Charleston Sunset

The Molly Belle got some rest last night and so did we!  Yesterday (Wednesday), after a full day of bicycle riding around Charleston, we returned to the marina just in time for a beautiful sunset:

More of the same planned for today!

A LATE NIGHT VISIT FROM BERYL

Yesterday we sailed to Charleston behind a trawler that had been docked next to us in Beaufort. The owners of that trawler, Tim and Kathy, are a charming North Carolinian couple who escorted us on a wonderful tour of Charleston followed by a delightful dinner at "Slightly North of Broad." We discussed Tropical Storm Beryl and how fortunate we had been in skirting the ill winds of that tempest. Ha! Beryl showed us who's the boss, buffeting us with high winds and heavy rains beginning shortly after we returned from dinner. The MollyBelle weathered the storm very well, having been securely tied up to the floating dock by very capable dockhands at the Charleston City Marina earlier in the day. The worst of the storm subsided by around 4AM and I will try to catch up on lost sleep today!

MEMORIAL DAY IN BEAUFORT, SC
After a 12-day sojourn on Hilton Head Island, The MollyBelle and crew got back on the ICW this morning.  In spite of tropical storm warnings (Capt Dick just said "Beryl be Damned"), we are glad that we braved the rough waters of Port Royal Sound and arrived in Beaufort at noon.  It was well worth the two hour trip to get here and tour this beautiful old town by horse and buggy and learn a bit of history.
Our stay in Hilton Head was wonderful: visits with old friends, bicycle rides, walks on the beach were some of the highlights; along with alligator viewing for excitement!

Now it's time to get back to boating and blogging. Next stop: Charleston.

FROM ISLE OF HOPE TO HARBOUR TOWN YACHT BASIN

What a transition!  Early this morning I strolled past the most gracious old southern homes along the waterfront on Isle of Hope.  I met some of the neighborhood people and learned some history of the island.  These were the summer homes of Savannah residents who in the 1800’s would come here to escape the heat and diseases like yellow fever that were rampant in the city.  Overlooking the water, these stately homes are surrounded by live oak trees laden (of course!) with moss.  The summer residents came here by boat from Savannah—not too far away.  I got some great shots of houses, porches and gardens on my iPhone and I want to figure out how to post them to my blog.  Maybe I’ll have some time to do that while we are here in Hilton Head.  We had a nice non-eventful ride over to Harbour Town Yacht Basin this morning and Capt Dick was very adept at backing The MollyBelle into our slip which is somewhat hidden in a corner of the marina.  There are some very large yachts docked between us and the lighthouse, so we have to get off the boat to see it. We are surrounded by the condos and shops of Sea Pines Resort with many people walking around and lots of activity.  So different from our earlier stops along the way!  On Sunday we are going to move off the boat into one of the condos which I believe directly overlooks our boat.  I think I recognize it from photos—it is the only one with a green umbrella on the patio.  We are looking forward to enjoying the amenities of the resort, including bicycle trails, beaches and pool,  and visiting friends from HH, Atlanta and NC—not to mention getting off the boat for a while!

OCEAN BOUND AND RUNNING AGROUND. Neither of those two activities was planned for today. However, en route from Jekyll Island to Isle of Hope (Savannah) GA, we missed the marker for the Mud River and found ourselves heading out towards the Atlantic Ocean. As much as we might have liked to avoid the shallow passage through the Mud River, our plan is to follow the ICW north and not go "outside" in the ocean. So we found our way back and made it through the planned route okay. Later on we ran aground at the entrance to Hell Gate. Capt Dick managed to back off and get us through the rest of that passage unscathed. (Who wants to travel through places called "Mud River" and "Hell Gate" anyway?). We were very happy to tie up at Isle of Hope Marina (much nicer name) this afternoon. The marina let us use their loaner car and we made a run to Walmart for provisions. Dinner on board: pasta and meatballs from the Saturday Farmers Market in Fernandina accompanied by a bottle of red wine, of course! Tomorrow's destination is Hilton Head where we plan to stay for a while.

GUNSHOTS AND LIGHTNING Yesterday as we were dining on board, enjoying Capt Dick/Chef Richard's special shrimp and vegetable stir fry, we heard gunshots. They were coming from a big old vessel anchored about 1,000 feet across the channel from us. A man was shooting a pistol into the water off the back of the boat. This activity continued on and off for more than an hour. Some of the local people staying on our dock didn't seem to be alarmed by this. They said he is a good guy who lives on his 1900's refurbished oyster boat. He works for Sea Tow and that boat was tied to his big old boat. One of his friends from our dock called him and asked if everything was alright. No one had ever witnessed this kind of behavior from him. They said he is a really nice, mild-mannered guy whose mother died two weeks ago. He told his friend he was really upset with yesterday being Mother's Day and all. Did I mention he also was very drunk? So around 8PM Dick called 911 and they sent two officers from the Georgia State Patrol. Just as they arrived at the marina the shooter sent off another round of gunfire into the water. His friend from our dock called him again and was talking to him when the officers approached and then they talked to him. All of the "talking to" seemed to calm him down. The officers decided everything was okay and they left. The shooter came by the marina today and apologized to the harbor master for his behavior and for scaring us. We definitely were frightened! As I write this post we are experiencing a very strong thunder and lightning storm. Lightning is striking all around us. Yesterday--guns; today--lightning! I think I'll shut down the computer for now. Whew, glad that's over! We just finished drying the floors from the rain that came in through one of the portholes that was left open. It was a very strong storm and the rain was blowing sideways. Glad we were tied up at the dock and not out at sea! Earlier today the weather was beautiful. It was a wonderful day for bicycling around Jekyll Island under the big live oak trees laden with moss and blooming magnolia trees scattered throughout. After riding along the beach and the marshes, we followed the paths past the Jekyll Island Club and the "cottages" where wealthy business tycoons came around the turn of the century to escape the cold northern winters. We plan to do more exploring and bicycle riding tomorrow and then have a farewell dinner with Peter and Terry at the Inn before we depart and go our separate ways on Wednesday morning. Dick and I are anxious about navigating the shallow waterways of Georgia as we head on up towards Hilton Head. We plan to travel as best we can with the tides and pay close attention to the charts in an effort not to run aground!

