Cruising – Page 3 – Hydrotherapy Travels

The Necessity of Flexibility

Cruising north on the ICW has required a large degree of flexibility. We have had to adjust our schedule numerous times due to strong currents, forceful winds, high seas and even a lack of dock availability. We have even encountered marinas which had no fuel. We have learned valuable lessons in flexibility and adaptability and recognize that our planned daily schedule might need to be revised, altered or simply cancelled.

We arrived at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club in howling winds, but managed to safely dock with the help of two able dockhands. After spending Easter Sunday and the following day at the beautiful yacht club we chose to leave on the third day when the winds were supposed to be less fierce. As we got into the main shipping channel approximately three miles to the north, we encountered our worst sea and wind conditions to date. We even had some challenges turning the boat around. We called the Norfolk club and asked whether we could return for another night. They were very accommodating and we felt that we made the safest decision. That evening we had dinner with another boating couple who had completed their Great Loop trip in 1988. They have over 50 years of boating experience. They shared their boating wisdom with us… “When in doubt, chicken out.” Our revision to that is, “When in doubt, think it out.”

As we continue cruising on this coast, we have had the opportunity to anchor near Camp Lejeune, cruise past the Norfolk Navy shipyard, and watch patrols of young Coast Guard seamen train near our dock at Yorktown, VA. We are inspired by their dedication and professionalism. In the future, we will be cruising to Annapolis, home of the Naval Academy and up the Hudson River past West Point. We are grateful to these fine men and women for their service.

Anchoring by Camp Lejeune

After a one day stop at Wrightsville Beach, NC we moved north on the ICW to find a quite anchorage to spend one night. Our quiet setting was located adjacent to the Camp Lejeune marine base. We were about to go to sleep when our night was livened up by several Apache helicopters performing night training maneuvers directly over our heads. As we weighed anchor the next morning to head north, we were passed by a flotilla of fast moving navy harbor patrol boats carrying marine personnel on morning maneuvers. We also passed a designated military beach area used for live fire target practice. It is comforting to know our military men and women are constantly training to be ready to defend our freedom and we are forever grateful for their service. God bless America! 🇺🇸

From the military area, we moved on to Beaufort, NC. Having visited both Beaufort, SC recently and Beaufort, NC, we made an effort to pronounce each town properly. Beaufort, SC is pronounced ”BEW-fert” and Beaufort, NC is pronounced ”BOW-firt”. Interestingly, both towns are named after the same individual, Henry Somerset, the Duke of Beaufort, an English noble.

From the eastern shore of North Carolina we are cruising our way to the North Carolina Outer Banks. We will have to monitor the weather which can cause the seas of the Pimlico Sound to swell, making for an unpleasant passage.

Running Offshore in the Atlantic

We enjoyed two days in Savannah where we were able to take the Old Town Trolley tour to remind us, not only of the rich history of the city, but also its contributions to the many cinematic productions filmed both here and in Charleston. In fact, we were able to download and watch the films, Forrest Gump, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Prince of Tides and Conrak which all had ties to the South Carolina low country.

We spent three days at the Charleston City Marina in the heart of downtown Charleston, SC. From there we could walk the riverfront and see the contrast between the historic downtown homes and the modern Medical University of South Carolina. While tied to the floating dock at the marina, we experienced a violent thunderstorm with wind gusts to 60mph. With rain coming at us sideways, it was comforting to see our boat remain watertight and see our dockside fenders protect our hull from crashing into the sides of the dock.

With improvement in the weather forecast for our fourth day, we made the decision to move north to Georgetown, SC utilizing the outside passage in the Atlantic for a change of scenery. Although the wave height was predicted to be 1-2 ft., we found the seas to be rougher than anticipated. We maintained our heading and speed to arrive at the Georgetown marina safely early in the afternoon.

A close friend of ours who has a summer home nearby, met us at the marina and gave us a wonderful tour of her hometown. She even had us as guests overnight in her home. That was the first night we have not slept on our boat since Feb. 22. Now on to North Carolina!

Solitude, Serenity and Silence

Tuesday night we found a secluded spot alongside St Catherines Island on Walburg Creek in Georgia. Having no success with finding dock space anywhere for the night, we decided to anchor out once again. What we are finding is that we are absolutely loving ending our evening with no boats, no docks, no people, no lights, and no city…nothing but stars, solitude, silence, and serenity. It is the most peaceful ending to a busy day of boating and we will be anchoring out now any chance we get. Anchoring out is a reminder to us all to seek our serenity and silence.

We spent two days and nights at Thunderbolt Marina in Savannah, GA. We had never been to Savannah before so we took the hop-on/hop-off trolley for a quick overview of this historical city. We loved the stately live oaks covered with their Spanish moss, the blooming Dogwoods and azaleas and the wonderful old homes, some of which date back to the early 1800’s.

Today we had an easy run from Savannah to Hilton Head and crossed from Georgia into South Carolina. The landscape is unmistakeably low-country now with marsh grass, numerous cuts and inlets, and nine foot tidal changes. Tomorrow we are playing golf at one of the many beautiful golf courses on Hilton Head.

Anchoring Out

It’s hard to believe we have journeyed over 1150 miles since we began our cruise. Yesterday we crossed the FL/GA line. We decided to anchor offshore of the Cumberland Island National Park and planned to dinghy ashore for a day of hiking and picnicking. We hiked 10 miles from the Atlantic side of the island to the bay side yesterday afternoon.

The island was owned by the Carnegie family in the 19th century. They built a 35,000 sq. foot mansion with buildings to house over 200 support staff in the late 1800’s. The 20th century Carnegies donated the island to the National Park Service with the proviso that all the horses left on the island would be allowed to roam freely. Thus, many generations of horses since then have grown to a population of approximately 150 horses. We encountered many groups of feral horses while hiking both the beach side and bay side of the island.

We were glad that our anchor held firm throughout a windy day and night and now we’re ready to anchor out more when the occasion arises. Now we head north toward Jekyll Island and to Savannah.

Enjoying the ICW/Visiting Heroes

With all boat systems functioning well, we have made our way up the ICW a short distance from Vero Beach to Indian Harbor Beach to stay a couple of nights at the Eau Gallie Yacht Club. Since we had a full day to explore, we opted to take an Uber ride to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral and be tourists for the day. It has been at least twenty-five years since we have visited the facility and there have been substantial upgrades to the exhibits. It brought back memories of being glued to our tv sets as youngsters watching the United States Space program mature through Mercury, Gemini and the Apollo programs. The extraordinary exhibit of the Atlantis Space shuttle missions brought tears to our eyes as we realized the sacrifices and dedication of all the heroes it took to accomplish these goals. It certainly made us proud to be Americans. The comparison of our small boating journey to the magnitude of what has been accomplished in space over these short decades is best stated by Space Shuttle Engineer, Tom Milner. He said, ”We have dreamed big, ventured on wild seas, lost sight of the land, and found stars to guide us on our journey. We expanded our horizons and learned lessons.” God Bless America!