More Friends and Rain - January 24-27

Sunday, January 24, 2016.

COLD - 34 degrees this morning in Melbourne but we were at the marina so we had our small electric heater running.  We left without fanfare at 7:30, and headed south on the Indian River toward Fort Pierce.  The wind has abated quite a lot, but still blowing probably 15 early. A long but comfortable trip except for people driving big boats who have no regard for others.  A very large white boat “Nancy Lou” passed us no more than 20 yards away headed in the opposite direction (usually the problem is boats passing from behind) on a plane at high speed.  Because he was on us so fast, we did not have time to prepare and the resulting wake slammed us around pretty violently.  This may not be a fair generalization, but it seems that the larger and more expensive the boat, the less courteous the captain.  It’s just another example of the way our world is changing and in my opinion one of the worst ways it is changing is the arrogance brought on by too much money. We arrived at Fort Pierce Marina about 3:30 after a trip of 52 statute miles.  We had drinks and dinner with friends Bill and Laura on their boat “Dream Weaver” from Beaufort, and watched some of the NFC playoff games at the marina Tiki hut. I wish I had thought to take pictures!

Monday, January 25, 2016.

A very nice day that started leisurely, but then got busy.  We had plans to have lunch with another couple (Bill and Barbara) who are staying on their boat “Thursday’s Child”, from Beaufort, at another marina.  First we took a walk to the park and fishing pier next to the marina, but decided we had come so far and the other marina was just up the river, that we would walk for our exercise and exercise we got.  It turned out to be much further than we expected but we met Bill and Barbara on time at their boat.  It was nice to sit with them and chat about life and boats.  They have a car and took us to an excellent Italian restaurant for lunch then to Home Depot.  I have been trying to find a heavy duty extension cord 15’ long to connect my generator to the shore power plug on Dubhe.  I saw one at Lowes in Beaufort before we left but I thought it cost too much, now I can’t find one at all.  I have a longer lighter weight one that will do until I can get just what I want.  We had to get back to Dubhe so we could do a load of laundry, fill the water tanks, and by groceries.  Bill and Laura also have their care here, so they graciously let us use it to go to Publix.  With chores complete, it was time for drinks so Bill and Laura came over to Dubhe to get that done. 

Dubhe continues to attract attention.  Just this day, we had three couples walk by to look at and comment about what a nice looking boat we have. 

During our cruise last year, I commented several times about seeing places for the first time since we cruised 32 years ago, and I continue to have that fascination this year.  I well remember when we stopped at Fort Pierce marina the first time.  We were planning to go out Fort Pierce Inlet and make an outside leg south and the evening before, I put the dingy on deck and prepared our sailboat for the trip.  I have a picture of Nancy and Brendan in the cockpit late in the evening.  That particular moment is crystal clear in my mind and I wanted to find the exact location where were.  I am not sure it is the same place but here are the then and now pictures.

Nancy and Brendan in 1983

About the same place today

Tuesday, January 26, 2016.  

We had breakfast with Bill Burcin and a great bakery near the marina, and had a later start than usual since our planned destination is only about 21 miles south.  After a holding tank pumpout (see last year’s cruise for more detail than you probably want) we departed about 9:00.  The weather is now quite warm but we encountered several showers along the way.  We arrived at Manatee Pocket at about 12:45. This is a cove between Saint Lucie inlet and Stuart, Florida.  The anchorage is small and very crowded, so we almost passed it by.  But we were able to squeeze Dubhe in and we had a very nice, warm, sunny afternoon riding around the cove in our dingy.  I was also looking for a Willard 36 boat similar to Dubhe which I heard from a friend might be here, but was unable to locate it.

Dubhe is very comfortable in bad weather.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016.  

It began raining about 2:00 in the morning, stopped about 9:00 then started back before noon and rained all afternoon.  We stayed on board all day, catching up on reading, a little maintenance, and this blog.  This is one of the best parts of cruising, laying around with nothing special to do or nowhere to go as long as it is in small doses.  It looks like tomorrow is supposed to rain too.  That will be enough!  Now we are getting serious about the final planning for our trip across Lake Okeechobee.  Most of the trip is in a protected canal, but the part across the lake itself (25 miles) requires good weather.  At this point, it looks like we can make that crossing Sunday.  Tomorrow we hope to go to a marina mooring in Stuart, a few miles away.  

Headed back to Dubhe.

