May 6 - On to St. Augustine

We departed Jacksonville early, with the outgoing tide with us and made good time to the ocean.  Unfortunately the ocean was tossing 8 ft seas and a due south wind so we quickly turned around and headed back to the intracoastal.  Another day of motoring, trolling, but not much sun.  It was an overcast day with intermittent rain.

 Another BIG boat in the St. Johns

A commercial fishing boat, not sure if they were fishing or catching birds.

Rain isn't too much of an issue because you can operate the boat under the canopy but it was also chilly, requiring putting on the foul weather gear.

The weather cleared up, we even saw the sun once or twice.  After we made it back to the intracoastal, Beth took over captains duties and guided us south.

Beth did a great job keeping us in the deeper water of the channel, guiding us under bridges while I rested, actually I took a nap.
Just before passing under the Pablo Creek bridge, the engine sputtered and quit.  We had actually run out of gas and of course on Beth's watch.  With my nap cut short, I switched tanks ( we have 3 ) and Beth continued on.  After motoring for a couple more hours, the engine again sputtered and quit.  Not believing that we had run the second tank dry, I checked the fuel gauge.  It read 3/4 full and was determined that it lies.  The tank was empty.  Switching to our last tank which is only a 6 gallon reserve we started calculating how much fuel we were burning an hour and how much further we had to go to St. Augustine.  We were about 2 hours out, the tide was starting to come in and we decided we could make it. ( There was also 3 gallons in the dinghy as a real reserve )

Along the way, another blue decided to pay us a visit.

This one didn't join us for dinner and with questionable fuel supply, Beth suggested I quit playing and get us to St. Augustine.

Approaching St. Augustine.

Dolphins and an Osprey were all around.

Approaching the bridge of lions and on to the fuel dock and our slip for the night.
The slip was an actual slip, not the side ties that we have had up until now.  I have not had to actually park the boat in a slip since we left Lake Lanier but I managed to slide it in without hitting any other boats or doing damage to this one.  The space between the docks was much less than on lanier and the slow speed handling of this boat is less than desirable but docking was successful.

A short walk around town with the babies and we called it a night.
We have decided to stay here 2 nights. Saturday we will be sightseeing St. Augustine.  Looking at an early Sunday Departure.


As for the AIS.  I talked with a few people and they suggested an antenna change might improve reception.  I have a spare onboard and when I feel like climbing the mast, I will change it to see if that helps.  If it doesn't, We will look into better tracking so you can follow us.

May 5 - A day off

We opted to stay another night and take the day off.  Tend to some small boat projects and relax. 

Old friends came by and we went to dinner at the Jacksonville Landing for dinner.

Ian and Wendy Taylor visit.
Wendy quickly realized that heels don't work on a dock or a boat :)

Since it was Cinco de mayo we opted for Mexican food and a walk along the landing.  I saw another Gemini which was docked there.  We met Bill Burg from the Sailing Vessel (S/V) Tortuga out of Illinois.  They were taking their boat down the St. Johns and flying home for the summer.
We continue to see numerous Gemini's along our route.  This is a very popular cruising boat.

May 4 - Florida

We departed Amelia Island Yacht Basin early and headed south.

These bridges are still cool.  This is a railroad swing bridge with a road passing over the intracoastal.

Motoring to the ocean from Amelia Island was further than anticipated so we opted to stay in the intracoastal.

The babies had their usual setup.

The bridge from the intracoastal to the St. Johns River in Jacksonville FL.  We just love watching them open upon request.

After passing under the bridge and entering the very busy St. Johns River we were met with this.

Boating in this area gives a whole new meaning to "Big Boat Rules".  This particular ship was 649 ft long to give you an idea of "big boat". The commercial captains we have encountered have been very professional and courteous.  While being around these big ships is intimidating, all those rules in the captain's manual I read apply to these guys and its great knowing what they know.

Approaching Jacksonville FL

We took a right, away from the ocean and the intracoastal and headed for the Jacksonville Municipal Marina. The great thing about this concrete floating dock marina was the price.  It was FREE for as long as 72 hours and free dockage along our route is a fantastic find.  Power and water were available and of course you have to pay for power but the rates were great and did I mention the dockage was FREE :)
The Marina is a bit out of the way.  After passing the Dames Point Bridge, it was another 12 miles to the marina.  All up, about 20 miles one way out of the way.

Lots of bridges in Jacksonville.

The view from the marina.

The marina was in protected water from the St. Johns River so it was calm and quiet.  There were numerous cranes and other birds that liked hanging out on the dock.

Second Chance at the Jacksonville Municipal Marina.

As we arrived at just about dark, we settled in and chilled for the evening.

