Osprey

Some boats on our dock are covered in bird poop.  Thanks to Mr. (or Ms.) Osprey.  Fortunately we have a shorter mast.

Osprey on neighboring boat at Camachee Cove Marina

Happy New Year

Bob & Ilona, the crew of sv-Ihana, wish everyone warm weather, fair winds and following seas for 2013. Have a wonderful holiday.

Voyage Plan

The next 176 STatute Miles; six days (moving)

currently at - Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor, St. Augustine, FL [STM 776]

21 miles to - Marineland Marina,  [STM 797]

34 miles to - Halifax Marina, Daytona Beach, FL [STM 831]

15 miles to - New Smyrna, FL [STM 846]

32 miles to - Titusville, FL [STM 878]

40 miles to - Melbourne, FL [STM 918]

34 miles to - Vero Beach, FL [STM 952]

This falls into the realm of "bound for …", which mariners know is not necessarily the same as "going to …".  [Your mileage may vary.]

These will be shorter travel days because: 1) the days are shorter now that we are near the winter solstice, 2) it is too cold to spend too many hours in our exposed cockpit, and 3) we can only move when the weather is favorable, which is maybe half of the days. And we are still timing the tides and currents [see separate blurb].

Add to that - conditions out in the ocean usually involve big seas and unfavorable winds at this time of year, and you can see why we are slowing down and staying inland in the ICW.

We are now about 2 months behind schedule [we had a schedule?] We had hoped to be in South Florida a couple of months ago, when the days were longer and the temperature was warmer.  We had several delays [coincidently, about 8 weeks of them], most of them planned or expected - to pickup/dropoff crew, visit with Naomi in Toronto [Mississauga], spend a week in the New York area visiting with our son and local relatives, attend the Annapolis Boat Show, sit out Hurricane Sandy, and travel to Berkeley for Thanksgiving. And now, St. Augustine is such a great town that we hate to leave.

We're here through New Years – informal get together today on New Year's Eve here in the Camachee Cove Captain's Lounge.  Then, the next weather window, and we are out of here [we think].

Tides and Currents

For South Carolina, Georgia, and Northern Florida – tides on the ICW can range as high as 10 feet (!), and currents are often 2 knots (sometimes 4 knots). This makes for some interesting and complicated navigation, especially when deciding when to travel and how and where to anchor:

THE TIDES --

Low tide – bad time to go through areas with thin (i.e. shallow) water. We have had to avoid passing through some bad areas at low tide. 

Rising tide - If we get stuck hard aground, all we have to do is set an anchor and wait for the rising tide to float us off. [As we did where Catskill Creek joins the Hudson River and dumps its load of silt to form a bar.]

Half-tide and rising – the best of both worlds.  Unfortunately, this happens only twice a day.

High tide – great for passing over the bad (shallow) spots but dangerous: if we get stuck hard aground, we won't be able to get off by ourselves, or maybe even get pulled off by another boat.

Spring tide – when the moon is full or new, the sun and moon are aligned and the tidal range is higher (and lower) than normal.  This can lead to flooding, and if we get stuck we won’t get off until the next Spring tide – two weeks away!

Falling tide – not so good.  If we get stuck, we would have to wait for the tide to drop, then rise back up after low tide until it is higher than when we ran aground. We have to be very careful traveling when the tide is falling.

Half-tide and falling – the worst of both worlds. Thin water, getting thinner, and the problems described above about getting stuck.

Hard aground with a falling tide – if we are stuck on our keel, the boat will tip (heel) over, until the tide reverses.  With a 5-foot draft, this could mean that we will heel enough to take water in over the cockpit combing, possibly flooding and sinking the boat.  The one time we were stuck on the Hudson River, we only dropped a foot or so, with about a 15-degree heel.  Imagine getting stuck at high tide when the water level is going to drop – up to maybe 10 feet.  Ouch!

Hard aground with a rising tide – nice.  Just wait; will float off within a half-hour.

