Home Again

The weather forecast for today would lead one to believe that the world was ending soon. Of course that was nonsense. We had a calm night at Cedar Creek and an uneventful passage to Fairfield Harbour to the dock behind our house. The wind did come up after we arrived but that was of no consequence and we are home from a 5 month winter cruise. A few closing pictures: The first is a shot of our house from the bow of the boat;The second and third are representative of the hundreds maybe thousands of the Osprey nests on the Intercoastal. If you look closely there are babies in the nest. No one bothers these nests, if they cover the marker the Coast Guard adds another marker. In the tradition, this is the last blog posting until the beginning of the next cruise which is planned to be back to Marathon. Remember the rule: " Boat plans are written in sand at low tide". Nothing happens until it happens.

Cedar Creek tonight, home tomorrow

A long day, 99 miles. We are 18 miles from home; should be home by 9:30 AM. Some final pictures of Osprey tomorrow.

Wrightsville Beach Tonight

We are anchored at Wrightsville Beach tonight. The achorage is shown in the picture. Its a large anchorage well protected from wind but not from the inconsiderate jerks who tear through an anchorage at high speed and wake. We have just about decided we will not move on weekends; the powerboat population is not worth dealing with. The percentage of the power boating population that is both ignorant and inconsiderate is amazing.

Barefoot Landing

We are at Barefoot Landing in N Myrtle Beach. Didn't go far today but we always stop at Barefoot landing. Tomorrow we plan to anchor in Wrigthsville Beach. If the weather goes not turn too bad we expect to be home monday afternoon.

One of the exhibits at Barefoot Landing is a tiger support organization The first picture is a kitten, the next two merely demonstrate that large cats are like house cats. They eat and sleep.

Wacca Wachee Marina

We got to Wacca Wachee Marina, about 30 miles south of Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach. Its cold and windy. Its not supposed to be like this in April. On to Barefoot Landing tomorrow.

Isle of Palms Tonight

We are at Isle of Palms Marina about 15 miles north of Charleston Harbor. We will leave early and anchor someplace in Waccamaw River, moving on to Myrtle Beach the next day. The picture is Fort Sumter taken as we crossed Charleston Harbor.

Another two days in Beaufort

As it does with distressing frequency the weather turned bad again. This morning was a marginal call on whether we could leave but we decided to stay another day. Turned out to be a good thing since Dixie's ear was not improving and we needed to make another trip to urgent care where a much stronger antibiotic ear drop and a pill were ordered. If price is an indication of effectiveness then the six times more expensive ear drops should show some results. We plan on stopping at the Isle of Palms north of Charleston tomorrow. Note the word "plan".

A stop at Beaufort,SC

After a very involved departure from Isle of Hope Marina (we were inside the face dock with a boat behind us and wind and tide pushing us back; finally the very accomadating ower behind us got underway so we could get out) we moved on to Beaufort for the night at the Downtown Marina. Normally we would anchor here but the wind is higher than may be confortable. We are not sure what is happening this year; normally there is sure to be a continuous line of boats going north, We have not seen a half dozen moving north in 600 miles. All the sailboats are going south. We have not seen ONE large power cruiser moving north or south since leaving Marathon. There are a number of trawlers, which seems to be the current preferred style of boat. The boating world is not the same as it has been. On to Isle of Palms about 20 miles north of Charleston tomorrow.

Unplanned stop at Isle of Hope

Dixie woke up this morning with intense pain in her left ear. We obviously had to find a doctor today since we would never find one on Easter Sunday. The nearest marina near a city was The Isle of Hope Marina in Savannah. We got in early, found a Doc in a Box and treatment for an ear infection. Prescription ear drops for 7 days should solve the problem. The plan is Beaufort, SC tomorrow and since the weather forecast for Monday is terrible we will stay there two nights. Obviously this will slow our forward progress. Boat plans are written in sand at low tide.

Here we are at Walburg Creek

We went outside today from St Mary River. Covered about 80 outside miles instead of over a hundred inside on the ICW to Walburg Creek in St Catherines Sound. Doing this allows us to avoid the worst spots on the Georgia ICW ( I will not go into why the Corps of Engineers is always the most incompetent Federal Agency). Weather was good until the last few hours when a cold front came in early with gale force winds as we approached Walburg Creek. Under those circumstances this is the right anchorage; very protected. We had planned on going outside again to Beaufort, but that won't happen this trip. We will get to Beaufort tomorrow on the inside. The weather continues to be erratic at best. The weather forecaster "profession" is the only one in which failure is expected and the paycheck keeps coming. On we go.

Fernandina Beach

Another high milage day,86 miles. Went through Nassau Sound at low spring tide and bounced off the bottom three times. First time it has happened on this boat. Anchored for the night with the intention of going outside to St Catherines Sound. Stay tuned.

Position Report:Palm Coast Marina

Moved today after the blow. Good day. Spending the night at Palm Coast Marina. Off tomorrow with a long day planned. Hope to get to Fernandina Beach and then outside the next day. We'll see.

A Trip to the Space Center

Having been blown into Titusville we went to the Space Center for the first time in a least 12 years. This day was even better than the first one. Some pictures: (1) The NASA logo which thousands use as a photo op (2) The spacecraft assembly building. This is literally the largest building in the world but by optical illusion it does not appear that way. The flag is 300 feet high. 3) The space pad has Atlantis being prepared for the next shuttle firing. (4) An unsual sighting of the crawler that moves the rockets and shuttles; it usually moves at night. It weighs 6 million pounds and moves at .5 mph. There is even more to see here; everyone coming to FL should visit. The Center is only 31 miles from Orlando

Tittusville Today

We are in Titusville, maybe for several days as the latest cold front comes through with gale force winds. Tomorrow the plan is to revisit (after 12 years) the Space Center visitors center. If the forecast stays lousy we will not leave here until Wednesday. Cold fronts are not supposed to come this far south this time of year. So much for global warming.

Another Best Restaurant

Our other favorite restaurant is Bobby's on the beach. Best hamburgers in the city. Underway tomorrow.

Enroute to and at Vero Beach

We were concerned when we got underway that the cats would be disturbed. The last two pictures show no stress. The first picture is the entrance to the best pizza in Florida, and the second is a wildlife shot of an Osprey nest complete with chicks; look closely. We plan on moving on on Sunday.

Vero Beach Position report

After a relatively short day we are tied up at the Vero Beach City Marina. In three days we covered 25% of the distance home but we will stay here at least 2 days and if the weather forecast is correct maybe longer. This is one of our favorite stops so if weather keeps us here its not a problem. Some pictures soon.

Palm Beach, another 100 mile day

After 12 hours, 100 miles, and dozens of bridges we are anchored in Lake Worth in Palm Beach. On to Vero Beach tomorrow. A shorter day.