Yellow Boat

07/13/08 Long Island Sound to Stonington, CT

2008-07-26T12:05:00.095-04:00

THERE'S A NEW CAPTAIN ABOARD!!YES, HAKUNA MATATA IS AT HER MOORING IN STONINGTON, CONNECTICUT.

IT WAS GREAT TO BE BACK IN HOME WATERS BUT THERE'S A SADNESS TO ENDING SUCH A JOURNEY. TO ALL OUR FRIENDS WE MADE ALONG THE WAY:
"WE LOVE & WILL MISS YOU TILL NEXT TIME!"

TO OUR FRIENDS AT HOME...."HELLO - WE'RE BACK!"

To those boating friends South of us. Take a look at Connecticut and sometime soon come take a closer look. You are always welcome along side Hakuna Matata.
................................................................................................................................................................
July 13, 2008

It's great to be in the home waters of Long Island Sound but there's that little nagging voice as we see New York fading in the distance that's saying "It's almost over"
no more: Pelicans, Porpoises or Rays..."Oh My"

We pick up a mooring in Manhasset Bay after an exciting trip through New York.

Bob is busy plotting and calculating our sail home.

As we sail out of Port Washington we can still see New York beckoning us to return
but
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SAILING DAY IN LONG ISLAND SOUND

SO WE RAISE OUR SAILS

The cat seems to be wondering what the heck that white thing UP THERE IS?
Whatever* The cats have become great sailors.

No motor noise after all these months...it's so peaceful.
Even Ovida gets to SAIL!

Yes that's me under the hat.
This may be New England, but that sun's pretty hot.

Whenever two boats are sailing in the same direction....it's always a race.

Lighthouse into New Haven Harbor

The schooner, Quinnipiack, heads out for an evening sail as we settle in for the night.
The next morning is very ominous and wet!
So you know us, we stay another day.

The day clears and we spend it watching the very busy harbor.

The sun comes up the next morning and it's still busy!!

Boats are always coming and going in New Haven Harbor.

This boat's home port was Honolulu. They were headed to New York and South.
You know we shared with them and were just a little envious.
tugs still working hard

We look to shore and a sign reminds us where we are headed

So... we drop our last mooring line of our adventure and
HEAD FOR HOME

As we head up the Sound there's no sailing as there is no wind...look at the calm water, not even a slight breeze. But there is hot sun, so Bob creates a unique awning from a beach towel. Hey it works.

After sailing the coasts of so many states, we are seeing the beautiful Connecticut shore with fresh eyes. We've decided to take one of our side trips and tour the Thimble Islands. As we approach them you can easily see where they got their name from and we recall taking a tour boat ride through them years ago and enjoy our little tour.
Luckily for us there is a marked channel through the islands and without local knowledge we'll follow it. If we should stray it won't be shallow water, sand and/or mud that we'll be dealing with; we'll very likely be on the rocks. Rocks demand your respect!

You have to marvel at how those big rocks got there?

or all these ?

We leave the islands and join the boats now Sailing the Sound.
Always ferries

Race Rock Lighthouse
With all our sailing in Fishers Island Sound
North Dumpling never looked so good!

University of Connecticut has a new research buoy.The Monastary says we're almost home.

We get our first glimpse of Stonington as we peek under our sail.
We also recognize a familiar sailboat headed our way.

Our dear friends, Linda and Roger have sailed out to meet us aboard Delirious.
We said goodbye to them last October and they faithfully followed our journey.
Roger was a great soundingboard for Bob to share any issues or triumphs. Linda relished in the pictures of our adventure with lots of questions; always encouraging...Do More! They also happen to be great fans of the cats and their adventures.

Another friend - Latimer Light welcomes us in the distance

as we pass White Rock
The fact that we name rocks should tell you something about
the waters in Fishers Island Sound.
There are so many of them they need names to keep track:
Intrepid Rock, Pulpit Rock, Swimming Rock, Youngs Rock, Academy Rock, Wicopesset Rock.
At times there are so many they give them a group name such as:
West Clump, Middle Clump, East Clump, Catumb Rocks, Seal Rocks
some rocks are actually identified as ledges:
Vixen Ledge, New London Ledge
or there are so many strung out they become reefs:
Seaflower Reef, Horseshoe Reef, Ellis Reef, Watch Hill Reef
That just leaves the really big ones that we just call islands!

This long pile of rocks we call home.
Its the breakwater going into Stonington Harbor.

And this is our very own mooring ball in Stonington Harbor.
and a few neighbors
It's great to be home.
We'll end our trip with the Wednesday Night Dinghy Races
as we have a front row seat on Hakuna Matata!

Some moments in life are just magical
Thank you for letting us share some of ours.
BOB & OVIDA
meows: Sasquatch, Sneakers, Zachary & Callie
aboard
HANKUNA MATATA

07/12/08 New York, NY

2008-07-14T20:04:00.053-04:00

We head to New York Harbor

it's very evident that lots of New Yorkers love to fish. Fishing boats all around us. The Coast Guard keeps announcing over the radio that you can not linger in the channel. You must make it open for safe passage. Of course everyone thinks that's where the fish are, so they keep drifting through. Do you suppose after all the years of fishing that the fish figured out they should hide out in the channels to keep safe?? The fishermen seem to think so.

Here comes a fast ferry again. Not bad as there is lots of room for everyone.

Even big ships...

There's early morning summer haze over the city & harbor as we approach the Verrazano Bridge, The Narrows and on to New York

This is the Fort Wadsworth Lighthouse (see light on upper right wall)
Like so many lighthouses this one fell into ruins once the Verrazano Bridge made it obsolete. Fortunately a former lighthouse keeper, Joe Esposito, launched a campaign to save it.

Did we mention traffic?

Manhattan Island

This trip we go to the right of Governors Island through the Buttermilk Channel

There's lots of commercial business on this side

Soon we come out and join up with the East River

Always a yellow Taxi in New York even in the water

The waterfall towers are new since our last trip through

As we turn and look behind us....it's breathtaking!!

Bridge, water taxi, sailboat, waterfall, NY and statue all in one glimpse.

Now just sit back and enjoy the excitement and beauty of cruising through New York
busy - busy, even helicopters buzzing about
We heard Coast Guard announce a navigation hazard....there was a seaplane loose in the river.
They had it tied up again when we arrived.

OK, heads up the light on Hallets Pt tells us we' will be navigating in some strong currents now
All this water is rushing through a narrow passage called
Hell Gate.
Thankfully it's going our way

Notice the train crossing the 2nd bridge.
Pretty exciting and great timing!
It was a really, really long train that stretched out of sight as it crossed

Here's one of those ferries again. This time is came from astern and passed us.
We were glad they had experience at this as we were in a narrow channel between the Brother Islands. This looked like an excursion with lots of happy travelers.
This is close enough to Rikers Island. No desire to visit there.

This seems to have offices/apartments? in it.

We go under the Throgs Neck Bridge leaving New York
and entering Long Island Sound
HAKUNA MATATA IS IN HOME WATERS AGAIN.

07/08/08 New Jersey Coast

2008-07-13T12:50:00.051-04:00

WELCOME TO NEW JERSEY
and the Cape May CanalIt's a beautiful day for the beach along the canal.

As we pass by we're happy the ferries are still in their docks and not on the canal.

However there are numerous dolphin and whale watcher boats out early this morning.

It was sort of like coming home to be at Utschs Marina again.
This visit we walked into town. So did a few other people.

Notice a few puddles....it rained off and on all day. We managed to stay almost dry. Did some serious raining after we were back under our awning.

We left Cape May Inlet and sailed the Jersey Coast

Past the familiar outline of Atlantic City

This time we continued to Barnegat Inlet to anchor for the night.

I have a miniature replica of this lighthouse. Loved being so close up to it.
We anchored for the night in a beautiful harbor.

Bob filled the fuel tank with the diesel from those yellowncans you've seen tied to the deck.
We were not going to a dock for fuel and in case we had rolling seas he wanted a full tank.

No, we don't know if the seagull rides there regularly or just happened to land but he certainly looks comfortable with it.

A beautiful sky all around us as the sun set
and just as beautiful at sunrise.

We left earlier than even some of the fishing boats.

The waves breaking reminded us that this inlet
could become very rough in the right/wrong conditions.

