After leaving New Bern NC we only cruised about 55 miles but the scenery was beautiful and it was nice to be in rural areas again. Both Oriental and Belhaven are very small towns with a combined population of just over 2,200.
We picked up our long time friends and fellow travelers, Dave and Tanya in New Bern on the 17th of June. They will to cruise with us to Norfolk – YAY!!! The four of us have traveled all over the world together and they have been on all of our boats over the years. We also all really enjoy good wine and food, cooking or dining out and are completely compatible in small space. Dave and I love getting in the kitchen together and crafting up a great meal. It’s so wonderful to have them onboard and we really thrilled that they are part of our Great loop Adventure.
We had a quick stop between Oriental and Belhaven for some fresh fish. This dock is home to a fleet of shrimp and fishing boats. My kinda funky!!
Oriental is another small fishing village so we only stayed 1 night. It was hot, hot, hot so all we really did was walk to a local restaurant for lunch and hang on the boat. We also met some fellow loopers, one couple has the exact same boat as us – too fun.
What wasn’t fun, was that two of our four AC units have been giving us fits… of course they had to stop working on the day we expect guests onboard. ARGH….. Captain Handy has tried everything to revive the salon and pilot house AC’s but t looks like we need a new water intake pump which we can’t get until we get to Norfolk.
The Belhaven Marina Dock Master Greg was able to get a mechanic to come take a look when we arrived in Belhaven. After conferring with Captain Handy and looking the system he said it’s likely that our 24 year old, original water intake pump has gotten tired and can’t keep pump enough water through to the two big units in the salon and pilothouse at the same time on really it days. It’s a bit of a specialty pump and of course it’s not something we can find in rural NC. The good news is that it will run the pilothouse or the two bedroom AC’s so we will be just fine until we can get it repaired. Never a dull moment, living on a boat.
I also want to give kudos to all the folks who gave advice through the Carver Voyager Facebook Group I belong to. This is when social media is the best – al group of knowledge boat owners with the are make and model of boat who can lend advice. SWEET!!!
Belhaven is tiny and it is amazing that there is an excellent Farm to Table restaurant in this town of 1,400. We really enjoyed meeting the owner of Spoon River had a great dinner there on Monday. Honestly, it was one of the main reasons I wanted to stop here and we timed it to arrive on Monday when they were open. I had made a reservation and was glad we did as the place was packed. The eclectic interior is filled with art that is all done by the owner.
I was skeptical about having soft shell crabs but figured when in Rome… they were delicious!!!
Belhaven is really a one night stop as far as things to do but we stayed 2 nights so the guys could go fishing with a local guide. They had a great time, caught some fish and saw some of the local estuaries. Sadly, according to the guide, this well known mecca for fishing is in decline. Sounds like the fishery has not been well managed thus resulting in many of the local fish populations to decline. With this in mind, the guys release all the fish they caught. Hoping some stronger regulations in size and number of fish being caught will help this area recover.
Despite being a bit rustic, funky little Belhaven Marina scored a 5 star review from me. The staff was excellent and were there on the dock to get you tied up. They had the fixed docks set up with large round fender to protect the sides of the boat. They also bring you a bag of information from the chamber of commerce about the local area. The harbor master Greg made an excellent recommendation about the fish hide as well. The setting was charming and all of a block into the small town. There is also a cute ships store, free laundry and showers, lawn games, a book trade library, a BBQ grill with propane and multiple gazebos and sitting area around the small property. Need to make a grocery store run… just borrow a golf cart and off you go! I thought it was sweet that shampoo, towels and hair dryers are all included at the showers and laundry soap and dryer sheets were free in the laundry room as well.
From here, our plans get a bit loose…the wind will dictated where we end up as we work our way north to Norfolk. See you along the way!
What’s the difference between Beaufort NC & Beaufort SC?
The difference is about 375 miles or 6 hours. There’s a Beaufort in North Carolina and South Carolina. The big difference between them is in the way you pronounce Beaufort (This is not a trivial issue). Bless your heart, you will be corrected if you mispronounce either Beaufort!!!
Beaufort, North Carolina is pronounced “BOW-firt,” as in a bow and arrow. If you’re going to Beaufort, South Carolina, you must say, “BEW-furd. Ironically, both are named for an Englishman, Henry Somerset, the Second Duke of Beaufort, who never came to either North Carolina or South Carolina.
Originally we thought we’d have to skip BOW-firt but luck shown down upon us and thanks to a recommendation from some other loopers that we met in Beaufort SC, we got a last minute cancellation at the Beaufort Yacht Basin for 2 nights. How’s that for more irony??
