Leg #2 Palmeto to Oxford

The Katy Leigh is getting new varnish while being stored at Marlow Marine. It should be ready to leave on March 26th.

We arrived at 1:30PM to find the Katy Leigh in the water, washed, and beautiful with her new varnish job; 12 coats hand rubbed! (see photo) Thanks to great friends we were taken to the airport in Nashville and picked up at Tampa. We took our Kenlake friends, Doc & Eileen to their choice of restaurant. It was a seafood place overlooking the Manatee River called Leverocks and very popular with the old people as the entrees were half price if you were seated before 5:30PM. Onion coated salmon with fried shrimp for $7.99 including salad and baked potatoe is a pretty good deal these days. If all is working, and the weather behaves we leave at dawn for Burnt Store in Punta Gorda, an 85 mile run.

We were underway at 6:25AM. A 70′ Marlow Explorer was at the entrance to the harbor.
(see photo. The tide was rising and the winds light. We made it out of shallow Terra Ceia bay without incident and the sounder never dropped below zero. On past Anna Maria, and Sarasota. At Vienna the water turns a beautiful shade of turquoise. We saw a few dolphins but none jumped out of the water. We made most of the bridges without any delay. At the Gasparilla causeway we were close expecting the bridge to swing at 3:00PM. But it didn/t swing so we called the bridgemaster on the radio and he said we had to wait for the next opening at 3:15PM. Apparently if you don? call him before 3:00PM you are out of luck. At 5:11PM we arrived at Burnt Store Marina on Charlotte Harbor. Hans & Ria were there to meet us. As before tieing up to piles takes a bit of practice but the varish was spared. Dinner was at the Snook Inn about 15 miles drive south. It was a dumpy place beside the water. The floors sloped so it was like being on a boat. The food was fantastic. Saturday night was buffet night with all kinds of sea food and roast beef.

Today was change the fuel filter day as it had been showing higher pressure on the way south and had not been changed in 50 hours since Carrabelle. After that Hans and Ria drove us to Boca Grande. We had to cross the same swing bridge that held us up the day before. It? a $3.50 toll bridge designed to keep the riff raff out of Boca Grande. It doesn? work all that well as the headline in the local paper was about the first theft in several years. It seems someone stole liquor and golf carts over a several day period. This place was built by the railroad barons in 1910 as a vacation spot. George Bush, Sr. and family spent Christmas here at the Gasparilla Inn.. We were going to anchor in a bay beside the hotel last night but because of the high winds the plan was changed to go to Burnt Store. Most homes sell for more than $1 million. We had lunch at a bar on the beach. The photo shows the lighthouse at the south end of Gasparillo Island

We left at 6:30AM with Hans giving a hand with the lines. Great to have friends that get up so early. We crossed Charlotte Harbor and saw Boca Grande from the water. Turning south we passed Captiva Island and Sanibel. The ICW then heads north east through the shallow ?iserable Mile?that Hans had warned us to be sure and stay in the channel. It? not the shallow water that is miserable it? all the other boats that kick up the water. We past Cape Coral and Fort Myers. Then its canal all the way to Lake Okeechobee. It? hard to get marinas along the way as they fill up fast. We managed to get a space at Port LaBelle Marina on the fuel dock. A little later we let a 44?Gulf Star trawler raft on to us as they had no where to go. Port LaBelle has seen better days. It was a big golf place but they are cutting up the course now to build houses. The large hotel there had no sign, the lights were out at the front desk and there were no signs of life. However, the restaurant was open with a couple of people at the bar. The prices were pretty high so we declined and went back to the boat for dinner. There were some great signs on the the fuel dock. Such as ?eware of alligators?and ?ue to company and environmental concerns we do not sell gas to jet-skis, wave runners, etc.? Come to think of it we have not seen a single jet ski since Boca Grande. Our kind of place.

The plan was to take the canal around the bottom end of Lake Okeechobee. However, once we saw about 10 miles of canal and since the weather was perfect we decided to head across the lake instead. Okeechobee is the biggest fresh water lake in the USA outside of the great lakes. It is the source of water for much of Florida. Eagles abound in the dead trees all along the shore. It is also sugar cane country and they are burning the cane creating huge plumes of smoke. There is only one marina at the eastern side of the lake and it was full when we called. We took a chance on just showing up and sure enough got a spot. We followed at 57?Nordhaven, Tiger Eyes and it turned out that they are also going to the Marlow rendezvous. They qualify as they used to have a Grand Banks. After we got in a couple of Soprano? type guys on a huge new 55?cruiser came in behind us. Their boat has a sun mattress on the cabin roof about 20?12? It looks just a like a 50? Chris Craft.

