Cape May

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Spa Creek, Annapolis

Spa Creek, Annapolis

Spa Creek, Annapolis

Spa Creek, Annapolis

Spa Creek, Annapolis

Caslvet Marina, Solomons

Reedville

Portsmouth Basin

Portsmouth Basin

Portsmouth Basin

Coinjock

 

We get an early start before the winds pick up crossing the Albermarle Sound.  The Sound is quite shallow and an east or west wind can make it very rough. Nice clam morning.

Flat boring Albermarle Sound, Nice !  We make good time and are approaching Coinjock around noontime.  Coinjock is on the Virginia Cut which we travel on heading north in the spring time. In the Fall we take the alternate route south through the Dismal Swamp. In the Fall Coinjock is mobbed with the southernly migration since most boaters prefer the Virgina Cut.

I get on the radio asking to dockage and am told they will not have space for us on the Coinjock side of the canal.  They have some alternative docks on the other side of the canal.  I think they were just have fun with us. When we arrive 10 minutes later there is plenty of space, especially since it is the middle of the day.

We have lunch on the boat and have showers ashore. Later in the afternoon the dock start to fill up and they pack the boat in pretty tight. The current can move very fast through here making is hard to get off the dock when we are hemmed in.  We walk down to the far end of the long face dock and find “Privateer”, Greg and Lisa Smith, who we first meet a couple years ago in the Bahamas. They are from Rhode Island and live full time on their large trawler.  Then we walk to the other end of the dock and talk with  Bill and Cindy “Leto” a yellow tug we met at Alligator marina.

We had dinner at the restaurant here that is famous for their roast beef.  We have never care for it, so we split Shrimp and Grits.  Ok but not as good as Rams Head use to be.

We ask the boat ahead of us what time they are leaving in the more. We need to leave early and so are they. Easier if they leave the dock ahead of us. Great Bridge is opening every 2 hours, not the usual every hour for maintenance  There are a couple other bridges that are difficult to time under normal circumstances without wasting time waiting for openings. 

Alligator Marina

 Up at 7:00 and on the "road" by 8:00am Cool morning. Warms up nicely as we cruise through the Alligator-Pungo Canal to the Alligator River.

Alligator river

We are passed by a number of small tug-style Trawlers as we head north up the Alligator river.

We have never stayed at the Alligator Marina. Since this is probably our last trip through here by boat, we make a sharp left turn after we pass through the Alligator swing bridge and head to the marina. We arrive around 4:00PM and head to the fuel dock. No one is there.  We tie up and walk to the office and find it is self serve.

Google earth view of the Alligator marina with our blue tracks coming and going

We head back to the office to pay for our fuel and to get a dock assignment. I wanted to stay along the face dock, which is much easier than the finger docks on the opposite side of the basin.  I am told some larger boats are coming in later and will placed on the face dock. Of course no other boat show up this evening.

They assign to a dock at the end of the dock against the bulkhead which will make leaving this small basin difficult.  I go back ask for a more assessable dock in the middle.

View from the fuel dock

After we tie up on the finger docks we head back to the marina “restaurant” for their “famous” fried chicken for dinner.

After dinner with visit with our dock mates on both side of us and get tours of their Tug Trawlers. Got to find out what the fake smoke stack was for.  It allows head room to walk up to the pilot house from the solon. One coupe is from Marblehead Mass and our heading home.

Belhaven

Past Tracks by Adams Creek

After a long day yesterday we don't get up until 7:30AM and don't leave until 8:30. All the other boats in the anchorage are gone. Beautiful, sunny day and two well rested sailors. Not much wind early on we are motor sailing with just the jib out and the wind on our stern. We are quickly on the wide Neuse River under rather

RE Mayo Marine Supplies and Frozen fish

In the afternoon the wind picks up out of the northwest, on the nose on some points of sail as we cross the Pamlico River and then head north up the Pungo River. By the time we get to Behaven, around 4:00PM it is getting rather windy, bit nice temperature We anchor close the the west shore to lessen the fetch and have a rather calm evening even with all the wind.

We get a text from our son Dana that his wife Lori has had a seizure and was in the emergency room.  We call back later, but no test results, yet.  Lori seems fine now and has no history of seizures.

Shower and in bed by 10:30

Adams Creek

to Adams Creek Video

(On PC full screen "lower right zoom")
(On phone/tablet full screen "pinch-zoom")

We are up a 4:00 AM and pull the anchor at 5:00. Full Moon makes it easy getting out of the harbor. Even so I turn on the radar incase some dark hulled boat does not have their anchor light on. 

 

Wrightville Beach anchorage looking south at the Full Moon

 

More Moon

 

Who needs the sun with this moon ?

Linda

Sunrise

Belladventure

 

 As we approach Beaufort, NC "Privateer", who we meet on our last trip, passes us.  I have been watching them on AIS, gaining on us all afternoon and have been texting them during the day.

