Dirty Laundry - We Are Not Sailing Purist

Saturday, May 9th, 2015

Some people are sailing purist or close to it.  We are not.  We use our engine.  We have a 56 horse power engine and 200 gallons of diesel and we are not afraid to use it.

There are those cruisers / sailors that rarely use their engine.  Sometimes this is because they don't like or want to - purists.  Others, it's because they have limited fuel.  There are those that don't even have engines.  Not an option for us.  Must have a good strong engine was high on our priority list when picking a boat.  It's a vital tool for us.  We use the tools we have.

I have read many a cruising blog where after a year of cruising the blogger states with shock how much they motored.  Not me.  I knew we would motor a lot.  While we keep track of engine hours, motoring and sail sets in our log, it's not something we are hung up on.  Yes, we 

like to sail.  It's wonderful to shut off the noise of the engine and move along under sail power alone.  

However, move along is an important factor.  While we are not on a schedule, there are things we are purists about such as never coming into a new or unfamiliar harbor at night.  Never!  The same is true for one we have been into but that is challenging.  For the most part, we don't enter into anywhere at night.  If we are out sailing at night, it's several miles off shore on passage to another island.  This is very different than our previous lake sailing where we sailed nearly everywhere.  Sailing up the long arm of the lake to the yacht club meant 5 hours tacking back.  Oh well.  Night sail until midnight and then back to the slip, fun stuff.

Another factor is getting a good anchoring spot or mooring ball.  Some anchorages are small with limited good holding spots.  You don't want to dilly- dally around getting to these anchorages.  Thus if the wind drops off, we might fire up the engine to help us get there and get a mooring ball vs sailing along at 3 knots and arriving late to find no mooring balls and screaming winds in the anchorage meaning anchor watch all night or possibly dragging anchor.

We motor sailed yesterday to get to our new location.  Big deal.  We arrived safely to a new to us, upwind ie challenging to sail to destination in plenty time to find our way in to this new harbor, get anchored and straighten the boat out from sailing mode back into anchor mode.  We actually attempted to get here the day before but we discovered that we didn't set out early enough.  The upwind beat was tougher than we anticipated - tacking back and forth and even using motor sailing from our location was not going to work against the wind, waves and current....making 2 knots, it would take us hours and hours and we would arrive after dark.  Plan B - crack off, sail to The Saints and try again tomorrow - earlier and at a better angle.  

This morning we left at 6:35 AM.  We motor sailed tight on the wind to clear a certain point of land on Guadeloupe to arrive mid-day into our new anchorage.  An anchorage with a challenging seabed - meaning it took us three attempts to get set and even then we have been on cautious anchor watch throughout the afternoon to be sure we are really set and don't drag.  

While cruising for us is about the journey - the exploration, the unexpected discoveries, and adventure vs the destination......we still need to get places and thus sometimes we sail and sometimes we motor.  

Charleston to Brunswick 2012 Day Four

#1we did not magically sail through the marsh area

We had the anchor up and moving at 7:20.  *Notice a trend?  A little later each day.  Hey, we are on holiday!  The sailing was smooth but check out the above and below.

#2 Magenta line would have run us aground

Notice anything weird?  No, we did not run aground but would have it we would have been blindly following the chartplotter.  Those are terrific tools and we are happy to have and use them.  However, nothing beats a sailors eyes, ears and common sense.  *Hey Compy Comp, didn't we discuss (argue) about this very thing recently?

The stretch we cruised a few times above Little Mud River

Our next thin water challenge was Little Mud river.  Damned, if we didn't come up to it at falling/near low tide.  Yeah, bad planning but there wasn't really a way to do it otherwise unless we were going to take another day.  Just above the Little Mud River run a big Sea Ray goes bombing by so I hailed him.  "Sea Ray headed south on ICW above little river, this is the sailing vessel off your starboard."  He came on so I asked "Captain, are you headed through Little Mud River?"....Long pause...."Um, let us check the chart and get right back to you."  They were and we asked them to radio back the depths.  But in the mean time I was cracking up.  Some big ass powerboat with a New York homeport.  "Hey Joe, I got a new powerboat.  Want to bomb down to Florida on the ICW with me.  Yeah, I don't know what I am doing but I have electronics and a pink line to show the way."  I know that isn't true but it just seemed that way so I giggled on it for the rest of the day.

Cap10 Tom ready to head through Little Mud River

He reported back 5'9" but then radioed back again to say he saw 5'1" so we waited.  We were going to anchor off in one of the creeks but decided instead to cruise back and forth just above Little Mud River run.

