In a trip like this from Kingston to Florida & beyond, you can cut the passages into sections & deal with each one individually. That’s what I am going to do. This blog is writtten in three sections: Kingston to Norfolk, Norfolk to the Florida border and the Florida border to Ft. LauderdaleThe first third. Kingston to Norfolk
Well, it’s over a month (Sept 13th) as I write this since we departed Collins Bay Marina (Kingston) just before 6 am & all is well. It’s been an interesting trip so far, not a vacation but still quite a learning experience for Moira (my first mate) & me on WATERPARKE. For most of the trip, we have been with Ian & Sharon Joyce (Celtic Cross) & Graeme & Laura Parkinson (Sweet Chariot) The fourth boat in our troop, Gerry & Diane Doucette (Thyme Off) left early and we caught up to them in Annapolis. We also met up and travelled with Sand Castle (Karen and Warren Goodyear) from Toronto who have a Catalina 30. Here are pictures of Sweet Chariot setting out from Collins Bay Marina, Kingston bright & early (actually foggy & cold) just after 6 AM in the morning.
Section 1 – Lake Ontario (Collins Bay to Norfolk, Va.) We had heard often that the first day is the worst day & Lake Ontario is the worst part of the trip, We were very lucky to choose a relatively calm day for our 9 hour crossing. Doug Patterson and Cherry gave us an escort south towards Main Duck Island. A little wind from the north east to start, diminishing to nothing by 11 am till about 4pm when we arrived in Oswego. It was a warm & boring ride but much better than the alternatives & we were very thankful. About noon, in mid-lake, we were attacked by small house-fly like insects, almost horse flies that bit & irritated us incessantly till we got to Oswego. Since we were out of sight of land for about 6 hours, it was rather strange & we began to think that we were retracing our path over the water as time went on. Thank God for the GPS since it showed our steady progression south to Oswego. We checked in at the Customs station in Oswego & in spite of dire warnings about the need to wait perhaps 24 to 48 hours for inspections, we each successively got cruising permits faxed to us without inspection, question or incident. That was also the first time that I heard others address me as “captain” (& they weren’t fooling!)
The next section of the trip was the Oswego & Erie Canals where we learned to go up & down locks ad nauseum. Each evening we usually were able to tie up to the approaches to the locks for the evening. (Free but no water or power) Celtic Cross usually called for the lock master to announce our intentions to proceed but we all had a turn & each were customarily referred to as “captain.” The canal section was somewhat like the Rideau although its much deeper (14 – 16 feet) & the locks are all automatic (& starting again in 2008, you have to buy a lock pass - $30 or so for 10 days) 
Here was my first encounter with the bottom. Near Rome, NY, I saw a canoeist capsize just ahead of us & start struggling in the water. I immediately veered over to help out. He then stood up as I arrived & I realized I was on the bottom! 
After getting out to push (useless) & poling with the whisker pole (equally useless), I managed to kedge off the bottom successfully with Moira’s help at the helm. Moira & I arrived at the next lock where we stayed with the others that night, me smeared & smelling of Erie Canal mud but at least with another experience under my belt (along with the mud).
After getting out to push (useless) & poling with the whisker pole (equally useless), I managed to kedge off the bottom successfully with Moira’s help at the helm. Moira & I arrived at the next lock where we stayed with the others that night, me smeared & smelling of Erie Canal mud but at least with another experience under my belt (along with the mud). I have included a copy of a bill I got by mail from Tow Boat US from being dragged off the bottom in South Carolina. While it doesn't fit time-wise here in this section, I include it to emphasize how important it is to get Tow Boat US insurance from Boat US or West Marine (or equivalent) which is $150 annually. This first bill for towing was over $1000US. Like the American Express saying, "Don't leave home without it!"
The end of the locks & canals (almost) was Waterford where we stayed for 3 glorious days in the sun & heat. It was a great little town just before we joined the Hudson River after stepping down 5 locks in succession in Waterford, a drop of almost 250 feet. 
We then proceeded down the Hudson River to New York Harbour. The Hudson Valley was very scenic and at the same time, very industrial with freight trains on the west side & passenger trains on the east & freighters going both ways. The river is tidal up to Albany so we began to learn how to deal with tides & teh assocated currents from this point on.
We each put our masts up at Castleton-on-Hudson at a small yacht club there without too many problems. $50 for “do it yourself “masting. 
In the summer of 2009, this Club added an electric motor to this masting crane which can be operated with a remote from your boat as you raise or lower the mast. This makes it easier to do this job with minimal crew. Usually there are other boats & crews around & they help each other to ensure others help them. You just had to ensure that your mast was secure before a freighter went past on the Hudson & kicked up a BIG wake. I had two attempts to put my mast up since a surprise wake hit the boat the first time & we ripped out all the electric connections. That evening , I soldered all the connection fittings back together & we successfully raised the mast the next day.
In the summer of 2009, this Club added an electric motor to this masting crane which can be operated with a remote from your boat as you raise or lower the mast. This makes it easier to do this job with minimal crew. Usually there are other boats & crews around & they help each other to ensure others help them. You just had to ensure that your mast was secure before a freighter went past on the Hudson & kicked up a BIG wake. I had two attempts to put my mast up since a surprise wake hit the boat the first time & we ripped out all the electric connections. That evening , I soldered all the connection fittings back together & we successfully raised the mast the next day. We stored the mast supports & other wood needed to cradle our masts down from Kingston there behind the Club. They keep wood for 2 years maximum until you return. Laura Parkinson jumped in there to help out a boat owner who apparently had a heart attack while raising his mast. (once a nurse)...but she was successful. He recovered and we later saw him further down the waterway) 
The next day, Don Chenier went up 3 masts to fix them, mine included. My anchor light didn't work so he fixed it by sticking the bulb into the socket using crazy glue. It's worked fine ever since. Glad Don has no fear of heights.
We anchored at Newburgh (a rough terrible night). Unfortunately, the next day was rainy & some water attacked my laptop & it drowned! Since I had my charts & a GPS display on it, this was a catastrophe! Thankfully we had paper backup charts. The next night for Moira & I (while we prayed for the laptop to dry out) was at Haverstraw Bay Marina on the west side of the Hudson (to make up for the misery of Newburgh) followed by a couple of nights at anchor in Compton on Hudson. It was a nice spot, about 10 feet deep over a huge area & we were able to go into shore using a town dock at a sailing base. The Compton on Hundson Yacht Club there would provide docking priviledges to visiting boats but it's a bit shallow & exposed. On that Sunday, with recommendations to go to a Comic Book shop from the yacht club (the guy did PCs & comics?) I set out to get the PC fixed & was successful in finding a real saviour who spent from 2 till 7pm, pronouncing the old laptop dead, driving us to get a new one & a portable hard drive at Best Buy & then transferring my old hard disk to a new one & for good measure, giving me tips on how to best maintain it. Even his fees were reasonable. It took teh next 2 or 3 days to get everything working on Vista but that is another story.
The next day, we arrived at New York. Here are pictures of us going towards the George Washington Bridge. Each of us caught a ball at the 79th Street Marina. While this may sound simple, we did this with a 2 knot current going down the Hudson in an opposing wind. When we were finally on the ball, it looked like you could water ski off the boat. 
Similarly, it was really tough using the inflatable to go to & from shore. Just think of getting into an inflatable at 7 pm, pitch black, & going up the Hudson with this type of current to rendezvous with your boat. Moira & I had never had experience in currents like this before. 
In one of the pictures, the mooring ball (about 30 inches in diameter) is being pulled under by WATERPARKE as the current passed down the Hudson. The time in New York was neat in spite of the balls in the Hudson & where else can you stay in the Big Apple for $30 nightly? Each day was spent in sightseeing & touring around but also the “overhead” items like groceries & laundromats. It’s hard to appreciate how much time is spent/wasted on a trip like this just dealing with the normal everyday overhead. 
After a stay of 3 days, we dropped the ball & went down the Hudson past the downtown skyline, passing Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on the east side as we went. Apparently, there is an anchorage at the Statue of Liberty but we didn't get a chance to try it out. We went on that day to Great Kills Harbour where we stayed another 3 days waiting for “good weather” before attempting the dreaded “Jersey coast.” 
We left about 10 am, with a weather forecast of light winds from the northwest for the 24 hour run to Cape May, at the southern tip of New Jersey. Most of the day was sunny & warm with light winds. At 7pm the sun dipped beneath the horizon & by 9:30 pm so did the moon, leaving us all alone. While we had the genoa up during the day, it didn't help much & by nightfall, we rolled it up. This was all by motor now & we paired off with another Canadian boat from Toronto, Sand Castle & followed each other all night with the New Jersey coast about 2 or 3 miles away to the west. Atlantic City came into view about 11 pm & due to the lights, we could still see the glow behind us till 3 am. Just like Las Vegas, gambling seems to spawn bright garish lights. Wonder if gamblers are like moths, drawn to the light? It became bright at 6am & the sun was up by about 7am but so was the wind & 5 foot waves & in spite of the forecast, it was from the south west (on the head). 
It took us till about 10:30 to finally make the last 3 or 4 miles into Cape May & peaceful waters & sun & rest. 
The 
motto –“Never believe a weather forecast till afterwards.” 
We spent 2 nights in Cape May anchored beside the Coast Guard Station in about 8 feet of water. We went into restaurants & walked into town, got on the Internet & mostly tried to forget the harrowing experience.
