Travels in North Carolina

It's really spring! - Duckings on a lawn in Belhaven

We've seen Osprey nests on top of navigation aids all along the ICW - and, other summers, on top of aids in the Thousand Islands - but now we are seeing the Ospreys: it's spring and they have eggs to keep warm.

Sunday and Monday, May 2nd and 3rd: Oriental, NC

Last Sunday we decided to skip our stay in Beaufort, NC and go straight to Oriental to meet with Plumpuppet and Sandcastle. We booked a spot in the Oriental Marina and by 2:00 pm, we were heading in. As Bob began to swing Sea Change out and around to get into the slip, the boat slowed and stopped. "I'm out of water," Bob yelled to the waiting dock master. "We're grounded," I yelled. The dock master looked confused - he was having trouble understanding that Sea Change was stuck. Barb, from Plumpuppet, had warned me that depths close in were unusually low. Persistent winds for the last several days were sucking water out of harbours and tributaries and into the Neuse River but the water had risen a little in the last while and Tom, the dock master, told me there would be no problem. Well, we had a problem. We were sitting parallel to, but several feet away from the free (and empty) town dock (note to self - consider in future why a free dock might be empty). Tom came out along the dock and asked us to throw him a line. More helpers and many watchers appeared. We became the entertainment of the moment. I threw 2 more lines and now lines from the stern, mid-ships, and bow cleats were pulled and maneuvered until Sea Change, engine in and out of reverse, wiggled to deeper water. (Incidentally, I am a disaster at baseball, but I throw a pretty good boat line.) Other than 2 slips where we went aground, the marina was full so Tom told us to tie up at the gas dock. Soon after, a trawler pulled in behind us. With bad weather getting worse, everyone was looking for a safe place to tie up and now both marinas in the harbour were full.

Since we were expecting to leave the following morning, I moved quickly to get a load of laundry in, walk across the street to check out the book exchange at The Bean coffee shop, and then to the Deli at the other marina to buy sliced meat and cheese. That night we all went to dinner at M and M - named for the candies. On the way "down", we had great "peel and eat 'em shrimp" at M and M but it's not shrimp season now, so we had other good (and reasonably priced) food.

The next morning at 6:30, we talked on the VHF with Plumpuppet and Sandcastle. The winds were still high and from their docks they could see rough water on the Neuse. We decided to stay and enjoy the day in Oriental. Bob took the opportunity to change the engine and transmission oil and then we walked the long walk to the grocery store.

John and Madeleine, the couple on Chanceux who we met in the Exumas, were back home in New Bern just north of Oriental. They also know Karen and Warren (Sandcastle) and Barb and Ken (Plumpuppet)- having met them on their way south - so I called John and Madeleine and invited them to join us for drinks and dinner. Along with people from boats near us, and Diane and Tony from Vertigo (staying at another marina and part of a group that came south from Port Stanley), we gathered at the outdoor bar at the marina. Cruisers - especially ICW cruisers - are very friendly so the group quickly set about introducing themselves and falling into conversation about their travels. Later 8 of us (Sea Change, Plumpuppet, Sand Castle and Chanceux) went for dinner at the marina's Toucan Cafe. It was a lot of fun to see John and Madeleine again and to talk with everyone about life after the Bahamas.

Bob, Barbara, Ken, Warren, Karen, John and Madeleine

Tuesday, May 5th: Belhaven, NC

The wind had dropped Monday night so we knew the water in the harbour would rise and waves on shallow  ICW rivers ahead would flatten out. In spite of possible thunderstorms predicted for every day in the coming week, we decided to leave on Tuesday morning. Now we were moving north on the wide rivers of North Carolina - along the Neuse into the Bay River, then through a cut into Goose Creek, then across the Pamlico River and up the Pongo. I counted 9 boats behind us and 3 up ahead - everyone is on their way home. All was well until the sky clouded over. Up ahead, Sea Smoke, the trawler that had shared our dock in Oriental, was caught in driving rain, lost his navigation equipment, and became disoriented. Over the VHF, other boats advised on the correct heading (direction) and Sea Smoke found her way out of dangerous water and back to the magenta line. A while later, it was our turn to pass through heavy rain. Briefly winds climbed to 30 knots but eventually settled down and we proceeded in now drizzling rain. Thank God for the enclosure. We feel much less miserable than others who have to suit up and stand under the sparse protection of their Bimini (canvas top). Along the Pongo, we left Sandcastle, Plumpuppet and other boats in the group to go into River Forest marina at Belhaven. We needed a pumpout and far away thunder was making us uncomfortable.




River Forest Manor in Belhaven






Wednesday, May 6th: All the Way to Elizabeth City, NC

We got up at 5:30 for an early start. When we hailed Plumpuppet, Barb said that Sirius Weather predicted high winds for the evening and into the next day. To avoid Thursday's possibly wind whipped waters on Albemarle Sound, they intended to keep going past the marina and anchorages at the mouth of the Alligator River where many boats would lay over, cross the Albemarle and go all the way to the free docks at Elizabeth City.






Trees along the canal joining the Alligator and Pongo Rivers in North Carolina



The Albemarle Sound can be nasty and wise cruisers approach it with caution. In spite of the fact that we were an hour behind Plumpuppet, we thought - if they can do it - then we can too - but we put off our final decision until we reached the sound and could better gage our speed and arrival time in Elizabeth City. We were slowed in the morning by an opposing current but later, both the current and south winds at 16 - 20 knots were pushing us along. With our head sail up, we were motor sailing at 6 - 7 knots. Since we expected similar speeds across the Albemarle, we continued across the sound making 7+ knots all the way to Elizabeth City and arriving at 6 pm. We had traveled 85 statute miles (almost 73 nautical miles) in 12 hours - a personal best for Sea Change.

