Swansboro - at Caspers Marina at a fixed dock

 

Coming towards me, he appeared to take up the entire width of the channel! 
There was more room than I thought.

We got through the shallows by Spooner Creek without a problem at low tide with the lowest reading being 7.5 MLLW on the Bob423 Long Track line. There was plenty of water with less depth alongside the track but as long as you paid attention and strictly followed the track, you were fine. 

That step is much bigger than it looks, 4 ft gap at least and a 3 ft step down. 

Caspers Marina had their docks replaced to current specs which required 5 ft wide docks and massive pilings. We took a face dock and at low tide, had a pretty good step down to the dock. At high tide, there was a 4 ft wide step to even reach the dock and a three foot step down. Hoolie could not get off the boat, the gap was too wide even for his leap. I reached back and pulled the boat as close as I could and jumped off, I still had the 3 foot drop to contend with as well as the gap.

Hoolie did his thing but coming back to the boat, Hoolie once again could not reach the deck. Ann passed down the 3 ft high step we carried and I picked up Hoolie in one arm, balanced on the top step and swung Hoolie over to Ann on Fleetwing. Carefully maintaining my balance as the dark waters rushed by below, I stepped across the 4 foot gap. We won't be coming back here anytime soon, it's too dangerous a dockage. It was impossible for Ann to get off the boat. The town has floating docks closer in that we may try next time. 

 Our adventures tomorrow include Browns Inlet and New River Inlet, both are fun passages if we can hit them at low tide, they are no challenge at mid or high tide. We plan on winding up at Habour Village for the night, then it's on to St James Plantation Marina on Thursday night. 

Homer Smith - Provisioning, laundry, and boat wash

 

Foggy day in Beaufort, NC

The rains stopped so it was time to get Fleetwing ready for the rest of the trip south. We were going to do laundry in the free washer and dryer but the washer was out of commission due to a bad pump that was on order so we had to go to plan B. After calling several laundromats, we none that would come to the boat, pick up the laundry and deliver it back - like our experience in Key West. However, they would wash and fold the laundry if we dropped it off - which we did. Our intent was to stay out of crowds as much as possible so that strategy was fine with us. 

The excellent marine museum is open for business

Next on the agenda was provisioning. We have used Instacart in the past so we returned to their service with Publix. It costs $10/month and you suffer from a markup above the store prices but then you avoid exposure to crowds and you don't need a car to get groceries, it's a trade-off we're willing to make. Lastly was washing the boat to rid the deck of fuzzy bills from Alligator River Marina. They look just like mosquitoes but they don't bite. If you anchor in an area where they are swarming, they can land on your deck in the thousands!  Each one that dies leaves a green stain that is very difficult to remove. I didn't have so many green stains this time but the cleaning still took about three hours in the hot sun. There is still a big list of boat projects to do but that's for another day.

We are headed for Swansboro on Tuesday so it will be a short day but we'll see our first shallow water along the way, ought to be interesting. 

Home Smith - at a dock with rain and wind

 

He was fishing just like everyone else, why not?

The day progressed as expected, lots of rain and wind. It was not a good day for traveling so we are waiting out the weather. Hopefully, everything will clear out Monday and we can leave Tuesday to Swansboro and points south. With winds of 20+ kts, it would have been a wild ride going south. 

I couldn't get down during the summer so I had the yard wax the boat
but they used liquid wax, not the paste wax I usually use. It doesn't hold up
and I can already see tannin stains, and the waxing wasn't cheap! Two coats of paste wax = no stains

Monday will be our provisioning day and we plan on using Instacart and get groceries from Publix in the morning. We will need to do a wash, take on water, ice, etc. for our next leg. If the weather cooperates, we'll reach Georgetown by next Saturday. 

With all the wind and rain, there was not much activity at the marina, which suits us fine. There are several boats from Southport on the docks and we're guessing that it's overflow from Southport being hit by the tornado and destroyed. With that, Homer Smith is full so call ahead if you want a slip. As said yesterday, all the regulars on the docks were tested for COVID-19 and passed after Tony came down with the virus. 

Homer Smith Marina - at a dock

 

Thanks to Carolyn Cross for a photo of Fleetwing leaving Alligator River Marina

The winds were perfect for a passage on the Neuse River, less than 5 kts all the way. It was the smoothest ride we've ever had on such a potential trouble spot. We did not encounter any debris on Adams Creek and arrived at Homer Smith around 2:30. There were about a half dozen boats anchored nearby between Homer Smith and the new 65 ft bridge. I heard that Homer Smith was full. 

RE Mayo ships seafood out in 53 ft 18 wheelers! (refrigerated)

When Tony tested came down with COVID-19, all the regulars in the marina were tested and they all passed. He caught the virus from a church function, not at the marina. His son tested negative as did all the dockhands. However, this being a holiday weekend, there were lots of locals coming for fishing trips and for just visiting those in the marina. With that, we are still being very careful. We do not intend going out to eat and we will have all groceries delivered. 

We plan on being here through Monday night due not only to the crowded waterways from the holidays but also due to rain predicted for much of the weekend. After that, we'll continue our march south. 

RE Mayo - At a dock

 

It's been here forever

We took advantage of good weather to do a 60 mile day, a bit much for us but the winds were fair and a hurricane is messing around in the gulf. We had winds less than 10 kts and with leaving Alligator River Marina at 7:00, we made it to RE Mayo by 4:00 pm. 

As always, they have very large shrimp boats, hence the frozen seafood

The first order of business was to buy frozen shrimp, scallops, and crab cakes. They went right into our freezer, ready for meals along the way. The dock here as bad as ever but they say they will start a renovation of the dock next week (don't hold your breath). Meanwhile, there's no electricity but they do have internet. 

Hoolie's looking to go out, but then he's always looking to go out

We will leave here for Home Smith Saturday morning and wait out the expected rainy weather before continuing on. 

Alligator River Marina - at a facedock

 

Four of us here for the night

It was a perfect day to cross the Albemarle with a minimum of wave action. We had 5 to 10 kts of wind but it was all directly behind us so it was a smooth crossing with full sun and warm temperatures. There are not many days like that when crossing the Albemarle. 

In the late afternoon, after we docked, two sailboats came in for fuel. The wind had piped up to 15 kts directly out of the north which hit the two boats broadside, pinning them to the face dock. When I first bought my 38 ft Ericson and brought it home in the early spring from Rhode Island, I found myself pinned to a dock by high winds. I had no idea how to get off so I spent a very uncomfortable night pounding against a dock in my new boat. I never found the proper procedure until I was in the same situation one day in Fernandina. There is a long face dock there and winds of 20 kts were coming broadside. The dockhands knew what to do and I observed and recorded how to do it in a chapter in my guide. 

In short, you tie a line from a bow cleat to a cleat the dock that's aft of the boat cleat. The helmsman puts the boat in forward gear and turns the wheel into the dock (counterclockwise) which pushes the prop wash to port, pushing the aft of the boat to starboard. At about a 45 degree angle, the helmsman then goes into reverse, swings the wheel to starboard (away from the dock) and backs out. 

I saw a dozen 60 to 70 ft boats leave the dock that day in Fernandina. They all had bow thrusters but with their high bows, the thrusters were no match for 20 to 25 kt winds and accompanying waves. Only the procedure recommended by the dockhands there worked. Here's an excerpt from my guide on the complete details. 

From page 44 of 2020 ICW Cruising Guide

We plan on leaving early Thursday morning and perhaps getting to RE Mayo for the night, it depends on the weather. Otherwise, we'll stop at the Pungo River anchorage. 

Coinjock - at their facedock - a takeout rib dinner

 

Mile Marker 00

We officially started out ICW trip south today when we passed mile marker 0 by Hospital Point. We were delayed by two of the railroad bridges being down along with another long wait for the lock to open and further delays for the two swing bridges farther south. We eventually reach Coinjock at 4:00 PM. 

The outdoor tent at Coinjock Restaurant
I heard that outdoor propane patio heaters are in very short supply

The first order of business was to order two rib dinners for takeout back to Fleetwing. We do enjoy the rib dinners, very nice. I then went to the main office which had a sign on both doors that masks were required but when I entered, I found that I was the only one wearing a mask. Nevertheless, I paid up (wearing a mask) and returned to Fleetwing with the dinner order in hand. 

The reward for a very long day - 16 oz prime rib dinner at Coinjock

The Coinjock restaurant had a tent set up outside with about a dozen tables and on a warm evening like this, it would have been nice but we wanted to be extra careful. When I went to pick up our takeout order, about 2/3 of the waitresses wore masks, not all.

We plan on reaching Alligator River Marina on Thursday and from there we will plan the rest of our trip to Beaufort, NC. The hurricane coming up the Gulf is expected to bring rain to the region later in the week and we intend on missing that excitement with a dock at Homer Smith Marina in Beaufort, NC.