We made one faint- hearted attempt to go up Delaware Bay via the Cape May canal the first morning but since it was quite choppy, we gave up & returned to our anchorage by the Coast Guard station. “Cowards “R Us” but then we sat in the sun. There are 2 55 foot bridges along the Cape May canal which gave us some concern since we need about 50 feet according to the Catalina specs for our boat plus VHF, wind indicator, TV antenna and some provision for tide. We fit underneath them but we did hear the twang of another boat's VHF antenna as it passed us in the other direction. It was in that channel that we had another grounding. That was the second time when the bottom came up to grab us. Just passing the Cape May ferry terminal in mid-canal, I stopped in 3 feet of water. According to the guide book (that I didn’t have!), the ferries leave their props on while at the docks & the debris fills the channel. Fortunately, I was able to back off without embarrassment. (Sometimes there’s merit in letting others go first, particularly if they have deeper keels!). Actually, Sand Castle was further in than we were & would have been on the bottom too except he saw our predicament ahead & avoided it & us.
That same morning, Sweet Chariot continued & made Reedy Island by 10 pm that night which was a fantastic feat of sailing. We left the next day to sail up Delaware Bay with Sand Castle & while it started out choppy, it became glass-like by noon as we doused sails & motored on to Reedy Island by 4 pm where we anchored for a peaceful evening.
That same morning, Sweet Chariot continued & made Reedy Island by 10 pm that night which was a fantastic feat of sailing. We left the next day to sail up Delaware Bay with Sand Castle & while it started out choppy, it became glass-like by noon as we doused sails & motored on to Reedy Island by 4 pm where we anchored for a peaceful evening.
The next morning, we left by 8am (this isn’t what they talked about in retirement class!) and went through the 14 mile Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. At noon, in Chesapeake City, I entered their nice little town harbour & went over to their docks so we could do groceries, get out stretch our legs, etc. You guessed it! 3 feet at their docks. Guess they were expecting flat bottom runabouts! We reversed & continued on our first day on the Chesapeake down to Worton Point, a very well sheltered bay which got narrower & better protected as you entered. Actually, we decided to go to a restaurant that evening at the marina since they offered free docking. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed for the season & the docking wasn’t free but we were tired & it was reasonable with good hot showers & nice grounds.
Next morning by 9:30am, we left for Annapolis & the boat show & more sailboats that I have ever seen before .We passed the huge 2 lane, multi-span bay bridge connecting across the Chesapeake. 
It’s an ugly bridge that reminds me of how a cottage is built, addition by addition by addition. There are several styles, trusses, suspensions, piers, etc. Guess the main thing is that it is high, about 140 feet, so we didn’t have to worry like we did with the 2 fixed 55 foot bridges at Cape May. We arrived in Annapolis by 4 pm sailing as we should & anchored by the navy yard along with about 200 others. 
It’s an ugly bridge that reminds me of how a cottage is built, addition by addition by addition. There are several styles, trusses, suspensions, piers, etc. Guess the main thing is that it is high, about 140 feet, so we didn’t have to worry like we did with the 2 fixed 55 foot bridges at Cape May. We arrived in Annapolis by 4 pm sailing as we should & anchored by the navy yard along with about 200 others. 
We took the inflatable into the dinghy docks & found Celtic Cross on a ball just inside the bridge area.
The Joyce’s told us to “lurk” around the balls next morning at 8 am & grab one as soon as someone departed & that is what we did. I gave up by 9 am as people said that they were going to stay another noight but when Moira & I returned at 11 am, there were a couple of balls free. When we found one, I left Moira in the inflatable to guard “our ball” at 11 am & went out by water taxi to get WATERPARKE and bring her back. It worked & we were on the ball by 1 pm & then went in to pay the harbour master. 
We stayed 5 
nights in a quiet, well-sheltered cove with St Mary’s church & grounds in the background. Quite idyllic.
This was Thanksgiving (at least at home) so we planned a co-operative supper with Ian Joyce, Warren Goodyear and Laura and Graeme Parkinson. While you were having turkey, we had a great meal which consisted of chicken, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, vegetables, pumpkin pie and whipped cream for dessert. Quite a treat that Laura and Moira put together on what Moira calls our small propane “easy bake oven”.
Guess we blew the battery budget that evening since we had low voltage and had trouble starting the diesel next day. I resolved to get a generator like the others had purchased but places close by were sold out now that the Boat Show was finished.
Next day, we set off for St Michaels with Thyme Off in the lead. On the way, we saw this "craber", pulling up their crab traps. On arrival, we landed by dingy and found a quaint little artsy place, a bit like Merrickville.
Unfortunately, we were arriving after the season, about 5pm when they citizens were rolling up the pavement. We did some groceries and saw some of the sights and decided to press on the next morning for the Solomons and anchor near the Holiday Inn. We arrived by 4pm and anchored and had a nice dinner ashore at the Naughty Gull restaurant. The next day, we resolved to do the laundry, refill the propane tank and go off and get a generator. The closest places for the generator were Lowes, followed by Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Lowes, they only sold monsters (3500 watts) so I walked the ¾ mile up to Wal-Mart. They had a 50 lb. 1000 watt generator that I decided to buy but the question was how to get it back to the bus and then the boat? Well, I put it in the Wal-Mart shopping cart and rolled it back to the bus stop at Lowes, ¾ miles back. Luckily, I met up with Ian and Sharon Joyce and Moira and between us all, we carried all that we had back to the Holiday Inn via the bus and eventually ferried it out to the boat. (A car is such a normal part of life that when you don’t have one, it really stimulates your creativity.) Hopefully Wal-Mart got its shopping cart back.
We decided that we needed to get going so the next day, we were off for Deltaville, Virginia, a nice anchorage (if you could find the channel).
I hit bottom twice that afternoon trying to get into the southern branch of Jackson Creek before deciding that the main branch where we were was just fine! This picture of a white house was on the point between southern & the main branches of the Jackson Creek. Thyme Off made it without difficulty. We ended up there for a couple of nights, waiting for lower winds and smaller waves on the Chesapeake. 
We stayed 5 
nights in a quiet, well-sheltered cove with St Mary’s church & grounds in the background. Quite idyllic.This was Thanksgiving (at least at home) so we planned a co-operative supper with Ian Joyce, Warren Goodyear and Laura and Graeme Parkinson. While you were having turkey, we had a great meal which consisted of chicken, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, vegetables, pumpkin pie and whipped cream for dessert. Quite a treat that Laura and Moira put together on what Moira calls our small propane “easy bake oven”.
Guess we blew the battery budget that evening since we had low voltage and had trouble starting the diesel next day. I resolved to get a generator like the others had purchased but places close by were sold out now that the Boat Show was finished.
Next day, we set off for St Michaels with Thyme Off in the lead. On the way, we saw this "craber", pulling up their crab traps. On arrival, we landed by dingy and found a quaint little artsy place, a bit like Merrickville.
Unfortunately, we were arriving after the season, about 5pm when they citizens were rolling up the pavement. We did some groceries and saw some of the sights and decided to press on the next morning for the Solomons and anchor near the Holiday Inn. We arrived by 4pm and anchored and had a nice dinner ashore at the Naughty Gull restaurant. The next day, we resolved to do the laundry, refill the propane tank and go off and get a generator. The closest places for the generator were Lowes, followed by Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Lowes, they only sold monsters (3500 watts) so I walked the ¾ mile up to Wal-Mart. They had a 50 lb. 1000 watt generator that I decided to buy but the question was how to get it back to the bus and then the boat? Well, I put it in the Wal-Mart shopping cart and rolled it back to the bus stop at Lowes, ¾ miles back. Luckily, I met up with Ian and Sharon Joyce and Moira and between us all, we carried all that we had back to the Holiday Inn via the bus and eventually ferried it out to the boat. (A car is such a normal part of life that when you don’t have one, it really stimulates your creativity.) Hopefully Wal-Mart got its shopping cart back.We decided that we needed to get going so the next day, we were off for Deltaville, Virginia, a nice anchorage (if you could find the channel).
I hit bottom twice that afternoon trying to get into the southern branch of Jackson Creek before deciding that the main branch where we were was just fine! This picture of a white house was on the point between southern & the main branches of the Jackson Creek. Thyme Off made it without difficulty. We ended up there for a couple of nights, waiting for lower winds and smaller waves on the Chesapeake. 
When we finally left the Deltaville harbour, each of us successively hit the bottom one or more times while we followed the channel out to the Chesapeake. 
The aerial photo makes the channel look very apparent but I can assure you that at water level, it sure isn't. Fortunately, it was very soft mud so only our pride was hurt, repeatedly. 
Once on the Chesapeake, we 
encountered bigger waves than we had ever seen since the entrance to Cape May..... 4- 5 feet although maybe that sounds like a fish story. In any case, we were most happy that we were travelling with the wind and waves sailing south to Norfolk where we arrived about 2pm (although it’s such a big harbour that it took till 4 to get into a slip at the Waterside marina downtown.
The aerial photo makes the channel look very apparent but I can assure you that at water level, it sure isn't. Fortunately, it was very soft mud so only our pride was hurt, repeatedly. 
Once on the Chesapeake, we 
encountered bigger waves than we had ever seen since the entrance to Cape May..... 4- 5 feet although maybe that sounds like a fish story. In any case, we were most happy that we were travelling with the wind and waves sailing south to Norfolk where we arrived about 2pm (although it’s such a big harbour that it took till 4 to get into a slip at the Waterside marina downtown.
