Waiting on the Autopilot part 1

We got the autopilot off to Garmin while in Savannah and decided to have the replacement sent to our friend’s house in Jacksonville.  We left Savannah with plans to meander slowly down the ICW as we had no idea how long this repair/replacement would take.  A few days later found us in the Frederica River off of the fort where we have anchored before.

As the cruising guide says: “Had the battle gone differently, we may all be speaking Spanish today!”  It was lovely as usual but we decided to head to Cumberland Island because in years past when we went there I was unable to walk for long periods. 

We had a hitch hiker on the way!  Even though  land was very close, this bird was unafraid of us and even posed for pictures!

 

There are may wild horses on the island that are descendants of the Spanish ponies from various shipwrecks like the ones on Chincoteague, Corolla and Beaufort. 

The first day Rob & I went to shore and as we were walking a trail 2 horses appeared from the woods and walked right past us, less than 2 feet away!  These are wild horses so it isn’t very smart to try to pet or feed them.  Being kicked by a horse is painful as I know from my younger days!  We did not have the camera at the ready so this was the pic we got!  Oh well!

We were in for a treat as our cruising friends Terry & Jeanette that we met in Cat Island last year live in Fernandina Beach and came by for the day in their boat.  We had a blast and made plans to get together when we arrived there.

That night we had a pizza and waited for our friend Bill to catch us on his Pearson 365 Long Winded, a sister ship to us.

As you can see the horse & the dog were very interested in each other.

Cumberland Island has a wonderful history including a Carnegie Mansion that burned in the 50’s named Dungeness.

Amazing!  Check out the history of Cumberland, its very interesting.

 

Waiting on the Autopilot part 2

Bill took off for points south the next morning & Rob & I decided to head to St. Mary’s Georgia for a few days.  We dropped the hook and went to town & had a wonderful time.  Of course I forgot the camera but it was grand.  They now have internet in the harbor and we discovered that the autopilot had been received by Garmin!  Yeah!  No word on what/when anything was happening but good news nonetheless!

We were beginning to wonder if the clouds & rain were ever going to give us a break when it cleared!  After 2 days in St. Mary’s it was time to move on.

Friday 11/6/15 found us in Fernandina.  We spoke with Terry & Jeanette but they were working on some issues and said they would call us later so off we went to shore.  Paid for the dink dock and started to walk into town and there they were!  Terry & Jeanette!  We had a great afternoon, nosed around some shops, went to lunch and they took us to Publix.  For those of you not familiar, it is a great grocery store.  We made arrangements for dinner that night and returned to the boat to put away the groceries.

We had access to the internet so imagine our surprise when we found out that our autopilot had been shipped!  We followed the link to UPS but no tracking number was in the system.  We did a copy/paste as well as typing the number so imagine our surprise when we got a call from Rob, our Jacksonville friend that the autopilot had been delivered! 

We went to a great place on the Atlantic side of Fernandina called Sandy Bottoms were we were met by their friends Eric & Kim, great folks and a wonderful evening.

Terry & Jeanette each had an obligation for Saturday morning so Rob & I made our way to the Farmers Market just a few blocks from the waterfront.  Tomatoes, pole beans, green beans, okra, olives, black-eyed peas, all sorts of other veggies and fresh shrimp! 

There were many, many auxiliary police in town so we asked what was going on & discovered there was a Veteran's Day Parade scheduled for 11am.  Back to the boat, put all away, grab camera, PARADE TIME!

Here are a few you don’t see too often…. Daughters of the American Revolution and Son’s of the Confederacy!

It was a great time.  They weather was not looking very good for the exposed anchorage in Fernandina so we made plans to get underway in the morning.   We did and only went a few miles until we found a comfortable place to just pull to the side. 

We have a reservation for the 13th/14th at Beach Marine In Jacksonville to see Rob & pickup the autopilot.  The last few years we have passed through the area during the week which makes it hard to “play” so we are sticking to our weekend in Jax plans!

We dropped the hook in the Ft. George River today off of the Kingsley Plantation and will take the dink in to look around tomorrow.

The Kingsley Plantation on the Ft. George River is really interesting!  The plantation house is currently being renovated so we were unable to tour but the rest of it, the barns and slave quarters were open.  Sea Island cotton & Indigo were major cash crops.  It was an interesting afternoon including meeting the nice folks, Dottie & Mike on Cool Beans a 36ft Katy Krogen Manatee.  They invited us over for Happy Hour and a tour of their boat.  It was very well laid out and comfortable.  Hummmm, maybe when we go to the “dark side”!

Tomorrow we will head to Beach Marine and Jacksonville to see Rob Ball and meet his new pup! 

Later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autopilot Blues

So much for good intentions.  The autopilot made the decision for us.  We left Georgetown for the outside with a good wind.  The wind was a bit more East and it made for a following sea which is extremely uncomfortable on our boat.  We had been out for barely over 24 hours when the autopilot decided it was too tired to continue. 

1 1/2 hours into my first watch without it and I was tired.  Fighting the following sea with the boat taking 10+ degree turns as she came down the face of each wave (4 – 6ft) was exhausting.  Rob took pity on me but that really was not fair to him to have him pull his watch & half of mine too.  We decided that we did not want another 24 hours of this baloney so into Winyah Bay we went.  We got inside with the intention of calling Garmin (the manufacturer) and heading back out if they had a quick fix.  No such luck.  We moved into Beaufort, SC proper and realized that the unit would need to be returned.

