Home Port

From Sea Bright to Sarasota, 1,700 miles, 31 days on the water, and countless "special" moments, we have finally reached our home port at the Sarasota Yacht Club!

After two relaxing days at the South Seas Yacht Harbor on Captiva Island, we departed this morning around 930 am for our 75 mile trip up the Gulf coast to Sarasota. The winds were light, the seas were calm, the sky was clear, the sun was bright..... basically, it was a perfect day to be on the water. We decided to stay "inside" the ICW only so we could unwind from what had been (at times) a hectic journey. With appropriate "boat music" playing from the stereo, we simply enjoyed the serenity of the water and the occasional dolphin dancing in our wake. 

Almost home. Sarasota on the horizon

Here is a recap and some data from our trip.

Total Distance: 1,736 miles

Days on the Water: 31

Fuel consumed: 1,469 gallons of diesel

Average GPH: 18.7

Sea Bright, NJ - Cape May, NJ: 145 miles 5 hours

Cape May, NJ - St. Michael's, MD: 148 miles 6 hours

St. Michaels, MD - Annapolis, MD: 30 miles, 1.5 hours

Annapolis, MD - Norfolk, VA: 166 miles, 6 hours

Norfolk, VA - Coinjock, NC: 55 miles, 5 hours

Coinjock, NC - Beaufort, NC: 152 miles, 7 hours

Beaufort, NC -  Wrightsville Beach, NC: 82 miles 6 hours

Wrightsville Beach, NC - Georgetown, SC: 119 miles, 8.5 hours

Georgetown, SC - Hilton Head, SC: 162 miles, 7.5 hours

Hilton Head, SC - Jacksonville Beach, FL: 182 miles, 8 hours

Jacksonville Beach, FL - Cocoa Beach, FL: 151 miles, 8 hours

Cocoa Beach, FL - Stuart, FL: 108 miles, 4.5 hours

Stuart, FL - Captiva Island: 160 miles, 10.5 hours

Captiva, FL - Sarasota, FL: 75 miles, 4.5 hours

Okeechobee Waterway - Finally!

October 10^th:  There are 5 locks on the Okeechobee Waterway with the #1 lock (St. Lucie) and the #5 lock (WP Franklin) operating on a restricted schedule of 7am - 1pm - 7pm daily. In order to "make it" from one end to the other, you have to do it in six hours (or wait for a total of 12 hours)

So this morning, we left Stuart, FL at 5:45 am in the dark, slowly and carefully working our way up the St. Lucie River, navigation lights on, spot light over the bow targeting the next marker.

Pre-dawn approach to the first lock

 We made the #1 Lock with about 10 minutes to spare. The best way to understand what the locks do is "lift" you about 8 feet up toward Lake Okeechobee (which is Indian for "Big Water") -- in fact it is the second largest fresh water lake in the USA next to Lake Michigan! There are a total of total of 5 locks to get from the east to west coast (2 "lifts" and 3 "lowers"). The timing was critical -- had there been just ONE hiccup along the route and as little as 15 minutes delay, we would be spending the night among the Bubba's and alligators.

The Admiral handling lines and fenders

Flooding the lock

Some 6 hours after we entered the 1st lock at 7 am, we had reached the final lock on the waterway that would grant us freedom to the Gulf of Mexico and me redemption for waking the Admiral at 530 this morning. It was actually a very beautiful and relaxing day, as we saw scores of Osprey, Eagles, Dolphins, Manatees and even the occasional alligator along the waters edge. 

Crossing Lake Okeechobee

Locking out of Lake Okeechobee

We decided to press on past Ft. Myers (our original planned stop for the day) and headed another 45 miles to Captiva Island and one of our very favorite places anywhere, the South Seas Yacht Harbor. We basically have the place to ourselves and are docked at a location where the bow of the boat faces the Gulf of Mexico and the stern faces the Intracoastal Waterway. We are going to stay here a couple of days to relax and unwind before heading to our final destination in Sarasota.

Tucked in for the night at South Seas, Captiva

You Can't Mess with Mother Nature

It seems Mother Nature has put a slight alteration in our plans this weekend. 

