June 11 & 12

We left Casa Clynda (that would be Clyde & Linda's condo and dock in St. Augustine) and headed for Charleston.  The timing of this move was our plan all along, but Tropical Storm Alberto made the move make even more sense.  We spent Saturday night on the boat, since we wanted to leave the condo with clean sheets, etc.  At 06:30 we were up and getting ready to go.  My estimate of the trip at six knots will get us into Charleston about four or five in the afternoon if we leave St. Augustine at 07:00.

As we were warming up the engine getting ready to leave the dock, I heard a boat named Scandia talking to another boat.  Arne from Scandia is the guy who counted our coconuts down in Georgetown during the regatta events.  After Scandia and the other boat completed their conversation, I hailed Scandia to say hi.  Turned out they had been anchored in St. Augustine for a couple of days and were now headed north to Fernandina Beach.  They plan to move on to Charleston but the storm may dictate their schedule.

We need fuel before we go, and the Conch House Marina opens at 07:00.  I tried to hail the marina about 07:05 to tell them I was coming for fuel, but got no answer.  We pulled out of the slip and moved over to the fuel dock by ourselves, and were ready to fuel at 07:10.  I walked up the marina office and was told that they were doing something to the fuel system and it would be 07:30 before they could fill me.  At about 07:35, the dock kid came down and we got the fuel.  We thought we were bone dry, but only took fifty-nine gallons, so we had four or five to spare.  We were underway at 07:45.

Richard and Harriet from Perseverance, who have been sharing the condo with us are moving their boat today too.  They will be staying in St. Augustine for another month to take care of some stuff, but their insurance doesn't cover the boat in a named storm in Florida.  So, Richard is taking the boat to Jekyll Island, GA today, and Harriet is driving up to meet him and bring him back to St. Augustine.  We left together with Perseverance, but his course kept him much closer to the shore than ours, so we were soon out of sight, although we spoke on the radio several times during the day.

The forecast for this trip is for fifteen knot winds from the south or southwest and two to four foot seas.  I have been looking forward to maybe being able to sail for a change.  Have I mentioned how much I am beginning to distrust forecasts?  We started the day with no wind at all.  We motored in pretty flat seas for the better part of the day Sunday.  What little wind there was came from every direction but south or southwest, but it was so light that it didn't really matter.  Late in the afternoon, the wind finally came around to the south and started to build.  Unfortunately, the wind gods didn't read the forecast.  By dark, it was blowing over twenty knots directly on our stern, and the seas were building.  We had the main up but as the wind kept building, we furled it down to just a fraction to try and maintain some stability.  Overnight the wind built to between twenty-five and thirty knots for about eight hours, with several gusts up to thirty-five knots.  The seas built to about ten feet, coming from directly behind us.  The same keel configuration of MoonSail that makes her so easy to turn and to back up, makes her get quite squirrelly when big waves come from behind.  So the ride was pretty ugly all night.  By morning the wind and seas had subsided some, but it was still uncomfortable until we got inside the jetties at Charleston.  Given the choice, I guess I would take this ride over the one we had crossing the Gulf Stream, but neither was fun.  The only good news was that instead of making six knots, as planned, we were doing over seven knots all night, and over eight for a little while.  I saw 8.8 twice as we surfed down the face of a couple of waves.  So, we got into Charleston about 12:30, four hours ahead of the plan.

Other than the ugly ride, there wasn't a lot of things of interest on the trip.  We had to get used to the constant chatter on the VHF from the Coast Guard, Sea Tow and Tow Boats US, which we didn't hear in the Bahamas.  It was humorous to also hear the people they have to deal with, who are proof that all you need to own a boat is money.  It is truly scary to hear some of the people out on the water.  You just hope they don't get too close to you.  In the morning we found a small flying fish on deck.  Since we were in following seas, he didn't come aboard with a wave.  He must have just gotten too high in his flight and landed there.  Monday morning about 08:00, Barb was asleep and I was on watch, when I spotted a dolphin.  The one soon became three and they enjoyed playing in our bow wake and doing a few jumps for us before disappearing.  Barb woke up and saw them just before they left.

Speaking of sleeping, with the conditions as they were, we did very little of it.  Since the boat was rolling from side to side so much with the following seas, sleeping on the settee below, or even on the cockpit benches was impossible.  For the seasoned offshore boaters who might read this, no we don't have a proper pilot berth with a lee cloth like we should.  As a result, we resorted to napping in the cockpit, on the floor where we were wedged in.  Practical? Yes.  Comfortable?  No.  Since real sleep and comfort was not possible in this arrangement, we took turns of about an hour and a half each napping and being on watch.  On a one night passage, you can do this kind of thing.  If we were doing a long offshore passage, obviously this would not do.

We were surprised at the lack of other boats we saw while underway.  Maybe they all listened to a better weather forecast than I did.  We only saw a few commercial ships, and none of them were any closer than a few miles.  In the middle of the night we noticed what appeared to be another sailboat a couple of miles behind us.  At dawn, we confirmed it was another sailboat, although they never did catch us until we got to the marina.  We were surprised to not even hear any military traffic on the radio, let alone see a boat.  Last year, both northbound and southbound, we saw and heard many Navy ships based in Jacksonville.  As we approached Charleston, we heard our first Navy ship on the radio, preparing to depart from a dock.  I thought we might have to watch out for them as they left the harbor, but they cleared the jetties while we were still a half mile away.

From the mouth of the jetties to the Charleston City Marina is about nine miles, which took another hour and a half, since we were slowed by an outgoing tide.  Once inside the jetties though, I didn't care how long it took, because the rolling motion of the boat had finally stopped in the calm harbor waters.  We got secure at the Mega Dock of the Charleston City Marina and took on fuel.  Since the wind had been so strong, and right on the stern, we had ended up motorsailing all the way.  I know that my fuel gauge gets to empty, long before it really is, but it had been on empty for many hours before we got inside the jetties.  I didn't want to even try to put a jerry can of fuel in while we were rolling so much in the open water, but now that we were in the calmer harbor waters, I went ahead dumped one can in.  My math tells me we should have enough to get to the marina without this, but I would hate to run out just as we were trying to dock, given the strong currents at the marina.  As it turned out, when we filled up, we figured that we still had five gallons in the tank when I added the five more, so we would have made it fine.  Better safe than sorry though.  Someday I'll learn to trust the math instead of the gauge.  I have a year's worth of data to prove that I can calculate the hourly usage, but it's still unnerving to watch the gauge on E for very long.

Once all was secure with the boat, we had a choice to make - arrival drinks or showers?  Given the ugly trip, we opted for the drinks first.  After two, drinks, and watching as six other boats tied up around us, we went to the office and checked into the marina and then hit the showers.  By 18:00, we hit the wall and hit the sack.  We both slept very well and slept for thirteen hours.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the significance of June 12th.  It was a year ago today that we left the dock in Kemah.  It doesn't seem like it has been that long already.  We didn't have any special celebration, because honestly, we didn't realize it was our "anniversary" until the next day.  We have already had more adventures than many people have in a lifetime, and there are many more to come.  We have learned a lot in our first year - what works and what doesn't - and have made adjustments to make things work better. 

GPS N 32-46.513 W 079-56.947  Nautical miles traveled today 193.  Total miles 4940.

June 13

We spent the day waiting for Tropical Storm Alberto to pass.  We were not too worried about the storm, since the winds are not expected to be much more than thirty mph.  The forecast for the storm's track takes if offshore of here, so the wind should be pushing us off the dock. 

