Cinnamon Beach

Saturday August 12 to August 19, 2017

The Taylors and the "old Blackmans" rented a condo for the week right on the beach at Cinnamon Beach, about 45 miles south of St. Augustine, Florida. For us it was a drive from HHI of about 240 miles, for Kylie and family about 100  miles more. Our condo was on the 4th floor of a 5 story building, overlooking the beach as you can see from the photo below. And it was a perfect beach. Kyli and Ryan were looking for a break from work, Deidre and I were looking forward to a week with Mason and Audrey.

Our view

The weather for the week was almost perfect - hot and dry each morning until the thunder storms rolled in at mid afternoon, when we could take a break from the sun and enjoy a beer on the balcony. Mason was a bit hesitant in the waves.

We were able to mix in a few outings - Wednesday into St Augustine to explore the fort and ride on a pirate ship. Friday we visited an alligator zoo. And a few dinners out.

Shelter Cove Marina

Monday July 10, 2017
32 10 874 N
80 43 692 W

Apparently the approach to this marina can get a bit skinny at low tide so we upped anchor at 8:30 AM so we would arrive right at high tide about 10 AM. All went per plan and the approach up 3 miles of Broad Creek was very pleasant, with lots f fancy houses on both banks.

The marina is pretty posh and very well protected, although a bit squeezed and with a depth problem (so we now have seen for ourselves). The marina is the central feature of a vacation resort with lots of restaurants, shops, music just about every night and fireworks on Tuesdays. And the marina delivers a newspaper to Tide Hiker every morning! Sweet.

We were assigned a slip and settled in, but noticed 6 hours later, at low tide, that we were sitting on the bottom. A visit to the office got us a new slip assignment and when we had some water under us we moved. I suppose they try that on all the new comers. Now we have about 12" to 18" under us at low.

Friday July 28, 2017

We have been here almost 3 weeks now and are pretty settled into a routine. We like the marina and the island and we are within day-trip distance from Charleston. The only negatives are that its been bloody hot and there are few live on boards and we have not made any new friends.

There is plenty of entertainment here. Tuesday nights are "fireworks nights" and maybe a couple of thousand people gather here and crowd the walkways and ice cream shops. Thursday night is "big band" night and the whole place is crowded again. This entertainment is very much oriented to families and kids, which makes it extra fun. There are at least 5 restaurants around the water and two or three of them have music every night, so usually Deidre and I will eat on the deck and be serenaded.

Last week we drove to Charleston for Deidre to see the hip specialist. He recommended a replacement hip, soon er rather than later. The recovery period adds up to about 2 months and living on Tide Hiker is not an ideal arrangement. We seem to have had some "close calls" on selling her, but no deal as yet, so we are a little uncertain as to the next step. But our priority is to get her a new hip ASAP. In the mean time the steroid injection into Deidre's hip is still helping a lot.

In the meantime life goes on. We have rented a beach front apartment in Florida to share with Kylie and family for the weekend of August 12/19. We have just booked flights to Houston to visit David and family, August 24/28. And Adam's family are visiting us here September 7/10. So that's all good.

"Big Band" night. Lots of families and kids.

May River Anchorage

Sunday July 9, 2017
32 11 982 N
80 48 712 W

As Sunday tradition requires, we wandered into "town" for Sunday breakfast at the "Hoddle House". We "hoddled" out an hour later with $15 of breakfast in our happy tummies. Such a deal.

Not in a hurry, we did not drop lines until about 11:30 AM and caught the outgoing tide all the way down the Beaufort River, reaching the astonishing speed of just under 9 knots opposite Paris Island, the marine base. By 3 PM we had dropped anchor in the may River, just across from Hilton Head Island. We are now only about 10 miles from "Shelter Cove". Apparently the approach is a bit shallow, so we will go in at 10 AM tomorrow at the peek of the morning high tide.

Our anchorage reminds me of one of the reasons we have so enjoyed this lifestyle. The east coast of the USA is heavily populated, and we are maybe 5 miles from a resort island, but we feel like we could be in the Amazon - not a person or a building in sight. (And yet the internet connection is great and we found over 40 TV channels! So much for the Amazon.)

Today's view from my window

 Its a few degrees cooler today and there is a decent breeze, so no a/c. And we have the two big fans running, so its quite pleasant.

Lady Island Marina, Beaufort

Saturday July 8, 2017
32 11 976 N
80 48 707 W

We hauled in the anchor and got underway a bit earlier this morning so we had time to get to Lady Island and tidy up before our guests arrived. We have visited Lady island a few times over the last 6 years and they greeted us like old friends - quite nice.

Our guests arrived about 5 PM (with a couple of grand kids in tow) and seemed to be quite impressed with Tide Hiker.

Back in the Ashapoo River

July 7, 2017
32 32 427 N
80 27 114 W

Three cruising boats came "home" to the IOP yesterday, initiating the end of Tide Hiker's stay. We were fortunate to be able to stay another night and leave in the AM. A bunch of people came over for a farewell drink Thursday night. Tide Hiker backed out of her slip at about 9:30 AM this morning.

Another stinking hot day. By about 11 AM we were both rather overcome and so fired up a generator and retreated into the air conditioned Pilot House. Received a call from people interested in Tide Hiker and arranged to take a slip in Beaufort on Saturday so they can have a look.

Lots of thunder storms all around but we seemed to slip between them until it came time to anchor in the Ashapoo. The rain was welcome but the lightening was a bit intense. Only lasted 1/2 an hour or so but soon the sun was shining on the marsh around us. Only about 22 NM to Beaufort from here, so we should get in early enough to give Tide Hiker a bit of a wash before our guests arrive.

Ran the big gen and the a/c all night.