Aboard Lady

ICW Beaufort, NC to Portsmouth, VA

April 23rd, 2008 to April 27th, 2008            various Lat/Longs

(Charlie's report)
We ended up spending 5 nights in Beaufort; about three more then we had planned. Heavy thunderstorms were forecast (and did materialize), so best to stay put. And if you have to stay put somewhere, Beaufort was a great place for sailors.

The next leg of the trip was something completely different than anything we had experienced before; 200 miles of motoring on the ICW. The reason for this was twofold. First, we had been advised that we really didn’t want to go around Cape Hatteras this time of year and, second, Coastal Carolina is a beautiful area that one should really see.

The outer banks of North Carolina create an inland sea that is second only to Chesapeake Bay in size. Some of this sea is fresh water and some brackish. The ICW crosses sounds where both shores are not in sight. It’s all very rural, with pockets of vacation homes here and there. Although the channels are well marked and deep (12 feet), they are narrow and require constant attention. Natural waterways (sounds and creeks) are connected by man-made canals (think Corps of Engineers) that are straight as an arrow for 20 miles. So for us, sailing was out and motoring was in.

We motor at about 8 miles per hour (7.2 knots). Motoring at night, given the above, is not a good idea. To put this leg in context, this was like motoring from Tulsa to the Texas boarder at 8 MPH, a long way.  We covered about 60 miles per day and anchored out each night. It was like going from one Oklahoma Lake to another until we got to Texas. All total, we put 32.3 hours on the engine. On the positive side, the weather was perfect, 70’s during the day and 60’s at night.  And the scenery was worth the trip.

The last night, we tied up at a dock on the waterway to gather our strength for the last 12 miles. This last stretch is through a heavily populated area coming into Norfolk, VA. We had one lock and eight bridges to negotiate. It also takes you through the heart of the US Navy’s heavy maintenance area. Have you ever seen a sailor standing guard over his ship with a heavy machine gun at the ready?  Or three aircraft carriers docked together?    We saw both today. We also had to pass a tug pulling an 1800 foot tow and numerous other tugs and barges.  I was glad to get tied up this afternoon.

We are now at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, considered by some to be the best cruising ground in the U.S. We will stay here in Portsmouth (across from Norfolk) for a few days waiting weather.

(Jenny's report)I don't have too much to add, but just wanted to thank everybody who emailed, phoned, put comments on face-book and this blog wishing me good things for my birthday.  You can see that we were not close to places where there was phone and Internet coverage! It sure helped me feel better about the end of my 59th trip around the sun.

Beaufort, North Carolina

April 18th, 2008 to April 23rd, 2008

34 42.941N 076 39.864W

We picked up up the anchor in Wrightsville Beach just after day-break and headed out to sea through the Masonboro Inlet for the north-east passage to Beaufort, North Carolina.  Although the wind was with us, it was light, so we motor-sailed.  It was a long trip, but we made it in to Beaufort Docks before the dock-master quit for Friday evening.

Saturday was a busy day of errands.  The docks here have a FREE loaner car for the marina guests; we could borrow her for an hour, and just replace the gas consumed.  She was a wonderful vintage 1980's Buick Roadmaster with over 140,000 miles, and instructions to NOT lock her.

The dock-master give us directions to West Marine in Morehead City, where we were able to further improve that company's profits; we also stopped by the ABC - the state owns all the adult beverage stores here.  Since demand for the loaner car was light, we were able to use her again in the afternoon to get groceries.  We met up with Craig and Debbie Roser (Charmed) for dinner at the Dock House, where the flounder sandwich was very tasty.

Sunday was stormy, lots of rain and wind. I cleaned, and baked cookies and brownies; Charlie did some boat maintenance and processed the papers in his briefcase that had needed attention since he received them in the last mailing from home.  Craig and Debbie joined us for a shepherd's pie dinner.

On Monday morning I did laundry - there was a great laundromat behind the General Store with a dozen washers and dryers - the best one I've seen so far.  By the time I was done there were four ladies from boats all helping each other fold sheets, and exchanging news.  Charlie meanwhile took some of our canvas to a local canvas shop for repair.  They had is done by lunchtime.  The town has lots of great businesses that service the needs of traveling boaters.  Apparently it's a major stop-over for people who are headed offshore to the Caribbean.

Walking around the town, we saw high-priced historic homes, the usual statues to dead confederate soldiers and the very cool, actively used historic municipal building.

