To Annapolis 2022

      After 4 nights at Osprey Marina we got underway again. It was the longest we had ever spent at a transient marina dock. Fortunately, it's reasonably priced, but the the price no longer drops on the 4th night. Oh well. We stayed for bad weather the first night, to watch the Women's Final Four on two nights, to clean up after our offshore adventures, to do some chores/maintenance and to just relax a bit. Our first passage from Socastee was a short one to Calabash, right on the SC/NC border (Little River). Short and easy. 

     Then it was on to Carolina Beach. No incidents along the way which means we did not go aground at the shallow spots we have visited in the past. We had several overnight thunderstorms and breezy days. It was nice not anchoring farther along the road in windy conditions. Made for more restful nights, four restful nights. Okay, one was a bit exciting for a while. Severe lightning and gale winds for a few hours. We did some hiking while at CB. Down to Carolina Beach Lake, along the ocean and up to the State Park. They claim the lake is the closest lake to an ocean but it isn't much bigger than a pond. The State Park is a little farther walk away but Carol found a Venus Flytrap plant even though it is a little early in the season for them. We also saw a Pitcher Plant that is also carnivorous. 

  Carnivorous plants. Flies and ants mostly.

     More importantly, we went to Britt's Donuts, said to be the #2 doughnut shop in the U.S. They only make one kind, a very light, glazed, yeast doughnut. Fried in front of you. Very good, but not Neil's of Wallingford, CT. Supposedly Neil's is only #6, but with several dozen varieties that are all great, we have to go with our former home town's shop. There are a couple of shops in Boston at the top of the heap that we'll have to try. Someday. 

     Once on the road again, it was an uneventful, if cold and breezy, passage. New River Inlet was tricky as usual but we made it through to Mile Hammock, the anchorage basin at the USMC base, Camp LeJuene. There we hung on in gusty winds until morning. Nice to reaffirm our anchoring skills and holding ability of our anchoring system when it is windy in a semi-exposed anchorage. Especially when it has been a while. Mile Hammock is nearly land-locked but the trees are only on one side. Of course, the wind wasn't from that direction. We got underway in breezy conditions and it stayed that way all day. Cold, too. Very cold. An uneventful day (nice) ended at our usual spot in Cedar Creek, off of Adams Creek which comes from the Neuse River. It was still very windy. And rough. It was forecast to ease with evening so we hung on and hoped. It did, in fact, calm down and become a nice night. The next morning remained calm although the passage on the Neuse River and the Pamlico River/Sound system was a bit breezier than forecast. It was nothing like previous days and never got up to 1ft seas. Okay! We anchored up the Pungo River where it turns away from the ICW. This is just a few minutes before the Wilkerson Bridge which is on the Pungo-Alligator Canal. It stayed breezy overnight but nothing uncomfortable. Travelling up the Canal is very protected from the wind. We saw several small deer for the first time here and cleared the two bridges easily. The main Alligator River was a little lumpy at the south end but the wind eased as we went north. Albemarle Sound was easy, also. We anchored in our usual spot in Broad Creek near Shiloh, NC. This is a very small, isolated spot in the swamps. It can be buggy but we like the privacy and the comfort level. It seems like the middle of nowhere but cell service is good and it's beautiful in a barren sort of way. From there the next passage is usually okay but Currituck Sound can be rough. It wasn't but we had to interact with a barge along the way. We were just barely faster than him so we had to chat a bit to make a safe pass. He was polite and professional. They usually are but there are exceptions. We tied up at the free dock at Great Bridge, Chesapeake, VA as we always do. We restore the top of our mast to its normal configuration, get fuel and restock grocery items. Oh, some treats often get bought and consumed here. 🍦🍪🍰😝 

     Great Bridge was a warm, pleasant stop (humid, too) but I got some bad news and got involved in a Boot Key Harbor controversy. The bad news was I lost a friend to Lymphoma. He had been struggling for more than a year with the treatments and never had much of a prognosis. His symptoms went unrecognized for quite some time. Pneumonia was the final burden. Fair winds and following seas, Mike. I will miss you and be thinking of you. Best wishes to his S/O, Vicky. 

     The BKH controversy may get messier in the future. A friend was helping someone with diesel engine issues and there was a small flash fire with burns involved. The person getting helped then went the whining posts to Facebook route and others picked up with commenting on the situation without knowing the facts or the people involved. I know one of the people involved and chimed in with comments on the commentary, not the original incident. I know the character of only one of those involved but wasn't present so I don't know the facts but I commented on others making their comments even though they were not present either. Sigh. Any comment? 'Expert' commentary and opinion seems to be our new national sport. 

