Final Day in Brunswick

APRIL 27, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) We’re suppose to leave today, but strong winds, and more importantly, the boat still has tools and stuff all over the place. We really don’t want to leave so unorganized. Went out for ribs with TT as a “last supper” (until we see them again on the waterway). Their stay is delayed, so they won’t be leaving until next week some time. Did some last minute shopping and got the boat squared away... And now, we are ready to leave. Side note, after sitting here for almost three weeks I checked the fuel tanks and bilge…NOTHING! No fuel anywhere. The fuel “leak” in the engine room, a while back, had to have been from that rough crossing from the Bahamas…thank God. Starting tomorrow we will be able to get back to writing a “normal” log again. Can’t wait to get traveling…we’ve been sitting WAY too long!

Savannah

APRIL 19-24, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) Weather has gotten beautiful. We took advantage of it for refinishing teak (which needs coats & coats of finish). It’s lots of hours, but needs to be done. Just like spring at home for boats, after 11 months of cruising, it’s time to take care of that yearly maintenance. We’re getting anxious to get going and will probably leave in a few days. I want to get a coat of wax on the boat and then (other than unforeseen things) we should be good until we get home. It’s almost a shame that we haven’t been cruising on these beautiful days (but lucky we had them for the teak). There have been major problems, here in Georgia, with wild fires. It’s been so dry there are huge fires burning (I’m sure the wind last week did not help things). One day, when we got up, there was a burning smell in the air and it looked like a light fog. We will head to Savannah for one last road trip…and then it will probably be time to move on. When we got to Savannah, on the River Walk, we happened to see the same 210' yacht that was in Brunswick a few days ago. That's Jaycie on the dock next to the bow.

Cumberland Island

APRIL 18, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) Taking a rest today and going to Cumberland Island. John & Linda came with us. We took a ferry ride to get there and the wind (as usual) was ripping. The ferry captain had a lot of trouble docking and later limited the pickup to one location. Cumberland island has been protected from change. They only allow 300 people per day TOTAL (employees, rangers, visitors, residence) to be on the island. We got to see wild horses, armadillos and some of the old Carnegie Mansions all around the island. It’s really beautiful. Glad we came.

Jekyll Island

APRIL 17-19, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) Still windy, but much better today. We took a trip to Jekyll island today and visited some loopers at the marina (Vagabond & Tara). Only Tara was there so we caught up on what everyone’s been doing since we parted. The water really hits this dock badly and we were told they had a really abusive night…glad we went to TT’s marina. The tide is out so low again that a lot of these boats are sitting, at the dock, in the mud. The floating dock is twisted from being caught up on the mud on the one side. Some sections are starting to break their wood frame from the twisting. The ramp to get up to land is so steep it is an effort to climb it (forget bringing a dock cart up or down it). Nice weather, but very windy. We drove around the island and went out on a few of the beaches to go exploring, shelling, etc. TT will be leaving Brunswick in about a week, so we will wait for them and take the time to do some of the jobs that require days and dry time (teak, compound, wax)

Mega Yacht

APRIL 16, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) Still high winds today and non-stop. Last night a 210’ trawler yacht came in…WOW! We talked with the some of the crew (it’s a 15 man crew) and they said it was 40 knots out in the ocean and 35 at the dock today. They were concerned about the dock not being able to hold them so they put out an anchor just in case. They said there was a 5-6’ “chop” in the ocean (that 5-6’ would be giving us a rough day-but to them it’s like it isn’t even there!).

Brunswick Stay

APRIL 13, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) We are going to take the time here to get the boat fully prepared to head home (teak, wax, etc.). They’re all big jobs and will take some time to complete. We also have a “swing out” stool at our desk/office in our bedroom. It can get uncomfortable if you are sitting for a long period of time and we always wanted a back on it. I picked up a secretarial chair at, where else… Walmart and cut it down and modified it to mount on our “swing out” piece. It came out great and is much more comfortable now. Joyce got caught up on some business. APRIL 14, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) We gave the boat a really good wash. When you see that much salt on it, it really makes you miss the rivers and lakes. We hear talk of a pretty big storm coming in, but it’s not suppose to start up until later in the evening. According to TT, this is a really good place to be for storms. We had dinner on TT with their brother-in-law, Doug (who we met in Canada with Linda’s sister, Lisa). APRIL 15, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) It really poured over night and the wind is RIPPING today. About 30-35 knots consistent (all the boats in the marina on leaning over from the constant pressure), with gusts to 50+. Because of lunar activity the tides have been really high and low too. The weather changes rapidly from very hot and sunny to black and down pouring. We are all doing inside boat stuff today.

