As I write this we are at Osprey Marina in Socastee, SC. We left Marathon about a week later than normal because Heather, Mike and new grandchild Cobbe came for about a week. First nights on a boat for Cobbe. First of many more we hope.
We went overnight direct to Fort Pierce offshore of all the Keys and the east coast of Florida. We made sure we were well into the effects of the Gulf Stream. From the exit of Boot Key Harbor to the entrance of Fort Pierce took us just under 24 hours. 220nm. It was not a bad passage. Not rough at all but just enough rocking to make for poor sleeping for me. Oh, well.
We only spent two nights visiting the Guays and topping off our supplies before heading north on the ICW. No incidents until we left St Augustine. It was breezy out of the north which meant going outside was out of the question. We had boat damage the last time we tried that. $1000. worth. In the Amelia River south of Fernandina we went aground. Again. In the same place as last year. Grrr. We followed the new directions from the Waterway Guide and Bob423 and still went aground. The Tow BOAT/US operator gave us the correct route... after we got towed off. Sigh.
We anchored at Cumberland Island as usual but had anchor chain issues because we let too much out in the dark. We got into the rusted, balled-up parts. Needed a hammer to break chain parts free. Turned out we had enough for our regular anchoring depths but if we had to anchor someplace very deep we might have problems. Our timing for our passages through Georgia was pretty good. It was rising tides most of the way. We timed our stops each afternoon so the next day would give us the correct tides. All went well. Even the normal scary spots.
We stayed a night at Thunderbolt Marina for the first time in a few years so we could go to Tubby's for a UConn basketball game. Went with some trepidation because we lost to Notre Dame the last time we were there. This was the AAC final against South Florida and it was a decent game. We won in a close (for us) game. Twenty-something point lead. Onto the NCAA Tournament.
From there we continued on the ICW to here in Socastee. We stopped for the forecast weather which got delayed coming east so we will spend a third (unheard of) night at the marina. Never happened before. Going to be cold, nasty weather a few days from now. Since we are no longer in a hurry to get to Wrightsville Beach it's not a problem. We can use up our cushion as we are as few as two days away. We'll take three to do that.
Summing our winter in Marathon: The damage after Hurricane Irma was extensive on shore. Boot Key Harbor was heavily affected also. A lot of boats were in the mangroves and several had sunk in the harbor. The sunken boats were mostly removed before we got there but the mangroves needed extensive work. It took another month for those boats to be hauled off and we volunteers spent that month cleaning out smaller items. Some of those 'small' items included refrigerators and dock boxes. I was involved in pulling three of those out myself so the total was much larger. Before we left in February we saw more along the shorelines. They were floating out of the canals where the debris was just starting to be cleaned out in February. Just starting. After four and a half months. Route 1 still had roadside debris until well into January so land clean-up efforts were well behind the harbor efforts. Of course the harbor had many more volunteers doing the work. It needed doing, we did it.
That's the summation. It needed doing. We did it. The boating community, year-rounders and snowbirds. Together.
There may have been partying and beer involved with the efforts. Maybe. A little.
