August 2018: Charleston to Oriental

Getting Ready to Depart Charleston....the Harbor is a Busy Place.

The morning of Sunday, 05-August dawned with clear skies and nearly calm winds, and while the forecast called for a chance of thunderstorms during the day, it was much less onerous than what we had been seeing the previous 10 days.  So just after 0915 we departed Charleston Harbor Marina at a nearly slack tide and steered Ghost Rider back out into the Atlantic.  Out there seas were smooth with two foot swells at generous intervals and little to no wind chop, so the ride was excellent.  During the course of the day we could see some cumulonimbus lines form just inland along the sea breeze boundary, but their movement paralleled our course and had died out by the time we turned into the channel for Winyah Bay and the Georgetown Light anchorage.

At Anchor Near Georgetown Light Just After Sunset.

Arriving at a mostly slack tide was fortuitous, but we still got frustrated trying to set the anchor in the river’s muddy bottom behind North Island.  After two failed attempts we gave up and moved about two miles further upriver just north of Cat Island where we finally got the hook to take a good grip in the muddy bottom.  We thoroughly tested the bite; the current here runs several knots at peak tides….to the point that the main engine’s propeller and shaft were actually windmilling while at anchor during most of the evening’s outgoing tide.

The flies here at this time of year are large and aggressive with a stinging bite, so we wasted no time in cranking up the genset, closing up the boat and getting the A/C going.  We had a peaceful night.

Aerial View of Bald Head Marina....Its Entry Channel is a Bit Tight
with Wind and Current on the Beam.

Monday, 06-August greeted us with sunny skies, a light breeze and the same ripping current. But the anchor had stayed right where we had dropped it.  The only other remarkable thing was the number of dead bugs on the boat decks – we were really glad we had closed up.  We got an early start (for us) since we had a lengthy run of nearly 80 nautical miles up to Cape Fear and the Bald Head Island Marina.  At 0745 we retrieved the hook and shortly thereafter found ourselves doing over 11 knots on the outgoing tide.  Sea conditions on the outside were once again quite pleasant with two foot swells at comfortable intervals and just a slight wind chop in the southeast breezes.

Bald Head Marina is a Picturesque Place.

Eventually we lost the benefit of the tailwind current and settled into an easy cruise speed of between 7.5 and 8.0 knots.  We arrived at the head of the Cape Fear River channel around 1700 and made our way to the narrow entrance of the Bald Head Marina by 1730.  A moderate sized thunderstorm had parked itself over the island earlier in the day, but by the time we arrived it had rained itself out.  It was after hours at the marina with no dock hands available, but – after waiting on the large ferry boat that did not seem to care about right-of-way rules – the tie-up on the assigned t-head was straightforward.  We got the boat and ourselves washed down, then settled in for a comfortable evening.

Ghost Rider Tucked in at Bald Head Marina.

On Tuesday, 07-August we slept in a bit and enjoyed a lazy morning at the BHI docks and tended to some standard Wheelhouse recurring maintenance items.  The marina is picturesque, with generous spaces and solid 240V/50A power at the floating docks, and is located within an enclosed and well protected basin.  It is a bit shallow, though – we saw less than a foot below the keel at low tide; anything bigger than a Nordhavn 47/50 probably couldn’t fit in here.

That afternoon we rented a golf cart and toured the accessible portions of the island, which can only reached by boat (the ferry runs at half hour intervals) and is a cart-only community, with less than 200 permanent year-round residents.  That population, however, blooms to around 10,000 during season.  Today this barrier island is noted for its beaches, prim cottages, vast marshlands, and as a beach sanctuary for nesting sea turtles. And while its notoriety does not rival Charleston’s in the history books, it still has some interesting stories to tell. 

Beach Cottages on Bald Head Island.

Like most of this part of the U.S. coastline, its original native inhabitants were chased away or victimized by imported diseases, beginning with the Spanish in the 1500’s.  We owe the Spaniards for “discovering” the nasty shoals that extend far into the Atlantic, where they managed to shipwreck numerous vessels.  By the time the Brits gained control a century later they apparently had not learned much from those previous sailing adventures, as they also lost their fair share of ships in the same (“Frying Pan”) shoals.  Indeed, in what’s known as the “Battle of the Sandbars” circa 1718, the British sailed a warship from Charleston to chase one of the many pirate ships plying these waters, and both went aground during the battle; suffice it to say the first one to float off at a higher tide (the Brits) beat the hell out of the other (pirate) ship and its captain was hanged here shortly thereafter. 

Beach on the East Side of Bald Head Island.

The area became a naval focus again during the U.S. Revolutionary and Civil Wars, if only briefly, and then again during World War II – it was always a key supply port, and the extensive offshore shallows caused many allied merchant ships to run much further off the coast where German U-Boats picked them off with ease in the early years of that conflict.  So it’s not a stretch to say the name “Cape Fear” has all sorts of relevance.

We spent several hours touring the south (inhabited) end of the island, stopping for lunch at a snack bar in one of the shopping squares along the way, and climbed the 108 steps to the top of the Old Baldy lighthouse for some excellent views of the local landscape.  We concluded the day with a late shrimp dinner on the patio deck of Mojo's, one of the three restaurants on the marina premises – the service and food were quite good, although we still make better rum drinks on Ghost Rider.

Rick Posing at the Foot of the Old Baldy Lighthouse Placard.

Chelle and the Old Baldy Lighthouse.

View of the Island's Marsh Country from the Lighthouse.

View of Cape Fear River Inlet from the Lighthouse

View of the Marina from the Lighthouse.  Ghost Rider is Roughly in the
Center of the Photo at the End of the First Long Dock.