The unit was 2 months out of warranty, but by golly they decided to honor it anyway.  I wonder if the fact that Rob told them that since the repair fee was estimated at $1300.00+ that we would get another “Pro Plan” number and buy a new unit.  This plan is available to me as a West Marine Associate.  The people I work with at West know I am a Garmin Girl.  I love their products as they are so user friendly.  Now I have reason to love them even more! .

We went from Beaufort to the Wright River and then on towards Savannah where we had made a reservation at Bahia Bleu Marina.  We arrived a day early and the marina was full so we anchored in Turner Creek.  A couple named Brad & Bridget came by in a dink and we invited them aboard.  They are just finishing work on their boat to start cruising.  A nice couple & we all had a wonderful night with Rob’s ham & cheese quiche and vino. 

The next day we went into the marina and met up with some of the folks from the Brotherhood of the Coast, Savannah Table.  Due to short notice not everyone could make it but it was a delightful evening!

We gathered at Tubby’s which is walking distance from the marina and the food & fellowship was fantastic.  One of the folks, Bob lives on his trawler which we were docked just across from.  He kindly offered to take us shopping, etc. the next day and we took him up on it!  Thanks Bob!  There are 3 gentlemen whom are “engagees” for the Savannah Table and they are all named Bob!  Rob decided that stands for “Becoming Our Brother”!

The following night saw us at the wonderful home of Albert & Alise Seidl for a wonderful home cooked meal and another great time.  You guys are the best & you know we love you!

Today, Wednesday the 29th finds us underway again.  It was hard to leave the great folks in Savannah but the marina had no availability for us!  We need to kill time as the new autopilot will be shipped to our friend Rob’s house in Jax in a couple of weeks.  We were actually heading to Moon River (gee, I wonder if it is wider than a mile) but it seems we will pass it by as it is just too early to stop..  The water is a bit high due to the full moon so we may get through the shoal spots ok.

That is Thunderbolt Marine in the background.  Of course there is a ten foot tidal range here and its high tide too.

I have internet at the moment so till next time when its Cumberland Island, St. Mary’s and finally Florida!

 

 

 

 

Autopilot Blues

So much for good intentions.  The autopilot made the decision for us.  We left Georgetown for the outside with a good wind.  The wind was a bit more East and it made for a following sea which is extremely uncomfortable on our boat.  We had been out for barely over 24 hours when the autopilot decided it was too tired to continue. 

1 1/2 hours into my first watch without it and I was tired.  Fighting the following sea with the boat taking 10+ degree turns as she came down the face of each wave (4 – 6ft) was exhausting.  Rob took pity on me but that really was not fair to him to have him pull his watch & half of mine too.  We decided that we did not want another 24 hours of this baloney so into Winyah Bay we went.  We got inside with the intention of calling Garmin (the manufacturer) and heading back out if they had a quick fix.  No such luck.  We moved into Beaufort, SC proper and realized that the unit would need to be returned.

The unit was 2 months out of warranty, but by golly they decided to honor it anyway.  I wonder if the fact that Rob told them that since the repair fee was estimated at $1300.00+ that we would get another “Pro Plan” number and buy a new unit.  This plan is available to me as a West Marine Associate.  The people I work with at West know I am a Garmin Girl.  I love their products as they are so user friendly.  Now I have reason to love them even more! .

We went from Beaufort to the Wright River and then on towards Savannah where we had made a reservation at Bahia Bleu Marina.  We arrived a day early and the marina was full so we anchored in Turner Creek.  A couple named Brad & Bridget came by in a dink and we invited them aboard.  They are just finishing work on their boat to start cruising.  A nice couple & we all had a wonderful night with Rob’s ham & cheese quiche and vino. 

The next day we went into the marina and met up with some of the folks from the Brotherhood of the Coast, Savannah Table.  Due to short notice not everyone could make it but it was a delightful evening!

We gathered at Tubby’s which is walking distance from the marina and the food & fellowship was fantastic.  One of the folks, Bob lives on his trawler which we were docked just across from.  He kindly offered to take us shopping, etc. the next day and we took him up on it!  Thanks Bob!  There are 3 gentlemen whom are “engagees” for the Savannah Table and they are all named Bob!  Rob decided that stands for “Becoming Our Brother”!

The following night saw us at the wonderful home of Albert & Alise Seidl for a wonderful home cooked meal and another great time.  You guys are the best & you know we love you!

Today, Wednesday the 29th finds us underway again.  It was hard to leave the great folks in Savannah but the marina had no availability for us!  We need to kill time as the new autopilot will be shipped to our friend Rob’s house in Jax in a couple of weeks.  We were actually heading to Moon River (gee, I wonder if it is wider than a mile) but it seems we will pass it by as it is just too early to stop..  The water is a bit high due to the full moon so we may get through the shoal spots ok.

That is Thunderbolt Marine in the background.  Of course there is a ten foot tidal range here and its high tide too.

I have internet at the moment so till next time when its Cumberland Island, St. Mary’s and finally Florida!