Brunswick

APRIL 11, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) It was supposed to rain today, but we got beautiful weather instead. TT drove his cousin from Holland into Savannah, so I decided it would be a good day to polish the fuel, change the oil and filters on both engines and get a first coat of paint on the generator and touch-up a few nicks and scratches on the Lehmans. Everything went well. We had dinner with TT and his cousin and caught up on old times. It’s like we never separated. Tomorrow he will give us a tour of the area and then we will pick up some more supplies. APRIL 12, 2007 (Brunswick, Georgia) We got the tour today, a very mixed area. Some very pretty…some depressed. We had the privilege of getting onto a “mini-tall ship” today. A friend TT met in the area. The boat’s name was Avany (now changed to Peace Maker. It was bought by a religious group (The 5 something of Israel?) from a Oil tycoon. It is a 120’ wood boat, with a 15 foot draft. It looks like the Mayflower. This boat is really a work of art. Beveled glass, stained glass, carved wood, etc… AMAZING! There is a lot of work to do (quite frankly a bit overwhelming), but he has large numbers of people to work on the boat and it is coming out beautiful. The transom folds down flush to the water and hydraulically extends to accept a helicopter (that they won’t be using). The name Avany is stamped/cast on everything…even the ships bell. This boat was definitely a “money’s no object, labor of love” project of the original owner. The new owners ended up buying the boat/ship for the cost of the metal on it….what a steal! I didn’t bring my camera, but was invited to come back and take pictures another day. I can’t wait! We took TT’s pick-up truck and went in town to get some supplies. It’s a good size town so we found a lot of what was on our list.

Fernanadina Beach to Brunswick

APRIL 10, 2007 (Fernandina Beach to Brunswick, Georgia) Woke up early and the weather seems good enough to travel. I did a quick fuel filter change on both engines. We only have about 4 hours of traveling, so that should hold us over with no problems. We contacted TT and will be going to their marina today. We decided to skip Cumberland and Jekyll for now and possibly do both by car from Brunswick, since the weather is so nasty. The cruise was really beautiful. Winding, narrow waterways surrounded by nature and shrimp boats. Passing through little oasis’s of small homes, mini-marinas and docks. There are lots of nice bridges along the way too. Coming into Georgia felt great knowing we are in another state. Unfortunately, our starboard engine acted up after only an hour of travel (I really can’t believe it). I went below to my “well lit” engine room and saw that the vacuum gauges had already moved. It definitely confirms that the fuel is really bad. It gave us “RPM” trouble the entire way and I thought for sure we would have to come in on one engine…but we didn’t (gotta love those Lehman’s!). Since we will probably be waiting out some weather and spending time with TT, we will polish all the fuel in all four tanks before we leave. I also would like to get a coat of wax on the hull and the teak rub rails could use a couple of coats of urethane too. I just hope we have enough time and weather to get it all done before we leave. We are really enjoying being on the boat in this “simple” world. It’s really amazing, but we keep getting more and more comfortable traveling and living aboard. Originally, we had planned on selling the boat when our trip was done, but we have had a change of heart. We have decided to keep the boat. NY is a great starting point for a lot of other exciting adventures….and we would like to have more of them! TT loaned us his truck and we went to a movie in town. Tall Ship as we enter Brunswick Harbor Jaycie anxiously awaiting our arrival

