Hello! Sorry for the long interval between postings. The rest of the passage south on the ICW past Peck Lake was one of voyeuristic boating past the backyards of the Florida's wealthy elite and waiting for the the two or so dozen draw bridges between Jupiter Beach and Port Everglades inlet to open. A little wrinkle was when within 2 days of my scheduled arrival time, the homeowner I had arranged dockage with, informed me that He had rented the spot out from under me. This resulted for a time in me "loitering my way" southwards, as my family and me looked for alternates. One interesting anchorage was a basin like little spot right off the ICW in Pompano. It was like anchoring in a bathroom sink having been dug out in a large circle just off the ICW. Fortunately, the original dock/homeowner was able to make some space for me and I am currently tied up in his backyard just off the ICW in Ft Lauderdale. In other words I have through the use of Graig's list found a homeowner who after paying millions for a lot and house with ocean access and who is willing to lease some dock space to a vagrant transient in a little blue boat. It's a sheltered and secure area with minimal tidal current. Its bikable from my Mom's house and the Natie M. is watched over by a large Buddha head in the backyard (positive karmic generator). I am currently spending some time with my mother and brothers and doing some final upgrades on the Natie M before a December 26th departure for the Bahamas. The weather has been, well, how can I put this delicately for my friends currently ensconced behind the frost line, NICE. When I get down with the traffic, noise and congestion of southern Florida, I remind myself that I could be in the traffic, noise and congestion where I sailed from, ONLY I would be COLD. I will be remaining here in the land of impervious surfaces, sprawl and drainage canals, until the end of December, at which time I will continue my voyage south with a brief trip to the Bahamas. Until then, I will be working on my Mom's house (such a good son!) and slipping to the beach to play with my stand up paddle board and providing entertainment to the vacationing families on the beach. In the meantime, wishing everyone a happy holiday season and hope to hear from you. Mark |
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Natie M. December in Florida
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Natie M. Log
November11, 2008 Up before dawn again, but just finishing breakfast when Lutria was casting off lines and heading out. They were on a little more of a schedule than I so waved them off. I was not too much latter in leaving though and I could see Lutria about a mile or two ahead of me as the sun rose above the horizon. Another sunny day in sunny Florida. The ICW winds its way through a maze of salt water marsh and mangrove islands. Some houses could be seen on the west coast, small modest waterfront, each with its prerequisite docks and fishing boats. Gradually though the houses disappeared as did the islands and the Natie M. entered into the Mosquito Lagoon. Off in the distance I could see the massive structure of the vertical assembly building at Cape Canaveral. It was to remain on the horizon for most of the day. I could also pick out the launch gantries of the space port. Suddenly the channel makes a sharp turn to starboard and you enter a short and narrow canal bisected by a drawbridge, and emerging on the opposite side into the Indian River which forms a large body of water that runs north and south, separating the Atlantic with the mainland Florida. Titusville passed by, but other than that it was the unspoiled expanse of the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. With the construction of the ICW and numerous small islands were created where they piled up the dredging materials. These are now densely vegetated and quite scenic. Again lots of bird life was evident, even spotting several White Pelicans. The shy birds, know to be quite shy, could be spotted off against the far shoreline. Even from a half mile away their large bodies and white plumage was easy to pick out. Of course dolphin where plentiful, making sudden and exciting appearance alongside as I sailed along. All along this section of the waterway were numerous speed limit signs in an effort, albeit a belated one, to protect the last surviving manatees. I kept an eye out for them, and my maximum 6 knot speed was a minimal threat, but none were sighted. It seems kinda ludicrous that they took so long to start imposing speed limits when it was obvious by all the scars on the surviving ones backs, what was killing them, motor boat propellers. But chalk one up for the power boat lobby; they got rid of those pesky sea cows. Another species which foolishly got in the way of our right to go fast, make as much noise as possible, and burn as much petroleum products doing same. But what the hell do I know; I'm a tree huggin, dirt worshipper. With the west winds most of the day I was able to be under sail with minimal motoring, the way I prefer it. The further south I went the more civilization I began to encounter, cities and towns like Titusville, Cocoa, and houses became more common on the eastern shore of Merritt Island as I left the wildlife preserve behind. I had chosen this way south as opposed to offshore due to the weather forecast, but the relative comfort of the ICW had its drawbacks, or rather drawbridges, which were becoming more common. And this was just the beginning. The ICW is like a highway this time of year, crowded with all sorts of sail and motorboats (trawlers and spot fisherman), almost all bigger, and some cases mush bigger than the Natie M. Remember the little blue boat? Anyway, dawn begins the commuter traffic in that everyone gets underway at about the same time and eventually around 1100 or so the fast boat catch up to the slow boats, i.e. Natie M. and pass, leaving the sailboats generally in the back of the pack, only to all bunch up again at the bridges as they wait for the operator to raise them. Most of the big motor boats where considerate as they pass slowly on the narrow channel so as not to upset your coffee cup and galley pots from their wake, then there are others, casting off their backside a good 2 foot set of waves turning your mast into a giant metronome. N28o08.76 W80o36.13 Merritt Island finally tapers off to a point called Dragon Point where it is barely 10 feet wide. Used to be a 100ft long concrete dragon, but now its not much more than a heap of green concrete and rebar rubble. Behind it are the town of Indian Harbor Beach and an excellent anchorage. I pulled in just at dusk and already it was crowded with most of the boats that passed me during the day, including the Lutia. The vessel was dark so I snuck into one of the posh marinas to fill my water tanks. I was hoping to get some fuel but everything was closed. Going back to the anchorage, ran into the crew of Lutia heading in their dinghy to get some groceries and get a bite to eat. They invited me along, so I set the anchor and jumped in their dinghy. It was a walk, complete