Morehead City, NC to Solomons, MD 26 April - 7 May 2011

27 April 2011  Morehead City to South River, NC
After a couple days in Morehead catching up with new Defever owners, Shay & Elizabeth Glass and meeting Defeverites from Houston on Confetti, Dick & Lace, we headed out for the South River.  On Adams Creek we spotted a substantial dredge oepration.  I watched a sailboat almost take the dredge on the wrong side.

It can be confusing and in the absence of a response from the dredge you need to know how to read those black circles and rectangles.  In this case, you leave the dredge to your starboard side.

The South River is off the Neuse River.  The weather is projected to worsen over the next couple days so we've already decided to hunker down in the South River and then head out to Ocracoke, on the Outer Banks.
You can see where the South River is in relation to the Neuse and where we're headed to Ocracoke.

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29 April 2011 South River to Ocracoke, NC
From the Neuse River we headed east into Pamlico Sound.  The wind was out of the north blowing 13-17 kts and the seas were 2-3'.  Thank goodness for stabilizers.  They make the ride much better for me and the cats.

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The National Park Service has docks in Ocracoke at a reasonable price - even more so if you hold a Senior Pass ($10.00 lifetime pass if you are over 62).

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We checked out the village and walked out to the lighthouse which is NC's oldest operating lighthouse.

On our second day, we rode 6-7 miles (with the wind on our nose) out to the pony pasture.  Ocracoke's favorite residents, the descendents of those left earlier in time, have been permanently penned - only 17 remain of the original herd.  The NPS has cared for the herd since the 1960's.

During WWII, Ocracoke was strategically important - housing the Advanced Amphibious Training Base for the Navy's Beach Jumpers.

Other than the village, the rest of the island is National Seashore - the beaches are just gorgeous.  Lots of ramps to drive your privately owned vehicle onto the beach.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention NC's great ferry system.  Ocracoke is only accessible by boat - yours or the NC ferry!

1 May 2011  Ocracoke to Manteo, NC
From Ocracoke, we cruised up to Manteo, NC to visit friends, Mike & Jane Ross.  Enjoyed a wonderful, authenticate Italian meal at "La Dolce Vita".

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Weather permitting, this route is a wonderful alternative to the ICW route.

2 May 2011  Manteo, NC to Great Bridge, VA
The Albemarle Sound was like a pond.  Can't remember the last time it was this nice.
The weather was so good today we decided to continue all the way to Great Bridge.
What's most interesting about this photo is the way the ICW winds through the countryside.  I spent most of the day trying to capture photos of the fighter jets circling  Fentress Naval Air Landing Field.  what a show they put on!

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Susan & Jay Wigginton were 2 1/2 hours ahead of us with the same destination in mind -
the free dock.  Susan organized the other boaters who came into the dock after SAILS
insuring that there was a spot for us when we arrived at 7PM.  THANKS, SUSAN!


4  May 2011  Great Bridge to Portsmouth, VA
Leaving Great Bridge, you pass through one lock.  As I was tying to the cleats above the wall, I noticed this pair of geese going nuts (hissing); I assumed they did not like us so close.  Amazingly they had built a nest right next to the lock wall!  You can see the feathers surrounding the outside of the nest. 

I also spotted 2 carriers and 1 submarine in dry dock - to say nothing of the surface ships!  Lots of stuff to look at on the Elizabeth River.

We took on fuel at Top Rack Marina (they had the best fuel price locally) before moving on to more free dockage in the basin at the bottom of High Street Landing in Portsmouth, VA.  We've never stopped at the basin here for one reason or another.  It is a popular spot and is usually full. That's US Coast Guard headquarters behind us.  Portsmouth is a wonderful stop.

It is probably worth mentioning that at high tide the water was over the docks.  That's the side of the boat and our step that you see on the left hand side of the photo.  If you look at the photo above you can get a real sense of how much the water rose.

Before we left the basin we watched the Army Corps of Engineers pick up a good sized piece of debris in the water - a potential hazard to navigation.

5 May 2011  Portsmouth to Ft Monroe, VA
Leaving Portsmouth we passed by the USS George W. Bush - the newest aircraft carrier.

We moved up to Ft Monroe to position ourselves closer to the Chesapeake Bay for our run home.  Only 2 nights and we're there!

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6 May 2011  Ft Monroe to Reedville, VA
As we headed out on the Bay, the seas were almost flat.  Crossing the York River, they picked up a bit and settled down again.  We passed Wolf Trap Light and headed for  Reedville in lieu of Jackson Creek - a little farther north and not as shallow.

Wolf Trap Light

This is a very rural area - not much going on other than menhaden fishing.  Omega Protein is the largest industrial employer in the area.  Reedville is also a jumping off point for trips to Tangier Island.  We anchored inside the "hook" at Sandy Point.

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7 May 2011  Reedville, VA to Solomons, MD
Hard to believe this is our last day on the water for several weeks.  It was a beautiful day on the Bay - nice & calm the way I like it.

Charleston, S.C. to Morehead City, N.C. (19-25 April 2011)

18 April 2011  Charleston to Isle of Palms, S.C.
We spent 4 nights at The City Marina.  Matt & Marty Miller, neighbors from Solomons, MD., sailed in the day after we arrived.  They are northbound as well and spent the winter in the Exumas, Bahamas.  We got the opportunity to spend some time with them.

There's a fairly good tidal range here in Charleston.  Here's some low tide/high pictures taken in the marina.

Low tide - Charleston City marina

High tide

Looking back the other way

We caught up with family and friends while we were here.  Had some "weather" come through as well.  Although we were on the inside of the megadock, the boat had salt spray all over it.

Wind & waves at The City Marina

It may not look like much but the boats on the outside of the dock were really being bounced around a lot!

Here's a snapshot of the megadock I took using the marina's webcam and then downloaded
after we left.

We left Charleston and headed out on the ICW and made an overnight stop on the Isle of Palms to visit with one of Ted's childhood chums.  Had a wonderful visit with Alice & Richard Weil.

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19 April 2001 Isle of Palms to Thoroughfare Creek, S.C.

I keep forgetting to mention the guy we see on this Hobie cat he can peddle.
He's enroute to Montreal.  We first saw him in the Hilton Head area, then
heading out of Beaufort and next heading on the ICW north of the Isle of
Palms.  He plans to get to Montreal in July.

A fire along the ICW today in the vicinity of the Santee River....

We took on fuel again today only because the price was relatively good - and we 
know prices are continuing their upward spiral.  We took on 235 gallons @ $3.58/gal.

The ICW is the predominant waterway in the photo below running north-south. The
green arrow marks where we anchored.  You can see the remnants of what was
a planned development to the right of where we anchored.

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Here's a better view of where we anchored...


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We had the anchorage to ourselves until this houseboat cruised in an anchored.

Thoroughfare Creek

20 April 2011 Thoroughfare Creek to Barefoot Landing, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
We transited the beautiful Waccamaw River today  - saw this air boat along the river.

 

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We're not at the marina you see but across the waterway.  There's
several places for Happy Hour but we favor The Flying Fish.  Great
oysters and sweet potato fries at Happy Hour prices!

A beautiful sunset view of the Barefoot Marina across the waterway.

Sunset looking at The Barefoot Marina - Myrtle Beach, S.C.

21 April 2011  Barefoot Landing to Deep Point Marina, Southport, S.C.
Departed Barefoot Landing headed for Southport, N.C.  The pontoon bridge
in Sunset Beach is no more.  A new high rise bridge crosses the waterway.
You'd never know the pontoon bridge was there.  Everything has been re-
moved.  It used to sit on the right.

New Sunset Beach Bridge

Southport sits at the junction where the Cape Far River intersects the ICW. Take
a look.  The green arrow marks the location of the marina we wound up in.

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Here's a shot of a sailboat Ted had seen while we were moored on
Distant Island (S.C.).  This sailboat was anchored in front of some of the
restaurants in Southport.  He took up most of the available anchorage space.

We had planned to anchor but with the spring tides and full moon, we've had higher
highs and lower lows than normal.  There just wasn'tenough water in the Pipeline
Canal anchorage at low tide.  So we wound up at a new marina - Deep Point marina
- where the ferries depart for Bald Head Island (another nice stop).  This marina is
located off the Cape Fear river.

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It is a very nice marina but the strong winds (I forget from which direction)
caused a slight swell in the marina.  The ferries moor at the top right.

Joy & Chuck Fletcher, MTOA members and Defever owners are the MTOA
harbor hosts.   We spent an evening on their boat, M/Y Sea Nest, catching
up!

