Sapelo Island to Cumberland Island

Orange in the AM

Sunrises in the low lands of Georgia are amazing.

Get Up You Lazy Captain!

If you read the last post, I wrote about how 50 NM / day can be done but you have to get an early start. Well, I didn’t.

Tortoise and the Hare

Right of the bat I had a much faster boat pass me by. I’m sure he gets his 50NM in before noon.

Anyone Home?

I found this home on a small island interesting as I passed.

ATONs

ATONs (Aids TO Navigation) or buoys if you will, are important things to pay attention to on the ICW.

World is Ablaze

As I was approaching Brunswick, GA it looked like the world was burning.

No idea what was burning but there was a lot of smoke

Traffic

I hailed this tug & barge on the VHF and let him know that I would push over to the edge of the channel as soon as I rounded a narrow bend in the river.

The Unexpected

Next came something I did not expect. When I first saw it I had no idea what it was. I spy’d it with my binoculars but I still could not identify it.

Turns out this is the underside of the 656 foot long Korean RoRo cargo ship called “Golden Ray” that capsized in Cumberland Sound on September 8th, 2019. While 4 of the 24 crew members were missing 3 were later rescued and even the 4th was pulled out alive. They were trapped with a fire that was roasting them alive while they were stuffing their pockets with ice to stay cool.

Slow as She Shallows

I was making my way down Jekyll Creek just off Jekyll Island. I found shallows.

Foreboding

As I glanced up at the sky I could see that it was getting lower and darker.

Time to stop being a lazy captain and check the weather.

You Ain’t Be Around if You Ain’t Been Aground

I was happy that my anchorage was quickly approaching. However, before I could get to my chosen anchor location I came around a turn in the bend to find this trawler aground.

Like I always say, “If you want to know where it’s shallow… it’s where the birds are standing”

Have You Been Paying Attention?

Have you have been paying attention? Did you read my last blog post about how I plan on making 50NM legs like this leg shown below?

W03L017 Crescent River Anch – Delaroche Creek Anch

Well I got a late start, I ran into shallow water, Gale Warnings, slowed for all kinds of things like trawlers aground. When did I get to my anchorage? In the dark with gale warnings. OK, It may have been gale warnings out on the ocean but only strong gusty winds where I was anchoring. That said, I’m in the Georgia low lands. Nothing sticks up high enough to buffer the winds. I did not snap a pic while anchored because it was just black out. Anchoring did not go smoothly. I had a strong wind perpendicular to a strong current and I was challenged to find a spot that did not have the wind swinging Simple Life onto the creek bank. It’s going to be a long night on anchor. Now where did I put those IPAs?

D9 Brewing Company Hakuna Matata Tropical IPA

Savannah to Sapelo Island

Stay or Pull Out?

I was in Savannah. It was 6AM. My guests had departed. I had rented the slip till checkout at 11AM. I wanted so bad to spend my morning strolling around Savannah but the currents were already building against the back of the boat. When you are single handed, a strong current like that can pin you to the dock or worse send you smashing into it. Leaving early before the current got too strong was the right choice. As I pulled away from the dock, I reflected for a moment and thought… “I’ll be back”.

As I headed back down the Savannah River I chose a short cut that leads back to the ICW but further south. I had never taken this short cut and it turned out to be a wise move cutting maybe 40 minutes off my day’s leg.

Fuel Conservation and Distance Traveled

From this point on I would plan my routes to only 50NM a day. I would run at only 1400 RPM and burn around 2 gallons of diesel an hour or about $6/hr. Which is much better than the roughly $18/hr I had been running.

Leaving the throttle at this RPM means my speed will change as the currents are either with me 8 kts or against me 4 kts. Taking an average of 6 kts x 10 hours of daylight for these latitudes / season is 60NM in a single day.

Delays! Think about what slows you down.

Bad weather – Wind against you.
Bad luck hitting currents mostly against you.
Shallow areas where you must slow down to prevent running the boat aground at speed.
Late starts means not pulling up the anchor right at sunrise.
Time spent waiting for bridges to open and let you pass under.
No Wake Zones – Near marinas, anchored boats, homes with boats in the water, kayakers, paddle boarders, etc.
Arriving at your intended anchorage and it’s full meaning you must push on to the next anchorage. Sometimes this is over an hour away.

