Dessert 1st, Northbound on the ICW

Valkyrie · Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 1:29 pm Post subject:

Easy to get them to stay still to hose them down!

Just have Mary stand in be cockpit with her arms extended to the sides for five minutes and you just overwhelm her with a cloud of bug juice! Works every time!

I am also in BIG trouble the next time she sees me!

Regards,

Nick
"Valkyrie"

Casey

Nick, I think I'll pass on fogging Mary with bug dope ... She may decide to fog me with the bear spray ....

It has been an excellent trip so far. The wx turned cooler and rainy a few days ago, but cool can be a good thing.

We arrived in Charleston on Friday, expecting to be there for a couple of days. When we got to the harbor there was a "regatta" underway with 298 sailboats participating. Yipes(!) that's a LOT of sailboats! Mix-in three our four container ships and it seemed pretty busy. We went over toward Fort Sumter (hoping to dock and take a short tour of the fort), but found the conditions weren't to our 'liking for docking. We also decided against anchoring near the fort - just too exposed and busy. So I we decided to find a different anchorage and get a marina Saturday morning. We anchored behind "Crab Bank" in a spot that was well protected, and after finding 10.5' (at dead low tide) we had our anchorage. (The nearby Crab Bank is home to about 1.45zillion birds who talked to us through the evening/night/morning. It was like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.)

By morning we were ready to up-anchor and find a marina. Mary phoned three marina's. Two were full, and the third had a 33' minimum (@$2.25/ft), so we decided to press-on. We Learned a lesson about arriving in Charleston on a weekend, and Regatta Day at that! Luckily, the ICW Continued immediately outside the channel behind Crab Bank, so we were northbound....

It was an easy/rainy 37 miles up to McClellanville, SC and they had space at the Leland Oil Co (marina). We arrived an hour before low tide and found <2' here and there ... skinny water, for sure. The facilities were pretty meager, but the price was right, they had electricity for the fan (lots of gnats), a marginal shower, and a decent cafe about .75 miles away. ...Ooh, and a litter of two week old black labs. Really Cute!

This morning we were onward to Georgetown, SC, 27 miles up the ICW. The trip was very easy, and we arrived just before noon. We had a nice lunch in town at Big Tuna (recommended by several folks on Active Captain. Lordy, what would we do without AC? Jeff&Karen Seigel have made us real advocates of "crowd sourcing" technology.)

This is a very comfortable town - so we may stay another night ... stay tuned.
We came back to the boat in the rain, and it stopped about :30 minutes later.
So, we'll grab the umbrella* and head back out for another "recon" (Mary's description).

Best,
Casey&Mary
* we ALWAYS cruise with a largish golf umbrella. Although we don't always take it shore, if it looks like rain, it can be Very handy.

larhayden · Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 4:24 pm Post subject:

Greetings and hope your trip is going well. I need to learn how to detect your Spot, but if you are between Beaufort, SC and Charleston SC, we have a dock with power and water just off the ICW. Email: larhayden@gmail.com

Valkyrie · Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 4:25 pm Post subject:

Hi Casey,

Good to hear that things are going so well! I have been following on FB.

Big Tuna is right on the water, isn't it? If so ,we ate there, too, on the deck overlooking the water. They even brought a big bowl of ice water for Boomer. Very nice folks.

As I mentioned before, I am amazed that people look down on the southeast ICW, referring to it as the "Ditch." I have run it more than a few times and am always taken with its beauty.

Have fun!

Nick and Marcia
"Valkyrie"

jennykatz · Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 4:34 pm Post subject: northbound ICW

What a wonderful way to spend the summer . Loree is out of action with a foot thats in a cast . We are hoping to get our little RV out and about this summer . Take care Jim

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:25 pm Post subject:

Nice to be able to "take it as it comes" when cruising. You two are adaptable and resourceful. We are enjoying the updates.

Jim & Joan

Casey · Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:50 pm Post subject:

Larry, you should be able to click on this address and find us:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0eg71TJmDHECiGqSvFM05PuHgY9XbCayZ

Thanks for the offer of a dock/elec but we are already well north of you at
Georgetown, SC. (I just checked the SPOT. As far as I know it only saves data for seven days, so the data showing your location may have already been deleted.)

Just had a thunder and lightning storm come through that made is look like the end of the World! Very impressive. We're liking Georgetown so may stay another day.

Best,
C&M

BoaterHomer · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 8:29 pm Post subject: Photos!

Thank you all for asking to see photos! Such a nice group we have here on C-Brats!

I have been very lazy about adding photos this trip. Plus, I was in the middle of a good book and my spare time was spent relaxing and reading in the lawn chair in the cock-pit.

I've gotten some photos rounded up and put in an album on SmugMug. For the most part, I have the photos labeled as to where they were taken. The good thing about SmugMug is that you can look at 10-12 photos at once making it quick and relatively painless.

Here is the link:
http://caseyandmary.smugmug.com/Florida-to-the-Chesapeake-2015/

I'm hoping Casey soon gets around to telling you all about the Coast Guard encounter we had yesterday. 30 seconds of sheer terror followed by some nervous laughter. But, I'll let him tell it. Mañana. (That doesn't necessarily mean tomorrow...just not today). Smile

Here's a test to see if I can still remember how to post a photo here. This is in Georgetown, SC. And that is one heck of a propeller!!

Bluechablis · Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 8:55 pm Post subject:

Really enjoyed the imagery! Keep posting!

Casey · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:04 am Post subject:

Good Morning 'Brats!

It's Friday morning (4/24), and we spent the night at Casper's Marina in Swansboro (NC). We are 676sm enroute (55sm yesterday), and the trip is going very well, but it has turned cold. (Since we have electricity at the marina, I actually plugged-in the "Big Heat" heater this morning.). I have come to the conclusion that my definition of "living large" is having wifi, ice cubes (for my daily Scotch ration), and ELECTRICITY ! Smile

The wifi connectivity was solved by signing-up for Verizon 'data (I'm usually too cheap for that). The ice cubes are solved by having the Dometic freezer onboard (thank you George/Carolyn for the suggestion on insulated layers inside), and electricity is solved by 'splurging, and going to a marina occasionally. (We generally spend a couple nights anchored-out, then find a marina for the third night. So far the marina's have been around $1.50 to $2/ft. We enjoy anchoring-out, but we also enjoy the amenities of a marina, too. (Last night we walked up to the Piggly-Wiggly grocery store, and found a pizza place as well.).

Mary suggested that I mention the USCG event ... Ok.

We were cruising up the ICW toward Wilmington (NC). Wx was good. We had a following sea, about a 1-2' chop, and we were just cruising along on A/P at 8mph, and life was Good. Our turn to the North was only a couple miles ahead. Oh, did I mention that we were in a "shipping lane?"

We were chatting about something, and all of a sudden we heard the dreaded 5-Blast (collision imminent...) signal from a VERY large horn. We both looked back and saw the USCG Cutter "Diligence" overtaking, and Very close. (How close you ask? Too Damn Close!! (I'll guess 100yards, but it scarred the b-Jesus out of us! I'm sure the crew on the bridge were laughing their asses off at having made at making a small pleasure boater nearly crap-their-pants.) we chose not to get into a radio discussion of privileged vessel/burdened vessel, after all we were in a shipping lane, but still.... (I didn't know a CC23 could come up on plane that fast(!); we scooted out of the way!

That night we anchored near Wrightsville Beach in an open/windy area with a pretty good chop. The night went well, just noisy with hull slapping. I considered rigging an anchor bridle, but decided 'no. We just put out some extra scope and held-on. Mary's "Drag Queen" app (plus visual references) confirmed that the Delta was holding well. By morning, retrieving the anchor required some 'jockeying, but it was certainly very well 'set!

Yesterday we cruised through the Camp LeJuene (USMC) gunnery range. They weren't shooting, which was nice.

We're going to breakfast with a couple from a nearby (50') vessel, so I guess I'd better get shaved and put on a clean shirt...and maybe Long pants!

Best,
Casey&Mary
...working our way North

JamesTXSD · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:48 am Post subject:

Long pants? It must be chilly! Wink

Well, unless you are being all grown up like.

The five blasts may have been for the entertainment value, if an earlier "one or two horn" wasn't sounded. Sure gets your attention, huh? Shocked

Something to be said for electricity, hot showers, and restaurants within comfortable walking distance to keep it fun.

Keep the updates coming!

