The Adventures of the Salty Turtle

Steve & Nancy  Schrimsher

     We are off on a new adventure!  After over 30 years of sailing and living aboard four different sailboats (Steve’s first was a Rhodes 40’ cutter, then together, we had a 37’ Gulfstar, 60’ Gulfstar and a 44’ Island Packet), Steve and I have now moved on board a 1987 44’ Defever Trawler which we have named “Salty Turtle”.  We purchased the boat in Punta Gorda, Florida, from Don and Chari Leitch (Shibumi) on September 27, 2006.  We moved aboard that same day with our 12 year-old cat, Wiley.  This is our new HOME!

Our first boating adventure with the Salty Turtle was to cruise what is called America's Great Loop.  We left Ft. Myers, Florida on October 11, 2006, and finished the Loop in Ft. Myers on December 1, 2007.  You can read and see more about it in our Great Loop Blog.

Our current plans (they have changed again!) are to spend the spring and summer of 2008 in the Oriental, NC, catching up on some boat projects to get ready to head to Central America.  Our generator is still running, but feeling tired so we will probably replace it plus we want to add a watermaker.   Our camper and jeep are in North Carolina, so we plan to use them this summer in Oriental and then spend September and October camping out west and also spend some time in Idaho.  We'll leave the vehicles in Idaho and fly back to the boat sometime in the late fall.  Then, we'll start heading south in the Salty Turtle to Mexico, Belize and the Rio Dulce in Guatemala.  We haven't decided yet whether to spend a couple of months in the Bahamas on the way or just head straight down to the Florida Keys to wait for a weather window to cross the Yucatan Channel to Mexico in January or February.  May is usually the best time to cross, but there are windows earlier.  So that’s the plan, subject to change, since long range planning for us is what we’re doing tomorrow!.  We feel very fortunate to have the good health and opportunity to embark on this adventure!  We hope that our travels inspire others to "live their dream".  Check back here regularly to follow our progress.

Cheers,

Steve & Nancy Schrimsher

Where Are We Now?

Updated to
May 12, 2008
 

See Salty Turtle Photos

See our Great Loop Blog

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LOTS of Alligators!

St. Johns River

April 23 - May 7, 2008

Cypress Trees	Fisherman with traps	Cypress Reflections
Watching for Gators	Ship on the St. Johns	Sunrise at anchor
Live oak at Hontoon State Park	Fisherman on the river	Hiking at Deleon Springs

We decided to take a two week detour cruising the St. Johns River and what a great experience this was!  In north Florida, at Jacksonville, the Salty Turtle turned west and then south again to follow the St. Johns River.  The river runs 163 miles from the Intracoastal Waterway to Sanford at Lake Monroe (the furthest south you can go in a boat with our draft). The northern section of the river is interesting with lots of large ships and tows plus going through downtown Jacksonville, but the really pretty part starts south of Palatka at about mile 80.  There the river narrows and the muddy banks are lined with cypress trees, Spanish moss, sprawling live oaks, and tall palm trees. 

Airplant in bloom	Gator Sunning	Watching us
Gator reflections	Anhinga drying his wings	The Enforcer
Smile!	Great white heron	Heron Flying

We moved quickly south to Sanford (3 days), but took note of potential anchorages for our return trip later.  While in Sanford, we docked at the marina and rented a car to visit two State Parks where we stretched our legs and did some hiking.  Deleon Springs and Wikiva Springs both had nice walking trails through the Palmettos and beneath the live oak canopies.  

Not everyday is paradise on a boat.  First, north of Palatka, I briefly took over the helm and ran over a crab trap line.  It was tightly wound around the prop shaft and was fun to cut off in the muddy water where you couldn’t see 3 inches in front of your face.  Then, while at the Sanford marina, we were invaded by hundreds of mosquito-like (but luckily non-biting) bugs, which covered the outside of the boat every night and pooped green specks which left stains on the fiberglass.  Nice.  During this same time period, Steve played boat mechanic on two occasions.  Once was to replace the port engine fuel pump, and another day to replace an oil line for the starboard engine.  Oh yeh, the key stock fell off the drive shaft coupling, too.  Nothing on a boat is a “simple fix” as the fuel pump replacement required cutting off the end of an already small wrench to squeeze into the tight space at a difficult angle.  It was an hour bicycle ride to find a place that sold wrenches.  Oh, and did I mention Steve was sick with a bad cold during these gyrations?  Luckily it all worked out, and both Steve and the boat are running fine again.  I’m grateful to have an onboard mechanic! 

Barred Owl watching us	Sandhill Crane	Great Blue Heron
Osprey watching us	Osprey with a fish	Osprey with baby
I'm outta here!	Little Blue Heron	Turtle Clapping

After a few days exploring on land, we were ready to launch the dinghy.  Steve had been itching to try his new Nikon camera and telephoto lens.  For the next week we took the Salty Turtle on a leisurely trip north again, anchoring in several scenic creeks beside the river. It was great as we always had the anchorages completely to ourselves.  We spent most of our days in the dinghy and were rewarded by hundreds of wildlife sightings. The birds and gators of the St. Johns River were fantastic photography subjects, but you had to be quick.  Most were not keen on posing long.  We made it a game to find the biggest gator and turtle.  The nesting birds were fun, too.  Occasionally, we were lucky enough to find one with hatchlings.  One huge live oak tree had over eight large nests.  It wasn’t just the number of nests that surprised us, but the fact that here were blue herons, osprey, and anhingas all sharing the same tree.  Cool!