Our morning sunrise as we were leaving Kilkenny River finally !!!

We are on our way north again !!  Yeah !! 

Although it is 39 degrees outside !!!!!

 This boat has been showing up every where we go
They even stayed in Kilkenny River last night !

 A couple of "cool" kayakers !

 Nice house on the ICW!!

 Old wooden Trumpy - 1940's vintage

 Side view

Another great, but cool, day on the water.  We went about 42 miles and have dropped anchor in New River just off the ICW.  We plan on staying here a day or two.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

 This was our morning sunrise in Kilkenny, GA

 Storms are getting ready to come in, I think ??!!!??

Storms never made it and it cleared up nicely !

Well I for one was ready to pull anchor and leave this morning but Bob said he would rather stay another day and get some work on the boat done.  So I agreed nonchalantly...

We had howling winds all night, a few sprinkles of rain, and a lot of rockin' and rollin' !  Once morning came it all came to an end except for the clouds so that was good.  

Bob worked on "Awards" again for the fire company, replaced the second dinghy rope clutch (this one broke a couple of weeks ago), fixed the port head overhead lights (they would not turn off even once the power was disconnected from them!  So he replaced the connections and somehow or another that fixed it???).

I did the craziest thing....I tied a rope from one end of the boat (on the outside hull) and then tied the dinghy to the rope so I could clean the sides of the boat!  Now where that came from I'm not sure!  Anyway, I did get one side of the boat cleaned, the inside of one hull, half of the inside of the other hull done before the sky became really dark and the cool winds picked up.  It was then I decided I better get out of the water.  I tied up the dinghy to the back of the boat and that's when the weather decided to calm a little, so I continued cleaning the back steps, inside of back of both of the back hulls, and the top half of the back of the boat before I had to stop again.  This time thunder was heard in the background.  So I get everything out of the dinghy and come inside, take a shower, and decided to wait out the storm.  I waited, and waited, until I finally took a nap, got back up and never went back outside.  The storms never came but the current here is so wicked, it runs about 3 knots, and my body was still exhausted from trying to keep the dinghy next to the boat, laying on the top of the dinghy hanging on to Storymaker so I could clean the water line....I had quite the workout today!  I will finish the boat somewhere else!  At least I got one smile off one of the hulls ! (smile = ICW dirty water leaving a light brown film on the front of the boat hulls)  That's how other boaters know that you did the ICW versus the ocean!

To finish our day off we played cards and had ribs for dinner.  We even watched an episode of "Star Trek!"

 Our morning sunrise on Frederica River, Ga.

A beautiful lone palm tree in the middle of no where !

 Pretty picture
Tree sitting on it's own little island in the middle of no where !

 It's so weird seeing birds sitting on sand right next to where we are
driving !  It is getting to be low tide again.

Birds congregating....probably trying to decide which 

boat they are going to bombard next ! :0)

 This is Kilkenny Marina
This is also the area we have been anchored in for the last 2 days
I can honestly say, "I'm ready to move on!"
It was a nice little cubby hole as far as weather protection goes,
 but....it was a little too spooky for me....especially when the
low tide came in !

The name of the sailboat is Curiese

The people who are in the dinghy are Danny & Cheryl

They just stopped by to say hi....

They are visiting their granddaughter here

They have been cruisers for 7 years now

We left north of Brunswick around 0715 this morning and arrived in Kilkenny around 3 p.m.  It was in the low 50's this morning when we left but the water was calm and flat.  It's supposed to be cloudy  with storms coming in soon so we found a nice little cubby hole to sit it out for the next day or so.

When we pulled into Kilkenny it was low tide and very, very gloomy.  There was mud everywhere, and a little spooky looking.  The clouds sitting over the area didn't help the situation any !  The only good thing was 3 dolphins greeted us as we came in.  I told them to turn around and hightail it out of here due to the mud and spookiness !  They did.

Time to freshen up  !

 I'm liking the pots on the posts...maybe at Riverwater Pier A ?

 Love the name !

I would have gotten ice cream but it was tooooo cold !

 Watch out for the pirates !!

 Railway Express Agency

 Funny, Palace Saloon is advertising Coca-Cola

The last time we were there all they advertised was their Rum drinks

and boy were they good and strong  !

 This was our neighbor for the last day and a half and we couldn't

figure out what it was....

But !

