April 16 to 19. New Bern to Coinjock

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise on Easter morning. 

When we were ready to leave the slip (which they had assured us had 9 feet of water) the boat backed up very strangely and not very far.  It turns out that at the end of the slip at low water there was slightly less than 6  feet.  After dredging our way out of the marina we had a fabulous downwind sail down the Neuse River and across Pamlico Sound.  We anchored for the night at Pungo Creek.

Monday we left Pungo River and had a nice sail to the Alligator-Pungo Canal.  We tried sailing in the canal but the wind was light and variable so we motored through the canal.  When we passed the large barge I was glad we were not under sail. It doesn't look that impressive in the picture but in real life in a narrow channel it looked huge.

After leaving the canal we had another great sail in the afternoon. The peaceful sail was interrupted by the frequent roar of fighter jets from a nearby base flying overhead.  The jets are amazingly fast and hard to see because they are so far ahead of where you expect to see them based on where the sound is coming from.

We anchored for the night at the Little Alligator River. The last time we were here there was a severe thunderstorm with 68 knot winds.  The thunderstorm this time was tame in comparison.

The plan for Tuesday was to leave early and head for Great Bridge.  After the leave early part the plan fell apart.  The weather forecast called for NE winds 15-20 knots.  On the ocean this would be a great sailing day. The actual weather turned out to be 20-25 knots with gusts to 30. The Albemarle Sound is very shallow and has a long fetch so it builds up short, steep waves.  We could make no meaningful headway and the motion felt like riding a pogo stick through a lawn sprinkler.

We decided to turn around and spent the day and night anchored at South Lake and had a lazy day.  It was cold so I baked some bread and rolls and worked on knitting a pair of socks.

Wednesday the weather forecast was E 11-13 knots.  The weather in Albemarle Sound in real life was NE 18-22, mostly at 22.  Our course was NE so this wind direction was inconvenient.  Once we realized that we would have to tack across the bay instead of using a direct route we unfurled the jib, turned off the engine, and had a surprisingly enjoyable, if cold and slightly rainy, sail across the Sound. We had to do long tacks in order to make progress so instead of spending a couple of hours on the 11 mile "as the cross flies" route, we ended up spending 4 1/2 hours on a much longer trip.

Because it took so long to cross the Sound we decided to spend the night at Coinjock Marina.  This gave us a chance to take a much needed hot shower, do some laundry, and catch up on the blog. The restaurant at Coinjock is famous for its prime rib so this was another excellent reason for stopping!

April 13 - 15. Oriental and New Bern

Oriental is known for its dragons.  Apparently many years ago someone decided to celebrate New Years with a dragon costume that he wore around town - running through businesses and houses. The idea was a hit and every year they have a dragon run on New Years Eve.  Throughout town there are dragon signs, dragon sculptures, and rocks painted like hatching dragon eggs. 

Thursday, April 13th was mostly an errand and chore day.  We spent some time cleaning the boat in the morning and then borrowed bicycles to go grocery shopping at the little Piggly Wiggly, the Piglet.  I scored a nifty tricycle for my ride!

I spent the afternoon at one of my favorite coffee shops, The Bean, using their internet to update the blog, and using blog writing as an excuse to drink a fancy coffee.  I could see CORRET at the dock from the window as I was typing.  We made instant cruising friends with Don and Dee on SOUTHERN CROSS who were on the other side of the town dock.  The cruising world is a small world, our new friends are also friends with our longtime friends on TAMURE and STAR.  In the evening Don and Dee came over to our boat for a drink along with Leslie from TANGO.  We all went to dinner at the restaurant at the marina and were joined by Leslie's husband.  After dinner Bill and I had a fantastic visit on SOUTHERN CROSS and enjoyed seeing all of the clever, well thought out, and beautifully crafted upgrades on their boat.  We had so much fun we not only stayed up past cruiser midnight, but stayed up until actual midnight!

We have heard great things about New Bern, NC for years, but have never made the 23 mile detour up the river. This year we decided to finally visit.  Friday morning we had an easy run up the river and fueled up and tied up to a slip at the Galley Landing Marina.  We had a nice afternoon walking around town sightseeing and enjoying the New Bern Bears.  In the evening there was a wine and beer tasting at the marina.

Saturday was a true tourist day. We wandered around town for a while and I had a chance to hang out with Elvis. We then went to the Farmers Market.

After the Farmers Market we went to the Tyron Palace for a tour. The original palace was built in 1770 under British rule and used by the governor when New Bern was the capital of NC.  After the revolution when the capital moved to Raleigh the palace was used for various functions to benefit the community.  Unfortunately, one of the uses for the enormous cellar of the Palace was to store hay.  This turned out not to be the best idea as the hay caught fire and burned the palace to the ground.  The current palace is a replica built in the 1950s.  In the afternoon we toured two historic homes and several gardens. 

