We were unsure about leaving today given the darn weather. Always forecasts of thunderstorms. I’ve come to take them seriously only of the y mention “severe”. Which is what they did yesterday and we had a quite a storm roll in.
I checked the 6AM weather and all of the various sites forecast pretty much the same thing, ENE winds and scattered thunderstorms. None mentioned severe.
So we left the dock at 7:15 and made a security call when we entered the Rockpile. The infamous Rockpile is explained below from a note posted on a Cruisers Forum:
We didn't encounter any other vessels util we reached Little River where we had to request an opening from the bridge operator at the Little River Swing Bridge.
The “Rock Pile” is a man-made canal-like section of the AICW, officially known as the Pine Island Cut, running between Little River and Waccamaw River. The canal is narrow and lined with submerged rocks and a rock shelf, just a foot or two below the water’s surface.
When the USACOE was building this portion of the AICW in the 1930’s they encountered a sold shelf of granite. The Corps simply blasted through this obstruction, but, over the years, the soft silt above and below these rocky outcropping has washed away, making the canal now appear wider than it really is. Also, over the years, many portions of the rock shelf have broken off, and left all sort of underwater rocks waiting to trap keels and underwater hardware.
Cruisers are urged to hold as close to the mid-width of the Pine Island Cut as possible, and announce their presence on VHF in case large commercial traffic is approaching, which could force you out of the channel’s mid-line and onto the “rocks,” especially at high tide when the rocks are fully submerged.
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| The Rock Pile. Looks so innocent and peaceful |
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| Little River Swing Bridge |
As we went through the bridge we hit an out flowing tidal current until we reached Lockwoods Folly where the current switched and we sunk back to a measly 7 mph from the blistering 9 mph we had enjoyed earlier.
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| Sad sight. Shrimp boat beached near Little River Inlet |
Lockwoods Folly is a weird place to navigate through because the placement of the channel markers as seen from certain angles leaves on bewildered as to where the channel is really located. It a convoluted path. But we made it. basically by following the 4 other tracks I have from previous trips through here.
And made it through Carolina Beach, another place a few miles north. This is another area where caution navigating through the bends is a wise idea.
And made it through Carolina Beach, another place a few miles north. This is another area where caution navigating through the bends is a wise idea.
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| Anchored in Banks Channel |
The forecast thunderstorms seemed to disappear to the south. Anchored here, we have brisk ENE winds and clouds that don’t appear to have that threatening dark rolling look to them. I suspect we wont see any rain. But the tidal current is swinging us around pretty good although we have 100’ of chain out and the snubber. Don’t think we’ll drag.
Grilling the last of the chicken tonight. Running the generator for a few hours at 8 and then its to bed. Mike Hammock tomorrow only 40 miles away.
But that 40 miles has three bridges, two of which we cant pass under which means a bridge opening. And these bridges are on a schedule which, for slow boats like us, can be difficult. So tomorrow could be an long day.
But that 40 miles has three bridges, two of which we cant pass under which means a bridge opening. And these bridges are on a schedule which, for slow boats like us, can be difficult. So tomorrow could be an long day.
Yes, indeed the bridges are pain here. Perhaps that’s why my noted for every year we’ve gone u this way emphatically reads, OUTSIDE… meaning take the ocean.
The anchorage here, was entertaining. Every soul who owns a boat was out and about yesterday. The water was 82 degree. I know I jumped in. And most everyone was skiing, or boarding or tubing or whatever else it is they do being pulled behind a boat. And yes, nests of buzzing little PWC.
Although we were disturbingly close to the shore, maybe 50 yards, we never budged so it was a good night. The storms that were moving from the NE towards us seem to split. Nasty squalls went either south or north of us. We had some light rain and that’s about it.
We did leave at 7:15AM to make sure we hit the bridge on time. If we missed, it would be another hour wait.
We got through, passed a sailboat, Glorious, on our way to the next bridge which is 5 miles away. That meant we were burning fuel like crazy trying to get up to 10 mph (the Figure 8 Swing Bridge we were trying to reach is 5 miles from the Wrightsville Beach Bridge
The Figure Eight Swing Bridge connects the mainland with Figure Eight Island. The Surf City Swing Bridge connects the mainland to Topsail Island further north of Figure Eight Island.
The Figure Eight Swing Bridge connects the mainland with Figure Eight Island. The Surf City Swing Bridge connects the mainland to Topsail Island further north of Figure Eight Island.
But at Red Marker 121 at Howe Point few miles north of Wrightsville Beach, we went aground. It was a known shoal area but I was right where we were supposed to be. Moving at 9 mph we sloshed to a halt. And then just floated free. Very weird. It had to be a very soft sand or mud hump because I started out right away with no ill effects.
A boat following a few minutes behind us, Dancing Girl, a big 95 foot yacht wasn’t so lucky. The grounded hard and I could hear the Tow Boat operator and the captain discussing how to get pulled off.
Alas, we could quite make it to the Figure Eight Island Bridge in time for the opening. I called the bridge tender to see if he could maybe open a few minutes late he casually mentioned that he was showing 24 feet of clearance. What? The charts all say 20 feet. 24 feet is easy. So we sailed through without requiring an opening. Checking through my notes later I see that we have indeed passed under this damn thing twice before. Note to self: Next time, read notes more carefully.
That left us with the Surf City Swing Bridge
Time, distance speed calculations… wouldn’t even think about them, the answers just popped in my head. 50 years later not so much. It's more of a slow ooze now, rather than a quick pop.
We spent a few hours with the engines running almost flat out. And they seem to thrive at such speeds. Probably because of all that fuel being guzzled when we travel so swiftly.
After Surf City Bridge we settled back into our normal 7 mph cruising routine and entered Mile Hammock about 2:30. We were the only boat in the anchorage so we anchored right in the middle with 100’ feet of chain in anticipation of possible thunderstorms. Again.
Mile Hammock is large basin within the Marine Base at Camp Lejeune. The marines use it to launch various water craft and as a recreational spot. Its open to the public for anchoring but you cant go ashore. Hammock? Whats a Hammock?
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| Entering Mile Hammock |
Later we were joined by two other sailboats. The marines weren't playing today either so it was a quiet place.
I spent most of the afternoon charting our routes north and trying to figure out if we can get to Norfolk by the first, which is the day I rented the car. It’ll be close. Especially because of more severe thunderstorms in the forecast for Tuesday.
So in our mad rush we are by-passing two places we have anchored before, Swansboro and Beaufort. We are planning on stay at Belhaven at the Belhaven Waterway Marina tomorrow before the predicted afternoon storms arrive. It's over 100 miles which we cant do in a day so we'll hole up in anchorage in Adams Creek north of Beaufort tomorrow.
Belhaven is adjacent to the canal joining the Pungo River and Alligator River. These two rivers make up part of the ICW in this area and it will make it convenient when we start heading north again after the weather passes.
It's a long journey making it a long day tomorrow, 85+ miles. And it will not meet with the definition of cool and pleasant. Another scorcher.
Just an aside, the two cities of Beaufort are pronounced differently depending on the state.
It would be a mistake to make a pronunciation error down here.
So in our mad rush we are by-passing two places we have anchored before, Swansboro and Beaufort. We are planning on stay at Belhaven at the Belhaven Waterway Marina tomorrow before the predicted afternoon storms arrive. It's over 100 miles which we cant do in a day so we'll hole up in anchorage in Adams Creek north of Beaufort tomorrow.
Belhaven is adjacent to the canal joining the Pungo River and Alligator River. These two rivers make up part of the ICW in this area and it will make it convenient when we start heading north again after the weather passes.
It's a long journey making it a long day tomorrow, 85+ miles. And it will not meet with the definition of cool and pleasant. Another scorcher.
Always an adventure. We also have to keep in mind the return trip to Charleston with Jack our grandson. We only have about 10 days to do that trip. This is a good opportunity for a test run.
Just an aside, the two cities of Beaufort are pronounced differently depending on the state.
- South Carolina's Beaufort is pronounced "BYOO-fert" (as in 'beautiful)and North Carolina's Beaufort is pronounced "BOH-fert" (as in 'bow').
It would be a mistake to make a pronunciation error down here.
To ensure our ability to pass through Camp Lejeune , we had to get through the Onslow Swing Bridge no later than 7:30. AM. We were up early again.
There is a large flashing sign there to indicate live fire exercises taking place. If that sign is light no one gets through. But they typically don’t start until after the 7:30 bridge opening which means anyone that went through the bridge will have cleared the live fire exercise area.
There is a large flashing sign there to indicate live fire exercises taking place. If that sign is light no one gets through. But they typically don’t start until after the 7:30 bridge opening which means anyone that went through the bridge will have cleared the live fire exercise area.
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| Approaching the Onslow Swing Bridge. It's early! |
Well I almost missed them I had to back down quickly and then go around the green and then the red. The sailboat behind us, BuBu, had to stop for us. I called him on the radio and explained and he chuckled having done the exact same thing the last time they had come up this way.
