Fernandina Beach to Home, April 16-19, 2016

It had been windy for the past few days but forecasts from various sources do not seem to agree completely.  Apparently there is a low pressure system to the south (with counterclockwise winds) and a high pressure system to the north (with clockwise winds) which are teaming up to provide winds in excess of 25 mph to well over 30 mph.  Gale warnings have been issued to the north of us.  Our plan is to go at least as far as the north end of Cumberland island and see what it looks like.  I had a good conversation with Chuck last night about the inside passage around Saint Andrews Sound (and Jekyll Sound) and we hoped that we could make it across.

April 16, 2016

The wind was less during the night but picked up just as we departed at 6:45. As seems to be the norm on this trip, the current was against us most of the way so it was slow going and quite choppy in the Saint Marys River and Cumberland Sound, clawing our way up against the wind and current.  When we got to toward the north end of Cumberland Island and the Cumberland River began to widen toward Saint Andrews Sound, the current was now with us but against the wind which was picking up to the upper 20’s.  For almost an hour, we experienced the roughest water that we ever have in Dubhe.  The conditions created a very steep, short sea of maybe 4-5+ feet (trough to peak).  I don’t normally like to estimate wave height because it is almost always overestimated.  But the height was not the problem; the waves were nearly vertical, and the peak to peak period did not agree with Dubhe’s 30’ length.  Dubhe would rise up and drop, pounding on every 3^rd or 4^th wave which also greatly slowed our speed. Spray was sometimes solid water that even drenched the flybridge and the cabin door that faces the stern.  Turning around was not an option…I could not imagine Dubhe’s beam or quarter to these waves.  

I considered turning into Shellbine Creek, but Floyds Creek, the entrance to the inside passage, was only a mile and a half further.  At last we made it, and of course Floyds Creek was flat, although the wind was still blowing.  I had thought that I would anchor up and rest or possibly spend the night here, but we decided to press on.  With Chucks notes, we made our way through to Umbrella Sound just before Jekyll Sound, bumping bottom only once.  We thought about anchoring in Umbrella Creek but then decided to try Jekyll Sound which has a little more protection and different orientation than Saint Andrews.  It was quite bumpy but again, we made it through.  After transiting behind Jekyll Island, we were again faced with the decision to cross Saint Simons Sound.  The wind was about the same but now the current would be in the same direction as the wind so we went.  It was bumpy as well but the waves were not as high and not too steep.  At about 5:00 we anchored in the Frederica River behind Saint Simons Island.  A great ending to a basically horrible day.  Dubhe had a nice layer of salt everywhere, but the decks were washed clean.

Earlier in the day, a sailboat (Kyros) followed us through a tricky portion of the waterway and I called depths to them as we passed through.  They were still behind us when we experienced the worst weather.  I called and asked them (a couple) if they were planning to cross Saint Andrews Sound or did they know about the inside Passage.  They didn’t know about the alternate route but asked if they could follow us which they did.  When we were almost through, they anchored in Umbrella Creek.  Although we talked on the radio a lot, I never got their names or where they were from. 

Sorry no pictures.  We were too busy and pictures would never look the same anyway.

April 17, 2016

We departed about 8:00 with wind predicted to increase during the day and the current against us.  We struggled up the Mckay River, through Altamaha Sound, Doboy, and Sapelo Sounds without too much difficulty.  Our plan was to anchor in the North Newport River behind Saint Catherines Island but the water was much too deep (30 feet) and exposed, so we tried Walburg Creek but the current and wind were not to my liking or conducive for a restful night.  After two long days, I was very frustrated and angry.  As I made my way out to backtrack south for an anchorage, we passed a nice quiet creek in the right orientation but it was not shown as an “anchorage” on our guides.  We entered Necessary Creek and found the perfect anchorage.  The lesson here is to look on the charts for anchorages yourself and don’t just rely on the cruising guides.  On our first cruise 32 years ago, we had no guides and did very well. 

