Sunday, January 14, 2018

Nov 2017 - Southport, NC to West Palm Beach, Fl

Finally crossed the border to South Carolina.  Bridges were on demand, so no pressure trying to arrive at top or bottom of the hour.  We did go through the area referred to as the Rock Pile in Myrtle Beach.  This is a 3 mile stretch on the ICW with rock ledges on either side of the channel and at times very narrow.  It's prudent to call out a Securite before entering the Rock Pile since passing is not an easy maneuver once in transit.  We had a couple of boats ahead of us also going southbound but nothing coming north and no one behind us, so no problem.  We stayed at Osprey Marina, tucked away in the woods off the ICW in Myrtle Beach.  We stopped at the fuel dock before going into our slip since they have the best price for diesel in the Carolina's at $2.36/gal.  We met up with Patty & Jack on Nearly Perfect, we just met them in New Bern and we just happen to be stopping in the same locations.  We did our usual happy hour and then went with them and Tricia & Rob on Linda Jean to dinner at Socastee Station.  Great local, no frills, restaurant with meals under $10.00.  Lots of fun and it brought back memories of the Great Loop when we would fit more people into the car than it was designated to hold. 


A stellar day cruising the Waccamaw River into Georgetown, SC.  The river is a bit wider than the Dismal Swamp but just as beautiful with plenty of depth and not too much boat traffic.  We finally had a more favorable current and were going between 9.3 and 9.9 knots at our usual 1500 RPMs, about a 2 knot push.  It's always nice to get a little help now and then.  We anchored just off the main downtown area of Georgetown.  Lots of shops, restaurants, a Maritime museum and a Rice Museum.  We traveled with Nearly Perfect and Linda Jean  and we all anchored together off of Georgetown.  We walked all over town and then had dinner together on Nearly Perfect since they have a big Hatteras with plenty of room for the 6 of us.  Patty made Tortilla Soup and I made Bread Pudding with homemade whipped cream, everything was delicious.  The best part was our new friend Jack, Jack Daniels that is, and his Tennessee Honey.  It's just yummy!  Luckily we found our way back to our own boat anchored a short distance away.  We had light and variable winds, the water glassy and the moon shining brightly.
Dinner aboard Nearly Perfect
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A very long day and somewhat stressful going through skinny waters of SC in a few known places.  We did time our transit around high tide or mid tide but nonetheless it was shallow in spots getting down to 5'.  We let the big boats go ahead of us then listen to them on the radio as they navigated through these areas.  We passed a parade of tugs and barges today with dredging equipment headed for NC.  It's too bad they can't dredge as they go and make it easier on us cruisers.  We saw lots of dolphins swimming in our bow wake and some in shallow water messing about or doing some kind of mating dance.  Also, we are seeing lots of Monarch Butterflies heading south.  With the warm weather lingering up north they are very late on their migration to Mexico.  They were fluttering like crazy around the boat, I was hoping they might hop on for a wee rest before continuing on.


We decided to skip Charleston this trip so we are anchored just beyond.  We had a magnificent sunset and moon rise, life is very good!
Dolphins playing in our bow wake
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Dredging tow headed our way
We took the Wadmalaw River to the Dawho River and to avoid traffic we took Watts Cut over to South Edisto River and exited at Fenwick Cut onto the Ashepoo River which took us over to Mosquito Creek and then the 405 to the Schlosen Cutoff.  Sounded the water for the best spot on Mosquito Creek.  So far, the mosquito's were not the problem but the no-see-ums were very annoying.  We watched flocks of Purple Martins performing their aerial acrobatics as they chased after flying insects.  We dropped the dinghy and went over to B&B Seafood where we got cluster oysters.  They normally sell them by the bushel but the guy gave us 4 good size clusters to enjoy, and I mean gave them to us at no charge.  Since we had been on the boat for a couple of days we went for a walk, but we were on the very outskirts of civilization so we didn't get too far.  The area was called Bennett Point.  As we walked, a golf cart and a car stopped and asked if we were going to Joe's.  We missed the opportunity on the first offer but on the second we asked what was going on at Joe's.  He was having a party and there would be oysters.  We probably could have just walked into the party but instead we went back to the boat and enjoyed our own. 
Anchorage on Mosquito Creek

Cluster oysters

Delicious!



