June 4, 2026 Made it to North Carolina

 Thursday June 5, 2026  Lightkeepers Marina to Wrightsville Beach   63 miles and 7 hours

Thought we would be the first ones out of the marina this morning, but S/V Phoenix beat us.  They were out at 6:40AM with us not too far behind at 7:05. No matter - we passed them during the day although they also came into anchorage at Wrightsville - just about an hour after us. Even at our slow trawler speed, power boat speed is greater then sailboat speed. On the downside, I'm sure he used much less diesel fuel than us,

Leaving Lightkeepers Marina on a gorgeous sunny morning

Not our longest day but nothing overly memorable.   Ran the ICW behind all the NC vacation beach islands.   Sunset, Ocean Isle, Holden and Oak.   All developed along these waters but at least everyone understands it's not a perpetual no wake zone. Just house after house, dock after dock, boat lift after boat lift and center console boat after center console boat. Only point of interest were the seafood shacks and shrimp boats at Holden Beach.

Seems like these shrimpers should be out tending their nets on a day like this

Always get a kick out of the shark on the wall at this seafood shack

Finally, a day worthy of driving from the flybridge!!

Still haven't decided which is worse - the jet skiers or the go fast boats

Made it to Southport and onto the Cape Fear River.  Had a rising tide which gave us a bit of a boost up the river and through Snows Cut to Carolina Beach.  Arrived way too early to make that our destination for the day so passed by brother Pete's neighborhood and docks and continued on to Wrightsville Beach.  Gives us a long but doable day tomorrow headed to Beaufort, NC.   

Brother Pete's neighborhood dock.  Is that you waving to us???

Anchorage is busy.  Several sailboats already anchored but we managed to set our anchor between them.  Leisurely afternoon just chilling for a bit.  We're anchored across from the sailing club so got a bit of a regatta display after dinner while enjoying the evening breeze up on the flybridge.   Then watched the sun disappear over the horizon to finish the day.   

Sunfish class sailboats.

Another class of bigger boats with main and jib sails

As the sun was setting it created a brilliant red glow
 on the windows across from the anchorage

First real sunset of the trip.

Journey for June 4, 2026

June 3, 2026 Sunny cruise to Myrtle Beach

 Wednesday June 3, 2026  Duck Creek to Lightkeepers Marina  71 miles and 8.2 hours

WOW!.  Wild winds in the middle of the night but the anchor held steady and the breeze through the portlights kept the stateroom nice and cool.   Would definitely use this anchorage again.  Woke up to gorgeous blue skies and sunshine. Winds will continue from the NE but down to 10-20.  With temps hitting 80, sort of a perfect day.    Anchor up once again at 7AM.

Pelican hunting for his breakfast on a beautiful morning on Duck Creek 

Quick cruise out the balance of the protected ICW and onto Winyah Bay.  Little bit of a wind driven chop on the bow but no issues for us. Catch a rising tide all the way up the bay and even most of the day up the Waccamaw River. Lower Waccamaw continues to be a favorite cruising area.  Just a couple hours of cruising through tannin stained water that meanders through wooded swamp lands loaded with osprey nests on every channel marker.   We made it up to WaccaWache Marina for our first stop of the day.  Time to load up on diesel. Took on 400 gallons at the best price on the east coast - $4.69 /gallon!!

Headed up the Waccamaw River

Fledgling osprey waiting for mom to return with some food

Socastee Swing Bridge is one of only a few remaining swing bridges we need to hail for an opening, Amazing the vehicle traffic this little bridge gets considering they put high rise bridge right next to it.  We have about a 10 minute wait while another boat catches up to us. "No Shoes Daze" is another looper.  Big 47' Leopard power cat with a 24' beam.  

Waiting on the Socastee Swing bridge to open

No Shoes Daze is one wide bodied power catamaran

The area north of Socastee continues to see lots of shoreside development all the way to Myrtle Beach. Sort of sad as we remember when all of this was tranquil forested shoreline.  Now just one huge house next to another all with docks expecting you to idle past them.  Will eventually make this a very long slow passage.  One of these days the trip from Southport to Brunswick all offshore may be the way to go as long as weather will cooperate. 

Shoreline development along "The Ditch". 

"No Shoes Daze" stayed behind us through the developed areas.  We suspect they may have wanted to follow us through the "rockpile" - a narrow channel cut through solid rock.  We were at high tide so only a few places showed the ledges, but depths weren't an issue for us.   Made it to the other swing bridge requiring opening for us at Little River.  The sailboat "Phoenix" we had met yesterday was waiting for an opening. Turned out all three of us were headed to Coquina Harbor for the night.  Dockmaster Lex helped us get tied up by 4pm.  We've stayed here several times and always get a warm welcoming even is only for a night.   Good friend Bob Ellington on "Galiponte" had just returned from Florida so we got a chance for a quick hello and family catchups before heading back to the boat for a needed washdown to remove all that crusted salt from crossing Charleston Harbor.  