We decided to stay another day since the weather forecast and tidal currents would be slightly in our favor with that approach, so Wednesday, 08-August was more relaxing downtime at BHM.  Chelle spent the morning cleaning fly bridge cushions and hanging her veggie net, while Rick attacked some more exterior fiberglass stains and topped off the water tanks.  Chelle wanted to rent a kayak in the afternoon but missed the timing a bit – turns out they only allow launching those here at certain tides.  After that we just relaxed and caught up on email and news, updated the latest blog notes, and got the boat preflighted for the planned departure the next morning.

On Thursday, 09-August we set an alarm so we could depart at a reasonably high tide and tolerable current flow, and just after 0800, after waiting for the two ferries to make their turn and exit through the narrow marina channel, we pushed away from the dock.  The winds were blowing at 20 knots out of the southwest with higher gusts and smashing into outgoing current – and that made the wide river basin a boiling, whitecapped mess.  We were soon taking spray up to the fly bridge.  The sea forecast had called for two to three feet, but we were seeing frequent five and six footers as Ghost Rider traversed the Cape Fear channel towards the open Atlantic.

Approaching the Masonboro / Wrightsville Beach Anchorage.

Unfortunately the river channel took us nearly due south, bashing into those head seas for nearly 15 miles, before we could clear Frying Pan Shoals and make our turn to the north.  After that turn the ride was considerably better, and after escaping the counter current an hour or so after that, the seas improved to the forecast heights.  The final three hours of the journey were relatively smooth and we saw no threatening storms the entire day.

We entered the Masonboro Inlet just before 1500 and made our way west and then north to tuck in behind Wrightsville Beach.  We dropped the hook in ten feet of water, although it took two attempts to get it set firmly.  But by 1600 we were secured with genset running and the air conditioning cooling us off nicely in the “feels like” 100F heat.

Another Shot of the Opposite Shoreline at the Masonboro / Wrightsville
Beach Anchorage.

We retrieved the anchor got back underway around 0845 the morning of Friday, 10-August, pointing Ghost Rider back out into the Atlantic for the leg to Cape Lookout.  We had clear skies, light winds and a relatively smooth ocean – initially just two-to-three foot rollers from the south at reasonable intervals.  All of that was right in line with the forecast.  Later in the afternoon the rollers grew to four-to-five feet, but at six second intervals and quartering off the stern, so the ride was still quite tolerable even if the autopilot occasionally struggled with a steady heading.

We covered the 73 nautical mile trek in less than 10 hours, and by 1830 we had maneuvered inside Cape Lookout’s well protected basin and had the anchor firmly set in 25 feet of water.  We enjoyed drinks and sunset on the fly bridge, followed by a scrumptious shrimp jambalaya dinner, then called it a day.

The Sunset at Our Anchorage at Cape Lookout.

We were in no particular hurry the morning of Saturday, 11-August, as we only had a 17 mile sortie to our next destination, Jarret Bay Marina, located on the ICW just north of Beaufort, NC.  It has a reputation as an excellent boatyard with a ride range of services and parts, as well as some of the best pricing on diesel fuel, so we wanted to check it out.  We pulled up the anchor just after high noon and headed Ghost Rider a few miles west towards the Beaufort Inlet….where the conditions turned out to be worse than boating in a washing machine. 

Winds had picked up from the SSW to around 20K with higher gusts, and when the resulting ocean swells collided into the swift outgoing current coming from the inlet, it created a confused, boiling mess.  The autopilot does a lousy job keeping the boat pointed in the right direction in those conditions, so Rick applied some extra RPMs and hand steered the beast until we got inside the breakers.  Then we joined the ICW and headed north in calmer waters.

Aerial View of Jarret Bay...The Marina Portion is Small but Well Kept; the Yard and Repair Facilities are
Highly Rated.  And They Have Several Parts Stores On Site.

Battling an outgoing current the entire way, we arrived at Jarret Bay just before 1500.  We wanted to stop first at the fuel dock to take on diesel, but a large Marlow was hogging the pumps, so we just headed to the alongside floating dock.  Chelle handled the helm duties today and did a fine job with the parallel parking.  Bruce, the dockmaster, was on hand to help Rick with the lines, and within a few minutes later we were securely tied.  Then we spent about two hours hosing off salt from every square inch of Ghost Rider’s exterior.  Bruce came back by a couple hours later to check on us, offer Rick a golf cart ride to the parts store in the morning, and to let Chelle know he had a courtesy car available for her as well.

Jarret Bay is by no means a picturesque place....it's in the middle of nearly nowhere and it is strictly a place you go for parts and/or service.  Even its lone floating dock is unprotected from the nearby ICW boat traffic.  But it's a good place to know and make contacts.

Jarret Bay's 440,000 Pound Travel Lift....This Bad Boy Can
Handle Some Seriously-Sized Yachts.

We heard thunder in the wee hours of the morning, but by sunrise on Sunday, 12-August the storms had passed, leaving a broken cloud cover and an abundance of humidity.  Light showers would move in and out through the day, but there was nothing severe that threatened.  In the morning we walked to the lone parts store that was open on Sunday and grabbed some minor hardware items, allowing Rick to replace a broken latching hook for the boat’s boarding door.  That afternoon Chelle took advantage of the courtesy car to do some shopping, while Rick attacked the service that had come due on the generator – cleaning its air filter, and changing the oil and oil filter, along with the on-engine secondary fuel filter.  By late afternoon all that was complete and Rick got to enjoy the final round of the PGA Championship on the big screen TV in the marina’s captain’s lounge.

Monday, 13-August featured some more early morning rain, along with a few but very intermittent light showers during the day, so in reality was mostly dry in spite of the stifling humidity.  Rick spent some time strolling the yard’s diesel parts stores that weren’t open over the weekend and was successful in locating a pencil zinc for the wing engine’s heat exchanger and a specialized 15 amp fuse assembly for the generator.

In the afternoon we had a visit from Keith, the yard’s service manager.  He was responding to our request for some service quotes – all future stuff on which we wanted to compare rates and fees; that included pricing for haul-out and bottom painting, as well as sanitary hose replacements and some potential cabinet doors to add to the galley’s pantry spaces.