The North Carolina Maritime Museum was about two blocks from the boat, and we spent a rainy Tuesday afternoon there.  There exhibits were impressive. Charlie particularly liked the history of hunting and decoys on the marshes. I liked learning all about Blackbeard the Pirate, seeing the items that had been recovered from his flagship, and also learning about the history of the Coast Guard and its predecessor organization the Life Saving Service.   

Charleston Guest Post

I thought that our readers might enjoy hearing from sombody else, so I invited Mary Jane to submit a guest post for the blog.  It finally caught up with  me last night.  Some of the pictures are the Lindamans, some are ours - JM

Our trip to Charleston had been in the planning for over a year, long before we even knew about Charlie and Jenny’s sailing adventure.  In fact, Gary’s landscape architecture business was so busy that we didn’t even decide to go until the night before our departure.  But as fate would have it, our paths converged in Charleston and Gary and I spent a wonderful two days exploring with Charlie and Jenny.

We had booked a hotel room overlooking two of the marinas on the Ashley River in Charleston, but Lady was unable to clear a bridge near those marinas so they had to secure a slip in the marina at Patriot Point on the north side of the Cooper River, the river to the north of the Charleston peninsula.  As it turned out, that was also fortuitous as it afforded us a wonderful view of the harbor, beautiful bridge spanning the harbor and city of Charleston from their fabulous boat.  For three evenings we soaked in the sights of the sunset over Charleston, enjoyed good conversation with wonderful friends, listened to the symphony of the birds perched on the water break and feasted on wine and cheese.  The colors were breathtaking and we were looking out into the harbor at Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were shot.  Next to us was the aircraft carrier, the Yorktown!  The steeples of Charleston poked up over the buildings.  I don’t think I have ever been so relaxed!  Sooty even came up on deck one evening – a rarity we were told.  It couldn’t have been more perfect!

For those who have not seen her, Lady is gorgeous and it is clear that Charlie and Jenny are in love with her – and for good reason.  Charlie and Jenny gave us the tour and showed us all of the fancy navigation systems they use to guide them from port to port.   The quarters are very comfortable and they have all the amenities of home.   Needless to say, we were very impressed.

Charleston is an old town.  The streets were built for horse and buggy and many of the homes still have their old carriage houses.   Making room for cars and the heavy traffic has been a major challenge for the town.  Parts are very commercial and cater to tourists, but the restored homes and history of the town are fascinating.  Our view atop the hotel where we ate lunch following our carriage ride tour was incredible.  I strongly recommend the Crab Cake Sandwich!

It is also very clear why the citizens of Charleston take hurricanes seriously.  The waters of the harbor lap close to the top of the seawall at high tide.   I imagine the Weather Channel is popular during the summer months as hurricane watch is in full throttle.  The town has survived its share of hurricanes, fires and earthquakes, but remains a jewel of a city.

It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the low 80’s so we were tempted to just stay there and soak in the sun, but opted to drive over to Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms where Charlie had spent time one summer with a boyhood friend.  Since we had wheels, we made stops at West Marine and a grocery store to allow Charlie and Jenny to replenish needed supplies.

Our tour the next day of the Middleton Place plantation was a totally different view of the south.  As we got out of the traffic congestion of town and into the country, the canopy of trees covered the roadway and the Spanish moss dripped from the trees and I felt like this was really what the south looks like.  Life just slowed down.  The plantation was very interesting; the house much smaller than I anticipated, but then it was one of three structures that comprised the living quarters.  The main house and one “flanker” were destroyed during the civil war.  The remaining “flanker” was restored and became the living quarters.  The view of the Savannah River from where the home stood was inspiring.

Our final evening on Lady was idyllic.  We said our good-byes, wishing Charlie and Jenny good sailing for the remainder of their voyage and snapped a few last shots of the sunset as we left.  It was a great visit to Charleston made more special by our time spent on Lady with Charlie and Jenny.

Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Thursday April 17th, 2008 34 12.485N 077 47.935W

We left Wilmington on a sunny morning, and motored down the Cape Fear River.  We had passed under these high wires on the way to Wilmington, but failed to notice the wind vane and solar panels before!  We had always been curious as to where all that electricity came from, and now we know. 

Once the river intersected with the ICW, we turned to port and headed through Snow's Cut, then headed north past Carolina Inlet, where a dredge was working hard keeping the channel deep.

There were some beautiful homes lining Masonboro Sound, and it was interesting to see the marshes and tidal flats on the inside of the barrier islands.

Wrightsville Beach was chosen as out anchorage because of the proximity to Masonboro Inlet.  We had successfully avoided Cape Fear, and this deep, safe inlet would enable us to get back out to the ocean.

