It's Better in the Bahamas!

We made it to the Bahamas!  Thursday December 21 we motorsailed across the Gulf Stream to West End in a light westerly breeze, averaging 6.5 knots over the ground. We officially cleared in and got a 120 day cruising permit, so we're good to go!  We just don't know where, or what route to take!

But I'm jumping ahead, we've had lot's of fun since Karen told you that we had arrived in Titusville.  I'll hit the highlights.

Wednesday December 13 we spent in Titusville beginning with a walk to the Sunrise Bread Company with Bill and Michael for coffee, baked goods and what turned out to be lunch. It had been a lazy morning.  Then we Ubered to Publix for groceries and back. We capped the day off with Happy Hour at Cracker Jacks, a restaurant nestled under the Max Brewer fixed bridge that we would need to get under leaving Titusville, with Bill, Michael, Monique and Abbe from Brise.

Next day Karen and I hopped in another Uber and went to the Kennedy Space Center for the day.  First we took the bus tour which included the pads from which the Apollo missions and Space Shuttles were launched as well as the Vehicle Assembly Building where the Saturn booster rockets were assembled. 

Vehicle Assembly Building

 We enjoyed learning more about the successes and near failures of the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttles and how NASA has contracted near space missions to private enterprise and is now focusing on far space, specifically manned missions to Mars. We also took the Space Shuttle simulator ride, a very realistic recreation of blasting off in a shuttle.

Atlantis Space Shuttle including the Canadarm

Five o'clock rolled around and we'd only seen half of the attractions ... if you go, allow two days!

Friday we headed for Port Canaveral passing under the Max Brewer bridge with an indicated height of 66', our last fixed bridge because we had decided to go overnight from Port Canaveral to Lake Worth Inlet avoiding the rest of the bridges!  

As an added bonus we got to see the SpaceX International Space Station supply mission blast off right in front of us on the ICW!  Not only did we see the launch, which was the first to be made with a "used" booster, but we then watched as the first stage booster returned and landed on a pad at the space center! Incredible!

The route to Port Canaveral includes a lock of about two feet which was uneventful, and then we were in the Port, sharing it with 1000 foot cruise ships!  

Disney Dream

The Disney Dream and a Norwegian Cruise Lines ship both departed while we were there, having arrived, passengers disembarked, cleaned, provisioned and filled with up to 4000 new passengers in 12 hours!  Karen and I went to Rising Tide Tap and Table for dinner and then to Milliken's Reef that had a surprisingly good cover band playing.  In addition to the music, the "cruiser" watching was very entertaining!


Saturday we had the morning to prepare for our overnighter.  Karen winched me up the mast to reinstall our Windex, wind instruments and put the antenna right way up.  We discovered that SeaTow, a towing company has a free automated radio check service. Karen called it while I was at the top of the mast to confirm the antenna was working fine, and we were loud and clear!  We left around noon and raised sails, turned off the engine and sailed all the way to Lake Worth Inlet beginning on a broad reach and ending on a close reach in 1 to 3 foot waves.  On the way, more cruise ships came out of Port Canaveral and passed offshore of us.  In the middle of the night I noticed on our AIS a vessel coming up behind us and was about to call him to make sure he saw us when he called us to make sure we would be holding our course rather than turning into Jupiter Inlet in front of him.  Very sea-manlike I thought!  At Lake Worth Inlet we negotiated a dredge in the channel, a BIG sportfishing boat heading out at 20 knots and a freighter coming out!  Wakey, wakey!  Once past the craziness we took down the main (it was pretty lumpy outside the inlet) and motored up to the Riviera Beach Marina where my brother Adrian helped catch our lines!  He kindly took us out for a big breakfast during which we began catching up and planning for our crossing to the Bahamas. In the afternoon we slept, had a beer at the Raffiki Tiki bar where we met Jade, a very colourful server who approached Karen from behind scaring the #%&!* out of her, had dinner on the boat and went to sleep early.

The next couple of days Adrian drove us around to Costco, Publix, TD Bank,  Walmart, West Marine and a propane filling station to get provisions. As we loaded them on the boat we questioned where we would stow everything ... 

