Week 4 ~ North Bound St. John's, SC to Morehead City, NC

Saturday, 4/29/22 ~ St John’s, Charleston SC ~ Day 4

     This morning, I took advantage of the low humidity, warmth and sunshine to re-tape the port side window that had begun to leak again. Pete had a very busy week and enjoyed the quiet to read. We opted for cheese sticks for lunch as we were heading into Charleston around 2.
     With the head repairs complete and the stash of extra parts for the old unit, Pete listed head parts on the Catalina 350 site. Within an hour, he had a buyer who was thrilled to get the extra parts. He will just have to wait until we have access to a Post Office to mail them.
     We called for an Uber ride. Our driver had over 15,000 rides! He has been doing it for about 5 years and really enjoys it. He is also a big ancestry fan. He shared a lot of his history with us, interesting, rather informative, but a little too much information!
     It was a great day to take another carriage ride around Historic Charleston. We hadn’t realized that each ride is a lottery as to which of the 4 routes the guide will take. This carriage ride was more about the history and people who have lived close to the water. Our last one was based more on the architecture. The Star Jasmine is in full bloom and scent is all over the city! Horse and carriage is a wonderful way to see the city. We learned that Charleston is one of 4 walled cities on the eastern coast of the US. The others are Boston, Savannah, and St. Augustine.

Horses waiting at the stable, the Palmetto Carriage Works and a tour carriage ~

 

Great Architecture ~

Interesting Doorways ~

Intricate Ironworks ~

 

 

Flowers and Greenery ~

     

"The Painted Ladies" of Charleston ~

 

Through the open windows of the Straw Market ~

Wall built to support branch of tree, the original tallest building in Charleston, and Pete responding to a work email ~

S.N.O.B ~ Slightly North Of Broad Restaurent ~ 

Great Memories with special friends: Martha, Dan, Betty and John ~ 20211!

    There were lots of sailboats on the water and visitors all around Charleston. It is Race Week. There must have been at least 300+ sailboats out in the harbor AND there were more, larger boats racing out on the ocean. It is always an impressive sight to see. Earlier, we had also seen one of the American Cruise Ships leaving The Mega Dock around 2, heading to sea rather than ICW.
 

    By 3:30 Fleet Landing had stopped serving lunch and was closed until dinner at 5. We were too hungry to wait so we headed back through the French Quarter and stopped at Bumpa’s, which was recommended by our Uber driver, and just happened to be on Cumberland Street. We tried their Jo’s Disco Fries toped with short rib, caramelized onions, and gravy as an appetizer. Pete of course had the Chef’s Bacon Cheeseburger while I had Fish minus the Chips (since we already had the fries as an appetizer) and opted for a side salad instead. Everything was delicious and unique. My fish came with a ranch and dill flavored tartar sauce, while Pete’s burger also had a sunny side up egg. While eating, we heard the horns blaring the five blasts as the Carnival Cruise Ship departed. The cruise terminal is right next to Fleet Landing Restaurant, and we were about a 500 feet from the restaurant. The huge construction project is well underway on the other side of Fleet Landing; hotel, shops and more eateries are coming.
        After “Linner” (lunch/dinner,) we walked down East Bay Street towards the custom house, then called for an Uber.
      Walking back to the boat at the marina, we watched a dolphin searching for food below the main dock. Once back on board, Pete read while I updated some of the blog and edited photos. We watched some tv, but headed early to bed as we have a 10+ hour day tomorrow.

Sunday 5/1/22 ~ St. John’s to Georgetown, SC ~
Today:           73.0 miles           10.1 hours            ICW ST Mile: 402.9
Total:           1611.9 miles        333.25 hours
 

 

Sunrise over the marina & Elliott Cut

   By 6:35, we had slipped the dock and were on our way. Skies were clear, breezes light and the temps were in the low 70’s. We had the current up the Stono, but definitely against us in Elliott Cut. We were doing 3.2 mph. With bridges on demand for weekends, we had no wait for the Wapoo Creek Bridge, but a short wait for another sailboat to catch up with us at the Ben Sawyer. We opted to get fuel at Isle of Palms as it was on our way. We were lucky with the current until McClellenville, doing 7.4, but then we did mid-5’s against all the way to Winyah Bay.

     Traveling through the Santee Coastal Reserve, we spotted 2 adult and one juvenile alligator on the ICW. One needs to look carefully as they usually track along the marsh edge and look like sticks or branches in the water. This stretch of the ICW along with the Waccamaw River are my favorite views of the ICW. Pete also adds the views of the tidal marshes north of Isle of Palms, which is where we saw shoes and safety helmets nailed to day markers. Pete texted Greg (our Coastie) as to the possible explanation. As suspected, it is a Coast Guard tradition for crew members to mark their last day of service.  

