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The first real event
after entering US waters and nearing the Lake Worth/West Palm Beach
channel was a fairly close encounter with US Warship #98. See
http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/DDG98.htm .
She was operating along
the coast, transmitting a message frequently advising all boats to
maintain a 500 yard safety zone around her. As we approached the inlet
and were converging with her course, I was not sure whether I could
maintain course and speed and stay out of the safety zone.
I figured she had all
the latest electronics and could compute the closest point of approach
much more accurately than we could, so we contacted her and asked the
question. They told us to stand by a minute and then came back and said
they would alter course to starboard 5o to clear us and we
could maintain our course.
Our radar was not
functioning at the time but as time passed, it looked like we were going
to get very close. Again we contacted them, told them our radar was not
working, but that visually we had a constant bearing, decreasing range
(collision course) and that I was altering course to starboard to avoid
them. They promptly said they would also alter course to starboard to
clear us.
Our sails luffed for a
bit but we did miss them. We got a nice view of her going by. Lynn
snapped the picture after we both made the final course correction. |
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After getting into the inlet, our depth
meter went walk about but by cycling the power, we got it to reset and
work. Then the next day, it
happened again but we had no luck in getting it to reset. Thanks to cell
phones, we called the manufacturer's tech support and they indicated the
gage was probably dead but that the hard part to replace, the transducer
was probably OK. They gave us the name of the local approved service
center.
We called them and decided I would bring
the instrument in for testing. It did prove to be bad. I expected about
$400 for a new one and anticipated waiting a couple of days to get it at
the best case.
The service company had a used one on the
shelf which I bought for $125. The new ones use different connectors and
was not going to be a plug and play. I decided to let them handle the
wiring issues. By 2:30 in the afternoon they were on the boat with the
correct connectors and by 4:00 were done, cleaned up, and off the boat.
Labor costs $80.
This cost us a delay day here in Vero but
it could have been a lot more expensive and a lot longer delay.
Top photo is the old dead instrument.
Lower is the new one. |
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The Haul Over Canal is frequently a great
place to get a couple of good photos while wishing for a shot of the
hard to photograph Manatee. Here
the bridge opens for us.
An egret cocks its head and watches as we
go by. |
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This pretty little cat boat was sailing
north in the Indian River. |
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We see a lot of dolphin in the ICW.
Frequently Toby goes to the side of the boat to look for them before we
see them. We suspect he hears them. Here he is on Dolphin Duty. :-) |
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The local fishing boats are always
picturesque. We met this one in the marshes of Georgia. |
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We have been humping pretty hard moving
north, but the weather today and tomorrow is not favorable and we
decided to enjoy Savannah rather than be out getting beat up.
There is a bus stop about 1/2 mile from
the marina. You can see Lynn reading the cruisers guide for Savannah as
she waits on the bench at the bus stop.
We spent most of our tourist time was
spent along the waterfront. Lynn took an elevated picture from the
restaurant of a hotel.
We shopped and ate in Market Square. Lynn
sits at an empty table with the square behind her.
There are carriage tours in the area, as
in many towns. I have never, however, seen a horse cross its legs
while resting. Take a close look at the horses hind legs. Later it had
cross them the other way. |
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The long tow we met in the Savannah River as
it came out of Field's Cut. At this point we have passed it and turned
for the cut so the head of the tow is to the right and headed away from
us. The tug supply motive power is the high white object. There are four
other tugs, two per side, middle and rear to steer. |
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Remember the words to the old song, "it's
been a blue, blue day, I feel like running away?" Well here's proof that
even when your running away, there are blue days. This photo was shot at
8:34 pm at the Dataw Island Marina. There are no filters, special
effects, or photo shopping involved. |
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The ICW in Georgia and the Carolinas runs up
and down natural rivers connected in places by narrow cuts dug between
them. The rivers are usually wide and deep, the cuts narrow and shallow.
American River Cruises runs small cruise
ships along here. In the rivers, there is plenty of room and they don't
look large at all. In the narrow cuts they move slowly and carefully to
find water deep enough and with enough maneuvering room for them to get
through.
We stopped outside the channel to let the
American Glory pass. Shortly after we took the bottom picture, we
noticed the leaking hydraulic fluid from our helm. |
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After we found the steering leak, we stopped
at Rockville Marine for repairs. Of course, these thing always invovle a
weekend so we lost 5 days for a fairly easy repair with replacement
parts available in stock locally. |
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The Charleston Harbor ($$$) Marina is near
the USS Yorktown which is on display here. |
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In the Waccamaw we saw this home built
little house boat. Perfect for the hunter/fisher in these wetlands.
Notice the Stars and Bars flying with the Stars and Stripes? You never
have to wonder if you're in the South. |
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On Memorial Day Weekend the beaches were
wall to wall people and the water was wall to wall boats. |
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Ospreys build nests on the day marks along
the water way. Sometimes their nests get so big you can't make our the
mark, red or green, what number, etc. |
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Onslow Beach Bridge is our last of the
cruise. The current nearly swept us into the bridge as it opened
s-l-o-w-l-y. With only one engine we were barely able to maneuver out of
the way. |
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We spent our last night anchored in Cedar
Creek. The late afternoon sun highlighted the local fleet of fishing
boats. |
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We ended the cruise this year as we did last
year by hauling the boat to work on the starboard sail drive. We cannot
shift into gear, at least not reliably. This unit was completely rebuilt
last year so we hope this is something minor. |
