Category Archives: Down East Loop

Southport, NC (Wednesday, 4/17)
Today started a bit crazy but ended on a fun note.  Denise started with a walk around the basin where there are actually three marinas: Myrtle Beach Yacht Club (MBYC), Coquina Marina, and Lightkeepers Marina.  There is a wooden boardwalk that wraps around the basin and is overlooked by several condominiums. Total distance completely around the semi-circle is 2 miles. Great way to start a day.

Sunrise over the ICW – near MBYC

What made it so crazy is that Denise had 2 conference calls in the morning, and we had to get them done before leaving Myrtle Beach.  The second call was to start at 10:30 and we were supposed to be out of MBYC by 11:30.  While Denise was on her calls, Mark put up our new AGLCA Gold Looper Burgee, as well as the new Down East Circle Loop burgee.  Along with the MTOA burgee, we now have 3 flying on the bow.

New burgees flying in the breeze

Denise’s call only took 45 minutes, so with 15 minutes to spare we were able to get off the dock and be on our way up the ICW to Southport, NC.

The weather was really nice; a bit cool but with a light south wind. It was a perfect day to go offshore, but Mark estimated it wouldn’t save us much time and going out the Little River Inlet looked a bit treacherous. Since we only had 30+ miles to go we opted to stay on the ICW and navigated around the recently dredged areas of Little River and Shallotte Inlets, and the not-yet-dredged and shoaling Lockwood Folly.  Along the way we crossed into the state of North Carolina, but since there is no Welcome Center we hardly even noticed.

Near entrance to Little River

At this point we passed a lot of houses and numerous small boats with families; guessing some kids are out of school as there seemed to be lots of families. Although the River is wider here, the ICW channel is still narrow and the barrier islands to the east and small inlets make for great kayaking and other personal watercraft. Passing is tedious and the constant slowing down is frustrating.  There is also the derelict boats to watch for like this one in Holden Beach that has been there for years.

Trying to pass this sailboat near Sunset Beach

Derelict boat still – Holden Beach

We passed by St. James Plantation and their marina entrance; a place we have earmarked to stay at one of these days. However, it is so close to the town of Southport and we love this town that we always seem to go right past it.

St James Plantation Homes

St. James Plantation Marina entrance

Eventually we came to Southport where we had slip reservations for the night.  There was still time left in the working day so both Denise and Mark returned a few phone calls and dealt with items for clients.  Later in the afternoon, we were sitting on the boat and watched a large sailboat crash into the pilings and nearly hit a docked boat as they attempted to get into a slip. The wind had picked up and the captain could not control the boat.  It was a scary site for us as we were two slips away. Fortunately, they got away without too much damage and ended up on the fuel dock as they were leaving early the next day. Every boater dreads the day this could happen to them

Sailboat crashing into nearby boat

In the evening went to hear a presentation on what to expect when cruising north on the ICW, or Offshore, all the way to Norfolk. Hank Pomeranz is the lecturer and provides valuable information to boaters about weather, the tides for the next 24 hours, and what to expect. He does this every night in the spring and fall out of the goodness of his heart, doing all the research that day and providing the latest forecasts, bridge issues and ICW conditions. We attended the first time in 2017 and we were glad we attended again as things change.  Plus he was kind enough to give us a ride to the restaurant as we were running late. Mr. P’s Bistro is a place we have wanted to eat at, but can never seem to get in as its small and usually booked up. But luckily we were able to make reservations and had a delicious dinner.  We highly recommend this place if you are ever in Southport.

Mr. P’s Bistro

From dinner we walked back to the marina and went to visit Steven and Carol on “Seabird”, another Back Cove 37 – who were also at Hank’s lecture.  They were going to head offshore in the morning in the interest of avoiding the shoals of the ICW, and the nightmare bridge at Onslow beach (with its restrictive openings) in the Camp Lejeune area. The weather and seas looked very favorable, so after spending some time getting to know a little bit about each other, we agreed to go with them. We set plans to leave at 6:30 in the morning going up the ICW to Masonboro Inlet and then out to the Atlantic Ocean.

 Beaufort, NC (Thursday, 4/18)
As planned, we left Southport at 6:30 in the morning and headed north up the ICW for about an hour.  We first had to pass a narrow and shoaling area called Snow’s Cut, but we hit it at a good time and had no issues.  From there we cruised around the Carolina Beach area and inlet where we did see some debris in the water.

Flotsam in water near Carolina Beach Inlet

Seabird following behind in the ICW

Shortly thereafter we made our way out Shinn Creek and through Masonboro Inlet into the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a beautiful calm day on the water, and we were able to cut through the Camp Lejeune restricted area buoys as there were no live fire exercises going on.

Leaving Masonboro Inlet

Leaving Masonboro Inlet – Wrightsville Beach shoreline

Camp Lejeune restricted area buoy

We had an uneventful passage with “Seabird” following right behind us into Beaufort Inlet.

Seabird Offshore NC coast

As we approached the inlet it was a little choppy and we passed very close to an inbound fishing boat named “Jessica Marie” – like one of Denise’s niece.