I am enjoying traveling north following the azaleas and having a very extended spring!  Our rule of thumb on the trip home is that if the azaleas have gone by we are too far south and if the crocuses are out we are too far north.

Aprl 8 to April 12th Brunswick GA to Oriental NC

We left Brunswick, GA on April 8th after enjoying our BBQ lunch. After 2 days of high winds it had calmed down to under 10 knots.  Unfortunately not only had it calmed down, but it had also cooled off.  We had a chilly overnight to Price Creek (about 15 miles north of Charleston, SC).

Although it was cold on the water the views more than made up for any discomfort.  The sunset was gorgeous, the visibility all night was great because of the bright full moon, the stars were amazing, and the sunrise was beautiful.  We passed dozens of loons, their haunting calls are very eerie at night.

Bill made French toast and ham for breakfast. I am starting to enjoy these overnight trips.

We had a peaceful night at Price Creek after our 28 hour trip. Monday morning we left Price Creek and headed north on the ICW. After the peacefulness of the ocean the ICW was less enjoyable. The water was shallow all day so we had to constantly pay attention to the chart, day markers, depth sounder, and sonar.    We arrived at Georgetown SC a little after 4:00 and stopped at the fuel dock for fuel then anchored. The anchorage was quite shallow and  it was low tide. The tides are extreme right now because of the full moon so the tide was lower than usual.  When we ran aground in the place we wanted to anchor we decided this was good enough, dropped the anchor, then set it when the tide came up enough to float us free.

Tuesday was a beautiful morning with light wind and scattered clouds. Even the factories were beautiful in the early morning light.

We left Georgetown at 7:00 a.m. and did a 33 hour trip to Oriental, NC.  When we left the inlet and started sailing north we saw 4 large leatherback turtles. In the late afternoon two speckled dolphins came for a visit to play in the bow wake. We were fortunate and had an easy trip and were able to sail part of the night.  The sunset was again impressive.  I saw a shooting star before the moon came up.  Once the moon was up the stars were harder to see because it was so bright.  The golden sunrise was beautiful.

The Beaufort Inlet was a change of pace after the wide open spaces of the night. The inlet is being dredged, there were tugs, barges, commercial fishing boats, small fishing boats, and the big dredging operation in the middle of the channel. Even without all the boat traffic this section is confusing because there are many channels meeting in this area. We got through with no problem but we had to pay attention! 

After going through the confusion of the Beaufort/Morehead city area it was a relief to motor our way through the very simple Adams Creek Canal.  The canals are not only simple to navigate but are interesting.  There are small communities, boatyards, long sections of woods and swamps, and scattered houses.  One of the houses had a small helicopter in the yard.

We pulled into Oriental after 33 hours and were luck to find a space on the free public dock. After buying showers at the marina next door and treating ourselves to ice cream at The Bean we felt like humans again. 

April 4 - 6. Brunswick, GA

We left St. Mary's on Wednesday, April 5th and had an easy trip up the ICW and across St. Andrews Sound. When we got to Jekyll Island the stress level went up as it was just after low tide and the water was very skinny.  We spent a lot of time with the depth sounder reading less than a foot, and frequently zero. Luckily the silt on the bottom is very soft and the tide was rising so we were able to get through without going noticeably aground. 

Mid afternoon we tied up at the dock at Brunswick Landing Marina.  We had heard great things about this marina and they all turned out to be true.  They have free laundry, free beer, and free bikes and a huge book exchange. The first night we went to the happy hour at the clubhouse and not only did they have free beer, but they also had free wine! 

The next day the wind was 25-30 knots with gusts to 35 knots all day so I spent the morning doing 5 loads of laundry.  Free laundry within easy distance of the boat and the use of a dock cart made this usually difficult task much easier. The weather is getting very chilly at night and we have unpacked our winter clothes so it was nice to wash them since they were a little musty smelling.

We planned to leave on Friday but the wind was still blowing 20-25 knots with gusts to 30 so we decided to stay for another day.  In the evening the town has a First Friday walk. The shops stay open late, the little parks in town have music, and there is a small car show.

Saturday there was a farmers market next to the marina with beautiful vegetables and a BBQ Cook Off challenge. Life is good.

Mar 31 to Apr 4. St. Mary's, Georgia

Bill spent some time on Friday morning adjusting the carburetor on the outboard. 

Midmorning we left Cumberland Island against the tide and with a 20-25 knot headwind on our way to St. Mary’s.  It was a good thing this is a short trip because it was slow going.   We found a space on a fingerpier on Lang’s West dock and then treated ourselves to a late lunch/early dinner at the Riverside Café.

Saturday we tried calling members of the yacht club who volunteer to drive cruisers on errands.  It was a beautiful day so they were all busy and we ended up taking a cab to the Publix.  The grocery store is in a small mall that also had a hairdresser so I stopped in for a much needed trim.  In the evening we had dinner with Roger and Maddie from BLUE GOOSE II. We met Roger the last time we were in St. Mary’s. They have a home in Islesboro and we are very much looking forward to spending more time with them in the future.

Sunday was bath day for CORRET.  It has been an embarrassingly long time since we have had the availability of fresh water to scrub the decks.  She looks much better clean!  In the afternoon we walked around town.  St. Mary’s is a lovely little town with live oaks overhanging wide boulevard style streets lined with well kept old houses and beautiful gardens.  The riverfront park is beautifully laid out with pergolas with swinging benches, a fountain, a playground for kids, and an amphitheater.

Monday we borrowed a car and refilled one of our propane tanks.  I spent some time at the Visitors Center using their wifi to update the blog.  In the afternoon we went for a walk to the historic trail and the Oak Grove Cemetery.  While we were there it started to rain so we had to hurry back to the boat. In the evening impressive looking storm clouds rolled in and we had several severe thunderstorms with high wind during the night.  The boat was bouncing around at the dock so we did not get much sleep between the movement, the noise, and getting up frequently to check lines and fenders. 

Tuesday we played tourist.  The St. Mary’s Submarine museum has interesting exhibits about diesel and nuclear submarines and their history and evolution.  One of the exhibits was about submarine tenders and there was a plaque from the HOWARD W GILMORE,  one of the ships that Bill was on during his time in the Navy.  In the afternoon we toured Orange Hall, a Greek Revival Style mansion built in 1830.

March 22 to March 30, 2017

Vero Beach, Florida

Our plan was to spend only one night in Vero Beach.  Yet again, we were Velcroed in place.  Thursday we rode the bus into town to pick up groceries.  We were going to do laundry in the afternoon but there was a torrential downpour and an intense thunderstorm so we stayed on the boat.  Friday we went for a long walk in the park and then spent the afternoon finally doing the laundry.  While we were hanging out in the lounge waiting for the laundry we met a couple who will be spending the summer at Sequin Island.

Saturday we went to Ribfest (the real reason we stayed in Vero so long).  There is no charge to attend the festival but everyone has to buy tickets as none of the food vendors accept cash.  Each ticket was worth $1 and every $5 of tickets equals one voting ticket for best ribs.  We sampled many types of ribs and enjoyed the music, the beer, and seeing all of the craft tents. 

 Vero to Fernandina

 We finally left Vero Beach on Sunday, March 26th.  We had a surprisingly nice sail most of the way to Cocoa.  Monday we passed dozens of manatees on the way to Daytona Beach.  We also saw roseatte spoonbills for the first time.  Tuesday an RV7 plane was doing acrobatics just north of St. Augustine. We spent the night anchored at Pine Island and were treated to a beautiful sunrise which made getting underway early worthwhile.  Wednesday was a good bird watching day as we were mostly in swampy or woody areas.  We saw  herons, pelicans, red winged blackbirds, and flocks of wood storks.  The ospreys like to nest on the day markers and as we pass we can hear the babies chirping in the nest.  Watching an osprey with a struggling fish trying to land on a nest without landing on its mate or the hatchlings is impressive.

Fernandina Beach, Florida

Approaching Fernandina from the ICW the town does not look welcoming. The large factories on either side of town and the closed marina are the prominent features. The Fernandina Municipal Marina was severely damaged during the hurricane.  Last fall it was completely closed. They now have a dinghy dock open and are renting moorings so accessing town is much easier. Once ashore the beauty of the town becomes apparent.  Unlike most towns where the main street is parallel to the waterfront in Fernandina the main street is at right angles to the river.  The main street is vibrant with a variety of shops, no empty storefronts, and has shade trees and small parks.   I had to visit the customs office to finish my clearing in process. The officer was very nice and it was an easy process. 

 Cumberland Island, Georgia

Tuesday, March 30th we left Fernandina and went to Cumberland Island.  We went for a long walk ashore and saw many mild ponies (they are not really wild, they are just loose untamed horses) and armadillos.  The ruins of the Carnegie mansion have new residents.  A pair of osprey are nesting on the top of the old chimney. 

After walking for several hours we were tired and ready to go back to the boat.  Unfortunately the outboard would not start. The tide was going out so I had to row against a 2 knot current.  I feel like I had a great full body workout today!