11/21/2009, Jekyll Island, Georgia
We arrived on the 20th after an overnight sail from Beaufort South Carolina. A very calm sail going 5.5 to 6 knots but that was with us slowing the boat down so that we would not arrive at the entrance to Jekyll Island sound before 6 am. We took watches with ease, a starlite night adding to the cruise. The photo is of a fishing boat going by us just after anchoring.we are going to go in to visit the Island and will add more photos and info tomorrow. Cheers for now
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11/15/2009, Beaufort,South Carolina
I have been slacking, I know. We are presently in Beaufort, South Carolina and have been for a few days now. We traveled down the Inter Coastal Waterway from Charleston, just a short fifty or so miles. A very pretty section to see even in the rain. We are here with some friends helping them get their boat ready to cruise. They own an Admiral 40 Catamaran also"Siya sinanna". Gary and Lisa sail only six months of the year. We have done a little site seeing. Beaufort is a beautiful community and we enjoyed the walk thru the historic streets. In Beaufort you will see in the sidewalks and structures what is called Tabby cement. Tabby cement was produced by burning the crushed oyster shells to make lime and then mixing it with sand, whole shells and water. Spanish moss is another thing you will see, the silvery-gray thread like masses draped in the trees are shown in the blog photo. Oh, did any of you know that Beaufort is a great spot for lovebugs. Literally!Yes, lovebug. It is also known as the honeymoon fly, it is an invader from Central America and swarms over Beaufort from April until May and September to October each year. Mowed, rotting grass along highways provides the ideal breeding ground for the bugs. The name comes from the fact that the lovebugs mate while coupled in mid-air - as high as 1500 feet in flight! No need to worry about these critters, they do not sting, bite or carry disease.
Frogmore stew anyone? It is a comfort food in South Carolina. It has nothing to do with frogs . This dish has shrimp, potatoes,fresh corn and smoked sausage in it.
Shrimp is to Beaufort, what apple pie to America! So tomorrow we are going to go to the fish market close by and buy some. We will let you know how good they are. Perhaps I will even try frogmore stew.The waterfront in Beaufort is a wonderful stroll and a great place to eat lunch on a sunny afternoon.
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This Jake Arledge. Mac Taylor and I met you in the Dataw boat yard sat. night 11-14-09. I just wanted to say that it was a pleasure meeting you and that I found your blog (obviously). I enjoyed talking with you and will cheack the blog to see what adventure you guys are enjoying.
Also, sorry for being lame and not doing the shrimp boil. We were just beat and got lazy.
Maybe we will catch you on the next stop here.
Sail on
Jake
11/09/2009, Charleston, South Carolina
The morning was a nice start at six am, but not so nice as we got closer to Beaufort,NC and had to pass under another Bridge that showed only 63 and a half feet. We inched thru, the antenna didn't scrap as bad on this one but we hit. We decided this is it for sure, we are going off shore to sail to Charleston, SC. Our Friends went on thru the ICW and called to tell us that the Bridge in Morehead City was recording 62 ft. Their mast is only 55 feet high so they sailed thru. We went off shore and by six the next evening we were anchored in Wappoo Creek just the other side of Charleston. A great spot to anchor. Our sail overnight to Wappoo creek was kicking at first with our asymmetrical sail out but the wind died thru the early hours of the morning but kicked up as the sun came up and we were sailing at 7.5 knots to 9.2 right into Charleston.
The sun is shining and we are happy to be in the warmth. The damp days are gone. We have been doing some exploring of Charleston. Taking the bus downtown, checking out Marion Square Market on Saturday . The workers were busy putting up the Christmas lights in the parks. Christmas decorations in the shop windows, everything is coming alive with Christmas.I think the area has shown us another great day, we ended the afternoon having a picnic at White Point Gardens also known as The Battery park. Chris sat on the grass and leaned against an enormous oak tree and was ready to have a nap in the sunshine. A great spot with a view of Charleston harbor to enjoy our picnic.
No trip to Charleston is complete without a stop at White Point Gardens, known popularly as Battery Park. This peaceful park offers unprecedented views of Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter, while a look back across the street promises fantastic images of beautiful Charleston mansion.
A few things about Charleston:
In 1925 everyone was doing a new dance in Charleston, famously known now as" The Charleston"
In 1939 the Movie" Gone with the Wind" was filmed in Charleston. Other movies"The Patriot" and "The Notebook" were filmed in Charleston.
