Archive for December, 2008
Doug here,
One of the most complicated and critical systems on a boat is the electrical system. Complicated because you must maintain a system that uses 110 volt alternating current (like general household current – “110 VAC”) and 12 volt direct current (like a car – “12 VDC”). Some things on a boat such as refrigerators, air conditioners, hot water heaters and miscellaneous appliances use the 110 VAC and most marine systems such as navigation equipment use the 12 VDC. The second reason it is complicated is that you need 110 VAC to charge the batteries on the boat that produce the 12 VDC. A boat gets access to 110 VAC in three primary ways. One, by being connected to a dock and plugging into what is called shore power. Two, by running a diesel engine onboard called a Generator or Genset for short. This generator is connected to an alternator that creates 110 VAC power. Three, each main engine has an alternator connected to it that takes power from the engine and converts it into 110 VAC. The third complexity is that at times you don’t have access to 110 VAC power so you have to convert some of the 12 VDC power in the battery bank into 110 VAC using a device called an inverter so that you can keep the refrigerator and, more importantly, the ice maker working.
When we bought Gypsies in the Palace, she was very well outfitted for general use where you are frequently tied to a dock with access to plenty of 110 VAC power. However, our plans are to spend long periods of time on anchor where we have to produce all of our own power. So let me review the setup of Gypsies originally. She had 12 6-volt batteries, every two in series to create the equivalent of a 12-volt battery and the 6 resulting 12-volt pairs in parallel. This bank of 12 batteries held 1320 AMPS of 12 VDC power and is called the House Bank and is used to run the main systems on the boat. Gypsies also had 4 6-volt batteries that held 440 AMPS of 12 VDC power called the Engine Starting Bank used to start the big diesel engines and 1 battery used to start the generator’s diesel engine. The work horse is the House Bank. Gypsies has a 12.5 kilowatt generator that creates 110 VAC power but burns diesel fuel to do so. Attached to each main engine is an alternator. The port engine has a 150 AMP alternator that charges the House Bank. The starboard engine has a 120 AMP alternator that charges the Engine Starting Bank. She had a Xantrex inverter that takes 12 VDC power from the House Battery Bank and converts it to 110 VAC when we are not tied to the dock and do not have the genset running. The inverter also is used to charge the House Bank when we have 110 VAC from shore power or are running the genset. When we bought Gypsies, we thought that she was very well setup and seemed to have all of the electrical systems that we would need. When we were tied up to a dock we got all the power we need by being connected to shore power. When we were underway the big diesel engines would produce enough power to keep the House Bank charged. When we were on anchor, the generator could be started periodically to recharge the batteries. The House Bank would produce the 110 VAC power we needed when we were not connected to shore power and the genset wasn’t running.
After the first 60 days of living on the boat, it became clear that Gypsies was under-powered in several important ways. First, the inverter, which doubles as the charger for the House Bank when either the genset is on or we are connected to shore power, took too long to charge the battery bank causing us to have to run the genset about 6 to 8 hours a day to produce enough power. That is both expensive because of the diesel fuel used but also ties me to the boat for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening. The second issue was that the alternator on the port engine was under-powered for charging the House Bank if we had started out with the bank partially discharged. It was fine to keep the batteries charged if we started out charged but not if we started with the bank run down from power usage over night. The third issue was that the 1320 AMPS in the House Battery Bank was enough for normal usage but meant that we had to recharge twice a day.
