Charleston, South Carolina
Beaufort, Wrightsville Beach & Wilmington, North Carolina
Beaufort to Charleston
October 22, 2010
Good morning! Once again we are motoring south down the ICW. We plan to anchor tonight since we spent two nights in a marina in Beaufort.
Yesterday we went to the local maritime museum. As part of their exhibits, they make wooden boats the way they were made 150 years ago. When we walked in the building, we were greeted by the curator who explained that today the museum was handing over a replica of a lifesaving boat that would have been used more than 100 years ago by the Coast Guard. The boat was commissioned by the National Park Service. A speech was given by an officer from the Coast Guard, a representative from the National Park Service and a bureaucrat from the state. The most impressive part was watching the boat lowered into the water and a group of retired coast guard man the oars and take the boat out. It was really fun to be part of the celebration. We talked to some of the men who built the boat.
Beaufort is an interesting town which maintains historic homes, some dating back to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The historic houses had plaques that gave the original owner of the home and the year it was built. We rode our bikes around town following a self-guided tour. We also went to the cemetery to visit grave of people who died as early as the mid 1700’s. We could have spent another day looking around, but the need to keep moving is constantly with us, that frost line keeps creeping south.
Today the driving is really intense. The channel is difficult to stay in. It seemed that one minute we had 10 feet of water below the keel then suddenly it was two feet. It reminded me of riding my motorcycle in the mountains. I would see something that attracted my attention and the next thing I knew I was edging off the road. We switched driving every hour to hour and a half. We had a call from a friend that was ahead of us telling us to be careful around a particular channel marker because he had gone aground.
This evening we anchored in a remote spot in the midst of Camp Lejeune. Boats can’t always anchor because sometime the marines are running exercises in the area. The ICW guidebooks warn you that they may come out and tell you to leave. Along the way there is also a flashing light to tell boaters that they can’t proceed because the military is practicing with live ammunition. Soon after we left the area we heard that the ICW was to be closed for several days for the military exercises.
It was a quiet night with a breathtaking sunset and a gorgeous full moon. One of the pictures shows the moon rising over a small tugboat and opposite that the sun was setting.
October 23, 2010
Once again we were up before sunrise along with most of the other boaters. As we all headed out the sun pushed its way up making it easier to see the channel markers. This migration southward amazes me. We had no idea there were so many people living on boats, full or part time, making this journey. We arrived in Wrightsville Beach early afternoon after 7 hours of motoring. We had 3 bridges to go through. The first we missed by only minutes forcing us to drop our anchor because the next opening was in an hour. The second bridge we had to wait 15 minutes. It opened on the hour and half hour. The last one we just made it.
Wrightsville Beach is an outer bank. It is a thin strip of land with lots of high rise buildings. It lies between a small body of water (where we are anchored) and the Atlantic. It is very different than the other anchorages where we have been. We are surrounded by homes and boats although this is the off season. We dingy’d to town to find a hot dog stand that was mentioned in the cruisers guide. Mike loves hot dogs so we were certain to make it our first stop. Yes, they were delicious!!!
As we walked the streets, we began to realize that there were no people our age. Everyone on the street was 20 or 30 something. After all we, the baby boomers, are the largest segment of society. It was like a Twilight Zone. Where were the old people, I mean older people – you know like us. The more we walked the more we became convinced that there is a plot to do something with older people so hurried back to the dingy.
As the afternoon wore on the anchorage began to fill up. A boat came in to anchor that was a bit startling, it had a car on the foredeck! (See pictures) The only downside to our small spot of paradise is the motorboats going by and there wake rocking us back and forth.
October 24, 2010
Today we had a pleasant surprise. We had received an email from Tom, a man that we had met in Muskegon two years ago and then again last summer in the North Channel. Tom’s email reminded us that he has a brother in Wilmington just a few miles from where we are. We called Tom’s brother Russ in the morning and he had planned to check on his boat right around the corner from where we are anchored. We took the dingy to his boat and he gave us a 3 hour tour of Wilmington. The man is a natural tour guide. He enlightened us with the history of the town, pointed out historical areas of commerce as well as the homes of the rich and then famous. Russ also showed us the house where Michael Jordan grew up and the high school he attended. The highlight of our visit was the opportunity to see Thalian Hall, a theater dating back more than 150 years. John Wilkes Booth appeared on stage here before he really became famous. The theater had just been remodeled and was absolutely stunning. The proscenium and walls of the theater were elegant in a fashion long gone. We were transported into a time we have only read about. Standing in front of the stage, Mike wanted to recite Shakespeare. It was easy to imagine the theater filled with people in the two balconies, box seat and the huge chandelier dimly lighting the house as the lights went down. We were told that a conversation could be heard word for word even in the balcony. In the lobby there were pictures of legendary actors and actress who had performed here.
The second highlight was visiting St. Mary’s Catholic Church. It was built in 1908. There was a huge dome that was self-supporting overhead. It was not ornate but its spaciousness made one feel small and yet at home. Russ introduced us to the only priest in the parish and he was about to celebrate his 6th mass of the day. The mass was in Spanish. Looking at all of the kids, Mike said he missed his students.
We even went to the local cemetery which was not only very old but unique in its layout. The graves were higher than the road which twisted around small plots of graves.
October 25, 2010
We are on the move again. We were the first to leave the anchorage even though we are only traveling 30 miles. We are learning to try to time our trip with the current. Today we are going around the opening into the Atlantic at Cape Fear. Just as we entered the main channel, the storm that we had seen on our weather radar opened up. The winds gusted to 30 and it rained so hard we couldn’t see a thing. The radar helped us see any moving objects and the chart plotter aided us to stay in the channel. The storm passed quickly, but for a few moments we understood the name Cape Fear. Even after the storm, we had to pay close attention to our charts because there were many different channels merging into the main channel. It was as confusing as 8 corners in Brookfield!
We are in a marina. We have been experiencing thunderstorms all afternoon with heavy downpours. The best part of today, besides the hair cut Francie gave Mike, is fast internet. That means we can watch TV.
October 27, 2010
We arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC early afternoon. The past couple of days have been relaxing although the driving has been a bit stressful at times because of the meandering depths inside the channel. Best of all, the storms that were supposed to hit us didn’t materialize. When we called the marina yesterday, the proprietor told Francie a boat from Minnesota was there. The boat was Walk A Bout, and Bill & Cheryl hosted cocktails and snacks in the late afternoon for us and George and Carol, who we had met the day before.
We have emailed the others from the great lakes. The kids on the catamaran are a few days behind us and the Ohio friends are in New Bern.
We are spending 6 days here. Our friends Bob & Aldona are flying in from Chicago and we are driving to Charleston and for a three day weekend.
Happy Halloween!
We arrived back at the boat this afternoon after dropping Bob and Aldona at the airport. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and are already planning our next joint venture. We joked that it was good to spend time with someone that we have known for more than 5 minutes! Charleston is a grand city and thanks to Bob’s thoughtful planning we saw a great deal of it. We toured historic homes (Aiken-Rhett House & Nathaniel Russell House), remarkable churches, timeworn graveyards and Boone Hall, a working plantation (which was on the outskirts of Charleston). The research that Bob did allowed us to visit sights that were preserved as well those that have been renovated. Happenstance put us in front of the historic French Huguenot church just as a parishioner was unlocking the door and he graciously let us in with him and gave us a delightful tour. Not only did we walk many miles around the city, we also toured in a carriage and took a boat out to see Fort Sumter. Most of the pictures of the homes from Charleston that are posted are from the area which is referred to as The Battery. We also ate our way through Charleston. It was a seafood extravaganza. Each restaurant has its own charm and specialty. We recommend Charleston to everyone one for its history, southern charm, and of course its fine food. Many people have expressed their worry to us about pirates as we travel to different parts of the world. As you can see from the picture at the top of this entry, Charleston is a very dangerous place.
It was a bit odd being in a hotel room. We laughed because the bed was bigger than our entire aft cabin. Even though the hotel room had more living space than the boat, it felt good to be back to our home on the water. Today was spent shopping. Francie found a Costco near us. We bought a small LCD TV, which we hope to use to view movies or a few TV shows streamed from the internet. All of that is contingent on good wifi.
