Reflections

The torn and tattered America's Great Loop Cruisers' flag.

Over the last months, I've had the opportunity to look back and reflect on the good days and the not so good ones.  There were so many fantastic times that I experienced in the last 38 years and I just knew that there were going to be many more.  Think about how many times you have heard the words "there are no guarantees" - just like me you probably said that's right and moved right on.  Then suddenly, life happens in front of you and all of those things that weren't possible are there in your face.  Your entire world is off it's axis and nothing makes sense.  All of the dreams and plans that you, as a couple, had made are gone.  Everything that you had done to achieve those dreams is sudden seems worthless.  So now, what is the future supposed to be?

Some of you know that Regina and I met on a blind date in 1981.  It was a date that neither one of us jumped at the opportunity to go on, but it happened and we met.  She was 21 and lived in Winter Park, Florida.  I was 33 and lived in Germantown, Maryland.  Can you say long distance relationship!  For some reason, she was attracted to me.  And for me, there was no question, she was beautiful, exciting and fun.  Her personality was larger than life and she could fill a room all by herself.  We were married in December 1982 and we both liked to do the same things which made our partnership easy.  Everyone one loved to be around Regina and I got to be with her everyday.  That doesn't mean every day was perfect, but the good days way out numbered the ones that weren't.  She was very special and we had great times together.

Anniversary celebration

Regina was able to retire from IBM in 1999 and she would tell me that she was just waiting for me so that we could start having fun.  That day got close until the recession of 2008 which seriously impacted my business.  We worked hard together for the next three years until things finally turned around, but it took until June 2017 before I could also retire and we were excited to be able to start doing the things that had been planned for so long.  RPA threw an unbelievable "Bon Voyage" party for us with many of our friends and family there for the celebration.  Brittany's wedding at Disney World came before we would start our travels.  That was a wonderful time and Regina was over the moon for Brittany to be so happy and to have so many of for our friends there for the ceremony and reception. 

Bon Voyage!

Disney World Wedding!!

We left Marietta just a few weeks later to begin the Great Loop Trip on our boat.  The loop circles the eastern half of the USA by water and we had planned this adventure for several years.  This was the first of many things to do which included cruising the Bahamas, the US Open, Wimbledon, going back to Hawaii and possibly Australia.  The dream ended half way through the loop at Herrington Harbour, Maryland.  That's where we got the diagnosis of melanoma that sent us back to Atlanta.  Even  this setback had an 80% chance of success and I refused to accept the thought of anything else.  Regina told me that I couldn't do that and I now, everyday, wonder how much more she just "knew" than she shared with me.  I know how much she suffered with the treatments and what the doctors told us.  I don't know why those doctors didn't stop the treatments before the drugs killed her.  Yes, the immunotherapy worked to kill the cancer, but she couldn't tolerate the side effects and it took her life.  That pretty much took mine too because all of those years of being with my girl and making plans suddenly went away.  

I know that I will continue to reflect on the past and what should have been.  All the "experts" say that you shouldn't do that, but the 20/20 look into the rear view mirror won't go away.  There are lots of jokes about how architects know something about everything, but for me, medicine certainly wasn't one of those things.  If only I had known more about what the signs meant, could the outcome be different?  This is difficult because I had to trust the doctors and, in that rear view mirror, I think they may failed to do their best to save Regina's life and that cannot be undone.  

If you have followed this blog, you know about us buying the boat, preparing for the Great Loop, looping and the unlooping.  After returning to Chattanooga, I did all the basic maintenance on the engines and transmissions and continued on up river to Knoxville.  I found a spot in the Vol Navy to dock the boat.  I was here to celebrate my Mom's 102nd birthday!  The football season has not started the way that any of us had hoped, but we VFL's continue to hope that things will improve.  I know that Regina would be suffering as much as I am as the struggles continue.  She adopted Tennessee, my fraternity brothers, their wives and kids as her own.  It was mutual and we all had wonderful times together.

Just a few of the many times we had with UT friends.

At this point, I've been living on our boat for a bit more than a month.  It's better than being at home, in the room where she took her last breath, but it's still not like it was.  There are times when I do things with my friends here in Knoxville and I get to spend time with my Mom that I couldn't do as we went through the surgeries and treatments.  I had hoped that there would be more folks around in the Navy, but that hasn't been the case.  The boat fire the first weekend has changed much of what had been "normal" on the docks here.  All I can hope for is that somehow there will come a day where life will return to something beyond a reflection.  Maybe I can still do the Great Loop trip that we had planned as well as some of the other adventures.  It's just a bit overwhelming to try to figure it out again at this point when things were supposed to be on autopilot.

An omen??

My spot under the bridge.

There are certainly life lessons that have been etched in stone from all that has happened.  I will tell you to enjoy everyday as if it were your last - it might be!  Take care of yourself.  A mole that had been biopsied and reported as benign killed Regina.  Don't be confident that everything is okay if things begin to look or feel a little different.  If you have a dream and you can pursue it, don't put it off any longer than necessary - your chance may pass you by.  The clock cannot be turned back.  Each minute that passes is gone and will not return.  We all know these things are true, but all too often we don't follow these rules.  I'm going to try to do better and I hope you will too.


This may be the end of the Float my Boat blog - I'm just not sure that there is anything left for this story.  I know I'll always remember the good times that I wrote about and, hopefully, so will you.  Let's try to keep our reflections focused on those.

Unlooping - Days 29 - 32 and done!

Midway nightfall

On the 29th day, we left Columbus Marina early as usual.  The plan only had us going about 70 miles, but we had four locks to do.  I always make a phone call to the lock before we are even close to find out their status and hopefully get them to be set up for our arrival.  Success rate is probably 75 - 25 and today is no exception.  Aberdeen is first and we had to wait for the lock to be reset us us to go upbound.  After that, Armory, Wilkens and Fulton were ready and waiting for us to go right on through.  This got us to Midway Marina earlier than usual and even after fueling and pumping out the holding tank, there was time to do some cleaning.  I worked on the isinglass enclosures around the stern of the cockpit.  The days of being blasted with salt water had them so dirty that you could barely see out.  After washing and treating with Plexus, they may not look like new, but the difference is dramatic!  Afterwards, we took the courtesy car and went into town to Legends Sports Bar for dinner and even got to hear local country band play Rocktop!!  Wonder how they picked that song?!?  Todays track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1638460/

Midwayfrom the waterway

going up the Divide Cut

From Midway Marina, the next day was a run on to Florence Harbor Marina which means we are now on the Tennessee River.  But before we get there, three more locks must be completed.  I called Rankin before even starting the engines because that lock is only four miles away.  He told me to wait and plan to arrive at about 8:15 so we had some breakfast and then started on our way.  The tow and his barge were coming out of the lock as we arrived and we went right in behind him.  After that, Montgomery and Whitten locks were waiting to take us right through.  Just above Whitten Lock is Bay Springs Lake which is a nice, wide, pretty embayment from the dam.  It's a Saturday morning and there are a few boats and fishermen out on the lake, for a late summer day, probably about as expected.  This lake is pretty good size and we enjoyed the ride up to what is called the Divide Cut.  The Tennessee-Tombigee is more or less a ditch that goes from Mobile Bay to the Tennessee River at a spot where Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama come together.  All of the waterway right up to the Divide Cut looks like a real river bank but the 25 miles here are a ditch - basically 200 feet wide, straight and lined with rock rip-rap - not a pretty place.  Now where would you expect to find all of the weekend boaters?  For sure not here, right??  Wrong!!  It looked like Cypress Gardens doing a water ski show!!  After that stressful stretch, we reached the Tennessee at about 1 PM and enjoyed and empty waterway all the way to Florence.  Todays track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1638467/

