Thursday, November 21, 2013

Jacksonville, FL – Exploring the St Johns River



At our last posting, we had managed to make the journey as far as Ortega Landing in Jacksonville on the St. Johns River.

While we have been home from the Loop, Nan Ellen lost her mother very unexpectedly on October 4. Ethel did not come to breakfast and when Nan Ellen went to check on her, she found Ethel deceased in bed. Ethel had experienced a normal day the day prior and there was nothing to suggest anything was wrong. I left that morning about 6 am to work out at the YMCA and did not notice any activity or see any light from the Terrace Level where Ethel lived. This was not unusual since she usually awoke and came to breakfast around 7:30 to 8:00 am. Nan Ellen had been working in the office that morning and noticed that Ethel had not come to breakfast, so Nan Ellen went to check on her just before 8 am. She found Ethel in her bed and called 911. I arrived home nearly the same time as the Emergency Crew. It was apparent that she had died sometime during the night or early morning. This was very sudden and quite unexpected. She had no known co-morbid conditions that usually are experienced by others in her age group. She had memory issues that were progressively getting worse, but nothing to suggest anything else was wrong. She had been to see her doctor only a week earlier. She was 87 years old and we were very fortunate to have her live with us for 9 wonderful years. This will leave a hole in both our lives – Nan Ellen’s especially since she is an only child – that will never be filled.

Heaven has another Angel

About a week after the memorial service, we attended the AGLCA (Americas Great Loop Cruisers Association) fall Rendezvous in Rogersville AL. This allowed us to rekindle old friendships and make a few new ones. It was great therapy to be around old and new friends. It also allowed me to complete my required Vessel Safety Checks to retain my Coast Guard Auxiliary qualification as a vessel examiner. The past four years, Nan Ellen and I have performed Vessel Safety Checks for AGLCA members attending the Rendezvous. 

Looper Boats at Joe Wheeler State Park

L-R Anita and Don Gulseth, Dave, Nan Ellen, Jade and Woody Williams

We attended various seminars and paid very close attention to those that cover our next leg from Jacksonville to Norfolk. We also participated in several other “side” seminars of interest. Probably the most fun we had was at the concert at “Longing for Home” Bed and Breakfast. The first act was “Appleton Road”, a trio of twin 13 year old sisters with dad on the guitar. The girls play string instruments – bass, banjo, guitar, mandolin, etc. and they sing! We first saw them a couple of years ago and they have improved with age. One of the girls told a story about one of the boys at school wanting to be with her and she told him that he could drive their tour bus when they hit it big! Wow – that’s confidence and a great way to tell the boy who really is the boss! 
Dad, Katie and Lindsey Konig - "Appleton Road"

The headline act was the KGB. Not the Russians – but the Kerry Gilbert Band. They are a very versatile group who not only play great music across all genres, but they tell pretty good jokes and put on a great show. Their leader, Kerry Gilbert, is undergoing treatment for cancer and was only able to perform one song. I had the fortune to talk to him during the concert while his band played. What a wonderful man with some real reasons not to be optimistic. He is either the best liar I have ever met, or the most humble and God fearing man on the planet. He is confident that his cancer will be cured. Nan Ellen and I bought two of his CDs- one of which was done by his friends as a benefit with 100% of the proceeds going to pay his medical bills. Unfortunately, being a musician, he does not have insurance and his treatment will put him in a serious financial hole. It’s rare that you meet someone so warm and appreciative of all he has in spite of what he is facing. If you can – look him up and buy his CDs to help him out financially. He has some pretty good music too! 

Kerry Gilbert
The KGB

The KGB

 
Jim Emshoff joins the KGB for "Amazing Grace"

For the final number, fellow Looper Jim Emshoff on “Sea Fever” played his signature rendition of Amazing Grace on the keyboard with the KGB. What a talent – and one he repeated the following night after the conference ended when a group of “musically inclined” Loopers got together to play a few tunes. They had an audience of around 40 other Loopers listening and singing along (with song sheets handed out) to help those of us who are not so talented. I mostly kept quiet as no one wants to hear my singing voice. I can’t even carry a tune in a bucket! It was another fun time and was just what we needed after Ethel’s memorial service a week prior.
L-R Eva and Ron Stob (AGLCA Founders) - ? - Jim Emshoff

The government shutdown re-arranged our Coast Guard Auxiliary travel schedule and made us scramble to attend to the re-scheduled fall meetings and elections for my area of responsibility. We left Rogersville to return to Atlanta to unpack our bags and then repack our bags to switch into Coast Guard Auxiliary mode for the coming weekend. We finished the day by driving to Savannah and checked in the Marriott on the Savannah River in downtown Savannah. To say it was a long day in the car is an understatement! We walked about a half mile to dinner at the Chart House along the river. On the way there, I had noticed some ring buoys with line attached to them in several strategic locations, but did not really think about why they were there – just the mental note that they were there. After a nice dinner, we leisurely walked back to the hotel. Along the way, Nan Ellen and I both noticed what appeared to be two individuals in the water about mid-stream. Not 20 minutes prior, a 1000 foot freighter had passed by and there was a 150 foot triple decker tourist boat coming upstream right for them. In Savannah, a 9 foot tide is common and the current flow is about 5 MPH. This makes anything but directional control nearly impossible for someone in the water. Fortunately, the tourist boat saw them, stopped, and put a spotlight on them (10:45 PM) as they continued across the river.
Triple Decker Tourist Boat coming upstream in the Savannah River

I ran back to the nearest ring buoy and gave it to Nan Ellen to throw to them, but the line was tangled and I struggled to untangle it. I finally got enough line to reach them and the guys in the water grabbed on and we brought them over to the walkway. There were no ladders and it became necessary for me to lift them out of the water and up on shore. I was able to lift them one at a time with great effort and had bruises on my arms and hands where we gripped each other to get them up and out of the water.

After both of them were safe on shore we asked them what happened – did they fall off a boat and was anyone else in the water? The answer caused our jaws to drop to the ground. These two “idiots” made a conscious decision (or maybe that should be unconscious decision) to jump into the water on the South Carolina side of the river and swim across to Georgia. They then planned to take the ferry back across!!!!! All of this happened at 10:45 at night with an outgoing tide moving at over 5 MPH and commercial traffic constantly going by!!!! What were these guys thinking?

They told us they were “water people” and were canoe and kayak guides. I’ll make sure they don’t lead me on any trips – we would probably get eaten by alligators with these guys in charge. The risk versus reward part of their brains was not fully developed or had been damaged by too many “substances”, but neither of them appeared to be under the influence of anything but adrenalin. I can tell you that I barely slept that night after my adrenalin was pumped up by rescuing these idiots. Had we not been there at just the right time, they would have been swept further downstream into who knows what hazards and could have ended up getting run over by a boat or getting caught on a structure or dock on the river.

"The Idiots"

We have used our boat as sort of a floating condo while traveling for Auxiliary business. As part of the Daytona trip, we were on the boat during my 60th birthday on October 25 and used the occasion and perfect weather to explore the Ortega and Cedar Rivers by using our dingy – “Little Waci”.
The Birthday Boy going exploring

The Ortega River continues west for a mile or so before turning south and at that intersection, the Cedar River turns north. The Cedar continues for about 2 additional miles through a residential area and finally comes to an end in a narrow swampy area where we saw a few partially sunken boats and a 5 foot long gator along with turtles and ducks. Not much scenery on this river and the low bridges limit the size of boats that will fit. Our boat would only make it under the first bridge, but water depth was still about 4 feet all the way to the very end, so depth is not a problem. 

Home on the Cedar River
Reflections of the Swamp

Our First Gator Sighting

Honey, Let's Buy a Boat!

After we turned around and came back to the junction of the Cedar and Ortega, we continued south on the very wide Ortega River past some beautiful homes before the river narrowed and we really left visible civilization and it was back to nature again. It is hard to believe that you are inside I 295 and inside the city limits of Jacksonville. You would swear you are in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp in southeast Georgia.
Naval Air Station Jacksonville is close by
Navy Orion P-3 Submarine Hunter
A different kind of bird flying overhead


It is exceptionally beautiful and as the narrow river winds around another bend, you are greeted with spectacular views of flowers, odd shaped trees, logs, Spanish moss in the trees, and glass like water to reflect the light creating a nearly perfect mirror image on photos. 

Hard to believe you are in the middle of the city limits of Jacksonville
More mirror like water in the swamp

Eventually, you come to a bridge that halts your progress south unless you are in a kayak. We were unable to cross under it in our dingy due to a pipeline on the other side of the bridge. There are some homemade navigation markers on the other side of the bridge, so I am certain the locals use it for kayaking.
End of Navigation of the Ortega River - Collins Road close to I-295


On the way back out, I was distracted with looking at the motor on Little Waci and was not paying attention to where I was going. Nan Ellen yelled out to get my attention about 2 seconds before we ran into the bank and a tree. No damage was done to anything but my ego. Now that we have run aground in Tip Sie Waci 3 on the first day of the trip, and have run into shore (not technically aground) in Little Waci, we have that behind us. I read somewhere that you will run aground at least once on the Loop, so hopefully, we have gotten that out of the way with BOTH boats.

You can take your boat up to the sign that says no skiing, but probably not much further due to the narrow channel width. This trip requires a dingy or kayak to appreciate and see the best parts. 

Home on the Ortega River

After returning to the boat, we later went to dinner in the Avondale neighborhood – a lovely community with some terrific restaurants – which is only a couple of miles from the marina. We found a favorite restaurant in Biscottis, with an excellent menu, wine pairings, and a truly decadent desert display case to indulge anyone with a sweet tooth. We took half the desert back to the boat with us to finish the next day. It was far too much to eat after dinner, but was just as good the next day. German Chocolate Cake for my 60th birthday – what a treat!!!

After a return back to Atlanta for more Coast Guard Auxiliary business, we had a nearly two week window of opportunity on our calendars to explore the St. Johns River in early November. We drove back to Jacksonville on Monday, November 4 and then used Tuesday to prepare the boat for our trip.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

When I checked the sea strainer on the air conditioner pump, I noticed that the bracket that mounted the strainer had broken. Since I needed to talk to our welder about our davit repair anyway, we took the broken bracket to his shop and he made up another for us while we waited. Then it was off to Pep Boys to replace a defective battery filler bottle (for the inverter batteries) and to Total Wine for elimination of the pending wine emergency. Next was Costco for a few items and then our final stop was Publix for our provisions for the trip.

After stowing everything on the boat, we took some snacks and a bottle of wine over to B dock and Tom and Patsy Conrad’s boat for dinner. There, we rekindled an acquaintance that we made two years ago with Leslie and Greg on Amalia. Like Patsy and Tom, they had just arrived at Ortega Landing a few days prior. We had a wonderful conversation followed by an even more wonderful pot roast dinner that Patsy had been working on all day long. This is the kind of friendships made on the Loop that we truly treasure.