After a rocking and rolling night at the dock in windy Stuart last night, I wasn't quite sure what the morning would bring. With a close eye on the weather I had hopes we might get in front of the high pressure system that was impacting the entire eastern coast of Florida. Winds were about 15 knots early this morning which isn't all that bad considering we would be in the Okeechobee Waterway canals for much of the trip west. The main concern was running the actual lake, which is about 35 miles across the middle and an expansive and exposed body of water. But to do that, we had to get through two locks on the east side first, and then three more locks on the west side. 

About 8am there appeared to be a small but good weather window for us to cross Okeechobee. So we left Sunset Bay and headed west. As we approached the St. Lucie lock and requested lockage we were informed that they had just put the locks on restricted openings and would only open three times during the day at 7am, 1pm, 7pm. Unfortunately, I didn't know that until we arrived at the lock at 830am. Since the weather still seemed cooperative, we decided to wait.  We dropped the anchor (yes, right in the middle of the canal), shut down the engines and just sat there.  

However, within the next 2 hours, the winds started to pick up, and the forecast was revised from 15-20 knot winds to 20-30 knots and gusts approaching gale force (40+ mph) with LOTS of rain. That changed everything. So, as much as we tried to beat it, Mother Nature won out and we returned to Stuart for another rocking night (or two) before we try again. It looks like now, Sunday is going to be even worse, so Monday may be our next chance to attempt the crossing.

Winds at 40mph moving west

Out Running the Weather

Thursday morning we left Jacksonville Beach bright and early and headed south, not really sure where we would end the day. The winds were continuing to build and while we remained "inside" the ICW, there are large and long open sections of water that allow it to fetch-up into a real nasty chop. Since the wind was coming mostly from the east, we had to endure the waves abeam the entire way. Between the salt water splashing and the occasional rainstorm squall, the windshield wipers were a welcome (and needed) piece of equipment.

It seems the longer we traveled, the further we wanted to go just to try and get out of the worst of the incoming weather. So we went past St. Augustine, Daytona, New Smyrna, and Titusville, finally arriving at Cocoa Beach at 400 that afternoon. Being able to travel at 30 mph cruise and not have to wait for most bridges (since we only need 15 feet of clearance), allowed us to travel over 160 miles yesterday. We arrived and docked in 18 mph winds without even a "bump" as we worked our way into the slip. I am starting to get the hang of the new Zeus drives and joystick control... and I like it! We had dinner at a surprisingly excellent restaurant in Cocoa Village (Ulysses Prime Steakhouse) and along with a bottle of really good red wine, we were ready to call it a early night.

This morning (Friday) we awoke to a violent thunderstorm, winds at 30 knots, and rain going sideways. It lasted about an hour (along with the power going out) before moving past us. I thought for sure that meant we would be spending another day and night in Cocoa and perhaps another visit to Ulysses'. I was also concerned that since we were just and hour drive from our home in Orlando, that a mutiny could be in the making. But within the hour, things calmed down, the sun came out (sort of) and the seas appeared reasonable. We fired up ENCORE's engines and headed out, hoping that we could make it to Stuart, FL and the start of the Okeechobee Waterway. Once again, we had those "choppy" conditions but both the boat and the crew seemed to be tolerating it well. :)

We arrived at Sunset Bay Marina about 130pm in just under 5 hours. While the wind continues to build (forecasts call for 25-30 from the east with gust to gale force) we are safely tucked in the St. Lucie River and the start of the Okeechobee Waterway headed west. Given the current forecast, I'm not sure if we will attempt to cross tomorrow or not. Then again, this is Florida, and that could all look different in the morning.

Sunset Bay Marina

South Carolina to Florida in a Day

We had an absolutely delightful evening at Harbortown Yacht Basin in Hilton Head watching a beautiful sunset over the harbor as the last of the golfers making their approach shots to the 18th green.

We departed Hilton Head at 715am and under bright sunny skies headed south down the ICW. Today's journey took us through the "low country" of South Carolina and the ever-meandering rivers, creeks and canals of Georgia. In fact we went south, and east, and west, and even north as we traversed the convoluted waters and sounds. As I told you in my last log, we planned to get to Fernandina Beach, FL today as the forecast winds are expected to become rather strong and out of the E-NE. That means ENCORE would be exposed to the open inlets and sounds with head seas forecast at 5-8 feet. Not a good way to spend the day.

