What a Long, Strange, Trip it has Been (part 2)

 So, we are approaching the St. Augustine inlet in the morning fog, my course on the chartplotter taking us straight to the inlet's marker.  Visibility is around a quarter to half mile.  I have the radar on and it finds the marker about a mile away, but I don't see any radar blips for the channel markers.  Then about a half mile from it I notice a shadow of the inlet marker appear from the fog.  About this time, the radar also starts picking up the channel markers.  Hmmm...maybe?

As we continue to approach the inlet marker, I keep looking to the right in an attempt to visually locate the channel markers.  Then I think I see a faint outline of the coast.  Is the fog starting to lift? Sure enough, by the time I reach the inlet mark, 2 to 3 sets of the channel markers appear from the fog.  We make the turn and start heading in.  We pass the first set of markers and visibility continues to improve.  By the time we pass the second set of marks, I can now make out much of the channel.  Whew.  We make our way in and dock at Camachee Cove marina.

A few minutes after we arrive, another Leopard 3800 enters the marina. At our home port we occasionally see another Leopard, but rarely the same model and vintage as ours.  We make their acquaintance, compare, and swap stories about our boats.  They are half owners from England.  John and Dorota on Eagle Song, it was nice to meet and share stories and I wish you safe travels...hopefully our paths will cross again in the future.

Rover and Eagle Song in St.. Augustine 

A cold snap was predicted and arrived, dropping  temperatures to near freezing in St. Augustine...I thought Florida was supposed to be warmer.  We took the time (and use of the marina’s courtesy car) to do more provisioning and some shopping at Sailors Exchange while we waited out the cold.  

A tiki bar boat anyone?

Weather wasn't predicted to be great, so we begrudgingly decided to again motor down the ICW and our next stop was Palm Coast.  One night there and we were moving on to Daytona.  During my morning check of the engine, I found one of the fan belts broke on my starboard engine (fortunately it has two and I had a complete set of spares).  I went to install a spare only to find that it was about a half inch too small in diameter (guess those cross references aren't that good, eh, Autozone? ).  We continued with the single belt on that side.

When we pulled into the marina in Daytona, we noticed a boat we recognized as a couple we met when they were stopped in New Bern. We visited a bit and found out this was their home marina.

The next morning, we got out the folding bikes and rode to Napa to get the replacement fan belt.  Unfortunately they only had one, so I'd have to pick up additional spares elsewhere.  I installed the belt without much fuss.  A check of the weather and again it looks like we will be trudging down the ditch. At least we are slowly making our way south, right??

So we made plans and the next morning headed south, down past the Kennedy Space Center and on to Titusville.  While tying up the boat, I noticed the boat behind us had a hailing port of Durango, CO...so naturally we had to make their acquaintance.  I’ve often mused that we should have made our hailing port Leadville, CO. as I find the thought of my boat somehow making it to Colorado funny. I also checked the Napa there and found they didn't have the belts but could get them by the next morning, so I ordered them and picked them up the next day.  While there, we also ran into a couple we had met months earlier at our new home marina.  Chuck and Tina sail a Beneteau 473 named Whisper.  They too were headed to the Bahamas, so we began traveling somewhat together.

The NASA VAB in the distance

The next two legs of the trip would also be down the ICW as Titusville is a fair distance from an inlet.  Since it was finally starting to warm up some, the next night we anchored out in a wide part of the ICW halfway between Titusville and Ft. Pierce that had several good spots for anchoring.  Not long after we set the hook, we noticed a catamaran that had been some distance behind us all day was also coming in to anchor.  As they got closer, we recognized the boat.  It was the Swiss couple that we met and docked next to in Charleston. We chatted on the radio a bit and found out they were heading to the Keys and then Bahamas.  So, if you are keeping count, we have run into someone we knew on the last 3 stops.  As big as the world and oceans are, it still surprises me how small it can all seem at times.

The next morning we got an early start and made our way to Ft. Pierce.  We docked at the city marina along with Whisper. Here is where one of the downsides of having a cat can be seen.  The dockage rate for our cat was 50% higher than Whisper, even though we were both tied up next to each other on a face dock and their 47 foot boat takes up 10 foot more dock space than our 37 foot boat.  If it were a slip, I could understand an additional charge for our width, but at a face dock it seems silly as we take up less space.  

There was one thing that happened that made up for the overcharge though.  At many marinas, there is a space known as the "free table" where boaters can leave things they no longer need but may be usable by someone else.  We have picked up and left things at various free tables in the past.  Here, there was a working portable clothes washer and spin dryer that someone left when they upgraded.  We have a small bucket size washer that is good for a couple shirts or shorts, but this one is bigger and can handle jeans, bedsheets, and larger towels.  I've wanted to give one of these a try, but never could find one we could fit into one of our storage lockers.

Since the price was right, we figured why not take it to the boat and see if we could find a place for it.  We measured it and our largest inside locker door and it would just barely fit.  The problem was that once I shoved it through the door, I don't think I could get it back out.  But it is lightweight enough that we decided we could just store it in the shower and move it when we wanted to shower.  We had just done some laundry so we also gave the spin dryer a try.  Our small washer had a spin basket and so did a previous one we tried, but I found those didn't extract much water and I could hand wring better.  This one is a game changer.  It spins as well as our home front load washer and leaves things almost dry.  An hour or two hanging on the lifelines, even in humid Florida, and a sweatshirt and towel were dry.  This find mostly makes up for the overcharging of the marina.

The free clothes washer with spin dryer

Since the trip to Florida has taken much longer than planned, we again did a grocery run.  We had hoped to leave out the Ft. Pierce inlet and sail south to Key Biscayne/No Name Harbor, but the weather has been fickle.  It only seems to get better when we are trapped in long stretches of the ICW.  After a couple days in Ft. Pierce, we again decided we would take the ICW so we could make it a little further south.  At least at the end of this next leg would be the anchorage in N Lake Worth and another inlet near Palm Beach to try again.

