Alligator River - Mile 102

Good evening from the Alligator River!  We are about 102 miles south of Norfolk, VA and are settled into a nice anchorage area with a few other sailboats.  The generator is running - we just had a nice dinner - and have settled down to watch some TV and relax.

It has been a good day on Master Plan - we left Oriental at about 8:30 AM and traveled about 80 miles and arrived here at about 5:00 PM.  We saw lots of tugs/barges today - very interesting looking  ones too.  When we were cruising through the Pungo Alligator River Canal (20 straight miles), one was off to the side - we're not sure if they were resting or broken down - hard to tell.

This was an interesting looking barge - there was a sign on it - PHC Phosphate Company

This is the tug/barge was pulled over and not moving. . .

We're  back in the coffee-colored water - check out these two pictures I took off of our stern:

I took this at about 1PM - you can start to see the brownish color . . .

This one taken a few hours later - amazing the difference . . .

Cruising along the Pungo Alligator Canal - a straight shot for 20 miles . . . 

Mile Marker 105, combined with an ICW Channel Marker - our anchorage is about 3 miles north of this point.

One thing we noticed is that the ICW Mile Markers are more prevalent - there really aren't many (or any) to speak of in the southern part of the ICW.

So - tomorrow - our plan is to be in Virginia.  As many of our loyal readers know, we went through the Dismal Swamp on the way down - for this trek, we will take the other option going through Coinjock called the Virginia Cut.  It will be nice to see a different part of the ICW.  It's funny how much of each part of the ICW we recall as we head North.  There are so many wonderful parts and areas of this great waterway and how blessed we are to enjoy it - an incredible experience.

So - we'll keep you posted - sending lots of love from Master Plan - Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:

"We all have the power to give away love, to love other people. And if we do so, we change the kind of person we are, and we change the kind of world we live in."

 --Rabbi Harold Kushner

Oriental, NC - Mile 181

Greetings from Master Plan - we are in Oriental, NC after travelling 103 miles today.  It was a smooth and easy day for the most part, and we are two days away from the end of the ICW.  We waited for a few bridges, and saw a lot of interesting sites along the way . . .


This beautiful wooden boat went by us this morning prior to our leaving the dock - what a cool boat!



A surfer also paddles by as the sun rises - I love the way the sun is hitting his surfboard . . .



A large barge passes by being pushed by a tug.

Now you can see the tug!

 

We passed Camp Lejeune - some helicopters in the distance doing exercises. 



Luckily, the lights were NOT flashing!



Some "props" for training.   Camp Lejeune probably is along at least 15 miles of the ICW - it's huge.

 So - we'll head out tomorrow with our goal for another 100 miles to the Alligator River - so, as always, we'll keep you posted!

Love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:

It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for.

-Benjamin E. Mays

Wrightsville Beach, NC

Greetings from Master Plan - it's a lovely evening here in Wrightsville Beach - today we crossed into North Carolina - one state closer to our Rhode Island destination! 

We left Charleston yesterday morning - it was a beautiful sunny day (a significant change to the morning before!) and we traveled 96 miles to just south of Myrtle Beach to one of our favorite little marinas - Osprey Marina.  It's in a remote area, but close to Myrtle Beach - it's a sweet little place and the people are very friendly.  Paul cleaned the boat, I did some laundry, and we made some dinner.  The reason for not posting to the blog last night is we had a great wifi connection at the marina until it got dark - so my theory is that their wifi is afraid of the dark, because sure enough, this morning the wifi was fine again!  Go figure!

From Master Plan's Bow at Charleston Maritime Center - Sunset and the lighting was lovely.

Same vantage point, but sunrise yesterday morning just before we pulled up the lines.  We really just love Charleston!

Leaving Osprey Marina this morning - it's off a very bucolic part of the ICW.  When we arrived yesterday, we noticed this alley was much wider than when we were here in November - the dock hand told us that all they did was trim the shrubs along the side and it added about 10' to each side!  What a difference!

Coming out of Osprey Marina and taking a right turn North on the ICW - beautiful!

So we are now at Mile 284 - we traveled 89 miles today.  To give you perspective, Stuart is at Mile 985 - so we've gone just over 700 miles since last Wednesday morning - stopping two days due to weather.  We're averaging about 100 miles each travel day.  The hold days have been good for Paul so he can get some rest - it's tiring driving the boat all day.  He's up top on the fly bridge, and I'm down below at my post pumping out the work for RLC Events - I am really blessed - I am really busy with great clients - looks like another great year thankfully.

