Here is the blog we posted on the AGLCA website: Nothing but BlueSkies. BlueSkies crossed here wake on May 10 at ICW mile 513. We will miss saying that we are “on the loop”-to see the sheer wonderment in people’s eyes that, not only can it be done, but we are actually DOING IT!! We will miss seeing new harbors and new waters everyday. We thank the gold loopers for their sage advice, the harbor hosts for their helping hands, and most of all, to those of the 2011-2012 on the loop—the spontaneous looper packs that would form, then disperse, then reform—and the friendships that evolved from those experiences. This is BlueSkies---out.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
May 10 Let’s complete it!
We were up early, a fine morning to complete the trip. Although we were ready at 6:30 am, we waited an hour for slack tide and then we pulled out, making sure we were heading out in front of the errant barge. It was crystal clear and about 75 degrees at 10:30 am when we pulled into Bennetts Point. Our friend and neighbor, Charlie, helped with the dock lines. We made it!! We left this dock on April 1, 2009. We got to Washington DC on April 18, 2009 where we lived on the boat until June 5, 2011. We then got underway and stayed on the great loop trip until May 10, 2012. The first pic shows us rounding the final bend with Bennetts Point in sight. The next 2 pics shows us celebrating with champaigne and our Gold Loop burgee. The last pic shows BlueSkies at the dock.
May 9 A stop near our cruising grounds
We were underway very early, since the thunderstorm system was supposed to kick up around 10 am. The morning was stunningly beautiful over the Savannah River, as the sun rose above the horizon, it reminded us about why we took this trip. We arrived in Beaufort, SC by noon and we could have gone on to Bennetts Point –but we wanted Beaufort to be part of our great loop trip. A good lunch and then we sat on the aft deck for a quiet afternoon and evening –our last evening on the great loop trip. But it was not quiet! At 4 pm, the ripping thunderstorms started through area. And then, during the storms, a barge starts to dock right behind me in the marina! The captain was having problems controlling the barge due to the hefty tidal currents and the gusty thunderstorm winds. With his bow pointed toward us, his stern got slung to the other side of the dock and smashed the boat just across from us. He got off that boat and started toward us. Oh no, our last night on the trip and we are going to be pulverized by an errant barge! We waved him off us and as he just passed us, he bashed into the dock in front of us, turned around and docked up. Whew. It took awhile to settle us down from that experience and just when we thought all was calm, here comes a cruise ship docking near us! Luckily, it came to a safe landing area. The first pic is BlueSkies at the Beaufort Marina, the 2nd pic is the cruise ship, and then finally, a pic of the errant barge.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
May 8 What goes around comes around
We wanted to make it to northern Georgia before the afternoon storms hit. So, off we went early in the morning. We made it to Savannah near noon and tried to get a slip at Thunderboldt marina. But they were full. So, we ended up at Bahia Bleu, and this is where we bought BlueSkies (1st pic), three years ago. That means, we really technically finished the loop trip today! Here are Christine and I at Tubby’s (2nd pic) where we sealed the deal over 3 years ago to purchase BlueSkies.
May 7 The Sunbury Crab Company
It was touch and go today about leaving due to the weather. The next 4 days were forecasted to be stormy. But we launched, heading for the central coast of Georgia. It is remote in this section of the ICW. The only places known to loopers were in the MacKay river called the Sunbury Crab Company. We pulled up to their docks around 4:30 pm after a long day on the water. Elaine, the owner, greeted us and helped tie up to the docks. We heard the food was good in the restaurant, but unfortunately, the restaurant was closed on Monday and Tuesday. That did not stop Elaine from asking us if we liked steamed crabs, shrimp, corn, etc. I said “of course”. And then, she asked us to give her 30 minutes. The first pic shows Elaine delivering steamed crabs, shrimp, etc right to our boat. The last pic shows the dock spaces as we were leaving out. It was an incredible showing of human kindness.
May 6 Making way on the ICW in Georgia.
It was time to make way through Georgia. The ICW through Georgia winds around many river bends. Many of the rivers are very shallow at low tides. The first pic show one of many boats we saw that were washed ashore. We arrived at St. Simons in the early afternoon. We tried to fix a leak in the anchor locker for several hours, but we could not find the leak. The late afternoon found us watching other boats and people on the dock. The next pic shows Alan Jackson’s boat near ours. The final pic shows the girls on the dock trying to board the 150 foot yacht behind us. Although they were clad in skimpy bikinis, they never made it onto the boat. I invited them onboard BlueSkies, but Christine nixed that idea.
May 4-5 Finally leaving Florida
We left on a Friday, which was generally against our rule of not boating during weekends. Our intended destination was Fernandina Beach, but of course, there was not room at the inn – no marina space, no mooring balls, and no room in the anchorages. It was the annual shrimp festival. So instead, we made way to St. Mary’s, Georgia. Along the way, we passed 2 trawlers hard aground in Sisters Creek (first pic), and 3 sailboats and a barge aground in the Amelia river(next pic). Later, we found out that it was supermoon Saturday (next pic), when the moon is closest to the earth and causes extreme high and low tides. But we spent that Saturday on Cumberland Island, where the Carnegie’s had acquired the island in the late 1800’s. The next pic shows a ranger walking up the majestic tree lined roads of the island. Wild horses roam the national park (next pic). Since this island is a national park, and it is only accessible by boat, the number of people visiting that park is limited. The final pic is one of the beach, with just a few people on it. Compare it with the one of Cocoa Beach that was taken on a Saturday, just one week ago!!
May 2-3 The oldest oldest oldest city
See the first picture for our next stop in Florida. Of course we had to visit a fort (2nd pic). But this fort was built to protect all riches on the Spanish galleons from pirates as they made way in the gulfstream current back to Spain. It was Ponce de Leon that discovered that the gulfstream current could sweep a ship up the coast and put one on track for a quicker trip to Spain. We visited the famous Ponce de Leon hotel (next pic), that was built by Henry Flagler (it now houses the Flagler coed college). No costs were spared, including the stained glass ceiling by Tiffany (next pic).The next pic is taken from the upstairs ballroom of the adjacent Alcazar Hotel (now the Lightner museum) that overlooks what was once the largest indoor pool in the world. Women’s swimming championships were held here in the 1920’s. Finally, there is a picture of our waiter at the Columbia Restaurant, which is supposed to be the best Cuban restaurant in the states. And, we believe it. We had mussels in some kind of Cuban sauce and Cuban flatbread. Inexpensive and very, very good. We even bought their cookbook, so that, when you come to visit, we will cook it for you!!!
April 30-May 1 Mangroves or Salt Marsh
We made way for a remarkable place, the Marineland Marina. Here you can learn about nature. There are no shops, no restaurants nearby. It is a good break from eating and shopping your way through the great loop. The beach was beautiful, part of it was covered with coquina, the only native rock found in Florida (first pic). Since we docked at the marina, there were great discounts for the kayak ecotour. The next pic shows Christine and me at a sandbar watching least terns, an endangered species. The tour guide pointed out that the area around marineland is the nexus where mangroves give way to salt marshes. During the tour, we could see how the mangroves thinned out and the grasses of the salt marsh started to take over. After the ecotour, we watched the dolphins at marineland for about an hour (next 2 pics). Then a long bike ride out to Fort Matanzas, a national monument (next pic). The pic shows Christine climbing through a hole in the top of the Fort. Check out this one room fort—when the Spanish controlled it, there were 7 soldiers living in this room. When the English controlled it, they had a many as fifty soldiers sharing this room!!
April 29 A fine little Florida town
We bumped up to the next little town, New Smyrna Beach. Here we met Tom Cannon, who was on a sailboat racing team for the Lipton Cup Regatta (first pic). It was a great coincidence that we were there at the same time. The next pic shows New Smyrna at the beach and the following pic show the Ponce De Leon inlet and lighthouse. We took a long bike ride and found the beach covered with cars. Instead we rode to the north part of the inlet and found a boardwalk (last pic) that looped for a couple miles around the beach area. We dined at the New Smyrna Beach Yacht Club with Tom C. –nice folks at the yacht club—we almost traded BlueSkies for a sailboat!!
