Day 73 - Oct. 27
Sitting at the Blackstone Cafe relaxing after a marvellous breakfast. Greg finally had his corned beef hash breakfast which he thoroughly enjoyed. Looks like lunch will be very light today. :)
It's another beautiful day in the South with expected temperatures in the mid to high 80's. We plan to spend it walking around and taking more pictures of the breathtaking homes. We've seen gorgeous homes on our way down, from Maine, through Conneticut, in
New Jersey, and along the ICW that left us boggled as to the expense and pretentiousness, but these homes are just so welcoming. They make you want to climb up on the porch and enjoy a nice cold iced tea with the owner. If it wasn't for the no see'ems I could see myself living here. Of course I think I would need to be independently wealthy to afford to live here.
Day 74 - Oct. 28
Another very beautiful day in Beaufort. We made use of the marina's courtesy car this morning and drove to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries, then hit West Marine for anti-freeze and then the ABC for coconut rum. Part of the day will be devoted to boat work ( similar to housework) which I have been neglecting lately. I've been pretending I'm on vacation and have put all thoughts of cleaning aside, but the maid hasn't shown up, so I guess the vacation is over.
I woke up this morning with about a dozen bites that are itching like crazy, even with the after bite medication. Greg does not have a single bite!
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Day 70-72 Georgetown - Beaufort
Day 70 - Oct. 24
Spent the day on a scavenger hunt in downtown Georgetown. We were in search of a paper chart for offshore, Georgetown to Beaufort. We have the chart on 2 chart plotters, the laptop, and the android, but I would still like to have a paper copy on board. You know the saying.. If everything can go wrong, it will. We started at the marina, who sent us to a bookstore, who sent us to the Maritime Museum, who sent us to another bookstore, who sent us to a boat shop, who sent us to another marina. In the end, we had a wonderful tour of the town, met some fantastic people, and still have no paper chart.
Day 71 - 72. Oct. 25-26
The plan today, sail along the coast, 130 nm to Beaufort, South Carolina. So much for plans. The 5-10 kt winds turned into 0 kts in the morning, and in the afternoon they picked up and turned to Southwest. We were going southwest. Needless to say we motored the entire trip. I've never been one to pull all nighters, even in university, so staying up for 24 hours takes a lot out of me, to the point of feeling sick. But it still nice to do and this was so much better then our Gulf of Maine crossing. Temperature was cool but not unbearable, and very few boats to look out for. Set the autopilot and relaxed.
We travelled 134 nm in 26 hours picking up a mooring ball at 10:00 am in Beaufort.
After a short nap, we've come into town and did a little walk around. Oh my, the homes...and so many are for sale. I want one!! The streets are lined with beautiful old trees dripping with moss, and huge plantation style homes with such inviting porches... I think I could be a "good ole southern gal". There is a lovely park along the waterfront that has swings to sit a look out over the Beaufort River. I'm in love with this place...but that could be the beer talking. We found a nice little place in the shade to cool down with a cheap beer. Did I mention that is feels like 90F here?
And we made it safe and sound without the paper chart.
We've noticed that a lot of places we visit are very dog friendly, to the point of dogs greeting us in stores and guest dogs welcome everywhere. Sitting here at the bar, the owners dog comes over to visit us, the a couple come into the patio with their dog and a big happy fuss is made over it. Wish we saw more of this at home. ( ha..two more dogs just came into the bar)
Spent the day on a scavenger hunt in downtown Georgetown. We were in search of a paper chart for offshore, Georgetown to Beaufort. We have the chart on 2 chart plotters, the laptop, and the android, but I would still like to have a paper copy on board. You know the saying.. If everything can go wrong, it will. We started at the marina, who sent us to a bookstore, who sent us to the Maritime Museum, who sent us to another bookstore, who sent us to a boat shop, who sent us to another marina. In the end, we had a wonderful tour of the town, met some fantastic people, and still have no paper chart.
Day 71 - 72. Oct. 25-26
The plan today, sail along the coast, 130 nm to Beaufort, South Carolina. So much for plans. The 5-10 kt winds turned into 0 kts in the morning, and in the afternoon they picked up and turned to Southwest. We were going southwest. Needless to say we motored the entire trip. I've never been one to pull all nighters, even in university, so staying up for 24 hours takes a lot out of me, to the point of feeling sick. But it still nice to do and this was so much better then our Gulf of Maine crossing. Temperature was cool but not unbearable, and very few boats to look out for. Set the autopilot and relaxed.
We travelled 134 nm in 26 hours picking up a mooring ball at 10:00 am in Beaufort.
After a short nap, we've come into town and did a little walk around. Oh my, the homes...and so many are for sale. I want one!! The streets are lined with beautiful old trees dripping with moss, and huge plantation style homes with such inviting porches... I think I could be a "good ole southern gal". There is a lovely park along the waterfront that has swings to sit a look out over the Beaufort River. I'm in love with this place...but that could be the beer talking. We found a nice little place in the shade to cool down with a cheap beer. Did I mention that is feels like 90F here?
And we made it safe and sound without the paper chart.
We've noticed that a lot of places we visit are very dog friendly, to the point of dogs greeting us in stores and guest dogs welcome everywhere. Sitting here at the bar, the owners dog comes over to visit us, the a couple come into the patio with their dog and a big happy fuss is made over it. Wish we saw more of this at home. ( ha..two more dogs just came into the bar)
Friday, October 24, 2014
Pictures from Calabash to Georgetown
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| Lots of moss hanging from trees. Seeing this everywhere now. |
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| This house is HUGE, and typical of what we see on the ICW in S.Carolina |
Now there's a good winter project!!
This casino boat runs daily out to the ocean and back. All the windows were blocked with slot machines. Sounds like fun. NOT!
Spent several hour looking at this kind of scenery. But no alligators!
