Tuesday 3/20/12.                 When you’re up to your butt in alligators it's hard to remember the main objective is to drain the swamp!  That’s a wisdom I learned from my friend and former boss, Glenn.

There seems to be so much to be done and Linda and I come at it from different directions.  In my career I had to focus on the task at hand.  One task at a time and work it to its completion before moving on to the next.  Linda is a typical woman who can multi-task to the enth degree.  While I’m focused on one thing she is making list of what all needs to be done.  I think we are getting on each other’s nerves, but I’ve got to admit it’s working.  (I just wish I knew how she does it…both getting on my nerves and multi-tasking)  I’m sure she feels like she is pushing a rope!

Today was spent coordinating the different tasks at hand.  The items accomplished:

Rented a car; bought airline tickets; got boxes to pack things in at Wallyworld; firmed up the contract with the trucking company; arranged for a haul out on Friday.  Not necessarily in that order. (I don’t make lists)

If all goes as planned we should be home Saturday afternoon.  TwoGether should be on her way back to the Chesapeake around the first week in April. 

The trip may be over but the saga continues for us until Twogether is home. 

To those who have followed us on this blog we hope it was interesting, informative and a bit entertaining.  We were glad you joined us onboard.   To those who kept us in your thoughts and prayers, thank you for your support.  For those who thought we were out of our minds, you’re probably not too far off.  God has blessed us with one of the greatest adventures of our lives.

Love to all,
The crew of Twogether.


And now, a few words from the First Mate.
Our readers know this trip originated because this was my dream.  I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank my Captain for making this dream come true.  I could not have asked for a better Captain.  He carried the responsibility for dealing with any and all issues and problems.  I know there were times the responsibilities were heavy.  Our safety was more secure with him at the wheel than me.  When I was apprehensive or home sick, he was always there to lean on.  Not all our experiences were good ones, but I wouldn’t trade them because they were just that – experiences.  This trip and living on a boat in Florida during the winter is something we’ll still be reminiscing about when we’re 90.  And so, I thank Terry from the bottom of my heart for making my dream come true.  Thanks Captain!  I love you.

Monday 3/19/12.      Today was a day full of anxiety and rattled nerves as we try to decide how to handle getting TwoGether home.  And how do we get ourselves home.  The local mechanic really isn’t keen on working on gasoline engines.  He is a diesel man.  He said he doesn’t look forward to reading the manual and setting up ignition timing etc.  I can tell he really doesn’t want the job.  So I don’t think I want him to do the job.  It’s the only game in town: so wadda u do? I was told we can do as much boat preparation as we want while still in the water but once it is pulled out and blocked the marina staff must do everything.

We found a company that will truck her home. (The boat, not Linda)  We have a lot of preparation to do before she can be loaded on a truck.  The flybridge must come off and be secured on the upper deck. Everything on board must be secured for shipping.  It’s kind of like packing for a moving van.

Rental cars appear to be a challenge.  Enterprise will not rent us a car one-way.  When looking on the internet for Budget and Avis each say there are no cars available as soon as I put in the drop off point as another town.  We may have to rent a U-haul truck just to get a ride home.  At least they are one-way.

The highlight of the day was a walk downtown to get an ice cream cone at Pampam’s Cupcakes.  

Today seemed to one road block after the other but it will work out.

Sunday 3/18/12.       It’s another beautiful spring day in Georgia.  We spent most the time just chill’n and trying to put the engine problems on the back burner.   Tomorrow there will be time to deal with that.  Our minds were kept from wandering by watching the NASCAR race in Bristol TN on TV.

Late in the afternoon the “Star Florida” was ready to leave her moorings at the bulkhead just down river from us.  We heard the whistles on the two tugs when they arrived.  It was like having front row seats .  After the tugs had pulled her from the berth they moved her down the river backwards until there was enough water to turn her around.  It was like watching a ballet of ships in slow motion.  Every move was choreographed with perfect timing.  The whole process took nearly two hours.

We ended the day eating with Papa John.  The delivery boy said, "I've never dilivered a pizza to a boat before".

Saturday 3/17/12.      To all our Irish friends, Happy St. Patrick’s Day.  It’s another beautiful morning. 

I ended yesterday’s entry with “I wonder what tomorrow holds in store.”  It didn’t take long to find the next challenge.  I tried to start the port engine and nothing…I turned the key again and nothing.  I started the starboard engine just in case I would have to jump start.  I tried the port again and it turned over, but it would not start.  Usually the fuel filter catches any water, but maybe some found its way into the carburetor.  I removed the carburetor and emptied the fuel.  After a few tries it fired up.  Then in few seconds…KNOCK…KNOCK…KNOCK. 

