North Carolina

         We zipped right through the rice fields of South Carolina in four days, spending the last night (Saturday April 27) at the Grande Dunes marina in Myrtle Beach, the place we’d left Willie Dawes for a month last year, when we drove home for a visit.  We contacted our friend Chris who lives nearby and she came to meet us for dinner.  We found a great, quiet little Mexican restaurant and spent the meal catching up.  

        We crossed into North Carolina on Sunday and made a late lunch/early dinner stop for takeout from Fishy Fishy in Southport to eat on the way to our stop at Carolina Beach.  Monday night we were in Mile Hammock, the anchorage adjacent Camp LeJeune.  We found out later they began live fire exercises the day after we left, keeping boats huddled off to the side and unmoving, but when we were there all was quiet and the only concern we had was for the Onslow Beach Bridge.  This is a swing bridge with a 12 foot clearance when closed, so most boats need it to open to pass through.  

        We’d been hearing for at least a week that construction of a much-needed new bridge was altering their opening schedule.  Some reports said the bridge  wasclosed between 8am and 5 pm, others said they would open at 12 noon, and one report said as of April 29 it was closed to all marine traffic until the weekend.  I called the bridge tender to find out what the reality was - open on the top of the hour, they said.   We timed our arrival for 9am and squeezed through the opening with the construction barge taking up part of the channel.  We continued on to Beaufort and dropped anchor in Taylor Creek, between the town and the Rachel Carson sanctuary.  We had time for an afternoon walk and this time ashore, we saw the little Maritime Museum was open.  In our past visits, we’ve always managed to be there when the Museum is closed.  It’s a great little museum, with exhibits on the local ecology (salt marshes), economy (fishing), and history (Blackbeard.)  They have a really nice section devoted to pirate artifacts, with a focus on Blackbeard’s vessel Queen Anne’s Revenge, which had been excavated outside the Barrier Islands in the late 1990s.  I didn't take photos in the Museum, so I'm showing you the Beaufort shrimping fleet.

        After Beaufort we moved on to Oriental, another of our favorite North Carolina towns.  We tied up to the free dock next to one of the shrimp docks and made good use of the little Captain’s Quarters, a small house with a lounge and free wifi.  Dan was part of the MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Association) webinar that night (Wednesday May 1) on cruising New England.  Dan gave a four minute presentation on seven different cruising destinations in Maine.  (I will post the link to that webinar in the next blog.) 

        From Oriental we moved to the Outer Banks.  We have not cruised this area before.  Thursday was a gorgeous, perfect day for cruising out the Neusse River to Pamlico Sound and over to Ocracoke Island.  The Sound was flat calm.  Ocracoke was a little reminiscent of Tangiers - isolated, with a long, proud history of ten family names in the settlement, dependent on fishing - except Ocracoke is much more accessible and thus, touristy.  But despite the many shops and many, many rental cottages, it has a unique charm and pride and we really enjoyed walking around and taking in the sights.  There’s a great little historical museum, a waterman’s exhibit in fishing shack on the dock, a lighthouse, and a small cemetery dedicated to the four British sailors who washed ashore after a German U-boat sunk their ship during WW I.  We spent yesterday afternoon and this morning (Thurs & Fri May 2 & 3) exploring Ocracoke.

Through Georgia to South Carolina

         That front was quite spectacular.  The sky darkened all at once, the wind came up and suddenly there were three foot waves slapping at us.  Dan started the engine to keep us from blowing over the anchor rode.  We had a brief spurt of lightning and thunder and the rain was anticlimactic.  And then, just like that, it was over.  The sky was purple with the setting sun, and we had a rainbow.  

Monday, April 23 we made a long day of it, mainly to take advantage of the rising tide early in the morning to get through some potential trouble spots in Georgia’s portion of the ICW.  It’s a very winding waterway through marshes and crossing several big inlets, and shoaling is an issue.  We made the decision to push right on into the greater Savannah area, so we could make a day stop in that town on Wednesday just to walk around.  There’s a free dock (for three hours) right in the historic River District.  We got there about one pm and tied up for a walk around.  We’ve been to Savannah before by car, so we had no particular destination in mind, just wanted to stretch our legs a bit and see what we could see.  We found the park square where Forest Gump told his story to people waiting for the bus, read many signs about Savannah’s contribution to the Revolutionary War, and admired the old brick buildings.  By 3:30 we were on our way again, crossing into South Carolina.  We spent a quiet night anchored off Hilton Head island. 

