Monday, July 5th 2010

HOORAY, HOORAY, WE ARE UNDER WAY!!!!!! Left Green Cove Springs about 8:30 am, and headed up the St. John River. Took a little getting used to steering this much bigger and heavier vessel. It was a beautiful day, with just a little bit of a breeze. We had a few bridges we had to have opened, but it was easy as pie. Jacksonville, FL looks a lot like Portland, OR. Built on a river, with lots of bridges spanning across the city. All systems seem to be working well, so we decided to test out the new anchor. We pulled into an adjacent river inlet to the St. John, and dropped the new Manson anchor. Dug in very well in about 15 feet of water. One thing about the East coast, they don’t have the deep water we have in the NW. We were hot and sweaty, and needed to cool down, so we got out the old solar water shower. We filled it with cool water from the tank and set it up on the fore deck. Did it ever feel good!! Then we tried to fire up the BBQ, so we could grill some steaks, but it would not stay lit, so ended up frying them on the stove. Tasted great! We had a mostly peaceful night, with a little adjustment to having the generator going to cool us with the AC. All in all, a very good first day!!

Tuesday, July 6th 2010

Up and at ‘em early this morning. Hauled up the anchor and headed into the Intacoastal Waterway (ICW). I thought there would be a big sign saying “You are now entering the ICW”, but there was none to be seen. Just looked like another branch of the St. John. That is, until we passed under the first bridge! From that point on it looked like we had entered the savannah grasslands of Africa. Miles and miles of marshy grassland, dotted with a few trees, and no human habitation in sight. The waterway itself is very narrow and shallow, so you must follow the channel markers very carefully. It reminds me of the Swinomish Slough in Washington. We did not see another boat all day, until we got close to Fernandina, FL, our second stop. This is the same town that Dave and I visited on Mother’s Day. We had hoped to meet up with some of the people that Dave used to work with there, from Rayonier, but no one was available!! Instead, we had dinner at Pablo’s, followed by ice cream down the street, then sat on a bench and watched the people go by, and the sun go down. By accident, Dave and I stumbled upon a Jazz bar, where every Tuesday night, musicians from all over get together and jam. Far out!!! We spent the next few hours listening to some great jazz, including some talented vocalists. Dave almost went down and got his pocket trumpet from the boat. We definitely will plan to be in Fernandina on a Tuesday night, when we come back South in the fall. It was so much fun!!

Wednesday July 7th 2010

Spent another day in the African savannah. We crossed into Georgia, although you would never know it. Not even a “Welcome to Georgia” sign. The scenery still looks the same. Quiet, serene and peaceful. Saw just a few other small boats. As we got close to our stop for the night, we saw a pod of about 100 dolphins in one of the larger bodies of water. It was fun to see they swim and frolic. There was even a sightseeing boat with tourists, out to see them. We cruised on in to Jekyll Island Marina, and on the second attempt, I got the boat into the dock. Not too bad with a new boat and a cross wind. While we refueled, I took a visual look around, and saw the word POOL!! After we got the boat settled for the night, we went and took full advantage of the pool. The dock attendant told us the pool was too cold for most people, so we knew it would be perfect for us!! And it was! We both jumped straight in with no hesitation. We spent the next hour in the pool, talking with another couple from Georgia. Then we took a cold shower and had dinner on the porch of the restaurant overlooking the pool. There were squirrels climbing in and out of the huge old oak trees surrounding the pool. We even saw a raccoon make his way across the grounds and climb up into an old oak, right to restaurant level, so he could see what food might be available. The sunset was gorgeous! A big old orangish-red ball sinking slowly through the majestic oaks and in to the water. We were told that the temperature had been in the high 90’s, but that tomorrow the temps were to be in the low 100’s. Heaven help us!!!

Thursday July 8th 2010

Up early and on our way, into Savannah land. All of Georgia seems to look the same. We got to a part of the ICW that needed to be crossed at high tide. We were there a little early, so we decided to anchor off the channel and take a siesta. We were there about 2 and a half hours, and then started through the sticky channel. We were in the middle of nowhere, and it was getting late, so we motored off into an adjacent creek, New Tea Kettle Creek, to anchor for the night. We were both drenched in sweat, so we got out the solar shower again and cooled off on deck. This time there was no one around for miles, so there was no need for swim suits! We had dinner in the cockpit and opened a bottle of champagne that had been given to us as a bon voyage present. Boy! Did it taste good. So good we polished off the whole bottle. I can’t remember the last time we did that! It was so hot that we both had trouble sleeping. It was a night I will never forget. Just the two of us, in the middle of nowhere. We used to go backpacking to find that kind of isolation. This was a lot easier!!

Friday July 9th 2010

We wanted to get in 50 miles today, so we got an early start. More savannah!! Being almost the weekend, we saw a few more small fishing skiffs than usual. We did have one rather disconcerting incident! We believe that what happened is a bird hit our rigging, then fell on to the solar panel, and on into the water. We heard it hit, then saw it hit the solar panel with our peripheral vision. It happened so fast we weren’t really sure what had happened. We motored back a ways to see if we could see anything floating in the water, but found nothing! You can bet that we did check the rigging to make sure everything was fine.
As we neared out destination, we started to see signs of civilization: bridges, roads, cars, mansions on the waterfront, long docks extending across the marsh land. We pulled into Isle of Hope, Georgia. A quaint, rich community. Lots of beautiful old homes, all with big front decks and surrounded by oak trees with Spanish moss decorating their limbs. The marina is just as nice. They even have loaner cars. WALMART here we come!! We needed to get resupplied with hydration materials, plus a few grocery items that we went through faster than I expected. Then it was back to the boat to unload and then head to the community swimming pool. It is a private pool, with special guest privileges for the marina patrons. This time the water was a little too warm to be really refreshing, but it felt good to get wet. We then watched the kids at play. Big and little. Seems Friday night the pool is the place to be for the families in this community, especially when it is this hot!!
After all the hot weather this week, I had a pile of sweaty dirty clothes that needed to be washed, so back to the marina and laundry duty. Even though the sun went down, it still remained hot, so when I was done with the laundry, I opted for one more shower before bed. Maybe tomorrow won’t be quite so hot!!

Sorry for the delay in news, but we never know what kind of connection is available in some of these areas, so just have to wait for a good one!

A note to all my Rainbow friends: I have been thinking about you all week. Knowing that Grand Assembly is in full swing, and I'm not there, is very surreal!! I hope you have a fun and fabulous session!!!

Also, a special note to our son Austin: Happy Birthday!! He celebrates his 30th (how can that be??? I'm only 29!!)on July 10th!! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you, but very soon we will be sailing into Annapolis, and can celebrate then!!! Love you!!

Please send us emails or comment on our blog. We are starved for news from home! Hope all is well.

Love & Hugs,

the Admiral