The Trek South

On Thursday, October 7th, we entered the Deep Creek Lock at 8:30 a.m.

Heading into the Dismal Swamp, 22 miles of no-wake speed but a beautiful trip nonetheless.

Bill & Ana left their mark on the lock wall when we were there with them earlier this year.

After locking through we tied to the wall on the other side of the Deep Creek Bridge and killed a few hours at a nearby Food Lion, a treat for the Admiral!

We then continued through the Dismal Swamp, all 22 miles of it, to arrive at the South Mills Lock at 3:30 p.m. Needless to say, it was a long, slow four hours!

There was no northbound traffic waiting to lock up so we were through the lock by 4:00 p.m. We continued toward Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River and were anchored about a mile above the Elizabeth City bridge by 6:00 p.m.

We arrived at the Elizabeth City bridge Friday morning for the 8:30 opening. Then it was down the remainder of the Pasquotank and into Albemarle Sound, dodging hundreds of crab pots along the way with the sun right in our faces – not fun! We made it to the Alligator-Pungo Canal entrance about 3:00 p.m. and anchored at Tuckahoe Point. A fifty-five mile day with a cloud-free sky and temperatures in the low 70’s.

The anchor was coming up at 8:00 a.m. Saturday and we headed into the canal. After another 55 miles we were anchored in Bear Creek on the Bay River by 3:30 p.m. on another cloudless, calm day approaching 80 degrees.

The Admiral trying to get a cell phone signal, pretty remote in this part of the country.

Sunday we were underway by 7:45 a.m. with only 15 miles to the River Dunes Marina. J.C., the dockmaster, was there to greet us and catch a line. We last saw J.C. in late May/early June when we spent several nights at the marina before going to Ocracoke on the Outer Banks. On our final evening at the marina, J.C. and his wife Judy had the two of us and Bill & Ana on “Knot Tide Down” over for a wonderful shrimp & grits dinner. What a great guy and a terrific couple! Thanks for everything, J.C.!!!

Once we got situated in our slip, we spent a few hours on some much-needed exterior boat cleaning. Our friends Rick & Lynnie aboard “Rickshaw” arrived about 1:00 p.m. so we went up to the pool to hang out and catch up.

The new fire pits at River Dunes Marina.

That evening we had dinner on “Rickshaw” and introduced them to “Drink While You Think.” A good time was had by all and it was great being able to see them one more time before they take “Rickshaw” back to its home marina.

Monday we took off around 8:45 a.m., saying our goodbyes to Rick & Lynnie. Hope to see you in Florida this winter, guys!

We passed through Morehead City, home port of “Rickshaw,” and continued south another five miles to anchor in Spooner’s Creek by 2:15 p.m. We put the dinghy down and motored over to a small private dock where we tied up and walked a few blocks to Wal-Mart for a little shopping.

When we returned we joined Andrew & Vanessa on “Tally Ho” for happy hour. “Tally Ho” was one of several boats trapped with us in Deltaville, Virginia, for a number of days as Tropical Storm Nicole passed through.

We were underway again Tuesday at 7:45 a.m. and managed to cover another 55 miles in about eight hours. However, we had to kill almost an hour waiting for the Surf City bridge opening. It only opens on the hour and we couldn’t quite make the 2:00 p.m. opening.

Anchorages along this stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) are somewhat scarce, so we ended up anchoring at Sloop Point in Topsail Sound, just off the ICW. The anchorage is pretty exposed and it was a breezy day, but the holding was good and the wind died down nicely by dark.

On Wednesday we traveled 45 miles over a six-hour period to arrive at Southport, North Carolina. We tied up at The Provision Company’s free dock and had drinks and dinner there that evening. The wakes from thoughtless boaters on the ICW were a bit obnoxious at times, though!

Thursday was another long day – 65 miles over nine hours. But once again we had to waste the better part of an hour waiting for the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge opening. We couldn’t quite make the 11:00 a.m. opening and had to wait until noon for the next one.

Shrimp boats along the Intracoastal.

We left North Carolina behind and entered South Carolina just south of the pontoon bridge. That afternoon we had a few rain showers to contend with, including one that hit just as we were anchoring in the oxbow on the Waccamaw River, but all-in-all it was a nice day on the water.

I think we had this picture on the blog earlier this year, but a pink and purple house is worth repeating!

The view from our anchorage on the Waccamaw River.

Friday was a short five-hour, 40-mile day through Georgetown to Minim Creek. The sky was back to being cloud-free with temperatures in the 70’s and a stout breeze. But the anchorage offered nice shelter from the wind and we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon aboard “Life’s2Short.”

A shrimp boat in Winyah Bay coming in from the Atlantic, headed for Georgetown.

This is “Sojourn,” our off-and-on travel buddies for a few days. We haven’t met them yet, but we may have an opportunity in Charleston since we will be at the same marina for a few days.

The sailboat “Dakota” also anchored out with us at Minim Creek.

We left Minim Creek Saturday morning about 8:45 with 35 miles to our next anchorage in Whiteside Creek. We encountered a good deal of boat traffic along the way, but I guess that is to be expected when you travel on a Saturday!

The hook was dropped by 1:15 p.m. and the Captain was out fishing within the hour. He returned a couple of hours later with two sea trout that he promptly filleted and sautéed for a late afternoon snack (more like an early dinner!). This was his first catch in quite some time, but he hasn’t been doing much fishing either. Nice job, Captain!

Today is Sunday, October 17th, and we put the final 20 miles to Charleston behind us, arriving in the harbor about 10:30 a.m. We then free-floated for nearly an hour waiting for our slip to open up, but by noon we were tied up at the Maritime Center.

A pirate pumpkin as we pass Goat Island. The crew of “Life’s2Short” wishes all of you a Happy Halloween!

We are currently doing a few boat chores but will head for downtown Charleston later this afternoon to take advantage of this beautiful warm, sunny day. Our plan is to leave here Tuesday morning and continue the trek south, but we are going to slow our pace since we have plenty of time before our next appointed stop at the home of our good friends Bob & Stephanie in southern Georgia. See you in about ten days, guys, and looking forward to it!