The Space Coast

Most of Florida's 1200 miles of coast is divided up into semi-official 'Coasts' for some reason. The most NE section is called First Coast and as you travel south the next section is the Space Coast, obviously because of the large impact that NASA facilities have here. So after departing Marineland this past Friday we have transitioned to the Space Coast.

 

On Friday, to catch favorable tidal currents, we waited until after 10 am to depart which gave us time to walk the dogs for a final time on the nature trail and to get Spray's holding tank pumped out. In spite of gray skies and moderate N winds we had easy traveling driving from the 'downstairs' helm. It was a longish 40 mile run down past Daytona Beach, ending at the Rockhouse Creek anchorage near Ponce de Leon inlet. We dropped anchor at about 5 pm and just had time to dinghy the dogs to a nearby small beach.

 

Early Saturday morning we visited that same beach for the same purpose and were surprised to find that at least 75 cannonball jellyfish had washed up there overnight. Breakfast anyone?

Saturday was warmer and sunnier so most travel was done on the flying bridge, where there is less engine noise so Katie much prefers it. This run was 32 miles and took us through Mosquito Lagoon, then through Haulover Canal and into the Indian River, which is very broad and shallow, with essentially no tides or tidal currents. Kind of nice not to worry about timing travel with concern about 'uphill or downhill' issues.

 

Saturday's goal was Titusville, on the mainland side of the river. The weather prediction for Sunday was not good: strong winds and thunderstorms, so we pulled into a slip at Titusville Municipal Marina and paid for 2 nights. Back to hot showers and life on the plug. While Sunday's weather looked threatening at times we actually saw little wind or rain, and no thunder. Here's what we did see:

Several manatees came into the marina to drink fresh rainwater that ran off the roof drains. Very mellow creatures. Many of the ones we saw had visible scars from boat propellers, which is why sections of the ICW down here have posted restrictions on boat speed. Riggs was very excited about seeing the manatees while Katie didn't care. However both dogs liked the nice dog park adjacent to the marina. We also walked around the town a bit and bought a few groceries.

 

Today we had a short run of 18 miles to Cocoa village, also on the mainland side of the Indian River. We left Titusville at 1030 and had an easy cruise, dropping anchor just south of a bridge where we can dinghy in to a nice park. Cocoa has a quaint shopping district that was well populated with tourists (we're not far from Orlando). The 4 of us had fun this afternoon chasing a wild goose through unique Travis Hardware store. It's comfortable at anchor here tonight.

 

Upcoming travel has another short run to Melbourne, then a run to Vero Beach, where we will stay for a few days in their nice mooring field. By then we'll be half way down this long state.

 

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Marineland

Marineland is several things:

 

- a very small town about 15 miles south of St. Augustine, FLA.

 

- a marine oriented theme park for tourists. In fact one of the oldest theme parks in FLA. They specialize in dolphin shows and have a celebrity dolphin that is 60 years old.

 

- home of Marineland Marina, where we have been residing since we arrived last Wednesday. Life on the plug with copious electricity and real showers.

- very nature oriented, with nature trails, bike trails along rte A1A, and the beach just a short walk away.

- home to all sorts of critters (can you ID them?) :

- home of U of FLA Whitney Center for Marine Research.

 

That's some of what's here. Now for what isn't here : no stores, no restaurants, no bars. We rented a car for our first 2 days here. Enterprise picked us up even though we are 20 miles from their office. We then drove to grocery and bar and restaurant about 4 miles from here, also back to St. Augustine for some last minute Christmas shopping and shipping, and to a bike store where we bought Sheila's present. We now have two aboard and can run errands together. The grocery store is a nice half hour ride (no hills!).

 

The dogs love the beach and nature trails. We 4 have done a couple of trips in the dinghy to explore a bit. We 2 have done some bike rides, including back to the nearest bar/restaurant. So its all good with just one small problem - THE HEAT! The last 3 days have hit over 80, with strong sun and high humidity. I see why most local cruising boats have AC. We have a fan which helps some but mid-day exertion is largely limited to 12 oz. curls.

 

The heat wave ends later tonight, and we'll be back to temps in the 60's which is more normal for December. It'll be a relief.

 

Tomorrow there is a farmers market right here at the marina, which we are excited about. Wednesday is of course Christmas which will be a quiet day for us. Thursday we hope to take a guided kayak tour. So we'll probably resume southward travel on Friday, well rested from our stay at Marineland.

