The Adventures of HIGH COTTON
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The Adventures of HIGH COTTON HIGH COTTON is a year 2000 Camano Troll, a trawler that was originally designated as 28’ but is now known as 31’. HIGH COTTON is powered by a single Volvo TAMD41P diesel engine and is equipped with a bow thruster. There is no onboard genset, but there is a four battery house bank and a 2000 watt inverter. The galley is equipped with a refrigerator and a three burner propane range with oven and broiler. Cruising at 2000 RPM, she makes 7 knots over slack water and burns about 1.8 GPH. The following is an account of a cruise north on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Charleston, SC to the Florida Keys and back. Captain’s Log, day one (May 1, 2019) headed up the Stono River to the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). Where are the Widmans? Well, it’s the first of May and it’s time for the annual boat cruise. We got HIGH COTTON packed and ready to go, parked the truck under the bridge at the marina and spent last night on the boat so we could get an early start, head for Florida and hopefully, the Florida Keys. In the middle of the night we were awakened by the beeping sound of the bilge pump alarm. For you non-boaters, the “bilge” is the inside of the hull and the bilge pump is designed to eliminate any water that finds its way into the bilge. Since Bye bye St. Johns Yacht Harbor, see you in a few months the alarm stopped, we went back to sleep with It wasn’t long before we met up with a pair of the thought of dealing with it in the morning. dolphins and Kiki saw her first “big fishies”. At the crack of dawn, we got up and dressed. Captain Ron handed the helm over to Patti and Patti walked Kiki the Sea Dog while Captain Ron went below to check on the bilge. This time he got the boat ready to go. He checked the engine saw water dripping down into the bilge from the oil and coolant and then checked the bilge. One shaft seal. Inboard boats like HIGH COTTON have of the important things in boating is, the water is the engine on the inside and of course the supposed to be on the outside, not the inside. propeller has to be on the outside in the water. There was an inch or so of water in the bilge They are connected together with a propeller where it’s normally dry. Captain Ron couldn’t see shaft which passes through the shaft seal to allow a leak or evidence of a leak so he pumped it out it to turn but doesn’t allow the water in. and figured we would just check on it from time to time. HIGH COTTON, like most modern boats is equipped with a “dripless” shaft seal. Well HIGH We unhooked the shorepower cable and the dock COTTON’s shaft seal was no longer dripless and lines and slid quietly out of the marina and was the cause of the water in the bilge. Page 1 The Adventures of HIGH COTTON We were approaching a well-known boat repair ice. The bill for repairs was approximately what facility; Ross Marine so we called them and they Captain Ron spent on his first brand new car but had us bring the boat to the docks for inspection. that was in 1965 and it didn’t have all the luxuries of today’s new cars. It was determined that the entire seal assembly was worn out and needed to be replaced. This We got a dock cart and took our stuff to the dock. requires hauling the boat out of the water and the We had to wait while they finished launching part has to be ordered and installed. another boat but we finally got HIGH COTTON loaded. Patti and Kiki stayed on the boat while So, we called for an Uber ride, went back to St. Captain Ron drove the truck to St. Johns Yacht Johns Yacht Harbor, retrieved the truck and drove Harbor, parked it and took an Uber back to Ross back home. Hopefully, HIGH COTTON will be Marine. repaired and back in the water tomorrow afternoon. We shall see. It was about 11:45 AM when we finally got underway. We no sooner got free of the marina So “Where are the Widmans”? Back in their home area when around the bend came a large cruise in North Charleston, SC. Total miles travelled liner, the Independence. Captain Ron decided to today by boat? Four. hug the side of the channel until it passed by. Captain’s Log, day two (May 2, 2019) Well, we’re on day two and still in North Charleston. HIGH COTTON was supposed to be finished today but when we called the boat yard, the lady said it was on the schedule to go back in the water tomorrow morning. We asked to talk to the guy who is in charge and were told he would call us back. He didn’t. We called again just before closing time and the lady said she would We give the Big Boys plenty of space find him but we still didn’t get to talk to him. Hopefully, we’ll get the boat back in the water and It started getting hot so we put the bimini top up underway tomorrow morning. We shall see. to block the sun. We passed several trawlers and sailboats heading north and two powerboats passed us heading south. Captain’s Log, day three (May 3, 2019) We got our lunch out and began eating (on the We got up this morning and called the boat yard. flybridge) when the sky darkened and it began to They told us that it would be ready about 10:00 rain. We have a “rain drill” where Patti takes the AM so we waited a bit and then grabbed wheel, Captain Ron grabs Kiki and whatever else everything we had taken home that we didn’t eat he can carry and climbs down the ladder and into and headed out. We stopped along the way to the cabin where he takes over the controls. Patti pick up coffee and donuts and another cooler of Page 2 The Adventures of HIGH COTTON covers everything and brings whatever is left for a swim. Captain Ron threw sticks in the water down. and she swam out and retrieved them. It only rained for a half hour or so and we went After a while we took Kiki back to HIGH COTTON back to the flybridge. Captain Ron and Patti took and we all rested a bit. Then the humans went turns driving. Eventually we came upon a small back to the park for lunch, leaving the K-9 to guard pod of dolphins so we stopped to let Kiki watch. the boat. As we were finishing lunch, it began to They swam away so we continued south. rain so we hurried back to the boat to cover the dash and seats. Several more times we went to We pulled into Rock Creek, a small creek off the the park only to have it start raining again. One of ICW just before it enters the Coosaw River and the times, we got drenched. Kiki enjoyed the dropped the anchor. This is a good spot to spend festival and meeting new humans and dogs. We the night. We’ll get up tomorrow morning and enjoyed it also. head for Beaufort, about three hours away. Patti decided to leave Captain Ron and the Sea It looks like it will be a beautiful sunset tonight. Dog on the boat and walk around the festival and the local shops to see if they had anything she needed. Apparently they did because she Captain’s Log, day four (May 4, 2019) returned with a shopping bag full of goodies. We had a quiet night at anchor and awoke a little We went to one of the local restaurants for after dawn. With nothing better to do, we got dinner. As we were walking back down the ramp, ourselves dressed, prepared the boat and headed we noticed a bunch of people posing for pictures south. Our route today was a short man-made in front of HIGH COTTON. This is not the first time cut, then about an hour and a half on the Coosaw this has happened. Apparently HIGH COTTON River and then down the Beaufort River to makes a good photo background. We walked the Beaufort. We saw a couple dolphins swimming pooch and then untied the boat and moved to our and stopped so Kiki could watch them. After they usual anchorage further down the river. disappeared, we resumed speed and the dolphins Tomorrow we should cross into Georgia. decided to swim alongside the boat. Kiki loved this and began barking at them. Eventually, of course, they went back to doing whatever dolphins do and we continued on to Beaufort. The City of Beaufort has installed a nice new free floating dock for visiting boats (day use, no staying overnight) and we were the first ones there today. There happened to be some sort of festival today with food trailers and live music. Kiki was happy to get off the boat and headed straight for the grass. We walked her around the HIGH COTTON at the Beaufort, SC day dock park and she spied the boat ramp so she had to go Page 3 The Adventures of HIGH COTTON Captain’s Log, day five (May 5, 2019) at Walmart and get two pairs.