On to Georgetown SC 10/2015 part 1

.When I left off we were in Oriental, NC and planned to stay for a couple of days.  After a wet walk to the grocery we returned to the boat and it was very uncomfortable.  The high water from all the rain allowed the waves to come over the stone breakwater and make it very rough.  We quickly decided to head across the Neuse to Adams Creek.  It was better, not great, but better!  The next morning found us heading into Beaufort, NC and Town Creek.  My friend from my boarding school days at St. Catherine's in Richmond who had been living in Morehead City has relocated to Beaufort so that made our decision.  The state is in the process of building a new bypass and there will be a new bridge at the edge of Town Creek.  One good by-product is that most of the derelict boats have been removed creating a better place to drop the hook.  I was able to spend a great day with Jo Ruth and we provisioned for the boat, went to West Marine & had a fantastic lunch too!  Thanks Josie.

From Beaufort to Mile Hammock (39 miles) to Carolina Beach (43 miles) to Calabash (41 miles) we decided to make some headway south!

Shrimp Boat                                Pelicans

Plane at Camp Lejeune                     Waterway Home

Really High Water!                         Dolphins

 

Now it may not seem like a long distance each day but they were 9+ hrs., 10+ hrs., & 8+ hr., days.  The next day we went a grand total of 10 miles to Barefoot Landing in N. Myrtle Beach, SC.  Why such a short day?  Two reasons.  First we had not stopped there since 2002, our very first year cruising.  Secondly, and most important, our close friends Bobby & Francie from Barefootin’ were there!  They had gone outside (ocean passage for you non-nautical folk) from Beaufort, NC to Little River, SC and then were stuck as their mast was too tall to get under all the 65 ft. bridges.  65 feet is not 65 feet when there is flooding.  In fact, one 65 foot bridge had an actual clearance of 58 feet!  As Rob said “Aren’t you glad we didn’t by Gemini?”  Her mast was 62!  We got together for Happy Hour with Bobby & Francie, and Marty & Matt from Runaway at one of the many restaurants and the food, beverage & most of all the company was great.

Even though we were not impacted at all by Hurricane Joaquin in the Carolina’s, there was a low pressure system that just sat over the western part of the states for quite a long time.  All of that rain that fell in the west had to make its way east to the sea.  This caused lots of flooding and property damage statewide in both NC & SC. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to Georgetown SC 10/2015 part 2

 

Look closely at the pictures.  The water is up to the top of a swing in one, the garden gnome appears to be swinging his feet in the water and the tomato plants are still bearing fruit!  Each picture caught our eyes for some reason.  All this water & no hurricane!  Mother nature will always let us know the She in in charge!

From Barefoot Landing we made our way to Thoroughfare Creek off the Waccamaw River just north of Georgetown, SC.  We did not continue on to Georgetown as it was Wooden Boat Show weekend.  We have been there for it in the past and had a great time but arriving on Saturday in the middle of it would not have been fun.  The marinas are sold out months in advance and the anchorage is always crowded.  When we had gone a few years ago we arrived about Wednesday or Thursday and stayed.  We were sorry to miss it but we enjoyed Thoroughfare Creek as usual except for the temperature! 

This morning Monday 10/19/15 finds us very cold and on the way to Georgetown for a couple of days then on in search of warmer temps!  We want to visit one of our favorite seafood markets ever, Independent Seafood, and do a quick visit and then perhaps head offshore to Fernandina Beach, FL.  The weather looks good for a Wednesday departure and as it is just over 200 miles we should arrive Friday sometime.  This means we will by pass some great places, Charleston, Beaufort (SC) Brunswick and Savannah .  Especially Savannah as we have wonderful friends there.  I really hate bypassing them since we usually seem to return to Charleston from the Bahamas in the spring but the Captain has spoken….. I wonder as Admiral – can I over ride his decision????

The next post should be in Florida!

Underway Fall 2015

No, we have not fallen off the face of the earth, we have been without internet basically since we left Norfolk on September14th.  We had a great sail into Mile Marker 0 (downtown Norfolk) and saw something you don’t see too often, an aircraft carrier underway!

We went on to the anchorage and spent a well deserved afternoon relaxing and enjoying the view.

Since Norfolk is our hometown we often forget to look around.  The view from the anchorage is pretty good!  The next morning we dodged the commuter traffic (ferry) and made it all the way past Coinjock Marina to Buck Island.

We decided that since we had hurried home last spring due to the house repairs that we would take some time and visit some places in North Carolina that we had not visited in awhile.  Edenton, Colombia, Manteo, Ocacroke but alas, it was not meant to be.

We made it to Edenton and had a great time.  It has not changed much, the people are still friendly and the town quaint. 

While the town does have free dockage for 2 nights we opted to anchor to stay cool. 

After a great time we decided to head over to Columbia, NC to see some friends from Bay Point Marina as well as the nice town.  We spent a couple of days there.  Went to the seafood market & grocery and decided to move on after a couple of “Dinners with the Mayor”.  That is when the weather decided to turn.  

After a night on the Scuppernong River outside of Columbia we tried to head down the Albemarle Sound to the Alligator River but the wind was on the nose & raining off & on so we went up the Perquimans River instead.  After a couple of days there we went around the corner to the Little River to have a better point of sail to the Alligator the following day.  Little River to Alligator River to Belhaven where we went to shore only to find everything closed! 

Now we started seeing info about Joaquin. 

So here we sit in Bath NC.  Currently we are at the town dock but plan to move to the anchorage later today.  It is pretty narrow and protected so we should be ok.  Since at this time no one is sure exactly what the hurricane will do we are taking a wait & see attitude.  The current problem is the low pressure system that is dumping all of this rain!

Will post again after the storm has past.