Boat Naming Weather

 

My sister Jeanne captured Mike and me in the final stages of applying the new boat name.

New Boat Name

Finally, I’m revealing the boat name to all of you. It took probably 16 hours of unpeeling, scraping, rubbing, and polishing with a power tool to get 95% of the old lettering off. When it seemed that only a new gel coat via a professional could do better, Mike halted. 

We got as far south as Palm Coast, FL, when my sister Jeanne visited us for four days. Thank goodness Jeanne was there to help. 

Jeanne and Mike partnered to get the lettering perfect. They devised a series of steps using blue painter's tape to make the lettering level. Mike patiently removed the backing half a letter at a time.

About halfway into the application, it starts to sprinkle unexpectedly. We became nervous because rain on the fiberglass while applying lettering was a no-go. We were reminded that a little sprinkle quickly turns into a heavy shower in the Southeast. We grabbed large trash bags, cut them open, and draped them over the taped-on lettering. We finished in the nick of time because it rained steadily for about 30 minutes. After we were certain that the rain stopped, and the ground dried a bit, we continued the careful process of applying the letters. 

Jeanne and Mike were on a roll. The unexpected rain halted all work.

We just love the font and large size of the letters. It was a proud moment to see our handiwork. Now the boat felt like our own. Our own home, that is. 

Introducing: “Sacagawea.” From the home port of Seattle, WA(1). Jeanne waved goodbye as she snapped this pic. We left her and headed South to Daytona Beach.

We evoked Sacagawea because we think of our boat as a female guide.(2) We are also nodding to the first people who populated the waterways. We are learning a lot about the first people, European colonists, slavery, and American history in the towns we visit. Remembering the first people helps us keep history in context.

Mike was thinking about other places and ways that the old name surfaces. For example, Elizabeth Ann II is our AIS name. It may take a technician from the radio company to come to the boat to rename it. Once we change all the places and things with the old name we will break a bottle of champagne to appease the gods.

An Encounter

At each destination, we've been planning the next two stops on our journey south for the winter. At Jekyll Island, we saw that there were two series of strong wind days forecasted for later in the week. We continued South on a windy, but manageable to navigate, day to Fernandina Island. 

After checking the forecast later in the day, we asked the marina to mark us down for two days longer than planned.  Our inside, side-tie slip was fortuitous. There was a wide, concrete floating dock between us and the ICW channel. 

On the first day, just as we were tending to errands we had a happy encounter. A couple of kindly brothers came down to our dock and introduced themselves. They saw our AGLCA burgee via the Nebo app and wanted to see how things were going. One of them just finished the loop and just on a whim decided to check Nebo to see if any Loopers were nearby. After a pleasant chat in our saloon, they offered to drive us anywhere. We took them up on it and I went to Publix grocery store while Mike made a stop at an auto parts store for an orbital polisher (to rid the boat of the remainder of the old name).

This is a screenshot of Nebo. It shows the location of people who use the Nebo app. It's interesting to see where the bulk of Loopers are at his time of year. Most are in the Ft. Myers area. 

Would you have accepted their kind offer? I hesitated. We couldn't reciprocate. We all admitted this and said we would pay it forward. I hope I can be more accepting of generosity going forward. Offering to help is a warm, distinguishing feature of the boating community. I want to project this warmth as well.

Tornado Warning

Two mornings after our encounter we were preparing for the forecasted strong winds. We added two lines for a total of six lines attaching Sacagawea to the dock. I wanted to take advantage of downtime to get my haircut and research marinas. Mike was cleaning the bilge.

That's when I learned from the hair salon that businesses were closing early that day due to high winds. Within an hour I received an alert on my phone that our county was under tornado watch. We made a quick plan: leave our chore list behind, don our wet gear, and with our domino set and lunch in a backpack, go hang out in the “captain’s lounge” at the marina. After one domino game, the warning was extended a few hours longer. We headed to a new, more secure place--the hotel lobby across the street. At this point, it was a little rainy and windy with low clouds. We noticed the wind across our face was blowing in a different direction than the way the angry clouds were moving.

So we played another game. Mike struck up a friendly conversation with an 89-year-old woman from Kentucky who was also storm-watching in the lobby. She also had never been in a tornado watch situation. She wanted to hear more about our Loop plans. People are so interested in our plans!