SATURDAY MARKET & SUNDAY MASS: Nourishment for Body & Soul. Fernandina, FL to Jekyll Island, GA Yesterday we tied up at Fernandina after a four hour cruise from St Augustine just in time to get to the Saturday Farmer's Market. Fernandina is a charming old port town with many shops and restaurants and the market is just a few blocks from the marina. We stocked up on tomatoes, strawberries, olive tapenade, homemade bread and frozen meatballs to add to our pasta sauce--the next time we cook on board(?). We've been eating out a lot! Sunday morning we walked to St Michael's Church for 8 o'clock Mass. We were greeted along the way by residents sitting on front porches of pretty old homes along tree lined streets. We headed back to the boat for a 10 o'clock departure. The deckhands at the marina were most helpful in getting us off as we had to turn the boat around in a narrow space with a slight current and unfavorable wind. We followed the Intracoastal Waterway along Cunberland Island and arrived at Jekyll around noon. It was a short ride but somewhat tricky at times, especially navigating through open water between Cumberland and Jekyll Island in rough seas. Terry saw horses on the beach on Little Cumberland Island. We've been enjoying traveling with the Sullivans on board The Whimaway Two and will miss them when we part company on Wednesday: they will return to Vero Beach and we will head North. We plan to spend a couple of days on Jekyll, exploring the natural beauty of the island via the lengthy bicycle paths that run along the beaches, marshes and lush trees laden with Spanish moss. David called to wish me Happy Mother's Day and ask where he might send my card and gift. I said he could send it to Harbour Town Yacht Basin in Hilton Head where we plan to be May 18-28. That's where the harbor master from St Augustine will be sending my little red purse that I left behind in the bathroom at that marina. Don't ask...!

Friday, May 11, 2012. St Augustine Municipal Marina BOATS AND BICYCLES (AKA "SWIFTS" & "BEACH CRUISERS") After an overnight stay at Halifax Marina in Daytona on Tuesday, we arrived in St Augustine Wednesday around 11am. We struck up a conversation with a charming young man, Patrick, who came over to our boat to tell us how much he liked our "Swift", referring to the swift trawler style of The MollyBelle. He wished that his trawler could go as fast as ours. Pat and some friends are traveling from their home port of Savannah to the Bahamas. One of his friends asked me if the white "beach cruiser" on the bow of the MollyBelle was mine. I guess he figured who else would ride such a big bike with foot brakes! Anyway, he said he thought it was cool. We spent some time visiting our respective boats. Pat's trawler is about the same length as ours--42 feet, but his seems much larger because of the way it is built. They departed on their journey south that afternoon, but not before extending an invitation to stay at his mother's dock in Savannah. Boaters are the friendliest people! We also met Brian and Rose who are on their way home to Greenwhich, CT, from the Bahamas. Brian gave us some tips about places to visit on Long Island Sound. St Augustine is a very old historic city and Captain Dick believes the best way to view old historic cities is on a bicycle. So, yesterday morning with much trepidation I got on my shiny new big "beach cruiser", with foot brakes and 3 speeds and proceeded down the cobblestone streets of St Augustine. It took a while for me to overcome my fear of falling and crashing into cars, pedestrians and other bikers. Dick will tell you that I still have not overcome that fear. There were some interesting sights to see--whenever I could take my eyes off the bumpy road and loosen my grip on the handle bars. After lunch we bicycled to the Fountain of Youth to drink the fabled water that will keep us young forever! We made it back to the boat safe and sound and hopefully no older than when we started out!

Mating Manatees and Nesting Osprey
May 7, 2012, Day One of our journey North aboard the MollyBelle from our home port in Vero Beach to our second (new) home port in Boston, MA.  We left at 7:45am as scheduled, in order for Captain Dick to arrive at Cocoa Village Marina in time for his conference call at noon.  It was a beautiful day on the Indian River where we saw mating manatees (We think that's what they were doing--they were very frisky!) and nesting osprey.  We are happy to be under way after many months of planning for this trip.  We will be travelling with Peter and Terry Sullivan on their boat, the "Whimaway" as far as Jekyll Island, GA, with stops in Daytona, St Augustine, and Fernandina Beach in Florida.  After that we are on our own! This is my first post as a new blogger.  Hope it works!