We docked at Distant Island Yacht Club in Beaufort, SC and have been very busy since arriving.  Our hosts at DIYC, Chuck and Claria (we met them in 2007 on the Cumberland River), were most gracious.  After a lovely dinner Sunday, we went to the USCB (Univ South Carolina Beaufort) Chamber Music first concert of their 38th season featuring cello, flute and piano by Edward Arron, Tara Helen O'Connor and Phillip Bush.  The music was that of J.S. Bach, Arvo Part, Philippe Gaubert, Claude Debussy and Carl Maria von Weber. All pieces were amazing but our favorite was Frates for cello and piano (1977) by Arvo Part.

It's a good thing we didn't have to go anywhere the next day, the fog lingered until at least noon.  DIYC also has a FROG where fellow boaters Pam & Jim on Silver Boots (who arrived by land yacht) wee staying for a few nights.  We hadn't seen them since 2007 when we did the Great Loop, so it was really nice to get acquainted again.  Happy hour and dinner together was just wonderful, Claria is a terrific cook and shared some of her recipes, and short cuts in the galley. Our thanks to Chuck and Claria for their hospitality.
It's fall at DIYC

Magnificent sunset at DIYC
An overcast day on the ICW but it was made so much brighter with all the dolphins we spotted.  They would wait ahead of us in the channel and as soon as we caught up to them they would ride our bow wake for 5-10 minutes.  The more we encouraged them, the more dolphins would join in and the more they would play.  On one occasion there were 5 very large dolphins swimming side by side.  Not much boat traffic, we passed 2 sailboats and saw a few small local boats out shrimping or crabbing.  We transited Hell Gate crossing Ossabaw Sound which can be a problem but we went through on a rising tide.  We anchored on the Duplin River just off of Sapelo Island.  There was no one else there and the clouds were blocking any moonlight, but it was very peaceful.

Our favorite 3 words:  Southern Soul Barbeque
One word follow-up to Southern Soul Barbeque - DELICIOUS!
Ready for lunch!

SSB has taken over the bldg next door
Before casting off from Golden Isle Marina, they dock master delivered a local newspaper and 2 muffins.  We encountered more areas with skinny water but we were on a rising tide, so we didn't feel at risk.  We just took our time remembering the mantra of fellow boater, Jim Healy on Sanctuary.  "Never approach anything faster than you'd want to hit it".  We would have stopped at Fernandina Municipal Marina but they suffered sever damage in hurricane Matthew.  Checking it out with binoculars we could see steel rods sticking out from the floating docks, electrical posts down, marina office boarded up and can just imagine how much more structural damage they received.  They are however open with just a few inside slips and hope to be fully operational in a year.  Bids and getting a contractor lined up are just a few of the obstacles they face.  As we approached Amelia Island Marina we heard a sailboat calling TowBoat, they had just run aground ahead of us.  There was a dredge working and the sailboat went too far out of the channel to avoid, the tow boat said they saw them going aground.  We called the tow and asked for advise to pass, which we did with no problem.  We tucked into a marina for a couple of days waiting for gusting winds to quiet down.
Dredging operation off Fernandina
10 hours on the water, it was a very long day.  We are stayed at the home of MTOA President, Peter Colket.  Peter and Nancy invited us to stay on their dock since they recently sold their boat.  We had happy hour with another boating friend and then went out for Italian food.


