It turns out there is another boat like mine here in Palatka and the owner introduced me to a neighbor of his who can watch  Spark for a few months.  I may try to move there today and start stripping sails and canvas because she will be under the trees for a while.  Last night I moved to the city docks here in Palatka but every time I leave the birds move on board.

I will be headed to the boat for a couple of days and will be without a connection.  Stay tuned.

They changed our forecast where the lower 20’s will continue into Monday but all is well because I am in a fancy motorhome cover tent that will capture the heat from the wall unit.

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Maybe some people are not supposed to be alone.   As soon as I wake up in the morning I start humming something or other.  It might not even be a song.  I have never really ever been a big music person like some of you.  I had a couple of albums as a kid but didn’t own the stereo systems that some of my friends had.   Why can’t I just let my mind go blank when it isn’t needed?  Here are some of the biggies that my built-in jukebox plays:

• “I’m getting closer to my home” by Grand Funk Railroad
• “Maria” and “America” from West Side Story
• “Holly Holy” by Neil Diamond

…and others!!  These aren’t even favorites of mine but they keep returning.  When the seagulls hear me say “Quit that!” they must really wonder.  I need to learn to meditate.

My enclosures are 3-sided.  Port, starboard and front.  Not much help when the wind is behind you but this was a shorter day.  I used four of those heat packets.  One in each shoe and one in each glove.  Palatka looked really good on arrival and it was great to see my uncle standing on the shore.  We locked the dinghy under the town dock and I am typing this while up in his guest room above “the barn”.  Tomorrow we are going to drive around looking at marinas.  I even ate a hamburger at a real restaurant.

It was so cold pouring in that jug of fuel this morning.  An Albin 28 had come in just after dark and they waved on the way out the creek.  The name of the boat was “Slow Motion” and I was to see them twice more with both of us headed up the St. Johns.[singlepic id=37 w=320 h=240 float=right]  Somehow I did 61 miles.  The Main Street Bridge in Jacksonville told me to come on through and then asked if I was still on channel 9 because they were having technical difficulties and had stopped the lift.  I was coming on with plenty of tide behind me so I don’t think I could have bailed.  A couple of bumps in the opening and the span started to rise again.  I hate that crap.  Anyway, I had forgotten how beautiful this river is and was very impressed with Julington Creek. [singlepic id=28 w=320 h=240 float=left] First I picked up my 6 gallons of fuel and then I walked across the highway to a great grocery store.  My night was the usual.  Cold with wind picking up after midnight.

I spent the night on shore at Ashton Whipple’s house.  Some of you in Oriental know and love Ashton.  He didn’t get serious about art until he was 60 years old but his work is beautiful and I got to hear the stories behind some of the paintings.   His daughter and grandson were a treat to meet and I had a great time.  The next day they returned me to the marina and I returned me to the boat.  Three long rows later and I had enough fuel so I caught the 2:30 opening of the Bridge  of Lions   Originally I thought I would go back up Salt Run but I needed some miles in so I steamed to Pine Island to spend the night in the marsh.  Clear, cold and not much wind.

The boat has done well.   The engine did quit in Port Royal Sound as it did going to Manteo but both were after a couple of hours of pretty violent rocking and rolling.  I had plenty of fuel both times but it is possible the pickup tube sucked some air.  Maybe the extra labor caused engine heat but that should have happened again powering against some of this current.  A big roll could have tricked a sensor into thinking the oil was low or even gone. [Read More…]

The day cleaned up very well and I rowed during the slack tide and returned at sunset riding the flood tide back to the boat.  It cost $10 but I filled a water jug and have until noon tomorrow to fill more jugs.  After a nice talk with my uncle I think I might backtrack to Jacksonville and head up the St. Johns River for about 70 miles and rest at his place.  The next few days are 20’s at night so I need to decide if it would be better to wait here.  The wind is calm right now.  Happy New Year!

I just moved to the big anchorage south of the Bridge of Lions.  The wi-fi is a real challenge because the wind has me swinging wildly.  The next 4 or 5 nights are freezing so I have to figure out how to get to shore and buy firewood.  St. Augustine has been less than welcoming.  When your dinghy hits the shore someone wants 10 or 15 dollars per day.  Right now it is too far to row anyway.  I am hunkered down dreaming of a less challenging day.

This is why people go to Florida for the winter because this is where winter lives.  I will fill in the last few days when I am plugged in somewhere.  I am anchored far from the marina but might attempt the row at slack tide for a can of fuel but then I will move on.

I can group a couple of days in this post.  The weather was cold of course and the main worry was crossing all the Georgia sounds because some of the routes take you partially out the inlets.  Some went well while others were worthy of holding your breath wondering if the engine was about to stop.  Some time during all this I anchored on the Frederica River doing my marsh thing.  Open anchorages where hard for us because you weren’t always streaming downwind.  Sometimes the current would take over and she would be broadside to the waves with rolling to follow.

A couple of boats pulled into the anchorage last night.  One of the boats was hauled out at Sailcraft when I left Oriental a month ago.  I used to see this couple at the Silos sometimes.  Her name was Donna.  They left early this morning and the second boat not far behind.  I scrambled around and bought a new battery to help start this engine on these cold mornings.  25 miles of motoring and I am anchored snug against the marsh in Kilkenny Creek.  The sound of rain on the deck is a surprise.  Having a wi-fi connection is a surprise.  I am going to dinghy in for a jug of fuel in the morning and push on.  I will be in the middle of nowhere tomorrow night.

I just had turkey dinner with Jerome and a  homeless guy down at the park.  We used the big white coffee filters for plates.  How many of you had avocado with your meal?  The one guy camps in a tent and of course Jerome camps on a Catalina 22 with no mast or motor.  Neither of them have heat.  Now we are at the hospital visiting a friend of theirs.  I am waiting in the lobby and doing this.  The rain is trying to stop and it is pretty warm.

I can’t believe how lucky I am to have such good friends and family.  I am so very grateful.  I hope everyone has the best of holidays and I hope not to be such a pain.  Soon.

I had joked that I was going to go until I broke down or the boat broke down.  I think it is appropriate that we both came to a halt on the same day.  My back has been getting worse the last few days and the motor hardly turned over before failing to start this morning.  I tried to walk on land but had to stop every couple hundred feet and squat down.  The weather was nice so I loaded the bike into the dinghy and assembled it on shore hoping a bike ride would help and I think it has.  The engine started about 3 this afternoon because I let the sun beat down on it.  It still makes me want to stay right here because it would be bad to be stranded in the marshes of Georgia.The nearest store is just over a mile.  I found a recycle bin at the school so I have paper to start fires again and wood for a couple of days.  The shore is full of neat houses to look at.

Some time after noon I motored up Turner Creek to dinghy in for fuel and food.  My back was pretty bad so I was glad the store was a short walk.  Plans of staying the night were abandoned and I left at 2 attempting to get through the bridge just beyond Isle of Hope.  Some of these bridges won’t open during rush hour and this was one of them so I pulled into the anchorage at I of H where they charge $20 to tie up your dinghy.  I  am in Georgia.  That is 125 miles from Fernandina Beach, Florida.  The engine is barely starting in the morning but maybe that is because the temps are freezing.  My rough goal is to make Florida by Christmas.  Meanwhile I  have firewood for the night and morning so I can’t complain.

About three hours into the day I turned upwind where the Intracoastal crosses Port Royal Sound.  The waves were pretty big and there was some pounding going on with the bowsprit going underwater every few waves.  With just a couple of miles to go the engine just quit.  All the sailcovers where on because these original sails are UV damaged and starting to tear in places.  The boat turned broadside to the waves and started to roll like crazy.  I got the covers off and the mizzen up to point the bow upwind.  Once the jib was up this boat calms down and seems to want me to calm down too.  That two sail combination couldn’t gain on the current so the main went up and upwind we went.  I hooked around behind a marina and anchored to catch my breath.  The little electric fuel pump helped bleed the lines and the motor started with no battery to spare.  The rest of the day was short and the bridge opening beyond Isle of Hope prevented me from getting the last hour of daylight.  With six anchor retrievals in just a few days I knew my back was cooked.

The current was ripping when I got up this morning and getting the anchor  loose caused the first bit of my back problems.  I had to try and power over it and then get some chain up before the current loaded it up.  It took about 3 hours to get to Beaufort and I was anchored by noon.  The anchorage was a combination of boats on moorings and boats anchored with their own gear.  The moored boats had short tethers and didn’t swing far enough away from us other boats needing more rode out in the strong current.  I had to get up twice with the temps in the low 30’s and re-drop.  The second time I just idled up current until the sun came up.  It was not a good way to start the day.

I should have waited for this day to pass.  It never let up for 7 hours and 46 miles.  Everything got wet.  When I finally got anchored I had the stove roaring and everything clipped to the overhead handrails where the cabin is the warmest.