Charleston SC – Sailing into our next chapter

Heading South – Winter 2023/24

We left New Bern on November 2, 2023, with Savannah, GA as our next destination. Savannah wasn’t our original plan though. We had planned to stop at Lady’s Island Marina, where we had stayed on our way north, but they didn’t have any space for us in late November. After much research, I was able to book a slip at Bull River Marina near Savannah, cementing our plans that Savannah was where we would stop for a couple of weeks. This change was good, as neither of us had ever been to Savannah.

Lynette’s daughter was coming to visit us for five days, arriving on November 25^th, so we took our time slowly working our way to Savannah. With a lot of time on our hands, we kept our passages very short going down the ICW. We anchored in new places we hadn’t anchored on the way north, for the change of scenery.

Our only incident during our trek to Savannah was in Myrtle Beach where we got hung up on a rock and couldn’t get off. I called TowBoatUS to pull us off the rock. I’m glad we have full towing service with BoatUS. It made the process quite simple. They were in the area on their way to another incident, so they did a quick detour to pull us off the rock. It took all of 10 minutes and there was no damage we could detect, a bonus.

Our first marina stop was in Charleston, SC at St John’s Yacht Harbor for two nights. We arrived in the afternoon of the 9^th and settled in for the evening. The marina had a courtesy car we could use for 2 hours, so we took advantage of the car and went to lunch and grocery shopping. We fueled up on the morning of the 11^th and headed for our next anchorage.

We now had way too much time to kill between the 11^th and the 20^th with only 132nm to go, so we stopped and anchored every 10-15nm along the way. It was nice to not be on a fast schedule to anywhere for a change. We relaxed and meandered down the ICW at a very leisurely pace, weighing anchor late in the mornings and anchoring mid-afternoon each day.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Bull River Marina

Of course, the passage didn’t go without incident. Our port engine started overheating, so I spent some time troubleshooting the issue. It appeared that the thermostat was sticking closed and not allowing the engine to cool, even though I had recently tested the thermostat in a pan of hot water on the stove. Normally we alternate engines to maintain consistent hours on them. Due to the overheating problem on the port engine, we went the rest of the way to Savannah only using the starboard engine for power. As soon as I figured out it was the thermostat, I placed an order, and a new thermostat was waiting for us at Bull River Marina. I installed it after we arrived on the 20^th and ran some tests to be sure the new thermostat solved the overheating issue. The port engine was back in business.

Lynette’s daughter rented a car, so we were mobile while she was visiting. We went grocery shopping, out for meals, and explored Savannah. We walked around downtown Savannah, found a famous ice cream parlor (Leopold’s), and watched two canons being fired at Old Fort Jackson. I also needed to get one of our alternators rebuilt and buy a new TV, so we accomplished those as well. It was a fun visit and I felt like we got to explore Savannah a bit.

We left Savannah on the morning of December 1^st and decided to take the outside route along the coast as the weather was favorable and we didn’t want to meander through the Georgia ICW. Much of the ICW through Georgia winds through barren marshlands, a bit on the boring side. Once back inside following the ICW, after a night’s rest at Dog Hammock, we kept hitting fog. It would lift from time to time and then get thick again. On our second day out of Savannah, the fog was very thick. This was a bit unnerving as we couldn’t see more than a boat length ahead, so we slowed down to improve our reaction time if something did appear out of the fog in our way. Many boats were trying to get into the marina in Brunswick, GA. I assume to get out of the fog. We could hear them all hailing the marina on the radio, but we kept going in the fog to our next anchorage at Terrapin Cove. It was just a wide spot in the ICW, but a nice place to drop the hook for the night. The next morning it was beautiful and sunny, but as the day went on, the fog rolled in again.

I have stayed in contact with the new owner of No Regrets, our previous sailboat. We chat from time to time and during a recent chat, I mentioned we would be coming through the Jacksonville area on the ICW. He had hired someone to add air conditioners and a diesel generator to No Regrets, now renamed Sweet Caroline, and they botched up the job. I offered to talk to a surveyor and troubleshoot some of what had been messed up while we were in the area.

We entered Jacksonville on the 4th of December. I had no idea it was about 5 hours west of the ICW, which is a long way when you are going only 5 knots against the current. Sadler Point Marina has a very shallow slip they rarely rent out as it is only about 4′ deep at low tide. We tied up there with no problem and stayed for 3 days. I helped the owner with some wiring issues and talked with the surveyor about the systems on the boat so he could write up a scathing document about how unprofessional the upgrades had been. Many things were not to ABYC specs and when we started one air conditioner unit and the generator a lot of raw cooling water was leaking into the boat. It was a very sad sight to see the boat I had spent so many years putting my all into, just get ruined in such a short time. Lynette wouldn’t even go to the boat, as she didn’t want to see the damage. When we bought No Regrets, we had a similar experience with promises made and damages done and not fixed at our first boatyard in Oregon. Unfortunately, his was much more extensive. Live and learn.

