On The Water Again

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

We have had several folks jump aboard as virtual crew members in the last few weeks by following the Blog. The Admiral states that with so many virtual crew members, surely she can upgrade to First Class Passenger.  Welcome aboard to the newest crew members:

• Michael O.
• Sue F.
• Germanky
• Eva N.

However, it was a bit hard to get aboard while the boat was swinging in the slings to repair the prop.

Summary of week:

After getting the starboard prop replaced in Brunswick, the crew set out to make it to Port Royal on Saturday.  To reach that goal, they made two anchor stops.  The first was at the Wahoo River and the second at Bull River.

Click on the link to read the day-to-day travel log. This includes weather report, sea conditions, captain’s log, and a summary of the day’s experience.

At the Box Office

This week’s video shows Still Waters II being hauled out of the water to repair the prop.  Enjoy!

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site. The library contains videos of Still Waters II cruising America’s Great Loop.

Tuesday, May 29th

The skipper hired a diver to check out the props.  The diver conformed that the damage was to one blade on the starboard prop.  The boat was scheduled for a haul out for Wednesday afternoon.

Bobby the diver, after he completed his dive.

In addition to the diver, the crew also entertained Debra and Berrlin from the Satisfied Frog.  The Admiral did her usual best at hospitality and cooked dinner for them after they arrived from a long day of cruising.  It was great getting time to break bread and to talk with them.  They recently crossed their wake in Fort Lauderdale.  Debra and Berrlin plan to cruise the Chesapeake Bay this summer.  Our crew will Leap Frog up the A-ICW with them until they get to the Bay.

Congrats Debra and Berrlin on going Gold!

Wednesday, May 30th

The skipper got a call late morning that the haul out would happen at 1300.  So after lunch, the crew moved the boat down to the maintenance yard to be picked up in the slings.  The crew was a bit nervous watching the boat come up out of the water, but the yard did a nice job.

Still Waters II on her way up and out of the water.

The fouled prop.

The one blade was barely bent, but it was bad enough to shake the whole boat at 1200 rpms.

The bad  bent blade, the far left one.

It took the maintenance crew about an hour to change the prop.  After the prop swap, the skipper had to go pay for the services rendered.  Most marinas will not put your boat back in the water until you pay them.  The skipper jokes that this is “No Cash, No Splash.”

After the money changed hands, the boat was placed back in the water.  The crew did a quick sea trial to verify every thing was ok, and then parked her back in their slip.

Thursday, May 31st

The crew shoved off the dock earlier than normal to try and get some extra miles under the keel.

A look back at Brunswick.

It was an uneventful 8 hour cruise.  The crew dropped anchor in the Wahoo River.  For those who have been onboard since 2015, you might recognize the spot.  This was the very first spot that the crew ever tried their hand at anchoring.

The view while at anchor in the Wahoo River.

Friday, June 1st

Another uneventful day on the water.  However, the wildlife was out today.

Brown Pelicans hanging out on top of solar panel charges preventing the batteries from recharging.

Watched an Osprey feed her young chick in this nest.

Then saw these interesting white birds, not sure what they are though.  There were at least a dozen of them in the surrounding trees.

Lastly, the skipper noticed Mr. Al Gator.

Unfortunately, the best sighting of the day took place just after the skipper had eaten lunch.  If they would have spotted this boat just a few minutes early, they could have had a burger on the water.   Oh, and the aroma of grilled burgers filled the air.  Deep breath, I love that smell.

The Burger Boat

At the end of the day, the crew dropped the anchor in the Bull River just across the sound from Hilton Head Island.  This turned out to be an exceptionally good anchor spot.

Also, the 300 watts of additional solar power has worked as designed.  When the crew left in the morning, the batteries were showing 12 volts.  With the solar panels working in the cloudy day, they still were able to recharge the batteries back to a float value of 13.4 volts before stopping for the evening.

Saturday, June 2nd

The crew weighed anchor and headed towards Port Royal Landing just south of Beaufort, South Carolina.  One of the nice things about this marina is that they offer a free night if you stay for two nights.  The crew will stay for Saturday and Sunday night.  But do to their late start north, they will not take advantage of the free night.  Just an observation, it looks like it is literally killing the skipper to give up a free night of dockage.  But I think he will get over it.

Cruising up the Beaufort River.

When the crew arrived at Port Royal Landing, the crew of Satisfied Frog was on the pier to welcome Still Waters II.  The two couples had a wonderful dinner and great conversation.

Just before the crew headed over to the Satisfied Frog, the weather turned particularly bad.  Storm clouds formed and lightning was all around.  The crew got a bit wet by the rain on the way down the dock.  After getting aboard Satisfied Frog though the full strength of the storm hit.  Some of the strongest winds that the crew has been in, the radar and weather apps said 40 plus.  Luckily the storm passed quickly and things calmed back down.

Some how during the evening the skipper shared his thoughts on launching kids from the home.  This led to some interesting talk, and eventually a movie titled ‘Failure to Launch’.  The movie was well done and made for a great way to cap off the week of cruising.

And in the news, the ‘Failure to Launch” freeloader in NY finally moved out of his parents home.  The news article said he was moving to just a few doors down to a cousins house.  Cousin beware!

Boat Name Of the Week

Otter B Me

Next Week –

The crew will attempt to travel from Beaufort, South Carolina to Beaufort, North Carolina by the end of next week.

Loop On – Where the road ends, the water begins. The water goes on forever, and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red