Why was this such a stoke of kismet/luck you may wonder? The Big Rock Fishing Tournament has all but taken over Morehead City and Beaufort and transient boat slips are rented out a year in advance. This tournament is a big damn deal in NC. Almost anyone along the coast line understands how big a damn deal it is. Sport fishing is a huge passion in this part of the world and Blue Marlin are the prize catch. Entry fees for this tournament are anywhere from $2.5K to $40K and the prize purses for the biggest fish are huge. Cape Hatteras is legendary for these beautiful fish. This tournament is mainly catch and release but there is a prize for the biggest marlin boated over 500 pounds -$833,000 to be exact. Of course it has to meet the NC size regulations in order to keep it but wowie…. That’s some cash. I was please to read that Big Rock has a foundation and supports many local charities as well.
Most if the big boys are over at Morehead City where the tournament headquarter aka Big Rock Landing and the weigh in station are.
Here are a few interesting factoids about the NC marlin fishery.
WHEN: Blue marlin can and have been caught off Cape Hatteras every month of the year, the very peak months being July and August, with May, June and September a close second. HOW: Sport fishermen catch blue marlin by trolling artificial and natural baits. Boats pull up to eight lines at speeds ranging from 4 to 8 knots. Two of the lines are pulled close to the boat on the surface and are called flatlines. The others are attached to outriggers.
SIZE: The fish off Hatteras can be anywhere from 50 lb. babies to 1000 lb. giants, the average fish weighing between 200 and 500 lbs. LIMIT: The blue marlin fishery has strict regulations in NC. The fish must be 99 inches or greater in length and only one fish can be kept per BOAT per day.
Honestly, this is a big $$ sport… the payouts are never going to cover the expenses of these 50 to 80 foot mega boats. These big sport fishing boats are expensive and they can burn 50 gallons of diesel fuel an hour. Most of the boats competing in the tournament leave the dock at 6 or 7 am and return around around 5 or 6 pm. So with todays diesel fuel prices being around $4.00 per gallon, a boat running 12 hours @50 GPH = $2,400 a day. The tournament runs 6 days so the average fuel bill is $14,400 – SHEESH!!!!!
So, can you tell I got a little caught up in the excitement?? I’ve been listening to the Big Rock live radio during the day and following the leaderboards online. Saturday the 17th was the last day of the tournament and it wasn’t quite over when I finished writing this post.
So what else did we do in Beaufort??? Well, we walked all over and took the marina golf cart the Piggly Wiggly grocery store. Worst grocery store I’ve been to yet on the loop… old, smelly and sad so aptly named I guess?? I found a few decent veggies to tide us over but eww, don’t like smelly stores.
We had a really nice linner (because it ain’t lunch and it ain’t dinner) our first day in Beaufort, sitting outside at the Black Sheep overlooking teh waterfront. Best wood fired pizza we had on the loop! We also visited the Beaufort Grocery Store for lunch the next day… really good chow and they sold me a loaf of fresh baked sourdough bread cause the bread at the Pig was a no go!
We also visited the North Carolina Maritime Museum, the Watercraft Center and the Beaufort Historical site and the Old Burying Grounds. We had hoped to take a ferry to Shackleford Island but it was so windy on Monday that we nixed that idea.
There was plenty to keep us out of trouble for two days and we were glad it worked out to stop here. Beaufort is a cute little town with loads of charm, well, except the Piggly Wiggly!
Escapade underway on the ICW… photo taken by a member of the Escapade on the Loop Facebook Group.
Wilmington was a very nice side trip off the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway on the Cape Fear River. Both days we transited the river the water was like a pond so the fear level for us was pretty low. The name Cape Fear comes from the 1585 expedition of Sir Richard Grenville. Sailing to Roanoke Island, his ship became embayed behind the cape. Some of the crew were afraid they would wreck, giving rise to the name Cape Fear. It is the fifth-oldest surviving English place name in the U.S. Cape Fear was also the landing place of British General Sir Henry Clinton during the American Revolutionary War on May 3, 1775.
One more bit of trivia for all you pub dwelling trivia players. The 1962 film Cape Fear and its 1991 remake were set at Cape Fear (although neither movie actually was filmed there).
Wilmington is a port city so there are massive container ships on the river. We had to sit and wait for a container ship to exit the loading docks and go to the turn around basin. The water sheriff controlled river traffic while a single tugboat moved this massive ship around. It was actually really interesting to watch the entire maneuver.
Most of the time we avoid getting this close to these big ships and give them wide berth. Especially when they are under full power out in the shipping channels as the bow and stern wakes are enormous. They can’t slow down or stop for us recreational boaters so it’s really dangerous. In this case, the sheriff was monitoring how close was acceptable and we stayed well out of the way.
Our approach to Wilmington on the Cape Fear River.
The population of Wilmington is over 117,000 so this was a big city for us on the loop. We tied up at Port City Marina and enjoyed two days of shore leave in town. We took a guided horse trolley tour, visited the Battleship USS North Carolina, strolled the beautiful river walk and enjoyed the Friday nite summer party at the Port City Docks. Of course, there is no shortage of great restaurants and shops to peruse in Wilmington. We had a fun lunch at the Beer Barrio… 30 draft beers on tap and a great taco menu.