Necessary Creek

April 18, 2016

Finally, it looks like the wind is relenting.  We left necessary Creek just after sunrise and had a very nice ride to Savannah where we took an alternate route via Turners Creek and the Saint Augustine River instead of the Wilmington River.  When crossing the Savannah River, there was a dredge working at Elba Island Cut, and just as Dubhe Approached, so did a ship in the river.  Not really a problem, we just held up and let the ship pass.  About 4:30 we anchored in the Cooper River behind Daufuskie Island for our last night on Dubhe.

Elba Island Cut and Savannah River Traffic

Gator swimming across Fields Cut

April 19, 2016

A beautiful ride home.  It was as if we were taking a day cruise from Beaufort.  We arrived at Port Royal Landing Marina about 12:30. I had very mixed emotions as our cruise ended.  I was glad to be home, and I was looking forward to having my truck, my bed, shower, and all our other conveniences.   I will see Lane tomorrow and will be going to North Augusta Thursday to see Lilly.  Life is good and easy.  But, I had an underlying melancholy that is hard to describe.  We won’t be anchoring in a quiet creek tonight on Dubhe.  Tomorrow, we will not be on Dubhe, riding through some deserted waterway or through some new town.  I will miss it all.  Cruising is a way of life more than a vacation or getaway.  It’s not always easy and rarely convenient, but it gets in my soul.  To some not familiar with cruising or boats this may be seen as a great adventure and achievement.  We know many others who cruise much further, cross oceans, and visit foreign lands.  We are not prepared for that.  To Nancy and me, our little cruise on our little boat was just right.  We had fun, met new friends, saw new places, and of course learned more about each other.  To me it’s just about being on Dubhe and on the water. 

 

Home, Port Royal Landing Marina

Vero Beach to Fernandina Beach, April 8-15, 2016

We have been on the move and partying too much to spend the time I need to on this blog.  As we get closer we are drawn to Lilly and Lane, and the conveniences of home.  Except for an extra day at New Smyrna, we had several long back to back days.  A long day being 50 miles or more.

Beautiful day cruising the Indian River with Imajine

Dubhe on her way north. KSC VAB in the background.
(if you don't know what KSC VAB means, you are a lot younger than me)

We spent three nights (April 7-9) rafted up to Imajine; and extra day because we wanted to stop at New Smyrna Beach Marina and they did not have any openings until the 11^thand we were two days away.  On the 10^th, we made the 55 mile trip to Cocoa in the company of Imajine and anchored in our favorite spot.  It was Sunday, the last day of the Masters, so we

Watching the Masters in Cocoa

all dingyed over to Ryans Pizza and Pub to watch the end and have Irish nachos (huge nachos with waffle fries instead of tortilla chips).  The next day, another long windy ride to New Smyrna Beach.  This is one place Nancy and I both wanted to take some time to visit. Very nice old Florida town much like downtown Beaufort.  We did our share of happy hours and eating, including pizza which we had been craving.  I also filled up with fuel and water, and we did the laundry for the last time (I hope) before Beaufort.

After a rest day, we hit the river for a 50 mile trip to Marineland marina, just for an overnight stop, but this is another place we want to visit again.  It was a very long day because it seemed that the current was against us the whole way.  Early the next morning (Thursday, April 14, still in the company of Imajine), we made our longest one-day trip so far, 65 miles to an anchorage behind South Amelia Island.  Again the current seemed to be against us most of the way, and it was very windy.  What looks to be a serious weather system is

Beach selfie at Marineland

setting up to bring high winds from north Florida to South Carolina over the next several days.  High winds mean over 20 kt but the predictions are for over 30 kt in some places.  The area along the lower SC had gale warnings (over 32 kt) As a result, our intended stopping point, the free Jacksonville dock was full.  Imajine decided to anchor a few miles short of our planned area so we waved goodbye to our traveling companions.  Since they live in Saint Marys, Georgia, they made it home today. Our anchorage was only the lee of the island, wide open to the south and west.  We were well anchored, excellent holding bottom and a scope of better than 5:1 with chain.  But when the wind would gust to near 30 and Dubhe would shudder, I was awake.  It was a long night.

