Brunswick - at a motel

Air Fleetwing! Flying along….

 Fleetwing was hauled today at 10:00. The crew here is second to none, professional and competent. One backstay had to be released (my fault, I thought it would clear) which the yard crew did and it was off to be pressure washed.

Bob and Shiela Keller

We had loaded our luggage to the main cabin and we were not looking forward to lifting it out to the cockpit and down a ladder given my shoulder problem (the one armed sailor). Bob and Shiela Keller came to the rescue! They arrived just in time and took over the loading of our car. They had offered to help yesterday and we gratefully accepted - I wasn’t of much use. Many thanks to Bob and Shiela.

The straps are tied to bolts set in a continuous anchor of concrete

Meanwhile, Fleetwing was strapped down, real hurricane straps. With the extra boat stands and straps, I feel very secure about Fleetwing over the summer until we return the first week of October.

A closeup of the concrete anchor

We are off Saturday for a two day trip to New York. This marks the end of my blog for the spring. I wish it was longer but things happen that can’t be ignored. See you in the fall.

Brunswick Landing Marina - Fleetwing is ready to be hauled

 

I found Redhead in Brunswick Landing Marina - Jeff Siegel’s previous boat

The first order of business was to motor Fleetwing one mile to the pump out dock. You had to call ahead to be sure it was available and off we went. We were met by two dockhands which quickly handled the pumphead and we were done in less than 10 minutes. 

Fleetwing with our dinghy on the foredeck. It took two men to accomplish the task. 

We glided back into our slip and started our haulout preparations. First, the rest of the canvass came down which is more of a job than it sounds. Ann did most of that since I can’t get my hands above my head with my shoulder problem. 

The biggest work effort that we could not do was in hoisting the dinghy out of the water and onto the front deck, bottom up. The boat yard provided two burley individuals which we greatly appreciated. I then proceeded to put lines across the dinghy to ensure winds would not send it on an unintended trip. 

Lastly, all the things we just couldn’t live without for 5 month is piled on top of the port bench in the main cabin. It doesn’t appear it will fit into our Rogue but we’ll find out tomorrow when we try. 

I may have one more blog left after Fleetwing is hauled, a few photos of her on land - all alone. We’ll be back in October for a repeat trip on the ICW but this time up to Beaufort, NC in the spring of 2024.

Brunswick Landing Marina - at a dock

Very nice Captain’s lounge

 We’re marching through the week, aiming at Friday for haulout. Today was laundry day and one advantage of this marina are the free washers and dryers - and they work too! All were functional. The only downside is the nature of the marina, one long strip.  For us, it was a 0.5 mile hike to the laundry area. They could have used a few tables for folding laundry. Most people I saw there today folded on top of the dryer which tied up the dryer for use by others until the folding was done. However, it’s a joy to use washers and dryers that actually work - unlike Key West. 

What marina have you ever been in that had a row of tablets free for your use?

We will need a pump out before being hauled and the system here is to bring your boat to the pump out station by the dock house, about a mile away. They do not have a pump out boat that comes to each slip on a rotating basis like Titusville Marina or a pump out connection on the docks like at St Augustine and Dowry Creek. With capacity for 347 boats to be docked, it could be quite a shuffle to get pumped out. They do offer a pump out at your dock using a portable cart but it’s $35 with a capacity of only 40 gallons.  That service was not available at our boat haulout dock. 

The captain’s lounge (0.5 miles from us) is spacious and very nice. One popular feature is free beer and wine every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s a great gathering place for boaters to meet each other and is one of the reasons the marina is so popular. 

Thursday  will be a busy day with further preparations for hauling. We need to put our dinghy on the foredeck for summer storage. With my shoulder affliction, I can’t manage that so the yard will send some crew over on Thursday afternoon to help. I’ll strap it down tight after they hoist it aboard. 

Brunswick Landing Marina - at a dock, getting ready to haul

 

We’ll go behind this boat. Note the six tie downs

I’ve chosen to pay for tie downs that strap to the cleats on Fleetwing and then are fastened to a eye embedded in concrete. They will use three per side. It seems to be a good investment even though hurricanes are rare in this part of Georgia due to the way the coast is indented here. 

A close up of the tie down embedded in concrete

Additionally, I will have 120v and water for the boat. The electricity will be used to power the dehumidifier during the summer to ward off mold. I mount it next to the bilge and put the drain in the inlet for the air conditioner - the water will drain out onto the ground. 