L-R Tom Conrad, Lesie and Greg Marsh (Amalia), Dave, Patsy Conrad (True North)

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The adventure is about to begin...



Leaving Ortega Landing Marina
Ortega Bridge headed out to the St. Johns River with Downtown Jacksonville ahead

Finally, the weather cooperated and we were off on our journey to explore the St. Johns River. We cast off our lines around 10 am as we only had to go about 25 miles today to Six Mile Creek and the Outback Crab Shack. Here, they have a 1500 foot long dock that you can stay at overnight for free if you eat at the restaurant. There is no power or water here, but we like free – especially when tied to a dock. 

Outback Crab Shack 1500 foot dock (free)
Restaurant is below River level and has constant pumps going to keep them dry

Turtle next to the dock

We tied up and went in for some fried gator tail and beer about 3 pm. Then it was back to the boat to answer some e-mails and then off to dinner about 7 pm. We had a single soft shell crab as an appetizer and then an order of half dozen blue crabs (actually got 8 of them) along with the typical low country boil veggies (potatoes, corn) and sausage and mushrooms. The crabs were delicious, but they take a lot of work to get to the meat, and are exceptionally messy. You feel like hosing off after you are done. Nan Ellen said she will stick with crab cakes in the future as whole crabs are just too much work! 
 

Crab Boat and Traps




Wood Carving

Then it was back to the boat for the annual CMA awards show on TV before turning in to bed. It was a very quiet night, and we ran on the inverter and battery power all night as the temps were comfortable and did not require air conditioning.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

We set the alarm for 5:30 am so we could get an earlier start due to our planned 48 miles because of a slight change in our plans from an anchorage to the free dock in downtown Welaka. After shutting off the wake up alarm, I started the generator so we would be able to use the toaster oven, microwave, and the electric stove to cook breakfast. We had a semi-leisurely breakfast and finally cast off our lines about 8 am. When we came in off the main river channel, we went through a mine field of crab pots, and of course, we had to navigate the same mine field for a second time. 

Crab Pot Float - not always easy to see as this one - some are black

Local Crabber and Crew

We made it through without a problem, but were very surprised when we ran into another crab pot minefield just south of some range markers marking a particularly narrow section of the waterway. They were right in the middle of the fairway where you would be if following the range markers. If a commercial tow were to transit this area, they would have no option but to run right over them. Fortunately, the water was deep enough and we went out of the channel to avoid the crab pots.
Range Marker - line them up to stay in the channel

Eventually, we made it to Murphy Creek and a possible anchorage. This is essentially another channel of the river, but it is very crooked and is more “back to nature” than the main channel of the river. Active Captain lists several good anchorages in this creek, but with the width being a little tight, I am not sure it would be good idea to anchor here as there is nowhere to go “off the channel” and out of the way of passing boats. We saw a number of birds and turtles sunning themselves. We saw one gator sunning itself on a log and estimate its length around 8 or 9 feet.
Murphy's Creek Gator getting some Sun


More Reflections of the shoreline of Murphy's Creek
Heron on a Log

After leaving Murphy’s Creek, we proceeded south and finally came to the Cross Florida Barge Canal. This was a project started by the Corps of Engineers that had its funding withdrawn by Congress before being completed. We followed the canal up to the dam, but did not pass through due to its hours of operation. I am not sure how far you can go the other side of the dam, but the charts show it going into a lake just a couple of miles away. 

Cross Florida Barge Canal Lock and Dam

Lock Schedule

After this short diversion, it was off to our stop for the night at the free dock in Welaka. When we arrived in Welaka, we found a wonderful floating concrete dock and we tied up to the side where it says “reserved for Coast Guard Auxiliary”. We certainly qualify for this reserved spot!!! 

Free Dock in Welaka

Our "Reserved" spot
View of the free dock from Cafe Bleuu
Cafe Bleuu
Regrettably, the Maritime Museum is no more - now just a storage barn


After a quick visit to the Café Bleuu for wings and sangria, we came back to the boat to clear out our e-mail inbox. After speaking with some locals who were on the dock fishing, we decided to walk up to Shrimps R Us and have dinner. Nan Ellen had the crab cakes and I had broiled shrimp. We brought the carrot cake back to the boat for later consumption.


Sunset in Welaka

When I searched for local TV stations, we were only able to get the University of Florida PBS station and a church channel. We opted for an hour of a PBS series on absolute zero physics. We then ate the carrot cake and went to bed about Loopers midnight. It’s a slightly shorter day on Friday when our destination will be Hontoon Island State Park and Blue Springs across the river.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Today’s destination is 44 miles to Hontoon Island State Park in DeLand, FL. The day started early at 5:30 am with a trip up the hill and a couple of blocks to the community recreation center and the showers. Welaka is a great little town with a concrete floating free dock that is practically brand new. Add in some very friendly locals and a free hot shower (pretty clean too) and it is a must stop if on the river.


Eagle soaring above us

Birds following us across Lake George

It was a cold and very windy morning. Nan Ellen was concerned about our crossing of Lake George – a 12 mile long and 5 mile wide lake oriented north and south. The wind was out of the north and could have made for some big waves by the south end of the lake due to distance and shallowness of the lake – mostly about 10 feet deep. The potential existed for some waves, but since we would be having following seas, I was not concerned. About 2/3 of the way down the lake, we turned to the west to take a look at Silver Glenn Springs which is one of our planned destinations on this trip. It is very shallow about ½ mile out from the entrance and requires local knowledge to transit, so without a guide today, we decided to just look through the binoculars.
Birds in the River south of Lake George

Blackwater Inn at Astor

We have fellow Auxiliarists Bob Elliott and Beth Gallagher to be our tour guides when we return to the area as we head back north and visit the springs next week. They live in Astor, just a few miles south and are very experienced in these waters. South of Astor is the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge and a lot of nature for several miles. 


Birds in the Refuge
Small Eagle

Since this was a Friday, we expected to see more traffic on the water and we did. The majority of vessels we encountered were fishing boats, but we did see one group of kayakers who likely had just visited a popular spot for kayakers just south of Astor. 

Kayakers south of Astor

We finally came to the Deland area – Nan Ellen’s old stomping grounds when she attended Stetson University in the 70’s. She said she remembered having a beer or two (probably more than two) at a bar facing the river. Déjà vu all over again???



East Dock at Hontoon Island State Park

We finally arrived at Hontoon Island State Park about 3 pm and were lucky to secure a spot on the end of the dock where we used the wind to help us land the boat on the dock. There were several other boats already there and had several hands to grab our lines and help get us secured. We checked in at the Ranger station and paid our $20 per night for 2 nights. Then it was back to the boat for conversation with our neighbors (all members of the Palatka Yacht Club) and docktails. After a couple of phone calls and checking on the days e-mails, it was time for dinner. I grilled a pork tenderloin and a red pepper just before the mosquitos appeared. We had been warned by our dock mates about the unwanted guests that joined them the previous evening, and they made an encore appearance just as the sun set. We will be ready for them next time!

After dinner, I wrote the daily update for the blog and downloaded the photos from the camera. We will edit (delete) unwanted photos from the over 300 photos taken so far on this trip. That task will likely take several hours and almost always results in tensions between Nan Ellen and me. This is always the most stressful part of keeping a blog – determining what to keep and what to discard. Then comes the second hardest part – determining which photos to post for y’all to see. There is not nearly enough space to post them all, so we have to limit them to our narrative and yet tell the story. I will never be a professional writer or an editor.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Today was a day to explore nature and what a day it was! After breakfast, we launched Little Waci – our dingy – while we left our boat on the dock. This plan REQUIRES a dingy with a motor as it is a long way -3 miles to Blue Springs and 3 miles back. It is not possible to dock your boat at Blue Springs and you must dingy ashore and beach your dingy to visit the park. The docks at Blue Springs are only for the two commercial tourist boats. There are some anchorages nearby, but not in good locations out of the river channel. 

Turtle on the back

There is a Paddlecraft concession at the junction of the spring run and the river and they do a very brisk business renting canoes and kayaks to tourists. The whole area is heavily traveled by all forms of Paddlecraft including stand up paddleboards. 
 
Canoe and Kayak rentals at Blue Springs State Park

Stand up Paddleboards

Being on one of these in these waters after viewing the wildlife we had already seen would not be for me! I imagine that the majority of tourists renting these have no idea what wildlife is out there and if they did, they might reconsider and rent something a little bigger with a motor.

The plan was to go around the back of Hontoon Island on the Hontoon Dead River. Trust me – it is anything but dead!! Wildlife abounded from birds and turtles too numerous to count to our first gator sighting in this part of the river with a small one lying in the floating hyacinth near the bank. 

Small Gator (our first one today)
Wild Turkey on Hontoon Island

Little Blue Heron
  
Anhinga - sometime called "Snake Bird"


Larger Gator sunning itself


Later, we saw otters and wild turkeys on the Hontoon Island shoreline. We saw a couple of other boats and finally one of the eco-tour mega pontoon boats bringing the tourists to a side of nature you rarely see anywhere else except maybe the Everglades. 

Tourist Boat

As we wound our way through the natural river, we finally came to a man-made canal that allowed a short cut back to the St. Johns River. Part way down the canal, boaters had hung bird houses from the trees overhanging the canal. We found out later that local authorities take them down occasionally to help “preserve” the natural habitat, but local boaters keep putting them back up.
Bird Houses in Canal
Black Vultures looking for a handout or are they trying to tell us something?

We then made a left turn in the St. Johns River and came back north about a mile to our destination for the day at Blue Springs State Park. This is a winter vacation spot for manatees and you are guaranteed to see several of them here. There is a wonderful elevated wooden walkway along the half mile of the spring run where you can look down and see the large amount of fish life and the manatees. We were fortunate to visit just before the “official” manatee season begins on November 15.


Little Waci beached at Blue Springs

Small Manatee

Alligator Gar Fish

The reason this is important is that they allow Paddlecraft to proceed up the spring run up to the point where swimmers are allowed in the spring. Because of redundancy of propulsion on board (a set of oars) we were allowed to raise the motor to the tilt position and row up the spring run. Before 11 am and after 5 pm, they allow Paddlecraft all the way up to the spring boil where over 100 million gallons of crystal clear water flow out of a hole in the ground about 10 feet underwater. Since we were after 11 and before 5, we only were able to go half way. With this much water coming down the spring run, it takes MUCH more effort going toward the spring than it does going back toward the St. Johns River.
Paddlecraft on the Spring Run

Head Spring with Divers and Swimmers
Spring Run headed back to the River

On the run back to the river, we moved over to an area where we had seen manatees earlier. One of them came over to greet us and nuzzled up to the starboard (right) side of the dingy. Perhaps the gray color of the tubes made it think it was a new relative coming to visit. Who knows what it thought, but it did rub up against the tube and the bottom of the boat for a minute or so before moving on. What a thrilling close encounter!!!
Manatee Camera
Our "close encounter"

After rowing the rest of the way to the river, we brought in the oars, lowered the motor, and off we went northward (downstream) back toward our boat. There is an idle zone extending for about a mile on either side of the spring run as manatees are almost always in these waters feeding on the vegetation. The spring gives them warmth, but has no food for them. They must go to the river to eat, and then come back to the spring to warm up. We spoke with a Park Ranger who said there are more manatee deaths each year from cold stress than from boat collisions!

On the way back to the boat, eagle eye Nan Ellen spotted the best photo opportunity gator we saw on the entire trip. We have seen bigger ones, but this one posed for us with its mouth open while sunning itself.   

Posing for us!
5 Turtles on a Log

We went past Hontoon Island State Park and our boat to check out the gasoline prices at Pier 44 marina back at the Highway 44 Bridge. After finding it more expensive than where we plan to buy fuel in Sanford, we motored across the river to Shady Oak Fish Camp Restaurant (formerly known as Otis’s in the mid-1970s) for a late afternoon snack of some catfish and a beer. 

Tying up to the dock at Shady Oak Fish Camp

Does not look like much, but the food was good and the beer was cold

This is essentially a biker bar on the river, but it only had a handful of bikers. Most of the patrons were Stetson University alums in town for Stetson University’s first Homecoming Football Saturday in over 50 years. They were pretty easy to spot wearing green Stetson shirts (and the absence of biker headbands and leathers). Nan Ellen is also Stetson alum, but did not recognize any of them. I suggested that after a few more beers, she might recognize some of them since this is the way she would remember them in the fog of alcohol. She was not amused by this comment!
Are they getting College credits for this????
Returning to Waci 3 after a long day exploring the area

Somehow, all of the rowing, and sitting on the tube of Little Waci must have pinched a nerve in my left hip and I was barely able to walk or even climb back on the boat. Once we returned to the boat, I downed a couple of Tylenols, (probably needed something stronger) answered a few e-mails, and wrote this daily update.

Nan Ellen made a batch of chicken salad, plus grapes and crackers to accompany this quick and easy dinner. It was soon time for bed to rest and hopefully my hip will be much improved in the morning.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Since today’s mileage was short (24 miles), we were not in a hurry to leave Hontoon Island State Park. We had our showers and then a leisurely breakfast before saying our goodbye’s to the Palatka Yacht Club members we had spent the last two nights with on the dock. This is a fun and friendly group of folks and we hope we cross paths with them again. My hip had improved overnight, but I was not back to normal just yet.
Palatka Yacht Club
More Palatka Yacht Club Members

Farewell!

As we proceeded south towards Sanford, there was a marked increase in the amount of boat traffic. No wildlife today unless you count the wildlife on board the many boats we passed and those that passed us. You could tell it was a Sunday with both the amount of boats and the degree of discourteousness we encountered. There were two boats that passed us within one boat’s length and throttled up just beside us causing a hole in the water we fell into. There was not room or time enough to turn into the wake (hole in the water) and we got jostled unnecessarily twice. If these in a hurry boaters would have given us more room or waited until they were a boat length ahead of us before accelerating, we would have had a more pleasant experience. I used a few choice words for the captains of those vessels and Nan Ellen almost had to throw a bucket of water on me to cool me off.
Railroad Bridge at Sanford

As we approached Sanford and Lake Monroe, we had to wait about 15 minutes at the railroad bridge for a train to pass so the bridge tender could raise the bridge for us. Finally on our way, we motored south to arrive at Monroe Harbour Marina and proceeded to fuel up and pump out. After that task was complete, we went to our slip and tied up. The dockmaster recommended a new restaurant across the parking lot – “The Port” and we went over for a late lunch. They had the “Boggy Creek Band” playing on the sidewalk with Lake Monroe in the background. Not bad for a band and the food was good too.
Barbara Lee - a Tourist Paddleboat  on Lake Monroe


Boggy Creek Band at "The Port" restaurant

Back to the boat once again and Nan Ellen started laundry while I downloaded pictures and updated this narrative for the blog. I also cleaned up my e-mail as we have good internet service here. 

Monroe Harbor Marina dock east basin

As dark approached, we walked to dinner about 4 blocks away (my hip was feeling better) at Marco Dino’s, a traditional Italian restaurant with rather large portions. We split a risotto meatball appetizer (which was almost a meal itself) and then split an Osso Bucco (pork roast) and brought about half of each back to the boat as leftovers. On a previous scouting trip to Sanford, we ate at the German Restaurant – The Willow Tree. All three restaurants we tried in Sanford were great and are highly recommended if you visit. By the time we came back to the boat, it was nearly Loopers Midnight (9 pm) and time for bed, so we watched a little TV before turning in.

