Timing is still everything

We had a really great start to the day.  We got off the dock at Coinjock around 6:50 am and started our crossing of the Albemarle Sound around 7:30.  It was a little nasty out there today.  Steep, short choppy 3 footers that sent the spray all over the flybridge.  The wind was blowing about 20 kts, which is unusual for that early in the morning.  It was tough dodging the crab pots as the spray kept our visibility limited.  We avoided all the pots and continued on the ICW without issue.  We decided right there that running outside from Beaufort down to Wrightsville Beach was probably not a good idea as the wind and waves were supposed to pick up.

We also surmised that once we got onto the Neuse River that it would be nasty there as well.  We were pleasantly surprised by the Neuse River today.  It was actually pretty good.  Choppy, but not enough to throw spray up on the flybridge.  As a result, we were making great time with no other boat traffic on the ICW to contend with so we were cruising right along.

We cleared the Morehead City Turning Basin right at 12:30 pm so we were on schedule to make all the bridges in succession starting with the Onslow Beach Swing Bridge at 2:00 pm.  Well, that didn't work out so well.  As you recall from yesterday, timing worked very well in our favor.  Today, not so much.

Today, wrong place, wrong time.  We were set to arrive at the Onslow Bridge at 1:50 for their 2:00 pm opening.  We were only 5 miles from the bridge when our nations finest Marines decided that today was a great day to close the ICW so that they could lob live bombs onto Camp Lejeune from a war ship 10 miles off the coast.  This has happened to me before, but it still sucks!

The sign reads: "STOP DO NOT PROCEED, Live Firing in Progress When Flashing, Tune to AM530".  The lights, were in fact, flashing.

Nothing we could do as there was a security boat blocking the waterway... and they were carrying side arms.  We were out gunned...So we threw out the anchor in the middle of the ICW, put on some tunes and listened as the cannons fired.  At 4:00 (after a 2 hour delay), the guns finally stopped and they opened the waterway up again to traffic.

The security boat blocking the ICW

We pulled up the anchor and continued our voyage on to Wrightsville Beach.  Right after we cleared the Onslow Beach Bridge, we saw the craziest crafts in the water.  I don't how these things floated.

We got to the Wrightsville Beach Draw bridge at 6:00 pm and tied up just a little after that.  So we spent a good 11 hours on the water today.  The boat ran great for the entire trip and the Cummins engines and Zeus pods were flawless. 

The Wrightsville Beach draw bridge looking South

I hate that the trip is over, but there will be more. There is nothing like the smell of diesel fuel when you crank up the engines.  Thanks to all who followed along and for the kind words of encouragement.  I hope to see you on the water soon.

Timing is everything

Cold, cold, cold is how this day started.  I could have used an ice scrapper for the polycarbonate this morning.  The docks, the swim-platform and the boat was just covered in a very nice thin layer of frost at 6:30am.

Many of the marinas in the northeast are either not open yet or working on reduced hours.  Such was the case for our marina last night.  They were already closed by the time we arrived yesterday, so we weren't able to fuel up last night and pay for our dockage.  When I called earlier in the day to make the reservation, they said there were not scheduled to open in the morning until 8:30.  However, with the proper incentive (ie. cash) the dockmaster was convinced to come in at 6:45am to let us pay our dockage, top off our fuel and get us on our way.

At 7:15am, all was squared away and we were back out on the water.  It was almost a perfect day out on the ocean.  Winds less than 10kts, seas flat calm and the sun just pouring through the isinglass and keeping us nice and warm.  What a change from yesterday morning.

We set a couple of waypoints and got down to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay around 11:15.  We had to turn in for two reasons: 1) there are no good inlets on the NC coast until Beaufort which is over 300 miles from Ocean City, MD; and 2) we didn't have enough fuel to make it to Beaufort because we would have to go out around Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout.  Therefore, we jumped onto the ICW at mile marker "0" in Norfolk and made our way down to Coinjock, NC.

Now here is where a lot of luck and some perfect timing came into play.  For those who have traveled this section of water, you know the routine with the bridges.  For those that are not familiar with the first 15 miles of the ICW, it can be a pain in the neck.  There are 5 bridges and 1 lock which are on a very strict schedule.  In addition, three of the bridges shut down from 3:30 to 6:30 for rush hour traffic.  So if you don't time it right to get through all the bridges, you literally get stuck in between and there is only one marina in the entire section of water.  Typically, you have to allow at least 3 1/2 hours to complete the 15 mile section.

Well we totally lucked out and did the entire section in 1 hour and 35 minutes.  The reason was some commercial barge traffic that got one of the bridges to open 10 minutes early which allowed us to make the next bridge at the top of the hour.  Right place, right time, but the reality is it was just dumb luck. 

We figured we would arrive in Coinjock around 5:30pm.  Instead, we tied up at 3:45.  That was the perfect ending to this day.

Tomorrow we have a lot of water (235 miles) to cover to make Wrightsville Beach.  We hope to get underway at first light, about 6:45am with an estimated arrival around 6:00pm.  It has been a fun trip with Ron.  The boat is running well and we have worked a few of the gremlins out of the boat for the new owner.  I was able to fix a half dozen things today since we got in early. 

We are looking forward to tomorrow's adventure.

A good view and a smooth ocean from the Meridian 541

Coming into Norfolk, VA

The Great Bridge Lock

The restaurant in Coinjock, NC

IC Ron with a cold Miller Lite after a good day on the water

Some specifics on the trip so far: (Cummins QSM-11 715hp)

Distance: 271 miles
Fuel: 502 gallons
MPG: .54
Cruise: 2000 rpm; 25 - 27 mph
Ave. Fuel Burn: 42 Gallons/Hr
Run Time: 12 hours
Ave Fuel Price: $3.99/gal + tax

Adapt and overcome

Today was one of those days that experience and the ability to change on the fly paid off in a big way.  As already mentioned, the day started off with a bit of rain and TONS of FOG.  It was the kind of day you just hunker down at the dock and wait it out.  We couldn't see a thing with the fog and after talking with everyone we could in the marina, we still had no idea if we could get out the inlet.  The forecast off-shore was 5 to 7 feet with some remaining fog and light rain.  However, the radar showed different and the various internet sites I use for weather said we were going to get a weather window.  Then along with a good buddy (Capt Dave Hawley) who checked wind speeds and other factors, we talked out the various scenarios and thought if we could in-fact get out the inlet, we could at least make a run down to Cape May. (Thanks Dave for the help and support!)

Well, as luck would have it, we had two things go in our favor.  First, right at 12:30 pm, the fog lifted and it got a bit brighter.  Second, we called the dredge working the Great Egg Harbor Inlet and explained the situation.  They said if we got down there, they would help us get out.

So we fired up the engines and pulled out of the slip at 12:45 pm and got on down to the inlet.  The guys on the dredge could not have been more understanding and helpful.  When we called them on the VHF, they actually sent out one of the tug boats from the dredge, met us at the turning buoy in the bay and escorted us out the inlet to deeper water.  Let me tell you something, it is a good thing they did.  There was absolutely no way, and I mean NO WAY I could have gotten out that inlet on my own.  There were huge breaking waves on both sides and we zig-zagged all over the place to stay in good water and get out beyond the sea buoy.  The pucker factor was off the chart!

Once out in to deep water, the weight of the world was off my shoulders.  I could breath.  We started running down the coast toward Cape May and noticed that the seas were getting better.  The fog was completely gone and the sun was now finally out.  The swells were every bit of 7 feet, but they were about 8 seconds apart and the waves were not bad, about 3 feet in the opposing direction.  Still a bit rough, but with a 54-footer, she took them like a champ.  About an hour into the trip, my mate, IC Ron, (the IC is a running joke at our marina as Ron did a trip with MarineMax last year down to the Bahamas, so he refers to himself as International Captain Ron) said we need to keep running with this weather while we have it.  I said, "You know what?  You are right."

So I got out my paper charts, went below and started to figure out where we could go and how it would effect the rest of the trip.  I came up with the idea of running off-shore down to Ocean City, MD instead of running up the Delaware Bay and down the Chesapeake.  By doing that, we can continue to run off-shore to the mouth of the Chesapeake (save a lot of time, fuel and miles), and hopefully get to Norfolk around noon.  This will allow us to get through all the bridges and locks before they close for rush hour in the afternoon and allow us to continue on.  If we are able to make all the bridges and lock, then we should make Coinjock, NC tomorrow night and Wrightsville Beach on Thursday.  If it all works out, and that is a big if, we will end up cutting a whole day out of the trip.

Sometimes all the stars align for you.  Today was definitely one of those days.  What started out as a total bust, became a total win.  The weather forecast still has some high winds and seas, but it should improve over the next few days, so we hope the worst is behind us.

Every trip is a new adventure.

A little fog with my coffee

Surprisingly I got a great nights sleep.  As I was making the coffee this morning I looked out the window to see FOG and lots of it.  That is probably the one thing I hate the most.  The good news is the rain has stopped and the wind has calmed; hence the fog.  Looks like the rain got out of here sooner than forecast, but the seas still appear to be rough.  High tide is at 2:30 pm, so we'll see if we can get out and maybe get down to Cape May.  Still trying to figure out the inlet situation.

Preparing for our trip

We stepped off the plane in Philadelphia to 38 degrees with sleet.  What a difference from the sunny 65 we left in Wilmington.  We made a quick stop at the Shop Rite grocery store on the way in to get a few provisions for the trip.  We arrived at the boat around 5:00pm.  Unfortunately, no one left the heat on the boat, so it was freezing.  We got our gear stored, fired up all the HVAC units and began our safety inspection.  Everything looked good on board and we should be ready for our 600 mile run south to NC.

Ron and I were hungry so around 6:30 we walked up in the freezing rain to a little Chinese place about 6 blocks away.  Nothing to write home about, but it definitely hit the spot.  We tipped the delivery guy $10 bucks to drive us back to the marina.  Well worth it as it is still raining and the temperature is still dropping.

The weather continues to look terrible for the next few days.  Small craft advisory tonight and tomorrow.  Tomorrow is forecast 5 to 8 foot seas visibility 1 mile with driving rain and wind up to 40kts out of the SE.  We are probably going to have to stay put tomorrow, gather as much information as we can about Great Egg Harbor Inlet and try our luck getting out on Wednesday.  Current forecast for Wednesday is 4 to 6 foot seas with winds out of the west at 20 gusting to 30.  Hurricane Sandy has shoaled in the inlets and it is too early in the season to get any good information on the current conditions.  I've called USCG, Sea Tow, BoatUS, MarineMax and two other local marinas.  No one has been able to give me a definitive answer on the inlet conditions.

Tomorrow is a new day and brings new opportunities...

Getting Ready - Meridian 541 NJ to NC

I am getting ready to head up to Somers Point, NJ tomorrow to bring a 2011 Meridian 541 down to Wrightsville Beach.  The weather looks crappy with expected winds around 40kts and seas up to 12 feet.  Of greater importance is trying to get out of Egg Harbor Inlet.  I spoke to both MarineMax (where I will be picking up the boat) and Tow BoatUS to get some local knowledge.  So much for the locals...  Both sources have said that due to Hurricane Sandy, the inlet is shoaled in and they don't know if it is passable or not.  There is supposed to be a dredge working the inlet now.  The only chance is to call the dredge and see if they can help guide me out the inlet.  The other alternative is to run down the ICW to Cape May.  However, that has its own set of risks.  Again my sources are saying no telling what is in the channel after Sandy.  Just too early in the season to get any good, reliable information.  This is going to be an adventure for sure.  My next call is to the Coast Guard in the morning to see if they can provide more information.  Say a prayer, cross your fingers, rub a rabbits foot... anything you can think of will be appreciated. 

More to come...