Being a University town, Wilmington has a nice vibe and a younger demographic as well. The north end of the waterfront is all new construction with mostly mixed use condominiums. This area is no stranger to hurricanes and the Port CIty Marina where we tied up was fully rebuilt after Hurricane Florence whipped arse on North Carolina.
We really enjoyed the self guided tour of the USS North Carolina. This massive battleship participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific theater of operations, earning 15 battle stars and is the most highly decorated American battleship of World War II. I really appreciated the crew stories that were on each one of the informational signs around the ship. These stories really bring home the actual day to day life onboard, some were sad, some made me laugh out loud.
As we explored the ship, I was thinking it wasn’t really that much different than our boat. Escapade has an engine room, electrical control panels, a galley, berths, heads, generator, anchors, windlass, pilot house with a captains chair… ok, so we don’t have any ginormous guns on deck or torpedos – LOL. We only hold 800 gallons of fuel and the battle ship could store 221,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Egads, I thought our fuel bill was huge!
It was also fascinating how huge this thing is and that most of the enlisted men were assigned a certain area of the ship and stayed in that area. They had divisions and most of the men socialized within their division, slept in the same area, ate at the same time, etc. I think I would have wanted to work in the supply room or the medical area which were of course the plum jobs. No thanks on the laundry room!!!
Oolala… the guys in the laundry area were allowed to work in their skivies because it was so hot.
I also loved how dog friendly Wilmington is. There were dog relief areas and bag stations all over and dog parks too. This is probably the tiniest dog park I have seen!
Our two days in Wilmington flew by and off we go again… see you at our next stop up the ICW!!
Charming, quaint, friendly, scenic and slightly rustic – all are very good descriptors for Southport NC. I really loved everything about this small town. Could it be tainted by being welcomed to town almost immediately after we docked at the marina both via social media and in person by the local Great Loop Harbor Host??? What’s more charming than having a local Great Looper show up at your boat with a warm welcome and an invite to come sit on the porch and visit.
Not many places can boast having a dock just for yoga!!
Yep, definitely tainted by that! These two are legendary in the America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA), not only for the local warm welcomes in Southport but also for all the ways they volunteer to support the AGLCA. These two life long boaters have put over 32,000 miles on their boat cruising and are a wealth of knowledge about the Atlantic Intercoastal Water Way between Norfolk Virginia and Florida. We met them two years ago at a Looper Rendezvous in Fort Meyers Florida where I attended their session on cruising this part if the ICW. I’ve appreciated and referred to his detailed handout about this route with all the stops and anchorage suggestions.
You are treated like family when you arrive in Southport… not only do they host “Porchtails” every evening at their home overlooking the water but if you need anything they are there to help you. Need a boat mechanic, parts, restaurant recommendation, a ride to the grocery store, doctor or dentist – they got ya covered. These are two of the finest people and so passionate about the Great Loop. We spent two very enjoyable evenings on the porch with them, other loopers and neighbors – it felt like we were leaving old friends when we said our goodbyes.
I love the Purple Martin nesting gourds and box that Kay and Robert have in their yard.
Besides the warm welcome, the Morning star Marina in Southport was a great place to tie up the boat. Not only is it a full service, beautiful marina, it is also just blocks from the downtown historical area and waterfront. We walked at least 4 miles everyday exploring Southport. The marina also has a loaner car which we took full advantage of twice. The car is available to guests of the marina for 2 hours a day or longer if there isn’t anyone else signed up for it. We did a grocery store run our first day there and also used the car to take a drive to nearby Oak Island where we walked on the beach and checked out the lighthouse.
Southport is a small town – population is just over 4,000 which just adds to its quaint charm. It isn’t a fancy water front village but it isn’t gritty either. It truly is unique and has its own sweet vibe. Nice restaurant choices… some right on the water and some just blocks away in town. Loads of cute shops and some amazing local artists whose work can be seen at several co-ops around town. The free maritime museum is worth a visit as is the local market that is held on Wednesdays. There is also a REALLY good seafood market – Potter’s, which is right on the waterfront. This 5th generation family business has their own docks and thus a killer selection of fresh fish. Believe it or not, I did NOT get shrimp. WHAT… I bought some grouper cheeks at the suggestion of the fish monger and made blackened fish tacos for dinner.
We found plenty to keep us busy during our three day stay in Southport. Oak Island was a 20 minute drive and we enjoyed a nice long walk on the beach. Not sure that walk worked off the delicious BBQ lunch we had at the Southport Smokehouse… we might have needed to walk there and back!
Southport will definitely be added to our list of favorite loop stops from this trip. Next stop Wilmington NC.
Since leaving Charleston SC we’ve done a series of short cruises stopping at a mix of small rural marinas and small town marinas. We are currently in Myrtle Beach at the Barefoot Marina. So far on the loop, I would say this last stop is my least favorite. It’s very commercial and touristy here… over priced restaurants with mediocre food, arcades and loads of people. MEH, Just not my cup of tea.