Monday, November 11, 2013

As this was a planned long day (51 miles) with a stop at our friends and fellow Auxiliarists Bob Elliott and Beth Gallagher’s home in Astor along the river, we wanted an early start. The alarm was set for 5 am and we set out for the showers in the dark. When I started my shower, I was the only one there, but by the time I finished, there were 4 guys waiting on two showers. This marina has a pretty large population of live aboards and it was a work day. I cleared out as quickly as I could so we could get back to the boat and have a bowl of oatmeal before casting off our lines. We ate quickly and cast off just as the sun was coming up to make it safe to navigate. The railroad bridge tender told us on Sunday when we arrived to be there early to avoid a long wait as they had several trains scheduled for Monday morning. We arrived at the bridge about 7:30AM. The bridge tender promptly raised the bridge for us and we were able to pass right through and get on our way. We motored north and were soon at Blue Springs and then Hontoon Island State Park where some of our former dockmates were still there. We stopped but did not tie up and said goodbye’s once again before moving north through the Deland area.

We had to lower our antennas to get under the Highway 44 Bridge so we did not need an opening. Before long, we were at Bob and Beth’s home just south of the Astor Bridge on the west bank of the river. After tying up at their dock, we moved to their screened porch to catch up a bit and then they drove us to lunch at Castaway’s right on the river at the Astor Bridge. 

Castaways and their barge (extended outdoor deck) permanently moored with motor




L-R Dave, Nan Ellen, Beth, Bob at Castaways across the river from the Black Water Inn

After lunch, we drove back to their home and they got in their Yamaha jet boat to show us the way into Silver Glen Springs. We would never have successfully gotten in there without their help, but now know the way. Someone stuck some PVC pipes painted red and green to match ATON (Aid to Navigation) markers. There are a couple of fixed signs on posts that are used for initial course navigation, and then you follow the PVC pipes to the entrance. When you pass the PVC pipes, the depth gauge reads 1 foot, but it is reading the weeds and the actual bottom is about 5 feet. Once inside the markers of the spring run, the depth improves to about 6 or 7 feet all the way to the end of where boats can go.
Bob and Beth in their Yamaha Jet Boat

Follow the Leader through some VERY shallow water


There is a sand bar in the middle of two channels where you nose in with the bow leaving the props in deeper water. Since the water level was higher than normal, our boat floated over the entire sand bar without hitting the props. We set both a bow and a stern anchor to hold our position. While Nan Ellen splashed around while walking chest deep over the sand bar and talking with Bob and Beth, I started scrubbing around the waterline and took a look under the boat. We had some hard growth (small barnacles) and some algae “hair” growing on some surfaces. I knocked off the algae, but did not have the proper tools to take off the hard growth. It was not bad and better than I thought it would look since we have only had the bottom scraped twice by divers since we had the bottom job done about a year ago. Obviously, we will have it done again before we leave Jacksonville on our next leg of the Loop in the spring.

Looking back out into Lake George
Two channels with a sand bar in the middle
Bob on the sand bar

Six inches to spare over the sand bar with high water levels

Crystal clear water!!!! This is 4 feet deep and looks like inches!!!

Lots of wildlife around the spring

After about half an hour, the 72 degree water chilled me to the point I was ready to get out and dry off. I put on long pants and a sweatshirt to warm up. Bob and Beth took off about that time to get back home before dark. We watched several laughing ducks (yes, they laughed) and other birds and jumping fish. We were alone with no one else around which is only possible on a weekday – weekends there are packed conditions. When it gets dark here, it is really dark! We started up the generator to warm up leftover Marco Dino Italian dinner and it was just as good warmed up as when we had it the first time.

 After a quick check of the weather forecast, we changed our plan from two days at the spring to just overnight. There is a big cold front coming that will drop the temperature and pick up the wind. We do not want to be on the south end of a big lake and have to travel into a north wind and potentially some big waves.  Again, it was early to bed because of a long day planned for Tuesday.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere and the alarm say that it is that time once again – AM that is! I started the generator to make tea and to cook breakfast. Soon after daybreak, we pulled the anchors and were on our way. 

Marion County to the left and Lake County to the right

Foggy morning

It was a bit foggy with ¼ mile visibility and we proceeded back out into Lake George the same way we came in. We had no problems, but were soon in yet another mine field of crab traps. Since it was foggy, we were proceeding slowly anyway. 

Birds following us across Lake George in the fog - they do show up on radar!
After the fog dissipated, we saw another Eagle

We plotted a course over safe water back to the channel and northward back out of the lake and into the river channel. It was a fairly uneventful trip as we motored toward Palatka and our planned rendezvous with fellow Auxiliarists Ted Schneider and two crew members Sherlock Holmes, and Chris Bonnevier at Corky Bell’s Seafood restaurant. We arrived just as they arrived by boat. 

L-R Ted Schneider, Chris Bonnevier, Sherlock Holmes (no kidding)

After tying up, we walked up to the restaurant for lunch. Just as we were finishing, fellow Auxiliarists Kathy Fisk and Dusty Cooper came in and joined us. Ted and his crew departed to resume their patrol and Nan Ellen and I briefly spoke with Kathy and Rusty as they ate their lunch. 