Now it is Friday, April 15 and this may be my last post before arriving home.  This morning the weather prediction for the next few days is horrible; high wind and rain.  It was looking like we may have to hole up here for a while.  The Fernandina Beach City Marina was full so we made our way to the Amelia Island Yacht Basin to meet up with our Beaufort friends Chuck and Claria who are here on their boat.  As I have gotten wifi at the marina and checked all my sources for weather, it looks as if the wind predictions may not be as bad as originally issued.  If this holds to tomorrow morning, we will head out.  I will still be windy and anchoring will not be so restful, but we will be on our way.  We have only about  3½ days of travel left on this cruise. 

Like the old adage about boats, for us the two best days of a cruise are the day you depart and the day you arrive home, but in fact we have had more wonderful days than we probably deserve.

Fort Myers Beach to Vero Beach, April 4-7, 2016

April 4, 2016

All went according to plan yesterday, getting ready, and this morning for our departure at first light.  We had moved to the fuel dock to top off and stayed there overnight which made getting away easier in this current.  We had a few rain showers first thing, but mostly, the weather was good.  The first set of locks (Lincoln) went fine and there were slips available in LaBelle, one of our favorite stops because they have excellent docks with power and water for FREE! We had dinner at the local barbecue restaurant with a couple we “met” in the Lincoln lock and traveled with to LaBelle, Bob and Mary on Journey On.  Long day, but a good start to our return and crossing of Lake Okeechobee.

April 5, 2016

Anchorage wildlife

We started at 8:00 because we were not sure about the next lock, Ortona.  Reports were that it would have restricted hours due to construction so no need to hurry.  As it turns out, that was not an issue and they opened on demand.  Because the weather is questionable tomorrow (east 15-20kt) and we have never done the rim route, we decided to go that way.  This route goes around the south side of the lake to Port Mayaca Lock on the east side, rather than straight across.  The west side and south of the lake is a fairly protected canal and on the east side it runs along the levee, open to the lake.  But since the wind would be out of the east, we would have protection the whole way.  This route is also about 10 miles longer but we went about 10 miles into the route and anchored in an area known as South Bay.  We were alone except for a few bass fishermen and the wildlife, especially gators.  

South Bay Lake Okeechobee

April 6, 2016

The Lake

The wind was predicted to be strong from the north then turn east but we almost did not even notice the wind in our anchorage.  We started early, about 6:45 because we had a long day ahead.  There is one swing bridge along the route which is, at least partially, manually operated.  We had to call the bridge tender who made his way from his nearby bait shop to the bridge.  It took a few minutes longer than a normal bridge but we were soon on our way.  As we rounded the south (bottom) side of the lake we encountered some pretty good chop left over from the north wind, but as we made our way around the east side, the water was smooth despite a 15-20 east wind.  The Port Mayaca Lock was open on both ends when we arrived, so we could just drive straight through.  At the last lock, Saint Lucie, we were dropped about 14 feet back into salt water.  We decided to pick up a mooring at the Sunset Marina in Stuart after a long 10 hour day, showers, steak for supper, and a quiet night.  Getting through the Okeechobee Waterway is a major milestone.  My repair to the heat exchanger pipe seems to be working as there have been no leaks (so far) and Dubhe is running cool! 

