Chesapeake City-Atlantic City - May 22-28

On Friday morning we left our anchorage in Chesapeake City Basin and entered the C&D (Chesapeake-Delaware) Canal. This canal connects the top of the Chesapeake Bay to the top of the Delaware Bay. This canal was built to accommodate ocean ships and tankers to transit from one bay to the other. We traveled 17 miles to Delaware City Marina. In the afternoon we decided to take a walk to check out the town. Twenty minutes later we were done. Yup...pretty small. At night we went to dinner with Mark & Vicki from Blue Willow. We ate at a restaurant on Clinton Street named "Lewinsky's on Clinton". (really...we are not kidding)

5:30am on Saturday we left the dock along with 6 other boats to ride the out going tide and southern winds down the Delaware Bay to Cape May.  It is important when transiting the Delaware Bay to have winds and current in the same direction. We traveled 61 miles and arrived at South Jersey Marina by noon. In the afternoon we rode our bikes to the downtown and beach areas of Cape May. How pretty!  On the way back, we passed by the Coast Guard Base where Sheli's nephew Travis graduated from boot camp! For dinner we met Dave & Michelle from Just Us and Mark & Vicki from Blue Willow for pizza. 

Sunday morning we walked to the Cape May Lutheran Church were they had a special Memorial Day Service. It was very patriotic. The afternoon was a grocery shopping adventure...as always. We walked to the bus stop and took the bus to the next town. From there we walked to the Pharmacy for prescriptions and then on to Walmart for oil for the boat. We pushed our cart with 6 gallons of oil 1/4 mile to a Lowes parking lot where we left it. (sorry Walmart). We then carried our oil across a divided highway and a block later found a ShopRite cart abandoned in a parking lot. We loaded up our oil and continued a couple blocks to the ShopRite store where we purchased groceries. We then pushed that cart across the street to another store (sorry ShopRite) where we completed our shopping. We knew there was no way we could handle all this on the bus so we used Uber to get back to the boat. Whew!

When we depart Cape May, we must travel "outside" on the ocean. After looking at the forecast, we realized we would be staying here until later in the week due to high winds and waves. On Monday, we decided to move to Canyon Club Marina to wait for a good weather window. Upon arrival at the marina, we were invited to a hamburger cookout by the marina pool. They claimed it was to celebrate Memorial Day. We chose to believe it was in honor of Sheli's birthday. It was a beautiful sunny warm day. What a special birthday.

Tuesday we rode our bikes to Wildwood Beach and Boardwalk. The ride there we fine, the return was a bear pushing against the 20 mph winds. Whew again! That evening we were exhausted from the winds, so we cooked out and ate on the boat. 

It appeared that our weather window was going to open up on Thursday, so Wednesday was spent working around the boat. By late afternoon we finished our projects and rewarded ourselves with a little pool time.

Mid morning on Thursday we pulled out of Cape May and traveled 45 miles to Atlantic City. We rocked and rolled in the 5-6 ft swells on the Atlantic Ocean. It was an uncomfortable ride, but safe. Our marina for the night was at the Golden Nugget Casino. We took the local bus to the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk in the afternoon. It was not very busy, but we could tell this place must really hop in the summer. At night we enjoyed the rooftop hot tub the the Golden Nugget. 

Next stop NYC! We plan to head out early Friday morning to take advantage of a good weather day before the winds return. 

 Delaware City Marina 

 Sunrise over the Delaware Bay

 View from our Marina in Cape May.

 Go Travis!

 Wildwood Beach

 Biking the boardwalk.

 Work, work, work...fixing the anchor light.

 Goodbye Cape May.

 Atlantic City (sorry its crooked, the boat was rocking.

 Golden Nugget Marina.

Grace Harbor NC-Solomons Island, MD - May 13-18

Wednesday morning we left River Dunes Marina in Grace Harbor by 8am. It was time to make headway. We traveled a total of 72 miles. Our journey took us up the Neuse River, across the Pamlico Sound to the Alligator River. We dropped the anchor just off the ICW by early evening. Captain "I hate snakes"got pretty nervous when a snake came swimming near the boat. He took out a dock pole and convinced the snake to move along. 

