Wednesday and Thursday; April 13 and 14, 2011

Wednesday (Coquina Yacht Club to South Harbour Village Marina, NC):  Left about 08:30 and stopped 1 mile down the waterway at Crickett Cove Marina at Mile 345.0.  They have the cheapest fuel in this area; Gas $3.70 and Diesel $3.65.  We had planned on anchoring at Dutchman's Creek at Mile 310.5 but it was too narrow and too shallow. 

N33 55.246
W78 03.709

Thursday (South Harbour Village Marina to Wrightsville Beach, NC):  We left about 11:00 today at slack tide to try and get a push from the up coming tide; worked a little but not as good as we wanted.  We went by Cape Fear River Inlet and went up the Cape Fear River.  We passed the Army's Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point which is the largest ammunition's port in the US.  It is barricaded by 45 cabled dolphins and guarded by several gun boats.  We crossed through Snows Cut and the current was terrible.  We went from 8 knots to 3 knots without changing our RPM's.  We got to our anchorage at Wrightsville Beach, NC, to find several boats there all ready.  By bed time our count was 19 boats in all.  We looked at the tides for tomorrow and tried to figure out what time to leave; we gave up and decided to just get going after we woke up.

N34 12.348
W77 48.057

CO's comments:  When ever you stop in a marina, talk to locals before you leave to find out what is ahead of you. I was warned about the approach to Snows Cut so I was prepared mentally for it.  On the approach we did pass a grounded dredge.  Watch your depths and the current.

View from South Harbour Village
Marina of Hwy 133 Bridge

Army's Military Ocean Terminal
at Sunny Point

Getting a little crowded in our
anchorage at Wrightsville Beach-
ended up with 19 boats in all

I can't get enough of those sunsets-
this one is at Wrightsville Beach, NC
on April 14, 2011

Monday and Tuesday; April 11 and 12, 2011

Monday (Bull Creek anchorage to Coquina Yacht Club, SC):  It was a foggy morning but it lifted by 08:00 so we pulled anchor and were on our way.  We saw several more eagles nest with babies; this must be a popular spot for eagles; just beautiful. For about 20 miles or so it was slow going as the Myrtle Beach area is mostly a no wake zone.  We saw something unique for a gulf coarse; the course was on one side of the river and the parking lot was on the other.  They had a gondola transporting people and their gulf bags back and forth over the river.  It turned into a very nice day with a lot of Sunshine and not too much wind. 
Tuesday (Coquina Yacht Club, SC): We stayed a 2nd day because of the weather forecast; thunderstorms again.  Coquina YC does not have fuel but the Crickett Creek Marina, 1 mile north (Mile 345), has the cheapest fuel in the area; Gas for $3.70 and Diesel for $3.65. 

CO's comment: It is nice to be in port when it is thunder and lightning; especially with a sail boat next to you with his mast 20 feet above you. This is the 2nd time this has happened. It is a good feeling with all the lightning in the area.

Coquina Yacht Club, North Myrtle Beach

We saw a lot of boats in this predicament
on this stretch of the ICW

Lighthouse at the entrance to
Coquina Yacht Club

Markers at the entrance to
Coquina Yacht Club

Saturday and Sunday, April 9 and 10, 2011

Saturday:  The morning started out very warm and sunny.  By noon it was 80 degrees and very hot with out much wind.  Then, about 13:00, the wind picked up to 15 to 20 knots and the temp dropped about 20 degrees.  The forecast was supposed to be a nice, warm, day and all of a sudden they were predicting thunder storms, lightning, hail, and possible tornado's.  We had planned on a nice little anchorage but had to find a marina.  Of course we were out in the middle of nowhere.  The storm hit all around us and the worst was to the north and south.  Where we had planned to anchor looked like it got hit hard and we were glad we found the marina.  The marina was very small and in a little shrimping village called McClellanville, SC.  The good part is they had shrimp for sale at the local market.

Sunday:  Woke up to an overcast sky.  We left on slack tide and when we went by our planned anchorage for last night we were sure we did the right thing by going to a marina.  The creek was very wide, no trees, and no protection from the wind.  Up to this point, the east coast has been pretty boring; lots of marsh areas with no trees, and you could go for miles and not see anyone or thing.  After we went past Georgetown, SC, things started to change.  There were a lot of little creeks and a lot of trees.  It kind of reminded us of the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  By afternoon it had turned into a beautiful day.  We anchored in Bull Creek at Mile Marker 381.5 off the ICW.  It was the nicest anchorage we have had in a long time.  On our way into our anchorage we saw an eagles nest with the male watching over the new baby, the female must have been hunting-pretty cool.

USS Yorktown at sunrise 4-9-2011

Shrimp Boats at McClellanville, SC

Our dock at Leland Oil Co. Marina

Keith calls this a Piling Tree

CO's comments: We stopped at a little marina when it was thunder and lightning out.  We had the perfect place at the dock.  We were between a Sports Fish, with towers 15' higher than us, and behind us were shrimp boats 20' higher than us, the perfect place to be in a storm. 

Just wanted to let my friends in Red Wing know that we saw our first 2 Rinkers today since leaving Minnesota.  Below is what a floating dock should look like.

Fit and Finish; no cotton-pickin slivers

April 7 and 8, 2011; Thursday and Friday

April 6 - A very nice anchorage at Tom Point Creek.  River was smooth and wide all day.  There were 2 other boats anchored out with us.  One boater took their boat all the way from the State of Washington; they came through the Panama Canal which I thought was pretty impressive.

N32 38.783
W80 16.989

April 7 and 8:   We got an earlier start than planned.  It was a beautiful morning and it reminded me of the old saying. "Red sky at night, Sailors delight".  It sure applied this morning.  Last night we had a gorgeous sunset and this morning the water was smooth as glass and no wind or clouds, just sunshine.  Yesterday Keith made a bridle for our anchor and it worked good.  It kept the anchor chain away from boat and took the pressure off the anchor roller by making the chain go straight to the water before angling off.  We had a very pleasant ride to Charleston, SC, where we spent 2 nights at Charleston Maritime Center.  It is a very nice facility but you get a lot of wake, especially at night, from all the heavy cargo ships and cruise ships.  But the price was right, they had good fuel prices, and laundry was free.  Can't beat that.  While we were here Keith changed the oil so we got that out of the way for another 100 hours.  On Friday we took a water taxi to Patriots Point-Naval & Maritime Museum.  We toured the USS Yorktown, an Aircraft Carrier built in 1943 and used in the last part of WW II and Vietnam.   We also toured the USS Clamagore, a diesel-powered submarine that was commissioned a few week before the end of WW II (1945) and spent her 30 years operating out of Key West, Charleston, and New London.  She is the only one of her kind left today.  I really enjoyed the submarine.  We went to dinner in Market Square on Friday; that must be the place to go on a weekend as it looked like the whole town was out.

CO's comments:  Charleston's currents and tides, no matter what marina you stay at, were a little wild.  The marina we stayed at low tide was a bit shallow.  It reminded me of low water on the Mississippi at Bill's Bay Marina.  I have become accustom to operating in water depths only 2 feet below my props.  I never thought that day would never come.   Departing we saw several cargo ships coming in and also leaving the harbor.  All were surrounded by small Coast Guard craft with men manning the forward machine guns.  I stayed well clear. 

N32 47.346
W79 55.479

Forward Torpedo Room

Executive Officers (XO) Quarters-
 if I was in the Navy, this would be my room

USS Clamagore SS-343
Submarine

USS Yorktown CV-10
Flight Deck

USS Yorktown CV-10
"The Fighting Lady"

Cargo Ship incoming and
Cruise Ship outgoing

Huge Cargo-we think it is
carrying cars, etc.

When Keith was in the CORPS he

used to fly in one just like this

Muse (about 65 feet), towing Amuse

(about 30 feet) behind him

doing a slow pass on us - 4-6-2011

Muse gaining on us