Charleston, South Carolina to Wilmington, North Carolina

We departed the expensive docks of the City Marina, Charleston, and headed north for Cape Fear Marina, also known as Bennett Bros. Yachts on June 23rd at 6:50 a.m.  Remora was in the lead as we headed out the inlet to point our bows north.   We arrived at Cape Fear Marina shortly after 2 p.m. on the 24th, after having to wait an hour or so for a bridge to open to permit passage underneath it.

Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a very fun and exciting town to visit, and we had great fun while there, and I healed up, finally from my boobonic plague.  Little were we to know that Beth and John were next on it’s hit list.  Beth had to visit with a doctor and get some prescription meds, while John toughed it out and went on willpower alone.  Yes, I do know how to properly spell boobonic, but I like to refer to it this way.

Our sail north was a good one, gentle winds pushing us north.  This was to be an overnight trip, but we’ve done a few of these and were well prepared.  The winds were forecast to be 12 to 18 during the day, and increasing to 15 to 20 knots that night.  It’s always a crap shoot on whether the winds will be stronger or weaker than forecast, and this time they were stronger that night, running fairly steady at 20 knots and gusting higher.  This kicked the wave action up a lot, and couple this with the shallow waters off the coast in the Carolinas, and we were sailing in what we refer to as a washing machine.  The waves become confused, and come at you from every which way.  And, it is not pleasant.  (Except for the dolphins that hung around with us for about 45 minutes just before dusk)

By the time we were outside the Cape Fear River channel, the waves were kicking up big time.  Yup, we were caught with our pants down.  Now, don’t get me wrong, they weren’t crazy big, but large enough to make sailing quite uncomfortable.  John had just informed me that he wanted to do a couple of figure 8 turns to waste time and wait for daylight to arrive.  When the trip was planned we did not think that we would be sailing as fast as we had to get that far.  We were making our first turn when an unexpected wave threw Beth off of the cockpit seating down onto the floor.  She hit her head on the open companionway on her way down, and I really was expecting the worst knowing the companionway hatch was not in place.  Moments later I knew she was ok so to speak when she started crying and telling me that she was bleeding and a goose egg was quickly forming on her head.  I put Moorahme on autopilot and went ahead to check her out, a quick check due to the conditions which were not real friendly.  I did a quick check on her head and checked her pupils for dilation, made sure that she had not passed out, then made her as comfortable as possible on the cockpit floor.  I then informed Remora that we were heading directly in at our best speed possible.  Remora replied that they were going to continue on their planned route, and we forged on ahead into the channel.  As you traverse the channel towards land, the water becomes quite shallow, and you have to stay in the channel, which is well marked with lighted buoys.  This shallower water becomes quite rough under the right conditions, and that’s where we were.  The wave height picked up as we closed in on land, and with the wind pushing behind us, the tide going in, and the shallow waters pushing the water up, we had an exciting ride into the calmer waters of the Cape Fear River.  Once inside the calm waters, we were finally able to anchor so that I could check Beth over more extensively, and she could once again sit on the cockpit seating.  Beth assured me she was fine, there was a goose egg, but not a real cut, more like a scrape on her scalp.  Thank goodness for her thick hair!  We continued on up the river towards Wilmington, which was a few hours away yet.

The 24th turned out to be a very hot day, mid 90’s, so forward progress kept us in some breeze and a cooling effect.  Upon our arrival in Wilmington, there are two bridges to pass under.  I contacted the first bridge operator and asked him his clearance height, and that day it was at 69 feet, plenty of room for our 66 foot mast height.  We proceeded on upriver, knowing that we would have to wait for the second bridge to open at 2 p.m. for us to get to the marina.  We docked at a set of brand new docks in downtown Wilmington, and once I had the boat secured and set to wait for a couple of hours, we were told that we couldn’t tie there, the new marina had no insurance coverage.  Beth asked if we could just drop the anchor beside the dock, and the two gentlemen said sure, no problem, and went on their way.  So, time to untie the boat, move it off the dock a foot or so, and drop the anchor.  Pain in the butt in mid 90’s heat.

Remora arrived some time later, buddy boated with us, and we waited for the bridge to open at 2 p.m.  The, it was a short run, a couple of hundred yards to the marina.  Finally there!

Beth suffered with nausea and a headache for two days, then we went to see a local physician who assured us she would be fine, prescribed some strong anti nausea meds, and told Beth to take some Tylenol 3’s, which we have on the boat.  The next day, she was fine, and almost back to her normal self. (Sorry there are no pictures for this part of the trip; I completely forgot about the camera)

So, what did we learn on this trip?  If we have to, we can enter a marked channel in the dark.  Not something you want to do on a regular basis, but it can be done.  If it is rough outside, go inside using the marked channel.  You can’t read enough weather reports, including wind forecasts…and even when you do, you really can’t believe them.  Already knew that part.  We also learned the cockpit seating can be slippery in rough conditions, I am thinking of different methods to rectify this and still keep the seating comfortable.   Just today we purchased a set of grab rails which I will install at the head of the companionway beside the sliding hatch door to assist us when accessing the companionway.

