Salty Tales of the Cheeky Monkey III Part 4 Southbound Again

Stuart, United States

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Cocoa Beach, United States

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Woke to the tell tale sign of wind beating on the hull. Unfortunately, we’ll be following the N wind south, but are hoping to get an early start to minimize the effect. Fingers crossed again! 🤞 It’s a slow go on the ICW this morning as we pass thousands of homes one foot from the water. The Cheeky’s wake would swamp any number of these in a heartbeat, but the responsible captain keeps a careful eye on it. Coming into my favorite stretch of the intracoastal, we just saw our first manatee couple! They poke their heads up to see you coming, and then they slowly swim by you. Martin is understandably itching to get going, but I worry about all the creatures beneath us. After 20 knot NW winds kick up the waves in an open stretch of the Banana River, we enter the snug, crossover canal of Bairs Creek where the manatee play, leaving the wind behind us for a bit. A sharp left turn after the creek, heads us south again, this time on the Indian River. The NW wind blew, but we were in the CMIII and all was well, that is, UNTIL we entered the westward channel of Cocoa Village Marina. Suddenly that NW wind told a different story. And we’re supposed to dock in this? I couldn’t even set the lines it was too rough!! Thank goodness there were 3 dock hands waiting for us, including Dockmaster Ken, who runs a tight ship. I only heard one slight “F#$K!” as a fender snapped free, but it was quickly retrieved and all was well. We are staying put for the night!! Now all we have to worry about is the guy coming in behind us since the sailboat we’ve been watching out for just came flying around the corner at breakneck speed. He landed it, but broke the Mariners rule, “never travel at a speed faster than you want to crash into a boat in the dock.” That sailor was either really great or really crazy or maybe a little of each. 😳 Oh shit, here comes the other guy!! Three dock hands later and a competent captain, and we’re all set for the night! Plus, Martins’ cooking up his best English bangers!! Yummy!!😋

Cloudy start to the day, kind of nice for a change! 😉 Hope everyone at home is keeping warm, looks like temps are dropping!

Martin in action. Thank goodness for modern technology!

Waves on the Atlantic are predicted to be 9 to 10 feet today and we are seeing the effects even inshore, as we approach a fleet of Flemings who beat us out of NSB. When the going gets rough, the Cheeky Monkey gets going!!

In typical fashion, the Cheeky Monkey is now passing everyone in sight!! I love to watch her rip!! 😂😂 Ps That’s Aurora from Stuart on the left so we had better give her a smooth pass or we may hear about it later!!

What a difference a sunny day makes! Bairs Creek is typically loaded with fishermen, manatees and dolphin! Today it’s quiet, and a bit gloomy, but we cleared the Haulover Canal Bridge with 5 feet to spare. Hooray!

Crossing the NASA railway bridge. It’s cool to think the space shuttles make their way across this bridge and then up into space!

🎼 So you gotta car? That don’t impress a me much 🎼 😂🤣

Our trip into Cocoa Village found us pelted by sand on windy streets so we took refuge in a nearby Irish Pub where Martin practiced his magic tricks on the bartender, poor girl! 😂😊🍀 PS She was impressed! 👍

New Smyrna Beach, United States

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Saint Augustine, United States

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Awoke at 6:30AM to a dense, debilitating fog, so what did I do? A) make the captain a hearty breakfast, B) clean up the engine room from the workman’s recent visit? C) go back to bed for two hours? Great job, C is correct!! 😂🤣 Shout out to the Captain who did get up, make breakfast and clean up the engine room. 👍😘 Hoping to be on our way soon!! Hmm, need to amend that, hoping to be on our way today! The fog is playing with us all, letting us see the bridge one minute and the next minute not! One brave soul already left, and Martin watched him on the AIS system, and he stopped mid channel. Uh oh, here goes another brave soul leaving the dock, maybe he’s on the rescue? Now mind you, we are no strangers to fog! We once wanted to get home so badly we left Norfolk in full fog bound for Cape May and when we got to Cape May, we fueled up and went back out in the fog in the dark! We finally did break Manasquan Inlet about 8 o’clock in the evening, and obviously lived to tell that salty tale! And I’m sure my son, James, and his girlfriend, Meghan, can remember the day they drove all the way down to Cape May to join us only to go fishing 65 miles out in the dense fog!! Not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure!! And we didn’t even get a bite that day!! So yes, fog sucks, as all the Captains now idly chatting on the dock can attest! And don’t even think about moving without radar, although many young, bold sailors do. You know what they say . . There are old sailors, and there are bold sailors, but there are no old, bold sailors!! So true and all part of the salty tales to tell! 😂 Having survived the morning’s fog, the Cheeky and her ocean-loving Cap and crew are now heading out another long, shitty, choppy inlet at Fernandina Beach. Cap says only 47 miles to go! Once we clear the inlet should be smooth sailing! Let’s hope so!!

Finally safe in her St Augustine slip for the night. That's it for the ocean, folks!! ICW all the way now! 👍😊

Next Dance, Sunday night, still at Jekyll Island.

Happy Halloween sailors’ style! 😉

A different story Monday morning. We are still planning to get to Saint Augustine this afternoon, but are obviously getting a super late start!

Next Dance, Monday morning, argh!!!

Spiders are huge and plentiful here, yikes!!

And we’re off! Following Next Dance,with only visibility being .25 miles ahead on the radar.

That’s Next Dance ahead, still no sighting. Thank goodness for Bob 423 tracks!!

Clearing a speck, we can see the dolphin playing in our wake! And I haven’t seen so many butterflies as we’ve seen this trip. I forgot they existed!

Can you spot Next Dance ahead?

Yahoo!!! Clear skies!! 👍👍

Many thanks to Next Dance for leading the way this morning!