Took this video heading out through Elliot Cut which takes you to Charleston Harbor.
More pictures in the Elliot Cut and of the Charleston Harbor.
Leland Marina in McCellanville was our first stop after leaving Charleston. It’s rustic… fuel, docks, power and water but no other real amenities. It was also $80 a night – PERFECT. There is also a small restaurant within walking distance (we did not go but others have said it was good) and some great places to buy local shrimp. I loved the sunset from the flybridge and seeing all the shrimp boats coming and going.
We had front row seats to this cool birdie ballet show on our cruise to McCellanville
Over the years the village of McCellanville would become known for growing a great variety of produce, the distillation of salt during the Civil War, timber harvesting, the production turpentine and tar, and in recent years, harvesting of its famous Bull’s Bay oysters, clams and shrimp.
Our next stop was at Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown, SC. We had a great spot on the outside dock where we could see all the boats come and go and watch the glorious sunsets. Just across the street from the marina is a lovely, tree lined residential area full of beautiful old homes, some dating back to the early 1700’s. We got a walking map from the visitors center that listed all the historical homes and any known historical information.
The harbor walk takes you along the quaint historically district and right next door to the marina is an awesome fresh seafood vendor. Yep, more fresh shrimp!!!
Met these two dudes while we were out walking.
Wacca Wache Marina which is near Murrells Inlet was our next stop after Georgetow. This one nighter was definitely one of my favorite stops so far. Sitting in a beautiful stretch of the Waccamaw River, this small rural marina is a slice of boating paradise. The onsite restaurant overlooks the river and is the ideal place to relax and enjoy a leisurely lunch.
We really enjoyed getting the kayaks off the boat and paddling the numerous creeks around the marina. We found an area where there is a Great Blue Heron rookery. Talk about noisy!!! The adults are squawking and the chicks are beeping for food. I saw two big nests and there were loads of herons in the surrounding area, protecting the rookery. It’s fascinating as usually herons are quite solitary but during nesting season they band together to protect the babes. So sweet!
Turn up your volume to hear the heron’s chattering.
I also got to meet Charlie, the resident alligator at Waccha Wache Marina while kayaking. He was sunning up on the bank inside the marina basin when I spotted him. I might have yelled at Wally – “alligator”!!! This woke Old Charlie up and he proceed to charged right down the bank and back into the water, lighting fast. WEEHA… Literally, right in front of me – YIKES!!! Wow, did I paddle fast to get away from there. I don’t like alligators… nope, not one little bit.
The cruise from Leland Marina to just outside Myrtle Beach was gorgeous … the topography had really changed. Still low country, with marshes and abandon rice fields but in this section the cypress trees are lining the water creating a beautiful, mysterious affect. I saw loads of Osprey nests and saw one Osprey carrying a huge fish back its nest. That family of birds ate well! It was a privilege to be cruising this beautiful area most of the day with no other boats. Well until Myrtle Beach… then the bloom fell right off the rose.
The picture with the sign number 385 is actually an old ICW mile marker.
The intent was to make it a one night stop in MEH Myrtle Beach just to break up a long section of the cruise to Southport NC but it turned into a 2 night stop to wait out the rising wind. This part of the ICW is all man made and is really just a big ditch that was blasted out with dynamite. When we leave Barefoot Marina, the well know 3 mile rock pile starts and the rock ledge that lines the canal in this portion is somewhat narrow and very unforgiving. If one stays in the main channel, all is well. Stray out of it and your running gear and props could get damaged. With that in mind, we did not want to cruise this portion of the ICW with gusty strong wind.
We have really loved South Carolina, the waterways, the history and the people have a special place in my heart. This will be our last stop in South Carolina … Next stop Southport NC.
Just an FYI for all of you following our Great Loop Adventure, I created a private FB Group called Escapade on the Loop. I am posting there almost daily. If you would like to hop onboard Escapade and join the group, here is a link you can follow. https://m.facebook.com/groups/169381679353553/?ref=share
Also, can you let me know if you are NOT receiving notifications via email when new posts are published. A few people have let me know that they are not receiving email notifications anymore. If you have a word press reader, you can change the settings to receive email updates but I am not sure why the auto updates are not happening anymore.
Beaufort SC has all the charm of a fine southern lady and was a delightful three day stop for the crew on Escapade. We stayed at the Safe Harbor City Marina which was the perfect place to see all of the historical areas and stroll along the pretty waterfront.
The marina itself was adequate as far as facilities, the docks are a bit long in the tooth but the marina has all of the basic amenities such as a fuel dock, pump out, restrooms, showers, laundry area and a ships store. The staff are all great and the location is perfect, so no car is necessary to explore all the historical parts of town. We were also happy to be put on the end of the outer dock… it was a bit windy when we came in but Captain Wally did an excellent job of turning us in to the current and the wind pushed us right onto the dock. We also had the best view in the marina…PERFECT!!!
