So, another week goes by without a post to our blog! Hmmm. You’d think we were distracted or something?  Well, Thanksgiving week, Boca Raton, family & new friends! 

We left North Palm Beach and made our way south.  We had a slip reserved for two nights at a luxury resort, the Boca Raton Resort & Marina, for the day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving day.  Since we arrived earlier than that, we anchored off the waterway just in front of this large resort in Boca Raton Lake.  We were surrounded by multimillion-dollar homes, glittering lights, and beautiful yachts.  The weather was hot and humid, so it was a treat to jump in the beautiful blue water to cool off.  And, we were able to dingy over and still use the amenities of the resort, even though we hadn’t yet “arrived.”

On the 26^th we entered our slip at the resort and began to discover how exclusive this resort really is.   A few signs:

• We were the smallest boat in the harbor

• We are not famous (Adam Sandler was said to be “on-property," Dave Maraj had the second smallest sailboat, an Oyster 57 – Dave is a winner of the Lemans 24-hour race, we Googled him, racing must pay well!)

• We don’t drive a $200,000+ car (In four days we saw more Rolls Royces, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, and Ferraris than we’ve seen in our entire lives)

We were happy to borrow Courtney’s new VW Bug to get around! 

Without getting into too much detail we enjoyed every pampered minute. This place is over the top. Two 18 hole golf courses, marina, five restaurants, Spa, etc, etc. The Sushi restaurant was Chef Morimoto’s, the Iron Chef!

On Thanksgiving Day we were invited to dine with Courtney’s boyfriend Paolo’s dad and girlfriend and one other couple.  Kris, Paolo’s dad, was an executive chef at a prestigious NYC restaurant at one point in his career.  Dinner included a 32 pound turkey and eight side dishes, all gluten free for Courtney.  The food was beyond description, just amazing, as was the evening.  Many thanks to Kris and Ivona, Paolo and Courtney for including us. 

During the next few days we found it hard to leave, so we kept extending our stay. But, today, Sunday, we left to head north again to Vero Beach.  We are currently anchored for the evening adjacent to the ICW in Hobe Sound, between Jupiter and Jupiter Island. Tomorrow we expect to pull into our slip in Vero and stay for the month of December.

You are probably wondering where we are and why there has been radio silence for a week!  We blew past Vero Beach last Sunday and stopped about 10 miles south in a nice anchorage in Fort Pierce.  All of a sudden several obligations popped up for us and we had to make some tracks.  The next day, after five bridge openings within as many miles we finally made it to North Palm Beach Marina. This relatively short trip required us to either rush to the next bridge in order to arrive for the scheduled opening (usually on the hour or half hour) or slow down so we didn't have to drift around in a tricky current while waiting for the bridge to open. We've been in North Palm Beach ever since!

We had daily visits from dolphins on our way. Amazing!

Our daughter, Courtney, came up from Boca Raton to have dinner with us and take Sharon back to pick up her car, which has been under Courtney's watchful eye since it arrived via truck in September.  Greg had to get to the airport early Tuesday morning to fly back to Boston for client meetings.

Sharon spent the next three days doing serious boat clean-up, laundry and shopping.  It was interesting to note how freeing it was to suddenly have a car at our disposal again.  We have already gone through a couple tanks of gasoline between running around, airport shuttle, exploring the area and visits to Courtney.

It has been great to be in a protected marina.  We have seen a lot of rain in the last week.  For the first two days here, it rained most of the day.  We saw one day of sun and then a couple more days of rain. Seems to be a system hanging around.  The last two days we saw 20-30 knot winds.  We look forward to more sunny days ahead though.  It has been in the low to mid-70's most all day and night. Today and tomorrow it'll be mid-eightys and the rain will subside!

Yesterday we visited a really nice nature park about 2 miles from here, John D. MacArthur Beach State Park.  The nature center had a couple of loggerheads that were being nursed back to health in preparation for releasing back into the wild.  There were also several aquarium tanks with local fishes and critters.  It has a trail system among mangroves, Lake Worth in the middle of it where you can kayak, and also has a long boardwalk to cross the lake and then walk the Atlantic-side beach.  With winds howling above 30 knots, here is a look at the boardwalk and the surf. The water was the most beautiful aqua color!

This morning we have some boat chores to do. This afternoon we hope to catch the Patriot's game at a local sports bar if we can find one with the Pats game on.

Tomorrow we'll continue south to Boca Raton for Thanksgiving, spending it with Courtney, her boyfriend Paolo, and his family.  We hear his dad is a talented chef having been the executive chef at a well-known NYC restaraunt sometime ago. So, we're looking forward to an festive outdoor Thanksgiving feast down here in sunny southern Florida.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.  We have much for which to be thankful!  Most of all, we count all of you, our friends and family, as that for which we are MOST grateful.  Blessings & love to you!