May 3 - Onward toward Florida

We headed out early and since the weather forecast was wind from the south and since we are headed south, we chose to motor in the intracoastal waterway instead of sailing.  The intracoastal waterway is a waterway that runs just inside the beach and assorted islands all up and down the east coast.  Generally these are protected waters of a controlled depth with a well marked channel.  Georgia has seriously neglected these waterways and has numerous draconian laws regulating their use.  This section of the intracoastal is why most sailors jump outside at Hilton Head and don't come back in until they hit Florida.

Departing Brunswick

Beth had concerns about us having enough room to make it under this bridge.  The chart said we had plenty of room but the pucker factor was a little bit.

Our entry into the intracoastal waterway.

Kinda hard to tell where the waterway actually was.

The next bridge was a lot lower and raised the pucker factor even more.
The chartplotter said it was 19.8 meters and after a quick calculation and double checking the charts, we had plenty of room.

A shade tent was made for the babies.

And Beth enjoyed the sun, the babies enjoyed the shade.

As we cruised down the intracoastal on the west side of Cumberland Island, a National Wildlife Preserve, we saw several wild horses roaming around, an armadillo playing on the beach, and several skates (aka stingrays) jumping in the calm waters.

We saw another Gemini Catamaran.  It was S/V Hespa - a Gemini 105 MC  Hull # 867.  I didn't recognize the nationality of the flag being flown but friendly waves were exchanged.

The view of one of the submarines at the Kings Bay naval yard was quite impressive.
After this shot, we entered the Cumberland Sound where the winds were out of the south, peaking at 27 knots.  The water was choppy and it was a rough couple of miles up the channel and back into the protected waters of the intracoastal.

Today was a good day fishing as well.  I hooked 3 jellyfish, some flotsam and just as we exited Cumberland Sound a pretty blue took the bait.  Officially this was the first fish caught aboard Second Chance in salt water.
I will give half the credit to Richard Wright ( brother in law ) who supplied the lure.  As the first fish, it was photographed and released.  The next ones won't be so lucky but may be asked to join us for dinner.

After navigating some VERY tight channels in the Florida intracoastal we pulled into the Amelia Island Yacht Basin which was at the end of an even narrower channel.  We arrived just past low tide and the depth of the channel was 4 feet.  The Marina has very good facilities and offer Boat US discounts. The staff was very friendly and we met some great people aboard the "Red Gypsy" out of RI and heading home.
A relaxing evening dining on Chicken Cordon Bleu.  Tomorrow I want to check the engine before heading out.

As for the website tracking section, It is AIS.  It is kind of a transponder similar to aircraft transponders but its pretty new and rely on "base" stations to receive the signal and transmit the data to other stations which are all linked to the internet.  We have no control over it and are quite disappointed in its tracking.  Also, it is limited to the US only so once we leave the country, it won't work at all.  We are considering another GPS / Internet based tracking device.  If we add another tracking module, we will post the link on the home page.
We do know our onboard AIS is working as numerous targets, mainly commercial craft, show up warning us of location, speed, name, direction, etc.

J

Day 2 - May 2

Woke up around 6 am, perfectly serene. 

Hoisted the anchor with Beth still in bed although I know that racket would have raised the dead.

Motored out by Blackbeard island and turned south.  The wind was lighter than the previous day but the seas were about the same.  It rained on us just a bit before we got out of the sound but quit quickly and the day turned sunny. 

I attempted trolling with a different lure but met less success as the day before, didn’t even snag a jellyfish which were everywhere.  Beth is going to look into what kind and if it is some kind of migration.  The approach to Brunswick was a bit tricky but managed to navigate it successfully and we motored to Brunswick Landings Marina for the night. 

The dogs were VERY happy to be on dry land.  After they did their business we started cleaning up and Beth made great burritos for dinner.  We have internet access and power.  The rest of the evening will be relaxing.

J

Well for the last 2 days we have been surrounded by millions upon millions of cannonball jellyfish. The babies have had some trouble using the bathroom on the boat but I think they are enjoying it. I have been getting a great tan. Other than that John has told you everything.

Beth

Day 1 - At last May 1, 2011

We left the dock about 8 am with little wind and at high tide. The sky was clear.

We motored away from Sail Harbor, our home dock for almost 6 months for places we have never been before.

We motored down the intracoastal waterway to our first destination of Isle of Hope Marina.  Everything went as planned and we docked like professionals.  We filled all the onboard tanks with REAL gas, no ethanol here for $4.68 per gallon.  Beth took the dogs ashore for a quick walk and we were back off. 

Our next encounter was with a bridge, the Skidaway Narrows draw bridge.

A quick call to the bridge tender and wow, the bridge started going up.  It was extremely cool to watch from below as the bridge rose for us.