Good morning! Once again we are motoring south down the ICW. We plan to anchor tonight since we spent two nights in a marina in Beaufort.
Yesterday we went to the local maritime museum. As part of their exhibits, they make wooden boats the way they were made 150 years ago. When we walked in the building, we were greeted by the curator who explained that today the museum was handing over a replica of a lifesaving boat that would have been used more than 100 years ago by the Coast Guard. The boat was commissioned by the National Park Service. A speech was given by an officer from the Coast Guard, a representative from the National Park Service and a bureaucrat from the state. The most impressive part was watching the boat lowered into the water and a group of retired coast guard man the oars and take the boat out. It was really fun to be part of the celebration. We talked to some of the men who built the boat.
Beaufort is an interesting town which maintains historic homes, some dating back to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The historic houses had plaques that gave the original owner of the home and the year it was built. We rode our bikes around town following a self-guided tour. We also went to the cemetery to visit grave of people who died as early as the mid 1700’s. We could have spent another day looking around, but the need to keep moving is constantly with us, that frost line keeps creeping south.
Today the driving is really intense. The channel is difficult to stay in. It seemed that one minute we had 10 feet of water below the keel then suddenly it was two feet. It reminded me of riding my motorcycle in the mountains. I would see something that attracted my attention and the next thing I knew I was edging off the road. We switched driving every hour to hour and a half. We had a call from a friend that was ahead of us telling us to be careful around a particular channel marker because he had gone aground.
This evening we anchored in a remote spot in the midst of Camp Lejeune. Boats can’t always anchor because sometime the marines are running exercises in the area. The ICW guidebooks warn you that they may come out and tell you to leave. Along the way there is also a flashing light to tell boaters that they can’t proceed because the military is practicing with live ammunition. Soon after we left the area we heard that the ICW was to be closed for several days for the military exercises.
It was a quiet night with a breathtaking sunset and a gorgeous full moon. One of the pictures shows the moon rising over a small tugboat and opposite that the sun was setting.
October 23, 2010
Once again we were up before sunrise along with most of the other boaters. As we all headed out the sun pushed its way up making it easier to see the channel markers. This migration southward amazes me. We had no idea there were so many people living on boats, full or part time, making this journey. We arrived in Wrightsville Beach early afternoon after 7 hours of motoring. We had 3 bridges to go through. The first we missed by only minutes forcing us to drop our anchor because the next opening was in an hour. The second bridge we had to wait 15 minutes. It opened on the hour and half hour. The last one we just made it.
Wrightsville Beach is an outer bank. It is a thin strip of land with lots of high rise buildings. It lies between a small body of water (where we are anchored) and the Atlantic. It is very different than the other anchorages where we have been. We are surrounded by homes and boats although this is the off season. We dingy’d to town to find a hot dog stand that was mentioned in the cruisers guide. Mike loves hot dogs so we were certain to make it our first stop. Yes, they were delicious!!!
As we walked the streets, we began to realize that there were no people our age. Everyone on the street was 20 or 30 something. After all we, the baby boomers, are the largest segment of society. It was like a Twilight Zone. Where were the old people, I mean older people – you know like us. The more we walked the more we became convinced that there is a plot to do something with older people so hurried back to the dingy.
As the afternoon wore on the anchorage began to fill up. A boat came in to anchor that was a bit startling, it had a car on the foredeck! (See pictures) The only downside to our small spot of paradise is the motorboats going by and there wake rocking us back and forth.
