We made it to Fl

WOW! What a trip thru Ga. With the help of the cold front, (20+ kts of wind from the north) and (for once) favorable tides, we flew thru Ga. at an astounding average speed of 7 kts over the ground! For once I wasn’t tied to the wheel for Ken insisted on steering most of the way. Once in Fl, the weather became warm and by Tues. it was 75 deg.

Ken keeps a sharp watch on the intercoastal waterway

 

In Fl. we went by lots of cargo facilities for off loading ships, here’s a few of them… notice anything? Lots of cranes but No ships. Lots and lots of ship yards to handle cargo but no ships,,, strange.

 

 

Our destination was Jacksonville Fl and with a favorable tide we motored up the St Johns river and tied up to the free docks in downtown Jacksonville. Tomorrow Ken leaves and next week my new crew arrives. It’s been a great trip so far and I hope that the 1/3 half goes just as well.

Ready to head back to Mi.

Snow Goose docked in front of Jacksonville, Fl

Interesting sight in Jacksonville

First, Happy Turkey day to all or happy Black Friday if you love to shop.  On Thanksgiving, I got together with another cruiser and we had a good thanksgiving day dinner together, lots of talk and laughter.

This post though, is about a mural that I walked by on the way back to the boat. The mural was strangely, brightly illuminated, during the daylight, by a spot light… or so I thought. The light’s direction didn’t seem right though, so I walked over and checked in a nearby tree looking for the spot light but found nothing until I turned around and found that the light was coming from the sun’s reflection off a big building blocks away. It’s amazing that in the last hours of this late November day, everything lined up just right to spotlight this painting from a ¼ mile away just as I was walking by. Then, within minutes, the sun had moved and the spotlight was gone. It gave me a big smile on this cool November day.

 

Half way there, maybe

We left Oriental on a cold morning after I made an unscheduled stop to the veterinarian for Edie. She had developed an allergic reaction to something and was going crazy with itching, one $80 steroid shot and BOOM, no more itching and we were on our way.

One happy (but cold) crew member!

Because of the high winds we spent the first two days on the intercostal waterway with lots of shrimp boats and unusual houses to see. Best of all, for the first time of running this stretch, we made every bridge and didn’t have to wait (which is the usual situation). The next morning, it was out to the ocean.

 

 

We made it to Port Royal sound which is just before the Georgia border. Ken had enough of the ocean swells so we pulled in for the night. This morning, with a strong cold front coming in the afternoon we will be staying in the intercostal waterway from here down to Jacksonville where Ken is going to hop an air flight back to Mi.

Sunrise at Port Royal sound

Heading south again

 

It was great party and Anna was completely surprised! Lots of food, friends, and fellowship (the three important “F’s”). I took this 4 generation picture too, it was a special day, thanks to all who came over to make it possible.

4 generations!

The three amigo's

On the way south we had a sunset where the sky was on fire, or at least it looked that way.

We also had an interesting discovery on the way south, the “Pencil Sharpener Museum”! Well, we couldn’t pass up this bit of Americana so we stopped in and took a look. It’s  a small building by the tourist Info center and it's filled to the brim with every type of pencil sharpener that you could think of. Here’s just a small sample of what we saw behind the glass.



 

 



Snow, (a four letter word)

Just a quick post.

The morning that I was going to leave for Mi. the weather changed dramatically and by morning there was ice and a dusting of snow on the decks! Just despicable (as Daffy Duck would say). Anyway, I'm back in the cold north and the party is set for tomorrow. See ya there!

Upgrading the bilge pump,

The old bilge pump (a 2000 gph) has gone to pieces and won’t pump any more. This leaves only the manual  pump as a back up. When I went shopping on line for a replacement I found a 3700 gph pump for the same price as the old 2000.

 Almost double the volume for the same price,,, Yes! The only trouble is to pump that much water I would need to install a large water hose. No big thing in a plastic boat but the Goose is made of steel so, I had to cut holes thru 3 steel bulkheads. What a pain in the posterior as well as the knees.

 The holes got cut and now it’s off to the store for about 30 feet of 2 inch hose  to run the water out to the back of the boat.

What a mess!

Heading north (again)

Here I am in Oriental, NC and I need to get back to Grand Rapids, Mi. Flying would seem the best but the airlines are a funny beast. The cheapest flight from around here is about $300+(one way). But, I can fly one way from Fort Lauderdale (which is just north of Miami) to Grand Rapids, Mi. for the incredible price of $58 (if I pick the correct day). If I drive my 20 year old GEO Metro back home from here (about 1000 miles) it will cost me about $70. So, I can fly from the farthest distance away and get there the fastest and the cheapest if I’m in Fort Lauderdale but when I’m this close, it’s 5 times more expensive to fly then it is to drive… go figure? For cheep flights from grand rapids and other locations try Alligiant Air http://www2.allegiantair.com/

 

Here's an example of a flight just 6 days from now,,, not to bad of a price!

 

Departing flights for Sunday Nov 17

Depart

7:00 am

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (FLL)

Arrive

10:05 am

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (GRR)

Flight

938

Nonstop

Price *

$58.00

Anyway, I should be home this Thursday for my grand daughters play and to attend Anna’s B-day party. Don’t forget to email her your Birthday greetings… I bet she is going nuts trying to figure out how so many people know that it’s her 60^th birthday! Send those greetings to: aparmstrong@svsnowgoose.com

 

Anna’s 60th birthday

What every stylish cruiser wears!

Anna’s 60^th birthday is coming up on the 18^th of Nov. Since Anna NEVER reads this blog she won’t know that I’ve asked you to send her emails. If you could, send her a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREATINGS!”  She will wonder why she’s suddenly getting greetings from all of you.

Send them to:     aparmstrong@svsnowgoose.com

Thanks for you help!

From Snow Goose,  Rich

Deaton Marine Service

The sailing dog Eddie and I have finished our move back to the Snow Goose and we should have her back in the water soon. Not too much to do to her this time… or should I say, not too much that I want to do. There is always a “to-do” list and one of these days, I’m gonna finish it up! For now, the bottom needs a coat of paint and the rudder has a few spots that need attention. The big job this year will be the deck. I need to replace all of the deck rubber seams that make the deck water tight… (can you say pain in the neck, back, hands, wrists, knees, etc?).  I also have a few spots along the rub rail where rust has popped thru. Over all though, with her ‘new’ mizzen mast and touched up varnish, she doesn’t look too bad at all. After the deck is finished she will look just as she did when she left the yard… maybe it’s time to sell! (isn’t that the way we all do it, get our houses in the best shape ever and then we sell them!)



One big boat!

Deaton Marina is a small family run marina in Oriental NC that provides excellent boat service and a home for Snow Goose during the off season. Anna and I seem to fit right in here and it makes for a great place to do major work on the Goose. The place isn’t the largest but I think that it’s one of the friendliest and most knowledgeable yards around.

The Oriental area considers it’ self to be the “sailing capital” of NC and with the number of boat yards around I can believe it. Oriental also has “Dragon Boat” races every year and this last weekend I went to a fund raising barbeque for one of the teams. The pig was delicious and a good part of the town had come out for the party.

two locals dressed up for the races

The waterfront in downtown Oriental sports a small free dock (if your lucky enough to get one of the two spaces) and a small harbor to anchor in. Today there was also 2 old oyster dredgers in the harbor that had been built back in the 1920’s. Someone had put a LOT of money into these fine old boats to bring them back into shape and make them into a home.

 

Great wood work!