Today we passed a huge military area (sorry the name currently escapes me) - about 20 miles south of here - this is where all of the US military's artillery and equipment gets shipped out to all over the world, and in particular the Middle East.  Obviously, you can't get too close, but you can see this ship is being loaded up with lots of stuff. 

My sweet captain on the Cape Fear River today - as you can see it's a very wide open area of the ICW - a big change from the narrow channels . . .

Tug and barge coming down the Cape Fear River - pretty cool.

Our slip for tonight - this is a really nice marina - everything is very clean and they even gave us a courtesy car to use! 

So - we're heading out to grab a bite to eat - a nice Mexican restaurant is close by and was recommended.  We use a web-site frequently - Active Captain - it details a lot of marinas and anchorages with lots of great reviews that you can tap into along the way.  One the reviews mentioned the restaurant, so we're going to check it out.  We just actually met the owners/creators of Active Captain - they were a few slips down from us in Charleston - GREAT people and their web-site is fantastic; it has been an invaluable resource for us!

Well - the sun is setting - so it's time to bid you all farewell for the moment - we promise to keep you posted!  Our plan is to be at the beginning (or end) of the ICW - Norfolk, VA - by end of day Sunday.  Then, it's up to the weather forecast what our next steps will be.  

I took this picture 4 minutes ago - it was so beautiful, I had to share . . . from MP's bow.

Take care - thanks for following along - sending lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:

You are here for a purpose. There is not a duplicate of you in the whole wide world; there never has been, there never will be. You were brought here now to fill a certain need. Take time to consider what it might be.

-Lou Austin

Holding in Charleston SC

Greetings from Charleston SC

Captain Paul reporting, I thought I would give the Admiral a break on Blog duties.

We arrived yesterday on Monday afternoon back at one of our favorite marinas, the Charleston Maritime Center.  We left a beautiful anchorage in Beaufort SC in the morning, cruising up the Inter-coastal waterway.

Sunset at our Anchorage in Beaufort, (Port Royal Landing)

 

 

    The Anchorage is just south of the town of Beaufort, mile mark 542, and separates the town of Beaufort and Paris Island.  For those who do not know, Paris Island is the home to the Marine Corps basic training facility.  Every new marine gets their introduction to the marine life on Paris Island.  

This part of the inter-coastal waterway is a series of intersecting rivers and creeks that make up the "low country".  Because they are all intersecting and are tidal rivers it is somewhat difficult to figure out what direction the currents will be flowing. We headed up the Beaufort River to the Coosaw River to Rock Creek with a fair current, meaning it was flowing with us. Then we hit the Edisto River and the wind and current were not in our favor.  The wind was blowing at 25 knots out of the south.  This makes for a difficult time staying on course and keeping the boat out of the shallow water. By early afternoon we ended up in the Stono River just south of Charleston.  We had to stop and drop the anchor so we did not arrive to early at the marina.  Unfortunately the only spot the marina had for us was the Fuel dock.  Seeing as they closed at 5 PM they would let us stay there for the night.   The trip across the very open Charleston Harbor was an adventure to say the least.  Getting to the dock actually was less of an event than I was fearing.  

After we got settled, the weather map showed tornado warnings / severe weather watch for overnight and this morning – so when we woke up, the weather was pretty ugly and we decided to wait it out.  Because we were on the fuel dock – we knew we couldn’t stay there – so at about 10am, after consulting with the marina staff – they found us a slip and we made the call to stay here one more day and get going again first thing tomorrow morning.  

One of the projects I worked on today was posting a new video to youtube.  Jen took some great footage of spotted dolphins last week off of the coast of Florida.  You can find it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKh86-nCl94 

Also, not sure if Jen mentioned that we got a new recliner for the boat.  Life is Good

Until next time, take care.        

  

Beaufort, SC

Good evening from lovely Beaufort, SC!  We can now say that we successfully avoided the entire ICW in Georgia - which was Paul's goal! 

We had an incredibly beautiful day today - the conditions were perfect.  We untied at St. Simon Marina at about 7:45 AM and headed "outside."  It was like cruising on a lake - so calm - the winds at our back - and the sun shining on us all day.  I was even able to get a lot of work done - it was so nice . . .

Of course - we had more dolphin encounters - we are cherishing every moment with our playful friends because we know as we head north, the opportunities to see them will become less frequent.

Playing in our bow wake as we left St. Simon Sound . . .