Provisions to be stowed

Adrian and his wife Mary kindly hosted us for a couple of nights in their guest suite and introduced us to Mary's menagerie of cats, ducks, possums and mice!

Mary's Possums

Adrian walked me through the charts, recommending Cays to visit and pointing out hazards, each with it's own story!  

Adrian and Mary

Wednesday night Ade dropped us back at the boat, we said our goodbyes and later we met Bob, Sheila, Bill and Michael at the Tiki bar for Happy Hour and dinner. After an early night we turned in and tried to sleep, anticipating our crossing of the fabled Gulf Stream!

Thursday December 21 we were up at 0600, away from the dock at 0645 and as I mentioned in West End by 1545 after an uneventful trip! 

Sunrise at Lake Worth Inlet

 After checking in we walked around the Old Bahama Bay resort, which didn't seem very busy, had our first Kalik looking out over the Little Bahama Bank, dinner back on the boat and zzzzzzz.

Welcome to the Bahamas!

Bridges, bumps and breeze!

We really enjoyed St. Augustine. it is a beautiful historic town that has a strong Spanish influence. We could have spent a lot more time there exploring but the south is calling!
After we left the Cruisers Happy Hour it felt like someone had turned off the heater!! It was frigid! And most of us were not prepared so it was a chilly trip back to the boat. That night was cold and rainy, but we were warm and cozy down below decks.
The next morning we met Bob and Sheila for breakfast at a little diner around the corner from the marina and over eggs, bacon and biscuits (!) we decided to do some more exploring of St. Augustine. As we walked toward town in the drizzle we passed the San Sebastián Winery, offering free tours and wine tasting. Why not? So in we went and managed to join the tour that had just started. After a tour of the facility we did tasting of eight different wines and fortified wines. It was noon somewhere!!

Wine Tasting

Our next stop was Flagler College, which occupies the old Ponce de Leon Hotel built in 1887,  in just 18 months by Henry Flagler. It has been kept as close to the original as possible, including original Tiffany stained glass windows and a Thomas Edison wall clock encased in marble. It really is a stunning place ... those lucky students!!

Flagler College- The old Ponce de Leon Hotel

 Across the street Mr. Flagler also built a less opulent hotel which boasted an indoor swimming pool , which the guests at the Ponce De Leon Hotel could use. That swimming pool is now a cafe, with high tea bring served in the deep end!

The cafe in the former swimming pool!

We later met up with Vicky and Mac, a couple we met in Delaware City and reconnected with at the Cruisers Happy Hour, for happy hour. We are now at the point where we are again meeting cruisers that we have met, gone our separate ways, and are now meeting again. It's so exciting when you see a familiar boat and are able to catch up on each other's adventures.
Friday's weather was predicted to be horrible ... cold and rainy, so we decided to have a boat day, laundry and chores after walking to West Marine to pick up a couple of things. We hardy sailors don't mind walking in the drizzle!!
Saturday was move day. Our next main stop was Daytona Beach but it was just a little too far to make in one day down the ICW, so we did a short hop to Marineland Marina. This is the original Marineland that was created in 1938 that did dolphin shows. In the 1950's they also filmed TV shows there such as SeaHunt. It is now a research facility associated with the University of Florida and it still has dolphins shows. Hugh and I bundled up (so glad I had my down coat) and walked over to the beach and Marineland, which was closed.
We were up early the next day to head down the ICW for another leg. Trekker left first so we could get under the first bridge at low tide. This was going to be a challenging day as we had six bridges to go under, five fixed and one bascule. The tides are not very big in this area, plus the water is higher than normal ... so we weren't sure if we were going to get under all of them. But, we were prepared, and had the water bag at the ready! The first bridge was fine, second one was a bascule, with only one side working, but again no issues. And then we got to the third one, which read 64 feet. Well, as all you readers know by now, we are 64'4", so we turned around, got the bag out and filled it, healed over and slowly made it under the bridge. Made it!! But, knowing there was another questionable one up ahead we didn't celebrate quite yet. The next bridge was also showing about 64ft, so out went the bag, over and under we went!! Three down, three to go. As we got closer to Daytona we could see the bridges in the distance ... all close together and looking very daunting. But they all had significant arches towards the centre meaning that the height at the centre was higher than the bridge boards showed, so holding our breath we went under them standing tall ... and made each one!! Now it was time to celebrate and have a big drink!! So of course we all gathered in the bar in the restaurant at the marina and enjoyed Happy Hour.