Well, that was pretty much our passage.  I didn’t mention how pretty it is travelling up the Cape Fear River, nor did I mention that we did not see Robert De Niro or Nick Nolte.  Traversing the waterfront area of Wilmington is very nice, and there is a U.S. Navy Battleship just down the river that we have yet to tour.  We can see it from Moorahme.  I also didn’t mention that the 4th of July party here at the marina was great fun, enough food to feed a small city, and that the fireworks were really amazing..not quite Windsor/Detroit amazing, but very nice, and lasted a long time.  It was a real treat sitting in the cockpit of Moorahme sipping on a cocktail watching them light up the starry sky.  I also didn’t mention that we have safely gone to beaches in the Carolinas and not been bitten by a shark, no small feat these days.

That is long winded enough for now!  More updates to follow, and I’ll talk about the heat, updates on Moorahme’s ongoing repair status, our new friends here at Cape Fear Marina, and possibly even our plans for departure.

Keep your stick on the ice!

Way behind updating…

Yes, once again I have fallen almost hopelessly far behind in the updates of our adventures…and our misadventures on Moorahme.  I think I will start with our present status, and as time permits, work my way back to our departure from Brunswick Georgia back awhile ago.

We are currently at Cape Fear Marina, which is located at Bennett Bros Yachts in Wilmington, NC.  It is not a large marina, has wooden floating docks, and is located just far enough away from the downtown area to make it too far to walk, which is inconvenient.  Not having a car changes how you shop, when you shop and what you shop for.  Basically, you shop when you can get a ride….that’s the bottom line.

The Gang’s all here

This marina has a large liveaboard prescence, and each and everyone of them here are really nice people.  There are quite a few younger sailors here that live year round on their boats, some install carpeting, some work at landscaping, and some are not so young, like Butch, who is 76 years old, is an engineer, and still actively working.  Wow!

There is a nice verandah area here at the office, and there is a great charcoal barbeque, and the charcoal and starter are supplied.  Talk about heaven.  Charcoal barbeque!  So much nicer to use than gas.  There is a rather large tidal surge here, and the water is filled with silt and weeds…our air conditioner cooling water header plugs up every other day with the dead weeds, a rather large inconvenience in the 90+ heat here.  Having to shut the air down and tear the water header apart for cleaning is not fun.  At dusk, the biting flies, mosquitoes and no seeums pour out of the swampy shorelines seeking nourishment, ie fresh human blood.  There is also a bridge very close to the marina with steel grating, so the noise from it is quite noticeable as well.

So, why are we still here you muse?  Well, our buddy boat Remora is having some major issues, and was hauled out of the water today to have an engine replacement, ensure the keel bolts are in good condition, and a ton of instrumentation work to be completed due to a lightning strike she suffered 4 days after we arrived here.

When boats fly….

John is bunking with us to manage/oversee the projects on Remora to completion.  Once Remora is good to go and John has verified that with a few shakedown runs, Beth and I will head back down to Brunswick Georgia and the Brunswick Landing marina, keeping a vigilant eye to the weather, weather which at this time of year can get nasty due to hurricanes.  Thank goodness for the NOAA hurricane site.

We have some boat issues ourselves to deal with.  Our radar died, the motherboard fried and we had to replace it.  Now, our old radar was analog, and our new radar is digital..so we also had to replace the chartplotter, as the old one would not accept digital technology.  I am hoping that we can complete that, with our dock neighbour’s assistance, tomorrow.  It is no small task in this heat, projected to be banging off 100F.

Bu- bye old radar

Gabe and Randy setting up the new radar

We have also replaced all of our mast head lights with LED bulbs, further reducing our power consumption, and also replaced a good number of the old bulbs in the salon area.  Today I removed all the old radar wiring, the old chartplotter, and adjusted the steering cables on Moorahme.   Her stainless on deck is sparkling now.  Beth and I ran out all of our anchor chain and marked it off in 50 foot segments which makes it much easier to know how much chain we have let out when anchoring.  We also ordered new dock lines today, a total of six dock lines, three quarter of an inch by 40 feet long with an 18 inch loop on one end, and both ends whipped and set up as fine as the hair on a frog’s ass.  That’s pretty fine by the way.  With hurricane season upon us, we wanted to be sure that all of our dock lines are in the best shape possible.

Storm rolling into Wilmington

Ooo, that’s ugly

As you can see, it does not end with jobs/projects on the boat.  I am not ever without something to do, which is a good thing.

Wilmington, NC is a very nice city of about 200,000.

The Shuckin’ Shack

Historic Downtown Wilmington 4

Historic Downtown Wilmington 3

Very well kept homes, a beautiful, old downtown area with a ton of restaurants and nice shops to browse.  There are the usual big box stores as well, there if you need them.  One of the liveaboards told us of a fish market just across the river and down the road about a mile.  We bought 5 lbs of shrimp at $4 a lb for nice sized, fresh shrimp.  They were great the past few days, having done them up on the barbeque using Aaron’s crab recipe for basting.

So, that’s long winded enough for now, I’ll work at getting the updates backdated , and with Beth’s usual great photo opportunities, we’ll try not to put you to sleep right away.

Keep your stick on the ice.

Brunswick to Wilmington

Sunset – Charleston to Wilmington overnight

What have we been up to all month?

Hi – it’s Beth blogging today – just thought I’d get you caught up.
Our friends Marcia and John, on Ramora, sailed in from Cape Canaveral so we could sail north together. More friends Jim and Rhonda stopped for a night to catch up and see us off. We had a couple of great dinner. One was pot luck on the dock and the other with 10 of us from the marina at Thai Basil – both delicious meals.  

Leaving Brunswick, we got to go under the bridge we’ve driven over many times.

Away we go – Under the Brunswick Bridge

There were shrimp boats out in the channel.

Shrimp boats out early in the morning

We sailed with Ramora to an anchorage near Wassaw Island. There were dire warnings about shoaling on the charts but storms were rolling in and we wanted to be anchored. Marcia called to get “local knowledge” and a very nice man came out and lead us in to the anchorage !  

Anchored off Wassaw Island

There is a state park there that would have been fun to explore, but we wanted to get to Hilton Head the next day so only stayed the night and we’re off again the next morning.  

Docking at Scull Creek Marina in Hilton Head was an education in working with currents; thank goodness Randy’s getting to be an expert with that nice big engine of ours. We rented a car and did some exploring in Beaufort (byou ford) – a bit rainy but fun.

Rainy afternoon in Beaufort

We went to dinner at The Boathouse;

crowded Boathouse restaurant

Randy and John yuckin’ it up

very crowded and a long wait but worth it – great view, great food (the best hush puppies so far). The following day we went to our friends house in Oriental to their neighbourhood party.

Getting dinner ready

More good food and lovely people. Remora took on another crew member, their friend Karen, who sailed with them on our trip to Charleston – with an overnight anchorage at Edisto inlet.
We docked at Charleston’s Mega dock and joined in the dock party festivities, sponsored by the marina- beer, liquor, and Pizza- ya gotta love it.  Karen’s husband, Denis, joined us in Charleston. Ramora was having some issues with her motor and Randy was fighting a nasty cold (I was a little worried he was getting his annual pneumonia), so John and Randy stayed at the marina while Denis escorted the ladies downtown. We saw the huge Market and walked around the streets to look at the beautiful antebellum houses. I got myself some Pralines – happy Birthday to me. Everyone reconvened for dinner at California Dreamin’ – mmm she crab soup!
You can’t go to Charleston without going to Fort Sumter and taking in some of the history.

Shrimp boat – Skull Creek

Fort Sumter

A hot day at Fort Sumter

Tour guide – Fort Sumter

On the tour boat ride we saw lots of little sailboats running races around

markers and also saw a tall ship. After the tour of the Fort we set of to find a local brew pub but had to stop on the way at a couple of other pub- it was really hot out, ya know!
After some discussion about boat maintenance and the best place near by to get it done, we decided to go to Bennett Brothers in Wilmington.

The best plan to get there was to overnight from Charleston to the entrance to the Cape Fear River. So off we went. We had pretty good wind and a school of Dolphins joined us for about 45 min. No, I didn’t get pictures. Every time I try to take pictures of Dolphins, you all get to see pictures of water were the dolphin just went under.

Sunset – Charleston to Wilmington overnight

By morning we were nearing Frying Pan Shoals that run along the entrance to Cape Fear River. The waves were confused, coming at us from all directions and we were arriving a little early so it was still dark. One wave rocked us enough to knock the cover over the stove off. We were both in the cockpit and the next wave threw me and my seat cushion off my seat and into the companionway doorframe. Ouch. Goose egg, a cut and a huge headache. Randy made a b- line into the harbour while calling the coast guard for hospital information in case I needed it.  He anchored the boat and checked my cut- no stitches require- thank goodness.
We made our way up the river, under one bridge and then had to wait for the 2:00 opening of another bridge. Ramora caught up to us to wait for the bridge. Then on to Cape Fear Marina just past the bridge.
I slept on and off for the next three days – with a visit to the doctor and some Tylenol 3 for the headache in between. The people staying at the marina are very nice and all get together on the office veranda.

Party on the Porch – Cape Fear Marina

One couple had friends who were traveling musicians staying with them and they performed one evening.

This band was good

Sunset from the veranda

So cool.
Once I felt better Marcia and I took a road trip to Texas and back while the guys sorted out boatyard stuff.  We got back in time for Forth of July BBQ on the veranda and fireworks.

Cape Fear Marina sunset

The last week or two have just been little projects, waiting for parts and exploring Wilmington.