With all the trouble I had getting docked in Southport, our departure was the exact opposite. It was very calm in the morning as we got an early start to get up to Morehead City. A last minute decision was made to go out of Masonboro Inlet and do the ocean run to the Beaufort Inlet. The ocean conditions were great, but we had to contend with a large dredging project at Carolina Beach. We got no response from the dredge after trying to make radio contact, but Dutch, one of our Osprey Point neighbors heard my call. He had been through a few minutes earlier and was able to give me some help in getting around the massive equipment. There were two other boats that had been circling in front of the dredge and followed my lead. We all got through safely and continued the trek north on the ICW.

The inlet at Masonboro was easy to transit and led to calm ocean waters. It stayed calm until we got to Beaufort where the winds were pushing against the tide. That combined with a lot of boat traffic caused me to pay close attention and take it slow. We got tied up easily a the Morehead City Yacht Basin and enjoyed a pleasant evening.

As you may remember in one of my previous posts, I commented on the "small world" meetings that were taking place regularly on this trip. As it turned out, the boat docked behind us had a Rock Hall hailing port.  Kate and Bill had just bought the boat and were relocating it to Rock Hall where they live. We compared notes and will be sure to recognize them in town.

Both boats departed the next morning for Belhaven. Kate and Bill went to Dowry Creek Marina, where we stayed on the way down, and we went to Belhaven Marina which was a new one for us. Getting off the dock at Morehead City, was a true embarrassment. The wind was blowing us on the dock so hard I couldn't get the bow off the dock and get away. As soon as I would make a little progress, the wind blew us back against the dock. We were also fighting the current and the pods were struggling to overcome the forces. We sort of bounced our way down the dock and were finally able to make the turn out of the marina. Thankfully there were no boats in front of me and I sure hope the marina didn't have a CCTV camera recording the entire travesty. If I were to do it again (which I hope I never do), I would use a different strategy, but until I try it I won't know if that would work. 

From Morehead City, you head up Adams Creek to the Neuse River. Adams Creek is well-protected, but the Neuse River, the Pamlico River and the Pungo River were all a bit agitated. We knew they could be like this, but I guess we were lucky all the other times we passed through here. The previous trips were calm and flat. Not today! We arrived safely at Belhaven Marina which has two long docks for transients. I had to negotiate my way down a narrow fairway and dock behind  a big 70 foot yacht that had just stopped in for fuel. We made it ok despite my lack of confidence that I could do anything right after the sorry departure experience. The marina fuels boats right at their slips which is very convenient and they are just a few steps from the modest downtown. We had made reservations at Spoon River, a restaurant that is highly regarded among ICW travelers. It was a delicious meal and well worth a repeat visit. They have a very artful decor along with various antiques. The shelves held a variety of books and soup tureens. We've had so many beautiful sunsets on this trip and here was another one.

We left Belhaven for Coinjock on Sunday morning, going through the Alligator-Pungo canal which was very pleasant, the Alligator River which was very choppy, and the notorious Albemarle Sound which was only moderately choppy. We passed our new Rock Hall friends, Kate and Bill, on the Alligator as we neared the swing bridge. As it turned out, they ended up being docked right in front of us at Coinjock.

We ate on the boat at Coinjock and prepared for the next day, which would be a long cruise up to and through Norfolk, and then up the Chesapeake to Deltaville. Encore was all by itself as it transited all the bridges and the Great Bridge Lock. Once we got through Norfolk and into the Chesapeake, it was hard to miss the large number of cargo ships anchored out probably waiting for someplace to unload. We think this was due in part to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore as many ships anchor in this location waiting for their turn to go into Baltimore Harbor. 


We planned to anchor out, but we knew that we would need to find an appropriate spot with protection from a south wind. We got fuel at Fishing Bay Marina which is a self-serve fuel dock and not typical of most fuel docks. We handled the fueling completely on our own and then paid in the office. It worked out fine. We headed back to an anchorage area that we scoped out on the way in. It turned out to be right in the midst of a lot of crab traps, but we found a good spot and set the anchor. The anchorage is just off of Gwynn Island and we were in about 10 feet of water, a good depth for us. Another dinner on the boat and another nice sunset. 

Martha docked the boat and we attached the lines for the season. There are not too many boats in the marina yet, but it will start to fill up over the next couple of weeks.

My next blog post will focus on the highs and lows of this adventure. The things we did right and what we may do differently if we try it again. It will take a little thought to put it all together, so stay tuned.

