30⁰37’13” N – 081⁰28’51” W

WE’RE IN FLORIDA “SOMEDAYERS”!!!!!!! That’s right guys and gals; we’ve made it to our final state of this trip. So far, if your keeping track, we have been in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and now Florida. What a trip it has been so far. I also feel like we should get credit for North Dakota as well. Why? You might ask. Because up till a day ago the temperature has felt like that’s where we were (And because we watch the whole “Deadwood” HBO series, so we feel like we now the place too).  Yesterday we sailed down the Cumberland River, past Cumberland Island and the U.S. Navy sub base there, I was able to get one picture of a sub before the Nave started shooting at us (just kidding… they didn’t see me take it). We also sailed past Old Fort Fernandina; if you look close you can see the shore batteries. We got to Fernandina on Amelia Island yesterday at about 1300hrs and just relaxed, and walked around the town (cute little town by the way) until a friend and former crew member of Capt. Greg’s got off work. Donna was the cook on his first trip down the ICW, and true to her former crew position, took us out to a great little sea food place called “The Surf”. We had a great time and made a new friend as well. At the next table over there were two couples having dinner, they saw us all in our Banana Winds crew shirts and tried to put together our positions on their own. “LT” was wearing a wind breaker over his shirt (so they couldn’t see he was wearing one) so they assumed that he was the owner and Captain, and Donna (who was also not wearing a crew shirt) they thought was his wife. And that just left Greg, Gaffman, and me as the hired hands. Boy, were they wrong!!!! We got to talking and set the story straight. They were very nice folks and one of the ladies (the one who thought she had us figured out) posed with Donna for a photo.

This morning we got up at about 0730hrs, and the captain and I had breakfast with Donna before we fueled up, watered up, and shoved off at about 0945hrs. We are planning to make it to St. Augustine today. Till then “Somedayers”, Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.

31⁰02’46” N – 081⁰25’21” W

We’re hangin’ with the rich folks today “Somedayers”. Jekyll Island, Georgia is the home to “The Jekyll Island Club”, where all the hoity-toity super rich folks from New England used to come back in the 20’s and 30’s. They had themselves a “cottage community” on the island of mansions that they would come down to in the winter when it got to cold for them up north. That’s where we are now. We got a slip at Jekyll Harbor Marina, which ironically is the same place my folks kept their boat when we lived in Georgia about seventeen years ago. The place hasn’t been “elite” since the 40’s, but we’re trying to bring it back by docking the Banana here. We made really good time today; we left at about 0720hrs this morning, just after first light. We were hoping to make it all the way through Georgia and stop at Fernandina, Florida. But, we got tired and saw that several of our cruising companions were stopped here as well so we pulled in for the night. It was a fairly dreary day today and we didn’t take any pictures… sorry. Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.

31⁰47’21” N – 081⁰12’09 W

We had an uneventful day today “Somedayers”. We made it into Georgia today, and we saw a few cool things along the way that I would love to tell you about, and you can see the pics we took of them. First of all we had a beautiful sunrise this morning. It was gorgeous. We left our little anchorage soon thereafter and made our way towards Savanna, where we saw a deer swimming across the ICW. I can only assume that whatever she was headed for was of the most critical importance, because the water is still really cold!!! And we saw a boat that was aground, I think it looks worse than it is, but you can decide for yourself. Other than that “Somedayers” we have little else to report. Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.

32⁰09-29 N – 080⁰51’07” W

What a morning “Somedayers”, it was beautiful. We even saw a rainbow. However, that rainbow happened to be to windward, and for you land lubbers, what that means is that the rain was coming our way. It did hold off till after lunch, but we did get some nasty wind and a few drizzles. You’ll see by the pictures even when it’s cloudy, it’s still pretty nice to look at. We went past Perris Island, and stopped just south of Hilton Head Harbor. And if this trip has taught me anything about ocean ecology, it is very clear to me that dolphins are in no danger of going extinct, as a matter of fact they must be thriving, ‘cause the water down here is infested with them. I love dolphins.  Banana Winds, swimmin’ with the dolphins and standing by on 16… clear.

32⁰37’01” N – 080⁰24’06” W

Well we got rained on again today “Somedayers”. Actually we got poured on to be exact; the wind was so high to that the rain was coming in almost horizontally. But, it still beats workin’!!!! Tony joined us last night and we were glad to share some of our bad weather luck with him today. We continued our journey though the southern states this morning as we slipped past Fort Sumter and continued though Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. We continue to see lots of dolphins and other sea life. It amazes me when I see the diversity of our little world, and then I look up into the night sky and see all those other worlds… it makes me feel blessed to be a part of it, even if it’s an infinitely small part, I know I’m still a part of it, as are we all. The rest of the crew and I spend much of our evening sharing these feelings. I’m sure you have had the same thoughts at some point, or something similar to them. So the next time you cast your gaze to the night sky and wonder at the heavens, know that we, Capt. Greg, Jim “LT”, Tony “Gaffman”,  “Boston” Stevie, Perry “Cookie” and me have spent much of our time doing the same and thinking of you at home… as we are right now. Banana Winds… no significant structures, standing by on 16… Clear.

32⁰48’22” N – 079⁰45’35” W

WE SAW DOLPHINS!!!!!! And we even got pictures of them that I didn’t have to draw circles for you to see them too (like last time). They came right up alongside us and surfed in our wake, I’m guessing that there were about five in the pod, but they all kind of look alike (geez I hope that doesn’t sound racist). They came along just as we were nearing the marina that we are staying in tonight, Isle of Palms Marina. The dolphins were a perfect end to a perfect, if short, day on the ICW. We woke up today with a little bit of cloud cover, after having a crystal clear view of the stars last night. The sun came out before 1000hrs and warmed up to 80⁰ by 1300hrs. The water keeps getting more clearer and is beginning to look very inviting. We saw some old derelict boats today and figured they must be from some hurricane from some time ago. Tony should be here in the next few hours and we should have a nice night. I hope all of you do as well. Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.

33⁰10’12” N – 079⁰17’28” W

Today was one of those days that make us remember why we’re doing this, and helps us to forget the bad weather days that we have been so plagued by lately. It was a gorgeous morning as we steamed though a Cypress forest and by 1100hrs we were in shorts and tee shirts. We saw tons of turtles and, later in the afternoon we even saw an alligator. We left the Myrtle Beach area, ran past Georgetown, South Carolina and are now headed for Charleston where we’ll be picking up Tony. That’s right “Somedayers” the Gaffman will return tonight!!!! Talk to y’all soon (wow! Did you catch that “Y’ALL”, we must be in the south now!!!!!) Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.

P.S. here is another quote I like:

“To me, nothing made by man is more beautiful than a sailboat under way in fine weather, and to be on that sailboat is to be as close to heaven as I expect to get. It is unalloyed happiness.”

 by Robert Manry – American journalist and sailor.

33⁰40’52” N – 079⁰02’29” W

Short day today “Somedayers”. We got underway at about 0800hrs this morning after having some egg sandwiches for breakfast. When we woke up we were amongst our cruising caravan, and when we finished breakfast we were all alone. So we weight the anchor (it was heavy) and made way. We caught up to everyone fairly quick, we’re a much bigger boat which makes us faster. We got a good picture of Mikey sitting on his bucket. We came though the Grand Strand today. That is the area of the Carolinas where all the vacation resorts are, like Ocean Isle, and Myrtle Beach. It was a neat way to experience it, being on the back side of the coast. The scenery was excellent, and the homes were extravagant to say the least.  Capt. Greg remembered a very nice marina that is also inexpensive, so we talked everyone in to stopping with us here at Osprey Marina. And there is a local pizza joint that comes to pick cruisers up and bring them back. So we all went out for pizza and did a little grocery shopping next door to the joint before having them bring us back. It was great fun and we all had a good time. Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.

33⁰49’37” N – 078⁰42’30” W

Well “Somedayers” we found the sun, it’s still a bit chilly though. Today we had wonderful bright sunny day, and by the end of it we were shedding a layer or two. The morning found us in the Cape Fear River, after having traversed Snow’s Cut, a very confusing channel. In the river we encountered a huge oil tanker (you’ll see the pic below). After that we traveled the rest of the way through the state of North Carolina, and anchored just inside the South Carolina state line. And, we seem to have fallen in with “Pirates”!!! But being pirates ourselves we are too concerned by the situation. We are moving south in a loose convoy of four or five other sailboats, one of which is a black hulled Choy Lee 33 ketch named “Pirate Witch”, from Wisconsin. One of the others is a small boat named “Ragtime” being single handed by a young man on his way to Miami. We haven’t spoken to him much, other than to find out his destination, but he seems to be a real gypsy/pirate. His boat “Ragtime” is kind of slow, covered in gear, he sits on a bucket while at the tiller and doesn’t seem to be monitoring his radio… we’ve named him “Mikey”. All the best Mikey, if you ever see this!! One of my favorite things about this trip, so far, is the people we’ve run into. Some of them we don’t even ever meet, like Mikey, but we know that on some level we’re not that different from them, and if a meeting ever does take place… I’m sure we’d like them. One of things that all of us out here share (and many of you who couldn’t make it this time share as well) is our love of boats and what they represent. I have a favorite quote that I had my Mom send me to add to the blog for today (thanks Mom), it is…

“If a man must be obsessed with something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps better than most. A small sailing craft is not only beautiful, it is seductive and full of strange promise and the hint of trouble.”

              E.B. White.

That pretty much says it all, don’t you think so? More to come tomorrow “Somedayers. Till then Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.

34⁰06’15” N – 077⁰52’32” W

COLD!!!!! That about sums up our day today “Somedayers”, COLD!!! We left our anchorage this morning at about 0730, and hoped all day today that it might warm up, it didn’t. We only made it about 40 nautical miles today partly because we were to cold to continue and also because we encountered a lot of bridges today that operate on strange schedules. One would open every half hour on the half, and the next would only open on the hour, and they were fairly close together (like five miles) so we had to go very slow so we wouldn’t have to sit and wait for them. For on five mile stretch we were only cruising at 4 kts (we usually cruise at 7 or 8 kts). But we made our way to a very nice marina for the night and had hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner. The pics for today are of a big shrimpin’ boat (again no sign of Forest Gump, darn it!) and of a sailboat that tied up just a little to close to land at high tide. Hope all is well at the home front, and please think warm thoughts for us. Banana Winds standing by on 16… Clear.