Tug-For-Two Log 1994-2003 (con't)

Return to First Half of Irvin's Log

February 27 – Manatee Pocket
Fixed biscuits, bacon and eggs for breakfast. Pulled anchor and went to the fuel dock and put on 117 gallons of fuel and filled the water tanks which had emptied yesterday afternoon. From the fuel dock I went back to the anchorage and dropped the hook. I spot sanded and touched up the handrail with Cetol. I will do a total job tomorrow. Went to a bank, just a short walk from the fuel dock and got some cash.

February 28 – Manatee Pocket
Weighed anchor and headed for the ICW to go south to Palm Beach Marina to pick up a UPS package that is waiting for me. Had a nice easy trip – not too much traffic. It is about a 35-mile trip. I had out about 75 ft. of anchor chain and I had to wash every inch of it to get a black, very sticky mud off. I think this the worst mud I have ever anchored in. An anchor would hold forever though – “some good, some bad”. After going to the marina I went back to mile 119 on Lake Worth and dropped the hook.
P.S. – Passed a Grand Banks I met in Mobile, Vera II. They were going north to home in Massachusetts.

February 29 – Lake Worth – Mile 1019 ICW
Spent the day working on the boat. Gave a coat of Cetol to the handrail. Cleaned the raw water strainers (3). Put waypoints into the GPS. Barbecued chicken for dinner. Called it a day and went to bed around 2130.

March 1 – Lake Worth – Mile 1019 ICW
Again worked on cleaning the boat. Cleaned shower sump, washed down the head wall, floors & toilet. Washed and bleached the decks. Saw a Lord Nelson Tug going south on the ICW. Called and talked with them on the radio – Moby, out of Stuart, FL. They are on their maiden voyage. They are going to call and give me information on the LNVT organization. Their cell number is 561-373-3989. Spoke with Bill and Fay. They will meet me at Palm Harbor Marina late afternoon tomorrow. Went for a swim – water temperature very comfortable.

March 2 – Lake Worth – Mile 1019 ICW
Moved the boat from the anchorage to Palm Harbor Marina. Put things in their place and moved my clothes from the stateroom to the storage cabinets in the salon. Bill and Fay arrived about 1600. We talked for a while then went shopping for food. After we stored things we went out to eat. Came back to the boat and hit the sack at 2300 – the latest I’ve been up for a while.

PALM BEACH – KEY WEST – MIAMI

March 3 – Palm Harbor Marina
Because of the wind and rough water in the ocean we decided to go down toward Miami using the ICW and perhaps the weather will calm down and we will be able to go over to the islands from there in a few days. We just took our time and got down to mile 1092. We found a small cove where we could drop anchor. The total shoreline is covered by very expensive homes with boats at their docks in front. Barbecued for dinner.

March 4 –Mile 1042 ICW
Pulled anchor after a quiet night in this small cove. We headed south down the ICW passing many beautiful homes along the waterway. We were able to pass under most of the bridges we came to, but had to have some of them opened for passage. We got to Fort Lauderdale. There is a large marina on the east side of the waterway that had about 25-35 very big yachts from 75 ft. to perhaps 200 ft. in length. I have never seen so many big boats in one place. After another hour or so we came to marker 54 and made a right turn into a narrow canal that lead into Mauley Lake where we dropped the hook for the night.

March 5 – Mauley Lake near Mile 1077 ICW
Before pulling anchor Bill helped me remove the air compressor and tank from the dry stack so I could change the valve. After we were finished we headed south down the ditch toward Miami. A nice quiet trip. Went into the Sealine Marina for the night.

March 6 – Sealine Marina, Miami
After getting our breakfast and such out of the way we started to leave our slip when I noticed a kid feeding a manatee. I took the boat to the fuel dock and we walked over to look at the manatee. Following our little side trip we headed south toward Key West. A nice pleasant trip. Lots of shoal water and we had to watch the channel markers very closely. Got to Tarpon Basin where we anchored for the night. We went aground getting into the anchorage but had no trouble getting off. Had a good night at anchor. “If you haven’t been aground, you haven’t been around”.

March 7 – Tarpon Basin -Mile 1140
Had a good night in the basin. After pulling the anchor we headed south on the inside toward the southern part of Key Largo. This is a very interesting area to cruise in. The water is from 5-10 ft. deep with a lot of open water with some tight channels to go through. It is very well marked so all you have to do is pay attention to the charts and markers. Bill was amazed with traveling in water so shallow. When we got to the Faro Blanco Marina at Boot Key we really got screwed – they charged $2.50/ft. for a very crummy marina. Went to a good Mexican restaurant for dinner (very good).

March 8 – Boot Key, Faro Blanco Marina
We got up early because it is about 45 miles to Key West and we have to go outside. We had a NE wind with about 3 ft. seas to our rear port quarter – not too bad of a trip. Arrived at Key West about 1:30 p.m., A & B Marina. Bill ran the boat and I with the GPS was the navigator. Had a good ride. Fay was a little uncomfortable but not too bad. Walked around town for a while. Got a hair cut.

March 9 – Key West, A & B Marina
Took our time in the morning. Bill bought coffee and muffins for breakfast. We walked into town; got on the conch train and made a 1-1/2 hour tour of the town. This is one of the spring break weeks so the town is very wild. Had lunch in a Cuban restaurant – very good. Just spent the day seeing Key West. Had a lot of fun.

March 10 – Key West, A & B Marina
Headed north early in the morning; wind blowing out of the north. It was a little rough for most of the way. Bill ran the boat and I was the navigator (good team). Got into the Marathon Marina, boot Key, about 1300. Saw some manatees in the marina. Had popcorn and drank rum and watched the sun set.

March 11 –Boot Key, Marathon Marine – Mile 1190
Headed north, again we were on the outside with the wind still blowing out of the northeast. Had to go about 25 miles before we could go under a bridge to get to the inside. It was a good ride but we go about 25 miles before we could go under a bridge to get to the inside. It was a good ride but we had to pay attention to the markers again. Arrived at Tarpon Basin about 1400. Swam and had a drink. Bill cooked shrimp scampi for dinner. Had a nice quiet night at anchor.

March 12 – Tarpon Basin – Mile 1140
Headed north toward Miami. A quiet trip - a little more traffic today being a Sunday but no big problem until we got in Miami Harbor and ready to turn into the marina where the traffic was the heaviest I have ever been it. It was a situation of speeding up and slowing down in order to cut across traffic to get into the marina. Had dinner and walked around the bayside shopping and eating mall.

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March 13 – Miamarina, Miami – Mile 1190
We walked into down town Miami in the morning. After walking around a while we got on an elevated trolley bus that made about an 8-mile trip around down town. It was fully automated – no operator or people anyplace that we could see. After the ride we walked back to the boat and headed for Fort Lauderdale. It took about 3 hours to get there. We went up the New River about 3 miles to the Cooley Marina. This is a beautiful city built around boating. Went for a walk on the River Walk, ate dinner in another Mexican restaurant.

March 14 – Cooley’s Landing – Fort Lauderdale
Took our time getting going. We walked up to the center of the River Walk area and had breakfast. We all had omelets. After breakfast we went to Los Olas Boulevard – about 2 blocks – and window-shopped in the fancy shops along the street. In part of our walk we passed the performing arts center. Bill bought tickets for the play Titanic. We went in the evening – very nice.

Note: Wednesday, March 15, 2000
We both thank you for a lovely memory – the trip was a learning experience and an enjoyable adventure. It’s good having you as my big brother and a joy to have you as a friend. Take care – be careful – don’t forget to call. Smooth sailing—Fay and Bill

March 15 – Cooley’s Landing – Fort Lauderdale
Bill and Fay left about 0930 by taxi to go to the airport. I took a bus ride to a NAPA store to pick up an air valve for the whistle. I also went to a market and bought some food. Had a great trip with Bill and Fay.

March 16 – Cooley’s Landing – Fort Lauderdale
Painted the anchor chain 18” every 25’, the old paint markings had worn off. Also painted the inside of dorsal vents red, the old paint had faded. Did laundry, took a shower and got mail from Shirley. Tax forms to sign and put back in the mail. I then headed down the New River east toward Lake Sylvia, near mile 1065. Got there about 1500 and dropped the hook - a very nice anchorage. Five or six traveling boats are anchored here.

March 17 – Lake Sylvia – Fort Lauderdale
Spent the whole day studying the charts and laying out my return trip to Key West and where to go when Joshua comes down. Caught up on the log and read.

March 18 – Lake Sylvia – Fort Lauderdale
Went into a shopping area using inflatable and my feet. After walking around a while I found a dive shop. I bought a mask, snorkel, swim fins and a pair of trunks. I went back to the boat, fixed dinner and read. It started raining about 2000 – rained most of the night.

March 19 – Lake Sylvia – Fort Lauderdale
Woke up in the morning and it was still raining. It rained on and off most of the day. I stayed on board and read all day.

March 20 –Lake Sylvia – Fort Lauderdale
Pulled anchor and headed up the New River to the River Walk area where there is a market. I tied the boat to the south wall and put on some water and got rid of some trash. I had left the inflatable in the water and I used it to go to the market and up to Cooley’s Landing to see if I could get a hat I had left in the shower there (no luck). After getting back to the boat I put the inflatable on board and headed south toward Miami.

MIAMI – KEY WEST – LAKE OKECHOBEE

March 21 – Near Miami Beach, approx. Mile 1087
After the usual morning things I headed south along the outer bar along Miami Beach. I then went outside for about 10 miles to the Biscayne Inlet and then inside for another 22 miles to Pumpkin Key. Had a nice easy trip and nice temperature and little boat traffic.

March 22 – Pumpkin Key – Mile 1122
Stayed at anchor for the day. Used my new snorkel equipment in the afternoon – great. It took me 70 years to get and use some snorkel gear but at least I did it.

March 23 – Pumpkin Key – Mile 1122
Headed south after weighing anchor. The wind was blowing at a good clip from the north so it didn’t bother me too much. Had a good trip – no problems.

March 24 – Long Key Bight, near Mile 1170
It is still windy. The wind blew all night and is going this morning again. It is blowing the same direction as I am traveling so it really doesn’t make much difference. Had a nice easy trip down to Marathon and into the Marathon Marina where I put on 170 gals of fuel. After putting on fuel I moved around to a slip. Had dinner at Shucker’s Restaurant, about 75 feet from the boat – very good.

March 25 – Marathon Marina – Mile 1198
Got up and had a bowl of cereal and then changed the oil and filter in the engine. After cleaning up the mess and putting the oil in the tank for used oil I headed for Newfound Harbor. Arrived there about 1500. – wind blowing about 14-20 kts.

March 26 – Newfound Harbor – Mile 1215
Got up and baked some banana-nut muffins and coffee for breakfast. Headed toward Lode Key, which is about 4.5 miles off the coast, to do some snorkeling. When I got near the reef I found about 20 boats tied off to buoys that are placed by the State so that people will not have to drop an anchor and do damage to the coral. I was very comfortable with the mask and tube and was in the water for about an hour and saw 10-12 different kinds of colorful fish. I then headed for Key West and arrived there about 1530.

March 27 – SW side Wisteria Island – Key West
About 0600 I heard someone yell so I jumped up and went on deck and found a boat 3 ft. away from me. I pulled in the anchor chain to get clear and then started the engine, pulled anchor and moved to a new place to anchor. When I finished anchoring I had breakfast and put the inflatable in the water and went into town and to look for a better place to anchor. Ran the engine for a while to charge the batteries.

March 28 – NW side Wisteria Island
I was awakened by the rain and had to close the hatch in the stateroom in a hurry. It was raining so hard I could not see anything around me and there were other boats at anchor within 100 ft. The rain was warm so I took a shower as long as I was wet anyway. About 3 hours later the sky cleared up and it was a very nice day. I decided to make a safety net so that Joshua would not fall down the stairs going forward. I went into town to pick up some net, dowel and screw eyes. I also got a rope type swim ladder. After getting back to the boat I decided to leave the boat where it was.

March 29 –NW side Wisteria Island
Worked on the safety net and got it so it works well. We will see when the tester gets here. I also reworked the rope ladder so it wouldn’t rotate when someone was climbing it. Barbecued some ribs for dinner.

March 30 – NW side Wisteria Island
Pulled anchor after doing miscellaneous cleanup and organizing on board. Went into the A & B Marina where Donna and family will arrive about midnight. I washed some clothes, went to West Marine and did some grocery shopping. Donna, Raphael and Joshua arrived about 0100.

April 1 – A & B Marina
We left the dock around 1100 to go to the Eastern Dry Rock Sanctuary, 5 NM, to do some snorkeling and swimming. We should have left earlier because it was windy and getting worse by the time we got there the water was rough. On the way out Donna was not feeling good and as the day went on she got very sick and threw up, after which she felt better. I had wanted to lay out at anchor for the night, but decided to go back into a marina. The A & B Marina did not have room for us so we went to Conch Harbor Marina.

April 2 – Conch Harbor Marina
Moved the boat to the A & B Marina and did some sightseeing around Key West.

April 3 – A & B Marina
After getting up and getting going at the normal early hour of 1100 we got a bus and went swimming at a nice beach about 5 miles from the boat – had a good day.

April 4 – A & B Marina
After getting up and getting Joshua ready to go we decided to try to do some snorkeling out at the Western Sambero Ecological protected area. Part way there we decided that it was going to be too rough. We then went in near Fleming Key where we anchored and swam for a while. We went back to the marina and went out for dinner.

April 5 –A & B Marina
Donna and Joshua slept in until about 0900. We all took showers and had breakfast then went for a walk. When we got back to the boat Raphael called for a cab to take them to the airport. They left about 1400 to make their flight. They should be home about 8:00 p.m. tonight.

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April 6 – A & B Marina
Left A & B Marina after doing some shopping and cleanup on the boat. Moved about 1-1/2 miles to an anchorage off Wisteria Island.

April 7 – South of Wisteria Island – Key West
Got up about 0515 and had coffee and cereal and put things in order. Weighed anchor at 0600 and headed for the North West Channel, which leads to the Turning Point to Marco Island which 80.1 NM from here. About a mile from where I had been anchored I ran aground. It took me about 10 minutes to get free and I headed on my way. Had a good trip – the boat ran good. I had 2-3 ft. seas for the first 8 hours, and then it settled down and got real smooth for the rest of the trip. I dropped anchor at 1830 behind Coconut Island. I was pretty beat but I felt very good with another long trip behind me.

April 8 – Coconut Island near Morco Island
After coffee and breakfast I decided to move to another anchorage because this one is fairly exposed and the weather report is talking about high winds tonight. I took my time and did a little sight seeing and finally found a good spot to drop the hook, Rookery Bay. It was hard to find a good spot because of the fact it is a weekend and a lot of boat traffic.

