Warming
Up Moving From Georgia to Florida: January 26 2022
Back from our north Georgia road trip and Barefeet is center stage. We
returned the rental car after a flurry of auto-assist activities: propane fill,
supermarket run, liquor store…the usual suspects. Enterprise is still our preferred car rental
agency but their lack of pick up/drop off for retail customers is a covid bummer…and
a 4 mile walk back to the marina (1/12).
Barefeet is finally looking a bit less like a workshop and more like a
boat as varnish dried, cushions were replaced and tools and materials were stowed. Wow – the pilot house positively glows with
beautifully restored wood. Chris
rocks! And just in time for a visit from
long time boater friend Tana. We all met
in 2004 at Cove Haven Marina in Rhode Island.
The years simply melted away (all 18 of them) and we picked up right
where we left off (1/13).
With
an idea of tossing the lines from the dock we continue to fire on all cylinders. Next up - the get-home engine is tested. Yippee - two thumbs up after so much work
done on her recently. Erin’s oyster
shell trinket bowl is also completed.
Mother Nature did the heavy lifting, I just puffed them up to allow natural
colors to remain below clear lacquer with a single edging of gold leaf paint. And the remaining shells are ready for whatever I think of next. The
generator is not to be left out of the action as it was out with the old fresh
water pump and in with the new one…including antifreeze drained and re-filled
(1/14). Love the candy apple red
color and she purrs like a kitten with
loads of water cycling through the system!
Erin squeezed in another bit of fun between being gopher and third hand
for whatever/everything with a snack for Happy Hour. It’s a recipe that has been languishing for
15 years. Thanks Ems – I knew the sun
dried tomato, mascarpone and herb stuffed baguette would be a success (recipe below). So silky smooth and flavorful…even with my
hand knife skills since we do not have a food processor aboard.
The
stormy weather arrived and slammed the east coast from Florida to Massachusetts
(1/16). However, 44F dancing in a marina
slip in the southeast is much better than 4F in the power outage riddled
northeast. Understanding weather
patterns seems to be simpler than understanding cable company fuckery. Coverage maps and black out areas for the NFL
playoffs make the head swim…so…we watched the (abysmal) Patriots recorded game the next
morning with coffee. This slow moving
storm lasted 48hrs which kept us doing inside projects like attacking a small
coolant leak on the main engine. The
manifold cover plate was examined…do you see a leak pattern? Then the manifold and cover were completely
cleaned. Tools of choice were a Dremel, a razor
blade and the shop vac followed by a wipe of acetone before high temperature gasket
sealant was applied and new gasket was squashed back together and tightened down. Now back goes the coolant – a tango for sure with Chris below decks
in the engine room holding the hose and funnel while Erin is above decks in the
kitchen (floor removed) ladling the coolant back into the engine. Done!
Fingers crossed that this is the offending leak and it has been stopped.
We
are feeling ready to move again. Happy Hour
conversations of Belize, the Med and the Bahamas are fueling our departure
ideas. And free wine and open beer taps
with fresh guacamole didn’t hurt the tall tales. Sheesh – the wind finally stopped and it is
soooo wonderfully quiet. We are lucky to
be in such a beautiful place – marshland sunsets never disappoint. Bbbbrrr - but a morning walk on the dock resulted
in a crazy crackling sound under my feet.
What is that? Oh…frost. Now clearly focused on our departure we had Diver Donnie
came to replace zincs as needed, scrape off barnacles from the props and
thru-hulls and inspect the bottom paint (no growth, just slime – awesome). The clock is ticking and I need to try
Brunswick Stew before leaving Brunswick.
Brunswick stew is a tomato based stew of local vegetables and smoked
meats…the South’s original hunt camp staple.
Brunswick, Georgia, and Brunswick County, Virginia, both claim
development of the dish. I’ll give the home
team the nod and loved the version I had at Twin Oaks BBQ (1/18). Oh yeah – and there is a cast iron cauldron next door
in the Mary Ross Waterfront Park that is vaunted as the original Brunswick Stew
stew pot (first made on St Simon Isle in July 1898).
Weather
forecasts look good so tomorrow is the day!
