03/16/2010, Little River, Myrtle Beach Area, South Carolina
After nearly three months in the state of North Carolina, we pulled out of Southport at 8:00 this morning, and arrived at Cricket Cove Marina in South Carolina around 2:00 this afternoon.
We got to see dolphins again today. They seemed to be swimming with slower motions than the previous ones we've seen; I guessed it was because the water temperature might be a little warmer...
One of the bridges we passed under today leads to Ocean Isle Beach, which is where a beach house was rented a number of years ago for a week-long family celebration of my Grandmother Cribbs' 80th birthday.
We will be here, enjoying the Myrtle Beach scene, for the next several days.
The above photo was taken in November in Chesapeake City. Lisa and Craig on s/v Second Spree were there at the same time; however, we would not meet them until the next day initially via VHF Radio as both boats were underway, and then in person after we had all arrived at their homeport in Havre de Grace. Kevin and I have spoken of them several times in recent days, hoping to see them again in the coming weeks when we are back on the Chesapeake Bay. Today we received an email from them saying Second Spree will be back in the water next week, and asking when we would be back in the area. We are looking forward to seeing you again, Craig & Lisa!
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03/15/2010, Southport, North Carolina
After we left Wrightsville at 8:00 this morning, there were dolphins swimming about in several spots on the ICW, and the most big commercial vessel traffic we have seen in a while on the Cape Fear River (which we quickly renamed the "Daisy patch" for the benefit of Captain Kevin).
Following our noon arrival in Southport, we spent the afternoon exploring the quaint town streets and historic waterfront. The free dock we are at is part of the Provision Company Restaurant, where overnight dockage is free if you purchase dinner. However, they are not open for the season for two more days; but the gentleman who was painting in preparation for opening, stopped and helped us when we arrived and said we could stay anyway - very kind indeed!
The above photo was taken in the adjacent parking area - the unofficial welcoming committee, no doubt.
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03/14/2010, Wrightsville, North Carolina
We left Mile Hammock Bay at 9:00 this morning.
There were strong enough wind gusts to send spray over Grace's bow at times during today's passage.
The water in deeper sections has been the same shade of green as Grace's canvas, and translucent looking.
Over the last several days we have seen people kayaking; and then today we saw some young boys swimming and other people in bathing suits. After we anchored at 4:30 this afternoon, we got to watch a person paddle boarding (pictured above).
The highlight of today was when at least three dolphins swam beside Grace for a few moments. We really got a close up look as they played in Grace's wake right beside the cockpit, and came up out of the water. I was so excited that I would screech with delight and clap and jump up and down when they surfaced; Kevin kept saying "Don't you fall overboard!"; later, I thought about the fact that I would have been swimming with the dolphins if I did...hmmm...maybe someday.
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03/13/2010, Miles Hammock Bay
Today we left Swansborough about 8 am, the wind had tracked around so it was easy getting off the docks. Big winds are forecast so we headed for an anchorage about 15 miles down the waterway. It is called Miles Hammock Bay and is located in Camp Legune Marine base. We can anchor here but not go ashore. On one of the docks is an old military ship, looks like some type of landing craft used for training. As we were passing through Camp Legune we also saw several armored vehicles overgrown on shore. We made the 10 am opening of the onslow beach swing bridge, and right after we passed through the bridge broke down. A large sailing cat we passed headed north has been waiting 5 hours to get through. I bet they join us in the anchorage if it is not fixed soon. After being here for a few hours I decided to set a 2nd anchor as the winds seem to be building. We rode out 40 mph winds at cape may with those 2 anchors. We should be fine.
We watched "Where the Wild Things Are" Last night. It's my fav book from childhood. Amazing that they expanded the story so much and it still felt the same. The sailing scenes were great looked like Max was really a sailor.
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03/12/2010, Swansboro, North Carolina
Yesterday, from the marina dock, we got to watch a pod of dolphins for about 10 minutes, the longest time we have been able to watch them so far. Then, later we went for a dinghy exploration ride in the adjacent waters, and suddenly we were surrounded by dolphins. We turned off the motor and got to hear them breathing - very cool! I was more interested in watching them than taking photos, but we did manage to get a few still shots (one of which is posted above) and a video. The video only captures them for a short time, compared to the length of the video; so, if we figure out how to edit it and then post it, we will let you know.
We're headed to the local Irish Pub. Cheers!
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03/11/2010, Swansboro, North Carolina
We left Beaufort at 8:30 yesterday morning and got to see dolphins as we passed Morehead City, arriving in Swansboro at 1:00 PM.