The Cheeky leaving everyone in her rear view mirror as usual. What a relief after that nerve wracking start! Beautiful ride now, whew, but I need aspirin!!

Coast Guard guarding a nuclear sub near the Georgia/Florida border about seven nautical miles from Fernandina Beach Inlet. Cool!

Thank goodness our boat is nearly 40 ft long! Those smaller boats are crazy going out in this!

St. Augustine, officially, THE worst inlet so far this trip!

Finally at ease after a long day of fog and irritable inlets.

The Floridian is the place to go, but book ahead! Closed Tuesday

St Augustine, the oldest city in the US, is lovely!

Jekyll Island, United States

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Hilton Head Island, United States

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Charleston, United States

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Georgetown, United States

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Southport, United States

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Beaufort, United States

Sun, 22 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Aurora, United States

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

Coinjock, United States

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0400

Smooth departure from Norfolk at a ripe, 8:30 AM lined us up nicely for the many bridge openings we’ll contend with today. Many thanks to all those have commented and wished us well along the way. We’ll need those “safe travel” wishes as we face 14 openings to our somewhat dreaded Coinjock destination. Fortunately, 6 of them are at least 35’ high which works for us! The rest are fairly well timed if you maintain roughly 8 kts down the ICW. It’s easy to get lost in Norfolk. Fortunately, our Garmin has our old tracks, putting our Captain more at ease. The reason Coinjock is not my fav, and many boaters try to give it a miss (which isn’t easily done), is that it’s jam packed with boats! In fact, we were on standby until about 5 minutes. We’re now actually going to raft up with a 50’ Tiara when we get there. 😳 We’ve never done that before! Guess we’ll figure it out when we get there, ha, ha! Hey, I’m not complaining, it’s a beautiful day and we’re on the water. Hope you all enjoy this lovely, autumn day! 🍁 After that blasted train delay, the Cheeky has now taken her usual spot in front of the pack, earning her well-deserved reputation as the pushy vessel from Jersey with the chick who spends all her time on the phone! 😂🤣

Keeping all those Amazon prime packages moving!

Would you look at the size of those pipes! Massive!

I would not want to see these two bad boys coming at me!

Guns blazing! Looks like an interesting place to visit next time.

Southern Grace, aka Popeye, is waiting patiently with us for the first 5-mile train to pass. What other choice do we have? We’ve already missed our 10:20 lock opening and here comes another blasted train, argh! The best laid plans! 🤷‍♀️

The train that beat us! 😬 Note the same company moving by both land and sea.

The Great Bridge Lock is now open and Northbound vessels are on their way. We’re next!

Lovely to see the greenery again! At the only lock along the way, we moved down three inches.

The only mileage sign on the whole ICW that lets you know where you are! Good thing we have our trusty Garmin, Navionics, etc, etc.

Martin’s got a handle on it!

A kind gentleman named, Bob, his wife Paula and their sweet dog named Rolo nicely allowed us to raft up to their boat last night at a packed out Coinjock!

Norfolk, United States

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:10:00 -0400

Always a bittersweet goodbye leaving Utsch’s, but Ernie’s ready coffee warms the spirit and gets us revved up for our next adventure. We’ll be back next April, Ernie! Left the dock at a respectable 8:30 AM on a fabulously calm morning. Let’s just hope the waves follow suit once we break the inlet. The ocean didn’t let us down today and we had a beautiful run to Norfolk, Virginia on calm seas with beautiful skies. We pulled into the Norfolk Yacht Club just as early evening set in. The young sailors, and the old fisherman shared the water with us, as we scrubbed the Cheeky clean! Feeling like we’d earned our keep, we proceeded to devour a delicious dinner at the Yacht Club’s restaurant, 36 degrees. Hevin, our waitress, was fabulous and so was the food. The $4 mini sundae is a must! Some of our Stuart dock neighbors will be arriving here tomorrow, but unfortunately, we are leaving first thing in the morning to catch the railroad bridge, then off to the Great Bridge Lock. Wish us luck on timing all the bridges to Coinjock, it’s quite the puzzle! 😂🤣

A freshly cleaned Cheeky beaming!

Gorgeous sunset tonight!

Quiet out here, all of our dock buddies are inside on the Chesapeake.

Guess where this is? Hint: MD

Passing Chincoteague. If you look closely, you can see the ocean beyond the land, that’s how incredibly narrow it is!

Would you just look at those seas!

Ocean nearly like glass today!

Going over the Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel.

In Norfolk, America’s finest! 🇺🇸

Youngins learning to sail!

Very peaceful here at the Norfolk Yacht Club.

The last of the daylight, time for dinner at the Club! (We are allowed as guests for the evening, ooh la la!)

Cape May, United States

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 18:40:00 -0400

Point Pleasant

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 17:10:00 -0400

CMIII barely got away! As we watched the back of the workman, leave the boat at 9 AM today we knew there was still a shot at getting on the ocean to take advantage of the lovely, calm three-day window to begin our trip. After our recent massive cam shaft repair, with subsequent fiber glass job to repair the hole created for the new shaft 😳, we were never quite sure until today if we would be back in boating business! But, thanks to Joe our reliable Caterpillar mechanic and Jimmy the meticulous fiber glass guy, and a big wad of cash, we set off at the gentle hour of 1PM.

Here comes the Captain on a mission with his hands full!

Where is all this stuff going to fit?

Captain sets off on his own from Bayhead with plans to pick up first mate on the dock in Brick!!

Hang on a minute, if Captain is pulling in the fender, who’s at the helm? 😂

Ominous clouds on the Bay!

Leaving through Barneget Inlet.

Beautiful day on the Atlantic despite the random rain showers. 👍

Calm seas! 😊