So what to do… I read lots of stuff so I began to understand the issues but not how to solve them. At this time, I was lucky enough to get some posts from the DeFever Cruisers Forum which I am a member of that dealt with this very problem. The DeFever Cruisers Forum is a group of people that post questions and answers regarding DeFever boats. Since Gypsies is a 49′ DeFever, I joined the forum and have met a bunch of people through the forum that own DeFevers. I have also learned a lot from the questions asked and the resulting answers. So the discussion that happened at about this time was about how to charge the House Battery Bank faster, one of my biggest issues. The basic answer was that you needed two inverters charging the battery bank rather than just one. The one was enough to create 110 VAC from the battery bank but not enough to charge the batteries quickly. As part of this discussion, I also met a guy named Steve Koch who owns a 49′ DeFever Raised Pilothouse named Aurora. I was introduced to him by one of the other forum members. He does mechanical and electrical work on boats. Everyone I talked to said he was great, and he certainly knows our boat since he has owned a similar boat for 13 years. I got in touch with him and, as it turned out, he and his wonderful wife Diane were only about an hour and a half by car from us and we were both stranded due to weather. So, Tammy and I rented a car and drove to where he was and met he and Diane. First, it turned out that they were two of the coolest people we have met on this journey so far and, second, Steve was unbelievably knowledgeable about all of the issues I was struggling with. We discussed my issues and he showed me how he had resolved them on Aurora. We agreed that he would do a project on Gypsies to upgrade our systems. He would swap out the one Xantrex inverter for two new Magnum inverters, wire the two engine alternators together to charge the House bank with nearly twice the power when underway, and add four more batteries to the House Bank increasing the power storage by 33% to 1760 AMPS.
As Tammy mentioned in her recent post, we spent the last week in Stuart, FL, so that I could work with Steve on Gypsies’ electrical upgrade. We got started Tuesday morning and finished up Friday afternoon. We spent a few hours on Saturday testing the system. I won’t try to describe the whole project but it was one of the most fun times I have had since purchasing Gypsies. Steve proved to be not only knowledgeable but also a great teacher. I learned an incredible amount during that 4 day period. We installed the 4 new batteries
and wired them into the system to increase the House Battery Bank from 1320 AMPS to 1760 AMPS, we ran all of the wiring needed to run the two inverters connecting them into the main wiring system,
we installed the two inverters
and put in a switch to allow me to select which one acts as the inverter
and installed two new replacement engine starting batteries. In addition, we installed two remote control devices for the inverters up on the pilothouse.
I have to tell you that I am incredibly excited about this new “electrical independence”. Since our plans for the next 2 to 3 years is to drop anchor somewhere for a week or more at a time, the ability to exist on the boat’s internal electrical system and not be tied to a dock allows us to do just that. Without this upgrade, it really was not feasible to spend more than 3 or 4 days on anchor without needing to go into a marina to “fill up” with electricity. In addition, this upgrade should save about 200 gallons of diesel fuel a month during that 2 to 3 year period.
December 22nd, 2008
We are currently anchored in Lake Worth which is right off of Palm Beach in 25 knots of wind – it’s howling and we’re rocking and rolling!! Great first day to be back on the water, but the outside was even worse – 9 foot seas!
Tammy here by the way…
OK so the conditions aren’t ideal but it did feel good to be back underway today after sitting at a dock for a week – the dolphins picked right up where they left off playing in our bow wake!
We had a great time in Stuart and it was very productive as well. Doug and our friend Steve accomplished a major upgrade of Gypsies’ electrical system which will make things much easier when we are on the hook for long periods of time (as we will be once we head for the islands). I’ll leave the details of the upgrade to Doug’s blog entry (which I’m sure will be coming shortly if he can manage to stand up straight after a week hunched over in the engine room!!) but suffice it to say, we are now enjoying the fruits of electrical independence!!
Our stay in Stuart was lots of fun – after spending a day with John and Francesca Spain at their new wonderful home in Sebring, we settled in to get some work done on the boat.
However, that didn’t mean that we didn’t also have time for some happy hours at Duffy’s sports bar and some afternoons at the BEACH!! Now I know it’s not real nice of me to talk about going to the beach when so many of our friends and family are back in New England digging out from feet of snow, but why do you think we are on this trip if not to make our friends jealous! Just because I’m so sensitive, I won’t dwell on the fact that it has been sunny and about 75-80 degrees here in Stuart for the last three days, or that not only did we go to the beach but we went swimming in the ocean – now try and do that in Maine in December and you’ll understand why we just had to leave!!
