cool town; friendly folks, Florida's oldest diner; Angels; fantastic breakfasts. The town has encouraged mural paintings on some 30 buildings; different subjects, some relating to parts of Palatka's  history, others to more recent events. The marina, as did so many others along the rivers here, suffered  a pretty heavy hit from the recent hurricanes. Rates were inexpensive, facilities were working. It was good. We rented a vehicle from good ol' Enterprise; gave us a bit of mobility that proved quite useful; Family visits, chasing mail & parts. As Enterprise is sometimes inclined to do, they gave us a free upgrade. From a Hyundai sedan to a brand new F-150. Yo; what a treat; thing had so many bells and whistles on it that it was hard to focus on steering. We managed.

We were due to leave Palatka on the 21st, but weather; in the way of wind, and an escaped gremlin in the starboard engine's (Frick, as opposed to Frack) cooling system caused us to back that to the 22nd. Issue turned out to be solvable by the captain; as did the associated issues that, of course, arose at the same time. Now, it is painful for me to go into this factor, given the domiciles of many of you, but I gotta confess that trying to work in a hot engine room when the temps are over 85, is an excruciatingly slow process; ya know what I mean, right. I honestly don't think age really has anything to do with it; I can, after all, still bend.

So, goodbyes all being said, Scooter full where needed, empty where advised, and the cooler iced down, we were ready to roll; oops; Mother nature say "whoa, bubby, be a bit" So, we waited. I don't mind radar and GPS navigation when I have some idea where I'm going. But, not here. Didn't take long before things opened up a bit. Up the river, south in this case we went to Bear's Creek, just north of Lake George .

Up this morning and on up the river, across the Lake: biiig lake, to
Morrison's Creek, which, surprisingly enough is just by Morrison's Island. Critters abound here; Ibis, egrets, herons, turtles, and for the more adventurous; "Alli", as in gator. Sorry, you'll have to click on that one to see it better. Tomorrow will find us heading north again; down the river towards Murphy's Island and or Palatka. We hoping we don't get tagged by the mass of rain and "stuff" moving across parts of the south to our west. Given that the lake is shallow any wind will create a mass of ugly. Stay safe, stay happy, stay warm! Catch you on the flip side.

St. Johns River

Up at a comfortable time for our departure to the St. John's River. The port of Jacksonville is extremely busy; tugs, tankers,  warships, recreational boats, all compete for the same waterway space. gets kinda interesting at times. Some rules to remember; "green right going", "red right returning",  "triangles on the land side", "weight is right", "one whistle pass', or "two whistle pass"; sometimes expressed as"see you on one, cap'n". All this while watching the depth finder, the chart, and the plotter. Anyway, off Scooter went; down Sisters Creek, took a right into the St. Johns River and into the maelstrom of boating traffic. Hard to believe you can get a tingle at 8 kts; but, trust me, it can happen. Finally thru the commercial docks into the city proper, we found that the FEC RR bridge, normally open, was having a problem and was closed to marine traffic. So we milled around for 45 minutes in the current. " FEC bridge, MV Scooter, got any idea when you might open?"" We're working on it, Cap'n; be a few minutes" Funny, that's what he said 30 minutes ago. All of a sudden; up it goes; Great big ol' rusty hunk of iron and gears acting like a jack-in-the-box. Hope whatever the problem is has nothing to do with the mechanism that keeps it open. Past that issue. on down to Dr's Lake Marina for diesel/ice, etc. Out of there, past the Navy Air Base ( under a navy C-130 doing touch and goes):kinda cool. Oh, forgot; we are now stuck in this river until they fix that bridge. Altho' I see in today's CG notams that they may have changed the maintenance dates. Ah, well; press on. On down the river to Black Creek.

This am decided to take a quick side trip, and run up said creek; just to explore a bit, ya know; sort of gives us bragging rights. We did it in fairly good form; came back down the creek, under the bridge, back into the main river. A word about bridges; Most, but not all, bridges over navigable waterways have height boards attached to the bridge fenders ( part you can hit, Chuckie, but not hurt the bridge). the chart will say Horiz cl x# of ft; vert cl x# of ft. Thinking captain will know his/her clearance limits. What sometimes happens is that the board gets so crudded up that it is illegible; Combine that with an unusual tide situation, a non-thinking captain, and .... I gotta tell you, it makes a terrible noise. What is really fun, is when a bull-headed bridge tender tells you that there is x number of ft of clearance, and you can go thru; sometimes they lie; Same horrible noise!

