Baltimore to Vero 2009

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Baltimore to Vero Beach - 2009

We are now in Vero Beach Florida preparing to cross the Gulf Stream on our way to the Bahamas for our third winter in “The Islands”. Vero Beach is a very pretty community, South of Cape Canaveral and about 60 miles North of Palm Beach. There is a great city run marina with a large mooring field that can accommodate up to 150 cruising boats.

Our trip south began on October 8th when we departed the Anchorage Marina on a sunny Thursday morning. We had a good following breeze and once we raised the sails we were making 7.5 knots down the Chesapeake Bay towards Annapolis. By lunch time we were nearing the 4.1 mile long Bay Bridge and it looked like we might be able to reach Solomons before dark. However, as we passed under the bridge, it was as if someone flipped a switch and turned off all of the wind. We were now becalmed just off Annapolis Maryland. Since this was the first day of the annual U.S. Sailboat Show, we changed our plans and decided to motor into Annapolis and see if there was room for one more boat to anchor in the harbor. The outer anchorage off the Naval Academy seawall was overflowing with at least 100 boats. We motored past them and passed through the Spa Creek bridge into the upper reaches of the creek. About halfway up the creek we spotted a space large enough to anchor Double-Wide without worrying about swinging too close to any of the other boats already there.

We knew that many of our cruising friends were planning to attend the show so they could see all of the latest boats and meet face to face with all of the manufacturers of boating equipment. We called our friends Jim & Liz that also own a Seawind 1160. Sure enough they were already inside the show and asked if we could meet them for dinner in downtown Annapolis. Dinner was fun and then best of all Jim had arranged with Kurt the Seawind US rep to get up passes for the show on Friday.

Friday turned out to be a great sunny fall day with temperatures in the 60’s. We dinghied into a public landing and walked over to the boat show. We had a great time looking at all of the new boats and wandering through the tents filled with all of the latest boating gear and equipment. About 4:00 pm as we were discussing if it was time to head back to the boat, we heard an announcement over the PA system that said, “Will the Captain & crew of the yachts Double-Wide & Starlight return to their vessels”. This was not a good thing. I had visions of a collision , or our boat suddenly drifting up on to rocks or being carried downstream into the draw bridge. We rushed to the nearest gate where we saw a boat show worker that happened to be a cruising sailor we knew from Georgetown. He used his radio to call headquarters to get more info on the announcement. It seems that the Annapolis harbor master had seen the two boats dangerously close together and surmised that one or both were dragging anchor. After rushing back to our dinghy and then breaking the speed limit getting back to Double-Wide we saw that another larger cat had in fact drifted about 120’ back so that they were now right along side our boat and only 10 feet apart. We quickly put out rubber fenders to soften any possible impact and kept a close watch to make sure we didn’t swing into the other boat. Within 30 minutes the crew from the dragging boat returned. They apologized for letting their boat drag down on us and tried to explain that when they came in the night before that they did not have enough room to put out the proper scope of anchor chain so they put out two anchors each with about half the required scope. Then they proceeded to pull up their two anchors and promptly re-anchor just ahead of us. Needless to say we left early the next morning and did not sleep too well that night.

As we sailed out of Annapolis harbor the next morning , we saw our friends on the Leopard 40 Catamaran, Naut-Nauti heading south as well. We talked to them several times during the day as we sailed down the bay and arranged to meet up after anchoring in Mill Creek just outside Solomons Maryland. From there we sailed to Indian creek on the western shore of Virginia, just south of the Potomac river. This turned out to be a great broad reach with winds 15-20 knots. We were barreling along at speeds between 7 and 10 knots.

From Indian creek we were able to sail all the way to Hampton on the north shore of the Norfolk harbor. Once again we had a strong breeze pushing us south. We had received a coupon for a free night at the Hampton Municipal Marina while attending the boat show, so along with our friends on Nauti-Nauti , we enjoyed a night ashore in downtown Hampton.
The next day we pushed on through Norfolk harbor heading for mile mark “0” of the intracoastal waterway. However, as luck would have it as we were crossing the main ship channel just north of the Norfolk Navy Yard we encountered two large German Naval Vessels entering the harbor. I did the prudent thing and moved well out of the ship channel and into the anchorage area. All of a sudden Nancy yelled that the ship was now following us. Sure enough a 500’ naval ship was now directly behind us heading into the anchorage and gaining at an alarming speed. Luckily I was nearing the edge of the anchorage and about to go into an area of the harbor that was only 12’ deep. Just as I left the anchorage the German ship turned to port and proceeded toward the Navy Yard docks. It had looked pretty scary for about 5 minutes.

