#svsensei

[delmarquart-blog]

We move to a new anchorage every night. A typical night consists of prepping dinner in the cockpit, cooking (and sweating) in the hot galley, and taking in the sunset😊🌅⛵<\p>

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Provisioning for our first jump offshore!

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Steppin’ out

07/02/16 Brad writes:

We arrived in the Beaufort, South Carolina downtown marina two days ago, which gave us all a much needed shoreside retreat.  We used a mooring ball near the marina because it’s more cost effective at $20 per day vs ~$60-80 per day to tie off to the dock.  This has been a typical amount, and usually provides amenities like access to a laundry room (which are then coin fed), air conditioned bathrooms with hot showers, and a theoretical wi-fi internet connection (which didn’t reach our mooring position).  Mooring balls are also generally much less likely to drag while under strain from wind or current, so there’s a security benefit also.  

Anyway, time to do laundry, take hot showers, complete a few boat projects, clean out holding tanks, buy diesel fuel, top off batteries, top off water tanks, buy groceries, stash groceries in various nooks all over the boat, and eat some local food at a nearby restaurant (Plum’s had awesome low country boil!), all while traveling back and forth to the dock on a dinghy.  It sounds silly that we didn’t get much sightseeing done over the course of two days in a cool old town with history back to the 1700s, but we got so busy getting ready for our next big challenge that seeing the sights had to take a backseat.  The buildings and houses we did get to see were incredible, and many in the downtown area predate the Civil War.  John informed us that the Union quickly overran the city near the start of the war, so there were no large battles or naval bombardments to destroy the now-antiquities.  At least we did see more dolphins in the river while working up on the bow.

Sorry, “working”.  The manatee count still stands at zero.

Prior to arriving in Beaufort, we had already been eyeing the Port Royal Sound as a strong candidate exit from the Intracoastal Waterway into the Atlantic Ocean.  Many of the other sounds we had crossed had potentially dangerous shoals and breakers extending far into the ocean.  Port Royal Sound has a good reputation for being straightforward, and would allow us to skip ahead up the coast past poorly maintained canals near Charleston.  The weather window was the last part of the puzzle, and we agonized over the coastal forecast for probably four days prior to today.  Each day, a slightly different wrinkle would appear and make us revisit our plans, which went from go to no-go and finally back to go yesterday.  Currently, the forecast for tomorrow suggests 10-20 knot winds mostly from the south southwest, which will give us points of sail from a broad reach to running.  Storm chances are small.  Waves (seas) are predicted to be 2-4 ft (Lisa says “double it”).  Sooooo, we’re off early tomorrow morning!!  First off-shore sailing!  First Atlantic Ocean sailing!  First overnight sailing!  First time on watch!  We’re ready and excited to get underway, and Kristi and Lisa have been busy working on quick meals for the trip while I recaulked the hatch above our V-berth and John cleared and tied things down to the deck.  We took a break for burritos and beer in the cockpit:

Tonight we’re anchored in a good staging area near the sound.  We’ll get the next update out sometime after we arrive in the Cape Fear River on July 4, and we hope everyone is having a great Independence Day weekend!

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Another storm rolled in today after we set the anchor at Cowen Creek, SC.

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Goodbye Georgia, Hello Carolinas

6/29/16 Kristi writes:

Yesterday we left Georgia waters behind and made it into South Carolina, still traveling along the ICW. We’ve lost track of how many dolphins we’ve seen on this trip, and yesterday we had record sightings, with one even breaching out of the water repeatedly just ahead of us! 

After covering 32 miles in 7 hours yesterday, we nestled in to a remote anchorage right off the ICW, just southwest of Hilton Head Island. This anchorage marked 200 miles since we started in Jacksonville. As of today it’s been 1 week that we’ve been making way, and it’s pretty exciting to see how far we’ve come. 

Last night we sat through a wild thunderstorm. We closed all the hatches as the storm rolled in and zipped ourselves into the cockpit for an awesome lightning show. I haven’t seen a storm like that since living in Kansas. This was a little different than watching from inside the garage like my family used to do. This storm had lightning striking in every direction around us and I couldn’t help but squeal when they got a little close! Not to worry too much though, Brad and I did our research and read that if the boat did get struck by lightning, the most damage it would do is kill the electronics (not us). The best way to avoid this would be to anchor, turn off the boat (both of which we did) and disconnect all electronics. Good to know. 

Today we made it to Cowen Creek, a tributary just north of the Port Royal Sound. Another storm started building as we came into the anchorage. Thankfully we got everything secured before the storm came through. It’s currently passing over us while we stay hunkered down in the salon, enjoying a late lunch. It’s cooled off enough with this rain that we’ve decided to make tonight’s dinner out of fresh baked bread and the “Traveler’s Stew” MRE given to us by Mom & Dad Marquart. Yum! 

Tomorrow morning we will have a short, 8 mile ride up the river to reach the Downtown Marina of Beaufort, SC. After several days of free anchorages and “roughing it,” we are excited to pick up a mooring for the shared cost of $20/night, which includes use of AC showers & laundry facilities (woohoo!), complimentary wifi (saves on cellular data usage) and gated entry (very safe) right “in the heart of one of South Carolina’s oldest and most beautiful cities.” It’s time to get off the boat, stretch our legs, and hopefully find some good local seafood. It’s shrimping season here in the south, so I am on a mission. 🍤

While sitting comfortably in Beaufort, we plan to wait for a weather window so we can take a break from the meandering rivers of the ICW and finally get to sailing up the Atlantic east coast! We are all itching to let these sails out and we’ve heard that the Port Royal Sound outside of Beaufort is our ticket…so stay tuned!  

