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Spring on the waterway

5/18/2015

3 Comments

 
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We met up with our friends Sharlene and Gill on First Love in Top Sail Sound NC. We travelled with them on and off as far as Portsmouth VA. Their home Port is in North East MD, in the northern part of Chesapeake Bay.
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Gus, one of the Rose Buddies in Elizabeth City NC. Gus is down at the town docks every day to help cruisers tie up at the free dock.
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The Maritime Museum of the Abalmarle Sound, Elizabeth City, NC.

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Heading towards the South Mills Lock and the Dismal Swamp Canal on the Pasquotank River.
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Our Flotilla docking at the Dismal Swamp Welcoming Center. This was our last stop in North Carolina.
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The next day and a few miles north of the Dismal Swamp Welcoming Center.
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The Portsmouth/Norfolk area is a big military industrial center and naval base. There were 3 aircraft carriers along with several other naval ships, being overhauled and re-fitted.
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Norfolk Virginia, picture taken close to mile 0 of the AICW. Our friend Morgan Drum, who calls Norfolk home, gave us a land tour of the area.
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Jackie and Robin Hartley,-a British cruising couple and Morgan Drum, greet us at the Portsmouth Boating Club. We enjoyed their hospitality while we were in the area.
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The "Wolf Trap" lighthouse is typical of some of the shallow water lights on the Chesapeake. They are all automated lights now.
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An Osprey feeding its young. There are a lot of fishing birds on the Chesapeake and they all have different approaches to catching fish.
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Two male mallards are vying for the attention of this female. Debbie took this picture in Solomons MD.
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Solomons, MD. We took a mooring ball here at one of the many marinas. The community is a real boating center on the western shore of the Chesapeake.
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The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, close to Annapolis MD. WE chose to bypass Annapolis and go to Rock Hall on the western Shore instead.
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Old wooden fishing boat at Rock Hall, MD. WE stopped here at a marina for the night so we could do a little provisioning and just get off the boat.
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The Northern Chesapeake bay is very rural with rolling hills. Reminded us a bit of our home in Nova Scotia.
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We spent a night at anchor in a small lagoon in Chesapeake City on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The ACL "Atlantic Conveyor" passed by early the next day. This sea level canal links the Chesapeake with Delaware Bay.
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Blossoms in bloom in this front yard garden. I think this picture was taken in Rock Hall.
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Along the C&D Canal, close to Delaware Bay.
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We spent a couple of days here waiting for a strong cold front to blow itself out. The strong winds blowing against the fast currents of the Delaware River and Bay make for high standing waves.
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The "Ship John Shoal" light in Delaware Bay.
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Atlantic City, NJ. We did the the Jersey Shore in 3 hops. Cape May, NJ to Atlantic City where we anchored for the night, Atlantic City to Manasquan Inlet, where we stayed at a marina, and Manasquan to Sandy Hook. We found the entrances to be well marked, wide and deep, but they may have been troublesome in strong east winds. A lot of the cruisers will do this 120 mile stretch in one hop, which includes an overnight sail.
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The end of the Sandy Hook Spit on Sunday Afternoon, May 17, 2015. We decided to anchor on the other side near old Fort Hancock. New York Harbor is another 10 miles.
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Anchored on the west side of Sandy Hook. The area suffered a lot of damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. These houses are boarded up, maybe as a result of flood damage during the storm. In the background is the Sandy Hook light house. There has been a lighthouse here since the before the revolutionary war. The area is on the landing path for JFK airport, and at times there were jets lined up a minute apart to land.
                                                                    Moxie Log

May 2/15                       Anchored in Campbell’s Creek, NC (M154)


May 3/15                        Anchored in Alligator River (Cypress Swamp) NC (M92)

May 4/15                       Free Dock. Elizabeth City, NC  (M 45)

May 5/15                       The Visitors Center, The Great Dismal Swamp Canal. (M28)

May 6/15                      Portsmouth VA, Morgans Slip at the Portsmouth Boating Center                                       VA.  (M 0)

May 7/15                       Anchored in Indian Creek Harbour, W of                                                                                           Chesapeake Bay

May 8/15                       Mooring Ball at Zahniser’s Marina, Solomons Island, MD

May 9/15                       North Point Marina, Rock Hall, MD

May 10/15                     Anchored at Chesapeake City Basin, DL, C&D Canal

May 11/15                     Delaware City Marina (3 nights)

May 14/15                     Anchored at Cape May, NJ (by Coast Guard Sta.)

May 15/15                     Anchored at Atlantic City, NJ (Brigantine Lagoon)

May 16/15                     Hoffman’s Marina at Manasquan Inlet, NJ

May 17/15                     Anchored at Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook, NJ.

 

3 Comments

Heading North, Latitude Adjustment.

5/1/2015

1 Comment

 
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Squidlips Restaurant and Bar in Melbourne Fl. We stopped here to visit our friends Steve And Pril who helped us with the lend of their car to do some shopping and go to a computer store to get our computer running again. Turns out the problem with the computer was a minor glitch that most 12 year old's today could have figured out in a minute. We were about a month without it.
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The waterway in Central Florida, probably the Daytona Beach area. There were miles and miles of this, not to say that there weren't areas of park, and wilderness.
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St Augustine. The city is one of the oldest in North America and was first a Spanish Colony. It's celebrating its 450th birthday this year. The Tall Ship is on loan from Spain.
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St Augustine is a neat well kept tourist attraction. This is one of the many parks in the down town area.
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A sample of the small shops on George St., St. Augustine.
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Another St Augustine Tourist attraction.
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There are many varieties of Sea Birds in Northern Florida. A little get together at low tide on the waterway sand bars.
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Brown Pelican looking for a meal.
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A Shrimper going around Moxie at low tide. We had to wait for mid tide in a few places in Georgia during the new moon cycle, the low tides were 1.5' lower than the normal low tide and with 5.5' draft, we just couldn't get through some of the cuts. The channels haven't been dredged in years because of budget restraints.
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We anchored a night in Kilkenny Creek, GA. We got to experience a severe thunder storm in the late afternoon with 40 mph winds, torrential rain, and of coarse, thunder and lightning. It only lasted about 40 minutes.
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Not sure if this is deliberate, I don't think so. You have to be very mindful of the depths along the waterway, especially at high tide when the edges are maybe just a ft or two under water. We have touched a few times but have always managed to get off ourselves. We have seen a lot of boats that weren't so lucky and had to have a towing service help them get off.
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Passing through Charleston Harbor. The Queen Victoria is at the Cruise Dock. We pushed on to Towler Cove Marina, just north of Charleston and got a drive to "Trader Joes" to stock up on supplies.
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It's starting to cool down with temperatures in the low 70's and 50's at night. We try to average 35-40 miles a day on the waterway, some days more, and some less. We have been lucky to avoid stormy weather so far.
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These boats travel along at 10 to 25 mph and thankfully slow down to pass us, as they leave a big wake when they are at their cruising speed. This boat has passed us on numerous occasions.
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We stopped for an afternoon and a night at Georgetown SC. They have a nicely restored waterfront with shops, museums and restaurants.
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Honeysuckles in bloom, Georgetown SC. Its full spring here with all the leaves out and flowers blooming.
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Along the Waccamaw River in Northern South Carolina. This is a tidal fresh water river that's part of the ICW. We have left behind the low marshy creeks of Southern South Carolina and Georgia. Before the Civil War, the River was lined with rice plantations and was the biggest rice producing area in the United States. After Slavery was abolished, Rice production in this area became uneconomical and by the early 1900's, production withered out.
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A "Rare Bird" in the world of cruising. Fritz is from Holland and is cruising the waterway on a 35' (+or-) rigid inflatable boat (RIB). There is a small cudy with living accommodations and 600 HP to get him wherever he wants to go fast.
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A different architectural style of a fixed 4 lane bridge with 65' vertical clearance. We are passing by Myrtle Beach, SC.
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Myrtel Beach area, there were what seemed to be miles and miles of high rises and very fancy houses along this stretch of the waterway.
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We stayed a night with Art and Kate Hesse in Carolina Beach, NC. We met them going south in November. They spent the winter months exploring the Florida Keys and got as far South as Key West and the Dry Tortugas. It was the first time we slept in a real bed since visiting our friends, Moira and Ed, in Sarasota last December.
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One of the beautiful sunsets, this one at an anchorage in Georgia.
TRIP NORTH : USA

April 7 – 8 / 15              Fort Pierce City  Marina, FL  ( Mile 966)

April 9/ 15                     Mooring, Vero Beach Municipal Marina,  FL                                                                  (Mile 972)

April 10-11 / 15              Anchorage, Aeu Gallie, (Melbourn) FL

April 12/15                    Free City Dock, New Smyrna, FL

April 13/15                    Palm Coast Marina, FL ( Mile 803)

April 14/15                    Mooring at St Augustine FL

April 15/15                    Jacksonville Beach, Palm Cove Marina, FL

April 16/15                    Anchored off Fernandina Beach, FL

April 17/15                    Morningstar Marina at St. Simon Island, GA

                                        M 677

April 18/15                    Anchored at Tea Kettle Creek, GA

April 19/15                    Anchored at Kilkenny Creek, GA (M 614)

April 20/15                    Marina at Turner Creek, near Savanna GA

April 21/15                    Took a Mooring Ball at Beaufort Downtown                                              Marina,                                         Beaufort SC (M 536)

April 22/15                    Anchored in Church Creek, SC

April 23/15                    Toler Cove Marina, North Charleston SC

                                       (M 462)

April 24/15                    Anchored South Santee River (M 420)

April 25/15                    Harborwalk Marina, Georgetown SC (M 402)

April 26/15                    Tied up to free dock at North Myrtle Beach, SC

                                       (M 355)

April 27/15                    Mooring Ball at Carolina Beach, NC. (M 295)

April 28/15                    Anchored in TopSail Sound, Virginia Creek, NC.

                                       (Mile 263)

April 29/15                    Marina at Spooners Creek, Moorhead City NC

                                       (M 210)

April 30/15                    Oriental Marina at Oriental, NC. (Mile 182)          

 

 

        

 

                 

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

                          

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    Sailing to the Bahamas the fall of 2014 on the 32' Mirage sloop "Moxie"

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