Rover and Whisper head out the next morning, continuing our trek down the ICW.  I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to this leg of the trip.  I've been through Jupiter before and I remember it to be a circus.  Several bridges in close proximity to one another, with jet skis and small boats that don't have a clue about right of way for boats with limited ability to maneuver (tall masts going through a raised bridge, for example).  This time was no different.  

The trip started out nice and we were making good progress.  As we approached Jupiter, more and more boats appeared.  Party barges with young sun worshipers, jet skis, motorboats with big engines driven by small minds all entered the frey.  It was like rush hour.  We wait at the bridges, trying to keep station in the current as we wait for the next scheduled bridge openings while small boats and jet skis zip around us in all directions.  With two motors set far apart, I have a fair amount of control. I feel for my friends on Whisper that have to contend with this mess in a single engine monohull.  At the last bridge before Lake Worth, a motor yacht passes us, Whisper, and a trawler waiting at the bridge so he can be first through when it opens.  I think it was the trawler that keys his radio mic with two stern words "back off".  Sigh.  If I ever think about coming down this part of the ICW again, please slap me.

We finally make it to the lake and drop anchor with about 40 other boats, undoubtedly also waiting on the weather to continue their journeys.  This will definitely be the end of my journey down the ICW.  Ahead are Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.  The former has lots of mega yachts and expensive marinas, the latter has a fixed bridge built by a dyslexic engineer who made it 56 feet high instead of 65 so we can't pass under it.  And both have rich NIMBY's that don't like us "poor boaters" anchoring and ruining their views.  Besides, I'm growing tired of being just a tall motorboat.

We wait a couple days and a weather window appears.  It isn't perfect, but at this point I'm not picky, I'll take what I can get. We head out the inlet and are met with a little wind.  We raise the sails and make an attempt to sail, but the winds are light.  We even attempt to fly the spinnaker, but by the time I get it rigged, the wind all but dies.  Well, at least I won't be motoring down the ditch anymore.  Whisper had followed us out the inlet and also attempted to sail, but gave up sooner than we did and had motored past us while we stubbornly tried to sail.  Later that evening, as we were passing by offshore of Ft. Lauderdale, the winds picked back up and we were able to sail the rest of the way to the Biscayne Bay channel on a nice reach.  Finally!

We anchored outside No Name Harbor, our intended staging point for crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.

The anchorage outside NoName harbor...
We are not alone.

Next stop, Bahamas?

(More to come next time)

What a Long, Strange Trip It Has Been (part 1)

 For a long time I've wanted to take the boat to the Bahamas.  To sail in crystal blue waters, explore tropical islands, scuba and snorkel, and find tranquil anchorages.  This past Friday, I finally made it across the gulf stream and am now in Bimini.  I'm still looking for most of that above list, but am now 90% of the way there.

I started this trip back in 2019.  I found some crew and came to the boat to start preparing it for the trip.  After numerous updates and repairs, there was one major bit of work to be done, to replace the standing rigging (the wires that hold the mast up).  It was ordered in early 2020, and then the unplanned delay struck the entire world, the COVID pandemic shut everything down.

Almost four years later and I am back at it.  A new home marina, more boat repairs and upgrades, the rigging that was ordered before the pandemic was finally installed, and the boat was as ready as I thought she could be.  There were a couple minor projects to do, but I figured they could easily wait for a warmer climate. The crew had changed a bit.  My wife and dog are with me now and there are plans to meet up with others from the original crew along the way.

Not quite shorts and t-shirt weather yet.

We departed New Bern, North Carolina at the very end of December.  It was cold.  We made our way slowly south along the Intercoastal Waterway as the weather wasn't suitable for travel in the Atlantic. We stopped at night at marinas so we could plug the boat in and run heaters to stay warm.  It was a slow journey from New Bern back to my old marina in Southport.  It was the last leg into Southport where I discovered I had picked up some bad fuel and clogged the filters. One engine sputtered as we entered the marina basin to provide a little added excitement. A few days in Southport replacing filters, polishing fuel, provisioning, and catching up with friends, and we finally had a small weather window to actually sail further south.

We departed Southport on an overnight passage down the coast to Charleston.  It was still cold and we wore winter coats and foul weather gear...determined to find warmer weather.  The winds varied, so we sailed some and motored some. At one point while motoring, one of the engine room blower fans started squealing, apparently a bearing was going bad.  It made quite a noise so we shut down the engine for a while.  Then one time when I started it to see if the fan would behave for at least a little while, I was met with silence from the fan.  It had died.  It was also on this leg of the trip that we noticed the volume on the VHF radio wasn't as loud as it should be, making it difficult to hear calls when the motors were running.  We made it to Charleston just fine, but with a couple new repair items to take care of.  It is a boat after all.

We stayed in Charleston long enough to order and install a replacement fan and radio.  Then, while waiting on the weather for another chance to move south, the area was hit by a freak high wind thunderstorm line.  This is the first time I've ever seen waves breaking inside a marina, between the boats and the shoreline. During the storm, the docklines on our boat loosened one of the cleats and one of our docklines broke (fortunately I had prepared for the storm and had extra lines securing us). The boat behind us snapped one of the cleats off of the dock.  Elsewhere in the marina, others had broken lines and cleats and during the storm two boats were rocking so bad that their masts hit.  One piece of the marina’s dock broke free and one of their ramps ripped loose and sank.  It was a wild ride, but we made it through unscathed.

Charleston Maritime Center

...and during the storm.

The next weather window was small and only allowed us a day sail from Charleston to Edisto Beach.  The winds weren't quite from the right direction, but we were able to sail a beat (into the wind) that got us to the channel right at sunset.  It was nice to be able to sail for a while without hearing the drone of the motors. 