And, to make it as complicated as possible: The tides vary with location – need accurate tide data for the whole route.  This is especially true near inlets to the open ocean.  The further inland, the more delayed the tide will be compared to the ocean.  And then there is the current coming in (or going out) as we pass the mouths of rivers that enter (or leave) the ICW.

Anchoring consideration: We have to put out more rode – sometimes a lot more – to have enough scope for the highest tide level.  This means we need a lot more room to swing (current reversal, remember), and makes crowded or narrow anchorages more of a problem.

MEASURING TIDES -- Our depth gauge gives us the approximate depth under the boat.  The soundings on the charts give us the theoretical mean low water depth. The corrected, local tide tables give us the expected depth above low water. Higher mathematics gives us the actual tide where we are.  But we don't have the time or interest in doing this.  Our keel is a pretty good indicator of the actual depth ...

THE CURRENTS -- These also vary and have to be considered:

Slack current – around the time of, or after, the maximum high or load tide, the current is a minimum; it turns around sometimes pretty quickly; at other times it is a gradual stop-and-start.  

Anchoring consideration:  The boat will probably swing 180 degrees; hopefully the anchor will reset (we bought a Rocna, supposedly great at resetting).

Fair current [tail current] – nice for moving, as we get up to a 2-knot boost. Bad for docking, though, as we have to come in at higher speed to maintain steerage.

Foul current [head current] – slows us down, sometimes a lot. Great for docking at slow speed.

Anchoring considerations - The 180-degree swings.  Stronger pull on the anchor and rode. Might want to med-moor, i.e. set two anchors on the bow, one forward, one back, so we always have one pre-set anchor to hang on, but then we have to unship the dinghy to set the second anchor.

Inlet and Outlets - We can either ride or fight the current when going in or out through a pass to or from the ocean.  This worked perfectly on our outside run from Georgetown SC to Charleston – fair current both ways: Falling tide as we went out in the morning, then rising tide as we came back in, in the late afternoon.  But it could have been the other way around …

MEASURING CURRENT -- Our Raymarine tridata gives us our speed through the water. Our Garmin chartplotter gives us our [GPS] speed over the ground. Subtraction gives us the current.

WIND AND CURRENT --

Coming from opposite directions – bad. Sometimes very bad. Can lead to standing waves (square waves) and extremely rough seas.  NEVER be on the northbound Gulf Stream with a northerly wind!

Coming from the same direction – better.

PUNCHLINE –- A lot to consider when choosing if, when, and where to travel.  And sometimes we just have to go and don't have a choice …

Time Out - hanging around St. Augustine

We're here for who-knows-how-long.  At least through New Year's.  Maybe a few weeks more?  We do want to get south, but this is a great town. There is so much to do - restaurants, bars, biking, walking, and just enjoying the warm(er) weather.  Temperatures were 60 to mid-70s highs, 39 to 50 lows.  Downtown is about 2 miles by bicycle; same by marina's loaner car except parking is impossible. And the holiday lights are spectacular!

St Augustine downtown

St. Augustine waterfront

Yesterday we biked downtown, then stopped for lunch at J.P. Henley's bar. This wonderful pub has about 70 (sic) different beers and ales on-tap, and lots more in bottles.  We had pints of Blue Point's Toxic Sludge IPA, and Green Flash's West Coast IPA - the two best ales ever! On tap! Across from the St. Augie Marina! By bicycle. Shorts & T-shirt. With Ilona. It don't get any better than this.

J.P. Henley's Pub

Menu page 1, of 3 pages of beers and ales

St. Augustine Downtown City Marina:  advantage - right across the street from this pub.  disadvantage - high current, expensive, exposed to ocean currents, some noise.  We prefer it out here at the Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor, even though it is a 2 mile bike ride into town.

Camachee Cove Marina - pictures

 t'was the night before xmas, and all through the marina ...

