Another step closer

Another step closer south and warmer weather

Its November and for those of you that know us well cold weather is not for us AT ALL !

I had so many layers on it was difficult to move

We left Virginia behind us now and into North Carolina, and the next stop planned was at Wrightsville Beach.

Friday November 4th

On our way to Wrightsville North Carolina there were some lovely sights a few bridges complete with a squall with 35 mph winds right next to Surf city bridge and a large collection of Nordic tugs. A pretty stressful time we were happy to see them go.

Wrightsville was a place we stayed on the way up, its a large anchorage but again like before we didn't leave the boat due to the weather yet again, windy and very choppy water. The place was pretty busy and very inconsiderate folks insisted on causing huge wakes, one of which was so bad the new TV was thrown off the cabinet and smashed and a big dent in the wood floor. Normally its tied down when we are moving but as we were at anchor this was not the case. At least we had the older small one to watch so that was tied firmly and put back in action.

Sunday 6th November

Refuelled at 07:26 and on our way to Southport by 08:05

The procession of southbound boats was getting larger now, its still pretty cold so they must be thinking the same thoughts.

Its sooooo cold!

We checked out somewhere to take a little rest and found that Southport  South Harbour Marina seemed like a good place to stop so thats where we headed to. 

Here's a few sights along the way.

I do wonder what folks are thinking when they put garden ornaments like this but they are entertaining

So many herons and this one didn't fly off for a change

Some sad sights along the way,  Hurricane Mathew aftermath

Its "fall"as its said here 

It was a last minute shot so I'm afraid not in focus

 Early mornings with mists

I wonder if it glows in the dark

As we neared the entrance to the river  (before Southport marina) a coast guard and county sheriff boat approached and asked us if they could board us. Of course we didn't object and on they came without us stopping (thats their rules). We were asked for all our boat paperwork and passports. We are a UK registered boat and didn't have to allow them to go through and check everything but in our interests we decided that we need to keep the boat up to the US specification for the future. They were very impressed with everything and mentioned we were better prepared than most, our PLB's inside the lifejackets were an added bonus. When we approached the marina I thought I would make use of them and ask them to help us tie up. They took it all in good fun and had quite a giggle with the local sheriff, he said if there was anything he could do for us let him know, I did mention that I needed to go grocery shopping and he laughed but did say he could return after he finished his shift. Later when we met him in the bar he was sat next to us, I mentioned that I still needed to shop and had given him a nickname "Omar" as in Omar Sharif, the other sherif next to him thought it was funny anyway.

We stayed a couple of days and I was able to take a taxi to Walmart where I bought a new TV to replace the smashed one and topped us up with fresh groceries again.

View from the sports bar at Southport

This is what we found when we went for a walk, I'm chicken and didn't go close to the shore

The sign says it all

Tuesday November 8th
Another 06:30 start and as we were checking out where to go next we noticed that Bucksport marina was offering very cheap fuel and dockage with out Tow boat US discount so it was an obvious place to stop. We stayed close to the fuel dock overnight and refuelled the next morning.

At Bucksport marina

Passing through this area on the Waccamaw river is stunning a total length of 140 miles which we took 2 days to pass through. Cypress trees line the river, the floods caused by hurricane Mathew have caused areas to flood in so many places, roads were closed, boat docks destroyed and so many boats too.
The river starts in North Carolina and ends in South Carolina.

Wednesday 9th of November another early start and plodded on south to another anchorage Minim creek pretty well known for alligators, we kept an eye open but saw nothing, they go pretty quiet when its cold. Only 39 miles today.

Thursday 10th November
9 hours 19 mins 68 miles.
Lets say an interesting trip with very very shallow water at times south of McClellanville South Carolina, active captains warnings weren't exactly correct and had the stress levels increased a little. Into Toms point Creek to anchor.

Some large houses here

say no more

Spectators

Friday 11th November
We left Toms Point with a clean anchor and chain, it was a deep water anchorage so we had lots of chain out.

Now off to Beaufort South Carolina, we were looking to drop the anchor next to Lady's island close to our friends Andrew and Sarah, we last saw them in Deltaville and they had left before us. When we did arrive it was a very shallow entrance but we made it through. Tried to anchor 3 times but kept dragging through the mud, no luck and after persuading the guy in the marina to find us a dock we were grateful when he did. The marina was full and he found us a private dock, great ! It was so cold though during our stay, what a great stay, Steve the boss went out of his way to take us to Walmart to get my reading glasses fixed.
So good to see Andrew & Sarah again, they were "stuck " in Beaufort as they were re-registering their boat, they are Canadian and the authorities do like to take their time. The weather began to get much colder and their boat doesn't have any heating, being newlyweds I think they cope quite well.
Sarah very kindly cooked a chicken for us and we spent the evening in the captains lounge.

Love the new beard Andrew, that should help you to keep warm

Quite a well equipped kitchen and lounge

Quite enjoyed Beaufort, we had a lift into town and walked back, so sad to see so many boats destroyed from Mathew.

Time to leave, can't stand this cold any longer!

Enough for you to read now so BFN
Glenys and Don
M/Y Pearl

Time to leave

Heading South for the warmer weather

The days went by pretty fast when we arrived back from our UK and Spain trip, still a couple of larger projects to finish but yes, we managed enough to get us on our way. I provisioned us well, probably a little over the top, Don reminded me that we weren’t doing another Atlantic crossing.

So the departure from friends and Fishing Bay marina in Deltaville was a little sad. The engines were serviced, fuel tanks filled, fridge and freezer full and everything stowed. We were pretty excited so good to be using Pearl again how she is meant to be used back on the water.

The first stops planned were short hops so we could check out all the systems just in case. 

Day 1. Monday 24th October

011:00 Not too early a start when we waved bye bye to Rick and Martha from their boat and John and Dody too.  Off we set to Mobjack which is a well protected anchorage on the East river well off the passing traffic on the ICW. We chose a stunning location to drop the hook in 12 feet of water, thick sticky black mud, the wind picked up but we were going nowhere. 

Day 2. Tuesday 25th October 08:00 a very sunny but very chilly start following our last track on the ICW back down to Hospital point Portsmouth VA just 37 pleasant miles. Portsmouth - Norfolk is a huge naval base with the Atlantic US aircraft carrier fleet, many being worked on and a few getting ready to move. 

Day 3 Wednesday Oct 26th

I remember the last time we lifted the anchor from hospital point the anchor was weighed down with lots of heavy mud. Luckily we didn't have to wait for the Gilmerton lift bridge to open we had enough clearance so we didn't lose any time. The next hold up was the lock at Great bridge and the Great bridge, sounds weird but its the name. The lock was packed with boats, the last few sailing boats had to tie up just with lines on their bows, there were lots of boats traveling south now to escape the cold weather.

I reckon they could have been closer but some skippers are a little nervous of being so close.

Next stop somewhere close to Public creek which is where we had the bug invasion on the way North. This time we anchored a little way away and were fine.

Day 4. Thursday 27th October
After a very chilly start we moved into the south end of Alligator river

we found an anchorage in Cypress swamp after 43 miles and had dropped the anchor by 14:00.  The water was like glass but the wind was blowing, we were well protected by the trees.

We were treated to an amazing sunset that evening.

Day 5 October 28th.

This was the morning we found a huge tree trunk with roots on our anchor, oh well at least we didn't move anywhere.

The morning procession behind us just entering the Pungo Canal

 So then we entered the Pungo Canal, we did 71 miles this day to be in Oriental which was where we stopped a couple of days on the way north. Luckily we knew where the  Raymarine repair place was and as the radar had decided to fail we arranged to have it checked out. Don managed to take down the radar dome without taking down the mast which was quite a relief. 

When we arrived in Oriental we noticed our friends Jim and Annes boat Impressionist so we guessed we would meet up with them and have some fun. There were only a couple of other yachts within the breakwater but as the days went on more came in and it became pretty full. 

We went for lunch with Anne and Jim

Notice the number plate, it was almost time to vote for the next president 

 Halloween time 

November 2nd
The radar was fixed and Don went ashore at 13:15 and as the anchorage was very full we made the fastest preparations for departure. So we moved across the channel and down the ICW into another anchorage in Cedar creek and by 14:32 the anchor was down we were the only boat there. Another peaceful night.   