Paul saw a bunch of mantarays swimming in formation just off our starboard side, but it happened so quickly, we couldn't get a photo . . .  Sadly, I missed it, but Paul said it was pretty darn cool.  Of course, we still saw hundreds of jelly fish almost the entire way today.

My sweet captain taking a breather on the stern . . . You can see how calm it is.

First mate taking a break too - aren't we so queer?  :-)

As we entered the Port Royal Sound this afternoon, Master Plan's wake attracted a lot of gull attention - we must have been churning up some good stuff . . .

So tonight, we are anchored in an area called Port Royal - very close to Beaufort - it's a beautiful area with lots of marshes and some cool shrimp boats as well - the photo below is a view from our bow.

These shrimp boats look like they're near a cool local restaurant too.

So - now it's time to chill out, catch the sunset, grab a beer, watch some TV, and cook some dinner - looks like grilled chicken is on the menu tonight!  

Tomorrow, we continue our journey - our goal is to get past Charleston.  We spent almost four weeks in Charleston on the way down - we really loved it there - so it will be sad to cruise by - but our hope is to spend more time there on our way back to Florida next fall.

Happy Sunday to all - thanks for following along - sending lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

St. Simon Island, GA

Good evening from Master Plan - we are docked at the same marina we visited in December on our way down on St. Simon Island, Georgia.  It's beautiful here and we had a really good day . . .  as my father would have said, "we picked 'em up and laid 'em down . . ."  We traveled 130 miles today and the conditions were great.

We left Palm Coast, FL right after sunrise - about 7:30 a.m. and continued north on the ICW to St. Augustine, FL - about 25 miles.  St. Augustine is a beautiful place and we overnighted there on the way down in December.  It was during the cold snap and I would definitely like to stay there again.  They also have a fantastic municipal marina there and today we stopped and "fed the bitch."  Right next to the marina is a bridge which opens every half hour, so we timed it and once we fueled up, we caught the 11AM opening - I captured some photos.  All bridge operators along the ICW are on marine radio and as you approach, you radio and let them know you would like to pass at the scheduled 11am opening.  It is a very courteous exchange and pretty cool.  Paul, as always, handles it with expertise.

Leaving Palm Cost this morning . . . 

Approaching the bridge - just starting to open . . .

Going under . . .

And - as always - a radio exchange - "Thanks for the opening!"

Farewell again St. Augustine - what a beautiful place . . .

Just after the bridge is the St. Augustine inlet - which takes you "outside."  The conditions were perfect and off we went . . .

The forecast was great and we headed out the ocean and ran along the Florida coast - it was calm and beautiful and we made great progress.  We even contemplated continuing overnight to Charleston, but later in the afternoon it got a little choppier, so we decided to head in at St. Simon Island - and we'll head to SC tomorrow - the forecast is predicting another great day.

First mate essentials - Chilled beverage in coozy, charts, Waterway Guides, and the "crack"berry

Master Plan's wake through the calm seas

There were several jellyfish in the water - if you look closely, you can see one right in the middle of this photo - there were hundreds - we went for miles and kept seeing them.

From the captain's seat - charts, compass, and a great view of the calm seas ahead.

We came into St. Simon Sound at sunset - it was breathtaking.   The pictures show the beauty and we were able to get to the dock before it got too dark. 

So - for now, tomorrow's plan is to get to South Carolina and get as far as we can.  The weather is looking good and we plan to be "outside" again probably until Hilton Head - then go "inside" until before dark.  We promise to keep you updated!

Thanks for following along and for your love and support!  Love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Palm Coast, FL

Greetings dear friends and family -

Well, we traveled another 95 miles north today to Palm Coast, FL - the sun was shining on us all day - much better than the last two days.  We were actually here in this area (by land not sea) just about 4 weeks ago to meet up with our dear friends Kathleen and Cannon and their three sweet sons James (8), Ryan (6), and Alexander (4) - so since I didn't take any photos today - here are a few from our visit a month ago:

Alexander comes down the water slide and very happy to see his Mom and Paul!

Ryan having a blast!

James sliding right into the pool - just like stealing a base!

Cannon enjoys the slide too!  Interesting technique!

Ryan took this picture of me and Paul - we had a wonderful visit with our friends!

So - we're still figuring out our plan for the next few days - but we'll keep you posted.  We're both pretty tired.  Paul has been at the helm all day and I've been at the computer - but life is very good indeed.

We'll be in touch - lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson