Let me begin this part of the journal with a sidebar.....I captured a photographic record of our trip to Florida with our digital camera and intended to include several photos with this narrative. However, I screwed up while attempting to copy photos of our granddaughter's birthday party, which were on the same digital photo card, to a CD for our son and daughter-in-law. Instead of formatting the CD that I was going to copy to, I formatted the digital camera card, which erased all of the photos that I had taken since last July, including those of this trip to Florida.....OK, I know that I should have copied all of the photos to my hard drive before attempting to do anything else with them. :-( So, you will just have to take my word that the sunsets on our trip were gorgeous, the porpoises were playful and the local sights were colorful every place we stopped. :-)

After a 2-day delay in our departure due to inclement weather, we finally cast off from our home port marina in Pasadena, MD at 8AM Friday, November 7, to move Wind Runner south for the winter. That's the exact same date on which we departed two of the last three years....we left on November 9 in 2001. We had hoped to start two weeks earlier this year to try to avoid some of the November cold fronts, but hurricane Isabel and delays in completing annual boat maintenance thwarted that plan. When we finally got underway, our cruise plan called for a three day trip down the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk, VA to reach the intracoastal waterway (ICW), then 3-4 weeks traveling the ICW with day legs in the Atlantic, when practicable, to reach Cocoa, FL no later than December 5.  We planned to leave Wind Runner in a marina in Cocoa while we flew back home to Maryland for the month of December before returning to Wind Runner in early January to spend the winter and spring cruising the Keys and Bahamas. The following is how Phase 1 of our 2003-04 plan......the trip to Cocoa.......went.

Nov 7-9. Pasadena, MD to Norfolk, VA. (120 Nautical Miles)

Day 1. We had been underway for less than an hour when I got a very pleasant surprise....a telephone call from Geetah!!

For those who don’t know, Geetah (which is an acronym for “part gorilla, part cheetah“) is a guy named Bill Allen who is a running friend. He is one of the best masters runners in the Baltimore/Annapolis area and is one of the most inspirational runners on the Marathons Forum of the Runner’s World magazine’s internet website. I first “met” him a few years ago online. I subsequently met him live at a few local races....he lives in Maryland, as I do. At our first live meeting in 2000, I learned that Bill has a strong affinity for sailing and sailboats, perhaps influenced by his years of service in the U.S. Navy, although he had never sailed. He and three of his kids subsequently joined Sue and me for a Chesapeake Bay day sail on Wind Runner.

Bill knew when we were leaving and that we planned to stop the first night at Solomon's Island, MD. He works at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant on the west shore of the Chesapeake a short distance north of Solomon's Island. He called from work to wish us a safe voyage and to ask what time we would pass the power plant and if we would be sailing or motoring when we passed. Since the relatively light wind (8-12 knots) was from the north, which was directly on our stern, I told him that we would probably be just motoring....we couldn't just sail and make it to Solomon's Island before dark and the relatively light following wind wouldn't contribute much to motorsailing....and that we should pass Calvert Cliffs mid-afternoon. He called again around noon to ask if we were one of two sailboats passing the cliffs at that time....unfortunately, we weren't.

I tried to telephone Bill later that afternoon as we approached Calvert Cliffs. I was going to unfurl the sails for him as we passed the power plant. However, I didn't have cell phone service in that area, so I couldn't reach him. Sorry Bill. I tried to sail....or, at least, motorsail....past Calvert Cliffs for you. :-)

We anchored for the first night in Mill Creek at Solomon's Island, which was a very pleasant overnight anchorage. Since we didn't have a chance to fuel up before we left Pasadena and our fuel gauge indicated that we were very low on fuel, we stopped at a Solomon's Island marina the next morning to fill up before continuing. Our fuel gauge indicated that we were almost empty.....it's the first time I have let it go that far before refueling. However, our 160 gallon tank only took 123 gallons to fill up. So, I learned that we have about a quarter tank "reserve" (40 gallons) when the gauge approaches empty. That's a really good piece of information for future reference!

Days 2-3. A stronger north wind (15-20 knots) and a daytime ebb (outgoing or "down the bay") current during most of the next two days made for excellent motorsailing at a fast pace (7.5-8.5 knots) down the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk with an overnight anchorage near Deltaville, VA in Fisherman's Bay, which is a few miles inside the Piankatank River.