“Jessica Marie”

Once inside the harbor opens up and we took the channel towards Beaufort and into our slip at Homer Smith Marina; two down from “Seabird”.  We settled the boat and checked into the marina where we met Tony Frost, the owner.  He and his son run this place; half marina and half seafood processor and market (more on this later).  We then sat down to eat lunch as it was just barely noon.  Had we taken the ICW we would still be underway.

Seabird and IO at Homer Smith Marina

Right after we arrived we received an invitation to join other “Loopers” for “docktails” on Herb Seaton’s boat (“Phantom”). Herb is an AGLCA member, on his third Loop, and is the Tarpon Springs Harbor Host. He knew we were in Beaufort as we all use an app called NEBO, which tracks our boat’s progress and alerts if AGLCA members are in the vicinity.  We agreed to attend and responded we would be there.

Mark had a little bit of work to do in the afternoon, and Denise went for a walk around the marina – looking for the way to the marina where we thought Herb’s boat was (Beaufort Yacht Haven). We later discovered that he was at Beaufort Town Docks in the downtown area; not next door, but a short walk away.  During her reconnaissance however, she stopped by a fishing boat and talked to two of the deck hands (Max and Aaron).  The “Alexandria Dawn” had an engine issue and came in to the marina for the repair. The deckhands were from New Jersey, so having experience boating the Jersey coast (and because she never meets a stranger) Denise spent time talking to them. They discussed their love for the outdoors, fishing for swordfish (their specialty), being offshore and the forthcoming bad weather.  The guys were headed back to New Jersey so they had chores to get done, and Denise had to get back to the boat so they said good-bye, but not before allowing a picture.

Aaron & Max on the Alexandria Dawn

We walked to Front Street in downtown Beaufort and found “Phantom”. Having never met Herb, we introduced ourselves and were welcomed aboard.  Soon several Loopers followed including people from boats “Sunset Drifter”, “Dona Pacem” (whose boat we saw at MBYC), “Balahula”, and “Jealous Mistress”.  All of these people were on their first Loop and are headed up to Norfolk for the AGLCA Rendezvous in May. We were the only “Gold Loopers” so they had lots of questions and wanted to know all the cool places to go.  They were like sponges and we loved being able to share information from our experiences.  We exchanged boat cards and 2.5 hours later finally left to go get some dinner.  We were not interested in anything fancy, and ended up at the Spouter Restaurant for a quick dinner before walking back to our marina.

Dinner on 4-18 – Spouter Restaurant

Beaufort, NC (Friday, 4/19)
The weather was forecasted to get really windy and thunderstorms were expected by the end of the day.  Before it got too bad Denise went for a short run downtown in the surrounding streets, taking pictures of the quaintness of this town.  It was really windy in that area, and we were grateful that we were on the northern side of town in an area that would be mostly blocked by the harsh winds. Here are some pictures of the town:

Downtown Beaufort – Front Street

Front Street at Sunrise

Beaufort home from 1843

Old Burying Groud

Beaufort Inn

Construction Site Memorial

Carteret County Courthouse

Easton House Circa 1771

After breakfast we had the great idea to jump on the laundry before the weather got too bad.  The good news is that it is free here. The bad news is that a lot of other people had the same idea and there is only one washer and one dryer.  Since we did not want to be laundry hogs, we settled on a couple of loads of necessities and decided the rest could wait for another day. So, while Denise took care of the laundry, Mark used the marina loaner car to go to the Ace Hardware.  We had broken our shower handle and needed a replacement, and it is a standard item found in just about any store. Thank you Back Cove for making it an affordable repair item.

While attending to the laundry, Denise talked with Tony (owner) about the marina and the seafood processing business.  She learned that there really was a Homer Smith; he was Tony’s father-in-law. When he passed away he purchased the business from his mother-in-law and he (and now his son Matt run the place. He continues to expand the marina and they have plans to add a shower house and cruiser’s lounge this summer. One of the benefits of having the seafood business is that after processing, they have fresh seafood at really good prices that can be purchased before it is shipped out.  So we got 2 lbs. of very fresh jumbo shrimp and made plans to have this for our Good Friday dinner.

Fishing boat after offloading catch

Fresh shrimp for dinner

This is definitely our favorite place to stay in the area and we will come back here on our way home in the fall.  Here are some pictures of the surrounding area.

Dock monitor in marina office

IO at Homer Smith

Homer Smith Marina

In the afternoon the weather continued to deteriorate as the day wore on, with winds really picking up.  Denise had wanted to go back to the downtown area to do some shopping, while Mark did some work and took a brief nap.

In the evening we got together with Steve and Carol (“Seabird”) for drinks and to get to know each other better, then we cooked up the shrimp with some rice and carrots and settled in for the night. It had started to rain and the wind was really howling.   It was going to be an interesting night and we were glad to be in a secured marina.

