April 8-9, 2021 Off shore St Augustine to Beaufort SC

 Thursday, April 8, 2021. Day 123.

At 1:30pm, we entered the ocean from the St. Augustine inlet, and cruised about 9 miles offshore on our way to Beaufort, South Carolina.

The day time offshore was OK, not necessarily fun, but OK. I was able to edit my blog for about an hour without any motion sickness. Off shore segments are long and to me, rather boring, but they have a purpose. Ocean passages eliminate several long days of intense steering in narrow ICW channels which is very wearing on the captain ( I’m not crazy about them either ). So, the ocean it was.

I was patched and “wristed”, and, actually was able to sleep well between my watches. On this trip, unfortunately, Captain Roland did not sleep very much or very well. He had to make a couple of course adjustments during my watch (I hated to awaken him, but no real choice), to avoid freighters, especially near Savannah (which had been the case going south so no surprise ). When I was on watch through the day and night, I listen to books and played solitaire on the phone and checked the radar and our speed and a few other dials. I was sorry to miss both the sunset and sunrise, both on Roland's watch, but happy to get some sleep.

Captains note: this is one of my favorite sunset photos. it has not been altered or enhanced at all, this was the actual colors, was amazing..

The crossing was calm (for the ocean); the wind maybe 10 to 15 knots

Friday, April 9, 2021. Day 124.

When I awakened, we were in Port Royal Sound on the way to Port Royal Island which is surrounded by the Broad River and the Coosa River. Beaufort is on the Beaufort River which winds through the penninsula. At 10:18am, we were back on the ICW. It was interesting in the morning to pass Hilton Head, and Parris Island. I’ve never been to Hilton Head nor Parris Island, (unlikely I will ever go to Parris Island).

It was not easy getting a slip in Beaufort but we did manage to get one at Safety Harbor in Port Royal. We had preferred the Beaufort marina but they were booked solid until September 2021!

Kadey Krogen owners have a group of current and former boaters who volunteer to be harbor hosts. They offer to help with information and, in some cases, even transportation in their areas. They invite Kadey Krogen owners and other boaters to reach out to them when the boaters are visiting their location. I reached out to the Harbor Hosts in Beaufort, South Carolina and in Charleston, South Carolina. This was the first time I tried reaching out to a Harbor Host and I didn’t know what to expect for sure. Vicki and Mac, from Beaufort responded and we discussed getting together. Mac has been fully vaccinated and Vicki was getting her second vaccination in a couple of days. We all agreed to wear masks and to keep the windows open in the car. They had a giant four person pick up truck.

We docked at Port Royal Marina at 11:45am and I was thrilled that the overnight was behind us. I showered and dressed and went for a walk and hoped to have lunch at the marina restaurant “Mark 244”. We heard they were serving soft shells, and we love soft shell crabs. The area in which the marina and the restaurant are located it is very cute; small neat homes, beautiful foliage, very cool but casual and accessible and very natural. When we approached Marker 244, we were told it was an hour wait and by the way they were out of soft shells. We made a reservation for 6pm (they said they were getting another three crates of soft shells for dinner) and we went back to the boat and had leftovers for lunch.

The restaurant was obviously a lunch place, there was an hour wait an it was packed at lunch. At dinner, not so much. We were one of the few occupied tables and learned that they serve soft shells, one way only: fried and on a bun – we had waited all this time for a sandwich! It was however the biggest soft shell Roland had ever seen. We had our traditional rose wine (the prices, interestingly enough, are high for a glass but quite reasonable for the whole bottle), so of course, we drank the whole bottle.

Dinner was a bit early so we walked to the supermarket about a mile away and bought a few things back to the boat. I confirmed arrangements for tomorrow with Vicki and Mac. They offered to pick us up at 9:30am to go to the local farmers market, take us to a supermarket or other stores for any provisioning and then, to tour Beaufort. They had recently sold their Kadey Krogen 39, “Confetti“, and bought a house. Keeping in touch with the Kadey Krogen family was important to them, and they knew our PO's (prior owners), and our boat. All of us were looking forward to Saturday, and our first Harbor Host experience.

Quiet Cruising April 4-5 2021

 Sunday April 4, 2021. Day 119. Gail and Michael’s Anniversary.

