NOTE pix are at http://picasaweb.google.com/ccanavino
Sun 5/27 Nominal day of rest
Dolphins were swimming and blowing air around boat slip this am. Put on trunks and mask and inspected prop and zinc, also tightened prop shaft coupling bolts. Other boat chores, then took scheduled 2pm courtesy run to West Marine. Glad to hear from all at Lou and Va's.
Sat 5/26 Beaufort to Charlestown
Had to get early start for 7am bridge opening. Repair of main bridge has disrupted traffic, so very limited openings on alternate route bridge. Ran lightly aground in inattentive moment, but waved down a couple in trawler "Red E 2 Go", threw them a line and was hauled off in minutes. Harbor and riverfront view of Charleston was impressive. Ashley marina is pretty classy setup; courtesy vans, fancy showers etc. Since now at Intracostal mile 469, have traveled halfway to Norfolk (mile 0). Decided to celebrate by eating in restaurant for the first time this trip (she crab soup, rib eye steak).
Fri 5/25 Thunderbolt to Beaufort S.C.
Passed Bonaventure Cemetery this AM. No azealas in bloom now. Arrived in Beaufort SC in time for Gullah festival. Mostly gospel music in park next to downtown city marina. Ladies were "stylin'".
Thurs 5/24 Anchorage to Thunderbolt Marina, near Savannah Ga
Wind not so bad in AM. Was puzzled by chart notation of "degaussing range", but seeing the structure and noting the 40ft channel depth, suspect that submarines are demagnetized here. Thunderbolt is a quiet town. Saw sign for fresh shrimp as walked along waterfront, bought another pound.The marina delivered newspaper and 1/2 doz Krispy Kremes to boat in the AM
Wed 5/23 Brunswick to Cattle Pen Creek Anchorage
Tough sledding across Sapello Sound. The Georgia sea islands are separated by inlets or sounds, which are open to the Atlantic. Today a 20-30 knot wind from the East caused 4ft. waves to build down the length of the sound. I had to travel against the wind and waves for about 10 mi., and could only make 3kts at times, as the tidal currents are very strong. A shrimper was anchored off the sound, waiting out the weather. Saw a flock of pellicans feasting on a school of fish, repeatedly diving in a small area. Anchored in a beautiful spot in the marshes with a nearby grove of trees giving protection from the wind. Late in the evening, as I went on deck to "check the rudder", a splash and shark's fin in the moonlight startled me as a dolphin surfaced near the boat.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Tues 5/22 Fernandina to Brunswick Ga.
Fernandina reminded me of Fairhope Al. with a history. Also in it's favor are two independent bookshops downtown. "The Jekyl Island Club" by Brent Monahan is a mystery set at time of JP Morgan, Pullitzer et al. A good read for my trip, as I passed J.Is. on the way to Brunswick today.
Bought fresh shrimp last night from shop right next to marina. Very senic trip through marshland to Brunswick, another old town, with an interesting history. A couple I met at Fernandina marina recommended the stop. Went to farmer's market and bought sweet corn and cantelope, then walked about a mile to fresh seafood outlet for more shrimp. The town is layed out similar to Savannah with numerous small park squares. Convicts with craft skills from a nearby prison are used to restore buildings throughout the area. Talked to sailor from Toronto who had spent winter in Bahamas. He waited 3 weeks in Miami for fair weather to cross, the Gulf stream is very tricky.
Fernandina reminded me of Fairhope Al. with a history. Also in it's favor are two independent bookshops downtown. "The Jekyl Island Club" by Brent Monahan is a mystery set at time of JP Morgan, Pullitzer et al. A good read for my trip, as I passed J.Is. on the way to Brunswick today.
Bought fresh shrimp last night from shop right next to marina. Very senic trip through marshland to Brunswick, another old town, with an interesting history. A couple I met at Fernandina marina recommended the stop. Went to farmer's market and bought sweet corn and cantelope, then walked about a mile to fresh seafood outlet for more shrimp. The town is layed out similar to Savannah with numerous small park squares. Convicts with craft skills from a nearby prison are used to restore buildings throughout the area. Talked to sailor from Toronto who had spent winter in Bahamas. He waited 3 weeks in Miami for fair weather to cross, the Gulf stream is very tricky.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Mon. 5/21 This is my first day off (not sailing)
This is a very nice stop, lots of history (8flags) and marina is right downtown. I'm using Seattle's best wi-fi to upload this and am composing on the fly.