Norfolk is the main American supply & maintence naval base on the east coast and there are always navy ships going in & out. While I took these two pictures going north out of Norfolk harbour in the spring, I thought that they were worth including here. Navy & Coast Guard chase ships & inflatibles surround the war ships & ordered 5 of us ( 3 sail & two power) out of the channel, calling to us on VHF Channel 16. This was not a request. There is a no-go zone around all warships & since these chase ships are all armed, you do as you are told.After we were safely tied up at Waterside as shown in eth picture, we congratulated ourselves on completing the first third of the trip, ready to start the actual Norfolk – Florida border & Florida boarder to Ft Lauderdale section.
Part 2 – The second third
Norfolk to the Florida Border
It`s now Oct 26th and we have tickets to return to Ottawa on Dec 14th.. We have about 45 days to go 1000 miles so we have to average about 25 miles a day. Not hard till you factor in bad weather and rest and diversion. In any case, there should be time, we hope.
After a delightful and restful 3 days at the Waterside Marina in the centre of downtown Norfolk, WATERPARKE left with the rest of the Nepean flotilla (Sweet Chariot, Celtic Cross and Thyme Off) and a Toronto boat, Sand Castle, at 8am going south on the Elizabeth River on Sunday, Oct 26th.
We wound our way along the river and heavy-industrialized port facilities with all sorts of US Navy ships, eventually taking the “right turn” off to the Dismal Swamp route. In spite of its name, it was quite nice with lots of overhanging trees and shrubs along its 75 to 100 foot width. It seemed to be a constant 8-10 feet deep. We took the “up” lock at noon. 
It’s sure not like the Erie Canal where there were often just 3 or 4 boats well spaced in a huge lock chamber. We were all stuffed in together, 16 boats in all. 
Quite a change from before. 
Thereafter, we continued on to the North Carolina Visitor Centre docks about 3 pm where we rafted up 3 deep as shown in the picture. 
Since no one can come past the locks later than that, you can raft up across the river, if you wish, as long as you get going the next morning. Rafting seemed to be the way to do things there and strangers who had arrived earlier seemed not too concerned to have you walk across their boats from side to side to eventually get to the dock and dry land. It certainly was a good way to meet other boaters & see how others lived and scrounge all sorts of new ideas. Experienced boaters used carpet squares from Dollar General, the dollar store, for the boaters who crossed over their boats. We happened to be by a Hunter 46 so while we might have thought that we had a big boat, when we looked out our windows, we saw just the side of theirs. It’s true what they say “the further south you go, the smaller your boat becomes.” This is a highway service centre with a big parking lot, grounds and washrooms and an adjacent state park. The boat docks we used were added on at the back so it was truly a NC welcome centre for all travellers. It was cold overnight & the river was steaming when we woke up the next morning. We left at 7am continuing on via one more lock, equally stuffed with boats, to Elizabeth City where the town and its volunteers welcome you to their free docks and invite you to the town cocktail party for boaters @4:30. We stayed there a couple of nights due to strong winds and weather, shopping, doing laundry and the highlight for me was getting a haircut!
From Elizabeth City, we went across the Albemarle Sound (even though it was sunny, it was a very rough, miserable and uncomfortable passage with shallow sections, winding routes, BIG waves and lots of wind followed by the Alligator River which was also rough, narrow and shallow in places (probably places where I should not have been!) In any case, I didn’t hit bottom and despite the conditions, we ended up in Georgia Bay (a desolate dead-end bay off the Intracoastal with dead trees in a big swamp) where we couldn`t even get cell phone service, let alone WiFi. We couldn’t even see a house or building. Thankfully the wind dropped to nothing and all was calm and quiet that night. We continued on to Eastman Creek the next night and finally Cedar Creek on Halloween.
Fortunately all were quiet, calm nights.
It’s sure not like the Erie Canal where there were often just 3 or 4 boats well spaced in a huge lock chamber. We were all stuffed in together, 16 boats in all. 
Quite a change from before. 
Thereafter, we continued on to the North Carolina Visitor Centre docks about 3 pm where we rafted up 3 deep as shown in the picture. 
Since no one can come past the locks later than that, you can raft up across the river, if you wish, as long as you get going the next morning. Rafting seemed to be the way to do things there and strangers who had arrived earlier seemed not too concerned to have you walk across their boats from side to side to eventually get to the dock and dry land. It certainly was a good way to meet other boaters & see how others lived and scrounge all sorts of new ideas. Experienced boaters used carpet squares from Dollar General, the dollar store, for the boaters who crossed over their boats. We happened to be by a Hunter 46 so while we might have thought that we had a big boat, when we looked out our windows, we saw just the side of theirs. It’s true what they say “the further south you go, the smaller your boat becomes.” This is a highway service centre with a big parking lot, grounds and washrooms and an adjacent state park. The boat docks we used were added on at the back so it was truly a NC welcome centre for all travellers. It was cold overnight & the river was steaming when we woke up the next morning. We left at 7am continuing on via one more lock, equally stuffed with boats, to Elizabeth City where the town and its volunteers welcome you to their free docks and invite you to the town cocktail party for boaters @4:30. We stayed there a couple of nights due to strong winds and weather, shopping, doing laundry and the highlight for me was getting a haircut!From Elizabeth City, we went across the Albemarle Sound (even though it was sunny, it was a very rough, miserable and uncomfortable passage with shallow sections, winding routes, BIG waves and lots of wind followed by the Alligator River which was also rough, narrow and shallow in places (probably places where I should not have been!) In any case, I didn’t hit bottom and despite the conditions, we ended up in Georgia Bay (a desolate dead-end bay off the Intracoastal with dead trees in a big swamp) where we couldn`t even get cell phone service, let alone WiFi. We couldn’t even see a house or building. Thankfully the wind dropped to nothing and all was calm and quiet that night. We continued on to Eastman Creek the next night and finally Cedar Creek on Halloween.
Fortunately all were quiet, calm nights. Here is a chart of the Cedar Creek anchorage we used for Halloween, about 8 feet deep but rather scary since just off the ICW on the way into the anchorage are the remains of a sunken sailboat, partially submerged. Former southbound baoters? 
On Halloween night, Thyme Off hosted a costume party where Diane Doucet served `swamp soup and hors d’oeuvres. 
It was a great get together and a welcome diversion from day to day motoring & evening creeks and swamps for anchoring.
It was a great get together and a welcome diversion from day to day motoring & evening creeks and swamps for anchoring.
We arrived at Beaufort, NC (pronounced Bowfort in NC) on Nov 1st where we stayed in Town Creek Marina with Sweet Chariot. (The others chose to anchor in Taylor Creek and while it has a reputation for currents, 
poor holding and crowds of boats, it worked fine for them) Beaufort was a picturesque little town whose waterfront is Taylor Creek so the others got easy access to downtown. Instead we ended up walking a short way into town (but we slept the sound sleep of a boater who knows he’s tied tightly to a dock/we knew where we would be the next morning! As they say, some things are priceless.) Pictures show the type of "summer cottage" we passed in this area. 
A word about currents since Beaufort has lots. While as Ottawa sailors or even lake-bound sailors, we aren’t used to currents, in tidal areas we had to get used to them pretty quickly! In New York, at the 79th Street Marina, we had our first taste of currents when we had to motor up to a mooring ball against a 2 knot current. It doesn’t seem like much but when you are tied in a 2 knot current, it seems that you could water ski in the current passing by. Whatever way you drop an anchor in a current, if the wind is going in a different direction, you may have the curious situation of the anchor line being slack and the 
stern of the boat pointed into the wind (rather than the bow like we are used to) Even more unpredictable is when the tides change, 2 ups and 2 downs, a day and the resulting currents have you going with, against, and across the winds. This puts a lot of strain on the anchor system and you end up taking a lot of anchor swing room. I had a reputation of using “excess” anchor line and often used 130 feet when I could in 8 or 10 feet of water depth. I stayed still but that wasn’t possible when you have a crowded anchorage like in Beaufort with shallow water nearby. That’s why we chose to “chicken out” and tie up in a marina. By the way, Beaufort is supposed to have 4 knot currents through its harbour in Taylor Creek during tide changes! Above is a picture of a stately old southern home in Beaufort.
We spent Saturday and Sunday, doing laundry and groceries and going to the Sunday Baptist Church service and sightseeing. While we had anticipated a black congregation, everyone was white. We did a good mix of things while we were there getting off the boat and walking too which was a change in itself.
Nov 3rd, Monday, Sweet Chariot and us were up early to get a bridge opening at 7:30 am and then proceeded on in a rainy but warm day to an anchorage, Mile Hammock Bay in Camp Lejeune, a Marine training base on the NC coast. While Sweet Chariot helped us leave the marina, unfortunately, their good deeds didn’t seem to be rewarded by the “river gods.” Sweet Chariot was caught by the bottom shortly after leaving Beaufort. It was a really weird channel, with sandbars breaking the surface just a little ways off to our port but beyond them, a lake, a couple of miles wide followed by condos facing away from us towards the Atlantic. Fortunately, with the rising tide, Sweet Chariot came loose soon and proceeded, ariving in Mile Hammock Bay just with nightfall.
