April 11-13, 2021 Cruising to Charleston.

 Sunday, April 11, 2021. Day 126

It was overcast in Port Royal when I awakened. I ran 3 miles around the local area. As was usual when I run in the morning, it was quiet, peaceful and there was almost no one around.

At 10:30am, we undocked on our own from Port Royal and began our cruise on the Beaufort River, passing Beaufort, 

and the Beaufort Memorial Hospital which had a dock on the water for boats to drop off patients (new for me). Thinking about yesterday and the time we spent with Vicki and Mack, I was regretting that we didn’t take a picture of the four of us.

At 11am we passed under the Lady Island swing bridge which was 30 feet high so no request was necessary (Magic Moments is 25 feet).

I enjoyed seeing the antebellum mansions from the water. The area is very marshy (it IS called the low country). We passed big southern live oaks with incredible trunks and lots of Spanish moss like those we had seen on our walking tour of Beaufort with Vicki and Mack. 

 The weather was very nice, the shore was lush, and due to the marsh, the docks at the homes we passed were extremely long. We traveled on the Coosaw River, which is mostly wilderness, and at 2:48pm, reached our anchorage in the South Edisto River in the ACE National Wildlife Refuge.

It was pretty remote. The day was intense and difficult for the captain. The river was windy and very narrow in places, there were cross currents and lots of shoals. Steering was a challenge, but of course, the captain did a great job and deserved a well earned beer, after we anchored.

We relaxed in our anchorage for about two hours at which time Captain Roland got concerned. For the first time in 4.5 months, the anchor wasn’t holding. The wind and current were both strong and in conflict. He quickly pulled up the anchor and we moved up river to a better, more protected, anchorage from the expected wind direction, a little west of the first location. At 5:18pm, the captain announced that the new anchorage was working. We were at Sampson Island, the wind and the current were in the same direction, so it was much calmer, the fetch shorter so the waves were muted; we were both much happier.

Unfortunately however we were inundated with bugs, bugs and more bugs. Mostly no-see-ums. As you can guess from the name, they are very teeny and can get through our screens. Ugh!

Checking the weather (which we have to do frequently...or all the time....), we learned that the weather in south Florida was really bad, and had we not taken advantage of the weather window by leaving St. Augustine when we did, we probably would have lost a week.

Monday, April 12, 2021. Day 127.

The morning was busy. I worked out, stretched, made an omelette, and did the dishes, showered and started my various telephone calls and meetings, and attended a TCPW internet conference. But most importantly, I started cleaning out the den to make room for our additional crew we are picking up in Charleston, South Carolina, in a few days.

The anchorage was beautiful and peaceful, we were the only boat there for the entire time; again the only: issue bugs.

It was an early night because Captain Roland wanted to leave the anchorage at 9 am the next day with the tide. The current was really strong so I will be at the helm following his directions, as he pulls up and cleans the anchor.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Day 128.

I was up at 6:30am so that I could stretch and have breakfast before we were ready to leave at 9am. I knew I would miss the peace and beauty of this anchorage, but not miss the bugs. During the entire trip, I enjoyed amazing scenery, sunsets and sunrises, the glint of the sun on the water, the peace, the birds and the dolphins, the fresh air and the variety of colors of the water.

The wind was on our nose, but less than 10 knots, so it did not slow us down all that much. We entered the North Edisto River at approximately 10:20 am, on our way to anchor in Church Creek, near West Ashley, South Carolina. We passed the first fishing boat in several days; back to civilization.

The estates on the water were beautiful along the Wadmalaw River. We passed Metal Trades, Inc., a shipyard for the repair and construction of metal ships, which contained a very interesting assortment of vessels. At 11:30am, we anchored in Church Creek near Charleston.

Again ,it was beautiful and quiet and I was hoping that because it was windy, the bugs would not be around. Wishful thinking; the bugs (no-see-ums), were all over the boat and us by the millions. In swarms, we could see them just fine! Otherwise, it was lovely and peaceful. Later in the day we were joined in the anchorage buy a trawler and two sailboats. Among my 3 zooms, I did yoga on youtube, and had dinner. I was not able to fall asleep for quite a while; there was ambient light...... we were near civilization.

Tomorrow we cruise to Charleston to start the penultimate segment of our journey.

APRIL 6-7, 2021

 Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Day 121.

I was up early and ( first one up), turned off the anchor light. We had coffee and Roland experimented with a new recipe for German apple pancakes. Really good, really sweet.

The wind was only three knots, so dinghy down. It was only our second lowering of the dinghy with the new 59 pound motor. We actually do better each time, but we are still looking for ways to improve the system.

We motored over to a couple of different beaches on unoccupied islands that grow and shrink with the tide.

 Lots of jellyfish on the beach waiting for the return of the tide to wash them back into the water. Captain Roland pointed out that there were no birds or insects on the jellyfish “bodies“; very curious.

 Also, strange sand holes and mounds; possibly, sand worms?? Very weird.

Our solitude on the beach was very brief. Pontoon boats started arriving to enjoy the day. We walked about 2.2 miles exploring two different beach islands.

