Finally Heading South

[O C Diver]

"Mile Hammock Bay at New River inlet."

I'm sure you know this however:
There's a marker as you get near the bridge (Onslow?) before Mile Hammock that looks like it's way out of position. Be careful, it's not.

Safe travels.

Hmm, don't see it on active captain. Thanks for the heads up.

Theey ahve been doing a lot of live fire exercises at LeJeune this past week, so Mile hammock may be noisy and busy. Also a possibility of the ICW being closed for a few hours at a time. Offshore from Morehead to Masonboro is one of the better routes and you skip one of the more boring and shoal proneICW stretches (in addition to the above), yesterday would have been great, though though today calls for 2-4s @ 5 sec, which seems too rough for the OP's liking. NE wind usually makes it not that bad nearshore if the New River restricted zone is not being enforced. No way tomorrow as a small craft warning will be up.

I have no issues with 2 to 4' if necessary. 50 or 60 miles of 2' is fine, 4' not so much. Looks like I'll be in the water this afternoon.

Forecast for the ocean:

Wednesday 3 to 5' building 5 to 7'
Thursday 4 to 6'
Friday 4 to 6'
Saturday 2 to 3'

Think I'll go inside tomorrow as opposed to waiting till Saturday.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Didn't want the paragraph police after me, so just posted some pics.

Ted

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. OC. She sure is purdy!

 

[Moonstruck]

Ted, I don't have my notes with me, but I think the marker mentioned is where a channel enters into the ICW behind Bear Inlet. That is a shoal prone area. It is north of the firing range signs near the old Uniflite plant.

 

[O C Diver]

Greetings,
Mr. OC. She sure is purdy!

Thanks RT, I'm rather partial to her myself!

Ted, I don't have my notes with me, but I think the marker mentioned is where a channel enters into the ICW behind Bear Inlet. That is a shoal prone area. It is north of the firing range signs near the old Uniflite plant.

Ok, I see that warning. Thanks!

Ted

 

[HenryD]

Keep it coming Ted...it's warmer down here.
She sure looks pretty...even with the ding.

 

[O C Diver]

Coming as hard and fast as I can. Don't use up all the warm weather before I get there.

Ted

 

[kulas44]

Agreed, hadnt thought about 50 degree water. I have 2 &1/2 inch shafts on my sporty, with 34 inch props. They are a bear to pull but it can be done. I have used a big Crescent a few times to straighten prop tips bent like that. That 4 blade prop behind the keel probably contributed to the vibration, making it more noticeable.

 

[O C Diver]

Bogue Sound this morning. Wind is 18 knots gusting to 20. Seas are maybe 1'. Glad I'm not in the ocean.



Ted

 

[psneeld]

Yep...but it does require a bit of concentration as it necks down and the channel get narrower and shallower....


Play some real lively travelling music to keep you sharp and the mind from wandering too far off path....


Bet you aren't seeing much traffic these days.

 

[KMA]

Coming as hard and fast as I can. Don't use up all the warm weather before I get there.

Ted

Not sure if anyone told you, but there's a new ICW tax in FL, between Merritt Island and Vero Beach. It involves picking me up at Cocoa Village Marina in MI, and dropping me in Vero

 

[O C Diver]

Yep...but it does require a bit of concentration as it necks down and the channel get narrower and shallower....


Play some real lively travelling music to keep you sharp and the mind from wandering too far off path....


Bet you aren't seeing much traffic these days.

It's all coming back to me now. I now remember it from 2 years ago. Nice easy run today. Anchored in Mile Hammock Bay anchorage by 1 : 30 pm this afternoon. Just enough interesting stuff to keep me focused. Only boat to wake me so far was a CG 47'. Was going to say something over the radio as they past me, but thought better of it.

Not sure if anyone told you, but there's a new ICW tax in FL, between Merritt Island and Vero Beach. It involves picking me up at Cocoa Village Marina in MI, and dropping me in Vero

Doesn't apply to me as I'm a Florida resident.

Question of the day:

Do 3 Ospreys constitute a flock?







Anchored next to Camp Lejeune for the night.

Ted

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Great to see you going again Ted. If you can answer, what was the cost of the prop repair? Keep the pics coming.

 

[O C Diver]

Great to see you going again Ted. If you can answer, what was the cost of the prop repair? Keep the pics coming.

The prop repair worked out ok. The prop is fixed and seems to be the same, but there is an annoying harmonic between 1200 and 1400 rpm. This is my 6 to 7 knot range. Going above that mostly eliminates it. Talked to my prop guy back home and he said they tapered the leading edge too much. Will resolve it when I get home.

The cost from the yard was quite reasonable. They charged be $385 to haul and block the boat. No charge to sit in the yard for 2 days. No charge for 2 nights on the floating dock with electric. Paid $160 for an outside mechanic to pull the prop and put it back on. Paid $120 for pickup and delivery of the prop (they call it handring :lol: ). Prop shop was $260. Total was a little over $900. If not for the harmonics, all things considered, I thought the price was very reasonable.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Last 24 hours have been tough. Someone forgot to tell the Marines to go to bed. At 10pm they're still flying helicopter ops over my boat. Went to bed and didn't set the anchor drag alarm quite right. It started squawking at 11:30pm. Boat is swinging wildly on the hook. Get to the pilothouse and the world has gone crazy. Wind indicator is showing the direction changing back and forth by 100 degrees. Wind speed is gusting over 35 knots. Boat is pivoting 180 degrees on the anchor. Starting to wonder if the anchor will pull out. At least the helicopters aren't flying overhead anymore. After about 15 minutes everything settled down. No idea what kind of weather event does that.

This morning rain and fog.



All day, rain and fog! Spent a half hour just trying to recover my anchor from the mud. I can attest that you can completely bury the rollbar of a Rocna. Love my Rocna!

Motored 65 miles in rain and fog. They would both come and go. Usually the visibility was better than a half a mile. Later in the afternoon it dropped to a quarter of a mile. Heading into Snows cut it opened up to a mile. Coming out of the Cut, the section from there to the shipping lane dropped below 200'. Get focused; watch the radar; watch the plotter; stay in the channel; find the channel markers....all during heavy downpoours. Check AIS for ship traffic. Fortunately, by the time I reached the shipping lanes the fog was lifting, back to 1 mile visibility.

Sitting here tied to the transient dock at South Harbour Village Marina. Water tanks are full; waste tank is empty; dockage and 50 amp electric for $70. Joseph's Italian Bistro is 300' from the boat. Transient dockage is good on a floating pier with municipal water, fuel and pump out. Fuel isn't a deal. Joseph's is one of the best bistros I've ever eaten in! $30!

My world is at peace again. Do it again tomorrow.

Ted

 

[HenryD]

Nice price on the propshop.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Wild wind. Sure the Marines weren't hovering right above the boat??? LOL

 

[FF]

"Anchored next to Camp Lejeune for the night."

How was anchoring in ooze?

 

[Tom.B]

Prop shop was $260. Total was a little over $900.

Bull's or Big Rock prop shop?

We used Big Rock in December and got a prop scan done. Was happy with the work.

 

[stubones99]

Sure the Marines weren't hovering right above the boat??? LOL

The Marines were probably checking out the paint job on Miss Cotton / Slow Hand...

 

[Marlinmike]

Yea a sharp edge on a prop will make it sing, don't ask me how I know that....

 

[O C Diver]

Wild wind. Sure the Marines weren't hovering right above the boat??? LOL

Pretty sure it was mother nature. The Marines are impressive to watch fly! The Osprey is neat to watch. Don't think I want to go for a ride in it though.

"Anchored next to Camp Lejeune for the night."

How was anchoring in ooze?

Definitely took a bunch of spraying to clean the mud off. I'm good with that. Fair trade off for holding firm all night.

Bull's or Big Rock prop shop?

We used Big Rock in December and got a prop scan done. Was happy with the work.

Don't know which shop they used; hope not to make that mistake again.

The Marines were probably checking out the paint job on Miss Cotton / Slow Hand...

Yup, saw them eyeing the boat from the Osprey.

Yea a sharp edge on a prop will make it sing, don't ask me how I know that....

Simple fix, sloppy finish to an otherwise good job.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Yesterday was a long slog up hill against the current. Left Southport in the morning with light rain and wind 20 gusting to 25 knots. Thankfully the day was in narrow waterways. By 9am the rain had given way to mostly sunny skies. From Little River inlet onward I fought the out going current seemingly up hill, to it's peak at Enterprise SC. Looked to be an exceptionally low tide as I was pushing against a 1.5 knot current. Pics don't quite show it, but a number of boats on lifts would have just set the boat down in the mud.



Water looked to be down 6' from high tide.



Past several nice marinas along the way. One even had a rare Cherubini in it.



Needless to say, fell short of my goal for the day and ended up staying in Osprey marina. Very protected modern docks and a friendly professional staff. Dockage is a $1 a foot and $5 for 50 amp electric! Good choice for transient docking. Didn't sample the local fare, although a number of delivery services are available.

Hoping to catch the out going current today.

Ted

 

[Ski in NC]

Timing the tides in the Wrightsville Beach to Georgetown SC is a challenge. I have done it where I most often had favorable currents, other trips it was 90% on the nose.

I think if you leave Osprey just after Gtown high tide, you can ride the ebb in the Waccamaw. That is if Osprey is where I think it is, behind Myrtle Beach somewhere well past Little River.

 

[BandB]

Yes, Osprey is just to the south of Myrtle Beach so on the way to Georgetown. It is consistently the highest rated marina and lowest price fuel in the area. I've never actually stopped there as it's too close to our destination/departure location for us to stop, but heard nothing but good about it. Did you get a goodie bag?

 

[rwidman]

Riding the ebb in the Waccamaw River and Wynyaw Bay would be nice but after that, the current is going to reverse every few miles well into GA because of the inlets and rivers you will be traveling on so it's pretty much a crapshoot. I just set the throttle to 2K RPM and take what I get.


Osprey Marina is well known for good fuel prices but Myrtle Beach Yacht Club (north of Myrtle Beach) is also very competitive.

 

[cardude01]

Are you staying in the ICW through GA? I've never been through that stretch but heard it was shallow.

Looks pretty however with all the marshes and twists and turns.

 

[Ski in NC]

If you can time a twenty mile stretch to get a favorable tide, it really helps. Not worth sitting at the dock waiting for it though.

Kind of like finding a low price fuel dock or something favorite on sale. Releases endorphines or something like that. Just feels good riding a favorable current.

Then once in the parts of the ditch with lots of inlets, there is no point as the current swaps direction each time you pass an inlet.

 

[rwidman]

Are you staying in the ICW through GA? I've never been through that stretch but heard it was shallow.

Looks pretty however with all the marshes and twists and turns.

There are several shallow spots but most of it is fine. There is about a nine foot tidal range so you can wait for the tide if you have to.

 

[BandB]

From Georgetown south we greatly prefer outside.