Rainy day at anchor - Manatee Pocket

Cruising Friends - January 19-23

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Today was a Stay Day in Saint Augustine but it was so cold that we had to go to the boater’s lounge in the morning.  While we have plenty of cover for sleeping, it was just too cold to sit around and read.   We returned at lunch which warmed us up.  Keep in mind that each trip to or from Dubhe has to be made in our small dingy…a cold operation by itself.  Took a long walk around town in the afternoon.  The day before we met new friends, Michael and Suzie Baker on Imajine.  Michael and Suzie invited us over to Imajine for evening.  We seem to have a lot in common, and they live in Saint Mary’s, Georgia, so I am sure we will see much more of them.  When we left Imajine , of course it was dark and cold for our dingy ride.  As were leaving, we saw another couple in a dingy who could not get their engine started.  We had to offer them a tow to their boat, that’s just the way cruisers are, but I was hoping they would decline.  They took us up on it so we had a much longer nighttime dingy ride than expected.  Fortunately, they were near the “front” so it was not too bad.

Cold walk in Saint Augustine

Our Boat - actually Dubhe is the first little speck behind the monster

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

One week since we left Beaufort, but it seems like a month; so much has happened.  Another cold morning but getting away is easy when on a mooring; just let go and drive away.  We left about 7:00 just as it was getting light.  We had decided to run with Imajine today, and anchor together tonight because we wanted to spend more time with them.  There are not many boats slower than Dubhe but Imajine is one of them.  They ran aground near Matanzas Inlet but were able to work their way off within a few minutes.  Although we ran a little slower, we were able to make our planned destination; Daytona Beach at 4:30.  We had a little trouble finding an anchorage that suited us, but another boat Santorini very kindly directed us into a perfect anchorage where they were.  Michael and Suzie were invited over to Dubhe for drinks which they accepted and we all had a fine evening.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

I rose at 6:00 to the sound of someone talking outside of Dubhe. Since we were anchored and it was black dark, this required an investigation.  Turns out that there were rowers in various sizes of shells getting getting in some practice early.  We left Imajine at the anchorage, departing at 6:50.  At least it is a little warmer today.  We just made the 9:00 opening of the George Musson Bridge at New Smyrna Beach then 

stopped for fuel at New Smyrna Marina.  This was a very long day; 67 miles to Cocoa.  Most of the day, the wind was calm and the water like glass.  We anchored just northeast of the Merritt Island Bridge which provides excellent protection for the anticipated increasing southeast wind tonight, and has a great bottom for holding.  A storm with rain and high wind is predicted for tomorrow and Saturday.  (as it turns out, this is the same storm that brought snow to SC and the northeast).

Passed by a sailboat - Kanga

Kennedy Space Center VAB

Anchored after a long day - in Cocoa 

Friday, January 22, 2016.

During the night, the wind picked up some (SE 10-15) and although we had a great anchorage, I did not sleep well.  I don’t know why; I have slept very well in much worse conditions.  Had to get up one time to tie off a slapping halyard.  We left at 7:45 for Melbourne; overcast with wind about 15 kts on the nose and rain showers off and on.  Arrived at Eau Gallie Yacht Basin (Melbourne) about 10:30 after covering only 17 miles.  Once we entered the Eau Gallie River, it was like a mill pond; very protected as is the marina.  But the marina has a lot of boats in a small area and I had to back Dubhe into a small slip, which I did without a problem. I was quite proud of it actually, and there were a lot of other boaters around to watch.  Just as we were tying up, a squall line came through with very high wind gusts and rain.  I wish my timing could be that good all the time.  I like this marina but Nancy is not impressed with the showers and general facilities!  After the rain, we took a short walk into Eau Gallie which is a very nice little town.

Dubhe at Eau Gallie

Saturday, January 23, 2016.

Wind is predicted to be west up to 30 mph today so we have stayed put.  It is nice to have a rest day and as any typical Saturday we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast and lounged around drinking coffee and surfing on the internet.  I did manage to accomplish one of my goals.  I was able to configure and setup my wifi extender “Ubiquity Bullet” and wireless router.  This enables us to connect to wifi that is too distance for normal devices to connect to, as is the case in most marinas.  And because my router connects to the internet through the bullet, I can then network all of our devices to it rather than connect them individually. We have two computers, to iPads, and two iPhones on board.  I love cruising, but I need to have access to the internet at least every two or three days.  Although it was quite cool and windy (as predicted), we walked into Eau Gallie, stopping at the hardware store for a few items, then walking along the water, ending up at “Squid Lips” for lunch.  After lunch, back to Dubhe for a nap…the cruising life.  Saturday afternoon was occupied with minor maintenance and cleanup.  I could not find an extension cord just like I wanted for my new wifi setup, so I made one up to suit me.  Our friends Debbie and Frank Gillig who we met cruising last year are making a road trip through Florida called and said they would come by for a visit which delighted us.  They arrived shortly after 5:00, just in time for drinks, then we took a ride over the Eau Gallie bridge for a little scenery and dinner at a great Italian restaurant, Brano’s in (or near) Satellite Beach (which is now part of Melbourne too.)  It was Franks birthday so we celebrated about as much as we could and back to Dubhe for a while before they had to leaf.  Tomorrow we head to Fort Pierce.  

