Short time in Charleston

Center St. , Fernandina Beach, Florida

     When making the passage offshore from Fernandina Beach, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina the excitement of arrival at the inlet was tempered by its length. The entrance even short of the sea buoy can take a sailing vessel more than a couple of hours to reach the heart of Charleston Harbor depending on tides and currents.



     Our overnight passage was as good as could be expected. We sailed for awhile, motor sailed for awhile and decided to lower sails before nightfall rather than listen to a slamming boom and flapping sails. It would have been too dangerous to venture on deck to secure the main with the rolling sea state as the wind died down after dark. During a previous overnight passage one of our battens had poked through the sail and crashed onto the deck with a thunderous crack and we didn't want a repeat performance. The wayward batten was discovered on deck the following morning as we completed our passage through the St. Mary's inlet in Georgia..."Oh, that must have been that loud crash we heard during the night!"

     Overnight passages are exhausting when there are only two people on board. I find it difficult to get any quality rest when Joe is on watch and vise versa. For some reason after nightfall, creaks and groans in the boat are magnified. Imaginations are dilated as well! It becomes easier to understand the origin of the belief in creatures from the deep. Even though Joe is harnessed in the cockpit, I have imagined him falling over the side and being dragged to his death by the boat on autopilot until he's drowned. I'm afraid I won't hear his call for help. Therefore, I don't sleep or at best I sleep with one eye opened. When I'm on watch he at least tries to rest, but also checks my status every half hour or so. So much for trust. It was a long arduous night.

     Upon arrival in the harbor, the Charleston Harbor Marina assigned us to "The Megadock," we were the undersized boat among megayachts. One nice feature of this assignment was the convenience of fueling. There were several fueling stations along the dock making it easy to tie up for the night and refuel in one easy step. The City Marina also provided a shuttle to town and to the heart of the historic district every hour. Of course there also happened to be a daily run to West Marine at 11:00 AM. I always take advantage of opportunities for provisioning. After a nap we took the shuttle to Harris Teeter for groceries. This grocery store has an excellent meat selection. I had over an hour to shop before the shuttle picked us up. Upon arrival back at the marina, the staff actually delivered us and our groceries to Simple Life on a golf cart. Knowing this in advance was helpful. I stocked up on bulk items such as a case of water, beer and of course "Chateau Carton"
(a couple of boxes of wine) that would otherwise be too heavy to carry on foot.




     After all of the groceries were stored I marveled at my sense of peace and contentment. We're in Charleston, it's springtime! We should be checking out the sights, but I think our natural instincts kick in when living aboard. I always feel content when I have a full refrigerator, pantry and clean laundry. It makes me feel safe. Perhaps living aboard brings us closer to the understanding of exactly what our true human needs are. Food, shelter and of course clean sheets!




     Later that afternoon Joe and I took advantage of the shuttle to dine at Blossom's courtyard one of Charleston's premier nuveau cuisine restaurants. This was our reward for enduring the overnight passage. While in the low country I've been experimenting with recipes for shrimp and grits and I wanted to sample Blossom's specialty, creek shrimp with tasso over grits. It was delightful and the service was top notch.



     The following day with freshening breezes we momentarily considered heading offshore once again north to the Cape Fear inlet. Hmm...I wonder where the origin of the name Cape Fear came from? That would require a 20 hour offshore trip. After discussing it we made the decision to travel more leisurely up the ICW route to Winyah Bay and enjoy the sights along the Waccamaw River in springtime.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Charleston, South Carolina

