Month: May 2017

May 29-31, 2017  Monday – Wednesday

We determined Sunday evening that we could make it above the 35th parallel by June 1 without traveling on Memorial day so we stayed put for another night. We were not the only ones hiding out, about 1:00 a sailboat couple came in and said they needed a break from the crazies.  The locals that did go out said it was more like stop and go traffic on a freeway than boating.

We were up early and away from Harbour Village Marina by 5:45 am in order to make the 7:00 am opening of the Surf City Swing Bridge, about an hour upriver. We made it there by 6:55 but could not get the bridge tender’s attention until 7:05, by which time he said we would have to wait till the next opening at 8:00. The water level indicated 13 feet clearance and we are 15 feet with the antenna up, and we think about 12.5 with it down. Rick lowered the antenna and we proceeded with me on the foredeck trying to determine if those measurements were accurate, I think we did clear by 5 or 6 inches and were on our way.

We enjoyed the houses on New River that had matching lighthouses, all very cute. We cruised by Camp Lejeune which occasionally closes the ICW to conduct artillery, small-weapons firing,  and amphibious exercises. Many Loopers like to anchor in Mile Hammock Basin, at the edge of Camp Lejeune, in hopes of watching these exercise, since we had a long day planned we were happy that there was not a delay.

We spent Tuesday evening at Homer Smith Seafood and Marina, where we enjoyed watching the unloading of a shrimp boat and meeting a French couple who are sailing the world with their three children.

Tonight we are at New Bern where we will spend a week servicing the boat and enjoying the nearby towns.

 

May 27-28, 2017 – Saturday & Sunday

We broke our prime directive, don’t have a schedule. For insurance purposes, we have to be above the 35th parallel by June 1 and we are now hurrying up the ICW on Memorial Day weekend. What is that like? If you are there to play, it is all you hoped for, a ton of fun. If you are trying to get from point A to point B, it is like being in a washtub with every type of motor vessel passing you on both sides. For two days we have felt like we are running rapids.

As we crossed Cape Fear River at Southport we could see the Oak Island Lighthouse, which is one of the newest lighthouses in the US. It features four 2.5 million candlepower aerobeacon lenses which produce four, one-second bursts of light every ten seconds.

The Carolina Bays Parkway Bridge anticipated a May 2017 completion, as you can tell from the picture, that is not going to happen.

We have thunder, lighting and rain tonight, but we are snug as a bug, at Habour Village Marina.

Note: From 1620-1720 pirates plied these waters, captains of merchant ships learned to spot the highest mast, or Tops’ls, of pirate ships in order to outrun the looters, hence the name Topsail. It is said that the infamous Blackbeard launched some of his most famous attacks from here. For years treasure hunters searched for buried treasure on the island.

May 26, 2017 – Friday

What a gorgeous day! Cool, calm, sunny, and lots of water under the keel. It has been said that, if you ask a Looper about their favorite rivers, among the top four would be the Hudson, the Tennessee, the St. Johns and the Waccamaw. Tonight we are on the Waccamaw and, we must agree, it is truly a beautiful river. It is on the Waccamaw that the salt marsh begins to give way to the moss-drape cypress trees, eagles soar overhead, and turtles poke their heads out of the water begging to be fed.

We were all up for an early start and we said goodbye to Jim as he did last minute prep, set his oars, and started up the river. We later passed him as he continued his journey to honor his friend and raise money for a worthy cause. At our evening stop, we met up with Jan and Lee, m/v Shangri-La who watched the space launch with us at New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

May 25, 2017 – Thursday

Today we passed by Charleston, South Carolina’s largest port. Our expectation was that that the port would be busy and it would be a challenge to navigate, however with gale force winds predicted on the Atlantic side and 20 and 30 knots blowing on the ICW there were only a few hardy souls on the water and the run through Charleston was fast and uneventful. With sunny skies and the temperature in the high seventies, we were having a great time as we enjoyed scenic marsh views, birds, and dolphins playing around our boat.

Things changed when we reach Matthew’s Cut, at mile 431, we were on an ebbing tide, the wind was blowing water out of the cut and we had very little water below our keel. The next four miles were a bit stressful but, Rick did a masterful job of keeping us in the center of the channel instead of grounded in the mud banks. At mile 430 we turned into Jeremy Creek, gained about 6 feet of water under our keel, and tied up the Leland Oil Company dock, McClellanville. With the wind gusting it was a challenge, but all went well.

McClellanville is a small fishing town and the fuel for their fishing fleet comes from the Leland Oil Company, lucky for us they allow transients. After securing Andiamo we took a stroll around town. There are so many historic clapboard homes, shaded by grand live oak trees, with historical markers on them, we got a good laugh out of the one that said, “On this site, in 1897, nothing happened.”  The citizens of the town are particularly proud of their Deerhead Oak, estimated to be 1000 years old, it was named as SC’s Heritage Tree of 2007.

Our dock mate for the evening was Jim Brassord who, in honor of his friend John, is traveling the ICW from Miami to New York to raise funds for the John P. Musante Health Center (JPMHC). His vessel of choice, an 18′ Little River Heritage Sculling Skiff. To learn more visit Jim’s site at www.miami2nyc.com.

Row Jim Row, safe travels.