Eau Gallie Yacht Basin

Meeting People is the best part of cruising.

Florida - Cold!

Saturday, January 16, 2016.

Departed Brunswick Landing Marina at 0645; cool with calm wind.  Within a short time, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise as we passed under the Sidney Lanier Bridge.  We successfully made our way through the Mud River behind Jekyll Island at dead low tide, although at times we had less than two feet of water under us.  The much dreaded Saint Andrews / Jekyll sound was pleasant as was the ride behind Cumberland Island and along the Kings Bay submarine base.  We continued straight through Fernandina Beach on to the “free” dock just off the Saint John’s river in Jacksonville.  We like Fernandina and were sorry it did not work out for us to stop this time.  We arrived at the Jacksonville dock and tied up with some difficulty due to the very strong current at 4 o’clock. We were met shortly by Captain Browne Altman, the “Self appointed, unofficial, Greeter” at the dock.  Captain Altman is an older “retired” cruiser who lives nearby and likes to meet boats here to offer them assistance, primarily by giving them rides for picking up supplies or just providing local knowledge.  I have often thought that is something I may like to do in Beaufort one day.

Kings Bay

As we were negotiating the labyrinth of creeks and turns behind Cumberland Island, I was trying to identify a marker shown on my chartplotter (iPad).  The marker I was seeing up ahead just didn’t look like it should according to the chart.  As I was trying to figure it out, I had a revelation so simple, but it had never occurred to me before.  Not too long ago, the older “watermen” like me had only paper charts to navigate with.  Our major challenge was to determine (or better, estimate) where we were actually located on that paper chart…because before you can go anywhere, you have to know where you are.  Today with GPS and chartplotters, there is a convenient little blue triangle showing the current position on the chart, AND it moves when you do!  This still amazes me.  

So here is my revelation.  Paper charts for the type of cruising we are doing generally come in two scales; 1:40,000 and 1:80,000, the former being more common.  So when I look at a paper chart and see a marker at some distance away, my brain automatically calculates how far away it should look when I scan the water to locate it, and it is always the same. However, with a chartplotter, we are constantly zooming in and out to see the level of detail we want.  I had my screen zoomed out so the distance to the marker seemed shorter.  I was trying to find the marker fairly nearby when actually it was quite a distance off. I saw a marker much further away but it took me a while to reconcile the chart distance and actual distance.  Always learning. 

Many of the "more experienced" watermen will talk about how they did it in the old days and how young people don’t know how to use a paper chart etc. But I am not about to give up my electronics, particularly my chartplotter and I expect they would not either if they had to make a choice.  Maybe us older ones do have an advantage because we can do it with the paper if the electronics go out, but as the electronics become more reliable and redundant, the ability to do it the old way is becoming less important and at some point it won't matter.

Sunday, January 17, 2016.

We woke to cold rain and a forecast of winds over 20 kts.  We discussed it over coffee and decided, what the heck, lets just stay here today.  This is not like us, as we like to get up and get going rather than sit around, and although the weather is predicted to be bad, we will be mostly in narrow, protected channels most of the way.  But why hurry?  Do we want to rush to Saint Augustine to be on a mooring (where it will likely be rough) where we can’t get into town?  In this weather, we would be stuck on the boat anyway.  So here we are, hunkered down in our cozy boat reading (and writing this), napping, and planning our future. The day passed quickly, we had a fine supper of spaghetti made with Italian sausage and a salad, and went to bed early.

Jacksonville dock - calm before the storm.

Monday January 18, 2016.

We wanted to start as early as possible, but because of a drawbridge just around the corner, and crossing the Saint John’s River, we needed to wait for daylight.  As expected, we had a little difficulty getting off of the dock as the very strong current and the wind were pushing us onto it…but we made it safely away at about 0715.  I thought the tide would be low enough for us to clear the Sisters Creek drawbridge, but we were about a foot high so we had to open the bridge.  From the Saint John’s River, we encountered strong current against us so for the first few hours we only made 4 to 5 knots over the bottom.  