  Something is coming apart in there!

Linda looked in the cruising guide and found a marina with mechanics in Brunswick .  A phone call later and we had a slip for the weekend with a mechanic scheduled to take a look on Monday. 

Getting there has its own challenge.  Jekyll Creek is rather shallow and is the only way to Brunswick without going back out St. Andrews Sound, then north through the Atlantic for about ten miles, then back in through the St. Simons Sound.  We don’t go out into the ocean with two engines…we’re not about to try it on one.  It was low tide and the cruising guide and Sherrie at the marina both advised not trying to navigate Jekyll Creek until the tide comes up.  So we waited until 1:30P and started our trip to Brunswick.

We arrived at Brunswick Landings at 3:00.  Once we were settled in Linda did the laundry.  Linda informed me that the information sheet the office gave us shows Papa John’s Pizza delivers.

So the next few days will be spent at Brunswick Landings Marinas on the East River.

Brunswick Landings Marina:         N 31° 09.062 W 081° 29.980

Friday 3/16/12.          I have heard that God watches over drunks, children, fools and sailors.  Well, I’m sober as a judge, and at 63 years, I’m not a child.  That whittles things down a bit.  I also understand that some sailboat drivers feel that powerboat drivers are not bona fide sailors. Looks like I’m out of options.  Anyway, God must have had a hand in today’s events.

I spend from one to three hours each evening on the blog.  Last night the camera would not download any of the pictures.  I tried for three hours and nada!  So I went to bed.  This morning I started the process again and it worked perfectly.  Linda said “Since we got up early, to put in a big day, go ahead and finish the blog, then we’ll head to the fuel dock.”  So I got started around 7:00A.  At 7:45 Linda noticed fog in the distance coming from onshore.  By 8:00 we were absolutely socked in.  Had the blog been completed the evening before we would have probably been under way and caught in the pea soup.  The visibility was less than 100 feet.

Around 9:30 it cleared as quickly as it came.  We pulled anchor around 9:45 and headed to the Fernandina Harbor Marina for fuel. Leaving the marina there is a long no wake zone, so it was about 11:00 until we made Cumberland Inlet and turned north into the Cumberland River.  Now we are in Georgia.

The next order of business is the Kings Bay Nuclear Submarine Base.  About three miles before reaching the base, a message came across the VHF that two tugs would be pulling a deep draft vessel outbound on the Cumberland River.  They apparently were getting ready to haul one of the subs out to sea.  Sometimes they stop all traffic on the water for as long as an hour, keeping all vessels a long distance away.   We didn’t get to see the actual moving of the sub but there were about a half dozen security boats crossing the entrance to the base as opposed to only one when we came through in mid-December.   Also in the background there were seven Coast Guard patrol boats.

On the north end of Cumberland Island Linda spotted two wild horses on the shore.  It is said there have been wild horses here for centuries.  They are thought to be decedents of horses brought by the Spanish in the 1500’s plus others left behind by plantation owners.

 

The next bit of excitement was the crossing of St Andrews Sound.  This is the sound where you all but enter the Atlantic Ocean to navigate around a shoal in the middle of the sound.  There was a green buoy 34A washed up on the shore.  It must have broken loose of its anchor.  Good we didn’t need that one.

God was still watching over us.  After crossing the St Andrews Sound the ICW takes a turn north up Jekyll Creek behind Jekyll Island.  Just as we entered the creek the port engine quit.  We were right at an anchorage so we dropped the hook.  I found water in the fuel filter.  We’re thankful it wasn’t in both filters and the engines hadn’t stopped in the sound.  The next posting on the blog would have been about our trip to Portugal!

That’s enough excitement for one day.  I wonder what tomorrow holds in store.

Jekyll Creek: N 31° 02.202              W 081° 25.647

Thursday 3/15/12.    Today is another beautiful day for cruising.  The water was like glass in the morning.   The cruise up the Tolomato River was smooth as silk.

About ten years ago I noticed the word ‘eclectic’ came into vogue.  I had no idea what it meant, but I finally figured it out.  Eclectic would describe the houses along the six mile cut through Palm Valley.  There is everything from newly built mansions to cozy old homes all mixed together as if poured out of a bag. 

Near Atlantic Beach there is a ship yard full of old ships, barges and tugs.  It made me wonder if, as the movie titles states “All dogs go to heaven”… do all old barges go to Atlantic Beach?

