April, 11, 2010

Sorry for the lack of posting activity over the last few days. There have been a few problems with the photo editor functions, and a few internet connectivity issues as well. Hopefully, that has been sorted out; I do not handle tech problems all that well at the end of a long day.
We are sitting at anchor about 8 miles South of Beaufort, SC. Last night we were watching deer, eagles, & sunsets in Walburg Creek, GA. The night before that we were in Jekyll Island Marina again, and on the night of the 9th, we were anchored at Cumberland Island, one of our favorite spots to visit. And, just before that we were attached to a mooring ball in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Don't you just love sunsets? The leg from Fernandina Beach to Jekyll was a bit wild, wet, and windy, with spray over the bridge. What a blast!. The rest of the trips were pretty peaceful; my only possible complaint is that it has been cold. Shorts are OK, but the bridge enclosures stay shut & the sweatshirts stay on 'til about noon.

Yesterday, Virginia spotted some 'gators sunning on the banks of the one cut we went thru, but we couldn't stop to get good pics, as the wind & low water dictated that we keep moving while we could.. Wind & low tides combine to make low spots reaally low spots in the channel. That phenom, in turn, can make for a lot of breath holding while the depth finder alarm blares and the little red line that shows the bottom pitches up like a rocket. takes some of the relax out of the equation!. The height differences in the tides here can make inattentiveness a major problem. Good day for bottom cleaning, I guess. The issue will be whether or not the tide gets high enough to refloat it, or can they get a crane in to help out. We'll do our best to avoid that kind of dilemma.

Tomorrow, we'll move over to Beaufort; that is Bew-fort to anyone who asks, to refuel and explore the town a bit. Once we get moving again,we'll probably stop in Charleston for a day to reprovision, maybe changes Scooter's oil, get a Moe's burger, and take a breath.

Hard to tell what's next, but we'll keep you in the loop. Be safe!

4/6/2010

Wow! April is zipping right along, eh. Speaking of zipping, Scooter caught a good tidal current boost today. We now find ourselves sitting at mile marker 735; last night we were sitting at mile marker 802. Pretty impressive stuff; at least in our book. We took off at a decent time this morning, hoping to catch a rising tide as we approached the dreaded "Gotcha Inlet". In more politically correct terminology, that would be the Matanzas Inlet. Ugly history here, matanzas is the spanish word for massacre. But, that happened in 1565. Now, the inlet itself is shoaling very badly, very quickly, and in an ever changing fashion; hence Scooter's crew calling it the "gotcha Inlet" Actually, to my chagrin, it almost did. All seemed to be OK; we moved on to St. Augustine for fuel & ice; two items that we can't move far without. Once refuelled & reiced, we pressed on to Jacksonvile, FL. Actually north of Jacksonville, in a small creek just off the ICW. Known as Sister's Creek, it is just north of the St. Johns river. We can see the humongeous freighters sliding by from Scooter's bridge

Along the way we were attacked by a swarm of river lice; the little multi-colored units that hum & buzz like chainsaws as they flit about the tail end of your boat. Annoying at first, you can only hope that they don't manage to get in the way or, worse yet, get hurt in some manner. They thrive on waves generated by the passage of the bigger boat thru the water. Beyond that amusement, the trip was relatively peaceful. Same scenery as usual along the waterway; oodles of excess punctuated by moments of sanity and independence. There was even some nature type scenery. One of the problems that we have experienced along the way on this trip, is viewing the effects of all the cold weather on the local wildlife & fauna. There is an obvious amount of damage to both. We have not really seen that much in the way of animal activity.

Tomorrow's adventure will see us moving further north to Fernandina Beach. We have been there before, but it makes a convenient stop for food & fuel prior to tackling the lower end of Georgia. Once again, thanks for checking in; we'll catch you later.