We finally reached Fernandina Beach about 230pm only to discover that BOTH the nearby petroleum plant and paper mill were working full bore and with the strong NE winds and were blowing a rather unattractive scent right over the marina. The Admiral gave me one of "those looks" with a slightly turned up nose. It seemed that Fernandina would NOT be our next port of call. In all fairness, the other driving force in continuing on was we could get through all the open sounds and cross the St. John's River today and it would minimize any wind we might have to deal with the next few days.

So we continued down the ICW and reached Jacksonville Beach around 430 this afternoon. After 9 hours on the water and 175 miles (our longest distance yet), we are looking forward to celebrating our arrival into the Sunshine State with a margarita (or two) and a good nights rest. We will probably start out again early tomorrow and finish the day somewhere around Daytona Beach.

Entering the St. John's River

Jacksonville Beach, FL

A Great Day on the Water

What a wonderful day on the Intracoastal Waterway!

This morning we left Georgetown, SC at "first light" for what was to be a long day on the water to Beaufort, SC. We basically had the ICW to ourselves except for the occasional fishing boat, marina or dock that we needed to slow down for. The sun was out bright, the winds were calm, and we had all the windows and hatches open for fresh air and the sound of water passing under the hull. A truly delightful day. 

But there was something haunting me because I knew the weather south of us was about to change in the next few days. In fact, the forecast calls for strong winds along the Georgia-Florida coast this weekend and into early next week. That would coincide with our travel through some of the open sounds to the Atlantic Ocean that no doubt would be rough and unpleasant. So, as we approached Beaufort today, we decided to keep going for another hour or two, which landed us at Harbortown (Hilton Head), SC. This is one of my favorite stops along the ICW anyway, so it's nice to be able to enjoy their southern hospitality one more time.

From here, we are going to run all the way to Florida tomorrow (Fernandina Beach) and try to get ahead of some of the forecast wind and ensuing rough seas.

Sunset over Hilton Head Yacht Harbor

Detour Day

Last night we actually had to turn the heat on the boat as the temperatures dropped to 43 degrees at Wrightsville Beach. When morning came, it was clear, sunny, windy and rather "brisk" as we departed for our daylong trip to Georgetown, SC. 

Since it was Monday (and cold), there were fewer boaters on the water, so we were able to move along quite nicely without many "no wake zones", fishermen or homes and docks with boats still in the water. As the sun rose and began to warm things up, we opened the sky-roof hatches on ENCORE and cracked the side windows to enjoy the beautiful Fall weather and salty air.

We were making great time when we reached the first of two bridges that we would need to have opened to continue south for the day. The Little River Swing Bridge is only 7 feet off the water, but normally opens "on demand" for boat traffic. Accordingly, we hailed the bridge tender and requested an opening -- it was 1145am. He said he would open it as soon as traffic cleared. About ten minutes later we saw him drop the traffic barriers and sound the alarm for the opening. We got ourselves ready to pass when all of a sudden, we see the barriers go back UP and traffic starts to cross the bridge again. What was that all about? So we patiently waited another 10 minutes when the bridge tender went through the exact same process. Stops traffic, barriers lowered, alarmed sounds...... and yep, once again he raises the barriers and traffic crosses the bridge yet again. I finally couldn't take it anymore and ask as politely as I am capable, "what the hell was going on?" (well, I didn't really say that, but I'm sure the tone of my voice sounded that way). He said he was having trouble getting the barriers lowered and locked which were required before he could open the bridge. He said he had called the "main office" but it would be at least two hours before they could have someone there to try and fix it and wasn't sure how long it would take to repair.

Not having many alternatives available to us, we decided to back track about 5 miles and go out the Little River Inlet into the Atlantic Ocean. I called Capt Keith to confirm this was doable, and he gave me the green light (and a few tips for both inlets) for the offshore run. While it was a longer distance, if we could get outside we could try to still reach our destination for the night by coming in the Winyaw Bay Inlet and head north to Georgetown. Because the wind was coming from the NW, we stayed reasonably close to the shore line (about 2 miles) to try and minimize the waves. It actually ended up being a  beautiful run down the Atlantic with 1 foot following seas, music on the radio, windows open and happy to have the "trouble" behind us.

We arrived in Georgetown around 5 o'clock, refueled ENCORE and after a quick wash-down, we walked into town for dinner at the River Cafe where we enjoyed some Carolina Shrimp n'Grits, Collard Greens with pepper sauce and a well deserved cocktail (or two) for the Captain and Admiral.

