Cumberland Island, GA

We left Golden Isles Marina Thanksgiving morning and headed down to Cumberland Island. Cumberland is a national park (a National Seashore, in fact) and has miles of hiking trails, wildlife, and ruins to explore. The last two times we anchored here it was too rainy to go ashore so this time we were determined to check things out. When we got to the trail we discovered that the armadillos were out in full force. Or is it "armadilloes"? Either way, the little guys would ramble across the trail right in front of you, completely oblivious as they foraged through the leaves for food. I don't think they are native, the brochure just says that they were first seen on the island in 1974. How did they get here? The only way to and from the island is via boat so maybe some guy from Texas smuggled them over in his backpack. We'll never know.

Farther down the trail are the ruins of Dungeness, a sprawling mansion built by Thomas Carnegie (not to be confused with his wealthier brother Andrew, or the very popular and influential writer, Dale) for his family. The building was consumed by fire in the 1950's but the stone ruins are still very impressive. You aren't allowed to wander inside the buildings since they've been taken over by diamondback rattlesnakes. But there is a herd (posse? troop? gaggle?) of wild horses that roam the island and we saw plenty of them munching grass near the Dungeness ruins. They were so intent on eating they barely even noticed the tourists creeping up close to take photos. There are a bunch of private residences on the island and I guess the horses keep everyone's front lawns in pretty good shape.

Anyway it's been a quiet week - hope everyone had a nice turkey day!

Where we are:
Location=Cumberland Island, GA
Lat=30 46.008 N
Lon=81 28.288 W

St. Simon, GA

[Kevin's Post]We left Port Royal Saturday morning before sunrise and headed out the inlet to the open ocean. As the sun came up we saw just one other sailboat, they were coming down the ICW from the opposite direction toward the inlet and converging on our course. As it got closer we recognized it as another Manta. It is bizarre how frequently we see other Mantas considering how few there are. They were going a bit faster than us since we were only running one engine (no wind)and they were out of sight within a few hours. In the afternoon we saw our first real whale. We saw pilot whales last spring, but I don't count those since they are barely bigger than a dolphin. Amanda spotted it and we both saw it spout water 10 feet in the air. Then as I ran to get the camera, it flipped its tail in the air and disappeared so we didn't get any pictures. The new fish lures were a disappointment. They are designed to dive down and stay under 20-30 feet without a downrigger, but at the speeds we cruise at they pretty much just skip along the surface. The fish didn't show any interest, but given enough time I think I could have caught a bird. Birds were circling the lures all day and a few even dove down and tried to pick them up. We went in St. Catherines sound to anchor for the night in Walburg Creek.

Sunday morning we left before sunrise again to make the most of the short day. We had made reservations at Golden Isles marina in St. Simon for Sunday night as the weather forecast was starting to look ugly. The NOAA weather synopsis kept ominously referring to a 'significant marine event' for the beginning of the week. In this part of Georgia all the anchorages have really strong currents and very little wind protection so we decided to hole up at a marina. They are currently forecasting 50 knot winds for tomorrow.

Where we are:
Location=St. Simon, GA
Lat=31 09.972 N
Lon=81 24.892 W

Steamboat Creek, SC

[Kevin's Post]We had planned to leave Charleston on Monday but unfortunately our boat and our vet had other ideas. We had taken Boris (our cat) to the vet in Charleston last Thursday because he has lost a lot of weight over the last few months and we wanted to get him checked out. The vet said it was probably hyperthyroidism, but they would have to do bloodwork to be sure. So they take some blood and say they will have the results overnight. So Friday morning we call them and they say to call again Saturday morning. Saturday morning they tell us Monday morning. Monday morning they tell us Monday afternoon. Monday afternoon they won't return my calls. Tuesday morning they have the results and sure enough it is hyperthyroidism and they prescribe some medication for him. Hopefull Boris will respond well to the medication but we'll have to have his blood tested again in a month or so when we get to Florida.

While we were waiting for the bloodwork results we had a plumbing issue with the boat. Over the weekend we had noticed the port bilge pump had been coming on periodically. It would come on for about 2 seconds and stop a couple times a day. Usually that means you are taking on water, i.e. sinking. Most boats that sink at marinas have some sort of slow leak and a failed bilge pump. So Monday morning I am tearing apart the boat checking all the through hull fittings for leaks when I shine a light at the back of the engine compartment and see a slow drip of water coming from the shelf where the rudder quadrant is. Last summer we had a problem with our port rudder bearing leaking and it took me 3 days to dismantle it, fix it and put it back together. So I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I take apart the bed so I can get at the rudder and I am ecstatic to see that it is a plumbing fitting above the rudder leaking and not the rudder bearing. As soon as I touch it, it explodes spraying water everywhere. But I don't care, I'm just glad it's not the rudder bearing. Ironically, when I went to West Marine a few days earlier, stocking up on spares, one of the things on the list was spare plumbing fittings. And of course they didn't have the right kind so I didn't get any. Luckily we still had a rental car and I found what I needed at Lowes. $5 and 5 minutes later the leak was fixed.