Camachee Cove Marina, St. Augustine, Florida

s/v Ihana (and others)

St. Augustine

s/v Ihana arrived in St. Augustine this afternoon, 12/24/2012.  Cold on deck, as usual.  Now 69 degrees F in port.  Staying in the Camachee Cove Marina for several days.  Yea! We get off the boat.

another day on the IntraCoastal Waterway

A Tale of Two Beaches

Sunday, 12/23/12 - left Fernandina Beach, FL; arrived Jacksonville Beach, FL. 

Wonderful dinner tonight in Jax Beach with David & Barbara Doyle, m/v Memory Maker Too - who we met in Little Falls, NY, on the Erie Canal. They live in Jacksonville.

Sunset in Florida

Fernandina Hartbor Marina, Florida

Florida!

We finally made it to Florida!  We are safely in the Fernandina Harbor Marina, in the NE corner of the state.  Beautiful day today - cold (45F) this AM, but now that we are in Florida it is nice and sunny and warm. We are in shorts and T-shirts. Yeah!

Of course, there is a storm coming tomorrow (what else).  We expect cooler temperatures and winds up to maybe gale force on Friday.  But we are at the dock, and staying put.  Everything here is within walking distance; lots of good restaurants, fish market, stuff to do. Time to catch up on our reading, walking, biking, and sleeping.

Ihana's track - 12/19/2012
Jekyll Island, GA to Fernandina Beach, FL

Pictures - ICW through Georgia

Whoops!  New high bridge under construction at Skidaway Narrows, south of Isle of Hope,
south of Savannah on the ICW.
The beams did not line up where they met in midstream.
Bridge not open yet (back to the drawing boards).
We went through the old Bascule bridge here.

Georgia low country amid the sea islands.  

Sailing on a cool morning in Georgia.

Sunset photo taken out our starboard portlight, in the Jekyll Harbor Marina.

Bicycling on Jekyll Island, Georgia

BAD DAYS - the dark side of cruising

While most of our cruising has been enjoyable (or, at least tolerable), there have been SEVERAL days that we would not choose to do again.  These range from bad to really-bad.  Lest anyone think that cruising is all smooth sailing, here's a summary of the worst we have gone through:

Ontanagon-to-Keewenaw. Lake Superior, June. Great day of sailing on Lake Superior. Wind 18-22 knots off the port quarter, large but survivable waves. All day. Jim Kimmet aboard, who has had experience sailing in this stuff.  Full sail!  SCORE: Fun-1 Learning Experience-1  Did not enjoy-1.

Georgian Bay crossing. Killarney-to-Britt, July.  Large waves on our port bow. All day, about 45 NM, 10+ miles offshore.  Got to work the diesel. Lot of slamming into the big waves. SCORE: Okay but a lot of tension and hard work-1. Did not enjoy-1.

Trent-Severn Canal, Ontario. August. Got stuck aground and towed off. TWICE in one day.  1. Charged almost C$300 by a local marina for 10 minutes of towing, reimbursed by TowBoat-US [YES. You must have this insurance. ~15o per year, includes offshore, unlimited towing!] 2. Low water in Grass Lake. Towed off by local fishing boat.  Won't do the T-S again with anything that draws more than 2 feet. SCORE: Danger-0.  Not scared-2.

Lake Simcoe, Ontario. August.  Big waves from all directions for a couple of hours. This lake has a very uneven bottom – shallow, mixed with deep – for very confused and dangerous waves.  A bad couple of hours, on a nice day. SCORE: Okay but a lot of tension and hard work-1. Did not enjoy-1.