Thursday morning we traveled up the Alligator River to the Albemarle Sound. This is a crossing of 16 miles and we were aware that it can get quite rough. Well, we experienced the "quite rough" part. For the first hour were taking waves over the bow and the Pura Vida rocked and rolled. We had things flying everywhere. It was rough, however we have experienced worse on Lake Michigan. The last hour calmed down somewhat and was a much more comfortable ride. Our home for the evening was Pelican Marina in Elizabeth City, NC.  This is the home of the largest U.S. Coast Guard Air Base. Sheli's father was stationed here while serving in the Coast Guard. 

Friday morning we headed out early to catch the 7:30am opening of the city draw bridge. Our goal was to travel through the Dismal Swamp Canal which has a lock at each end. The locks open at four scheduled times each day so timing was important. It was fun to be back in "lock mode" and all went smoothly. The canal is a north-south channel through the Great Dismal Swamp connecting the Albemarle Sound with the Chesapeake Bay. George Washington suggested the digging of this canal in 1763. The digging began in 1793. The canal was dug by hand and the labor was done mostly by slaves. It took approximately 12 years to complete this 22 mile canal. The canal is a very narrow tree and stump lined waterway with many logs lying on the bottom. We were told to expect to bump bottom and we did twice - but no damage. Snakes and turtles....too many to count! OK, just 2 snakes, but lots of turtles. While traversing the canal, we crossed from North Carolina into Virginia. Shortly after exiting the Deep Creek lock on the north end, we dropped the anchor in Deep Creek Basin. This was a calm, beautiful tree lined basin. The captain said all anchorages should be like this!

After a peaceful night on the hook, we left Saturday morning to travel through the busy port of Norfolk. We passed many Naval ships, aircraft carriers, container ships, ferries and every other kind of watercraft. There were many small Naval police boats patrolling the area to make sure everyone kept their distance from the military vessels. Our next large body of water is the Chesapeake Bay which in due time we will travel 180 miles from end to end. This is another area where we must pick good weather days to travel. We entered the Chesapeake by late morning with somewhat rolling seas which quickly calmed down. We had a smooth cruise over to Cape Charles located at the bottom of the east coast of the bay. The cleaner waters in the bay reminded us of Lake Michigan so we stopped half way across and took a swim!  We traveled a total of 46 miles and took a slip at the Cape Charles Town Harbor Marina. What a cute town! Late afternoon we went to the Crabby Blues Festival in a local park. Steve enjoyed the Blue Crabs for dinner. Sheli went with a yummy pulled pork sandwich. 

Sunday morning we delayed our departure to go to church only to get there and find a sign on the door that their 9:45 service was changed to 8:25 this week only. Oops! So, back to the boat and cast off the lines. We traveled diagonally across the Chesapeake to Ingram Bay Marina on the western shore. The day was beautiful, the seas were calm, but the black flies were out and biting! Argh! We saw many stingrays along side of the boat. They are so graceful. We traveled a total of 47 miles. 

Monday, what an awesome day on the Chesapeake. The bay was flat as pancake. The stingrays were out again and we saw a pod of dolphins playing. Wow...what an impressive sight in the calm waters. We cruised 48 miles to Solomons Island, Maryland. We had reservations at a marina, but as we pulled into the harbor, we spotted a great anchorage so decided to save few bucks and drop the hook. It was a hot, 86 degree day, so we toured the harbor via dinghy. We met some Loopers we had not met before and also saw some other Loopers we had not seen in quite some time. Big fun! 

 Elizabeth City, NC

 First mate back on lock duty!

 Dismal Swamp Canal.

 Norfolk harbor

 More Norfolk.

 And more...

 Crabby captain! 

 Crabbier first mate.

 Cape Charles, VA

 Sheli walking the beach in Cape Charles.

 View from Ingram Bay slip. No more palm trees!

 Calm Chesapeake Bay. Nice!

Grace Harbor/Tropical Storm Ana - May 7-12

For the last week we have stayed at River Dunes Marina near Oriental, NC. The storm off the Bahamas did turn into named Tropical Storm Ana. We are very happy we are at this marina as it's the only "hurricane hole marina" in North Carolina. Although the marina is in the middle of nowhere, it is one of the nicest facilities we have stayed at. The lodge and restaurant are top notch. They also have a very nice pool and two hot tubs. 

