The Marines have got us... we're in Mile Hammock Bay

The wind had died, the rain blew on through during the night and the day dawned crisp and clear. The moon was getting ready to set as we headed off just after 6 am.  After checking the current tables, we decided the bast way to face the Cape Fear River was EARLY. We had the tide with us until we reached Snows Cut which takes you away from the river.  Unfortunately the currents were not so favorable the rest of the day.

The early light on these Ibis accentuated their hooked beaks.

The strong north wind didn't help.  We knew we had a long day and had hoped for some help from currents!  We ended up pushing the engine to it's limits to make it to the Wrightsville Bridge by 10 AM.  We hadn't counted on being accosted by hundreds of SUPs!  It seems the Wrightsville Beach Paddle Club was holding it's 2014 Carolina Cup this weekend!.  It was quite a sight.

They even crowded us as we went through the bridge and re-visited our favorite Wrightsville spot - Brunelle rudder hump!  Just to add the the insult we  (I) managed to drop one of our favorite cushions overboard right at that spot and had to do a quick rescue!  No pictures please.  

The next bridge was also going to cause us to put the pedal to the metal and we hadn't gone far when alarms began going off.  The hot water alarm alerted us the fact that the water was registering above 220 degrees!  We quickly dropped the anchor and Dan checked out the engine. He still isn't sure exactly what it was, but he added more coolant to the system and we proceeded without any more overheating.  We didn't push it tho and as the wind had come around to the SW, we rolled out the jib to help move us along. 

 We saw plenty of wildlife - mostly birds, and lots of Saturday runabouts. They were everywhere, buzzing us at every turn.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               We also went by our old friend the giraffe.  I had forgotten he lived along this stretch.  Dan got a good picture of him.  We see that his home is for sale... who wouldn't want a waterfront home with giraffe!                    

We made it Mile Hammock Bay (right in the middle of Camp LeJeune around 5:30 pm without anymore mishaps and anchored with several boats, including one (Spartina) from Clairborne, MD who we met 5 years ago at Emerald Rock in the Exumas.  We'll give them a hail in the AM.  

Another early start tomorrow as we hope to make it to River Dunes (71 miles), just past Oriental.  ~~~~~_/)~~~~~M&D

From one side of Myrtle Beach to the other and then on to Southport

Osprey Marina is great.  $1/foot gets you great service, great facilities, breakfast and a whole lotta goodies.  We fueled up and were on our way by 8:40 AM.  We still had a bit more of the Waccamaw to enjoy before entering the "ditch" that takes you through golf country.  Dan got more pix - - - this time of Ospreys.

They do make big ugly nests, but spring is here and so are some babies!

We only traveled 20 miles on Thursday and stopped at the Barefoot Landing Marina.  It is right across the ICW from Barefoot Marina.  We chose the former because it is located right next to a large shopping mall and also offers free shuttle service to the BiLo food market.  We ended up tied up next to a couple who had been on the same offshore leg from Fernandina and we got together to swap stories and ended up helping them celebrating their 18/33 anniversary (33 yrs. together and 18 yrs. married) with a dinner at Greg Norman's Australian Grille.  We made it early because we had a ride scheduled to the store at 7:30.  We made it a quick stop, but were able to get fresh stuff.

Golfers go gondeliering.

The two Barefoot Marinas - we're tied up at the one on top- with the mall in the background.

The whole time we were if Florida we saw one teeny skulking alligator and here we saw this monster just before crossing
into North Carolina.  He looked to be 6 feet long at least.

Dan had the big camera out again today and here's todays collection of birds.

Now that we are in North Carolina, we get sign posts every five miles showing our progress.  I like this one because it was in front of a classy looking house.  We are close enough to the ocean here that I'm sure the view from the top deck is of the Atlantic.

We had strong breezes blowing in from the ocean the whole way today, and especially when we arrived at South Harbour Village Marina.  We're on the face dock and the sea breeze has us listing toward the dock! The evening news talked about tornado activity in eastern NC, but much further north, luckily for us.  It's also a lot cooler, we can tell we are getting further north!  ~~~_/)~~~M&D

Once again we bypass the byways of Georgia!

Our stay in St. Augustine was longer than usual because we wanted to wait for the McClelland family to arrive in FL.  Katherine, Ryan, Zoe and Kinsey came to Jacksonville for Easter and when Pegg heard they were coming she suggested we invite the girls to the Easter Extravaganza put on yearly by her good friend Judith.  I had attended three years ago and enjoyed it thoroughly - - - being the crafty sort and it promised even more crafty events than before.  The girls drove down from Jax on Saturday and we made a day of it.  Sorry I don't have any pictures,  I was too busy crafting!  and eating.  It was great fun.  Turnabout was fair play and we were asked to join Ryan's family for Easter Dinner.  Turns out there were 28 of us! This included all families of the Maida clan, incluing all the in-laws (that's where we came in!)  It turned out to be a lot of fun.

Monday found us ready to shove off even though the day was cold, gray and windy (from the North.)  We headed off around 7 AM and headed up the "ditch" for Fernandina Beach.  We had no trouble making it in spite of tides against us 90% of the time.  We chose to anchor out a few miles shy of Fernandina Municipal Marina and the surrounding paper mills and found a quiet side creek. The current was very strong and the tide range was 6 feet, but the anchor held well.

These dock pilings give you a good idea of the tide range.

Dan threatened an early start and had me up and us on our way before sunrise.  While he was raising the anchor I played with trying to catch the red flashing buoy at the creek entrance in the flash mode.  I also like the look of the paper mill with the lights twinkling and steam curling.  Finall the sun made it's appearance as we approached the Marina dock to take on fuel. The thing on stilts is a mystery to me!

We were done fueling by 7:15 AM and headed out the St. Mary's Inlet for an overnight adventure. Very little of pictoral interest happened on our trip from Florida to South Carolina, but Dan did get a good shot of some porpoises before we left Florida waters.

I did the math and although the GPS showed our trip was 240 nm, we went from Statute Mile Marker 720 to Statute Mile Marker 373 ( 347 miles) on the ICW.  We checked and double checked the tide tables and gauged it so we arrived at Winyah Bay (the Georgetown Inlet) at noon, just as the current was heading in.  It made the trip up the river and on to Osprey Marina much quicker than past trips. 

The ocean portion of the trip was quite pleasant.  The wind cooperated so we could sail or motor sail and the seas weren't bad and really calmed down by the time we arrived at the Inlet.  I did get a picture at sunrise, but the sunset was blocked by clouds.  We had traveled from St. Augustine in the company of several boats from Montreal and found ourselves in their company throughout our entire trip "outside".  We chatted with them during the day and they called as the sun was setting to give us a report of the weather forecast from some aviator friends from Montreal.  It was nice to have company for the whole trip.

As soon as we were in phone range we called Osprey Marina to see if they would have room for us if we arrived after hours.  They said sure and promised to leave our "goodie" bag for us.  As it turned out, we made it at 5:59 PM (they close at 6) and they greeted us, helped us tie up and delivered the goodies in person!

The trip up the Waccamaw River was delightful.  I don't think we have taken the time to enjoy the scenery as much in the past.  Dan had his camera out and captured lots of great shots.  Some of the bird shots are from the trip up to Fernandina.

Sea birds of the southeast.

The Waccamaw River in springtime, including the neat old plane that was definitely flying "under the radar".  He seemed to be enjoying the beautiful weather as much as we were.

We aren't sure if this is a wind mill or sculpture, but it caught our attention as we wandered up the Waccamaw River.

Gotta end with yet another eagle picture from Dan...

Off to bed.  Not much sleep last night....  ~~~_/)~~~M&D