We finally left Charleston yesterday morning and motored down the ICW 30 miles to Steamboat Creek. A front came through last night and it has been blowing really hard, 20-30 knots, ever since. So we took a day off and are waiting out the front here in Steamboat Creek. Hopefully on Saturday conditions will be good for us to go outside from Port Royal to St. Catherine's Sound which will allow us to avoid some of the worst parts of the ICW. And I bought some huge lures in Charleston that that I want to try out.

Where we are:
Location=Steamboat Creek, SC
Lat=32 36.632 N
Lon=80 16.747 W

Charleston, SC

So we are back in Charleston. It was the perfect place to stop for a few days and fly my sister Margaret in for a visit. We are trying to get south as fast as we can, but our insurance requires us to be north of Savannah until November 15th, so this will be a nice little stopover.

Margaret arrived on Friday morning and trooper that she was, stayed awake all day (with the help of some java) and she and I went on a carriage tour of the city while Kevin did boy-stuff like running to West Marine and Home Depot. That evening we had a fabulous BBQ dinner at Sticky Fingers.

The next day we headed off in the rental car to Boone Hall Plantation. Not only did we want to tour the plantation and grounds but also that weekend the plantation just happened to be hosting a real live Civil War re-enactment: "The Battle of Secessionville"! You hear about these things but you have to see it to believe it. First of all, it is sort of like the Renaissance Festival, only with cannons and artillery. Not only are the battle participants and vendors dressed up in period costume, but it seems like many of the locals dust off their hoop skirts and sabres and drape themselves in the confederate flag before heading out to enjoy the show as spectators. You have to admire the soldiers because they take this stuff

SERIOUSLY. They put up authentic style tents and actually spend the weekend encamped with their fellow soldiers. They march around in formation to get to and from the battlefield to the camp, and there was no laughter or goofing off among the ranks at all (although I did hear one soldier ask another about the point spread on some football game). We watched a cannon fire demonstration and even though they were firing blanks (ie no projectiles), they treated those guns with respect and had the drill down to a science, so you know that while other guys are sitting around on the weekend watching ESPN these guys are out there drilling and practicing their firing technique. I don't really do justice to this whole re-enactment thing, but if you want to read an account of the same re-enactment from a few years ago, check out this link: http://www.awod.com/cwchas/sfight.html Anyway, although there were lots of women dressed up, I think re-enactments are essentially a guy thing, what with all the guns and fighting. Also it would seem they are a Southern thing -- the old adage that the South is still fighting the Civil War is in some way true -- note that they choose to stage a battle that was won by the Confederacy. But for those of you reading this in Arizona, don't despair! Every March, Picacho Peak State Park hosts a re-enactment of the Battle of Picacho Pass. Although that was a smaller skirmish involving some Union soldiers attacking a rebel scouting party, I guess every year they have so many people wanting to be involved in the re-enactment that they end up with more soldiers than there were at the original battle. So next year, skip the nancy-boy Rennaissance Fair and head down towards Tucson for some fun with guns, horses, and American History.

Click on the third picture to see a video of the artillery demonstration.

We said goodbye to Margaret on Sunday morning and were so glad to have her for a visit, even though it was brief. We are really looking forward to spending some more quality time with our families and friends when we come home next month for the holidays.

Where we are:
Location=Charleston, SC
Lat=32 46.510 N
Lon=79 56.942 W

South Santee River, SC

Well we had an interesting time today. After staying several days at Thoroughfare creek we decided to get a move on and head 30 miles south to Minim Creek. The wind was blowing a bit today, gusting up to 20 knots, but we motored down the ICW without incident. But once we started getting ready to anchor it was a different story.

We have anchored in Minim Creek before and we know that the current runs pretty strong in that area. Last time we anchored in the creek there was no wind. But this time we had the wind pushing us from the north and the current pushing us from sort of a southerly direction. Our normal routine (without current) is to point the boat into the wind, drop the anchor, fall back as the wind pushes us back, and then back down on the anchor with our engines in reverse to get a good set. But with wind and current opposing, we did a little trial and error. We first did our normal routine but after dropping the anchor, the current pushed us forward and past the anchor, so that didn't work. We hauled it up and tried again, this time pointing into the current. After dropping the anchor the wind gusted and we started looping around in drunken circles. It was impossible to get the anchor directly out in front of us to back down on in and after several minutes of trying, Kevin just gave up and said "well it's probably set enough for us to stay here one night, go ahead and shut down the engines". We were in the middle of the creek and the anchor seemed to be holding so I shut the engines down and went inside to grab the cruising log and the instrument covers. I walk through the door a couple minutes later and hear the depth alarm going off (it is set to go off if we are in 2 feet of water). Kevin is at the helm and we are up against the bank of the creek. What? In just a few minutes we had gone from anchored to aground. Guess the anchor wasn't set after all.

So we start the engines and go about the process of getting ourselves floating again and hauling the anchor up. No easy task since the wind is now steady at 17 knots and the current has increased as well. Easing ourselves off the bank is no problem, only the tip of our bow was just barely aground. But trying to get the anchor up is another story since it is behind us between the hulls and we have to be careful about putting the engines in reverse so the propellers don't get fouled on the anchor chain. We finally have the anchor partway up but as I put the starboard engine in reverse it starts making this horrible sound. We realize that our prop must've gotten fouled on one of the several crab trap floats in the creek. We were fortunate because I put the engine in neutral right away and used only the port engine and I think somehow the trap worked itself loose because sure enough when I looked over, there the float was, floating about 100 feet away from where it originally had been (we had picked it up and moved it). We were really lucky because usually if something like that happens someone would have to get in the water and unwrap the line from the prop (in the conditions we were in it would've been next to impossible).

In the end, we gave up on Minim Creek and motored another 10 miles south to the South Santee River, where the current was still strong, but the river was wider and aligned better with the wind. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong in Minim Creek, but the anchoring gods gave us a break and we were able to set the anchor on the first try in the Santee.

Where we are:
Location=South Santee River, SC
Lat=33 09.018 N
Lon=79 19.312 W

Thoroughfare Creek, SC

[Kevin's Post]Yesterday, we left Southport and crossed the border into South Carolina. There's really only one anchorage on this 70 mile stretch of the ICW, and when we anchored there last year, another boat hit us at 2am because of the reversing current. So, we decided not to even try it this year, and instead went on to Myrtle Beach and tied up at a marina called Dock Holiday's. We had cable TV for the first time in months. For some reason, the cable at the marinas never work, even when they advertise that they have cable. So of course we wasted a lot of time watching tv, did a few loads of laundry, and had burgers and beers at the marina bar. A cold snap is going through the area right now, so we were glad to be able to run the heat too. This morning we got up and the temperature was in the low 40s with a 15kt wind putting the wind chill in the 30's. As we were motoring south we heard the coast guard repeatedly try to hail a vessel named Moonbow. A while later the coast guard issued a 'Pan Pan', which is an announcement typically regarding a vessel which is missing or otherwise in distress. A sailboat named Moonbow had turned on their EPIRB (emergency satellite beacon) somewhere between Cape Fear and Charleston. Conditions were supposed to be pretty bad out on the ocean today with winds 20-25 knots, which is why we are motoring down the ICW instead of going outside like we did on the way north. The Coast Guard never said exactly what happened to the boat, but about an hour later they issued another Pan Pan stating that the boat was adrift and the location. Presumably the crew had been rescued by the coast guard and forced to abandon their boat. We also heard a Securite saying that a bridge between us and Charleston is not working and so we are stuck north of Charleston until it is fixed or conditions are good enough to go outside the rest of the way to Charleston.

Where we are:
Location=Thoroughfare Creek, SC
Lat=33 30.862 N
Lon=79 08.662 W

Southport, NC - The Eagle Has Landed

Another day on the ICW. We left Wrightsville Beach around 8am; most of the boats in the anchorage had already left and were well ahead of us. On the VHF radio we started hearing chatter about a boat aground about 10 miles further, near Carolina Beach. One by one, we heard all the other boats hail this boat ("American Eagle"), asking "are you aground?" and "which side should we pass you on?". As we approached the area, we realized why so many boats had been worried about the grounded vessel -- it wasn't just a boat, it was a 160-foot cruise ship! The ICW channel at Carolina Beach is only about 120 feet wide and here is this behemoth turned sideways and stretching nearly across the entire channel. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that the waterline at the bow of the ship is at least a couple feet higher than it should be. As we got closer we could see that one other poor sailboat had misjudged where to pass, and tried to slip by the American Eagle's bow. Yep, they ran aground too. We heard the boat ahead of us radio the ship and they were told to pass behind it, so that's what we did, although the water got pretty shallow. We passed close enough to talk to one of the passengers on deck, an elderly lady who seemed to find the whole situation pretty hilarious. Strangely, the cruise ship was keeping kind of a low profile about the whole thing -- they didn't radio the coast guard, they didn't respond when TowBoat US hailed them on the radio. Normally, a vessel that big would periodically announce a "Security Call" on the VHF, to inform other boaters of what had happened and to use caution. But maybe the captain thought that nobody would notice, and they'd be able to get going again as the tide came in. I'm sure it was embarassing, but he's lucky a tug and barge wasn't trying to transit that section of the ICW this morning, or there could've been real trouble. I'm sure the Coast Guard was pretty irked when they finally found out what was going on. Some other boater must have called them because about two hours later, as we were heading south on the Cape Fun And Games River (Cape Fear River), we finally heard the Coast Guard issue a Security Call warning on the VHF, and they didn't sound too pleased about it.

Where we are:
Location=Southport, SC
Lat=33 55.238 N
Lon=78 02.666 W