Offshore from Florida to Charleston, South Carolina

     This morning at 6:30 AM we had a positive forecast from our weather router, Chris Parker. His forecast called for winds from the southwest in the 12-15 knot range with 2-4 foot seas offshore. Finally, all systems were "go." Sounds a bit like a space shuttle launch doesn't it? We've been waiting for weather and until today conditions have been unfavorable with high winds and seas. But, this morning Simple Life set sail out of the St. Mary's inlet on the Georgia-Florida border for Charleston, South Carolina. If conditions remain as expected the trip should be a treat! No shallows to concern us along the ICW in Georgia and the opportunity to make considerable distance north along the eastern seaboard. We'd hoped to track up to Beaufort, NC, but there is a potential for squalls with winds up to 40 knots on Friday morning due to near gale force winds off Cape Hatteras. We decided to play it safe and check into the Charleston inlet sometime after noon on Friday. This requires one overnight passage. Simple Life is making good speed as she's sailing from St. Mary's inlet to points north at 6.3 knots. The wind is up, seas are down and we're hoping conditions remain throughout the day and night.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Off Cumberland Island Georgia

Traveling North

     A week ago at 6:30 AM Joe tuned the SSB radio to 4045 to listen to another Chris Parker weather broadcast. The forecast for the entire Atlantic seaboard was still grim. Gale force winds off Cape Hatteras, huge waves in the Gulf Stream, drenching thunderstorms throughout the entire state of Florida, with high winds in the Bahamas sprinkled with squalls and thunderstorms. Cruising boats were holed up in safe harbors and few were moving north or south. Cruisers staging along the east coast had been waiting for favorable weather windows for a couple of weeks and those who had chosen to head north of northern Florida were facing squalls, headwinds and unseasonable chilly temperatures.


     Even after processing Chris' forecast Joe and I decided to poke our nose out of the Port Everglades inlet just to satisfy our own curiosity. We raised the mainsail in the turning basin and began motoring out of the inlet. The wind was a steady 18 knots from the east southeast. Cresting waves in the inlet we're four to five feet with a short four second interval. In other words it was rough and the waves would have been cresting on Simple Life's starboard side. It would have been an arduous overnight up the coast to Fort Pierce. After slogging around off the coast of Fort Lauderdale for a short period of time a unanimous decision was made to turn around, head back into the inlet, take the sail down and return to the anchorage in Lake Sylvia.




     So now what? Joe processed additional forecasts from several internet sources as well as Chris Parker' broadcast the following day. It appeared that things were going downhill even further. A stationary low over the Carolina's was keeping normal trade wind activity away from South Florida and was ushering in northerly winds and severe thunderstorm warnings with winds in excess of 40 to 50 knots! That information was enough to chase us the short distance up the ICW to Las Olas Municipal Marina where we could procure a mooring for the duration of the impending bad weather cycle. The moorings were a pricey $37.00 per night, but Joe considered it a means of insuring the boat in the event of squally thunderstorms with the potential of dragging boats in a tight anchorage.




     Neither of us cared much for Fort Lauderdale with its high rise hotels, megayachts, luxury condos and overpriced restaurants. I missed Marathon along with the calm, down to basics environment it offered. Though, apparently Fort Lauderdale appeals to the masses.Traffic was gnarled, restaurants were hopping, foreign languages filtered out of bars and sidewalk cafes and we felt out of place. With the $17,000,000.00 homes surrounding the area we felt like "gypsies in the palace," as Jimmy Buffett would say. It was time to move on.


     When the thunderstorms subsided and weather turned more favorable northerly winds and seas were still high. It was evident that if we were to make any progress north it would require us to travel within the boundaries of the ICW. With days of potential travel lost Simple Life finally slipped her mooring lines and began the arduous journey north in what is known as "the Canyon." One of the main reasons we hoped to travel offshore was to avoid the fifteen restricted bridge openings in one day. Bridges open on schedule on the hour or half hour. It's easy to get out of sinc with the timing between bridges.
 If one bridge tender was only a few minutes late with an opening that had the potential of setting a vessel back and having to wait a half hour for the next scheduled opening at the next bridge. Another problem was that local power boats ruled this area with little regard for the lowly traveling sailing vessel with limited maneuverability or power. Travel in this area is not advised on weekends for a good reason...it's nuts! We departed on Saturday and made considerable progress until calling it a day in Lantana when we just couldn't stand another minute of relentless motor boat wakes. Simple Life was anchored for the night off the ICW. On Sunday conditions were even worse with unskilled large and small power boaters who aimed their boats at us in tight conditions while naively waving and throwing wakes in our direction without regard. We called it a day at 1:30 PM by turning into a peaceful anchorage in North Palm Beach.

