Day 55: Sugar Island to Jefferson Beach OH

Sugar Island to Saint Clair Jefferson Beach Beach, MI: 6.8 mph; 33.6 miles; 4:57 hours




Jefferson Beach Marina $2.00/ft with electric, water, showers, bathroom and laundry.


I have to say, after 55 days on the water, this is not my favorite marina. It’s just too much! I mean really - wide open sort of 'too much'. While we were there, they didn’t have a working VHS radio - what?! Thankfully we used Dockwa ahead of time and the marina sent us a map of the marina with slip assignment. When we arrived, Free Spirit was behind us hailing the marina on the radio - that they didn’t have working. The marina didn’t even know their radio was out. I asked them where was the hand-held and they didn’t have one - so I said, with every ounce of southern charm I could muster, “order one - amazon delivers - right now you have Free Spirit coming in and she’s a big girl.” Only two of five staffers were actually working. The other three employees were having Icees and snickering (I practiced patience). To top it off, the fuel dock wasn't working and had allowed a vessel with he worst 'dancers' to take up valuable real estate in a fast moving current. Unbelievable. About the 'dancers', you just can't unsee some things and twerking isn't for everyone.




The marina, has a parking spot next to each boat; so, that's good if you live on board. Why anyone would live in this marina is beyond me. There's an ignored speed limit of 5 mph and we would need to walk for 5 minutes through a ‘mini freeway’ to get to the bathroom and showers. Inside the marina, the 'boating bypass' had a boater acting out a scene from The Dukes of Hazard, Luke Duke barreled into the marina and hit a sailboat. Unbelievable! Did he think the boat would drift like a sports car?




Each waterfront restaurant is tagged to a marina and there are a LOT of marinas. The crazy part is that the marinas are gated and locked between each other, not allowing pedestrians to move between them or the restaurants. Our marina restaurant was rented out for the evening - for real. We could throw a stick to the marina restaurant next to us but had to walk 2 miles, round trip, outside the facility get there. Why didn't we use the dingy? To use the dingy we would have had to go outside the breaker walls, into Lake St Clair, and just trust that Bo Duke wasn't coming around the bend. It was late and I had a good inclination that the 'captains' weren't a hundred percent.






WHAT’S GREAT THERE: The location and quick Amazon deliveries. West Marine, Mikes Marine Store, and Gifts Afloat are within a half mile. The boat stores are huge and have everything you need. I think almost every boat dealer is represented in this area; so if you needed a part, you could get one ordered easily.




DOCKTAILS ON BOARD: We caught up with Free Spirit and Manatee for docktails and dinner. Always a load of fun with loopers. Ted, Manatee, HAS to be one of my favorite person to listen to - you have no idea what he'll say next!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AGLCA SPRING RENDEZVOUS IN NORFOLK VA 2022

Image
The event this year is scheduled to take place in Norfolk, VA The Waterside River Ferry   A schedule is online and the ferry travels between Waterside, Norfolk & High Street, Portsmouth & North Landing, Portsmouth gohrt.com > Routes > Elizabeth River Ferry Waterside Marina   The 'right there' marina for the event - in the thick of it all. Nauticus Marina   Located at the end of the Waterside park at the museum is 'right there' too, it’s a little more quiet and smaller. Marinas near the Waterside River Ferry Ocean Yacht Marina Tidewater Yacht Marina Portsmouth Boating Center 36-hour Free Dock in Portsmouth (small); get there early Marinas, Portsmouth with an Uber/Lyft or Ferry :  Virginia Boat Yacht Service, Western Branch Diesel  Reciprocal Marinas, Norfolk with an Uber/Lyft :   Norfolk Yacht & Country Club (reciprocal with who?) Marinas before the Chesapeake Bay with and Uber/Lyft :  Willoughby Harbor Marina Rebel Marina  Mari...
Read more

DAYS 266-269 : Charleston SC to South Santee River Anchorage - Georgetown SC Anchorage

Image
Charleston to South Santee River MM 420 ANCHORAGE: 7.9 mph; 49.8 miles; 6:18 hours South Santee River MM 420 Anchorage to Georgetown SC ANCHORAGE: 6.9 mph; 18.3 miles; 2:40 hours NOTE: There are strong currents after Charleston. Whenever possible, best to ride the tide. NOTE: Charleston MM 469 to Georgetown MM 403 is about a 60 mile run with a few no wake zones; be sure to check your fuel. You have some choices.  You could anchor at McClellanvile (Leland Oil Marina) MM 431 or South Santee River MM 420 before heading to Georgetown MM 403.  If you are a fast boat, you could head straight to Georgetown. Some Loopers hop from Charleston to McClellanville to Georgetown. It’s all ‘boater preference’. MM 420 South Santee River ANCHORAGE This anchorage is right off the ICW and has a reputation for holding steady with a quick current - I agree; so, we added the snubber line. Another Looper tucked a little further in from the ICW with a ton of space. Great Sunset! On the Way to MM 420 T...
Read more

DAYS 242-246 : Daytona Anchorage to St Augustine Mooring/Slip

Image
Daytona Anchorage to St Augustine: 8.7 mph; 54.2 miles; 6:11 hours This was a longer run with great scenery and a pod of dolphin. The topography has changed from mangroves to salt marshes. I excepted to see an ecological shift in Georgia but seeing it now took me by surprise. There’s only one stop for fuel between Daytona and St Augustine so check the gauges: MM 803/Palm Coast Marina. ANCHORAGES & MARINAS DAYTONA TO ST AUGUSTINE:  MM 809; Cement Plant Anchorage : No longer a viable anchorage   MM 803; Palm Coast Marina , GAS & DIESEL, $1.32/ft plus electric (PREFERRED LOOPER MARINA) MM 803; Hammock Beach Marina , MM 803, NO FUEL, Snag-A-Slip, $2.25/ft  MM 796; Marineland Marina , at MM 796, NO FUEL, and $1.25/ft plus electric.  St Augustine Municipal Marina: The marina is perfectly placed outside the historic district of Saint Augustine. You have to call the marina for reservations and all marina/mooring field maps are online. Mooring : We arrived a day ear...
Read more