We made it to the Atlantic Ocean today for the first time. We followed the St Lucie Canal from Indiantown to Stuart. The locks on the Okeechobee are unique in the USA. They just open up the gates to let the water in rather than having underwater passages for the water to fill up or empty the locks. The St Lucie Lock drops about 10 feet and has the highest lift of any of the locks. It means that the current inside the lock is quite strong so you have to really hang on as the water drops. It also means you had better not cleat the lines down or you could be left hanging on the side of the lock as the water level drops. We just made it in time to the St Lucie lock saving ourselves a couple of hours wait. From there it was an easy run to Hutchison Island where we are at the Marriott Resort for the Southern Grand Banks Owners Association Rendezvous which starts tomorrow. There are about 2 or 3 empty slips and 20 boats arriving tomorrow so it should be quite interesting to see what happens. We had dinner tonight aboard a 46?Europa Grand Banks with Maria and Alan Perry. They are from Florence SC.

This was a rest day. Up late, breakfast at the hotel, and then planning the route from Stuart to Fernandina. Registration was at 2:00PM. All 20 boats arrived and found slips by 4:00PM. There is one 32 foot, two 36 footers, maybe 6-8 42 footers, with the largest boat a 57 foot Nordhavn. There were strong winds so people had lots of trouble getting into their slips. Marlow put on a cocktail party with lots of food so we didn? need any dinner. There are people here from New York Michigan and Florida.

This was a day of learning. I learned about varnish, fuel filters, water makers, getting the internet on a boat, and diesel engines. It was worthwhile as I have been doing several things wrong; you have to change the engine fuel filter at the same time as you change the pre-filter. Don? put tape on the engine zincs or they could be insulated and won? do their job which is to be a sacrificial anode preventing your engine from disintegrating in salt water. Water makers are to be avoided unless you are going to the Caribbean islands or South America. You don? need them on the rivers and lakes. There is still no inexpensive but reliable way to get high speed internet on a boat that is cruising in US waters. The scheme I use is the most cost effective solution for the time being. There was a dinghy race with different classes. I won the slow class by default without even having to launch the dinghy as no one else entered. Tonight was a great party. Tomorrow Mavis gets some hands-on at the wheel in a large trawler in the woman? boat handling class.

This was the last day of the Marlow Marine Rendezvous. Mavis passed the small boat handling course actually docking a 42 foot Grand Banks with twin engines. Bob attended an additional lecture on water makers, boat decorating, and sales taxes. While it would be fun to get a water maker I just can? see the need on the inland lakes and rivers. It only makes sense in the Bahamas and Central America where water costs up to $0.65 per gallon. In the afternoon we rented a car shopped for provisions and toured downtown Stuart. There was big craft fair on and the streets were blocked off. Tonight was a costume party with a pirate theme. The winner of the best costume is shown in the front and back photo.

Breakfast was at the Marriot as part of the Rendezvous. We set ?ail?at 1100 heading north 31 miles for Vero Beach. We stayed there with friends Lee & Vic from Meander that we traveled with last fall on the Tombigee cruise. Vero Beach is the 7th best place to live in the USA according to USA Today. Everything is just about perfect. There is only one high rise. We stayed at their dock beside Meander and had dinner at their home about 30 feet from the dock. The weather in Vero Beach is perfect from November to April. There is no need for air conditioning and rarely any need for heat. It hardly ever even rains.

We had breakfast aboard and then had work to do; replacing a flag halyard, changing 3 fuel filters, and touching up some varnish. (We scraped the rail docking last night.) Of course after changing the fuel filters the engine would not start. I had to go the manual to find all the bleed screws. Then it started right up. We left at 11:30 and cruised to Melbourne where we are anchored for the night. The pelicans are right beside us feeding. They spot a fish from 30 ft up and then crash into the water. It is spectacular. Tomorrow will be a long day 85 miles to Daytona Beach.

Three other sailboats anchored near us last night and left before it was light. We passed each one by 1000. Our course took us past the Kennedy Space Center where we could see the rocket assembly building from 25 miles away. There were no lift offs today unfortunately. Poorly named Mosquito Lagoon is a long, very wide and beautiful stretch of water. It is wild on all sides and reminded us of Kentucky Lake. Unlike Kentucky Lake we had dolphins accompany us several times. The tidal current in the Halifax River was running against us at about 2 mph. and slowed us down. At one point Mavis and I debated whether you can resume speed when you see the resume sign or whether you have to wait till you get to the sign. I decided that it was OK to speed up insight of the sign. A boat coming our way turned on its blue lights. It was the sheriff. He set us straight but did not issue a ticket. Now we know. We finally arrived at Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona at 530 just before closure. A new restaurant had just opened up in the marina and we decided to try it. The service was abysmal but the food when it finally arrived was pretty good. Not a good idea to try new restaurants on opening week.