While we were in Stuart, we also went to a party at our friends Steve and Di Koch’s – now this warrants an explanation. They are staying at a friends house in Stuart and decided that was reason enough to have a party – a real life Gypsies in the Palace situation!! So it was only fitting that Snake (Doug), Everlasting Mooney (Colleen), John and I (the groupies) all showed up at this amazingly beautiful house armed with a bottle of my homemade spice rum! Despite the fact that no one got thrown into the pool and we didn’t have to shoot the lock off the liquor cabinet (thanks Jimmy for the use of your lyrics), a great time was had by all! The owners of the home, Karen and Chuck, even wound up being home and joining in the festivities! All in all there were about 20 cruisers there, all eager to swap boat stories and advice – not only did we learn lots but we met some great people who we hope to run into out there living ‘da life!!
As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in shorts and a tee shirt and bare feet – shoes and socks have become a thing of the past and Colleen has finally put away her wool sweaters and long johns! Unfortunately, speaking of Colleen, we were one Gypsy light on our voyage today. Because we have had Colleen’s parents’ car for the past week, she is following us down to Pompano Beach in the car (or leading us because she got there in an hour and a half and we will get there tomorrow early afternoon!) – that way we can have the car to drive down to Key West for Christmas, which is still the game plan.
Tomorrow morning we lift anchor early and head for Pompano Beach where we have a slip at a little marina just south of Hillsboro inlet. Wednesday morning early we will set out by car and hopefully arrive in KW by about noon! Our friend Scott isn’t playing at the Hog until 5:00 pm so that gives us plenty of time to have some beers and wings (my favorite in the world!) at Schooner Wharf while listening to Michael McCloud and to visit other select KW drinking establishments! We need to save ourselves somewhat though for the big Christmas Eve party that we will be attending with Scott – yeah right, this is KW!!! After 5:00 on Wednesday all our friends and family can go on the Hog’s Breath raw bar webcam, give us a call on our cellphones and we can say Merry Christmas in person (well kind of)!!
Wishing all our family and friends much happiness, love and warmth for the holidays – we miss you all but you will be in our thoughts as we raise at least one toast to you all KW style! Warmest wishes from the Gypsies to you and yours!
December 22nd, 2008
We just got back to the boat in Stuart, FL where we left it for a night while we drove to Sebring to see our good friends from Kennebunkport, Francesca and John Spain (owners of Maine Art Gallery and The Gallery on Chase Hill – if you are ever in K’port, make it a point to stop in!!). Francesca and John just bought a magnificent house in Sebring and were gracious enough to let the Gypsies come hang by the pool for the day and crash for the night!!
Tammy here by the way…
Last post we had just left Daytona Beach – so how did we wind up in Sebring?? It’s a funny story and one fairly typical of cruising life – things are just more complicated on a boat! We needed to be in Stuart on Sunday, December 14th since Doug and a friend of ours that we met along the journey are doing some work on the boat to upgrade the electrical system. So we made a long run on the 13th down to Vero Beach. Fairly uneventful run until the wind started to really pick up, of course right as we were heading into the port – thank you Mother Nature. We were planning on picking up a mooring ball for the night at the town dock and Doug had Google-Earthed the harbor which looked pretty empty – NOT!!! We headed into the harbor and were told by the habormaster that we would be rafting up to another 43 foot boat – OK that was going to be a challenge in the newly blowing 25 knot wind in a narrow little harbor with a gizillion other boats! Obviously Google Earth is not real-time!! So the Gypsies crew adapted to the new change of plans and redid our lines and fenders – we found the boat we were supposed to raft up to and there was even an old salt on board to help take our lines. Unfortunately as Colleen and I both quickly realized as he stood up, his fly was completely open for all the world to see. Just what we needed in a tight situation!! I must say though that Colleen and I held in our laughter until we had thanked him for his able assistance and gone below to have a beer! You really just can’t make this stuff up – I’m telling you! If I could, maybe I’d give Carl Hiaassen a run for his money!
That night we were treated to a lighted Christmas boat parade throughout the harbor which was really very kewl and a moon that was so unbelievably huge it lit up the sky!
