Update 5/6/2011 - Stuart to Alligator River

Sun Cat is on the move!

We left Stuart and traveled to Vero Beach where we picked up a mooring and took the dinghy in for a nice beach walk. When we got back to the boat we fired up the generator to charge the batteries and run the air conditioning. It ran about 5 minutes and quit. I tested the fuel input and it was fine. The next morning we called the Kohler service representative (Ace Marine) and they came out to diagnose the problem. They found lots of rust in the fresh water (antifreeze) system and determined the heat exchanger had somewhat been compromised. A week later they reassembled the generator and we were able to get going again. While at Vero, I was able to complete some other boat projects, clean parts of the boat and did several beach walks and trips through the parks.

Our next stop was the anchorage off Titusville. When we fired up the generator it ran for two hours and quit again! Luckily the batteries carried us through the night and he next day. Then it was on to Daytona where we spent 2 days at Seven seas Marina. The trip from Daytona to Titusville was especially good for wildlife as we saw many manatees and dolphins and even saw a sea turtle.

At Daytona we got in several beach walks and enjoyed a nice dinner with our friends Bruce and Ellie. I quickly found the generator problem- the bolts holding one of the pulleys had come out, the belt (which drives the (new) fresh water pump) had come off track and it was overheating. Once I replaced the bolts it has run fine since. I don’t think it was tightened correctly at the factory!

The next day we set out for the Pine Island anchorage about 10 miles past Daytona. It was a good run until St Augustine, passing many boats and being passed by others. Then it was the perils of Pauline!

At St Augustine we arrived just as the bridge was opening. We do not need it open ourselves but as we approached with a strong wind and current behind us we found a sailboat coming the other way who was taking up most of the channel. We did a quick 360 and started through only to find a bigger sailboat also coming the other way. Another quick 360 and we made it through ok.  It should be noted that the vessel traveling with the current (i.e. us) normally has the right of way.

A few miles later we got out of the channel and bumped bottom pretty hard. Fortunately a liberal application of power got us off again; we don’t think there was any damage. Then we had to try 3 times to get the anchor to set in the wind and current at Pine Island. It finally dug in well and as the wind died we wound up with a good night’s sleep.

The next stop was Fernandina Beach where we were able to walk around town a bit and had a nice dinner with our friends Tom and Jerry. From there we went to the anchorage at Fort Frederica for a peaceful night at anchor.

We were fortunate to travel through the portions of the ICW that have water depth issues on a rising tide and the following day we traveled through Little Mud River (3.5 feet at low tide and stopped at the anchorage at Walberg creek for the night. The next day was nice so we decided to go out at St Catherine’s Sound and travel outside in the Ocean to Caliboge Sound which is the southern entrance to Hilton Head. Although we like Hilton Head we continued on to Port Royal Landing where we met up with Ray & Linda on Summertime. We arrived just in time to take the courtesy car to West Marine and then attend the pot luck dinner at the marina.  The next day I was able to fix (replace) my anchor light which had melted.

After a lay day we headed north with Summertime, spending a night at the anchorage at Church Creek and then it was on to the Maritime center at Charleston. We took a short walk around the historic part of Charleston and then had a 5 boat looper happy hour at the marina.

The following day we headed to Osprey Marina on the south end of Myrtle Beach where we spent another lay day waiting out bad weather.  We rented a car and made a short tour of Myrtle Beach. We’ve been through it a number of times by boat but had never seen the town. Of interest, they are building a huge Ferris Wheel downtown as a tourist attraction.

A late start the next day took us about 25 miles to the Myrtle Beach yacht club on the north end of Myrtle Beach. As a consolation for the short day we got in a nice swim in the pool. It was noticeably cooler than the pool in Jensen Beach however!

Beach at Bald Head Island

After a very (for us) early start we then met up with Ray & Linda at Bald Head Island where we rented a golf cart and toured the island. Bald Head Island is an upscale development which sits at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. We saw some beautiful beaches and some very nice houses and even toured one open house to see what they were like. 

Another early start took us up the Cape Fear River with the current (a real time and fuel saver) and we spent the next evening as guests of the Marines at Mile Hammock Bay anchorage. This anchorage is located at the Marine training base at Camp LeJune  and is sometimes used for training exercises – even amid the anchored yachts!

