Bye Bye Barefoot Marina, Bahamas here we come

We left at about 7 a.m. this morning with the sunrise behind us, navigated through some early fog and had mostly clear skies all the way down to our Day 1 anchorage spot, Minim Creek, about 60 miles down the Intracoastal Waterway from Barefoot Marina. So, we’re finally underway.

Minim Creek is a very secluded area with the only sign of civilization being the flashing red marker on the ICW about a half mile away. The creek is the ideal spot to drop anchor off the waterway. The area we’re in is protected from the winds by trees on both sides, and the depth is about ten feet.

While we were looking for just the right spot to end our day, a pod of dolphins swam around our boat. One actually came right next to the bow as we were getting ready to drop anchor.

While en route to our destination, about 20 miles from Barefoot Marina, we saw two swans swim right by the boat and then come together to touch beaks, their necks and beaks thereby forming the shape of a heart. It was a sight for our weary eyes as we were just starting to really wake up.

The wind was at between 15 to 20 knots for most of the way, but around Georgetown, SC the ocean's current increased our speed by about 2 knots, bringing us up to 10 at times when we only set the throttle at 8 knots.

So we cruised about 60 miles in approximately 7 hours, arriving at Minim Creek at 2 p.m. It’s been a long day and we’re running on generator power, so I have to log off now. Keep following our travels. We feel as if you’re cruising with us. Tomorrow's destination is Charleston, about 50 miles away. The distance is shorter than today's but the weather is expected to be a bit stormy tomorrow, so that will probably slow us down a bit.

                                            The ICW around Bucksport. Captain Ken photos

Cruising on the ICW

Combo Bridge between Myrtle Beach and Bucksport

Swan along the ICW

Looking out from our first anchorage at Minim Creek

Dolphins on the waterway

The question "When are you leaving?" can be taken the wrong way. It's not like the person asking wants you to leave. They're usually just excited about the adventure you're about to embark on. But Captain Ken and I have received the question so many times that we're beginning to wonder why people are so curious. Well, for the record, every time we even entertain the thought of leaving port, something new pops up that causes a delay. It's never anything alarming. We just want to make sure the boat is in the best condition possible before heading out, because you never know what could happen on the long, isolated parts of the waterway or in the open ocean.

Something interesting happened in the marina today. For the first time that anyone we talked to knows about, two dolphin came into the waterway right by the marina, right outside our boat actually.

Photo courtesy of Captain Ken

So life in the marina has its comforts and a few surprises every now and then. When we embark the comforts will be fewer for quite a while, but I'm sure there will be many more surprises. 

What I love about the South

Some people said they want pictures of where we've been, but we haven't left port yet, so all I can give are pictures of Barefoot Marina and the area around it. 

Thus, here's a picture of Barefoot Golf Course and some homes along the Intracostal Waterway.Barefoot Golf Course has a scenic walk along the waterway surrounded by Southern Pine forests, wide open vistas and posh homes and condos.

Like I said in an earlier post, I'm just enjoying North Myrtle Beach for the time being. Easter Mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea was packed with vacationers and "C and E" Catholics, but that only made it a more lively experience. Everyone was friendly and in a singing mood. I don't know if it's just because I'm here during a holiday season, or if people around here, including the vacationers, are always just goodhearted. It is a resort town, and you're not going to be in a bad mood if you're in a place with so much always going on. In the Northeast, it seems like people are always just angry. Cursing is almost a colloquial part of the NJ dialect. Here it definitely is not that way. Southerners are almost always worry-free and offering a smile. I know it sounds cliche, but it's true. You'd have to live in the Northeast all your life and never really come down South to really notice it.

Almost ready

Finding a place to anchor after Beufort, SC could really be difficult. We were looking at anchoring off of Thunderbolt, about 43 miles from Beufort, but we'd like to go further than 43 miles that day. We could be wasting a good amount of daylight if we stop in Thunderbolt, GA. But the next port city, Brunswick, GA, is 130 miles from Beufort, which is definitely too far to go in one day.

Our only other option is to anchor somewhere in the Georgia marshes between Thunderbolt and Brunswick. Uncle Ken and I spent a few more hours looking for a good anchorage between those two points, found a few that may be good and then just concluded the best way to find out is to see what the spots are like when we get there. And that was the end of that.

We were going to go out for another test run today, but it was once again too windy, with wind gusts up to 21 mph. So we did some errands, and then went to a Bass Pro shop to find line for our fishing rods, and get some pointers from the experienced fishermen there. We'll be fishing for wahoo and mahi mahi.

You may be thinking, when will you be leaving already? Well, preparing for such a long voyage takes some time. But we will definitely be leaving some time next week. Only last-minute provisions are left.