 

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And now into Florida

We may have entered Florida when we stayed for 2 nights (Thursday and Friday) at St. Marys GA, since we anchored in the St. Marys River which forms the boundary between the 2 states. Our anchor must have been close to the state line.

 

St. Marys is a great town. Fairly small but with a nice assortment of restaurants and bars, and a great waterfront park. Our weather there was spectacular. One reason we stayed 2 nights was so we could hit the farmers market on Saturday morning, and we were glad we did. One thing we need constant supplies of is fresh produce.

 

After the farmers market we pulled anchor and made the 'arduous' 8 mile cruise to Fernandina Beach FLA, where we rented a mooring ball for Saturday night from the marina there. The good news is that the mooring rental included shower privileges, which we made quick use of. The less-good news is that the weather was deteriorating so we only had a cursory exploration of the shopping district before a front came through with rain and wind. This drove us back aboard Spray for a night of swinging at the mooring. Hopefully we'll have time for a longer stay on our way back north, maybe to see this pelican.

Sunday morning was calm and the tides prompted us to leave early for a fairly short 16 mile run down to anchor in the Fort George River, right in front of the Kingsley Plantation, which is a unique self-guided national park not far from Jacksonville. We had plenty of time to walk the dogs all around the park while we read informational signs. Kingsley made his money in the slave trade, so much of the history told was of that, both under Spanish rule and after Florida became a US territory (guess which was worse). It was very well presented but difficult stuff to think about. Later in the afternoon Sheila took a guided tour of the plantation house (at left below), which was modest as those go.

On Monday we again got an early start and made an easy 38 mile run south to St. Augustine, stopping at Inlet Marina to buy 90 gallons of diesel @ $3.85. Probably the last sub $4 price we'll see for quite awhile. Then on to pick up a rented mooring from St. Augustine Municipal Marina, which is reserved for 2 nights. It's a fairly long dinghy ride from the mooring to the marina dock but conditions have been calm and the weather good.

 

Monday afternoon we had time to explore the old town area a bit and walk by the old Spanish fort. Today (Tuesday) we started with a walk across the 'Bridge of Lions'

and then to the St. Augustine Lighthouse.

Afterwards we returned the pooches to Spray and headed to have lunch at Sheila's newest favorite restaurant. We returned to a beautiful late afternoon in the mooring field.

Tomorrow we leave early for a 16 mile trip down to Marineland Marina, where we have reserved a slip for at least a week. It's in a quiet area right near the beach and should have good bicycling, plus it has great rates! We'll kick back there while the world goes nuts over the holiday.

 

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3 Things

Three quick items:

 

One : Any guess as to what this is used for? It's near St. Marys GA, owned by the US Navy and must use a lot of electric current. There was a patrol boat making sure we didn't get too close.

 

Two : How do we find places to stop, either at a marina or at anchor? There are several published travel guides for use by cruisers, but we rely almost exclusively on a high-tech cruising guide produced by friends and fellow Castiners Jeff and Karen Siegel.

ActiveCaptain is Internet based and crowd sourced. If you have a computer you can log on and view charts with markers for marinas, anchorages, boatyards, bridge info, hazards such as obstructions or shoaling, and more. Almost all of the data input, including reviews and ratings, comes from other cruisers, and is very up to date. I can rate an anchorage and describe how well the anchor held, exposure to winds, scenery, etc. and other cruisers can then immediately read my comments.

We actually access the ActiveCaptain database as it is embedded into many chartplotter packages. So when I'm navigating with a chartplotter app on my iPad, the ActiveCaptain markers are right there. There might be a hazard flag up ahead so I'll click on that and read details on the degree of shoaling and recommended actions (such as 'stay to the green side here') input by other cruisers. Since its embedded into the chartplotter app I don't even need a live Internet connection as we travel. It's all very cool and extremely helpful.

If you want to do some armchair cruising you can join ActiveCaptain at activecaptain.com. Registering is free, then you can look ahead at our planned route and see the hazards, anchorages, etc. we will encounter. Reading boaters' comments is always interesting, well at least to me.

 

Three : Seasons Greetings from St. Marys GA. Shown below are the Flintstones decked out for the holiday, then a somewhat cryptic display. Got it figured out?

 

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Georgia Ports of Call

For many ICW travelers the Georgia section has the greatest challenges and the greatest rewards.

On the one hand, maintenance of the ICW here is a big challenge that often is not fulfilled, so there are many shoal sections. Also, the tides and resulting currents are significant, and this is mostly a very rural area, so marinas and other support facilities are scarce.