While waiting for the storm to arrive, we rented a car with our friends Dave & Michelle on Just Us. The four of us left early on Friday morning and drove 3 1/2 hours to visit the Outer Banks. We went up to Corolla where we went on an off road Segway tour. We climbed into four-wheel drive truck that drove us 12 miles up the beach (literally on the beach) to a remote area of the island on a wild horse preserve. We spent 4 hours on trails in forests and on sand dunes, laughing and flying around. What a blast! We spent the night in Kill Devil Hills at an oceanfront hotel. The next morning we drove south on the Outer Banks as far as Cape Hatteras. It was a beautiful dune lined road where often times you could see water on both sides. Here we stopped by the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. Cape Hatteras and this stretch of shore is home to more than 600 ship wrecks. We are glad we came by car instead of by boat! It was a great 2 day trip to see another beautiful part of the U.S. we have not seen before. 

Tropical Storm Ana finally came through our area Sunday and Monday. We had heavy rains and strong winds on and off both days. The rains never lasted too long, so both afternoons the loopers were able to gather by the marina pool and hot tub to discuss the weather and travel plans. 

Monday we celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary! We had a yummy dinner at the Marina where they surprised us with a chocolate anniversary dessert. The captain was thrilled!

Tuesday morning 6-8 Lopper boats moved on. We chose to stay one more day. We spent the day getting many projects done around the boat. We plan to head out early Wednesday morning as the winds are predicted to weaken as this will pace us to cross the Albemarle Sound with good weather on Friday. 

 River Dunes Marina 

 Awesome sunset at the Marina.

 Great Pool!

 Highway 12 on the Outer Banks.

 Segway fun with Dave & Michelle.

 Sand dunes encroaching on roadway.

Cape Hatteras - wild seas!

 Nothing like a good storm to bring out the kite boarders!

 31 great years! 

Cape Fear-Grace Harbor - May 2-6

Saturday was a great day to explore Bald Head Island, NC.  We began the day with a long bike ride stopping at many of the beach areas as we rode around the island. This is a small resort island with many beautiful vacation homes. We could see why many folks love vacationing on this gorgeous island with a golf course, awesome beaches, just a few cute stores and many trails. In the afternoon we took the dinghy exploring through the back waters. We grounded the dinghy many times as usual but this gave us the opportunity to see a bunch of stingrays in the shallows. 

Early Sunday morning we departed for Wrightsville Beach, NC. Our journey was 29 miles up the Cape Fear River and the ICW. We dropped the anchor near town and took the dinghy to shore and walked over to the beach. It was a beautiful warm day the the beach was hopping. After checking out the beach we took the dinghy exploring the area. We almost lost the dinghy! The line came loose from the boat just as we were about to board and the current quickly swept it away. The captain dove in and swam to save the day. Steve was very happy the waters here were clean and clear! We really liked the Wrightsville Beach area. At night we met Dan and Jacque from Horizon Chaser (other Loopers anchored nearby) in town for awesome Mexican food.

Monday morning we planned our departure around the Wrightsville bridge opening which only opens only on the hour. We made the 8am opening. We planned to travel as far an anchorage at Camp Lejeune Marine Base where we had heard that quite often you can view the marines training on the water and in aircraft. We stopped, dropped the anchor, and had lunch.  But since it was still early in the day and there was no activity we decided to continue on. After traveling a total of 58 miles, we took a slip at Dudley's Marina in Swansboro. 

The next stop for most loopers would be Beaufort, NC, however the captain's research uncovered what appeared to be a great anchorage at Cape Lookout. Tuesday morning, after getting local knowledge to safety navigate the nearby small inlet to the ocean, we left the dock and found our way through the inlet. We traveled offshore for 30 miles in rolling seas. We took the swells on our beam which made the ride rocky, but not too uncomfortable. Along the way we saw tons of dolphins and a couple of very large sea turtles. The anchorage did not disappoint. It was absolutely beautiful! We took the dinghy to shore and walked for miles on the beach. 

