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.

Elizabeth City NC

Early the next morning Ron & Teresa of SV Quinita casted off their lines from MV Simple Life. When you are tied to the dock and another boat is rafted to your non-dockside, extracting your vessel can be an awkward dance. They had departed so no dance required.

Today’s leg of our trip looked roughy like this.

Dismal Swamp Visitor’s Center – Elizabeth City

When we entered the Dismal Swamp we were the lead boat out of the lock and our new friends were following the path we cut through the duck weed. This time we were not the lead boat but following in the freshly parted duck weed. Is it better to be the lead boat or follow? We could never come to a conclusion.

We were all aware that duck weed gets sucked into our engine’s sea water intake. This can clog the sea water strainer basket and stop the cooling water flow to your diesel. The lock master makes sure to remind every boater who enters the Dismal Swamp to maintain a close watch on your diesel’s cooling water temperature gauge. Periodically you may need to stop and clear the duck weed from your sea water strainer.

Clearing the Duck Weed from a Sea Strainer

Raw (sea) water path through heat exchanger

MV Simple Life’s diesel coolant temp stayed steady at 176 degrees F throughout our entire time in the Dismal Swamp. We did however have to clean our 1/2 full sea strainer at the end of each day.

Soon we were in the second and last lock for the Dismal Swamp called the South Mills lock.

Departing the South Mills lock we saw much less duck weed.

Our new friends Ray & Cynthia aboard SV Vela Blanca did have issues with their diesel overheating but Randy & Maureen “Moe”on SV Sailitude towed into Elizabeth City, NC where Ray was able to get the diesel engine issue taken care of and get back underway. Friends helping friends on the water (smile).

We arrived in Elizabeth City and had planned to stay at Mariner’s Wharf.

The problem was as we watched the Elizabeth City Highway US 158 bridge gates go down to stop the highway traffic we noticed that only the first set of gates went down and the second set stayed up. The bridge never opened. We were guessing there is some form of interlock between the gates and the bridge opening mechanism. We hailed the bridge tender on VHF CH#13 and he responded that the bridge was non-functioning and no ETA to when it would work again. We circled as the bridge tender attempted several failed openings before we decided to pull Jennette Brother’s Free Dock just North of the bridge.

When we pulled up there was a friendly woman named Shiela who help grab our lines and get us tied up to the wall. We would later learn that Shiela and her husband Bill were traveling the ICW on a Tayana 42 Trawler. I did not get the name of their trawler but she told me it meant “Slow Turtle” in Hawaiian. Which Google translates to MV Lōkaha ka Makaula. I believe they were at Top Rack when we pulled in two days earlier. I noticed the raised pilothouse trawler because at only 42′ it had lots of great features such as a Portuguese bridge, twin diesels and just nice lines.

I guess I should have better judged how far that tree was sticking out into the water?

The wind was causing this tree to drop whatever it had on top of our fly deck.

Renee went to work on sweeping the stowaways overboard

So there we sat with no ETA on when the bridge would be fixed as we heard a sailboat coming down the river hail the bridge for an opening. The bridge tender responded that he would give it a try. I said to Buddy, “We’ll never be able to untie, get underway and through the bridge before it closes even if it does open”. Buddy was already untying the lines and suddenly the bridge began to open! I quickly started the diesel, Buddy tossed lines and jumped aboard. With a quick punch of the throttle we were slipping beneath the bridge!

Just the other side of the bridge we tied up to the free dock @ Mariner’s Wharf. Our swamp friends also grabbed spots on the free dock and we all agreed to grab dinner at Cypress Creek Grill.

It’s a short walk to the restaurant but the town looks like a place we could spend a few days exploring. Maybe learn about Culpeper’s Rebellion

Swamp Friends at Cypress Creek Grill
Front left going clockwise: M
ichael & Kristen of SV Makai, Curtis & Kim of MV Blue Rhapsody, Marty, Renee & Buddy of MV Simple Life, Maureen & Randy of SV Sailitude

Dinner with swamp friends was the best end to our stay in Elizabeth City we could have asked for.

The Great Dismal Swamp

As we got ready to depart Top Rack Marina we watched as several boats were splashed down by an oversized forklift.

We quickly cast off the lines and turned north putting Top Rack on our starboard side. Several boats remain in their slip for an extended stay.

Our planned route would land us at the Dismal Swamp Visitor’s Center.