Sun 20. St. Augustine to Fernandina. Early this morning, a boat dog on nearby boat started barking. There were 5 manatees swiming through the anchorage.Currents are very confusing, sometimes I'm making 4knots, another time 7, all with same throttle setting. Sections of watterway are very picturesque.
Sat.19 Daytona Beach to St. Augustine D.B. lived up to it's rep. today. A fleet of cigarette boats terrorized boaters from D.B to St. Aug.and back on the Intracostal by screaming by at 50-60MPH through a busy weekend crowd. They(>25boats) were accompanied by a small hellicopter that appeared to be filming the event. Eventually at least one of the boats was stopped and ticketed.
Fri. 18 Titusville to Daytona Beach. Wind got very strong in afternoon, so decided to stop in Halifax Marina. rather than anchor. Very classy setup, not what I'd expected of D.Beach. . While on river, watched 38'power boat which had run aground after passing barge. violently free itself just as barge caught up and ram right into the side of the barge. Very amusing to sailor after all the wakes I've had to suffer. Unfortunately not a great deal of damage to the boat.
Thurs. 17 Vero to Titusville anchorage. Event of day was loud pop and cool sensation on right cheek. The "Sun" brand lighter in my back pocket exploded as I stood under the dodger, with my rear end in the sun. 12 hr run. Weather is great, but wind is right on the nose, so no sailing.
Wed 16 Riverside to Vero Beach City Marina. Left boatyard at Noon, Good sail with jibs. Very nice marina. $1.45/ft.
This is a very nice stop, lots of history (8flags) and marina is right downtown. I'm using Seattle's best wi-fi to upload this and am composing on the fly.
Sun 20. St. Augustine to Fernandina. Early this morning, a boat dog on nearby boat started barking. There were 5 manatees swiming through the anchorage.Currents are very confusing, sometimes I'm making 4knots, another time 7, all with same throttle setting. Sections of watterway are very picturesque.
Sat.19 Daytona Beach to St. Augustine D.B. lived up to it's rep. today. A fleet of cigarette boats terrorized boaters from D.B to St. Aug.and back on the Intracostal by screaming by at 50-60MPH through a busy weekend crowd. They(>25boats) were accompanied by a small hellicopter that appeared to be filming the event. Eventually at least one of the boats was stopped and ticketed.
Fri. 18 Titusville to Daytona Beach. Wind got very strong in afternoon, so decided to stop in Halifax Marina. rather than anchor. Very classy setup, not what I'd expected of D.Beach. . While on river, watched 38'power boat which had run aground after passing barge. violently free itself just as barge caught up and ram right into the side of the barge. Very amusing to sailor after all the wakes I've had to suffer. Unfortunately not a great deal of damage to the boat.
Thurs. 17 Vero to Titusville anchorage. Event of day was loud pop and cool sensation on right cheek. The "Sun" brand lighter in my back pocket exploded as I stood under the dodger, with my rear end in the sun. 12 hr run. Weather is great, but wind is right on the nose, so no sailing.
Wed 16 Riverside to Vero Beach City Marina. Left boatyard at Noon, Good sail with jibs. Very nice marina. $1.45/ft.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Sun. 2/11/07 left Joliet with Lou and Ginny
Mon Great ride. Signs of Spring south of Louisville Ky.
Arrived Mobile 4Pm. Prep'd boat, waited for charts from Marine Navigation
Fri. 2/16 Turner Marina to Fairhope Still needed to bleed fuel line, intermittent problem. Met Bayfield 25 owner, attended Mardi Gras parade, used Marina car.
Sun 2/18 Eastern Shore marina to Ingrahm Bay anchorage. Good sail in Mobile bay. Senic anchorage on ICW
Mon 2/19 Ingrahm bay to Ft. Walton Beach Marina $90/night but office closed when arrived and departed early AM Porpoises seem to wait at channel entrances to greet boats.
