Saturday, November 30, 2013

We slept in until shortly after 0800 and it felt good! The day was supposed to be lazy however after checking the weather, the weather window has been extended. Tomorrow was not looking so good but Monday appears to be better. Jorge decided that maybe we should move a bit today and stage our jump off position from a different inlet. Okay, Plan B was now in effect.

Boating 101 is to always have a full tank of fuel. Cruising 101 says to leave room to top up at a marina and bum showers. We took the cruising course and topped up with fuel and bummed real showers!

The weather was warmer today, at least we couldn't see our breaths. By noon we were shedding a layer of clothes and travelling with just light jackets on (mind you the enclosure was securely in place.) The skies were mostly clear but there was a bit of cloud covering by late afternoon.

Savannah house along the ICW.

Causton Bluff Bridge, 26', Savannah, Georgia.

Causton Bluff Bridge opens on request.
 
We anchored in Vernon Creek just north of mile 600 on the ICW, a very pretty and protected spot. Tides in this area are 8'. We set anchor around 1500. In total we only did 20 sm today. We are going to get up early tomorrow and reevaluate the weather for Monday. If it is still looking good, we will move to an anchorage 3 hours closer to the ocean and plan to do an outside passage the next day. If the weather deteriorates we'll head down the ICW.

Sunset in Vernon River, Georgia.
 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Jorge thought setting the alarm for half an hour before we were to leave was not sufficient time so the alarm went at 0600 this morning. Uggghhh! He was up before the alarm! The silence last night in the anchorage was deafening, it was sooooo quiet. I loved it.

We weighed anchor at 0700 and headed into Coosaw River. The current was against us a bit but we opened the geneo and gained 0.5 kts. (Every little bit helps.) How cold was it this morning? Well we didn't have any dock lines to judge by but I could see my breath inside the enclosure until 0800. Again the morning was bright with blue skies and lots of sunshine. By 1100 we were definitely warming up. We had the current running with us for most of the day, at times we got up to 7.8 kts.

An early morning visitor as we were leaving our anchorage - maybe looking for breakfast?

Right off our stern.

Hilton Head, S.C. Don't let the sandy beaches and palms deceive you, it's still cool!
 
The day was going very well and we were ahead of schedule. Only 7 miles from our intended anchorage, it happened! We were in a narrow part of the ICW, making our way between the red and green buoys when, you guessed it, we ran aground! There we were, minding our own business, doing what responsible cruisers do. Go figure, we were following the magenta line and were equal distance between the two buoys. I guess the tide and current had brought in extra silt. Luckily Jorge was able to power us out into deeper water and we were on our way again, only lost about 20 minutes. Good-bye South Carolina! But I hear the water level in Georgia isn't much better. Jorge says it is a good thing the bottom is muddy/sandy down here otherwise the keel would look like popcorn by the time we get home.

We dropped the hook just inside the Georgia border in St. Augustine Creek shortly after 1500. I was quite happy with our progress the past two days. My goal was this anchorage today and we made it, a bit ahead of schedule even with our grounding.

                                          Our anchorage in Georgia, looks the same as S.C.

No Jorge was not into the happy hour yet when he took this video!

Supper was early, taking advantange of the daylight and unfortunately no leftovers tonight :(. We are definitely in cruisers' mode - early for dinner, early for bed. Tomorrow I think will be a stay put day. Sunday is looking good for going outside the ICW into the Atlantic, we'll see.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

The alarm went off at 0630 this morning. What a rude awakening! Outside temp a 1C. To put that in perspective, the dock lines which were nicely coiled on the deck after tying up, were frozen in their coiled position! However the skies were blue and we had amazing sunshine.

We left Toler's Marina at 0700 under a gorgeous sunrise.

Sunrise leaving Toler's Marina, S.C.

Entrance (or in our case, exit) to Toler's Marina, S.C.

Oops, not enough scope!