Ghost Rider Docked at Jarret Bay's Floating Dock.

Rick also spent some time addressing two nuisance issues that we had recently encountered. The aforementioned 15 amp genset fuse had tripped a couple of times a few nights ago, and while we were able to reset it, we were pretty sure it was about to go south on us; that was a quick 5 minute replacement.  And our ST60 relative wind instrument had gone on the fritz, with its directional needle stuck at the 12 o’clock position and wind speed just showing dashes; Rick examined the wiring at the gauge and anemometer (the latter requiring some interesting mast-climbing gymnastics) and that all checked out; the only thing left was to try a factory reset of the gauge….which worked until the next day.  It's likely a failing head unit which can be dealt with later.

Our next planned stop for Tuesday, 14-August was River Dunes Marina in Oriental, NC; but first we wanted to top off the fuel tanks at Jarret Bay as their pricing was the best in the region.  Rick maneuvered Ghost Rider a short distance to the fuel dock around 0930.  It was fairly still and already hot outside.  Bruce, as usual, was there to lend a hand, and then we spent an hour taking on 968 gallons of diesel to bring all four fuel tanks to the brims.  Around 1045 we bid farewell to Bruce and headed north up the ICW, which at this point in North Carolina is an interconnected series of rivers and creeks – some narrow and some wide, and none particularly deep.  At one relatively narrow point Chelle sighted something swimming in the water….Rick was thinking “that’s a mighty big river otter” when Chelle proclaimed “it’s a dog.”

We Just Managed to Avoid Colliding with This Lab Swimming
Across the River.  He Was On a Mission.

The critter was making a beeline for the opposite shore and was on a certain collision course with Ghost Rider.  Rick backed own hard on the throttle (we had a swift pushing current) while Chelle scrambled down from the fly bridge to the pilot house to start the wing engine and hydraulics – in case we needed to thrust the boat sideways to keep the prop away from the dog and us off the shoreline.  It looked to be an adult Labrador Retriever….he crossed just in front of us,from port to starboard, and eventually made it to the eastern shore of the river.  We don’t think that one is covered in the right-of-way rules, but we were happy with our improvisation.

  

Shortly after that we spotted another Nordhavn cruising down river towards us; we had been expecting to see Mike and Mari aboard Mari Me, as they were bringing their N47 down to Jarret Bay (from River Dunes) for some service.  We exchanged greetings on the VHF and planned a get-together for later in the week when they would return to their home port.

At River Dunes Marina....Clubhouse, Restaurant & Cottages.

The remainder of the short cruise to River Dunes was pleasant and uneventful and we entered the marina’s narrow entrance channel just before 1400.  Chelle again handled the helm and docking duties, and did a perfect job of steering Ghost Rider in for a stern-in starboard side tie to our assigned slip at the spacious floating docks.  A couple of energetic, young dock hands helped us tie up and also retrieved our packages from the marina office (we had been shipping things here for about a week) and a short time later we had the boat and ourselves cleaned up.  A line of rather electric but fast moving storms moved through just after 1800, but we had already finished our chores and were settled comfortably in the salon for the evening.

The next day, Wednesday, 15-August we lounged around the boat and took care of a couple of minor boat chores (replacing the forward shower’s hose and the holding tank’s vent filter).  That afternoon we took the marina’s courtesy car into Oriental, about eight miles distant, to run a few errands.  Those included haircuts for both Chelle and Rick (he was getting shaggy, at least in his opinion) and grabbing a big burger for lunch at Toucan’s on the waterfront.  (By the way, for other cruisers, a shout out for the Studio 55 hair salon there; Diana was friendly, skilled and helpful in many ways, including taking time to give Chelle some instructions on how to cut Rick’s hair…should we decide to take that risk in the future J.)

Ghost Rider's Slip at River Dunes Marina

Following that Chelle used the car to do some shopping / provisioning, and then we had another relaxing evening at the docks and on the boat.

We're going to hang here for a couple more days to enjoy the marina, run some more errands, take care of some minor boat business (including a bottom cleaning), and visit with friends Mike & Mari when they return from Jarret Bay.  After that we'll continue the journey north towards the Chesapeake.

Our Track on This Segment of the Journey....From Charleston, SC to Oriental, NC, with Stops
at Georgetown Light, Cape Fear, Cape Lookout and Jarret Bay Along the Way.

More of the Grounds at River Dunes Marina in Oriental, NC.

Another View at River Dunes Marina in Oriental, NC.

July 2018: Hanging Out In Charleston

Our Second Slip Assignment at CHM Was Much Closer In, and We Still
Had a View of the Yorktown & Patriot's Point

When we have to choose a place to get “stuck”, Charleston is definitely on our shortlist.  The weather forecast for the foreseeable future was awful – both regarding wave heights and winds out in the Atlantic, as well as overall storminess up and down the coast.  Weather forecasting is far from an exact science, but so far the prognosticators were being annoyingly accurate.  Given that we don’t really have any kind of schedule, and that Charleston is about the halfway point between Palm Beach and the mouth of the Chesapeake, we were in no hurry and content to hang out here for a while.

The first half of Wednesday, 25-July was spent on provisioning (Chelle’s new code word for “I need to get off the boat and do some kind of shopping”), and some routine boat maintenance tasks that Rick had been delaying for about a week.  The first of those involved taking manual voltage readings for each of the boat’s nine AGM batteries. This is only done once every three months and would be a simple task – except for the fact that we have to empty out the lazarette to get at six of them; they all were found to be within spec.  The next so-called routine item was to test all of the bilge pumps; there are four of those on Ghost Rider: the low water nuisance pump; the high water bilge pump; the manual emergency bilge pump; and the hydraulic emergency bilge pump.  This is only done once per year, but you have to run a hose down into the engine room and flood the bilge to test them, which is not a natural or comfortable act.  And it takes about 40 gallons of water on this boat to flood to a level where all the alarms and float switches activate.  But we got it all done and it was reassuring to find everything worked as advertised.

Moonrise, a Nordhavn 47, Moored at Her Private Dock Nearby

Then it was play time.  Charleston residents and good friends Ron and Mercedes dropped by late afternoon to pick us up and drive over to the private dock where they are keeping their newly acquired Nordhavn 47, Moonrise.  We spent a wonderful evening aboard, enjoying a tour, and then drinks, snacks, and Ron’s excellent grilled chicken, while swapping Nordhavn and cruising stories.  Ron and Mercedes are veteran voyagers and live-aboards, with many miles of Caribbean cruising under the keel of their 51' sailboat, a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey, named Samana.  (Read about that HERE.) 

Mercedes & Chelle Preparing Dinner Aboard Moonrise.

We’re so happy to see them testing out the “dark side” and joining the Nordy community…..they have forgotten more about boats and cruising than we’ll ever know.

The most remarkable thing about the next day, Thursday, 26-July was the weather; the morning started out OK – so off went Chelle on another “provisioning” mission – but the afternoon weather was downright ugly, with chaining TRWs clobbering the area, including copious and uncomfortably close lightning bolts.  We were happy to still be in port, but Chelle got caught out in that mess on her e-bike.  Resourceful as ever, she took shelter in a local firehouse (Mount Pleasant Fire Station #7) where the local fire chief insisted on giving her (and her bike) a ride back to the marina.  You can’t make this stuff up. 

Mount Pleasant's Fire Station #7....Chelle's Refuge from the Storm.

It was a similar story on Friday, 27-July, except that the day started out with a line of severe storms before we even got out of bed.  That pretty much continued throughout the day as a stubborn upper level flow was still keeping a frontal boundary stationary over the state; the sea breeze collision was sparking continuous storms pretty much directly overhead.  So we remained boat-bound, tending to some minor chores, along with Rick’s project-for-the-day….this time installing a new Caframo DC powered fan in the galley for Chelle.

Compact Caframo Fan….Looks Odd Without a Safety Shroud
But the Blades are Finger-Safe and It Moves Lots of Air.

That evening Ron and Mercedes joined us once again, this time for dinner onboard Ghost Rider.  We enjoyed another fun get-together and an excellent shrimp casserole.

The local weather on Saturday, 28-July was actually pretty good – hot as hell with heat index in the low 100’s, but storm activity did not develop until late in the day and stayed mostly inland.  Offshore there was a line of showers, but mostly there was just rough water out there (and forecast to get worse.)  Chelle took advantage of the brief weather lull to go with Ron and Mercedes over to nearby Shem Creek to pick up a load of shrimp fresh off the shrimping boats, along with some fresh swordfish.  Meanwhile Rick handled a few routine Wheelhouse maintenance items, and then spent some afternoon tanning time on the exterior of the boat scrubbing gelcoat stains. 

Paul had driven up from Edisto to spend some time with his Dad, and they stopped by late in the afternoon for a quick visit and a cold beer.  That evening we had another get-together with Ron and Mercedes, this time aboard Samana, where Chelle and Mercedes cooked up some of the day’s swordfish acquisition along with a mix of rice and scallops and shrimp.  It was scrumptious.

Exterior Shot of Beautiful Samana, a 51' Jeanneau Sun Odyssey....Lots
of Caribbean Miles Under Her Keel.

Ron, Rick & Mercedes Chowing Down on Samana.

The morning of Sunday, 29-July brought us a grey overcast that even before noon ballooned into more thunderstorms.  A quick look at the weather radar revealed most of the U.S east coast was dealing with the same thing.  It looked like a good day for Rick to attack the next boat project, replacing the exhaust elbow on the generator.  If there is a trouble spot on a Northern Lights Lugger genset it would be that exhaust mixing elbow, especially the original cast iron ones – they rust from the inside and eventually develop pinhole leaks.  Rick had plugged one of those with the magical JB Weld High Heat putty some time ago, but we weren’t too interested in testing the longevity of the patch.  Of course the exhaust elbow is on the wrong side of the engine in terms of (not so easy) access, thus the task took some interesting “boat yoga” and few hours of effort,  with a couple of work breaks tossed into the mix.  It’s also something of a messy job as inevitably some coolant escapes in the process, but we got it done and a thorough test run of the generator proved it to be successful.

The Old Exhaust Elbow with Patch....After Removal.

Where That Exhaust Elbow Used To Be.

The New Exhaust Elbow Now in Place.  That You Cannot See the Four
Attaching Bolts Tells You How Much Fun It Was Installing It.

 Like many such boat projects that exhaust work led to another discovery….the exhaust temperature sensor switch was sheared off at its connecting pins.  The genset runs just fine without it, but we lose the over-temp shutdown protection it provides.  We’ll hunt for its replacement part this week.

The Attaching Screws for This Bimini Top Support Brace Sheered
Off During the Overnight Storm....It Made a Helluva Racket in the Wind

Just after 0430 on the morning of Monday, 30-July, a line of severe thunderstorms moved in from the southeast and created some havoc.  We were awakened by the driving rain and a clattering noise from somewhere on the boat deck / fly bridge area.  A groggy Rick (with his rain gear on) eventually discovered that the Bimini top’s support arm on the starboard side of the fly bridge had sheared off at its mounting screws in the high wind; he lashed it back into place with a bungee cord and eventually got back to sleep.  Later in the day, during a temporary dry spell, we removed and re-bedded the attaching hardware for a more permanent repair.

The New EGT Switch and Wire Run on the Generator's Exhaust Elbow

We got another break in the weather later that evening and took advantage of that to walk the docks, check out another recently arrived Nordhavn (N62 Ocean Quest), and enjoyed chatting with Vincent, her new owner.  Following that we strolled over to the marina's Fish House restaurant and enjoyed a good meal to wrap up the day.

