Update 5/29/2011 - North Carolina to New Jersey

Greetings from New Jersey!

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Elizabeth City docks

The last 3 (plus) weeks have been a real blur! In our last update, I described our anchorage at South Lake which is in North Carolina. From there, we went to Elizabeth City after a none too gentle crossing of Albermarle Sound.  We walked around town a bit, toured the museum and this became another example of never knowing what you will find when cruising. It was the first Friday of the month and they were having their “art walk”. All of the galleries were open that evening and they were serving free wine and heavy appetizers (enough for supper!). The next morning was the first farmers market of the season, held right in front of the marina.  We added to our produce and of course found some chocolate chip cookies.

Heading up the Pasquotank River

 

After the farmer’s market, we headed out, traveling up the Pasquotank River to the South Mills lock of the Dismal Swamp Canal. After an uneventful locking (our first of the year) we stopped for the evening at the NC visitors center. The trip up the river and canal were beautiful and done at slow speeds to arrive at the lock at the right time. At the visitors center we had time to tour the museum about the history and wildlife of the canal and had a good happy hour on the dock that evening.

The next day we proceeded up the canal slowly again timing the Deep creek Lock and then proceeding up the south branch of the Elizabeth River into Waterside Marina in Norfolk. The 7 mile trip up the river was not relaxing as we first had to rush to make a bridge opening, then wait for it to open because we were early, then avoid the heavy commercial traffic and since it was Sunday afternoon.

We spent the next 10 days in Norfolk waiting for and then attending the spring rendezvous of the Great Loop Cruisers Association.  We did some shopping, worked on the boat (what else is new) and played tourists in Norfolk, visiting the Norfolk & Southern Railroad Museum, the  MacArthur Memorial and Museum, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Nauticus and the battleship Wisconsin. We also had a great happy hour every evening on the dock and made many new friends among the loopers present. The rendezvous went well and was attended by over 200 people. My presentation – CD Canal to Waterford went very well.

From Norfolk we went to Regatta Point Marina in Deltaville where we did some more shopping and boat projects ( I changed the engine oil among other things). We were joined there by 5-10 other loopers so the party continued!

Entry into Tangier Island

The next stop was Crisfield, Maryland on the eastern shore. The town, “the crab capital of the world” had obviously seen better days and there was little going on. However, we had stopped there to take the ferry to Tangier Island which we did and found it to be an interesting but short trip. On the island we took a golf cart tour, walked around some, had crab for lunch and visited the museum. We essentially “saw it” in less than 3 hours!

Our group at assategue

Early the next morning we took off up Tangier Sound, trying to get into the Wicomico River before the winds really got going (we succeeded). We traveled about 10 miles up the river and then into Wicomico Creek where we went into a small marina. The creek was interesting as most of it was not charted! However Lees guidance was excellent. We spent the next few days visiting our friends Lee and Carol (from Carol Ann) and were joined there by George and Jane (Time Out) and Larry and Sue (Suzy Q). It was a mini reunion of some of our looper friends and we talked, played Mexican train dominos, played Farkle, bowled on the Wei and took a trip to Assategue Island to see the horses and take a short beach walk. One day we took the jet skis and 2 dinghies and went up the river to Salisbury for lunch. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip and our entire visit.

The following day we proceeded down the river and up Chesapeake Bay, passing through the Little Choptank River and into Knapp’s Narrows for the night. Lee had suggested this route as it only involved around 15 miles on the open bay and the winds were  forecast to be in the 10 to 15 knot range. This would have been perfect conditions for the sailbpat but with the power boat, less wind is better.

Knapp’s narrows is a narrow cut passing through an island and was a very protected place to stop.  We enjoyed the pool in the afternoon and then walked around town a bit, finding the general store for some minor shopping.

Delaware City Marina

The plan for the following day was to slide inside of Poplar island into the Choptank River and pass through Kent Narrows to Rock Hall. However, the day sarted earlier and much nicer than forecast so we elected to go out into the bay and traveled all the way to Chesapeake City which is about 1/3 of the way through the C&D (Chesapeake & Delaware) Canal.  We did the 64 mile trip in record time, leaving around 645 AM and arriving around 1500. There were only 3 boats in the anchorage when we arrived and we were surprised that of the 7 or 8 boats which spent the night at anchor there, only 1 was a sailboat.

After a quiet night’s sleep and a leisurely breakfast we traveled the rest of the way through the canal stopping at Delaware City. We played tourist a bit there, shared an evening with 5 other loopers and attended a classic car drive in featuring mostly cars from the 1960’s.

