November 1-10 2016 Cumberland Island, Huckins Boat Yard and on to Wisconsin

I was up at 7AM and did all the little detail stuff we had to get complete before we left.  Stowing extra lines, extra fenders, trash, re-cycling.  And a new one we haven’t done for quite awhile, filling the water tanks.  We aren’t going to be using the watermaker for a few months so I pickled them earlier and we’ll just use dockside water.   We have a bit over 300 gallons of water on board so it should work out fine.

I walked down to pay for our electrical usage and the rest of the time we spent here beyond the 30 days but they hadn’t completed the paperwork yet so Ralph drove me back to dock 15 (its ½ mile from the marina office) to take the electrical readings.  I noted again that the sailboat next to us was plugged into our 30 amp pedestal becasue his pedestal (#9) was burned out.  It's been that way since before Matthew roared through so Ralph and Cindy were working out a discount guess for us.

He returned and we made ready to leave as soon as Mary arrived back with Bubbie.  Brent and Susan, Steven and Sharon all saw us off.

We stopped at the fuel dock where I pumped out our holding tank and wrote a check to pay the bill and then we were off.  The fog, which had rolled in a few hours ago began to lighten but I had the radar on anyway.  

We made it through Jekyll Creek at high tide and across St. Andrew Sound without incident.  There were several boats boats within a few miles of us, all heading south. 

Anchor detail at Cumberland Island

The dock as we passed by to go anchored

We passéd the submarine base at Kings Bay and then anchored at Cumberland Island.  The winds were blowing a good 20mph but our anchor held just fine.

They we are.  Anchored

Law breakers

Nimble dog and limber grandmother easily scaled these barriers

We had to take the dog ashore but when we got close in the dinghy we saw the dock had a few closed signs on it.  But when a dog has to go, a dog has to go!  So we ignored the signs and went ashore anyway.  Tomorrow morning we’ll have to use the other dock which is further away because I suspect there will be park rangers about.

Morning docking opportunity between park ranger visits

The next morning I woke up at 8.  It was a very peaceful night at anchor.  While I got the dinghy ready and running Mary got dressed and rousted the dog.  Off we went to the far landing where I thought the docks were not closed to the public.  How wrong I was.  Closed.  If the signs weren't enough, park rangers were there foiling any attempt at nefarious dog pooping activities.

So back to the original landing where the park ranger boat we had passed on the way to the far dock was moving out of the anchorage.  I idled for a bit to give the boat time to make it its way further out to the main channel and then I quickly pulled up to the vacant, “closed to the public” dock and let Mary and the dog off for their walk of crime.  

I escaped off the dock a few hundred yards and texted friends Dave and Joanne and then returned to pick them up.  No arrests!  No pooping either but what are you going to do?

Back at the boat I started the engines and we hauled the dinghy aboard.  Then we started bringing up the anchor but Mary stepped on the DOWN switch while I was bringing up the anchor by stepping on the UP switch.  The relays had a kanipchen, spurted  momentarily and then ceased relaying.  Our windlass was effectively dead.

So now we had to haul up 120’ feet of 3/8 HT chain and a 70 lb anchor all sitting 25 feet down on the muddy bottom.  And with the winds last evening the anchor and some of the chain were sure to be buried.  

The windlass is equipped with a emergency hand lever which is inserted into the windlass drum.  But the hole was pointed down and inaccessible so I had to take the drum apart and rotate it a bit to get the hole facing up so we could insert the handle.  Once it was back together the handle allowed us to bring up about 4 links per stroke.  We'd still be there till Christmas if we stuck to that method.

Since it was relatively calm out (thankfully!) I got a pair of diving gloves just hauled it all up by hand.  I pulled it up and Mary washed the mud off.  

We had to move the boat ahead a bit to break out the anchor because I couldn’t lift it out of mud and hard sand bottom.  But we finally managed and it only took 20 minutes and a lot of sweat.  I foresee aches and pains tomorrow.

We were about the last boat to leave the anchorage, the last in a line of sailboats.