Along the ICW in Camp Lejeune, we saw our first parking lot (for tanks) along the eastern shore (what a waste of Atlantic beach front!) Actually, there are signs along the waterway saying “Do not proceed when lights flashing. Live fire exercises underway.” Fortunately, the lights were not flashing although the next day, we heard "thunder." (Explosions we assume a number of times off in the distance.) There were also several fly-overs with huge military helicopters. I am not sure if the marines wanted to harass us out of the anchorage or whether they were just doing their “thing.” Interestingly, along one side of Mile Hammock Bay, there was a ship tied along the wharf that was used as a training ground for marine boardings. The ship showed the signs of various poorly aimed shots although we didn’t venture very close at all. That evening we hunkered down in very strong winds in the bay and collected drips of rain that were forced through our hatches. The next morning, fortunately we were still all here, more or less where we had anchored and decided to stay another night due to the strong winds (15 – 25 mph). One not-so-lucky Canadian boat came into the bay at nightfall and didn’t pay attention to the bottom and ran aground on the sand and spent several miserable hours fighting the wind and waves pushing him on, as he tried to get off waiting for Tow Boat US, (sort of CAA on the water) The only time the winds abated was when we had a helicopter fly-over and the downdraft seemed to stop the wind for a minute or two. It was about 10 feet deep there and I had 110 feet out including 50 feet of chain on the anchor. The second day in the afternoon, we were getting a little “shack whacky” being cooped up on the boat tossing and turning for so long and the wind had dropped a little to 10 – 15 mph so we rowed over to Thyme Off for a Happy Hour. It was great therapy for all of us. We finally left Mile Hammock Bay and the US Marines on the morning of the third day we were stuck there. (although it seemed much longer)
It`s 10 days now since we left Norfolk and we are at mile 185 so we are a little behind our objective. We`ll have to pick it up a bit in the coming days.
On Nov 5th I had to chair a board meeting by teleconference of a company I am still involved with at 1 pm. We were up early as usual and actually got across and down the Cape Fear River and into Southport by about 11 am. We got a dock to tie up to for a few hours plus access to their WiFi and showers and garbage disposal for $10 when we went in to the marina for pump out, diesel fuel and water. While I wanted to use their marina office or lounge for the call and a wireline phone, I ended up taking the call from the boat. It all worked remarkably well. I had the call from the nav station in the boat on my cellphone. We finished and left by 3 pm and went on to Holden Beach where Sandcastle had got a face dock for all of us. We arrived at nightfall by 5:30pm after a very long full day. Unfortunately, the Holden Beach Marina offered no water, no electricity & no washrooms or showers but at least it was cheap at $1/foot.
That evening, we heard our first southern animal on (or more precisely below) the boat. Actually, it wasn’t an animal. It was krill or shrimps, scratching on the underside of the boat. All night we heard what sounded like the crackling of dry firewood as it burns. Certainly different but innocuous. Since that evening, we have heard it many times in various anchorages and marinas. The next day, we were startled to see dolphins in the water around the boat and since then, we’ve seen them most days. So far, however, alligators and manatees have been shy. We haven’t seen either. Veteran boaters here say that manatees rub their backs on the bottom of boats, particularly at night. Maybe they ask the krill to move over? Now that we know what that noise is, hopefully it won’t bother us when it happens. Norfolk pines, live oaks and palm trees of all sorts are along the waterways. We’re getting south!
On the evening of Nov 6th, we were anchored in the warm pleasant harbour of Wrightsville Beach, NC with the stars out and the lights of the houses and hotels and condos on all around us and about 75 boats anchored bobbing around. It was really pretty and even better, there were all sorts of WiFi options around to choose from. It was neat to be sitting in the cockpit talking on Skype to our daughter in London, trying to explain what we were seeing and experiencing. Again, I got carried away with anchoring scope. It was about 14 feet deep and I managed to find enough room to put out 130 feet without coming close to anyone else.
Many times when our children were younger, we drove to Myrtle Beach and enjoyed the sun and surf and sand. On Nov 7th, we arrived and stayed at Barefoot Landing Marina in the middle of North Myrtle Beach. It was like coming home again. Unfortunately, Barefoot Landing doesn’t offer much for $1.50/foot. There are no showers or laundry or lounge for boaters and the washrooms are quite distant from the boats. The WiFi service is just an open domestic wireless router beside the cash register in the marina office at one end of the docks. If you are tied up at the wrong end, you don’t get much WiFi. While our anniversary is Nov 8th, we celebrated it at a restaurant, Joes Crab Shack, there that evening one night early since we were going to be anchoring the next night in Georgetown.
When we arrived in Georgetown, we were very wary of staying there since it has a reputation of having poor holding and crowded conditions but it's also a pretty, historic, little town. We had little difficulty that evening anchoring (and more importantly staying there) since there was almost no wind. That was the first night since starting that I set the anchor alarm on the GPS. It would ring if I strayed more than 0.03 miles or about 150 feet from when I had set the anchor. It was a quiet, alarm-free night. Ironically, I had trouble getting the anchor up the next morning! There were a lot of boats there though to the extent that we were anchored in the “y” between the channel to the town docks and the channel to the industrial plant there. We never did find out what they made or manufactured there but it sure made a lot of background noise all night.
We tried to stay in Charleston the next night but so many others had ahead of us that we could only get reservations @$2/foot so we decided to skip it on the way down and see it on the way back. Just past Charleston, there is a short ½ mile cut that takes you to an adjacent river system to continue the ICW. The “Skipper Bob” guide says try not to be there when the tide is against you since the current can be 4 knots or more. We got to Elliott Cut and had the fun of going into the current (uphill) for a very long 20 minutes. We were going full speed at 6 + knots into the water but the GPS gave our ground speed as about 1 – 2 knots. It reminded me of canoeing and there was always the danger of losing control and having the current turn you around. In any case, we made it and proceeded on.
Reading the cruising guide, there are many references to the lack of funding and attention to the depths in the ICW in Georgia. There is specific reference to “go to the green side at marker X, go to the red side and even don’t go through here till high tide”. Thyme Off with 5 ½ foot draft took the logical step of going into the Atlantic at Brunswick, Georgia and coming back in at the St John’s River in Florida, one long full day. By doing this, they avoided 70 miles of winding and shallow (dry) ICW channels and only sailed about 50 miles down the coast. If the weather is good and if there are good inlets, it’s a very sensible alternative that we many choose to follow on the way home. Since we had 4 ½ foot drafts, we took the ICW and with high tide near mid-day, we had a just few close calls but no touch downs or problems.
We stayed in a series of creeks off the ICW for the next 4 nights. Each one provided lots of swing room so we could anchor with lots of scope and depths of about 7 -10 feet. Tidal current was always a consideration in all these spots as we got further south. On Nov 11th, we arrived at Beaufort, SC, (pronounced Biewfort to distinguish it from Beaufort, NC (pronounced Bowfort) How confusing! There we chose to tie up at the Municipal Marina for 2 nights to do some sightseeing and relaxing. The other reason was that the tide was over 9 feet and the nearby anchorages were already over 20 feet deep. (Think of putting out 8/1 scope to hold yourself in high tide (20 plus 9) x8= 240 feet. We didn’t have enough and there wasn’t that much room in the anchorages). The current whipping through the marina was considerable so what it would be in the anchorages I didn’t want to experience. Celtic Cross stayed at a marina above the bridge there for one night and then called to reserve a spot at “our location” for the next night. Since no one could guarantee a spot for them by 11 am (just a “likely we will have room...”), they decided to go on. We left Beaufort on Nov 13th but were delayed in fog till almost 11am when it finally cleared. You have no idea of how scary it is going down a channel with sandbars on the side and a bridge ahead when the bridge disappears! Other boats with us just slid over to the side of the channel, put on their running lights and anchored in the current (yes, there was also a 2 knot current running towards to bridge). After an hour or so, things cleared and we left again and ended up at New River anchorage, a wide protected area with 10 feet depth and huge swing room.
That evening, there was an impressively scary thunderstorm that fortunately passed inland bypassing our anchorage. I was still glad I had used 110 feet of anchor line just in case.
The next day, by 11am, we arrived in the vicinity of Savannah and tied up at Isle of Hope Marina on the ICW. I am showing the chart & a picture of the marina.
We had time that afternoon to borrow the courtesy car and go to Wal-Mart for groceries, etc and do some laundry. 
The next day, bright and early, we took the city bus into Savannah. We took an “on and off“bus tour there and spent an enjoyable day seeing the sights. We had lunch on the boardwalk in the harbour and toured a 130 foot sailing ship there. (You might ask why we didn’t take the boats up to Savannah. Ever see the current in the Savannah harbour? There I think you could actually water-ski. It is supposed to be about 4 to 6 knots and it is a busy commercial port too with freighters coming and going. We were happy to stay at Isle of Hope). 
Pictures are of the Savanah waterfront, a palm frond weaver, me with a sailing ship behind & the Savanah cathedral. (apparently there are a lot of Irish catholic descendents in Savanah)
After Isle of Hope, there were a couple more creeks where we anchored each night, sometimes calm and sometimes not but in all cases, we put down enough scope to stay put. 
One spot was named Cattle Pen Creek, but I have no idea why. 
The next night was in Tom Point Creek, In all cases, about 10 feet deep but with lots of tide & current. We next passed the St Mary’s River which is home to some of the US nuclear subs. Although we didn’t see anything as we passed, we were told that the river (and the ICW) is closed whenever they go in or out of St Mary’s River. On Nov 19th, we crossed the St Mary’s River, the Georgia Florida border and arrived in Florida.
