Jacksonville FL to Albemarle Sound NC

Total Miles Traveled 3367 since departing Green Turtle Bay, KY

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What a change leaving the busy shipping channel of Jacksonville Florida and continuing north on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.  We have now entered miles and miles of salt marsh and low country leaving Florida and entering Georgia. 

We departed our anchorage at Gunnison Crossing on May 1^st and continued 47 miles to a marina on Jekyll Island Georgia.  The history of this agricultural island goes back to the fifteen hundreds, but in the late eighteen hundreds the island was converted to a winter retreat for the wealthy with a membership limit of 100 members to preserve the club’s exclusivity.   Some of the more well know members included J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, William Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt.  In 1910, a secret meeting was held on the island to plan the country’s monetary policy and banking system, formulating the Federal Reserve.

The island has awesome walking and biking trails, we covered about 12 miles on our scooters.

Faith Chapel windows by Tiffany, truly amazing how the windows come to life with different angles of the sun.  The windows face to the East and West to capture the rising and setting sun.  Installed March 1921 on Good Friday and dedicated on Easter Sunday.

Driftwood Beach is a tree laden landscape due to the effects of 120 plus years of erosion from wind and saltwater.

Root system of a palm tree.

On May 3^rd we traveled 26 miles to Two Way Fish Camp marina near Brunswick Georgia to visit John, a friend we met at Marathon.  John purchased a few acres of land and is building a camp for travelers and friends traveling through the area.  John invited us to his first annual Derby Day Party.  We had a great time visiting John and his friends and touring his property. 

Yep, we're still in gator country.

Garage with two bays, a lift, and a shop.

Guest cabins with heat and air.

Shower house and restroom.

Elevated gazebo above the utilities building.

Outdoor kitchen

Awesome pool

It's been quite awhile since we've sat around a camp fire.

After visiting John, we traveled 55 miles to an anchorage at Lincoln Creek.

We traveled 31 miles on May 7^th to Thunderbolt Marina near Savanah, Georgia.  We took an open trolly tour of the city, which is a hop on, hop off daily pass throughout the city. 

There is an eight foot tide in this area of Georgia.  This marina has floating docks allowing us to rise and fall with the tide without having to adjust our lines.  We must know the tide level when anchoring to compensate for the extreme water level changes.

High tide at our dock.

Low tide

We departed Thunderbolt, Georgia on May 11^th and traveled 53 miles to an anchorage at Pleasant Point, near Beaufort, South Carolina, then 46 miles on May 12^th to an anchorage at Church Creek.  With severe thunderstorms forecasts in the area, we decided to stay at a marina in Charleston, South Carolina.   As luck would have it, the storms bypassed us, so we continued 55 miles to an anchorage at Minim Creek. 

On May 18^th, we traveled 13 miles from our anchorage to Georgetown, South Carolina, the third oldest city in U.S.  This is another historical town along the waterway and the Harborwalk Marina is located in the heart of the historical district. 

This guy has an awesome dinghy.

We departed Georgetown May 20^th and traveled 64 miles to an anchorage at Calabash Creek, then 64 miles to an anchorage near Figure Eight Island in North Carolina.  On May 22^nd we traveled 33 miles to and anchorage at Hammock Bay, located near the 246 square mile Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base.  The base has 14 miles of beaches and is a major area for amphibious assault training.  The base has 32-gun positions, 48 tactical landing zones, and 80 live fire ranges, we could hear live fire during our stay.

The waterway is closed during live fire operations. 

The Onslow bridge is about 5 miles from the Hammock Bay anchorage and new replacement bridge is being constructed.  Starting June 1^st, frequent waterway closures will begin lasting through September, so we wanted to get past that bottleneck before closures. 

