Chapter 2.2 Nephews and Cousins
April 11th: An easy passage from St Augustine to Ponte Vedra - a trip of 31 miles and ended up at the Palm Cove Marina. A shallow spot to be sure. As we backed Navigator into the slip the dock hand tried to pull the stern in close to the dock but she did not move. I got out the boat hook and probed into the water and discovered an ooze at less than 4' 8" - which is what Navigator draws - so we were 'stuck'. Fortunately it was dead low tide! We made sure to leave a something closer to high tide.
The following morning, my nephew Tom & his son Jackson showed up at 9:30 AM for a tour of Navigator. An exciting time for all of us (especially Jackson age 4). He by far is the most excited and curious visitor we have had aboard Navigator. He inspected every drawer, cabinet & locker and climbed down into the engine room with me.
That evening we joined Tom, Kristina, Jackson & Cassidy (and dogs Olive & Graham) at their lovely home for smoked lamb. Kristina's aunt Audrey, uncle Rich - and their son Thomas - were also there visiting. Jackson enamored by a new toy Space Shuttle, and Cassidy actively moving around underfoot. Great fun! A lovely visit. Tom and Kristina have their hands full with two small children (and two dogs!) but they certainly are thriving!
Ponte Vedra was the last port in Florida for us as the next day we pressed on past Jacksonville and Amelia Island and anchored at the north end of Cumberland Island - in Georgia. After 1500 miles in Florida, finally another State.
And what a change in geography and geology! No more Carbonate Platform! The entire state of Florida is flat marshy land underlain by limestone and phosphate rock built up in a shallow sea over millions of years. At the edges, barrier islands stringing on for mile after mile (like Siesta Key on the Gulf or Daytona Beach on the Atlantic) separated from the main land by long straight "rivers" (like the Indian River) interspersed with small inlets (like Haulover Inlet or Sebastian Inlet). Everything is so low and flat that the ground you walk on is either sand, or swamp (or pavement. There are almost no outcroppings of bedrock. The few we saw (in northern Florida) but would have been all too easy to miss - if not for my 'geologic eye'.
In Georgia, suddenly big meandering salt marshes behind massive tree covered islands (Cumberland Island, Jekyll Island, Sapelo Island) and big open sounds (like Cumberland Sound, St Simon Sound and Andrews Sound), reaching the Atlantic Ocean between the islands. The Sounds are the mouths of fairly large rivers (St Mary's River, Savannah River), the meandering salt marshes are distributary channels in the deltas of those rivers. The Intercoastal Waterway meanders along among the distributary channels. Muddy brown water. Lots of current. And suddenly 7 to 8 ft tides instead of the 1 -/2 ft tides in Florida.
A lot less boat traffic outside of Florida too. Mostly northbound sailboats and trawlers like us leaving Florida heading to the Chesapeake - or beyond - for the summer months. We see them, pass them or are passed by them in the morning but by afternoon the traffic thins out. A few local crabbers. A few local sport fishermen in center consoles, but often no other boats on the horizon. Several nights we were the only boat in sight when we anchored.
And a surprising amount wildlife in Georgia. We have seen a manatee (did not know they came to Georgia); dolphins; a feral pig; an armadillo; a number of Bald Eagles; Osprey; Pelicans (both American & regular); Wood Stork; Summer Tanager (beautiful red bird); a Kingfisher on our bow sprit; egrets (Snowy & Great), Night Herons; a Green Heron; Blue Heron; Redwing Blackbirds; and a lot fewer Cormorants (thankfully). And of course lots of evidence of fish (the presences of all these birds being the primary evidence!).
April 13th: We spent the first night at Cumberland Island and arrived in time for a walk across the island to the beach. Which is where we encountered the armadillo, and our first feral pig!
By the third night we crossed St Andrew Sound, St Simon Sound & the Altamaha River and ended up in Blackbeard Creek. We entered a narrow channel in the salt marsh passing over a shallow bar - carefully keeping track of the depth we passed over - first to make sure we didn't run aground, and second to make sure we could get back out in the morning! Blackbeard Creek lies between Blackbeard Island and Sapelo Island. The story is that this was where the notorious Pirate Blackbeard would retire to resting up and avoiding capture. By far the loveliest island we had been too. The walk across the island to the beach was through incredible Live Oak trees covered in Spanish Moss.
April 15th: From Blackbeard we went to Savannah. Our plan had been to stop at a marina and have dinner at the Old Pink House. About half way we were startled to have an engine warning alarm sound off. "Gear Pressure Input Hi". Sounding somewhat ominous, we quickly anchored while I tried to figure out what was going on. I could find nothing obvious with regard to engine oil pressure of coolant temperatures. The engine manual did not include that particular alarm code and Googling it gave vague and conflicting 'advice'. I changed the Racor fuel filters based on something I recalled the previous owner telling me, but it had no effect on the alarm.
We decided to proceed cautiously to Savannah - and were able to enjoy the evening seeing some of the sights - with dinner at the Olde Pink House.
In Savannah, I did manage to get a diesel mechanic to take a look the next day but he was a CAT guy and really didn't have any experience with Cummins engines so we were left not knowing much more than before. I went to Home Depot and got a Digital Infrared temperature gun so I could keep closer track of the engine - and we could keep moving. I am hoping to connect with a Cummins guy in Southport, NC.
Looking back, I realized that the engine alarm appeared after a couple of incidents where the "Start" battery didn't have enough cranking power to start the engine (we were able to start by combining the Start and House batteries). Related to the pressure alarm? Unrelated? Regardless it was starting to appear that the Start battery was failing. After all it was the same age as the House batteries which I had just replaced the week before, so probably not surprising that it too was nearing the end of it's life. Add it to the list.
April 18th: We arrived at Hilton Head mid afternoon Friday and soon my cousin Rob and his wife Agneta arrived to greet us. We enjoyed a bottle of Prosecco together and gave them an opportunity to tour Navigator. We spent a lovely Easter weekend with Rob & Agneta - as well as my other cousin Susan and her husband Paul who live 5 minutes from Rob.
On Saturday I spent a few hours on the boat trying to get a better feel for some of our problems. The first thing I discovered is that the Start battery was reading only 11.4 volts. After the full day before of running (and being charged by the alternatior - it should have been fully charged and reading 12.6 or so. Alas, that was the final straw. Time to replace it. On Sunday, Easter morning, Rob and I ran to West Marine (yes they were open) grabbed a new battery (well lugged might be a more apt description considering it weighed 100 pounds) and managed to get it installed in a hour or so.
Meanwhile Agneta had put on her realtor hat and was providing Liz with a description of all the attractions of life on Hilton Head. The two of them were deep into Zillow - and every where we went in the car, Agneta would ask Rob to 'swing by' such and such 'so they can see it'! She is a good salesperson and Hilton Head is truly a delightful place….something to think about.
The capping event was Easter dinner at Susan's house where they had a gathering of a dozen or more of their friends. Interesting people and lively conversation - and plenty of food! I am so glad w were able to stay an extra night and enjoy Easter with family!
Hilton Head is just over 500 miles from Ft Pierce and pretty much represents the halfway point between Fort Pierce and our destination of Hampton, VA. On Monday the 21st we said our goodbye's and started heading north again. Another 500 miles to go!
Awesome descriptions, informed by your geology background and love of the water! Great to have such rich relationships to enjoy while on this journey. Continued safe travels, with plenty of power and no more alarms!
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