Statute Mile 1007.6

Off-duty watch relaxing underway

When last I left you-- 10 days ago-- we were anchored at Pine Island, taking a short day so the captain could perform the 350 hour oil change on our engines. As all good plans go, this one also went astray for want of a quarter inch hex wrench, so the next morning we found ourselves in St. Augustine, walking to a hardware store for same. Mission accomplished toolwise, and after several hours in the engine room, the captain also proclaimed the oil change accomplished. My more extensive walk around town made me rethink my previously rather negative attitude towards St. Augustine-- probably due to a truly awful dinner with surly service after a too long walk too late one night last year. We’ll stay over in the spring on our way north and perhaps give you a revised opinion!

Frosty morning in Ft. Pierce

Our trip went smoothly the following days despite gale warnings and rainy forecasts. We proceeded down the long stretch of the Indian River, a wide open body of water with a narrow channel of navigable water. 

We’ve always found this stretch difficult because it 

requires close attention to stay in the not always obvious channel, yet there is little scenery and after the first day, it can get pretty boring. Luckily the dolphins seemed unusually active, amusing us by surfacing and diving in our bow wave and swimming in groups of up to a half dozen under the bow for a mile or two at a time. Besides the usual herons and egrets, pelicans plunging head first into the water for fish also provided entertainment for the action starved!

On the last day of this stretch--a gray, very windy and rainy day--  we left our anchorage in Daytona, traversing the Mosquito Lagoon past Port Canaveral and Cocoa  with salt spray splashing over the bow as far as the aft deck. With the chop continuing to develop in the shallow waters, we tucked into the Banana River through the swing bridge at dusk and immediately found ourselves completely protected and cozy, with Christmas lights twinkling in the houses around us.

Sunset arrival behind Dragon Point, Banana River

Still in the Indian River, we made our way through beautiful Hobe Sound to Fort Pierce, suddenly finding ourselves in gorgeous aqua water and despite the frosty weather overnight, we began to feel like we were in Florida. We saw the first manatees that we’ve ever seen while underway as we were navigating the three Jupiter bridge openings, controlled by the grumpiest bridge tenders on the waterway. After that frustrating experience, it was a short trip to our marina at Admiral’s Cove, statute mile 1007.6, according to our cruising guide-- that is,1007.6 land miles from Norfolk, where the ICW mile markers start at 0.

Over 887 nautical miles logged since passing through Norfolk on November 2-- Now that feels like an accomplishment!

Pelicans at Day Break

Another Shrimper

Laundry Day

In Florida in Fleece

Cumberland Island National Seashore

What a week. I had planned in my mind that our week in Fernandina Beach was going to be a time to catch up on some exterior projects-- the eternal stainless steel cleaning and polishing, cleaning the dinghy and finally painting its numbers on, etc. If you’ve been watching the weather almost anywhere in the country, you’ll know none of that happened!

We did enjoy our stay, despite the winds and whitecaps in the harbor. We were very grateful for our trusty reverse cycle A/C, the big Army Corps of Engineers boat across the dock that blocked the wind on a couple of wild nights, fleece blankets, fleece jackets and a warm cat in bed at night. Next year we’ll start the journey south a bit earlier!

On our way from Savannah to Fernandina, we anchored one last night in Georgia at the Cumberland National Seashore, one of my very favorite anchorages. The island is  beautiful and unspoiled, with huge live oaks lining the path across the island to the Atlantic beach where wild ponies can sometimes be seen running on the beach. We missed the ponies this trip, but saw an armadillo, deer, many shore birds and even a few hardy campers. 

Critter in the Underbrush

We left Fernandina this morning, making our way past Jacksonville and it’s shipbyard and the Mayport Naval Station. It’s been slightly warmer today and pleasant to be underway. Tomorrow and Saturday are forecast to approach the normal range before temps plummet again on Monday, but by Tuesday we’ll be at our marina in Jupiter, near our friends in Palm Beach Gardens, where we’ll stay until after the New Year.

We are anchored for the night off the Tolomato River behind PIne Island, though if you look at the terrain on our Spot link, you’ll notice there aren’t too many pines.

To the Beach

Deer in the Dunes

"Low Country"

A week has passed since we left Charleston and we have slowly made our way down the ICW to our anchorage for last night in Jove Creek, near Brunswick, GA. We’ve passed through varied terrain since leaving our spot on the City Marina Megadock, but we are constantly reminded why this area is called low country. The banks are marshy or muddy depending on the tide state and the horizon extends out as far as the eye can see. Finding a protected anchorage on a day like yesterday when the wind is howling can be difficult as there are few high places to tuck behind and few areas with the necessities of swinging room, suitable depth and bottom, plus a stand of trees that might serve as a wind break.

Once again our plans to go outside and enjoy less intense piloting were preempted by high seas. Instead we have twisted and turned through the Stono, Wadmalaw, Dawho, Ashepoo and Coosaw Rivers among others, sometimes feeling we are going more east and west than south. The winding rivers are connected by land cuts which at least straighten out the course for some distance. No-wake zones abound in populated areas and shifting shoals await the unwatchful.

Bald Eagle

We spent Thanksgiving in Hilton Head--a balmy, sunny 75 degree day perfect for a long walk on the pleasant trails near our marina. We were joined by local friends on Saturday, who made the short run down to Savannah with us. They know their way around Savannah well and had positioned a car at our marina, so we had a great time exploring and enjoyed some wonderful meals. What a lovely city with its’ canopy of ancient live oaks and palm trees! 

One note on our marina there and its famous tradition-- every morning a box of still warm Krispy Kreme donuts is delivered to each boat. Not exactly what one needs after Charleston, Savannah, both of our birthdays, our anniversary and Thanksgiving all in the same month, but still pretty much delicious. And when will we have such an offering again? 

One of the things that always surprises and delights us is discovering that friends are near our path on the waterway and with a phone call or a VHF hail we can arrange a rendezvous for that evening. So it happened a couple of days ago and we had friends from Ft Lauderdale join us for dinner that night. We said goodbye yesterday morning at first light, hoping for another such encounter in Florida waters. 

Next port --Fernandina Beach, a favorite spot where we’ll spend a week-- more later from there.

Impromptu Raftup at Walburg Creek