ICW Day 44 December 3o, Thursday 28nm STM 878.4  1000 Total Miles!

Thank goodness, a fairly uneventful day to this mooring field in Titusville. We led the way today in front of Valentine for a change and arrived in plenty of time to go explore and have lunch in town.

Radiance, Valentine, us and Let It Be ate at a highly recommended new burger joint called Quams, owner is a retired school teacher. We spent several hours there with everyone and had a great time, by the time we left to walk the 1/2 mile or so back to the dingy it was raining good! Wind had picked up and the seas were rough, a bit of a nail biting dingy ride back to boat. But, we were very excited finally to be actually even riding in the dingy since the motor hasn’t been working pretty much since Coinjock, NC….

Sandwiches and cereal for dinner, lucky for me Brad ate a burger that was huge for lunch. Mary Grace calls it LIN when they do lunch and dinner together, I have always adored LIN:)

 

ICW Day 43 November 11 Wednesday New Smyrna Anchorage 59nm STM 846.7 972 Total miles

Left St. Augustine about 8ish, we were concerned about the Mickler O’Connel Bridge and had planned to leave later at lower tide but Sandy and Brad on Doc’s Orders left at sun up and radioed that the bridge height was already over 64. 

We left behind Valentine and made good time, had originally planned to stop at Palm Coast but Jack made the decision to keep moving to make the following day shorter because there was some concern about rain the following day. At the end of the day we did 12 bridges, 8 fixed and four bascule. We had a difficult grounding around MM 843 near Ponce Inlet. Valentine first ran aground in front of us, got off without much difficulty…we chose to steer closer to the mark as Sandy and Brad had indicated earlier (they ran aground there as well), instead we hit hard, Brad kept the engine reeved trying to plow through for several minutes, we came off then went aground again, we did this three times. Jack was inching his way back to us on Valentine and I yelled into the radio for him to ‘stay away’, we would figure it out. Finally, had to go OUTSIDE of the mark to clear water, yikes!!!! No Tow Boat US for us as yet!!

Long day, needless to say. We found out this am that Brad on Doc’s Orders mom had passed away this am so they were rushing to get to Cocoa to fly home. We all had a quiet night on the anchorage, just the three of us. I was beyond tired, even though I wasn’t the one at the helm all day…Brad was doing well, I have no idea what we made for dinner but it was quick….

It is not unusual for us to look at each other at 8:30p and say I’m done and we hit the hay.

 

ICW Day 41/42, November 28-29, Mon/Tues  Palm Cove Marina to St. Augustine 27 nm, statute mile 778.2, 912 total miles

Breezy day on the water, gusts up to 20mph. The 3 musketeers (Refection, Valentine and Doc’s Orders) in single file pretty much the whole way. No bridge or grounding issues, if it hadn’t been so windy it would have been a perfect day!

Arrived St. Augustine Municipal Marina around 4p. St. Augustine from the shoreline reminds us of a scene in Europe complete with old church steeples and stone walled forts.

That afternoon we walked the old cobblestone street with lots of eclectic shops, art galleries and restaurants. Ate at The Columbian, great spanish food, had an octopus appetizer that we shared, great piece of marinated fish and their famous Spanish rice with plantains and yuca!!

Next morning nearly the entire rally took the trolley to do a 1 1/2 hr tour of the town, Brad and I were in the caboose, had a bit of a swervy ride, it was fun and informative. Lots of laughs and some awful stories about how severe racism was in this town during the Martin Luther King days (he visited here due to the problems). Ate lunch at The Gourmet Hut, very crazy little courtyard place.

Most memorable was the last evening. We walked across the Bridge of Lions (windy!) to a karaoke bar to celebrate Eric and Corinne’s last night with us (Reflection II). Eric has a great voice, sang a Bobby Darin tune, Somewhere Beyond the Sea. Jack and Diane san
g ‘Jack and Diane’ (what a hoot), Sue and Kevin sang a Meatloaf song, Wally sang a Louie Armstrong song, and all the girls sang Dancing Queen. What a great night! The place was a dive, however, they served only alcohol, no food, we had to order next door to get something to eat!!! Eric made up the  a departure song, 50 Ways to Leave Your Rally, it was perfect!

 

ICW Day 38/39/40, November Fri/Sat/Sun 25/26/27, Palm Cove Marina, Jacksonville, FL 41nm, statue mile 746.9, 885 total miles.

We are in Florida!  Quiet, sunny and warm day.  5 of us decided to go outside from St Mary’s Inlet to St John’s River inlet and then continue down the ICW to Palm Cove Marina.  Going outside allowed us to skip 2 bridges and for me to have the boat in a marina for when Terrie flies back.  Still had to time the bridges and come in after low tide…  Had to plow through the mud to get into the slip.

