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…

Miss Dixie

We awoke this morning around 5AM. Still dark, our Adams Creek Anchorage was flat calm. I snapped a photo in time to catch both the red buoy & green can illuminated.

We stopped here in Adam’s Creek about 20 NM short of Beaufort, NC. It was a nice 60 degree day and the Patriots game was about to start @1PM. GO PATS!

However, let me take you back to how yesterday started. We weighed anchor in Campbell Creek and made our way @5kts out the 8 ft shallows.

We were a headin’ for the “Dog Ear”. That’s not an official term but if you look at the bathymetric charts long enough you’ll see it in the depth contour line.

We had slipped past a still sleeping Canadian sailboat who was properly displaying the US flag above their homeland flag while in our waters.

We were back in Goose Creek and heading South past the USCG station and RE Mayo Seafood with their docks full of shrimp boats and ‘snowbirds’ as we ICW Travellers are often called.

Shrimp Boats

RE Mayo Seafood & Docks

Soon we were turning to port to enter Adam’s Creek where we would drop anchor just feet off the ICW. We sat in the pilothouse watching the parade of boats heading South go by.

The Verizon cell service is 3G (not the faster LTE) so it would be like the internet of the 80’s.

We setup the OTA (Over The Air) TV antenna with hopes of getting the Patriots game in HD. However, North Carolina was only giving us Gospel TV and the PBS “Remembering Miss Dixie” bluegrass tribute concert.

PBS Remembering Miss Dixie tribute concert

Miss Dixie Hall was a prolific song writer who wrote more bluegrass songs than anyone else, some 500 songs. Many sung by country hit-makers from Johnny Cash to Miranda Lambert.

Miss Dixie will be remembered as a kind soul who devoted her life to animal rights as much as bluegrass music.

Yesterday’s short leg looked something like this.

Alligator River NC

We awoke at sunrise and just before pulling anchor, I snapped a few photos of just how still this anchorage was in Adam’s Creek.

Sun Reflection off Still Waters

Active Captain Royal Thurman Anchorage

Today’s ICW route through Pamlico Sound would end just short of crossing Albemarle Sound. Our route looked something like this.

ICW NC Route — ICW Route Through Pamlico Sound and almost into Albemarle Sound

On our way out of Adam’s Creek, I hailed a loaded tug and barge to let them know we would deviate from the channel and not impede their passage. The strong current was at their back forcing them to keep their speed up. As a tug captain it’s better to be driving the barge rather than being driven by the current. It’s always better to push a barge into a current than be pushed by it. At least that is how I understand it.

Tug Barge — Tug & Loaded Barge in Adam’s Creek Channel

We no sooner exited Adam’s Creek into the Neuse River and passed this beautiful schooner with the captain at the helm and sails set.

Once it Pamlico Sound you realize it is a pretty large sound. Wikipedia defines a sound as, “…In geography, a sound is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight, and wider than a fjord; or a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land (see also strait)…”. These geography terms can be confusing.

As we motored on, a USCG boat hailed us over VHF channel 16 and let us know to stay to port as we passed. They had a line around and were pulling what remained of a green daymark piling using their boat. Our best guess is that a boat hit the piling in the night and snapped it off. We figured they were dislodging it so that it would not float away and become a hazard to navigation?

USCG Pulling Daymark — USCG with a line off their bow to a green daymark that was broken off.

We passed a several duck blinds confirming that North Carolina is duck hunting country.

As we motored on we were reminded that we are getting closer to ICW mile marker 0 in Norfolk, VA.

Statute Mile 160

Statute Mile 125

Statute Mile 115

Statute Mile 100

The predicted forecast for Albemarle Sound had the wind out of the West at only 10-15 kts.

We chose an anchorage with a small fetch to the West but far enough off the shore that we could open the hatches and get a good breeze while we slept.

As I was setting the anchor on the bow I looked up and snapped this photo of the setting sun.

Sunset Framed.JPG — Sunset in Alligator River, NC

Adam’s Creek Anchorage NC

Because it was a 98.8% full moon, we pulled up the anchor and got underway before the sun had even risen.

As we skirted our way up the coast, we tried to minimize the length of fetch as the winds were blowing 20 kts from the NW (with gusts to 25 kts). Recall: a fetch is a distance of water that the wind has been given to blow over the top of. Wave heights build wave heights with distance.

Along the way we saw beach homes like these near Surf City

Surf City Beach Homes

We saw a giant ocean-side pier near Top Sail Beach.

As we go, I’m always watching the depth sounder, ie sonar. It pings high frequency sound (like a dolphin) off the sea floor and displays the depth as a graphical chart over the last 60 seconds. It is very important to understand not just the instantaneous depth but also how the depths are trending over time. You need this info to ascertain quickly if you are running off a downhill slope or running aground. The steeper the incline, the faster in time the sea floor is rising up to meet you, metaphorically speaking. While watching the sonar, I repeatedly saw objects between the boat and ocean floor. I believe these depictions to be “bait balls” or schools of bait fish in a tight spherical grouping. Sometimes they are formed into these ball formations by preditors such as dolphins.

I’m no expert at reading the fish finder / depth sounder’s visually displayed ping returns, however, I also saw this fishing boat hauling a net.

Bait Net — Small Trawler Netting Bait Fish

The trawler’s size makes me think that they are hauling a small net sized for bait fish.

A moment later, we were passed by this Italian designed Azimut luxury motor yacht. She clearly has some horsepower in her diesels since… as big as she was, she was just skimming over Mother Ocean.

As we approached Beaufort, NC, we passed Brown’s Inlet. The ActiveCaptain description for this inlet simply says: “Browns Inlet is unmarked and used by local boats only; not recommended to strangers.”

Soon we were off Fort Macon State Park Beach which is just before Beaufort inlet, NC.

Running a dynamic inlet whose shoals change with each storm is not advisable as even the latest published charts with depth soundings will likely be incorrect. That said, we attempted to use the latest NOAA charts to sneak into Beaufort Inlet via a narrow channel close to shore. It was low tide so you don’t get any added water depth over the low water spot soudings. We entered the narrow natural channel displayed on our chartplotter. I checked the accuracy of the spot soundings (depth numbers) and the actual depths (reported by the sonar) were 3’ shallower than what my recently updated chart displayed. That was not comforting, but I still proceeded slowly at only 1.7 kts.

Beaufort Inlet 6.7 — 1.6 kts is slow forward

We will run aground at about 5’ and I was already in only 6.7’. To make matters worse, there was an ocean swell that was lifting and dropping the boat above and below the static ocean surface. I was confident that however “skinny”, “thin” or simply “shallow” the depths got that we would make it. After all my charts showed a low of about 10’ and we only needed 5’.

Well, we made it about 10’ from crossing into the deep channel when we bumped the bottom. You have to tell yourself: “resist the temptation to simply push the throttle forward and plow the next 10’ to the deep channel”. You just can’t know how shallow those next 10’ are. You could be pushing your boat up onto a shoal so shallow that the diesel engine / propeller combo won’t have the bite on the water needed to either push or pull you off the shoal. I opted to put her in reverse and spin her back the other way. We knew if we didn’t hit on the way in, we would not hit leaving.

Beaufort Inlet 10 feet.JPG — 10′ more and we could have made it into the deep channel

Note: The top picture showing the chart with 5.8’ depths displayed is not as recent as the chart depicted in the picture below it. We were literally 1/4 of a boat length from making it into the deep channel. You can see our track as we backed out. FYI: track = a black, dotted line or bread crumb path of where your boat has been. The dashed orange line with circular junction points is our plotted course. We backed out and came in the inlet via the mid-channel / safe water buoy. This buoy marks the center of the entrance channel. Line up with this vertical red-white striped buoy and you are heading directly in the inlet.

Confidence is a good thing as a captain but … so is restraint 😉

I was emailing with a fellow boater who was getting ready to come North from Vero Beach. They have owned their blue water trawler and traveled up and down the coast. However, I still added the below statements to my reply. I did so because, I myself, am often curious where other sailors draw the line at the decision to “go offshore or not”?

Marty Reply: I wish you fair winds and seas however, checking your weather forecast on my favorite web app: http://www.marineweatherbybluefin.com/united-states/app

The NWS weather zone just above Vero Beach shows 3-5′ waves with a 6 second period and winds out of the East. I hear that and think…

1. If the winds were instead out of the West, you could run North tight to the coast.

2. I prefer 2-4′ seas because 3-5 is the average wave height not the significant wave height.

On average, about 15% of waves will equal or exceed the significant wave height. The highest 10% of waves could be 25-30% higher than the significant wave height. And on occasion (about one per hour) one can expect to see a wave nearly twice the significant wave height.

3. Six seconds is a rather short period. I’m picturing steep waves. Your boat is stabilized, ours is not. I would not want 6 second period, 5′ possibly 7’ waves on my beam.

On my laptop, I like to use the Windfinder web app:

On my smartphone, I like to use the Windfinder Pro iOS app:

When you study the densely displayed data given by this app, you see that the waves during the daylight hours will be… at worst 4.5’, out of the NE with a 6 second period. The tide will go low about an hour before the sun sets (read that as… “about when you are entering the shoaling inlet from the sea”).

Then you say “4.5’ waves are not that bad”. However, that wave height forecast is based on a statistical wave distribution.

Make sure not to mix up “mean, median or average“

The average of the biggest 1/3 of the waves you’ll see are much larger, possibly to the height of 6.5’. That is uncomfortable to most crew in an un-stabilized trawler. Note: Blue water, top-heavy, flybridge trawlers often use active fins beneath the waterline to oppose the roll of the vessel to port or starboard. This can dramatically improve the conditions underway in a sea. Naiad is one such company who manufactures marine stabilizers.

Here is a dated but decent overview of marine stabilizers:

After making our way in the inlet we passed ICW statute mile marker 200. Note: Mile 0 starts in Norfolk, VA and the ICW milage progress to statute mile 1243 in Key West.

We made it into Adam’s Creek before having to anchor up for the night. Adam’s creek offered us the last anchoring spot before we enter Pamlico Sound and must travel the next 25 or so nautical miles to the Goose Creek anchorages.

Our current anchorage does not offer wind or wave protection but the holding is good. The NE winds are forecast to be light, at only 10kts.

I found it interesting that we had a full moon rise off the stern and a simultaneous sunset off the bow.

Supermoon Where Are You?

Yesterday morning we awoke before sunrise and got underway to Beaufort, NC.

The first & last supermoon of 2017 was helping slice through the dark as we pushed away from the dock.

Supermoon 2017 — Supermoon Reflecting the Sun’s Rays

Supermoon infographic — Supermooninfographic

Supermoons happen when a full moon approximately coincides with the moon’s perigee, or a point in its orbit at which it is closest to Earth. This makes the moon appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual.

December’s supermoon is actually the first of three back-to-back supermoon full moons to come in the next two months. On Jan. 1 and Jan. 31, the full moon will also occur near the moon’s arrival at perigee, according to NASA, which billed the line up as a supermoon trilogy. The Jan. 31 supermoon is also the second full moon of January, making it a Blue Moon, and also occurs during a total lunar eclipse.

As the sun got ready to sneak over the horizon there was a beautiful orange-pink hue reflecting off the water.

Today’s leg of our journey takes us from Hobucken, NC to Beaufort, NC

The Beaufort of coastal North Carolina is “BOH-fert”. The Beaufort of South Carolina is pronounced “BYOO-fert”. Established in 1709, Beaufort is the third-oldest town in North Carolina.

As we made our way out of Goose Creek and into Pamlico Sound, the only traffic we passed was a tug pushing a barge.