View of Coquina Harbor.  Home to Lightkeepers Marina and Myrtle Beach Yacht Club

Journey for June 3, 2026

June 2, 2026 Leaving Charleston behind

 Tuesday June 2, 2026  Toogoodoo Creek to Duck Creek  80 miles and 9.2 hours

Weather forecast is finally improving - sort of.   Cloudy morning making way to a sunny afternoon.  Rain has been chased out by a front.  That front is bringing cooler weather, and strong E and NE winds.  Pretty sustained at 15mph, with gusts to 25.  Wind expected to continue through Wednesday.  Not much of an issue for us as we'll be cruising on mostly protected ICW waters. Crossing Charleston Harbor being the exception.

Dawn breaks with the promise of potential sunshine

Anchor up again at 7AM. Sort of becoming our routine as we try for these longer cruising days.  Uneventful cruise around Wadmalaw and Johns Island.   Normal landmarks slip on by.  Stephens Towing complex is servicing bigger and bigger commercial vessels.   Coast Guard Cutter Brnard Webber is tied to the docks today.   Then pass Ross Marine where their new boat storage rack is completely filled with center consoles.  Apparently a good and profitable business decision.  Catch almost slack tide as we enter Elliotts Cut.  Can be treacherous is you catch it at full current but drama free going for us today.  

USCG Cutter Brnard Webber at Stephens Boatyard

View from astern as we make our way out of Elliots Cut

Under the Wappoo Creek Bridge and we're done with the cut

Then out into Charleston Harbor.  Check out the mega yachts tied up along the mega dock and then pass by the historic houses fronting the battery.  Time to cross the harbor. Waves are starting to build but not too bad as we're primarily heading into them. But the wind driven spray keeps the windshield wipers busy and puts a nice covering of salt over the entire boat. Now off the harbor and tucked in the protection behind Isle of Palms. Water levels are good as they've done some dredging since our last time through. Then just a few hours of cruising through SC saltmarsh. 

Mega yachts lined up. Impressive eye candy.

A few houses on The Battery

Corp of Engineers survey boat crossing our path while collecting data 

Sunshine finally showed up 

Original plan was to use the anchorage at Awendaw Creek.  Used it in the past. Last decent anchorage before the shallow waters around McClellanville.  However, as we were approaching, we had several shrimp boats pass us southbound.  They obviously had made it thru the shallows, so we decided to give it a go. 

Southbound shrimping trawler Lady Barbara and her captain 

Going through about 2 hours before low tide which put about an extra foot and a half of added water above low tide.   Eased our way through the 4 stretches of skinniest water.  Depth sounder alarm letting us know repeatedly we had less than 3' under the keel. Never made it to my personal pucker factor of showing less than 2' and dropping! Got through it and were able to make a few more miles today.   On a past trip we had anchored in Minim Creek.  A good anchorage but a bit exposed.   Found one nearby called Duck Creek which reviews said offered good protection from north winds due to a nice tree line. Got the anchor set at 4:30 which allowed time to relax a bit and cook a real meal.  Sautéed chicken and mushrooms in an alfredo sauce over pasta.   A nice change from the last 2 nights of sandwiches.  Looking forward to a good night's sleep with cooler temperatures and a nice breeze.

Sunset from Duck Creek anchorage

Journey for June 2, 2026

June 1, 2026 Back in South Carolina

 Monday June 1, 2026   Vernon River to Toogoodoo Creek  109 miles and 11.5 hours

Some rain overnight but mostly just a light breeze coupled with the switching of the tides creating a gentle tug on the anchor line. Made for a decent night's sleep, but up early again for a 7 AM departure.   Left the three sailboats that joined our anchorage last night still on the hook as we motored away.  Overcast and a bit hazy to start.  Forecast was updated overnight and now calls for a mostly cloudy day with possible rain towards evening (which of course would mean while we'll be anchoring).  

Our neighbors at anchor on Vernon River on a hazy morning start

Covered a lot of ground today.  Couple hours to get us around Savannah and across the river into SC.   We were joined by two Looper boats who traveled with us until Beaufort.  One was kind enough to send us a few pictures they took as we passed them. Meander a bit more around Daufuskie Island and then finally work our way past Hilton Head Island. 

Thanks to AVONTUUR for the picture

 

Summer sailing regatta forming as we pass HHI

Cross over Port Royal Sound and on to Beaufort. Then across St. Helena Sound.  We hit the Ashepoo Coosaw Cut at absolute low tide and with the severe shoaling at the entrance it's a no-go for us.  We detour further out the sound and take an alternate route up the Ashepoo River proper alongside Fenwick Island.  Thankfully, the ocean was behaving as we headed well out into it before being able to turn around and head up the river.  Couple more areas with skinny water we still need to navigate.  Fenwick Cut and Watts Cutt require due diligence, but surprisingly the sun actually came out for a bit.  After spending hours traveling, at this point it requires plenty of diligence from both of us.  

A quick glance of sunshine in between the clouds

Dolphins were scattered around today.  Usually just a couple at a time but they seemed pretty intent on surfing out wake waves rather than riding the bow.  Only other big wildlife sighting today was a bald eagle.  Just hanging in a tree on a little island aside the ICW. 

Finally, out of the shallow areas and onto the Edisto River.   Almost home waters for us with Wadmalaw and Johns islands ahead.   We head up the Toogoodoo River to anchor.  Stayed here multiple times on previous transits.  Always a good spot.  Nice and wide with plenty of swing room and depths are reasonable requiring a shorter anchor line scope.   In settled weather like tonight, we anchor near the ICW but if there's strong winds we can head further upstream where the tree lines provide nice protection.  Overall, a long day anchor up at 7 AM and back down at 6:30 PM.                                   Side Note: Today marks 10 years of retirement for John! 

Journey for June 1, 2026

May 31, 2026 FINALLY, Back on the water

Sunday May 31, 2026.  Brunswick Landing Marina to Vernon River Anchorage                       89 miles and 10 Hours

During my last visit with the orthopedic surgeon following up on my thumb issue, he felt things were sufficiently healed that traveling would be OK.   Just need to tape it up twice a day to compress the swelling and work on some flexibility exercises. After that unplanned month long delay, we finally left the dock today after having the boat docked for three months here at Brunswick Landing Marina. 

680 miles to Norfolk, then up the Chesapeake to Baltimore

Weather for last week and this coming week have been loaded with rainy forecasts. Despite having 70-90 percent chance of rain most days, the reality has been cloudy with an occasional shower or downpour but no long sustained rainfall.  So, it was no surprise when we woke up to a dreary cloudy day.  Off the dock at 7 AM. Working the tides so we have decent water at two critical areas.  Need to hit Mud River around 10:30 to get through there at high water.  Then time the start of an incoming tide at the end of the day while crossing Hell Gate.

Leaving the marine.  Loaded with a huge number of sailing catamarans 

Passing under the Sidney Lanier Bridge shrouded in low level clouds

Scenery is all coastal Georgia marshes and islands.  The ICW constantly winding around in every possible course heading.  Much more enjoyable on a sunny day running from the flybridge than on a dreary day running from inside.  Not too many other boats out.  The primary migration of northbound boaters is over so just a few boats coming and going.  Passing a tug with a single barge was the highlight of commercial traffic while Martha thought a blue hulled Sabre down east style boat that passed us on the way back to Massachusetts looked like a good candidate for our next boat.

Marshland and occasional islands along the ICW

Trying to stay ahead of the rainstorm

We were surprised at the lack of dolphin sightings for most of the trip.  That was until we hit Creighton Narrows and marker 155.  Not sure why they were all congregated here but there were dozens on hand and all willing to take turns playing in our wake or at the bow.   Great photo opportunity. Always makes me wonder what they are thinking as they swim on their side with one eye looking up at me while I'm   looking down at them.  

Amazing at how effortlessly they glide along in front of the boat

Made it safely to our anchorage without going aground or getting hit by any heavy rain.  Hope we'll be as lucky tomorrow.  Boat ran flawlessly.  All equipment running normal temperatures during our every 2-hour engine room checks.  Overall, a good successful day to start this trip. We'll need more like this in order to hit that expected June 15 arrival in Baltimore. 

Journey for May 31, 2026

May 2026 Long Overdue Update

Nov 2025 - May 2026   Maintenance Projects, Winter Storage, Delayed Start

We crossed over the 4000 engine hour mark during our Down East cruise so made plans with Marine Propulsion to have some service work done over the holidays.  They've been good caretakers of our Yanmar engines doing the required service at the 2000 and 3000 hour intervals. It had been several years since our last bottom paint job so that made the list along with pulling the props and getting them reconditioned.  Inspection of the cutlass bearings showed a bit of wear so time to replace them too. All this was pretty much expected.  

