The Cruise - Week 1, December 29, 2014 to January 4, 2015

Monday, December 29, 2014 (Scroll down for following posts)

Departed Port Royal Land Marina, Beaufort, SC           0640

Anchored in the Vernon River just north of the

Burnside River (Possum Point) south of

Savannah, GA.                                                                 1455

Total day’s run 58 statute miles (50.5 nm)

Because of a weather advisory for sea fog and a frontal passage tomorrow, we decided to travel via the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).  Weather was overcast with patchy fog in the morning and light rain in the afternoon.  Temperature in the mid 60’s.

We made good time, hitting most of the tidal currents to our advantage.  After crossing the Savannah River, we took an alternate route via Saint Augustine Creek and Turner’s Creek back to the ICW in the Wilmington River.  This route took us by Mr. Sasser’s docks on Turner’s Creek where we left from on our first cruise with Brendan aboard (9 months old) 31 years ago.  I imagined standing on the dock as a young man watching a salty looking trawler cruise by with an older couple waving to me.  An emotional moment.

Now we are anchored up in light rain for our first night.  We are cozy and happy.

(wifi via our Verizon hot spot)

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Departed anchorage in Vernon River 0700

Anchored in the North River just off of 

Doboy Sound, Georgia.        1620

Total day’s run 56 statute miles (49 nm)

We got away at first light and had no trouble negotiating Hell Gate two hours before low tide.  Never had less than 7 feet.  We came through some of the most beautiful and remote coastal areas that exist anywhere.  It was a light mist early but then just overcast all day with moderate wind, temperature cool, in the upper 50’s.  Many complain about the winding ICW especially in Georgia but I think they should slow down and enjoy it.  Many times the ICW is referred to as “the ditch”, but most of it is composed of natural waterways interconnected by some dredged cuts.  Even the cuts, like Hell Gate were made so long ago that they look natural.  

At one point, we had dolphins playing as I have never seen them before.  They seemed to enjoy engaging Dubhe.  They would swim just along side just under the water with their bellies up toward the boat.  Many times two or three would ride our bow wave and jump out of the water in unison.  I wish I had some pictures, but we were so awestruck that we never thought about a camera.

I had selected our anchorage location in advance based on the weather forecast of north winds.  When we got there, the wind was 10-15 kt from nearly east.  With the strong current, this would not do.  After some dithering around we moved back a mile or so and anchored.  We are now in the middle of nowhere in our cozy little boat having a drink.  (However, we do get a Verizon signal so we are connected.)

We have encountered an unforeseen problem with this style of cruising, that is, we are eating way too much.  We had bacon and pancakes for breakfast (Nancy cooks as we ride along), chili and bread for lunch, and lots of nibbles along the way.  Nancy provisioned us very well and we are not exercising as much.  We can’t keep this up every day!  

We hope to make it to Cumberland Island tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Departed anchorage in North River                     0710

Tied up at Fernandina Harbor Marina                 1610

Total day’s run 65 statute miles (56.5 nm)

Last night we had strong north winds all night.  Sometimes the boat shuddered and the sound in the rigging was a higher frequency, but my new Rocna anchor with 4:1 scope of all chain never moved.  Most people tend to over estimate wind speed but I conservatively estimate 20 knots with some higher gusts.

This morning was cold and windy.  We clawed our way up Altamaha Sound against the current but then had a nice ride “downhill” to Saint Simons Sound.  After some thought, we decided to continue across Jekyll Sound and try to get to Fernandina.  We had a 15+ kt wind against a rising tide current that set up a nasty, confused, steep sea.  Dubhe rolled to the rails a few times and a few items came loose but there was never any real problem.  We tied up at the Fernandina Harbor marina and went out for a great New Years Eve dinner.  I doubt we will stay awake to midnight!  Happy New Year to all.

Almost to Fernandina, Kings Bay in the background

Thursday, January 1, 2015, Fourth Day

Departed Fernandina Harbor Marina 1035

Arrived Jacksonville public free dock 1415

Sisters Creek

Total day’s run 23 statute miles (20 nm)

We slept late this morning and had another huge breakfast of pancakes and bacon.  Nancy has done a great job planning and provisioning.  Tonight, New Years day, we had steak, fresh potatoes, asparagus, and cheesecake.  As I mentioned before, the only problem is that we are eating too much.

Today was a short run, but we had a first.  We ran hard aground on a sandbar.  Just earlier, I mentioned to Nancy that on thing we had not yet done was run Dubhe aground.  (She does not want me talking about such things  again.)   I was in what I thought was the marked channel, but today the waterway and markers are not maintained as they used to be…still my responsibility.  Nancy and I were talking and I was not watching as closely as I should have been.  I was able to back off without too much difficulty, but then seemed to have a problem with the steering.  We were close to our intended destination (4 miles) so I struggled with it until we docked.  Dubhe has a hydraulic steering system with three pumps (main helm, flybridge, and autopilot).  To make a long story short, I had not turned off the autopilot after the grounding and it was fighting me to go another way.  After docking and discovering the screwup, we went back out into Sisters Creek and checked the steering.  It looks like no damage has been done but there is a minor leak in the steering ram.  We’ll see tomorrow.  

