Week 40 ~ St John’s & New Jersey to Bucksport, SC

Sunday, 5/28/23 ~ Day 4 in Hamilton, NJ ~

     Breakfast was fresh fruit, French toast and breakfast sandwiches (eggs, cheese and Taylor Pork Roll on a Brioche bun), which were a great hit. Jenn took Nikki and Vivian to hot yoga class at her studio, After showers, everyone, but Pete and I, headed to downtown Princeton, UM,. . .surprise! Princeton’s graduation was this morning, so downtown was wall to wall people. Shops were interesting and talk about luck: as they passed an outdoor restaurant, an inquiry revealed that there was just a cancellation for a table for 6. They were seated right away and enjoyed another great meal. 

     Conversations never slowed.There was plenty to talk about since we haven’t seen the "Italian Steiners" in over 6 years. Of course, lots of things have changed since then, including: Matteo is  a chiropractor and Vivian now works with him, They are still waiting on the condo that was contracted for over 7 years ago. It has been close to being finished for over 3 years! They are paying taxes and insurance on the property even though they are not living there yet. Nikki and Nabib have Liam, a beautiful and “lively” 3-year-old, who is now the center of their world. Wayne is looking for investment property in the country for a getaway for him and Michaela, who have been together for a while, but more importantly, for the kids. Of course, the family on this side of The Pond will have more space when we come to visit them in Italy.

     It was a beautiful day and the perfect time to bring out “Bell,” Greg’s Dodge Charger SRT. She might be 10-years old, but she’s a gem. She is well taken care of and loved. Her transmission is standard shift and the huge engine growls loudly! Wayne and Matteo both enjoyed taking her for a spin.

     There were plenty of leftovers for dinner. We finished off the hamburgers and sausage. Made another considerable dent in the salads. Once again, the firepit was lit and the conversation and celebration continued. It was easy to convince them to stay another night.

 

 

Monday, 5/29/23 ~ Day 5 in Hamilton, NJ ~

     Jenn went and taught classes, but the girls decided to sleep in. We did the breakfast thing again, but soon after, it was time to say bye to the “Italian” Steiners. They had to head over to pick up Deb and Mom before heading up to Deneen & Joe’s.

     Jenn briefly suggested that we take a ride down the shore. Once her shower was complete, the busy weekend caught up with her. Instead, she took a nap while Pete and I watched the Netflix movie, Two Popes. It was a very interesting look at the transition from Pope Benedict to Pope Frances, their differences, their agendas, and their friendship that developed. Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce were excellent in their parts.

     Mid-afternoon, Greg cooked up the chicken wings, which were outrageous. For dinner we had the meatballs. Needless to say, there was no opportunity to get hungry this weekend. We said our good-bys before turning in. We will be up and out by 5am, before Jenn and Greg are up and leave for work.

Tuesday, 5/30/23 ~ Hamilton back to St. John’s (by car) ~ Day 9 of our layover in St John’s

     We were on the road by 5am. Made pretty good time in the Phili, Baltimore, DC, and Richmond areas. There were accidents and construction further south that slowed things down. It still wound up being a 13-hour trip. 

   While walking down the dock to the boat, we bumped into Steve, who was heading to his boat. The storm that hit Charleston over the past weekend was intense. With steady winds of 60 mph & torrential rains for 24+ hours, it was similar to a weak hurricane. There was a cruise line ship that was trying to return Charleston after a cruise and dealt with 15+ foot waves. Some passengers were pretty beat up, furniture was tossed, and windows were broken. Sounds like it was a tropical storm, but no one classified it as such. Here at the marina, there was some minor dock damage due to windage on some by the larger cabin cruisers, but almost all boats made out well, especially PEKABU!

   Bags were unpacked and we were in bed early.  

Wednesday, 5/31/23 ~ St John’s ~ Day 10 of our Layover ~

     With the car needing to be returned by 10:30 to the far side of Charleston, shortly after 8 am, I went to Walmart to do most of our provisioning. I ran out of time for the meats and cold cuts we needed from Harris Teeter. Once back from the car return, I put away the items I bought this morning, then went to do laundry. It will be a while before I have a chance to do it again. Pete had spent the rest of the day working. On my way back from doing the laundry, I stopped by the marina office I spoke with Steve. I have still not received a bill for the dockage. I also requested the loaner car again for tomorrow morning.

     Pete will need to drop off the used oil, and I will be able to go to Harris Teeter to complete the provisioning. While filing up the water tanks earlier today, Pete inspected the furling jib hardware. We are missing the swivel snap shackle with jaw that anchors the jib to the base of the furling system. Not good! Will also stop by West Marine to pick up a new one.