Lake Ontario Crossing. East side, Bay of Quinte, Ontario – to – Oswego, NY. August. Crossed from the Trent-Severn Canal to the Erie Canal.  Mast down, lashed on deck in a cradle - since we needed it down for both canals. Left at sunrise, dead calm; weather predicted "light winds, best day to cross for a week". Two hours out, out of seven, we got BIG waves off the bow. Boat was POUNDING for several hours into the seas.  Even though we had thoroughly tied the mast down, it was starting to bounce out of the cradle!  I had to go forward onto the pounding bow and use the docklines to add lashing lines over the mast.  Our harnesses/tethers/jacklines paid for themselves that day! A contender for our Worst Day Ever. SCORE:  Dangerous. OMG. Very scary. Will NEVER do this again. – 2.

Croton-on-Hudson, Hudson River, NY. September.  Nice pretty ride past West Point, then hard waves on the nose as we turned south towards the Tappen Zee.  Pounding, full power on diesel for about 2 hours.  Half an hour out of our nearest and chosen marina, Half Moon Bay, we heard a Tornado Warning (not a Watch) on the radio, for where we were at.  Nothing to do but hope that we didn't get hit for the ½-1 hour it would take to make port.  Fortunately (for us), the tornado hit New York City instead. SCORE: Scary, OMG with a lot of tension and hard work-1. Scary, OMG, did not enjoy-1.

Sandy Hook, NJ. September. Left New York City, planning to make an overnight run down the Jersey Coast (offshore, no ICW here) to Cape May.  A few hours out, about 4-5 miles offshore east of Sandy Hook, we got hit with about 8-foot BREAKING waves.  Sails down, full engine – headed directly (fortunately, running before the wind) for an hour or two into the shelter of Sandy Hook bay. Anchored overnight, then continued on the next day. Many boats joined us in the anchorage. [Met a guy later who had done the overnighter; he got knocked down several times, had his bimini and dodger shredded, was bruised from head to foot.] Another contender for our Worst Day Ever. SCORE: Very scary, OMG, dangerous – 3 (with Tom Cronmiller).

Atlantic City, NJ. September. The next day was a long run, wind behind us.  All day.  Turned west into Atlantic City just at sunset, catching the strong winds and waves on our starboard beam.  Exciting for about ½ hour. SCORE: Scary, OMG with a lot of tension and hard work-1. Scary, did not enjoy-1.

Delaware Bay, NJ-DE. September.  Fighting the tide/current for most of the day, up from Cape May to Delaware City.  Rough but not a serious problem. SCORE: A lot of tension and hard work-2. Did not enjoy-1.

Hurricane Sandy, NC. October.  No problem as we were safe in a protected marina. See separate blurbs.

NOW - south Georgia, ICW.  We are only able to travel about 1/2-2/3 of the days.  Fronts come through - strong winds and waves - and we hole up in marinas; then we get a day or two when we can move on.  Definitely are timing our cruising days now.

-- figured we should report this. Most of our blogs make it sound like we are having a great time. Mostly, we are.  But did need to share the dark side.

Cruising Guides and Information

Here's a big thank-you and recommendation for the cruising information put out by Managing The Waterway / On The Water Chartguides. These are developed, published and updated by Captains Mark & Diana Doyle (who made presentations to our Northern Lights Sailing Club a few years ago).  

We can't thank them enough for the information we really needed to make this trip:

1. Managing The Waterway – IntraCoastal Waterway cruising guide. We use this every day. Easy to follow, easy to find info we need quickly, really complete.  Well worth the price.

2. Anchor Guides – their new Anchor Guides for the ICW provided us with information to pick out, use (and survive, or avoid) several shallow (and deep) ICW anchorages.  One night at anchor instead of at a marina paid for the books!

3. E-mail alerts.  Since we bought and registered our chartbooks, we receive e-mail alerts about important updates that we need to know about. Things like bridge closings, and especially warnings about new or changed danger areas because of shoaling (some of it shifted by Hurricane Sandy?). 

