Tag Archives: Marinas

“Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.” ― Henry David Thoreau

29 Friday May 2020

Posted by in A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words, From the helm, Thinking Outside The Boat

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Friday, May 29, 2020.   I used to associate Thoreau’s quote with time spent aboard our old Cargile Cutter Cruiser, “SunSmiles.”  And then, along came grandchildren.  Know what I mean?

Today, “SunSmiles” is history, the little Mainship 34T, “Slow Dance” has replaced “her,” and our grandchildren have reached the  age where Nana and Poppa are not their #1 priority — which means that the “channel in which our life flows” is evolving back to time split between grandchildren and cruising.  Now, it appears COVID-19 restrictions may dictate our summer 2020 destinations and schedule.  BUT, at least we have wonderful memories of summers past, and making plans for the future.

Have you planned your summer cruising or vacation schedule?  Will you be CruisingTheICW, cruising with your cruising club, or simply enjoying time on the water with family and friends.  At CruisingTheICW, we would love for you to share your favorite cruising destinations, marinas, restaurants, attractions, festivals and events, with us.

Here is a collage of pics from some of our travels.  Recognize any of them?

Where will your life be flowing this weekend?  This summer?

The beauty of a sunset to end a day of cruising.
Nothing like stretching out on the bow after a good dinner.
Leaving Coinjock, NC
Coinjock Marina’s “world famous” PRIME RIB DINNER!!!
The beautiful “Lady Kath” spent the night off our bow, in Coinjock.
Leaving the Great Bridge lock
“Pretty maids all in a row” at AYB, as we idle past the face dock and head to Hampton.
Southbound for parts unknown
Spoon River Artworks & Market dining room
Belhaven’s finest restaurant
What better day than Saturday to remember the incredible “fresh off the boat” fried shrimp dinner at T.W. Graham’s in the little fishing village of McClellanville, SC., on the ICW north of historic Charleston.
Atlantic Yacht Basin
When we leave the South Mills Lock, we’ll be in the Dismal Swamp Canal. In the left of the picture you see the dreaded Duck Weed floating on the surface of the water. While we saw Duck Weed thru parts of the canal, when I checked the Slow Dance’s raw water strainers at the Welcome Center, very little of the Duck Weed was ingested into the raw water system.
Cruising’s a chance to catch up with old friends, and relive our younger days when our favorite transportation was our Austin-Healey 3000s
The BIG TUNA in Georgetown, SC
Belfast, ME Harbor Festival
A flea market treasure
Our incredible “dock mate” in Beaufort, SC
Shrimp boat’s acomin’
“Conch Man,” the lockmaster loves conchs — and can actually play them! He was a pleasure to meet, as professional as he was personable.
There are those times the “Admiral” enjoys sitting out on the bow and enjoying the solitude and scenery.
Cruising together from Camden, NC to the Dismal Swamp Canal
When the bridge opens, we’ll pass thru, and on to the lock, meet “Conch Man,” hear a tune, and then pass on thru the lock and end our cruise of the Dismal Swamp Canal.
Kate “the mate” with her, “What next captain” expression.
Belhaven, NC truly appreciates cruisers!
July 4th – the Admiral’s birthday, in Beaufort, NC
Calm at sunrise at the Bridgetender Marina, Wrightsville Beach, NC
The Admiral enjoys reading, while Kate the Mate stands by the captain.
Big Tuna’s tuna with house salad
The beautiful Marlow, “Blue Heron.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANA!!! Beaufort, NC even celebrated your birthday with a parade!
The 1977 30-foot Cargile Cutter Cruiser known as “SunSmiles”
Cruising is for friends and fellowship
This boat launched CruisingTheICW

“Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.”

Sometimes The Best Laid Plans…

06 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by in From the helm

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October 6, 2019 ~ Point Lookout Marina, Ridge, MD. We arrived late Wednesday prepared to leave on Thursday or Friday to cruise Slow Dance home. Mother Nature had a different plan.

As it turned out, Thursday was spent cleaning and prepping Slow Dance for the trip. And then, on Thursday evening we were warned by watermen working out of the marina that the “next few days” on the Bay would be so bad that even they weren’t going out. In the end one boat went out and returned early. In the words of one crew member, “It was f**king horrible. I feel like I’ve gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson!”

Today the couple on the sailboat that had been docked behind us left before sunrise, heading north in hopes of getting home off the Patuxant River. They texted us once on the Bay to let us know that conditions on the Bay were really rough and the lower Potomac had been even worse! At 1:04PM we received a text that they were finally safe at their home port. During their trip they saw only two big power boats and one sailboat. I sent her pictures of the two shown below, and asked if these were the two they saw. Her one word reply was, “Yes!”

The big express yacht was the first to arrive. They are in route from Maine to Naples, FL. They left Baltimore this morning and conditions went from rough to horrible. They ended their day here — early.

The big Hatteras cockpit motoryacht left Solomons Island this morning. Just a few miles south of Solomons the conditions got so bad their dinghy — secured on the flybridge — bounced off the boat, and a tv came off its wall mount. In the winds and 5-7 foot wave conditions, it took an hour to save and secure the dinghy to tow behind them.

A delivery captain, that arrived on a 32-foot Back Cove a couple of hours earlier than the yachts, said he was into his ninth day of a five day delivery! He said that in his thirty-five years of yacht delivery he had never encountered so many days of high winds and 5-7 foot seas — inshore. The worst part was there was no interval between the waves.

It’s Sunday. As is our custom when we’re cruising, we live-streamed the Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church service on the iPad. This afternoon, after hearing the stories of our new friends that went north, and the captains of the three boats that arrived today, we’re thanking the Good Lord that we followed the advice of the watermen and remained safely on the dock — drinking coffee — and “attending” church.

Fair winds and following seas,

Oh Captain My Captain