Jacksonville to Fernandina Beach

APRIL 9, 2007 (Jacksonville Landing to Fernandina Beach) Woke up to an overcast morning…and cold. This cold front won’t leave! There’s a 70 percent chance of rain, but as TT used to say, “We’ve traveled in rain before!”. So untied and left. The current was moving fast and pushed us up to a whopping 10.2 knots…we were flying (don’t laugh “go-fast” boaters). It started to drizzle, but on and off. It was definitely cold and I piloted from below, but after a short time went back up to my usual position. The drizzling stopped although it remained heavily overcast. The water calmed and looked like glass. It was a long windy waterway and we loved it. Among all the open land and natural waterways, with barely a house in sight….we saw a for sale sign sitting in the middle of no where (I couldn’t even tell what was for sale)! We went under a tall bridge followed immediately by a R.R. swing bridge, which started closing as we approached. As we waited for the train it finally started over the bridge at about 2 mph…and we though we were slow. We kept our fingers crossed that it was not one of those “mile long” freight trains and that we would be stuck here for half an hour. Luckily it was short and we traveled on through. Passing through we passed another looper only going SOUTH (someone always has to be different than everyone else : ). Shortly after, our starboard engine started acting up again (and only 7 hrs. since we changed it- we definitely have a dirty fuel problem). When we get to Fernandina we will have to polish our fuel. Since there are two fronts coming through (with thunderstorms) we will probably be there for a couple of days. After 4 ½ hours of cruising we arrived at Fernandina. It’s a really cute little waterfront with an old town charm. Jaycie met a young girl as we docked and hit it off really well. We walked into town and it was really nice. Small shops with an old town feel. Very unique stores. We found a Fred’s store (there were some back in the rivers). We also bought a sign that says “Home sweet home” for the boat. We are still waiting to see what this weeks’ weather will bring. Two strong fronts are suppose to come through this week. We are also suppose to hook-up with Triton’s Trumpet (TT) again and we are all very excited…Jaycie is VERY excited.

Six Mile Creek to Jacksonville

APRIL 8, 2007 EASTER (6 Mile Creek to Jacksonville Landing/City) It’s another very cold morning (not the “Florida Easter“ I imagined). Although we stayed comfortable all night, we had to start the generator and put some heat on this morning. Oh, the Easter Bunny did find Jaycie on the boat. (Amazing Senses!) They are having an Easter service at the restaurant, so we headed up there. At least the sun is out and makes it feel warmer than it is. The Minister was young and very entertaining. For his sermon, he had everyone do “personal checklist” of 5 of the 10 commandments. He went through 4 of them and got to “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (lie)”. He then said, “If any of you didn’t check off any of the first five….you better check off this box!” : ). He had some great messages and made it very enjoyable and fun. All the members were very friendly and made us feel very welcome. They passed around a plate but said NOT to put anything in, but instead, take a penny out. Each penny had been stamped with the 10 commandments! (if we lived here we would have joined this church). We headed out and unfortunately, by this time, the sun had disappeared and it was very cold (45 degrees). We headed out, cold without sun…but at least it wasn’t windy! Still, in four hours of travel, we only saw 1 other boat. As we came towards Jacksonville, you could see the city in the distance. We were suppose to stay at a marina before the city, but no one was answering their phone or radio (maybe because it was Easter…Duh!). As always, we have an alternative plan and headed for the municipal docks in the city. They were nice and clean and as we pulled in we saw a looper flag (a boat we heard of but never met) and someone up at the restaurant yells out, “Hi Trinity, it’s Skinwalker!”. After we dock, it’s Wayne (and his wife), from back at Turkey Creek…he’s the one who drove us to the airport. But weirder still is….he’s not here on a boat! He just happened to be driving his sister to the airport and stopped here for some ice cream and saw us coming in….what are the odds! This is a nice city, and as much as I don’t like them…it is pretty nice here (and NO it is not just because there is a Hooters restaurant next to our boat). You can, however, tell we are back in a city because the people are not overtly friendly…again! We had lunch at Hooters and although the food was just average…the scenery was great : ). We will try to leave in the morning, but there are a couple of fronts coming in and we will track them closely and see what is happening, before making our decision.