I have found that 50NM / day can at times mean arriving at your intended anchorage in the dark if you are not timely.

South of Savannah

One of the first spots you come to is Thunderbolt, GA. Here I pass the Hinkley Yacht Services and their docks. There are always pretty boats to be seen.

I pass many commercial fisherman.

Catching bait fish with small throwable nets

When I arrived at the Crescent River where I intended to anchor, the last bit of light was fading. I snapped a picture but I think the video captured more of its beauty.

Day Two in the Crescent River

I awoke in the AM and just decided I was not going to leave. I thought… why not spend a quiet day on anchor?

Early this morning a commercial fishing boat gently passed by me at around 4AM.

I was relaxing when I thought did I hear a knock on my hull? I opened the back door to find a fellow cruiser in his dinghy asking me if I wanted an shrimp from the local fish market that he was going to. I replied, thanks but I was not in the mood for shrimp (after all you have to cook those things). We chatted for a while about where he was going (Exumas, Bahamas) and he dashed away in his dinghy.

The tides run about 8 feet in these parts of Georgia. You must be careful when you anchor at high tide that six hours later you won’t swing into a shallow and ground yourself. I had circled my chosen anchor drop location to test the depths out to a radius of my intended anchor rode length + boat length to make sure. My notes about this location marked an old dock hidden beneath the waters so I made sure to anchor away from it. In the morning it was low tide and I saw that the location was not where the previous captain had stated but in fact was very close to where I anchored. I updated the hazard location in the database for future captains that might choose to anchor here.

Old Dock of sorts a distance off the shore and exposed at low tide

I use an anchor alarm app called “Anchor!” on my iPhone and it showed that while I move with the switching current I stayed parallel to the river bank. That is usually the case when you don’t have a strong crosswind.

Winter 03 Leg #16 had looked something like this…

Up the River in Savannah

We pulled out of Beaufort, SC and I was at the helm again.

Listening to USCG hazard to navigation broadcasts about a submerged object.

We had dolphins off the bow as we passed Hilton Head Island.

As made our way down the Savannah river you notice that the banks for the river have been artificially made high and that there are large gas tanks and other industrial structures along the shore.

There are many tug boats in the river to assist the large tankers and container ships that seem to be everywhere in the river.

Several passenger ferries past us as well.

I had called the Westin hotel earlier in the day to reserve a slip in front of their hotel but the woman who answered the phone kept trying to rent me a hotel room. I kept explaining that we were a boat and needed a slip at their marina but she just did not seem to understand. Oh well.

Savannah Convention Center & Westin Hotel

I called a River Street Dock just across the river and it worked out great. Turns out it’s right in the heart of everything.

MV Simple Life docked behind the Georgia Queen

Just on shore was Spanky’s and other restaurants.

The Savannah River was full of huge container ships that if they ever took the turn wide they’d crush us flat.

Rather than Spanky’s, we chose instead to go to the Boar’s Head Grill & Tavern for dinner. It turned out to be a great choice. The food was excellent and the beer brought to me made me laugh. I asked Charlene “Shaalean” our waitress for the double IPA “Beeyah” (with my Boston accent). She came back with a different IPA called “Damn Yankee”. Should have seen that coming.

After a boat-load of Damn Yankee’s we came back to find the current slamming into the stern hard enough to push debris onto the swim platform.

Early the next morning it was time for my guests to depart. We had so much fun in the short time they were aboard. I will miss their laughter and amazing meals they made. They were even kind enough to cook up some dishes and put them in the freezer for me. I look forward to seeing them when I return to RI.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part, Buddy wrote a MV Simple Life theme song!

MV Simple Life Theme Song

Simple Life 
                                                                   
 When enough ain’t enough
 You’re just talking about stuff,
 And your stuff is wearing you down.
 It’s time for a change,
 Time to rearrange
 Your position that’s got you all wound.
 
 You can learn from the man
 Who finally understands
 You can ditch the traffic and strife.
 Take the soft way through the world
 And another will unfurl,
 You can live the Simple Life.
 
 Sell it all but the boat
 And what you require for the float
 Leave the shore, your troubles behind.
 Authentic is real.
 You must believe what you feel,
 The Simple Life always feels fine.
 
 From the man who knows,
 When you’re caught in the throes 
 Of the rat race that you’ll never win.
 There’s another choice,
 Trust your inner voice,
 Cast your doubts to the following wind.
 
 Cast off your ways,
 Imagine simpler days.
 Cruise in a way that rewards.
 Make dozens of friends,
 Share beers in the wind,
 Find your world without discord.
 
 Breathe deeply the air,
 Feel the salt in your hair,
 Know that you’re doing it right.
 Bring your girl (or your wife)
 You’ll never feel more alive
 Softly living the Simple Life. 
 
                                                                                    Buddy Wainwright

Beaufort South

We started the day with a Mexican breakfast on the griddle.

Then it was onto the Dawhoo River which has some depth issues.

We would occasionally have to move over and let a tug pushing a barge past.

This home sadly lost it’s live oak to a bit of wind it would seem.

Such good looking trees if there is such a thing?

Soon we passed under the ladies Island Swing bridge, hailed Beaufort Downtown Marina on the VHF radio. They responded back “Safe Harbor Beaufort”. Safe Harbor is the same marina corporation that purchased my marina in RI. Heck, Safe Harbor seems to be buying dozens of east coast marinas.

Safe Harbor taking over the world of marinas

The Safe Harbor Beaufort marina has a strong tide that is not quite parallel to the face dock. This means as you pull up to the dock, the current is either pushing you onto or away from the dock. I took an approach that kept the current aligned to my keel and soon we were tied up and plugged in.

MV Simple Life on the back side of the face dock

We snapped a few quick photos of a sun low in the sky.

The large 100+ foot yacht next to us lit up as night arrived.

Not to be outdone, MV Simple Life lit our lights 😉

When you walk off the docks there is a beautiful waterfront park.

Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Beaufort, SC

Walking along Bay street in front of the marina you’ll find many restaurants and shops.

We decided to stay two nights in Beaufort so we could hit some of the local restaurants and pubs.

We wanted live music and that can always be dangerous. I’ve had the mic turned off while singing karaoke and lets just say it does not get any better with IPAs.

Gangsta in Charleston SC

When we left Osprey Marina we were back in the Waccamaw River which was full of flora. We stopped to pull a water hyacinth out of the river to view it’s structure.

I was at the helm as we approached an infamous shallow location known as McClellanville.

There was a dredge on site that was trying to make the passageway deeper. We hailed them on VHF CH#13 and asked the proper path to get by them. Dredge replied “go between the red buoy and the dredge”.

Luckily for us we were passing through McClellanville at mid-tide.

A few of the sights we saw along the way.

When you make it to Charleston Harbor you can see the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from Charleston Harbor

We were looking to anchor in Charleston Harbor but the winds were blowing over the long fetch that crosses the harbor. We would have rocked & rolled all night. Instead we kept moving down the ICW cutting through a dingy regatta on the way.

Next we passed the Charleston Crab House in Wappoo Creek. I’ll have to stop at one day.

We made it to our chosen anchorage just as the sun had set.

Garmin inReach display of our track to the anchorage

It was time for a beer and I had the perfect one.

A short time later we took out two cigars that were given to us by Eric from MV Tapestry before we left. It seemed like a perfect time to celebrate the trip. What goes with cigars? Cognac of course.

It was a great night that ended perfectly.

Movie Night at Osprey Marina

It was hard to leave St. James Plantation Marina as we were all having so much fun. I did capture a nice video of what I think is a great blue heron on the dock next to our boat.

Great Blue Heron or as I like to say “I ain’t Scared of you Monkey Bird”

As you head south of Southport, NC you pass several Atlantic Ocean inlets. Lockwood Lockwoods Folly inlet is pictured below and we could see the ocean waves as we motored past.

Looking out to Sea Through Lockwoods Folly Inlet

The ICW can be very shallow around these inlets as the strong currents deposit sand and silt creating shoals and shallows that you must stay clear of. I use an iPad app called Aqua Map and pay for the premium service called Aqua Map Master that displays the recent Army Corp of Engineers colorful sounding charts of these tricky locations. The sounding charts are color coded and red is the shallowest with blue being the deepest. Below you can see what it looks like to pick a safe path through the shallows.

02 Lockwood Folly Shallow small — Shallotte Inlet USACE Sonar Charts

Shallotte Inlet was next and it too has a colorful sounding chart

When we got to Little River inlet we passed a commercial boat that has been wasting away on the shore for some time. I’m always amazed that it is still there when I come up in the Spring or down each Fall.

Along with navigating your way through the shallows you must request several bridge openings. This bridge used to be called the “Captain Poo” swing bridge. I hailed the bridge tender on the VHF and he responded with “Little River” swing bridge. I personally enjoyed hailing “Capt. Poo, Capt. Poo!” over the new name.

Our day underway was overcast and for a brief period it rained. Boating in the rain is not much fun unless you have a warm pilothouse. We were warm and dry while underway and for that I was happy.

Rainy Day in the Pilothouse

There were many beautiful sights to see along the route to Myrtle Beach.

This beautiful home appears to have an infinity pool.

Infinity Pool

We had made reservations at Osprey Marina and we were pushing hard to make it there before dark. As we went through the Socastee swing bridge the sun was getting low.

We were now in the Waccamaw River swamp and it can be beautiful as fog and mist light up in the setting sun.

We arrived at Osprey Marina while the sun was still up. We turned down the entrance channel and snapped a few photos of some interesting boats.

One particular catamaran had an etched window that was different.

Soon we were tied up and checked in for the night. I soon discovered that there was no WiFi! NO WIFI!!! Time to put on a movie to entertain the crew. Tonight’s movie …

Gone with the Wind (All 4 hours of it)

Tomorrow we are bound for Charleston, SC

SJP For a Few Nights

The leg to St. James Plantation looked approximately like what’s pictured below.

Marine Base Camp Lejeune to St. James Plantation, NC

We made hash, eggs and bacon while underway.

As you approach Wrightsville Beach from the north you must request an opening of the Figure Eight Swing Bridge.

We passed these small boats trawling nets behind them. I believe they were going after bait fish that were schooling around us.

As you approach the Cape Fear river you must first pass through Snow’s Cut that connects Carolina Beach with the Cape Fear river.

This old bridge base seems to be a popular hangout of the young kids

Once in the Cape Fear river you will find large ship and ferry terminals.

As we continued down river we had to cut through a sailing regatta. It was a halloween regatta and you guessed it… Pirate costumes were everywhere.

As we worked our way around the southern tip of Southport you could see it was standing room only on the back deck of the Fish Company restaurant and bar.

American Fish Company – Southport, NC

Map showing Cape Fear River and Southport, NC

As you round Southport the river narrows and the current was running strong against us. We passed this derelict commercial boat along the way.

Soon we were inside the small harbor of St. James Plantation. Our friends were kind enough to offer us their slip for however long we wished to stay. So nice to have friends like this 🙂 The slip was about 16 feet wide and it was a tight fit due to the kayaks stowed on either side of the fly deck. Luckily we have bow & stern thrusters and with the help of our friends who were waiting for us… we squeezed straight back into the slip.

Once docked we got to meet the Craig Thompson who graciously offered up his slip to us.

We had lots of fun aboard Craig’s new 36′ Tiara Open. A beautiful boat for fishing off Cape Fear.

We got to enjoy a few cocktails with our feet up aboard Simple Life.

I always enjoy seeing Jim & Wende (who was in quarantine due to not feeling well, Get better soon!). It’s always lots of fun and this stay we were able to not only complete our provisioning (thanks for the use of your truck, Jim) but Jim also brought us a leaf blower so we could blow out our clothes dryer vent hose without needing to remove it.

Who know I should carry a leaf blower Simple Life?

We caught some football on the boobtube.

Buddy & Renee did some kayaking around the St. James Marina and ICW.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at St. James Marina. Jim came down to say goodbye and we snapped this pool noodle pic. Jim likes to start new fashion trends and we are thinking this could be all the rage!

Next stop Charleston, SC!

Marine Base Camp Lejeune

As we departed Beaufort, NC we quickly past Morehead City, NC.

The day’s journey looked something like this..

Approximate Route from Beaufort to Marine Base Camp Lejeune

As you approach Camp Lejeune you will see warning signs about live fire exercises.

As we approached Camp Lejeune we had an Osprey aircraft buzzing us from overhead.

Camp Lejeune Osprey Aircraft Buzzing MV Simple Life

Once inside the anchorage we quickly found some space to drop anchor for the night as the sun was setting.

The next morning we departed as the sun popped back up.

I am looking forward to today’s stop at St. James Plantation, NC to meet up with friends.

Beaufort NC

The sound of the anchor weighing lets you know that a new leg of the journey has begun.

The forecast for today included a fresh breeze. We understood that meant we’d be salting up the boat with the spray kicked up from the wind.

Underway in the Neuse River

The trip to Beaufort, NC looked something close to this.

Alligator River Pungo River – Beaufort, NC

Buddy & Renee placed the anniheim, poblano & jalapeño peppers & onions in the stove for today’s green chile soup.

Green Chile Soup

Soon we were passing the USCG station in Hobucken, NC.

Just next door is the R.E. Mayo Seafood company with its fleet of commercial boats.

We entered Adam’s Creek and found a beautiful Kadey Krogen being pulled off a shoal by a tow boat. It’ looked like an ant pulling a boulder on a string.

Once in Adam’s Creek we passed another ICW statute mile marker as well as beautiful homes and yachts.

At this point I happened to see a Facebook group post about 50MPH gusts off the Jersey Coast. This made me smile thinking we made the right decision not to stop in NYC and get trapped by weather.

As we came into Beaufort, NC the wind was gusting and the current was flowing fast past the docks. Docking was challenging but we managed to back her into the slip with some assistance from the dock-hands.

MV Simple Life Slipped at Beaufort Docks

This pilothouse sailboat caught my eye and the yacht hailed from East Greenwich, RI. E. Greenwich is around the corner from where I spend my summers. Beaufort Docks Marina seems to always be chock full of northern boats.

Once in the slip it was time to check in and request use the sporty loaner car for provisioning.

Now provisioned it was time to walk to Moonrakers for some Halloween dinner & drinks.

I snapped a few quick pictures on our walk back to Simple Life.

Tomorrow, it’s on to SJP – St. James Plantation.

Alligator River – Pungo River Canal

We departed Elizabeth City and I thought to myself… I’ll be back.

Terminator is leaving Elizabeth City, NC

We wanted to get ahead of the weather that was coming in two days. When you cruise on a slow boat, how far you get depends on how early and late you run. There is no “just crank up the throttle and double the distance”. That meant we were making breakfast while underway.

The cruise down the Pasquotank River was peaceful.

Buddy was working on the bow and the seas were flat.

A catamaran was slowing passing us. I could not quite get the name but wonder now as I type if it was the catamaran that hailed from Alaska that we would eventually tie up next to?

Buddy was quick to point out a dirigible hanger along the rivers edge. I had never seen one.

Soon we were crossing Albemarle Sound and making our way into the Alligator River. You must get through the Alligator River swing bridge before coming to the aptly named Alligator River Pungo River Canal.

Approximation of Today’s Leg of our Journey

The southern end of the Alligator River begins to narrow and you find the entrance to the Alligator River Pungo River Canal. This canal was an engineered cut through the land and you can set the autopilot and go for what seems like miles before you have to make a tiny adjustment to your heading.

In the canal and all along the ICW you pass what are called ICW statute mile markers.

You will almost definitely have to pass a tug & barge

With the day coming to a close we decided to anchor at the southern end of the canal rather than push on to the town of Belhaven, NC.

Luckily for us it was not duck hunting season or I’m sure we’d be seeing shotgun barrels poking out of the grasses that line the banks.