Not all is Fun At Sea

Sometime boating can be a drag (tow). The top picture was taken this morning as this sailboat was towed with mechanical problems. The bottom picture was taken yesterday afternoon as this older but well kept boat was towed in with engine problems. As I watched this one towed in I was surprised to find the mechanic with full set of tools waiting to go on board. I joked with him that they must have offered him a lot of money, he just smiled and said they don't yet know what this will cost! There was another drama on the radio yesterday afternoon. A power boat drifted aground at the mouth of one of the Sounds; for a half hour we listened to him plead with the Coast Guard for help as high seas swamped his boat every minute or so. We did not hear the end of the story as the boater said "If someone does not help me I won't be here much longer". The Coast Guard was more interested in completing their form than in actually helping him.

We are here in St Simons today as the front comes through. Hope to move on tomorrow.

Nice Kitties

The kitties are part of the crew, they are with us whenever we are on the boat. Sampson (the grey one), and Delilah (white and grey) , brother and sister litter mates, are 16 years old. Sam will always be the one to strike a majestic pose while Delilah is always a lady at liesure.

Waccamaw River, A Few Pictures

The Waccamaw River, a part of the ICW between Myrtle Beach and Georgetown running for about 30 miles, is the most beautiful part of the ICW. From the upper left, Osprey love to build their nests high in dead trees or top right, on top of navigation markes. These are not tempory nests, the Osprey return to them year after year. In the spring they will all be occupied with babies, hundreds of them. The bottom picture is a shot of the waterway as it essentially is for 30 miles.

St Simons Is, November 29, 2008

We had long but successful day yesterday. We left Beaufort early as usual and moved right along . The tides were generally heplful until we got to Hell's Gate past Isle of Hope at low tide. All the current advice is don't do that but we have gone through at low tide successfully a number of times. I won't say it was no problem but we got through with about 8 inches under the keel. We anchored just before dark in Walburg Creek after our longest distance day, 85 miles. Rained all night but so what.

Off to St Simons Is, this morning. The challenge was to get to Little Mud River before the tide dropped too much. This 5 mile stretch is the worst in the ICW. At low tide there are places with less than three feet of water. Made it at about 2/3 high tide so no problem. We intended to stay in St Simons one night but the current forecast is, in a word, miserable so we may stay another day. Stay tuned.

Beaufort, SC November 27, 2008

Things seldom work out as planned. We stayed an extra day in Charleston but it was strictly a sick day. Chet's cold is not getting any better. We left for Beaufort this morning after Chet decided we were not going to further delay. There were interesting events as we headed south. A two masted sailboat sank in Charleston Harbor while being towed by a good samaritan. Another boat lost it's transmission and had to be towed into Charleston. As we approached Beaufort it was revealed that the Sisters Bridge is mechanically damaged and normally only opens twice a day, but today only once. Doesn't matter to us since we can go under it. A number of sailboats do hate this. Enough for now. Further south tomorrow.

Charlston, November 25, 2008

We started early and got to Ashley Marina by 3 o'clock. The trip was a little unnerving since there were places,many places, that had very little water. If Obama wants to create jobs then get on with repairing the ICW.Old Chet has a very bad cold but we are moving on. I'll add some pictures when I feel better. Next year maybe. Tomorrow the target is Skull Creek Marina in Hilton Head.

A slow and cold start. November 20, 2008

I have been slow to get started with the blog this year. The weather has been, in a word, awful, We were delayed for five days by high winds, and having gotten underway we have had short days moving from marina to marina dealing with very cold days and nights. We are now at Georgetown Landing in Georgetown,SC, awaiting what is forecasted to be near gale force winds and rain tonight and tomorrow.

To summarize:

Thursday, November 20 (4 days behind already) Underway to anchor in Cedar Creek all of 20 miles from home. Night was not bad.

Friday, November 21. Thirty knot winds forecasted so made our way to Casper's Marine in Swansboro, all of 40 miles. The good news here was we found the cheapest diesel fuel on the waterway; 2.35/gal plus 6% sales tax. Since we did not know what Saturday would bring Dixie bought us a birthday dinner. Old Chet is 71.

Saturday, November 22 (my real birthday). Underway for ? Turned out we made it to a nice marina in Carolina Beach, 65 miles. Another cold night.

Sunday, November 23. To Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach. Sixty miles this time. The weather forecast now called for near gale force winds Monday night and heavy rain. No anchoring Monday night.

Monday, November 24. So off to Georgetown all of 50 miles. The excitement today was a collision with a log floating in the river. It made a lot of noise bouncing off the hull but we don't think any harm was done. A word about daily travel miles. Normally we travel 75 to 80 miles a day. Up to a hundred in the spring with more daylight. These short days don't get us very far. The current forcast is for high winds tomorrow and tomorrow night. If its that way in the morning, another day in Georgetown.

I will try to be better at keeping up the blog. Some pictures later.