3-4 Feb, Holden Beach NC

 

   The plan was to depart around 0730 Monday morning to transit to Holden Beach and arrive mid-afternoon and stroll along the beach. But, this was our Monday morning visibility.

   There are a great many things to run into on the ICW if you can't see, even with radar, so we are waiting for the fog to clear. The forecast calls for clearing at 0900, which will still give us time to get to Holden Beach before dark.

   By 0900 conditions were marginal but good enough to go traveling slowly and using the radar and fog horn. We set off from our anchorage spot towards the ICW.

   By the time we transited from our anchorage spot to the ICW, the fog had almost completely cleared by 0930.  We did encounter two center console power boats speeding down the waterway at 25mph or so in the fog - very dangerous, but fortunately far enough away from us.

   By 1030 we were at Carolina Beach turning into Snow's Cut, a narrow, winding, tricky passage over to the Cape Fear River. Murphy's Law, the most dangerous section today was fogged in. 

   Initially the visibility was good enough to allow us to make all the twists and turns through the channel around the red and green buoys. But, it just kept getting thicker and thicker. As we exited Snow's Cut we spotted a sailboat anchored right at the western entrance to the cut, safely off to our port side but a very dangerous place to stop (I did detect them on our radar as well, so knew to be looking out).  I'm not sure what they were thinking. As we passed by they were retrieving their anchor and they followed behind us. 

   We passed another sailboat that was heading northbound toward Snow's Cut and he told us it was clear in the Cape Fear River. Maybe if you were heading north with the sun behind you it was clear, but for us heading south into the sun we could see very little.  We have our radar and we have an AIS (Automatic Identification System) that shows you where all the commercial ships are (and shows them were we are) so it was relatively safe proceeding down the river. 

   Initially we could pick up the buoys visually at 500-700ft. As time went by the visibility improved until it was perfectly clear at Southport. 

   As we rounded Southport and proceeded back into the ICW out of the Cape Fear River, the visibility cleared up. We could see a fog bank sitting just offshore south of Southport.

    The ICW transit was perfectly clear for the next 2 hours until we came to the next dangerous passage point at Lockwood's Folly. This is another tricky place where you have to zigzag around the shoals on either side of the ICW. Another Murphy's Law, the one tricky point along this section of the ICW is the one fogged in. (The fog forms where the cold air is blowing over the warm inlet waters.)

Besides radar, we have a chartplotter with GPS that shows you exactly where you are and, most recently, now shows you where the deep water is according to the latest Army Corps of Engineers surveys (which can be several months old, but are generally accurate). You can follow the survey data and maneuver along the deeper water channel displayed, rather than the navigation buoys which can be out of position.  We passed through without any problems, just some white knuckles. 

   After Lockwood's Folly it was a quick trip to the Holden Beach Town Dock, easy check in, and we walked right over to the beach for Sue to check out the shells. The skies were perfectly clear all afternoon.

   That evening the fog moved back into Holden Beach, but was gone by the next morning.

   Tuesday morning and Sue is up walking Rivah along the beach checking out the shells. Haven't been any strong storms lately so not many unusual shells on the shore. Mostly clams and scallops. 

   No fog today.

   Sue walked way down the beach to the Lockwood's Folly inlet. At the island's end is a mailbox you can leave messages for other beachcombers and boaters.

   One reason we stop at Holden Beach in addition to plugging into shore power to give us heat, is the free laundry facility. Unfortunately, the dryer was not working properly. Sue figured out if you held the start button down manually, the dryer would run. If you let off the button, it stopped. So she and I took turns holding the button down for the next couple hours trying to get our bedding flannel sheets dried.  But it was ultimately not successful as there was also a problem with the heating element so only lukewarm air was being circulated. We never got the sheets fully dried.

   Here we are with our laundry hanging to dry. At least the heat is on in the boat and the clothes should be dry by morning.

   So it was a partially successful stop at Holden Beach. We are off to Myrtle Beach area tomorrow and have to pass through 3 opening bridges that will slow us down, the worst being Barefoot Landing that does not open between 1100 and 1400. So we will be anchoring somewhere in the Waccamaw River as far south as we can get after passing through the 1400 opening. At least the weather has finally warmed up to the 40s at night and our electric blanket is sort of working off our new batteries. 

2 Feb Masonboro, NC

    We're underway Sunday morning from Hammock Bay heading down to Masonboro Inlet at Wrightsville.

   Supposed to be a grey day today with light winds and scattered showers.

   No rain yet but we did get to see a pretty rainbow early in the morning. (The colors were actually more vivid than the photo shows)   Another one of Nature's beautiful sights most of us miss seeing while we live our lives in houses and offices. 

   Here we are in Masonboro, in the rain. Sue says this has felt like the coldest day of the trip despite temperatures in the low 50s. That's because there has been no sun and she had to make several trips to the bow in the light rain to try to get Rivah to potty. So, cold and wet and sitting for 7 hours. 

   The good news is that Rivah finally was successful as we anchored in Masonboro. Tomorrow we'll be in Holden Beach after 2 days afloat and she will be happy to do her business on solid ground.

30 Jan - 1 Feb, Dowry Creek and Oriental, NC

 

   Dowry Creek has become one of our favorite marinas now that they have opened a restaurant onsite with craft beers and very good prices. We stop here heading south and north to grab a beer and appetizers. 

  We also used the marina loaner car to run into town and buy a hose fitting at Ace Hardware. Our washdown hose which sits out in the sun all year long had basically disintegrated. We had a spare hose but needed the fitting to attach the nozzle.

   We departed early to be able to make it all the way to Beaufort in case there was no room at Oriental. 

   Sue took this amazing photo of the sunrise with all its pinks and purples and yellows. The greatest part about cruising is the opportunities to see nature at its most beautiful. 

   Its not possible to get photos of it but starlit nights with bright planets are another amazing sight.

   The Pamlico and Neuse Rivers can be very rough just like the Albermarle Sound so you have to watch the weather closely and pick your days to transit. We had light winds the whole day and motored mostly but, we were able to get a lift with the headsail when the wind came up midday.  It was nice sailing for a few hours but soon the wind decreased and shifted astern and we were back to motoring.  We did make good time though and arrived at Oriental early afternoon. 

   

   There are 5 spots to tie up at the free Oriental town docks and we snagged one of them right off the coffee shop. The water was unusually low and we were just able to get into the dock basically touching the muddy bottom.

   We planned on staying 2 days at Oriental because a cold front was blowing through with strong winds. We moved over to a different dock for better protection from the winds, and tucked in right beside a large fishing trawler that blocked all the wind.

   Thank goodness we shifted docks as the wind blew 6 inches of water out of the harbor. Given we were just touching the bottom at our previous spot, we would have been high and dry until the wind blew water back into the river. 

  Oriental is a great place to stop as their are restaurants and cafes and grocery store all within walking distance. Sue ran up to the Piggly Wiggly for a couple items and ended up with 20# of ice to carry back. 

  There's a new Mexican food truck in Oriental just across from the town docks. Sue chatted extensively with the owner and we had breakfast burritos and lunch chicken stew from them. This will be another favorite place to stop along the ICW.

   Also we stopped at the Bean Cafe for a latte and cinnamon roll. Not losing much weight this trip, but we did get several long walks in over our 2-day stay.

    Here's a good overview of the Oriental harbor. In the summer there are a gaggle of boats anchored off the marinas but this Jan, only one lone sailboat. 

   After the frontal passage, which wasn't nearly has strong as forecasted, but nice to be in a protected spot, we are off early Sat morning to get to and through the Onslow swing bridge and anchored before dark.

Jan 28/29, Coinjock to Belhaven, NC via Alligator River Anchorage

 

   We got to sleep in a bit and take a walk as we decided to depart Coinjock Marina at 0900. That's a little later than we normally get underway but the idea was to not arrive at the Albermarle Sound until after 12pm when the winds of 14-16kts were supposed to ease off. The Albermarle is a tough bit of water to cross when the wind is strong from the west (as forecasted) since it is only 15-18ft deep and there is a 30mile fetch to the west to enable the waves to build with steep faces.  It was a good plan....

   No luck with the great plan. The winds were a steady 16ks for the entire 2.5hr passage across the Albermarle, and waves were 2-4ft with steep faces. Fortunately, we were able proceed on course at an angle to the waves and wind.  We hoisted the staysail and a triple reefed main and then motor sailed across the Sound keeping our speed up an minimizing the time spent bashing.

   After a couple hours the waves were down and it was a more comfortable ride. 

  Soon we were into the Alligator River and approaching the Swing Bridge. After passing through the bridge we were excited to put all 3 sails out fully and sail down the river, but alas, the winds died down as forecasted - just about 2hrs too late for our Albermarle crossing.  We motor sailed on down the Alligator River to our anchorage for the night.

   5pm and we reached our anchoring spot at the end of the river and just before the entrance to the Alligator River Canal. We had blue skies all day which kept the cockpit warm, but with the sun setting the temp is dropping fast. Will be a cold night with no heat at anchorage, but we do have an electric blanket on our bed and new batteries to at least get the chill off.

   The thermometer says its 51degrees inside but that may be up at shoulder level. The floor is probably about 35 degrees. But you can always add layers.

   We jumped into the electric blanket heated bed about 8pm for the night. It wasn't too bad. Boat was 42 deg inside when we got up in the morning. This should be the coldest night we have to spend onboard without heat.

   Wed morning and time to get going at 0730. Temp is 40deg, not too bad, and sun is out so the cockpit will warm up quickly.

   Not much to see in the North Carolina Sounds and marshes. The shore at our anchorage is about 300ft off, the length of a football field. Can't get closer without going aground.

   This little point of land was intended to provide some protection from the winds that came up at midnight. Sort of worked.

  Just around the corner is the entrance to the Alligator River canal, a 3hr transit over to the Pungo River. 

   The wind came up on the nose slowing us down but we were fortunate to have a half knot current in our favor so made good time through the canal. At least no ice!  Temp up to 50 today and in the 70s in the cockpit.

  

   Just inside the canal I spotted a bald eagle flying up into a pine tree. They really are majestic looking.

   Next up was a flock of 6 egrets. They flew along with us for quite a bit. I spotted one standing beside a Great Heron and was surprised how much bigger the heron is. I thought they were pretty much the same size. Nope.

   Short day today as we arrived at Dowry Creek Marina about 1pm. That gave us plenty of time to get our chores done and proceed to happy hour at the marina restaurant. This is one of our favorite marinas to stop at. 

   Will be off early tomorrow to head towards Oriental or on to Beaufort. Friday looks like a day off as there are high winds coming through.

  At the marina I got to inspect the results of our ice flow passage. A couple of chips of bottom paint near the bow as we suspected. We saw the blue paint on the ice floes. 

   Not a problem. Onward to warmer waters!

27 Jan, Great Bridge to Coinjock

 

   Our plan was to pass through the Great Bridge lock and bridge then stop at Atlantic Yacht Basin, but they told us they were iced in with solid ice across the canal.  So we stopped just short of the lock at Top Rack marina. We were the only ones there, traveling south in January. 

   Turns out we aren't the only travelers though. Two other sailboats and a power boat departed Great Bridge on the 26th. We waited till the 27th to let the ice clear out and didn't see any ice until just north of Coinjock.

   Its a 6hr transit to Coinjock so we took an early morning walk then left the marina at 9am to pass through the 10am lock opening. 

   Great Bridge is an easy lock to pass through. The water only comes up 1 foot (depending on the tide level in the Chesapeake), so its easy to lasso the cleats ashore by ourselves. The right side has large and relatively clean rubber bumpers to tie up against. 

   Once out of the lock its onto the bridge. Its timed to open as traffic comes out of the lock southbound. 

   No ice in sight, glad we waited an extra day. 

   There are two more bridges to pass through down the Virgina Cut canal but no problems motoring along and no ice.

   By noon we were into the Currituck Sound and actually able to deploy the genoa and get a little push from the wind. Only for a short while though as the wind slowly shifted from the west to the south and on the nose.

  Oh no, shades of the Titanic, ice ahead. Just 2 miles north of Coinjock, the wind has blown a patch of ice into the ICW channel. The channel is relatively narrow through here so I was unable to maneuver around the ice completely. I was able to get way over to the side of the channel, with the depth alarm blaring, but we only had to cut through just the tip of the patch, about 30ft of ice.

   You can see this ice is no joke. It was all broken in pieces that we could push out of the way but, those pieces have sharp edges. We could see bits of bottom paint on the flows as they passed down alongside. 

   Now I'm really glad we didn't go down the canal yesterday when there was lots of this ice. We only had this short 30ft stretch, so no damage except some chipped bottom paint. Should be no problem as we have to paint the bottom when we return to the Chesapeake this summer anyways. 

   We were soon through the ice patch and onto Coinjock, just a few minutes away.  Now all tied up and heater turned on and ready for a walk, then dinner. The next challenge is crossing the Albermarle Sound tomorrow into some wind and waves.

Underway - Finally. 25 Jan 2025 Short trip to Great Bridge, Chesapeake

 

   All loaded and ready to go. Perfect conditions for leaving the slip and taking dock lines with us - no wind and little current. Other than 24degs and patches of scum ice on the creek, the sun is out for the day and will heat the cockpit up.

   Still patches of snow and ice on the boat but they should melt today. Going to 41degs.

   Goodbye to Dare marina, motoring down Chisman Creek to the Chesapeake Bay. Nice flat conditions but there is supposed to be light winds later.

  The winds are up to 10kts and on the beam so we are sailing down the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk. We even have a half knot tidal current pushing us along. Perfect conditions. Warming up in the cockpit - in the 30s now.

Passing the Chamberlain on Fort Monroe as we leave the Chesapeake, passing over the Hampton Roads Tunnel and into the James River.

Lots of tugs and merchant traffic passing us on both sides as we pass through the narrows. Good to have AIS (Auto Ident System) that displays the name and course/speed of all the vessels.  You can track our progress via AIS using the Marine Traffic App or alternative apps. Search for Tides Inn.

   Past the Norfolk Naval Base. Only one big carrier in port, the George W Bush. 

   Tied up and plugged into shore power with the heat on at Top Rack Marina. We had planned to pass through the lock today to Atlantic Yacht Basin but they told us the ICW canal was iced over solid. Some tugs and boats passed through this afternoon and it is above freezing tonight, so we will try tomorrow morning and hopefully get through the ice.  Always challenges on a boating trip.

Cold, cold January 2025

 

   Normally we're underway for Florida/Bahamas the first week of January but, not this year. We usually have temps in the 30s/40s in early January and once we're south of Hatteras in the 60s. 

   This year we had ice on the lake the first week of Jan and now on the 24th it is still around 20deg during the night. There was snow in Florida yesterday.

   I watched the geese transit between open water spots. The lead goose is the icebreaker. He pushes up and breaks a path through the ice for all to follow.

   This is the third snowfall of the season (one each week) and has been the coldest with temps down to 15. 

   But warmer weather is coming. It will be 21 tonight, but going into the 40s tomorrow and nothing below 30 for the next week, so we are heading out tomorrow, the 25th.

   I thought the boat was mechanically ready to go but when I checked the batteries (with salon temp 38deg), they were only at 12.2v, that's halfway discharged. They are 7yrs old which is the recommended lifespan, so we headed to Norfolk and got 4 new batteries. Now we're ready. Was a bit of a challenge getting 250lbs of batteries down the dock and up the ramp and over to the boat, but mission accomplished.

   It'll be chilly for a few days but I've seen some 60deg days in the 10day forecast in the Carolinas.

   And actually, as long as the sun is shining, its in the 60s in our cockpit with the sunroom effect of our enclosure - and sunshine is in the forecast tomorrow. 

    At night we normally stop at a marina and plug in to shore power and run our heater. But, there are a couple spots where we have to anchor with no heat. For those nights we are trying a new inverter and electric blanket. Will see how it works. 

   Off for Norfolk and the Atlantic Yacht Basin marina tomorrow.