We read that it was the largest full moon of the year – no doubt but really, who figures that out?? We told our next door neighbor that we were getting up at the crack of dawn to head out and since our lines were tied to his boat, he offered to help us again in the morning. After the show we’d already seen, Colleen and I were a little afraid of what the morning would bring, but having no real choice we accepted his offer. Morning came around pretty quick (when you’re getting up in the dark!) and our neighbor emerged in his pajamas – OK not great but at least everything was tucked away this time!
We headed out to execute on our plan – pick up Colleen’s parents’ car in Pompano so we could then drive to Sebring. Now this was no simple feat – there are no buses running from Stuart to Fort Lauderdale or Pompano. So we decided to drop Colleen off at Ft. Pierce, have her take a bus to Fort Lauderdale, have one of her parents’ friends pick her up and drive her to Pompano so she could drive back and meet us in Stuart – only the Gypsies could come up with such a convoluted plan – but it worked!!! The one variable that made it all pretty challenging was the weather – of course Mother Nature didn’t cooperate and we had gale force winds all day that kicked up such a nasty chop on the ICW that John commented on the white caps in his coffee mug!! The chop was so bad that we took spray all the way up on the flybridge – now that is impressive. Oh and did I mention the maximum flood current we had when we were trying to dock at the Ft. Pierce marina to let Colleen off the boat? That was a fun twist but Doug did an admirable job at the helm and got us tied up so Colleen didn’t even have to jump!
Doug, John and I continued on our windy journey, making it through yet another Hell Gate (the third of the trip and they are never good!) and into the St. Lucie River. The slip we are staying at for the week is in one of those quintessential Florida housing developments with a canal out back for all the boats
- let me tell you how interesting that was to get our 49 foot boat through the twists and turns of the canal!!
But all is good – we were safely tied up by the time Colleen got back with the car. It being around 5:00 pm, we promptly got in the car and headed in to Duffy’s Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Stuart to watch the Patriots annihilate the Raiders (OK it really wasn’t much of a fight!).
The next morning we set out to see John and Francesca’s new house – we wound up driving through cypress swamps, alligator alleys, cow and horse farms and we saw enough roadkill along the way to last me a lifetime! There’s something about seeing a squashed armadillo alongside the road with the vultures circling to make you lose your appetite! The trip was well worth it – John and Francesca’s new home is spectacular!! We hung out by the pool and jacuzzi for awhile
catching up on all the latest news and events since we left (believe it or not, over three months ago) and then we went to Highlands Hammock State Park, which is just a couple miles from their house.
We walked first through a cypress swamp
where we saw egrets, raccoons
and lots of enormous spiders, one of which scared the living you know what out of me since I wasn’t expecting something that large, hairy and ugly at eye level as I came around a bend!! John, John and Colleen decided to try and feed it, while the rest of us decided to forge ahead, not in any way needing to see that miracle of nature! Next we headed to a trail that went through virgin Florida hammock – the flora was breathtaking and the huge spiders kept the boys entertained – what do they eat down here anyway to get that big and ugly?? We passed by lots of orange and grapefruit trees with our mouths watering
- Francesca had served us some of their own oranges for desert at lunch (they have an orange tree in their backyard – how kewl is that?).
Having gotten some exercise and feeling good about ourselves, we headed back to their house for a leisurely afternoon and evening around the pool and hottub with some coldies! The hospitality was unrivaled as John BBQ’d us a spectacular dinner on his new grill – we even had fresh mango and strawberry shortcake for desert!!! Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end (I’m convinced that’s only so you can get excited about the next kewl thing) and we all turned in early since we had to be up at 5:30 the next morning to head back to Stuart. Francesca and John have to head back to Maine today for the holidays but they will be back to their new paradise in FL after Christmas and plan on staying until the beginning of May. Hopefully we can catch up with them again before we hop to the Bahamas! We all want more of their oranges! Just kidding – we had a wonderful visit and were honored to be their first guests. After us, who knows if they will want to have more…. It was great to see them in their new home which we know has been a dream of theirs – given what we are doing, we love to see people following their dreams – I know they will be as happy with their new “semi-retired snowbird” life as we are with our new life!