The next stop was Morehead City where we borrowed the courtesy car and went shopping and then had a nice dinner out with Summertime. Then it was on to Oriental where we stayed at another upscale development called River Dunes. We got in a nice swim in the pool and used the hot tub for a few minutes.

Pool at River Dunes

Our trip from there up the Nuese River was a bit rough but once we got into the next canal it was fine except for a short squall that went through with strong winds and a little rain. We then crossed Pamlico Sound and spent the night at Belhaven. Belhaven used to be prosperous but there is little there now. The major industry appears to be farming as the fishing and shrimping has pretty much dried up as has the lumbering.  A developer is building fairly expensive condos on the harbor and one has to wonder if there is really a market there for such things.

Alligator swimming in canal

That brings us to tonight. Today we passed through a 25 mile canal connecting the Pungo river with the Alligator River and have anchored in a very remote spot called South Lake. On the way we were part of a steady parade of boats through the canal. We did see a big (+/- 12 foot) alligator while we were in the canal so I guess this river is well named!

Sunset at South Lake

That’s all for now – I need to find some pictures to put with this!

Steve and Jean

update 4/7/2011 - Winter in Stuart

Hello to all!

Yes its been nearly 5 months since the last update, primarily because we wound up staying in Stuart rather going to the Bahamas as planned. This does not mean that we did not have a good time and we certainly enjoyed the warm Florida weather!

Sunset at Sunset Bay Marina

Unlike last year, there were a few cold fronts that came through in December and January but in between and after that it was warm and sunny almost all of the time. We enjoyed the pool many times and got to the beach quite a bit as well.

Chronologically, we had a nice Thanksgiving at the marina with Bill and several members of the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club. We then took a trip to the Villages to see our friends Sue and Paul and then it was back to Jensen Beach. Christmas was interesting. We bought an orange tree to use as a Christmas tree and then planted it for landscaping. Maybe some Christmas we’ll enjoy fruit from it!

Walkway through Barley Barbour Swamp

Steve came down for New Years and we took he and Bill for a kayak trip at the Jonathan Dickinson State Park.  Gail visited us in January and we enjoyed showing her the area. We also did a tour of the Flagler museum in Palm Beach. This museum was one of Henry Flagler’s homes – your basic 75 room winter cottage! We also enjoyed Gail’s dog Rambo who was very well trained. Steve and Christine came down in March and we made sure they didn’t get bored! We took them to the beach, to a walking tour of the Barley Barbour swamp and brunch at the Seminole Inn in Indiantown as well as a trip to the Elliot Museum.

Sue and Larry from Sue Sea Q returned to their boat in January and we spent many enjoyable evenings with them playing Mexican train dominos and pigging out on gourmet meals both with Bill and at many restaurants. We also found many interesting happy hours. Our favorite was Friday nights at Wahoo’s where they had 2 for 1 drinks, all the (free) roast beef you could eat, and live music and dancing.  We wound up not going to the Bahamas due to some family medical issues and really appreciated their friendship and support through a difficult time.

Owl in the swamp

We also enjoyed visiting with many of our other friends while we were in Stuart. .In no particular order we were able to get together with Bob and Sharon of Catch Me If you Can, Ken and Sharon on Dockers Inn, Eric & Ellen on West Wind, Chuck and Claria on Odyssey, Phil and Alice on Wonderland, Mike and Judy on Sea Sharp, Ray & Linda on Summertime, Steve & Nancy on Salty Turtle, Eldon and Dianne from Maine Visions, Bill & Jill on Transition and my friends from High School, Rick & Betsey.

In March we went up to the Villages again with Larry and Sue to visit Sue & Paul and celebrate St Patty’s Day.  Part of the celebration was a parade that featured decorated golf carts and various of the clubs including the cheerleaders and twirlers. If you didn’t get to do it when you were younger (or want to repeat the experience) you could certainly do it there!

By early April we were ready to leave so we said good bye to Bill and everyone and started our trip north. That adventure will be started in the next blog update which I’m planning to start right away!

Still having fun !

Steve and Jean

Update 5/4/2011 Stuart to Albamarle Sound

Sun Cat is on the move!

We left Stuart and traveled to Vero Beach where we picked up a mooring and took the dinghy in for a nice beach walk. When we got back to the boat we fired up the generator to charge the batteries and run the air conditioning. It ran about 5 minutes and quit. I tested the fuel input and it was fine. The next morning we called the Kohler service representative (Ace Marine) and they came out to diagnose the problem. They found lots of rust in the fresh water (antifreeze) system and determined the heat exchanger had somewhat been compromised. A week later they reassembled the generator and we were able to get going again. While at Vero, I was able to complete some other boat projects, clean parts of the boat and did several beach walks and trips through the parks.

Our next stop was the anchorage off Titusville. When we fired up the generator it ran for two hours and quit again! Luckily the batteries carried us through the night and he next day. Then it was on to Daytona where we spent 2 days at Seven seas Marina. The trip from Daytona to Titusville was especially good for wildlife as we saw many manatees and dolphins and even saw a sea turtle.

At Daytona we got in several beach walks and enjoyed a nice dinner with our friends Bruce and Ellie. I quickly found the generator problem- the bolts holding one of the pulleys had come out, the belt (which drives the (new) fresh water pump) had come off track and it was overheating. Once I replaced the bolts it has run fine since. I don’t think it was tightened correctly at the factory!

The next day we set out for the Pine Island anchorage about 10 miles past Daytona. It was a good run until St Augustine, passing many boats and being passed by others. Then it was the perils of Pauline!

At St Augustine we arrived just as the bridge was opening. We do not need it open ourselves but as we approached with a strong wind and current behind us we found a sailboat coming the other way who was taking up most of the channel. We did a quick 360 and started through only to find a bigger sailboat also coming the other way. Another quick 360 and we made it through ok.  It should be noted that the vessel traveling with the current (i.e. us) normally has the right of way.

A few miles later we got out of the channel and bumped bottom pretty hard. Fortunately a liberal application of power got us off again; we don’t think there was any damage. Then we had to try 3 times to get the anchor to set in the wind and current at Pine Island. It finally dug in well and as the wind died we wound up with a good night’s sleep.

The next stop was Fernandina Beach where we were able to walk around town a bit and had a nice dinner with our friends Tom and Jerry. From there we went to the anchorage at Fort Frederica for a peaceful night at anchor.

We were fortunate to travel through the portions of the ICW that have water depth issues on a rising tide and the following day we traveled through Little Mud River (3.5 feet at low tide and stopped at the anchorage at Walberg creek for the night. The next day was nice so we decided to go out at St Catherine’s Sound and travel outside in the Ocean to Caliboge Sound which is the southern entrance to Hilton Head. Although we like Hilton Head we continued on to Port Royal Landing where we met up with Ray & Linda on Summertime. We arrived just in time to take the courtesy car to West Marine and then attend the pot luck dinner at the marina.  The next day I was able to fix (replace) my anchor light which had melted.

Marina at Bellhaven

After a lay day we headed north with Summertime, spending a night at the anchorage at Church Creek and then it was on to the Maritime center at Charleston. We took a short walk around the historic part of Charleston and then had a 5 boat looper happy hour at the marina.

The following day we headed to Osprey Marina on the south end of Myrtle Beach where we spent another lay day waiting out bad weather.  We rented a car and made a short tour of Myrtle Beach. We’ve been through it a number of times by boat but had never seen the town. Of interest, they are building a huge Ferris Wheel downtown as a tourist attraction.

A late start the next day took us about 25 miles to the Myrtle Beach yacht club on the north end of Myrtle Beach. As a consolation for the short day we got in a nice swim in the pool. It was noticeably cooler than the pool in Jensen Beach however!

After a very (for us) early start we then met up with Ray & Linda at Bald Head Island where we rented a golf cart and toured the island. Bald Head Island is an upscale development which sits at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. We saw some beautiful beaches and some very nice houses and even toured one open house to see what they were like. 

Another early start took us up the Cape Fear River with the current (a real time and fuel saver) and we spent the next evening as guests of the Marines at Mile Hammock Bay anchorage. This anchorage is located at the Marine training base at Camp LeJune  and is sometimes used for training exercises – even amid the anchored yachts!

The Alligator- Pungo Canal

The next stop was Morehead City where we borrowed the courtesy car and went shopping and then had a nice dinner out with Summertime. Then it was on to Oriental where we stayed at another upscale development called River Dunes. We got in a nice swim in the pool and used the hot tub for a few minutes.

Our trip from there up the Nuese River was a bit rough but once we got into the next canal it was fine except for a short squall that went through with strong winds and a little rain. We then crossed Pamlico Sound and spent the night at Belhaven. Belhaven used to be prosperous but there is little there now. The major industry appears to be farming as the fishing and shrimping has pretty much dried up as has the lumbering.  A developer is building fairly expensive condos on the harbor and one has to wonder if there is really a market there for such things.

Sunset on South Lake

That brings us to tonight. Today we passed through a 25 mile canal connecting the Pungo river with the Alligator River and have anchored in a very remote spot called South Lake. On the way we were part of a steady parade of boats through the canal. We did see a big (+/- 12 foot) alligator while we were in the canal so I guess this river is well named!

That’s all for now – I need to find some pictures to put with this!

Steve & Jean

Update 11/24/2010 - Hilton Head to Vero Beach

Hello to all,

Greetings from Florida. We made it to Florida earlier this month after our insurance restrictions expired and got some work done by Lamb’s Yacht Center in Jacksonville before heading south to Stuart.

Claria,Jane,Chuck and George after Dafauskie Trip

Our last week at Hilton Head was pretty good. We bought a couple of the rental bikes and rode around the island quite a bit. We were able to use the pools just about to the last weekend when they became a bit too cold. Chuck & Claria and George and Jane from Time Out came over one day in Chuck’s smaller boat and we all took a ride to Daufuskie Island for lunch at Marshside Moma’s. Marshside Moma’s is a pretty funky place and was fun to visit as well as being a pleasant boat trip as well.

Bar at Marshside Moma's

A few days later Time Out joined us at Hilton Head and we had a fun time showing them around. Sun Cat and Time Out left Hilton Head on 10/25 and [preceded down the ICW through Georgia/ Our first stop was the Herb River anchorage in Thunderbolt, Ga where we had a good night on anchor watching the Thunder and Lightning show all around us. The next stop was the Wahoo River anchorage where we had a nice quiet night. We were fortunate to be traveling during a week when the high tide was in the middle of the day, thus making passage through some of the shallow spots in the ICW less difficult.

The next night found us anchored off of the Two Way Fish Camp on the Altamaha River. We dinghied into the restaurant there- a place called Mudcat Charlie’s. Not as funky as Marshside Moma’s but still good. We passed on the catfish but found the Grouper very good. From there we traveled to Brunswick Landing Marina after filling our fuel tanks at Ocean Petroleum. Ocean serves the Brunswick shrimp fleet and always has one of the lowest fuel prices anywhere. We walked around Brunswick a bit and were surprised to find the farmer’s market open that afternoon. We also had a good dinner out that evening at the “Brewburger” restaurant.

From Brunswick we traveled past Jekyll Island, traveling through Jekyll Creek a couple of hours after low tide. Jekyll Creek is one of the worst spots on the ICW and should have been dredged last year but was not due to a buraucratic snafu – they didn’t have a “spoils plan”. Since this section has not been dredged in many years you would have thought they had had ample time to develop one. Worse, within the first mile there is a large spoils island from previous dredging. One would think they could simply put more spoils there without years (and millions of $) of study!

Plum Orchard Mansion

From Jekyll, we traveled across St Andrews sound which was quite rough with the NE wind. Fortunately it was only a few miles and then we turned for Cumberland Island where we made a detour off the ICW onto the Brickhill River which passes closer to shore and took us to a nice anchorage off of the Plum Orchard mansion. We anchored there and went ashore where we were given a great tour of the mansion which is now part of the park. The mansion was built by Mrs. Carnegie for one of her children.

The next day we motored down the ICW to the southern end of Cumberland Island where we anchored and

Beach at Cumberland Island

took a great walk, making a loop from the sea camp dock to the beach, down the beach to the Dungeness ruins and back the main road to the sea camp dock again. Cumberland is one of our favorite stops and this visit did not disappoint us.

It was now November 1 so our insurance would let us go into Florida. We said bye to George and Jane on Time Out as they were headed to St Augustine that evening and we headed up the St John River to Jacksonville where we stopped again at Lamb’s to let them finish the trim around the windows that they had been unable to finish in June due to our schedule.

Just before leaving Hilton Head, we had divers clean the bottom and they had reported that it looked like paint was coming off and that one of the props probably needed reconditioning. So we had the boat hauled to get a good look, an event which was to result in the expenditure of several boat units. (For the uninitiated, a boat unit means Break Out Another Thousand.) The paint was indeed bad and coming off in several places. There had been quite a buildup over the years and the ¼” or so was coming off in places all the way back to the gel coat. After some discussion of options, it was decided to aggressively power wash the bottom and we were amazed to see the paint come off like shrapnel. The bottom apparently had not been properly prepared for the first coat, a common occurrence with new boats.  After the cleaning the bottom was sanded and 4 coats of a primer/barrier were applied before 2 coats of bottom paint.

In addition, we had the props removed and sent to a prop shop along with the spare set. The props we were using were 23” diameter with a pitch of 20 but we were surprised to learn that the “spares” which might have been the original props were 23 X 18. The prop shop recommended that we increase the pitch to 21 on the set we were using so we did that. It appeared afterward that this increase did give us more speed at low RPM and was about the same or a little better at max RPM. We also had two of the big (8D) engine starting batteries replaced while we were there. These weigh almost 200 lbs and were over 5 years old. I didn’t want

Sun Cat's new bottom

to be replacing them in the Bahamas and wanted someone else to try to lift them.  They also finished the window trim and we had the radar fixed as a circuit board in the scanner had quit. We felt we were well treated by Lamb’s and were pleased with the work that was done.

While the boat was out of the water we decided it was a good time to retrieve our car which was still up in Hilton Head. The plan was to drive to Hilton Head, spend the night with Chuck & Claria and then drive back to Jax, have dinner with Tom & Gerry (Sea Knight), check on the boat and then drive to Daytona for a visit with Bruce & Ellie before joining George and Jane in Cocoa for a Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club function. After that we would drive to Jensen beach, spend a day with son Bill and then drive back to Jax with Bill taking our car back to Jensen Beach. (Yes renting a car is easier).

That plan worked out very well with one exception. As we were driving into Shelter Cove on Hilton Head (where the car was), Jean asked me if I had the keys. Of course I didn’t and neither did she! They were still in Jax 3 hours behind us!. After some debate about what to do, we called Lambs and they were able to locate the keys on the boat and overnight them to us at the marina. We had a nice evening with Chuck and Claria, using their elegant guest quarters. We then spent another nice evening with Tom and Gerry with whom we wound up staying over. After a short stop to check on the progress on the boat, we went on to a good visit with Bruce and Ellie in Daytona.  The rest of the trip went on schedule as well and by Sunday evening we were back on the boat which was launched on Monday afternoon.

Wednesday morning we headed down the river with the current and spent the next night at St Augustine, arriving in time to take a walk around the historic district. Then it was on to Daytona where we were able to get in s good beach walk and then on to Cocoa and Vero Beach.

Jean at Vero Beach

We spent 2 nights at Vero, another of our favorite stops. We tried to get in a beach walk but the tide and surf was too high so we settled for a long walk in the Riverside Park. The next day, we pulled into Stuart where we will stay until Mid-January when we will head for the Bahamas. Our Stuart adventures will be described in the next update.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Steve and Jean

Update October 18, 2010 - Michigan to Hilton Head

The summer rocketed by and now September is over and its halfway through October. We’ve had a very busy time month since our last update and its time to fill everyone in on our travels and other adventures.

In the last update we were traveling with Eldon and Dianne on Maine Visions and had just reached Detour Village, Michigan. From Detour, we headed out the next morning, traveling through the Le Chenneaux islands to Hessel. The first couple of hours were rough as there was a strong westerly wind which was kicking up 3 to 5 foot waves in  Lake Huron. Once we got behind the islands things settled down and it was a good trip through the islands to Hessel.