Mid-afternoon, the catamaran docked behind us apparently broke a dock line.  This made them get sideways and their bow sprit hit one of pilings and was badly bent.  We weren't aware this was going on until Barb saw them out the back window, very close to us and moving.  We jumped outside just in time to see them back away from the dock, slightly hitting our dinghy and bending our TV antennae bracket in the process.  They backed away from the dock, and then just hung out in the river for several minutes while they got lines and fenders organized.  Then they headed for the fairway to come to the inside of the Megadock.  The current was running in, so when I saw where they were going, I smelled an accident about to happen.  If you recall, I made the mistake of going inside the Megadock with the current behind me last fall and almost did major damage.  Well I went walking down the dock to watch the show.  There were two dock hands waiting at a spot where the cat was to dock, but of course they went right past them, since the current had them going so fast.  The cat ended up pinned against a dock at the far end of the fairway.  Given they have two engines, they should have been able to avoid this, but they don't appear to be very adept at handling the boat.  While I was standing watching this, one of the dock hands turned toward me and got a horrified look on his face.  I turned around just in time to see a small tornado approaching the dock between me and MoonSail.  Just as I turned, a large 6' x 4' cockpit cushion came off the mega-yacht behind me and blew down the dock right at me.  I grabbed it knowing it might just take me off the dock, but I was able to wrestle it to the ground between a fuel pump and a dock box.  I wrapped my arms around the fuel pump and held on as the tornado passed across the dock just about a hundred feet from me.   As soon as the tornado passed over the dock, I ran back to MoonSail to find Barb wresting with part of the cockpit enclosure which had come unsnapped from the deck.  There was no damage to it, just had to be resnapped.  She didn't realize what had happened since she had been below deck, and after it was all over, we both were a little shaken by it. 

There was some damage to other boats.  The mega-yacht whose cushion I saved lost five cushions, a boat hook, and a hatch cover.  The mega-yacht across the dock from them had a very nice aluminum and teak boarding step which got turned into a pretzel somehow.  The mega-yacht I was hunkered down next to lost a huge inflatable fender.  It blew over me as I hid behind the fuel pump and took the sign off the top of the pump as it went by.  Lucky for them it landed in the water wedged between the dock and boat so they were able to get it back, although it appeared to be deflated.

The rest of the evening and overnight has brought high winds and a fair amount of rain.  Since the storm has gone inland from here instead of offshore as originally forecast, we are on the "wrong" side of the dock.  We are exposed to the Ashley River so we are pinned to the dock and taking two foot waves against us.  During the night our fenders moved to a point where they were no longer between the hull and the wooden edge of the dock.  This meant we banged directly on the dock.  It took me and a neighbor to push the boat away from the dock enough to get the fenders back in place, but we did it.  The only damaged was to the stripes on the hull which were pretty much rubbed off where the contact was made. 
 
All in all, we are tired because we didn't sleep much, and we're tired of bouncing around so much, but the eye should be past in the next couple of hours which means the wind will shift to where we should ride a lot nicer.  We still plan to leave in the morning as the weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow.  We will be in the ICW anyway, so weather will not be quite as much a dictator of our moves.

GPS N 32-46.513 W 079-56.947  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4940.

June 14

This morning, we are still bouncing around and mashing the dock quite hard.  The eye of the storm is about ninety-five miles west of us at 10:00, so the wind should shift around soon and give us a much nicer ride.  We turned the TV on about 07:00 and saw a local news guy reporting from the marina parking lot talking about the tornado.  I thought about going up there and seeing if they wanted a first-person account of it, but then I realized what I look like after being up all night and being out in the wind.  I would be one of those crazy people I always make fun of when news people find the wildest looking one for the on-camera interview.

GPS N 32-46.513 W 079-56.947  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 4940.

June 15

We left Charleston City Marina at 07:40, headed north in the ditch, a.k.a. the Intercoastal Waterway.  The first hour of the trip was simply crossing Charleston's harbor.  On the east side of the harbor, where the ditch really picks up again, is the Ben Sawyer Swing bridge.  This bridge does not open between 7AM and 9AM nor 4PM to 6PM.  We waited here for two hours last year on our southbound leg because we missed it by a few minutes.

At the bridge, we met up with Bobby & Francie on Barefootin'.  We had met them originally in the Bahamas.  They are from Charleston and have been here for a few weeks.  They are now heading to the Chesapeake for the summer, and we will travel at least today with them.  We got to the bridge about fifteen minutes early and waited along with Barefootin', who was already there.  The bridge opened right at 09:00, and we headed north/east between Isle of Palms on the coastal side, and Goat island to the north.

Another boat we met in the Bahamas was Smiles, with Jim & Betsy Smiley aboard.  They live on Isle of Palms during the summers.  As we got closer to the eastern end of Isle of Palms, where the marina is, Betsy hailed us and Barefootin' on the VHF.  She knew we would be passing through today and wanted to say hi.  We had been unable to get together while we were here, but it was good to hear her distinctive voice on the radio again.

The trip through central South Carolina was relatively boring.  But, after our last few trips on the water, a boring one has it's merit's.  The scenery through here is not much to write home about.  Primarily low, flat, grassy, marshy areas.  Quite a way to the south east you can see the tops of beach homes, and quite a way to the northwest you can see large homes in the woods where the wetlands end.

My entertainment for most of the trip was feeding fish.  I was feeding them by way of killing horse flies and throwing them in the water.  The horse flies would come in the cockpit and light on the underside of the bimini.  I would whack them with the flyswatter and usually catch the body and flip it over the side.  Most of them were not killed outright by the whack, but were disabled.  Also, as I flipped them out of the cockpit, many landed on deck instead of going in the water.  So every half hour or so I would go out on deck and flip the bodies in the water.  Many of them were still alive when they went over.  I like to think that got the fish more excited when a live squirming bug hit the water.  During the course of the trip I probably whacked about three hundred of them, and only one actually got to bite me.  I declare me the winner.

Our original plan was to anchor south of Georgetown, SC in Minim Creek.  This plan was conceived because the next day we will be stopping south of Myrtle Beach to see friends, and Minim Creek is about halfway.  Last year we stopped in Georgetown, SC both ways, but the holding there is suspect if there is any wind, and there is a loud factory there that smells bad and runs all night.  Barefootin' suggested not stopping yet at Minim Creek, because it was only about 15:00, and we would just get hot and buggy in the late afternoon.  So, we kept going, passed Georgetown, and stopped at Butler Island.  Butler Island is almost ten miles north of Georgetown.  We were the only two boats anchored here in about fifteen feet of water.  It was very peaceful.  There was no wind to speak of, but the evening temperature cooled off nicely, and the bugs were not too bad.  The horseflies were gone, and only a few mosquitoes came out at dusk.

Barb fixed mahi-mahi (compliments of Synchronicity), fresh green beans from Charleston, and a nice salad for dinner.  We didn't last long after dark and hit the sack.  At anchor, we don't run the a/c, but with our new batteries, we have the juice to run a fan overnight, so we were quite comfortable.

We did a milestone today.  We have cruised 5000 miles since we left TX.  For some that's not a lot, but I know hundreds of boats that will never get 5000 miles under their keels in their lifetimes, because they just sit in their slips.

GPS N 33-25.617 W 079-12.246  Nautical miles traveled today 63.  Total miles 5003.

June 16

We have a very short day today.  Since we came further than planned yesterday, we only have ten miles to go to Wacca Wache Marina.  We chose to stop here because our friends Tom & Michelle Becker, a.k.a. Latitude, live near here and are playing tonight at a place called Creek Ratz, not too far from the marina.  Latitude is a band we came to know from Parrothead events.  We last saw them in Key West at Meeting of the Minds, the national Parrothead convention in November.

We awoke shortly after dawn, as usually happens when anchored.  We got up and made coffee and enjoyed sitting in the cockpit in the cool morning silence.  You could barely hear some traffic in the distance, a slight reminder that not everybody is on a permanent vacation.  Since we are in no hurry, we relaxed, read for awhile, and watched tiny wisps of steam rise from the water, which was glass flat as it had been all night.  Barefootin' took off about 09:30 and will go all the way to Myrtle Beach today, a.k.a. the Redneck Riviera.  We hope to cross paths with them again before we get to Norfolk.

About 10:30, we finally weighed anchor and headed north.  Since we have lots of time, we didn't even run full speed.  We took our time and watched the scenery.  Since yesterday, when we were a little south of Georgetown, the scenery changed.  Now instead of being in the open marshlands, we are in forests.  As with last year, there are lots of osprey nests in the trees as well as on the channel markers.  Different from last year though is the occupants of said nests.  Last year we were a month later in the season, and most of the nests were empty.  This year we are seeing many nests with an adult and two or three teenagers aboard.  From their size, I would guess most of the young ones will be flying within a week or two.

We approached the Wacca Wache Marina about 12:45 and I hailed them on the VHF.  There was some confusion, because they expected us yesterday afternoon.  I was a little puzzled by this, since I made the reservation yesterday afternoon, but they worked it out and told us where to dock.  We tied up to a t-head just inside their basin, so we won't be bothered by wakes from the ICW as we would if we docked on their normal transient docks which are right in the ICW.

About 18:00 we called a cab to take us to Creek Ratz.  Creek Ratz is on what is known as Restaurant Row.  We read that there are lots of shops, restaurants, etc., in this area, so we thought we would go early and walk around.  Turns out the businesses are very spaced out along the beach highway, so we just went directly to Creek Ratz.  We were promptly seated and had a very nice dinner.  Barb had a Grilled Pizza Salad. Sounds odd, but it's basically all the good stuff from the top of a pizza, on top of a bed of green stuff.  It smelled like pizza, and she said it was quite good.  I had a combo basket of fried shrimp and fried clam strips.  Also very good.

We were done eating by 19:30, and Latitude doesn't start until 20:00.  When Tom & Michelle came in to setup, Michele came over to talk to us while Tom did all the setup.  Promptly at 20:00, they were on.  We enjoyed their first set, chatted with Tom during their first break, enjoyed the second set, and then chatted with Michelle again in the second break.  We then bid them farewell, as we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

We called the cab company and told them who we where, where we were, and where we were going.  The cab that pulled up was a new version of an old London cab.  We started down the road, and even though I've never been here before, I knew we were not going the right way.  After a short drive, I confirmed that we were not taking the same route we had taken to the restaurant.  I questioned the driver and he assured me he knew where we were going.  When the meter hit $15 (the original tab was $11), he admitted he made a wrong turn and hooked a u-turn.  He apologized profusely and explained it was only his second day on the job.  We eventually got back to the marina, where the cab driver said the ride was on the house.  I told him what the original fare was and paid him that plus a tip.

We were quickly to bed since we have a long day tomorrow.

GPS N 33-33.772 W 079-05.124  Nautical miles traveled today 10.  Total miles 5013.

June 17

We got an early start today, because we are going to make a long day of it.  We were up and underway a little after 07:00.  The air was cool and still, and there was a hint of steam rising off the glass smooth water.  We backed off the t-head we were on and back out into the ICW.  As we headed north, the only other boats on the water were a few early fishermen right along the tree line banks dropping their lines in the water between the tree trunks that come right to the edge of the water at high tide.

Today we will have several opening bridges to go through, and two of them have specific schedules that we will have to meet.  Since we have a long day, hopefully we won't spend much time waiting on bridges.  The first bridge is the Socastee Swing Bridge.  I learned last year, after being corrected both north and south bound, that the pronunciation of this is NOT SO-cas-tee, but rather SOC-a-stee.  I wrote it in my cruising guide phonetically so I would get it right this year.  The same guy works the bridge, because when people pronounced it wrong, he either didn't answer, or he corrected them with an indignant tone in his voice.  This bridge opens 15 and 45 minutes past each hour.  As we got within a few miles, I was doing the math and was afraid we would miss the 09:15 opening and would have to wait half an hour.  I knew from the radio, there was a boat waiting southbound already, and there was Pelican, a large trawler also from Texas, ahead of us who had passed us so they would make it.  As we came around the corner a half mile south of the bridge, I could see it was already opening, a few minutes early.  I hailed the operator (and pronounced the name right) and asked if we could make this opening or would we have to wait.  He asked if there were more boats behind me and I replied no.  He said to bring it on as fast as I could, and held the bridge open for a couple minutes so we could pass.  I thanked him profusely as we passed.  I then slowed back down to normal cruising rpm's, as I has been going as fast as the boat will.

There is much development along this stretch of the ICW.  Big homes, big condos, golf courses, a couple of hotels, and private docks for each one.  Usually they build the docks before they even sell the lots for the homes, so many sit empty for years before they get used.  Seems silly to me since a dock has a limited life due to the constant wake action and just being in the water.  I would think you would build it last, so the new home owner would get the full life of it.  We saw many developments that were under construction last year, and noted their progress.

We got to Barefoot Landing, a favorite stop amongst cruisers, although we have never done it.  It was a favorite stop because you could tie to a long dock for free overnight.  There were no services, but you were on a dock.  Boats would raft up two and three deep sometimes from what I understand. Well, since last year, they have completed a new marina right across from the free dock, and it must be owned by the same person who owns the free dock, because overnighting for free is no longer allowed.  At Barefoot Landing, there is another swing bridge.  This one opens on demand though, and we got through without even slowing down.

The next bridge is just five miles further north, and is called the Little River Swing bridge.  There are numerous marinas and boat ramps around the town of Little River, and a few miles north there is an ocean inlet where the Little River goes to sea.  What this means is that this area is very crowded with all nature of watercraft, especially on a beautiful summer Saturday.  This bridge also opens on demand, and many of the smaller boats can pass under it while it's closed.  We had to stop for just a minute before the bridge opened, and then the twenty or so boats on both sides all took off.  The resulting washing machine effect on the water makes piloting a sailboat through a little dicey.  This whole area is a no wake zone, but it is obviously a joke.  There was little regard for wakes, and no signs of any law enforcement people out to help.  The law enforcement folks we had back in Kemah would have a field day here.  The heavy traffic of large and small power boats and jet skis continued to fly past us both ways for the several miles between the town and the ocean.  Once we past the ocean inlet the traffic diminished considerably, but there still was a fair amount who were just playing in the ICW.  The Little River Inlet is the border between South Carolina and North Carolina, so now we are in NC.

The last bridge of the day is the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge.  This one is a strange device that only opens on the hour.  There is bridge structure from both sides of the land which is only about four or five feet off the water, so only the smallest of boats and jet skis can go under without the bridge opening.  The opening part is a floating building with a single lane road, all on a big pontoon.  When it comes time to open, cables pull the whole pontoon part off to the side, and everybody passes through.  Again, since almost every boat needs an opening, and it's just once an hour, all hell breaks loose when the bridge opens.  To add to the excitement here, fishermen in little boats sit right at the edge of the opening and cast between the boats as they pass.  I guess they hope to catch something that is stirred up by the traffic.  I'm surprised they didn't catch a boat.

The marina we are going to stay in tonight, St. James Plantation, only has office hours to 17:00, and I already knew we would probably not make that.  About 16:30, I hailed them on the radio and told them we wouldn't get there until about 17:15, so could they give us our slip assignment, and we would do the money exchange in the morning.  The guy told me the slip number and directions to it.  Pelican, the Texas trawler hailed them right after me and it turns out they are staying there too, but needed fuel.  They were a couple miles ahead and were already entering the marina basin.  By the time we got there, Pelican was just moving into their slip for the night, so the dockhand was still there helping them.  We were assigned the slip right next to them, so the dockhand was able to help us too.

Once secure, we met Dave & Suzy on Pelican.  They are from Corpus Christi.  They bought this boat two years ago and headed off to cruise.  They got as far as Mobile, AL, and killed one motor.  While in the boatyard there getting a new motor, Katrina came to call, and they boat was badly damaged.  It has taken them the better part of a year to get the repairs done and continue their cruise.  They only plan to cruise for a year and then go back to TX.

We had dinner aboard and enjoyed a nice quiet evening.  After all the bouncing from wakes and noise from little boats, the peace and quiet of this marina was nice.  The ICW quiets down at night anyway, but also, this marina is a man-made basin with a several hundred foot long entrance channel, so even during the day it is smooth and quiet inside.  The marina is surrounded by homes and condos, and is only about half full.  They also offered a Boat/US discount, so it was quite reasonable to stay here at only $1.00/ft.

GPS N 33-55.627 W 078-07.612  Nautical miles traveled today 59.  Total miles 5072.

June 18

We were not in a big hurry to leave today, since we are only going twenty seven miles.  We got up about 07:30, had coffee, and bid Pelican goodbye.  We then went up to the office to check in and check out.  About 08:45, we backed out of the slip and moved over to the fuel dock.  We are only a little below half full, but it's so convenient here, that we might as well top up.  We got twenty-five gallons and were underway by 09:00.

This early in the morning, there wasn't too much traffic in the five miles between the marina and the Cape Fear River.  From the south, the ICW enters the Cape Fear River near it's terminus at the ocean.  So what traffic there was, was heading offshore to fish.  As we turned north in the river, we had it pretty much to ourselves.  The Cape Fear River is used by large ships going to Wilmington, NC, but we didn't see a single one.  We had hoped for a favorable current in the river, since the tide is coming in, but didn't get one.  We didn't have much against us either, but no boost.  About ten miles north of where we entered the river, we turned east into Snow's Cut.  This cut is a few miles long and has a very strong current at all times.  Of course, it was against us, slowing us down by three knots.  The strong current also swirls around quite a bit due to underwater rock ledges, so the auto pilot has a hard time keeping us on course here.  Consequently, I hand steered for awhile.

Just as we entered Snow's Cut, there were dozens of pelicans dive bombing the water.  There was obviously a bunch of fish here, and the birds got the attention of several fishermen who came over to the area to see what they could catch.  Just as we entered the cut we saw a guy onshore land a flounder.

From the eastern end of Snow's Cut, we resumed a northeastern track in the ICW, again with lots of small boat traffic.  Being the weekend, everybody is out.  The ICW here runs just inside a barrier island, with lots of breaks for small boats to get in little bays that are on the inside of the ocean dune where they can park and then play on the beach.  It is about eight miles up to Wrightsville Beach, where we will anchor tonight.

We anchored at Wrightsville Beach both ways last year.  It is a great anchorage.  It is just inside the barrier island, so there is a sea breeze to keep us cool and hopefully keep bugs to a minimum.  There is a nice town to dinghy to for most any needs.  The downside is that there is lots of little fast boat traffic and jet skis playing in the same bay that we anchor in.  And again, there are no restrictions about speed.  So, during the day it is a little bouncy in the anchorage, and noisy.  But at dark it will calm down for the night.

Part of our reason for stopping here was to meet up with Randy, a guy we met in Rum Cay in the Bahamas.  Randy is the hired captain of a large sport fishing boat.  The boat spends winters in Rum Cay, and summers here.  It is tied up at the owner's house, right by where we anchored .  We lowered the dinghy and made a run to town to pick up a few groceries.  The thing we mainly need is a new razor for me, because I left mine in the bathroom at Wacca Wache.  Yes, I still have my beard, but there is important trimming to do, otherwise I'll start to look like one of those cruiser people.  Well, the small grocery within walking distance of the dinghy dock, didn't have my kind of razor.  I have to get the same kind, because I stocked up on blades before we left, and those babies are not cheap.  We ended up getting beer, ice cream, and a few other things, and taking them back to the boat.

At 19:00, we met Randy at a bar just a block from the dinghy dock.  We caught up on what happened in Rum Cay after we left, and what his plans are for next year.  We were back at the boat about 22:00, and hoisted the dinghy so we can get underway early in the morning.

GPS N 34-12.497 W 077-47.937  Nautical miles traveled today 27.  Total miles 5099.

June 19

We were up and underway at 07:20 this morning.  Just a little over a mile form the anchorage is our first bridge of the day, and it opens only on the hours.  We got the anchor up with no problem and started to make our way out Mott's Channel to the main ICW.  There is a place in this channel where we had seen skinny water before, and it is low tide as we are leaving, so I was a little nervous.  I took it very slow, so if we do touch, we won't bury the wing keel.  We made it around the first corner without seeing less than thirteen feet, so I was feeling good.  There is a short jog in the channel and then it turns back towards the ICW past the marina where we stayed last year.  This section is clearly marked by two green markers, which I was leaving a good thirty feet to port.  We suddenly went from twelve feet to stopped.  I was not going fast. so I immediately backed off.  I moved a little to starboard, away from the markers, and tried again.  Again, we stopped.  We backed off again and moved even further away from the markers, and this time, got around the corner in no less than twelve feet.  This would be a great place for one more marker, to indicate how wide you need to take the turn.  From this point, we did ok until we got almost to the ICW itself.  Here, we suddenly went down to 5.4 feet again, but didn't actually stop.  I pushed the throttle full ahead, and plowed the last twenty feet into the "deep" water of the ICW proper.

Once in the ditch, the bridge is just a quarter mile north of Mott's Channel.  We had ten minutes to spare, and I hailed the bridge to tell him I would be waiting for his 08:00 opening.  Some boaters don't realize that they should always call the bridge and let them know your intentions.  You may think it's obvious, but some just will ignore you and not open if you haven't called them.  Sometimes, there are options, like here, where you might be going in a marina or something, and not need the bridge opened.  And, some states take the names and hailing ports of every boat that passes, so you need to tell them that.  Right after I spoke to the bridge tender, a commercial fishing boat called and said he was northbound also and that he might be a minute or two past 08:00.  The bridges that have restricted opening schedules, will always open on demand for a commercial boat.  I quickly called the bridge back and told him I didn't mind waiting a minute or two, so he could make one short opening and not have to wait for the other boat.  In reality, the bridge probably would have just made me wait anyway, but it is always good to act like you are kissing the bridge tender's ass.  I swear they remember boats from season to season, and occasionally they will cut you some slack on a schedule if you have been polite to them.  As it turned out, the fishing boat got there right at 08:00, the bridge opened on schedule and we both passed through.  I let the fishing boat go first, since he would have just immediately passed me anyway.