At Great Bridge, which is 12 miles down the ICW everyone must pass through a lock. Beyond the lock the Army Corps of Engineers provides a nice dock for vessels to tie up. We used this dock to spend a night without anchoring. Also, this meant we could join our friends on Nauti-Nauti for a dinner out at a really good Mexican restuarant that is only about 3 blocks from the waterway.
From Great Bridge we motored in the waterway south to the little town of Coinjock, NC. The forecast for the next few days was for cold and rain so we took a berth for a couple of day so we could plug in our ceramic heater and try to stay warm. When the outside temperatures are in the 40’s and 50’s. The boat never really gets warm. We were wearing 3 or 4 layers of wool and fleece trying to stay warm.

Finally, the weather improved and we were able to move on. The next big challenge was crossing the Albemarle Sound. This body of water can be dangerous and extremely rough, especially if the wind is in the wrong direction. In our case the wind was strong with 18-20 knots gusting into the upper 20’s. However, it was out of the Northwest so it was behind us as we crossed the sound and then ran down the Alligator River. As dark approached we were just north of the Pungo Canal, a manmade cut 24 miles long through a very desolate part of the North Carolina coastal plain.

The next day we were able to motor down the canal and spent a quick night in Belhaven. Now we had a decision to make. It was only the 20th of October and our insurance for the boat dictated that we could not go south of 35 degrees north latitude until the 1st of November. We were only one day from that latitude. We had met a man at the boat show that was trying to sell condos and boat slips in a new marina and development in the town of Washington, NC. He offered us a chance to come look at their condos and keep our boat at the new marina. I had all of the brochures, so I called to see if the offer was still good. The salesman was glad to hear that we were interested and said “come on down”. As luck would have it they were having the Grand Opening party for the marina in two days and were looking for boats to stay at the docks to help make the place look good. We were invited to the party and told to stay as long as we liked. This stop gave us a chance to visit our cruising friends, Kathy & Willis of "Whistling Winds". Being cruisers themselves, they knew just what we needed - hot showers, laundry & a ride to the grocery store. We also saw their home in Windsor, NC and enjoyed a delicious dinner. A week later we departed. While there we got to see the annual Washington “Smoke on the Water” BBQ festival, visit with some cruising friends that lived nearby, and to take many walks around the little town.

Once we were cleared to go south we took a couple of short day sails before heading offshore from the Beaufort inlet. Our first night was spent in the bight behind Cape Lookout national seashore. That is one of our favorite places. This allowed us to leave at first light and sail directly to Wrightsville Beach, an offshore passage of about 70 miles. We entered Masonborough Inlet just as the sun was setting after averaging nearly 7 knots for the passage. This put us in Wrightsville for the weekend and gave us a chance to meet up with some of our old friends from our years of living in nearby Wilmington, NC. WE caught up with Beth Brampton, Ferrell and Becky Shuford, and our old neighbors at Gray Gables Marjorie & Bruce Cartier. The weather was perfect and we made sure we walked the beach every morning. Becky and Ferrell had built a new house at the beach and invited us to visit on Sunday afternoon. This house was fantastic with a great view of the boats anchored in banks Channel. In fact they have a web cam on their porch that you can view at:

http://www.tracyshuford.com/webcam.htm

Becky has recently authored a book titled Smidgens. It is a combination of family recipes, charming stories and hosatessing tips. It is a real southern treasure.

On Monday morning we pushed on down the ditch again and then down the Cape Fear River past the little town of Southport. We anchored in a place called Pipeline Creek for the night. The next morning we headed out the Cape Fear River Inlet and sailed offshore to Charleston. Shortly after leaving a small bird appeared on deck and stayed until we were about one mile from land. It was a glorious night with a full moon rising just after sunset. Unfortunately, the wind died but the view of the huge moon on the calm seas was incredible.