with Lutia's two dogs, and over sandwiches and beers we each talked of our planned voyages and adventures which of course will never turn out exactly that way. Lugged some ice and bread back to the dinghy and by 2100 was tucked in to my sleeping bag. November 12, 2008 Was underway at daylight and decided to take it slow today and so continued my southward course on the ICW motoring and sailing with the genny up at a leisurely pace. The scenery was giving way from the undeveloped to the developed, with more houses on both sides becoming more common and of course larger and larger with a relative increase in the size of the motor boats at dock. Arrived at Vero Beach at around 03:30 and, as they do not allow anchoring in their harbor, I reserved and paid for a mooring. These are stout pieces of line attached to a large piece of something heavy at the bottom, usually a hunk of concrete and at the surface a big red ball or float. You simply motor up and grab the line and tie up. Once thing is you don't have to worry about your anchor dragging in weather. Anyway, decided to spend the next day in Vero, do some maintenance and maybe ride the local bus to see the sights. Took the dinghy in to watch a local baseball game next to the municipal marina and got a meal at a local pub. November 13, 2008 I had picked up some oil the day before at the marina office and so first thing changed the oil in the motor. After that and a couple of other chores took the dinghy in to turn in the waste oil and check out the town. Grabbed the local bus, which stops conveniently right in front of the marina and headed to the beach. Vero is very nice, on the ocean side that is. Like much of the east coast of Florida it's not what side of the tracks you live on, it's what side of the Intercoastal you live on. Day spas, resorts, expensive restaurants, and clothing boutiques with large condos and houses on the beach give way to tire stores, fast food, and the grungy old decaying look of "old" Florida. Found a Panera bread though with great Wi-Fi and was able to post my last entry. Then went to grocery next door and loaded up. Fortunately, the same bus comes right to the door. I had about eight bags of groceries, would have been an ordeal to walk to far. I got back to the marina by 1400 and thinking that I might move on to another place, with a free anchorage, checked out at the office and loaded the groceries into the dinghy. As I was motoring away from the dinghy dock came upon a woman trying to start her outboard on her dinghy. I turned around, as it was obvious that the thing was not going to start, and offered to tow her to her vessel in my "brand new" dinghy and outboard. After a couple more pulls on the starter cord she gratefully assented. Her boat was of course on the exact opposite end of where the Natie M was moored but I insisted. After about 15 minutes we were approaching her boat when within 10 feet of the stern my outboard suddenly died. Hmmm, that's odd, this new motor is not supposed to do that. After she had her dinghy secured and was on board, she thanked me as I attempted to restart my motor. Finally realizing that my outboard was out of commission at least for the time being, I deployed the oars and began to row. Fortunately the wind and waves were pushing me along and in a half hour or so I was alongside the Natie M. Once there, and before hauling the new and newly dysfunctional outboard onboard, I attempted to start it again. I immediately jumped to life, purring along quite normally. Ok, guess I'll put it down for miracle cure. Up anchor and was underway to Ft Pierce about 10 miles south to anchor about three hours later. November 14, 2008 Briefly dinghied into Ft Pierce for some breakfast and to visit the local West Marine for a part and to add to the slowly growing collection of fishing lures and tackle. My attempts to augment my protein intake have been somewhat disappointing. I've only managed to make a meal of a bluefish, which also managed to take the tip of one my thumbs before I was able to dispatch the sucker. Anyway, I talked about that already. Back to the boat. By 1030 I was underway with a stiff south wind blowing, so it was motor all the way into spray and waves to Jenson Beach, where I called it quits for the day. Still had the dinghy inflated so went in to check out the local watering hole and then the town. Luck would have it I arrived at the the opening of the Pineapple Festival. It was quite a Mardi Gras affair. By 9:30 I was back to the boat, but could hear the festivities almost a mile away. Should have stayed longer, it was killing me to see the crowning of the Pineapple Queen. November 15, 2008 If you're starting to detect a monotonous pattern to this narrative, you would be not far off. Southern Florida along the ICW. Wake up and head south, along with all the other snow birds. Wave as they pass or you pass them, talk to the bridge tenders but I was definitely getting into the part of Florida where we are the dominate specie. I arrived at St Lucie Inlet, where I had hoped I would be able to jump offshore again, but the weather was not cooperating and the wind was still blowing out of the south, making a sail offshore a tedious and slow affair. It was nice to see the blue-green water though of the sea coming in with the tide instead of the brown water of the ICW. You could see almost to the bottom 20 feet down. I elected to continue on the ICW and stop in a couple of miles at a wildlife refuge called Peck Lake. I arrived there around 1:30 and it looked promising. Except fro a couple of condos on the western shore it was a body of water where the ICW widens to about a half mile wide making a shallow bay surrounded for the most part by mangroves. The big attraction was the small beach on the east shore where a path made for a short walk to the Atlantic Ocean. Got the dinghy back out and motored in and it was exactly as advertised. The small sand beach had a sign that marked the beginning of the short trail to the beach. After a short walk through the dense foliage, you emerged onto a dune which descended to a pristine Atlantic shore. It was warm as the forecasted cold front had not arrived so it was pretty warm. The several motor boats had brought people to the park, which is the only way to get there, and the relatively deserted beach had maybe a dozen parties lying on the beach. But as the beach when on for at least 4 miles, it was relatively deserted. I brought the ULI with me and inflated it and headed for a beach break a little ways down. I had a great time providing entertainment to the people on the beach as I introduced myself to a new sport. I was having a great time, though to a shore observer it looked like was attempting to stand on a surf board while wildly waving a long paddle with jerky contortions before falling off. After a couple of hours in the surf dragged my butt back in, pretty exhausted. Decided to stay another day here as it was just too nice a spot. November 16, 2008 That night I was awoken by the arrival of the cold front. The wind was picking up with some gusts well about 25 kts and I was concerned as