CaspersCruiser
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 11, 2016
- Messages
- 866
- Fluid Motion Model
- R-27 Classic
- Hull Identification Number
- FMLT2709G112
- Vessel Name
- Cookie
- MMSI Number
- 368203460
I recently concluded a 540 mile cruise in Florida and southern Georgia. I am cruising the Great Loop in sections and I trailered my 2012 R27 from Kentucky to Vero Beach, Florida to start another section. From Vero Beach, I cruised the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) 267 miles to Jekyll Island, Georgia with stops at Boy Scout Island (near Cocoa), Daytona Beach, St.Augustine (two nights), and Cumberland Island, Georgia.
My wife, our daughter and her family met me at Jekyll Island where we stayed for a week. While at Jekyll, we made an overnight trip to Cumberland Island.
At the end of the week at Jekyll, my daughter and her family returned to Kentucky and my wife joined me on the boat. We headed back south on the AICW and made a stop at Fernandina, Florida and then joined the St. Johns River at Jacksonville where we stayed two nights at Ortega Landing Marina (a FANTASTIC place) and then headed south to Palatka, Silver Glen Springs, Hontoon Island State Park and we ended our cruise at Sanford, Florida where we took out the boat after a four night stay at Monroe Harbor Marina. During our stay at Monroe Harbor, we rented a car and drove to Vero Beach to fetch the tow rig.
Trips like this are EXACTLY why I bought a trailerable Ranger Tug.
These boats attract a lot of attention wherever they go and they also attract other Ranger Tug owners. While I was getting my boat ready to cruise at Vero Beach, I received vital and much appreciated help with various chores from from fellow Tug Nuts Joe Kunstleben and Bob Flaherty.
Joe and his wife were at Vero Beach on their second Great Loop cruise in their R29. I ran into Joe and his wife three more times on this trip. Joe helped me by lifting from the dock up to me on the roof of the boat the two bikes I carried on roof racks.
Bob Flaherty and his wife are from near Boston and wintering in Vero Beach without their R25, but Bob was scoping out the boats at Vero Beach City Marina when he spotted my boat. We had a great time talking tugs and about his family’s Kentucky roots. Bob very kindly followed me to the place I stored my tow rig during the trip. He patiently waited as I sprayed down my trailer with Salt Away and then gave me a ride back to the marina.
Here are some pictures from my trip:
I “boaterhomed” at an RV park near Valdosta, Georgia on the way to Vero Beach.
After anchoring near Boy Scout Island, I took the dinghy to explore the Island.
On Boy Scout Island, I ran into a recently retired USAF pilot who was kayak camping and we talked airplanes and boats when he kayaked out to my boat. Cruising serendipity. While on the island, I saw this palm silhouetted against a dramatic sky.
The next day was a day of lousy weather— cold, windy, and rainy.
The highlight of the day was a good view of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. I was kid during the Space Race and loved everything about it.
One morning, the water was like glass.
Maneuvering to anchor off Cumberland Island.
Cumberland Island sunset.
Sunset at the dock on our last night at Jekyll Island.
Old and new style Ranger Tugs at Silver Glen Springs. The other Tug is an R23 owned by Tug Nutters John and Patty Fischer from St. Louis.
My wife, our daughter and her family met me at Jekyll Island where we stayed for a week. While at Jekyll, we made an overnight trip to Cumberland Island.
At the end of the week at Jekyll, my daughter and her family returned to Kentucky and my wife joined me on the boat. We headed back south on the AICW and made a stop at Fernandina, Florida and then joined the St. Johns River at Jacksonville where we stayed two nights at Ortega Landing Marina (a FANTASTIC place) and then headed south to Palatka, Silver Glen Springs, Hontoon Island State Park and we ended our cruise at Sanford, Florida where we took out the boat after a four night stay at Monroe Harbor Marina. During our stay at Monroe Harbor, we rented a car and drove to Vero Beach to fetch the tow rig.
Trips like this are EXACTLY why I bought a trailerable Ranger Tug.
These boats attract a lot of attention wherever they go and they also attract other Ranger Tug owners. While I was getting my boat ready to cruise at Vero Beach, I received vital and much appreciated help with various chores from from fellow Tug Nuts Joe Kunstleben and Bob Flaherty.
Joe and his wife were at Vero Beach on their second Great Loop cruise in their R29. I ran into Joe and his wife three more times on this trip. Joe helped me by lifting from the dock up to me on the roof of the boat the two bikes I carried on roof racks.
Bob Flaherty and his wife are from near Boston and wintering in Vero Beach without their R25, but Bob was scoping out the boats at Vero Beach City Marina when he spotted my boat. We had a great time talking tugs and about his family’s Kentucky roots. Bob very kindly followed me to the place I stored my tow rig during the trip. He patiently waited as I sprayed down my trailer with Salt Away and then gave me a ride back to the marina.
Here are some pictures from my trip:
I “boaterhomed” at an RV park near Valdosta, Georgia on the way to Vero Beach.
After anchoring near Boy Scout Island, I took the dinghy to explore the Island.
On Boy Scout Island, I ran into a recently retired USAF pilot who was kayak camping and we talked airplanes and boats when he kayaked out to my boat. Cruising serendipity. While on the island, I saw this palm silhouetted against a dramatic sky.
The next day was a day of lousy weather— cold, windy, and rainy.
The highlight of the day was a good view of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. I was kid during the Space Race and loved everything about it.
One morning, the water was like glass.
Maneuvering to anchor off Cumberland Island.
Cumberland Island sunset.
Sunset at the dock on our last night at Jekyll Island.
Old and new style Ranger Tugs at Silver Glen Springs. The other Tug is an R23 owned by Tug Nutters John and Patty Fischer from St. Louis.