4. Camp Dowry Creek Seminars – while trapped for almost a week at the Dowry Creek Marina near Belhaven, NC, waiting out Hurricane Sandy:  Besides being held hostage along with about 30 other boats, we enjoyed swapping sailing and cruising information with the other boats. And, Mark Doyle ran a series of impromptu discussions about navigating south on the ICW (if and when we got out of there).  Imagine 4 days of information coming at us by the ICW full-timers who know the most about it – and FREE (excepting marina dockage fees).  Punch line: Their information on how to get through the worst trouble-spots helped (or enabled) us to make it through places like Fields Cut, Little Mud River, and Jekyll Creek without even hitting bottom ("shoaly-hit!").  Advice on timing the tides and which nav aids to follow – or avoid – was great.  I wish they would put on these seminars again – we lucked out in getting all this info at one time, while not being able to go anywhere anyway. Something good did come out of Hurricane Sandy - for us.

Active Captain

Many sailors and most cruisers know about ActiveCaptain.com

This internet-based system is invaluable for cruisers, showing information on marinas, anchorages, hazards, and local knowledge – everything from shoal reports to bridge-opening schedules. Information is not only published by the site developers/owners/maintainers, Karen and Jeff Siegel, but is contributed by all of us cruisers.  

We would have had a much harder time navigating our way south without this resource.

Take a look.  

And please read our next blog (below) about something that makes this even better!

Garmin Bluechart Mobile - Greatest iPhone/iPad App Ever

You gotta hear about this!  The one problem with Active Captain is that you needed an Internet connection to access it.  

No more – Garmin now has an app that includes BOTH its navigation charts AND the complete Active Captain database.  You download all of this, so it runs without an Internet connection!  Of course, the charts and Active Captain data is only up-to-date as of the time of downloading [it can be re-downloaded later, if suppose], but that's close enough to be free of the need to be hooked to the Internet.

The price:  App-free!  Active-Captain database-free!  Garmin US Bluecharts-$30, one time payment (in-app download and payment).  Tide data-$4, one time download. TOTAL COST - $34 initial, $zero after that.

It also communicates things like your own waypoints and routes with some of the more expensive Garmin chartplotters & networks (but not with ours) – but you do NOT need to do this to use the rest of the app.

Off-line. Active Captain. Nav Charts. – CHEAP.  And WOW!!!

Jekyll, and Hide

Only went 15 miles today. Stopped early at a marina on Jekyll Island (Georgia), where we plan to hide out (see, I did work the pun in) for a couple of nights. Weather is nice - 70s today and tomorrow, mostly sunny. Will use bikes and explore the island. Wednesday we plan to head 31 miles south to Fernandina Beach (FLORIDA!), then hole up for the cold front and storms coming at us on Thursday (or not; our mileage may vary).

AIS track, 12/17/12

Shipwreck - boat we met last Friday night

http://www.jacksonville-boating.com/magazine/boating_news/yacht_washed_ashore_vilano_beach_fl.shtml

This boat came in behind us at Isle of Hope Marina, GA, a couple of nights ago. The next morning, Ilona chatted with the captain and crew member (her daughter) as we were sandwiched between them and another cabin cruiser on the outside face-dock. Offered to help with the lines and push off as if they left first, we would be able to get out more easily what with the strong current at the dock. They bumped out and we stayed inside. Small world. So sorry for them!

Marching through Georgia

Wahoo River, Georgia - fog!

We were anchored on the Wahoo River last night; oh but did the fog suck this AM - pea soup until noon! [but we needed to get the fog out of there ...]  Used everything we have: engine, radar, chartplotter, AIS, Garmin Bluechart Mobile (w/ Active Captain) on iPhone (!), compasses, autopilot (thanks, Otto), binoculars, paper charts, cruising guides, and especially follow-the-lead-boat when s/v-New Wave passed us and led us through the fog for several hours.  
But later it got warm when the sun came out - actually took off some of the 5 layers of clothing.  We finally made it across the marina-less stretch of the ICW through Georgia; now there is a safe harbor within 15-30 miles of anywhere.  And countless anchorages - some of them really good. We may just make it to Florida this year yet ...

http://marinetraffic.com/ais/datasheet.aspx?datasource=ITINERARIES&MMSI=367522380
then click "Show on Map" for whatever day you want

Now at the Hidden Harbor Yacht Club marina for the night. Outside of Brunswick, GA. Day turned out very nicely after several hours of dense fog. The other four boats in our parade today ended up anchoring north of us; we kept going. We needed showers very much. Found out that the marina had  an outside shower with a shredded curtain. Would have been interesting. The owner came back and said please come and use our home's shower. And then spent time chatting with us in her lovely condo. Laundry is in process. Great little marina in a condo development. But with sweeping views of the marsh and the Mackay River.

AIS track 12-15-2012

Today we made our way down the Georgia Coast on the ICW - from Isle of Hope (SE of Savannah) to being anchored on the Wahoo (sic) River (Absolutely Nowhere, GA).

See yesterday's blog for instructions on how to follow our AIS track, and download these diagrams yourself.

Follow our track !!!

Now have a good way to show our vessel's track (using our AIS with our iPhone) and the internet:
go to -
   http://marinetraffic.com/ais/datasheet.aspx?datasource=ITINERARIES&MMSI=367522380
and then click on "Show on Map" - and you will get something like this (today's track):

from Hilton Head to Savannah, 12-14-2012

Georgia !

Okay.  Need to update this blog.  We have been REAL busy since we left Charleston last Saturday (has it been a week already?).  We made it to Beaufort SC in 2 days, anchoring overnight on the north part of the South Edisto River and then spending 2 nights / a whole day / in Beaufort.  "Byew-furt" is a real neat antebellum town (since the Union occupied it during the Civil War, Sherman didn't have to burn it down).  Then we made it to Hilton Head Island, where we got stuck for several days with strong winds, tides (of course), and rain.  Cold, driving rain, 40 degrees, no fun.

Today we escaped and made it all the way to the Isle of Hope Marina in Georgia (suburb of Savannah).
It was colder than almost anything - 40 something in the morning, but no rain, but strong north wind.  After 30 very cold miles of motoring, we are here tonight.

Plan is to try to get down the Georgia Coast before winter (we may just not have made it) and get into the protected ICW in Eastern Florida, where we will escape the outrageous tides and cold weather, and make our way south to warmer places.

Separate blog notes coming, on tides, and on chart of our track, when I have time.  We have been busy.  Yesterday we spent several hours going over the charts and chartbooks, trying to figure out how to make it south through Georgia, (another blog post, later ...)

And then a miracle happened ...

We only had enough diesel fuel to run the boat for one day, but then a miracle happened and it lasted for 8 days!

Happy Chanukah from the crew of s/v Ihana - currently in Beaufort, SC; bound for Florida.

Meanwhile, back home in Minnesota ...

Windchill tonight less than -3 F.  Snow about 10 inches and still fallling.

Lydia Drive, Roseville MN

Our car, in Minnesota

Heading south again

Motoring down The Ditch (aka the ICW)

Sunset - First night of Chanukah
anchored on the South Edisto River,
between Charleston and Beaufort, SC

Charleston Pictures

The Angel Oak @ Charleston - treemendous

The Ilona @ Folly Beach, near Charleston

Charleston City Marina - view from the Ashley River

at the Charleston City Marina gas station

cleat up your leash here 

slow down past the gas pumps

Ihana has left Charleston, bound for Beaufort

We are leaving Charleston but with some regret.  There is still so much to do and see here. 
But we had better get going before our roots settle in.

IF we are in range of an AIS pickup station, you can follow our progress at:
   http://marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=367522380 

50 degrees in the morning, then 70s & sun today. Fog at first? 
Exciting to be anchoring out tomorrow night about 40 miles south. Then Beaufort, SC. We will be moving south again. Next longer destination: St Augustine, FL, in about two weeks. ["Bound For", which is not necessarily the same as "Going To".]
 Again, internet access and phone access may vary.