After a couple of hours we felt that we were wearing out our welcome at the hotel. We went to a charming wine bar a couple of blocks away that's nestled in a strong brick building. Behold, they were open! We played a third round. Mike chatted on the phone with a couple of friends. 

A cozy and safe locale during the tornado warning, a wine bar.

By about 6:00 pm the tornado warning abated and we returned to the boat. It was still a little rainy and windy. We were pleased to see Sacagawea’s lines and fenders were solid. 

Even though tornadoes were not seen in our vicinity, the danger was not over. A strong wind was forecast overnight. As it turned out, I slept great that night. We didn't experience any dramatic rock and roll. Mike, however, did get up at 1:00 am and stepped outside to look at 3-4 foot waves slapping the dock. (See his video of this below.) The next morning some sailors on the windward side told Mike it was their worst night ever on their boat.

It was a good lesson for us. We will continue to seek out inside positions on docks when there's a high wind in the forecast.

Tourist Mecca

I now return to our town visits. We saw a lot of beautiful historic homes and modern American history! 

Before Jeanne joined us we stopped at Jekyll Island. 

We borrowed the marina’s guest golf cart to tour Jekyll Island. We cruised to the historic homes district, to the Turtle Center(3) and to Driftwood Beach. On the way back we ran out of battery power. With just a phone call the sweet marina attendant came and rescued us. 

The Goodyear Cottage in the historical district at Jekyll Island. On the placard, Goodyear’s story said he worked even while on vacation at his cottage. And, he died of overwork. Even with all his money, he couldn't buy less work.

We haven't tired of seeing the swaying Spanish Moss. Ghostly. Graceful.

After the bad weather, we returned to St. Augustine for one night. We eagerly picked up about 10 Amazon packages we shipped to us at St. Augustine. 

Entering the drawbridge of Castillo de San Marco Fort at St.Augustine. 

When Jeanne joined we took advantage of her rental car and re-visited the fort at St. Augustine. The changing uses of the fort reflect the changes in Florida. 

The following day we spent 8 hours at the interesting, inspiring, and grand Kennedy Space Center.  

The ole Rocket Garden is behind us at KSC. Enormous and colorful modern history. Note the dark clouds. No rain was forecast. A few hours later we were running through a downpour. We were finally getting the jist of the Southeast weather.

The 122-foot-long Atlantis space shuttle. It was hung impressively at an angle along a walkway so that we could admire the construction above and below as well as see the open interior. 

So cool how we could see each heat-resistant tile. Individually numbered. Each uniquely scared from reentry into Earth's orbit. Not sure if I'd be reassured or scared silly to see that if I were an astronaut. 

...and the bottom of The Atlantis. This endured 33 missions.

This is a close-up of the truss which moved payloads in and out. I was surprised to see it covered in basic knots that held layers together. The sides and top of the shuttle were actually covered with thermal blanket material. This was a tactic to reduce weight.

Landlubbing

We had been slow to find a reputable and convenient boat yard to complete the hull repaint, stabilizer fiberglass work, and some gel coat cracks. On our last full day with Jeanne, I called a well-regarded boatyard in the next destination south, Daytona Beach. Their prices were reasonable and, shocker, they had availability the next day. However, the work would take about a week and we would not be able to stay on the boat, our “house,” so we got to take up an open invitation from our friends, Meredith & John, in Naples, Florida. With one day's notice, they received us with open arms. (Thanks, guys!) We rented a car and booked over to the Gulf side of Florida. 

At the beach before a fancy Naples, FL, restaurant meal with our hosts Meredith and John.

Our plans now are to find a marina that's reasonably priced in the greater Ft. Lauderdale area. We’ll stay there for perhaps a month. Then we will start The Loop, so to speak, by heading North at the end of the winter.

Footnotes for Fun Fact Fans

(1) Sacagawea is a Coast Guard documented vessel. This requires us to have a name and a port clearly written on the vessel. Even though we don't technically live in Seattle we decided to use the name because it’s the best known city in Washington state, where we have state residency. The port name on the boat has nothing to do with boat taxes. We could have used any town in the United States.

