This is very unusual. I’m writing a Monday Message ON A MONDAY. I intend to post it to the Travels of YA Blog—and YA is actually travelling! Imagine that!
Last week was busy, fun, interesting, adj. adj. adj. Eight or nine Great Harbour boats and their parents and pets gathered in Green Cove Springs. Was fun to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Ken and Becky Fickett, owners of Mirage Manufacturing (where the GH boats are built) hosted their annual seminar in Gainesville. About 35 members of the Great Harbour Trawlers Association were there, and the casual format allowed for lots of catching up, comparing notes and learning about what is new in the world of cruising.
Darryl came to YA once more and finished up the heating system. Fred was excited to create hot water in the tank using the furnace in ‘summer’ mode. Hot water but no heat. Pretty clever, I’d say. I’m excited as Darryl also built us a file cabinet drawer. Makes it much, much easier to access the space under the dinette seat! Yay.
Our intention was to head north on Saturday. We’re reluctant to use the word ‘plan’ anymore, as you know what happens to the best laid plans. In any case, we stayed on for just one more night, and enjoyed a Low Country Boil on the Dock at GCS. Ed the organizer did a fine job of putting it all together.
Sunday morning we were up, up and away by 8 a.m. At 9, we met Bob McNally, a friend of NY friend Gerry Bethje, who had a package of frozen fish for us. We’d missed connections the day of their actual fishing trip, but were able to catch Bob at his dock south of Jacksonville. Stopped long enough to hand off the package and we were on our way again.
It was shrimp festival week at Fernandina Beach and we arrived at the tail end of the festivities on Sunday afternoon. Verizon Wireless still had their tent up, and Fred is now the proud owner of a Blackberry. Watch for emailed photos and messages ‘sent from my blackberry’ as he learns to navigate that little feller!
Sunday evening was warm and lovely, and we spent about 2 hours scrubbing down the boat. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. The bugs and spiders leave a serious trail---and it doesn’t let go easily. The aluminum rail is shiny with the salt washed away, and it is nice to have white decks again!
Monday we were underway at 11 and crossed into Georgia. Every time we go through southern GA, Fred hopes there will be submarines around the naval base. We hit the jackpot this time! Not one, but two! The Coast Guard hailed us on the radio after we crossed the St. Mary’s Enterance and told us there was an ‘escort’ coming and would we please stay out of the channel with our bow pointing toward land. We chose to do that very close to the two tugs that were waiting to meet the submarine we could see coming in from sea. Not good enough. The next message we got came from a young man who had both hands firmly planted on a machine gun. He was close enough to speak, not shout his request that we move on more quickly. We moved on. Quickly. Were able to watch, though, as the sub motored in, was met and boarded by people on the tugs, and then sidled up to another sub that was ‘parked’ in the Navy yard before turning back toward (we think) St. Mary’s. Those things are huge, and I think, sinister looking. Fred thinks they are beautiful.
The dredges have been at work, and the skinny corner that stopped us in our tracks in March had lots of water, and a big pile of debris. TARP dollars at work, perhaps?
Our next stop was Jeckyll Island Marina. That place just seems to call to us, and we’ve met others who feel the same way. I sat on the fantail at sunset listening to popcorn shrimp crackle, and was treated to a show by several dolphins playing nearby. I think the unsettling state of the world evidenced by the message delivered by Pres. Obama late Sunday night made it especially delicious to see those graceful, peaceful creatures curl out of the water again and again—seemingly just for entertainment—mine and theirs.
Today was our day to wend our way through the squiggles of Georgia’s IntraCoastal Waterway. The big black flies have been out in droves and pelicans and gulls have been our constant companions as we stir up the water. Our path varies from 3-30 feet deep,a and we often see birds standing on the bottom just a few feet away from us.
Tonight we are anchored in the Cattle Pen Creek where the tide has risen about 6 feet. The tall marsh grass that was waving in the breeze when we arrived at 5:30 is now nearly covered by water on either shore. It’s pitch black out there and Knute, our anchor, is happly snuggled in the mud, holding us steady in the creek.
So off I go until next week. Happy to be chronicling cruising. Happy to be enjoying all the many connections with family and friends. Shoot. I guess I’m just happy.
Hope you are the same.
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