We are in Beaufort SC. There is a nice anchorage and dinghy dock to come in to. We have enjoyed walking the main street and along the waterfront. We met a cruising couple on another sail boat and went to dinner and learned all we could from them as this is their 3rd year to head to the Bahamas. It was a fun evening.
These are pictures of Lady’s Island swing bridge, the bridge we had to come through to anchor here in Beaufort.
How we see it from the deck of Paperbird….
He quieted the sea with His power
We really enjoyed our visit to Charleston. It is a beautiful city. We left this morning and motored past the waterfront. A side that you don’t usually get to see when visiting.
First we passed the loading docks for commercial ships then cruise ships. They are HUGE and we are careful to watch out for them when we are underway.
This one left last night. It passed right beside us!
Then we passed the part of town with lovely homes and steeples sprinkled about. We could tell we are in the Bible belt with a church on every block just about.
Then we rounded the bend to the side of town where there is a big marina filled with boats and passed the megadock….actually advertising the fuel for mega yachts that have high speed pumps.
Then we turned and started down the intracoastal waterway once again. After navigating through one draw bridge we spent the day watching small towns come and go. Watching birds dive looking for their next meal an watching dolfins swim under us and pop up on the other side.We also talk to other boaters that pass us or that we pass. Finding out where they are from and where they are going.
Late this afternoon we pulled into the South Edisto River, dropped our anchor and watched the sun go down over the marsh grass.
No city sounds, no lights, no wind and no waves…….
He quieted the sea with His Power
We have had a pretty typical cruiser stop here in Charleston. We took a trolley out of the down town area to catch a city bus to go to the closest West Marine to pick up a part they were holding for us. Then we did the reverse trip back to the boat and spent time installing the part that had to be replaced. Then we walked out to the closest location and got one of our propane bottles filled. We ran a load of laundry at the laundry mat then worked on a few other maintenance things on the boat. We went out to dinner with a couple from Ohio off of another boat that we kept seeing at different anchorages since we left our home marina. It was fun to finally meet.
Today we walked to Church then walked several blocks over to find a place to grab some lunch. That’s when we learned that it was 2nd Sunday on King Street. They close the street for the afternoon for pedestrians only and have street performers and restaurants and stores put tables out on the street to serve people. We walked and walked. We had South Carolina BBQ for lunch then headed back to the boat to look at charts and plan the next leg of our trip. Late this afternoon we walked out to a grocery store and bought some fresh fruit and a few other provisions.
Greg will go to meetings that his company is holding here in Charleston for the next couple of days before we get going again.
If you’ve been to Charleston you might recognize this bridge we can see from the boat
Redeemer is in a beautiful historic building
He quieted the sea with His Power
Before we left, our friends on Alexia graciously gave us the lat/lon of places they anchored in NC and SC. One of the locations had a cryptic note: “for an adventure on a windless day…” Well, it wasn’t windless, but with a note like that we had to check it out. So yesterday, we worked our way up Thoroughfare Creek and then launched the dinghy to go find the adventure Alexia recommended. Well, it may not have been the middle of nowhere, but I think we could almost see it from there. Turns out it was an abandoned canal-based housing development, with almost no houses. We rode around in the dredged canals, some with very primitive houses and docks. Most looked either abandoned or like they should be. Then we saw a small fishing boat with 2 guys zooming around. We stopped alongside them and asked about the place. Turns out a developer with more dreams than sense dredged out the canals, laid out the housing plots and then failed to get the sewer permits. And the land was too wet to perc. So it was abandoned. They told us, “a few hardy souls have built here anyway. Some of them are a little shady.” As we rode away back to Paperbird, we weren’t sure if our 2 new friends were in the hardy or shady category.
Then today we stopped in Georgetown, SC for lunch. Downtown Georgetown is full of quaint little shops and restaurants. While walking along the street, The Swamp Fox tour trolley came by giving a narrated tour of downtown. The tour guide stopped in mid-sentence and called out to us “I know you guys. We met up on Thoroughfare Creek yesterday.” Sure enough, it was our hardy friend from the Creek. As he drove away in the trolley, we could hear him narrating to his small tour group all about meeting this couple on a sailboat while out exploring abandoned rice fields. I wonder if he told them we were in the shady category?
One of the canals
This one’s for sale….any takers?
Yep, even a Cafe and Raw Bar!!
The Swamp Fox in down town Georgetown!
But if not
One of the things Greg and I love just about more than anything is playing with our grandkids. We read books, play with puzzles ,color….really anything they are interest in we are willing to do with them. One of Noah’s favorite things to play with are his legos. We build vehicles, not cars or trucks or planes or boats but vehicles. When I’m at his house we build vehicles then make up stories while we play with them.
Noah, these pictures are for you. These are vehicles that we have seen along the way so far on our trip. I think of you when ever I see an interesting vehicle……see if you can build any of these with your legos.
Navy transporter
Tug boat pushing a barge
Coast Guard helicopter
Charter fishing boat
Coast Guard rescue boat
Private helicopter
A tug boat pushing and pulling
How about this boat named…TWO BOYS….you could build it for you and Ben!!
We miss you and can’t wait to play legos with you and Ben when we get back!
He quieted the sea with His Power
We spent Saturday and Sunday in Wrightsville Beach North Carolina while another weather system came through. We were so blessed to find a wonderful church to go to and enjoy the worship and teaching. We enjoyed it so much that we went back Sunday evening for a special worship service they had.
Paperbird anchored in Wrightsville Beach harbor
He quieted the sea with His Power
We have had some great sailing! First across the Albemarle Sound then across the Pamlico Sound with a down wind run then a beam reach with calm seas on both. For several days after that we have had a north wind filling our jib to pull us down the waterway as we head south….from Oriental to Beaufort-Morehead City to Swansboro to Wrightsvill Beach as well as staying put several times to wait for weather systems to blow through.
Sunrise on the Alligator River
Talking to Grands!!
Watching dolphins swim along beside us
Watching the shrimp boats come back to their dock
Dinner with the setting sun as we plan the next day
He quieted the sea with His Power
Stormy Petrel is leading the way with their spinnaker flying….as we follow wing and wing with a downwind run across the Albemarle Sound.
He quieted the sea with His power
Today we finished the Dismal Swamp. We motored through an early morning mist and waited all bunched up for a scheduled bridged opening before we lined the edges of a second lock. This took us into the Pasquotank river and south to Elizabeth City.
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We are tied to their free dock enjoying their wonderful hospitality!! This is such a great place to visit….very welcoming to boaters!!
He quieted the sea with His power
Hi Becca, this is for you so you can find us on your map.
We got under way before sunrise (so that we could make a draw bridge opening and then the lock opening) and motored through Norfolk VA past the Navy ships as the sun was just turning everything pink.
We went through a draw bridge then turned right into the Dismal Swamp. The Intracoastal Waterway is to the left…the swamp and waterway parallel along here and the swamp ends at Elizabeth City. From there we will go into the waterway.
We motored down the Dismal swamp for several miles to a lock.
This is looking forward in the lock
This is looking behind us in the lock
This is when the water had filled up the lock
This sign was in the lock showing mileage from the lock to different cities.
Becca you can see Baltimore and Washington are north from where we are on the sign, they are the closest to you. And you can see Miami, that is how far south we have to go before we go over to the Bahamas.
After the lock we passed this Welcome to North Carolina sign….we’ve made it to North Carolina!!
Now we are tied up at the Dismal Swamp visitors center for the night. It is actually a North Carolina visitor center along the highway but they have a dock and let boats tie up for free. We are rafted up with others that are going south too. So far there are 11 boats rafted together.
He quieted the sea with His Power