We were thankful it was good this morning.

We traveled off the Jersey Coast and realized how many different style water tanks there are!!

Who Knew?
A wayward beach ball reminded us there are beaches with people playing over there.At one point we were close enough to see those lucky people (well almost).

At Great Egg Harbor Inlet this bridge has a very narrow entrance. We were hoping it would open for traffic as we passed by.We were in luck and were happy to just watch.
Glad we were not going that direction.

This tug is pulling The Staten Island Ferry?

A colorfully loaded container ship.

This we recognized as the New York City skyline coming out of the haze.

But for tonight we turned left at Sandy Hook

and entered the Atlantic Highlands to stay the night .

Our mooring was one of the last in the field closest to the docks. Notice the ferries docked on the right. They are high speed and ferry from various New York locations.

Across the breakwater we could see a very, very long dock with what looks like Navy ships docked at the end.

Early the next morning we pass by the long docks, clam rakers and endless fishing boats.

We were passed by a high speed ferry headed to New York.
We are also headed to New York
but you know they will all be having lunch before we get there.
We would never be called high speed.
Hakuna Matata

06/30/08 Eastern Chesapeake and Delaware Bay

2008-07-06T17:35:00.058-04:00

Thunderstorms in the evening was typical while in the Solomons.
A couple gave us exciting light shows.
The weather wasn't the only foul in the Solomons...also lots of fowl in the area.

Bob takes the dinghy out for occasional runs around the marinas looking for fellow Morgans.

We lingered at Solomons avoiding the weekend traffic. Just like the highways it can become quite busy so when you can travel during the week...do it. Monday, June 30th came and we were on our way.

When moving, boaters keep their radios on channel 16 in order to hear any pertinent information and to call other boaters. We listened as these 3 vessels exchanged info for safe passing and we watched...tanker, sailboat and cutter as they merged.

A tense moment... you couldn't tell???

They passed safely and continued on...

You can always count on traffic in the Chesapeake.

Just before we enter our creek for the evening we catch one of those afternoon storms.
We secure everything, put on our foul weather gear and slow our progress hoping it passes before we have to find our way in.

We were in luck. It was very wet but short. It cleared for a nice evening
tucked in at anchor with a view of the William P. Lane, Jr Memorial Bridges and our destination.

The next day we pass under the bridges.
and head to the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay.

We anchor in Turner Creek at the mouth of the Sassafras River and meet up with guess who??
A couple of Morgan classic boat owners.

After talking with a few sailors in the area we realize the 4th of July weekend's coming up and we do not want to be looking for a place to stay with all that additional holiday traffic.

All the excuse we need to venture up the Sassafras River that we heard so much about from our friends aboard Gypsy. We give Leon & Kim a call. We now have directions and a mooring in Gregg Neck. Leon will be at the marina a day or so working on Gypsy, but Kim has returned to the work force after their adventure to the Bahamas.

A bridge...
a few geese...

...and many, many boats.

We see our first water snake swim by.
Not warm and fuzzy like our ducklings, but
it reminds us that there is a good deal of wild life still on the water.

A weekend full of wild life...
Friendly boat load

Everyone is mulling about waiting for the start of the 4th of July Boat Parade.
Even Hakuna Matata is all decked out for July 4th Celebration.
Somebody seems to have a very comfortable spot to watch all the activities.
YES, IT'S CALLIE CAT

Time does pass and we're back on the water making our way North...sort of.
We'll be going North to the C&D Canal then East, South East, East.
Nobody said this was the direct route!
This was a surprise.
A very large community of what looks like dbl wides suddenly appears.
It reminded us of some of the communities in Arizona...lots of people.
You would have to replace the water with desert.

Should you call a tug pretty or handsome?

We take the 14-mile-long C&D Canal to get from the Chesapeake Bay area to
the Delaware River and Bay. At one time the canal operated with a 4 lock system as the canals depths were not consistent. Numerous expansions over the years has increased its depth to 35' and 450' wide. You may encounter 2 to 4 knots of current, so you try to plan your trip with the current. There are a few standard procedures you need to know for safe passage: you must be under power - no sailing allowed, there is no anchoring allowed and you must yield to all commercial vessels. (No one had to tell us to yield to those big fellows when they come by!)

Last Fall we spent several great days at Chesapeake City in Engineers Cove.
Another pair of hard working tugs moving along a pipeline.

Birds love to sit on poles.
This great blue heron has reached new heights.

We pass between the two jettys
to anchor at Reedy Island off the Delaware River.
Traffic passing the island appears to be on land.

The cats are not allowed to roam freely at this anchorage.
He's just a little annoyed!
We begin to feel as if we have anchored in the rapids for a time as slack tide passes and now the waters are all trying to rush past the island and rejoin the river.
Hakuna Matata handles it well., but we don't sleep too soundly with all the water noises.
Even so, we do get up for any early morning start.

The Salem Nuclear Power Plant perched to the east on Artificial Island.

We certainly weren't the only ones with an early start.

Ship John Shoal Light
Like most people I have always liked lighthouses and have climbed a few for the view.
After this trip I have a new found love of these characters.

Delaware isn't a very big state but it has 86 nautical miles of shoreline-
Atlantic Ocean, Delaware River & Delaware Bay.
We are leaving all that shoreline and headed into the Cape May Canal.
New Jersey is our next stretch of water...

06/21/08 Southern & Western Chesapeake

2008-06-30T13:34:00.072-04:00

Leaving Portsmouth & Norfolk, VA we cross the main commercial channel
and head up the Hampton River to spend a couple of days in Hampton, VA at the Public Pier.

We took this shot from a bridge during one of our walks. If you look closely you'll see Hakuna Matata tied up in front of the big red building that has a few shops, the marina facilities including a swimming pool and a parking garage above it all.
We're backed into our slip so we spend the next couple of days as part of the local atmosphere. The weather's quite warm so our awning stays up for shade and a little privacy. This picture was taken from the walkway above us.Another Morgan boat owner lives in the area and comes to see Hakuna Matata and swap info with Bob. He's also kind enough to treat us to lunch at one of his favorite spots and take us to pick up some fresh bread and fruits. It's great to have Morgan boat lovers/owners along our route.

Every time you empty a spot on the boat.....a cat moves in!!

There's an air show going on this weekend in Hampton and we have a spot with a view.

The parking garage turned out to be a great thing as our friend Karen from St Augustine, who was in the area, parked and just walked down to the boat for a visit. We're really enjoying all this company.

There are sponges growing all long the docks. I inquired and it seems they are growing up here instead of the bottom because there isn't enough oxygen content in the water down there for them. That can't be too good. But it is interesting to see them.

The Cousteau Society has an office on the docks.

Just a short distance from there was a grand opening for a beautiful carousel that had just been refurbished. There was another celebration in town.... a street festival Saturday night.

The Virginia Air and Space Center is near the docks so when our stay got extended a day, we visited it.

Notice the Apollo 12 command capsule.

There were numerous planes on display as well as related exhibits and activities.

A shot for the Pratt & Whitney fans!!

The center also houses an IMAX Theater. We watched a great movie on the Grand Canyon and how the Colorado River waters have receded to such a degree that it's life is threatened. In 3-D this was exciting and beautiful as they rafted down the river giving us river history.

Double Feature

The film Blue Planet was filmed from space, amazing and was also about our waters. These films have an impact on you regarding what we are leaving behind for our grandchildren?? We do seem to have been very careless in many ways.

The next day our waters are a little too rough as we venture out.
They remind us of the Colorado River and
we aren't willing to spend a day being tossed about if we have a choice, so...

We head to Old Point Comfort (what a nice name) and Fort Monroe
with fellow boaters that have the same sailing approach...enjoy.

We anchor in Mill Creek near the tunnel bridge. From our vantage point you can see the road traffic heading to the tunnel and the the big ships and commercial ocean traffic.

The day was beautiful in the harbor so we joined our anchor neighbors, Don & Mary, and took our dinghy to Old Point Comfort Marina which is for the military in the area. We check in with a picture ID and are given directions to the Fort Monroe Casement Museum, which happens to be free.

You walk across this bridge which is built over the moat that surrounds the fort.

and through this tunnel

There are also bridges for cars to cross over the moat. We found it very impressive that the fort was maintained so well and still being used.