We had a bit of a awakening at one point the third day when back-to-back innocuous, but closely spaced, 5-foot waves caught us directly on the port beam. The first one rolled us to starboard and the second one hit us hard within a few seconds later just as we rolled back to port.....it was an unusually close combination of waves. Enough water washed over the side, under the enclosure panels, and into the cockpit to splash us and everything in the cockpit! It would have been a laughable and pleasurable experience in milder conditions. But it made for uncomfortable conditions in the chill of a November day on the Chesapeake. If we hadn't had the cockpit enclosure, which shielded us from 90% of the wave, we would have really been soaked.....and miserable. The enclosure, which we had installed after our first trip south on Wind Runner, is the best addition we have made to the boat. Even on very cold and windy days, it shields us from the wind chill and just a little sun converts the cockpit into a toasty greenhouse.

We arrived in Norfolk the third day. We always enjoy entering Norfolk harbor and making our way up the Elizabeth River past the naval facilities. The concentration of aircraft and helicopter carriers, destroyers, nuclear subs and other USN and commercial ships is impressive. We have traversed the Elizabeth River when aircraft carriers or nuclear subs were entering or leaving and we were required to "stand aside".....even stop.....especially after 9-11. However, this time the entry to Norfolk was calm and uneventful.

We anchored the third night off of Hospital Point in the Elizabeth River at ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) mile marker 0, which is 1090 ICW statute miles from Miami. We would have gone into a nearby marina if another running friend, Lauren, had been available for dinner....we usually enjoy dinner with her when we pass through Norfolk. However, she had a prior commitment for that evening, so we decided to anchor instead of paying for an overnight in a marina. Hopefully, we will get to see Lauren on our return trip in June.

Day 4. It is necessary to traverse a series of several bridges and one lock in the first 20 miles south from Norfolk, some of which have opening time restrictions. It takes a little planning and pacing (my running friends appreciate the value of pacing ;-)) to avoid delays and to minimize time spent "treading water" at bridges while waiting for opening times. We hit all the bridges and the lock perfectly for smooth and uninhibited progress on this trip....that will probably never happen again!

We made our first marina stop of the trip at Coinjock, NC, which is simply a short (1/4 mile) stretch on the ICW with a couple of marinas on either side of the 200 foot wide "ditch" and with no significant town or city for miles in any direction. As always, we stopped at the Coinjock Marina....largely because of their service and restaurant, both of which are excellent. It might seem odd to find such a good restaurant in the middle of nowhere, but there it is! It is well known among boaters who travel the ICW for their signature dish....a 32 ounce prime rib that is to die for! And not only is it large....but it is also one of the best quality prime ribs that I have found anywhere!! It costs $32 for one person or $36 if shared by two persons.....that's just $1.00-1.13/oz for an outstanding prime rib!!! When Sue and I order it, we have enough carryout to make a full meal for both of us the next night.

Days 5-8. This 4-day leg of the trip included traversing the North River, Albermarle Sound, Alligator River, Pungo River, Pamlico River, Neusse River, and Bogue Sound and included weather that ranged from calm and clear to very stormy.

The first day after leaving Coinjock (day 5) was uneventful and ended at an anchorage that we often use in the Alligator River. Although we had a lot of wide waterways during the day which could have enabled good sailing, a very light wind dictated that we simply motor all the way.

The next day (day 6) was a beautiful traveling day! Not a cloud in the sky, beam winds of 15-20 knots, and 2 foot seas most of the day. It was the combination of perfect conditions that sailors live for and is hard to find while traversing the ICW!! We were able to get in some excellent sailing for about 20 miles down the Pungo River and across the Pamlico River, then again for several miles up the Neusse River. The day ended in an anchorage in Broad Creek off of the Neusse River.

A very strong cold front with winds of 30-40 knots and gusts up to 50 knots passed through the area the next day....not the kind of conditions in which to travel through shallow and narrow waters, which is what most of the day would have been....so we sat out the day in Broad Creek.

At one point, the winds were strong enough and the holding in the anchorage poor enough that we dragged the single 35 pound CQR anchor that we had out (yeah, it's undersized by at least 10 pounds for our boat) for about 200 feet. Fortunately, there was only one other boat in the anchorage and it was 400 feet from us in a different direction from the way we dragged. We re-anchored with both anchors (the 35 pound CQR and 45 pound Bruce) deployed....it was the first time we had done that in the three years that we have owned Wind Runner....and we had no more problems.

