11/12/22

 Who would have guessed we had to worry about a possible hurricane when arriving in Jacksonville, FL in November!  I guess hurricane season is not officially over until the end of November.  

It seemed most prudent to stay anchored behind Blount Island off the St. John's River near Jacksonville when we heard of the tropical storm that was forming in the Caribbean.  We had good protection from the NE winds which were supposed to be quite brisk for a few days ahead of the storm's arrival.  The first few days anchored here we dinghied to shore and enjoyed walking a several miles each day.  The sun was out and the weather warm.  Nice!  Our friends Ralph and Leslie from Now and Zen live on their catamaran near here and came by car to meet us for lunch.

Lunch at Palms Fish Camp with Leslie and Ralph

We took the bimini off the frame and made sure everything else on deck was put away or tied down.  We've been anchored in 60 knot winds before and even had a gust one time to 90 in the Chesapeake but never a storm with a name!  Our spare anchor, our Fortress aluminum anchor, was put together and on deck just in case we needed it. 

And then the wind started to pick up, Tropical Storm Nicole had formed turning into a hurricane as it reached the coast of south Florida on Wednesday.  There were only 4 other boats anchored nearby - lots of room so everyone had plenty of room to swing with the current and wind.

 3 days of wind in the 20 - 30 knot range with gusts to 40.  Lots of rain!  

We stayed onboard and worked on projects, played backgammon, read books and kept an eye on the weather forecast and conditions.  And then it was over.  Jerry took advantage of the rain that had collected in the dinghy to do his laundry!  

Jerry collects about 30 gallons of water in the buckets from the dinghy.

We had company!  Conor and Stephanie & dog Toby (who live here in Jacksonville) and Brandon and Dustyn (who are anchored next to us right now) came out for dinner aboard Persephone.  What a wonderful evening!  Lots of reminiscing about our time together during the beginning of Covid when we were all "isolated" in the Ragged Islands and lots of catching up since we last got together.  Nice!

Brandon and Dustyn sail "Ada" into the anchorage at Blounts Island.

  

Let's go back to the Ragged Islands!

Dinner aboard Persephone

Now we're ready for the next passage - a short hop from Jacksonville to Ft. Pierce!  You can follow our progress on the SPOT GPS (Thanks again Brian!) starting late Saturday or early Sunday.  Should be about a 36 hour sail.

Karen & Jerry

PS - Happy Birthday Dad!  83 tomorrow on the 13th!

11/5/22

Our questionable weather window leaving from NY turned out to be an opportunity to sail all the way to the Chesapeake.  The wind was tight on the nose from the WSW gusting to 25 until we sailed past Ocean City, MD where the wind clocked to the NW and we were able to ease the sheets.  Jerry always keeps a log when we're offshore.  I thought you might appreciate seeing it.

The log for our passage from Sandy Hook to Norfolk.

The roughest part of the trip was coming around Cape Charles into the Chesapeake Bay.  We happened to arrive at maximum ebb and the wind shifting to the SW - right on the nose again.  With the motor assisting we rounded the Cape slowly - with a 2 or 3 knot current we were crawling.  Sometimes only making 2 knots.  

The screen of our GPS showing how on a sailboat you can't always take the most direct course to your destination.  The dashed line is our path with the zig zags as we tack to get in.

Passing an interesting air boat on the Chesapeake.

Lots of shipping traffic coming into Norfolk.

You'd think we'd stop and anchor for the night after sailing for the last 2 days when we came in the Chesapeake.  Nope.  We continued on through Norfolk and down the ICW waiting an hour for a bridge to open for us and then going through the Great Bridge Lock.  Just after the sun set we pulled out of the lock and tied to a wall for the night at Great Bridge.  Then we had a good night's rest!!

We made our way south on the ICW leaving Great Bridge at 5:30 before the sun came up and in the fog navigating by instruments only.  Glad we had radar as we relied on that to see what was ahead!  We made our way over the next few days to Oriental, NC where we stayed at our friends, Donna and Jerry's, dock.  It's a hectic time of the year as they were trying to prepare their boat and acquire all the provisions to head to the Bahamas for the winter.  We were able to squeeze in a couple of dinners together, a couple of card games and helped with projects and loading the boat when we could.  Our hope was to be able to sail south together but when the weather window opened we had to go on by ourselves while Donna and Jerry continued with their organizing and packing.

It was a weather window with northerly winds - we were able to sail downwind all the way from Beaufort, NC to the St. John's River/Jacksonville, FL.  Jerry made scrumptious shrimp scampi one night for dinner.  The shrimp was fresh from a NC local shrimp trawler!  

An example of a shrimp trawler that was docked in Oriental.  I had to take a picture for my awesome great-niece, Kayden.

Another video: ocean sailing downwind with dolphins!

After 57 hours from Beaufort, NC we approached the inlet at Jacksonville.  Of course it happened to be maximum ebb again when we came in the inlet. The northerly swell rolled us around and slapped the side of the hull as we made our way in.   It was just before midnight with the moon lighting the water and warm temperatures.  And we had plenty of time to admire the sights as we motor sailed up the St. John's River at 2 - 4 knots depending on the strength of the current.  Looks like we'll be here for a week or so - there's a low pressure system churning just offshore that will bring rain and high winds along the entire SE coast.  We have a protected anchorage off the St. John's River behind Blounts Island with access to a public dock so we can get out to walk.  

And lastly - Thanks to my big brother, Brian, who is sponsoring the next 4 months of the SPOT GPS tracking.   When you click on that link above in the right hand corner say, "Thank you Brian!"