As we crossed the St. Johns River we saw a large ship in a dry dock.  This ship yard works on everything from mega yachts to war ships.  Eclectic; wouldn’t you say?

(1)We dropped anchor just south of Fernandina Beach, FL.  The wind was out of the east about 10 mph.  I noticed a high bank along the eastern shore and figured this would give some protection from the breeze.  That it did.  What it didn’t do was give us protection from the stench of a sewage settling basin (more like a half mile long lake ) next to the paper mill. The bank was the retaining levy for the basin.  But you couldn't see that from the river.  About half an hour of that was enough and we moved up river and to the north side of the bend.  This should do nicely. (2)

Then a young local fisherman came over and said we will be trapped at low tide where we are anchored.  He suggested we move further up the river and anchor next to the sailboats.  It was a bit confusing since there were boats already anchored just ahead of us in a cove that doesn’t even show on the charts. It turns out they came in from a different direction but you must know how to get in there. He knows the area and we respect local knowledge, so... up came the anchor again and we relocated.  It’s a bit more exposed but at least we won’t find ourselves trapped. (3)  And all we smell now is the mill. It’s not that great but…it’s not the sewerage lake.  Thanks mister young fisherman!

Fernandina Beach anchorage #3;           N 30° 39.981             W 081° 28.612

Wednesday 3/14/12.           We woke up to another prefect cruising day.  I saw this man, who was as least as old as me, (older than dirt) paddle surfing.  When I first saw him he was over a half mile away.  He paddled past and we saw him later about two miles up the river.

I thought today would probably be boring since we are going back over old steps.  Not so.

We entered the channel behind three sailboats headed north.  No, not the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria… but Common Ground, Finistere, and Celebration.  Soon we caught up to the trawler Escargot.  The five of us made quite the parade.  It was no sense being in a hurry because only a few miles up the Halifax River is the J. B. Knox Drawbridge with only 15 foot clearance. (aka, where I ran the main tanks dry on the way down)  I ain’t gonna screw up this time.

 The front sailboat made a quick turn to port and radioed that there were people in the water trying to rescue a manatee that was caught in either a net or rope.  We all idled through so as not to cause any wake.  We hope the rescue was successful.

Then the cruiser Sandy by the Sea, who was in a big hurry and putting out quite a wake as she passed all five of us, beat us to the bridge by at least 10 minutes.  Apparently the bridge tender wasn’t too impressed since he made Sandy BTS wait until the other five of us arrived before opening the bridge.  He even made us wait until another trawler came up behind us. So now there would be seven boats in the parade going through the bridge.  Once the bridge opened Sandy BTS disappeared in a flash.

 Just as the bridge started to open, the other trawler, Lowe Key, who was behind us, radioed and asked if he could pass me on the port side.  At this point all six of us are less than 500 feet from the bridge and he wants to pass!  I replied “If you feel it’s necessary... pass me on the port side.  But I have three sailboats and a trawler in front of me”.  He must have felt it was necessary because he passed us within ten feet of our port side when we were lined up with the opening in the bridge.  I could see this was going to be an exciting day!  After we were through the bridge Linda called each boat, one by one, and asked permission to pass since we normally cruise just a bit faster.  Soon we were behind Lowe Key going as fast as he was.

 The trip past the Palm Coast / Crescent Beach area was pretty straight forward.  There are few no wake zones and the riverside is dotted with mansions, normal houses, shacks and open marsh.

In the afternoon St. Augustine came into view. This is a beautiful town with the Spanish architecture, the fort Castillo de San Marcos, the Great Cross and the Lighthouse.

 

The lighthouse is supposed to be haunted but we didn’t stick around to find out.  It was featured on one of the ghosts hunting TV shows. 

There was a flurry of activity while going through St. Augustine.  Half a dozen U.S. Customs and Border Patrol boats; a sightseeing boat we met at the bridge; dredging of the inlet; divers down at a bridge; and more dredging in the ICW.  That’s a lot going on in five miles!

We were going to anchor in the same oxbow at Pine Island on the Tolomato River, but there were already two boats anchored there (the one being Lowe Key)(sorry but I wasn’t feeling real neighborly)  We anchored in a little cut off the channel about a half mile short.  Soon Hammer came by.  Hammer is a Coast Guard tug pushing a buoy-setting barge.  We believe we saw Hammer in South Carolina or Georgia on the way down.

Now there are rumbles of thunder off in the distance.  It could become an exciting evening too!

Tolomato River anchorage: N 30° 02.383           W 081° 21. 833