Playing Battleship!

Hi folks this is Pollie getting brave and doing a post this time.
Today we did the tourist thing after two days of rain and caught the Battleship North Carolina in all her sunlit glory. Huge ship, we got lost down below...The views of Cape Fear River historic waterfront were impressive from the uppermost decks. We could even see our boat across the river!

I think we had too much fun :)) Loved these photos so had to buy them all... I'm such an easy target.

Wilmington, NC

We did a long day from Swan Point, NC, down the ICW past Carolina Beach, through Snow's Cut, up the Cape Fear River to Wilmington City Docks (34 14.306N/077 57.090W).  It was a day of fast and slow.  Once we had to put the peddle to the metal to make a bridge opening, then we had to slow down to time the next bridge.  The current from the inlets to the Atlantic Ocean played with us also.  At times over a knot of speed was shaved off by current, ant other times we were flying:

9.4 Knots was our best!

Under the Carolina Beach Bridge over Snow's Cut, we decided to give this guy the right of way, like the boats ahead of did.

Before getting to the Historic District of Wilmington, you past the industrial side of town, but then you get some better views.

We plan on staying here until Monday visiting with my sister and brother-in-law (Judy & Charlie).  We already have the new WiFi enhancer installed, and Judy's wash & fold has us in clean clothes.

Beaufort to Swan Point

We ran the gauntlet between small fishing boats, a couple of large fishing boats, other southbound sailors, and Camp Lejeune firing-range:

We did find our dream home among the mega-mansions that lined the waterway:



Once past the Onslow Beach Highway Bridge at Mile Marker 240:

We had planned to anchor in Mile Hammock Bay, however when we got there the Inn was full - very crowded anchorge.  So, we proceeded on to Swan Point Marina and a high wind landing.  Swan Point Marina is a little long in the tooth, but has a friendly staff. 

Our social butterfly kicked in and we met a very charming French Canadian couple on a Nova Scotia lobster boat inspired trawler that the wife had done a great job designing a elegant industrial interior.  Next we went for drinks on the last Manta 42' catamaran produced.  Some may recall we seriously considered buying a Manta as our retirement sailing platform.  Unfortunately, due to the wife's change of heart, this Manta is for sale.  Pollie is thinking that this is too wierd we ran into this boat, Hmmm...

Tomorrow, Wilmington.





Washington to Beaufort, NC

Passed this rig in the Pamlico River leaving Washington, NC.  After the Pamlico, we turned south into Goose Creek that led us into a canal that passed under the Hobucken Bridge - can't make these names up.  This dropped us into the Neuse River for a short distance until we turned into Broad Creek to spend the night on anchor.

Broad Creek

35 05.295N 076 36.736W

What Broad Creek lacked in amenities, i.e., cell phone coverage, it made up for in quiet beautiful surroundings.  The shore line was mostly tall pines with a few houses sprinkled in.  

In the morning we took a beating heading into a strong south wind on the Neuse River until we got to Adams Creek and the canal that led us to Beaufort.  Meeting this guy in the canal was a little intimidating.

Beaufort is pronounced Bo-fort.  If you pronounce it Bew-fort like the town in South Carolina, the locals say, "You ain't from around here, is ya'all?"   

Catching Up

Morning at Catfish Point

35 46.004N/076 03.817W

After leaving the Alligator River and traversing the Alligator River/Pungo River Canal, we pulled into Belhaven, NC, regrouped from the electrical spike, and dodged some rainy weather.  Belhaven, while a nice little town with some potential, will probably stay just that, a little town with potential.

Next we turned up the Pamilco River and visited my nephew and his wife (Mark and Shelley) in Washington, NC, a.k.a., "Little Washington."  Great little town with a very friendly, and cheap town dock.  The railroad crossing and swing bridge almost form a breakwater for the docks and anchorage.

 We had dinner with Mark and Shelley every evening, did some boat work, and bicycled around town, including a stop a Backwater Jacks:

Our Circus Bikes

Technology Implosion

At about Mile Marker 100 on the ICW, turning into the Alligator River/Pungo River Canal, Serenity suffered a voltage spike on the house side of the 12 volt system.  The engine kept running fine, however all of our navigation gear started cycling on and off.  As Pollie said, it was very Twilight Zone.  We shut down everything and reverted to paper charts and a hand held VHF radio, until I got the problem resolved.  Really not sure what happened, but I think the battery isolation relay that allows us to charge both battery banks while keeping them isolated from each other hung up.  I have not been able to recreate the problem.  Other than replacing a few fuses and having to reset everything, it appears the only thing we lost was our WiFi enhancer:

We had this unit mounted on a spreader, then connected to a router (see: http://www.keenansystems.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=315). We loved it.  We never had to rely on the cell card that is like a dial up connection.  So, we have a replacement unit ordered and the old one sent in for warranty that we will keep as a backup.

The next casualty was my old Dell laptop.  It went DOA in Washington, NC, so we visited the local Office Depot.  Because it was not plugged in, I do not think it had any nexus with the electrical spike, just managed to find the end of its life cycle.

Elizabeth City and Beyond

We left Elizabeth City early in the morning in the company of some of the boats we accompanied us through the last part of the Dismal Swamp Canal. The other boats had a long trip ahead of them through the Albemarle Sound then the Alligator River before finding a suitable anchorage. Because of Serenity's short draft, we were able to pull into a small creek off of Catfish Point in the Alligator River (35 46.004N/076 03.817W). This is the second time we have been in there, and both times it as a white knuckle ride across a 6' bar. And, both times we tried to venture further back where the charts show 17' of water and grounded our 4.2' keel.




Guests, more later...