Long Distance Wishes

Long Distance Wishes

One of the downsides to extended cruising is the realization that communication with the people that are special to you will often be difficult and that you will probably not be present in person to celebrate special events and successes or to provide support when things go wrong.

Recently, two of our favorite people have been diagnosed with very serious illnesses. I think about them a lot, hoping that they are getting the best medical care available and that they will have the best of all possible outcomes.

Mike and Ellen – For both of you we hope that today is better than yesterday, tomorrow is better than today and that soon these things will be behind you.

Tom Point River to Bull Creek

Tom Point River to Bull Creek - November 7 to 12, 2009

Fred joined us in Annapolis as extra crew. He was not able to do as much of the heavy lifting as we had hoped and was relegated to the aft cabin with the tools and spare parts for three and a half weeks. A few days before Halloween we noticed that he was getting a little pale so we let him out on the back deck to get some sun. Fred is not a very sociable guy and can only handle a few days out in public. After Halloween he retired once more to the life of a hermit in the aft cabin.

Fred

While we were in Charleston I became aware of another sea water phenomenon. I started hearing a sound very much like crinkling cellophane or tin foil coming through from the bottom of the boat. I have been told that the source of the noise is the shrimp nibbling on the crud that is growing on the hull. I have no intention of going down to see for myself so I will just take their word for it.

We are well into Low Country now. The ICW winds through a maze of interconnected salt marshes, rivers, creeks, inlets, and sounds.

Fellow boaters winding through the marsh to the anchorage at Tom Point River.

Low tide in Tom Point River

You know you are in the south when real estate signs look like this.

As we move from one to the other the tidal currents are constantly changing. Sometimes they are in our favor, giving a boost of 3-4 knots to our speed and other times they are against us slowing us down to the point where we need to increase the engine RPM’s just to keep moving.

Six knots is our normal cruising speed. As you can see, we were getting a little help here.

The area we have passed through is sparsely populated near the water. The vegetation is mostly marsh grasses with a few higher areas dotted with trees. We have started to see palmetto trees growing in the wild. The flatness makes it feel like traveling through the prairies.

Residents have a long walk to their boat docks.

Tom exploring the salt marsh at Lady’s Island

From the anchorage at Lady’s Island we had a short travel day of about 45 minutes when we passed through the bridge and dropped our anchors again in front of downtown Beaufort (say bee-you-fert), South Carolina. Hurricane Ida was heading for the Gulf Coast and we were watching closely to see if she was coming our way or not. Sunday is one dollar Miller Draft day at Luther’s Rare and Well Done waterfront restaurant. They also have $12.95 plates of wings big enough to feed six. What better place to sit and watch the weather channel?

The gang before we went to Luther’s trying to ignore the swarm of gnats biting at our ankles.

Luther’s Rare and Well Done

Ida started to dissipate and it looked like we would get some wind in a couple of days but nothing too serious. We stayed in the anchorage at Beaufort another day to go exploring.

Front porches are for sleepy dogs.

A quiet side street in Beaufort, SC

I thought that Spanish moss was unique to specific trees. In Beaufort I discovered that it makes itself at home in just about any kind of tree.

Spanish moss in some kind of maple tree.

Spanish moss in a tall juniper.

Spanish moss in what might be a sycamore.

With Remembrance Day just a few days away, the Beaufort National Cemetery was a fitting place to visit. This cemetery was established in 1863 and contains the graves of soldiers from every conflict from the American Civil War to the Persian Gulf conflict.

Beaufort National Cemetery as seen from the main gate.

Trees draped with Spanish moss.

As we left the cemetery a light rain started. Before we reached the downtown area it was a downpour. Back to Luther’s we went hoping to enjoy happy hour while we dried out and waited for the rain to stop long enough to get back to the dinghy dock and back to our boats without getting too wet again. It was not letting up and we couldn’t stay there all night as Laurie had already prepared lasagna for a group dinner. The Dubarry boots kept our feet dry but we were totally drenched everywhere else. When we reached Polar Pacer we had to strip off all of our wet clothes before we went inside the cabin. Good thing it was already dark out.

The rainy anchorage at Beaufort.

The anchorage at Beaufort was not well protected for whatever effects of Ida might be leftover by the time they came our way so we headed for Bull Creek about 30 miles farther down the Intracoastal Waterway. Another early start and we were anchored shortly after noon. We had an opportunity to test the steering hydraulics with the auto pilot and are pleased with the improved operation.

It was another morning of multiple dolphin sightings. Seeing them is getting to be pretty common but we still get excited when we see the fins gracefully break the surface of the water. Today there were even a few that jumped completely out of the water.