We made our way up the channel as it grew darker.  The marina said they were easy to find, just look for their sign at the fuel dock.  Well, they failed to mention that the sign was unlit, there was a strong cross current, and they probably didn't know about the fishing vessel that was squatting in our assigned spot on the T head with its bright deck lights shining in our faces.  This combination made finding the marina a bit difficult.  We were able to finally tie up to the dock with only minor issues after getting the squatter to move.  The next morning when staff arrived, one gave us a ride to the local grocery store to pick up a few things as we we hadn't taken into account the length of time it was taking us to make it south when we had provisioned.  Then we waited several days for another weather window to continue.

We wanted to go from Edisto SC to St. Augustine FL on a 2-night passage and, originally the weather looked like it might oblige.  But as the day approached, the forecasts started shifting and we decided we would try for a single night and arrive at Brunswick GA instead.  Again it was a combination of sail and motoring, but we were still heading south at least.  As we approached Brunswick, the weather reports changed. This time it was in our favor as the window that shortened at the beginning was now lengthening at the end.  Given how much we had been delayed by the strange weather this year, it was an easy decision to press on to St. Augustine.  So we continued to sail that evening and into the night.

Before sunrise, we started seeing lightening flashes in the distance.  At first they were east of us and moving east away from us.  Then some started appearing to the southwest, in our path.  We were somewhere near Jacksonville when the weather radio came alive with a warning about a strong thunderstorm around Marineland and heading northeast.  Wanting to avoid that, we reverse course for a bit and allow it to pass by.  Oh, there was also another storm that was around Fernandina Beach to our north, so we waited in between them.  They passed by without much concern and, once the flashes of light were east of us, we turned back on course for St. Augustine.

As the morning light started overtaking the early morning darkness, a fog started to develop.  Listening to the current condition weather reports on the radio, it sounded like all of Florida was covered in fog.  I guess this is a good time to mention, for those not familiar with St. Augustine, that this particular inlet is not detailed on navigation charts because of shifting sands that supposedly change the navigable part of the channel.  It has always seemed rather stable the times I've been in it before, but it has been a while.  As the fog thickened, I grew concerned about having to navigate a potentially changed channel in the fog.  We found our horn and made the required sound signals while we Listened for others. Our radar should be able to locate channel markers...I hope.  Or will we have to wait out the fog or continue on to another inlet...

(More to come next time)

A Day in Beaufort (N.C.)

Well, as much as I hated moving on this time around, it was time to leave my friends at Dowry Creek marina outside of Belhaven. The storms have passed (for now) and we have a few places we can stay as we continue south. Still don't know what our final destination is since Matthew did so much damage, but we will figure it out.

Bright and early Monday morning we untied the lines and motored away from the dock, heading down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), another step toward the end of our cruising journey. We left pretty early in hopes of making it to Beaufort, North Carolina.  In case there is any confusion, there is a Beaufort in both North and South Carolina and both are reported to be boating friendly towns.  To distinguish the two, I guess someone decided they should be pronounced differently.  So we are going to the one pronounced like "Bow-fort" and not the one "B-eww-furt" (sorry, I don't do phonetic spellings, but you get the idea).

Docked in the harbor north of Beaufort.

With the recent storm and flooding, we were concerned about two things on this trip.  First was what might be floating in the water, washed out by the storms.  Small debris we can probably deal with, but we definitely don't want to run over any partially sunken trees or house parts or whatever your imagination might come up with that could poke a hole in a fiberglass boat. Fortunately we only had one minor thud as a 2x4 that wasn't visible above the water bounced off the hull.  I was actually a bit surprised, but thankful, for the lack of debris we encountered.

The second issue is getting under the two fixed bridges that cross the ICW in this area.  They are supposed to be 65 feet above mean high water, but that doesn't take in to account for rives and canals that are inundated with the runoff from the storms.  We could see that the water was a foot or two higher than normal at Dowry Creek and I scoured the internet for any reports of water levels along our route.  I found that Oriental was a couple feet high and didn't find much else.  Since our mast is just under 60 feet above waterline, and the radio antenna puts us at 60 and change, we figured we should be good to go.  Most of the time bridges have a gauge at water level that tells you how much clearance you should have.  Since these areas aren't subject to normal tides, I guess the bridge builders decided this was unnecessary.  When we got to the first bridge we looked at the shoreline for indications of how high the water was relative to "normal".  The adjacent docks were above water but we couldn't see a normal high water line on the shore.  Needless to say, we went very slowly and luckily had no problems clearing the bridge.  Just after we made it through, a boat behind us called us on the radio. He watched with binoculars to see how we did and then called to ask how high our mast was so they would know if they should try it.  I guess we had at least three feet of clearance (what I had estimated), so they proceeded and no masts were damaged. The second bridge had a gauge and we were comforted to read 65 feet on it.

The historic main street shops in Beaufort, N.C.

It was a long day of motoring down the ICW.  There were two places where we could have sailed, but the wind was generally on our nose.  There were short segments where we put out the head sail and gained 0.3 knots or so, but it was our Westerbeke engines that kept us moving along.  We made pretty good time thanks to an out-flowing current from the second canal and arrived in Beaufort around 5PM. A little confusion with the entrance channel thanks to a new high-rise bridge they are building, and again with our slip at the marina, and by the time we were tied up we were beat.

One of the historic houses spotted on our walk through town.

The next morning, we did do a little exploring in town.  The marina we are at is on the north side of town and most of the touristy shops (and the more expensive docks) are on the south side of town, but it is a nice 4 block walk. Beaufort seems like a nice little town, far less industrial than its neighbor Morehead City.  It is a bit more of a tourist trap with waterside cafes and tee shirt shops, but still cute. The few people in town we met were quite nice.  We decided to go out for breakfast and the employees at Homer Smith's marina even let us use one of their cars to drive to the cafe.

Later that afternoon we continued our journey south.  Instead of risking possible issues with the ICW along the North Carolina coast, we departed for an overnight hop on the outside to Southport.

More on the Albemarle Loop

This post is out of sequence thanks to the interruption of hurricane Matthew. I don't believe any of these facilities were damaged by the storm, but please call if you think you might go there sometime soon.