By the second third of the trip, the boat was home and we were acclimatizing to it. We’d actually become so acclimatized to it that we were referring to going back the boat as going “home.” On departure in the morning, we were turning on all the things we needed (nav aids, VHF radio, handheld charger, fridge, cabin heater, etc) and could run on the motor for the day and when we anchored, we were remembering to turn everything off. We chose to run the fridge all day while the motor was going on a cold setting and turn it off all night to save battery power. (We had just 2 - 4D batteries and had I to do it over again, I might have added a third starting battery somewhere.) While it may seem ironic since we were going to Florida, keeping warm was an issue, both during the day and overnight. Before leaving, I installed a hydronic heater (essentially just like a car heater where the hot engine coolant flowed through a heat exchanger and warmed the air.) It also heated the water in a 6 gallon hot water tank so we also had a little hot water to wash the dishes and us and shower with.) We had this on during most days since there was always something to dry out as well as to keep the boat warm.) Of course, it was useless overnight since the engine was then stopped. I had installed a Webasto heater (essentially a diesel fuel burning, small furnace in the aft lazarette and we ran it for an hour or two whenever it was cold outside. (a few nights in NC it dropped below freezing) This was an expensive option and buying a generator and using it to run an electric space heater would have been cheaper although noisier. We ended up buying a generator anyway at a Wal-Mart in the Solomons to keep the batteries charged when at anchor for more than a couple of days so this could have served double duty.
Another problem that we had to confront during the second third of the trip was condensation in the cabin, particularly in early morning when the hull was cold from outside and the interior was warm from cooking breakfast and just from our breathing all night.. On several occasions, we had to dry the bedding that touched the sides of the V berth. If doing this trip again, a partial solution would have been to have a mesh layer under the V berth and in the aft cabin to allow air to circulate underneath and the moisture to evaporate during the days which were still usually relatively warm (55 – 75F) Wiping the underside of the deck in the cabin became a morning ritual for Moira to try to get rid of some of the moisture.
We had thought that we had passed through all the rough miserable sections of water during the first third of our trip, and we did, but the second third had some trying sections too. Albemarle Sound comes to mind and the Alligator River as does the section around Jekyll Island and Jekyll Sound. Probably it was just our choice of days since if there are lighter winds, there are smaller waves but you can’t always choose the days you have to travel.
In the Chesapeake, it was usually deep enough not to worry when it was rough. Here, the added fear of shallow water and big waves added a double whammy. On the other hand, the second third was certainly much more interesting and scenic than the first third since we were entering the “south” with palm trees, Spanish moss and dolphins, etc and all the huge “cottages; a k a summer mansions ” along the waterway.
The waterway was much more built up and it often seemed that we were in a parade of south bound boats. When we pulled up the anchor and left the New River Anchorage in SC at 6:45 am, 12 of the 18 boats did likewise and left more or less the same time. While there were an embarrassing proportion of Canadian boats in the parade (in some anchorages 30 to 40%), our boats also became relatively smaller, “bit-players” compared to the US boats in the overall parade as we went further south. We also saw boats from far afield. ..the Channel Islands, Australia, some European countries, etc. Most interesting was that the crews, usually couples, were largely our demographic, 50s and 60s, retirees or nearly so. While we have always seen the ads selling sailboats with the bikini clad gals and the tanned taut guys, those crews do not exist except on film and photo sets. I found that almost everyone travelling was just like us, in all shapes and sizes, greying at best or shiny on top, able but not athletic, fit but not ready for the marathon. All enjoying their freedom in the outdoors.
Part 3 – The Final Third - Florida finally!
The entry into Florida was somewhat of an anti-climax. We departed the Frederica River where we had anchored and followed the ICW down eventually crossing the St Mary’s River and passing the Fernandina Beach waterfront in strong westerly winds at lunchtime on Nov.18th.
As we passed the St Mary’s River, we saw the shrimper in the picture & various US Navy installations since that is the entrance used by the nuclear subs going into and out of their base there. There was, what we were told, was a “de-gaussing” station there looking like a steel framework for a huge barn 500 feet long out on the water on the north side of the St Mary’s River. Apparently, nuclear subs go into it to get de-gaussed. (It is a process to remove any residual magnetic field from a steel or iron object such as a ship that would make it easier for anti-sub systems to find & identify it). While we saw nothing that day, there are “guard” boats from the Navy arranged strategically to stop traffic on the ICW when a nuclear sub is going in or out, just like in Norfolk. That is one of the few spots where the ICW is really deep, almost 60 feet in the main channel. We had wanted and planned to stay in Fernandina for a couple of days either anchored off their marina or at one of the marina’s mooring balls now available for about $20 a night. 
Unfortunately, guess it was too good a deal and all the balls were taken already when we called the day before. When we saw the mooring field, we were less than impressed to see very little protection from the prevailing north west winds at that time and also several unoccupied mooring balls. (maybe, charitably their reservation-holding occupants were coming later?) The picture is of the Fernandina Beach waterfront from the mooring ball field. It was rough! If we hadn’t decided to continue south, we probably could have got one for the evening although it would have been a rough dingy ride over to the marina with a substantial current as well. .
In any case, we pressed on to anchor that evening in Alligator Creek, our first anchorage in Florida. Alligator Creek was devoid of alligators, fortunately, but also devoid of almost anything else, no houses, stores or civilization within a mile nearby. There was lots of tide (6 -7 feet and therefore current) through the anchorage which was a ½ mile or so in diameter surrounded by tall marsh grass and about 12 feet deep so we had good wave protection but not much wind protection. Unfortunately, I had to fix the toilet that evening since the electric add-on head that I had installed 18 months ago had decided then not to work. I am forever thankful that I kept & brought the old manual head with us.
poor holding and crowds of boats, it worked fine for them) Beaufort was a picturesque little town whose waterfront is Taylor Creek so the others got easy access to downtown. Instead we ended up walking a short way into town (but we slept the sound sleep of a boater who knows he’s tied tightly to a dock/we knew where we would be the next morning! As they say, some things are priceless.) Pictures show the type of "summer cottage" we passed in this area. 
A word about currents since Beaufort has lots. While as Ottawa sailors or even lake-bound sailors, we aren’t used to currents, in tidal areas we had to get used to them pretty quickly! In New York, at the 79th Street Marina, we had our first taste of currents when we had to motor up to a mooring ball against a 2 knot current. It doesn’t seem like much but when you are tied in a 2 knot current, it seems that you could water ski in the current passing by. Whatever way you drop an anchor in a current, if the wind is going in a different direction, you may have the curious situation of the anchor line being slack and the 
stern of the boat pointed into the wind (rather than the bow like we are used to) Even more unpredictable is when the tides change, 2 ups and 2 downs, a day and the resulting currents have you going with, against, and across the winds. This puts a lot of strain on the anchor system and you end up taking a lot of anchor swing room. I had a reputation of using “excess” anchor line and often used 130 feet when I could in 8 or 10 feet of water depth. I stayed still but that wasn’t possible when you have a crowded anchorage like in Beaufort with shallow water nearby. That’s why we chose to “chicken out” and tie up in a marina. By the way, Beaufort is supposed to have 4 knot currents through its harbour in Taylor Creek during tide changes! Above is a picture of a stately old southern home in Beaufort.We spent Saturday and Sunday, doing laundry and groceries and going to the Sunday Baptist Church service and sightseeing. While we had anticipated a black congregation, everyone was white. We did a good mix of things while we were there getting off the boat and walking too which was a change in itself.
Nov 3rd, Monday, Sweet Chariot and us were up early to get a bridge opening at 7:30 am and then proceeded on in a rainy but warm day to an anchorage, Mile Hammock Bay in Camp Lejeune, a Marine training base on the NC coast. While Sweet Chariot helped us leave the marina, unfortunately, their good deeds didn’t seem to be rewarded by the “river gods.” Sweet Chariot was caught by the bottom shortly after leaving Beaufort. It was a really weird channel, with sandbars breaking the surface just a little ways off to our port but beyond them, a lake, a couple of miles wide followed by condos facing away from us towards the Atlantic. Fortunately, with the rising tide, Sweet Chariot came loose soon and proceeded, ariving in Mile Hammock Bay just with nightfall.
Along the ICW in Camp Lejeune, we saw our first parking lot (for tanks) along the eastern shore (what a waste of Atlantic beach front!) Actually, there are signs along the waterway saying “Do not proceed when lights flashing. Live fire exercises underway.” Fortunately, the lights were not flashing although the next day, we heard "thunder." (Explosions we assume a number of times off in the distance.) There were also several fly-overs with huge military helicopters. I am not sure if the marines wanted to harass us out of the anchorage or whether they were just doing their “thing.” Interestingly, along one side of Mile Hammock Bay, there was a ship tied along the wharf that was used as a training ground for marine boardings. The ship showed the signs of various poorly aimed shots although we didn’t venture very close at all. That evening we hunkered down in very strong winds in the bay and collected drips of rain that were forced through our hatches. The next morning, fortunately we were still all here, more or less where we had anchored and decided to stay another night due to the strong winds (15 – 25 mph). One not-so-lucky Canadian boat came into the bay at nightfall and didn’t pay attention to the bottom and ran aground on the sand and spent several miserable hours fighting the wind and waves pushing him on, as he tried to get off waiting for Tow Boat US, (sort of CAA on the water) The only time the winds abated was when we had a helicopter fly-over and the downdraft seemed to stop the wind for a minute or two. It was about 10 feet deep there and I had 110 feet out including 50 feet of chain on the anchor. The second day in the afternoon, we were getting a little “shack whacky” being cooped up on the boat tossing and turning for so long and the wind had dropped a little to 10 – 15 mph so we rowed over to Thyme Off for a Happy Hour. It was great therapy for all of us. We finally left Mile Hammock Bay and the US Marines on the morning of the third day we were stuck there. (although it seemed much longer)
It`s 10 days now since we left Norfolk and we are at mile 185 so we are a little behind our objective. We`ll have to pick it up a bit in the coming days.
