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Trip's Log
Date: Jul 23 to Nov 21
Total Distance: ??? nms
Destination: Fort George River, Jacksonville, Green Cove Springs, Palmo
Cove, Welaka, Turkey Island, Sanford, Ortega River, St Augustine, Melbourne,
Vero Beach, Ft Pierce, Lake Worth (Palm Beach), Lake Boca Raton, Lake Sylvia (Ft
Lauderdale)
Route: Intracostal Waterway, St Johns River
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| Jul 23 Looking back at our notes on last year's cruise to
Georgia, it
was deja
vu all over again. Although we did not get boarded by the Coast Guard
this time, we encountered
them leading a pair of tugboats towing a submarine near
St Mary's entrance, the inlet dividing Georgia and Florida. Similarly, the Nasdaq
took a dive - to mid 1200s. Yikes! Going back to work
looks more and more likely...We were docked at Jekyll
Harbor Marina. It has nice clean showers, a pool, restaurant on site with
live music on the weekends, and bicycles available to all their
guests. If you don't already know, Jekyll Island was put on the map when a
bunch of Northern millionaires (JP Morgan, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller,
Pulitzer, Gould, and others) formed a club and built their winter retreats
here in 1886. Back then, Florida hasn't even been developed yet. It has been said that when all the members were present,
one sixth of the world's wealth resided on this tiny island! Today, the
club and cottages have been turned into a resort, restaurant and museums for
all to enjoy while retaining its charm and rustic ambience. The island is
dotted with bicycle paths. If there are two things we remember about coastal
Georgia, it would be its marshes and gigantic shady oak trees. Thanks to the
marshland, coastal Georgia has not been developed like its neighboring
states. Its beaches remain vast and deserted, and wildlife is
plentiful. Just the way we like it.
We love this place so much we
stayed for a whole three and a half months, a record for us sea gypsies! We
explored Fort Frederica in St Simons, checked out exclusive Sea Island,
and visited nearby Savannah and Jacksonville. We met some nice folks here -
Joyce and Ed
on a
beautiful Fountaine Pajot catamaran One Love, Lynn and Frank of Milly B,
and Anita and Charlie of Lady A. We traded recipes for trading (stocks)
as well as for cooking. Ed helped us installed the Follow-Me TV and got us a new
posturepedic-type bed. Both were wonderful amenities. Anchoring will never
be the same again. We felt sad leaving
the island and the marina community. As for the cruisers, we will
meet them again, somewhere sometime.
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| Aug 2-4 Friends Engin and Halil came over for the
weekend. We had fun biking and exploring the island together, and even
had a chance to anchor out over a Saturday night. It was nice and calm
when we left around 1600. As we passed by St Andrew Sound, we were struck
by gusts of wind that sent spray flying over the bow. In a matter of
moments, beaming seas with 3 to 5 foot waves sent books and magazines flying out of our portside cabinets.
The J&B bottle in the galley was flung to the floor. Even the TV toppled over. Thank goodness
everything was intact. We needed the J&B badly after that rough 10 minutes
passage! You may not believe it now, but we do try to follow procedures
to secure everything before heading out,
but for such a short cruise and on such a nice day, we thought nothing
of it. This boating life is tough!! No doubt we have created a memory
that won't be easily forgotten. We settled into a cozy anchorage at Brickhill River, off of Little Cumberland
Island. The water was so still you almost think you are on land. Returning to the marina the next day was a piece of cake.
We went to Daytona Beach with them so we can retrieve our car. Other
friends who visited us here included Rob and Sienna from N. Carolina, Ralph
and Domenica together with Jon and Peggy from Florida who drove our
car back to Vero Beach for us. Bless their hearts! In September, we drove
to Boston and spent the entire month there. Which was a good thing. The
no-see-ums were killers and the heat was suffocating.
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Nov 6 As much as we love Jekyll Island, having become good friends with
some boaters, it was time to head for warmer climes. Besides, the
captain was itching to cruise again. The day we were supposed to leave, winds were howling at over 20 knots. Ed said he heard over the radio that
some boats that went out got grounded. For some reason, the tides that day
were really extreme - very low and very high. We stayed and left the next day and had
an easy run all the way to Fort George River, our favorite anchorage!
Sophal donned his mask and fin to scrub the propeller, but found the water and
current too cool and strong. He finally gave up after an hour. It was fun
to cruise again. The solitude of anchoring is very soothing. We stayed
there 2 nights.
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