      Tied up at 5:50, and even though the marina closes at 5:30 a dockhand waited to assist us in docking. Once secure, Pete took bailey to shore. On his way back, he spoke with Graham of SV EVANGELINE and suggested we meet for appetizers tomorrow, once we both get to Bucksport.

Monday, 5/2/22 ~ Georgetown to Bucksport, SC ~
Today:           28.0 miles             3.8 hours           ICW ST Mile: 377.0
Total:          1639.9 miles        337.05 hours

     There was no rush to depart as we only have about 4 hours to Bucksport. On our way up the Waccamaw, I spotted yellow flowers along the marsh shoreline. There was also the sweet scent of Honeysuckle the entire way north. There is a lot more greenery than when we passed this way on our way south.
     Caught current all the way on the Waccamaw River to Bucksport. Of course, right before the marina, the ancient, hollow tree, which continue to amaze me, is still standing, with green on two small branches at the top.

  

    My favorite Old Lady                                                              practicing for Halloween

 
Nightmares in the making ~ Tree roots at low tide

     There are a lot of Osprey nests with just the tips of white heads showing in the nests. I guess the fledglings haven’t emerged from their eggs yet, or are newly hatched.

 

     We found only a few turtles sunning themselves. We will probably see more along the Rock Pile tomorrow.

     Around noon, about 6 boats including us, arrived at Bucksport Marina. The staff was hopping. With so many arrivals, the owner thinks he might open up the restaurant/snack bar for dinner tonight.
     SV EVANGELING tied up shortly before we had arrived. After docking and cooling off, (temps are in the mid 80’s, humid and the breeze stopped!) I stopped by to confirm our meeting time with Dana and Graham.. We might even grab hamburgers here at the food shack.
     We enjoyed our appetizers aboard EVANGELINE and then decided that since the snack bar was going to be open, we would head over. The hamburgers were homemade and a good quarter pounder in size. Even the fries were delicious.

Tuesday, 5/3/22 ~ Bucksport to Myrtle Beach YC, SC ~
Today:            32.0 miles           5.3 hours           ICW ST Mile: 346.0
Total:           1671.9 miles       342.35 hours

      It was only a 4.5-hr day, so we slept in. No alarm but still woke at 7 and were underway by 8.   
Current was with us for about an hour. Traveling at 7.8-8.3 is real nice, but quite noticeable when we slowed down to about 5.3 mph. It is another beautiful day on the water. Temps are in the high 70’s with breezes creeping up to about 17 mph later in the day. We had to be at the right angle to get the breeze, but on the squiggly Waccamaw River our angle kept changing with the rivers wandering course.

     After passing through the Socastee Swing Bridge, there was a porch draped with US flags. On closer inspection, I saw Brian Carbino, videotaping us for Show Us Your Boat Facebook page! We waved as we passed. I also took a photo of him videoing us. Pete copied the link for the post. 

 
Thanks Brian!

     Surprisingly, the Barefoot Landing Bridge opened way before we were in range. He had to wait a good 3-4 minutes before we were at the bridge.

 
     SV ANGELIQUE traveled with us through the Rock Pile. It was about a foot below high tide so only some of the rocks were visible. There were plenty of Eastern Painted Turtle Mud  and a few Eastern Mud turtles sunning themselves. Another beautiful ride accompanied by the sweet aroma of Honeysuckle. Thank heavens for Zertec!!!

 
 

Different sights along the ICW ~ radar array, private beach, The Barefoot Queen, graffiti under the bridge 

 

The Rock Pile, Myrtle Beach ~

I count 7 turtles on this rock, can you?

 

    The bridge tender for Little River Swing Bridge kept the bridge open for the better part of a half hour as boats both north and south bound slowly made their way through. I feel sorry for the couple of drivers who opted to take this old road rather than the road with the new 65 foot high bridge.

     We said good-by to SV ANGELINE as we turned into Myrtle Beach Yacht Club and they continued on to anchor for the night by Bird Island off of New River.
     We were tied up by 1 and had plenty of time to relax and read. We watched clouds build to our west as the winds increased to about 20 mph. Storms developed, but missed us.


Wednesday, 5/4/22 ~ Myrtle Beach to St James Plantation, Southport, SC
Today:          32.0 miles           4.8 hours           ICW ST Mile: 315.0
Total:         1713.9 miles     347.15 hours

     Once again, no alarm, but underway by 8. It seems like a lot of boats like to leave around this time.
Temps in the low 70’s and breezes light. We were against current until Little River. Then it was great doing 8+ for a few hours until we hit the inlets.

The sunken boats are gone and a home with a boat as a deck, Holden Beach

     Passing through Holden Beach, it was quite noticeable that the sunken fishing boats had been removed. The fishing boat that had been into part of the channel, has been collapsing upon itself since our first cruise back in 2010.
     The scent of Honeysuckle and the sneezes that accompany it continues.

One of the sheriff's boats

    We had no problems going through Shallots Inlet and Folley’s Inlet at half-tide. We traversed with caution. North of Folley’s Inlet, we saw a number of sheriff boats with seniors in blue shirts in demonstrating high and low speed turns. Wonder what the story behind that is?
     Pete has projects for work that require his concentration so we will be staying at new-to-us, St. James Plantation Marina in Southport. Southport Marina had no space, and our free nights are no longer available as it is now May. St. James Plantation Marina is a beautiful and protected marina. It is a narrow entrance to a harbor surrounded by beautiful homes, condos and shops. Before being assigned to a slip, we picked up fuel and got a pump out. Had to back into our assigned slip as all slips have half fingers. The wind on our port beam made it real challenging to tie to the free-standing pilings at the entrance of the slip. The onshore breezes picked up to about 20. It kept it very comfortable to sit and read in the cockpit . . . AND no bugs!

 

The marina is not far from Camp Lejeune

Thursday 5/5/22 ~ St James, Southport ~ Day 2

     An intense thunderstorm came through around 3 am with nonstop lightning, hail and heavy rains. It lasted about 35-40 minutes, but strobe-like flashes continued for a while longer.
     Morning brought sunlight breezes and comfortable temps.
     I did laundry while Pete concentrated on work. It was wonderful to sit on the shaded porch overlooking the harbor. With only 1 washer and 1 dryer, it took a while.

The shops at St James Plantation, the marina, a "weird" palm tree fond and core ,and another flag among the many we have seen in support of Ukraine.

     While I was up at the office, around 11, Bailey HARUMPH at Pete. Looked him straight in the eye for a minute or so as if to say, “I'm hungry! You better be sure we are not moving!” Then proceeded to start eating her breakfast that was put out 3 hours ago.
 

  

 

    Internet speed was excellent. Pete completed his work by about 2. Once back, I was able to use the table and download all the photos, and partially edit them. Also wrote some of the blog.

Friday, 5/6/22 ~ St James Plantation, SC to Harbor Village, Hempstead, NC ~
Today:         49.0 miles           8.2 hours           ICW ST Mile: 267.3
Total:        1762.9 miles      355.35 hours
 

   Up and out by 7:30 with 70 degrees, no breeze, LOTS of No-see-ums, high humidity and cloud cover. We caught the end of the outgoing tide and up the Cape Fear River and then the incoming once we were entering Snow’s Cut and back onto the ICW. We love traveling at 7.5 mph or greater! Unfortunately, we did more time against rather than with the current today. Snow Cut was about half tide, but we never saw less than 10 foot under our 5.5 -foot keel.
 

    Try as we might, the currents prevented us from making the noon opening of the Wrightsville Beach Bridge. We missed it by 3 minutes! That meant dancing in the current and wind for 57 minutes. Holding station was impossible as winds were now about 15-20 mph and the current strong against us. Pete resorted to large, slow, ovals. Once clear, we still encountered changing currents. There is no way to do the 5 miles to the Figure Eight Island bridge in 30 minutes. It takes 40. So . . . another 20-minute wait once we got there.

Tenants on R96 and Bailey looking for moral support

     I called River Dunes for dockage on Sunday. Scott mentioned that a number of boats were due in on Saturday and waiting out the blow coming on Sunday and staying for about 4 days. We’ll, I quickly checked Windy (which we haven’t done in 3 days due to being more inland and protected.) We’re talking 30-45 mph winds against the shoreline, AND we would be bucking into the 25-30 mph wave on the Neuse River.! I quickly called Morehead City and was able to get another 4 days. Not worth battling the weather! By the way VA, DE, MD, PA and NJ are getting the brunt of this storm. They are in for a stormy 4-5 days, heavy rains accompanied by strong winds. I called Scott back to thank him for the heads up and to make a reservation for Thursday night. Hopefully, it will be safe to travel by then.
     Being up against the face dock in front of the office & community room., we heard a lot of giggling and shouting from a bunch of teen-age girls attending a party tonight. It did quiet down around 10.
     Winds continued to build 17-25+ mph through the night.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K & P