On Nov 5th I had to chair a board meeting by teleconference of a company I am still involved with at 1 pm. We were up early as usual and actually got across and down the Cape Fear River and into Southport by about 11 am. We got a dock to tie up to for a few hours plus access to their WiFi and showers and garbage disposal for $10 when we went in to the marina for pump out, diesel fuel and water. While I wanted to use their marina office or lounge for the call and a wireline phone, I ended up taking the call from the boat. It all worked remarkably well. I had the call from the nav station in the boat on my cellphone. We finished and left by 3 pm and went on to Holden Beach where Sandcastle had got a face dock for all of us. We arrived at nightfall by 5:30pm after a very long full day. Unfortunately, the Holden Beach Marina offered no water, no electricity & no washrooms or showers but at least it was cheap at $1/foot.
That evening, we heard our first southern animal on (or more precisely below) the boat. Actually, it wasn’t an animal. It was krill or shrimps, scratching on the underside of the boat. All night we heard what sounded like the crackling of dry firewood as it burns. Certainly different but innocuous. Since that evening, we have heard it many times in various anchorages and marinas. The next day, we were startled to see dolphins in the water around the boat and since then, we’ve seen them most days. So far, however, alligators and manatees have been shy. We haven’t seen either. Veteran boaters here say that manatees rub their backs on the bottom of boats, particularly at night. Maybe they ask the krill to move over? Now that we know what that noise is, hopefully it won’t bother us when it happens. Norfolk pines, live oaks and palm trees of all sorts are along the waterways. We’re getting south!
On the evening of Nov 6th, we were anchored in the warm pleasant harbour of Wrightsville Beach, NC with the stars out and the lights of the houses and hotels and condos on all around us and about 75 boats anchored bobbing around. It was really pretty and even better, there were all sorts of WiFi options around to choose from. It was neat to be sitting in the cockpit talking on Skype to our daughter in London, trying to explain what we were seeing and experiencing. Again, I got carried away with anchoring scope. It was about 14 feet deep and I managed to find enough room to put out 130 feet without coming close to anyone else.
Many times when our children were younger, we drove to Myrtle Beach and enjoyed the sun and surf and sand. On Nov 7th, we arrived and stayed at Barefoot Landing Marina in the middle of North Myrtle Beach. It was like coming home again. Unfortunately, Barefoot Landing doesn’t offer much for $1.50/foot. There are no showers or laundry or lounge for boaters and the washrooms are quite distant from the boats. The WiFi service is just an open domestic wireless router beside the cash register in the marina office at one end of the docks. If you are tied up at the wrong end, you don’t get much WiFi. While our anniversary is Nov 8th, we celebrated it at a restaurant, Joes Crab Shack, there that evening one night early since we were going to be anchoring the next night in Georgetown.
When we arrived in Georgetown, we were very wary of staying there since it has a reputation of having poor holding and crowded conditions but it's also a pretty, historic, little town. We had little difficulty that evening anchoring (and more importantly staying there) since there was almost no wind. That was the first night since starting that I set the anchor alarm on the GPS. It would ring if I strayed more than 0.03 miles or about 150 feet from when I had set the anchor. It was a quiet, alarm-free night. Ironically, I had trouble getting the anchor up the next morning! There were a lot of boats there though to the extent that we were anchored in the “y” between the channel to the town docks and the channel to the industrial plant there. We never did find out what they made or manufactured there but it sure made a lot of background noise all night.
We tried to stay in Charleston the next night but so many others had ahead of us that we could only get reservations @$2/foot so we decided to skip it on the way down and see it on the way back. Just past Charleston, there is a short ½ mile cut that takes you to an adjacent river system to continue the ICW. The “Skipper Bob” guide says try not to be there when the tide is against you since the current can be 4 knots or more. We got to Elliott Cut and had the fun of going into the current (uphill) for a very long 20 minutes. We were going full speed at 6 + knots into the water but the GPS gave our ground speed as about 1 – 2 knots. It reminded me of canoeing and there was always the danger of losing control and having the current turn you around. In any case, we made it and proceeded on.
Reading the cruising guide, there are many references to the lack of funding and attention to the depths in the ICW in Georgia. There is specific reference to “go to the green side at marker X, go to the red side and even don’t go through here till high tide”. Thyme Off with 5 ½ foot draft took the logical step of going into the Atlantic at Brunswick, Georgia and coming back in at the St John’s River in Florida, one long full day. By doing this, they avoided 70 miles of winding and shallow (dry) ICW channels and only sailed about 50 miles down the coast. If the weather is good and if there are good inlets, it’s a very sensible alternative that we many choose to follow on the way home. Since we had 4 ½ foot drafts, we took the ICW and with high tide near mid-day, we had a just few close calls but no touch downs or problems.
We stayed in a series of creeks off the ICW for the next 4 nights. Each one provided lots of swing room so we could anchor with lots of scope and depths of about 7 -10 feet. Tidal current was always a consideration in all these spots as we got further south. On Nov 11th, we arrived at Beaufort, SC, (pronounced Biewfort to distinguish it from Beaufort, NC (pronounced Bowfort) How confusing! There we chose to tie up at the Municipal Marina for 2 nights to do some sightseeing and relaxing. The other reason was that the tide was over 9 feet and the nearby anchorages were already over 20 feet deep. (Think of putting out 8/1 scope to hold yourself in high tide (20 plus 9) x8= 240 feet. We didn’t have enough and there wasn’t that much room in the anchorages). The current whipping through the marina was considerable so what it would be in the anchorages I didn’t want to experience. Celtic Cross stayed at a marina above the bridge there for one night and then called to reserve a spot at “our location” for the next night. Since no one could guarantee a spot for them by 11 am (just a “likely we will have room...”), they decided to go on. We left Beaufort on Nov 13th but were delayed in fog till almost 11am when it finally cleared. You have no idea of how scary it is going down a channel with sandbars on the side and a bridge ahead when the bridge disappears! Other boats with us just slid over to the side of the channel, put on their running lights and anchored in the current (yes, there was also a 2 knot current running towards to bridge). After an hour or so, things cleared and we left again and ended up at New River anchorage, a wide protected area with 10 feet depth and huge swing room.
That evening, there was an impressively scary thunderstorm that fortunately passed inland bypassing our anchorage. I was still glad I had used 110 feet of anchor line just in case.The next day, by 11am, we arrived in the vicinity of Savannah and tied up at Isle of Hope Marina on the ICW. I am showing the chart & a picture of the marina.
We had time that afternoon to borrow the courtesy car and go to Wal-Mart for groceries, etc and do some laundry. 
The next day, bright and early, we took the city bus into Savannah. We took an “on and off“bus tour there and spent an enjoyable day seeing the sights. We had lunch on the boardwalk in the harbour and toured a 130 foot sailing ship there. (You might ask why we didn’t take the boats up to Savannah. Ever see the current in the Savannah harbour? There I think you could actually water-ski. It is supposed to be about 4 to 6 knots and it is a busy commercial port too with freighters coming and going. We were happy to stay at Isle of Hope). 
Pictures are of the Savanah waterfront, a palm frond weaver, me with a sailing ship behind & the Savanah cathedral. (apparently there are a lot of Irish catholic descendents in Savanah)
After Isle of Hope, there were a couple more creeks where we anchored each night, sometimes calm and sometimes not but in all cases, we put down enough scope to stay put. 
One spot was named Cattle Pen Creek, but I have no idea why. 
The next night was in Tom Point Creek, In all cases, about 10 feet deep but with lots of tide & current. We next passed the St Mary’s River which is home to some of the US nuclear subs. Although we didn’t see anything as we passed, we were told that the river (and the ICW) is closed whenever they go in or out of St Mary’s River. On Nov 19th, we crossed the St Mary’s River, the Georgia Florida border and arrived in Florida.By the second third of the trip, the boat was home and we were acclimatizing to it. We’d actually become so acclimatized to it that we were referring to going back the boat as going “home.” On departure in the morning, we were turning on all the things we needed (nav aids, VHF radio, handheld charger, fridge, cabin heater, etc) and could run on the motor for the day and when we anchored, we were remembering to turn everything off. We chose to run the fridge all day while the motor was going on a cold setting and turn it off all night to save battery power. (We had just 2 - 4D batteries and had I to do it over again, I might have added a third starting battery somewhere.) While it may seem ironic since we were going to Florida, keeping warm was an issue, both during the day and overnight. Before leaving, I installed a hydronic heater (essentially just like a car heater where the hot engine coolant flowed through a heat exchanger and warmed the air.) It also heated the water in a 6 gallon hot water tank so we also had a little hot water to wash the dishes and us and shower with.) We had this on during most days since there was always something to dry out as well as to keep the boat warm.) Of course, it was useless overnight since the engine was then stopped. I had installed a Webasto heater (essentially a diesel fuel burning, small furnace in the aft lazarette and we ran it for an hour or two whenever it was cold outside. (a few nights in NC it dropped below freezing) This was an expensive option and buying a generator and using it to run an electric space heater would have been cheaper although noisier. We ended up buying a generator anyway at a Wal-Mart in the Solomons to keep the batteries charged when at anchor for more than a couple of days so this could have served double duty.