We fill water tanks, settle up with the marina, buy 2lbs of pulled pork
(for 1/2lb vacuum sealed bundles for the freezer), Chris gets a haircut from a
fellow boater (thanks Tina). Oh, and we restring
the window blinds that have nearly frayed through. That was super easy with a YouTube tutorial;
burn the ends to join the old with the new, pull it through, cut to knot and
done (1/19). I was terrified the old
string would snap before the cord arrived and put everything into chaos. Not to worry - solid as a tank again.
Whoop
whoop – we tossed the lines, Barefeet slid out of slip 6H and we are on the
move again (1/20). It feels great! Our sights are not far and we have no
timetable…none at all. Today, it’s just
a six hour amble to anchor at St Marys, GA, because it is a bit better
protected than familiar Cumberland Island for recent weather forecasts.
Our current idea for the next month or so involves few miles and new as well
as familiar ports. Likely stops include
Cumberland Island, Fernandina Beach, Jacksonville, St Johns River and St
Augustine. But time will tell how it
shakes out. Off we go! Our peaceful Georgia marshlands
momentarily explode in modern tech as we pass the Kingsbay Submarine Base. It’s the US Atlantic Fleet’s home port for
ballistic missile nuclear submarines capable of being armed with Trident
Missile nuclear weapons. On our pass
there was a sub docked…and…is that missile door…(gulp)…open?!
Anchored
in St Marys has us in a new spot to us (1/21).
However, it is well known to cruisers and has been on my radar since
2006 because of a yearly community hosted Cruiser’s Thanksgiving meal at the
Riverview Hotel. Local
residents cook the turkeys and hams and cruisers bring the sides.
Sides are often elaborate relishes, gravies, desserts, vegetable
dishes, potatoes and on and on. Super impressive! Head
count is now beyond 200. Things are a bit
different today with drizzle and temps in the upper 40sF and Barefeet
the only
boat anchored in the harbor. We’ll wait
to go ashore until tomorrow and had our own party aboard. Usually, we
use the generator to cool down but this time our hour-of-power was for a Warm-Up
Happy Hour; heater, tunes, sundowners of hot toddies (recipe below) with Cheez Its
and chicken tikka masala for dinner. Attire: fleece and ski hat until the heat licks in. Fun
and delicious!
The
rain has gone but temps are still chilly at 37F; however, it is warmer than
Boston’s 7F with a nor’easter on the horizon so our plan is working. We dusted off the dinghy and headed
ashore. Drat – the Submarine Museum is
closed for renovations – supposedly chock full with items thanks to its
Kingsbay Sub Base neighbor. The town was
first settled by the Spanish in 1566 making it the second oldest continuously
inhabited town in the contiguous US (second to St Augustine down the coast). Today, St Marys is laid out in quadrants with grass
parks, pillared porches, wide sidewalks and LOTS of churches (35 listed in the
yellow pages). This is the charming
Presbyterian Church (c.1808). Off we went to the Cumberland Island National Seashore
Museum. It was free and heated – bonus (https://cumberlandisland.com/the-island/history/). We have visited Cumberland Island but never
the museum since it’s up the river in St Marys.
The island is a wilderness oasis where Lucy Carnegie built an off-the-grid-home
as only a gilded age robber baron could do – complete with iron forge,
vegetable gardens, dairy, ice house, laundry, boiler, electric generation…all
privately out of the public eye. This
privacy continued as JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette were married in the isolated,
humble First African Baptist Church on September 21, 1996, located on the northern
end of the island. We again enjoyed our
visit with walks along the saltmarsh boardwalks, through oak and moss canopied
walking trails and on sandy beaches (1/23).
In the evening after the last ferry departed we were the only boat at
anchor…our taste of the island’s magical privacy.
Up
anchor from Cumberland Island we motored to nearby Fernandina Beach on Amelia
Island (1/24). We anchored outside the nearly
empty mooring field and dinghied ashore at the marina docks ($4 landing fee –
so easy). Amelia Island is a 13 mile
strip of barrier island with an artsy, beach-y vibe among beautifully restored
Victorian homes. John Grisham describes
it as, “a busy little town with laid back vibes, beaches for serious loafing, old
moss hanging from even older oaks...like a majestic tree on Ash Street that has watched
traffic go by for 300 years. It's a place where
you fall into the easy rhythm of coastal living.” We wandered into the Palace Saloon (the oldest in the state) on Centre
Street which oozes a bygone era with quarter sawn oak bar, tiled floors and a
brass cash register (for the Carnegies and Rockefellers, the locals were simply
billed monthly). Hey, we bumped into a
couple we met yesterday walking around on Cumberland Island – cheers. Dinner was a short stroll to The Boat House
on 2nd Street. Mondays are a tough
night to find open restaurants so the local tip from folks on the porch of the
Green Turtle Tavern was much appreciated and delicious – thanks.
