day by day

Boy howdy, but time do fly by!. I believe we were at Dowry Creek trying to peddle free "feesh" last time we posted. So, let's move on; April 21: Scooter and crew travelled to the Little Alligator river. No issues; passed thru the infamous Alligator-Pungo canal with ease; altho' sometimes that is not the case. When we arrived it was calm, cool and peaceful; and then..... What can I say; not so peaceful and quiet anymore. Amazing what you can sleep thru.

April 22: Up early to get across the Albemarle Sound before the winds picked up. Forecast was for 5-8kts; 1ft seas. Piece 'o cake for Scooter. 30 minutes after we left the anchorage, we were in 3-4' seas, 15-20 kt winds. 'Twas not a fun ride. Scooter  prevailed, and we got to Elizabeth City's municipal marina in good form. The city has a tradition of giving roses to visiting boat crews; gender specific, of course. Started in 1983, the tradition called for a wine and cheese party if there were 5 boats at the dock, plus roses for the female crew members. Continued to this day, but without the enthusiasm of earlier times. Nice town, friendly folks, good food.

April 23: Out of Elizabeth City, thru the Pasquotank River, by far one of the prettiest rivers of the whole trip; thru the South Mills lock , into the Dismal Swamp canal. Hardly wider than some of the local streams in PA, it actually handles an amazing amount, and type, of traffic. Fact is, possibly to Scooter's detriment, a large cruise boat apparently preceded us thru the canal. Since the controlling depth is only 6-7', large boats have a tendency to stir up "stuff" on the bottom. It hangs there before sinking; next boat thru has a good chance of catching a prop. Some thumps as we transited the canal, but no serious vibrations at this point.  We arrived at the Deep Creek Lock in time to clear the bridge and tie up at Elizabeth's dock for the night. Deep Creek is not a jumping burg; good thing, in our opinion, so it was really quiet and really starry. Up early on the 24th, into the lock to be lowered down to Deep Creek. Kind of an interesting experience.
Off Scooter and crew went ; thru the industrial environs of Norfolk, thru the might of the US Navy, past all the super toys used in big ship work. Tedious at times; one no wake zone after another, enforced by fast RIB's with M-60's; technologically enthralling at others.
Finally into Mobjack Bay, East River anchorage. From there, on the 25th Scooter wandered around into the Rappahanock River and the port/town of Urbanna, VA. for a visit with an acquaintance of ours from Mathews county. Honestly, the visit was like a leap back into the 40's. Model A Fords in plentiful supply, old style gasoline pumps; you know, the kind with the hand pump on the side and a glass cylinder at the top. Could that be where the term" fill 'er up" came from? Unfortunately, at the moment, technical difficulties are preventing me from posting the pics. Later, Chuckie. April  28: Scooter left Urbanna and crossed to the Corrotoman river for the night. Plan, based on the forecast was to cross the Bay to Crisfield,  Maryland. Ha! Blew out of the Corrotoman the 29th in good conditions, An hour later we were wishing that we had stayed put. Patience, determination, a good boat, and 6 hours later, found us tied to a dock in Crisfield. Short walk to Dollar general for the correct cat food  ( sorry, RCO's food) kept the fuzzy crew's  morale high. rest of the crew strolled to Bubby's for burgers and ice cream

Currently, Scooter and crew are in San Domingo Creek, just behind St. Michael's MD. Plan is/was to cross the Bay to Essex tomorrow, then traipse home Thursday. NOAA, however has just issued an advisory for high winds in the am. Soooo, I guess we'll do the old"wait and see" thing to see how it should be played. Be safe, catch you on the flip side

slacking off....again

So, after an afternoon and evening of entertainment provided by the USMC aviators driving Ospreys and various other rotorcraft at low altitudes over Mile Hammock Bay, we arose to a lovely morning and headed North  by way of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC. Also made a stop in Jarrett Bay for fuel. Seven hours and 51 NM later, we pulled into Cedar Creek; previously reported on, but most known for the "killer shrimp" that reside in these waters. January, 2010 was the date of that episode.

Peaceful night; up and on the way relatively early to New Bern, NC to visit with family friends, change engine oil and filters, tweak a few other things, etc. Visit was great. As you may recall, New Bern got clobbered by Florence last year. Like so many things that don't directly impact us personally, we tend to forget the disruption others are going thru.  The scene shown is really common here. Frankly, it is an amazing sight; jack up an entire house 8- 9', build some new walls/foundation etc, and you may be ready for the next blast from Mother Nature, or not!  'Taint cheap, but those who love it here seem willing to do what it may take to stick it out.

On the 17th, Scooter and crew, having said all the goodbye stuff, paid the slip fees, returned the adapter, and dealt, as usual, with the tanks, slid gently out of the slip and headed down the Neuse River, longest river contained within North Carolina's borders ( special, eh). Goal was to get to Slade Creek, just south of Belhaven, NC. Plan is to stage here while some bad weather blows thru Friday/Saturday, then hope things improve enough to get across Albemarle Sound. That part of the plan worked; 7.2 hours, 58 nm, found us anchored in Slade Creek, NC. Another repeat spot, as we had anchored here 10 years ago. Pleasantly enough, the place has not changed one iota . Not that we are anti establishment folks, but why does every inch of land have to be occupied by a building or an acre or more of asphalt. What's gonna happen when Nature is gone?

Up this morning; leisurely like, no rush, 'taint but 10 NM to go, and wind isn't forecast to kick up 'til 1100-1200, and we know that forecast folks are never wrong. So, Capt'n is pulling the anchor, and here comes Bubba in an old outboard; pulls right up to Scooter. "Geez" thinks the Capt'n, "did I run over his crab pot"? Guy says "wansomfeesh" Well, long story short, he had some fish he was giving away; got an early morning gift of crabs, flounder, etc, Loaded the feesh into a bucket with ice and rumbled off to Dowry Creek Marina to hang out while the weather blows thru.

ARC (anti rodent officer),  Deck Boss, and Food Control Officer had a staff meeting to discuss upcoming itineraries and future activities in their respective departments. These are tough jobs to fill; perseverance, determination, and the ability to wear more than one hat are a given. As the driver/fixer/gopher, I can feel comforted knowing that things are safely under control; no rodents dare enter the boat; no errant dock person dare misplace a line, and no meal dare to be out of spec. Life is good; catch you on the flip side.















 

Catching up

Last posting found Scooter and crew in Charleston, SC. The Charleston Maritime Center, as a matter of fact. There are quite a few marinas in the Charleston area, but for some reason we gravitate to this one. Its ugly to get in and out of, due to rapidly moving tidal currents, and really rock and rolly due to ship wakes rolling into the basin, BIG advantage; right downtown! This time around we tried something new; rode all three free bus routes around the city in one day. kind of interesting in lots of ways. Parts of this city are gently beautiful, parts absolutely aren't. Same can be said for the ridership. All in all, it was a most enlightening way to spend part of a day. Pleasant as it was, we couldn't get all the stuff done by bus, so we walked, nibbled on ice cream, and, you know, looked at things. Weather settled down, tanks in their proper state of capacity; either full, or empty; laundry all done. Time to git'er done. Beautiful day for a boat ride, so off we went to Awendaw Creek, enroute to, and hopefully,thru the McClellanville  low spot. Sort of sad departing Charleston; it has always been a fun visit.


The low spot issue worked out well; early up, thru as the tide was rising, and a smooth ride up the Waccamaw river to Osprey Point Marina. We have been here before; like the laid back atmosphere, great fuel prices and really friendly staff. Of all the rivers  Scooter has travelled, I think that this is one of the prettiest. Deep, wooded, and NO housing developments popping up along the way. Refreshing!
Out of Osprey Point, thru the Socastee swing bridge up to Ocean Isle Marina. Again, staging for the passage thru Lockwood's Folly inlet. Unbeknownst to us, the dredge had just finished fixing the shallow issues at this particular trouble spot, so we could have transited the inlet without waiting for  tidal assistance. Oh, well; it was a nice enough stay and the passage the next morning was easier because of it. Now in NC, we stopped at Southport Marina for fuel, slip, etc. After juggling all the various weather guesser's predictions, we decided to spend Monday visiting Bald Head Island, an island about 2 miles off the Cape Fear river inlet. There is a ferry that runs from  Southport to the island, and a golf cart rental company that eagerly awaits your arrival at the island. So, off we went on the ferry, 'round and 'round we went on the golf cart, and lickety-split home again on the ferry. Reminded me of Nantucket with palm trees; shingled houses and all. An adventurous day, an educational day.

Today's forecast called for strong T-storms and strong winds, but turned out to be a reasonably nice day with an occasional sprinkle. We juggled the time frames around a bit and elected to stop, again, in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Actually dropped the lil'ol rubber boat in the water and putted into the town dinghy dock. Walked to Robert's grocery store (has the coldest beer in Wrightsville Beach) for some items we were short on; 'taint short any more! Putted back (hooyah) in good form. Tomorrow will hopefully find us in Mile Hammock Bay, part of the Camp Lejune complex. We'll keep you posted. Be safe