The Neuse was Nice

The Neuse River is one of our least favorite bodies of water. It seems no matter when we navigate it, the winds are blowing the wrong way, the tidal current is against us and it is basically a sloppy and bumpy ride. Today, for some strange reason, was the complete opposite which we were delighted to see and enjoy. Today, the Neuse was nice!

Our run from River Dunes to Coinjock was 124 miles of mostly free-running waterway with very few areas that we had to slow down except when passing another boat. We also saw our share of shrimp boats, barges and tugs along the way. We traveled down the Neuse River, up the Pungo River, across the long canal that connects to the Alligator River, over the Albemarle Sound, and back into the ICW before arriving in Coinjock five and a half hours later.

Coinjock, for those unfamiliar with these parts, is a small, no make that really small spot right on the waterway with a very long face dock where they stack the boats tightly bow to stern. They have fuel, provisions and a dockside restaurant that is "known" for its 32 oz prime rib. It's so popular, you actually have to reserve it advance. So as to not upset my doctors, I will opt for something a little lighter in fare for dinner tonight.

At Dock in River Dunes

Shrimp Boat taking the day off

80 foot tug pushing a 300 foot barge

Weekend on the Water

Weekends on the water are always nice unless you happen to be trying to "make time" going north on the Intracoastal Waterway. Then, it's a different story.

We left Wrightsville Beach bright and early this morning in order to clear a couple of bridges before high tide set in. We came close to the first bridge, but after dropping our two VHF antennas on the top deck were able to sneak under with about 8 inches of clearance. The other two bridges had to be opened regardless, but timing the opening when they are miles apart is always an adventure. Bridge tenders don't tend to wait or give you much of a grace period. We made the Onslow Beach Bridge opening with literally just one minute to spare!

After passing that last bridge we entered the waterway running through Camp Lejeune, the US Marine military base which includes passing through a "live firing range" with targets near the water. I've never cared much for this even though they give you ample warning in event of an actual firing. I mean, what if someone is having a bad day or just wants to screw around with you???

As we entered Bouge Sound approaching Moorehead City and Beaufort NC, there was a ridiculous amount of small fishing boats (like 150 of them) heading toward us for what had to be over an hour. It seems today was a major charity fishing tournament and obviously the folks from North Carolina turned out in droves. Since Endless Summer produces a 4 foot wake and can create a fair amount of damage to smaller vessels, I had no other choice but to go slow and be respectful of the other folks on the water. Damn!

As we approached out final destination at River Dunes in Oriental NC, we were able to connect with a good friend and professional Captain Keith Mackey as they cruised down the Neuse River. It was a very fortuitous timing to meet like this after almost 6 hours on the water, but a fun opportunity to take pictures and chat on the radio about the day's travel.

Tomorrow, we head to Coinjock NC -- yes, Coinjock. But more on that later.

Camp Lejeune Firing Range

Target Practice 

Really?

"Southern Style"

Two Days Today

Thought I would catch you up on the past two days today which were mostly uneventful and routine (the way I like it!)

Wednesday night in Charleston was delightful as always. We had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Circa 1886, which is part of the Wentworth Mansion. While the Inn is about a "southern" as they come, Circa 1886 offers an incredibly inspired menu mixing old style southern cooking with a modern flavors and accents. Charleston is probably my second favorite city for great food after New York.

Thursday morning we departed Charleston bright and early and continued along the ICW toward Myrtle Beach. While much of the day was routine in nature, it also included the northerly run up the Waccama River, perhaps one of the prettiest parts of the entire trip. I can only describe it as "serene" with it's meandering turns, cypress tree lined shore and for the most part, uninhabited. You can't help but slow down and take it all in.

We arrived at Grand Dunes Marina in Myrtle Beach where we met my cousin and his wife for dinner. One of the nice things about this marina (and one of the reason I choose it), is there is a Ruth's Chris Steak House right at the docks. Since much of our dining fare along the water is fried seafood and bar bites, it's always nice to take advantage of something a little more upscale. Perfect!

Today we left Myrtle Beach and worked our way to Wrightsville Beach, NC. While again, a rather uneventful day, there were lots and lots of areas where we had to take it slow (no wake) due to other  boats in the water, marinas and personal docks attached to homes. I always try to be courteous about these "obstacles"but  I must have have raised and lowered my speed over 100 times today. I am beat!

We arrived In Wrightsville Beach relatively early which gave us time to clean things up, do the laundry, fill up with fresh water and even relax a little before dinner. Often when you dock your boat along the ICW, you end up wedged in between other boats. Today we had to tuck our rather paltry 52 foot transom under the bow of a 120 foot mega yacht. Yikes!