White Pelicans 

We have been seeing many white pelicans which seem to be new to this part of the country. I have spent a lot of time on the southeast coast and don't recall seeing these before, in fact the first time I ever saw one that I know of was last year, further south in Florida.  The seem to socialize well with our brown pelicans. 

Dubhe on mooring #1

We arrived in Saint Augustine in time to clear the Bridge of Lions at 1:30 and picked up our mooring at the Saint Augustine Municipal Marina just on the other side.  I was concerned about the cold and wind getting to our mooring in our small dingy, but it was our lucky day as we picked up mooring #1, closest to the dingy dock.  That evening we met our friends, Tom and Joann Brzowski and had a wonderful dinner at the Gypsy Taxi Company restaurant.  It was cold, but our dingy ride back to Dubhe in the dark was great, being so close. It looks like we will stay another night here and move on to south of Daytona Beach on Wednesday.

Dinner ashore.

Cruising - Away at last, January 13-15

Wednesday, January 13, 2015.  

We departed Port Royal Landing Marina before daylight but we had not been sure that we would get away until it actually happened.  Although we do not have a schedule, we have talked about it so much that we have been driven to actually cast off.  We haven’t prepared or planned like we did last year and at the last minute it showed! A few days earlier, I got out the dingy and outboard to take them to the dock, but the outboard would not run.  I immediately began taking it apart and found that the carburetor was gunked up with a white substance as a result of ethanol in the gasoline.  I ordered a rebuild kit but it may not have arrived soon enough so I cleaned up the carburetor and put it back together as best I could and viola it worked! 

Provisioning

Spray in Port Royal Sound

Did I say we left on the 13th?? We anchored in the Vernon River south of Savannah in the same place we did last year, a distance of 58 miles.  As I was backing down to set the anchor, we heard a slapping noise which immediately made my heart sink, and sure enough, we had wrapped the dingy painter around the propeller.  (A painter is the rope tied to the front of a small boat to pull it, etc).  Nancy was at the controls and immediately put the engine in neutral, but we were stuck!  The dingy was pulled up tightly against the stern of Dubhe. I got into the dingy to see if I could pull the line loose but that did not work. I could not reach the propeller and the water was way too cold to get in.  We could not go anywhere in that condition.  We needed a diver but we were in a pretty out of the way place.  I called a friend but his boat was not running so I called TowboatUS.  They could bring a diver out but it would cost dearly.  Before I committed to Towboat, I decided to give it one more try.  I cut the painter from the dingy (but held onto it) then moved the dingy around to the side of Dubhe and was able to pull the line so that it “unwrapped” from the propeller.  This was our lucky day!  We had a quiet and restful night but it was cold; in the 30’s.  Dubhe does not have any heat unless the engine is running or we are plugged in but Nancy planned for this and brought lots of cover.  We were very comfortable, delighted to be on our way, and loving being at anchor.

Used dingy painter.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

A long day plying the ICW through coastal Georgia.  Since we only go a little over 6 knots or about 7 miles per hour through the water, a head current of a knot or two can make a big difference and we seemed to have the current against us more than with us.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the day and the ride.  We almost stopped to anchor where we did last year, but arrived before 3 in the afternoon, so we pressed on toward Brunswick.  The weather was calm but the forecast for Friday was not good.   After a long day of 68 miles, we anchored up in the Frederica River just off of the ICW.  I liked the location, but it was a little narrow and did not provide much swing room…never mind, the wind was calm and we were happy to be there.  

Frederica River with ICW in the distance

Friday, January 15, 2016
During the night, I woke a couple of times to check our situation.  All was well and calm until 4 am when the wind picked up and blew straight down the river against the very swift current.  The wind will push Dubhe over the anchor until the chain tightens, pulling the bow so she is broadside to the current, at which point we all go sailing the other way down current, over the anchor until the chain again tightens with a thump and jerk, and the process repeats itself.  I tried to go back to sleep but we were both up at 5, wishing for daylight so we could get going.  At 7:15 we brought the anchor aboard and headed to Brunswick; only about 18 miles away.  We had not wanted stay at a marina until we got to Saint Augustine where we plan to pick up a mooring, but the weather forecast was not good, so we decided to take the easy way and come to Brunswick Landing Marina.  We arrived in a torrential rain, even waiting in the river about 30 minutes for a break before we docked.  However, this turned out to be one of our better decisions.  The wind picked up in the afternoon to 20+ kts, the marina has free beer and wine, and we met a friend who took us out to dinner.  A great day!  Tomorrow morning, we head to Jacksonville.   

Dubhe at Brunswick Landing Marina