There was much to see of the old fort as we walked.
The museum was very impressive in its size and content.
If you are ever in the area, it's a must see especially if you have children of an age to be interested.

We play tow-boat on our trip back to the boats as Don's motor took a break.

All this activity made us very hungry especially since we had spotted a golden arch ashore.
So the men made a trip ashore to hike to the arches.
Such Gallantry.

The next day is a successful trip up the Southern part of the Chesapeake.
Lots of fishing going on.

We anchor in Jackson Creek, Deltaville, Va.

As we weave through the markers the next morning somebody has caught breakfast

and I think is expected to share!

After a good days sail, we make our way into Mill Creek

and join other boats at a serene anchorage.

The next morning all the boats set sail...

We're headed to Solomons Island and Zahniser's Yachting Center
where the wind generator parts await us.
First on the to-do-list
Fix the wind generator
and don't fall into the water...more jellyfish!

We're at a mooring but there's still plenty of visitors.
We realize we didn't see swans in the South.
We're familiar with these beautiful guys and know not to feed him because they can get quite nasty when the food runs out. We had a pet goose once and know they can bite pretty hard and give you a good whaling with those strong wings. So just look!!
Speaking of looking...He seems to like his image?

But I have to confess.
This group of ducklings was iresistable and they liked cat food!
The duck family leave us for a very excited audience.
Well things are obviously just ducky in the Solomons.
We're at a marina with great facilities.
We have the loan of a truck from Wayne , a Morgan owner/friend and a neat town to roam in. We're good for a couple of days.

06/15/08 NC to Virginia

2008-06-27T13:44:00.140-04:00

My sister, Dee and Al visited Dowry Creek
so we had transportation to visit Little Washington, NC and walk the docks.
We've seen bears painted in Maine, whales in Mystic, CT and in Washington, NC it was crabs! We had just missed a big festival/celebration.

I'm checking out the local stores while Bob watched this little guy try his first flight. He landed on this awning afraid to try again. He eventually fell to the ground where Bob rescued and returned him to the tree with the other fledglings till their next attempt at flying.
We were intrigued by the North Carolina Estuarium. North Carolina's sounds and coastal rivers --or estuaries-- are extremely important ecologically. In the United States the only estuary system larger is the Chesapeake Bay. This is an aquarium with a focus exclusively on these systems.

A couple of days at rest and it's time to leave Dowry Creek.
One last look at the bottle tree and its' folklore.

It's a beautiful day and soon we are on the Alligator - Pungo River Canal.

There have been fires burning in the forests of North Carolina and Virginia. There are smoke warnings posted for various parts of the ICW . We're coming into one of those areas.
We call a tug boat that passed us a short time ago and find out that we can expect to be dealing with the smoke right up to Norfolk, Va. The fires are burning to the west of us. It all depends on how the wind blows. This is the way home and it could take weeks more to put out the fires, so we continue.
The smoke becomes thick as any fog we've ever seen and we smell like we're downwind of a campfire. Eventually it clears where we can see the side, we pull over and let 3 boats that have been following us take the lead. Maybe they can make better time? But not so, it's slow going and we can barely see the boat ahead.

It was about this time that the engine started making a horrendous shaking noise!!

Bob quickly shut off the engine. We need steerage in order to keep off the stumps alonf the side of the canal. Earlier we had heard one boat in danger of sinking as it had hit a stump, so we're concerned. I take the helm and Bob jumps into the dink we're trailing behind. I lower the outboard motor to him, he attaches it to the dinghy and starts it up. Love that dink...it's pushing us along at 3+mph keeping us safe. We've lost a fan belt so Bob quickly replaces it and another that is looking tired, starts the engine and Hakuna Matata is once more under her own power.

We leave the smoke behind as we enter the Alligator River with fresh air and a good breeze.
We've relaxed and enjoying the ride when we realize that what we see in the distance is not smoke but a brewing Thunderstorm. Quickly we make the boat ready for the blow, grab our foul weather jackets just as the rain hits - and it's heavy. Bob is wearing glasses that he can no longer see through. I don't need mine for distance so I'm the lookout giving him instructions to keep on our marks. Ahead I see a bridge.#*%! It's a swing bridge with a narrow passage. Thankfully the rain stops and the wind eases as we near the 1/2 mile mark and call the bridge to announce our intentions. It's clear again as we make our way through the bridge and to our anchorage in Little Alligator River for the night.

The sunset lets us know there is more bad weather coming. It hits around 11:30. We are on deck taking down the awning, the winds are much stronger than expected; the tie down lines from the awning are thrashing about wildly. One catches a wind generator blade and breaks it off. The generator is now seriously off balance and shaking the stern of the boat. Soon as the awning is out of the way, Bob climbs the wind generator pole to tie it off. Enough excitement for one day....we're wet and cold for the first time in months, careful what you wish for. Dry off and try to get some sleep for an early morning start.
Early morning turned into late morning as our first attempt to leave the anchorage sent us back. The river was choppy and we were making little progress. We weren't willing to be bounced about after our last day and neither were the cats. So we waitied till it was smooth sailing past all the duck blinds on the horizon.
We were surprised to see a blimp moored along the river. Seems there's a factory here.
Our next stop is Elizabeth City where they provide you with a free slip and make you very
Welcome.

We watch this tug push a barge through the narrow little bridge .
You can see the span up in the air.

So we headed out through the bridge and into the beautiful winding
Pasquotank River.

At first there's a little smoke haze...but it cleared to a beautiful day.

Occasionally we would come around a bend just in time to see the boat ahead of us.
Otherwise we felt alone with this primitive beauty.

Not really alone - there was always wildlife around us usually complaining about our intrusion.

The waterway becomes very straight as we enter Turners Cut through
The Great Dismal Swamp.The Dismal Swamp Canal and the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal form alternative routes along the Atlantic ICW . Our trip down we took the A&C Canal and stayed overnight at Coinjock. The Swamp was closed due to low water, but today it's open.
Soon we're entering the South Mills Lock.
(notice how low the water level in the lock is.)

Notice the water level in the lock now.

There's a set of gates to the left as we leave the lock.
The lock attendant quickly drives down to a small lift bridge to let us through.

Just as we enter the confines of the bridge's fendering, a group of ducks decide to cross in front of us. I had a few anxious moments but Bob assured me that at our slow speed the shape of our hull would just push them safely aside.
He was correct...but the ducks are a little annoyed!
Or do they do this every time a boat passes just for a fun ride and he's laughing?

When the canal was first built through the swamp it had many more locks and a great deal of commercial traffic. I don't think you would have experienced the serene trip we have.

We tie up overnight at the only Welcome Center on the ICW. Thanks North Carolina.
We take the opportunity to get to know the people on the boats that we've been following
Cat Nap & Our Dream.

We also visit the (free) Dismal Swamp Museum and learn about the rich history of the Dismal Swamp and some of its mystery. In the foreground is the pontoon bridge to walk from the Welcome Center (US 17) across the canal to the museum. The bridge is swung out of the way for boat traffic. Since you have to be locked through to get here they know you are coming ahead of time.
One of the fires that was burning acreage was in the swamp. The peat in the swamp had caught on fire and was proving very difficult to put out. As a precautionary measure to protect the museum sprinklers were set up to keep the grass soaked. It was very hot so we didn't mind walking through them as we returned to the boat.
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/

Next morning we're back in the swamp keeping an eye on our mast & the overhanging branches,
our hull and the things poking out from the side of the canal.
We slip into Virginia
Everything is flowers and green

I guess the wind has shifted because we see smoke ahead.
It only lasts for a short time and we're back to a beautiful day.

This is a rake used to drag branches and debris that might be blocking the canal.

Here's a small dock for overnight tie ups. There's a little lingering smoke ashore.

Notice the sections of a bridge on either side of the canal ahead. This is a pontoon bridge that allows the farmer to move his cows across the canal. There's a section to swing into the middle that temporarily closes the canal to traffic.

For a short section there seems to be pollen on the water.

There's a picnic area for motorists to stop and watch the boats on the canal.

You are held up at the bascule lift bridge just before the lock
till all the boats are together to be locked through.
A last look down the canal before we are locked into Deep Creek

The locktender plays a tune on a conch shell as the water fills the lock
and we are on our way to Norfolk, Virginia.

The transition is a little shocking with all the hustle and bustle
of this very busy port. We need to stay alert to what's going on around us, and that's plenty.

There are festivals going on in the area adding to the busy excitement.
We've passed mile zero and the end of the ICW.
There's still many miles to go before Hakuna Matata is at her mooring is Stonington, CT.

06/09/08 North Carolina

2008-06-08T14:34:00.060-04:00

Once more we are leaving people who in a boat instant have become friends you would like to spend more time with, but Hakuna Matata has places to go.
So we cast off our lines...

and keep an eye out for the dredge lines as we leave the basin and
re-enter Little River and the last few miles of South Carolina.

We like passing the big ships at dockside instead of along the waterway.

Here's a yellow boat of a different sort.
who's doing the screaming...motor...or seated guests?

It's another scorcher today, so we travel with the awning up for the 1st time to avoid the extreme temperatures. It was 101 in the cabin before we stopped to buy a fan and rest a couple of days. You can tell by the way the awning is sagging down that there is no breeze at all!! This cuts down on some of the scenic view but we're cool even waiting for bridges to open.

Don't remember these goats in the winter.
I wonder if they bring them over for summer vacationing. See the goat on the left.
He stood on his hind legs to reach the leaves. Guess they keep everything trimmed.

(sign says) BUY YOUR BOAT A HOUSE
or you can just stack it.

From The Cape Fear River Entrance we get a glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean that goes on & on.

We're making good time so we just wave to Southport

Snows Cut seems to be a popular fishing spot.
You can see the erosion along this stretch.
ARE WE THERE YET?
Bob double checks the depth and bottom with lead line where we anchor at Carolina Beach. If you aren't familiar with a lead line....the piece Bob is holding is made of lead, very heavy, with an indentation on the bottom that will fill up with whatever is down there on the bottom when it's lowered. This way you know what your anchor is in. The attached line is marked to indicate how deep the water is.
Old Fashioned - Still Works!!

Today we go through another of the long narrow sections of the ICW which isn't as narrow as we thought!! Plenty of room for both of us.
In this area there aren't too many anchorages. Once more we head for familiar waters in Mile Hammock Bay. The Waterway Guides tell you this is dredged by the military for use and to be sure and use your anchor light at night due to military maneuvers. Our last stay did have some helicopters overhead during the night. We were not expecting what occurred next...

As we were making our way in, a Coast Guard boat with numerous personnel in military dress manning 2 guns on stern and one on bow met us. They informed us that they would be having maneuvers here into the night and that the wakes could be damaging to our boat if we anchored. At my insistence, Bob turned around. Once we were back in the waterway and had a chance to look at the charts it became evident : it was late in the day, there were no other safe anchorages for us, so we returned, and so did the patrol boat. They requested we anchor as far to the side as possible and we did. There was a 2nd boat that also anchored in the area. The wharf had been transformed into a temporary military base. Late evening and throughout the night it was as if we were extras in an action movie. There were 2 boats protecting the base from the water and a 3rd boat that would make approaches and be hailed, stopped and/or redirected by the Coast Guard boats. As night fell, there were increased attacks with gun fire (yes blanks), flares and lots of yelling. We actually got accustomed to the activity secure in the knowledge that this was training to help keep our country safe and secure. We confess occasionally during the night we would wake up to what sounded like a real encounter with a boat near us. Somehow it was different and the dialog sounded as if a private boat had actually entered the area and was refusing to do as asked with lots of verbal confrontation. We'd pop our heads out the forward hatch only to realize it was role play....very realistic role playing. Back to bed till another scenario entered our subconscious enough to wake us once more. Needless to say we were a little weary the next morning, but grateful for our overnight anchorage. One of the military craft came alongside just to check on us and say hello, which actually was goodbye as we needed an early start to reach our next destination. As we left the harbor we could hear a new confrontation beginning. We decided our 2 boats probably added a little more reality to their scenarios as they might encounter private boats during any such confrontation.
We marked this as one more of the surprising things you experience along the Waterway.
As we travel the ICW we have heard Navy and Coast boats requesting private crafts change their course due to a military maneuver, or make a course change to remain a requested secure distance from a ship leaving harbor.

Sometimes the waterway in this area is closed due to maneuvers at Camp LeJeune and live fire
across the waters. We appreciate the warning!

We saw what appeared to be targets set up for just such practice. Fortunately we seemed to be ahead of them.

This is Browns Inlet where we went aground going South.
Good passage this time :-)

Hakuna Matata is snuggly tied to the face dock at Moorehead City
during a Fishing Tournament!!
We're traveling again and following the markers and a tug.
This marina has many more boats on land than you would expect this time of year.
We wonder if it is boat storage for people who have gone North for the summer
to return next winter?

Love this place.
I can't imagine ever being in a bad mood here...
unless you are conservative and then you would go mad.
In this stretch you can buy a dock on the ICW.
Seems to be where people park their houseboats.
One was named COMPROMISE.

Our trip through Adams Creek & Canal takes us to the Neuse River
where we turn off into South River .
We anchor early not too far from a duck blind along with 3 other boats.
We take to our dinghy and go ashore to walk in the water's edge and feel sand in our toes.

It was late...I moved the camera a little...but love the results

Good thing we didn't go swimming yesterday
in the early morning light we see jelly fish!

This is something else you never want to see...
It's our emergency-large bilge pump.
That means we had water coming in from somewhere. Lots of water!
This happened a day after hearing of a couple of boats sinking and several vessels in distress....are we???

I was at the helm and could hear Bob below as he lifted floorboards and tossed things about checking all the below waterline fittings that could create a serious leak. Once he was assured they were fine he started looking elsewhere. It turned out a split engine hose. We shut off the engine and are now adrift in the Neuse River. Me? Now that I know we aren't sinking anytime soon, I'm entertained by the sealife coming around this bobbing along boat.

My live aboard mechanic, Bob, has found the spare parts he needs to make the repair. In no time at all we were starting up the engine and checking to make sure the water was flowing properly. Clean up takes more time than the repair but soon we are ship shape again and on our way. We are now nervously checking the red bilge light almost as often as we watch the depth sounder.

We decide to find a marina for a little relaxing.
Fortunately for us we chose Dowry Creek.
Doesn't this look relaxing?

We're here for a couple of days to work on our
HAKUNA MATATA
philosophy.

06/04/08 South Carolina ICW

2008-06-01T10:18:00.090-04:00

Leaving Charleston we pass by Fort SumterMarkers continue to have occupants with families

Another bridge...this time with company

Bright, visible homes

and barely visible ones that blend in

We are anchored for the evening in Dewees Creek
and marshland that goes on forever between us and the ICW
The next day we make 40 miles, a good days travel for us, to Minim Creek.
The canals in this area can be quite narrow so we're glad to
be at anchor when these very hard working tugs come along.

Visiting Dragonflies
The wind is beginning to blow. Notice their wings are blown forward. They seem to have a pretty secure grip to withstand the wind.This time of year the ferry is running across the Estherville Minim Creek Canal.
Not a very big ferry but gets the job done.

Lots of tall straight pines growing here
They soon give way to an almost jungle look
With Osprey nests all about

Some in the very tops of the trees...
and others living happily on the waterway.

Of course there's other homes along this section of the waterway also.
Our home for the evening will be Bull Creek
It turns out to be the home of many others...
If you look closely, left of the center of the picture you'll see an
Anhinga drying it's wings...
swimming it like a snake at first!

a Swallowtail Kite was swooping at something in the trees...

a Heron was wading near the shore...
and a family of Turtles were sunning themselves...little ones
kept marching up from the bottom and either falling or jumping off?

Oh Yes, our own Alligator cruising the creek
We are told that they don't come to the middle of the creek? So how do they get to the other side? There will be no swimming tonight no matter how hot!!
The next morning, we're escorted out of the creek.
Is he smiling?

No Jungle Cruises Today
but all of a sudden...we are not alone anymore.
a secret spot to hide out and watch the traffic
Everything is so green...even the posts are blooming

Launching your boat can get pretty tricky
but so can launching your ducklings...
We're coming into the Myrtle Beach area. There's bright colors
and signs of summertime all around us.

Last time through we were fascinated with the Vortex that looked very scifi. This time a plane kept passing by and diving past the Vortex to what must have been an airport. Is he practicing landing approaches? take offs? and what's that he's trailing behind?
We watched the plane pass over, dive into the airport, come up and circle above us just to do it again?
Then....Ah Hah!....Success
We're going through the area called The Rock Pile.
The tide is down so it's easy to see where not to be.
We pass up the busy Myrtle Beach area as the temps have sky rocketed again and our fan died. We make a lucky choice to go to Coquina Yacht Club where Sandy, the dock manager makes sure we have a ride to purchase a new fan to keep Cool Cats. We spend a couple of great days there doing laundry (in the airconditioned club house) and being escorted around by Steve who knew where the worlds greatest Chinese Buffet with great seafood was.
The marina also has potted duck!
Wish we could have waited around for the hatching!
EXACTLY!

05/29/08 South Carolina - Beaufort to Charleston

2008-05-31T10:52:00.086-04:00

As we leave the waters of the Savannah River, Georgia we see a dredge operation. We've encountered several on the Waterway as we head North. That's a good sign that the waters should be easier to navigate for the next boaters.

The GoodYear Blimp...you just never know where it will show up.We are now in South Carolina waters
Fields Cut, Wright & New River, Ramshorn Creek and Cooper River.

This barge seems to have everything from trucks to lumber for some project.

We come to a familiar buoy #34, entrance to Bull Creek

This is summertime...

The weather is warmer and we have lots of visitors to the creek this time. They're all enjoying the beautiful weather. Winter we saw only commuters hunkered down in their boat trying to keep warm till they reached their destination. Today it just looks like fun.

We have our usual dolphin visitors who are also just having fun.

The next day we cross Calibogue Sound,
pass by Hilton Head
and
a group of kayakers in training

Miles and miles of walkways leading to docks & water

Port Royal Sound - Parris Island
1-800-marines

Our afternoon is spent dockside at Beaufort, SC

This is peddle / not paddle.

We are docked at the very end
headed toward Ladies Island Swing Bridge for an early morning start.
The Swing Bridge opens and Hakuna Matata makes her way to the Coosaw River

as the cars wait.

This barge is pushing a temporary bridge similar to what we encountered one night as it docked alongside.

Don't hug this marker.
It's high and dry as were several in this area.
Ashepoo Coosaw Cutoff

This sandy point has shallow water with waves breaking.

Our markers zig and zag along here.
Fenwick Cut

PELICANS BEGIN TO FLY ALONG WITH US.

WE SEEM TO BE IN A FAVORITE SPOT.
THEY ARE FISHING ALL AROUND US.

THEY'RE QUITE COMICAL AS THEY BEGIN THEIR DIVE.

THEN THEY ARE STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW.
I'D NEVER SEEN THEM THIS CLOSE BEFORE.
THEY ARE ACTUALLY QUITE IMPRESSIVE AND EFFECTIVE.

OH YES, THEN THAT FAMILIAR SPLASH OR WHAT ALWAYS LOOKS LIKE A CRASH!

PELICANS AND THEIR ANTICS HAS BEEN ONE OF OUR JOURNEY FAVORITES.

This is the spot we anchored one very cold winter day to warm up in the South Edisto River.
This boat has probably anchored just to enjoy the area and possibly the pelicans.

We arrive at Tom Point Creek, off the Wadmalaw River where we spent a week in January enjoying the seclusion. This was all very dry even at high tide and Bob took a walk across what is now flooded. The empty horseshoe crab shells and other once stranded remains are now beginning to leave the creek with the outgoing tide.

The marsh is very green.

Seagulls begin landing in the marsh area.
Lots of them!

Then they move into the creek with us.

As quickly as they came they left....except for two!

Don't you just love the independent thinkers!

It's always a shock when low tide arrives. The tides here are generally 8'.

The creek almost disappears as it goes around the bend.

The day also disappears...another beautiful evening up a creek

Next day were heading up the Wadmalaw, Stono and Ashley Rivers to Charleston

Magnolia trees are in bloom

This looks like a busy working marina.

This deer swam across with the current and ended up down stream a bit and had to trudge through the low water muck. With a lot of effort he made it and scampered off to the woods.

Just where is this boat?

Another of our markers is high and dry.

We pass a cute little sailboat that's also high and dry.

With the tide down we pass this range...oops...I think it's time for repairs.

Elliott Cut is a very short section just off the Stono River but the current can really whip through there. It can be rough on a sailboat at times. Our last venture through we watched the boat ahead of us stall at the mouth of it trying to enter the Stono going south. The current was against us but not as strong as it might be since it was getting near slack. Even at that Hakuna Matata had to work very hard to get us through and we were all smiles.

We call ahead to the Wappoo Creek bascule bridge to let them know we will be making the 4:00 pm opening. The bridge closes from 4:00 till 6:30. We can see in the distance that the bridge has opened for a boat. We are told this is the 3:30 opening and it won't open again till 6:30. There is no 4:00 opening.
Bob's just a little upset that we have pushed the engine to make the 4:00 opening and we did! But it's not happening.
Our smiles have left us...but only temporarily.
Fortunately for us, there's a spot on the other side of a little island where we can anchor out of the channel till the next opening in almost 3 hours. Of course a little thunderstorm passed through while we were there waiting, and yes was a good holding bottom.

We are once again at the Mega Dock in Charleston, SC but it has a very different crowd from the December group. Lots of Mega yachts tied up now.

Even we're in the mega department....loads of laundry and look at the long walk to the end.
It's 3,000'
Row - Row - Your Boat
or there's electric

This boat was anchored in St Mary's with us.
It's always great to meet up again.
Once more we are at the end of the dock ready to leave bright and early.
But till then we'll all just relax.

05/25/08 Savannah, Georgia

2008-05-29T21:24:00.062-04:00

As we lift anchor the moon's visible in the blue sky. When you are traveling the ICW you notice the moon and it's not with romance in mind. It's those tides again...the pull of the moon can make shallow channels even more treacherous or cause you to be visually disoriented because there's more water than normal and the edges of the channel are not as defined . The phase of the moon comes up for discussion frequently.

As we cross Sapelo Sound you get a good look out into the North Atlantic.

Our usual supervision is available via the pole wires.
Notice the support poles at the base of the utility pole.
It's a beautiful day to be traveling the ICW of Georgia

Going Ashore...

There seems to be lots of people that agree with them.
Most sandy beaches we pass have crowds enjoying the day.
This particular stretch was very popular.

Many of the hummocks were created by sailing ships dropping off their ballast long ago.
Occasionally the stones, unusual to the area, can be seen.

We cross St Catherine's Sound and anchor for the night at a small creek that has some confusion about its' name. Most charts show no name, others call it Birthday or Little Tom Creek. Since it's right next to Big Tom Creek, maybe it was named after Little Tom had a Birthday?? Whatever the official name may be it was a great little spot to anchor and even Sas got some time outside.
Now this story has no pictures but must be told so I'll use Bob's words as sent to some friends: You are not going to believe this but while we were anchored in an unnamed creek near Kilkenny Cr. GA a 4ft ray jumped up and hit the port side of the cabin, then slid along on it's side till it reached the forward end of the cockpit then slid back over. Made a heck of a racket. Ovida was in the head and I was sitting on the cooler in the cockpit facing fwd. Quite a shock. I heard a loud bang. Looked up from reading and saw this ray sliding along the deck on it's side. Sas was with me. I leaped up to the stbd cockpit seat and Sas jumped below. The ray was white underneath and black on top. If Ithe boat had double lifelines he wouldn't have been able to slide off, he would have ended up in the cockpit and maybe down below in the main cabin since the slides were out. That would have been interesting. What are the odds?

Well, from what we have heard since then the odds of seeing a ray in these creeks is pretty good. They are frequently seen jumping out of the water, so we'll have to believe his story. Since I wasn't available to witness it I can't vouch for the flying fish, but I can say there was such a bang to the side of the boat, shaking and rattling that I thought we had been hit by something. Guess we were!

Too soon the sun set & everyone got tucked in for the night.

Now it must be my Birthday because I get to do some steering today.

Bob takes over steering the boat using the ranges to keep us in deep water...so to speak.

There is a top range -
and a bottom range

These ranges were rear ranges (going North) so we made our turn (you can see the wake in the water) and then kept the ranges in line till we reached the indicated area where you either pick up new ranges or resume following the markers. Bob lines up the ranges to keep us in the channel and deep water.

We're back to a populated area. You can tell by the variety of flags flying that people are drawn to this area and from the new construction it continues to be so.

We approach the bascule bridge at Skidaway Narrows and make our way once again to Isle of Hope where Hakuna Matata docks for a couple of days and an excursion to Savannah.Hakuna Matata dockside at Isle of Hope

This boat had been sailing 'outside,' as they say (Atlantic Ocean) but was taking on more water than their pumps could handle. The marina staff stayed over to lend them a hand with an extra pump. The boat is now stored on dry land and the crew has returned home. We are grateful that we have not had such a serious problem as to end our journey.

Here's a pretty little yellow boat cruising by. Just right for two.

The next morning we walked up the street and caught the local bus to Savannah
We had limited time due to the bus schedule so we took a trolley tour of Savannah.

Savannah is designed around parks or in this case squares. Each one seemed to have its own theme with historic buildings surrounding it.
Although the trolley allowed us to see the city quickly and was very informative, it did not work out well for sharing with pictures.
Well maybe the back of a few heads...
and an occasional out the window shot.
Some of the streets were quite narrow and interesting.
This one took you to the waterfront where we saw the Olympic Caldron (remember when they were in Savannah?) The Waving Girl (there's a story behind this statue - well maybe behind them all but this one was very unique to the area). The area is filled with history including home of Juliette Gordon Low (Girl Scouts). Savannah was the setting for many movies...hey, we saw Forrest Gumps' bench site where he spoke those now famous words... "My Mother Said, Life is Like a Box of Chocolates."

Our tour ended at the City Market where we had lunch before hitting a couple of the shops.

I visited The Art Center and the studio of Michael Wozniak where I fell in love with his water colors. I purchased a small painting that would fit on the boat.
A nice surprise, other than his great paintings was that he paints the paper that he wraps your purchase in after asking your favorite color....yellow, of course ,with green and red. You can bet this wrapping paper will be saved! What fun.

But now it's time to say good-bye to Isle of Hope and move on up the Waterway

This is the last longing look at Georgia as we cross the Savannah River into South Carolina.

05/22/08 Frederica

2008-05-28T18:47:00.054-04:00

We head out of Jekyll Creek towards
St Simons Sound.

There's someone already at work this morning.

As we leave the Creek there's our usual review board of birds set to watch us make the turn.
We're hoping they will give us a '10' as we manuver around the point

The birds hover and splash about the fishing boat coming in with her catch.

The weather is warm today and there are also people along the banks.
We begin to make our turn off the ICW and up the Frederica River.
The banks are sparkling and green.

Birds bob along on the buoys.

New home under construction

Older home peeking out at us
Osprey skimming along the water with us in search of food

and just around the bend is Ft. Frederica National Park.
Although it is listed as Ft Frederica there was a settlement at this location.

The dock warns us that it is dry
2 hrs before and 2 hrs after low tide.
That means there are 4 hours that the dock is dry and
time before and beyond that the water isn't high enough to float your boat!
There's got to be some planning involved in going ashore here.

Anchoring also proved to be a challenge.
The combination of the wind and current had Hakuna Matata just lazily sitting broadside in the river not reacting to either and not helping set the anchor. Bob had to convince her to do otherwise with our faithful dinghy and soon had us swinging securely on two anchors. Many of the creeks are beautiful to visit but can have swift currents and a wide range in tide.

We were comfortable leaving her to go ashore
confident that she'd be waiting in this spot when we returned.

What you are looking at on the upper left bank is the structure that most recognize as being the fort. However it is the remains of the fort's powder magazine. The fort was actually much larger.

When you enter the park from Frederica River you walk through a wooded section before coming upon the ruins.

We made our way to the main entrance of the town where we paid the fee and wandered about in the store/museum. Our first visit was short as the tide was dropping and we had to return quickly before our dink was high & dry. Since the timing of today's tide made it difficult to thoroughly see the town we remained at anchor another day and returned to Frederica and her fascinating history.

The museum had a great variety of displays
including a basket of period clothing to try on. (Not my size!- I tried)

We watched a short fascinating movie on the history of Frederica and took this with us as we toured the town reading the markers and marveling at what had once been.

Near the entrance was the remains of the old cemetery

If you notice the pictures are a little dark. Just as we got ashore it began to sprinkle so Bob returned to the boat for our rain gear. Of course once he returned with it the rain stopped. That was ok by us but it did make just a little dreary.

This was an example of the town's garden.

This marker showed the layout of Frederica. The fort is in the top section along the river.

According to the information given us: James Oglethorpe was responsible for the development of this settlement. In 1736 he brough 44 men, 72 women & children and laid out a military town on the bluff overlooking a sharp bend on the inland passage up the coast of Georgia. Oglethorpe staked out 84 lots, most of them measuring 60 x 80 feet. Each family received a lot for building and 50 acres in the country for crops.

Initially many of the early settlers built this type of palmetto hut to live in as they constructed their homes.

In 1739 war broke out between Britain and Spain ranging from the Caribbean to the Georgia coast and Frederica. Expecting a Spanish attach, Oglethorpe enclosed the town within an earthen wall and a palisaded moat, 10' wide fed by the river.

Notice the contour of the land in many locations indicating a moat was once here.

In the 1740's Frederica might have passed for a village in the English midlands. The population reached about 500, and the town took on an air of permanency. Tradespeople and skilled workers prospered. Farmers grew crops in the surrounding fields, doing the work themselves, for slavery was banned in the colony.

We learned that the early excavation of the Hawking-Davison Houses assisted greatly in determining the layout of the town. From this site they were able to locate other dwellings and reconstruct the town.

At each site we stopped to read the history of the area or building
and viewed some artifacts that had been uncovered during the excavation of the town.

Remnant of barracks that housed most of the hundreds of soldiers.

Some lived in palmetto-thatched huts.

Oglethorpe sailed from Frederica to England for the last time in 1743. The regiment was disbanded in 1749 and without the money brought by the several hundred soldiers the town could hardly prosper. Born of war, Frederica expired with the coming of peace and fell into ruin.

Lost to time and a wandering river, Frederica today barely resembles the extensive military town that once flourished here. With the guide in hand we browsed through the town site and left feeling as though we had visited the settlement of the military town of Frederica.

A crabber hard at work in the river.

Red winged black birds were sitting on the tall grass as we sailed by
as the marsh seems to go on forever.
There was a lot of display going on especially with the larger herons.

We re-enter the ICW at the MacKay River.

This turns out to be the day we see the most dolphins
who are also putting on quite a display for us.

Notice the little one snuggled in at the top.

The dolphins leave us.

We anchor in the Dublin River and get our awning up just in time.
The rain drops are huge and a river is soon running down our decks.
But we're staying dry and contemplating the course we'll take tomorrow.

05/19/2008 Jekyll Island

2008-05-26T18:46:00.052-04:00

Everyone found our anchorage in the Brickhill River very relaxing...you could have called it almost perfect.

Except for the green flies that started showing up. They come in size large and bite. You swat one, it falls down...then gets up and flies off to bite again. We've declared war. The only one that finds them amusing is Callie who chases them around swatting at them having a great time and an occasional success. Her successes don't fly away...they're eaten. Yes!!

We hope we'll be leaving the flies behind as we upanchor and head for Jekyll Island.

From the Brickhill River we can see boats traveling the ICW.

Many of the Osprey nests now have occupants as it's springtime.

We see the last of Cumberland Island as we begin to cross St Andrew Sound.

As we approach the marina we notice a tug & barge coming the other direction that will get there about the same time we do.

Not only did a barge pass us by, but also a cruise ship.
Now how does that happen?

We're happy to be docked and ready to go ashore.

We were fortunate to meet Olie Olsen with one of the many boats he built over the years.
He and his grandson are working on her in the boatyard.

Sea Jays Restaurant at the marina

We timed all our ventures so that we could be back at Sea Jays for lunch. This squirrel is one of many that live in the trees nearby and like to case the place for goodies. One in particular had a sweet tooth and when no one was around he would jump to the table and rummage a sugar packet to take back to his tree.

