Heading North

The Great Loop Journey Begins

"At Last" on her way

April 17, 2015

Harlow opens the bridge for us in Taylor Creek at 7:00 am as we begin our big adventure. He's happy to see us as bridge openings for him are few and far between since mostly pontoon boats, Carolina skiffs, and bass fishing boats are most popular on the canal.

Taylor Creek Lock

Next it's through the Taylor Creek Lock and then across beautiful Lake Okeechobee. Due to no change in the water level, both gates are open and we cross straight through the Mayaca Lock.  Our trip down the St. Lucie River is uneventful until an entourage of 55' Prestige cruisers pass us....some causing huge wakes that Captain Dave must navigate around to keep "the Admiral" happy.  There is a long wait at the St. Lucie Lock, but we finally enter and lock through.

St. Lucie Lock

We head towards Stuart, Fl and anchor just before the two bridges at North Point. After a delicious dinner of fresh salad and stuffed peppers, we discover that the generator is overheating.  We need to solve that problem asap as it is 90 degrees today and the same uncomfortable weather is forecast for the next few days.  Today was an easy 47 mile day for us.



April 18, 2015

We leave our anchorage at 8:15 and continue north.  We have a beautiful ride, but it is very hot with no relief in sight.  We anchor near Vero Beach south of the bridge near the Environmental Center.  It is a quiet anchorage which we have to ourselves, but the bugs decide to join us and chase us inside....a bit unpleasant due to no generator.  Lots of lightening in the area, but no bad weather develops.

April 19, 2015

We haul the anchor by 7:00 am and head north to Cocoa Village and I make breakfast for the Captain while we are underway.  It is very hot and muggy.  We arrive by 1:30 pm.  There is a free dock here and we are lucky to be the only ones on it.

Cocoa Village Dock

Dave begins to research where he can have the generator repaired.  Later in the afternoon, we walk into the village which has a very artsy flavor to it.  There is a beautiful park and a hardware store that has everything you could ever need.  Since AC in the boat is not an option, we find a great restaurant "Sublime" for happy hour and tappas.  There is a concert in the park, so we listen from the bow of the boat until a huge rainstorm soaks us for the next couple of hours.

April 20, 2015

We are up early and Dave finalizes arrangements to have the generator serviced at the Camachee Boat Yard in St. Augustine. The yard is a Northern Lights dealer, so we are hopeful that they have the knowledge and the parts to solve our problem.  The day is overcast and humid, but it is really quiet on the water.  We anchor near the yacht club at Smyrna Beach.  It's tacos for dinner.  There is lots of rain in the evening, but it does help to cool us down.

April 21, 2015

We wake to an overcast day, which turns into a absolutely perfect day of sunshine and much cooler weather. It is great ride to St. Augustine.  Beautiful houses line the intracoastal and there is a lot of wildlife along the way.  We must wait for the bridge opening at St. Augustine before continuing.

St. Augustine

We arrive at the Camachee Boat Yard/Marina at 4:30.  It is a nice facility and offers a Boat US discount for dockage.  After check-in, I straighten the boat, change the bed, and do laundry while Dave confirms that we are scheduled with the mechanic tomorrow at 8:00 am.  We have dinner at the King Fish Grille, a nearby restaurant.  We return to the boat where it is nice to have electricity and finally, the ability to use our AC.  "Life is good."

April 22, 2015

It is another beautiful day and Drew, our mechanic, arrives bright and early to trouble shoot our Northern Lights Generator problem.  Drew soon discovers that there are impeller parts in the intake hose (upstream) and replaces the hose.  He also changes out the pump because it is leaking.  Drew does a great job.  He is very knowledgeable, efficient and personable.  He makes all repairs in less than 3.5 hours and we were on our way again by noon.  Our ride is smooth, with a few dolphin sightings and we take the free dock at Jacksonville for the night.  There are already three other boats on the dock, but we squeeze in at the end.  Dave does an excellent job docking in the very strong current.  Today's journey was only 32.1 miles.

April 23, 2015

We leave the dock at 7:30 am and head to Georgia.  The conditions today are perfect for crossing the sounds.  The Cumberland, St. Andrew's and St. Simon's Sounds are calm and easy to pass through, unlike our experience in St. Andrew's Sound on our way south.  We decide to anchor in the same spot we used in the fall.  It is a beautiful, cool night.  Of course it is....our generator is fixed and we could have AC if we needed it.  Today we put in a 9 hour day and travel 57 miles.

April 24, 2015

We leave our anchorage at 7:35 am.  It is a cool and breezy day and there are lots of sounds that must be crossed today....Buttermilk, Altamaha, Doboy, Sapelo, and St. Catherine's.....it is choppy with lot of waves, splashes, and salt spray on the boat, but Dave captains us through.  There is a beef stew cooking in the crock pot and the boat smells great all day long.  Most of the ride is on creeks and rivers with little change in the foliage or wildlife.  As we approach the Isle of Hope Marina, the scenery changes to beautiful docks and homes. Today is a 12 hour day for us and we travel 76 miles. We anchor just outside Savannah near Thunderbolt Marina.  Dinner is ready as soon as we finish shutting down the boat.  Yummmmmm.......Dave is exhausted as he has driven from the pilot house most of the day and has been standing for most of the 12 hour ride.

April 25, 2015

Up early and we set off for the day before 7:00 am.  The weather forecast is not good for the day, but we hope to get some travel time in before bad storms set in.  No such luck.  At about 11:00 am, a front goes through with torrential rain, thunder and lightening.  We are just before Port Royal Sound. We drop the anchor for 2 hours until the storm passes and then continue on.  The sound is still churned up from the storm and it is an uncomfortable crossing.  The water is rough and the wind is blowing so much that At Last ends up encrusted in salt.  Captain Dave expertly handles the situation once again.  We are staying at the Lady's Isle Marina in Beaufort, SC  (pronounced with a long u sound) tonight.  It is located just on the other side of the swing bridge, up Factory Creek.  The marina manager, TJ, is great.  He puts us on a T-head, gives us a discount, and lets us borrow a courtesy car for re-provisioning at Publix.  For dinner we walk to Dockside, an on site restaurant.  The food is delicious.  Because of our 2 hour delay, we only traveled 40 miles today, but it took us over 6 hours.

April 26, 2015

We are up early and off the dock by 6:30 am with TJ there to help.  Lady's Isle is a great stop and we highly recommend it. It is a beautiful day and is beginning to warm up.  There is very light traffic on the waterway.  We carefully cross the cut (low tide) and head toward Charleston, SC.  There are 

Charleston, SC Walking Tour

beautiful homes along the way.  We don't stop as we spent some time here in the fall when we were headed south.  The boat traffic picks up significantly as we pass through Charleston.  It is a weekend and there are lots of recreational boaters.We see a magnificent bald eagle soaring high above us. Around 6:00 pm a cold front comes through, the wind picks up and the temperature drops by about 15 degrees.  We continue north and anchor in Awendaw Creek.  As we are setting the anchor, I spot a bear through the trees on the shore...no time for a picture...he's pretty fast.  Dinner has been cooking in the oven... a shepard's pie....so once again, dinner is ready when we are.  Another great day....and we traveled 83 miles in 12.5 hours.