Charleston, SC to Cocoa Beach, FL

17-27 Nov 2010  Charleston
We always visit Ted's former home, Quarters LL, on the former Naval Station in Charleston.  You can see the house set back from what is now a Navy memorial.

Ted's childhood chum, Rabbit Lockwood, and the new puppy out on Longwood Plantation.  He still thinks he's a lap dog.

The Holiday Festival of Lights on James Island - always fun to drive through to look at the light display.

Cooper River Bridge

And what is the most important thing on Thanksgiving?  Dessert!  We spent Thanksgiving with Ted's son and family.  Debbie prepared a great meal!

Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Pumpkin Pie

27 Nov  Charleston to South Edisto River
Back to the real world....  We left Charleston and headed for the South Edisto River anchorage.  The river here is quite muddy and the landscape is largely unremarkable.  At max ebb (1.2 kts), the current was turning the propellers at 75 rpm.  Ted used his chain vise grips and a pipe wrench to stop the shafts from turning.  Too noisy to sleep in the stateroom otherwise.

28 Nov South Edisto River to Beaufort
We tried a new anchorage in Beaufort since the one near the city marina was quite crowded.  There's a greater tidal range in SC and we just didn't have the swinging room near the city marina.  The green arrow marks where we anchored.  Did I mention we've pulled out the electric blanket?

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29 Nov Beaufort, SC to Herb River, GA

Range marker - Wilmington River, GA

We crossed the Savannah River today and entered Georgia waters.  The tidal ranges are even greater in Georgia.  This is not a problem; there are lots of anchorages.  The waterway really winds in Georgia.  Here's an example of a "range" on the Wilmington River.  You want to line the 2 range marks up; one over the other.  This lets you know you are in the middle of the channel.  More critical for the commercial tugs and tows than for us.  But we do use them.

30 Nov Herb River to Thunderbolt
We stopped in Thunderbolt to pick up a new table base for the salon table.  The table top is on the right on the couch.  Needless to say this turned into a minor project.

1 Dec Thunderbolt to Wahoo River
Take a look at the tide marker under the Skidaway Narrows Bridge....low tide.

Georgia also has lots of "sounds" one cruises in and out of on the waterway.  You can see how close we are to Sapelo Sound from the anchorage in the Wahoo River.

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Given the tidal range there are also a handful of areas one wants to pass through on a rising tide.

Hell Gate southbound.  Shoal marker on land.  Approaching green navigation aid.

We passed through Hell Gate at low tide.  Normally this is passable for us but strong westerly winds compounded the already shallow situation by blowing more water out of the narrow channel.  My stomach starts doing flip flops when the depth sounder sounds 7' (we draw 4'10").  I had to turn my back when we passed, I mean "plowed" through the mud at Hell Gate.  The last time I looked at the depth sounder it showed 4.3'.  You can see the shoal marker on land; the green navigation aid stays to the your left, the red on to your right.

This is the view looking behind us.

2 Dec Wahoo River to Frederica River
Little Mud River is another problem spot on the Intracoastal Waterway.  We passed through here 30 minutes before mid-tide, on a rising tide.  We and a tug hung back waiting and slowly passed through.  Never saw less than 7'.

We anchored in the Frederica River which is on the old Intracoastal waterway.  Fort Frederica used to grace the banks here.

Fort Frederica

You can see the newer ICW to the left of the Frederica River where we are anchored (green arrow).  St Simons Island is below us and the tip of Jekyll Island can be seen in the bottom of the photo.




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3 Dec Frederica River to Bells River, FL
We passed through the rest of Georgia uneventfully.  Not everyone was so lucky.  In the Cumberland Dividings passage we saw this sailboat.  He was on the wrong side of 4 red markers.  You can see the green mark well behind the red across the channel.  Talk about a bad day.  This area has shoaled badly
on the red side inside the channel.  What you can't see in this photo are the additional floating red navaids to the right of the red daymarks.

Sailboat aground - Cumberland Dividings

We passed by the submarine base in Kings Bay, Georgia.

DSRV atop submarine - Kings Bay, GA

4 Dec Bells River to Pine Island
We anchored at Pine Island enroute to St Augustine.  We spotted an adult eagle and what we think was a younger eagle on the shoal at high tide.

5 Dec Pine Island to St Augustine
We've stopped in St Augustine a lot but they've never had a mooring field before.  We tied to one of the mooring balls for a few days to allow us to visit Jane & George Miller (M/Y Plain Jane).  What was a little different here, with respect to the mooring ball, was not only the current, but opposing wind and current.  We've tied to a fair number of mooring balls over the years but one of the things we discovered here was that our longer bridle for the mooring ball does not work with a strong current and a strong opposing wind.  Either the mooring ball was was being passed close under the boat or the shackle on the bridle was chafing on the bow of the boat (due to the geometry of our bridle).  Ultimately we took the bridle off and pulled the thimble on the mooring line up onto the anchor roller as far as we could.  This prevented the mooring ball from passing under the boat and any chafing on the bow itself.  Seems like the weather started getting colder about the same time. 

The satellite shots are too old to show the mooring field; what you see are boats anchored.  It still gives you an idea where we were.

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6 Dec St Augustine to Rockhouse Creek
This is a great anchorage.  The head of it is largely protected from any current by sandbars.  We're in the New Smyrna, FL area.  That's Ponce Inlet you see on the ocean side.

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7 Dec  Rockhouse Creek to Cocoa, FL
Our trip to Cocoa should have been uneventful.  A couple things changed that.  There was a launch from the Kennedy Space Center by SpaceX -  the first test flight of the Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule atop demonstrated key launch capabilities including on-orbit operation, entry, descent and splashdown of the capsule.  We could see the rocket with the naked eye a good 10 miles off.  Very impressive!
There's also a NASA railroad bridge going out to the Kennedy Space Center that is normally open (unless a train is coming).  As we approached it we noted a barge and a tug were blocking our passage.  As it turns out, the barge was unloading rocks to fill the inside of the breakwater formed around the inside of the RR bridge.

We anchored and after an hour or so we and a gaggle of others were finally allowed to pass.

Sailboats pass through NASA RR bridge

We arrived at the marina shortly after 5PM.

11 Dec 2010  Cocoa to Manatee Cove Marina, Patrick AFB, Cocoa Beach, FL
Its a short jog down to Patrick AFB from Cocoa Village Marina.  One heads south on the Indian River and makes a u-turn at the Banana River and heads north.

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The channel is narrow and shallow so there's range markers to help you stay in the channel.

Range marker - entrance to Manatee Cove Marina

We arrived in time to watch the Army-Navy game.  Not being a football fan, I went shopping after 1 beer.  Have met some wonderful people since we have been here.  Ted keeps running into people who know some of his former EOD colleagues.  On our last night here we ran into MTOA members, Bill & Anna Feller (M/Y Knot Tide Down).   We first met them at an MTOA event we hosted in Solomons, MD in August.

We've experienced the coldest weather thus far (and unseasonably cold for December in FL) while we were here.  To top it off the Reverse Y Adapter (that lets us hook our 50 amp power to 2 30 amp receptacles) isn't working.  The "so what" here meant I couldn't run the heat on the boat because the breaker would pop.  Fortunately we have a couple ceramic heaters and an electric blanket on the bed (only my side works).  It was 54 degrees one morning in the stateroom!  Brrrr.....

I'm happy to report that the weather appears to be moving back into the 70 degree range but I'm not sure how long it will stay there.

Wrightsville Beach, NC to Charleston, SC

10 Nov 2010  Wrightsville Beach to Southport, NC
We spent a second day in WB and walked up to the grocery store.  On the way we found a great "locals" place and stopped for lunch.  Sweet & Savory Bakeshop & Cafe is definitely worth a return trip!  Headed down to Southport to explore the town - something we've not done in years past.

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A few sights along the way....

Queue for Figure Eight Island Swing Bridge

Yard Art

Re-connected with Joy & Chuck Fletcher on Sea Nest, a 47' DeFever.  Found a great little restaurant for dinner, Fishy Fishy Cafe, on the waterfront.  Joy fixed us the best She-Crab soup I've ever had the next day for lunch!


12 Nov 2010 Southport, NC to Barefoot Landing, SC
Passed through the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge for the last time.  A new high rise bridge has been completed to replace it.

Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge with high rise bridge in background

We stopped at Barefoot Landing for 2 nights.  Great happy hour at The Flying Fish.  Shay & Elizabeth Glass, new DeFever owners spent most of Saturday going over things we did on our boat.


14 Nov 2010  Barefoot Landing to Thoroughfare Creek, SC
I'm always struck by the natural beauty of the Waccamaw River everytime we pass through this area.  The waterway is lined with cypress trees.

We anchored off the river in a creek that is quite popular with the locals on weekends.  There's a neat sand dune that kids and dogs love.

Sand dune - Thoroughfare Creek anchorage

We watched 2 Canadian sailboats with 4 young children between them romp on the dune after anchoring.

Sailboats - Thoroughfare Creek

Canadian kids cavort on the dune

Beautiful sunset...

Sunset in Thoroughfare Creek

Anchorage off the Waccamaw River in Thoroughfare Creek

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16 Nov 2010  Thoroughfare Creek to Five Fathom Creek, SC
We ended up anchoring at Five Fathom Creek, just off McClellanville as one heads to sea.  The holding is excellent here; at max ebb or flood about 1kt of current runs through here.  We're anchored where the green arrow is.




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16 Nov 2010  Five Fathom Creek to Isle of Palms, SC 
We elected to stop at Isle of Palms to position ourselves to arrive in Charleston at slack water.  We're never stopped here before so this is another first.  We walked over to the beach and enjoyed a yummy chocolate dessert from the Morgan Creek Grill. 



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17 Nov 2010  Isle of Palms to Charleston, SC
We timed our arrival into the City Marina at slack water.  Here's a photo of our approach into The Magadock.

The Megadock - Charleston City marina

The Megadock is 1500 feet long.  The city marina has 19,000 linear feet of dock space across 40 acres.  It is a good walk out to the main drag.  We're here for 10 days, visiting friends and relatives.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Coinjock to Wrightsville Beach, NC

2 Nov 2010  Coinjock to Pungo River anchorage, NC
After looking at the long range weather forecast we (Summer Wind and ourselves) decided to bypass the Outer Banks.  The forecast suggested we'd be sitting and waiting on the weather.  We headed out onto the Albemarle Sound.  Somewhere close to the middle, our stabilizers were turned on to prevent us from rolling.  The weather forecast had suggested we would not have flat water.  We traveled just short of 10 hours and anchored for the evening.

Sunset in Pungo River anchorage

3 Nov 2010  Pungo River to Long Creek, NC
Opted to anchor short of crossing the top edge of Pamlico Sound due to the weather.  Summer Wind rafted with us and treated us to great chili for dinner.

4 Nov 2010 Long Creek to Cedar Creek, NC
Departed in the fog with less than a 1/4 mile visibility.  The fog cleared as we neared the Pamlico.  It was a short day across the edge of Pamlico Sound and up the Neuse River.  We were ahead of the rough weather and small craft warnings predicted.  Summer Wind rafted with us but after a few good wakes we all concurred that it wasn't desirable.

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 5 Nov 2010  Cedar Creek to Morehead City, NC
Another short day - we moored in a slip belonging to Shay Glass (Escape); a new DeFever owner we met at the Southern Rendezvous in St Augustine.  Since we'll be here for a couple days, light grocery shopping and laundry are in the equation.  58 degrees here and sunny.  The Morehead City Yacht Basin is well protected; nice place to stop.

7 Nov 2010  Morehead City to Mile Hammock Bay, NC
Tried several good restaurants here; Floyds stands out.  Best collard greens I've ever eaten (I've only had them twice).  Linked up with Robin & Jim Roberts (Adventures) before we left.  We arrived at Mile Hammock Bay shortly after noon and were surprised at the number of boats already anchored.  Mile Hammock Bay is located within the confines of  Camp Lejeune.

