Chapter III - The Trip North (Part II)

June 1, 2003 - Calabash River, SC

Last night he National Weather Service had issued tornado warnings for areas of North Carolina, about 75 miles north of where I was anchored.  That area received the worst of the thunderstorms that preceded the cold front.  Where I was anchored the thunderstorms didn't arrive until around 10:30 p.m. but they weren't too bad.  The wind gusted to about 30 knots only for a couple of minutes and it rained for about an hour and a half.

The next morning was bright and sunny but a little cool.  I got an early start and was underway at around 7:00 a.m.  I motored along the Wacamaw River for about 20 miles.  There were many branches in the water from last nights storm.  A hit a few small ones which were submerged just below the surface, but it did no harm.

After the Wacamaw River the ICW changed to a sort of man-made ditch called 'The Rockpile'.  It gets it's name from the many rock slabs which line the banks.  As I got close to the Myrtle Beach area the waterway became overdeveloped with home after home lining the shore.  Since it was Sunday, there was lots of small boat traffic up and down the waterway all day long.  At one narrow turn near the town of Bucksport 7 or 8 jet skis and one large power boat came speeding by spread from one side of the channel to the other.  I sounded my horn and yelled a few obscenities as they passed by at high speed only a few feet from my boat.

I got to Barefoot Landing, a 500' free dock next to a outlet mall at around 1:30.  I thought of spending the night there but since it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I thought that I probably would have a hard time finding a spot on the dock.  I was right.  Every spot on the dock was taken.  There were all sorts of boats tied up there, form jet skis to large sailboats.  The cruising guide says that the place is very popular and fills up early, and that you should tie fenders on your outside rails so that another boat can raft-up with you.  There was only one boat with fenders.  It was one of the New Zealand boats from a couple of nights ago.  No one was on board and I didn't want to tie up to his boat without him being there, so I continued on.

At around 3:30 I arrived at an small anchorage on the Calabash River which is on the N Carolina / S Carolina border.  I dropped anchor for the night at low tide in about 8 feet of water.  The anchorage is right along side a small channel so being a Sunday, there was a bit of boat traffic passing by.  I'm sure it will die down after 6:00 p.m. or so.  I ended doing a total of 55 miles today which is good.  I had a fair current just about all of the way so I made pretty good time.

June 2, 2003 - Carolina Beach, NC

After breakfast I was moving again by 7:15.  I crossed into North Carolina at 7:30.  There was nothing but a small 2'x2' sign with the letters 'NC/SC' which was barely visible on the waterway, marking the North Carolina/South Carolina border.  I past an island to starboard with several herds of goats grazing by the water. There was nothing else visible on this island, but there must have been a farm house or such somewhere near.

I stopped along the way for diesel fuel and water at a marina which the cruising guide said had diesel fuel at $.99 per gallon in June 2002.  Today the price was $1.24, but still not bad.  I had paid $1.49 in Georgetown a few days earlier.  The town of Southport was just about a mile ahead and I had thought of stopping there to pick up a few things and use the library to update my page, but when I pulled into the harbor there was absolutely no place to anchor so I just turned around.

As I re-entered the waterway I saw a 37' Tayana cutter named 'Strider', which I had heard on the VHF an hour earlier talking with the Coast Guard.  They had been relaying information from a boat which for some reason couldn't talk directly with the Coast Guard.  I called them on the radio and asked if they new of any anchorages in the area.  They said that they were headed to Carolina Beach about 15 miles up the waterway.  They said it was a pretty good anchorage with shopping nearby, so I decided to follow them.

As few minutes later we entered the Cape Fear River which flows out to the Atlantic about a mile away.  Entering the river just before me was a huge container ship which moved quickly past me as I approached it.  There was a lot of commercial traffic on this river and I past or was past by several tug boats either pushing or pulling barges.  The current was ebbing as I entered the river and my boat speed dropped significantly.  The winds were fair and blowing at about 10 knots so I put up my genoa and picked up some speed.  There was a 35' Island Packet named 'Emelia' behind me which was motor-sailing with it's mainsail up, and had been gaining on me, but after I unfurled my genoa I quickly left it behind.

We had a nice sail up the river and the tidal current eventually eased.  We arrived in Carolina Beach at around 5:00 and dropped anchor.  I then rowed over to 'Strider' to say hello and ask directions to the grocery store.  They invited me aboard for a beer and I talked for a while with Randy and Diana.  They have been cruising for eight years now.  They said that they didn't expect at first to be out this long, but they have enjoyed it so much that they just kept on going.  I left for the grocery store and they invited me back later on, but by the time I got back and had dinner it was too late, so I just ate and went to bed.

