Monday October 22, 2012

Monday morning we left Kilkenny Creek and headed for an anchorage called “New Teakettle Creek”, that had been recommended to us by another boater.  The scenery was more of what we had been seeing throughout Georgia, salt marsh and very few trees.  We arrived in the New Teakettle Creek anchorage around 1 pm. and we found it wasn’t that special, more salt marsh with high winds.  We moved on to an anchorage closer to the Little Mud River and to wait for high tide on Tuesday afternoon.  As we got closer, we called ‘Silver Maple‘ and asked how they had found Little Mud.  They responded that they had loads of water just before high tide and made it through without a problem.  By the time we got there, it was just after high tide so we decided to try it, there was loads of water.  It was late in the day by the time we found another anchorage farther on in the Hampton River, more salt marsh and wind but south of the Little Mud River.  

We arrived early because of the tides at Jekyll Marina on Jekyll Island on Tuesday morning.  All week they have been calling for gale force winds on Friday and the winds had been progressively getting worse the last couple days, so we decided that we would skip Jekyll Island, and go on to Florida. We had to go out Jekyll Sound to get around shoaling, it was very rough near the inlet to the sound.   We were happy to make the turn around the shoal and head back up the Sound towards the ICW again.  There was one more Sound between us and Florida:  the Cumberland Sound.  It wasn’t quite as rough because the wind and tide were going up the Sound.  This combination of wind and tide dropped our speed to about 4 knots, making it a very slow trip down the Cumberland River towards the Sound.  We passed by Kings Bay, a navy nuclear sub base, and saw 2 nuclear submarines sitting in the open, a big one and a little one.  Didn’t think we could take any pictures as it is a restricted area.  By the time we arrived at Fernandina Harbor Marina in Fernandina Beach, Florida, the forecast had changed, Friday’s gale force winds were now being called ‘Hurricane Sandy’.  Dave had been asking experienced cruisers what to look for in a ‘hurricane hole’, it turns out we fell into one.  Fernandina Harbor Marina is protected  from the winds from the east and north east by the town Fernandina Beach.  The dock and breakwater are large floating concrete slabs that float up and down on 2 foot square concrete pillars, this is what we were tied to.  We were well hidden on the inside of this sandwiched between large sportfishermen and other mega yachts. People kept telling us how good a hurricane hole this was, but when the Coast Guard brought 3 of their boats over from Kings Bay to tie up, we really started to believe them. This was our first day in Florida and we finished it off with cocktails with a group of boaters.  

Wednesday was the day we had planned to catch up on groceries, laundry, email etc.  In the afternoon we took a walk up town and looked around in some of the shops.  While we were waiting for an ice cream cone, we heard someone behind us say “How is Time 2 Go today?”  It was David of ‘Memory Maker’, whom we had first met at Elizabeth City.  David and his wife, Barb had stopped to visit with friends, Eileen and Larry who live in Fernandina Beach.  They introduced us to them.  Eileen and Larry have done a circumnavigation and now cruise the inland waters of North America.   They generously offered to give us a ride to the grocery store while we were there, as Eileen said there had been many times she couldn’t get to the grocery store from their boat.   

Thursday morning the winds picked up and they issued a ‘Tropical Storm Watch’ for the area.  So we booked another night at the marina and doubled up all of our dock lines.   We called Eileen and took her up on her offer to the grocery store.  It is surprising how much you appreciate being able to get to a large grocery store while cruising and how special people like Eileen and Larry are to you, for offering to take 2 strangers.  

The rest of our week was spent taking long walks downtown, watching the weather channel in the boaters’ lounge, and talking and visiting with other boaters.  The biggest concern that we heard talking to local people, was what effect the winds were going to have on the Florida /Georgia College Football game on Saturday (the largest tailgate party in the world).  Would it mean a running game or passing game?  The weather was gradually getting better as the week progressed.  “Sandy” hit south of us and north of us and missed Fernandina Beach.  Saturday afternoon the ‘Tropical Storm Watch’ was lifted for our area and farther south.  That night we celebrated Dave’s birthday by going out for a nice seafood supper.  Everyone started to make plans to leave Sunday.  

