June 12, 2020 Belhaven, North Carolina

Needham’s Skimmer Dragonfly

June 12, 2020 Belhaven,  North Carolina

We moved along the S.C. ICW for days, anchoring in Little Tom's Creek, Herb Creek, Broad Creek, Wright River and Shelter Cove.  Through big rains, 25-30 knot winds and lightning we hunkered down near Turtle Island.  Dietrich cued up The Turtle Island Quartet, we watched bread rise, caught up on the news feeds and enjoyed a dry cabin, not a leak to be found.  Later, we passed through a double bascule bridge whose one leaf did not open.  The operator informed us beforehand so we were ever so careful.  The following photo shows the sailboat that did not heed the warning.  The mast and much of the rigging is gone, repairs underway.   The general rule is that someone should always be on deck and watching the path...

Mastless after collision with bridge span

The second span was not opening

From Shelter Cove, we dinghied into the Hilton Head Marina.  We enjoyed a short dinghy to tug visit with Tim, Ramie and Ringo on Miss Norma, a bonus we did not expect.  We spent time with them last fall and thought they would be gone by now.  As for so many people, Covid-19 changed their plans.  They are selling that beautiful Ranger tug, heading for Washington and a new phase of life.  Back at our anchorage,  a huge, grunting, burping manatee poked around the boat, accompanied by many dolphins who were out for leaping and splashing fun.  A repeat anchorage at Skull Creek was beautiful then on to Beaufort, S.C., a favorite location we enjoyed last fall.  We took a mooring near the dinghy dock and felt comfortable using the marina facilities that were well maintained and easy to negotiate with social distancing in mind.   Walking the old neighborhoods and through the Spring gardens was good entertainment, as always.   We found that attitudes toward masks and social distancing around town were troublesome.  We encountered snears and rude comments along the main street and harbor walk.  Our favorite book store, Nevermore, required masks and provided hand cleaner at the door.  Farther north, we anchored in the S. Edisto River after four hours of battling big, slow, biting flies.  We had two swatters in action and eliminated more than 80 flies.  We celebrated the next morning by breaking the cold cereal tradition.  Cheesy grits, eggs and five shrimp left from dinner were just what we needed to tackle more flies.  They seemed more aggressive, getting under our hats, between sunglasses and eyes, dive-bombing into legs and arms.  We tried to keep count of the the kills but know we missed some during particularly tense parts of the siege.   We counted 776 dead flies.  By the time we reached the anchorage in Georgetown, S.C. we had broken both swatters.  Dietrich bought four more.

Southern horse fly

Low-country sunset

Beaufort SC live oak

Magnolia blossom

Still life with live oak

Fresh SC shrimp

Beaufort, SC 

Beaufort, SC 

SC storm

Georgetown, S.C. was an easy, pleasant stop.  Walking the neighborhoods was satisfying, the architecture and landscaping beautiful.  Many of the downtown shops were closed due to virus concerns, but the ice cream shop was open.  The staff kept surfaces cleaned, masks were worn and we took advantage!  An icy dish of ice cream on a hot, humid day is just (as my mother would have said) the Bees' Knees.

Georgetown, SC

The Waccamaw River has always been a pleasure to experience.  We anchored near Butler Is. with nesting osprey and fish jumping as if they were being chased.  Due to storms in the north, the river was at flood stage and flowing south at 3 knots.  It meant our progress was quite slow so we stayed there another day to let the flood ease.

Waccamaw River, SC

Waccamaw River, SC with nesting osprey

Flooding was an issue for the next day, slow progress but through beautiful country.  The rice fields and Spring foliage were spectacular.  Wasps took the place of flies for a while.  Dietrich killed one that was about 2" long.  No kidding!  Flooded Prince Creek was a side trip worth the time, every shade of Spring green was tucked into the surrounding forests.  The long stretch through the Myrtle Beach ditch was crowded with rented Jet skies and fast power boats.  Police boats were out attempting to keep wakes down since docks and homes along the way were already flooded.