Carol & Steven Argosy – “Seabird”

Beaufort, NC (Saturday, 4/20)
The wind howled all night long and the rain loudly pelted our cabin top.  We both woke up several times just to make sure things were ok.  Fortunately, they had lifted all the tornado watches in our area, but it was still loud.

Finally after being unable to sleep, Denise got up and worked a bit on email and this blog. Just as the sun was coming up (and the rain had stopped) she went and put in another load of laundry, this time with no waiting line.

After breakfast Denise worked on cataloging pictures and trying to get this blog caught up.  Mark began a project to try and fix the slow leak from the hot water heater.  In the process of tightening the offending connector to the plumbing line, the plastic part cracked and now the project was a bit bigger. Luckily he had a replacement, but had to get the old one off the water heater.  With a little help of some of the fellow boaters in the marina, including Darryl (sailboat “Brigadoon” next to us) and Steve (“Seabird”), they managed to get it all fixed.  We get by with a little help from our friends!

Hot Water Heater repair

Steve helping on the project

When we saw that the weather was not going to be conducive to us leaving for New Bern on Saturday, we made sure we could stay an extra day in Beaufort.  However that now meant we had to find a church for Easter Sunday here in the Beaufort/Morehead City area.  Since we have been here before we knew that there is only one church and it is not far from the marina, but does require a car.  The challenge was that because it was Easter, they were only having one mass on Sunday at 10:00 am and it was going to be in the Civic Center. The church is just too small to hold the crowds. We considered leaving early for New Bern on Sunday and just go to mass when we get there. However, that would make it really tight and we would have to also allow time to get a cab to the airport, pick up the rental car, and get to mass before the last service.  That was not a good plan (if something will go wrong it will), so our only option was to go to the Easter Vigil at 8:00 pm.

We secured the marina loaner car early and used it to drive to City Kitchen; a restaurant we ate at the first time we visited the area.  It was nearby and gave us sufficient time to have a great meal and to still get to church. We then were able to get to St. Egbert’s with lots of time to spare.  Unlike our church at home, attendance for the vigil had the church at about 80% capacity.  The Easter Vigil at this church (which is a long service usually) was also done in parts in both English and Spanish and took 2.5 hours.  It was nearly 11:00 pm. when we got back to the boat – way into double digits and past our bedtime!

Marina Loaner Car

Dinner at City Kitchen

St. Egbert’s

Myrtle Beach, SC (Tuesday, 4/16)
This past weekend Denise had been mentioning how hot it seemed to be compared to last trips north on our boat. Well today all that changed.  Yesterday’s winds ushered in much cooler weather and we woke up to temperatures in the low 50’s.  It was the first day to wear long pants for Denise.

We had planned a long day on the water and wanted to get an early start. We had to go through an area in McClellanville that has a large shoal area encroaching on the ICW channel and needed as much water as possible.  Because of the timing of high and low tides and the time it would take us to get up to this area, we needed to leave as early as possible.

With that in mind, we left Bristol Marina before the sun was even up and headed out the Ashley River to Charleston Harbor.  We passed by the City Marina where we saw the Carolina Queen docked, and we saw more cranes working on new construction projects. Oh how this city has changed.  We also were treated to a gorgeous sunrise over clear skies.

Carolina Queen at Charleston City Marina

New development cranes over Charleston

Sunrise over Charleston City Marina

With little water traffic at this time of day we quickly made our way across Charleston Harbor and picked up the ICW channel at the end of Sullivan’s Island.  Here there is a no-wake zone so it is slow going for a while, but we could speed up until we got to Isle of Palms. We keep saying we want to stay here one time, but with free dockage at Bristol Marina it is hard not to always stay in the heart of Charleston.

Shortly after Isle of Palms we passed another dredge, but the crew had not yet started work for the day and we had no problem getting around them. The shoaling in this area has been bad because of the currents from the nearby inlet, and because of the recent hurricanes.  Fortunately, much of the ICW is now being dredged and this area is no exception.

Dredge just north of Isle of Palms

Through most of the morning we cruised through remote parts of low-country South Carolina. We passed by several remote homes, Clemson University’s Camp Sewee, and the Francis Marion National Forest Recreation Area.

Remote House in SC Low Country

Clemson’s Camp Sewee

Francis Marion Ntl Forrest Rec Area – Buck Hall

Eventually we came to McClellanville and at 3 hours before low tide saw shallow depths of 6 – 9 feet. Since we only require 3’6” (we like to say 4’ to be safe) we were ok, but we were still thankful we left Charleston early.  In 3 hours we may not have been able to pass this area at low tide, especially since today the tide was going to be lower than average by almost half a foot.

We made it through another shallow area further up the ICW, and then soon came to the floating “swing bridge” near the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center. This is really a barge (“Miss Ellie”) that moves across the ICW channel to form a bridge, enabling cars to cross.

Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center floating swing bridge

Next we entered into the Winyah Bay, a wide open area between the SC barrier islands and the ICW.  It was very windy and the boat got quite a lot of sea spray all over it. Although most of the morning we had been headed east, here we finally turned north (for a while) and passed the town of Georgetown.  We usually stay here for a day or two and enjoy the quaintness and fine hospitality of this great town, but not this trip.

Once across Winyah Bay, the ICW enters the Waccamaw River, with Pawleys Island to our right.  This is one of the prettiest parts of the river, with beautiful scenery, lots of birds and wildlife. We passed Wacca Wache Marina (where we stayed in 2017) and the nearby anchorage that had a few interesting boats.

Bird nestings on the Waccamaw River

Wacca Wache Marina

Anchorage near Wacca Wache Marina

Here the ICW begins getting narrower and there are houses with docks along the way, slowing our progress.  Much of this area was affected by high water during the hurricanes of 2017 and 2018 and many of the homes are being repaired or even totally rebuilt.

We came into an area known as Socastee where there is a swing bridge that has a 10’ height requirement, so we had to have it opened for us.

Socastee Swing Bridge

As luck would have it, they have an “open on demand” schedule and it took no time to get through.  The bridge operators in SC are really very friendly and our timing couldn’t have been more perfect.  Denise had a conference call scheduled for 3:00 and we needed to be near a place where she could take the call without the boat engine running.  Since some of the area had been slow going, it was going to be tight to make it to the marina in time for the call.  To add to this concern, we had to stop and get fuel at the marina before moving into our slip.  Every minute counted and waiting on a bridge or slowing for a fishing boat, sailboat, Jet Ski, etc. was creating a bit of stress.

In this part of the ICW, the channel is very narrow and there are houses all along.  As we moved north we passed the Barefoot Landing (east side), now re-developed into a bunch of high-end restaurants, and the Barefoot Landing Marina (west side); where we stayed for a week in 2017.

Barefoot Landing

Barefoot Landing Marina

Finally we reached the entrance to the channel to take us to the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club, with a clearly visible Governor’s Lighthouse as a landmark.

Governor’s Lighthouse – Landmark to MBYC

We headed straight to the fuel dock and just in time; Denise had nearly 5 minutes to get on the conference call while Mark took care of putting fuel on the boat.  He was also successful at getting the dockmaster to let us stay on the fuel dock until the call was over.  Once complete, we moved the boat to the slip for the night.  Mark gave the boat a good wash to get all the salt spray off of it while Denise cleaned up the inside (it is amazing how filthy it gets in such a short time).  We grabbed showers and walked over to Clark’s restaurant for dinner, which is right next door to the Yacht Club.

Myrtle Beach Yacht Club

Clark’s Restaurant

The Yacht Club was highly recommended by other cruisers who have had extended stays here and through MTOA – a cruising organization we belong to. In fact we met the MTOA Port Captain (Bud Lloyd) and his wife Elaine as we were heading out to dinner. Bud is the Assistant Dockmaster at the club and was the one who gave us permission to stay on the fuel dock for a little extra time.

We would have liked to enjoy  all the amenities of this club: a pool, nice surrounding areas and a restaurant (unfortunately closed on Mondays and Tuesdays), but our visit this time is only overnight.  Perhaps next time we come this way we can spend more time here.

After dinner we were going to take a walk around the marina, but the cool night air coupled with sheer exhaustion changed our plans. Instead we headed back to the boat for writing the blog, cataloging pictures and watching a little TV before calling it a night.

Here are some pictures from the MBYC and of the day:

Myrtle Beach Yacht Club pool

Yacht Club Pet stop

Artwork in womens restroom

Marinas and condos around MBYC

Hilton Head Island, SC (Saturday, 4/13)
Today started early as we had a lot of water to cover, but more importantly we had to get past some known shallow areas on the ICW when we still had the tides in our favor.  As soon as there was sufficient daylight, we pulled out of Jekyll Island Harbor Marina and headed north.

Just outside of Jekyll Creek, we passed the dredge getting ready to start for the day. This area is known for having “skinny water” (meaning shallow depth) as it shoals frequently from the tides of St. Simons Sound to its north. They have just started to dredge here, and even though we were 2.5 hours before low tide we still went slowly for fear of running aground.

Dredging Jekyll Creek

Once past the dredge we continued on at our usual cruising speed for 20 miles before turning up the Altamaha River to Two-Way Fish Camp.  As you can probably imagine, we are always shopping for reasonably priced fuel and this slight diversion was worth it.  If not for the cheap price, there is not much here; only a restaurant and a small marina with a few live boards in a very remote area. We filled the fuel tank and we were on our way back down the river to the ICW.

Two-Way Fish Camp Fuel Stop

Our cruise took us past Doboy Sound, Sapelo Island, and St. Catherine’s Sound and into an area known as Hells Gate*.  This area is very shoaled-up and we tried to make sure we did not go through here at low tide like we did when heading southbound in 2017; we saw less than 3 feet under our 3.5 foot boat at that time. Following the GPS coordinates and path shared by Bob423 (aka known as “Poughkeepsie Bob”) of Waterway Guide, we safely traversed the area without incident.

*Not to be confused with “Hells Gate” on the East River in NY, or near Boothbay Harbor in Maine.