We’re somewhat concerned about the amount of work to be done after Fleetwing is hauled. The luggage to be loaded to our car will still be in Fleetwing, requiring a transfer after Fleetwing is up on land which involves handing down the luggage from a height. Our driver who is bringing our car from Deltaville, VA is due to arrive around 2:00 pm to help but we have to leaved the boat yard by 4:00 pm so I can take our driver to Savannah for a flight home. So we have a 2 hour window to unload Fleetwing and load the car. 

Some boats are just in for some summer work - no tie downs. The long termers are tied

I am impressed with the system of tied downs they have. I haven’t seen any yard with a better system. I will also be installing two video cams to keep track of Fleetwing from home. Of primary concern is that we don’t lose power inadvertently (someone unplugs to run a sander and forgets to replug Fleetwing) but I can monitor that remotely. I have less concern with damage from winds given the excellent tie downs that will secure the boat. 

On Wednesday we do the last laundry and the put the outboard on our dinghy again, start it, and let it run dry. It’s the procedure we’ve followed the last several years that prevents the carburetor gumming up with gasoline residues over the summer. I was finally taught that lesson with two bills for cleaning the car carburetor, one for $200 and one for $350. Never leave gas in the outboard over the summer!

Brunswick Landing Marina - the Coast Guard arrives!

Everybody loves a Brittany - and he loves attention

 The Coast Guard was in early this morning at the travel lift. We by passed on our morning walk and Hoolie wanted to greet them all, he’s a social dog. The boat needs bottom cleaning periodically, like all boats, and up it went. 

Notice how high the travel lift is, it’s a high step up from the water

I wanted to see the propellers to see how they fared in southern waters but there were none! The Coast Guard boat was jet driven, no props! I guess it’s one less thing to clean. The lift here is very high and so the boat yard is high above water in case of storms but it’s a very high lift out of the water.

Look ma! No props!

The winds here continue unabated with gusts to 33 kts! If we hadn’t stopped here for a haulout, we would he holed up somewhere else along the line, waiting for less wind. The Sounds you traverse on the way north with a running tide would be exciting with wind against current, especially at 30+ kts! It’s been an unusual spring with all the high winds. May is supposed to be calmer but we haven’t seen that yet.

Brunswick Landing Marina - at a dock

 

Our little corner of the marina - you can see Fleetwing in back

We are very well protected from any wave action but it comes at a price - a 0.5 mile walk to the clubhouse. We had winds topping out at 33.5 kts but the water was calm here. They don’t haul boats over the weekend, it’s all closed up at the boat yard for storage on land. 

The docks are modern concrete and very sturdy. 

I’m using the waiting time until our haulout on Friday to rest my shoulder and arm, hoping for a quick recovery. Our car arrives Friday and it will be doctor city the week we return. We’ll have “fun” off loading from the boat after it’s up on stands into our Nissan Rogue. I will have to take our driver to the airport in Savannah so he can catch a plane home. Then it’s back to Brunswick to pick up Ann and Hoolie for the trip north. We should arrive in New York by Sunday.

I am slowly on the mend, it’s no fun being a one-armed sailor! Meanwhile, we’re catching up on Netflix movies - they do have good internet here by OnSpotWiFi (as usual). My only knock on the place is the long walk to the clubhouse where the laundry is located. 

Brunswick Landing Marina - at a dock

 

Fleetwing’s home for the summer is behind the sailboats 

Storms were predicted for the afternoon but the morning was to be fair with light winds but what winds there were blew us against the docks at Jekyll. We had to go forward to depart but there was another sailboat about five feet off our bow. We couldn’t pull out usual backing out routine since we had an enormous power boat about 5 feet behind us that looked very wide. 

It’s looong way to the clubhouse, about 1/2 mile (not visible in the photo).

So, I put a fender by the aft section, tied a line to a forward cleat and led it back to the aft most cleat on Fleetwing and had Ann put it in reverse. We were working against wind and current that was pushing us into the dock but slowly and steadily, Fleetwing’s bow swung out. At about a 30 degree angle, Ann switched to forward, gunned it, and the dockhands slipped off the line we were backing on - and we were off without incident. 

The trip through Jekyll Creek was not a problem. I saw 5.0 MLLW at the shallowest point following the Bob423 track. So many people follow the track that now it’s the same path using Navionics SonarChart. 

Arriving at Brunswick Landing Marina, we at the extreme far end, next to the travel lift. We have to wait for our car to be driven south and that’s not until Friday so we have lots of time to prepare Fleetwing for summer storage. However, it’s a half mile walk to the marina where the laundromat is located. We may do without for the duration. For now, it’s time for some quiet time for me to recover and then getting the boat ready for haul out.