Updated on June 12, 2022
Northbound Spring 2022 through Florida to North Carolina
By late February we decided that it was time to leave Fort Pierce and head north. On March 4th, after stocking up on food and other essentials, we were underway for a quick 15-mile trip to Vero Beach. At Vero Beach, we refueled and them moored outboard of the sailing vessel “Compass Rose”, acquaintances from our experiences on previous cruises having moored outboard them before. On March 7th we left Vero Beach for the long leg north to St Augustine with stops at Titusville (March 8-10) and Daytona Beach (March 10-17). Titusville has a great, eclectic New Orleans style restaurant, Café Paradiso. We not only had a great meal, but stocked up on gumbo and etouffee to feast on during the upcoming week. And the owner gave Elena a ride to the marina to help bring the food to the boat. In Daytona, we changed the oil, oil filters, and fuel filters on our engine.
We planned to spend about a week in St Augustine, on the mooring ball starting on March 17th. St Augustine Marina runs a water taxi service. We did not even put the dinghy in the water. The marina asked us to move to another ball, l and we took the opportunity to go dockside to refuel and fill water tanks. We also took the opportunity to do some maintenance on the generator, including changing the oil, checking the fuel filter, cleaning the raw (cooling) water strainer, changing the anti-corrosion zinc, and changing the impeller on the raw water pump. We were planning on leaving on the March 25th, but the evil boat gremlins woke from their long nap to change our plans.
At 0730, Elena woke up to start breakfast. She immediately smelled smoke, like an electrical fire. I jumped out of bed and started looking for the source, thinking it was the high amperage cables located underneath the V-berth (bed) that run our onboard sewage treatment plant. No smoke there and no sign of problems. We opened up the lockers where Elena’s clothes are stored and immediately found the general source of the smoke. Emptying the locker of its contents, we finally found the source of the smoke and found the fire by searching with my fingers until I finally got burnt. The burning wires were embedded in fabric covering, wood and epoxy and difficult to get to. The wood was still glowing red by the time I dug out the exact spot.
To some extent the process of digging out the wiring inhibited finding the root cause. The wiring was of course original and not very flexible. There was a small nail in the immediate area which I suspect was implanted after original construction. If the nail touched the wires and rubbed against the wires, over time might have worn the insulation and caused the short. Of concern, the breaker did not trip, indicating that it was not a total short to ground. But nothing definitive was found, leaving a bit of a concern about a future problem.
Elena was concerned, so we stayed for another couple of nights to investigate further.
This fix was more work than I wanted to do on the mooring ball at St Augustine or at any of our short stops. We had a three day stop scheduled for Beaufort, South Carolina. I delayed the rewiring job until then.
In the end, I determined I would need to run new wiring from the panel to the lights, not a trivial job, requiring getting into the panel, removing a half dozen access panels, and installing bus bars to feed the five lights (two reading lights, two locker lights, and a light for a compass that sits on top of one of the lockers). In addition, I replaced one of the locker lights as the old one was just falling apart.
On the way, at the end of our Georgia leg, the engine ignition switch started to become a problem. On April 8th, the engine would not start easily at our last anchorage as we were trying to get underway. On April 11, while at Thunderbolt Marina, a major marine repair center near Savannah, the engine would not start as we again were trying to get underway. We decided that whatever the problem was, it needed to be fixed immediately.
I got on the phone with the manufacture of the panel who figured out that the manufacturer of the switch was no longer in business (it had been 20 years after all). I found a similar one on Amazon and had it delivered the next day (thank you Mr. Bezos).
It was a relatively easy fix, but Elena insisted on a professional. We were able to find one who came over late in the afternoon after we received the new switch and installed it in less than an hour. We were underway the next morning.
Our progress north was:
Florida– March 4th-April 2nd
March 4—Underway from Fort Pierce Florida. Arrived Vero Beach Mooring Field
March 7—Underway from Vero Beach Mooring Field. Anchored near Melbourne, Florida
March 8—Underway from Melbourne anchorage. Moored Titusville City Marina
March 10—Underway from Titusville City Marina. Moored Halifax Harbor Marina, Daytona Beach, Florida
March 11—Changed oil, oil filter, primary and secondary fuel filters on the engine
March 17—Underway from Halifax Harbor Marina, Daytona, Florida. With 2 knots of current, made 8.5 knots. Moored in St. Augustine Municipal Marina mooring field.
