The Tale of Tortuga

Vessel Name: Tortuga
Vessel Make/Model: Catalina 440DS
Hailing Port: Hood River, OR
Crew: Jan & Scott
22 January 2019 | Brunswick Landing Marina
10 January 2019 | Charleston SC
05 January 2019 | Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
28 December 2018 | North Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
27 December 2018 | North Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
25 December 2018 | Harbor Village Marina, Hamstead, N.C.
19 December 2018 | Beaufort, N.C.
11 December 2018 | Alligator River, NC
07 December 2018 | Dismal Swamp
05 December 2018 | Hampton, VA
03 December 2018 | Mill Creek, VA
01 December 2018 | Solomons, MD
30 November 2018 | Galesville, MD
18 November 2018 | The Chesapeake, MD
14 November 2018 | Haven Harbor Marina, Rock Hall MD
10 November 2018 | Hood River, OR
07 November 2018 | Rock Hall, MD
Recent Blog Posts
22 January 2019 | Brunswick Landing Marina

Next stop, Florida!!!

Well, Tortuga has migrated south again, and last Thursday, we slid into Brunswick Landing Marina (Brunswick, GA) after a beautiful overnight trip from Charleston. We covered around 166 miles in just over 26 hours. Coming through the shipping lanes outside Savannah at 1 a.m. was a bit like playing frogger as we counted 15 ships the size of Super Walmarts going in all directions at 3 times our speed. Needless to say it kept us quite alert. We are currently in a holding pattern for a few more days as we have let storm pattern after storm pattern pass. Our next 80 mile jaunt to Jacksonville will finally put us into Florida where I'm sure the temps are pushing 90, right? Also looking forward to hosting our good friend Alison as she flys in tomorrow from Hood River.

10 January 2019 | Charleston SC

Hold onto your grits!

Tortuga has moved south to Charleston where we are currently spending a few days taking in the rich history of the city. After a couple of wonderful day sails in the mighty Atlantic, we clicked off a quick 120 miles. The ride into the entry channel at Charleston was quite exciting with 20knot winds, 10 ft. seas and a line of 900 ft. incoming freighters traveling at 3 times our speed. We have snuggled into the Maritime Center Marina, and are within walking distance to the city, museums, and historic houses. A $25 pass gets you into almost all the historical places for the month of January, so we are taking in 4 or 5 a day, waiting for our next weather window and voyage into Georgia. While we wait, we are entertained by 3 dolphin that live here at the marina and pop up for a visit a few times a day. What a site!

05 January 2019 | Myrtle Beach Yacht Club

Low Bridge / High Water

Two steps forward, one step back. That's what Tortuga has done this new Year. Seems we are still experiencing the effects of Hurricane Florence. After making down to the Socastee Bridge in Myrtyle beach on New Year's eve, we received info that the bridge height was 61.5 ft. (much too low for Tortuga) We spent a couple of days waiting for the flood waters to crest and recede only to realize they haven't gone down past this level since September. And because of the Gov. shutdown, no current information is being updated. We have since moved back up North to the Little River Outlet where tomorrow Tortuga shall test her sea legs in the big pond (Atlantic). I will say we are ready and stoked! The ICW has been interesting but stressful with each bridge that bends our antennas or scrapes our windex (wind indicator). Not sure if we are day sailing tomorrow or an overnight. But either way we should be free of a 50 ft. channel that's 15 ft. deep. Looking forward to Charleston by Monday.

28 December 2018 | North Myrtle Beach Yacht Club

Looking back at Christmas, it was extremely difficult to be away from our girls and good friends during the holiday season. And though we didn’t have any packages under the tree, we were truly blessed during Christmas day with gifts that we will always remember.

27 December 2018 | North Myrtle Beach Yacht Club

Hitting the reset the button

Ok, we have finally said goodbye to North Carolina on our quest south. Staying tonight in North Myrtle Beach anticipating a couple days of nasty weather. Enjoyed shrimp, scallops, and grits for the first time, and I must say... I am a fan!

25 December 2018 | Harbor Village Marina, Hamstead, N.C.

Have a very happy Merry Christmas!!

It’s a Christmas tale of Tortuga and crew just south of Topsail, N.C. We are about halfway down the coast of North Carolina, creeping south, as turtles do!

Happiness in a dismal swamp!

07 December 2018 | Dismal Swamp
Scott / Sssssstillll Ccccccolddddd
Alright! Southward we travel into the Deep Creek Lock that signifies the beginning of the Dismal Swamp. What a beautiful (but narrow and shallow) channel we took today, rich in history. Much of it originally owned by George Washington as a real estate investment. On the way we crossed the North Carolina border (where there actually was a sign)! Didn't see any gators though... yet!!
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