Georgia on my mind

Crossed into Georgia mid-morning. Chilly and grey, lots of good wind. Made about 32 NM today.

double reefed at dawn

finally

Grey and cool all day. While preparing dinner - freeze dried beef stew - the sun made a brief appearance. Should cross into Georgia tomorrow.

headed for Port Royal Sound

No sunshine today but I've got a nice breeze and riding the ebb tide.

Beaufort (Bewfort)

Rock Creek

just waiting on the tide

under cover of darkness

tracking map, forecast

Here is the tracking map for the winter cruise 

which should begin Thursday morning.

click the above or copy and paste from this...

https://maps.findmespot.com/s/DD7J

Doing final packing and gear check today.  Below you see the check list which I borrowed years ago from the Everglades Challenge.  The equipment list is made for expedition racing but suits, in my opinion, cruising very well.  Each different color or type of mark, from a check mark to an "ok" represents a different cruise.  Wonder how many more sails I will get out of this before I have to reprint.

I have checked the forecast and there is in fact guaranteed to be 100% chance of weather.  The two days that matter are tomorrow and Thursday.  Maybe some light rain for the first part of the drive down south but then no rain in the Carolinas tomorrow afternoon and Thursday.  I just don't like to rig in the rain.  After Thursday I'll take whatever comes.  

The goal is to sail from Charleston, SC to Florida.  Maybe Jacksonville or, should I make good time, Palatka.  What I need to end the trip is a marina that accepts transients, a nearby boat ramp and a nearby Amtrak station.  All three can be found in both Jacksonville and Palatka.

At top is a screen shot of last year's winter cruise, which ended early when I broke the mizzen mast in a hard jibe on Blackbeard Creek near Valona, Georgia.  Let's see if we do better this year.https://maps.findmespot.com/s/DD7J

 

raw

Peruvian scallop, perfectly dressed.

SPARTINA

Wood grilled octopus appetizer at SPARTINA on Melrose in Hollywood.

packing, for now and then

 Packing for two trips.  First a trip to San Diego and L.A. to visit the youngest daughter.  When back from that I'll head south to Charleston for another go at the Sea Islands trip.  

garage window light

 

rigged but not launched, launched but not sailed

Yesterday was rigging day for SPARTINA.  I pulled her out of the garage to set the masts and spars in place.

There were some modifications I needed to check, including the new tiller above and the new mainsheet cam cleat pad.  Both seem to work out very well.

I put the new safety harness lanyard in place and also the new forestay on the main mast.

Once she was all rigged I packed some gear on to the boat, broke down the rig and fastened everything in place for trailering.

Then it was off to the boat ramp.  I did not rig her there, just back SPARTINA down in to the water to make one last adjustment on the trailer itself.  A good day's work on a beautiful sunny and warm day, seems like the first one we have had this year.

 

packing, charging, sorting

Lots of little chores to take care of this coming week.  Today I made some of the trail mix for the winter trip down south.  I need to pick up some more dried fruit tomorrow.  All the food for breakfast (RxBars, Tanka Buffalo Bars and a cup of fruit), lunch (Rio Mare tuna, cup of fruit, crackers) and dinners (freeze dried meals and a cup of fruit) have been sorted and packed.

I've been charging batteries and power packs.  I will be curious to see how much I will the new iPad mini and how much battery power it will consume.  I will bring the GoPro 8 and a handful of batteries, but I have found I don't use the GoPro much as my iPhone generates technically better images (I think GoPro are designed for video use, still images seem to be a secondary purpose).

 I have days marked out on the calendar next week - a "food" day, an "electronics" day and a "boat" day to do final packing.  For the boat day I need to bring SPARTINA out on the street and fully rig it to make sure the new forestay is the right length and to check a few other things with the rigging.  

All the gear should be packed and ready to go by Super Bowl Sunday. Then I'll head out to California for a week to see the youngest daughter.  When I'm back from that I will look for a good two day weather window to head south for Charleston.

just found this on my phone tonight

The spring sail in North Carolina, 

courtesy of the engineers at Apple.

sad, but beautiful

 I keep looking at this photograph in The New York Times with a story about the cajun coast, New Oreans, the seafood industry and environmental damage.  A powerful, interesting and sad image.  And somehow beautiful too.