We had more early morning rain showers on Tuesday, 31-July, but at least they were not of the severe variety.  Rick got his last planned boat task done, replacing the generator’s exhaust temperature switch....we were fortunate to find one at a local parts store, and we were grateful to Ron and Mercedes for picking it up and delivering it to us at the marina. Meanwhile Chelle worked on relocating a towel rack in the guest head to a more convenient location, and she also made another provisioning run on her e-bike.  

Shem Creek is a Happening Place for Good Eateries

That evening we took advantage of another break in the storms and grabbed an Uber ride over to the Shem Creek area for dinner at the Water’s Edge restaurant.  We highly recommend it, especially the (whole) Crispy Flounder dish…picking through the bones was a small penalty to pay for the outstanding flavor of the tender white meat.  We doubt there is a bad restaurant along that entire waterway.

The morning of Wednesday, 01-August started out dry, but that didn’t last long.  Shortly before noon another line of showers and storms moved in from offshore and soaked the area once again.  While that kept air temps in the low 80’s, the humidity more than made up for it.  By early afternoon, however, the rain had paused and we decided to hop on the water taxi and cross the harbor over into Charleston proper.  We grabbed lunch at Ted’s Butcherblock deli, and then spent a few hours walking through the South Carolina Aquarium.

This is "Alabaster", the Albino Alligator (Originally Caught in Naples, FL)
Who Survives Only Because the SC Aquarium Gave Him a Place to Hang Out.

While the aquarium is mostly suited for the younger set, it does a fine job describing the ecology of the low country and associated seascapes and sea life.  Their most interesting live displays are the flightless bald eagle and an albino alligator (neither would survive in the wild), along with their sea turtle rescue center.  The latter is justifiably famous for their dedication to the rehabilitation and release of Ridley, Leatherback, Loggerhead and Green sea turtles.  They do good work there….you can find more info HERE.

More rain began to fall after we got back to the boat, so we ordered up a pizza delivery and a movie for the evening.

The showers and storms continued off and on through the night and most of the next day, Thursday, 02-August.  Checking forecasts for a potential weather window wasn’t particularly productive either, as the prognosis was changing at frustratingly frequent intervals.

Showers and Storms Continued to Train Through the Area....as Well as
Up and Down the Eastern Seaboard....Also Churning Up the Atlantic Waters.

So during the first part of the day we tended to minor boat chores and projects.  By mid-afternoon the rain had diminished to virga class precipitation, so Chelle took off on her e-bike and Rick completed his engine room flooring project on the outboard side of the generator.  (We had been missing two small floor panels there since we bought the boat….an unused shelf and a hand saw created an easy temporary solution.)  The late afternoon respite from the storminess didn’t last long and shortly after sunset the next round of showers and storms moved in.  We enjoyed a lobster dinner aboard Ghost Rider with some Goombay Ghosts and ignored it all.

Weather-wise, Friday, 03-August was mostly a repeat of the day before.  (Ever see the movie “Groundhog Day”?)  Flash flood warnings continued all around us as the persistent weather system continued to dump rain up and down the coast, and some locales were now measuring the accumulated precipitation in feet rather than inches. We did get a brief break in the rain later in the day, and Ron and Mercedes joined us on Ghost Rider for dinner and drinks Friday evening, so the day wasn’t a complete washout.

And while the Saturday (04-August) forecast was basically more of the same, it appeared that a break in the pattern might reach us by Sunday, along with reasonable sea conditions. So that’s looking like a potential day to get back underway.  The next set of potential stopovers include Georgetown, Cape Fear, Masonboro and Cape Lookout, and at that point we plan to duck "inside" and head up to Oriental, NC.

July 2018: Savannah to Edisto to Charleston

Our Track from Savannah to Edisto to Charleston

First to address one of our reader’s typical questions:  during this blog entry’s time frame, as far as we know, nothing new broke or went wrong; nor did any previous fix come undone.  And yes, that might be a first.  We’re not superstitious, so we don't think we're "jinxing" ourselves.  We’ll just put it down to a lot of hard work and diligence….for now, at least. J

As we dallied in Savannah, the weather forecast for the next several days had been looking bleak, with a high probability of rain and thunder (ergo, lightning) for the foreseeable future.  We were anxious to make the run up to Edisto to visit with our good friends there, but finding a suitable window was equally important.  The stationary front that was triggering all the storminess hadn’t progressed quite as far as originally forecast, so Wednesday, 18-July was looking like our best bet….especially if we got an early start.

Edisto Island Beach at the River Entrance

By 0650 we got underway and headed back out the long winding channel formed by the Wilmington River, and eventually steered Ghost Rider into the open waters of the Atlantic again.  Winds were out of the southeast and quite a bit friskier than on previous days, and the current was moving swiftly, so the ride quickly got sloppy.  The channel is a winding path, with the final part of it taking us nearly in the opposite direction of our intended route north – which meant punching straight into the three-to-four footers that were running a two second intervals; we took spray up to the fly bridge on a couple of bashes.

After finally escaping the offshore shallows we got pointed back to the north and put the waves on our stern.  Those square waves at short intervals challenged both the autopilot and the stabilizers, but we wallowed and see-sawed our way at a good pace and still made reasonably good time.  We arrived at the mouth of the South Edisto River around 1500, then wound our way into and up the St. Pierre Creek, and arrived at Paul and Dee Dee’s dock just after 1600…..just as the storms moved in and the rain started.  There was some thunder and lightning in the vicinity, but we had managed to beat most of it.  

View From Paul & Dee Dee's Porch of Their Pier and Dock
and the Rivers That Wind Through the Low Country

Paul was there to greet us and help us tie up, after which we completed our short post-flight checklists, hooked up our small 30 amp shore power cord to keep the house batteries charged, packed a small bag, and made our way up the long pier to the best resort house in the entire southeastern U.S.  This was going to be a nice boat break and visit.