Georgetown - Pulpmill and Steel Mill town. Very noisy
Couldn't resist feeding the ducks at Georgetown
Day 68-69 Calabash and Georgetown
Day 68 - Oct. 22
Always so relaxing to be on a dock....ah, if only we were rich.... After a pleasant evening, we took off again on the ICW, heading for Little River Inlet. As we approach our first bridge, I can see a barge on the other side that appears to be anchored, so I continue on my way. As I get closer I see that the barge is actually moving but not a problem, as he looks to be moving slowly. I've pretty much committed myself to getting through the bridge when I see that he is closer then I thought. I put the throttle full ahead and said a silent prayer. I squeaked through as he was entering. I think I noticed one of the bolts on the barge was loose by half a turn. Huh... Distance can be so deceiving on the water.
Along the way, Greg reconsidered our options and we decided to pull into Calabash Creek, and maybe spend two more days on the ICW until Georgetown. I was a little unsure of the directions to get into the creek so I asked Greg to ask a couple of fisherman as we passed by. While he's talking to them I head north of the red buoy like I think I'm supposed to. As I am doing this he is leisurely making his way back from the bow. As I'm getting the boat stuck in the sand he tells me I should take the buoy from the other side. Hmmmm... Maybe a quicker heads up the next time!!! No problem though. A quick full reverse pulled us out and then around my mark and into the oxbow to drop anchor. After about an hour, it looks like we're getting closer to the one and only other boat here and the crab buoy that was off the aft quarter was now off the bow. I get the engine going while Greg gets to the anchor. We move further up the creek and put out some more chain; I give the boat a good shove in reverse and it looks like we should be set for the night (I hope).
Today -29 nm and we are just inside the border to South Carolina.
Day 69 - Oct. 23
55 nm today in 9 hours for an average speed of 6 kts. So glad our engine is happy again.
We dropped anchor in Georgetown but it's a pretty crowded area. A lot of derilect boats anchored here and very shallow. I scrapped bottom as we were coming in thinking it was okay to pull off the channel to anchor. The depths aren't on the chart so we were working by feel. We finally found a spot but may swing out into the channel. Greg called Towboat US to ask for advise. The guy came over to take a look and said we should be fine, no problem with the swing. We asked about the holding and he said it was terrible. Those are words to give a person a restless night. We thought we might stay two days, but after getting here and seeing the conditions......
We still think we may head out to sea when we leave here. I've hit bottom three times now, and even though scrapping sand doesn't cause any damage, I'm constantly worrying about it, and spend all my day concentrating on staying in the channel and watching my depth so I'm not getting to enjoy the ride. I think by going off the ICW, we can take time to enjoy some sailing, and then pull into the places we want to see and spend a few days of down time. We'll see how that goes.
Always so relaxing to be on a dock....ah, if only we were rich.... After a pleasant evening, we took off again on the ICW, heading for Little River Inlet. As we approach our first bridge, I can see a barge on the other side that appears to be anchored, so I continue on my way. As I get closer I see that the barge is actually moving but not a problem, as he looks to be moving slowly. I've pretty much committed myself to getting through the bridge when I see that he is closer then I thought. I put the throttle full ahead and said a silent prayer. I squeaked through as he was entering. I think I noticed one of the bolts on the barge was loose by half a turn. Huh... Distance can be so deceiving on the water.
Along the way, Greg reconsidered our options and we decided to pull into Calabash Creek, and maybe spend two more days on the ICW until Georgetown. I was a little unsure of the directions to get into the creek so I asked Greg to ask a couple of fisherman as we passed by. While he's talking to them I head north of the red buoy like I think I'm supposed to. As I am doing this he is leisurely making his way back from the bow. As I'm getting the boat stuck in the sand he tells me I should take the buoy from the other side. Hmmmm... Maybe a quicker heads up the next time!!! No problem though. A quick full reverse pulled us out and then around my mark and into the oxbow to drop anchor. After about an hour, it looks like we're getting closer to the one and only other boat here and the crab buoy that was off the aft quarter was now off the bow. I get the engine going while Greg gets to the anchor. We move further up the creek and put out some more chain; I give the boat a good shove in reverse and it looks like we should be set for the night (I hope).
Today -29 nm and we are just inside the border to South Carolina.
Day 69 - Oct. 23
55 nm today in 9 hours for an average speed of 6 kts. So glad our engine is happy again.
We dropped anchor in Georgetown but it's a pretty crowded area. A lot of derilect boats anchored here and very shallow. I scrapped bottom as we were coming in thinking it was okay to pull off the channel to anchor. The depths aren't on the chart so we were working by feel. We finally found a spot but may swing out into the channel. Greg called Towboat US to ask for advise. The guy came over to take a look and said we should be fine, no problem with the swing. We asked about the holding and he said it was terrible. Those are words to give a person a restless night. We thought we might stay two days, but after getting here and seeing the conditions......
We still think we may head out to sea when we leave here. I've hit bottom three times now, and even though scrapping sand doesn't cause any damage, I'm constantly worrying about it, and spend all my day concentrating on staying in the channel and watching my depth so I'm not getting to enjoy the ride. I think by going off the ICW, we can take time to enjoy some sailing, and then pull into the places we want to see and spend a few days of down time. We'll see how that goes.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Day 67. Southport
Day 67 - Oct. 21
Slept in a bit this morning as we only had a short day ahead of us and we were working around the currents. We landed in Southport at noon after a 23 nm trip. At one point I was throttled back to almost nothing and still hit 7.8 kts. They don't fool around with their currents here and neither will I. Spent a lot of time checking slack and ebb tides so that we wouldn't have to fight the current too much. We knew that anchorages would be sparse in this area but remained hopeful right up to seeing the one spot that was available. We continued a short distance to the Southport Marina to fuel up, get water, and pump out the holding tank. You should have seen me nudge up to the dock. ( I think I might finally be getting the hang of this....as long as I don't have to fight a current). There were only three dock spaces at the marina, so we decided we better take one while we had the chance. By the time we went in to pay for the diesel, all the spaces were booked and it is a considerably large marina. I had to move the boat around to the inside dock and Greg, of little faith, said it was too tight for me to swing around to point my bow out. Proved him wrong, even with an audience from a neighbouring boat.
