A sample day's post from a recent trip:
Captain’s Log, day four (April 23, 2017)
We don’t want this to turn into a boat repair blog but if we’re going to tell it like it is, we have to tell it like it is.
Our boat, being considerably smaller than Donald Trump’s yacht, has what is called a “wet head”. This means that the shower, toilet and sink are in the same compartment and the sink faucet lifts out and becomes the shower head. This saves space but means that to take a shower you have to remove everything that’s not in a cabinet, shower, wipe everything dry and move all the “stuff” back in. There’s also a hot and cold shower in the cockpit (the open back of the boat) so showering there, the water goes down the drain and the sun and wind dry everything. Whenever we’re out of sight of other people, this is where we shower.
When we woke up this morning, the current had turned HIGH COTTON to where the cockpit was facing the marsh, away from anyone so Captain Ron decided this would be a good time to take a shower. He got his soap and shampoo, washcloth and towel and went out to shower.
Problem – No hot water. Not that the water wasn’t hot, no water came out when the ‘hot” faucet was turned on. This can’t be, he thought so after a short study of the situation, he removed all the extra food and supplies from under the galley sink to reveal a valve that had been accidentally turned off. He turned it on, gathered his supplies and got his refreshing shower. OK, maybe that’s not a “repair” but something didn’t work, something was done and that solved the problem.
Our anchorage last night was fine once the local boats went to wherever they go. We did have one party boat go by with the stereo on about 1:00 AM but that’s not unusual. The downside of this anchorage is, being close to the city and with the docks having lights on them, it wasn’t as dark as we would have liked. It is secure and protected though.
We got underway relatively early, considering the shower incident. South of Thunderbolt there are many high end waterfront neighborhoods and as we have grown to expect, endless unnecessary no-wake zones. After ten miles or so, we were out of the suburbs and out of civilization.
When many folks hear the term “Intracoastal Waterway”, they think the government dug a canal from Virginia to Florida, sort of an “I 95” for boats. That’s not the case. Mostly, the ICW is made up of natural creeks, rivers and bays or sounds heading generally south with short canals or “cuts” connecting them together. This is especially true in Georgia where the creeks and rivers wind back and forth in endless “S” curves. A boat heading south on the ICW could be heading south, east or west at any given time. North even, for short distances.
We were underway for nearly eight hours today, winding back and forth. We didn’t see as many small boats today but we saw a lot of the “snowbirders” heading back to their summer homes. They must have thought we were lost!
Again, we came upon lots of dolphins or “big fishies” as the ship’s puppy knows them. One swam alongside us for a while and she was the first to notice. Patti saw a couple large turtles as well but they went back down before anyone else could see them. We also have entered the territory of the infamous Georgia green flies. Patti broke out the fly swatter and she is not afraid to use it.
We caught up with our “friends” with the tugs and dredging equipment again. They travel at about two knots but they run continuously so each time we stop for the night they get ahead of us again. This time they were in a relatively wide spot so after failing to raise them on the marine radio, we used the standard horn signal and went on by. Two other boats behind us eventually did the same as well.
We forgot to mention that a couple days ago, our Master Card company called to say there had been a fraudulent attempt to use our card in North Carolina so they put a hold on the card until they can send us a replacement. Well, that’s fine except for the moment, we have no fixed address. We have a good Discover Card but not all places take Discover Cards. We’ll have to figure out when we will stay at a marina for a couple days and call and have it sent there.
About 4:00 PM we pulled off the ICW to an anchorage on the Crescent River. We’re just a couple hundred yards west of the ICW. A large motor yacht went on past us and anchored a quarter mile or so away.
Dinner tonight will be tomatoes, cucumbers and mozzarella cheese with balsamic dressing. Reservations have been made for the Jekyll Harbor Marina for tomorrow night. Restaurant, pool showers, the works. Florida is a couple more days away.
