The fourteen day trip from Morehead City to DC was an interesting assortment of long canals and quiet, sometimes desolate rivers. That is of course until you exit the Dismal Swamp Canal and almost immediately come upon the largest Naval Base in the world ie “Naval Station Norfolk”.

Prior to reaching Portsmouth and Norfolk we were entertained and challenged by the narrow and sometimes shallow canals that help the mariner avoid the offshore work around Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks. The first canal just north of Morehead City was Adams Creek. From here you exit into the Neuse River. The next two nights we spent on the hook, first at Bonner Bay and then on the deserted Alligator River. The Alligator River/Pungo River Canal was a relaxing and easy transit. We did not pass a single boat in the entire canal.

Pungo River Canal

Anchoring on Alligator River

Our next stop was Elizabeth City, the last town before the Dismal Swamp. Unfortunately we pulled in on a Sunday. As with much of North Carolina Sunday is a day to roll up the sidewalk and go to church. The city does provide free docking along the waterfront. There is no electric or water but you can’t beat the location.

Elizabeth City

From Albemarle Sound there are two ways to reach Norfolk. The eastern route is the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. The western route is the Dismal Swamp Canal. The former is the route of choice for deeper draft vessels. The Dismal Swamp has a project depth of 6′. We draw 5-9 so its a close call. We chose the Dismal Swamp as we wanted to do it at least once. Well it was a day and a half of cringing as Big Smile bounced and bumped off of countless logs, branches and the bottom. The weather was perfect however and not a single boat passed us along the way. The canal is extremely narrow and is cut through a Cypress Swamp. It was opened in 1805 and is the oldest continually operating canal in the US. We did our first lock in Big Smile. Approximately half way through there is a visitor/welcome center. It welcomes boats and cars alike. The visitors center has a book exchange and a friendly and helpful staff. There is a nature trail through the swamp and a bike trail that follows the canal for miles. We were the only boat but plenty of cars pulled in.

South Mills Lock

Our first lock in Big Smile

We left the center in the early morning and bounced for another three hours before reaching the Deep Creek Lock. Again no boats and gorgeous weather. It was a fun trip but one we will not do again due to the depth of the canal. I don’t think any damage was done as our huge skeg took the brunt of the logs and deflected them to the side.

Leaving North Carolina

Dismal Swamp in Virginia

Approaching Deep Creek Lock

Not long after exiting Deep Creek Lock the surroundings take on a different look. The southern branch brings you into the heart of Norfolk and Portsmouth. Our destination was Ocean Marine, a marina in downtown Portsmouth. It was a far cry from the Dismal Swamp tie up. Our view included the Iwo Jima at the drydock.

Iwo Jima in drydock

Portsmouth turned out to be a wonderful three day stop. In addition to easy provisioning by bicycle Portsmouth has a beautiful historic district and very nice waterfront. It also has a dinner theater, “Commodore Theatre” which we took in. It is a restored 1945 Art Deco motion picture theater with dining. There are no seats, only tables and chairs. You arrive at 6PM and order your dinner by the phone at the table. It is served and you eat before the movie starts at 7. Desert, if ordered is delivered half way through the movie. A really fun experience and an awesome projection/sound system.

Leaving Portsmouth you pass only a couple of hundred yards from an incredible display of Navy armament. We were asked to keep to port in the channel by a Navy destroyer approaching its berth. We swung wide.

After two nights on the hook off Mobjack Bay we crossed the Chesapeake on a 6 hour trip to Cape Charles VA. Cape Charles is an old railroad town. For decades it was the Delmarva Peninsula rail port and connection point to Norfolk. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel’s opening in 1964 hastened the demise of Cape Charles. In the last decade development has taken place and the historic nature of the town is being realized. We spent two nights at the Kings Creek Marina and Resort. It was beautiful and the town was charming. We were even treated to a free concert in the public park called “Central Park” by the Navy’s jazz band. Lawn seating and a perfect night.

Waterman off Mobjack Bay

Kings Creek Marina

Crossing back to the western shore we spent three nights on the hook at three different locations as we made our way to DC. All spots were nice with Little Bay providing the nicest beach we had seen on the Chesapeake. On the 8th we left Fairview Beach and pulled into the Capital Yacht Club at 3PM. The Potomac is a long 95 mile run from the mouth to DC. Not something you do for an overnite. However we had planned 12 days at CYC and were looking forward to it.

Beach at Little Bay

Mount Vernon

Approaching the Capital Yacht Club

Made it to Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina after a wonderful two day cruise up the ICW from Savannah. It was another winding, scenic ride and the long docks of the South Carolina low country became more plentiful as we approached Charleston.

This boat spent time on the bottom

Tug on the ICW

The last three miles of the approach to Charleston heading north includes a passage thru Elliot Cut and Wappoo Creek. The cut has 5 knot currents and the Creek has a bascule bridge with a 33′ clearance. Our air draft is 31′. We hit the cut at the turn of the tide and cruised under the bridge with a couple of feet to spare. On the other side is the Ashley River which provides the eastern border of Charleston.

MV “Black Knight” at Charleston Municipal Marina

Our marina is located on the Cooper River, the western border of Charleston. The marina is actually situated at Patriots Point in Mt Pleasant on Hog Island. The Cooper River is the entrance to the Port of Charleston. Countless container ships and freighters transit the river each week only a few hundred yards off our slip.

From the top of our flybridge

South Carolina is an unabashedly “Red” state and Patriots Point is home to the WWII era aircraft carrier “Yorktown”, the WWII Destroyer “USS Laffey”, and the sub “Clamagore”. We spent an afternoon touring the ships and the Medal of Honor museum on the Yorktown. Cath could live in this state and feel right at home.

Yorktown from our stern

The history of Charleston dates to 1670 when English settlers came to establish Charles Town after King Charles II granted the Carolina territory to eight loyal friends. The city has been a major force in the evolutionary history of the United States. Charleston played an important role during the American Revolutionary. In 1776 the British tried to sieze Charleston but were defeated by troops of William Moultrie. Four years later the British would return and the Siege of Charleston was the greatest American defeat of the war.

After the war Charleston prospered under a plantation dominated economy. The principal crops were at first indigo, then rice and cotton. The slave trade flourished and by the 1820’s the population was over 20,000 with a black majority. We visited Boone Hall Plantation. The plantation was founded in 1681 by Major John Boone. It is still a working plantation and has been open to the public since 1956. It is a must see for those visiting Charleston. We spent five hours touring the site and our visit ended with a presentation of “Exploring the Gullah Culture”. The entrance to the planation known as the Avenue of the Oaks is breathtaking.

Avenue of the Oaks

One of the original slave quarters

Slave quarters lining the Avenue of the Oaks

Another major war that had roots in Charleston was the Civil War. As I write this I am looking out my pilot house window at Fort Sumter. Hostilities began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate forces fired upon the fort. From that date until April 9, 1865 when General Robert E Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House over 600,000 individuals lost their lives. In total deaths the Civil War was the deadliest in US history. Charleston of course played a major role and saw much destruction from shelling.

The city itself has some of the most beautiful old homes I have ever seen. A walking tour and carriage ride are two great ways to see the neighborhoods. Many homes date to the 1700’s but due to the many wars, fires and natural disasters that have befallen Charleston each block is unique and may span over 100 years of architectural style.

On our carriage ride tour

In addition to the history the food of Charleston is superb. Tripadvisor lists nearly 600 places to eat. We picked a couple of them and the tuna appetizer below is just a sample of what you can get.

A drink at the Oyster Bar

We are at the Charleston airport now waiting for our three legged trip to Rutland VT. From there we drive to Lake George for two weeks where both of our kids will join us.

We left New Jersey after a hectic and unusual month of May. Having parked Big Smile at Morningstar Marina and driven home events took control of the month of May. We were coming home to empty our house and ready everything for a May 31 closing. However my mother passed away on May 2. A funeral and subsequent burial at Lake George had to be planned and now I had her estate issues to deal with in addition to her condo. Her death was not expected although her health had been deteriorating for several months. Years of smoking finally took its toll.

After the funeral we got busy emptying a house. Cath had saved more kids items than I had remembered. The process was stressful. Furniture was moved to various places with one moving truck making three stops in Pennsylvania. Some stuff moved to Vermont, some to Lake George and the rest was piled in my mothers condo to be dealt with at a later date. The closing was postponed a week by the buyers which was good news for us. We flew down to Brunswick GA from Rutland on Wednesday June 5, the day before Tropical Storm Andrea blew through. The storm fortunately was a non-event at the marina. The closing took place on June 7 and our money was wired. We were finally out of NJ and on board.