Best deckhand at Saint Lucie Lock

April 7, 2016

Another long day ahead, so we started at dawn (about 6:45).  Just outside of the mooring field was our first drawbridge, but adjacent to it is a railroad bridge that is normally in the open position, except when trains are coming.  Wouldn’t you know it…it was down, ie closed to boat traffic.  Forty-five minutes later after two trains crossed, we got on our way.   Sunny and very pleasant day but a little breezy.  The major events of the day were caused by the large fast “bleach bottle” boats operated by people with little interest in courtesy for their fellow boaters and minimal brain capacity.  One event was a large motor cruiser that came up on our port side very close and would not have slowed if I had not seen them at the last minute and called them on the radio…we were rolled pretty badly.  Just ahead was a small jon boat with two people fishing.  I called the motor cruiser and asked them to please not sink them.  Later, we were passing (meeting) a pontoon boat which was less than 100’ off of our port side.  Without warning, a large Grady White with twin outboards came from behind, between us at high speed.  Way too close, way too fast, and everything went flying.  The second of our two favorite coffee cups was broken in the melee.  We rafted Dubhe up to our friends on Imajine at a mooring in the Vero Beach mooring field.  Happy hour and a great evening!

More drawbridges - Fort Pierce

Rafted up at Vero Beach

Fort Myers Beach, Moss Marina, March 30 – April 3, 2016

As planned, Nancy left early Wednesday, morning (6:15) for the Fort Myers airport where she is catching a flight to Dallas for a business meeting.  She will be returning on Sunday afternoon and we will depart Monday, April 4 at first light in any weather less than a full gale.  We have been just having fun, but this is a work week for me.  My first project was to get this blog caught up then change the engine oil in Dubhe.  Other activities for the week included varnishing the rail, cleaning the dingy bottom, filling water tanks, laundry, buying groceries, and many more mundane tasks that need to be done on a boat or just for living in general. 

Bachelor supper.
Actually I am a pretty good cook but lazy when Nancy is gone.

When I went to change the engine oil, I noticed a red drip on top of the oil filter…uh oh.  It was a coolant leak in a cast aluminum pipe about 8 inches long that runs from the heat exchanger to the thermostat housing.  I had a faint wiff of coolant (antifreeze) the last few times I had shut down the engine, and had investigated but could not see anything, and the reservoir level was holding, so I had attributed the smell to the cap venting.  It turns out that the pipe is highly corroded and actually has a pinhole (maybe 2).  Failure of this part would stop us in our tracks so fixing it would be my first priority.  (As a side note, this pipe is connected via a short rubber section that looks original.  I considered replacing it before our trip but the job would be so difficult, I put it off. I am a little embarrassed to show the picture, because anything that looks that bad should have been replaced before now. ) First order of business was to get a new pipe ordered so I could get it installed before our planned departure.  Nope…Perkins strikes again.  According to my regular sources, the part is not stocked and would have to be shipped from England, AND it would cost $1,160! Replacement of the part would also require major effort including partial disassembly of the heat exchanger (the reason I haven't done it before now).  After much research and analysis, I decided to reinforce the pipe with high temperature epoxy that I found in the local hardware store, and a special high temp tape that I had on board for emergencies.  Dubhe always runs cool so I will also leave the heat exchanger cap loose to keep the system from pressurizing.  We will press on and keep an eye on it. 

The best way to clean the dingy bottom is to go to a beach and turn it upside down.  So, I grabbed a couple of beers and headed to the beach on the north end of the island.  A few minutes out, my outboard quit pushing.  It was running but the propeller was not turning.  After much fiddling and cussing I decided that I had better start rowing since the current was taking me ever further from Dubhe.  I made it back and got some exercise along the way.  My 3½ Nissan outboard is old and has been reliable, but for some reason decided not to go into gear.  I put it up and will deal with that later.  Meanwhile, I was able to pull the dingy “Little Dipper” up onto a dock for cleaning. A trip to Publix on the bus and we are ready to go.

Although busy, I was able to make a couple of trips to the beach and the Dixie Fish Company bar during the week.

So Long Fort Myers Beach

I am writing this Sunday before we leave so I can get it posted before we leave.  It may be a while before I have a chance to post again but if something does not go as planned, I will update.