The winds continued to blow for quite a few days but we keep pushing south to position ourselves to cross to the Bahamas for the next weather window.  We originally planned to stop at New Smyrna but arrived there too early so we decided to push on to an anchorage in Mosquito Lagoon.  Well that was a very bad plan since winds were out of the NE at 15-20 and there were 1-2' waves with whitecaps, it would not have been a pleasant night on the hook.  Plan C was to anchor south of JayJay RR Bridge getting protection from the NE wind.  We pushed on arriving at 5:30 just at sunset and settled in for the night.  We found a weather station nearby confirming winds in high teens with gusts over 25 mph.
Our swing during the overnight (we moved a lot but didn't go too far)
72 miles on the Indian River with winds still blowing 15-20 out of the northeast.  Very happy winds were behind us, but it was still pretty choppy.  We picked up a mooring for the night at Vero Beach Municipal and rafted to Compass Rose, a Mainship 400.  The rain held off but of course the wind seemed to pick up just as we arrived.   We were able to raft with a boat where someone was actually aboard to assist with the process.  The next day we moved to a slip for a couple of days, rented a car and completed provisioning for winter in the Bahamas.  

We need a vacation after running around crazy for 2 days doing a final provision for the Bahamas.  Food - check, wine - check, beer - check, spare boat parts - check, top off with fuel - check, Brownie's Hookah - check, everything else - check.  Not really sure where everything stowed ,but the boat was still floating, so that was a good thing.  During our stop in Vero, we even got to see Scott's Aunt Margie and cousin Jacque for dinner and had a really nice visit.

Anchored at Peck Lake which is quite beautiful, despite a few boat wakes that find their way in.  A small craft advisory had been issued and we could hear the surf crashing in on the other side of the trees.  We explored the beach the next morning.  

Traveling the ICW between Jupiter  and West Palm on a beautiful Saturday was crazy, there were so many boats on the water.  If we weren't trying to cross to West End the next day, we would have had a different plan.  M/V Duetto and S/V Valarie Arden, also RMHYC members, were ready for the crossing too on 19-Nov-2017. 
Good bye Lake Worth Inlet - see you in the Spring



Oct 2017 - Westbrook, CT to Southport, NC

10/5/17:  We left Brewer Pilots Point Marina headed south!  Yeah!!!!  The marine forecast for Long Island Sound had been 1 ft or less for most of the summer but of course the day we leave it kicked up.  SW winds 10-15 kts with gusts to 20 and seas 2-3 ft.  Definitely not a comfortable cruise for the first few hours, it was all of 3 ft and more.  Once we decided to change course toward the E/SE and the shelter from Long Island, the seas were 1 ft or less.  We traveled 82 miles, our 2nd longest day on record.  We secured a mooring in Port Washington, NY and hit the sack.  
Port Washington - sunset from mooring
We bucked the current through the East River into New York Harbor but were rewarded by a very pleasant cruise around the Battery.  The view of the Manhattan skyline and Lady Liberty never gets old, it's just breathtaking.  
Our cruise along the NJ shore was better than expected.  We headed for Manasquan and Brewer's Crystal Point Marina. Since we are 'gold card' members of Brewer's we get discounted rates at all of their marinas.  Woohoo, we love a discount!
Brooklyn Bridge

Looking back at the NY Battery

Docked in Manasquan
We had a pretty good run from Manasquan to Atlantic City.  About an hour away from AC, the wind picked up and what was mostly swells became more of a chop and sloppy.  At least it was only the last hour, it could have been much worse.  Decision time:  Scott voted for marina and Mary voted to anchor.  So we anchored!  Next time when the winds are predicted to be greater than 15 kts, go for the marina.  We dropped the anchor settled in and about 1am when doing a position check we discovered we were swinging over a shallow area.  Long story and long night short, we adjusted the main anchor and put out a second anchor to pull us away from the shallows.  It worked but not a very restful evening.

