Born to Cruise is in South Carolina

Once again we had a good experience at Bock Marine. Kenny and his staff do a great job. You are hauled and launched as scheduled. We also had Larry and Randy of Bock, sand and paint our hull and saildrives. They do a great job and do it quickly. They charge by the hour, so quickly is good. We will visit them again when it is time for our next haul out.

There were a lot of dolphins playing in Core Creek and the current was in our favor as we left Bock Marine on Wednesday the 12th. It was overcast but still a good day for a sailboat ride. While we were at Bock we watched LOTS of boats going south, it was nice to finally be one of them. Taking the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) you plan on motoring. Sometimes in the big bays and rivers you can sail. When the wind is in the right direction you can put up a sail while motoring to increase your speed.
We had the mainsail up for 2 hours today which increased our speed by up to one knot. We average around 5.5 knots so that means we see an almost 20% increase in speed. We love watching the dolphins and seabirds as we travel, they are very entertaining. We anchored for the night in Mile Hammock with 10 other boats. We were back on the hook for the first time in a long time, it felt good.

We woke up Thursday to rain, wind and fog. We headed out slowly and sped up as the fog burned off. We had three bridges on Thursday, which slow you down but are part of the challenge/fun of traveling the waterway. When we anchored on Wednesday, it appeared that our new LED anchor light was not working. When we anchored at Carolina Beach it was calm, so Wayne climbed up the mast. The light was working!!! It was good to know our fancy new bulb was working, we just can't see it from the deck.
It was a quiet night at Carolina Beach with rain and once again we awoke to fog.

Friday we started out in rain and fog again! The good news is rain and fog means that we have had a warm night. Wayne had studied the current and determined the best time for us to leave would be around 9:00 to take advantage of the current through Snow's Cut and crossing the Cape Fear. While we were waiting for the time to be right, Wayne replaced the strainer on our fresh water pump, which has resolved the leak we had. We made good time across the Cape Fear even in the fog. The real challenge
of the day came when we reached the bridge that is under construction at Oak Island. They had posted the schedule on Salty Southeast Cruisers Net of when the crew would be working and when boats could go through. They should have finished for the day well before we arrived, but the rain must have slowed them down. Between the barge and the shore there was a small opening to go through. We were not sure we could make it, but the bridge crew was telling us it would be at least an hour before the
barge was moved. Three mono-hull sail boats went through before us. One had a 5'6" draft, so we felt ok about the depth. Each of the three said they had clearance on both sides so we decided to try it. I stood on the bow while Wayne slowly steered BTC through the opening. We had about a foot clearance on each side. Half way through we ran aground! Wayne was able to back up,he moved just a little closer to the barge, we now had about 6" of clearance on the port side, he came through a little
faster and we made it. Neither of us wish to do that again! We crossed over the NC - SC line and anchored in Calabash Creek.

Today is Saturday and there was finally no fog. The currents have been running with us all day. Prior to this we have been averaging about 43 miles a day. Today we are headed for Georgetown, SC which will be 56 miles which is a lot of miles for days that are growing shorter ! It helps that the bridges open on demand or we timed it perfectly so there was no waiting. We have never anchored in Georgetown, SC before, but have heard it is a favorite of many cruisers.

We are happy to say that all of the electrical work Wayne has been doing is working well. The new high output alternators are charging the batteries while we are motoring, which then lasts us through the night. YEAH! The solar panels are putting in some power even in the rain! The solar panels will be further tested when we are at anchor in the Bahamas and not using the engines. The best news is the new seals on the starboard saildrive are working great! There is no water in the oil. YIPPEE
!!! I don't think I mentioned that when Wayne changed the oil in the port alternator, it too was free of oil, this is a first for us. We are happy!