Stumpy Pungo

Beaufort to Coinjock: 24-27 Aug 09

Passing a large "tow"

We had read about boater lethargy; not wanting to leave port once safely at anchor or not wanting to stop once back on the road (or ditch actually)!  Not far from Beaufort lay the 200 mile marker (to the end of the ICW) and beyond 35N.  Again, we were keen to make up miles. 

Fishing Fleet

Typically, WJ3’s engines got a good workout before we stopped to spend an evening looking out over Goose Creek hiding from mozzies, and feeling quite safe until a Coast Guard Alert came over the VHF.  Thunderstorms and high winds, including a water spout, off the Pamlico River.  Oh no! That’s where we are!  (Actually there was quite a bit of swearing too – and it wasn’t the Coasties!)  We waited as dark clouds approached and then thankfully passed us by.  We did not see (and didn’t want to see) that water spout, even at a distance.

Sunset over Little Aligator Creek

The waterways opened up considerably after Goose Creek - Neuse River, Pamlico River then Pamlico Sound.  We steered by compass, lines of crab pots and the odd lonely ICW marker.  We even put up a sail and tried to remember how to use it; fair sailing until we reached sleepy Belhaven on the Pungo River.  The wifi café was closed (surprise! surprise!) but we managed to check our email at the local library.  Kindly, they let us stay for the afternoon, typing away in air-conditioned bliss.  Locals were exceptionally friendly, even offering rides and every assistance.

Crabs a go-go in Belhaven

Further up river, lay the Alligator-Pungo canal, 23 miles of stump jumpin’ and snag swervin’.  We had hardly passed any traffic at all in these waters and waved at them like sailors possessed if we did.  At the head of the Alligator River where it meets Albemarle Sound, and even more exposed waters, we nervously anchored off Little Alligator River amongst dozens of crab pots and duck blinds.  (The Motleys have set a world record for duck blind jokes, so don’t even ask!  It’s amazing what lack of TV can do for you!)  Although very shallow at 7-9ft, the sound can open up to 18ft!!  Wow! 

Stumpy Pungo

Strong winds cause steep, short waves making this area a wee bit of a mariner’s nightmare in bad weather.  Luckily, the weather held and we made a safe passage over to North River and North Carolina Cut. 

Early Morning calm at Coinjock Marina

Mid-way along this cut is Coinjock, nothing more than a couple of marina docks lining a canal.  Anchorages had been fairly sparse and any available were festooned with crab pots, so we tied up at Coinjock Marina.  It was a welcome change and offered protection if Tropical Storm Danny did decide to hit the coast with some lousy weather.  Tucked up in our air-conditioned beds in calm canal waters, we watched late night “tows” go by and allowed our feast of prime rib (half a cow per plate) to settle slowly.  More importantly, Coinjock lies at mile 50….  Only 50nm to go to Norfolk!  How exciting is that?

Crabbing at Belhaven

From: Beaufort, NC Lat/Long: 34 42N 75 39W  Date/Time: 24/8/09: 0930

To: Coinjock, NC  Lat/Long: 36 21N  75 57W Date/Time: 27/8/09: 1400

Time Taken: 154nm (24hrs)  Distance (this year): 2645nm (496hrs)

Distance Total (since 2008): 3494nm  (674hrs)   Fastest Speed: 7kts**

Weather: Slight winds, calm seas; a few clouds about and a little rain to cool us down

(** motor/sail with all 3 sails out at one stage)

Blackbeard's Favourite Haunt

Down Taylors Creek

Welcome to North Carolina

We entered Taylors Creek, and anchored off busy downtown Beaufort.  Beaufort is little more than a village but has a wealth of history, of which locals are extremely proud.  Beaufort is also very boatie friendly, supplying at least two public jetties no less (to tie up Bruce) and a very large dockside marina for transients.

Shackleford Pony on one of the Inner Banks Islands

Taylors Creek channel was narrow so Cap’n Considerate put out two anchors (Bahama-style – two anchors from the bow) to limit our encroachment.  We then relaxed, watching migratory Canada Geese and wild Shackleford ponies grazing over on Carrot Island, and prepared our list of things to do while we waited for BW to arrive.

Beaufort Town Docks

Of course that in itself is a bit of a story.  There are no airports in Beaufort, the nearest being 30 miles away.  Having missed his scheduled flight from New York (was it a great pub crawl or just tired from too much site-seeing?), further delays meant that it took him 3 flights, 2 days and a looong taxi ride before he caught up with us.  Our Cap’n was no longer considerate and relished his chance to “take the mickey”. 

In Beaufort, we took a double-decker bus tour (yes, that’s right – a 1960’s model) round town dodging tree branches and electrical wires sagging in the heat, with a guide dressed in period costume telling us tales tall and true about Beaufort’s seafaring past.  As always, it was an excellent introduction and gave us a good start point for further explorations.

Historical Homes

The Maritime Museum is well stocked and despite GS’s groans (too many model boats), it turned out to be very interesting.  An item of particular note was a life-saving capsule.  It was used in flying-fox fashion to rescue folks from coastal shipwrecks.  Although small, it held as many as 11 adults (lying down) in a sealed coffin-like container.  It would have been a terrifying ride as it bounced along crashing through heavy seas on its way to shore and safety. 

Up Hammock Lane, and up Beaufort’s only hill (or “hummock” at 12’ above sea level) sits a quaint cottage with a terrifying history.  It was once an Inn, residence of the one and only Blackbeard.  Aside from ghastly goings on in the house, even the trees at the front were not spared. 