We anchored in the Ashley River about 02:00 AM and quickly fell asleep. We spent two days on the anchor before moving to the Charleston Maritime center for the weekend. Julie was able to drive over from Atlanta and visit with us for a couple of days. We had fun walking around the historic quarter and visiting Mount Pleasant and Sullivans Island. Plus the Maritime Center was a beehive of activity with cruising sailors and three large schooners tied up getting ready to head south for the winter.

As we were making plans to head offshore again from Charleston, with the intention of sailing to St Mary’s GA which is the Florida border, we learned that Hurricane Ida was forming in the Western Caribbean and heading into the Gulf and expected to turn right and cross northern Florida on Monday or Tuesday. That would have put us arriving in the area just ahead of the storm. It was definitely time to alter our plans. It looked like the safe thing to do was to stick to the ICW and head south slowly until the storm passed. We got as far as Beaufort, SC and found what looked like a very secure place to hide in Factory Creek just behind Lady’s Island. The creek was long and narrow- only about 75’ wide. Sailboats were lined up, anchored one behind another. We had to go up the creek quite way before there was room. We stayed there three nights as the wind and rain made life miserable. One afternoon we found Double-wide sailing on the anchor as a 2 knot current ran in one direction and a 30 knot breeze pushed the boat in the opposite direction. Instead of being snuggly anchored in the middle of the creek, we were sailing from side to side and each time we neared the shore we seemed to come closer and closer to a pier in front of a house on the hill. We were forced to put on our rainsuits and re- anchor with two anchors to stop the movement. The next day we found a slip at the Beaufort City docks to tie up and once again plug in our small space heater. The hurricane had now morphed into a raging Nor’Easter off the NC coast and was funneling cold wet air into our area. It was another two days before things calmed down enough to allow us to leave.
When we did leave we headed offshore again from Port Royal Inlet down to St Mary’s Inlet. Normally this would have been a nice overnight sail but 15 minutes out in the ocean our auto pilot failed and we were forced to stand watches and hand steer for 26 hours. This meant someone had to be outside in the cockpit all night steering and watching for other traffic. However, we managed and found our way into the anchorage behind Cumberland Island National Seashore by midday. We spent a day catching up on our sleep and then headed out again bound for Cape Canaveral Inlet. I worked on the auto pilot and somehow got it working again. I think it was a loose wire or the fact that I hit the unit with a few light taps as a warning to behave, but it worked fine all the way to Canaveral. We were offshore of St Augustine when the space shuttle Atlantis was launched. Despite still being 100 miles north of the launch site the view was pretty spectacular.

After arriving at Canaveral we sailed down the Indian river in two days to reach Vero Beach. Along the way we saw many interesting sites but two that stood out were seeing a small sailboat being rowed by two young men. The boat had a sign saying they were rowing for charity. THey had left Cleveland and were destined for Key West. Also, we spent a night anchored off Cocoa and shared the anchorage with Richard Woods, a well know designer of multihull sailboats.

We had a goal to be here for Thanksgiving and we accomplished that.
Now the next challenge is to cross the Gulf Stream and once again explore the Bahama Islands.



CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

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Photos

Vero Beach
Double-Wide is on the left side

Banks Channel NC
View from the Shuford Deck

Julie & Nancy
Walking the Beach at Sullivans Island

Schooners in Charleston
The Spirit of South Carolina, with Spirit of Massachucetts

Southern Charmer
Beaufort, SC

Rowers
Two Young Guys rowing from Cleveland to Key West for Habitat for Humanity

Comments

[Ferrell]

Your trip
C and N: Sounds like your had quite a trip since you left us ~ a month ago. We were particularly worried where Ida might find you. I guess you have to take the bitters with the sweets when you commit to cruising. I'm envious of you and grateful that I not doing it all at the same time. When you live on the water and see all the beautiful sunsets as we do, you don't miss cruising so much! Enjoyed reading about your visit with us and seeing our picture online, as well as all your adventures. Thanks. Beck's book continues to plug along. I think she is getting weary of plugging it for no more renumeration... Keep in touch, somehow. I'll try to remember to get your blog on "my favorites" on my computer in town when we move back tomorrow. Take care... Ferrell