Other than Marc and I being completely thrilled that we are off the dock, in the warmth, sailing south for the winter, I was thinking, what could I possibly have to blog about? Then we arrived in Jacksonville Landing, again…

Though Jacksonville Landing is only 24-25 miles north of Green Coves Springs, it is a really nice way to start our trip south, often when we talk to other cruisers and ask if they stop, they say they bypass Jacksonville Landing. For the life of me, I don’t know why. It is an awesome over night stop to start your journey.  When we were here on the 28 Dec 2014 we tied to the wall just south of the landing, enjoyed the view, people watched, ran the Jacksonville bridge, enjoyed a free concert, drank a cold margarita. This year though, Hurricane Mathew has damaged the docks making over nighting directly at the festival type landing a no go. Thankfully the public docking north of the Fuller Warren Bridge was empty. Jacksonville Landing has a lovely walkway that runs along the river, so we walked from the bridge to the landing to enjoy the tall, beautiful 50+ foot Christmas tree that dominates the square and responds to the tempo of the Christmas music being played. Other than the spiritual significance of Christmas, I don’t feel very Christmasy down here without family, snow, and constant carols in stores. But this one night, filled with music, people dancing, little girls playing, is as close as I can get to home. 

Morning Fuller Warren Bridge

The walk back to the boat was a different walk, than the walk to the landing. The shiny buildings were dark and the homeless were huddled on benches and tucked under bushes as out of sight as much as possible. Guiltily,I felt nervous, but I shouldn’t have, they were just looking for a warm place to sleep. We had an uneventful night, other than a gentleman standing on the dock, grading our boat, who shared with his female friend much to my captains ire, that size matters.  When we woke the next morning the fog was thick and ominous, but as it cleared that same walk way was filled with hundreds of runners and walkers and just south of us under the bridge was a fantastic market with potters, fresh veggies, baking and crafts. The market didn’t open until ten, but we poked around for an hour before it opened and came away with fresh tomatoes, grapefruit and cinnamon buns.

 

Thinking of Susie, meet the gentle potter http://www.gentlepotter.com

He uses natural elements such as leaves and incorporates  them into his work

Same stop, same time of year, one mile difference in docking made two completely different experiences.  

Fun Jacksonville fact:  In the early 1900’s Jacksonville boasted mild temperatures, low cost labour, and easy rail access to become the “ Winter Film Capital of the World” with more than 30 studios. In the 1920’s, local politicians forced the studios to go elsewhere, and Hollywood was born.    

#guidovanhelten Amazing Silo Street Art Jacksonville Shipyard 

Wordless Wednesday Just A Day or Two Late...With A Few Words

Its hard to believe, that its been over a month since we left home, so much has happened and yet so little. 

When I wrote the first draft of this note I was  this sitting cuddled up in the V berth, under a thick comforter, because its was to darn cold to get up. The temperature was dropping to the low 50sF during the nights and highs of 70s when the sun warmed things up in the afternoons. Now a week later we’ve been sleeping with minimal coverings, hatch open, fan on. It is unseasonably warm for this time of year in Florida and from the pictures we see posted, much of Canada is also enjoying unseasonably warm weather with a snow storm tossed in every so often just to remind you where you live. 

See I Told You We Were Cold

Staying in the B&B for two weeks was definitely the best decision we made, then getting DevOcean into the water as fast as possible was the second best. Green Cove Springs Marina is a working marina, and as I’ve said before its hard being on the hard. It’s dirty, the fresh water hoses can sometimes trickle, electrical breakers have been known to blow, but, it’s relatively cheap, there is good access to parts at reasonable prices with often with next day delivery, if you have a car, replenishing is fairly easy. Best of all the work yard is always full of a great cruising community willing to lend a hand, or share a sun downer and the staff is second to none.

Don't Judge, The Sun Shade Protects The Inside of the Boat But Causes...

