Great Loop Overall Statistics to date:
Statute Miles: 963.6
Average Miles/Day: 53.5
Total Hours Underway: 133.6
Average speed (mph): 7.6
States Transited: 4
Total Days: 42
Travel Days: 18
Locks: 5
Fuel Purchased: 241.4
Miles / Gallon: 3.2
Nights at Extra Days
Marinas: 8 26
Anchor: 9 1
City dock: 1 0
Free Wall: 0 0
Mooring: 0 0
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The route north from Wacca Wache in Murrell’s Inlet was very straightforward. The marina is right on the waterway and we were out and underway quickly. Thankfully, we did not encounter any boats transiting the “Rock Pile” in Myrtle Beach and passed without incident.
A small but powerful thunderstorm had us trapped south of a bridge near Figure Eight Island for about a half hour. The bridge would not open during the storm, so three boats (SCOUT, and two sailboats) had to wait through the storm in the narrow canal right at the bridge – trying to hold station, avoid each other, and staying off the opposing shorelines. One inch hail for 15 minutes was part of the storm and was quite unnerving.
Snows Cut continues to shoal badly. The latest Aquamap USCOE survey overlay was very valuable here. We had favorable current pushing us through quickly (can be up to 3kn), but this made for interesting navigational turns through the shoal areas.
An oil fill cap on the starboard engine had worked itself loose underway and the engine was spraying oil up and out for an unknown amount of time. After anchoring and cleaning up, a check of the oil that was now missing on the dipstick was of no concern.
We anchored in Pipeline Canal just west of Southport. This is a very protected and quiet anchorage with a shoal bar at the entrance of about 4.5ft. A nearby boat ramp has a lot of traffic, but the boaters there are very respectful of their wakes.
Travel to Beaufort Docks the next day was all about timing arrival as close to slack current in Taylor Creek as possible. Docking there in 2+ knots of current is a real challenge, so it is beneficial to set your speed en-route to arrive very close to the calm period between tidal changes at Beaufort Inlet. Likewise, choosing a departure time that coincides with minimal current is a plus.
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Great Loop Travel Days (GLTD):
016: Southport NC from Murrells Inlet SC
017: Mile Hammock Bay (south of Morehead SC) from Southport NC
018: Beaufort NC from Mile Hammock Bay NC
Map of our Great Loop travel:
GLTD016 Southport NC (from Murrells Inlet SC): We left Wacca Wache Marina early -- before sunrise – for a long day of travel to Southport NC, just north of the SC/NC border.
As we approached the “Rock Pile” near North Myrtle Beach, I was surprised the “mosquitos” (our term of endearment for jetskis 😉) were out so early (9:00 AM) on a cloudy weekday.
🔷 Boater Tip: The “Rock Pile” is a short section of the ICW near Myrtle Beach. The official name is Pine Island Cut.
When cutting this man-made canal back in the early 1900’s, the Corps of Engineers ran into a solid wall of rock. They just blasted through it, but it left some scary low-lying rock outcroppings and shelves at the edges of the canal.
To avoid having to pass (two boat widths) in this narrow section of the waterway, boaters will typically announce their entry (from either north or south) with a “Securite” on the VHF radio.
During the morning hours, Ray and I discussed travel times for various anchoring options for the next 3-4 days to Beaufort NC. We also reviewed projected weather and tides for the various destinations during those travel days.
In the afternoon, I caught up on some routine budgeting. This included depositing a check using mobile technology.
🟠 Life Afloat Tip:
- We have a mail service with online services. We can view scans of envelopes for received mail and take further action on that mail – shred, open, scan, or hold for delivery to a location where we can retrieve the opened (or unopened) mail (or package). Ref: https://www.sbimailservice.com/
- We have a printer on board.
- We work with banks that offer online banking services.
NOTE: Most marinas will accept regular packages for you to retrieve (usually from the office), but processes and address instructions vary, so check with the marina before shipping.
The weather was cooler and cloudy, so no bow yoga this trip.
I’m guessing, however, that I get a lot of unintentional exercise -- even while underway. I don’t wear a pedometer, but if I did…. 😊, it would be a lot of steps each day, up & down our 5 steps -- between the salon and below decks (galley):
- preparing coffees
- preparing breakfast, then clearing dishes
- preparing lunch, then clearing dishes
- washing dishes, then putting them away (after air-drying)
- preparing snacks, then clearing wrappers 😊
- preparing for dinner (rummaging and/or thawing something from the freezer)
- refilling water glasses
- taking potty breaks
- doing engine room (ER) checks
- occasional home office work (printing, etc.)
There’s also scurrying out to the bow for every wildlife photo opp, unusual sight, or supporting image for navigational tips
⚓Anchored. After a long and busy, but otherwise uneventful, day, we anchored in Southport NC by late afternoon.
The anchorage, Pipeline Canal, just north of the marina at South Harbour Village, was peaceful, despite the busy boat ramp. The boaters launching and retrieving there were courteous, which we appreciate.
GLTD017 Mile Hammock Bay (from Southport NC): We woke early (along with the fishermen launching boats at the ramp) and left the anchorage at sunrise. The heavy cloud cover foreshadowed our eventful day.
We originally planned to make our way north and anchor near Topsail Beach or Figure Eight Island, however, heavy winds were predicted next day, which may not be very comfortable.
By mid morning -- with favorable current and an estimated early arrival to the Topsail area, we decided to continue on to get as far north as possible. We hoped that would limit the distance required the next day, enabling us to reach our interim destination before the winds peaked for the day.
🔷 Boater Tip: We find that, in general, winds are lighter in the morning – early departures help us avoid the worst of them.
🚩 Engine Room Inspection: Captain, we have a problem!
The nose knows: During a routine, under-way, Engine Room Inspection, I detected a burning smell. There were no flames, so I immediately returned to the helm to switch places with Ray.
Upon inspection, he found one of the engine’s oil reservoir caps was off and small amounts of oil were spattering out onto the engine. We initially thought he had not replaced the cap after the oil change in Murrells Inlet. We decided tat was not likely, however, since we had a full travel day and multiple Engine Room Inspections since the oil change.
Ray has deduced that the plastic cap was just not tightened enough after the oil change, and, under pressure, it managed to back itself off.
We will clean the oil splatter when we get to our next destination.
🧭 Navigation: One of our first navigational challenges was in Snow’s Cut.
Our Aquamap tablet application (below) shows shoaling (red) on the left, right, and back to left of the channel, as we headed east. The colored depth indicators are a great help, and are overlaid on the navigation chart based on the US Amy Corps of Engineers (USACOE) depth surveys in certain areas. The blue dashed line shows our zig-zag path through the cut, but we never saw a depth less than 9.8 feet, even when we travelled briefly over the edge of the shoal.
At this point, the current was pushing us an extra 2.5 knots!!
🧭 Navigation: The next navigational challenge was near Wrightsville Beach NC.
SCOUT is in the center of the Aquamap screen (below), with the PINK line in front (showing course direction).
I added the AQUA arrows to show the route Ray decided to take, moving left around the moderate (YELLOW) shoaling and then between the extreme (RED) shoaling in the center of the navigable channel.
I added the ORANGE arrow toward the YELLOW shoaling reported by Aquamap.
This photo shows the elevation change as we head north.
Ray slowed our pace, adjusting for foul current (against us), to time our arrival for the “on the hour” opening of the Wrightsville Beach Bridge.
A little farther north, just south of the Figure 8 Island Bridge, dark clouds rolled in, temperature dropped over 10 degrees, winds increased, and …
…all hail broke loose!
First the lightning. (NOTE: We were not hit. This image coincidentally appears to strike the bow rail.)
Then hail, …
… and a whiteout. There is a sailboat behind us. You can barely see the mast in the center of picture! 😮
NOTE: We did not find any hail damage when we got to our anchor location later and did an inspection. Whew!
The bridge tender advised boaters in the area that he would delay opening the bridge until winds died down.
So, SCOUT and 3 other sailboats tried to hold our position just south of the bridge in the pouring rain, hail and 35-40mph winds. The 3 sailboats had been following SCOUT since the last bridge opening (a short distance back).
You can see where our track (in yellow) switches from a straight line to a long, narrow Grand Prix racetrack shape.
You can also see where the track ventured briefly into the shallow edge (light blue). We touched bottom on both sides, at times, with the wind blowing us sideways and having no real visibility.
Almost as quickly as the storm appeared, it ended.
I don’t remember how long we held up for the bridge opening. I think it was about 20-30 minutes.
The rest of the day was “smooth sailing”.
Shortly after the storm, this frog hitched a short ride on SCOUT.
By the time we arrived in the anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay, there were already 3 boats anchored. Before sunset, there were 8 boats in the anchorage.
🔷 Boater Tip: Mile Hammock Bay is part of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC. Ray and I have anchored here a few times – even before we owned mv SCOUT. On previous stays here, we have enjoyed watching jets and helicopters practicing maneuvers. We did NOT enjoy the noise of the helicopters flying right over us all night, one of those nights -- when we had the hatch open for a cooling breeze. ☹ On this stay, there was no military “entertainment”.
The water glistened as the sun peeked through the storm clouds.