There was a small craft advisory up so we traveled inside on the NJ Intercoastal Waterway (NJICW) from Atlantic City to Cape May, NJ.  This route is much more protected but is historically known for trouble spots of shoaling and confusing navigation.  It was a slow cruising day with opposing currents, no wake zones, bridge openings and staying in the marked channel.  Fortunately, it wasn't a great boating day so there weren't too many vessels to contend with.  We stayed in Cape May for a couple of days waiting to travel up Delaware Bay.
Cape May decorated for Halloween

and more fall sights
We left Utsches Marina in Cape May at 07:30 and headed out the canal to Delaware Bay.  This bay kicked our butts once and we are always a little leery about this segment of the trip.  As it turns out, this makes 3 times out of 4 the trip has been excellent.  It is a shame that the one time still taints our memory.  With a favorable current the whole way, we made it to Chesapeake City with time to spare and decided to push on to a new stop for us in the Bohemia River.  We are glad we pushed on, it was a very nice marina (part of the Brewer/Safe Harbor Marina family) and we were treated to a beautiful sunset.  The marina manager even offered her car to us if we wanted to venture out.
Awesome sunset 

Enjoying sunset under our new bimini
 Off the dock by 7:00am for another long day, 9 hours.  The wind began to pick up a bit south of the Bay Bridge so we diverted our track to pass through the cut at Knapps Narrows on Tilghman Island.  We made it to Oxford, MD, another location we've never stopped before.  It's a quaint and quiet little town, and not far from our friends, Carol & Lee so we could visit.  We stayed a couple of days to wait out a small craft advisory.
Neat mural in Oxford

Tools of the oyster trade on the Chesapeake

Dinner with Carol & Lee
After a couple of days in Oxford, MD, we headed down the bay.  Thank you to Carol & Lee for coming to visit and joining us for dinner at Latitude 38.  It's always wonderful to see friends we met on the Great Loop 10 years ago.  We had oysters and crab cakes - yummy!  We even managed to get ice cream from one of the top 5 establishments, according to Trip Advisor, in the U.S. at Scottish Highland Creamery, their last week-end open for the season.  Life is good!
Our trip down the bay was just fine although a bit long at 78 miles and 9 1/2 hours.   We saw our first pelicans and had dolphins swimming in our bow wake.  More stuff that never gets old, we just love it.  

We had a relatively short day at only 50 miles.  The southerly migration in full swing.  The Coast Guard announced on the radio the Gilmerton Bridge on the Elizabeth River was having a mechanical problem and would remain in the closed position until further notice.  A problem for us, yes and no.  We planned to stop in Portsmouth, before the bridge, but with this unexpected closure just beyond there could be boats holding up where we wanted to dock for the night.  The good news is, we can fit under the closed 35' bridge if necessary.  Fortunately, they resolved the problem by 2pm and the bridge was functional.  There are 2 basins in Portsmouth, the south was reserved for schooners who had participated in The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race so we tied up to the north and by the end of the day the north was full.  Congratulations to Schooner Virginia, they not only won the race but beat their own record time.
Schooner Virginia (black hull)
Should we stay or should we go?  Coinjock Marina in Coinjock, NC called us at 9:30am and said they had space for us, so we went.  We had multiple bridges (ranging from 4' to 95') and 1 lock.  We needed to time some of the bridges otherwise it meant circling or temporary tie up.  Great Bridge lock works together with Great Bridge bridge which we thought we had timed for the noon opening.  Our fuel stop took a bit longer than expected so we had to wait for the 1:00pm opening.  We made 7:00pm reservations for dinner at the marina restaurant and reserved a 16 oz prime rib which we easily shared.  Just in case you are interested, Coinjock is an Indian word for Mulberry.