October 24, 2010
Today we had a pleasant surprise. We had received an email from Tom, a man that we had met in Muskegon two years ago and then again last summer in the North Channel. Tom’s email reminded us that he has a brother in Wilmington just a few miles from where we are. We called Tom’s brother Russ in the morning and he had planned to check on his boat right around the corner from where we are anchored. We took the dingy to his boat and he gave us a 3 hour tour of Wilmington. The man is a natural tour guide. He enlightened us with the history of the town, pointed out historical areas of commerce as well as the homes of the rich and then famous. Russ also showed us the house where Michael Jordan grew up and the high school he attended. The highlight of our visit was the opportunity to see Thalian Hall, a theater dating back more than 150 years. John Wilkes Booth appeared on stage here before he really became famous. The theater had just been remodeled and was absolutely stunning. The proscenium and walls of the theater were elegant in a fashion long gone. We were transported into a time we have only read about. Standing in front of the stage, Mike wanted to recite Shakespeare. It was easy to imagine the theater filled with people in the two balconies, box seat and the huge chandelier dimly lighting the house as the lights went down. We were told that a conversation could be heard word for word even in the balcony. In the lobby there were pictures of legendary actors and actress who had performed here.
The second highlight was visiting St. Mary’s Catholic Church. It was built in 1908. There was a huge dome that was self-supporting overhead. It was not ornate but its spaciousness made one feel small and yet at home. Russ introduced us to the only priest in the parish and he was about to celebrate his 6th mass of the day. The mass was in Spanish. Looking at all of the kids, Mike said he missed his students.
We even went to the local cemetery which was not only very old but unique in its layout. The graves were higher than the road which twisted around small plots of graves.
October 25, 2010
We are on the move again. We were the first to leave the anchorage even though we are only traveling 30 miles. We are learning to try to time our trip with the current. Today we are going around the opening into the Atlantic at Cape Fear. Just as we entered the main channel, the storm that we had seen on our weather radar opened up. The winds gusted to 30 and it rained so hard we couldn’t see a thing. The radar helped us see any moving objects and the chart plotter aided us to stay in the channel. The storm passed quickly, but for a few moments we understood the name Cape Fear. Even after the storm, we had to pay close attention to our charts because there were many different channels merging into the main channel. It was as confusing as 8 corners in Brookfield!
We are in a marina. We have been experiencing thunderstorms all afternoon with heavy downpours. The best part of today, besides the hair cut Francie gave Mike, is fast internet. That means we can watch TV.
October 27, 2010
We arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC early afternoon. The past couple of days have been relaxing although the driving has been a bit stressful at times because of the meandering depths inside the channel. Best of all, the storms that were supposed to hit us didn’t materialize. When we called the marina yesterday, the proprietor told Francie a boat from Minnesota was there. The boat was Walk A Bout, and Bill & Cheryl hosted cocktails and snacks in the late afternoon for us and George and Carol, who we had met the day before.
We have emailed the others from the great lakes. The kids on the catamaran are a few days behind us and the Ohio friends are in New Bern.
We are spending 6 days here. Our friends Bob & Aldona are flying in from Chicago and we are driving to Charleston and for a three day weekend.
Happy Halloween!
We arrived back at the boat this afternoon after dropping Bob and Aldona at the airport. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and are already planning our next joint venture. We joked that it was good to spend time with someone that we have known for more than 5 minutes! Charleston is a grand city and thanks to Bob’s thoughtful planning we saw a great deal of it. We toured historic homes (Aiken-Rhett House & Nathaniel Russell House), remarkable churches, timeworn graveyards and Boone Hall, a working plantation (which was on the outskirts of Charleston). The research that Bob did allowed us to visit sights that were preserved as well those that have been renovated. Happenstance put us in front of the historic French Huguenot church just as a parishioner was unlocking the door and he graciously let us in with him and gave us a delightful tour. Not only did we walk many miles around the city, we also toured in a carriage and took a boat out to see Fort Sumter. Most of the pictures of the homes from Charleston that are posted are from the area which is referred to as The Battery. We also ate our way through Charleston. It was a seafood extravaganza. Each restaurant has its own charm and specialty. We recommend Charleston to everyone one for its history, southern charm, and of course its fine food. Many people have expressed their worry to us about pirates as we travel to different parts of the world. As you can see from the picture at the top of this entry, Charleston is a very dangerous place.
It was a bit odd being in a hotel room. We laughed because the bed was bigger than our entire aft cabin. Even though the hotel room had more living space than the boat, it felt good to be back to our home on the water. Today was spent shopping. Francie found a Costco near us. We bought a small LCD TV, which we hope to use to view movies or a few TV shows streamed from the internet. All of that is contingent on good wifi.