The last post was from Cumberland Island, GA where we spent an extra day visiting the National Park and walking around the island.  It was a nice day to get off the boat and stretch the legs. We only saw a small part of the park on the southern end of the island which included the remnants of an old Carnegie estate. The titans of the industrial revolution certainly knew how to live. Unfortunately, the main house was mostly destroyed by fire and many of the other buildings have deteriorated, but it was interesting to see the foundation of the former indoor pool along with the polo grounds, ice house and all of the other infrastructure that it took to maintain the estate. 

The dinghy worked well this time to transport us back and forth to the boat. When we were here in the fall, the dinghy battery was dead and we were not able to get to the island. After a very heavy and imposing looking rainstorm passed through, we spent a beautiful night at anchor with very still water and clear skies. 

We got an early start the next morning with plans to anchor out in the grasslands of Georgia. Our original plan was to try an outside run up to Hilton Head, but the ocean conditions were not conducive for that. It was a delightful cruise on the ICW under beautiful conditions. Shortly after passing the submarine base at Kings Bay, we encountered a dredge working at one of the hairpin turns. We were instructed to pass as close to the dredge as we could to avoid shallow water. We got through without incident, but we were a little bit too close for comfort while passing the massive and intimidating dredge equipment. No time to take pictures as we were completely involved in getting through safely.

A few miles further and we came upon a familiar looking boat. It was Wayne and Diane on "Lady Di." We first met them at the Grand Bahama Yacht Club and then again at Fort Pierce. Here we are hundreds of miles away, and we run into them again. We communicated by VHF radio and decided to raft together for the night on the North River near Darien, GA. We had a good time socializing and then had one of the best nights on anchor that we have ever had. It was calm, clear and we slept very well. The sunset as well as the sunrise were beautiful, although I think I was the only one awake during sunrise. Both boats had reservations at the Isle of Hope Marina outside of Savannah. We took off before Lady Di as we needed to take on fuel at the marina.

Good weather conditions allowed us to take the Savannah River to the ocean and head up to Charleston from there. The wind and gentle waves were behind us, so we had a good passage up to the very busy Charleston Harbor. There were a number of big ships coming and going, and a lot of people were on the water taking advantage of an unusually warm Easter Sunday. There were sailboats, fishing boats and jet skis all around. The Charleston Harbor Marina is in a good location for ICW travelers, but it is notorious for swift currents. We got in ok, fueled up and moved over to the next dock for our one-night stay. We ended up stern-to-stern with the boat "Necessity" from Chester Springs, PA. After a short conversation with Nancy, I found out that she and her husband Dutch keep their boat at Osprey Point, only they are on C dock which is at the other end from our slip. I don't know how we have missed meeting them before. These "small world" experiences are very common when traveling by boat on the ICW.

On the Monday after Easter we had another early morning start to get to Wacca Wache Marina on the Waccamaw River. We had a good stay there in November and they have one of the lowest fuel prices on the entire ICW, so it was worth another stop. On the way there, we passed a large tug and barge. The tug was Island Trader, one that we have seen many times on the ICW. As per our previous experience at Wacca Wache, the dockhands were great and very friendly. We were on a fixed dock next to the fuel dock and had a little challenge getting on and off the boat, but we only had to deal with it for one short night.

An early start the next morning was needed to get to Southport, NC before the winds got too bad. I had a little concern that docking may be a challenge if the winds kick up too high. We got through the rest of the beautiful Waccamaw River on our way to Myrtle Beach. 

Just before Myrtle Beach, we passed by the home of a legend on the ICW, Bryan Carbino, the administrator of the Facebook page "Show Us Your Boat." Bryan takes videos of passing boats and posts them on Facebook. I didn't think he would be out so early, but fortunately for us he was sitting on his deck as we went by and captured a very nice video that was quickly posted on FB. I have been following the page for a few years and am proud to be in one of his videos. I thanked him for including us.

From there on I knew it was going to be slow going. Myrtle Beach is one of my least favorite areas as you have to travel at no wake speed (slow) for miles and miles. There is also a lot of traffic when you get into the commercial area. We were sure to notice that construction of new homes along the ICW is still in full swing. Many with lush landscaping, backyards designed for entertaining and infinity pools. There are so many of them it gets old and monotonous.

Before getting to Southport, we passed by the area of  Shallotte Inlet and Holden Beach which includes Lockwoods Folly. Both of these spots have shoaling problems and require the full attention of the captain. The addition of many boats out enjoying the water complicates things a little more. In particular, there were a lot of pontoon boats. 

South Harbor Marina came into view, so I called them on the radio to get docking instructions. I knew this might be a challenge, but it was a lot more than I thought it might be. We had to battle some strong winds, get through a narrow opening and lay up along a dock with the wind blowing us off it. Thankfully, the dockhands were very helpful and after what seemed like an eternity we were finally tied up safely. I definitely need more practice docking in strong winds, but that is hard to get when you avoid cruising in extremely windy conditions. I think I will do better next time, but I'm not sure I really want there to be a next time in those types of conditions.