Prince Creek, SC

Prince Creek, SC

Osprey pair on Red 8

Prince Creek turtles

Waccamaw osprey

In the Myrtle Beach area...

Socastee River flooding

Socastee River flooding

Socastee River flooding

We had stayed on our anchor or, occasionally, on a mooring every night since April 16th.  The Southport Marina beckoned as we came near and Calliope moved to a slip.  Oh joy.  The facilities were clean and provisioned with anti-virus supplies.  The area was new to us so we spent hours walking.  The gardens were worth the effort.  On to Wrightsville Beach where our anchorage was excellent.  That community has provided good dinghy docks, foot showers just off the ocean beaches and plenty of beach and downtown benches for lounging.  We shared a pint of ice cream on a bench at the beach, a fairly safe place to observe the crowd (social distancing was not in evidence).  It is likely to be the last open ocean beach we see on this trip so we spent some time walking the water's edge where few people were hanging out.  Dietrich took a dinghy ride to the seafood purveyor for fresh shrimp and Dark and Stormy rum drinks completed a fine dinner on board.  The evening's entertainment was several hours of wild jet skis and small boats zooming around the bay.  It was a  young party crowd, no overtly rude behavior, lots of waving as they passed, just having one of those fun, blow out times we all savor. 

The next day was long and slow but ended at Mile Hammock (Camp LeJeune, N.C.) where there were only six boats.  There were a few noisy booms near by but no other military maneuvers as the evening progressed.   Beaufort (pronounced Bow-fort) N.C. was next, a good anchorage on Taylor Creek near town dinghy docks and a park.  We were able to meet Paul and Laurie Welser under an open pavillion near the water.  We enjoyed wine, snacks, pizza and hours of talk.  It was marvelous to socialize with people we know and with whom we have so much in common.   We had one more visit the next day (they kindly did some shopping for us) and several long walks in the older part of town.  The Old Burying Grounds were fascinating.  We left with a jar of Laurie's mango salsa, a score!

Beaufort, NC with the Welsers

Beaufort, NC with the Welsers

These Martin houses were made from Igloo Coolers.   Easy to clean and the birds seemed pleased.

Martin houses in Beaufort, NC

We made a late start from Beaufort because the anchor chain was wrapped around something metal that would not give way.  Dietrich worked on it for at least 20 minutes, coming close to diving down to investigate, before it popped loose.

The trip to Oriental was great.  The Neuse River was lively, dolphins were playful and we snagged one of the free city docks.  Dietrich's sister asked me what made Oriental attractive.  I told her that it is a village on a huge river near an inlet to the sea.  It floods at every full moon high tide and is often the target of hurricanes.  It is covered with big, old houses and new, elegant houses, all raised 8-10 feet in hopes of avoiding frequent flood water.  It has The Bean across the street from the public dock where coffee, goodies and friendly porch conversation with locals can be had, masks and social distancing included.  There is a classy art gallery and a dress shop where customers hang out on the deep, open porch to chat about local politics and business.  There is good bicycling and walking.  Magnolias and gardenias are in full bloom and walls of honeysuckle are everywhere.  The air smells sweet.  Hot, fragrant waves of it can nearly bowl you over.  The shrimp boats clog the harbor and they come in many colors with  names like Mrs. O'Malley, LornaMae,  JoshuaLee,  LindaLou, BerthaBell and ShelbyJane.    Our first stop was at Halloween in 2008, this fourth stop may not be our last.  We like the vibe.

It rained off and on as we headed to Belhaven, N.C.    After long weeks of motoring, we sailed for hours along the big Neuse, Pamlico and Pungo Rivers.  Winds were often 20-25 knots and Captain Dietrich was very happy.   We are at the city dock today, no facilities but nice to be attached.  Tomorrow, onward to Albemarle Sound.  Still aiming to be home in Traverse City by mid July.  In the meantime,  hearing about your days would be welcome.  We wish you good health,  Annie and Dietrich Floeter           annie.floeter@yahoo.com