The Captain and Admiral in front of the Wentworth Mansion

Circa 1886 -- Fine Dining in Charleston

Charleston Sunset over the Ashley River

Neatly tucked under a 120 foot mega yacht!

The Nina, The Pinta, and the "Endless Summer"?

Today was one of the coolest days on the water I have ever experienced.

We left Hilton Head under perfectly clear skies with the morning sunshine dancing on the water. Our destination was Charleston, SC where I was some somewhat anxious to have to Cummins Engine folks meet me. It seems we have developed a small (and slow) oil leak from one of the Zeus pod drives. Engines and drives on boats aren't supposed to leak, and I know enough about boats to know what I don't know. Time to call in the experts!

So what is so cool about that?

Well, as we were transiting the many rivers and cuts along the South Carolina ICW, we were about to enter Fields Cut when Rachel spotted something off in the distance that just didn't look right. Now we see all manner of boats, ships barges and tugs as we cruise, but as she peered through her high power binoculars, said this was something very different. As we got closer we soon realized we were coming up on a pair of "tall ships" painted black and very, very old (at least in design). When the time came to pass them through a relatively narrow cut, Rachel said the name on the first ship was Pinta and the second one was Nina. WHAT???

Sure enough, just about that time, I see their names op up on the AIS (Automatic Identification System) confirming Rachel's rather stunned assessment.  These two ships are exact replicas of Columbus' sailing ships to America (sans the Santa Maria) that are touring the United States waters as a "floating museum". If your interested, here is the link to the Columbus Foundation and the planned stops of the ships over the next few months. http://www.thenina.com I guess they didn't build a replica of the Santa Maria since she sunk on her return visit to Spain.

Now THAT was cool!

We arrived in Charleston in good time and after fighting a very strong current and cross wind while docking Endless Summer, fueled and cleaned her from the days run. All in all, a great day on the water.

The engine tech showed up right on schedule and confirmed that while the leak would need to be repaired, it could wait until we reached our final destination in Connecticut. Just have to keep a close eye on it and make sure to keep the fluids topped off after each stop. I can do that.

The weather forecast for tomorrow looks good so we will make way for Myrtle Beach.

Making Time

After a relatively restless night due to strong winds and waves beating the side of the boat, we opted for an early morning departure from Jekyll Creek Marina. While the skies were still looking ominous this morning with winds 15-20 mph gusting to 30 mph, there wasn't any rain in the forecast and in fact hinted at some sunshine later in the day.

With Jekyll Creek at high tide we cruised through safely and without issue -- the best way! As we progressed along the ICW for the next few hours, the winds continued but seemed to be mostly in our favor. I say "mostly" because today we crossed through the meandering Georgia waterway, rivers and sounds where you go all sort of different directions -- north, west, east, even south on occasion! But we really like this day on the water with all its interesting twists and turns, waterfowl and marine life to enjoy along the way.

And then there was Moon River.

When Rachel and I were first dating (1966), the song "Moon River" was popular and for some reason became "our song". The actual Moon River is located in Georgia just south of Savannah which we passed through today. And so we did the only appropriate thing and cued up Andy Williams on the stereo and enjoyed reminiscing about those "two drifters off to see the world".

With very few boats on the water today and only a few required slow down sections, we made very good time and were in Savannah GA by 1:00 pm -- WAY ahead of schedule.

Decision time. -- do we take advantage of the good conditions and press on to Hilton Head or call it an early day and spend the afternoon in Savannah (Thunderbolt)?  The advantage of continuing was getting a head start on our next day's trip to Charleston where I have some service work scheduled in the afternoon. The advantage of stopping was.... well.... not much. So on we went.

Hilton Head took the brunt of Hurricane Mathew last Fall and is still recovering from significant damage. But we were able to find dockage just to the north at Skull Creek Marina (have no idea why they call it that) and are tied up, cocktail in hand and cooking dinner on board tonight.

The meandering Georgia waterway

Great conditions for a great run

Moon River

Time & Tide

We left Palm Coast this morning at 8:00am and headed north through St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach and into the waters of south Georgia. The weather and seas were mostly cooperative with partly cloudy skies and a brisk western wind. We made great time and mostly had the waterway to ourselves. Nice!

Even though the intracoastal Waterway is mostly well managed, there are a number of places (especially cuts and creeks) where the water can get very skinny. Add to that a tidal swing of up to 6 to 8 feet in some spots and you soon learn that time and tide are as much a part of planning and navigating as actually driving the boat!