“To reach a port we must sail - sail, not tie at anchor - sail, not drift.“ - Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Horses and dolphins and gators, oh my!

6/25/2016 Kristi writes:

After leaving Fernadina Beach, FL Thursday morning, we opted for a short trek up the Cumberland River when we read about a nearby anchorage where wild horses, dolphins and alligators could be seen. 14 miles and 3 hours later, we dropped anchor at Plum Orchard Plantation on the west side of Cumberland Island. This river inlet wound back into a peaceful oxbow we had all to ourselves, tucked away from civilization, it seemed.

At first I was skeptical that we’d actually see the wildlife others claimed was so prevalent there. I’m happy to say I was wrong! We were greeted with wild horses coming down to the shore to eat grass shortly after dropping anchor.

Brad and I jumped in the kayak to get a closer look. When we got to shore, the horses had moved up into a wide open field in front of a large white plantation house and were grazing. The trees surrounding the property were adorned dramatically with Spanish moss. Our first stop in Georgia was the epitome of Southern Charm.

We didn’t wander too far into the island because we found that there was a National Park fee of $4 (honor system), and we boat bums didn’t have any cash on us. We took a short stroll on the muddy banks of the shore before heading back to the boat and saw hundreds of small hermit crabs, and one very large, dead horseshoe crab. Across the river on the opposite shore, we spotted two pink flamingos pecking at the ground. Their soft pink feathers were an easy contrast to spot against the brown, muddy banks. They almost seemed out of place (but I guess I’m more used to seeing them as plastic ornaments on bright green lawns). ;)

Back in the kayak we also encountered 1000’s of jumping crustaceans of some sort. I scooped my hand out and easily managed to catch one that we could inspect. It had a shrimp-like face with those beady black eyes and pointy antennae, but the rest of its body was clear like a fish and without appendages, about 1-2" long. Who knows!

Once we climbed back aboard Sensei and started to stow the kayak, we looked back near the shore we had just been wandering and spotted two small alligators, each about 3’ long. Glad they waited for us to leave to come ashore!

We’d almost checked everything and more off the list of wildlife ‘we might see’ when a sudden large splash brought us all topside for a dolphin show! A solo bottlenose dolphin was feeding along the shore, probably making a supper out of the little jumping critters we’d seen earlier. We watched in awe for about 30 minutes as he whipped his fluke around in the shallows while fish sprung out of the water randomly in efforts to flee!

After our own supper of grilled cheeseburgers, we settled in for the night and were lightly rocked to sleep by a wild hum of frogs, crickets and cicadas. A peaceful end to a fulfilling day.

In the morning we woke to lively birds singing in the trees and chirping in the marshes. Just before we pulled up anchor to leave, we saw yet another alligator and dolphin pass by with inquiring eyes. I couldn’t help but feel like we were guests in their house, on the verge of overstaying our welcome. It was time to thank them for their hospitality and head out.

We made it to St. Simon’s Island, GA yesterday afternoon and dropped anchor in front of a cute little church. The glorious sound of church bells could be heard playing songs as the sun set, and again in the morning. 'America, the Beautiful’ never sounded so charming. We weren’t close enough to get a sharp picture of the church, but I caught this one through the binoculars that I like to remember this spot by.

Tonight we’ve made it 30 more miles up the ICW to an anchorage along Crescent River, GA. It looks as though a storm might be rolling in so we’re battening down the hatches!

Although we have a ways to go, Plum Orchard has been our favorite anchorage so far. It is humbling and exciting to get to explore these beautiful slices of nature that are only accessible by boat! I’m looking forward to the gradual change of scenery and wildlife we’ll experience as we make our way north, one anchorage at a time.

“Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” -Albert Einstein

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We were treated to a beautiful sunset yesterday evening after making it safely from Jacksonville to Fernadina Beach, FL. 😍⚓️🙏🌅

[delmarquart-blog]

I Go To Come Back

6/21/2016 Kristi writes:

When I lived in the Virgin Islands back between 2004-2009, I learned from locals the value of a warm greeting. In the Caribbean, your best chance at obtaining mutual respect (and good karma) is to begin all interactions with “good mornin,” “afternoon,” or “good night!” You won’t get very far or make many friends in the islands without a positive demeanor and a little common courtesy.

West Indians love to cut their greetings into little quips too. One of my favorites parting phrases was, “I go to come back!” This phrase came to mind yesterday after we threw off the lines, stowed the fenders, cleared the deck and began to make way north. We waved goodbye to the giant water towers of the JAX Naval Airspace and all shouted “Hurray! Here we go,” in one form or another.

Not two minutes out of the harbor we realized something was wrong. The transmission would not push past idle in the forward position. RPM’s would rev up fine in neutral and reverse, but we couldn’t get any forward throttle. Bummer! So, we turned around and took her right back to the dock to start digging into the issue.

The good news is we had a very smooth practice leaving the dock and returning in moderate wind. The bad news is we’re still stumped on this throttle puzzle. Making the best of the situation, I joked to Brad that we “go to come back!” Seemed fitting. He just gave me this look (half laughing, half sad face):

Currently, John is in dive gear working under the boat to clean off the critters that might have accumulated on the prop over the last month while Brad is in the water too, scrubbing algae and barnacles from the hull.

John and Lisa brought Sensei into this slip a month ago and haven’t moved her since we set out yesterday. She was fine when she came here, so we’re hopeful that a little bottom cleaning will do the trick. John has pretty much tried everything else. We’ll see…

“Ships and seamen rot in harbor: a glib phrase but a true one.” -Dudley Pope