Ft Lauderdale, FL to Charleston, SC 24 Mar - 14 Apr 2011

24 March 2001  Ft Lauderdale to Lake Worth, FL

Our last morning in Ft Lauderdale we shot this photo from the bridge of the boat.
The grounds were lovely where we stayed.  But...time to move on!

Our "backyard" in Ft Lauderdale

Passing through Palm Beach, we could see the next Boat Show....

Boat Show - West Palm Beach

That day we passed under or through 24 bridges and anchored 7 1/2 hours
later in the south end of Lake Worth.


25 March 20011  Lake Worth to Causeway Island, Ft Pierce, FL

Jupiter Lighthouse

Top of the Light

 It was a beautiful day though not as warm as these bikini clad young ladies
would lead you to think.

Lifting Ballons - Sailboat Mast visible on deck

We'd noted that a sunken sailboat had been marked as a hazard on our chart.
When we arrived we noticed a team onsite using lifting balloons to remove the
hazard.  You can see the mast lying on the deck.  We anchored in a new spot near
Ft Pierce off of the south side of Causeway Island.



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26 March 2011  Causeway Island to Vero Beach, FL
Vero Beach is always a popular spot for boaters.  Here's a photo of the dinghy
dock - anyone who's on a mooring ball "parks" here when they head into town.

Dinghy Dock - Vero Beach, FL

We only stayed one night and moved on.  Got together with friends, Connie &
Richard Younger, who are the proud owners of a 48' Island Packet, S/V Sea Salt. 


27 March 2011  Vero Beach to Cocoa, FL
Along the way I spotted this osprey nest on the navigation aid.

Ted also brought Clyde up to the bridge while we were underway.  So who is
driving if I am taking the photo?  Otto, our autopilot.

Ted and Clyde

You can see Cocoa in the photo below.  Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach are
close by.  We stayed at the Cocoa Village Marina for a few days.  It is tucked in
on the left near Highway 520.

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While we were in Cocoa, Ted installed the new monitor.  This monitor is
tied to the HP laptop located at the lower helm.  We still have our suite
of Furuno hardware but the chips are no longer made for the trip we plan
to make this summer.  So we've added a PC based solution that has a
puck style GPS integrated with the Coastal Explorer software (chartplotter).

1 April 2011  Cocoa to New Smyrna Beach, FL

We're moving along a little faster than normal but we're planning a few other stops
along the northbound route.  There's a new bridge in Titusville.  Here are the
remnants of the turntable for the swing bridge and the old bridge house.  They
have yet to be removed.

Bridge Tenders House - Former Titusville Bridge

Turntable for Titusville Swing Bridge

Chart on the new monitor

There was construction ongoing on the banks adjacent to the Haulover Canal bridge.
We can pass under the bridge without an opening but one had to pay attention to
the horizontal clearance.

Northbound

Looking behind after we passed under the bridge

2 April 2011  New Smyrna Beach to Mantanzas River, FL
You can see the inlet to the river here; the current moves swiftly through here
but the holding is excellent.

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Fort Matanzas can be seen on the south side in the photo.  I tried to
get a shot of the soldiers firing the cannon at the Fort.  When the cannon
went off, I jumped and missed the shot!  You can only reach the Fort by boat.

Fort Matanzas

3 April 2011  Mantanzas River to St Augustine, FL
We spent several days in St Augustine becoming Florida residents.  With all the
appropriate paperwork in hand, it was a piece of cake!  St Augustine is another
wonderful stop.  Here are a few of the sights.

The Pumpout Boat

Sailing Ship Passing Through the Bridge of Lions

Bridge of Lions

Low tide at the marina

Not sure this sailboat has moved in awhile

Nancy & brother-in-law Nick - Old town St Augustine

Dinghy dock at a very low tide

Bridge of Lions

The Lions are Back - West Side of the Bridge

 6 April 2011  St Augustine to Fernandina Beach (Bell's River), FL
When we let St Augustine we headed for Fernandina Beach.  We had fair
currents the whole way and as a result we made good time.  When we
crossed the St John's River  I spotted a Navy ship in the dry dock.

7 April 2011 Fernandina Beach to Duplin River, Georgia
Ted caught this photo at sunrise of the cranes on the dock at Fernandina Beach
from our anchorage in Bell's River.

It looked like a good enough day (2 weather reports out of 3) to travel offshore and
bypass the shallower areas in Georgia.  Here's a view of the range as we're transiting
the inlet at St Mary's. To be "on the range" the top light should be aligned over the
bottom light (which sits inside the 2 red stripes).  The winds were light, there were
no waves to speak of but the frequency between the swells was too frequent for me.
It is a good thing it doesn't bother the captain.  I felt like Clyde....

Clyde in a "sunspot"

We came in from sea at Doboy Sound.  It is a well marked channel we've used
before.


8 April 2011  Duplin River to Herb River (Thunderbolt), Georgia

We spotted this guy in the canoe before we passed through Hell Gate.

We anchored in the Herb River, just below Thunderbolt. You really get a perspective
for all of the water from this photo.  The dotted line is the Savannah River.

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When you cross the Savannah River, you are in South Carolina.  The
no-seeums have been a nuisance for the last couple days.  I can only
attribute them to the unseasonably warm weather.


9 April 2011  Herb River to Distant Island (Beaufort), SC
Look at all the waterways in the greater Beaufort area.  The USMC's
recruit depot is located at Parris Island which is visible in the photo below.


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We moored on Distant Island, just south of the County airport, to reconnect
with folks we met several years ago at a Great Loop rendezvous in Beaufort.
They completed the Down East Loop a year or so ago and I wanted to pick
their brains.

10 April 2011  Distant Island to Dataw Island, SC
We headed to Dataw next to visit friends and check out the lot we own.
On the way we slowed down to chat with this guy who was headed to Montreal.

12 April 2011  Dataw Island to Steamboat Creek, SC
We're not too far from Charleston, SC at this point.  We're in the vicinity
of Seabrook Island at an anchorage we favor time and time again.
We're in the smaller creek in the photo below.




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13 April 2011  Steamboat Creek to Wappoo Creek, SC
The tide was really low as we headed toward Charleston.

We anchored close by to The City Marina so we could plan to go in at slack water.

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14 April 2011  Wappoo Creek to Charleston, SC (City Marina)
Got underway 30 minutes before slack water and timed it perfectly!
Moored in a nice spot close to the beginning of the megadock for a change!
You can walk your fanny off if you are way out on the megadock here.

Late in the day this boat came in and took on fuel....OUCH!

We're here for a few days before we continue the trek northbound.