More Bugs and Long Day

     We could not believe our eyes when we come out into the cockpit.   The May files covered the inside of the canvas and a lot of the fiberglass, by the hundreds.  Even when we shoed then many returned.  We were successful is washing away many of them, some remained with us all day.  DOUBLE UCK!!!

Migration north up the Pongo River

    We continued up the Pongo River and onto the canal then onto the Alligator River.  We were fortunate will all the rain that the east has been having, the levels were not affected.  Andiamo had not problem going under the fixed 64 foot Walter B Jones Bridge.

Spring shades of green along the river banks

     Once on the predicted light winds increased to 15-20 and we were able to motor sail on the Albemarle Sound and up the Pasquotank River, dodging the crab pots.  We passed through the final bridge and cropped anchor in an anchorage with two other boats and lots of sunken boats.

Andiamo as we passed a weather balloon and hanger

Brunelle leading north on the Pasquotank River

     We had planned a long day.  We covered about 65 miles in 12 hours.  On Pete suggestion, we all left the center of the dodger up to allow the air to circulate in the cockpit so the bugs would not gather.  Hope it works. We stayed in the cockpit to watch the sunset, this time with few bugs.

We raise our glasses "To another great day!"

    Tomorrow. . . The Dismal Swamp     

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete  

Alone . . . Until the Bugs

    We left Morehead City Marina Yacht Basin around 8:30 as planned and headed up the ICW.  We all wanted to fill up with gas, so we opted to fill up at Jarrett Bay Boat Works.  Since we are the slowest of the three boats, it was decided to let us fill up first, then begin out trek north.  The others would catch up.

     As it turns out we traveled most of the day by ourselves.  We caught sight of them as they emerged out of Adams Creek onto the “Nasty” Neuse River, which was really quite calm today. In fact, we had a nice motor sail across her today.

Belhaven shoreline at sunset

     The winds were supposed to be relative light today, but instead were perfect for a nice push once we were on the Pamlico Sound. Then it was on to Belhaven, where we set the anchor for the night.  We quickly went down below by the time the sun was setting.  Suddenly the May files decended upon us; millions of them.!Unfortunately, they managed to come into the cabin and we managed to kill about a hundred on the ceiling, which then needed to be scrubbed. UCK!!!! Talk about feeling buggy.

     Oh, for the blue green, crystal clear waters, warm fresh air, sandy beaches and NO BUGS of the Bahamas!!!!

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Layover in Morehead City Yacht Basin

     We were able to rent the Marina van for 2 hours at 8:30 this morning. As a result we were able to make a run to Harris Teeter and West Marine. Pete remained behind to do some work.

     We will definitely be staying in place today.  The winds are out of the southwest at 25+.  We have put additional lines on the boat as we were under a tornado watch for a good part of the day.  The storms that ravaged the south have diminished somewhat, but are still packing quite a wallop and heading this way. The newscasts from the devastated areas are surreal and the death count keep rising as some of the big tornados hit major cities. Yesterday might go down as being the worst tornado outbreak in recorded history. This just makes me want to just hold my family and friends close.

    Once back at the boat I needed to defrost the fridge/freezer again.  I also needed to do some laundry since we had time.  I wasn’t as successful with the blog.  My pictures and writings are ready, but the internet would not connect, and Pete needed the air card this afternoon. 

Martha's picture of the present & card.

So instead the boat interior was cleaned before heading to Andiamo for dinner. Knowing that our return home is coming up much too quickly, Betty suggested we give our little  "Thank You” sea star dish and dip set we found in Fernadina Beach to Mr. & Mrs. Cruise Dictator, Martha and Dan, tonight.  We will still take them to dinner once the cruise is over, but we know that we will all have commitments and it will take a lot more planning.    

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete   

Another Lucky Day to Morehead City, NC

Daybreak and the last of the storm clouds are breaking up.

     We started the morning believing that we would have a meeting via walkies at 7 AM to see what time we would be heading out.  Our alarm was set for 6:50.  Pete woke at 6:45, checked his e-mail and found an email from Dan stating that we were pulling up anchor at 7AM.  Needless to say, I woke up very quickly and made a mad dash to make sure that we pulled the anchor on time.

     We really should find a place to purchase some lottery tickets.  There were no storms last night.  John confirmed that all the storms somehow worked their way around us, but there appeared to be a protective bubble around us.  Thankfully, that protective bubble with continued to be in place today.

Not a sign you might see
every day.

    The morning was clear, but hazy with light winds that slowly built as the day progressed. We traveled north through Camp Lejune, passing an area with old tanks and missile launchers that are used for live target practices.  There are times that this stretch of the ICW is closed. We all were glad today is not one of those times.

    Shortly after clearing that restricted area, we heard the Coast Guard broadcast that not one, but two of the bridges we had open for us yesterday were closed; one only for an hour, but the other until further notice.  The second one was still closed by 5 PM today.  That means most boat traffic would be stopped at that point.  There are very few anchorages and few marinas around and there is some mean weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow, which is why we are in a marina in Morehead City tonight and tomorrow.

This unusual little island caught our attention.
Apparently, it also caught Brunelle's attention last time they passed.
This is where they lost their rudder in the unmarked shallows. Note ~ there is now a marker!

Oysterman on Bogue Sound
Very shallow!

   Coming into the dock at the Morehead City Yacht Basin was pretty straight forward up until we came into the dock.  Just as we were entering the dock a gust of wind took us and we were heading into Brunelle’s stern quarters.  The docks at this marina are meant for 50 foot boats.  We could not use the rear pilings. After checking in and checking out the nice facilities, we decided to follow the recommendation of the harbor master and have dinner at Floyd’s. 

     It was a quick walk to the converted home. which is Floyd's.  The food and service were excellent. We happened to catch the weather channel on their TV at the bar and we decided we are definitely staying an extra day.  The forecast for this area is for strong thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon.  We will be getting the tail end of some horrific storms that are hitting the south with unbelievable outbreak of tornadoes and damage. Our thoughts as we leave the restaurant are with those who are in the storms’ paths.

   We checked the lines and prepare to be rocked to sleep by the winds.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete

Storms to the Left of Us; Storms to the Right -- South Port to Camp Lejune

Deep Water Marina

    At our staff meeting last evening we debated our departure time so I guess we finally decided on 8:30.  It really made no difference as to the current as we had the ebb tide for the first 10 miles up the river.  We could only do 4 knots. Our goal was to make it to a safe anchorage before the storms came in later tonight according to this morning’s weather reports.

     Once underway, we could see the clouds to the west begin to build as well as the winds building out of the east. Thankfully, Andiamo has the Sirus Weather, Martha checks the IPad and Pete checks his phone for the radar. By 10 AM, the pop-up storms were doing their thing all around us, but we somehow remained in the sun and clouds. To make best time, engine was aided by sails whenever possible. Some of the ICW could not be sailed. 

 It is too narrow and skinny waters are close.  Due to bridge schedules, we even ran our engine floored in order to make the opening, once this morning and once this afternoon. If we hadn’t made the openings we would have delayed anchoring by 1 ½ hours. Considering that we anchored at Mile Hammock Bay, Camp Lejune, NC at 6:15 and it looked as if it was going to storm any moment. We could hear the thunder in the distance.

This was the view to the east as we turned to anchor
 in Miles Hammock Bay

    Even with our eyes to the skies, Pete was able to do his conference call and I was able to post 6 days worth of blogs during the trip.  Once anchored, we used our walkies to have our traditional toast to another great day. Oh yea, as of 8:30 we are doing pretty good, but there is still one more major thunderstorm we are keeping our eyes on which will probably hit during the night.  Have I mentioned I really don’t like thunderstorms, but everything is secured and ready. Maybe we’ll continue to be lucky???

     ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete   

Myrtle Beach to Cape Fear River

Osprey Marina, a great place to stop.

     The trees are changing.  We are seeing less of the cypress and more deciduous and pine trees and the water is now brown due to the tannic acid. . . no more crystal clear blue/green, but I did see turtles sunning on the logs and rocks. We also saw more homes and now more golf courses along the waterway.  I suppose we should since we passed through Myrtle Beach. We also saw a lot of developments that are like River Dunes; developments barely started with very large homes on the waterway, many with harbors or docks that are now just sitting waiting for the economy to turn around.

Andiamo and Sheet Music making their way north on the ICW.

Part of the"Rock Pile"

     We passed through “The Rock Pile” at low tide.  We could see the horizontal shelf rocks that make this area so dubious to cruisers. Sheet Music was also traveling with us and warned us to stay towards the green to avoid the rocks near the red marker. Thanks to their advice we all passed through just fine.

Pair of Eagles

Carlotte Inlet just north of Sea Isle City, NC, where we spend a couple of very special vacations with family and friends.

     Once again we used the sails to increase our speed with the motor. Even with the increased speed, we still had the currents to fight from time to time so we did not pull into Deep Point Marina until 5. I was quite blissful as to the location.  I finally had the chance to call our friends, Gail and John Hurst, at a time when I should be able to catch them, but had to end the conversation prematurely as we needed to prep to head into the marina, a boat was coming out of the marina and a ship was coming down the channel. I will just have to call back real soon.

    Deep Point is a beautiful, new marina built for the ferry to Bald Head Island. It is reasonable, easy access, deep (except for the entry, which is constantly dredged), free laundry and almost complete, but we have to accept the ferry traffic and it's back up horn when it departs (which is not a real hardship.)

