Isle of Palms!

October 30, 2013
Lat 33 11.070 N
Long 79 15.919 N

Bon Voyage "disconnected" about 7 AM. Deidre thinks she heard ropes tossed on our deck about 7 AM. We slept on as we only had 36 NM left to make it to the IOP. Eventually we got going about 10 AM. The chain and anchor came up clean as a whistle, that was a surprise.

Very different being on the ICW compared to the Atlantic. Prettier, but demands lots of attention. We left at about low tide and came across several shallow spots, but by then we were in touch with Jon and he warned us of all the shallow spots. We arrived at the IOP Marina at 3:30 PM and Kylie and Mason were there to great us. We took a pump out and then went to the slip.

The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent with the kids. Mason is going to be a Sumo wrestler, a first in our family I think! He is a healthy and happy kid.

Ky and Mason on the dock!

Minum Creek

October 29, 2013
33 11.379 N
79 16.389 W

It was very dark at 5:30 AM when we got up. Once washed and dressed we prepared Tide Hiker for departure. The same was going on next door on Bon Voyage. It was still totally dark when we backed out of the slip a few minutes past 6 AM. It was actually worse than dark because of bright lights on shore messing up our night vision. This was the darkest we had ever moved the boat in close quarters. I could not see a thing and was piloting from the chart plotter and radar, and Deidre was out on deck trying to spot “land marks”. We came close to hitting a day marker – totally my fault as it was showing on the chart plotter and the radar. Jon called on the radio “Nice miss!”

I was a bit rattled and asked Jon to take over the lead. As he was passing we both detected a tug and barge coming at us in the channel. We headed starboard and crept along the edge of the channel as we headed out to sea. I could see another object on radar. Jon has “AIS” so could identify that it was a pilot boat. They slipped past us in the dark. All was well, but I was a bit spooked.

By 7 AM the light was starting to spread and Deidre came of the deck into the pilothouse. She had been on deck for the best part of an hour and was cold. The sun came up about 7:30 AM. It was a cloudless morning with a 10 mph breeze on our stern starboard quarter. The forecast had not changed, looked like we would have a pleasant crossing. Total distance for today would be about 81 NM – just under 12 hours.

It’s now mid-morning. We have made about 30 NM and we are running at a pleasing 7.3 kt, so we must be getting a little help from wind, waves or current. If this keeps up we will make it with daylight left over.

The waves are on our stern quarter and tend to slew the boat as they lift the stern. We have the stabilizers on “active” but the boat still has an awkward movement, and Deidre is feeling a bit wan. We are now about 15 NM off shore, we will be as much as 20 NM off later in the day. Other than Bon Voyage we are totally alone, although Jon tells me his AIS shows a boat somewhat astern of us but on the same course.  

It’s now mid- afternoon. In many ways a day like this is like the flight to Australia. Once you get underway and get the autopilot onto course, the rest of the day is made up of eating, reading, computer games, and snoozing broken up by a few engine room visits. Deidre is a bit bored, I am feeling quite mellow. The weather is even better now. Our ETA at the channel light is 4:06 PM, at the first possible anchorage 5:15 PM and 6:01 PM at the preferred anchorage. I have been chatting with Jon on the radio and we have decided to raft the boats and eat together. They will not be stopping in Charleston, but continuing to Florida to link up with “Gotta Smile” and head of to the British Virgin Islands, so tonight will be “our last supper” for a while.

Now we are anchored. We made such good time we made it to the preferred anchorage before 6 PM. We anchored Tide Hiker and Bob Voyage came alongside and rafted. Bonnie made dinner, Deidre and I brought snacks. We part ways tomorrow and we will miss these guys. :(

In total we ran 12 hours today and covered 99 SM. We are anchored in a very isolated spot. It is pitch black but we can here the porpoises around the boat. It is too misty to see them with the spot light.

Sunrise at last!

