April 3 We loved our new anchorage because the water was deep and there was a dinghy dock nearby and a supermarket! I didn’t feel like cooking so we got Chinese takeout. What a wonderful thing. We hadn’t had that in many months.

April 4 We had planned for a pre sale survey so the first part was done in the morning by the surveyor’s assistant. Afterwards, we took the tender for an hour or so to explore. There was a smaller sailboat from Canada in the anchorage with us and we made friends and invited them over for cocktails. They had two very cute little girls so we got them settled in the bunk room with a good movie while we grown ups gabbed. As dinnertime approached, I suggested they bring their dinner over and cook it on our boat while we ate leftover Chinese food. That worked well and we all had a fun evening.

April 5 It was a rainy day so we just did things on the boat.

April 6 This was an exciting day. The sun was out and a friend named Arthur (who we know from NYC), met us at the dinghy dock and took us to lunch at Pier 66 marina restaurant. His friend, Robert joined us there. Our view was a big motor yacht called Cakewalk. We had seen it in the Exumas last year and our friends Sam and Susie know the owner from Denver. Afterwards, Arthur took us to his apartment on the 19th floor in a building that overlooks the channel to the sea. We got our drinks and sat on his balcony and watched 8 cruise ships leave the harbor. As each one passed by the building and blew its horn, many horns blasted in return from the buildings around us. It was loads of fun to watch. 

April 7 It was rainy a bit in the morning but cleared by lunch time. Our friends Milt and Judy Baker from Ft. Lauderdale picked us up and took us to lunch nearby and a very good and healthy restaurant. We were very happy to catch up with them. They even dropped me by the supermarket so I could get a few more groceries.

April 8 The main part of the survey happened on board and our broker came with the surveyor too. We had to take the boat out into the ocean and run it through its paces and test every system. This was stressful for John but the boat passed the test. Our idea was to find out if anything serious was going on that we needed to fix before anyone bought the boat. Arthur brought Robert to see the boat and they also brought really good pizza- another treat!

April 9-10 We left Ft. Lauderdale early but not too early as Arthur was waving an American flag off his balcony for us as we passed! The weather was sunny and we made the passage in the Gulf Stream and up the coast to Fernandina beach in good time. There was even a quick green flash at sunset! We arrived on an incoming tide, which is always nice, and anchored near the fuel dock we planned to go into the next morning.

April 11 First thing, we went to the dock and got some fuel which is cheaper down in Florida than up in CT or RI. Next, we headed up the coast to St. Catherine’s island, GA where we anchored for the night.

April 12 The next leg of our trip north was to go up on the outside to Port Royal Sound and then up the Beaufort river to just north of Beaufort, SC. We missed the 4pm bridge opening and had to anchor for 2 hours while the rush hour traffic used the bridge. Afterwards, we went the short distance to our friends Alan and Cathy Rae’s house. We have stopped there several times in the last 2 yrs but never arrived at almost low tide. As we came into their anchorage area, we scraped along the shell bottom slightly but were able to slowly work our way into our spot.