After anchoring in Swansboro and Wrightsville Beach, John, Elvis Ann and I traveled to Southport where we stayed at the marina for two nights. Southport, NC is a quaint historic town. We walked the waterfront and streets of historic homes before visiting the Maritime Museum and window shopping in the boutique stores. My favorite shop was called Good Ship Lollipop. You would be proud of me. I didn’t buy a thing. However, if we stop in Southport on our return north in the spring, there may be a few things I can’t live without – or rather that my soon-to-be-born niece/nephew can’t live without.
John and I are easing into the cruising lifestyle. Rather than going back to the boat, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Mr. P’s Bistro on Howe Street. I didn’t anticipate eating Salmon Oscar while cruising. We cleaned our plates like we were returning POWs.
Today we navigated the ICW to Myrtle Beach. Earlier in the week, our leg from Swansboro to Wrightsville Beach had multiple bridges that only opened on the hour or on the hour and half-hour. We planned our speed accordingly so we did not have to wait long for any bridges. Today’s leg had only one bridge that opened on a schedule. The Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge opens only on the hour. At 11:36AM we noticed the time and that we had 24 minutes to go just over three miles if we wanted to make the noon opening. If we didn’t go full throttle we would miss the opening by about 10 minutes and have to circle around for another 50 minutes. John revved up the engine from 2,200 rpm to 3,500 rpm. Our speed increased from 5 knots to 8.2+ knots. I moved the chart marker closer to the bridge as we sped past the channel markers. At 11:50AM I called the bridge tender on the radio, told him we were at channel marker 99, and requested transit through during the noon opening. The bridge is just past marker 105. Bridge tenders can open within 10 minutes on either side of their scheduled opening, however, typically that happens when no one is waiting. The bridge tender informed me he would open on schedule and do his best to get us through if we kept pressing. The minutes ticked by, the markers passed by, John drove hard, my adrenaline flowed. If we did not make the opening, waiting an hour would not have been a big deal. We just hated to miss the opening by such a small margin. As we flew around the corner toward the bridge, we were the entertainment for the other boats waiting for the opening. Our friends in Serenity who we met in Southport called us on the radio to tell us we looked like a battleship planning down the river. At 12:05PM, Island Chariot was the last vessel through the Sunset Island Pontoon Bridge.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Oriental, NC to Swansboro, NC
Elvis Ann, John and I departed our dock in Oriental, NC as planned on Monday, October 20. Although we were not ready to set sail until the afternoon, we left anyway and anchored for the night not far from home in Cedar Creek. For some reason it was important to us to leave on the day we planned to leave.
From here on out, the plans can change. In fact, those of you who knew our “Plan A” could tell by the title of this blog entry that we are on to “Plan B”. Originally, we were going to Beaufort on day one, Cape Lookout early on day two, and then on the outside to Wrightsville Beach on day three.
We decided to take the “business route” through Beaufort on the way out the Beaufort Inlet – our first time. However, our entry into the Beaufort channel was delayed by a 15-minute “discussion” about which side of the Chariot should pass by the channel dividing marker. John wanted to pass to the right in the direction of the Morehead City channel. I was armed with the chart and simple knowledge of what a red and green marker means. I was determined to prevent John from running the boat aground (again – but not on this trip yet!). John insisted “right!”. I argued “left!”. The boat drifted until John caved in and we uneventfully passed the marker down the starboard (correct) side of the Chariot. John has not admitted he was wrong, however, he now refers to me as the “Queen of Nav”.
Having passed through the Beaufort waterfront, we went through the Beaufort Inlet toward Cape Lookout early on Tuesday afternoon. Most people go in the morning before the sea gets rough. About half way to Cape Lookout we decided to go back to Beaufort for the night. Sometimes you’ve got to know when to say when. The seas were quite rough with about six foot waves. Elvis, John and the Chariot held up well. The television and I were another story. The thought of sailing 12 hours the next day in seas predicted to be even rougher did not appeal to me. Waves breaking across the bow and washing up on the dodger are not what I’m looking for in our first week out. We have the rest of the six months for that kind of fun! I began to understand how Gilligan felt when his “tiny ship was tossed”.
While the ocean was having its way with us, we passed a pod of dolphins and a huge sea turtle. Amazing! Beautiful – almost enough to make me muster the courage to go offshore on Wednesday, but not quite. Dolphin have been swimming and leaping beside us in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), too. They frolic and play like they haven’t a care. John and I look forward to learning to play like those dolphins while we’re away!
