Sanderling trip to Florida – November 2002

(Written by Bob, unless otherwise indicated)

Preparation in Solomons, Maryland – October 28 to November 1

Judy drove me to the airport in Orlando, Florida, for a 0730 flight on Monday, October 28th, arriving in Washington, DC, about noon. I rented a car and drove to Solomons, where Sanderling was undergoing last minute preparations to be launched when I got there about 1445. She had been out of the water since June 16th at Washburn’s Boat Yard, so I anticipated that she’d be fairly dusty inside. While at Washburn’s, the yard had replaced the raw water pump assembly and exhaust risers on both engines, along with the exhaust hoses; they had also installed a new sump filter which should prevent the discharge overboard of any oil and diesel fuel which might accidently accumulate in the bilge (happens sometimes when changing filters, or as a consequence of a leak in a fuel line), the hull was waxed and polished, and the bottom and running gear painted with anti-fouling paint (to keep the barnacles and other marine growth off). The only thing left to do when I got there was to paint the areas of the hull where stanchions had been holding Sanderling upright while she was out of the water. Shortly after I arrived, she was back in the water. A mechanic came aboard to tighten up the stuffing boxes (a mechanical device that clamps around the shafts and allows the shafts to turn but still keep water from coming aboard) and check out the repairs with the engines running. All went well, and Sanderling and I left Washburn’s about 1600 heading to our old marina at Point Patience (Navy Recreation Center, Solomons).

There was still a lot to do to prepare Sanderling for the trip south to Florida before we could get underway. First things first – I had to do some major grocery shopping for the food and other things that Judy and I had discussed. We estimated that the trip would take about 14 days, weather permitting. It is difficult to judge the length of time exactly, since weather plays such an important role in determining your speed, and whether you can get underway at all. Even though this trip is on the Intra Coastal Waterway and not in the ocean (unlike the last two major trips), there are several big bodies of water to cross in North Carolina: the Albermarle Sound and the Pimlico Sound. Both are big and shallow, and even though the ICW crosses but a portion of each, a wind of 15-20 knots from the wrong direction can create very steep 4-5 foot waves that are very uncomfortable. Since Sanderling cruises at a speed of only 7.5 knots (8.5 MPH), it takes us a while to get anyplace and consequently when we have to cruise through these open bodies of water we can be exposed to rough conditions for quite some time. Once we get past Pimlico Sound and the Neuse River we will be less dependent on the weather. All this is to say that we planned on food and supplies for about two weeks, hoping that we’d be able to purchase other items, if needed, along the way. In addition, I had to clean up the interior of the boat, find things that had been stored out of the way in June that we’d need on the trip, check all the electronic gear to ensure that it was working, upload data from a laptop computer to two GPS units that we’d be using to help us keep track of our position, and change fuel filters – nothing major, but all together it would take the rest of the week before Judy arrived.

Tuesday was a shopping day. I needed to buy some items in order to complete the rest of my to do list, so figured I might as well get the major running around done up front. The Patuxent River Naval Air Station is only a short distance across the river, so that was my stop for groceries. A couple of marine supply stores and hardware store supplied the rest of the items on the list. Then the work began on the maintenance items, and the last thing was to give the interior of the boat a good dusting, cleaning, and to vacuum the carpets. Charlie Matterson was joining us for the first part of the trip, and he’d be quartered in the forward V-berth; consequently, I had to remove all my tools and supplies from that “storage” area so Charlie would have a place to sleep! Sanderling was ready by Friday afternoon.

Crew assembles – November 1 and 2

Judy was arriving at Washington National Airport about 1930 on Friday, so I drove up to Washington to meet her. We stopped at Red, Hot and Blue on the way back for dinner, and wouldn’t you know it – a waiter dropped a container of marinara sauce nearby, and some of it splashed on Judy’s new off-white fleece pullover! The waiter was very good about helping clean up her pullover, but soda water will only do so much!

Charlie Matterson arrived on Saturday morning, and after unloading his gear the four of us drove over to Lexington Park to turn in the rental car. On the way we had to stop at several places to try to find a gasket for the sump filter which the yard had failed to install along with the filter; as a consequence the filter leaked water back into the bilge and was useless. I ended up bypassing the filter since I couldn’t find the needed gasket.

November 2 – Underway on Chesapeake Bay: Solomons to Point Lookout Marina

We had hoped to get underway about noon on Saturday and anchor for the night south of where the Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake, but the problem with the sump filter delayed our departure about an hour. By the time we got down the Chesapeake at the north side of the Potomac (the Potomac is almost eight miles across where it enters Chesapeake Bay) we knew we wouldn’t have enough daylight left to cross the Potomac and find the river we wanted to anchor in. We made the decision to head about four miles up the north shore of the Potomac to a marina for the night. About 1600 I called the marina on the VHF and told them we’d be there about 1700 and the dock master to said he’d be expecting us and would meet us on the dock if we’d give him a call as we approached. When we did get in the area about 1720 we called and received no response; after we tied up to a dock I went to the office and it was locked up tight. We ate in a restaurant that is right next to the marina, and turned in early after a long day.

This time of year in the Chesapeake the sun rises about 0630 and sets about 1700, so we had to take advantage of all the daylight available by leaving as soon as the we could safely do so in the morning; we planned to always stop before it got dark.

Day: 31.6 nm 4H20M

November 3 – Chesapeake Bay: Point Lookout Marina to Norfolk

The next morning we were up at 0530, and were underway shortly before sunrise once we could see the water – about 0620. Our course took us on a south-easterly course down and across the Chesapeake toward Smith Point (where the south/Virginia shore of the Potomac River meets Chesapeake Bay). Because of shoal water which extends about 1 mile out into Chesapeake Bay, we were heading out into Chesapeake Bay before turning south. As we approached Smith Point, the water became very rough due to a southerly wind on Chesapeake Bay, a flooding tide (northbound) on Chesapeake Bay, and the outflowing current from the Potomac River. Waves started building rolling southerly down Chesapeake Bay; the further east we went down the Potomac River, the worse it became. At one point a series of three or four waves in succession hit us, turned Sanderling sideways to the waves, and we rolled over about 45 degrees. Everything that wasn’t fastened down went flying – drawers came open, cupboard contents spilled onto the floor, charts and anything else that we were using moved to the starboard (right) side of the boat. We got the boat back on a course where the waves were hitting us on the port quarter (left-stern), and got everything put back more or less. Fortunately, Judy had the forethought to move the microwave and TV onto the aft cabin floor and put a shock cord around the coffee maker to hold it in place, or we could have had a real disaster. From that point on we had to steer off to the east taking the waves at about a 45 degree angle on the port (left) side, and then finally cleared Smith Point and headed south. As we proceeded down the Bay the waves decreased, the tide turned so we had a favorable current, and by 1300 or so it was quiet and warm enough that we grilled bratwurst on the outside grill for sandwiches for lunch! What a change in a few hours.