*Sunset the first night out on the way to West Palm Beach*

The weather looked reasonable for a passage outside to Lake Worth Inlet at West Palm Beach, FL, so we left Sadler Point Marina for West Palm Beach mid-morning on December 7th. This was a 48-hour passage of 261nm, our first 2-day passage on Cerca Trova. We motored the whole way as most of the time the wind was on our nose. The seas were reasonable for about ¾ of the trip, but the last 12 hours were brutal. Catamarans don’t have a pleasant motion in seas forward of the beam, and this was one of those times. The seas weren’t huge, but the ride was rough and uncomfortable. We made it to Lake Worth and anchored mid-morning on the 9^th, near our friends’ boat and almost in the same spot we anchored on the way north.

When we anchored in Lake Worth, we got hit by front after front with sustained winds in the 30-knot range and gusts up to 50 knots. Lake Worth is not a protected anchorage. It’s a wide area in the ICW in the West Palm Beach area, and when the winds pick up from the north or south, there is a lot of fetch. Add 3′ tides to this and you can wind up with whitecaps in the anchorage. Very unpleasant. During this time our outboard motor decided to stop running and then our watermaker stopped working. We were fortunate that our friends were close by. They took us to shore for groceries and we were able to get packages delivered to his work.

This was when Lynette decided she was done with the sailing life. It had been building for a time, with the lightning near hit, the tropical storm hit, and all the repairs. We were both discouraged with the money going out for repairs and the time I was taking doing those repairs. It seemed like all I had been doing was fixing things that broke on Cerca Trova, and as I was losing confidence in the boat, that lack of confidence was affecting Lynette.

The watermaker issue appeared to be several things breaking at the same time. The feed pump was making an awful sound, so we decided to replace the head of the pump. We were also getting an error message that we weren’t getting any water flow, so I needed to replace the flow meter that counts the gallons of water produced. When I opened the electrical panel on the watermaker I found several wires that were burnt, so I made up some new wires with crimp connectors to replace the burned ones. I was able to buy a new feed pump head and I had all the other parts needed for the watermaker. After two days, the watermaker was making water again.

I spent quite a bit of time diagnosing the outboard problem, with some help from the diver who cleaned our bottom. I had suspected the issue was fuel, but after rebuilding the carburetor the engine still wouldn’t run. Not even a cough. I turned my attention to the issue being an electrical problem. That didn’t pan out, so I replaced the gas with fresh gas with no luck. I then purchased a new carburetor and finally, the engine started running. I’m not sure why cleaning the carburetor and replacing parts with a rebuild kit didn’t work, but it didn’t. After 4 weeks at anchor in Lake Worth, we finally had no more urgent issues.

We left Lake Worth on January 17^th in the morning for Coconut Grove, FL, a suburb just south of Miami. This was a 2-day passage with one stop in Ft Lauderdale to anchor overnight. We arrived at Dinner Key Marina on the afternoon of the 18^th. No slips or mooring balls were available, so we found a spot to anchor. I went exploring in the dinghy to find the dinghy dock, as my daughter and her husband were coming on the 20^th for a week, and I needed a place to pick them up. I found the dinghy dock near the park, so we were all set for the 20^th.

*My daughter and her husband enjoying the sail to the Keys*

We originally planned to meet my daughter and her husband in Puerto Rico and take them to the Virgin Islands for a week. With all the problems we were having with Cerca Trova, I didn’t have confidence in her to make it to Puerto Rico without something major breaking down, so we decided to have them fly to the Bahamas instead. That also didn’t pan out as there were no timely weather windows to cross the Gulf Stream for the Bahamas. The final decision was to have them fly to Miami and we would sail to the northeastern Florida Keys. They say cruising plans are made in the sand at low tide. That couldn’t be a truer statement.

*Enjoying time with a fellow Panama Posse boat, Queso Grande, at Key Largo*

We had a wonderful time with my daughter and her husband. The weather wasn’t that good, but we did get some good sailing in while they were aboard. Plus, there were no major breakdowns while they were here. We made it as far as Key Largo with a couple of anchorages along the way. We didn’t find any clear water, so we didn’t do any snorkeling. They were disappointed in that, but we did go out for dinner a couple of times and played cards in the evenings. They left on the 27^th and we started to prepare the boat and get provisions for the next weather window to cross over to the Bahamas.

Next up, unexpected breakdowns take us back to Lake Worth for repairs.

Beaufort, SC to New Bern, NC – Summer 2023

Lady’s Island Marina in Beaufort, SC is where Cerca Trova summered before our ownership, and the previous owners had a reservation for 2023 that we took over. We decided to stay at Lady’s Island Marina for a month to do some repairs and settle in for a bit. It was nice to have a little stability for a change. Constantly moving on almost a daily basis can take its toll.

The marina has an old pickup truck they lend to their slip customers for an hour at a time. Frankly, one hour is not enough time to go grocery shopping, but they were firm on the time. We just never got the truck back within an hour. It was usually an hour and a half, but they never complained.

Many packages were waiting for me when we got to the marina, so I got busy with the repairs the next day. The list was quite long:

Replace the freezer compressor fan with a more powerful one to help with cooling
Replace the burned-out starboard engine blower
Replace the Furuno PG700 heading sensor (electrical storm damage)
Replace the Furuno IF-NMEAFI analog to NMEA2000 converter (electrical storm damage)
Replace the poorly crimped butt connector between the alternator and the Sterling Alternator Protection Device
Remove the dead Volvo Penta MDI (Mechanical Diesel Interface) black box on starboard engine and test the Multilink cable for continuity
Change all watermaker filters and clean the strainer
Replace starboard engine tachometer with a rebuilt one
Add 5″ duct from refrigerator/freezer compressor fan to washer/dryer locker
Replace defective inlet pressure transducer on watermaker
Replace the dead MDI box on starboard engine with a new one
Add stainless screens to the four engine vents and the galley stove vent to prevent bugs and other critters from entering the boat
Have someone climb the mast to install a new wind transducer (electrical storm damage) and remove the TV antenna
Rewire the entire NMEA2000 electronics network properly
Replace the empty propane tank with a full one
Replace copper ground foil for SSB radio
Replace wrong size hose clamp on the water inlet to the aft washdown hose to stop it from leaking
Update firmware on the Furuno MFD and other Furuno devices
Replace the broken cockpit hatch
Replace galley stove igniter battery and battery holder
Add King Starboard rails to slide stove in and out more easily
Replace cockpit speaker wires
Replace saloon speaker wires
Replace cockpit speakers
Replace gypsy, two cone clutches and two seals on windlass
Replace stereo and clean up wiring in TV/Stereo cabinet
Have dealer replace screen in screen door
Have a diver clean the bottom and replace the port saildrive zinc screw
Polish vinyl windows in cockpit
Rebed port forward saloon window top to prevent leaks

And after thousands of dollars and lots of hard work, the list was completed, for now. In addition to the boat projects, we got our eyes examined, purchased new glasses, and went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned and checked. I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish in only one month. We were both exhausted and ready to stop working and move on.

When I was cleaning the ICW mustache – what locals call the brown scum that collects on the hull after traveling on the ICW – I saw black soot on each hull around the engine exhaust ports, so after a little Google research, I found I needed to get the diesel engine injectors cleaned, as they had never been cleaned in over 2,000 hours of use. I didn’t feel I knew enough about the Volvo Penta engines, so I scheduled a qualified company to remove the injectors and have them tested. This was to be done in Charleston, SC, so I made an appointment and off we went.

*Moonrise at White Point Landing anchorage*

We Left Lady’s Island Marina at 9:30 am on Lynette’s birthday, August 1^st. We didn’t want to push it, so we dropped anchor at 4:50 pm at White Point Landing. This was a little sporty anchorage but not too bad. We knew that the tides have a range of about 8′ in this area, so we anchored in about 15′ of water as it was high tide when we arrived, and didn’t want to ground at low tide.

The next day we weighed anchor at 9:45 am and went the 24nm to Charleston. The Safe Harbor Charleston Marina put us on the outside dock, which was not protected at all. I called the office and they said when we got fuel, they would move us to the inside of that dock. We were both a bit tired, so we waited until the next day to get fuel and move the boat to the other side of the dock. All went well and that side of the dock was much quieter. I’m glad I asked to be moved. It never hurts to ask, right?

It took several days for the Volvo mechanic to schedule us to remove the injectors. When he arrived, he had a trainee in tow, so each worked on an engine. We found out the hard way that the fuel return lines from both engines didn’t dump into the top of the tank, but rather had a tube that went to the bottom (I’m assuming) of the tank. This set up a siphon that drained fuel into the bilge. There was no valve in the return lines to shut off the flow, so the mechanics put a bolt in each line with a hose clamp. That seemed to stop the flow. They took the injectors and left for their shop.