        Today, Wednesday April 24, we started out early again to manage the tide, and got to Beaufort by 10:30 am.  We have long time cruising friends here whom we had arranged to meet for lunch.  We took advantage of Beaufort’s free day dock, and our friends picked us up and took us to a local restaurant where we enjoyed a great meal and did a lot of catching up.  It was a sentimental parting - we don’t know when we’ll next meet, but we will meet again.  Then Dan and I untied and kept on going another hour, to anchor off Brickyard Point, adjacent to the Marine Naval base.  We have been treated to their military plane maneuvers since we dropped the hook.  We’re hoping they don’t practice at night…

Tommie is enjoying the sun on the flying bridge.  

Fernandina Beach - MOTA Rendezvous & Family Time

         From Marineland we headed up to Jacksonville, intending to take advantage of the free dock there just off the ICW.  Unfortunately, it was taken up with boats spaced out just enough to prevent anyone else from joining them, so we dropped the hook in the mouth of a little creek about a mile north.  The current was fairly strong, so Dan put out a stern anchor to keep us from turning side-to when the wind shifted.  From there it was a short run beyond Fernandina Beach to Cumberland Island for the weekend.  We had signed up to attend the MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Association) National Rendezvous in Fernandina Beach, but it didn’t begin until Monday, April 15, so we had two days to spend at Cumberland Island.  We spent a long afternoon on Sunday the 14th strolling the many paths and walking along the beach on Cumberland.  We’ve been there several times; the serenity of the island is always welcoming. 

Monday we took our place at the municipal marina in Fernandina Beach along with at least a dozen other MTOA members.  Dan is very active on their online forums and was looking forward to meeting all the people he regularly discussed trawler issues and ideas with.  The Rendezvous was very well organized.  For the next four days we attended seminars and meals at Fernandina Beach’s Women’s Center, and held open houses and docktail gatherings at the marina.  Dan signed us up for an electrical and a safety inspection, which Willie Dawes passed without issue.  We made many new friends and picked up some good tips.  

The Rendezvous ended Thursday.  On Friday we made arrangements to spend time with my brother Ralph and his wife Kim.  Low key, we told them, let’s just hang out and catch up.  They lent us their car so we could get all our shopping and errands done, and Kim - a fabulous cook - had us over for dinner that night.  Saturday, April 20, she made a fantastic lunch of a shrimp salad and her famous everything-but-the-kitchen-sink cookies and we all went to the beach for the afternoon. 

    

The guys set up fishing poles while Kim and I talked and played Yahtzee.  They caught many fish - none of them big enough to keep - and we all had a great time.  One of the fish Dan caught was a bonnet shark.  

We went out for pizza at a local brewery and sat outside enjoying the food and each other’s company.  There is nothing like spending time with family.

This morning (April 21) we said goodbye to Ralph & Kim (they came down to bring Dan the hat he left behind at their house) and headed back into Georgia.  We are currently anchored off Jekyll Island, while a front blows through and cools things down.  Dan has been spending his time installing new windshield wiper blades.  Tommie and I are just relaxing.  

The Launching. Goodbye Titusville!

         Monday, April 8th, we got up early to tend all the little things that needing doing before we launched.  Dan did some touch-up painting.  I did the last minute laundry.  We collected all the trash.  We were kind of hoping they would come earlier than 1100 to put the boat in the slings of the travel lift, but their work day was delayed, and they came a little later and lifted the boat into the slings, then went to another job and then took their lunch break.  Dan and I sanded the parts of the keel that had been on the blocking and he painted those areas. 

        We were scheduled to launch at 1:00 pm, first thing after their lunch break, but it turned out another boat was having a mast stepped in the launch/haul-out area, and for some reason couldn’t detach the strap that tethered the top of the mast to the crane.  So we all settled down to wait for someone to truck in some other machinery to deal with that.  We got to experience the 2/3rds eclipse while we waited - the sunlight got a little dimmer around 2:00 pm but it didn’t last very long.  By 2:30 the needed machinery had arrived, the strap was detached from the mast, and the sailboat was moved over to the side so we could be launched.  It was all very anticlimactic, but Willie Dawes sure looked good!

Once in the water, we moved over to a nearby dock to fill the water tanks and Dan did a little washdown.  Soon a manatee floated belly-up on both sides of us to take advantage of the fresh water spilling out the scuppers. 

We finally left Titusville around 4:00 pm, and went out to anchor a few miles north, in Mosquito Lagoon.  Goodbye Titusville!

Tuesday we cruised up to Daytona Beach, both of us happy to finally be on the move again.  We had an uneventful night there and a very pleasant cruise on Wednesday to Marineland, where we took a spot on the marina seawall to ride out the wind shift and thunderstorm front on Thursday.  This is a very reasonably priced municipal marina with access to the beach.  Marineland is home to “the world’s first oceanarium” (est. 1938) and the place where the dolphins who starred in Flipper were trained.  There’s not much else here within walking distance, but the parking lot to the beach is popular with food trucks.  We enjoyed breakfast sandwiches this morning (Thursday, April 11) before the big front moved in.  They have a large basket of blankets available to keep customers warm, and Dan promptly made use of one while we waited for our food.  

The weather did not disappoint - we had very strong SW winds with gusts up to 30 knots at least, and lightning struck a tree across the ICW from us.  But it was all over in a matter of hours, and the wind will die down this evening.  We’ll continue our journey north in the morning. 

Tommie kept my crocheting safe and warm during the storm.  

The Haul-Out

       

On Wednesday, April 3, we brought the Willie Dawes over to be hauled out at Westland Marina & DIY Boatyard in Titusville.  We were here in December of 2022, for the first of our three haul-outs during our Great Loop adventure.  This is a very reasonably-priced yard, with very friendly people.  They let us live on board while we’re hauled, we can do all our own work, water and electricity are part of the cost, and they have nice hot showers and good laundry facilities so we can clean up after a long days’ work.  Thunderstorms and strong winds were predicted for Wednesday so we moved toward shore early, to hover in protection while we waited our turn in the sling.  It all went smoothly.  Then we gaped at the barnacles.  We have never had barnacles on the hull like this.  The yardsmen gave us a good pressure-washing, but we still had our work cut out for us.  Dan found us each scrapers and sponges and we spent several hours going over the bottom while the skies opened up and the rain poured down.  A hot shower never felt so good.  

On Thursday I did our laundry and brought my computer to the lounge to do some system updates and Dan spent the morning going over the entire hull with an electric sander.  We put our first coat of paint on in the afternoon - Dan wielding a roller affixed to a broom handle, and me with the brush attending all the spots a roller couldn’t handle.  Our friends Bob and Tracy from Three Sons came into the Titusville Marina and they stopped by to admire our work.  We cleaned up and joined them for dinner at nearby Pier 220.  They are just beginning the Great Loop; we gave them some tips for the Canadian canals. 

Friday we put on the second coat of paint.  After Wednesday’s thunderstorm front, the weather has been just perfect - not too windy, not too hot, and sunny.  Great days for painting and letting the coats dry.  We aren’t scheduled to launch until Monday morning (April 8) and with the bulk of the work done, we decided to relax a little.  We walked to the historic downtown Titusville and had dinner at Rob’s Burgers, then explored the area a little.  Titusville has some great parks, and several of them are dedicated to NASA and the space program.  There are individual monuments of the astronauts and the different spaceships.  There is also a nice little museum on Pine St.  

Saturday we had a great breakfast at a great little diner, and took a tour of the Titusville Space Museum.  We had a terrific guide named Gordon who told us many stories and pointed out many artifacts donated from both astronauts and NASA engineers and other workers.  There are models of the various rockets and launch towers, a layout of Cape Canaveral, and a complete bank of the early computers and machinery that the people who launched the various rockets worked at.  It was a very interesting visit, and we got so much out of it with Gordon as our enthusiastic and knowledgable guide.  

It’s Sunday, April 7th.  The boat work just needs the touch-up painting that is done right before hauling.  Dan is spending time in the engine room, I’m settled in the lounge awaiting the load of really dirty things from all the work.  The boat looks gorgeous.  Dan even waxed the propellor!  Later we’ll probably take another walk up town and find a new restaurant for dinner.  This haul-out was something of an impulse maneuver, because we had the time on our hands, but we are so glad we did it. Willie obviously needed the care.