Sidebar....Some boaters might wonder why we are using the 35 pound CQR, which is a bit undersized for our boat, as our primary anchor instead of the heavier 45 pound Bruce, which is the secondary anchor. It is because we have had a lot of problems getting the Bruce to set in the sand of most Florida anchorages. Every time setting the Bruce was a problem, the CQR set immediately. And, until this stormy experience in the mud of Broad Creek in North Carolina, the lighter CQR has held us firmly in the Florida sand in all weather conditions, including one 24 hour storm that included wind gusts up to 70 knots and clocked 360 degrees. It looks like the ideal solution to the question of anchor selection in severe conditions is to opt for the CQR with a sandy bottom and the Bruce in mud.....and both when in doubt. :-)

As the cold front passed, the temperature dropped. That's when we developed a problem with our onboard genset. The generator stopped producing an output. The diesel engine that drives the generator ran OK, but the generator's output voltage and current dropped to zero. So, what is the significance of that problem? Well, with no generator output we couldn't run the 115v heaters. And the temperature dropped into the 30s that night. Our immediate solution to the problem?? With no heat, we simply threw another blanket on our bed, turned in early and cuddled. Immediate problem solved! ;-)

By the next morning (day 8) the wind had settled down to 15-25 knots. After a mini-adventure to recover both anchors....I won't go into detail, except to say that both anchors and anchor chains had been buried deeply in the soft mud, which made the recovery of the Bruce, which was on a rope and chain rode, difficult and messy, even with our onboard deck washdown system....we continued the rest of the way up the Neusse River, through Adams Creek, past Beaufort and Morehead City, and down Bogue Sound to Swansboro, where we stopped at Dudley's Marina for the night.

Getting on and off the dock at Dudley's can be an adventure, mostly because of very strong currents. Swansboro is located at the Bogue Inlet from the Atlantic. The currents flowing through the inlet to and from the Bogue Sound and the White Oak River can reach 3 knots. Arrive at or near max current.....then, add a 20 knot cross wind working with the current to push you away from the dock, as we did.....and docking can be very difficult. The marina management, which is well aware of the challenges of docking in those conditions, sent three dockhands to help to get us secured in our berth.....plus another nearby boater assisted. And we made good use all four of them!

As long as we have a cellphone connection, we have internet access while on Wind Runner....we use it primarily for email purposes. We had received an email a few days before arriving at Swansboro from good friends Lynn and Don Carey, who were our neighbors in the mid-70s in Teheran, Iran. They are from the northwest U.S., but now live full time in a mobile home. So, their "home" is wherever they happen to be. Well, they happened to be at Camp Lejeune, NC just a few miles from Swansboro. Thus, we planned our stop to be at Swansboro and they drove over from Camp Lejeune to meet us for dinner.

We had dinner with Lynn and Don at a restaurant, the River Grill, that clearly rates as another "find". Excellent seafood dishes!! And fabulous desserts!!! It's just another example of a nondescript, but excellent, restaurant in a nondescript town.....Sue and I have enjoyed many such rare "finds" in the 42+ years that we have been married.

Lynn and Don were making their way south to Hilton Head, SC, where their daughter lives, for Thanksgiving.....then on to Tampa, FL, where their son lives, for Christmas. They had already planned stops at Myrtle Beach and Charleston, SC, which are also places that we always stop. So, we decided to coordinate our schedules and travel "together" on land and sea for awhile.

Days 9-11. Except for 10 miles down the Cape Fear River, this entire 120 mile stretch of the ICW is "ditch driving".

Unlike the adventure we had docking at Dudley's, we had no problem getting off the dock because we left at slack current and wind.....a bit of timing luck.

We saw the first porpoises of our trip shortly after passing the Onslow Beach bridge in Camp Lejeune. (The ICW goes through Camp Lejeune's firing range and can be closed for up to 4 hours when they are conducting live firings, but that is rare.) Several porpoises, including two "babies", swam alongside the boat with us for a few minutes. When they aren't feeding, porpoises enjoy swimming in the wake of the boat where it breaks off the bow up front and where it rolls off the hull, which is right alongside Wind Runner's cockpit. So, we get to enjoy them from a distance of just a few feet.