Another problem that we had to confront during the second third of the trip was condensation in the cabin, particularly in early morning when the hull was cold from outside and the interior was warm from cooking breakfast and just from our breathing all night.. On several occasions, we had to dry the bedding that touched the sides of the V berth. If doing this trip again, a partial solution would have been to have a mesh layer under the V berth and in the aft cabin to allow air to circulate underneath and the moisture to evaporate during the days which were still usually relatively warm (55 – 75F) Wiping the underside of the deck in the cabin became a morning ritual for Moira to try to get rid of some of the moisture.
We had thought that we had passed through all the rough miserable sections of water during the first third of our trip, and we did, but the second third had some trying sections too. Albemarle Sound comes to mind and the Alligator River as does the section around Jekyll Island and Jekyll Sound. Probably it was just our choice of days since if there are lighter winds, there are smaller waves but you can’t always choose the days you have to travel.
In the Chesapeake, it was usually deep enough not to worry when it was rough. Here, the added fear of shallow water and big waves added a double whammy. On the other hand, the second third was certainly much more interesting and scenic than the first third since we were entering the “south” with palm trees, Spanish moss and dolphins, etc and all the huge “cottages; a k a summer mansions ” along the waterway.
The waterway was much more built up and it often seemed that we were in a parade of south bound boats. When we pulled up the anchor and left the New River Anchorage in SC at 6:45 am, 12 of the 18 boats did likewise and left more or less the same time. While there were an embarrassing proportion of Canadian boats in the parade (in some anchorages 30 to 40%), our boats also became relatively smaller, “bit-players” compared to the US boats in the overall parade as we went further south. We also saw boats from far afield. ..the Channel Islands, Australia, some European countries, etc. Most interesting was that the crews, usually couples, were largely our demographic, 50s and 60s, retirees or nearly so. While we have always seen the ads selling sailboats with the bikini clad gals and the tanned taut guys, those crews do not exist except on film and photo sets. I found that almost everyone travelling was just like us, in all shapes and sizes, greying at best or shiny on top, able but not athletic, fit but not ready for the marathon. All enjoying their freedom in the outdoors.
Part 3 – The Final Third - Florida finally!
The entry into Florida was somewhat of an anti-climax. We departed the Frederica River where we had anchored and followed the ICW down eventually crossing the St Mary’s River and passing the Fernandina Beach waterfront in strong westerly winds at lunchtime on Nov.18th.
As we passed the St Mary’s River, we saw the shrimper in the picture & various US Navy installations since that is the entrance used by the nuclear subs going into and out of their base there. There was, what we were told, was a “de-gaussing” station there looking like a steel framework for a huge barn 500 feet long out on the water on the north side of the St Mary’s River. Apparently, nuclear subs go into it to get de-gaussed. (It is a process to remove any residual magnetic field from a steel or iron object such as a ship that would make it easier for anti-sub systems to find & identify it). While we saw nothing that day, there are “guard” boats from the Navy arranged strategically to stop traffic on the ICW when a nuclear sub is going in or out, just like in Norfolk. That is one of the few spots where the ICW is really deep, almost 60 feet in the main channel. We had wanted and planned to stay in Fernandina for a couple of days either anchored off their marina or at one of the marina’s mooring balls now available for about $20 a night. 
Unfortunately, guess it was too good a deal and all the balls were taken already when we called the day before. When we saw the mooring field, we were less than impressed to see very little protection from the prevailing north west winds at that time and also several unoccupied mooring balls. (maybe, charitably their reservation-holding occupants were coming later?) The picture is of the Fernandina Beach waterfront from the mooring ball field. It was rough! If we hadn’t decided to continue south, we probably could have got one for the evening although it would have been a rough dingy ride over to the marina with a substantial current as well. .In any case, we pressed on to anchor that evening in Alligator Creek, our first anchorage in Florida. Alligator Creek was devoid of alligators, fortunately, but also devoid of almost anything else, no houses, stores or civilization within a mile nearby. There was lots of tide (6 -7 feet and therefore current) through the anchorage which was a ½ mile or so in diameter surrounded by tall marsh grass and about 12 feet deep so we had good wave protection but not much wind protection. Unfortunately, I had to fix the toilet that evening since the electric add-on head that I had installed 18 months ago had decided then not to work. I am forever thankful that I kept & brought the old manual head with us.
That evening we had winds of 15-20 mph so while it was noisy, it was still fairly calm. As usual, I got carried away and put down almost 130 feet of anchor line so we stayed still. The next day was again cold and clear in the morning and warm (about 60’F) by noon. We pressed on to St Augustine which has an “interesting” harbour entrance (i.e. follow the charts and the GPS plotter and the depth finder and the markers really closely and if possible, follow someone else with a deeper keel) Actually, you enter St Augustine going south in the ICW via an eastward hook out towards the Atlantic before reversing back around a buoy and coming west for a few hundred yards before continuing south towards the Bridge of Lions lift bridge and construction site. It’s fairly intimidating but will lift on request. 
We stayed at St. Augustine in the municipal marina, just south of the Bridge of Lions, a couple of nights seeing the sights and buying food and provisions. 
It’s a nice marina complex in the centre of town and we were able to get both fuel and a pump out on arrival. They took good care of us. 
Nearby, in 
the town is the fort, the old quarter and also Flagler College which is a highlight and worth a tour even if it’s $7. Hard to believe the splendour and opulence the college kids are living and working in in the main buildings there! 
Apparently it is one of the cheapest (most economical) private colleges in the US with tuition running “just over $16,000 annually” according to the guide.
We left St Augustine on Nov 21st and went down to Daytona Beach. We hadn’t planned on going that far but the Plan A anchorage turned out to be shoaled over and completely unsuitable so we pressed on to Plan B, a spot just north of the 2 bridges in Daytona on the east side where there is a small area, 10 feet deep. Unfortunately it also has a stupid “Mind the Manatees” sign stuck in the bottom there. Ian anchored a bit north of us and when I anchored , we appeared fine till overnight when the tide and wind conspired to shift us around so that we nearly hit the manatee sign while we were swinging at anchor. It was a windy night from the north so we had little wind or wave protection with the sign always being a nearby threat. We were tired but more than ready to leave early the next morning. With hindsight, perhaps we should have passed under the first bridge and found a marina or even gone through Daytona to the anchorage south of town on the west side but that would have been in the dark and not really practical. By lunch, we pulled into the New Smyrna Beach City Marina for some well earned rest. It was a very modern and clean facility and was relatively inexpensive ($1.25/ft) as well. There Sharon and Ian met her brother and sister in law who were vacationing nearby with an RV and a CAR!
We were able to join Ian and Sharon when they borrowed the car to go to get propane, groceries, etc while we were there as well as join them at an impromptu barbeque outside the RV in the RV Park and see how the other half, the RVers live.
We stayed at the New Smyrna Beach Marina for 3 nights, going to the beach for sun and relaxation one day and shopping and sightseeing the other two. The weather was clear, bright and sunny but also windy, about 75’F. I also changed the oil and filter there when we had the time, having gone a bit longer than we should have. The next day bright but not early, about 10 am, we left to go to Addison Causeway, one of the main highway access corridors to Cape Kennedy. For us, it was a great spot to anchor, sheltered behind the causeway (south and west of the causeway/bridge) in about 8 feet of water. We arrived about 3:30 just in time to get the bridge opening, find a good spot to anchor and relax before nightfall which is getting irritatingly sooner each day. From there I made a call to the Vero Beach Marina to reserve mooring balls for all of us for Thursday night, US Thanksgiving. The next day was almost a carbon copy, departing about 7 am from Addison Causeway and arriving at the Melbourne Beach Causeway where we anchored in about 8 feet south east of the bridge/causeway. Both nights were clear, warm and calm and quiet except for a little highway noise from the causeways. Thursday morning we were up and off early by 6:45 because I had to chair a numbering board meeting by telecom@ 11am. While I had called and asked about going into a marina in Sebastian, because it was Thanksgiving, it was closed and the marina managers didn’t want anyone coming in, particularly me in a sailboat who might get stuck in the channel when no one would be around to get them out of the way. Instead, the marina operators specified an anchorage I could use just off the ICW about 1/3 mile east of the marina where I also picked up a useable WiFi signal from the marina. We were there till about 1 pm before going on to Vero Beach Marina where they had a Thanksgiving Dinner for boaters starting about 1 pm. We arrived there without incident by 3 pm and tied up to our mooring ball rafted with 2 other boats.
We stayed at St. Augustine in the municipal marina, just south of the Bridge of Lions, a couple of nights seeing the sights and buying food and provisions. 
It’s a nice marina complex in the centre of town and we were able to get both fuel and a pump out on arrival. They took good care of us. 
Nearby, in 
the town is the fort, the old quarter and also Flagler College which is a highlight and worth a tour even if it’s $7. Hard to believe the splendour and opulence the college kids are living and working in in the main buildings there! 
