Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day

The ICW has had a variety of experiences in store for us today. We left Cricket Cove Marina and it seemed like not a soul was stirring, except for the poor bridge keepers who were remarkably cheerful for having to work on a holiday. 

The next section of the ICW is dreaded by many as rather than the friendly and forgiving mud bottom this area is lined with rocks. We followed the local advice and Active Captain and stayed in the mid channel and with the right tide had no problems but I could imagine that meeting large barges and casino ships wanting more room would be very stressful. Yes, I did say Casino ships, one of them gave us a hell of a fright as it loomed out of the mist just on dusk as we tried to anchor in Calabash Creek the other night. 

We then had the stretch of Myrtle beach with wall to wall condos and 130 golf courses (not all of them were on the canal, of course). The developments tend to follow a theme, beach side pastel colours, Neo colonial and then one area was so Tuscan we thought we were back in Italy; as you can see by the photos.

A complete change of pace arrived when we entered the Waccamaw River. This lovely winding section of the ICW is bordered by swamps and cypress trees. This was Freya's and my first experience of a deciduous forest in autumn/winter plumage. The spare beauty of the bare skeletal trees festooned with Spanish moss and the sun picking out the last fading colours of autumn in the lower branches. 

We turned off the main river and motored slowly into the tree lined Prince Creek. There is not a man made sound to be heard in the distance. It could almost be the land those early inhabitants experienced. There are so many little bayous which wend their way mysteriously off the main channel, it would be magical to be able to explore them all. In many ways the bad weather which stopped us from sailing down to Charleston on the outside has turned out to be a positive as we are enjoying the beautiful scenery. Mind you it could definitely be warmer. We are admiring the sunset on deck mainly because the Skipper has decided to have another go at the Dickinson stove. 

Thanksgiving Day Photos

South Carolina Bound

South Carolina Bound

We made South Carolina after a long day and with only a few minor showers, not the threatening 100% rain forecast by NOAA. We were enjoying the scenery, lovely autumn colours and marsh grass to the Atlantic Ocean and heading for Calabash creek to anchor. Just one small problem was the bar across the entrance at low tide. Guess what? It was not just low tide but extreme low tide. We knew if we got US Tow insurance we would probably never need it, well we called them but thanks to a large power boat going past at full speed the wake bumped us up and down four times and we got off. So we still haven't needed the tow boat.

A quick retreat was in order and we found Cricket Cove Marina. Even though it was after hours they let us fill up with diesel, water and we happily stayed for the night and will wait here today until the rain stops. Great service and highly recommended.

The weather has been getting warmer, Freya's hot water bottle has been retired, hopefully not to reappear for the rest of the trip. We waited out the storm in Wrightsville Beach and finally saw the Atlantic Ocean. Wrightsville Beach was a good anchorage though the current is quite strong. The supermarket is a decent walk from the dinghy dock but it was good to get out and stretch our legs after four days on the boat. 

We made the ominously named Cape Fear right on time and managed to wend our way through the massive river mouth and the many confusing markers. This is a seriously big river. Lots of River Dolphins who are not as friendly and curious as the bottle nose dolphins we are used to in New Zealand but we still rush to the side of the boat at any sighting and stand wondering where do they go. From here on there are alligators to watch out for and we still haven't seen any raccoons but we live in hope. Its Thanksgiving tomorrow and it does feel odd to be in an English speaking country have no connection to the holiday. In Turkey it was weird in another way to be celebrating Xmas Day with an illicit bottle of wine and take away kebabs. Happy holiday everyone.

Sloth Flight

Slow sloth flight

Compared to yesterday, today we moved at a sloth like pace. Swansboro is a lovely little town but it does have amazing currents. At one stage we were going round in circles so fast it felt like a merry go round ride. The second anchor solved this very quickly, though our fingers were crossed that we would have an easy retrieve in the morning.

One small problem with the cold weather is that the docks have turned the water off so we jerry juggled water cans while filling up with diesel. What a good workout for the arms. As a reward we went to Yana's 50's cafe for hamburgers ( except for the vegetarian in our midst )and root beer floats. Great food and service though going to the bathroom was slightly disconcerting due to be watched by a life sided figure of Elvis - the men's evidently had Marilyn.