As I write, Doug and our friend Steve are down in the engine room working on the electrical system upgrade. We expect to be here for the rest of the week and want to get lots of provisioning and other work done so that we can take several days off around Christmas to go to Key West to visit our musician friend Scott Kirby! What better way to spend our first Christmas away than on a bender in Key West????
December 16th, 2008
Well I’m not sure we found the fountain of youth in St. Augustine but we did find the sun!!!! Oh yes, we also found a very charming, historic Spanish town that we had a ball exploring.
Sun Pig (Tammy) here – which is why the sun was noted first up above! Hey, cut me some slack – we haven’t been able to wear shorts and flip flops in months (I know I’m not getting much sympathy am I?)
As we headed under the majestic Bridge of Lions (which is undergoing a massive repair) and docked at the Anchorage Inn, Marina and Fish Camp (you just can’t make this stuff up!), we were completely thrilled to have to shed clothes!! The four knot current and 15 knot winds didn’t phase us at all – you know you kind of know what you are doing when after a perfect dock the dockhands start telling you stories of all the boneheads that come in without lines or fenders ready and you just smile – if you’re out here for long, you’ve seen them slamming into the dock and occasionally taking out a pumpout station or one of the dockhands!
To take advantage of the sun, as soon as we secured the boat we headed to the “best happy hour on the island” (at least according to one of the little flyers we got upon checking in!) at the Conch House! With a name like that how could we go wrong?? We almost missed finding it because the Conch House Lounge (not to be confused with the restaurant) was a little wooden shack sitting out on stilts over the water – just our kind of place. The free popcorn and wings only made us love it more! The crowd was eclectic ranging from bluehairs to Pat Benatar look-alikes to working dudes, so we fit right in in our Buffett attire. The common thread was the fun everyone was having and the easy, laid-back atmosphere.
The next day after a morning of work on the boat, we set out to explore St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the US, founded in 1565 as a Spanish military outpost. So it seemed only fitting that we first walked to Castillo de San Marcos, which was built in 1672 to protect the harbor.
En route we were so excited to be in shorts again with the sun shining warm and bright, we used the delay feature on John’s camera to catch all four Gypsies along the waterfront.
Next it was on to the city gates
and the Spanish Quarter – what a treasure we found! Traces of the city’s Spanish heritage are everywhere in the architecture, 
the gardens, 
the fountains 
and even the layout of the streets and parks. 
We of course were interested in the local Spanish watering holes and partook of several – the Milltop Tavern in the Spanish Quarter being the first stop for sustenance (and several coldies).
We got to sit outside atop an old oak tree and listen to live music as we soaked up the sun along with a few pitchers.
On St. George Street, the hub of the Spanish Quarter, we passed the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the US as well as numerous funky shops of all colors and styles!
For local flavor we were entertained by a street musician who really should have found a different occupation, but we were on to Scarlett O’Hara’s so we didn’t care! How do you go to St. Augustine and not go there??? We walked the length of the Spanish Quarter and then found ourselves wandering in the Colonial District – by some miracle we wound up at OC White’s Tiki Bar
which was not open due to the hour, so we settled for happy hour inside at the bar where Colleen got to meet a real pirate! Our trip to St. Augustine was much too short and while we didn’t find Ponce de Leon’s fountain of youth (or maybe we did sipping coldies at the top of the Milltop tavern – who knows?), we did see Ponce as he sits looking over the harbor and that was enough for us!
On the way back to the boat, we had to stop for the Bridge of Lions to lift so a sailboat could get by but with the sun setting behind the bridge, it was a sight to behold – we didn’t mind the wait at all!
Before we knew it, we were off the next day to Daytona Beach – no, none of us are gearheads, it was just a convenient place to stop for the night. The trip down was unbelievable – on numerous occasions we had families (including babies) and pods of dolphins playing in our wake.
It was as if each was trying to outdo the others with their backflips and jumps out of the water;
some we even caught swimming upside down and sideways!
These creatures are so wonderful and fun – they constantly look like they are smiling
- I hope I never take them for granted!!