always about the anchor. There were a couple of big trawlers that had arrived late the previous afternoon, and of course they had to anchor immediately down wind of me. I kept waking up in ½ hour intervals to make sure I was not moving anywhere. The lake had a north south orientation so some waves where starting to pick up and the Natie M. pitched and rolled throughout the night. At one point, I was sure I was dragging towards one of the floating condos and got the motor started and gear ready to reset the anchor. I had second thoughts for two reasons, one it seemed the anchor was holding and two; I thought there was more of a chance of going aground if I screwed up the anchor resent. So I stood down and just kept an eye on everything for the rest of the night. Following morning the wind was still blowing and was supposed to stay that way until the afternoon. I was within 75 feet of the nearest trawler and about 9am they decided to leave, pretty much leaving me the entire anchorage. I spent the day doing some chores, eating and reading. By afternoon it was calming just a little so I returned to the beach. It was cold and I wimped out and didn't go out in the waves, which in my defense were kind of sloppy. Ok, I wimped out. Got back in the dinghy and did a little poking around the mangroves until the "new" outboard died again. This time it was an hour long row against waves and wind to get back to the boat. Now it's a problem. Looking forward to a warranty claim when I get to Ft Lauderdale. Back at the boat made ready to get underway the following morning. Obviously I needed to decrease the latitude further and keep ahead of the pursuing frost line, chasing me further southwards. |
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Cumberland Island
| These are some pictures from Cumberland Island. Plum Orchard estate is the house once of the Carnegies built from their kids. Picture of my anchorage at Cumberland Island, the Wood Stork colony. |
pictures
| Some pictures of the water front park at Beaufort SC and the anchorage. The park is beautiful and very boater friendly. It was a nice place to get stuck! |
log entry of the Natie M.
November 5, 2008 My wait continued for the new tiller pilot. I pulled up the anchor at dawn and came into the day dock at the municipal marina where I would be allowed to stay until sunset. Did some chores and headed back to the coffee shop to go online and once again check as to the location of my "overnight" package. After a coffee and danish from the ladies behind the counter who where starting to treat me as a regular, I found that I could expect the tiller pilot sometime between 10:30 and 3:30. Wrapped up my computer and spent the morning alternately cleaning the boat and checked out some of the historical sites in town. Nice town, but I was really getting anxious to move on. At precisely 3:22 pm my package arrived, to the acclaim of the coffee shop employees. Not wasting a minute, packed up again and made for the day dock. Once everything was made ready, caste off the lines and moved into the harbor to calibrate the new tiller pilot. The calibration is for the internal compass, and involves a lazy starboard turn completing two or three circles until the internal compass knows which way is north, I guess. I'm sure it caught the attention of anyone who may have noticed the boat going in circles in front of the city marina. It sure confused two trawlers that happened down the river, each giving me a wide berth. Satisfied that I had familiarized the new tiller pilot with its place in the universe, I headed down the river on the ICW. The tide was going out so I had a nice 1.5 knot plus current on my stern. The Beaufort River opens into the Port Royal Sound and the Atlantic, or you can hang a right and continue down the zigzag of the intercoastal waterway in Georgia, as I mentioned earlier. I had notified friends and family that I was planning on staying in the ditch, but as I drew near to the Port Royal Sound and listening to the weather for the fifth time that day, I decided that though it would be tight, insofar as the weather window, I opted to make the e run offshore. By sunset I was 5 miles offshore and set course for St Simon or Cumberland Island. The wind was a light but steady 5 knots out of the northwest and the 2 foot waves were a gentle roll. The new tiller pilot was working perfectly, and at a beam reach and gentle seas, the Natie M. did a comfortable 4-5 knots. It was cool and damp, which is better than cold and damp, indicating continuing progress in reduction in latitude. I also found it easy to take several short naps throughout the night. The only sticky period was around midnight crossing through the inbound tanker and boat traffic at the Savannah River inlet. At one point I was watching some sort of motor vessel of around 200 feet heading out across my bow, coming within 100 yards or so. As it easily cleared my course, I left the helm and went below to check the plotter to readjust my course. When I emerged back into the cockpit a short time later I was startled to see that the boat had apparently done a U-turn! I came about as they were way too close for comfort and got on the radio. Asking the captain, without the usual VHF radio pleasantries, if the Captain did see the small little set of lights bobbing off their starboard beam. He replied casually, that, yes, he did and readjusted his course heading south and quickly pulled away. I was talking to my daughter at the time and I'm sure that she thought she was hearing first hand, the end of my trip, and possibly the end of her father. I was relieved to clear this area after 3 hours. It's amazing and a little nerve wracking how fast these vessels that are larger than a city block can move. November 6, 2008 The rest of the night went well, and I was able to easily maintain speed and on course and get a little sleep, as I had the Atlantic to myself most of the night. Dawn came gentle and with a little more wind but as forecasted, this subsided around 10 am and with the flapping of the genoa and main, a noise that I find especially irritating, I turned on the motor. Over the radio, I overheard two of the Canadian boats, whose crews I had become friends with since the Dismal Swamp. They had left more than 36 hours earlier from Beaufort and taken the ICW down to St Simons Sound where they were preparing to go offshore to Fort Pierce Fl. I had caught up to them in less than 24 hours so my decision to fore go ICW seemed to be right on. Around noon I was close to the outer buoy of St Simons Sound, which is between St Simon and Jekyll Island, and with the winds swinging to the south, I decided to head in. Once again rejoined with the ICW, I cruised by the west coast of Jekyll Island a famous vacation retreat of the obscenely wealthy. The island is at first looking like the other barrier islands with sand dunes, tall trees, and salt marsh, but this soon gave way to large houses, resorts and an airstrip with private jets on the runway. After Jekyll, the ICW enters St Andrews Sound before dipping behind Cumberland Island, my day's destination. The