     Our passage to Hampton, VA was reasonably pleasant. Only a 30 minute delay at the N&S #7 RR bridge. Folks that left Great Bridge an hour before us were sitting at the bridge waiting also so they were there 90 minutes or more. Yuck. Total passage was only 4 hours. Breezy and cold, but okay. Hampton City Marina gives out vouchers for a free night on their docks at the Annapolis Boat Show in the Fall. When we get one we take advantage of it. Gets us close to the Chesapeake Bay and we do laundry and other minor preparations. Did I mention it's free? The Bay was roughish the day we went to Hampton but not bad the day we actually went on it. 180° shift in wind direction (yay!). Seas started out 1-2 ft on the stern but faded to less than half of that. Unfortunately we got stuck at our anchorage (Reedville, VA) for days due to a wind shift back to the north (boo!). It got tense a short while when a gusty front came through the first night. The wind direction was not predicted, was stronger than forecast and was from the longest fetch direction. The boat held on. One person and one cat slept through it all. No lightning was seen or thunder heard which is why the cat was fine. After we had 80° weather the previous week, the wind and cold hit harder. Not fun. Some things that were planned for Annapolis got done here. The oil changes, reconfiguring the GPS - VHF wiring so the AIS info comes up on the older GPS, and other minor stuff were tasks that could be done while waiting out the weather. Reedville is a popular cruise destination for boaters on the Chesapeake but when we are here it is not the season for shops and museums to be open so we do not get off the boat. If it was nice, we might but if it was nice, we would not be staying. We stayed 4 nights and had strong winds, rain, strong winds and strong winds and rain. Oh, and cold. Very cold. There were a couple of short breaks (very short) but none were long enough to get anywhere safe or safely. On the west side of the Bay the next safe anchorage is at least 6 hours (or more) away and hours north of the Potomac River, a difficult area in poor or marginal weather. There are no anchorages between Reedville and Solomons that could serve as a bail out if conditions get bad. So we wait. For days if need be. Travelling up the east side of the Bay doesn't work for us.

     So we got to Solomons, MD after a 4 day delay and about 3 hours of lumpy conditions and 3 hours of nice conditions. The winds were light but on the nose so seas were up to 2 feet as we rounded Smith Point Light to start across the face of the Potomac River. 3/4 of the way across conditions improved greatly. It was never bad, just a little lumpy. The fuel dock we use was closed so we just went to anchor up Mill Creek. We had plenty of fuel to get to Annapolis. It's just more convenient here. Leaving Solomons was quiet but once we were outside in the Bay, it was a little lumpy. 1 to 2ft seas to start but once we were headed north the waves were on the stern and we were quite comfortable. Seas built to 2ft with occasional 3 footers as the wind got a little stronger as we pressed on north to Annapolis. The current was behind us pushing us the entire passage so we made great time. We arrived about 90 minutes quicker than the last time we made this passage, averaging more than 8kts over the ground. It would have been a miserable, slow trip if we were going in the opposite direction. It's why we waited for a southerly breeze. That, and the rain. And the storms. And the gales. 

     So, we are on an Annapolis city mooring in Back Creek of the MRE, the Maritime Republic of Eastport. We will get fuel (extremely expensive), groceries, medications, hardware and other necessities for our push home when the next weather window arrives. It doesn't look like a real break is in the offing so we are not sure of our upcoming passages. Our plan is to stay 4 nights which is less than our usual stay but we previously had several unplanned 4 night stays before getting here. Stay tuned to see if we get badly beaten up (again) or get lucky. Next blog posting will be after we are home in Old Lyme. 

     

Vero to Socastee

       Wait, where is Socastee? Thought we were going to Annapolis? Well, we are but events changed our plans a bit. Adventure description follows and remember, we hate adventures. 

     Socastee is near the southern end of the Myrtle Beach, SC area. Myrtle Beach is about 60 miles long so there are several towns along the way. 

    We left Velcro Beach before sunrise in partly cloudy and warm conditions. It was a bit breezy and only got worse. As forecast, however, the wind was behind us and was not an issue for our catamaran. With the genoa and motoring we occassionally got up to 8.5kts over the bottom. Fast. We made it to Addison Pt./NASA Causeway bascule bridge before it closed for rush hour and then anchored just beyond it. It was lumpy and we very slowly dragged our anchor in the windy conditions. A reset worked out better. Overnight was okay with some rain but the morning rain was a no-show. We went to New Smyrna and anchored in our normal southbound stop just as the rain started. This was about half the distance we could have covered but tornado and thunderstorm warnings made a good reason to stop early. We had to reset our anchor as we swung close (they said) to a previously anchored boat. More likely we were floating differently in the wind/current combo, not dragging. Anyway, the next day we stopped in Daytona for fuel then kept going. We anchored in a new spot for us, off Fort Matanzas. A lot of current,  (nowhere near the worst we've been in) but a very nice spot. Scenic, historic and semi-protected.

                       Fort Matanzas

Should have come here a couple of years ago when the Crescent Beach Bridge broke for two days. It's less than 2 hours south of St. Augustine where we went next for the weekend. After having local friends, Bob and Jane, to the boat for lunch on Sunday, we went out to sea on Monday. 

