We're off! The bad news is we left later than our planned departure on Tuesday, May 27; the good news is we got off! Goodby swing bridge to Lady's Island in Beaufort. The first night out we got about 30 miles up the ICW towards Charleston.
On Wednesday, forcast for early in the day was for 2' seas on the Atlantic building from the south in the afternoon, so we went out at Edisto Beach and ran at 16 + MPH up to Charleston, coming into Charleston Harbor, with the new Cooper River suspension bridge in the back ground, at about 11:00 AM. From there we had favorable tide current of better than 1 MPH until the last two hours of the day, so even on the ICW we were making better than 11 MPH SOG. Got all the way to T
horoughfare Creek north of Georgetown, a run of 131 miles. We were now back on schedule.
Today, Thursday, May 29, we motored 63 miles up to Shallotte Inlet, NC where we have anchored for the night. Along the way we were running with two sportfish boats, a 65' Viking and a 44' Oceans, both being delivered by captains. We chuckled at how little these captains knew about the published bridge opening schedules. After passing us we caught up with them again about 2 hours later as they waited for a bridge opening. Once that bridge was open, off they went again only to be held up by the next low bridge 20 miles up the ICW. We ran at a steady 9 MPH SOG and timed the openings perfectly. So, for 6 hours these boats hurried up to wait, producing a gigantic wake in their hurry to get nowhere. So much for having a captains license and not knowing what your doing!
On Friday we cruised up to MM264 on the ICW and went in behind Topsail Beach, NC, anchored the boat, lowered the dingy and went ashore to walk the beach.
On Wednesday, forcast for early in the day was for 2' seas on the Atlantic building from the south in the afternoon, so we went out at Edisto Beach and ran at 16 + MPH up to Charleston, coming into Charleston Harbor, with the new Cooper River suspension bridge in the back ground, at about 11:00 AM. From there we had favorable tide current of better than 1 MPH until the last two hours of the day, so even on the ICW we were making better than 11 MPH SOG. Got all the way to T
horoughfare Creek north of Georgetown, a run of 131 miles. We were now back on schedule.Today, Thursday, May 29, we motored 63 miles up to Shallotte Inlet, NC where we have anchored for the night. Along the way we were running with two sportfish boats, a 65' Viking and a 44' Oceans, both being delivered by captains. We chuckled at how little these captains knew about the published bridge opening schedules. After passing us we caught up with them again about 2 hours later as they waited for a bridge opening. Once that bridge was open, off they went again only to be held up by the next low bridge 20 miles up the ICW. We ran at a steady 9 MPH SOG and timed the openings perfectly. So, for 6 hours these boats hurried up to wait, producing a gigantic wake in their hurry to get nowhere. So much for having a captains license and not knowing what your doing!
On Friday we cruised up to MM264 on the ICW and went in behind Topsail Beach, NC, anchored the boat, lowered the dingy and went ashore to walk the beach.
Back on the water we proceeded to Morehead City, NC. We docked at Morehead City Yacht Harbor right in the middle of town. We deployed our two wheel ground transportation vehicles and biked around town to figure out what was in town. At 6:30 PM we happened on the city park and a statue dedicated to all the watermen who lost their lives working
the local waters and a free concert. We also discovered a Methodist Church with an early Sunday morning service within walking distance of the marina, where we worshipped on Sunday moring.
the local waters and a free concert. We also discovered a Methodist Church with an early Sunday morning service within walking distance of the marina, where we worshipped on Sunday moring.On Sunday, June 1, we went 26 miles to Oriental, NC to join "Looper" friends for dinner.
From Oriental we stayed on the ICW, a different route than we had used the previous year, into the Alligator River where we anchor Monday Night.
From our anchorage in the Alligator River, we ran another 75 miles including a crossing of Albemarle Sound, where Captain Chuck worked very hard to keep the boat on course. He had to adjust the auto pilot at least 4 times. We finished the day at an anchorage 30 miles south of Norfolk, in Blackwater Creek.
We got to Norfolk on schedule, Wednesday June 4, and docked at Waterside Marina, right in the middle of their active waterfront. Claria's sister Alida arrived at the boat at about 11:30 PM from a late flight that was late!