We heard there was going to be a weather talk tonight so decided to check it out. We are so glad we went. Hank, the presenter, showed us the weather for the next five days, explaining the coastal conditions and the ICW. After that, he explained the problems of navigating the ICW, especially in South Carolina. The state has not done any dredging in two years as there is no money in the budget. Surveys have been done and he showed us a dozen places that were less then 4' at mean low tide. That's not to say you can't make it through on mid to high tide, but it would take a lot of planning to time your high tide travel to hit the areas that have shoaled. We are strongly considering jumping out and sailing along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. ( apparently Georgia is worse then SC). We have talked to some cruisers who did this trip last year and said even though they scraped a few times, there were no real issues. I think I would just be worrying the next month that at anytime I would go aground. I'm warming up to the idea of going coastal and spending a little more time in Florida. It will mean a few overnight runs, but that's fine as long as we have good weather.
Tomorrow we will stay on the ICW as far as Little River and make our final decision at that time. Stay tuned! (We will be out of wifi contact for a while so watch for our In Reach post.
Slept in a bit this morning as we only had a short day ahead of us and we were working around the currents. We landed in Southport at noon after a 23 nm trip. At one point I was throttled back to almost nothing and still hit 7.8 kts. They don't fool around with their currents here and neither will I. Spent a lot of time checking slack and ebb tides so that we wouldn't have to fight the current too much. We knew that anchorages would be sparse in this area but remained hopeful right up to seeing the one spot that was available. We continued a short distance to the Southport Marina to fuel up, get water, and pump out the holding tank. You should have seen me nudge up to the dock. ( I think I might finally be getting the hang of this....as long as I don't have to fight a current). There were only three dock spaces at the marina, so we decided we better take one while we had the chance. By the time we went in to pay for the diesel, all the spaces were booked and it is a considerably large marina. I had to move the boat around to the inside dock and Greg, of little faith, said it was too tight for me to swing around to point my bow out. Proved him wrong, even with an audience from a neighbouring boat.
We heard there was going to be a weather talk tonight so decided to check it out. We are so glad we went. Hank, the presenter, showed us the weather for the next five days, explaining the coastal conditions and the ICW. After that, he explained the problems of navigating the ICW, especially in South Carolina. The state has not done any dredging in two years as there is no money in the budget. Surveys have been done and he showed us a dozen places that were less then 4' at mean low tide. That's not to say you can't make it through on mid to high tide, but it would take a lot of planning to time your high tide travel to hit the areas that have shoaled. We are strongly considering jumping out and sailing along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. ( apparently Georgia is worse then SC). We have talked to some cruisers who did this trip last year and said even though they scraped a few times, there were no real issues. I think I would just be worrying the next month that at anytime I would go aground. I'm warming up to the idea of going coastal and spending a little more time in Florida. It will mean a few overnight runs, but that's fine as long as we have good weather.
Tomorrow we will stay on the ICW as far as Little River and make our final decision at that time. Stay tuned! (We will be out of wifi contact for a while so watch for our In Reach post.
Day 65-66. Wrightsville Beach
Day 65 - Oct. 19
Yes, I know! I got my days numbered wrong. It's what happens when I rush. Can't imagine working for a newspaper and having to meet deadlines for my writings. LOL
So I was awake for a bit last night worrying about getting off the dock. All day yesterday we had very strong winds pushing us onto the dock so I was afraid we might face the same this morning. Luckily, the winds had shifted and was actually blowing us off. Easy-peasy. Off and away by 7:15. We had to motor all day. Even though we are going through a large body of water, the channel is a only about 100'(?) wide with shoaling of 1-4 feet on either side. Need to keep sharp so that I don't wander. No chance of falling asleep today....it was our third coldest day to date ( tempted to make it a tie with second, but the sun was shining so I'll knock it down a spot.) I wore my scarf and mitts all day and had a blanket wrapped around my legs for most of the morning. :(
At one point, following the buoys,we had to make a quick zig zag to avoid a shoal. I just happened to look back and saw a power cruiser bombing straight down the channel. My first thought...smiling to myself...this could be interesting. Sure enough.. The boat came to a nice stop in the middle of the channel. It wasn't an abrupt stop as the bottom is sand and I'm sure he made a very nice trench. We watched him rock back and forth for a bit, and finally pulled himself off. Glad I was paying attention to my markers.
Along with the cold today we had 13-20 kt winds, so it was very breezy.
And now I'm sure you've all been waiting to here the verdict. The engine repair was a huge SUCCESS! We travelled 35 nm with an average speed of 5.5 kts and the temperature never went past 195 degrees. ( 190-195 is the recommended temp for the Universal engine) And she purrs like a kitten. We are both very happy and relieved.
We have anchored in a hurricane hole that is in the middle of a military training area. Our resources say to be prepared for a lot of helicopter fly bys and men running training exercises from shore in inflatables. Since today is Sunday, all seems quiet. Let's see what Monday morning brings!
Day 66 - Oct. 20
Monday morning (today) found us waking up to peace and quiet. I guess the military saw our boat and took it literally. Today was pretty much uneventful, but I will fill you in on how it went. This was our first day of having to time our travel on bridge openings. A lot of bridges will open on demand, but the three we had to passage today follow a schedule. The first, 2 1/2 hours away, opens on the hour. The second, 3 hours after that, opens on the hour and the half hour, and the third, 5 miles further opens on the hour.
Four sailboats and a trawler made the first bridge; 2 s/v and trawler made the second bridge, but we weren't among them. We were avg. 6 kts and were still short by about 10 minutes, so we waited the half hour for the next opening. Since missing that bridge we now had to wait 1 1/2 hrs for the next bridge with only 5 nm to go. Fortunately for us, the five miles of shoreline was covered in multimillion dollar, custom designed, showpiece homes, so we coasted along taking in the sights. I didn't bother taking any pictures. I'm sure each one of these homes has graced the cover of Architectural Digest at some point. Just pick up a magazine and if the house has pillars, I saw it here! We managed to get through all bridges without incident and arrived at our anchorage in Wrightsville Beach, NC at 3:00 pm. We also heard from Richard and Heather for the first time in three days. They were out of cell range so we didn't know how far they'd got. Looks like they are a day behind us.
We saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time since leaving Cape May. It was only from a distance at first, looking out through an inlet. So pretty! We also noticed that the water now has a beautiful pale green color, indicating maybe we've seen the last of the mud for a little while.
The Wrightsville Beach, on the Atlantic, is just a short walk from the boat so Greg and I took a hike this afternoon. The water was gorgeous. Why didn't I have my bathing suit on? It would have been so easy to go in for a swim. I guess it was just teasing us for what lies ahead.
Yes, I know! I got my days numbered wrong. It's what happens when I rush. Can't imagine working for a newspaper and having to meet deadlines for my writings. LOL
So I was awake for a bit last night worrying about getting off the dock. All day yesterday we had very strong winds pushing us onto the dock so I was afraid we might face the same this morning. Luckily, the winds had shifted and was actually blowing us off. Easy-peasy. Off and away by 7:15. We had to motor all day. Even though we are going through a large body of water, the channel is a only about 100'(?) wide with shoaling of 1-4 feet on either side. Need to keep sharp so that I don't wander. No chance of falling asleep today....it was our third coldest day to date ( tempted to make it a tie with second, but the sun was shining so I'll knock it down a spot.) I wore my scarf and mitts all day and had a blanket wrapped around my legs for most of the morning. :(
At one point, following the buoys,we had to make a quick zig zag to avoid a shoal. I just happened to look back and saw a power cruiser bombing straight down the channel. My first thought...smiling to myself...this could be interesting. Sure enough.. The boat came to a nice stop in the middle of the channel. It wasn't an abrupt stop as the bottom is sand and I'm sure he made a very nice trench. We watched him rock back and forth for a bit, and finally pulled himself off. Glad I was paying attention to my markers.
Along with the cold today we had 13-20 kt winds, so it was very breezy.
And now I'm sure you've all been waiting to here the verdict. The engine repair was a huge SUCCESS! We travelled 35 nm with an average speed of 5.5 kts and the temperature never went past 195 degrees. ( 190-195 is the recommended temp for the Universal engine) And she purrs like a kitten. We are both very happy and relieved.
We have anchored in a hurricane hole that is in the middle of a military training area. Our resources say to be prepared for a lot of helicopter fly bys and men running training exercises from shore in inflatables. Since today is Sunday, all seems quiet. Let's see what Monday morning brings!
Day 66 - Oct. 20
Monday morning (today) found us waking up to peace and quiet. I guess the military saw our boat and took it literally. Today was pretty much uneventful, but I will fill you in on how it went. This was our first day of having to time our travel on bridge openings. A lot of bridges will open on demand, but the three we had to passage today follow a schedule. The first, 2 1/2 hours away, opens on the hour. The second, 3 hours after that, opens on the hour and the half hour, and the third, 5 miles further opens on the hour.
Four sailboats and a trawler made the first bridge; 2 s/v and trawler made the second bridge, but we weren't among them. We were avg. 6 kts and were still short by about 10 minutes, so we waited the half hour for the next opening. Since missing that bridge we now had to wait 1 1/2 hrs for the next bridge with only 5 nm to go. Fortunately for us, the five miles of shoreline was covered in multimillion dollar, custom designed, showpiece homes, so we coasted along taking in the sights. I didn't bother taking any pictures. I'm sure each one of these homes has graced the cover of Architectural Digest at some point. Just pick up a magazine and if the house has pillars, I saw it here! We managed to get through all bridges without incident and arrived at our anchorage in Wrightsville Beach, NC at 3:00 pm. We also heard from Richard and Heather for the first time in three days. They were out of cell range so we didn't know how far they'd got. Looks like they are a day behind us.
We saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time since leaving Cape May. It was only from a distance at first, looking out through an inlet. So pretty! We also noticed that the water now has a beautiful pale green color, indicating maybe we've seen the last of the mud for a little while.
The Wrightsville Beach, on the Atlantic, is just a short walk from the boat so Greg and I took a hike this afternoon. The water was gorgeous. Why didn't I have my bathing suit on? It would have been so easy to go in for a swim. I guess it was just teasing us for what lies ahead.
Pictures - Wrightsville Beach and Southport
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| Wrightsville Beach - water is sooooo warm! |
This is typical scenery all down the North Carolina ICW
More North Carolina homes
Town of Southport - homes are adorable
All nicely landscaped and decorated
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Day 63 - Moorehead City
Day 63 - Oct. 18
The wahoo was fabulous. I won't say it's as good as haddock ( I have to stay true to my roots), but it was very good. Greg pan fried it in butter and lemon and teamed it up with Spanish rice and green beans. A very good supper. The fish is a firm white fish, not as flaky as haddock and not a strong flavour, but we will definitely buy it again.
Our mechanic arrived this morning. A very nice British gentleman by the name of Derrick. We were putting all our hope on the heat exchanger, but once off, it appears to be very clean. Derrick flushed it, just to be sure. In the meantime, he checked the water flow from the intake valve. The flow was much less then to be expected and trailed it back to find mismatched hoses. OMG! I think they found it. They just showed me the fitting for the hose. A picture is attached. Can you make out the opening through the fitting? Good for you if you can. It's almost entirely blocked. Oh my, I hope that was the answer. It's too late to get everything back together and leave today. We'll know in a few hours after we leave here tomorrow. I feel like celebrating. If this isn't the fix, we don't know where else to look. It means paying for another day on the dock, but the bright side... I can take another shower tonight
George, thank you for the suggestion on the thermostat. That was going to be our next check, but the nature of the overheating didn't suggest that was the problem. The temperature would decrease when we throttled down, which we wouldn't expect if the thermostat was staying closed.
The wahoo was fabulous. I won't say it's as good as haddock ( I have to stay true to my roots), but it was very good. Greg pan fried it in butter and lemon and teamed it up with Spanish rice and green beans. A very good supper. The fish is a firm white fish, not as flaky as haddock and not a strong flavour, but we will definitely buy it again.
