Welcome to Charleston

Another successful trip is in the books. We pulled out of Southport early in morning as we knew we would have another long day ahead of us. We did see a beautiful sunrise and a near full moon set as we left the marina.

It was another full day of passing sailboats and trawlers. Things went well for the most part, but there are always a few that will try your patients. Fortunately it was a beautiful day and we were glad to be on the water.

That is until we reached McClellansville. We got into some really skinny water. The depth sounder read 1.6 feet at one point and we were stirring up mud like nobody’s business. We saw several boats aground during the day, both sail boaters and trawlers. That always makes for a very nervous and tense day.

We pulled into the Charleston City Marina at 4:00pm. As usual there were several large mega yachts tied up. They brought John around to “M” dock where he has a great view of the waterway and will spend the next 5 months.

This trip was a lot of laughs with John and Greg. Thanks to all who followed along.


















This guy was aground.


John and About Time in their new home for the winter.

Don't be too confident

We had an unexpected start to the morning.  We were preparing to depart out of Oriental around 6:30 this morning and the sailboat next to us asked if we knew about the ICW closure today.  I told him I didn’t and asked for details.  Apparently the ICW would be closed today for “Live Firing” exercised from 7:00am to 12:00pm and then 1:00pm to 5:00pm at Cape Lejune at mile marker 235 to 245.  This happens periodically during the year, but it doesn’t typically last all day.

We got underway at 7:00 and started to head south.  I quickly got on the internet to verify what the sail boater had told us.  He was spot on.  There was a local notice to mariners that spelled out the training today by the US Navy and the ICW closure schedule. 

We continued on as I tried to figure out our options.  One possibility was to run down to Beaufort and then go outside on the ocean from Beaufort down to either Wrightsville Beach or Cape Fear.  Unfortunately, the forecast offshore today were winds out of the south at 20 to 25kts and seas 4 to 6 feet.  That was not the kind of forecast we wanted to run outside for 70+ miles. 

We quickly made the decision to say on the “inside” and take our chances with the ICW closure.  As expected, we rode down to mile marker 235 and there were about 20 boats anchored on the ICW waiting for the ICW to open again at noon.  I took our place in line, set the anchor, and had some lunch.  A few minutes before noon, we pulled up the anchor and made our way to the front of the line as we were going to be the fastest boat once the waterway opened.  No sense of trying to pass a bunch of sail boats and trawlers underway if we could do it at a no wake speed before the waterway opened again.

“Most” of the boats understood, but there are always a few boats that don’t get it.  Anyway, cooler heads prevailed and we got underway a few minutes after noon and continued our trip south towards Southport, NC.

We arrived in Southport at 4:30 tonight after another 9 ½ hours and 132 miles.  I think John and Greg are pretty tired of the ICW and both are ready to get the boat to Charleston and finish this trip.  They do not like the “shallow” water of the ICW.  They are accustomed to depths of 60+ feet, not the 8 to 12 feet on the ICW.  The narrow channels of the ICW are not much to their liking.

Unfortunately, that is how it goes sometimes.  No matter how much we plan and expect things to go smoothly, the weather doesn’t always cooperate and conditions and expectations don’t always pan out.  Most experienced boaters know that timelines and schedules rarely work out.

The few hiccups we have had don’t in any way overshadow the fellowship and fun experienced during the trip.  John and Greg and great guys and they have been a blast the entire trip.  We have enjoyed some great meals and told some amazing stories.  I have always said, you will never know anyone as well as you will on a boat trip.

There are a few pictures below and thanks to everyone who is following along.  I really appreciate the words of encouragement.  There are a lot of nights I really don’t want to do this, but I know that it is enjoyed by many.  Thanks!

Sign at Great Bridge Lock


Doran and a sailboat coming into Great Bridge Lock.




You see some crazy people on the ICW. This guy looked to be camping.


John enjoy the ride down the ICW.




This is the USCG station at Hobucken, NC


Mayo Seafood. The freshest shrimp you will ever get... right off the boat.


Oriental Inn & Marina. Where we stayed last night.


John is all smiles after his first beer.


John & Greg relaxing in Oriental.




The Toucan Grill is in the background where we had dinner.





A few of the boats waiting for the ICW to open today.

Kungfu Girl

Lots of good things today…

We departed out of Portsmouth, VA this morning at 6:00am so we could make the restricted bridge schedule south of the city.  Everything went perfectly this morning and we got through the last bridge right at 9:00am.

However, a funny thing happened on the way to our first bridge.  I saw one of the regulars on MYO, Doran Miller aboard his 381 Meridian " Millers Retreat" on his way south.  We shouted across the water and chatted for a minute before we had to continue through the bridge.  Once we reached the Great Bridge Lock, I got off of About Time and went over and had a good talk with Doran as we waited for the lock drop.  It reminded me of just how small the boating community is.  I wished him continued safe travels.

We continued our voyage today from Great Bridge and ran for 10 ½ hours to Oriental, NC.  We covered 181 miles.  The snowbirds were out in full force today.  I bet I must have passed over 100 sailboats and trawlers on the ICW today.  It was painful.  They were like flies and everywhere you turned there were more.  We were glad to get off the water and have a cold beer at the end of the day.

John and Greg both really liked Oriental.  There were lots of people on the dock when we got in and everyone was exchanging stories of where they came from and were they were heading.  Several boats in the marina tonight will be staying in Charleston for the winter which made John happy.  He is excited to get down to his new marina and get settled in.

I took lots of pictures today, but the internet connection is slow.  I will try and post all the picture tomorrow.

By the way, the next time you see John, be sure to ask him about “Kungfu Girl”.  The story is priceless!




 

Plan comes together

For those of you who remember the TV show the “A” Team… “I love it when a plan comes together.” We had a great run down the Chesapeake Bay today. We pulled out of Chesapeake City this morning at 6:45 under sunny skies and temps around 40 degrees. A bit chilly, but the forecast was for bright sunshine and temps near 70.

The forecast was right on. We had the heat on in the morning and the windows open in the afternoon. It was just a great day. Seas were only about 1 foot most of the day. We could not have asked for a prettier run down the bay today. We set a few waypoints and let the autopilot do its thing.

We pulled into Tidewater Yacht Marina in Portsmouth, VA around 3:15pm. We had to fuel, pump out and put water on board. We needed to wait about 20 minutes for the fuel dock to clear before we could tie up. We arrived at the same time as about 8 other boats so it was a bit of a circus for about an hour.

We finished fueling after about 30 minutes, but it took us another 45 minutes to pump out the waste tank and it didn’t really empty the tank. The pump out was very slow and not very good. We will probably try again tomorrow down in Beaufort, NC.

We put the boat in the slip around 4:30 and did a quick wash down and chamois dry. The boat is looking good and John is doing a great job of running the boat. We talked a few minutes over a beer with out dock neighbor who is also heading down to Charleston, SC. He is aboard a 48 foot Sea Ray sedan bridge and left out of Cambridge, MD today.

Tomorrow will be a very early morning due to the restricted bridge opening south of Norfolk. We will pull out of the slip tomorrow around 6:00am to make the first bridge at 7:00. We have a long day to run over 200 miles down to Beaufort.

Enjoy the pictures from the last two days.


Cape May car ferry to DE.


Nice fall foliage running down the C&D Canal.


A car carrier in the C&D canal. That is one big ship.


A "crabber" in the bay. These are the guys that allow us to eat crab cakes.


An interesting tall ship in the bay.


Greg driving About Time this morning.


Wolf Trap Light


Coming into Norfolk.

Finally - Good bye to Atlantic City

We sat at the dock this morning as the forecast overnight turned from bad to terrible. It was originally forecast to be 3 to 5 foot seas. We had planned on leaving early. However, when we got up in the morning the forecast had changed to 4 to 7 feet with wind gusts to 35mph. We didn't want to get beat up, so decided to stay put. Around 9:00am one of the boats that came in with us on Friday decided to leave. I hailed him on the radio and asked if I can try him again in 30 minutes and if he would give me an update of sea conditions, which he was happy to do. At 9:30 when I called him back he said it was pretty nice off-shore with seas only 2 to 3 feet.

We quickly untied the lines and were underway by 9:45 as we could not bear another day in Atlantic City. Quite frankly, my wallet couldn't take it. The blackjack tables were not kind to me.

The 40 mile ride down to Cape May was really nice. Seas were around 2 feet and not very sloppy. We turned in at Cape May and made our way through the canal to the Delaware Bay. That is when it took a turn for the worse. The bay had solid 4 to 6 foot seas. We were taking waves over the top and had to slow the boat down to around 10kts to keep from breaking things and to stay in our seats. After about an hour and once we got around Miah Maul Shoal, we turned a bit to the north and the seas began to subside. The seas dropped to about 3 feet for the next hour and then as the bay narrowed at the top toward the C&D canal, the seas reduced to about 1 to 2 feet.

We arrived in Chesapeake City at 4:15 tonight. I did a major cleaning of the boat to remove all the salt from our day of travel. Around 6:30 we headed over to the Chesapeake Inn for a great meal and a cold beer.

We plan to leave early in the morning and make our way down the Chesapeake Bay to either Norfolk or Great Bridge. The forecast looks great tomorrow and we shouldn't have any problems and we are looking forward to good long run.

I'll try and post a few pictures tomorrow.