A fishing boat at work in the early morning.

Fishing boats at dock.

Palmettos in the wild on the shore of Skull Creek

Hurricane Ida

We had been watching Ida's progress closely and were relieved to see her downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression. As she moved in our direction we were only expecting to see maximum winds of about 35 knots. Bull Creek, near Hilton Head, was a well protected anchorage from most directions and was a good place to sit until things calmed down. Our first night there we anchored near the creek entrance. We had heavy rain that night but no wind. The wind came up and we saw gusts to 38 knots from the south which was our least protected side. The anchor held tight but NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration ) was still forecasting stong winds for the area into Thursday night so we moved around the bend in the creek that was just a little more protected.

We had also woken to the gas can floating upside down in the dinghy. Not good for the outboard motor. We were on our way to visit another boat in the anchorage later in the day and the motor sputtered and stopped. When it would not restart Tom got the oars ready to row and then one of the oarlocks snapped. Good thing the current was moving in the right direction and carries us to where we wanted to be. We could have ended up in Hilton Head! We needed a tow to get back to our boat after dinner. Thanks Jim, that wasn’t easy for you to do in the pitch blackness. Tom dismantled the motor the next day and after giving it a good cleaning and some clean gas he got it running again.

Tom caught this guy trying to crawl aboard using the dinghy painter. By himself he was not big enough to make a crab cake so we sent him back to the river to join the rest of the blue crabs.

Dolphins feeding at the edge of the marsh. The tide is in.

When you don't want to drive the long way around just put your horse trailer on a barge and take the shortcut down Bull Creek.

Wrightsville Beach to Charleston

Wrightsville Beach,NC to Charleston, SC – October 30 to November 6, 2009

We saw our first palm trees in Virginia planted on the grounds of the lock into the Dismal Swamp. As we neared Wrightsville Beach both the houses and the palm trees became more numerous.

It was a gray day when we passed this place. It sure caught our attention.

Life size lawn ornaments make you look twice. A good thing when you are trying to sell.

Wrightsville Beach is without a doubt a surfer town. With the Atlantic Ocean only three blocks from the dinghy dock it was a short walk to the beach to watch the action.

Mature surfer dude.

Oops.

Tom testing the water

The anchorage at Wrightsville Beach

Wrightsville resident

The anchorage at Wrightsville Beach is sandwiched between the two sides of town and is a beehive of activity. We saw swimmers (human) who appeared to be warming up for the ironman competition the following weekend as well as a number of dolphins. There was even a rumor of a possible shark sighting.

Getting around town

Warm up routine before going out to catch a wave.

Our neighbors in Wrightsville Beach

There are two food items at Wrightsville beach that I highly recommend; the fresh swordfish at Motts Channel Seafood (barbecued to perfection with a little garlic lime marinade) and the famous chicken salad from Robert’s Market that has its own facebook page. The first container didn’t last long and a special trip was made to restock.

The morning we left Wrightsville Beach I saw ocean phosphorescence for the first time. We have a clear hose that brings in sea water to the toilet and when I flushed in the early morning darkness I saw a flash of light in the hose. Sure enough when I lifted the toilet seat there was a little plankton winking back at me!

Kismet - Sunrise at Wrightsville Beach

We were up very early that morning as we had decided with three other boats to take advantage of the full moon and a good weather forecast to get more offshore experience in the log books. It looked like an easy overnight run directly from Wrightsville Beach to Charleston. Our estimated travel time was around 30 hours which would have us arriving in Charleston just before noon with the tidal current helping us into the harbor. You always need to be prepared to change plans at short notice and when there were reports of possible thunder storms 20 to 40 miles off of Cape Fear we changed our exit point and went out via the Cape Fear River farther down the coast to avoid the potential storm area. We were out in the Atlantic by mid morning and although the sky was overcast it looked like it would be a good passage. The winds were in our favor and the waves were less than two feet high. We had lots of dolphin sightings and even had a small pod travel with us for about half an hour crossing back and forth in front of the boat and coming up out of the water alongside us. They were larger than the ones we have been seeing in the rivers and inlets and were amazing to watch.

The afternoon dolphin show on the Atlantic Ocean

All was going well until it got dark. It was still overcast so the full moon was no help whatsoever. Both wind and waves increased and with the waves from a different direction than the ocean swells we felt like we were inside a washing machine. The hydraulic auto steering system could not keep the boat going in the right direction so we would need to steer by hand all the way to Charleston which was still about 100 miles away. One of the boats we had left Wrightsville Beach with had disappeared over the horizon some time earlier and on our last radio contact with them said they were having such a good sail that they decided to bypass Charleston and head for Florida. The other two boats were behind us. With nothing but blackness ahead we could only hand steer by following the compass or the course indicator on the chart plotter. To make matters worse, Tom got a very bad case of seasickness and spent much of the night feeding the fishes.

When we saw lights from another sailboat on our port side we changed course to fall in behind them and use their lights to steer to. Iwanda immediately hailed us on the radio to say they had seen us make a course change and wanted to make sure that we were okay. We confirmed that they were also headed for Charleston and indicated that were having steering problems and would like to use their stern light as a steering guide. Over the course of the night they kept in touch by radio to make sure that they were not travelling too fast for us and to advise us of their intended course changes and to provide an update on potential freighter traffic in the channel going into Charleston. While we were not in any danger, we are very appreciative of their concern for our wellbeing and grateful for them making our lives easier in the wee hours of the morning.

Not long after out arrival in Charleston Tom related our experience to a fellow boater on the docks. Rob turned out to be very well versed in the Hynotics hydraulic steering system that we have on Polar Pacer and took the time to discuss it in detail. He made some suggestions to troubleshoot the system and gave us copies of the Hynotics documentation he had with him. Just a few minutes with a bicycle pump and it appears that our steering problem may be resolved!

Tom later referred to that offshore passage as our “Gone With the Wind “tour. Just like Scarlett O’Hara we had depended on the kindness of strangers.

Once we had caught up on our sleep and had showers it was time to play tourist in Charleston. What a beautiful place. We took a horse drawn carriage tour with a guide whose family has been in the area for many generations. Montague (the horse) and Phillip (the guide) escorted us through historical Charleston and provided an entertaining commentary on the lifestyle and events of the area.

Monty

The old architecture is incredible and thanks to strict preservation rules that protect anything older than 75 years it should remain that way. Even the trees, sidewalks and old carriage steps are protected.

Many of the houses were built with side porches to catch the ocean breezes.

Creeping fig covers much of the stonework.

These are earthquake bolts They were installed in many buildings in the 1800’s to hold them together after they were damaged by an earthquake.

Downtown Charleston resident

An old carriage step

The ghost walk we took after dark was disappointing after the excellent Monty and Phillip show although we did go down into this cool dungeon below the old customs house.

A typical side garden

In Charleston we also made arrangements to have one last night on the town with Hanni and Roger. They will be staying in Charleston for an extended period before going on to Florida. We had a great time travelling with them. Hopefully our paths will cross again someday.

Saying goodbye at The Noisy Oyster

Elizabeth City to Camp LeJeune- October 24 – 29, 2009

At the end of the Dismal Swamp route is the wonderful community of Elizabeth City where boaters are given a warm welcome by Sam the volunteer dock master at the Visitor Center. There is no charge for boaters to stay at the public docks in Elizabeth City. Sam will also arrange for rides to the grocery store or other places you might need to go shopping. Other volunteers organize a wine and cheese welcome party and provide information about their community. They have a supply of fresh roses for all of the ladies, following a tradition that was started over 20 years ago by some local gentlemen who became known as the Rose Buddies.

My “Rose Buddy” rose in an improvised vase.

There is a lot to do within walking distance of the docks and we had a sunny 83^o F day to go with it. We spent some time in the Museum of the Albemarle (free with very nice displays), had dinner and a movie at the Carolina Theatre and Grill with three other boating couples (saw Where the Wild Things Are – not really a children’s show) with excellent table service, bought fresh vegetables and pepper jelly at the farmers’ market next to the dock, listened to live music in the park, went for a long walk and still had time for happy hour on another catamaran, Jolie Julie.

The display in the lobby of the museum.

Dinner at the Carolina Theatre. The movie has not started yet.

Looking back at the Elizabeth City docks.

Most of the boats that travelled the Dismal Swamp with us left Elizabeth City the same morning we did. The parade out of town and down the Pasquotank River started before dawn. Boaters like to get up and go very early in the morning in order to find a good spot to spend the next night before it gets too dark to see where you are dropping your anchor or pulling into a strange harbor. As long as there is enough light to see the channel markers and the other boats around you (and the crab pot markers) you’re good to go. Retired on a boat does not mean no more alarm clocks!

Sunrise departure from Elizabeth City.

At the welcome party we had been told about some blimps tethered on the shore just south of Elizabeth City. They were still there when we made our early morning passage.

Blimps tethered on shore.

By the time we crossed the Albemarle Sound and reached the Alligator Bridge, at the beginning of the Alligator River, there were thirteen boats in front of us and at least ten visible behind. Everyone was lined up to go through the bridge. Automobile traffic on the bridge was lined up in both directions too so they would only be able to let a few boats through at a time. We were able to pass through on the third opening.

Line up for the Alligator Bridge.

Our turn.

The Alligator River runs through a cypress swamp that I found to be much more dismal than the Dismal Swamp. We anchored in the river overnight and and passed through the swamp the next day via the Alligator River and Pungo River canal.

A Dubarry Day in the cypress swamp.

After a couple of days of light drizzle in the canal and on the Pungo River we crossed the Pamlico River under sail at 6.5 to 7.5 knots in winds of 10 to 15 knots. Tom described it as our “best upwind sail ever” with Polar Pacer. We had been hearing stories about how difficult the Pamlico crossing can be. We lucked out. It only took about 45 minutes and we were greeted by a couple of dolphins as we entered Goose Creek on the other side.

We lucked out again the same day when we followed Kismet into a marina at Broad Creek just off the Neuse River a few miles from Oriental, North Carolina. The River Dunes Harbor Club and Marina is a planned luxury boating community under development. It is so new that it’s man made harbor does not appear on either our paper or electronic charts. When complete it will have 700 homes and 400 boat slips. See www.RiverDunes.com . Transient boaters have access to the well appointed facilities including steam showers, swimming pool, fitness center, laundry, and the central club building which has a beautiful restaurant that unfortunately is only open on weekends. This is the fanciest place yet where we have done the laundry and pumped out the holding tank.

Some River Dunes homes.

The swimming pool and club house.

The restaurant is on the second floor.

Polar Pacer at the docks.

River Dunes also has a courtesy car that we borrowed for the 15 minute drive to Oriental where I picked up a thermometer at the hardware store that shows both Celsius and Fahrenheit. I can now convert the weather forecasts! Tom tried to get his picture on the town’s web cam with the crew from Lily Pad but they got the timing wrong. It was a beautiful sunny day in Oriental with a temperature of 84^oF (28^oC). No Dubarry's , just shorts and t-shirts.

A shrimp boat at the city dock in Oriental.

Travelling down the coast of North Carolina took us through an endless maze of creeks and rivers that are sometimes connected by canals where the water was too shallow and to avoid going out into the Atlantic Ocean. When we dropped our anchor in Cedar Creek, off Adam’s Creek which is off the Neuse River that we got to via Goose Creek from the Pamlico River, Tom noticed that we were still moving after putting out about 80 feet of chain in 7 feet of water. Normally that would have brought us to a dead stop after the anchor settled into the muddy bottom.

When we pulled the anchor back up to try again this is what we found attached to the anchor!

Unmarked crab traps do not make good anchor holding. Good thing Tom noticed right away that we were dragging instead of having to get up and reset the anchor at 2 AM in the dark!

Adam’s Creek must be a good fishing spot. The fishing boats gave us a good wake up rock and roll when they passed through the anchorage on their way out to work early the next morning.

Brown Pelicans and seagulls looking for hand outs.

Fishing the shallows.

Travelling south from Morehead City and Beaufort (Bow-fort) the Intracoastal Waterway follows a narrow strip of land that protects it from the Atlantic Ocean. There are many shallow areas that keep shifting with the tides so the marked channel cannot always be trusted 100 per cent. The dredged channels are narrow and it is easy to make a mistake and end up in the shallows. Tow Boat US and Sea Tow are frequently hailed on the radio to get updates on the water conditions and boaters get together in the evenings to share information on trouble spots. Still, every day there are boats that go aground and need help to get unstuck. We were able to assist a boat that went aground while waiting for a bridge to open. It just took a little tug to get them moving and neither of us missed the bridge opening. Turned out it was a boat that we had met at the Seven Seas gam several weeks ago.

Many of the newer houses in coastal North Carolina are built on stilts to keep them safe from tidal surges. Instead of walk-outs they have walk-throughs.

This one was still under construction.

The ICW passes through the Camp LeJeune marine base and is sometimes closed down due to military exercises. All was clear for us to go through and we were also able to anchor in Mile Hammock Bay which is inside of the Camp LeJeune boundary. We had low flying military helicopters doing maneuvers over the anchorage until well after dark. At times it looked like they were trying to see how low they could go without touching the tops of the masts. Happy hour was pretty noisy.

Karen and Warren – This is where we met up with Sharon and Ian on Celtic Cross. They were also anchored at Mile Hammock and when Tom mentioned that we are from LSYC they told him that they had traveled with Sand Castle last year.