I got up early and texted congrats; 40^th! Their celebration: cruising with us from Charleston SC to Galesville, MD. All new territory for them, and help for us. I was already stressing about adding two more folks to the crew, but they are boaters, and will be a great help. I was optimistic that I would adjust, but a bit concerned that we would have the time to clean the boat, clear the second cabin, and have space for all my stuff.

The alarm was set for 6:30am so that I could run from 8:30 to 9:30; Roland wanted to leave Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach as early as possible, to get to our next destination, timely. Also, I wanted to take advantage of the marina water to wash my hair and take a very long shower, before we filled the water tank.

While I was running, Captain Roland visited with the Kroger Express folks from Chicago, and George and Rachel from “Rachael” dropped by. George had lots of helpful advice as he had just moved up to his Krogen 48 from a Krogen 44.

George was kind enough to come back at 10:30am to help us off the dock. The de-docking was a challenge, the slip was too short for George to really help with the stern lines on the pilings, the lines were way too heavy for me to maneuver at the end of a long boat hook, so again Roland had to run to the stern to return the lines to the pilings. It was not an easy de-docking.

I had a plan that I wanted to execute. When Michael and Gail are cruising with us, I was hoping they would handle the lines, leaving Captain Roland available to coach me at the helm, through docking and de-docking. I really wanted to be able to dock and de-dock Magic Moments. Our PO, Barbara, handled this boat on her own. Well, I’m not ready for that, but, I would love to learn to handle docking, and I thought that would be my opportunity. The Captain is game, and I was sure that Gail and Michael would be willing to support me.

Yay!, the ICW was quiet. It was Easter Sunday, and with the cloudy forecast, there were very few boats on the water. What a pleasure: peaceful, sunny, cool, and the water was beautiful. The winds were 10 to 15 knots. Nice. Saw some dolphins playing in the water, and pelicans diving for fish and sunning on pilings, as we cruised by.

I steered for a good part of the day, went under several bridges (all fixed therefore no need for requests for openings) which speeds up our travel, Yay! It was great to have a day without bridge delays.

We needed an anchorage to protect us from winds from the northeast. Captain Roland picked a location right outside of Honeymoon Lake, in the Indian River, just north of Palm Shores. At 3:45pm, we anchored. It was beautiful, sunny, warm and pretty quiet, except for the occasional rocking of the boat from boats going by. We had a great grilled dinner, so there were fewer dishes and therefore, I got to work on my blog. We planned an early start on Monday; it would be a long day.

Monday, April 5, 2021. Day 120.

Up early to prep for an early departure. Passover had ended last night, so we had poached eggs on toast for breakfast (one of my favorites), and then we pulled up the anchor at 7:46 am, and today’s cruise began.

 It was a cool morning, and I could feel the temperatures going down each day as we proceeded north. It was sunny and beautiful as we headed towards our first bridge, Merritt Island-Cocoa Bridge. It was fixed, no need to open. So quiet, so few boats: perfect!

We passed the sailing vessels “Martini” and “Island Lady”, who have been “buddy boating” for quite a while (or seems so listening to the radio exchanges). Roland imagined that they met sailing solo, and if all went well, would each sell their small boat, and buy a bigger one together. It was fun to pass them and say “hi” on the radio. We, of course, slowed down to pass them, thereby reducing our wake (which is very little anyway), but it is the considerate thing to do. As a former sailor, Captain Roland is very respectful of other boaters. Too bad he is so unusual.

I steered for part of the day and by mid afternoon we were cruising by more populated areas, homes, docks, fishing people, fishing birds, small craft like kayaks, and dolphins (early this morning) and even a manatee this afternoon, long docks, and pontoon boats (which are so popular). A favorite boat name for today: “Spirited Away”.

George Munson Bridge (a/k/a the Coronado Bridge), near New Smyrna, Fl., was our first and last bridge request of the day (Yay!). We were planning to anchor at the intersection of Ponce DeLeon Inlet and Rockhouse Creek, hoping it would not be too crowded.

We arrived at 3:30pm and, fortunately, there was room. We had anchored there going south, and I enjoy revisiting some of the lovely places that we had remembered going south. The anchorage was just as nice as I had remembered, actually, it was much better this time because there were not loud party boats on the nearby beaches.

Hopefully: light wind tomorrow and we will be able to take the dinghy down, and explore the beaches.

