GA to Mile Marker "O" in Norfolk, VA

Ship's Log - March 27, 2010 near Savannah, GA
to April 8, 2010, Norfolk, VA

Mark has been working his way north. Even though there are just a few photos, he does quite a fun read. From the last posting….. He last left us coming into Georgia……

3/27/10, Saturday – This morning I saw a fish jump clear of out of the water about 100 yards away. It was huge. I am guessing it was at least 4 and maybe 5 feet long. I didn’t think anything could live in this brown muddy water. Today was more marsh land and a maze of creeks and rivers. The wind blew all day and it made the sounds very choppy. The worst was Sapelo Sound. The waves were 4 feet with a few six footers thrown in a short chop, right on the nose. Avalon took it all on with no whining. The next fun came at Hell’s Gate. A short cut on the Little Ogeechee River where I managed to find the bottom. Fortunately a small boat came by and told me to move over 5 feet and I would be in the channel. I pushed the throttle down and powered thru the mud and back into the channel. I was not looking forward to the call to SeaTow. Spent the night in Herb Creek (ICW mile marker 584), this was an anchorage we used on the trip down.

3/28/10, Sunday – The morning was still and clear and the ride to Savannah was wonderful until the slow slog 8 miles up the Savannah River to the city. It was well worth the ride. It must have been an incredible sight to arrive on the waterfront in the days when cotton was king. I took a trolley tour of the historic district and was very impressed with the squares and the restorations of the buildings. Savannah boasts many firsts, but I didn’t realize the main industry was shipping. Over a billion cargo containers go thru the port each year. The second largest industry is tourism. Sightseeing trolleys are everywhere. Left the city in early afternoon ahead of the rain and anchored in Skull Creek (554).

3/29/10, Monday – What a day. It seemed like every cut between rivers had shoaled in – no problems at all on the run south. Many left me with 18” or less under the keel. A few times I could feel the mud dragging on the keel and I would have to power up and hope for the best because there wasn’t any place else to go. When I turned into the anchorage at Tom Point Creek (496) the chart showed 12’ of water. I was some surprised to hit bottom hard twice. Avalon bounced up and over, we made it thru, I sure do like a full keel and protected prop. The creek is in the middle of a marsh and I was tucked down between the banks. One other sailboat was there and I motored upstream past him and dropped the anchor. I let out scope a little less than usual maybe so I wouldn’t end up on the shore if the boat swung in the night. I woke up at 2:00 am and since I was awake decided to have a look around. The boat had swung with the tide and it was ripping out of the creek. The unfortunate part was I was 2 tenths of a mile downstream having glided past the sailboat and finally the anchor had grabbed again. I fired up the engine, re-anchored mid stream and went back to bed. I gave myself a good mental thrashing……. scope…scope…scope.

3/30/10, Tuesday – Headed for Charleston, SC with reservations in place for the Charleston Maritime Center. I had been warned the current could be tricky on an ebb tide and I arrived on the last third of the ebb and had no difficulty. Of course I couldn’t leave the GPS situation alone. I called Furuno and got a little more info. I modified a couple of connections and now I can download routes and waypoints from the computer to the GPS and then to the autopilot. This may work okay for the moment. Washed the boat down from the previous night’s blessing of a huge dump of pollen. Checked out some ribs and wings for supper, a southern chain called Sticky Fingers and was not disappointed. I walked around the historic district and it was again a huge tourist area but with shopping and restaurants on a scale much larger than Portland. A good day.

3/31/10, Wednesday – Found a small shop that hand rolls cigars. That was a good stop. Took a horse drawn carriage ride of the residential and business areas of the historic district. The lowest priced home on that area of Charleston is 1.7 million according to our tour guide and that isn’t a great place. Lunch at Café Cru. I ordered a fried calamari mixed in an Asian slaw that was outstanding. I love this town. Did some route planning for the next day, and then boiled some shrimp for dinner. As I started to do the dishes the fresh water pump quit. After a certain amount of deliberation, I pulled out the two five gallon collapsible water bags and filled them at the dock. I will try to fix this on the fly. I think I will have a whiskey and call it a day.

4/1/10, Thursday – Spent the morning on the bus going to West Marine to get a new pump and a socket for the starboard nav light. Amazingly, they had the same pump on the shelf. Bus ride back, lunch, and started repairs. Turned on the pump and the d--- thing started. Moved on to the light. I installed the socket, still intermittent function. I took it apart twice more and the same result. Idiot. Then discovered the problem appears to be in the wire itself. McGivered that back together and it should work. More shrimp for supper. I used the last of the macaroni with red sauce, Jon and I made to whip up some shrimp with garlic, onions, etc.. It may be another great recipe with some tinkering. The meal was just right along with the Buena Vista Social Club playing from the Ipod that Joanne loaded on and some red wine. Since the maid had her day off, I started the dishes. D--- water pump refused to perform. Maid would have been very cranky. I grabbed the closest dirty fork and headed to the engine room where I gave the offending pump a good thrashing on the switch and it, in blind obedience, started to work again. I guess the trip to West Maine was not a total waste of time. Looks like it was a typical April fool’s day. Hope tomorrow is a little more productive.

4/2/10, Friday – Spent the morning prepping for an overnight run to Wrightsville Beach, NC. The weather was predicted to be south winds at 10 knots and seas 1-2 feet. Perfect offshore weather. Couldn’t sit around any longer and shoved off at noon. The weather was milder than predicted and it was a great night for a passage. The stars were out and the traffic from other boats was light. I tracked two other vessels on radar and on the same course with me for many hours. I reached the Cape Fear River around 4:00 in the morning and the offshore buoy showed up on the radar like a landing strip. With the radar and the channel lights I crawled up the river against the strong current, which I was to fight for more hours. Back on the ICW I ran into a fog bank that would make a make a Mainer proud. I couldn’t see nothin’. Another boat in the same soup saw that I had radar and asked if he could follow me. I answered on the radio “no problem” and hung up the mic. The screen on the radar went blank. Don’t know why, still don’t but I took the lead anyway. Just another case of the blind leading the blind. Finally, the fog lifted and the boats behind me slid on past the pokey Avalon. I noticed that the voltmeter was reading low but I didn’t know what was causing it. Rolled into Wrightsville Beach (283) around noon and had a beer and a bit to eat and took a nap. So much for Saturday.

4/4/10, Sunday – Felt pretty good in the morning, hit the road for at least a 50 mile day. I became a little concerned because it didn’t seem like the engine was charging the batteries. I started the generator and turned on the battery chargers and put a charge back in the batteries. That charge held me until I reached Swansboro, NC (229). Wasn’t sure if that had anything to do with the radar or not. Fueled the boat and then pulled out the bible. Nigel Calder’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual is worth its weight in gold. “Don’t leave home without it.” I tightened up the alternator belts again for the second time in the first 100 hours of use and it looks like that might be the solution. Radar must have just been coincidence. Guess I will have a whiskey and take the day off.

4/5/10, Monday – On the road, puttin’ on the miles. Campbell Creek (155) turned out to be a lovely anchorage.
4/6/10, Tuesday - Another day puttin’ on the miles. Alligator River Marina (85) is strategically located on the river because there is nothing else around. It is also a Shell station. No cell phone service.

4/7/10, Wednesday – More miles. Decided to take the Virgina Cut route instead of the Dismal Swamp. Much of the time you have to steer by hand. The route for the last three days twists and turns or you have to stay in a dredged channel and the wind is pushing you off course. The color of the water is brown from tannin or from mud, stains the boat and is just plain ugly. Pulled off the river at Blackwater Creek (30) and anchored about one half mile up the creek in mud. The wing blew most of the night but it wasn’t too bad.

4/8/10, Thursday – the final push on the ICW. Tonight, I will stay at the Waterside Marina and the historic district in Norfolk (mile marker 0 on the ICW). The area is revitalized and I would like to see more of this area. Very glad to be off the “ditch” and into more open water of Chesapeake Bay.