Carolina's

5/31/12 Thursday     What a night! The water was as smooth as a baby's behind and Pam and I slept straight through without getting up. Quite a feat for someone my age!
Tourist got underway around 7:30 in an attempt to beat some of the days heat. Temps were forecast to be in the 90's. We headed up Elliot Cut and popped out looking straight at downtown Charleston. Beautiful! The sun was shining on the waterfront homes and the harbor was calm. A right turn and we were headed for Fort Sumter.

Charleston, SC.

Ft. Sumter

Before getting all the way to the fort a slight left turn takes you back to the ICW. The harbor was fairly busy with ships coming and going this morning.

Outbound ship, Ft. Sumter, & Inbound ship over the right side of the Fort.

Once back on the ICW the water got skinny under Tourist and persisted for most of the day although we never had a problem. The only problem we had was with those pesty fly's. Once again Pam went into attack mode with the fly swatter! Now every time she raises her hand I find myself flinching!
We checked out one anchorage but with very limited cell service and an abundance of flys decided against staying. To get away from the persistent flys we put Tourist up on plane and cruised upstream at 22 mph. It worked! We stayed on plane until just past Georgetown. Another 5 miles and we pulled behind Butler Island and dropped the anchor. Shhhh! I'm not seeing any fly's.

Attack mode!

We found the Minnow!   Hey Gilligan!

6/1/12 Friday     It's National Donut Day! Unfortunately we weren't close to a Dunkin Donuts to get any free donuts. Ah the sacrifices we make living the cruising lifestyle.

Butler Island Sunrise.

Our travel today took us up the Waccamaw River, a river that reminds us somewhat of  the rivers at home. Tree lined and winding through the countryside. One difference is the color of the water. Instead of the muddy appearance of our home waters it has the golden hue of a northern Wisconsin stream. Of course this is the why so many boats in this area have what some call an eyebrow, or mustache, or the Carolina Smile at the bow of their boat from the water staining it.

Waccamaw River.

Staining Water of the Carolina's.

Not just an aid to navigation but an Osprey nest.

We pulled into the Osprey Marina (www.ospreymarina.com) to top off the fuel tanks and found that boats can live in harmony with turtles.

Hey Pam. How about some of those dead fly's?

It became evident we were getting close to Myrtle Beach when we started passing golf course after golf course. Then the topper when a Spirit Air jet glided over us.

Fore!

Inbound Spirit Air.

The day's travel ended at Barefoot Landing Marina in Myrtle Beach. Not much more than a face dock along the waterway near the Alabama Theater and the House of Blues. Thunderstorms forecast for tonight may force us to stay another night so we can explore the area a bit.

6/2/12 Saturday     The forecast had a hint of rain in it but the thought that it was Saturday and all the week-end boaters would be jamming the ICW helped us decide to stay put another day. Our decision was confirmed as the waterway became busy with jet skis, power boats, and anything that could float.

Before the day got too hot Pam & I thought it would be a good time to get a little exercise and walk over to the beach. It was a good walk but for the fact that someone (me) forgot to take the camera. On our way back we checked out the touristy area of Barefoot Landing. Souvenir shops and restaurants make up most of the area along with an Alligator show. The House of Blues and the Alabama Theater. The area reminds me of Lake of the Ozarks or Branson without as many music shows.

Barefoot Landing

A real tiger exhibit.

Dinner was at T-Bonz right next to the boat where I may have eaten 1 too many ribs. At least that's what Pam said as she rolled me back to Tourist.

6/3/12 Sunday     An early departure to get through an area known as the rock pile before the traffic picked up. We didn't want to meet anyone in this tight area.

Sunrise through the Barefoot Landing Swing Bridge.

The Rock Pile. The danger lies below the surface.

The mornings travel turned out to be very pleasant with little traffic. We passed strangely colored homes.

Probably not our color of choice.

We passed the Big M Casino boat from Ft. Myers Beach.

Saw Gertrude & Heathcliff watching the traffic.

Even witnessed this reminder to make sure the plug is in.

Once we turned onto the Cape Fear River our speed dropped in half. The tide was going out with a vengeance. Fortunately it was time to let Tourist stretch her legs. 

The river was alive with commercial traffic with tugs and both incoming and outgoing ships.

Inbound ship.

All was well as until we started our pass through Snows Cut then traffic picked up dramatically.

Snows Cut.

No sooner had we passed under the bridge shown above when a guy pulling 3 kids on an inflatable water sled did a U-turn right in front of us. Of course one of the kids fell off. We moved over and went around them and continued on dodging the countless number of boats flying in all directions. So now here comes the guy pulling the kids again. He passes us and then starts doing sharp S turns in front of us. You guessed it. Another one fell off. What a knucklehead! No way he should be pulling these kids in this busy channel and without a spotter!

Clueless!

This is the same area we spent too much time in last year when we went through our plotter/transducer debacle. I soured on it then and it hasn't changed but that's just my view. Finally we made it to Wrightsville Beach and our anchorage. Cocktail time! Unfortunately we were rocking so much that it was hard to even pour a drink. The local boaters were using the anchorage as a slalom course weaving in and out of the anchored boats at high rates of speed. Unbelievable the lack of courtesy shown by these people!
It finally slowed down enough for us to drop the dink in the water and head to a Mexican restaurant we discovered last year. The Margarita's are great and some of the best salsa we've found anywhere.

Doesn't look like the typical Mexican restaurant does it?

Unfortunately the wind never died down and our night was a little uncomfortable although we both managed to get some sleep.

6/4/12 Monday     Decision time this morning. Do we run offshore or travel the ICW and hope we hit the 4 bridges we need opened at the right time to avoid delays. A quick check of Passage Weather made the decision for us. ICW here we come. We had no trouble with any of the openings thanks to Tourists ability to run 29 miles an hour.

This guy followed us through the first two bridges.

Passed this nice setting and wondered when Buttgravy moved to North Carolina.

Figured this must be the Mary Kay Cosmetics HQ.

Was glad to pass through the Camp LeJeune area without the lights on the sign flashing.

We pulled into Spooner Creek anchorage in time to get secured before a brief storm front passed through. Afterward the sun came out and the winds calmed down. Should be good night.

Roll out the Beryl

5/26/12 Saturday     Holiday week-ends translates to heavy boat traffic. With that in mind I took a big risk and woke Pam up about 6:30 a.m. so that we could get on the water by 7:30 and hopefully avoid the part time boaters that will surely dot the water by later in the morning. Once I tactfully explained my reasoning we were off and running. The plan worked and by the time we crossed the Savannah River we had only spotted a few fishing boats. Actually I was surprised by the small number of boats we encountered all day. In spite of tropical storm Beryl a couple hundred miles offshore the weather was good although a little breezy by the time afternoon rolled around.
Our travel took us past Hilton Head Island, the Paris Island Marine Base and into Port Royal Landing Marina near Beaufort, SC. (www.portroyallandingmarina.com) By now the wind was kicking up pretty good. We took on fuel before tucking in behind their breakwater to hunker down for the impending blow.

Tourist is at the end of this walkway!

As a precaution I removed anything that could blow over the side or get damaged if the wind got too strong. One item of concern was our cockpit seat cover which has a tendency to lift off the seat when windy, thus exposing it to the elements. Fortunately our deck chairs are fairly heavy so I laid them on the seat to hold the cover in place.

Deck Chairs. Not just for sitting.

Once we had things secured we went up to the marina restaurant for lunch and were forced to sit in the bar due to the crowded seating area. Dang the luck! Lunch turned out to be very good and the bartender extremely efficient keeping us in drinks as well as everyone else in the place all while maintaining a friendly, pleasant attitude.

5/27/12 Sunday     The effects of Beryl were evident when we woke up. The wind was howling and the rain was coming down sideways but by noon the rain had stopped and the sun was out, although still windy. The Coast Guard was keeping the VHF filled with tropical storm warnings and notices that the Port of Savannah was going to be closed to commercial vessels over 500 tons. Very little traffic was passing by the marina and only one boat came in during the afternoon and sounded relieved to be in a slip.
The remainder of the day we kept an ear tuned to the weather reports concerning Beryl and were relieved to know that it was going to make landfall south of us sparing us the brunt of the initial storm. Unfortunately once on land it was predicted to turn North and follow the coast back up towards us with less wind but heavy rains.

Not everyone stayed in port.

5/28/12 Monday     Memorial Day. Thank you veterans and all of the active duty servicemen and women defending our freedom!

Port Royal Landing gives the third night free if you stay and pay for two. Combine that with the forecast and it didn't take much persuasion to stay another day. At least that's what I thought at 9 a.m. Then the weather got better. The rain stopped and the winds calmed down. Should we stay or should we go?

Pam said if we stay she could do a load or two of laundry and I took that as "we should stay". It proved to be a good choice since the winds picked up again and the rain was still threatening. After all, we're not on a schedule so sit back and relax. It's five o'clock somewhere!

5/29/12 Tuesday     The day started with some wind & rain then after we decided to stay another day the rain quit. The forecast however predicted Beryl coming up the coast right over us and when checking out the radar it showed rain all around us. The courtesy car was available so we decided to head into town. Beaufort has done a great job of developing their downtown area with a riverfront park full of flowers and of course the tourist shops and restaurants. Our choice was a spot called Plum. The food was great and reasonable. Only one thing confused me about the place. They apparently have take out restrooms as evidenced by the picture below.

Hmmm?