June 3, 2003 - Mile Hammock Bay, NC

I woke up just before 6:00 a.m. and noticed that 'Strider' had already left.  I made breakfast and was underway just after 7:00 a.m.  I got to the first bridge and found out that from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. the bridge opens only on the hour and got there about 5 minutes after the hour even I had the genoa out and motor-sail a very good speed.  I had to wait and circle around for 50 minutes until the next opening.  I then realized why 'Strider' left so early.  Last night they had told me about the the bridges but I didn't think to plan my arrival time for the first bridge or to get to the first bridge before 7:00 a.m. so I could request an opening as I arrived.  After I past through the first bridge I raced towards the second soon realizing that I may not make it in time.

When the second bridge was in view I called the bridge tender on VHF channel 13 to let him know that I was near and if he would hold the bridge open a little while longer for me.  He replied that I was still 3/4 of a mile away and he couldn't hold the bridge for me.  I would have to wait for the next opening.  Fortunately this bridge opened on the hour and half hour so I only had to wait about 25 minutes.  After passing through the second bridge I figured out that even if I ran at top speed, I would still have to wait about 30 to 40 minutes for the third bridge which opened only on the hour, so I slowed down and tried to plan my arrival so that I would not have to wait and circle around in front of the bridge for very long.

All totaled I lost about close to 2 hours do to the bridge restrictions, but it was a nice sunny day and the winds were fair so I was able to motor-sail the whole day.  Also I was able to talk with John on a Catalina 25 from Sioux City, Iowa while waiting for the bridge to open.  John's boat was not as fast a mine and after passing through the bridges I would pull far in front of him, but he would catch up while I was waiting around for the next bridge to open.

I got to the anchorage at around 4:00 p.m.  'Strider' was already there and so was 'Emelia' the Island Packet 35 that I had no trouble leaving behind the day before.  They had gotten an earlier start than me and was able to make the first bridge just as it was opening so they saved a bit of time.  The anchorage was pretty full. There were 5 sailboats and 3 trawlers anchored here for the night.  There's nothing around and you can't go ashore because the property is owned by Camp LeJeune, the U.S. Marine Corps base.

June 4, 2003 - Beaufort, NC

After dinner last night I rowed around in the dinghy and talked to some of the people on the other boats in the anchorage.  Diana on 'Strider' said that they had in fact not made the early bridge opening but had to wait for the 8:00 a.m. opening even thought they left the anchorage before 6:00 a.m.  Everyone apparently had the same problem with delays at the bridges that I had.

I spoke with Ron from 'Strider' about the autopilot problem that I had and corrected a couple weeks ago.  We had spoken about near Daytona Beach, FL after he called me on the VHF and said that his boat does the same thing.  I told him about the 'Rudder Gain' setting and he said that he was going to try it tomorrow.  Ron is a graphic artist from NJ. who quit his job to go cruising.  He had done some design work for Caroline Kennedy's husband's company and he was allowed the use of his shop to work on his boat. Ron is traveling with his wife and three young children.  I also talked with 'Emelia' the Island Packet 35.  They are also traveling with their two teenaged sons.

The trip to Beaufort was fairly quick, about 40 miles.  It was overcast and rained all day.  The winds were favorable again and I motor-sailed all day.  As I got close to Beaufort the winds picked up to 20 knots, gusting to 25, but it was still pretty comfortable.  I was in my foul weather gear all day so I stayed warm and dry.  It finally stop raining as I got into the anchorage at Beaufort.  When I pulled in and was circling around to find the best spot, I noticed the 27' Ericson sloop 'Capella' which belongs to Ben and his wife from Fort Myers.  I was surprised to see their boat here.  When I left Fort Myers they both had jobs in the area.  I haven't run into them yet since I just got here.

June 5, 2003 - Beaufort, NC

Beaufort is a very cruiser-friendly town.  The local Maritime Museum, besides being free, also loans cars to cruisers to go shopping or run errands.  I stopped by around 8:40 a.m. and asked about borrowing a car.  They said sure, we have one available now or at 11:00 a.m.  I took a car right then and drove over to the Wal-Mart, West Marine and the Food Lion grocery store.  I was back in two hours which is all they ask.  There is also a donation box in the museum which helps the museum to maintain the loaner vehicles.  I donated on the way in and on the way out.  It's a wonderful service and the museum looks very nice.  I'm going back in the afternoon after I do some laundry.  They also have a wooden boat restoration shop across the street where you can sit around all day if you like and watch them work on boats.

On the way in to do laundry, I stopped by Ben and Daniel's boat to say hello.  I talked with Ben for a while.  He told me that they had been here for a week.  They had left Ft Myers the beginning of May and had sailed directly to Marathon in the Florida Keys.  From there they stopped at Tavernier Key and then sailed directly to Beaufort, NC.  They don't like to motor because they have a small outboard engine that isn't very reliable, so instead of taking the more direct route across the Okeechobee Waterway, they sailed all the way around the southern tip of Florida which added an additional 320 miles.  They had been offshore for quite a few days and had run into a few gales with winds of 45 knots.

While waiting for my laundry I walked over to the library and updated my page.  You will notice that I have spilt the chapter titled 'The Trip North' into 'Part I' and 'Part II'.  This is because I ran out of space on the original server and had to continue my page on a new server at a different site.  When you click on 'Chapter IV - The Trip North (Part II)", you are automatically redirected to the new site.  All future updates will be located at this site.  This change is transparent to the reader so don't worry about which site you should go to. 

Note: Even though Beaufort, NC and Beaufort, SC are spelled the same, they are pronounced differently.  In North Carolina it's pronounced (Bow-fort), and in South Carolina (Beew-fort).  The locals in both cities are quick to correct you pronounce it wrong.

June 6, 2003 - Pungo Creek, NC

Today was a long day.  I left Beaufort at around 6:45 a.m. and traveled 68 miles.  Most of it was spent crossing fairly large rivers.  I crossed the Neuse River, Bay River, Pamlico River, and at the end of the day I anchored in Pungo Creek just off of the Pungo River, a mile or two from Belhaven, NC.

Most of the day the sky was hazy and the winds were light and variable, so I motored just about all the way.  The wind picked up to around 10 knots later that afternoon so I was able to motor-sail across the Pamlico and up the Pungo River for a couple of hours.  I had to steer a compass course across most of these rivers since the markers were a few miles apart at some points.  I just set the auto pilot and relaxed, so although the day was long, it was very stressful.

At around 6:00 I dropped anchor in Pungo Creek with three other sailboats.  As of today I've traveled just over 1000 miles since leaving Florida at the end of April (1007 to be exact).  I have 136 miles to go before I reach the end of the ICW in Norfolk, VA.  From there I plan to spend some time cruising the Chesapeake Bay and then head up to Long Island around mid July.

June 7-8, 2003 - Pungo Creek, NC

After a very long day on Friday and a forecast for rain all weekend, I decided to stay at Pungo Creek until the weather cleared.  All of the other boats here decided to do the same.  I rained on and off on Saturday and it was heavy at times.  I lazed around, read and listened to music most of the day.

On Sunday two of the four boats here left in the morning.  The forecast was for rain again and the skies still looked threatening, so me and another boat stayed put. Sure enough early that afternoon it rained heavily again, and another boat dropped anchor nearby later that afternoon.  I relaxed most of the day, read and spliced rope to make a trip-line for my anchor.  I would be anchoring in the Alligator River the next day and it's notorious for snags (mostly roots and branches) that can foul your anchor.  A trip line will let you break the anchor free easier if it does get fouled on something on the bottom.

June 9, 2003 - Alligator River, NC

After I was underway I pulled into the harbor at Belhaven which was about a mile away, to buy some diesel and make a couple of phone calls.  I called Britt at Coneys Marine to see how the sale of my other boat was going.  He told me that I only own one boat now, which was great news.

After filling my tank, I got back on the ICW and motor-sailed up the Pungo River towards the Alligator River - Pungo River Canal which joins the two rivers as part of the ICW.  As I got close the canal entrance I furled my sail and dropped the winch handle overboard.  Since it was a Titan handle like the one I had on my S2, I new that it floated so I turned around a when back for it.  It was a little doubtful that I would see it since I was now several hundred feet from where I dropped the handle, but I turned around and headed for where I thought I dropped it.  Sure enough, there it was bobbing at the surface.  Since the handle was red it wasn't too difficult to spot.

I grabbed a plastic basket from below and leaned over the side as I maneuvered close to the handle.  I reached over the side as far as I could, but couldn't get close enough to scoop up the handle.  I then tied the basket to the end of my boat hook and turned around for another pass.  This time I got it.

I entered the canal and motored on through the tree lined banks.  About 5 miles up the canal I did something really stupid.  I was experimenting with the settings on my autopilot when I decided that I would power off and on to cycle it.  I reached into the companionway and flipped the switch.  A second later the boat veered to the right and before I could get to the wheel I was aground.

Luckily the bottom was soft mud because I was traveling at about 5-6 knots.  I thought of calling TowBoat US since I had purchased unlimited towing service after buying the boat, but I figured that it would probably take then at least an hour or more to get to me.  I got into the dinghy and lowered my 22 lb Delta anchor and rode into the boat, cleated the bitter end on the port side stern cleat and rowed the anchor out and dropped it at the middle of the canal.  I then rowed back to my boat and used the sheet winch to pull me off the bottom (this procedure is called kedging).  I was afloat and on way again in less than 10 minutes.

I guess you could say that except for the good news about my boat, my day didn't start off to well.  But, if all that wasn't enough, a few miles further up the canal I hit a 'deadhead' which is a waterlogged tree branch or log which sits just below the surface of the water.  I try to keep a look out for these, but I just didn't see this one.