I am reading “Around the World in Wanderer III”.  A book that Eric and Susan Hiscock wrote about their three year circumnavigation in a sailboat 30 feet long.  And they began the voyage the year that I was born, 1952!  

Friday, January 2, 2015, Fifth Day

Departed Jacksonville City Dock 0705

on Sisters Creek

Arrived Saint Augustine         1240

Municipal Marina

Total day’s run 39 statute miles (34 nm)

We had a very restful night and got away at first light with two other boats.  The trip was fairly uneventful.  We had the current with us most of the way which is what I call going “downhill”.  Of course the mansions along the waterway in Ponte Vedre are interesting to look at and seem to become bigger each time.  We arrived early in Saint Augustine and had to wait for the Bridge of Lions to open and all went well except for one boat who didn’t seem to have a clue what was going on.

We went out to eat with our friends Tom and Joan Brozowski, aka The Breezes.  Had a great time reminiscing about our days in Panama City and catching up on what we are all doing now.

Tomorrow will stay here, rest, do a little sight seeing, and go out with other friends who are here from Beaufort on their boat.

Saturday, January 3, 2015, Sixth Day

We stayed in Saint Augustine all day.  Today is our first day of warm and sunny weather.  Until now it has been overcast, misty, and cold.  We did laundry this morning then walked around downtown and had lunch at La Herencia Café (was featured on the Food Channel).

Saint Augustine is jammed with tourists this weekend and our slip at the Municipal Marina is in an area where lots of them walk by.  We have been amazed at the number of people who stopped and commented on Dubhe.  It seems every other one would say something about how nice or beautiful she is.  One couple, a little older than us, said that they had seen her from the Bridge of Lions and made a special trip to come to the dock and look at her closer.  It seems that the traditional lines of a seaworthy boat are appealing even to those who know nothing about them.  

So many of the tourists here are clueless about the coast.  One couple, from Ohio and Colorado, looking at Dubhe, talking to us, was totally amazed that people actually live on boats.  Later, I was walking back to Dubhe, along the dock at low tide and I heard one person in a group of four ask the others “What is that?” as she pointed down.  I instinctively looked down and did not see anything out of the ordinary so I asked them what they were talking about.  The woman pointed down again and said “all those shells”.  “They are oysters” I told them as my mind was trying to grasp the concept that some people have never seen oysters in the wild or don’t even know what they look like.  Nancy and I are truly privileged to be able to do what we are doing.  I am thankful.

We went out to dinner with friends, Bill and Laura to “Catch 27”. Excellent food, I highly recommend it.  Then we went to the Chocolate Turtle for dessert.  We continue to eat way too much. 

Tomorrow we head south at first light, hoping to get past Daytona Beach, maybe to Ponce de Leon inlet.

Sunday, January 4, 2015, 7th Day

Departed Saint Augustine 0655

Municipal Marina

Anchored Rockhouse Creek        1540

Just behind Ponce Inlet

North of New Smyrna Beach

Total day’s run 65 statute miles (56.5 nm)

We left at first light this morning and had a good day’s run.  The current was with us most of the day, but the wind was on the nose probably about 15 kt.  That with our forward motion made for a breezy trip.  We passed Marineland, Ormond Beach, and Daytona Beach.  We are now in a great anchorage and the wind has died.  The anchor bit in well and I feel secure here, so maybe I will get a good nights sleep.  Before dark, we could see the Ponce de Leon Inlet.  Lots of local folks boating and fishing.  It’s been sunny and about 84 degrees today. 

I dingyed out (rowed the dingy) to take a picture of Dubhe at anchor and made it back to the mother ship safely.  Another great supper by Nancy.  

Tomorrow we plan to make Coco, Florida below Titusville.  Our first severe weather, in the form of a strong cold front, looks like it may be on us about Wednesday night.  That will make a big difference in where we stay.

One More Week

If all goes according to plan, we will move aboard Dubhe next Sunday, Dec 28.  I expect that we will depart no earlier than Monday, Dec 29 but no later than Dec 31.  It still does not seem like this will really happen.  We are as excited as children at Christmas and it feels good, like being a kid again. We are tired of talking about it and planning, we just want to GO!  Yesterday we loaded the bulk of our provisions, primarily food, and I was pleasantly surprised how well it all stowed.  We still need to get fresh food, beer, and clothes on board.  Fuel tanks are full (80 gallons) and all other maintenance is done.  Dubhe is ready.  We are planning to go to North Augusta to see family at Christmas so we have very little time remaining to prepare.

To many of  our friends and family who are not familiar with boats or cruising, this may seem like an incredible undertaking.  But to many we have met over the years, this is just a short inshore trip which may seem rather boring.  Some have sailed across oceans and others have lived on their boats for years.  As I mentioned before, we have cruised too but that was a long time ago.  Maybe next year the Bahamas or maybe a bigger boat in our future. But this trip, in our cozy, seaworthy little boat, is just right at this point in our lives.