As we headed south the wind and the water picked up and the weather report took a turn for the worse, so instead of anchoring as we had planned, we headed into a marina for the night. Nothing for us to do but explore Daytona Beach a little – so off to RedTail’s we went for happy hour. John has become our unofficial scout – whatever new location we hit, he is in charge of finding maps and scoping out places of interest (ie watering holes with good music and happy hours and occasionally other “have to see” sights…). He doesn’t know it but I just made his title official!!
I woke up the next morning to a really horrible weather report so we decided to hold over in Daytona rather than risk the squalls, thunderstorms and gale winds predicted for that day – you know you should sit tight when NOAA says the ICW is going to be “rough”. After a morning of work, we headed out in the pouring rain (we’re boaters, we have foulies!!) for lunch and found a great Irish pub called McK’s – lots of corned beef and several coldies later, we headed back to the boat and a relatively early night as we had a 6:00 am wake-up call for today’s steam.
When we headed out at daybreak this morning, it was overcast and dark so the weather could have gone either way. Luckily for us the sun decided to break through and even though it was too windy and cold (again!!) for us to drive from the flybridge, the sun was a welcome relief after the torrential rains of the day before. From what we hear, we’re just glad we weren’t back up in New England with the ice storm – hope everyone’s OK!!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many dolphins in my life, let alone in one day as we did today – we had them playing in our wake, jumping across our bow and even doing pirouettes for us as we came in to anchor this afternoon – very kewl!!
But despite being in manatee zones most of the day, 
we never did spot one – I guess that’s something to look forward to tomorrow or the next day….
December 12th, 2008
That’s what it says on those classic post cards from the 1950s, so consider this to be an updated version of that old chestnut.
John here…
Yes, the Gypsies have finally made it to the Sunshine State, and while there has been some sunshine — and you’re probably all tired of hearing us moan about it — it’s not exactly warm here in the charming border town of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. Thankfully, the people here are as warm as can be.
We found that out when we dinghied in from our mooring in the middle of the Amelia River, which serves as the natural border between Georgia and Florida. First stop was a little place called the Palace Saloon, which is billed as the oldest tavern in Florida.
The place had precisely the kind of down-home funk we like in a bar, and when Buzz the bartender offered to hold off ringing up our beers until happy hour began 30 minute later, our faith in human nature was reaffirmed yet again.
We asked about ordering some food, but as Buzz explained, “We stopped doing food about five years ago. We’re just a saloon now.”
It didn’t take long for some of the regulars to come over and welcome us. That welcome included a harmonica serenade from a local character named Felix,
and another gentleman who basically adopted us. His name was Ken, a proud Vietnam vet and an equally proud resident of Fernandina Beach since 1960. After a few rounds — including the Palace Saloon’s famed “Pirate’s Punch” complete with a collectible plastic cup — Ken offered to show us the island and bring us to his private club. The five of us piled into his SUV and after the grand driving tour — one in which he showed us his “heat,” those being the two hand-guns he had in the car — we pulled up to the Kraft Athletic Club and gazed upon a staggeringly beautiful sunset over the marsh.
The view was just as good from inside the club, which was a modest place akin to what our Manchester friends would compare to the Raphael Club.
Ken’s sister Rosemary was behind the bar, where the top-priced beer was a mere two bucks. Because we were with Ken, we were greeted like old friends and the best part was, without him noticing, we managed to pick up the tab. It was the least we could do in return for his hospitality, and after he dropped us off back in town, we raced toward Pablo’s Mexican restaurant — remember, the Palace did away with food five years ago — and ate like we’d never eaten before.
One of Ken’s many tips was to try breakfast at a place called T-Rays, and we obliged on Saturday morning. It’s based in an old Exxon station, and even though there isn’t so much as a single sign outside,
we still had to wait in line to order our meals. They were truly southern-style — eggs, grits, biscuits, bacon and sausage — and we dined while surrounded by college football memorabilia, gas station ephemera and a little boy decked out in full camo gear. Yes, we’re in the south.
