I'm sure it looked the same hundreds of years ago

The Waccamaw River with it's cypress-lined shores is one of the stretches of the ICW we love to travel

A stately old cypress waiting for the next osprey reservation to arrive in the spring

At first, at a distance, we thought this was a small deer crossing in front of us. As we got closer, we discovered it was a red fox crossing the river. Way cool!

Dozens of turtles out sunning themselves on a gorgeous day

Number 43 is waiting for spring when the osprey return to start a new family. The last time we passed this marker there were babies in the nest

Beautiful old cypress trees line the shores of the Waccamaw

Finally arrived at our anchorage in Thoroughfare Creek off the waccamaw River. Cassie and Godiva remember this one from the last time we were here

Waccamaw pictures

Sorry! We are in a remote area, beautiful, but remote. My connection is poor at best and the pictures didn't post. I will post the pictures when I get a better connection at our next stop.

September Song (picture challenged) out
Bob

The Waccamaw River

After going through the tourist area, golf courses, and marinas along the waterway of Myrtle Beach, the narrow shallow water section, and a few bridges we had to wait on, the scenery changes to a wild peaceful river, banked by spanish moss draped live oaks and cypress trees. It's called the Waccamaw River. The river is home to all kinds of wild life and is a huge nesting area for osprey. Every channel marker we pass has a nest on it. This is a part of the ICW that is so beautiful it almost makes you want to turn around and travel it again. It was a bright sunny day with calm winds and the temperatures in the low 80's, but after a ten hour day we were ready to drop the hook, pour a cool one, and enjoy the evening in this beautiful place. We are anchored on Thoroughfare Creek about 1/4 mile off the Waccamaw and had planned on putting Half Note in to take the girls to the beach that we anchored by and then do some exploring today, but mother nature changed our plans with light rain all day, so we decided to just chill out on the boat, catch up with the world on CNN, and enjoy a peaceful, quiet, rainy day. (sorry girls) Tomorrow we will head to another anchorage, spend the night, and then head to Charleston where we will spend three days at the Charleston Maritime Center and do some exploring at one of our favorite stops. That will make five days we have not touched land. Anchoring out is great. It gives us a chance just to enjoy September Song, the beauty of remote anchorages, and each other. (you too Cassie and Godiva) It's a good thing we like each other. I ask myself quite often, self, how did you get so lucky?

September Song (How did I get so lucky?) out
Bob

Fishing for shrimp in a funny little boat on the ICW.

Wild goats on an island along the ICW in South Carolina

They have a good start on building the bridge that will take the place of one of the last pontoon bridges in the US

The pontoon bridge is pulled to the side by cables to let the boats go through. It has seen its better days. Historic and kinda cool, but a pain for boaters

Cold weather is chasing us south

Oriental is one of those small coastal towns with a charm all its own. All the businesses are run by locals who work hard to make you feel welcome. From the coffee shop where locals gather in the morning, the grocery store, and all the other shops in town, they are all one-of-a-kind, owned and run by locals. Towns like Oriental only take about a day to explore, but they are worth the stop.
We anchored out last night and will do the same for the next two night, and then we will spend a couple of days in Charleston, SC. one of our favorite stops.

September Song (making tracks South) out
Bob

September Song at the dock in Oriental

Yes, it's 5 o'clock somewhere. I think it's at the Tiki Bar

Nacho is the town dog. He has a bed, food, and water at almost every location in town. We saw him at the Marine Store, Dock Masters office, The Tiki Bar, and several other locations in town. Cassie and Godiva think he's cute.

I think I have developed a hat fetish. Stephanie agrees

Do you think this color is good for me Stephanie? NO!!!!! How do you really feel about it?

