The ICW Revisited, or America’s Crumbling Infrastructure

Bridge of the Lions, St. Augustine, Florida

Motivator’s crew usually enjoys cruising the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some sections of the waterway consist of natural inlets, saltwater rivers, bays, and sounds, while others are artificial canals. Wikipedia

This trip, however was a little less enjoyable.  Weather reports indicated a chance for strong thunderstorms with lightening offshore, so we elected to stay on the ICW.  Normally we avoid the ICW through Georgia due to chronic lack of maintenance. 

 Fishing at low tide

On this trip we “found” shoaling, misplaced markers and missing markers not only in Georgia, but also in Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Patrol boat shadowing Motivator as we pass Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay

This is not to say it was all bad.  As usually, we found plenty of depth and the waterway from the inlet to Kings Bay to be well marked.  I guess that may be a budget priority.

Railroad Bridge

Also we found that several of the opening bridges have been replaced by fixed bridges with 65’ of air space.

We did encounter some bridge maintenance, and north of Myrtle Beach had to wait over an hour while bridge fender boards were being replaced.  But, we never saw a dredger.

After dodging this behemoth crossing the Savanna River, we managed to soft ground on a shoal in the middle of the ICW just before low tide.  As we waited for the tide to return (3 hours), local boats passed by and told us we should have been outside the channel to the east about 20 feet, that’s where one finds the deep water.

Cable ferry that crosses the ICW south of Georgetown, SC

Unlike the long open water passages we were accustomed to in the Caribbean, navigating on the ICW requires constant attention.

You soon learn to listen to and watch your wake to tell if you are getting out of the channel and into shallow water.

After several bumps on the bottom, we finally made it to Wrightsville Beach, NC where we were guests at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort.  Following Hurricane Arthur and the Fourth of July, we continued on to New Bern, NC, Motivator’s hiding spot for the 2014 hurricane season. 

411 Walnut Street

No door-to-door postal service here

Mail can be an issue for cruisers.  Sometimes you can talk a family member into handling it for you, but usually it is a real pain for them and they are not very efficient at it.  For a while we used our son’s mailing address, but whenever he forwarded items he wanted a Chipotle burrito in return.

After a lot of burritos, we decided to go with a professional service, St. Brendan’s Isle, which many cruisers, RVers, long haul truckers, and merchant marines use.  So many cruisers use their service that in Spanish Wells, Bahamas, the dock master commented, “A lot of you live at that same address.”  We have found them to be very efficient and probably less expensive than buying burritos.

When your mail arrives at St. Brendan’s Isle, they send you notification by email and you are able to see the front of the envelope.  Simply by clicking a button, you decide whether you want them to hold the item, scan the contents, or shred it.  For example I had them scan the contents of the Verizon mail above only to learn that Verizon had mailed confirmation that I elected paperless billing.  I had St Brendan’s Isle then shred the document.

Usually we have them forward mail to a marina we know we will be visiting, but because we knew we would be in the area, we decided to visit the place many cruisers call home.

Cruisers, your home has an aquarium!

(with a very goofy looking fish)

Actually, St. Brendan’s Isle outgrew their original location at 411 Walnut Street, Green Cove Springs, FL.  They are now located in a strip mall, but managed to hold on to the original address.

What started out in 1988 as a former cruiser helping out some cruising friends with their mail has grown into an operation that services close to 6,000 clients and employees several workers.

The current owners bought the operation in 1999 and have expanded the client base as well as the services offered.

Manager Scott Loehr

Besides being convenient and dependable, St. Brendan’s Isle has always provided us with friendly service.  Our drop-in visit was no different.  Although they seemed very busy, they took the time to answer all of our questions and show us around their spotless facility.

Our mail box, number 6472, is located at the front of the facility center aisle.

Most importantly, Pollie was able to pick up her new 12 string guitar that she had been patiently waiting for.

For more information about St. Brendan’s Isle Mail Service

click on their banner ad to the left.