Sabastian Inlet Lighthouse

     Monday offered hopes of less boat traffic and making considerable progress north. Mild weather throughout the area promised progress. We hoped to make Fort Pierce, but actually made it to Vero Beach! We'd traveled 62.5 miles in one day! That is a good day in sailing miles. Vero Beach is a cruiser friendly town that offers convenient shuttle buses to grocery shopping and the beach. We'd stopped in Vero on our trip south and looked forward to our return trip north.

     Grocery shopping always seems to be high on the list so we hopped an early bus to Publix and West Marine and were back aboard by noon. The afternoon was reserved for a trip to the beach for a fitness walk and lunch at a restaurant on the beach.



     Calm winds are ideal for traveling in the ICW and we were up early to take advantage of the conditions. First we needed to refuel, top off the water tank and get a pump out. All were available at the Vero Beach City Marina before departure. With Simple Life fueled and ready for sea, we await fair weather for passages offshore.

Fueling up at Vero Beach

Simple Life is now ready for sea...if only we can get to the St. Augustine inlet before the weather turns once again.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Weather to Stay or Weather to Go

     The time has come. We're trying to head north, but as always weather is in control of our progress. We sailed from Marathon in Hawk Channel on the ocean side passing through Angelfish Creek in North Key Largo into Biscayne Bay two hours before low tide. The shallowest depths we saw at the entrance to Angelfish Creek were five feet two inches. Simple Life draws four and a half feet. Needless to say, there were a few anxious moments as Joe read off the live play by play action on the depth sounder. While sailing north in Biscayne Bay we experienced a quick rain squall and the wind freshened giving us an early arrival at Dinner Key in Coconut Grove.

     The following day we ran into a cruising couple, Jeff and Terry aboard Ariel whom we'd met at Boot Key Harbor. Whenever cruising sailors get together usually the first question asked is, "So where are you headed?" The conversation also seems to revolve around weather. We tend to compare notes. Questions are posed. "So what have you heard about the forecast?What about wind speed and direction? What are the current sea states? Are there any fronts in the forecast and the final decision maker...What is our weather router, Chris Parker's synopsis?" At times it all seems like information overload and decisions to move or wait for a favorable forecast can become overwhelming.

     When Joe and I made this trip nine years ago, we'd never heard of Chris Parker! The iPad with all of its weather apps that we all now rely upon wasn't invented! We didn't have an SSB radio. We did have a VHF radio and we used the NOAA weather broadcasts to make our own decisions. We did get caught in "weather situations," but not excessively. If we decided to make an overnight passage offshore we headed out of an inlet and if the wind or waves were too much to handle we'd make a quick decision to turn around and head back to the anchorage. Perhaps we were naive or maybe we were just lucky. At any rate we now have all kinds of weather information at our fingertips and for some reason or other it's more difficult to make weather related decisions. Sometimes I think we should just ignore the weather apps and weather routers and forecast the weather the old fashioned way. The old school idea of wet your finger, stick it up in the air and figure out where the wind is coming from is beginning to sound more feasible. The truth is perfect sailing weather days are few and far between.




     After much deliberation the decision was made to leave Dinner Key and make an offshore run for Fort Lauderdale with a possible run up the coast to Lake Worth. We experienced a good sailing day and made the decision to turn into Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) as the wind veered more to the northeast and was "on the nose."








     In the meantime we always appreciate and experience wherever we're holed up. Right now our new "digs" happen to be in Fort Lauderdale "the Venice of America." Simple Life is anchored in Lake Sylvia surrounded by lovely residential homes in the shadow of historic Pier 66 Restaurant with its circa 1965 revolving rooftop lounge overlooking the heart of Fort Lauderdale's intricate canal system.