April Winds April 2-3, 2021

 Friday April 2, 2021. Day 117.

Last night was tough. It was cold and rainy and really windy. Late at night we had to go up with a flashlight to tie up the bimini at the top of the boat (shade cover on the flybridge). Not something that one person could do on his or her own (if they could have, he would have, and I would have stayed warm, dry and cozy inside!).

The boat was rocking and rolling last night and although there was a little less wind this morning, the forecast was for the wind to pick up big time at approximately 10am, and it did. So we decided on a second night on the hook. There we were in Peck Lake; the clouds in the sky and water around us were beautiful. Magic Moments was swaying in a large arc with the heavy wind. Except for the wind, the day was very quiet, and there were plenty of chores to do, so I kept busy. Due to the heavy wind rocking the boat, the Wi-Fi internet kept going out; very annoying.

Late in the afternoon we saw four people on racing paddle boards (I had never seen a racing paddle board; very snazzy), moving at an amazing clip, with the current and the wind. We chatted with them while they paddled by. They were going a very long distance. Even with a wetsuit, the current and the wind at your back, their outing was still above my pay grade. We wished them luck.

Saturday, April 3, 2020. Day 118.

I set the alarm for 6:30am, so we would be up early to prepare to leave our Peck Lake anchorage for Vero Beach. We had been to Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach on our way south. It’s located in a beautiful golf community and I was looking forward to running again in the area. It was overcast, and the winds were from the east at 14 to 16 knots which was not terrible, but it was good to leave early, hoping that the winds do not increase significantly.

It was tough getting the anchor up; it was really stuck in the bottom, so we had to force the boat around in different directions to loosen it. Captain Roland was at the bow washing down the chain as we pulled up the anchor, and I was at the helm following his detailed instructions “forward, reverse, throttle, bow thruster, port thruster, starboard, and on and on until the anchor was finally released. And then I steered out of Peck Lake and back on the ICW.

The wind picked up to greater than 20 knots, but it was on our side so it was not as rocky as it could have been. I waited several hours to eat to make sure I could handle food in those sea conditions.

I had to deal with my taxes and I was already up to Plan C, which I expected would work out. I also was still making phone calls to various credit card companies and utilities and insurance companies to advise them that, notwithstanding that the post office was sending back my mail to them marked “undeliverable” my address remained the same. Boring and time-consuming.

It was Saturday and sunny but the traffic was very light traffic (do to the heavy wind, maybe), and that was a pleasure for us. We arrived at the Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach at about 2:10pm. We got fuel, and pumped out, and then the dock hand guided us to a really nice slip on the far side of the marina, the new docks! It was a simple docking, and a great location, however, (why is there always a “but” ?), the brand new power stations (due to a change in the standards), did not connect with our boat. The dock hand said that he had experienced this recently with some older boats and said that there was an electrical fix that can be made on our boat, but meanwhile, we had to go back to the more crowded, older dock. Lovely! (to be read sarcastically); we now needed a modification to enable Magic Moments to connect to new power stations. Maybe I will sell the boat before we need to upgrade.

The dock hand gave us a card of a man who is an expert in this modification. He spends his winters in Vero Beach, but interestingly enough, he spends his summers at Hartge Yacht Yard in Galesville, Maryland, right near my sister’s marina, and where Magic Moments came into being, and we started this adventure. Small world!

The docking went well but the tie up was a challenge. The finger dock was extremely short, the slip was very narrow and we had to tie to pilings that were far beyond my reach, even with the boat hook. Captain Roland again to the rescue, he ran around to the stern to tie up Magic Moments so she would be secure and I would be able to disembark and embark on my own, which sometimes is a problem depending on the configuration; every docking is unique.

We met several boat owners at Loggerhead Marina, Kevin and Rachel on “Rachel”, a new Kadey- Krogen 48, from Beaufort SC, and a couple on a Krogen Express, from Chicago (they are quite fond of Philly, as that was where they met). One of the joys of cruising is meeting folks from all over and sharing our stories.

As always, when we get to a marina after several nights on the hook, I immediately start the laundry and walk or cycle to a supermarket. There are always lots of dishes to do and dinner to prepare.

I was looking forward to getting into bed and our newly washed sheets, and to running in the morning. Loggerhead Marina has a very nice pool and I may even consider swimming laps.