Welaka to 6 mile Creek

APRIL 7, 2007 (Welaka to 6 Mile Creek) Wow is it cold….and windy!! After our late night, we were up bright and early (7am) and headed in for our pancake breakfast. It was the best $2.50 we ever spent. We headed back to the boat, and even though we probably should have stayed another day (due to the high winds), we left anyway. ML was there to see us off (as were 5 other people-most commenting about leaving). We gave our hugs and said our goodbyes….we will really miss traveling with them! Jaycie tried to hideout in the trunk. We were the ONLY boat on the water. ML called to see how we were doing, but everything was fine. Choppy, windy and white…but fine. I told Joyce to choose a couple of alternate locations in case it was too hard to dock when we get there (weather was expecting 30+ mph). It was a really long and lonely cruise without our friends. As with everything else on this trip, we will adjust to traveling alone….again. Just as I had thought, we get to our destination and the wind is still kicking and the marina could not be more exposed to the wind and water. We decide that we will not go into the marina and instead head to our alternate location, The Outback Crab Shack where we had lunch the other day (I wanted to go back there anyway). As soon as we get into the mouth of 6 Mile Creek, the wind is blocked and it is a sunny and beautiful day…hard to believe it is the same one! They have a ¼ mile long dock for guest and don’t charge for staying over night…I love a “freebie”! We dock and find out that the 42’ boat ahead of us (on the dock) is from across the St Johns river and brought his boat over today because it was getting beat up on the other side. He asks if I would keep an eye on it until he comes back in the morning to get it. He says it can get a little wild here (that’s why we chose near the end of the ¼ mile dock). We go up for dinner and have this huge platter of boiled seafood….DELICIOUS! The atmosphere is great and the music even better. The crowds disperse pretty early because of the cold temperature (even the band stops early). We get a call from ML and the bad news just got worse…his engine has to come out! After pulling the heads they found that a couple of the pistons have “thumb size” holes in the top of them….OUCH! He is going to be there for a while. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that everything goes as smooth as possible. We head back to the boat and the only problem is that they have no water and electric on the dock. We run the genset and turn on the heat to get the boat nice and warm before going to bed (while we watch My Cousin Vinny). It’s nice and toasty by the time we go to bed (hopefully it will stay warm until morning).

Welaka Stay

APRIL 5, 2007 (Welaka) It’s a cool morning, but we take the dinghies and go exploring. We stopped on the way to fuel up, but we had to walk 3 blocks from the dinghy dock to get some. Across the way there are dozens of small rivers/streams that go off in all directions. We have a map (although it didn’t do us much good). We travel about an hour into the wilderness with ML and their guests. We see all kinds of birds, fish and alligators (actually only 5 babies, 1 medium size and 1 large one by the end). We would have had some really great pictures, but unfortunately, when we went to take a picture, it told us “no card in camera”. We never put it back in after downloading the last set of pictures…DAMN! Luckily ML has theirs and we will grub a few pictures off of them. As we got deeper into the waterway, we had to wiggle our way through narrow passages, around (and over) fallen trees and through lilly pads and shallow mud (maybe this should have gave us a hint we were not “on the right path”). Anyway, it ended up a really awesome morning and we definitely went….where no dinghy has gone before! When we got back to the boat. ML rented a car (the smallest one I have ever seen) and made 2 trips to get us all out to a restaurant. We had a great time. APRIL 6, 2007 (Welaka) Last night, while sleeping (or trying to) the wind kicked up and the water got choppy. The dinghy, which we left on our Weaver davitts on the swim platform was making a major racket and woke me up. I went out to rearrange it to stop the racket. There I am on the swim platform, with my arms slapping around in the water, trying to secure the dinghy…when I realize that these waters have alligators in them! (we were even warned to be prepared to see one on your swim platform…so look before you leap. Every splash of water or slap against the boat is making me paranoid. Suddenly….I am a wimp! So I tie the boat and get the hell off that swim platform. Today ML’s guest are leaving and luckily they finally got to see some manatees at the dock. ML is still having trouble with his engine and a mechanic tells him the bad news…it looks like his heads will have to come off! He is going to be here for at least a week. We feel bad for him, but there is nothing we can do. That afternoon, ML drove their friends back home. While they were away, I met a boater across the dock from us. It ends up he just bought the boat (trawler) 4 days ago and they are getting ready to “go cruising“…maybe even the loop. I start asking him about his boat and although I didn‘t think it was possible, I definitely met someone who is WAY less experienced/prepared than I was. I tried to talk him into getting some “training“, but I don‘t think it is going to happen. Well, we learned…and so will he (now I know how “green“ I looked when I met Popeye back in Jersey City : ). We gave them, what we felt were important, pointers and wished them lots of luck on their journey!. When ML got back we headed for the wooden boat museum. WOW was it interesting. It is a building full of old wooden boats that Richard Speas built. He also did a Great Trip, but he went from Michigan down the rivers and kept going down the islands until he reached St. Croix. Oh, did I mention it was in 1961...and with 5 small children. What a journey! It definitely was more of challenge back then than it is now. I give him a lot of credit. His boat work is beautiful! All antiques, hand built and powered by simple engines (gas & steam). We feel honored to have been able to see his life’s accomplishments. It’s still a little chilly, but we got together on our sundeck for “the last supper”. Knowing it was our last night together, we stayed up later than usual (especially ML who is usually in bed by “boater’s midnight”- 9pm). We played 500 Rummy and had a really nice night. We will be sad to leave them. (we did, however, decide to go to a local church for their pancake breakfast before leaving in the morning)

