Rybovich-Spencer Boatyard
West Palm Beach, Florida
North: 26 °44' 56"
West: ​80 ° 03' .01"

​Teri and I are well and enjoying the cruising life.  Even two major surgeries, one Teri’s and one mine, over the past two years haven’t deterred us.  We’re having fun sailing BlueTopaz, seeing the country and meeting lots of interesting people.

We left Morehead City, North Carolina to start our way south along the Intra-Coastal Waterway.  The send-off from Spooner’s Creek, our base of operations for 23 months, was special.

​People from the community and boaters we met during our stay, were at the dock at 6:00 AM to cast off our lines.

The send-off included: cranberry bread, coffee and tea - complements of Teri; Roman candles and fire-works - provided by Lanette, the marina manager; and VHF radio calls from boaters who weren’t able to get to the dock in time for our departure. 

​The send-off was something we’ll always remember.  We have a special place in our hearts for the people of Spooner’s Creek.

On our journey South, we passed through beautiful wild country, visited historical cities, met interesting people and ate great food. 

​We traveled through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and as far South as Palm Beach, Florida 

Temperatures were in the 30's Fahrenheit at the beginning of the trip.  Being from the "Great White North", we had cold weather gear to keep us warm

Reg on the bow adjusting the rigging

Thanks to Teri's insistence, BlueTopaz has a furnace that kept us toastee even on the coldest nights.

Many cruisers we met didn't have  warm clothing or heat onboard.  They kept saying: "It's going to warm up soon"  and "It never gets this cold". 

Well, it does get that cold and Teri's shorts didn't come on until the end of March in Vero Beach, Florida.

The adventures started almost immediately.  Thanksgiving afternoon, we arrived at the Oceana Marina in Carolina Beach, North Carolina.  Our welcoming committee was straight out of "Tales From Margaritaville" (a set of rollicking good tales from Jimmy Buffet). 

There was a mysterious woman wearing a chartreuse tunic, black spandex bicycle pants and sandals.  She had waist length blonde hair with a strip of very dark hair down the middle and thick auburn eyebrows  that  joined in the center ( Frida Kahlo style).  She extended her hand, as if for me to kiss, and introduced herself.  "Hello.  I'm, Dab-bor-rah, Da-BOR-rah, not Deborah!" 

There was the marina manager who, after instructing us in no uncertain terms to arrive before 4:00 PM because he was going to a Thanksgiving dinner, kept us until 5:15 telling us about his undercover adventures tracking drug smugglers in the Bahamas and his days as one of the original "Comets" as in Bill Haley and the Comets!​ 

​ He left us with an inquiry into whether we would like him to bring us back a "plate" from his Thanksgiving dinner and an admonishment "not to steal the toilet paper".

And...we can't forget the two gentlemen who talked to us from the deck of a tired houseboat decorated with Christmas lights, pink flamingos and jiggling Hawaiian dolls.   They told us about how they were both on their way somewhere else  when they arrived several years ago.  One said, "I guess we're like everybody here.  We were all on our way somewhere but just didn't seem to get any further". 

As we walked away, Teri turned to me and said "You can check out anytime you want" and I said, "but you can never leave".  Simultaneously, we said, "We're out of here at dawn!"



update: Oceana Marina is now Joyner Marina

Dawn on the Intracoastal Waterway, Georgia

The next day we were on the Cape Fear River with BlueTopaz traveling the fastest she has ever gone, 10.5 knots - over the ground.  Of course, we were in a 5 knot ebb tide

One of our anchorages had us almost believing we had sailed into the prairies. 

​ We anchored in the Cape Romain Wild Life Refuge in South Carolina, a hundred square miles of marsh land with grass as tall and golden as ripe Kansa wheat. 

Only masts moving in the distance and the reversing currents gave it away as the South Carolina coast.

Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge, South Caroliana

We spent four days enjoying the sights, sounds and especially the tastes of Charleston, South Carolina.  Charleston is a wonderfully preserved and restored city of the Old South.  You can walk just about everywhere.