We motored past the bridge, waving to the locals fishing on the dock.  We continued motoring until we reached Ossabaw Sound where we raised the sails and turned south / southwest to follow along the coast, about 3 miles offshore.  The wind, sky and seas were perfect for sailing.  The seas were 1~2 feet, wind about 11 knots from the east.  Once set, we didn’t need to keep fiddling with the sails or heading, we just relaxed and kept a watchful eye.  There were lots of jelly fish in the water and I tried trolling a line to see if fresh fish might be on the menu for dinner.  The only thing I caught was a jellyfish that was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I gingerly removed the jellyfish from the hooks and he bounced off the boat on the way back to the sea.

Lunch was a nice salad which Beth followed with a nap.  We started heading back in about 4:30 to find a nice place to anchor.  

Beth studied the charts and books, while tanning.

(A promised picture for Ed )

We made it to Blackbeard Island/Sapelo Island and anchored on the north side and behind Sapelo Island.

After a quick dinghy ride to the island to let the dogs roam, we settled down for dinner and a little tv.  I think we were both asleep by 10. 

According to the charts, we sailed 50.28 miles.  Not a record of any type but good progress.

Important lessons for the first day of sail.  Pee sitting down.  Besides food, our major expense will be sunscreen. Beth can sleep anywhere, anytime.  Life is good.

J

April 27 - 30 FINAL preparations

We ( Beth, Brenda, Catie, Cocoa and myself ) left Ellijay by 9 am with a few errands to run on the long drive down to Savannah.  The trip was long but uneventful arriving in Savannah by 4.  The car was unpacked loaded on the boat.  Beth spent some time attempting to organize things into where they go.   Its times like this that we need a bigger boat but since that isn't going to happen, we have to choose what we keep onboard and what gets to go back to Ellijay with Brenda.
Brenda is planning on leaving by noon on Friday and we will depart the dock by Sunday.
Dinner was a celebration of moving to the boat full time at Ruth Chris and a short tour of downtown Savannah.

Thursday - Major storms across Alabama and Georgia will be interesting as they approach Savannah.  Hopefully it will just be some wind and no tornadoes.  We did get some wind and some ominous looking clouds but nothing serious.  I was able to get some outside work done and with the wind, no sand gnats. The new fenders were secured while  Beth and Brenda worked on organizing everything we brought down to put on the boat.  We have numerous duplicate items that won't be replaced as they get used but they managed to get everything stowed.  The latter part of the day Beth and Brenda went shopping for provisions and even put them away. Fortunately they brought KFC for dinner so I was happy.

Friday - Clear Skies and a gentle breeze.  I picked up the new inverter and got it installed and ran a few errands while Beth and Brenda finished stowing things.  Lunch was leftovers and then it was time for Brenda to head out.  She felt like she was abandoning us and it was a strange feeling to be watching our transportation leave.  We are officially boat people now.  No cars and our official residence is the boat.  I worked on the CG requirements for the head and a few other small items I wanted to get done before we actually leave the dock. We will feast on Pizza Hut ( thank god for delivery ) and relax this evening.  We have decided that we will finish our list of things tomorrow and LEAVE on Sunday morning.

Saturday - Last day on the dock.  I was up early as usual and Beth needed a sleep in.  I worked on the extra water and gas tanks on the deck, Secured the dinghy for sea travel and cleaned the hatches for the new hatch covers.  Beth worked on finishing up the lifeline netting as I did the last systems tests.  The main motor and generator performed perfectly.  We finally finished around midnight.  What didn't get finished will get finished as we go.

Such detail has been paid to the lifeline netting. Every bare line has been cut and burned.

We will post the next time we happen upon an internet connection.

April 23 - Bon Voyage Party !

Saturday was a party day !  With 3 birthdays and our bon voyage party it was quite a celebration with almost 50 people in attendance.  The festivities started around noon and continued until almost 2 am.  There were cakes, hot dogs, hamburgers and steaks along with lots of beer and alcohol.  Brenda set up the karaoke machine and lots of people took their try at singing.  Its pretty safe to say that "American Idol" doesn't have competition here in Ellijay.  The overall mood was festive with a few sad moments not saying goodbye but good luck on your adventure.  Art celebrated his 80th birthday and we promised we would return for his 85th if not before.  Brenda celebrated her 45th again and Traci enjoyed celebrating her 21st.  Beth made her fruit punch ( almost equal parts gin ) and was pretty well sauced by nightfall.  Daniel, my ever faithful bartender, kept me in rum drinks until he reached his limit and abandoned me.  Leon even celebrated by having a beer but was very good since he was the driver for those who over indulged.  Fortunately all the DD's behaved and everyone got home from the party safe and sound.   It was definitely a party to remember.