We woke up the next morning with the port bilge full of diesel, almost to the top. I texted the mechanics and they came quickly to deal with the issue. They brought a pump and pumped out over 10 gallons of diesel from that bilge into 5-gallon buckets that we filtered back into the boat tank using our Baha Filter. The mechanics then fabricated a better solution to stop the diesel from leaking. What a mess to clean up. I spent all that day scrubbing the bilge with bilge cleaner and dealing with the dirty liquid. Not fun and the boat smelled so bad that we had headaches from the diesel fumes for days.

The Volvo shop person called and said that the injectors were in bad shape and needed to be replaced. Volvo distribution had no injectors for our engines in the US, of course, but they did have spare parts, so the Volvo shop rebuilt the injectors. A few days later, one of the mechanics came back to install them. All ran fine and I haven’t had any soot buildup on the hulls since then. Next time I will do the job myself and save a ton of money.

While we were in Charleston I noticed a leak in the starboard head cabinet under the sink, so while investigating where the leak was coming from the thru-hull drain fitting for the air conditioner cooling water broke and started flooding the area with salt water. I figured out it was the air conditioner cooling water and turned off the AC unit to stop the flow of saltwater into the boat. I now had a new issue to fix, on top of finding where the original water leak was coming from inside that cabinet. Ah, boat life. Never a dull moment.

To replace the thru-hull fitting required going under the bridge deck between the two hulls. There is only about 15” of space between the bridge deck and the water where the thru-hull fittings are located. My neighbor graciously loaned me his kayak so I could float under the boat. I could barely fit under the bridge deck to replace the thru-hull fitting, but I was able to get it done and reattach the drain hose. One issue was fixed.

While I was borrowing the dinghy, the owner of the boat behind us asked if I could help him from the water to tie straps around his dinghy. I obliged and he offered to take us to Whole Foods, Ace Hardware, and a liquor store for supplies a few days later. Very nice.

The original leak I was looking for wound up being a broken 3-way valve, used to change from fresh to salt water for the toilet. It was broken and every time water was turned on somewhere in the boat, it gushed out of the valve. Luckily, there was a spare onboard, so it was easy to replace. It’s all fixed for now.

The Safe Harbor Charleston City Marina is right near downtown, and the marina has a free shuttle that takes people to and from the farmers market, grocery stores, and West Marine. We took advantage of the shuttle and went to the farmers market to explore. It made for a nice day away from the boat and boat projects. Sometimes you need to take a break from the daily grind.

The highlight for us was that friends came to visit for a day, providing a chance to catch up on our lives and show them Cerca Trova. We topped off the visit with a very nice dinner and beers at a local brewpub.

We left Charleston on the morning of August 12^th heading to Santee Bay. We passed through some very skinny water, less than 5’ in some places. Our depth alarm sure let us know and so did the bottom a few times. Luckily it was only sand and mud. Along the way, we passed the dredge that was working its way down the ICW, deepening the channel. What a very slow process. They run 24 hours a day and move very slowly. It was a tight squeeze between the dredge and shallow water, but we made it past the dredge without incident.

We were able to take advantage of a weather window and went outside the ICW for a portion of our trek to New Bern, NC. The window provided a brisk broad reach from Little River, on the border of North and South Carolina, to Cape Fear, NC. After three anchorages since leaving Charleston, we were out in the ocean sailing for the first time in what seemed like forever. It was a brisk sail with a double-reefed main and full jib. Our top speed in about 18 knots of wind was almost 8.5 knots. It was nice to get the sails up and enjoy the ride.

Our anchorage for that night was at Carolina Beach, NC on the ICW. This was a cozy little anchorage off the ICW near some docks and homes along the banks. After the brisk day of sailing, it was nice to have a very quiet place to sleep.

We stopped at two more anchorages before reaching New Bern, NC. Along this route, the ICW goes through Camp Lejeune where the Marines often practice with live ammunition. By reading the notes on our digital charts I learned that the ICW is often closed in this area due to these live ammo practices. The notes had a phone number, so I called it to see if the ICW would be closed when we planned to pass through. There were no activities planned for the day, so we were clear to pass through Camp Lejeune uninterrupted. It pays to read the chart notes and comments from other mariners. They can be helpful.

We arrived at New Bern Grand Marina on August 18^th around 2:45 pm after fueling up at another marina nearby. We were on the outside of a breakwater dock and when the winds came from the East, it got a little rough. There was no other dock space available, so we had to live with the situation. Luckily it didn’t blow from the East all that often. We planned to be here for about a month and then head north to the Chesapeake Bay to explore the area.

Next time; enjoying New Bern, changing plans, more projects, and weather issues.