We set anchor at St Augustine at 6pm just as the lightning starts and a front passes by. We are glad to be anchored and wonder about Willow and Diapensia. Jared calls that night... they are having some problems. Two bolts from the engine mounts backed out, one hit the flywheel, was bent and then sheared off… the other went through the crankcase and the engine has blown up!
They were trying to sail up the Intercoastal Waterway, since their engine was dead, to get to Savanna. They didn’t make it… one of the squalls hit them broadside and pushed them onto a sandbar, which grounded them. They had to wait hours for the tide to rise. I’m not sure but I think they had an anchor out to help keep them from getting pushed up on the sand bar any further due to the wind. The rode broke and they lost their anchor. They called for a tow once off the sand bar and were towed all night to Savanna, about 45 miles away. The engine is not salvageable and they are now stuck in Savanna looking for an engine. They are currently anchored but not in a very good place, it’s tight and they are getting beat up from the wind being on their stern… long story but they have to have two anchors out (but left with only one) so they won’t swing with the wind… there is not enough room to swing. (Ben and Jamie left for VA once they landed in Savanna, who could blame them!) We hope to be of some help, somehow.
We are still in St Augustine waiting out weather… today we are sitting in a storm of 35 knots of wind and constant rain. The boat is getting a good, and much needed wash. Jared and Ruthie are hunkered down in Savanna with the same storm system. Diapensia has gone on and should be home soon. In the meantime we have been hanging out with some old friends (the Dill’s) from my Crested Butte days, which has been a great treat.
…. Here is the long and short of it…. we spent almost 2 weeks getting saturated with rain and hammered by wind while we were anchored out. We dug trenches in the muck and the boat produced a huge crop of mold. So we decided, why go all the way up to Annapolis which would take us weeks just to turn around in 5 months to head south to the Caribbean. We are here, we have friends here and it’s cheaper… so we are staying.
Ruthie is with us right now helping Mark and Katie set up a coffee kiosk, Jared is back on their boat in Savanna putting in a new motor that we were able to find, and Carey and I are looking for a car. We are now living in the Oyster Creek Marina, have a new address and are enjoying showers and new friends.
St Augustine is a lovely old town established in the 1600’s. The historical district is full of old buildings, homes and businesses. I don’t have pictures yet since the sun just came out 3 days ago. We plan on being here through hurricane season (the end of Oct.) so come visit! …Or wait until we are in the Caribbean.
You can now call, write or email us and we don’t have to wait out weeks before getting back to you. Also, if we missed any emails during our time out please forgive us. By the time we would get to our email there would be so much junk mail that it was easy to miss “real” emails. We will soon be looking for jobs and settling into “normal” life.
We look forward to hearing from all of you! Ta-ta for now!
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