Trip complete.....for now!

Well our trip south is over for now. Thanks to everyone who checked in every now & again and commented or emailed us along the way. It was really nice to have that contact. It helped to keep us grounded. We had some wonderful stand out experiences and made many friends along the way. Hopefully we will see them at some point in time again.

We are taking a much needed break for 4-5 weeks to spend Christmas with family and friends. We fly to Colorado Dec. 23 to have Christmas with our girls, returning for NY Eve in Florida. After that we will start planning and provisioning for our next trip Southeast to the Bahamas.

So.......check back in with us in January to see what our progress is.

Hope your Christmas and holidays are happy and your New Year is prosperous.

Peter, Jane, & Pretzel

Day 75 Cape Canaveral

We got an early start from New Smyrna Beach this morning. We were heading out on the last leg of our adventure, the 48 mile trip to Cape Canaveral. The weather was beautiful and the track was mostly long straight runs of several miles at a time. Lots of birds in pristine surroundings. We motored through several flocks and they all took flight as we passed through them. What a sight. The highlight of the day was a 10 minute encounter with a large Dolphin. He/She came along beside us and popped up and down and over and under the boat for what seemed to be an eternity. Jane was on the side deck cheering and clapping like a child and I almost ran off into shallow water by not paying attention to the controls. We stayed on course and had the thrill of a lifetime looking into the eye of such an incredible creature at such close quarters. As if one time was not enough we were greeted again by another Dolphin as we entered the Cape Canaveral Canal. This one announced his presence by splashing me at the helm. Again we watched as he/she swam along with us for a few minutes. What an experience twice in one day.

Day 74 New Smyrna Beach

After a 9 hour day, covering 65+ miles,we arrived in New Smyrna Beach and tied up in the municipal marina. It was late so we had dinner and settled down to a relaxing evening. Just off our stern there was a small bush covered island no bigger than a tennis court. We watched as flock after flock of birds landed and picked their spot for the night. We saw white and brown pelicans, white egrits, black cormorants all living in harmony. There had to be several hundred birds by nightfall. The amazing thing was how quiet all of them were. We did find out from a local that if the wind was blowing our way we would have a major problem with the smell of all the do do!! He also told us that when the nesting season is in full swing the noise level is much different. I am glad we picked a good evening to visit. By the way while all this was going on on the island dolphins froliked all around us. Sorry no picture but something went wrong with the camera.

Day 73 St Augustine Shopping

Today we packed Pretzel into the back pack and took off on a tour of the city. Our first stop was in Old Town St Augustine at a cuban cafe for "cafe con leche". it was like a latte but a little sweeter. Then we walked around city hall, Flagler College, and St. Augestine Cathedral which also had a shrine dedicated to St. Patric Our final stop was a long walk along the pedistrian shopping lane. Peter dropped inside the local Irish shop and we wound up getting an invitation to their Christmas party. Of course the day would not end without a stop in Kilwin's candy shop for a few treats!

We got Pretzel settled back into the boat, exhausted, and were able to leave her there while we went out to dinner. That was a treat.

Peter found a bar/liqueur store which had a few items we had been looking for!!

Day 72 St Augustine,FL

Kinvara left the dock today by 7:30 and we looked forward to a 65 mile trip on the ICW to St. Augustine. There were 3 other boats leaving with us, all crew joined us at some point on Thanksgiving Day. First was s/v Voyager, then s/v Kinvara, then s/v Safari of Howth, finally s/v Persephone.

It turned out to be a day well remembered. All our cruising guides and word of mouth have been negative towards ICW travel in Georgia but we found out today that northern Florida far exceeds the Georgia difficulties. We went through some very shallow spots-registering less than 8' of water and getting down to 6.5 to 7' in some spots. Our boat is 5.5 feet under water so we need at least 6'. We also found that the GPS track went over shoal areas and so we had to adjust our course. Sometimes it was zig-zagging in the channel to find deeper water.

If that wasn't bad enough we found a dredging operation non-responsive on VHF so we had no clear indication of when and where to pass. It was almost blocking the channel. As we approached it the dredge started closing in on us so Peter had to go into a fast reverse. It then moved away and he gunned the engine to get through. Peter called the Coast Guard to report the incident and they were very responsive. Boats behind us were listening in to our conversation and the dredge finally responded to them on VHF radio.

All was not well behind us though. Voyager and Persephone made the trip without any grounding but s/v Safari of Howth went aground 3 times, once having to be towed off by Tow Boat US. They had a seven foot draft! Unfortunately they turned around, going into Jacksonville for the night. They will probably go outside the ICW. If it had been mid to high tide they might have been fine. We will have to look at the tides again before leaving here!

We arrived in St Augustine Municipal Marina by 4PM and watched the sunset over a Corona, listening to Christmas music coming from 3 motor (party) boats beside us. They already have their lights (and palm trees) decorating their boat. It's another long underwear night though since the morning temps are predicted to be in the low 30's.