tide was working against me as I motored behind Cumberland Island and I was motoring against a stiff current. Realizing I would not make the original anchorage, I pulled off and anchored in Shellbine Creek, within site of Cumberland Island and Kings Harbor. Kings Harbor is where the US Navy maintains the Atlantic Nuclear Sub Fleet. Did not see any periscopes though, just the persistent blood thirsty noseeums. November 7, 2008 Beautiful sunrise with lots or red and pink in the scattered clouds. At 13:30, I motored the rest of the way south to Brickhill River and Cumberland Island to an anchorage off a National Historic Site called Plum Orchard. Later on I came ashore and walked around the estate. It was to say the least pretty impressive. Set among the live oaks and palm trees, one of the Carnegie families built the place for one her children. The shape of the house belies its size, for as you walk up from the docks where I had tied up my dinghy, you faced a large but not huge portico or front porch. This may have been the original house, for once you rounded the corner, you saw that the house continued on, with huge columns, arched windows and at the far end, what I found later on was an indoor pool, or gymnasium. No too shabby and a far cry from the slag piles of the Carnegie steel mills in Pittsburgh. What was equally striking, besides the size of this "house" was that it was completely surrounded by unspoiled maritime forest. That is to say that the building had a mowed lawn of 4 or five acres but beyond that it was saw palmetto, pines and large oaks. The roads leading to and from the place were dirt and sand single lane roads. As I was on foot I did not walk far from the estate. There were some ruins of what may have been out buildings but other than that, the only sign of habitation was this huge white mansion. One side of the place faced a small tidal pond. I paused here to check out the view and it was a couple of minutes before I realized that the tree top of a particularly large oak had as its residents a flock of 40 or so wood storks. I had never seen this large white bird with their large blue beaks before in the wild and it was very impressive. I returned to the Natie M. shortly before dark and turned in early, planning on bringing my bike ashore to explore the rest of the park and island. November 8, 2008 Shortly before turning in the night before I was able to get on the phone the friends that were to be visiting the island today. They would be taking the ferry over from the mainland around 4 pm so I dragged out my road bike and loaded it onto the dinghy. At the dock I reassembled the bike and headed down the dirt track road, known as the Main Road, towards the park headquarters and what I was told was the ruins of another famous estate, called Dungeness which is one of the main attractions of the island. Once I left Plum Orchard, where the Natie M. was anchored, I rode down a series of packed sand roads that were quite beautiful. The sun was still low in the horizon and the road was surrounded by the ever present live oaks, with there huge overhanging boughs wreathed in Spanish moss. The sunlight shining though the moss gave a silvery glow to everything. The forest floor itself was carpeted with pine needles and small shrubs with occasional stands of saw palmetto and palm trees. Other than the road there was no sign of any sort of human mark. This went on for miles with the road crossing a wetland or inland pond. After a couple of miles I came to the Stafford mansion. The Carnegies having also built this estate along with the original estate at Dungeness. The Stafford estate had its own grass landing strip with a little Cessna parked near the house, in case anyone wanted to go out for a quart of milk. After 8 miles, the road suddenly ends at an ornate wrought iron gate and beyond the ruins of what must have been quite a site of the Dungeness estate. I rode and walked around the grounds which are located on the south end of the island, seeing the ruins of the gardens, pergola and greenhouse, gymnasium, hunting lodge, workers quarters. The museum was very interesting displaying photographs and artifacts of the early Indian residents, who where killed off by the Spaniards, who wacked on the French and finally where overwhelmed by the British. Of course there is the civil war with the plantations that once existed there, finally ending with the brother of Andrew Carnegie, John, who having been snubbed by the wealthy old money of Jekyll Island, showed everybody off by pretty much buying the whole island next door. The park service maintains the site and most of the island. Pretty neat stuff. I recommend the website. Returning to Plum Orchard and the boat pretty beat. Riding a road bike on a sand road is a lot of work. My friends arrived at the dock in the ferry and I made ready to join them for dinner. Latter on over wine, oysters and shrimp got a great history lesson on the islands history and stories. It's truly a marvelous place; just don't expect to be able to nip out for a beer or for that matter anything. If you don't pack it in, you'll just have to do without. The seclusion and natural setting more than makes up for any absence of modern convenience. November 9, 2008 After breakfast, I listened to the weather report. I had planned to take advantage of favorable winds and weather forecast for Sunday through Thursday. This window, however, was becoming a little more constricted. I decided to head out in the afternoon and if the conditions at the St Marys sound were ok, head out off shore again for Cape Canaveral 150 miles south. After that point the Gulf Stream comes pretty close to shore making it difficult to make any serious progress south offshore. I would be forced to retreat to the ICW for the rest of the trip to Fort Lauderdale and its numerous bridges. I am hoping to get there before Thanksgiving, so I hope to eat up as much of the Florida coastline as possible before going back in. One thing is you can't miss Florida (state motto: Never met a developer we didn't like), the lights of all the cities and towns are a big difference from the subdued lights along the Georgia coast. By 1900 I was approaching St John River, which is where the large port of Jacksonville is located. My course would bring me through the shipping channels the tankers and container ships use to approach the port. The night was beautiful, stars a bright ¾ moon making silver shadows on the small waves. A steady 5-10 knots blew out of the W-NW and I was making 4-5 knots. This is also a major port, like Savannah, but as I approached I could only see two oil tankers waiting for pilots. Except for a close pass by an outgoing car carrier, my passage of the St John River was uneventful. I say this of course, meaning that I didn't hit anything bigger than me. The car carrier in question came within 100 yards or so. These vessels resemble a large floating box, usually used to bring foreign made cars to the states. Each can hold a couple of thousand cars and can be 80 feet tall and they can easily do 15 knots. The captain either didn't see me or didn't