Back inside the Beaufort Inlet, we tied up at the Beaufort town docks. The interesting thing about pulling into a marina is that at least two guys who work at the marina are almost always standing by to help. In this case, three guys from the marina were standing by waving us into our slip for the night. John had already briefed me on how he wanted me to work the lines, which cleats to catch – the usual drill. Each guy on the dock had a different idea, and each shouted to me to throw them a line. Being a good first mate, I listened to the captain and all went well. Last summer when we pulled into the marina at Bald Head Island, I made the mistake of throwing lines to the three marina guys on the dock when they shouted to me instead of going with John’s plan. Suffice it to say, each guy had his own plan, and we were the 4PM entertainment for people on the island. Lesson learned!
This was our first time in Beaufort by boat. For years, Beaufort has been one of our favorite places to spend a day. We enjoy the Buffalo Shrimp at the Dockside Restaurant, window shopping, and looking at boats in the harbor. What fun to arrive by water and dock in the midst of yachts that dwarf the Chariot.
Today enjoyed a leisurely morning, and then departed for Swansboro. Last summer when we were on the ICW between Morehead City and Swansboro, it was like the boating equivalent of driving on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. Today, it was the boating equivalent of driving in Oriental early on a Saturday morning – we were nearly all alone! Dolphin accompanied us as we passed Bogue field where John the Marine spent many nights doing field carrier landing practice in harrier jets.
Elvis Ann has settled in to the cruising lifestyle. She is still a bit freaked out by all of the various boat noises. Otherwise, she is her normal busy self. And, yet all our teak is intact!
From here on out, the plans can change. In fact, those of you who knew our “Plan A” could tell by the title of this blog entry that we are on to “Plan B”. Originally, we were going to Beaufort on day one, Cape Lookout early on day two, and then on the outside to Wrightsville Beach on day three.
We decided to take the “business route” through Beaufort on the way out the Beaufort Inlet – our first time. However, our entry into the Beaufort channel was delayed by a 15-minute “discussion” about which side of the Chariot should pass by the channel dividing marker. John wanted to pass to the right in the direction of the Morehead City channel. I was armed with the chart and simple knowledge of what a red and green marker means. I was determined to prevent John from running the boat aground (again – but not on this trip yet!). John insisted “right!”. I argued “left!”. The boat drifted until John caved in and we uneventfully passed the marker down the starboard (correct) side of the Chariot. John has not admitted he was wrong, however, he now refers to me as the “Queen of Nav”.
Having passed through the Beaufort waterfront, we went through the Beaufort Inlet toward Cape Lookout early on Tuesday afternoon. Most people go in the morning before the sea gets rough. About half way to Cape Lookout we decided to go back to Beaufort for the night. Sometimes you’ve got to know when to say when. The seas were quite rough with about six foot waves. Elvis, John and the Chariot held up well. The television and I were another story. The thought of sailing 12 hours the next day in seas predicted to be even rougher did not appeal to me. Waves breaking across the bow and washing up on the dodger are not what I’m looking for in our first week out. We have the rest of the six months for that kind of fun! I began to understand how Gilligan felt when his “tiny ship was tossed”.
While the ocean was having its way with us, we passed a pod of dolphins and a huge sea turtle. Amazing! Beautiful – almost enough to make me muster the courage to go offshore on Wednesday, but not quite. Dolphin have been swimming and leaping beside us in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), too. They frolic and play like they haven’t a care. John and I look forward to learning to play like those dolphins while we’re away!
Back inside the Beaufort Inlet, we tied up at the Beaufort town docks. The interesting thing about pulling into a marina is that at least two guys who work at the marina are almost always standing by to help. In this case, three guys from the marina were standing by waving us into our slip for the night. John had already briefed me on how he wanted me to work the lines, which cleats to catch – the usual drill. Each guy on the dock had a different idea, and each shouted to me to throw them a line. Being a good first mate, I listened to the captain and all went well. Last summer when we pulled into the marina at Bald Head Island, I made the mistake of throwing lines to the three marina guys on the dock when they shouted to me instead of going with John’s plan. Suffice it to say, each guy had his own plan, and we were the 4PM entertainment for people on the island. Lesson learned!
This was our first time in Beaufort by boat. For years, Beaufort has been one of our favorite places to spend a day. We enjoy the Buffalo Shrimp at the Dockside Restaurant, window shopping, and looking at boats in the harbor. What fun to arrive by water and dock in the midst of yachts that dwarf the Chariot.
Today enjoyed a leisurely morning, and then departed for Swansboro. Last summer when we were on the ICW between Morehead City and Swansboro, it was like the boating equivalent of driving on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. Today, it was the boating equivalent of driving in Oriental early on a Saturday morning – we were nearly all alone! Dolphin accompanied us as we passed Bogue field where John the Marine spent many nights doing field carrier landing practice in harrier jets.
Elvis Ann has settled in to the cruising lifestyle. She is still a bit freaked out by all of the various boat noises. Otherwise, she is her normal busy self. And, yet all our teak is intact!
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