Beaufort, North Carolina to Florida

A few weeks ago we were enjoying a lovely ride up the Neuse River in North Carolina when Sharon got a phone call from her Aunt Gale (just after we passed Gale Creek) who with my uncle was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary (amazing!) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  They had that perfect beach week weather that so many of us were enjoying late October.  They went in search of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to get a glimpse of what it looked like.  Gale said it looked like a creek.  Yes - that is what the ICW looks like most of the time.

We have been meandering the creeks and rivers of the ICW since late October.  It has been a lovely ride.  After three fairly lazy days in Beaufort, North Carolina, we made our way south.  Each evening, we found a remote creek in which to drop the hook.  Then, we got out the computer and checked the Active Captain website for information regarding shoaling in crucial areas, missing navigation markers, bridge opening times, etc.  We weren't as diligent doing this until we transited Mason Inlet just south of Southport, NC and hit a sandbar hard in the center of the channel.  It was a yikes moment!  Sharon was driving, (as she often does) and had slowed down as she approached the inlet, where it is typical that sand bars build up from the rush of water in and out of the inlets from the ocean.  We had 2 knots of current with us, so we were getting pushed (also not unusual) and bam!  We were hard aground!  We backed up, spinning the boat on the sandbar, heeled hard over from the current's push and finally got the boat to move.  Whew!  But the worry of course is what damage might have occurred to the boat.  After that, we started checking the notes on Active Captain religiously.  It has paid off!  We take the risky areas at high tide, we go slow, we take the advice given by others who have been through it. And we've been adding our own comments on this great crowd source website in order to help others.

Here are some typical scenes along this section of the ICW - click to enlarge them:

The beauty of the ICW through South Carolina is amazing.  Photos, though lovely, still don't do it justice.  We found some gorgeous spots to drop the hook and enjoyed starry nights, gorgeous sunsets and sunrises and beauty as far as the eye can see.  We wish we could take you all with us to see how peaceful and special it all is.  One night while anchored in the Coosaw River, out there all by ourselves, everything open to enjoy the night air, we all of a sudden heard this wooshy breathing.  It was a dolphin (or two) coming up for air over and over again, just next to the boat - probably night fishing!  These amazing things happen all the time on our travels.

The damage casued by Hurricane Matthew, however, was everywhere. Here are a few pictures:

Evidence of the destruction from Hurricane Matthew is everywhere.  Myrtle Beach has an area of very low lying homes along the ICW that still had flooded yards and you knew the homes had flooded.  Charleston Maritime Center, where we love to stay, was closed due to damaged docks.  Because so many places all along the waterway were affected by Matthew, marinas were filled to capacity in Charleston when we got there.  We ended up staying at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina across the river from downtown Charleston.  Though this wouldn't have been our first choice, it was a nice choice.  There is a water taxi and free hotel shuttle that take you across the river to town.  It is close to the Shem Creek area where there are several nice restaurants and a long boardwalk where you can walk out into the marsh.  There is a beautiful new pool at the marina.  We only stayed four days, but it was a good stay.  We enjoyed an evening with friends Jim and Cynthia on Neverland, dining together at Blossom.  It is always good to see them and share stories.

The pool at Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina

We left Charleston on Tuesday, November 1st, and made our way south on the waterway.  As we were motoring up the channel to take a left to get back onto the waterway, we saw this symbol on our chart plotter.  Both of us looked overhead and listened but saw no helicopter.  Maybe a drone??  Interesting.

See that little picture of a helicopter?

We enjoyed one overnight at anchor and then we pulled into Wexford Plantation on Hilton Head Island where we spent a couple days with our friend Karen at her lovely home.  She is always so gracious and welcoming and it was fun to check out the galleries and gift shops, enjoy a couple yummy meals and walk around her beautiful community.  As always, thank you Karen.  It was great to share a bit of time with you.

For the next week, we kept up a pace of about 60 miles a day.  Up at 7am (we are happy that the time change has made it lighter this early), catching the favorable tides and hitting the skinny water at high.  The anchorages in Georgia are just as lovely as those in North and South Carolina.  Our biggest challenge in Georgia was transiting Jekyll Sound.  To stay on the waterway, you have to go pretty far out to the ocean and then make a hard right back West to get up into the ICW.  The wind was out of the Northeast, the water is shallow and we were taking fairly large waves broadside.  Fortunately, it was short lived and as soon as we made that turn, the wind and waves were behind us.  We were feeling happy we had not decided to head outside for an ocean passage.

The destruction of a marina on Hilton Head Island
from Matthew

Transiting Jekyll Sound 

Cumberland Island

Jupiter Light

We crossed the Florida line on Nov 6th.  Last Thursday, we realized we might have pushed the limits of our fuel tank.  The gauge at the ignition panel was getting achingly close to Empty.  The gauge on the fuel tank down below the floorboards was still between 1/4 and empty.  We each must have checked it every half hour to see if it was creeping towards empty.  We called one marina in our path for fuel but their docks were too damaged to sell fuel, so we had to go another 12 miles to Vero Beach.  Then, once we got there, we had to idle for about 15 minutes before the guy at the dock was finished.  We took on 74 gallons for our 90 gallon capacity tank (a little bit less than the fancy motor yacht that took on 2,000 in Beaufort!)  Wow!  More than 10 gallons to spare.  What were we chewing our fingernails for??!!

The next morning just after we hauled anchor and hopped back on the waterway, a slew of fishing boats blew past us - a race?!  Some had really cool paint jobs.  There must have been at least 50 of them.  The funny thing is that these guys barely leave a wake as they skim above the water, while a deep vee'd trawler makes you bounce and roll for several minutes when they pass you.  Everyone waved and seemed like they were out for some fun!

Over the coming weeks, we look forward to sharing time with our daughter and fiance', Courtney and Paolo, spending the holiday season in and around Boca Raton.  The water is bluer, the air is warmer, the sun is shining.  Greg's work has been all consuming and Sharon has been doing the driving.  A land break will be welcomed, but will be interspersed with sailing days.

'Til next time -