The last bridge we had to go under to get  into Daytona Beach

A visit to Daytona Beach would not be complete without a tour of the Daytona International Speedway. As no one else from the tribe was interested in going, Hugh and I took an Uber over to the racetrack and joined the 12:30 tour. With a guide and in a tram, we were able to go all around the grounds and into the winners circle and media rooms. Seeing the banking of the track makes you realize how steep it really is (31 degrees slope) and  that it does not look that steep when you watch it on TV. Unfortunately we were unable to go on the track to experience the slope as there were cars on it being tested for the upcoming Daytona Rolex 24 hour sports car race, but fortunately we got to watch them from the stands and see how fast they truly go. We both enjoyed it very much (much to my surprise!)

Press Room

Kurt Busch 's car Winner of 2017 Daytona 500

After the tour we Ubered back into town and met the gang, walked around and then found a pub for happy hour! It's becoming quite a tradition!!

Today we were moving again, unfortunately without Bob and Sheila,  as they needed to get some more work done on their engine. Another leg down the ICW to Titusville, with only two fixed and two bascule bridges to go under. When we got close to the first one we asked a boat in front of us to tell us what the bridge board was reading. They radios back 64 ft. Oh, really?? So ... Hugh started to get the water bag ready for deployment. But a voice came over the radio and told us the bridge was two feet higher than what was showing. So with great trust in a stranger we approached slowly, determined that the bridge board was actually reading 65' and made it under ... with inches to spare!! The next challenge was a section of the ICW that tends to be shallow. We heard over the radio that a sailboat had run aground. Oh no ... not good news as we were almost at low tide. So with held breaths and going slowly we crept by the offending mark ... and ran aground. With much persuasion Hugh was able to get us off and backed into deeper water. After talking to the tow boat who got the other boat off the bottom, he advised us to wait a little while as the tide was turning and would start to rise shortly. So we anchored at the side of the channel, made coffee, and waited. About a half hour later we upped anchor, and slowly crept over the bump and made it over this time! Phew! Enough excitement for the day!!
Except it wasn't. A large part  of the leg today was a channel dredged in open water , and it was blowing hard today. I can't tell you how hard because we don't have any instruments on top of our tall mast, but I would call it "honking". So for awhile we had the jib out, which helped with our speed, and then we turned, jib came down, and we were just going straight into the honking wind. The waves weren't big, but choppy and every once in  awhile a wave would break and blow over, drenching the boat. Sigh.
But we made it. We are in Titusville, which is very close to the Kennedy Space Centre. There is possibly a launch tomorrow of a SpaceX Supply mission to the Space Station, which apparently we can see from here. We may even take a tour of the Space Centre, since we are so close!!
We are almost to West Palm Beach, which is from where we are going to jump over to the Bahamas.
We are getting there....slowly but surely....one day at a time!

We Made it to Florida!

Cumberland Island National Seashore was our next stop after Jekyll Island, on Saturday December 2.  While the cruising guide warned of a "white knuckle trip across St. Andrews Sound", in fact, apart from the buoys appearing to be off station (one was onshore), we arrived around slack tide, with no wind and it was no problem.  We arrived in the Cumberland Island anchorage mid afternoon, put down the dinghy and went to visit another Canadian boat, Persistence, that had given us some anchoring advice on the way in. Then we went to the park office to investigate renting bikes to tour the island Sunday. Saturday night Bob and Sheila, Bill and Michael came to Trekker for games night, and we discussed our next stop and taught them the card game Wizard.  We had quite a laugh, and Michael gave Sheila a new name ... Sharon!

Sunday we biked around the south end of Cumberland island, first visiting Dungeness Ruins.  Revolutionary War Hero General Nathanael Greene acquired land on Cumberland Island in 1783. Following his death, his widow Catherine Greene, constructed a four-story tabby home that she named Dungeness. Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy began building another Dungeness on the original foundation in 1884. 

The Carnegie's Dungeness

The Carnegie's Dungeness burned in 1959 and today only the ruins remain on the site.