Florence Harbor

Wilson Lock

Early Sunday morning. I called Wilson Lock as I watched a tow go past the harbor entrance.  The lock master said "come on down" and you can go right through.  I got the boat started up and Allen had everything unhooked from shore quickly.  We zipped up and got the 95 foot vertical lift up to Wilson Lake.  As big as that dam is, it's only 20 miles to Wheeler Lock and Dam.  Wheeler was ready and there was no waiting there.  Wheeler Lake goes on for many miles until reaching Guntersville Lock.  All of the lakes were almost empty of boaters which is great for us to cruise at our optimum speed of about 17.5 mph.  The stop for the night was Guntersville Marina.  We got in and had a little time to cool off from yet another 95+ degree day.  Dinner was at Wintzell's Oyster House.  Todays track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1640565/

Guntersville sunset

Day 32 is the last day of the trip to get back to Chattanooga and it started with BUGS!!  I opened the door to the cockpit to start taking things outside and every surface of the entire cockpit is covered with little green flying gnat-like bugs!`  Bug cleaning became the first job of the day and it continued even as we continued the cruise on upriver.  There are only two locks to do today.  The first is Nickajack which is about 3 and a half hours upstream.  Monday means not too many people are out on the water so the trip up to the lock is easy.  Of course that means something else is in store, so when arriving at the lock we discover they are having an unscheduled maintenance inspection, there is a boat upstream waiting to come down and we would be next after that.  The inspectors went to lunch, the other boat came down and we finally got to lock up after about a 30 minute wait.  The trip from there to Chattanooga is a beautiful ride through what is called the "Grand Canyon of Tennessee" then comes the Chattanooga waterfront and about 8 miles on to Chickamauga Lock.  The lock was waiting on us and it was a quick ride up then a right turn into the same marina where we were before the Loop Trip.  I found my new slip and backed in.  Almost as soon as that was done, the skies opened up and for the next hour rain poured and lightening  flashed!  What a way to end the trip!!  After that finally ended, Allen, Debby and I went to Tony's for some really good Italian food.  Todays track and pics -  https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1641792/

Tucked in at Chickamauga

The last sunset

Unlooping - Days 26 - 28

Time to say goodbye to Lulu's

It's been a few days since we had any wifi available.  Besides not being able to work on the blog, I can't update charts and often not even weather reports can be checked.  It actually began right after we left Lulu's and entered the Mobile Bay.  That day was very nice and the bay was relatively smooth.  There were lots of commercial fishing boats in the water, several large freighters and even a two dredges.  A fuel stop was required at Dog River Marina because it's 119 miles up river before any more is available.  Going through the shipping channel at the top of the bay is always amazing.  There are all kinds of ships and there are a bunch of photos of them in the "track" link.  As we past the Mobile Convention Center, it was mile 0 of the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway as well as the official entry of the Inland Waterway System.  Today we will continue on up river another 64 miles to an anchorage called Three Rivers.  The entry off the waterway is a narrow, tree lined, channel which opens into a lake that provides a very protected, quiet spot to anchor.  It was a long day, but we are almost back into fresh water.  Today's track and pics -  https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1632617/

House available - Mobile Bay

Dog River fuel dock and office

Check out the birfs behind this fishing boat!!

The little "channel" on the left is the way back to the Tenn-Tom from Three Rivers

Day 27 took us on upriver to our first lock at Coffeeville.  I called them long before we were too arrive to check their status and they said everything was good and come on up.  Maybe this was a sign of things to come, because when we arrived, they were suddenly doing maintenance.  Our conversation went back and forth as to when we were going to be able pass.  I guess we got lucky and they paused some operation for us to be able to lock up with only a slight delay.  Right after the lock is Bobby's Fish Camp which is our fuel stop.  I tried calling on the VHF and got no reply so I switched to the cell phone.  Apparently, since this wasn't a "cooking day" no one actually stays at the location.  After about 10 minutes of wandering what was going on, Bubba pulled up on his green tractor and turned on the pump for us.  We added enough fuel to get us to Demopolis where we would stop for the night.  It's 95 miles from Bobby's to the lock at Demopolis and I pushed up our speed to cover the distance as quickly as possible.  As always, I talked to the lock to let them know we were on the way and to find out about any anticipated delay.  They told me it should be fine, but there was one tow setting up all afternoon to come down with barges and they didn't expect him soon.  Of course, as I got there, he was ready to come down and I was told we would have to wait.  The marina was expecting us so I had to notify them that we would be delayed when suddenly the lockmaster called and said we could come on ahead of the tow!  Today's track and pics -  https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1633964/