Weather
conditions continue to be gloriously calm so we made our next jump outside on
the Atlantic Ocean south to Jacksonville…44 miles (1/25). Anchor up just as the sun rose at 7am with mirror smooth seas. Jacksonville is approximately ten miles up
the winding St Johns River from the ocean inlet. We rarely saw another pleasure boater on this
rather industrial waterway. Fellow
cruisers Sean and Louise tipped us off to the Metropolitan Park Marina (every
30 days - 3 days free except on game days).
What a great find! We tied up and
immediately walked to Enterprise for a rental car. What’s the hurry you might ask?! Well, it’s a confluence of Murphy’s Law and
logistical gymnastics. It all began a few months ago. We purchased
foldable ebikes back in November and had hoped to have them delivered to the
boat in January. No dice (as with so
many supply chain issues). Okay, we’ll
simply move along and collect them later…maybe mid to late February? This is where Murphy’s Law comes in. We
tossed the lines from the marina on Thursday and got a FedEx message that a
shipping label had been created for the bikes on Friday at 5.05pm. Well, okay (and yippee) but we cannot sort
out delivery until Monday when the ebike office opens…so what are the
options? Go back to Brunswick? Go to Jacksonville? Stay in St Marys? Reroute delivery location? Yikes!
Contact was made with the ebike office on Monday…yep, should arrive
Wed/Thurs…got it. Then late Monday while
we were in Fernandina Beach FedEx alerts us that the ebikes will be arriving at
Brunswick Landing on Tuesday…tomorrow.
Okay, we will keep all ebike logistics as they are and get ourselves to
the bikes. We departed Fernandina Beach at 7am and secured the boat in
Jacksonville at 1.30pm...then walked to Enterprise (now you are up to date). We drove about an hour to Brunswick Landing where we loaded
the bikes at 3.30pm then returned to Jacksonville by 5pm. Sheesh!
Yes, it was a long day. Oh, and
did I mention that the boat fresh water pump died on the way to
Jacksonville? Chris swapped out the bad
one for the spare while underway and we were back in business.
Despite the long day yesterday
Chris was up before the sun like a kid on Christmas morning racing to assemble
the bikes (1/26). There is adjusting and
storage fiddling still to do but we are over the moon! My
first test ride and I flew. So cool! Oh, and temperatures
are warming up, too...50sF are MUCH better than 30sF. A fabulous
breakfast at Metro Diner soothed our
hither-nither-and-yon nerves and we are formulating our next moves. We
extended the rental car for another day in order
to replace the spare fresh water pump and to gather a couple of engine
parts ordered from Lamb's Yacht Center. Okay, the pieces are
falling into place. We'll let a bit more dust settle
anchored in
Jacksonville before we head as
far as we can up the St Johns River. Life is never dull!
Sun
Dried Tomato, Mascarpone and Herb stuffed Baguette (from Ems, s/v
Serai)
12oz mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon mint, fresh
1.5 cups sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup basil, fresh
lemon (start with juice of half a lemon, more if desired)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
French bread (like Pillsbury 11oz/13" or bakery)
Heat loaf of French bread.
Puree tomatoes then add marscapone, herbs, lemon and salt & pepper.
Thoroughly mix.
Cut bread in half lengthwise.
Hollow out one half and fill with mixture (both sides if desired). Best to spread at room temp.
Slice and serve...or skip the bread and fill a bowl to spread on crackers or
bread.
Garnish with basil.
Hot
Toddy
(1 cocktail)
¾
cup hot water
2
teaspoons honey
2
teaspoons lemon juice
1
1/2oz whiskey
Pinch
cinnamon
Half
lemon wheel, garnish
Heat
up water, lemon juice and whiskey in microwave.
Add remaining
ingredients. Stir to combine.