Less than 500 miles to go

I made it to this anchorage just after dusk..
487 miles to go =]
Tomorrow I hope to see some friends in Charleston, I'm just South of there!

edit: I spent the night in Charleston Harbor. Yesterday was a short day- only 17 miles.
I had hoped to see phriends here but a terrifically terrible thunderstorm and a 3rd torrential downpour of the day ended those hopes. Today I have to continue on.
I hope to be in Myrtle Beach by Friday.
I'll have to start working on my "new" Avon hard bottomed dinghy.
It leaks air but, hey, I got it for a bottle of rum & a 12 pack of coke, lol.
Once I get to Myrtle beach I'll unload Scott's stuff which includes the kayaks so I'll need the dinghy operational by then.
470 miles to go =]
PS- HI! to any Chesapeake Sailers from the Yahoo group who may stop by to read about my trip & "what a long strange trip its been"

Georgia Border!

Since my last post I left my parents house, they were preparing to go camping in St Augustine. My Mom sailed with me to St Aug; a day and a half sail. It was great to have her along for part of the journey! She really had fun =]

I pulled into the St Aug Municipal Marina (after waiting 3 hours for my Dad, lol) fueled up, got water and just missed the bridge opening... Mom jumped off, the dockmaster then shushed me off as a local fishing tournament was getting underway.
Finally I anchored in the same spot I did on the way down, after waiting for a powerboater to get a tow as he was anchored in my spot, lol!
PS I'm still unemployed, 'please' click on the ads on the LEFT to help defray costs, food, fuel..
I chilled the whole next day awaiting word from my brother, if he was going to fly in to meet me or not. Not yet.. So the next day I set sail alone heading North to our family reunion. I had a great day sailing but as I hit my mark for an anchorage I ran aground- at almost HIGH tide! I'll have to email the writer of my ICW Anchorage guide about that!! I was stuck good! There was a strong current & about a 5' difference from high to low tide! So I dropped the anchor where I was and prepared SunRunner to lay on her side. As the tide ran out I adjusted stuff before and after they fell as she leaned over 22°, a new personal record! LOL


Once she layed down I knew she was alright as the water was 1' below the rub rail.
By the way, the anchor was now on dry land. Well, when life hands you limes...
you make margaritas =D I scraped the entire starboard side free of barnacles AND changed the zinc anode on the propeller shaft since it was on the surface ;)
At 12:56AM it was high tide & she was upright again. I moved her a bit forward- a bit back, etc for over an hour. Finally I kayaked the anchor out at a 45° angle from the bow to help winch her around pointed towards deeper water. I had gotten her free but she got stuck again- lightly- as I was turning to get out of there.
The kayak/anchor trick worked. I winched in the chain & she turned & floated free =D
Today (Tuesday i think) I hit my mark, sailed most of the day, fueled up & went into town at Fernandina Beach, for a few groceries. Tonight all is good, I had chili w/ steak chunks and crackers, along with a few Cubra Libras ;P

Recharging at Mom & Dad's

Since arriving at my parents with Dad and Peter I've had a nice time visiting, recharging & resupplying for the next leg of the trip.
I've been sleeping in a bed- with AC & cable TV!! It's quite different then what I'm used to, lol.
Saturday afternoon I'll continue on with my journey Northward towards Hilton Head Island for a family reunion. It will be great to see everyone, especially my little brother who recently got back - safely - from Iraq.

Miami to Daytona heading home

My Dad & Peter have sailed along with me from Miami. Our destination is their home, near Daytona. We'll be there tomorrow- on July 6th. Today we sailed, out in the Atlantic again, for roughly 70 miles. We trolled for Mahi Mahi (and had a strike but didn't catch any), saw several dolphin plus an unidentified sailfish dorsal, saw a Green sea turtle with barnacles on its' back, came back inside from the Atlantic at Cape Canaveral, entered a lock and was then slapped by a Manatee. I was only going about 1.5 knots when Peter yelled out (from the bow) Manatee! This was just as we entered the Canaveral Lock- so the Manatee was in the lock! LOL. There was a group of onlookers who all must have thought I hit it but Peter said it passed in front of us then dove & actually slapped SunRunner with its' tail!
I was really shook up until I learned I did Not hit it..
Finally we anchored at dusk & had dinner followed by a celebratory Mango Margarita.

Fort Lauderdale

That's where my Dad, his friend & I are.
We sailed out of Miami port to the ocean side & skipped a dozen bridges- my plan since hitting all of those bridges on the way down (38 in 2 days!).
I saw flying fish today and a stingray twice the size of a garbage can lid which jumped completely out of the water about 20 feet from the boat.
Tomorrow we will go back outside in the Atlantic & shoot for Fort Pierce.