With only 54 miles to go today we had time to walk to downtown Daytona for breakfast. It was only about 3 blocks and very attractive. (see photo). Daytona is very keen on recycling with mini-centers every block or two on the waterfront. Each includes and oil recycling container. The ICW from Dayton to St Augustine is built up on both sides of the canal about 60% of the way. It was probably the least scenic so far. The marina at St. Augustine has the biggest sailboats we have seen so far. They can only sail outside the barrier islands as their masts are 80 feet high, much to high to pass under the 60 foot bridges. The one in the photo must be close to 80 feet long and is registered in the Cayman Islands. A tax dodge used by super yachts. One came in beside us and used its thrusters to get to the dock.. There are 3 other boats here that attended the America?s Great Loop Cruisers Association rendezvous last fall. Most had spent the winter in the Bahamas and were now sailing north. Tomorrow we will spend in town seeing the sights.

St Augustine is the oldest city in America dating back to the 1500?s. It changed hands several times among the Spaniards, French, and English before becoming part of the USA in 1821. We spent the day in museums and walking around the town. The ?living? museum had well versed guides that talked about what they would have done in the 1700?s. The calligrapher worked for the church recording birthdays, etc. The old town has many shops catering to tourists. The building in the photo is an office building. We ate dinner out at a garden restaurant across from the Spanish fort.

Out at 7:15AM our first task was to get fuel. First time since Bradenton and we added 100 gallons to fill the tanks ? full. We cruised north to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. Except for about 10 miles the channel is wide and marshes extend for miles. At the St John?s River there is a huge dry dock that contained a destroyer. We managed to get dock space at Fernandina Beach Municipal and avoided anchoring out. The tide here is 7 feet high and in some slips the boats just settle into the mud. This town was also settled at the same time as St Augustine. It is very touristy as well but much more sophisticated shops than St. Augustine. There are two paper mills here (but no smell so far) and it is a shrimp fishing center. The photo shows the view off the stern of our boat during cocktail hour.

We left early to get to Cumberland Island National Seashore. The island was 90% owned by Andrew Carnegie around the turn of the last century. He built a mansion on the island which is now in ruins. The Carnegie family donated their holdings to the government. There is no bridge to the island and never will be so the population is very small. We anchored out and took the dinghy to the park?s dingy dock. It was about a mile across to the beach which is very wide, hard packed, and stretches for miles. Then we walked to the ruined mansion. The island is covered with huge live oaks which shade the palmetto palm underneath. There a lot of Spanish moss in the live oaks. On the way back we saw the wild horses the island is famous for. Around 1230 we pulled anchor and cruised north to Jekyll Island. This island is owned by the Georgia State government but is leased out to various businesses. It was acquired by the New York industrial tycoons in the early 1900?s and used to escape New York winters. We docked at the Jekyll Club Hotel dock and it all to ourselves. The hotel was restored in the 80?s and is very grand. Jackets and ties are required at dinner. The tide is 8 feet high here so as it dropped we wondered if we would be on the bottom. Although the guide book says there is 11 feet of water at low tide, I measured it as more like 5 feet as we had just 1.5 feet under the keel at low tide. There is a good looking restaurant on the dock but the wait was 45 minutes so we had pizza on the boat.

Wild horses on the river side beach at Cumberland Island.

This was not our best day. The plan was to anchor at New Teakettle Creek in one of Georgia?s great marshes. I had a magnificent breakfast (see photo) at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and was back on the boat at 9:00AM ready to go. Mavis had walked 1.5 miles to a store to get groceries but when she went to pay found she had lost her money on the way. She walked back got some more money and returned to the store. A total of 6 miles and 2 hours of walking. So now we left at 10:30 but the weather forecast for the night was not good so it was decided to find a marina instead of anchoring. There are not very many marinas in the vast marshes so instead of a 40 mile cruise we had to go 82 miles. It meant an arrival time of 7:30PM just before sunset. However, the channel to the Delegal Creek marina was very confusing and at low tide risky. The course I plotted and loaded into the Garmin chart plotter refused to work so we had to resort to using the directions in the guide book. At times the depth sounder showed less than 0 under the keel but somehow we made it across the shoals. The marina was closed but they had said earlier to tie up to the fuel dock. We only took 13 photos today none of which will win any prizes.

Last night the weather forecast was dead right. We had our first thunderstorm with heavy rain. As the tide was low again the dock master took me out in a Boston Whaler to take soundings of the channel. He pointed out a whole island shown on the charts no longer exists as it was washed out in a storm a couple of years ago. No wonder it was confusing trying to find Delegal Marina. We left shortly after and had no trouble this time getting back to the Intracoastal Waterway. It was only 18 miles to Savannah so after a short run we arrived at Thunderbolt Marina (formerly Palmer Johnson). They no longer build super yachts here but do provide service. There was a huge yacht on the ways. This marina is the closest to downtown and there is public bus service about ? mile away. So we rode the bus, had lunch at the Savannah College of Art & Design tea room and wandered about the historic district. Dinner was aboard.