Leg 54 - Enterprise Creek Anchorage
We continued to have a great time around the Pawleys Island / North Litchfield area. We went to a great restaurant on the beach waterfront and then onto the beach for the remainder of the day both Tuesday and Wednesday. We had dinners at some of our old stops and of course we had to have Painter’s Ice Cream – a local favorite. We returned on Wednesday to be greeted by our friends Marty and Stephanie. They are on their way back from the Bahamas and we had some snacks in our cockpit to hear their stories. Then we continued at a local raw bar on Pawleys Island. Then back to the marina to hit the hay. We had a wonderful mini-vacation here in our most favorite of beaches between our time in Georgetown and Heritage Plantation Marina. Now it is time to get moving.
We had coffee in the cockpit to welcome in the warm, soon to be, hot day. Marty and Stephanie stopped over and we continued to chat about our adventures. Then they needed to get on their way as they are focused on getting back to Norfolk VA for the holiday weekend. I briefly assisted in their departure (not that it was needed) and they were on their underway. I returned to The Office to have a quick breakfast and then return the rental car. I had an Uber drive back to the marina to help Sue finish up the underway preparations and we were quickly underway by 11:40. We were running with the tide and there was a slight breeze gusting to good wind so I deployed the genoa and we were moving along at 7+ knots with little throttle. We were almost at the destination when the wind shifted so I pulled in the genoa and we motored the remainding few miles. We arrived at the anchorage spot and motored past our intended location to check depths and also to turn around to run into the current. Sue motored to ‘the spot’ and I dropped the anchor and we caught the first time so I was quickly sitting in the helmsman’s chair drinking a beer. By now it was very hot – into the mid 90’s, so Sue was cooling herself using the aft outdoor shower and I braved the alligator and snake infested water to cool down. I took multiple dips and didn’t see any alligators or snakes so all was fine. Dinner was very simple as neither of us really felt like eating. Finally at dusk the temperature started dropping and we were enjoying the breeze in the cockpit. It is a very nice anchorage but local small boaters would race by coming around the bend of the creek almost running into us and then zooming past. Not only are they loud but they didn’t care much about their wake. And this is a weekday. I can’t imagine what this place is like on the weekends and I really don’t want to find out. When the breeze diminished, the bugs finally arrived to the party. Well, we then went below to cool off with our fans. We shall get to bed early as we will be up early to get the 10 am opening of the Barefoot Swing bridge. They are having mechanical issues with it and it only opens at 10 or 2 so if we miss it, we will be hanging around. We only have about a 2 hour trip after the bridge so we want to get most of the traveling done in the cooler morning hours.
Leg 55 - Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
It was a very warm evening and night. Finally it did cool down enough to fall asleep but 5:15 came around rather quickly. We needed to get up early to make the Barefoot Swing Bridge as it only opens 10 am and 2 pm. Since we were about 3 hours and 49 minutes away at a speed of 5.8 knots we opted to leave by 6 pm since we also had one other on request bridge before the Barefoot Swing bridge. We were up and going with a nice bright moon (89% waning) along with the sunrise and got underway very quickly and quietly. We started off going at a speed faster than maybe necessary but I would rather slow down when we got closer than not be able to make it. We made it through Socastee Bridge with plenty of time so we slowed down to enjoy the morning. Then we arrived at the Grand Dunes marina just as Marty and Stephanie were leaving so we followed them along the way. By now there a number of boats all trying to do the same thing – make the 10 am opening. We all were also quite early so we did our best to hold our position in the current and winds. Finally, the bridge opened at 10 and we all made it through. We arrived at our marina a little before noon and pulled up to the fuel dock for fuel and a pump out. Ouch, diesel was 6.16 a gallon. Then we made it over to our slip and tied up for the evening. I went to the office to pay the bills and learn the codes etc. and check everything out. The bathrooms were very nice as was the laundry room. They had a pool with no one in it so I quickly returned to the boat and Sue and I went to the pool for a nice leisurely swim to cool off completely. Then we walked back to the boat for a light snack before relaxing. Dinner was in the Officer’s Club – the onsite restaurant where we met the owners – who happened to be from New Jersey right next to Philadelphia so we had many common areas of discussion. Then an easy stroll back to the boat to relax as it was about 9 pm. This is definitely a place to return next time we come south. Tomorrow we head to Southport NC.
Leg 56 - Safe Harbor South Harbor Village - Southport NC
I was up at 6 am and we had a simple breakfast down below and then started our process to get underway. By 8 am we were leaving our slip and Myrtle Beach Yacht Club. We got an early start to travel in the morning before it gets too hot. We had no bridges to worry about and there were no major areas of shoaling to concern us. Traveling was going very smoothly as we once again got into the rhythm of riding with the current at 7 knots, going past an inlet, and then fighting the current at 5 knots. It was easy to remember that today was a Saturday as there were many may more boaters out and about. Also, many of them would just zoom right by letting me deal with their wake. There were some who were polite, but not many, that is for sure. We finally made it to our marina and turned around to dock into the current onto the long dock. No issues and we tied up securely for our one night stay. We relaxed the afternoon down below as it started to get very hot topside. We went to dinner at Joseph’s – a very nice Italian Bistro. We remembered having dinner with Marty and Stephanie on the way down in November of last year. Early to bed tonight as tomorrow we have some interesting challenges along the way with significant shoaling and two bridges we need to get through that are only 5 miles apart.