Hessel is a pretty little town which turned out to be very busy as they were hosting a sailboat regatta and the harbor was full of Pearson Ensigns. However due to the strong winds they were not sailing that day. The full harbor meant that they had to scramble around to find space for us. They did, partially by moving the committee boat. Eldon went over to say thank you and we were invited to the dinner cruise that night. Amazing what a little rum can do! The dinner cruise was fun and we got a chance to talk with a number of the sailors who were from all over both countries.

Grand Hotel - Mackinac Island

From Hessel we went to Cheboygan where we rented a car and drove back to the Soo to get our car and Eldon’s plane. (He got back to Cheboygan long before we did!). The next morning I took a plane ride with Eldon and we flew over Mackinac Bridge and Island, Hessel and the Le Chenneaux islands and northern Michigan. It was a clear day and the scenery was beautiful. I also got to fly the plane a little – a very different experience!  The pictures below were all taken from the plane. They are the Mackinac Bridge, the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and the harbor there.

Harbor at Mackinac from the air

Straits of Mackinac Bridge

It was time for us to go so Jean and I headed south, stopping for the evening in Frankenmuth, MI, a town we’d never heard of. It turned out to be very interesting. The town had been founded mostly by German immigrants and  they had retained their Bavarian heritage and the downtown was primarily done in a Bavarian theme which was quite nice.  We had a good German meal there that evening.

The next day we drove through Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky, stopping for the evening at another interesting find, the Cumberland Inn. The Inn is owned by the University of the Cumberland and is quite nice. It was advertised as having a museum attached but no word on what the museum was about. We got there in time to tour it and found it was a private collection of stuffed animals from all over the world. It was quite interesting. After a swim in the pool, we found the problem. It was hard to find a decent restaurant nearby. The picture below is an example of the museum exhibits.

 

The next day we traveled to Hilton Head. The scenery on I-40 between Knoxville, TN and Ashville, NC was outstanding as the road ran along a river and through several tunnels.  We arrived at the boat about 4 PM and found Sun Cat had endured the summer nicely. The dehumidifier had done its job and there was no mold anywhere. The boat was dirty but otherwise in good shape. It was very warm with temperatures over 90. The weather stayed that way for several weeks.

Scenery of I-40

At Hilton Head, we’ve mixed trips to the pool and beach with working on the boat. Among the many boat projects we’ve replaced the radio antenna and main GPS as well as several lights, the refrigerator and the injectors on one engine. In the process I’ve rewired a good deal of the bridge, removing several hundred feet of no longer used wire in the process and eliminating a negative ground strip that wasn’t attached to anything. I’ve also done a great deal of routine maintenance including topping the batteries, and changing all of the filters and the oil in the engines and generator.  

We’ve also been fortunate to be visited by our friends and relatives. Alan and Susan on  Kaos stopped by for a few days as did Phil and Alice on Wonderland. We also had a couple of visits with Chuck and Claria of Odyssee. In addition, Ken and Sharon on Dockers Inn spent a month here and my brother and sister and their families also visited for a long weekend and more.  During their visit we again attended attended the  Jazz and Brew Festival here in Shelter Cove. Son Bill stopped on his way back to Florida and we visited one of Jean’s high school classmates.

Dockmasters office at Sunset - Shelter Cove Marina

To give one a feel for how things go for us on a daily basis, this was what today was like. We had breakfast and coffee in the morning sun out on the sundeck and then went to work on the boat. I’ve had a persistent leak around the starboard electrical connection box so we put the dinghy down and proceeded to clean out the old sealant and add new. Of course this meant turning off the power and sealing both the inside and outside of the box. This wound up taking about 2 hours. We then took a dinghy trip about 2 miles to a restaurant at another marina for lunch. Then we came back, secured the dinghy and took the bikes to the pool where I did some laps and we enjoyed the sun.  Then it was back to the boat where I fixed the head yet again. This was followed by happy hour on the sundeck where we enjoyed the live music from the outside restaurant about 200 feet away. After dinner, we took a walk around the marina, a distance of about a mile. Now I’m watching football and writing this after corresponding with several of our friends.

Still having a great time.

Steve and Jean