May 23- 24,2017  Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday with severe thunderstorms forecasted for late afternoon we started looking for a safe anchorage. We settled on Bass Creek behind Morgan Island, sometimes referred as Monkey Island due to its colony of free-ranging rhesus monkeys. Within an hour of anchoring, the winds came up and the rain poured down. With winds gusting up to 30 mph and white caps on the water, the anchor didn’t budge, Rick is very happy with his new Rocna.

The anchorage reminded us of the one at Little Teakettle Creek as we were surrounded by marshland. Wednesday morning was clear with a high tide and we could see the boats on Coosaw River, it looked as though they were sailing on grass. We had a strong current and moderate wind but no rain, so Rick stayed dry as he raised the anchor. By the time we were back on the ICW a slight rain was falling, by afternoon the weather forecast was for waterspouts, tornados, and severe weather throughout the region. Checking our resources we were having trouble finding a good anchorage so we decided to make a run for Charleston. We pulled into St. John’s Yacht Harbour about 3:00, however, we didn’t beat the storm. Both of us were drenched as we secured the boat for the night. Rick was securing the dinghy and I was putting in the side panels. The zipper on the bimini came loose and rain poured down my arms and torso as I repaired the damage. We didn’t mind being drenched, we were just happy to be at a marina for the night.

Tomorrow’s forecast, mostly SUNNY and 78 degrees.

May 21-22, 2017   Sunday & Monday

Before leaving the Isle of Hope, GA we took a morning walk and then headed for Hilton Head, SC. Rick’s family has vacationed at Hilton Head for years and we wanted to check it out. Hilton Head Island has a rich history and its estuaries are the breeding grounds for many saltwater species of game fish, sport fish, and marine mammals. The local dolphins escorted Andiamo and jumping stingrays entertained us, both on our way in and out of the island.

Hilton Head became an important base of operations for the Union blockade of the Southern ports during the Civil War and was the home of Mitchelville, a town built during the Civil War for escaped slaves. We visited Fort Mitchel and I was surprised to learn that Ormsby M. Mitchel’s leadership was so remarkable that both the fort and Mitchelville were named after him. He served on the island for only 45 days before dying from yellow fever.

We stayed at the Windmill Harbour Marina, which you have to go through a 75′ long by 19′ wide lock to enter, that means your boat is pretty safe from storms. Most of the island is well-manicured and gorgeous, which is not surprising in view of the fact that approximately 70% of the island, including most of the tourist areas, is located inside gated communities.

May 19-20, 2017   Friday & Saturday

A bit of nostalgia Saturday as we sailed by Moon River, I couldn’t help but think of Mom and how much she loved the song Moon River. Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini wrote the song for Audrey Hepburn to sing in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s and it became the trademark song for the Andy Williams show. We watched that show with Mom every week in the late 1960’s.

Moon River is just one of the tidal inlets that form the Isle of Hope, one of the most affluent communities in GA, just fifteen miles south of Savannah. We are staying at the Isle of Hope and have enjoyed this antebellum community.

We went on a lovely walk around this morning and then used the courtesy car to provision Andiamo. While we were out we drove by Wormsloe Historic Site, the oldest of Georgia’s tidewater estates. Wormsloe has been the ancestral home of Georgia colonist Nobel Jones’s descendants since the mid-1730s. That’s a long time for a family to live in the same house.

Rick has a new love, a 35-foot Nordhavn that is moored behind us. He thinks we should sell the house, purchase a Nordhavn, and sail (or is that motor?) into the sunset.

 

May 18, 2017 – Thursday

For us, today was a slow uneventful day as we floated through mile after mile of salt marsh. Others, on the waters near us, had a more eventful day. We watched as a large motor vessel overshot a turn by about a quarter of a mile and then carefully backtracked into the proper channel. Several hours later we watched as a sailing vessel was not as lucky, he missed a turn and ended up aground. Fortunately, with a rising tide, he was able to power himself loose.

The saddest story we heard was over our VHF radio. We were on the southwest side of Wolf Island and heard a distress call from a sailing vessel on the east side (the Atlantic Ocean) that was taking on water. A nearby shrimp boat was not able to rescue the crew because of water depth but was able to relay information to the US Coast Guard which sent a rescue helicopter. We could not see the boats but could see the distant helicopter. The helicopter crew had to offload their 90-pound rescue pump in order to lighten their load so they could lift the three people that were on the sailboat. The shrimp boat was able to reclaim the pump for the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard was able to lift the crew of the sailboat to safely, but unfortunately, the sailboat sank. Constant reminders to always be vigilant.

We anchored off the main channel, around a bend on New Teakettle Creek, and did not see another boat until we pulled back on the main channel the next morning. We have been at anchor alone before, but usually, a few fishing boats will be out either that evening or early the next morning. At this anchorage, it was just us, dolphins, jumping fish, and the birds.

New Teakettle Creek Anchorage

May 17, 2017 – Wednesday

This morning we took the dinghy to Sea Camp on Cumberland Island and spent the day wandering around the Dungeness ruins, shelling on an Atlantic Beach, observing wild horses, ghost crabs, birds, deer, etc. and returned to Sea Camp via the dunes, palmettos, and live oak trees.

Relaxing in the evening we watched a Trident Submarine as it made its way out to sea as we had a glass of wine and enjoyed the sunset.