We’ve been in the resort community of Hilton Head Island, along South Carolina’s southern coast since middle November. With me injuring my shoulder while in Washington, North Carolina, (you can see my post about that here), our progress north for the summer of 2021 was completely stopped.
Winter Has Arrived on Hilton head Island!!
Originally, Lisa and I planned to get the boat from Washington, NC to Morehead City, NC, from where Lisa, along with our friends Jesus and Mia Herrero, would continue with the boat to Hilton Head. Jesus and Mia decided they would prefer to come to Washington and make the trip from there. For them, it would be sailing in a part of the world they’d not visited, and it would give them some time to get ‘acquainted’ with the boat before sailing into the Atlantic with her. So on a gray and cool Tuesday morning in early November, I watched from the dock as the boat left Washington, NC without me, to begin the journey south to Hilton Head. As I was still nursing my bum shoulder, I drove Jesus and Mia’s car, shadowing their progress. I walked to the Mulberry for one last coffee. On November 13, 2021, after nearly two weeks of slow progress due to weather JO BETH was secured at Safe Harbor Skull Creek Marina, on the northern end of Hilton Head Island.
Patterning and Fitting the Mock-Up for the Arch and Top
The stop in Hilton Head had been planned for some time. We have been wanting to add a full-cockpit canvas enclosure and stainless steel arch to the boat. We knew of an excellent canvas shop in Hilton Head, and I had worked with a shop in the past, also on Hilton Head, that I knew could build the arch and top the way we wanted to design it. We had spent a lot of time in the past explaining the way we wanted the arch and top to work to other shops, and were constantly told it wasn’t doable. After meeting with the metal shop and canvas maker, and putting designs to paper, we had a workable plan in mind.
Lisa and Micah, Barefoot Sail Loft and Canvas, Discussing Design Details for the Canvas Cockpit Enclosure
The arch and top structure will allow us to increase our solar panel real estate, giving us more time ‘off-grid’ to sail and explore, while the canvas enclosure will add an enormous level of comfort, as well as safety, to the boat particularly when sailing in poor weather conditions. Since stopping here, however, the work has been slow - very slow, actually - and there simply hasn’t been much going on.
We have been able to reconnect with some old friends and make new ones, hanging out with John and Lizzy from the yacht QUETZAL, and meeting Tom and Nancy from the yacht NANCY MARIE with their two dogs, Bella and Violet. I even began working part-time once again at the local West Marine store and have been able to use the time to take care of a lot of small maintenance projects. One bit of good news is I’m essentially 99.9% recovered from my shoulder injury; the lingering issue being an area of minor numbness between the thumb and index finger on my left hand. The other bit of good news is work on the enclosure and arch is now, finally, jumping into high-gear.
Reconnecting With Lifelong Friends…
So, what’s in store for us next? Well, a bit more work. When we leave Hilton Head, we’ll sail south to Fernandina Beach, Florida where JO BETH will be hauled from the water at Tiger Point Boat Yard. While out, her bottom anti-fouling paint will be renewed, and her underwater machinery bits, the propeller, propeller shaft and shaft seal, rudder, etc., will be inspected. We’ll also be completing electrical work associated with the new arch installation, which will include relocating our GPS and satellite radio antennas to the arch, and the installation of a cell phone signal booster system and satellite communications system which will allow us to receive weather forecasts and send text messages and plain text emails from anywhere in the world. We’ll also complete a full engine service and repair some damage to the paint on the hull sides from an unfortunate bump with a barnacle and oyster-encrusted piling in Beaufort, NC.
Enjoy Drinkable Art at the Driftwood Eatery Coffee Bar, Sfae Harbor Skull Creek Marina
Of course, there are boat yards in the Hilton Head/Beaufort, SC areas, as well as Savannah, where we can do the out of water work. The main reason we’re doing the work in Fernandina Beach is we have friends there who have offered us accommodation for the entire time JO BETH is hauled. The yard is a reasonable walk from their home, as is the beach. The vast majority of boat repair yards frown on owners staying aboard while the boat is hauled. That, and it’s not a comfortable or pleasant existence for us. Even the cleanest of boat yards are dirty and grimy. Lisa and I are hopeful, and very optimistic, that this spring sailing season will be the time we can truly get underway for our long sought after adventures.