Pack It In - Boats and Travel

Wed-Tues May 3-9

We arrived at Coinjock Marina at 3:30, the owner and dockhands took our lines and tied us up 1' in front of a little sailboat. The next boat came in and they tied it up 1' from our anchor! Wow, we are being packed like sardines because there are more boats to arrive. By evening every foot of the dock was full--all 1'apart. Early morning saw most of the boats depart, but we have a car reserved to go to the Outer Banks and see the lighthouses. (Judy, I hope you like the lighthouse pictures.)

 

Currituck Sound Lighthouse

I got up early on Friday to take the car back to Enterprise amidst tornado warnings and downpours. More rain and west winds would make a rough crossing on the Currituck Sound. By evening the dock was packed tight again. Too much water for the low lying swing bridges, so they were closed for 2 days. Several boats were rafted to get everybody tied up.

Finally on Sunday the bridges opened back up. All the go-fast boats left early, we left at 11 am to arrive about 5 at Atlantic Yacht Basin just south of Norfolk.

On Monday we went straight through Norfolk, past the Hampton Road bridge tunnel and into the Chesapeake Bay. It wasn't too bad to start, but as the day wore on we bounced and tossed and turned to keep the waves from hitting us directly on the nose. By 5 we were so glad to get to Deltaville Regatta Marina. And have docktales with the other loopers there! 

Thimble Shoal Lighthouse

The next morning I used the courtesy car to run to the store for some supplies and off we go again into the Chesapeake Bay. It wasn't as bad as the day before!  At 5 we made it to St. Marys at the Point Lookout marina near the mouth of the Potomac river.

Smith Point Lighthouse

Loop de Loop

Mon-Mon, April 25-May 1

Wow what a week! Loopers and more looping! Loopers like us - in progress on the loop, people planning the loop, and gold loopers (people that have completed the loop). Each of the gold loopers talked about a particular section of the loop along with plenty of pictures and helpful hints. And of course, sponsors that have things to sell or marinas to visit. And plenty of boats for sale! We are looped out! (I know, we are loopy anyways.)

Kelly was a little bored sitting all the time, so he made out his bucket list.

On Sunday we made it a long day and cruised to Belhaven, NC. Dowry Creek Marina is very quiet and 3 miles from town, but they offer free laundry!! And the owner came by with free strawberries! That evening we met with all the other boaters in the clubhouse for docktales and snacks. A lot of sail boaters, but we talk to them too! 

We departed mid morning Tuesday to  go up the Pungo-Alligator Canal. But we were very disappointed that we did not see any alligators. We passed the Tug Royal Engineer again on our way to the Alligator River Marina.

The marina had their own lighthouse.

And today was supposed to be a good day to cross the Albemarle Sound with only 6 mph winds. When we got out in the sound the winds were closer to 20 mph with gusts to 25 mph. Worse waves and salt spray ever for us! We felt like we had rode amusement rides all day and it was not fun! But we did make it to Coinjock Marina safely.

Avoidance

Thurs-Thur, April 20-27

It was a great day to travel from Swansboro to Beaufort, NC. It was a short trip up the ICW so we tied up the boat and quickly ate sandwiches so we could walk around town. Three couples saw us dock and came by the boat--we met them all briefly at other marinas but didn't have a chance to visit with them then. We are all "loopers" so we meet and pass each other along the loop.

The marina has several courtesy cars, so we borrowed their old station wagon to go to Piggly Wiggly to get a few groceries.

We visited the maritime museum on Friday and it is great! They have found and recovered the pirate Blackbeard's ship Queen Anne's Revenge! No gold and diamonds treasure, but lots of history.

And the Beaufort area also had one of the first civil air patrol stations during WWII to locate German submarines and send the sub's position to US destroyers.

We met looper friends Dan and Jean from Time Out for dinner. We all had a good time catching up since we last saw them in Brunswick, GA!

 

We really enjoyed Beaufort, NC, but the prediction of high wind gusts and thunderstorms convinced us to move on to avoid traveling in bad weather. Saturday morning was really sunny and once we got 10 miles away from Beaufort, the winds settled down and it was a really enjoyable ride to New Bern.

We will be in New Bern for the next week to attend America's Great Loop Cruisers Association AGLCA spring  rendezvous. It is all loopers talking about looping and boats!!

Back to Work

Mon-Thurs, April 17-20, 2017

We relaxed on Easter, didn't even think about planning our next travels.