We anchored the first night after leaving Swansboro (day 9) at Carolina Beach. This was the first time in seven ICW voyages that we had used this anchorage Although the setting is pleasant, we weren't impressed with it. The bottom consists of mud that is so soft that we couldn't back down on the anchor and set it. It would simply drag through the mud. We tried several times before we finally gave up and just accepted that it was a "soft" anchorage. Then, locals yelled that info from a dock behind us to a boat that anchored off of our starboard side a half hour after we anchored. I wish they had been out a half hour earlier. They could have saved us some time, work and a heck of a lot of concern about what we were doing wrong. Fortunately, the overnight forecast was for calm winds and the anchorage experiences very minimal current. So, we put out 120 feet of anchor chain, in addition to the anchor itself, in just 15 feet of water. That was more than enough weight to ensure that we weren't going to move under the forecasted conditions and we could get a worry-free night's sleep. However, I would not use this anchorage if strong winds were forecasted.

The next day (day 10) started with a short jaunt through Snow's Cut to reach the Cape Fear River. The Cape Fear River is open enough to sail down. However, we had calm winds, so we could just motor down it.

Every time we travel on the Cape Fear River I am reassured that the U.S. Air Defense Command is hard at work protecting our shores in that area. There is a powerful long range surveillance radar on the oceanside shore of the river. The huge radar dome is visible for miles in every direction. The radar antenna, which is inside the dome, completes a 360 degree sweep 5 times/minute. How do I know that? Because my hearing aids detect the radar beam. The hearing aid on the side of my head facing the radar buzzes every time the radar beam sweeps past....every 12 seconds. This continues for over a half hour as we pass the radar site at a distance of several miles.....and it can be damned distracting! OK, more than just distracting....it can drive me up the mast!! ;-) So, I turn off the hearing aid in the ear facing the radar. :-)

We ended the day at North Myrtle Beach where we docked at Doc Holiday's marina. We had scheduled to stay at North Myrtle Beach the next day as a planned down day....our first one of the trip....to do laundry, clean the boat, and catch up on some shopping at nearby grocery and West Marine stores, which were within a half mile from the marina. We arrived early enough to complete the laundry and boat cleaning chores that afternoon and evening. That freed up the next day (day 11) to spend with Lynn and Don, who had motored down from Camp Lejeune and were in a campground 5 miles away next to Barefoot Landing, which is a huge shopping/outlet village. Since Lynn and Don have a car that they tow behind their motor home, they took us to do our grocery and West Marine shopping. That was a huge help that relieved us from lugging everything by hand for a half mile from the stores to the marina. Don and I then "enjoyed" accompanying the ladies in an afternoon of shopping at Barefoot Landing. ;-) Sound familiar, guys?? :-)

While in North Myrtle Beach, I telephoned the U.S. headquarters of the genset manufacturer, Fisher Panda, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL to discuss our genset problem, that had developed three days earlier while anchored in Broad Creek during the storm, and learned that the nearest Fisher Panda dealer and trained service technician was in Charleston, SC. From my description of the problem, the service manager said it was probably due to failure of one or more of three surge capacitors connected to the generator output lines. I asked him to send replacement capacitors to the dealer in Charleston, where we expected to be later that week. He said that he would UPS them and they would be there in two days (Wednesday), which was a day before we planned to get there. So, we made reservations at the Charleston City Marina, which is also where the Fisher Panda dealer is located, for Thursday and Friday nights and contacted the Fisher Panda dealer in Charleston to schedule replacement of the capacitors and a checkout of the genset for Friday so we could move on Saturday. I had the situation under control.....everything was well coordinated and all was set, right? Well, stay tuned! ;-)

Days 12-15. A few hours after leaving North Myrtle Beach, we entered the Waccamaw River. Many boaters consider the 25 miles down the Waccamaw to be the prettiest stretch of the ICW, and I can't argue with them!! It really is lovely. The river is deep, winding and narrow with the banks closeby. It consists of virgin woodlands, mostly cypress forests, with long abandoned rice fields along the way. There is no development of any kind, except for a very isolated marina midway down the river. An acute observer can spot a variety of wild life along the shores. On this trip we saw a couple of eagles nesting in a tree top, including the heads of a few eaglets sticking up above the nest, and a "herd" of 10-12 wild goats at one point along the waters edge amidst the cypress forest. This is also an area that spawns a lot of floating river plants/flowers. However, we didn't see as many this year as we saw the last couple of years when we had to dodge concentrations of them for fear of sucking some into the engine cooling inlet. We always enjoy this part of the trip, which is picturesque, calm and relaxing. This time was no exception.

