Finally, Florida

As we write this, we are in St. Augustine, Florida.  We left off on our last posting in Wilmington, North Caroline, so this posting will cover our trip through South Carolina and Georgia to Florida and our stay here in St. Augustine.

Our second day from Wilmington, we entered South Carolina.  We were planning to get through South Carolina and Georgia as fast as possible except for a stop in Charleston, South Carolina.  We really wanted to stay there and do some sightseeing, but the weather, yet again, didn’t cooperate.  And, yet again, our plan to taste some southern hospitality in Savannah, Georgia was foiled by bad weather.  It just didn’t feel like it was going to be much fun taking a horse-drawn buggy ride in the rain.

We found this part of the trip sort of ‘ho-hum’.  It took just 5 days to pass through South Carolina and just 4 days for Georgia.  However, there were some highlights to share with you.

First of all, we must tell you about the dolphins.  They are everywhere in the hundreds – literally.  We have been completely charmed and delighted watching them.  Most commonly, we see them all around the boat as we are traveling, but on two occasions, we had personal encounters.  One day, there seemed to be so many around us, usually swimming in pairs or groups.  We could see them alongside the boat and surfacing ahead of us.  I darted up to the bow of the boat to see if I could get a better look at them.  Something caught my eye below the surface of the water directly in front of the boat.  There was a dolphin swimming in the bow wave!  Actually, I expect he/she was just being pushed along in front of our boat.  It was amazing, but then the best thing happened.  It must have caught a glimpse of me too, because it turned over several times so that it could look me directly in the eyes.  Wow!!  Several days later, the same thing happened to Dave.  We tried to get pictures but they move too fast, so here is a video Dave took that shows some of them as they swim past.

Just south of Charleston, we met up with another boat going south.  This was the first time during the trip that we actually had another boat traveling right along with us, variously in front or behind us.  Corning, Tita and their dog Demi were on a 40 foot sailboat and had traveled the ICW many times.  Corning dinghied over after we anchored for the night and we had a great chat.  He brought over a memory stick and gave us a list of SSB (single-side band radio) frequencies and boats we might meet along the way. The most amusing part was the next day when we heard Corning hailing their friends on two other boats in the area.  Corning and Tita’s boat is named “Blessed Spirit”, and their friends’ boats were named “God Speed” and “Heaven Sent”.  When we heard them hailing each other, we half expected to be invited to a good old-fashioned revival meeting!

Near Savannah, Georgia, we passed by Moon River, yes that Moon River, the one that Johnny Mercer wrote the song about.  Hate to disappoint you folks, but it not even close to “wider than a mile”.  It’s pretty narrow and non-descript, really.

As we crossed the Georgia border into Florida, we heard that there was gale force winds expected in a few hours.  So, even though it was early in the day, we decided to stay in Fernandina Beach and wait out the storm.  This is a major stop for boats taking the outside ocean route, so we were simply amazed when we found out that the marina there would not take any boats over 50 feet, even on their mooring balls.  We were always a little large for Ontario marinas, but we are certainly not a large boat down here.  Huh!! 

Luckily, we found a good anchorage in Amelia River, and we got a strong hold on the bottom there.  The winds certainly did blow that day, and, as seems to be our usual experience, we have been left with a reminder.  The back door window of our canvas top enclosure was shredded!!  Not entirely an act of God, since we had not secured it quite well enough!

We traveled this area during the North Atlantic Right Whale migration.  There were constant references to it by the coast guard over the radio, so we did some research.  There are only 300-350 Right Whales remaining – they are one of the most endangered of all large whales.  They migrate between their feeding grounds in the north-eastern U.S. and their only known calving area which is off the south-eastern U.S.  They are usually seen in this area between December and March.  Fishermen and others traveling in the ocean must immediately report any injured, dead or entangled Right Whales to the coast guard via Channel 16.  There are specific instructions if you see any of these whales including: slowing down; staying at least 500 yards away; and moving slowly away if the whales approach you.  Right Whales are about 55 feet long and weigh roughly 55 tons.  They have a deep notched tail and white markings on their heads, and they blow a vee-shaped spray.  They have no dorsal fin.  Such a shame if they become extinct and kudos to the U.S. authorities for trying to protect them.

We planned to get the repair work done on the boat in St. Augustine (from our mishap with the bridge pilings explained in the last posting).  We could not have picked a better place.  The first night, we stayed on a mooring ball at St. Augustine Municipal Marina.  We had never taken a mooring ball before, so this was a new experience. Between the wind and the current we took a couple runs at it but once we figured out the interplay between the more or less stationary ball and how to hold the boat in position despite wind and current, it was a piece of cake.

The balls are just $20 per night and include pump outs by a pump out boat, a great laundry room with boaters lounge and a launch service to and from your boat.  The city is spectacular.  There is so much to see and do, and the Spanish architecture is fabulous.  Here is a little about the city itself as well as pictures we took of specific places.

St. Augustine is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in North America.  It was founded in 1565 by the Spanish, fifty years after Florida was discovered and claimed for Spain by Ponce de Leon.  Interestingly, according to Spanish maps at the time, Florida extended all along the North American coast and included all of the territory from Hudson’s bay to the Florida Keys!

When the U.S. congress was voting on whether or not to allow Florida into the Union, one member argued vehemently against it, saying, “No man would emigrate into Florida – no, not from hell itself!”  Yet, in the aftermath of the civil war, Florida became an unparalleled winter retreat for visitors from the north.  Henry Flagler, who along with John Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company, spent his honeymoon in St. Augustine and decided to develop the city into a resort.  He used the Spanish architectural style for his huge hotels.  The first one was called the Ponce de Leon with accommodations for 450 guests.  It was the first major edifice to be constructed of poured concrete: a mixture of cement, sand and coquina shells.  It has imported marble and stained glass windows designed by Tiffany, and it was the epitome of elegance at the time.  Today, it is still beautiful and stands in the center of the city, functioning as Flagler College.  Here are some pictures.

We took a trolley tour of the city one day and returned the next day to the places we thought most interesting.  The trolley tour costs only $24 each for three consecutive days, and you can get off anywhere, visit what you want to and get back onto another trolley later. 

We visited the site where Ponce de Leon landed.  He had been commissioned to find the Fountain of Youth.  Well, there was a spring on site, so why not consider it the Fountain of Youth!!  Anyway, now there is a big park there and a statue of Ponce de Leon.  Dave and I both had a sip from the spring – can’t hurt!!

In the same park area, there is what may have been the first Christian Indian burial grounds in the U.S.  In 1934, a gardener accidentally uncovered a skeleton here while planting orange trees.  Ultimately, the Smithsonian authenticated the skeleton as that of a Native American male, probably from the Timucua tribe.  Eventually, archeologists uncovered 47 Christian Indians buried here.  Here is a picture of one of the skeletons.

Then, we went to see the Old Senator.  It is a live oak tree reported to being over 600 years old, and it now sits in the middle of the parking lot of a Holiday Inn!!  It must have born silent witness to Ponce de Leon’s discovery of the Fountain of Youth since it is located just 600 feet away!  Well, maybe there is something to the Fountain of Youth story after all!!  Here is a picture of the Old Senator.

We also took pictures of what was once named ‘One of the most beautiful streets in America”.  It is lined with trees laden with Spanish moss, and it has been the site of scenes in several horror movies.  There is an interesting tale about Spanish moss.  Apparently, Henry Ford originally used the moss to fill the seats in his cars.  However, people complained about getting sore backsides when sitting on the seats.  It was discovered that the Indians always boiled the moss before using it because it contains a bug called a Jigger which has a significant bite.  Well, Henry didn’t boil it, so he had to replace the seats in all the cars.  We figure this was probably the first automobile recall!

Here are some pictures of the moss.

I mentioned coquina shells earlier in regard to the poured concrete for the Flagler hotel.  Well, these shells are only found in a few places in the world, one of them being Anastasia Island in St. Augustine.  The early settlers used the shells mixed with mud to build their homes and walls.  Some of these structures remain today.  Here are some pictures of an original coquina wall in St. Augustine.

Walking in the center of the city, you can see lots of historical sites with plaques including the oldest wooden schoolhouse which sits right on the side of one of the trendiest streets.  St. George Street is one of the original Spanish cobblestone streets which now has lots of neat restaurants, art shops and antique stores.  It’s just a narrow walking mall and lots of fun to explore.  There are other similar narrow streets in the Spanish section of the city.

Two of the most fabulous things about St. Augustine from our perspective are the Sailor’s Exchange store and the Sunshine Bus Company.  The Sailor’s Exchange is super.  It is filled with almost anything you could want for a boat – all pre-owned and cheap.  You can also get new things cheaper.  You may recall that the transducer for our depth meter had quit awhile ago, and we ended up taking the transducer for the upper station and used it for the lower, leaving us with the problem of doing something different up there.  We ordered a new depth meter for the upper station from Sailors Exchange, and the cost for a whole new one isn’t far off from just buying a replacement transducer.  At Sailors Exchange you can choose what you want from say the West Marine catalogue and Sailors will get it for you cheaper, so we are really pleased with this purchase.  We have spent hours in the store and have purchased a sink with a countertop, a faucet, a toilet and some teak railing for the renovations to our forward cabin, as well as lots of miscellaneous hardware and lines

The Sunshine Bus Company has a myriad of routes, one of which stops right outside the marina and goes to a grocery store.  Another route with a stop not far away goes to the Wal-Mart and another grocery store, as well as a Home Depot and right past the West Marine store.  Passengers can simply stand on the side of the road anywhere along the route and flag the bus down.  It’s just 50 cents per ride for seniors and $1 for others.  After spending $50 for taxis in some places, this is a real treat for us. 

Actually, a funny thing about the senior fare.  This was the first time either of us has been identified as seniors.  It was kind of like the first time we ordered a drink after turning 21 – only that was exciting.  This was just kind of depressing!!

We met up with Don, his wife Trisha and his daughter Sheryl here in At. Augustine.  We had been in contact with Don through Cruiser’s Net.  When we asked the membership about the best route for going from Florida to Grand Cayman, Don answered and said the only route that works is via Cuba.  We’ve been chatting with him ever since by email and telephone.  He is an extremely experienced boater and captained the Bluenose for many years.  They have made the trip back and forth from Cuba and Nova Scotia (where they live) as many as 20 times.  Sheryl is writing a cruiser’s guide for Cuba, and it will be published this spring or summer.  You can read more about them on their website: www.cruisingincuba.com

Don has given us some extremely useful advice about going to Cuba including the exact compass direction from Key West!  He is absolutely a wealth of information, and we wish we could travel with them.  However, they are leaving within the next week or so, and we won’t be leaving Florida until the end of April.  Darn!!

We’ve been here in St. Augustine since February 13.  After getting a quote for the paint work from St. Augustine Marine Center, we stayed on a mooring ball while waiting for the go ahead from our insurance company.  On March 9, we heard the good news that Ocean Marine in Portsmouth agreed to pay for part of the work and the insurance company agreed to pay for the rest.  We were very pleased to hear that Ocean Marine took the whole thing seriously and coughed up some dough, since we wouldn’t have to do any of this if they had completed the work properly in the first place.  It says something good about them as a company, though, and we are grateful. 

Today, March 28, we are on the hard (means out of the water, for you landlubbers). 
The boat has been painted and looks fabulous.  We will be lifted back into the water tomorrow afternoon.  Then, we will be staying about another week to wait for a part to arrive (the upper station autohelm head).  The St. Augustine Marine center is a great boat yard, and unlike most yards down here, you can live and work on your boat yourself when staying here, so we have been able to get lots of our projects completed.  Dave painted the swim platform, all of the rails and the stairs; installed a new radar; installed the thru-hull and depth sounder for the upper station; installed the upper station GPS; ran the WiFi antenna wire into the Nav station and installed the upper station autopilot controls; checked out and mounted the rear facing camera and determined where the monitor would go; built the regulator for the wind turbine.  While he did all of that, I whiled away my time sewing new safety skirts for the bottom rail spaces – 26 in all.  Sounds like my job was easier, but actually it took me just as long as all of the work Dave did.      

Once we leave here, we will be headed for Miami, then Marathon, then Key West, then Cuba, then Grand Cayman.  We’ll have lots to write about with regard to Cuba, so stay tuned.

Dave’s Techy Notes

The first day after leaving Wilmington, we ran until 3 PM.  Nice run, nice weather.  Only happening was when we tried to shut down the engines.  Starboard shut down just as it should.  Port would have nothing to do with it.  I went below to see what was going on and shut down from there.  Turns out the pin that connects the stop solenoid to the injector pump had worn through releasing the plunger from the pump linkage.  No biggy, new cotter pin  - 15 minute fix.  Biggest problem was remembering where my box of pins was!

On February 7^th, during my usual engine checks, I noticed one of the starboard fuel filters was leaking slightly.  Tightened the bowl bolt and away we go.  Just as an aside, to make that determination (what filter was it, as there are 6 for the engines) I put a zip lock bag over each filter and closed each over the top with a tarp clamp.  Makes it easy to see if any are dripping.

On the morning of February 9^th, I decided to check fuel and switch tanks. We’ve used about 300 gallons (US) since leaving Portsmouth.  During this time, I was in the engine room and Pat was organizing things in the forward cabin.  An alarm went off and we both ignored it.  She thought I’d get it and I thought she’d get it.  Dumb.  It was the anchor alarm.  The tide had shifted, the wind had come up as the river was narrow at our anchorage, and we’d swung into the weeds.  We used the windlass to pull the boat over the anchor (we weren’t aground) and by 08:00 were on our way.

Whilst on our wee train tour of the city, I noticed there was a stop at the planetarium, which included a presentation on celestial navigation.  Couldn’t pass that up.  Here are some pictures of antique instruments along with explanations of what they did and how they were used.

One of the most interesting to me was the Traverse Board used to keep track of course and speed while underway.  If you’ve ever read Monsoon by Wilber Smith you’ll recall how they used it.  If you haven’t, it’s a good read.  I found the presentation a little disappointing as they showed the constellations and the shapes they supposedly make (I maintain you need a really good imagination to pick out the shapes save for the big and little dipper and maybe a couple others).  They didn’t mention any of the stars used for navigation other than Polaris.  Oh well, still interesting, just not what I expected.  

It did get me thinking though, so I began to ponder - how does one, with little or no information, figure out where you are?  I have completed and passed a celestial navigation course, and my pondering reminded me that this body of knowledge is something I would like to pass on to my kids and grandkids.  So, here is a fun little exercise for kids of all ages and a great way to spend a sunny lunch time.  Parents of my grandchildren take note!!

Here’s the scenario – you’ve been abandoned on a deserted island (or your patio).  The tools you have available are a watch or timer, a pencil, some plain white paper, a small stick, a measuring tape, a local radio station that gives the accurate hourly time.    

You have a head start with the radio.  As you may or not recall, one of the biggest problems with early navigation was trying to figure out what time it was.  For example, when it’s high noon in Toronto, it’s actually only 11:58 in Hamilton.  Without knowing what time it is, it is almost impossible to figure out your longitude.  So there’s your first wee challenge - what time is it, really??

There is only one time of day that you can be confident in determining – and that is noon.  But, in the northern hemisphere (above the Tropic of Capricorn), the sun is never directly overhead.  So, if you are in Canada, you have to make the determination of noon by a shadow created by the sun.  To create the shadow, you take the small stick and put it through the center of the piece of paper and stick it into the ground, such that the stick is completely perpendicular to the ground.  Now, do this just before what you believe is noon. 

Measure the length of the shadow that the stick makes.  You will need to monitor this length over time (hence the measuring tape or ruler) and make a note of what time it is on your watch (minutes and seconds) when the shadow is the shortest.  This time is your actual noon local time, but your watch will likely say something different.

Now, first you have to determine how far out your watch is from official time by listening for the hourly time signal on your radio.  Once you have added or subtracted this difference from the time you noted as your actual local time, you now know the difference between your actual local time and the official reported noon.  For instance, your stick shadow time was 12:05.  Your watch was 5 minutes slow, so you add 5 minutes to your stick shadow time.  12:10 is your accurate local noon time.

The rest is simple arithmetic.  Since the earth is a 360 degree circle and it rotates completely in 24 hours, we know that it rotates 15 degrees every hour or ¼ of a degree per minute.  Eastern Standard Time is 5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time.  So, you are at least 75 degrees (5 x 15) west of Greenwich.  Using the example above, you have a 10 minute difference from Greenwich time, so therefore an additional 2.5 degrees (10 x 2.5) has to be added to the 75 degrees.  Now, you know your line of longitude is 77.5 degrees west.

If you have done this as accurately as you can, keeping track of minutes and seconds, and you come within 10 miles of your actual longitude, you have done really, really well!!

So, Pat says that’s all crazy.  All you have to do is look at your GPS.  Plus, she notes, you can also quickly learn your latitude as well!!  If you are a geek like me, and you want to know how to determine your latitude, let me know.  It’s even more fun and easier, but you have to do it at night.

With regards the H&E Hope, my vituperations over the state of the boat have ceased (well almost) and thoughts and actions are going to projects left until we had some time.   Suffice to say, after talking to quite a few cruisers now, our situation is not unique.  Everything from broken masts, blown transmissions, blown engines, lost shafts, rudders etc. etc.  Everyone seems to have some event(s) happen to make them wonder if they’ve lost their marbles embarking on the adventure.  Age of the vessel, TLC seems to have little bearing on it.  I think Mother Nature, Murphy or maybe the guy with the Trident just wants to test your mettle to see if you’re serious!  As our friend Larry Cull recently wrote to us, cruising is “about perseverance and celebrating surviving adversity.”  How true!!  Larry should know – he’s been sailing around the Caribbean now for a few years.