BERYL CONTINUES TO PLAY WITH ME

May 30, 2012  Dateline:  Beaufort, SC USA

Tropical storm “Beryl” continued to move strong winds through Hilton Head Island and Rich and Carol dragged their feet in leaving Harbour Town Marina and so when they finally decided to go, I left at low tide.  What else is new, Rich can pick low tide months in advance all he has to do is to pick a time to leave.  The trip was a short one, only 23 miles to Beaufort, SC.  Matt and Cindy along with Lucy and Eva drove from Savannah to Beaufort and met us there.  By the way Lucy and Eva are their two American Bulldogs.  Here is Eva doing what she does best, investigating.

The history of Beaufort is very interesting and the city is very beautiful.  Originally, it was a place where wealthy cotton growers had cottages built so they could escape the heat and bugs on the low country islands in the summer, where they had their plantations.  The Beaufort homes are anything but cottages. Some of them are 11,000 square feet in floor space.  These homes survived the Civil War and that is an interesting story.  Beaufort, SC was the city where Southerners first met to declare their independence from the north.  There is a home called the Secession House where it all took place.  Those who drew up the plan wrote their names on the basement wall.  A Union solder wrote over them “Union Forever”. Shortly after the Civil War started Beaufort fell to the North. When the North sailed some ships up Port Royal Sound, the Beaufortians abandoned their city. The north occupied the city without a fight and it served as a major hospital center for the Union.  The result was that the large houses remained untouched by the war.  It is said that the Union soldiers found half eaten meals on dining room tables.

I DO THE WORK AND THEY TAKE THE CREDIT

May 28, 2012  Dateline:  Savannah, GA USA

They returned to me last Friday after two weeks of being away. Rich immediately tied an extra line on me.  After all, Tropical Storm Beryl was beginning to look like she was going to be coming on shore.  I am lucky; I am on the coast side of Hilton Head Island and nestled in a really nice marina. I am also in the furthest western point on the Atlantic Coast so few storms ever get to this area.   Well, while they were away Rich got my oil changed, filters replaced, my satellite antenna fixed and some other miscellaneous work done.  For those of you who don’t know me it takes a full day to change my oil and I need approximately 22 gallons between the engines, transmission and generator.

So Rich had the nerve to tell me that while they were away, he and Carol did a radio broadcast.  The America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association does a weekly web broadcast on Fridays.  So on the 21^st of May they recorded a program about Cape May and traveling from the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to New York Harbor.  They also were invited to provide an interview for the Canyon Club Resort & Marina newsletter.  This article will be distributed in a few weeks.  So now they get the celebrity credit while I did all the work.  Oh well, I guess that’s the price I have to pay.  Since Rich and I crossed my wake at Sykes Creeks, FL, we decided to put this picture in the Canyon Club article.

Rich and Carol once again left me alone in Hilton Head as they decided to visit Savannah by car with Cindy (my sister) and Matt (my brother-in-law). The wind from Beryl was beginning to blow really hard.  The water streams in this picture of a fountain at Savannah’s river front show how the water jets were moving sideways.  The NOAA research ship NANCY FOSTER was in port at Savannah.  She came in to dock because, as one of her crew members put it, “she does not handle weather very well”. Figure that!!!!

The Port of Savannah is a large port that can handle very large ships; this container ship sailed past while Rich, Carol, Cindy and Matt were having lunch.  Yes it did have a bow and a stern; they just couldn’t fit into the picture.

Europeans thought that the streets of America were paved with gold which we know was not true.  The streets near Savannah’s harbor are paved with imported stone that came from England and Europe.  Because there were fewer finished goods going to Savannah than raw materials going back to Europe, ships heading west would load their holds with stones for ballast.  Those stones were unloaded before new cargo was loaded for the east bound trip.  The citizens of Savannah used these discarded stones to pave their streets.  The stones are very uneven and certainly tough on car tires.

Old Savannah was built on a bluff above the river so when the buildings were built along the riverfront there were small bridges added to connect the buildings to the bluffs.  Today they make for a great picture.

They had dinner at the OLD PINK HOUSE. The food and service were incredible. Everyone visiting Savannah should be sure and stop there. Just make sure you make reservations in advance.