Captiva to Fort Myers Beach, March 20 - 29

Note:I have been remiss in not posting more often and as a result, by time I get around to it, I have forgotten a lot of the fun stuff we've done, and I am so far behind, I don't include some detail and editorial comments that I would like to.  After three months, we are feeling the gravitational pull of home and children.

March 20, 2016

Dubhe had about one foot of water beneath her when we awakened, and Imajine was stuck in the mud a little, but the tide was beginning to rise.  The forecast is for another norther with NW, N winds to 25 kt tonight so we need to get to protected anchorage.  We brought the anchor aboard after much washing of chain about 9:15 and headed south.  We left before Imajine so we could do a little marine surveying on the way out.  No problem.  We reported that depths were fine.  Again, we changed our minds and rather than anchor just a few miles away, we decided to go on to Fort Myers Beach.  The weather was somewhat eerie as it was dead calm before frontal system to roll in tonight.  We arrived at Moss Marina in Fort Myers Beach about 1:00.  Nancy will be flying out of Fort Myers on March 30 for a business trip so we decided to come here for an extra week and have a “vacation”.  My new word to describe cruising is “inconvenient”.  Over the past few weeks or so, we have had a wonderful time, but being at anchor or mooring is Inconvenient.  You can’t just go for a walk, you have to take a dingy ride, you can’t use all the power stuff you have, you have to prioritize and conserve, you can’t just drive to the grocery store, etc.  This is not necessarily bad, just a different way of life that many enjoy about cruising.  So our “vacation” will be tied up at a marina with easy land access, laundry, unlimited power, and we even plan to rent a car for a week…very convenient.

Dubhe in Fort Myers Beach, "Serenity" to the left then "Dances With Wind"

Throughout history, humans have striven to make their lives more convenient and comfortable.  It sometimes seems that this is our primary goal in life….more convenience and comfort.  We control our environment and constantly invent devices to do stuff for us.  As a result, we become dependent on our convenience and comfort systems; we can’t do without them.  Cruising is a way of life that represents freedom and independence, as are other kinds of (particularly outdoor) adventures.  It’s freedom from these things that many times control us, eg. I can’t do that, It’s too hot outside…I can’t do that because I can’t take my electric can opener, etc.  I believe that many will say that the freedom is actually freedom from our conveniences and comforts.  Most cannot or will not cruise because of the inconvenience (having to learn navigation and rules of the road is also an inconvenience).   Of course, the larger the boat and the more conveniences on board, the less inconvenient it becomes.  With Dubhe we don’t have that problem; there are lots of inconveniences.  We love it.

March 21 - 29, Moss Marine, Fort Myers Beach

Our first night, the wind finally started to blow and we are open to the north so there was quite a lot of motion.  I had to get up a couple of times to check on things, especially since we are at a fixed dock and have to account for about 2½ feet of tide.  But! Marina life…convenience! Showers! Laundry!  Then a walk around the downtown beach area stopping for beers at an open bar at the beach.  Very Relaxing.  The wind blew hard most of the day but settled in the evening.

Tuesday, we caught the bus at about 11:00 for a relatively short ride to the Enterprise car rental office.  We rented a car for the week and had requested a small (Nissan Versa) one.  However, when we got there, they gave us a Chrysler 200 which is much larger than I wanted.  Of course most people would think that this is good, but I really prefer smaller cars.  This car also has push button starting (with the fob in your pocket) and a knob on the console which is turned to select P, R, N D.  It took me a while to figure it out.    Picked up car, Costco, Total Wine, Target, rode dingy to Doc Fords and Dixie Fish Company.

For the remainder of the week, we took it easy, trying to use the rental car, but the traffic onto the beach in the afternoon is so bad, we limited our driving.  Wednesday, drove up to Fort Myers for dinner with Michael and Suzie at 5:00 but had extra time before then so we made our trip to Walmart that I had been dreading.  The traffic everywhere here is awful.  In addition to Spring Break, our checkout person told us that it is the peak of spring practice for Major League Baseball and there are two teams here (Twins and Red Sox).  We made it downtown on time to meet Michael and Suzie at the City Marina and walked to First Street for Mexican (Los Cabos Cantina)
. 

iPhone screenshot.
Note 2.3 miles but 27 minutes.  It actually took longer

Thursday, We spent a couple of hours on the beach and pretty much had a laid back day.  It was Maundy Thursday so we went to the evening service at St. Peter Lutheran Church at Fort Myers Beach.  I enjoyed being in church and hearing the words which brought me a Peace I haven’t had in a while.  I miss my church family in Beaufort. 

Another beach selfie.  Fort Myers Beach.

Fort Myers Beach - more crowded than we like but fun.

Friday  (March 25, 2016) we intended to get an early start but did not get away until 10:00, picked up the fitting for Michael and met them at the City Marina downtown.  After chatting a while, we headed across the river to tour Pine Island via Cape Coral.  We actually got to see a lot of Cape Coral going and coming, but the more we saw, the less we were impressed.  Of course, houses on the water are expensive and well kept, but much of everywhere else looked like the crash of 2007 hit very hard, and they haven’t recovered.  Pine Island is my kind of place except that it is far away from everything else.  Most homes are modest, even the waterfront ones with docks.  We had a great lunch at Woodys, in Saint James City but ate way too much.  Our original intent was to make our way back late, after having supper somewhere, to avoid the traffic into Fort Myers Beach.  But, we had seen as much as we wanted by about 4:00 so we headed “home”.  The traffic was as expected…horrible; about 30 minutes to go a little over 2 miles! 

Woodys Restaurant, Saint James City

Saint Peter Lutheran Church - Easter 

We attended Easter service at Saint Peter Lutheran church and afterward drove down to Naples for lunch.  That evening we were invited to dine on board Serenity with Dave and Sue and Doug and Caylyn from another boat.  A good time was had by all.

Monday we returned the rental car.  We have been exploring bars and restaurants, particularly the Doc Ford’s bar but have settled on The Dixie Fish Company as our favorite.  We have been there several times, the clientele is about right, it is on the water, and they have hogfish, our favorite. 

Dixie Fish Company

When did you last see one of these? $8 per pack.

Tuesday (Mar 29) was a cloudy day, a good time for laundry.  We had planned to go to the beach but the weather prevented that. Our next door marina neighbor Dances With Wind is heading up the Okeechobee Waterway to LaBelle for dry storage for the summer.  Doug and Caylyn (sp) spend about 6 months of the year cruising Central America on her (Caylyn is form Guatemala) and the other six months (Summer) in Colorado.   Their problem is that there are two fixed bridges that are about 2 feet too low for their 56’ mast.  To pass the

Shortening Dances With Wind's mast

bridges, Doug is using barrels of water as weights to heel Dances With Wind.  He had never done this before so I helped by calculating the heel required to get the clearance (simple trigonometry).  It worked, as they have completed the trip.  About 3:30 to 4:00 a line of severe thunderstorms came through.  Normally, a thunderstorm is not a really big event, but this one was.  Winds quickly blew up to 40 kts, (45 mph), maybe higher for at least 20 minutes out of the north which is the direction we are most exposed.  Within minutes waves 3’+ were rolling into the marina on our stern.  Several waves actually splashed over Dubhe’s stern rail.  Everyone was scrambling to get more lines on their boats as were we.  The large fuel sign blew down onto a boat puncturing it above the water line.  Another cruiser lost their dingy when it was punctured and the new 25 hp Yamaha outboard was submerged.  We had no damage but increased our awareness that thunderstorms will be a way of life as we return in the month of April.

Tomorrow, Nancy leaves me with Dubhe while she goes to Dallas on business.