Soon afterward we came to Mark’s least favorite part of the ICW in GA; Burnside Island and Skidaway Island. It’s a stretch of water that is all no wake zone as it is populated with docks with boats in the water. Usually there are lots of SPOREs (Stupid People on Rental Equipment) in the water and we have to judiciously navigate around them, especially on a Saturday.  But because the weather was not great, there were few people out; just a few hard-core fishing boats.

Fishing boats off ICW

We passed through Isle of Hope (a place we stayed at on our way to Maine in 2017), and shortly thereafter we came to Thunderbolt Marina, just south of Savannah.  We have yet to stay here on Island Office, but maybe we will on our way home in the fall. They are known for bringing you donuts and newspapers to your boat in the morning.

Thunderbolt Marina – near Savannah

We continued north passing the handful of marinas and soon crossed the Savannah River; a major shipping waterway, and today we had to slow to allow a big cargo ship to pass.

Crossing Savannah River

Once on the other side of the river, we had now entered into our second state: South Carolina where the ICW continues on its winding path.  We headed north, then east, then north until we had Daufuskie Island to our east, and shortly thereafter we rounded the northern part of the Island.  The channel opened up here into Calibogue Sound where we could see the southern part of Hilton Head Island and the Harbor Town Marina Lighthouse.

Harbor Town Marina – South end of Hilton Head

We continued cruising north until we came to Windmill Harbor Marina; our stopping point for the night.  This is one of our favorite stops along the way and the third visit.  The marina is surrounded by condos in a planned community and you must enter through a lock before docking. It is small and allows only one boat at a time, and we had to wait on another boat that had arrived just before us. However, the turnaround is quick and 15 minutes later we were parked in a slip in almost the same location as our first visit in 2014.

Entering WIndmill Harbor Marina

The boat was filthy from all the sea spray, so Mark did a quick rinse off while Denise cleaned up the interior. This is when she discovered that after less than a week on the boat, her sandalitis was back; yes, this is not dirt, its funky tan lines from the deck sandals she wears.

Sandalitis in only 5 days!

Quickly we raced to finish up and get an Uber ride to take us to St. Francis by the Sea Catholic Church for the 5:30 Palm Sunday mass.

St. Francis By The Sea

When mass was over we took another Uber back to the marina for dinner at the South Carolina Yacht Club, located directly across from where our boat was docked.

South Carolina Yacht Club

We ate here on our first visit (it was closed on our last visit – a Sunday and Monday) and we knew the food was good, so we were anxious to dine here again.  The meal did not disappoint.  We ate in the casual dining room (bar) of the Club and the staff was very friendly and unpretentious. It was not a typical stuffy yacht club and there were several families also enjoying their time there.  The food was great too!  We again discussed how we would like to come and stay here for longer than one or two nights.  After dinner we took the path along the marina to get to the other side where our bat was, and prepped for an early departure in the morning.

IO At Windmill Harbor Marina

Charleston, SC (Sunday, 4/14)
Today the weather was not so great and it was forecasted to get stormy by the afternoon.  We left Windmill Harbor Marina as soon as the lock opened at 8:00 am to overcast skies and threatening rain.

Denise driving as we left Hilton Head

The winds had picked up a bit and Denise was concerned about crossing the Port Royal Sound, north of Hilton Head.  It was a bit bumpy, but it only takes about 20 minutes to get across. However, the boat got a good spraying of saltwater again and we had to use the windshield wipers to see.

In no time we were in the protected waters and to our west was Parris Island; home of the US Marine base and where Denise’s dad did his basic training. The slogan on the water tower says it all; “We Make Marines”.

Parris Island Marine Base

Cruising along we saw the Port Royal Marina, the US Navy Hospital and the town of Beaufort (pronounced BYU-FORT – not to be confused with BOW-FORT, NC).

US Navy Hospital near Beaufort, SC

While in route, we passed the Carolina Queen and many houses with docks along the ICW.

Carolina Queen

Some of our other sights along the way included more small fishing boats (causing us to have to slow down), a Kayaker braving the winds, and a Fireman’s boathouse.  We agreed we need to get that sign for Shawn Edwards (husband of one of Denise’s nieces).

Kayaker near Beaufort, SC

Fireman’s Dockhouse near Beaufort, SC

We knew when we saw the tour pedaling boat (Saltwater Cycle) and the Charleston Crab House that we did not have that much further to go.  It wasn’t long before the ICW joined the Ashley River and we were looking straight at the Charleston City Marina.  Also visible were the cranes towering over new construction as the development of this great city is in full force.

Paddle like a bike to the Crab House

Charleston City Marina

We turned up the Ashley River and under the two bridges to the Bristol Marina where we purchased our boat in 2014; it felt like our boat coming home. But docking was quite a challenge as it was very windy and the current was running with it. However, Mark piloted the boat beautifully into the slip and with the assistance of two dockhands Denise got us all tied up; it was best she was not driving as she would have played bumper boats to get us in the slip.