Family Visit

We had a great day with Joe and Jo on Thursday, March 28th.  They came on board about 1030 and we immediately set out on a little tour of the area.  While the four of us caught up on each other's lives, we cruised up and down Haulover Canal so the Joes could see some manatees.  We also saw dolphins and several herons.  We had a good lunch, and chose a spot to watch the launch of the last of the Delta rockets. This was supposed to take place at 1:40 pm, then 2:40 pm, and then it was scrubbed altogether.  Oh well.

We turned back to Titusville and had dinner out at Pier 220. It was Joanna's birthday and the very kind waitress put a candle on her dessert and organized other eaters into a birthday chorus.  We all had a great time.

They helped us untie and we left them to their Uber back to Orlando while we relocated to a more protected anchorage to ride out the wind.

We've been here ever since, in the northeast corner of this section of river, anchored in the lee of the NASA railroad bridge.  We've seen two more satellite launches.  Dan has spent much of the days washing and waxing the topsides.  I learned to bake bread with einkorn flour, and ancient, unprocessed wheat that is very healthy and gut-friendly.  The bread-making process is very different because the dough needs a lot more time to rise, but the result is worth it.

Today Dan spotted what we thought was a manatee in distress, tangled in a crab pot warp.  We watched at the pot buoy bobbed and jerked and the manatee kept surfacing to snort and cry out.  Other manatees were hanging about.  We called the Florida Wildlife people to report it and their first question was does the buoy have a radio antenna on it?  Sure enough, it did.  This is a tagged, manatee, they told us, tethered to that buoy by a four foot line attached to its tail.  It probably wasn't in danger, but they asked Dan to make sure that other manatees weren't endangered since it is mating season, and manatees can form a ball of activity.  Dan carefully took the dinghy out to see.  No entanglement, but the nearby manatees seemed to take exception to his intrusion and surrounded him, splashing a lot. Dan agreed to get right out of their way.  

That was our Easter Sunday excitement.  Hope your day has been just as lively and as interesting! 

Hanging out in Titusville

We've been on one side or the other of Cape Canveral - a few days in the Banana River, a few days in the Indian River;  we've anchored on the northwestern shore by the NASA railroad bridge and on the northeastern shore by the same bridge, across the ICW channel.  When the wind has clocked around, we've raised anchor and moved, for better protection from the 16-22 knot winds.  

One day Dan took the dinghy to poke along the shore and came back with a good load of booty - cupboard doors, an American flag in decent shape, a Frisbee and a soccer ball.  That is the third soccer ball he's found on this adventure.  He also discovered a graveyard of horseshoe crabs.  I looked it up - there have been massive die-offs of horseshoe crabs in this area for the last four years.  Scientists are unsure why. They wash up dead in the shore in droves. So sad to see.

Yesterday morning we woke to hear a lot of splashing around us and went out to find manatees cavorting right next to the boat.  We've since found out this is mating season.  They have some stamina!  They stayed around the boat all morning.  

Today we moved across the river to the Titusville Marina to get some fuel and water, and had a little fun giving a manatee a drink of fresh water. 

 As we pulled away from the dock, we received word from AGLCA local harbor hosts John and Sharon that they were en route to us with a delivery of bottom paint that they had kindly picked up for us at West Marine.  The Marina directed us to the nearby boat launch ramp, as they couldn't allow us to just hang out at the fuel dock, so we moved to meet Sharon. She and John hope to do the Great Loop in the near future, and signed up to be harbor hosts to meet other Loopers in the meantime.  We were happy to give her a boat tour.  

Dan decided to take advantage of our tie-up at the launch ramp to wash the topsides, and I walked down to the boatyard to pick up some Amazon packages they've been holding for us. We decided that since we have the time, we would haul out to paint the bottom. This will happen next week.  In the meantime, Dan has gone on an Amazon shopping spree, sending the purchases to the boatyard.  I picked up what I could carry.

Now we are anchored in yet another corner of this area, where we'll ride out tonight's thunderstorms and be in the right place to pick up son Joe and daughter-in-law Jo tomorrow for their day with us.  We are certainly getting to know this area! 

Tommie is just hanging out too.