Monday, August 16, 2010 – Wrightsville Beach, NC

We stayed another day at anchor and worked around the boat. Gale did several maintenance projects while Maureen tackled the pile of paperwork that had accumulated over the past year. Along with various smaller jobs, Gale changed the engine oil, determined what was causing the tachometer needle to jump around which meant replacing the solenoid, and scrubbed the barnacles off the hull. Maureen got the files organized and caught up on some bills and budgeting. The only time we went to shore was to pick up the parts from the traveling repair guy, Josh, who was kind enough to make the delivery to the public dinghy dock.

Sunday, August 15, 2010 – Wrightsville Beach, NC

It felt cool this morning! The air was drier and there was a nice breeze coming through the boat. We slept a little later and relaxed during the morning hours. Maureen worked on the budget and the blog, Gale did a couple of chores and we experienced the area waking up on a Sunday morning. It was shaping up to be a great beach day!

It wasn’t until after 4 pm that we finally quit what we were doing and headed to the beach for a walk. We played in the surf for awhile, rested on the beach and then picked up our towels and began a search for ice cream. We scored a couple of scoops along the way back to the dinghy dock. The evening was cool and comfortable.

Saturday, August 14, 2010 – Wrightsville Beach, NC, mile 283.2

The sky was mostly cloudy when we started up the river a little before 8 am. It actually felt cool at 82°F! Our first stop was at Southport Marina where we took on fuel and water and paid a $10 fee to leave our boat at the dock so we could go into town to buy provisions. A taxi picked us up at 9 am and dropped us off at the Super Walmart where we loaded up with groceries and picked up a few other items for the boat.

By 11:15 am the provisions were stowed, Gale had showered and we were ready to head out once again. The guidebook recommended that a northbound slow boat, such as ours, leave Southport one hour before high tide to take advantage of the tidal current for a boost in getting through the Cape Fear area. A slow boat was defined as one that traveled between 5 and 7 knots. Since high tide was at 12:15 pm, we were right on schedule for the passage – and we were very happy to have heeded the advice – especially since the northeast wind was coming straight toward us at a strong 15 knots or better! Cape Fear is a busy inlet with a good deal of large ship traffic. It is shallow, the currents are strong and it can be very choppy.





After passing through the Cape Fear region, we came to the beautiful beaches of Carolina State Park. Many people were out in their pleasure craft enjoying the water, the sunshine and the beaches. We decided that we’d like to check out a beach ourselves and made our way to Wrightsville Beach, NC where we found a great place to anchor at 3:45 pm. After putting out a second anchor for safety, we took the dinghy to the dock, walked the two blocks to the Atlantic coast and found a gorgeous beach full of people. We played in the strong surf for awhile and then took a dinghy ride around the protected basin of the ICW. There wasn’t much discussion when the question was asked: “Should we stay tomorrow, too?” YES!

Friday, August 13, 2010 – Dutchman’s Creek, mile 310.2, N Carolina ICW

The morning hours were spent gliding through more cypress swamps and then past the beautiful homes and condominiums along the ICW in the Myrtle Beach area of S Carolina. At one point we were surprised by the aerial trams we saw up ahead with cable cars crossing the waterway in either direction. It turned out to be a tramway for the golf course to transport people in their carts from one side of the river to the other! Very interesting, indeed!




During the afternoon we crossed over from S Carolina into N Carolina. We encountered our first pontoon bridge of the trip where everybody had to wait for an opening – including the jet skis. It was located in a busy area of the waterway and there were several pleasure craft standing by for the bridge’s hourly opening. Immediately adjacent to the old pontoon bridge, a new bridge was being constructed and appeared to be near completion. Perhaps it was the last of its kind!



This was one of the hottest days yet with the temperature around 100°F. Fortunately, a “cold front” came through in the afternoon and we were treated to a strong thunderstorm without too much wind. Instead of the skies clearing right away, the cloud cover stayed for the rest of the afternoon and we relished the cooler temps.