Our new motor had successfully trained Captain Roland so that he is caring for it the way it prefers, and it supports him by starting pretty quickly. It was a pleasure that the motor started on the first pull. The Captain was very happy with the new gas motor.

We dinghied back to Magic Moments for a lunch of grilled turkey burgers, and, in the afternoon, we went on another quick dinghy ride; it was high tide so there were new places that were accessible by water. And, mercifully, the beaches were deserted, so we knew we would have a quiet evening on the hook.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Day 122.

I awakened at 7am; worked out, had coffee and a shower and at 10am, we brought the anchor up and left our beautiful anchorage near New Smyrna, to cruise to Palm Coast Marina to see Roland’s sailing friends, Peter and Nancy.

As we were cruising, I spent the day doing paperwork, paying bills, doing taxes and yes, another credit card fraudulent Amazon Prime charge that had to be reported. What a pain to have to cancel yet another credit card. This time, I wouldn't be able to get a replacement until after we were back in Philadelphia.

It was a pretty day and a pretty ride to Palm Coast, although I missed out on a lot of the scenery dealing with the obligations of real life. Even worse, I knew that tomorrow would be another tax and bill day; and I hated missing all the sunshine.

As we passed Flagler Beach, the boat was inundated with hundreds of white butterflies; so cool. The ICW is very pretty in this area.

We arrived at 4pm to dock “on an angle”; I couldn’t believe the visual of the dock when we arrived Captain Roland had not mention to me that we would be docking on “an angle”, he didn’t know what that meant, and didn't ask, the dockmaster. When we arrived at the dock, I thought it was an optical illusion but in fact we docked parallel to a section of the dock that was in fact on an angle. It was very weird but the Captain did a great job. We did learn, at this docking that we were not charging our headsets sufficiently. We have modified our procedure and we keep them charged at all times. One never know when one may need the headsets!

As usual, as soon as we dock, I started the laundry, did the dishes, and straightened up the boat a bit because we were expecting Peter and Nancy to tour Magic Moments and have happy hour on the back deck (socially distanced).

After several servings of chips and rum, we went out to seek a restaurant. It was quite surprising that they were all packed and had an hour to an hour and a half wait. Finally we went to Flagler Beach and in an upstairs, outside, bar ,with very loud music, we had typical bar fare, burgers and sandwiches. Peter ordered a Philly cheesesteak (he says he really likes them).

Peter and Nancy told us that Flagler Beach is sort of the hippie hang out, specially attracting surfers. There are no high-rise buildings on the beach but a road runs between the beach and the houses and businesses.

We missed out on the the only possible “gourmet“ restaurant; the fish place we had heard so much about, closed at 7pm.....too late for our happy hour on the boat. Our loss!

Peter and Nancy (who were soon to be married in England --- Peter is English and all of his family is still there). They had met a number of years ago on the free dating website Plenty of Fish (how funny). Nancy had been a solo sailor for 5 to 7 years before she met Peter. Peter had been a sailor for 50 years and thought he had given up sailing; but he was mistaken. He and Nancy had been living and sailing on her 30 foot sailboat for about 6 years together. I had to admire them; they lived together on a small sailboat and they are not petite folks. I was not sure how they did it. They are both characters, fun to be with, and we had a wonderful evening.

Thursday, April 8, 2021. Day 123.

I was awake before 7am, and ran from 8 to 9, stretched, and showered (we were still in the marina so shower while we can!). Everybody at the marina was quite nice and there was a wonderful shaded path along the water where I enjoyed my run. We left Palm Coast at 10am; it was quite easy getting off the dock on an angle.

We had planned to spend a couple of days in St. Augustine, and then go offshore to Beaufort South Carolina. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating (surprise!). New plan: from Palm Coast to St. Augustine and offshore, without stopping, to Beaufort. I was very sad to miss my friends Evin and Paula who had planned to meet us in St. Augustine for dinner on Friday evening; but weather controls our life on the water. Evin and Paula went to St Augustine for dinner anyway! Love them.

At the 1pm opening, we passed under the bridge in St. Augustine.

 With Captain Roland at the helm, we entered the ocean at 1:10pm. He put on the auto pilot and, except for a passing freighter, and with Jacksonville on the horizon, the water, a beautiful aqua, was our only view.

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.

Returning north March 31-April 1, 2021

 Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Day 115.

We had planned an offshore passage to save a couple of days. Due to the endless number of bridges on the ICW in the Miami area, the inside trip can take forever! Last night the weather forecast was good, so I put on my patch and we secured the dinghy, the paddle boards, and everything else on the boat. We got up early in the morning; I took a pill, and put on the wrist bands, and, at 7:27am, we ventured out into the ocean. Unfortunately it was not to be. Although the weather report had said the winds would cooperate and the ocean would be doable for me, it was not the case.

The chop was heavy. Magic Moments was pounding on the swells, water was spraying on the windows, the glass bottles and dishes were clanging. We knew that we would have to be very careful opening all the cabinets after this to avoid breakage.