We visited the historic sections including the "Old Slave Market", now simply called the Market.  The three block open air area is filled with shops and boutiques, selling everything from art glass for the carriage trade to Caribbean spirit fetishes.

We had lunch at Capn' Stak's and dinner at Robert's of Charleston.  Lunch was a Steamer Pot consisting of shrimp, crab legs, mussels, sausage and potatoes steamed in savory "low country" seasonings.

I first visited Robert's in 1979, when advance reservations of up to three months were required.  The wait was worth it!  Robert's is billed as a cabaret including dinner.  The restaurant is small, like an intimate private dining room.

The Mills House in Charleston

"the best restaurant in the whole world"
Willard Scott "The Today Show"

 As you enter the foyer, you pass a gleaming baby grand.  The room seats twenty-five to thirty and is decorated elegantly in subdued pastels.  The paintings adorning the walls are all by Robert.  Robert is the chef and he provides the entertainment. 

Robert sings.  He takes a break from his duties in the kitchen and sings.  He sings between courses.  He sings opera.  He sings Broadway.  Oh how Robert sings!  He is accompanied by the pianist sitting at the baby grand, with and without Robert, she plays continuously throughout the evening.

The food! The food is marvelous!  One seating per night, no menu, you just eat what Robert is cooking.  The package, dinner and entertainment is a fixed price which includes wine and desert.

The night we spent at Robert's, dinner was five courses, starting with lobster mousse, salad with tiny pickled vegetables and baby greens from Robert's own organic garden, followed by breast of Muscovy Duck.  The first three courses were accompanied by a wonderful dry white wine.

After the third course, the waiter appeared and changed wine glasses.

He served freshly made sorbet, to cleanse the palate and then poured a luscious California red which was paired perfectly with the main course - a Chateaubriand, cooked to perfection and served with a sauce Bernaise.

Desert was pumpkin cheesecake (good beyond description, so I won't waste ink digital or otherwise, trying to describe it) served with your choice of Arabica coffee or a variety of teas.  Each course was better than the last.

We left Charleston reluctantly, but believe me, well fed.

Spanish Moss

Isle of Hope is a beautiful suburb of Savannah, Georgia.  Walking around this island, you are transported back to an elegant 19th century community complete with antebellum homes, Spanish moss draped oaks and acres of green lawns.  

Rounding a corner, you wouldn't be surprised to see horse drawn carriages carrying women in hooped gowns and men in morning suits.

​You can catch a bus on the Isle of Hope and be Savannah in about 20 minutes.  Those of you who have read "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" know more about the characters and places of Savanna than I can tell you here.  

For the rest of you; Savanna like Charleston, is a beautifully restored southern city.    Starting at the "Factors Walks" (warehouses on the river-front used to store cotton in the this grand old lady's hey-day) and walking inland, each block represents about 50 years in the city's development.

You can see the style of architecture changing as you walk.  Many houses have bronze Naional Historic Monument plaques, indicating who had them built and the year.  Most of the townhouses have been restored to near original condition.  While the outsides may look 19th century, inside are all the modern amenities of the 21st century.  

Reg taking a leisurely ride around Jekyl Island, South Carolina

“the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible club in the world….”
Munsey's Magazine 1886

An easy three day's cruise South of the Isle of Hope and Savannah is Jekyl Island.  Jekyl Island originally belonged to the Jekyl Island Club.  The Club was started in the 1860's by the American royalty of the time, such as the Gettys, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, Pulitzer and the Cranes. It was a private preserve whose members represented 1/6 of the world's wealth at that time. ​

One of the smaller "cottages"

The Clubhouse

This was an era before Florida was developed and it was where the elite went to escape the cold winters of the Northeast.

Originally families stayed in the "Clubhouse", an imposing white Victorian structure surrounded by elegant gardens, tennis courts and croquet greens. 

Eventually members wanted more privacy and built "cottages".  Cottages were 18-20 room mansions.  While each "cottage" was different, reflecting the owners tastes and the fashion of the time, they all had one peculiarity - none had kitchens.  Members continued to take their meals in the Clubhouse.