Heading out from Three Rivers

Sitting at Bobby's

We left Demopolis about 7:30 to go 4 hours to Heflin Lock.  I called ahead of time to do the usual check and learned that unscheduled maintenance was underway.  They told us to keep coming and we would see how things worked out.  I got there and was told to wait.  After 45 minutes of waiting with no updates, I called again and was told to "hold on" they would inquire again about status.  Another 15 minutes go by until I get the call to come on in and they would locked up.  After Heflin lock, we must travel another 40 miles to Tom Bevill Lock.  They were ready and waiting for us so we went straight in and locked up quickly.  This is a three lock day, so next comes Stennis Lock which is also right before our marina stop.  Stennis was also ready and waiting which was really nice after another long day.  We went into Columbus, MS for dinner tonight at Husker's.  Allen anf I both got catfish with white beans and They told us to keep andouille sausage - so good!!  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1634772/

Leaving Demopolis/Kingfisher Bay

White cliffs at Epes - look closely for the carved structure

Aleen is getting pretty comfortable with locking

Good night from Columbus Marina

Unlooping - Days 21 - 25

Day 21 is Wednesday, August 8, and Allen's first official day as first mate.  It was already steamy, hot when we left Sarasota at about 7:45 to move on further north.  I wanted to go to Tarpon Springs, but couldn't find a marina with a slip and diesel fuel so we went to Marker 1 Marina in Dunedin.  The ride through Sarasota Bay was smooth with few other boats out.  We entered the Gulf at the mouth of Tampa Bay and ran outside until we reached Clearwater Pass.  Then it was just a short run on up the GICW to the marina.  As usual, getting fueled up was the first requirement and today it is especially important to be sure the tanks are totally full - tomorrow is the crossing.  An old buddy of Allen's came to meet us there for dinner and a grocery run.  His name was also Jim and he had actually been on board the boat a few years ago at a Tennessee football game.  The evening ended pretty early so that we could be rested for an early morning.  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1625457/

The "crossing"

On the C-Quarters Dock

Crossing day is a stressful event and I'm not sure how well I actually slept and I was wide awake well before the sun was.  The coffee was ready and the engines were running and the boat was moving before the sun was over the horizon.  There are various weather forecast sites that I use to try to determine a "go/no go" decision.  We knew that basically today would be an okay day although it was going to be somewhat rough.  Seas were 1 to 2 feet off the port bow with the occasional 3 footer thrown in for a little more fun.  Because of this we had to slow down from the normal cruise speed to make the ride better.  This leg was 175 miles which took 12 hours to complete.  At least this time I knew how much fuel I had and we weren't freaking out at the thought of running out. Allen and I shared the driving duties which was great because I was tired and the autopilot can't be used in these conditions.  At about 6:45, we arrived at C-Quarters Marina in Carabelle, FL with about 25 gallons of fuel left in each tank!  We fueled up, washed off the salt, cleaned up and went to dinner at Fathoms.  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1626779/

The C-Quarters kitty is another that Regina played with while here.

After the long crossing day, I decided that we should have a short, fun day to make up for it so next was a two hour run over to Apalachicola.  But first, we went to breakfast and did a couple of loads of laundry.  I visited with Kim, the harbor master, to get more local knowledge of conditions after Hurricane Michael and then set up reservations for the next few days.  As we crossed the Apalachicola Bay it wasn't possible to forget about the day Regina and I spent on a shoal because of a missing marker.  That was a day that we could have done without, but at least we did no damage.  Our dock at Apalachicola was at the old ice house and only a couple of blocks from the center of town.  The first stop was the Oyster Bay brewery and then across the street to the Owl Restaurant.  Allen found a bunch of pilots there and the remainder of the evening was talk about boats and planes.  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1628283/

