We got here almost two weeks ago, a little earlier than normal because of Carol's work schedule. We skipped a Wrightsville Beach stop and only had a couple of extra days stopping due to weather so we were here with about four days to spare.
We're getting into the swing of things in our Marathon home... ordering parts and gear we need, doing our oil changes, scheduling outside maintenance, and doing more urgent repairs. I also already started volunteering at Crane Point Hammock and Nature Center as a trolley driver/guide. We've been recruited already for our stint at the Celtic Fest in January pulling taps in the beer tent. Going to try to sample less of the wares this year.
How did we get to Marathon this year? What's happened since my last entry from Annapolis?
A couple of adventures but nothing too unusual.
We left our Back Creek, Annapolis Municipal, mooring with one day still on the clock. Hate spending money on a mooring and then not using all the days paid for. It was a Sunday during the Annapolis Boat Show so we were going to be a little ahead of the southbound crowd and we were trying to beat some weather. I went to the boat show two days and Carol went once. We had received vendor passes from a company we have purchased from and also recommended to others so it was free for us this year. Cool.
We had a breeze and small seas behind us on our passage to Solomons Island with minor occasional sprinkles. The next day to Jackson Creek in Deltaville, VA was even nicer. And calmer.
Then we had a breezy day (with sailing) to Mobjack Bay and then up to East River which feeds the Bay. We were hauled out at Zimmerman Marina to install the new propeller assembly we bought to replace the one lost off of New Jersey. Once out of the water the tide went down and we could not be relaunched. We had to wait until evening to float and stayed overnight at the marina. No extra charge.
The next day, leaving Zimmerman, was horrid. We bashed right into big seas in Mobjack Bay. A number of things broke (see above... repairs in Marathon) and we got very wet, maybe a little seasick. And grumpy. Maybe. After two hours or so we rounded York Spit Light and turned south to go down the Chesapeake Bay. After that things were not quite as bad. Not great. Just not horrible. Entering Hampton Roads we encountered a submarine we had to stay out of the way of. The Navy escort could have been a little clearer about their location and route but it all worked out. Shortly after a deluge started. We could hardly see as we headed up the Elizabeth River with the wind and rain in our faces. Not being able to see in this high traffic area is not generally a good thing. It stopped raining just as we were arriving at the Portsmouth, VA free docks.
From there we went to Great Bridge to get fuel and tie up at their free dock. Shopping and taking down our masthead light was on the agenda. We were near Al and Sue on Gelato for the first time on this trip and went out to dinner with them. They were going to be driving home to attend a special family event so we would again be ahead of them for more than a month. Because of future weather we only stayed one night in Great Bridge.
From Great Bridge we continued on the Virginia Cut and had semi-choppy conditions on Currituck Sound but it was on our stern so no issues. We anchored in Broad Creek. The breeze continued to be fairly light and mostly behind us as we crossed Albemarle Sound and went down the Alligator to Belhaven. We were kind of pushing it because we knew the weather was going to turn nasty. Very nasty.
We tied up at expensive Belhaven Marina, getting the last (and exposed) spot. We had an awful two nights bouncing all around. The cheap city docks would have been better but they were full. A couple of the big powerboats near us had a poor experience, too.
From Belhaven we had a pretty good passage through the Pamlico and Neuse system, anchoring in our usual spot in Cedar Creek, off Adams Creek. And from there to Mile Hammock, Camp LeJeune, it was easy, with no shallows issues to speak of, but we had some rain. We stopped at a new spot, Casper Marina in Swansboro, for fuel. Cheaper than our old spot near Beaufort, NC.
Next we had a brand-new passage. We left Mile Hammock and went by the New River Inlet with the usual caution but no real problems. The route we were told about worked fine. Then we headed towards Wrightsville Beach with the current behind us most of the way. This let us get through the swing and bascule bridges in a timely manner with little delay. We decided to pass by Wrightsville as Carol had no work scheduled and we had plenty of supplies aboard. We went through Snows Cut and down the Cape Fear River out into the ocean. We've exited the ICW and went out for an ocean passage before from Cape Fear but not all the way from Mile Hammock. The breeze was behind us and seas were basically small so we had a nice sail for a few hours before the wind faded. Not bad at all through the night but the seas started to build behind us the next day. We sailed for about four hours before the wind was directly behind us and we were surfing down 2 to 3 ft. seas with some 4 to 6 footers just for fun. When we turned to head for Port Royal Sound we had those big seas, which of course got bigger, on the beam and then in front of us. Twelve miles of very nasty. Not as bad as Mobjack Bay the previous week, but bad enough. Getting an expensive slip at Hilton Head Harbor Marina was a relief.
After Hilton Head it was all on the ICW. Through Georgia we mostly hit mid-to-high tide and the recent dredging was a big help. Hell Gate was a snap. We anchored at some of our usual spots, Kilkenny Creek, Frederica River and Cumberland Island. Carol hit a couple of shoals along the way but we're not going to mention that. Or all the missing bottom paint on the lower keels. Hmmmm.
We went back in the ocean for the passage from St Marys River to Saint Augustine. Two nights on a St. Auggie mooring got us internet, showers,shopping and a dinner out. From there we made our normal stops at New Smyrna and Eau Gallie (Dragon Point) before getting to Fort Pierce. We only stayed one night at Ft. Pierce but did stay late to go to the Saturday farmers market. We had a long conversation with RVers from Connecticut, comparing our life styles. Because we left much later than our usual sunrise we went to a new to us anchorage spot past the Hobe Sound Bascule Bridge but before Jupiter near R '38'. A wide spot in the 'road' but not bad.
Then it was the terrible passage to and through Palm Beach with all the bridges we have to wait for. We did well on timing except for one which was nice enough to wait a few minutes for us. We anchored in Lake Boca at Boca Raton just as a downpour started. It was crowded with locals but we found a safe spot to sit out the storm.
From Lake Boca we went to Ft. Lauderdale and out in the ocean to Miami. Ft Lauderdale was breaking down after the boat show so there were way too many mega-yachts drifting around and messing up bridge passes. Arrrrr. The ocean was a bit choppy, just off the nose, but not too terrible. We anchored in No Name Harbor of Boggs State Park in Key Biscayne. We're in the Keys! Yay! It wasn't crowded at all so it was nice and we had a great swim.
Now that we were in the Keys we went to Barley Basin off the ICW off of Islamorada and then we went home to Marathon the next day. The ocean passage wasn't too bad as the seas were out of the northeast, not quite behind us. It was still very hot and humid as it has been since we got to Georgia.
It has been very hot and humid in Marathon since we got here except for the first cold front which lowered the temperature to only 80. Today as I finish this blog entry we've had our first real norther and the high today will only be 70 to 74. Brrrr. People are complaining about wearing jeans and sweatshirts. Low was in the upper 60s. Really Brrr.
Tomorrow back to 80. Sorry freezing people up north.
