We are in St. Mary's

We ended up staying in Price Creek for 2 days. One day Packet jumped off the dinghy in hot pursuit of a pelican. When we weighed anchor on the 20th we had part of what looked like a crab trap attached along with lots of mud. We arrived in Steamboat Creek and anchored where the guide told us to, by the octagonal building, but we did not see the boat ramp and floating dock up river, so we took Packet ashore on private property, as the guide did not tell us the ramp and dock were up river and around a bend. We did find that the next morning. We by-passed Charleston, however we did see Alpha Tango( a boat we met at NEB) in the harbor. Maybe we will stop in the spring. On Nov. 21, Sat. we left for Beaufort, SC. We walked to town for ice cream and took the courtesy car for groceries and ate a Luther's. The town is nice, but there are only little shops filled with antiques, art, gifts, not a shop for restocking provisions unless you bike or borrow a car. we had had rain all day, but the late afternoon and evening in Beaufort was nice. 11/22 we arrived at a marina called Isle of Hope outside of Savannah. There we met up with a boat we had been with in Price Creek. this was an easy marina to get into, I did laundry, again nothing nearby, but they had 2 cars you could borrow. 11/23 we left for the Duplin river in Georgia. After we anchored we went in search of the sandy beach described in the guide only to find there was no beach due to high water unless we went out of the river and around the point. so we pulled up to the ferry dock, with signs telling all unauthorized persons not to land. Dave took Packet and spoke to a gentlemen who told us it was ok, the state of Georgia now owns the dock and the research center and we would be welcomed. There is the estate of J.R. Reynolds on the property, but it was quite a hike from the anchorage. We saw dophlins while we were going in and coming out of the river. On 11/24 we stayed at the Jekyll Harbor resort Marina, very nice. did laundry again, had dinner at the pub with Diva the boat we had met in Price Creek. 11/25 we arrived in St. Mary's for Thanksgiving. there were many boats anchored in the river, but we went through them all and anchored up river with plenty of room. Thursday, Thanksgiving about 200 plus cruisers ate dinner at a hotel The local people supply the turkeys and ham and the cruisers bring the side dishes and desserts. It was a lot of fun. There was music in the evening in the town park, but we did not stay for it. We have been here ever since, and hope to leave tomorrow(11/29). We have been resting and enjoying the town and the other cruisers, most who have left today. We will make our way to Daytona either in 3 or 2 days depending. We may stop in Fernandina Beach tomorrow if we can get a mooring. Oh, just so you are not jealous of us being in warm weather, it was in the thirties last night, had the heat on.

message to Sandy on Stillwaters

Hi, we cannot get into your blog sailstillwaters.blogspot.com and I do not have your email, please email us so we can find out how to get to your blog. Thanks. Barbara

Making our way to Georgia

We left Masonboro on Sat. 11/14 and at a very nice marina called St. James Plantation. Again it is a marina in a condo, single family house development. This one had 4 golf courses and 3 fitness centers. It was a little past Southport, NC. We only went a short distance because we wanted to make sure the engine was ok. It is, but now we think the prop needs to be adjusted, which Dave will do when we get to Florida hopefully in warm and clear water. we had no trouble with the Cape Fear river, only saw one freighter and the current and wind were together so we made good time and it was a flat ride. On Sunday 11/15 we arrived in Barefoot Landing, SC. We met a man on the dock who was living and working on his boat and we all went to dinner. The ride from Barefoot Landing to Georgetown was interesting. There are miles and miles of condo and huge homes and small homes with docks and then nothing but trees and grass. We made it through the area called the Rock Pile with little trouble. The water was very high due to high tides and all the rain. It was a little strange to see rocks on the side rather than grass and trees. The ICW was actually cut through this rock or fossiliferous limestone(from the waterway guide info). We stayed in Georgetown for 2 days to celebrate Dave's birthday with a dinner out. I enjoyed Georgetown because I could walk to town from the marina. We are now anchored in Price Creek about 16 miles north of Charleston. It is a creek that goes to the ocean and we are anchored in the middle with grass(marsh grass) on either side, there are no trees, so I am sure it is hot in the summer. It is supposed to be dog friendly, however the beach says no dogs on one side and the other side is a bird sancutary, but it is deserted so we took Packet anyway. tomorrow we will leave for another anchorage past Charleston on our way to Georgia. We may end up at St. Mary's, GA for Thanksgiving depending on the weather and if we stop in Beaufort. It is warm today, sunny, short sleeve and short weather finally. Happy Thanksgiving to all. The next time I write we will be in Florida, yeh!!