We decided we would leave as well.  The ICW was choppy and still windy in the area of the marina so we planned to only go to Jacksonville, 30 miles south.  We arrived just after lunch and walked to the mall, where we found all the stores closed.  So we went back to the marina to do laundry and showers before bed.  

Some of the Georgia mud we travelled through  

Tucked in for Hurricane Sandy at Fernandina Harbor Marina

A birthday to remember Dave, Anne and Hurricane Sandy

Monday October 15, 2012

Monday they were forecasting thunderstorms south of where we were located at the anchorage.  We headed on down the ICW & through the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.  The only wildlife we saw were a couple of dolphins that were swimming along on each side of our boat.  There was nothing distinguishing about this Wildlife Refuge, it looked the same as all the other salt marsh we’d been traveling through.  We ended our day early & anchored in the Whiteside Creek, about 15 miles north of Charleston, SC.  That nit we had a spectacular light show with lightening & storm clouds all around us, but nothing in our anchorage. 

Tuesday was an even shorter day, arriving in Charleston, South Carolina at 11 am.  We had a quick lunch, then caught a shuttle-bus to the old Slave Market.  There were several companies offering horse-drawn carriage tours of the downtown area & we decided this would be a good way to see the sites of  historic Charleston.  We saw some interesting single room width houses & large churches with huge steeples.  After the tour we went through the Old Slave Market which is a 2 block long building that is full of vendors selling crafts, food and other products.  The market was never used to sell slaves but was where the slaves would go to sell their masters produce from the plantations.  

We left Charleston the following morning & headed south again on the ICW.  We anchored in the South Edisto River, just off the main channel of the ICW.  The river is very wide here so the tidal current was not very fast, making for a calm anchorage.  We saw quite a few dolphins in this area.  

We have been pushing to get to Georgia, as there was not a lot we were interested in seeing after leaving Charleston.  Thursday night we had planned on anchoring in Skull Creek, off of Hilton Head Island but couldn’t find a good spot based on the description in the guide books.  We ended up going aground while trying to find this anchorage.  We were able to reverse off of it & decided maybe it was a good night for a marina, we got a slip at Hilton Head Harbor Marina. The tides are getting really high as we are getting closer to Georgia, about 8 feet at Hilton Head harbor.

We left Hilton Head Friday morning for Savannah, Georgia.  The tide was against us so the current was pretty strong, so with the motor on & the sails up & 14 knots of wind, we were only able to go 4 and half knots (slow!).  We arrived at Isle of Hope Marina in the middle of the afternoon.  Isle of Hope is where the rich people of Savannah, Georgia would go in the summer to escape the heat of the city.  The “cottages” all look like smaller versions of the southern mansions, surrounded with Live Oaks & covered in hanging moss.  

Saturday morning we got a guy from the marina to take us to Walmart so we could catch a bus to downtown Savannah.  The bus could not take us to where we hoped to be dropped off, because Savannah State University’s Homecoming Weekend parade was going across his normal route.  We stayed and watched a bit of the parade which was all the younger kids by the time we got there.  They put their heart and soul into their routine and it was fun to see the antics.  Our idea was to do a tour of downtown Savannah like we had done in Charleston.  We picked one of the trolleys and got lucky as the driver was a character who did a standup comedy routine while driving the trolley around downtown Savannah.  We became her new best friends from Canada and this was a really good way to see the sites.  Savannah is a beautiful city rich in history that they are maintaining to its original state.  They have 22 parks that were built when the city was originally laid out with different monuments to people that were important in the development of Savannah.   These are landscaped and shaded by Live Oak trees that are covered with moss.  The moss we found is loaded with Chiggers which are nasty little bugs that bite and can only be removed by painting them with clear nail polish, according to our tour guide.  Some of the streets near the old harbour area are still paved with ballast stones from the old sailing ships that used to come to load up with cotton.  They have done a great job maintaining the history of the area.

We had been reading & hearing about how shallow the ICW was through Georgia, so Dave asked the dockmaster what areas were bad.  He told us of the 3 main ones:  Hell Gate, Florida Passage & the Little Mud River.  He also told us how to get through them.  So on Sunday morning we left Isle of Hope late to get the rising tide.  The 8 feet of rising tide plus the 3 to 5 feet, that was there at low tide, provided plenty of water to allow us to go through Hell Gate and Florida passage.  We anchored that night in Kilkenny Creek, 25 miles south of Savannah and the next morning we used the same technique to go down the Little Mud River.

The tallest buildings allowed in Charleston are the churches

The Old Slave Market in downtown Charleston 

Our best dolphin picture so far

Savannah State University Homecoming Parade

One of the parks in Savannah

Swamp grass along the ICW, half South Carolina and most of Georgia  looked like this

Storm clouds and light show in the distance thankfully

Monday October 14, 2012

Sometimes the hardest part of the day is deciding if we should untie the dock lines or not.  This morning the skies were kind of grey & they were calling for showers & chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.  We walked over to Portside Marina & got talking to the owner, Denard Harris.  He gave us a tour of his facilities, remodeled after Hurricane Irene & explained a few things about the ICW to us.  The key thing was the channel markers.  There are 3 different types :  the red & green markers on poles, the red & green markers on poles with lights on them that indicate a turn, & little short stubby ones that indicate there has been shoaling in the channel.  This is something we probably learned in our Power Squadron course, but have long forgotten.  It has become very important as we head south on the ICW.  We finally decided to let go the lines & head down the ICW around 9:00 am.  This part of the ICW is very close to the ocean & is blocked by the Barrier Islands, some of which are below water.  We only travelled as far as Swansboro because of the threat of bad weather & tied up at Dudley’s Marina.  Dave talked to the owner of Dudley’s & asked him if he knew of any shoaling hazards through Camp LeJeune.  He knew of several tugs that drew 10 feet who routinely travelled that area and if he followed the marker buoys, he’d be fine.  

On Tuesday we headed down the ICW towards Camp Le Jeune.  Camp Le Jeune is a marine corp training base that crosses the ICW.  It is known for two things...one is shoaling at the inlets from the ocean & the other is, they sometimes close the ICW in this section when they are doing live fire exercises.  We dodged both these bullets, making it through the shoaling area and picking a day when no live firing exercises were blocking the ICW.   We ended our day in Surf City, NC at a yacht club within walking distance of shopping so we stocked up.  There was also a Dairy Queen so we just had to go for sundaes for dessert!  

On Wednesday our timing was off.  We had to wait for three bridge openings, the third being the worst waiting an hour.  We’ve been noticing different trees in this area on the way down, one is a pine with really long needles (5 to 6 inches long), & the other looks like a giant Bonsai tree, all bent & twisted.  We got a slip at Carolina Beach State Park Marina for the night.  We went for a walk on one of their nature trails & noticed these same type of trees.  Dave asked the park ranger what they were & he explained, the tar from the long needle pine used to be collected (much like our maple syrup) & was used for coating the ropes on ships & tarring the seams on ships.  The tree that looked like a Bonsai tree was called a Live Oak.  These also were used in ship building, the bent & twisted part was used for building strong corners on the ship’s frames.  

Leaving the State Park the next morning we headed down the Cape Fear River.  With the current, the GPS showed we were doing over 8 knots.  This was a lot of fun until we had to make a 90 degree turn across the current into the canal, off the river. This was a bit too exciting, but once we got into the canal, our speed dropped & things calmed down again.   We stopped early with the hope of doing some boat maintenance.    

The next morning we left North Carolina for North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  On the way, we went aground twice near the Little River Inlet.  This area had no indication of shoaling but when we got to the marina, the dockmaster was explaining that because of a new moon, the tides were more extreme than normal (about 2 feet more).  We were close enough to walk to shopping & picked up some oil for an oil change on the engine, got a few groceries & I (Anne) got a hair cut.  Not quite the same as my Port Elgin “summer doo”, but okay.  

Saturday we headed south again, going through what is known as the rock cut.  This 26 mile section is cut out of rock rather than a dug ditch.  This section includes Myrtle Beach where we saw lots of golf courses & lots of really tacky looking mansions and condos.  This stretch of canal turns into the Waccamaw River, a very scenic section of the ICW.  It is a Cypress swamp where the trees grow out into the canal and are draped in moss.  We stayed the night at Osprey Marina which was recommended by another boater we had met, a great spot - friendly, helpful, quiet and bug free.  

Sunday we continued our scenic trip down the Waccamaw River.  We blew a fan belt on the engine and it was so quiet and remote here, we were able to drop the anchor in mid channel and change it right there.  That night we anchored in a nice looking anchorage in Minim Creek.  It only looked nice until dusk, then the mosquitoes arrived.  They were so small they were able to go through the screens on our portholes & hatches!  We had to close up all the portholes & hatches, & spent the rest of the evening swatting mosquitoes.  

Barrier island along the ICW near Morehead City, NC

Live Oak Trees, they look like full size Bonsai trees as you travel down ICW

Time 2 Go at Osprey Marina really nice marina  in  a Cypress  swamp

Typical view as you travel the ICW in South Carolina 

South Carolina School Boat

Scenery along the Wacamaw River  

We had these clouds all around us and managed to miss the storm 

Sunday October 7, 2012

We decided to stay in Elizabeth City Monday morning to get groceries.  We learned from the Visitor’s Centre that Farm Fresh would send a vehicle to pick us up, get our groceries & bring us back to the boat for free.  So we took advantage of this.  Ed, the young man who picked us up also gave us a bit of a tour of some of the older homes in Elizabeth City.  

Elizabeth City is known among boaters for a group called the “Rose Buddies”.  This started in the early 80’s when Fred Fearing & Joe Kramer welcomed boaters by giving all the ladies roses from Joe’s rose garden.  Even though both have passed, away a group has formed called the “Rose Buddies”, who have continued the tradition of welcoming boaters to Elizabeth City.  Any time 5 or more boats arrive at the wharf, they hold an impromptu wine & cheese party.  There were 7 boats at the wharf, so we were invited to a wine & cheese party Monday afternoon.  There were 3 speakers & we got to meet the other boaters.  One of the “Rose Buddies” gave us advice on when to cross Albemarle Sound & how to get around the shoaling at the entrance to the Alligator River.  

The weather wasn’t good on Tuesday for crossing Albemarle Sound so we decided to stay an extra day & got caught up on some boat chores in the morning.  In the afternoon we toured the local museum.  

Wednesday was calling for rain & a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, but the morning was looking good for crossing Albemarle Sound.  So we decided to sail down the Pasquotank River, across the Sound & just into the Alligator River.  We stopped for the nite at the Alligator River Marina, & were able to get fuel & a pump out before the rain started.  They had a small restaurant in back of their gas station/variety store.  So we treated ourselves to dinner out.  Dave asked the waitress if there really were alligators in the river & she told us about the 12 to 14 foot one they had in the harbour last year.  He asked how they got rid of it & she explained that they had to just wait until it left on it’s own, as they are a protected species in North Carolina.  They had alligator bites on the menu, so we ordered them to try.  The waitress was quick to point out that they imported their alligator from Louisana, & was not from North Carolina.  The alligator bites were really tasty, similiar in colour & texture to chicken.  

Thursday we left & headed up the Alligator River to the Alligator River - Pungo River Canal.  We ended our day anchored in a bay just off the start of the Pungo River.  After supper, while we were sitting in the cockpit watching a beautiful sunset, Dave spotted something in the water swimming across the bay.  It turned out to be a black bear.  We could tell when he reached the other side because of all the dogs barking.  

We went down the Pungo River, through the Bay River & Gale Creek, through a series of canals.  As we were just about to enter the Neuse River, we hit a shoal hard enough that I thought the bow was going to go under the water & Dave thought the propeller had come out of the water.  We were able to back off but were not able to find a way through the channel until a boater from North Carolina came along & said he had no problem going through this area.  We ducked in behind him & followed him all the way through, thankfully.  We had planned to anchor off of the Neuse River in Broad Creek.  When we got to the anchorage, it was very shallow, & after our earlier experience, we didn’t feel comfortable being in water that shallow.  We had passed the entrance channel to a marina, that we had read about, on the way in to the anchorage, so we decided to try it out.  Grace Harbour at River Dunes is part of a planned community that was started just as the economy went bad.  As we entered the channel, the homes alongside it, looked like they came right out of “Gone With The Wind”. So we decided to stay an extra night to take advantage of some of the amenities that they had available.  

Sunday we headed for Morehead City, NC.  When we arrived, there was a Seafood Festival going on so we walked over to it.  Our Thanksgiving meal included shrimp, flounder, crab cakes & hush puppies, but no turkey.

The "Rose Buddies" rose bushes in Elizabeth City, NC 

Club House at Grace Harbour at River Dunes, NC

House on the ICW anything goes for colour here

Monday October 1, 2012

We left Solomons Island early in the morning & headed for Deltaville, VA.  Dave had heard of Dozier’s Regatta Point Marina.  We thought we would try it since it would make a shorter run to Norfolk, VA the next day.  It was the nicest marina we’ve been to so far!  It was cheap, beautifully landscaped, clean, & had lots of facilities.  The marina owner is the publisher of the Waterway Guides & the Skipper Bob publications.  

Tuesday morning we left for Norfolk, we got about an hour south on the Chesapeake. The wind was gusting to 15 knots coming out of the south, the current was coming in and and the waves were about 3 foot.  We decided that this was not going to be a fun sail and turned around and went back to Dozier’s Marina.  

The weather conditions were the same Wednesday so we stayed again.  We borrowed their courtesy car & went into Deltaville & did errands.  Dave got his first hair cut since being away.  It turned out okay, even though he was warned not to get a certain lady.  We spent the afternoon doing odds & ends on the boat.  

We decided to try going to Yorktown to Riverwalk Landing Marina.  As we were approaching Riverwalk,      Dave saw a dolphin off the stern of the boat.  This was the closest we’ve been to them!  We are finding the guide books have a tendency to embellish the facilities.  Riverwalk had no wind protection, & there was a good foot & a half swell in the harbour, plus nothing was close-by to see.  So we left & got a slip in a marina across the York River.  The only attraction we ended up seeing was a Wal-mart Supercentre - our first since leaving Port Elgin.  

Friday morning we left for Norfolk, VA.  We were able to sail part way down the York River to the Chesapeake Bay.  Then the winds died & we just motored the rest of the way.  Norfolk is the world’s largest naval facility & it is huge!  We saw 4 or 5 aircraft carriers plus numerous other large naval vessels, which we had no idea what they were.  These were all being protected by helicopters, small patrol boats & jet fighters.  Needless to say, we didn’t go for a close up look.  We ended our day at Waterside Marina, about 6 miles north of the start of the Intracoastal Waterway.  

The next morning we headed south to the start of the ICW in the rain.  After going through the Gilmerton Highway Bascule Bridge, we left the military/industrial area of Norfolk & entered a rural creek on our way to the Great Dismal Swamp Canal.  There’s a lock at both ends of the canal that maintain the water level 8 feet higher than the waterway in & out of the canal.  The canal was dug by hand, by slaves & is maintained at a minimum depth of 6 & half feet.  The depth sounder showed between 6 & a half feet & 8 & a half feet, but we still managed to find a dozen spots to polish the bottom of the keel.  We stopped at the Visitor’s Centre for the night & tied to their dock.  Also checked out the Dismal Swamp State Park Visitor’s Centre on the other side of the canal.  

Sunday we locked down into the Pasquotank River from the canal.  This stretch of waterway was more what we had envisioned as a swamp than the Dismal Swamp Canal.  It had different kinds of over-hanging trees, small animals like turtles, birds, butterflies, & one snake.  The water surface was covered with duckweed, which is a lime green colour & floats on top of the water.  The bow of the boat cuts a path through it and leaves a brown stripe behind from all the tannin that is in the water. We ended our day in Elizabeth City, NC, known for providing legendary hospitality to waterway travelers.  

 

Some of the Naval Vessels in Norfolk, Virginia

Time 2 Go at the Dismal swamp Canal Visitor's Centre

Places we've been and places still to come

Pasquotank River after leaving the Dismal Swamp Canal

Tannin coloured water trail

Duck weed covers the whole Pasquotank River the wild life don't seem to mind but tough on cooling water strainers