Thursday November 3rd
We moved again into an anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay just off the ICW, this was close to a military area, they were obviously practicing firing at something with pretty big guns, the noise continued well into the night but as we were having very early starts we kind of fell into bed early so we weren't too bothered by the noises.

 This fellow was practising something and made several passes, never saw him land though, maybe behind the trees

The colours gradually changing along the way

Ok, this page is getting way too large so BFN for now.

Glenys and Don

M/Y Pearl 

Heading for warmer climes fast !

Destination Deltaville

We decided that we needed a place to start our projects and we had been told by fellow cruisers that Fishing Bay Marina in Deltaville was a good place to base ourselves for the hurricane season. To comply with our insurance company we need to be above 35° North so thats where we ended up.

On arrival in the anchorage we were pleased to see our cruising buddies Kit and Belinda on their boat  Quilcene. We have “bumped” into one another since Gibraltar a few years ago throughout the Caribbean and here in the US. 

The marina has pretty good facilities, WiFi, clean bathrooms and  showers, several barbecues, volleyball nets, captains lounge with TV the use of pedal bikes, a car to go to the local supermarket, town and hardware store but best of all is a huge swimming pool. Of course we took advantage of the pool with Kit and Belinda sharing a few drinks too. 

As we don’t have a huge mast and what we have folds down we moved Pearl into a “shed” which was a pretty tight fit floating but tied up under cover. So grateful for the shade to keep us cooler.

The mast "resting" on the dinghy

In the shed 

Local residents although the jellyfish weren't welcome they were everywhere for a couple of weeks 

Now, how do we get the washer from the deck to the boot?

It took 3 of us so thanks Andrew for the help

Almost installed, and now it works great when we have enough water.

We were sorting out things we no longer need, the mess was sorted out eventually 

Strange cloud formation

Another local resident a Blue Heron, always busy fishing

On the lookout, that sharp beak comes in handy he uses it as a spear

Gotcha 

Going down

Gone, you can see the lump

The watermaker progress 

So, the “projects” a watermaker which will be useful when we have reasonably clear deep water to help later when we reach the Bahamas. A washing machine with a dryer.

Lots of other smaller jobs, led lights for the galley, Wifi bullet for better signals, waterproof USB and 110 power supplies in the flybridge. A larger WiFi TV. A freezer which was one of the more head scratching issues. Another inverter for the watermaker and freezer.

The boot as we call it (lazarette) is pretty big, not quite deep enough to stand up in but very wide. The two water tanks, steering gear, lots of spares ropes and quite a lot of “stuff” lives down the boot. So Don cleaned it and painted it brilliant white ready for all the work. 

The washing machine, watermaker, inverter were ordered online which were delivered to the marina along with lots of other bits. 

In the marina we met quite a few folks, one young couple (newlyweds) just having bought a Hunter sailing boat not unlike Agua Therapy but smaller. A lovely couple Andrew and Sarah, both taking time off to use their boat. 

This was taken on Sarahs birthday when we went for dinner

In August the local fire station has a fund raising event and every year they have a crab feast, our marina were sponsors and gave us tickets so all we had to buy were drinks.

The trays of crab were huge and the provided small wooden mallets, there were burgers and hot dogs too. Don must have dated at least 12 crab but the shells were pretty sharp and were slicing my fingers so my limit were two. Don that night looked like he had been carless with a razor blade with cuts around his mouth. 

Time out at the crab feast 

We met another couple Hilton and Brenda who invited us to sit with them then so kindly took us back to the boat as it had started to rain. A few hours and drinks later they very kindly offered us the use of an old pick up to use so we could go a little further out of Deltaville for anything we needed. 

We drove to Gloucester about 20 miles away to Walmart to collect the freezer and the large hardware stores for other bits.

As our B2 visas are for 6 months in the US October was looming and it meant we had to leave the country so a 3 week trip to the UK and Spain was planned.

First a trip to see my Mum and family and friends in the midlands, followed by a drive down to Devon to see family and friends. Then over to Spain to check on the house.

All of that went by pretty quickly so it was back to Pearl, finish out projects and head south ASAP to move into warmer temperatures.

I'm still trying to find more pictures so they will have to be posted on the next blog so as I'm being asked for this here it is.

Until next time

BFN

Glenys and Don 

M.Y. Pearl