Escapade sitting on the outer dock
And explore we did… the highlight of our stay was a 2.5 hour walking tour with Janet. One of the friendliest and most knowledgeable guides I have ever toured with! Janet has a witty sense of humor and makes the history of Beaufort so much fun and so interesting. You can’t help but get caught up in her enthusiasm for Beaufort and it was perfect to do her tour on our first full day there. I had no idea what an important role that Beaufort played in the revolutionary and civil wars.
The area had been subject to numerous European explorations and several aborted attempts at colonization. Scottish immigrants founded the short-lived “Stuart Town” in 1684 and the British successfully founded the city of Beaufort in 1711, the second-oldest in South Carolina (behind Charleston). The city initially grew slowly, subject to numerous attacks from Native Americans before flourishing as a regional center for the Lowcountryplantation economy up through the Civil War. The community rebounded in the later half of the 20th century and is today recognized as one of the most livable small towns in the country.
Beaufort has retained much of its historic character through its renowned architecture and historic preservation efforts. We also toured the John Mark Verdier House , walked by the house where the Big Chill was filmed and just enjoyed strolling the oak lined streets and seeing all the beautiful antebellum houses. These beautiful homes are tucked into winding, historic streets framed by natural foliage and centuries-old, moss-draped live oak trees. Beaufort is definitely a low country gem.
Beaufort is home to several beautiful antebellum homes that take you back in time to a different era in our history. Each of the popular spots are as unique as the owners who originally built them, and a few stand out as much as Tidalholm, perhaps Beaufort’s most popular historic home.
Tidalholm was built in 1853 by Edgar Fripp. The Fripp family owned a great deal of property in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Some of the Fripp plantations on St. Helena Island that were mentioned in records during the Civil War included Oliver Fripp’s plantation, Thomas Fripp’s plantation, Hamilton Fripp’s plantation and John Fripp’s plantation that was also named ‘Big House’.
Fripp reportedly built Tidalholm to use as his “summah” home when the heat and mosquitoes made life at his plantation home on St. Helena Island intolerable. Apparently, most notable plantation owners had summer homes in Beaufort. Before the Civil War broke out he sold the house to his brother, James Fripp.
In November 1861, Union Navy and Army troops invaded Port Royal and most of Beaufort County subsequently was occupied by Union forces. Owners and overseers fled area plantations in the wake of the oncoming Union troops, and thousands of slaves were then free. During the war, Tidalholm served as Union Hospital #7 dedicated to the treatment of officers of the occupying Union Army.
According to local lore, when James Fripp returned to Beaufort after the war he arrived just as the house was being sold for unpaid taxes by the U.S. Tax Commission, but Fripp was not able to bid on the house due to his current financial situation. Then, a Frenchman who had been living in the area and who was sympathetic to the plight of the South in the war, purchased the house and is said to have walked over to the former owner, presented him with the deed, kissed him on both of his cheeks and walked away. It’s said that the kind Frenchman returned to France before Mr. Fripp had a chance to repay him.
Over the years, the private residence was used as a summer retreat by Fripp and his family. It was also used as a guest house from the 1930s until 1974 with many artists, authors, professors, and statesmen staying there.
Hollywood came knocking in the late 1970s and Tidalholm went on to become the setting for the films The Big Chill and the Great Santini; which is why many of the locals here in the Beaufort area also refer to Tidalholm as ‘The Big Chill House’.
Beaufort has no shortage of great restaurants and cute shops to pop into. We had a great dinner at Saltus, and delicious lunches at Wren and the Low Country Produce Company.
We spent the evenings on the flybridge of Escapade with our friends Ken and Joyce, sipping wine, enjoying dinner, playing Five Crowns and catching up. We really appreciate our friends who are willing to travel to find us and stay onboard Escapade to share our adventure. I hope we didn’t get to many demerits for the hot water incident!!!
Of course, no stop is complete with out a few boat projects… the hot water heater thermostat went out but Captain Handy aka Wally found the part locally and rode his bike there to get it. Never a dull moment on a boat!
The Beaufort waterfront is beautiful day and night… such a great place to stroll or relax on one of the swinging chairs for awhile.
It was a nice, short cruise from Savannah Georgia to Hilton Head Island South Carolina. We got up early to arrive before the big wind that was forecasted. Best I can tell, a lot of looping is running from the next storm! Typically, we found that on the water the mornings and evening are the calmest from a wind perspective and afternoon is when the wind usually picks up. Also, there are typical wind patterns and then there are blows… us power boats hate blows.. nothing worse than getting caught out or trying to dock or anchor in strong winds.
Here is our Nebo log for the cruise from Savannah to Hilton Head Island.
