Washington,D.C. - Charleston, S.C.
01 November 2017 | Charleston, SC
Barbara / variable
October 3- October 26, 2017
Dear Friends and Family,
On October 3rd, we started the long trip to Marco Polo's winter port- Charleston, S.C. At the time we had a tentative plan which allowed for "weather" days along the way. As it turned out there were more W.O.W. (waiting on weather) days than anticipated. Much of our north-bound cruising in June and July took place offshore with 12-14 hours of daylight which allowed us to cover longer distances. However, in October not only did we have to contend with shorter days but with the ever present threat of bad weather as well. This was frustrating as we were anxious to get home.
For three days, we traveled down the Potomac River, making overnight stops at the same marinas we stayed in on our way to D.C. After making our way down the Potomac, we reached York River Yacht Haven in Yorktown, VA on Saturday, October 7th. Shortly after arriving we were pleasantly surprised to receive a text from Texas cruising friends, Hope and Kevin (SV Fidelity). They were checking out the marina and saw Marco Polo docked. It was great catching up with them. Later that evening, dear friends Valre and Stewart Welch picked us up and we enjoyed their warm hospitality at their home on the beautiful James River.
On Monday we toured the historic Yorktown Battlefield, the site of Lord Charles Cornwallis's massive defeat in 1781 by General George Washington and his French ally, General Comte de Rochambeau. The American victory secured independence for the United States and changed the course of world history. The Visitor Center has a great film, "Siege of Yorktown" and many artifacts, including General George Washington's tent on display in the museum. Did you know the Badge of Military Merit (now known as the Purple Heart)originated after the Battle of Yorktown? Following this famous battle, General George Washington issued a directive to create a decoration "for military merit "to honor any common soldier who displayed 'singularly meritorious action" or "extraordinary fidelity". It was symbolized by an embroidered heart of purple silk. After WWI the medal was reserved for those wounded or killed in battle.
Continuing south we returned to Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth, VA. Taking advantage of a rainy day, we took the ferry over to Norfolk and toured the MacArthur Memorial. This is the final resting place for General and Mrs. Douglas MacArthur. We easily spent several hours in this interesting museum. Nine galleries portray the major periods of the general's life as he served our nation through some of its greatest crises and finest hours.
Leaving Portsmouth, we started the 204-mile trek down the Intracoastal Waterway, starting at mile 0.0.
On the trip from Coinjock to Belhaven we slogged through 11-hours of wind and rain. Despite the" waterproof case", the iPad took on water. Burying it in rice as suggested by Dr. Goggle did not revive it. Pete's phone became our secondary navigation tool.
We were looking forward to our stop in Belhaven, N.C. because of Spoon River Artworks and Market, a first-class restaurant run by a really neat couple, Theresa and Mark Van Staalduinen. Sunday brunch did not disappoint, it was just as amazing as the dinner we enjoyed during our visit in July. Theresa even remembered we liked red wine and gave us a nice bottle of Argentinean wine.
River Dunes Marina in Oriental, NC was a new stop for us. It is a newly-built marina but in a remote location away from restaurants and shops. Fortunately, we got docked just before a frontal storm arrived dropping the temperature significantly. Our friends, Bob and Clare (SV Sofira) drove over from New Bern about 30 miles away. So although it was a cold, windy and rainy evening, we had a pleasant time over drinks and dinner, catching up on happenings since our last visit in early July.
The cold front persisted as we left Oriental for Morehead City, another previous stop. After Morehead City we went offshore for a distance of about 70 miles to reach Wrightsville Beach, N.C. After a very long day, our dear friend, Terry met us at the marina and treated us to a great seafood dinner. We had a wonderful visit with her.
Our stop in Georgetown, S.C. on Sunday afternoon coincided with the last day of the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show. Many of the 120 classic wooden boats exhibited were still on display either in the center of town or the marina. In this part of the country, wooden boat- building is a craft handed down from one generation to the next. We were sorry to miss seeing our Georgetown friends, Micky and Deanie who were out of town.
When planning our route from Georgetown to Charleston on the ICW, the shallow areas shown on the charts were cause for concern. Captain Pete decided even though it would add an extra day of travel, it would be best to travel the next 45 miles over two days taking advantage of high tide each day.
We left Georgetown at 8:45 a.m. and arrived at Leland Oil Company Marina in McClellanville, S.C. about four hours later and before low tide. As we cruised to McClellanville, we were surprised to see a pod of six dolphins swimming in the ICW. McClellanville is a small fishing town of 543 people. In the late 1860's it was an economic center producing timber, rice, cotton and seafood. Today it is best known for its shrimping fleet and seafood industry. In 1989, the town was devastated by Hurricane Hugo which destroyed homes, downed century-old oaks and otherwise altered much of the picturesque character of this historic fishing village. Residents took refuge in the local high school which was a designated storm shelter. The storm surge threatened to drown them. In complete darkness, they helped one another crawl into a space above the false ceilings of the building and no one died. The people here take care of one another. We had lunch at T.W. Graham and Co. a local favorite cafe, where you got the impression it is a very close-knit community.
From McClellanville to Isle of Palms Marina in Mt. Pleasant, we timed our cruising to coincide with the four-hour period of maximum tide. Captain Pete calculated it just perfectly and again we made it through the "skinny water" with no problems. After a nice lunch at Isle of Palm, we had a wonderful time visiting with our dear friend, Janice (MV River Girl).
To avoid the notoriously strong currents at Charleston Harbor we planned the nine-mile trip around the currents and arrived at Charleston Resort and Harbor at slack tide and docked with ease.
Wow! Finally after 157 days, 2,400 miles, 53 stops in 10 states and D.C. we docked Marco Polo in its winter port. It has been a great adventure however the Captain and I agree we are ready to go back to Houston and enjoy our life on land!
Thanks for all of your well wishes, prayers and encouraging comments. We appreciate everyone who has joined us on this adventure by reading our sail blog. Once we get back to Houston we will post a note to let you know we are safely "docked!"
All the best,
Barbara and Captain Pete