think it necessary to radio and it passed almost silently by, this giant dark floating car park, and disappeared off into the east, only the 3 foot waves of its wake behind. November 10, 2008 30o 14.65 N 81o 13.821' W After midnight, the moon lit up the sky and I could see a set of sails a couple of miles to landward. I hailed them on the radio and had a chat with the captain. The catamaran "Meant to Be" was heading to St Augustine. When offshore I try and let another boat, preferably on the same course, that you are out there. You meet some great people, sort of like a random phone call in the middle of the night and having a conversation with whoever picks up. The wind was freshening and my speed was picking up, from the 3-4 in calm seas to edging past 5 knots with some following seas of 2-3 feet. I was glad to make the time for I did not want to come into either the Cape or another lesser inlet in the middle of the night. By morning light, the wind was out of the N-NE and the waves were getting bigger. This would not be a bad thing, except that, the Natie M. with its 31 foot length loves to surf, and surfing means a lot of tiller work. I was doing over 5 knots and still had 50 miles to go to the inlet I had chosen. Ponce de Leon Inlet is just north of Cape Canaveral. The waves were the impetus for the decision to call it for the last offshore leg of the trip to Florida. That and the fact I had run out of the water. Should have checked the tank and now the dishes where piling up in my little galley sink. By 1400 I was closing in on the inlet. It has a long stone and concrete jetty that I could see the waves crashing sending spray high into the air. It also has a tall red lighthouse that was unique in its markings. But no time to sightsee, though I did get a shot of the entrance. The currents were all over the place though it was close to high tide, and I have to swing the helm from one side to the other to get in behind the jetty. Once there the waves disappeared and with a stiff back current, shot into the Ponce inlet. The yawl that I had seen paralleling my course was just ahead of me and I followed it in. With the genoa stowed and just the main still up I motored in and back into the ICW. I noticed that the yawl was coming close to a marker that my charts noted was badly shoaled. I radioed and advised and they gave it a wide berth. Good karma for me, cause it was not 15 minutes later that while attempting yet another attempt at communication with a pair of dolphin that appeared that I left the channel and rode up onto a sand bar. Attempts to get me off the thing where ineffectual and with the current and wind working against me it was looking to be a serious grounding. I did not know this but the yawl that I had radioed earlier observed the whole thing and radioed and offer to dinghy out my anchor to prevent me from further riding up onto the bar. I had in the meantime, jumped overboard into the 3 foot waters and was trying to shove the Natie M off the bar, with minimal success. Anyway, with the assistance of the yawls captain, we were able to finally get her off, all the while the dolphins I had observed earlier, swimming playfully around the boat, apparently enjoying the spectical. It was dark when both the Lutia and Natie M. tied up to the New Smyrna Bch docks for the night. I walked into town and got a sandwich and beer at Mahoney's, which featured movie night. Garth's World was funny? Got to get to know the crew of the Lutia a little better. Turns out the captain, Patty, was heading down to the Bahamas and was a in between jobs Dolphin scientist, which of course is one of those way cool jobs. I related my dolphin epiphany I wrote about earlier and she told me that, although I was a great experience, the tail slapping was either the dolphin version of giving me the finger (or tail as in this case) or they could very well have been getting amusement out of the insane biped dancing and making noise on the bow. I prefer the latter explanation. Tomorrow I head down the ICW south. |
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Deep Creek Lock, Great Dismal Swamp Canal
is a shot of all the transient boats lined up and secured within the Deep Creek Lock. It raised us up approximately 8 feet to the level of the Dismal Swamp. I was way back in line but the elderly lock keeper got on the radio and called for the "little blue boat" to come on in cause there was just enough room. There's that little word again! He was a great guy who walked around the lock and made sure everyone was properly secured before closing the locks. He was assisted by his toy poodle buffy who ran around checking out every boat. She declined to be photographed. Emerging from the lock, the canal quickly assumed a more primitive and remote setting. Lots of birds, bald cypress and the everpresent brown water. Mark E. Grant S/V NATIE M. 1969 C&C Corvette (Hull #62) Home port: TBD Formally: Breton Bay/Potomac River 410-212-8839 (cell/boat) "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living" - Nelson Mandela |
November 5 Beaufort SC
November 5, Beaufort SC Well it seems that my replacement tiller autopilot is currently doing a road trip around SC courtesy of Fed Ex. I am not informed that it will arrive today (no, we really mean it this time!) sometime between 10:30 and 3:30. This morning I made ready to get underway and pulled up the anchor and came into the day dock where I don't think the harbor master will mind as long as I am gone by this evening. I've spent the past two days enjoying the hospitality of this pretty town. Got to the local Piggly Wiggly to re-provision. It was a mile or so of walk through the neighborhoods with the cottages and large overhanging trees. The manager at the store arranged for someone to give me a ride back, which would have been a pain to walk with the bags of food. Gonna hit the local museum today as the local coffee shop employees said they would keep an eye out for the Fed Ex truck. As the weather is kinda iffy for the next couple of days, there does not exist a decent weather window to justify jumping offshore. Therefore, I will be doing the zig zag path down through the myriad rivers and wetlands of Georgia for awhile. I look forward to the scenery. Thanks to my friend, Mike Bickel, I now have a blog which might be a more convenient way of keeping in touch. Please give me some feedback on what you think of it. I will be posting some more pictures as I go along too. the blog address is: http://natiem.blogspot.com Mark E. Grant S/V NATIE M. 1969 C&C Corvette (Hull #62) Home port: TBD Formally: Breton Bay/Potomac River 410-212-8839 (cell/boat) "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living" - Nelson Mandela |
picture of sunrise on ICW
Mark E. Grant S/V NATIE M. 1969 C&C Corvette (Hull #62) Home port: TBD Formally: Breton Bay/Potomac River 410-212-8839 (cell/boat) "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living" - Nelson Mandela |
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
November 4, 2008 Email from Mark
Apologies for the poor spelling in the earlier missives. Using spell check now!