Dinghy Davit

In my March 30, 2014 blog posting titled, A Tale of Woe, I blasted the manufacturer of Motivator’s dinghy davit, UMT Marine, for poor customer service.  To recap, when we began having problems with the davit, I contacted UMT asking for an owner’s manual and advice.  Mostly what I received was brushoffs, or bad advice and never an owner’s manual for the unit.  Eventually, this lack of customer service cost me over $1,000 for repairs and a lot of frustration that could have been prevented.

Old electric winch with gas struts with plastic ends on right

When we had the electric winch replaced in Puerto Rico, Jose Luis Martinez of Martinez Marine Services noted that the gas struts that assist lifting the arm were looking a little tired and should be replaced.  He also said that UMT had gone to a stronger replacement and I should consider contacting them for information about replacement units.

New gas strut on top, old bent unit with plastic ends broken off at bottom

As predicted, the gas struts soon failed for the third time.  Once again, I contacted UMT and once again all I got was a run-around.  So, I contacted their supplier for information about modifying the davit to accept upgraded struts.  When I did, I copied in UMT Marine which prompted an exchange of “snarky” emails between me and UMT sales staff.

John Rossi, Operations Manager, UMT Marine on left, and Boghra, UMT technician on right

At this point I considered my relationship with UMT Marine to be permanently severed.  Then John Rossi entered the picture.  John was recently hired by UMT as the Operations Manager.  He pulled my previous emails to UMT and agreed with me that the customer service I had received had been less than stellar.  John then immediately reached out to assure me that he was committed to turning around my perception of UMT’s customer service. 

With a UMT technician, tools, and spare parts, John drove from Fort Lauderdale to St. Augustine, Florida to install new gas struts and inspect the davit.  In all, they spent over 8 hours servicing my 10 year-old dinghy davit. 

 One of the questions I had previously asked when I called UMT was about the feasibility of replacing the stainless steel cable with spectra rope.  John also brought along a 40’ section of spectra with a stainless steel carbineer spliced onto the end that he installed.  We no longer have the cable pops that have a tendency to wake up the entire anchorage early in the morning and the whole unit works much smoother.

 

They also properly lubricated the mounting post, making pivoting the dinghy in position over the cradle much easier.  Their efforts have restored our confidence in the UMT Marine’s dinghy davit.  With John Rossi now at the UMT helm, my confidence in receiving stellar customer service from UMT Marine has also been restored.

See: http://www.umtmarine.com

Storm Chasers

From Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas, we elected to do a 25 hour crossing to the Fort Pierce inlet and then up the Intercostal Waterway (ICW) to Vero Beach, Florida.  We could have broken up the trip with stops at Great Sale Cay and the West End, but we decided that we had a good weather window.  Also, the timing worked better for making the inlet and the ICW in daylight hours.

The first half of our trip crossing the Little Bahama Banks was grand.  Perfect conditions for a crossing.  Wind was less than 5 knots and the waves were less than 2 feet.  At nightfall conditions started changing.  After 2 ½ years down island, we had mostly forgotten how severe thunder storms that form over large land masses can be.  Dodging container ships and large tankers at night while in heavy rain and strong winds can be somewhat stressful.  But, that was not our biggest concern.  Lightning bolts as big as Sequoia trees were!

Our radar displays the storm cells for us nicely.  The problem is trying to maneuver around cells building and moving at 25 knots in a 7 knot boat.  After a couple of unsuccessful attempts it became apparent we were storm magnets.

Motivator once again proved that she can take more than us and brought us safely back to the USA.  Unfortunately, our thunderstorm magnetism continues as we work our way north.  

The Abacos

Motivator on a mooring in Hope Town

As mentioned in a previous blog, many boats that cruise the Bahamas never leave the Abacos.  Venturing south to the other islands that make up the Bahamas is just too daunting for them, and they rightly believe there is plenty to do in the protected waters of the Sea of Abaco.

Motivator’s crew quickly got into “cruising” the Abacos with stops at our favorite places.

After Little Harbour, our first stop was Hope Town on Elbow Cay.  The brightly painted little cottages lining the narrow streets makes Hope Town one of the cutest places on earth.