The day was pretty much uneventful with only one restricted bridge which opened on request so no delays. There were plenty of hot beverages this morning as we tried to keep warm and by about 1100 the sun was strong enough that it started to warm us inside the enclosure. We made excellent time with the current (as anticipated) mostly in our favour. We travelled 59 sm, about 5 miles more than we had planned on doing but as mentioned, the current was in our favour.

We anchored in Bass Creek, off Coosaw River (Morgan Island) at 1645.

There was a couple from Montreal travelling behind us and after making contact with them via VHF, they decided to anchor in the same anchorage. We invited them over for happy hour, then had a quick supper (leftovers, ya gotta love 'em) and to bed early. We are hoping to do the same number of clicks tomorrow and get just inside the Georgia border.

Sunset at Bass Creek, S.C.

Sunset again (with bottom of dinghy in the way).

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

We slept in until almost 0900 this morning, holy! The temp had dropped again - only 12C late in the afternoon and still windy although the tornado watch was dropped early this morning and gale warnings downgraded to small craft advisory. That means it was only blowing 20+ kts in the marina this afternoon. LOL.

Jorge and I concluded this morning it was definitely the ICW for the next couple of days. This nasty weather system stretches from Nova Scotia to half way down the Florida coast. We are hoping to leave the marina at 0700 tomorrow and do approximately 50 nm. Of course that will depend on what kind of winds we encounter but for the most part at least the current will be with us. We estimate doing 5 nm per hour so it will be a long day!

After lunch the dockmaster/part owner drove us into town. We had decided to buy more of the Argentine wine we discovered the other night. Unfortunately the store only had 3 bottles left. Too bad, we were going to buy a case.

After arriving back at CS'ta Time, Jorge worked a bit on the new weather system that he has to install and then we started preparing the boat for travelling. Lucky for me I did inside work and he was the one outside in the cold, yes wearing a winter jacket and toque again. I am sooooo glad we are at a marina with electricity and can use the electric heater rather than the Espar diesel heater. We keep the temp in the boat around 22C.

I like the name on this boat!
 
It was an early night.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Okay so now back to the blogging routine hopefully!

November 25, 2013

Neither Jorge nor I were too excited about getting out of bed this morning. The heater had been going all night so we knew it was going to be a cold day and we were right! And it was windy to boot. Winter coats and toques/headbands, boy you would have thought we were back in Canada. In the morning we unpacked and settled in. It felt good to be back in the boat but we already miss the kids.

After lunch we had one of the marina employees drive us to town for supplies. I had let the provisions drastically diminish so it was a large grocery order (including wine and beer, LOL). Good thing we had a ride and didn't have to walk with it all.

We spent a quiet evening, back on the slippery slope of happy hour (just the two of us tonight). We found a good bottle of inexpensive Malbec at the grocery store so celebrated how good life is (like we need a reason to celebrate!)

November 26, 2013

Jorge was on a mission this morning, up before 0800. Jobs to do. As there was a lull in the wind, we decided to pump out (desperately needed), filled up with fuel and water, and equalized the batteries. We took the marina for another two nights due to weather so hopefully we can get away from Charleston (finally) on Thursday. It poured cats and dogs here starting late morning although the temp was 20C today, big difference from yesterday but the wind had increased again, gusting to 25 kts in the afternoon. Apparently it is going to increase during the night. Makes one happy that there is no anchor watch for the next couple of nights!

The weather is not looking favourable for going on the outside, strong winds and seas 4 to 6 feet, so I guess it will be the ICW. Bluefin is posting gale warnings and a tornadao watch for the next 30 hours for this area. Yikes! Maybe we should get moving. Our goal is Savannah, Georgia by Friday evening. (Caroline and Michel, we are trying our darndest to "get down here", where are you?)

Tomorrow will be more studying of the weather and charts and planning our next move. LOL we were happy to have a bit of a break from constantly analyzing the weather while we were in Canada!

Monday, November 25, 2013

November 20, 2013

The morning was uneventful.