Mark
October 30, 2008
The morning’s weather indicated 10-15 knot winds and 4-6 foot waves out of the North so I made the decision to head out of Beufort (pronounced Bow-fort) inlet and entered the Atlantic around 1000. The day was bright sunshine and with the wind off my stern quarter from the NW. The waves were 3-4 feet so the boat was yawing a bit with the occasional big wave. I had planned to at the very least do one night offshore with the objective of making Charleston, SC with an alternate objective of Winyah Bay if conditions were too much. The day was kept busy preparing for the night passage and trying to get as much sleep in before dark. Had a hit on the fishing line and like the fish tale goes is was big. Tried to bring it in but in the interval of pointing to wind to stop the boat, while reeling, it took off with the lure. I did get a look at it as it got close to the boat and it was definitely big as a Winnebago. Getting some nap time in was proving difficult, with the pitching of the boat from the periodic swells that would toss the boat around. The tiller pilot, my right hand when solo sailing, was having difficulty, especially trying to compensate for the tendency of the Natie M to want to come about at the bottom of a wave trough. I could tell that I would have to spend a lot of time at the helm to relieve the excessive loading on the unit.
October 31, 2008
The night sky was incredible, with the new moon it was just a sky packed with the innumerable stars, un-obscured by the artificial lights of the coast. I’m always in awe of the night sky when away from the shore. My concern about the tiller pilot proved prophetic, for as night came the wind and waves increased along with a temperature drop and around 3 am on Saturday morning it gave out making a very unsettling screeching noise in its death throughs. Very appropriate for Halloween you might think. Scared the hell out of me when it happened though as it was not as reassuring sound. What followed was 6 hours of helm duty until I was able to configure a system of tethering the helm with the use of my extensive collection of bungee cords I had collected while riding my bike to work. With a little tweaking of the sale trim and adjusting the tension of the spider web of bungee cords I was able to make the boat hold to a course within 20 or so degrees of the rhumb line or desired course. This solution came in the knick of time because I was one tired sailor. Just the ability to get a nap of a half hour or so really helps. The waves and the wind were easing a bit but still blowing pretty steady. I estimate my average speed was around 5-1/2 knots, more or less on course. I had the main with a reef and the 110 genny up most of the night and morning. The sun didn’t come up too early that Saturday and when it did the temperature started to come out of the damp and cold range. It turned into a beautiful day out on the ocean and though tired it was exhilarating to be out of site of land with the blue green water with only the occasional clump of Sargasso weed floating by. I was around 25 to 30 miles offshore, completely out of site land, only the occasional sail in the distance. During the night I listened to different crews chat on the VHF and though I didn’t join in the conversation it was nice to know someone else was out there. I ate some more of the huge pot of beans and rice that I had prepared the day before. An occasional large wave sometimes would suddenly pick up the stern the boat would surf down the face, throwing off the delicate balance of bungee steering. Usually it would be a problem, but this time the boom slammed hard over in an accidental jibe. I had been using a preventer to do just as the name implies but had neglected to secure it at the last jibe. The tension and exhaustion suddenly came to a head and I let out some expletives that I will spare you in this narrative. I was pissed. Just as my brief tirade was reaching it climax I was suddenly struck dumb by the vision of a dolphin leaping out of the water 15 feet of my port beam, asking if he could interest me in some life insurance. Okay, that last part was hallucination. It was nevertheless such a beautiful vision as the dolphin easily cleared it entire body out of the water and dove back in with barely a splash. The appearance of the rest of the pod all around the Natie M. convinced me that it was not a hallucination, after all and I started to whistle and bang on the hull, which someone had once told me dolphins respond. The site was overwhelming, like having unexpected visitors or friends show up after a long time alone. After a minute or so they disappeared and I soon discovered several of them had moved to the bow where they crossed to and fro just in front of the boat. I continued my lunatic attempts at interspecies communication and in response they started slapping their tails on the surface of the water and then looking sideways up at me. It was an experience that I will not ever forget. Just as suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared and I went back to the cockpit, alone, to revel in the experience.