The Ice House dock

Part of downtown Apalachicola

Day 24 began by continuing on up the Apalachicola River to Lake Wimico then Searcy Creek and a left turn onto the Gulf County Canal which took us to Eagle Harbor off Port St. Joe.  It was back into the Gulf again, but today was a much better ride than on crossing day.  That doesn't mean smooth, but it sure was a lot better.  We ran about 8 miles off shore along the Emerald Coast to Destin.  Coming into Destin was more exciting than necessary.  Today is Sunday and everyone who owns or can rent a boat is in the inlet and the harbor.  They are also going in every possible direction with no regard for anything around them and in the middle of all this, the US Coast Guard is also cruising the channel.  Here our overnight stop was at Harbor Docks which is really not a marina - just a small place to tie up for the night.  It's also a restaurant that specializes in seafood and shrimp was the choice of the day.  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1630332/

A real fixer upper!

This is Harbor Docks

I'm feeling pretty small here!

Goodbye Destin.

Our next run was going to be another, and the last, one in the Gulf.  Coming back out of Destin Harbor was nothing like Sunday afternoon.  We stopped for fuel and then went back out the inlet into the Gulf.  Today the water was smooth and calm unlike the last legs in the Gulf - in fact, this was the only smooth ride we've had on this side of Florida!  I ran along about three miles off shore until we reached Perdido Pass to come back inside.  Literally at that point, it was a left turn right onto the GICW and on down to Homeport, AL where Lulu's restaurant is located.  In case you don't know, Lulu is Jimmy Buffet's sister and rumor has it that he sometimes shows up here.  Regina and I had a big time here and bought out the gift shop so a return trip couldn't be missed.  I'm sure we will have a big time and a good dinner tonight before going into Mobile Bay tomorrow morning.  From there, it's just a few miles up the Bay and we will enter the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway which leads to the Tennessee River.  Getting close to home!!  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1631352/

The Gulf is flat!!

Arrival at Lulu's!!

Unlooping - Days 16 - 20

The little kitten that Regina played with at City Marina is still here.

New Smyrna Beach is a bitter sweet stop.  It's been just over a month and a half since we were all here for Regina's Celebration of Life, but there was no way we could go by with seeing her cousin Laurie and her husband Woody.  Day 16 started early for me.  I got up to start reworking the trip plan to include all the changes that were made because of weather, maintenance and a too aggressive plan.  That took most of the morning and then Laurie came to pick up us.  We did a grocery run and then went over to her house to do laundry.  We had a fabulous dinner of salad, lasagna and a pistachio desert, all of which was just amazing!!  This was a good stop to catch up on things that are hard to do as we cruising.

NSB Yacht Club where we had Regina's Celebration

Day 17 started early so that we could go to a marina to get fuel.  When this was done we pulled out, circled back around the NSB harbor and continued on south.  The areas just below NSB have a lot of slow and no wake zones so the beginning of the trip was not too fast.  As we got further down Mosquito Lagoon, I was able to run faster and there very few other boats out today.  Sunday would normally be a pretty busy day on Florida waters, but the weather forecast wasn't too good for the afternoon.  Maybe all those other folks were smarter than me, but we've already lost a bunch of days and the forecast was for rain and scattered thunderstorms - nothing ominous!  Well, not so fast my friends, we hit the first rain storm at about noon and even though it was almost impossible to see, the storm didn't last all that long and it cleared up, the sun was back out and there were still no other boats out.  That lasted for about an hour.  The sky to the west had been getting darker when pretty quickly the bottom fell out.  Rain was so heavy that, in USAF terms, we were going IFR.  The radar was no help because it just showed the rain mass.  My iPad running Navionics had our course to follow.  That kept us in the channel, but now the lightening began big time.  There were strikes all around us and the thunder sometimes actually shook the boat.  When this all finally ended, we were only about 25 minutes from the Suntex Marina at Vero Beach.  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1620838/

Rainbow after the day's storms.

