Moving along

It is about 125 miles to our final ICW passage, Palm Beach. This is where we will cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. That will be an exciting sail!

 Places we have been since our last post:
Daytona Beach
New Smyrna Beach
Titusville
Cocoa

Daytona Beach

We saw 2 Manatees gliding in the marina.  They really do exist.

Signs of Hurricane Matthew...

Happy Holidays

We do not know where we will be for Christmas, but sending all, best wishes for a happy holiday.

Lighted Schooner at St. Augustine, channel marker #8.

Our Christmas tree, with gifts.

Happy Holidays!

Florida ICW

The Florida ICW is straight, for the most part, shallow and narrow.  We are still seeing damage from Hurricane Matthew, including a lot of shoaling.  Captain Bob's anchoring guidebook is no longer helpful as some of his suggested safe anchorages are covered in silt.

From Fernandina Beach:
Jacksonville free city dock
Jacksonville Beach
St. Augustine
Marineland

Florida ICW narrow channels... Spanish fort at St Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S....Paula at the helm.

Florida

We made it to Florida and are anchored at Fernandina Beach.  The marina is closed due to damages sustained from hurricane Matthew. It is sad to see the destruction as we pass through the hurricanes wake.  There are boats blown on to the shore, sunken vessels, damaged docks and homes. It may be hard to find a space at a marina in Florida due to closures.


Florida moon rise.

Georgia

At 9:30 am, December 6th, we rode the tide and current out of Charleston, SC to experience the Georgia waterways.  The rivers and creeks were narrow, shallow with bends and turns along the way. You really had to pay attention and maneuver through the shallows.  We had 2 paper charts, computer chart, and the chart plotter to guide us, along with Paula's watchful eye and binoculars. I admit, we did find the bottom a few times and had to wiggle our way out of the mud.

The Georgia shoreline was mostly uneventful marshland.  Occasionally we would pass large homesteads surrounded by live oaks drenched in Spanish moss.

Stops along the way:
Dawho River ~ channel marker 117
Beaufort ~ for supplies
Isle of Hope
Cattle Pen Creek
Back River
Jekyll Island


Abandoned Island home...maybe a summer destination.

Doboy Island.

Oak trees covered in moss.

Sunset at our Jekyll Island anchorage.

South Carolina

From Wilmington NC, we anchored our way down the ICW to Charlston SC.  We will stay here for a few days exploring the city, taking care of some business and waiting out a passing storm.  The South Carolina waterway is a bit broader and deeper so navigating has been a little easier.

Stops:
Little River ~ Calabash Creek
Waccamaw River
Georgetown
Duck Creek on the Minim Canal
Bouy 125 ~ Charlston Harbor entrance
Charlston Harbor Marina


Downtown Charlston is very historic.  There are trendy shops, open markets, and restaurants in abundance.

The Ravenel Bridge we travel from our marina to downtown.

Sunset on the ICW.  South Carolina rivers are surrounded by marshlands.

Happy Thanksgiving

We anchored in Swansboro and in the Topsail Sound. We spent two nights on a mooring ball in Carolina Beach. The town was deserted as it is their off season.  Then, up the Cape Fear River to Wilmington where we shared Thanksgiving with Pat and Pam.  We really enjoyed spending time with friends.  Pam was such a generous host, driving us around, doing laundry, showers and meals.  It was a pleasure spending time with her. Paula and Pam took walks through the woods and a long bike ride to the beach.

Sunshine

The days are sunny but very,very cold. We are sailing wearing down coats and gloves.  The morning temperature's are in the 30's.

next destination

From Belhaven we stopped in the quaint towns of Oriental and Beaufort.  The old historical homes are so impressive.  Now that we are getting closer to the Atlantic coast the water has become clear, from muddy brown to deep green. We are seeing more wildlife...dolphins, pelicans, bald eagles, heron, egrets and even wild horses.