I had an appt with my internist who follows my heart problem and my diabetes. The ECG, specifically the area where the stent is, was normal. Since I had been having absolutely no symptoms I expected a normal result. She thought my diabetes control was too tight - meaning I have more than excellent control over my blood sugars. With all the happy hours (wine, cheese, crackers, etc.) I found that hard to believe! Guess the walking has helped.

Immediately after that appt, I had to go back to the hospital. They had called yesterday afternoon for a "call back" mammogram, a common occurrence but it has never happened to me. The last 24 hours had been anxious ones. Whatever the radiologist saw on the first mammogram was not there on the second so no need to worry. What a huge relief!

Jorge and I took a drive and ended up at my cousin and his wife's home by the Copeland Forest. We had a nice but short visit. We got back to Barrie in time to pick Jodi up from work, had supper and had a quiet evening watching the tube.

November 21, 2013

Again an uneventful morning.

Friends from the yacht club, specifically our president, Bill, and his wife, Gale, had invited us for lunch. We met them at a restaurant in Barrie and had a wonderful visit.

We had friends over to Jodi's house for dinner (Roy and Freda). It was great seeing them and catching up on their lives.

November 22, 2013

I had an early morning appt with my oncologist who again confirmed all the tests from Tuesday were negative. Next follow up is in June. Sounded good to me!

Friday evening we had dinner at Bogdan and Anna's house (previous HYC members). Too much wine, too much food but a great time. Jodi got to be the parent and Jorge and I the teenagers. She dropped us off and picked us up!

November 23, 2013

Jorge and I drove to New Lowell to visit with my sister and her husband. Debbie made it to the Bull and Barrel, twice, as I had not made the date clear on my originial email invitation. Her husband, Doug, was not able to make it to the Bull and Barrel so it was good to see them both on Saturday. However Barrie had been blowing a snow storm so driving wasn't the best.

In the afternoon Jorge and I had massages courtesy of a Christmas gift certificate from Jodi.

The weather was still ugly Saturday night as we drove to our good friends' home (Chris and Kari) for dinner but the meal and company made the drive more than worthwhile. (Easy for me to say, Jodi drove there and Jorge drove home.)

November 24, 2013

We were up relatively early, had showers, did some laundry, made a quick phone call to other friends from HYC (Dave and Diane) and then headed to see Steven at work before Jodi drove us to the airport. (Time ran out on us so many other friends could not be contacted. We had cancelled our Canadian phone and put our American phone on hold while in Canada so only had the use of Jodi's phone when she was with us.)

Jodi's garden in her backyard.

Not an inviting patio for lunch in November!

We were back on CS'ta Time around 2000 after uneventful flights. Funny how one can sit all day in a plane but be tired when arriving at the destination! I guess it was the accumulation of the busy 10 days in Barrie that had caught up with us.

The boat was fine albeit cold only 8.9C when we got on board. Jorge put both heaters on and within a short time the temp was up to 20C - quite respectable. We have our slip until Tuesday but because Jorge wants to do some work on the batteries and the wind is supposed to howl for the next few days, we will probably stay put until closer to the end of the week before resuming our trek south.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

November 17, 2013

So Bill and Lynn, my sister Debbie and Jorge and I stayed until 1:00 a.m. at the Bull and Barrel and enjoyed Steve 'n Roy (the band). They were quite good and really got into the crowd later in the evening (we were the crowd!) Sunday morning was a real slow one. Lynn and Bill stayed at Jodi's with us so Sunday we had time for some one-on-one. They have recently come back from a month's vacation in Europe so we enjoyed watching a slide show of their trip with first hand commentary.

They left shortly after lunch, Jorge had a siesta and Jodi and I vegged out in front of the t.v. for the afternoon. We getting too old for such late nights. LOL.

November 18, 2013

Jorge had his eye doctor's appt in Sunnybrook in the morning so we were off to the city. He had been complaining of worsening in his vision and sure enough his scan indicated some fluid so an injection was required. His doctor is looking into contacts in Florida for us should Jorge require injections in the coming year and we will determine at a later date whether it is worthwhile to have the injections done in the states or whether to come home for them.

