Have you ever seriously thought about living your dream? We did and now we are full time cruisers onboard M/V Big Run. Everyday is a new page to be written in our ship's log as we travel to new places and revisit some ol' favorites. Come along and share our experiences and journeys.

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Welcome to our Adventure

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Swimming Lessons

     After 8 glorious days on the Waccamaw River at Butler Island, we slowly made our way south to Cumberland Island, another one of our favorite ICW stops.  As with previous stops, we have made numerous hikes through the live oaks and on the beach.  I have often wondered what live oaks are called when they die off - Firewood!  Back to the business at hand.  One of the many benefits of Cumberland Island has been the wildlife.  This year has not been a disappointment with the wild horses, turkey and other creatures.  Yesterday was quite a surprise for us as we sat on the boat watching the tide go out, very much like watching paint dry.  Except this paint drying episode had a twist to it.  To the west of our anchorage is a shoal that at low tide is exposed.  At half tide I kept looking over at a formation on the shoal.  Although partially submerged, it kept my interest.  As the tide receded even more, I was drawn into a curious mode and would scan it more regularly with the binoculars.  Although it was only 150 yards from the boat, I was not able to get a good view because of the way the object was laying.  The key word here is laying.  Finally at low tide, when the object was fully exposed I discovered it was an alligator laying on the shoal.  It appeared to have something in its mouth.  Then, all of a sudden as on cue, with a violent lift of its head and partially opening of its jaws repeatedly, the alligator started to swallow its prey.  We could not decide what the alligator was having for lunch but inquiring minds wanted to know.  Off to the dinghy for a closer look.  As I was getting into the dinghy, the alligator must have caught wind of my plans and slowly lumbered into the water.  I was able to get the dinghy close to the alligator, about 30 yards, but I don't think the alligator appreciated my interruption of its lunch and just stared at me.  I slowly backed off and returned to the boat but not before getting a few decent pictures of the alligator in the water.  Cancel today's swimming lessons.

Basking in the sun while savoring lunch

Still working on swallowing lunch, gator needed something to wash lunch down.

The partially open mouth convinced me to back off.



Saturday, September 8, 2012

$10,000 Fine








    What's wrong in the above photo?  If you are a boater and have navigated through bridges, you should have spotted it immediately.  If you're not a boater, welcome to ICW Bridges 101.  Boats have 2 drafts, the all important one is "What floats your boat?".  Big Run needs 4'6" of water and then we're still not going anywhere.  So we need 5', Sharon prefers nothing less than 6'.  The second draft is your air draft or "How tall is your boat?".  Measured from the waterline to the top of the tallest fixture is your "air draft".  Big Run's tallest item is our VHF antennas yielding us an air draft of 28'.  It is very critical to know both of your drafts.  However, your draft (water) when approaching a bridge is not critical because you're probably already and should be in the bridge's navigation channel.  Here is where the air draft becomes so important.  Most bridges have boards at each entrance to the bridge's fender system.  On the boards are the bridge's clearance based on the tide height.  In the above picture you would read the clearance at the waterline.  But in the above picture of the boards for the Barefoot Landing Swing Bridge in South Carolina, one would have to question "Which board is positioned correctly and do I trust the dude that installed the boards(s) can read a tape measure?".  The prudent sailor would hail the bridge tender.  I almost forgot one other thing.  If you request a bridge opening but your boat would clear the bridge span without an opening, you are subject to a $10,000 fine.
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