Hugs to you both,
Jim & Joan

Larry Patrick · Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:37 pm Post subject:

Enjoyed photos thanks,nice trip.

Two Bears · Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 12:13 am Post subject:

George, I really enjoyed your photos in snugmug, but you need to the camera away from Mary. We'd much rather see photos of her than of you!

Chuck

Casey · Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 6:35 am Post subject:

Chuck, getting the camera away from Mary could be a life-endangering activity (and I'm usually smarter than that)!

We stopped in Morehead City (NC) yesterday. We planned to go to the "Sanitary Fish Market"* but the reviews on Trip Advisor and Active Captain were terrible, so we opted for the "Ruddy Duck" restaurant, next door. The Ruddy Duck was great - and the slice of banana cream pie we shared for dessert was the Best we've ever had Anywhere. It seems silly making such an over-the-top comment about a piece of pie ... but it was that Good. We'd go back just for the pie!

There didn't seem to be a wind proof anchorage nearby, and it was nearing 6PM (we're usually anchored by about 3 or 4PM). We explored an unmarked area NW of the Morehead City Yacht Basin and found a good spot that had 3.5' at MLW (and no traffic). It's nice to have a boat that doesn't require much water. There is some kind of Army activity onshore that looks like it might be Corp of Engineer (not sure).

From here we plan to head over to Beaufort and look around, so it appears that today will be another low-mileage day.

It was chilly again last night - maybe we're traveling North too fast.

Best,ñ
Casey&Mary
* My family lived at the nearby Cherry Point MCAS from about 1952-1954. We used to come to Morehead City every couple of months to have seafood at the Sanitary Fish Market Restaurant and it was great (particularly the basket of hush puppies they served with the meal). Sorry to say - it's no longer very good. Gee's ... it's only been sixty years. Dang.

Casey · Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 6:11 am Post subject:

Good Morning 'Brats!

We departed Beaufort (BOW-fert) NC yesterday morning in a cold light rain. Very nice to have a cabin (with a Wallas stove). Who would have thought it would be this cold in late April? But it is-what-it-is and we're managing (but I should have brought some kind of windbreaker jacket, my LLBean chamois shirt is pretty marginal).

We've been in contact with C-Brats Paul and Ruth Cyr (CD25, "Seaweed"). They live on Broad Creek, on the Pamlico River (second major inlet north of the Neuse River [where we are now]). The Cyr's have invited us to their dock for a night or two, so we're headed that way. When we first contacted Paul and Ruth, they suggested that we watch for good friends traveling north on a Morgan46 "Pegasus". Sure enough, yesterday morning we heard Pegasus on the radio as they headed in to a marina for fuel and ice, and they were less than five miles ahead of us. By the time we arrived at Seagate Marina Pegasus was coming out the narrow channel and we had a nice radio chat with them. Small world. (By the way - a Morgan46 is a Very nice sailboat!)

We proceeded north on the ICW until we reached the Neuse River, where we turned west toward MCAS Cherry Point's Hancock Marina. The Neuse was pretty choppy, but manageable - again, it was nice to have the warm/dry cabin. It was nice to arrive at Hancock Marina, but there was NO ONE around so we picked an open slip, hooked-up 30A electricity Smile

and made ourselves at home. After locating the toilets and (warm) showers it was time for Happy Hour Smile

. We decided to have salmon and rice with a nice cardbourdeaux. Together with candlelight and music on the XM radio, it was all very civilized!

Today the plan is to venture about twelve miles to Oriental (NC) and find another marina. I want to answer the burning question: How did Orienal get its name? From the looks of it it'll be another bumpy ride - but probably doable.

We're finding that with this cold wx, having shorepower is a Very Good Thing. The Wallas is good, but the (electric) "Big Heat" is better. We have both commented that later in this trip we will wish that there was a way we could store-up some of this cold weather!

The visit to MCAS Cherry Point is a bit anticlimactic. My family lived here a couple times in the early/mid 1950's and I have fond memories of playing in the woods (our military housing backed on a place named the Black Swamp...) as a child. Fun times. The Hancock Marina is fine ... but it's several miles into the main part of the base, and without a car or bicycle, it's too far to go in the Cold. Ah well ... maybe next time.

So there you have it; Day 23 is 'history, and Day 24 is an adventure yet to unfold!

Best,
Casey&Mary