After a nice stop at the Albemarle Plantation marina, our next stop was Edenton, NC. It was less than a half day trip up the Albemarle to the dock at Edenton. The Edenton town dock is a relatively small facility with about a dozen slips and one small face dock (which is the only place a boat our size will fit and has a power pedestal).  The marina is protected by a sea wall that also serves as a fishing pier and was reportedly created with some old sections of a local highway bridge that had been replaced.

Edenton from the water.

The impressive part of this stop is what you get for free.  Two nights dockage is the norm in the loop. This marina also includes electricity in the offer, mediocre internet access, and has a courtesy car in case you need to go somewhere (like the grocery store) that isn't within walking distance. Like many courtesy cars, this one isn't the best vehicle but it does its job well enough.  The dash lights didn't work, but neither did the speedometer, so I guess the light isn't really needed.

The dock is adjacent to a public park, but there is a building that contains the dock master's office, public restrooms, and locked shower facilities reserved for boaters.  The facility is basic, but I've paid for marinas that have had much worse. The historic main street dead ends at the park, so the dock location for access the downtown shops and restaurants is ideal.

Edenton is a neat little town with a fair amount of American history.  It had a number of historic buildings including the oldest courthouse in North Carolina. The ladies of the town in the late 1700's were politically active and formed their own Tea Party (not to be confused with the current so called political group of the same name). The old Roanoke river lighthouse has made its home in the harbor right next to the docks.

The lighthouse and our boat at Edenton.

I really liked Edenton.  I've always heard Oriental was a great boating town, but I have to say that Edenton was more of what I had envisioned of Oriental and is certainly giving them a good run for the money as a boater friendly town.

After two nights in Edenton, we were on to our next stop.  Unfortunately, bridges deny us access to a couple of the stops on the loop as they are not 60 foot tall sailboat friendly. The next accessible port of call for us was Columbia. It was another half-day trip or so and is located across the Albemarle from the Albemarle Plantation marina. We arrived late on Sunday and Columbia is known to be pretty quiet on the weekends.  There was just enough space on the face dock to fit us (after a small motorboat that didn't use a slip left the spot). After looking around we found an after hours number posted on the bath house and were able to get the WiFi password so we could check on the weather and the status of Hurricane Matthew.

The Columbia Docks.

It didn't take us long to decide that we would have to cut our visit to Columbia short and seek a more sheltered location for the potential storm.  We walked into town and found a winery that had a coffee and sandwich shop for a quick dinner. As we walked back to the boat we noted a sign at the dock that marked the height of the water, a good foot and a half above the dock, from another hurricane that had visited the area in the past. Similar to Edenton, the dock is situated at the end of the old main street.  Unfortunately most shops were closed and we left early the next morning so we didn't get a good feel for this particular town.

View of Columbia main street from the docks.

We left early the following morning in order to make it as far south (and inland) as we could before the storm was to possibly arrive in the area.  We headed out of the Abemarle and into the Alligator river, through the bridge (that doesn't open if the winds go above 35 knots), down through the Alligator-Pungo canal and down the Pungo to Dowry Creek marina near Bellhaven.  As you have already read, this is where we ended up weathering the storm.

Making a Break South

Well, the Dismal Swamp route has been closed for about a week now.  Announcements could be heard daily on the VHF radio that the "South Mills Lock is closed due to high water levels". We decided to take the more heavily traveled Albemarle-Chesapeake canal route.  While we wanted to stop at the Dismal Visitors center, the real highlight of that route is Robert. We have always enjoyed visiting with the lock and bridge tender at the Deep Creek lock. If you ever decide to give the Dismal a try, coffee and a chat with Robert is not to be missed.

We left the marina at York River on Sunday. We were actually able to sail...for a little while.  A close reach, then beam, then broad before the winds finally calmed and we were left motoring the last bit into the Hampton Roads area.  One more time by the big gray military ships at the military docks and Naval Shipyard in Norfolk and Portsmouth.

Ships of old and new in Norfolk.

We stayed at the free docks in Portsmouth once again.  Although the wooden docks of the north landing are not in as nice of shape as the south location, we chose it. The north landing docks are a couple inches higher so don't tend to go underwater as often at high tide.  The north landing is also closer to the public restroom at the visitors center, the water spigot, and free pump out.  It amazes me that more people don't take advantage of this dock.  The only reason I can think of is that they are scared off by the "No overnight mooring" signs at the entrance...that I think only apply to the dolphins and structure around the entrance to these locations (newer signs with the rules about overnight docking are now posted in various locations inside the basins of each of the free docks). The only negative is that all the local hotels have finally secured their WiFi so we only had limited internet access via our phones.

The Portsmouth North Landing free dock. Plenty of
free space at this location while we were here

The next day was a very short trip with the goal to re-position for better timing of the next few legs and to give us plenty of time to make it through the gauntlet of bridges south of Portsmouth and Norfolk. I remember my first time through here I overlooked the Gilmerton bridge and arrived there sometime around 5 pm. I didn't know the name of the bridge (I still don't understand why they are not posted in charts or on the actual bridge, but they usually are not) and it was just dumb luck that there happened to be a commercial tug with an opening reservation. Monitoring the name during the radio conversation, we were able to get through with the opening for the tug.

We left the free dock late enough that we wouldn't have an issue with the typical urban area rush-hour closures. But the craziness in Norfolk didn't disappoint.  Not long into the trip we came across one of the "normally open unless there is a train" bridges.  Was it open...nope.  Was it closed....nope.  This was a lift bridge that was about half-way up.  Now, I know some pretty large boats come through here and there is a good chance that half-way up was over the 60 feet of clearance I would need...but from the boat it can be really hard to tell, particularly when everything around the bridge is of a larger scale than you are used to (remember those big, gray, military boats). I had to look up the name of the bridge (in a list I had downloaded from Blue Seas a while ago) and try to hail them.  I was successful and found that the bridge was at 80 feet...plenty of room to pass.

