Day 180, "on the loop", 4/7/2023

*apologies for the long read and for closing with some bad news*

Friday, 3/31, Follow up to last week's blog. As I mentioned before, we were in slip D182 and hoped we would not need to move. Joel thought if we procrastinated, we could stay on D dock. Well, around 10am, the dock master relayed that we needed to move to B69 and had 15 minutes to prepare and make the move.

Funny Situation (short version): Lewis, a dock hand, met us at the D182 slip, helped prep the lines, pull in the power and pushed us off from the dock and said he would meet us at slip, B69. It took Joel about 10 minutes to back out from the slip and move to the other dock. We arrived at B dock before Lewis did.

As Joel prepared to dock, Lewis questioned "our arrival and length of our stay?" I answered confused... "Sunday" and then Lewis began to explain another boat was scheduled for the B69 slip. I reminded him, he just left us at D dock and told us to move to B. He was so embarrassed, apologized and said it had been a long day. He tried to justify the confusion stating that the front of the boat looked different from the back. :-).

Joel worked to repair some minor issues with the boat. The swim platform is starting to rot a little. We will replace it (eventually), we are hopeful we finish the loop before needing to replace it.

Port 32 Marina allows their guest to use the laundry machines for FREE! The room is small; but, who can complain about FREE laundry. Most marinas we have paid $1.00 to $6.00 per load at other marinas. What a nice perk!

Fellow Loopers: Port 32 is a great marina. There is so much in walking distance: Publix, West Marina, CVS, Panera Bread, Chick-fil-A, Longhorn's and so much more! There is a Hallmark store too! The Captain's lounge is beautiful. Pool area is nice with a hot tub and never appeared to be over crowded.

La Vida: Joe & Ellen were married in the Captain's lounge (in 2022).

4/1 - Happy April Fool's Day! Did you pull off a good April Fool's joke? If so, try to respond in the comment area.

La Vida (Joe and Ellen) invited us to a Fish Fry sponsored by the US Power Squadron. This is a group of men and women who enjoy boating. They welcome all: people with boats, those new to boating and those thinking of getting a boat. This organization offers training classes and other fun activities for boaters!

Before the meal, the meeting included: Pledging the US flag, prayer for dinner, induction of new members and discussion of upcoming events. The food was good, a lot of home made side dishes (yum)! It was nice to talk to fellow boaters and hear their stories.

Joe and Ellen took their boat to Metropolitan Park to help facilitate all the activities planned for the weekend (fish fry & Sunday's, 4/2, "Blessing of the Fleet"). They loaned us their car while they were away.

New members (4 couples): US Power Squadron, Jacksonville Chapter:

The Alligator statue was at the entrance of the park that the Power Squadron met at: Joel & Joe in the picture. Side note: We were near the Jacksonville Jaguars Stadium.

4/2 - 4/3

Map of Trip: Jacksonville, FL (Port 32 Marina) to Palatka, FL (Boathouse Marina)

In order to leave Jacksonville, we needed to clear the Ortega bridge. We requested the bridge to be lifted and made our track to Palatka.

Picture 1 shows us leaving Port 32 in Jacksonville, FL and picture 2 is the opened Ortega bridge.

We took a side trip down the St. John's River for a stop in Palatka, FL for 2 nights. I spent many summers in Palatka, visiting my Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins when I was younger. This is my first time back since my grandmother's passing and funeral (2013).

Aunt Grace & Uncle Dennis

We arrived at the Boathouse Marina late afternoon. My Aunt & Uncle stopped by to visit a while. This Mariana has character! Maureen and Skip are dock masters and super nice. They plan to do the loop in 2026. Side note: This marina may be up for sale in the next couple of years, should someone be interested in buying.

Some pictures near the Boathouse Marina

The mornings are so peaceful here

A little Palatka History:

Palatka became known as the "Gem City of the St Johns" and boasted several world-class hotels that included the Arlington, Saratoga, La Fayette, and the Putnam House, with accommodations to host 6,000 visitors. Palatka prospered in the late 1800s as an enormous resource for timber and citrus and had a reputation for natural beauty that attracted many visitors. However, a devastating fire in downtown Palatka in 1884 destroyed many of the grand hotels and deep freezes in 1894 and 1895 devastated the area's citrus industry, causing a decline in the area's visitation and industry.