As we circled around the anchorage, looking for a good spot to drop the hook, we were pleased to see that Charmed and Island Spirit (who we had met via radio leaving Beaufort CS).  No sooner were we parked Craig and Debbie (Charmed) hailed us on the VHF radio, inviting us for dinner.  Hayden and Raydeen (Island Spirit) came to pick us up in their dinghy, and we had a splendid evening together.  They taught us a great new dominoes game.

Wilmington, North Carolina

Monday, April 14th, 2008 to Thursday, April 17th, 2008

34 14.077N 077 56.994W

Strong Northeast winds were forecast for most of the week, so it was apparent that we were not headed in THAT direction!

We decided to make a side trip. We headed up the Cape Fear River.  On the way we passed a Catalina 30 (sister-ship to our other boat on Oklahoma's Grand Lake, Quintessence).  Charlie contacted them by radio. The owner was moving the boat north, but it did not look very comfortable:  Cold wind, no dodger, no bimini, no side- curtains; he was single-handed with no auto-helm and headed for Chicago.  We wished Cinnamon Girl the best. She was headed up the ICW, but we took the left turn to Wilmington, passing these greedy pelicans and gulls.

Since the town is not on the ICW they don't have tons of pleasure boats stopping by, however, it is a commercial seaport, and has been for many years.  The guide books recommended the city docks next to the Hilton, but we got no response hailing the dock-master on the VHF radio.  We tried the phone number, but got voice mail informing us that he worked Wednesday through Sunday.  As we approached the docks it became apparent that they were not in use...they were turned around and had all the hook-ups covered.  We next radioed JW Brooks Landing.  Again, no response.  A phone call informed us that the number was no longer in service.  The dock looked unoccupied, but safe, so we tied up, and were able to plug in to electric service, but not water.

Wilmington is another charming southern town.  We took the trolley ride, walked the river-walk, enjoyed a wonderful meal at The River Pilot and explored the residential neighborhoods seeing lots of historic homes.

While Charlie napped, I was able to explore the town on my own, and visited lots of cute gift shops, and even purchased a new cardigan at a resale shop!

 

Bald Head Island

Saturday April 12th, 2008 to Monday April 14th, 2008

33 52.573N 077 59.987W

We met a delightful couple a few weeks ago when we were in St. Marys, Georgia. Bob and Gianca Helgesen (Northern Sun).  Their permanent home is on Bald Head Island, North Carolina.  They were planning on cruising until May, and invited us to use their slip at the Island's marina, since they would not be needing it. 

This island is a vacation destination.  There are about 1000 homes there, but most of them seem to be vacation homes or rentals.  There are just over 200 full-time residents.  There are NO CARS on the island! With the exception of a few commercial vehicles (trash truck, village police, construction equipment, etc.) everyone travels by electric vehicle, golf cart, bicycle or on foot.  People get to and from the island by ferry.  We saw Ranger and Patriot coming an going during our stay.

Freight comes on the barge pushed by Capt. Alex, which, as Charlie reported on the previous post, gave us a scare as we were docking.

We did not rent a golf cart, so we did not see all the island, but we walked about quite a bit.  The grocery store was about a mile and a half from the marina, so that gave us a bit of exercise. 

Sunday afternoon, Charlie went to Eb and Flo's restaurant's bar to watch The Master, while I did laundry - the marina's dryer was FREE - and I joined him for the final few putts and dinner.

The staff in the dock-master's office were some of the most helpful we have met.  I hope that next time we visit this lovely location Bob and Gianca will also be here.

Charleston to Bald Head Island, North Carolina

(Charlie's report)
April 11
Dense sea fog in morning. Wait for it to clear.
0950 Depart fuel dock and motor out channel.  Winds light. Heavy ship traffic (Charleston is 5th busiest US port). Glad I waited for fog to clear. 
1100 Leave channel between marks 17/18. COD 131 S8.0 under motor, wind still light.
1415 Wind filling from South as forecast. Stop motor, set sail.
1500 COG 066 S5.5. Speed varies with small changes in wind speed. Boat speed varies between 4 and 7 knots.
April 12
0000 COG 047 S6.1 Since we don’t want to arrive at night, we furl main to slowdown.
0300 COG 060 S6.0
0600 COG 006 SOG 5.0
0630 Enter Cape Fear inlet. Strong ebb current coming out against building south wind creates large (6-8 Feet) and, more importantly, steep waves for last 10 miles. Autohelm cannot handle without broaching. Take over helm and hand steer (I can anticipate, the machine can’t).
0830 Bald Head Marina is in a small manmade harbor directly inside Cape Fear inlet. The entrance is about 100 feet wide. The current across the face was running about 3 knots. We made it in, but had very little room for a single screw boat with no bow thruster. About the time we finally got Lady in the slip, in comes a barge pushed by a tug which takes up the entire harbor! Glad we were in the slip.
Overall, the best sail we have had in some time.