Palatka to Welaka

APRIL 4, 2007 (Palatka to Welaka) Even though we slept o.k., it was not a great nights sleep because we slept “light” and got up a few times during the night to check on things. We leave today for Welaka (about 2 hours away). ML is still having engine troubles and there is a marina there. We had a hard time starting our starboard engine, but I put on my auxiliary electric fuel pump and it starts fine. When I turn it off it is still running so we leave. The river narrows a little and it gets even more scenic. It’s a beautiful cruise through winding and narrowing waterways. Lots of birds and wildlife abound. Along the way the starboard engine starts fluxuating rpm’s, as if it had a dirty fuel filter…only I just changed all of them 2 stops ago. We never lose our engine, but it keeps acting up for most of the run. Coming into the dock there is a lot of current and a bit of wind. The dockmaster, although it ends up is very knowlegable, tried to tell me how to dock. I listen, but test his theory before committing to it (in the end, it is my responsibility if I hit something or something goes wrong). His advice was good- he does know his dock and waters. It’s a little, small town marina. There is nothing anywhere…if you don’t have a car. Although, you can dinghy to a few different places. I am going to try to figure out what is up with the engine (hopefully) and then we will do some exploring in the dinghies. Once docked I called American Diesel for some advice and then got into the engine room immediately. After checking the bleeder screw on the secondary filters I found there was air in them. I bled it out and will wait until tomorrow to see if that was the problem…I hope so. We went up to a “boaters gathering”. There weren’t any “Loopers” (besides ML), but what a great place and really nice people.

Black Creek to Palatka

APRIL 3, 2007 (Black Creek to Palatka) We all had an amazing sleep. Got up and went down (with Jaycie) to change filters. Didn’t want to play games, so just changed them all. Oh, did I mention how bright my engine room was while changing them? : ) Everything went fine, and after working out, we pulled anchor at around 10:00. We are heading to the crabshack, in 6 mile creek, for lunch. It’s about 7 miles away. Pulled in and docked. It had a ¼ mile long pier. We docked and headed for the food. We are a little off season, so it was still pretty calm there (but you could see that it must really hop “on season”). It was great, sitting in this little natural creek enjoying lunch. This is the first time we actually stopped to have lunch, knowing it was not our final destination. We do hear there is a “drive/boat-in” Burger King, which can accommodate our boat….you can be sure we will do it on the way back….even if just to say we did! While there, we ran into Aurora, a trawler we passed about a week ago and came in, last night, and anchored down aways, in Black Creek. Ends up they are from Michigan, but leave their boat here. They boat this area every year and gave Joyce a lot of good recommendations (he has a Lehman, so we talked engines…which I love). Great people. After lunch we started to untie, when ML told us their engine was having trouble. We stay tied as he change his fuel filters (also, not done since Bahama crossing). Luckily, we didn’t leave. It ends up I left my hat and camera on the table in the restaurant which we definitely would have had to go back for. It seems, all things do happen for a reason. We left and headed for our final destination of Palatka. The water is so flat and calm, I want to go wake boarding….or water skiing…or something (although we did see an alligator cruising out in the middle of the waterway). Can’t remember the last time the water (and wind) were this calm, but we are enjoying it while it is here.