     We needed to avoid a part of Georgia because a bascule bridge was broken and could not open for us. When we would have gotten to the bridge it would have been too windy and rough at that time to go out into the ocean so before that we decided to try to skip Georgia entirely and go directly to Charleston offshore. This is normally a full day, an overnight, and a part day of travelling out at sea. It started out great. Seas were under a foot and diminished as the passage went on. We had a near flat calm from 1400 (2pm) to 0200 but after that, things changed. For the worse. Way worse. Seas quickly climbed to 2-3ft and the breeze grew to 12kts at just a slight angle away from the path we were taking to Chucktown. Of course, it got worse again. Way worser. After 4am, seas built to 6-8 feet and the wind was on the nose at 20-25kts with higher gusts. This slowed us down considerably. Our arrival time went from 1030 to after 1600 (4pm) and the boat was being beat up by the waves. Items that had never been moved by weather, lines that have never chafed and things that had never gotten wet in adverse conditions were all affected. We got sprayed while steering, of course, but while Carol was in the forward port corner of the cockpit sleeping we were hit by a solid wall of water. I got soaked steering as usual but the water went through the underside of the forward bimini and dodger and onto Carol. That was a new experience. After numerous 10ft seas (our biggest ever) we decided to change course a little after sunrise. Instead of continuing on to Charleston we headed for the Edisto River entrance. The angle of the wind and waves improved but they did not get any smaller. A problem (or two) was still coming up. The river inlet channel had a shallow spot (a bar) out in the ocean and the wind speed and sea angle (and heights) was making the approach a major challenge. We called the Coast Guard on the VHF radio to let them know what we were going to attempt and to set up a communication schedule so they would check with us if we did not contact them in ten minute increments. First time for us to ever do that. If they called us and we didn't respond it would mean something bad had happened. Real bad. Then they might send out a vessel to investigate. Might. Eventually. Well, it worked out okay. It was a struggle to maintain control with the wind and seas on our stern quarter. A real workout. A wet workout. But we made it into calmer water and lived to tell the tale (duh). We had confidence in our boat and reasonable confidence in our boat handling skills but there was room for doubt. A lot of room.  

     We have gotten sea spray plenty of times. We've had waves come over the bow and then over the hardtop bimini and over our heads. But we never had solid walls of water hit us like these did. It will make great stories in the future but at the time that was pretty far from our minds. Carol said a condo purchase suddenly sounded much better than in the past. I often post these blogs saying, "it wasn't the worst we'd ever been in, but a good attempt." Well, this was now the worst we'd ever been in. 

     We had to travel inland on the Edisto several miles before we rejoined the ICW but even with all the wind, the water was mostly calm because there was no fetch. We were quite comfortable and got a start on clean up and reorganization of the boat, inside and out. We anchored in the Stono River just outside Elliot Cut, a spot we've used on other passages. This is just outside (south) of Charleston. So, we did not get quite as far north as we planned but our chances of getting injured (or worse) dropped dramatically. We did have fatalities on the boat, however. The plants on our stern were killed by the salt water that hit them. RIP.

               Dead plants and grass

 We got a late start the next morning due to bridge schedules and went through Chucktown to Minim Creek near the little village of Quarantine. We planned to go all the way to Winyah Bay to anchor but the wind was too strong for that semi-exposed anchorage. Our secret spot off of Minim Creek is much more protected. It was still breezy in the morning, gale warnings in fact, when we departed. We got up early to try and beat the forecast storms but it did not get as light as early as it did the previous morning. Heavy cloud cover, I guess. We knew it was going to be a nasty day but the wind and waves would be on our stern so we would not be uncomfortable, much like our first passage after Vero. We stopped for fuel at Waca Wache Marina and in doing so turned into the wind and current to tie up. Sporty. While fueling I had difficulty avoiding being knocked over by the wind. Especially the gusts. We pulled away from their dock with brilliant boat handling skills and continued on to Osprey Marina. Once there, we were squeezed into a small spot and waited for the storms. This is a very narrow hurricane-hole type spot but the wind was still rocking us. The trees on either side of us were waving back and forth dramatically. Enough so that we worried we could be hit by one if it broke or was uprooted. Tornado warnings were posted and we wondered why you can be in a spot that will protect you in a hurricane but not a tornado. We do not want to find out the answer to that question. Our passage to Socastee should have taken us about 6 1/2 hours. It took us 5. Including the 30 minute stop for fuel. That's what wind and current on the stern will do for you. And why it's so miserable when it's against you. 

Solid water went through these windows like they were not even there. Popped the snaps without ripping them. Considerate. 

     So, we are at Osprey Marina in Socastee, SC near the Myrtle Beach area. Staying 4 nights to let spring catch up to us, do laundry (a lot got salt soaked) and to visit a former co-worker of Carol's who recently got very bad health news. From here it's a couple of days to Carolina Beach where we will stay a couple of nights. Then we will continue up the ditch to Annapolis. Hopefully we will not need another blog entry before then. 

PS... Imagine being at the beach out in chest-deep water. A wave comes and you kind of bounce up and the wave passes under you comfortably. That's normally what a boat does. Now, move back so the water is at your knees. A big wave will come above you and drive right though you, smashing you into the beach like a solid wall of bricks. That is somewhat like what we experienced. Not every 10ft wave does that but every once in a while one will catch you and smash you. Two or three times an hour is enough to ruin your whole day. 

     Start humming the words to 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'.

PPS... we know others have experienced conditions much worse than what we had. Good for them. 

PPPS... look up lee shore.