Day 71 Fernandina Harbor Marina

Happy Thanksgiving

The table's set!

A happy & well fed crew.

It was a lovely day with boat friends. We still missed family though!

Day 69-70 Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Florida

Yesterday morning the anchor came up at 8:30 and we were heading south again. This time only for 5 miles to Fernandina Harbor Marina. This is part of the resort area of Amelia Island but the waterfront is a "working front". The marina is in downtown Historic Fernandina Beach wedged between a paper plant and oil refinery. At first it is very intimidating but if you don't look at them there is no noise or smell. This is the birthplace of the shrimping industry so there are shrimp boats everywhere. In fact, when anchored, we have experienced constant snapping sounds under the hull since Beaufort, NC, and have been told it is tiny shrimp eating the bottom growth on the boat!! Apparently Amelia Island was also a gathering place for pirates and smugglers. There are enough of those around on the streets to remind you of this!

After the laundry was done we walked around this charming town. Lots of shops with Christmas decorations already in place. We browsed in a wine store and found a bottle of our favorite, Frank Family Chardonnay, and a new one, Choco Vine. This is a combination of red wine, dutch chocolate, and cream. We first tried it in Elizabeth City with s/v Witchcraft, a boat from Canada. We are still looking for Cruzan Rum Cream which s/v Persephone introduced to us but no luck yet!

Today it's grocery shopping for Thanksgiving! While waiting to get to the grocery store Peter spotted a sailboat with large Irish flag flying and rushed to hang our own large flag from the spreader. The boat, s/v Safari of Howth, came from Dublin to NY Harbor a year ago. The couple on board have been cruising around the US and Caribbean and are now headed to Cuba. We invited them to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow also so now we will have 7 people and a dog for dinner. With that in the works we got busy this evening. Peter made cranberry-orange relish, port wine cranberry sauce, and Irish trifle. We could not get Bird's custard powder (Irish product) so he made a custard sauce from the Internet. Jane will make stuffing in the morning and roast a full turkey breast in the afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends from the marina, from Tri-County, and anyone following our blog. We hope your holiday is a happy one. Hello to our Franklin friends tonight who are having fun at Pete's stuffing party. We will miss our girls and family but are happy to have friends to share the holiday with. Both of the girls are working at their restaurant jobs tomorrow so they will celebrate when they can. This is a new experience for them but in the long run it will make them more thankful for their family traditions established for so many years. They are already skiing/snowboarding in Colorado and having fun.

Day 68 Cumberland Island

We got very industrious this morning and Jane made an apple crumble and I made a loaf of brown bread. The boat smelt awesome all morning which was a pleasant change from some other days. After a lunch of cream of broccoli soup and fresh brown bread with 'Kerry Gold' butter we packed up and went ashore again to see more of the island. This time we visited the ruins of Dungeness, a fabulous mansion belonging at one time to the Carnegie family. Today it is owned by the government and is part of the national preserve. We saw 4 wild horses grazing in the surrounding fields along with some wild turkeys and a few armadillos. What a great place to hike and see nature in its pristine state.

Tonight we are having a pot roast dinner followed by apple crumble with whipped cream, not bad for boat food. We will be leaving in the morning and crossing into Florida our adopted home state. We will be staying in Fernandina Beach at a marina for Thanksgiving.

Day 67 St Simon Island to Cumberland Island

We picked up our anchor at 7.30 this morning and headed out on a cold and blustery day to Cumberland Island, roughly 35 miles from St Simons Island. We crossed St Simon's Sound in 4 to 6 ft seas and winds gusting to 23. Once we got in the lee of the Islands we settled down to a very pleasant trip until we came to St Andrew Sound. The seas were even bigger here as we crossed the sound and we were glad when we finally got to the ICW again on the south shore. Just before we arrived at our anchorage in Cumberland Island we passed a nuclear submarine base. When one is on the move either in or out the river the ICW is closed for at least an hour. We did not see one today but our friends Dave and Trudy saw one leaving yesterday. It is scary going by because you know you are been watched and if you drift to the wrong side of the channel you could be in big do do.

Speaking of do do look what Pretzel did when she finally got off the boat and on to terra firma!!!!!!

(Just Kidding! There are wild horses on the island)







Our trip took about 5 hours today and once we got settled and had lunch we took the dingy ashore and walked across to the Atlantic side of Cumberland Island. What a beautiful place. It is a national park and is home to wild horses, deer and many other species of animals and birds.

Admiral's Note

We want to thank everyone who is following our blog. We are having so much fun doing this and hope you enjoy it too. Would you please send us your mailing address to our email so we can be in touch over the holidays? You can use either one below:

peterebugg@gmail.com

jbladybugg@gmail.com

We hope to be in our Florida home by Dec. 2-3 and get ready to celebrate Christmas and NYEve with family & friends before leaving for the Bahamas in January.

