In the Rain on The Brickhill River

We left the Brunswick Landing Marina yesterday at 0915, and motored through Jekyll Creek, across St. Andrews Sound, and down the Brickhill River on Cumberland Island; famous for wild horses (we saw one), armadillos, and the location of John Kennedy Jr's private wedding. It is also preserved as a National Seashore. Speranza also anchored here. We dinghied to shore, took a short hike, and then had dinner with Yvonne & Jonathan. Today is a weather lay day. The forecast is for rain, thunderstorms, and a tornado watch. We will take a hike later if the rain stops, but otherwise I have bread baking, and Jim wants to watch "Casino Royale". We will start moving towards St. Augustine tomorrow. Elena is coming for a visit from California on 12/4/2008.

Our Turkey

 

Sapelo Island Beach

 

Four Turkeys

 

The Turkey Fountain

 

Spanish Moss

 

Thanksgiving in Georgia

After navigating the trouble spots on the ICW successfully (by calculating the time of high tide), we arrived at Sapelo Island, the Duplin River, for our Thanksgiving Holiday. We chose this spot to have Thanksgiving with Jonathan & Yvonne because the cruising guide said that the U of Georgia Maritime Research Center had a Turkey fountain on the Island. On Thanksgiving morning we hiked to the fountain which was adorable, and then continued hiking to come upon The South House, a former plantation, and now a retreat. We walked to the beach. It was a beautiful day in the 70s. It was a magical day. By evening we sat down to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner; complete with turkey, stuffing, cranberry relish, twice baked potatoes, and pecan pie! It is amazing how you can put together a fabulous meal on a boat! Today, we left the Duplin River, and traveled to Brunswick, GA to do a marina stop at the Brunswick Landing Marina. We needed to get fuel, water, and of course laundry! The exciting thing about this marina is that laundry is free! No plugging quarters! After all our chores, we decided to go out eat at Fox's Pizza - great lasagna!

Sunset at The Wright River

 

Beaufort Architecture

 

Beaufort Anchorage

 

Before The Adventure - Yvonne & Jonathan

 

We made it to Georgia After A Big Adventure

We decided to forego the Thanksgiving festivities in Beaufort, SC because that would slow our progress South too much. We decided to travel with Yvonne and Jonathan "Speranza" for the next few days and celebrate Thanksgiving in a beautiful, quiet anchorage with them. On Saturday we motored to Fishing Creek Anchorage. We invited Yvonne and Jonathan for dinner. After a fun filled evening, Y & J attempted to row their dinghy back to their boat against a VERY strong opposing current. They were quickly swept away from our boat and theirs. Jim swiftly grabbed the motor & leaped into Porty - unfortunately leaping wasn't a good idea - Jim fell into the 49 degree water, clutching the motor, and Porty flipped on top of him in the pitch dark! Jim quickly swam back to Kismet, with motor in hand, got Porty righted, and again set out on the mission to rescue our friends who were drifting further away. Jim finally got the motor attached and running, after bailing out Porty. We thought all was well, until the motor stopped because a line got wrapped around the prop. Now Jim had to row back to Kismet against the STRONG current - he was successful. Now after releasing the line, for the third attempt, Jim motored, in soaking wet clothes - to find Y&J and tow them back to their boat. Fortunately, they threw an anchor out to stop their progress. Jim located them quickly and the rescue was a success! Needless to say everyone was relieved! On Sunday we all headed to Beaufort, SC. We anchored in front of the Town Marina. Chores had to be done here. Grocery shopping for Thanksgiving fixins and filling propane tanks. Beaufort really is a BEAUTIFUL town. We toured the National cemetery there and had burgers & beer at Luthers. We were "on the road again" on Monday. We anchored for the night in Wright River. The sunset was absolutely spectacular. Had dinner on Speranza, safely dinghied back to Kismet, and slept well. Today we crossed the Georgia border, the winds were blowing 10 - 20, and the sky was cloudless. We decided to anchor in the Vernon River and go through Hells Gate tomorrow in high tide.

Two Temps - Frig & Cabin

 

Charleston Residence

 

Charleston is BEAUTIFUL

We anchored by the City Marina in Charleston. Spent yesterday sightseeing and relaxing; as opposed to laundry, provisioning, etc! Had a great lunch at Jestines Kitchen; complete with cornbread and fried okra. Then we took a carriage ride - with blankets! The architecture is gorgeous, and trees and gardens are everywhere in the city. We walked through the City Market; then went to the Noisy Oyster for drinks & appetizers with Jonathan and Yvonne "Speranza". This city has been through alot - an earthquake, two wars, and five major fires! The last disaster was when Hurricane Hugo came through. We will be back!

The Pelican Bus Stop

 

How Cool!

 

Flipper & Flipperina!

 

The Beautiful Waccamaw River

 

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Entrance To Osprey Marina

 

67 Miles Today - It Was Almost Like Work!

After leaving Calabash Creek we motored to Osprey Marina in Socastee, SC for the night. It was expected to be in the 20s, so we wanted to beable to plug in our electric heater. The Osprey Marina is a wonderful place to stay. Beautiful grounds, showers, laundry, a casual restaurant for breakfast & lunch and a friendly staff. We spent the evening with Lynne and Dick from "Ladyhawke". The next day we left at 1030 and motorsailed 32 miles to Georgetown, SC, which at one time was the third largest city in SC. They were the rice & indigo capital of the world! Carolina Rice! We quickly toured the town; then made dinner and turned in early. Today we weighed anchor at 0630, and motorsailed 67 miles through beautiful SC. We had planned to pull into one of the creeks before Charleston but we were making such good time that we went all the way to Charleston! Dolphins were entertaining us along the ICW.

