Boats, Planes, and Automobiles...

... instead of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Hans and I took a slightly, yet equally adventurous, detour.




Let me show you what MapQuest looks like on my computer.

That little red figure is our Knotty Cat!

Isn't she cute (Please say yes!! She's quite vain and every little bit helps)!

Here's a close up of her just as we were crossing the Maryland/Virginia border.

This disc and GPS is what I used to navigate our way through the Intracoastal the night we couldn't see a thing, and it was a life saver!










When we entered the Charleston Harbor, Tuesday afternoon, we only had about eight miles to go in order to get to the boat yard, but the current was so strong it took us three hours to get there. We tried to take advantage of the small amount of wind we had and put up the jib.

I swear we cheered when we hit 3 knots of speed!

This is the 186 foot bridge we passed under on our way up the Wando River.








Once the Knotty Cat was hauled out and we realized she had some missing and loose bolts on the plates that held her prop shafts in place, we had hoped things could be tightened up and we'd be on our way.

Well, it wasn't to be.




Wires that should have helped stop corrosion had been cut by the previous owner (which explains some of the problems we've been having), our propellers (lying in pieces on that cardboard) are no longer manufactured so the mechanic will have to be creative for the couple of parts we need, our engine mounts should have been replaced 500 hours ago, and the forever leaking stuffing boxes are going to be replaced with Dripless Shaft Seals.





This shaft was ripped out the next day. It was corroded and needs to be cleaned up.


Since the estimated time for all this to be done will take a week or so we decided to come home. We'll head back down after Christmas and resume our trip at that time.


Friday we ended up renting a car and then drove to Florida where we spent the night with some friends. Off to the airport the next morning for our flight to BWI, and then an airport shuttle to Kent Narrows where our car was parked. Five hours later we walked into the apartment and I realized I'd left a bunch of paperwork on the boat. Nothing valuable, but I wanted to file a health insurance claim and now I don't have any of my forms! We also had very little food in the cupboards and ended up eating cheese and crackers for dinner.


The good news is, we get to pick up Wilbur this afternoon and I only hope he remembers us!

An unexpected stop and a decision to make.

Beware, this is a long post.

So if we're supposed to be sailing, why is our Knotty Cat out of the water?

Because two nights ago we discovered a leak in our starboard engine room.

A big leak.

And of course we found it only after dropping our anchor in a very remote part of the Intracoastal about 15 miles past Georgetown.

We had made such good progress, and for once the currents worked with us and we actually motored along at 8-9 knots for quite a while.

The anchorage was beautiful and the sky had gone pink as the sun was just setting. I was going to use the grill and make dinner and we were looking forward to a relaxing evening when we realized the starboard bilge pump was dumping out water about every 30 seconds.

One look in the engine room and we knew we had to weigh anchor and get the hell out of there. Water was streaming steadily from where the propeller shaft enters/exits the boat and our batteries would never be able to handle the load of the bilge pump running all night and we don't have a generator.

I wanted to head back to Georgetown but Hans wanted to forge ahead. We called Leland's Marina in McClellanville (15 miles south of us) and he said we could tie up there for the night.

Thus began one of the most nerve wracking three hours I have ever endured.

The sun set shortly after we got underway and even though we had clear skies and a crescent moon we had to rely almost totally on the MapQuest disc on my computer (remember Fritz our GPS has been surly lately and would prefer to show us on land half the time).

Why this couldn't have happened on one of those stretches of water with all the houses and a lot of light is beyond me and we found ourselves navigating through the most desolate swampland you can imagine. The water was completely still which caused the tree line to reflect in a mirror like fashion from the shore and made us feel like we were going to run aground at any second.

Markers were few and far between and the unlit ones were a bear to spot. I would run up front and frantically wave a flashlight and feel immense relief when I would finally find it.

We knew from my computer that we were approaching a green marker but I couldn't see it at all. I was leaning over the bow with my light when I finally spotted a stick in the water just in front of us. It was my marker but the green reflective square was missing.

Everything became one dimensional and distance was impossible to judge. We would see flashing red lights ahead of us that would scare the bejeebers out of us because we were supposed to see flashing green. Then we would realize that the red lights were from towers miles away from us.

Three hours later we arrived at the creek to the marina and then came part two of our adventure. Jutting out from both sides were many unlit docks, my flashlight couldn't pick them out at the same time, and there was a bend in the creek. I was literally screaming PORT! and STARBOARD! back to Hans and he still couldn't hear me over our engines.

