Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Recap and photos from first leg of Trip
On a chilly Saturday morning, February 20, 2010, Patina left River Dunes around 1 pm and exited the Beaufort Inlet before dark. She spent the next two days at sea, arriving at Charleston on Tuesday, February 22, 2010 around 9 am, covering an estimated 246 miles. The crew had to slow down early Tuesday morning to avoid entering Charleston Harbor in the dark. They docked at the Charleston Martimine Marina. They used a combination of sailing and motor sailing to cover the distance. On board, Ken Burke, Mark Lucas and Sarah Rilinger took two hour shifts through each night. I am hopeful that each of them will add comments to this blogpost detailing some of their thoughts about this leg of the trip. The one I know for certain is COLD.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Over 1600 miles!
Patina covered over 1600 miles in the round trip that started at River Dunes on February 20 and ended on April 5. The boat stayed tied up at docks for 19 of the days she was away and otherwise covered at least 40 miles per day. Over half of the miles were covered in the ICW. The weather was unusally cold for the first half of the trip. Then, in about two days, the weather changed and we were able to put the long johns away. By the time we hit Kilkenny Creek, we needed bug spray! Our favorite stops were Fernandina Beach and St. Augustine.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Arrived back at River Dunes on Monday April 5!
We left Georgetown on Friday and stopped in North Myrtle Beach on Friday night (April 2). The game of the day was "is that a crab pot, a bird or a submerged tree?" With flood stage water levels at high tide, there was a lot of debris in the channel. Waiting for the Barefoot Swing Bridge tender to decide we were close enough for her to open "upon request" we ran hard aground against the slate and rock that lines the channel there. Another bridge tender that could care less about the boats and probably wants to prove that she does not open the bridge one second too soon so as to cause auto traffic the least inconvenience. The Waterways manual said that the bridge was often left in the open position for long periods of time. Not. Ken was able to back out right away and we made it through the bridge and into the marina around the corner, Harborgate.
On Saturday we made it from North Myrtle Beach to Wrightsville Beach in one of our longest stretches yet (72 miles). We went out at Little River Inlet and re-entered at Cape Fear and continued up the ICW. As we made it past the US's largest ammunition depot, there were signs marking a restricted area (saying that there were mines in the water). Stayed away from there! As we called to find a marina in Wrightsville, they were all booked up due to the Easter weekend. We finally found an overnight tie-up with power and fuel at the dock in front of the Dockside Restaurant. The stretch of ICW from Carolina Beach to Wrightsville was the most congested strip we have seen with numerous power boats coming at us from all directions and leaving huge wakes that often rocked us from the front, back and both sides all at once. In spite of the pretty strict enforcement of no-wake zones elsewhere, they were obviously a joke here. It reminded me of the old time Daytona Beach spring break with lots of bikinis (only add big power boats to the testosterone and beer)!
On Sunday, we left before dawn and backtracked a few miles to the Masonboro Inlet and made the outside run to Beaufort Inlet. We hit fog just as we entered the narrowest point in the inlet (and it was very narrow--not an inlet to use unless very good conditions). With our radar and depth meter we poked around to find out way out to the ocean, blasting our air horm periodically in case other boats were coming through ( it was hard to distinguish boats/rocks/waves on the radar read). About one mile outside the inlet, the fog lifted and we had a beautiful day for most of the trip. We stayed out of the restricted zone where Camp LeJeune practices shelling but did cut across the danger zone next to it! About 3 hours from Beaufort, winds picked up and the water became progressively rougher with bigger waves, whitecaps and swells. In the actual channel of the Inlet, the water was almost boiling with the ebb tide and the opposing wind. We stayed at the Morehead City Yacht Basin Marina. Fabulous dinner at Chef 105--definitely a place to eat at in the future. The marina was easy to get into, good help to dock--much easier than the infamous Beaufort Docks! This was the most miles we covered in one day-over 80 miles.
Monday, we made the rather easy trip from Morehead City to River Dunes. It was so good to put Patina back in her slip. Had to make a rushed trip to Bayboro (by truck) to get the truck inspected and new stickers for the license plates as they had expired while we were gone. Back at River Dunes, Hank and Christa were on their boat and we had a drink to celebrate our safe arrival.
There will be details, anedotes, photos and more in future blog posts.
On Saturday we made it from North Myrtle Beach to Wrightsville Beach in one of our longest stretches yet (72 miles). We went out at Little River Inlet and re-entered at Cape Fear and continued up the ICW. As we made it past the US's largest ammunition depot, there were signs marking a restricted area (saying that there were mines in the water). Stayed away from there! As we called to find a marina in Wrightsville, they were all booked up due to the Easter weekend. We finally found an overnight tie-up with power and fuel at the dock in front of the Dockside Restaurant. The stretch of ICW from Carolina Beach to Wrightsville was the most congested strip we have seen with numerous power boats coming at us from all directions and leaving huge wakes that often rocked us from the front, back and both sides all at once. In spite of the pretty strict enforcement of no-wake zones elsewhere, they were obviously a joke here. It reminded me of the old time Daytona Beach spring break with lots of bikinis (only add big power boats to the testosterone and beer)!
On Sunday, we left before dawn and backtracked a few miles to the Masonboro Inlet and made the outside run to Beaufort Inlet. We hit fog just as we entered the narrowest point in the inlet (and it was very narrow--not an inlet to use unless very good conditions). With our radar and depth meter we poked around to find out way out to the ocean, blasting our air horm periodically in case other boats were coming through ( it was hard to distinguish boats/rocks/waves on the radar read). About one mile outside the inlet, the fog lifted and we had a beautiful day for most of the trip. We stayed out of the restricted zone where Camp LeJeune practices shelling but did cut across the danger zone next to it! About 3 hours from Beaufort, winds picked up and the water became progressively rougher with bigger waves, whitecaps and swells. In the actual channel of the Inlet, the water was almost boiling with the ebb tide and the opposing wind. We stayed at the Morehead City Yacht Basin Marina. Fabulous dinner at Chef 105--definitely a place to eat at in the future. The marina was easy to get into, good help to dock--much easier than the infamous Beaufort Docks! This was the most miles we covered in one day-over 80 miles.
Monday, we made the rather easy trip from Morehead City to River Dunes. It was so good to put Patina back in her slip. Had to make a rushed trip to Bayboro (by truck) to get the truck inspected and new stickers for the license plates as they had expired while we were gone. Back at River Dunes, Hank and Christa were on their boat and we had a drink to celebrate our safe arrival.
There will be details, anedotes, photos and more in future blog posts.
Wrote this on April 2 but did not get uploaded!
Made it to Georgetown, SC on Thursday
Another 70 statute miles covered in mostly great conditions. Chose the breeze (rolling away the bug screens) and insect repellent. Passed two operating dredges--great to see them! The currents were against us at between 2 and 3 kts almost all afternoon. Tidal ranges still over 5 feet. Maybe not the wisest idea to cover the most difficult parts of the ICW at full moon? Stayed at Georgetown Landing Marina (mile 402). Good help. Secure wifi. Facilities clean. Had to make two approaches before we could successfully dock as we had over 2 kts of current pushing us into the dock. Ken has become quite adept without the bow thruster. After Kilkenny, everything looks good. There was a very small cable ferry near here. Not much more than a metal platform that could hold a single car. Wonder who uses it.? The docks here no longer have signs about manatees (they have been very prominent up to here). Instead they warn about feeding or approaching alligators! Oh well, the signs in the parks across from our house in Denver warn about the very prominent coyotes.
We will fill up all fuel and water tanks and pump out then push for our last 225 miles.
Another 70 statute miles covered in mostly great conditions. Chose the breeze (rolling away the bug screens) and insect repellent. Passed two operating dredges--great to see them! The currents were against us at between 2 and 3 kts almost all afternoon. Tidal ranges still over 5 feet. Maybe not the wisest idea to cover the most difficult parts of the ICW at full moon? Stayed at Georgetown Landing Marina (mile 402). Good help. Secure wifi. Facilities clean. Had to make two approaches before we could successfully dock as we had over 2 kts of current pushing us into the dock. Ken has become quite adept without the bow thruster. After Kilkenny, everything looks good. There was a very small cable ferry near here. Not much more than a metal platform that could hold a single car. Wonder who uses it.? The docks here no longer have signs about manatees (they have been very prominent up to here). Instead they warn about feeding or approaching alligators! Oh well, the signs in the parks across from our house in Denver warn about the very prominent coyotes.
We will fill up all fuel and water tanks and pump out then push for our last 225 miles.
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