The Carolinas and South to Florida

The Carolinas and South to Florida

We finally left Coinjock on October 24^th and sailed across the Albermarle Sound making 7+ knots. We anchored at Pt. Lookout with Utopia and then motored the next day to Campbell Creek. The fog in the Alligator River was very thick in spots and we had to go really slowly to be sure we didn’t run into other vessels or any stumps.  We had anchored in Campbell Creek on our way north, but Frank and Diane know the people who live in the big house at the back of the creek and we used their dock this time. (The owners were out of town.)

Fog on the Alligator River

We were supposed to get South before it got this cold!!

On October 26^th, we sailed for about 3 hours and then had to motor-sail and then motor to Moorehead City, NC. We took a slip at Moorehead City Yacht Basin and met up with Sue and Jim Kuemmel (M/V Fruition), also from New Orleans. We had a reunion of the “Atlantic Fleet of the New Orleans Power Squadron” and celebrated with shrimp etouffee on our boat.

getting ready to dock in Moorehead City

New Orleans Power Squadron "Atlantic Fleet" reunion on Lagniappe with Jim and Sue Kuemmel

 We sailed and motor-sailed down the ICW to Mile Hammock Bay at Camp LeJeune, NC the next day and we were the first boat in the anchorage that day. It was great to have our pick of a place to anchor. We had gotten an early start because we heard they might be closing a section of the ICW for live firing range practice from Camp LeJeune and wanted to make sure we could get through before dark. They didn’t have the range closed that day so we made it through early.  We bumped the bottom coming out of Mile Hammock Bay the next morning (Liz Ann at the helm) but didn’t go aground, thankfully.

Shrimping Fleet going out at the New River inlet just south of Mile Hammock Bay

Pink house that is a landmark on the ICW

On the 28^th, (Wednesday)  we made it to Carolina Beach, NC and took a mooring for the night. It is hairy getting in there too. The fathometer kept dropping and Liz Ann throttled back so we were going really slowly but we didn’t run aground and found if we stayed near the red markers, we were okay.

Sunset in the mooring field at Carolina Beach

The next day we had planned to anchor at Calabash River, but we were there by 1:30 (1330 for you nautical types) so we kept going. We found a free dock that just opened this summer on our Active Captain app and made it to that dock. It is in the North Myrtle Beach area in South Carolina. The dock is a nice floating dock on the side of the ICW with a little landscaped park. We decided to stay there 2 nights because there was a cold front with high winds and temps in the 30’s coming on Friday so we we left Friday morning and went to a marina in Georgetown where we could plug in and have heat. Georgetown has some nice historic homes and great fresh shrimp. Got some from the seafood store right next to the marina. It is owned by the guy with the shrimp boat so the seafood is very fresh. We enjoyed some boiled shrimp (had our Zatarain’s crab boil with us) and cocktail sauce. We waited out the 25 to 30 knot winds and temps in the 30's, getting laundry done and changing the oil and oil filters and fuel filters. Getting that maintenance done while we can't sail anyway!

October 31 along the ICW on the way to Georgetown. The fall foliage is beginning to turn.

After the front passed, we (and about 5 other boats) went offshore to sail to Charleston. As we left the inlet at Winyah Bay outside of Georgetown, we hit a “wind against current” situation and had a rocky ride out for about 30 minutes. That will teach us to check the current before going out again. We slammed into the waves but then got out and turned southwest for Charleston. We left Georgetown at 0550 and made it to Charleston at 1548, just under 10 hours.

Greg on the radio with other boats sailing with us offshore to Charleston

Once again, when we got to Charleston, our V-berth was wet from the water getting in although we had plugged up the hawse pipes and every other source of water intrusion we could think of. So after we dried out, we got to enjoy Charleston.  We stayed in Charleston for 4 days, playing tourist and enjoying the food. We toured Fort Sumter and took a tour of the city. We walked around in the area South of Broad- the wealthy area with beautiful old homes, reminiscent of Uptown New Orleans. We did happy hour at Pearlz with Frank and Diane (S/V Utopia) and new friends, Steve and Sharon (S/V A Bientot) one night and then had lunch with Dave and Sherry (S/V Mythago) at a great BBQ place (Nick's) when they arrived a few days later.

One of the beautiful gardens and homes in the South of Broad area

One of the gravestones in an old cemetery. Apparently this guy hasn't even died yet but knew what he wanted on his tombstone

One of the courtyards South of Broad

We met the guy who lives here and he gave us good tips on what areas to see

At Fort Sumter

Looking through the old wall of the fort

 We left Charleston on Friday and sailed offshore to Fernandina Beach, Fl. The wind died after about the first 4 hours so we motored the other 26 hours. We stood our watches and it was an uneventful night. Thankfully, it was clear and we had a beautiful full moon because our radar is still not working most of the time. It is one of those mysterious working/not working kinds of things. We anchored in Bells River and spent a couple of peaceful days at anchor. We motored on to the free dock at Sisters Creek just north of Jacksonville to wait a couple of days until the yard at Sadler Point could take us to do a bottom job and some other stuff. Browne Altman, the unofficial self-appointed greeter and port captain at the free dock came to see us and even took Greg to West Marine to get a couple of things. It has amazed us since we left home how kind and willing to help total strangers often are.

We are now in the yard at Sadler Point Marina having the bottom re-painted, some hoses replaced, the rudder post re-packed and the cutlass bearing adjusted and a few other things before we go to the islands. We re-bedded the intakes for the fuel and head pump-out because they were getting a bit of leakage around them. I guess when the boat is 16 years old, it needs a little rejuvenating. We also sprayed some foam around the anchor locker where we THINK the water may be coming in to the V-berth. Hopefully, this time we have solved that problem.
We called Greg's Navy buddy, Jeff, to have dinner with him. He has a condo in Jacksonville that he uses a few days a week for work in the area and generously gave us a key and told us to use the condo. Since the boat is out of the water and it has gotten quite cold here, we gladly accepted his offer. We hope to leave the yard this weekend or early next week and head down to Stuart, Fl. We will probably stop in Vero Beach for Thanksgiving and then leave the boat in Stuart in December to head home for the holidays. There is a bridge on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville which is being worked on and will not be able to open until Friday so we are stuck here until then even if we get the work finished before that.

Re-bedding deck penetrations. Who needs Yoga? Just try to work on a boat!

Lagniappe up on the hard