Bikes were available at the marina for our use. It had been a while but we managed to stay upright and enjoyed the speed! There are 20 miles of paved bike trails that circle the island, while others cut through the wooded areas and get a little bumpy. (No, we didn't do the 20 miles.) But we did make it to the St Andrews Picnic area where we parked the bikes and took to the beach. We're headed to the point and the landmark fishing boat buried by the tides and shifting sands.

That's the Brunswick bridge in the distance.

There were some trees on the beach that made it difficult going.
With the tide up we took to a path through the wooded area.

Found cannon carraiges/mounts along the path.

This ghost crab wasn't pleased with our intrusion but he was standing his ground.
Of course there was a hole to run to if we challenged him too much.
We honored his ground and moved on.

Sailing off Jekyll Point with pelicans and seagulls watching their progress.
Notice the little seabirds are all hunkered down. It was pretty windy on the point.

These looked like serious birdwatchers/photographers setting up.

We made it to the buried ship and headed back along the beach this time.
Along the way we encoutered this beautiful Egret.

Bob found this beautiful MG in the parking lot.

We took to the bike trail again taking breaks at some of the overlook spots.

One path took us by a small pond where we saw our first alligators.
Who would have expected them there?
Bob took a walk to the other side for a better look.

See the big guy on the left. Well he seemed to take offense and started gliding across the small pond in our direction at a good clip. Not knowing when his last meal was, we decided it best to peddle on. But of course I had trouble getting back on my bike and he got too close for comfort. He cruised along watching us as we peddled around and I have to confess to looking over my shoulder as we peddled on down the path.

We parked our bikes and walked down the Jekyll Historic Wharf.
These tour boats had well known names on the island - Rockefeller, Morgan.

We toured some of the Historic District

Most of the historic homes were only open to tours.

There was one withd an Art Museum and Gift Shop that we could visit.

This is Grace Torbet the artist who's painting Bob fell in love with. If you've seen a 34' Morgan sailboat or a similar size one, you know this painting won't fit for the trip home. Grace was kind enough to have it packaged and see that it was shipped to our daughter to hold for us. This is a beautiful view of the marsh looking out to the Brunswick Bridge.

Just a short distance from the Historic District is
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

When you first enter the building there's a Gift Shop and we all know how I love them. There's lots of turtle souvenior stuff as well as educational books and materials. It's also where you purchase your $6 ticket to enter the Turtle Center and Hospital. There were several school groups that passed through the center while we were there. It was all so interesting that we became as engrossed as the kids with turtle facts, the work being done here, and the turtles themselves.
This skeleton hangs over the entrance to the Center. Don't recall the statistics...VERY BIG!
There were learning stations throughout the room. You were given a book as your ticket to get in. To the left of the picture you see Fun Fact #1 where you get to stamp your book with an embosser to answer to question. There were 5 stations. Bob and I stamped our books....out of curiosity and for fun we put each stamp on our page. Guess it's a good thing we weren't with a teacher because we weren't following directions too well on that part. But we have a neat collection of embossed stamps.

These kids are gathered around a window into the treatment center.
Visitors can watch procedures through the large window or a video screen to the upper right.

You leave the Center and walk outside to the Rehabilitation Pavilion with an elevated walkway to allow visitors to watch veterinary care of injured and ill turtles. As I walked into the pavilion I was awe struck by the name of the first turtle we encountered.

Ovida is an unusual name.
This turtle was named Vida (means life in Spanish).

Vida had been fitted with a transmitter for tracking when released.
This made an "O" on her back. What are the odds?
You could only see this particular turtle in a mirror above the tank.

There were turtles there that had been shipped from the North due to cold damage of various types. The northern aquarium did not have room for them and contacted the Georgia Center as they knew they were doing research and treatment. The Center accepted them.
There were numerous terrapins (not actually a sea turtle) that are taken in at the center frequently because they were hit by a car. That was a terrapin with shell damage that was being worked on while we were in the center. Hatchlings and even nest eggs are cared for here.

This list corresponds with eggs rescued, numbered and hatched in the pavilion.
There were several containers of the still small hatchlings.

If you want to see and learn more about the turtles please go to
www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
I'll be going there to watch the progress of "O"Vida.
Seems due to complications she's not being released as planned.
Come on girl, let's go. A long Life waits in that big ocean.

This has been another beautiful Georgia island adventure and as always we hate to leave. I especially will miss sitting in the swing on the deck hearing Olie's stories of the area, having bikes to tour on, those wonderfull showers, and leisure lunches on the deck of Sea Jays looking out at the pool and docks in the distance. However, HAKUNA MATATA is pulling at her dock lines ready to move on...

05/14/2008 Cumberland Island

2008-05-25T10:07:00.072-04:00

From Fernandina Beach we cross Cumberland Sound to visit Cumberland Island. If you remember our trip South we were scanning the shores for wild horses. Guess spring weather is the charm because we see them grazing along the shore as we sail by the island to anchor near Dungeness.

Along the shore trees that have fallen into the water

We pass one of the passenger ferry boats that brings visitors to the island.

Gleam, a boat from St Augustine has anchored near the ranger station
we do likewise

We go ashore and find Bill and Twyla off their boat Gleam and just lounging in rockers on the ranger station porch. We joined them and have to say that just rocking on the porch in such beautiful surroundings was one of the most relaxing things we've done on this trip!

The rangers give scheduled tours, however we missed todays. Bill is a frequent visitor to the island so he shared his history knowledge with us as we hiked some of the trails.

We find most of the trail sort of mystical

Example of typical huts of early inhabitants.

We began to notice dead leaves on the bay trees and later questioned a ranger regarding this. It seems a beetle (not native) is infesting and killing the trees. They don't know if they will be able to stop it. The oaks don't seem to be affected yet, but some of the magnolias are.

We were exchanging childhood stories that involved trees that come to life when sure enough there appeared such a tree. We were certain that at any moment it would speak to us, and we were a little anxious about turning our backs on it.

This once was an ice house and has now been turned
into a very interesting historical museum of the island.

Near the buildings there is usually a clearing.
This one has a beautiful stand of palms.

At times the path became a road and we came upon
an almost magical entrance to the mansion Dungeness.

with wild horses grazing on the lawn

The mansion was destroyed by fire twice. It was not restored after the fire in 1959. Today work is being done on the ruins to stop their deterioration so that we can have a glimpse of what once was.

Look carefully to the left.
You'll see old cars that appear to have rusted where they were parked

We saw many wild turkeys roaming the grounds.

One of the cemeteries on the island with quite a view.

The island has many wild, feral horses
called "marsh tacky" by the colonial planters.

Cattle egrets hanging around with the horses

No one paid much attention to us except the little fellow. I'm sure he will soon become accustomed to visitors. I say accustomed because the rangers warn everyone that although the horses are comfortable with us at a distance, they are wild and one should respect that. We were told that occasionally someone intrudes to closely and has been injured. We happily sat on a nearby wall to watch and admire.

This group wandered to one side of the field and grazed.
Soon what appeared to be the stallion in charge came over and herded the group till he got them all standing in a row facing away from us.

And that's how they stood while he returned to the field,
sniffed around and kicked his heels up a bit.

When we left they were migrating to the shady spot
that the mother of the youngest had chosen for his nap.
She had refused to be herded to stand in the sun with the other group.

We returned to our boats for a rest from the heat of the day, dinner and to just enjoy the scenery around us. The next morning we returned to take a trail to the beach.

and just generally enjoy ourselves.

We got a little wet as we enjoyed the great temp of the water and wandered about looking for just the right shells to make Twyla a bracelet. This beautiful whelk still had an occupant so he was returned to the water.

We were not the only people looking for exciting things in the water.
This school group was having a great time.

This blue crab wasn't to thrilled about being the star of the show. Don't worry, she (notice the red patch of eggs) was soon back in the water doing what crabs do and the excited group of kids had received valuable lessons.

There was yet another group of school children all dressed in pink T's and rushing about on the beach. We walked over to see what they were doing. The ranger had one group collecting items from the beach and another making barrier islands in the sand. Then using the items collected they made dwellings on the ocean side, atop the island, or on the side sheltered by the dunes.