On Monday (4/3), we had breakfast at the oldest diner in Florida, Angels. We drove through Ravine Gardens and had an early dinner at Corky Bell's with my Aunt & Uncle.

Look at the entry way (door), the stained glass window. This diner has been in operation since 1932. It's an old dining cart.

The name comes from the original owner, Porter Angel. The Brownings purchased the diner when Porter Angel died.

Christian evangelist Billy Graham was baptized in Palatka, FL. Once Mr. Graham traveled to Jacksonville for a medical treatment and Browning (Angels owner) said Mr. Graham ordered hamburgers to be delivered from Angel's diner.

Ravine Gardens: We met Earl Wallace and his friend Gray. They work for the Garden Society and shared a little background regarding their work as well as information about the Garden(s). They both were thrilled to share their knowledge and we enjoyed listening! Side Note: Mr. Wallace (on the right) has had a couple of strokes; but, that hasn't stopped him. He loves his monthly meetings with the Garden Club. He dropped his cane and I offered to pick it up. He said something funny: "I am still very capable. I have fallen so many times, I have learned to tuck and roll". Mr. Gray recently lost his wife so Mr. Wallace said he is putting him to work!

Remember Geocaching? We haven't seen one of these in years! Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunting activity that uses GPS-enabled devices.

In this case, the geocache is a small plastic box with a spiral bound notebook inside. People write their names, where they are from and some even write a special quote or comment.

More pictures taken at Raven Gardens. My grandmother took us to the Garden(s) when we were young.

Corky Bell's - a suggested stop for Loopers. It was a fun stop, we ate inside but the patio area is nice with docks you can tie off to. The staff was friendly and we enjoyed having a meal with my Aunt & Uncle.

4/4 - Made our track back to Jacksonville. It was a peaceful ride with gorgeous views. See additional pictures below with some notes.

Map of Trip: Palatka, FL (Boathouse Marina) BACK to Jacksonville, FL (Port 32) Marina

Sunrise (in Palatka), so peaceful - a couple of our favorite pictures of the week.

The pictures below were taken shortly after we left the Boathouse Marina (in Palatka, Fl), early morning around 9am.

The ride back to Jacksonville was long, I used the time to clean the fenders (aka bumpers). Side note: We have never cleaned them and they were starting to look bad. We saw a guy cleaning his at Port 32, he suggested cleaning regularly with white erasers. I used Simple Green, white eraser and water with dawn (AND SCRUBBED). They turned out okay, I should have taken a before picture. Additional note: you can purchase cloth covers for these fenders (may look into that).

*Going forward, I will probably clean them every other stop and use the white eraser & water.

We stopped at Doctor's Marine for fuel (diesel). Got the BEST deal yet, $4.20 including tax. We also had the best dock hand. She was super nice and cute as a button, so happy to help! Poor young lady burned her leg the day before on a motorcycle (it was all bandaged up) and was working the fuel / boat docks all by herself! Side note: Joel told her she needed Kathy Jarvis (to nurse her leg... Kathy took care of Joel when he had his motorcycle burn years ago).

It was a HOT day! After docking and washing the boat, we took advantage of the pool before having dinner with La Vida (Joe & Ellen). We also were docked by a Platinum Looper (meaning they have completed the loop 2 or more times). You may not be able to see it, but they fly the platinum (silver) colored flag.

4/5 - Another adorable little town: Fernandina, Florida with a lot of history! This is where Arabella plans to retire!

Map of Trip: Jacksonville, FL (Port 32) Marina to Fernandina, FL (Cedar Point Marina)

Captain Joel checking the engine room before departing Jacksonville:

Joe & Ellen waved good-bye from their pier and we headed out into some light fog. We asked for the Ortega bridge to be lifted for us, one last time!

We passed a railroad bridge when exiting Jacksonville. We thought this bridge remained open at all times and only lowered when trains needed to pass. Well, nothing is more scarier than traveling under the bridge when the horn sounds (for it to be lowered). Luckily, we had time to pass since the bridge master was waiting on a sailboat (coming opposite direction than us). See Facebook page: Tracy Carr Boisselle if you would like to see the video of the bridge being lowered.

Beautiful artwork on the grain containers (pretty cool to see from the waterway):

Shipping container boat & orange escape vessel (on the side): Escape vessels are called "Lifeboats" on these large ships.