The rest of the day I made my way south, miles offshore in the general direction of Charleston, but also with the eye of maybe making for Winyah Bay as an alternate destination. By dusk it was obvious that if I were to go in to shore at Winyah I would be doing so with some serious current on my nose and in the dark. I opted for hoving to and getting an hour of rest below before complete darkness. Feeling little rested I resumed course for Charleston. The wind was still coming out of the North at 10-15 but the waves were not as steep as the night before or maybe I just got used to them. The bungee system worked reasonably well, and over the course of the night I jibed my way, well offshore, towards land again.
November 1, 2008
By 3 am I was off of Cape Romain (32o 58.971N, 78o48.401W), the last serious navigational obstical before Charleston along the coastal route. With the coming of dawn I could see the buildings and big suspension bridge of Charleston. At 1100 hours, accompanied by a container ship, I entered Charleston Harbor. Did a “cruise by” of Charleston water front, reviewing the antebellum architecture of the old houses along the shore and even more exciting the first sighting of serious palm tree concentrations. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and once again it was warm. I had thought of spending some time in Charleston, but decided to reenter the intercoastal and continue south. The weather forecast was still indicating that my weather window would be closing soon and that it would be prudent to return to the “ditch”. By 1500 I was anchored behind an little island on Wappoo Creek.
November 2, 2008
The day was mostly one of motoring, though I managed to fly the genoa most of the day with the wind at my back. The forecasted wet weather had arrived during the night before I got underway at dawn in a fine misty rain and cool overcast. The full genoa allowed me to run the motor at a considerably lower RPM and save some gas. The scenery was dominated by numerous river confluences and miles of salt water march all around. I had to concentrate on the channel markers, having briefly run aground while chatting on the phone and steering at the sometime the day before. I made a stop off of the ICW on Mosquito Creek (a misnomer, no mosquitoes, just a bazillion noseeums). Got some local fishing tips from the guy at the counter, a deal on some stainless steel anchor chain, and gas and ice. Had thought of anchoring there for the night before making the last 15 miles to Beufort SC, but the clouds of noseeums quickly dissuaded me of the notion. Made another 5 miles to a remote anchorage on Parrot Creek, surrounded by marsh and reasonably sheltered, where I cooked my shrimp and feasted before turning in.
November 3, 2008
Up and underway at dawn and by noon was anchored off of Beufort S.C. Wonderful anchorage right off the Municipal marina. Hot Shower for a $1, Laundromat, and they sell beer! Certain towns I’m familiar with could take a lesson. I will be spending two days here waiting for a replacement autopilot to be delivered on Tuesday. In the meantime I did chores, secured provisions and generally enjoyed this lovely town. The waterfront area is beautiful with lots of live oaks with Spanish moss dripping from them. Of course the palm trees have become endemic to the scenery now and though overcast I’m happy to say I’m back in shorts. The neighborhoods are a combination of little cottages surrounded by large trees whose canopies overhang the streets. Some of the historic buildings and manor houses are all in good shape, large antebellum homes, many of which predate the civil war. I was told a lot of the older homes and buildings were spared the Union Army’s urban renewal efforts of the civil war by virtue of being occupied early on. Ran into some of the other cruisers as they came into the docks or anchorage. They were wondering what happened to the solo sailor in the “little” blue boat. Harrumph! Little indeed!
October 29, 2008 Email from Mark
Spent the day in Elizabeth City catching the sights. Weather called for some winds on the nose so made no sense fighting it and burning a lot of gas. Walked through town on a somewhat zig-zag route until the accumulated directions to the Laundromat from various local sources allowed me to get that one chore complete. Some friends from St. Mary’s called and were in the area. I dinghied (is that a verb?) back to the Natie M and unloaded the laundry, and grabbed the computer before the forecasted rain showed up. As I set out to return to shore, I thought to myself that I should check the level of gas in the outboard. Naw, surely I have enough of to make it back to shore and I can fill it there. Murphy’s Law was in full effect, motor of course sputtered out exactly halfway between boat and shore. Got my exercise for the day rowing in. My friends and I rendezvoused and from the comfortable tables at the coffee shop enjoyed the homecoming parade. After my friends left I walked up to the Albemarle Maritime museum and did the tour including narrative presentations by the local high school students. The student depicting the pirate Ann Bonny was especially good though I would have slapped some of the hyperactive kids in the front row with my saber for effect. Very nice museum with lots of artifacts displays. I especially liked the Blackbeard the pirate display (starting to see a trend?) with recently recovered artifacts including a 6 pound cannon recently raised from what is believed to be the wreck of Queen Annes Revenge. Walked around a bit and then with my computer returned to the coffee shop which also offered an excellent selection of micro brews, sat at the bar and got on the net. As I was leaving to return to the dinghy, ran into one of the Canadian crew who asked if I wanted to join them for a movie. Excellent restored old movie theater, with tables and waiters serving drinks and food. We watched a violent very dramatic movie, though very good, I think may have traumatized the Canadians, hell, I had some trouble with some of the scenes. (Pride and glory, Natie M. 4 star rating). Back to the Natie M in a very dark dinghy ride the ½ mile to my anchorage.
October 26, 2008
Up and under way at 0720 and made the scheduled bridge raising at Elizabeth City Bridge at 0730 and along with a bunch of other snow birds headed south. The forcasted wind was N at 15-20 knots and it came close that morning. Had a great jibe down the Pasquotank River to Abemarle Sound and the Alligator River. Nice sailing day, but with the wind dying in the afternoon, it was a slow sail to the anchorage at the north inlet to the Alligator River/ Pungo River Canal at sunset. Beautiful anchorage, no sign of humanity, except of course the anchored fiberglass around me.