L-R Kathy Fisk, Dusty Cooper, Corky Bell's mascot, Nan Ellen, Dave

We walked down to the boat to give them a quick tour and then departed to move north to be in a better position to return to Jacksonville due to incoming weather expected over the next couple of days.
Palatka Pavilion - no time to stop this time around

In order to reach our destination before dark, we throttled up to 25 MPH instead of our usual 8 MPH, and soon enough, we made the additional 30 miles to our destination for the night. We were back at our first stop overnight on this trip – Six Mile Creek and the Outback Crab Shack dock. We tied up, did a little work on the computer, and then went to dinner as it got dark. No messy crabs this time – just a crab cake and fried shrimp. After the meal, we came back to the boat and Nan Ellen called in on her WebEx meeting with one of her Flotillas. I took advantage of the time to call one of my Division Commanders to discuss some issues. When you are in a leadership position in the Auxiliary, you are never far away from your duties. Fortunately, cell phones, computers, and WebEx software allow us to stay in touch most of the time. Our experience is that most marinas have pretty lousy internet service, so we rely mostly on our hotspot and cell phones while on the water. I have a conference I am hosting on Thursday night and we will be back in Jacksonville at Ortega Landing with their great internet service in the clubhouse for that meeting. Not as good as being at home, but a pretty close second. Loopers Midnight came quicker than anticipated and with the weather forecast for Wednesday; we needed to get an early start at first light once again. Today’s mileage was the longest so far on the St Johns River – 65 miles.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

It’s 5 am again and time to fire up the generator for breakfast and to warm things up. It was a bit cold and was expected to be windy and cold all day. We were anxious to get back to our slip at Ortega Landing and wanted to try to beat the expected 30 plus MPH winds predicted after lunch. Just after 6:30, it was light enough to pull away from the dock at the Outback Crab Shack to finish up the last 25 miles back to Ortega Landing. On the way, we needed to stop at Doctors Lake Marina for fuel as they had the best price in the area.

 As we came out of Six Mile Creek and proceeded toward the river, we had about 6 inches more water than we had going in the previous day due to a difference in the tide. We made it over the bar without difficulty and proceeded through the crab trap mine field to reach the main channel. As we turned toward the north, we came out of the wind shadow created by the shoreline and trees as the wind picked up to around 20 MPH. At this point, the waves were less than 1 foot, but due to wind direction and the direction of the channel, we knew bigger waves were ahead of us. This prophesy came true and the waves steadily built to 2 to 3 feet with an occasional 4 footer. Even though we planned to go 8 MPH, the wave height and direction made that decision easy – no 25 MPH up on plane boating today – just slow and steady to get the best ride possible AND be able to see the mine fields of crab traps that are nearly impossible to spot with waves this big until you are right on top of them. As we turned towards Doctor’s Lake and the marina for fuel, I had to go past the entrance and make an abrupt turn to port of about 120 degrees in order to have the waves on the stern of the boat. When these size waves are on the beam (side of the boat) we tend to roll around and it is uncomfortable. We try to have the seas either on the bow or on the stern to make for more comfort and less of a roller coaster ride.

As we went under the US 17 Bridge and the approach to the marina, the water calmed substantially and made for a more controlled approach to the fuel dock. This marina has a narrow channel leading to the fuel dock and there is no room to turn our boat around, so after pulling in straight, I had to back up straight for about 1500 feet. This turned out to be a very big challenge as I had to alternate dropping one prop in and out of gear to maintain course. Near the end of the narrow channel, a gust of wind carried the stern and Little Waci (our dingy) into some pilings. Thank goodness it is an inflatable and it simply worked like a big fender to push us away. I quickly recovered and we got out into open water without further problems.

Back out into the channel, the waves again picked up to 2 to 3 feet with an occasional 4 footer. We had no waves over the bow, but did have on the wipers continually to deal with the constant spray caused by the bow cutting through the waves and throwing out water that was picked up by the wind and deposited on the bow and windshield. After passing the I-295 bridge, I expected the waves to become larger due to the more open area of the river, but as we passed the Naval Air Station, the waves died down to 1 to 2 feet. I am not sure why this happened except that the wind may have changed direction more of an East-Northeast direction from due north and this cut down on the fetch (time and distance for wind driven waves to develop).

I used the same technique to approach the Ortega River entrance as I did at Doctors Lake earlier. I traveled north beyond the entrance and turned back about 120 degrees to port to have a following wind and seas. The waves remained at 1 to 2 feet until we reached the Ortega Lift Bridge, and it was very difficult to spot the crab traps in the mine field that guards the entrance to the Ortega River. We made it through without incident and the bridge tender was able to lift the bridge for us with no delay. I did not even slow down to idle speed until we made it under the bridge as I wanted better steerage control with the following seas.
Back in our slip at Ortega Landing

Idling to our dock about a quarter mile away, Nan Ellen secured the dock lines to the boat to get ready for pulling in the slip. The wind direction was ideal for actually pulling in the slip as I would be backing straight into it, but the fairway leading to the slip was 90 degrees to the wind and I was concerned that we might get blown sideways before we reached the slip. I put on a bit more power and did not have difficulty. I simply brought the boat to a stop, rotated 90 degrees and backed straight in without touching anything. Nan Ellen secured the stern line before going to the mid ship cleat to get control of the forward half of the boat. We successfully landed without touching anything in a 30 MPH plus wind! There was some skill involved, but also a fair amount of luck with wind direction making it easier than it looked. After securing the rest of the lines and hooking up the power and water, we set off by car to have a hot lunch as we did not feel like cooking anything on the boat and were cold after being out in less than ideal weather for the previous several hours.
L-R Dave, Nan Ellen, Jan and Bill Sekeres

