Gotta Smile!: Familiar Territory -- Florida to Wilmington, NC

May 26 - June 8, 2015

X -- Ft Lauderdale, A -- Stuart, B -- Ft Pierce, C -- New Smyrna, D -- St Augustine, E -- St Mary's,
F -- Sapelo Sound, G -- Beaufort, H -- Charleston, I -- Georgetown, J -- St James
K -- Carolina Beach (Wilmington)

Tall buildings signal our arrival back in the USA.

We entered the intracoastal waterway at Fort Lauderdale avoiding Miami and an endless number of low bridges that open on their schedule not on demand. We still had plenty of bridges to maneuver through as we began to travel north. We’ve made this trip several times and have favorite anchorages along the way. The first one was in Palm Beach. We were up early the next morning so we could arrive in Stuart by noon. Stuart’s Sunset Bay Marina is like Sunbay Marina in Puerto Rico. We’ve spent so much time there

and the staff is so friendly that we feel like we are in our home port at both of them.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse

Before we arrived in Stuart a long list had been compiled of parts and supplies needed, people to see, doctor’s appointments and some touch-up work on Gotta Smile. Everything was accomplished by 2PM on Saturday (a quick 3 days) and we were headed north again. 34 miles got us to Ft Pierce.

Sunrises are beautiful. I just don't want to be up to
witness them in person.

Sunday started off very early with the alarm ringing at 5:45 —ugh. Have I mentioned that I am not an early morning person. I’m a late night person that too often has to get up way too early! By 6:30 the anchor was up. What was going to be a long day got even longer as the anchorage that we picked for our 7PM arrival was now too shallow. We had stayed here two times in the past, but apparently the bottom had shifted. The next anchorage that was deep enough for us was in New Smyrna. Another two and a half hours which put us in well after dark. By the time the anchor was set, we had been underway for 15 hours, traveled 122 miles and it was 9:30.

The fort guarding St Augustine

We weren't going to get stuck looking for an anchorage in the dark for a second night. Brian had some work to do on the new navigation computer so we anchored north of the fort in St Augustine at 4:00. It was a great anchorage: quiet with only one other boat, views of a favorite city and right off the ICW.

The gas dock at low tide.

Day 4 took us off shore from St Augustine to Fernandina Beach. The water was flat with only occasional swells that gave us a push. Since it was a straight line from city to city, we could relax while the autopilot did the work. At Fernandina we picked up 600 gallons of fuel at $2.82/gallon! We can’t even remember the last time we saw fuel that cheap! By the time we pulled away from the fuel dock it was 5:00. Plenty of daylight remained to get us across the Georgia state line. Watching the weather on the computer it looked like a big thunder storm would slip past us. We had just set the anchor when the wind picked up and we were in the middle of that storm. The wind was so strong that the engine had to be started to take some of the tension off the anchor. Once the storm passed, we had misgivings about our location. The anchor was pulled and we moved a mile and a half north to a more protected anchorage.

We're the dot in the middle of the concentric circles.
Just before the storm wrapped around us.

Another day off shore and we were in Sapelo Sound half way between Brunswick and Savannah. And, we were very close to Blackbeard Island which will never be forgotten because I made a wrong turn and put us on a pile of rocks that had been ballast for a slave ship. I happened to do it at the peak of the highest tide of the year. Gotta Smile was listing to the point that we put on our life jackets and were preparing to launch the dingy. Oh, and did I mention that our seven year old grandson was with us. I keep telling Brian that it’s experiences like this that make a trip memorable! I won’t repeat what he said…..

Sitting the cockpit after dinner, watching the sun set
as three frisky dolphins play next to the boat.
Perfect!

One more uneventful (uneventful is good!) day off shore. Next stop Beaufort, SC.

Friday through Monday we traveled the ICW. It twists and turns, but it is wide with beautiful homes, lush green foliage and plenty of wildlife to entertain us. Our stops were Charleston and Georgetown in South Carolina and St James and Carolina Beach in North Carolina.

Our new friend from Sunbay Marina in Puerto Rico, Carmen, suggested we stop in Wilmington, NC where her son, Eric works at Carolina Beach Boatyard and Marina. We had planned on leaving Gotta Smile in Charleston, but when we couldn't get a slip at the two marinas that we were interested in, we gave Eric a call. Boy are we glad we did! The marina is very nice and the staff is amazing. Sometimes we have to step back and just let things play out. It's always seems to be for the best. We will leave Gotta Smile there for a month while we do some land travel.

Sightings: