Sail The World

After having Carpe Diem’s bottom scraped we were headed out for some sailing but the winds picked up to a piping 30+kts and I decided to keep the sails down. At one point we were running at 3kts under bare poles. Yipeeeh!

A very heavy growth of barnicles was easily detected by almost no thrust from the propeller and a very limited ability to steer. At the refit in April 2007 I chose to use Petit Vivid for the bottom paint because of the nicely bright colors that were available but it turned out to also have a downside. The haul out last year in February already showed a disabling amount of barnicles. Later this year I’m planing to haul Carpe Diem again and move her to my sister’s lot in Lacrosse FL to complete the inside of the cabin and do some upgrades to the rigging (I want that solent stay so badly!). That way I don’t have to deal with high yard fees and have enough time to really finish everything. I was trying to do that while being in the water at Green Cove Springs Marina but not a lot got done so far since I arrived there in June 2007.

Right now my nephew Tyson and I were trying to enjoy some outings on the St Johns River but due to the barnicles I wasn’t able to have much fun. We decided to haul out and scrape off the disabling pest. Also a couple of weeks ago we got the center board stuck again during a soft grounding so I was able to take care of that at the same time. And finally I marked the sling location on the gunwhales to not pinch the center board anymore. Thanks to Dave’s (travel lift operator) patience and expertice we got it just right.

After scraping the propeller we tried some lanolin on it. Wonder how that’s going to turn out.

At anchor on the St Johns River outside of Green Cove Springs.

Position: 29.9833°N 81.6493°W     Green Cove Springs Florida

Log: 468

Today we probably had our earliest start ever. Lines were off at 0700. This was because I wanted to take advantage of the incoming tide and not had to steam against the upriver current. The Saint Johns River is wide all the way to Green Cove Springs and we had the sail up for quite some time. We tied up at Green Cove Springs Marina and called my sister to pick us up. Then we packed in the sails, rinsed off the decks and ran extra spring lines to keep Carpe Diem safe at the dock. Doris arrived at 1800 and we headed straight to Lacrosse.

Puddy Cat was happy to see Will and me again and we all moved back into the trusty old Argosy which was smelling a little bit from all the feral cats going in and out while I wasn’t home.

GoogleEarth tour of Carpe Diem’s voyage of 2007

Position: 30.3242°N 81.6617°W     Jacksonville Florida

Log: 445

Narrow channels all the way to the Saint Johns River. Once we turned onto the river not only the wind was with us but so was the current. We had a great sail all the way to downtown Jacksonville. There we tied up at the free public dock right next to hundreds of restaurants, bars and retail stores. Mexican food again but not even close as good as yesterday’s.

Position: 30.6706°N 81.4657°W    Fernandina Beach Florida

Log: 408

Headwinds all the way to Fernandina Beach. “The Little Blue Engine That Could” performs beautifully even against 5 kts of current that we encountered crossing the Saint Marys inlet over to Amelia River.

We tie up at Fernandina Beach City Marina which is the most presentable marina I have ever been to but so is the price. After tidying up Will and I go downtown to grab dinner and at least I had the best Mexican food in my life so fare. Maybe because I haven’t been to Mexico yet.

Position: 31.1413°N 81.4962°W    Brunswick Georgia

Log: 372

Sailing back to Brunswick felt wonderful because we know this stretch of the ICW now. Even missing channel markers can’t confuse us anymore.

We especially enjoyed the sights of Cumberland Island this time because Carpe Diem is so familiar to us now and she almost steers herself through the thick buoy jungle.

Seeing Peacemaker in daylight was even more of a sight. This time we were also given a grand tour on all of her decks and through her humongous belly. If you think Carpe Diem has to many lines, you have to see the running rigging of this beast. Will was invited immediately by a few younger fellows that live aboard to some yard diving. I decided that I’m to old for that.

Afterwards Will and I were invited to participate in a celebration for a couple that was leaving the community. We had lots of food and some great insights into community living. Again I was very impressed by the hospitality of the people around here.

Position: 30.7185°N 81.5525°W     Saint Marys Georgia

Log: 336

Today I still didn’t feel like leaving Saint Marys quiet yet. I kind of enjoy life at the dock. Will needs to go home though. Well, maybe it would be good to mention now that our plan was originally to sail up to Long Island Sound. At the pace we’re going right now we won’t arrive until fall. It din’t take much talking to come to a solution. We will be taking Carpe Diem to Green Cove Springs on the Saint Johns River in Florida which is about an hour from my sister Doris home in Lacrosse Florida where I will be storing Carpe Diem to do some more outfitting.

But first we will go back to Brunswick to visit Peacemaker one more time not only because I left my hat there. Otherwise it was hot but leisurely. At least we have enough beer.

Position: 30.7185°N 81.5525°W     Saint Marys Georgia

Log: 336

According to the locals Saint Marys was never hit by a hurricane. Maybe that’s why everone is so friendly here. No hurricanes – no grieve.

After some initial figuring out on how to get John’s schooner Guanahani to Brunswick we end up leaving with hesitation because John doesn’t know nothing about his boat nor does he have a chart plotter, functioning depth sounder, current charts, a working compass, the knowledge about the size of his fuel tank or how much fuel is in there. Anyway we were leaving the dock only after he was stressing how easy the route is to Brunswick and that one didn’t really needed any charts, just keep her inside the channel markers. I refused to take on any responsibility but promised to help him today.

We cast off the dock at 1230 only to realize that either the boat was totally underpowered or the underwater portion of the hull was loaded with aquatic growth. We were making hardly any headway under engine power. Once turned out of Saint Marys River onto the ICW all sails went up and also did the speed. Will and I did a fabulous job sailing John’s boat while he was watching us. The sail was pleasant all the way to Jekyll Island were we ran aground because of a missing channel marker. John called his friends in Brunswick to pick Will and me up because it was getting late. John decided to stay with Guanahani until Sea Tow arrived. The tug showed up within minutes and we were to watch how powerful those things are. Shortly after John’s friends arrived and took us to their home, a three masted bark named Peacemaker docked in Brunswick Georgia. They were the nicest people and even fed us before driving us back to Saint Marys.

We turned in right away.