Posts In The “North America East Coast” Category
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is the the east coast home to the US Navy’s Ohio-class nuclear submarines. Nearby St. Marys has a museum packed with submarine memorabilia and even a working periscope. The attractive town also is the gateway to the popular Cumberland Island National Seashore. Following a half-day run from Brunswick, Georgia we…
We got another chance to see a Metal Shark boat in action during a routine Coast Guard inspection on the way to Brunswick, Georgia. We were trying to reach Brunswick Landing Marina to fuel before they closed for the day, so would have preferred not to have been boarded, but the Coast Guard officers were…
We are interested in all ocean-going power boats, but right near the top of the pack is the FPB series from Steve and Linda Dashew. We’ve seen many FPBs over the years as we completed our around-the-world run and the first things that jumps out is they are unfinished aluminum. When we were in New Zealand…
The National Weather Service recorded peak wind gusts at 88 mph 5-10 miles off Hilton Head Island on October 8th, 2016 during Hurricane Mathew. We saw the resulting damage from those winds first-hand after an 86nm run from Charleston to Hilton Head Island. Palmetto Bay Marina, pictured, was completely destroyed. Many of the docks along…
We enjoyed our time in Charleston, SC so much that we twice extended our stay. We loved the view to the Ashley River from our Charleston City Dock outside berth and had a great time exploring the city by tender, bicycle and on foot. The city lived up to its reputation for excellent food and…
The Intracoastal Waterway continues south past Charleston through Wappoo Creek. We returned briefly to the ICW on a tour of the area by tender that included a run up the Ashley River beyond our marina, and a pass by the Port of Charleston where we watched the tugs Moira McAllister and Patrick McAllister assist the…
Charleston, SC was founded in 1670 and has done an excellent job of preserving its heritage and historic sites and buildings. On a surprisingly cold and frosty morning, we did a bicycle tour along the city’s historic waterfront. Trip highlights from January 8th, 2017 in Charleston, SC follow. Click any image for a larger view,…
The USS Yorktown is the second of twenty-four Essex-class aircraft carriers launched during World War II. The Yorktown served in World War II and Vietnam and was the recovery ship for Apollo 8, the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon. Today the Yorktown is a National Historic Landmark and open for tours as part…
The three-mile-long Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge crosses the Cooper River between Charleston and Mt. Pleasant. The bridge has a pedestrian and cycle lane with fabulous views to the city, the river and out to sea. We got the bikes down and spent a great day riding through Charleston and across the bridge, and explored a…
As we neared Charleston City Marina from sea, we’d started to wonder if we were heading in the right direction. The marina was supposed to be walking distance from downtown, but where were the tall buildlings? The city, it turns out, looks different from other downtowns due to zoning restrictions that limit building heights. We’d…
Our final leg along the ICW brought us to Beaufort, NC. South of here, the ICW is shallower than the section we just ran from Portsmouth, Virginia and has more bridges, current and shoaling issues. So we’ll be making a direct run offshore to our next stop in Charleston, South Carolina. A major weather system…
South of Albermarle Sound, the ICW continues south through the Alligator River. The swing bridge there, at mile 84, is the last of four bridges that we needed to have opened on our run between Portsmouth, Virginia and Beaufort, NC. The bridge won’t open in high winds of 35kts or more, which can be a…
The Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge includes 111,106 acres of wetlands south of Albermarle Sound. The refuge is home to over 300 different wildlife species including otters, muskrat, turtles, and the endangered red wolf, plus tens of thousands of migratory birds in the winter. Sponge-like peat soil in the wetlands retain water and hold it…
TCOM manufacturing has a major airship manufacturing facility in North Carolina up the Pasquotank River, with a 1,000ft-long hangar that can accomodate airships up to 150ft tall. We were lucky to arrive in the area during a test flight of a smaller model, and got a glimpse of a much larger ship when the massive…
In our second day along the ICW we travelled 38 miles from Great Bridge, Virgina to Coinjock in North Carolina. We passed five bridges, but only needed to have two opened for us. Depths generally were at least 10ft, with a few brief drops to about 8.5ft. A video of our transit between Great Bridge…
Except for a brief transit around the Palm Beach area, we’ve not traveled the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in Dirona. In our first leg along the ICW, we headed 12 miles south from Portsmouth, Virginia to the town of Great Bridge. Depths were at least 10 feet all the way, except for about 8.5ft at Great…
Norfolk is home to the world’s largest naval base with ships ranging from aircraft carriers to destroyers to nuclear submarines. Navy ships are moored on both sides of the the channel into Norfolk, with security patrol craft in the air. The city also has a large and busy shipping port. As a fitting envoy, we…
We found winter boating in Chesapeake Bay to be surprisingly similar to the Pacific Northwest, with the same advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantage of course is the weather. Storms are more frequent and fierce, so we need to watch the forecasts more carefully, the days are shorter, and the temperature is colder. The temperature…