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Griffin Update #12: Inport, Awaiting New Props.
Friday, April 10, 12:40pm, Griffin: Inport, Salt Ponds Marina, Hampton,
Virginia, Absentee Pennant Flying.
Tom and I returned to our normal lives in the real estate brokerage world when our commuter flight returned us to Baltimore nearly two weeks ago. We had a ball on our boating adventure, and look forward to the time we get to do it all again. One of the neatest things about these updates are the feedback we are getting from all over the internet. Mike Kilcoin from Jacksonville Propeller told his father about our updates, and Frank Kilcoin has e-mailed the world. We even got this response from Mike's cousin, Jane Wolf:
"Thanks for posting the picture of my cousin (on the Griffin website) who I haven't seen in about 20 years!!! I love this internet - e-mail stuff!!! Enjoy your journey and "Bon Voyage"!!!!"
Reading the updates, you might have gotten an erroneous impression about us, our boat, or our trip. To dispel any incorrect impressions, here are our replies for the most common views of our experience:
1. These guys don't know what the hell they are doing!
Actually, Tom and I have decades of boating experience between us. For 2 years I was the Navigator for a 563' Destroyer and took her all over the Pacific. After that I was Chief Engineer on a PHM, a US Navy Hydrofoil that was the fastest warship in the world. Tom also has an extensive background on the water. Everything from boat brokerage, sailboat deliveries, fishing from his own boats, to living on an island near Annapolis and commuting to work by water in all kinds of weather. We aren't really a couple of unprepared yahoos slamming our way up the waterway.
2. There is something wrong with Griffin! She keeps breaking.
Fundamentally, Griffin is a very strong boat. Fairline makes good boats. The Volvo Engines are excellent, reliable machinery. The Universal Generator also has my respect for reliability and easy maintenance. Our only real problem was the prop that broke, and I need to fess up and take full accountability for that. When I got the boat, 16 months ago, the surveyor said that the props were corroded and should be scrapped. I intended to do that, but when the first prop shop looked at them, they said they might be serviceable. I tried to save a few dollars and eke another year or two out of them. (I guess, by admitting this, I'm saying my comments in Paragraph 1 above aren't exactly 100% accurate.) Pennywise and pound foolish. Live and learn. I just don't want anyone to have the wrong idea about Griffin. She is a great boat!
3. Why don't these guys just have a quiet little cruise up the ICW and calm down a little?
A quiet cruise. That's an interesting concept. Actually, we were pushing ourselves very hard to hit a timeline and that might have added to some of the excitement. But then again, half the adventure is that on the water you don't get to make the rules, and order the structure to the same degree that we do in our daily lives. The ICW, nature, the weather, and luck play into the equation. I can think of no better way to explain this than to pass on the following e-mail we received from Jack and Bob on the Adieu II.
In case you don't remember, they were the beautiful, nearly new 37' Tiara Express Cruiser who we met at Lighthouse Boatyard while we were waiting for prop repairs. We had dinner with them the night before we left at 5 am to drive to the prop shop. Let me let Jack pick up the story from there:
"Here is 'The Rest Of The Story' of Adieu II.
"We left Lighthouse Boatyard at daybreak on Monday, the day the Griffin Crew left early to drive to Jax Propeller. We wanted to make up time so we headed outside to the Atlantic. Our ETE (estimated time enroute) to Savannah was 11 hours but the ocean was too rough for our cruising speed so we turned back into the ICW.
"When we reached the Manatzas river we slowed to idle speed and checked for the local tide condition. This was about 10:30 am. I asked Bob, who was driving at the time, to stay right in the middle of the channel between the green buoys and the beach ..... Aye, Aye, Captain was his response. Blamm!
"It was an hour before low tide. There was nothing we could do but wait and hope we did not damage the props like another boat we know. To keep ourselves busy we warned other boats to keep west of us. All but one sailboat listened. When he ran aground he quickly unfurled his head sail, heeled the boat over, spun his boat round to a southerly heading and powered off. We then wished we had a very large mast and sails.
"At 1:15pm, three hours after we hit, the tide had flooded our keel and props off the bottom and we powered up. The shake, rattle and roll told us the bad news. We idled up to St. Augustine and went into Comanche Cove Marina where first mate Bob sent a diver down to remove the port prop and drive it into Jacksonville to the savior of waterway unfortunates, Mike Kilcoin at Jax Prop.
"Meanwhile, Griffin was moored nearby in another marina in St. Augustine, unaware of our plight, with the crew drinking beer naked in the ladies showers. But that's another story.
"We were able to get the prop back by 2:00 pm Tuesday, and we were out in the ocean by 2:45. We arrived at the Wilmington River about 8pm, after dark, and proceeded very slowly as Bob 's local knowledge was only enough to know to be very cautious. Because my chart covered Savannah and Hilton Head Inlets, and not the short cut we were taking, we went very slowly.
"After a hour of this, with Bob on the bow straining his night vision for markers, he liked to jump off the deck..... Splash went a large dolphin. That fish was a great tension breaker. We tied up at the gas docks about 10 pm and called it a Good Trip.
"The next morning after Krispy Kreams, the paper and refueling, I waited for Bob to help me move the boat off the fuel dock to the inside of the pier and out of the way. About 11 am a tired sailboat came by slowly, looking to refuel. Suddenly, the sailor looked me in the eye from across the water, a hint of terror in his voice as he shouted, "I just ran out of gas!" Uh, oh.
"The tide at Thunderbolt, Georgia rises 9 feet, twice a day. All this water coming in and going out creates some very strong currents through here. Of course, the current happened to be at full ebb and running fast when the sailboat ran out of gas.
"Blamm! The sailboat was forced down on Adieu II and damaged my boat. I hope all will look okay after the repairs. Now you know the rest of the story and why I still have your wrench, thank you very much. We will start carrying an extra set of props too.
"Best Wishes, Jack Vandenberg"
Nobody dies, nobody gets hurt, but we all get great stories to tell. Life on the waterway is good! Beats climbing Mt. Everest, or staying home. It's the safe adventure.
As you know, we have a website to go along with these updates with photos, charts, past voyages, etc. The web site is http://www.coile.com/griffin
You might be surprised to know that we have had 12,897 hits to our web site since we started it 3 weeks ago on March 19th. 448 people have gone to the Griffin site and spent an average of ten minutes on the site each time. I think that is pretty cool. Having all of you out there watching our progress has really added to our trip. Our web software tracks where the viewers are coming from but not who they are. For some reason, New Haven, CT is one of the cities where many of the 448 Griffin Followers live, although I'm not sure who they might be. E-mail us if you are from New Haven!
Right now we are waiting for props and some other maintenance to be completed in Hampton and then we will be bringing Griffin up the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis in time for the start of the final leg of the Whitbread Race on May 3rd.
We will keep you posted of our cruising, but you know, whatever happens, it's going to be exciting!
Warm regards,
The Griffin Crew