Tue 2/20 to Panama City, grounded approaching P.C. at dusk; towed off by Boat US. need to increase Ins. coverage since tow costs $10/ foot Great marina, right downtown. Interesting boaters at marina. Could view ourselves on live webcam
Fri 2/23 PC municipal marina to Scipio Creek Marina, Apalachicola Very senic town, good seafood in town, but Pappa Joe's mediocre
Sun 2/25 Apalachicola to Carrabelle Thousands of crab pots en route. Eventually ignored them. Development boom underway
Tues 2/27 Carrabelle to St. Marks Lots of history, from Spanish fort to Natural Bridge C.W. battlefield. Marina owner and mayor lent us Tahoe, drove to Tallahassee and Waculla Springs S.Pk, a 4star attraction. Bought Stone Crab claws off boat
Sat 3/2 St. Marks to Steinhatchee New bleeder plug. Waited a day for Gulf to calm down
Tue 3/6 Steinhatchee to Cedar Key Anchorage
Wed 3/7 to Crystal River, Pete's Pier. Swam with Manatees. Great Chineese Restaurant
Fri 3/9 Crystal River to Dunedin Municipal Marina Pleasant town, met J's friend, Narda Enander
Sun 3/11 Dunedin to Golden Gate Bay anchorage, Sarasota. Armored fuel line from engine lift pump to injector pump split, sprayed a gallon+ of diesel in engine compartment, patched with hose clamps and rigger's tape since has banjo terminations
Mon 3/12 Anchorage to Royal Palm Marina, Englewood. Borrowed Live-aboard's car
Tue 3/13 Englewood to Burnt Store Marina, Charlotte Bay. Very nice marina, 3000 acre complex. Rented car, visited Punta Gorda, Sanibel Is., Fort Meyers. Finally solved fuel problem, Racor filter manual priming pump leaking air.Verified by replacing fuel line with clear tubing and watching for bubbles. Bypassed Racor and elec lift pump for rest of trip
Fri 3/16 Burnt Store to Tarpon Bay Anchorage, Sanibel Is. Traveled through thunderstorm. Wind came up after anchoring. 4ft waves and 20+kts all night. Danforth did a good job
Sat 3/17 Sanibel Anchorage to Anchorage, Denaud . Calossahatchee river very senic. Alligator swam past boat while waiting for lock to open
Sun 3/18 Denaud to Clewiston Marina, Lake Okachobee. Lake a surreal landscape with dead trees, burning cane fields. Encounted N.Z. couple that had helped me when anchor fouled at Bayou Cannot last Fall, they were headed E,back to Canada
Mon 3/19 Clewiston to Anchorage Mile 20, St. Lucie River. Noticed exhaust was steam, raw water intake filter was clogged Talked to manatee counters while tied up in lock. Manatees lock through sometimes. Fouled anchor in big sunken truck tire at first lock. Fouled anchor in huge sunken barge fender at second lock, lifed fender along with anchor and didn't clear until locked through. Trash in waterway from hurricane?
Tue 3/20 Anchorage to Ft. Pierce Marina. St Lucie River senic with orange groves, cattle. Encountered Swedish National Rowing team practicing on river. Onto Atlantic intracostal at Stuart Brisk E. breeze on coast. While I was talking on radio to dock hand and looking for Marina entrance, current and wind set me against a channel buoy. The Ibeam cut alum. rub rail and split out a chunk of teak, but hull OK. City marina right at senic downtown. Walked across bridge to Aquarium and city museum. Visited art museum, bought used books at public library.
Thurs 3/22 Ft. Pierce Marina to Riverside Marina. Waited a day for E. wind to diminish, then moved boat 1mi.N to Riverside, a DIY boatyard. Manatees along slip. Interesting boaters and live-aboards. Preped boat for haul out. Found head of 3/8 bolt in bilge- had to drill stump for EZout on an engine mount Rented Car. J went to Indian Pow-Wow. We spent day visiting state Treasure Museum, Ft. Pierce botannic garden. Spent last night on boat in travel-lift.
Sun 3/25 Rented one-way car. Left Ft.Pierce at Noon. Visited mineral museum NW of Atlanta. Stopped for night in Tenn. Redbuds out in Mts. of Tenn and Ky. Returned to Chicago Mon PM
J's pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/ccanavino
Planning to drive to Ft. Pierce Sat 5/12. Intend to get to Chesapeake by middle of June and drive back to Chi. for son Mike's wedding.
Mon Great ride. Signs of Spring south of Louisville Ky.
Arrived Mobile 4Pm. Prep'd boat, waited for charts from Marine Navigation
Fri. 2/16 Turner Marina to Fairhope Still needed to bleed fuel line, intermittent problem. Met Bayfield 25 owner, attended Mardi Gras parade, used Marina car.
Sun 2/18 Eastern Shore marina to Ingrahm Bay anchorage. Good sail in Mobile bay. Senic anchorage on ICW
Mon 2/19 Ingrahm bay to Ft. Walton Beach Marina $90/night but office closed when arrived and departed early AM Porpoises seem to wait at channel entrances to greet boats.