When I was planning out our trip about a month ago, I decided to look forward in time to a few places where I knew the tide might be a problem. One such place that always presents a challenge is Jekyll Creek just south of Brunswick, GA. In this rather short passage you can find water depths to as low as 3.5 feet with the channel only 20 feet wide. To put that in perspective, Endless Summer draws 4.0 feet of water and is almost 16 feet wide (beam). So to put her through a very small eye of the needle is not my idea of a good time.

I knew we would be arriving at the entrance to Jekyll Creek today at dead low tide, so we made plans well in advance to stay at Jekyll Harbor Marina for the night. While we are dealing with a strong west wind and current banging up the side of the boat, we are happy to be here and safely tucked in for the night.

Tomorrow morning, we will depart Jekyll Harbor Marina at HIGH TIDE, which is almost 7 feet higher than when we arrived today and will casually and comfortably navigate the creek in route to Savannah (Thunderbolt), GA.

LOW tide at Jekyll Creek Entrance (-9 feet)

Ominous skies and strong west winds

Day One Done

I never sleep well the night before we leave on a long journey.

Did I check all the systems, are the engine fluids topped off, is the generator ready to go, are all the sea strainers cleaned,  is everything running as it should, is anything leaking, is our safety gear accessible if needed, is the weather forecast accurate? These and so many other questions ramble through my head -- unfortunately, at 3:00 in the morning!

By all my tossing and turning was for naught, as we got underway from Cocoa this morning and headed north on the first day of our 1,450 mile run up the east coast. It was overcast but with relatively calm winds which made for very flat water on the ICW. It was a good start!

Being Sunday in Florida, I fully expected lots and lots of recreational boaters, jet skies, fishermen, and other sundry watercraft out to enjoy the day. But perhaps with the overcast skies and it being the end of Spring break for many locales, it wasn't all that bad. Even with multiple NO WAKE zones (got to protect those Manatees), we made excellent time and arrived in Palm Coast six and half hours later.

Endless Summer was thirsty so we gave her a drink of 200 gallons of diesel and tucked her into the slip for the night. A quick wash down to remove the salt spray and then it was off to the showers and dinner for us.

All in all, a good first day!

My Happy Place

In case there is any question about who is running things!

Getting Underway - Spring 2017

We have enjoyed having the boat over on the East coast of Florida for the past few weeks and being close to home. It has given me a chance to take care of some needed service work and repairs as well as prepare and provision for the trip north.

Having made this trip multiple times, we have selected a few of our favorite places to stop along the way as well as a few new spots to check out going north. As always when transiting the Intracoastal Waterway, the weather and tide play a role in how far we go each day and where we need to extra careful. Hurricane Mathew last Fall has caused a lot of damage along the coast and many places are still recovering.

It looks like the weather is going to cooperate for the first part of the journey so we should be off and underway first thing Sunday morning. If all goes according to plan, we will be on the water a little over two weeks and be in Essex Connecticut on May 7th (plus or minus a few days!)

It's time to continue our "Endless Summer"

East Coast Home

Today we completed our brief venture (or perhaps I might say "adventure") from Longboat Key to Cocoa. We departed Stuart this morning at 8 am and proceeded down the St. Lucie River to the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) were we turned north for the next 96 miles.

Sunset Bay Marina - Stuart 

It was a beautiful morning, sun filled sky and a light breeze out of the NE. All in all, it should have been a perfect day -- with one problem. It was Saturday and every weekend boater, fisherman, jet skier, kayaker, pontoon boater, cruiser was also on the water. Since I go out of my way to be courteous (and avoid any potential liability) I always slow down for any vessel smaller than Endless Summer. Today was a day that I rarely got to run more a mile or two before having to drop back to minimum wake speed. Very frustrating but that's life on the water some days.

As we approached Melbourne, we noticed about 150 boats all at anchor just off the main ICW channel. Just as we were wondering what they were all doing, we soon saw 6 high speed jets fly at a low altitude overhead trailing a red, white and blue smoke plume. It seems the US Air Force Thunderbirds were putting on an air show today and we happened to be traveling right under them! Now, I actually wanted to go slow in order to watch these amazing airman fly in formation just feet apart from each other. Very cool!

We made it!

Before stopping at our final (but temporary) destination at Cocoa Village Marina, we picked up a few hundred gallons of diesel fuel in order to be ready for our departure later in April. We spent the afternoon giving Endless Summer a much need wash-down, and after cocktails and dinner on board, it's time to watch The Final Four.

Tomorrow we will go home to Orlando (by car!) for a few weeks before we start out once again heading north to New England for the summer.

The view from our stern at Cocoa Village Marina