Dolphins lead us across the Little Bahamas
Banks.
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In the last post we ended with saying we were at home and
Layla was “on the hard” in the boat yard in Beaufort, NC. Much time has passed since that post – we
need to catch up. Despite our lapse in
posting, we want to re-assure y’all that we and Layla are doing just fine.
We re-cap here the last of the sailing adventure from the
Bahamas to Beaufort.
Crossing from Bahamas
to St. Augustine, FL
As many of the other cruisers, we also decided it was time
to leave the Bahamas. Hurricane season
was upon us, and for us, the safety of the boat yard in NC seemed to be the
best idea - despite the required long travel north. That plan would prove to be a very good plan
as we would discover weeks later as we watched Hurricane Matthew churn up the Bahamas,
and the US east coast.
We were pleased to be joined by Robyn and Tony on Alleycat Too
on this passage. We departed the Abacos,
passed over the Little Bahama Banks, and crossed from Memory Rock on a 260
mile, 3 day/2 night passage to St. Augustine.
It was comforting to have a “buddy” boat with a working AIS to alert us
to boat traffic. We had a wonderful trip
motor/sailing most of the way, with clear nights highlighted by hourly check-in
on the VHF radio with Alleycat Too.
"Buddy boat" crew
for the passage from Bahamas to St. Augustine: Tracy and Bud with their South African
friends, Robyn and Tony from Alleycat Too.
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Several bands of rain greeted us on the Little Bahamas Banks.
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We took 2-hour watches at the helm for much of the passage. Our autopilot, our third crew member,
performed effortlessly, requiring few small adjustments to the course. We were free from the prison of the wheel, allowing us to watch for other vessels, and gaze at the stars and the sleeping mate in the cockpit. We could wander about in thoughts about sailing,
oceans, travel, life, and endless paths for us to follow next. When not on watch, we fished, watched for
dolphins, made snacks for the mate on watch, or continued our daydreaming. It didn’t take long before the exhaustion of
watches caught up with us. After the
first night when we weren’t on watch, we spent most of our free time napping in
the cockpit.
Sunset over the open sea signaled the beginning of night
watches.
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Sleep was our treasured time when relieved of being on watch.
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We chose the departure primarily based on the weather
forecast. Weather reports are notorious
for being undependable, particularly about the wind - both speed and
direction. We put in our request to the
sailing gods for 10-15 knot southeast/southwest winds to give us a nice push
north to sail into the Gulf Stream. While
the weather report granted our wishes, we actually received shifting winds,
primarily from the north, with south to southeast swells. We endured hours of irritating rolling with insufficient
wind for sailing. We kept the sails up
to help maintain more comfortable motion with the seas.
We were thrilled to see once again the wonders of the Gulf Stream - our increased speed, the deep cobalt water, and the little explosions of flying fish leaping above the waves and scattering before the bow.
We arrived in St. Augustine mid-day on a rising tide. We grabbed a mooring ball at the St.
Augustine Marina, put the dinghy in the water, and joined Tony and Robyn for
the required “passage celebratory” rum and coke. We returned to Layla to sleep,
and later, to find a big juicy hamburger for dinner.
Customs and Immigration were our first tasks after arriving
in St. Augustine. There is no other way
to express our experience - customs and immigration darkened our very
souls. We expected difficult entries in
visiting 2nd and 3rd world countries, but never expected
it from our own country. The process was
made more difficult by the fact that St. Augustine is not a primary port of
entry. Although there is a customs
officer at the local airport who can clear arrivals into the country, he was on
vacation when we arrived. Our first call
to Customs and Immigration did not go well.
We were scolded as if we were toddlers because we did not call immediately
when we moored the boat. We called back
later to clarify our options and this time we connected with the exceptionally kind
and helpful Officer Mother Teresa. It
sometimes just depends on who you get to answer your call. We also assisted Robyn and Tony with their
visas which involved hours of travel by rental car to/from the main office in
Jacksonville, endless paperwork, serious interviews, and “yada, yada yada” it
all got resolved days later when the agent returned from vacation.
We thoroughly enjoyed St. Augustine mainly because of our growing
extended family of South African ex-pats. From more catamarans we met Alison and Andre,
and Bret and Gideon. We shared dinners,
sundowners, stories, as well as, assisted in boat projects and more visa paperwork.
Two weeks flew by and then it was time
once again for tearful goodbyes.
St. Augustine, FL to
Charleston, SC on the Outside
We decided to go on the “outside” to Charleston. The weather said to go now – 3 days and 2
nights. We were going solo. On the morning of our departure, we almost did
not make it out of the harbor. We called
the “Bridge of Lions” bridge operator on the VHF radio to request an
opening. We saw ahead of us that two
other sailboats were waiting. After the
first boat passed through the bridge, we moved behind second boat in line for
the bridge. The second sailboat passed
under the raised spans, but as we approached the bridge we saw the spans
beginning to come down. We were
stunned. Bud grabbed the VHF and called
the bridge.
“Bridge of Lions, this is Layla, the third sailboat going
through the bridge. Are you closing the
bridge? We are underway. Do you want us to stop?”
His reply, “Oh, I’m sorry.
I have stopped the bridge closing.
I’m holding it open for you. You
may continue through. Only two vessels
requested an opening and I saw two go through.
I’m sorry.”
We took a deep breath and lined up to maneuver through the
partially open spans.
“Have a good day Captain”, said the bridge operator when we
made it to the other side.
Bridge of Lions looks like this when open. Picture the spans much, much closer when the operator partially closed the bridge as we approached.
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The beautiful morning helped us shake off the “near
miss”. The next three days and two
nights were among our finest hours aboard Layla. For about 36-40 hours we had only the
wonderful sound of the sea against the hull, and the breeze in the rigging as
we sailed through the day and night without the engine. While we were in the Gulf Stream, we put out a
couple of fishing lines, and caught and released a beautiful mahi mahi. We entered Charleston soon after sunrise and
anchored in the familiar anchorage off of the City Docks and treated ourselves
to eggs benedict on crabcakes at the Marina Variety Store Restaurant.
Beautiful mahi mahi caught and released in the "stream" - Too much effort to clean it and the decks this time.
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Spotted dolphins joined us in the Gulf
Stream from St. Augustine to Charleston.
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We met up with an old friend, David Knott, to share a beer
and savory duck-fat fries at the Tattooed Moose. We then started watching the weather to plan
our departure. We did not see any
reasonable weather windows for our passage north to Beaufort over the next week
or more. We did not like our options. We could wait to see if the weather would improve,
or we could just suck it up and face the challenges of slow day travel, shoaling,
possible groundings, and obnoxious boat traffic offered by the intracoastal
waterway (ICW).
Tiny sailors in tiny boats from the Charleston Sailing Club sailed through the anchorage nearly every day.
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Charleston, SC to
Beaufort, NC on the Inside
Most of our misgivings related to this route on the ICW were
fulfilled. We planned our days according
to the tides as we aimed to avoid the shoaling, while heeding the warnings
provided by the social network on “Active Captain”. We still went aground several times, with two
of those grounding requiring professional tows assistance. Fortunately, the TowBoat captains were capable,
professional and gracious. To help with
our bruised egos, they offered, “Great boat.
It’s OK. With that draft, it was inevitable.”
Our friendly TowBoat captain to the rescue. Santa Claus lives in NC during the
summer.
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The stresses of the ICW compelled us to be focused on simply
the process to get us back to Beaufort rather than to be connected with the
environment around us. However, at the
end of the day after we anchored, we did find solitude that reminded us why we
love this lifestyle.
Dusk at one of our favorite anchorages on the ICW on
Thoroughfare Creek.
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Dusk at our anchorage in Milliken Cove near Calabash, SC.
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Sunset at our anchorage just off of the ICW near Ocean City
Beach, NC after being towed off the shoal on the other side of the ICW.
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After five days, we were anchored back in downtown Morehead
City, just two blocks from our home. We were
excited. The downtown was exceptionally
lively, with several new restaurants that had opened since we had left, now
more than 7 months ago. The proximity of
the City Docks to our house made it convenient for offloading a lot of gear
over the next two days. We then took the
quick jaunt up the Newport River to the Beaufort Marine Center. Once again, Layla
was safe in the boat yard.
Layla coming out of the water at Jarrett Bay.
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Layla "on the hard" at the Beaufort Marine Center.
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Next postings – Life back on land, Another road trip out
west, Hurricane Matthew, and Big decisions on what’s next.