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Home of Marine Expeditionary Forces in Readiness, Camp Lejeune is the largest Marine Corps Base on the East Coast.  To help prepare warfighters for combat and humanitarian missions abroad, Camp Lejeune takes advantage of 156,000 acres, 11 miles of beach capable of supporting amphibious operations, 32 gun positions, 48 tactical landing zones, three state-of-the-art training facilities for Military Operations in Urban Terrain and 80 live fire ranges to include the Greater Sandy Run Training Area.  Fortunately for us, it was a quiet evening.  By sunset 25 boats were anchored in the basin.

Sunset at Mile Hammock Bay

8 Nov 2010  Mile Hammock Bay to Wrightsville Beach, NC
With the exception of 3 boats, the anchorage had emptied out by 0745.  We caught up with 2 waves of sailboats at the bridges.  Beautiful day; windy but sunny.  Anchored in Wrightsville Beach and went ashore for lunch and a New York Times.

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Ft Monroe, VA to Coinjock, NC

31 October 2010- Ft Monroe to Great Bridge, VA
Normally our stay at the Ft Monroe anchorage is uneventful. This time we had 15-20 kt winds from the west. The boat pitched and rolled all night - no one got any sleep. You could hear the waves under the hull - it was like listening to the waves as they hit the beach.

I was happy to get underway.  We took on 375 gallons of diesel fuel in Portsmouth.  By noon we were ready to put on our shorts.  There's one lock in Great Bridge but it is really an easy one.  When we passed through the lock we got the last spot on the wall at Great Bridge. There were 2 other Defevers there; aCapella (Jeff & Karen Siegel of Active Captain), and Claire de Lune. John Peach, Palette, was also moored. We watched the American Cruise Ship, Independence, pass through the lock. 

Cruise Ship Independence

Coinjock Marina

1 November 2010 - Great Bridge, VA to Coinjock, NC
Needless to say we both got a well deserved good nights sleep. We cleared the bridge beyond our mooring at 1000. This part of the ICW deserves the name you often hear given - The Ditch. There are lots of stumps in the water on both sides.  We decided to stop in Coinjock at the Midway marina where friends, Dick & Elle Lassman are staying aboard Summer Wind.  We've never stopped here before, normally we anchor a little farther south.  Coinjock is just a bump on the road.  You can see it from the highway bridge when you travel to the Outer Banks.  It is a very popular stop for boats that do not want to anchor.  Weather permitting, we will set out for Manteo (on Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks) tomorrow.  This be be a first for us.

Finally Underway

28 Oct 2010 - Solomons,MD to Jackson Creek, Deltaville, VA

After waiting one day for weather we got underway on Thursday for Deltaville in warm weather! Lots of activity on the Chesapeake Bay. We saw a US submarine being escorted to Annapolis by a USCG cutter on the southern bay.

USS Annapolis observed in the northern Bay enroute to Annapolis for homecoming events.

Following that was a US frigate. Next we watched several low fly-by's of the P-8; the replacement for the Navy P-3. We anchored in Deltaville, VA for the evening in Jackson Creek knowing we'd sit a day to wait out weather on the Bay. After 8 hours it was nice to relax and celebrate my birthday!


29 Oct 2010 - Deltaville, VA
Sat out weather in Deltaville. P.S. We are in polartec and long pants now.

30 Oct 2010 - Deltaville to Ft Monroe, VA
Up early to head for Ft Monroe. Heading out of the creek we ran hard aground near R "10". Ted made multiple attempts to free us but the bow was up on a sand bar and I could see the oyster shells on the bottom out the starboard quarter off the stern.

BoatUS

BoatUS to the rescue! One hour later we were free and underway again. Turns out that the dredge spoils that were outside the channel originally have shoaled in the east side of the channel. Fortunately the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Beautiful sunset in the anchorage at Ft Monroe (I-64 to the west).