NOTE: I think the sailboat is sv Caroline, one of the 3 sailboats that weathered the hailstorm with us back at Figure Eight Island.
GLTD018 Beaufort NC (from Mile Hammock Bay NC): We left the anchorage before sunrise to make the first opening of Onslow Beach Swing Bridge at 7:00 AM, since we wanted to make as much progress as possible before the predicted winds peaked.
The current in Taylors Creek (Beaufort) runs strong, so docking in Beaufort Docks at any time other than slack current is known to be a challenge. The earlier we could get to the area, the better chance we would have to time the tidal flow and wind.
As we approached our first bridge opening, the sun rose in the mist.
Did I mention it was cold? 52 degrees! 😮 Aren’t we supposed to be “chasing 70’s”?
As I prepared our coffees underway, the porthole view of the channel marker so close to the beach was interesting. That’s the ocean beyond the sandy barrier island and the current pushing the bouy over sideways.
Ray needed to do a little work, so we switched seats for about a half-hour.
Mid-morning, we reviewed the weather forecasts for our arrival in Beaufort NC. Since winds were forecast to be near 20 mph, gusting in the 30s, we evaluated alternatives to docking right away if we determined it would be too “sporty” when we arrive.
Less than an hour before we arrived in Beaufort NC, we were seeing average wind of only 17 knots and wind gusts of only 20 mph. We were hoping these “low” winds would hold until we arrived.
Just before we made the turn into Taylors Creek to Beaufort Docks, we saw this skilled kite wing foil surfer. (Notice how “flat” the water is?)
After discussing sea state with the dockmaster via phone, Ray decided to try docking anyway (20 mph winds and 90 minutes before slack tide). It was a little interesting -- the current grabbed our keels, spinning us a little, but we made it into the Beaufort Docks slip without incident in time for a late lunch.
Remember Beaufort NC is pronounced “Bo-firt”. 😊
Since the winds were still high, we delayed boat washing until next day. After lunch, we got to work placing online orders for engine maintenance parts, etc. so they would get here before our departure.
History: Old Burying Ground. Before our friends arrived, Ray and I took a long walk for exercise, and stopped in at the Old Burying Ground on the way back.
“(16) A.P. (1756) — While 1756 may be the oldest legible date, if not the oldest marker, it is certainly not the oldest grave. Chances are good that it will never be known just which grave is oldest. The earliest records of the cemetery were kept by the established church, the Church of England. During the Revolution, some Anglicans loyal to
King George III fled, taking Burying Ground records with them.”
Ref: https://www.beauforthistoricsite.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/BHA-Old-Burying-Ground-Brochure.pdf
It is apparent how much work Beaufort Historical Association has done keeping the cemetery clear of weeds.
“Many graves are marked with shell, brick, or wooden slabs because stone markers would have to have been brought from afar by wooden sailing vessels. Others have vaulted markers, which were covered in brick to protect them from high water and wild animals and are characteristic of many historic seaport towns.”
The Old Burying Ground is right next to Ann Street United Methodist Church, Beaufort’s oldest church.
I guess the congregation is much larger than this small church front might have me believe.
Each weekday, we saw church preschool workers taking little ones out for a ride in a stroller “bus” with 6 seats of graduated heights – for optimal sightseeing.
History: Beaufort Historic Site. Beaufort is North Carolina’s third oldest town.
“The Plan of Beaufort Towne, laid out in 1713, survives in a 12-block area which today is on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in the heart of this historic district is the Beaufort Historic Site, which depicts 18th and 19th century coastal Carolina. The two-acre site is open to the public and is staffed Monday through Saturday year-round.”
Below is the Apothecary, built in 1859. “It houses a priceless collection of medicinal and pharmaceutical artifacts, most original to the shop…” The Herb Garden, behind the apothecary, is maintained by Master Gardener Volunteers of Carteret County. It has plants and herbs that would have been used for healing in Colonial times.
Leffers Cottage was built in 1778. The garden alongside is also maintained by the Master Gardeners and represents a typical garden from the 1800’s.
The old Carteret County Courthouse, built in 1796 – and the oldest wood-framed courthouse in North Carolina – has recently been restored.
The old jail – with 28-inch-thick walls – was built in 1829. It is currently closed while being restored.
Hometown Hero: Michael John Smith, an engineer and astronaut who died in the 1986 space shuttle Challenger explosion, was born in Beaufort NC. He earned his pilot's license, as a teenager, even before his automobile license.
Smith was the pilot and second-in-command of the space shuttle Challenger, which was his first space launch. Commander Smith was buried at Arlington National Ceremony with full military honors.