We are anxiously looking at the 10 day weather forecasts.  It looks good now but is still too far out to be reliable.  I just don't want temps below freezing or wind over 25 kts.

I expect that my next post will be sometime after our departure unless something totally unforeseen comes up.  I am new at blogging and I don't like how individual posts show up, so I plan to blog our whole cruise as one post.  By editing the original post, later posts will be added at the bottom so the whole trip record will start at the top and progress downward like reading a book.  We will see how it works.

Preparation

Our departure is now about three weeks off and Christmas is in there too!  We hope to have all preparations made and move aboard by December 29.  We will then leave as soon as weather permits.  I hope we get some calm days so we can do the first leg offshore, but if not, we can go via the ICW in nearly any weather.  The first two nights we will be anchoring and since DUBHE does not have any heat when away from the dock, we will hold up if the weather is too cold.

Our destination is the Florida Keys about 700 miles away via the Atlantic ICW, the Okeechobee Waterway, and the Everglades.  With a boat that only goes about 7 miles per hour, the voyage is the objective, not really the destination.  We expect to see a lot and meet many new friends along the way.

In a way this part seems too easy and like it is not really going to happen...a little on the surreal side. Thirty years ago Nancy and I with our 9 month old baby, Brendan, left Savannah, Georgia on a 30' sailboat bound for the Bahamas.  I feel so fortunate to have the health and boat to do it again (without a baby this time).  It is something I have pondered for all these years and it is only three weeks away.

Rikki Tikki Tavi in Turners Creek 1983

Nassau to Berry Islands 1984

I replaced the shaft seal in the main hydraulic steering pump and seem to have resolved the electrical issues that came up during my return from Rockville last week.  So far, I have spent more time fixing things that have come up recently than, executing long planned preparations, but DUBHE is ready to go and we will be too...whatever it takes.

We have been asked many times about the name of our vessel.  DUBHE is the pointer star on the Big Dipper,  and it is the yellow star on the back of the Greater Bear constellation. Check out http://www.constellationsofwords.com/stars/Dubhe.html

Well she was built in 1974 so I guess she could also be named for....

Our greatest challenge now is how to get all the stuff (clothes, food, beer, wine, spare parts, tools, books, electronic gadgets, personal items, cooking paraphernalia, and of course all the gear to make her go or stay put) on board and still have space to live.  

Planning

In only slightly more than a month we will be leaving on Dubhe for the Florida Keys.  We have always dreamed of cruising again and this is our chance.  We plan to depart with the first weather window after Christmas and return by the end of April 2015.  I hope to make this Blog a detailed record of our cruise so this post is practice.

Thanksgiving is only four days away  and at this point, I don't see how we can get everything ready, especially Dubhe, and get packed.  Our original intention was to do this last year but it did not work out.  I am bound and determined to make this happen on time or it may never happen.  Dubhe is "on the hill" at Marine Propulsion in Rockville, SC, I discovered a hydraulic leak in the main steering helm pump, and the weather may delay getting her back to Beaufort.  It seems as if all is conspiring against us, but I am not really discouraged.  We are going to do it.

About three years ago, life was going great.  Nancy and I seemed to be enjoying and appreciating each other more, I was working part time when I wanted, we were able to pretty much whatever we wanted, we were planning more travel, I was fishing a lot, I had a lot of relaxing time, and was just enjoying life.  Then DUBHE came along.  For years, I had been thinking about a boat, a trawler in particular.  I would look at brokerage websites, collect pictures, and just daydream about boats.  I never seriously thought about buying one, primarily because I could not manage the cost and continue to work infrequently and do whatever we wanted. 

A small blue hulled trawler (Thusdays Child) at Port Royal Landing Marina caught my eye several times while going over the McTeer bridge.  Just what I would like to have I thought, but never pursued it.  One day when visiting a friend  in the hospital, we were talking about boats and to my astonishment, she said that the pretty blue hull trawler belonged to her and her husband.  As we talked, she mentioned that there was another Willard trawler just like hers for sale in Beaufort.  In October 2011, we bought DUBHE. 

Our lives have changed radically in the past three years.  Our granddaughter Lillian has been the greatest change, but we only see her every couple of weeks or so. DUBHE has changed our daily lives…what we do, what we think about, and where we spend our money.  We are obsessed with restoring her.  Almost every day revolves on what we are going to do to or with DUBHE.  I don’t hardly fish anymore.

Life was going so well, WHY would we do this to ourselves?  Now instead of planning trips to Europe or traveling around the US, we are driven to cruising to the Florida Keys and Bahamas on DUBHE.  Whether this comes to fruition or not remains to be seen, but for now, she is our life.  Why is this?  DUBHE has some kind of power over us not unlike an addiction.  What is it about boats and the water that drives otherwise educated, sane, mature adults to this?