 There have been rumblings of a possible pre-season tropical storm. By Tuesday evening this was looking more and more likely to develop and target the Carolinas. We made the decision to head out early Wednesday morning and travel 46 miles to River Dunes Marina at Grace Harbor. This marina is very well protected from wind and waves. Our decision was confirmed as we traveled up the ICW and found ourselves in a convoy of six other Lopper boats headed for the same marina. We are unsure how long we will need to stay here to wait out the storm. 

 Love it here!

 Bald Head Island Beach

 The view from our slip.

 Nice point along the way.

 You never know what you're going to see!

 One of many Tanks pulled from river near Camp Lejeune.

 Cape Lookout anchorage. 

 More. 

 Great dinghy ride to Cape Lookout lighthouse.

Month Eight Stats

APRIL 2015

Number of days:                           30       Trip to date:                241

Miles traveled:                             648                                        3676

Engine hours:                                82                                         477

Locks:                                             0                                           32                             

Gallons of gas:                          Paid $2.59/gallon. Lowest of the trip!

Nights on anchor:                            7                                           37

Nights on free wall/marina:               0                                           46

Nights at marinas:                          23                                         158

States covered:  Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina 

Dolphins and jellyfish - too many to count

Sea turtles - 4

Alligators - 7

Coast guard boats - too many to count. Coast Guard boats that stopped us - 1!

Highlights: Kennedy Space Center, Hilton Head.

Charleston-Cape Fear - Apr 27-May 1

Monday morning the captain had us underway by 6:30am. We left Charleston this early in order to get through a portion of the ICW near Little Goat Island and Isle of Palm before low tide. The waters get too skinny (shallow) at low tide. Our destination for the day was Georgetown, SC, 62 miles away. While passing a sailboat, our port motor stopped running and would not restart. The first mate took over the helm piloting with one motor while the captain went down to the man cave to assess the situation. He soon found that the rotor in the distributor had cracked. He replaced it with a spare we had on board and we were back in action again! Yes! Late afternoon we pulled into Harborwalk Marina. Georgetown was a cute town to walk around and have dinner. At the marina, met Charlie and Kay from Plane 2 Sea who recently started the Loop in Jacksonville, FL.

Tuesday morning we walked over the Aunny's Country Kitchen for breakfast. This is a family run southern diner with Gospel music playing in the background. We were now ready to head on to Myrtle Beach 53 miles up the ICW. Our travels took us on the Waccmaw River which is part of the ICW. The locals say the river is the color of tea. We felt it looked more like coffee! The river is lined with beautiful moss draped trees. Close to Myrtle Beach the scenery changed to large homes and golf courses. Our  dockage for the next two nights was Barefoot Landing Marina. This is a 1000 foot floating dock along the sea wall of the ICW with many shops and restaurants near by. 

Wednesday morning the owner of the marina took Sheli to Bi-Lo to pick up some groceries. Meanwhile, Steve returned to the man cave to do an change oil on both engines and the generator.  It was a rainy cold afternoon so a good time to go to the Outlet Mall. The captain spent enough at Tommy Bahama and the tool store to get the first mate a free tote bag. What a guy! 

With all the captain's shopping, we couldn't afford to stay here any longer. Thursday was a sunny, cool day...perfect for traveling. Shortly after leaving the dock, we entered an area known as the Rockpile. This is an area where you must travel in the center of the waterway because you will find rocks if you veer too far off center.  We followed common practice by doing a securite call on the radio prior to entering this cut to alert other vessels of our location and intentions. Soon after the Rockpile we crossed into North Carolina. Later that afternoon we were stopped and boarded for a routine inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard. We passed with flying colors! Nice guys, they reminded us of our nephew Travis who is also a Coastie. We dropped the anchor that evening in Tina's Pocket. (an anchorage near Southport, NC.)  

Friday morning we pulled the anchor and traveled 6 miles SOUTH to the marina at Bald Head Island at Cape Fear. We had planned on one night, but quickly decided we will stay at least 2 nights. It's a beautiful island with no cars, just golf carts, bikes and lots of beaches. 

 Waccmaw River

 Waiting for swing bridge to open.

 Rockpile

 Oh, oh.

 Great guys!