(2) After some Internet research we learned that there are many retellings and mysteries surrounding Sacagawea’s life. There are multiple ways of spelling her name in English using our alphabet.  We think it's appropriate to just remember her and learn what we can of her.

(3) The Turtle Center was a highlight for me. I learned that all the turtles in the Jekyll Island area are at least endangered. Don't forget that turtles on shore get confused by our nighttime lights and can disrupt where they wander--their safety and breeding.

Kicking Tires, Lighting Fires

 

Mike at the nerve center of the boat during start up: the electrical panel.

So we got the keys. Step one complete! We had about a week before we had to leave. “Ralph”(1) kindly allowed us to stay in his slip until December 31. There were three key things to accomplish before kicking the tires and lighting the fires. 

First, we needed to move on board. It was all a bit overwhelming. Why and when did our small mountains of items become so intimidating? How do we group things together and then find a logical place to put them? Ask my son and he will tell you I said often, “Everything has a place.” In a boat, it’s imperative because you can't have things out to roll around, or things to walk around. 

Second, Mike needed to replace the two oil gear coolers which was the only critical to-do item from the survey. He would have preferred to hire a professional for this, but we didn't have enough time to get on a professional’s schedule. This took an afternoon.

The “before” picture. Note the corrosion.

The “after” picture. 

Third, we (mostly Mike) needed to get familiar with all the key systems: engine, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical. He’s familiarized himself this way on three previous boats. And, at four houses, now that I think about it. There were systems and procedures unique to this boat. It's an uncomfortable but healthy challenge, IMHO, to get accustomed to a new boat that has familiar features, but in new places. 

Via our broker, Mike sent an email with a dozen questions to Ralph. Putting it off until after Christmas weekend, our brokers arranged a phone call between Mike and Ralph. I listened in at first, but their conversation quickly surpassed my knowledge base so I left the boat and ran some errands. 

We were a bit stressed feeling the pressure of having to get out of SC for tax consequences. 

“How are you feeling now? We leave in two days,” I inquired.

“Well, I feel much better now that I talked to Ralph for a half hour. I learned a lot,” Mike admitted. 

“A half-hour? Mike, you were on the phone for at least two hours!” Mike gave me a surprised look.

Ralph was quite patient and generous with his time. It was a very intense call. Time stood still for both of them. 

“We will get to know the boat best just by running it,” I said. 

“And the wind should be good for us for the next week,” agreed Mike. “Okay, let me start the engines now to make sure I know what to do.” Mike proceeded to kick the tires and light the fires(3). With a big smile and breath of relief, Mike shut down the engines and said, “It worked. It’s running!” 

We were concerned about different things.  Mike was worried that he would mis-step a start-up check or task, and I was worrried about how to pilot the boat.

As these final days raced by, we spoke a bit about where we would go. We knew we wanted to hang out in Florida until the Loopers begin heading North in March. On our trip down we could skip some legs of the ICW, which is long and winding, if we went out into the ocean. But this requires a good weather window. In the end, we decided to take longer and transit via the ICW since the boat is new to us and it would be easier to get help, if needed.

A page from the Great Loop Guide. You can see how there are relatively big gaps in the South Carolina to Mid-Florida cruise. We had to stop at in-between stops that didn't make it into the Guide.

A final leave-it-behind step was to drop off our F150 truck at a storage facility we checked out before Christmas. Mike drove it into the storage shed and we waved it goodbye as we pulled down the door. Our local friend, Paula, dropped us off at the marina and then, we were carless. Boat transportation was our only alternative. 

Mike captured our last moments as we said goodbye and thanks to Paula. You can also get an idea of the saloon, looking towards the galley.

December 31 arrived and at 8:00 a.m. it was cold and clear. Mike went through his checklist and got the engines humming. Like we did with the Nordic Tug, we discussed the game plan for undocking. We donned our headsets and then removed all encumbrances from shore. Ever so slowly Mike put the boat in forward and there was no turning back. 

After we left the marina a random gentleman at the end of a pier took a pic of us. I yelled out my cell number across the water and he sent it to me. Thus, we captured the beginning of our journey.

Since that day we have had enjoyable daily cruises. Even though it’s been chilly, we’ve been warm in our fully enclosed flybridge. Mike gets all “A’s” from me for his first few docking jobs. The stabilizers make for a Cadillac-like cushy ride. 