Just the two of us - plus one

The lighthouse at Winyah Bay

Southport, NC

October 28, 2013
33 54.975 N
78 01.395 W

Getting a hair cut (We assume!)

Deidre made French toast for breakfast and we took it easy. We watched Jon get a hair cut. We were underway at 9:30 AM. It was fun to be back in the ICW in the south - it just looks different than Chesapeake and Virginia.

We were headed for a "free dock" associated with a restaurant in Southport. The ICW cuts from the coast across to the Cape Fear river about 10 miles north of Southport, on the Atlantic. This route allows us to avoid the Cape Fear shoals, and the river is a major shipping channel heading North to Wilmington, NC.

We arrived off the restaurant-dock at about 1 PM and tied up. The docks are not particularly "friendly" and there is a 5' tide. Tide Hiker is a big boat for this dock, and as I brought her in I am sure there were diners expecting out anchor to project over their table. The local MTOA port captain was there to greet us. We made arrangements for him and his wife to join us for dinner (The dock is free if you eat at the restaurant.)

Running for office

After settling in Deidre and I went for a walk into town. Its a small touristy place with the usual array of touristy shops and restaurants. She bought some games for the grand kids. We also managed to buy 1/2 dozen books from the library at $1 each.

Later that afternoon an Australian guy knocked on the hull and introduced himself. He was from Adelaide, lived in the USA for 25 years, made and raced motor cycles. He had seen our flag from the restaurant.

The Port Captain and wife arrived at about 5PM and after drinks on Tide Hiker we ate in the restaurant. The food is very forgettable, but the bill was only $30, and that included the dock! Such a deal.

Watch out for that ship, Jon

Bit of a squeeze!

We were in bed early as we planned to leave in the dark on Tuesday.

Wrightsville Beach

October 27, 2013
34 12.315 N
77 48.041 W

I must have messed up setting the alarm clock with the result that Deidre and I overslept and missed the ETD target by 15 minutes. Fortunately Jon had sent us an "We are ready" text that woke us up. We raced around to boat to get ready and get the anchor up, and were underway about 20 minutes late.

We had slept OK even though the wind seemed to be pretty brisk during the night and we could hear the anchor chain working. The forecast indicated 10-15 kts in te AM decreasing during the day. As we rounded the point out of the anchorage and into the Atlantic we ran into the results of the windy night. The seas were quite rough with some six footers mixed in to the chop. Because we had rushed our departure, and did not anticipate these conditions, we had not really prepared properly and things started to "fly" around. We took turns running around securing the boat. This time only the table and plants on the aft dock took a dive. We left them where they landed, dirt and all.

Contrary to the forecast the wind was blowing 15-20 and was more West than North and basically on our bow. We were pitching a lot and taking a lot of spray. Talked to Jon and Bonnie over the radio about bailing out but decided that the forecast seemed consistent and that conditions would probably improve as we got away from the Cape and the tide.

We had noticed a fair bit of naval chat on the radio yesterday, and it continued today. There seemed to be a flotilla of ships in the area including an aircraft carrier. We had seen a few shapes on the horizon and as the day progressed a couple of them appeared near our path.

The wind started to drop mid morning and by Noon conditions were much better. The wind continued to drop all afternoon and by the time we reached the Masonboro channel the ocean was basically a millpond. Masonboro is not a first class entrance (ie not a ship channel) but it has a god reputation and we saw 20' all the way in. The Wrightsville Beach anchorage is about a mile north and we were anchored before 6 PM. It was perfectlty calm and we enjoyed a very peaceful night.

Busy anchorage

We now feel that we have made it from "the north" to "the south". Virginia style colonial houses on embankments are now replaced by southern style ranches built on stilts. Marsh replaces Cyprus swamp. In theory we are now only 3 boat days from Charleston.

Cape Lookout

Saturday October 26, 2013
34 37.189 N
76 32.976 W

This is my all time favorite anchorage. I just wish it was summer and that we could stay for a few days. Instead, we will be up before dawn hauling up the anchor and underway off shore to Wrightsville Beach.

Lighthouse at cape Lookout

We were a bit lazy getting out of New Bern this morning but made up some time with favorable tides and reached Cape Lookout by 4:30 PM. It was a cold night and a clear crisp morning, made for a sunny and calm run east on the Neuse River and then south on Adams Creek and past Beaufort and Morehead City, and out into the Atlantic.

Looking over the dunes to the Atlantic

Cape Lookout is beautifully protected from the Atlantic, but quite isolated and naturally wild. Occasionally you see green turtles and porpoises and we are told that there are wild houses on the dunes. We were only there as an overnight, but I hope we get the chance to revisit in the summer. It was a clear but cool and blowy evening, with lots of starts. As we climbed into bed it felt quite strange to be so warm and comfortable in what was basically a pretty hostile environment.

Cape Lookout Lighthouse at sunset

New Bern

Friday October 26, 2013
Lat
Long

Late start, easy run to New Bern. We had planned to go to Beaufort to have lunch with a friend (who is also an expert on solar power and all things electrical) but that did not work out. So we accompanied HM and Bon Voyage to New Bern and took a slip in the same marina that we had sheltered from Sandy last year.the 25 mile run was uneventful and we were all tied up by lunch.

Jeff and Lisa kindly loaned us a car so Deidre and I did a shop. By the time we were back on the boat I was so tired that I went back to bed and took a 2 hour nap. All this socializing is wearing me out. Much refreshed we headed out to dinner at Jeff and Lisa's house. They had purchased 5 pounds of fresh shrimp for $29 yesterday at their a fuel stop and Lisa was making jambalaya!

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Jeff and Lisa are great hosts and dinner was very classy with real crystal, a table cloth, napkins and lost of silver wear. We have not experienced that luxury for quite some time. I was glad that I had taken a shower and worn a clean shirt. Wonderful friends, great night.

Oriental, NC

Thursday October 24, 2013
35 01.787 N
76 40.893 W

Another Small Craft Advisory this morning but we were in rather protected water and had a pretty easy time of it. By the afternoon the wind (as little as it was) had settled down again.  We only had 42 SM planned so arrived at Oriental by 3:15 PM. Oriental is a popular boating destination, although mainly for sailing boats.

Overall the weather has been pretty decent although it is getting rather cool. Tonight we are expecting the temp to fall into the low 40s. In weather like this we operate the boat from the Pilot House and usually have a small electric heater running. If I am lucky (and I usually am) Deidre makes hot chocolate for morning tea and tomato soup for lunch.

Sometimes the little heater is just not enough

We virtually had the marina to ourselves. After cocktails and sunset on the marina porch we borrowed the marina car and headed into town for beer and pizza. Since there are ten in the group and two of those are way over 6' tall, we made two trips each way. And also because of our number (and that we looked like a bunch of noisy old farts), the restaurant put us in our own room.

Bath, NC

Wednesday October 23, 2013

All this socializing is causing me to fall behind a bit.

Bath was not really on our way but we were looking for a fun place to visit. The guide said there was a free dock but we were not convinced it would be large enough for all 3 boats. So Hakuna Matata went in to 'spec it out' and after a short wait called us in. It was a bit tight but perfectly adequate.

Travelling companion "Hakuna Matata"

Bath is the oldest town in NC, settled in the late 1600s and incorporated in 1714. It never really prospered but achieved some notoriety by being the famous pirate "Black Beard" home town.

We enjoyed cocktails on the pier until the temperature drove us inside, followed by a pot luck dinner on Bon Voyage..

Bon Voyage under way

We sorta took over the Bath city dock

The oldies getting together

Belle Haven, NC

Tuesday October 22, 2013
Lat
Long

Jon is an early bird so we were underway at 7:30 AM and arrived Belle haven at 2:00 PM after a pleasant and uneventful run.

Hakuna Matata (try that after a couple of beers!) was waiting for us when we arrived, although in the marina waiting for a replacement starter for one of their main engines. Hakuna Matata is a DF 49 just like Tide Hiker. We met HK's crew - Jeff and Lisa - 19 months ago in Stuart the day we purchased Tide Hiker.

Belle Haven has a protected harbor that is a good anchorage. So we dropped our anchor and put out 200' feet of chain. Within a short time both Bob Voyage and HK were rafted up to Tide Hiker (Hence all the chain). Once we were settled the party began.

Dinner was hosted by Jeff and Lisa on HK and a good time was had by all. Jon had asked me to pick up 8 bottles of champagne when we were at Great Bridge, a request I was happy to oblige. One of the couples arriving in Belle Haven (Slip and Cammy) were newly married, and Jon was planning a celebration. OK with me.

Tide Hiker's anchor did a good job and we all work up in the morning at basically the same part of the anchorage. If the drag alarm had gone off during the night I am not too sure how well the three captains would have responded.

Allgator River

Monday October 21, 2013
35 50.763 N
75 59.181 W

Did I ever mention that I am enjoying myself? We are anchored on the east side of the northern end of the Alligator River. Where we are anchored is total wilderness. We arrived late, about 6 PM after a long day, anchored, shut down the engines and watched the sun go down. It is now totally black. The only lights I can see are Bon Voyage's anchor light about 1/2 mile away and a light on the Alligator road bridge, about 5 miles away. It is still very overcast, there is no moon or star light.

A bit foggy this morning

Bon Voyage picked us up as they passed thru the Great Bridge lock this morning. It was cool and quite foggy in patches. We were heading East and when the sun appeared it was right in our eyes.

Since it was the first daylight opening for the day, a bunch of boats came thru with Bon Voyage. They all had to then sort themselves out. Sport Fishing Boats cruise at 20+ knots, Motor Yachts at 10-20 kts, Trawlers at 7-8 knots and sailing boats 6-7 knots. So for the first hour or so there was lots of radio chatter and boats passing boats in the narrow channel. Keeps the Captain pretty busy until all this is sorted out. Then we settled down for a long day to the Alligator River anchorage.

Our companion

Great Bridge

Sunday October 20, 2013
36 48.270 N
76 14.480 W

Relaxed morning, Deidre made eggs and bacon. We pulled out of the slip in time to catch the 10 AM opening of the "Steel Bridge". This was followed in a mile or so by the Great Bridge lock. We then tied up for the day to the bulkhead just south of the lock. We needed to wait a day for Jon & Bonnie, and also needed a "big shop". Unlike the previous day, the day was bright and sunny and reasonably calm.

Jon and Bonnie arrived at Top Rack about 4 PM and fueled up. They will leave there in the AM to catch the 7 AM Steel Bridge opening and "pick us up" as they pass thru Great Bridge. We then have two long days ahead of us totaling 119 NM in order to meet friends in Belle Haven on Tuesday night.

Top Rack, Chesapeake City, VA

Saturday October 19, 2013
36 44.354 N
76 17.768 W

Sometimes I have to remind myself that a crappy day boating is still better than a good day doing something else. Woke up to leaden skies, cool wind and frequent showers. Fortunately we had about 45 SM to our objective. The anchor was up and stowed by 9:30 and we headed out into the gray, choppy bay.

Another 3 of those cold war RO-RO ships

By lunch we were into Hampton Roads and had the navy to keep us entertained. Each time we pass thru this area (this was our 4th time on Tide Hiker) it just amazes me how much we have "invested" in war hardware. In total we saw 6 aircraft carriers including the Reagan and the Bush. super carriers. Impressive, but sad.

We arrived at Top Rack at about 4 PM and backed into the fuel dock and loaded 314 gallons of diesel and filled the water tanks. Also attempted to pump out, but the system was not very effective. All done, they sent us to another slip for the night. The appeal of this location is that you can "eat your slip fee" in their restaurant.  It is a classy restaurant so we were looking forward to a "free" meal and we both took a shower and gussied up.

Aircraft carrier in dry dock, another waiting its turn

Another boat had pulled in after us, and as we strolled over to the restaurant we met their owners and decided to eat together. Both our meals were a bit disappointing, but the conversation was good.

Poquosan River

Friday October 18, 2013
37 09.291 N
76 24.730 W

It seemed calm enough when we woke up. We checked the weather and the SCA was still in force till 10 AM with 15-20 kt winds. If we left at 9:00 AM it would take an hour to get to the bay, and we are comfortable in 15-20 kts, so all seemed well. We started engines and were under way by 9:15 AM. As we approached the bay and left the protection of the creek it fast became apparent we were in for a blow. We immediately rechecked the weather - and lo and behold the SCA had been continued until 1 PM.

Deidre "battened down the hatches" and out we went. For the first 5 miles or so the wind was on out stb bow and did we take a beating. The waves were 3' to 6' feet and we made a lot of spray as well as rolling a fair bit. Things started to crash around - worse being my printer/scanner "flew" of its shelf and landed with a bang. The pennant blew of its pole on the bow - I saw one connection fail but the other connection failed before I could get there. I had trouble moving on the bow so the Admiral said "No more outside"

We debated changing plans, but we did not seem to have a lot of choices. Things did settle down a bit when we were able to turn south-west. But every 5 or 10 minutes there seemed to be a set of waves that really rolled us.

Amazingly, about 12:30 PM the wind dropped and over the next hour or so the wave hights followed. By early afternoon conditions were perfect, and remained that way till we anchored. Overall we traveled 51 NM in 7.5 hours.

Onancock, VA

October 16, 2013
37 42.682 N
75 45.304 W

Very quiet night at Corinthian, so we slept well. Beautiful calm morning was a nice change. Our run to Onancock was only 43 miles so we took it easy and left at about 9 AM. We were crossing the Bay from side to side and for a change there was a lot of shipping around. We actually needed to adjust course to avoid one giant freighter. For most of the time Tide Hiker purred along on auto pilot.

Big ship in the way

Onancock was founded back in the 1600s as a port on the eastern shore. Access was 2 or 3 miles up a winding creek, quite picturesque. Our dock turned out to be a very short "back it in" space that caused us a bit of trouble as were were about 20' too long for it. So long as the weather stays calm we will be OK.

There is an MTOA boat parked next to us so we invited them in for a beer. After they left we headed into town for dinner. There are no Broadcast" TV stations here so we dug up one of our DVD movies and watched that. Dreadful. (Since then we have figured out that our TV aerial must be dead.)

Thursday October 17, 2013

We wandered into town after breakfast. The tide had come in over night and we were quite amazed how high it was - hard to understand why the parking lot was not flooded. The town was very 1800 ish and obviously set up for tourist with a few coffee shops, a few "antique" stores and several restaurants. Other than a bunch of churches and some nice well preserved old house, that was about it.  I eventually found a newspaper and we settled in a coffee shop for an hour or two.

After lunch we unloaded the bicycles and headed further out of town, finding nothing other than some more nice old houses and farm land. But the exercise was good. Deidre had spotted a fine dining sort of restaurant earlier in the day, so we gussied up and headed into town for dinner. Great dinner.

There was a bit of a storm front over night so we buttoned up the boat before bed. Seems like out TV aerial is kaput, so still no TV.

Corinthian Yacht Club

Tuesday October 15, 2013
38 07.002 N
76 23.857 W

here comes the Navy

Very quiet night and we slept well with full tummies. Jon and Bonnie we off at 8AM. (They are getting hauled here and expect to delayed a few days). We lollygagged around till 9 'ish as we did not have far to go to "The Corinthian Yacht Club" where we had won a free night at the MTOA. It was a logical stop on the way south and we planned to stay 2 days to give Jon and Bonnie chance to catch up.

The day started sunny and fresh but ended up a bit bleak. There is a navy air station in the area and it was obvious by all the activity that something was up. Sure enough, as we rounded Cedar Point a Navy guard boat "ran us down" and suggested we alter course to avoid being blown up. We acquiessed.

We were all tied up at the Corinthian by about 2:30 PM and had a look around. Dead as a door nail. We found a person and asked if we could bike ride to "anything". Nearest attraction was a gas station about 2 miles away. It was spitting rain, we were surrounded by dead fields of soy beans, so we retreated to the boat. Tried the TV - and for the first time ever - not one TV station.

"All I did was take a photo, Officer"

We both hate killing time and we have done a bit of that lately. So we have decided to get outa here in the AM! There is an historical port on the east side of the bay called Onancock and that looks like a winner.

Not a lot of neighbours

Under way at Last (Solomons, MD)

Monday October 14, 2013
38 20.134 N
76 26.143 W

The SCA was extended another day! This has now been going on for a week. But the weather looks OK to to us so the anchor was up by 9:15 AM and we are under way. We expect to rendezvous with Bon Voyage when we get into the bay. Its sunny and the wind can only be 10 MPH, the waves are only 1 foot with a few 2 footers mixed in, no white water, its a "Trawler Millpond".

We ended up about 3 miles ahead of Bon Voyage and stayed about that distance till the Solomons, occasionally chatting on the radio. There were quite a lot of  We headed past all the marinas and up Mill Creek to an anchorage. There were already several boats there but room for us. We settled in and Bon Voyage arrived half an hour later and rafted up. I have just finished setting up the table and chairs on the aft deck. After a pretty gloomy week there is some sun to enjoy.

Rhode River

Saturday October 12, 2013
38 53.125 N
76 31.273 W

The weather was still poor, there was still a SCA , but we really wanted to leave. We decided to head out and immediately duck into the Magothy River if conditions were too bad. There was no hurry so we took our time getting the boat ready, backed out of the slip at 11 AM and headed over for a pump out. Under way again at 11:30 AM.

Couple of ROROs

Did I ever mention the military RORO ships on the east coast? During the cold war the US built a fleet of Roll-on Roll-off ships that were pre loaded with tanks and guns etc so that if the situation deteriorated in Europe they could just cast off and be on their way. The troops to use the equipment would fly over and meet their equipment. Fortunately they were never used, but every east coast port has 1/2 a dozen of these ships, in "mothballs". We saw 5 in Baltimore.

The conditions were a bit lumpy where the Patasco met the Chesapeake but as soon as we were able to turn south and put the wind on our stern everything seemed to settle down. Rain threatened a couple of times but did not happen. Some friends left about the same time and they were headed for the Rhode River, so we decided that the conditions were OK and that we would give the Magothy a miss and join them. We are anchored now, its a good spot.

Deidre, look out your window!

The SCA has now been extended another day (thru tomorrow) so we will just wait and see how the weather looks in the AM. At the moment the wind is blowing in exactly the opposite direction to the forecast. (Maybe the Federal Government shut down has reduced the usual amount of hot air and confused the forecasters?)

Bonnie just called and told us that our mail arrived but because we had left the office sent it back as undeliverable! My goodness, the world is full of ning-nongs. That is really frustrating.


We are comfortably anchored. The wind has died. We are surrounded in soft cloud and the air is 100% saturated. Its cozy inside, I have the fire on.

Sunday October 13, 2013

We have decided to stay put for the day. Steadfast left at 8:30 AM and radioed a report that conditions we are OK but we are not in a hurry, this anchorage is very nice place to kill a day while we wait for the Bryants to catch up with us. So we have cranked up the gen and have the heat on.

View out of the back door

"Steadfast"

I did not get out of my pajamas all day. Must say I do not know where the day went.