Five miles up the road is the next bridge.  The Figure 8 Swing Bridge opens on the hour and half-hour.  We can't make five miles in half an hour, so we took it easy and got there at 09:00.  We passed through this bridge with no waiting, and carried on.  Again, we saw lots of osprey nests with mom and a baby or two.  We saw one sitting atop a marker that did not have a nest on it, and he was just squawking his head off.  Not sure if it was a young one looking for Mom, or Mom looking for a young one.  Or maybe just a young one who didn't know what to think about a sailboat passing twenty feet away.

The next bridge is about eighteen miles from the last, and it only opens on the hours, so hopefully it will work out that we get there by noon.  We got to the Surf City Swing Bridge with fifteen minutes to spare before noon, so again, we slowed down so we got there just in time.  We did have a little dancing to do here because of an odd current around the bridge, but we circled once or twice like we knew what we were doing. 

Once through the bridge, we are headed for our planned destination, Mile Hammock Bay.  Mile Hammock is actually on Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps base.  The basin has been dredged and marked, and there is a dock there with an ugly old landing craft tied to it.  The Marines use this as a place to park the landing craft, which they train on.  Since last year, they have also added a line of tents, portable lights, port-a-potties, and several small boats.  The rule has always been that pleasure craft could anchor here overnight, but you cannot go ashore. 

The only potential obstacle before the anchorage is the New River Inlet.  I recall from last year there was shoaling here, and a very strong current where the ICW crosses the river going out to sea.  When we were about a mile and a half away from crossing the river, a Coast Guard tug and barge made a security call that they were southbound approaching the river.  I thought they would be around the corner and past us before we got to the river, so I didn't answer them, but I kept a sharp eye out for them.  Sure enough, just as we were approaching the ninety degree turn to cross the river, here they came.  The corner is sharp, and there is very shallow water to each side, so instead of making it hard on the barge to turn and worry about us, I turned around and went back where we came from.  I called the Coast Guard boat and told him I would just idle along the side while he passed and then turn behind him and go back.  He passed us and thanked me for not making him work for it.  We turned around and headed back to the river crossing.

It is normal that anywhere there is an inlet from the ocean, there will be shoaling in the ICW because of the strange currents.  As we approached the river, the depths in the ICW went from fifteen feet to about nine.  This was not unexpected.  As we crossed the river, the current pushed us north, and the wind was picking up and blowing us north also.  We crossed the river in over twenty feet of water, and quickly dropped back to nine or so as we re-entered the ICW.  There are nothing but red markers through here, And I vaguely recall having to favor the red side last year.  Well, so much for my memory.  We were a good fifty feet from the red markers, when we quickly went aground.  I turned away from the reds, towards the current and wind, and shore, and floored it.  I was able to turn the rudder and make the bow point in slightly different directions, but I wasn't sure we were making any progress.  For that matter, I wasn't sure we were making the right choice in where we were trying to go.  After an eternity, of at least five minutes, we suddenly broke loose and took off into deeper water.  We turned back into the ICW and hugged the green side, although there are no green markers.  Away from the river, the depth smoothed back out to twelve feet or so and I relaxed a bit.  In my mind there just is no excuse why a place like this isn't either marked better, or routinely dredged to keep this from happening.  The whole issue of ICW maintenance dollars comes to mind again, and how these dollars can't be found, yet we can go play policeman to the world.  Enough political statement.

Back to Mile Hammock Bay, it is just about a mile past the New River Inlet.  So after the stress of grounding, I was looking forward to dropping the hook and doing a little stress relief.  We turned into the bay and came in past the markers.  I was surprised at the new presence of the tents and activity, since last year it was empty except for the parked landing craft.  Since no radio contact was made, nor small boat activity started, I assumed anchoring here is still ok.  We turned and dropped the hook in about ten feet of water.  As we backed down on the anchor, it just dragged through the mud and never grabbed.  I pulled the anchor back up and we moved and tried again with the same result.  If it was a calm day, I would have considered staying.  But, it is blowing about twenty knots, and we are dragging even when not backing down on the anchor with the engine.  So, we decided to go for Plan B. 

Barb called ahead to Dudley's Marina to see if they had space available.  Dudley's is a no frills marina which we stayed at both north and southbound last year.  It's no frills, but it's cheap, friendly, and they have a courtesy car available.  They did have space, and they are open until 20:00, so we don't have to rush, since they are about twelve miles further up the road.  This change in plans did mean we have one more bridge to deal with.  The Onslow Beach Swing Bridge is on the Marine base, and is operated by the Marines.  It opens on the hour and half-hour, but as you might expect with a military operation, there is no slack in the schedule.  I quickly figured that the fastest we could get there would be 15:35.  As we rounded the corner to where the bridge was in sight 3/4 of a mile away, I hailed the tender.  I explained I was going as fast as I could and would be there a few minutes late.  He apologized and said the base doesn't let him delay an opening, so I would have to wait until 16:00.  I thanked him and slowed down so that we wouldn't have to circle and wait.  As it turned out, we still got there too soon, and had to do a couple of loops while we waited.  At 16:00, the bridge opened and we headed north.

We got to Dudley's about 17:30.  They only have a few slips that can accommodate a sailboat's depth.  Both times we stayed here last year, we stayed in the same slip.  Today, we can see there is a small dredge barge blocking the slip we have used before.  I hailed them on the radio, and they directed us to the next slip in from the one we used before.  Two kids came down to take our lines, and we got secured.  The wind is pinning us against a piling, but we have two fenders in place to avoid rubbing our stripes off to match the side abused in Charleston.

We went up to the office, checked in, paid our $28 for the night, and took the courtesy car to the grocery store about three miles away.  They still have the same courtesy car as last year.  It is a Mercury Villager mini-van with 165k miles on it, and it's age is showing.  But, you get what you pay for.  At the store, we got my new razor and a few other things. 

Back at the marina, we had our slightly delayed arrival beverages, dinner, and settled in to watch game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.  Since Carolina is in the game, we have heard a lot about it locally the last couple of days.  Carolina won three to one.  It's the first sports championship ever won by a Carolina team. In a state that only has two public ice skating rinks (according to a local we met).

GPS N 34-40.828 W 077-06.745  Nautical miles traveled today 48.  Total miles 5147.

June 20

We were not in a hurry to leave this morning, since we are doing a relatively short day, but on the other hand, there is no reason to hang around Swansboro.  So, after coffee and the Today Show, we got ready to go.  It is dead low tide, and the waters around Dudley's Marina are pretty shallow, so I called the office on the radio and asked them if they thought I could get out at low tide.  They said "sure", so I asked them to send a guy down to help fend us off the dock as we backed out, since the wind is still blowing from the south and pushing us against the dock.  Two guys were there is a few minutes, and we got out of the slip with no problem.  They warned me not to go to far west of the docks or I would run out of water.  I knew that, but I had to get around the little dredge they were using in the slip right next to us.  I tried backing all the way out as close to the dredge as I could, but we ran aground right next to it.  I was able to power forward and make a tight circle to the west, but then ran aground again, pretty much in the same spot.  I gave it full throttle to try and get over the hump, but just buried the keel more.  Once we were stuck, I was able to turn the wheel all the way from side to side and make the bow change directions, but we weren't making any forward progress.  I kept trying for about ten minutes and then resigned myself to sitting there for an hour or so until the tide started to rise.  Next thing you know, here came two of Dudley's guys in a small power boat and told us to throw them a bow line.  They took the line and tied it to a bollard on the back of their boat, and proceeded to pull at full throttle, while I also was at full throttle.  After several minutes of barely inching forward, we suddenly popped over the bar and were free.  They tossed us the line, and I yelled a big thank you to them.

Just about half a mile north of Dudley's is Bogue Inlet.  As I have mentioned before, inlets from the ocean are prone to silting in, and even when you are within the bounds of the marked channel, you may get stuck.  Bogue Inlet is the first place we ran aground last year on our way north.  We left the marina right behind a large charter fishing boat, so I hailed him on the radio to see if he could give me some local knowledge about where the deeper water was.  Turned out he was from out of town and only there for a special event, so he was hoping to get some local knowledge himself before going offshore.  As I recalled from last year' southbound trip, staying to the mainland side of the channel worked, so that's what we did.  We got across the inlet without any problem.  Unfortunately, the fishing boat, who was going out the inlet to the sea, got stuck and had to call Tow Boats US to come lead him out.  There was a Coast Guard buoy tender working in the inlet resetting the markers as we went by.  It's a never ending task to keep the dredging and marker placement up to date.

Once past Bogue Inlet, we will travel twenty-some miles through Bogue Sound to Moorhead City.  Bogue sound is very shallow, and the channel for the ICW is man-made.  The barrier island which has big beach house after big beach house is about a mile to the south of the channel.  The ICW channel runs pretty much along the mainland shore.  The ICW is running east/west through Bogue Sound.  Just to the south side of the channel is a ridge made from the material dredge to make the ICW channel.  At low tide, this looks like a long skinny island parallel to the channel.  At high tide, most of this island is barely submerged, but you can still see the water breaking over it.  The depth is pretty consistent at about thirteen feet through here, since it was man-made, but at one point, we suddenly started getting shallow.  I double checked that we hadn't wandered out of the channel, and everything looked ok.  We were near a couple of channel markers, so it was hard to understand why we were down in seven feet of water.  I slowed down in case we did run aground, so maybe we could back off.  For about half a white-knuckle mile, we were in the six foot range, with two spots where the depth showed to be 5.9.  We never did touch, and once past the markers, it went back to thirteen feet.  I told Barb to go get the cruising guide and make a note of this, so next time we'll know.  She got the book, and low and behold, we had made a note last year of this exact spot.  Guess I should have checked the book this morning before we left.

The rest of the way to Moorhead City was uneventful.  Last year we passed through Moorhead City and neighboring Beaufort (pronounced BO-furt) midday in a leg and did not stop either way.  Beaufort is known to be a great cruisers stop, but it just didn't fit the schedule last time.  This year however, we have made it point to stop here to visit two couples we met in the Bahamas.  Bob & Debbie from Mardi Gras live in Beaufort, and Jim & Louise from Island Lady live near Swansboro where we were last night.  We met all of them during our six week stay in Marsh Harbor in December and January.

The ICW passes right through Moorhead City, and to go to Beaufort you have to divert a little to the east in another channel.  As we were entering the channel, we were hailed on the VHF by Bob from Mardi Gras.  They were having lunch on their condo balcony and saw us coming in.  We said hi and agreed to call them as soon as we got settled.  We docked at Beaufort Docks which is right along the main street of town.  We were barely secure when Bobby & Francie from Barefootin' walked up the dock to say hi.  They had seen us come in too.  We chatted with them a while and met our next-slip neighbors who have a boat like one Bobby & Francie used to have.  As it turned out, Lisa & Dave next door have been aboard Bobby & Francie's old boat in Annapolis.

We called Bob & Debbie and made arrangements for them to pick us up this evening and take us to Jim & Louise's house for dinner.  We hit the showers, had a light lunch, picked up the new raw water pump for the rear a/c and installed it, and took a nap.  A little after 18:00, Bob & Debbie picked us up and we drove south to Jim & Louise's house, which is on the ICW a little northeast of Swansboro.  We had passed it on our trip this morning, but it's actually in a cove off the ICW, so we wouldn't have seen it clearly even if we knew what we were looking for.  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and caught up on what we had all done since January.  It was great to see them again.

We were back at the boat about 23:00 and hit the sack.  It was a nice quiet night, and with the rear a/c working again, comfortable.

GPS N 34-42.920 W 076-39.827  Nautical miles traveled today 27.  Total miles 5174.

June 21

This morning we went across the street to a little bar/pool/cafe that serves a limited breakfast.  We had juice and breakfast sandwiches and then took off to explore.  We first hit the North Carolina Maritime Museum.  This is a fairly large, free museum, with many good exhibits on the history of boating, fishing, wrecking and lifesaving along the coast of North Carolina.  It includes a library at the back of the building with several nice chairs to sit and read.  Here we found Bobby from Barefootin' reading a magazine while Francie was off beachcombing. 

After the museum, we took a walk through the tree lined streets for several blocks, and then ended up at a restaurant called Finz for a few beers and a light lunch.  We sat at the bar in Finz, which is a whole separate room from the restaurant, and enjoyed a conversation with the bartender.  She was impressed and thought what we are doing was so cool.  You would think in a town like this, our story would be commonplace, but apparently not.

Later, we met Bob & Debbie and Jim for drinks near the docks.  After visiting for awhile, Bob & Debbie had to leave, and Jim joined us across the street for dinner.  We will be leaving in the morning, so we didn't make it too late a night.

It occurred to us today, that we hiked around Beaufort, a scenic little town, and forgot the camera.  Our bad.  Guess we'll have to stop again on our way south to get some shots.

GPS N 34-42.920 W 076-39.827  Nautical miles traveled today 27.  Total miles 5174.

June 22

We have a short day planned today, so we didn't worry about getting up early.  As was the case yesterday, I awoke about 06:45, thought it was too early to get up, rolled over, and next thing you know it was 08:00.  We got up, had coffee, watched the Today Show, and thought about leaving.  A neat thing about Beaufort Docks, is they can get you diesel fuel in any slip.  I thought about it, and although they may not be the cheapest, and we are not really in need now, how convenient is it to not have to move the boat?  So, I called the office on the radio and asked them to send the guy down to fuel us before we left.  He was there in a few minutes, and we got twenty-seven gallons.  More than I thought we would take, probably because last time we filled it foamed so much that we weren't really full.

After we were full of fuel, we cast off the dock lines.  There was no breeze yet, and the current was slack, so getting out of the little basin we were in was no problem at all.  As soon as we were out in the channel clear of the marina, I called them on the VHF to let them know we were gone and to thank them.  Right after that, my grande boo-boo occurred to me.  To leave Beaufort northbound, the short way to go is through an draw bridge that opens on the hour and half-hour.  I had not even looked at the time when we departed.  It was 09:32, and the bridge is only a few minutes from the marina.  So, instead of hovering at the bridge for twenty-five minutes, we went south, the way we came in, and back through Morehead City Harbor.  It was a couple of miles further, but at least we were underway.

We fought against the current all morning as we made our way north through the Adam's Creek Canal to the Nuese River.  The only excitement was just north of Morehead City, where the natural waters enter the man-made Adam's Creek Canal.  For whatever reason, many, many dolphins live here.  The local tour boats out of Beaufort and Morehead City bring tourists up here to see the dolphins.  We had to dodge two tour boats, which wasn't too unusual.  What was unusual was that a sports fishing boat going our way, called to us to move over behind them as they passed us, because we were about to get into some skinny water.  As an unfair generalization, sports fishing boats are the last ones to give any consideration to a sailboat.  So, thanks to the boat who's names I don't remember.  We didn't need another grounding today.

Once in the Nuese River, it is only five miles or so to Oriental, NC.  Oriental is a small town, well known in sailing circles as a boaters town.  We did not stop here last year, but rather chose to anchor a few miles east in the South River, a tributary to the Nuese.  This time, we chose to stop in Oriental at the Whittaker Creek Yacht Harbor.  The primary reason we chose to stop here was because of another cruising boat we "know".  Rob & Jo, aboard Sea Spell, left the Clear Lake, TX, area several years ago aboard a pre-Catalina Morgan 38.  I don't recall how we originally found their website, but we have been following it for several years now.  They have finished their cruising for now, and are settling here in Oriental.  We have never met, but we feel we know them from following their adventure via their website.

We approached the marina in the advertised eight foot channel, watching the depth gauge read more seven foot depths than eight.  As we turned into our assigned slip, I saw six feet, but we only need five and a half, so we made it.  The computer people in our readership will understand my thoughts here - depth is a binary decision.  Either it's deep enough or it isn't.  How close you come to the bottom doesn't really matter.  You clear or you don't.  But, that said, your butt tightens a little once the gauge goes below six, and you are just waiting for that sudden stop.  Fortunately, we didn't touch, and were in our slip with 6.1 feet.  The dock hand who took our lines explained to me that there was no tidal depth variation here unless there were strong winds, so we should be cool.

We walked the docks and found Sea Spell, but Rob & Jo were not there.  Last we knew from their website, they were on a road trip back to TX, so they may not be back yet.  We went to the office to check in but the office girl was gone for awhile, so we did the only other thing we could do on a hot, still, sunny, summer day.  We went to the pool.  We spent two hours in the pool, and met a couple there who have a McGregor sailboat.  McGregors are twenty-something foot sailboats that are trailerable.  They are part of an organization of trailerable sailors who go places, and do week or so long gatherings.  We enjoyed swapping stories about how they could be in Maine in a few days on the trailer and then sailing, and it would take us a couple of weeks.  OK, but you can't keep the beer cold on a McGregor for a week.

A little before 17:00, we got out of the pool and went back to the office dripping wet.  The office girl had come and gone, but there was another guy there who checked us in and out.  We asked him if he knew Sea Spell, and he said he did and had seen them this morning, so apparently they are back from TX.  We went back to the boat and had an early dinner.  After dinner we went back over to Sea Spell to leave a card with a note that we were sorry we missed them.  As we walked down their dock, we met Jo.  Barb recognized her from pictures on their website.  They had just gotten back from a day trip to New Bern, NC, and we caught them just as they were unloading groceries.  We went to Sea Spell and chatted with them for over an hour.  Then we brought them over to MoonSail so they could see a Catalina/Morgan 38.  Sometime around 21:00 we said goodbye and let them go have dinner.

Tomorrow we continue north to Norfolk.  It will be two or three more days, depending on our moods and weather.

GPS N 35-01.906 W 076-40.972  Nautical miles traveled today 19.  Total miles 5193.

June 23

We were underway by 08:45 this morning.  The first fifteen miles or so is up the Nuese River.  OK, it's really down the river, but it's north.  There was very little wind, so the water was very calm.  Eight of the McGregor gang were out sailing around, but they weren't getting anywhere fast.  We turned northwest into the Bay river for about five miles, then north into the Hobucken Canal.  The Hobucken Canal is a man-made cut that takes you to Goose Creek and then to the Pamlico River.  The ICW crosses the Pamlico River which is about four miles wide at this point.  The wind had been quite calm and what little there was came form behind us, so we didn't feel it.  Once out in the Pamlico River though, the wind picked up and was making a good chop on the water.  We got across the Pamlico and turned north into the Pungo River.  At this point the waves were about two feet, and once we turned they were coming from behind us, giving us that rolling that we just love so much.  We put up with the rolling for another four miles up the Pungo until we were far enough that the land cut off the fetch from all the way across the Pamlico.

In the vicinity of the Pamlico/Pungo intersection, we saw dozens of dolphins.  We were a little surprised to see them in the rivers, but the Pamlico opens up into Pamlico Sound, which is the large bay between the mainland of NC, and the Outer Banks, so I guess we are close enough to the ocean that they are here.

We stopped for the day at the Dowry Creek Marina, which is a little east of Belhaven, NC.  This marina was recommended to us last year by another boat, but it didn't fit our schedule then.  The wind was still blowing pretty strong a we docked, causing us to get pinned against a piling, but with a little creative line handling by the dockmaster and myself, we got tied up properly and are blowing off the dock.  The waves are able to come into the marina from the river though, so it may be a noisy night in the aft cabin if the wind doesn't die down after dark.

We got the a/c started and then headed for the pool.  We spent over an hour just sitting in the pool, sipping on a big-ass rum & Coke.  From the pool, we took showers and headed back to the boat for dinner.  There is no Internet access here, and we are in a part of North Carolina where Cingular has poor service, so our phones and the computer air-card don't work either.  Guess it will be an early night.

GPS N 35-31.985 W 076-32.110  Nautical miles traveled today 43.  Total miles 5236.

June 24

Today was a long day.  We originally planned to go from Dowry Creek Marina at mile marker 132 to Alligator River Marina at mile marker 84, and then to Coinjock at mile marker 50 tomorrow.  Our secondary plan was to pass the Alligator River Marina, cross Albemarle Sound and anchor around Buck Island at mile marker 60.  Well, you know how plans go.

We both slept very poorly last night, party due to the wave slapping sound on the boat since the wind blew from astern all night, and in my case, partly because I kept thinking about how to get out of the slip gracefully with the wind blowing from the direction it was.  As soon as it was getting light, about 05:45, we were up.  We had coffee and got ready to leave.  At 06:45, we were underway, and we were the fifth boat to leave the marina.  About five miles from the marina, we entered the Alligator/Pungo Canal.  This canal is twenty miles long with just one bend in it.  It is also fairly narrow, since a good part of each side has stumps underwater, so you pretty much stay in the middle unless you have to pass somebody.  Which we did.  This is our third trip in the Atlantic ICW, and we have only passed a handful of barges in all three trips.  But, we have passed one each time we have been in this canal.  I think they just go back and forth in the canal to keep pleasure boaters on their toes.  Just before exiting the canal, we had a brief rain shower.

Once through the canal, we were in the Alligator River.  The wind was blowing pretty good from the south, and there were other rain showers in the area, but none got us then.  The Alligator River runs primarily north so the wind was on the stern, along with the foot high chop.  About two hours later, a little after noon, we were at the Alligator River Swing Bridge, at the northern end of the river.  We had to wait just a minute for the bridge to open, but got through quickly.  This is where the Alligator River Marina is.  We decided it was much too early to stop, and pressed on to cross Albemarle Sound.

Albemarle Sound is a large body of water, which to the east of us reaches to the inside of the Outer Banks.  It is known for being potentially rough when there are strong winds.  After we were north of the bridge and getting into the open water, the wind shifted to the east, probably due to the thunder storms to our north.  The good news was that the thunder storms never got us.  We had a little sprinkle at the edge of one, but no deluge.  The bad news was that the seas in the sound kept building and were hitting us on the beam.  We had eight miles to go across the open water, and the further we went, the more rolly it got. The cat got sick, and by the time we got to the northern side, I was wishing I had put the mainsail up to reduce the rolling.  By the time we entered the channel of the North River, at Camden Point, the storms had moved west, but the wind and waves had shifted back to the south.  So now, the wind driven swell was behind us again.  My hopes of getting out of it once we entered the river were dashed.

The planned anchorage is about ten miles up the North River.  We anchored here on our way southbound last year.  The anchorage is only about ten miles south of Coinjock, our planned stop tomorrow, but I figure we don't have time to get to Midway Marina in Coinjock before they close tonight.  As we continued up the river, so did the swell from the south wind.  I was getting concerned about what the anchorage would be like.  You can actually anchor on both the north and south sides of Buck Island.  The southern anchorage, where we planned to go will definitely be untenable since the swell is rolling in there unchecked.  We continued north, but I'm concerned that even here, where there may be wind protection, the swell is going to bounce off the opposite shore and make for an uncomfortable ride.  As we rounded the western end of the island, we found two other sailboats already anchored.  The south anchorage is huge, but the northern one will only accommodate two or three boats.  So, it was on to Plan C.

Plan C was to call Midway Marina and see how late they are open.  Or, if they will be gone when we get there, perhaps we can get a slip assignment now.  We scored on all counts.  They are there until 20:00, and they have room.  So, we pressed on for another ten miles.  The rough water from the wind did not stop until about two miles before Coinjock, where the ICW leaves the river and enters a man-made canal.  There are two marinas in Coinjock, and both are long face docks along the main ICW channel.  As we past Coinjock Marina, we saw most of the boats that had passed us during the day, and Pelican, whom we met back in Southport.  At Midway Marina, we found Casa del Mar, a very large houseboat that we met last night at Dowry Creek.

We got secured, relaxed with a cold one, and then went to Crabbies, the on-site restaurant.  We both had very good meals, and then back to the boat.  It will probably be an early evening.

GPS N 36-21.091 W 075-56.863  Nautical miles traveled today 70.  Total miles 5306.

June 25

We didn't go to bed all that early, because we had the dreaded cable TV hook up, so we stayed up until 23:00 watching TV.  But, we did sleep good, waking only once when a barge passed by.

We planned to stay an extra day in Coinjock, because they have a cheap laundromat, and a convenient place to dispose of used motor oil.  So, I did my slightly overdue oil change, and disposed of that oil as well as the oil from the last two changes which we were still carrying around.  Barb did several loads of laundry and some general cleanup on the inside of the boat. 

Late in the afternoon, we spent some time in the pool.  That's three out of the last four days in marina pools.  That's more time in the water than during six months in the Bahamas.  What's up with that?

We had the VHF radio on all day, just in case our friends on Barefootin' came in today.  We never heard them, but we did hear the Coast Guard make and announcement that one of the draw bridges that we have to go through tomorrow has broken.  Tomorrow involves many bridges and one lock, and the timing between them all is critical.  If the broken bridge isn't opening at all, we can't get to Norfolk, and if it has some restriction on it's opening times, it could screw up the whole day.  I spent the better part of an hour finding a phone number for the bridge, and finally got a hold of them.  They said that they were still working on it, but they expected it to be working tomorrow.

Most of the boats that came in yesterday with us, left this morning.  Only one or two new boats came in today.  I suspect that has to do with how rough Albemarle Sound got.  I'm glad we went ahead and did it all yesterday.

GPS N 36-21.091 W 075-56.863  Nautical miles traveled today 0.  Total miles 5306.

June 26

It rained all night, which kept waking me, not only from the noise, but because it worried me about what the day would bring.  About 05:45 I got up and started the coffee.  Yesterday I planned our day on a spreadsheet with the six bridges and one lock, the mileages between them, and our projected speed.  The plan was to leave at 06:30 and make six knots.  I went to the marina bathrooms, and found the whole lawn between the dock and the bathrooms flooded.  It has obviously rained a lot overnight.

One of the only boats to come in yesterday was a large catamaran named Cambia.  They appeared to be getting ready to leave also, so I went over and asked if they knew anything about the bridge.  He said he had called late last night and it was fixed.  Good news.  At 06:15, we were off, right behind Cambia.

Given our planning, there is no reason to run much more than six knots.  Also, we left fifteen minutes earlier than expected, and the miles I have planned by are statute miles (the way the ICW is marked) and knots are nautical-miles-per-hour, so we should have a fudge factor in our favor.  The first fifteen miles or so take us north along the western edge of Currituck Sound.  The wind is behind us, and it is raining off and on, but the ride is not too bad.  We stayed behind Cambia, but kept up with them, so when we get to the bridges, we can go through together.  The only excitement along the way was passing a large ferry that was on a course crossing ours.  The ferry runs from Knott's Landing (yes that's really it's name) to Currituck.  Using our radar to calculate the ferry's speed and course vs. ours, it looked like we were on a collision course.  I'm not sure who legally had the right of way, but the ferry stopped and let us pass before he crossed the ICW.

Along the way through Currituck Sound, we got passed by three power boats.  One, Summer Time, was a large motor yacht.  The other two, Endless Summer, and Black Tie, were trawlers, a little faster than us, but not as fast as Summer Time.  I wasn't worried about being last, because the bridges were going to equal us out.

The first bridge we got to was the North Landing Swing Bridge.  It opens on the hour and half-hour.  We got there a few minutes before 10:30 and there were the other four boats.  We only waited an couple of minutes, and we all went through.  The next bridge is the one that had problems yesterday.  The Centerville Turnpike Bridge is five miles past the North Landing Bridge.  It also opens on the hour and half-hour.  We can't possibly make five miles in half an hour, so we just planned on being there for 11:30.  At Centerville, we found everybody except the Summer Time waiting.  On the half hour, the bridge opened and we all passed.  The next stop is the Great Bridge Bridge, followed immediately by the Great Bridge Lock.  The bridge only opens on the hour, and the lock cycles north and southbound in conjunction with it.  Here, we found all the boats waiting.  The catamaran is stopping here at a marina just south of Great Bridge.  We waited a few minutes and proceeded through the bridge and entered the lock.  There were three barges tied up just south of the bridge, which we found out later were waiting there because Albemarle Sound was too rough for them.  In the lock, we had our choice of which side to tie to.  We chose the rubber side, vs. the concrete side.  The lock dropped us a whopping foot or so, and we were off.  The next bridge is the Steel Bridge, which contrary to the cruising guide, only opens on the hour.  The cruising guide says hour and half-hour, but since we are on the hour anyway, it doesn't matter.  We got to the Steel Bridge with twenty minutes to spare, and the biggest storm of the day hit us as we waited.  In addition to trying to keep the boat in the channel, with four other boats doing the same, I was trying to keep us pointed into the wind, so we were protected from the driving rain.  At 13:00, we got through the bridge and took off.  We had current with us so we were able to make almost eight knots at full throttle.  That still left us at the back of the pack, which had been joined by a tugboat with no barge.  The Gilmerton Bridge and Jordan Bridge both open on demand.  That said, they also talk to each other and know who's coming, so they like to batch the boats together.  That meant the big-ass motor yacht who got there first at both, had to wait for the slow sailboat to catch up before they opened.  In our defense, I pushed ole MoonSail as hard as she would go, and nobody had to wait on us more than a couple of minutes.

We got into Ocean Marine Marina about 14:00.  We stopped at the fuel dock first and filled up.  We then moved to our slip, which is the furthest inside on the dock closest to the main channel.  This means occasionally, we get a little wake from a big boat that goes by.  But the fact that we are paying for a thirty-eight foot boat, in a forty foot slip, that happens to hang out into the fairway by five feet because of the davits and dinghy, and we won't get in anybodies way, is worth the possible rolling.

 We settled in, had an early dinner, took a walk on the waterfront, and watched TV during the evening.  Tomorrow, I want to arrange a couple of repairs, and we will fly out to Chicago for niece Shannon's wedding reception Wednesday.

GPS N 36-49.949 W 076-17.758  Nautical miles traveled today 44.  Total miles 5350.