4/5/2010

Coffee may be good to get the morning going, but NASA has a better way. We have all watched the shuttle lift off event on TV at one time or another, but, I have to say that being close to the actual blast off is an awe inspiring thing to deal with @ 0630 in the am. Slam , bam, crackle, pop, & it is all over. At first, there is no noise, just lots of light, brilliant, glaring light. While the light moves upward there begins a faint rumble, or thunder. As the shuttle continues to rise, the noise grows to an almost painful blast. It is not a steady roar, but, instead, one filled with cracking and popping. Hey, if it were my airplane engine, I'd get it back on the ground ASAP. But it continues to blast upwards. Now the vibration hits; our 20,000# boat shook like a leaf!. After some moments of that, not really countable, 'cause time seems suspended at that point, the craft seems to level and become a fast fading point of bright light arcing away to the East. All you are left with is a swirl of colored smoke against the early morning sky. Amazing; and yet we all take it so for granted; so many of us not even knowing it happens.

The rest of the day fell into a 9 hour, 85 mile grind to the North, ending up in Palm Coast Marina, somewhere South of St. Augustine, FL. When there are no places to anchor, one does the marina thing. This part of the ICW does not lend itself to anchorages readily, being not much more than a ditch heavily populated with residential developments. Some very posh, some that used to be, some that wannabe. But all there nevertheless.

Tomorrow, we'll push some more; this time thru St. Augustine and into or close to Jacksonville, FL. Be safe; catch you later!

4/4/2010

Happy Easter to One & All! Hippety Hop!!

There was no posting last night since there wasn't much to report. We sat at Vero Beach all day Saturday doing mundane things like cleaning the inside of the boat, fixing the grill, getting groceries, and dumping the trash. We did have the fun experience of using Vero Beach's free bus service. It is called GoLink, and, quite Frankly, is pretty impressive. Running thru several transfer hubs, it gets you almost anywhere in town that you might need to be. Donations are accepted, but there is no other charge. Pretty cool idea.

Currently we are sitting next to the NASA Causeway bridge in Addison Point Bay looking at the Discovery Space Shuttle launch preparations. It is due to lift off @ 0630 in the morning. We thought that it might be a neat thing to be here for. Hope all goes well for them tomorrow.

Once we're done with that spectacle, we'll move on as far north as possible. Anchorages are a bit scarce in this area, so we may have to stagger things just a bit to make it all work out. There is also a nasty shoal area that should only be crossed on a high, or rising tide. We'll see; we've got plenty of fuel, full water tanks, empty holding tank, and plenty of food & drink. Points that are coming up are St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Fernandina Beach, followed by Georgia, etc. Press on!

4/2/2010

This was the scene early this morning, as we headed further North and closer to home. creaking & rumbling, the Lantana drawbridge opened to allow us on our way. It was a great day for an 80 mile run. Not too hot, not too windy; just right as a matter of fact. One thing we forgot to consider; it was a holiday. 'Twasn't long before the boating public started to appear on the waterway. All shapes, sizes, and attitudes. Altho' frustrated at times, Scooter & crew prevailed & got to our destination goal in relatively good form. Along the way, found some of the pleasant parts of Florida again; the Jupiter area has got real trees, and few houses; a bit primitive with some domestic overtones thrown in to appease the sophisticates among us( yeah, right). It felt good to break thru the 4 digit mileage numbers; you know, Chuckie, from the 1000's down to the 900's. Next the 800's, then...... All this at 9 mph! C'mon Scooter!

We have returned to Vero Beach, Fl . We'll stay here thru Saturday night, provision the boat (that's nautical for buy food), refuel, rewater, reice, and pump the sewer tank out one more time! Then it will be another giant step closer to home. Please don't misunderstand me; this has been an educational series of days; we have learned that Scooter can fit under some pretttty low bridges; lower than I had thought possible before this trip. We have learned that boating in Florida is different; rules aren't quite the same, and safety seems to be a marginal issue. I don't mean to generalize too much here, and I am sure that there are some great boaters in Florida. However, what I have seen in the last few days has been eye opening.

Tomorrow will be spent hitting various stores for food & parts. There is supposed to be a great Farmer's market by the beach. We'll walk the mile we need to get to that, then hike back here & use the free bus system to get to all the other places about town that need our attention. That will fill the larders, coolers, and the need for exercise; not necessarily the same as the need for speed remark made so famous by Tom C in Top Gun.