Not a lot of clearance under one of these when closed.

Two bridges later I found another lift bridge that was not completely closed.  But this time it was only a few feet from the closed position.  I definitely could not get through it.  So, once again, the search for the bridge name in my list of all the bridges of the ICW and give them a call.  No response. Then I remember reading somewhere that one of the bridge operators doesn't tend to respond to current name of the bridge, but instead responds to it's old name.  I look it up in my offline Active Captain database and find that sure enough, the "Norfolk and Western" bridge was the one that apparently prefers to be called "Old Virginia" so I give it a try.  They immediately responded that they were running some tests and the bridge would be opening in a few minutes.

The final bridge issue was my old friend the Gilmerton.  Funny how I don't need to look this bridge up, it has been ingrained in my memory since that first encounter. As we approach, I see a boat waiting but it is farther away than most usually wait.  I give the bridge a call and they tell me to come to the closest day marker and they would open up.  Of course, about the time we get the mark I see the railroad bascule bridge that is just on the other side of the Gilmerton start to close. I knew what was next before the bridge tender even made the radio call.  She said that the railroad bridge was closing and she would open once the train bridge went back up (no point to raising the Gilmerton if you cannot pass due to the train).  No train, just a railroad work pickup crosses.  I guess it must be maintenance time for all the area railroad bridges.  Oh well, it was only another 20 minute delay or so.  Once the railroad bridge and the Gilmerton bridge opened, we were on our way.

The last obstacles are the Great Bridge lock and bridge.  A short wait for the lock to open (and only one powerboat that had to push his way past everyone else to be at the head of the line) and we were in the lock.  The Great Bridge lock is the least eventful of the locks and it seems sometimes it only raises or lowers a boat by inches. So, before you know anything happens, the gates at the opposite end of the lock open and you are on your way...the few hundred feet to the bridge.  Fortunately the lock operates in concert with the bridge so there really isn't much of a wait.

The free dock at Great Bridge.

There are two free docks at Great Bridge.  One is on the south side between the bridge and the lock.  It was empty.  The other is on the north side just past the lock.  We couldn't see it before we passed under the bridge, but once through, we found that it was pretty full.  There was enough space for us, but only if a boat that was already there moved down a bit.  So, after pulling over toward the dock, I spin the catamaran around.  I think a large boat spinning 180 degrees in a channel gets a little attention, and the owner of the one boat figured out I wanted to dock and offered to walk his boat down a few feet so we would fit.  After getting our boat tied up, I went down and thanked him for moving down.  There was still enough space for about a 25 foot or smaller boat, but otherwise the dock was full.  I can understand as this new dock is definitely the nicer of the two.

Boats at the Free Dock and Atlantic Yachts at Great Bridge.

Tomorrow the plan is to make our way south, past Coinjock, and then on to an anchorage just north of the Albemarle.

Too Dismal for Dismal

Well, at the end of my last post I mentioned that we were waiting out a little bad weather.  It's not a lot of fun to sail in the rain without a cockpit enclosure and there didn't seem to be any reason to do it when sun would return in a few days.

The sun returned and we were making plans to head out on Friday.  Then late Thursday I saw a notice posted on Facebook that the ICW south of Norfolk was closed.  Both the Dismal Swamp Canal and Albemarle-Chesapeake Canal routes were closed.  If you follow my Facebook page, I did re-share the post on the closure. I tried finding confirmation that evening and wasn't able to confirm the closure until I called Robert, the lock and bridge tender at Deep Creek, the following morning.

Image accompanying the Chesapeake Bay Magazine's
Facebook post on the closures.

That rain that we were waiting to pass was apparently worse just south of us and caused a bunch of flooding.  Now, you would think that flooding wouldn't be a big issue for a boat, but it apparently is for the various draw bridges and locks along those routes. The Dismal Swamp route locks couldn't be operated with waters as high as they were. Apparently the already problematic North Landing bridge, and possibly one or more others along the other route, could not be opened for fear of damage due to the flood waters.

Image from the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center's
Facebook page.

So, we continue to wait.  The Albemarle-Chesapeake route has been re-opened, but the Dismal swamp route remains closed.  Given how we often encounter floating logs and other issues in the swamp, we are rethinking taking that route as I can only imagine what flood waters have washed up (not to mention it isn't expected to be reopened until next week).  We are altering our plans to take the more heavily traveled route.  In order to try and avoid some of the heavy weekend traffic (and hopefully let that traffic help clear anything that might be in the way), we hope to continue our trip south tomorrow.

Another Dismal Day

After a good meal and a good nights sleep in Elizabeth City, it was time to head through the Dismal Swamp. This route has two bridges that need to be raised to let most boats pass and adjacent to those bridges are two locks.  The locks run on a very limited schedule so you need to time your arrival.  The schedule at both sets of locks and bridges are at 8:30 am, 11:00 am, 1:30 pm, and 3:30 pm.  In order for us to make the 11 am opening at the South Mills lock, we needed to leave the dock at 7:30 am. So, at 7:30 we untied the dock lines and headed on.

Winding up the Pasquotank river is nice.  Being the only boat as the path starts to narrow is even better. We left the river itself and started traversing a canal as the river became a bit too narrow.  Oh and then there is the depth.  When we left Elizabeth City the depths were not a problem and we saw lots of depths well above the usual ICW 12 foot range.  But the Dismal swamp canals are a very different story.  Here, the controlling depth is only 6 feet.

The Pasquotank River north of Elizabeth City.
A bit smaller than it is south of town.

The depth, and the fact that most of the canal is a no wake zone, and those that travel this route are a very small subset of those you find elsewhere on the ICW. They tend to be slower or smaller craft, or at least ones that will fit and aren't interested in going fast. It wasn't until we were nearing the first lock that we saw another boat.  We had slowed down since we were arriving early and a trawler appeared behind us and caught up as we were waiting at the first lock.

