Honey Queen Adventures

Saturday morning we walked to town and enjoyed the most wonderful day. Perfect weather. The Wood Boat Show. Build a boat competition. The sum total of the experience made our extended stay at the Town Creek Marina worth every minute.

Below are a blend of pictures of the day. The Wood Boat show brought back lots of memories of my childhood. Mom and Dad will see pictures of boats I remember from Caney Lake and Narrows.

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The boat building competition was so much fun watching. Each team has a kit and plans of the boat they are to build. Some of the material was pre-cut and stands were set up to help the team manage their work. There were approximately 12 2-person teams in the competition. Two teams were old hands doing this, and have competed before. They had every tool for the task, were extremely focused, and very fast. They both completed their boats in less than 1 1/2 hours.

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The next block of teams were just average “joes”, sometimes couples, sometimes just friends, all interested in having fun doing something different.

The last trio of teams were kids. One team, Webelos scouts, one team, Girl Scouts, one team of a youth organization in the area. These teams were the highlight of our day. My hat is off to the adults who are investing in these kids. In all 3 cases, the adults allowed the kids to do all the work but assisting and encouraging the whole time. We agreed, these won’t be the kids who will be shooting up the schools, getting in trouble with drugs, or worse. These will be the kids who are producers in the workplace; kids who will invest in their next generation. All day, these kids gave it their all. The tasks before them was clear, and the teamwork was not optional, it was essential.

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As I reflect on this day, I have figured out why it was so special and fun. Of course, spending the day with my bride of 40 years was primary, but what stirred my heartstrings was the reflection back on my childhood. I had the privilege of a mom and dad that loved the outdoors. Some of my earliest memories are those of camping out and water skiing. I camped not only with family, but also with the Boy Scouts, Troop 41 in Haynesville, Louisiana. All those memories came alive today as I watched these kids and adults interact. Camporees, Jamborees, Camp Yatasi, and a 1,000 more like-events surfaced. I often found my chin quivering as I saw a 10-year old boy run screws into the side of the boat; as a young dad directed on the proper application of the adhesive that would hold the boat together and keep it dry for the “in-water” rowing competition later in the day, and as a grandfather (figure or maybe to one of them) directed the 3 young ladies to work together to pick up the sides and hold them properly to form the shape of a real boat. What a day.

As they competed in the water late Saturday afternoon, these teams got to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Some boats (and people) performed with excellence, some performed providing LOTS of humor for those of us who watched from the dock. Some boats were bone dry inside at the end of the competition. Some were VERY wet shortly after they were launched. And as a side note, you who have known me for a long time, you know how competitive I’ve always been, whether sports or business. I have never believed in the “Everybody gets a trophy” concept. But today, I saw everybody win. There were no prizes or trophies. Just winners with the satisfaction of a job well done.

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Beaufort, NC was good to us.

Our travels carried us to Beaufort (pronounced Bo-fort, as compared to the South Carolina city pronounced Bew-fort), North Carolina. We traversed the ICW across Camp LeJuene.

We decided it would be a good day to stay at a marina. For those of you who are seasoned equally to me, as a rookie captain, just know you can survive running aground. Coming into the channel today, I ran the Honey Queen onto a sandbar not once, not twice, but 3 times, as we neared the marina. Though I have run aground prior to today, the entry into the channel was quite tricky and poorly marked. I laughed at myself, as there was nothing else to do, other than praying reverse would do as before and deliver me from this dry land concealed by a thin layer of water.

The Town Creek Marina is small and cozy. The rate is very reasonable, so we’re thinking we may stick around town another day. We hear it’s a cool town to visit. And there’s a wood boat show on Saturday, so we’ll play tourist and see what comes next.

Today’s journey was a little longer (in miles) than normal. 39 miles in 6 hours, 15 minutes. For many, this is a turtle’s pace. For us, it’s an opportunity to catch every detail along the way. We made it to this destination, called Mile Hammock anchorage about 2:30. This place is a man-made basin serving the military base, Camp Lejeune. Pleasure boats are permitted to anchor here, and right now, there appears to be 10-12 boats doing just that. The most interesting boat is a catamaran called Electric Blue. It’s a totally solar powered boat. It’s kind of funny, we have seen this couple almost every day since we left Savannah. They putter (wrong word because they make no noise) at 5 or 6 knots. We pass them nearly every day and they catch us almost every evening. I hope to get to know this couple a little more and learn how their story came to be.

Being near the base has been a pretty cool deal. Helicopters have buzzed us most of the afternoon. Though noisy, I’m appreciative of every maneuver, practice session, and training mission these guys and gals are running. Tomorrow we call before we make the next run on the ICW to ensure they are not firing cannons. Sometimes, the training closes the ICW. This simple phone call may keep our boat afloat a little while longer.

Today, we slept in (a little) in Southport, as it was such a cool little town. Amanda wanted to sell the boat and buy a house here. Can’t say I blame her, but I was able to convince her to at least finish the trip with me before we invested in any more real estate. Here are a few pictures revealing the charm we so enjoyed.

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We stayed in an anchorage known as Banks Channel in Wrightsville. We were surrounded by many like-minded folks who enjoying being on the “hook” and staying somewhere for free. We were protected on the north, east, and west, so the mild breeze provided our air conditioning, the natural way. Wrightsville, as you know, is known for taking serious hits during the hurricanes. I often wondered why people continue to leave themselves so exposed to the elements. After being here for a few hours, I can understand their temporary insanity becoming permanent. This is what we woke up to on Wednesday morning.

Our 42 mile northward trek today carried us to Southport, North Carolina. A quaint fishing town of approximately 3,000 people had the feel of small town USA. We had contacted Robert and Kay, who are harbor host for The Great Loop in this area. That turned out to be a home run for us. He told us about a free dockage, directly in front of The Provision restaurant. He met us at the dock to point us in the right direction into the slip, and had us over a visit on his front porch overlooking the basin.

He told us that each evening at 6 pm a local does a weather/navigating class for Northbound cruisers. That 1 1/2 hour session provided us with so much detail and peace of mind about our next leg of the journey. Such a valuable resource we stumbled upon. As a bonus, we met 2 other cruising couples who are also doing The Loop. Ate dinner with them and then walked 50 feet back to the boat.

The winds finally died down in our anchorage last night and the oxbow became lake calm. We rose around 6:00, our new body alarm time, it seems, and headed north 15 miles to the Marina at Grande Dunes. The cruising experts tell us we need a day or 2 per week off the water just as a stress reliever. Yes, I know most think this is stress free living, but we have found that is not totally the case. The need for constant awareness of surroundings, current, weather, systems on the boat, navigating, avoiding shoals, etc. has a certain level angst about it that merits a little break by being tied up at a marina.

As mentioned already, laundry, reprovisioning, and the other routine tasks of living can be accomplished while in the marina, so there’s still a little normal living routine required.

Sunday morning, we watched Compassion Church service on the app, walked to the beach, took a little snooze there, and walked back to the grocery store to restock. Our stroll back to the boat, loaded down with groceries, was a less than fond memory made. No matter how pitiful of a face I made as cars rode by, no one offered to pick up the 2 homeless looking people walking with 40 pounds of bags hanging down at our sides. I asked Amanda to start crying, but she wouldn’t stoop that far. I need to work on my “look” or get a cart!

The Georgetown anchorage was very well protected, so we made this our home last night, instead of moving. We left at 7 am, keeping our eye on the weather.

The landscape made a significant change today, north of Georgetown. Having seen only marsh grass for the last 5 days, today it looked like we got planted in the bottom of Dorcheat’s cypress swamps. It looks like home to this Louisiana boy.

The weather plan for arriving in a marina late this morning changed, as conditions got much better. So we cancelled our marina reservation and proceeded northerly another 20 miles. We hunkered down in an oxbow on the Waccamaw River, near 2 other boats. Wind forecasts were in the upper teens till about 7 pm, then dropping temps into the 50’s. Another good night of sleep is my forecast.

Tomorrow morning, we execute our game plan of being in the marina early enough to avoid the weekend boaters. Laundry, fuel, fitness center, and restocking the little refrigerator are our plans for the weekend, while people that are younger, and still employed, enjoy what is forecasted to be a beautiful day on the water.

Our stay at Awendaw Creek, which is the inlet to the Harbor River was uneventful. We saw NOBODY, no boat, nothing but sea gulls and pelicans. from 2 pm yesterday until 8 am this morning. Virtually no current and plenty of water at low tide, made this an ideal anchorage. It is fairly exposed, so had there been any significant wind, it may not have been so ideal, but this night was like being on a cove at Narrows (family understands).

These two guys have been escorting us since Savannah. It has to be the same 2, because they always act like they know us. I decided to name them Mike and Gabe, as the only 2 angels (Michael & Gabriel) named in scripture. They have been our guardian angels, making sure I didn’t do anything stupid.

We pulled out at 9:15 and drove North about 32 miles to downtown Georgetown. The public day docks, advertised as free, would not handle a boat our size, so we anchored in the bay and puttered to the public dock in our dinghy. Found the restaurant shown by my own “Vanna” and ate a great lunch. Georgetown is a quaint little town, clean as a pin, with a significant number of restaurants and shops. We needed to run to the Post Office, so we decided the exercise would be good for us. A 2-mile walk along a major highway got us to the post office, but we opted to catch a Lyft back, as we were in boat shoes, and valued our lives more than we valued the exercise. Best $7.10 I’ve spent on the trip thus far.

We pulled out of Wappoo Creek Anchorage in Charleston this morning and negotiated the Charleston Harbor. Though not too precarious, the channel markers were difficult to pick up in the expanse. Didn’t help that our virtually brand new binoculars have fogged up, making spotting the channel markers quite challenging.  A return trip to the next available West Marine is in my near future.

We watched 2 bridge openings from behind us as sailboats needed them to pass through. Our 22′ clearance with the antennas down gets us through some of the lower bridges without requesting openings.

Our 2 pm arrival in Awendaw Creek  allowed our first afternoon of just chillin’ out in the sunshine. Though pretty breezy, the sun was warm and kind. We listened to Ed Sheeran and James Taylor, looked at the distant lighthouse at Cape Romain, and watched another gorgeous sunset. This anchorage makes us feel like we are the only people on the face of the earth. But we still can sneak a peak at Wheel and Jeopardy with our little TV. Got to monitor how many million James will win.

A little weather is forecasted for Friday so we plan to get close to a marina Thursday evening, anchor out, and then check in Friday morning, giving us safety and comfort from the elements, not to mention a shower large enough to accommodate the opportunity to bend over and pick up the dropped bar of soap as needed.

Rising early today, well rested, we watched and listened to the creatures around us. Fish jumping, sea gulls cawing back and forth just made us all the more grateful to be out of the rat race and soaking up serenity of the moment. Of course, South Carolina sand gnats have the same fangs as do those from Georgia, so we stayed nestled in the salon until the sun was well up.

A third straight glorious beautiful day allowed us to press a little further than we had planned. We arrive in Charleston about 3 pm and had thought we would anchor in front of the city Marina. However, after feeling like I was going to be mooring in the median of the intersection of I-95 & I-16, I told Amanda this was not my idea of a vacation. We backtracked a mile or so to an anchorage called an oxbow, which is basically a small body of water separated from the ICW by a small island. We’re looking out our boat windows at gorgeous homes, just South of downtown Charleston, with the rumble of vehicles crossing a bridge in the background.

We ate seafood at the Charleston Crabshack, who had a dinghy dock on the ICW. Good food and a nice little ride in our 9′ raft, a boat I am much more comfortable and experienced handling than our 36,000 pound beast, the Honey Queen. All is good and we are still pinching ourselves that we are getting to have this experience at this point in our lives.