So, we;ll try to find an interesting topic here in Vero Beach tomorrow. You know how tense it can get at those Farmers' markets when there is only one grapefruit left!

Have a great Easter. Catch you later.

April Fool's Day

Lantana, Florida. Frankly, I don't know anything at all about it. We anchored here because it was the last parking spot for the next 20 miles & we were done for the day! We went under, or thru 28 bridges, ranging in height from 9' to 65'. Tenders ranged from English speaking, to not, from nice, to really not. Traffic & currents ranged from unreal to unbelievable. I am extremely glad that we did not try this leg on a weekend. Think weekend Middle River with attitude!. To back up a bit, we got an early start from the Marine Stadium anchorage. Couldn't help the sunrise shot of the skyline, any more than I could resist taking a pic of the evening lights. It seems that I have a passion for sunsets, moonlight, and animals; 'specially birds, when it comes to picture taking. Strangely, I don't seem to get into photos of people. The trip thru the Port of Miami, and up the waterway was a study in excess. On the surface, a sparkling, modern, city. But, who hasn't watched Miami Vice, and CSI, Miami. I mean, come on, there has to be something to all of that, right? Look at the photo of the delinquents on the stadium roof, for goodness sake! Don't their parents care? Miles, 60 some, to be exact, of megayachts, & megahouses, no wake zones galore. Altho, and I have to admit, I was surprised, we did see three vacant lots along the way!

Nine hours later, we pulled into our spot near the Lantana Bridge; average moving speed; 5.6 kts. Waiting for openings reaally kills your time. Tomorrow will be another push day to take advantage of the good weather & try to beat the weekend boat traffic. Only 18 or so bridges left!. Locks are a lot more fun.

We'll update again tomorrow evening; be safe, be hoppy!

Northbound

Yesterday, March 30th, 2010, Scooter & crew departed Boot Key Harbor northbound to the Chesapeake Bay & home. We elected to head up the ICW inside passage, as opposed to using Hawk Channel in the Atlantic. We started on the ICW, so it seemed appropriate to finish the trip using the ICW. While we have good memories of our stay in the Keys; all the quirky, neat little places, the fun people we ran into, the gorgeous scenery on the water, I think we'll most likely let it be just that for now; a fun memory.

Yesterday's leg brought us to Tarpon Basin, a little spot behind Key Largo. Peaceful, cool relaxing after a long day watching the depthfinder hover around 5'. I say hover, but I should really say average out at 5'. I have finally decided to add 1.5' to all the readings I see on the screen when it comes to depth. That is the approximate depth that the transducer sits in. The reading from the unit comes from the transducer. 'Sides, it makes me feel better. The puzzle still remains as to why the thing simply goes blank when we get into really shallow water. Guess that is what happens when you close your eyes. Anyway, once we got used to the readings we decided to press on regardless. Why my concerns on this issue? The boat needs 4' of water to float, Chuckie!

Today's leg brought us to the site of the once renowned powerboat racing stadium in Miami, Florida. We are actually anchored in the man made basin that was used for the racing events. There were actually teenage skateboarders rolling on the roof as we ate dinner. The view of Miami's skyline was pretty impressive from our vantage point.

Tomorrow's journey will be painful, or perhaps surprisingly pleasant, depending on our luck, or lack thereof, with the drawbridges that we have to clear. There are 9 bridges, out of 21, in the next 60 miles, that will need to be opened before we can go thru. If tides are up, or the wind has pushed more water in, we may have to ask for more openings. Some of them only open on certain times, some only on the hour, or quarter hour. Complicate this with no-wake zones, manatee slow speed zones, and you can see how tomorrow may be a long day. Be that as it may, we are eager to tackle it; it is all part of the deal, and certainly adds to the learning experience. Nothing quite like dancing around a little channel with a bunch of itchy 30,000 # boat drivers while waiting for Bubba to open a 25' wide slot that ya'll can go thru. Gives me the thumps & meagrams just thinking about it!

Be safe, enjoy Spring; we'll catch you on the flip side!