Over the next two days we were mostly just bums, enjoying the spacious and cool luxury of Paul and Dee Dee’s place, and just catching up with each other.  This was also our “package delivery depot” so some of our mail order supplies were waiting on us, too.  The boat got a wash down and a pair of new toilet seats (seriously, that was one of our packages), but otherwise we took a serious boat break.

Partying on the Dock with Friends Dan, Cal and Tim

And with Paul and Dale

From Friday (20-July) through Sunday (22-July) we were joined at Paul and Dee Dee’s home by a number of good friends whom we had not seen in a spell.  Former co-workers with whom we’ve been privileged to form close bonds – Cal, Dale, Dan along with Tim and his whole family – all arrived to spend some quality time, enjoy a wide variety of adult beverages, and to eat copious amounts of fantastic food.  Paul’s “Low Country Shrimp Boil” is a culinary delight and not to be missed.  We had a fabulous and relaxing time together.

But on Monday, 23-July, it was time for us to get moving once again and give our hosts a break; the weather forecast was good enough, so at 1040 local time (a purposeful decision aimed at arriving at optimal tide/current conditions in Charleston) we bid adieu, tossed off the lines, and headed back down the creek and river towards the open Atlantic, eventually turning north towards Charleston.

Pulling Back & Away from Paul & Dee Dee's Dock

Passing By Edisto Beach After Departing Paul and Dee Dee's Place

 Seas were forecast at four-to-six and that was mostly accurate…except for the occasional seven or eight foot wall that slapped the boat….and the intervals were nastily short, as well as mostly beam to the starboard side.  Winds gradually clocked up to 20+ knots, and the stabilizers and autopilot worked hard all day.  But the storminess stayed well west and east of our path, with upper level steering currents that also then took them north of our position.  So overall we weren’t complaining.

Passing Fort Sumter at the Entrance to Charleston Harbor

The entry channel to Charleston Harbor was busy as usual, with several freighters heading in and out as we neared our turn.  We slowed a bit to keep our CPA distance from one of them, and just before 1700 we were between the channel’s submerged jetties heading into the harbor.  At about that time one of those humongous cruise ships (this one a Carnival brand) was also transiting the exit.  Rick hailed them on the VHF and we agreed to a port-to-port pass, although in the end that didn’t matter….they had plenty of escorts, including a couple of pilot boats and an armed USCG patrol.  The latter pulled alongside of us and indicated a 300 yard security zone was required, so we acknowledged and edged just along the outside of the channel, but with plenty of distance between Ghost Rider and the rock jetties, until they were well past.

Or Initial Slip Assignment at Charleston Harbor Marina Was
a Bit Tight to Maneuver Into

After slipping past Fort Sumter we ran without conflicting traffic up to the Charleston Harbor Marina on the Cooper River at Patriot’s Point.  The slip they gave us was not particularly attractive – wedged between two sailboats on one of the rolly outer piers – but we managed to pivot the boat in the tidal current and tight spaces and got tied up without incident.  Alas, their power pedestals were only putting out 208V on that particular dock, so once again we ended up running the damned genset all night so we could have air conditioning in the sweltering humidity and thunderstorms that followed.

View of the USS Yorktown from Our Slip at CHM

We got most of the salt hosed off of Ghost Rider, and numerous storms that moved through after sunset took care of whatever we had missed.  Dinner and drinks followed that and we called it a wrap.  The next day (Tuesday, 24-July) the marina electrician came out to pronounce the pier’s transformer needed repair, so we moved the boat to the other side of the marina where we finally found solid 240V shore power.

We’ll spend the next several days in this area to enjoy the many activities and great restaurants here, and also visit more good friends who we have not seen in a while (Ron and Mercedes, who recently purchased their own Nordhavn).  We’re not sure what our next port will be once we get underway again – other than it will be north of here – but we have time to figure that out later.

July 2018: St. Augustine to Savannah

St. Augustine and Conch House Marina at Our 6 O'Clock

We got underway just before 0900 on Tuesday, 10-July under sunny skies and with air temps in the low 80’s.  Egress through the St. Augustine inlet turned out to be a bit dicey….the charts aren’t marked at all in that area, and for good reason – the bottom in the so-called channel is constantly shifting and shoaling, so they don’t bother with permanent markers.  Can buoys are used to mark the best path, but when heading directly east into the sun those things are not easily seen, even with binoculars.  The current was also ripping on the outbound tide.  We managed to pick our way through it, but you wouldn’t want to try it in any kind of other limited visibility – it is definitely a VFR operation.  We were very happy to get out into the open Atlantic and deep water about 30 minutes later.

The seas were as forecast, with long period and gentle swells from the northeast, initially at three to four feet, then gradually diminishing to a bit less.  The big intervals made for a very pleasant ride.

Ugly Looking Rip Line from the St. John' River....Four Miles Offshore

As we cruised past Jacksonville and the mouth of the St. John’s River we noticed the water color turn a murky brown – even four miles offshore the outflow of the river was very noticeable.  A few miles north of there we encountered a distinct rip line and a color change back to the more pleasing blues of the Atlantic.  At about that same time the winds also picked up noticeably, stirring to around 10-15 knots from the east with a scattering of whitecaps to go with it.  Nevertheless the wind chop was quite mild on top of the long, slow swells, so it was still a good ride.

Fort Clinch on Our Port Side Heading Into Cumberland Area

Around 1600 we entered the long but well-marked and deep St. Mary’s Channel with a three knot pushing current accompanying the incoming tide (which swings about seven feet in this area.)  One of the primary landmarks you pass as you enter here is Fort Clinch, originally a Confederate stronghold at the beginning of the Civil War, but which later became a Union stronghold during the bulk of that conflict.  Chelle was manning the helm from the fly bridge and she surfed Ghost Rider down the strong current to steer us to the inside, then turned us north about three miles to tuck in behind Cumberland Island.  We entered the wide, deep anchorage there slowly, but without issues.

