We continue to make great progress south and each day the weather is a little warmer and our clothing layers fewer. After leaving Wrightsville Beach, NC, we continued on toward Charleston, SC. We’ve seen dolphins every day, especially in the strong currents around the myriad of creeks and river inlets that make up the ICW. The last 30 miles before Charleston were spectacular – the ICW meanders through a wildlife refuge – we saw at least 30 osprey nests, flocks of pelicans, and herons fishing on shore. We stayed several days in the Charleston in a marina overlooking the city and the kids and Karrie took the trolley into town to explore (while Eric did a few boat/engine projects). The architecture of the old buildings and churches was stunning, even Ava and Reed were impressed! We took a scenic history tour of the city by horse drawn carriage – and learned much about the early history of the city, from 1670 onward. Reed especially loved the pirate stories, with Charleston at the epicenter during the late 19th century. After crossing a turbulent Charleston Harbor, we had a lovely trip to about halfway to Beaufort, SC. There are no marinas in that area and the weather was nice so it was perfect timing for our first night at anchor aboard Night Music. With the swift currents and high tide ranges in the area, it is important to consider both wind and current direction to avoid a middle of the night “fire drill” if the anchor comes loose. We had a couple of instances of anchor dragging during our last trip, so made a point to get heavier ground tackle (anchor and chain) to help avoid the issue. We easily fell into our old routine from 14 years ago, with Karrie would at the helm, slowly inching the boat up toward the spot to drop the anchor, and Eric at the bow ready to drop the anchor and chain. Once it hits bottom, we back the boat down until the anchor is set. Since it is often hard to hear from bow to stern, we've resurrected our hand signals to ensure clear and calm communication on when to idle and when to go forward or reverse engine. Our anchorage was Tom Point Creek, a lovely narrow tributary off the ICW. We had the place to ourselves, perfectly quiet and peaceful. It was uneventful, which is the best possible way to anchor! The only issue was the small gnats – “no see ums” that swarmed at dusk. Dinner out in the cockpit was cut short and we headed down below for a game of Scrabble. We learned we need finer mesh screens since these little buggers can get through the screens if they really try. We spent about an hour at bedtime killing those that got into the cabin! Picture the four of us, each with a kitchen towel, flinging it at the ceiling to kill them – needless to say, a few of us got swatted as well. Much laughter and a great memory made. The area south of Charleston is called Low Country – characterized by large swamps and marshes ribboned with creeks and rivers, high tide swings, and very few signs of civilization. Very peaceful and a bit eerie – a great place to be for solitude and natural beauty. Leaving early from Tom Creek, we headed for Beaufort, SC. It was a blustery day, with lots of squalls and rain showers. Just as the weather cleared, we made Beaufort and docked at the idyllic Lady’s Island Marina for showers and grocery shopping. The local Publix store was about 1.5 miles away – so we took the “#11 bus” – i.e. our two legs – to get there, backpacks full on the way back. The kids enjoyed a well-earned ice cold Coke at the end of the walk. Ava and Reed joined a pick-up soccer game on the field nearby with some of the live aboard residents from the marina. It was great exercise to get the wiggles out after a long day on the boat. Ava and Reed are further developing their already well-honed skills of quickly making new friends of all ages. After Beaufort, we had another perfect night at anchor in Queen Bess Creek, GA (except the bugs). The moss-covered trees lined the shore, some with herons roosting for the night. We pulled anchor the next morning at sunrise, headed toward Jekyll Island. This section on the ICW was challenging as there were several areas that were very shallow. Federal funding has been cut for dredging and placing markers to clearly show the deepest channel so running aground and being stuck for several hours waiting for high tide is real possibility. Navigating these little connected creeks and cuts between rivers can get a little nerve wracking – sometimes we only have 1 or 2 feet of water under the keel. The highlight of the day was seeing a mother dolphin help her newborn baby dolphin as it learned to take its first breaths. It was hard at first to realize what we were seeing – but as we got close – it became clear. We’ve seen so many more dolphins than the last time we made this trip – and wonder if maybe it is because they are coming to the calmer inland waters to birth their young. We are excited to see the manatees as we head a bit further south to warmer waters. Jekyll Island, GA, was a wonderful stop. The restored mansions from the Rockefeller and Vanderbilt families are all along the shoreline. At the marina, we were warmly welcomed by live aboard residents – and invited to gather at the fire pit at sunset for conversation, cocktails, and music. Ava was excited to bring her violin and she “jammed” with fellow guitar, accordion, and harmonica players for a couple of hours. It was fun to hear her apply skills from the past 6 years of violin lessons and improvise on folk songs and other tunes. Reed, meanwhile, kept the fire pit chock-full of fuel. He’s definitely a firebug! We sailed past Cumberland Island the next day – and were lucky enough to see some of the wild horses that live there on the beach. Following Jekyll Island was a stop in Fernandina Beach, Florida. (Yay! Florida!) It was a bit of an unexpected a two-day stopover due to strong winds that would make travel south challenging. The time was used to catch up on laundry, email, get taxes finalized, etc. (and video games for the kids). It is great to be in Florida – about 5-6 days’ worth of travel until we get to our staging place to jump off to the Bahamas for a few months. St. Augustine was our next day’s destination – a