The marina is in Jacksonville Beach right on the ICW.  Enjoyed a nice happy hour and dinner at the Marker 32 restaurant on site.   Big grocery, West Marine, and other shops on Saturday worked out well.  

Surprised Terrie with everyone on board Saturday evening for drinks and snacks when she arrived.  After everyone left I made a couple of hamburgers and we relaxed for the evening.  We enjoyed a quiet day on Sunday working on the boat, and had a chance to Uber over the beach, walk around, and have lunch at a nice sports bar.   Ready to get underway for St Augustine tomorrow.

ICW Day 35/36/37 – St. Mary’s, Georgia anchorage, 7 nm, statute mile 712.3, 844 total miles

Short run from the Cumberland Is. anchorage to St. Mary’s for the annual cruisers Thanksgiving gathering. When we arrived there were over 50 boats in the anchorage with more anticipated to arrive within the next couple of days. Learned a lesson about anchoring in deeper water. Depth almost 28 ft. did not put out enough scope to get the anchor to set. Eric from Reflection II jumped on board to get the anchor set. Enjoyed a nice lunch in town with Eric and Corrine and came back to discover that I had anchored too close to another boat and had to move right before dusk.

Spent the next day working on the boat and the dinghy motor and finally have the dinghy running! Went ashore to join in the oyster roast festivities at Seagle’s Saloon. An old sleepy town that caters to the cruising community.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Day   

The day began with bright sunshine and the promise of 80 degrees. The guys went in to set up for almost 150 people and we were able to reserve the back patio for the Sail to the Sun group. They were concerned about having enough turkeys so we all decided to come in a bit early around noon. I baked some brownies to contribute to the feast. Turned out to be a wonderful afternoon and gathering with plenty of food! Songs were sung and group pictures were taken. We said goodbye to Mike and Fern on Elan, Steve on Second Wind, and Kevin and Margaret on Osprey. It was fun to take part in this tradition which evidently has a long history. 

ICW Day 34/35, Sat/Sun November 19/20, Jekyll Island, GA.  13nm, statue mile 684.4, 812 total miles, 14 gal fuel.  Took a slip in the Jekyll Island marina.

Left Fort Frederica early to catch the lower tide under the two bridges on the way to Jekyll Island.  Touched bottom on the way out, but made it through ok.  We continue to learn so much about the towns, islands and history along the way.  Mary Grace and Frank Stitch invited me to join them on a tour of the historic Jekyll Island Club.  It turns out is was one of the most exclusive private clubs in the world in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s with only 50 members including JP Morgan and the Rockefellers.  A winter getaway for 3 months a year.  The old clubhouse is a beautiful old hotel and a number of “cottages” have been restored but only two are open for guests.

Enjoyed a nice dinner with the group at the Driftwood Bistro the first night.  Sunday the 20th was our anniversary.  Ken and Laurie, Jack and Diane, and Mike and Fern joined me over at the Crane Cottage for a nice meal.  Would like to come back and play golf here.

ICW Day 22, Monday November 7, 43 nm, statue mile 451.3, 613 total miles.

We left Georgetown for Whiteside Creek just north of Charleston.  Cool and a bit windy.  Covering 43 miles means we can catch the bridges just before Charleston close to low tide!

Whiteside Creek was out in the middle of the salt marsh.  Very surreal.  To add to it, the group organized a dinghy raft up party behind Osprey.  What a cool group!

ICW Day 20, Saturday November 5, 31nm, 393.9 statue miles, 561 total nm.

We left Myrtle Beach and ventured into the Wacama River.  Absolutely scenic.  The water levels were still high from the hurricane, but we could see high the water made it.  Way up the tree trunks, amazing.

Almost made it to Georgetown, SC today.  Unfortunately, we could not make it under the Lafeyette Bridge.  In fact, we hit the bridge again.  We were able to spin around and head back up the Wacamaw River and snag a slip in Heritage Plantation about 6 miles up river from the bridge.  A beautiful setting right on the river in a gated community.  Very windy after the front came through, and Terrie thought the waves under the bridge contributed to the issue.

In any case Docs Orders did not even try to go under and stayed back with us.  Nice to have some company.  We enjoyed a nice meal on the boat.  Try again at low tide in the morning.

ICW Day 6/7, Saturday October 22, 27nm, statue mile 131.8, 302 total miles.

We have heard about the Wilkerson Bridge for over a year when we were thinking about the ICW. Charted clearance at the end of the Alligator-Pungo canal of 64′.  Made it through with inches to spare! Into the Pungo River with strong winds to Dowry Creek Marina.   2 nights here and said good bye to Don and Signe.  Real troopers considering the bridges and complete disruption of our routing.

Bobby Colon from “Going Places”, and Jack and Diane Mercaldo from “Valentine” with many others arranged a cook out.  Great group of people.

Concerned about the high waters after Mathew going further south where the hurricane dumped even more water.