Entrance to Little Mud River

It was good practice in patience and maneuvering.  The depths above were pretty thin as well.  Finally, we saw the bubbles moving in the other direction and went for it.

Yep, muddy banks.  Lots of them

Tom had the helm this time.  He did great, especially because he spared me any details of what he was seeing in depth unless I asked.  He did have a 5'5" but we never touched.  Yay!

Look closely at the pink pelican on the left.  He was!

After Little Mud River, we pushed on through all the way to Brunswick.  It was well after dark when we finally hit St Simon Sound.  Generally we would never do this but we felt like we knew it well enough from being there before on s/v Honey Ryder for 6 months and with our sailing buddy Paul previously.  Plus we had our numerous electronics and AIS.  However, I will say thank goodness for all the above because the sound looks like a Xmas tree with all the red and green lights for the various shipping channels, range markers, shore lights, etc...  But we still used the paper charts and binocs as we cruised along.  Of course we are doing great until some mini car carrier comes hauling ass out of Brunswick.  By mini I mean only 6 football fields long vs 10.  And yeah, he had his proper lights on but those things are so big and dark otherwise.  WE LOVE YOU AIS!  It was still a bit of a "OMG" moment.  I hailed him - as he hadn't said a peep to us as he barreled toward us.  He calmly replied to my hail "please stay out of the channel."  Okay.  Thankfully there was enough water to pull off to the side and let car carrier Darth Vader by.  Next on the AIS was a tug.  But he wasn't moving toward us very fast.  WTF?  Oh wait, binoc look behind us out the St Simon channel....Oh shit....he comes Darth Vaders big brother, Dark Lord-grand car carrier!  Hammer down time for us.  The two car carriers had an interesting time passing each other which gave us time to get the hell out of dodge on up to Brunswick Landing Marina.  We pulling into the fuel dock at 9:30pm.  68 mile day.  Whew!  We had a terrific trip.  The ICW is certainly interesting and challenging. 

     

Charleston to Brunswick 2012 Tides and Current

For a couple of long time sailors from Kansas, tides and current continue to be a new and .....exciting challenge for us.  Anchoring in the various creeks off the ICW, we had to take into account the current and tide when anchoring, as well as all the other normal things like depth, wind direction, bottom, etc...  When we anchored in Big Tom Creek, we decided to anchor into the wind, thinking it would win over flood tide.  *Actually, we misread the waves because of wind direction as the tide/current.  But NO.  Tide/current won out so we had a nice little ride around the other direction until we finally settled in.  It was soooo weird to watch the current flood in and yet the little waves from the wind push the other way.  "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."  

Charleston to Brunswick Day Three

Morning was SO quiet in our little anchorage in Bull Creek, close Hilton Head.  We got anchor up and moving at 7:05. 

ICW Smoothies for breakfast!  Mashed bananas, greek yogurt (finally available to us non-greek...love this stuff!) and juice.  No rum.  It's morning people!  No Magic Bullet blender needed, just some arm power.  Actually a good little morning workout. 

More hovels along the ICW.  It's so interesting to see all these homes from the vantage point of the waterway.

We waved hello to Tammy and Rick s/v TammyAnn as we cruised past Turner's Creek location of Sail Harbor Marine and Boatyard.  That is where we stayed last year when we had the tuna tower built/added to s/v Honey Ryder.  The high rise on the right in the picture below is where Jimmy Hoffa is buried.  The Boykin brother's told us so.  They grew up there.  Apparently all the New York, New Jersey mobsters used to come down there and hang out, including Hoffa.  It seems one evening, after closing, a huge outdoor dance floor (concrete pad) was poured overnight.  In ONE evening.  The local rumor has it that Jimmy Hoffa is six feet under that dance floor.

RIP Jimmy Hoffa

For those following along at home, the stretch through Isle of Hope was really, really thin.  And it wasn't even low tide.  Our depth alarm went off big time.  Man, is that sucker loud.  Took me a few mins to figure out how to turn it off.  We are a bit rusty at boat electronics, alarms, systems, etc...(.it's been too long since we were on s/v Honey.)  Luckily Tom was at the helm when it shrieked.  Smart husband that he is, he didn't share with his depth sensitive wife the low depths he was seeing on the depth meter prior to the alarm.  But we never touched bottom.

Sailing Chef Salad

Knowing Hell Gate has super thin water even at high tide, we pulled off on the Vernon River at Possum Pt dropped anchor and had some lunch.  After this nice break, we proceeded down to Hell Gate to find a tug coming through and then another tug pushing a barge.  The second guy asked us to wait while he came through (D-uh) so we circled.  He made it through but churned up the bottom in a spot or two.  His guess was 5'5" for depth at that time....our keel depth.  So we took a leisurely stroll back up the ICW a few markers to let the tide rise a bit more and then went for it.  I had the helm.  The wind and current coming off the sounds on each side made it tough to stay lined up.  And then the corkscrewing required between marks and worrying if I was turning too soon, too late or cutting a corner added to the fun.    I saw 8'7" at one point.  It was nerve racking but we made it through without a bump.

Funky little crab or shrimp boat

We tucked into Big Tom's Creek around 6:30.  Big thunderstorms had built by then and radar looked like we would really get hit.  The wind build up and we prepped for a bit of a blow....snarfing down leftovers, storing stuff, grabbing foulies, head lamps (it was dark by then), big spotlight, and camping out in the cockpit on anchor watch as the storms got closer and closer.  But we only got very light sprinkling and cooler temps.  Once again we watched the storms slide by which was fine by us.

Charleston to Brunswich 2012 Day Two

Anchor up at 7am.  The rain that we eluded the day before caught up with us today and we had rain showers off and on throughout the day.  It wasn't too bad and gave s/v Honey Ryder a much needed wash down.  She had a fine layer of bridge dust from the big bridge in Charleston.  No lie.  The locals in the marina there call it "bridge dust."

Eric's Island

Fenwick Island - inside joke!

Cut through Fenwick -allowed it for the $$ no doubt!

There are some really nice houses on the ICW.  This might be a new way for appraiser Tom to do his drive by appraisals.

We made the noon opening at the Ladies Island swing bridge in Beaufort SC.

It took a while for it to swing completely open

Green on the starboard side?  When heading south on the ICW?  Beaufort River/Port Royal - yes but look closely.  Can you see it?  The little yellow sticker with the triangle shape.  yeah.....I couldn't see it either until Tom spotted it through the bi-knocks.

see the little yellow ICW sticker?

Maybe our RV friends (Peterson's, King's, Hunsinger's) should check this spot out.  It looked pretty kewl.  Maybe we can meet them there on s/v Honey Ryder sometime.

Good motor coach destination

Locked (ie gated harbor) at Hilton Head.  The AIS went crazy with some of the big yachts  hidden inside there. Whatever.  As if tides and currents aren't enough.  How in the world would one deal with a gate/lock?   I know, there is a lock/gate person but it all seems like a lot of hassle.

Gated Marina?????

Iconic Hilton Head lighthouse.

Hilton Head Lighthouse

Anchor down at 5:50 at st mile #565 - Bull Creek, a quiet little creek (but deeper than most) not far from the above light house.   49.5 nm total today.  We got the anchor set and were just relaxing when some small thunderstorms moved through.  Nothing too bad however I did put as many of our electronics as I could possibly manage in the oven because of the lightening.  *Does that even work?  But the Tstroms skirted by us and we only had sprinkle and some cooler wind.

YUM

Dinner was Sabrina's Lazy Chicken Cordon Bleu over rice w/broccoli. 

Charleston to Brunswich 2012 Day One

Headed out

We slipped the dock lines at 8am.  NE wind pushing waves in with ebb tide out made the harbor entrance a choppy ride out.  Oh well.

Wing on wing

Once we made the turn south we pretty much had a broad reach / run.  We always set a preventer just because and with the occasional big swell surfing up behind us and knocking the boat and boom askew, we were glad we did.   The only jibes were controlled and intentional.

Breakers at entrance of the inlet

Our destination North Edisto Inlet.  We opted for a sail down the coast vs messing with the Wappoo Creek bridge opening and fast moving currents through Elliots Cut, south of Charleston Harbor.  Plus we were dying to get some sailing in!  A few missing buoys along with shoaling and breakers made  getting in the inlet a little bit of an adventure but we did fine.

Rain rain go away

Rain clouds filled in all around but we never experienced a drop all day.

Typical ICW in this area

Once we were on the ICW headed south, the smell of the fresh pine trees was incredible.  We found we had the whole ICW all to ourselves with the exception of a few local fishermen. 

Yum

We anchored at statue mile #510 - a nice wide bend in the ICW with extra room in the bend for anchoring.  Again...just us.  We enjoyed a salad along with shrimp and grits.

