Day Five - N 31 09.973' W 81 24.895' St. Simons Island

Hurray! We are (finally!) en route to Chesapeake Bay.  The new pump arrived as planned on Wednesday, early afternoon and Peter had it installed before 15:00.  So we decided to leave Jax Municipal Marina immediately and anchor at the east end of Blount Island, near the mouth of the St. Johns River, where we could decide in the morning whether to travel by sea or by Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to St. Simons Island, GA.  This would depend upon the weather and sea conditions.  We left the marina before 15:00 in bright sunshine, expecting a rather slow trip because we would be traveling against the (flooding) incoming tidal current for most of the 12 miles distance.  The wind was strong from the north, so we got to have a power assist from the sail for about half the distance.  All was going well until we got to the Dames Point Bridge, at the western end of Blount Island.  The weather abruptly changed to a thunderstorm with cold, torrential rain.  On top of that, there was a dredge operating in the channel there and tugs and barges maneuvering in the area, so we both had to be on deck and alert to the many dangers.  The farther east we traveled the more severe the rain, until we reached our anchorage, soaked and freezing cold, at about 18:00.  We quickly set the anchor and went below (nautical term for "inside our boat's cabin") to strip off our wet clothing and find something warm and dry to wear, and get some warm food to eat.  In spite of the weather, we had reached our objective and made 12 nautical miles of progress toward Chesapeake Bay.

Lyn prepared some warm chili over a bed of rice while we both listened to "Tall Tails NOAA" for a weather forecast update.  The forecast called for low temps of 40 degrees F by morning, and a daytime high of only 60 degrees F on Thursday.  The predicted wind was 20 knots from the northwest, with seas building to 3 to 5 feet.  We decided to start out in the ICW and kept open the option to go to sea at St. Mary's inlet (at the northern border of Florida) if the wind didn't strengthen as predicted.  We prefer to travel at sea, because when the weather is favorable, it is far easier and safer.  The ICW has many shallow spots and is narrow in many locations, so the helmsperson has to be very attentive all the time.  In contrast, at sea, the water is deep and one normally has to set a straight line course to the next objective, and the autopilot and take care of the steering for most of the trip.  But it is not very pleasant to be at sea when the weather is bad, so the ICW is an alternative.

We awakened at 06:45 on Thursday to a chilly morning.  It was indeed about 40 degrees outside and only about 55 degrees inside.  Wednesday evening we had decided not to leave the warmth of our cabin to start the generator, and felt we could withstand the chilly conditions of the morning.  We dressed in our woolies with lots of layers, and got underway by 07:30.  There was an annoying alarm buzzer that normally stops when the engine oil pressure comes up after starting, but today it would not quit.  Peter checked the engine oil and the level was fine and there was no sign of any leakage into the bilge, so we decided the sensor was bad and we could deal with it at St. Simons Island - today's destination.  Meanwhile Peter muted the incessant beeping by folding up a towel and placing it over the buzzer.  By 08:00 we had entered Sister's Creek and hailed the drawbridge there to get an opening. The trip through the ICW had a couple of white knuckle experiences as the water depth shallowed out to below 6 feet (near Sawpit Creek, and again in Jekyll Creek, at high tide!).  When we got to the St. Mary's inlet, we noted that the wind had strengthened and seemed more northerly, so we decided to stay in ICW for the whole trip.  We were able to motor sail for about 2.5 hours during the 11.5 hour trip.  We thought we might be ahead of the "snowbirds" returning to Canada and northern US, but weren't sure until today.  After traveling all day (11+ hours) we were passed by 1 powerboat heading north, period.  The marinas at Fernandina Harbor and Jekyll Creek were quite empty, as is the Golden Isles marina at St. Simons Island, where we are now resting having made 60 nautical miles of additional progress.

Bird real estate pecking order.

Lyn bundled against the cold.

Along the ICW, Lyn photographed an interesting phenomenon of bird behavior.  It seems the white pelicans take the high ground, the brown pelicans have the middle ground, and the anhingas get the waters-edge.  She took this photo through the eyepiece of stabilized binoculars.

Today, Friday, was devoted to discovering and correcting the real cause of the oil pressure alarm.  Peter took out the engine manuals and was able to locate where on the engine the oil pressure switch is located.  Inspecting visually confirmed that one of the two electrical connection tabs had broken off after 10 years of engine vibration, so we needed a new oil pressure switch.  The marina has a loan car available, and a quick trip to the local NAPA parts store produced a suitable replacement.  So we can enjoy a cool afternoon at St. Simon's Island today before starting the next leg tomorrow.  Based on the forecast, it looks like we will be another day in the ICW, and there is a pretty good chance of thunderstorms.