April 9 – Mouth of Rookery Bay
The wind is blowing out of the north so I decided not to go to Fort Myers until tomorrow. I moved the boat to a bay near Gordon Pass on the inside.

April 10 – Near Gordon Pass
Had coffee and got going. It is about mid-tide and the water depth in here is very thin at low tide. Headed north for Fort Myers. It was a 38 NM trip. Nice calm water, low wind. Got tied up in a marina slip about 1300. Just as I was working into the slip the throttle control was not working the way it should so I spent the rest of the afternoon going through the control unit and found a screw that had come loose.

April 11 – Fort Myers
As soon as I got up I took some clothes to the laundry to get started. I then washed the boat outside with soap and water to get all the salt off. When I was finished I got things together and headed east toward La Belle. I arrived there about 1600. Dropped the anchor and stayed for the night.

April 12 – La Belle – Mile 103
Had an easy run east to mile 89. I put the inflatable in the water and went over to the city dock and walked to a market. When I got back to the boat I pulled the hook and headed out. I had to go through the Ortona Lock. After clearing the lock I saw a very large alligator – he was between 12-14 ft. long. Arrived at Glade Boat Storage about 1500 and tied to their dock for the night.

April 13 – The boat was lifted out of the water about 1000. I spent the next few days getting the boat ready for a summer lay-up. Left the boat on Monday April 17 to fly home.

End of 2000 boating season

2001

LAKE OKEECHOBEE – EAST COAST OF FLORIDA

February 7 – Back to the boat. Worked on the boat for the next few days preparing to put it in the water. No major problems except that I need new batteries.

February 12- Glade Boat Storage
Had the boat put in the water. After starting the engine and checking things out I headed west toward La Belle. The Ortona Lock, which is about 3 miles west of here, will open at 1100 (the locks are on a schedule because of drought). I have to make that opening or wait until 1300. Got to La Belle around 1430. I moored the boat Mediterranean style to the dock. It was the first time I had tried doing the maneuver and it went well. I had someone on the dock take the stern lines for me. End of day.

February 13 – La Belle
Remained at the dock for the day. Took it easy and did miscellaneous items of work.

February 14 – La Belle
I decided to leave at 0600 even though it was dark and would be for about an hour after I got underway. I wanted to make the 0900 opening at the Franklin Lock, 19 miles west of La Belle. After clearing the Lock at about 1000 I headed for Fort Myers and the Fort Myers Yacht Basin. Arrived at the marina about 1230. and into a slip. Called the Battery House and set up an arrangement to have the batteries delivered the next morning at 0930. I also got someone to help me – Kelly who lives here on his boat at the marina.

February 15- Fort Myers Yacht Basin
Made coffee in the morning and waited for Kelly to show up to help take the old battery up on the dock. After for a while I finally went over to his boat to get him. With great effort we got the batteries onto the dock. About that time the new battery delivery truck arrived. Again, with great effort we got the new batteries on board. I gave Kelly the $30.00 we had agreed on and everyone was happy. All in all, the changing of the batteries went well.

February 16 – Fort Myers Yacht Basin
Stayed at the marina – did little of nothing.

February 17 – Fort Myers Yacht Basin
Moved from one slip to another. Went to the Festival of Lights parade in the evening.

February 18 – Fort Myers Yacht Basin
Left the slip after an easy morning to go to the fuel dock. Put on 101 gallons of fuel @$1.42/gal – not a bad price. I moved about 1 mile out into the Caloosahatchee River and dropped the hook to stay the night. I have to wait for a package with parts for the Bomar hatches. It got fairly windy, about 10 kts for most of the afternoon. I had a good hook to the bottom so it didn’t make any difference. Made some phone calls, fixed dinner and went to bed.

February 19 – Caloosahatchee River – Mile 135 OWW
In the morning I had breakfast and waited until about 1000 to call the Fort Myers Yacht Basin Marina to see if my package had arrived. It finally showed up about 1100. I pulled anchor and went over to the dock and picked up the package. Departed their dock about 1200 and headed up river to the Franklin Lock for the scheduled 1600 opening. I ran the boat at 1500 rpm and got there at 1400. Dropped the anchor and waited for two hours. After leaving the lock I went to La Belle and anchored west of the bridge about 3/4-mile. I did not drop hook until 1900. It seemed like a long day and only traveled 32 miles (river and waterway mileages are measured in statute miles).

February 20 – La Belle – Mile 103, Caloosahatchee River
After breakfast in the morning I started the engine and started a visual check of the engine. I noticed a leak around the cooling water cap neck so I decided to stay for an extra day at anchor. I used West System epoxy with 407 filler added to use as filler around the neck of the cap holder. I also fiddled around fixing and cleaning other things on the boat.

February 21 – La Belle – Mile 103, Caloosahatchee River
Weighed anchor about 0730 and headed toward Ortona Lock for the 0900 opening. After going through the lock I went to Glade Boat storage to give them a check to pay off the balance of my last billing. I took a shower and cut a 3-1/2” circle of teak for the new light fixture in the stateroom. When I completed everything at Glade I headed for the Moore Haven Lock for the 1400. opening. I arrived at the lock about 1230 and the lockmaster put me through right away. There is only about 6” difference between lake level and river level so for the little amount of water that is lost they are locking off-schedule. After leaving the lock I headed for the Roland Martin Marina. I was hoping to find a place to anchor but because of the low lake level I couldn’t find anyplace I was comfortable with. I stayed at the marina and went to dinner at the Clewiston Inn. Had dinner with a couple from Kansas City who are traveling on a rented canal boat (a boat like the Lucy Cashdollar) - saw lots of alligators (100 +/-), 2 ft. to 14 ft. long and may different types of birds. I never saw so many different types of birds before in one area.

February 22 – Roland Martin – Mile 65 OWW
Got away from the dock at a good hour to make the Port Mayaca Lock opening at 1400. Lake level is 10.8 ft., which is supposed to give a navigation depth of 5’-6”. After starting into the lake for about 3/4-mile I saw a bass boat hung up right next to the waterway so I moved over to the edge and was able to get a line to him and pull him into deep water (talk about a happy fisherman!). It was not a smart thing to do but the wind was not blowing so I got away with it. I continued in the marked channel. Between day markers # 3 and #4 the boat bumped bottom two times. This brings your heart up into your throat or will fill you pants with you know what. I got to the lock about 1230 and again the lockmaster put me through even though I was a half hour late, or 1-1/2 hours early for the nest scheduled opening. Because of getting through the lock early I went to the St. Lucie Lock, 21 miles east of the Port Mayaca Lock. Arrived there at 1630. Dropped the hook in a nice quiet area near the lock on the upstream side. Traveled 50 miles today.

February 23 – Port Lucie Lock – Mile 15 OWW
Today is a layover day. I have to get up to date on the log and take care of some of the interior light problems. Watched a big alligator swim by and go lie on the bank. There are a lot of black vultures in this area. There are 150 or more in the trees and all the light posts around the lock and dam.

February 24 - Port Lucie Lock – Mile 15 OWW
The alarm was set for 0515 so I could make the 0600 lock opening. I made coffee and about 15 minutes before the opening I pulled anchor. After going through the lock I went into the after bay and dropped the hook to wait for the sun to come up. About 0730 I headed down stream. I don’t really have a plan for the next few days; I just know I want to be in Fort Lauderdale by Thursday or Friday (today is Saturday), a distance of about 90 miles. I headed for Manatee Pocket, which is near mile 0 of the OWW. On my way into the pocket I saw a floating hotdog stand right near the entrance. It is the first time I have ever seen such a thing. I spent the rest of the day taking it easy.

February 25 – Manatee Pocket – Mile 0 OWW
Took the day very easy. Fixed a big breakfast, read and made phone calls. Carl called and said that he would arrive next Saturday, March 3.

February 26 – Manatee Pocket – Mile 0 OWW, near Mile 988 ICW
Weighed anchor and headed for points south on the ICW. Had a nice easy trip; nothing special happened. For a short distance I was escorted by a dolphin. Got to the northern part of Lake Worth at mile 1014 and decided to stay for the night. I saw in my new anchor guide that there is a market and West Marine within a mile of the dinghy dock. I put the dinghy in the water and mounted the engine. It started on the second pull. Had dinner and read.

February 27 – North Lake Worth – Mile 1014 ICW
Today is a shopping day. I am going to West Marine and to a Publix Market. I was gone from the boat for about 4 hours then I took another hour to put things away and clean up the mess. I cooked some beans and ham hocks for dinner, which I ate with rice. Put up a new light fixture over the sink, one with a 20-watt halogen lamp. It gives so much more light. I am going to change the other two in the salon also.

February 28 – North Lake Worth – Mile 1014 ICW
After pulling anchor I headed south – had to wait about 25 minutes for the Flagler Bridge. I missed the opening by a few minutes. Went into the Palm Harbor Marina, which is right next to the bridge to get a sandwich and to put on water. After filling the water tanks I went toward the next bridge south and had to wait another 20 minutes for an opening. I finally got going. I got to Pelican Harbor, an anchorage I have used before. Dropped the hook, had a beer and fixed dinner.

March 1 – Pelican Harbor – Mile 1042 ICW
Decided to stay at anchor and work on the Bomar hatches and replace catches on the screen for the salon doorway. Had a good day. It took about 6 hours to do the hatches. They work very easily now – better than they have ever been. Fixed hot dogs for dinner - read and went to bed.

March 2 – Pelican Harbor – Mile 1042 ICW
Pulled anchor and headed south. Ran at a nice easy speed, as it is only about 24 miles to Fort Lauderdale. Used the cell phone and called a marina (Cooley’s Landing) and found out they had an open slip. Got there and all hooked up by 1400.

March 3 – Cooley’s Landing
Worked on the boat all day. Rebuilt water seals on the Bomar hatches, changed raw water exhaust hoses on the engine, and made final small adjustments on the rear door screen. Went out to eat, took the dinghy down river to Shirttail Charlie’s – not very good but not too expensive

March 4 – Cooley’s Landing
Today is the day that I finally have to get everything put away and the boat cleaned up. Carl will be here this evening. Worked for about 5 hours and got all my paint materials, tools, and miscellaneous crap put away. I washed the floor (sole) and put the Oriental carpets down. First time in a long time the boat has looked this good. Carl showed up about 1900 and we went by dinghy down river to another restaurant (not too bad). We got caught in the rain coming back to the boat. It made for a cold, wet ride. Rained for most of the night.

March 5 – Cooley’s Landing
In the morning after breakfast Carl went to the airport to pick up his baggage. When he returned we decided to take off for Miami. Took our time and arrived there about 1500. Got a slip at Miamarina and went in for a late lunch. It was very windy for the whole day – 20/25 kts.

March 6 – Miamarina, Miami
After breakfast we headed south toward Tarpon Basin, about 50 miles south. Had an easy trip and got the anchor dropped around 1500. Had a fuel filter problem on the way down, so I changed the primary and secondary fuel filters. What a pain in the ___ job because of the location of the primary filter. Fixed spaghetti for dinner.

March 7 – Tarpon Basin
Pulled hook and headed for Marathon. The wind is still on our stern. Nice easy trip, nothing special happened. Got to the marina by 1400. Walked across the highway for dinner.

March 8 – Marathon Marina – Boot Key
Made a fairly early start. Made a real cool move to get away from the dock. I had to turn the boat 180o in a channel about 40 ft. wide. The wind was blowing the same direction the way we wanted to go. Carl just pushed the bow away from the dock and the boat blew 180o to the direction we wanted to go. Got to Key West and tied into a slip at the Galleon Marina by 1430. Nice comfortable trip.

March 9 – Key West - Galleon Marina
Up by about 0730 and walked into town for breakfast. After we returned to the boat Carl went to the pool area. I walked over to another marina where we were supposed to move to. It was able to cancel my reservation so we stayed at the Galleon Marina but had to move to another sip. After moving the boat Carl went to the pool and I stayed on the boat and worked on miscellaneous items. Went to the Hyatt for dinner – very good.

March 10 – Key West – Galleon Marina
Walked into town and had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. Got back to the boat shortly before 0845 and got ready to head east for Marathon, about 50 miles northeast of Key West. We made good time, about 9-9.5 mph. We had about a 10 kt. Wind pushing us along. Put on 122 gallons of fuel and got tied to the wall by 1500. Walked across the highway for dinner.

March 11 – Marathon Marina
Walked up to the highway for breakfast. When we returned to the boat we pulled anchor and headed north under the bridge into Boot Key Harbor. Saw a LNVT that went by and spoke to the owner for a while. We then went out to the ocean by the south entrance and turned south toward Rodriguez Key. Had a nice trip. Set anchor about 1430. Fixed shrimp scampi over pasta for dinner.

March 12 – Rodriguez Key
Pulled anchor early and headed north toward Miami. We had the choice about half way there to go
inside, the weather was so nice we stayed on the outside. Had a good trip, got into the Miamarina about 1430. Had a great dinner at a restaurant in the food mall

March 13 – Miamarina
Left the marina after breakfast aboard. We pulled out of the slip and went down the main channel to the outside. We headed north about 3/4-1 mile off the beach. For the first 16 miles or so it is continuous high-rise condos along the shore. Never have seen so many buildings except in New York City. Got to Cooley’s Landing by 1300. Going up the New River the traffic was very heavy.

March 14 – Cooley’s Landing
Carl to leave today about 1100. We took the dinghy down river a way and walked to a coffee shop for breakfast. When we returned to the boat we both read for a while. After Carl left I changed the zincs in the generator and main engine and cleaned both raw water strainers. Fried chicken for dinner.

March 15 – Cooley’s Landing
Made blueberry muffins for breakfast. Took a shower. I removed the glass bowls off that protect the outside deck lights in order to get them sandblasted and painted amber on the inside. About 1030. I left the marina and headed for Lake Sylvia, about 5 miles down river. I plan to stay there until Sunday morning when I will come back to Cooley’s Marina so I can pick up Zach Monday night at the airport.

March 16 – Lake Sylvia
Worked around the boat – changed the bulbs in the pilothouse overhead fixtures to 20-watt halogen. I have now changed the fixtures or put adapters in existing fixtures so that all light will be 10-amp halogen – more light, less power. Went up to Cooley’s Landing in the inflatable. From the landing I walked over to Island Glass. Returned to the boat, fixed dinner and read.

March 17 – Lake Sylvia
Not too much doing today. Made phone call and read. I put a Velcro strip on the edges of the dinghy so I can move the seat forward when I am in it by myself for better weight distribution.