The South Mills Lock after we entered.

And again when we were ready to go.

The schedule of the locks in combination with the no wake rule means that, if you want to go all the way through the canal, you do so at about 5 knots.  While there are no anchorages, there are a few free docks where you can stop if you want to spend a bit more time in the canal. There are walls and docks near each of the locks, one at a park next to the canal and one at the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center. All the docks are free for a one night stay. In our case we again didn't have time for a lot of exploring...hopefully next time we can spend the night at the welcome center dock and check things out.

One problem with a less traveled and narrow canal is that you can occasionally find floating debris in the canal.  The pollen is one thing, but the large branches or small logs are another story.  Twice we approached ones that blocked 2/3 of the canal span.  In each of those cases, we slowly approached the log and I managed to use a boat pole to push it out of the way.  In one case, we scared two turtles off of the log as we made our approach.

Yes, it was calm on the Dismal Swamp this day.

The highlight of the trip this time is the same as the one from our trip south last winter.  In a name, it is Robert.  He is the lock operator of the Deep Creek lock. A wealth of information on the Dismal Swamp and the surrounding area.  We were there for the 3:30 opening and he even checked with the Gilmerton bridge for us to see if there was a commercial opening scheduled so we might be able to make Portsmouth (of course, there was not).  He is a great guy and well worth spending a bit of time getting to know.

We ended up stopping at a dock that was marked in Active Captain as a free dock. This dock is actually part of a boatyard called Chesapeake Yachts and we got there just before they closed.  We walked up to the office just to verify it was a free dock and we were in a good spot. The lady in the office told us that it technically is not a free dock and they usually charge $1 a foot for dockage. She mentioned that there have been times where their dock was full of boats hiding from weather to the point they couldn't get space for their customers.  But, since we were nice enough to come up and talk she would let us stay there. I wonder if they once offered the dock for free and too much advantage was taken, but I hope they continue to let wayward travelers stay there.  I even found out that they could haul my boat, so I may look into them the next time I need a DIY yard.

The only thing dismal about the swamp this time around was the number of biting bugs out due to the lack of a breeze.  But the area is quite pretty and green and I'd recommend you take the route at least once if you have a boat that can make it.

Northbound Again

We finally left Dowry Creek Marina.  The plan was to leave last Saturday, but as is often the case, weather got in the way.  Gale warnings delayed our departure for a day.  On Sunday the winds calmed down and we were able to head out. Since that time we have been on the go until now, so I'll try to catch back up.

After leaving the dock we  were in the Pungo river for a short trip to the first of many canals that make up the remaining stretches of the ICW (Mile 0 is technically in the Portsmouth/Norfolk area) that we will use to get to the Chesapeake bay. As seems to be the case a lot when we are on the ICW, the wind was pretty much on our nose, so even when we weren't in a narrow ditch, there wasn't much option if we wanted to make any progress.  We motored from the Pungo, through the Pungo-Alligator canal, and into the Alligator river.

There isn't really a lot to say about this leg of the trip other than I have done it several times now and it is getting to be pretty routine.  The only interesting thing that happened is that I discovered that my wife is apparently the Dragonfly Whisperer.  Most pirates have parrots perched on their shoulder, but my wife had this dragonfly that landed and stayed on her shoulder for somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes.  She would walk around the boat and it would just sit there.

Is a dragonfly on your shoulder as good as a parrot?

Sunday evening was spent anchored out in Alligator Creek, just north of the Alligator River marina. Like many stops, we found this one based on the reviews on Active Captain.  It was a nice anchorage with little traffic other than one trawler that joined us about 15 minutes after we arrived.

The next day was a bit shorter trip. We crossed the Albemarle Sound and made our way up to Elizabeth City.  Yes, we are taking the Dismal Swamp route north.  After all of the high engine-power boats with seemingly low brain power captains that have been less than courteous when passing on this trip, the idea of a speed controlled option where those boats just don't go held a strong appeal. Crossing the Albemarle this time was a bit like sailing through a minefield...or at least Florida bay. Crab pots were everywhere, and it didn't seem to matter that we were right on the magenta line that denotes the ICW route.  On top of it all, many of the crab pot floats were dark colors and very difficult to see in the rolling water.  I guess if I were a crabber I would want my floats to be well seen and would avoid known traffic paths so my equipment wouldn't be lost when it became tangled up with a boat...but I guess that is just me.  As a boater, I'm wondering if line cutters on the prop shaft wouldn't be a good idea after all .(I don't really like the idea...but I like it better than the idea of a disabled engine with a possible bent prop from a line from one of these camouflaged floats).

Saw this on the Pasquotank River...thought it looked kind of
like a Blimp hangar...and it was.

We are staying at a free dock behind the Mid Atlantic Christian University.  They aren't really setup for a boat our size and we are tied to a piling on their dock, a tree, and some eye bolts in the sea wall. I've heard they have plans to build a proper face dock for larger boats in the future, but on calmer days their sea wall does work and the price is right at free. They also have guest internet, water, and we were even able to use their gym showers.

Tying to the sea wall at MACU in Elizabeth City.

Elizabeth City is trying to be very welcoming of cruisers.  With free dockage at several locations, some decent restaurants near the waterfront (we ate at Caribbean Breeze and it was pretty good), and friendly folks, I think they are living up to the goal.

South Carolina Whack-A-Mole

Remember that old arcade/carnival game called Whack-A-Mole?  Well, we found an equivalent to play while motoring up the marshy Intracoastal Waterway in South Carolina. I'm not entirely sure what variant of annoying, biting, fly-like creature they are (deer fly we think), but the wet weather and low winds left us swarmed by them as we motored north from McClellanville SC.

McClellanville is definitely not a resort marina.

Oh, I guess I should mention we are making progress on the trip.  After making it to a marina just past Charleston on day two, day three had us sitting until noon, waiting on winds to die down so we could get the boat off the dock.  That day we made a short hop from Charleston to McClellanville.  Day four was the Whack-A-Mole adventure and finally a chance to make a run on the outside...all the way to Southport.

