Life on Lailia

Heritage Plantation to Seven Reaches Creek, Charleston County, SC (anchored)

November 6, 2022 (posted 11/7/22)

Tides and currents. Currents and tides.

We left the marina a bit later today so we could take advantage of the slack tide rather than trying to fight the current while we backed out of our slip. Of course, with time change, it’s going to be darker earlier this evening.

The wind has definitely picked up which was noticeable in Winyah Bay (this is the mouth of the Waccamaw). The wind caused a little chop in the water.

We had the sails up for a while but when the wind shifted to hitting us on the nose, we dropped them.

The trip across the bay was short and as soon as we turned into the ICW cut the chop was gone. This is also the area that has a barge that acts as a swing bridge.

Today we hit a spot where it began to feel as if we were in the low country again – something about the geography that feels familiar.

The tides here can be 6-9 feet, meaning that they can go up or down that much. In the Chesapeake, tides are more like 1-2 feet. At low tide here it’s possible to bump the bottom because of shoaling.

We found the closest anchorage north of Charleston and arrived in the falling light.

Seven Reaches Creek is pretty serene although we can see the mast from a sunken sailboat a little further up the creek and we think we see a small sailboat that has been deposited in the marsh grass, too (probably during some sort of flooding). There’s a 6 foot tide range here so we have out plenty of chain. John’s going to hang out on the deck to see how Lailia will swing when the tide changes, just to be sure that we don’t end up too close to the bank.

Tomorrow is the most time-sensitive day we will have: we want to leave this anchorage on a high tide because of reported shoaling just outside the creek. Since the Ben Sawyer Swing Bridge won’t open between 7:00 and 9:00AM we need to get there before 7:00. We’ll be hauling up the anchor in the dark so we can get out by 5:30AM.

Calabash River to Heritage Plantation Yacht Club, Pawleys Island, SC (docked)

November 5, 2022

To make the best of the tide, we left this morning before it the sun came up. Thank goodness for the headlamp that John had – it provided a beam of light on the anchor chain as we were bringing it in so I could rinse the small amount of mud off of it. Before it got dark last night, we also mentally noted the crab pot floats that were near Lailia so we could navigate past them this morning.

It’s really peaceful to be on the water when the sun is coming up.

We had to wait for two swing bridges today, including the Captain Archie Neil “Poo” McLaughlin Swing Bridge. Our guide says the locals call this the Capt. Poo Swing Bridge – we call it the Poo Bridge and laugh a lot. After 292 days together, we still crack each other up. (It’s called the Little River Swing Bridge when the bridge tender is hailed, thank goodness).

Some of today’s trip was through the Myrtle Beach area. There was far less boat pleasure boat traffic today than in July.

Our autopilot went wonky today. Since we were in a wide open spot with lots of depth we let it go to see if it would correct itself. We did a 360 and started heading into another direction before we disengaged the autopilot. I worked tonight to see if I could recalibrate it – we’ll see if it works tomorrow. We lost the autopilot in late June and had to steer by hand for a few days until John fixed it; it’s a big inconvenience but we can deal with it.

We stayed in this small marina on our way north and liked it. There’s no attached restaurant or store but it does have nice bathrooms and free laundry. They also have a lounge with a television so John can watch the Penn State game and the Phillies.

We will find an anchorage tomorrow then head south to spend some time in Charleston Monday through Saturday morning. There’s the potential for some wind coming and we want to be in a secure place while I work Wednesday through Friday.

Carolina Beach to Calabash Creek, SC (anchored)

November 4, 2022 (posted 11/5/22 – poor wifi in the anchorage)

South of Carolina Beach, the ICW goes through Snows Cut and into the Cape Fear River while to the north, there is an inlet out to the ocean. We left early the marina early in hopes that we wouldn’t have too many large powerboats going past us.

The cut has some decorations 🙂

The current was in our favor and pushed us along – at points were traveling over 9 knots.

We also crossed state lines and are now back in South Carolina!

Although we like marinas because of the amenities we much prefer to anchor in peaceful places with nice scenery. An advantage to anchoring is the ease of getting in and out. Since Lailia does not have a bow thruster, it can be tricky pulling out of a marina slip if the winds are not cooperating.

John located an anchorage that was perfect for us; calm, protected, and easy to access. It’s in a curve in Calabash Creek.

By dinner time there were a few more boats here, but not too many. We’ve seen some small powerboats and even a casino boat pass, but it’s very peaceful.

By nightfall there were no human sounds at all, which is pretty much as perfect as it sounds.

To make sure that we don’t get stuck on the small shoal the mouth of this creek, we have to time our departure with the high tide, so we’ll be heading out just before the sun comes up. We have a reservation in a small marina in Pawleys Island – we stayed there in July and know it’s uncrowded and easy to access.