long trip but we hit the currents perfectly. The incoming flood tide pushed us at 2 knots faster than we normally motor. In Jacksonville, FL, there is a bridge under which the adverse currents can approach 6 knots against you – making it very difficult to pass under it. So timing to reach the bridge at slack tide is crucial. We had no issues – thankfully – and made St. Augustine by 4pm. It is a city so rich in history, when we pass through again we will devote more time to explore. The whole family had happy hour treats at the A1A Café and after dark, Karrie and Eric joined another couple from a south-traveling boat we met in New Bern and went out to see a live 70s’ Rock Band. The marina was across the street so Ava and Reed could hang out and play games while we enjoyed some adult conversation. Date night! Those are few and far between so we take them when we can get them. The morning fog was thick so the kids spent their time catching fish and jellyfish off the dock while we waited for it to clear to head out for the day. A short 20 miles south of St. Augustine led us to the River to Sea Preserve and an evening playing at the beach in the fog. Now we are in New Smyrna Beach, FL, about 10 miles south of Dayton Beach. Karrie’s college roommate, Cherie, is here on vacation with her extended family. So of course a visit is in order – a day at the beach and some “off the boat” time is always a treat. The attached pictures are in approximate order of what is written in this post. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to let us know in the comments what you’d like to know about our trip! | |
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The day had come! On Sunday, March 1st , we left the Northwest Creek Marina, which had been our home for the past 4 months. It was a great place to be while getting the boat ready – with very nice and helpful people, good resources for boat prep (mechanics, electricians, boat yards, boat supply stores, etc.), and fun places to explore nearby. All of us had mixed feelings about leaving - both excitement for the next part of our adventure and nervousness about the unknown ahead.
For several good reasons, we decided to travel south via the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (aka the ICW or the ditch). The ICW is a series of connected inland canals and rivers that stretches from New York to Miami. The first reason we chose the ICW is that the weather is still somewhat cold and volatile so it affords some protection from the ocean weather. The second reason is that while sailing offshore for 4-5 days would be the fastest way to Florida, we are still getting to know Night Music and how she sails/handles in various conditions. An offshore adventure would not necessarily be the best maiden voyage, especially for the kids’ first experience. So, the ICW route it is! We can travel between 40-50 miles a day via ICW – stopping at either marinas or anchorages each night. Most of our travel will be motoring, with some sail/wind assist if the wind direction is right. At that travel rate, we should make it to southern Florida in about 3 weeks. On that first day we motored from New Bern, NC to Morehead City, NC. We saw dolphins as we left the Neuse River and entered the ICW channel. The kids loved seeing them! Reed is more interested in driving the boat than Ava, but they both like hanging out in the cockpit to see the scenery. We woke up Monday to dense fog – which meant waiting for that to clear before we could continue on. The ICW channel is dredged with navigations markers delineating the deep channel. With fog, it isn’t possible to see from marker to marker so running aground is more likely (more on that later!). Once the fog cleared, we were on our way and made it to Swansboro, NC. We docked late afternoon and found a nearby park for the kids to get their wiggles out! We are definitely looking for marinas and anchorages that provide for some shore exercise – especially for the kids. Some of the memorable moments from our first few days were seeing lots of interesting wildlife (including dolphins every day), birds, marshes, river inlets, as well as vacation homes and small communities line the ICW. In addition, there are several different types of bridges across the ICW. Some open upon request, others open at a regular schedule. So far we've traveled past bascule (draw) bridges and swing bridges (they pivot on a central pier to open). I suspect that chatting with and waving to the bridge master will become a fun tradition as we head south. On our third day, we had been warned by locals to watch out for a particular stretch of the ICW where many boats had run aground. We listened intently, took all the advice…and ran aground anyway! The inlets from the ocean carry sand via the tides causing the channel shoals to shallow depths in those areas. There are often temporary buoys to mark the areas but with the dark/silty water, you can’t really see where the problem areas are. Fortunately, Eric was able to use the engine forward/reverse to get us moving again. Whew! On day four, a look at the weekend weather showed some strong storm fronts moving through on Thursday and Friday – with 70 degrees and thunder followed by 30 degrees and sleet. We decided to hang out in Wrightsville Beach, NC, for a few days. Eric could get a few engine maintenance items done (oil change, transmission fluid changes, and fuel filter change) while Karrie and the kids could play at the nearby park, do laundry, and some homeschooling. The kids took advantage of the warm weather to climb trees and met a group of kids and played kickball and sharks & minnows Tomorrow, Saturday, March 7th, the weather forecast improves to warm and moderate winds so we will continue our trip south toward Charleston, SC as our next multi-day stop. It will take 4-5 days to get there, depending on the currents/wind and tide. We will post more along the way! |
AuthorsWe are Karrie, Eric, Ava, and Reed Sanderson. Our house is in Seattle but our home is wherever the four of us are...and for the next two years, our home is Night Music, a Tartan 37 Sailboat. Archives
June 2016
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