The State of Georgia purchased the island from the Jekyl Island Club in 1947.  the island was turned into a park and the Clubhouse was opened as a grand hotel.  Some of the cottages have been restored and are open to the public. 

The island is a magnificent park with golf courses, beaches and gardens.  It's a great place for riding bicycles, playing golf or just walking.  You can tour the "cottages" and/or have dinner in the Clubhouse.  Both are great ideas

The Lions Bridge...at dawn only a shadow shimmering on the edge of a dream​

January 14th, we arrived in St. Augustine, Florida - the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the United States.  We anchored under the protection of the guns of Castillo de San Marcos, a 15th century Spanish fort. 

​Swinging with the tide, in the shadow of the Lyon's Bridge, we imagined that Topaz was a trader just arrived from the old-world, ready to make her fortune in the new.  

Each morning we watched the sun, rise orange over the palm trees of the barrier islands.  ​

The view from our anchorage aboard BlueTopaz

We explored the streets, shops and restaurants of St. Augustine for two weeks

Guarding the Lions Bridge

​Each evening the lavenders and pinks dazzled us as the sun set behind the Moorish spires and turrets of historic St. Augustine

The sun sets, the Moon rises, strains of 2001 play in our heads and the shuttle, Atlantis, rises carrying her precious payload.

July 20, 1969...Do you remember where you were?  "one small step for mankind..."

We witnessed the launch of the shuttle carrying the Destiny  Space Lab on February 7th.  As launch time approached you could hear people, for miles around, joining in the countdown.

We watched the shuttle lift off and felt the rumble of the rocket boosters as it rolled across the seven miles of water between the launch and us.

Cheers competed with the roar of the rockets.  The setting sun turned the exhaust vapors into a rainbow of purple, red, orange and yellow. 

​We watched the shuttle rise and angle toward the horizon as the full moon rose beneath it.  After the shuttle disappeared, we wanted desperately to push the rewind button and replay the launch.

We first heard the praises of Vero Beach sung in Annapolis and arrived there with great expectations.  Vero is affectionately know as "Velcro Beach".  Cruisers often get stuck there. 

It's a meeting place for cruisers on their way to and those returning from the Bahamas.  Some stay for a week.  Some stay for a month.  And some just stay.  The weather is great and the community makes cruiser welcome. 

​There is everything the seasoned cruiser looks for: Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Publix, Winn Dixie, three chandleries, a library, a 24 screen movie theater - with stadium seating and free bus service.  

We planned to stay a few days in preparation for crossing Lake Okeechobee on our way to visit Tom and Jean Colvin.  Tom designed BlueTopaz and has been waiting seven years to see her. 

​The water level in Lake Okeechobee was too low for us to cross.  The Corp of Engineers released too much water the previous year in anticipation of a severe rainy season, then following year brought a drought.  We waited patiently for the water to rise enough for us to cross - we waited and waited and one month turned into four. 

​We were having a good time and were really in no hurry to leave.  We met cruisers from the US, UK, France, Ireland, Australia and Quebec.  There were pot-luck dinners in the park, cocktails in the cockpit at sunset, weekly street carnivals sponsored by the city, Sunday caravans to the local jazz club and a lot of cruiser comradery.​

We decided to take​ Topaz to a spa for some long overdue maintenance and leave her in safe surroundings while we are away during hurricane season. 

We took her to the Rybovich-Spencer boatyard in West Palm Beach.  We heard repeatedly from people in the industry that Rybovich-Spencer was the best yard in Florida.  So, we decided to give them a try. 

When we asked our project manager if they have room for Topaz at that time of yera, he laughed and said "oh, I think we can find a little shed to stick her in."  We understood the humor when we arrived.  The yard was filled with boats from 50-150 ft.  Emphasis on the 150. 

BlueTopaz is just about the smallest boat in the yard.  There were a couple of smaller boats, a magnificient 30' antique varnished mahogany and stainless speed boat and 25' tender in for its annual service. 

​The project manager was as good as his word.  They put Topaz into a "little shed" about 75' long and four stories high and that's where she sits as I write this note.

and so it is with cruising....Sailors plans are written in the clouds and the forecast changes daily