FERNANDINA BEACH, FLORIDA

          

It was a quick 10 mile down the ICW from Cumberland Island to Fernandina beach.

Nancy & I once again had some girly time alone. We visited all the quaint shops in town. I especially enjoyed the Christmas shop. Unfortunately, all the ornaments I liked were either made of glass or of very delicate materials. Surely, they would break on the boat, so I didn't purchase any.

We purchased some local shrimp and had a fest on our boat with Rick & Nancy.  It was sort of a good bye dinner since our plans no longer matched up.  We made plans to meet up again in the Bahamas for Christmas.   

MERRY-GO-ROUND HORSES ON SOMEONE'S BALCONY

NOTICE THE STUFFED RABBIT ANIMALS AT THE TABLE

CUMBERLAND ISLAND, GEORGIA

From Beaufort, we sailed offshore again to Cumberland Island. Winds were light, so again, we had an easy night.

Cumberland Island is a National Seashore taken care of by the US National Park Services. It is 56.9 square miles.

History that has a more specific record starts with the early Spanish missions in the 16th century. In the 1730s, James Edward Oglethorpe laid out two forts, one on each end of the Island. In the 1750s, aspiring planters came to the Island once slavery was allowed on its shores. After the American Revolution, prestigious families, such as that of Nathaniel Greene, became interested in Cumberland's natural resources; the first mansion was built on the site we now know as Dungeness.

The horses which roam freely on Cumberland are feral, meaning that their ancestors were once domesticated. Legend has it that they were originally brought to the Island by the Spanish. However these particular horses' ancestors arrived, they make a very pleasing vista for the visitors of Cumberland. They are one of the most sought-after sights by visitors coming to Cumberland.

We couldn't visit the Plum Orchard mansion simply because there was a Hog hunt and the roads nearby were all closed. My question was "Will there be a pig roast later "? Unfortunately, the hunters kept all their kill and there will not be any pig roasts. ahhhhh, too bad :(

On Sept.21, 1996, John F. Kennedy Jr. married Carolyn Bessette on this Island.

THE BEACH AT CUMBERLAND ISLAND

On Halloween night, Tim & I decided to dress up with whatever we had available and go trick or treating. We dinghied to most of the boats in the harbor and received chocolates but mostly beer. Tim was dressed as the "Ebola clean up crew" and I had a kangaroo pouch with our parrot.  We met Prue & Burt on their beautiful Hylas 46. Thanks for the M&Ms !

BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA

We sailed offshore, overnight from Charleston to Beaufort. We could only wish every overnight sails were like this one. Light winds but strong enough to sail with small waves on a close reach. To keep awake, I stretch & dance to XM Sirius radio. I discovered new moves when the boat heals over.

There is a Beaufort in North and South Carolina.  Both are pronounced quite differently.

Beaufort has a wonderful waterfront full of small cafes & restaurants with people playing their guitars and banjos. This is where Rick showed me how to play cribbage.



WHAT A NICE WAY TO SPEND AN AFTERNOON

Beaufort is the 2nd oldest city in South Carolina after Charleston. Numerous films were made here including 'Forest Gump', 'The Big Chill', 'GI Jane', 'Platoon' and more because of the beautiful landscapes and historical background. We found the house where 'The Big Chill' was filmed and a park where 'Forest Gump' was filmed.



BEAUFORT IS FULL OF LARGE TREES WITH SPANICH MOSS HANGING FROM IT

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Tim turned 50 on the day we arrived in Charleston, October 20th. All he asked for his birthday was a haircut which I managed to do several days later. To celebrate we went out for a seafood dinner with Rick & Nancy.



This is our second time in Charleston.   This time we visited Fort Sumter & the Aquarium.

Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry sea fort which is best known as the site upon which the shots that started the American Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861.



I had a girly afternoon with Nancy of "Angel Eyes". We visited the small aquarium & found a wonderful lunch place.

HELICOPTER LANDING ON A MEGA YATCH

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

CHARLESTON IS FULL OF BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPING



THERE ARE NUMEOUS MANSIONS IN CHARLESTON
WHICH COST AROUND 6 MILLON

CAPE LOOKOUT, NC -> WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC -> BALD HEAD ISLAND

SHAKLEFORD BANKS

Shakleford banks at Cape Lookout is home to wild horses.  Historical research and genetics testing indicates that these wild horses descended from a core group of the old type of Spanish horses.

We then sailed overnight to Wrightsville Beach, NC. We biked 25 miles the next day to visit our sailing  buddies from last year.  Nancy & Rick "Angel Eyes" were in Wilmington, NC. It was such a nice reunion. We spent 2 months sailing the Bahamas with them last year sharing Mahi Mahi and lobsters. We will sail with them to Charleston next.

RICK & NANCY

WRIGHTSVILLE SELLS BEER FROM QUEBEC. 

We left Wrightsville Beach and went down the ICW to Bald Head Island. You can't anchor there so we took a slip. It's well worth the stop. At this Island, there are no cars, just golf carts and bikes. We biked all around, watched the Bluefish tournament, walked the beach, and did a nature hike. I definitely recommend visiting this beautiful Island.



LGHTHOUSE ON BALD HEAD ISLAND

GEOTEXTILE TUBES

One weird thing about North Carolina is that there is NO happy hour. Basically, they aren't allowed to discount drinks. Oh well, we still had drinks at our Happy hour !

BEAUFORT, North Carolina: August - October 2014

For 2 months in the hot, sticky, humid summer of 2014, Tim worked 7 days a week, 10 hour days, fixing and replacing parts on our boat. Once most of the list was accomplished (you know the list is never completed), we left Beaufort, North Carolina on our journey south along the US coast, then the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean.

Some of the major things that were done to Alpenglow:  Replace the port & starboard chain plates, install a new arch, replace all the fresh water hoses, replace the holding tank hose, replace some of the electrical wires, add a new solar panel, install new companion way doors, the list goes on and on.

New Companion Way doors



Added a new 12Volt sub panel



Tim actually fits into our lazarette



Replaced the fresh water hoses and the holding tank hoses



Susan did some of the sanding and varnishing



Some of our provisions



Tim filled this bucket with water so he can have air
conditioning while working on the hard




Most of the cabinets on the Port and Starboard side
needed to be removed to replace the chain plates



New chain plates



New fiberglass to hold the chain plates against the haul of the boat



The area needed to be enclosed when removing the old fiberglass 



Installation of a new arch as the old davits were bent

2 month old shoes







HOME FOR SUMMER 2014 (June to August, 2014)

          

Our boat is now in Beaufort, North Carolina for the summer at Bock marine. Our current plans are to do some changes and upgrades to our boat & start sailing south again this fall. We'll be heading to the the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Eastern Caribbean ending up in Trinidad.