On May 23^rd we traveled 86 miles to RE Mayo Seafood Dock.  This was our longest cruising day for quite a while, but we had severe thunderstorm forecasts for the next couple of days and we wanted to get the huge open bodies of water of Pamlico Sound and the Pamlico River behind us.  The seafood dock is not a marina, but the seafood facility that allows boaters to tie up to the south docks not used by the shrimp boats.  There were six shrimp boats at the north docks when we arrived, and another shrimp boat came in the next morning, unloaded fresh catch, then departed.  Yes, we had fresh shrimp scampi for dinner, and purchased fresh shrimp and scallops to go.

 It's hard to avoid eye contact with pirates when you're docked next to them......argh!

We continue to be threatened with severe thunderstorm forecasts, so far, we have been very fortunate and they have missed us.  Another band of storms is predicted for the Memorial Day weekend, so we traveled 27 miles on May 25^th to Dowry Creek Marina, near Belhaven North Carolina.  We also try to avoid traveling on the weekends, especially a holiday weekend.  Dowry Creek Marina was a great stop.  They have a courtesy car to get supplies, a pool, laundry, and a very nice on-site restaurant.  We have also seen a few stingrays swimming around in the marina but were unable to get any pictures.

We kept watching this formation as it raised and lowered in the sky...we only had a sprinkle at the marina all weekend.

On May 28^th we traveled 49 miles to the Alligator River Marina, we had planned to anchor out, but more thunderstorms were issued in the afternoon, so we decided to play it safe.  

On May 29^th we entered the Albemarle Sound and traveled 38 miles to Columbia, NC starting the Albemarle Loop.  The Albemarle Sound is a relatively shallow body of fresh water west of the Outer Banks.  The Albemarle Loop links marinas and historical waterfront towns on a loop of nearly 200 miles covering 450 square miles of water.  Our plan is to visit seven coastal towns around the loop before continuing north to the Chesapeake Bay.

Columbia N.C.

Unfortunately the marina was full so we anchored out and took the dinghy to town. 

Plymouth NC is located about 7 miles up the Roanoke River.  The largest black bears on the planet are found in eastern North Carolina.  The highest concentration of black bears in the world are located around the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula.  The museum director says its not uncommon to sight one in town.  We didn't see any bears during our stay, or the 14 mile round trip on the river.

Edenton N.C is located on the north shore of the Albemarle Sound.  We took a trolly tour and were amazed at the history and condition of the buildings.  

The Chowan County Courthouse was built in 1767 and remains the oldest government building in continuous use in North Carolina.  Amazing, 257 years old!

We have a few more towns to visit before continuing north and enjoy visiting the small towns and the unique history each one has to offer.  The residents are the friendliest people you'll ever meet. 

Marathon, FL to Jacksonville, FL

Total Miles Traveled 2612 since departing Green Turtle Bay, KY

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Well, the wind has continued to blow through the winter season and into spring, so we decided to leave Marathon April 6^th and travel to Miami, Fl to wait for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas.  We traveled 54 miles on the Atlantic Ocean to an anchorage behind Rodriguez Key, then another 58 miles to an anchorage at Miami.  Arriving on Sunday was not smart, and it didn’t get much better the next few days, but the view of the city was awesome.

All of the extended weather forecasts indicated at least another week or so before conditions would change in our favor, so after 3 days on the hook, we decided to cancel our Bahamas trip this year.  We were already going to shorten our stay in the Bahamas due to boat insurance requirements and didn’t want to be on a tight schedule on the return trip.  As it turns out, a boating club we belong to in the Bahamas, posted an article indicating the locals saying it was the worst winter in 30 years.  We plan to spend this spring and summer on the east coast, exploring the Chesapeake Bay area. 

We departed Miami on April 10^th and traveled 51 miles to an anchorage near Delray Beach.  We had to wait for 9 bridge openings before arriving and anchored here for 5 days.  The first two days were because of high winds, we had 22 mph sustained winds with 40 mph gusts.  We found a great protected anchorage and it turned out we stayed in the same place when we were on the Great Loop in 2016.  Since our 3^rd day was Friday before a weekend, we opted to stay through the weekend to avoid the weekend boat traffic on the narrow 30 mile stretch of waterway ahead of us.

Fire Alarm!  The last thing you want to hear on a boat is a fire alarm.  While cruising up to Delray Beach from Miami a fire alarm sounded in the engine room.  It turned out to be a synchronizer cable had broken inside its housing and before breaking it heated up enough to set off the alarm.  No fire, just a melted rubber casing.

On  April 15^th we traveled 51 miles to an anchorage at Peck Lake, then on the 16^th traveled 83 miles to an anchorage behind the Pineda Causeway Bridge.  We had reservations at Cocoa Village Marina for a few days so we could visit Moni’s family and wanted to get into the marina early the following morning.  I also had two new synchronizer cables shipped to the marina so I could replace them before leaving.  I figured if one engine cable failed, the other cable wasn’t far behind.

When we arrived at Moni’s mothers house, we noticed a snake by the garage door, it slowly moved down the sidewalk toward the front door.  It was a colorful snake, and I knew there was a saying to determine if it was poisonous or not but couldn’t remember it.  Turns out it was a poisonous Coral Snake, “Yellow on Red, Fred is Dead”.  Moni’s brother, sister, or Mother have never seen one in their neighborhood.  It moved off into the grass and disappeared. 

We had a great visit with family and were able to see two rocket launches.

We departed Cocoa on April 19^th traveling 51 miles and anchored near New Smyrna Beach.  We passed through the NASA Railroad Bridge, used to deliver large or bulk materials, solid rocket boosters, and chemicals such as helium and oxygen for rocket fuel to support the Kennedy Space Center.

On April 20^th, we traveled 56 miles to an anchorage at Matanzas Fort, built in 1740 by the Spanish to guard the inlet to St Augustine.   I thought I took a picture of it but can’t seem to find it.  On April 21^st we traveled 86 miles to an anchorage on the Saint Johns River near Jacksonville, Florida.  We stayed at this anchorage at Doctors Lake for two days allowing a storm to pass through. 

We departed our anchorage and traveled 13 miles on April 23^rd to the city dock at Green Cove Springs, Florida.  We met up with a couple that used to live in Indiana, next door to my parents.  They too live on their boat, what a small world.  We had a great visit and went to diner that evening.   

We traveled 31 miles on April 24 to Crystal Cove Marina near Palatka, Florida.  We have good friends that moved here from Indiana, and we had a great time visiting with them.

During our travels to Jacksonville, we developed a high-pressure fuel leak on one of the engine injectors.  After a few emails and phone calls, turns out a John Deere parts store at Palatka, FL had one on the shelf, 2 blocks from where we are staying. 

All of the bends are factory made, I guess that’s why they were so proud of it $$$$.  I found a small crack inside the tube at the injector.

Always be aware of your surroundings, especially after the coral snake sighting. 

We took an afternoon trip with our friends Ralph and Judy to Daytona  Racing’s North Turn Restaurant and Racing Museum.  The restaurant sits on the exact location where racing history began in Daytona Beach.  The Races took place here starting in 1936 until World War II and then continued with the first Grand National Race in 1948.  The races continued here until 1958 when NASCAR relocated to the brand-new Super Speedway.

On  April 29^th, we traveled 45 miles to a different anchorage on Doctors Lake near a local restaurant, Whitey’s Fish Camp, a family-owned restaurant open since 1963.  We met our boating friends at the anchorage, Charlie and Robin on m/v The Lower Place.  We had a great visit anchoring with them. 

Signs posted at Whitey's

Nice artwork on the grain silo's

Downtown Jacksonville, FL

On April 30^th, we traveled 46 miles to an anchorage at Gunnison Crossing.  We had planned to stop at a public dock at Sisters Creek, but the dock appeared to be full, so we continued to an anchorage.  It was nice be away from the ship channel and the commercial activity of Jacksonville.

Marathon March 2024

Total Miles Traveled 1974 since departing Green Turtle Bay, KY

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Well, we are still at Marathon Florida waiting for a weather window to cross the Atlantic Ocean to Bimini in the Bahamas.  We have been stuck in a windy weather pattern for several weeks and crossing the Gulf Stream in windy conditions is not something we want to experience again. When we came back from the Abaco’s in 2017 the last three hours were not fun.   If the wind opposes the Gulf Stream current, it can be very volatile.  We always follow the number one rule on a boat, never have a schedule.

Our boat is the small red triangle in the lower left corner and Bimini is the red marker about center of the picture.  Our plan is the cruise to Key Largo the first day, then 90 miles across to Bimini....weather permitting.

February, and into March, was a very interesting time here at our dock.  When leaving our anchorage at Marco Island in December, our friends on m/v Forever Young had a major engine malfunction.  They are a single engine boat and the cooling water pump failed, as did the temperature alarm to indicate the engine was overheating.  By the time they realized they had a problem, damage to the engine had already occurred.  Having a spare water pump, Steve was able to replace it, add coolant, and continue to our anchorage at Little Shark River.  The next morning, he topped off the coolant level and they traveled with us to Marathon.

Since we are in the Key’s, and they must cross the Gulf of Mexico to return home to Kentucky, the decision was made to replace the engine.  Steve ordered a replacement engine, we traveled from our dock to a boat yard and they set the new engine in the back of his boat.  We returned to his slip, we removed the old engine from the boat, removed all of the external parts, cleaned and painted them, installed them on the new engine, and installed the new engine in their boat.  Steve's friend he met on the loop from Georgia drove down to help with the planning and replacement.  We returned to the boat yard, and they removed the damaged engine so it could be shipped back to the rebuild facility.

 Rigging the new motor to set in the boat that is sitting in the water.

Lowering the new engine into the engine room.

Cruised to the boat yard powered by the new engine and lifted the old engine from the boat.

We had a great reunion with our friends we hadn’t seen since last summer in Mississippi, Charlie and Robin on m/v The Lower Place, Dennis and Dori on m/v Current Dream, and Steve and Jan on m/v Forever Young (hmm, for some reason Jan didn’t make the pic?)

Our last dinghy ride with the Young's, the bimini top we installed on our dingy makes a huge difference avoiding the sun.

After several test runs, m/v Forever Young departed Marathon and started their journey back to Kentucky. 

Moni and I have continued to play bocce ball on Tuesday and Thursday and attend the jam sessions at the Tiki Hut.  There is really good talent here at Boot Key Harbor.

We attended the 48^th annual Marathon Seafood Festival, the second largest Florida Keys event with over 15,000 attendees.  This two-day event featured fresh-caught local keys seafood, over 220 vendors, a boat show, and live entertainment.  The event annually raises $75,000 that goes back into the community in charitable donations and scholarships for local Middle Keys students. 

We took the Island Trolley Tour, a guided trolley tour of the 13 islands that comprises Marathon and its rich history from wreckers, farmers, fisherman, Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railway, and its WWII connection.  

 And of course, we had to visit our favorite place Burdines, for deep fried key lime pie.

We boarded the Key’s Transit bus to Key West to celebrate St Patty’s Day with our friends Mike and Jan on m/v Trust Me.  We had a great time visiting with our friends and enjoying the many sights the event brings every year to Key West.

We had a unique experience by observing the vapor trail of the SpaceX’s Starship after it successfully launched from Texas and entered Earth’s orbit.  SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.  Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tons.  We watched the launch on SpaceX’s website, then rushed outside to try to get a glimpse of it as the flight path was over the Key’s.  My picture doesn’t show much but we could see a trail all the way across the horizon……awesome!   We tried to see its first launch last year while we were moored in Texas but too many delays kept us from that experience.

 Flight path from Texas across the Key's

The vapor trail extended all the way across the horizon at Marathon

Well, hopefully we can get a calm weather pattern in April so we can make our crossing to the Bahamas.  If not, our plans are written in the sand at low tide, and we don’t have a schedule.