Thursday, 6/1/23 ~ St. John’s to Isle of Palms, SC
Today:          16 miles          3.5 hours          S/M 456.8
Total:      1420.3 miles      239.9 hours

     First thing this morning, Pete did the oil change. I needed to strip the bed and do a final load of laundry. While waiting for the machines to finish, I went up the Captain’s Lounge. This is the first time I have been in it. In the past it was only for full time slip holders. Truthfully, it is one of the best Captain Lounges we have seen.

 

The Captain's Lounge 

 

 

Views from around the maraina

       Once the laundry was completed, we picked up the loaner car. Pete dropped me off at Harris Teeter's, which is next to West Marine. He went to buy the shackle. He had sticker shock: $94 plus tax. Silly us, we figured it would be about $20. Well, it is worth the price to avoid disaster. Once back at the marina, we said our thanks and farewells again to Steve and Schnitzel, his dachshund.

 

Charles Town Fermentory and a truck-trimmed tree

     We left at 12:45 pm to make the 1:30 opening of the Wapoo Bridge, which opens once an hour on the half hour. Mid-day temps were in the mid 70’s and the winds were light. No problem crossing the Ashley River over to the ICW. We purposely timed it so that we had the rising tide after passing through The Ben Sawyer Bridge. There are some troublesome areas that have shoaled in just north of the bridge. Our timing was good and we had plenty of water while crossing them. We tied up at Isle of Palms shortly after 4. Pete had some work to complete and I read for a short while. The restaurant, Islander 71 Fish House and Deck Bar, has been redone and is now open, but we opted to eat on board tonight.

     After dinner I was able to catch a pretty decent sunset, but it was nothing to write home about.

Friday, 6/2/23 ~ Isle of Palms to Georgetown, SC.
Today:          55 miles          9.4 hours          S/M 406.3
Total:      1475.3 miles      249.3 hours

 

     We slipped away from the dock 7:10am. Most of the day was spent slogging against the current, but it was a pretty ride since water levels were at half-tide. Skies were overcast and the temps started in the low 60’s and climbed to the mid 60’s by the end of the day. The light breezes were of no help with the serpentine water way. We were disappointed that we did not see any gators, though we did see a couple of dolphin pods.

   

Pelican on a pretty perch and island home north of Isle of Palms 

 

While checking out the view we noticed

 a hitch hiker in Tillie's bowl ~ another Mangrove crab!

Sights from Awendaw and McClellenville 

The ferry was preparing
to swing!

     Pete had tried to get reservations at Georgetown Harbor, but they had no openings. Instead, we had to deal with the strong currents at Georgetown Landing. We filled with fuel and were docked at the southern end of the T-Dock. We both inquired from staff if there was a depth problem with the breakwater that was added about 3 years ago. "No, there is deep water and can leave on either side of the breakwater." It is an important piece of information due to limited maneuverability and strong currents.

 

 

The passing storm 

 <-- Sunset and the current

Saturday, 6/3/23 ~ Georgetown to Bucksport, SC
Today:          27 miles          3.9 hours          S/M 337.3
Total:      1502.3 miles      253.2 hours

     We left the dock at 7:50 with only mild interference from the wind and current. The day started out cloudy, cold and damp, but by midmorning the clouds had lessened. The ride up the Waccamaw River is as pretty as ever. We were very fortunate and rode the current upriver for most of the day. With it being high tide, we only saw 2 turtles sunning themselves. There were plenty of folks out on the river. Oh yea. . . it’s Saturday (DUH!), warm, blue skies, and lots of fish. 

      We were tied up by 11:30. Tillie has proven she does not like going on the boat especially when underway. She only uses the pad once we are docked. Most times she tries to hold it until she is on the dock.

Photos from the trip ~

 

 

Clouds and sunlight affecting the views

     Besides being a campground, restaurant (with great hamburgers), and marina, Bucksport is the launching ramp for many people in the area. Apparently 3pm is the popular time to bring in the boats. A staff member sits on the floating dock with a bull horn and gives instructions to returning boats. Apparently, they have to get a number from the person on the ramp. They then wait for their number to be called so they can pull out their boats. The system works. It was fun to sit up in the cockpit and watch the action, while I tried to write the blog. There is no way I would try to post from here. Cell service is 1-1.5 bars of LTE service. Last time we were here, Pete had difficulty getting internet with the MiFi.

 

 

 

Small boats waiting for their number to access the ramp while MY REEL SLICK came by for 

drive-by food, using only thrusters to maintain position against bulkhead 

     By dinner time, the winds died and the bugs were out. Needless to say, we shuttered in down below.

     I texted Elisha and we will get together with them on Monday.


~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~   K & P