The forecast for today includes rain and wind gusts up to 50 mph. Not a good day to be out on the water, so we will wait here until the conditions are more favorable. We have already gotten a good rain this morning, so I may be able to skip washing the boat to rid it of the coating of salt. 

The next leg will be dependent on weather. Stay tuned.

We left Fort Pierce on Monday morning and despite windy conditions and a fairly strong current we were able to get off the dock and underway around 8:30am. Our destination was the Titusville Marina mooring field over 75 miles away. After passing Vero Beach there was a surprising amount of boat traffic, including boats under sail taking advantage of the wind. 

It was a long day up the Indian River with a few manatee and dolphin sightings along the way. At one point we had dolphin swimming in our wake. That was something new, but we weren't able to get any photos before they quit swimming along with us. The Indian River is quite wide in places and with the wind coming from the east we had some moderate chop to deal with. It turned out to be a very nice day and I'm glad we decided to leave Fort Pierce and brave the conditions.

We arrived in Titusville around 4:15 and checked the mooring field for a free ball, but there weren't any. We stopped at the fuel dock to fill up and figured we would have to anchor out nearby. When we inquired with the dock hand about a slip availability, we found that they had a no-show and could accommodate us. So after fueling up we moved to a good slip on their floating docks. The marina is a fairly low-cost one, and with the Boat US discounts it was worth it for a good night's sleep. The bonus was that we would have a good view of the SpaceX launch scheduled that evening. We could see the bright fireball for a moment, but then it disappeared into the clouds. The loud sound of the blast off was heard quite a bit after seeing the rocket.

The plan for Tuesday was to get to St. Augustine. We knew it was going to be a long day and we would have to cover 86 nautical miles. We got out of Titusville at 8:30am and immediately ran into a lot of boat traffic, a sign of a slow day. Again, many boats were under sail taking advantage of the wind, but making the passing situation more difficult and especially in the tight confines of the ICW in this area.

A train of boats passed through the Haulover Canal just north of NASA and enjoyed seeing a number of manatee. They like to hang out in this canal. It was pretty slow going all the way through New Smyrna Beach and into Daytona. It is spring break and that added to the traffic on what should have been a quiet weekday.

After getting through New Smyrna there was an opportunity to speed up and make some time. I pushed up the speed and all of sudden got a warning message on the engine instrumentation.It looked like it was an electrical problem. ​I made contact with our Volvo folks back in Maryland to get some advice and after 30 minutes of texting we determined that one of the fuel filters may need changing. A little while later I saw that the starboard pod oil was showing low. We still had 40 miles to go, but it looked like we could make it ok. 

We carried on through Daytona, Flagler Beach and Palm Coast. The notorious Matanzas Inlet area had been recently dredged and temporary markers were in place. The route took us very close to the shoreline, but we had good depth the whole way through. Next stop St. Augustine.

We got to the marina about 6:30pm and had to deal with some nasty current and wind to get to the fuel dock. We took on over a 100 gallons of fuel, registered for a mooring ball (Martha had made a reservation that morning) and then left the dock. We had to request an opening from the Bridge of Lions, which took a few minutes, and then headed to the mooring ball. After getting tied up in a nice spot in front of the town, we had dinner and enjoyed the scenery. It was a pretty exhausting day so bedtime came a little early.

We slept a little later than normal on Wednesday morning, but woke up to dolphin swimming around us. After breakfast I changed the racor filter on the starboard fuel tank and added gear oil to the starboard pod. We had made arrangements for the pump out boat and he arrived around 9:30. Our plan for the day was to make an ocean run from St. Augustine to the St. Mary's Inlet and anchor at Cumberland Island. It was pretty lumpy getting out of St. Augustine. Once out in the ocean the swells were large but not crashing. The skies were overcast and threatening, but no rain. We had a pretty good ride all the way, however we were the only pleasure boat out there. We saw a couple of cargo ships near the St. Johns River Inlet, a shrimp boat and a tug, but nothing else.

The inlet was a little rough on entering, but things calmed down once we got past the breakwater. We made our way to the anchorage and were all set by 2:15pm. It was a 60 nautical mile day and no problems from the engines. We plan to stay here for two nights and tour the National Park on the island.

We were in this same spot in November with a clear view of the submarine base across the water. I think a submarine may have gone out overnight, but it was too dark to see anything.

Our next destination will be determined by the weather conditions, hopefully Hilton Head.