This is Where Jim Wanted To Anchor

 

Anchorage in Dutchmans Creek

 

Along The ICW

 

Crossing the SC Border

Left Carolina Beach mid-morning to catch a favorable current down the Cape Fear River. There are lots of stories how rough this river can be with opposing currents and winds, but we had a lovely ride down, and actually sailed! We stopped for the night at Dutchmans Creek to anchor for the night. Left bright and early yesterday. The challenge was to time our arrival at Lockwoods Folly and Shallotte Inlets at high tide. If we didn't, the chances of going aground would be great. We successfully got through with a train of other boats. By 1300 we had our anchor down in Calabash Creek, right on the NC/SC border. Jim and I dinghied into Calabash to get some shrimp and hushpuppies to bring to Jonathan & Yvonnne's boat (Speranza) for dinner. Looks like the temperatures are going to be PRETTY COOL for the next week - back to sweatshirts, hats, and gloves!

Pelicans - For Bob & Brenda

 

Fog, Wind, Rain, and Pelicans!

We spent 3 days in Wrightsville Beach waiting for better weather. Enjoyed the town - walked the beach - lots of surfers. We finally bought a fishing pole - Laurie's Birthday present! Spent lovely evenings with folks on "Speranza" & "Blackfoot". On Saturday afternoon we left the anchorage and motored 12 miles to Carolina Beach to anchor for the night. Pelicans were all around the boat. We had chicken divan for dinner, watched "Lost" & went to bed.

Wrightsville Beach

 

DOLPHINS!!!!

We left Oriental on Monday morning with a repaired water pump and our mail. We traveled 7 miles across the Neuse River; up Adams Creek, to anchor in Cedar Creek. We rowed the dinghy around to met our neighbors; Chuck and Allie in their beautiful Island Packet 38. Left the anchorage at 0630 on Tuesday to make some southerly progress. To start our journey, we were chased through Adams Creek by a tug pushing a barge all the way to Morehead City, NC. Then on the ICW, we saw DOLPHINS! Very exciting! We sailed for 12 miles down the Bogue Sound; which was especially nice since we had an adverse current. By 1500, we set the anchor for the night in Swansboro, NC; a very cute town. Went ashore to check out the shops, and talk to the locals. Met our neighbors, Yvonne and Jonathan, on sv Speranza, and then went ashore for pizza at The Trattoria. Our server was a Filipino from NJ. We were up bright and early on Wednesday for a long day. Our goal was to make Wrightsville Beach, a 60 mile trip. The challenge was to time the bridge openings which was a new experience for us. We needed to go through 4 bridges; 2 that opened on the half hour, and 2 only on the hour. Our timing wasn't helped by the fact that we made a wrong turn off the ICW. Fortunately, we realized our mistake and only went about 2 miles in the wrong direction. My worry was that it was going to be dark by the time we reached our destination. All worked out; and by 1700 we were anchored in Wrightsville Beach. It is 2100 and Jim is already asleep on the settee.

Our View Up Whittaker Creek

 

The Sailing Capital of NC

Left Broad Creek with beautiful sunshine and flat water to motor 7 miles to Oriental, NC. We opted for a slip at The Whittaker Creek Yacht Harbor so that we could deal with repairing our leaky raw water pump. Upon our arrival Knute (ken-ute), the owner, dockmaster & overall jack-of-all-trades; greeted us and within 15 minutes made all the arrangements for our job. By the end of the day, the pump was rebuilt and replaced! Jim set new records for getting a boat job done! This was especially fast considering Yanmar made it necessary to remove an engine mount to remove and replace the pump. Michael, the German mechanic, provided excellent tutelage and expedited the job. We toured the little town of Oriental. There are less than 1000 residents here, but 3000 sailboats that call Oriental their home. We had a great dinner at The Silos Restaurant, did the usual boat chores - laundry, grocery shopping, boat washing, etc. The marina loans out bicycles, so we peddled around town. Met a couple from Nova Scotia - and did a pot luck shrimp dinner on their boat. We are staying here at least one more night to get our mail that we had forwarded here.

Out of Contact With The World-In the Outback

It has been several days since our last post. We have been traveling through the lowlands of North Carolina where there is very poor cell phone/internet coverage. After leaving Elizabeth City, NC, we traveled down the Alligator River, and anchored right before the Alligator-Pungo River Canal. Then we hunkered down in Slade Creek, outside of Belhaven NC for two nights while the Nor'easter past by. Today, the sun shone again, and we sailed 40 miles to Broad Creek a beautiful anchorage outside of Oriental, NC. While we were waiting out the weather, we did boat chores, and Laurie baked bread (we are running low on the basic provisions)!

A City That Stills Closes On Sunday

We motored 22 miles through the Dismal Swamp & the Pasquotank River to Elizabeth City today. The city provides free slips to visiting boaters. After tying up, cleaning "Porty", the dinghy, and reorganizing the cockpit lazarette, we visited The Albemarle Museum; a top notch spot. With the time change, we had an early dinner, and I'm sure an "early to bed". Tomorrow we expect to sail across Albemarle Sound and find a safe anchorage for the next low pressure system expected to arrive tomorrow night.

We Made It to North Carolina!

Today we weighed anchor at 0715, and joined the parade of boats moving south. The pace slowed down considerably when we entered the Dismal Swamp Canal. After two days of Navy war ships, aircraft carriers, and monstrous cranes, the beauty and serenity of the Dismal Swamp was welcoming. We rafted up with twelve other sailboats at the Welcome Center on the Canal for the night. What a wonderful experience! We will leave for Elizabeth City NC at 0715 tomorrow.

Another Scene of The Dismal Swamp

 

How Could You Call This "Dismal"?