Privateer

Extremely flat sea, just gent swells. Linda was concerned about how rough it would be and took meclizine and made her rather sleepy. The latter 1/3 of the trip the winds picked up on the nose and I had to put up some vinyl to stay dry from the waves. We go all the way to Adams Creek and anchor around 7:00PM between the crab pots.

 

 

 

Wrightsville Beach

to Wrightsville Beach Video

(On PC full screen "lower right zoom")
(On phone/tablet full screen "pinch-zoom")

 

Leaving St. James Planation

 

 

We leave at 7:00 am to try to catch the last of the flood current up the Cape Fear River. Nice day, but still a little cool. Currents were mostly in our favor and we arrive at noontime. We have made a date for dinner at Tower 7 a favorite Mexican restaurant with Roger and Chrisy since we all planned to be here today.

 

Cape Fear Ferry

 

Container ship heading to Wilmington, NC

 

When we pull into the anchorage we see Belladventure anchored. They had just done an overnight from Fernandina and just anchored about an hour before us. I don’t bother them since I assume they are sleeping. I put the dinghy in the water and wash a very dirty water line. We met Roger and Chrisy for dinner around 5:00. We were a little worried it would be too crowded not realizing before hand this is Cinco De Mayo, but no problem we get seats.

 

 

Bellaventure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roger and Chrisy's boat (dark hull)

 

Back at the boat with pack up for an very early start tomorrow. We have good weather for going off shore to Beaufort, NC which will save us 2-3 days in the ICW. Will not have wind for sailing, but motoring will be good. Belladventure and another boat they traveled with for a couples days will be making the same run.

St. James Plantation

Cool morning on the ICW

We leave at 7:00am for a long run to St. James Plantation. We have another cool and windy day in the ICW. We get into the Marina at 4:00PM and first fuel up and pumpout, before heading to our slip. Filled the water tanks and plugged into dock power, we are going to need heat tonight.

We have dinner at “315” the new restaurant at the Marina. We have another good dinner. The old restaurant “Tommy Thompson” was a little better, but Covid did them in. 

Sockateese Bridge

Barefoot Landing Bridge

Sailing Trumpster

St. James Plantation

 

Osprey Marina, Charla

I work on fixing problems I have been having with my iPads. Reload Aquamaps on the New iPad Air 5 and do a factory reset of my old iPad Air2 and just install Aquamaps. Both are working much better in the following days.

Linda does laundry and then after lunch we get our propane can topped off.

Linda does laundry We met Charla at Texas Road House. Since her son and girl friend who both live with her are Vegans, she has a craving for a steak. We tell her to get a big one since we are buying dinner and she has lots of left overs. We have a good visit. 

 

Nile, Charla & Linda

 After we return the car to Enterprise and Uber back to the Marina. We clean up the boat to prepare to leave in the morning. 

Evening at Osprey

 

Osprey Marina

  Prince Creek to Osprey Video

(On PC full screen "lower right zoom")
(On phone/tablet full screen "pinch-zoom")

We have a relaxing morning since we only have a short distance to go to Osprey Marina. Cool morning so I make muffins to heat up the boat a little. We only have 9 miles or so to go and are at Osprey be 10:30. We get and easy docking this time on one side of the fuel dock. We take showers and have lunch on the boat. 

Leaving Prince Creek

Osprey always gives a guest goodie bag, which I am amazed they still do since they are the least expensive marina on the ICW. They goodie bag has less in it each time we stop, but we still get a jar of Pepper Jam, which we always rave about. I buy an Osprey medium shirt, had to take it off the wall display since all folded shirts are XXL. The manager comes out the door after I walked out and she tells me they over charged me $1.00 and hands me another jar of Pepper Jam to compensate me.

We take an Uber to Enterprise to rent a car at 1:00PM. Enterprise no longer “picks you up” unless you live next door. We go to Costco (first time this year) and Best Buy to get a better charger for my iPad Air 5.

Back at the boat we put everything away. We do not hear back from Charla until later and she says tomorrow night would be better for her for dinner. So we head out to Red Robin for a quick dinner. We have never been to a Red Robin, don’t need to go out of my way to do that again. Another stop at Walmart and Food Lion and then back to the boat.

 

Manana on the gas dock, an easy in and out

 

Prince Creek

Isle of  Palms to Prince Creek Video

(On PC full screen "lower right zoom")
(On phone/tablet full screen "pinch-zoom")

We are off the dock by 7:00am. Sunny but cool morning morning. Very windy, but out of the southeast. Currents and wind was mostly in our favor today. When we get on the lower Wacamaw River the current is against us, but with a partial head sail out we are traveling north more than one knot over our normal cruising speed of 6 knots. This is with nearly one knot of current against us. One gust hits us pretty hard and slide knocks my laptop to the floor which I thought was somewhat secure.

Flying up the Wacamaw

We detour off the ICW to Prince Creek an anchorage we have never stopped at before, very remote and quiet. Mark and Karen continue on a couple miles more to an easier, less remote anchorage. We drop anchor at 5:30 after doing 75 miles today.

School Bus on the Wacamaw

Prince Creek all to our selves