Ancient Burial Grounds

They were often used for hangings (one of his more difficult wives apparently).  Given its past, the house is haunted big-time (human bones have been found in excavations) and had not been occupied until fairly recently.  Even then, owners only seem to stay a few years before moving away.

Look who we found....

We ended our days sampling a few local brews on the dock before eating dinner out.  Spouters Inn (as in whale spout) has the best seafood we’ve had so far in the US.  It tasted like seafood should…  We also tried soft-shell crab – a local favourite.  Yes, the shell is eaten (it’s soft, silly!).

Again we were sad to bid Beaufort and its lovely historic homes farewell, but Big Bill was getting closer (more or less) and we were still not yet at that magic 35 degrees and out of the hurricane zone.  I’m not sure that anyone’s told Bill that however…

A Grounding a Day ......

Charleston to Beaufort: 17-21 Aug 09

Thankfully not us...

Reluctantly, we left Charleston and headed north on the ditch again.  Two reasons – Hurricane Bill was heading north and although not predicted to come our way, it would push off some weather in our direction, mostly rain, wind, storms and wildly fluctuating tides.  Secondly, we were to meet Boy Wonder in Beaufort and looked forward to having some extra crew.

Not far along we managed our second grounding at Price Creek.  After assistance from friendly locals, WJ3 refused to budge so we simply put out the anchor (mid channel!!), made a coffee in our new coffee pot and waited for the tide to come in!  We had a third (disputed) grounding at Crow Island in the Santee Swamp.  Our trusty Cap’n said it was actually a near miss!  Of course it was! (chuckle chuckle!)

Beached not grounded

Gradually the scenery changed from palms to pines and lots of reeds or marshlands.  Crab pots were everywhere and whilst many consider them a nuisance (ropes tend to get caught in props) we found that they obligingly defined our narrow channel and thus deep water.  Much of this area is quite isolated and it was a nice change to observe lots of bird life and dolphins, although we never saw any more gators.  They must be human-shy!  Hardly surprising since many menus offered gator tail – fried of course!

We anchored out in Winyah Bay, on the river not too far south of Georgetown, another historical city.  It was buggy but calm considering the wide expanse of water and closeness to the sea.  The next day our Cap’n steered us up the Waccamaw River, said to have the best scenery along the ICW.  The river was lined with swamp cedars, a number of old plantations and more than a few fabulous old houses.  Very beautiful!

WJ3 at Bucksport Marina

WJ3’s engine was missing a few beats, so we turned in early to Bucksport Marina, enabling us to catch up on essentials.  Our obliging host, Richard helped us settle in.  We refueled, gave ourselves, WJ3 and our clothes a good scrub and then sat back to a nice dinner (also cooked by Richard).  Over a glass of wine on the verandah overlooking a cypress swamp (bears, deer and gators) we even managed to get an internet connection.  Best of all, we had aircon to sweeten our dreams.  Can we stay for a bit longer???  We left the next morning with a fridge full of ice, America’s best sausages, and a few frozen beers.

Yes, that's two stuck on the mud...

A grounding a day?  Yes, we reconnected with mother mud again!  This time at Corking Neck, Little River, not far from the South/North Carolina border.  Yes, it was low tide, yes we were in the channel and yes, we had lots of offers of assistance.  After swinging free, we motored on to our next challenge.  A Coast Guard report advised that the Sunset Beach Bridge was closed.  How can they do this to us, we wondered?  After all there was no suitable ocean channel nearby to get around it.  Would we have to retreat back to Charleston (and meet those two speed bumps again)?  Interestingly, the bridge looked like a rusty old barge and part of engineering bits and bobs necessary when building new bridges.  In fact it was an historic pontoon & cable bridge that locals are seeking to preserve.  It closes during low tide (because of the underwater cable) but kindly, they opened for us.  We imaged the dangers of catching a cable in WJ3’s keel & rudder but made it through without incident! 

Waccamaw River

The Motley’s anchored for the night in Pipeline Canal (south of Southport) and had a peaceful night even though the tide dropped over 6 feet to 6 feet – at least we were still floating – just!  We negotiated our way north passing many inlets, over many speed bumps, and given many shoal warnings!  At New River we had a near miss and at Bear Creek Inlet, our wake made a definite W as we searched for deeper water!  Deep water to us now meant anything over 5 feet…..  At Mile Hammock Bay, we anchored near a boat called “Wombat”.  Of course it was the only other boat in the anchorage and yes, Barry was an Aussie!  Mile Hammock is on Marine property and we spent an eerie evening in a thrilling scene from “Apocalypse Now” as training was conducted around and above us. 

Finally, we had Beaufort in our sights.  As we entered the deep shipping channel near Morehead, a fellow cruiser, heading south on a sailboat, hailed us.  “Are we on the Intracoastal?” they asked, “We’re headed for Charleston”.  We wondered how they could do this chartless and took bets on how long it would be before they went aground.  Stunned, we simply radioed back..... “yes”

From: Charleston, SC Lat/Long: 32 47N 79 57W  Date/Time: 17/8/09: 0730

To: Beaufort, NC  Lat/Long: 34 42N  76 39W Date/Time: 21/8/09: 1330

Time Taken: 265nm (45hrs)  Distance (this year): 2491nm (472hrs)

Distance Total (since 2008): 3340nm  (650hrs)   Fastest Speed: 5.5kts**

Weather: A mixed bag of hot sunny weather; high humidity, mild breezes and thankfully cooler evenings. The swamps were oppressive. GS imagined herself as an extra in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”

(** Back to Mr Engine)