(Temporary Backup) Nana and Nandad return to NH

Three fabulous weeks back in Franklin after celebrating six birthdays, Easter , the Boston Marathon - so proud of you Ceire - and reconnecting with friends we have once again returned to continue the journey of bringing New Horizon back to her home port. St John’s Yacht Harbor was the perfect place to leave the boat. She was well looked after and had the engine oil changed and the harness fixed so the throttle issue should now be resolved - fingers crossed. 

Tuesday was our travel day and we arrived back on the boat by 8pm without any issues. Our plan is to return to Franklin in 10 days for more celebrations - this time First Communions. 

Wednesday April 17th we take the courtesy car to provision before leaving for Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown. Nandad made reservations when he was down at NH last week and we are excited to have dinner at the new George Hotel restaurant called The Independent . We are both fairly exhausted after our Bahamas trip so we have decided to take it slowly and enjoy the ride by covering approximately 50 miles a day. Our timing leaving St John found us directly as stern this enormous crane delivery so needless to say it was a very slow ride cruising through Elliott Cut. This picture is taken from the bow of NH.

Finally we pass her and this is what she looks like coming under the bridge. It is fascinating to watch the tug Captains skill.

As always the homes continue to capture our attention as we cruise along.

The research vessel NOAA was also spotted as we were leaving Charleston.

The remainder of our cruise was uneventful but longer than we had anticipated. We were tied and secured to our slip by five which was perfect timing to relax and shower before heading to dinner. The George is a new boutique style hotel and Nana was really impressed with the decor, art work, gas lamp lights , outdoor bar and fire pit area, lobby, and plush banquettes in the dining room. A classic Lowcountry cuisine the menu was heavy with fresh sea food but we were still able to find some choices for Nandad. It was a lovely evening.

Thursday April 18th we had a fantastic breakfast at Thomas Cafe before heading off for Marina at Grande Dunes which is in the Myrtle Beach area. Again a slow cruising day due to the many marinas along the way, private homes with docks right on the waterway and of course the Waccamaw River although nice and deep it is also narrow and tricky in spots. It is a very beautiful part of the ICW with its moss-draped cypresses, cypress stumps on either side of the banks, and the water is the color of tea! Not sure what was burning in the area but the whole landscape looked hazy from the smoke and there was a deep smell of molasses. We had a ten minute delay at the Socastee Swing bridge but were entertained by the many jet skis, small craft and pontoons. 

By three thirty we were in our slip and ready for a stroll. Nana and Nandad were at this marina before while cruising on Ireland’s Eye, maybe about eight years ago. Now the resort is split into four different ownership. The Marina, the Golf, the Hotel/Inn, and the restaurants are all operated independently. This means the Marina does not have access to the pool which is annoying and they no longer provide a shuttle to the beach - which is about a mile and a half away. I guess goes to show nothing stays the same! After a nice stroll around the property we return to NH , scrub her down and have a wonderful dinner onboard. Tomorrow we will cruise to Bald Head and have a much welcomed Layday. We took a ferry a few years ago from Southport SC to Bald Head so we are excited to take NH over and stay in the Marina. 

St Patrick’s Day in Charleston

Nana and Nandad went to Mass at St Patrick’s so although we did not hear any Irish music we did get the history of St Patrick from the bishop of Charleston. Once again the whole process took an hour and a half and we also got to celebrate one of the parishioners 101 birthday. A very welcoming and inviting celebration - I must say the southern like their gatherings. 

Our carraige ride ( Old South Carriage ) was a wonderful experience. Who would have thought that over 40 horses are in stables right downtown- and very nice ones. The horses work hard and if we are to believe the information provided by the company they uphold equine excellence. They use Belgian and Percheron draft horses, most come from Amish working farms. Our horse Noah was under the expert guidance of Carol and had festive hooves to celebrate the day. 

We had lunch at Henry’s on the Market which has been a Restaurant Bar & Music Hall for many decades. Although there was no live music when we were there it looks like a very cool place to hang out with an upstairs whiskey lounge and upper deck patio. Nandad had the corned beef and cabbage which he enjoyed. 

One of the many homes with beautiful gas light lanterns, wonderful side portico and ornate fencing. 