Mile Hammock Bay to Federal Point Yacht Club, Carolina Beach, NC (docked)

November 3, 2022

Those Ospreys flew until 8:30 last night. Their route took about 4 minutes and they were LOUD, so loud that Lailia vibrated when they flew over us. We were concerned that we’d be hearing them all night.

There was no gorgeous anchorage sunrise this morning and the forecast was for overcast weather all day. It was kind of a let down after so many really nice, sunny days.

By 10:00 the sun was starting to break through the clouds and we were getting really warm in our cockpit (the isinglass just magifies the sun so it can feel like we are in a greenhouse).

By the time we hit Figure 8 turnbridge, the sky was blue (and it stayed that way). The Figure 8 Bridge was stuck in the closed position for several days last week; there’s not a lot of anchorages around there so folks were pretty communicative on social media about trying to get out in the ocean to go around or waiting in other places along the eay. Fortunately, the bridge is operational again.

We were able to get some glances at the ocean when the ICW intersected with an ocean inlet.

There’s still some sunken and derelict boats in the area. They’re a hazard (even more so when they have sunk) and it’s also really sad to see them.

We fueled up today and docked for the day. We haven’t been off Lailia for days. Publix is less than a half mile away so we can reprovision for the next part of our trip.

We’ll try to get a spot in a marina somewhere near Myrtle Beach tomorrow as there’s not a lot of anchorages on this part of the ICW. We’d like to get to Charleston by Tuesday so I can work for a few days before we drive to Florida so I can lead another workshop. I like being able to work virtually, but it does mean that we have looming deadlines hanging over us.

Adams Creek to Mile Hammock Bay (near Camp Lejeune), NC (anchored)

November 2, 2023

Another gorgeous morning at an anchorage!

We try to snap a quick photo each time we leave a place to have a time stamp of when our day started and as a sort of record of “we were there.” That one last look is a bit of closure on where we were that helps us start on the way to where we are going.

Although the sun was up when we left, it was low on the horizon for the first bit of today’s trip through another ICW ditch.

We’ve been traveling through a lot of canals and ditches lately but today our route finally feels really intracoastal. Right after Morehead City we started paralleling the ocean.

This is the first time that it’s felt like we’re on the coast – the landscape here is sand bars and maritime forests.

We had our first dolphin sightings since July today. I’ve missed my buddies!

This anchorage is a small basin off the ICW very near Camp Lejeune. It’s apparently where Osprey pilots practice taking off and landing because there’s been almost constant activity. There’s probably 10 boats in here tonight.

We hoped to go to a marina in Southport, NC tomorrow but there are no slips available so we hope to find a spot in Carolina Beach. Although there is a lot of water here, there’s not a lot of depth for us to pull over and anchor so we’ll have to make sure we have some backup plans for the next few days.

Pungo River to Adams/Cedar Creek, NC (anchored)

November 1, 2023 (Posted 11/2 due to poor internet in anchorage)

How fortunate we are to have anchored in an absolutely gorgeous place. We were up early enough to see the sun rise and to soak in the peace befire we headed out.

We have a pretty solid routine for getting up and out of the anchorage, which includes pulling up the anchor. The washdown hose is really important when we’ve been anchored in lots of thick mud (it’s so much better than the bucket method). There’s a point when the anchor is coming up that it “sticks” – basically the anchor is still embedded on the bottom. This is when John will break it free using Lailia’s engine.

As we were heading back out into the ICW, we saw a rainbow. This was our first for the day. About six minutes later, we had to shut the hatches because of a rain shower.

The skies alternated between clouds, occasional rain, and sun. Our cockpit enclosure heats up when the sun shines on it, so we’re back to wearing shorts, which is always a bonus.

The Pamlico Sound had enough wind for us to get our headsail up for a bit of motorsailing.

At some point, the wind was no longer in our favor, though, so we furled the sail.

As we anchored, we saw yet another rainbow – pretty cool to start and end a day with rainbows!

Sunset here was very showy.

We’ll get up early tomorrow so we can get a solid 57 miles in. We have to be intentional about distances because the narrow ICW doesn’t always provide places for us to anchor.

Coinjock Marina to Pungo River, near Scranton, NC (anchored)

October 31, 2022

We, as well as many others, left Coinjock once the sun came up.

Calm days are both a trick and a treat – it’s a treat because we don’t get bounced around (which I really appreciate) but it’s a trick because we can’t sail (which John does not appreciate).

Calm water means that I can comfortably be below while we are enroute. Today I was able to make some boatmeal cookies with craisins. The oven is little, so I make a half-batch, bake half of that and refrigerate the rest of the dough. In a few days, I can bake the rest.