No Matter Which Way I Turn

Can You See DevOcean?

Marc Hunting for Boat Parts No Matter Where We Explore

Hurricane Mathew Damaged The Aging WW2 Pier 

Hurricane Mathew damaged the aging WW2 pier that was already falling to pieces so when we launched there was no room on the pier to wait out our stay. We actually got evicted… Our intent was to book a slip at Reynolds Park Marina for the month, but it seems their policies have changed, and space is not available for month long dockage and it appears even more limited if you use long term store at Green Cove Springs Marina. I think a little business some’n, some’n is going on between the two marinas, so this is why we are waiting out our time in a pretty little anchorage about two miles across from GCSM. No biggie, Marc and I prefer the hook other than the connivence of a dock.

At Anchor

The night after we anchored, just before dinner we were settling in the cock pit ,when I looked across the river and saw a large plume of smoke and flames at GCSM. Marc and I watched in horror  and hoped for the best. It seems that the owner from Monkey Fist Chandlery and two of his employees were transferring fuel, the bilge pump came on and ignited the fuels fumes, causing an explosion. The three guys jumped over board to escape the flames. Sadly Steve and Randy had first and second degree burns and were transferred to the burn unit.  Four boats were destroyed from the fire.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to these guy and the others that lost thier boats 

Thanks For This Picture Anne 

Thanks For This Picture Anne 

Thanks For This Picture Anne 

I Was Looking Out My Port Light At The Right Time 

Lots Of Pictures I Wanted to Share

Off To Sun Downers

The Gangs All Here 

Out For A Hike 

Love That Laugh

Tee Pee's Crew

TuesdayNight Wing Night 

Blue Springs State Park 

I'm Just Trying To Be Practical While On The Hard, Making V Berth Sheets

My mother, was really good at a lot of things, she could cook like no other, sew beautiful quilts, but most of all I loved the way she made a bed. I know it sounds silly, make a bed, yes, make a bed! My mother was one of those women that hung bed sheets on a clothes line and when she took them off they smelled like heaven trapped in cotton. She would then iron her sheets, don’t laugh, she loved her sheets as crisp as could be. Seriously when you slid into one of her freshly made beds after a warm bath you knew you were going to have a blissful nights sleep. Even though, I’ve never been as ardent as my mother when it comes to making a bed, I love a well made bed and a I love a good sleep

Now imagine sleeping on a boat in the Caribbean, gently rolling waves lightly tapping on the side of the boat. Stop! Think, tires screeching, breaking glass. I have trouble sleeping on the boat and I think its because of that dam bow berth. I will forgive Marc’s snoring just for this one time, because for this blog I want to write about making the bow berth bed. OK stop rolling your eyes, I don’t have to much time on my hands, I just need to have a good sleep, says this author at 04:01

Our bow berth is the weirdest V shape possible, 80” on the port side, 89” on the starboard, 10” across the toe and 69” at the head. I’m either jammed up on one side where the linens bunch up in a lumpy layer or sleeping on the other side clinging to  bare mattress where the sheet has popped off. 

If sleeping in the bow berth is not the best, making a bed in the bow berth is just plain nasty.  I gather the bottom sheet, throw myself forward toward the toe of the bed, flop around, scooch ahead try to wiggle and tuck the toe in, flop to the port side tuck that side in and as quickly as possible scooch to the starboard side before the port side has popped out. Basically, I push, pull and fold my way into making a bed, bang my head, have a hot flash, curse like an old trucker, then I beg Marc for help. 

It only took me two boats and way to many nasty bow berth beds to make to motivate me into making sheets for the V berth  and you know it wasn’t as daunting a task as I had built in my mind, And you know what, I am really proud of myself it wasn’t hard, they fit like a glove.  I can’t take all the credit, after diligently scouring the internet for what looked to me the easiest pattern i could find, I came across an article A Finley Fitted Berth by Kathryn Munn-Hodgkins, 1-36 Mischief and modified it for my needs. 