Sunset Bay Marina, a week in Kadey Krogan south

 

We approached Sunset Bay Marina and our assigned dock location with 30 knot winds. Roland maneuvered beautifully... he is really getting good handling Magic Moments. Unfortunately, as we approached our dock, we realized that it was occupied by a very large and rather 21st-century spaceship looking trimaran. The trimaran had just been towed in by BoatUS (like AAA for cars), and was left in our spot.

We called the dockmaster who said just go in right in front of the trimaran. Roland circled around in the fairway and as he approached it was clear that we would not fit. The trimaran owner together with 2 dock hands pulled the boat back a little so that we could dock. It was still rather tight and the winds were rather strong. Captain Roland did an amazing job. And we docked without incident, damage and without embarrassment. Roland was relieved.

The major reasons for spending a week at Sunset Bay Marina, were to have the boat buffed and waxed, to have staples made, to get the dinghy engine repaired, and to have some of the technology worked out with Scott the guru. As I may have mentioned in my last blog, Saturday morning, as we were preparing to enter the marina, the boat computer with the navigational software, died. We had to reload the software on my extra computer that I had brought along, and we really needed Scott's help.

Obviously, I was totally inexperienced; I actually expected all this work to be done in a week. We started off with Carlos, of Top Knotch, who was to do the buffing and waxing and found out that he couldn't start until Wednesday, and would not be done till Friday or Saturday. Our arrangement with the marina was just until Thursday morning. Before we could conclude the negotiation over the waxing and buffing, Roland had to get an extension to our docking arrangement. This worked out quickly and easily but not inexpensively. I learned later that a week at Sunset Bay Marina (this is not unusual), is almost as much as a month. Live and learn, and education is not cheap!

I then had a very long and respectful negotiation with Carlos for the buffing and waxing. He wanted almost 50% more than I had expected to pay based on the prices that our seller had paid every year. Of course our seller had used Dana from Fluff and Buff, who is a one-man operation and is probably booked 100 years in advance. In fact, when I spoke to Dana about an appointment for 2022, he laughed. Maybe someday, when someone sells their boat, we could get on Dana's wait list!

It took a couple days for the fabricator to show up and he too could not get the work done before we left, even on Saturday. We tried to get him to make the staples and deliver them before we left; Roland was sure he could install them, hopefully reducing the price, but he called us later that night and said he didn't have enough material. He was obviously not willing to order or get additional material in time. We were really (felt dumped), unhappy with him. We had a second name, but, it was getting late in the week to call Alexander.

Now the dinghy engine: you remember, I hope, the adventure with our non-functioning electric motor. The only repair place was in Pompano. So, we rented a car on Tuesday and drove down with the engine. The people were very confident, responsive, and pleasant, and said they would he be able to get the replacement part shipped to us for arrival in Clearwater a week from Friday (for some rather large sum of money).) OK, we now have to live without a tender as we crossed Florida. I wasn't thrilled but was happy that this would be completed and available for us in a reasonable time (10 days?!!).

We made good use of the day with the rental car: did a lot of errands, hardware store, Home Depot, Lowes, Trader Joes and several other stores that had things that we decided we needed. We had a wonderful lunch at at Sea Watch, in Fort Lauderdale, on the water (thank you for the suggestion, Barbara Newman). We were very comfortable with the outdoor dining area.

On our way back we drove by Ann's condo, but she was busy on a zoom so we didn't get to connect. We also drove by Boca Del Rey complex, on Military Trail, the community in which my parents lived for 20 years. I insisted we stop by Poppies, the local deli, and I picked up some herring, whitefish salad and a bagel. It was a little bit like home; thinking about my parents; it was very nostalgic.

After we dropped off the motor for repair, we called another metal fabricator. He said that he could make the staple and cups if he had the dimensions and some other information; Roland had it all, so, after we sent him a deposit through PayPal, he committed to get us the staples by Saturday morning before 11am. Roland knew he could install them himself, so we were good to go. Alexander came through for us. We were very appreciative.