Apparently it is one of the cheapest (most economical) private colleges in the US with tuition running “just over $16,000 annually” according to the guide.We left St Augustine on Nov 21st and went down to Daytona Beach. We hadn’t planned on going that far but the Plan A anchorage turned out to be shoaled over and completely unsuitable so we pressed on to Plan B, a spot just north of the 2 bridges in Daytona on the east side where there is a small area, 10 feet deep. Unfortunately it also has a stupid “Mind the Manatees” sign stuck in the bottom there. Ian anchored a bit north of us and when I anchored , we appeared fine till overnight when the tide and wind conspired to shift us around so that we nearly hit the manatee sign while we were swinging at anchor. It was a windy night from the north so we had little wind or wave protection with the sign always being a nearby threat. We were tired but more than ready to leave early the next morning. With hindsight, perhaps we should have passed under the first bridge and found a marina or even gone through Daytona to the anchorage south of town on the west side but that would have been in the dark and not really practical. By lunch, we pulled into the New Smyrna Beach City Marina for some well earned rest. It was a very modern and clean facility and was relatively inexpensive ($1.25/ft) as well. There Sharon and Ian met her brother and sister in law who were vacationing nearby with an RV and a CAR!
We were able to join Ian and Sharon when they borrowed the car to go to get propane, groceries, etc while we were there as well as join them at an impromptu barbeque outside the RV in the RV Park and see how the other half, the RVers live.We stayed at the New Smyrna Beach Marina for 3 nights, going to the beach for sun and relaxation one day and shopping and sightseeing the other two. The weather was clear, bright and sunny but also windy, about 75’F. I also changed the oil and filter there when we had the time, having gone a bit longer than we should have. The next day bright but not early, about 10 am, we left to go to Addison Causeway, one of the main highway access corridors to Cape Kennedy. For us, it was a great spot to anchor, sheltered behind the causeway (south and west of the causeway/bridge) in about 8 feet of water. We arrived about 3:30 just in time to get the bridge opening, find a good spot to anchor and relax before nightfall which is getting irritatingly sooner each day. From there I made a call to the Vero Beach Marina to reserve mooring balls for all of us for Thursday night, US Thanksgiving. The next day was almost a carbon copy, departing about 7 am from Addison Causeway and arriving at the Melbourne Beach Causeway where we anchored in about 8 feet south east of the bridge/causeway. Both nights were clear, warm and calm and quiet except for a little highway noise from the causeways. Thursday morning we were up and off early by 6:45 because I had to chair a numbering board meeting by telecom@ 11am. While I had called and asked about going into a marina in Sebastian, because it was Thanksgiving, it was closed and the marina managers didn’t want anyone coming in, particularly me in a sailboat who might get stuck in the channel when no one would be around to get them out of the way. Instead, the marina operators specified an anchorage I could use just off the ICW about 1/3 mile east of the marina where I also picked up a useable WiFi signal from the marina. We were there till about 1 pm before going on to Vero Beach Marina where they had a Thanksgiving Dinner for boaters starting about 1 pm. We arrived there without incident by 3 pm and tied up to our mooring ball rafted with 2 other boats.
Unfortunately there was nothing left for dinner so we ate on the boat. The next day we went in and actually registered and paid and finagled moving to the same ball as Ian and Gerry. We did the laundry and went in to West Marine and the other stores of the main town. There is a free bus service in Vero (donations only) going to and from the marina which is quite convenient. We went to the beach, into town and to two different clinics for Moira who got an eye infection and had to get treatments for it. We stayed in Vero Beach for a week leaving the following Thursday and continuing on to Jenson Beach Causeway. Again, we anchored in the south west corner behind their lift bridge and had a good night. We hosted a pot-luck dinner and get together with Laura and Graeme, Ian and Sharon and Gerry and Diane and had a good evening relaxing on the water before going on to Lake Worth the following day. 
We anchored about mile 1018, east of the ICW in about 12 feet of water but still a half mile from the shore of Palm Beach.
We anchored about mile 1018, east of the ICW in about 12 feet of water but still a half mile from the shore of Palm Beach. The next day, we went back, north to Peanut Island close to the Palm Beach inlet with Gerry and Diane in their inflatable and had a swim and a look around the island. There is a camp site there and docks for campers, a spot to snorkel and a nice beach so we enjoyed it. The water there is almost clear since the inlet from the Atlantic is within a ½ mile. Two days later, we came back ourselves but it was cooler and windier so while we had the chance to get off the boat, we didn`t go swimming. Lake Worth is a great place to anchor. It`s deep enough over a huge area to allow lots of boats to anchor with lots of scope, Skippy Bob talks about anchoring in North Lake Worth where there are anchoring restrictions on how long you can anchor over parts of it but in the main section of Lake Worth, south of Peanut Island, it seems you can stay as long as you want. We stayed there 3 days without anyone approaching or hassling us. Unfortunately, there`s virtually no where to land so I guess that’s why there’s no time limit on anchoring. We did anchor in North Lake Worth on the way north in April & found that it too has about 10-12 foot depths & a little more protectionj but an awful lot more boats so, if it's not too windy Lake Woth is fine. If it's windy, North Lake Worth gives some more wave protection.
Apparently, in Lake Worth proper, the multi-millionaires don`t like riff-raff from boats soiling their shores so there`s no landing sites. We stayed in Lake Worth longer than we had anticipated since we were a bit early to descend on Lee and Tina Williams in Ft Lauderdale and had only 2 more days’ travel before arriving. After 3 nights, we left Lake Worth on Monday Dec 8th ready to take on the first "day of bridges" going south. We had to wait for the schedule for 15 bridges today, each one opening either on the hour or half hour or every 20 minutes or on the 15 and 45 minutes after the hour. Overall, it went well and we arrived as planned at the Sands Hotel and Marina in Pompano Beach and pulled in there at about 2 pm. We considered going further but it was sunny and warm and we didn`t need to push things so we relaxed around the pool and at the bar, eventually walking to the Briny Pub across from the beach for an early dinner. We were pleased when Grme and Laura arrived at the Marina about 7pm but still after dark. They had had trouble getting their diesel going that morning in Lake Worth and it was almost noon when they finally got underway.
We were up early but left late, about 10 am from the Sands Marina (one of the only "cheap marinas" at $1.50 a foot) along this stretch for the final day`s travel. We did 5 more bridges with specific opening schedules along the ICW before entering the New River.
The New River was very narrow with lots of current and particularly near the 3rd Ave Bridge was very congested with the wind tunnelling down between the towering hotels and condos. While the bridges open on request, when Sharon called the 3rd Ave Bridge, there was a very long 3 or 4 minutes awaiting the opening. Fortunately there were no mishaps but it was an anxious time as we passed through downtown Ft Lauderdale in the New River. 
Two of teh pictures show the "modest houses" along the ICW near Ft Lauderdale and the succeeding pictures show the Christmas decorations put out on the lawns under the palm trees. The last 4 bridges opened more promptly and we continued on “sightseeing” the Christmas decorations on the manicured lawns of the mansions as we went. 
(One house had two large areas with artificial snow with 
English carollers on one and a snowman, etc on the other!) We entered Lee`s canal (about 50 feet wide with boats anchored all along it so it was really narrow) and slowly made our way up to the end and his house and docks where with WATERPARKE, Sweet Chariot and Celtic Cross and Lee`s sailboat, an Endeavour, we spanned the full width of the canal. 
This is where we tied 
up for the Christmas New Year’s period when we each went back to Ottawa and our families.
2009 would bring trips to the Bahamas for Sweet Chariot, Celtic Cross and Thyme Off, The monster liguana was on our dock at Lee's place when we arived. Fortunately, they are herbivorous but ugly so I was not on their menu. They are almost like squirrels in Florida & don't really raise much attention.
We were up early but left late, about 10 am from the Sands Marina (one of the only "cheap marinas" at $1.50 a foot) along this stretch for the final day`s travel. We did 5 more bridges with specific opening schedules along the ICW before entering the New River.
The New River was very narrow with lots of current and particularly near the 3rd Ave Bridge was very congested with the wind tunnelling down between the towering hotels and condos. While the bridges open on request, when Sharon called the 3rd Ave Bridge, there was a very long 3 or 4 minutes awaiting the opening. Fortunately there were no mishaps but it was an anxious time as we passed through downtown Ft Lauderdale in the New River. 
Two of teh pictures show the "modest houses" along the ICW near Ft Lauderdale and the succeeding pictures show the Christmas decorations put out on the lawns under the palm trees. The last 4 bridges opened more promptly and we continued on “sightseeing” the Christmas decorations on the manicured lawns of the mansions as we went. 
(One house had two large areas with artificial snow with 
English carollers on one and a snowman, etc on the other!) We entered Lee`s canal (about 50 feet wide with boats anchored all along it so it was really narrow) and slowly made our way up to the end and his house and docks where with WATERPARKE, Sweet Chariot and Celtic Cross and Lee`s sailboat, an Endeavour, we spanned the full width of the canal. 
This is where we tied 
up for the Christmas New Year’s period when we each went back to Ottawa and our families.2009 would bring trips to the Bahamas for Sweet Chariot, Celtic Cross and Thyme Off, The monster liguana was on our dock at Lee's place when we arived. Fortunately, they are herbivorous but ugly so I was not on their menu. They are almost like squirrels in Florida & don't really raise much attention.
For us, we had decided to stay and enjoy the sun, beaches and activities of Ft Lauderdale in a spot off Las Olas between downtown and the beach. Pictures show the spot where we docked for 2 1/2 months where we had a pool & grounds. The bicycle & the carrier/cart I dragged behind it was one of our ways to get groceries & refill the propane tank. We also got groceries by going into Ft Lauderdale on the New River & docking at the dingy dock & then going a couple of blocks to Publix. Ft Lauderdale has an excellent bus system so between our 3 modes of travel plus wallking, we were able to get to where we wanted without much toruble.
After a pleasant winter with temeratures in the 70's & low 80's most days, in Apri
l, we`d start all over again and go north
.
l, we`d start all over again and go north
.