The US Army’s 8^th Air Force was formed in Savannah to help fight the war in Europe.  The survivors and their families have established a museum in Savannah which also includes a memorial garden.  The museum is very impressive and the garden incredible.  Inside sits a B-17 undergoing restoration. Outside the museum there is a B-47 which is just one of more than 7,000 that were built. 

My sister and her husband Matt accompanied Rich and Carol on the tour of the 8^th Air Force Museum.  Matt’s great uncle was a gunner on a B-24 of the 8^th Air Force and was killed on a raid on Germany.  They were able to find his name on the wall of the fallen.

This picture is typical of the memorials that are contained in the garden.

Happy Memorial Day and remember those who made it possible.

 

NEPTUNE IS PLEASED, NEPTUNE IS DISPLEASED

May 12, 2012   Dateline: Hilton Head Island, SC USA

Rich got me up early on Friday, he was concerned about the St Augustine Inlet and wanted to follow a sport fish boat out of it.  The sport fish, EMANON, is heading to Canyon Club Marina where it stays for the summer.  EMANON had run the inlet the day before and as Rich and I had heard bad things about the inlet it would be good to follow someone out who knew where they were going.  As it turned out I was up early but the sport fish was up earlier and left at first light.  At about 6:45 I left the dock and headed out.  I took it slow in the inlet, and then seemingly from nowhere a yellow hulled 60 foot sport fish flew past me.  I said “Hey Rich here’s our chance”, he pushed my throttles forward up  and away I went.  I heard Rich thank the boat for helping me out the inlet.

The rest of the 87 mile trip to St Simons Island was uneventful; I guess Neptune continued to be pleased with me.  I ran at 20 knots and we arrived before noon.  The Morningstar Marina is a nice marina with pleasant people working there and while it seems to be out in the middle of nowhere it has a terrific restaurant attached to it.  I pulled into the fuel dock behind a boat called ENTICER.  ENTICER is an old wooden Trumpy with a giant flag on it out of Newport, RI.  Her owners are true Trumpy owners because she is maintained to the hilt; her varnish is just so, her chrome polished.  I would post a picture of her here, but guess who forgot to take one.  It certainly wasn’t me.  Carol did get a picture of the marina.  Rich bought me some diesel and he guessed 300 gallons, I took 315.  The last time I got fuel he guessed 300 gallon and I took 302, he is getting pretty good at estimated my fuel burn.  Rich and Carol borrowed the courtesy car and went to the store.  The car had only 249,300 miles on it, a typical courtesy car, and the brakes worked well.  Carol did get the above picture of the Georgia bulldog at one of the stores they passed.

At the marina was a boat called BLUELINE who is also doing the Loop. The last time that I saw them was in Demoplis, AL, more than 6 months ago. 

This morning, there was a newspaper and muffins waiting in my cockpit for Rich and Carol---no diesel for me.  After finally getting underway for the 87 mile run to Harbour Town Yacht Basin on Hilton Head Island, I ran out the inlet and found it to be choppy.  Rich said this will smooth out as I got further out into deeper water and start to head north.  Wrong!!!!!  Neptune was displeased with us and the seas were really bad.  After slowing down to 10 knots, waves were still breaking on my bow and salt water was being blown up over my hardtop.  It was about 4 hours of twisting, rolling and turning in every direction with waves also crashing on my starboard side.  It was so bad that Rich got sea sick and that never happens. Carol ended up giving him a patch to put behind his ear.  Periodically an alarm would go off for a second or two but not long enough for Rich to see what it was.  Surprise, at the end of the day they found that my opening port holes in the mid stateroom and in the master head had leaked.  What a mess this created.  The alarm, they later learned, was a bilge pump located in a sump below the master stateroom where water that enters my living quarters drains.  Good thing they are staying with me on Sunday because it is going to take a long time to dry me out.  Since I am covered with salt they are going to have to give me a very good bath. 

I will stay here in Hilton Head for about two weeks, I heard Rich tell the dockmaster that he is going to have my oil changed, filters replaced and some  other minor work done on me while they go back to New Jersey.  I think I will miss them, but I am sure I can make some new friends here.

FLAGLER’S ST.AUGUSTINE

May 10, 2012  Dateline St. Augustine, FL USA

Since Rich and Carol walked off to see St Augustine today I will let them tell you what they saw.