We have had a lovely few days.  Though the evenings and mornings are cool and we are still gloved up in the early morning, the days grow warmer and we can strip to shirtsleeves by afternoon.  Today it was 76 degrees with water temps at 70 degrees.  Aahhhhh!  We hear it is cold in New England.

We had a great night at Camachee Cove Marina is St. Augustine a couple nights ago.  Many marinas have free loaner cars.  We took advantage and made a stock-up trip to Publix - one of the grocery chains down here.  Got some office work done, cleaned up the boat a bit and enjoyed a fabulously fresh sushi meal at the Kingfish Grill right at the marina (really, we wish we had taken photos of the meal the chef prepared - amazing!)

We noticed this guy sitting on a neighboring boat in the evening and again in the morning.   Notice the strategically placed bird spikes that this osprey ignored and sat right on the windex.  Do you know how many broken windex's we have had to go up the mast to replace?  This is why!

We have crossed under several bridges in the past couple days - some of which have to open for us.  Bridge tenders monitor channel 9 in Florida.  You radio ahead as you are approaching the bridge and request an opening.  They will ask your boat name and sometimes your home port.  They are all quite polite and friendly.  We wait until we see the cars stopped, you can hear the bells when the gates come down for the cars and then there is often a horn.  The bridge goes up and you hit the throttle to cruise on through.  Once through, you tell the tender that you have cleared and thank them for the opening.  They usually wish you a safe journey.  It is all quite civilized.  (Maybe now you will enjoy a bridge opening a bit more when you are frustrated sitting and waiting in your car)  

Bridge of Lions, St. Augustine, FL

The trip today was very narrow and straight.  As we go along, we look out and see all this water, but most of it is two or three feet deep - or even sand when the tide goes out.  Looks amazing, but all shallow water.  We stick to the narrowly dredged channel and note the depth all the time. 

 

Fishing in the shallows

We see dolphins every day, all day.  Today, a couple started playing in our wake.  Sharon was at the helm, Greg was leaning over the cockpit coaming to get a better look and the two of them started flipping their tails and splashing us!  It was so fun!  They did it several times and we had water all over the cockpit and a little puddle on the binnacle table (the little table that holds the compass and supports the electronic chart plotter and where the steering is).  It was so totally intentional and so funny.  

We have seen many, many osprey.  Many more than we see on the Delaware shore.  We have seen many, many pelicans of both the white and brown variety and of course, many cormorants.  There are still lots of egrets and herons as well.  All of it just so cool. 

A gaggle?  A flock?  A lot!

We have been making our way down the Indian River and have passed along near Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.  Very cool.  Apparently, boats anchor nearby to watch rocket launches.  Great viewing!  A new Orion spacecraft is launching on December 4th.  (we will not be here to see it)

We are in Mangrove territory.  

The Launch Tower

We anchored at about 4pm in Cocoa, FL, also known as Cocoa Village.  Really!  We got underway this morning at 7:15 and covered about 50 miles. Tomorrow we'll reach Vero Beach, where we have a slip leased for the winter.  But, we plan to head further south within a day or two to visit with our daughter, Courtney, in Boca Raton for Thanksgiving.  Boca is another 100 miles south and will give us a chance to see what lies between Vero and south Florida. We hope to get to the Keys later this season and this will show us some of what to expect along this part of our route.

(In case you haven't yet figured it out, if you click on the photo, you can enlarge it)

Today was a beautiful day!  The last two days were chilly and overcast.  We have resisted putting our fowlies on, even though we would probably be warmer.  But - we both have been wearing four layers and gloves!  Today - the sun came out brightly and warmed the air to 75 degrees. It was delightful.  We actually sailed for awhile as well!  This is our third night on the hook and Sharon is happy.  Our anchorages have been quiet and peaceful.

Tonight's sunset

We left Wexford Plantation early Sunday and made our way south on the waterway again.  This part of the trip has been a bit more planned as we have to be aware of the 10 foot tides we have been experiencing here in Georgia, particularly high and low due to the full moon.  The waterway has not been as well maintained in lower South Carolina and Georgia, so we find we must take the narrow, thin water at high tide.  Fortunately, high tide has been around 10 or 11 am, making it easy to leave early and get in 50 miles or so each day.

Today, we motored past Jekyll Island, pulled out the jib and sailed towards the ocean  The pull of the ocean was strong, but we resisted and turned up river as per the plan.  This is the last of Georgia we will see as we will pass into Florida tomorrow.  It was a lovely sail up past Cumberland Island - an entire island that is National Park.  We marveled at the sand dunes as we rounded the bend. They seem as high as Aquinnah's on Martha's Vineyard.

Little Cumberland Island Sand Cliffs

One of Sharon's favorite novelists, Mary Alice Monroe, has written several books that are set in the "Low Country" of South Carolina.  Mostly on Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms - barrier islands off Charleston.  She often mentions the smell of the "Pluff Mud."  Never certain what she meant, we now know.  As a kid, Sharon's family used to visit friends with a house on the Delaware Bay.  To get there, you had to drive a long way across the marsh before you got to the row of small homes along the water.  The smell of the marsh is the same that Mary Alice Monroe talks about.  It is that special marsh smell.  A combination of standing water, decaying shellfish, marsh grass and wet dirt.  Here is a link to a wonderful article about pluff mud.

http://charlestonmag.com/features/pluff_mud

We have seen some great sights!

Is this classically Southern?!

Brown Pelicans and White Pelicans!

Shrimp Boat coming back from fishing

Yes - the third Bald Eagle we have seen so far 

This week we were able to visit and enjoy Hilton Head Island, SC, a place we all hear about, but few actually visit. The island is 12 miles long and five miles across. It’s located between Charleston, SC and north of Savannah, GA. The Intracoastal Waterway’s path is between the mainland and the island. So, we knew we’d be motoring by it as we continued south. We stopped at the north end and stayed two nights in a marina to get our laundry done, clean the boat and look around the island. We found out that the island is divided into “plantations”, a term used here to designate a privately developed residential community with distinct boundaries. There are about a dozen plantations on the island and each one has it’s own culture, cost of ownership and amenities. The one we stopped at is an older community and we were able to bike around a few hours each day to see neighborhoods. After two days we moved to another location at the Wexford Plantation in the middle of the island on a river that bisects the island from the south. This community is 30 years old and, we learned, the most upscale on the island. It has its own harbor, Arnold Palmer golf course, and hundreds of incredible homes. There are 10-foot tides here and this harbor has its own lock system to allow a single boat to enter or leave while retaining a steady water level throughout the waterways of this community. It was quite an experience to enter, be lifted ten feet and appear in a new harbor. The entry was more “interesting” because at one point we saw less than a foot of water under our keel!

Dream Catcher in the lock to enter Wexford Plantation's Harbor

Dream Catcher in Wexford Plantation Harbor

This community recently decided to open up their harbor to outsiders as a possible means of marketing their homes. We were the very first visitors….or the guinea pig. We stayed two nights at no cost. We were able to use any part of the club we chose…restaurant, golf, tennis, etc. Although we didn’t golf or play tennis, we did use the showers and restaurant, as well as walk and bike through the golf course and neighborhoods. The architecture was amazing. The grounds were perfectly kept. And the people were all incredibly welcoming.

One of many waterways through Wexford Plantation

Wexford Harbormaster's Office - not bad!

We had a fabulous time. Each night we had dinner at the club restaurant. The first night two couples joined us, made us feel welcome, and told us all about the place. The second night we had a quiet dinner together, but just as we were finishing another member of the community came over and said hello. She was there with her husband, another couple and one other woman after a day of golf. An hour later we were at one of their homes having a late cocktail, watching football and playing pool. The house was easily 10,000 sf and worth several million dollars. We were in awe. It was the most luxurious home we had ever been in. By the end of the evening we had made some new friends with whom we hope to stay in touch.

 

A bike path bridge on our way to see the beach

After executing the lock exit at Wexford Plantation this morning, we are headed south once again, reaching Georgia by this afternoon. We’re anchored about 40 miles south of Savannah where Crooked Creek joins Little Ogeechee Creek. With a ten-foot tide and two knot currents we let out plenty of anchor rode. We are looking forward to our next stops in a couple days at St Simons and Jekyll Islands, just north of the Florida border.

So we finished our time in Charleston with a carriage tour around the historic district.  What a delight.  "Jake" pulled the carriage and Dennis was our guide.  If you get the chance to do this when in Charleston, we highly recommend it.

Jake 

Then, we got lucky enough to find a "Patriots' Bar" and got to see the Pats defeat the Broncos - YAY!!  (Condolences to our Colorado family - well, maybe).

We left the docks in Charleston on Monday at noon and got back on the Waterway.  The sites remain fascinating.  The currents remain strong and the anchorages remain quiet.  The moon is coming on to full.

For those of you who are not sailors, or have never done the ICW, we thought it might be interesting to see how all of this works.  Southbound on the ICW is "red right returning" which means that you keep any red marks to your right, as if returning from an ocean voyage.  You wind your way through cuts and rivers and creeks following these marks, as well as your chart.  We use an electric chart plotter which is like a GPS in your car.  It shows where your boat is in relation to everything around you and the boat moves along the chart as you go.  

The person at the helm is constantly scanning ahead, looking for marks, checking the chart plotter with a constant eye on the depth sounder (showing how much water is under your keel).  Today, we passed through the Ashepoo Coosaw Cut  and saw 0.5 on the depth sounder!  Yes - that means 6 inches!  We're used to several feet. The transponder that runs our depth sounder is mounted on the bottom of the keel - so it means we had only six inches of water below our keel and you can believe that we were creeping along!  Occasionally you can't trust what the chart plotter says regarding depth or position.  Sometimes, our little boat is pictured over land!  Government charts change slowly!

Keep these to your right in the ICW going South

Keep these to your left in the ICW going South

If you should happen to get confused, we were told to look for the little yellow squares or triangles on these markers and use those instead - ha!  They are kind of tough to see at any distance.  

Much of the time it feels like you are creeping down an alley.  Then a large power boat comes up behind and you are supposed to slow down so that he can give you a "slow pass," to prevent his wake from pushing you around.  All kinds of things to learn along the way.  We took a "Secrets of the ICW" workshop at the Annapolis Boat Show and we are very happy that we did.  We learned all these interesting tidbits that would have taken us the whole trip to figure out on our own.  

Tonight we are anchored just inside Skull Creek on the north end of Hilton Head Island. We arrived just before sun down, saw a beautiful sunset, and had a simple dinner. We're looking forward to exploring the island on our bikes tomorrow.  

Charleston is a great city!  If you haven't visited - plan a trip.  Prepare to eat well and enjoy the history.  They call it the Holy City because there are over 700 churches.  We have spent our time on the peninsula which is the downtown area.  Greg commented there are more great restaurants than Boston and the population is a fraction of same.   Boston's population is 650,000 compared with 130,000 in Charleston.  Lowell, MA has 108,000. Can you imagine 700 churches in Lowell - or Boston?

Our first couple days here were warm and sunny.  The third was freezing cold - 43 degrees, rain and wind at 20-25 knots with gusts to 35.  Sharon was even starting to wish she had actual shoes and if you know her, you know it takes a lot for her to give up her flip-flops!  Gave us a good excuse to hit the West Marine and Harris Teeter (a really nice grocery) and stock up on stuff we needed.  We are happy to be at a marina where we can "plug-in" and have heat.  An interesting consequence though is the heavy condensation on every porthole and hatch.  We are realizing how tough it would be to live aboard through a winter in New England.  Every once in a while, a cold drip would hit Sharon's head during the night, as she sleeps right under a porthole.  Yuk!

Day Three in Charleston

There is a courtesy shuttle provided by the marina that will take you pretty much anywhere you need to go.  The drivers tend to be locals and provide you with all kinds of cool information about the city. When asking about where to eat, we were told we needed to be certain to have "shrimp and grits" and then a variety of options were presented.  Sharon wrinkled her nose a bit because in her mind, grits are nothing to write home about - while Greg loves them!  We had lunch at the "Lowcountry Bistro" and shared an appetizer of their rendition of shrimp and grits - OMG!  First of all, the grits were made with butter and cheese - changes the whole landscape of grits!  Mixed in with the grits was a spicy tomato sauce which the shrimp has obviously been cooked in.  A sensation in the mouth!  So good.  Then, last night at "Coast", we shared a dinner of shrimp and grits and that flavor was more like a good New Orleans gumbo, strong with the undertones of the file' powder that is the base of good gumbo.

Coast Bar and Grill entrance and inside below

We need these lights at our beach house!

Our wedding anniversary was Thursday and we enjoyed a special meal at "Peninsula Grill."  A very nice restaurant adjacent to Plantation Inn, a Relais and Chateaux hotel.  There Sharon had a delightful meal of red grouper and lobster and Greg loved his scallops and grits.  But the piece de resistance was the Coconut Cake, which apparently lost the Bobby Flay throw down some years ago; hard to imagine as it was really good - creamy icing, five layers of moist cake, dredged in toasted coconut flakes.  Wow!

Cypress is one of three restaurants owned and managed by the local Hospitality Management Group.  It was beautifully appointed and very comfortable.  Sharon enjoyed a chicken and dumplings special - flavored exquisitely, and Greg had duo of pork - a home made kielbasa that exploded with flavors in your mouth and a thin slice of breaded pork laid over sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.  They butcher and create all their meats there and have apparently opened a deli where you can buy them, or get sandwiches made from them.  Yum!

Interior of Cypress and Wine Cellar - two stories high!

Needless to say - we are doing our best to eat our way through Charleston's best restaurants!

The bartender at Coast had great information about the Charleston Beer Works which is a "Patriots Pub".  He and his three college roommates from Massachusetts used to hang out there to watch the games.  Guess where we are headed today at 4:30?!