Isle of Palms (Slip)

Tuesday, March 31

32 48.251 N

79 45.406 W

We were up at 7 AM and underway before 8 AM with a 70 NM day ahead of us to get to the IOP. It was a clear and very calm morning when we dropped the mooring ball. It felt good to be back in the SC low country.

Perfect Carolina morning

The ICW in SC has its share of shallow water. We needed 10 hours to make the distance so we did not have much choice with the tide. Low water would be at about 1 PM and we expected some skinny water tension in a few places. But in reality running aground was not going to be a big deal - in general the bottom was deep mud, and even if we got stuck we could wait a few hours for the incoming tide and get off. But it still is not fun.

I managed to snap a photo when we only had 15" under us, but was too tense to try it when the gauge was showing just 0.3 of a foot a few miles later.

It got mighty shallow

Another 50 years of "Global Warming: and this will be a great dock!

The sea gulls liked to follow us when we were in shallow water as the turbulence caused by the props exposed some delicate picking for them.

Lots of birds "drafting us" today, seeing what we churned up from the mud

Despite the shallow water we seemed to be riding the tidal currents most of the day and made decent time.

After such a calm day, we were a bit surprised when late in the afternoon the south wind strengthened a lot, with gusts up over 30 knots. We were pleased we were not off shore. At about 4 PM we heard the Coast Guard respond to a SOS from a small boat off shore that had been swamped. It was quite dramatic eavesdropping as the rescue effort unfolded. Pretty quickly two helicopters were dispatched - one from the Coast Guard and one off a navy ship. When they arrived at the scene one dropped a swimmer into the water to organize the rescue. It all seemed to end happily.

Our plan was to arrive at the IOP on April 1, so we were 12 hours early. Kylie had planned to meet us on the dock but came down with a 24 hour flu and was home in bed. Janet and Don (River Girl) had arrived an hour before us and invited us over for a cocktail.

Wednesday April 1, 2015

We have two weeks for work and two weeks for play out West, so no time to waste. We have a large list of jobs on the boat and on shore. So its going to be rather boring reading for the next 4 weeks. We leave for places North on May 1.

Picked up the rental early and went to visit Ky and the kid. That was fun. Followed by $500 at Walmart of groceries and supplies. Kylie and Ryan had invited us over for a meal but Ryan came home feeling ill, so we ate at home.


Thursday April 2, 2015

Had an appointment at the Apple store to decide what was wrong with Deidre's iPad. Turned out it was kaput so we ended up with a new one .. for $800. Back on the boat I opened up the forward bilge and gave Tide Hiker the boat equivalent of a hysterectomy.

The ElectroScan sewerage treatment system has not really worked for two years. I think I have bought more replacement parts and had it apart more than any other part of the boat. What is more, it fills the forward bilge with more hoses and wires and tanks than an oil refinery. And it is such a dank place and I just don't like it. So it is now out and gone, and I can simplify the plumbing and electrical in that part of the boat.

Deidre took the car and headed for the supermarket to start restocking the larder. By 6 PM we had both had enough, and headed out for dinner at "Red Lobster"

Friday, April 3, 2015

Over to visit Kylie and Mason for breakfast. We still have not seen Ryan. Kylie had to go to work at 1 PM so we dropped Mason off at "school" and picked up my $500 order at NAPA - all oil and filters! Back on Tide Hiker I worked on the Northern Lights generator - new fuel filters and an oil change.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Not much going on. Deidre did some more provisioning and I worked on cleaning out our two file drawers and making some progress on our tax return.

This just in from Cleveland

Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015

We picked up Kylie and Mason and headed to "The Creek" for the Easter celebrations. (Ryan was already out there). As usual the Taylor clan was present in great strength - to the extent that "Uncle Bill" was barbecuing a dozen chickens.

As usual the whole gang is very welcoming and make Deidre and I very comfortable. They are very generous people. Mason is Nelma's and Gene's first grand child.

Wow! and they looked great.

Many of the Taylors live on a road running alongside "The Creek". The creek is not a natural creek - it was dug by slaves many years ago in an effort to drain more of the Francis Marion forest, Its water is dark and murky, and the tidal current are quite fast. Plus the Taylors delight in regaling us with stories of snakes and alligators they have shot from time to time. Of course, Mason is intrigued by the water and that scares me even more.

Mason with Grandpa Taylor

Kylie and Mason playing in Uncle Bill's pool

Mason's first ATV lesson

Monday April 6, 2015

Productive day. Today I flushed all three of the AC compressors with "Barnacle Buster". The job involved lots of hoses and hose clamps! Each AC unit was flushed for an hour.

"Flushing"

While the AC was being flushed I resumed work on the forward bilge. Today I "tidied up" the routing of the fresh water service to the forward head. Looks much neater and "shipshape" now. Ryan has agreed to pop in tomorrow and help me re-route the main sewerage discharge hose.

The bilge is already looking better

Tuesday April 7, 2015

Not much going on. Out for breakfast and a bit of shopping. We picked up Mason from "school" at about 4:30 PM and entertained him until his parents arrived for dinner. Ryan helped me reroute the holding tank discharge hose. Tomorrow I can shorten it and seal it up.

Wednesday April 8, 2015

Completed the work on the holding tank discharge hose. The whole set up is now much neater. But I saw a small leak when the pump was running and had to order parts (o-rings) and they will not be here till Friday. So I cannot cross it off yet.

Back on taxes for the afternoon. This I did finish and in the envelope.

We had an early dinner and headed of to the "Family Circle" tennis tournament on Daniel Island. (FYI, 20 years ago Daniel island was basically 4,000 acres of undeveloped farming area. But all that changed when the new I-526 freeway crossed the island and "opened it up" for development. It is now 10 years into a master planned community complete with residential neighborhoods, parks, trails, recreational amenities and a downtown that is home to shops, restaurants, schools, churches and a large professional tennis facility. We had not visited the area since leaving 15 years ago and were appropriately amazed.)

We had been attracted by the prospect of a doubles match between two Australians (obviously Russian transplants) and Martina Hingis and an Indian girl. It was fun. We were the only people in the place rooting for the Aussies, but they lost.

Thursday April 9, 2015

Slept in and then took Tide Hiker for a pump-out. Deidre mailed the tax return and spent the day with Kylie. I finished the installation of the new TV aerial.


Friday April 10, 2015

Met Ky and Mason on the beach this AM and it was fun. Deidre had her hair colored. The parts arrived for the sewer and now that's done. The replacement pulley came for the dinghy crane and now that's done. I purchased our new DTOPS decal so now we can re-enter the USA after Canada. I am focused on crossing jobs off THE LIST

Mark and Donna are back in town after vacation so we 4 wend out to dinner to catch up on their news. Very pleasant.

Saturday, April 13, 2015

The new tenants moved into 21 Yacht Harbor. The "o" ring arrived for the pump-overboard hose and I installed it. The replacement bowl for the dinghy fuel filter arrived and I installed it. Otherwise, not much going on. Went to the movies - "Woman in Gold"

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Today was Mason's birthday party - held 23 days early so we could be there.- in his own backyard in Mt. Pleasant. Great success, despite the no-see-ums and threatening rain.

Moms and kids table

The back yard

Moms and kids

Now that's a keeper

My favourite

Curious George birthday cake

Monday, April 13, 2015

John Davey, our "boat maintenance helper" turned up today - about 13 days late. But I was still pleased to see him even though most of the job list is crossed off, so put him to work scraping the rust off the rudder post structure and prepping for paint. I have asked him to keep an eye on Tide Hiker while we are away and give her a wash a few days before we return.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Washing and packing day.

Beaufort, SC (Mooring Ball)

Sunday March 30th, 2015
N
W

We were up at 3:30 AM and underway a few minutes before 4:00 AM. I like leaving early and in the dark. Its a bit spooky, but it just feels good. Tide Hiker has such purpose in the dark. The engines are rumbling, the nav is booting, the radar is warming up, the coffee is brewing, the radio is swarking, and Deidre and I are running around with flashlights stowing gear and dropping lines.

Its really dark on the water, except for all the lights that just seem to blind you. The back lit instruments are all tuned way down so I have to use a flashlight to see what I am doing. The windshield in the wheelhouse is totally back. There is no way to "see" anything so I rely totally on the radar and chart plotter. As we leave I transmit on the radio: "Security. Security. Motor vessel Tide Hiker departing Ocean Petroleum, outbound" A few minutes later I get a response - from an inbound tug pulling a large barge, inbound. I navigate the boat from the fly bridge while Deidre watches the radar in the wheelhouse and we talk using a cheap pair of walkie talkies. It took us 90 minutes to get out of the harbor and into the channel. We never saw the tug and barge.

Just pre dawn

Real dawn

The sun was up by about 7 AM. The wind was a bit brisk after sun rise, but was basically on our stern, and Tide Hiker is comfortable in those conditions. We spent the day eating and listening to a "book on tape" that we had downloaded using the wifi in St. Augustine. We completely bi-passed Georgia and arrived at the Port Royal bouy about 4 M. the tide was with us and so ran up the river at a brisk 8 or 9 knots. A very good days work - xx NM in 14 hours. 

"Give way to the right"

Brunswick, GA (Ocean Petroleum)

March 29, 2015
N
W

Blows my mind how quickly it got cold. Supposedly in the 30's last night - it was 40 degrees when we got up. We slept with two blankets and slept in because we did not plan to leave until 11 AM.  A week ago it was 80- degrees and humid.

Modest day planned today - just 29 miles to Brunswick where we will "fill her up" in the AM at Ocean Petroleum.We are hoping we can secure to the fuel dock overnight.

It was quite rough crossing St. Andrew's Sound and there was a bouy missing! Guess it was on the beach.

Missing buoy?

Arrived at Ocean Petroleum about 3:30PM. Three pleasant surprises. First, there was another DeFever already waiting at the dock - River Girl (Ron and Janice) from the IOP. Second, there was a really competent rock band rehearsing on the veranda of the fuel dock office - they were good! Third - one of the band members was the attendant and he was happy to fill us up, even though it was Sunday. We took on 475 gallons at $2.37 a gallon - great price. Now we can leave very early in the AM and (weather permitting) make it off-shore to Beaufort, SC.

Ocean petroleum with "River Girl"

Cumberland Island (Anchored)

Saturday March 28, 2015
N
W

Cold last night - down to 48 degrees. Its amazing how quickly it gets cold going North. There is a silver lining - the two refrigerators only used about 75% of the amps. The SOC was 71% when we woke this AM. Usually its just over 60%.

Long day today, and most of it against the tide. Took just under 10 hours to do 60 NM. Sunny day, but "cold" and quite windy. We stayed on the ICW because it was too windy to be off shore - 4' to 5' waves with some 6' and 7'. But the forecast is starting to look better for next week.

Cumberland Island is a favourite anchorage, not so hot in a west wind, but OK. The wind will die a bit overnight. Deidre is getting good at cooking while we are underway and have plenty of electricity. Tonight "shepards pie" Yum.

St. Augustine (Mooring Ball)

March 27, 2015
29 53.0825 N
81 18.2172 W

We are really just "making miles" on our way to Charleston these days so there is not much going on. We chugged along today and listened to our downloaded story. The chatter on the VHF radio was really annoying.

Had planned to make an extra 5 or 10 miles past St Augustine today before anchoring for the night, but the weather has turned bad, wind gusts up to 30 MPH are forecast, so we deiced to stop in St Augustine and take a ball.

We picked up the ball brilliantly, considering the conditions. The wind is blowing so I think we made a good decision. As I write this I see a long string of black clouds slip pass a few miles north of us. But the weather forecast for next week is looking better

Daytona Beach (Halifax River yacht Club)

March 26, 2015
29 12.459 N
81 00.965 W

Since I had forgotten our Anniversary I thought it would be nice to take a marina tonight and go out for dinner. We did just that, but I spoiled the whole event be getting a bit cranky when we slipped the boat. Captain Bligh on the job.

Back on board after dinner, the clubs wifi signal was strong so we download a "book on tape" (How do you say that these days - a "book audio file"?) We signed up, the first book was free, and we chose "Gone Girl" Long day tomorrow.

Our route today was quite the opposite of the Palm Beach socio economic group. Lots of fishing camps RV's and 'double wides" in evidence.

Kennedy Space Center

Tuesday March 24, 2015
28 32.184 N
80 45.248 W

Each time we have passed the Kennedy Space Center over the last three years I have checked the NASA launch schedule. Yesterday I checked the schedule and discovered there is a launch scheduled for Wednesday. So we have made it 60 NM today and anchored in the bay next to the launch site. We can see the rocket on the launch pad.

The launch is scheduled for mid afternoon tomorrow, so we will be anchored here for two nights. (We are  not as close as the photo may suggest.) The weather forecast for tonight is OK but there may be some thunder storms tomorrow. At the moment, the wind is blowing quite hard and our anchorage is a bit exposed so we are rocking around a bit.

A bunch of porpoises just visited us. There must have been over a dozen. Maybe looking for a handout? Dinner was crockpot beef curry and rice followed by apple pie and ice cream. Its a hard life!

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Interesting night. All night we could here what sounded like a relatively strong tidal current running past the boat. I was not concerned as we have 175' of chain and the snubber out in 10' of water, but it seemed strange as this location is a very unlikely spot for a current.

This morning the noise was still there, but more intermittent. So I took the flashlight out to have a look. Turned out the noise was schools of small fish (4" to 8") that were leaping out of the water. I assume they were being chased by predators and were using Tide Hiker as shelter.

We have had similar experiences before. When anchored in Stuart a few years ago we would hear definite "bumps" on the underwater hull of the boat. It really spooked us. We talked about it with other boaters and they explained that the small fish would escape a predator by swimming straight at the hull and then at the last moment dart left or right. The larger pursuing predator could not turn that fast and would crash into the side of the hull.

While on the topic of "things under the boat at night". When we anchor close to mangroves (like at Vero Beach the other night) the shrimp will come out and eat the algae that grows on the underwater part of the hull. On a "busy night"it sounds like a 100 people scratching their fingernails on the hull. At Vero Beach on Monday it was quite loud.

This morning is quite foggy. We cannot see the shore at the moment. NASA has its own TV station and so we have the TV on this morning. The launch is still "80% go!"

Vero Beach Mooring Field

Monday March 23, 2015
27 39.710 N
80 22.347 W

Don's birthday today so Deidre arranged a celebration breakfast before we tossed both of them off the boat and got underway! It had been a great visit, but now my sights are set on getting to Charleston on April 1. We had been promised an early pumpout but by 9:30 AM the crew had not arrived so we departed without.

Don's Birthday Breakfast

Calm and overcast morning. The scenery was great as we cruised between the Palm Beach homes of the rich and famous. We were getting a bit of a push from the tide and made good progress. About lunchtime thunder clouds began to roll in and we also watched them in the radar. A bit of wind arrived with the rain but did not slow down our progress.

Arrived at Vero Beach mooring field at 5:30 and grabbed our assigned ball. We do not plan to leave the boat, but we still like this place. It is now super calm, no sign of a breeze and humid.

Old Port Cove Marina

Wednesday, March 18, 2015
26 49.892 N
80 03.245 W

We decided to move into the marina a day early so we could clean the boat before the rest of the boats arrived for the Rendezvous. A total of 30 boats are expected. Perfect day, not a cloud, hardly a breeze, made backing Tide Hiker into the slip rather easy.

Spent most of the day washing and cleaning Tide Hiker.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Boats really started arriving today. It was fun to watch. Barb and Don arrived about 4 PM. Deidre made a great dinner.

Friday, March 20, 2015

The stabilizer guys promised to arrive today. Today is the first day of the Rendezvous activities. So I left my cell phone number at the door and we headed to the Conference Center. I kept checking on Tide Hiker, but nobody turned up.

Cocktail party with "heavy" h'orderves on the dock tonight. Lots of fun.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Today is our 43rd wedding anniversary and I completely forgot. Not a good start to the day.

The stabilizer guys promised to arrive "first thing" today. I left the same note on the door and headed off to the Conference Center. This afternoon is "open boats" and Tide Hiker is one of the open boats. The stabilizer guys arrived just as people started to visit Tide Hiker. So we had three guys working in the engine room and aft deck with tools and equipment.

The "official" dinner was tonight.

The couple we bought Tide Hiker from - Norm and Vicki on the left.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

This morning Barb and I made our Bahamas presentation to a packed house and critical acclaim! The four of us had dinner with Belinda and Jim ("Rickshaw")

North Lake Worth

Sunday March 15, 2015
26 50.413 N
80 03.236 W

I messed up leaving the dock. No damage, but I should know better. Oh well.

Great run north to Lake Worth. The sea was unruffled in 5-10 MPH breeze. Just long low swells. To make matters even better, we must have caught a bit of the Gulf Stream and cruised most of the 49 miles at over 8 knots! Like being in an aeroplane.

Like flying!

The Atlantic gets deep quickly along this part of the coast so we are able to cruise quite close to shore, and the good weather was bringing crowds to the beaches.

Busy beach at Boca Ratan

Peanut Island is just inside the entrance to Lake Worth and is a boating party place. We slowed all the way down to thread our way thru the crowds of boats and "floating objects". Hundreds of boats of every description were anchored in the shallows, crawling with appropriately clothed "young people" having more fun than they probably deserved. There was a good supply of the Coast Guard and local cops trying to keep it under control. We crawled at idle speed thru the crowd. It was a fun sight.

What a party

We headed another 4 miles north up the lake to our anchorage, being passed and re-passed by nuts in fast boats going way to fast and waking us continuously. Oh, to be young and hopped up.

The North Lake Worth anchorage was pretty full. We had to cruise around between the boats to find a spot. The anchor was down by 4:15PM. Its a good spot - high rise buildings to our West and lake front residences on the east.

The north lake worth anchorge

Monday March 16, 2015

Beautiful calm and sunny day. Launched the dink and had a look around the area. Otherwise just took it easy. Dinner on board.


Tuesday March 18, 2015

David's birthday. I remember fainting in the delivery room.

Another quiet day. Took the dink over to the "dinghy beach" under the highway bridge and walked up to the shops. Had some lunch and did some shopping, back on the boat by 3 PM.

New River, Ft. Lauderdale

Thursday March 12, 2015
N
W

Today is the third anniversary of moving onto Tide Hiker! So we celebrated by arising before dawn and getting underway at first light. We needed to get to our target marina in Ft. lauderdale by lunch time. Some time after lunch we had an appointment to sign the closing docs on the sale of the house in Scottsdale.

Going outside or taking the ICW was a "toss-up". It was still a bit windy and so it might be a little rough offshore, but faster. But going via the ICW would involve passing under 5 lifting bridges, all but one with "opening restrictions".

We decided to go offshore and headed for the channel as the sun rose. It is no overstatement to say that the passage thru the channel was simply violent. It seemed to be a classic case of steady winds opposing the outbound tidal current. Fortunately we had everything pretty secure below, but there was still plenty of crashing and banging from below. But we made it thru and once we could make the turn North, matters settled down. Most importantly, we were able to put the whoopee bowl away, unused.

The 25 miles north were lumpy but fast, as we had pick up a 1 knot current - maybe the edge of the Gulf Stream. We arrived at the Ft Lauderdale light by about 10:30 and headed inland and up the New River. I find the ride up this river simply amazing. This country is so wealthy. Were secure at the dock by 11:30 AM.

The dock is another one of my favorite locations. We are right in the center of the business district (Like being in the Yarra on the South Bank, but without the railway station.) The river banks have been landscaped and made pedestrian friendly. Some people might say that Ft. lauderdale is the epicenter of the American private boating industry - and to see the procession of amazing private boats floating past our windows I believe them.

The "notary lady" arrived on time - in a tight skirt and stiletto heels. Getting her onto the boat was interesting. We executed the docs and she hurried off to FedEx. The actual closing is Friday.

We made dinner res reservations at a "fancy" (table cloths, stainless cutlery etc) French restaurant on Las Olas Blvd, about 1/2 mile walk. We wanted to make the right impression so Deidre put on a dress and I wore shoes. We both had the trout. It was good.

Friday March 13, 2015

Today we have a few jobs on the boat and a scheduled visit from the stabilizer service man. First thing I rode to a local auto store to buy oil for the windlass and popped into the bank. Changing the oil in the windlass gear box was simple enough, but I was surprised how much water drained out with the oil. Surprised enough to call the manufacturer - their reaction was some water was completely normal! So I flushed it with diesel and then filled it with new oil.

The stabilizer man ("Craig") seemed to think our stabilizers were fine, but needed some service. So he will meet us at the Rendezvous in Palm Beach next week to do the work.

Tonight we took a cab to a movie (:The Second Hotel Paradise") followed by pizza.

Tide Hiker from the 3rd Ave bridge

Saturday March 14, 2015

Grocery shopping this morning. Then we grabbed our chairs and headed over to Las Olas for the St Patricks Day parade. We leave in the AM.

Miami Beach, FL

Tuesday, March 10, 2015
25 47.052 N
80 08.866 W

Another windy day, but slowly swinging from the East to the South East, so its more on our beam today. We have friends anchored in the Miami Beach area and that is our target.

We took a "short cut" thru the commercial dock area and it got a bit hectic.

I hope he knows where he is going!

We are now anchored in some crazy water between where the "rich and famous" live and South Beach. I say crazy because there are no rules here. Everyone seems to be playing, mainly by burning hydrocarbons at a rapid rate.

Party City

 Wednesday March 11, 2015

This morning we launched the dinghy and headed into Miami Beach. There is a small canal that provided us the opportunity to secure the dinghy.

This was my lunch. The thing on top is an egg. The rest was roasted potatoes, sausages and onion. It was way to salty and greasy for me.

Barnes Sound/Key Largo

Monday March 9, 2015
25 15.587 N
80 20 159 W

Very restful evening. There was one other boat in the anchorage and they came over to visit for a chat. Tide Hiker seemed to be 100% protected from the wind and so we had a calm night and enjoyed a movie and a good sleep.

Lots of very shallow water to cover today. The total tide range in this area is only 8" but even so we timed our departure to use every bit of it. We know we can get thru if we are careful - we did it two years ago. The difference today is that the bloody wind is still howling.

There are three depth gauge readings on the fly bridge - that give about a 12" range of depths under the keel. So today (at one point) one was showing 12", one was showing 6" and one was showing 0". I tend to believe the one in the middle. We were in shallow water virtually all day, but as far as I can tell we did not touch the bottom. It is quite stressful, however.

The great thing about this part of the world is that there are plenty of great anchorages. Tonight we are in the NE corner of Barnes Sound in 8' of water, tucked up against the shoreline of 40' mangroves.

Jewfish Creek - transiting from Blackwater Sound to Barnes Sound