22 April 2011   Southport to Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Kind of a crummy day on the water - overcast, drizzly and cool.   We had a
fair current (it was going our way) on the Cape Fear River but when we made
the turn into Snow's Cut, we had the current on our nose.  You can see the
current on this buoy and the bridge pilings.

Snow's Cut

Under the Snow's Cut Bridge

Here's a look at Snow's Cut..


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 New navigation aids and chain waiting for a home.

When we passed the inlet at Carolina Beach a dredge was spewing dredge spoils
off to the side of the inlet.  As many dredges as we've seen, I've never seen one
dumping the dredge spoils.

We've anchored in Wrightsville Beach a lot but the weather was too wet to
bother going ashore.

23 April 2011 Wrightsville Beach to Mile Hammock Bay, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Short day to Mile Hammock Bay.  We've slowed down in order to link up with Elizabeth
and Shay Glass, new owners of a 44' Defever like ours, in Morehead City on Monday.


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24 April 2011 Mile Hammock Bay to Spooner's Creek, N.C.

We timed our departure from the anchorage to catch the 0830 opening of the
Onslow Beach Bridge (still Camp Lejeune).  We had the current running with
us as we approached the bridge.  The bridge is very slooow to open and it opens
toward you. With the current behind us moving us forward Ted had to reverse
the engines so we didn't hit the span as it swung forward.  I was mildly concerned
that we'd hit the bridge.  After we cleared the bridge,  the bridge tender said
the same thing.  Kind of validates my thinking!  Here's the span... Not my
picture but you get the idea.

We anchored in Spooner's Creek which sits in the middle of a residential
community.  You can see the narrow channel going in which we discovered
has gotten narrower.  The ICW is the dark channel running left to right in
the bottom of the photo.


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25 April 2011  Spooner's Creek to Morehead City Yacht Basin, N.C.

We stopped here for a couple days to catch up with friends who bought
 a boat like ours.  Morehead City is a nice stop.  Local restaurants are
an easy walk from the marina.

Ft Lauderdale, FL to Charleston, SC 24 Mar - 14 Apr 2011

24 March 2001  Ft Lauderdale to Lake Worth, FL

Our last morning in Ft Lauderdale we shot this photo from the bridge of the boat.
The grounds were lovely where we stayed.  But...time to move on!

Our "backyard" in Ft Lauderdale

Passing through Palm Beach, we could see the next Boat Show....

Boat Show - West Palm Beach

That day we passed under or through 24 bridges and anchored 7 1/2 hours
later in the south end of Lake Worth.


25 March 20011  Lake Worth to Causeway Island, Ft Pierce, FL

Jupiter Lighthouse

Top of the Light

 It was a beautiful day though not as warm as these bikini clad young ladies
would lead you to think.

Lifting Ballons - Sailboat Mast visible on deck

We'd noted that a sunken sailboat had been marked as a hazard on our chart.
When we arrived we noticed a team onsite using lifting balloons to remove the
hazard.  You can see the mast lying on the deck.  We anchored in a new spot near
Ft Pierce off of the south side of Causeway Island.



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26 March 2011  Causeway Island to Vero Beach, FL
Vero Beach is always a popular spot for boaters.  Here's a photo of the dinghy
dock - anyone who's on a mooring ball "parks" here when they head into town.

Dinghy Dock - Vero Beach, FL

We only stayed one night and moved on.  Got together with friends, Connie &
Richard Younger, who are the proud owners of a 48' Island Packet, S/V Sea Salt. 


27 March 2011  Vero Beach to Cocoa, FL
Along the way I spotted this osprey nest on the navigation aid.

Ted also brought Clyde up to the bridge while we were underway.  So who is
driving if I am taking the photo?  Otto, our autopilot.

Ted and Clyde

You can see Cocoa in the photo below.  Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach are
close by.  We stayed at the Cocoa Village Marina for a few days.  It is tucked in
on the left near Highway 520.

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While we were in Cocoa, Ted installed the new monitor.  This monitor is
tied to the HP laptop located at the lower helm.  We still have our suite
of Furuno hardware but the chips are no longer made for the trip we plan
to make this summer.  So we've added a PC based solution that has a
puck style GPS integrated with the Coastal Explorer software (chartplotter).

