It’s all about the miles!

This was the mantra on my recent vacation/adventure to help my brother transport his Island Packet 485, a 51' 7" full foil keel sailing yacht named Spill The Wine from Kay Largo, FL to Charleston, SC, a mere 640 nautical miles (nm) in 8 days. Sailing can be a relaxing time, but that was not the case with this trip! There were only three of us on the boat: Michael Miller, Barbara Collins, and I; so we basically planned on taking 3 hour shifts, rotating between captain, crew, and resting. We typically started each shift by recording the captain-on-shift, date and time, trip odometer, diesel engine’s readings (RPM, temp, fuel filter pressure, and oil pressure), fuel level, battery voltage, water level in the bilge, and weather forecast. While there was plenty of room on the boat for everyone, but “The bread is in the microwave and the knife block is in the kitchen sink” are just some of the things you do for efficient space utilization.

Day 1, 4/23, Thursday, Key Largo, FL to Miami, 48 nm.

We shoved from the marina at the Mariner’s Club (just south of Key Largo) and anchored just west of Key Biscayne Bay, close to the stilt houses of Miami, watched the sunset, and had a beautiful view of the Miami lights at night.

Day 2, 4/24, Friday, Miami to Lake Worth, FL, 82 nm.

We motored through Miami in the Intercostal Waterway (ICW), and got so close to many cargo ships. After getting out in the Atlantic Ocean for the day, Michael caught a Blackfin tuna, which Barb cooked for dinner. For some strange reason, whenever I’m on helm, we seem to get surrounded by fishing boat trawlers. At one point, we were in the middle of about 10-15 vessels, I yelled down to Michael, “Hey, you better get up here!” Michael slowly came up from the companionway to the center cockpit and said, “Yea, don’t hit anyone.” We anchored on a mooring buoy in the Lake Worth Lagoon, part of the ICW.

Day 3 and 4, 4/25-26, Saturday thru Sunday, Lake Worth to Fernandina Beach, FL, 322 nm.

We sailed out into the Gulf Stream where you pick up a free 3-4 knots, so we were able to reach 10-11 knots at times. Just before sundown, we were on a collision course with two cruise ships and one cargo ship. So the Disney Princess Cruise Liner hailed us on our VHF Marine Radio (channel 16) and asks us to change course. My brother Michael replied and said, “This is sailing vessel ‘Spill the Wine’ and we are under sail and would need to change sails to meet your request.” So the Princess Cruise Liner changed their course for us as well as the other vessels! Actually, they were “burdened” do so.

We sailed through the night on a near perfect broad reach. This was my first experience sailing through the night and it was accomplished by the three of us taking 2-3 hour shifts. Sailing into the darkness of the night was a little scary, but we did have some modern devices that greatly improved the safety and comfort; (1) an on-board weather radar which also detected nearby boats, (2) a Garmin GPS navigational display with integrated depth gauge, (3) an Automatic Identification System (AIS) used to identify and track other vessels (with collision detection alarms), and my favorite, (4) the automatic pilot. We anchored on a mooring buoy just past Fort Clinch State Park. This is the most northern part of Florida, close to St. Mary’s, GA.

Day 5, 4/27, Monday, Fernandina Beach, FL to St. Catherine’s Island, GA, 55 nm.

We had high winds and rolling seas in the morning, settling down in the afternoon, and calm by the evening. We anchored in a remote part of Blackbeard Creek, just off the ICW, near the Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge. Although we were just off the ICW, there were no other vessels, structures, or humans in site, just nearby tidal marshes, wetlands, and an uninhabited heavily wooded St. Catherine’s Island. On a calm, cool, peaceful night, it was intensity remote, foreign, and almost alien like area. I called in “no-freaking-where Georgia.” It was being in an environment that I could not have imaged on this trip, and one I will not soon forget. It somehow reminded me of another remote area that I encountered while on a solo hike on top and on the west-side of Elk Mountain in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, with the large granite flat slabs that seem strangely out-of-place.

Day 6, 4/28, Tuesday, St. Catherine’s Island, GA to Hilton Head Island, SC, 59 nm.

After a brutal day with high winds, and high rolling seas, Michael treated us to a slip at Skull Creek Marina on the Hilton Head Plantation. Yes, on a plantation! There was heavy rain forecasted all next day, so the slip reservation was for a much needed two nights. I finally set foot on land after six days as sea! The marina was perfect; quite, friendly staff, showers, laundry room, free bicycle rentals, and wonderful restaurants within walking distance, such as the Old Fort Pub. You might be wondering if I got sea sick over the last couple of days, and I’m happy to report that I didn’t, likely due to great advice from Phil Trotter to keep my eyes on the horizon.

Day 7, 4/29, Wednesday, Weather Day/Rest day on Hilton Head Island, SC, 0 nm.

On my day off, what else would I do other than ride a bike? So I took the free bicycle rental and headed off to Walmart for supplies. Dodging rain showers, I rode safely on an 8-foot wide multimodal street-separated paved trail for the entire 5 miles to Walmart. Hilton Head Island is postcard material and super bicycle friendly.

Day 8, 4/30, Thursday, Hilton Head Island, SC to Charleston SC, 74 nm.

We arrived at the Charleston City Marina (a.k.a., the MegaDock) just after high tide, with Jeanna Miller waiting on us! Over the next few days, the four of us explored Charleston and a couple of restaurant recommendations are Fish and 82 Queen.