March 19—Went dockside, took on 22 gallons of fuel
March 21—Conducted generator maintenance. Changed oil, pencil anode, and raw water pump impeller
March 25—Expected to depart St. Augustine. Smoke and small fire in main cabin clothes locker. Remained on the mooring ball.
March 27–Underway from St. Augustine Mooring Field (Statute Mile 778). Anchored near Atlantic Blvd Bridge, Jacksonville Beach, FL (Statute Mile 745)
March 28–Underway, made 22 nautical miles to Fernandina Beach, FL (Statute Mile 717)
Georgia—April 2nd to April 13st
April 2– Underway from Fernandina Beach, FL, made 28 nautical miles. Arrived Jekyll Island, Georgia (Statute Mile 682)
April 4—Underway from Jekyll Island. Arrived at nearby St. Simon’s Island (Statute Mile 674)
April 6—Underway from St. Simon’s Island. Anchored North River, Georgia
April 7—Underway from North River. Anchored Kilkenny Creek (Statute Mile 613)
April 8—Engine did not start while trying to get underway from Kilkenny Creek. Eventually started after 10th attempt. Arrived Thunderbolt Marina, Georgia (Statute Mile 583)
April 11—While trying to get underway, engine would not start. Cancelled underway plans.
April 13—Switch repaired. Underway from Thunderbolt Marina. Anchored near May River off of Daufuskie Island, Hilton Head, South Carolina.
South Carolina April 13th to April 27th
April 14—Underway from May River. Using staysail made 7.2 knots on 20 knots of wind. Moored City Marina, Beaufort, South Carolina (Statute Mile 536)
April 15-19–Moored at Beaufort City Marina
April 20–Underway from Beaufort City Marina. Anchored outside of Watts Cut
April 21–Underway from Watts Cut. Anchored off of St John’s Yacht Club, Stono River, South Carolina
April 22–Underway from Stono River anchorage. Anchored off of James Island, (Fort Jackson) Charleston South Carolina (Statute Mile 467)
April 23—Underway from James Island anchorage. Anchored in Harbor River near Bull Bay, South Carolina
April 24—Underway from Harbor River anchorage. Anchored Eastern Entrance to ICW, Winyah Bay, South Carolina, near Georgetown, SC.
April 25—Underway from Eastern Entrance anchorage Transited up the Winyah Bay and Waccamaw River. Moored Wacca-Wachee Marina.
April 26—Underway from Wacca-Wachee Marina. Moored Myrtle Beach Yacht Club.
April 27—Underway from Myrtle Beach Yacht Club. Crossed into North Carolina. Moored South Harbor Village Marina, Southport North Carolina
North Carolina April 27th to May 15th
(includes videos)
April 29—Underway from South Harbor Village Marina. Made 25 nautical miles Anchored Banks Channel, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
April 30—Underway from Wrightsville Beach. Made 38 nautical miles. Anchored Mile Hammock, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (Statute Mile 243)
May 1—Underway from Mile Hammock. Made 38 nautical miles. Moored Morehead City Yacht Basin (Statute Mile 203)
May 2—Underway from Morehead City Yacht Basin. Made 21 nautical miles. Moored Oriental Marina and Inn, Oriental, Carolina. (Statute Mile 180)
May 5—Underway from Oriental Marina. Made 44 nautical miles. Moored Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, North Carolina (Statute Mile 132)
May 5-May 15–Stayed at Dowry Creek Marina due to weather. Winds out of the north 20-30 knots. Lots of rain.
May 16–Underway from Dowry Creek Marina. Anchored Alligator River. Observed “Super Flower Blood” moon and a luner eclipse. (“Super Flower” is a full moon in May and “Blood” is a red moon.)
May 17–Underway from Alligator River anchorage. Moored Coinjock Marina. Only a few more miles to Virginia