April 26-28 Outer Space and Fine Dining
We stopped off in Titusville for a few days. It was time to rent a car a see a few sights. So, we visited the Kennedy Space center for a day . Then, we were hosted again by my sister Phyllis and Tom who drove up to Titusville bringing a takeout dinner from a gourmet restaurant. It was good to see them getting comfortable on the aft deck of the boat(2nd pic). Then, we had a homemade gourmet dinner by my sister Janet and her husband Tom, who live on Merritt Island. The third pic shows a manatee with her offspring who lived in the marina. When I sprayed off the boat, the manatees came up and licked the fresh water right off the swim platform. The last pic was taken from the famous Cocoa Beach Pier and shows how crowded Cocoa Beach is during a weekend. The first pic was taken during the homemade gourmet dinner at sister’s Janet. Each of the five courses during the gourmet dinner was paired with a special wine. What a great excuse to drink fine wines!!
April 24 -25 Central Florida coast
We got underway heading for central Florida. By mistake, we left the camera behind so there are no pics for a couple of days. We got to Ft Pierce after a full day on the water—so, a quick beer at the tiki bar and we were done for the day. The next morning was great walk over the causeway, and then, we were underway for St Sebastian Inlet. We docked on the Indian River at St. Sebastion, just 4 miles away from my sister Phyllis and Tom’s house. They picked us up for a homemade dinner of crab cakes. The next morning, we all had a great breakfast in St Sebastian. They saw us off from the docks as we started up the coast again toward Titusville.
April 18-23 Life at the Resort
It was a long 12 hour day from Hollywood to Riviera Beach. We passed slowly through Ft Lauderdale with the fancy houses and a multimillion dollar yacht beside each multimillion dollar house (first pic). We even passed Lighthouse Point, where BlueSkies was commissioned (next pic). Finally, we arrived at the Resort, my sister Marty and her husband Bill’s newly acquired residence. It was wonderful. We (Marty, Chris and I) hot tubbed, we went swimming, we walked on the beach, we ate at fancy restaurants. We did all this while Bill worked all day and half the night to pay for it all! But we really did appreciate the reprieve from the intensity of either being underway or doing boat chores. And the Resort was just that, very comfy. The next pic shows Marty and Chris at the Jettys restaurant. Marty asked a friend, Aunt Liz, who by that name we assumed she was a very elderly and feeble senior citizen. The next pic shows Aunt Liz outside of Jettys restaurant standing beside her Porsche—guess our assumption was wrong. The last pic is one of the Resort.
April 17th Heading North –Past Miami to Hollywood
After 4 days of heavy weather, we were finally off to a new harbor. We passed Miami (first pic). It was slow going, due to manatee zones, development zones, and bridges. Christine captured a pic of a statue of a Conch Blower (next pic). We arrived north of Miami in Hollywood, only to find out that the marina was mostly coral rock. We arrived at low tide and, with incredible luck, did not ground the boat on these rocks. The dockmaster was truly surprised and we were stunned that the marina was not marked to show the danger. We had a great walk on the beach boardwalk, margarita’s at mamacita’s, and all was well that day.
April 15-16 More of Coconut Grove
It was not the shopping or the restaurants of Coconut Grove that peaked our interests. It was the Barnacle Historic State Park. Ralph Middleton Munroe built a house in the late 1800’s, before Miami existed. The house has a hexagonal interior with a circular ceiling that allows hot air to escape, thus allowing it to be cooler during the hot days in southern Florida. Munroe was a shipbuilder, an inventive shipbuilder. He developed the idea of the “egret” a classic style sailing vessel. He also developed the use of pontoon extensions on racing sailboats. Finally, he developed the idea of first floor level “breakaways” in order to save a structure from floods during hurricanes. The first pic shows BlueSkies in the mooring field from the Barnacle and the next pic shows the Barnacle.
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