Passing through Fernandina we saw some evidence of hurricane damage.  The marina docks were in pretty bad shape.  And there were several sailboats up on shore.

Fernandina Beach Marina docks were all closed due to damage

Some of the unfortunate boats that washed ashore at Fernandina

I followed a new route through the south end of the Fernandina curve which is a tricky place because of shoaling.  Went through fine because it was high tide.  We rode the tidal currents pretty much to Sisters Creek where we avoided a tree in the middle of the channel.

The free dock at Sisters Creek.  Note the current

Sisters Creek runs into the St. Johns River where we really lucked out because the tide was still flowing into the river and we could ride the current through Jacksonville.  The current in the river can be 2 knots or more which would effectively gives us speed over the ground of about 6 mph.  Not this time though.   9 mph!

We encountered a large car carrier (a RoRo) and a container ship which I knew about because of the chatter on the VHF where the Jacksonville pilot was talking with an inbound ship and mentioned the ships departing that afternoon.

The St. Johns River and all its shoreside infrastructure appeared to suffer no damage from Matthew.

We had to slow down for the infamous Railroad Bridge in downtown Jacksonville until a train had passed.  The bridge is normally open for boat traffic.  We just happened to catch it when a long train was going through.

Then we cruised through and made the turn into towards Ortega (Jacksonville) into the Ortega River, then through the Ortega River Bridge and onto Huckins Boat Yard where, after some confusion we saw Joey waving his arms at slip 8 on their floating docks.  This was a first for us.  We are usually in the basin near the slipways. Nice though!  Almost like being in a marina.

A first for us being in one of the Huckins Slips

After we were all tied up and connected, we walked to Panera for dinner.   As we left the boatyard, the cats came out to greet us.  Seems they remember me but alas I had no treats to offer them.  Before, they had pointedly ignored Mary while she was taking the dog for a walk.

So tomorrow we talk with PJ and get some estimates for the work to be done. 

I woke up suddenly this morning, a little after 7 and noted a very dark, threatening sky.  I wasn’t sure where we were but was convinced we were anchored somewhere so I leaped out of bed intending on checking to make sure we were still anchored and hadn’t dragged during the night.  It took a few seconds to finally realize we were tied up at a dock and the dark, threatening skies were really the shed in front of us shading out the rising sun.  Oy vey…

I rousted the others up around 9:30 and we took the dog for a short walk before meeting with Tricia and PJ.  Tricia runs the office, a mother of two, ex-military and very good.  PJ of course runs the whole yard.  He is a sweet man and very competent.

The whole boat yard is pretty laid back and the boat owners who are here on their boats are fun bunch.  This is why we like this place so much.

The more suitable, but mundane boat name  

A Chris Craft Roamer was up on jack stands and was here in the yard to have the boat name removed and redone.   Seems the artwork was quite startling and the boat owners received a warning from the local authorities.  Either it gets removed or there will be a substantial fine.  He chose the frugal option.  I didn't see it before they redid the name but was told it was colorfully graphic.  

I talked with Justin and PJ and we settled on being hauled out on Monday.  I want to be here when they take it out so we can be sure what we have to do.  And I want to verify the positions of the thru hulls and transducers.

Later, John came by.  John is the canvas guy from Pelagic.  He’s been doing it for 24 years and I marvel at his experience.  He’ll have estimates for the 5 windows we have to replace and a few things I wanted for the forward facing windows so I don't have to roll them up.

Meanwhile we sit here and enjoy the solitude and relative peace and quiet.  And some time to do a few boat chores too.  No distracting parties any longer.

We did return to Panera again for a bowl of soup (lunch) before going to Publix where I bought the last bag of soft cat treats.  Of the dozen or so cats in the yard about 6 of them recognize me and come out to get a treat or two and be petted.  Of course  I do this after Bubbie has passed by.

Tomorrow it's going to be in the mid 80’s and humid, but then the temps will plummet to 50’s overnight and maybe the low 70’s during the day.  For us it’s a gradual training period to re-acclimate ourselves to less the hospitable climate we will be entering next week.  Wisconsin.

We made it up and had the dog walked by 10 today so went over to the Metro Diner for breakfast.  Yummy food as always.

Stopped at Publix for a few things including cat treats because the yard cats are clamor for food when the surround me.  I'm a sucker I know.

Back on board I did some planning and then fixed the Glendenning indicator light which had burnt out a few months ago.  It wasn’t a simple replacement job.  Had to fabricate a little spacer to hold the light and also fit tightly enough through the hole in the instrument panel.

At least I could still (barely) squeeze through this opening

After that I took my usual walk around the river.   I've been trying to return to at least a partial state of fitness after the months of partying.  So I've begun walking 4-5 miles a day until we leave.

On the return leg I stopped at Publix for more cat treats and then picked up a menu at the Chinese takeout place.  Panera, Publix, the Chinese restaurant and Metro Diner among other stores are located in the Roosevelt Square Mall a few blocks from Huckins.  Nice for us!

Then, while Mary walked the dog, I went back to the Chinese place to pickup the food order we phoned in.  We feasted while watching Fraiser through my phone's internet connection which I got working with our WiFi booster feeding our router which enabled the media player to access Netflix. 

Later I took the garbage out and was swarmed by the cats again.  Jerry, the night watchman here is off on the weekends so the cats don’t get fed.  Sucker that I am I walked back to Publix for ice cream and a few other things including cat food/treats.  As I approached the docks I spread out a whole bunch of food and all 12 cats bounded out of their respective hiding places to eat.

Earlier Mary confirmed we are being pulled out Monday at 8:30 which means we have to complete any prep work by Sunday evening.  Prep work is packing, freezer defrosting, oil changes etc.  Busy weekend ahead.

Today Mary defrosted the fridge in the galley today while I defrosted the chest freezer.   Then we started to tackle our packing chores because it's far easier to lift all the luggage off the boat onto the dock rather than lugging it down 15 stairs of a ramp ladder we have to use when the boat is up on jackstands.  As a start, we got the luggage out from under the forward berth.

Later I finally was able to get our Windows 10 machines connecting to the old HP printer we have on board.  The printer is at least 10 years old but still works fine except it's a balky when trying to get it to connect.  We needed the printer functional because we wanted to have a hard copy of the work we wanted completed while up in Wisconsin.

During a packing lull, we figured out where to stay on this trip north.  We also figured it would be three nights on the road because from prior experience we know we won't be leaving here until later in the afternoon.

All ready for us

I noticed they had positioned the large lift for us tomorrow morning.

It was a cool day, good for walking around the river!

After an unusually late morning walk (like the dog really minds getting up at 10:30) this morning we finished the packing ordeal.  We ended up with everything ready to go so before we move the boat to the slipway we'll off load all the luggage on to the dock.

Ortega River area is a great place to walk

I took a last walk around the Ortega river, and then we went to the Chinese place for dinner again (not bad but not great either) and watched a few Frazier's off the boatyard internet.  

Met and chatted a bit with Jackie, her husband Paul and Sandy, their 9 year old sweetie of a dog.  They too live aboard and are cruising around the same areas we frequent so I'm sure we'll run into them again.

Fed the cats the last of the treats I have.  10 of the 12 now come rushing out to meet me knowing full well I usually have cat treats.

Tomorrow we are up by 7:30 for the haulout at 8:30.

I was up early this morning.  Craig and Joey were moving an old Huckins boat off a tractor trailer (the driver slept in his cab all night in the parking lot.).   I was expected to pick up the Enterprise rental car at 10 so I asked Craig if I had time to run over to pick it up before they were ready for us to move the boat over to the slipway and the lift.  Craig thought sure, no problem.

So I get to Enterprise and its jammed with people.  Finally, after 20 minutes I'm able to get up to the counter and they get me a car.  But as it turns out, they don't have a full size sedan that I had reserved.

No sedan so they wanted me to take this

Instead they wanted to give me a red pickup truck with no tanato cover over the bed so it's wide open.  Not something we could use because we have lots of luggage which would have to be squeezed in the back seat.

And we ended up with this

So I said that won't work and they ended up giving me a brand new Chrysler Pacifica mini van.    Brand new, all sorts of buttons and gadgets.  And less than 3,000 miles.

I got back to Huckins just as they were setting the slings to lift the boat out of the water.  Craig had driven it over but couldn’t start the starboard engine.  Something is amiss with the DC-DC charger I have on that side.  The battery must have been really dead because it didn’t even click it over.

It came out of the water and everything looked fine except the line cutters on the props and the bend in the rudder blade.

Starting to lift

Way up in the air now

We waited around in the office for several minutes. 

Sara and Bubbie 

Mary had taken bubbie up to Sara’s office (she brings her puppy in to the office once in awhile and has a water bowel and a nice little fence in her office) while we confer with the boatyard folks.  Before we left I had taken most of the luggage off the boat and left it on the dock.  It sorta look odd, with a dozen pieces of luggage and boxes sitting on a dock next to an empty slip.

We got everything settled, and had a nice chat with Jackie off the boat next to us.

Moving us to our spot "on the hard"

Someone is impatient to leave

We left around 2:15 and drove to Valdosta,GA where there s a nice La Quinta Inn which is pet friendly meaning it allows pets.  In fact as we were taking luggage in I noticed quite a number of older folks with their pets.  Always older folks with pets.  Must be an age thing, having pets on car trips.

In a doggie hotel preparing for a walk

Once settled in we decided to eat at the nearby Outback Steak House.  I went over to pick up the order but had to wait for a while so had a drink at the bar.  The nice lady working the takeout desk actually brought all the food to me in the bar.

We were on the road by 10 today after a surprisingly free, and quite lavish breakfast.  Since they allow pets, I’m resigned to staying that LaQuinta's for awhile.  Sorry Hamptons.

An unexciting drive.   We've driven this route at least 25 times over the years.  But this was one of the best drives through Nashville.  Hardly any traffic congestion which I don't ever recall experiencing through here.

We stayed at the LaQuinta in Clarksville TN tonight.  Again, a surprisingly nice hotel.

Oh yeah.  Its election night.  We flipped back and forth between election bloviators and crappy TV.  Went to bed before all the excitement but Mary, anxious, and woke to discover the “you gotta be kidding me” results.  Then she woke me up.  The poor dog didn’t sleep well.

We left at a leisurely 10:30 this morning.  It's a 500+ mile drive to Rockford where they have another LaQuinta.  Uneventful if not long drive.   Cheap gas, $1.85 along the way.  Gets pricier in IL.

A nice hotel here in Rockford.  And pretty cheap.   $80.

We just made it to the free but rather sparse breakfast this morning,  and took the dog for a walk in the not so warm temps.  A stop at McDonald's for a supplemental bit of protein and we were on our way.

The toll on I-39 is still $1.90.  I did find a route to bypass it but it winds through Rockford and Beloit for a few miles.  One of these days we’ll take it just to see…

We arrived and Jen and Dave's house around 12:30 and took a few hours to unpack and arrange our junk.  Then it was off to the Piggly Wiggly for stuff, a quick drive by the old neighborhood which is literally resembling an old neighborhood with all the large trees and seasoned landscaping.  Quite a change from when first built the house, the only one in  large empty field.

We returned to the house in time for me to almost surprise Jonah as he got off the school bus.  Back in the house Jack demonstrated his robot before we went to to see Greg and Laura and their kids, Seany and Sammy.  We also mad a stop at The Pharmacy  and Dave the pharmacist, much to my surprise, remembered us.  Well, it did take him a few seconds.  He was our pharmacist when we first moved out here in the early 80's.

We stopped and got some pizza at Poppa Murphy's and went to their house where Laura baked the pizza and we fiddled with the kids.  Sammy is going to be a handful!