The remainder of the day was rather uneventful compared to the morning. As we approached Norfolk we tried to reach the Navy operated marina at the Naval Operating Base (NOB) which is right on the south end of Chesapeake Bay and a perfect place to stop for the night. No one answered by VHF or by telephone (when Judy called them she just got a recorded message). We also tried to reach anyone on a boat in the marina, and someone did eventually answer us and told us to just come on in and find an empty slip. We tied up just about dark. Fortunately, there was another boat that came in shortly after we did and they were able to give us the combination to the security gates and the heads. We didn’t even see an office, nor did we see anyone around the marina prior to leaving Monday morning about 0730 and our first day on the ICW.

Charlie adds: For dinner we ate on board and made rice pilaf and heated up kuru fasulye which Mujgan had made for us.

Day: 76.9 nm 10H20M

Trip: 108.5 nm (124.9 sm) 14H40M

November 4th and the ICW – Norfolk, VA to Coinjock,, NC

The Intra Coastal Waterway (proper name) starts in Norfolk at the Elizabeth River. It runs along the east coast all the way to Miami, following various rivers, bays, and man-made canals (other than the stretch from Miami, Florida to Key West). It is measured in statute miles (rather than nautical miles as are most bodies of water) and extends from mile 0 at the start of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, to mile 1244 at Key West, Florida. We’re heading to Melbourne, Florida, which is about mile 914. A statute mile is 5,280 feet, whereas a nautical mile is 6,000 feet in length; seven nautical miles is the same distance as eight statute miles.

The weather has been cool, so far, and varied from overcast to clear skies. We’ve been steering Sanderling from the inside steering station which is on the starboard (right) side at the forward end of the salon. Forward of the salon on the inside of the boat and down a short ladder (steep steps) is the V-berth, with a hanging locker to starboard and a head with sink and shower to port. From the inside steering station you can control every aspect of the boat – steer, control the engines and transmissions (forward, neutral, back), listen to and talk on the VHF radio, watch a radar display, control the auto-pilot, control a heater that runs on diesel fuel, keep track of various systems, and most important: stay out of the weather and keep warm!

The top steering station has some, but not all, of the same instruments as the lower (inside) steering station. It is the highest deck on the boat, above the salon, and provides a good vantage point from which to watch all the corners of the boat, and everything around it. We’ve used the upper steering station when entering and leaving slips, due to the good visibility, even though the air temperature is rather chilly in the morning and evening when we’re going in and out of a slip.

Today was no different in terms of the weather: overcast, 45 degrees, barometer 30.35 and the wind less than 10 knots. We were underway at 0730. We had slept in a little later than normal because there are some bridges in Norfolk that are too low for us to go under and do not open during the morning and evening rush hours. We had planned our arrival at the first bridge to correspond with the first opening after rush hour at 0900.

The course from the Navy marina took us out into the main shipping channel and south past the line of ships which line the channel on the naval base. We saw four aircraft carriers, and numerous smaller ships. In the same channel we saw our first bottle nose dolphins (porpoises). As we entered the Elizabeth River and passed mile zero of the ICW, we realized we were going to be a little late for the opening of the first bridge. We made the 0930 opening. Bridges along the ICW are not consistent in height, or opening schedule. Some open on demand, that is, you can contact the bridge tender on the VHF radio and ask that the bridge be opened, and if there isn’t any problem, it will be; sometimes the tender will ask that the first boat wait for other boats to catch up so that several boats can pass through the bridge at the same time. Other bridges open only on a fixed schedule: on the hour, or every hour and half-hour. Near large population areas they frequently do not open during morning and evening rush hours.

We passed through six bridges in distance of about 10 miles, then entered a lock which lifted us about two feet (hardly worth the effort) and then we were on our way with only a few bridges for which we had to wait to open. Other bridges were high enough that we could pass under them. We chose to follow the “Virginia Cut” which goes out to the east and then south into Albermarle Sound, rather than taking the “Dismal Swamp Canal” which goes south through a canal and then rejoins the ICW and the “Virginia Cut” route. Either route is about the same distance. We chose the route we did because the Dismal Swamp Canal has a lock at each end opening only at 0900 and 1500 while some work is being done. This would have resulted in some delay waiting for the southerly lock to open, and then we would have had a problem getting to an area with good anchorages and marinas before sunset.

We spent the day traveling along a rather narrow channel through swamps lined with trees, past industrial areas, a few marinas, large shallow lake-like bodies of water with narrow channels marked with day-markers, and narrow land-cuts.

Since there were three of us onboard, we set up a watch rotation so that all of us could take part in all aspects of the boat’s operation, as well as have some personal time to read, sleep, or just relax. One person was responsible for steering the boat and making the decision about speed, passing boats, and the general operation of the boat. A second person kept track of the boat’s position on the navigational chart, watched for buoys and day-markers, and generally helped the first person. The third person could spend time doing whatever he/she pleased, but could be called upon to help the other two if things got busy. We rotated on an hourly basis.

After being underway for 9 hours and 15 minutes, we pulled into a marina alongside the ICW at Coinjock, North Carolina, at ICW mile 49.5.

The dock at Coinjock runs parallel with the ICW, so we literally just pulled off to the side and tied up to the dock. After tying up, we refueled and filled the water tanks. The two fuel tanks hold a total of 150 gallons, and the two water tanks hold 125 gallons.

Fuel: 77.2 gallons diesel

Day: 57 sm 9H15M

Trip: 181.9 sm 23 H55M.

November 5th ICW – Coinjock, NC, to Dowry Creek, near Belhaven, NC

The temperature was still chilly (50 degrees) with a slight overcast. We were underway at 0625, which was about the time we could see the water clearly enough to navigate safely.

Shortly after leaving the marina I noticed that the inside port engine-hour meter was not working – it had stopped at hour 2416. Not a big deal, but that was the meter I normally used to keep track of the hours the engines run.

We entered some larger bodies of water approaching Albermarle Sound. The wide stretches of water had a very narrow channel deep enough for boats, and because of shoaling that is caused by shifting mud in the current, navigation between the day marks became critical. At one point we suddenly found ourselves in four feet of water and came to a stop, then turned slightly to the left and headed slowly back to where we believed the channel to be. This type of occurrence would become rather common over the remainder of the trip.

Albermarle Sound is a large, shallow body of water which is bounded on the east by barrier islands and the towns of Manteo and Kitty Hawk, among others. Once we were on the sound itself the water was a fairly consistent depth of over 15 feet and we didn’t have to worry about staying in a narrowly defined channel.

