36 Hour Solo Offshore

4AM and my iPhone alarm is buzzing. I need to weigh anchor and get underway before the 4:38AM start of the Winyah Bay inlet’s flood current. Somehow I lose track of time and don’t get underway till 5AM.

First light won’t occur until 6:24AM.

I weave my way through the other anchored boats quietly without shining my spotlight directly on them. It’s dark but the radar and spotlight are helping me find the daymarks and buoys that line the channel out the inlet and into the Atlantic.

Now at 6:05, 19 minutes before first light, if I look to the east, I can differentiate sky from the sea.

Moments later and First Light has arrived.

First Light on the Atlantic

Now it’s 7AM and at the sun is looking like a giant lightbulb on the eastern horizon.

Friends have found me.

I am amazed that they appear to glide without tail movements for quite some time

As the day goes on the following sea can be felt. As I walk through the salon I can hear the rhythmic sound of my wine glasses rocking back and forth in their upside down holder.

Wine Glasses making squeaking sounds

I open the back door to get a better look at the following sea.

Following Sea is catching me

I spot my first ship around 2PM.

It’s cargo vessel Triton and it will pass less than a mile from me with our current course and speeds.

Though I will not pass any other recreational traffic this far out I do come upon a second, equally as massive container ship on a crossing path.

I decide to spend some time on the bow and video as I go

20NM East of Charleston, SC

The sun has begun to set.

I settle in for the long night. When I go offshore as opposed to running in the ICW or “The Ditch” as it is called, there isn’t much to do. I plan my route and set my course and speed. The autopilot is engaged so no need to hold the helm. I do however need to maintain a constant watch for buoys or passing ships. My chosen route is a rhumb line between Winyah Bay Inlet and St. Augustine Inlet. Rhumb lines are courses navigators use to make it easy on themselves. A rhumb line only requires the captain to steer a constant magnetic bearing. I can hear the geometry nerds shouting… “The shortest route on the surface of a sphere is actually the arc of a great circle!”. On mercator projection charts a rhumb line is a straight line. My rhumb line route takes me about 45NM offshore.

Shoreline Route is the closest, St. Mary’s Inlet route middle and St. Augustine Route is the furthest offshore. Bailout routes in the inlets have been platted as well

Explained another way… If you stare at the picture of “globe Earth” below, keep this in mind. The longitudinal lines come together at the North Pole. If you are sailing either of the two routes drawn below, your compass needle’s would align to the longitude lines. The “rhumb line” route you steer a constant heading according to the compass while the shorter “great circle” route has you starting out at one compass heading and constantly steering more east as you go from left to right.

I don’t anticipate seeing many ships or buoys this far out. My watch duties are reduced to:

Scanning the horizon
Checking radar
Checking my boats position to my route every three minutes or so.

Note: you can see I zoomed way in and make small adjustments to the autopilot to stay close to my route line.

With minimal watch required it’s time to watch movies while at the helm. I preload media onto my iPads so when a cell signal is nowhere to be found… I still have entertainment.

Red Alert!

Tonight’s Sunset is a burning sky.

As the sun sets… the burning sky gives way to a night sky. This is why we boat. This is an addicting drug.

Crescent moon hangs over a horizon of fire

The sun slides beneath the waves. A waxing crescent, hangs above the flames of a burning horizon. I’m sure I’ve seen this surreal painting. An artist’s dream or mine? In a mere hour’s time, the moon follows her partner beneath that distant horizon. The boat surges forward with each wave, piercing the black velvet bedsheet stretched before her. The blackness offers up a gift. The stars are the only things left around. This far out to sea, the glow from land is all but snuffed out. The moment is now. I douse all the lights aboard and run to the bow. My bare feet upon the cold salty deck. The diesel’s growl is but a whisper to the parting ocean that crashes to both sides of me. The deck pitches, yaws and rolls and I am forced to a seated position. Forward facing into a brisk invisible wind. I lay prone. Above me the stars fixed in their galactic positions sway to and fro. It’s an undeniable existential moment. Your presence in this universe comes rushing into your headspace. Why am I here? I am here! I am certain my presence is to be the mirror mother universe uses to gaze upon herself.

CaptMahty

At night when I’m underway laying on the bow my steaming light illuminates the American flags I fly on my VHF antennas.

Sometimes If I want to be seen, I turn on my flybridge lights to better illuminate for passing ships.

As I look down at my iPhone’s moon app. I notice that as the boat is rocking the app developers have coded the moon app’s background to move with the iPhone’s accelerometer. The apps stars appear to sway like the ones above my head.

iPhone Accelerometer

The night was long and dark. The 5’ following sea could occasionally be seen as its white froth breaks and roars past the front of the boat. I cannot keep pace with the following sea so each wave lifts the boat’s stern and eventually I slide down the face of the wave as it slips past me.

When Sunrise comes my weariness subsides and I feel a second-wind.

Friends are here.

They glide through the water with so little effort

Now 3PM, I’m making my way into St. Augustine Inlet. Hurricane Dorian wiped out all the inlet markers so there are no buoys found marking the channel. No worries though as with the incoming waves it’s not hard to spot where the shoals are.

Shoals on the South side of the STA Inlet entrance

As I make my way in the inlet a beautiful Palm Beach motor yacht passes me.

STA Inlet Palm Beach yacht

Once inside the jetty walls I find a sailboat peacefully making way.

I have been told that St. Augustine is a favorite by many a cruiser. Seems every time I arrive here I’m in a hurry to be someplace else. This time is no different. As I pass St. Augustine’s City Marina I view this beautiful yacht resting against the outer dock.

I wonder what the make of this beautiful yacht is?

The Sun is getting low as I make my way south of St. Augustine, FL.

Sun is setting.. better find a place to anchor

My anchorage for the night is Matanzas as it puts me close to where I want to be around noon tomorrow.

Now with the anchor down I can finally relax and close my eyes.