It was too rough; it was not fun. We turned into Miami and entered the north channel, surrendering to the reality that we would not be going offshore.

It was beautiful in the channel, and my stomach was calming down; I removed the wristbands. When we were 85% through the channel, a Miami Dade police motor vessel with blue flashing lights approached us and via radio said the channel was closed and forced us to turn around and go out and re-enter the south channel. The officer said the channel is closed when there are two cruise ships in the channel. Please note that the channel is huge, the two cruise ships were docked, no one was moving, there was no signage or other indication of any restriction and we were essentially through the channel!

 This was extremely annoying because we had to turn around and go out the whole way, and reenter in the south channel; we lost a couple of hours and it threw off our timing for the bridges (and there are LOTS of bridges).

Traveling near so many bridges so close together, causes the radio traffic to get crazy. The radio sounds like a cacophony of messages: announcements from the coast guard, boaters, and marinas, requests for openings, responses by the tenders; it is endless, loud and also unclear sometimes who is addressing whom.

After passing 16 bridges that required openings, and a few we could motor under, we anchored in Boca Lake (approximately 4:15pm). It was tight and very crowded, with a big sandbar (obviously a rather shallow area). 

 We anchored one hour before low tide, with only 3.1 feet under the keel, and a nearby neighbor trawler who complained that we were too close. I thought he had a point. Captain Roland felt that we were safe. Roland is attentive, careful and knowledgeable, and, in this case, he was correct. At 5:40pm, after watching, observing and calculating, tide, wind, and current, Captain Roland confirmed that he was satisfied with the anchorage.

As I’m sure I mentioned previously, one of the fun things to do while cruising the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW), especially in this area, is observing the homes from mega mansions to old style Florida; some classic with round columns, some with square columns, tiles, arches, modern, mediterranean, and eclectic.

In addition to enjoying the view and the landscape and the passing homes, checking boat names is also a kick. Two favorite boat names of today: “Drifting Coconuts“ and “Yachta Yachta”.

Another note of the day: at 8:am we passed our 1900 mile mark on our adventure, and, more importantly, neither of us have thrown the other overboard, nor jumped ship!

Thursday, April 1, 2021. Day 116. April Fools’ Day.

I am not sleeping through the night; awakening from time to time; not sleeping well does not make me happy!

We left early, and went under the first bridge of the day, at approximately 7:20am, and then the Spanish River Bridge a little before 8am. Minutes later, with a phone call alert, we passed Ann and Richie on their balcony in Highland Beach. It was great to see them (seriously social distanced...with binoculars!), and to wave and talk on the phone; Richie took a great video of Magic Moments as we cruise by and also some stills (one of which was with me on the bow in full Devigi.....the only way to cruise no matter the weather!). Very cool!

At the 15th Ave. Bridge in Boynton Beach we had to wait way too long. The bridge tender (I grade her very low on my list of bridge tenders), opened at an odd time and thereby messed up our ability to get through the bridge that was a mile away for its regular schedule, so we lost another 30 minutes.

We were trying to make the next bridge in spite of the hold up on the 15th Ave. Bridge by my least favorite bridge tender, and, as we were cruising at a rapid speed for us, Enosis, the sailboat behind us (way too far behind us), radioed the bridge tender for the Ocean Avenue Bridge and asked that he hold the bridge for him when he opened for Magic Moments. The result was that the bridge tender didn’t open for us at the normal opening time, he waited for Enosis to arrive 20 minutes later, and, then made us wait until the next scheduled opening. We lost another 40 minutes. Circling around, wasting time and fuel and increasing the risk of collisions; not my happy place. Enosis called us on the radio later and apologized for his request to the bridge tender recognizing that he held us all up unnecessarily. Kind and generous Captain Roland blamed the bridge tender, forgiving Enosis.

I steered on and off passing the beautiful homes. The passage was lovely, we had sun, a gentle breeze, and gorgeous homes to see as we steered from the flybridge.

At Boynton Inlet, the current was rough and the whirlpools resulting from the ocean intersecting with the ICW, made steering tough so the captain took over. When we went under the Lantana Bridge on the 10:30am opening, the bridge tender radioed to Captain Roland that he was cruising too fast through the bridge. Our cruising speed is really slow, and that was a surprise.

Several bridges later we approached 707 Bridge which opens on request. The tender opened the bridge only partway, just enough for us to get under, but shorter than full opening. This was amazingly unusual. Every tender tells every captain, to not enter the wooden fenders until the bridge is fully open, and this one only opened part way. The reason: there was a lot of heavy road traffic, Magic Moments is not that tall (25 feet), so we could get by with a partial opening and the time to hold up the traffic (reduced time to open and close) was minimized. We were quite surprised and wondered if that was verboten in the bridge tender manual.

Most of our travel was from the flybridge until the early afternoon when the wind picked up dramatically and suddenly, at 3:40pm, the rain started.

At approximately 5pm, we anchored; it took a second try to get the anchor to grip (not all bottoms are created equal). 20 bridges (15 on request), the timing and the stress, today was a long one. We plan to stay two nights at Peck Lake; we need some R and R!