This was to be our easy day as we had got further than expected yesterday and we could hear the firing of explosives from Camp Le Jeune which meant no go through that section until they had finished. Picture of a APC just on the side of the canal.

We set off behind a convoy of 4 yachts and a launch on the long straight stretch. As we moved closer to marker 61 the sounds over channel 16 moved from routine to more urgent. Requests for advice on navigating the shoal turned to warnings, to oops, to sorry but we are also stuck. As we got closer the marker was looking like a beach party with yachts and trawlers scattered across the roadway. Discretion being the better part of valour we dropped anchor and waited for high tide.

Freya using the time wisely.

 It was actually a lovely spot and quite entertaining as boats approached the debris field with inevitable results. One captain confidently sailed up to the spot, was warned by radio, replied that he had been through this spot in July. Another skipper said "Good luck boat with red sails" and we all watched with fascination as he came to an abrupt halt. To be fair when the boats cleared away and we approached we did bump on the shoal a couple of times until Jerry showed us the exact angle to get through.

Our new cockpit furniture 

We are anchored at Mile Hammock Bay with all the boats who, like us got held up with shoals and bridges but it is a lovely spot. 

We like to move it

We Like To Move It

After just a tick over 5 weeks in Oriental 'Bounty' slipped from her slip in Oriental Harbour Marina and headed out into the Neuse river. Once again it was very hard to say goodbye to our lovely friends in Oriental. 

We now have refrigeration, our daughter and $700 dollars worth of provisions - thanks to our dear friend John's transport and patience at the supermarket. A lovely White Oak cockpit seat - thanks to Christian. Comfortable and stylist cockpit cushions and repaired sails and cockpit cover - thanks to Robin and Bob at REB sails, plus great memories of awesome food and lots of laughs. We must also mention Deaton's Yacht Service for repairing our packing gland and speedy delivery of a new salt water pump. Mark at the marina for allowing us to stay and the lovely facilities which we can highly recommend. Finally Mike and Nancy - Deaton's Yacht Sales who sold us 'their' favourite boat and have become close friends. Yes, it was very hard to leave as there were lots of other people who gave us rides, advice and entertaining conversation so much that it is impossible to name them all.

Tonight we are tucked up in Swansboro after nearly 10 hours on the ICW, almost 49.5 nautical miles. It was a bitterly cold day and we were in full sets of wet weather gear even though the sun shone brightly all day. Well, once the Skipper and I worked out that his too tight glove and my too big one were due to mismatching the pairs. 

Just outside of Raleigh we encountered a pod of - I think - bottle nose Dolphins and we also saw a sea turtle. They were seriously fishing but managed a few acrobatic manoeuvres to entertain us, the Dolphins, not the turtle who just submerged quietly without fuss.

 

We did come to a sudden stop late in the day at marker 22 just before the bridge, an unexpected shoal caused a quick pirouette and lots of churning mud. We made Swansboro just on sunset, which was spectacular and had fun with anchoring as the anchor bit twice and popped out before finally embedding itself securely. Swansboro looks a lovely little town with a great selection of Xmas lights. It's the first time I've ever had an anchor transit point which it a fairy light shape of a crab. Speaking of Xmas we have started collecting our Xmas decorations for the boat. I know the boat theme is a little obvious but we promise to try and be more creative from now on.

Still Here

Still here

Yep, still in Oriental. It's a hard place to leave. We have made great progress on the wood work and our to do list. Finally after nearly twenty years of boating and coincidentally on our 20th wedding anniversary we have refrigeration. It took two days and five trips to the hardware store but the Skipper succeeded. There wasn't even much swearing involved. This achievement now means a new approach to provisioning and things like ice cream and yoghurt on board. For those of you out there with access to a full sized refrigerator I know it doesn't sound very exciting but if you have lived on dried milk powder for as long as we have it does make a difference. 

Autumn is starting to make itself felt after almost three weeks of glorious warm sunny days. Last night was very windy and cold. The Skipper had to break out the jeans and shoes for the first time in awhile. Several people in Oriental were relieved to discover that we do have cold weather clothing as we have been sticking to shorts and sandals while working on the decks. 

So it is definitely time to head to warmer climes.