Our time with the loaner car enabled us to make a stop at Bills Liquor Store to re-supply. Pam quickly named it the best liquor store she's ever been in. Now that's saying something!
By five o'clock the rain started and continued until around mid-night coming down very heavy at times. The last gasp of Beryl passing through.

5/30/12 Wednesday     First thing I usually do when I get up is check the weather and today was no exception. After sitting here for 4 days I was climbing the walls. It was time to go. Fortunately the weather forecast was favorable and we got ready to continue our travels. Just as when we arrived, the dock hands were there to assist us as we pulled away from the dock. Port Royal Landing will be on our list of places to stop on the way back.
We traveled up the ICW through South Carolina's low country. Known for the low tide shallow spots along the route we only had one that caused me to pucker up and that was at the south end of the Ashepoo-Coosaw cut-off when the depth alarm went off and was reading only 2'6" of water below the keel. Add another 2' from the keel to the waterline and Tourist only had 6" of water to spare. We made it without a problem other than a change of clothes for me!

South Carolina ICW.

Tourist covered 67 miles today and ended up anchored in the Stono River just below Charleston.

Stono River Anchorage.

A great sunset to finish off T/S Beryl.  

Submarines and Horses

5/20/12 Sunday     It wasn't long after Ange & Doug left that the winds picked up from the North sending waves over the dock and rocking the dock boxes in some of the slips. Fortunately we had moved Tourist from the North side to a South side slip. We still rocked a bit but we avoided the pounding of the waves on the hull thus insuring a sound nights sleep! The video below shows a little of the wave action.

Rocky Sunday.

5/21/12 Monday     What a great start to the day. We took advantage of the free pump-out at the marina before we left! Do we know how to have fun or what?
We pulled out just in time to make the 8:30 a.m. opening of the Bridge of Lions and head up the ICW. Along the way we passed some beautiful homes including the one pictured below.

Just waiting for our lottery winnings to process!

Our travel today took us past Fernandina Marina where we saw this sailing ship.

S/V Peacemaker

Once past Fernandina we entered the St. Mary's River passing Fort Clinch.

Fort Clinch

It wasn't long after passing the fort that we saw and were hailed by the Coast Guard advising us to stand clear of the channel because a sub was heading out to sea from Kings Bay Naval Base. When I asked if we could proceed another half mile or so and head into Cumberland Island they consented and told us to step on it.

Escort vessels with the sub in between taking up the entire channel.

Outbound sub with escorts.

For years I've read others accounts of seeing these sleek providers of our security moving in and out of Kings Bay and always thought it would be thrilling to see first hand. Neither Pam nor I were disappointed. What a rush! It makes you proud to be an American!

Tourist continued into the anchorage area and settled in for the night.

5/22/12 Tuesday     Cumberland Island was a place we wanted to stop last year but for some reason went right on by. The allure, or part of it are the wild horses that have free run on the island. Once through with our morning coffee we headed into the ranger station to see what there was to do.

Cumberland Island ranger station.

The ranger gave us a brief orientation and a map and off we went. Into the wilderness on what the ranger said was the short route to the beach on the other side of the island.

The short cut.

It was a great walk. Not too long, and except for Pam freezing in her tracks every time she heard a rustling in the under brush, not a strenuous effort was needed to reach the other side.

This is the life guard station at the beach. No Pamela Anderson here!

The beach on the Atlantic side.

We strolled down the beach until we found the other path back across the island. It wasn't long until we stumbled upon our first horse.

In spite of Pam's efforts, the horse ignored her!

We hiked across the dunes, found the boardwalk, and all of a sudden we came to a swamp.

Glad I didn't have to build the boardwalk!

Back over some dunes headed to the Dungeness Mansion ruins when we stumbled across some more horses.

At least they have grass to eat.

Finally we found the ruins of the mansion that burned down in 1959.

Dungeness ruins.

Pam of course was ignored by all of the horses and following a trek down a dead end trail we found the path back to where we started.

 Yes, Pam was really with me in the wilderness.

We got back to Tourist in time to watch another sub go past. This time it was returning from a deployment. Still cool! Thanks guys!

That night we sat through a wicked thunderstorm with Tourist swinging completely around the anchor until the system went out to sea and we could go to sleep.

5/23/12 Wednesday     The anchor came up with a little mud on it around 8 a.m. and we were off. We went right by Kings Bay Naval Base where we saw the escort vessels but no sign of any submarine. They are all stationed off the ICW in a secure area.

Kings Bay.

Winding our way up the Georgia ICW our biggest nuisance wasn't other boaters. It was thousands of brown headed fly's. It got so bad that Pam went downstairs before she knocked me out trying to swat the pesty insects. Once she was downstairs the carnage began. I had the swatter and I knew what to do with it.

 Just a few of the deceased on the bridge steps.