Off the beaten path!  We entered Albermarle Sound and instead of staying on the ICW, we headed west to one of the towns on the Albermarle Loop (www.albermarleloop.com), 
Stop #1 Hertford was another new port for us.  As we turned up the Perquiman River, Harvey Point was to port and as we looked with binoculars, we knew there was something military about it.  A little research discovered it is home to Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity, owned by the Dept of Defense.  You just need to read about it for yourself, it's really very interesting.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Point_Defense_Testing_Activity)  All of the towns on this side loop offer free dockage for 48 hours and some even have water and electric.  After 15 miles upriver, we got to the final swing bridge and there was a sign noting the hours of operation from Oct 1 to Mar 30 as 10am to 10pm.  We did plan on leaving before 10am but we adjusted our plans and found breakfast in the morning.  Hertford is a very quaint town, no trash anywhere, very friendly people, historic homes, ice cream cones for $1.00 (2 scoops) at the local pharmacy.  We ventured into the Chamber of Commerce where there is a museum of memorabilia for the hometown legend Catfish Hunter.  In case you don't know the name, he was the pitcher for the Oakland A's and NY Yankees in the early 70's.  He was signed out of high school, never played minor league, won the Cy Young award, was selected for 8 All-Star teams, pitched in 5 World Series, inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987 and more.  Unfortunately, he died from ALS in 1999 at the age of 53.  The other celebrity associated with this area is radio personality, Wolfman Jack.  Anyone remember American Graffiti released in 1973?
Mascot owns the free dock in Hertford

Ultimate cruising conditions on Albermarle Sound
Stop #2 on our side trip down Albemarle Sound is Columbia NC and is located almost directly across the sound from Hertford.  Columbia does not have a favorite son (at least that we know of) but it did have more places where we could spend money.  The small winery offered a wine tasting (we got two bottles) and had many other specialty food items to try.  The infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars were especially tasty.  Dinner  was at the Mexican restaurant and was also very good.  Everything is located a couple of blocks from the town docks where we tied up.  

People come from all over for art classes at Pocasin At Studio.

more art

Another great mural

Scene from Columbia

Very delicious dinner
We adopted the rating scale the locals of Hertford, NC use based on the number of turtles sunning themselves on the log in the river.  This image is also the town logo.  
1-5 turtles, with 5 being the best.  The weather for our side loop was 🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢 days.  
North east winds, 5-10 kts, waves 1'.

Heading east toward the ICW, we cruised along the southern shore of Albermarle Sound passing through the 'Danger Zone'.  Capt. Scott likes to live on the edge sometimes.  The 'Danger Zone' is described as a dive bombing area used by naval aircraft with the following notation.  
"No persons or vessels shall enter this area during the hours of daylight without special permission from the enforcing agency.  The area will be patrolled and vessels will be warned not to enter. “Buzzing” by plane will warn vessels that they are in a danger zone, and upon being so warned vessels which have inadvertently entered the area shall immediately leave the area."
We transited the area without getting "buzzed" much to Scott's dismay.

Turning into the Alligator River, we joined the parade of southbound vessels.  The peaceful cruising of the last couple of days was over, we have to keep a lookout time to watch for inconsiderate go-fast boats who send damaging wakes.  For the most part, they did call on the radio for a slow pass, but there is always the exception.

At the southern end of the Alligator River, we anchored for the evening with 2 other boats.  This is one of our favorite spots with nothing around for miles and no internet/cell connection.  We found out earlier in the day the Orionid meteor showers were on display from Oct 20-22.  We set the alarm for 1:30am and went up on the top deck where we had a prime seat for viewing the show.  There was no moon (just after new moon phase) and the sky was completely filled with stars, it was amazing to see stars reflecting in the water all around us.  Just beautiful!

 As we entered the Alligator-Pungo Canal this morning, we heard boats ahead of us talking about a bear in the water.  We searched the water and shoreline for the bear, but nothing.  The canal is a straight shot to the Pungo River and Pantego Creek in Belhaven NC.  We set our anchor and headed ashore for lunch at Spoon River Artwork & Market.  It's a farm to table restaurant where the menu changes daily.  The food is incredible and the decor very funky.  We highly recommend if you find yourself in Belhaven to try it.
Lunch at Spoon River
We monitored the Oriental town dock web cam before entering the harbor to see what docks were available.  We lucked out and tied to the free dock for the night.  The Piggly Wiggly shuttle picked us up for a grocery run.  Web cam in Oriental:  http://towndock.net/harborcam

Short cruise, only 22 miles up the Neuse River to New Bern for a week.  We attended a Southbounder's Rendezvous hosted by Marine Trawler Owners Association (MTOA).  The timing was good for us to stay put since the marine forecast was for strong winds.  It was a beautiful week although chilly at night getting down to 48 a couple of nights.  New Bern is a lovely town with many restaurants, historic homes, shops, bike & walking trails and most importantly to Scott, the Pecan Tree where we stopped and filled our bicycle basket.  We gathered a bunch in Oriental, NC as well but one can never have too many pecans.  Pecan Pie is in our future!

