Delivery of Gratitude

My first sailboat delivery. Tom's second. How kewl is this going to be! Our friends Paul and Judy traded their beloved and somewhat famous Island Packet 465 - Halimeda for an almost new Island Packet 445 Center Cockpit and probably a few $$.
They decided to move it from St Augustine FL to Brunswick GA. They asked us to help with the delivery. The crew was rounded out by Jim Osborn from KC, MO and Oliver Holmes from NC. They have both previously sailed on Halimeda. Great guys. So we flew into St Augustine FL on Thursday, May 7th. A cab delivered us to the marina around 1am where Ms Judy was already waiting. Gratitude is spectacular. Very spacious. Jim and Oliver immediately noticed Admiral Judy's touches. Seems Halimeda was more of a "boy boat". After we all turned in and the lights were out, Jim even noted to us all from his bunk in the salon that "man Jones, the sleets and blankets even smell nice!" Sort of a goodnight John Boy moment that gave us all a good laugh. It was the first of many, many laughs on this delivery.

Turns out we had good company in the marina. Tiger Woods was playing in a golf tournie up the road and brought his little ole dink over the the marina so he could chill on it each evening. I am sure if his wife looked out the window as we motored by that morning, she would think we were lookie-lous taking pics just because it's Tigers boat. What she doesn't realize is how boat crazy Tom and I are and that we would take pics of that boat no matter whose boat it was.

Anywho....marina company aside. We topped off the water tank and set off for Brunswick GA. There wasn't much wind as we motored out into the Atlantic. Paul headed out a little over 3 miles and then turned north. Next stop Brunswick GA. We saw tons of sea life.

Everyone tested the various sitting places around the cockpit and deck. I found the "park bench" on the aft deck particularly comfie. Man, this delivery stuff is rough - NOT! Eventually the wind picked up enough to shutdown the iron genny and sail. We all loved that.

We approached the entrance to Brunswick around dusk. The quickly disappearing sun made it a bit difficult to spot the markers but with a team effort we did just fine. A huge car carrier was rapidly gaining on us. The pilot made contact to let us know he was back there...as if we couldn't see the ship as large as a Macy's department store bearing down on us. Paul radioed back that we would pop outside the channel and let him slide by. We had plenty of depth. He appreciated it and was soon gliding by. It was very scary how incredibly quite the engines were on this mammoth.

Soon we were tied up at the guest dock in Brunswick GA. It was 11pm. The delivery took approximately 12 hrs.

The next day was for exploring the area. We sailed around the corner and anchored. A quick walk shore and then we were off to explore another area. Or were we.





What is wrong with this picture?

Zippy sailing? A bit of heeling?

Well, yes....but not because of the wind.

Yes, we ran aground. And poor Tom was at the wheel when it happened. And yes, we had just completed our coastal navigation. But in Tom's defense, he did review the exit with Captain Paul and it's apparently an issue with a poorly marked river channel that shifts quite a bit.

We tried to back off. No luck. A quick check determined that the tide was in fact just now starting to go out. Oh no. Not good. Paul called Tow US. They came out 45 mins later but said they couldn't stay or they would run aground. Not good.

So we just settled in for a crazy afternoon party at a 45 degree angle. Many pictures were taken. Jokes were made and laughs abounded. Moving around the boat became a sort of like walking in a goofy fun house due to the angle of heel.

Jim and Oliver decided a ride around the boat in the dinghy was in order. Pictures were taken. Eventually they couldn't stand it any longer and had to go swimming. Jim finally slide off the port side of the boat to discover the water only thigh deep. Soon we were all in the water taking tons of pics. Paul checked the recent bottom job and bow thruster issue.


Finally the water started to rise, Tow US returned and we were pulled off slowly.

Captain Paul and Admiral Judy were not upset. In fact they got their up and coming Xmas card pic for 2009.
It really was the best of a bad situation. No one got hurt. The boat didn't get damaged. It was a good weather vs bad. It was day time vs night. It really is true - there are two types of sailors...those who have run aground and those who have yet to run aground. Tom can now check that off his list.



That evening at dinner Jim expressed it best...."I had the best time today. Tom I sure am glad it was you at the helm when it happened and not me but I had a blast today!" We all laughed.

The next day was clean up and work on the boat day. Tom and I did laundry. It was fun reading the cruisers log in the laundry lounge. Holy Cow! There have been some serious cruisers through this marina. Seems it's a great hurricane hole and many make it a regular stop as they travel north and south each season. I wouldn't want to spend a ton of time there in the summer. It was only the first part of May and still hotter than heck with too many no seeums.