We dropped the hook in about 15 feet of water (actually lowered it with the windlass this time, as the free-fall clutch seemed to be frozen….our punch list never seems to get shorter.)  But the anchor set on the first try once again, and we had a peaceful night at anchor.  We ran the generator and A/C until morning as it was hot, but the breeze up on the fly bridge was quite pleasant.  And we were no longer in Florida.

Another Nice Sunset at Anchor Lying Near Cumberland Island

The next day, Wednesday, 11-July, we had a lazy morning on the boat catching up with a few chores, but around noon we launched the dinghy and motored over to the small public dock at Cumberland Island. 

Cumberland is a barrier island on the far southern coast of Georgia and is now an uninhabited national park, with the St. Mary River on its west side and the Atlantic Ocean on its eastern shoreline.  The south end of the island where we went exploring is known mostly for its nature trails, wild horses and as the former site of the Carnegie winter mansion.  Actually the ruins of that mansion still stand, and while deprecated quite a bit (it burned in 1959), it’s obvious the place was huge at one time.  We walked for nearly three hours touring the area (in 95 degree heat) and enjoyed another history lesson, while avoiding the occasionally rambunctious horse.  Before the Carnegie family purchased and further built it up in the 1880’s, the land was previously occupied at different times by native American Indians, Spaniards, the British, slave refugees, and Nathaniel Greene (a Revolutionary War hero.)  There are whole books written about this area.

Dungeness Ruins....a Former Carnegie Residence on Cumberland Island

By the time we had dinghied back to the boat we were definitely ready for the modern convenience of air conditioning and some fruity rum drinks.

We slept in the next morning since we had a relatively short sortie planned, getting back underway around 1000 on Thursday, 12-July. It didn’t turn out to be one of our better days on the water.  First off the hydraulic leak returned after the new o-ring blew out as we retrieved the anchor, spraying the aft part of the engine room with copious amounts of hydraulic fluid.  Rick spent the next three hours down there while we were underway, cleaning up and experimenting with various o-ring sizes and torque adjustments before we finally found a sweet spot that allowed thruster and windlass operations without too much leakage.  But we didn’t have a lot of confidence about how long this next repair would last, so we decided to proceed cautiously.

Thus, after we had traversed the channel into St. Simon’s sound and approached our anchorage, we paused and did a thorough leak check while running the hydraulics under stress – both bow and stern thrusters, as well as the windlass, at high RPM.  That exercise revealed the new o-ring (smaller than the previous and original ones) was holding its own, so we proceeded to the anchor site and dropped the hook.  That’s when things got uglier.

The State of Our Anchor After We Made it to a Dock

We could not get the anchor to take a set, which is rarely an issue for our ground tackle, and by that time the wind and current had also picked up considerably.  We found ourselves drifting back at a high rate of speed and it took considerable effort to get the boat stopped before it would drift into a nearby sailboat.  We recovered in time, but as we retrieved the chain while moving forward to prepare for a second attempt, we discovered why we could not get the anchor to take hold – it had been gored by a 15 foot long railroad tie, right through its balancing rollbar.  While our anchor weighs in at 100 pounds, that chunk of water-logged and creosote-soaked piece of wood probably weighed another 400 pounds.  We would never get it to grab the bottom in such a configuration; the only good news was the damned thing wasn’t still attached to a railroad track.  Now we had this humongous hood ornament dangling from the bow, making anchoring impossible and docking at the nearby marina a dicey proposition at best. 

While Rick hung over the how attempting to dislodge the timber, Chelle made a call to BoatUS, who suggested all they could do was cut the anchor chain.  We passed on that.  The sailboat captain dinghied over to us and helped attach a line to the longer end of the railroad tie, which we then tied off to a forward bow cleat to stabilize the swinging anchor and lumber.  We then lowered that mess back into the water to try and break it loose again, with zero effect.   

Neighbor Mike Sawing on the Damned Thing

So we called the nearby Morningside Marina and asked for an alongside tie on their outer docks and they were able to accommodate.  We had to approach slowly and at a shallow angle in the zipping current to avoid damaging our hull or their docks with the swinging mass on the bow, but we pulled it off, finally tying up at the marina’s fuel dock at about 1700. It took two other guys plus Rick to haul the anchor and log up onto the dock, but the timber was still hopelessly lodged in the anchor’s rollbar.  We finally decided we would wait and rent a chain saw the next morning, but about an hour later we heard a buzzing sound on the dock and walked out to find a fellow boater chewing away at the log with an electric hand saw.  Rick joined in to help and after about another 20 minutes we had the thing sawed through enough to bust off part of it and were able to dislodge the big stick.  Our Good Samaritan – Mike, a retired fire chief – said he likes helping fellow boaters.  Bless him.  We owe him a couple of new saw blades.

After sleeping in again the next morning, the remainder of Friday, 13-July, was dedicated to recovering from and cleaning up the messes of the previous day.  That included mopping up residual hydraulic fluid in the engine room and lazarette, hosing the salt off of Ghost Rider, and then several hours of only somewhat successful scrubbing to remove or at least reduce large splatters of mud and creosote stains from the foredeck, bow and anchor.  After that we retrieved the anchor from the dock and parked it on the bow pulpit once again.  Chelle took an e-bike ride into town to scout some places to tour the next day, but otherwise the evening was just socializing with dock neighbors and a quiet dinner aboard.

A View of Morningside Marina @ St. Simon's From Landside

That same evening we received a reminder of how minor our little incident had been….as a 45 foot cruiser entered the marina basin that boat lost power and steerage, and the strong current took it at a fairly quick pace down the fairway, whereupon its anchor and bow pulpit buried itself into the starboard side of a nice looking 55 foot Fleming.  Now that’s a bad day.

