 | Cruising an a boat often forces creativity, and this trip is no exception. With restaurants and shops closed down due to demonstrations and riots, and with Megan safely on her way, Capt Mark was "forced" to make due for breakfast. We applaud his creativity (and are secretly jealous). Good choice, Mark. We know it was a tough decision, but way to take one for the team! |
Day 10, (Monday, June 1)
Monday was scheduled to be a rest day in Charleston, SC. Mark and Megan had planned some activities to memorialize their trip, the parts for the autopilot were scheduled to arrive, Megan was flying home to Maine, and Mark was going to spend a bit of time fixing the autopilot. Key word here is “was.”
With the city in turmoil, Mark got Megan on her way early in the day. With no stores or restaurants open, Mark partook in a true “breakfast of champions” – when the going gets tough, it’s time for Ben & Jerry’s! Once the parts were in, Mark installed them and headed out of Charleston for calmer waters and safer surroundings. After a 4-hour, 40-mile trip, he anchored in Graham Creek for a night of peace and quiet where he finished installing the autopilot as he will be traveling solo for the next week before more crew arrives.
Day 11 (Tuesday, June 2)
As Polaris headed North to Myrtle Beach, SC, she passed by Winyah Bay, SC and an interesting floating swing bridge. The bridge remains open most of the time, closing only when road traffic approaches.
A bit south of Myrtle Beach, a dam had broken and there was extensive flooding and damage with water in the area at 7’ above normal in some places, several deaths, and wide-spread evacuations in process. Click here for a story on the flooding https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/video/south-carolina-flooding-dam-breach-triggers-full-scale-evacuation-539022915792
Mark ended the day, stopping in for dinner at a “day dock” before heading upriver and anchoring overnight. This trip, for Mark, was going to be an exploration of the inter-coastal waterway, an opportunity to meet people, and see new things. As with many other things in the world today, he pandemic has changed that. Stopping for dinner now means everyone sitting away from each other, contact information is being collected in case tracing needs to happen at a later date, and definitely no socializing for a person who is traveling alone.
Monday was scheduled to be a rest day in Charleston, SC. Mark and Megan had planned some activities to memorialize their trip, the parts for the autopilot were scheduled to arrive, Megan was flying home to Maine, and Mark was going to spend a bit of time fixing the autopilot. Key word here is “was.”
With the city in turmoil, Mark got Megan on her way early in the day. With no stores or restaurants open, Mark partook in a true “breakfast of champions” – when the going gets tough, it’s time for Ben & Jerry’s! Once the parts were in, Mark installed them and headed out of Charleston for calmer waters and safer surroundings. After a 4-hour, 40-mile trip, he anchored in Graham Creek for a night of peace and quiet where he finished installing the autopilot as he will be traveling solo for the next week before more crew arrives.
Day 11 (Tuesday, June 2)
As Polaris headed North to Myrtle Beach, SC, she passed by Winyah Bay, SC and an interesting floating swing bridge. The bridge remains open most of the time, closing only when road traffic approaches.
A bit south of Myrtle Beach, a dam had broken and there was extensive flooding and damage with water in the area at 7’ above normal in some places, several deaths, and wide-spread evacuations in process. Click here for a story on the flooding https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/video/south-carolina-flooding-dam-breach-triggers-full-scale-evacuation-539022915792
Mark ended the day, stopping in for dinner at a “day dock” before heading upriver and anchoring overnight. This trip, for Mark, was going to be an exploration of the inter-coastal waterway, an opportunity to meet people, and see new things. As with many other things in the world today, he pandemic has changed that. Stopping for dinner now means everyone sitting away from each other, contact information is being collected in case tracing needs to happen at a later date, and definitely no socializing for a person who is traveling alone.
Day 12 (Wed, June 3)
Next stop was Wrightsville Beach, NC. Spent a bit of time re-provisioning and fueling up after the last fueling stop in Charleston (she holds 110 gallons). Has a bit of a challenge traveling through the Cape Fear inlet while headed north in the Cape Fear River with high winds and confused seas. But otherwise, the trip aboard Polaris has proven her to be a comfortable vessel, traveling easily during the day at a steady 8 or 9 knots. Can’t help but look forward to seeing her out on Penobscot Bay.
Day 13 (Thursday, June 4)
Had a bit of an “adventure”-- the first tense moments of the trip - (re)learning that age-old lesson about taking a power boat with a 5’-sailboat hull through 4’ of water. Heading into Beaufort, NC can be a challenge – have to really hug that red marker as there is no second marker to indicate the other side of the channel! With winds blowing at a steady 15 knots and the tide going out, Polaris strayed a bit too far from the marker, and her keel caught. Then the wind grabbed her and set her sideways to the current, rolling her so the rails were at water level. Thankfully, Polaris is equipped with bow thrusters and Captain Mark was able to engage them enough to hold her bow into the current while he backed her down and into deeper waters. As an old friend once told me, “There’s two kinds of boaters: Those that have been aground and those who're going to go aground.”
On reading the draft of Mark’s travels, Capt .Sharp added: There is Beaufort S. C. pronounced Bowfort and N. C. pronounced Beaufort but both spelled the same. But when you hear a southerner say either one you wonder what they are saying. It has always been a topic of discussion when I traversed the waterway.
Polaris docked overnight at the North Carolina Maritime Museum. Protests still underway. Watching what is going on in these cities, Mark has noticed that he is seeing young, college age protestors at all stops, and he’s had the opportunity to speak to a few of them along the say. Such interesting times.
Next stop was Wrightsville Beach, NC. Spent a bit of time re-provisioning and fueling up after the last fueling stop in Charleston (she holds 110 gallons). Has a bit of a challenge traveling through the Cape Fear inlet while headed north in the Cape Fear River with high winds and confused seas. But otherwise, the trip aboard Polaris has proven her to be a comfortable vessel, traveling easily during the day at a steady 8 or 9 knots. Can’t help but look forward to seeing her out on Penobscot Bay.
Day 13 (Thursday, June 4)
Had a bit of an “adventure”-- the first tense moments of the trip - (re)learning that age-old lesson about taking a power boat with a 5’-sailboat hull through 4’ of water. Heading into Beaufort, NC can be a challenge – have to really hug that red marker as there is no second marker to indicate the other side of the channel! With winds blowing at a steady 15 knots and the tide going out, Polaris strayed a bit too far from the marker, and her keel caught. Then the wind grabbed her and set her sideways to the current, rolling her so the rails were at water level. Thankfully, Polaris is equipped with bow thrusters and Captain Mark was able to engage them enough to hold her bow into the current while he backed her down and into deeper waters. As an old friend once told me, “There’s two kinds of boaters: Those that have been aground and those who're going to go aground.”
On reading the draft of Mark’s travels, Capt .Sharp added: There is Beaufort S. C. pronounced Bowfort and N. C. pronounced Beaufort but both spelled the same. But when you hear a southerner say either one you wonder what they are saying. It has always been a topic of discussion when I traversed the waterway.
Polaris docked overnight at the North Carolina Maritime Museum. Protests still underway. Watching what is going on in these cities, Mark has noticed that he is seeing young, college age protestors at all stops, and he’s had the opportunity to speak to a few of them along the say. Such interesting times.
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