Thunderbolt, Ga to nowhere

The Thunderbolt Marina had some regular boats like us and some tremendous boats. For the Boat Show crowd, there were Catanas, Outremers, a Gunboat, and some I couldn’t identify. They looked fast! That marina has direct access to the ocean with no fixed bridges barring the path so they get some very big boats. The amenities were basic but the access to Savannah was top-notch.

The weather forecast was for absolutely easygoing on an ocean run. Linda almost always votes for ocean legs. Ocean runs are soooo appealing because there isn’t a lot of turning and paying attention required. Go out the inlet, point at the target inlet, read your book until you get there… Sure you need to look up occasionally to make sure all is well. 

I checked the nut on the mast/boom connection this morning. No worries.

Glassy conditions down to the ocean. No real wind but also no serious waves. We went out the Wassaw inlet - a new one for us. We put up the jib and motor-sailed to Sapello Inlet, another new inlet for us.  We made great time and decided to push a bit farther than the inlet. We’re anchored in the middle of nowhere (near Doboy Sound), enjoying Old Fashioneds and Old Bay tilapia sandwiches.

Total miles south: 590 Temperature tonight vs. Vienna: 16 degrees warmer.

Beaufort SC to Savannah

 The run from Beaufort to Savannah on the ICW requires some planning for us as the tides have a 7+ foot range here and we needed to get under 4 bridges at various times during the day. The end result of the planning was a 6:30 reveille with a 7:00 am sharp departure in the dense fog to head down the Beaufort River and past Parris Island.

It was hard to tell where the water ended and where the sky began.

I got a lens for my iPhone to try to get better wildlife pictures.  Here is what I have so far.

A visiting ornithological expert identified all of these as being turkey-crow-hawks.

We had a nice day of exploring Savanah including the Bonaventure graveyard and the Historic downtown. It was a really nice stop that marked the end of the Van Winkle visit. They were great crew and company and will be missed.

Miles south: 544. Degrees warmer tonight: 19.

Charleston to Beaufort SC

We returned from a great Thanksgiving to Charleston and were joined by the Van Winkles for a few days.

A Spanish Galleon joined the dock in Charleston prior to our departure.

The first day out was looking good for an ocean leg so we sailed under the guns of Fort Sumter dodging freighters and tugs and headed out into the Atlantic. We had a great downwind run to an infrequently used inlet at the North Edisto River. Sailed the whole way with lots of dolphin sightings. Timed the entrance to the inlet to not fight the worst of the outgoing tide and the inlet was a breeze. Great night at a marina on Seabrook Island. It was very cold for a few nights so it was nice to be in a marina with power for heat.

Yesterday we did a 7 hour ICW run with fixed bridges, swing bridges, shallow cuts, and massive tides and currents to give a good feel on inside vs outside runs.  Lots of planning is needed to time out arrivals at times we can make it through. It had great scenery and the weather turned warmer. Lots more dolphins and I now think I can communicate with them because whistling to them sometimes gets them to charge over to the boat and surf the bow waves.  We were locked out for a few hours at the swing bridge so we dropped anchor, had a cocktail, and learned to play Scopa.

Beaufort is beautiful and we have had a great day exploring including a nice tour on the Reconstruction Era.

At end of the ocean run when taking the sail down, the foot of the main came loose and the boom fell off the mast. Steve and I went on a mission in the dink to fetch repair parts and wrestled it all back together.

Fixed!

Total miles south 510. Temp tonight 18 degrees warmer than Vienna.

Catamaran Row - Charleston, SC

Remember that pro strategy for docking at slack tide? The marina staff called us at 10:45 am (slack current is at 1:30 pm!). They wondered what our arrival plan was. I laid our our slack current plan to the nice young man. He agreed that it was the easiest option but let me know that we “could” come now. It turns out that some other boats had the same plan and someone had to go first or we’d all be arriving together. Sigh.

We went first. Mike was awesome. We slid right into the first position. Unexpected bonus - if you’re the first to dock, you get to do your laundry first in the two free machines on site. 

We even had time to pop into the East Bay Deli for lunch during our wash cycle. I got Chicken Salad on a Salad. Now, we’re all done with laundry and headed out for a walk. The other folks are still queuing for the machines.

Tomorrow, we hop in a rental car and head back to Virginia for a week.

Total miles south: 468 Temperature tonight vs. Vienna: 24 degrees warmer.

Getting Ready to Make Our Entrance - Charleston, SC

The tides are big in Charleston. The current is strong. You need to respect those forces if you want to look good docking your boat.

The first hurdle is the two bridges on the ICW right before Charleston that pose a problem for tall sailboats. The first bridge is fixed height that we need half tide or lower to fit under. The second bridge is a drawbridge with a lockout schedule that can force you into a disadvantageous tide on the first bridge. We opted for an early run this morning, had no trouble and arrived in Charleston Harbor a day early for our marina reservation.

I wished I had my camera handy this morning. That first fixed bridge had a large chunk of concrete knocked off of each of the first two concrete cross beams. Someone else didn’t do their homework before trying their luck going under the bridge. From the looks of it, they were very confident. Bummer.

We will be staying at our favorite marina in Charleston. We anchored right across the river and have done our homework regarding tides and current for tomorrow. We will be making our pro docking attempt between 12:00 and 1:00 at slack high. Lots of water, very little current.

We are anchored with a bunch of other boats next the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier,

below the Arthur Ravenal Jr. bridge, and

enjoying our Starlink internet.

It’s not quiet. There are lots of helicopter tours, monster container ships and general goofiness from the Captain Cocktail cruisers. 

We’re happy to be here.

Total miles south: 468 Temperature tonight vs. Vienna: 20 degrees warmer.