The waterfront mexican restaurant a few blocks away was our first stop once checked in at Casper's Marina. After returning to the marina for showers, we explored the nearby parks complete with informative boardwalk signs about the local plants and wildlife. Following drinks and appetizers at Captain Charlie's, we listened to a very talented acoustic duo at the Icehouse Restaurant, complimented by yummy tai wings and locally brewed draft (descriptions pictured above).
This morning we went to Yama's for breakfast surrounded by Elvis and Marilyn Monroe memorabilia and 50's music playing on the jukebox.
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03/09/2010, Town Creek Anchorage, Beaufort, North Carolina
No, thankfully, the above photo is not of Grace! However, it was taken in the anchorage we are in tonight. It does make us gulp hard each time we look over at the boat whose rigging is the only thing currently visible above water.
We left Oriental at 8:45 this morning and arrived in Beaufort at Noon. We pulled in to Town Creek Marina and waited for 2 1/2 hours to get a pump out and gasoline. Fortunately, it was a warm, sunny day, and the anchorage was right next door...
We got to see dolphins while we waited. Later, we took the dinghy over to the Beaufort waterfront and got to see four wild horses on the remote island across from the waterfront.
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03/08/2010, Oriental, North Carolina
The town of Oriental has a webcam that is updated every 10 minutes during the day. You can see Grace at this link http://towndock.net/harborcam ~ starting at about 2:30 PM today and it appears she will be on their webcam until about 24 hours after we leave here tomorrow morning. The above photo was the picture on the webcam at 2:30 PM today. Grace is on the left side of the dock in the center of the picture. If you look at the HarborCam Slide Show images for different times, you can see the dragon in the pond move.
We left Bath at 7:30 this morning, and enjoyed a beautiful, sunshine filled day on the water. There were several other boats - fishing, sailing, power - on the water today headed in all directions.
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03/07/2010, Bath, North Carolina
The engine part we were waiting for arrived two days ago. It was promptly installed by Captain Kevin and the engine ran like a champ. Thank you Dick Day!
Earlier that same day we learned that McCotter's pump out cart was broken and the parts for it would not arrive until sometime early next week. So, we promptly began exploring options at other locations. After two days of phone calls and road trips, we learned there were no other possible pump outs within two days of travel with the boat. When we retired for the evening last night, we expected it to be sometime tomorrow afternoon before the parts for the cart would arrive and the cart would hopefully be operational again.
This morning Captain Kevin was puttering around in the warm morning sunshine on deck when he suddenly came into the cabin and exclaimed that he might have figured out a way to get the pump out cart to work. During the process, he told one of the fellow boaters "don't mess with a Vermonter with duct tape". He ingeniously duct taped connections and was able to get enough pumped out of our holding tank that we could wait another two days before having a bonafide pump out.
Within three hours from that time, we had done our last minute errands in town, both had showers, water supplies were topped off, and in the warm 60-ish degree afternoon sunshine we quietly cast off the docklines and slipped away from the marina, only revealing our intentions at the last minute to select people.
Sorry, Iverson and Mary Jo, that we did not tell you for fear that you would work another dance or hex to keep us there longer. But, we do hope you will find our blog and that our paths will cross again.
Thank you to Walt for being such a great friend to us both, and for your wonderful hospitality! We would love it if your trip to Ocracoke coincided with our return by there.
Thanks to Chuck and friends for the bon fires, and so many others (whom we did not get to learn your names) for the warm greetings and conversations!
Thanks to Mike, Mark, Walt, Danny, Maurice, Shirley, Reggie, Floroberto, Pablo, and all the folks at McCotter's Marina for all your good work for us over the last two and a half months, and cheerful greetings each time you saw us, even though you were cursing us each time it snowed!
Thank you to Valerie, Bill, Megan, and Ethan for the time we got to spend with you! And, to Valerie for all your home cooked meals! And, to Megan for your infamous (rightly so) lasagna!
We left at 2:45 PM, and in less than two hours were tied up at the free state dock in Bath, and enjoyed a sunset cocktail in the cockpit followed by dinner at the local restaurant.
The above photo was taken as we were traveling down the Pamlico River, leaving Washington behind, about half way into today's voyage.
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03/03/2010, Washington, NC
The above photo was taken during our time anchored near the Cape May, New Jersey Coast Guard Station (same location as the "bump in the night" occurrence).
At the time we did not have access to WIFI, so the photo was not included with the blog posts from that location.
However, if you want to read that or any previous blog entry, on the right side of the webpage under "All Blog Entries" there is a link for "Contents". Also from the full map under "Current Position" you can click on any of the position marks for journal entries associated with that latitude/longitude position.
Currently we are waiting not only for the weather window for our next leg of the journey, but also the arrival of a part for the engine, which should arrive in the next day or so. We are thankful the need for the part was discovered while we are still here, and that we could get it so quickly.
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