That all said and done, Scooter rumbled down the river to Clarks Creek, our current anchorage for the night. Tomorrow we will move on down to Palatka, FL, docking there 'til the 21st or so. We'd like to explore the river further south, but since there is no fuel available may have to adjust the plan a bit

Hope all is well in your worlds. catch you on the flip side.

Saint Marys to JAX

Happy Valentine's Day. May all you sweethearts rejoice, no matter the gender, it is your day!. Ah, and what a beautiful day it was; one made for romance; perhaps a luncheon, perhaps a dinner at that special place, for sure  a special card, you know one of those that almost drips with sentiment when you open it. Well, if none of that applies to your case, I suspect a long upcoming year may be in your future. Well, yeah, Chuckie, flowers count.

Some quick comments re Saint Marys; main draw is the Cumberland Island  National Park, Visitors run about 300 per day in season. Absolutely worth the trip. Town itself got hammered by the last round of hurricanes; Irma and the group. They are rebuilding. Pretty spot, birds of all sorts inhabit the marshes; themselves a wonderland of scenery and wildlife activity

They say that time and tide wait for no man, but, boy, does man wait for tide. The concept of a rising, or falling, tide running your time schedule is humbling at best. Trick is to time your trip; speed, departure, etc so that the tide will be high enough to get the boat through the low spot you need to pass 30 miles down the river. Can become a challenging enterprise on a windy day. Anyway, we rode the falling tide down the Saint Marys river to Florida. Oozed around the shallows at Fernandina Beach, down the Amelia River into Sisters Creek. As Scooter passed by various ocean inlets, our speed over the ground would vary by as much as 3 knots. Sometimes the incoming tide would turn left and end up on our nose, sometimes to the right and give us a boost. Pretty much on schedule, Scooter and hard working crew arrived in Jacksonville, FL. The city

has installed some nifty floating docks just north of the main harbor. Use is free; no power or water hookups, but, hey, the operative word is free. So, how can you complain?

Tomorrow will find Scooter following the St. Johns River thru the commercial port of Jacksonville itself . This river actually runs north, so we will be headed south while going up the river. Interesting concept, eh. What will make this part of the trip so different is that we will be unable to get back out of the river for at least a week. USCG has decided to close a RR bridge in Jacksonville for repairs during the coming week. To further enhance the tingle of adventure Scooter will experience is the fact that there is no diesel fuel available on the river once we leave Jacksonville. Better stay tuned for this one!

Hope all is well with y'all (sorry, couldn't help it); that you are staying warm, happy, and safe.

711 and counting

Monday, February 11; from mile 711; what was supposed to be a pretty day with sunshine, gentle ocean breezes, and perfect temps turned out to be a bit different. Sweatshirt weather, lousy visibility, no sun. Well, could have been snow & ice, so I guess complaints at this point are useless. Out of Brunswick, GA., headed for Cumberland Island, GA. Once one of our favorite spots to stop and wander amongst the live oaks and Spanish moss, we were looking forward to the visit. So, thru Brunswick River to Jekyll Creek; notorious for its shallows and strong currents.

Caused a bit of a stir, squawk actually, at the local pelican bridge gathering. Out into St Andrews sound; closest we'll be to the Atlantic Ocean on this leg of the trip. Past Brickhill River, past the missile sub base at King's Bay, into the anchorage at Cumberland National Park. For the first time this season , we off loaded the little rubber boat, attached the 80# lump of iron to the back, gave it three pulls and it fired up. A major relief for this one armed puller; up and running, we blasted off to the park. Wandered out to the beach, looked for the memories; found some. Ever notice how they aren't quite the same? Back to the dock, into the little rubber boat and off we went, back to Scooter. Enroute, however,  I noticed steam coming from the cooling port. Ah, well; something for Tuesday's project list. Happy hour was fairly peaceful, dinner was fantastic. nighttime scenery was spectacular as well. A wall of sea fog rolled in, so you could see the stars, but not much else.