Using a pail of water the ranger created tidal surges on each type of development. Want to guess which one survived the best?

The weather is changing. We are not in a good spot for the winds,
so we pull up anchor and follow Gleam to St Marys harbor.

If we were looking for a mooring, there were some pretty good size one's!

We chose to anchor and take the dinghy ashore

for shrimp dinner "All You Can Eat" - of course everyone eats too many!!

The next day Twyla and I take to town and the shops.

We didn't just shop, we also visited a local history museum . Then a local book store where I purchased "Cumberland Island, Strong Women, Wild Horses" by Charles Seabrook. ( back cover... From the days of Caty Greene, the widow of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, to Abette, the slave mistress of Cumberland's largest landholder before the Civil War, to Lucy Carnegie, the widow of Thomas Carnegie, to Carol Ruckdeschel, a naturalist once profiled in the New Yorker, and Janet "Gogo" Ferguson, who played an integral role in the planning of Carolyn Bessette and John F Kennedy, Jr's secret wedding on the island, we watch as these women strive to protect the island they love.)

We stopped at a great little tea house next to what is called the French Quarters for lunch. Since we would only have this one opportunity to eat there and the menu was so varied we asked for a suggestion. There was a sampler choice that was recommended and we got to choose 1/2 a sandwich, small salad, scone (in heart shape) & jam with your choice of tea. Ok, that was good but that still left choices. The waitress was very patient and lunch was terrific, too bad we were leaving so soon. If you are ever in St Marys, you must put this on your things to do list. Such fun and good tasting too. I had to get 2 scones to go for the boat!!

Hakuna Matata left St Mary's and returned to the Cumberland Island National Seashore.
There was so much more to see and do there.

Once ashore again we took a boardwalk path across a marsh and sand dunes to the beach.

We were very surprised at how the marsh suddenly turned into sand dunes. For a short distance we were allowed to walk on the dunes that had no vegetation on them. After just a few steps you felt you were in a desert in the Sahara, were hoping you hadn't taken a wrong turn and developed a great thirst. We've learned to take the back pack along on these ventures and pack as if we had a toddler with us... plenty of water, snacks, suntan lotion, bug repellent and a towel for when you get wet. Those toddlers know their stuff.
Down side - hey, it gets pretty heavy. We weren't the only ones on the beach.

While strolling the beach we kept an eye out for the beacons that marked the path back to the dock at the ranger station. We passed many campers along the way.

This fern is called resurrection fern as it goes dormant and looks dead during a dry spell and springs back to life after rain. The first days we walked the fern was brown...a little rain and sure enough it was vibrant green.

We returned to the boat to relax and enjoy another beautiful sunset.

Our way is very windy

Plum Orchard is just around the first bend in the river.
We anchor and go ashore...

Imagine what it would have been like to be picked up at the dock and driven up this road through majestic oak trees laiden with moss to a clearing with a beautiful mansion.

We did.
Then we walked up and knocked on the front door.

No one was home so we just peeked in through the space in the drapes for a glimpse inside. Plum Orchard has funding and is being restored. Hopefully one day we can visit her as she once was.

For now we just walked around the grounds.

Magnolia trees were just starting to bloom

Butterflies joined us as we strolled the grounds.

Armadillos scampered off...well sort of

Then we sat on the porch just looking out for a while

soon to return once more to our yellow boat for the evening.

05/09/08 Goodbye to Florida

2008-05-18T19:04:00.082-04:00

HAKUNA MATATA is
making her way under the temporary Bridge of Lions headed North

under her own power and making a little power with the wind generator too!

Our last look at Castillo de San Marcos and
the 208' Stainless Steel Cross at Nombre de Dios Mission and Shrine as we make our way up the Intra Costal Waterway. This is a very emotional time for us as we are leaving many fond memories behind and an anxious time as Hakuna Matata begins her journey home to Stonington, CT .

We anchor again at Pine Island, our last anchorage before being towed to St. Augustine. Fate is kind and we leave bright and early next day into familiar territory with one side of ICW developed and the other side in her natural state.
This morning however it is low tide and things look a little different.

Birds are wading in the exposed mud flats.

They're looking for dinner.

Not sure what this gentleman is looking for?

Maybe he's looking for this crab pot that has gone ashore at low tide.

We kept looking at these round white stones that were now visible at low tide. Then it finally occurred to us what they were.
Remember the other shore is developed.
They've been hitting golf balls across the ICW!

Something else is different...Look - No sleeves. Very Warm.

This boater is very cautious...3's the charm -or maybe just very fast.
Three motors waiting to run down the waterway.

Three kids waiting for their next boat trip down the waterway...

Waiting on their dock for the fish to bite...

Waiting in his canoe for those same fish to bite...

Just waiting for the next FISH???

Not Waiting at All.

Slowly....passing an old trawler.

Q-u-i-c-k-l-y===being passed by new skidos

The warm weather has brought out many more boaters
than we saw on our winter trip down.

We never had so much company!!
We make our way through a couple of familiar bridges.

1/2 the new bridge is up and they are now taking down the old drawbridge.
Soon they will be working on the 2nd section.
Perhaps our next trip we'll see the completed
McCormick Bridge.

The trip has gotten pretty warm for our kitties.
They've all searched out their own cool spot.
Callie likes a breeze to cool her
Sneakers prefers to be next to the cool boat hull.
While Zach and Sas are just lazily stretched out.
We passed the Amelia River anchorage where we spent several pleasant days when we first entered Florida in February. Soon we could see the colorful buildings of Fernandina Beach. This time we picked up a mooring close to the town landing as we intend to go ashore.
We had lots of friends joining us at Fernandina Beach.
Leon & Kim on Gypsy
Bill and Twyla aboard Gleam
and to Bob's surprise we met 2 Morgan sailboat owners:

Jim & Sandy Golding aboard Morgan Glory (Morgan 323)

Ron & Sharon Reynolds aboard Possessor
(Morgan Out Island 51)
We did some dining and didn't even have to go ashore yet.
Dinner aboard Gypsy-
Breakfast aboard Possessor the next morning to get acquainted
and swap Morgan stories with our new Morgan friends.

The weather turned rough & windy.
Boats trying to pick up a mooring needed assistance.
Racing to give assistance

In the distance we saw what has to be one of the scariest cloud/weather formations we've seen. Notice the V shape of the white clouds and the nasty looking stuff that is in the center of the blue. Have never watched anything like it before and don't care to again. Tornados did touch down to the North of us.

The lightning was from cloud to cloud for us, but you could hear thunder like a distant battle. Fortunately for us it was just wind and rain through the night.
The next couple of days were beautiful so we went ashore.
Not too far from the port we find the busy train tracks.
And since we are still in Florida waters there's pirates.
around most corners
We aren't the only shopper that came in from the waters.
There's usually a beautiful fountain somewhere in town
and a place to sit and enjoy your time in town.

Once more we have rented a car.
Bob's phone broke and we have to drive to a shopping mall to buy a new one.
On our way we cross a bridge and look out on the ICW.
Hey that's where we were. Pretty cool to see how it looks. To the left is our previous anchorage in theAmelia River.

Bob's happy to once more have his cell phone close to his heart!

I'm happy we have found the local Post Office to mail packages off to grandchildren.
Now that we have a car we're off to further attractions.

Going South we photographed Fort Clinch as we crossed Cumberland Sound and entered the Amelia River headed South to Florida. This time we get to visit the fort.

Fort Clinch construction began in 1847 on the northern end of Amelia Island,
at the Florida-Georgia border to defend the port of Fernandina, Florida. The work was slow and was not completed even by 1861 when Confederate batteries were established during the Civil War. With the advent of rifled barrel cannons ended the stone and brick fortification era. The fort was used briefly in WWI and as part of a surveillance & communications system in WWII. The gov't sold the fort in 1926 to private interests. Lucky for us and all other visitors, in 1935 the State of Florida bought both the fort and surrounding property for preservation and recreation.

Entering the parade grounds.

barracks - cannons

Looking out you can see why this was an important location.
Also you can see beaches...

There are some very persistant plants that grow in the sandy soil.
Remember the movie "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and the yellow cactus?

They say once you have Florida Sand in Your Shoes you'll return.
I'm sure that's true for us, but for now we're off to visit some of the Georgia barrier islands.