IO at Bristol Marina

As this was home to our yacht broker as well, there were several new and previously-owned Back Cove Sabre yachts in the marina.  Additionally, there were several Pursuits, Tiara’s and even an old Hatteras yacht as these are the other brands represented by the broker.

Once tied up we walked the nearly quarter mile up to the marina and checked in. Afterwards we walked around the docks to see some of the other boats, including “Dot’s Deal” – a Sabre 45 that had just come on the market this week.  We liked this model, but this particular boat has a red hull and we do not find that appealing.  There was also a Sabre 48 at the end of the dock that we really liked, especially when we saw its name was “Judy Davis” – the same name as Denise’s Godmother and wonderful aunt. (Yes a picture was sent to her).

“Judy Davis”

But we found it most ironic that the boat directly behind us on the dock was called “Satellite Office”.

Boat behind us at Bristol Marina

The weather continued to deteriorate and although we never really got rain, the wind really blew and our boat rocked a bit. However, we were tired from a long day and after a dinner of leftovers, downloading and cataloging pictures, we retired for the evening.

Charleston, SC (Monday, 4/15)
After a great night’s rest, Denise got up in the morning and went for a short run.  From the marina she took the now-familiar path past Brittlebank Park and the Joseph Riley P ballpark; home of Charleston Riverdogs (a minor league baseball team that are an affiliate of the New York Yankees).

Brittlebank Park

Joseph P. Riley Park

And to The Citadel Military College.

Buildings at the Citadel

The Citadel Main entrance

But today she dedicated her run for running friend Donna who is battling cancer (Donna Strong).

Tribute shirt to Donna

After breakfast we walked up to the yacht broker’s office to say hello and retrieve a package; new running shoes Denise had ordered but couldn’t get delivered home before we left.  We said hello to Craig our broker and then returned to the boat for work (Mark), the writing of this blog (Denise) and then for lunch.

In the afternoon, we walked over to look at the Sabre 45, as Craig had told us it was open and we could go take a look. Of course he wants us to buy this boat, so he was very encouraging of us “exploring” it. We again agreed it would be a nice boat to own, but the price is high and we don’t like the hull color. Of course we could spend $10k to have it painted from red to something else (blue?).

We returned to the boat as Mark had several conference calls and Denise had to get the blog done.  We also had the pleasure of having Kim Russo of AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruising Association) stop by and delivered a few newly purchased burgees. Our current Gold-Looper burgee was tattered from 3 years in the wind and we acquired a newly created Down East burgee. These will go on the boat tomorrow after the wind dies down.

After Kim left we walked across the street from the marina to the newly opened Publix.  It could not be more convenient and we were ready for a few fresh items.  We also had decided to get a rotisserie chicken for dinner and once again eat dinner onboard.  We might be crazy for passing up the opportunity to dine in one of the great foodie cities of the south, but we know we have many other dining-out experiences in the days ahead. Plus, we just didn’t have the time tonight to eat out and get everything done that we had to do.

After dinner we cleaned up the galley, finished and posted this blog, and then prepared the boat for our very early departure in the morning. Tomorrow, we head to Myrtle Beach for more adventures aboard Island Office.

A few other pictures from the last few days:

THIS is low-Country ICW cruising

Wildlife in marina at low tide

Amelia Island, FL (Tuesday, 4/9)

Despite last night’s thunderstorms during dinner time, the weather settled down in the evening and we had a calm night at the anchorage.  Slowly we are moving into boat life where we go to bed early (not too long after sundown) and wake up early…well at least Denise does. But this morning it was actually late for Denise as she got up around 5:30 and waited patiently until 7:00 to power up the generator so it wouldn’t wake up mark.  However, Mark had just woken up, so the timing was great and she was able to get a pot of coffee brewing. With the generator going, we plugged in all the electronics for a good charge before setting out for the day’s journey.

Pine Island Anchorage in the morning

Shortly after 8:00 am we pulled up the anchor and headed north up the ICW towards Amelia Island.  It was mostly uneventful as there were a few boats; mostly northbound sailors and a few local fishing boats.  We cruised through Palm Valley and Ponte Vedra where we witnessed more new docks and homes being created or repaired.  So for a few miles we had to do the “speed up-slow down” routine, but most of the time we were able to go 20 knots.  It helped that we had an outgoing current in our favor so our speed was actually 21 – 22 knots.

New dock construction in Palm Valley

By 10:00 am we had crossed the St. John’s River and continued up the ICW.

Repairing warning signs on ICW near St. Johns River

Dolphins in our wake

Here Mark navigated safely through the winding and twisting part of this waterway, happy to see it had recently been dredged and we had good water depth beneath us.  This area is notorious for shoaling and we were grateful for the easy passage as it has not always been that way in the past.

