Underway Today

Anode said:

Interesting you don't throw much wake. How fast in the above picture off your stern?

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Obviously on auto pilot? What make?

Raymarine X30 corepack with a ST70 control head. Steers her better then I can especially in following seas.

The Pamlico crossing was a piece of cake though heavy fog meant an Adams Creek run was not in the cards so we pulled into Oriental at 3:30AM for a bit of rest. Leaving the free dock now.

HarborCam | TownDock.net | Oriental NC News, Weather, Photos

Wow... You're a little big for that spot, eh? :lol:

GonzoF1 said:

Wow... You're a little big for that spot, eh? :lol:

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It was just what the Sandman ordered!!!

Tried that passage, Beaufort then offshore to Charleston, several years ago in our sailboat. Waited in South River, across from Oriental, for a weather window. Finally looked like a few good days so we headed out. Late afternoon the weather totally turned to sh_t. Decided to head for Masonboro inlet. Finally made that by daybreak. Longest night we ever spent aboard, worse than the Mona Passage.

NOAA totally blew it. Heard distress calls from some poor soul off Frying Pan Shoals. Friends of ours were out there in their 42' cat and finally hove to.

Hope you have better luck,

Bob

BobH said:

Tried that passage, Beaufort then offshore to Charleston, several years ago in our sailboat. Waited in South River, across from Oriental, for a weather window. Finally looked like a few good days so we headed out. Late afternoon the weather totally turned to sh_t. Decided to head for Masonboro inlet. Finally made that by daybreak. Longest night we ever spent aboard, worse than the Mona Passage.

NOAA totally blew it. Heard distress calls from some poor soul off Frying Pan Shoals. Friends of ours were out there in their 42' cat and finally hove to.

Hope you have better luck,

Bob

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That does not sound fun! I sailed to Bermuda this last June and got caught in some s^%t. After surviving it though it was a blast. If the window is good we will go all the way to St Augustine I think.

How far off shore will you be? How many hours will it take to Charleston or St Aug's? What kind of watch shifts will you take?

Just curious, how much fuel do you carry and how do you keep up with consumption/remaining?

We now have a 38' power boat with 300 gal capacity but as yet I have no idea what our range might be. Was no big deal with the sail boat, you could always sail home or at least close to home.

Bob

Today's pic is "Sea Quest" docked at the town docks in Beaufort, NC. Some of you might recognize her from Passagemaker articles. She hails from Portland, OR but has been cruising the east coast the last few years. Nice couple in their late 60s or early 70s I would guess. We had a dolphin greet us as soon as we pulled into the channel. Even had the bridge operator open the draw 8 minutes after schedule so we wouldn't have to wait. He complimented the hull form

Just spent a few days at the Municipal Docks in St Augustine. One of the best places we have visited lately. Great town, food, shopping etc. The admiral loved it and will be back. If you get a chance, go to the San Sebastian Winery and taste the wines. At $10 a bottle it is great stuff. Also, if you like balsamic vinegar (my favorite) and olive oil you gotta visit the Ancient Olive on King Street. I spent an hour in there tasting all of the different flavors of oil and vinegar.

Good luck on your voyage and thanks for bringing all of us along. BTW, what happen in Oriental, looks like you made a loop and didn't stop?


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Thanks for the St Augustine tips. We pulled into Oriental and slept till 9:00. Threw the lines then and headed down to Beaufort. Always one of the best stops on the ICW. Tied up at the town docks for free for several hours and are now out in the creek waiting for daybreak to leave the inlet. Should arrive in Charleston early in the AM on Friday. As to watches since it's just me and my 13 yr old daughter I will be on until probably about 2:00 and then she will relieve me until 4-5:00. I don't need much sleep. I can always recharge the batteries in Charleston. After Charleston it will be just about the same thing again to St Augustine.

BobH said:

Just curious, how much fuel do you carry and how do you keep up with consumption/remaining?

We now have a 38' power boat with 300 gal capacity but as yet I have no idea what our range might be. Was no big deal with the sail boat, you could always sail home or at least close to home.

Bob

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The boat has a maximum capacity of about 840 gallons. We only carry half that at max ie: we found some cheep fuel or are headed to expensive fuel. We burn 2.1GPH so staying on top of things is pretty far down on the list. If you keep your rpms reasonable (take a close hard look at a fuel burn chart for your engine, a hundred rpm or so can make a huge difference) you won't be thinking about fuel very often. When you do need to fuel up then call a local distributor and have them bring a truck to you. You will save a bunch of $ and you will have fresh fuel.

Besslb said:

How far off shore will you be? How many hours will it take to Charleston or St Aug's? What kind of watch shifts will you take?

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I guess we will be about 25-30 miles offshore at the furthest points. Watches are me all night accept from about 2-4-5:00. There are just two of us.

ICW today

A quiet, moody day on the ICW (N Myrtle Beach), Lookin' Out My Backdoor.
Some interesting boats. KJ

Looks like Barefoot Landing!

Offshore today

Does not look like much fun in a couple of hours!

NDBC - Station 41037

I love how you captured the essence of the sportfisher with it's massive wake destroying peoples property

Daddyo said:

7 knots @ 1400RPM

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Eighteen knots:

Daddyo said:

I love how you captured the essence of the sportfisher with it's massive wake destroying peoples property

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Yeah, he went by at a pretty good clip. Check the name of the boat; "Chaos". KJ

Daddyo, you stopped transmitting?

dhmeissner said:

Daddyo, you stopped transmitting?

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Hope he's OK.

I really enjoy reading your posts. I just found this forum and love it! What cruising guides are you using for info?
Safe travels.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard Mr. soggy.

Where's DaddyO????

Daddyo is transmitting again, just off Bulls Bay north of Charleston doing 6.8 knots. Hope they had a good trip and everything is OK.

rochepoint said:

Daddyo is transmitting again, just off Bulls Bay north of Charleston doing 6.8 knots. Hope they had a good trip and everything is OK.

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Great!

Welcome to South Carolina Daddyo! Home of the Gamecocks!

Hello everyone!
Rickized your right it did get pretty unpleasant for the entire trip until the last 5-6 hours. The overnight was the worst with confused 4-7 following seas. As many of you know waves at night are always magnified due to your inability to anticipate the motion. The wind had been forecast to weaken slightly overnight but it was the opposite. The biggest pucker event was crossing the Frying Pan Shoals at Cape Fear, NC. With the sea state you just never know how much worse or not that it will get when crossing an area such as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Nothing major but it did make for a sleepless night. Instead of our usual strategy of anchoring we opted for a slip for the easy access to downtown Charleston. We're at Charleston Harbor Marina for the first time and these guys are awesome. The manager immediately offered to drive me to the stores tomorrow if I would like. He also gave me a very handsome discount on our slip all in an effort to roll out the welcome mat for cruisers. Their efforts should be rewarded. Having some trouble with posting pics at the moment. I'll try again later. All said it was a 30 hour passage.

The first pic is yesterday morning leaving Taylor's Creek in Beaufort, NC. Next is one of the wild ponies in Beaufort, then finally yesterday mornings Atlantic and todays Atlantic just outside of Charleston.