As we were approaching the highway bridge that crosses the ICW on the sound, we were boarded by the Coast Guard for a safety inspection. The fast inflatable boat they were using was heading north at a good speed, and as they got close I noticed that it had USCG markings and four crew members dressed in dark blue heavy jump suits with life vests. As they passed by, their boat slowed down and came up along our port side, about 10 yards distance. I happened to be steering at the time, and the auto pilot was keeping us on course. I opened the salon door to let them know we were slowing down, and they asked if we had been boarded by the Coast Guard within the past year. When I told them no, they said they’d like to come aboard for an inspection (it’s the type of request you can’t refuse). We agreed that they’d come around to the starboard side so that I could steer and watch out for them. As they got close they asked if we had any weapons onboard, and I told them that we did not, and how many people were on board. The operator of the USCG boat literally drove right up against Sanderling’s hull, I opened the gate in the railing, and three of the crew jumped aboard while the fourth kept their boat on a course parallel to and slightly behind Sanderling. One of the crew members on Sanderling introduced himself as the team leader, and started through his checklist. First the boat documentation (USCG issued title), then the engine room to make sure their were no leaks, then fire extinguishers, throw able flotation device, life preservers, and the heads to make sure the Y-valves were locked in the inboard position (to the holding tank). They were extremely courteous and professional. I signed an acknowledgment of the inspection with the notation that we had passed, and it was all over with in about 10 minutes at the most. The operator of the USCG boat came up along the starboard side again, the three crew departed by stepping quickly from Sanderling’s deck to their boat, and we were on our way again. All the time the inspection was going on we continued to motor through the water, although at a slightly reduced speed. Judy steered while I showed the inspection team the things they wanted to see, and Charlie stood by to help Judy if she needed anything. Once the Coasties left, we were on our way again at full cruising speed of 8.5 MPH!

Early in the afternoon we entered the Alligator River/Pungo River Canal. This is a long land cut that stretches for about 20 miles between the Alligator River on the north, and the Pungo River on the south. We cruised through swamps and forests on both sides, with an occasional house and bridge. The cut is very straight for almost its entire length, and there were always a number of boats in sight, most heading south.

Judy here, my turn to write for a while! 🙂 (Until Bob identifies himself as the narrator!) As we neared the end of the above mentioned canal, we had a decision to make–where to spend the night! It had begun raining earlier in the day, and all weather reports we received indicated there was more to come! There were two marinas to chose from and, fortunately for us, we chose the best one! Because of the rain and clouds it was nearly dark when we tied up to the docks at Dowry Creek Marina at 1700. What a welcomed site–the dockmaster and marina manager both met us at the dock in their bright yellow slickers to help tie up. We were soaked from the rain by the time we got the lines to dock, but spirits were high! The “greeting crew” from the marina was warm and friendly, and extremely helpful. We had dinner on Sanderling that evening, and Charlie, the Turkish Chef, delighted our taste buds with a wonderful Turkish dish!

Weather predictions from the Marina folks, as well as NOAA radio and TV, indicated continued rain the following day accompanied by strong winds. As we had the large Pungo River awaiting us, we made the decision to remain at Dowry Creek Marina another day/night.

Day: 83.0 sm 10H35M

Trip: 264.9 sm 34H30M

November 6th ICW – Dowry Creek, NC.

As predicted it was quite windy and rained the entire day. We spent the day catching up on e-mail, reading, boat maintenance, etc. In the late afternoon we rode into the small town of Belhaven, about 3 miles away, in the courtesy van provided by the marina. The town is quite small, and there were only a few businesses, but I managed to find some gloves in a store that claimed: ACE Hardware/Gourmet Wine and Cheese/Radio Shack! Yes, they indeed had some of everything they claimed! 🙂 We walked the few blocks from the little town to the OTHER Marina in the area, the River Forest Marina. This marina in directly off the Pungo River, which is a rather large body of water, and is very susceptible to rough water with North winds. Also, we were told by our marina-mates at Dowry Creek that the personnel of the River Forest Marina were not as friendly and helpful as the dockmaster/marina management at Dowry Creek. So, why were we here?? We had been told the restaurant at River Forest Marina had a world-class dinner buffet! Well, we had dinner with a beautiful view of the Pungo River, but we wouldn’t classify the food as “world class”, but the “cook” tried, I suppose! 🙂 After dinner we called OUR marina, the owner/manager personally drove over to Belhaven and gave us a lift back to the Marina and Sanderling! Absolutely first-class service from this Marina, and we will go back if in the area again!

November 7th ICW – Dowry Creek, NC, to Beaufort, NC

A beautiful day for cruising! Skies are clear, 50 degrees, barometer reading 29.9, and winds are less than 10 kts. We were underway at 0625, and observed a beautiful sunrise at 0630. As we entered Pungo River with marker R “4″ to port, we were thankful we had stayed in the marina the previous day. The wind was blowing from the North, directly down the river, and gave us a taste of what it could be like in 20-30 kt winds! This river is quite wide, and feels like being on a sound or bay, it is so wide. After 10 miles of the Pungo, the water didn’t have a chance to become smooth, as we entered the Pamlico River, which opens into the Pamlico sound. Crossing this wide body of water was uneventful, though a couple of “crazy” young men on a sailboat, hailing port Sausalito, CA, decided to pass us on our starboard side, close enough to shake hands–and they had the sails up!! We made a sharp turn port, and they just smiled! Ah, youth!! 🙂

This was a day for crossing large bodies of water. After crossing the Pamlico River, we entered the Goose River. Cruising was quite nice by this time. When we entered the Bay River, another large body of water, at 1018, the waves were less than 1 foot, winds were less than 10, and it had warmed up to the day’s high of 60 degrees! Needless to say, so far this trip has been steered from inside Sanderling’s warm salon! The Neuse River was our last large body of water for the day, as we entered Adams’s Creek at 1248. From here the ICW took us to our planned stop for the evening–historic Beaufort, North Carolina. We tied up to the docks at Beaufort Docks Marina at 1515, having cruised 71.7 statue miles. The Beaufort Docks Marina is in the downtown area of this neat little town, so we quickly secured Sanderling, and went for a walking tour. We found a grocery mart and purchased a few items, and walked along the boardwalk. For dinner this evening, we found a restaurant, “Stillwater Café and Market”, that overlooked the water and served salad! We were ready for fresh vegetables and roughage! 🙂 Though the meal was rather expensive, it was delicious, and the service was excellent! The weather was beautiful, though cool, and the temperatures this night and the next morning were in the upper 30’s!

