Month: April 2012

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Week in Review 4/23 – 4/29

Not much to say about our trip between Osprey Marina in Myrtle Beach, SC and Norfolk, VA.  The weather kept us on our toes but for the most part we watched many rain and T-storm cells pass to the north of us more than once.

Mornings and evenings were picturesque and osprey were a common sight. Sunday, our trip through Norfolk and Portsmouth with opening bridges, a lock, barges, tugs, tankers and, well, you name it, was perhaps our easiest time yet. The day was overcast, but calm and we saw very little boat traffic. A check of offshore weather showed that Monday looked to be the best day to head out. We opted to bypass Point Comfort and continue another 15 miles to the western shore of Cape Charles, VA.  With virtually no wind expected Sunday night, this would put us very close to exiting Chesapeake Bay in the early morning hours.

Interesting photos are only a click away along the Intracoastal Waterway:

Misty ICW morning Waccamaw River, SC

 

Osprey about to land

 

 

Private (spoil) island and cabin for sale, Swansboro, NC

 

Islands require special delivery

 

Breakwater off Cape Charles, VA made of liberty ships

 

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The weather finds us: too, too, too

Too little wind, too much wind, too many T-storms, too few? Nah, never too few. One of the downsides to not enough wind is fog, which can make for excitement of the unknown sort. First, a word about our travel day between Charleston and our anchorage in Winyah Bay’s Western Channel, just a stone’s throw off the ICW. Another lovely marsh-lined stretch, much of it through Cape Romain Wildlife Preserve. One is almost guaranteed to spot a bald eagle or two, not to mention the ever-present dolphins, egrets, herons, seagulls with an occasional jumping fish. I completely understood how Alligator Creek received its name, when not 100 yds before coming upon it, I spotted a gator crossing the river.

Bald eagle sits on tall piling along the ICW, Cape Romain

Georgetown, SC did not make our “must stop” list this trip, mostly because we’d spent two nights in Charleston. We still wanted to get as far as possible and with help from our trusty ActiveCaptain iPhone app, found the perfect spot. Saturday we woke to fog; fog that rolled thicker and thicker with each passing minute. Here we were, in the middle of Winyah Bay’s Western Channel; somewhat out of the way but not entirely. This was a weekend and fog or no, plenty of small boats were heading out to where-ever. Oh, maybe we should sound our “anchored in fog” bell- not exactly a great mimic of a real fog bell, but it was official.

Sunset the night before

A foggy morning departure

Boats heading south passed within 100 yds of us as they turned south down the Estherville-Minim Canal; never saw them. Got underway after checking the radar- yes, it was working fine as was AIS. Further inland the fog dissipated and within an hour the sun shone and we began watching for osprey nests along the Waccamaw River. Soon, we noticed an ugly T-storm blob on the chart plotter; the kind with a purple center- the kind you really, really want to avoid. Could we outrun it? Don’t think so. Checked the forecast, didn’t like it; called Osprey Marina and nabbed the last spot on their long dock.

By some miracle, the blob skimmed by us and the next one turned out to be only rain, as it poured 2 mins after we got tied up at the dock. Mike of m/v Happy Hours V caught our lines; we eased in to the spot in front of him. Sunday’s forecast was for high winds and T-storms; none of that occurred. We decided to buy fuel and get a pump out; Osprey’s fuel prices are THE best and a p/o is free. I knew from last year that turtles hung around the fuel dock area and sure enough two paddled over to check us out. I raced to grab lettuce and…. “they liked it!”

Um, yummy- lunch

Bud on m/v Diamond Girl invited us to pizza at Scatori’s, along with 7 others, none of whom really knew each other. The restaurant will pick you up and bring you back to the marina, which is not close to anything. Met a bunch of nice folks- as it happened, all trawler people- from a for-sale Krogen to a Nordic Tug, an American Tug and a Bayliner with a flybridge. A great cruiser evening where even the waitress joined in, expressing how she loved being on the water- the rougher the better! She meant it too.