When we arrived and docked (Fernandina), guess who we met up with, Permanent vacation: Craig & Jane (last meet up was Marathon, in the keys). They are just returning back from the Bahamas. They met us at the Palace Saloon (before dinner).

Palace Saloon is the oldest drinking establishment, originally constructed in 1878 as a haberdashery. Louis G. Hirth purchased the Prescott building in 1903 and replaced shoes for booze and named it the Palace Saloon. Rumor has it, the bar back in the saloon was brought over from Germany by none other than Mr. August Busch, Jr. (Gussie) himself!

Fernandina Town Area

The Lesesne House

Classical Revival style residence located on Centre Street, downtown Fernandina. Built in 1860 by Dr. John F. Lesesne and remains one of the oldest homes in Fernandina. The house served as a private residence for 165 years and now available for private events and weddings.

Nassau County Historic Courthouse

The 1891 Nassau County Courthouse is one of only a few remaining courthouses in Florida built in the late 19th century. Its architect, A.E. McClure, was from Jacksonville but designed notable buildings throughout Florida including the Lake City Agricultural College. The building ceremony took place on April 12, 1892 (anniversary coming up, 131). This building is the tallest in Fernandina Beach. Side note: These are the original windows, they have that bubbled look to them (can't see in the picture).

Finished the evening with dinner at The Beech Street Grill where Wednesday night is 1/2 off bottles of wine! Dinner was delicious and company even BETTER! Oh, how we laughed at our loop journey, shared our challenges and showed off our bruises. Jane and I decided that the loop slogan should be "Loopin' Ain't for Sissy's"! Joel and Craig shared captain stories and of course praised their 1st mates and bought our dinner - lol.

The Beech Bar & Grill is sometimes referred to as "The Bell House" or "The Grande Dame of Beech Street". An example of the Gingerbread age. The house was built in 1889 by Captain Bill Bell, a harbor pilot, a gift for his bride. Captain Bell and his twin brother were both successful river pilots who invested heavily in the real estate and construction of several homes in Fernandina.

Map of Trip: Fernandina, FL (Cedar Point Marina) to St. Simon, GA (Golden Isles, Morning Star Marina)

Permanent Vacation (Craig & Jane) said good-bye and took a picture of me in action (taking care of my 1st mate responsibilities).

Tide Station:

Equipped with a well into which sea water is run through the inlet pipe (aqueduct) so that the height of the water surface in the well is regarded as the sea level. The sea level is measured by a tide gauge through a buoy which is floating on the water in the well. Looks like it runs on solar (see the 2nd pic, left side ... those are solar panels).

Passed Cumberland Island. This is a recommended looper stop, to see the horses run wild. It is suggested to anchor out and dinghy in to the dinghy dock. We did not stop; but, snapped a couple of pictures. Side note: Used the binoculars and did not see the horses.

Pic 1: The dinghy dock for Cumberland Island

Pic 2: The Island where the horses run wild

Pic 3: Suggested anchorage for boaters to anchor and dinghy over to see the horses

Kings Bay is a submarine naval base. We didn't see a submarine; however, some loopers mentioned they have had to make a slight detour due to submarine activities / training sessions. There were several coast guard boats in this area, at one point, we thought we would get pulled over as a training exercise for the newbies (I was nervous).

Should we have been pulled over, they would board the boat and more than likely check the following:

• Life Jackets

• Flare

• Boat Registration Paperwork

• Waste Management Documentation

The name of the Black Boat is in Pic 1: Black Powder

In the middle of nowhere, there were a couple of cabins near the shore. According to google, we were in Cabin Bluff, Georgia. Guess the name is fitting!

Another few miles, in the middle of what looked like swamp land was a lighthouse. The Little Cumberland Island Light (house) which is privately owned. It was first lit in 1838 and deactivated in 1915. It was built in 1838, 60 feet tall and was designed by Winslow Lewis.

Passed Jekyll Island located off the coast of Georgia. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the state of Georgia and run by a self-governing body. Jekyll Island was established in 1947.

The leg from Fernandina, FL to St. Simon, GA was uneventful and somewhat boring from a sightseeing perspective. We arrived in St. Simon around 2:30pm, washed the boat, used the courtesy car and picked up a few things from Winn Dixie. We also worked in an ACE hardware stop! Tomorrow (Friday, 4/7) will be an early start, we would like to get in extra miles to allow a short run for Saturday (rain is in the forecast).

