Hopping down the Carolinas

We had a nice "hop" down the coast of the Carolinas! 

After departing New Bern midday (post laundry, grocery delivery, and UPS delivery) we spent a peaceful night at the north end of Adam's Creek with a few other boats in sight. The next day we had a decision to make--stay in Beaufort or Cape Lookout for the next frontal passage, or get fuel and head offshore. We just didn't feel like doing the ICW so it wasn't really a choice. We went with a hybrid plan--get fuel, head out the inlet, assess conditions, and either head for Cape Lookout or press on to Masonboro Inlet (Wrightsville Beach) for a nighttime arrival. Fueling at Town Creek Marina was a breeze and we headed out! I've been dying to go to Cape Lookout, but conditions were pretty good so we pointed south. We ended up having a fairly uneventful trip, coming into Masonboro Inlet around 2300. Some of the channel markers aren't lit, but with a well-pointed flashlight I was able to keep track of them. The first anchorage off the inlet was busy so we decided to head up a little more and see what we could find. It's harder to judge distances between boats and night and if we could avoid making a neighbor nervous, we would! We actually found the "Wrightsville 1A" anchorage to be quite open and have great protection for the forecast winds...hook was down and set by 2340. In the morning we could see that we had a fantastic spot and decided to stay put right there! I did a Veteran's Day zoom with an elementary class in my hometown, Frank fixed the outboard throttle, and we headed into town for lunch and a walk on the beach. 

Sunset at sea, a little Veteran's Day fun, a fixed throttle, and LUNCH (real food was involved, I promise, but this IPA was really good, too!).

Friday we decided to ride the midday ebb out to sea and head for Charleston. It would be an overnight (I love overnights!) and seas weren't forecast to be bad. In fact, we ended up motoring into a light wind most of the time. We banged into the seas a little, but really nothing terrible. And we were able to enter Charleston well ahead of sunset Saturday to anchor off the Battery. That anchorage can get wakes from passing boats, but that usually chills out at sunset and we had a peaceful night. With our one marine head acting up and a need to take on fuel we decided to take grab a slip at Safe Harbor Charleston City Marina for a night so we could knock all of it out and maybe even enjoy the city we were married in! We had a sweet spot on the mega dock and got to work cleaning the boat and dealing with the crappy work on the head. Several expletives and lots of bleach later...the head was put back together and we stretched our legs with a walk to town. We had an early dinner and caught the marina shuttle back so that I could knock out a load of laundry before we left. Trent and I also got to work in the galley to prep food for another overnight and he made a really good pesto-artichoke orzo dish! In the morning we topped off water, sent trash ashore, grabbed a last shower, I made a quiche, and we were off the dock with an hour of ebb to whisk us out to sea!

LOVE an overnight offshore run! We had a pretty sweet ride past Frying Pan Shoals and into Charleston. (And I'm sporting the Citadel beanie like a good Citadel bride.)

Mega Dock life is nice! Well, except for the head repair. Still had time to enjoy the city a little and prep for  another hop. 

We did have to motor, but we managed to motor-sail and ended up having a really wonderful night at sea. I had to weave through anchored cargo ships off Savannah on my watch, but otherwise there wasn't any excitement. Just the moon, stars, dolphins...and a busted steaming light (again!). I hate festoon-style bulbs. I'm sure when I go up the mast that I will find that the bulb is fine but just slightly off its mount. Grrrr... Anyway, awesome trip and we rode a little flood current into St. Mary's Inlet--we were on the Georgia/Florida state line!

I really love having Trent on watch with me! And after weaving through anchored ships I had a glorious night of stargazing.

We had options at this inlet…north to Cumberland Island National Seashore or south to Fernandina Beach, FL. We actually really like both but decided to start over in Georgia! And just like that the hook was down for a lazy afternoon in a beautiful, peaceful anchorage. Aaaaahhhhh….

Back at Cumberland Island...one of my happy places.

~Jo, 1st Mate