Coming into Cape May on Memorial Day

Today we left about 745 and made the 50 mile trip down Delaware Bay to Cape May, traveling mostly with the current after the first 2 hours. The water was smooth except for the last 15 miles and I found that by powering up a bit we were able to handle the 2 plus foot waves fine, although we did take a lot of spray, some of it even reaching the bridge.

Entering the Cape May Canal was somewhat of a relief. However, being the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the locals were out in force and we were continually rocked by boats doing 20 plus knot in the narrow canal.  We arrived safely at Utch’s Marina where we took on fuel and had happy hour with our friends, Ken and Sharon.

Still having a great time!

Steve and Jean

Update 5/6/2011 - Stuart to Alligator River

Sun Cat is on the move!

We left Stuart and traveled to Vero Beach where we picked up a mooring and took the dinghy in for a nice beach walk. When we got back to the boat we fired up the generator to charge the batteries and run the air conditioning. It ran about 5 minutes and quit. I tested the fuel input and it was fine. The next morning we called the Kohler service representative (Ace Marine) and they came out to diagnose the problem. They found lots of rust in the fresh water (antifreeze) system and determined the heat exchanger had somewhat been compromised. A week later they reassembled the generator and we were able to get going again. While at Vero, I was able to complete some other boat projects, clean parts of the boat and did several beach walks and trips through the parks.

Our next stop was the anchorage off Titusville. When we fired up the generator it ran for two hours and quit again! Luckily the batteries carried us through the night and he next day. Then it was on to Daytona where we spent 2 days at Seven seas Marina. The trip from Daytona to Titusville was especially good for wildlife as we saw many manatees and dolphins and even saw a sea turtle.

At Daytona we got in several beach walks and enjoyed a nice dinner with our friends Bruce and Ellie. I quickly found the generator problem- the bolts holding one of the pulleys had come out, the belt (which drives the (new) fresh water pump) had come off track and it was overheating. Once I replaced the bolts it has run fine since. I don’t think it was tightened correctly at the factory!

The next day we set out for the Pine Island anchorage about 10 miles past Daytona. It was a good run until St Augustine, passing many boats and being passed by others. Then it was the perils of Pauline!

At St Augustine we arrived just as the bridge was opening. We do not need it open ourselves but as we approached with a strong wind and current behind us we found a sailboat coming the other way who was taking up most of the channel. We did a quick 360 and started through only to find a bigger sailboat also coming the other way. Another quick 360 and we made it through ok.  It should be noted that the vessel traveling with the current (i.e. us) normally has the right of way.

A few miles later we got out of the channel and bumped bottom pretty hard. Fortunately a liberal application of power got us off again; we don’t think there was any damage. Then we had to try 3 times to get the anchor to set in the wind and current at Pine Island. It finally dug in well and as the wind died we wound up with a good night’s sleep.

The next stop was Fernandina Beach where we were able to walk around town a bit and had a nice dinner with our friends Tom and Jerry. From there we went to the anchorage at Fort Frederica for a peaceful night at anchor.

We were fortunate to travel through the portions of the ICW that have water depth issues on a rising tide and the following day we traveled through Little Mud River (3.5 feet at low tide and stopped at the anchorage at Walberg creek for the night. The next day was nice so we decided to go out at St Catherine’s Sound and travel outside in the Ocean to Caliboge Sound which is the southern entrance to Hilton Head. Although we like Hilton Head we continued on to Port Royal Landing where we met up with Ray & Linda on Summertime. We arrived just in time to take the courtesy car to West Marine and then attend the pot luck dinner at the marina.  The next day I was able to fix (replace) my anchor light which had melted.

After a lay day we headed north with Summertime, spending a night at the anchorage at Church Creek and then it was on to the Maritime center at Charleston. We took a short walk around the historic part of Charleston and then had a 5 boat looper happy hour at the marina.

The following day we headed to Osprey Marina on the south end of Myrtle Beach where we spent another lay day waiting out bad weather.  We rented a car and made a short tour of Myrtle Beach. We’ve been through it a number of times by boat but had never seen the town. Of interest, they are building a huge Ferris Wheel downtown as a tourist attraction.

A late start the next day took us about 25 miles to the Myrtle Beach yacht club on the north end of Myrtle Beach. As a consolation for the short day we got in a nice swim in the pool. It was noticeably cooler than the pool in Jensen Beach however!

Beach at Bald Head Island

After a very (for us) early start we then met up with Ray & Linda at Bald Head Island where we rented a golf cart and toured the island. Bald Head Island is an upscale development which sits at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. We saw some beautiful beaches and some very nice houses and even toured one open house to see what they were like. 

Another early start took us up the Cape Fear River with the current (a real time and fuel saver) and we spent the next evening as guests of the Marines at Mile Hammock Bay anchorage. This anchorage is located at the Marine training base at Camp LeJune  and is sometimes used for training exercises – even amid the anchored yachts!

The next stop was Morehead City where we borrowed the courtesy car and went shopping and then had a nice dinner out with Summertime. Then it was on to Oriental where we stayed at another upscale development called River Dunes. We got in a nice swim in the pool and used the hot tub for a few minutes.

Pool at River Dunes

Our trip from there up the Nuese River was a bit rough but once we got into the next canal it was fine except for a short squall that went through with strong winds and a little rain. We then crossed Pamlico Sound and spent the night at Belhaven. Belhaven used to be prosperous but there is little there now. The major industry appears to be farming as the fishing and shrimping has pretty much dried up as has the lumbering.  A developer is building fairly expensive condos on the harbor and one has to wonder if there is really a market there for such things.

Alligator swimming in canal

That brings us to tonight. Today we passed through a 25 mile canal connecting the Pungo river with the Alligator River and have anchored in a very remote spot called South Lake. On the way we were part of a steady parade of boats through the canal. We did see a big (+/- 12 foot) alligator while we were in the canal so I guess this river is well named!

Sunset at South Lake

That’s all for now – I need to find some pictures to put with this!

Steve and Jean

update 4/7/2011 - Winter in Stuart

Hello to all!

Yes its been nearly 5 months since the last update, primarily because we wound up staying in Stuart rather going to the Bahamas as planned. This does not mean that we did not have a good time and we certainly enjoyed the warm Florida weather!

Sunset at Sunset Bay Marina

Unlike last year, there were a few cold fronts that came through in December and January but in between and after that it was warm and sunny almost all of the time. We enjoyed the pool many times and got to the beach quite a bit as well.

Chronologically, we had a nice Thanksgiving at the marina with Bill and several members of the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club. We then took a trip to the Villages to see our friends Sue and Paul and then it was back to Jensen Beach. Christmas was interesting. We bought an orange tree to use as a Christmas tree and then planted it for landscaping. Maybe some Christmas we’ll enjoy fruit from it!

Walkway through Barley Barbour Swamp

Steve came down for New Years and we took he and Bill for a kayak trip at the Jonathan Dickinson State Park.  Gail visited us in January and we enjoyed showing her the area. We also did a tour of the Flagler museum in Palm Beach. This museum was one of Henry Flagler’s homes – your basic 75 room winter cottage! We also enjoyed Gail’s dog Rambo who was very well trained. Steve and Christine came down in March and we made sure they didn’t get bored! We took them to the beach, to a walking tour of the Barley Barbour swamp and brunch at the Seminole Inn in Indiantown as well as a trip to the Elliot Museum.

Sue and Larry from Sue Sea Q returned to their boat in January and we spent many enjoyable evenings with them playing Mexican train dominos and pigging out on gourmet meals both with Bill and at many restaurants. We also found many interesting happy hours. Our favorite was Friday nights at Wahoo’s where they had 2 for 1 drinks, all the (free) roast beef you could eat, and live music and dancing.  We wound up not going to the Bahamas due to some family medical issues and really appreciated their friendship and support through a difficult time.

Owl in the swamp

We also enjoyed visiting with many of our other friends while we were in Stuart. .In no particular order we were able to get together with Bob and Sharon of Catch Me If you Can, Ken and Sharon on Dockers Inn, Eric & Ellen on West Wind, Chuck and Claria on Odyssey, Phil and Alice on Wonderland, Mike and Judy on Sea Sharp, Ray & Linda on Summertime, Steve & Nancy on Salty Turtle, Eldon and Dianne from Maine Visions, Bill & Jill on Transition and my friends from High School, Rick & Betsey.

In March we went up to the Villages again with Larry and Sue to visit Sue & Paul and celebrate St Patty’s Day.  Part of the celebration was a parade that featured decorated golf carts and various of the clubs including the cheerleaders and twirlers. If you didn’t get to do it when you were younger (or want to repeat the experience) you could certainly do it there!

By early April we were ready to leave so we said good bye to Bill and everyone and started our trip north. That adventure will be started in the next blog update which I’m planning to start right away!

Still having fun !

Steve and Jean

Update 5/4/2011 Stuart to Albamarle Sound

Sun Cat is on the move!

We left Stuart and traveled to Vero Beach where we picked up a mooring and took the dinghy in for a nice beach walk. When we got back to the boat we fired up the generator to charge the batteries and run the air conditioning. It ran about 5 minutes and quit. I tested the fuel input and it was fine. The next morning we called the Kohler service representative (Ace Marine) and they came out to diagnose the problem. They found lots of rust in the fresh water (antifreeze) system and determined the heat exchanger had somewhat been compromised. A week later they reassembled the generator and we were able to get going again. While at Vero, I was able to complete some other boat projects, clean parts of the boat and did several beach walks and trips through the parks.