We have been through here 5 times now, and I have copious notes about this spot. Guess one must read copious notes to garner their message? Already two reminders this trip regarding my prior navigation notes!
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| Pink house and a pink boat |
We trudged along the next 35 mile to Morehead City near Beaufort ,NC
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| USS Whidbey Island getting ready to depart from Morehead City |
The poor sailboat guy didn’t quite know what to say, stammering something about, “sss .. sss ... sorry to hear that”. He did get through the bridge though.
Once we hit Adams creek leading north out of Beaufort, our speed which had been down 5.5 mph for the last hour suddenly shot up to over 10. Love to have the tidal currents in our favor for a change.
Along the way I got the updated forecast which was predicting strong thunderstorm tomorrow afternoon. We decided to skip anchoring in Cedar Creek and run down the Neuse River to closer to Belhaven, about 27 miles further.
We selected a new spot, Bonner Bay is off the about 20 miles south of Belhaven and 5 miles from Vandemere. This would save us almost 30 miles tomorrow which would put us in the marina around noon, before the predicted
Bonner Bay is large and, well, unremarkable. But it offers some protection from wind driven swells form most directions.
We selected a new spot, Bonner Bay is off the about 20 miles south of Belhaven and 5 miles from Vandemere. This would save us almost 30 miles tomorrow which would put us in the marina around noon, before the predicted
Bonner Bay is large and, well, unremarkable. But it offers some protection from wind driven swells form most directions.
Weather of course is such an exacting operation. We’ll see what happens. The next day there are chances of storms but we must be in Coinjock that evening or risk blowing the schedule of arriving at Saltpond Marina and Resort Friday. From Belhaven to Coinjock is 88 miles, a good portion of it across the Albemarle Sound which can be a nasty body of water.
88 miles may sound like a small distance but when your averaging maybe 7 mph it can seem like an eternity.
Tonight while we were running the generator and making water (nice here because it was mostly fresh water although in the mid 80’s), we saw 6 floating flare type lights off in the east. Must have been some military operation or something. Quite impressive. So were the stars … the Milky Way was very bright out her in the middle of nowhere.
I reserved a car for Friday, July 2 in Hampton, VA (where Saltpond is located) for 5PM Bets anyone?
We left at a leisurely 8AM and running down the Pamlico River when our navigation computer, an old PC running Windows XP, locked up. It took me a few minutes to reboot it so no harm done.
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| Belhaven wooden breakwater |
Les and Darlene own the place and are wonderful people. Les is a musician and has an impressive array if guitars.
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| Tied up at Belhaven Waterway Marina |
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| Marina Office |
Nothing much of the town, but then again I didn’t venture far.
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| Belhaven Marina from the street side |
We met Steve and Judy on a sailboat behind us who had engine trouble and are here for awhile. We were alone but another big sundeck trawler came in late afternoon and tied up behind us. Its rather tight in here so leaving early could be a problem, but after talking with them I discovered they are leaving really too, so we’ll just wait for them.
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| Belhaven Ace hardware store |
I keep forgetting we are southern folk now, being citizens of the senior state of Florida. We are no longer from Wisconsin and feel no obligation to offer explanations for that state's governor. But I'm always taken for a northerner. Accent maybe?
We suddenly got lazy and decided not to walk the 6 blocks to this restaurant, Spoon River. It has been reported to be superb. Instead we made heated up soup aboard the boat and skipped cocktail hour.
It's kinda dark at 6AM when its cloudy, but we got up anyway. We followed out Shoes Fitz at 6:30AM. We both backed out of the short slipway and headed for the Pungo and Alligator River Canal.
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It was a long day. The Canal is especially tedious becasue its mile after mile of narrow, straight swamp lined water. Luckily was hot but not stifling. And no storms! Although a rain shower would have been nice if nothing else but to break the monotony.
We traveled down the cedar swamp lined Alligator River towards the Sound and at steady 7mph. Alligator River does have an impressive population of gators so the locals tell me. But we didn't see one.
We were getting so lazy that Mary, being below in the salon would call me on her cell phone instead of getting up and using the intercom phones we have.
Albemarle Sound was pleasant with a nice breeze cooling things off for us. And it was pretty calm with just a light chop. Enough to make the boat occasionally slightly wallow as we still kept our steady 7mph
We entered North river, passing by the Pasquotank River which leads up to Elizabeth City and the entrance to the Dismal Swamp Canal which we took two years ago.
This time we are taking whats called the Virginia Cut. Here's a write-up of the differences between the two routes.