I can finally stop driving the boat and close my eyes

Today’s W04L013 route looked like this.

Run to Georgetown SC

Before leaving Osprey Marina I figured I ought to get some Simple Life maintenance done.

I pulled back the rug and removed the teak & holly access panel to expose my Cummins 5.9L QSB diesel. You can see the hose dropped down into the engine room so that I can clean the bilge.

Teak & Holly floor covered since new with carpet and pad

Sitting in the engine room doing maintenance was hot so I decided that I would use up any non-IPA beers in the bottom of my fridge.

Simple Life carries 340 gallons of potable water. Depending on use, that should last a month but might as well fill the tanks while I’m at the dock. When I fill my water tanks I like to use a portable water filter from Home Depot. I also overfill the tanks so that water is pushed out the breather tube. Any tank that you fill must have a breather to allow the air being replaced to escape and on boats that tube exits on the outside of the boat high enough so that when the boat heals over you don’t have seawater intrusion. Little flying things can attempt to enter the breathers so flushing them with each fill is a good idea even though multiple filters catch anything in the tanks.

Flush out your water tank breather lines

Along with boat maintenance I was upgrading my MacBook Air to Big Sur. If you are a Apple Mac fan you know Apple just announced their new line of Macs that run on their new Apple silicon processors. This is big news for apple and will align their Mac computers with iPhone and iPad which already run Apple silicon. Why is this important? Well for starters iPhone and iPad apps which were written to run on Apple silicon can now be run on Mac computers to make Mac users like me happy that we can use similar apps across the three different platforms.

Before taking off I sat down to plot my next leg of the trip. I generally plan for 50NM each day. That is a very conservative estimate as I often run 80NM / day or more.

I decide to anchor in Georgetown, SC. I have always wanted to visit Georgetown. A quick check of the harbor shows several anchorages in very shallow water.

Red is a no-go and I stay out of orange areas if I can help it.

I untie my lines, jump aboard and put her in gear as I say my goodbye to Osprey Marina. Traveling south down the Waccamaw River, I pass marinas as well as people just pulling up to the banks to party.

The Waccamaw River is deep and the current (seen pushing over the no wake buoy above) is pushing me along at 7.8 knots. It’s raining but I enjoying the day in the pilothouse.

As I pass under Ocean Highway Bridge the entrance to Georgetown will be on my starboard side.

Near Georgetown, South Carolina

You can see the position of the sun in the video above and there is still more time in the day. I start thinking… Maybe I’ll push on and find an anchorage further south down the ICW?

I push on through Winyah Bay until the sun sets.

I settle on an anchorage just before the ICW takes a 90 degree turn leaving Winyah Bay. The anchorage is protected by a small, low island called Middle Ground and ithas plenty of water and swing room.

This anchorage is large for the ICW and several sailboats have already dropped anchor.

My plan was to anchor here for the night before heading on to Charleston, South Carolina. However, plans are made to be broken. I instead do a quick check of the weather offshore and decide to make a 36 hour run offshore to St. Augustine, FL. This long voyage will skip over the rest of South Carolina as well as Georgia and the very northern part of Florida. Georgia passed an anchoring law last year with draconian rules about where you can anchor. Some people just don’t like boats anchoring anywhere near their waterfront homes. Skipping Georgia has the side-effect of avoiding all their confusing anchoring laws.

I prepare my route for the next day. I add a lay line run straight from Winyah Bay, SC to St. Augustine, FL. I notice the sea is expected to be 3-4′ waves and increasing to 5′ over time. I add a second direct route to Saint Mary’s Inlet right at the GA/FL line. If it’s nasty I’ll know it pretty quickly and I’ll divert to this shorter route. I also plot out routes going in each navigable inlet as premade bailout routes incase anything goes wrong. Doing long solo offshore runs you need to be prepared incase I injure myself underway and need to get back inland quick.

St. Mary’s Inlet route breaks off around even with Charleston, SC

The math for the St. Augustine’s run looks like this.

I do a check of the currents leaving the Winyah Bay Inlet and find that if I don’t want to fight the 7:14AM Max flood current getting out I better leave soon after the 4:38AM start to flood.

We just had a new moon tonight so navigating tomorrow morning, you won’t get any help from the moon.

I settle on a 5AM weigh anchor time and decide to navigating the inlet in the dark is better than waiting till first light and fighting the current to get out.

I’ll be out of the inlet before first light

This leg of the journey looked something like this…

Beware of Boaters

Lockwood’s Folly

Lockwood’s Folly inlet comes upon you quickly after leaving SJP Marina and heading south.

Lockwood’s Folly is a known trouble spot for ICW shoaling. Every year, I download Bob Sherer’s (AKA Bob423) track that he uploads for free to his Facebook group called ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423 and his Fleetwing Blog. I used to stay up late each night after anchoring while I plotted my route for the next morning. Then a few years ago, I came across Bob posting his track online in a downloadable .GPX file format. I downloaded it and realized that he was quite skilled at making routes that avoided the many ICW hazards. I quickly realized the value in using his month-old track as well as Bob423’s 2020 ICW Cruising Guide. I’m on my fourth year of navigating from RI to the FL Keys. After eight years of doing the same, Bob joined the Waterway Guide, another popular ICW guide book/website.

Bob423’s Track

Bob’s track seen below in dark blue. It shows the proper shore-side route through Lockwood’s Folly.

The tide is two hours before low as I make my way south.

I play “hug a buoy” as I pass closely by a red buoy.

You can see the Atlantic Ocean as you look east out the inlet.

Atlantic Ocean surf can be heard as I pass

Rough Atlantic

Hearing the surf, I think… I’m glad I did not exit Southport this morning and take my chances running the outside. When making the inside vs. outside decision, I use apps like the NOAA Marine Forecast & Weather app on my iPhone.

Holden Beach

I passed this beautiful Nordhavn in Holden Beach.

As I travel through Holden Beach I can’t help but notice what appears to be storm damage possibly from Hurricane Isaias back in August of 2020?

I’m not sure I can blame Hurricane Isaias for the fishing boat pictured below. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is at work here. Even Mother Nature has to follow the rules!

Shallotte Inlet

The next inlet is Shallotte Inlet and it’s the same shallow story replayed.

USACE Hydrology coloring overplayed on charts using Aqua Map iPad app

If you want to know where it’s shallow… it’s where the birds are standing!

Beware of Boaters

Traveling the ICW you will encounter many boats that pass you in ways you don’t appreciate. Many times it is simply because the captain was not paying attention leading up your meeting. I’m guilty of loosing focus myself. Traveling solo in the helm seat for 10+ hours a day you can imagine I have zoned out quite a few times only to look up surprised by an oncoming boat.

I see a boat that is not staying “Right of Center” like you do on any road in America. I think to myself the captain will get right of center as we near each other.

Please keep right of center

I used to be bothered by this but it happens multiple times on every trip. You need to be ready to come to a complete stop if you must to avoid others on the ICW.

Less than an hour later I notice a small fishing boat crossing in front of me in the channel.

Small boat crossing ICW channel

As I approach they don’t make any gestures to alert me to the fact that they appear to be towing what I think was a net behind them in the channel. Luckily for me, they had a buoy marking the net’s approximate location in the water behind them. As I turned to avoid the net I heard my low water alarm go off and the boat start to slow as it plowed into the silty bottom. I quickly backed out and as I passed I heard someone from the small boat yell “sorry”.

Sexy Ladies

These sexy ladies passed me near Sunset Beach, NC. I believe they were a Hinckley, a Lazzara and an Outer Reef. The extra frothy wake from the Hinckley made me suspect a jet drive system rather than propeller?

Welcome to South Carolina

Finally I crossed into South Carolina. I like to acknowledge crossing state boarders even if… I am the only one aboard.

I am now cruising on a rising tide as I pass Little River Inlet.

More increasing entropy.

Every year I see less and less of this fishing boat still standing

Captain Poo

I made my way through the Little River Swing Bridge or as it is formally known since 2018, Captain Archie Neil Poo McLauchlin Swing Bridge. It’s named in honor of a local North Myrtle Beach boat captain who the locals enjoyed so much they nicknamed him Poo?

Tropical Storm Eta

Tropical Storm Eta has the winds swirling and rain coming down at all angles today.

Winds from Eta as she passes near Myrtle Beach, SC

Sadly, multiple deaths from Eta flooding have been reported in the sounding area.

Eta was a lethal tropical storm for North Carolinians

As I travel down this stretch of the ICW, you can watch the storm water as it finds its way from the watershed to the river.

There is a lot of debris floating down the river. I’ve seen everything from a pumpkin float by…

Not sure why my iPhone photo coloring is so off?

… to full trees resting near the channel’s edge.

As I go by pilings sitting on the river’s bank, you can easily imagine these objects floating from the bank as the river rises.

Rains from Tropical Storm Eta are falling like bullets on glass.

Bullet proof glass

#BigDeckEnergy

I go by this deck and grin.

All the confidence of a man in full control of his lawn …

Pronounced Sock-Ass-Tee

As I arrive at the 11 ft high Socastee Swing I am aware that it will not open with sustained winds 25+ mph. The bridge tender is not keen on letting me through but does.

Stock photo from a beautiful day unlike today

Osprey Marina

Rather than anchor in the Wacamaw river, I opt to stop at Osprey Marina.

Eta is not damping the mood aboard Simple Life. It is IPA O’clock!

Hot Pepper Jelly

I have stayed here several times before and I waste no time checking in so I can get my Osprey Marina goodie bag that always contains some crackers and yummy hot pepper jelly!

Signage in the Osprey Marina dock house of the Hot Jelly Ladies

Winter 04 – Leg 011

The eleventh leg of my journey looked something like this…

SJP Marina

It is 4:50AM in Topsail, NC. The engine coolant temp was showing 91 degrees. Still warm from running the night before.

Topsail Creeping…

I crept past MV Doghouse around 6:30AM.

Sitting peaceful on anchor.

Sloop Creek

I made my way back out of Sloop Creek making sure the boat’s path stayed in deep water.

Crimes Against Food

What I do to food is a crime in most states.

Misc pasta with tuna and mayo and Cajun hot spice & pepper.

Somebody has a beautiful home along the ICW.

I’m now passing ICW statue mile marker 280.

Wrightsville Beach Bridge

I am waiting for the opening of the Wrightsville Beach bascule bridge at the top of the 9th hour.

Wrightsville Beach Bridge

Bridge Tender Marina

Just on the other side of Wrightsville Beach Bridge is Bridge Tender Marina. Lots of boat porn as you motor past. Every boater prides him or herself on boat brand recognition. I struggle to recognize each of the boat manufactures as I slowly pass making sure not to wake the boats in the marina. Can you recognize any boat manufacturers? I zoomed in to find badging on a few but sometimes I look up the boat name in the USCG documented boat online search to find the manufacturer.

Speedsters

As I approach Carolina Beach, NC several large Sportfisher boats begin overtaking me. One after another.

Snow’s Cut

All these boats are now ahead of me as we turn into Snow’s Cut on the ICW.

I hear one of the boats hail another boat and ask to pass. I think to myself… this is not a good place to pass as I look down at my USACE hydrology overlay. I can see that the water is swift on the outside but slows on the inside, dropping sediment from the slow water and creating shallows.

I am about to hail the inside boat when I hear one of the Sportfishers call out on the VHF that it’s shallow in there and instructs the boat on the inside of the turn to turn back towards the outside of the turn. No boats grounded in that moment and any damage to propellers was avoided due to that heads up VHF call.

This sailboat at the other end of Snow’s Cut was not so lucky avoiding the shallows.