Leg 57 - Harbor Village Marina
Today was a day of timing. We wanted to leave when the projected tide in Snow Cut was higher than low tide, but we also couldn’t leave too late or we wouldn’t make it to the marina before it closes. Also, we had to time two bridges that required an opening (a draw and swing). The first one only opens on the hour and the second, 4.8 miles away, opens on the half hour and hour. So, I created three different routes. On my chart plotter was the route to our final destination, on my tablet was a route to the first bridge and on my cell phone was a route to Snow Cut (shallow water concern). I maintained just the right speed to ensure we would make Snow Cut above low tide and all went well. The lowest water level we experienced was 9 feet. Next, I focused on the Wrightsville Beach Bridge and maintained a speed which showed us arriving at the bridge around 10 minutes before the hour. We arrived and waited in line with at least 5 others sail boats for the 1 PM opening. Having made it though, the armada of sailboats hurried to the next bridge. We looked like a chain of duckling as we rode the current to increase our speed. The bridge tender saw us as approaching (AIS) and radioed me to speed the group up because he would delay the opening for all of us. Not needing to be told twice, we all sped up and thanked him for delaying it. The rest of the trip to our marina was quite simple as I just ran with the current at 2300 RPM to get us here by 3 PM. So, it was a good travel day in mostly overcast skies and temperatures in the mid 70’s with a slight breeze.
I was reading some of our past trips where we marveled about the dolphins, birds, trees and plant life. Recent trip logs haven’t highlighted that as much. It isn’t because we still don’t see it as much but probably we are used to it. I thought of that as 3 dolphin popped up for some air and then disappeared again right beside our boat. I just smiled and thought to myself, “Oh look, dolphins!” instead of calling out to Sue so she could see them. Sue is still seeing and photographing the various types of birds. Particularly, she now sees every day marker covered with an Osprey nest and baby chicks chirping for attention. In Georgia and South Carolina they adorned their nests with draping Spanish Moss. Also of interest, are the many types of terns and their activities. We are just starting to see more of our old friend, the Great Blue Heron. As we continue to experience the many joys of being out in nature, I have enjoyed the many scantly dressed bikini clad humanoids I see perched on the passing power boats zooming along the way. At least it makes up for their rude wake they leave behind. Due to the weekend, the ICW is littered with power boats traveling around us like little annoying gnats – sometimes coming too close for comfort. And then there are the ostentatious power cruisers whose wake really tosses our boat around. We only had a few boats call for a slow pass but the majority of them just went screaming by. We have resorted to “suggesting” it over the radio when we see them barreling down on us. I really prefer traveling during a week day much better when the traffic is minimal. We are currently a day behind Marty and Stephanie and he has been sharing areas of low water with me so that I can mark my chart appropriately and maybe make timing changes. Dinner will be cooked in the galley as we are on the fuel dock and they frown on boaters using the outdoor grill. Ya think?! The plan is to use Sue’s leftover linguine and sauce and just add chicken with a side salad. Then, early to bed as we need to get underway tomorrow at 6:00 AM in order to cover the distance of about 57.5 miles. Hopefully the weather will hold for us.
Leg 58 - Beaufort NC
We were up extra early for the long journey of 57 miles to Beaufort, NC. We easily motored out of our slip (the fuel dock) in calm waters and ventured out the narrow fairway to the ICW. With the sun just peering over the horizon, we accelerated to over 6 knots to get to our first obstacle of the day (shallow water) about 3 hours away. I had the entire route on the chart plotter, the route to Craig Point on the tablet and the route to the bridge on my phone. This was to time our arrival at Craig Point at a rising tide while arriving to the swing bridge before the hour or half hour, all while arriving at our marina in Beaufort before 4:00 PM. About an hour away from Craig Point (or Green marker 65) I was passed by two large power boats. In passing, I asked that they alert me of the water depth around Green 65 and they agreed. Even though they reported that 6 feet was the lowest depth they saw, we still proceeded very slowly and cautiously around the curve. All went well as the lowest I saw was 8.7 feet of water. Relieved to be through that area of shallow water, we focused on the bridge. The power boats were already there and requested an opening. I called and asked if he would hold for me. The bridge tender must have thought I was a power boat because he indicated that if I accelerated I could make it – I was 1.5 miles away – which at my speed is at the very least 18 minutes. A power boat that could make it in 5 minutes. As he opened the bridge he kept asking where I was and I stated that I was WOT (wide open throttle) going over 8.9 knots against the current. Alas, it was not to be, so he recommended that I throttle back and wait for the opening on the ½ hour. Rats, that was a waste of fuel, for sure. We sat motoring backwards against the current (15 minutes) until the opening of the Onslow Swing Bridge (Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base). Once past the bridge, the wind finally picked up to over 10 knots and I deployed the jib sail to allow me to throttle back and try to recoup some of that consumed fuel. In these rivers with inlets to the ocean, the current constantly changes. You either get to throttle back and ride the current, or gun it to fight the current. The weather was pleasant with overcast skies helping to keep the temperature in the mid 70’s, with the wind from the SSW 8-12. Finally, after 9 ½ hours, we made it to the Beaufort NC City Docks Marina. A long day! We docked bow in as per the dockhands recommendation right across from Marty and Stephanie’s boat. They graciously greeted us and helped with the dock lines. Then we cleaned up and went out to dinner with Marty and Stephanie at the Beaufort Grocery Company, the number 2 restaurant in town. After a delicious meal and fun conversation, we casually strolled back to the docks where we met other sailors on the docks and swapped stories of past and future travel experiences. Then the four of us convened below to our saloon (living room) and continued the evening over Klondike bars from our freezer. When we called it a night, we said our good-byes to Marty and Stefanie because from here on our destinations change. (We are heading on to Mateo, NC, to visit old military friends.) Tuesday will be a day off to enjoy the town of Beaufort and catch up on various boat chores.