Georgetown to Charleston (Almost)

 Made an easy going inside run on the ICW from Georgetown to an anchorage in the low grasslands just short of Charleston.

Lots of nice scenery alternating between low tidal marshes

And houses and docks right on the ICW. Many folks out fishing and duck hunting today

Many interesting birds along the route. Pelicans, gulls, osprey, ducks, eagles, anhingas, egrets, and I think a king fisher or two. Been trying to get pictures with poor results. Might need a zoom lens for the iPhone

Total miles south 462.  Temp vs. Vienna +9 degrees.  This weekend we will put Luna in a marina in Charleston and drive back to Virginia for Thanksgiving.

This Place Doesn’t Smell Like I Remember - Georgetown, SC

We are progressing south. Yesterday we did another offshore run that was closer to the edge of uncomfortable. The wind and the waves were traveling with us but they were bigger than predicted. I didn’t like being inside the cabin or looking at the waves approaching us from behind. It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t pleasant either.

We saw some dolphins enjoying the waves and jumping in front of the boat. I never get tired of that. When we didn’t do anything equally interesting, they got bored and left. No pictures. I’m of the mindset that I’d rather enjoy the few minutes of the dolphin show that run around looking for my phone to take pictures.

We are anchored next to the paper mill in Georgetown, SC. We’ve smelled this spot before. It looks like a favorable wind direction today. We have studied the overnight wind predictions much more carefully this visit. Last time, we got skunked and had to air out the boat for days.

Today the town smells like the cozy restaurants along the River Walk docks. They have a nice set of Public Docks to make it easy for boaters to come ashore and enjoy the town. 

We went to lunch at Between the Antlers. I tried the special, Duck Pileau. It’s a creamy jambalaya-ish rice dish with duck. It was a massive bowl of saucy rice with some bites of duck meat. It was quite tasty. I made sure to get all of the duck chunks but left most of the rice. I was still stuffed!

Total miles south: 417 Temperature tonight vs. Vienna: 14 degrees warmer.

Carolina Beach Balls

We moved a few miles south to grab a mooring ball at Carolina Beach. You make a reservation online then come pick up an empty ball. 

We selected the ball that was closest to the dinghy dock. If it was warmer, I’m sure I could swim for it.

We went ashore and took an afternoon stroll on the beach. There were lots of folks surf fishing and walking dogs. We were mostly biding our time until our chosen restaurant, the SeaWitch Cafe & Tiki Bar, opened for the evening. We were the first customers of the night. I’m pretty sure there weren’t any others - even by the time we had finished our drinks, dinner and were leaving - still empty. Out of season on a Wednesday night is tough in a beach town.

Total miles south: 350 Temperature tonight vs. Vienna: 13 degrees warmer.

Beaufort NC to Wrightsville Beach

Made an Ocean run today leaving Beaufort in the dark and traveling for 10 hours to Masonboro inlet at Wrightsville Beach. It would have taken 2-3 days on the ICW so it was a great jump. Small waves to start because we were protected from the wind out of the North. Eventually the waves built to 4-5 feet but because we were running with the swell it was very comfortable. The boat just slowly lifts with each one and runs down it.

We were many miles out but could usually just make out tall buildings on the horizon.

The water changed to the amazing blue that you usually only see in the Bahamas or the Keys. 

And there was a pod of Dolphins with babies playing around the boat as we anchored.

Total miles south: 339. Degrees warmer: 3 

Beaufort, NC

Town Creek Marina is such a pleasant stop. They have floating docks so you tie up once then rise and fall with the dock. For catamarans with a low stern step, this makes stepping on and off very easy. We got in right at noon so we beat the rush. We got fueled up right in our parking spot. Now we are just tidying up and enjoying the weather - sunny and 72 degrees.

They also have a loaner car so we’ll borrow that this afternoon and go to Food Lion. Tomorrow we plan to do an ocean hop to Wrightsville Beach. It’s a long jump (10 hours in the ocean) so we’ll get up around 6, do a last minute weather check and ride the ebb tide out of the inlet here at Beaufort.

Total miles south: 293 Temperature tonight vs. Vienna: 15 degrees warmer.

Up With the Sun, Gone With the Wind

We started early this morning. We had a bridge to squeeze under. There isn’t much of a tide back here in the Albemarle Sound. Most of the trouble comes from wind driven water. This morning we had low tide, such as it is, and good wind out of the North blowing the water back towards the inlets. Yay! 

Our bridge today is between Manteo and Wanchese. We’ve been stuck behind this bridge before. The word on the sailors’ net is that this bridge exaggerates its height. When we got there it said there was 64.5 feet of clearance. We tinged pretty hard and had to carefully avoid the center light fixture but we made it. (Tinging is our word for that sound the whip antenna makes as it gets bent back by the bridge beams then snaps up to ting against the next beam.) We were REALLY close on the final beam so I agree with the crowd. That bridge was between 63.5 and 64. 

We had hoped to slip into Wanchese and top off the diesel but their opening time seems to be aspirational in the off season. That’s OK. The wind is favorable for a good sail all day. We don’t need their diesel anyway.

The area between the Outer Banks and Roanoke Island is picturesque but the channel is slim. You can’t get too enamored with the frolicking dolphins and scenery or you’ll run aground.

We stretched into the night for a 14 hour day. We sailed into the sunset and anchored up a little creek in the dark. I can’t wait to see what these fairy lights nearer to shore are marking in the morning. The chart says Aqua Culture Floats. Now we are poised to pop down to Beaufort, NC tomorrow. They have a lovely marina that brings the diesel hoses to your slip. Yes, thank you! 

Total miles south: 268 Temperature tonight vs. Vienna: 17 degrees warmer.

**UPDATE: Aqua Culture Floats