Doug and Tammy had work to do on the boat, so Colleen and I explored Fernandina Beach by foot. We got to see Christmas carolers performing at historic southern homes,
we got to visit the local farmer’s market and we came upon the annual Christmas Dog Parade, which, forgive me, was a howl.
Later, when we were poking around a little store called Fred’s, we ran into two of our old friends, Brett and Jill, whom we had met at the Alligator River Marina a few weeks back. We agreed to meet at the Palace — a great surprise for Tammy and Doug — and proceeded to party the afternoon away.
Given the Palace’s food policy, by mid-afternoon, we headed to another local spot called the Green Turtle Tavern, and we struck gold again. We had the Florida-Alabama game on the flat-screen, smoky chili in Styrofoam cups and $3 pints of Longboard Ale.
Oysters were the only thing missing, but not for long. One of the regulars asked Stan the bartender if he could roast some oysters on the outside grill, and soon enough, the roasters — Sean, and his girlfriend, Allison — were shucking warm oysters for us. From then on, it was messy but satisfying self-service. I don’t know how many I ate, but Sean had to make another oyster run to see us through the night, which also included take-out pizza on the deck.
Great people, great food, great day.
At the moment, it’s Sunday morning and we’re busy bouncing about on our mooring ball — the Amelia River’s rocking a bit — before we head back in for one more day at Fernandina Beach. Tomorrow, with all of Florida beckoning to the south, we set out for St. Augustine.
It may just be the stuff of legend, but that’s where Doug and I intend to seek out Ponce de Leon’s fabled Fountain of Youth.
December 7th, 2008
After being in the Intracoastal Waterway for a little over a month, we awoke this morning in Walburg Creek with considerable anticipation…for we were headed back out into the Atlantic Ocean for an offshore passage down to St. Simon’s Island, GA. Tomorrow the plan is to again go outside and travel down to Fernandina Beach, FL (Mother Nature permitting of course)!!
Tammy here by the way.
We entered the ICW at the beginning of November in Norfolk, VA and have passed through the states of North and South Carolina without once traveling on the ocean – in fact, now that I think about it, we haven’t actually been in the ocean since entering the Delaware Bay way back in late September since we were in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and the James River all of October!! We’ve gone much further on the ICW than we had initially thought we would. The ICW has been truly an unexpected bonus – we have thoroughly enjoyed the varied scenery, the quaint Southern towns along the way, the comraderie of so many boats in close quarters often going to the same places, and the navigational challenges caused by floating debris, swift running currents and very narrow and shallow channels, rivers and creeks. But due to the lack of dredging in the ICW in Georgia, it has become more work than fun – we all know that’s not what this trip is about, so its time to head back outside!
Our last two nights have been spent in quiet anchorages, first in the Herb River and then in Walburg Creek, where in both we were well protected from the howling winds and cold that had forced us to drive from the helm station and not the flybridge. Last night we were treated to a spectacular sunset
and then the stars were out in full force – we dreamt of nights not far off when it would be warm enough for us to be out on the bow or up topsides looking at the stars (without 4 layers of clothes)!
Today mother nature has smiled on us – we awoke to sun and while I won’t say warmth, at least it wasn’t the biting cold we have had for the last “unseasonably cold” month or so. This morning there was dew, not frost on the dinghy and a fine haze of fog hung across the creek which was so still there wasn’t a ripple in the water.
A sure sign that we are getting closer to the warm weather is that Colleen ditched her long johns today (although she does still have the turtleneck and winter gloves!) and we are driving from the flybridge. What a glorious day to be back out in the Atlantic – the seas are calm, the sun is shining and we are sharing the seas with the dolphins (of which there are many!), the jellyfish and the shrimp boats.
The Coast Guard keeps coming on the radio telling us of Northern Right Whale sightings pretty much in our location, but we haven’t seen any yet.
We are certainly keeping our eyes open….luckily today we are wearing sunglasses! Can the sunscreen be far behind?? FL here we come!!
December 4th, 2008
Ray Charles had it right when he sang the song of approximately the same title, because the crew of Gypsies couldn’t wait to drive south from Hilton Head in order to visit the city of Savannah. However, since there was a driving rain, we needed a plan to visit America’s “first planned city.” That plan entailed a Sunday afternoon ride on the “Old Town Trolley” tour bus, which kept us (relatively) warm and dry as we made the rounds of this fascinating town.