After twelve hours moving up the waterway, we found a nice anchorage in Dutchman’s Creek about a mile south of Southport, NC.

Thursday, August 12, 2010 – Waccamaw River, mile 375.5, S Carolina ICW

Much of the day was spent cruising through beautiful cypress swamps. It was hot, as usual, but we did have a bit of relief with some cloud cover and SW breezes of 5 to 15 knots. Between 8 am and 5:30 pm we managed to travel our average 60 statute miles and at the end of the day anchored in an oxbow of the Waccamaw River.



Even though it was 100°F or better, Gale spent some time out on the foredeck working out with his strength bands. His reward was a dip in the river off the back of the boat and even though the river was quite brown from the tree tannins, he did not hesitate to jump. Afterwards, we both used the cockpit shower to rinse off with fresh water and settled in for a nice evening watching the ospreys and calling to the great horned owls.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 – Awendaw Creek, mile 435.7, N Carolina ICW

It was a beautiful sunny morning when we awoke in our slip at the marina. We had plans to meet a friend for lunch so we were up early to do the laundry, clean up the boat a bit and take showers. Our friend, Lisa Lewerke, arrived at the marina shortly before 11:30 am. Maureen met her in the parking lot and brought her back out to see Blue Heron. Lisa is a dear friend of Jessica, our daughter, and we were eager to spend a little time with her. After showing off our home, we walked over to the restaurant next to the marina and enjoyed a nice lunch and a couple of beers (wine for Maureen). It was nice to catch up with her and learn that she and her 16-year old daughter, Mackenzie, were doing so well. We hope to be able to spend some more time with her on the return trip this fall.

After lunch it was time to cast off. The afternoon was very hot but we were ready to move on. Since we didn’t get started until almost 2 pm, we cruised until 7 pm before anchoring in Awendaw Creek at mile 435.7 of the ICW. We were surrounded by water and marshland. The marsh looked like a huge prairie stretching out for miles around us. If it weren’t for the various cell phone and radio towers we could see in the distance, we would have thought we were in the middle of nowhere.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 – City Marina, Charleston, SC

It was another beautiful morning – partly cloudy, warm, little breeze. We were looking forward to getting into Charleston to have the whole day for a tour of the city. We were up early and on our way by 7 am to cover the six miles against the current and make it to the bascule bridge just outside of Charleston in time for the 9 am opening. And, we should have made it – but Maureen missed the cut and we went a little out of our way before she realized that the trip was taking much longer than expected and she was no longer seeing the little yellow stickers on the channel markers that indicate one is in the ICW. Our path was taking us out to the Atlantic rather than into Charleston Harbor! Oh well, an extra hour of sightseeing on this beautiful waterway and admiring the impressive southern style mansions along the way was time well spent.





By 11 am, we were settled into our slip alongside the “Megadock” at the Charleston City Marina where we enjoyed a fantastic view of the city. After showering and a light lunch, we hopped on the marina’s complimentary shuttle and headed to the Visitors Center where we took a ride on a small tour bus driven by a very knowledgeable and pleasant guide. Susan, our guide, painted a very vivid picture of the City’s origin and history. The buildings and mansions were quite interesting to see. We even experienced a guided tour of one of the older mansions in the city, the Joseph Manigault house built in 1803, which was hosted by a very genteel and petite southern belle. After the tour we walked back to the Visitors Center to catch the last showing of the day of a 38-minute film on Charleston’s history.




By the time the film was finished it was after 5 pm. We decided to walk back to the marina and find a nice restaurant along the way to share an entrée and have a cocktail. We stumbled upon Sermet’s Corner and savored a lovely meal of parmesan and pepper encrusted salmon over the special mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. It was fantastic!! After dinner, we began our stroll back to the marina. As luck would have it, we saw the marina shuttle just pulling out of a parking lot about two blocks into our walk and caught a ride back. We were glad for the ride as it turned out to be a much longer walk than we had thought!!

Back on Blue Heron, we sat out on the foredeck to enjoy the cool breezes after the sun went down.