     Once docked, we stopped on the dock between Andiamo and Brunelle to have a quick staff meeting and wound up sitting on Andiamo.  Suddenly, everyone rounded up hefty munchies and there went dinner. . .again, but we once again toasted to another great day!

     Later, I was able to do a load of free laundry while I took my shower and then it was off to bed. 

     Time and miles are passing much too quickly!

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete    

South Carolina’s Low Country

Sunrise on Awendaw Creek

 

Brunelle heading north on the ICW

Father and son spending Easter morning fishing

     We pulled anchor to a very beautiful sunrise.  As we entered the ICW it was so peaceful and still.  That should have been a warning, but the beauty around us was captivating.  Once we passed the Georgetown area and onto the Waccamaw River, we were in Cypress and abandoned rice field country.  We had bypassed this area on our way down with the ocean passage.  This area is one of the prettiest if not the prettiest on the ICW.   Pete said that this area reminds him of boating on a lake. The cypress trees, with their flowing moss come in such varieties.   
The lighting, the color variations and the textures leave me wanting to just stop and try to capture them with my sketch pad and pencil. Even at 7 knots, we are moving too fast to take in all the subtleties.  Even though it is driving our allergies crazy, the air is sweet with something that is blooming.  We have not figured out just what it might be, but it would be nice to bottle the scent.   

     However, there is a dark side to all this beauty. .  .  .  They have wings and bite!  With all this swampland, the various species of flies are prolific.  We were inundated by horse/deer flies (which didn’t get a chance to bite) and a biting black fly on and off for hours. They came in clusters.  Andiamo was lucky with their screens. We were very busy with fly swatters.  We had to wash down the cockpit once we dock of all the dead flies we didn’t discard during our trip.  Pete had the worst encounters as I was able to hide down below for some of the trip prior to Georgetown to work on the blog pictures.

I couldn't make out the type of birds,
but they had multiple nests in the tree.

     After lunch, Brunelle developed engine problems and wound up sailing the remaining 2 1/2 hours of our day.  They eventually had to take a tow from Andiamo to the Marina; then Pete was able to do a hip-tow with the dinghy into the gas dock at Osprey Marina.

This old tree is completely hollow
yet there is growth on the top.

One of the many ospreys' nests we saw along
the water's banks

    The staff, here at Osprey Marina, was extremely helpful. The facilities are great, the service super, even on a holiday.  The marina stay is $1.00/ft. and the welcome package is equal to about 1/3 of our payment. They deserve the wonderful reviews they have received in Active Captain.

    Once secured, Dan spent about an hour replacing the fuel pump.  Thankfully, he had a spare. 

    We had the steaks, John made a wonderful rub using coffee as a base, and Pete cooked them on the grill. Betty and john had the potatoes, the green beans with bacon, and French bread. Martha added the Pound Cake to the strawberries Betty and I brought.    We had a wonderful impromptu Easter Dinner with “our cruising family”.    

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete    

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

South Carolina Flag

     Patience sometimes pays off.  Today turned out so much nicer than yesterday. It is clear in the mid 70s, with winds out of the east at 10-15 knots.

Fort Sumter

    The Marina van was waiting for us at 8:45 to drive us over to Liberty Point, where we were able to purchase the tickets for the ferry ride over to Fort Sumter.  The ride out was informative and so was the information session given by one of the park rangers. Fort Sumter was never completed in her 31 years of building.  Today, she is only a third of its original height. Her wooden barracks stood 3 stories tall, but burned during the attack.  The bricks that remain create an archeological sense of what the fort was like, but also creates an ominous tone of destruction during the Civil War. The fort was used during other wars as well as a navigational aid until it was created into a National Park.

 

Castle Pickney, another fort in Charleston Harbor

     While at the Fort, I was able to introduce myself to Mike, Lisa and their 3 teens of Sheet Music. I saw them drop anchor by the Fort. While coming up from Hilton Head, we had assisted with information between boats.

       Once back to the terminal, we called for the van so that we could return to the marina and prepare for our departure.  The original plan was to head out around 2, into the Atlantic heading towards Cape Fear, NC.  However, the winds continued to build beyond the forecasted 10-15.  We were experiencing 20-25 out of the east.  So plans were change to take the ICW instead and see how far we could go by dusk and find a good anchorage along the ICW. 

 Race Day in Charleston Harbor

 

   



    The other hiccup in the plans is that it is a holiday weekend. Tomorrow is Easter and with the nice weather everyone is out on the water.  There were racers in Charleston Harbor and anyone who had a boat or a fishing pole was at or on the ICW. Most were considerate, but there were quite a few who forgot their manners.

Brunelle north of Palm Island and clear of all the traffic!

   Around 6:45, we were able to anchor in a very quiet spot in the Awendaw Creek, which is behind the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.  As we headed up the creek, we were escorted by a couple of dolphins.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete