NC: Town Creek Marina Beaufort to New Bern Grand Marina

Thursday 4/26/2018

Depart: Beaufort, NC Town Creek Marina 2:15

Arrive: New Bern Grand Marina 7:00

Distance: 38 nm

We spent the morning and part of the afternoon at Town Creek Marina.

Town Creek Marina & City Kitchen Restaurant

The engine repair work started late yesterday afternoon continued through the morning and into the afternoon. While we waited to see if we would be able to travel to New Bern today, Clark made travel plans B and C as backup plans. All plans included us departing from Beaufort and heading for New Bern. The only question remained “how far can we get?”

While Clark kept the mechanic company in the engine room, I took care of various boat-cleaning related jobs in the morning. After lunch, I pulled out my art journal and practiced drawing. Linda from Ramble On suggested Youtube.com, so I followed along with some teaching sessions I found there. I decided to start with sessions designed to teach kids how to draw and work up from there.

Chihuahua Drawing

Clark said that 2:00 was our “drop dead” time for making New Bern before dark. The time kept ticking by, and it looked less and less likely we would be in New Bern tonight. Just at 2:00, however, Clark came to me and announced that we could leave and New Bern still held first place as our destination for the night.

I scrambled to put away my art supplies and my laptop, so I could assist with lines. Clark adjusted the lines for departure as we normally do, but the wind / current (I do not know which) did not cooperate with the quick release I normally manage. The boat quickly pulled away from the dock and left me struggling to release the lines. Fortunately, a woman from a nearby boat offered to help, and I lunged at her offer. She got us off the dock, and I told her as we pulled away, “Thanks! You prevented a divorce from happening!”

For mid-afternoon I found the amount of boat traffic pretty amazing. Clark asked me to pilot while he took care of some things. I felt comfortable until we came upon a number of slower-than-us sailing vessels in a narrow channel. I figured we needed to pass, but I felt unsure of the water depths. When Clark could focus on piloting, I quickly handed over the helm.

Besides a number of sailboats, we had a fishing boat being towed up ahead. To make matters worse, the towed fishing boat kept weaving to and fro - mostly to port - at unexpected times. Getting around all the traffic seemed quite challenging, and I was very happy to have Clark in control.

Fishing Boat “ Captain Caden” from Toms River, NJ
(how exciting to see a "neighbor" on the water)

Fishing Boat Being towed
by “Dead Cow” Towing

“Dead Cow” Vessel named
Almost Damn Near Anything
(I guess that's what he will answer to!)

We calculated the travel time for the ~40 nm trip to New Bern to be five hours at 8 knots. Dealing with all the slow traffic and waiting for a safe area to pass, we moved at only 4.5 knots. Eventually we got past the congested area and could continue at our own pace. Even so, we had slow-speed areas where we encountered floating docks, boat ramps, and such.

New Bern is a side trip off the ICW on the Neuse River. From Beaufort, we traveled Adams Creek and made a sharp left turn when we reached the Neuse River.  Our travel path very nearly resembled a sideways letter “J” as we first went north then northeast and finally northwest.

Entering the Neuse River, we found “Captain Potter”.

Captain Potter

With very little other traffic on the Neuse River, and with the Auto Pilot piloting the boat along a preset route, travel became rather boring.  Clark said, “You know you are bored when you start looking for patterns in the clouds.” He did find a rather interesting one.

I thought this cloud formation looked
like an “eye” looking back at us.

Since we traveled in a somewhat westerly direction, we had the sun in our face. Eventually I had to move to a shadier spot. Even though the sun sat low in the sky, I still felt my skin heating up, and I wore no sunscreen to protect it. 

The sun reflecting on the water can be very pretty.

Sailboat on Sparkling Neuse River

It felt like it took forever to travel the river to New Bern. Clark checked his calculations on expected arrival time a few times, and each time he came up with 6:45. With some areas of current in our favor and some pushing up on the throttle, he had made up the time we lost at the beginning of our journey. 

As we made our final approach into New Bern, Clark gave me the helm and grabbed the camera to get a few bridge shots.

