Cumberland Island National Seashore, GA - 2011

     This is quickly becoming one of our favorite stops, as you will see why.  (click on any photo to see enlargement)

Sharon on the telephone receiving Happy Birthday wishes.

The twisted and curvy branches of the Live Oak Tree.

The twisted wood grain of a "dead" Live Oak Tree.

Your Island Guide Bob

Whitetail Deer

One of the island's many feral horses.

Thanksgiving dinner!

Shore bird with large orange beak.

Fiddler crabs.

Good Ol' Southern Hospitality

     After spending a week in Brunswick GA, we continued our trip south on the ICW today.  Our stay in Brunswick was not all play, but the fruits of our labor were a little sour.  The watermaker, despite all the parts that have been swapped out, still does not want to cooperate with us.  Our latest attempt to "fix" the watermaker involved the replacement of the pump head, and once again it has failed to produce potable water.  Again we called our new BFF in Florida, but this time we made arrangements for the watermaker dealer to inspect and troubleshoot the watermaker himself.  On a good note, while we were at Brunswick we made a trip over to a  local fuel dock to fill up Big Run's fuel tanks.  While we were there we managed to get free water, which should hold us over until we get to Riviera Beach in Florida.

     When we weren't working on the boat in Brunswick, we were with our good friends from S/V Meant To Be, Ken and Cindy, who have a water front home on Back River/Terry Creek.  On Monday, our second day in Brunswick, Cindy called to see if we wanted a ride into town.  As full time cruisers you never turn down an opportunity and what an opportunity it turned out to be.  As Cindy ran a few errands around town, we got a chance to get a feel for the layout of the town.  Later, Cindy stopped at Wal-Mart for a few items, and well, we managed to fill up one grocery cart with just about everything we needed to reprovision the boat.  Later that day we were invited to Ken and Cindy's beautiful home for dinner. The next day, Tuesday,  we spent putting the previous day's bounty away.  The following day we received another golden opportunity, the use of Cindy's car to run additional errands in town.  Wow, Big Run is now better provisioned than she ever has been.  In a small gesture on our part we invited Ken & Cindy out for dinner, but of course they would have to drive!  They took us over to St. Simon Island where we got a very nice tour of the island before going to the restaurant Iguana for dinner where we enjoyed the best fried shrimp ever.  Then on Friday was a totally unique experience for full time cruisers.  We went to the local high school football game which also included a wonderful tailgate party prior to the game.  Our time spent in Brunswick was truly a very memorable page to be written in our log.  Thank you Ken and Cindy for some good ol' southern hospitality.

Where We Want To Be

     Update on the watermaker.  The membrane was replaced yesterday and no joy.  Our new best friend in Florida at Murray Marine suspects the pump head is fouled.  A replacement pump head and other running spares are being drop shipped to our friends Ken & Cindy (S/V Meant To Be) in Brunswick, GA.  Our frustration level has been surpassed by the problems we are experiencing with the watermaker.  However, looking back since we have installed the watermaker, it has kept us out of marinas and on the hook, exactly where we want to be. 

First Anniversary

     Today marks our first anniversary as full time cruisers.  It has been a tremendous adventure, and it shows no signs of slowing down.  Just yesterday, after anchoring in a very small creek with swift currents, Sharon made the comment that last year we would not have attempted such a maneuver.  The experiences and knowledge we have gained over the last year have been invaluable.  This year as we travel south once again on the ICW, our confidence level soars.  We consider this to be our sophomore year, but we keep our enthusiasm in check knowing very well that we must maintain a vigil for it is too easy to have a mishap while on the water that could result in unwanted consequences.

    The greatest benefit of our cruising experiences is the people we meet.  Just the other day we made an acquaintance with a gentleman in Wrightsville Beach.  We swapped stories with him at the dock and as we parted company he extended not only his hand in friendship, he also volunteered his time if we needed assistance getting around the area.  This does not happen in every port we stop at, but we do frequently meet people that are genuine and sincere.  Not wanting to forget some of the special ones are the people we meet on the water, our fellow boaters.  In particular, our mentors in the Bahamas, Rick & Deb on M/V Broulee. Rick and Deb (& Izzy the dog) made for some memorable moments that shall never be forgotten.  Then there is another couple that was a chance encounter, all because of our boat names, Big Run and Short Walk.  Ann and Joe on S/V Short walk are another stand out couple we met in Florida and saw again in the Bahamas and Portsmith, VA.  The list goes on and on.  Take for example Ken and Cindy on S/V Meant To Be who invited us, two strangers, for Sundowners at our favorite beach in the Bahamas, Little Bay.  And who can forget our friends from Long Cove Marina, Rebecca and Trina on M/V Kismet.  The list goes on and on.  I hope no one feels left out, I was trying to show the broad diversity of the people we meet on the water and land.   

      If the past is an indication of what the future holds, I would say that Sharon and I are in for the ride of a lifetime.  We hope that in another year or two we still hold the enthusiasm we have today on our first anniversary.

Property Tax

     My sister Barb always says "no news is good news", that applies to Big Run.  We have been in Wrightsville Beach since last Wednesday and there is not much to report.  We came to Wrightsville Beach because we needed repair parts for the watermaker shipped in to us at the Wrightsville Beach Post Office, which is a short 1 mile walk from our anchorage.  After contacting every Spectra Watermaker dealer on the east coast for parts, we found a very well stocked dealer in Florida, Murray Marine.  On Friday, the replacement high pressure switch for the feed pump arrived and was installed by 2 o'clock in the afternoon.  But that did not solve all the problems as we soon discovered that there is a problem with the watermaker membrane and the quality of the water it produces, the parts per million (PPM) count is too high and the water is not potable.  Our new watermaker contact is now shipping us cleaning solutions to use on the membrane.  The cleaners should arrive on Tuesday by UPS to the local post office.   Hopefully the cleaning solutions will lower the PPM to a potable level and we can start living a normal life again - daily showers.  In the meantime, here we are anchored in Wrightsville Beach for the 6th day, they may soon charge us a property tax.