We met lots of new people at the rendezvous, enjoyed docktails and hor d'overs every night with the group, graciously accepted transportation for shopping from members of the New Bern Yacht Club and had a couple of very interesting and informative sessions by someone from the National Weather Service and UNC/Wilmington on The Lost Colony.  MTOA does a great job putting events together a couple times a year.

As part of the rendezvous, we toured the Hatteras boat facility where we saw the entire production process.  The biggest mould they have is 100' that they can adjust up to 110' or down to 90'.  Our guide told us they currently have one order for (3) 70' sport fish boats for one customer so he can position them all over the world and fly in to enjoy them as needed.  But, the kicker of the story is that the 3 boats end to end do not even come close to the length of his mega yacht.  This is just not right!  
One of the many bears in New Bern

Mascot docked next to Mary Jo in New Bern

Collecting pecans
We moved on to Beaufort, NC for 2 days waiting for weather to pass along with 2 other boats we met in New Bern.  We haven't been in Beaufort since we did the Great Loop 10 years ago, so we were happy to revisit.  Best of all, the marina we stayed at is adjacent to a commercial waterfront for shrimp boats.  The marina is affiliated with them so on checking in we received 2 lbs of shrimp fresh off the boat.  Guess what we had for supper.

The wind howled one night In Beaufort and we were very thankful we were tied to a dock and not at anchor.  20-30 mph winds with gusts over 40.  The temp was 42 with wind chill of 34  one morning, brrrr.  We usually enjoy the water lapping against the hull of the boat but it was strong and continuous throughout  the night.  The next day was a much better day as we cruised Bogue Sound to the ICW stretch through Camp Lejeune.  We saw lots of dolphins and even an Osprey, not the bird but the military aircraft making practice runs along the ICW.  Camp Lejeune along the ICW has been closed for a few days for military exercises, so transiting this area has been backed up, otherwise you would have to run outside.  They had just reopened the waterway so we made it through to our anchorage at Mile Hammock.  There were about 8-10 boats anchored for the night.  It's very cool, the army men/women run around on shore and in small boats doing what they do and off in the background we can hear explosions.  Speaking of explosions, Scott has a new toy.  I'm sure one of these days you'll be his captive audience for a show.

Happy Halloween!  
After a very peaceful evening, although a little chilly, we hauled anchor at 7:15am to get a jump on the 62 mile trip to Southport, NC.  We also needed to time our transit with bridge openings and navigate through some very tricky shoaling areas.  Within 10 minutes of leaving our anchorage the sailboat in front of us ran aground.  We constantly review Active Captain, Waterway Guide, CruisersNet and whatever else we can find with the latest information, as every good captain should do.  Obviously the sailboat didn't do their homework.  In Southport, there is someone at the marina who holds a daily meeting at 6pm to review weather and navigation from Southport to Savannah for all those heading south.  It's extremely valuable and we walk away with printed slides of his presentation.  It's definitely worth the price of dockage just to get this.

Cruising down the Cape Fear River today we heard a boat being hailed and once the voice came on the VHF we knew it was Ray & Susie from Last Dance, friends from the Bahamas.  We talked for a little while before they went into Bald Head Island and we went into Southport.  Just before we turned off the river onto the ICW, a Sheriff boat came along side with 2 Coast Guard men and asked to come aboard for inspection.  Fortunately, waters were calm so they pulled alongside, boarded Mascot and ran through the inspection.  Once the paperwork was completed they left us with a copy for our records and exited the same way they arrived.  Of course this is the short version of the story, nothing is ever that easy.