Up and at things in the am. Hopefully the discovery that one of the outboard lift harness straps was blocking the cooling outflow will solve the problem. Couple of other items tweaked or repaired. Crew decided to head up to St Marys, GA. No particular reason; never been there, so why not. 'Cides, T-storms were in the forecast. Rather be tied down than anchored. Up anchor, and up the St. Marys River. 8+ miles; hour and a half later we were there. Unfortunately, so were the squall lines with 20+ kt winds. Wasn't that a blast. Scooter is tucked into what is left of the Lang marina after Irma finished with it. Lots of current, lots of wind, and another line of storms headed our way.

Tomorrow will, hopefully, see us in Florida; Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, and Jacksonville on on the target list. Have a great evening, a wonderful day, and stay safe. Catch you on the flip side.

On to Brunswick

Its been awhile since we've posted info on Scooter's voyage; my apologies to those who follow faithfully. Well, truthfully, there hasn't been a lot going on. Scooter pulled into Brunswick Landing Marina' s dock #1 on the afternoon of February 6th. A lovely way to end a day filled with uh-oh's, where in the .... did that marker go, and did you see that reading? Actually, while there may have been some tense moments, it was a good trip. . The big issue was timing the tide in Little Mud River. We were up and moving early am from Walburg Creek behind St Catherines Island. To save time Scooter gambled a bit and used what looked like a rising tide to jump the 4' bar at the southern end of the creek and rejoin the ICW 45 minutes ahead of our schedule. North Newport river, Johnson Creek, Sapelo Sound, of Blackbeard, the pirate fame, all slid by. It was heart rate enhancing to watch the ground speed; OK, speed over the bottom; go from 5.7 kts to 11.1 kts with each twist and turn thru all the rivers, sounds, and cuts; knowing Scooter had to hit the entrance to Little Mud River before the tide started falling. Out of Rockdedundy Creek (real name, Chuckie), things looked OK, and all of a sudden, we were in Little Mud River. How long can you hold your breath; sun in your eyes, wind blowing from the starboard side, really tight channel that will be shrinking soon; yeah, baby!

So, Scooter and crew got by all that, cruised by St Simons Island and on to Brunswick Landing Marina. First impression: biiig place; 20 acres to be exact. To get to the free beer; on tap all day, every day, ya gotta walk a half mile; one way! Happy hour is held Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Snacks, BS, and noise. The two legged crew members attended, then crawled back to Scooter and folded up for the night.

Next day brought the usual; laundry, mechanical items to tweak or fix. Finished that day by going to the RITZ Theatre; Brunswick's version of the Carlisle Theatre; renovated art deco sort of thing. Got to watch a Chinese flick named....something about a Dragon. Great theatre; 'nough said. The eighth was a birthday for Ginny, so we got a rental car from Brunswick auto rental; yep, you guessed it, used to be a Rent a Wreck group. Went out for lunch, saw the movie Upside, good day in all. Weather was shorts and T-shirt stuff until Saturday; wind picked up, temps started dropping. Watched a small boat regatta for a bit. Did some more boat work, walked some more. Kind of a neat town to walk thru; lots of little parks; courtyards really, amidst the quaint little shops. nice place.

Scooter's next destination is Cumberland Island, GA. Planned departure is tomorrow morning. We'll refuel. fill the water tanks, empty the holding tank and shove off. Weather may have an influence on all this, of course. We'll see.

May you be safe in the weather you're gonna have, stay warm, and happy; we'll keep you posted.

To St Catherines...

Fairly early am; tide was up; perhaps you remember the photo from last night. You can see the difference in height from low to high tide. I know, I know, absolutely fascinating stuff.

So, out of the Herb River to parts further South. We cruised thru the Skidaway River environs, passing Isle of Hope, Moon River (wasn't just a song, Chuckie), etc. Arrived at the infamous section of the ICW known as Hell Gate. Ideally, one arrives here on a rising tide, not on a falling tide. Currents are very strong, easily offsetting a 20000# boat into the shallows.Offers a new dimension in breath holding. Scooter eased thru that bad spot in good form. Slid down the Florida Passage , Bear River, and into St Catherine's Sound to Walburg Creek, our current anchorage.  Interesting side note re St Catherine's Island. The island is used as a retreat, resting place, rehab, if you will, for endangered species; Zebras, lemurs, Gazelles, various parrots ( no, not pirates, Chuckie) have all been cared for here. The public has access to some beach areas, but only up to the high tide line. Lovely spot


Tomorrow will find us cruising thru more GA marshes headed for Brunswick, GA. In all honesty, that will be a difficult trek. 70+ miles and the dreaded Little Mud River to deal with. That spot now apparently has the dubious honor of being the worst spot to transition on the whole AICW far as depth concerns go . We'll do what we can; its Mother Nature's call if the tide doesn't rise at the right time we'll wait 'til it does; go as far as we can, then go again the next day.

We'll see how it goes; be safe, be warm, be happy.

Down the road.....

Sunrise in Port Royal; Picture is of the bridge leading to Parris Island. An amazing place in so many ways. So, today started off well; Cool temps, gentle breezes, slack tide ( no current either way, Chuckie). Brilliant blue sky. Scooter and crew; most of it anyway; anti-rodent control officer always goes off duty at engine start; neatly slipped the lines and eased away from the dock. Rode with the current down the Beaufort River; then battled it in Port Royal Sound; averaged out pretty well tho', 48 nm in just 5.2 hrs; impressive, eh!
Thought we might work on our tans by operating from the bridge for a bit. Foolish thought, that; soon as we turned into Port Royal Sound, the wind picked up and got cold. Back to the lower station. Tan will have to wait. Picked our way thru some skinny water spots ( as in shallow); cruised by Hilton Head Island; amazing what some of those yachets look like. But, ya know, they all float the same; some take work, or work and bits of money, some just swallow gobs of it to keep going.

Eventually got to the Causton Bluff draw bridge, the only opening draw for south bound boats in Georgia( space filling info, useless in real life). Jammed with cranes, barges,etc. Bridge etiquette is odd sometimes; generally boats travelling with the current go thru first, unless there is commercial, someone more important, or emergency traffic waiting. Be that as it may, a small tug came thru first, taking a great deal of the channel to do so. You either moves over, or gets "rund" over in these parts; we squeezed over as far as we could; maybe too far; time will tell. Could have been wave slap.

Anyway, thru the bridge and into the Herb River, actually went by it, didn't like it's looks and went elsewhere to find a place to anchor. Then, came back, dropped the good 'ol Bruce, and settled in for a beer and some Scooter gumbo. Started well, ended well. Hard to beat!

A brief word on the tides here; 8-9' is fairly normal, wind can change that as well. The steps shown will be just slightly below level in am tomorrow. So, you anchor in 16' of water, tide goes out, now you're sitting in 8', and have only 4' under the boat. (assuming a 4' draft). Makes these waters an interesting challenge. Tomorrow we're off to; don't know yet, but we'll keep you posted. Catch you on the flip side

We are....

Scooter and crew are just finishing a 3 day stay at Port Royal Landing Marina in Port Royal, SC. We had planned to leave yesterday, but, in checking the nautical notams, herein after referred to as LNM's, we found that the only opening bridge that we needed to go thru in Georgia, was closed. So, we parked another day, called them in the early am, found that the bridge was working well enough to get by, looked at the gooey fog and rain, and decided to stay put for today.

We'll be out of here in the morning headed to the Herb River in GA. Sounds fascinating, eh. We'll wind by Daufuskie Island, the Savannah River, Hilton Head, Tybee Island, cross Calibogue Sound, and anchor in the Herb River; that be the plan, anyway. weather is supposed to cooperate, one can only hope.

Our time in Port Royal and Beaufort was pleasant; lots of history, pretty old homes, friendly folks. It is interesting to be experiencing the tidal swings again. The ramp to the office will be level in the morning, and an eight foot climb/descent,  by the afternoon. watching the channels appear, and disappear enroute is a blast as well.

We are looking forward to the GA section of the trip. Very lightly populated, twisty, turny channels, but all with its own raw beauty. Probably end up in Brunswick, GA sometime in the next few days. We'll keep you posted, thanks for stopping by. catch you on the flip side.