We stopped for a couple of nights at Georgetown, which is at the mouth of the Waccamaw River and head of the Winyah Bay, where we docked at the Georgetown Landing Marina to sit out a cold front that passed through the region. Cold fronts in November can bring a lot of rain and strong winds. I'm glad we sat this one out on a dock and didn't go to a nearby anchorage that we often use because the weather was pretty bad as the front passed through....it was more comfortable on the dock than it would have been in an anchorage and we could relax without worrying about the anchor dragging.

While in Georgetown, a routine daily check of the engine revealed a problem. Water had accumulated in the bottom of the engine compartment during our trip down from North Myrtle Beach. The water was up to the bottom of the engine and just a couple of inches below the drain hole that leads to the bilge. It was seawater, not fresh water. Thus, we had developed a leak somewhere in the engine cooling system. I bailed/siphoned 8 gallons of water from the engine compartment, wiped it down, then looked for the leak. It was a loose hose clamp on the input to the seawater impeller. The leak was a small one under static conditions. But, to accumulate 8 gallons during a 7-hour motoring trip from North Myrtle Beach, the leak rate must have increased with the engine running. I corrected the problem by simply tightening the hose clamp. This is an area that I will keep a close eye on in the future. It's a spot where double hose clamps should be used, but the fitting on the engine isn't long enough to accommodate two clamps. It's something that I think that Island Packet (the boat manufacturer) and Yanmar (the engine manufacturer) should take a look at. A "fix" to accommodate double clamps, which are used in several other critical spots on the boat, would be very simple.

I am a bit dismayed by an engine design that doesn't use double hose clamps at a key connection....one of only three points on the boat where seawater is deliberately pumped onboard our boat....and by a boat design that permits water to actually reach the engine before it is shunted to the bilge where the bilge pump would send it overboard. I will discuss both points with the manufacturer of the boat, Island Packet, the next time I talk with their service manager, who is extremely responsive and conscientious.

Another sidebar......Georgetown was a natural port for early explorers to America....and subsequent pirates, such as Blackbeard, and privateers....because of its deep, sheltered waters and easy access to the Atlantic. We have stopped at Georgetown a few times before, so we didn't bother to go into the small, quaint downtown area, which was about a mile from the marina. However, from previous visits to Georgetown, we highly recommend it. Local folks claim that Georgetown is the site of the earliest European establishment in the US.....a Spanish trading post....although there is no positive evidence of it. In any event, their history clearly dates to the very early days of the US and their historical residences and buildings, including a Rice Museum that chronicles the heyday of colonial rice production in the US that was centered in the South Carolina low country, are very impressive and worth a stop if you are in the area.

Between Georgetown and Key West we travel outside in the Atlantic every day that we can. The determining factors to whether we go outside or stay in the ICW are (1) usable inlets spaced so that we can get back inside to an anchorage or marina before dark and (2) the weather (wind and sea state) conditions that are forecasted for outside Atlantic waters. We limit ourselves to day trips because we do not enjoy overnights of 24 hours or longer by ourselves and many inlets aren't well marked for night use. Overnights are OK if we have a couple of others with us to share watch duties, but not by ourselves. Yeah, at this stage of our sailing life we are coastal cruisers, not offshore voyagers. ;-)  We are extending our sailing boundaries gradually. :-)

The Winyah Bay and Charleston inlets are well spaced for a day trip outside and they are easily navigable. The weather forecast called for conditions to be a bit blustery and sea states to be a bit high....a bit concerning, but it didn't sound terribly bad. So, we decided to go down Winyah Bay from Georgetown, then escape the confines of the ICW and go outside in the Atlantic to Charleston....and we are very glad we did! Conditions were less intense as forecasted. It was an excellent day! We had 6-16 knot beam winds and a strong following sea that enabled motorsailing and surfing at 8-8.5 knots SOG (speed over the ground) at reduced throttle, which is excellent for a relatively light wind! We passed Fort Sumpter, the site of the first shot fired in the Civil War, and entered Charleston Bay an hour earlier than I had anticipated. We docked at the Charleston City Marina on their megadock, which is a quarter mile long and had several mega-yachts tied up.....plus us. :-)