Our mechanic arrived this morning. A very nice British gentleman by the name of Derrick. We were putting all our hope on the heat exchanger, but once off, it appears to be very clean. Derrick flushed it, just to be sure. In the meantime, he checked the water flow from the intake valve. The flow was much less then to be expected and trailed it back to find mismatched hoses. OMG! I think they found it. They just showed me the fitting for the hose. A picture is attached. Can you make out the opening through the fitting? Good for you if you can. It's almost entirely blocked. Oh my, I hope that was the answer. It's too late to get everything back together and leave today. We'll know in a few hours after we leave here tomorrow. I feel like celebrating. If this isn't the fix, we don't know where else to look. It means paying for another day on the dock, but the bright side... I can take another shower tonight
George, thank you for the suggestion on the thermostat. That was going to be our next check, but the nature of the overheating didn't suggest that was the problem. The temperature would decrease when we throttled down, which we wouldn't expect if the thermostat was staying closed.
Some pictures
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| Heat exchanger being flushed with fresh water before decalcification. |
Fitting on water intake hose has mussel growing inside
Derrick going over the water filter
Tied up in Port Side Marina
Port Side Marina
Friday, October 17, 2014
Day 60-63
Day 60 - Oct. 14
It seems to be our pattern now as once again we left at 7:30. We had a nice 11 kt wind and got a couple of hours of sailing in before we had to turn the bow into the wind and drop the jib. Near the halfway point, before the approach to the Alligator River - Pungo River Canal we were buzzed by two F-16's. I could swear I saw the second guy wink at me. Sounded like he was trying to fly through the cockpit he was so close. Scared the crap out of me..
The canal is 22 miles long, with one turn. However this one is about 500' wide so it was much more pleasant to travel then the Dismal Swamp. We started to overheat again so had to reduce speed to 4.5 kts. So much for the great guys at Alligator River. This is definitely becoming a concern. With almost 1000 miles of mostly motoring, we need to go faster than 4.5 kts. At one point we thought we might be able to do the canal with our jib since we were getting 13-15 kts. No sooner did we get the jib out when we got a 22kt gust that wanted to blow us to shore. The jib came down!
When we left the canal, we got hit with steady winds of 20-25 kts. Quite a surprise. Our first anchorage we had thought about was just outside the canal and up towards the head of the Pungo River, but the south wind was blowing straight in and the land was very flat giving little protection. We decided to make for Bel Haven which is down the Pungo River about 10 miles. The river was covered in whitecaps and our speed dropped to 3.5kts. Once we made the turn to put the wind on our port beam, we hummed and hawed about putting out the jib. We finally decided that since we WERE in a sailboat, perhaps we should try the jib. Why didn't we do it sooner. It quickly took us up to 6.5-7 kts and smoothed out our ride. It also let the engine cool down. Win-Win. We were very disappointed on the approach to Bel Haven. We had hoped the breakwater would provide some protection from the wind, but it was very low and I think anchoring there would have made for a very long, restless night. So, on to anchorage number 3. This was about 2 miles west of Bel Haven in Pungo Creek. We could see another boat anchored inside so figured, if it's good enough for him then it's good enough for us. As we were going in, a cruiser came out of Bel Haven and followed us in to anchor as well. It turns out we made a great choice. We have good protection and good holding, so I think we'll both sleep well tonight. Tomorrow looks like a nasty day, so we will stay here and do some housework.
48 nm today!
Day 61 - Oct. 15
As planned, we spent the day in Pungo Creek. There are a few homes around the shore, but no place to take a dinghy, not that it would have done us any good today. It rained cats and dogs, with a horse or two thrown in for good measure. We saw another sailboat come in mid afternoon and I can't begin to imagine what kind of day he had. Looks like he's alone so that explains why he sailed today. If he had a wife with him there is no way they would have left their last location. We had a text from Richard and Heather that they were spending another day in Elizabeth City. Smart move since I read that the Albemarle Sound can be treacherous in winds over 25 knots.
We spent the day relaxing. Greg cleaned the head and I washed the floors. Didn't do any baking as planned as it was too stinking humid. We watched our first movie on the TV ( Thank you George!). Greg's pick for the inaugural run... Battleship! What can I say :(
I worked at splicing my sweater...
Richard suggested the heat exchanger might need to be cleaned so we will pick up some Ridlime at the next stop. Please keep your fingers crossed for us that this will clear up our overheating problem.
Day 62 - Oct. 16
(Orval..... I'm 2/3 of my way to that beer!)
We traveled 40 nm today. Once again leaving anchor at 7:30, we were able to sail the first two hours on the Pungo River until we turned into the wind and entered Goose Creek. Motored through there, coming out in Bay River where the sails went up and the engine went off and we had a nice 6.5 sail until we had to turn south on the Neuse River. Sails came down, engine went on :(. We had intended to go to Oriental, mostly to try and find Ridlime for our overheating issues, but figured everything would be closed by the time we got there and anchorage was limited. We opted to go to South River, where we found a very peaceful and quiet anchorage. Only two other boats here. We'll leave early tomorrow for Morehead City where a diesel mechanic is on call. With luck he'll be able to meet us at the boat and clean our heat exchanger. If he can't then we'll try the Ridlime, if we can find it.
We saw 7 fighter planes in formation off in the distance. Think they may have been the Blue Angels, but not sure. Also had two Army helicopters fly by several times. They do an awful lot of practicing. Do you think they know something we don't?
DAY 63 - Oct. 17
We had a short sail today, only 26 nm. Managed to sail a good part of the way into the Adams River until we lost our wind. Three sailboats went in ahead do us, and three more were behind us. Several power boats and more sailboats passed us enroute, even though we were doing 5.5-6 kts. In all, I think about 15 boats came through to Beaufort / Moorehead City this morning. It was an interesting sail with lots of houses along the way to look at. We were also entertained by the numerous dolphins on exiting the Adams River. We are tied onto a dock in Moorehead City and have lined up a diesel mechanic for tomorrow morning at 8:30. I'm remaining hopeful.
There's not a grocery store within walking distance, but we picked up a wahoo steak at the fish market for supper tonight. I'll let you know how it compares to haddock.