Wednesday morning between 8 AM and 9 AM, Carlos, who is from Guatemala, arrived at the boat with three helpers; and they started their work. They buffed and they waxed and they cleaned and they did one amazing job. They were there Wednesday, Thursday, and half a day Friday. On Friday, Carlos brought 2 extra helpers, so there were six of them. And, did I mention that they did an amazing job? Basically, I was not happy with the high price, but I must say, it was an incredible job. Roland gave each helper a tip.

Top Knotch is just that. We gave Carlos's card to several other boat owners who were also blown away by how great Magic Moments looked.

Guru Scott had come by twice during the week to help with the technology and he is one awesome human being. Not only is he knowledgeable about EVERYTHING on this boat, but he also remembers amazing details. He was enormously helpful the two times he stopped by. His boat owner clients would be miserable without him; he is a wizard at problem solving, available to help on a moment's notice and an incredibly nice guy.

He loves Hersheys chocolate covered peanuts. We got him the biggest bag I could find. I had wanted to send him special chocolates from Ventnor, but we ran into a logistical problem. Maybe another time I will be able to bring him those very special chocolates.

We did have a scare on Thursday around 6pm, when Scott texted that he had tested positive for Covid. He was tested because he was going to fly but had no symptoms. I was morose. No one had been on this boat but us, Scott and the heater repairman, since December 6. What if we had been exposed? Scott wore a mask on the boat and was aboard for a very short time during which all the doors were open....but still??? Around 6pm on Friday, Scott texted that he took a second test and was negative. His first test must have been a false positive. I was relieved (as were many other boaters)….and had a drink......as did many other boaters!

The whole point of this adventure was to travel while staying safe, and no one comes on the boat and we don't go on other boats. We stay socially distanced outside to chat. And Scott was the only other person in our boat since we left Maryland on December 6, other than the heating unit repair person and his assistant back in Chesapeake Virginia, many weeks ago. I was relieved to hear that he was negative for us, for him, and for all the rest of the boaters for whom he works with and with whom he socializes.

While we were at at Sunset Bay Marina, we took walks on the boardwalk along the water, went to a farmer's market (bought an assortment of mushrooms, some of which I had never seen before), made crepes stuffed with  mushroom and a wonderful sauce..

 got really good meat at a butcher shop, and walked through town. I had two opportunities to run in the morning, and we walked or biked to the supermarket, hardware store, and the pharmacy where I picked up some prescriptions. Because spending short intervals inside was the ideal, and because we could carry a limited amount of food, walking or biking, we sometimes went to the stores 2 or 3 times a day. On Friday, we bought inflatable standup paddle boards, 

our first toys, to be drop shipped Friday to Clearwater. It was a very pleasant week on land, although disappointing that there were no restaurants with outside seating spaciously apart enough for us to be comfortable.

By the way, we saw very few pedestrians all week, and only a few folks on bikes; they bike on the side walks as there are only sporadic bike lanes, few shoulders, and almost nobody walking on the sidewalks.

The weather was beautiful all week and we had the opportunity to meet a lot of other Kadey Krogan owners; Stuart is the KK center of the south! At 4:45pm, every evening, at the end of C dock, several would gather for a drink, at a safe distance. Jim and Barbara, our sellers, had sent an email to all their KK friends at Sunset Bay Marina, asking them to welcome us now that Ariel had become Magic Moments. It was very kind and thoughtful of Jim and Barbara and we appreciated their introducing us to the other boaters.

On Saturday morning, January 16, 2021, Day 41, we got ready to leave Sunset Bay Marina.

Alex had delivered the staples, and they looked great. We did our last run to Publix, two loads of laundry and, very kindly, two couples came over to help us off the dock and meet us again at the fuel dock before we left.

It was quite windy (so what else is new when we have to get on and off docks?!), and we really appreciated their help both getting off the dock and getting on and off the fuel dock. Polly and Mike, and Ria and Bob, long time friends of Jim and Barbara, were terrific. We will miss them, at least for the rest of the season. Waving goodbye to the four of them, we set off on our trip across the Okeechobee to the West Coast of Florida.

Roland had been up and down the ICW on the East Coast, a number of times, and was quite familiar with most of the terrain, possible anchorages, and various marinas. As we left Stuart, however, he was now going to uncharted territory, for him. This part of the trip was now an added adventure. Everything and every place would be new. We bought paper charts to cross Florida, on Tuesday when we were doing our errands with the rental car, and he had been studying them diligently.

We motored, west, off into the sunset.