Cape Air- Rutland to Boston

We sit anchored now on Walburg Creek on the west side of St Catherines Island. Two days ago we left St Simons for our trip north. The intracoastal throughout Georgia is a meandering series of rivers, creeks, bays and sounds. Its serpentine course almost doubles the total mileage traveled in a day. This one trip covered 61 miles of travel but was only 35 miles as the crow flies. Its scenic and shallow at low tide keeping the helmsman on his toes.

Tight turns on Georgia ICW

St Catherines Island is one of Georgia’s coastal Sea Islands. It is owned by a foundation and is not open to the public. From 1943 to 1968 the Island was owned by the co-founder of “Life Savers” candy. The beaches are beautiful and have a Jurassic Park look to them.

St Catherines Island

St Catherines Island Beach

Caught a baby shark

Watching the weather forecast helped make our departure decision easy. The best crossing day was Monday which meant we needed to be at Great Sale Cay by late Sunday afternoon.

We had left Marsh Harbor in brisk winds out of the northeast. We had not heard a “Whale” report but knew it would be tough. Since we were towing our dinghy we stopped at Bakers Bay just prior to entering the Atlantic to hoist the dink to the flybridge. No easy task in the now 20 knot + winds. Approaching the Whale we got a call on 16 from a sailboat a few miles behind us. They wanted to know what we saw ahead. We were too far off to offer any immediate advice.

The cut or “Whale Cay passage” has experienced more boating deaths and accidents than all other Bahamas locations combined. It is not to be underestimated. As we made the turn to port from the Atlantic to approach the center of the cut we could see short, steep seas but they were not breaking. An outgoing tide with an hour left to slack did not help. We surfed through the cut safely but it was rough. We radioed back our experience to the sailboat behind. Once through, sea conditions improved and we made Green Turtle by mid afternoon.

Relaxing at Green Turtle Cay

Sunset at Green Turtle Cay

Great Sale Cay is a popular jumping off spot for the states. It is a 60 mile trip to Great Sale from where we were anchored at Green Turtle Cay. The ride was spectacular with bright blue skies and perfect northeast winds. We passed two trawlers heading east and then a Gozzard sloop passed all of us.

Gozzard sloop passing us by

We were treated to a family of dolphins swimming in harmony alongside our boat. We counted five in all. They stayed with us for about ten minutes and then were suddenly gone. We never saw them again.

Of course we tried our hand at fishing and had great success. Our first catch was easily bested by our largest catch of the trip. We took turns reeling it in and was just in the process of bring it on board when the leader snapped. You can see below the size of the Mackerel we “had” on the line.

King Mackerel

We left from Great Sale Cay at midnight on Sunday. The weather forecast was perfect, and spot on, and we crossed the Little Bahama Bank in the inky blackness. Our radar tracked two other boats all night long nine miles off our position and going in the same direction. We did not catch a glimpse of them till well after daybreak.

We made the edge of the bank around dawn. The ride had been incredibly smooth throughout the night and only got a little bouncy when we entered the gulf stream. Winds from the east kept the seas flat.

Along the way we decided to try our hand at fishing one last time before our late afternoon approach to Fort Pierce. And we got a great strike.

We entered the Fort Pierce inlet at 5PM and anchored for the night just south of Harbor Isle. At 8AM we pulled into the lift slip at Cracker Boys Marina and their new 75 ton remote travel lift easily plucked us from the water. We expect to be one week on the hard getting the bottom painted, fluids changed and other minor work before we splash and head to St Simons GA for a six week layover at Morningstar Marina.

Over the last two days we covered approximately 120 miles from West End Grand Bahama to where we are currently anchored at Green Turtle. On the way we tried our hand at fishing. We are complete beginners and are winging it as we go. Prior to leaving the states we bought a great book ” Sport Fish of Florida”. It has 250 pages with beautiful illustrations and descriptions of all the fish we might encounter in our travels. Well it proved its worth in the first two days as we successfully caught, identified, and released three different species shown in the photos below. We are experimenting with different lures and purchased various frozen bait back in Stuart to try out in the next couple of weeks. Next up? Learning how to clean them.

King Mackerel

Bar Jack

Cero or “Painted Mackerel”

Bar Jack putting up a fight