Our next destination, with a few stops along the way, is Wilmington, NC.  Here we plan to meet up with Ken's best friend Pat Seaton who is visiting his sister, Pam, who lives there.  We hope to spend Thanksgiving with them.


Cormorant watching the sunset.

Beaufort waterfront.

North Carolina

We are in Belhaven, North Carolina.  The town is small with just a few shops and restaurants.  The neighborhoods are quiet, the streets lined with old colonial houses which hold a lot of history, some being built in the 1800's.

We really enjoyed the passage through the Alligator-Pungo Canal.  It was narrow and lined with lots of vegetation and trees displaying their Fall colors.


Pictures of the canal.

ICW finally

 The Great Bridge lock with Ken at the helm. It was about a 50 mile run from Norfolk today. It was a beautiful day and the Fall colors were brilliant.  The water is shallow and burnt coffee brown.  We are in Coinjock, which is a narrow cut before the Albermarle Sound which we will cross tomorrow to the Alligator River.

Virgina

 Ingram Bay Marina view from our slip.  We really loved this quiet spot while the winds were blowing 30 mph in the bay.

Mill Creek, Virgina ...sunset

November travels

Heading south finally..from Annapolis (there for 2 weeks) to Knapps Narrows, which is so narrow we were stuck on the shoal and pulled off by a kind local fisherman.  From there we went up Hudson Creek which is inside Little Choptank River.  Today we are anchored in the Patuxent River around Drum Point. The boat and skippers are running well and hope to be in Norfolk, Virginia by this weekend.

Hudson Creek Sunsets.

Leaving the Little Choptank River at sunrise.

Back to start

We have been in Annapolis,Maryland for the past week. This is where our journey started and hopefully will be the turning point to better seas and boat performance.  We have been waiting for boat parts (new auto pilot- steering locked through the canal) , doctor appts. and better weather...just waiting..

 Just waiting....

Quiet time

From busy city to serenity...

 On anchor for a couple of days at Mill Creek. It is so peaceful.

Baltimore

We have been anchored in the inner harbor of Baltimore for the past week.  We really like Baltimore. It is thriving and the city lights reflecting on the water at night is magical. We saw the parade of Tall Ships, jets practicing for the air show, and the military fleet come into the harbor. 

 The view from our anchorage with dragon paddle boats.

 The submarine Torsk and the Chesapeake war ship were our neighbors.

 The parade of the Schooners.

Made it

We made it up the Delaware Bay and through the C&D canal in ten hours.  The weather was good and we finally were able to do some pure sailing with 15 knots of wind on our beam. The repaired engine was running fine.  YEAH!  We anchored for a couple of nights in Chesapeake City, a cute town with quaint shops but no grocery store.

We leave this morning to head up the Sassafras River to Georgetown.  This is a hurricane hole so we may wait here a few days until Matthew is put to rest.

Chesapeake City on the C&D canal.

Ken with Kiva in the background on anchor.  We were the only boat in the basin all day.

not again...

We did leave this morning before daylight to get under the Cape May Canal bridges which are fixed at 55 ft (mhw).  We almost made it to the end of the canal and into the Delaware Bay when the alarm went off.  We were overheating again! Back to Cape May.  And so, we have to order a new part for the intake manifold which could take a few days to arrive.  Meanwhile, Hurricane Matthew is expected to land here on Sunday.  If we can't get Kiva running and out of the hurricane zone we may have to find a slip at the marina and tie her down tight while we run for shelter. UGH!

Leaving

It took lots of time and LOTS of money to get Kiva fixed... 4 new batteries, a new raw water intake valve and misc. parts.  She is now ready to go and we leave at dawn to sail up the Delaware Bay.  It seems like we have been constantly fixing something on this boat.  Hopefully, she is done and we can begin to really enjoy the next leg of our journey.

Latest Update

We made it down the rest of the Jersey shore in some rough seas to anchor in Cape May.  We had a problem with the engine overheating so had to get a tow to a marina.  Luckily, there is a service center and we are waiting for the weather to calm down so we can haul out and get her fixed.

On our way!