Anyway, after having enough of being harassed by the flies we went on the offensive. Out came a couple of cheap dollar store fly swatters and the battle began. By the time we were at Winyah bay the enemy had amassed a sizable casualty count and we had almost destroyed one fly swatter and started wearing down a second one.

Some of the enemy casualties and our well used weapon.

Despite the casualties lying all about the cockpit, the enemy didn't quit until we were making our retreat out into the Atlantic.

Spinnaker sailing in the evening.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful.  The seas were relatively calm and the winds were fickle.  At times we had 15 knots or more to sail with, other times found us using our spinnaker to aqueeze a little speed out of 5 knots, and there were times the wind died and left us motoring along on a single engine to make headway.

The sun setting somewhere near Myrtle Beach

And the full moon rising a few minutes later.
(More impressive in person...but low light photography
from a moving platform is difficult)

We arrived in Southport early this morning, tied up the boat, went out for breakfast, and then the entire crew crashed on the settee for a few hours.  We will be here for a few days as we deal with the logistics of the next leg of the trip. Time is running low, but we are almost out of our insurance-mandated hurricane exclusion zone.

Myrtle Beach to Georgetown and Beyond

The weather for leaving Myrtle Beach appeared to be improving, so we continued on.  We departed the marina (which was mostly a long face dock that backed up to an outdoor mall) and started making our way south in the ditch once again.

Who parks gondola cars over the middle of the ICW?
Have they not heard of sailboat masts?

This stretch of the ICW has been a bit tricky this year.  Not sure if it is record rainfall or what other factors, but flooding has been a concern.  Normally flooding is not really much of an issue for a boat, but this seems to be the exception.  The flooding has caused high river levels and, as a result, high ICW water levels.  The bridges that allow cars to pass across the ditch either have to open up for boats with big sticks in the air or are built high enough that we can safely pass under them.

The water might be just a bit high.

Most fixed bridges along the ICW are built with a clearance of 65 feet at average high water levels. Many boats, particularly those that are likely to be used in the ICW, are configured to pass under these bridges...but not necessarily by a lot. If you add a few feet of flood water to the normal high water levels, it can lead to trouble. Now, on many bridges there is a gauge that tells you the current bridge clearance when you read the number at the water line, but for some reason many of these bridges don't seem to have it.  The only guidance we had was based on comments and notes people left regarding these bridges on Active Captain. Even though our height is just under 60 feet, we passed very slowly under most of these bridges.  Fortunately, we didn't have any issues.

Our oldest dog, Madison, enjoying the trip.

Unlike our last leg, the tides were not to our advantage much of the trip. We were making 5 knots or less most of the time. Actually, I'm not sure if it was tidal or more flood water related...since it seemed to last most of the trip.  When we turned down the Wacamaw river, everything changed.  Without changing our throttle settings, we went from 5 knots to as much as 9.5 knots.  This is the biggest change I've seen and about as fast as I've ever had this boat go when motoring down the ditch.

I usually don't see these speeds on the ICW.

The speed boost at the end of the trip actually made for an early arrival into Georgetown,SC. We spent the night at Georgetown Landing Marina. After checking with multiple weather sources, it appeared we had a good window to make a run straight to St. Augustine, Florida. We departed the next morning for a trip on the outside.

The trip was a bit choppy, Nothing bad but the seas were just a bit confused due to the shifting winds. The main swell was from the southeast and the winds were from the west. Things were going along OK until we checked the latest weather on the NWS broadcasts. A small craft advisory had been issued, and forecasts were for higher waves on shorter periods with stronger winds.  We knew a weak cold front was moving through, but I guess the NWS decided it was going to have a higher impact than originally anticipated.  We decided to change our plans and headed into Charleston, SC for the evening.

I looked at the anchoring options around Charleston.  I wanted something at least a little protected from weather and easy to enter at night.  Needless to say, there weren't many options that fit both criteria. There was one anchorage just off a shipping channel that might work in a pinch, but that was it.  My wife tried calling a couple of marinas to see if anyone was around after hours.  We did find one, Toler's Cove that is just off the ICW near the Charleston inlet. It sounded easy enough to get to so we decided we would head there.

It was after 8PM when we entered the channel into Charleston. I know that Charleston can be a busy commercial port, and nighttime seems to be the time the big ships all like to come out to play. Fortunately for us, it seemed to be a slow night for shipping.  There were two ships leaving the channel as we approached, but the only traffic we saw while in the channel was a boat carrying a Charleston Pilot out to a big ship waiting offshore and returning to port.

Coming into an unfamiliar port at night is not something I wanted to do, but it was the lesser of evils compared to getting beat up offshore. The wide shipping channel was easy, with well lit markers all where the chartplotter said they would be. Turning up the ICW, there were both lit and unlit makers for the channel, and we slowly made our way through the unfamiliar territory.  Everything went fine until we got to the marina.

I don't know if it was some misinformation or just a poor cell phone signal, but the instructions didn't quite match what we found when we arrived. It took 3 tries to figure out the actual entrance into the marina, but we finally made it to the slip around midnight.  We quickly tied up, connected the internet to let family know the change in plans, and then called it a night.

This morning after we woke up, we checked the weather.  It seemed that the actual weather wasn't as bad as predicted until you get a bit further offshore. Unfortunately, the predictions are now further south, around Georgia and northern Florida.  We decided to spend an extra day in Charleston to let the weather keep moving south and will likely continue our journey tomorrow.  It seems to be a very nice day here, so I think we will go out and enjoy the warmth and sun.

We Moved!

The longer than planned stop in Southport had me wondering if we would ever make much progress south.  The sudden battery replacement project certainly took longer than it should have (but it seems everything does on a boat).  Once that was complete, the weather turned sour and that kept us sitting even longer.  But we finally came up with a plan that seemed do-able.

