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. 

Halifax Harbor Marina at Daytona Beach

Thursday March 7th : A long day cruising today starting at 8.30am and tied up at the dock by 4.50pm. A total of 80 miles mostly along the Indian River through Haulover Canal and the Halifax River. Now if yesterday was all about the Osprey today was certainly the pelicans turn. Impossible to catch on camera how they swoop down to catch their prey. Their skull must be very thick! While Nana was on the helm they kept flying past and then suddenly dive bomb into the water.

She was able to catch one picture while it rested on the water.

Another amazing sight was a flock of cormorant for some reason all in the same spot! Wonder what attracts them to that particular area.

Just approaching the Haulover Canal there is a shallow area with a small island which is often a great spot for kayaking. Well today they were entertained by several pink flamingo strooling along the sand bank. Again the picture is not great due to an inadequate camera lens.

It really was a wonderful day to watch Mother Nature at her best and great that so many people get to be outdoors and appreciate all she has to offer. We also got to watch dolphins again play along with our wake and Nandad even saw a manatee - a reminder why some areas have a no wake zone.

Although we have been to Daytona Beach a few times we have always stayed at the Yacht Basin, so this is a first at this marina. It is well suited for launching day boats with several ramps, and  a nice park area. You can also dine and cruise on the Lady Dolphin and take the Harbour Hopper Tour. We walked over to the Jackie Robinson Ballpark and decided another picture was neccessary - after eight years we likely look a little different - no kiddin!

Nana cheated a little and had a pixie hair cut yesterday at the shopping mall. Tomorrow we will return to St Augustine with our goal to make it to Amelia Island for the weekend. That should get us to ICW SM 720 back almost to Tiger Point Marina - where we left the boat for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This time we will continue on hopefully to South Carolina before heading back to Franklin March 19th. 

Fort Pierce & Eau Gallie ( Melbourne)

This is the view of Safe Harbor Old Port Cove as we are leaving the marina. It is really a very pretty spot within a large gated community of a mix of condos, villas and apartments. 

Quite the contrast from the Bahamas coastline. High rises everywhere!

Our cruise from Old Port Cove to Fort Pierce was uneventful except for the five whistle blow we received from the barge that was heading south . We clearly should have stood on and waited until it had passed the corner instead we passed him starboard to starboard which was not smart - apologies to the Captain of the tug. A lot of traffic today going both ways. A lovely sailboat cruising nicely and enjoying the afternoon breeze. 

Wednesday 6th March NH arrives in Eau Gallie Yacht Basin Melbourne . This was where we had the engine of Ireland’s Eye rebuilt in 2016. The marina has since been taken over by a new owner and much of its character has remained. We had a lovely pot lunch dinner on the dock and met some interesting characters. Our cruise today was very pleasant although slow in spots due to manatee slow zone areas. The Osprey have also built their nests since our last trip in January and many resting in their nest. Nana was highly entertained with a family of dolphin that frolicked on the starboard side wake for several minutes. At one time there must have been five of them.

West Palm FL

After watching the weather and consulting with Chris Parker NH left West End this morning at 7am and had an uneventful passage. The winds and waves were as predicted with occasional periods of swells - a very different experience from our overnight passage. It somehow felt comforting to hear the USCG on the radio as we watched the skyline of FL.  We did a steady speed of 14 to 18 miles per hour so by 12 midday we were at our slip at Safe Harbor Old Port Cove. We had to report to the Customs Border Protection due to some communication error but were cleared quickly. Lots of passengers reporting to board the Margaritaville at Sea getting ready for their cruise. When we returned to the Marina we had lunch at Belles - which is a sister restaurant of the one in Newport and when we returned to the boat we found a visitor waiting for us!

A quick scrub down, a wonderful walk along the two mile trail around the gated village and marina, a yoga class on the bow, some laundry ( as always ) and a little research on where we might be tomorrow. For now we have reserved a slip at Safe Harbor Harbortown Fort Pierce where we stopped on our way south. It’s about 60 miles which should make for a nice cruise up the ICW.  

New Horizon prepares to head back to FL

A lonely hammock begging for somebody to fill its space. The perfect spot for Nana to relax and read her book. Unfortunately due to oncoming weather we will not make the Abacos on this trip. After much consultation the decision is made to take the weather window tomorrow and cross back to Lake Worth FL . Changing weather patterns are expected all of next week and into the second week of March so we will head back to FL and begin the process of making it up to Tiger Point Marina where we will leave NH once again to head back for Easter. We will touch base with friends along the way and see if we can spend some time together. So far it has been an amazing adventure and we will just have to continue cruising the Bahamas , maybe charter a boat next year so we can cruise The Abacos and Eleuthera.

Oakley was our neighbor for the last few day and what a well behaved dog. His owners are ready to celebrate their 50th birthday’s and have decided to cruise the Bahamas for a few months - what a great idea. Nandad was very impressed with Oakley.

Although not a great picture it does capture the beautiful palm trees in front of the colorful houses. The wind catches the palms and makes for this wonderful breeze and magical sound. The houses are being repaired one at a time but work goes slowly here so not too much inconvenience. The Tiki Bar serves a great lunch and the restaurant serves a great breakfast and dinner. There is something here for everybody and Freeport is a short ride if you want more activity. A steady flow of boats come through to check into customs which provides entertainment if you want to just relax on your boat. Boaters are generally happy to chit chat and share many stories, experiences and suggestions that can be very helpful.