Sailor's appetite is always good

A good day!

Day one sunset

USS Laffey DD-724

This was a new sight to us.  Apparently she is normally part of Patriot's Point but has been away at dry dock for major repairs.  She is now back serving as a floating museum ship next to the USS Yorktown.  The Laffey's nickname is The Ship That Would Not Die.   She wasn't yet open for tours but impressive never the less.

Charleston Further Afield

We took advantage of one of our multiple trips to West Marine, hardware store, ice run, etc... to explore Isle of Palm and Sullivan Islands.




















The wind was gusting pretty good so these kite sailors and wind surfers were loving it.



















Cap10 Tom taking it all in.

Charleston - A Foodie Town with a Wedding Problem

Charleston is second only to Las Vegas for destination weddings. On any given weekend there are tons and tons of weddings in and around Charleston. Yeah, yeah....whatever. *Ever notice that (in general) after you are married, you really could care a less about other weddings!
Turns out that Charleston has also put itself on the map as a food destination. And I am talking serious focus on all things food. As a self-proclaimed foodie and someone who likes to cook and even better, EAT, I have really enjoyed exploring this aspect of this wonderful city. Discovering the unique foods that make up low country/Gullah/southern fare and their origins.Trying the wonderful restaurants and fabulous, yummy dishes. And best of all, meeting the fascinating people involved in this food focused town.


















We had seen a funny/goofy/kewl t-shirt during Charleston Race week that said Taco Boy. For whatever reason we found this really funny. Little did we know in April it would lead us to "Taco Boy" the restaurant with spectacular, unique soft tacos!



















Of course Tom had to get a Taco Boy T-shirt. I opted for a couple of stickers and a temporary tattoo. * What the hell am I going to do with a Taco Boy temp tattoo? But it seemed kewl when the manager gave it to me. Who knows, I might find a use for it. I will let you know.

























Of course no trip to Charleston would be complete without Shrimp and Grits but we really try to branch out and try other things and not repeat anything. Well....except Dark and Stormies as the marina bar. That doesn't count because those are practically required.















Tom treated me to a special belated birthday dinner Friday night at Anson's. I had their signature crispy flounder on the recommendation of another dinner and the bartender Jeremy. Turns out he is almost as big of a fan of live music as Tom so we chatted with him about all things music and concerts.

Charleston Again

A nice long weekend on s/v Honey Ryder was just the ticket to renew our spirits. I can't fathom why this country is STILL celebrating Columbus Day as an official holiday because it's pretty much been proven that he really wasn't the first one to discover "the new world". I cringe at the idea of celebrating the holiday because...in my opinion...he was a crappy navigator. Come on, he was! He thought North America was China/far east for goodness sake! But I will gladly take an official public holiday any time because it usually means boat time. Woo Hoo!




















We didn't do any sailing as s/v Honey Ryder is still stripped down for hurricane season. We did some boat chores, met with a rigger and popped by the canvas shop. We got to know more of our dock neighbors ie interesting/fun characters, ran errands, did touristy stuff and generally hung out.




















We had hoped to bring our old radar home to have a little fun. Ideas we batted around were putting on the back of our little day sailor. Or on top of Tom's jeep just for kicks. NOT connected - just for the joke of it. In the end it was too big, heavy and waste of time and $$ so....Tom listed it on Craigslist when we got there and sold it immediately. Cha-ching...we got eating around $$ and a local dude got a very cheap radar to tinker with and fix up.

Honey Ryder Ready To Go

Back in her slip, engine repaired, ready to go again. And us? Ordeal or Adventure? Adventure all the way baby!! We learned some great lessons this week and we are ready to go again.

Fuel Issue is FIXED - Engine Runs!!

Aaron arrived Sunday morning just as he had said he would. Super nice guy and extremely knowledgeable, just as our dock neighbor said he would be. He checked this and tinkered with that and soon found that all the hoses on top of the secondary fuel filter were loose.



















Not loose that we could see or feel but enough that he put a full turn on all of them. That is where our air was coming from. He filled the primary and secondary filters with diesel, pumped the lifting pump a bit, did a couple of other little items and had Tom fire her up. She was a bit rough for a few seconds but then settled down into purr mode. YAY Aaron. He then proceeded to show Tom a couple of handy tips and tricks - stuff you don't find in a book, class or magazine article, but rather years of servicing diesels engines. Really good stuff!