June 2009

Our trip north this year was laced with a lot of wind and rain. We left Palm Coast, FL on April 20 and started our northbound adventure. The first night we stopped in Pine Island Loop which is a really quiet anchorage. This year there were 12 boats anchored for the night which is more than we have ever seen in this spot. But it was not crowded and everyone had a nice evening. The second day we traveled up to Cumberland Island which is in Georgia at the very southern end. Cumberland Island is incredibly beautiful. We did the usual walking tour with some friends we happened to be traveling with at the time and then stayed for an extra day before we continued our trip north.

Again on the trip north we had decided that we wanted to stay in as many new places as we could. Anchoring out is always our preference but not always practical. Periodically we need marinas so that we can do laundry, put water on the boat and do some major grocery shopping. We carry enough water for about 10 or twelve days and we try to keep about 2 week’s worth of food and everything else on board. We also try (not always successfully) to stay in marinas only one night a week if possible. Well, this year we couldn’t always do what we wanted to do. It seemed as though every time we fired up the engines we were expecting to have thunderstorms. Thunderstorms come in different categories. There are thunderstorms, strong thunderstorms and severe thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorms are not nice. When they are predicted we usually look for a marina. They can have winds up to 60 knots and very heavy rain. They usually are not fun but only last for a short time. This year we were plagued with them. Consequently, we were holed up in marinas much more than we wanted. But storms like these are common and you have to live with them.

We’ve traveled the ICW several times now so we kind of know what and where we like to stay. This year we stayed in a lot of new anchorages and a lot of our favorite spots also. We always stop in Beaufort, SC. This year we stopped and stayed a couple of extra days because we met up with some of our very first cruising friends from 2006, who now live on their boat in Beaufort. Chuck and Susan have stopped to rebuild their cruising kitty and also work on their new boat. It was really fun to see them and spend some time.

Charleston, SC is also one of our favorites except this time we anchored out 1 night and then kept on traveling the next day. We did stop again in Myrtle Beach, SC and then Southport, NC.
Once you get north to the Albemarle Sound, you have 2 choices in which to travel up to Norfolk, VA. Both are about the same distance but one is very pretty and different and the other is faster but not as picturesque. We chose the Dismal Swamp, which is slower but really pretty. First, you stop in Elizabeth City, NC and spend a night or 2 at their free city docks. It’s fun because you will meet a bunch of people that are doing the same thing you are and also the Mayor of the town. Every night at 5 pm the mayor and a couple of other folks from town come down to the docks and have a wine and cheese party for all of the cruisers. It’s really nice and very unique. It’s the only place that does it and they’ve become quite well known for it.

We went through the Dismal Swamp with 12 other boats, which is a lot. You have to transit 2 locks and twelve 40’+ boats really filled these small locks. There is a place to stop half way through. It’s a visitor’s center, the only one in America that services a highway and also a waterway. It was a blast and of course any time you put that many boats together I can guarantee there will be a cocktail party at 5 pm.

We left the next day and arrived in Norfolk, VA and anchored. We have been here many times and knew that there was a great anchorage. We stayed there for a couple of days and sat out a couple of really nasty thunderstorm systems that came through and then continued up to Hampton, VA which is one of our favorite little towns.

For the long weekend in May we were invited to join some friends that live in Norfolk, and are members of an organization that we belong to, M.T.O.A., to cruise up the James River to the Pagan River and go to Smithfield, VA. We had a great time. There were just 3 boats, everyone anchored out and we all partied for 3 days. After that we went back to Hampton, VA, got everything together and continued up the Chesapeake Bay.
We’ve made several stops at some of our favorite locations; i.e., Solomon’s Island, Broad Creek off of the Choptank River, and now where we are anchored in the South River in Harness Creek. It’s just south of Annapolis, MD and very, very pretty.

I know that I keep saying how pretty or beautiful it is. Well, I really don’t know how to describe the locations any other way. I don’t think that there is any place in California that you can compare to these areas. California is a beautiful state, but with a very different type of terrain and foliage.

We are going to leave here tomorrow and travel to Rock Creek just outside of Baltimore to see some other cruising friends from Maine. Then after that we are going to Bodkin Yacht Club for our YC’s opening day. Our little club doesn’t have the facilities to hold an opening day, so Bodkin YC and White Rocks YC are going to do a combined opening day. It should be fun, it’s a 3 day event and we don’t know a sole. It’ll be interesting.

If anyone wants to view all of pictures that we've taken to date please go to our website www.picasaweb.google.com/budlloyd and you can see everything.

We hope everyone is well and happy!!