May 13-27, 2018

We depart South Carolina, headed for North Carolina today.  We are meeting Chad’s sister, Kristin, and our brother-in-law, Matt, in Southport.  We don’t have far to travel today, but we have several tricky spots to traverse before we get to relax and catch up with family.  Once again using tide to our advantage, we pass through Shallotte Inlet without issue.  We had contacted the local TowBoatUS to prepare for today’s trip, in addition to using boater submitted tips on Active Captain, so we have prepared with the best information we can about this area.  Next up, we approach Lockwood’s Folly.  I no longer finish reading Chad all the notes we had about the area, and said “well, that’s all I can tell you” and not but a few seconds later, we are aground.  Darn it, I guess we zigged when we should have zagged.  The crowd on the local beach was getting a show while sunbathing.  After trying the usual tricks to get off the sandbar, we decide it’s time to make lunch and wait for the tide to rise.  A boat of locals drives by, and they are amazed that we are stuck.  Trust us friends, so are we!  After closer examination, we were JUST off, since one side of the boat has 12 feet of water, and the other very clearly has less than 4.5 feet.  A few hours later, we are afloat, back under way.  We arrive to Southport and catch up on laundry while waiting for our visitors.

We had an amazing few days catching up with Kristin and Matt.  We also did a bit of traveling while they were here.  We used one early morning’s tides to get us through the Cape Fear River and Snow’s Cut, and docked at Carolina Beach.  Matt and Kristin even got to join us for our trip from Carolina Beach to Wrightsville Beach.  While we were with Matt and Kristin, we got the call that all of Rilee’s tests came back fine, so we were very relieved.  We had so much fun checking out the aquarium and butterfly garden, Fort Fisher, and of course enjoying some good BBQ and brews!  Oh yeah, remind me to tell you something later…;)

The next day, we headed out towards Camp LeJeune, only to find that there was an emergency on one of the islands, so the Figure Eight Island Bridge was closed indefinitely.  It could not be lifted until the emergency was resolved.  We dropped anchor for a while, but after hearing it would be several hours, we decided to head back to Wrightsville Beach, since it looked like a storm was headed our way anyways.  The next morning, we departed again, this time making it to Sneads Ferry.  We could not go any further, as the firing range over the ICW at Camp LeJeune was active, meaning the ICW was closed.  I called and found out that the ICW would be closed until dusk, but that it was scheduled to be open all day tomorrow.  I confirmed the ICW was open in the morning, and we headed out.  The wind picked up as we cruised across Bogue Sound, and we raised our sails as we headed into Morehead City.

The next day we continued on, snaking our way through inland creeks.  We stopped in Hobucken for the night, at the RE Mayo Co, a commercial seafood dock with cheap dockage.  Little more than a place to tie up to for the night, we appreciated the stop, as anchorages with shore access for the dog were few and far between.  We spent a few hours chatting with the locals, and Chad got some crab for dinner.  We departed early the next morning, headed across the Neuse River.  The wind was really picking up, and we decided to duck into Belhaven before crossing the Pamlico Sound, where we would have been very exposed to the wind and waves.  Belhaven was a charming town, and we found a gem of a marina.  Dowry Creek Marina was a great family run place where we relaxed, caught up on laundry and shopping, and lounged in the salt water pool.

We waited out weather for two days in Belhaven before moving across the Pamlico Sound.  We then found ourselves in more protected inland waters.  We stopped for the night at a marina in Columbia, which also doubled as a gas station.  Reviews shared they had some amazing fried chicken, so we had some for dinner.  Not the most questionable meal I’ve had on the trip, and it was surprisingly pretty good!  We departed the next morning across the Albermarle Sound.  If not timed properly with wind and waves, this part of the journey has been worse for many loopers than the Gulf of Mexico crossing.  Lucky for us, we timed it right, and had a great day of sailing the waters once hunted by Blackbeard!  We had picked Coinjock as a place to hide out for Memorial Day weekend.  Once we arrived, we realized how close we were to the Outer Banks, and we didn’t want to miss it!  So just before closing, we got a rental car and spent the rest of the day exploring the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Roanoake Island.

The weather wasn’t looking great for Memorial Day weekend, so we moved on, thankful to avoid a crazy busy day of boat traffic.  We passed from North Carolina into Virginia, and found a great free wall in Chesapeake, VA.  The only thing missing was electric, which wouldn’t have been a problem except for the 90 degree heat and lack of any type of breeze whatsoever.  Awaking early before the heat, we crossed through the Great Bridge Lock, dropping 6 inches. This was our first lock in several months and several thousand miles.

Now we’re Chesapeake Bay bound!

May 3-13, 2018

We had heard from other loopers how beautiful Beaufort was, and we weren’t disappointed!  Have you ever heard of First Fridays?  Neither had we, but they are amazing, and Beaufort does them right!  All of the shops in town stay open late on the first Friday of each month AND they all put out some snacks, and have FREE wine!  You heard me right, free wine!  We strolled through the adorable downtown, and stopped to eat and drink at each store.  And as a bonus, we arrived in time to catch the Taste of Beaufort event that night, where we got to sample all of the amazing food the town has to offer!  We could have spent more time here, walking the streets of beautiful old homes with gorgeous southern charm.

The next morning, we headed out for Charleston.  Both Chad and I had been here before as kids, but we were both excited to revisit the gorgeous city.  We had picked out a great anchorage for the night, with good shore access for Rilee.  It was beautiful, traveling through the salt water marshes, with nothing but you and nature as you traverse the inland waters, every now and then getting a glimpse of the ocean over a dune or around a creek.  However, as we were about half way between any sufficient place to stop, Rilee gave us another scare.  She had some sort of fainting episode, losing control of herself.  A truly frightening moment for me, realizing we had hours to get to any real help for her.  A phone call back home to our vet gave some comfort to me, and we did our best to make Rilee comfortable.  Truth be told, if it were a true emergency for Chad or I, we could have called the Coast Guard and gotten help much sooner.  However, for our dog, and for a non-emergency, we had to rely on ourselves to make the best decision and get to a safe harbor.  We decided to press on towards Charleston, adding an extra 20 miles to an already scheduled long day.  However, we felt there would be better resources and a vet nearby.  We arrived at the marina just before dusk, and reevaluated Rilee to decide what best to do.  It was Saturday night, she was not in a real emergency state, and we needed to get some real answers on what was going on with her.  We found a 24 hour emergency vet just in case, but decided to wait until Monday morning and attempt to get her into a specialist vet who could help us further.

One thing I have realized on this trip is that things will work out, if you just have faith that they will.  It’s hard for me to just allow that to happen sometimes, but time and time again, it happens.  Chad and I were really struggling with what to do with Rilee.  Without having access to a “primary” vet, bouncing between vets, it was really difficult to get a clear picture on what we should do.  It sounded like she needed to see a specialist vet, but those appointments book up months in advance, and usually require some sort of referral to get in.  The 24 hour emergency vet we found was also part of a specialty hospital, so we decided to take her to the emergency vet Monday morning, hoping she would have access to the specialty team.  Luckily, our plan worked out, and the Charleston Veterinary Referral Center took amazing care of Rilee.  Faced with some tough possible diagnoses, Rilee left with a shaved tummy, and we decided to make the most of our time together in Charleston.

In between time at the vet, Chad and I managed to do a quick tour through Charleston.  However, we decided the rest of our time here would be best spent doing more dog friendly activities.  So instead of heading back to town, we explored lowcountry and the Sea Islands.  We visited the Charleston Tea Plantation, where the only tea is grown in America.  We found a muscadine vineyard, and sampled their wines and distillery.  Chad really loved the cows grazing in the vineyard, but thankfully Rilee did not see them!   We toured a plantation home that really focused on the tough life the slaves had, rather than glorified the plantation owner and life they had.  Although this home was not as lavish as the other homes and gardens you could tour in the area, we appreciated the story they told here.  The marina we stayed at was great, and we made new friends.

Still waiting on test results from Rilee, we decided to move on.  Departing the Stono River, we had timed our departure for slack tide, so we could more easily pass through Elliott Cut.  It is a short, narrow cut, lined with rocks.  It can have up to a 4 knot current, which for us would significantly slow us down and could be unsafe due to decreased maneuverability.  Luckily we passed through easily and did not meet any other boats in the cut.  Passing by downtown Charleston and Fort Sumter, the rest of our day was spent traveling through salt water marshes, while avoiding the shoaled spots in the ICW .  We arrived to McClellanville, and followed the creek through the marshes back to our stop for the night.  We found the “marina” or fisherman’s wharf that we tied to, squeezed in between the fishing boats.   We spent some time walking the live oak lined streets, and watching the beautiful sunset.  Chad made friends with the local fisherman, and got to taste the freshest Mahi Mahi he has ever had!!

Awaking early the next morning, we plan our departure with the tides.  South Carolina also has many notoriously shallow spots.  We use the tide to our advantage, and have no issues transiting the tricky passes.  Not a long day today, but we make it to Myrtle Beach.  We are greeted at the marina by a resident alligator, one of the few we have seen on this trip.  Tomorrow is also a short travel day, heading just up the waterway to Little River.  This stretch is only about the tides and what time high and low tide is.  We transit the Rockpile, a stretch of channel line with rocks.  The yacht club we stop at has a great pool, and we spent the afternoon floating around in the cool water.

Tomorrow we enter North Carolina, and we look forward to spending time with more visitors!