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!
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| Provisioning |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Dubhe at Brunswick Landing Marina |
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