March 18 – Lake Sylvia
Fixed bacon and eggs for breakfast. I went into the market and as I was returning to the boat it started to rain. By the time I reached the boat it was raining very hard. The trip took about 20 minutes. I got very wet along with the groceries. I was as wet as if I had fallen into the lake. The windows in the salon were open. Between me, the boat and the food it took about two hours to get things squared away. Had sushi for dinner.

March 19 – Lake Sylvia
After breakfast and cleaning up the boat I moved to Cooley’s Landing. I had to wait until 1100, which is when the tide will be slack. It can be very difficult to get into a slip if the current is running strong. Picked up Zach at the airport at midnight.

March 20 –Cooley’s Landing
Left the slip at an early hour. Stopped at Shirttail Charlie’s for gas for the outboard. Went south to Miami. Went into the Miami Beach Marina to get some fishing lures. After leaving the marina we went another 7-8 miles to No Name Harbor. We set the anchor for the night. Zach ran around in the dinghy for about two hours. Wind blowing pretty good – 20 kts +/-.

March 21 – No Name Harbor (south of Miami)
Following breakfast we headed out into Hawking Channel and then south. About two hours later Zach caught a king mackerel, about 3 lbs. That was it for the rest of the day for fish. The wind is blowing pretty hard, 25-30 kts. We are quartering into them but it is still not nice (rough and wet). I was heading for Largo Sound but decided to turn into Angle Fish Creek. After we got into the creek I dropped the anchor. After about an hour the anchor slipped and we went aground on a high spot. It took a while to work the boat off. I think the tide was coming in and that is why I got off so easy. I then went on through into Florida Bay and went to Pumpkin Key, which was about 2.5 miles from where we went aground. Had a good evening.

March 22 – Pumpkin Key
After breakfast we headed back out through Angle Fish Creek into Hawk’s Channel and out beyond the reef and trolled south toward Rodriguez Key. Fished along the way and didn’t do too well (no fish caught). Dropped the hook around 1600. I didn’t feel as if we got a good hook. I was right. The GPS showed that we were drifting about 50-60 ft. per hour. About 2200 I moved to another area and couldn’t get a solid hook at that spot either. Drifted slowly until daylight. I could have drifted until I got to the Bahamas and not hit anything.

March 23 – Bay North (East) of Rodriguez Key
We went out beyond the reef and did some snorkeling and trolled for the day. Again, no fish. Zach has a lot of persistence. Went into Largo Sound for the night.

March 24 – Largo Sound
In the morning headed for Miami, about 50 miles. We are going into Miami for the night. A nice easy trip. Went up the outside. Got into the Sealine Marina about 1500. After we got tied up we washed down the boat to get the salt water off. We got cleaned up and called a taxi and went over to Bayside, a small shop type of mall with a large food court with 6-8 restaurants, including a Hard Rock Café. Zach bought a marble and onyx chess set.

March 25 – Sealine Marina, Miami
Up about 0730. Fixed blueberry pancakes for breakfast. After getting out of the slip we headed out the main channel and stopped at the Miami Beach Marina. We went into the tackle store to get some fishing lures and a hand line. We trolled out way up to Fort Lauderdale by going about 10 miles into the Gulf Stream and took our time getting there. We didn’t get a strike let alone any fish. I had called ahead on Saturday to get a spot on the wall near the center of town. Arrived there about 1530. Today was Zach’s last day on the boat. He will fly out tomorrow (Monday). We had a good week and I enjoyed it very much. Went to the River Walk area for dinner.

March 26 – New River wall
Today is Zach’s go-home day. We got up and had sausage and eggs for breakfast. I changed the plugs in the outboard and this seemed to fix the rough running problem I had been having. Zach packed his bags while I was working on the outboard engine. He then took the dinghy for a ride up and down the river. At 1000 we left to go to the airport. I arrived back about 1300 and did laundry
for the rest of the day. I had to go up river about 3/4-mile to Cooley’s Landing to use their washing machines. Had dinner at the Down Towner.

March 27 – New River wall
Ed got to the boat about 0800 He put his things away and we got a taxi and went to the market. We put all the food away and went for a ride in the dinghy up to the end of navigation on the river, about 5 miles. Lots and lots of big boats up there - large being 70 ft. to 200 ft. Met a couple that live on the river. I had met them previously at Glades this spring.

March 28 – New River wall
We pulled away from the wall and headed south toward Miami. After reaching Miami we went up the Miami River about 3 or 4 miles. It was a real hassle because there are many bridges, half of which have to be opened to pass. It is a work river – not much of a sight seeing trip – lots of tramp freighters and fish buying houses.

March 29 – No Name Harbor (near Miami)
Pulled the hook and headed south hoping to get to Tarpon Basin, 55 miles south. Had a good trip. We were headed into the wind so the ride was not too bad. Got to Tarpon Basin by 1500. and dropped the hook. Barbecued chicken for dinner.

March 30 – Tarpon Basin – Mile 1140 ICW
Up about 0730 had breakfast and pulled anchor. We headed south toward Long Key Bight. The plan in mind was to snorkel at a reef nearby, and then go back into the bight to anchor for the night. When we were about to get to the reef where we were going to swim I remembered reading some of the paper work that this reef was out of bounds for swimming or diving. We then went on down to Boot Key Harbor, which was about another 3 hours south. Arrived there and dropped the hook about 1430.

March 31 – Boot Key Harbor
After breakfast we just took it easy with nothing special planned for the day. About 1100 a fellow came over from another LNVT that is anchored in the harbor – Tom and Anice Walker from the Allington Castle. They looked my boat over and then Ed and I went over to their boat for a look-see.

April 1 – Boot Key Harbor
About 1000 Tom and Anice came by in their dinghy and picked us up and we all went ashore to a brunch. It was pretty good. After brunch we went to a Boater’s World marine store and to a Home Depot. Got back to the boat about 1430 and took it easy for the rest of the day.

April 2 – Boot Key Harbor
Went to the market for groceries. Took it easy after we got back.

April 3 – Boot Key Harbor
Pulled anchor and headed for Key West. It is a nice day with the wind bowing out of the northeast. We went down on the ocean side. Had a nice easy trip. Got to Fleming Key about 1500. Dropped the hook and went into a West Marine. I bought a new VHF radio IC-M45. Then we went to Conch Republic Bar and used two of my wooden nickels to get a glass of rum.

April 4 – Key West – Fleming Key
Went into town by dinghy. Ed and I both got our hair cut at a barbershop on Duval Street. After our haircuts we played tourist – walked all over town.

April 5 – Key West – Fleming Key
Pulled anchor and moved into the Galleon Marina. When we got tied up we washed 6 or 7 days collection of salt off the boat. We also washed two weeks of dirty laundry. After laundry and boat washing we walked around more of the town and went to a small Cuban restaurant that is off the beaten path – not a high profile tourist place – very good.

April 6 – Key West – Galleon Marina
Had breakfast and headed west for the Marquesas Keys, which are about a 4-hour trip. Had a good wind so the trip was comfortable. Going to a new area, which I like to do once in a while. The wind picked up but we were able to anchor on the east side of the key. Had a good night. It is nice to have a good anchor to stay put and a GPS to prove it.

April 7 – Key West – Marquesas Key
Went ashore and walked around a while then we cruised around in the dinghy. After we got back to the boat we went swimming. The wind got to blowing pretty good in the afternoon, but being on the lee side of the key we had good protection so it wasn’t too bad.

April 8 – Marquesas Key
We got underway and had to go out and around a sandbar to go the direction we wanted. We are heading for Key West. It is a little rough, but not bad. Got back to Fleming Key and dropped the hook. We took the dinghy into town and got some things from the market and Ed wanted to go to the Hard Rock Café to buy a tee shirt.

April 9 – Key West – Fleming Key
Had breakfast. I had decided to go the back way up to Marathon. We had an easy trip. We were going into the wind, which was light. Got to Little Pine Key, which is about 2 hours from Marathon and set the anchor for the night. Went swimming and had dinner.

April 10 –Little Pine Key
We decided to go the long way to Boot Key Harbor. We headed on a course that will take us under the Seven Mile Bridge and from there to Sambero Reef. When we got to the reef we snorkeled for a while then we went out into deep water and trolled (again no fish). About 1400 we headed for Sister Creek and into Boat Key Harbor. We bumped bottom a couple of places at the mouth of the creek – no problem, just a bump.

April 11 – Boot Key Harbor
Pulled anchor after a late breakfast and went to the Florida Key Marina. Picked up mail (income tax returns). Went shopping and out for dinner.

April 12 – Florida Key Marina
Pulled away from the dock wall early, heading for Looe Key to do some snorkeling. Got out of the harbor into open water and found out that wind and waves were heavy enough to make for a very uncomfortable trip. We turned and went inside and headed east for Miami. Got to Lignumvitae Key and dropped the anchor for the night. Went swimming, had dinner and went to bed.

April 13 – Lignumvitae Key
Weighed anchor ad headed for the ocean side of the keys. When we got under the bridge we found it to be very pleasant. We had a nice easy trip up to Largo Sound. Caught a fish that we later had for dinner. Also, on the way we stopped at Molasses Reef to do some snorkeling. Got into Largo Sound about 1400. Put the dinghy in the water and cruised the area for a while.

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April 14 –Largo Sound
Got up early for a good start. It is about a seven hour run up to No Name Harbor where we plan to stay if it is not too crowded. Had a very easy trip, light wind and nearly flat seas. Got to the harbor and found a spot to drop the hook.

April 15 –No Name Harbor (Miami)
Had chipped beef and gravy over biscuits for breakfast – Ed’s specialty. Very good! We pulled anchor and went outside and into the main channel into Miami. Went for a cruise around Miami Harbor. After getting tied up at the Miamarina we went into town and rode the elevated trolley that runs around the city. Then we walked around Bayside Mall. Had dinner at the Los Ranchos Steak House. Pretty good!

April 16 – Miamarina
Departed the marina and headed out the main channel to go to Fort Lauderdale. Had a nice easy trip. Tied to the wall by 1430. Read and took it easy for the rest of the day.

April 17 – Fort Lauderdale – 3rd Avenue Bridge
After breakfast Ed and I went for a walk along Las Olas Boulevard. Got back to the boat and Ed got ready to go to the airport. Cab arrived about 1400 – Ed was going back to California. Spent the rest of the day catching up on the log.

April 18 – Fort Lauderdale – 3rd Avenue Bridge
I had a very exciting day. I went shopping and did my laundry. Had to take a taxi to the market and the dinghy up to Cooley’s Landing to do the laundry. Altogether it took about 6 hours. Barbecued salmon for dinner.

April 19 – Fort Lauderdale – 3rd Avenue Bridge
Puttered around the boat for a while. Made a phone call to Consumer Marine Electronics and ordered a Link 10 battery monitor. Pulled away from the wall and went down to the Los Olas bridge anchorage.

April 20 – Los Olas Bridge Anchorage
After breakfast I made a drawing of the boats 12-volt power system. When I was finished I went ashore and walked to a Mail-Boxes, Etc. and faxed it to Heart Interface to make sure I can hook the Link 10 to my battery system. When I got back to the boat I moved to Lake Sylvia to stay until I have to leave. I am going to work on touching up some of the exterior teak.

April 21 – Lake Sylvia
Not too much happened. Changed plugs on the outboard, made a winder for my hand line for trolling, read and took it easy. Made my free Saturday phone calls.

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April 22 – Lake Sylvia
Following breakfast I got in the dinghy and headed for West Marine. It is about a 3-mile trip each way. After I had gone about 2 miles I ran out of gas. I filled the tank and couldn’t get the outboard started again. I had to call Sea-Tow to get back to the boat. I had dinner and went to bed. Before dinner I called around to find someone to work on the motor.

April 23 – Lake Sylvia
Called the outboard shop after breakfast and found out his shop was in Deerfield about 2-hours north from Lake Sylvia. After getting to Deerfield I took the motor to the shop by taxi. The dock master at the Cove Marina let me tie up at their dock. When I got back, I went about 2 miles north to Lake Boca Raton and anchored for the night. About 1700 I called Joe at Drummond’s Outboard and he informed me that the motor was ready to pick up.

April 24 – Lake Boca Raton – Mile 148
Pulled anchor and headed south 2 miles to the Cove Marina where I plan to stay the day and the night. I have to pick up my outboard motor. I called Joe at the outboard shop and he said he would deliver it to the marina. I also went to a market. I want to put on fuel in the morning. Went out for dinner.

April 25 – Cove Marina, Deerfield Beach – Mile 150
Up at 0700. I had to put on drinking water and get things ready to put on fuel. When I got everything ready to go I backed out of the slip and moved around to the fuel dock. Put on 109 gallons. Put things back together and got on my way by 0900. I headed out the Boca Inlet so I could go north on the outside. The sea was smooth but with large swells. I trolled along the way with the same results as I had on most other days – no fish. Got to the Lake Worth Inlet about 1330. I then headed up to North Lake Worth and dropped the hook. It rained very hard for about an hour. There’s about 10 gallons of water in the dinghy.

April 26 – North Lake Worth
After breakfast I put the outboard engine on the dinghy and went into the beach everyone calls the dinghy dock. It is a short walk to a Publix Market and about 3/4-mile to West Marine. I went to West Marine to get some wire and wire connectors to hook up the Link 10 battery monitor that I am getting. I got back to the boat and cooked green chili stew for dinner. Read and went to bed. Talked with Shirley about getting the lawn mowed. She solved the problem.

April 27 – North Lake Worth
After getting the day started, breakfast, etc., I sanded bad spots on the handrail, handgrips and hatch over the salon doors. I then gave them a first coat of Cetol. I finished the day doing miscellaneous maintenance items. Fried chicken for dinner. Read and went to bed.

April 28 – North Lake Worth
Baked some banana-nut muffins for breakfast and washed last night’s dishes. After breakfast I sanded the first coat of the Cetol I had put on yesterday then gave it a second coat. After cleaning the brush I got into the dinghy and went to West Marine and Publix Market. Came back to the boat and made some phone calls and had dinner.

April 29 – North Lake Worth
Had breakfast then headed north. Planned to stay at Pelican Harbor but got by it without recognizing it so I went to Lake Boca Raton and dropped the hook. I was going to work on the Cetol but it is still raining once in a while so I read and looked at the chart for going toward Fort Myers.

April 30 – Lake Boca Raton
Pulled the hook and headed south to Fort Lauderdale. I got there and tied off to the wall near the 3rd Avenue bridge and went to the dock master’s office to pick up a package from Consumer’s Marine Electronics. Earlier in the morning John called and told me that Sarah, Susan’s daughter had died of a heart attack on Sunday. After picking up the package I called Bill and Fay and then I called Susan to give them my condolences. I then filled the water tanks on the boat and moved to Lake Sylvia.

May 1 – Lake Sylvia
After breakfast I started to install the Link 10 battery monitor I had picked up at the dock master’s office. It came by Fed-Ex. The installation took me most of the day to complete.

May 2 – Lake Sylvia
Cleaned up the boat, put tools away and all the wiring materials. I also spent a lot of time learning how to use the Link 10.

May 3 – Lake Sylvia
Worked on miscellaneous items and I am still working on getting to know the Link 10 battery monitor. Went for a ride in the dinghy.

May 4 – Lake Sylvia
Went to the market in the afternoon. Had an early dinner at a seafood raw bar.

May 5 – Lake Sylvia
Saw a great air show. I am very impressed by the different types of aircraft our military forces have and the deadly effectiveness with which I am sure they can be used. It makes me proud to be an American.

May 6 – Lake Sylvia
Got in the dingy after breakfast and went to the market. Getting across the ICW in Fort Lauderdale on a Saturday or Sunday morning is very tricky, lots of traffic. When I got back to the boat I watched some more of the air show and worked on repairing the ring buoys. Cooked stew for later in the week and had fried chicken for dinner.

May 7 – Lake Sylvia
I decided to go up to the wall on the New River and put on some water and do laundry. Pulled anchor. I did my things and walked over to Boats U.S. and got a roll of Dacron tape to patch the ring buoys that hang on the sides of the cabin. Went back to the boat and had stew for dinner.

May 8 – New River wall – Fort Lauderdale
Untied from the wall and headed down river toward the ICW and then to Miami. When I got there I went over near Miami Beach and dropped anchor. Had to set anchor twice before I was not too near other boats. Read and had dinner before going to bed.

May 9 – Miami Beach Anchorage
Went ashore to a Publix Market. When I came back I changed zincs in the engine and generator. Checked oil in both engines and cleaned and put things away in the engine compartment.

May 10 – Miami Beach Anchorage
Went into the market again, I also walked around a little to see what is there. Got back to the boat and got things in order. Pulled the hook and went into the Sealine Marine. Joshua and Raphael are to arrive tonight about 2230.

May 11 – Sealine Marina
I was awakened by Joshua telling me he wanted to go fishing. After breakfast we left the marina and went to Miami Beach Marina to get some bait and tackle. We headed out to the channel to the ocean. It was way too rough, 3-4 ft. waves, to try to fish. We went back inside and toured the harbor and then headed for No Name Harbor. After we anchored we put the dinghy in the water then went ashore. We went to the Cape Florida Lighthouse. We got a ride to the lighthouse area. Joshua went swimming and then we walked back to where the dinghy was tied off, about 1 mile to walk. Got back to the boat, had dinner and went to bed.

May 12 – No name Harbor
After getting up and having muffins and eggs for breakfast we went for a ride in the dinghy around to the north edge of the park (this harbor is part of Cape Florida State Park). On our trip we saw two iguanas up in the trees and on a branch hanging out over the water. They both were about 6-7 ft. long. There are a lot of them in this park I was told. After getting back to the boat we swam for a while and then headed for Sealine Marina in Miami, about 6-7 miles.

May 13 – Sealine Marina
Today is go-home day for Raphael and Joshua. Some way or another Joshua got the idea that he didn’t want to fly to New York but he wanted to walk there. It took quite a bit of talking by Raphael to change his mind. After they left I departed the marina and headed south. I went about 15 miles to Boca Chita Key, which is another state park. A very nice place to stay.

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MIAMI – KEY WEST – FORT MYERS – LAKE OKEECHOBEE

May 14 – Boca Chita Key
After breakfast I untied from the wall and headed south toward Caesar Creek, about 7 miles away. From there I will head outside. This is one of the better places I have stayed. There is a small bay with a seawall all around the perimeter with good cleats to tie to. After I went through the creek to the outside I went out beyond the reef to troll for dolphin and to head toward Tavernier Key. I got 5 fish, not too big but at least they are most fish I have gotten before. Released all but one, which will become dinner.

May 15 – Tavernier Key
Pulled the hook and headed south for Marathon and Boot Key Harbor. I went out beyond the reef and trolled for a while. I caught 5 or 6 dolphin; one of them was about 40” long. I also caught a couple of other fish – don’t know what kind. I had to drop the anchor in an area that didn’t have protection. Not too much wind but it was still a little rough.

May 16 – Boot Key Harbor
Had breakfast and called Florida Key Marina to see if they had an opening for the night. When I found out they had space I moved to their wall. After tying to the wall I walked to a Publix Market about a mile away. I had a taxi bring me and the groceries back to the boat.

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May 17 – Florida Key marina
Started a little early this morning because of the 50 NM I want to go to get to the Little Shark River. Today is as nice as any day I have traveled on the water – low wind and no amount of chop at all. Got where I want to go and made a side trip up the Little Shark River. Dropped the hook about 4:00 p.m. Had fish for dinner.

May 18 –Mouth of the Little Shark River Weighed anchor and headed north toward Indian Key Pass, about 45 miles. Had a nice easy trip. The ocean was dead flat all the way. After arriving there I made a side trip up the Barron River to Everglades City, about 3 miles from the key. I dropped the hook when I got back to the mouth of the river (Indian Key).

May 19 – Indian Key Pass
Woke up about 0645 got up to take a leak and got back in bed to read. I fell asleep and did not wake until 0810 so I pulled the hook and got ready while I was underway. Had to go out around Cape Romano Shoal and then up to Big Marco Pass. Went in at Big Marco Pass and then north up an inland waterway to the town of Naples, a distance of about 10 NM. I had to come back south 2 miles to Gordon Pass and dropped the hook for the night.

May 20 – Gordon Pass
Pulled the hook and started toward Fort Myers, which is about 42 miles. This spot where I chose to anchor was not real good because of boat traffic in and out of the harbor. It was a nice easy trip until I got to about 5 miles from San Carlos Bay and the bridge I have to go under to get to the ICW. There were some boat races going on. The boat traffic for the spectators was unbelievable and then after I got to the ICW and headed east toward Fort Myers traffic was very heavy also. That is what a person gets for traveling on a weekend. Got to Fort Myers Yacht Basin about 1430 and put on fuel. I want to have the tanks full during storage.

May 21 – Fort Myers Yacht Basin
Had breakfast and check tightened the shaft stuffing box. It was leaking a little more then it should. I wanted to get away from the marina in plenty of time to make the 1200 opening at the Franklin Lock. That is the only opening each day. Had a nice slow ride to the Lock with plenty of time to spare. About an hour after leaving the Lock I heard o the VHF that the bridge at Denaud was going to be closed for 4 days as of a half-hour ago. They are changing the mechanical equipment that opens the bridge to hydraulic equipment. This puts a real kink in my plans as well as a lot of other boaters. I am now hoping to at least get to Glade by Friday so I can be pulled out of the water. I have to make a flight on Tuesday. The yard does not work Saturday-Sunday-Monday.

May 22 – Denaud Bridge – Mile 107+/-
Upon getting out of bed and having breakfast I was trying to figure out how to get 3 gallons of oil so that I can change the engine oil. I have enough to do the generator, 1 gallon. A few minutes before noon I heard on the VHF radio a call to the boats on the west side of the bridge to get ready to move. The people working on the bridge were getting ready to make a test run on opening the bridge and the boats that were ready could go through. So I lucked out and only lost a day. Got into La Belle about 1300. Called NAPA and they delivered 3 gallons of oil to me at La Belle dock. I spent the afternoon changing the oil and filters on the engine and generator. Walked into town for dinner with a couple that I had met a couple of days before.

May 23 – Public Dock – La Belle
Walked into town with another boater to the McDonald’s to have coffee. Spent about an hour B.S.ing with a group of boaters that meet at McDonald’s every morning at 0900 for a bull session. After leaving the coffee group I went to the market and walked back to the boat. It was raining very hard. I was soaked completely by the time I got back. I didn’t put on dry clothes, as I had to get ready to leave. After getting underway I put on dry clothes. I got to the Ortona Lock for the 1300 opening. Got to Glade at 1430 and they were waiting and waved me into the lift well. By 1530. the boat was sitting on blocks in the work yard. I have until Tuesday, May 29, to close the boat up. This is the end of this time on the boat. I put 351 hours on the engine, so at an average of 6 miles per hour I traveled about 2100 miles. I had 5 guests at one time or another. Overall I had a good trip.

End of season 2001

2002

LAKE OKEECHOBEE – FORT LAUDERDALE

January 29 – Glade Boat Storage – Mile 89
Arrived at the boat yard about 1400 by car from the Fort Myers Airport. Worked on boat until the following Monday.

February 4 – Glade Boat Marina
At 0930 the boat was put in the water. I headed for Clewiston, about 25 miles to the east. Arrived about 1300. at the Roland Martin Marina. Did some laundry and a few other things. I am slowly getting the inside of the boat into good shape. Went to dinner at the Clewiston Inn with a couple from Missouri, Lynn and Sue. I discovered that I couldn’t get the generator started. Will have to get it fixed in Fort Lauderdale.

February 5 – Roland Martin Marina – Mile 65
Wind blew about 25-30 kts during the night. I am thinking about maybe going around the rim route because of the wind. After having a bowl of cereal and helping Lynn and Sue leave the dock, I left myself. By the time I got out of the lock and inlet I had decided to head across the lake because it is about 10 miles shorter than the rim route. When I got to the middle of the lake I noticed that the engine temperature was at 220o when it should be 180o. My first thought was the drive belt. I sprayed some belt dressing on the belt but that did no good. I dropped the hook and changed the belt. It took me about 2 hours. During the time I was installing the belt the wind died down to about 5 kts. After pulling the anchor and getting on my way the engine ran at the proper temperature and so I had a good trip to the Lucie Lock where I anchored for the night.

February 6 – St. Lucie Lock – Mile 1015 ICW
Weighed anchor and moved into the lock chamber, which was within 1/4-mile. I had to wait about 10 minutes for an Army tugboat to arrive at the lock. It was a 14 ft. drop. When leaving the lock I let the other tug pass and followed them to the ICW, 15 SM from the St. Lucie Lock. At that point they headed north and I headed toward North Lake Worth, about 35 miles. Had a nice easy trip and dropped the anchor at 1700. at the north end of Lake Worth.

February 7 – North Lake Worth
I plan to stay at anchor and do some shopping today. I put the inflatable in the water and pre-oiled the outboard engine and put it on the dinghy. I went over to a small beach near a road that goes into where the market is. I also went to a West Marine, about 3/4-mile from the Publix Market. Pulled anchor and headed south from the anchorage to the Flagler Bridge, 7 SM. I missed the 0930 opening by two minutes and had to wait 30 minutes for the next opening. After the delayed start it took me 7 hours to go the next forty miles. I did not get to Lake Sylvia, which is at mile 1065 on the ICW in Fort Lauderdale until 1750. Had dinner and went to bed.

February 9 – Lake Sylvia – Mile 1065 ICW
In the morning I got up about 0730. and worked around the boat – still getting things put away. Around 0900 I called Charlie Smith, Carl and Monica’s neighbor here in Fort Lauderdale, to set up a time on Monday afternoon for him to meet me someplace on the river and help me find Carl’s dock and home. He suggested that we do it today. He said he could meet me at the Bahia Mar Marina in about an hour. This marina is about 3/4-mile from where I was anchored in Lake Sylvia. I went to Bahia Mar and picked Charlie up and started up river. It took us about 1-1/2 hours to get from the marina to Carl’s home. After we got there we took Carl’s car back to the marina to get Charlie’s car and to get something to eat. It rained off and on during the afternoon and night.

February 10 – Carl’s home – Fort Lauderdale
Miscellaneous work – went to Home Depot – had dinner out – made phone calls.

February 11 – February 27 – Carl’s home – Fort Lauderdale
Between dates as shown I changed the engine mounts on the boat engine, removed and reinstalled the engine support brackets with new bolts. On February 13 –spent the day with Ed and Moira, Cliff and Kay. They came to Fort Lauderdale to go on a cruise that is going to leave on February 14. On the other days I helped Carl in the house with some miscellaneous electrical items. I also installed a new 100-amp breaker and 30-amp and 50-amp marine type outlet in an electrical box on Carl’s dock. Carl and I made two trial runs down the river to check out the new engine mounts and realignment. The first trip was on Friday and the second the next day. A friend of Carl’s went with us on Saturday. We went down to Lake Sylvia. We stopped at Shirttail Charlie’s for lunch on the way back.
On Sunday Ed called in the morning, we arranged to get together for dinner around 1800. On Tuesday Carl and I went to look at a 35 ft. Bayliner that he saw advertised in the paper. Not a bad looking boat, nice and clean. It is a 1986, selling for $78,000.

February 28 – Carl and Monica’s house
I got out of bed at 0645 so that I could take Carl and Monica to the airport so they can fly home to California. After I got back to Carl’s house I took a shower and went to a market to get needed items. I also got the propane tank filled. From the time we have owned the boat I have had to fill the tank three times - once to start the trip, again in April of ’99 and then now. I departed Carl’s dock at 1315. It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to get down to Lake Sylvia where I plan to stay for the night.

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FORT LAUDERDALE - JACKSONVILLE, FL – SAVANNAH, GA

March 1 – Lake Sylvia
It was a quiet night. After getting up I called Charlie Smith, Carl’s neighbor, to see if the gallon of Spray-9 that Donna sent had arrived. It hadn’t arrived so I pulled anchor and headed north. I had
to have 5 bridges out of 8 raised. I didn’t have to wait more than 6-8 minutes for any of them so I made pretty good time.

March 2 – Pelican Harbor – Mile 1042 ICW
After a very windy night I pulled anchor and headed north which was a little bit of a chore because the wind was blowing fairly hard. Nothing special happened. Made a few phone calls as I cruised up the ICW. Tried to find a new place to stay the night but couldn’t so I went into North Lake Worth, a good anchorage.

March 3 – North Lake Worth – Mile 1015 ICW
Happy Birthday! I got up and cooked some Jiffy muffins. After making the daily note in the log I pulled anchor and got underway. I am heading for Manatee Pocket, about 30 miles north. Had an easy trip and arrived about 1315. I anchored in the same area where I have anchored before. The bottom here is very soft and the Fathometer doesn’t work. Apparently the bottom will not reflect the signal for the fathometer. I put the inflatable in the water and then took me out to dinner for my birthday.

March 4 – Manatee Pocket near Mile 987 ICW
Pulled anchor and headed north. I do not know where I will stay tonight. It is windy and cold. Not Ohio cold but Florida cold, 50o +/-. Not too much traffic and no bridges that have to be raised. Got to Vero Beach and after reading Skipper Bob’s Anchoring Guide, decided to stay at the Vero Beach mooring field, $8.00/day.

March 5 – Vero Beach Mooring Field – Mile 952 ICW
After I got out of bed I got to thinking and remembered that Vero Beach is the spring training camp for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. Today they are playing the St. Louis Cardinals. Here in Vero Beach the city has a free bus service that runs on a 1-hour schedule. It takes about 30 minutes to get from the marina to Dodger Town. The game was OK but not being the Dodger’s of old, with Vince Scully, it’s not the same as the old days, but then what is? After the game I went back to the boat and made a hamburger for dinner.

March 6 –Vero Beach
Fixed breakfast and cleaned up a little. I went into the market on the free bus. Being a liberal and having the government take care of you is not so bad – it’s better than walking. After getting back to the boat I went for a ride in the dinghy. Fixed some fish for dinner.

March 8-15 – Vero Beach
A couple days ago I noticed a leak in the return fuel line of the generator engine. I made a call to Helsten Marine to see when they could send someone to look at it. They couldn’t get to it for a couple of days so I decided to refinish the handrail and some of the handgrips. It took parts of 4 days to do the finishing. I arrived in Vero Beach on the 5th of March and enjoyed the next 12 days doing miscellaneous work on the boat and getting the generator engine fixed.

March 16 – Vero Beach
I decided to leave Vero Beach and head north today because the free bus service does not run on the weekends. I dropped the mooring line and went over to the face dock to put on some water and pay my bill. At 0930 I departed for Dragon Point, about 35 miles north. I had an easy trip, not too much traffic even though it is a Saturday. Got to Dragon Point about 1430 found a good spot to drop anchor for the night.

March 17 – Dragon Point – Mile 914 ICW
Made muffins for breakfast. I headed north on the Banana River, which is parallels to the ICW, or as it is called in this area, the Indian River. Within a half-mile of the anchorage is a swing bridge that I had to have opened so I could pass. I then headed north through a long stretch, about 15 miles, where the water depth was between 4-9 ft. deep. I moved very slowly. When I got to the Cape Canaveral Barge Canal I made a right hand turn and went through the lock and out the Cape Canaveral Inlet into the ocean. I only went out a short way and then returned back through the inlet and port to the lock. After getting through the lock I went about 1/4-mile and got out of the waterway and dropped the hook for the night. I had corned beef, which had been cooking along the way for the last 4 hours, for dinner.

March 18 – West end of Cape Canaveral Lock
Weighed anchor and went west through the barge canal to the ICW, which is about 6 miles. I made a hard right turn and headed for Titusville, about 16 SM north. I am concerned about my alternator or the regulator. The voltmeter (Link 10) shows a fluctuation of voltage in the system. I am going to go into the Titusville Marina and see if I can find an alternator shop. After getting into the marina I called around and found a shop and some transportation to the Space Center. I will get the alternator taken care of on Tuesday and go to the Space Center on Wednesday.

March 19 – Titusville Marina – Mile 874 ICW
Got up at 0700 and removed the alternator. I walked over to the shop where I am going to have the work done. It is only about 5 blocks away. When I got there they told me they would bring it back to the boat. I had breakfast and did some shopping. About 1230 the alternator arrived so I spent the afternoon washing clothes, installing the alternator and reading.

March 20 – Titusville Marina – Mile 874 ICW
Went to the Kennedy Space Center. A person who supplies transportation around town picked me up at the marina about 0820. Got to the Space Center before 0900, their opening time. Spent the whole day until 1700 when I was picked up. This was a very interesting day. It started with a 2-1/2 hour bus trip around the center. We got to see a shuttle with the fuel tanks on a launch pad getting ready for a launch on April 4. The remainder of the day I saw IMax movies and different exhibits. This was a good chance to be reminded of how brave these people are that are shot out into space. If anyone is ever near the Space Center they should spend at leas a day there.

March 21 – Titusville Marina – Mile 874 ICW
I pulled out of the slip and headed north. About 5 miles north of Titusville is the Haulover Canal. On approaching the canal I saw a number of manatees. After leaving the canal you enter Mosquito Lagoon, which is continuous for about 125 statute miles. In this area I saw many different kinds of birds and also some dolphins. I am starting to see some mallard ducks. I have not seen any ducks in the southern part of Florida. Got to the Daytona area about 1530. I dropped the hook for the night.

March 22 – Daytona Beach – Mile 830 ICW
Pulled anchor and headed north. I am planning to go about 1 hour below St. Augustine. A nice easy trip except it is quite windy. I have all the doors closed. The country has changed from South Florida – more marshes and backwaters. Got close to where I wanted to anchor but couldn’t find a place that suited me. I ended up anchoring about 4 miles south of St. Augustine.

March 23 – Mile 781 ICW
I had a good night. This was a good place to anchor. Got away from the anchorage early. I wanted to get a good place to anchor because of the early hour. Got to St. Augustine by 0900. There were plenty of places to anchor. Went into town and played tourist. Enjoyed the city very much.

March 24 – St. Augustine – Mile 778 ICW
After seeing a Presbyterian Church in town I decided to go to church today. The services started at 1100. I got there by 1030. The church was built in 1890 by Henry Flagler and given to the congregation. After church I saw a little more of the town and had an early dinner at a restaurant that was started in 1905. It was a Cuban restaurant – very good. I got back to the boat about 1730.

March 25 – St. Augustine – Mile 778 ICW
Pulled anchor and went to the dock at the marina and put on some water. Had an easy trip with a small amount of traffic. When I got to the St. John’s River I decided not to go up to the town of Jacksonville because it is 15 miles or about 2 hours time. I went about 4 miles farther north on the ICW to the Fort George River to drop the hook.

March 26 – Fort George River – Mile 735
Pulled the hook after a quiet night at anchor. I headed south back to the St. John’s River. I went up river thinking it was 15 miles to downtown Jacksonville but I was soon to find out it is 23 statute miles. After going through town I went up about a mile farther to the Ortega River and up to the Ortega River Boat Yard where I put on 162 gallons of fuel. I went to a market after fueling and then moved out into the St. John’s River over to Point La Vista.

March 27 – Point La Vista – Jacksonville
Stayed at anchor. Made a reservation at the River City Marina in the center of downtown
Jacksonville.

March 28 – Point La Vista – Jacksonville
Stayed at anchor. Worked on the boat. Started refinishing the inside of the cabin doors.

March 29 – Point La Vista – Jacksonville
While cleaning the different flat surfaces in the pilothouse and cabin I collected all the loose coins and found that I had about $28.00 in change. I moved the boat over to the Ortega River where I dropped anchor. I walked about 2 blocks to a Bank of America where I cashed in my assorted coins. I went to a Publix Market to buy supplies for next week.

March 30 – Ortega River – Jacksonville
Today is the day that Craig and Danielle are to arrive. I made another trip into the market to get some beer, water, and milk. After getting back to the boat I headed for the River City Marina in downtown Jacksonville. Craig and Danielle arrived about 1730, looked around and had dinner.

March 31 – City River Marina – Jacksonville
By 1000 we left the dock and headed down river to the ICW. It took us about 3-1/2 hours to get there. We then headed south toward St. Augustine. About 1600 we got to Pine Island, which is about 15 miles from St. Augustine, where we spent the night. Craig fixed shrimp scampi for dinner.

April 1 – Pine Island – Mile 765 ICW
Got away from Pine Island about 1015 and headed for St. Augustine. It took about 1-3/4 hours to get there. After dropping the anchor we all went into the dock to get a dinghy pass, which gives us the use of the dinghy dock and the showers. Craig and Danielle went for a ride with the dinghy. They were gone about 2 hours. We all went into town for a pizza dinner. Got back to the boat about 2100 and went to bed.
P.S. – Just to pass the time Craig set up a fishing rod so
Danielle could fish. As soon as the bait touched bottom he had a hookup. Over the next half hour Danielle caught four catfish, one of which was about 2 lbs., and the others al little over a pound each.

April 2 - St. Augustine
After getting up, Craig cooked the catfish for breakfast. Danielle wanted to do some more fishing. Following breakfast Craig and
Danielle went for a dinghy ride.

April 3 – St. Augustine
Pulled anchor and moved over to the city dock and put on drinking water then went north about a mile to the Camachee Island Marina where they let us tie to the dock so we could go to a fishing tackle store. We got bait and some hooks and sinkers then we headed north a couple of miles and tied off to some pilings and tried fishing for a while. All we got was one small 6” bass. We then trolled north about 16 miles to Pine Island where we dropped the hook for the night. By this time it was 1430. Craig wanted to take the dinghy with Danielle for a ride around the island; it is about 3 miles. When they returned we all fished for about an hour or so – we got a bonnet head shark, a Sierra mackerel, eel, catfish and some type of sea trout. I fixed spaghetti for dinner.

April 4 – Pine Island – Mile 765 ICW
Craig fried some fish for breakfast while I got things ready to head for Jacksonville. Craig ran the boat as we traveled north on the ICW. When we got to the St. John’s River we ran about 10 miles and slowed and trolled for about an hour – no fish. We then headed for the River City Marina. We tied up about 1700. For dinner we walked over to the Jacksonville Landing and had barbecued ribs for dinner.

April 5 – River City Marina – Jacksonville
In the morning I went up to the dock master’s office to get a phone number for a taxi to take Craig and Danielle to the airport. The dock master said we could use his car to get there. We left the boat about 1000. It is a 15-mile trip. I got back to the boat, did a couple loads of laundry. While I was waiting for the wash I got the dinghy up onto the dock and cleaned the growth that had accumulated over the last 6 weeks. When I finally got things back together I pulled away from the dock. I moved out to the Ortega River, which is about 5 miles away and dropped the hook for the night.

April 6 – Ortega River – Jacksonville
Made some phone calls after getting up. I then decided to have a doctor look at my right elbow that has been swollen for about the last 6 weeks. After talking to a person at a marine supply store I decided to go to the St. Vincent Medical Center ER. It was a short taxi ride from the shopping center where I had walked. After going to the ER I had an early dinner at another barbecue place – this was a small Mom & Pop place. It was very good. Got back to the boat around 1800. Read for a while, set the clocks forward and went to bed.

April 7 – Ortega River – Jacksonville
After breakfast I got in the dinghy and went to the dock and then walked to West Marine and Publix Market. I got a new mount for the GPS. After getting back aboard I put away groceries and then worked on the chart counter. Finished the day reading.

April 8 – Ortega River – Jacksonville
Got under way and headed down river. There are no mile markers on the chart for this river (St. John’s River) so I don’t know where I am going. I will just go until I see a spot that looks good and then stop. After running about 2 hours the engine started running hot. After checking a few things I decided it was the raw water pump. I put a new impeller in and everything was fine.

April 9 – St. John’s River south of Green Cove Spring
When I got up I had dirty dishes and tools all over the place. With installing a new light fixture over the generator and getting the boat all in order I didn’t weigh anchor until 1130. Ran for about 4 hours and got about 10 miles south of Palatka.

April 10 – St. John’s River – Murphy Island – about Mile 90
The St. John’s River south of Palatka, or up river of Palatka, is one of the prettiest areas I have been to in all of my travels on the boat. The evenings and mornings, after and before the fishermen are running around, it is dead quiet. The trees grow right to the water line. Today after I got underway I saw 16 alligators while I was in Murphy Cove, about a 2-mile side trip that comes out onto the river at both ends. Last night I anchored almost under a large tree with an osprey nest. Since leaving Palatka, I have seen close to 60 osprey nests with birds in them. I have not seen any young yet. This afternoon as I was setting the anchor I saw an eagle in the top of a large dead tree. That must be one of his favorite spots because he stayed there for about an hour.

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April 11 – West side of Drayton Island – north edge of Lake George
Weighed anchor and proceeded very slowly for about a mile and a half to some deep water and then headed south across Lake George. The lake is about 10 miles from north to south. I then headed up river toward Lake Monroe. I will not get there by tonight but that is the direction I am headed. This river is so pretty and quiet.

April 12 – North of Whitehair Bridge – about Mile 145
Pulled anchor and headed toward Lake Monroe and the town of Sanford. It rained most of the day. No wind but turned on the radar when I got to the lake because of the poor visibility. Got into a slip at the Monroe Harbor Marina about 1400.

April 13 – Monroe Harbor Marina – Sanford
Today is going to be a busy day. This morning Ward Cooper, the previous owner of this boat is coming by for a visit. After we talked for a while Ward took me to a market. When we got back to the boat we went for a short ride out onto the lake and down the river a way. We got back about 1630. About an hour after he left, Jerry King (friend of Carl’s) arrived with his wife Sabina. Sabina left about an hour later and Jerry and I went out to dinner. We walked back to the boat and went to bed.

April 14 – Monroe Harbor Marina – Sanford
After Jerry and I got up and had breakfast we headed north down river (you guess). We started out going slow and I figured out that was the way he wanted to travel so we moved at about 1200 rpm, which is around 6.5-7 mph. Saw lots of wild life, not too bad. Got to Lake George about 1530. Went a little faster across the lake, which is about 10 miles. Got to Drayton Island and dropped the hook for the night. We anchored in the same area where I anchored before. The same eagle I saw last week was in the same tree to keep his eye on us.

April 15 – West side of Drayton Island
We pulled anchor early after spending a very quiet night. The eagle we saw last week was back in the same tree this morning, keeping his eye on us. We headed north going about 1200 rpm’s taking all the side routes we could find that I figured I could get through. As I have mentioned before, this is a beautiful river. When we got to Rice Creek we decided to go up the creek a way to anchor for the night. There was a RR bridge we had to have opened. It was a swing bridge on a major rail line. The bridge operator had to open and close the bridge mechanism by hand - hard to believe in this day and age.

April 16 – Rice Creek off St. John’s River, north of Palatka
Pulled anchor after spending a good-news-bad-news night. It is a very nice place to anchor but the mosquitoes were very bad. This is the first I have had any at all on this part of the trip but they really caught up with us last night. We took our time getting into Jacksonville. Made a side trip around Green Cove Springs and then up Black Creek. We then turned it up a little bit and headed for Jacksonville. We got there about 1600 at about the same time as Jerry’s wife, Sabina. Sabina took me to a market to re-supply. After we got back to the boat Jerry took us out to dinner. After dinner they headed home. I left the dock at Jacksonville Landing where we had tied earlier and headed to Pt. La Vista, about 5-1/2 miles, where I dropped the hook for the night.

April 17 – Point La Vista – Jacksonville
Weighed anchor a little late because I wanted to stop at the River City Marina to put on some water and the tide should be slack. About 1100 I got to the dock after waiting a while for the railroad bridge to open – 3 trains had to pass. I left the dock about 1130 and headed for the ICW. I got to the Fort George River anchorage about 1500 and set anchor. There are 10 boats here tonight. Plenty of room for more. Had shrimp scampi and rice for dinner.

April 18 – Fort George River – Mile 735 ICW
Pulled anchor and moved over to a 49 ft. Grand Banks that had anchored in an area that didn’t have enough depth so when the tide went out he was sitting high and dry. I offered to wait around until the tide came in to see if he needed a pull. He thought he would be all right so I left. I headed north toward Georgia. I moved along nice and slow and got to Fernandina Beach, the last town in Florida. I tied up to the city dock and went for a short walk through the down town area. I also had lunch and then headed north again. I crossed the Florida-Georgia border about 1330. The boat has been in Florida for 2 years-5 months-17 days, during that time I traveled and lived on board for 258 days, about 8 months and 18 days. I enjoyed my stay in Florida very much. I had some very pleasant visits during this time and have a lot of good memories.

April 19 – North end Brickhill River near Mile 695 ICW
Weighed anchor and headed north toward Brunswick, SC. I am traveling on the west side of Cumberland Island, which is a National Park. I am seeing quite a few wild horses. When I got to the Brunswick River I went up to the town of Brunswick. I happened to meet some people that I met in Vero Beach and then again in Jacksonville. After visiting with them on their boat for a while I went back to the ICW and went north about 3 miles and anchored in Frederica Creek for the night.

April 20 – South end of Frederica Creek – Mile 675+/-
Pulled the hook and headed up Frederica Creek, which winds and twists for about 5 miles and turns into the ICW. The total area that I am traveling is marshland divided by creeks and rivers. I had a nice easy trip. Saw some dolphins and 1 alligator.

April 21 – Crescent River near ICW 644
Pulled the anchor after spending the night with about 3 million or more gnats, or no-see-ums. I have a lot of bites. I must be traveling with an incoming tide because I am cruising between 9-10 mph most of the time. The scenery is the same as I saw all day yesterday. This afternoon I got into civilization as I got closer to Savannah. I dropped the hook just off the ICW on the Wilmington River. Good breeze –no bugs.

April 22 – Wilmington River off of ICW Mile 585
Weighed anchor with the idea of going up river to the city of Savannah. I stopped along the way at a couple of marinas to check on storage for the boat. Got to the city dock about 1230. It took me about an hour to find a place to pay a fee. I spent the rest of the day being a tourist. Went to a Greek restaurant and had a calamari dinner – very good. Went back to the boat to go to bed. It was very hot today, about 92o. The boat had cooled down a little by the time I got back.

April 23 – Savannah City Dock
I baked some muffins and had O.J. and muffins for breakfast. I went for a walk around the down town area, got my hair cut (very short). I also got a call from a broker in Fort Myers with the name of a person who may be interested in buying the boat. I went back to the boat and made a trip up river about 5 miles until I got to a bridge that required a 3-hour notice to open. I turned around and went back to the city dock. Went out and had oysters for dinner.

April 24 – Savannah City Dock
Up at about 0630 – made coffee and washed down the boat to get the salt spray off. After wiping down the green paint of the bulwark and washing the windows I left the dock and moved to a hotel dock about a half-mile down river and had breakfast. I then headed towards the town of Beaufort, South Carolina. When I came to Cowen Creek I entered and dropped hook for the night.

April 25 – Cowan Creek near Mile 545 ICW
I was awakened at an early hour by a very loud bullhorn from the Marine Training Base at Parris Island. I was anchored about a quarter mile from the base. I got up and headed for the Downtown Marina at Beaufort, which is only about 6 miles north. After getting tied up I spent the rest of the day doing my laundry. Went to a restaurant named the Bank, for dinner.

April 26 – Downtown Marina, Beaufort, SC
First thing after breakfast I called Verizon to find out why I can’t use my phone. They seemed to help a little with the instructions they gave me. I then went to the market and bought 4 gallons of oil. When I got back to the boat I changed t he oil and filter in the generator engine. I was going to change the engine oil but was told that the time to leave is 1200. I left the dock and moved into an anchorage about 1/4-mile from the dock and changed the oil and filter and cooked some ham hocks and beans.

April 27 – Anchorage – Beaufort, SC – Mile 537 ICW
I was going t stay at anchor here so I could watch the air show, but it is very cloudy. By 1000 I didn’t see or hear any plane noise so I decided to leave. I moved about 16 miles south down to Skull Creek.

April 28 – Skull Creek – Mile 553 ICW
Fixed an omelet for breakfast. After breakfast I washed the deck with bleach and Simple Green. After drying it looked pretty good. I then finished sanding the outside of the doors. Read, fixed dinner and went to bed.

April 29 – Skull Creek – Mile 553 ICW
After breakfast I put a coat of Cetol on the doors then I patched some holes in the chart counter that were left from moving the GPS and removing the Loran. Fried chicken for dinner.

April 30 – Skull Creek – Mile 553 ICW
Pulled anchor and went to Tidewater Boat Works in Thunderbolt, about 25 miles from Savannah, for the few days it took to get the boat ready to leave it for the season.

End of boating season 2002

2003

SAVANNAH, GA –CHARLESTON, SC – NORFOLK, VA

February 4 – Tidewater Boat Works
Shirley dropped me off at the boatyard (Tidewater Boat Works) about 0800. We unloaded her car then she left to drive home to Peninsula. I worked on the boat to get it ready to be put in the water tomorrow (Tuesday). I ran the engine for about an hour to make sure everything was OK. I left the boat about 1600.

February 5 – Tidewater Boat Works
The boat went in the water about 1000. I moved it about 50 yards to a side-tie dock where I am going to stay a few days. Worked on the boat for a while I then went to a Publix Market to do grocery shopping. I also went to a P.O. to mail a package to Shirley. After storing the food I returned the car I had rented from Enterprise. I went to Teepee Restaurant and had oysters and steamed shrimp for dinner. First night to stay on the boat.

February 6 – Tidewater Boat Works
Worked on the boat until about 1100 then went up to the office and paid my bill for the last month’s storage, painting the rudder and dockage fee. After getting back to the boat I headed for Hogan’s Marina about 5 miles away. I ran down river and out toward the ocean and took about 1-1/2 hours to get there. Arrived there in good shape; the boat ran well. After tying up I went for a walk.

February 7 – Tidewater Boat Works
Worked on the boat. Stayed inside - very cool outdoors. Went to the Laundromat.

February 8 – Hogan’s Marina
Worked on the boat. Went for a walk to find a church. Found a Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian Church within a 3/4-mile walk. After getting back to the boat I fixed dinner and read.

February 9 – Hogan’s Marina
Got up, took a shower and had breakfast. I went to the Presbyterian Church. I got to walk in the rain. No rain on the walk back. Worked on the log and reviewed my knowledge of the GPS. Fixed bacon and eggs for dinner.

February 10-17 – Hogan’s Marina
Had a Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel safety check everything – look good except the signal flares were out of date. The captain of the inspection crew offered to take me to a Wal-Mart tomorrow morning to get some new flares. Mailed a book to Art Ames.

Went to Wal-Mart with Kent the Captain of the Coast Guard Aux. Unit. I got the flares, a mat for the rear deck by the salon doors, also a mat for the stateroom sole. After getting the flares on board I was given my VSC decal (Vessel Safety Check).

Wed.-Fri. -Worked on the boat, painted the shopping dolly, cleaned and waxed all the green paint on the exterior of the boat. Lowered the mast, sanded it and started putting new coats of varnish on it. In the afternoon I helped Richard on the Donna K, a sports fishing boat that is docked behind me her at Hogan’s. He is having trouble starting his engines. After looking things over I decided the battery connection and lugs were bad.

About 0900 Richard and I went over to Thunderbolt to River Supply, a marine supply store. For my boat I ordered a new horn and for Richard’s boat we got new battery lugs. When we got back to his boat we put the new lugs on and cleaned all connections at the battery main switch and starter for both engines. After we got finished, both engines started good. The work we did solved the problem. In the afternoon two of Richard’s friends came down to his boat. One of his friends helped finish the work. When we got the boat cleaned up we went for a ride that took about 3 hours. On the way we pulled a few crab traps. When we got back to the dock I cooked my share of the crabs. The crabs are good but are a lot of work for what you get.

Walked to the Methodist Church in a light rain - a very good service. On the walk back to the boat it was raining pretty good and I got real wet. Cooked chicken for dinner. It rain all day until about 2100.

February 17-25 – Hogan’s Marina
Cloudy and very cool. Puttered around on the inside of the boat and read.

Cloudy and cool in the morning. Looking at the chart book working out two different trips that I could make when Art arrives. Gave the mast another coat of varnish. Also worked on the horn and got it to work. Made stew for dinner. Finished the fourth coat of varnish on the mast. Took the floorboards out of the inflatable and started to refinish them and the transom.

Took the boat and went over to Tidewater Boat Works to get some varnish. It made a good little shake down trip. Put about 3 hours on the engine. Everything seemed to work well.

A storm front went through during the day; lots of rain, wind, thunder and lightning for about 4 hours. Made two metal protection plates for the rear of the transom for the inflatable so that the outboard motor will not make marks on the wood. Also made two plates for the stern running light to mount to. Went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Made some muffins for breakfast. Walked to church. On the way back to the boat I stopped at the market and bought some fish for dinner.

Put the mast up and put the last coat of varnish on the inflatable floorboards and transom.

Nothing special - just miscellaneous work on the boat.

February 26 - Hogan’s Marina
Put tools and paint and varnish materials away. Left the dock at 1030 and headed for the dock in downtown Savannah. I am to meet Donna around 1700. While making the trip, which took about 2 hours, I noticed a leak at the top of the water heater. I tightened 4 bolts – I hope that fixes the problem.

February 27 – Savannah dock
Left the dock and headed up river to take a look at the container ships and docks that unload and transfer the containers to trucks and trains. While I was up the river a large Container ship came into the turning basin and was turned around by two large tugs. After about 2 hours I headed down river and headed for Hogan’s Marina. I checked the water heater and found that it wasn’t leaking where I tightened the fittings.

February 28 – March 5 – Hogan’s Marina
Worked around the boat. Went over to Hal’s and his girlfriend’s house for dinner.

Rained all day. Read and fiddled around inside the boat.

Nice day. I walked to church. I am still going to the Wilmington Island United Methodist Church. Cooked chicken for dinner.

Today is my birthday. Worked on miscellaneous items on the boat. Washed outside of the cabin and decks.

Slow day – went to Publix Market.

March 6 – Hogan’s Marina
Up about 0800. While making coffee, which is the first thing I do, Ken Kennickell came by to look at the boat. Ken is a charter boat owner and captain who is working on his boat here in the yard. Today I am leaving to start north towards Norfolk. Spent the last month doing maintenance work on the boat and waiting for it to get warmer. After Ken left and having a bowl of cereal I got underway. Went up Turner’s Creek about 5 SM to the ICW, mile marker 577. Passed three different tugs pushing barges. I saw a few dolphins, about 15, along the way, loons and mergansers also. I ran into three or four heavy rainstorms along the way. Got to the anchorage near the Beaufort Marina, about 1530. Fried some tilapia for dinner.

March 7 – Anchorage at Beaufort, SC – Mile 537 ICW
Did a lot of nothing except watch it rain for most of the day. Fixed shrimp for dinner.

March 8 – Anchorage at Beaufort, SC – Mile 537 ICW
Pulled anchor after calling the Downtown Marina. I moved about 1/2-mile into the marina. I tied up and went into the office and picked up a package Shirley had sent from home. It contained two pair of long pants and our income tax returns. I walked into the P.O. to mail the returns and then walked around town. Came back to the boat after a couple of hours and took some clothes to the marina laundromat.

March 9 – Beaufort Marina, SC – Mile 537 ICW
Ironed a pair of pants that I had washed the day before. Had my daily bowl of cereal, took a shower and walked to church. I went to the Baptist Church of Beaufort. The building was built in 1844. After church I came back to the boat and fixed scrambled eggs and bacon for lunch.

March 10 – Beaufort Marina, SC – Mile 537 ICW
I got started about 0800. After talking to Art and taking care of a few other things I took the dock lines off and headed north. It is about 70 miles to Charleston. I will go about half way today and the remainder tomorrow. Had a quiet trip, got to mile 492. This morning after leaving the marina I saw Lee Barber’s LNVT. Dropped the hook at 1500.

March 11 – Mile 492 ICW
Pulled anchor after breakfast and headed north toward Charleston. Had an easy trip, passed only two boats and had to wait 1/2-hour for the John Limehouse swing bridge to open. Other than that I had no problems. After arriving at Charleston I looked around for an anchorage on the Ashley River near the ICW. After I figured out where to anchor I went out to Fort Sumter, which is about 4 miles out of the way. I came back to the anchorage and dropped the hook.

March 12 – Anchorage Ashley River – Charleston, SC
I am going to stay put for a few days. For the last four or five days I have noticed a leak at the water heater. It seems to be the heat exchanger water. Spent about 4 hours looking at catalogs, making phone calls and figuring out what new water heater I can use. In the afternoon I sanded the inside of the exterior doors so I can put a coat of varnish on them.

March 13 – Anchorage Ashley River – Charleston, SC
Stayed at anchor. It rained most of the morning. Did some varnishing in the afternoon on the inside of the doors.

March 14 – Anchorage Ashley River – Charleston, SC
I decided to move the boat. The wind has picked up and is blowing into the anchorage from a bad direction and it is getting very rough. I moved about 3 miles south on the ICW. Got to the new anchorage without problems and set the anchor. Nice quiet anchorage.

March 15 – Anchorage Mile 471 ICW
Cloudy and cool – rain in the morning. Stayed at anchor.

March 16 – Anchorage Mile 471 ICW
Fixed muffins and a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Put the inflatable in the water. I went to a boat ramp and then walked to a market. Got back and put the groceries away and then went for a ride in the inflatable for about an hour. Fried chicken for dinner.

March 17 – Anchorage Mile 471 ICW
Weighed anchor after breakfast and put the inflatable on board. Went about 4 miles to the Ashley Marina. The marina has a van that will transport you to a market, which I had them do. Art arrived about 1700. We took the boat and went to dinner at the Charleston Crab House, about 2 miles from the marina.

March 18 – Ashley Marina – Charleston
Left the dock early hoping to go up the outside to Winyah Bay, 60 NM north, so we could come back on the inside. Had a very nice ride into a light wind and chop. Got into the anchorage about 1730. Fried shrimp scampi for dinner.

March 19 – Near Mile 410 ICW
About 0100 I was awakened by the noise of the anchor chain rubbing on the boat. Apparently the anchor broke loose and we drifted about .40 miles. The ebb tide
current was flowing about 5 kts. What woke me was the boat coming to a stop and pulling tight on the chain. I let out about 50 ft. more chain and things settled down for the rest of the night.

March 20 – Mile 452 ICW
After a very rough 2-3 hours around midnight we finally got to sleep. When we pulled anchor it was rough and raining pretty hard. I also found out that I had drifted over a gill net, but fortunately the chain came free without trouble. Took our time going south toward Charleston. During the first 3 hours we saw 5 or 6 eagles. The most eagles I have seen in one day. We cruised around the harbor a little and then continued south to about 1/2-mile past the Limehouse swing bridge, where we dropped the anchor for the night.

March 21 – Mile 480
Had breakfast and weighed anchor so we could make the 0930 scheduled opening. Traveled north to mile 473 and then headed for the ocean which is about 10 miles down the Stono River. It was very rough going over the bar at the mouth of the river. After getting into the ocean it was very nice, 1-2 ft. waves. We went south to the Charleston Harbor Channel. Went up the channel going past Fort Sumter and then to the Ashley Marina.

March 22 – Ashley Marina, Charleston
Art is to leave today about 1030. We got up and got going about 0800. Art has to pack and shower
and I am going to do laundry and go shopping. All went well. After Art left for the airport I was driven to a market downtown. After getting back I put things away, took a shower and headed for Shem Creek, which is southeast about 7 miles from Ashley Marina. Got tied up to a dock at R & B Restaurant, which is rebuilding after a fire. Nice warm sunny day. I had a good time with Art being with me for the last few days.

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March 23 – Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant – Mile 465 ICW
Got up and had breakfast. I went for a walk to see if I could find a church. After a two-block walk I found a Presbyterian Church. I walked back to the boat and changed clothes and returned to the church for the 0945 service. This building was build in 1853. After church I walked around this part of the city.

March 24 – Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant – Mile 465 ICW
Starting today I am making a strong drive to get to Norfolk, VA. Got out of the creek, about 2-1/2 miles, and headed north. I had a nice quiet run. I am going back over the same water I traveled with Art last week. Got to Georgetown about 1700.

March 25 – Sampit River – Georgetown, SC – Mile 403 ICW
Had toast and peanut butter for breakfast. The tide is going out and is the wrong direction for the direction I am traveling. Until 1300 I only moved at 6-6.5 mps. After that, I got out of the river and then moved at 9-9.5 mph. I saw many turtles sitting on logs; 10-20 on some logs, lots of ospreys also. Got to Barefoot Landing about 1530. Barefoot Landing is a 500 ft. long dock along the backside of an outlet mall. No water or electrical but it is free. Bought a pair of Bass shoes and an ice cream cone.

March 26 – Barefoot Landing – Mile 354 ICW
I have been having trouble with my alternator so I will stay at the dock today and try to solve the problem. I called the Balmar Factory and talked with a technician then I ran the test he suggested. Then I called the maker of the regulator and went through the same routine. After 2 hours of phone calls and 2 hours of testing I found a loose connection at a wire between the alternator and regulator. That solved the problem.

March 27 – Barefoot Landing – Mile 354 ICW
Got underway and headed north. Nice easy trip, nothing exciting. Got to a pontoon swing bridge at mile 338. It is a bridge like I have not seen anyplace else on my trip. While waiting for the bridge to open I saw 10-15 goats on the outer bank island – never saw that before either.

March 28 – Carolina Beach State Park, NC – Mile 297 ICW
I decided to go up the Cape Fear River to the town of Wilmington, about 15 miles upstream from where I am. It was not a very exciting trip – not too much to see. Wilmington is very industrial. When I got back to the State Park (Carolina Beach State Park) I headed north through Snow Cut toward Wrightsville Beach. Dropped the anchor about 1630 in a very nice anchorage.

March 29 – Wrightsville Beach Anchorage – Mile 283 ICW
Left the anchorage at a decent hour and had to go about a 1-1/2 miles back to the ICW and then had to wait about 20 minutes for a bridge to open. A few miles later on I had to wait 55 minutes for a bridge that I missed by 5 minutes. About 15 miles farther on I stopped to fuel up. Put on 197 gallons. Had to pay $1.38/gal., the most I have ever paid for diesel on the water. Nice trip, not too much boat traffic for a Saturday. With the delays I still made 40 SM. Nice sunset.

March 30 – Mile Hammock Bay – Mile 244 ICW
I baked some blueberry muffins in the morning. Pulled the hook and started north. Cold and miserable with a little rain. No traffic except for a Corps of Engineers boat. Had to wait 10 minutes for a swing bridge. Bumped bottom one time that got my attention. Stopped at the Sanitary Fish Restaurant and tied to their dock for $10.00 for the night. Had dinner in the restaurant.

March 31 – Moorehead City – Mile 205 ICW
Pulled away from the dock and headed for Beaufort, a little side trip of about 4 miles. I then headed for New Bern, about a 30 mile run, an easy trip up the Neuse River. I was going into the wind with about a 2 ft. chop but I was going straight into it so it wasn’t too bad. After getting to New Bern I went up the Trent River and through a swing bridge and a mile and a half farther and set anchor for the night.

April 1 – Trent River near New Bern
I checked the zincs in the engine and the generator heat exchangers, both about 20% gone (OK). I then strapped up the board that holds the refrigerator compressor. About 1030 I pulled anchor and moved about 10 miles to the marina at the Sheraton Hotel. Spent the rest of the day looking around New Bern.

April 2 – Marina at The Sheraton Hotel, New Bern
Woke up at 0545 and decided to get up and get going so that I could leave the dock in time to make a 0630. bridge opening. After getting past the bridge I dropped the anchor and had a bowl of cereal and coffee and did other morning things. I pulled anchor and headed for Ocracoke, about 62 NM away. I had a good trip, light wind blowing the direction I was going. I got into the harbor at Ocracoke (Lake Silver) about 1500 – 8 hours running time.

April 3 – Ocracoke Harbor (Silver Lake)
I have decided to stay the day here in Ocracoke. I put the dinghy in the water and after breakfast I went into town and played tourist. Had broiled flounder at the Jolly Roger for dinner.

April 4 – Ocracoke Harbor (Silver Lake)
Woke up about 0530. and got going. I put on a pot of coffee, pulled the anchor and went over to the Park Service dock to put on some water. Pulled away from the dock at 0615 and headed north toward Roanoke Island, about 55 miles. The wind was blowing a bout 20 kts. on the stern of the boat so the ride was pretty good. Got to the town of Manteo about 1430. Tied to the city dock for the night.

April 5 – Manteo, Roanoke Island
I put on some water and checked the oil in the engine, which I do most mornings. I then went to the building where the shower was and took a shower. I walked to a restaurant and had breakfast. Walked back to the boat, untied and headed toward Coinjock, about 35 miles. About 1400 the weather service put out a storm warning on the VHF radio that a squall front with heavy winds was moving into the area. In about 1/2-hour the wind was blowing about 50 kts. and water was coming over the bow. I looked out the rear pilothouse windows to check on the dinghy and saw that it had blown off the top of the cabin and was on the rear deck. After about 45 minutes the storm blew by and the excitement was over. The boat handled great. Got into Coinjock about 1600. Had dinner at Crabbie’s Restaurant.

April 6 – Coinjock – Mile 50 ICW
I baked some muffins and made a crab cake omelet. The crab cake was left over from dinner last night. After breakfast I walked about 1/2-mile to a Baptist Church – a very nice service. We sang God Bless America at the first of the service - very touching. Went back to the boat and headed north. Got to Pungo Ferry, Virginia and found a place to anchor. This may be the last night to be in a remote area by myself on the boat - something to think about.

April 7 – Pungo Ferry – Mile 28 ICW
When I woke up it was raining. When I went to bed at 2130. it was raining, except for one period of about 30 minutes it rained all day. After weighing anchor I headed toward Norfolk. There are 10 bridges that have to be opened and one lock to go through. I had to wait some amount of time at each bridge. In spite of the rain and all of the bridges I got to mile 0, ICS (nun buoy #36) at 1500. I dropped anchor at Hospital Point, Norfolk. Fixed eggs and potatoes for dinner.

April 8 – Hospital Point – Mile 0 ICW
I slept in a little late today, got up about 0830. I plan to stay at anchor today and work on miscellaneous items, nothing major. I put together a list of specifications on the boat. I called Shirley and gave it to her so she could type it up in a nice organized form. Fixed shrimp scampi for dinner.

April 9 – Hospital Point – Mile 0 ICW
I stayed at anchor – rained most of the day.

April 10 – Hospital Point – Mile 0 ICW
Cold and raining most of the day. Stayed at anchor.

April 11 – Hospital Point – Mile 0 ICW
I moved the boat after breakfast to an area about 1/2-mile south where the City of Portsmouth has a free dock. I had to find a place for Shirley to fax me a list the specifications of the boat. Found a drug store that has FAX service. Walked to a Food Lion market and did some shopping and found a Presbyterian Church. When I got back to the boat I moved across the river to Town Point Park, which is in downtown Norfolk. They also have a free wall. I went for a walk around the Waterside Marina. I saw a LNVT in one of the slips and walked down to meet the owner. He was not on board so I left a card with my cell #. After walking around a bit I went back to the boat and moved it to the anchorage across the river at Hospital Point. Skip Gray, the owner of the LNVT at Waterside called and we arranged to meet Saturday morning.

April 12 – Hospital Point Anchorage
I got the boat cleaned up and things put away seeing that someone is coming aboard. I pulled anchor and moved across the river (Elizabeth River) to the Waterside Marina and tied to their outside dock right across from Skip’s boat. We spent the next 2-/2 hours or looking over each others boat. Skip had just bought his boat about a month before. The last owner had a new engine installed. The people who did the work did a beautiful job (175 hp Yamar). Walked into town after saying goodbye to Skip Gray. I went to the Douglas MacArthur Memorial Museum. Took the boat back across the river to the anchorage.

April 13 – Hospital Point Anchorage
I got underway after breakfast and a shower. I moved to the free dock in Portsmouth and got tied up by 0900. About 10215 I walked up towards the Presbyterian Church I found on Friday. As I approached the street intersection near the church I noticed a large group of people. It was a Palm Sunday service that is held by all the downtown churches each year. It is a short service that was over by 1050 giving people time to walk back to their churches by 1100 to start their individual service. After church I had a sandwich and went back to the boat. I went for a ride around the harbor to charge the batteries. The battery charger is not working.

April 14 – Hospital Point Anchorage
After breakfast I pulled the anchor and headed toward Cutty Sark Marina, about 16-18 NM from Hospital Point. Arrived at the marina at 1310. This is the completion of the trip Shirley and I started on July 19, 1995. During the elapsed time I have spent about 26 months traveling on the boat. The engine has run 2577 hours; taking an average of 6-6.5 mph I have traveled about 16,000 miles. It has been a good experience and very satisfying. Jim and Bill, the brothers that own the Cutty Sark Marina are still here. I spent time talking to them and had some steamed shrimp at their restaurant. I headed back to Hospital Point and anchored for the night.

April 15 – Hospital Point Anchorage
Stayed at anchor. Worked on the starboard running light and the stern running light. I have decided that the battery charger has to be replaced.

April 16 – Hospital Point Anchorage
I took the boat over to Town Point Park, which is straight across the river, and tied to the wall and went to a Farm Fresh Market. When I got back to the boat I called Pro Marine in California and ordered a new battery charger. I also went into the Douglas MacArthur museum and bought a book on MacArthur’s life.

April 17 – Hospital Point Anchorage
Went across the river to Town Point Park and tied up. I walked over to Waterside Marina and picked up the air compressor for the whistle that was shipped from Hadley’s. After picking up my package I went over to Scott Creek Marina to check on the cost of a boat slip and to put on some drinking water. After leaving the marina I headed up river (south) toward Portsmouth and tied up at a free dock near the passenger ferry dock. I am planning to go to a church dinner at the Presbyterian Church.

April 18 – Free Dock – Portsmouth
I stayed on board all day. Between rain showers I worked on installing the air compressor for the whistle.

April 19 – Up by 0700 had a bowl of cereal and then walked to the bus stop so I could get to a Food Lion. After shopping I walked back to the boat, about a mile. I didn’t want to wait for the bus. When I to about a block from the boat the bus that I would have waited for passed me. So I broke even for the amount of time it took to walk. When I had the food put away I untied the boat and headed for Waterside Marina where Craig and Danielle will show up about 1745. They got here on time. About 1930 we went to a Joe’s Crab Shack and had a horrible meal. Came back to the boat and hit the sack.

April 20 – Waterside Marina – Norfolk
The three of us got up and put things away, which is a major project. Then we ate some breakfast. We went for a walk on the Cannonball Trail. It is a historical tour around town. We also went to Nauticus, the National Maritime Center. It also includes a battleship – a very nice museum. We went to the Freemason Abbey restaurant for dinner. It was the 2nd Presbyterian Church back in 1820.

April 21 – Waterside Marina – Norfolk
In the morning I looked out and saw that it was very foggy. We fixed some breakfast and waited to see if the fog would clear. About 1000 it wasn’t clear but it was a little better. We got underway at 1010 and headed for York River Yachthaven Marina, which is about a 35 NM run. After we left the marina the visibility got a little worse but we went on. The GPS and radar came in very handy. We picked our way out into the Chesapeake Bay and over to the York River. Got to the marina about 1515. Craig and Danielle went for a ride in the dinghy. Fried chicken for dinner.

April 22 – York River – Yachthaven Marina
Craig and I called a couple of car rental companies and finally made a deal with Enterprise for a 2-day rental of $84.00 for the two days and they picked us up and returned us to the marina. At 0830 we left to go to Williamsburg. Being Spring break time of year it was pretty crowded, but all the buildings and displays were open. We left Williamsburg 1730 and stopped at a restaurant for dinner. Got back to the boat about 2000 – full day.

April 23 – York River – Yachthaven Marina
We all got up early to move the boat out at anchor near the marina. After getting the anchor set we had breakfast. About an hour later we got in the dinghy and took it to the dinghy dock at the marina near where the car was parked. We then headed for Williamsburg again. The road across the peninsula from Yorktown to James town with Williamsburg in between is a beautiful drive. It is a limited access road with a 45 mph speed limit and exposed aggregate concrete surface. Very pretty - lots of dogwood trees in bloom. Had a great two days at Williamsburg.

April 24 –Anchorage near Yachthaven Marina
After breakfast we pulled anchor and headed out of the creek we were in and went across the York River to Yorktown to see if we could find a place to tie up so we could walk around Yorktown. We found a dock at a museum but it had a locked gate so there was no way off the dock. We decided to head back toward Norfolk. We went up Chisman Creek about a 8-10 mile run from Yorktown. We
looked around a few different places to anchor and ran aground one place before we found a good spot. I made spaghetti.

April 25 – Anchorage Christmas Creek
Craig and Danielle went for a ride in the dinghy. After they returned we pulled anchor and headed for Waterside Marina, about 30 NM. Nice easy trip. Saw a submarine being escorted into the Navy base. We also watched two tugboats turn around and dock a Navy vessel. After getting to the marina I went in and picked up my new battery charger that I had ordered about a week ago. Went to Freemason Abbey for dinner.

April 26 – Waterside Marina
We started the day, after breakfast, going to a parade right out in front of the marina. Craig and Danielle left for the airport about 1200. After they left I decided to go across the river and fuel the boat. I put on 157 gallons. When I got back to the marina I finished hooking up the new battery charger. Went into the food court at the mall next to the marina for dinner.

April 27 – Waterside Marina
After breakfast I took the sheets and pillowcases off my bed and Craig’s bedding and two weeks
worth of laundry to the washroom and spent the next 3 hours doing laundry. Marilyn is going to arrive about 1640 this afternoon. Worked around the boat until Marilyn showed up. We went for a walk and then went to Freemason Abbey for dinner.

April 28 – Waterside Marina
I got up about 0730, went to the shower room and then to a bagel shop. When I got back to the boat with the bagels Marilyn was out of the sack. After breakfast of bagels and cream cheese we got underway. We are headed to the North Carolina Visitor’s Center on the Dismal Swamp, about 28 SM. After getting underway I noticed that we had to go through the Deep Creek Lock, which only opens 4 times a day, one of the times being 1100. We got there at 1055 and had no trouble getting through. We met 7 boats that were waiting to Lock through from the other direction. When we got to the feeder ditch that comes in from Lake Drummond, I tied the boat to a small dock and took the dinghy toward the lake. We got to a dam about 5 miles from the boat and turned around and went back. Saw quite a few turtles. Got to the Visitor’s Center about 1700.

April 29 – Dismal Swamp Visitor’s Center
We left the dock early so we could make the 0830 Southmill Lock opening. It is only 4.5 miles. We didn’t get through the lock until 0945 but we had a pretty and easy trip to Elizabeth City. We there around 1330 and backed into a slip with great skill and ease. We took a cab to the Food Lion . After getting back to the boat and while putting the groceries away, one of the other boat owners came by and told us that one of the Rose Buddies came by and told them that there was going to be a wine and cheese party that evening at 1700. On June 30, 1995, Shirley and I went to a wine and cheese party put on by the Rose Buddies. The party that Marilyn and I went to was at the same house and put on by the same person, Fred Faring. He is now 89 years old arrived there around 1330 and backed into a slip with great skill and ease. We took a cab to the Food Lion . After getting back to the boat and while putting the groceries away, one of the other boat owners came by and told us that one of the Rose Buddies came by and told them that there was going to be a wine and cheese party that evening at 1700. On June 30, 1995, Shirley and I went to a wine and cheese party put on by the Rose Buddies. The party that Marilyn and I went to was at the same house and put on by the same person, Fred Faring. He is now 89 years old. After the party we went to a seafood restaurant for dinner. During dinner it started to rain very hard. Walked back to the boat in a light rain.

April 30 – Elizabeth City
Pulled away from the dock and Marilyn fixed breakfast while we were underway. We had a nice easy trip and got to Coinjock, NC, which is at mile 50 ICW. Went for a walk and had dinner at Crabbie’s Restaurant.

May 1 – Coinjock – Midway Marina
Pulled away from the dock after Marilyn fed the ducks. Had a good trip with no problems until I found out that I was out of sync with the bridge and lock openings. I had to wait about 1/2-1 hours at each one because I missed the first one by about 10 minutes.

May 2 – North Basin – Portsmouth
After breakfast Marilyn and I went to the Portsmouth Naval Museum and then went for a walk around Old Town Portsmouth and over near the Naval Hospital. We ended up going to a German restaurant and having lunch. We walked back to the boat and arrived there about 1400. I took the boat out near Hampton Roads, looked at the Navy ships and watched people load or unload container ships. We also saw two tugs move a Navy ship into a dock. Got into Waterside Marina about 1745. Walked to the MacArthur Mall to find a gift for Jayden.

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May 3 – Waterside Marina
Marilyn left to go home at 1100. I did some laundry and then moved the boat across the river to the High Street Ferry Harbor. I had leftovers for dinner.

May 4 – High Street Ferry Basin
Made some muffins for breakfast and ironed a shirt and pair of pants. After taking a shower I walked to church. I came back to the boat and laid out the waypoints part way up the Potomac River and put them in the GPS. Walked to a sports bar and had a salad for dinner.

May 5 – Hospital Point Anchorage
After breakfast I changed oil in the engine and cleaned around the engine and generator. I took the old oil to Portsmouth Boat Center. I got a mechanic there to put a load test on the batteries – they check OK. They had bicycles to borrow so I took one and went to a Food Lion market. I went back to the anchorage.

May 6 – Hospital Point Anchorage
I was awakened by a number of helicopters flying around. I got up and saw the air carrier Enterprise moving down river - a very impressive sight. After breakfast I made a trip to Newport News and back, a trip of about 25 miles. Saw 10-12 oyster fishing boats and another aircraft carrier. Got back to Norfolk and went to the High Street Ferry Basin.

May 7 – High Street Ferry Basin
I got out of the sack about 0700. I am going to have a technician from Bailey Refrigeration look at my refrigerator. A fellow by the name of Keith looked the unit over and put in a little freon. After Keith was finished I went up the river to the Portsmouth Shipyards to see the new aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Ronald Reagan. I came back down the river to Hospital Point and dropped the hook.

May 8 – Hospital Point Anchorage
Worked on replacing missing bungs over deck screws. Nothing else happened.

May 9 – Hospital Point Anchorage
After breakfast I went out and trimmed all the bungs I had put in the deck. When I was finished I pulled anchor and went over to Portsmouth Boat Center and put on 60 gallons of fuel. I also took their bike and went to the market. Went back to Hospital Point and dropped the hook.

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NORFOLK – WASHINGTON, D.C. – NORFOLK

May 10 – Hospital Point Anchorage
Moved the boat from the anchorage to Waterside Marina. I did some laundry and cleaned up the boat until Ed showed up about 1330. After getting his stuff on board we went a Harris Teeter market to buy supplies for the trip to Washington, D.C. We went to Bubba’s Seafood Restaurant for dinner.

May 11 – Waterside Marina
Ed and I had breakfast on board and then washed the hull, cabin and deck. It took about 2-1/2 hours – looked pretty good. About 1500 Ed and I took his rental car back to the airport and picked up Fay. We returned to the marina by taxicab. About 1900 we walked over to the Freemason Abbey restaurant. Walked back to the boat and went to bed.

May 12 – Waterside Marina
Got out of the marina at a good hour hoping to beat the wind and rough water. We did OK for about 2-1/2 hours. At about 4 hours out it was very windy and rough, 25-30 kts, 3-4 ft. seas. Around 1130 Ed noticed that the engine water temperature was high (210o – 220o). I sprayed the drive belt with belt dressing; it did help. After about 1-1/2 hours of a very rough ride we got into the Goodwin Island Anchorage. I checked the raw water pump impeller, which was OK and then changed the drive belt to a new one and that solved the problem – a very stressful day. Nice quiet anchorage.

May 13 – Goodwin Island Anchorage
Pulled the hook early so that we could beat the wind by a couple of hours or so. I am hoping to make up a little of the distance we didn’t make yesterday. The wind came up strong about 1000 and it got rough and wet like yesterday, 30 kt wind, 4’+ seas – no fun. The boat ran well. After rounding Smith Point we went to mile 7 on the Potomac River and turned into Coan River Marina. There is another LNTV in the marina, Gray Ghost, out of Burlington, Vermont.

May 14 – Mattawoman Creek (25 miles south of Washington D.C.)
I got up at 0530 and made enough noise until Ed and Fay got up. I made coffee and we headed north toward Washington, D.C. The reason we left so early was to beat the wind. We had a beautiful days travel. The wind didn’t blow stronger than 10 kts and the chop no more than 1 ft. We traveled 9 hours and covered about 63 miles. Went into a little creek about a mile and anchored in 7-8 ft. of water. Ed fixed spaghetti for dinner.

May 15 – James Creek Marina - Washington D.C.
After a nice quiet night we pulled anchor. We headed up river toward Washington D.C. It was a nice easy trip. Visibility wasn’t real good but there was no wind or boat traffic. Got to James Creek.

May 15 – James Creek Marina - Washington D.C.
After a nice quiet night we pulled anchor. We headed up river toward Washington D.C. It was a nice easy trip. Visibility wasn’t real good but there was no wind or boat traffic. Got to James Creek Marina about 1230. Jerry and Peggie came down to the boat and we sat around and talked for a while and then they took us up to their house for a while then out to dinner at an Italian restaurant.

May 16 – James Creek Marina – Washington D.C.
It rained very hard from about 0300 until 0830. Ed fixed cheese omelets for breakfast. We then moved the boat about 1 mile to the Gangplank Marina. After getting tied up and signed in we went for a walk to see the sights. Had dinner at a seafood restaurant.

May 17 – Gangplank Marina – Washington D.C.
Cool and wet when we got up. We had cereal for breakfast and about 1300 Fay and I went to Peggie and Jerry’s house for dinner that evening. We got there on the subway, a very nice way to commute. Their guests at the party were State Department employees, past and present, two of whom had been ambassadors to other countries. After dinner Fay and I took the subway back to near the boat then walked the remainder of the distance

May 18 – Gangplank Marina – Washington D.C.
After taking about 2 hours to get going, we walked over to a Safeway market to buy some food. We got it back to the boat and put away. We walked to the Washington Mall and browsed around a couple of the Smithsonian buildings until they closed at 1700. After closing time for the museums we got on the subway to Dupont Circle, which is about 5 miles from downtown. In walking around we discovered it is a gay community. Went to a steakhouse, which was 95% full of gays. Had a good dinner. Went back to the boat and to bed.

May 19 – Gangplank Marina – Washington D.C.
I got up around 0630 and walked over to the historical Washington Fish Market and bought some scallops and flounder then walked back to the boat. We left the marina at a good hour and headed downriver towards the Chesapeake Bay. We had a nice easy trip and when we got to about mile 45 and it was 1530 we found a place to drop the hook for the night.

May 20 – Port Tobacco River – Mile 47 Potomac River
After having a bowl of cereal and the other morning things we pulled the hook and headed down river. The wind was very light and the chop was only about 6 inches. We had a very easy trip except we ran about 9 hours. About 30 minutes of that time Ed and I payed out the anchor chain and brought it back in to clean the mud off. Got into anchorage at Sandy Point about 1730. We had fish and rice for dinner.

May 21 – Sandy Point – Great Wicomico River
Weighed anchor after having breakfast. We had to go about 5 NM to get out into the bay. Ed is not feeling well. He slept most of the day. We had a nice easy trip. Went south about 25 miles to Mobjack Bay. We went west up the East River to Put-In Creek and found a good place to anchor. It rained most of the night. We had baked chicken for dinner.

May 22 - Put In Creek, East River
Pulled the hook and continued south to the East Bay Marina in Little Creek, Norfolk. Shirley met us there. Ed and Fay stayed for a couple of days and then flew home. Shirley and I stayed on for several days more and began cleanup and preparation to sell the boat.

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May 19 – Gangplank Marina – Washington D.C.
I got up around 0630 and walked over to the historical Washington Fish Market and bought some scallops and flounder then walked back to the boat. We left the marina at a good hour and headed downriver towards the Chesapeake Bay. We had a nice easy trip and when we got to about mile 45 and it was 1530 we found a place to drop the hook for the night.

May 20 – Port Tobacco River – Mile 47 Potomac River
After having a bowl of cereal and the other morning things we pulled the hook and headed down river. The wind was very light and the chop was only about 6 inches. We had a very easy trip except we ran about 9 hours. About 30 minutes of that time Ed and I payed out the anchor chain and brought it back in to clean the mud off. Got into anchorage at Sandy Point about 1730. We had fish and rice for dinner.

May 21 – Sandy Point – Great Wicomico River
Weighed anchor after having breakfast. We had to go about 5 NM to get out into the bay. Ed is not feeling well. He slept most of the day. We had a nice easy trip. Went south about 25 miles to Mobjack Bay. We went west up the East River to Put-In Creek and found a good place to anchor. It rained most of the night. We had baked chicken for dinner.

May 22 - Put In Creek, East River
Pulled the hook and continued south to the East Bay Marina in Little Creek, Norfolk. Shirley met us there. Ed and Fay stayed for a couple of days and then flew home. Shirley and I stayed on for several days more and began cleanup and preparation to sell the boat.

June 23, 2003 - We received an email from Mitch and Brenda Page stating that they were going to make an offer to purchase the boat. Negotiations ensued and a purchase price agreed on and an agreement sent to us on June 24, 2003, which we signed and accepted on June 30, 2003.

July 16 – Waterside Marina – Norfolk - Spent the night at the marina. Had dinner nearby. In the morning before returning to Little Creek took pictures of the boat in the water and took a nostalgic trip back to Little Creek.

July 19 – East Beach Marina
Mitch and Brenda here yesterday for the boat survey, engine performance test and general inspection. The survey included an in-water inspection and sea trial and out-of-water inspection of the hull, etc.

July 20 – Mitch and Brenda accepted the boat and signed a formal Acceptance of Yacht agreement. They returned to Texas while John and I remained to finish our cleanup before returning home on July 21.

The final Bill of Sale was completed, signed, notarized, et al on August 6, 2003 – end of an era.

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A Sailor’s Prayer

Tonight, O God, my boat is moored
Within a friendly quay;
And mindful of thy watchful care,
I offer thanks to Thee.

Thanks for my boat and manly crew;
Thanks for thy guiding hand;
Thanks for the cargo won by toil
And safely brought to land.

Accept my gratitude dear Lord,
Before I drop in sleep,
Securely keep me in thy love,
Abounding like the deep.

—Calvin W. Laufer

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