After returning from lunch, we hit the showers and then to the marina clubhouse to catch up on a few e-mails. Before long, it was time for dinner and we went out to dinner with fellow Auxiliarists and Division Commander Bill Sekeres and his wife Jan. We went to one of our favorites in the area – Biscottis in Avondale. After a nice meal, good conversation, and some VERY decadent deserts, it was back to the boat and bedtime. Thursday is clean-up day and time to make preparations to leave the boat and return home to Atlanta.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

The wind had died down overnight, but it was still too cool to work outside, so we started in the cabin with administrative work. After doing a few e-mails, recording engine and generator hours, pump outs, fuel mileage and the like, it was time to get busy with the main job of the day –cleaning up the boat. We started in the engine room with a check of fluids. I added about a pint of oil to the starboard engine and about a pint to the generator. When we cleaned out the sea strainers, the air conditioner and both engines were relatively clean. However, the generator strainer was packed with sea grass. We are not sure where we picked this up as the engine strainers were clean. It probably came from Silver Glen Springs or for 6 Mile Creek as these were the only areas when the generator ran and the engines were not running.

After finishing in the engine room, it was time to sweep out the cockpit (it did not need scrubbing) and shaking out the carpets. Once this task was done, it was time to get wet and scrub the outside of the boat. There was some spider and bird residue that we had to scrub extra hard and used Spray 9 cleaner in addition to our regular boat soap to get it all off, but after a couple of hours, it looked nearly new again. We certainly will need to wax it again in the spring before we leave Jacksonville. We scrubbed Little Waci and left the cover off so it would thoroughly dry. After all this activity, my hip pain flared up again, and now, my shoulders hurt with all the scrubbing. I can’t wait to get back home to resume my regular workouts at the YMCA and get rid of this pain caused by using all the different muscles. The alternative is to pay someone else to clean up the boat for us (hmmmmm….. there’s an idea).

Before long, dusk was upon us and it was time to go to dinner again, this time to a restaurant close to the Marina named Terra. It is within walking distance. I wish we had more time to enjoy it, but I had to rush back to conduct a WebEx meeting with 7th District Auxiliary Leadership. The clubhouse at the marina has great internet speed – fast enough for video and that makes for a successful video web conference. Unfortunately, I had to host the meeting from the outside deck due to the Marina hosting Movie night at the same time as my meeting. Fortunately, the weather was better and Naval Air Station JAX was not conducting operations during my meeting time. After the conference ended, it was back to the boat and bed as we need to make final preparations to return to Atlanta on Friday morning.

Friday, November 15, 2013

As is usual for us, we wanted to get an early start so we hit the showers before 5:30 am so we could get back to the boat for breakfast and start the process of getting ready to leave the boat. Once the bed sheets were stripped off, we took the spare set of sheets and made the bed. We cleaned up the head, wiped down the cabinets, the counters, and put up all the dishes. Nan Ellen cleaned out both refrigerators and we took inventory of our food stores on board. We packed all the open food on board to take home with us. Since Little Waci had been cleaned up the day before, we left the cover off to allow it to dry and we had to lower it to put the cover on. After securing Little Waci, not much else remained on our task check list. We loaded all the gear in two dock carts for the final trip up the dock to load the car.
Daybreak on our last day

On the way out of town, we stopped at West Marine to exchange a defective 12 volt fan that had been popping breakers every time it was plugged in. Once this task was done, we ate an early lunch and got on the road for the 6 hour drive back to Atlanta. We stopped for dinner just before getting home and once we arrived home, we started the unloading process. I went to turn up the thermostats to warm things up and discovered that the furnace had quit working. A quick call to our heating and air conditioning guy set up an appointment for Saturday. We brought up an electric heater from the basement to warm up the bathroom and went to bed under additional blankets.

Summary and thoughts about the St. Johns River as a Great Loop side trip - One more leg of our adventure is now behind us. The statistics from this trip are 282 miles traveled in Waci 3 over 9 days of travel time. Additionally, we traveled 28 miles in Little Waci on the Ortega River, Cedar River, Hontoon Dead River, the spring run at Blue Springs, and the St. Johns River making a total of 310 miles for this leg. This makes our Loop total 2281 miles to date.  As you might expect, Little Waci gets MUCH better gas mileage (2 gallons for 28 miles = 14 MPG) than Waci 3, but it is not nearly as comfortable!  Looking back, the real attractions for the St. Johns River are Blue Springs State Park and Silver Glen Springs, plus all the nature you see along the way. For us, getting to see old friends and socialize with new ones formed along the way are always high on our satisfaction list. Sanford is a nice town (now that an infamous former resident once on trial and in the National news no longer lives there) and has good facilities with good restaurants, but there really is no compelling reason to visit other than saying you traveled as far upstream as safe navigation allowed. All the towns along the way are charming and each has a flavor all its own. There are multitudes of friendly folk everywhere and with a mixture of free docks, great anchorages (also free), and some pretty inexpensive marinas, what’s not to like about this part of Florida? Anyone contemplating a side trip off the Great Loop to do the St. John’s would miss a great deal of beauty if they passed it up. Our recommendation is that YOU MUST DO THE ST. JOHNS RIVER!!!!

We plan to leave the boat in Jacksonville at Ortega Landing until spring when we hope to resume our adventure by moving north. Hopefully, we will have some additional opportunities to visit the Jacksonville area over the next few months and get to spend time on the boat and on the St Johns River. We plan to make the spring AGLCA Rendezvous in Norfolk, VA in early May of 2014. I will probably do an occasional post to update what is happening with us before we resume the adventure in the spring.

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