On Saturday, 14-July we were just tourists, hopping a short Uber ride over to St. Simons Island and taking a guided tour that lasted most of the afternoon, and reacquainted ourselves with the rich history associated with this unique geography.  Not too surprisingly, that historical narrative is related to that of the eastern coast of northern Florida, as it encompasses the areas contested by Britain and Spain over the centuries leading up to the American Revolution.  Eventually the Spaniards realized that trying to dislodge the Brits in the summer heat and humidity that goes with these barrier islands was futile, even with numerical superiority. American colonialists eventually took control, after which it became one of the many Civil War battlegrounds along the eastern seaboard.  It was here that General William Tecumseh Sherman ended his “march to the sea” (before he veered to the north) that slashed, burned and ultimately destroyed the Confederate capacity to wage war.

View of St. Simon's Lighthouse from the Town Pier

We enjoyed an early dinner in the charming town square at Iguana’s – the place to get healthy helpings of delicious Wild Georgia shrimp – and returned to the boat for a pleasant happy hour and cocktails with Laurie and Mike (our Good Samaritan.)  We turned in early as we knew we had a long sortie the next day.

The next morning dawned with a light shroud of fog that coated the boat with a thick layer of dew.  But as we pulled away from the dock at 0750 on Sunday, 15-July, the sun had burned off most of the gloom and we had good visibility in the channel leading back out into the Atlantic.  That was a good thing as we found ourselves dodging a few floating logs while punching into a serious current (the tidal range here is around eight feet) for the first hour or so.

After finally exiting the long channel and getting the bow pointed northeast again, we found very pleasant sea conditions with widely spaced two-to-three foot swells.  Winds were around 10 knots from the east, and broken cloud cover kept air temperature in the mid 80’s most of the day.  Midway through the sortie the skies began to clear, warming the temps a bit, and the swell laid down giving way to a short two foot chop which still yielded a very comfortable ride.  Rick chose to futz with packing gland a bit more as he wasn’t happy with the its hovering in the upper end of the acceptable temperature window, and later in the day had it back to his preferred ambient +25F.

As we neared the entrance to the channel formed by the Wilmington River, which would eventually lead us to the Thunderbolt Marina and the Savannah area, we encountered a widespread debris field of tree limbs, an occasional log, and all sorts of other floating detritus.  At the same time the depths shallowed to less than five feet under the keel.  And this was nearly four miles offshore.

Coming Into Thunderbolt Near Savannah...Not Hard to See They Are
Used to Eight Foot Tides Based on the Dock Elevations

But we managed evasive actions to thread our way through all that, although the channel still presented another 14 nautical miles and hefty tidal currents to navigate (eight foot tide swings here).  But traffic was light and most of the channel was wide and deep.  We pulled alongside Thunderbolt’s outer dock just after 1800 without incident, gave the boat and ourselves thorough washdowns, and called it a day.

It Isn't Difficult to Tell That Thunderbolt Marina is Mainly a Repair Yard.  But
They Delivered Fresh Crispy Cream Donuts Each Morning!

Monday, 16-July was mostly dedicated to boat business, some of it planned (routine maintenance and minor provisioning), some of it unplanned (that damned hydraulic leak, plus a new fuel pump line leak on the wing engine.)  Rick called out a local diesel mechanic to help with the recurring hydraulic o-ring issue and the fuel pump issue, and also spent some time disassembling, lubricating and reassembling the windlass to solve the freefall clutch issue.  Chelle used the marina’s courtesy car to do some shopping and scouting for the next day’s plan of touring Savannah, so overall we were pleased with the day’s results.

And the Concrete Floating Dock with Alongside
Ties Make Docking Easy in the Current

The next morning (Tuesday, 17-July) was about more boat business – but all routine stuff, including weather and routing checks for the following day’s planned sortie up to Edisto.  We were also able engage a local diver to perform our preferred monthly below-the-waterline duties for Ghost Rider – checking the thruster blades, both props, all zinc anodes, and removing any scum or barnacles that had accumulated; since we'd also had some close encounters with one sandbar and a couple of logs, we also wanted assurance we hadn’t incurred any scars down there.  The diver’s report was excellent.

So that afternoon we both got away from the boat and toured the river and historic districts of Savannah.  Our first stop was the City Market, which we decided was a good place to stop for a late lunch when a storm cell started dumping buckets of rain on us; the spiced baguettes and stuffed mushroom dishes were excellent, as were the unique south Georgia sangria's.  The rain passed quickly so then we took a stroll down the old riverfront area, which has been admirably preserved and restored with its centuries-old architecture and cobblestone streets, while providing plenty of pubs, restaurants, shops and open markets within easy walking distance.

Savannah's Riverfront District

From there we hopped a tour trolley and took a narrated tour of the city’s old historic district.  From the earliest days of its British settlement by General James Oglethorpe in 1733, to its colonial days when it flourished as a cotton and rice production center (meaning plantations and slavery), and then its embattled Revolutionary War days, much of the city’s layout and original structures have been preserved.  That’s at least partially due to the fact that when General Sherman marched his Union army up here from south Georgia during the Civil War, he was so impressed by its charm and beauty that he decided not to destroy it; instead he wired President Lincoln and General Grant in late December of 1864 and offered the intact city of Savannah as a Christmas present.

Tourist Traffic on the Savannah River

Savannah had its ups and downs from then until WWII, but has recently flourished again not only as a tourist destination, but also as a bustling seaport, now one of the busiest in the United States.  It has also been a popular spot for movie-makers – famous scene spots from “Forrest Gump” and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” are among the interesting stops on the trolley tour.

We were pretty much spent by early evening and returned to the boat for a light dinner and a good night’s sleep before the next day’s long sortie to the Edisto area.  We're really looking forward to that stop and spending time with good friends Paul and DD.