A tour of the beautifully restored 1808 Nathaniel Russell House Museum with a docent provided excellent cultural history, information on architectural features and the recent exposed archaeological work taking place in the Kitchen House. A beautiful formal garden provided the perfect spot for reflection with wonderful aroma wafting through the air. From March 14th to April 14th The Charleston Festival, which is the Historic Charleston Foundation’s main fundraiser , has several events including private homes and garden tours, workshops, lectures and concerts on the calander. We take a stroll down Church St and Broad St and feast our eyes with Charleston’s history from Colonial dwellings to Georgian gardens and historic churches ( Charleston don’t forget is after all the Holy City ). Some homes are in the process of restoration while others await attention. Nana can’t imagine the coast of restoring a home in these areas!

We take a drive to Sullivan Island to briefly visit Fort Moultrie and then head back to New Horizon. 

Monday 18th It’s time to bring NH into the slip where she will stay for at least a month. The throttle obliged without slipping and the rest of the day was spent cleaning, doing laundry, contacting and meeting the mechanic, arranging for the diver to clean the bottom, and also an electrician to check the solenoids and the trims. 

We have had a wonderful adventure and now ready for some family time. No more blog for now. A Happy Easter to all. 

St Patrick’s Parade

Saturday 16th : Nana and Nandad catch some of the parade before heading to Boone Plantation and Gardens. This is the sole St Patrick’s decoration on NH. 

We spend a very busy afternoon at the plantation listening to 340 years of history. The world famous Avenue of Oaks lines the entrance to the estate which now is an active farm run by a partnership. The house that is on the estate is still privately owned however the owner lives on another home on the property. There are wonderful exhibits in the actual cabins, that are directly off the entrance, which housed the slaves. Gullah Culture and Black History is very important at Boone Hall. The gardens around the house provide a definite aroma that is inviting and relaxing. There is a tractor that will take you around to view the farm which is quite extensive and several lectures onsite on a variety of subjects throughout the day.

Nana had tickets for a concert at the Circular Congregational Church the Vienna Light Orchestra’s Magical Movie Scores for 6pm so we had some light bites at the very chic outdoor patio at The Black Door Cafe. So good to hear good live music. 

Tomorrow is officially St Patrick’s Day so we will go to Mass at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in the morning and then we have a carriage tour booked for 12 md.

St John’s Yacht Harbor

We have arrived! A very long day but NH is finally at her home destination for at least the next four weeks. We had decided to anchor about 25 miles from our destination however when we went to slow down the throttle decided to once again slip so , despite our exhaustion, it was decided we should get to our home base. The miles and miles of Georgias ICW is a constant maze of twists and turns, shoaling, shallow areas and due to the many slow zone areas your speed is significantly reduced so it can take a few hours to go the extra 25 miles. In our favor , due to the clock going forward ,we have longer evenings with sunset now at around 7.30pm. NH was greeted at the dock by Adam and Daniel and securely tied and plugged in just in time for a well deserved cocktail/ mocktail. Nana is sooo excited to finally be at our destination and is ready for some family hugs. Nandad peeping over the rails at sunset.

Thursday 15th March: Nana and Nandad decided that today was a day to relax and enjoy. The marina provides a courtesy car which we can have for the day so we took off to Folly Beach - which has a beautiful stretch of beach probably at least six miles long with a variety of houses that have direct access to the beach. From there we went to Kiawah Island to have lunch at The Players Pub. Now Kiawah Island is a private Island with a very exclusive golf resort but if you say you are having lunch at the PUB they give you a day pass at the gate. We had the most delicious lunch on their patio and then sat on the Aridondack chairs on the lawn. It was very relaxing. Afterwards we once again went for a walk along another beach that was likely 10 miles long. 

As you can tell Nana is looking very relaxed and is thinking maybe golfing is a safer hobby than boating! We do some light grocery shopping before heading back for dinner onboard. 

Safe Harbor Skull Marina Hilton Head SC

Wednesday March 13th. Today was the perfect day for cruising the ICW. Nana and Nandad woke to such peace and quiet today and had breakfast watching dolphin swim in the anchorage, the pelicans flying so low and the birds chirping. We started our day at 9.15 and our goal is to make it to SH Bahia Bleu where we will fill with diesel, water and pump out. We arrive there at 1pm and it takes about half an hour to accomplish our goal and then we get underway. It is such a great day we decide to continue on to SH Skull Marina MM 555 which is up Skull Creek the northern tip of Hilton Head SC. Once we cross the Savannah River we are now in South Carolina. 