Ref: https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/11/us/3-boys-dreams-of-space-3-deaths-in-the-sky-michael-smith.html
Sightseeing: Ray and I were impressed by the tranquility of this alley-way garden, just a short walk from the waterfront. And, we’re still in jasmine territory! This “jasmine fence” is alongside the tour boat basin at the marina.
Celebrity Yacht: Did you notice the “boat” in the background of the jasmine photo? That is the beautiful 156-foot yacht Arriva, built for Johnny Depp (as Vajoliroja, later renamed Amphitrite), then sold to J.K. Rowlings. I believe it is now part of a charter fleet.
Interesting Fact: The original name Vajoliroja is a “combination of the first letters of Depp’s ex-partner’s name Vanessa Paradis (Va-), his own name (-jo-), their daughter Lily Rose (-liro-) and son Jack (-ja).” Depp renamed the boat when he later married Amber Heard.
Food and Friends:When we returned to the marina from our “historic” exercise walk, we found mv Crawdad docking right across from us.We visited with each other over lunch at Finz and dinner at Clawsons before they headed back out on their loop.
Moonrakers is a “new” restaurant in Beaufort since our last stop here 2 years ago -- on our trip south to FL. The food was great! We ate at the bar since the restaurant was reservations-only that weekend night.
This photo of the bar shelves is a “scavenger hunt” for our Great Harbour friends on mv Insandity. Something on the top shelf reminded me of them. 😊
Black Crowned Night Heron: This bird was perched outside of SCOUT one day. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these pretty birds. At first, he looked like a fat stocky bird; then he exposed his long neck.
These bird houses made from Igloo (brand) coolers along Taylors Creek were clever.
Provisioning: In addition to restocking with Instacart (delivered right to the marina), I found delicious sourdough bread and a few produce items within walking distance at Le Ciseaux and Coastal Community Market. Then, on Saturday, we found microgreens (and a few other goodies) at the Olde Beaufort Farmers' Market.
Projects: After several days of cruising, it was time to give SCOUT a thorough wash. I tackled this job while Ray rested – trying to recover from allergies (maybe one drawback of chasing “Spring” up the coast).
While atop the salon, I did bang on the roof and ask him to bring a camera to see the dead fish I found in the dinghy. (I kept trying to figure out why each place we stopped smelled like dead fish.😦) Our son said it is a mackerel. We guessed a large bird dropped it at some point.
By the time replacement parts arrived, Ray’s allergy symptoms had improved. He got to work on a major project to replace all the fuel lines and filter manifolds on the generator. (He had been troubleshooting seemingly sporadic issues for a couple of months.)
NOTE: So far, so good. Generator seems to be running well now! 😊
Reunion with old friends: We got almost all of our chores taken care of before our longtime friends arrived in Beaufort NC, many arriving on their own boats from a short distance away. First, we had a dinner at Rhumbar with sv Greek Odyssey and a couple we’ll call the “W”s (since they don’t currently own a cruising boat), after happy hour on sv Greek Odyssey.
Then appetizer dinner and live music on the rooftop of Rhumbar with sv Chloe Brighid and sv Betelgeuse.
The next day, we had lunch at Finz with the whole group (almost), including the Easts.
Breweries: Ray was happy to visit two breweries in town. Fishtowne is just a couple of blocks from the marina.
Millwhistle is a little farther away (3/4 mile). I like this promotional poster for one of their beers – a good reminder how to pronounce Beaufort NC. 😊
We got to the brewery just before closing time, so the tasing room looks almost empty (in the picture).
Celebrities: Our friends, currently on sv Betelgeuse, have a YouTube channel. Check them out – especially if you are interested in sailing.
Why are we moving so quickly through North Carolina and South Carolina?
So, you may have noticed that we’ve skipped some of the Carolinas cruising stops you always hear about – Charleston/Hilton Head, Georgetown and Myrtle Beach in SC, and Southport/Bald Head Island, Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington and Swansboro in NC.
Ray and I both grew up in South Carolina, so we are familiar with the SC coastal areas. And for several decades, while working in NC, we sailed and moored various boats at almost every coastal area of NC.
We also had the chance to dock at some of the “common” stops when we cruised south from NC to FL three years ago, including some in GA – St. Simons Island and Cumberland Island. We have also visited Savannah GA, by car, in the past.
Our omission of these stops is no reflection of our enjoyment of those places. We just decided to “blow through” the places we’ve already visited, to free up more time for us to spend in the new-to-us “far away” places. 😊
Here is a picture from one of our trailer-sailor trips with our friends (sv Greek Odyssey, mentioned above) to Charleston SC -- about 25 years ago. 😮 Ray & I were raising the mast on sv Giddy, our Santana 2023 (right).
What’s next? We’ll continue the Great Loop. From this point, all of our cruising will be new to us!
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