After barely missing a couple of docks we finally arrived at the marina only to find someone had tied a boat up to our spot and there was no space available anywhere.

That's when I almost started crying.

We got lucky though when we spotted a couple of guys sitting in a shrimping boat and they went up to a building that looked like a speak easy from the twenties, rousted the owner of the squatter and made him move his boat.

They also helped tie us up and then even came on board to have a look at our problem. Two hours later Mike and Eric left. They ended up stuffing tea towels, one of my cute pot holders, and a piece of our flag pole into the shaft area and slowed the leak to the point where our bilge only went of every few minutes.

I guess Fritz finally got his wish because The Knotty Cat is now on the hard at the Charleston City Boat Yard way up in the Wando River and we're wondering how the hell bolts on the plate that hold the propeller to the boat are loose and/or missing. Also a couple of bolts that hold the cutters in place were sheared off.

I'm not really smiling, I'm just insane.

You can see where a bolt is missing at the bottom of that plate and the loose bolt at the top.

The bolt on the bottom of the port side plate is loose.

Also, after two weeks in the water our zincs were ready to fall off. The problem was not corrosion (we had a galvanic isolator installed this summer) but the fact that they were improperly installed.

A lot of work needs to be done (parts ordered or retooled) and if it's going to take too long, we'll be calling this trip quits and going home. That means the Knotty Cat would winter in Charleston. I think she's always wanted to be a southern belle.

Move Over!

After leaving Harbor Village Marina near Topsail, we were able to give our engines a break and sail quite a ways through the Cape Fear River as we headed to Southport, NC. Once in Southport we ended up anchoring for the night with two other boats right in front of the Provision House Restaurant . A strong NW wind blew all night long and our anchor dug itself deep into the muck, and was very difficult to lift the next morning.

We then rejoined the wagon train heading south, with Myrtle Beach being our next goal. We were in a rather narrow stretch of water when we realized a barge with a large load was coming up behind us and sure enough the captain hailed us. What was disconcerting was that he asked us to identify ourselves and then wanted to know just where we were as he couldn't see us (I bet he has cataracts and drives a Buick on his days off!). We provided him with our location and then slid over to starboard as much as we could and watched him run over a big green can as he plowed on by.

We listened as he radioed other boats ahead and gave them directions on what he wanted them to do. Upon being told to please move over and let the barge go through a bridge opening first (at 65 feet it's a fixed bridge and doesn't raise but the channel was very narrow right there), one captain radioed back that he was certain he didn't need to move as he was traveling along quickly at 5 knots. The tug boat operator said too bad; he was going 7 knots and to please move over. The other captain once more said he was just fine and then the barge operator told him to KINDLY MOVE ASIDE OR I'LL RUN YOU OVER. He moved.

We ended up seeing the barge again as we approached the Swan Creek Bridge (a swinging pontoon that opens hourly unless you're a barge and then it opens up period!). We're not sure what happened but we could see all kinds of mayhem going on. The barge was almost sideways and big plumes of diesel exhaust belched from its innards as it tried to reverse, and the boats hovering around it looked like a bunch of rubber-neckers at a wreck. Someone even had the nerve to radio the bridge and ask if they could pass behind the barge. I don't think anyone even bothered to answer him.

Unfortunately we hung back too far and with the current working against us we were unable to reach the bridge in time to get through. But luck was with us because since it was an hourly bridge it had to open in ten minutes anyway.

This got me to thinking about the three mile stretch of waterway just ahead called The Rock Pile. Our cruising guide says to monitor the radio and make sure no barge traffic is coming towards you as there is not enough room to maneuver. I hope no one was heading north when that barge went through because it really is narrow with big flat rocks jutting into the water from the shore and I was very relieved to get through it with very little boat traffic.

Last night we ended up docking at Bare Foot Landing in Myrtle Beach, SC, and for the first time in a week we went out to eat because Hans wanted to watch the Raiders. The Raiders won, the wrap I ate was really good but made me sick, and we were up at 6 this morning and on our way again.

Today we are headed for Georgetown, SC, and our guide says there are some good anchorages there. If all the good spots are taken maybe we'll pretend to be a barge and tell everyone to move over.

Hurry Up and Wait

We left Dudley's Marina in Swansboro this morning and even though it's a beautiful sunny day, we're not going to get very far. That's because we're back to dealing with bridges and a lack of anywhere to anchor or dock once nightfall approaches. We'd love to get into Wrightsville Beach today and maybe we would have if we'd have gotten out of our slip before 7 AM. But it was dark and it's too easy to keep on sleeping...
By the way, if you ever want to be thoroughly entertained; find your nearest drawbridge, make some popcorn, pull up a chair, and be prepared to enjoy yourself.

Why the big rush to get to a drawbridge that you know won't open for another 15 minutes to half hour, or even an hour (we once missed an hourly bridge by 5 minutes)? Is it a need to be the first in line? Is there a prize waiting for the 'winner'?

All I know is that after being passed by lots of boats (the Knotty Cat likes to take her time or maybe all those cases of beer she's hauling really do weigh her down) we all eventually end up in one big snarled mess in front of a bridge.

Today was a classic.

Two small sailboats who were obviously traveling together and refused to be separated were sucked right up to a swing bridge. Some bigger motor boats also crowded in and even though we hung back the next thing we knew, the bigger boats were revving up in reverse and the little sail boats were bobbing around like ninnies and one nearly ran into the bridge support. The bridge operator kept trying to hail the out of control sailboat and tell it to please start through as soon as the bridge swung open (in the opposite direction thank God) but they never answered.

Then the radio chatter started, "Doesn't he have a radio?" "I know he has a radio." "Why is he sitting there? Does he want us to go first?"

I got out my trusty binoculars and saw that the captain and his 'woman' were standing in the cockpit and apparently weren't taking calls. Just when it seemed like the big boats were going to charge through, the two little sailboats got into the act and like two little old jaywalking women, crippled their way through the opening.

Hans calls this Dancing with the Stars.

As of 3:00 we are now waiting at another bridge that opens on the hour and the sad thing is, we could have been here at 2:00. But clear back at Swansboro we had 2-3 knot currents working against us and were only doing 4 knots across the bottom while motoring at 6 knots through the water. When we realized we wouldn't make the bridge we dropped to one engine and slowed down. Of course the current changed completely and started pushing us like crazy and when we were two miles away from it, the bridge opened. We ended up waiting 45 minutes.

In the end it doesn't really matter because we're going to dock at Harbor Village Marina as there are no more docks until Wrightsville, and I don't see any good anchorage areas. Wrightsville is over 20 miles away with yet one more hourly bridge (they all stop opening at 7 PM) and with the current acting like a woman who can't make up her mind I don't want to get stuck in the middle.

In addition to all that, our GPS is still giving us fits and takes a nap (we call it a union break) every day. Fritz (as we've named him) usually wakes up just as we're anchoring or docking and acts like nothing is wrong what so ever.

Won't Fritz be surprised to find that his replacement antenna is awaiting us in Charleston, SC?

No one sleeps while on watch!

A very quiet docking at Harbor Village.

"It all started with a can of cling peaches...."

I was opening a can of peaches this morning when Hans repeated that Edith Bunker quote to me. Does anyone remember that episode from All in the Family? Possibly the funniest one ever. And that's a little how this whole sailing life feels right now, only with us, 'It all started with a pitcher of beer and some wings....'. That's when we got the brilliant idea to buy a boat and sail away!

But we are making steady progress and that's a good thing.

Last night we ended up anchoring in a tiny bay off of Adams Creek called Back Creek (every body of water in the US has a Back Creek). It was only 4 feet deep and this morning after the horrendous pea soup fog lifted we were able to pull the anchor out of the muck and move on. It's a good thing we have such a shallow draft as by then it was under 4 feet deep because of the tide.

Once we were back in Adams Creek a 2 knot current and a 20 knot south wind slowed us down a lot.

We watched out for the huge piling (it looked like a telephone pole) that we heard about on the radio that was floating along in the channel but were able to easily miss it. When we reached Beaufort the tides coming in and out of various waterways decided to have a huge battle. Turning from Beaufort and heading further south we fought 3 knot currents and a continuing strong south wind.

In order to preserve our salon seats (mostly because of Wilbur) I made covers for them out of a couple of old king size sheets.


Here is a before picture.









And the after. If I ever do this again I will use better fabric but this will do for me now.











I bought these bins at a Dollar Tree and they fit into the refrigerator perfectly!

And what a difference cooler weather makes. We only bought one bag of ice and my handy dandy little ice maker is taking care of the rest!









We saw our first pelicans two days ago. This little guy shivered on top of this piling while his friends chased a crabber's boat.

After motoring 41 miles in ugly gray rainy weather we are staying at Dudley's Marina (there is no anchoring here as the water outside the channel is one foot), and I really hope I get to wash my hair!

Dumb and Dumber Strike Again.

I feel like we've been out in the middle of nowhere forever.

We left Roanoke Island (at the Inner Banks) yesterday and headed south west in the Pamlico Sound in our attempt to get back to the Intracoastal. The Pamlico really is a huge body of water and we only saw maybe three boats all day long.

About half way through the day we were thrilled to spot our first dolphins. One actually jumped completely out of the water which is something we've never seen. After that we had two of them follow very closely on our port stern and they would emerge from the water perfectly synchronized, go under, come up again... all the while with big smiles of welcome on their faces. This went on for a while and then they disappeared.

Once again we were able to sail all day with north east winds at 15-20 while using the jib, and then finally at around 6 PM we anchored in a very marshy Juniper Bay.

We've been wondering why no one else has chosen this passage on their jouney south and I think it's because if the winds aren't perfect it would be a pretty crappy crossing.

We need to keep this in mind if we ever do this again.

This brings us to a Dumb and Dumber update.

This trip will not take two weeks like we'd originally thought.

No, it will take at least three! How on earth could we be so far off?

Mostly because when you're in the Intracoastal you're at the mercy of bridges that are only open until 7 PM, and some of them only open on the hour. On our first day in the waterway we arrived at a bridge seven minutes after it closed and of course it was an hourly one. I ended up making us lunch while we waited for the next opening. It's also pretty winding and you can only motor so fast. The winding then adds miles to the overall distance and then the next thing you know you've added another week to your trip!

I wasn't a happy camper at that WTF discovery mostly because this means Wilbur will be in Doggy Day Care for another week. I've been calling and checking on him and of course he's having fun playing with his friends all day long but it still bothers me. I also found out they had a Halloween Party for the dogs last week and Wilbur didn't have a costume. It reminded me of the poor kids who used to have to sit in the school office during their class party because their crazy religious parents thought Halloween was evil. I only hope he won't be scarred by this lack of planning on our part and end up in therapy. He's very sensitive.

Our anchor held very nicely during the night and with steady winds we didn't swing around at all. I was worried that it would get hung up on a stump or tree branch but even though it was covered in a lot of heavy gunk the anchor came up smoothly.

We hope to exit the Pamlico later this afternoon as we head into the Neuse River. We will then be at Merrimon which is at the mouth of the next run of the Intracoastal. I only hope if we end up at a marina with 'free' WiFi, that it actually works!

A lot of good sailing.

We arrived in Coinjock by 3 PM yesterday and were actually a bit early as we were able to sail quite a ways through North Landing River. We docked at the Midway Marina which actually had quite a bit of space available. The Coinjock Marina is the only other marina at this point and it was packed tight and boats were even rafted up together. I think the Coinjock is supposed to have a fabulous restaurant so that might be why. We sure didn't feel like dropping our dinghy in the water in order to cross the channel to find out. We ate leftover chile and spaghetti.

We left Coinjock this morning at 8:15 AM and sailed through the dreaded Albemarle today with absolutely no trouble. We had steady North East winds at around 15-20 knots with some 25 knots gusting, so we ran with the jib all the way out.

We thought we should have been sailing faster than we were and when Hans just now turned on the engines, our port propeller made some complaining noises and spit out a crab pot! That damn thing slowed us down by a whole knot.

I don't like crab pots but I do love crabs because they're so cute. We bought Wilbur a very expensive stuffed crab this summer after visiting Tangier Island. Wilbur loved his 'Crabby Cake' and would lovingly chew it for hours.

Recently things cooled down between the two of them and Wilbur yanked the stuffing right out of poor Crabby Cake.

We were in the Midway Marina's tiny little bar and enjoying a drink when I spotted this guy.

Today we decided to head east toward Roanoke instead of using the Alligator River. Since the winds are supposed to be favorable we're going to take Pamlico Sound at the Inner Banks in order to avoid a chunk of Intracoastal travel and save a little bit of time.

We just docked in Broad Creek as there are no anchorages what so ever here. Tomorrow we continue through Pamlico Sound and will decide whether to reconnect with the Intracoastal at that point or catch it later on.