October 27, 2008
Awakened at 0430 by the sound of very large diesel engines. Poked my head out the hatch and saw two Tugs with there lights and spot lights blazing. The spot lights on the tugs lit up the anchored boats one by one, and threaded its way between them. Very big boats but never came near, I still stayed up to make sure, with my radio on. Got a couple more hours of sleep and before sunrise was up and getting ready to get underway. Entered the canal at 0730. The canal was beautiful with the extensive wetlands to either shore and no signs of anything human made, other than the very straight water filled ditch. Saw numerous Bald eagles, woodpeckers and hawks among the tall pines and bald cypress. It was especially beautiful with the intermittent fog wafting across the waterway. Arrived at Snode Creek and anchored as the forecasted cold front moved in with cold rain and winds. Turned in and listened to the World Series on the short wave. Second day of no cell phone coverage.
October 28, 2008
Did the rest of the canal to the Neuse River. Started to see docks with big fishing boats tied up. Stopped at one of the docks and talked awhile with the man running the gas pumps. RA Mayo Co. is a fish wholesaler with a boat chandlery attached, though I doubt they call it by the yotty label. Inside it had the air of an old country store with a three or four retired fisherman sitting around the pot belly stove. Lots of boat stuff, real boat stuff, not the fancy trinkets you see at West marine. Paid for my gas, some work gloves (which function as my windlass) and an antique Almond Joy candy bar. Emerging into the Neuse River was in for a ride. The 20-25 kt west winds were a heck of a sail. Averaged 6 knots plus in a choppy wet reach down river. After about 6 hours of that dowsing was ready for some calm motoring to Beufort, NC at the end of Adams Creek Canal. Started to see more houses and more expensive real estate as I approached. Regretted leaving the swamps, really enjoyed the dismal swamp the wetlands to the south though. Its friggin cold, especially in the morning, need to continue reducing the latitude. About 5 miles inland from Beufort saw a pod of Dolphin. Always a good sign. Arrived in a stiff west wind to Town Creek on the inland side of Beufort. Set anchor and turned in. Checked in with the cell phone which now has a signal. Back in civilization.
October 29, 2008
Wind still blowing stiff out of the West. Gonna check the weather before taking off, either offshore or continue down to Cape Fear. Beaufort has a lot of history, and pretty seaport town, and very boater friendly. Beufort is also the site where Blackbeard and his crew abandoned his ship the Queen Annes Revenge just outside of the inlet after running aground just offshore. Will decide tonight or tomorrow morning before heading south again. In the meantime, vessel and crew in good shape and high spirits.
October 24, 2008 Email from Mark
Ahoy!
October 22, 2008
This morning slept in, weighing anchor 0900 after a big breakfast. The weather forecast promised little opportunity for food preparation today. The forecast was accurate as soon as I emerged into the bay and the waves built up quickly to 3-4 feet with some surprise 5 footers once into the bay. 1500 hrs past Wolf Trap Light. Made great time in an exciting run down the rest of the bay. Had 20 kts of wind on my back with gusts and 4 foot waves. Ran just the Genoa jib and jigger most of the way. It was a good surf all the way at 6-7knots. Made Hampton roads as the tide was coming in which added another knot and a half. Believe I broke the speed record for a C&C Corvette not going over a waterfall. Motored by a substantial portion of our military budget. Made my way into the Elizabeth River and anchored at Hospital Point in Portsmouth VA mile 0 on the Intercostal waterway directly across from the battleship Wisconsin.
October 23, 2008
Took off first light to enjoy the industrial scenery of Hampton roads and the shipyards. My brief attempt to fly the Genoa was short lived. Missed the turn off for the Dismal Swamp, which would not surprise any of you that has driven with me. The day was motoring along the first half of the dismal swamp extension of the intercostal. I see now how it got its nickname "the ditch". Most of the first 30 or so miles the canal parallels a highway, giving the feel of sailing along a stomwater ditch. Days highlight was the locks which raised the group of us (8-10 boats) to the elevation of the Dismal Swamp. The scenery started to get more swampish with the exception of the truck and car noise on the highway. Another thing is this sucker is narrow. Was busy keeping an eye for deadheads (large logs just below the surface) that forgot to watch for overhangs of the big pines and sycamores that line the canal. Ran into one that showered the boat in branches, leaves and sycamore seed pods. Turned the wind vane into a piece of abstract art.
Around noon passed into North Carolina and believe it or not they have a welcome center a couple of miles further on; though I think it doubles as a highway rest stop. The docks were all taken and no one was aboard, so rather rafting uninvited up to someone’s expensive Benetou, I opted to go the South Mills drawbridge and lock. Didn't make it time for the bridge tender and tied up to the wall just before the bridge in South Mills, North Carolina.
October 24, 2008
Got up at dawn and climbed the mast to restore to a more functional wind vane configuration. As soon as the bridge opened motored the 1000 yards to the second lock which dropped me a good 8 feet. The section of canal here was more like it! Bald cypress and old pines with lots and lots of wetland. Saw hawks, bald eagle and other birds. There might be a Wal-Mart (bastards!) within a mile but you couldn't tell. The canal meandered south and after 20 or so miles Elizabeth City came into view. By 2pm I had found a gym that for 3 bucks let me have a hot shower, which after three days, was exquisite and I'm sure quite appreciated by my invisible crew. Probably will spend the day here tomorrow as the wind is going to be in the wrong direction, but no worries, no schedule!
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