April Fool

At the rate we are moving we should be home next Wed. or Thurs. The last three days have been wonderful--sunny, 80 degrees and calm. The wind is picking up tonight though, SW 11 with 20-23 gusts but we are in a well protected anchorage on the Little Alligator River. Tomorrow we will be crossing the Albermarle [...]

On to Savannah

We left Cumberland Island after waiting for the fog to lift, headed for St.Simon's Island. We stopped there on our way south; it is beautiful with many large live oaks. And we liked the Coastal Kitchen near our marina--great food, especially the shrimp and grits. And the marina delivers great muffins [...]

Cumberland Island National Seaashore

We spent our first night on a mooring in Fernandina Beach FL after a cool cloudy trip from St Augustine. It was a long day but we wanted to make it to Cumberland Island National Seashore early the next day. We made good progress with only one bridge opening and a favorable current most of the time. We got to the Cumberland Island anchorage at 10:30 a.m. on Wed. and soon took the dinghy to a park dock. We spent several hours on Cumberland Island, walking trails to the ocean and to ruins of a mansion built in the late 1800's by a Carnegie. Most of the island is now part of the park. We saw wild horses and turkeys and many shore birds. The only way to get there is by boat; a ferry runs from St. Mary's GA. It was cloudy and cool but no wind so it was not a bad day for exploring. Definitely worth a return trip--there was much more to see.

Traveling North

Tues., 3/18/14: We are leaving today to make our return trek to Annapolis. We have had a wonderful time but are ready to get on our way again. We did go south as far as Vero Beach in early February, looking for some warm weather. And it was much warmer than St. Augustine. We made stops in Daytona Beach, [...]

Fernandina Beach-St. Augustine

When we got up this a.m., we had a nice surprise, muffins and a newspaper

St. Simon's Island

When we left the marina (located on Skidaway Island) the wind was not as strong but there was a 3 knot current to deal with. We made it out of the slip all right, thanks to a permanent slip holder who guided us out. Not so with our friends--they hit another sailboat, but fortunately the damage wasn't [...]

Dismal Swamp and Beyond

26 October 2013 | Dowry Creek Marina off the Pungo River NC ICW M131.8

We are on Day 6 of our trip on the ICW; we have gone 131.8. miles.
After leaving Portsmouth we headed down the Dismal Swamp which was not "dismal" (dismal was what early European settlers called swamps). Spent our first night on the ICW with 13 boats tied up at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center in NC. And as boaters usually do, everyone got together for happy hour. Proceeded down the rest of the canal with this group, and most of us spent the night in Elizabeth City NC. Going through the 2 locks on the canal was interesting. One lock keeper played "When the Saints Go Marching In" on one of the many conch shells that he has been given by boaters traveling through. It takes a while for the locks to fill or go down so we were entertained while waiting.
Elizabeth City was fun-- another happy hour gathering hosted by city residents.
Next day we left for the trip across the Albermarle Sound which can be a little rough. Fortunately we had good weather so it was an uneventful crossing. Anchored on the Alligator River, chilly but calm night. There was a nice sunset and the stars were brilliant. Today we were on the Alligator River-Pungo River Canal. Saw a bald eagle, and two deer swam across the canal behind us. A cool but sunny day, but warmer when we arrived at the Dowry Creek Marina on the Pungo River. And of course, another happy hour at the marina's Boater's Lounge.
We are having a great time.

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