Cape Fear River

Snow’s Cut dumps you into the Cape Fear River and I am slowly passing a clam shell bucket dredge. Reminds me of that toy that little kids play with in the sand box.

Clam Shell Bucket Dredge in the Cape Fear River

I pass a tug with a large barge on a hip tow.

Southport, NC

Now reaching where the ICW departs from the Cape Fear River I look over and see the famous Frying Pan restaurant. Named after Frying Pan Shoals found extending offshore from Southport, NC.

SJP Marina

Moments later I was running around the topsides of the boat while it’s driving itself on autopilot. I am setting fenders on both sides of the boat and prepping my dock lines so that I can back into my slip and tie her up. When I looked up I was actually going by the entrance to SJP Marina and had to run up and turn back a bit. There are moments when I’m running around performing the first mate’s job and the boat is just driving itself.

As I pull into the marina I see my friend Jim standing on the docks pointing me towards a slip.

Load Up the Fridge

It’s alway a great feeling to pull into SJP and see Jim and Wende. They always extend a warm welcome and this time they were nice enough to pickup groceries for me so when I landed in the slip Jim was handing me grocery bags. I wasted no time in pulling out the griddle and frying up a large amount of peppers, onions and steak & potatoes. I like to fill my refrigerator full of precooked food. While I’m underway I can simply reheat food in the microwave. If I’m really in a pinch… I make the Cap’n Special which is microwave rice in the rice cooker with nacho chips and Stubbs Sweet Heat BBQ sauce and cheese. Yummy and simple.

Catching up with Jim & Wende

Later that night Jim and Wende would stop by with subs and beer and we enjoyed catching up in the cockpit of MV Simple Life. I look forward to hopefully seeing them again on my return trip north in April 2021. Jim surprised me with some local North Carolina IPAs.

Appalachian Mountain Brewery Long Leaf IPA – Yummy

Wicked Weed Brewing – Appalachian Session IPA

I was so busy enjoying myself I forgot to take a picture of the three of us for the SL blog. Next time!

SJP Marina is a beautiful location.

Today’s short 46NM journey looked something like this…

W04L010 – 46NM from Topsail Beach to St. James Plantation.

Boarded by the USCG

Floating above the seabed,
Chained to the ground,  
Waves of energy roll through me,
Riding the edge of sleep.

First Light

I awake. It’s still dark. Why I can’t sleep late? Instead, the smell of coffee wafts.

Drizzle Smizzle

As I make my way down Adam’s Creek the drizzle can be seen on the pilothouse glass.

I’m feeling pushed… Pushed along to 7.4kts

1400 RPM should push me along at 6.5kts but I’m feeling the current on my stern.

As I make my way down Adam’s Creek I pass many boats on this drizzly morning.

As I approach the Core Creek Bridge the creek narrows and the water speeds up in an effort to squeeze through.

Newport Marshes

The Newport Marshes are just inland from Moorehead City and Beaufort. There is an area that can be confusing as the channel bifurcates. The Russell Slough Channel is a secondary channel that goes into the backside of Beaufort and the ICW channel breaks off to starboard when you are heading south to Florida. You must be careful to respect the ATONs (Aids TO Navigation) ie. buoys. I see a trawler approaching heading north and he notices that he is on the wrong side of the red buoy and performs a hard-over helm correction before getting right back on course. There is also a tiny anchorage right at the split. I have been tempted to use it but have always chickened out because there is a 4.9′ depth that I fear swinging into at low tide and resting on the bottom. I always keep that anchorage in mind if I’m in a pinch.

As I approach Moorehead City I must pass through a narrow rail bridge.

Hang a Roger @Moorehead City

When you get to Moorehead City you turn 90 degrees around a large building.

After making that turn I was greeted by a rainbow

As I travel through Bogue Sound I’m reminded that today’s run will go through many traditionally shallow locations and I’ll have to stay tight to my line to not bump the bottom.

Boat Porn

As I go along I repeatedly have to pull the throttle back to idle to allow boats to give me a slow pass.

I almost missed slowing down for this diver down flag where these men were working on the bridge.

Diver Down

USCG Boarding

As I came into Swansboro I watched a USCG inflatable with three team members pass me and take up a course on my stern. Moments later they hailed me to tell me they wanted to board Simple Life. I cut speed to minimum make-way speed and explained that the best location to come along side and have crew jump aboard would be my stern swim platform. I felt only a slight bump and heard two Coasties coming through my salon. They greeted me warmly and asked if I was alone. I responded “yes” to which they replied … “oh, OK I guess you’ll have to keep piloting the boat and we’ll do our thing. They were doing a safety inspection which includes me showing them everything from sound devices, PFDs, throwable PFDs, signaling equipment, a digital copy of the USCG ColRegs. They also performed an engine room and bilge check as well as asked for my license and boat documentation. They were very professional and polite about searching through my current home. They gave me a passing grade and handed my my yellow boarded slip to keep for my records. I asked if I could take a picture for my blog and they said “No Problem”.

I like to keep everything digital on Simple Life.

Keep the Water Out

Sometimes it’s a challenge keeping the water out.

Marine Base Camp Lejeune

As I pass ICW statue mile 235, the shot up military vehicles and V22 Osprey aircraft overhead remind me that I’m approaching Marine Base Camp LeJeune.

Onslow Beach

As I arrive at the Onslow Beach Bridge I must wait in traffic for the next opening. The current was on my stern so I made sure to take a visual fix on land and hold my position fixed. Boats who were coming up behind were being pushed by the current past me. They are all faster than me so whenever faster traffic lines up behind me at a bridge I find it easier to let them pass you in line so that you can avoid the inevitable pass after the bridge. I backed my way into the current until I was the last in line. I watched as the boats swarmed like bees attempting not to hit one another.

Eyeballs Be Burning

As the sun gets low you’ll be seeing spots

Need to Hook Up

Now passing one of my favorite anchorages called Mile Hammocks Bay. The boat in front of me Kismet turns in. For a moment I start to follow but think… there is still three hours of daylight left. That said, the challenge with continuing on is… there is probably only one suitable anchorage within 3 hours range called Sloop Creek. If it’s full I could be running into the night looking for somewhere to drop the hook. I have never been to this anchorage so I study the entrance and make note of my expected arrival time which is after sunset. I decide to go for it.

When in route I can’t remember if the Surf City Swing Bridge has been replaced with a 65′ high fixed bridge. I use Apple Maps and it shows it in place. I switch to Google Maps and see it missing.

While enroute to the anchorage, I hear MV Doghouse hail me on the VHF. “Simple Life, do you know where there is an anchorage around here?”. I reply, Sloop Creek and they ask if they can follow me there. I jump at the chance to be helpful and reply “follow me”. We arrive at the anchorage. I do a quick circle to check the depths. It’s not deep or wide but… it’ll do for tonight.

Tyler Childers playing in Topsail, NC

Todays 69NM route looked something like this…

Dark Neuse

First light while anchored in the Alligator River is a nice way to start your day.

Anchored off East Lake, NC in the Alligator River

Getting Loopy

Last nights anchorage was peaceful. There was a light wind so we anchored far from the only lodge you can see lit up on the shore of East Lake, NC. I weigh anchor and do a loop around Effervescence IV.

A loop around Effervescence IV and heading for the deep area and the bridge

Debbie calls out “Good Morning” while standing on her bow. Glen and her are prepped to weigh anchor as we are looking to get underway before sunrise.

Back in the Channel

As we make our way back to the channel and the Alligator River Swing Bridge the horizon starts to glow.

Planned Route

The planned route for today is to travel at Simple Life’s efficient 6.5kts which will put us in Gale Creek as the sun sets. If we anchor in Gale Creek, in the morning we will motor out of the creek and into the Bay River => Neuse River => Adam’s Creek => Core Creek = Newport Marshes => Morehead City, NC and then south down Bogue Sound.

Morehead City is right next to Beaufort, NC where I often stop for an IPA in one of the many sailor bars there. Sometimes I opt to go out Beaufort entrance channel and run outside in the Atlantic down to Masonboro Inlet. I like to do this as it cuts out a few ICW areas where shoaling hazard occur. The hazzard areas correlate to where some of the inlets carry silt into the ICW. Inlets such as New River Inlet and New Topsail Inlet for instance.

This year Mother Ocean is not going to allow an outside transit as Hurricane Eta is raging in the Florida Keys and even this far north the forecast is for 5+ footers.

Hurricane Eta near the Florida Keys

As we approach the end of the Alligator River we make our way into the aptly named “Alligator River Pungo River Canal”. It’s a man-made cut through the land and I love to set my autopilot and see how long I can go before I have to make a correction.

Parting Ways

While heading down the canal I can see my speed drop from 6.5kts to 6.1kts as we buck a current. It’s at this point that MV Effervescence IV hails me on the VHF asking if we can pick up the pace. I am aware that my pace is too slow for Glen and Debbie. Going this slow they will drop down to running on a single engine with the rudder over to keep her straight. At this point we decide that they will pass me and travel at a speed that is more appropriate for them. We wave and promise to find each other at some point further south.

Debbie snapped a photo and text’d it to me as she passed.

Dead Zone

The cell phone coverage is terrible in the canal. However, as expected, when you get close to either of the two bridges that cross you will get a signal while passing under.

When you are at the helm and starring down at your phone, don’t forget to look up and spot these deadheads. Not the kind smoking weed at a Grateful Dead concert but the tree stump kind that just barely stick up out of the water.

The weather is amazing as I cruise along with both pilothouse doors open and Tyler Childers blaring out into the nothing that surrounds the canal.

A far cry from the snowy boat deck back in Warwick 8 days ago.

I find myself scratching my head as I pass this dock.

Hey Mr Builder, can you add a little more pitch to this corner of the roof?

A few days back was my post entitled ICW MM 0 and now I am passing a new ICW distance marker.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Taking a boat south for the winter in the ICW is easy once you figure out the new methods of how to navigate the constantly changing ICW path. Just as I type and state how easy it is… I look up from my MacBook and see a depth of only 6.4′! Yikes, I was not paying attention while on autopilot and had slowly motored outside the narrow channel. A quick pull back of the throttle and course correction of 60 degree to port and I’m back safely in the channel.

I believe most groundings on the ICW happen as a result of lack of focus, distraction and not purposeful bad decisions. When you are navigating solo at a snails pace for 10-16 hours, day after day with little sleep, it’s easy to lose focus and run aground. When I read a Facebook Boating Group post about a captain running aground, I think… that could easily be me. I promised long ago never to snicker when hearing others throw shade at a captain who ran aground. There is a saying… “if you ain’t been aground, you ain’t been around”. Truth!

The challenge to doing the ICW is… It’s a marathon not a sprint! Four years ago when I retired and set out running the ICW each Fall & Spring I could not wait to leave the bitter cold NE for warm and sunny Florida or the Bahamas. You spend sun up to sun down with your ass in the captains chair. Your desire to get there, has you pushing the throttle down. When you try to slow down you feel like …”I’m never going to get there!”. The trick is to relax and enjoy the ride. It took about two years for me to relax and just put-put along. When I’m foolish enough to give myself a schedule, I have learnt the proper way to “rush” is… not to go faster but… run longer into the day or night.

Finding Happiness

It takes time to slow down. I’m not laid-back but easy-going. Laid back people just don’t care about anything. I’m easy-going which is simply a way of saying rarely does anything bother me and when it does I usually say something like F-it and just go back to finding happiness some other way.

Retirement gave me pause. Time to focus on understanding myself and what makes me happy. When you are so busy doing all the things that you “must do” you never know what you really “want to do”. Part of gaining a better understanding into who I am is studying personality profiling methods such as the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). I am a strongly-typed ENFP. Want to know what you are? Here is a free 100 question MBTI test that will tell you.

16 Personality Types – What type are you?

I always believed that everyone was obsessed like me with understanding the world around them and the meaning of life. I realize now that many spend their lives avoiding such questions as they just don’t have time or desire to seek such answers. I believe the answer is personal and everyone sees it different. Understanding the world around you and what’s inside of you will bring you happiness. For me … the meaning of life = pursuit of happiness. Knowing this helps me focus on living my best life. A simple Life. If you care to read about my Simple Life Philosophy, here is a link to it.

Once you begin to understand yourself and what you want out of life you can build yourself a mantra to act as a compass. This mantra is a quick way to remember how to make the many decisions you make each day.

Simple Life’s Mantra

Free Will Trumps Destiny – Nothing happens for a reason. You cannot direct the winds but you can adjust your sails.
Seek Truth – Understand the world and those around you. Tell the truth and seek those to offer you their true feelings. If you don’t know the truth, you can’t make a good decision.
Stay Away From Stupid People – People who are acting stupid just don’t get it. They will cause you harm by simply being near them. Surround yourself with good people and they will bring happiness to your life.

Well anyway, back to my story about yesterday’s journey….

It’s getting late in the day. The sun is sinking low as I pass the RE Mayo Seafood company. I love seeing the large shrimp boats tied to their docks.

As I make my way out into the Bay River the skyline is colorful.

Neuse River

I have decided to travel into the night to cover more ground. The moon will not rise in time so my trip down the Neuse River will be dark.

I had to adjust my course a bit to avoid a beam sea as the winds blowing over Pamlico Sound have had a long fetch to build. Soon I am using my remote spotlight to spot pilings as I enter Adam’s Creek.

Red Daymarker Piling glowing in the dark when spotted.

I pull into tonights anchorage and it’s real shallow.

Danger Will Robinson!

Dead Low

I check the nearest tide station at the Core Creek Bridge to see if it will drop any lower leaving me aground?

I have arrived at dead low tide. Great news! Now anchored it’s time to enjoy a cold IPA and relax for the night.

Today’s 98NM route looked something like this…

Anchor in the Alligator

Morning Fog

Simple Life pulled away from the dock around 6:20AM. I was drifting in the river while I stowed my lines and fenders. Once stowed I pointed the boat south through the morning’s fog. MV Effervescence IV had also pulled away from the dock and had taken up my stern .I captured a few seconds of the morning’s fog on my phone.

Morning Fog on the Elizabeth River in Virginia

Sound Signals

As we moved through the fog I had my airhorns blasting on long every two minutes.

Great Bridge Lock

We had left the dock because just a mile or two down the river is the Great Bridge Lock. We wanted to get through the lock as quick as possible so that we could maximize the nautical miles we could put behind us by using all of the daylight. When we arrived at the lock we had to wait about 30 minutes for the next opening. Once inside the lock, we tied to the rubber numbered East wall so we did not have to set our fenders.

Great Bridge Lock

As I leave the lock I pass a steaming barge of dirt.

Great Bridge

You can see at the end of the above video that as soon as you exit the Great Bridge Lock you must stop and wait for the Great Bridge to open for you. I always remember the lock and the bridge being sync’d in time. When one let boats through the other was ready to let them through as well. Today however, we had to wait. More time spent not moving toward our nights proposed anchorage in the Alligator River.

Eventually the Great Bridge opened for us and we slipped beneath it’s large raised spans to find AYB (Atlantic Yacht Basin) on just the other side.

Encountering Barges

When you travel down a river the deepest part of the river is often the visual center. As you get away from the center and near the banks or edges of the river it can often shallow quickly. The ICW is a federal waterway which is responsible for moving goods up & down the US East Coast safe from storms on the Atlantic. Wide tug and barge combos will need that depth found in the center. If you need to pass a tug pushing a barge you need to give them the center. This often pushes you uncomfortably close to the shallow banks. Some boats will stop while the barge passes but most will communicate the pass over the VHF. The tugboat captain will usually say something like “I’d like a one-whistle pass” or “I’ll meet you on the one”. This jargon comes from the fact that boats use sound signals or either one or two short blasts of the horn to indicate what side of your boat they intend to pass on.

Tug, Gold Coast, pushing a barge north past recreational boaters going south

As the tug passes I check my AIS for information about the tug.

Crossing State Lines

When transiting the East coast I always enjoy the moments when I cross state lines. Some states I come and go in the day, ex. RI. Other states I can spend weeks in, ex. FL.

North Carolina

Below are some of the sights as I approach North Carolina.

Who Doesn’t Love a Cuck?

Now passing through Coinjock, NC I spy a Chevy El Camino on the shore. I don’t know why but I feel like that car is perfect for Coinjock.

Get up an Go

This large yacht passed me at an amazing speed for such a large yacht. They were outside the channel while performing the pass. Their wake was not that bad as much of their hull is out of the water as they plane on top at high speed.

Wow that is fast for such a large boat

Daylight Fading

At this point in the day’s journey, we are about to cross Albemarle Sound. During the night before’s captain’s briefing, we had planned to cross Albemarle Sound and anchor just before the Alligator River Swing Bridge. Delays we encountered at the Great Bridge Lock have made it so the sun will set before we arrive at our anchorage. MV Effervescence IV has asked me if we could increase our speed so as to arrive while there is still light? The sun is setting at 5:03PM and the last quarter moon will not rise till 11:50PM. No moon makes for a dark night and nobody wants to hit a day marker piling or run over a crab pot float and get a line wrapped around your prop.

I agree to increase the speed from 6.5kts to 8.5kts.

Fuel Economy

Trawlers like most boats can get great fuel milage at a slow speed. However, for every 1/10 of a knot you go above that speed the MPG starts to plummet fast. At 6.5 kts I get 3NM/gal. At 8.5kts I get 1NM/gal. If you have to increase your speed to close to your top speed you will very quickly spike your dollars paid per mile. It is better to realize the needed increase early so you don’t have to do the worst case of increasing to near max. Planning and flexibility is the key to getting down the coast and still having $ for beer 😉

Albemarle Crossing

Today’s crossing of Albemarle Sound is one of the smoothest I’ve had.

Albemarle Sound is Flat

Scanning the Horizon

Wake

I find a boat’s wake hypnotizing to watch up close.

Today’s 71NM journey looked something like this…

ICW Mile Marker 0

I awoke on anchor to find that another boat had quietly slipped into the anchorage while I was sleeping.

I could not quite read the name of this vessel

A quick look around shows dense fog was blanketing the area outside the anchorage.

The day’s planned journey was to a marina about 36 NM or 6 hours away. It’s Friday and the marina closes at 5PM so I wanted to be there by 4PM to secure a spot. I figured a late 10AM start might allow some of the fog to burn off.

As I enjoy my morning coffee, I look up at see that the other boat in the anchorage was now leaving. I can finally read the name, MV Effervescence IV. I recall this boat. Effervescence IV was on the hard next to Simple Life in Warwick, RI, one month ago. Her owner and I had introduced ourselves and exchanged numbers just incase we should wind up near each other on our trips south this winter.

It’s now 10AM and as I pull out of the anchorage, I check the AIS (automatic Identification System) and see Effervescence IV is just a just a few miles ahead of me.

I use the MMSI # from her AIS info and program it into my VHF to place a DSC individual call to the boat and instruct their DSC radio to automatically switch to CH#69 as soon as they ACK my DSC call.

Moments later we are discussing plans to meet up at Top Rack Marina in Chesapeake, VA.

Norfolk harbor has non-stop large ship traffic transiting its entrance channel. On this day, the USCG had issued a warning over the VHF about an Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) called the Maersk Edinburgh. The Maersk Edinburgh is 1201′ long and has 158′ of beam. It is certainly not hard to spot visually but I’m having trouble seeing much of anything out the pilothouse windows.

I will have to rely on radar & AIS. Radar just shows me a large target with position and speed data but no identifying info about the vessel. AIS however, shows me all kinds of vessel information.

It’s moving at 18.1kts! 3X faster than Simple Life

As I cruise on… the fog lifts for a moment to allow me to see this sexy girl passing me.

Then just as fast as it lifted, the fog closes around me again.

Dense fog outside of the pilothouse windows

Now passing Norfolk Navel Station, the that fog has lifted and I can once again see the boats around me.

Tug moving at hull speed

To get to the start of the ICW (InterCoastal Waterway), called mile marker 0, you must pass dozens of warships in port.

Now past the warships I see the ULCV Maersk Edinburgh being pushed into her berth by several large tugs.

The tugs look tiny compared to the 1201′ long ship

I saw this tug go by with it’s funny looking tall tower that allows it to see over whatever barge it is pushing.

If I ever get a change to go up in a tugboat’s tower I’m going to jump at that opportunity.

I heard several VHF marine warnings about a 950′ long dry dock called “Titan” that was being moved through Norfolk as well. As I glance over to shore I see it being pushed into place.

Right around the corner from this new one that arrived another dry dock that has a large warship in it.

I need to be at Top Rack Marina before 5PM to get a slip. So when this huge barge swings out blocking the channel, I find a safe way around it and under the bridge.

I was aware of the time as I know I needed to get to Top Rack Marina before 5PM and as I turn the next bend in the Elizabeth River, I see that the Norfolk Southern #7 Rail Bridge is in the down position. I watch as was seems to be the longest slowest freight trains slowly passes.

After what seemed like forever, the bridge when back up and within 20 minutes I was fueled up and in my slip at Top Rack Marina.

Simple life. can almost turn sideways the slip is so wide.

Siting in my slip, I’m aware that it’s Mike Spinney’s birthday. I think… I’m sure him and his friends are celebrating. Then this photo comes in and I can only smile.

Glen, Debbie and I had planned to visit the local restaurant but it was closed. What to do? I invited Glen and Debbie over to Simple Life for a cocktail. They obliged and bought drinks and snacks. Glen makes his own beef jerky. Jerky & IPA goes well together.

We decided to do a captain’s brief where I brought up the charts on the big screen and we walked through the next days route which would run from sun up to sun down.

Today’s 38NM leg of my journey looked something like this…

Concrete Ships Float?

It felt wonderful waking up after a good five hours or so of sleep. The sun was peaking above the horizon and I realize that my life while underway is a cycle of sunrises and sunsets. It’s enjoyable to contemplate the start of each day.

Warmer as You Go

It’s almost 9AM now and as I cruise south down the Atlantic, I’m happy that my nights & days are getting warmer.

Back home in Foxboro the temp hit 70 but the nights are colder due to not being on the water

Flat Ocean is a Happy Ocean

My anchorage was flat water but even now out in the unprotected Atlantic I find it almost as flat.

Italian Yachts

I’m not the only one out here enjoying the flat sea. This sexy Azimut passed me like I was standing still.

Flat like a Bedsheet

As I cruise the sea gets ridiculously flat. I stop to make a video of just how calm it is.

The Atlantic coast of Virginia is looking the pool water

Fisherman’s Island

I’m now rounding Fisherman’s Island on the southern tip of Cape Charles. I glance up at my iPad to see my expected ETA is slipping. I’m fighting the tide which is exiting Chesapeake Channel.

I care about my ETA because I’d like to get on anchor before it’s dark.

I realize that in order to make last light I need to shorten my route or speed up. I decide to “cut the corner” a bit. Cutting the corner can get you in trouble with running aground if you are not careful as depths around inlets are often different than your charts. I cut the corner with a close eye on the trending depths displayed on my instruments.

Careful rounding too close to Fisherman’s Island. It’s low tide and there is a 3.9′ sounding

As I’m rounding the corner, Flipper & friends pay me a visit.

I no sooner round the corner and I’m passing under The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It is a four-lane 20-mile-long vehicular toll crossing that provides direct access from Southeastern Virginia to the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware plus the Maryland and Virginia Eastern Shore).

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

Passing under the bridges you realize how much work went into their construction.

Concrete Ships Anchorage

The sun has set but my cutting the corner has resulting in Simple Life’s arrival at the Concrete Ships Anchorage before dark. I snap a few pictures of the ships before I lose last light.

As I cruise past, a USCG patrol boat is moving slowly alongside the concrete ships and shining their spotlight into the openings of the ships. I think to myself … “Are people living inside the ships?” Why else would they be so interested in looking inside?

Anchored Fast

I quickly chose a good anchor spot by studying the depths and drop anchor.

There is no wind at all so I backdown at a full 830 RPMs to set the anchor.

Cummins SmartCraft Display shows me my RPM Digitally

A check of my GPS SOG (Speed Over Ground) shows the anchor is not budging.

I snap a quick photo of the sunset over the concrete ships and settle in for the night.

W04L005 67NM route looked something like this…

Who wants a Wallop?

When my youngest sister, Janet & I were acting bad, our Dad would simply state “Who wants a wallop?” My first thought was “What’s a wallop?” Later I learned… It was code for you better starting acting right or Dad’s gonna straighten you out like a piece of wire. Lucky for us, it was rare he ever had to make good on that threat because we knew enough to stop.

You may be thinking… why is he talking about about getting a wallop? Well… ADD aaannnd tonight’s anchorage will be Wallop’s Island. There are not many places to anchor along Virginia’s Atlantic coast but this is one of the few.

Wallop’s Island along Virginia’s Atlantic Coast

Absecon Inlet

I only slept for 2 hours and awoke at first light. It’s amazing how refreshed you feel even after as little as 2 hours sleep. As I look out the pilothouse windows I can see a bright spot of sun on the metal exterior of the 430′ high Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

As I glance out the other side of the boat I see Ra, the ancient Egyptian sun god, has just started his journey across the cloudless sky.

I am not alone. Last night I weaved through three sailboats to find an empty spot to drop my anchor. I wonder if they will even know I was here?

When I finally retrieve my anchor into it’s bow roller I see that it’s covered with sea lettuce. Well I’m sure there is a more technical term but I’m sure the strong current was trapping the lettuce against my anchor chain like lettuce blowing in the wind.

As I look in my review camera I am reminded of how deep Absecon Inlet is.

As deep as it is inside the inlet there is quite a bit of shoaling going on around it’s entrance. The Aqua Maps chart plotter view below shows a few of my past tracks entering and leaving Absecon Inlet. The pink track entering from the left of the picture was my track coming in at 3:11AM on 11/4/20. While the charts show depths like 20′ and 15′, reality was much closer to 9′ as I came across that shoal. Whenever you are navigating inlets your chart depths are not to be trusted. If you have any ocean swell action going on you’ll often see breakers wherever the shoals exist.

Brigantine Bay anchorage on left, Absecon anchorage in middle and Farley State Marina on the right

As I make my way out of the inlet I am bucking the incoming tide and it slows my normal 6.5 kt speed down to a plodding 4.6kts.

Atlantic City Architecture

As I leave Atlantic City I look back at both the 710′ high Ocean Casino Resort and The Wheel @ Steel Pier (227′ high). Both of these object are lit up at night and can be seen for miles as you approach on a dark night. The ball at the top of the Ocean Casino Resort (The former Revel Casino Hotel) glows with changing colors.

Digital Selective Calling

The next hours many hours were spent cruising the coast with hardly a boat to be found. Then suddenly the VHF radio sprang to life.

Me ACK’ing a DSC distress message with no LAT/LON or nature of distress info in the message

VHF radios have evolved to use DSC or Digital Selective Calling which allows for making calls to select individuals or groups using their MMSI number (Maritime Mobile Service Identity). DSC also allows for making a digital distress call like the one I received. After ACK’ing the call I received, I immediately entered the boat’s MMSI number and called them back directly. No response! I tried several times for about 30 minutes while I scanned the horizon with my binoculars for any signs of boats or activity. Nothing. Other boaters have told me stories about how the distress button gets accidentally pushed on radios and when someone calls back the people won’t answer your call. Often after you accidentally push the distress button, many boaters attempt to call you back and having to repeatedly tell each of them that you accidentally pushed the button can be a humiliating experience.

Learn From My Mistakes

All that said… I still wish I had notified the USCG.

At the time I thought… there was no location or nature of distress information included in the DSC message. So I would simply be telling them that I received a message with no other info. BTW, the location information is probably one of the greatest reasons for DSC distress in the first place. You simply hookup a NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) data wire from your Chartplotter/GPS to your VHF and the VHF automatically sends your LAT & LON coordinates as part of the digital distress message. Had the location info been sent I could have gone to the location given.

Even though I know…

Buttons get pushed by accident
I could see no boats or activity
Whomever pushed the button never answered my reply

I realize it was a mistake not to inform the Coast Guard that I received a message. Next time, I will be prepared on how to handle this situation. Boating is a learning experience. I make mistakes and I learn everyday.

Night Approaches

The sun was setting. I settled back into my captain’s chair and prepared for dark. There was a half moon tonight but moonrise would not occur until around 8PM. I let the flybridge lights so that I would be seen by others and between radar and occasionally spotlighting I felt good as I cruised on into the night.

Tonight’s sunset behind Fenwick Island near Ocean City, MD

I adjusted the brightness of my chart plotter & instruments as well as set dark mode on my iPads. Nothing can be seen outside but the reflection of my instruments in the pilothouse windows.

I arrived at Wallop’s Island around midnight. It was a long 17 hours at the helm. I’ll be up at first light but I’m sure I won’t have any issues getting to sleep tonight!

Winter 2020 – 115NM Leg 004 looked something like this…