Early this morning, schools of lady fish trapped some small fish and were thrashing around hitting the smaller fish with their tails.  Several egrets came by to enjoy the feast.  One egret in particular seemed to the king of the hill.  He staked out a great spot where the smaller fish would jump on to some floating reeds and all he had to do was pick them up, no sticking his bill in the water.  Whenever another egret would come by he would pull up his feathers and chase the interloper away.

Our good friends on MARY FRANCES IV gave Rich a book he has been reading on Henry Flagler, so rather than write about all of the usual oldest city sites I, Rich, thought I would write about what Flagler left behind.

Henry Flagler built a luxury hotel in St Augustine called the Ponce de Leon.  The hotel today serves as the center piece of Flagler College.  It is not possible to get the whole front of the hotel in a single picture, but here is the best I could do.  The hotel, built in the late1880’s, had running water, electricity as well as elevators but most of all it had elegance.  Since the word Leon in Spanish means lion Flagler circled each of the main rooms with the heads of small lions.  But these lions were different; each had a light bulb in its mouth.  In the dining room they had and still have white bulbs, but in the court yard the bulbs were red.  In the courtyard there is a water fountain that also serves as a sun dial.  The building was built with some new material—poured concrete. Flagler wanted his hotel to stand the test of time.

Flagler believed that only God was perfect therefore when he had a mosaic floor laid in the rotunda of the hotel he, on purpose, had a mistake made in the very intricate design.  The error was made where the guests would walk into the hotel.  As they stepped in they would be so awe struck by the magnificence of the rotunda that they would look up and step over or on the error.  Notice that one of points is missing a white tile, that is the intended error.

On each end of the hotel there is a bell tower.  These bell towers contained 8,000 gallons of water so that the guests could have running water. 

Across the street from the Ponce de Leon, Flagler built the Alcazar Hotel.  This hotel, not quite the size of the Ponce de Leon, was for the more sporting guests.  It had a gym, indoor pool with a moveable roof, tennis courts and other things to make the guests happy.

St. Augustine exists today because of Henry M. Flagler

LONG SLOW DISTANCE (LSD)

May 9, 2012    Dateline: St. Augustine, FL USA

Today was a day of long slow distance, traveled 70 miles from New Smyrna Beach to St. Augustine, FL on the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW).  The 70 miles took nearly 7 hours. A trawler that left the marina next to where I stayed arrive in St. Augustine 45 minutes after me.  I traveled at trawler speed---not fun.

The marina at New Smyrna Beach had a small island located to next to it.  This island was covered with egrets and pelicans.  The landings that they made were amazing.  They would come in for a landing and almost hover before touching down on a space no larger than their bodies.  There was a high level of noise from the birds as they argued over space on the island.  There was also the strong odor of fish in area.

Carol had figured out how to set my depth gauge to warn Rich when I get too close to shallow water.  It is a very useful tool in going up the ICW which is a narrow canal with very shallow areas on each side of it.  I noticed that Rich was developing a technique for steering me based on the depth readings.

One of the bridges I passed under had mosaic tile art work wrapped around each support pillar.  They must have been very expensive and time consuming to apply, and of course they are only visible from the water.

I passed what appeared to be an old Navy tug tied to the coast of the ICW.  Based on the clothes hanging on the side of it must now be someone’s home.

You have all seen bed and breakfasts along the side of the road.  Rich had to explain to me what this place was that I passed.  I thought that the fish head coming out of the roof was a rather nice touch.  Based on the number of slips under the building, it does not have very many rooms to rent.

After a long day I got to see the Lion Bridge which is a famous land mark of St. Augustine. I knew that the day was ending as the marina I am staying at is at the bottom of the bridge.

The day ended with Rich and Carol seeing some great friends, George and Jane, from PLAIN JANE.  I stayed behind while they all went to dinner.  I met and traveled with PLAIN JANE in the North Channel of Lake Huron.  It was great to see them again. I understand that Rich and Carol were trying to get them to do the Loop. They live in Florida but have left their boat in Sheboygan Michigan for the winter. A simple trip down the rivers and around Florida would bring their boat to their Florida home.

