Amazing Grace

We found out the hard way that the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW) can be very unforgiving. As we were leaving Vero Beach on a Sunday afternoon heading north, I thought it would be fun to hoist the sails and cruise for a time. Bad choice. No sooner had we turned the boat into the wind to hoist the sails when we drifted out of the dredged channel and found ourselves lodged in the packed mud at the bottom of the ICW. We had this rather helpless feeling when after a number of attempts, we could not free Fantasea from the grips of the ICW bottom. We called on Boat US, the AAA of the seas, to tow us off the bar and waited. Then we prayed that an angel would come along and miraculously pull us out of the mire. It wasn’t two minutes later that a local power boat skipper offered to pull us out. I was skeptical at first, but after two tries, Fantasea was dislodged and free. We turned to thank the good Samaritan and noted the name of their boat was “Amazing Grace.” Thank you, Lord!

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day at the Isle of Hope Marina (a spectacular sunrise photo) was very special. Our daughter Jessica and hubby, Phil, drove down from Atlanta to visit us. They brought our two grandsons, Finn, 5 and Wyatt,18 months. It was a fun time for all and they stayed overnight in our aft cabins.

Up the River Without an Anchor

We elected to take a side trip to St. Mary’s, Georgia. It’s a quaint town not much different than it was 50 years ago. A spectacular sunset!

As we began to pull up the anchor our ancient windlass malfunctioned and all 150 feet of chain and the 55 pound anchor dropped into the bottom of the river. Over the next two and a half hours, we tried different strategies to haul it out and, with much exasperation and not a few unholy words, we finally were able to bring up the chain and anchor. Two days later when we arrived at a marina in St Simons Island, the technician that we hired pronounced the windlass irreparable and so we invested in a new windlass. The windlass was shipped to the Isle of Hope Marina in Savannah and we hired a mechanic to install it. It took half a day to install the windlass with the appropriate electrical connections which needed to be replaced because of corrosion that occurred over the years.

The Wonderful Hospitality of our Southern Neighbors

I met a fellow while playing pickleball in Savannah who was kind enough to drive me back to the marina. He had retired in 2018 as the CEO of the local United Way. Greg and Mary came down to visit our boat and that night we had a marvelous salmon dinner at their beautiful home overlooking the Skidaway River.

Next we were on our way to Hilton Head Island and elected to go outside into the ocean rather than deal with challenges of the ICW shallowness. The winds were not in our favor making for a long day, but we finally did get to the Port Royal Sound entrance to the Hilton Head area and anchored at Skull Creek. Our friends, Van and Lauren, fellow sailors whom we had met at Sunbury Creek, Georgia the week before, live on Hilton head Island. We rendezvoused with them for dinner that night at Hudson’s on the Water. They gave us a tour of their lovely home, loaned us their truck for the next several days so we could tour Hilton Head Island and stock up on provisions, and invited us to join them for church on Sunday. We accepted all three invitations with gladness.

On Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

My MacGuiver Effort

Continuing north on the ICW we stopped at Beaufort, South Carolina. We toured the historic district on a horse drawn carriage and marveled at the beautiful antebellum homes. The next day we motored north on the ICW and about 830 in the morning the engine alarm sounded. I shut off the engine, dropped the anchor, and opened the engine compartment. The belt that powered the alternator was shredded and the overflow tube had a big hole in it. The tow boat arrived about 1020. Not by any means mechanical, I decided to see if I had a replacement belt and, using my recently acquired tools, replaced the belt and used duct tape on the hole in the overflow tube. We held our breath and another prayer and started up the engine. All looked well (as if I would know if it was not) and we cast off the tow rope and resumed our course. Never mind that two days later at the Beneteau dealer, the service manager observed that I had put the belt on the wrong track!