Southbound - Long Way Southbound

[MBILL]

Just returned from the Naval museum and the Wisconsin, impressive!

Fueled up for the next leg to Coinjock, NC @ $1.99/gallon.

The weather says it's the same temperature in NY as it is in Norfolk but the humidity down here is hard to describe today!

[MBILL]

Left Portsmouth, Va this morning and arrived in Coinjock, NC this afternoon.
We took the South Fork of the Elizabeth River to the Intracoastal. There was 1 lock and 4 swing bridges to deal with on the way but no hassles.
The Great Dismal Swamp is an interesting ride, there are nesting Ospreys everywhere.

The heat is pretty intense at the moment. The temp a couple of hours ago was 93 but the "real-feel" was 106!

Looking forward to their famous 32oz Prime Rib at the Coinjock restaurant tonight.

[MBILL]

We've been jumping south pretty quickly the past few days to make up some time after the fourth.

On 7/8/16 we went from Coinjock,NC to Belhaven, NC via Albemarle Sound, Alligator/Pungo rivers and the ICW. Albemarle Sound was a mess with very tight 3 foot chop and lots of wind. The main issue is that it's carpeted with crab pots! We must have traveled 20 miles dodging crab pots just to cross its 11 miles!

On 7/9/16 we went from Belhaven,NC to Beaufort,NC via the ICW and various rivers and sounds. Very hot day. Bel haven is a nice one street town with some great restaurants and bars. Beaufort's a nice place to visit with a jumping waterfront.

On 7/10 we went outside again from Beaufort,NC to Southport,NC. Leaving Beaufort we hit rough seas that cost us the Landshark supply as the caps shook off in the cooler. The conditions improved and we ran to Masonboro inlet and ran the ICW to Southport. NY doesn't have a monopoly on bad boaters, We saw unbelievable acts of stupidity with boats towing little kids through the main channel, no spotter and tons traffic yards away! Note to self - No more Sunday boating!

Tomorrow, 7/11/16 we head for Charleston,SC. I need me some Shrimp n Grits!
Bill and Theresa

[MBILL]

We had a great 2 days in Charleston. It's a pretty city with a lot of history and architecture to visit. The heat was unbelievable though. Yesterday it hit 99 with a heat index of 109.
Shrimp-n-grits were awesome.
We stayed at the Town Marina which was clean and well run.

We left this morning and headed south west to Hilton Head Island, SC, Very pretty area. We're going to bicycle into town for happy hour and dinner when it cools off a little. I Finally worked out some timings to get tides and currents in my favor. Leaving Charleston I hit 20.5KTS going out the channel with plenty left over!

We're at the Skull Creek Marina in HHI. Very nice place with friendly, helpful staff.
Tomorrow will be a milestone day. We're heading from HHI to Fernandino Beach, FL. 1st stop in Florida!

Photos - Palmetto fountain in Chareleston. Skull Creek Marina view.

[MBILL]

To answer a question in another post... The Coinjock 32oz Prime Rib was delicious and huge. No leftovers.

We left Charleston and headed for Ferandina Beach, FL. It was a long run across a lot of shallow water off Georgia. We were seeing 40 feet of water 16 miles off the beach.
Fernandia Beach is on Amelia Island and is a very pretty town. There's a lot of big industry on the Amelia River heading into town but when you get there it's old time Florida.

From There we headed to St. Augustine. Very pretty and friendly place. We ran into a guy (Steve) who served in the Coast Guard at Jones Beach and was there when the station was built. Lots of stories over drinks...

Leaving St Augustine we headed for Fort Pierce, FL. The City Marina is well run and a good stop. The surprise of the day was entering the Fort Pierce Inlet. It's known as one of the best in the area. Today it was EVIL. It was a washing machine of confused waves from wind against tide against current. I buried the bow a few times before getting through. After that experience it was on to their Tiki Bar!

Tomorrow we arrive at Manatee Pocket in Stuart. It's been a good trip.

[Time Well Wasted]

Very cool trip you two.

Say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Toohey for us.

FTC south. You guys have a good shot at the mahi derby down there!!

[MR.DETERMINATION]

Hi Bill and Teresa, Glad to hear that the trip is Going Well and you are enjoying it especially the 32 oz Rib Eye. Just a reminder the Board Meeting is Wednesday are you coming back up for it Just Kidding You both will be greatly missed All the Best

Kevin

[MBILL]

We arrived in Stuart, FL on Monday.
We initially put the boat in Sailfish Marina in Manatee Pocket but the only slip available was more suited to a 48 Sport
Fisherman than a 35 Duffy! The boat was swimming around in the slip.

After some searching around and a guided tour of the available marinas (by Bill and Dee Toohey) we decided to move over to Mariners Cay marina, just down the pocket.
It's a very nice place. It has a relaxed Tuna Club vibe to it and the new slip fits the boat just right.

Here's the wrap-up of the journey. We took our time and stayed a few days in some of the stops to see the sights. We left Freeport on Sunday, June 26th and arrived in Stuart on Monday, July18th.
The trip was 1,200+ nautical miles.
Engine and generator ran well at all times. Total fuel burn including the genny which ran whenever we were underway was 1,241 gallons of diesel.

The Itinerary:
Freeport, NY to Cape May, NJ.
Cape May, NJ to Ocean City, MD.
Ocean City, MD to Portsmouth, VA.
Portsmouth, VA to Coinjock, NC.
Coinjock, NC to Belhaven, NC.
Belhaven, NC to Beaufort, NC.
Beaufort, NC to Southport, NC.
Southport, NC to Charleston, SC.
Charleston, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC.
Hilton Head Island, SC to Fernandina Beach, FL
Fernandina Beach, FL to St Augustine, FL.
St. Augustine, FL to Cape Canaveral, FL.
Cape Canaveral,FL to Fort Pierce, FL.
Fort Pierce, FL to Stuart, Fl.

Whew!

[jbjr]

Well Done captain and mate!

She looks right at home in her new digs.

[Nikki Ann]

I've enjoyed following along on your journey in these reports.

Good luck down in sunny Florida!!!

Matt