Vero sunset

The next leg takes us on down to Stuart, Florida which is the entrance to the Okeechobee Waterway to cross the state to Fort Myers.  It's only about 50 miles down to the next marina to stage for an early morning departure on Tuesday.  I couldn't remember what this section of the waterway was like and it was a pleasant surprise with it being open allowing us to cruise without a lot of slow zones.  Getting back to Sunset Bay marina is a couple of "U" turns through some fairly shallow areas.  In fact, TowBoat US hangs out in the area just to be ready to drag boats off of the sand bars.  I knew about these areas so he didn't get any business from me!  We got to the marina and topped off the tanks to be ready for the run across the state.  As soon as that was done and we got into our slip, the rains came and lasted all afternoon.  At least we're not having to wash the boat!  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1622214/

August 6 is Day 19 of the trip and it's Okeechobee crossing day.  I've heard lots of stories about how bad it can be going over the lake - it's rough, waves are huge, it's so shallow you will drag bottom, there are rocks on the bottom, etc.  Most of these things are true, at times, and others I think you would just have to use very bad judgement to experience.  I found the website where the lake levels are published daily and it also gives weather forecasts just for Lake Okeechobee.  This day had everything hoped for,  the lake is full, the weather is calm and the lake is smooth.  We left at first light and headed down the St Lucie Canal to the first of five locks and the entrance to the lake.  There were very few boats out today and we were able to go fast (18 mph) most of the way.  It was a long day and we reached Fort Myers at 5:15 just in time to get hit with non-stop rain for the rest of the evening.  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1623473/

St Lucie lock

Lake Okeechobee looks a little like the ocean

Approaching Fort Myers

Before we could leave Ft Myers, we had to put fuel in the boat.  It was raining when we arrived so doing fueling in the rain is a no go.  It takes time and water is not a good thing for diesels.  The marina opened at 8 AM and we were waiting on them so we could get under way to go to Sarasota.  The trip will take us down the Caloosahatchee River (just try to say it, doesn't have to be fast) to San Carlos Bay and then Big Pine Sound from there we go out Boca Grand Pass into the Gulf.  Just before going into the Gulf, I had this thought that I should check with the marina about Big Sarasota Pass where I planned to go back into the ICW.  Good thing I did because they told me all the markers had been removed and this was not a good place to use so we quickly re-planned to go into Venice Inlet and up the ICW to Sarasota instead.  The Gulf was supposed to be flat today but the forecast was a bit off as it was more like 1 - 2 feet.  The ride up was a bit rough and the entry at Venice could have been an attraction at the county fair!  There were boats fighting the breakers to get out as I was trying to come in and the pass was not all that wide.  The rollers grew to about 3 feet and we rocked and rolled our way in, then just as quickly, the water smoothed out behind the break water and it was done.

It's a Ft Myers morning.

From Venice up to Sarasota was just a short 17 mile run.  There was some traffic but really not too bad.  My old friend, and fraternity brother, Allen was waiting there to relieve Rob after his three weeks on-board.  I am so glad Rob was able to do this trip with me and I believe the Army man actually enjoyed being a sailor - not that there is any portion of that to say he now could tolerate Navy!  He became quite proficient at his duties as first mate so now Allen has to get up to speed quickly.  Rob's friends Mike and Mary came to pick him up at the marina and visit the boat.  Mary brought us about 4 dozen cookies and a bottle of wine!  We are set for several days!!  After touring the boat (about a 5 minute show), we all went to Columbia Restaurant for dinner.  This is an old Tampa,Ybor City, favorite and our Spanish themed dinner was excellent.  After dinner, Rob handed over his stripes to Allen and the change of duty was completed.  Blue Ayes is now going north and the Gulf crossing is coming.  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1624394/

Crew change!

Unlooping - Days 11 - 15

Early departure from Georgetown

Monday, July 29 is day 11 of this unlooping trip and it called for a long outside run to go from Georgetown, SC to Hilton Head Island.  Today's run was the longest single day trip I had made since crossing the Gulf on our initial voyage.  Running down the river from Georgetown was smooth and calm.  We went back into the ocean at the same inlet that we entered yesterday and that was another easy job.  There are remains of a seawall that go about 3 miles out into the ocean that we had to get passed and then it was pretty much a straight run that was 3 to 6 miles off the coast to the Southeast Inlet leading into Hilton Head Island.  This inlet starts nearly 7 miles out from the shoreline and is lined on both sides by very shallow shoals.  This whole section was pretty rough with swells rolling perpendicular to the inbound track, but it finally ended and we got back into the ICW leading to the marina.  I had a FedEx package waiting for me that had the access card to made my DirecTV receiver onboard work again!  Happy days - I have Atlanta stations to watch instead of the over the air local digital stations!!
Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1613002/

Arrival at Hilton Head

I think both of these are wrong, but it sure does look scary!!