You see all kinds of things along the ICW. As we were traveling up a canal near Camp Lejuene, about 12 of these amphibious vehicles scooted by. As they passed, a couple of the men in uniform did a little twirl in their turret and a soldier in every vehicle waved.

Cruising up the Maccamaw River

Friday, May 1: Wrightsville, North Carolina



Our anchorage Wednesday night was on the Maccamaw River in South Carolina. We had turned onto the river about an hour before we anchored next to Butler Island the night before. In the morning when we pulled anchor, we continued following the river north for several hours. For most of that time, we were traveling through a wooded area with trees rising out of the water, their roots exposed - perhaps because the tide was low but also, for some I think, because soil had been eroded away by the fast moving river. Since there was little wind, the river surface was smooth and reflected trees and bush along the banks. For the most part, except for the odd small open fish boat skipping by, we were alone. The current was against us making it a slow peaceful ride through a beautiful place.

We arrived at Myrtle Beach late in the afternoon and in the absence of suitable places to anchor, we went into the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club for the night. The wind has come up today, so, the day before, although we  had anchored where we could take the dinghy ashore to walk over to the Wrightsville Beach or up the street to a little grocery, it would have been difficult to get the dinghy down - not to mention the wet choppy ride we would have motoring to shore. The weekend promises more wind. It will be from the south and behind us but still - we may have to modify travel plans and reconsider where we'll stay at the end of our travel days but then that's what traveling in a boat is all about. I'm thinking that we just may be ready to live on land by the end of this trip!

Long Day Through Skinny Waters

Wednesday, April 29th: Anchorage at Butler Island in the Maccamaw River, South Carolina

The weather is warm and the scenery, beautiful. Through Georgia and now into South Carolina, parts of the waterway are lined with bush or stands of trees. Sometimes there is marsh land spreading from the water edge and back to meet wooded areas.

Today we are going through miles of marsh sometimes with trees in view and sometimes not. At times, rows of houses and docks appear, the docks ending in a small deck area covered by a green or peach coloured roof. Usually, there is a boat raised out of the water and sitting on a supports beside the deck. The dolphins are ever present showing a fin here and there and sometimes arching out of the water - occasionally one or two appear directly in front of the boat and then disappear under the water - sliding away from the approaching hull.

In spite of the scenery and warm temperatures, we are not so relaxed. Since our grounding, we are more keenly aware of unpleasant possibilities. During our turn at the wheel, each of us is especially vigilant to follow the deep water: staying close to the GPS magenta line indicating the centre of the channel and also noting water depths. Falling depths send an alert - magenta line or not, should we move the boat over closer to the shore? closer to the green or red marker?

This morning we were delayed by a bridge with restricted rush hour opening hours. From the marina in Charleston where we spent the night, we estimated an hour and a half to reach the bridge. To get through the bridge, we either had to arrive before 7 or after 9. Beating the 7 o'clock deadline meant starting out before the sun came up - something we perhaps should have considered more seriously since the 9 o'clock opening put us on the water well after low tide. That means that we traveled for a while through the morning and into the early afternoon on a rising tide - a good thing - but as the day has progressed, the tide had reached it's peak and begun to fall. We weren't happy to be traveling through areas of "skinny water" as the tide fell. One particularly troublesome area had 2 ranges to help navigate a narrow channel with shallow edges. For non boaters: A range consists of 2 markers, one set in front of the other - the boater is meant to steer the boat in a line running from one marker to the next. The trick is to place the boat so that you see the closest marker sitting directly in front of the one behind it. On the channel we came through, the ranges were behind us, so Bob had to turn and look back to line the markers up. I sometimes steer following a range but not this time - Bob is better at keeping his cool when the stakes are high - and the tide is low. To make it all interesting, while we were moving through a narrow part of the channel just before the range would appear, we saw the top of a tall tug around the bend. As the tug and a long train of equipment trailing behind turned the corner, we were caught in a thin strip of water between Sea Change and a green square marking the edge of deep water. Bob slowed to a crawl and as the tug and it's snaking floating cargo passed by, we watched the depth sounder fearing that we would be forced into shallow water. (It was already shallow enough.) When the last of the load passed by, we breathed a sigh of relief and then settled down to look out for the next challenge. Such experiences aren't so bad - they keep us fully engaged and prevent thoughts of stock prices and swine flu.

We were feeling so gung-ho that we bypassed our destination point (Georgetown - it was too late to go ashore for walking anyway) and continued on to an anchorage listed in Skipper Bob's book. Meanwhile I went below and got dinner ready so that we could eat soon after we anchored (a curried chicken and rice dish, vegetables, salad). Finally at almost 7, we arrived at another of those adventure experience sites - Skipper Bob's descriptions are extremely succinct and leave a lot to of decision making up to the captain - basically, anchor north or south of this island (that seems to be in the middle of nowhere) and get in close (presumably where the water is a better depth for anchoring). After we cruised up the side of Butler Island for several minutes, Bob selected a spot shown on the chart to be more shallow than surrounding water and we dropped the hook. There was no one in sight - just water and trees around. On days like this, I always feel as though we are taking a huge chance - that is until the anchor is down and all is well - as it always is.

We traveled 63 nautical miles today - a long, long way to go in a slow boat on the ICW.

Looking at Butler Island - where we anchored.