June 15, 2008

Hi all, Getting a jump on this message as we have a w-ifi connection tonight and who knows what tomorrow will bring? Many Marinas provide a free connection, but they don't always work so well..... the trip has changed dramatically this week! Monday we passed through the NC Forest Fire zone. We couldn't see the fire, but could sure smell the smoke, and I hosed down the boat to get rid of the ash Monday night. Tues. am it was covered again! Uffda. We crossed the Albamorale Sound--a bit bouncy as the winds and water play games with each other. In the afternoon, we were back in a little river, and then Turner's Cut--one of the most beautiful stretches on the trip so far! It felt like being inside a painting--trees right down to the water's edge with reflections sending back more shades of green than one would think possible! We tied the boat to posts outside the lock at South Mills, NC Tuesday night, and in the morning entered the Dismal Swamp Canal--the end of the rural part of the trip. We exited the Swamp into Norfolk--busy and bustling with recreational, commercial and lots and lots of Naval boats--but surprisingly easy to navigate! Leaving Norfolk, we wound our way into Chesapeake Bay, and were delighted to find that both days we spent in the Bay, the wind and water conditions gave us a nice ride. Last night we were in a Marina in the Chesapeake-Delaware Cansl, and this morning ran down the Del. River (much different from the rocky, rapid part of the DE River that flows past Camp Tel Yehudah!) into the Delaware Bay and lo and behold, next thing you know we're in New Jersey! We laughed and laughed at how many boaters could be buzzing around on a Sunday afternoon! After 2 hours of playing 'dodge-em' with the boats while navigating and steering so the boat stayed off the bottom and continued to float, it was time to tie up---a 76 mile day, our longest so far! So here we are, just south of Ocean City NJ and looking forward to being home soon! happy Father's day to all you dads out there! Hope it's been a great week for all.... Love Linda and Fred Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008.