Pic 1 & 4: Views as we are preparing to pull into the marina

Pic 2 & 3: Courtesy Car (this marina had a nice car for us to use the Ford Explorer)

Random Information & Other Stuff:

Joel submitted a picture that was published in the Quimby Cruising Guide, check it out here. Joel can't take all the credit, the picture was actually taken by "Perfect Match" and shared with us. It is our boat at Sunrise. Note: We did notify Ellen of Perfect Match of the entry and published status :-)

https://quimbyscruisingguide.com/2023-photo-contest-winners/

My Grandma Green's house (and where my siblings and I spent our summer vacations), it seemed so BIG when we were small.

Ravine Garden History:

The gardens opened on the July 4, 1933. Ravine Gardens State Park is a 152-acre. The park contains steep-head ravines surrounding Whitewater Branch, a spring-fed stream that flows east into the St. Johns River. The ravines slope down to the branch, with maximum elevations of 70 to 120 feet.

The park has two ravines up to 120 feet deep with steep banks at 45 degree angles. Unlike common gullies, trenches or sinkholes caused by temporary flooding, the steep-head ravine is a permanent feature with a spring-fed creek that never dries up, called Whitewater Branch. The underground water bubbling up cuts into the bank and carries the sand and soil downstream to the St. Johns River.

Boat Neighbor at Boathouse Marina, Scott is the captain. Originally from Detroit, they are live-a-boards and have been for 18 years, living all over the world. They lived in Venezuela for a while and stated that was the least expensive place to live. They are in the process of renovating their boat now (still living on it during the renovations).

Brace yourself for bad news, our hearts hurt to report:

The week of April 3rd was a difficult week for several of our friends & all of those involved are in our thoughts and prayers.

As for this bad news, the loop can be challenging with difficult moments. On Tuesday, our friends on Anna Dee (Corbin & Patti's) had a boat fire.

A post on the Great Loopers Facebook page was posted by Peter Swanson "Boat Burns to Rubrail at Marsh Harbour; Couple Safe" The post continued, it was a Canadian couple on a trawler from Ontario. As I read it to Joel, he had a feeling (right away) it was our friends. We have been following their journey (on Nebo), knew they were in the Bahamas and had hoped they had made it back stateside. I sent a text to Anna Dee & Donna Lynn asking them to confirm their location. Patti (from the Donna Lynn) responded that they were in fact the couple impacted by the fire.

I am not sure if it has been confirmed; but, seems to have been caused by the inverter. We do not have an inverter on our boat; however, it is still scary as a fire can happen for multiple reasons. There is security footage that shows just how quick the boat was engulfed in flames. Yes,! Patti and Corbin were on the boat and Yes, got off with only the clothes on their backs.

After the fire was out, Corbin was allowed to search the rubble. They were able to recover their important papers (ie. Passports) and found their jewelry (wedding rings). The Counch Inn Marina provided a place for them to shower and rest while they work out the details of the aftermath. ME & Tom (from Anna Dee, their buddy boat) provided clothes and a few other necessities to get them through the first couple of days. We are thankful they had Anna Dee, other boaters / loopers and hotel staff to help. Most importantly that our friends are safe and ALIVE!

If you are reading this, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Say prayers for us too as we continue our travels. Side note: These pictures were taken after everyone was cleared of the fire and in safe spaces.

If the above wasn't bad enough, it was aired on National News this week about the tragic stabbing in San Francisco of a Tech Executive, Bob Lee. Bob is the son of a friend, Rick Lee. Joel and I just had lunch with Rick, he talked about how proud he was of his son(s). Rick lived in Miami with Bob. I cannot imagine how difficult this is for Rick, his daughter-in-law and grandkids. Anheuser-Busch friends and family that know Rick, please show him some love, prayers and kindness during this difficult time.

Tentative Plans for the next couple of days, subject to change based on weather and marina availability:

• April 7 - 8: Kilkenny Marina (Richmond, GA)

• April 8 - 9: Windmill Marina (Hilton Head)

• April 9 - 11: Safe Harbor Marina (Beauford, SC)

• April 14 - 16: Safe Harbor marina (Hilton Head, SC) - we will wait out some weather here