July 12-21st Beaufort and back.

My cousin Siobhan introduced us to Patrick our new crew member. he wanted to get some miles in for his Captains license. We thought he could cook and he thought M’Aingeal was sea worthy. Well I guess we were both right in a way. First thing in the morning he had to climb the mast to thread the halyard through.(Line that raises the mainsail, crucial to sailing!)

I was trying to fix the halyard and made the amateur mistake of not anchoring the line before fiddling with it. Still it made for a good video.

Patrick Rausch came down to help us and asked me how many Patricks did I know! For clarification My Pat is Pat and Patrick will be Patrick!

We had beautiful smooth sailing up the Gulf Stream to Beaufort SC. Patrick had been on strict instructions to bring VEDA bread ad he also brought the right flour to make Soda Bread on the boat. Things were looking great. Food would be wonderful …until he made pork chops. Utter disappointment ! Pat said they were just like the way his mother made them. (NOT a compliment, shoe leather comes to mind). He made up for the next day with a wonderful Chile.

The above is a picture of the fresh soda bead.

Once we reached Beaufort we pottered about there a bit. There was a festival on but nothing really worth writing home about and some of you will have read the previous posts about the beautiful Beaufort.

When we headed out to sail south the seas were high and there was a 30 knot wind from the south. We decided to return to port and have an easy evening and review in the AM. Unfortunately the options to return were not that great as the inside route (ICW) down Georgia is full of sandbars (which would put you aground very easily and also quite boring scenery). We decided to tack south. It was now only 25 knots! It took us 20 hours the last time we went out to Fernandina this time it took us 40 hours!

At the start of the forty hours it seemed fun. Good company, boat sailing well but heeled 30 degrees. Great for a while but has anyone tried to go to the toilet when it is on an angle of 30. I insisted we ‘heaved’ to every time I went. (Some of you may have been aware that it’s easier for a man ).

It was too rough even for the flying fish and spinning dolphin. but still some decent sunsets.

We arrived in Fernandina at night. I love that place! Of course we had to drop into the Green Turtle to make Patrick Rausch jealous. There was a cloud burst when we were shopping so we decided to wait in the bar by the dock before bringing the shopping on board. As I looked out in the rain I saw our neighbors on the dock fiddling with their lines. ‘Really’. I thought ‘ they had seemed like experienced sailors and yet there they were adjusting their lines in the squall’. Some moments later I found out it was OUR lines they were adjusting. The stern line had gone loose and the boat was blown of the dock with the electric lines trailing in the water.

The Nieghbour was in fact a fascinating man and as we were talking the guy from the tug boat came by saying there’s still beer in the tug boat and to join them. Too may offers in so little time!

As we sailed on down to St Augustine we had some encounters with Ferries. That may not look close but they are going at 20 knots and we are at 5 knots. Its always a relief to see the other side of the boat.

We anchored in St Augustine JUST before another squall. This one was very close and Patrick had never encountered the Floridian Squalls. the Lightening can Crack pretty close.

We had a fairly pleasant ride back from St Augustine. We went down the ICW as the wind continued from the south. Patrick showed us how to race the boat as we 25 minutes to reach the bridge but we were 35 minutes away. Lots of fast tacking and the tide helped us.

Patrick was not only a great sailor but great company as well.

Roseate spoonbills are so beautiful and so difficult to catch on camera.

I don’t think he realized that he would not only be climbing the mast but also spend a day with his head in the bilge fixing the bilge pump which was clogged and then draining our water tank unrelated to the bilge pump . ( the filters were closed with bacteria).

I took Patrick out to see the turtles.

I took Patrick out to the beach when we were back in New Symrna to see the turtles new but unfortunately we didn’t see any however it was a lovely walk. The following day I went out and not only saw these little babies hatch but on my way home a mommy came out to hatch (last picture)

Life is good in New Symrna. A few days later Janet Larue took me out on her really fancy fishing boat. From our 5 miles an hour to 50 miles an hour!! Great company, Wonderful hostess.

Now we are waiting out the storm and heading out tomorrow. In there Tiki bar with MACKENNA

The blue dot is us!