June 9, 2008

Monday, June 9, 2008 A week gone by? Hard to believe, but true! Last Monday we were at Isle of Palms Marina near Charleston, Mile Marker 458. Today we are at Belhaven, NC, Mile Marker 136, Moving North! The calendar says that Summer is two weeks away, but folks in NC are telling us that not only has summer arrived, there was no spring this year. One day it was cold, and the next was, like today, HH&H. At 8 this morning it was 82 degrees, and now, at 10:30 pm, it has about come back down to that! Our generator with it’s 2 zone a/c has kept us in the 77 degree area, and mercifully takes away the humidity, which is way, way up there! So while the smells of NC--such as ocean, foliage, paper mills, etc. are lost to us, we certainly have enjoyed the sights and especially the people. Before leaving Isle of Palms last week, we were ‘boarded’ by three Coast Guard Ausillary members who conducted a Vessel Safety Check for us. Once underway, we were amused by the huge homes with long long long docks--and in the center of one such row, the proverbial ‘junkyard’--a mobile home with junked boats and boat parts to offset the elegance. The Army Corps of Engineers commits to keeping the ICW Channel at a constant 12 feet deep, but the channel is NOT wide in many places, and in those stretches the boat bears constant watching to keep it on course. We touched bottom once in this stretch--and others, but kept going. Porpoises jump out of the water off our bow frequently, and a flock of egrets surrounded the boat in one narrow patch. By 6 pm we were in historic Georgetown where we dropped the anchor, but we pulled it right up again and went to the dock. (The man watching us anchor from a nearby boat was very glad we didn’t stay--given the wind and current, there just wasn’t enough room) We were tied up next to a group of Power Squadron guys, and had a great chat with them. Wednesday was our first ‘low bridge day’. Most waterway bridges are 65 feet high, but there are many that are 20‘ or less, and so road traffic must be interrupted for boat traffic. Many low bridges open on schedules, and we only had a 15 minute wait at the first one we approached. We crossed into NC around 4:30, after passing many many new condo construction projects--one of which actually looked pretty enough to live in. Most are cookie cutter copies of each other. The only pontoon bridge (zero feet clearance) left on the Atlantic ICW (There are several on the Gulf Coast) floated to the side so we could pass through just as we approached. Neat. The NC coast has a very different character from SC! The ocean is just a mile or two away--separated from the ICW by barrier islands with rivers and inlets every few miles. That means that the currents are unpredictable, and the bottom even more so. Every storm changes it, and ‘shoaling’ is the by-word! The anchorage we’d planned on turned out to be one of those shoaled areas--we ‘kissed the bottom’ and could see that it was very unpredictable as we headed for the lovely smooth water around the bend, so we very carefully retreated and headed to the next marina. On the way there, we saw a “dockage” sign and a man on said dock. Looked good to us, and 15 minutes later we tied up with him. New dock owner, getting established with his seafood store, and for dinner that night we had huge shrimp--fresh caught-- in a fine scampi sauce. Thursday found us in the Cape Fear River--felt like home (very Hudson-like) to Fred with it’s wide shores. Our Marina choice was at the end of a ‘cut’ , and although we were only a short walk (¼ mile) from the ocean, we decided to simply veg on the boat. It was a delicious afternoon and evening. Friday we jockeyed for position while waiting for 3 different bridges. At Wrightsville, the marina and lots of small boats made it interesting. Four miles later the Figure Eight opened 5 minutes after our arrival. We crossed the 18 miles to the Surf City Bridge in record time, (the current was pushing us to 8.2 mph!) but still had a 50 minute wait for the bridge. Very exciting as more and more boats arrived--including one rude one who plowed through to be first in line! The Stump Sound and Alligator Bay were a lovely passage, and Fred did a great job with tricky currents of docking us at the Swan Point Marina--just across the dock from the big guy mentioned above! Paul and Becky are new marina owners and have a fabulous ship’s store. We got fuel ($4.30/gal--50 cents less than SC, where we’d decided to wait) and a great buy on an adaptor for our power cord! We celebrated by taking their courtesy car into town for dinner at the Riverside Café, and topped it off with ice cream from our freezer! Saturday we motored through the Bogue (Bogus?) Sound--water just outside the ICW channel is 1-3 feet deep as it extends to the barrier islands. Makes for interesting water movement, though, as you cross inlets to the ocean. We passed right through the twin cities of Morehead City and Beaufort--where the water is ocean green and clear! We had reservations at the Sea Gate marina (which surprised Becky when we called--Betty’d not written us in the book the day before). Ended up at the fuel dock, which worked just fine. And diesel fuel was 35 cents/gal. more than we’d paid at Swan Point! This is a community marina with a clubhouse and most of the slips are owned by the member-neighbors. The ‘gang’ was drinking coffee on the porch at 7:30 am, and there I learned of the tragic run of Big Brown at Belnont. So sad. Sunday was a totally different sort of day. We were in the widest river in America--the Neuse--six miles across--followed by the Bay River, and then an ICW ‘cut’ to the Pamlico River. Here we left the ICW and motored into the Pongo River to stop at Belhaven Watrway Marina. All that wide and deep water required very little navigating, so I cleaned and puttered and Fred took long breaks and read! Wow what a day! After we were docked, we spent over an hour showing the boat to Brent, a man who’s spent as much time on Mirage Mfg.’s website as Fred did before we ordered the boat. He heard us on the radio and recognized the boat’s name from Ewen’s lightning webpage (remember that?) and hailed us, hoping to see a Mirage boat live and in person. It was fun to see how much he enjoyed the tour! So here we are. And there you are--perhaps given TMI, but hey, you are big kids and get to choose what you read and what you discard. We’re just sending it out there! Until next week, love and hugs from Linda and Fred