1 April 2011  Cocoa to New Smyrna Beach, FL

We're moving along a little faster than normal but we're planning a few other stops
along the northbound route.  There's a new bridge in Titusville.  Here are the
remnants of the turntable for the swing bridge and the old bridge house.  They
have yet to be removed.

Bridge Tenders House - Former Titusville Bridge

Turntable for Titusville Swing Bridge

Chart on the new monitor

There was construction ongoing on the banks adjacent to the Haulover Canal bridge.
We can pass under the bridge without an opening but one had to pay attention to
the horizontal clearance.

Northbound

Looking behind after we passed under the bridge

2 April 2011  New Smyrna Beach to Mantanzas River, FL
You can see the inlet to the river here; the current moves swiftly through here
but the holding is excellent.

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Fort Matanzas can be seen on the south side in the photo.  I tried to
get a shot of the soldiers firing the cannon at the Fort.  When the cannon
went off, I jumped and missed the shot!  You can only reach the Fort by boat.

Fort Matanzas

3 April 2011  Mantanzas River to St Augustine, FL
We spent several days in St Augustine becoming Florida residents.  With all the
appropriate paperwork in hand, it was a piece of cake!  St Augustine is another
wonderful stop.  Here are a few of the sights.

The Pumpout Boat

Sailing Ship Passing Through the Bridge of Lions

Bridge of Lions

Low tide at the marina

Not sure this sailboat has moved in awhile

Nancy & brother-in-law Nick - Old town St Augustine

Dinghy dock at a very low tide

Bridge of Lions

The Lions are Back - West Side of the Bridge

 6 April 2011  St Augustine to Fernandina Beach (Bell's River), FL
When we let St Augustine we headed for Fernandina Beach.  We had fair
currents the whole way and as a result we made good time.  When we
crossed the St John's River  I spotted a Navy ship in the dry dock.

7 April 2011 Fernandina Beach to Duplin River, Georgia
Ted caught this photo at sunrise of the cranes on the dock at Fernandina Beach
from our anchorage in Bell's River.

It looked like a good enough day (2 weather reports out of 3) to travel offshore and
bypass the shallower areas in Georgia.  Here's a view of the range as we're transiting
the inlet at St Mary's. To be "on the range" the top light should be aligned over the
bottom light (which sits inside the 2 red stripes).  The winds were light, there were
no waves to speak of but the frequency between the swells was too frequent for me.
It is a good thing it doesn't bother the captain.  I felt like Clyde....

Clyde in a "sunspot"

We came in from sea at Doboy Sound.  It is a well marked channel we've used
before.


8 April 2011  Duplin River to Herb River (Thunderbolt), Georgia

We spotted this guy in the canoe before we passed through Hell Gate.

We anchored in the Herb River, just below Thunderbolt. You really get a perspective
for all of the water from this photo.  The dotted line is the Savannah River.

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When you cross the Savannah River, you are in South Carolina.  The
no-seeums have been a nuisance for the last couple days.  I can only
attribute them to the unseasonably warm weather.


9 April 2011  Herb River to Distant Island (Beaufort), SC
Look at all the waterways in the greater Beaufort area.  The USMC's
recruit depot is located at Parris Island which is visible in the photo below.


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We moored on Distant Island, just south of the County airport, to reconnect
with folks we met several years ago at a Great Loop rendezvous in Beaufort.
They completed the Down East Loop a year or so ago and I wanted to pick
their brains.

10 April 2011  Distant Island to Dataw Island, SC
We headed to Dataw next to visit friends and check out the lot we own.
On the way we slowed down to chat with this guy who was headed to Montreal.

12 April 2011  Dataw Island to Steamboat Creek, SC
We're not too far from Charleston, SC at this point.  We're in the vicinity
of Seabrook Island at an anchorage we favor time and time again.
We're in the smaller creek in the photo below.




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13 April 2011  Steamboat Creek to Wappoo Creek, SC
The tide was really low as we headed toward Charleston.

We anchored close by to The City Marina so we could plan to go in at slack water.

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14 April 2011  Wappoo Creek to Charleston, SC (City Marina)
Got underway 30 minutes before slack water and timed it perfectly!
Moored in a nice spot close to the beginning of the megadock for a change!
You can walk your fanny off if you are way out on the megadock here.

Late in the day this boat came in and took on fuel....OUCH!

We're here for a few days before we continue the trek northbound.