It is said that the first golf game in the United States was in Charleston, South Carolina.
This photo is one of the many cobble stone streets Chris and I walked while site seeing Charleston.
Cheers for now!
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11/04/2009, Oriental,North Carolina
Most of the day was very pleasant on the ICW( Intercoastal Waterway) We did get to go under another 65 ft. bridge that had a water line of 63 and a half so we just edged our way thru with the antenna going Bing , Bing , Bing every time it hit a beam. We have been travelling with Friends that we met last year in the Bahamas, they hail from Baltimore, Maryland. Neal and Terri know the ICW very well and we have picked up lots of invaluable information from them. We will leave them in Beaufort to go off shore. We enjoy the off shore sailing. The Bridge heights with the high water due to the lunar effects and rain we can not get under the bridges marked 65 ft. and do not want to chance it again. After Stopping in the Alligator river for the night our next destination was Broad Creek just North of Oriental, North Carolina. Oriental is our next stop. Initially, the town was known as Smith's Creek (the name still carries on with body of water under the Hwy 55 bridge). But the name seemed lacking in the mid 1880's, when a post office came to town.
The search was on for something well, snappier. That's where Rebecca Midyette came through. She was the wife of postmaster Lou Midyette and among her possessions was a piece of shipwreck from a Union boat that had gone down near the Outer Banks during the Civil War. It was the ship's nameplate that Rebecca Midyette had saved and that ship was the "Oriental".
Some little Factoids on Oriental- Just outside of town, where the Neuse River meets the Pamlico Sound, it is the widest river in America. - The first motorized school bus in NC rolled down the streets of Oriental in 1917. - Just a few miles out of town is the original Dawson's Creek which was the inspiration for the WB TV show. The show's creator, screenwriter ("Scream") Kevin Williamson, is a native of Oriental.
Oriental is a very small community but is considered the Sailing Capital of North Carolina. The population of just under a thousand people but sailboats total over 2700. With the Name Oriental , you get see Dragons. Dragons on just about everything, from coffee mugs to T-shirts, ornaments, billboards, advertisements and walls. They like dragons and at New Years eve they have a dragon that dances down main street and we were told if you touched it's nose you were granted good luck.
Chris ventured to the West Marine store and the hardware store. He needed supplies to make a lookie bucket, for you people who do not know what a lookie bucket is, it is a bucket with a clear plexi-glass bottom so that you can see thru it to look in the water. Everyone he met helped him find what he needed and if they didn't have it they called someone else to see if they had it. With all the materials he needs, Chris can now make his lookie bucket.We did a lot of walking to catch up on exercise, got to see more Pecan trees. We seen them in Elizabeth City also. The trees were full of pecans. The pecans fall out of the pods after the first frost. Some people put tubing around the base of the trees to stop the squirrels from getting at the pecans. We enjoyed a Dinner out with friends at a restaurant called M&M's. Very good menu. The next morning up by six and on our way again. The photo was taken leaving the Alligator River.
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11/03/2009, North Carolina
This is a Photo of "Neverbored" as the sun came up in the Alligator River. Didn't see any Alligators, must have been still sleeping when we left. This photo was taken by friends of ours on a Tartan 37 called," Abraxas"
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11/02/2009, Elizabeth City
We are back in Elizabeth City. The first thing was to check to see if Jack the Bridge master was working today and he is not. He will not be back in until tomorrow morning at 7am. I wrote about "Meeting Jack "in a blog post in June/09. We have kept in touch thru e-mail. We went to visit him and sure enough he had a big smile for us. He had a cold so a big hug and a hand shake was bumping elbows. Sheila will be back to collect on that hug in the spring though. We enjoyed catching up. I am still chuckling at the stories we got to exchange during our short visit. We didn't get to stay long in Elizabeth City but promised Jack we would be back and would stay for a longer visit the next time. We sure hope you are feeling better Jack. We still need to have you come for dinner on the boat . Jack e-mailed and said that there were 454 boats that passed thru in October, that was 11 more than May, which is another busy month. That is a lot of boats.
We stayed at the dock owned by the Jennette Brothers, Food-service Distributors. It is truly a beautiful spot to dock. When you get docked, you go into the building and you will sign a waiver and get a "Welcome Boaters" letter with a list of guidelines to protect you and the Jennette Brothers, on this letter is a picture of our boat. How cool is that!
Jack did you have something to do with that?
Thank you!
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