Elbow Cay is another one of the islands settled by British Loyalist escaping persecution from those pesky American Revolutionaries.  My guess is that today there are more Americans with second homes than descendants of Loyalists living on the island.

But, the Loyalists had a few setbacks.

Swim up bar at Hope Town Inn and Marina

We were interested in seeing the Hope Town Inn and Marina that was still under construction on our last visit to Abacos.  They are still building cottages adjacent to the compound, but the main part of the development is completed and open for business.

The new marina’s dockage rates were more than we wanted to pay for the pleasure of being shoehorned in among the mega yachts.  So we opted for a mooring ball nearby and were happy to use their stellar WiFi.

Fellow cruisers told us that the restaurant at the Hope Town Inn and Marina was excellent, but we had to go back to one of our old favorites, Capt’n Jacks.

Another must-do for us is On Da Beach.  It is a healthy bike ride out of town, but worth the effort.

The specialty of On Da Beach is a drink called a “Turtle Racer.”  It consists of Bacardi Gold, banana rum, Amaretto, and pineapple juice.  More than one, and you are ready to race turtles.

Marsh Harbour was our next stop.  Maxwell’s Supermarket rivals most grocery stores in the states and is a short bicycle ride from Mangoes Marina in Marsh Harbour.  Pollie has “invented” a grocery carrier that bungees to the back of her bike.  Other than looking like a “bag lady,” it works pretty well.

Great Guana Cay is worth a stop in the Abacos.  The last time we were there was in 2011 on our sailboat Serenity.  We were surprised to find an available mooring ball in the small harbor.  The reviews on ActiveCaptain.com indicated that Motivator might be too large for the moorings.

However, the next morning when Troy from Guana Dive came by to “knock us up” and collect the mooring fee, he didn’t even blink at our size.

The big attraction a Great Guana Cay is Nipper’s.

Nippers is funky at best, but it is a good place to have lunch and relax either on the beach or by one of their two saltwater pools.

Our last stop was Green Turtle Cay (sorry, no pictures).  We only anchored there one night to stage for making a 180 NM (25 hours) run back to the states.

Little Harbour

From Spanish Wells Motivator headed for the northern most islands in the Bahamas, the Abacos.  With nothing but open ocean between us and Western Sahara in Africa to the east, this passage can be rather “sporty” in the wrong weather conditions.  But, Motivator’s crew has learned to wait for the right conditions.  “No hurry, mon.  You in the Bahamas, mon.”

The next problem is crossing the three foot bar at the entrance to Little Harbour with a boat with a 4’ 7” draft.  You must time your arrival to coincide with high tide, or anchor behind nearby Lynyard Cay.  Many crews, like we did the first time in the Abacos, askew this beautiful harbor because of the shallow entrance.

Motivator’s bottom cleaner wanted the calm water found in Little Harbour for a cleaning session using the hookah breathing system.  We carry the Brownies brand system that is powered by two small motorcycle batteries.  It gives me about one hour of cleaning time before needing a charge.

Pete’s Pub at Little Harbour is a quintessential beach bar that actually has good food.  Next door is the Johnston family gallery and foundry featuring some incredible bronze sculptures.

 

In 1950 Randolph Johnston and his family left behind the “Megamachine” in Massachusetts in search of the perfect place for Randolph to do his sculpting.  They had planned on cruising the Caribbean in their converted 47’ schooner, but when they entered Little Harbour they knew they had found their paradise.

Pete, Randolph’s son, took over the foundry after his father passed away and now also runs probably one of the more popular watering holes in the Abacos, Pete’s Pub.

Since our last visit two years ago, there has been some low level development around Little Harbour.  Included is Pete’s Private Club House built out on one of the docks.  Its purpose is mainly speculation, but one story is that it is Pete’s private getaway.

The Abacos feel like an extension of Florida, and many of the “cruisers” you find here never venture further south.  Their boats are not the same as we were used to seeing further south.  This Carver does over twice the speed of Motivator, but at an incredible 30gph burn rate.  The owner indicated that he seldom passes a fuel dock without stopping.