Dungeness Ruins

Just beyond the ruins we came across some of the feral horses on the island, decendants apparently of the Carnegie's horses.

Feral horses

Next we went to an incredible beach on the east side of the island that seemed to extend to the horizon! 

Cumberland Island beach

Unfortunately, consistent with the few other times we have anchored for a day, the sun never came out, and it was pretty cool on the beach.  We repaired to the forest just west of the dunes for lunch, and I couldn't help but recall a book we used to read the kids (over and over and over ....) "We'll spend the whole day at the beach. We'll have a picnic, it doesn't matter if a little sand gets in our sandwiches!"  

After lunch we went back to our respective boats and had a quiet night, ready for an 0800 departure to Jacksonville Beach Monday.

Monday we were away on schedule and as we were headed for the first bridge, Shenanigans, a boat we had met in Brunswick called to say they had just been under it, and it was only 63'.  The tide was falling, but I figured we would have to wait a couple of hours so made the executive decision to go outside down to St. John's Inlet.  It was a little bumpy going out, but once we bore away and turned off the motor there was actually enough wind to keep the sails full, and we had a nice leisurely sail.  Once down to the St. John's inlet though we met an outgoing tide against a NE wind which made for quite a roller coaster until we got between the breakwalls and a slow motor up the river.  Meanwhile, Her Diamond and Aquila had gone down the ICW, and due to a six knot current running through the Atlantic Boulevard / San Pablo bridge had anchored to wait for slacker water.  We caught up to them there and made it under the bridge safely. The nice thing about facing a strong current under a bridge is that I can effectively stop the boat and still maintain steerage!  We were really looking forward to a night and showers at the Beach Marina when we learned that since we would be arriving at low tide there would not be enough water for us to get in!  That was a problem, because it was getting dark and none of the cruising guides (including Skipper Bob) listed any anchorages less than 20 miles away!  Bob on Her Diamond did find a suggested anchorage on his Garmin Blue Charts, but when they tried it they went aground just off the channel.  We went on a little farther, and pulled just outside the channel and were lucky enough to find 15' and some room to swing.  Down went the anchor followed by HONK, HONK, HONK, HONK, HONK.  For the non-sailors, that means "Danger or doubt (I don’t understand your intent)". Coming down the ICW was a tug / barge with a big storm damaged power boat heeled over on deck. My first reaction was that we were too close to the channel, but then I noticed that Her Diamond was still maneuvering preparing to anchor, and was being warned of the oncoming barge.  Her Diamond had seen the barge and everyone passed safely. A short time later a local came along in his runabout and asked if we were ok ... thinking we were aground, and clearly not used to seeing anyone anchored in this particular location! Anyway, we talked it through with him and decided we were probably ok and thanked him for his concern. We put on the anchor light, our cockpit LED light that is so bright we have to shade it if we want to sit in the cockpit and turned on the AIS, hoping to make ourselves as visible as possible.  At bed time I looked out the ports and we were shrouded in a thick fog.  We wanted to get away at 0700 to make a bridge around 0900. I went to sleep hoping the fog would clear early.

Up at 0620 Tuesday, the fog was still pretty thick, but much better than it had been, so we decided to go.  Thank goodness for GPS, because it was pretty easy to follow the magenta line (that indicates the preferred route) down the ditch, and we could see enough to avoid debris and fishermen out for an early morning catch.  We made our 0900 bridge on a rising tide with about 66' clearance. About 0930 it cleared off and we got a better view of our surroundings!  Around 1030 we came up on another tug / barge combination going 3.9 knots.  The tide was falling and we could see our next bridge that I didn't want to arrive at until 1130 at which point I figured we would have about 65.5 feet. So we slowed down and poked along behind the tug and actually had just over 65'.  Another heart pounder because we had the current behind us and it would have been difficult to stop if we didn't fit! 

The Bridge of Lions closing behind Trekker

We squeezed under and our patience was rewarded when the tug received an unscheduled noon opening at the Bridge of Lions bascule bridge (split in the middle and pivoting at the ends) in St. Augustine.

Here is a link to a Youtube of the Bridge of Lions opening. It takes a long time to load. 

Once up to our Rivers Edge marina and docked I did some boat maintenance and Karen and Sheila went shopping.  Later we met Bill and Michael, Bob and Sheila at Ale Works for dinner.  Bill and Michael introduced us to Neil and Ley an Australian couple who have cruised around Asia, across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and up and down the US East Coast over the last 12 years. 

Michael, Bill, Sheila and Bob at the City Gates

Wednesday we toured St. Augustine using the "hop on hop off" trolley.  St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the United States. It was founded in 1565 by the Spanish but has fallen under British and American control over the years. It is a bit "touristy" but has lots of impressive Spanish colonial architecture, shops and restaurants.  We ended our touring at the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States. Made of a stone called coquina (Spanish for "small shells") it is claimed that when hit by cannon balls the masonary would compress rather than shatter, resulting in it withstanding many attacks.

Castillo de San Marcos

There is an active social network of cruisers and liveaboards in St. Augustine that host a "cruisers net" on the VHF radio channel 72 in the morning. It turned out they were getting together at a local pub in the evening with $2 beer and free food, so we headed over! We met some more world girdling sailors who view a two day passage over to the Bahamas like we view a long day sail! We finished our day with Tapas at another restaurant, planning to meet for breakfast to prepare for another day of discovery!

Everyday is a New Adventure!

One of the best things about cruising it that you never know whats going to happen each day ... good or bad.

After a great time in Beaufort, and since we were now experts doing overnight passages (having done one) it was decided that we would jump down from Beaufort to Brunswick, Georgia. Avoiding the ICW, with its bridges and shoaling is always a good idea, especially to us. And luckily we are travelling with boats who are very open to our suggestions on these crazy ideas. 

And then there were three ... Trekker, Her Diamond and Aquila.

We left Beaufort at noon, having to go under one 65ft bridge while going out to sea.  Timing is everything, and now that the tides are running anywhere from 5-7 feet we can get under a bridge without any problem. In fact Hugh is getting so bold that he isn't even slowing down when the bridge-board is reading 66 feet or more.  We have lots of room (even though it still doesn't look like it). Unfortunately we were going against the current as we made our way out of the extremely long inlet , and it took us about 3 hours to get to the point where we could turn right (south!). The ride out was not very nice, and the waves were bigger that expected and the wind was less than expected. Not a good mix.  The hope was that once we turned right everything would calm down and it would be a nice ride. I had prepared a pasta casserole in the morning and was quite pleased with myself that I was better prepared for the night than last time.  However, once we turned, the waves did not calm down, and with hardly any wind to push us through these big, confused waves it was quite clear that this was not going to be a nice night. I won't bore you with all the ugly details, but in summary we motored the whole way while rocking and rolling. The sails were not helping and because the wind was coming from behind us the main kept crashing from one side to the another ... not a good thing for the equipment, so we took it down.  I did manage to heat up dinner in the oven, the door has a  lock on it so I shoved it in and locked it while it heated up, but by the time we ate I couldn't face it. I don't usually get sea sick, but this was really brutal. BUT, we made it to the inlet for Brunswick at 6am, just before sunrise, and again it took us 2 hours to go into the inlet and to the marina.  I have learned that the shores of the Atlantic down here are very shallow for miles, so every time you go out to sea you have to go beyond these shoals to get into deep water. I hear it is better down in Florida. (I sure hope so).

So Wednesday was spent recovering from the overnight, (nap, food, shower) which everyone agreed was not nice, meaning most of us did not get much sleep.  

Brunswick Landing Marina

The Brunswick Landing Marina where we were staying had a happy hour that evening with FREE beer and wine, just bring an appetizer.  Well, how can you refuse that! So the six of us went up and enjoyed happy hour, meeting lots of fellow boaters who are either living here for awhile on their boats, or transients like us heading south. We were very impressed with this marina, as it does its best to make everyone feel at home and welcome. Free beer, wine, laundry, bikes  and wifi ... who could ask for anything more! Some people never leave!! After dinner we walked into town for a much deserved dinner out and found a great Thai place. 

And we all had a great nights sleep!

We had decided  to meet at  9am to  have a "skippers meeting" to discuss the plans for the next couple of days. With coffee/tea in hand we all met on Her Diamond and decided (after much discussion) that we would stay for another day, then leave early the next morning and go to Jekyll  Island. So Thursday was discover Brunswick day.

We were told the there was a farmers market near the marina on Thursday mornings, so that was our first stop. It was not much, with only one table with produce that was mostly imported, except for some local corn and collard greens (yuck). Then up onto the main street of town where we found the old City Hall, which among other things was the Courthouse. There was no court in session that day and we were told we could go up as see the courtroom, which was very old. I felt like I was in a Grisham novel, with the old split wooden staircase leading up the the courtroom with the wooden benches and judges bench.

Old City Hall

Brunswick has a beautiful Historic section with old homes dating back to the 1870s, and with a self walking tour brochure in hand we strolled among all the houses and read about the history. There were also park squares every few blocks, some quite beautiful with fountains, statues and magnificent live oak trees that grow wide not tall with twisted and gnarled branches. We even found the historic Lovers Oak that is said to be 900 years old.

Lovers Oak. 

While strolling down one of the streets we saw this beautiful mansion called Brunswick Manor that was being decorated for Christmas.  After checking it out on line we discovered that it was a B&B, so Sheila went up and knocked on the door and asked if they would mind if we came in and looked around. What a find! They were just finishing the Christmas decoration inside, and in the living room was a huge Christmas tree decorated with thousands of hand blown glass ornaments  by Christopher Radko. Quite the sight. 

Brunswick Manor

Christmas Tree

The owner gave us a tour of the main floor and a bit of the history of the house. Apparently when  the original owners divorced, the wife got the house and the husband got the silverware (apparently worth a fortune). But the night before the papers were signed the house was broken into and the silver was stolen. For years it was a huge mystery what happened to the silver, and when the current owner bought the house he had to sign papers that said if he found any of the silver pieces he had to give them back to the original owners. It was rumored it was buried in the garden. But when the wife died, the daughter called the current owner and told him  that the silver had been stolen by the wife, hidden in the island of the kitchen all those years, and that she had slowly sold it off piece by piece to keep up the house. No pieces were found in the island when the current owner renovated!
We had a great day exploring this lovely town. Happy hour on Aquila and laundry ended a great day.
This morning we were off the dock at 8am. Timing was critical today as Jekyll Creek is notorious for its shoaling and one section is only 3.1 feet at low tide. So since high tide was at 6am we had to get going to have enough water to get to the next marina on Jekyll Island, which was only 7 miles away.  Despite following other boaters instructions as to how to avoid the shallow spots we managed to find the bottom and plowed through the mud to get through the shallow spot. I'm still not quite sure how we got to be the lead boat, as the other two have shallower drafts, but they were thankful for us dredging a channel for them!! We also had one 65 foot bridge to get under, which was no problem with the falling tide.
Once settled, we borrowed free bikes from the marina and headed out to explore the island.  
First stop was the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where we tagged along with a "meet the patient" program being given to a class of high school students. The centre takes in injured turtles and rehabilitates them so they may go back to their natural habitat. They have a Wildlife Veterinarian on staff that does surgery on turtles and other wildlife. 

Rescued Sea Turtle with a missing front flipper

Next we took a tram tour of the historic area of Jekyll Island.  Jekyll Island was known as the cottage playground for extremely wealthy Americans in the 1880's when the island was bought and The Jekyll Island Club created. Some of the mansions still stand today and during the tour we were able to visit two of the homes and learn about the history of the homes and the owners, such as the Vanderbilts, Astors, Pulitzers and Goodyears. Very exclusive!

Jekyll Island Club

Tram tour

The island is one of the barrier islands along the southern part of Georgia and has some beautiful beaches and several golf courses.
Over the next couple of days we will be heading further south, and will be at the top of Florida! It's so hard to believe we have made it this far. When I look back I am amazed at how much we have accomplished and how far we have come over the last five months. The best part is we are taking our time and exploring places we never knew existed. 
I always remember driving to Florida for March Break when our kids were little,to visit my parents, and being so excited when we crossed the Florida border, only to drive several more hours to get to where they were staying. That's what this is like. Florida is a long coastal state and it will take us a while to get down to the point where we can jump across to the Bahamas.
But that's ok, more exploring to do ... one day at a time.

Sunset at Jekyll Harbour Marina