John here, incidentally, and I apologize for my prolonged absence from the blog. After flying home for a week of work in New Hampshire, it’s taken me another week to decompress on the boat.
How to describe Savannah? In many ways, it’s like a time warp; a genteel southern city that was built around 24 — now down to 22 — gorgeous town squares. For locals, those squares (or parks) may constitute a driving nightmare, but for visitors, they offer a glimpse into a slow-paced way of life that would have been prevalent when the city’s founding father, Gen. James Oglethorpe, was laying out the town in his mind’s eye.
Our tour guide was a droll Savannah boy named Don, and whether he was showing us the site of the bus-stop bench scene in “Forrest Gump,” or haunted mansions like the Sorrel-Weed House, or the Mercer home — scene of a scandalous murder as played out in the film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” — he managed to weave history, folk-lore and popular culture into a comfortable tapestry.
Consider the tale of the “Pirate House,” where the shady, rum-soaked conscription of sailors was said to have been an inspiration for “Treasure Island” author Robert Louis Stevenson,
and, as for small touches, Don pointed out the ornate iron dolphin downspouts that indicated the prosperity of the homeowners on the most elegant of the squares.
Among the other highlights? We saw the Savannah homes of Juliette Gordon Lowe, who started the Girl Scouts of America, plus songwriter Johnny Mercer (whose hits include “Moon River” and “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”), and the fabulous fountains at Forsyth Square where a semi-homeless writer named Eddy Barnes agreed to take our picture in exchange for a small donation.
If you’ve been following along, you won’t be surprised to hear that we hopped off the bus on Savannah’s famous “River Walk”
to sample a few brews before we headed to the City Market area, (where we encountered a replica of a famous film star you may recognize.)
Next stop was the Wild Wings Cafe to watch the first half of the Patriots-Steelers game. Half-time proved to be the perfect time to leave. We left so Colleen and I could celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary — along with Tammy and Doug, naturally — with a rather lavish dinner at a Hilton Head restaurant called “CQ’s.” It was all we could have hoped for, and cheers to Colleen for finding such an out-of-the-way gem.
Ridiculously high winds compelled us to stay tied down at Skull Creek Marina on Monday, and since the rental car was still in our possession, while Doug and Tammy took care of some business on the boat, Colleen and I were able to cruise back to Savannah for an encore visit. This time, without the driving rain, it was a walking tour.
Since you’re all big history buffs, you should know that Gen. Oglethorpe’s success in creating Savannah was helped in no small measure by “Tomochichi,” a Yamacraw Indian chief who kept peace between the Native Americans and white settlers. Proof of his legacy can be found at his burial site in Wright Square, which is marked by an enormous chunk of granite taken from Georgia’s famed Stone Mountain.
Moving ahead to the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette was instrumental in helping us secure our freedom from the British. He came to Savannah on a victory tour some 50 years after the fact, and the balcony from which he addressed the people of Savannah is a site of some historic renown.
Meanwhile, you can’t write about a Southern city without mentioning the Civil War — I know, DON’T MENTION THE WAR! — so it should be noted that Savannah didn’t fall under Union control until Dec. 22, 1864. That’s when General William Tecumseh Sherman entered the city shortly after burning Atlanta and everything else in his path on his “march to the sea.” When he reached Savannah, however, Sherman was so impressed by its beauty that he could not destroy it. On the day of his arrival, he sent a famous telegram to President Lincoln, offering the city as a Christmas present.
An extra day in Savannah was a present indeed, and after returning the rental car this morning, we cast off at 8:30 a.m. and resumed our voyage south to an anchorage on the Herb River in Georgia. The warm weather is still eluding us — it’s about 50-degrees, max, which has Doug and Tammy running the boat from the enclosed helm station — but we know the warmth is down here somewhere. That, and cruising on through Georgia, is definitely on our minds.
December 2nd, 2008
