It's been awhile since I have been able to spend time on the computer, sometimes no signal available and sometimes just tooo tired. We have had a variety of different kinds of travel days but we are now in St. Augustine,Florida. Getting here was OK with some calm beautiful days as well as our first sea adventure where poor Simon got seasick and needed the brown bucket (Anne and Victoria knows the reference). I think the photos will tell the story better than I can. Just to say, I was not a happy camper with the way the water was acting even though it was still a lovely sunny day. One major factor in our trip on the ICW is the current. On a normal day we travel about 7 miles/hour, however when the current is with us and rolling our speed has increased to 11.5 mph over the ground. This current also affects how we anchor so there is another burden on Bill to make sure we are safe and sound when the tide goes in as well as when it goes out. I just sit around and worry!
Another slight concern is the shallow water throughout the ICW and we have been very careful not to go aground. However, one morning Bill decided to take a "short cut" and all of a sudden I saw another sailboat very far from where we were and I realized something was amiss. The short cut was short on water and Bill, amazing sailor that he be, did get us out of there in time and we never touched bottom. He promised never to do that again (can we believe him?)l.
We stopped at a marina in Jekyll Island and the people there were very friendly. We were able to get a car and do grocery shopping, Simon had a long walk and we were included in a pot luck picnic dinner. We also met up with boats that we had passed or they had passed us , but at a marina we could actually talk to the people on board, and there is a good chance we will see them again. Lots of advice on how to do this trip and how, where and when to go to the Bahamas.
After passing by mega million dollar houses in the Jacksonville area we arrived at St. Augustine yesterday and pulled into a marina. As we left the harbor for St. Augustine Bill noticed that a part of the salt water pump that cooled the engine had fallen off after being in use for 35 years (and to my surprise there was no spare one aboard)_. Fortunately, we only had to go about12 miles (about 2 hours) and he was able to do his magic so we didn't have to call for help. It meant, though, shutting down the motor every 15 minutes to put some grease in the thingy (Anne and Victoria again knows this reference), We made it through the St. Augustine bridge and to our slip without difficulty. But then, where to get the part. After several phone calls it turned out that the part was in Jacksonville. I persuaded Bill to stay 2 nights in St. Augustine since we had to rent a car, drive to get the part and then he had to install it and I wanted to see something of this fabulous city! Happy ending all around. He got the part, installed it and we toured the city today.
In addition, as I was walking Simon yesterday I saw a boat coming in that looked just like ours without sails or masts. It pulled in to a slip right near us and it turns out it was the same hull as ours, built the same year and the owners were delightful. We also met a young man (21) who was traveling by himself on a boat called "Incommunicado". We have seen him several times (including the dock at Jekyll Island) but have not spoke to him. He came on board and told us that he is headed to Ft. Meyers and travels about 11 hours a day on a 30' boat that has very little protection from the weather. I actually took a photo of him when we were traveling through the rough weather.
So many stories, so many different ages and lifestyle decisions with the one constant of being on the water.
But tomorrow is another day, up at dawn and on our way. If all goes well we should be in Vero Beach, our first destination, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. The weather is looking just fine all week and it has finally warmed up a little. I am really looking forward to getting settled for, at least, a little while.