RETURNING TO THE BIRTH CANAL

May 8, 2012  Dateline: New Smyrna Beach, FL USA

I left the marina early this morning (before 9 AM) and headed west to the Canaveral Barge Canal Lock.  It is a small lift lock between the Banana River and the Atlantic Ocean.  Its lift is only 3-4 feet depending on the level of the tide.  I had to wait a few minutes as a tow and what appeared to be a fishing boat were east bound in the lock and had to clear it before I could go in.  The passage went smoothly and off I went down the Barge Canal.  After I left I heard the lockmaster yell at the next boat that went in after us telling the captain to get his deckhand off the lock wall and back on the boat.  Unhappy lockmasters are not nice people.  The Canal is straight and very unimpressive as can be seen by the accompanying picture.  I went passed a factory plant that Sea Ray built so they could construct their “new” 680 Sundancer.  The plant was never occupied.

Further up the canal I came upon Sykes Creek where I first entered the water world.  My birth canal is a narrow overgrown creek through which all boats that are delivered by water must pass when they leave the Sykes Creek Sea Ray plant, the plant at which I was born.

Now comes the interesting question, when does one complete the Loop?  When they complete the full circle or when they return to the point at which they started?  There are potentially three outcomes to the questions above.  Rich and I have now completed the Loop since he took delivery of me at the Sykes Creek factory and he has traveled all the way to New Jersey by water and so have I.  Carol will not complete the Loop with me until she gets to Norfolk, VA and the final scenario is that we complete it in Cape May, NJ.  Oh, the thoughts to ponder.

I happened to see this building on the edge of the canal by the Sea Ray plant---I wondered if it was an old plant.

As I went up the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) I came upon a mooring field in Titusville, it gave a really interesting pattern on my radar screen. Though there were only a few boats in the field all of the balls bounced back my radar beams.

The ICW was boring today as we traveled at only 6-8 knots but it did give Rich and Carol a chance to look around and see the scenery.  They noticed this house with an eagle or osprey nest on the roof.  Boy, I bet that is a safe place to raise your offspring.

After 47 miles I stopped at New Smyrna Beach for the night.  I have no idea where the two of them found this marina but it was frightening getting into and I am a mega yacht in it.  I am told that I will leave tomorrow for St Augustine.  More ICW----I want deep water where I can go fast.

THE PIN CUSHION IS BACK

May 7, 2012  Dateline: Cape Canaveral, FL USA

Rich and Carol got back to me on Saturday.  When Rich left more than a month ago, I thought he was sick.  When we got in from the Bahamas he did not wash me---in fact he barely hosed me off.  I knew something was wrong.  I have learned that he is really SICK.  The doctors just love to stick him with needles and IV hoses.  He is afraid to drink water because he is so full of holes he thinks it might leak out.  He told me that he receives two weeks of treatments and then gets one week off.  He and Carol told me that they would come back to me on the off weeks and move me closer to home.  This is an off week, so on Sunday morning they filled my tanks and off we went to Ft. Pierce some 54 miles north. 

While I was sitting in Old Port Cove Marina Rich hired someone to wash me, a really nice guy named Brian, who gave me a good detailing.  Boy did that feel good, he got the diesel soot off of me and I was nice and clean—just waiting for the two of them to get back.  When I got to Ft. Pierce Carol found out that something had gone wrong with my Satellite TV antenna and she can not Fox News, Rich did some basic checks but could not find the problem.  I hope he can put up with her withdrawal symptoms over the next week.

The trip from North Palm Beach to Ft Pierce was easy, the seas were flat and I ran at 20 knots almost the whole time.  Rather than going up the Intracoastal Rich told me to go out the Lake Worth Inlet and run in the ocean (Did I tell you I like deep water).  He told me that we have to make the Isle of Hope, GA by next Sunday, so my job is to get us there on time.

Carol took this picture going into the Ft. Pierce inlet on Sunday afternoon.  The sight looked a little different on the way going out on Monday morning.

While at the Harbortown in Fort Pierce, Marina Rich and Carol met two other Loopers, one of them they had met before in Mobile, AL.  It is strange that Loopers go their separate ways and six months later end up in the same place.

This morning I left Ft. Pierce and went back into the deep ocean water for the 70 mile run to Cape Canaveral.  Rich got me into the ocean, set my auto pilot and then he and Carol sat back and let me do all of the work, that was ok with me.  I can do a better job of steering a straight line than he can.  Humans!! There are not too many pictures today because all I saw was ocean, but here is one that Rich took of the Canaveral barge canal as I came in off the ocean.  Neither of us noticed the gray skies.  Of course there is always a silver lining in the gray skies and that is that I had time to do this posting.

My sister, Cindy, made this sign for Rich.  They are words for all humans to live by.