It's hard to believe that we are sitting here on the last night of our week in Hyannis. As I mentioned, GS was pretty salty and crusty and desperately needed some TLC. So we gave her a couple of spa days. Washed and scrubbed and polished and she is looking good again; ready to hit the seas! Cape Cod is such a beautiful place, and we spent so much time here both as kids separately and together as adults, that we decided to rent a car and "be-bop" around and take in the sights.
Enjoy your cruise on the Cape:
Originally we were to start heading back south tomorrow, but we have decided to make one more stop in New England and are headed to Nantucket Island. Link to all the Pix here
Well, we have passed the halfway mark; they aren't kidding when they say time flies when you're having fun.
Making our way to Martha's Vineyard from Cuttyhunk was a beautiful ride.
Blue skies and flat water - what more could you want or ask for? As we neared the Vineyard, it was amazing to watch the traffic on the water swell. Ferries passing left and right; the ferries headed to the island were filled with people, while the ferries leaving MV carried only a a few passengers.
Stayed on a mooring in Edgartown harbor for the entire week and it was wonderful! Getting into town was a nice dingy or launch ride away. Once in town, everything was very accessible by bike or bus. You buy an all day bus pass for $8 and can get on and off as many times as you like. Our excursions took us to;
Chappaquiddick, where we biked to Cape Poge, which is home to South Beach, Mytoi Japanese Gardens, Dike Bridge (where Kennedy in 1969, killing Mary Jo Kopechne) and the very popular South Beach
Oaks Bluff, which is about 7 miles from Edgartown via a bike path that meanders along the ocean, with a local brewery (Bad Martha's) an easy stop along the way. Oaks Bluff is home to a collection of gingerbread houses in the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, which grew out of the "campmeeting" movement of the early 19th century.
On the way home from dinner one night we saw an advertisement for Livingston Taylor performance at the old Whaling church. Livingston is one of James Taylor's younger brothers, who is also a very gifted musician. He teaches at Berkley College of Music in Boston and he frequently mentoring young promising talent that he crosses paths with. This night, along with Livingston, Chelsea Berry performed - and man is she wildly talented. Check her out on YouTube if you have some time. Isaac Taylor, brother Hugh Taylors son also performed a couple of songs and it's clear that the musical DNA was passed along.
Aquinnah, formerly known as Gay's Head, is located on the western most point of the island. It is famous for it's colorful clay cliffs and lighthouse. The cliffs have been eroding over the years from trapped groundwater within the cliffs, necessitating the need to move the lighthouse back from the cliff's edge. This move of 129 feet started April 2015 and finished only a few weeks before our visit (August 2015).
The Weaver's spent a few days with us. What a great time we had biking the island, and just chilaxin. It was great they were able to spend the nigh on the GS. I think this was the most people we've had sleep on her to date - 7 in total. It was just a really nice time; catching up, hanging with the kids, swimming off the back of the boat and the best was waking up and getting to have morning coffee together. Auntie Becky especially enjoyed rousting the youngsters out of bed the next morning. The Vineyard, Cuttyhunk and Newport put the GS 2 weeks being away from a marina and she is definitely showing it. She's a little crusty and is in need of some TLC in Hyannis.
Located about 6 miles off the southern coast of Massachusetts and about 25 miles from Newport RI, this is a place that time seems to have forgotten. There are few cars, no bars and 4 restaurants (only 1 accommodates eating in vs take out). Full time residents top out at 32 in the winter and summer population swells to about 400. 2 of the residents are children who attend the one room school house. The island is 1.5 miles long and only 3/4 miles wide, making it the 4th largest of the Elizabeth Islands.
Most of all it's just quiet. Sitting here all I hear are the occasional dingy motor and the sailboat rigging slapping against their masts. From our spot, we can see Massachusetts and Gayhead cliffs on Martha's Vineyard.
The days here were spent exploring the island, from the highest point to the west end, watching the comings and goings on the mooring field and swimming or should I say floating off the back of the boat.
The highest point on the island is Lookout Hill, @ 150 feet. There are six bunkers that were built by the Coast Guard in 1941 to watch the surrounding waters for German U-boats. Stripped of their observation equipment and weaponry at the end of World War II, the bunkers are a great place to picnic or take in the spectacular view of the island and its surrounding waters.
On our trek to the west end you follow one of the two to three roads on the island until it turns into a dirt path. Then follow or for another 1/2 mile or so and you will come across west end pond,the Gosnold monument and another one of the prettiest beaches you've ever seen. On one of our afternoon dingy rides around the harbor, we ventured out to the moorings and anchorages outside the breakwater. Here we ran into Passages, whom we had the pleasure of rafting up to in Wickford for a week. This jaunt also took us fairly close to Nashawena Island where we saw cows on the beach and in the water. Yup - COWS!!! Well, as Dennis says, this brought out the "JC" in me and I had to figure out what the deal was with these cows. Here are some fun facts discovered along the way about Nashawena Island;
Nashawena is the 2nd largest of the Elizabeth Islands, coming in at 3 miles long and just over 1800 acres, but least populated with the full time population being 2.
All of the Elizabeth Islands except for Cuttyhunk and Penikese are privately owned by the Forbes family of Boston, MA.
John Murray Forbes was part of the first generation Forbes who accumulated their wealth from trading between North America and China in the 19th century Opium wars; exporting opium, furs and other manufactured goods for the import of tea to be sold in the US & Britain. Notable Forbes family members include John Forbes Kerry.
In past years Nashawena was used for sheep farming, but many were killed when coyotes began invading the island (swimming from Woods Hole, MA, similar to the situation in Cuttyhunk, where small dogs and other animals are at risk).
Nashawena land use has been deemed agricultural by the MA state of representatives, therefore they pay little or no property taxes. Hmmmmm
The branch of the family who owns Nashawena now raises cattle (Scottish Highland cattle) to manage the vegetation - and apparently they love the beach.
We spent the evenings on the fly bridge admiring the stars. There is no ambient light here so this was the perfect place to watch the perseid meteor shower which was at it's peak the days we were here. We saw several shoot stars each night.
Day 152 - 187 / 1,895 Miles - Newport, Twin Lakes, Block Island, Boston & Tampa
Well these last 30 days have really been a whirlwind for us. After arriving in Newport, Dennis & John headed off to Twin Lakes - California for his annual "guys only" fishing trip. Becky was joined by Paula for a girls week in Newport. Then the 4 of us headed to Block Island for a few days of "Island adventure". And if this weren't enough fun to be had, we headed off to Boston the following weekend for a visit with Jess, Andrew and Devin. And... if this weren't enough fun, after our return from Boston, we headed back to Florida to celebrate Kevin, Laurie and Barbara's induction into the fabulous 50 club. Whew
Newport
Upon arrival in Newport, we spent a few days on a mooring ball in Newport Harbor. For such a busy harbor, the ball was pretty comfortable. We had a great view of all the boats coming and going from Newport and were treated to the L’Hermione, a French frigate, that was docked at Fort Adams for a few days, who upon arrival began exchanging fire with Fort Adams. (I'm so sad... I had a video of this exchange that seems to have gotten deleted)
Staying at Bannister's Wharf was perfect, centrally located in downtown Newport the GS was nestled amongst some very large vessels. They were "over the top" with amenities and some of them provided some very interesting people watching. Our first night at the marina proved very interesting. The boat in the video below is out of South Florida and is the weekend home to several young studs from Russia and their Untza Untza music.
By the end of the evening, our Russian friends had found themselves "dates" who, after being encouraged by dock security not to run the docks naked found themselves in the boat's hot tub discussing who was and was not going to "f#$k a russian"... You can't make this stuff up.
This New England town is far from "sleepy". If you can't find something to do here, you just aren't trying. "The Ladies" had a pretty amazing week in this little sailing town. Our days were full and adventurous; from touring the mansions, hiking, biking and swimming off the cliffs along Narragansett Bay. Each day ending with a sampling of the local cuisine and pubs including the now infamous Aerosmith Tribute Concert.
Narragansett Bay was our old boating waters when we lived in New England over 10 years ago, so we had visited Newport several times in our past. One of things that I enjoyed most about this visit to Newport is that we included some non touristy things in our days like finding swimming holes rather than traditional beaches as well as hiking and biking to our destinations rather than car or taxis. It allowed us to see and experience things that the normal visitor doesn't usually see or experience.
Block Island
July 20 - 24
We headed out to Block Island after "the boys" returned from their Twin Lakes trip. It was fairly foggy when we left Newport limiting our visibility a bit for our crossing of block Island Sound. Moorings are on a first come basis and we were pretty lucky to have one available upon our arrival. Our departure was pretty as several boats were circling waiting for us to drop our lines so they could pounce on the open ball we would leave. While on The Block, we spent a day wandering the town, checking things out, another floating off the back of the boat mixed in with a little work to free a fishing line from the shaft of the boat and the final day hiking to Mohegan Bluffs and the Southeast Lighthouse. Mohegan Bluffs are pretty spectacular cliffs with over 150 steps down to the ocean. Easy walk down, and you earned it on the way back to the top.
As usual a good time goes by completely too fast and before you knew it, it was time to leave. We spent the next week bopping around Narragansett, stopping in Warwick, Wickford and an unplanned weather delay stop in Newport.
Boston
July 31 to Aug 3
Hard to believe that we haven't seen the kids since they got married at the end of April. Much too long for this momma!!! So we took the train into Bean town and spent the weekend being uber tourists; Freedom Trail, Taking in a Red Sox game (yep they beat the Rays), going to the top of the Prudential Building and a Duck Boat Tour (Quack Quack). Throw in a bonus visit with Devin and you couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Again too short!
Florida
Aug 5 - 9
Happy Birthday shout out to Barbara, Laurie & Kevin who have all joined the nifty 50 club. So glad we were able to celebrate with y'all. Kevicakes - you were definitely missed and we will make it up to ya next time we see you.
The weather has been so weird! We arrived in Port Washington to blue skies and hot, so much so that even these Florida people took a dip in the pool. The next day was rainy, foggy and cold, so cold that we put on long sleeves and jeans. This seems to be the pattern we have been in for a while. We left Port Washington to Branford in a medium fog (couple mile viability) and didn't start to see blue skies until we reached New Haven. From New Haven on to Branford, big blue skies and eventually got hot. Leaving Branford to Hamburg Cove on the CT River we had a beautiful day, big blue skies and nice and warm. The pattern looks like its going to continue as we have just about every other day of inclement weather followed by a forecast that uses the words delightful and pleasant in the description.
Connecticut River
As we make way up the Long Island Sound much has looked familiar but nothing more so than boating past the Old Saybrook Lighthouse and entering the Connecticut River something we have done a million times in our life. It all looks the same but so much has changed. The last time we entered the Connecticut River, except for Becky's dad all of our parents were still alive, Jessica had not started college and the Florida chapter of our life had not started. Boating past this lighthouse is where the whole conversation/dream about taking a trip like this began.
"When I see a flying boat I get a lump in my throat and say someday I will."
Jimmy Buffett
This was always the theme song to that conversation-dream and here we are, in the middle of our trip, coming into the Connecticut River and that song is ringing in my brain. Following the channel stay to the right now move to the left turn to Starboard and here we are Hamburg Cove. With a 20kt wind and choppy water Hamburg Cove offers a quiet oasis. This quiet piece of New England that time has forgotten maybe the best of all the reasons to make the trip up the Connecticut River. Today there will be a dinghy ride, multiple cigars, thoughts of our parents and a "remember when" conversation. But that is just for today. Tomorrow the Gypsy Soul moves forward. We move Forward.
Started our stay in the Big Apple @ Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club, directly on the Hudson, at the advice of a fellow boater we met along the way. They were correct, in that the view was beautiful, but neglected to tell us how rough our stay would be, being directly on the river due to the constant water traffic. Barges, Tugs, and Water Ferry's/Taxi's. To compound things this marina took some bad hits this winter from snow and Ice. They lost 40 slips, including their fuel dock and pump-out and their sea wall. So there was nothing stopping the roll of the river and we started rocking and rolling (HARD) at ~ 5:30 am each day and didn't stop until almost midnight. After 2 1/2 days - we were looking for another place to stay. Your body got used to it after awhile, but the wakes just seemed so violent and just felt like too much unnecessary wear-n-tear on the GS. So we moved to Liberty Landing a few miles south on the Hudson, tucked back in a Canal and finished out our weeks stay there. A great facility!
Bike Ride in Central Park
We've been to Central Park before and have always enjoyed spending time there. Mr. B came up with the brilliant idea of taking our bikes into the city and ride around the park. BRILLIANT IDEA!!!!
We saw so much of the park, places we've never been able to take the time to see. Getting there was even more interesting. Taking the bikes on the water taxi from NJ to mid town. I never knew that NYC had so many bike paths. From mid town, you take a nice ride along the West Side Hwy then cut across city streets to CP. We felt like "real" New Yorkers LOL It actually was easier than we both thought it would be, once you got into the "rhythm" of things.
Did I say that this was a BRILLIANT IDEA!!!!
9/11 Memorial Museum:
The last time we were in the city, the grounds weren't completed and the museum not opened. So we were both looking forward to taking the tour. It honored and payed tribute to the victims and the first responders while giving little publicity to the terrorists. It was good to remember the raw emotions you felt in the days right after 9/11.
After the museum, we decided to go italian in Tribeca. With the help of the internet, we stumbled upon Acappella. Not only was the food outstanding, we got the whole "italian show" from our server and BFF (Big Fat Frankie). OMG It was like having dinner being served by Tony Soprano.
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island:
It only took us 54 years, but we finally made it to see Lady Liberty & Ellis Island. The statue was so formidable. We heard a lot of people commenting she was much smaller than they thought she would be, and we felt just the opposite. She was right there, in your face, and the detail was amazing. Here are some facts I learned that I never knew before. The copper was shapped by hand in pieces that are about as thick as a penny and put over a steel cage. Wednesday, June 17 was the 130 anniversary of her arrival in NYC and I didn't know that there are broken shackel and chains on her feet symbolizing freedom from oppression.
Ellis Island was a bit disappointing. It seemed very sterile and everything inside felt new, not old. In 2012, hurricane Sandy did a lot of damage to buildings on Ellis Island and it was closed for just about 1 year. The buildings are still not climate controlled so most of the artifacts have been removed to prevent them from damage. I'm hopeful that this is why it felt so strange to me, but a sight to see none the less. It's a pretty important piece of most of our ancestors.
East River to Long Island Sound
The sights of the Manhattan skyline were good, but not nearly as impressive from the East River. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out when to pass through Hell Gate, since we heard so many horror stories. We timed it perfectly just a few minutes into a flood tide, early morning so not much commercial traffic, excepr for the tug pulling a barge that we encountered right as we entered "The Gate". No issues and a pretty terrific ride into The Sound. We passed by Roosevelt Island, Rikers Island and Laguardia before entering Long Island Sound and stopping in Port Washington for the evening.
We left Cape May on 6/11/15 and had the best ride to Atlantic City. We were 1 1/2 to 2 miles off shore big sun and a light breeze. It was just perfect. After a short while you could see the skyline of Atlantic City in the distance. So different from the miles of beach houses and beaches that we had for the first few hours. The only problem was that the city looked like it was right there, just around the next corner for 2 more hours... AC was a one night stop and we didn't leave any of our greenbacks at the casinos.
Atlantic City to Manasquan
From AC to Manasquan Inlet was a 6 hour ride. Again, we had pretty good water and weather conditions. Not quit as flat as cape may to AC but still a fantastic day in the water. Manasquan is a huge recreational boating area with sport fish as far as the eye can see. The Marina is located on a part of the inlet where there is a train bridge that has to be closed every time one of the commuter or Amtrak trains passes through. In our short 12 hour stay we saw no less than a couple dozen. Do you know how strange it is to see a train pass by the bow of the boat about 10 feet away???
On to the big apple
Waited until slack tide to leave our tight quarters and not have to fight the 10 knot current. Yep, I said and meant 10 knots!!! The entire exit took about 15 minutes and in that time we dealt with a train bridge lift several jet skis, a 5 kt current in the inlet and a boat who decided to drop anchor and fish in the channel that was about 3 boats wide to begin with lined with rocks on each side. Whew!!!!! Glad we're finally on open water with no worries in site.
That's when it seemed like it was a little foggy out, strange for 11am. The 3 mile visibility turned into 2 and then into less than a half mile for the rest of the 5 hour trip to Manhattan. We were fortunate to catch up with Conch Quest, who we had met the night before and go into NYC harbor together. You know when you loose one of your senses the others are heightened. We could hear everything around us. Commercial vessels announcing their arrival or departure in the Ambrose Channel, we could hear them sounding their horn in the fog, we could see large blobs on the radar and then a few minutes later we could feel the wake they left behind. A couple of times as the fog lifted some we could see large container ships as close as 1/4 mile away at best. Made us stop and go WHOA. We ran the outside edges of the commercial channel and they were in it so never any danger but ominous none the less.
As we neared the city and land the fog lifted quickly and there it was!! First the Verrazano Bridge, Brooklyn next on the left, Manhattan skyline starts to grow bigger and clearer and for the grand finale.... Lady Liberty. WOW. I'm on overload.
Our stay in Bear, DE ended up lasting a few more days than we had anticipated with small craft advisories for the delaware river/bay over and over again. The overnight stop turned into 5 days It really is a very pretty area with one stop shopping if you need to go to the grocery, deli, post office or buy fire wood. Yep, they are all the same place. Fortunately for us it was about 2 miles down the road which gave us both something to do and some exercise.
The Marina, Summit North, is a hurricane hole off of the C&D about 2/3 of they way through the canal. All along the canal are some very nice walking/biking trails. The place is actually kind of weird - it's like there was a plan for a resort type facility that only got half implemented. A very nice miami/south Florida style restaurant on the hill overlooking the river. Roads and infrastructure as if a hotel or houses were going to be put in, but stopped in time. All in the middle of NO WHERE - just weird.
With the arrival of Friday, and the weather/marine forecasts clear, we were VERY excited to head south (wait, isn't this the wrong direction???) down the Delaware. The Delaware is a very busy river for commercial vessels, in our 6 hour trip, we saw at least a half dozen tanker, cargo ships & barges. The first 4 hours of our trip were great - the last 2 hours kicked the crap out of us. Nothing dangerous, but again we had very confused 2-4 foot seas hitting us randomly from all sides. Things were rolling around everywhere. At one point, we heard something bang and the dingy engine that we stowe behind the ladder in the cockpit had rolled 1/2 way across and was blocking the door. You should have seen the gymnastics required to put it back and tie it up while pitching side to side. You can be sure that we have everything now stowed away and secured before leaving the dock, even if we are expecting a nice day!
Scheduled for a 2 day stop, ended up being 5. At least this time we were in a pretty cool place with lots to do and see. I never really gave Cape May much consideration before, but it is an old fishing town, with some great beaches and lovely neighborhoods. The entire city of Cape May is designated the Cape May Historic District, a National Historic Landmark due to its concentration of Victorian buildings. (The most outside of San Francisco). We stayed at the Canyon Club Marina, it was great, infinity pool, a short bike/walk from restaurants, shops and the beach. The weather continued to be sketchy - cold and windy. We were in Sweaters and jeans (again - I had already packed them away for the summer, or so I thought). Overall a pretty great place, that we would like to visit again, but right now, we are itching to get moving again, and Wednesday looks like it's going to be the day.
So happy we left the docks today! What a great ride we had as well. Sunny skies, a nice slow roll on the ocean and a 4 hour trip from Cape May to A.C. We rode about 2 miles off shore, which gave us a great view of the "Jersey Shore". It was really enjoyable all around. Here we sit under clear skies and a view of the casinos across the inlet. We have Bally's, Harrrah's and the world famous Golen Nugget. We had opted not to leave our $$ at the tables this time.
The strange water patterns continue, the winds have picked up and the marine forecast for tomorrow is borderline for making more northern progress. We are learning patience over the past few weeks for sure.
The Chesapeake Bay is a much bigger body of water than we anticipated and we only skimmed the surface with our visits to Deltaville, Solomons Island & Annapolis. Because of the vastness, we found ourselves so far offshore most of the day, you really couldn't see and appreciate the beautiful coastline. If you want to "explore" the bay, you really need to get yourself "into the rivers" that are along the shoreline. With that said, it might just alter our plans for our trip back south so that we can do some additional exploring in this area. What we did see was simply beautiful, and each place different from the place before it. We also enjoyed (through the binoculars) the numerous lighthouses that dot the bay. These are a few of the ones we passed.
Deltaville:
Deltaville is located in a fairly rural portion of Virginia. There are a couple of stores, restaurants and most every kind of support service for sailing within a 5 mile stretch along a main road. The bay is really a haven for sailboaters. The marina was a working yard catering to sailboats. This is the first place we realized they have WINTER here. It's a week after Memorial Day and there were still a lot of boats on the hard. Some still in shrinkwrap. Deltaville has a maritime museum focused on the deadrise boats that are still used in these waters today for crabbing and fishing. We spent the day on the bikes checking out the local scenery and the afternoon in the marina pool.
Solomons Island
Gorgeous little island located on the Patuxent River in Maryland. Much less rural than Deltaville and had a lot more going on as far as restaurants and shops. Very picturesque. We had the pleasure of a mooring in the prettiest lagoon for the evening. This makes the "Do again" list for sure.
The south bank of the Patuxent River, is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, the Atlantic Test Range, and serves as a center for test and evaluation and systems acquisition relating to naval aviation. This also meant that we were treated to our own private airshow for a few hours, which was VERY COOL!. This short video doesn't do justice to the experience - they were so loud and some so low, you could feel them in your chest.
Annapolis
Spent 2 nights in Annapolis which, for anyone who know us, is one of our favorite places to visit. Our first time arriving by water (which was a real treat for us). Visiting some of our favorite "haunts" Rams Head, Prussers and just wandering the streets was just the best. We stayed in the mooring field located in the harbor just off the Naval Academy giving us the best views of the capital building and Naval Academy Dome that were lit up each night. Water taxi's were available on demand to take you almost anywhere along the waterfront for $3. Even with our own tender, it was pretty handy for venturing out at night, when the harbor seemed to get churned up.
Saturday was a sunny warm day to explore with the dingy. We discovered Spa Creek which runs between Annapolis and Eastport. There are a few marinas and mooring fields in very protected waters and still very accessible to town. I think we've made this our stayover of choice for Annapolis when we return in the fall. Eastport is the city next door to Annapolis across Spa Creek. We spent a little time here on Saturday afternoon and wish we could spend more. Same feel as Annapolis, but much more residential and home to several restaurants on the water. We had the best dinner at a place called O'Leary's Seafood. Highly recommend it!
Annapolis provided some of the roughest waters for overnighting so far. There is a huge amount of boat traffic (harbor boat tours, folks cruising the waterfront and extremely windy on top of all that. To say we got ROCKED to sleep each night is an understatement. Our last night here felt like we were sleeping in a washing machine.
To C&D Canal
North of Annapolis, you could see both sides of the Chesapeake, which was very different than the previous days travels. A significant portion of the western shore, north of Baltimore, is occupied by the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. We were racking our brains trying to remember what was "special" about this area - so our friend Google enlightened us. Wow, there is/was some "badass" stuff taking place at this Army facility. Once again, glad to have US on our side.
Located at the northern tip of the Chesapeake is the C&D Canal. It is the waterway that connects the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. The Chesapeake Bay has spoiled us with its consistent water depths of 15 to over 100 feet everywhere! Expecting the canal to look more like what we are used to boating the ICW in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, we were quite surprised to find it meandering, wide and lots of communities and activity on both banks. Making our way approximately 1/2 way through on Sunday, there was little commercial traffic, but lots of pleasure boaters buzzin around. We are spending the night at the North Summit Marina before making our way down the Delaware River to Cape May, NJ. Looking ahead at the weather and water conditions, it is likely that this stop will end up being a 2 night stay. The marine forecast is calling for a low front to pass through today with a S winds and 2-3 foot seas. No SCA, but with our next leg being southerly, higher wave action and opposing winds, we have learned, end up resulting in a very long uncomfortable day. Tuesday is calling for north winds and 1-2 foot seas and sounds like a much nicer day for a boat ride.
Neptune, Prime Rib and the end of the ICW. We have been holding off on doing a lot of anchoring as we wait for warmer weather to catch up with us but as we made our way up the Pungo River it was clear to see there would be no better time or place. Finding our way into a well protected basin we quickly found ourself with four other boaters. It what can only be described as one of the most stunning sunsets that Neptune can provide it was truly the prefect ending to a great day of boating.
But what Neptune gives he also takes away! The next day we powered our way off the hook and off to a new day making our way north straight into Albemarle Sound. Now Albemarle Sound should take an hour for us to cross but our old friend Neptune god of the Sea decided we were not paying enough attention and were not paying proper respect. So he decided to give us four foot seas straight into our starboard beam. Giving us almost three hours of 30 degree pitching. Message delivered!!! So now not only do we check and recheck our course for the next day we check and recheck with NOAA for upcoming weather. When coastal cruising you learn one thing prepares you for the next thing. With the Chesapeake Bay and a run up the New Jersey coast line in our future we will put the lessons of Albemarle Sound to good use. After leaving Albemarle Sound we made a short run to Coinjock home of the greatest Prime Rib known to man. But if I'm being honest at that moment we could care less about Prime Rib we just wanted to shake off a rough day. Shower, food and sleep!
After checking in with NOAA we decided the smart thing was to get a late start as we made our to Portsmouth VA as the weather would be getting better as the day went on. So we slid off the dock around 10:00 and made way for a three day stop for the Memorial Day weekend. Along the way we got to go through a lock for the first time at the Great Bridge Lock. With great excitement the lock tender lifted us eight inches! Eight inches?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! Oh well onwards we go! As we pulled into Portsmouth we got to pass a long line of Navy war ships on the Norfolk side of the channel. Really something to see. First it does make you proud and second glad there on our side. Portsmouth has proven to be a great stop. It has given us a chance to clean and restock the boat. Portsmouth also marks the end of the ICW and the beginning of the Chesapeake Bay.
Click Here for Pix from Pungo Anchorage, Ablemarle Sound & Coinjock
We had to open several bridges on this leg and most of them timed. I want to give a big shout out to the figure eight bridge. We had terrible timing for the first two bridges today. Figure Eight Bridge tender was awesome. He personally went down under the bridge to check our clearance for us because we missed the opening by about 5 minute and we were only inches away from clearing. Then he says. "com'on down here; I won't letcha hit nothin." Started to go through slow. Almost through... "Awwww, back it up Capt. Your dag gum light is about 3" to much." I can tell you with some certainty that there aren't many tenders who would go through the trouble of coming out of their houses and do this for us. Lesson learned - Take the one hour between the bridges and time it accordingly.
A very pretty ride along a fairly populated section of the waterway. Stayed @ Swan Point Marina run by none other than Tina Turner and her mother. I would pass this one by next time....
Today we are headed to Oriental, NC. As I'm sitting here having my coffee getting ready to go and I hear gun fire (a lot of gun fire) from Camp Lejeune. We learn that they perform live fire operations drills here often firing across the ICW. A phone number is provided for you to call daily and find out if/when the waterway will be closed to boat traffic. No drills are scheduled for today, so we should be good to go. We are first greeted by several security patrol boats and if you look closely, you can see the troops performing drills along the waterway and when you look toward the other side (starboard as you head north) you can see targets and shot up tanks both along the banks of the river and farther in on the dunes. Pretty cool stuff and I'm glad that these guys are on our side!
To reach Oriental, you have the pleasure of crossing some pretty "big water" The Bougue Sound and the Neuse River. No Active Captain warnings today for shoaling, which is a nice break.
Marina is fabulous and everyone is super friendly. We walk for groceries and on the way back to the marina, we are asked twice by locals if we need a ride back to the marina. One of the ladies who offered us a ride weren't even going in the same direction we were. Oriental is a small fishing town with a few shops here and there, but largely not much going on outside the marina. Great place for a 2 day stay, clean up the boat and get our laundry done. BTW, they make killer margarita's.
Navigational notes: Snows cut can be thin on either end. Try to catch the current on the Cape Fear River or it will be slow going. No bridges.
Fun Fact: Traveled roughly 48 miles today and made only 13 miles northern progression.
Hard to believe we've been at this for 100 days. Seems like just yesterday and at the same time seems like this is the way it's always been. None the less - Holy Smokes!!! The trip from Myrtle Beach to Carolina Beach was fairly straight forward. The scenery was largely developed with houses, condos, restaurants & bars along each side. We passed through several inlets (Shallots & Lockwood Ferry), where the ocean was Bam! right there. Making our way up the Cape Fear River, which is a major commercial channel was interesting to say the least. We encountered tugs, ferries and a tanker along the way. The tanker took up the entire channel causing us to run outside for most of it, but hey - he was significantly bigger than we were. (Dennis here- Becky might not be telling the whole story. As the tanker was coming toward us it was making her very nervous. And when Becky gets nervous she talks. A lot! Finally unable to hold it in she yelled out CAREFUL WE DON'T GET SUCKED INTO THE JET WASH! Jet wash I thought?? So I now have Goose from Top Gun standing behind the captains chair yelling at me about Jet Wash! After I assured her that we would be ok and the tanker passed harmlessly by I looked at her and just started to laugh and with a smile she looked at me and said she can't believe she had said that out load.) Stayed for 2 nights in Carolina Beach, which is your quintessential beach town. It reminded us both a lot of Ocean Isle. About 100 yards from the boat was a municipal day dock with public access to the ocean. We spent the afternoon walking the beach and playing in the water. After we dinghied a bit farther up the cove, to a local fish shack with good food and cold beer. Remember, that taking dingy rides is one of my favorite things to do and today I got hours of it! :-)
This place is a hidden gem, the mooring field is about 2 years old, easy to reach moorings and spectacular views in a well protected cove. We will be back here again! WW: ~30
Departed Georgetown around 8:30 thinking we had about a 6 hour day ahead of us. Well the wind and tides had other ideas. We ran all day with about a 15-20 mph head wind causing us to take a little longer than anticipated. We traveled primarily on the Waccamaw River most of the way to Myrtle Beach.
This was not a problem because the ride was spectacular, and while it might be hard to believe, the scenery was yet again different from yesterday. Today, the trees turned from primarily pine to largely cypress with some pine sprinkled in for good measure. There were no banks to the river. The river's edge was just trees and swamp. We also passed several "lodges/fish camps" along the way, which we thought would be pretty cool to visit by land for a few days.
We saw some of our first rocky shorelines and first swing bridge openings.
The ride was very rural up until you reached Myrtle Beach then became pretty typical for what you'd see along a commercialized beach town. Nice, but I prefer the "crunchy" view.
Myrtle beach yacht club was a perfect stop for the night. Tucked back in a cove directly off the ICW made for easy off and easy on and the dock hands who met us were pleasant and very helpful. Best yet was the $1/ foot with our Boat US discount.
Before leaving Charleston, we made a trip back home to check on things, take care of Dr. visits and most importantly get another "friend fix". We've been spoiled for the last couple of weeks...
What a week we had too: starting off with the Taste of Beaufort entertained by our favorite Zydeco band; Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellreaisers
Super high energy entertainment! In the crowd, we met an incredible lady, 80 years young, sporting a walker and O2, lead the Mardi Gras parade and danced the night away. She reminded us once again that age and exuberance for life is a state of mind and not body.
Hard to imagine that this could be topped, Saturday was spent celebrating Paula's 50th with the crew. Never a shortage of laughs & lies and a new appreciation for "I don't like big buts".
Monday, brought a celebration of our 31st wedding anniversary. Look how far these young kids have come...
Thursday: Daytona for the day. Walking the jetty @ Ponce inlet and meandering the docks @ Halifax. Enjoyed our unplanned visit with the James', which was great fun hearing about all their adventures on the water. (Bob - let me know if you find any typo's). Made me more anxious to get moving again. Wrapping up the day getting our "Bourque fix" was dinner with Fran & Peg at The Grind. Again, no shortage of lies and laughs.
I'm not sure how we have it so good to be blessed with such a collection of awesome people in our lives, but I wouldn't trade it for the anything.
Wrapping up the week was an early morning Kayak on the Silver River on Friday before heading to St. Augustine for the weekend with the Adams' to see Jeff Beck & ZZ Top; who put on an amazing show. Jeff Beck accompanied by Jimmy Hall were a real treat to see live & ZZ Top simply rocked the house. It is true, rock-n-roll never dies!
Riddle me this...... Who will our kids be going to see 20 years from now that are as legendary as these guys? Justin Bieber????
With the week done. We head back to Charleston, catch some more time with Mr. & Mrs. Middleton, turn the key and head to Georgetown, SC
Navigation notes: Ben Sawyer Bridge to Isle of Palms. MM 121 - 116 need to be passed a couple hours either side of low tide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Left Charleston around 10:30am trying to time our passage between Ben Sawyer Bridge and Isle of Palm, where significant shoaling has been reported, trying to give ourselves some extra water yet arrive in Georgetown at a reasonable hour. The tides right now are not very cooperative, with low tide @ 9:30am and high tide @ 3:38.
The view leaving Charleston was pretty spectacular - looking back from the water to the Battery and Waterfront Park area and passing Ft. Sumter.
Making our way into Cooper River from Charleston Harbor, brought some pretty thin water with our depth finder reading 4.7 and 5.0 several times. This was with almost 2 feet of help from the tide. Slow and steady was the word of the hour.
Once past Isle of Palm, we had lots of water and made for one of the most enjoyable and relaxing days on the water. The scenery also seemed different today. The tall sweet grass has been replaced by shorter types of seagrass and the pine and palm trees have been replaced by Pine with a few deciduous trees sprinkled in. The elevation across the horizon is being determined by the height of the trees popping up here and there in the expansive marshes. Several places along the way today were completely lined in pines, which was just gorgeous. We had lots of dolphin company on today's trip, which was a pleasant surprise, it had been a while since we've seen them while underway - even a few taking advantage of our wake.
Georgetown, SC is a cute little fishing town, the marinas are mainly along Front Street, the main street in historic Georgetown, surrounded by fabulous neighborhoods and tree covered streets. It reminded us both a lot of Vero Beach. There are several paper mills in town with one being at the top of the harbor. Fortunately, while we were here, there was no smell.
In the category of necessity is the mother of invention. Check out this short video of how we fueled up in Georgetown.
Shortly after our arrival, a gentleman came up and asked us how long we've had our North Pacific and had we ever met Trevor. This surprised us both, since most people ask us what it is instead. He said his name was Tom Coleman and my jaw damn near dropped to the ground. You see, when we went to Annapolis and "discovered" North Pacific and decided to buy the GS, it was Tom & Beth's boat that was at the show. We spent hours on their boat and ultimately it was after talking with Tom, Beth & Trevor - GS was conceived. What a small world once again.