On the other hand, those negatives can be pluses. The remoteness yields great natural beauty, in both the marshy landscape and abundant wildlife. The large tides help with the shoaling issues if you can time your travel with rising and high tide

We had planned on 2 nights on the Savannah riverfront, but Saturday morning, after a night where Sheila was awakened every half hour by ship and tugboat traffic (I slept through most of it), and being a bit saturated with the Christmas celebration underway there, we both agreed to head back to the ICW and continue southwards. Here's a bit of the riverside show in Savannah.

After 35 miles of meandering we turned up Kilkenny Creek and anchored 2 miles off the ICW at Kilkenny Creek landing, chosen because we could land at a restaurant's dock to drain the dogs.

It was a very warm day (GA weather has been good to us) and the no-see-ums were out, requiring us to close Spray's windows, so cooking supper aboard was not desirable. Surprisingly to me, the restaurant, Marker 107 (nearest ICW marker), was open for supper so we dinghied in and had a great meal. Nice that such a good restaurant can make it in the middle of nowhere.

Sunday we were back on the ICW and making a 30 mile run to anchor off Sapelo Island, which has an interesting history and a U of GA marine research facility. We walked from their ferry dock to the research facility, through some gorgeous woods, then continued on a nature path to the Atlantic beach, for a 6 mile round trip walk. Very enjoyable but all 4 of us were beat after that.

[Side note about anchoring in these creeks : They have tidal currents of 1 - 2 knots that reverse every 6 hours. You look for a location that is not too deep - about 10 ft at low tide is good which means 18 ft at high tide. I would put out 100 ft of anchor chain for that and the current will keep Spray lined up with the creek until the tide reversal swings her around the other way. Somehow the anchor pivots around and still holds.]

Monday we awoke to fog so didn't pull anchor until 10 am. We continued south about 25 miles to tie up at Jekyll Harbor Marina, on civilized Jekyll Island. Back to hot showers, WIFI, laundry, full water tank and empty holding tank. They have a great network of bike paths which we explored on foot with the dogs and then later on borrowed bicycles. A hundred years ago Jekyll was a retreat for the 0.01% of the day, and their 'cottages' are still there.

Tuesday we waited for the tide to rise some, then at 11 am we continued on a short 18 nm run to anchor off of Cumberland Island. These runs have a cycle to them. We head towards an inlet against the current since the tide is rising (traveling on a rising ride is preferred). At the inlet we often have to push out nearly into the open ocean to get around shoal areas, and the conditions can get bouncy. Eventually we turn to starboard and head away from the inlet, up a different river, with the current now behind us. After we pass behind a large island (Sapelo, St. Simons, Jekyll, Cumberland) the cycle repeats at the next inlet.

We arrived at Cumberland Island's Plum Orchard anchorage, named after the old estate with an impressive mansion on shore here. Most of Cumberland Island is National Seashore, run by the National Park Service. They have a dock here so we landed the dogs and explored around the mansion Tuesday afternoon.

[Continued sidebar about anchoring in tidal creeks : Its all good until the wind blows, adding another force to that of the water current. We are anchored in a bend of the Brickhill River where the river runs north-south, and now have strongish N winds. When the tidal current runs north to south and aligns with the wind, then Spray's bow points north and its all good. Later on when the current runs south to north then the opposing forces on Spray make her swing at anchor, often sitting 90 degrees to the current and swinging close to one bank of the river. Spray will even swing such that she drifts over the anchor chain and you hear it rubbing against her hull. Its a bit disconcerting.]

[Related sidebar : At about 4 am this morning (Wednesday) I suddenly awoke (not sure why) and looked out the front window to see the 40' yacht that had been anchored 200 yards upriver from us right on our bow. After all the swinging we had done earlier I assumed that our anchor was dragging so I fired up Spray's diesel and tried to back away from the approaching boat, to no avail. It turns out that it was the other boat that had its anchor dragging and they just slightly grazed us (no damage) as they slid by. They quickly got their anchor redeployed and spent the rest of the night 200 yards downstream from us. At first light the owners dinghied over with contact and insurance info, which wasn't needed but still very upright of them. The captain said that after they slid past Spray he pulled on his anchor line and found no resistance. When he hauled it up he found its chain wrapped around it 3 times yielding a ball that would not dig in. They are headed to Marathon for the winter and we hope to see them there. You bump into the nicest people when cruising.]

Today (Wednesday) we took a wonderful hike across the island, which is 2.5 miles wide here, to the Atlantic beach. It was windy and cool on the beach, with ugly surf, but we let the dogs run and chase ball/frisbee and had a picnic lunch that included a pound or so of blown sand. The best part was the walk itself, through forests of live oak and palmettos. We saw a wild (feral) hog and also one of these :

 

Know what that is?

We've also had a couple of close encounters with some of the wild horses on the island, and Riggs spotted an opossum. Here is Sheila trying to text message a horse.

 

After 2 nights here, tomorrow we will make a quick 13 mile run to our last GA port of call, the town of St. Mary's, right on the FLA border. That town might be worth a 2 night stay as well.

One final note : many of the photos in this posting, and throughout the blog, were taken by Sheila on her iPhone. It's great that she always has that available, and she takes some good pictures with it.

 

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Into Georgia

We spent 2 nights at beautiful Beaufort SC, which so far wins our award for nicest waterfront park, with dog friendly landscaping and large swinging benches. On Wednesday we walked the neighborhoods with elegant historic homes and had lunch at Nippys where we ate at a picnic table so the dogs could hang with us. Lots of ball and frisbee play for the dogs too. For Wednesday evening Sheila found us a great bar to visit.

 

Thursday we had a leisurely morning in Beaufort as we waited for the tidal current to change in a favorable direction. It was 11 am when we pulled anchor, motored down the Beaufort River and rode the ebbing tide (mostly) for 29 miles through more of the SC low country, while sunning on the flying bridge. We passed ritzy Hilton Head Island and finally stopped at the south end of Daufuskie Island. There is an ultra funky bar/restaurant there called Marshside Mama's, and a county dock with 3 hour limit for tie up.

 

Marshside Mama's is the kind of place you can bring your dog to and let them run off the leash, at least if your dogs aren't the garbage hounds that ours are. While we had a drink or 2 and played 'cornhole', Riggs found his way around back to their garbage area and began feasting while we called for him. Back on the leash for Riggs. A little later we noticed Katie was missing. We had closed the outer gate to the garbage area but she wandered into the restaurant, through the kitchen, and sure enough she found the garbage. If only we could direct their smarts to something productive.

 

We asked if anyone would mind if we stayed at the county dock overnight and were assured its OK so that allowed us to stay for supper. Fried grouper over cheese grits for me and grilled mahi over pasta for Sheila. If you ignore the grunge (easy for me) the food was great.

 

Today we made a short 12 mile run to, and up, the Savannah River into Savannah GA. We are at the municipal dock right below busy River Street. Our timing is such that we are going to get the Christmas Spirit, whether we like it or not. Today and tomorrow Savannah holds its 'Christmas on the River' celebration and as we tied up workers were setting up a stage and sound system right next to us. So far we've heard recorded jazzy Christmas music (Vince Guarini), a live barbershop quartet, a mixed choral group, and right now they are showing the holiday classic 'Elf'. Later tonight there will be fireworks, and a host of other entertainment tomorrow, including the Christmas Parade! Also lots of vendor booths set up with food and gift items.

 

It's all almost enough to distract us from the real show here, which is the Savannah River shipping activity. Averaging maybe 1 per hour, humongous ships pass by about 100 feet away, headed upriver or out to sea. The ships move slowly enough such that their wakes are no big deal. The tugboats and small ferry boat are worse.

Oh, have I mentioned the weather here? Last few days have hit the 70's and today hit 80. Tee shirts and shorts for me and a pretty summer dress for Sheila. Very different weather than what we read about for mid America and warmer than normal for here at this time of year.

 

Current plans are to stay 2 nights here, then back to the ICW to wind southwards through coastal GA.

 

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Economic indicator?

That little beauty above is a car carrier heading down the Cooper River in Charleston on Monday. Those purpose-built vessels hold about 5,000 vehicles, in this case BMW SUV's.

I'm not sure if the following tidbit of info is an important economic indicator, but maybe it is. 4 years ago I stayed a week at the Charleston Maritime Center and immediately south of the marina these behemoths came in daily and belched out imported BMW's, including MINI's, which were then transported to the US market. This year the dock to the south is used for cruise ships, but the dock immediately north of the marina has these same behemoths coming and going, but now they are gobbling up South Carolina built BMW SUV's for export (possibly to other US ports).

Coincidentally, the NY Times recently published this article about BMW's South Carolina operation.

Right now, the greater Charleston area is growing fast, and its economy seems healthy to me.

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