It seems to be our pattern now as once again we left at 7:30. We had a nice 11 kt wind and got a couple of hours of sailing in before we had to turn the bow into the wind and drop the jib. Near the halfway point, before the approach to the Alligator River - Pungo River Canal we were buzzed by two F-16's. I could swear I saw the second guy wink at me. Sounded like he was trying to fly through the cockpit he was so close. Scared the crap out of me..
The canal is 22 miles long, with one turn. However this one is about 500' wide so it was much more pleasant to travel then the Dismal Swamp. We started to overheat again so had to reduce speed to 4.5 kts. So much for the great guys at Alligator River. This is definitely becoming a concern. With almost 1000 miles of mostly motoring, we need to go faster than 4.5 kts. At one point we thought we might be able to do the canal with our jib since we were getting 13-15 kts. No sooner did we get the jib out when we got a 22kt gust that wanted to blow us to shore. The jib came down!
When we left the canal, we got hit with steady winds of 20-25 kts. Quite a surprise. Our first anchorage we had thought about was just outside the canal and up towards the head of the Pungo River, but the south wind was blowing straight in and the land was very flat giving little protection. We decided to make for Bel Haven which is down the Pungo River about 10 miles. The river was covered in whitecaps and our speed dropped to 3.5kts. Once we made the turn to put the wind on our port beam, we hummed and hawed about putting out the jib. We finally decided that since we WERE in a sailboat, perhaps we should try the jib. Why didn't we do it sooner. It quickly took us up to 6.5-7 kts and smoothed out our ride. It also let the engine cool down. Win-Win. We were very disappointed on the approach to Bel Haven. We had hoped the breakwater would provide some protection from the wind, but it was very low and I think anchoring there would have made for a very long, restless night. So, on to anchorage number 3. This was about 2 miles west of Bel Haven in Pungo Creek. We could see another boat anchored inside so figured, if it's good enough for him then it's good enough for us. As we were going in, a cruiser came out of Bel Haven and followed us in to anchor as well. It turns out we made a great choice. We have good protection and good holding, so I think we'll both sleep well tonight. Tomorrow looks like a nasty day, so we will stay here and do some housework.
48 nm today!
Day 61 - Oct. 15
As planned, we spent the day in Pungo Creek. There are a few homes around the shore, but no place to take a dinghy, not that it would have done us any good today. It rained cats and dogs, with a horse or two thrown in for good measure. We saw another sailboat come in mid afternoon and I can't begin to imagine what kind of day he had. Looks like he's alone so that explains why he sailed today. If he had a wife with him there is no way they would have left their last location. We had a text from Richard and Heather that they were spending another day in Elizabeth City. Smart move since I read that the Albemarle Sound can be treacherous in winds over 25 knots.
We spent the day relaxing. Greg cleaned the head and I washed the floors. Didn't do any baking as planned as it was too stinking humid. We watched our first movie on the TV ( Thank you George!). Greg's pick for the inaugural run... Battleship! What can I say :(
I worked at splicing my sweater...
Richard suggested the heat exchanger might need to be cleaned so we will pick up some Ridlime at the next stop. Please keep your fingers crossed for us that this will clear up our overheating problem.
Day 62 - Oct. 16
(Orval..... I'm 2/3 of my way to that beer!)
We traveled 40 nm today. Once again leaving anchor at 7:30, we were able to sail the first two hours on the Pungo River until we turned into the wind and entered Goose Creek. Motored through there, coming out in Bay River where the sails went up and the engine went off and we had a nice 6.5 sail until we had to turn south on the Neuse River. Sails came down, engine went on :(. We had intended to go to Oriental, mostly to try and find Ridlime for our overheating issues, but figured everything would be closed by the time we got there and anchorage was limited. We opted to go to South River, where we found a very peaceful and quiet anchorage. Only two other boats here. We'll leave early tomorrow for Morehead City where a diesel mechanic is on call. With luck he'll be able to meet us at the boat and clean our heat exchanger. If he can't then we'll try the Ridlime, if we can find it.
We saw 7 fighter planes in formation off in the distance. Think they may have been the Blue Angels, but not sure. Also had two Army helicopters fly by several times. They do an awful lot of practicing. Do you think they know something we don't?
DAY 63 - Oct. 17
We had a short sail today, only 26 nm. Managed to sail a good part of the way into the Adams River until we lost our wind. Three sailboats went in ahead do us, and three more were behind us. Several power boats and more sailboats passed us enroute, even though we were doing 5.5-6 kts. In all, I think about 15 boats came through to Beaufort / Moorehead City this morning. It was an interesting sail with lots of houses along the way to look at. We were also entertained by the numerous dolphins on exiting the Adams River. We are tied onto a dock in Moorehead City and have lined up a diesel mechanic for tomorrow morning at 8:30. I'm remaining hopeful.
There's not a grocery store within walking distance, but we picked up a wahoo steak at the fish market for supper tonight. I'll let you know how it compares to haddock.
Some pictures
 |
| Swing bridge on Alligator River, opens on demand |
Stay at home day on Pungo Creek
Army/Navy? Helicopters made numerous passes over the river
Our first North Carolina Shrimp Boat
Monday, October 13, 2014
Day 59 - Oct. 13
Day 59 - Oct. 13
Said our goodbyes to Gus this morning and made our way out of Elizabeth City and across the Albemarle Sound to Alligator River Marina. We motored most of the morning, but were able to sail nicely across the sound. For the last two days our engine has been overheated when we reached 1700 rpm's. We would have to slow down to let it cool and then continue, so the sailing was a real engine saver. We arranged to stay on the dock at the marina and they gave us the name of a mechanic and two guys came by this afternoon. They were both super great and really seemed to know what they were doing. Turns out the coolent belt was too loose, causing the engine to overheat. He also fixed up the stuffing box that was dripping just a little too much for Greg's liking and even fixed our tachometer that has only worked part time since we bought the boat. Feel very good about continuing now, especially since there will be a lot of motoring through the ICW.
The people here have been so friendly. In all our stops, we've only had one place that was unwelcoming (Provincetown).
Thank you Mallory for reminding us that today is Thanksgiving. We were so excited when we got into the marina and saw it was a Shell station with a restaurant. Thinking it would be like home, our mouths were watering with visions of a roast turkey dinner with cranberries and mashed potatoes. Turns out it was more of a take out with limited menu. The hamburgers were delicious!
I'm starting to feel like one of those dogs that has to pee on every tree it sees. Every time we get somewhere that has a shower, I have to try to out. Never know when the next long, hot shower will be. :)
And Scott, I've decided I want to be a real sailor, so I'm taking your advice. I am no longer knitting a sweater... I'm splicing one together... Loved that!
So once again..... Happy Thanksgiving to All!!!
( we'll enjoy Turkey Day in November with our hosts)
Said our goodbyes to Gus this morning and made our way out of Elizabeth City and across the Albemarle Sound to Alligator River Marina. We motored most of the morning, but were able to sail nicely across the sound. For the last two days our engine has been overheated when we reached 1700 rpm's. We would have to slow down to let it cool and then continue, so the sailing was a real engine saver. We arranged to stay on the dock at the marina and they gave us the name of a mechanic and two guys came by this afternoon. They were both super great and really seemed to know what they were doing. Turns out the coolent belt was too loose, causing the engine to overheat. He also fixed up the stuffing box that was dripping just a little too much for Greg's liking and even fixed our tachometer that has only worked part time since we bought the boat. Feel very good about continuing now, especially since there will be a lot of motoring through the ICW.
The people here have been so friendly. In all our stops, we've only had one place that was unwelcoming (Provincetown).
Thank you Mallory for reminding us that today is Thanksgiving. We were so excited when we got into the marina and saw it was a Shell station with a restaurant. Thinking it would be like home, our mouths were watering with visions of a roast turkey dinner with cranberries and mashed potatoes. Turns out it was more of a take out with limited menu. The hamburgers were delicious!
I'm starting to feel like one of those dogs that has to pee on every tree it sees. Every time we get somewhere that has a shower, I have to try to out. Never know when the next long, hot shower will be. :)
And Scott, I've decided I want to be a real sailor, so I'm taking your advice. I am no longer knitting a sweater... I'm splicing one together... Loved that!
So once again..... Happy Thanksgiving to All!!!
( we'll enjoy Turkey Day in November with our hosts)
Some Pictures
 |
| Sitting in the lock on the way to the Dismal Swamp |
Blimp and airfield on the Pasquontank River.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!
Day 58 - Oct. 12
Four boats left the Visitor's Center this morning at 7:45 to make the 8:30 bridge and lock opening, with Peace & Quiet among them. Jill and Tim from the cat were up to send us off. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to meet them. They are the kind of people you can't help but take an instant liking to. [And Jill... I'm not just saying that because I know you're reading my blog... ;) ]
About two hours out we started to overheat again. This happened yesterday as well. We're hoping the winds will be with us tomorrow and we can sail to Alligator River where we will have a mechanic take a look at it. Greg has changed the impeller, checked the water intake, and tightened the fan belt without seeming to have any affect. Keeping our fingers crossed that it is nothing major.
Coming in to a dock at home is usually pretty simple. It's either a finger dock or a wharf. Almost every place here has four tall posts set in a rectangular box shape in the water. You bring the boat into the center of the box and then lasso two posts on one side of the boat, then the two posts on the other side and then tighten and loosen the lines until the boat is sitting in the middle without touching any of the posts. Well let me tell you, it's harder then it sounds! Lucky for us, when I brought the boat in, "Gus" and another boater were on the 3' dock in front of the posts to help and give us instructions on what to do. Other then coming in just a tad to fast, I think I did pretty good for my first time. Even Gus said so. Now let me tell you about Gus. I believe he said he was 78, ( I could be wrong) and he comes to the wharf every day, for 13 hours to help the boaters. He said it was like a family reunion for him to have the boaters come in and he loves to help by supplying information even if he doesn't have the physical strength to help. One of the trawlers, Andirondeck, arranged a gathering at 4:30 for the boaters on the dock, and along with getting some good information about getting to the Bahamas, Gus entertained us with some of his stories and things his Grandpa told him. I'm not sure that we can believe everything he told us, but he is a such a sweetheart of a man. Elizabeth City should be honoured to have Gus as their representative for boaters.
Four boats left the Visitor's Center this morning at 7:45 to make the 8:30 bridge and lock opening, with Peace & Quiet among them. Jill and Tim from the cat were up to send us off. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to meet them. They are the kind of people you can't help but take an instant liking to. [And Jill... I'm not just saying that because I know you're reading my blog... ;) ]
About two hours out we started to overheat again. This happened yesterday as well. We're hoping the winds will be with us tomorrow and we can sail to Alligator River where we will have a mechanic take a look at it. Greg has changed the impeller, checked the water intake, and tightened the fan belt without seeming to have any affect. Keeping our fingers crossed that it is nothing major.
Coming in to a dock at home is usually pretty simple. It's either a finger dock or a wharf. Almost every place here has four tall posts set in a rectangular box shape in the water. You bring the boat into the center of the box and then lasso two posts on one side of the boat, then the two posts on the other side and then tighten and loosen the lines until the boat is sitting in the middle without touching any of the posts. Well let me tell you, it's harder then it sounds! Lucky for us, when I brought the boat in, "Gus" and another boater were on the 3' dock in front of the posts to help and give us instructions on what to do. Other then coming in just a tad to fast, I think I did pretty good for my first time. Even Gus said so. Now let me tell you about Gus. I believe he said he was 78, ( I could be wrong) and he comes to the wharf every day, for 13 hours to help the boaters. He said it was like a family reunion for him to have the boaters come in and he loves to help by supplying information even if he doesn't have the physical strength to help. One of the trawlers, Andirondeck, arranged a gathering at 4:30 for the boaters on the dock, and along with getting some good information about getting to the Bahamas, Gus entertained us with some of his stories and things his Grandpa told him. I'm not sure that we can believe everything he told us, but he is a such a sweetheart of a man. Elizabeth City should be honoured to have Gus as their representative for boaters.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Day 56- 57. To Dismal Swamp
Day 56 - Oct. 10
Came in to the Tidewater Marina to have showers and do laundry. Greg met up with the ship maintenance guy, Gaston, and got a lot of good information from him regarding tensioning the rigging. On our second trip in to the dock, a gentleman came up to us and asked if we were going for groceries. Not sure what made him think that, but that is exactly what we were doing. He said he'd been working all morning on his boat and needed a break and offered to drive us to the supermarket. Imagine that, he walked over to us, out of his way, to offer his help. We of course jumped at the offer, and because we were going for propane as well, he drove even further out if his way to take us there. Because that took so long, I told him to drop us at the store and we would take a taxi back. About a 1/2 later, Joe walks into the store, says he finished what he needed to do a home and would take us back to the marina. It is beyond amazing the number of super nice people we have met so far. Hopefully I'll remember that when we have transients come in to our club in LaHave.