Days 65-66 St Catherine's Island & St Simon Island

Yesterday we had planned to leave Harbor Town Marina at 8:30AM for an outside ocean trip. Peter was checking the engine transmission fluid and the cap snapped when twisting it back on. There were lots of colorful comments on that little mishap--including never begin an ocean trip on a Friday!!!! Well he did a great job duct taping it closed and we moved to the fuel dock to fill up. While there we got a Yanmar service number and miracle of miracles they had a cap in stock and would deliver it to us in 15 minutes. So after another cup of coffee, bagels for breakfast, $38 and change plus generous tip (for no service charge) we left the fuel dock by 10:15. Our friends on s/v Persephone went on ahead and were sailing across Tybee Roads dodging large commercial vessels. We put our sails up for a while then eventually had to take them in and motor. We were back into ocean travel with 4' roller waves off the port beam until our turn south. Crossing Tybee Roads we watched a red Coast Guard helicopter doing maneuvers---dropping people in the water and pulling them up again but we only had one outgoing commercial vessel watch out for. Tybee Roads is the main shipping channel to Savannah, Georgia. We arrived in Whalburg Creek, our anchorage just off the ocean about 4:30.

We were 1 of 3 boats total. Dave and Trudie joined us for drinks then dinner of grilled hot dogs!!!! Jane was so excited to get the grill fired up again!.. It's been way too long since we could use it. Nearby there was a sandy beach which was covered with tree skeletons. It was quite amazing.

Today we left Whalburg Creek and chose to stay inside the ICW for an 55 mile run while our buddy boat, Persephone, went outside. The waves were suppose to be 4-6 ' so we opted for a calmer day. There was quite a dolphin show on our way south as we crossed over inlets. They not only arch through the water, we saw them jumping out and crashing on their sides (like whales do) and splashing their tail on the water.

We had a current with us most of the day and were following the high tide south. All our travel was mid to high tide and we had no problem with the depth. In fact we saw evidence of dredging along the way and spotted a large dredging operation going on in Buttermilk Sound.

It was a very good choice to stay inside today. The scenery was full of grassy marsh, serpentine streams & rivers, lots of birds, and very pristine. We had so much fun watching the pelicans dive into the water for fish with such force. There were no houses, lots of wildlife, and no other cruising boats!! That was the biggest surprise to us. We had the waterway to ourselves with the exception of a few small local fishing boats. A very quite and serene day. We arrived at our anchorage, just inside St Simon's Sound on the Fredrika River, at 3PM. It's been a great day!!

Day 64 Harbor Town Yacht Basin

Another awesome day on Hilton Head Island. Today we visited Harbor Town Golf Links where the Heritage tournament is played every April. We shopped in the pro shop and then had lunch overlooking the 1st. tee and 9th. hole.

Later we climbed to the top of the light house and were blown away by the views.

If you look closely at the above picture you can pick out Kinvara (right)and Persephone (left) tied up at slips in the inner harbor. We will definitely return here in the future and spend at

least a week. Lots to do and see all over the Island. Every place is accessible by bicycle on bike paths. When you stay at the marina you get access to the Beach Club, pool, fitness center, and discounts on golf rounds and shopping.

Day 62 & 63 Hilton Head Island

This morning we did not leave Beaufort until noontime. Peter returned the rental car and Jane did more washing, got the courtesy van, and went to the grocery store with Trudie from Persephone. Once underway we had about 25 miles to travel to Hilton Head Island. We are staying in Harbor Town Marina, where a famous golf tournament is played, and it is so charming we might not leave!!!

Today Jane had her hair cut and a pedicure to start the day. She was delighted with the results. Life is good!!!! We had lunch at the marina and then rigged up our bikes and rode them to the Atlantic shore. It was a little chilly so we had to have a drink at the Tiki Bar to warm us up. I visited some of the golf courses on our way back and picked up some score cards for Tom Marlborough back in Bellingham, Mass. This whole area is an awesome resort, the beaches, golf, bike trails and water sports would keep you busy 24/7. Of course when the weather is in the high 70s or low 80s everything is beautiful. From what we have seen so far Hilton Head Island is a playground for the rich and famous. The houses all along the coast are incredible. No recession here.

Day 62 Beaufort & Savannah

Beaufort has a waterfront park that is so pretty with hanging swings lining the walkway, outdoor tables, playground (like a pirate ship) and outdoor amphitheater.


















We stayed at the Beaufort Marina on Monday, rented a car for a day, and drove to Savannah. We have decided to detour off the ICW for Georgia but did not want to miss Savannah. It was less to rent the car and stay at this marina than travel there by boat. We took a 90min trolley tour with a hilarious driver telling us everything there is to know (and some we shouldn't know) about the city of Savannah. There are beautiful old houses with lots of wrought iron for fencing and ornamentation. Apparently the more iron you had the wealthier you were. After the tour we drove to the Savannah waterfront and walked along the shops and restaurants lining the street. Of course we could not leave without stopping into the candy store for a southern praline! What a treat. it's made from sugar, butter, and pecans!

This Savannah home was an inspiration for Disney. The Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom is an exact replica of this house!!!