We continued on to New Teakettle Creek and anchored for the night. Fortunately there was a nice breeze keeping most of the bugs away allowing us to enjoy another great sunset.

New Teakettle Creek sunset.

5/24/12 Thursday     More winding our way through the tidal rivers of Georgia with cuts between them named the Florida Passage and Hells Gate on our way to Isle of Hope Marina just below Savannah. Once tied up Pam went off to do laundry and I went in search of a boat named Drift Away. For quite some time a guy named Dave has been following and commenting on our blog so I thought we should finally meet. When you meet Dave you also meet his dogs Chevy & Ruby and new puppy Olivia, that his wife Pam brought home for a short visit!
Since it's Thursday Dave invited Pam & I to join the gang for potluck that evening in the pavilion overlooking the marina. All the way back to Tourist I was fretting over what to make for the event. PAM!                                    
Of course Pam came through with Jambalaya to contribute to the selection of tasty treats. It was a good time conversing with the regulars as well as a few other transients in attendance.

Part of the potluck crew.

After dinner the dogs come out to play and then it's movie time! Sorry to say we couldn't stay for the movie but maybe next time through.

Ruby & Chevy chillin after play time.

By the way, you can check out Dave's entertaining/informative blog at  www.trawlerdriftaway.blogspot.com. I've been following it for quite awhile.

5/25/12 Friday     Now that Pam & I are on our fitness kick we started the day off with a brisk 1 hour walk around Isle of Hope followed by a trip to West Marine and Wal-Mart. You can't beat fun for a good time!

Friday evening we were joined by Faye and Dave Clark, who live nearby,  for dinner at a local restaurant. It was great seeing them and catching up on each others lives.

See you in the fall.

Birthday Visit

So with our extra day at Marnineland Marina we decided to stroll across the street to Marineland and feed the dolphins. The first feeding only had us with 1 other couple so we were able to spend a bit more time entertaining our dolphin, Sonny. We were able to rub his back and stomach but the best part was watching Pam take the raw fish in her hand to feed him! Of course they don't allow you to take your own camera in to the feeding area so the only pictures we have are a couple they took that we of course had to buy.
Once outside the "secure" area we were able to take a few shots.

Where's my fish?

See me jump!

Marineland was started back in the 30's but hit hard times when the Orlando theme parks opened. Fortunately the Atlanta Aquarium stepped in and took it over in recent years and infused some much needed cash. The focus now is more on research than entertainment but it is still a great attraction without the crowds of a Sea World.

Wednesday 5/16/12     Having exhausted the things to do around the marina we set off for St. Augustine and Rivers Edge Marina. Our primary reason for choosing Rivers Edge was a cheap price on fuel. It's pumped right off the truck for $3.85 a gallon which is about 30 cents a gallon cheaper than anywhere nearby. The marina is a little off the beaten path up the San Sebastian River but still within walking distance of downtown if you like to walk!
Pam & I took the opportunity to use the marinas 3 wheel bicycle to go to Winn Dixie and West Marine a few blocks down the street. Unfortunately the camera was buried under groceries by the time we thought of taking a picture. That evening we went next door to Hurricane Patty's for a drink and dinner. When we arrived the place was packed. We managed to get a drink but finding a place to sit for dinner looked pretty grim. Finally the manager found us a table in a corner next to the stage. Yep. I said stage. Wednesday night is karaoke night! Much to our surprise these people were GOOD! There may have been only 1 or 2 mediocre singers in the group and it was a big group. The DJ had them on a 2 hour rotation. I'm sure some of these folks had sung professionally in the past.
Pam & I enjoyed the singing and the meal was good making for a great night!

Hurricane Patty's

San Sebastian River.

Thursday 5/17/12     After a lazy morning we floated on the tide back down the San Sebastian to the ICW. We turned toward downtown St. Augustine and the City Marina to be in position for daughter Angela's and her husband Doug's arrival. The benefit of the City Marina is that it's right in the heart of the historic district. You fall out of the boat and land in history.

Our company arrived later in the afternoon and settled in for a 3 night stay to celebrate Ange's birthday. During their stay we of course checked out the sights on a trolley tour. Walked the historic district. Found a candy store. Ate at Osteen's restaurant where my mother ate her first shrimp many years ago. Went to the beach. And of course played a couple of games of dominoes. Some pictures of our time together.

Tourists

Candy Little Girl?

Trolley Riders

Ange & Doug

Heading to the beach

Beachcombers

Good Shrimp

Birthday Girl!

Daughter & Dad

Why is it that time goes so fast when you're with the ones you care the most about? All too soon it was time for Ange & Doug to head back home. Although their visit was short it was great to see them and spend time with them on our turf.
We'll spend the rest of Sunday getting ready to head north all while keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Alberto who just formed off the Carolina coast.