The next morning, Friday, I called the local Fisher Panda dealer to arrange for the repair of our genset. He told me that he didn't have the capacitors that Fisher Panda headquarters, Ft. Lauderdale, was supposed to have sent to him! I called the Fisher Panda headquarters and was told by the service manager that there had been "a screwup in their shipping department" and the capacitors were still there in Ft. Lauderdale. Thus, the repair of our generator, which had been planned several days in advance, now couldn't happen as scheduled! I was pissed and let him know it!!! He promised to send the capacitors UPS overnight to Charleston and that their technician in Charleston there would come in on Saturday to install them and checkout the genset. The capacitors arrived Saturday and the technician installed them. That solved the problem of no output, but the checkout revealed another problem. Low voltage and frequency under load.....104 volts and 58 hertz at half load of 15 amps. According to the technician, that is due to a maladjusted governor on the diesel engine that drives the generator....the service manager in Ft. Lauderdale subsequently confirmed that. A special tool is needed to adjust the governor....and the technician in Charleston didn't have one. Subsequent discussions with the Fisher Panda service manager the following Monday after we had left Charleston revealed that there is one tool in the US and it is kept in Ft. Lauderdale and sent to other locations as required! He told me that he would look into where he could send the tool where I could stop to have the governor adjusted and get back to me.

Our friends, Lynn and Don, were in a campground at an Air Force base outside of Charleston. We spent Friday afternoon with them touring the old Charleston market area....a very quaint string of shotgun buildings with open sides that spanned three blocks in the old section of the city near the waterfront that were filled with arts and crafts venders. Lynn and Sue shopped and Don and I strolled along....and didn't complain too much this time. ;-) We had dinner at our favorite restaurant in Charleston an excellent French restaurant (Mistral) in the market area.

Don and Lynn's daughter and granddaughter drove up from Hilton Head Saturday. After the Fisher Panda tech finished and left, Don and I spent the afternoon servicing (oil change, filter replacement, etc.) Wind Runner's main engine. And what did the four ladies do? They went back to the market for more shopping, of course. :-) Later that day we said good-bye to Don and Lynn. They planned to spend a couple more days in Charleston, then move on south to Hilton Head for Thanksgiving with their daughter and to Tampa for Christmas with their son. We had to move on south to get to Cocoa in time to fly back home to Maryland before December 8 when we had a doctor's appointments for annual checkups. Thus, our schedule after leaving Charleston was incompatible with theirs. We don't know when we will see them again because they have to head back to the northwest in January for some warranty work on their mobile home. But, the time we spent with them in the Carolinas was very special to us.

Days 16-18. After leaving Charleston, we stayed inside on the ICW the first day because there was no inlet that we could reach before dark if we went outside. We had a relatively long day motoring to Port Royal, which is just south of the delightful old town of Beaufort and is where we anchored for the night in a very calm, serene anchorage just off of a commercial fishing boat dock. A commercial fishing boat drifted past us in the anchorage as they dried their nets and cleaned their boat before docking while two golden retrievers onboard barked at us for invading their turf. A lady onboard yelled to us that the dogs were just excited about getting back home.

We experienced a taste of South Carolinian southern hospitality as we entered the anchorage, which is a mile off of a bend in the Beaufort River down which the ICW traverses, and is near a low, fixed bridge. An old man....even older than I am ;-)....came alongside in a dinghy to tell us that we had made a wrong turn and should go back to the bend to get back on the ICW. I told him that we weren't looking for the ICW, but were preparing to anchor. He said lots of folks make the wrong turn and he thought that we were just another one....then he wished us a pleasant night and went on his way. Now, this guy went out of his way to make sure that we weren't lost as sundown was approaching....try to find someone who would do that in downtown New York or Baltimore.

After we anchored, we noticed that the bilge pump was cycling on regularly, which meant that water was getting into the bilge from someplace. And the fresh water pump was also cycling on. Bottom line....we had a fresh water leak someplace. Investigation revealed that it was due to a broken fitting at the input to the hot water tank. Fortunately, there was enough of the fitting remaining to re-clamp the hose. It might hold forever, but I will replace the fitting when I get a chance.