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As it turned out, we arrived early to Palmetto Bay Marina and then the wind started again…up to 40 mph gusts for almost three days. Good news is we had planned to stop here for a week – YAY. The marina itself is very nice, very quiet and not a lot of transient boaters. The docks are big and new, as are the restrooms and free laundry facility. They are Great Loop Sponsors, and the dockage rates are some of the most reasonable on the island so all that combined is why we decided to stay at Palmetto Bay Marina for the week.
One great aspect of slow looping is we can stay as long as we want and wait for nice weather to cruise. We had long time friends staying on the Hilton Head Island so it was great to spend time with them, relax on the beach and catch up. While the island is very bike-able, we decided to rent a car so that we could have the flexibility to explore more. The four of us had a fabulous dinner and celebrated our 31st anniversary together at Ombra Cucina Italiana.
Hilton Head Island has over 12 miles beautiful beach on the Atlantic Ocean, loads of golf courses and wonderful restaurants making it is a popular vacation destination. The island is named after Captain William Hilton, who in 1663 identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound, which mapmakers named “Hilton’s Headland.
The island has a rich history that started with seasonal occupation by Native Americans thousands of years ago and continued with European exploration and the Sea Island Cotton trade. It became an important base of operations for the Union blockade of the Southern ports during the Civil War. Once the island fell to Union troops, hundreds of ex-slaves flocked to Hilton Head, which is still home to many of their descendants, who are known as the Gullah (or Geechee). They have managed to hold onto much of their ethnic and cultural identity.
Hilton Head Island is considered a barrier island. A typical barrier island has a headland, a beach and surf zone, and a sand spit. The Island is lush and beautiful, with a dynamic beach system with offshore bars, pounding surf, and shifting beaches; as well as grassy dunes behind the beach, lush maritime forests with wetlands in the interiors, and salt or tidal marshes on the lee side, facing the mainland.
Besides hanging with friends, exploring and checking out the restaurant scene, we got caught up on some chores (free laundry), fixed an emergency vacuflush disaster (ohh, the joy of boat toilets) and we actually did do some general relaxing. I also found a great seafood market – Benny Hudsons. They had an Atlantic fish that I had never heard of – Wreckfish. Of course, I had to try it. DELICIOUS… it is a mild, flaky but firm whitefish. I fixed it with a herbed panko crust and a citrus beurre sauce.
Another highlight was that friends and fellow boaters from Anacortes WA, Ken and Joyce joined us on Saturday and will be cruising with us to Charleston. All in all, we really enjoyed our 7 night stop at Hilton Head Island… Off to Beaufort SC now.
It’s been two weeks since we set off on our great loop adventure from Hobe Sound Florida. We’ve travel about 336 nautical miles (NM) and motored about 44 hours at an average speed of 8 knots. Escapade is capable of going much, much faster but there are many parts of the Atlantic Inter Coastal Waterway (AICW) that require you to go slow (no wake zones) but honestly we have just been enjoying getting a feel for the boat and cruising along slow and enjoying the scenery. We have mostly been docking in marinas along the way but have had an opportunity twice to anchor out, which we love!! Cumberland Island was a highlight so far.. wild, unspoiled Georgia low country with no other boats in our anchorage. We toured historic Plum Mansion and rode our e-bikes all over the island, seeing loads of wild horses.
Our e-bikes were the perfect way to explore Cumberland Island. I was so excited to see the wild horses.
We always hope for uneventful cruises, meaning nothing breaks and the weather/wind is mild. For the most part the weather has been uneventful underway, a few sporty days but within our Go-No-Go parameters. A couple of exciting docking but they ended in no harm no foul, maybe just not the prettiest. We have had a couple of eventful days boat wise. Our second day out, there was a mechanical issue with our port engine and we motored part of the day on one engine. Turns out it was an easy fix, once we got on the dock (which wasn’t easy at all on one engine in the wind). Thankfully there were people waiting when we arrived to help us dock.
Part of the Great Loop experience is the people you meet along the way. Boaters in general are the nicest people…always ready to lend a hand getting you on the dock or troubleshooting a problem. Doesn’t matter what your politics or religion are, all that gets put aside (as it should) and the basic kindness of humans just shines through.
Our new friends Carol and Greg in Cocoa Florida, whom I met thru my Facebook site Escapade on the Loop were just the tonic we needed today when we arrived at Cocoa Village Marina. Not only did they help us get the boat into a slip on one engine, Greg took Wally to West Marine for a couple for parts he needed. Later that evening they drove us to dinner at their favorite Mexican place in town.
The Fur-bags Babies are also doing well on the boat… Sucia has decided she no longer needs to travel in a crate while the boat is underway and she is even joining us on the flybridge some days. Bentie has mastered his potty breaks while underway on the back swim step. He also loves hanging out with us on the flybridge or laying in the sun on the back deck when the boat isn’t moving.
We too are acclimating to cruising again and wow have we been tired some days. We knew the first few weeks might feel stressful as we get our boat mojo back and develop some routines. We quickly decided we don’t like motoring everyday and/or long cruise days back to back. Some times it’s necessary to get where you need to go or if weather is going to be dicey. It’s been great to have stops that are 3 to 7 days long and we are currently enjoying a one week stay in Savannah. My niece flew in from Portland Oregon and we have been having a blast exploring the city with her.
Savannah is a very walkable town and we have really been putting on the miles. We also did a trolly tour on our first day to get an overview of the city and understand the lay of the land. It was actually very well done with loads of history about the city. I think we have seen all 22 square in the city proper and every district. It truly is as beautiful and mysterious as I envisioned it to be. I love all the art within the city and the presence of the Savannah Collage of Art and Design has a profound influence on the vibe of Savannah.
I have this groovy app called Nebo which tracks our voyage … you can follow us any time you want to see where we are by clicking on the link below. Right now it will just show us as a white dot at Thunderbolt Marina near Savannah. When we are underway, you can see us cruising real time.
an act or incident involving excitement, daring, or adventure.
We think it’s the perfect name for the boat as it really sums up our big adventure that we will be doing on the great loop.
Escapade on the dock in Hobe Sound. It’s been a great place to spend the winter and we are uber grateful to our friend Barb who offered us this space on the canal behind her house.
So what is the great loop??? The Great Loop is a 6,000 nautical mile circumnavigation of the eastern U.S., and part of Canada. The route includes the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the New York State Canals, the Canadian Canals, the Great Lakes, the inland rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. “Loopers” take on this adventure of a lifetime aboard their own boat, no cruise ships do this as it takes at least a year to complete. We are “slow” looping, breaking the loop up in segments based on the weather and best seasons to explore that area. We think we will be looping for 2-3 years. This year we will leave Florida in April and cruise as far as Chesapeake Bay. Ultimately, we will put Escapade away for the winter, under covered storage in Chesapeake VA.
So why not just do the loop in one year you may be wondering. We certainly could but want to have more time to really explore. If one does the loop in one year, you have to cruise thru certain areas with the season and you do this over the course of a year to stay ahead of the seasons, so you are constantly on the move. As an example, unless you want to be the Edmond Fitzgerald, you need to be off the Great Lakes by late fall. Cold, wet and windy with potentially life threatening storms make Lake Superior nowhere to be past fall.
This will be our cruise route for 2023.
SOOO, about Escapade… she is a 1998 Carver Voyager 530. Measuring 53 feet long, 16 feet wide and just over 19 ft tall, she’s a big girl. Our biggest boat and quite possibility our last boat. She has three staterooms, two full bathrooms and a spacious salon and galley, she is a pilothouse/flybridge model, meaning there is a fully equipped driving area inside the boat which also has a big semi-circular dining table. There is also an enclosed flybridge with a huge lounging/dining area and another driving station. I love the views from the flybridge and we spend a lot of time up there. It is the place of choice for happy hour.
I will post a video walk thru when we are done tearing things apart (and putting them back together!).
The other cool thing about Escapade is that she has a crane to lift our 11 ft Boston Whaler up and onto the stern flybridge of the boat. The whaler gives us the option of exploring nooks and cranny’s on the water where Escapade can’t go. It is also a way for us to get Bentley to shore if we are anchored out somewhere. We bought the whaler sight unseen from a couple in Sarasota Florida last summer. This size, year and model of whaler is the perfect fit weight wise for Escapade. When I found it online, we jumped on it. Basically, we did a video chat and inspection with the owners, who were great. They even towed it to their storage facility for us, where it sat thru Hurricane IAN – GULP!!! It all worked out and when we got back to Florida in October, we drove over to Sarasota and picked it up. Other than two flat tires on the trailer and the boat being dirty, it was in great shape. Thankfully Hurricane Ian dodged both boats which were on land in differnt parts of Florida. It’s a bit nerve wracking the first few times, lifting the whaler up and on to the boat but hopefully it will get more routine as we get used to doing it. Wally did maintenance the lift, replace the steel lift cable with synthetic and purchase all new rigging before our first attempt.
The whaler’s name is Hijinx and we are looking forward to some fun in it! Hijinx also got a through cleaning, new electronics and a bilge pump. Wally serviced the 25 hp motor and it runs like a top.
Okay, maybe she’s bigger than we needed but we plan to be living on this boat at least 6 months out of the year and will have friends and family join us as we cruise the great loop. She was also a bit older than we originally wanted but the trade off financially for new/smaller vs older/bigger will hopefully be worth it. I say hopefully, because she has needed a lot of upgrades. I mean thousands of dollars in upgrades…credit card limit increasing upgrades! We did have full marine hull and engine surveys (basically like a pre-purchase house inspection) so we did know what we were getting into. That said, boats are mysterious machines with complicated systems and it never fails that you start by fixing or upgrading one thing and BAM… you are into now elbow deep in two or three other fixes or upgrades that you didn’t budget for or even think needed to be done. BOAT = Break Our Another Thousand!!!
Manuals… lots of manuals! Luckily, the boat came with loads of manuals and documentation, which I sorted, updated and reorganized.
So bam it has been.. it was all the upgrades we wanted to do that have been keeping us busy since November. We have mostly done all this ourselves (well, mostly Captain Handy who I am fortunate to be married to). The galley “needed” all new appliances.. come on now, the old Sub Zero refrigerator was non-operational! The new smart oven replaced the old funky but functioning microwave, the induction cook top replaced the crappy but functioning electric cooktop and the GROSS and non-functioning trash compactor had to go. In its place went a pull out storage area. Woo-hoo, more storage is always appreciated on a boat! We also yarded out all of the stone age TV’s ..three of them, a VCR and a disk music player. The salon (living room in non-boater speak), is getting a new solid maple cabinet that will house the 43 inch smart TV on a remote lift and have more storage. We also replaced the mattresses in the master and guest staterooms (bedrooms) and converted the bunk bed stateroom to storage. The list goes on and on and these upgrades are creature comforts that will make life aboard Escapade even better.
Another huge upgrade was the new flybridge enclosure… the existing one was put on just before we bought the boat by the prior owner. It turned out to be the worst quality material and was the most janky looking piece of garbage. It was conveniently installed just days before we took ownership so there was no negotiating on any of that. The goal of a flybridge enclosure is to provide shade… it did that. It should also make it more comfortable to drive from the flybridge and it should keep the elements out. Big fail on that part, the first time it rained despite having a canvas top that technically did provide shade, it leaked like a sieve and we had to put on rain coats. Did I also mentioning its was a janky piece of junk that started falling apart after 6 month in the sun. UGH, so we had to get a new enclosure and despite the budget shattering price, we love the new enclosure and it doesn’t fail on any of the criteria now. We opted to go with white vinyl “staminode for the top and sides, which is more heat reflective than the black canvas top that was on it.
Happy Hour on the flybridge is a very happy time now!
Janky, Janky, Janky …so damn janky! I was not exaggerating how bad the enclosure was. The rain is supposed to be on the outside …arrgh!
Now that’s what a flybridge enclosure should look like… bye bye janky, hello happiness!!
Notice the rain is on the outside… novel idea huh!!!
Creature comforts are one thing but making sure all the systems are in good shape and operating properly is not only essential to using the boat but are also huge safety factors. With two 450 hp diesel engines, a 13 KW generator, a bow thruster, nine batteries with 3 separate chargers, a windlass system for anchoring and 4 air conditioners there have been plenty of things to maintenance and repair. A boat this size has miles of hoses that get old, brittle and and crack or break. Dozens of hose clamps that can rust out or break – it’s amazing how something as simple as a hose or hose clamp could potentially cause catastrophic damage on a boat. Shortly after we bought the boat we had a certified Cummins Engine Mechanic go through both engines and the generator. There are some thing’s that require writing a check and this one was worth every penny we paid. The four AC units also had a check up and got a clean bill of health from the AC Technician (that was a huge sigh of relief).
We’ve also been replacing old sink faucets, shower heads and checking all the places where water can and SHOULD drain out of the boat. There have been some interesting discoveries of places where water was COMING into the boat – OOPS. Plastic fittings get old and brittle, drains gets plugged – basically shit happens as a boat ages, hmm, kinda like me!
This is a grille on the exterior of the boat where rain water should have been draining out instead it was blocked with gross green plant debris and was backing up into the exterior pilothouse door well. So, we cleaned out all three drains and replace the old cracked grill. Great!!! Until the first time it rained hard… now the water from one of those drains was coming into the boat behind the electrical panel and onto the floor in the salon like a river – not good on so many levels. Turned out a fitting in the wall had broken and when we unplugged the drain it now had a place to go! ARRGH!!!
People always ask me how the pets like the boat… so far they have adjusted quite well to life on Escapade. There are lots of places for Sucia and Bentley to stretch out and nap or watch the world go by outside. The both also love the cockpit and having some sun time out there. Bentley’s other favorite place is the flybridge. There are interior steps from the pilot house to the flybridge so he can easily join us up there. Another great feature that sold us on this boat.
Granted we’ve only left the dock here in Hobe Sound once, LOL. It will be different for them when we start cruising again but it’s not their first rodeo on a boat. I guess I should tell them that we will be on the move again soon.
It’s hasn’t been all work and no play for the crew. We did take a one week trip around Christmas to see my cousins June and Matt in Kentucky. A couple of short trips to the west side of Florida to see friends and a fun weekend on a friends yacht in West Palm Beach. We also had our first guests onboard …yay for girlfriends!!! Locally there is so much to do in this area, farmers markets, art festivals, great water front restaurants, polo and beaches to walk on!
4 months have flown by as we’ve tackled all of these projects and we now have one month until we cast off the lines and cruise off into the sunset! We have a loose schedule and a long list of places we want to see and explore between Florida and the Chesapeake Bay.
our38ft^pluslife 