Dear Everyone
It’s going to be Christmas in Florida, which means we’re a bit behind schedule, though we still might just make it to Cuba in time for the turn of the Millennium! When, at the end of November, we heard about the Space Shuttle Discovery launch planned for 2 December, we thought that tied in very nicely with our southbound journey. Titusville is only a few miles from Cape Canveral and is one of the best spots to watch from. So on 1 December we duly arrived, only to find the launch delayed until the 3rd, then further delayed till the 6th, 9th, twice on the 11th and then the 16th. Fortunately we had plenty to keep us occupied until the 11th and then, with our ‘visa-waiver’ stay in the USA only valid until 23 December, we took the opportunity of the 5-day delay to fly home, see our Mums and Sally & Peter for a quick Christmas hello, and get ourselves fixed up with proper visas. The big worry then was whether we’d get back in time for the launch on the 16th, which we did, just - and then of course there was yet another 24-hour Shuttle delay. Strong winds, poor visibility and torrential rain on the 17th & 18th eliminated any chance of a launch then, and finally on the 19th everything looked good - and at about 1950 the horizon lit up and Discovery was on her way. By then, the sky was so clear that we were able to watch the receding light for a long time until it merged with the rest of the stars. Quite an experience, though slightly eerie, as the sound of the blast-off, which we had been told would be thunderous, was mostly blown away on the west wind and all we heard was a gentle rumble!
Since our last newsletter and on our way to Florida our ICW route took us through South Carolina where we stopped briefly in two of our favourite American towns so far - Charleston and Beaufort (pronounced Bewfort). Both have some of the most beautiful 19th century wooden-built houses with wide balconies, set in quiet streets lined with oak trees dripping Spanish moss. Next state was Georgia, and there we included stops on two islands - Jekyll and Cumberland - which have a place in the history of America’s ultra-rich industrial families. Jekyll was the site of the Jekyll Island Club which operated from 1886 until 1942. The island was the exclusive winter holiday haunt for ‘Club’ members, including the Goodyears, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Morgans and Pulitzers - each with their own ‘cottage’ (mansion might be a better description) on the island, close to the Club House. Various factors contributed to the abandonment of the island by its owners in 1942, one of which (perhaps apocryphal) was the sighting not far offshore of a German U-boat and the realisation that if the island were to be invaded and its occupants kidnapped, one sixth of the wealth of the USA would be held to ransom! Cumberland Island had associations with the Carnegie family which owned much of it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and built ‘Dungeness’, an enormous mansion which required a staff of over 200 in its heyday. Now little remains of the building, which was burnt down, and a minor mansion, Plum Orchard, is abandoned and decaying. The island itself is an unspoilt wooded nature reserve, with its Atlantic shore a wild and exciting place. We had heard about the armadillos which share the woods with the wild ponies, but it was still with some disbelief that we encountered our first one - rooting about in the undergrowth, looking and behaving exactly like some strange wind-up toy.
We are now heading south again, but are stopping here at Lake Worth for a few days while we install a wind generator, so that we shall no longer be entirely dependent on the engine to keep our batteries charged. At this point in the Intracoastal Waterway, and we understand from here onwards, the scenery is almost entirely man-made - huge apartment blocks, mega-mansions and urban development as far as the eye can see. Yachts with masts are outnumbered several times over by the power-boat variety - of ever-increasing size!! So we are now quite looking forward to getting to the end of this incredilble ICW and doing some sailing again as we head off towards the islands.
Please count this as our Christmas card for 1999 - We hope it finds you all in good health and enjoying the Christmas break and we send you all our very best wishes for a very happy and peaceful 2000.
With love from John and Barbara