East Coast Trip Summer 2022

                                   DAY NINE -- CUMBERLAND ISLAND TO JEKYLL ISLAND               A short day on the water, but a full day, nonetheless. We got up early and were underway by 0820. We were surprised to see that the big trawler anchored further up the Brickhill River had left. He must have started very early and snuck past us when we were still sleeping. We ran slow the entire twelve miles to the Jekyll Harbor Marina (1700 rpm, just 7-8 mph depending on the current) to enjoy the scenery and the quiet morning. Plus, the passage across St. Andrews Sound is a bit tricky, and we wanted to get it right.  We pulled up to the marina fuel dock just after ten, filled up with diesel and pumped out the holding tank. We took exactly 100 gallons, which meant we have averaged 1.47 mpg since our last fueling, so our fuel economy is running consistent.               We were in touch yesterday with friends from our (former) Oxbow neighborhood back in Indy who have a house on Jekyll Island a

                         DAY EIGHT -- FERNANDINA BEACH TO CUMBERLAND ISLAND             We got a late start today, but it didn't really matter because we didn't have far to travel. Our objective for the day was to spend some time at Cumberland Island National Seashore. We spent some time in the morning booking hotels and marinas for the rest of the week, then got underway just after 11. Forty-five minutes later we were anchored out in the bay between the two NPS docks at the south end of Cumberland Island. After lunch aboard we took the dinghy to the northernmost dock (the Sea Camp dock), which gives the closest access to the beach (a 3/4-mile walk). It was very warm and humid ashore, and Janet turned around and headed back to the dock after a bit. I made it to the beach, took some pictures and then headed back. (The first picture shows the walk through the oaks to the beach, and the second shows the beach looking south, where, if you look closely, you can see the paper mills a

                                     DAY SEVEN -- ST. AUGUSTINE TO FERNANDINA BEACH               Tom and Cathy rode on the boat with us today from the Camachee Cove Marina in St. Augustine up to the city marina in Fernandina Beach -- a run of about 59 miles. It was fun for them because they know the area and drive over the bridges and past the houses backing up to the Intracoastal that we got to see from the water.                 We left the Camachee Cove Marina at 9:45 and were docking at the Fernandina Beach City Marina at 2:15. We got to see a variety of scenery, including all the nice houses along Roscoe Road backing up to the Intracoastal, how the landscape changed to one of salt marshes starting around Jacksonville, an ocean-going oil tanker heading out to sea down the St. Johns River, a big traffic jam in the intracoastal north of the St Johns River with all the boats heading over to the beaches at Little Talbot Island State Park on Memorial Day Sunday (while fighting a strong

                                                                   DAY SIX -- PONTE VEDRA             Spent the day ashore with friends in Ponte Vedra. Tom and I played nine holes of golf while Cathy and Janet did some shopping to restock food and drink on Craunological II. Then we had a lovely dinner on the terrace at the TPC Sawgrass Club.                A very nice change to spend the day ashore. We offer special thanks for our host, Herbie! (And his people, Tom and Cathy.)

                                   DAY FIVE -- DAYTONA BEACH TO ST. AUGUSTINE                  Got underway at 0920 and ran up the intracoastal to the Camachee Cove Marina, just north of St. Augustine, where we arrived at 1335. This was the only marina I could find where we could dock for two nights -- I forgot about this being Memorial Day weekend. We are going to spend the next two nights with friends who live nearby in Ponte Vedra in order to do some laundry, buy some groceries, and enjoy some time ashore.               Our run was uneventful, except for running into a brief rain squall just pass Matanzas  Inlet at around 1230. The wind that has been blowing from the E or SE every day so far shifted to the SW today and brought some scattered thunderstorms. We saw them coming as we approached Matanzas Inlet, so we shifted to the lower helm and were prepared. The only issue was that the cabin was pretty hot because we were late in starting the cabin AC units.                We saw fiv

                                   DAY FOUR -- MELBOURNE TO DAYTONA BEACH               Weighed anchor a bit before 8:30 and ran non-stop to our destination -- the Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona Beach. (So named because the river/lagoon that runs from here down to Ponce Inlet is called the Halifax River.) The run through Mosquito Lagoon and up past New Smyrna Beach was very nice. The Mosquito Lagoon area is completely undeveloped and gives a sense of what this part of Florida was like "back in the day". It is part of a national wildlife preserve that resulted from federal government purchasing a huge tract of land in the early 60s to set up the space center at Cape Canaveral.                 The area around New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet had a nice mix of development and untouched beaches, swamps and mangroves. There is an older bridge at New Smyrna Beach that we got to see open for a nice vintage yacht that was running ahead of us. Most all of the bridges on the intraco