But Monday rolled around and we finished our biggest boat project ever--we installed davits to hold the dinghy on the swim platform. We have so much space on deck now!

It was raining lightly on Tuesday but we left Topsail Island for Swansboro. Plenty of sights to see along the way. We thought the pink house and lighthouse was too much until we saw the matching boat!

A boat arrived a few minutes before us and they were struggling to tie the end of the boat to the dock against the current and wind. For once we pulled in without too much trouble. The next day was sunny and nice for walking around town. Only a couple blocks of shops and a some restaurants. We saw the celebrity in town! Then stopped for a root beer float!

Another good day for traveling up the coast to Beaufort NC. Big transport ship and a great sunset.

Happy Easter

Wed-Sat, April 12-15

We had a great time visiting Myrtle Beach at Osprey Marina, but since we had to return the rental car it was time to move on. We went to Barefoot Landing, figuring there would be many restaurants. We were greeted at the dock by celebrities--fellow loopers Tim and Karen of "Let It Ride". Earlier this year they hosted a reporter from the New York Times for a week long cruise across the Okeechobee. An excellent article about America's Great Loop! 

It only took one night staying at Barefoot Landing. Too many people and extremely bright lights. So we travel just a few more hours up the ICW to St. James Plantation Harbor Marina. Way too high brow for us. Keep moving, find a place to relax for the holiday.

It was Saturday and the weather was beautiful and perfect for a boat ride. We get out early to travel up the Cape Fear River. We stayed out of the way of a really large tanker. 

And EVERYBODY that owns a boat is out for a boat ride today! One lift bridge and two swing bridges that only open at the top of the hour took a bit of waiting and circling and going down the river then coming back to the bridge. 

Nine hours later we are at Topsail Island Marina. Only 3 blocks to the beach. All we need is a few more days of warm weather! 

Sunrise at the beach......Happy Easter!

A Full Pink Moon

Tues-Tues, April 4-11, 2017

Last night's weather wasn't nearly as severe as the weather forecast predicted. It was just a relaxing evening with a little rain, lightning, and wind.

We will be in Myrtle Beach for a week, so off to Enterprise I go! A visit to West Marine to order davits for the dinghy. And then the best part of the day--we go have seafood at Driftwoods with friends Wayne and Kay Ann!  It is a great restaurant where the locals go.

The next couple days will be easy for me, but Kelly gets to spend some time with the dentist. Kelly is tough and his down time is minimal. We are back out to dinner for some great spaghetti and pizza with with Wayne and Kay Ann. Almost free--they paid.

On Sunday we drove down to Charleston for some site seeing. We start out finding great smashburgers! Visited downtown riverfront area, a good view of Fort Sumter, a park with the great pineapple fountain, and many old buildings. Lots of history in this town.

And it is a full pink moon tonight. Nice and bright, but I can't see the pink!

Keep On Moving

Fri-Mon, March 31-April 3

One of the interesting facts about this section of the Atlantic coast is the difference between high tide and low tide--almost 8 feet! It was very visible looking from our boat to the marina office.

We finished up site seeing in Beaufort by visiting the National Cemetery. Many Union and Confederate soldiers from the Civil War are buried there. We also drove through the historic section of Beaufort looking at the old homes that have been restored. 

Back to the boat to get ready to leave Lady's Island Marina early Saturday morning.

Our plan was to just go halfway to Charleston to anchor out and enjoy the nice weather. But the more we studied the weather and the storms heading to the east coast, we decided to pass by Charleston. Right before getting to Charleston the waterway goes through a narrow pass called Elliot's Cut--a swift current over 12 mph. What a ride!

I took a few pictures passing by Charleston. We will be back by car next week for site seeing.

We went up Inlet Creek to anchor after reading a review on Active Captain by a fellow looper that we met in Clearwater! It was a good anchorage after a long day.

We were up early and pulled into the ICW behind 2 other looper boats. It wasn't too long til a big go-fast boat blew by us and rocked 'n rolled all of us! By afternoon the other boats were out of sight. They were traveling at a faster speed and left us in their dust! So we had a good day of cruising and scenery.

But we still made it to Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown to find a restaurant open for Sunday supper.

Early to bed so we can get going before the bad weather catches us tomorrow.

And right on time Monday morning, friends Wayne and Kay Ann arrive to ride with us from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach. It was a great morning ride--sunny and warm.  Great friends and great conversation!! 

The gentle breezes turned a little stronger with even stronger gusts and rain and lightning. Glad we are tied to a dock at Osprey Marina!