Yes this is a boring screen shot of one of our navigation devices. But it was an exciting moment when we started following along the “rec. track Intercoastal Waterway!” FYI, the blue dotted line is a crowd-sourced overlay of how boaters transited on the ICW. Following their path makes our navigation easy.

We will have to get used to the relatively shallow waters on the Atlantic ICW. The depth has been typically around 15 feet below our keel. In Puget Sound, we were regularly in hundreds of feet of water. Shallow waters automatically put us on high alert so have been glued to our navigation devices 100% of the time. The government-tended navigational aids in the ICW have been excellent so far. With our electronics, it's been a snap to know exactly where we are and where to aim next.

The video above shows the swift current moving through the marina. So far, this is a typical situation. It makes docking fairly sporty. There's not a lot of room for error or hesitation.

Typical view of the marshes and waterfront homes from our plastic-wrapped flybridge helm.

The scenery hasn't changed much since we left Charleston. In the ICW of South Carolina and Georgia, also known as The Low Country, we glide through broad saltwater cordgrass marshes via creeks, rivers, and canals which are dredged periodically. 

There is a steady stream of wildlife. In the sky are white and black pelicans, cormorants, grebes, cranes, and terns. Small, adorable grey dolphins regularly pop up, often in synchronized pairs, but surprisingly don't ride our wake. At Seabrook and Jekyll Islands, we spotted bald eagles soaring in circles. 

It all feels very rural, like going up the Petaluma River in the Northern SF Bay Area. Winter is the off-season in this area. We see small, well-powered fishing boats every half hour or so. 

Mike filled out the Captain Log at the end of the day, seated at the L-shaped settee.

We felt a bit of trepidation as we approached our first night at anchor since we knew there would be a lot of current, and it was our first time using this boat’s anchoring tackle. (4) We found a good anchoring spot recommended by others right off the ICW “road.”

We fell into the same roles, responsibilities, and procedures that we had on the Nordic Tug. We discussed the game plan, donned our headsets, took our places (me at the anchor, Mike at the helm), and...we just had a minor issue. I briefly pressed the up anchor button when I should have pressed down. The fattish connecting piece got a little stuck at the narrow guiding piece forward of the winch. Mike came down from the flybridge perch and carefully pulled out the chain. No fingers lost. We were good to go. 

Overall, Mike says, “I’m really pleased with the handling of the boat...going through wakes have been nothing!” 

After a week we are still learning the boat systems. We haven't found homes for all of our stuff, either. We’re excited to get to warmer weather. We also need to find a good pausing stop in Florida to get the hull worked on, as we originally planned. 

The overnight stops in our rearview mirror since Charleston:

• Bohicket Marina, Seabrook Island, SC
• B&B Seafood Dock, off the Ashepoo River, SC (They rent out dock space cheap--$40/night.)
• Beaufort Marina, Beaufort, SC
• Isle of Hope Marina, near Savannah, GA
• Back River, near Sapelo Island, GA (anchored)
• Jekyll Island, GA

FOOTNOTES FOR FUN FACT FANS

(1) Not the boat owner's real name.

(2) You may have heard the Southeast experienced multiple days of 3”-5” of rain daily after Christmas. We are fine in the boat during the rain. Everything is watertight. 

(3) Mike has a nine-item checklist. It necessitates that he crawls into the engine room. 

(4) Just like our Alaska trip, anchoring will be important for when we can't make it to a marina (e.g. it's too far between marinas), if marinas have no available spaces, or if we just want to save money. 

BONUS PICS

Grand, enormous and stately seem to be the rule for marsh-front homes around here. Many have wharves leading the way out to covered docks. The homes I captured below look to be more than 3000 square feet. Most looked empty and we thought they were second homes.

Beaufort, SC, had a historic district that we enjoyed meandering through. Most of these houses were built between ~1800 and 1850. The original walls were built from tabby material. Tabby material is a combination of local sand, lime, and oysters.

We wanted to reveal our Ocean Alexander’s new name by now. But we're still removing the old name! I think we'll get there in a week. Here is Mike, in the cockpit, using a polishing compound on those old letters.