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October 31, 2009 7:39 AM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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We tucked into a creek off the Waccamaw River just below Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for a few days to catch up on things and to kayak and explore. It's something we've always wanted to do, but we haven't had the time on previous trips. The Waccamaw is a river that runs through a thick cypress swamp, with gnarled tree roots sitting in the water and spanish moss draping the branches. It' has a spooky feeling to it, but it's also very beautiful.
Because of the swamp, the River feels very remote (do I hear banjo music?), yet local boats with fishermen and hunters zip by now and then just as a reminder that civilization is somewhere nearby. Kayaking is a great way to appreciate the sounds of the swamp and forest - and to get close to a shoreline full of fallen trees to see what's really going on.
There are water lillies and bright green water plants that look like curly romaine lettuce, swarms of water bugs dancing on the surface, and hundreds of little land crabs - each with one oversized claw. The water is murky - some from the tannins that give it a coca-cola tinge - so it's hard to see things, but there are lots of big splashes when fish jump. I saw one fish at the edge of the shallows - he was pretty big, just gently fanning his tail in the brisk current. There are also lots of turtles sunning themselves on logs, but they're impossible to get close to - it sounds like someone dropping large stones in the water when they plop in.
Delicate wildflowers grow on tree roots sticking out of the water...
...and a closer look reveals even more treats...
Birds are everywhere - kingfishers along the water, turkey vultures high overhead, and beautiful hawks hiding in the trees making the most awful screaming racket from time to time. One morning I heard some very loud sounds coming from shore - it was a flock of wild turkeys. A large flock of grackles invaded a little side creek, splashing at the water's edge and jumping from perch to perch making noises that sounded like a bird party. When they flew by me later in the afternoon out on the river, their combined wings made a weird whooshing sound.
With the tinge of fall color in the trees, it was a wonderful little pause that gave us some time to get better acquainted with one of the interesting places we cruise by.
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October 28, 2009 9:14 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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We cruised into New Bern, NC to see the town and also to leave the boat so we could drive up to New Jersey to see Robin's Dad and to Baltimore for Jim's dental appointment. Of course we had to drive north just as a wicked cold snap hit - we had to dig under the bed and get out some of our winter clothes! When we returned, the weather warmed and we had a little time to walk the town - it's very sweet with little shops and restaurants. The local church set up a pumpkin patch, and the tree-lined streets were overhung with spanish moss.
New Bern is the sister city of Bern, Switzerland and the symbol is the bear.
...and one of the antique shops celebrates the pirate history of the Outer Banks just to the east.
We visited with Jim and Jo Ann on the Grand Banks LONG HAUL, and the timing worked out for us to travel together for a bit. We had a nice glassy-smooth ride down to Morehead City, but the weather was turning and we had the choice to either stay in Morehead for up to a week waiting for good conditions on the ocean, or brave the skinny water and annoying bridges on the inside route in order to continue on. It's the only stretch of the ICW that we've never been on in all our trips, so we figured we'd give it a try. The waterway runs through a firing range that belongs to the Marines at Camp Lejeune - fortunately they weren't shooting that day.
Next time, we'll wait for good weather on the ocean - there were too many skinny spots and the few bridges, in the middle of nowhere, were on very restricted opening schedules! We arrived in Wrightsville Beach during happy hour on Friday afternoon, so the local boat traffic added to a long day. We decided to anchor there for the weekend to visit Pat and Chuck Berry on GOT THE FEVER - another DeFever 49. The Berry's boat is getting some work done in a yard in nearby Wilmington, and they gave us a nice tour of the area. Wilmington is a very well-kept secret! It's a lovely town with a pretty waterfront and rich history. We'll have to visit there again!
Regardless of the bridges and the shallow water and fishing boats crowding the channels, it's still pretty nice on the waterway - everyone waves to one another.
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October 19, 2009 11:29 AM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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Although the ICW offers an ever-changing array of sights to see, the highlight is still seeing friends along the way - visiting with old ones and meeting new ones. So often we've been in a rush to make miles, but this trip we don't have a schedule and we can take a little more time. We decided to stop at the free dock at Great Bridge, Virginia just below Norfolk for two nights. We met some nice folks on sailboats on the dock, and they invited us to an impromptu cocktail and dinner gathering. Some of these folks will be heading down the Caribbean island chain, and some have already been and are going back. We remember our sailing days fondly, but I wouldn't trade the boat comforts we have now for a long-haul sailor's more spartan lifestyle.
Heidi and Peter on SPARTINA passed by...
...as well as a few other boats we recognized. Our DeFever friends Mike and Jane Ross, and Miss Godiva (the chocolate Lab) and Jane's son Andrew drove up from Kitty Hawk to visit us - it was wonderful to catch up with them and get my dog fix! I always keep dog treats under the galley sink, and any friendly woofers are always welcome aboard.
We headed down to Coinjock, North Carolina - a narrow but famous waypoint on the ICW. We got tied up early so I could settle in to watch the Giants game, and a sailboat pulled in behind us later that afternoon - it turned out to be Rob and Julie who were neighbors of ours all summer in Baltimore. We never got to know them very well over the summer - we were all too busy running around, but we had a great visit with them and enjoyed getting to know them. I'm sure we'll bump into them again along the way.
We seem to be on the early side of the southern migration, and a lot of the boat traffic consists of big yachts with professional captains - they filled the dock at Coinjock Marina.
We pressed on the next day since the weather was favorable for crossing the infamous Albemarle Sound, and we ran two long days all the way to New Bern. We left the boat at the marina there so we could rent a car and drive up to New Jersey to visit Robin's Dad for the weekend, and then stop in Baltimore for Jim's dentist appointment - last one for his implants. When we get back to the boat tomorrow we'll hopefully meet up with Jim and JoAnn on LONGHAUL, and then we'll drive over to Oriental to see friends we met in Baltimore this summer.
We love the nature and the changing fall colors...
...but all the wonderful people are really what makes our days sparkle.
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October 15, 2009 1:05 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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As we headed from the Chesapeake into Hampton Roads - the area around Hampton, Norfolk, and Newport News, VA - I was struck by the incredible amount of activity on the water. This harbor is a major hub for military ships as well as commercial cargo, and it's also the beginning of the Intracoastal Waterway (the ICW).
We rounded Thimble Shoal entering Hampton Roads, hugging the north side of the channel as much as possible since we had this Coast Guard buoy tender right behind us, and he was increasing speed to get out of the way of a very large freighter.
All the while there were Navy ships moving around - some had just passed through the narrow entrance heading for sea, and some were farther up the river heading out. Helicopters and aircraft buzzed over head, and pleasure boats - big and small - zipped around. The radio traffic was quite lively - we run at least two radios tuned to different channels so we can hear the normal traffic as well as the commercial ship announcements and the bridge tenders.
We were quite happy to turn north into the Hampton River for a few days to explore, walk around, and to see some new and old friends. The Hampton River is just beautiful, with the Virginia Air & Space Museum on one side, and the lovely grounds of Hampton University on the other.
We met up with new friends aboard the DeFever 60 MARJORIE GRACE - we made contact with them via email, and they invited us to stop by. A brief visit turned into a wonderful evening of conversation and a boat tour, and Bill and Irmajean came out to see us in the anchorage the next day for another visit. The next day Heidi and Peter on SPARTINA came into the marina across from the University, so we picked them up by dinghy and walked around town a bit.
After a few days stretching our legs, it was time to move south again. We headed down into Norfolk and Portsmouth, passing about a mile of Navy ships at the ready, tugs and barges going by, and joining the growing stream of pleasure boats making the migration south for the winter.
Farther along the Elizabeth River are some work yards and dry docks for Navy ships, and it's neat to see what the ships really look like.
The run through Norfolk is always tiring with so much to pay attention to, but it's endlessly interesting.
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October 9, 2009 5:14 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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I've moved all the photos and information about the construction of our house in the Florida Keys over to a single article on our web site at: www.mvadventures.com
The house is finished and rented out, though we're still working on some landscaping and building the seawall this fall. When that's finished, we'll plant two or three large palm trees on the canal side of the house, and they can work on getting tall while we're cruising.
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October 5, 2009 1:53 PM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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We're heading south on the Chesapeake today, and have had a few interesting sightings. First, we saw the trawler BLUEWATER tuck in behind us as we came out of the Rappahannock River this morning. The folks on BLUEWATER are good friends with Suzie and Bill Roberts - who we were just visiting in Kilmarnock last week. We called BLUEWATER on the radio to say hello, and after some conversation they mentioned that they ran into another DeFever this past week up in Solomons Island. It turns out that they met our old friends Jeff and Karen (and puppies Dyna and Dylan) on ACAPELLA (developers of our favorite cruising guide - ActiveCaptain - www.activecaptain.com). Too funny.
A few hours later, after making plans to see our friend Kit (who's in medical school in the Norfolk area) for dinner tomorrow, and to meet some new DeFever friends (aboard MARJORIE GRACE) tonight...
We see a beautiful schooner passing by us. It's the schooner Virginia, and the last time we saw her was in Halifax last summer.
We discover unexpected connections in the strangest places. The Eastern Seaboard is a small (but long and skinny) world. It's a nice easy ride down the Bay today, and while one of us stands watch the other of us is usually online to keep up with email and to research things on the web. Long boring days in open water give us a lot of time to get things done.
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October 5, 2009 10:53 AM
Posted By Robin & Jim
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We enjoyed our time in Kilmarnock and getting to visit an old friend there. A week ago we headed around Windmill Point into the Rappahannock River to spend a few quiet days hiding from some heavy winds.
We tucked up into the Corrotoman River, where we found nice high banks thick with trees and pretty homes. We didn't even put the dinghy down, but I got the kayak out and paddled a few miles around the different creek branches. I usually get up early in the morning, and the sunrise is a nice treat to enjoy with coffee.
Thursday the winds settled down and we moved around the corner to Carter Creek to visit some friends. This is another gorgeous area with lots of branches off the creek, all with high wooded shorelines and lovely homes tucked in the trees. We met up with Gale and Evelyn - old friends from the Power Squadron, and ended up spending the entire afternoon and evening chatting and watching the birds and deer around their home on Windmill Point. (Forgot my camera!)
On Saturday and Sunday we caught up with our friends Charlie and Barbara - they have one of those lovely homes tucked in the trees on the creek!
It was great to finally get a chance to visit them - we've been trying to get to the Northern Neck for a while, but it seems that we're often trying to make miles and don't have the time.
Charlie and Barbara came out to us in the anchorage in their spiffy Boston Whaler, visited for a while, then took us on a little tour. We're used to traveling at about 10 MPH on our boat, and it was great fun to go FAST for a change!
It was great to catch up, and even better just to see people like us - who are just happy to be out on the water.
We enjoyed the sights around the area - we were treated to a front-row seat when a bald eagle tried to steal a fish from an osprey right over the boat.
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