Our next stop was the anchorage off Titusville. When we fired up the generator it ran for two hours and quit again! Luckily the batteries carried us through the night and he next day. Then it was on to Daytona where we spent 2 days at Seven seas Marina. The trip from Daytona to Titusville was especially good for wildlife as we saw many manatees and dolphins and even saw a sea turtle.

At Daytona we got in several beach walks and enjoyed a nice dinner with our friends Bruce and Ellie. I quickly found the generator problem- the bolts holding one of the pulleys had come out, the belt (which drives the (new) fresh water pump) had come off track and it was overheating. Once I replaced the bolts it has run fine since. I don’t think it was tightened correctly at the factory!

The next day we set out for the Pine Island anchorage about 10 miles past Daytona. It was a good run until St Augustine, passing many boats and being passed by others. Then it was the perils of Pauline!

At St Augustine we arrived just as the bridge was opening. We do not need it open ourselves but as we approached with a strong wind and current behind us we found a sailboat coming the other way who was taking up most of the channel. We did a quick 360 and started through only to find a bigger sailboat also coming the other way. Another quick 360 and we made it through ok.  It should be noted that the vessel traveling with the current (i.e. us) normally has the right of way.

A few miles later we got out of the channel and bumped bottom pretty hard. Fortunately a liberal application of power got us off again; we don’t think there was any damage. Then we had to try 3 times to get the anchor to set in the wind and current at Pine Island. It finally dug in well and as the wind died we wound up with a good night’s sleep.

The next stop was Fernandina Beach where we were able to walk around town a bit and had a nice dinner with our friends Tom and Jerry. From there we went to the anchorage at Fort Frederica for a peaceful night at anchor.

We were fortunate to travel through the portions of the ICW that have water depth issues on a rising tide and the following day we traveled through Little Mud River (3.5 feet at low tide and stopped at the anchorage at Walberg creek for the night. The next day was nice so we decided to go out at St Catherine’s Sound and travel outside in the Ocean to Caliboge Sound which is the southern entrance to Hilton Head. Although we like Hilton Head we continued on to Port Royal Landing where we met up with Ray & Linda on Summertime. We arrived just in time to take the courtesy car to West Marine and then attend the pot luck dinner at the marina.  The next day I was able to fix (replace) my anchor light which had melted.

Marina at Bellhaven

After a lay day we headed north with Summertime, spending a night at the anchorage at Church Creek and then it was on to the Maritime center at Charleston. We took a short walk around the historic part of Charleston and then had a 5 boat looper happy hour at the marina.

The following day we headed to Osprey Marina on the south end of Myrtle Beach where we spent another lay day waiting out bad weather.  We rented a car and made a short tour of Myrtle Beach. We’ve been through it a number of times by boat but had never seen the town. Of interest, they are building a huge Ferris Wheel downtown as a tourist attraction.

A late start the next day took us about 25 miles to the Myrtle Beach yacht club on the north end of Myrtle Beach. As a consolation for the short day we got in a nice swim in the pool. It was noticeably cooler than the pool in Jensen Beach however!

After a very (for us) early start we then met up with Ray & Linda at Bald Head Island where we rented a golf cart and toured the island. Bald Head Island is an upscale development which sits at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. We saw some beautiful beaches and some very nice houses and even toured one open house to see what they were like. 

Another early start took us up the Cape Fear River with the current (a real time and fuel saver) and we spent the next evening as guests of the Marines at Mile Hammock Bay anchorage. This anchorage is located at the Marine training base at Camp LeJune  and is sometimes used for training exercises – even amid the anchored yachts!

The Alligator- Pungo Canal

The next stop was Morehead City where we borrowed the courtesy car and went shopping and then had a nice dinner out with Summertime. Then it was on to Oriental where we stayed at another upscale development called River Dunes. We got in a nice swim in the pool and used the hot tub for a few minutes.

Our trip from there up the Nuese River was a bit rough but once we got into the next canal it was fine except for a short squall that went through with strong winds and a little rain. We then crossed Pamlico Sound and spent the night at Belhaven. Belhaven used to be prosperous but there is little there now. The major industry appears to be farming as the fishing and shrimping has pretty much dried up as has the lumbering.  A developer is building fairly expensive condos on the harbor and one has to wonder if there is really a market there for such things.

Sunset on South Lake

That brings us to tonight. Today we passed through a 25 mile canal connecting the Pungo river with the Alligator River and have anchored in a very remote spot called South Lake. On the way we were part of a steady parade of boats through the canal. We did see a big (+/- 12 foot) alligator while we were in the canal so I guess this river is well named!

That’s all for now – I need to find some pictures to put with this!

Steve & Jean