The girls I worked with had their Christmas party that evening and I was invited (nice to know I am still thought of). 21 ladies got together at one house and let loose! We ate, drank, laughed, had a Christmas gift exchange and had a great time. Plans are in the works for a June gathering with a birthday gift exchange. I have my next round of appts then so hopefully will be able to attend. It was snowing when we left the party at 2130!

November 19, 2013

I had to be at the hospital today for my annual check up for the breast cancer including an abdominal ultrasound, chest x-ray, bone scan and mammogram. Things went very quickly considering I had four appts and was out of there by 1130. Now I anxiously await the results. However the u/s tech (not allowed to give out any information) did tell me I was going to have a good trip - having told her what Jorge and I are doing, so that was a bit of a relief!

I picked Steven up shortly after lunch. We did some shopping and then got back to Jodi's late afternoon. Jorge found a soccer match on t.v. so opted to stay home and watch it. I made lasagna and caeser salad for dinner. We were celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with the kids (I know - no turkey but hey its the get together that counts right?) Work tomorrow for both kids so the evening was early.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

November 15, 2013.

Jorge and I had a relaxing morning, it felt good to only have to walk a few feet for real hot showers with unlimited water and to sleep in a bed that we didn't have to crawl into! Don't get me wrong, we are totally enjoying our trip but do miss a few "normal" things.

We had the use of Jodi's (our daughter) car for the afternoon so did some running around (no doctor's appts yet) but visited the banks, accountant, etc. and saw Steven (our son).

Today was Jodi's birthday, a big one, 30, my baby! I made Chateaubriand for dinner, a favourite of everyone but cheated and bought a birthday cake. Jodi's friend, Chris, joined us for dinner and we had a good time.

Jodi's 30th birthday.

 




November 16, 2013.

Jodi and I did some clothes shopping this morning and then I had a hair appt. It had grown quite a bit since the summer and was getting totally unmanageable!

As we normally did on a weekend, Jorge and I took a drive to HYC to check on the boat. Oops it wasn't there! We saw a few members winterizing their boats and chatted with them for a bit, then visited the clubhouse and the harbour before driving back to Barrie.

Empty cradle!

Yikes, is that ice forming at Diana and Gilbert's slip at HYC?
 
Bill and Lynn (friends, like family, from Parry Sound) arrived late afternoon and we chatted a bit before heading to the Bull and Barrel for the pub night. Jorge and I would like to thank everyone who was able to attend, it was very touching the number of people who showed up. Thank you to those who attended in spirit, it would have been great to see you in person but we understand. It was a busy night and we apologize for not being able to spend more time with everyone on an individual basis, maybe on our next visit.
 
Pictures of pub night at the Bull and Barrel. (You were missed Diana and Gilbert!)











Thank you everyone present and not for being such wonderful friends!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

We're home!

We got up shortly before 0800, had breakfast, tied up and did a last minute check of securing the boat. All was good.

The marina where CS'ta Time is (condos in a gated community).

We met the dockmaster/manager and also part owner of the marina at 1100. He drove us to the Charleston airport and everything went according to plan. We had a stopover in Atlanta and then transferred planes to Toronto. Flights were on schedule and we were in Toronto at 1700. Slight delay here as we had to wait half an hour for a gate to clear in order for us to disembark. Our close friend, Chris, was there to meet us and the drive to Barrie was uneventful. Funny, nothing has changed in the 3-1/2 months we have been gone!

We arrived at our daughter's just after 1900 and she arrived home shortly after that. It was good to see her and be at her house. Poor CS'ta Time though, all by her lonesome in a far away marina!

