Our trek today was pretty straight forward. Our travel partner Dave, from the previous day, stopped by while walking his dog to talk and give us some helpful tips. Getting local knowledge is very helpful. We left Grande Dunes Marina at 8:30am. The first hour was a little boring. We passed more beautiful homes along the ICW and many under construction. The homes were perched up on the hillside bank and many had beautiful landscaping and infinity pools. I know there is a lot of controversy about the topic of wakes in this area, but I chose to err on the side of caution and went slowly to avoid damaging anyone's water toys or docks. After passing through the Socaste River Swing Bridge, things opened up nicely and we were able to travel at our normal speed of 22 knots for quite a while. We had to slow down occasionally for slower boats, marinas and one tugboat captain working on a barge that thought we were going too fast for his liking.

We entered the Waccamaw River which was deep and wide. It didn't hurt that it was also high tide. We passed a few boats going in the other direction as well as trawlers and sailboats going south. We hailed them on the radio and gave them a slow courteous pass. As it turned out, one of the trawlers we passed is right next to us in the marina. Glad we did the courteous thing, otherwise it could have been an awkward situation. Martha's note on the picture below says "traffic jam." One boat docked on the shore said "South Carolina Public Schools" on the side. We were wondering what is was used for, on water school bus, field trips, etc.

We made it to Georgetown. The entrance was a bit confusing, so we took it very slow and watched the depth carefully. The Harbor Walk Marina is great and had the lowest fuel prices of the whole trip. Needless to say, we filled up......................only took on a 150 gallons. The staff here is very helpful and seem to take pride in running a nice marina. It is a very pleasant town and we treated ourselves to dinner at the River Room. They are taking the COVID protections seriously here, and most people are wearing masks. All establishments have signs announcing the need to wear a mask if you enter. The meal was excellent, although we may have overdone it a little. Had to have seafood since the fishing trawlers are docked just down the block. We will definitely stop here on the way back in the spring. This is a great stop! They have a little boardwalk along the water with some restaurants and bars. It ends at a park with a fountain. As usual, Martha needed to take a selfie.

Tomorrow we move on to Charleston for a couple of nights and have to get used to the time change. Our days will be ending sooner now. There are a couple of shoaling areas to go through, but I don't think it will be anything as worrisome as yesterday.

Thanks for reading.

Guest blogger Martha Frampton
Today we resumed our trip south after delaying for high winds. With only a short passageway separating the marina and the ocean, we felt the motion of the ocean day and night at BHI. The hourly ferry also contributed to our constant shifting, which caused a loud creak on center port side cleat every few minutes.
Check out time was 11:00am, so we waited out the wind as long as we could. When we left the marina entrance, we saw a huge ocean-going ship right behind us. There were a few tense minutes as Bob found our inlet to ICW and avoided getting smashed by the ship.  

After we safely entered the ICW at Southport via Cape Fear River, we had to get past the shoaling at Lockwoods Folly, hugging one side then the next. Getting safely past Shallotte Inlet was the next challenge, again avoiding shoaling. We saw several shrimp boats, a tug, and a wreck.

We followed Dave and Nancy (Blind Faith motor boat) because this is their home turf. It was odd to see two casino boats and a floating tiki bar, signs of more activity on the ICW. We got a wave from the Little River Swing Bridge operator.

The final challenge was The Rock Pile, a two mile long, deep channel through rock. The good thing was that low tide let us see the rocks along the shores. Also, following an experienced boater was a big plus.

We arrived at Grande Dunes Marina right at 5:00pm. What a relief to tie up for an uneventful night.

We stayed in port today as planned. Sunrise was beautiful as I walked around to an area behind the marina that we hadn't seen yet. It was very windy and when we looked out to the open water, we were really glad we decided to stay put. We took care of a few chores on the boat and took a little time to go over to the two hundred year old lighthouse and climb to the top. 

Martha counted 129 steps to the top. It was good exercise and we got a great view of the entire island as well as the ocean path we took to get here. Seeing the weather conditions, we were glad that we did it yesterday and not today. The small chapel was out final stop before heading back to the boat.

This is a very interesting island. Many people come over from the mainland to work during the day and then go back in the evening. The ferry runs very frequently. I am sure it is much busier during the season. A large vehicle ferry stopped here this morning and unloaded a bunch of service trucks and other vehicles. I suppose it was due to the weather, but the ferry did not return to take the vehicles and their workers back. The trucks are lined up ready to go and all the workers were taken home by smaller boats. I guess they are used to this and will get back to normal tomorrow.

Check-out time is 11am and hopefully the winds will have died down enough for us to get out of here, get through the Cape Fear River inlet and back into the ICW. Next stop is Grand Dunes Marina in Myrtle Beach, but we have to go through a notorious section of the ICW called the "Rock Pile." We'll let you know how it goes.

Today was our first day to leave interior waterways and head into the ocean. We got an early start out of Morehead City. It was clear when we started the engines and the sunrise was beautiful, but by the time we untied from the dock, the fog had moved in. It was very thick and of course we were in an unfamiliar area. Fortunately, we took it slow and all went well. We got under the bridge and through the inlet before the fog started to clear out. We could barely make out the industrial facilities in the Morehead City and Beaufort.

The rest of the day was picture perfect and the water was as smooth as glass. We took a straight path from the Beaufort Inlet to the Cape Fear Inlet. We traveled about 111 nautical miles for the day and were over 20 miles offshore. We were a little concerned to be so far away from land if anything went wrong.  After all, Captain Ron said it very eloquently, "If it is going to happen, it's going to happen out there." We came across a few boats way out there, but it was pretty lonely most of the time.
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Fortunately, nothing happened out there. As a matter of fact, it was a little boring at times. Since the start of the trip, we have kept a meticulous hourly log while underway. We are logging hours, speed, course, fuel consumption, oil pressure, engine temp, etc. We determined that is was prudent to have baseline data and it would be much easier to diagnose potential problems by watching for abnormalities.

We passed around Frying Pan Shoals to enter Cape Fear Inlet. Now I have a visual to go along with the weather reporting from Jim Cantore and Al Roker regarding this area.

Coming into the Cape Fear Inlet and then Bald Head Island Marina was pretty straight forward. We passed a tug towing a barge and Martha was excited that they waived back when she waived to them. The marina is in a nice protected basin, however there is a ferry that comes in periodically and churns things up a little. The boat rocks for  a moment and then settles down. We hope things stay calm in here tomorrow when the wind is predicted to pick up.

Bald Head Island is a very unique area with many beautiful homes. Some in the dunes and others in the woods surrounded by live oak trees. There are no private cars on the island and everyone drives golf carts. We rented a golf cart and toured around the island, ending up in some shops and the local grocery store, as well as the beach.

We have now been traveling on the water six straight days. Strong winds are predicted for tomorrow, so we are going to give the boat a day off and take some time to relax here. Friday we start back down the ICW and have reservations at a marina in Myrtle Beach, SC for Friday night. The blog will continue on Friday.

Thanks for reading.

We left Dowry Creek Marina at 10am despite a fairly heavy fog. It looked like it was lifting and we felt comfortable continuing on. We took it slow and only encountered a couple of boats. I think most boats decided to wait until the fog cleared more. We enjoyed our stay at Dowry Creek Marina and got a good night's sleep, not to mention the free laundry that Martha took advantage of. The couple that run the marina are very nice and are good hosts. They have a very well stocked, but small store, and are expanding by adding a large restaurant. Maybe it will be operating the next time we stop by. 

By the time we got through the Pungo River, the fog was just about gone. We entered the Pamlico River and passed a couple of boats as we entered Goose Creek. There were a couple of Coast Guard boats stopped in the creek and we thought that they may stop us for an inspection, but they must have been doing some other type of training. We were ready if they did stop us. We passed the R.E. Mayo Seafood docks, but didn't stop to purchase anything. The docks look a little old and worn. I already have enough marks on the painted hull. We continued on to Bay River on our way to the Neuse River. The water was dead calm and allowed us to make really good time.

We were concerned about the Neuse River as we had heard many say how rough it could be. We must be living right, as the river was like a sheet of glass and wide open for us to transit at full throttle. We happened to pass an old friend at this point, the tugboat Island Express. The barge she was pushing this time was empty. I guess she found a spot to dispose of all that scrap iron from a couple of days ago. Shortly after that we entered Adams Creek and came upon another familiar boat, Aries, a Fleming 55. They were with us at the Great Bridge Lock in Virginia, then at Coinjock, last night at Dowry Creek and now here. More about them later. There were a lot of homes along Adams Creek and we slowed down to reduce our wake. It wasn't a problem since we were making good time. Here is where we started to see dolphin, but just a few other boats. As we got close to Morehead City, the shoreline became much more industrial

We made our way down Adams Creek to Morehead City Yacht Center. We ended right behind Aries and followed them in. They are on the other side of the dock from us and we finally got to meet them. A very nice live-aboard couple that transits from New England to Florida and back each year. I talked to the husband Peter about their destination for tomorrow as it seems we are following in each other's tracks. He said they were going to a marina in Wrightsville Beach that I had already planned to call for a reservation. As it turns out, that marina is full for tomorrow night, so we decided to go to Bald Head Island Marina at the Cape Fear Inlet. Peter talked me into going "on the outside" to get there. That means going into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time ever. It is supposed to be perfect conditions tomorrow for such a journey. Maybe it will work. I'm excited to try it out.

Morehead City Yacht Basin is a very nice marina that caters to some really serious fishermen. The boats are gigantic and most of them have a captain and crew, waiting for "the boss" to tell them when it's time to go fishing. We look a little small among all of the behemoths.

​Tomorrow the ocean for the first time and Bald Head Island for a couple of nights. Check back to find out what happens.

We departed Coinjock at 7:20am this morning. The 75' Burger, ironically named Encore 5, was tied up right behind us and could have used the extra room to get away from the dock. We helped him out and got out of his way. We travelled slowly through the canal until there was room to pass a trawler and a sailboat. After passing one more sailboat, it was clear motoring through the Albemarle Sound. The waves were a little rough, but it was manageable. The water calmed down once we got to the Alligator River. As we approached the infamous swing bridge, a beautiful classic old boat was in front of us. I think I could smell the varnish from all of the wood trim. It was perfect timing as we both went through the swing bridge on the same opening. I'm sure all the drivers appreciated  only one opening.

After transiting the rest of the Alligator River we came to the Alligator-Pungo Canal. This is fairly narrow channel, and very straight, with a lot of opportunity to hit submerged logs. It is very remote and lacks any sign of civilization. We had the canal to ourselves for awhile until we came upon a catamaran traveling at a typically slow speed. We asked for a slow pass and moved to the port side of the channel at a very slow speed as the cat moved a little starboard. I wanted to give them room, but it was a little too much as we suddenly experienced a "thump." Undoubtedly we got a little out of the channel and hit something. As I moved slowly to the center of the channel, we experienced a second "thump." When we experienced a thump two years ago outside of Rock Hall, it resulted in an expensive prop retuning. Each of our pods has two counter-rotating props........and they face forward. So, when we hit something it hits the props first. It is a trade-off to have the convenience, docking ease and efficiency of the pods, but also a greater chance of serious prop damage

After we passed the catamaran, I was able to get clearly in the center of the channel and open up to see if we had any damage to the running gear. I think we avoided major damage, but we may be having a slight bit of vibration. Hard to know if there is any damage to the prop blades until we can take look at them. We passed a few more sailboats in the canal, each time taking extreme care. One of the sailboats we passed is docked next to us in the marina, and they were very complimentary about how nice our pass was. Some powerboaters are not real courteous others and forget how much turbulence they create with their wake. They remembered us since I mentioned on the radio when we passed that we had hit something on the previous pass.

We made it safely out of the canal and headed down the Pungo River to Dowry Creek Marina, where we are staying for the night. It is a very nice marina and they are working hard to make it an enjoyable, as well as, cost-effective stay. Martha took advantage of the free laundry facilities and we grilled some chicken for dinner on the provided gas grills. I'll probably get some fuel in the morning as they have the lowest price I have seen so far. Two other boats from Coinjock pulled in later in the day. It is apparent that we will continue to meet up with the same boats along this journey.

The sun finally came out this afternoon and gave me a chance to give the boat a good wash down. We are anticipating a nice day tomorrow, mostly sunny and in the mid 70's as we head for Morehead City. Strong winds are expected later in the week, so I need to find a good place to dock somewhere around Wrightsville Beach and wait it out.

Thanks for reading. Let us know if there are any specifics you would like to know about our journey.

Guest blogger First Mate Martha
Today nothing broke down. We traveled south and crossed paths with three boats from the Norfolk marina. We passed about 10 bridges and went through our first lock, the Great Bridge Lock. It is a good thing we saw Rev and Sam of What Yacht to Do handle their first lock in our video prep for this trip. The water level changed just a few inches, but the whole procedure took 30 minutes. Of course, next we crossed under the Great Bridge Bridge. (That is the real name.)

The day 's big challenge was handling the choppy, wavy North Landing River and Currituck Sound. The boats were tossed around like the Minnow and we (Bob) had to back off the throttle to gain control. Our companion boat out of Norfolk, Encore V from Chicago (about 75 feet long), was rolling around in front of us as we hit the boat traffic jam of about five boats in close quarters. It was too crazy for pictures. We felt bad for the sailboat (under power) that was passed by all of the larger power boats.
We overtook the tug Island Express pushing a barge of scrap metal and saw it come by a few hours later after we tied up Coinjock. Slow and steady goes the tug.

Does Coinjock live up to its reputation for the best prime rib on the ICW? It was fine. 

It is now apparent that this adventure will present us a new challenge each day. Flexibility and ingenuity will be called for regularly. I just heard the above quote the other day, and I completely believe it.

Our anchorage in Fishing Bay was really nice, but that didn't keep me from waking up every hour or so to check and make sure we weren't dragging into another boat. The night went well and we just moved back and forth with the wind. The waves lapping on the hull were a little loud, but we're on the water, so it has to be expected. The sky was clear and we could see a lot of stars.

Fog moved in during the night and was so thick we couldn't see the houses on the shoreline. It cleared out before sunrise and finally looked promising for a clear day after many days of thick morning fog.
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After an uneventful breakfast and morning routine, we prepared to leave the anchorage and head over to the very convenient fuel dock at Fishing Bay Marina. It was about 400 yards away. Very convenient and we were anticipating a quick getaway. As usual, I bring up the anchor as Martha takes the helm. We knew we were going to have to take special care since we had deployed so much rode. There is a splice where the chain meets the anchor rode and it doesn't go through the windlass easily. I fed it through by hand, got the anchor up to the bow, but all of sudden the windlass loosened up and deployed all of the chain and some nylon rode. After many attempts to get it to work, we realized that a metal part of the windlass was broken in three pieces. We think this was left over from a previous windlass problem and today was the day it decided to break completely. We tried to think of how we could get the anchor up, but nothing seemed promising. Martha contacted our service technician at Chesapeake Yacht Center, and thankfully he answered the phone (Our apologies Justin for bothering you on a Saturday morning, but we are so grateful!!!) He suggested we tape the pieces together and put it back in the windlass since it works by friction. Martha did a great taping job with Monster Tape, put it back in the windlass and tightened it down. We brought the chain up slowly and had success. Yeah!! The anchor was up and secure. We will deal with the repair along the way when we get to a place with a good repairman. We will also need to deal with the poor design and perhaps eliminate the nylon rode that caused the problem in the first place. Will probably go to all chain.

We headed over to the fuel dock, filled up the tanks and headed south to Norfolk. It was beautifully sunny and mild. As we got the mouth of the Piankatank River we came across another sailing regatta. We found our path through all of the sailboats and made out way to clear water. It wasn't as calm as yesterday, but there was no fog. We had to slow down a few times when the water got rough, but still made good time getting into Norfolk. We just missed the departure of an aircraft carrier, but we could see the dominant silhouette in the distance. There was a little traffic through the Norfolk harbor, both pleasure and commercial. We passed all of the Navy ships and eventually found our way into Waterside Marina. Glad to tie up tonight rather than being at anchor. It is not overly crowded here with boats or people. I think COVID is keeping many away.

We head to Coinjock, NC tomorrow, about 50 miles away. We have already met one boat here that is heading there tomorrow as well. There are probably more. I expect a caravan  down the ICW. Coinjock's claim to fame is the prime rib dinner. I plan to get one of those and I'll let you know how it is.

Our original plan was to leave Osprey Point at 9:30am, but the fog was very thick as it has been for the past few days. We took a selfie, and sent a text to our captain/trainer to let him know we were started our journey. We are thankful for all the guidance he gave us as we began the boating lifestyle. The fog started to burn off enough for us to leave the dock about 10:20am. We rolled up the shore power cord, untied all the lines and shoved off. Winds were calm, so it was an easy departure.

Once through the maze of sailboats we gained speed and made good time until we got to the Patuxent River. We hit a thick fog bank and were very thankful for AIS and radar. Those technical marvels gave us a good idea what was ahead and allowed us to adjust course to avoid any problems. At one point we had a big natural gas tanker ship anchored on the starboard side and a large container ship passing on port. It was eery watching these huge ships appear in silence and then go by in the fog. Once past the Patuxent, things cleared up all the way beyond the entrance to the Potomac. The water was calm and made for an extremely smooth ride. This was the most calm we have seen these waters and we were making great time. We were very thankful that this crossing of the mouth of the Potomac was so calm. 
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Our first journey down the ICW began with many months of preparation and study. We gathered a number of guides and charts to help determine our stops and anchorages, as well as the lurking problems that we may encounter. Here is a list of what we are using to help plan the trip:
Guide to Cruising Chesapeake Bay - chesapeakebaymagazine.com
Waterway Guide - Atlantic ICW - waterwayguide.com
2020 ICW Cruising Guide - Bob423 - amazon.com
ICW & Atlantic Coast Mile by Mile
and Planning Guide - chesapeakebaymagazine.com
​The Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook - amazon.com
Anchorages Along the Intracoastal Waterway -
Skipper Bob Publications - waterwayguide.com
Waterway Guide - Florida Keys - waterwayguide.com
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We also studied our chartplotting apps to familiarize ourselves with the route.
Navionics - navionics.com
AquaMaps - globalaquamaps.com​