Shiny reconditioned props reinstalled

Our big surprise came with the exhaust system.  I had noticed a very slight weeping leak at a seam on the stainless steel exhaust mixing tube - just an occasional drip of water.  Didn't make much of it when we were primarily in fresh water back in 2024, but with salt water travels in 2025 I was getting a crusty salt crystal buildup at this pinhole plus additional salt crusting on the actual fiberglass exhaust tube.  Asked them to look it over and it turned into a significant project. The fiberglass exhaust tube had some hairline cracks which needed ground out and repaired. The bigger issue wound up being the exhaust risers and stainless mixers. They were removed, sent to a specialty shop in Florida with hopes it could simply be repaired.  No such luck.  Needed to custom fabricate new units for both engines!! Added an extra month and a half to our stay which put us well behind schedule for a hopeful trip to the Keys and Bahama over the winter. Guess that trip will wait yet another year.  Boat was up on the hard most of this time, so it gave us a chance to clean the moustache off the bow and get a couple coats of wax on the hull.  With the engine room in total disarray, it was nice to at least see the outside looking proper.  

New exhaust riser and mixer assembly installed

ICW moustache being removed and hull waxed

After 5 months in the yard and an eye watering service bill we finally got the boat back at the beginning of March. Boat ran awesome on our trip down the ICW bringing it to Brunswick Landing Marina.  No problems reaching WOT and top end speed.  

Cap'n Martha taking us past Isle of Hope
on the way to Brunswick Landing Marina

With the trip to the keys postponed, we had planned to store the boat at Brunswick Landing for 2 months and then begin heading north for the summer.  In celebration of the nation's 250th there is an international Tall Ship celebration touring 5 east coast cities.  One of the stops is Baltimore and we made reservations for a month-long stay at Anchorage Marina mid-June through mid-July to be there for the show.  Started going over all our ships systems in April in anticipation of our departure and realized the stabilizers were not functioning properly.  Instead of staying in the centered position when activated the actuators were getting a signal to push the cylinder outward thereby moving the fins away from center.  A little research determined Craig Calkin at Stabilized Marine was the man to call for technical support for a Naiad system.  He was able to walk me through numerous adjustments in the ECU control box that helped resolve the centering issue but, in that process, we determined there were wear issues with the actuator and rod end.  

Actuator (yellow circle) located on outboard side of hull required
 lying flat across space in front of engine to access

He sent specialty tools required to remove the actuator.  We sent the actuator to him for a rebuild and new tie rods and pins.  They came back with additional specialty tools for installation.  A bunch of hard work in very confined and uncomfortable positions but satisfying to finally get it all done.  After coaching me through some final finetuning of the ECU things were set perfectly.  All done on Sunday April 26 with everything back together and all Craigs tools shipped back to him. Figured we would be ready for a May 1 departure.  

Well, not so fast.  During the installation of the starboard side actuator, I bumped my right thumb.  Just a little sore and a miniscule cut on the top of my thumb at the knuckle.  Washed it, put on a band aid and proceeded with my work.   Nothing over the weekend except a little sore. But by Monday afternoon my thumb and hand were swelling.  That small cut had gotten infected and was getting out of control.  Trip to urgent care on Tuesday for antibiotics, x-rays and an appointment with an Orthopedic hand specialist the following Monday. Unfortunately, things continued getting worse so back to urgent care on Thursday for a different antibiotic and an attempt at lancing it.  Still no progress so decided to head to the ER on Saturday.  More x-rays.  Another unsuccessful attempt at lancing and reaffirmation to get to the hand specialist Monday.   Appointment on Monday 10 AM.  Doctor looks it over, we discuss what happened, what's been done so far and review all the x-rays.  Good news - nothing bad showing on x-rays but finger is in bad shape.  Having unsuccessful attempts at lancing twice it is now time for "nuclear option". 

Infected thumb prior to surgery. I'll spare you the after surgery pictures.

 Cut the finger open, clean it all out, explore down to the knuckle to make sure no infection got to it.  Sew it all back up (9 stitches) and get put on yet another different antibiotic. Thankfully they were able to fit me into the surgery schedule that day.  Bad news - "Don't even think about going near salt or brackish water for several weeks until wound heals up and we're sure there's no more infection."  First call when back home is to Brunswick Landing to extend our slip reservation for another month. Things are healing and we're hopeful to still get on our way by the end of May.  If the weather gods look favorably on us and we do some long travel days we should still get to Baltimore in time for the Tall Ships celebration.

Amazing sunsets over the marshes as seen from the yard at Marine Propulsion