The theory is we will head south from Southport on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) for the couple days when the weather wasn't supposed to be all that good.  That should get us to Georgetown, SC where we can hopefully make a run on the outside to get us down to Florida.  So, this morning we untied the dock lines and pointed the boat south once again.

Given the relatively short days and limited good weather, it has been difficult to plan anything based on tides.  The rule of thumb is pretty much we depart between 7 and 8 am and trudge our way down the ditch until 5pm or so. But today even the tides seemed to be somewhat helpful as we were able to make 6 to 7 knots most of the trip.

Here are a few of the sights, in between rain storms, from the trip...

The admiral, dressed for the weather

Lots of people around Holden Beach

Guess that was a bad day fishing.

Guess staying at the dock isn't safe either.

Tourism is big business here.

One part of the trip I was particularly worried about is an area known as the Rockpile.  It is a section of the ICW north of Myrtle Beach that has a reputation for eating boats. My understanding is that this man-made section of the ICW was dug through a lot of hard rock.  Since blasting through rock is an expensive and time consuming process, this section is rather narrow.  A narrow, jagged rock lined channel sounds fun doesn't it?  Well, it wasn't nearly as bad as I've heard. The only real problem here would be meeting another wide boat coming the other way...and there are so few people on the ICW right now, it really isn't a concern.

Danger, big jagged rock canyon submerged below.

Not exactly a wide channel.

In the Rockpile I found something my aviation friends should recognize.

Soon after we left the Rockpile, we made it through one last bridge and our home for the night at Barefoot Landing marina in north Myrtle Beach.

Guess it is time to check the weather and see if we can continue the trip tomorrow.  Keeping my fingers crossed that we will be able to go.

I've Gotta Go Where It's Warm

"Could you beam me somewhere Mr. Scotty"...that and the title are from the Jimmy Buffet song Boat Drinks...and perfectly describes how I feel right now.  The cold seems to be heading south faster than we are.

After the somewhat rough night at Whitaker Point marina in Oriental, we did what we seem to do every day now when we get up.  We have the "does it sound too miserable to continue on to the next stop" conversation.  The weather windows, if you can call them that, seem to be getting smaller and less open.  Do we go if the high temperature isn't supposed to get out of the 30's?  Or if it is in the 40's and forecast to be raining all day? Do we take the outside route to Southport or just take the ICW all the way?

We decide to press on as the only forecast that day was for the winds that rocked us half the night to continue to calm down as the day progressed.  We only had a short stint in the Neuse river before being back in the protection of "the ditch" for most of the rest of the journey to Morehead City. Offshore, there are still gale warnings and small craft advisories. The idea of bouncing around in 8 foot seas with short periods between the waves is completely unappealing. So, we decided to take the ICW all the way down. I think we only managed to unfurl the head sail for about 10 minutes the whole trip that day. It was a motorboat sort of day.

We make it through Morehead City, hang a right around the shipping docks, and continue heading down the ICW.  We make it to the stop for the evening, a marina I found in Active Captain that gave us the most daylight mileage and sounded pretty nice.  And it was.  The entrance into Spooners Creek marina is a bit tight, but once you make it through the cut and the sharp turn into their basin, you find a nice, calm, well protected facility. This marina is probably the second nicest one we have stayed at (Palm Coast being the first). The marina is part of a condo complex and has nice new floating docks, a well appointed clubhouse and bathhouse. They were reasonably priced for the area at $1.50 per foot including electricity.

The next morning we were greeted with forecasts of temperatures in the 40's and rain.  Again the continue-on question is asked, and we puzzle about it for a while.  We finally decide that we really want to get south so we push on.  It was a pretty miserable slog for much of the day.  Rain reduced visibility, and the wind would swirl around just enough to keep us from being dry in the cockpit. We finally make it to the stop for the night at Swan Point marina in Sneads Ferry, NC.

The reviews called this place rustic, and maybe my view is a bit colored by how nice the last stop was, but I'd call this place dilapidated. It all started when we were trying to dock the boat.  The winds were up about 30 knots blowing...naturally...across the dock.  I try to get a line cleated so I could pivot the boat up to the dock, and we end up pulling up the cleat with the dock board attached to it.  While the cleat was bolted down OK, the boards are only nailed into place and the decaying wood let go of the nails.  After some work we get the boat docked and I add lines directly to the pilings in addition to the lines on the cleats (that I had little faith in). This "marina" is really a boatyard with docks.  The facilities are very utilitarian with cinder block walls and concrete floors and pipes strapped to them for the showers.  The laundry machines didn't look like they would work, or if they did, you would likely end up with rust stains on everything. To top it off, it was the same price as the place the night before.  The only positive was it did have electricity, so we could run the heater.

Not the cleat, or dock, you want to use.

That night it was cold.  When we got up, frost was covering the docks and the boat. The "do we go" decision was pretty easy though.  It was going to be colder than yesterday but the sun was out and we definitely wanted to go.  We didn't get an early start since we wanted it to warm up just a bit, but we departed the dock around 9:30AM. After we start down the ICW, we were greeted by a small pod of dolphins as if to tell us we were definitely making the right decision.  Other than the usual wind on the nose, the trip was uneventful.  We even had moderate luck with the bridges.  The first bridge had an early unscheduled opening for a barge that we were able to sneak through to gain a little time.  The currents seemed to be with us and gave us a speed boost that helped us with the timing at the other bridges. We made it to the next destination, the Masonboro Yacht Club, an hour ahead of schedule.

This is where we sit now, waiting for temperatures in the 20's this evening.  We are using one of those round metal dehumidifiers (heating coil with a fan) to help keep the outside locker that holds our water tanks warm enough to prevent freezing of the water lines.  The reverse cycle heat is getting its exercise once again to keep the cabin warm.

One more shorter trip and we will be in Southport, NC, where we intend to stop for a few days to recuperate. Now, for my boat drink...and dinner.