(Jenny's report)

What a great sail this was!  Great wind, but not too much in the way of waves.  Easy sailing; the autopilot did nost of the work, unlike on the ICW, when it seemed that I had to helm a lot of the way. When you're ten miles off the beach, lazing in the sun, you can sometimes get tired of reading, so I made brownies while we were under way, although I admit they were from a packet...I've given myself permission to use convenience foods at sea.  I did make dinner from scratch, one of the few times we've used plates in the cockpit at sea...usually when we are at sea, dinner comes in mugs.

 

Middleton Place Plantation

Thursday, April 10th, 2008 +32° 47' 14.22", -79° 54' 36.78"

An idea suggested at cocktail hour last night with MaryJane and Gary was "a plantation".  MJ is a super lady to travel with, as she seems to have already researched the choices and had all the information about a number of local plantations available!

We decided that Middleton Place Plantation would be worth a visit.

MJ came by the marina in the morning and picked us up, and we headed out the Ashley River road.  Once past developed Charleston, it was (quite a busy) two-lane road with towering trees.  We glimpsed blossoming dogwoods in the understory.

Entering the plantation, it was obvious by the lack of paving in the parking lot, that although it seemed to be a popular destination, it was our kind of place: Gary is a semi-retired landscape designer;  I'm a gardener when I'm not sailing;  Charlie and MJ were our support team!

We purchased entry tickets to include the tour of the home. The docent at the home tour gave us a history of the plantation, the family and the house.  (Our perception is that they chose well when they married, but chose poorly during wars.) Taking pictures is not allowed in the house.

We had a delicious "Low-county" lunch at the plantation's restaurant.

We were only able to explore the part of the grounds.  There's an old chapel, a rice mill (rice was the original crop from here...the Civil War destroyed the rice fields, never to be restored), a resident alligator, and gorgeous gardens lovingly restored by a descendent's wife: during the 20th century the  husband learned unexpectedly that he had inherited the property from his aunt; he thought he had inherited a liability; he and his wife lived with his parents; don't you know that she was ready to sacrifice and move out to the country!  Sorry I don't remember all the names; perhaps they're on the website!

As you might expect, Charlie and MaryJane tired before Gary and I did.  We ended up at the gift shop and snack bar well satisfied with our day.

Evening traffic was as expected on our way back to Lady.  Like yesterday, our sumptuous late lunch had filled us for the day, so just snacks were needed for our last happy hour sunset together.  Lindamans were off to Hilton Head, and we were off to Bald Head.  It has been a fun couple of days together!   

Charleston, South Carolina

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 +32° 47' 14.22", -79° 54' 36.78"

Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina

On our way to pick up the FREE trolley shuttle from the marina to downtown Charleston, we passed this fine turtle.  "Turtles on the Town" is a fund-raiser for the South Carolina Aquarium's loggerhead turtle rescue program.  This is similar to the Penguins on Parade benefit for Tulsa's Zoo.  We also saw similar Pelicans in Seabrook, Texas.  Charlie wishes that he'd come up with this idea to manufacture animals for artists to be sponsored as local organizations' fund-raisers!  It'll be interesting now to add to the collection as we travel...I seem to remember seeing painted ponies in one city (was it Dallas? Santa Fe?), perhaps cows in another.

We met up with MaryJane and Gary, and purchased tickets for a carriage ride.  There are loads of competing carriage companies, and the choice of Palmetto was based on the fact that they offered FREE (I think) parking for the Lindaman's vehicle.

Soon we were aboard our carriage, pulled by mules June (as in Carter) and Johnny (as in  Cash).

Our driver/guide had to register with the city, and took us on tour 3.  Apparently all the different carriages are assigned a route as they start, in an effort to reduce traffic congestion in the historic area.

We learned a lot about the history of Charleston, and saw many fine houses.  Property values reported by the driver/guide were huge.  He pointed out the home of Mr. Piggly Wiggly grocery store, with pig statues bordering the white steps and a King Charles Spaniel guarding the doorway.

After the tour we ate a fabulous lunch poolside on top of the Market Pavilion Hotel.

After that, we walked around some of the downtown parks, admiring fountains and flowers.

Then, since Lindaman's had a nice vehicle, we decided to make a short road trip and crossed the bridges and saw Fort Sumpter and Fort Moultire on Sullivans Island and stopped at Isle of Palms where Gary got his feet wet in the ocean.

We didn't need dinner, as we were still full from lunch, so we all returned to Lady, I cooked up some shrimp we had picked up at a grocery store for appetizers to go along with our cheese and cocktails, and made plans for tomorrow as we watched the sun set over Charleston.

    

On the ICW from Beaufort to Charleston, South Carolina

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

+32° 25' 47.16", -80° 40' 29.52"

(Jenny's report)

The island across the river from the Beaufort City Marina is called Lady's Island.  While shopping yesterday, I found a framed chart with a water color old boat painted in the corner and purchased it for Lady.  Finally, we have something to mount on a bulkhead!

Anyway, our plan today was to take the ICW from Beaufort to Charleston.  However, the first thing we had to do when leaving the dock is to go through the Lady's Island swing bridge.  It's 30 ft when closed,  but opens for water traffic on demand at night, and every half hour during the day, except during rush hours; from 7:00 am the bridge is closed to river traffic until 9:30 am.  For the first time since we retired, we had to set an alarm. (I used my Treo.)

We cast off dock lines in the dark, but as we motored out in the river, we were hailed on the radio by another yacht in the anchorage.  Eventually there were a line of five sailing vessels going through the bridge as daylight arrived.

The route was winding, but we reached a wider spot in the Coosaw River, and were able to unfurl the jib to give us a bit of speed boost.  By this time Charlie had become good radio friends with Island Spirit, Charmed and Destiny (Canadian yacht), and we later found an email from Craig and Debbie Roser (Charmed) with a great picture of Lady as we passed them.  Thanks Debbie and Craig!  We look forward to crossing tacks again in the future, and meeting you face-to-face!

As we approached Charleston, we passed a development that had a golf course adjacent to the ICW.  (Charlie started to tremor and drool.) What fun that must be!

Anyway, we made good speed, thanks to favorable currents, and were able to reach the last bridge with over half an hour to spare.

We docked at the Charleston Harbor Marina and Resort.  We had hoped to stay at the downtown Charleston Marina, but they were getting ready for the Spring Boat Show, and would only let us have a berth for two nights.  We phoned Mary Jane and Gary Lindaman, who were on vacation, having driven from Tulsa to Charleston, and just arrived!  They were excited to come by the boat, and have dinner aboard with us.  Such fun to meet up with old friends!

(Charlie's report)

On the advice of other cruisers, we decided to take the ICW to Charleston. It was said to be one of the more scenic stretches of the ICW and it was. 

There were navigational challenges. A quarter mile from our marina, we first had to pass through a swing bridge that opened on demand except between 7 to 9 AM.  The last bridge before Charleston, Wappoo Creek swing bridge, opened on the hour and half hour except between 4 and 7 PM.  So, if we wanted to arrive in Charleston before cocktail hour, we had to be at Wappoo Creek Bridge no later than 3.30 PM.  (By the way,  we NEVER drink and boat, it’s confusing enough sober!)

0615 Slip dock lines and pull away from the dock. Receive radio hail from CHARMED and ISLAND SPIRIT who are at anchor but planning to also go under bridge.  We agree to go together.

0645 Hail bridge for opening and pass through. By this time, there are 5 sailboats waiting to pass. The other four boats are planning to anchor short of Charleston, so we motor and or motor sail to try to stay on schedule.

In this section of the ICW, we are passing through naturally occurring creeks and bays winding to the sea connected by man-made “cuts” dredged straight as an arrow by the Corp of Engineers. Fortunately, there are not too many of them.  This is beautiful country. Some shoreline without access by road is undeveloped. That shoreline with road access has modest (by modern standards) weekend homes.  As we get closer to Charleston, the size and shine of the cabins increase.

We must actively navigate the entire time. The route is sometimes not intuitive. However, it is well marked and generally deep. Sometimes we are traveling with the current and making 8 knots plus, sometimes against the current and making less than 6 knots.

1500 Cleared Wappoo Creek bridge with ½ hour to spare. As always, the bridge tender asks for my boat’s name and hailing port. When I tell them Tulsa, OK, there is always a long silence. I always ask them if I win the prize today for traveling the furthest for the party.  So far, we’ve always won.
1600 Cross Charleston Harbor and tie up at Charleston Harbor Marina. Glad we decided to dock there; it looks like a nice place. 
1700 Cocktail hour.