The next day we went down Port Royal Sound to the Atlantic for a long outside run to St. Catherine's Sound. We were trying to get to St. Catherine's Sound before an approaching cold front. The front beat us by about an hour. However, it was a weak front, so we only got a little rain as we entered St. Catherine's Sound, but no really harsh weather.

We anchored for the night in Walburg Creek, which is just inside the entrance to St. Catherine's Sound. This is one of our favorite anchorages. Walburg Creek is relatively wide and deep with just a moderate current. It also has an unusual feature that I call "The Vanishing Marsh". We first experienced it last spring on our way home. And it happened again while we were there this time.

Another sidebar.....the following is an internet post that I wrote about "The Vanishing Marsh" last May.

We had another new moon scenario while we were there this time and the marsh disappeared again.

We opted for another outside day from St. Catherine's Sound to St. Simon's Sound despite a forecast of rough seas behind the front that passed through the area overnight. It turned out to be another very good day. We had a bit of a bouncy ride getting out of St. Catherine's Sound and a rolly one entering St. Simon's Sound, but overall the following sea and beam wind made for another excellent sailing day. We were the only boat traveling outside that day. We monitored the VHF radio chatter between the boats traveling the ICW, including those that were trying, a couple of them unsuccessfully, to avoid running aground in especially low water caused by the exceptional tidal range, and were very glad that we weren't among them. We docked at the Golden Isles Marina at St. Simon's Island simply because there is no good anchorage within a few miles of the St. Simon's inlet.....and we like the raw bar at the marina. ;-) It was excellent, as usual!! :-)

Days 19-21. We had yet another excellent outside sailing day traveling from St. Simon's Sound to the St. John's River, which is the inlet to Jacksonville. Although we did have to battle a very strong flood current for a few miles to get out of St. Simon's Sound and fight an even stronger ebb current for a few miles toward the end of the day to get into the St. John's River inlet, the hours between were filled with good surfing while motorsailing. If the currents had been reversed at both inlets, we could have made the trip 1-2 hours faster and/or sailed instead of motorsailing.

We docked at the Palm Cove Marina in Jackonsville Beach. We like this marina because, like in North Myrtle Beach, it is very near a shopping center and a West Marine store....plus there is an excellent restaurant called Marker 32 immediately next to the Palm Cove Marina. We arrived on Thanksgiving Eve and hoped to have Thanksgiving dinner at Marker 32. However, after we arrived, we learned that Marker 32 would be closed on Thanksgiving. :-( So, we decided to have dinner there that evening and just consider it to be our Thanksgiving dinner a day early. Boy, did I ever get a surprise! It was much more than just a surrogate Thanksgiving dinner. It was among the top 7 restaurant meals that I have ever experienced!!!! (The other top 6 were in Athens, Greece; Teheran, Iran; Bangkok, Thailand; Mount Cashell, Ireland; Tampa, FL; and Armand Circle, Sarasota, FL.....did you notice that 3 of the top 7 were in Florida? :-)). I ordered macadamia encrusted rack of lamb, which was one of Marker 32_s special selections that night. It sounded good.....and it turned out to be absolutely incredible!! Four scrumptious lamb chops encrusted in a mixture of crushed macadamia nuts, Japanese bread crumbs called plankon, and ginger and red pepper; served on a bed of mashed turnip potatoes (turnips and potatoes); and covered with a demi glaze with asparagus spears on top. The accompanying Australian Shiraz wine was perfect. Man, it was a meal that I will never forget!! And this was at yet another "small town", but locally appreciated, restaurant. The chefs at this restaurant and the River Grill in Swansboro, NC should be going places! They are exceptional!!!

The next morning, Thanksgiving Day, we were resigned to throwing together a makeshift Thanksgiving dinner onboard or finding anything that was available within walking distance, as we have done before. (Two years earlier on our trip south on Wind Runner, we had pizza and beer at the famous Clubhouse on Jeckyl Island, GA because we couldn't get into their two dining rooms which were completely booked for hourly Thanksgiving Dinner seatings from 1-9 PM.....but that is another very memorable story. ;-)) This year, we set out midmorning to see if a nearby (1/8 mile walking distance) Perkins restaurant was open and serving breakfast. Well, it was not only open for breakfast, but they were advertising a turkey dinner for $8.99. They planned to close at 2PM, which was too early for us since we didn't get there for breakfast until 10AM. So, we had them put together two carryout turkey dinners for which they charged just $6.99 each. We ate them aboard Wind Runner that evening while watching Thanksgiving Day football....and they were really good!! Turkey, dressing, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and rolls while watching Thanksgiving Day football on TV!!! So, Thanksgiving worked out better than OK for us after all. And it was as memorable as the Jeckyl Island Clubhouse pizza and beer Thanksgiving dinner two years earlier. :-)

We decided to stay in Jacksonville Beach another day Friday as a cold front moved through. Glad we did. It was another strong front with lots of rain and strong winds.

