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Turtlesboat said:
I got up this morning and the room was rocking.
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Awesome trip and write up Mike, thanks.

Be careful shaving you don’t want to look like this..

 
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Mike,

Thanks for all your posts and videos. I hope to some day make the same journey (but I'm sure I'll do it a little slower). Other than the few horrible weather days, it looked like an amazing journey.

Glad you made it home safely. :thumbsup:
 
Pseudomind said:
Well where is the link about the last twenty miles?
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I was wondering how some seemed to have insight into the last 20 miles too....then I watched the current and previous videos I had missed. On the video screen, there is a "menu" icon..click it and it will pull up the old videos, one of which talks about the last 20 miles.

Great trip!

Tom
 
Great trip! Great job, Captain. Just coming up for air myself after weeks and weeks of running around in full afterburner. I have yet to catch up on your link, but I'm going to start now. My trip is just 10 days away! AAAAaaaaaashhhhhhhhh!
 
Hampton said:
Great trip! Great job, Captain. Just coming up for air myself after weeks and weeks of running around in full afterburner. I have yet to catch up on your link, but I'm going to start now. My trip is just 10 days away! AAAAaaaaaashhhhhhhhh!
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At least you won't have to paint your bottom this year, just drive through the spill.... I hope your beautiful beaches aren't getting hit too badly with the spill.....
 
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No oil here yet..........but the CG and local emergency mgt forlks have oil booms stationed near the most sensitive environmental areas ready for deployment. They have been on the water training volunteers for a couple of weeks.

And, you can't just drive thru the oil.......nothing kills bottom paint quicker than oil. If oil gets to your boat, it means a fresh bottom job at some point because the existing paint has no effect, other than being a different color then the hull.

Gotta run.................I'm going boating!
 
I curious to know where you are now.

My plan is to make the trip from Beaufort SC to Chesapeake VA area in 3 1/2 days. Based on what I've researched thus far I should be able to make it if I leave each morning by 7am and arrive at the marina by late afternoon. This assumes reasonable bridge and lock delays, and average 20 mph per day.

What is faster, the Dismal Swamp or North River thru the Virgina Cut?
 
The shortest route is to come out of the Neuse River and head up the Pamlico Sound and then go out through Oregon Inlet and head north on the outside for a few hours and avoid all the ICW crap between Norfolk and Oriental....

My 2 cents.

Oh... the Inlet can be a little tricky...
 
Thanks. A few more questions: Why is the Virginia Cut faster? Is it reasonable to expect to run 20+ mph? We're making the trip mid-April...how busy will it be and will it be easy getting a transient slip?
 
Marcus E said:
We're making the trip mid-April...how busy will it be and will it be easy getting a transient slip?
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You won't have any problems finding a place to stay this season.

One really interesting place that we found while waiting for one of the bridges to open is Top Rack. It's north of the Great Bridge lock. They have the best fuel prices anywhere around - call and you'll see. So we pulled in while waiting for the bridge (timed it all wrong) - able to top off our tanks while waiting. Then while talking to the manager, they'll make all types of interesting deals if you get fuel - free dinner at the attached restaurant; free slip for the night, etc.

More info about them and their location at:
http://activecaptain.com/X.php?lat=36.739511&lon=-76.295864&t=n&z=15

We sent a dozen people there last Fall and all had good experiences.
 
Marcus E said:
Thanks. A few more questions: Why is the Virginia Cut faster? Is it reasonable to expect to run 20+ mph? We're making the trip mid-April...how busy will it be and will it be easy getting a transient slip?
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You will not average 20 mph... You'll be lucky to average 8 mph. Coinjock is at ICW mile post 50 I believe and Norfolk is at mile post 0. It takes 6 hours to do that trip via the ICW (Virginia Cut) on a good day. The last time I did it this past summer, it took 10 hours (the Great Bridge locks had a log stuck in them). You can go 20+ knots between all the bridges and no wake zones... but you'll still average 8 knots as the bridges only open at certain times and you get trapped in the middle of the system that takes 6 hours to get through.
 
Marcus

The Dismal Swamp is narrow and a wake zone, with timed lock openings on either end. It's a full day from Elizabeth City to Norfolk.

If you are planning on staying in the ICW and out of the ocean, you're 3.5 day estimate may be a little optimistic. From my experience over the last 5 yrs if I can average 12 mph in the ICW that's moving quickly. There are numerous wake zones, lots of docks, and in the spring and fall, transient traffic & fishermen. Also, especially in the spring, expect to see debris in the rivers.

If I were planning on running 7-10 hr days in the ICW my plans would look something like this:
1 Beaufort SC - Georgetown SC
2 Georgetown SC - N Myrtle Beach/Little River
3 Little River - Wrightesville Beach
4 Wrightsville Beach - Moorehead City/Beaufort NC
5 Moorehead City - Coinjock
6 Coinjock - Norfolk

If the gods are smiling on you, you might be able to cut a day out of this; but I wouldn't count on it. Also going outside (ocean) from Charleston to Cape Fear and Wrightsville Beach to Beaufort NC can save some time, but you can also lose a day or 2 waiting for the Abermarle to calm down.

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38573

If you want more detail let me know.
 
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Pretty much all of SC seemed to be a no wake zone. It took forever to get through that state. The first part of NC is also slow going. you can make good time if you can jump out in the ocean at Oregon Inlet but it's pretty challenging getting to and through. I did the Neuse, pamlico, and all the way to the mouth of the Chesapeake in one day going on the outside.
 
To all...thanks for the comments and advice. Very helpful. It's clear I need more time to make this run. Now the tricky part, convincing my wife to take off at least one more day!
 
Progress
I've looked at your suggested plan. The Georgetown to North MB, North MB to Wrightsville, and Wrightsville to Morehead City appears to be relatively short runs, less than 80 miles (as compared to Beautfort to Georgetown, which is about 130 +/-). Why is that?
 
From Beaufort SC to Georgetown is a good 9 hrs. If this is your first experience in the ICW you might want to consider doing this over 2 short days. Generally I have been able to run mostly on plane from Beaufort to the Stono River (10-15 mi south of Charleston) then it's up and down (mostly down) to the Charleston harbor. North of Charleston harbor it's slow again for about 10 mi until you're past Isle of Palms and Goat Island. After that you should be able to mostly run on plane on into Georgetown. Traffic permitted and of course you need to watch the tides and shoaling.

North of Georgetown, in the Waccamaw River, it's a beautiful ride thru a swamp, but with lots of twisting and debris. Once the Waccamaw ends it's a narrow cut thru the heavily developed Myrtle Beach area and the "rock pile" (w/submerged solid rock ledges) all the way to Little River, in short mostly idling speed.

From Little River all the way to the Neuse River it's all up and down with lots of docks, developed areas, and fishermen. Also you need to slow where there is an inlet to the ocean due to shoaling in the ICW. The only real chance to stay on plane is in the Cape Fear River and a short area south of Morehead City. I also have been stopped a couple of times for over 2 hrs going thru Camp Lejeune for unannounced live fire exercises.

It's a great trip and I love it. It's just nowhere to make time just slow down and enjoy the adventure.
 
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