Cat’ Paw Throws Off Dock Lines

. . . well, at least sort of!?!? We left Brunswick Landing Marina at the end of September traveling Jekyll Creek at the high tide. Jekyll Creek is one of the spots on the ICW known for its shoaling. Lack of funding has left the creek with 3½ feet of water at low tide. Since that part of Georgia has an 8 foot tide, we just wait for half tide or better to travel through.

We really relished our first night at anchor. Watched birds feeding at dusk; porpoises feeding as the sun rose. One boat anchored alone with all of nature’s wonders. Times like that on a boat are exceedingly special, particularly when you’ve been at a marina for 3 months.

To back up in time, the summer had been a busy one. We began with a quick trip to St. Pete that was incredibly busy - accountant, doctors, re-arranging our storage unit and shopping.

We had the cabin soles in both heads (bathrooms) torn out down to the stringers, and a totally new shelving unit built in the engine room, all done while Mac replaced our old, tired windlass (a mechanical thing that helps lift all that heavy chain off the bottom). Mac also installed a new hot water heater as he discovered a leak in the old one while the shelving unit was being replaced. Shirley made new cushion covers while we were off the boat. During this time we stayed at Shirley’s cousin Hap’s house. He was wonderful to offer to share his river house, but it was still a long month away from our home.

After moving back home we took a marathon (8 day) road trip to the Eastern Shore and DC to see family. Spent a wonderful weekend at Bruce and Inan’s on the Eastern Shore; got to see Shirley’s brother, Nat, as well as lots of cousins and her 93 year old uncle. We snuck in a lunch with cruising friends, Sue & Marshell s/v Serenity in Oxford while on our way to St. Michael’s. Next we toured DC & Bethesda while visiting with more of Shirley’s cousins, Lisa & Al and their kids, Andrew & Jenny, who are now both in college. Definitely a whirlwind trip which we had planned to be longer, but it just didn’t work out that way. We did get to spend a delightful night with Lew, Alyson & Carolyn, s/v Aly Cat in Fayetteville on our way back. We really had planned on a trip of twice the length to visit with more friends and family, but boat projects loomed.
Upon our return, Shirley pulled out the sewing machine to repair the cover for the dinghy and our shade awnings. She also touched up the paint on the hull and the name. Mac installed an upgrade to the solar panels and began checking systems for our departure.

Lastly we traveled back to St. Pete to see friends and do the last doctor visits. Our friends Chris and Harlow hosted a marvelous party for our joint anniversaries as well as Cindy’s birthday. We, of course did not get to see everyone we would have liked while we were in town; it always seems the work out that way.

The boat was hauled at St. Mary’s Boat Works for a bottom job and some minor repairs. We are now provisioned and just waiting for a weather window to head south. We plan to head slowly down the coast of Florida, visiting friends and seeing the sights before we cross to the Bahamas.