Days 22-24. We delayed our departure from Jacksonville Beach by an hour Saturday morning to permit the tide to rise another couple of feet. The channel into the marina is a bit shallow....it's the only downside to using this marina....and we wanted to be sure that we could get out without running aground. We had a foot of water under the keel at the most shallow spots as we left.....I'm glad we waited an hour before leaving.

The rest of our trip would be inside in the ICW because the inlets between Jacksonville Beach and Cocoa, which was our final destination, either required local knowledge or weren't spaced to permit a reasonable schedule of outside day trips. The next practical opportunity to go outside would be the Cape Canaveral barge canal and it was just a short distance before Cocoa. So, we resigned ourselves to motoring in the ICW for the rest of the trip.

Our first stop on this 3-day leg of the trip was at St. Augustine. We opted to go into the St. Augustine Municipal marina for a couple of reasons. There are large and popular anchorages on both sides of the Bridge of Lions at St. Augustine. However, they are subject to very strong currents which reverse four times each day. I personally know three boaters who have either had their anchor drag or had other boats drag into them. And, while we were there on this stop, we heard a report on VHF radio of another boat that was dragging through one of the anchorages. Although we have anchored there a couple of times, it's an area in which I would rather go into a marina so we can sleep without worry. Also, St. Augustine is a delightful town to walk around, so you want to spend some worry-free time away from your boat, which is difficult to do when you have dinghied in from an anchorage.

We had dinner at the Columbia restaurant, which is a family owned Cuban restaurant "chain" that originated in the historic district of Tampa many, many years ago and now has 8 Florida locations.....we have dined at 5 of them. The Columbia Restaurant is pricey, but excellent. If you find yourself near one while in Florida, I highly recommend it.

St. Augustine does an excellent job of decorating for Christmas. The downtown streets and squares, waterside promenades, and the Bridge of Lions are all lined with lights that stay on all night. It is really pretty. And, the old city center is loaded with historical structures and culture, blended with modern shopping. Like Beaufort/Morehead City, NC; Georgetown, SC; Beaufort, SC; Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; and Jeckyl Island, GA.....St. Augustine is another example of interesting and colorful places that many land travelers miss by traveling the Interstate highways between major tourist attractions. One advantage of traveling by boat is the limited distance that one can travel each day dictates stopping at some of these "out of the way" spots. And, traveling the ICW or entering the Atlantic inlets by boat leads one to these ports for the same reason they were originally established and flourished centuries ago....they are natural harbors of refuge.

From St. Augustine, we motored south to Daytona Beach. We considered continuing another couple of hours to New Smyrna Beach. But, since it was Sunday, we decided to stop early (3PM) to watch a little NFL football on TV. We usually go into one of the two marinas at Daytona Beach. However, this time we anchored just south of the marinas. It was just a wide spot in the river, so there was a bit of bounce from the wake of passing boats, but not too bad, especially after dark when most boat traffic stopped.

The next day (Monday) we motored on down Mosquito Lagoon, into the Indian River, and past Titusville to Cocoa, which is near Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Flight Center, and was our final destination for this first phase of our 2003-04 cruising season. On the way, we spotted a flock of 20-30 white pelicans near Pelican Island in the Indian River, which is the main breeding ground for white pelicans. White pelicans are seldom found far from this area. We docked at Whitley's Marine marina in Cocoa, where Wind Runner will spend the next 6 weeks or so.

We spent a few days in Cocoa before flying home to Maryland for several reasons:

We flew home on Friday, Dec 5 in time for the first doctor's appointment which was scheduled for Monday, Dec 8. We will return to Florida on Jan 8 to continue with Phase II of our 2003-04 Wind Runner sojourn.  Phase II will consist of moving on south to the Florida Keys and spending some time there before heading out to the Bahamas, which will be Phase III.