Wonderful dinner on board with Ken Roetzel last night. Then it was time for wine tasting at the marina wine store. Then family services at K K Beth Elohim. Then back to study the charts. 

Sheets are clean, laundry is caught up. Water tank filled. Diesel tank and jerry cans filled. Waste holding tank pumped out. Boat washed again. Engine maintenance up-to-date.  Food and provisions restocked. We pulled the electrical shore power cord and the dock lines, and got moving south again.

Velcro Beach

Vero Beach (Florida), as well as several other cities here in the Southeast USA, have gotten the nickname "Velcro Beach" because many cruisers stop there, and like it so much that they stick around and don't leave.  

Charleston is a lot like that too. We are having a hard time leaving - the city is so great, and our marina is within a mile (walk or bike or free shuttle van or free trolley or rides with friends' cars) of just about everything.  We have met maybe about a half dozen other boats that have come here and are still here, and are planning on spending the winter right here. We keep finding more things to do, places to see, and just hanging out. 

I have finally (almost) caught up on boat improvements and maintenance that I have been accumulating and putting off for the past few months. We now have a locking, non-backflowing marine toilet. New sail slides in the mainsail mast-track. New antifreeze in the fresh water side of the diesel engine. More cruising guides and chartbooks. More navigation software for the MacBook and iPhones. Shopping for spare parts at West Marine. A semi-infinite (!) number of great restaurants - good seafood and not too expensive; although the best is still Ilona's cooking right here on our boat.

We are planning (hoping) to leave here on Saturday - weather, tides, currents, and attitudes permitting.  Hope to make it down the coast to Beaufort, Hilton Head, Savannah, and finally NE Florida by mid-December-ish.  Stay tuned.

There must be some way out of here (said the joker to the thief) ...

Life in Charleston

We've been having a great time here for the past few days.  Biking most days - temperatures in the low 70s, mostly sunny, no rain.  Yesterday we biked all over town, including a visit to the Fort Sumter National Historical Park (not the fort - yet). Today we rode out to the Magnolia Plantation with our friend Ken (his car), toured the historic plantation mansion**, and hiked through the gorgeous gardens and swamp (alligators!). 

I've been catching up on boat repair (slowly, almost enjoyably) - changed the engine's fresh water antifreeze, will replace broken sail track slides, will convert the marine head to a locking pump system that prevents backflow, and a lot more small things that are on my list.  

Ilona has been busy plotting our next move south - using ActiveCaptain.com - and the Doyles' Managing the Waterway ICW Cruising Guide and their excellent new ICW Anchoring Guide.  We will possibly anchor off an island that has a monkey colony, Beaufort and Hilton Head (on South Carolina islands), and then on to Savannah, Georgia.  Only a little over 100 miles all the way to Georgia from here, all on the inside ICW, with lots of marinas and anchorages (and shoals), and it is finally warm enough that we don't have to hurry up and rush to get south.  Bob - inertia.  Ilona - not so much.

Coming up is helping Ken put the sails up on his (bigger) boat on Wednesday, a dinner party at the Charleston Yacht Club on Thursday, wine tasting at the local wine store on Friday (possibly followed by Kabbalat Shabbat at the local Reform Synagogue, after this "early Kiddish"), downtown Farmer's Market on the weekend, menorah lighting on Sunday afternoon in the town square, the Charleston Aquarium, and more biking and walking around town. Everything is within a mile or two from the marina, so we can walk or bike anywhere in Charleston.

Someday we have to think about heading south again, but there is so much to do here and it is nice to not have to rush off somewhere again.

** I was going to say that the big plantation house outside of Charleston might be called the Charles Mansion, but that's even too bad for me to say ...

Cooper River Bridge, Charleston SC

Magnolia Plantation, Charleston SC

Pineapple Fountain, Charleston SC
[wading permitted and encouraged]

tall ship in Charleston Harbor, SC