Tue 2/20 to Panama City, grounded approaching P.C. at dusk; towed off by Boat US. need to increase Ins. coverage since tow costs $10/ foot Great marina, right downtown. Interesting boaters at marina. Could view ourselves on live webcam
Fri 2/23 PC municipal marina to Scipio Creek Marina, Apalachicola Very senic town, good seafood in town, but Pappa Joe's mediocre
Sun 2/25 Apalachicola to Carrabelle Thousands of crab pots en route. Eventually ignored them. Development boom underway
Tues 2/27 Carrabelle to St. Marks Lots of history, from Spanish fort to Natural Bridge C.W. battlefield. Marina owner and mayor lent us Tahoe, drove to Tallahassee and Waculla Springs S.Pk, a 4star attraction. Bought Stone Crab claws off boat
Sat 3/2 St. Marks to Steinhatchee New bleeder plug. Waited a day for Gulf to calm down
Tue 3/6 Steinhatchee to Cedar Key Anchorage
Wed 3/7 to Crystal River, Pete's Pier. Swam with Manatees. Great Chineese Restaurant
Fri 3/9 Crystal River to Dunedin Municipal Marina Pleasant town, met J's friend, Narda Enander
Sun 3/11 Dunedin to Golden Gate Bay anchorage, Sarasota. Armored fuel line from engine lift pump to injector pump split, sprayed a gallon+ of diesel in engine compartment, patched with hose clamps and rigger's tape since has banjo terminations
Mon 3/12 Anchorage to Royal Palm Marina, Englewood. Borrowed Live-aboard's car
Tue 3/13 Englewood to Burnt Store Marina, Charlotte Bay. Very nice marina, 3000 acre complex. Rented car, visited Punta Gorda, Sanibel Is., Fort Meyers. Finally solved fuel problem, Racor filter manual priming pump leaking air.Verified by replacing fuel line with clear tubing and watching for bubbles. Bypassed Racor and elec lift pump for rest of trip
Fri 3/16 Burnt Store to Tarpon Bay Anchorage, Sanibel Is. Traveled through thunderstorm. Wind came up after anchoring. 4ft waves and 20+kts all night. Danforth did a good job
Sat 3/17 Sanibel Anchorage to Anchorage, Denaud . Calossahatchee river very senic. Alligator swam past boat while waiting for lock to open
Sun 3/18 Denaud to Clewiston Marina, Lake Okachobee. Lake a surreal landscape with dead trees, burning cane fields. Encounted N.Z. couple that had helped me when anchor fouled at Bayou Cannot last Fall, they were headed E,back to Canada
Mon 3/19 Clewiston to Anchorage Mile 20, St. Lucie River. Noticed exhaust was steam, raw water intake filter was clogged Talked to manatee counters while tied up in lock. Manatees lock through sometimes. Fouled anchor in big sunken truck tire at first lock. Fouled anchor in huge sunken barge fender at second lock, lifed fender along with anchor and didn't clear until locked through. Trash in waterway from hurricane?
Tue 3/20 Anchorage to Ft. Pierce Marina. St Lucie River senic with orange groves, cattle. Encountered Swedish National Rowing team practicing on river. Onto Atlantic intracostal at Stuart Brisk E. breeze on coast. While I was talking on radio to dock hand and looking for Marina entrance, current and wind set me against a channel buoy. The Ibeam cut alum. rub rail and split out a chunk of teak, but hull OK. City marina right at senic downtown. Walked across bridge to Aquarium and city museum. Visited art museum, bought used books at public library.
Thurs 3/22 Ft. Pierce Marina to Riverside Marina. Waited a day for E. wind to diminish, then moved boat 1mi.N to Riverside, a DIY boatyard. Manatees along slip. Interesting boaters and live-aboards. Preped boat for haul out. Found head of 3/8 bolt in bilge- had to drill stump for EZout on an engine mount Rented Car. J went to Indian Pow-Wow. We spent day visiting state Treasure Museum, Ft. Pierce botannic garden. Spent last night on boat in travel-lift.
Sun 3/25 Rented one-way car. Left Ft.Pierce at Noon. Visited mineral museum NW of Atlanta. Stopped for night in Tenn. Redbuds out in Mts. of Tenn and Ky. Returned to Chicago Mon PM
J's pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/ccanavino
Planning to drive to Ft. Pierce Sat 5/12. Intend to get to Chesapeake by middle of June and drive back to Chi. for son Mike's wedding.
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