Even the Albermarle Sound was easy going today (although it would have been fun to get Lailia’s sails up).

There were two boats ahead of us near the Alligator River Bridge – they called us via VHF and said that they would wait so the bridge tender would only have to open up once.

The ICW south of the Alligator River goes through the Alligator/Pungo RIver Canal. It’s another long, narrow cut (ditch) that goes through miles of remote spaces. We (I) stay on the lookout for wildlife as I have read that there are bears here (and they are on my bucket list). They’re still on my bucket list…

Today we traveled about 77 miles, which is the longest trip we have taken together on Lailia. This meant traveling until the sun had nearly set to get out of the ditch and into a wide-open anchorage.

We’re tucked in this really beautiful wide space where there’s a couple other boats anchored. We have enough room to know they’re there but we’re spaced out enough to not hear anyone.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow but it will still be fairly warm. We may try to stop in Oriental, NC.

Tidewater Marina, VA to Coinjock Marina, Coinjock, NC (docked)

October 29 & 30, 2023

We planned to leave Portsmouth on Friday but the wind was so strong we were concerned about getting out of our slip. The wind was blowing from the north and could have pushed us beamwise across other docked boats. We stayed an extra day which allowed us to leave safely, get more provisions, and get a slip in Coinjock today- all of which are wins.

Portsmouth/Norfolk is mile marker 0 for the ICW. There’s also a lot of shipyard industry and bridges right there. The Gilmerton Bridge is just about 6 miles south of Portsmouth and the bridge tender there is cranky. She likes to make boats wait for this “on demand” bridge, which means we have to circle for a few minutes before she does her thing (we can see when she begins starting traffic).

When we were in the Great Bridge lock in July, there were 2 other pleasure boats and a tug going north. Today there were at least 8 other boats, all going south. There are a few bridges just past the lock, so we wound up in a flotilla with them for a couple of hours (even the boat that tried to pass everyone had to wait at the bridges while we all caught up).

It’s easy to see why this part of the ICW, the Virginia Cut, is often called the ditch – it’s a straight, narrow cut through the woods. The water is calm and there’s no real current.

It was still mostly cloudy for much of the way, although we began to see blue skies just before we hit the Currituck Sound.

After the rough ride through the Port Royal Sound in January, I get a little worried when I know we have to cross another sound. The Currituck was super easy today (but I wonder what it was like yesterday in the wind) plus, we had sunshine!

We’re at Coinjock Marina and have fueled up; we’ll head out early tomorrow and plan to travel about 50 miles so we can anchor somewhere near or in the Alligator River in North Carolina.

Tidewater Yacht Marina, Portsmouth, VA (docked)

October 26, 27 and 28, 2022

This is a good place for us to be docked while I am working. There is good 5G broadband so I can be in Zoom meetings and there’s some interesting places for John to visit.

John learned that there is a very inexpensive ferry between where we are in Portsmouth to Norfolk, which is right across the Elizabeth River. He scouted it out while I was working (and while it was really sunny).

Since John knows that I like ferries and that I have been boat-bound due to all of the virtual meetings, he suggested that we take a ride to Norfolk for dinner.

Once the ferry leaves the dock, it takes about five minutes to get to the other side of the river.

The western skyline of Portsmouth opens up from the Norfolk side of the river.

After we rode the ferry back to Portsmouth, we took a walk in Old Town. The houses there are really pretty and the Halloween decorations were great.

We will be heading south again tomorrow morning. When we were here in July, it was really hot and humid and we didn’t encounter too many issues finding dock spaces in the ICW south of here. Not only are temperatures much cooler these days, there are also many boats heading south now that hurricane season is nearing its end. This means we may not get dock space at our next probable stop in Coinjock and prospective anchorages may also full. We’ll see how things turn out tommorow.

Deltaville to Tidewater Yacht Marina, Portsmouth, VA (docked)

October 25, 2022

Red sky last night did not provide any delight for this sailor. It’s still gray. It’s not raining and it’s not windy, but it’s still just gray. We were lucky that we had sun when we were in St. Michaels on Friday because we’ve been in this monotone gray ever since.

At least the water was pretty calm today so we could read. We also had a passenger for about an hour and a half. No doubt she is also tired of the gray, too.

As we got closer to Portsmouth and Norfolk, there was a definite change in the surroundings. We also saw a naval police boat interact with a sailboat that was getting near some of the docked naval ships.

There was also a lot of commercial traffic.

We’re back in the same marina where we stayed in July. I will be in some virtual meetings for the next few days and the wifi is pretty decent here. We can also get groceries and other deliveries while we’re here; we know the next week or so we will travel through some remote-ish areas.

Night is very different here in this marina – we’ve got so much light from across the river from us in Norfolk.