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US/Canada East Coast 2008 / ICW to Beaufort, NC
Posted 6 months, 11 days ago
US/Canada East Coast 2008 / ICW to Beaufort, NC
After our respite at Butler Island, we decided that rather than return to sea and sail we would protect the mainsail until we really needed it (north of Norfolk, VA). Thus, despite the alarming cost of diesel fuel and having seen it all last year, we motor-sailed up the Intracoastal Canal Waterway (ICW). The first section on the winding Waccamaw River was very attractive with beautiful cypress trees and, at least every 200m, an osprey nest with 2 or 3 young. Sadly, this soon gave way to the very boring section around Myrtle Beach known as "The Ditch". It was very crowded for the weekend with locals having fun in large and small motorboats. We anchored on Saturday night near the town of Calabash on the border of South and North Carolinas. The next morning, Randall had to hot-wire engine (thank goodness for his how-to-fix-things-on-a-sailboat-book) which would not start because a non-functioning alternator had not recharged the starter battery. We motored on the ICW (and through the Southport/Cape Fear River inlet) for another 60 miles to anchor for Sunday night at WrightsvilleBeach. On Monday June 9th we motor-sailed with the jib on ICW for another 80 miles to Beaufort. This was a long day, made longer by mounting concerns over the misbehaving motor and associated gauges. However, some of these sections of the ICW are fairly attractive, including the passage through the Marine Corps Camp Lejeune and Bogue Sound. At the former area, we saw the same tilt-rotor planes that we had seen last year with Mike. When we arrived at Town Creek Marina in Beaufort, NC, we stepped onto land for the first time in 10 days, got rid of accumulated rubbish, had real showers, ate at the restaurant, and slept well! The area was hosting an annual, week-long, blue marlin fishing tournament which had a $30,000 entry fee (plus fuel and marina costs) for a $1.6 million top prize. We shared the marina with many large boats involved in this tournament (but few were catching any marlin). Each one of the reels on their rods were worth more than our entire set of (as yet unused on this trip) fishing equipment…and they had many rods! Not low-budget cruisers like us. We spent two nights at the marina having their mechanics make our engine repairs (replaced alternator and fixed ignition), checking emails, doing laundry (the cruisers’ curse, as someone told me), and catching-up on grocery shopping, etc. The latter was facilitated by the marina’s courtesy car which also allowed us to look around town a bit. Not a car in the prime of its life, but useful wheels. I jogged around the area both mornings, which gave me a good sense of the surroundings and some much-needed exercise. Our arm muscles are getting a good work-out with all the sailing activities (e.g., hauling lines, steering – especially with following waves) but jogging and bike-riding on shore will need to be our main aerobic exercise. Full Story »
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