To start, our getaway was not as fast as we thought it would be. At Beaufort, in the Taylor Creek anchorage, most people use 2 anchors: one up tide and one down tide with both rodes going to the bow of their boat. That way, boats do not drift around too much during slack water and do not bang into each other. Also, where some of the boats are on permanent moorings and on relatively short scope, this provides a means for boats to anchor between them.
Once one boat uses 2 anchors, pretty well everyone must follow suit. Accordingly, we did so. When we went to raise them, I tried to raise our smaller anchor (a 35 lb Bruce clone) first since the tide was such that it was not doing any work and was almost directly under our boat. In order to make this light work, I used our anchor winch which has a 500 lb capacity. When the anchor rope was vertical, the winch stalled, pulling the bow down. By letting out a little more scope on our main anchor, I was able to pull in about another 6 inches of rope. I tried letting it out and then pulling it in from a few different angles. Nothing!!! I checked the chart for an underwater cable. Nothing!!!
The winds had been strong during the night and the tidal current probably approaches 3 knots so I was expecting the anchor to be well dug in but this was nuts. You would not expect logs to be here as the current was too swift. I wondered what we must have hooked. A car??? I searched in vain for a piece of chain that we could drop down the anchor line so that we could maybe pull it out in reverse. I tried a few more times to pull it out. A little was gained but really, it was almost Nothing!! At this point I also feared for our larger anchor. So, I gathered some tools. The last efforts had gained maybe a foot, allowing the chain to reach the surface. If I had to abandon the anchor, at least I could save the rope without cutting it. Before doing so, I decided to drink a coffee and to consider some alternatives.
Not thinking of any new approaches, I returned to the bow with my tools prepared to abandon our small Bruce anchor. Just for the Hell of it, I tried the winch once again. The bow did not seem quite so depressed, but my wishful imagination can easily get the better of me. To my pleasant surprise, the anchor came up as easy as could be. I guess it just took about 45 minutes to work its way out of the muck.
The main anchor also came up easily.
So, we were on our way after nearly an hour's delay.
Gremlins 0, R&B Haven 1
Before the gremlins took another shot at the R&B Haven, they took a practice run at the power boat above and on the left.
Navigation on the ICW near Beaufort and Moorehaven can be a bit tricky. The channel might be 125 feet wide and the buoys are about a mile apart and sometimes more. The unfortunate individual above made it just past one channel maker and then went aground. He was more than a little distressed that his expensive Garmin chartplotter and Garmin charts showed him to be in deep water. He was even more distressed that he had hit so hard that he was certain that he had lost both props and likely rudders and shafts. I didn't think this was the appropriate time to suggest to him that perhaps he would have been better off with a cheaper navigational system that could run the free US Government charts.
Tow Boat US did get him off and, as it turned out, his props, his shafts and his rudders seemed all to be OK. Perhaps his navigational system just needs a computer wiz like Bruce C to make sure that his chart datums are set up correctly.
So after taking a practice run at this individual, the gremlins decided to take a run at the R&B Haven.
I had taken a trip to the head and Beverley was steering. We had just passed a marker and a boat wanted to pass us. In order to give them more room, she pulled over. BOOM ...KABOOM....BOOM....KABOOM. Dishes flew everywhere. Books flew off shelves. I flew outside. Beverley was very calm. Did you hear a noise? How come the boat keeps lurching? We turned 90 degrees to get back in the channel and then everything was fine.
Good thing we have a prop behind a skeg and good thing we don't draw very much or we could also have been waiting for Tow Boat US if not for a new prop, and other running gear.
Gremlins 0: R & B Haven 2
This day had one very pleasant aspect. It was one of the first on the water since leaving Canada where I did not have to wear ski warm-up pants. We weren't in shorts yet but this did represent a noticeable change for the better.
This is one stretch of water where there are few anchorages. There are also a few bridges on schedules that we had to wait for. Notwithstanding our late start, we were still trying for a very full day (85 statute miles). That meant that we would be arriving at our anchorage at dusk.
The chart shows a possible anchorage just past Wrightsville with 7 or 8 feet of water. In the dusk, we pussyfooted our way in . Suddenly, the depth sounder indicated mere inches under our keel. We managed to get stopped before hitting bottom. We inched our way out to deeper water. Because the light was fading fast, we had few options so we anchored beside the channel, hoping that during the night while we slept, a wind shift would neither push us into the channel nor onto a shoal. We also hoped that any boat transiting the ICW at night would keep clear.
Fortunately, our luck held.
Gremlins 0: R & B Haven 3.
We had promised ourselves that we would take a break in order to explore Charleston, SC. Before we could do that, however, we had to get there.
Fake palm tree on a submerged island near Wrightsville.
What kind of community pays for something as tacky as this?
The next morning, we only had a short trip before we passed through Snows Cut and then down the Cape Fear River. The Cape Fear River can live up to its name. The day that we made the run, there was a strong wind, but it was directly on our tail. It was one of those days where we were truly blessed because we even had a strong tidal current helping us and this not only made the passage swift, but undoubtedly made the waves much gentler than had the wind and tide been opposing. After Cape Fear, the ICW becomes more ditch like but it is easy to navigate.
House decoration "over the edge"
The scenery along this are is also very entertaining, alternating between beautifully kept houses and wilderness. Some of the docks are amazing. Some must be 500 yards long. And most do not even have a boat.
During this section, one passes by Myrtle Beach, one of North America's golf Meccas.
Finally, we made it to Charleston. In the morning, we dingied in, paid our dingy tie-up fee ($5.00) and got ready to explore the city.
There was a kid that docked at the same time as us. He had a lap top computer, a large skateboard and a large dog. He wanted to get to a building where he could pirate and internet connection. To get there, he threw the computer bag over his shoulder, stepped on his skateboard and encouraged his dog to make a run for it. Judging by his speed, I would say the dog was in a hurry to get ashore. Bev tried to take a picture, but by the time she could get the camera out, turned on and focused, the kid and his dog were down the docks and long gone.
I always kid that it takes Bev about 30 seconds and certainly less than 5 minutes to make new friends once we are ashore. I left Bev on a bench while I walked back to our dingy in order to paste our "day pass" sticker to it. This was not a long walk. By the time I got back, Bev was chatting up some woman. The two of them had already agreed that we would share transportation down town. In fact, we had lunch with the lady and her husband, met late in the day to go food shopping with them and shared happy hour on their boat (a Gemini 34 Catamaran).
Lunch in Charleston with Gemini 34 owners
Note that we are finally in shorts.
Downtown Graveyard
Like Savannah, Charleston offers a delightful blend of the very old and some of the new. They appear to have a strong sense of heritage and and obvious desire to preserve it.
Old Customs House
Was there anything we were supposed to declare?
They have preserved a number of old buildings and institutions such as the market the old slave market. It reminds you of how far attitudes have evolved from accepting slavery to having a black president. More power to them and may we all continue our journeys towards increased tolerance and integration of other races, religions and ways of thinking.
Wanting to do something different, Beverley suggested that we visit the Charleston Aquarium.
Non-poisonous snake at the Aquarium
Not only is this snake non-poisonous, but it eats other snakes that are. Cool! May they live and prosper.
Main Show at the Aquarium
Note the scuba diver at the bottom left. There were a lot of fish in here including sharks. The person on the lower right gave the main commentary, but the diver was hooked up so that she could hear him and could also speak. The glass and fake coral is all cleaned and maintained by local volunteer divers.
Moray Eel
This eel reminded Beverley of some that we had seen in the Bahamas. It served as a good reminder of why we do not stick our hands into holes.
American Alligator
What southern aquarium could do without an alligator?
Our day at Charleston was full, but it was time to move on.
The trip through the swamps of Georgia was monotonous but beautiful if you like swamps with lots of birds, dolphins and other wild life.
Abandoned Boat
Sometimes you would see the most amazing relics of hurricanes. It makes you wonder why no-one even bothered to remove the sails. Judging by the barnacles, this boat has been here for quite some time.
Beverley at the Helm - giving me a needed break
Me BBQing dinner, giving Beverley a well deserved break.
On our previous trip South, we had been followed by Butterflies, making their own migration. At just this point, one of Beverley's Granddaughters, Ella, was studying the migration paths of Butterflies while at school. Beverley explained that she was sure she had seen the same butterfly pass us several days in a row. Ella was skeptical.
Well this time, we had photographic proof. The PDQ catamaran below, passed us the first time near Beaufort and thereafter passed us almost daily until we were into Florida. This is a little like the tortoise and the hare (we have a Marine Trawler tortoise flag on our bow), except that it is not a hare. It is a ... you guessed it! It is named Butterfly.
I hope Ella believes us now!
Just before leaving Georgia, we fueled up at Brunswick. This was our 3rd and final fill-up. We took on 180 US gallons just before entering Lake Oneida (New York), 206 US gallons at Norfolk and US 170 gallons at Brunswick. We started the trip with 90 US gallons in the tank and finished with US 150 gallons in North Fort Myers. All fuel was purchased for roughly $2.55 US per gallon. In total we burned 496 gallons. This includes powering up the generator for roughly 2 hours per day. I am not sure of our exact mileage but it was in the order of 2000. I believe that we averaged roughly 4 mpg (including the generator) or in the order of 4.4 mpg (excluding the generator), mostly cruising at 7 knots with some days at 8 knots, many days with an hour or two at 8 knots and total of 2 or 3 hours at 9.5 knots (WFO).
Sailors always think powerboats are going to big fuel hogs. I guess that compared to sailboats, they are. On the other hand, most people would only do half to a quarter of this distance in a season and it would be easy to blow half to a quarter of our fuel bill ($1265) on sail and equipment repairs.
This is not to say that either approach is right or better, but to illustrate that with a single engined displacement trawler driven in a sensible manner, fuel consumption need not be the bugaboo some might make it seem.
No comments:
Post a Comment