Just Ducky: November 2012

The Adventure Continues

Shrimper

Believe me, the adventures sure do continue! As I sit here in Florida, it’s hard for me to believe we got through South Carolina and Georgia without a scratch. We had a few low water spots coming out of Wrightsville Beach, but not where we expected. The Cape Fear River was nothing to fear this time. The winds and waters were calm, maybe too calm as we left a little too early to get the benefit of the outgoing tide to push us along. (Again, sailors are never content!) We got some advice from our marina (local knowledge is the way to go!) on how to navigate Lockwood’s Foley and Shallotte Inlet and as a result we had no problems. It was tense going through the Rock Pile before Myrtle Beach but worth it as we opened up to the beautiful Myrtle Beach area. It is suppose to have over 100 golf courses. They also have gambling ships now that go in and out of one inlet and don’t go too far down the ICW.

As we sat in an anchorage in Prince Creek, SC we reviewed our course for the next day. We really had to be creative as to how we were going to get through the low water around McClellanville as we had to approach at low tide. After all of our planning and heartburn, we got up the next day to calm waters and the warmest day we had for a while and a full moon. Mat suggested we go outside into the ocean instead of going down the ICW. Great idea, but we had to travel overnight to get to an inlet we would enter in the daylight. That meant going from our anchorage in SC to Savannah, through the night, in the dark, just us and all the warm clothes I could find. My layers included wind pants, fleece pants, corduroy pants, long underwear and …you know as well as my winter coat, hoodie sweatshirt, long underwear shirt and …you know. Not to forget winter hat and gloves and hand warmers. Those who know me well know sailing at night is not on the top of my list unless the list is of things I never want to do. So 200 miles and 30 hours later we arrived at the marina in Savannah. Not a moment too soon for me! All in all it was okay for most of the time. The moon kept us in some light for most of the night, however not all. It was more than just a little bit spooky. We also tried to see if we had radio contact and it appeared that we didn’t. This was the scariest for me so we moved closer to shore to maintain radio contact. Yoga breath, yoga breath…

We had a great stay with Kathy and Mike Kahn in Skidaway, GA. They were great hosts and taught us a new card game, 5 crowns. Mike was sorry to see Mat win the first game but the Kahns got the trophy back on the next game! Thanks again for your hospitality and wonderful bed. Here is where we sat out hurricane Sandy but Savannah didn’t get anything. As you all know, the brunt of the storm hit NY and NJ. Our hearts and prayers still go out to all, some still without power and other without homes. You can donate $10.00 to the Red Cross at 90999 on your cell.

It seems the farther south we get, the cooler it is. Being on the water early means we leave when it is sometimes still in the 40’s. Burr! It is so unexpected since we did the last trip almost every day in shorts. Our next big stop was St Simons Island, GA where my best friend Cynnie and her sister Ursie live and opened their home up to us. We all grew up together and always have a great time when we can get together. Sue at Brewers Marina in Mystic has a cousin on the island so we stopped in to say hi. He has a great little restaurant there. Daylight savings time ends and we now can leave earlier but have to be settled at night by 5 or so. So many details to keep track of…

We went out into the ocean again from St Simons Sound to the St Mary’s River but this time did it all in daylight. We saw tons of dolphin and lots of shrimp boats. We entered Florida as we came in through St. Mary’s River. We spent a few days in St Augustine, one of our favorite ports. The city is so steeped in history and is beautiful as well. A trip out to San Sebastian winery for wine and port was in order. Then we stopped at the Whetstone chocolate factory. Sipping port wine and eating dark chocolate; that’s relaxation!

Florida waters are much less shallow than Georgia and the Carolinas. What Florida considers shallow, the Carolinas and Georgia would consider deep. So someone please tell me why I waited to get to Florida to go aground?? I saw I was losing water under the boat so I slowed down, then bumped, and then stopped. Not a great feeling. Mat was able to quickly maneuver the boat away from the shoal and we were free. He is definitely my hero!

We are now in Titusville, FL. It seems we had no mishaps at sea, but put us into port and we are a disaster. As we docked here, Mat tripped on a line on deck and took a flying leap, gratefully not off the bow. But he did have to nurse a swollen knee for a while. Today I was cleaning and fell into an open storage hatch in the floor. Miss grace all the way! And it’s probably okay to call me stupid. So the ice pack is now mine for the day as I either broke or badly bruised 2 toes. We will leave the boat here as we fly home for the holidays. We’ll be home on 11/16 and will return to Florida on 12/30. Our adventures will continue shortly after that.

Hopefully we’ll get to see a lot of you while we are home. We wish you all a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!