Might not do much blogging while we are home.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

We survived the winds last night! Before turning in for the night at 2200, we checked the instruments and the wind was gusting to 35 kt in our marina. Yikes - I was feeling for Diana and Gilbert at anchor. The worst was supposed to be at 1 a.m. The temp also dropped to the freezing mark, quite unusual for this time of year in S.C. We awoke to blue sunny skies but boy it was cold. Our electric heater had a hard time keeping up with the temp! (Glad to report Diana and Gilbert also survived the winds.)

We had a busy day today getting ready for heading home. The marina staff drove me into town so I could do laundry while Jorge got the boat ready. We took the motor off the dinghy and secured it, then raised the dinghy and secured it as well. Jorge put extra lines out - just in case - and he put a tarp on the boat to help keep it clean (from the birds and their droppings.) I busied myself with getting the paperwork ready for home as well as packing.

The dockmaster is driving us to the airport tomorrow and one of the employees is picking us up when we return. It is not a big marina with a lot of amenities so they make up for it in hospitality. The write-ups we read on the marina sold us on coming here (good protection from wind and waves, little current and very friendly staff) as we had to back track an hour from Charleston, seemed like we were going the wrong way.

Things are ready for our visit home!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

We got up at our usual time around 0800 and had a lazy morning. I poked my head out of the boat around 1000 and saw Diana and Gilbert leaving for a better anchorage to wait out the expected bad weather tonight. So last night was not the end of seeing them for a while.

I made a picnic lunch because Jorge and I had decided previously to visit the Karpele's Manuscript Museum. A few days ago when we were in the Visitor's Centre we noticed an exhibit on Eva Peron, aka Evita, so we decided it was on our list of sites to visit. We arrived to the Museum right around noon so we decided to eat lunch before seeing the exhibit. We parked ourselves on the verandah of the museum (previously a church) and enjoyed lunch in the sunshine and warm weather (low 20s).

We met the curator of the museum who gave us a brief history of the church turned museum and the owner, a wealthy real estate guy from California. He had started collecting manuscripts many, many years ago and has about four or five museums in which he displays them. The Evita manuscripts included personal letters she had written as well as speeches and some legal documents. It was a brief history of her life and accomplishments. Of course it held very dear ties for Jorge.

Karpeles Manuscript Museum
 
After the museum we walked back to the dinghy and came across Diana and Gilbert who had just finished doing groceries! So much for saying our good-byes last night and this morning.

Jorge and I got back to CS'ta Time and weighed anchor heading for our marina. It was about an hour's travel time and we arrived at 1630, settled in and then had happy hour, just the two of us. We secured the boat with extra spring lines as the wind forecast was now up to gusts of 45 kt. during the night. Sure enough by 2000 we were beginning to feel the wind pick up. Jorge's sentiments were "let it blow, let it blow, let it blow" we were well protected!

Tomorrow will be a laundry and packing day as we are heading home the day after, only two more sleeps!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Got up this morning around 0730. We had made arrangements to pick up Diana and Gilbert at 0900 and go to the aquarium today. We got there shortly after 1000 (yes it was a long walk) and stayed until 1400. It was more than an aquarium because they had birds, animals and reptiles on display as well. Lots of pictures and videos so here goes . . .

Rescued injured bald eagle now flightless.

Jorge in a replica of a bald eagle's nest.

Boa constrictor, almost fully grown, about 6' long.

Vulture.

Albino alligator.

Baby alligators.

Better picture of the baby alligator.

Crane.

Pelican.

Same pelican - different position.


Bird of unknown species to me.
 
Otters.
 
Schooling fish.
 
Aquarium full of ocean fish.
 
Huge sea turtle.
 
Moray eel.
 
The "Pride" tour boat of Charleston Harbour.
 
A real ham of a seagull having a bird bath.
 
The edible blue crab. However the females are not to be eaten, identified by the "red fingernails".
 
There now you have been to the South Carolina Aquarium!
 
The rest of the afternoon we spent wandering around downtown. Gilbert got his drill bit, Jorge is still without his newly found favourite beer (they don't appear to sell it this far south), Diana got most of her jobs done and likewise for me . . . therefore a great day!
 
We had happy hour on CS'ta Time with Diana and Gilbert and then a few sniffles as we said good-bye promising to meet up again hopefully in Florida. Jorge and I had decided to take the marina a day earlier than booked. High winds (25 to 30 kt, gushing to 40) tomorrow evening and the next day, actually gale warnings in effect, and low temperatures are expected so we figured what the heck - head for shelter!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Diana and Gilbert took a slip at a marina last night as her brother and sister-in-law were visiting. We visited them there this morning and took advantage of free showers after breakfast. I had been neglecting the kitchen duties so had a sink full of dishes to do first! (Conserving water - dishes only get done once a day.)

I had mixed feelings this morning. Many of the cruisers in the anchorage had left, leaving us behind. In a way I wanted to get going but know that we are heading home in a couple of days and am so looking forward to that. I'll just have to be patient and know that our turn to head south will come on November 27.

We had lunch on the boat and went into town. I had three things in town I wanted to do and got one accomplished so it was a pretty good day. Our motto is "one day - one job". Anything more than that is pushing it! Don't ask me where the time goes but it takes forever to get anything done on the boat and its not because we are bad time managers. Others cruisers say the same thing. Cruising is a lot of work! (But enjoyable and exciting work.)

This bird has it right, a siesta in the afternoon!

One of the many old churches in Charleston, S.C.
 
One park boosts having an Angel Oak with a canopy of branches spanning 17,000 sq ft!
 
Every second Sunday in the month, one of the major streets in town closes down and there is virtually a "promenade day" with restaurants having outdoor patios, shops with their goods on sale on the sidewalks, etc. We were lucky enough to hit that second Sunday today and we walked the many blocks like tourists eyeing everything. That was one of the reasons we only got one thing accomplished today.
 
Street artists playing on 2nd Sunday on King Street (the name given to the "promenade day" here).
 
We ran across Diana and Gibert at the grocery store. Their job today was to find a hardware store as Gilbert needed a drill bit. Well they found the store but it was closed so their one job didn't get done! See this cruising life is not easy. And the wine store we went to was closed on Sundays! (Imagine that.)  Oh well, there is always tomorrow but we want to visit the aquarium. Hopefully that job will get done.

Just outside the marina where we land the dinghy, we met a couple from Charleston who have been living on their boat and have cruised the Bahamas and Florida. We exchanged info and they invited us to visit them at their marina - a possibility but we are running out of time here in Charleston.

The day was warm and mostly sunny, we only needed light jackets in the morning and by mid afternoon we were carrying them. High teens to low 20s.

Back to the boat for dinner and a quiet evening.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

As far as big winds go, last night was definitely better. Jorge was up though, hearing something in the mast, me - I heard nothing.

It was cool in the boat this morning, 15C, although I will not complain especially having received an email from the Rogans, complete with pictures of snow in Oro. Yikes!

We gathered ourselves together and headed out in the dinghy stopping first to touch base with the couple from Argentina. We chatted for a bit at their boat however had to postpone getting together until a later date as they are heading out early tomorrow morning and had to get ready.

Sign outside a convenience store at the marina.
 
Off we went into Charlestown to meet up with Jim and Bonnie (from Long Island who we met in Elizabeth City) for lunch. Afterwards, Jorge and I toured the farmer's market and a few other sites. One was the Old Slave Mart Museum, literally the site of a slave auction house! We then walked Rainbow Row - a road with multicoloured homes on it, the waterfront, and a craft market. Lots of walking today.

Road made with field stones.

Same road.

George Washington Park, one of the city's many parks.

The Old Slave Mart Museum.
 

Tour the city by horse and carriage.

Rainbow Row.

Rainbow Row again.

Gas laterns at entrance to a house.

Check the name of this local bar.

United States Custom House.
 
We got back to the boat and had a quick supper as Jim and Bonnie were coming over for a visit. They left by 2100 and we called it a day.