Charleston to Norfolk We left Charleston expecting to sail offshore to the Cape Fear River and enter the waterway there, but just before sunset a cold front blew through. What had been a perfect broad reach on a warm southerly became a beat into a cold howling north wind with steep seas. We decided to head for cover and sailed into Winyah bay for the night. From this point on, we would not see the Atlantec until we left the chesapeake, so we settled in for life on the ICW. There's always lots to see, interesting people to meet and new places to discover.
The weather was consistent...cold, ofter rainy, and winds at a constant 20 knots on the nose. But in a yacht like this one, we weren't doing any suffering. Weather protection in the cockpit is very good, and the three separate staterooms below allowed us to have some quiet time to ourselves.
The weather had kept us in the waterway for a week and we were falling behind schedule, so rather than taking the Pungo-Alligator River route, I decided to sail up the Pamlico Sound because we could continue to sail through the night and make up some time. It was a good plan, but a thunderstorm with heavy lightning forced us to take shelter in Stumpy Bay around midnight.
Some of you may recognize the famous Ocracoke Ferry.
The next night we anchored just north of Coinjock and arrived in Norfolk the following afternoon.
Okeechobee South Florida to South Carolina Norfolk, Virginia Atlantic City Atlantic City to New York City New York City to Catskill, NY The Champlain Canal |