Charlie adds: Beaufort also has a fascinating marine museum detailing the history of man and sea along the North Carolina coast. Of particular interest was the rather extensive display on how sea rescue evolved over time. From the map that show all the ship wrecks along that coast it looks like they had a great deal of practice. Not exactly the kind of map you wanted to see just before setting out again.

Day:71.7 sm 8H45M

Trip: 336.6 sm 43H15M

November 8th ICW – Beaufort, NC, to Wrightsville, NC

Bob back again, writing from the comfort of our house in Melbourne, and trying to remember some of the details of the past three weeks.

Although the waters, country side, weather, and boating conditions changed from day to day, and sometimes hour to hour, the memory has a difficult time remembering events and incidents which seemed memorable at the time, but now fade together. Next time we’re going to keep a separate notebook where we can jot down things as they occur.

The weather was clear, the temperature was 37 degrees, and winds calm when we left Beaufort. We had to make a south-easterly jog toward the ocean, and then cut back to the north-west in a different channel as we worked our way back onto the ICW. There were a number of other boats leaving about the same time (0640) and it helped to have someone to lead the way through the maze of buoys. After returning to the ICW at Morehead City which is just west of Beaufort, the ICW runs due west for a number of miles. It wasn’t long before we saw dolphins again, and from this point on would see them frequently swimming in the water ahead of the boat, breaking the surface in the typical dolphin fashion. We never did see any playing in the bow wave, or jumping into the air like you can see at water exhibits, but they were always fun to watch.

We had to wait for two bridge openings today, and those waits slowed us down a bit. We pulled into the Wrightsville Marina at 1730 after waiting a short while for a very large motor vessel to tie up at the same dock. We fueled at our assigned spot, took showers, and then went out to dinner at a restaurant located in the marina. Charlie and I had their combination baby back ribs and BBQ chicken, and had enough that Judy and I had the leftovers for dinner the following night.

The refrigerator still wasn’t working, so we had to rely on our cooler and a good supply of ice purchased along the way to keep our perishables cool.

Charlie had to be back in Rockville, Maryland, for business meetings on Monday, and it was obvious that we weren’t going to make Charleston, SC, in time for him to catch a plane. Wrightsville Beach was only a short distance from the Wilmington, SC, airport, so he arranged to pick up a rental car at the airport on Saturday morning, and a taxi to get him from the marina to the airport. (We later heard from Charlie; he was home by early afternoon.) What had taken us seven days on the water took him less than seven hours to drive by car!

Fuel: 91.1 gallons diesel

Day: 82.5 sm 10H50M

Trip:419.7 nm 54H05M

November 9th ICW – Wrightsville, NC, to North Myrtle Beach, NC

Charlie departed about 0630 for the airport by taxi.

Judy and I delayed our departure from our normal sunrise to 0820 so I could try to find the source of a fuel leak that had plagued us from the beginning of the trip. The fuel was accumulating in the bilge and causing a diesel smell throughout the boat once the engine room got hot from the running engines. Evening, after a day of cruising when the engine room temperature was around 110 degrees was definitely not the time to work on the problem, but by morning the engine room had cooled down to around 80 degrees. I wasn’t able to determine where the leak was originating, but did tighten up several nuts on the fuel line, hoping that would solve the problem.

Today we faced the Cape Fear River, a river made famous by the two movies “Cape Fear,” the latest featuring Robert DeNiro as the bad guy. We entered the river about half way between the ocean and Wilmington, and then followed the river almost to the ocean where the ICW cuts off to the south-east into another river. We saw several large container ships, one heading out to sea and another heading to Wilmington. W were also passed by a number of pleasure boats heading south, as well as a real fishing trawler heading out to sea. No storms, no bad weather, no escaped convicts, no Robert DeNiro!

Some time after we had passed from the Cape Fear River into the unnamed ICW channel at Southport, we heard a sail boat call the Coast Guard to report that they had run into a rather large daymark (which we had passed earlier) and that the daymark had been knocked over. Judy and I couldn’t believe that anyone had hit it in a sail boat, and that a sail boat had enough force to destroy it. Anyway, it was the topic of several conversations on the radio as one boat after another reported it damaged and wondered what had happened.

The ICW continues to run in a westerly direction through this area, and it was nice not to have to stare into the reflected sunlight while trying to pick out the daymarks and approaching boats. At one point we had to stop for the opening of the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge, a historic bridge that actually floats on pontoons. It only opens on the hour, and takes its time doing that. The center section is hinged on one end, and when the bridge is opened for river traffic cables pull the free end to a set of pilings. Our waterway guide books indicated that the bridge is scheduled to be replaced, but that there is a lot of opposition to removing the historic bridge.

The delay at the Sunset Beach bridge resulted in fewer miles than we had hoped for. That, coupled with the lack of marinas in the area and few good anchorages, we stopped at the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club for the night a little after 5:00PM. The Yacht Club is in a nicely protected basin just off the ICW, with good floating docks (necessary when there’s a big tidal range) and a ship’s store. We bought a chart of Charleston, SC, harbor, and feasted onboard on the leftover ribs and chicken from the night before.

Day: 62.8 sm 9H00M

Trip:482.5 sm 63H05M

November 10th ICW – Myrtle Beach, NC to South Santee River, NC

Judy’s entry in the ship’s log says: “0620 – Lines off, underway. Beautiful morning. We’re the first boat to leave the marina.”

The water inside the basin was like glass, and the air temperature was near 65 degrees. Shortly after turning into the ICW we passed through a bridge and then into a stretch called “The Rockpile” because of the rocks lining the rather narrow channel. The width is such, along with the rocky bottom and sides, that passing another boat going the same way is not recommended, and we were behind a tug, the Sharon B, pushing a barge making about 1.5 MPH less than we cruise (8.5 MPH). We stayed behind him for about an hour and a half, and then were able to find a wide spot in which to pass him. Again, we lost some time and mileage toward our goal.

We cruised through Winyah Bay in South Carolina, at ICW mile 401, and then entered the Estherville Minim Creek Canal (no locks) at mile 410. Again, because of the total lack of marinas and few good anchorages along this part of the ICW we stopped early in order to scout out an anchorage. We found a beautiful spot in the east side of the South Santee River, just off the ICW at mile 420, in six feet of water. When we pulled in to the east side of the river, there were already several boats anchored on the western side and we were the first on the east side. Shortly after we had our anchor set, a sailboat pulled in and anchored several hundred yards in front of us closer to the ICW. Other than that we were totally alone in this quiet, beautiful, spot, surrounded by marsh grass in every direction.

Since we were so far away from any urban area, the sky that evening was filled with visible stars, and I saw a very long and bright meteor fall to earth about 8:00 when I was outside looking at the sky.

Day: 74.0 sm 10H20M

Trip:556.5 sm 73H25M

November 11th ICW – South Santee River, NC, to Bohicket, SC

We were underway by 6:30AM and the temperature of 70 degrees promised the first day that we might be able to steer from the topside steering station if it warmed up a little more.

At about 8:00AM Judy spotted what she thought was something floating in the water off to the port side, and then noticed that it was moving toward the shore. Definitely not a dolphin. Suddenly, a deer started leaping out of the water as his feet touched bottom, and then ran up the shore and into the grass and shrub.

By mid-morning the temperature had warmed up enough and the sun was out that we decided we could move topside. Judy went up and removed the cover and put down the seat cushions. About the time she came back inside the sun had disappeared and we agreed that it wasn’t warm enough. There was a bit of a breeze blowing, so it made it cooler.

We also heard radio conversations from the vessel Grand Mariner. This was the name of a vessel which had tied up in back of Sanderling in Scotia, New York, last summer, and we were curious as to whether this one was the same. It didn’t take long before we could see it over the low grassy marshes, and sure enough, it was the same vessel. It’s built low, with a collapsing pilot house and antennas that lower down in order to get under the low bridges in the New York State Canal System waters, and was built by Blount Marine just north of Bristol, RI. When it was about one mile behind us we entered a “no wake” area just before coming into the Charleston Harbor, so he couldn’t go much faster than we were. It stayed behind us through a bridge which had to open for it (they evidently didn’t want to go to the trouble of reducing their height), and shortly we entered a sharp curve to the right which then entered into Charleston Harbor. A northbound tug radioed the Grand Mariner to tell the captain that there were numerous small fishing boats in the channel in the bend, but that he could weave his way through them. Well, this Grand Mariner is WIDE if nothing else, and we knew it would be interesting to see what the big guy does with the little guys. We were still in the lead, and as we proceeded through the curve it was obvious that Grand Mariner would have a problem. We told the small boats which we passed that there was a big boat coming and they’d best get out of the channel (literally, they were right on a line between two buoys that the BIG guy would be steering around), and we radioed the captain of the Grand Mariner that there were small boats in the channel, still. Enough of the small boats moved that the Grand Mariner didn’t have to stop, but he did sound his whistle as a warning when he entered the curve. Grand Mariner passed us in Charleston Harbor.

From the very beginning of planning this trip, we anticipated that we would take a day off in Charleston, SC, since it was about half way. Judy had never been there, and we could stay in a marina right in the heart of Charleston and walk through the historic areas. Because of the delay for the storm in North Carolina, and other delays caused by waiting for bridge openings, we were going to be pushing it to reach Melbourne, Florida, by the following Sunday. While crossing the bay heading toward both the marinas and the ICW, we decided that we had best keep moving if we wanted to get to Florida on time. Any delay might mean that we would have to leave Sanderling short of our goal, and come back another weekend to get her. We preferred to get to Melbourne on schedule rather than to stop for sightseeing in Charleston on this trip. Next time we’ll stop for certain.

We left Charleston behind and entered a river which was part of the ICW. Marinas would really be few and far between from now until we reached Florida, and we would need fuel either today or early Tuesday. We had to wait for another bridge opening, and we heard a weather forecast for high winds and rain during the night. We pushed on hoping to find an unlisted marina, but soon realized that there were none to be found. Unfortunately, we passed the last marina for a long stretch shortly after entering the river; otherwise we could have anchored out and continued the next day looking for fuel.

There was one marina on the Bohicket Creek about seven miles off the ICW. The only problem was that we had to travel the seven miles in each direction, we didn’t have a chart which included the Bohicket Creek, and the North Edisto River which leads to Bohicket Creek, flows directly into the ocean and has tidal currents of up to four knots (4.8 MPH). Judy checked with the marina and they had a slip available for us, and we were able to determine that the tide would not be running at full force against us. The only thing left was the little matter of lack of a chart to navigate the last several miles. Fortunately, Judy was able to determine the location of the last few buoys using a very small picture of a chart which was a part of an advertisement for the marina, and with her help looking at the picture chart with a small magnifying glass, we were able to stay in the channel while running up Bohicket Creek, making about 4 MPH against an outgoing tide. We arrived right at 5:00PM; we had called them on the radio about 4:45 to see if they could refuel us that evening, but were unable to reach anyone even though it was before their normal quitting time. The dock master had told us where we could tie up, and we found our spot without any problem. Because of the strong tidal current we set up several lines to keep Sanderling aligned with the dock. Several people offered advice about where to eat in nearby restaurants, we bought some supplies at the ship’s store, and showered.

This marina is popular with power and sailboaters who want access to the ocean, since the Atlantic is only about three miles away.

This night we ate in a local restaurant which featured “low country” cooking – it was very good – gourmet country style!

Day: 84.0 sm 10H35M

Trip:640.5 sm 84H00M

November 12th ICW – Bohicket, SC to Hilton Head, SC (Skull Creek Marina)

We knew that the marina fuel dock wouldn’t open until 0800, so we didn’t plan to get up at the crack of dawn, but the rain and thunder woke us up early anyway. The weather forecast for the rest of the day for the local area was continued rain, wind and thunder storms. We needed fuel before we could go anywhere, but we were determined we were going to get underway and back into the ICW where the wind wouldn’t be much of a factor. Rain is a different story, and although the radar is useful for picking out buoys, boats, and the shoreline, it is much easier to navigate when we can actually see where we’re going rather than trying to rely on the radar. I went to the dockmaster’s office to pay for our night’s stay, and talked with the assembled crew about the weather; they confirmed that the forecast was for dismal weather. It was still raining when I walked back to the boat after telling them that we would pull up to the fuel dock when the rain stopped; they said there was no problem as far as they were concerned with fueling even when it was lightning. “We’ll just give you the hose and run.”

Judy and I agreed that we needed to get underway as soon as we could do so safely, and that we should take on fuel and be ready to go. About 0845 the storm moved on and the rain let up a little. We moved Sanderling to the fuel dock, and about that time the rain stopped. We filled the fuel tanks, and were on our way. The tidal current worked against us in the Bohicket Creek, but gave us an extra push in the North Edisto River as we headed “upstream” away from the ocean. By 1030 we were back in the ICW where we had departed our route the day before.

Today we again navigated through a lot of marsh with trees and low hills in the background. Although most of the rivers were over 10 feet deep, some of the channels were rather narrow with shallow water on each side. In some of these, navigation is greatly aided by “range” markers. These are two permanent markers placed in line with the channel. The front marker is low, and the back marker is high. By lining them up, the low one right under the higher one, you know you are right in the channel. We will be encountering these ranges more frequently as we move from South Carolina through Georgia.

In the middle part of the afternoon we passed Beaufort, South Carolina, and then down the Beaufort River and into Port Royal Sound, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. As we were motoring down the river we were able to determine that we’d be at the Skull Creek Marina just after sun down. With any luck we’d have another 15-20 minutes of twilight before it got dark. Judy called the marina, and arranged for a transient berth and paid for our night’s stay in advance over the phone. Fortunately, we again had a favorable tidal current which pushed us at a good rate down the river, we crossed Port Royal Sound in the fading rays of daylight, and got to the marina a few miles up Skull Creek (still on the ICW) before it got dark.

As we maneuvered Sanderling against the T-head (the dock that crosses the end of the dock that extends from shore), a friendly cat with a collar came right up to the boat and stood at the edge of the dock. As Judy was putting the first line on a cleat, the cat put his front paws on the cap rail and looked down onto Sanderling’s side deck. The boat wasn’t secure yet, and the cat must have realized that and got all four feet back on the dock. Shortly after I went aft to secure the second line, the cat hopped aboard, climbed the steps and ladder to the top deck, and started looking around, and even went under the cover which was over the forward portion of the top deck. Judy closed the salon doors so our visitor wouldn’t wander inside and become a stowaway, and we continued to secure the boat to the dock. Suddenly, someone on another boat called “here kitty,” the cat came down from the top deck, jumped off the boat, and disappeared down the dock. We never did see it again.

We showered in the marina heads, and then had a wonderful dinner onboard finishing the leftovers from last night’s dinner.

Day: 65.8 sm 8H00M

Trip:706.3 sm 92H00M

November 13th ICW – Hilton Head, SC to Wahoo River, GA

We departed shortly after sunrise (it’s getting later as the days advance and we get further south) with overcast skies, wind 15-20 knots, and temperature about 50 degrees. Another day to stay inside!

About two hours later we crossed into Georgia at ICW mile 575 and what would become mile after mile of marshes and grass. We crossed the Savannah River, about nine miles downstream from Savannah, and just a few miles from the ocean. Many cruisers choose not to take their boats to Savannah because of the high tides (up to eight feet) and poor docking facilities; we didn’t go there because it was out of the way, and because of the dock and tide issues. Not long after crossing the Savannah River we passed in front of the Palmer-Johnson Yacht Company, makers of beautiful luxury yachts, and there were a number of big boats in their yard, several of them brand new and at least 100 feet in length.

After Palmer-Johnson we entered a length of the ICW which twists and turns around various islands, with channels that are sometimes very narrow, and at other times wide and deep. Every where we looked there was grass growing in the marshes, so it looked a little like we were sailing through a sea of wheat. At one point in the afternoon we passed a sailboat that was probably 30 feet long that had gone hard aground and had a tow boat standing by to try to get it off when the tide came in. We heard them talking to the Coast Guard on the VHF radio and learned that they had been aground since about 2:00 AM! That means they had already gone through one complete tide cycle when we saw them, and they were still aground.

We were again in an area with few marinas, but this time anchorages were plentiful in little side creeks and rivers. By mid-afternoon we had crossed St. Catherine’s Sound, and were coming up on Sapelo Sound, which was too far across to complete transiting before sunset, so we anchored in the Wahoo River, just off of the South Newport River, a few miles before Sapelo Sound. There were already four boats anchored in the bend of the river, and after we anchored we were joined by one other sailboat. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, had dinner, and a quiet evening of reading–no TV when we’re anchored out!

Day: 76.1 sm 9H35M

Trip:782.4 sm 101H35M

November 14th ICW – Wahoo River, GA to Fernandina Beach, FL

Today we celebrated Judy’s birthday. I was able to surprise her with a couple of gifts I had brought with me from Florida.

We got underway just after sunrise, about 0700, and were the third boat out of the anchorage. We headed downstream, then into the ICW, and across Sapelo Sound. Then we crossed Doboy Sound, Altamaha Sound, St. Simons Sound, St. Andrew Sound, one after the other (all between rather large islands). It was a day full of ranges – more than we’d encountered in any one day before. The channels were narrow, with shallow water on either side, and the range markers helped guide us through. Most of the ranges we encountered were “front” ranges – that is, you steered toward them; there were also some “back” ranges – those you steered away from. In either case, you kept the range markers lined up in order to keep the boat in the channel.

As we left St. Simons Sound and entered Jekyll Creek, a large cruise ship, American Eagle, was behind us. It had come out of Brunswick, Georgia, on the Brunswick River. Since the channel was very narrow and we didn’t want to impede this commercial vessel, we talked with the captain on the VHF radio and told him that we would move over to let him pass. He said he’d just stay behind us. As it turned out, he stopped at the Jekyll Island Marina. We stopped at the same marina to get ice, and Judy learned that American Eagle stopped there for the afternoon to let passengers explore Jekyll Island; it cruised between Charleston, SC, and Florida. After getting two blocks of ice for the cooler (the refrigerator had stopped working just before we departed Solomons), we were on our way again.

Just before getting to the Cumberland Island Sound a rather large boat (45-50 feet) named Lady Carol suddenly came up behind us going 20-25 knots, and without warning passed very close to us causing us to momentarily lose control of Sanderling. This happens when any boat with a large wake passes close by a smaller boat without slowing down. This happens from time to time, and it is the passing boat’s responsibility to arrange a safe passage, but obviously some people are in too much of a hurry to contact the boat they want to pass in order to arrange a safe passing, or to slow down. We let them know of our displeasure in no uncertain terms. At the very least it is uncomfortable; at the worst it is just plain dangerous and small boats have been capsized as a result of this potentially dangerous conduct. The perp didn’t respond to our admonition. A short time later, we saw the same boat pass another vessel, Mary Catherine, which was about 55 feet in length, and even that boat, bigger by 20 feet than Sanderling, had to take action to avoid being rolled from side to side. The captain of Mary Catherine also tried to contact the offender, with no success. Not too long after that, with both boats still in site and entering Cumberland Island Sound where the buoys changed from red on the right to green on the right (something you always had to check for on the chart), we heard Mary Catherine call out on the radio “Lady Carol, I’ll give you more consideration than you gave me. If you continue on your present course you’re going to run hard aground. The green buoy should be left on your starboard side.” We saw the perp make a quick swerve to port, and he did not go aground. I called the Mary Catherine and told the captain that the perp would have gotten his just desserts if he had gone aground. The captain replied that it might have been fun to watch!

We crossed the Georgia-Florida line about 1715, just after transiting the Cumberland Island Sound and the Cumberland Sound. As we left the last sound and entered the Amelia River, we contacted the Fernandina Harbor Marina and they had room for us. (This was the only marina we had contact with that didn’t take reservations.) We needed fuel, so first pulled into the fuel dock, right behind Mary Catherine. It was getting dark, and by the time we finished refueling it was dark and there was another, larger, boat waiting to fuel. The dockmaster showed us where he wanted us to dock for the night, and we moved the boat to the overnight location just ahead of and on the other side of the fuel pier. Just as we were fastening our lines to the dock, we heard the sound of a line being stretched to its limit, something being hit, and people yelling at each other. The large boat that had been waiting to fuel was having a difficult time getting alongside the fuel pier!

We were at ICW mile 717. Only about 200 miles to go, and three days to do it.

We showered, and then walked into town for dinner. We found a very good, friendly, local seafood restaurant just off a newly renovated area of the town close to the marina.

Fuel: 89.6 gallons

Day: 86.4 sm 10H35M

Trip:868.8 sm 112H10M

November 15th ICW – Fernandina Beach, FL to St. Augustine, FL

We were underway at 0700 with the temperature at 60 degrees. We are in Florida and it is finally getting warmer.

From this point on we would be traveling in a series of rivers, basically parallel and close to the Atlantic Ocean. In many places the only thing separating us from the ocean was the barrier beach. We’d cross just a few inlets, and the rivers are shallow with narrow, deeper, channels. The land near the rivers are still marsh with expanses of grass, but that would change to higher sandy banks from time to time.

As the morning progressed we passed through the St. Johns River, the location of Mayport Naval Station. As we entered the river and headed to the ICW on the other side, we passed several Navy cruisers being worked on in a boat yard, and there were S-3 Viking aircraft practicing touch and goes at the airfield.

The St. Johns River leads to Jacksonville, Florida, about 25 miles inland, and is a very busy waterway. We suddenly seemed to be joined by more pleasure boats, both sail and power, heading south.

Cruising was just a matter of keeping track of Sanderling’s location in mostly very narrow channels. Getting out of the channel was something to be avoided, because the depth of the water would suddenly shoal to 1-2 feet. There were other areas where the 6-8 foot depths would carry from shore to shore. Such was the case in a long, 6.5 mile stretch, where the state-mandated “no wake zone” was six miles an hour. For Sanderling, this meant that we could only cruise at about 4.5 miles an hour, obviously slowing us down considerably from our normal cruising speed of 8.5 miles an hour. The eastern shore of this 50 yard wide cut was lined with very large, expensive, homes, while the western shore was low land populated with mangrove and other trees, brush, and wild life. Many of the homes had their own boat docks, with their boats hoisted up on boat lifts to keep them out of the water. There were a few of the old, original, cabins interspersed with the big, new homes, but they were very scarce. My guess is that the wealthy home owners had paid off the politicians to create the no wake zone; there wasn’t any reason for it otherwise.

We encountered many “no wake zones” in the course of the trip. Some were the result of city, county, or state regulation and could be enforced with a speeding fine. There are stories of law enforcement officials checking boat speeds with radar or laser. These no wake zones were normally found around marinas, boat yards, or docks where boats were tied up, and had a valid reason: preventing wakes that would rock the boats and possibly cause damage to the boats or the docks. Other zones were obviously posted with hand-made signs, and were not legally enforceable. It was common to encounter these self-help zones when houses were close to the water. We generally ignored these latter zones, unless there were boats tied to docks, and then we slowed down a little as a courtesy to reduce our wake.

The matter of what constitutes a wake generates a of a lot of discussion. A court has actually ruled that the term “no wake” is so ambiguous as to be unenforceable in a regulation establishing a no wake zone, since even a pebble dropped in the water creates a “wake.” No matter how slowly a boat moves, no matter what the size of the boat, there is some sort of wake. We just use a rule of reason, and slow down enough that our wake is very small when it reaches the shore. The faster any boat moves, the more the height of the wake increases. Certain types of boats create a higher wake for a given speed. Sanderling is of the type that creates very little wake even at the hull speed of 7.5 knots (8.5 MPH).

As the day wore on and we projected our position at the time of sunset, and then checked for the location of marinas and anchorages, it again became apparent that we would end up some distance south of St. Augustine, Florida, in an area where there were no marinas or anchorages for some distance. So, again, we cut our day short at stopped at St. Augustine Municipal Marina at ICW mile 778 at 1530. The wind had come up and the tidal current was running quite fast at that time, and boats were having some difficulty getting into their slips. We had visited this marina from land last summer when we were in St. Augustine for a weekend, and it is located right in the historic downtown area. We had a nice dinner at an outdoor bistro right across the street from the marina, and enjoyed music by a folk singer who was very good.

One of the boats at the marina with us tonight was Washintonian, a boat that we had seen frequently ever since the lock we passed through south of Norfolk, Virginia.

Day: 60.7 sm 8H30M

Trip:929.5 sm 120H40M

November 16th ICW – St. Augustine, FL to Indian River (Titusville Lagoon), FL

We were underway at 0638 when it was just light enough to see the water with an overcast sky. Washintonian was about 10 minutes ahead of us (they had a head start being on the T-head of the dock). A short distance south of St. Augustine the ICW was very close to the ocean, and running almost parallel to route A1A and so close that we could see cars on the highway frequently between houses.

We were again cruising through narrow channels, some winding through the marshes, others long, straightaways well marked about every ½ mile or so with a pair of red and green daymarks along the edge of the channel. The only trick at all on the winding parts was to try to judge how the channel projected beyond the daymarks at a bend. There really wasn’t any trick to the long, narrow, straight portions, other than keeping the boat on the correct heading, and checking behind every once in awhile to make sure that the current or wind wasn’t blowing the boat to one side of the channel or the other, and perhaps out of the channel.

The ICW in the section on either side of Daytona was extraordinarily straight – again marked with daymarks in pairs at even intervals. As we approached the northernmost bridge across the ICW in Daytona we heard a boat talking with two other boats, all of whom had passed us several miles earlier. One of the boats was aground, and one of the other two took a line and tried to pull the grounded boat off, but was unsuccessful. Finally the grounded boat called TowBoat/US (a commercial towing company – it’s very expensive) for assistance. As we entered a long straight stretch leading to the bridge we could see a boat out of the channel by 100 yards or so. As we passed, we asked if we could help, but we knew the answer before asking. This was a boat about 40 feet in length, and one that will travel 25-30 miles an hour. It is hard to imagine how a boat under proper control could have strayed so far from the channel. The charts are clearly marked, and indicate that the water on either side is only a few feet deep. The weather was clear, with good visibility. My guess is that the operator was traveling fast and in his haste to pass a slower boat tried to go outside the channel, only to find himself hard aground.

After leaving Daytona, we started to encounter a light drizzle, and then it started raining quite hard. At one point on a long, narrow, straight, stretch, about 1630, the visibility was less than ½ miles. At this point the radar stopped operating – probably had water in the electrical circuit (it had never done that before, and I still haven’t figured out what is wrong with it).

We decided we’d keep pushing on until we got to a shallow area where we could anchor just through a narrow land cut named the Haulover Canal between the Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River. Although we could have pulled out of the channel and anchored in any area that was deep enough, we wanted to keep going as long as we could today in order to shorten the time underway tomorrow, our last day.

When we were several miles from the Haulover Canal we heard another boat calling TowBoat/US asking for assistance. This boat was hard aground on the other side of the canal, in the Indian River. He had some difficulty talking with TowBoat/US, because every time TowBoat/US tried to give him a telephone number to call with his cell phone, the signal was interrupted while the telephone number was being spoken. This problem continued for several transmissions, when finally TowBoat/US said that the interference was being caused by a competitor towing company and that it happened frequently. The next transmission with the telephone number came through clearly.

As we approached the canal we called the grounded boat and asked where he was, and what side of the channel he was on. We wanted to avoid any problem if he were partially in the channel, inasmuch as it was getting dark. He said he was well out of the channel to the north (starboard) side. We asked if he wanted us to slow down so as not to cause as much of a wake (to avoid driving the boat further aground) and he said he’d like us to give him as much wake as we could so he could try to turn his bow out toward the channel using the anchor he’d thrown overboard. We told him that we’d do what we could at 8.5 MPH.

The rain had started to let up, and visibility improved a little as we entered the short canal, but the wind picked up, blowing from the west. When we exited the canal we saw the grounded boat, again quite a ways out of the channel. We think he mistook a manatee zone sign for a daymark, and was lead out of the channel. Again, it was about a 40 foot, fast, boat. The speed at which he was traveling undoubtedly contributed to his mistaking the sign for a daymark and to how far he was aground. I called him on the radio and told him that we were giving him all the wake we could muster, but it wasn’t much given the wind and our slower speed to make sure we didn’t misread the channel markers.

The shape of the red daymarks could have had a role in this last boat’s grounding. Red daymarks are always square; green daymarks are always triangular. Both sit on top of a post, are numbered, face up and down the channel, and mark the port and starboard side of fair water, much like buoys in deeper water mark the edges of the deep water. In this area there were rectangular signs placed parallel with the channel about 100 yards off the channel warning boats that they were in a manatee zone and indicating certain restrictions on speed. At the “wrong” angle from a distance in the dark the warning signs might easily be mistaken for a red daymark. Of course, you would normally want to identify the sign to see if it is a daymark or not; this can be done quite easily at night by shining a light on the object. If it appears bright luminescent read it is a red daymark. If not, . . . !

We continued about a mile past the grounded boat, and then turned off the channel into what the chart indicated would be four feet of water. The chart was fairly accurate – there might have been five feet – the bottom was as flat as a pancake. Fortunately, the rain stopped before we had to go outside to get the anchor set. With only five feet of depth we let out about 25 feet of anchor rhode, backed down on the anchor, and we were holding fast in a sand and mud bottom.

When you turn off the engines after a day of cruising, the quiet is almost unexpected. You think you should hear something, but there’s nothing but the wind or waves lapping on the side of the hull. We heard the distant sound of machinery and engines running. There it was, about 400 yards away, a working dredge, with all of its lights on. We hadn’t even noticed it when we were anchoring, or perhaps its lights blended in with the lights on the beach.

As we had a chance to relax and get our bearings (we were on very large expanse of water with just a narrow channel through it), we realized that we could see the lights of the Kennedy Space Center off to the east, and there appeared to be a tower with the shuttle all lighted. We didn’t realize at the time that we really were looking at the shuttle; we thought it had been launched earlier in the week.

This was the longest day of the trip for time underway and distance covered. We were at ICW mile 874, with about 45 miles to go to our new marina.

Day: 94.9 sm 11H20M

Trip:1024.4 sm 132H00M

November 17th ICW – Indian River to Patrick AFB, FL

We got underway for the last day of the trip at 0720. The sky was overcast, the temperature about 65 degrees (we were back in Florida), hazy and light rain.

We maneuvered back to the channel, staying in 4-5 feet of water until the depth increased to 7-8 feet as we got to the channel. We skirted the barge which was working in an area where the channel curves around to the south. Shortly after getting back into the channel, we encountered two bridges which were too low for us to pass under without opening, and several more dredges working near one of the bridges. Even though it was Sunday everyone was at work, with small tugs moving various pieces of equipment and pipes.

We went past the Canaveral Barge Canal and under the Barge Canal Bridge. The canal leads from the Indian River to Port Canaveral and was built for barges carrying rockets to Kennedy Space Center.

The skies eventually cleared up and the sun sparked on the water. A westerly wind came up, and was blowing at about 15 knots as we rounded Dragon Point on Merritt Island to head back north on the Banana River to get to the marina at Patrick AFB. The Banana River runs about 25 miles from Port Kennedy to Melbourne, and forms the east side of Merritt Island, with the Indian River Lagoon on the west side. We had to pick our way through a number of boats anchored in the basin at the end of the Banana River, wait for a little bridge from Merritt Island to the mainland to open, and then thread our way through a VERY narrow and poorly marked channel northward, under the Pineda Causeway Bridge, and into the marina.

We stopped just before turning into the channel which leads to the marina and opened up the topside steering area to give us a better view as we entered the marina. Judy got lines ready, and we turned to the east to head to Sanderling’s new home.

We found our new slip, and before entering the fairway discussed how we’d tie up. Judy placed lines where we could get to them easily, and we entered the fairway, and turned stern to in order to back into the slip. We suddenly realized how windy it had gotten since we left the Indian River Lagoon. We’d been relatively sheltered by Merritt Island as we headed north, and then we were traveling downwind as we entered the marina. The wind was directly on our stern, so it didn’t have much of an effect on the boat, except to make it easier to proceed slowly and stop when necessary. Judy got the first line over the piling at the port bow, and then another line aft on the port side. The time was 1310.

After that we were able to take our time to figure out how the lines should be placed, shut down the engines for the last time on the trip, gathered up our things to take home, and buttoned up Sanderling. By this time the wind had increased again, and was blowing at about 20 knots. We were glad we had gotten into the slip when we did.

We ordered our favorite pizza for dinner that evening.

Day: 46.6 sm 5H50M

Trip:1071.0 sm 137H50M

Over the next couple of weeks we got Sanderling cleaned up, and I was able to find, and repair, the source of the fuel leak which had plagued us the entire trip. The weather has turned cooler, and windy, so we haven’t taken Sanderling out to explore our new cruising grounds, but that is in the offing the first nice weekend that comes along.