The picture above is the anchor rode drying out after a full wash down once we were tied up at the Marina.

You can see from the Nebo picture that our journey today was the typical twisting and curving of the Georgia Waterways. We cruise Ossaw Island, Skidaway Island, Wilmington Island, Daufuskie Island, and finally Hilton Head. 
The Marina has a Freedom Boat Club so lots of pontoons and central console boats. A fun spot I am sure with several condos surrounding the marina and the Skull Creek Boathouse restaurant around the corner. At this time of the year it is really very peaceful and as the sunsets we can watch the rowers rowing against the current - quite the workout. We should make it to our destination by Friday St John’s Yacht Harbor Charleston so maybe we will celebrate St Patrick’s Day in southern style. 

Amelia Island, Jekyll Island , Anchorage

Here we are back on Amelia Island the Isle of Eight flags.  This time we will stay at Oasis Fernandina Harbor Marina right downtown where we can walk to the museum, restaurants, shops etc. We had the opportunity to visit the Museum of History - which is housed in the historic Nassau County Jail. We had a wonderful docent who gave us a great history lesson on why the eight different flags are significant to Amelia Island. 
We had a wonderful breakfast at The Florida House Inn - which is the oldest surviving hotel in the state of Florida - where we checked out Leddys Porch and the lovely patio. After a delicious breakfast we went to mass at St Michael’s - a lovely small well attended church, visited the museum, Nana went on a bike ride and  the evening ended with the perfect dinner at Espana - although we ate inside we had full view of their beautiful patio dining. Nana was very excited to watch the Oscars from the boating lounge but was very disappointed as the channel was not available - we will simply have to get better at this tech stuff! No worries we were able to see the awards on utube later - better late than not at all. 

A mermaid fountain in the patio. There is also the Mermaid bar where occasionally there is live music.

Monday 11th The mechanic arrives and sorts out the problem - once again - with the trottle. We will eventually need a part but it can wait until we get to Charleston. We get a late start so we head to Jekyll Island. There we meet the two couples from Illinois on their lovely tugs and we took the trolley tour of the Jekyll Island Club Resort.  In 1886 the island was purchased to become an exclusive winter retreat for the very wealthy. It became known “ as the richest , most inaccessible club in the world. The breakout of World War 11, the depression and local labor force being drafted into the military all lead to the closure of the club. In 1947  Jekyll Island was purchased by the State of Georgia for use as a State Park. Below is one of the many cottages on the grounds of the Jekyll Club.

Tuesday 12th we have a long and winding cruise and decide to drop anchor in a very secluded spot on The North Newport River. On our journey. in the distance , we thought we saw this very strange large machine coming our way only to discover it was a fishing vessel ! 

We are rewarded with a perfect sunset. The stars are popping due to no light pollution and the moon is 7.70% visible and crescent. A wonderful evening to drop the hook.



 

New Horizon at Oasis Marina Fernandina

Friday March 8th NH cruises along the Hailfax River and Tomoka Basin into the Mantanza River where we ran aground last time. This time the dredgers were in a different spot which was easier to pass however we did patiently stay behind a sail boat while coming through the area - just to be on the safe side. St Augustine is always a very busy spot with anchorage, mooring balls, marinas and boat traffic. You can usually tell when you spot the pirate boat out in the harbor.

When NH was approaching her slip there right in front of us was the Nao Trinidad - which Nana wrote about before. This time she had a group of pipers onboard and it was a lovely sound filling up the harbor with pipes, drums etc

It was a very busy Friday night downtown so we decided to eat at Aviles Restaurant at the Hilton. It was a lovely atmosphere especially as Nana and Nandad appreciate being able to chat during dinner - a small intimate dining experience. Nana had a whole snapper so Nandad was entertained watching the head, tail and body being deboned! 

Saturday March 9th and we are back on Amelia Island just in time for a storm with high winds , rain , thunder and lightening. It was also very stressful coming into the marina and several times our gauge read 1 to 2 feet despite being in the middle of the channel - we were also at low tide which did not help. The throttle is acting up again ( I guess Nandads tapping on the solenoid isn’t working - bummer. Again the luck of the Irish is still with us and the dockhand called a buddy who will drop by tomorrow and take a look. For some reason the air conditioning has also decided to act up and our electrical cord keeps tripping - glad these issues are happening here locally. We will likely be here for an extra day or two. Nice that the marina is right downtown.