At around 4:30 I dropped anchor along the bank south bank of the Alligator River at around mile 101.  I was hoping to go a little further today but due to all of the delays I encountered, I just decided to called it a day.  As I approached the anchorage there were two F-15 fighter jets circling over head.  They passed by several times and finally left the area at around 6:00.

June 10, 2003 - North River, NC

The F-15s came back again at around 10:00 last night and circled around again for about 10 minutes then left.  The morning was very foggy and at around 7:00 a.m. I couldn't see any of the nearby markers on the ICW.  I waited until about 9:00 a.m. for the fog to begin to clear and was on my way.  The fog burned off fully by 10:00 and the day was bright and sunny.  The F-15s came back again and circled the same area as last night.  It must have been a flight training area.  I continued up the Alligator River towards the Albemarle Sound by now I was less than 100 miles from the end of the ICW in Norfolk, VA.

The winds were light and on the nose again so I just motored for a while.  As I entered the Albemarle Sound I had a choice of two routes to take.  One is called the Virginia Cut Route and is more direct and more heavily traveled.  The other is called the Dismal Swamp Route and despite the name is more picturesque but takes longer due to two locks and several bridges with restricted openings.  I chose the quicker Virginia Cut Route and steered a course of 34 degrees magnetic towards it's continuation on the other side.  About half way across the sound the wind picked up to about 10 knots and shifted about 40 degrees of of the bow so I was able to sail the rest of the way across.

At around 3:30 I anchored off of the North River near Broad Creek.  From here on the anchorage choices are limited and although this place is a little exposed to the SE winds that were blowing in the late afternoon, it was very roomy and I think it was the best choice for the night.  It's a little rolly, but should calm down as the winds die down towards evening.

Also I should mention that I'm not seeing any more dolphins.  The last ones I saw were south of Beaufort, NC.  I did however see several pelicans as I was crossing the sound this afternoon.  I didn't think that they would be seen this far north, but looking in 'Birds of North America' which I bought while in Beaufort, it shows that they come as far north as the Chesapeake Bay.

June 11, 2003 - Blackwater Creek, VA

I left the anchorage at around 8:00 a.m.  Another sailboat had anchored nearby last night.  He must have arrived late because I didn't see him come in last night.  I motor-sail with a few other sailboats up the North River, through the North Carolina Cut canal into Coinjock Bay and across part of the Currituck Sound to the North Landing River.

Just before 1:00 p.m. I crossed the North Carolina and Virginia state line.  There was no way of telling except for my nautical chart.  It showed the boundary running by ICW marker 63, so when I passed it I figured I was in Virginia.  I stopped for the night at Blackwater Creek one of the last two anchorages before Norfolk.  The other was about a mile and a half away at Pungo Ferry, VA but it was right on the waterway and would probably be subjected to wakes from passing boats.

The next 30 miles has 10 bridges and 1 lock.  Six of the bridges have restricted openings and 4 are usually left open.  These last 30 miles should probably take a good portion of the day so I hope to get an early start tomorrow morning.

June 12, 2003 - Norfolk, VA

I left the anchorage Blackwater Creek at around 7:00 a.m.   I got to the first bridge a little early, or late depending on how you look at it.  The restricted bridges open on the hour and half hour so the wait isn't that bad.  The other two bridges between here and Norfolk open on request, and the four railroad bridges are open unless a train is coming.

About 20 minutes after I got on the ICW and old wooden cutter joined me about 100 yards ahead.  He was motoring somewhat slower than me and I soon passed him.  He later caught up with me at the bridges.  As we got to the Great Bridge Lock, which is the only lock on the Virginia Cut section of the ICW, he decided he wanted to go by me on my starboard side so I let him.  As he pulled up to the lock, it became obvious that he didn't know how to pull up to the lock wall properly.  He stopped at the very end of the lock wall then very slowly inched forward.  The lock tenders were waving at him to pull up to the boat in front of him because they wanted to close the lock doors and I was still waiting behind him to get in.

After a while it appeared that he decided to stop all the way back at the end of the lock just several feet from where he entered, so I decided to pull ahead of him and tie up between him and the boat in front of him.  Just when I got abeam of him he decided to move forward again, this time at a faster pace.  I now had nowhere to go and was forced to turn around in the lock and come back in behind him.  After the lock gates opened I waited for this guy to get far in front of me before I moved, and I kept my distance from him for the rest of the trip to Norfolk.

I arrived at the anchorage in front of the Portsmouth Naval Hospital and dropped anchor among 12 other boats.  I took the dinghy across the river to the Naval Museum where they had floating dinghy dock in place, then took the local bus to West Marine to buy charts for the Chesapeake Bay and pick up some other items.  When I returned I found that several more boats had anchored nearby.

This ends 'Chapter III - The Trip North'.  The Log continues in 'Chapter IV - The Chesapeake'.