The lady behind me thinks I'm one brick short of a load

A sign of the times. The TIARA boat manufacturing plant in North Carolina closed

Sunrise as we leave our anchorage at Mile Hammock

Oriental here we come

We left Coinjock Marina at 07:00 along with everyone else docked there, well, maybe not everyone, but it seemed that way. Us passing boats, boats passing us and everyone jockeying for position depending on their speed. After all the fast boats passed us and we passed the sailboats it was time to settle back, put September Song on auto pilot, and enjoy breakfast on the fly bridge on a beautiful morning. We anchored in Broad Creek for 2 nights to let the cold front pass by while I caught about 18 of those gorgeous crabs. On the 8th we headed out at 07:00 through Albemarle Sound. Remember that quiet, beautiful day a couple days ago, and that wonderful breakfast on the fly bridge while under way? Albemarle Sound is known for being rough in windy weather and it lived up to its reputation. It was blowing like stink as we rocked and rolled with aft quartering seas, the worse kind. I can't imagine what it would have been like without our stabilizers. No quiet breakfast today. Not all days are calm, but it is what it is and we take the little bit bad with all the good. After we got out of Albermarle Sound (two hours) things calmed down and we anchored for the night in a beautiful quiet spot on Slade Creek off the Pungo River. Yesterday we left our anchorage early again and headed for Oriental, NC. Weather changes from day to day and yesterday was flat calm. Remember that day a few days ago with breakfast on the fly bridge? Instant replay. We arrived in Oriental early afternoon and proceeded to back into our slip. Things didn't work the way they usually do, I was having trouble moving the stern in line with the slip. After a few more RPM's and forward and reverse, I backed in. The dock hand says ""oh, by the way, there is a hump of mud in front of your slip". I was kind and didn't say what I wanted to say, ($%^%@#*)&%!) I just said "not anymore". September Song the dredge. After getting tied up we were met by a man by the name of Roger Tuttle, who is here for a Power Squadron Cruise. He is 85 and was one of four guys who created the Today Show and he was the one who hired Mat Lauer. Vary interesting guy. The average age of the group seems to be about 80 and the age of their boats looks to be around 35. What a hoot watching all these old boats with these old sailors coming into the slips. (get out the fenders Stephanie, we need to do some fending off.) After the show we headed to the Tiki Bar for a few cold ones, looked to the North and toasted Doug and Tammy, (the bartender said, "I think I know them) then had a great hot crab dip and split a half pound burger. Sound familiar Gypsies? The only thing missing were you two.
Time to end this blog and go exploring Oriental.

September Song (I hope I'm still boating at 85) out
Bob


The Alligator Pungo Canal. 150 ft. wide and 22 miles long.

Sunrise as we leave our overnight anchorage in Slade Creek off the Pungo River

Dolphins playing in our bow wake

Crabber out early checking his traps

No wind today on our way to Oriental, NC. That's the way we like it!

Looking off the aft of September Song on a beautiful calm day

Coming into Oriental Marina we see the first shrimp fleets on our South bound journey

Oriental Marina, our home for the next two days

Old sailors never die, they join the power squadron.

Cheers to you Doug and Tammy from the Tiki bar in Oriental, NC

Let sleeping dogs lie. So where do we sleep? Cassie and Godiva say "first come first serve."

only 14 bridges and one lock

We started out early Monday to make our way through 4 railroad bridges, 10 swing and lift bridges, three turtle doves, two french hens, and one set of locks on our way to Coinjock. We hate that stretch of the ICW. Yes, we are officially in the ICW (the ditch) and crossed into North Carolina at about 2:30 yesterday.
We made our way to Coinjock Marina, home of the 32 oz. prime rib. After we settled in and after happy hour we headed in for the prime rib. The 32 oz. is way too much for either of us so we both ordered the smaller cut. Even with that we took home (the boat) enough for another dinner. While we were there we reflected on our last time here with Gypsies. We sure miss them. Today we were able to start late because we were only going about 15 miles to Broad Creek where we will anchor for the next couple of days. Our route will be blocked on the Alligator River due to the Alligator River bridge being shut down for repairs for two days. Did I mention we hate bridges. (sorry all you land lubbers) I decided to see if the crab are as good as Chesapeake crab here in North Carolina, so I have the lines in. I caught my first after about 5 minutes. He was a jumbo Jimmy! I know the blog has been a little boring, but we have been making our way South and not doing alot of exploring. We will slow down and smell the roses in a couple of days so hang in there. Time to go check my lines. I love fishing for those little guys!

September Song (crab fishing again?) out
Bob

Looking up the river in Norfolk at the start of the bridges

Lots more naval ships as we pass more of the shipyards

That's my love and the Admiral of our ship holding the stern line in the Great Bridge lock

Looking at Great Bridge Bridge (no, I didn't stutter) from the Great bridge lock

Seagulls fishing in our wake

View of Coinjock Marina, Restaurant & Lounge from our bow

Another crabby day

We spent one day at anchor on the East River so I took the opportunity to get in one last day of crab fishing before we leave the Chesapeake Sunday. It's always fun fishing for those little guys. What a great way to spend the day, fishing with Stephanie, (the crab steamer) Cassie and Godiva. We caught and picked enough for two of Stephanie's fabulous crab cake dinners.
Today we weighed anchor at 07:00 (still weighs 55#) and headed for Portsmouth VA. where we will spend lots of money (took on 950 gal. of fuel) and spend the night. It is always a treat to cruise through the Norfolk shipyards and see all the war ships docked. It's always amazing how many are there. Tomorrow we head out early and go through the bridges from hell through Norfolk. Lots of ship and barge traffic in this area and with all the bridges on set schedules it makes for a real interesting day.
September Song (pointy end South) out
Bob


Catch of the day

My fishing buddies

In the pot

Let the picking begin!!!!