Rob always wears his Army hat so I had Britt send my USAF cap.  Mine looks more like a Captain!!

Before we leave on the next leg of our trip, we stopped at the fuel dock to fill up and see how much was really left in the tanks.  I put 119 gallons in each tank so instead of what the gauges showed there was 31 left in each side.  With that done, our run today takes us to Tybee Island to see my old friend, buddy and former client Jimmy.  We're making a whole 20 mile run from Hilton Head to get there to see him so I'm sure he knows how special he is to rate a day with less than a 100 miles for a visit!  That's sort of a joke, but it will be nice to have a short day and relax with him.  When we arrived, it took a while to get everything done and a shower was definitely necessary.  Jimmy came to pick us up about 3:30 and we went over to his house to visit for a while.  Then we took a ride around Tybee and went into town after which was dinner at 80 East.  This is an excellent restaurant in an old gas station.
Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1614061/

Tybee Lighthouse

Wednesday, July 31 was day 13 of the trip.  We left Tybee at about 7:30 with our box of Krispy Kreme donuts from the marina!  How good does it get!!  We came down the Wilmington River to Wassawi Sound then into the Atlantic.  The forecast had called for light winds and 2 foot seas.  As the day began, we were catching some spray on the windows which lasted for a while until the seas went completely flat.  The majority of the day was just like that and all the way into Saint Mary's Inlet at Fernandina Beach where we turned onto the Amelia River headed to our destination.  This is going to be an effortless 115 mile run and a perfect day - wrong!!  It's day 13!!  So 2 miles away from our destination, in the middle of the channel with 10 feet of water - according to my Navonics charts - we hit the bottom and are aground.  A call to BoatUS has a tow boat coming to get us.  The tide is rising and we get eased off the shoal.  Amazingly nothing is damaged and our arrival at Amelia Island Marina is only delayed by 1½ hours.  The BoatUS captain tells me the charts have been wrong for years, but that's no help to someone who's not familiar  with the area.  Tomorrow I just have to get the rest of the way out of this area with uncharted shoals so we can get to the St John's River and continue south.  
Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1617277/

Tybee sunrise

Thunderbolt donuts!

On day 14, we continued the trip on south, past St Augustine and on to Hammock Beach Marina in Palm Coast, FL to see old dock mates from Chattanooga.  Barry and Fran had started the loop about a year after we had.  They were also going slowly down south, but they got caught by Hurricane Michael.  This was the storm that tore right into the panhandle of Florida and caused so much destruction.  They eventually worked their way around that and then began spending extended amounts of time at various locations and ultimately in Palm Coast.  We had a great visit and were treated to an excellent dinner of shrimp and steak.  Fran made chocolate chip cookies for desert and we all stayed up way passed our normal bedtimes talking and laughing.  It would have been nice to stay longer, but after a morning treat of almond croissants, Rob and I continued on our journey.

Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1617278/

There were sea birds following us along out in the ocean.

The Chattanooga boats side by side.

Departure from Hammock Beach

Day 15 was a relatively short trip to New Smyrna Beach.  We are stopping here for two days to visit with Regina and Rob's cousin Laurie and her husband Woody.  It was a cloudy, gray morning as we left and by the time we reached the north side of Daytona Beach, the rain was pouring down.  It didn't quit before we reached the City Marina in NSB so that meant docking in the rain.  All that was accomplished without much issue other than the getting quite wet part.  This is the first time in days that we have access to actual working wifi so I was finally able to update my navigation charts and download the ones needed for the remaining part of the return to Chattanooga.  Rob has an old biking friend coming by later so we'll visit with him before walking into town to find a location for dinner.  Today's track and pics - https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/1617279/

It was wet in City Marina!