Belleair Beach to Baltimore a 30 day adventure

[douglee25]

That water looks like it's getting rough!!

Doug

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 9 We are staying a 3rd night in Charleston due to the severe storm forecast. Maximum winds here were maybe 35knots, definitely not for cruising. We will leave in the AM, hopefully for Myrtle Beach. We are watching the Rays in a double-header and I did a little buffing with my shurehold dual action orbital polisher. Hopefully the boat on the bottom in the marina gets a rate better than 2.00/foot. My initial planning for the Cheasapeake include:Irvington, Solomons,Herrington South, St. Michaels, Oxford, Annapolis, Baltimore and Rock Hall. Any input from the locals would be appreciated if these might be the top 8 ports.

 

[Gunn]

Great photos, thanks for sharing!

Solomons, MD :thumbsup:

 

[Gimme Time]

Sunset City: Cape Charles, VA

Cape Charles, Virginia is known to locals as Sunset City, thanks to a man named Spencer Travis. Mr. Sunset, as some call him, is the resident sunset chaser in town who devotedly captures the sunrise and sunset daily and has a loyal following on Facebook where he uploads his photos instantly from his iPhone. Enjoy a few of Spencer's photos here. Want to catch a real Cape Charles sunset? Click here to reserve your slip at Bay Creek Marina & Resort today! Good facilities and resturant on site. Rent/borrow a golf cart and go into Cape Charles town. Can be used as a stop because of weather concerns before going outside if you need or duck back in from the outside if need be.

 

[CJ Martin]

Seconded Cape Charles, we went there for the first time last year and wish we stayed longer. Getting into the marina is a bit "interesting"...follow the marks and you'll be fine. With the dog, I recommend Spring Cove Marina in Solomons...it's a great marina and very pet friendly. The rest of your ports also look like great choices...Oxford is a personal favorite of ours, we try to get there at least once a season.

-CJ

 

[Four Suns]

Day 8 The mechanic arrived late but it made no difference- the winds started at 20 knots and are now up to 30 knots and will continue through tomorrow.. When the sail boats are coming into port, this boy is staying in. The mechanic from Superior Diesel in Charleston had the coolant resevoir bracket replaced in less than 45 minutes. What do you know - a new design for the bracket-that wouldn't be a design flaw would it? He said that if the starboard side cracked, it would be a bit harder to replace, but he can do it without removing the floor. Do I remember somone saying it cost 5k to do this job? Bring your boat down here and let these guys do it.

That's great. I would love to know how he got the dang bolt out though. Maybe he cut it and put a shorter one in or a stud or something... When I replaced mine, they didn't have a redesign. In fact, Cummins Atlantic said "they had never heard of this problem." It seems every problem that is common to these engines (every single one seems to have the exact same issues) Cummins has "never heard of." I had custom brackets made as I didn't want to put the cheap-o ones back on. Good to see they have been redesigned.

Great trip pictures.

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 10 We got an 8AM start today , but not 5 minutes into our journey, we were boarded by the Coast Guard. I'm all for safety, but while approaching our boat, their vessel hit my Boston Whaler on the lift-no visible damage, but I'm sure it's not too good on the lift with the lateral force. Anyway, perfect inspection and on our way in 15 minutes. The passage north of Charleston is mostly man-made and very straight for miles with a fair amount of no wake. Starting inland the flies were ferocious; we had the hatch open for a few minutes and 30 flies invaded the bridge. Cruising past Georgetown and up the Waccamaw River may be the most scenic area yet. Beautiful moss-draped cypress trees line the winding river for 25 miles. Following this section is probably the most unatttractive part of the ICW that we have seen-a very straight man-made section leading into Myrtle Beach that is all no wake. We arrived at the Marina at Grand Dunes at 5PM ready for a beverage and Friday night baseball Rays vs. Angels. We will get another early start tomorrrow and try to get to New River NC.

 

[Searaybio270]

BD II ~
Great pics and enjoyable story to go with them. We are so enjoying your trip. Thanks. Continue your journey and enjoy!!!

 

[2000SEARAY280SS]

Wonderful trip you have going there. Here is a quick picture of the bridge outside Charleston after Hugo hit Charleston.

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 11 We departed Myrtle Beach at 10AM and were unwelcomed by 4 hours of no wake zone. The rock pile cut through North Myrtle was very narrow and a sailboat was aground. Fueled up at Little River SC with 310 gallons of fresh diesel. I found the marina on waterwayguide.com with the lowest fuel price of 3.85/gal. We continued through Ocean Isle NC to the Cape Fear River. Being a weekend, the waterway was very busy with local traffic. Getting into North Carolina there are many potential stopping points, including Southport and Bald Head Island. We stopped at about 6PM at Wilmington Beach Marina. What a nice boating, beach community- it may deserve an extra day. We went to a local fish market and got fresh wahoo that I grilled for dinner. Many large sport fishing boats and actually a Marine Max dealer where we are staying. We'll see what tomorrow brings- either play here for a day or continue to Beaufort NC.

 

[Big Island Lifer]

From a non dog owner-

How does your puppy do his business when spending long days on the boat?
I know it's a weird question.

Thanks for sharing your adventure.

Darren




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 12 We decided to spend the day playing at Wrightsville Beach. What a fabulous little town for boating, beaching , nice restaurants (crab omelets at the Causeway Cafe are great) and hanging out (people are very friendly). We used our handy West Marine bikes for a few hours and then took the Whaler to a local barrier island so that Buddy could play. We have only stayed at 2 ports on our original list, so be ready to be flexible if you take a trip like this - you might even discover a gem like we did at Wrightsville Beach. We will still make it to Baltimore by Friday, but will have to do some of the bay ports on the return. Heading to either Beaufort or Oriental NC tomorrow. Getting ready to eat some shrimp from the Outer Banks.
P.S. As far as Buddy doing his business on our trips, he can go for 12 hours - he has a bladder the size of a basketball. We have met some people with little dogs who have trained them to go on a mat with astroturf in the back of the boat which they hose down.

 

[scootdogg]

good decision to spend the day at wrightsville beach. i lived there for 4 years in college and it was great to see the pictures! i hope you found "dockside"!!!!

 

[Searaybio270]

BD II - Again. thanks for the pics and the write up. I am so enjoying your trip. Weather here hasn't been the best. Hopefully you will bring some weather with you. Keep us posted and safe boating to you, your wife and Buddy!!!

 

[Turtlesboat]

I love your dinghy, I want one.

 

[debpop]

PopPop & I are reading this together @ Harmony Hall! He loves it! Say HI to Buddy!

 

[Turtlesboat]

Two days without an update. going through withdraw.

 

[Big Daddy II]

No Internet access last night- I will post some pics later tonight. We made it to Coinjock- only 50 miles to mile 0.

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 13 I went to Marine Max first thing in the morning to pick up a few parts, then departed Wrightsville Beach in time for the 10AM bridge opening (opens 1x per hour). We had a few other timed bridges which kept things a bit slow for the first few hours. A previous poster talking about skinny water, I actually hit bottom in the side of the channel at idle speed- no problem due to sandy bottom. I can't say the same for a 42 Bertram I was running with. He ran out of the channel doing 30 mph, Sea Tow was there waiting to take him to the marina to spend 5-15k. Ouch! We got to Beaufort/Morehead City at 4PM (which are ideal stopovers being a major inlet) but we wanted to add a few more miles so we continued to River Dunes near Oriental. It was a brand new marina community, 1st class but only 10% developed. I'm not sure if a bank has taken it over or somone has very deep pockets to keep it going. Anyway only 1.00 per foot - I guess they just want to get people in to see it and it was beautiful.

 

[Big Daddy II]

Day 14 Wow- where have 2 weeks gone? We just finished watching the Lightning go up 3-0 on the Capitals and Upton hit a walkoff homer against the Jays. We left River Dunes about 9AM (early for us), knowing we had a sizable amount to travel. We headed up the Neuse River to Hobucken(I like the name), to the Pungo River to the Alligator River-Pungo River canal (a 25 mile man made straight canal) and on to the Alligator River. We crossed Albemarle Sound in very placid conditions; it is known for having a short, nasty chop as it is a wide, shallow body of water. We arrived at our anticipated destination at 3PM. It was a quick travel day as the only thing to slow us down was passing sailboats and slow movers. Coinjock is 50 miles south of Norfolk. What a cash cow they have here.. They sell 10000 gallons a day and book the dockage in advance(they even tie boats alongside of each other, including 84 footers). I did my part purchasing 390 gallons of liquid gold. So much for my guestimate on fuel use as I am already over 1600 gallons. The forecast looks shaky for tomorrow. I would like to get to Irvington but may be limited to Norfolk.