Dismal Swamp Canal - Chesapeake and Home - 1-2 May

 

   We spent the day in Elizabeth City visiting with our friend Carol. We tied up along the bulkhead by the town park with the light winds from the north. There were a couple showers in the afternoon, then cool and comfortable weather for a great dinner with friends.

  Elizabeth City is a great place to stop for boaters. 

   Early the next morning it was time to bid adieu to Elizabeth City and start the long trek to home port in Yorktown. The weather is great today but turns unfavorable tomorrow so we will go the entire way to Chisman Creek today, expecting to arrive around midnight. 

   We have to depart before 7am to pass through the Elizabeth City bridge before it closes at 7am for morning rush hour and then make it to the South Mills Lock for the 1100 opening. We were up and underway at 0615.

   The Pasquotank River between Elizabeth City and the Dismal Swamp Canal is another of the prettiest sections of the ICW. 

   Today the wind was zero and the sky was clear blue providing a mirror water surface that perfectly reflected the shoreline. Flip the photo and you probably can't tell which side is up without the bow of the boat.

   We had a little fog at 7am but it quickly burned off for ideal conditions.

   We got to the lock a little early but that's better than too late as it turned out the lock was eventually full with 8 boats. The ninth boat arriving had to wait for the next opening, two and half hours later. 

   Once out of the lock, the main danger in the dismal swamp is the overhanging trees. You have to stick to the middle of the canal and do a little maneuvering from time to time. If you hit a tree you are likely to damage the wind instruments at the top of the mast - a $500 mistake. 

   We made it all the way without any encounters with the trees, just a couple near misses.

   The boats are rafting up at the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center. Turns out there is a Trawler Meet-Up in Norfolk that all these folks are heading to.

   We were able to squeeze by and continue our trip up the canal. We have to get to the Deep Creek Lock by 1530, the last opening of the day, to continue our trip homeward bound. 

   After 4 months of cruising, we're back in home waters. Making good time and we should be at the Deep Creek lock on time. Weather is still perfect.

   Passing through the Deep Creek lock where we drop back down 8 feet to the level of the Chesapeake Bay. From here its 10 miles to Norfolk but, its a long segment as we can't get through the Gilmerton Bridge in Norfolk until 1730 after rush hour so we have to waste about 45 minutes getting there. 

   We're finally through all the bridges in the Elizabeth River and heading through Norfolk past the drydocks full of US Navy ships.

   We got to the Gilmerton Bridge at 1730 but then had to wait another 30 minutes for the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge to open after a long coal train passed through. 

   Then we just made it through the next two railroad bridges before they had closures for trains. A busy evening of train traffic.

   Finally, past the Norfolk Naval Base and cargo loading piers and into the Chesapeake Bay just as the sun is setting at 2030. 

   Its already been a full day but we have another 4 hours to go before we anchor in Chisman Creek by our marina. We need to do this nighttime passage up the Chesapeake today while the weather is good - tomorrow the wind will be blowing strong on the nose.

   We were able to sail for a couple hours up the bay, then the wind died and it was back to motoring the final few hours. We used our radar during the night to back up our eyesight and, in what is very rare, it was very critical in two instances.  Normally, in good visibility it is easier to see the lights of other boats with your eyes rather than the confusing blips on the radar screen. Our first issue was encountering a small fishing boat coming directly at us without proper lighting in the Poquoson River. He had just a white light on the bow which blended in with white lights from houses ashore. But I saw a fleeting reflection on the radar that made us closely check ahead and we finally picked him out as a "moving" white light coming at us. Then when we turned up Chisman Creek, again I noted a fuzzy reflection on the radar that popped up and then disappeared, right in the middle of the creek. Upon inspection with the search light, it turned out to be a small catamaran without legal anchor lighting. They just had a couple dim solar lights showing which also blend in with the shore lighting.  So, using all the resources available, we successfully arrived just off our marina and anchored for the night. A long 19hr transit, but safe arrival.

   Its morning and we are home, back to our home slip. Good thing we made the long transit yesterday as later in the day the wind and rain came up with a cold nor-easter wind coming off the ocean even stronger and colder than forecasted.  But we were back home in our house with Tides Inn snug in her slip. 

   The end of another great trip to the Bahamas with no incidents - the best kind of trip.