Just a short time later we had made our way to the southern part of Amelia Island and entered the canal up to the Amelia Island Marina.  This marina is just off the ICW and is well protected.  More importantly, it is open and available.  Since the hurricanes Matthew (2017) and Irma (2018) impacted this area, the Fernandina Beach Municipal Marina has not been operational so we had no plans to stop here initially. However with the impending weather, we did not want to stay at anchorage at Cumberland Island, and we did not want to cross the St. Mary’s inlet in high winds. So, this was a compromise stop and offered us a chance to work, get to see Fernandina Beach (with marina courtesy car), and be comfortable.

After we tied up to the dock we went to the office to check in and reserve the courtesy car. Just as we left the boat a small squall came through dumping rain and winds, but twenty minutes later when we walked back to the boat the sun had come out.  Ah Florida weather!

Bad weather coming – Amelia Island Marina

Denise at work on Island Office

We ate lunch on board and in the afternoon we set out to do some work. After a while Mark went for a walk around the marina and shortly thereafter texted Denise that “Lady Catherine” was coming up the canal and entering the marina.  “Lady Catherine” is a boat we saw several times during our Maine 2017 adventure and we saw again in Ft. Myers in February 2018.  You can read more about our posting and frequent encounters here.

Lady Catherine

Lady Catherine

As luck would have it, we were able to secure the marina courtesy car for the evening and go to one of our favorite spots in Fernandina Beach, Timoti’s Seafood Shak. We discovered this place by accident in 2014 when we were moving our then newly-purchased Island Office from Charleston to Merritt Island. It’s a very casual family-oriented walk-up restaurant that serves fresh seafood in many different ways. Denise got a “Timoti’s Box” with flounder, and Mark got a salmon Cesar salad; both were delicious!

We were able to secure a table outside under the metal roof, but had to move to another table once a large squall with pouring rain came through. When it finally stopped we were able to get back to the car without getting wet, and drove around downtown Fernandina.  We were pleased to see that they were working hard at dredging the area and restoring the city marina where we usually stay when stopping here. Perhaps it will be completed when we return in the fall.

Since we had the courtesy car we decided to visit the local Wal-Mart and Publix which were near each other and on the way back to the marina.  We picked up a few fresh items and it was then that we discovered most of the island was out of power. We got back to the marina and found we also had no power on the dock and had to revert to battery power to keep the fridge and freezer going.  Fortunately, the outage didn’t last long and we were not forced to use the generator.

Amelia Island, FL (Wednesday 4/10). This morning it was a bit warm and muggy, but that didn’t stop Denise from trying to get in a run.  However, the marina is right off the highway (A1A) at the southern end of Amelia Island and there is no really good place to run.  A few laps around the parking lot as well as an up and down the gravel road on the property adjacent to the marina and she was done.  For this marathoner, the 2.5 miles was more like a warm-up, but it would have to do.

The rest of the day was a work day for us. Despite the original threat of bad weather, it ended up being a beautiful day.  However, we both had conference calls and work to do for our clients, so we stayed on or close to the boat the entire day.  In the afternoon Denise spoke with a local fisherman who had come in with his charter and said it had been so windy they didn’t go out very far; we were grateful we decided to stick to the marina and not swing around on an anchor all day.

We also got to see three “Looper” boats come into the marina.  In the evening we went visiting Marie and Fred on “Compass Rose”, one of the boats that arrived.  Hailing from Maryland, they are almost done completing their Great Loop adventure.  We were later joined by their friends Bob & Linda on “Corkscrew”, whom they had been traveling with since the inland rivers.  They are from Vermont on Lake Champlain, where we are headed.  Unfortunately, we did not have a lot of time to talk with them as it was getting late and time for dinner. We bid our hosts good bye and offered to reconnect in Jekyll Island, where we are all planning to go to tomorrow. We went back to our boat, ate dinner, and then decided to walk around the south end of the marina to catch this spectacular sunset.

Sunset over AIM canal to ICW

Before daylight was done, we walked to the north end of the marina to meet the third Looper boat, “Esther Girl”.  Here we met Pat and Edith Mason from Beaufort North Carolina.  They technically have “crossed their wake” already as they have done the NC to Key West route several times. However, this time it is at the end of their 2 year adventure. As the sky was getting darker, the no-see-ums were out in full-force so we returned to our boat for the evening.

Island Office at Amelia Island Marina

Tomorrow (Thursday) we will wait for high tide and the wind to die down a bit before heading out to Jekyll Island.

Pine Island Anchorage – north of St. Augustine, FL (Monday, 4/8)
We left Harbortown Marina in Merritt Island just after sunrise and were greeted to a beautiful morning.  Although the weather looked to be good for most of the day, the wind was going to blow just enough to keep us from going offshore. So we said goodbye to our home marina (Harbortown on Merritt Island) and made our way up the barge canal to the ICW.

Leaving HTM right at sunrise

Leaving HTM

As if to send us off, our local dolphins were out to wish us well on our journey. We never get tired of seeing these beautiful creatures.

Dolphins always there to see us off

As we made our way north we were joined by others heading for cooler weather during the summer, including many sailboats. Because our boat’s wake would knock these boats over if we passed them doing 20 knots (our cruising speed), we must constantly slow down. Likewise, we have to slow down for the small fishing boats who like to anchor just outside the channel, the boats that are tied to docks in back of houses along the ICW, and southbound vessels who would become airborne rockets once they hit our wake. Add this to the miles of no-wake or minimal-wake zones and it becomes tedious; speeding up for a while only to slow down again, then speed up, then slow down.  THIS is why Captain Mark likes to run offshore, with no speed restrictions and minimal boats to deal with.

But along the ICW we are always amazed at the changing landscape of houses, and the interesting sites that we get to see.  Today we came up on a very interesting 100% solar powered trimaran that looked like something out of a space adventure movie.

Solar Tri near Daytona Beach

We also got to see up close the construction of the new bridge in Daytona Beach, the newly rebuilt Caribbean Jack’s marina, and the brand new luxury Coquina Marina & Tennis Club. But sadly, there is still evidence of the damage done by hurricanes Matthew and Irma over the last few years. Unfortunately we did not capture pictures of all of these sights because we have become complacent running this route so many times.  But here is what we did see.

New Main Street Bridge near Daytona

Hurricane remnants still- way too close to the channel

While underway we had heard the Coast Guard put out a warning on the radio about pending bad weather on Tuesday and Wednesday, including hail and wind gusts to 60 knots.  Since we had been planning on anchoring out at Cumberland Island, GA those nights, we began rethinking our itinerary.  One day out and we are already re-planning things. About this time we were coming through St. Augustine and considered just stopping here for the next 3 days.  However, we really wanted to get a little further north on our first day. We decided to continue to Pine Island anchorage for the night, and then we will go on to Amelia Island Marina on Tuesday where we were able to secure a spot to wait out the bad weather.

When we arrived at Pine Island Anchorage there was already one other boat settled in, and it was near low-tide. This enabled us to see where all the oyster beds are and we were able to land a good spot that would hold us for the night, without swinging into them or the other boater.  Rain and thunderstorms were forecasted and we wanted to have the best protection possible.  And of course once the burgers were on the barbeque, the storm hit with wind, thunder and lots of lightning. This was challenging for Mark, but he managed to get them cooked perfectly between the worst squalls. It rained for about an hour and that gave us time to eat dinner and clean up the galley before settling down for the night.

Rain at the anchorage

We really like this anchorage and have now stopped here 3 times.  We love the wildlife that you get to see, and how peaceful this place usually is. Apparently other boaters do too as two other sailboats joined us before we turned in for the night.

Tomorrow we will move north, but only to Amelia Island and await the pending bad weather. It has been 4 years since we were last there, and we are looking forward to seeing the place again.

Harbortown Marina – Merritt Island, FL (Sunday, 4/7)

For the last few months we have been preparing Island Office for our next adventure. Finally, today the preparation has ended and tomorrow we will once again leave Harbortown Marina to discover new and wonderful waterways not yet encountered.

First about the preparation:  We hauled the boat in February for some preventative maintenance, a few minor touch ups, and lots of wax all over.  We were pleased to see that there was little barnacle growth, proving that the best thing to keep a boat in working order is to use it.

Haul Out Day

The woman who runs Mermaid Marine Services is Camilla and she does a great job. She tells us all the time that she loves to work on our boat because we keep it in order, and she thinks it is so beautiful. We think so too.

Camilla

In March we put the boat back in the water (aka “splashed” it), and began putting things back on it that we removed when we came home from Maine in 2017.  We also had a long list of preventative maintenance items to do in the interior such as disinfecting the ice maker, cleaning the freezer and refrigerator, polishing the wood, and adding a coat of wax on the fiberglass. There was also the unplanned expenses of rebuilding the carburetor on the dinghy engine, and replacing the alternator (better now than when on the journey).  Finally we had the small mundane tasks like putting water in the tanks, updating the navigation software, changing water filters, getting gas for the dinghy engine and washing the boat.

Filling gas for the dinghy

Putting water in the tanks

Over the last two weeks we made numerous trips to the marina to bring aboard two inflatable SUPs, non-perishable & perishable food items, clothes and personal items. Then today, we made our last trip with our computers, more clothes, books, and the last bit of food. How we found storage for it all is a mystery, but we did.  We are especially grateful to our neighbor friend Terry who provided our transportation.  To say his SUV was packed to the max was an understatement.

SUV packed with stuff

Neighbor Terry

Now about the adventure:  Our trip this time will be the Down East Loop.  This will have us travel up the east coast ICW, through the Chesapeake Bay, along the New Jersey coast and into New York Harbor (now a familiar route).  From there we will head north up the Hudson River as we did in our Great Loop adventure in 2015, but this time continuing all the way to Lake Champlain.  At the north end of the lake we will pick up the Richelieu Canal and take it to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Here we will cruise through Quebec and eventually the Canadian maritime areas of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island, and Nova Scotia before returning to the US in Maine.  While this trip will take about 7 months, we will be in constant communication with friends and family, and of course we will be working along the way, on our Island Office.

Routes on the Down East Loop

So, stay tuned for more about the adventures of Island Office on the Down East Loop!