June 2, 2008

Hi all--from just north of Charleston, SC We've had a fun and busy week! The City of Green Cove Springs had a wonderful Memorial Day Fireworks display last Monday evening, which we enjoyed from the deck of Young America. A very nice sendoff for us! On Tuesday morning, we picked Tarryn and her friend Megan up from the JAX airport, and brought them to the boat. Had a fun day and evening--we motored back to the Outback Crab Shack, then anchored the boat across the river from the dock and had our first sleep over guests! The bed worked just fine, they said! So did the deck, for sunning! Wed. am, the girls drove away, heading for Newburgh in the 'Burb' and we drove away 12 minutes later in the boat! We made it all the way to Jacksonville that day--29 miles! Tied up at the town dock and treated ourselves to a water taxi ride and a really nice dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. Another couple was with us on their Mirage Boat named Avocet. It was a very pleasant evening. Thursday we were up and at 'em, and followed Avocet as far as Fernandina Beach, the northernmost part of FL. They stopped there, and we went on to Jeckyll Island, GA. Saw my first manatee there--a huge guy who did all the things people have said manatees do--he held the hose and drank fresh water, rolled over to have his belly scratched and generally entertained all who gathered. Silly looking animal, it is! We listened to the Wharf Ratz play live music from the clubhouse --a young crowd that rocked far into the night! Friday morning we took a little side trip around the Island--a bellman from the hotel came and picked us up so we could have brunch and see where the Rockefellers, Morgans, Pulitizers etc had 'cottages' (20 or so bedroom 'cottages'). Lovely old homes and beautiful gardens. Got a ride back to the boat and we were off again. The next island we passed is St. Simons--home of the bellman we met in the morning. He reminded us that Pres. Carter used that island for a Little White House--and that a G8 summit was held there. The natives were most unhappy--didn't want their island discovered! Friday evening we anchored in Kilkenney Creek. it was beautifully quiet and our anchor held perfectly! We would have had an early start except that the engines didn't run! We'd been bounced around a bit crossing a couple of Sounds, and think that the fuel tank got stirred up. Changing the filters cleared the problem, and away we went! We are having fun with the navigating and driving of the boat--there is electronic navigational equipment that Fred is learning to use (and I less so) but we also have the tried and true paper charts out with the little brass pelican marking our location as we move from mile to mile! We went through many rivers and crossed many sounds in GA. Often we found ourselves looking out toward Portugal, as the Sound we were crossing emptied into the North Atlantic, In the late afternoon, we crossed the Savannah River, thereby meeting the insurance requirement that we be North of Savannah and presumably out of the Hurricane Season by June 1. We went on past the city of Savannah, and crossing the Calibogue Sound, docked at Hilton Head Island. Very busy, very noisy, and very nice, and we ate and slept and were off again by 9:30 Sunday morning. Sixty some miles (and 10 hours) later we put the anchor down in Tom's Point Creek. The sunset was magnificent, as we ate dinner on the deck. The thunder and lightning started at 1 am, just as I was putting down my book and Fred was closing the computer. The tide was out--way out--the water was 6' lower than when we'd anchored, and the mud was rising. Fortunately, we stayed in a foot or so of water until the tide changed and by 8 am we once again had 8 feet of H20 beneath us. We motored back to the N. Edisto River, past Toogoodoo Creek, up the Coosaw River to the Ashepoo-Coosaw Cutoff and the Ashepoo River, thence to the Stono River and the Elliott Cut (Wapoo Creek) to the Ashley River at Charleston! Aren't the names great? The Charleston harbor was calm and quiet, and soon we were passing Mt. Pleasant and arriving at the Isle of Palms Marina. Chase, the dockmaster, is an adorable young man who graduated with a Bsns and Corp,. Communications degree, wore a suit for two months, and snapped at a job with boats and water. He's not sure that his mom and dad are too happy, but he certainly is! And that is the saga of the beginning of our trip. We're loving each day---and looking forward to our next trip down the waterway when we'll take time to explore more of the little side creeks and towns! This is a great introductory course, though! So long for now.... Linda and Fred