Coming back from town this morning we found out !

Ethical Commercial Archaeology

 Fernandina, FL

Fort Clinch

Fort Clinch State Park is a Florida State Park, located on a peninsula near the northernmost point of Amelia Island, along the Amelia River. Its 1,100 acres include the 19th century Fort Clinch, sand dunes, plains, maritime hammock and estuarine tidal marsh. The park/fort lies to the northeast of Fernandina Beach at the entrance to the Cumberland Sound.

Fort Clinch is a 19th century brick fortress begun in 1847 after the end of the Second Seminole War. It was named in honor of General Duncan Lamont Clinch, important figure in the First and Second Seminole Wars. The only battle to occur at Clinch was when Union troops recaptured the fort in 1862 after Confederate forces seized control the previous year. Fort Clinch served as the base of Union operations in the area throughout the Civil War.

In 1935, the State of Florida bought 256 acres that included the then-abandoned fort and the surrounding area. Fort Clinch State Park including the fort, opened to the public in 1938.

We've been looking for a lamp for Storymaker for a long time.  

We finally found it today.  Now I know what you're thinking...

It's not one of the prettier lamps you've ever seen...but !

wail until I get done with it...It will Be you tiful !!

Storymaker is on the "water" again....We just left Fernandina, FL and are headed about 30+ miles up the ICW.  We probably won't have any internet or phone service for the next couple of days due to the wilderness area we will be in.  I will update blog as soon as I can.

Kings Bay, U. S. Navy

 Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is a principle submarine base of the US Navy. Located near to St. Marys in Camden County, Georgia, the base is the home port of the US Navy Atlantic Fleet's Trident nuclear-powered submarines. The base's population is over 15,000, which includes navy personnel, their family members and civilians.
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/kingsbaysubmarine/

 Better shot of submarine

 Tidal changes in this area can be 8 or 9 feet.
Therefore, we are finding places where the current runs 3 knots
Which mean, at high tide it makes for easy boating
At low tide we really, really have to pay attention

(It's the following morning)
This is an example of the tidal change
You'll notice the marker is almost in the water

These boats go to the ramp on the right side of the picture
A crane then picks them up and moves them into the boat house
on the left side of the picture.
It's ingenious !

St. Simons Island Lighthouse

 The St. Simons Island Light is a lighthouse on the southern tip of St. Simons Island, Ga. 
It guides ships into St. Simons Sound and warns of the many sandbars in the area.

The original St. Simons Island lighthouse, which was built in 1810, was a 75-foot-tall early federal octagonal lighthouse topped by a 10-foot oil-burning lamp. During the American Civil War U.S. military forces employed a Naval blockade of the coast. An invasion by Union troops in 1862 forced Confederate soldiers to abandon the area. The retreating troops destroyed the lighthouse to prevent it from being an aid to the navigation of Union warships.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Simons_Island_Light

 You can barely see it but there is a gray house about a third
way through the picture.  Nice place to live.

Brunswick, Ga Bridge


The ICW is marked in yellow
We dropped anchor on the Frederica River just below
the ICW.  We are at the left side of the page at the beginning
where the yellow mark is.  It's a beautiful spot.
The best part is, we don't have to backtrack to leave
We can take the Frederica River back out to the ICW!

 Fort Frederica National Monument
Georgia's fate was decided in 1742 when Spanish and British forces clashed on St. Simons Island. Fort Frederica's troops defeated the Spanish, ensuring Georgia's future as a British colony. Today, the archeological remnants of Frederica are protected by the National Park Service.
http://www.nps.gov/fofr/historyculture/index.htm

 A house in the vicinity of the fort
We could literally go for hours without seeing anyone in this area
and the remoteness is quite astounding !

 I thought this was as good as it got for a sunset tonight

 But, it got even better !
Sometimes pictures just don't do it justice !

Today was a good day.  We traveled 46 beautiful miles today and the weather was actually good to us.  In the a.m. it was chilly and cloudy but it managed to get up to about 65 degrees with sun in the afternoon.  Sun always helps!

We ran into Dulcinea again today and he suggested we try the Frederica River for a layover.  He said there was an old fort there and it was a very pretty area; so we did.  Boy was he right....it was just beautiful!