                                             DAY THREE -- STUART TO MELBOURNE               We got a slow start this morning. Filled up with diesel at the marina and left the fuel dock at 1030. Immediately ran into boats waiting for the railroad and highway bridges to open. The main line of the Florida East Coast Railway (built by Henry Flagler) runs right through Stuart and t rains went by regularly while we were there. Once the train passed the rail bridge opened and then the adjacent highway bridge.              It took half an hour to run from these bridges to the "crossroads" where the St. Lucie River and St. Lucie Inlet and the intracoastal waterway all intersect. This is at mile marker 988 on the intracoastal waterway, with Norfolk being mile zero. In many ways I feel like this is the start of our trip, as it is all new water from here to NYC. I took a picture of St. Lucie Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean to commemorate the occasion.             Our run up the intracoastal

                                   DAY TWO -- GLADES RV RESORT TO STUART           We got up early (around 7) but just putzed around for a while drinking coffee and catching up on old newspapers (the paper kind). Got underway at 0840. Passed through the Moore Haven Lock along with two other boats, then stopped at the famous Roland Martin's Resort and Marina to buy some diesel fuel ($6/gallon!) and listen to stories from the dockmaster, who has worked there for many years and is quite the character.  running the canal towards Moore Haven          With a strong east wind, we decided to forego crossing Lake O to get to the Port Mayaca Lock (in our previous crossings we have found Lake O to be a nasty body of water as it is shallow and muddy and ugly) and instead took the alternate (but longer) route along the south and east shores. This turned out to be a good decision, as the scenery was delightful,  and we got to see the bridge tender open the bascule bridge over to Torry Island by

                    DAY ONE -- NAPLES TO GLADES RV PARK & MARINA                                  (about 10 miles west of Moore Haven)             We left the dock at 0735, with a nice send-off by our friends Rick and Freda. The run up the coast to the entrance to the Caloosahatchee River was very quiet -- hardly any boats out at that hour on a Monday morning - -though we did see the big Key West catamaran heading out of Ft. Meyers Beach. The run up the Caloosahatchee was uneventful (until the incident at the Ortona Lock) and also very quiet. We only passed five boats underway all day.  heading out Wiggins Pass                                         tending the bow in the Franklin Lock          We ran into a major delay at the Ortona Lock, which is about 16 miles below the Moore Haven lock that lets you into Lake Okeechobee. This forced us to change our plans. We were making good time with our early start and were originally planning to stay at the infamous Roland Martin's Re

Today we prepared the boat for departure. The refrigerator is loaded with essentials, and the freezer has some meals that I prepared earlier. The refrigerator is not large, but we can easily restock along the way. The guest bunk is packed with our clothes and extra paper products. It all fit very nicely. We found plastic bins work well for clothes. Lids keep out the moisture and they can be stacked. We rolled our clothes, so we were able to bring more than we initially thought we'd be able to. John put some hooks in the guest bunk area for our life jackets and down vests. Easy access for these items is handy.  Our plan is to shove off at 0700. Sleep may not come easily tonight as we are both excited to begin this voyage.

                                             FIRST POST -- BACKGROUND INFO OUR QUEST To take Craunological II up the East Coast --safely and happily -- all the way to the Canadian border at Eastport, Maine. OUR VESSEL Craunological II is a Ranger Tug 31-CB of a traditional design sometimes called a pocket trawler. She was built in the Seattle area in the fall of 2021. She left the factory November 29th, delivered to the dealer in Ft. Meyers on December 13th, and we picked her up at the dealer on January 2nd. Her hull dimensions are 31' length, 10' beam and 2.5' draft. Overall length with the anchor pulpit and swim platform is 35'. Height is 18'2" with the mast up and 10'3" with it down. Dry weight is 12,500 pounds, but with full tanks and gear she probably weighs more like 15,500 pounds. Hull, decks and cabin exterior are all fiberglass. Power is by a single 320 hp Volvo-Penta diesel. Her top speed is 21 mph and cruising speed is 16-18 mph depending on