A Finely Fitted Berth

By Kathryn Munn-Hodgkins, I-36 Mischief

  Materials List:

• Two (2) King (not Cal) size flat sheets in the highest thread count you can afford. Shop white sales for that next set of sheets. Pre-wash the sheets for best results.

• 1/2inchelastic for the bottom fitted sheet and foot of the top sheet. You will need 6.5 yards for the bottom sheet and 1.5 yards for the top sheet for a total of 8 yards.

Steps:

1. Measure your V-berth using the sheet templates with this article. Mischief has a 1981 hull and the measurements in the templates are hers.

2. Transfer the measurements to the flat sheets using fabric marker and yardstick. Better yet, make a pattern you can reuse. Tip: Make a half pattern, fold the sheet in half and pin the pattern along the fold.

3. Cut out the bottom and top sheets from the flat sheets. Tip: For the top sheet, use the finished end of the flat sheet as the hem along the width (head) of the top sheet.

4. Sew French seams at the 4 corners of the bottom sheet and 2 corners of the top sheet. French seams means sewing the wrong sides of the fabric together, turning the seam inside out, and sewing another seam, trapping the raw edges inside. You can find detailed tutorials online if you are rusty.

5. Make a 3/4” casing for the elastic along the edge of the bottom sheet. Be sure to leave a 2” opening to insert the elastic. Make a 3/4” casing for the top sheet around the foot of the sheet and 20” inches up each side.

6. Insert the elastic in the bottom sheet casing using a safety pin to pull it through, sew the ends of the elastic together, and sew the casing closed. Tip: To more easily find the foot of the bottom sheet when you are making up the berth, sew a small button in the middle of the foot, close to the casing.

Back Where We Belong

Today we returned to DevOcean after our 17 month unplanned break, both Marc and I are ecstatic. Seriously, we didn’t know what to expect and we were worried. Anyone who follows this blog knows that when we returned in 2014 after a six month hiatus, we were met with a mess. The port lights in the salon had cracked, causing a lot interior damage, so much so, that we spent six weeks and two days on the hard. Now I’m not the most patient person when I am unhappy, and living on a boat, on the hard, was just plain awful. To this day I am still apologizing to Marc about my behavior and he is still cashing in favors, in exchange for my less than stellar performance. 

How worried we were was clear from the tone of our many conversations during the drive. We gave each other pep talks, solutions to probable problems, alternatives we could live with. We rejigged our budget expecting the worse. checked our attitudes and became each others cheer leaders.

 Marc was worried about the shape of DevOcean and all the work that awaited us. 

I was worried about another extended stay on the hard, For my non sailing friends, a  definition of living on the hard is, a boat that should be swaying gently in the water but is mounted on stands enabling the captain and crew to repair the ship. Living on the boat during haul out is incredibly challenging and not for the weak at heart. The head is dry, the stairs are high, yard dust is flying, tools are everywhere and your small living space becomes even smaller. Think engine, hoisted in  the middle of your kitchen. As I’ve said,  we’ve done this before and it wasn’t pretty so this time much to the demise of our pocket-book and benefit of our marriage we rented an air B & B for the first two weeks of our return.

So what really did happen when we saw DevOcean… Surprisingly to me, I had an overwhelming feeling that I was home. I think if Marc could have hugged her, he would have, and I think he did when I wasn’t looking, this hiatus has been way to long.  Honestly she looks pretty good. Many of our fears were for nothing. The shade cloth worked really well and we have very little damage. Of course, there is the green mossy stuff that is covering the outside surfaces, but that will wash away pretty easily. The inside held up very well with little show of her sitting for an extended period of time. Often, throughout our first day I heard Marc talking to himself with pleasure that most of the systems are still working. We enjoyed poking around and getting reacquainted with our much loved boat, our home, our traveling companion. Now what will tomorrow bring…