Author: jimonterrapin

May 30, 2021 N31° 15′ The whole reason for the “Heading North” trip, especially the timing, was to meet the insurance requirements to be “North of Cape Hatteras by June 1.” Cape Hatteras is approximately at latitude North 31°, 15 minutes and I passed that mark at 1:12 p.m. today. My insurance coverage is less […]

May 29, 2021 Winded The cruising gods were with me in the morning. The Wrightsville Beach bridge only opens on the hour but, if I had read it carefully, was on demand before 7:00 a.m. Fortunately, I hit the bridge at 6:30 and went right through. I arrived at the next bridge a couple of […]

May 28, 2021 I Eat Fear For Breakfast I awoke with a little trepidation. I was going up to Cape Fear to go into Cape Fear River entrance. Hmm, maybe the ICW is not such a bad place. I Left the anchorage early because the seas would be building later in the day and would […]

May 27, 2021 Swimming Logs Left the awesome anchorage on the ICW and headed for the Little River Inlet to overnight before heading out into the 0cean. This part of the ICW was more like a ditch. Very few bays or wide areas with trees and vegetation lining each side. I was on the lookout […]

May 26, 2021 Currents Once I got out of Charleston Harbor it was a pretty easy day. I knew that was going to end as soon as I started into Winyah Bay and back into the ICW near Georgetown SC. When I did my research I knew I would be heading into a strong ebb […]

May 25, 2021 Playing With The Big Boys After Hilton Head the next stop is Charleston. I had a pretty uneventful day going in the big water until I got to the Charleston Harbor inlet. I saw a large tug towing an ocean going barge and we were going about the same speed and headed […]

May 24, 2021 No Stress I left Brunswick GA and planned to head to Sapelo Sound GA. I made such good time I changed my plans and headed to Hilton Head instead. This is what it is all about. No stress cruising in the open ocean with big deep inlets and easy anchoring. Life is […]

May 23, 2021 First Solo Ocean Passage. I left the “Free Jacksonville City Dock” and set out into the North Atlantic. Everything went smoothly except my stablizers aren’t working. The stabilizers are fins that hang down on each side of the hull about midship. A computer moves the fins to compensate for the rolling side-to-side […]

May 22, 2021 Ouch, that’ll leave a mark. I got a little sleep and headed out with my alternate anchorages figured out, just to be sure. In St. Augustine I had to what for the Bridge of Lions to open for me. That area is notorious for a strong current. Unfortunately, I allowed the boat […]

May 21, 2021 Learning Opportunities What a day. Starting with a darn near perfect anchorage and ending with a looong day and less than wonderful anchorage. The day started well and quickly degenerated to a stressful run through Mosquito Lagoon where I bumped bottom a couple of times. With my boat that is life on […]