We left Brunswick Georgia on July 26th to finally head north and escape the heat. At 10 am we were off the dock and motoring down the channel. The bay was calm and as we rounded the corner, we could see up close the demolition work on the Golden Ray. The giant crane had not yet arrived, but workers were busy getting ready for the enormous vessel coming that would cut the hull into pieces to be hauled away.
With good winds we were able to sail most of the day. Around 9 pm, the wind died off and we motored the rest of the way into Charleston Harbor. Coming into Charleston you pass between Fort Sumter to the south and Fort Moultrie to the north. The channel was busy with sailing vessels, tour boats and kayaks on a beautiful afternoon. As you progress into the harbor, you can see the old homes and businesses lining the waterfront. It is a journey back in history. At 2 pm, we dropped the anchor and sipped a cocktail while watching the dolphins play.
We spent a day in Charleston resting up then departed on the 29th for Wrightsville Beach, NC. With 15 knot winds off our stern quarter we were making around 9 knots under sail. The day was beautiful and the trip was pleasant. As the day progressed, the winds picked up and so did the seas. By midnight we were in 6-8-foot swells which caused the boat to rock…a lot! I can usually sleep like a baby underway but I couldn’t keep myself from rolling around on the bed that night. It was pretty rough. We got into Wrightsville Beach and anchored around 10 am and took some time to rest up. I wish we had time to go ashore and explore. This looks like a beautiful area. We enjoyed watching the kids racing their Lasers from the local sailing club around our boat all afternoon.
On awakening, we started looking at the news and catching up on emails. That is when we discovered Hurricane Isaias was chasing us up the coast! After a lot of debate, we decided to head north up the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW). The seas in the Atlantic were rough with 8-10 foot swells and a short period, which makes the boat rock uncomfortably. With the winds up as well, we felt the trip would be safer going on the inside. The next day we left Wrightsville Beach around noon to start our journey. We knew there was a bridge along the route that was only listed as 64 feet, which scares us with our tall rig. Fortunately, we made it under all the bridges but our antenna kissed the bottom of several of them.
We anchored the night off of Camp LeJeune. The anchorage was beautiful, if a bit choppy due to the strong winds. Leaving in the morning it was much calmer. After running gently aground coming out of the anchorage, we then traveled through the camp’s training grounds on our way to Beaufort. There were a lot of sections of shallow water along the way, challenging our navigation and ability to search out the deeper areas in the channel.
At Beaufort we turned north up the Adam’s Creek Canal. Some stretches were a bit shallow, but we were able to navigate without difficulty. We anchored for the night just ahead of a big storm, then proceeded on to Oriental, NC in the morning.
We made it into Whittaker Creek Yacht Harbor in early afternoon. The people here are fantastic and the owner has taken great care of us. We tied up with 13 dock lines on the boat to secure us for the coming storm. We pulled down our genoa and staysail and stored them below. Fenders went on the dock or stored securely in the sail locker. Canvas came down and we emptied the cockpit of everything that could be removed. The dingy was tied securely on the davits with extra lines to prevent it from catching the wind. Now we pray as the storm moves along the Florida coast towards us.