Tomorrow is one of our scheduled "long" days as we head to Beaufort (this one pronounced "BEW-fert") South Carolina. Hopefully, it was not be as eventful as today!

Offshore run from Little River Inlet to Winyaw Bay Inlet

Carolina "Shrimp 'n Grits"

Collard greens and pepper sauce!

Georgetown, SC

ROCK ON.... All night long!

Upon returning to the boat from a wonderful dinner in Beaufort, NC Friday night, we were just settling in to watch some TV and begin our preparations for the next morning departure when I heard those oh too familiar words coming from an loudspeaker on at Dock House Bar.... "Check 1,2,3.... Mic check 1,2,3."  Little did I know when we chose this marina, that Friday night at the Beaufort docks has a weekend tradition of highlighting local rock bands which draws an interesting crowd of "Bubbas and Bitches" (their words, not mine).  Only problem was they were less than 200 feet from our slip playing really LOUD and really BAD music until 1am!!!  What a night.

Saturday morning, the first of October, brought us a new day with a definitive change in the weather as a cold front came through overnight. The temperatures dropped into the 40s at night with daytime highs in the mid 60s. Brisk 15 knot winds out of the NW gave us our first hint of Fall weather and a reminder why we were headed to Florida! We left Beaufort under bright sunny skies dressed in sweatshirts instead of T-shirts.

After a beautiful, sun-filled cruise down the NC coast, we arrived in Wrightsville Beach late that afternoon. After getting the boat and ourselves cleaned up from a salt spray day on the water, we were greeted by Capt Keith and his lovely wife Gail. After all these years of communicating with Keith on the Meridian Yacht Owners Forum, emails and phone calls, it was great to finally put a face with the name. We spent two days there and enjoyed the surrounding area, beach and restaurants.

Tomorrow we head into South Carolina with a planned overnight stay in Georgetown about 125 miles south.

A beautiful sight!

Shrimp boats

Sunset at Wrightsville Beach, NC

An "Interesting" Day

Today was one of those "interesting" days on the ICW.

We left Coinjock, NC this morning around 7:15am with the sun slowly burning off the morning fog and dew. The winds forecast was for 8-12 knots out of the SW which meant we would facing head seas the entire day.

Sure enough, as we entered Albamarle Sound, we were looking at 2-3 foot seas on the bow for the 20 mile crossing. I can't ever remember a time when this crossing was a "pleasant" experience and today was no exception.

As we continued our travels through the Alligator and Pungo Rivers, the wind persisted in providing a considerable "chop" along our route. We finally turned into the Neuse  River and our planned stay at River Dunes, just east of Oriental, NC. Upon arrival however, and needing about 200 gallons of fuel, were informed that they had not received their diesel shipment and only had about 75 gallons remaining in their storage tank. That meant, either sucking fuel off the bottom of their tank or finding an alternative to refuel and dock for the night. I opted for the later and we pressed on to Beaufort, NC.

I have wanted to stay here for a number of years but the time and timing never worked out. This time it did and despite having to dock the boat in 18 knot crosswinds, this is a lovely little town right at ocean's edge with a rich history of pirates and Queen Anne's Revenge. After an amazing dinner at an old converted grocery store turned restaurant, we are in for the night and looking forward to our next day of travel to Wrightsville Beach.

Tired, full (of food and wine) and ready for bed...

The open and beautiful ICW

Beaufort, NC

The Start of the ICW

The Intracostal Water (ICW) starts offically at mile market "1" in Norfolk Virgina.

We left Norfolk Yacht Club this morning around 830am which started our shortest day of the entire trip. Short in distance, not time. The 55 miles we traveled today were filled with bridges that had to open (on very restricted schedules), transiting the Great Bridge Lock where we "dropped" 2 feet, and staying clear of Navy ship patrols, tugs pushing barges and a parade of other recreational boats (and birds) heading south for the winter.

Tending the lines

Great Bridge Lock

Heading South -- lead the way!

Fortunately, I have done this section of the ICW a number of times now and have learned some of the tricks to minimizing wait times, moving ahead in the pack, and dealing with other anxious boaters and commercial tug captains. All in all, it was a good, uneventful (meaning nothing horrible happened), and enjoyable day on the water.

We are now tied up at one of the most unusual places on the waterway, the Coinjock Marina & Restaurant. The ONLY thing here is a face dock, fuel and a restaurant that is "known" for serving an amazing 32 oz prime rib.  Not sure if I am really in the mood for indigestion tonight.

Coinjock, NC

Gremlins and Boats

One of the lessons I have learned over the years traveling long distances in a boat is to allow for a few "flex days" in the schedule for those unanticipated "issues" that are likely to crop up along the journey. The thing I didn't count on however, was that is would be the FIRST day!

Yesterday morning, we arose bright and early and prepared for our departure from Annapolis. Water and cable TV lines had been disconnected, shore power cable put away, generator on, engines running, fenders put away, lines stored and ready to move out of our slip when.... GREMLIN.... THERE IS A GREMLIN ON THE BOAT! Sure enough, one of the most valuable and necessary controls on the boat failed at that exact moment. And unfortunately, it wasn't something as simple a resetting a breaker or replacing a fuse. The joystick that controls the Zeus pod drives had a catastrophic failure and would have to be replaced. So we retied the lines, fenders and shore connections and began the frustrating process of trying to locate a replacement part.

After hours on the phone (and few choice words along the way), we were able to get the joystick replaced late that afternoon. We enjoyed another night at the Annapolis Yacht Club and one more serving of delicious Maryland Crab Cakes. An early-to-bed evening as the next day required another early departure due to a forecast of questionable weather as the day progressed. 

So at "first light" this morning, we went through the same departure procedure as the day before and fortunately, before any gremlins were awake. We left Annapolis at 7:15am starting out under cloudy skies, winds from the SW at 10 knots and waves forecast at 2-3 feet (which is "bumpy" but not a bad ride). We went through a couple a rain showers en route (love that HD Radar and windshield wipers) and tried to stay close to the western shore to protect us from the wind and waves. We made excellent time and traveled the 160 miles to Norfolk in just under 6 hours.

Upon fueling at the Norfolk Yacht Club, we tucked into our slip just minutes before a violent thunderstorm arrived including rain, lighting, winds to 50 knots and a tornado warning! The worst of the weather eventually passed, but it looks like some storms are going to linger into the night. Hopefully, the front will be through by sunrise as we leave for Coinjock, NC. While only a 55 mile run from our current location, there are a host of restricted bridge openings and a lock to navigate before the day is done. That tends to make for a long day.

Time to head South!

Storms brewing, Norfolk, VA

50 knot winds -- I'm glad we're at dock!!

Ready to Head South

While it is officially Fall here in the northeast, the weather remains relatively warm for late September. Just the same, there are hints that cooler temperatures will start to move in soon, so we find ourselves being pulled back to the tropical climes of home.  Based on what appears to be favorable weather and seas forecasts, we are going to begin our trip south on the Intracoastal Waterway starting this Tuesday. ENCORE has had its engines serviced, systems checked, the fuel tanks are full, and is otherwise ready to go. We are excited to finally get underway and continue ENCORE's maiden voyage down the Atlantic coast. 

Our journey will take us from Annapolis to Norfolk, through the "Virginia Cut" into coastal waters of North Carolina, down through the low country of South Carolina, to the meandering rivers and sounds of Georgia, into the Sunshine State passing Jacksonville, Saint Augustine and Cocoa Beach, eventually reaching Stuart where we will turn west to cross the Okeechobee Waterway that stretches across the state. Coming out the other side into the Gulf of Mexico, we will head north again passing Ft. Myers, Captiva Island, Boca Grande and eventually arriving in Sarasota, our final destination. If all goes well we should be home somewhere around the 17th of October.

Summer Home

After three rainy, sunny, rainy, sunny days in St. Michaels, we awoke yesterday morning to clear skies and strong winds (15-18 mph) out of the northwest. That meant we would be heading up the Chesapeake Bay with 2-3 foot head seas and the challenge of docking the boat is a crosswind. I guess it was time to test all that "technical stuff" as well as my docking and close quarter maneuvering skills.

As we came out of the Eastern Bay around Bloody Point the Chesapeake was awash in white caps and banging the hull pretty hard. I slowed the boat down to about 20 mph, adjusted the trim tabs to help keep the bow down into the waves and made way for western shore. While not the most comfortable ride, ENCORE ran beautifully and within an hour and a half were coming into the Severn River to Annapolis. 

As we got our docking instructions from the Yacht Basin, we found we had been assigned to an inside slip on the southern end of the marina. The fairway entry into our slip is only 42 feet wide, which meant I had about 1 foot off the bow and 1 foot off the stern to rotate the boat and back her into the slip. Under calm conditions, this would have been challenging, but with 18 mph winds, it raised the "pucker factor" more than a few notches. Nonetheless, slowly (and with only an occasional "oh shit"), I spun her around and brought her to rest. Phew!

The Annapolis Yacht Basin will be ENCORE's home dock for the next 6 weeks as we use this time to visit with nearby family and friends, enjoy Maryland and this delightful maritime city, and travel back and forth to Florida, Connecticut and Maryland. In late September we will start our journey south.

Annapolis Yacht Basin

Annapolis, MD

Wow... this boat is fast!

While we had intended to stop at Fairlee Creek on the upper Eastern Shore near Chestertown, MD, we found the Delaware Bay surprisingly calm and the Chesapeake Bay to be surprising rough. But we made such good time anyway, we decided to give ENCORE an opportunity to make a longer run and headed further south to St. Michael’s, MD.

The best!

The Crab Claw - St. Michaels, MD

Here are a couple of interesting points about ENCORE and how it performs. ENCORE is 44 feet long and has a beam of 14 feet. She weighs 26,000 pounds (empty) and carries 380 gallons of fuel and 140 gallons of water. She is equipped with twin 380 HP Cummins diesel engines with new high efficiency Zeus Pod drives. The hull is a "modified" deep V which basically means she can putt along like a trawler at slow speed or get up and go on plane at 38 mph at wide open throttle. At "cruise" speed, which is about 80% of throttle (2700 rpm), ENCORE runs a very comfortable 32 mph and burns about 28 gallons per hour.

The result of all this is that ENCORE is a faster boat, covers more ground in less time and burns less fuel to get there. She also seems to handle most sea conditions well and while I don't have plans on cruising in anything more than 3 to 4 foot seas, ENCORE could handle it if needed (of course, the resulting mutiny by the Admiral might be more painful than the pounding seas).  


As a result of this, I am already starting to rethink the trip south on the ICW in late September and how that might impact our distance and timing. Of course, much of that trip is in speed-restricted channels so it might not matter all that much, but in "open water", we can take full advantage of the Sabre 40 design and propulsion.

And We Are Off!

Based on the weather forecast for some strong winds and storms on Sunday, we had to adjust our plans (already) and decided to head south today. We left Sea Bright, NJ at 745am, and after topping off the tanks made our way north around Sandy Hook before turning south offshore in the Atlantic Ocean toward Cape May some 140 miles away. The winds were out of the NW at 5-7 knots, which produced following seas and a reasonably smooth ride. ENCORE handled the conditions beautifully, and we arrived in Cape May about 6 hours later.

A good wash to remove the sea-salt spray (from the boat and me), a few maintenance items to attend to, and a well deserved cocktail and dinner to end the day. All in all, an excellent first day on the voyage south. Because of a threatening forecast for Saturday night and Sunday, we will depart Cape May early tomorrow morning and head northwest on the Delaware Bay, traverse the C&D Canal, and travel south on the Chesapeake Bay to Mears Great Oak Landing at Fairlee Creek for two days of chilling out and waiting out the weather.

Fully commissioned and provisioned

Leaving Sea Bright, NJ

Our New Boat!

Today was a big day for the Captain and Admiral as we finally took delivery of ENCORE, a new "downeast" Sabre 42SE motor yacht built in Maine.  Following commissioning and sea trails at Sandy Hook Yacht Sales in Sea Bright, New Jersey we brought her down the Intracoastal Waterway to our home port in Sarasota, Florida.


Here are few facts about ENCORE:


LOA: 45' 6"
Beam: 14' 0"
Draft: 3' 4"
Air Draft: 15' 6" 
Displacement: 26,000 lbs
Fuel Capacity: 380 gals
Water Capacity: 140 gals
Holding Tank: 60 gals
Engines: Twin Cummins QSB 5.9 380hp
Drives: Twin CMD Zeus 3500 pod drives
Cruise Speed: 30 mph @2750 rpm