Views from under the Highway 17 bridge in New Bern, NC

Afterwards, Clark made a quick trip down below. While he was gone, I got a call from the East Front Street bridge asking if we required an opening. I responded that we did, so by the time Clark came back, the bridge tender had already started his bridge-opening procedures for us.

Late-day Opening of the
East Front Street Bridge, New Bern, NC

Since we arrived after “closing” hours for the marina, no staff came to help us dock. Fortunately, we had a wide slip and calm conditions. The two of us easily got ourselves docked and set up. Clark received the WiFi, dock-gate, and restroom codes while underway, so we were all set for the night.

I threw together a quick spaghetti dinner for supper. Desperate for a trip to the food market, I had little choice in the matter.  Fortunately, we both enjoy spaghetti and meatballs. Before he would sit down to eat, however, Clark insisted on capturing the sunset picture of the day. Tonight we had a rather good sunset for a change.

Sunset at New Bern Grand Marina

NC: Beaufort

Wednesday 4/25/2018
Depart: Harbour Village Marina, Hampstead, NC 8:00
Arrive: Town Creek Marina, Beaufort, NC 3:15
Distance: 58 nm

We had a long travel day planned with two bridges that have restricted times for openings on our route. Horizons, the looper boaters we met yesterday, also planned to travel to Beaufort today, and we left shortly after they departed the dock. Unlike the past few days, we had a sunny day with somewhat warmer temperatures for today's travel.

View of Harbour Village Marina
from ICW side

We cruise at a slightly higher speed than Horizons, so we passed them along the way. Clark took a picture of their boat. I heard their captain say, "Smile for the camera!", so he must have been taking a picture of our boat as well.

Horizons -- Chicago, IL
following behind us on way to Beaufort

We made the Surf City Swing Bridge that Clark worried about by 8:45 and had to hang about waiting for the opening for 15 minutes. Many other boats lined up to grab the same opening. One of them was a 1963 wooden-hulled Trumpy. Absolutely gorgeous boat!

Wishing Star -- Wilmington, DE
76.6' 1963 Wooden-hulled Trumpy

We followed the Trumpy through the bridge. Several more boats passed through behind us.

Wishing Star - Trumpy

After making it through the Surf City swing bridge, Clark's next concern was making the Onslow Bridge opening at 11:00. Onslow only opens on the hour and half-hour. We made it to that one with eight minutes to spare. On the way we saw a very colorful house with a matching lighthouse.

PINK!
- House and Lighthouse

We noticed some dredging going on today on the ICW. Believe me, in many areas it is desperately needed. Clark slowed way down as they had many men working there - some in small boats.

ICW dredging in progress

As part of today's travels, we had to transit Camp Lejeune. Clark called ahead to see if munitions firing would be scheduled for today that would close the ICW. He was told it would be clear all week. Still, as we passed through here, we could hear a very disconcerting "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" Clark said, "Even though they are not firing over the ICW, they are still firing!"

The signs through here are "interesting" to say the least.

"STOP!
Live Firing in Progress
When Flashing"

Camp Lejeune - sign ahead

DANGER!
Unexploded Ordnance
DO NOT ENTER

Near the "R12" marker, as we approached Beaufort, we "hugged the red" as recommended in Active Captain and saw depths of  less than one foot under our 4' keel in the channel. As we searched for deeper water, we passed a much-needed dredge working the area. Since Horizons had told him they had depth finder problems, Clark radioed to tell them of the difficulty we had transiting this area.

Tonight we are staying at a marina in Beaufort that is somewhat off the beaten track called Town Creek Marina. Clark identified a problem with the port engine and scheduled time at this marina to have the main shaft oil seal repaired. Special tools are required for this work that Clark does not have on board. Clark said this marina has a good reputation for boat repair.

Clark hoped to arrive at 3:00 to give the mechanic time to work on the boat today. We got close to that and were docked by 3:15. Surprisingly, we found a lot of wind at the marina. We had a lot less during our trip today. The dock hand that helped us tie up said the wind appeared about the same time we did.

The mechanic appeared a short while after we docked and worked on the repair until 6:00. He said he will come back in the morning with a fabricated pulley puller since he had nothing ready-made that worked for our repair. Since the work will continue tomorrow, we may need to delay our travel plans. That will depend on how the repair work progresses in the morning.

Late afternoon, the clouds rolled in.

So we had a good setting for the sunset pictures later.

Sunset in Beaufort, NC

Captured Vertical-lift Aircraft
in sunset picture
Beaufort, NC

NC: Calabash River to Hampstead

Sunday 4/22/2018

Depart: Calabash River Anchorage 9:15

Arrive: South Harbour Village Marina 1:30

Distance: 29 nm

Our anchorage on the Calabash River proved one of the most serene that I have experienced. We had bright sun, a cool breeze, no bugs, birds chirping / singing, and no other boats. Just nature! Before heading back out onto the ICW, Clark suggested we travel further along the Calabash River to check out the area. The channel markers along this river looked to be aligned all in a row even though the colors alternated red – green. Since we explored at low tide, we had to be extra diligent to keep to deeper water.

Channel markers all in a row

Coming into Calabash, NC

Pilings? For what purpose?

As we came upon the marina, we saw the fishing boats that came by our anchorage. Apparently, they do not go out on Sundays.

Fishing Boats at Dock

Fishing Boat

Hurricane Shrimper

Catch of the Day?

Lazy Pelicans on Unused Dock

We could see the channel continued beyond the marina and the fishing boats, but it did not appear to hold any particularly interesting sights. Given the low tide, we turned around at the marina to retrace our steps towards the ICW.

Calabash River beyond the docks

On the Calabash River we had a lovely, light breeze. When we rounded the corner onto the ICW and came out from behind the protective wall of trees, winds measuring 20 knot speeds hit us full in the face. Given we had anchored behind that wall of trees, it instantly became clear that Clark had chosen our spot for the night very well.

Immediately after turning onto the ICW, I spotted the wrecked fishing boat that I have seen on other trips through here. I never realized it practically marked the entrance to the Calabash River and the South Carolina / North Carolina border.

Wrecked Fishing Boat 

Typical of South Carolina, we passed many super long docks from the water to people’s homes. We decided to play the camera game of trying to take a picture straight down the dock (like the RR track pictures Clark likes to take).

Dock Shot

Many had obstructions to a clear shot such as railings, dock boxes, chairs and flags.

Railings in the way

Good, but a relatively short dock

Got one!

Bingo!
All the way down the dock to the door of the house

Given the cold, windy conditions, both Clark and I were surprised to find a number of kayaks crossing the waterway in front of us. I prefer warmer, calmer weather when I go out in a kayak.

Group of Kayaks on the ICW

Just a little further on, we found many more kayaks being launched. It had to be a kayak club going on an outing. They even had a small motor boat escort to travel with them.

Sunday Kayak Outing

We passed many large homes with 5 or 6 bathrooms, 6000+ square foot of space, … I know because I used Google Maps to get the street name for the houses and then checked Zillow.com for home prices and descriptions. I noticed that a lot of house can be purchased for less money in South Carolina than the same-sized house in New Jersey.  In some areas we passed Condo complexes with unit prices up around $500,000. They usually came with a golf course!

Raised Big House

Raised Bigger House

After miles of huge houses, we arrived at an enormous campground stuffed full of campers and RVs.

Sea Mist Campground & RV Park

We heard / saw a few other oddities on the ICW today. For example, we heard a radio call from a boater to a female bridge tender. After exiting, the boater called to the tender, “All clear. Thanks for the opening babe!”

Smiley Face Sailboat
docked at “Old Ferry Seafood” Shop

Colorful houses that
reminded us of the Bahamas

As Clark piloted the boat, an airplane flew low overhead.  Looking to the left, all he could see was trees, and it looked like the plane would fly right into them. As he got closer, he saw a clearing with a runway and an airport.

Airport Runway between the trees

Hidden Airport

We arrived at the marina early enough to do some chores. Given we had chosen a marina for tonight’s stay due to expecting rain, as soon as we finished docking, I ran to do the laundry. Afterwards, I did some baking to make applesauce cake for Clark’s midnight snacks. 

Clark, on the other hand, worked on some boat issues. When we used the dinghy recently, he could not raise the outboard. It needs to be in a raised position for proper positioning on the boat. He spent time working on it, with some help from a local boater, to get the air out of the hydraulic system and reposition the outboard.

By late afternoon, the rain had still not arrived. However, given the atmospheric conditions, Clark’s evening picture did not show much in the way of a sunset.

“Not-so-sunny sunset” Picture of the Day

After waiting all day and most of the night, the rain finally started to fall well into the night.

Monday 4/23/2018

No Boat Travel.

With the dreary weather, I curled up on the sofa and read my murder mystery.  

Dreary day
at South Harbour Village Marina

South Harbour Village Marina
Hampstead, NC

Clark decided that with heavy rain predicted, he should scrub some soap into the grease stain under the outboard where the hydraulic fluid leaked out. True to form, once he started cleaning he did not know how to stop and hosed down the boat from bow to stern. Since he washed the outside, I decided I should clean inside. The boat looked better afterwards, inside and out, but needs deeper cleaning.

A couple of interesting boats passed by the marina today.

What kind of boat is this?
Stealth boats?

Tuesday 4/24/2018

Depart: South Harbor Village Marina 11:00

Arrive: Harbour Village Marina, Hampstead, NC  4:45

Distance: 39 nm

The worst of the weather front passed by overhead around 6:30 this morning. The TV weatherman had said it would be a very bad morning commute, and I could only imagine those poor people trying to drive through the torrents of water falling from the sky. It cleared for a while, but then just after 9:00 we got a thunderstorm. I wondered if the weather would clear up so that we could leave the marina this morning for the next leg of our journey.

Clouds at South Harbour Village Marina

Clark said we had to time our leaving to coincide with a bridge opening that only happens on the hour. He said we missed the 10:00 opportunity, so we would target leaving around 11:00. Miraculously, around 10:30, the clouds started to clear and the skies brighten.

We headed out at 11:00 as planned. Once again we traveled in damp, windy weather with gusts up to 20 knots. Even without rain, the skies proved overcast and foggy.

Foggy Day on the Waterway

Being close to Southport, we quickly arrived at Cape Fear River. We had been traveling for a while and I saw no bridge on the horizon. I asked Clark if we would make the bridge in the next 12 minutes. Thinking about it, Clark realized that when he said this morning that we had to time our leaving for the bridge, he had confused today’s travel plans with tomorrow’s. A quick review of the charts revealed that a bridge further along had scheduled openings, but we would not reach there until the afternoon.

Southport Ferry

 Expecting the predicted eight-foot waves on Cape Fear River, we could not believe the amazingly calm waters there. Instead of 8’ waves, we had more like 8” ripples!

Clark saw more of those mysterious gray boats today.

Army-Gray “Stealth” Boats again

We arrived at the Wrightsville Beach Bridge at 2:15. Unfortunately, this bridge only opens on the hour. With 45 minutes to wait for the next opening, Clark backed off from the bridge and the busy dock area and dropped our anchor to hang out for a while. I read my novel and Clark made and received phone calls while we waited.

Wrightsville Bridge

With the 3:00 opening, we transited the bridge and headed for the next one. The Figure 8 Island bridge only opens on the hour and half hour. Fortunately, we had the current with us. That, and the fact that Clark stepped up the RPM to move us along, helped us make it to the bridge at 3:28. When we arrived, we checked the clearance which showed 21’ of height available; we need a minimum of 22’. We called for an opening.

Figure 8 Island Swing Bridge

We still had another 12 nm to go to get to the marina after we left the Figure 8 Island Bridge. At 4:45 we arrived at the marina and found another looper boat, Horizons, docked there. We introduced ourselves and chatted for a while. When we docked, the dock master mentioned having pizza delivered. Suddenly, I decided that I wanted pizza for supper. The restaurant I ordered from is called “Brooklyn Pizza”. They lived up to their name!

Clark looked for a sunset tonight but could not find a sunset, or even a not-so-sunny sunset, picture for the blog.