Sunny Sunday

Sunday morning brings sunshine, spidery tendrils of frost glistened on the decks and long shadows on shore as we continue along the southern end of the NC ICW.  It's so chilly even the diving birds are in foregoing breakfast and are hunkered down, shoulders up, in tight groups on shore facing into the wind, waiting for thermal warming to make the prospect of diving for breakfast more appealing.  On the near shore a herd of white tail deer graze on the beach grass across from Mc Mansions standing shoulder to shoulder glazed in beachy pastels of peach, aqua and yellow.

Early afternoon finds us having quietly slipped into South Carolina and me enjoying an endless array of blue herons, Great white Egrets and one stately Bald Eagle perched on a long finger dock stretching out into the ICW, I never tire seeing the magnificence of these intrepid hunters.  Thanks to a waxing moon, a banner low tide provides the feathered critters with fertile feeding ground and me with wonderful "eye candy" watching all antics antics as they jockey for the ideal fishing positions (not unlike their human counterparts).  Unfortunately the low tide also provides a few navigational challenges and today was my turn at that helm for navigating through the dreaded "Rock Piles." Ironically several miles prior to the rock piles I suffered a  momentary disorientation regarding half a dozen red channel markers, a very confusing confluence of tributaries with nasty current and brought us into 6 feet of water  (we draw 5.5 feet) so I was sufficiently shaken up to think the dreaded Rock Piles not worthy of my care...as long as I dedicated my full attention to staying between the red and the green channel markers and didn't have my attention wander to Christmas shopping or bird watching, there was no issue with the narrow channel where all those ugly, nasty, jagged rocks stuck up out of the water close enough on either side of the boat to throw a rock at; and who needed those nasty big signs to warn you of DANGER stay in the channel, that are positioned outside the channel, do you think so????  I really needed to ferret out the DANGER signs amidst the red and green channel markers......thank you....I think not....but we made it safely....

At evening we anchorage in the beautiful Cypress River section off the Waccamaw River, a magnificent 140 mile long river that heads through NC and SC, bordered by Spanish moss draped cypress, live oaks and the remnants of rice fields from plantation days.  Our anchorage was completely surrounded by cypress trees shrouded in moss, a slight current kept us pointing so the nearly full moon graced our dining table.

Monday morning dawned to a cloudless sky with a creek haze lazily drifting, dancing across the long sun's rays peeking over the tree tops.  After just entering the main channel of the Waccamaw we were treated to the tree top splendor of an osprey warming herself  and further along a golden eagle, perched in the highest branch of the tallest tree,  resplendent with the sunlight reflecting off her breast as if lit from within.....a glorious sight......

Exciting Day

Awoke to the gentle movement of the the boat which meant that we were float, this is a good thing, but not necessarily something to be taken for granted......

Yesterday started with taking on of 608 gals. of diesel fuel which gives us a slight port list, has always given us a slight port list, not usually a problem.  

The weather Goddess had bestowed upon the collective us a beauty, warm, sunny perfect day for the dozens of fishermen hoping to catch a trout (weakfish), we were enjoying the sun dancing of the marsh grasses glistening golden, as flocks of terns and pelicans dove for lunch.  Our peaceful quietude was rudely shattered by the shrill of the high water alarm.  If you have ever heard the sound of a school fire alarm, you know the decibel range of the high water and the high temp alarm on our boat, it is LOUD.  Now let me point out that until very recently these alarms were located in the engine room where only the engine room fairies could hear them so they were relatively useless.  After our second near disaster with an engine overheating due to a failed impeller, our collective intelligence decided to relocate the alarms to a place where we could hear them and hear the alarm we did.  I have no doubt that the folks in their homes on shore enjoying a post-Thanksgiving Day turkey sandwich also heard our alarm.  The alarm sounded, we looked at each other, not processing which alarm was going off, a quick look at the temp gauges eliminated an overheat situation, so that left the uncomfortable reality of  high water in the bilge!  A first for us. Hmmmm,  now neither of us is prone to panic and each is analytical, experienced boaters, I  got to run the boat while Kurt got to figure out what the problem was, a combination of factors: empty 220 gal water tank in bow, very full fuel tanks (4 ), the inflatable is now suspended off the transom with the outboard to port;  with the result that the discharge fitting for one of the bilge pumps was thus under water on the listing port side and therefore back-filling into the bilge and the other bilge pumps were not able to keep up with the task of pumping the water out!  I am reminded of one of the many books that I have read about Coast Guard rescues of men from fishing boats that are sinking in challenging sea conditions because they have been structurally modified and overloaded.   How easily and quickly a peaceful day can become a challenging one, I am very thankful for our obnoxious alarm and that we didn't have to rely on the engine room fairies to alert us to the danger and grateful to my clever husband for quickly figuring out what the problem was and fixing it:)

On a positive note, we missed a bridge that opens on the hour, so by the time we waited for the next opening,we ended up in Harbor Village Marina,  a lovely deep water place, where a pair of Kingfishers were oblivious to our presence and busy with their aerial acrobatics and incessant chatter as they prepared for nightfall against a magnificent magenta sunset.  All's well that ends well.

Fall 2012

After a blog-less stint of many months it seems time to reboot and record some of the events of the errant time that has slipped by so quickly.....a fabulous wedding for Robyn and Gerry: a son leaves home, a daughter-in-law and her family join our family.

Cruising plans swiftly shift from the Great Loop to more local exploration of the Hudson RIver, Erie Canal system to Utica, Champlain Canal system and Lake Champlain to Burlington.  The cruising was grand, the rivers and lakes beautiful, experiences with going through the 50 or so locks amusing.   We had access to a car much or the time so we toured the majesty of the Adirondack's, stood on the Olympic ski jump at Lake Placid, and visited Old Quebec City, Overall it was a lovely summer and fall spent in the splendor of our our back yard.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's finally almost sunny after seven consecutive days, since leaving Annapolis, MD, of cloudy, cold, very windy (25-40k) weather. It's 0800 and we are lumping (it's still very windy) down the Neuse River in NC (the widest River in the US) after spending a delightful couple of days in New Bern; the second oldest town in NC, formerly an Indian town named Chattoka, that served as the capital of the North Carolina colonial government and briefly as North Carolina's first capital. It is rich in history and southern charm, named for Bern the the capital of Switzerland and founded by Swiss and German settlers in 1710. What is unique about this lovely southern city is that the original homes survived the Civil War; the Battle of New Bern on March 14 1862 resulted in New Bern coming under Federal Control and it remained so for the rest of the War, thus the beautiful homes and churches were spared the ravages of war (Sherman) that we have heard reported in so many other southern cities especially in SC.

This afternoon after threading Moorehead City environs the weather has finally improved gracing us with sunshine, and warmth, punctuated with diving pelicans and pods of graceful bottlenose dolphins and a bald eagle, dancing on wild wind cords,  resplendent in her mature feathers.  Happy Thanksgiving and blessing to family and friends.