     This morning Joe spoke with Chris Parker during his morning broadcast via SSB radio regarding an offshore passage from Fort Lauderdale north to Fort Pierce. The sea state is up, but the winds are forecast to shift to the east and we are scheduled for departure tomorrow morning with an arrival in Fort Pierce on Monday morning! Perhaps information overload isn't such a bad idea after all.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Lake Sylvia, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Sea Gypsies

     This morning with decisions cast in jello we lifted the outboard from the dinghy, hoisted the dinghy onto the davits and called into our weather router Chris Parker for verification that today would be a good day to head north. Chris advised us to head toward Miami, but to make certain to be tucked in somewhere safe by Sunday night. With numerous squalls accompanied by thunderstorms and high winds in excess of 40 knots due to an approaching cold front from the Carolina's a long offshore passage was not advised. But, we would make some progress and there might be a longer weather window coming up next week.



      It was time to leave Boot Key Harbor and head toward our summer destination in New England. I'm hesitant to say home because we are home regardless of where Simple Life may be anchored. I felt a twinge of sadness as we called in to the net controller to announce our departure. Joe and I have enjoyed a wonderful winter meeting those who call Boot Key home and for now it feels like our home too.

Bobby the Viking sailing Beastie

Pat and Bob of Chanticleer

     We've made a few good friends, enjoyed numerous activities and settled in to a comfortable life aboard. Life here was relatively simple. Our bikes which we bought used when we arrived were our only mode of transportation on the island. We grocery shopped, made trips to West Marine, Home Depot, restaurants and bars. I was sad leaving my old beach cruiser bike behind.




     My friend Nancy who lives in the harbor aboard Flying Dogs expressed an interest in the bike and at least now I feel that my old bike went to a good home. Nancy also promised that we could use the bikes if we return next winter. Our only other transportation was our dinghy to and from the City Marina, the beach and a few restaurants. We had no television so we read lots of books. Hopefully, we're smarter after the winter.






   








     Cruisers from the marina offered several activities during the season. Yoga classes, medical emergency classes, splicing classes, jewelry making, pine needle basketry, music jams were a few examples of our daily choices. But, things have been winding down for a few weeks. Cruisers have been leaving the harbor and moving on each day. Some were heading south, but most had northern destinations. All promised to return next year. Boot Key Harbor was a special place and I'm certain that next year we'll once again return "home."


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Hawk Channel, Florida Keys

Sailing the Farm

     Sailing the Farm may sound like a strange title for a post, but I actually got the inspiration from Duane Cobb, a fellow cruiser who lives aboard his boat in Boot Key Harbor. Duane was kind enough to rent his sewing machine to me when I was building the dinghy chaps in the project room at the City Marina this winter. Duane is a man of few words, but occasionally offers bits of insight into his life. One day while having a chat with Duane he mentioned that one of the most interesting books he's ever had onboard was a book titled " Sailing the Farm: A Survival Guide to Homesteading on the Ocean" by Kenneth Neumeyer. Self reliance and a simple life have always been important to me and the book's title sounded intriguing.The book was published in 1981 and has been out of print for several years. However, it is available through collectors for an exorbitant price. After searching the internet I did find a pdf version for free download on a cruisers forum at http://cruisenews.net/sailfarm.pdf

     I have been tending a few "crops" as Joe refers to them since moving aboard last June. We've been enjoying fresh basil and parsley which I use in so many of my recipes. Sailing the Farm offered tips and instructions for raising fruit bearing crops such as Tiny Tim tomatoes, a hybrid dwarf plant to strawberries and the nutritional benefits and ease of propagation of sprouts. It also offered tips for identifying and harvesting seaweed as a food source. My Irish mother used to eat Dulce when she was a child. Dulce was one of the seaweed species mentioned in the book. There were also detailed instructions for building a solar food dehydrator and a fresh water still that converts salt water to fresh drinking water!

 

 The book inspired me to expand my crop selection by ordering seeds for Tiny Tim Tomatoes. The plants will reach a maximum height of 12-14 inches at maturity and seem ideal for small garden spaces. The tomato seeds geminated within two days and the plants are adapting well in the marine environment. Strawberries were also recommended since they grow well in container pots. I found four strawberry plants at a local hardware store and they seem to be coming along very nicely. We've actually enjoyed a few in our morning cereal!

     So far the farm is successful. In a couple of weeks we'll see how the plants progress when Simple Life is underway to our summer destination in New England.

Snorkeling at Sombrero Reef

   

   

Sombrero Reef Light

     The Florida Reef System is a 221 mile barrier reef strand of living corals that begin at Key Biscayne and span the entire length of the Florida Keys culminating with a pristine reef at the Dry Tortugas 70 miles west of Key West. It is the third largest barrier reef in the world and since it is the only living coral reef in North America it is a national treasure. In 1990 this huge stretch of reef and nearby mangrove islands earned the much needed designation of being a national marine sanctuary. Basically, the designation of a "no take zone" prohibits fishing, anchoring and spear fishing within sensitive areas of the sanctuary boundaries. Snorkeling and diving at the reef are permitted and mooring balls have been installed to prevent damage from dragging anchors.


   

View of Hawk Channel from Boot Key Harbor

      Sombrero Reef is located 3 nautical miles offshore from Boot Key Harbor and is marked by the Sombrero Key Light. This winter the Keys have experienced numerous cold fronts that have ushered in northerly winds with few opportunities to snorkel or dive at the reef due to rough seas. Last week winds finally subsided and shifted east offering a window of opportunity to head out to the reef. With light winds and calm seas in the forecast, we dropped the mooring lines with an agenda of first fueling up with diesel, then testing the newly installed Lofrans Tigress anchor windlass outside of Boot Key Harbor. With all systems go we motored the three miles out toward the reef. Joe wanted to fire up the engine to ensure that everything was in proper working order in preparation for our passage north to New England in a few weeks. It was a good shake down cruise.

Sombrero Reef from Simple Life

     The motor trip east toward the reef appeared to be ideal. Flat calm turquoise water, with light easterly winds coupled with the anticipation of an enjoyable lunchtime adventure at the reef. As soon as Simple Life rounded the western side of Sombrero Key Light toward the southern edge of the reef it became evident that the seas were up. We managed to pick up a mooring ball with rough seas in relatively tight conditions with previously moored boats, divers and three foot seas. Joe had to lower the suspended dinghy from the davits in order to drop the stern ladder for our snorkeling adventure. With the rough sea state conditions I momentarily feared that the sharp edges of the ladder would puncture the dinghy as the boat pitched back and forth in the seas but, Joe managed to kick the dinghy away from the stern while lowering the ladder.
   
      

Joe enjoying his first look at the reef

     The boat rolled about in the sea conditions and it quickly became apparent that I was not leaving the boat. On the other hand Joe eagerly donned his wetsuit and jumped in. Even though conditions weren't as ideal as expected the water clarity was exceptional. With at least 40 foot visibility Joe identified schools of Yellowtail Snapper, Seargeant Majors, Parrot Fish, one Great Barracuda that took a "shine" to him by shadowing his every move, Atlantic Spadefish, and varieties of Angelfish that swam in and out of numerous varieties of corals.

     After snorkeling at a few reef patches for over a half hour Joe returned to the boat. Even though he wore a full wetsuit with water temps averaging in the high seventies he began feeling chilled and thought it would be best to climb aboard and head back to the harbor.


     The reef trip was on Joe's winter checklist of things to do while staying in Boot Key Harbor. He was satisfied with his snorkeling adventure but, would have enjoyed it more if I had joined him. I enter the water only when it's 85 degrees or warmer so even though we're in the Florida Keys it's still too chilly for me. Maybe next time...


Location:Hawk Channel off Vaca Key, Marathon, Florida Keys
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad