I got up early and Sailor and I went to the shore in the dinghy and got back quickly. Dora and I had the dinghy loaded topside and we were underway by 0725. It was a cool, calm and sunny day. Except for the Cape Fear River, most of the trip was through land cuts. Depths stayed consistently 16-17 feet. There were an incredible number of very large homes along almost the entire route. Many of them appeared to be second homes.
Of course we arrived at the only bridge that had to open for us, 45 minutes early, so we had to idle the last couple of miles to avoid having to maneuver at the bridge for a long time.
We docked at 1645 at Crickett Cove Marina (mile marker 345) near Little River, South Carolina. They put us on a face dock parallel with the ICW so we were rocked by wakes from boats that didn’t slow down. It was a nice marina with very clean showers .We paid $1.50 per foot plus $5.00 for electric service. Dora gave Sailor a bath while I tried , with no luck, to download navigation charts using Coastal Explorer and posted two days of our blog. We had pork roast for dinner.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008 - Snead's Ferry to Wrightsville Beach, NC
We had to walk Seascape back to the end of the face dock and pull her around the end because there wasn’t enough room in the small basin to maneuver. Once we got it around, we both jumped aboard and I backed her as far as I could and thin used power and the thruster to swing her 90 degrees out the narrow opening in the breakwater. I was glad that there wasn’t very much wind.
We had to wait 50 minutes at the Surf City swing bridge because it only opens on the hour,15 minutes at the Figure Eight Island swing bridge which only opens on the half hour, and over an hour at the Wrightsville Beach bascule bridge. We anchored in the bight just southwest of Mitts Channel, inside the protection of Wrightsville Beach in 12 feet of water. The 40 miles had taken us five and one half hours because of the bridges.
We took Sailor to shore in the dinghy and bought a few groceries at a small beach market
We had to wait 50 minutes at the Surf City swing bridge because it only opens on the hour,15 minutes at the Figure Eight Island swing bridge which only opens on the half hour, and over an hour at the Wrightsville Beach bascule bridge. We anchored in the bight just southwest of Mitts Channel, inside the protection of Wrightsville Beach in 12 feet of water. The 40 miles had taken us five and one half hours because of the bridges.
We took Sailor to shore in the dinghy and bought a few groceries at a small beach market
Wednesday, October 1,2008 - Morehead City to Swan Point Marina at Snead's Ferry, NC
Dora showered at the marina and we departed Morehead City Yacht Basin at 0930. It was overcast and cool. We had an uneventful 42 mile trip although I never like going through Camp Jejune. We could hear the artillery firing nearby. We docked at Swan Point Marina in Snead’s Ferry located south of New River Inlet. It is a small, family run marina and boatyard that is a little run down. I had to enter the marina basin at nearly full throttle to avoid being swept past the basin opening by the swift tidal current. Dockage was $1.50/ft including electric service. We walked Sailor through the boatyard. Many of the boats were derelicts. A thunderstorm passed through just before dark producing high winds and some rain. We had chicken fried steak for dinner.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - Neuse River to Morehead City, NC
It started raining just before sunrise. I was up at 0700, made coffee and waited for the rain to stop. As soon as it slacked off, Sailor and I went to shore. He knew the routine and did everything in 2-3 minutes and we were on our way back to the boat. We hoisted the anchor and were underway by 0830.
The sky remained overcast and threatened more rain all day. We decided to stay at Morehead City Yacht Basin located northwest of the port facilities. We arrived around 1400. It was a very nice marina with a long face dock. We were able to pump out and take on 40 gallons of diesel right where we tied up. I took a shower while Dora did two loads of laundry at the marina. We shared the $10.00 charge to use the marinas courtesy car with Mary and Charlie and we all set out for WalMart. On the way we stopped at a marine supply store so I could buy some fuel filters. We walked to a nice restaurant near the marina and had some excellent food.
The sky remained overcast and threatened more rain all day. We decided to stay at Morehead City Yacht Basin located northwest of the port facilities. We arrived around 1400. It was a very nice marina with a long face dock. We were able to pump out and take on 40 gallons of diesel right where we tied up. I took a shower while Dora did two loads of laundry at the marina. We shared the $10.00 charge to use the marinas courtesy car with Mary and Charlie and we all set out for WalMart. On the way we stopped at a marine supply store so I could buy some fuel filters. We walked to a nice restaurant near the marina and had some excellent food.
Monday, September 29, 2008 - Belhaven to Neuse River,NC
We left the anchorage off Belhaven at 0800. It was a clear day with light winds out of the northeast. We motored 45 miles to Broad creek on the west side of the Neuse River. There were only wide areas in the natural channel in the creek to anchor. We dropped the hook near the creek’s mouth in nine feet of water at 1300. Many more boats came in later in the afternoon and anchored further up the creek.. We rode the dingy over to Charlie and Mary’s sailboat for dinner. We enjoyed excellent spaghetti and good company. It was well past dark when we got back to our boat. Without any man made lights we could see millions of stars.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008 - Tuckahoe Point to Belhaven, NC
I found a narrow sandy beach right next to a small yacht club to take sailor to shore. We had breakfast, hoisted the outboard and dinghy, pulled the anchor and were underway by 0815. We stopped at the Alligator River Marina near mile marker 85 and took on 150 gallons of diesel at $3.69 per gallon ($553.84). We made 55 miles in beautiful weather and anchored west of Tuckahoe Point off of the Alligator River at 1430.
About 1630 we launched the dinghy and took Sailor to shore. Both shorelines as far as we could see was bordered by cypress swamp with little or no place to land a boat. We found one small patch of high ground about ten feet square with lots of brier, I climbed through the brier and put Sailor down and he just stared at me and wouldn’t do anything We tried the other shore but couldn’t locate any dry land at all and finally gave up. Sailor would just have to wait until tomorrow. We stopped by Mary and Charlie’s boat for cocktails and headed back to Seascape. We made Mediterranean kabobs and plantains for dinner. Star watching was amazing without any city lights.
About 1630 we launched the dinghy and took Sailor to shore. Both shorelines as far as we could see was bordered by cypress swamp with little or no place to land a boat. We found one small patch of high ground about ten feet square with lots of brier, I climbed through the brier and put Sailor down and he just stared at me and wouldn’t do anything We tried the other shore but couldn’t locate any dry land at all and finally gave up. Sailor would just have to wait until tomorrow. We stopped by Mary and Charlie’s boat for cocktails and headed back to Seascape. We made Mediterranean kabobs and plantains for dinner. Star watching was amazing without any city lights.
Saturday, September 27, 2008 - Elizabeth City to Tuckahoe Point off the Alligator River, NC
I found a narrow sandy beach right next to a small yacht club to take sailor to shore. We had breakfast, hoisted the outboard and dinghy, pulled the anchor and were underway by 0815. We stopped at the Alligator River Marina near mile marker 85 and took on 150 gallons of diesel at $3.69 per gallon ($553.84). We made 55 miles in beautiful weather and anchored west of Tuckahoe Point off of the Alligator River at 1430.
About 1630 we launched the dinghy and took Sailor to shore. Both shorelines as far as we could see was bordered by cypress swamp with little or no place to land a boat. We found one small patch of high ground about ten feet square with lots of brier, I climbed through the brier and put Sailor down and he just stared at me and wouldn’t do anything We tried the other shore but couldn’t locate any dry land at all and finally gave up. Sailor would just have to wait until tomorrow. We stopped by Mary and Charlie’s boat for cocktails and headed back to Seascape. We made Mediterranean kabobs and plantains for dinner. Star watching was amazing without any city lights.
About 1630 we launched the dinghy and took Sailor to shore. Both shorelines as far as we could see was bordered by cypress swamp with little or no place to land a boat. We found one small patch of high ground about ten feet square with lots of brier, I climbed through the brier and put Sailor down and he just stared at me and wouldn’t do anything We tried the other shore but couldn’t locate any dry land at all and finally gave up. Sailor would just have to wait until tomorrow. We stopped by Mary and Charlie’s boat for cocktails and headed back to Seascape. We made Mediterranean kabobs and plantains for dinner. Star watching was amazing without any city lights.
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