Month: May 2020

We had a pleasant day at Osprey Marina. They have a porch outside their office and a number of rocking chairs. We were advised by New Hope that this is mandatory in the south. They were both born and raised in southern Virginia. We spent some time on the porch chatting and rocking.

At Ease arrived in the morning just to get fuel but we also had a visit from the AGLCA Harbor Hosts. They finished their loop and have moved to the area and have their boat Kissed Some Frogs docked at the Wacca Wache Marina a few miles away. We have met a number of Harbor Hosts along the way and they have always been gracious and helpful.

Osprey Marina is down a long narrow channel with plenty of boats. The slips we had were tight and did not offer much room to maneuver. When we left in the morning, the bow thruster decided not to work creating a very difficult exit. This is the first time it has failed since it was fixed in October in Demopolis, AL. We will need to find a mechanic when we get to Southport.

We left on Friday to head to Southport for two days. New Hope will once again move their vehicle and leave it in Southport until we arrive in Morehead City. They have friends who live on their boat in the marina will keep an eye on the car until we get to Virginia. Morehead City is about 4 hours from where they live so it will only involve one more move before they go home. Their current guests were also leaving today since their car was in Southport and took them to Enterprise to rent a car to do the transfer. We will have Saturday to explore Southport together.

On our way to Southport we contacted the Harbor Hosts for the area. We met them at Looper Palooza in January and they always tell loopers to touch base when they are passing through. Another reason for the call was to have them identify a mechanic in the area. Fortunately there are mechanics onsite (not part of the marina) and we were able to schedule one to check on the bow thruster as soon as we arrived. Once we docked, within minutes the mechanic was on the boat. It only took him about 15 minutes to identify the issue, rusted connections. He was able to fix it immediately and suggested that we consider changing the connections once we got home.

With the bow thruster fixed, we can now enjoy Southport. The Harbor Host came to the marina and was happy to hear that the bow thruster was already fixed. He provided some flyers about the town – historical and interesting places to see, plus a list of local restaurants that were providing take-out. While the town is beginning to open up, they still do not have outside dining. We were also invited to their porch for drinks that evening. They have a large porch and outside area where we could all social-distance. At Ease was also in Southport so we all enjoyed the Harbor Host’s invitation.

We walked around town and explored a few historical sites and areas where a number of movies and TV shows were filmed. On the lawn of the park, there were placards with names and photos of all the graduates from the local high school. It was nice to see that the town wanted to honor their accomplishment since all graduations have been cancelled. We also ordered seafood from one of the local restaurants to continue our pattern of at least once a week to help support the towns.

We had a visitor from one of the boats in the marina. It seems that their dream boat is a Manatee and they watch out for any that show up in Southport. They are interested in purchasing one soon and asked what we planned to do with ours. We advised that we would be selling the boat after we finish the loop. They asked us to take their phone number and call them when we were ready. The following day, they also brought one of their friends who is also interested in the boat. Who knows, we may have buyers waiting for us to finish.

Southport Marina is right off the ICW and there is considerable boat traffic. Our slips were on the end of the fuel dock so we were rocking for much of the day. Evenings were fine since the fuel dock is closed. We needed to track the current to plan our morning departure. At Ease had sent a message the day before to let us know that the current was strong on a falling tide. We watched the time/water and left at slack tide making it much easier. However, the wind picked up shortly after we left – winds @ 17mph with gusts up to 24mph. We arrived at Harbour Village in Hampstead, NC just off the ICW. The projection is that we will probably be staying more than overnight as planned since tropical storm Arthur was on the way.

Harbour Village is a quiet, safe marina where we needed to stay because of Arthur. We experienced heavy wind and much rain most of the week. What was a one night stay turned into more. The weather projections did not seem to change much and it looked as though the best day for us to leave would be on Friday. We were prepared to leave every morning just in case things changed. I called Morehead City, our next stop, daily, to push our reservation to the next day. With Memorial Day the following weekend, I could not just cancel since it would be possible that no slips would be available. Better to make daily calls. We took advantage of the down time to get a mobile mechanic to come and change the oil on the boat. That will be the last change we will need until we are home in New York.

We were safe and that was the most important thing. The marina is in the middle of a residential area quite removed from any commercial activity. There is only one pizza place that would deliver and no where to walk to explore. In the rain, we weren’t anxious to walk around anywhere. One issue we had was that WiFi was close to non-existent so I walked to the marina office and sat outside when it wasn’t raining to download some movies and TV episodes to provide something besides all the reading we were already doing. I did not see a WiFi extender anywhere on the docks so the office was the only shot I had to get a strong enough signal.

We are waiting, not so patiently, for Arthur to leave the area so that we can get back underway.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We left Kilkenny Creek Marina for a short ride (26 miles) to Isle of Hope Marina on the outskirts of Savannah, Ga. The wind and current blew the boat sideways as we approached the marina. We hit marker 46A – should have adjusted earlier – and broke a piece of the window trim on the port side. We have the piece so it will need to be repaired.

The 9′ tides in Georgia are not pleasant. As you can see in the posted photos, the ramps to shore can be steep. In addition, the water level rises high enough to flood sections of the walking paths.

When we arrived Peter spoke to the dock hand about New Hope. Apparently they arrived the day before and since there was nothing in the area, decided to leave earlier this morning to meet us at the next planned stop. Had we known, we would not have stopped and would have continued on to Beaufort. Since we were already settled and did not have reservations at Beaufort until Friday, we decided to stay.

We starting walking into town, although there wasn’t anything really around. After walking about a mile and a half, we decided to just turn around and go back to the marina since it was hot. On the way back, we did stop at the Wormsloe Historic Site. Walking the grounds felt like we were at Tara from Gone With the Wind. It was quiet, peaceful, lots of old trees and empty, no one around.

The next morning we left early to get to Beaufort where we planned to spend three nights. One reason was that it would be the weekend (not our preferred travel days) and the other was that Peter’s cousin and his wife who live in South Carolina were coming to visit. It’s been a number of years since we have seen them.

The trip presented a wrinkle. We have been using Navionics to chart our trips but Peter still has the copies of the paper charts at the helm along with the Garmin. We followed the trip on Navionics and did not realize beforehand that it was sending us out to the ocean. By the time we realized it, it would have taken a few hours more to reverse our course and get back on the ICW. Fortunately, the ocean was fine, nice and calm. The other body of water we needed to cross was Port Royal Sound (we would have needed to do this even if we followed the ICW). Port Royal Sound was nasty with waves of 2-3″+. We were happy when we reconnected to the ICW.

We arrived at the Downtown Marina at Beaufort and the wind and current were acting up. The dock hand put us on the inside of the dock since the current would blow us into the dock and make tying up easier. We looked for New Hope when we were secure and they were on the outside of the dock and bouncing. Once the wind and current settled, things were better for all of us. Once again, we had tidal issues and steep ramps.

New Hope has been leap-frogging with their car since Fort Pierce so they rented a car to drive south to bring their car to leave in Beaufort until we got to Southport when they would repeat the process again until we got to Virginia. They were going to be gone all day Saturday so Peter and I just relaxed and walked around town. It’s amazing to see a town so empty.

On Sunday, Mother’s Day, Peter’s cousins came to visit. Our plan was to have lunch and catch up. A number of the local restaurants were offering outside-seating but since it was Mother’s Day, all were crowded (no reservations) and waiting times were considerable. We went to a local bar with outside seating and just had beer and pizza appetizers since no one wanted to wait over an hour to be seated. It was a nice visit and we really appreciated that they drove over three hours to see us…and then drive home to Greenville. We hope to see each other again in November when their daughter is scheduled to be married. Of course, this all depends on the COVID-19 situation.

Monday was our first travel day with New Hope and we were going to spend the night in Charleston. A number of the marinas in the area were not taking transients and others did not have slips so we reserved slips at Charleston Harbor Marina & Resort. The trip went well except for biting flies and wind in Charleston Harbor. When we got to the marina, we encountered more wind and strong currents while docking. There was a restaurant onsite so we had dinner with outside-seating with New Hope and two of their friends who were joining them to travel for a few days until Southport, NC.

The food and the company were the only good things about staying at the marina. Docking was difficult and although the marina was listed as “open” on the COVID-19 Waterway Guide updates, nothing was available. There were no restrooms or showers, it was not pet-friendly since the walk to land was very far, and on top of all this, they charged a “resort fee” even though nothing was open. We rated them with one star on Marinas.com since we could not give them a zero. The next morning, we were happy to leave Charleston Harbor.

Our next stop was the Leland Oil Co. in McClellanville, SC. This is another of the small marinas where you have a dock, restrooms and little else. However, their restroom and shower were open. McClellanville is a small shrimping village with residents who have lived there for generations. The town is small, some places were open. There is a very cool, very old tree, known as the Deerhead Oak. It is estimated to be over 1,000 years old, 70+ feet tall with a circumference of more than 36 feet. McClellanvile served to be a nice, quiet, calm place to stay particularly after our night in Charleston.

We continued along the ICW heading towards Myrtle Beach. Osprey Marina had been mentioned on the AGLCA forum as offering a great price on diesel – $1.42/gallon -so this was to be our next stop. New Hope had stayed there previously on their last snowbird trip and recommended that we stay for two nights. While there is nothing within walking distance, it was a calm, pleasant stop and the local pizza place had a full menu with free delivery. We used the time to catch up on laundry and just relax.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Thursday Walmart delivered my food order. They delivered most of the items I purchased for provisioning for the next few weeks but as usual, a few essentials were missing. Peter went to Publix before we left to fill in certain items.

Peter posted on the AGLCA Forum that we would be heading north on May 4th and asked if anyone else would be traveling then so we could travel with another boat. He received a response from New Hope, a 34′ PDQ who was traveling home to Virginia. They were currently at Fort Pierce so we agreed to meet in a few days once they got underway. They can travel faster so we planned to meet in Savannah. It will be nice to have a buddy boat once again.

Our “looper take-out” dinner this week was from Ale Pie House. We were told that it had the best pizza around so we all decided that this would be a good plan. Sea C Rider had rented a vehicle since they would be heading back to Illinois until next season and volunteered to pick up all our orders. What we heard was correct. The pizza was great and we had enough for Peter to have left-overs for lunch.

Friday was windy so we planned our weekly dinktails for Saturday. We spent Friday prepping the boat to leave – organize cabinets, fill water tanks, etc. Our last dinghy ride included Destination, Katie Beth, Odyssey, Sabbatical, and Sea C Rider. We did another cruise down the Ortega River since it is a longer ride and a few of the dinghys had not been there yet.

We finally left on Monday to begin the journey home up the east coast. We departed Ortega Landing and headed to Fernandina Harbor Marina. The marina has very long side tie docks. There were a number of very large boats on the outer dock and lots of fishing boats – personal and charter – on the inside. A very long dock to take Kodey for a walk.

Things were starting to open up in Florida. The restaurants were still doing take-out and a few were beginning to offer outside seating. Fernandina is a quaint old town but nothing really available to explore.

The next day we traveled another 42 miles to Morningstar Marina at St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. We are finally out of Florida. We ran into a bit of difficulty with low tide. The channel to the marina is marked and we received instructions from the dock hand to follow closely with green markers on our port side. Since the tide was low and there was shoaling, we should have been more in the center of channel so we grounded. Georgia is known for their 9 foot tides. The dock hand told us to call Sea Tow. We did, they came, but they use inflatable boats that do not have the engine power to break us free. We waited a few hours for the tide to come up and then went to the marina. No damage but not fun. When we arrived, the dock hand apologized for not providing better instructions.

The next day involved longer travel since there really is no place to stop. We initially made reservations at Sunbury Crab Co. but after checking the charts, we realized that it was seven miles off the ICW and we would need to travel back the next morning. This would add considerable wasted time since we only travel at 8pmh on good water. It made more sense to go a little further to a “rustic” marina on Kilkenny Creek….similar to Bobby’s Fish Camp…. that was less than two miles off the ICW. We encountered strong currents and some nasty flies only to have the marina not answer their radio or phone (no voicemail for messages). After multiple tries, we decided we would just go in and tie up if we couldn’t reach them. As we approached the marina, the dockmaster answered the phone. He stated that since we weren’t there by 3pm, he left but then heard the radio and came back. Why he didn’t answer is beyond us. This is one of the most frustrating things when going to a marina you are unfamiliar with – not having anyone respond via radio or phone. The description of “rustic” is very kind. Not a place we would recommend but it did save us some time.

We leave in the morning to travel to Savannah and meet New Hope at the Isle of Hope.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We made a decision to leave Jacksonville on Monday, May 4th. Originally we were going to leave on the 1st of the month since our reservations were monthly. Peter decided that Monday would be better. He does not like traveling on weekends as there are frequently too many boaters.

Next week we’ll be prepping to leave so I started another food list for a Walmart delivery. We were also lucky that one of our propane tanks emptied so we had an opportunity to exchange it. With two full tanks, we will probably have enough to get home. If not, the rest of the cooking can be completed with the electric frying pan or the InstantPot.

Another boat project this week was to have the divers from Blissful Bottoms clean the hull and change the zincs. We had this done in Fort Myers in February before we left to head north but with sitting at Ortega Landing for seven weeks, we were concerned about the growth on the bottom. Turns out that it wasn’t bad but still better to have the work done.

Our weekly take-out dinner was from Simply Sara’s and included free delivery. When the food was delivered, the restaurant owner did the actual delivery and would not take a tip. In addition, he distributed masks for the six of us since a local doctor donated these to the restaurant to distribute to their customers. This was a nice touch and the food was excellent.

Peter and I also purchased subs from Jersey Mike’s over the weekend. They were running a promotion and pledged to donate 20% of all purchases to Feeding America. This is one of the organizations we have been donating to for a few years and felt that this was another way to help.

Kodey and I have been taking longer walks. The building with the restrooms and marina office has a “pet parking zone” so I am able to leave him there when I either need to use the restroom or check the boaters lounge for mail or a package. He is not thrilled but has waited patiently for my return.

Peter continues to use the pool and the hot tub. It has occupied many hours of his time over the past seven weeks. He will miss these activities.

Our weekly dink ride was postponed a few days because of wind and weather but we all agreed that we needed to do one more before we left. Also, Sea C Rider was moving their boat to Lambs for the next few months and returning home. With the unknown situation of lock openings in New York and Canada, they decided to postpone the rest of their loop until next Spring. They will come back to the boat in December and spend the winter in the Keys if things go back to some kind of normalcy. Two other loopers are still undetermined as to what their plans are but for now, they will not be traveling north. They will stay at Ortega Landing and figure things out in the next few months.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Another week in Jacksonville with no travel. However, we are starting to plan for our trip north hopefully at the beginning of May. Marinas along the east coast are beginning to open and we’ve decided that even though we cannot tour all the towns we would like to see along the coast, it makes sense to complete our loop this year. We can always explore the east coast at a later date either by boat or car. By monitoring Nebo, it appears that loopers who reside on the east coast are making their way home. Loopers who live in the midwest or Canada are exploring other options. Some have been able to extend their time frame and will stay in Florida or store their boat in Florida and go home, then begin again next Spring. With an uncertain date for the opening of the Erie Canal, along with the uncertainty of the Canadians locks, their trip around the loop is questionable for 2020.

We continue to order dinner from a local restaurant once a week. This week we ordered from Longhorn Steakhouse and Callin’ In Gone volunteered to bike to the restaurant for pick-up. The restaurant also had some family dinner specials for four. A few of us decided to order these specials for two reasons – nice steak dinners for two nights at a very reasonable cost – cheaper than if we ordered two individual dinners-plus another night that I didn’t have to cook. When dinner arrived, we had four 8 oz steaks, two sides each and a huge strawberry pecan salad. The salad was so large that I was also able to enjoy it for a few lunches. Having another night’s dinner just to reheat was nice. Definitely a good decision.

The staff at the marina continues to provide information by email and one person mans the office on a rotational basis a few days a week. Business is conducted through the office window. On the other hand, the cleaning staff continues to do an excellent job in maintaining the facilities twice a day – restrooms and pool – so one of the looper boats, Odyssey, organized a collection (approved by the marina management) so that we could show our appreciation for their work. At the end of the week we were able to provide a nice tip and the staff was most surprised and appreciative.

Another dinghy ride this week on the Ortega River with Maggie Jo, Odyssey, and Sabbatical. These trips have helped us all maintain our sanity and have been a safe way to socialize in addition to our weekly dinner. The dinghy has been in the water for a number of weeks and was getting dirty. Peter decided it was time to clean and when he raised it on the lift, the hull was covered in heavy algae and barnacles. He spent a good portion of the afternoon cleaning the bottom and decided to leave it on the lift and lower it each week we remain for our dinghy adventures.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•