Georgia has a lot of winding rivers, including the ICW, and so much of it is very remote.  In fact, I'm surprised I even have the internet at this point (although we are on the move again as it is the next morning which I'm sure you have already figured out! :0)).  There were so many areas where we didn't have internet or phone service, including where we stopped tonight.

Tomorrow we are getting up and heading on out.  It is supposed to rain so we thought we would get as far as we can before it starts.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Today was definitely a stay at home day.  It was a high of 55 and that wasn't until 4:30 p.m.  There was no way we were getting off the boat.  Not only was it cold but it was windy and the water was rough in till later afternoon.

Bob worked on the "Awards" for the Bel Air VFC today for a while, and after finishing that, he started cleaning up his office/storage area.  It was time.

For his efforts I made him some more "burnt" chocolate chip cookies :0)  One day I will get that figured out!

I did some cleaning, computer stuff, phone calls, and other things I'm sure ?!!?

We ended up playing a game of cards and watching some TV.  Now we are ready to hit the sack!

We've had the heater in the bedroom for the last hour or so, so it should be warm and cozy.  I hope so anyway!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

 This is a 5-story barge that came through St. Augustine last night !

The Bridge of Lions had to open for it !!

 Us leaving St. Augustine this morning

 You just never know where your job will lead you !

 Another boat aground !

 Another derelict boat....different story though

someone lives on it !!!

 I'm cold !!

 No matter how slow of a pass these big boats give you...

they leave big wakes !!

 We wanna help!

 Just out for his morning walk!

 Instead of a sandy beach, it's a muddy beach !

However, I'm glad it was muddy...read on ....

Huge, huge barge getting ready to come under the bridge

Of course he has the right-away!

And I'm driving....I decided to turn it over to Bob !

 Thankfully Bob is driving at this point

It is low tide right now....and we are in 1.8 ft of water

which means the keel had to be dredging the soft mud !

At least on the starboard side...the port side said 4.0

 The barge is through the bridge and doing everything he can

to move out of our way so we can get out of the mud before 

getting really stuck !

 Good job on the barges part and on Bob's

We are now at 3.1 feet !

Huge, I say, Huge !

 Thank you for doing a great job !

 You can see here how low the tide is 

 Another shot of how low the water was

 This is for you Mike Petrick !

Gotta love the Marines !!

 Can't wait to see this finished next year !

 This is the other side of where all the houses are.  

Nothing but beautiful woody scenery !

 Love this house !

We are now in St. John's River

Boy is there a lot of "rage" going on

For about 10 minutes we were being thrown 

around from every direction!

The boat we are following is call "Ducinea"

This is the guy in Key West that gave Bob a ride

back to our boat so we could get the bolt cutters to

cut off the lock on the dinghy.

Small world!  They went to the Exumas and Abacos

after leaving Key West.

 A tug in rage !

 Thumb's down on this cold weather !

 I made this cake and it tasted like soap ! 

It was so bad we had to throw it away !

 These cupcakes were made out of the same bowl 

but they tasted fine ??!!??!

The only difference in the two of them was....

I added Graham Cracker Ready Crust to the 

yellow cake...now why wouldn't the cupcakes taste 

like soap, but the better question is, why did the cake taste like

soap....also, just for information, I made the cupcakes first and

used same bowl without washing it for the cake ???

I'm stumped !

 Our sun beginning to set

 Halfway there

Thank you God for another beautiful day !!

This morning around 10:15 we decided to move on instead of staying in St. Augustine another day.  Originally it was supposed to be super cold and rainy but as it turns out, it is cold just not super, and instead of rain it was sunny....and according to the weather tomorrow is supposed to be the super cold day.  

We met some friends of Gary and Jayne's just prior to leaving...They are on a 38' Lagoon named Blue Water and their names are Jim and Donna.  They came in the night before and we were going to go over and introduce ourselves this morning, but then we decided to start heading north again.  Jim just happened to be in his dinghy prior to our leaving so we flagged him down and introduced ourselves.  We will probably run into each other again somewhere along the line!

During our travel today we had sustained winds of 25-30 with gusts of 42 knots!  and it was cold, very cold!  I have to say the St. John's River is quite the ride.  It's like being on a roller coaster only you're being thrown from side to side also!

We went 62 miles today and I/we were pretty happy to drop anchor just prior to sunset.  

Now all we have to do is get to bed while it's still warm before the temperature drops to 34 tonight!

Thankfully we have our genny back and a heater on board!