Top Rack Marina – Dismal Swamp Visitor’s Center

The Great Dismal Swamp

In the morning we turned north instead of south because we had to backtrack about a nautical mile to get back to where the ICW bifurcates between the Great Dismal Swamp route or the Virginia Cut. Most ICW cruisers chose the Virginia Cut route as it is the preferred route south.

We chose the path less traveled…

Start of the Great Dismal Swamp Route When Heading South

Hazards

The Dismal Swamp route is beautiful but notorious for duck weed clogging your engine’s sea strainers and “dead heads” (trees stumps just barely protruding above the water’s surface or sometimes just below).

Duck Weed Drifting Past

Being very familiar with the airline industry, I think Buddy & Renee might have an alternate definition of deadhead.

Alternate Definition: A dead head is an airline crew member, a pilot or a cabin crew, who is assigned to fly to a particular destination to assume a duty. In the flight where he or she is in, she’s not supposed to work as a crew. He or she shall be in a complete uniform, thus making him or her able to sit on a jumpseat if the flight is full. Deadheading crew are also paid based on their flying time.

Deep Creek Lock

The Dismal Swamp route requires you to pass through two locks rather than one via the Virginia Cut route. Heading south, the first of these locks is the Deep Creek Lock. This lock only opens at predefined times. Schedule: Opens 8:30am, 11:00am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm. We were a bit early so we dropped anchor in the middle of the channel to wait for the horn to sound that it was opening.

When the lock opened we weighed anchor and proceeded in following lock master Robert’s detailed instructions. We prefer when the lock master gives you explicit instructions and Robert was quick to let us know that he wanted us to hand him the stern line first. He asked for the middle of the line to be placed on the end of his boat hook leaving us to hold the bitter end. Robert would loop our lines over the bollards that line the edge of the lock. The rest of the yachts following us made their way into the lock behind us. .

Renee keeping Simple Life tight to the lock wall

Lock Master Robert has been working the lock for some time now and is full of colorful info about the history of the lock that involves George Washington.

Upon the last yacht exiting the lock, Robert explains that he is also the bridge tender for the next bridge around the corner. Robert must get in his car and drive down around the corner so he can operate the Deep Creek bascule bridge.

Once under the bridge we waved goodbye to Robert as he stuck his head out of the bridge tender’s house.

Deep Creek Lock Master Robert Saying Goodbye

Through the lock you instantly notice that the duck weed has gone from sporadic to a floating carpet of green.

Eventually you arrive at the state line heading into North Carolina.

Next up… The Great Dismal Swamp visitor’s Center.

Dismal Swamp Visitor Center by Boat or Car

Arriving first at the Visitor Center’s tiny dock we quickly set fenders not only on the dock-side but also the canal-side. This would allow the boats following us to raft alongside us. Soon we would be jumping onto some of the other boats that were already docked there to help the boats behind us tie up to the other boats. Luckily the boats already there had their fenders set expecting possible raft-up buddies.

Swamp Friends

Once we were docked I went out to the foredeck to invite the other captains and crew to come aboard MV Simple Life for a cocktail or two.

Kim & Curt on the Flydeck of MV Blue Rhapsody

In no time at all every captain and crew would find themselves squeezed into the pilothouse. It was clear within seconds that this group would become our Swamp Friends.

Swamp Friends

What a fun time we had. The boater talk was non-stop and eventually turned to either “batteries or poop” as we often joke.

Soon it was dinner or supper time (depending on your definition of dinner) and each crew returned to their boats as we prepared sausage, pepper & onion subs with red sauce.

Trevor & Jess

As we were preparing dinner a friendly couple yelled “hell0” from out on the dock. Buddy was talking at them through the window and quickly asked them if they would like to come aboard. They accepted and came aboard for some conversation, drinks and dinner.

From the moment Trevor and Jess came aboard we became fast friends. The couple has a YouTube channel called 9to5Less so please checkout their channel and subscribe.

Trevor and Jess light up a room the moment they walk in. These two had us laughing so hard about their misadventures aboard their houseboat as well as a catamaran that they were in the process of restoring while they cruising up the ICW.

Upon learning that their boat lacked proper lighting we knew we had found a new home for the two solar lights aboard MV Simple Life.

They stayed until our sides hurt from laughing. We wished them well on their future cruising and told them we were sure we’d cross paths again.

You meet the coolest people in the swamp.