We traveled down the cedar swamp lined Alligator River towards the Sound and at steady 7mph. Alligator River does have an impressive population of gators so the locals tell me. But we didn't see one.
We were getting so lazy that Mary, being below in the salon would call me on her cell phone instead of getting up and using the intercom phones we have.
Albemarle Sound was pleasant with a nice breeze cooling things off for us. And it was pretty calm with just a light chop. Enough to make the boat occasionally slightly wallow as we still kept our steady 7mph
We entered North river, passing by the Pasquotank River which leads up to Elizabeth City and the entrance to the Dismal Swamp Canal which we took two years ago.
This time we are taking whats called the Virginia Cut. Here's a write-up of the differences between the two routes.
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| Approaching Coinjock Marina on the right |
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| Tied up and ready for the Restaurant |
Coinjockis still a nice quiet place with really nice people. No town around, just the marina and restaurant .
After we tied up, one of only 4 boats here, we went over to the restaurant and ate. Our waitress was named LeAnn. She spells it like our daughter whose name is, ah, LeAnn too.
After we tied up, one of only 4 boats here, we went over to the restaurant and ate. Our waitress was named LeAnn. She spells it like our daughter whose name is, ah, LeAnn too.
June 30, 2016
We left Coinjock this morning. It was very calm, no ripples or anything on the river.
It's another long journey, made more so becasue of the bridges that lie ahead and the lock.
After leaving Coinjock we entered Currituck Sound which turns into the North Landing River. And the bridges. We try and time our the arrival at the bridges to their opening schedule to avoid idling around for at least 30 minutes.
First is North Landing Swing Bridge which opens every thirty minutes.
Then we enter the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal where we encounter the Centerville Turnpike Bridge and immediately north, the Centerville Railroad Bridge. The railroad bridge is usually open unless there is a train. The turnpike bridge opens every thirty minutes.
Then finally, we get to the town of Great Bridge and the bridge there, Great Bridge. The bridge works in conjunction with the Great Bridge Lock 1/4 of mile further past the bridge. So when you pass through the bridge you travel right into the lock.
This lock was the scene a few years ago when we first came through here with our dog, Cleo, who leaped off the boat and ran around the lock grounds much to the amusement of the lock master. Not so much for me who had to chase her down leaving Mary holding two lines to keep the boat next to the lock wall.
The lock only drops a few feet so it's not difficult and wasn't a real problem. It's also unique in that it has one side faced with a continuous large rubber bumper so fenders are not necessary. Unless your on the other wall.
This time through we were the only boat in the lock.
After that its a few miles of river until we arrive at Top Rack Marina and its restaurant, the Amber Lantern.
The marina is basically a dry stack marina where, in a very large building, the have boats up on racks, several stories high. Top Rack also has a few slips here but only one with 50 amp power. Their real draw is the fuel prices which are about the lowest we have found anywhere ($1.88/gal this time) and the deal of a free nights dockage if you eat in the restaurant.
The restaurant is pretty good so we usually fuel up the boat, eat at the Amber Lantern and then retire to the boat. It's a nice staging spot for entering busy Norfolk.
It's another long journey, made more so becasue of the bridges that lie ahead and the lock.
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| Entering Currituck Sound |
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| North Landing Swing Bridge |
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| Centerville Turnpike Swing Bridge |
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| Great Bridge |
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| Entering Great Bridge Lock |
This lock was the scene a few years ago when we first came through here with our dog, Cleo, who leaped off the boat and ran around the lock grounds much to the amusement of the lock master. Not so much for me who had to chase her down leaving Mary holding two lines to keep the boat next to the lock wall.
The lock only drops a few feet so it's not difficult and wasn't a real problem. It's also unique in that it has one side faced with a continuous large rubber bumper so fenders are not necessary. Unless your on the other wall.
This time through we were the only boat in the lock.
After that its a few miles of river until we arrive at Top Rack Marina and its restaurant, the Amber Lantern.
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| At Top Rack Marina |
The restaurant is pretty good so we usually fuel up the boat, eat at the Amber Lantern and then retire to the boat. It's a nice staging spot for entering busy Norfolk.
Their are storms all around today. This year the weather pattern for storms from VA to GA are persistent and are expected to linger for several weeks. It appears we picked a good time good time to go north.
Tomorrow we travel through Norfolk where I can watch all the commercial shipping and gawk at the many navy ships here as we pass by the Naval Ship Yard and Navy Base.
Salt Pond is 27 miles away. An easy day.
Salt Pond is 27 miles away. An easy day.
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