Day 57- Oct. 11
We were planning to leave anchor at 7:00 to make the 8:30 bridge opening at Gilmerton, but it was raining. Boats may not mind the water, but I wasn't feeling up to getting soaked ear lumpy in the morning. We left at 8:00 to get the 9:30 bridge opening and arrived at the bridge at 9:00. How's that for a miscalculation. Greg called the bridge operator who said he could see us coming around the point and to keep in coming. He would lift the bridge for us. Five minutes later he tells us to hold up cause the railroad bridge on the other side of the steel bridge just went down for a train. So we wait, and we wait, finally a very ling train comes, and we wait. It gets by, and don't we hear another whistle, and there comes ANOTHER train, so we wait some more. By this time there are three more boats waiting to get through the bridge. So much for getting there early.
Once through, ( should mention here that everyone who goes through sends a thank you over the radio back to the bridge operator - very considerate) we head off to the next event, entering our first lock at the entrance to the Great Dismal Swamp. Again we arrive early and had to sit for 45 minutes waiting for the lock to open. Got in and tied up without incident, with one other boat behind us. On the opening of the lock doors, two logs came in that were impossible to negotiate around. I hit one, but I don't believe any damage was done. For the next 16 miles we motored down the Dismal Swamp Canal. This is 16 miles of a very straight ( 1 turn the entire length) and very narrow ( 2 boats can pass each other but certainly no room for three) waterway that is completely filled in on both sides by forest and lots of logs and stumps in the water. Beautiful, but after the first 1/2 hr, a bit tedious. Of course, along with the turtles, I managed to spot a snake in the water :(
We arrived at the Great Dismal Swamp Visitor's Center where everyone ties up to overnight. The dock was full, but as we came in, a couple on a catamaran were waving us in to raft up to them. We had a great chat and then had a tour of their cat. Later they invited all the boaters (6 boats in all) over for appetizers. We ended up at the picnic tables and had a wonderful time. Met a couple from France who had been travelling for 4 years, the couple on the cat from middle Chesapeake, 3 men from Montreal, and 2 other Americans headed south.
While we were pulling into raft up, we got a phone call from our friend Joe from Portsmouth. He and his wife wanted to invite us to their house for a home cooked supper. What hospitality... too bad we had already left the city.
Came in to the Tidewater Marina to have showers and do laundry. Greg met up with the ship maintenance guy, Gaston, and got a lot of good information from him regarding tensioning the rigging. On our second trip in to the dock, a gentleman came up to us and asked if we were going for groceries. Not sure what made him think that, but that is exactly what we were doing. He said he'd been working all morning on his boat and needed a break and offered to drive us to the supermarket. Imagine that, he walked over to us, out of his way, to offer his help. We of course jumped at the offer, and because we were going for propane as well, he drove even further out if his way to take us there. Because that took so long, I told him to drop us at the store and we would take a taxi back. About a 1/2 later, Joe walks into the store, says he finished what he needed to do a home and would take us back to the marina. It is beyond amazing the number of super nice people we have met so far. Hopefully I'll remember that when we have transients come in to our club in LaHave.
Day 57- Oct. 11
We were planning to leave anchor at 7:00 to make the 8:30 bridge opening at Gilmerton, but it was raining. Boats may not mind the water, but I wasn't feeling up to getting soaked ear lumpy in the morning. We left at 8:00 to get the 9:30 bridge opening and arrived at the bridge at 9:00. How's that for a miscalculation. Greg called the bridge operator who said he could see us coming around the point and to keep in coming. He would lift the bridge for us. Five minutes later he tells us to hold up cause the railroad bridge on the other side of the steel bridge just went down for a train. So we wait, and we wait, finally a very ling train comes, and we wait. It gets by, and don't we hear another whistle, and there comes ANOTHER train, so we wait some more. By this time there are three more boats waiting to get through the bridge. So much for getting there early.
Once through, ( should mention here that everyone who goes through sends a thank you over the radio back to the bridge operator - very considerate) we head off to the next event, entering our first lock at the entrance to the Great Dismal Swamp. Again we arrive early and had to sit for 45 minutes waiting for the lock to open. Got in and tied up without incident, with one other boat behind us. On the opening of the lock doors, two logs came in that were impossible to negotiate around. I hit one, but I don't believe any damage was done. For the next 16 miles we motored down the Dismal Swamp Canal. This is 16 miles of a very straight ( 1 turn the entire length) and very narrow ( 2 boats can pass each other but certainly no room for three) waterway that is completely filled in on both sides by forest and lots of logs and stumps in the water. Beautiful, but after the first 1/2 hr, a bit tedious. Of course, along with the turtles, I managed to spot a snake in the water :(
We arrived at the Great Dismal Swamp Visitor's Center where everyone ties up to overnight. The dock was full, but as we came in, a couple on a catamaran were waving us in to raft up to them. We had a great chat and then had a tour of their cat. Later they invited all the boaters (6 boats in all) over for appetizers. We ended up at the picnic tables and had a wonderful time. Met a couple from France who had been travelling for 4 years, the couple on the cat from middle Chesapeake, 3 men from Montreal, and 2 other Americans headed south.
While we were pulling into raft up, we got a phone call from our friend Joe from Portsmouth. He and his wife wanted to invite us to their house for a home cooked supper. What hospitality... too bad we had already left the city.
Friday, October 10, 2014
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