Finally leaving Masonboro

We have been in Masonboro since 11/5 and we now have a new turbo in the engine and the weather hopefully will cooperate for us to leave tomorrow. We had to have another mechanic fix the engine because the one from Mack Boring wasn't working out. It wasn't the exhaust but the turbo. The bad weather came in, rain and wind, wind and rain. We did enjoy our day in Wilmington and we met another couple in the marina who left today for the Bahamas. They loaned us their car so for the last few days we were mobile. We all had dinner last night at a restaurant near the marina. We may see them in Florida . So tomorrow we move further south, making it into South Carolina by Sunday. We hope none of you had any damage from the storm that dropped up to 5-8 inches of rain in NC.

Morehead City to Masonboro, not Wilmington, NC

We left Morehead city on Tuesday, 11/3 and headed for Swan Point Marina on the New river in Sneads Ferry, NC. We could not anchor outside of Camp Lejeune because you cannot go ashore and Packet needs to go ashore, hence the marina. we did hear gun firing the second night we were at the marina from Camp Lejeune, but at least the ICW was open for us to pass during the day. We also had an air show every morning, very interesting. We left Swan Point on Thursday headed for Masonboro rather than Wilmington. Wilmington is about 15 miles up the Cape Fear River which can be tricky if you are not going with the current. Besides the marina in Masonboro called and had room, so that is where we are. We will probably be here until Tuesday. We had the diesel mechanic from Mack Boring here yesterday and today, but they can't get the information they need until Monday. It is a nice place, again not near anything, but the dock master took myself and another couple to a shopping mall for groceries. Tomorrow he will take Dave and I into Wrightsville so we can see the town. We will probably take a taxi back.
We are thinking that once we get the engine problem fixed we will go to Wilmington for a day or two, just be be in the area in case we need Mack Boring again. for those of you who know about sail boats and diesel engines, we have been getting very black smoke from the engine and it keeps getting worse, not good. We think if maybe back pressure, maybe a new exhaust???
It was warm and sunny, but last night there was a frost warning, had the heat on and long sleeves in the morning. We have to get further south, I am tired of keeping both winter and summer clothes out!! Take care and keep in touch, we have phone service and would love to hear from you, also email us if you can't get into the blog and leave a comment.

Visiting relatives and friends in Moorehead City and Beaufort, NC

We left our friends in Washington on Thursday, 10/29. We had lunch with them on Wednesday at a little Tiki kind of bar called Back Water Jacks...Jimmy Buffet kind of place. On Thursday we arrived in a marina called River Dunes which we had heard about from Helen and Ray. Very nice place, new homes all around, nice docks, had a very good dinner in the restaurant, but it is not near anything. I think Oriental, NC is a few miles away. It is actually a harbor club development. We met some people from RI who were staying in one of the cottages while looking over the area for a possible winter home and some other Rhode Islanders on a power boat going south. We left River Dunes on Saturday, Halloween and arrived in Moorehead City. We had dinner with a cousin of Dave's which was very nice. Then on Sunday we saw our friends Janet and Tom who live in Beaufort. We toured the little museum that has a lot of local history including the story of Blackbeard the pirate. We then had dinner at their house. Today is is windy and drizzling and cold. Janet and I went shopping and now Dave and I are planning the next three days as we have to be in Wilmington, NC Thursday night (11/5) for our appointment with Mack Boring on Friday. We will staying at the Wilmington City docks, right in the historic district. Even though it will ad miles to the trip(about 15 up the river) I am anxious to see the area. We are all well, Packet is doing ok, I think he prefers marinas over jumping in and out of the dinghy. Oh, yes we did have one hot day....it was in the low 80's on Sat when we arrived in Moorehead City. Hope everyone is well..