Tug and Barge — YATPB – Yet Another Tug Pushing Barge

The dominant wave set was coming from the NE and that meant we had a following sea as we turned and made our way down the Neuse River. A following sea that is slightly to one side of the stern can be annoying when you are at the helm. The waves catch up to the boat from behind and lift the stern pushing it to port or starboard. This can swing the bow as much as 30 degrees at times and it starts to feel like you are pointing the boat all over the place. I made a quick adjustment to increase the autopilot’s response rate and the bow heading deflection lessened considerably. Being a slow boat (6-9 knots) you are often at the helm from sun-up to sundown to make your destination. Autopilot is an electronic device with some firmware loaded on it that drives a hydraulic pump which turns the rudder. There are many settings that you can control but the response rate is the one you will want to adjust so that the rudder position changes are swift or slow enough for how you want the boat to point.

Autopilot Control

Autopilot Display

As weekend boaters, we were boating in destinations like Block Island, Nantucket or Provincetown. These locations are anywhere between 6-12 hours from our home port in Warwick, RI. We would be forced to run the boat at 8.5 knots and only get about 1 MPG. Now that we are full-time boaters, we slow the boat to about 6 knots and get 4 MPG. You can go 4X farther if you simply reduce your speed by 2.5 knots. (Recall 1 knot = 1.15 MPH so approximately every 6 knots you would simply add 1 to get the speed in MPH).

Even knowing this, we made the decision to up the speed to 8.5 knots and reduce the amount of time spent in the following sea.

Happy and Chief Martin Brody appreciated that we burned a a bit more fuel for their comfort.

Brody and Happy — Chief Martin Brody and his Big Sister Happy

As we turned into Adam’s Creek the ride smoothed out and we dropped back down to 6 knots. The current in Adam’s Creek was swift and the DSM (Depth Sounder Module aka. Fish Finder) was showing asymmetric rippling of the creek bottom. I believe this is caused by a swift bottom current.

Adams Creek Rippled Bottom — Asymmetric Rippled Bottom of Adams Creek

The fish finder was also well, finding fish. The DSM uses sonar or high frequency sound generated by a device that protrudes through the hull and is sending a column of sound waves straight down beneath the boat. These sound waves not only reflect off the bottom but when they hit a fish the sound resonates in the fish’s swim bladder (a small air-filled sack that helps control a fish’s buoyancy) and this echo is detected and colored sharply to allow you to spot fish on the screen.

Adam’s Creek is a lovely place with lots of sights to see.

Youtube Video of Bald Eagle in Adams Creek

Very Caribbean Don’t You Think?

Bonus Points for Parking Your Helicopter in Front of Your Mobile Home

Boat Slip only $75K

I’m Pretty Sure The War Over Slavery Ended?

Adams Creek spills out into the Newport River and it’s marshes and shallows are something that you will want to avoid.

Shallow Birds Standing.JPG — Kelly & I Often Joke… “If You Want to Know Where it’s Shallow; it’s Where the Birds are Standing”

As we pulled into our slip in Beaufort we hailed the dockmaster who warned us about the swift current running transverse to the slip we were assigned. As we pulled in to the fairway the current slammed into our full keel and began to push the boat toward the bows of the boats across the fairway. I was forced to back out quickly and reposition so that I could now take the swift current into account and position the boat for rapid spin and quick back into our slip. Kelly was quick to toss lines to the dockhands and soon we were checked in and given the keys to a “courtesy car”. Up North, I’ve never stayed at a marina that offers a fee courtesy car to marina guests. The car was a welcome treat and we put it to good use re-provisioning the boat with more food & beer.

Courtesy Car Kelly — Courtesy Car – We Got Wheels!

With all our chores completed we quickly made off to the marina bar for happy hour and spent time chatting with Bartender Kristen and fellow bar patron, Dan. Dan was an amazing fellow who told us stories of his solo sailing around the world in a small boat. He offered us some local knowledge about wild horses that roam the islands around here. I KNOW more wild horses to find!

After I consumed as many 50 cent pork sandwiches as a man can eat and washed them down with a great local IPA it was time to retire to the boat.

Hoppyum IPA.JPG — Great Local IPA From Foothills Brewery

We were no sooner readying for bed when we were accosted by “Monkey Bird”. This vile creature had a penetrating stare and an awful cry. I spent sometime staring into this monster’s gaze and knew it was time to lock the door and keep the crew of Simple Life safe.

So it’s off to bed.