Our time is Southport was enjoyable as it is a cute town with restaurants, shopping and great walking. Here are a couple random photos. Really cute cottage.
"The difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude". Someone said that on a recent AGLCA posting and we think this sums up our experiences. Another said the"Loop teaches us resiliency and to make the most out of wherever you are. It's all stuff...it can be fixed".
Not all Loopers have the extent of mechanical challenges that we have (but some have had far worse too) but we have "kept the shiny side up" and no one has been injured. So going with the flow and learning patience (well at least trying to learn) is why God gave us these challenges during our adventure. And we wouldn't trade our lifestyle for any other at this point in our lives. We are having a blast!
So our experience in Southport was just another adventure segment, not an ordeal. Waiting for word on the extent of repairs is always the worst part. Would the props be repairable? So contingency plans were laid during this time. We worked on sourcing new props...ouch, I hope that isn't the case. If it is we will be WELL above our insurance deductible so I summarized the situation and sent off an email to our agent to "stand by". But finally on Tuesday afternoon we learned the props had in fact been repaired with good results. Hooray!
Newly balanced and refurbished props.
Installing the boat fenders for "floats" to reinstall the props.
Zimmerman Marine was great to work with. We came in at 7 AM on a Friday, tied up to the marina fuel dock and waited until they opened at 8. By 9 we had a diver from J&J Services (also great to work with) scheduled to inspect the props and the rest of the running gear on Friday afternoon. Divers came back on Saturday to pull them so we could "get in line" at the prop shop. Prop shop completed work on Tuesday late afternoon and divers were back on Wed morning to re-install the wheels. They also provided the boat slip and use of a courtesy car for our stay. And they slipped our dinghy into the schedule for some maintenance as well...oil and lower unit lube changes, fuel filters, new battery for dinghy and a general look over. We were underway before noon on Wednesday. Thanks so much Steve Wallace and team at Zimmerman!
We spent time with too many Loopers to name! We are now in the thick of the migration toward Norfolk for the AGLCA Spring Rendezvous. We will not be attending due to commitments this summer in Canada and Michigan that we have which means we need to keep moving. We hope to be in Killarney Ontario for the Great Lakes Grand Banks Association rendezvous in mid July and then leisurely enjoy the Georgian Bay and North Channel for a few weeks. Yes, mid July is a long way away but we travel at about 9-10MPH and average a little less than that due to bridges, locks, no wake areas, etc. After the Rendezvous we will cruise to Michigan for our 40th anniversary celebration with our children at a lake cottage in Mid Michigan and Mom's 95th birthday celebration later in the month. So we will be taking the Erie/Oswego route, then the Trent Severn on our trip north. When we hopefully turn South in the Summer/Fall of 2019 (yes over a year from now) we will plan to take the Rideau and visit Ottawa and then the St Lawrence to Montreal, then the Champlain route down to NYC and back to Florida and the Bahamas for the winter.
We spent some time with Ken and Karen (Island Girl) who were having Zimmerman replace cutlass bearings in their boat. They were pulled to the hard on the Friday we arrived and were on their way on Wednesday morning. Karen showed me how to enable the sonar charts on my Navionics android app. We bought the app so that we would have a "chartplotter" in the dinghy, but this will be helpful in some of the trouble spots in the ICW too. Thanks Karen! Here they are leaving on Wednesday morning, repairs completed.
Other Loopers we talked with were Linda and Eddy (Spiritus), Mary and Tim (Nellie May) and many others at dock tales and the weather/navigation briefing. By the way, this event is at 6 PM each evening during "migration season". It is geared toward travelling North in the spring and South in the Fall. Carolina Yacht Services, Zimmerman and the Southport Marina all donate personnel, facilities and supplies to do this. It is a wonderful service and all who stay here should attend this very informative session. And the Harbor Hosts, or should I say the goodwill ambassadors for Southport, Robert and Kay Creech, are fantastic. "The car is parked in the car port just waiting for someone to drive it" was his mantra on the docks each night. They also present an overview of the Loop at AGLCA functions and are just great assets to the organization.
So after we got going around noon Wednesday we needed to test the props and boat performance. All is good.
We caught up to Ken and Karen at Harbour Village Marina near Hampstead NC on Wednesday afternoon.
We stayed for two nights as strong winds are forecasted for Thursday. We arranged to rent a car on Thursday and drive to New Bern to see Linda and Ralph (Mazel Tug).
Ken and Karen (Island Girl) rode along with us to New Bern and we dropped them off to explore while we picked up Carey and Nancy (Tug Lee Loo) to go to visit Linda and Ralph. Pat (Dream Catcher) also joined us on the visit. And it was good to hear that Dick was on the golf course given his severe auto accident last year. We had a great visit with Linda and Ralph reminiscing and just visiting. It was so great to see everyone again!
We had a late lunch at Morgan's with Carey, Nancy, Pat, Ken and Karen and showed Ken and Karen around New Bern a bit along with Carey and Nancy. It was a great day.
Friday we headed out for Morehead City Yacht Basin. Julie said Google traffic should have said "moderate traffic on the ICW" today.
It was a great travel day and we arrived early enough to snag the courtesy car and get some groceries and errands run. A quick wash off of the salt, a great dinner aboard and early to bed for an early departure on Saturday. DeVere and Carole, is this your fishing boat in Morehead City?
We got started early Saturday and within a few miles had our first of three tows to overtake in Adams Creek and beyond.
After our experience in South Carolina in narrow channels we were very careful to communicate and ask questions with tow captains. The first was easy. As we came upon the second one he was about to pass another slower tow. And that tow was none other than Island Girl, the tow that we passed in SC and had the prop damage! But there was plenty of channel here and we followed the tow and passed Island Girl uneventfully. Throttling up...
Then we were ready to overtake the faster tow and he responded go ahead but I am going to push it up. If you can do it, bring it on was his response. Many tow captains see our boat and think it is just a slow trawler. So I asked him if my wake would be an issue if I powered up (some tows will ask you to mind your wake) and he responded bring it on. So we went around him at 23MPH!! Here we go!
This one was coming at us and asked us to reduce our wake. Hmm, it looks pretty large and stable to me!
Glad to be done with tow passing for the day we settled in to a nice cruise to our anchorage in the Pungo River. It was a nice spot off the ICW just before we would enter the Pungo/ Alligator River Canal on Sunday morning.
It was another peaceful evening with no traffic and very calm conditions. We got on the water early and entered the canal to some fog and very pretty conditions. Leaving early.
A few miles later I see the AIS target listing showing Gimme Time II closing in from our rear at about 25 MPH. And yes, it was AJ and Amy aboard their new 52 Sea Ray Sedan Bridge. What a beautiful vessel. A great slow pass and the Gold Looper flag proudly flown..
We met AJ and Amy on our first night on the Loop in South Haven MI back in August 2015 when they were aboard Gimme Time. We ran into them off and on that year all the way to Marathon. We had a nice chat on the radio and bid them farewell. They were headed out for a 180+ mile day all the way to Deltaville VA, their home port after having spent the winter in Key West. Small world.
Moving along on the Alligator River. A calm morning to cruise.
The Alligator River Bridge was undergoing construction so we caught up to three boats who had passed us earlier. We saw the other boats waiting at the bridge and due to the limited openings we called the tender for instructions. he said bring it on and I'll get you through with this group. So we powered up for 10 minutes to get there quickly. Then of course another boat called and the same thing, so that fuel burn was a waste. Oh well, the diesels got exercised again per CAT mechanic instructions.
And they were not holding it open for long as the next boat called to say they would arrive in 5 minutes and the tender said sorry, its closing.. But they were doing their best to please the boaters and the construction crews, a tough job for the bridge tender who by the way was very pleasant.
We got across the Albermarle Sound
and then anchored in the North River near Buck Island just off the ICW. There was a bit of wind and some fetch so not a real smooth anchorage but great holding and a good spot to get an early start from on Monday.
Monday morning we got another early start and hit the water at first light, 6:08 AM.
Our destination was the Great Bridge free dock to wait one day to move over to Atlantic Yacht Basin for a minor repair. We for the third day travelled with a large Hatteras (Safe Havens) from NY just by chance, no plans to do so. We took turns the last couple days leading the way, although we always stayed a few miles apart in the evenings. But it is always nice to travel with someone and compare navigation notes etc. We could be seeing them off and on as their home port is in Alexandria, New York.
And yes, that was another tow we needed to pass. A short video of passing the tow...bring it on!
An osprey on its nest along the way.
We arrived around noon at Great Bridge and there was space available on the free dock. And who was just in front of us but Sherry and Randy (Priorities) whom we last saw in Ortega Landing Marina in Jacksonville in November. Well, technically we also saw them, at least the boat, as they went past Southport as we were awaiting prop repairs a few days ago.
We were invited for a beverage at 5PM by Ron and Sue (Panacea) who were down the dock a bit. They have been living aboard for 23 years since their retirement and have been married 52 years. Wow. Sometimes things just happen....
On our walk along the canal...we think he is harmless!
The bridge and memorial of the Battle of Great Bridge in 1775.
The free dock is right next to a Great Bridge park and they are constructing a new visitor center on the grounds.
As we were eating lunch I lost a crown...well not lost but it was crunchy! So we found a local dentist that could work us in to examine and replace it. It is not a permanent fix due to some decay under the crown, but it is back on at least temporarily. We'll have to see what our regular dentist suggests as we sent him the x-rays seeking his opinion. Fast forward, dentist says let's replace the crown this summer along with your cleaning appointment already made. Nice use of technology. Hope it lasts till then!Barges come close to the free dock!
On Tuesday morning we moved across the canal to Atlantic Yacht Basin for some exhaust system repairs. We were pleasantly surprised on the repair cost. Just some grinding, fiberglass mat, resin and some gel coat and we are good to go. Less than $100. I cannot remember any marine repair less than this in the last 2-12 years! Thanks AYB for prompt, efficient and cost effective service!
Plans from here are to spend one more night on the free dock and then go to Cape Charles for the Blessing of the Fleet celebration on Friday evening as the town celebrates the local watermen and bids them a safe season. Live band, crab pot tossing competition, etc. Should be fun.
Randy and Sherry (Priorities) across the way at the free dock as we are at AYB for repairs. They will travel to Cape Charles with us.
We are going to hit some different ports than our last exploration of the Chesapeake in 2016 but will move rather quickly through the Bay. More soon....thanks for following our blog.
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