COCOA BEACH, FL

28 December, 2004. I finally got to see some dolphins riding the bow on the way here. There was supposed to be a free dock here but it looks like either the hurricanes took it out or they turned it into the boardwalk that wraps around the anchorage So we anchored and dinghyed to shore. When we visited my parents back in June, My mother was showing us some of her antiques and jewelry. She dangled a broken gold bracelt in front of us and asked if either of us wanted some gold. Of course we did so we politely accepted. I had been carrying the bracelet around in my pocker for a few weeks and when we were ashore at Cocoa, I went into a jewelry store to sell. I got $70. Rocky and I promptly went and got chicken wings and a few amber bock beers. I ordered a chicken cordon bleu and Rocky had the Mahi sandwich. We were sick of eating out of cans and needed some real food. We had been playing leap frog with another sailboat on the way here and they were eating at the restaurant too. Their boat was fairly small but they told us that its previous owner had sailed around the world in it. People keep telling us that people have sailed around the world in boats a lot smaller than ours. Although we always knew that was true, we also knew that those people must have been crazy. Even the ICW is full of perilous waterways.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL

Johnny B, between St. Augustine and new Smyrna Beach

A factory producing fresh air

Johnny B, between St. Augustine and new Smyrna Beach

27 December, 2004. We had great speed nearly all day (up to 9 mph at times which is awesome for any sailboat) and made 67 miles today. We could've gotten even further south but there was no good place to anchor 6 to 8 miles south of New Smyrna Beach. This put us within about 120 miles of Ft. Pierce, our primary goal. It is just possible that we could make Ft. Pierce in 2 days. I really want to spend New Years eve with Michael and Natalie there. Anyway, there were shoals everywhere here so we anchored just outside the channel at about 4 pm. We watched a few episodes of The Simpsons and King of the Hill and went to bed early (as usual) so we could get an early start the next day. We are getting hungry for long mileage days now that Ft. Pierce is within our reach. We started out about 7 am. after coffee, fought the shoals and finally got into the channel about 7:20, just after sunrise. We saw dolphins right away. Several times, Rocky has been climbing onto the bow and seeing the dolphins riding right alongside us while I'm driving so we decided that the next time we see dolphins in front of us, he'll take the tiller and I'll get on the bow so I can finally see them riding in our wake. We saw some in front of us, I climbed onto the bow and wouldn't you know it, they rode our wake aft, right next to Rocky at the tiller. Oh well, dolphins are everywhere so hopefully I'll get a chance one of these days. We should get past the Kennedy Space Center today- our goal is Cocoa Beach.

UNKNOWN BOAT YARD, SAN SEBASTIAN RIVER, ST. AUGUSTINE, FL

25 to 26 December, 2004. The waves were pretty bad and it was raining but we had made our goal and reached the vicinity of Fish Island Marina ($1 per foot). But the waves prevented us from heading in there so we decided to head toward Oyster Creek Marina on the other side of the St. Augustine Inlet. We were both pretty miserable and just needed to stop so we pulled into a dock at a boat yard. There was a sign on the office door that they would be closed until December 26, so we pulled over to the next dock where there was electricity and plugged in. I heard a guy playing Christmas songs on his coronet. I politely waited until he finished "Silent Night", applauded and then and asked if there was anyone there to take our money. There wasn't so we stayed there two nights with electricity and pulled out at 6 am. on Monday morning. There were showers that we took advantage of but no washer or dryer so we dried all of our wet clothes with our electric heater. Rocky desperately needed a bacon cheeseburger so we walked into town and found a place called Holly's (It looked like a Rally Burger joint and was perfect). Rocky got his bacon cheeseburger, chili cheese fries and I had a patty melt. $23 with tip. Burgers instead of canned soup- priceless. The winds grew to 40 mph and it rained most of the time so we were happy to be tied up instead of worrying about our anchor slipping. I got a lot of work done on the screenplay of my book. Two nights of electricity for free was just what we needed.

PABLO CREEK, FL

24 December, 2004. It started raining pretty hard so we diecided to anchor anywhere we could. We basically just crossed out of the ICW Channel markers and anchored next to a bridge, beside a barge. We had one round of dry clothes left so we changed into them and then Rocky lit the bomb (the 1970's catalytic heater filled with camping fuel that we originally bought to match the time period of the 1974 microbus). We were able to get a few local stations on the TV and ended up watching the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie- pretty sad. We haven't been able to pay the bills so we have no phone or internet service. So we just ate some food and worried about the anchor breaking loose as we so often do. I don't mean to complain but DAMN, can we get a break? The heater kept us pretty warm and we slept well. Exciting stuff, yes? Anyway, we set out in the morning about 7:30 am and decided to seek out a marina where we could get some electricity and dry some clothes. It's supposed to be very windy and rain quite a bit over the next two days and the temperature outlook doesn't look so hot (literally). Besides, it's Christmas- what better excuse to spend your last dime.

MALKINTOOH CREEK, OFF THE BRICKHILL RIVER, GA

23 December, 2004. Arrived here 10:30 am. The radio has been telling us for 2 days that northern white whales are currently in the critical habitat areas of southern Georgia and northern Florida. We are supposed to keep a sharp lookout for them and report any sightings.They are a critically endangered species and can become aggressive so we're not supposed to approach within 500 yards of them. The other day, they were telling us to watch for a whale that was entangled in a fishing net. We'll certainly keep an eye out for them. Anyway, we keep seeing more dolphins every day and oftentimes, they are right up on the shore splashing around. We're still not sure why. We anchored in Malkintooh Creek at about 10:30 am, waited out the 30-40 mph wind gusts and then continued our journey at about 1 pm. On the way to our next anchorage, I was preoccupied with the map and came within about a foot of colliding with a channel marker attached to a telephone pole sized pylon.

BRICKHILL RIVER, NEAR CUMBERLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE, GA

Wild horses on Cumberland Island

Johnny B selecting a horse for dinner

Sunset, Cumberland Island

Wild horses on Cumberland Island

Sunset, Cumberland Island

23 December, 2004. We arrived here about 3 pm. We were going to continue the Cumberland Sound but as soon as we entered the Cumberland River, the waters got rough so we decided to wait it out until morning. We anchored next to the dinghy dock that allows you to walk to the Cumberland National Seashore. Just as soon as were secured, we looked over onto Cumberland Island and there they were- the wild horses of Cumberland Island that we had been reading about. But again, although we took many pictures, they were all too dark. I'm really starting to want a zoom lens. I watched the wild horses graze on the shore and the dolphins playing in the water next to us. It was a beautiful day but we knew another cold front was already on the way. We woke to freezing temperatures and headed down the Cumberland River, past the nuclear submarine base and across the Cumberland Sound. The waters weren't too bad until we entered the bay on the other side of the sound. The waves got pretty rough but we managed through them and into the Amelia River. Alas, we were finally in warm, sunny Florida where it was freezing! We stopped for gas at the Amelia Island Yacht basin, which was closing in 30 minutes for Christmas Eve. Sometimes I woinder how we get so lucky so often. It's very comforting to know that we have 20 gallons of gas as we head into the Christmas void.

DOVER CREEK, OFF THE SATILLA RIVER, GA

22 December, 2004. Arrived here 1:00 pm. We took an alternate route through Jekyll Sound to avoid the regular ICW route across St. Andrew Sound that takes you out into the ocean before continuing south. I don't think so. The alternate route adds about 5 miles but that is perfectly acceptable to us. We crossed the St. Simons Sound earlier in the day just before the weather got bad. I'm afraid of anything with "Sound" in its name these days. And my fear comes not from a sound, but from the the 5 foot waves in the river before Georgetown, SC. The ICW is not as safe as I believed. There are many openings to the ocean- large openings! We were going to continue into the Satila River but as soon as we entered the river, huge waves and swells forced us back almost immediately. We find ourselves waiting out bad water often these days. I've begun turning my science fiction book into a screenplay and got a lot of work done that afternoon.

TWO WAY FISH CAMP MARINA, SOUTH ALTAMAHA RIVER, GA

21 December, 2004. Arrived here 8:00 am. The current was strong as we came in to dock. We decided that the outermost dock was the most easily accessible and that was okay with the marina. We found out later that the slip next to us was occupied- by a sailboat sitting on the bottom. At low tide, its fenders (buoys) would breach the surface and spin around in the strong current. I hitchhiked into town to get some food and supplies. On the way back, some woman picked me up, thinking I was one of the boys she just dropped off at the high school for wrestling practice because I had pulled off my layers of sweaters, down to what Rocky and I call "the bunny suit" (a red one-piece pajama-type underlayer). Apparently, it looked like the boys' wresting uniforms. I got another ride into town later for some propane, which I couldn't find earlier. It was nice to have electricity and get some laundry done. It was also nice to have a few beers, which we couldn't afford for several days. The people there were great. They had a private Christmas party for some locals and I wanted to crash it so bad!

NEXT TO TWO WAY FISH CAMP MARINA, SOUTH ALTAMAHA RIVER, GA

20 December, 2004. Arrived here 6:00 pm. I was literally freezing as the sun began to go down. Rocky wanted to anchor but I insiisted that we continue on to Two Way Fish Camp- I wanted electricity for heat! The Skipper Bob book said the marina was 1.6 miles from the ICW- it was actually 4.5 miles. We arrived there too late and couldn't contact them on the radio so we anchored and agreed to spend the entire next day at the marina. Our anchor started dragging overnight so Rocky moved us back around the bend in the freezing weather without waking me. It was nice to know that we would have electricity and dry land the following day.

NEXT TO TWO WAY FISH CAMP MARINA, SOUTH ALTAMAHA RIVER, GA

20 December, 2004. Arrived here 6:00 pm. I was literally freezing as the sun began to go down. Rocky wanted to anchor but I insiisted that we continue on to Two Way Fish Camp- I wanted electricity for heat! The Skipper Bob book said the marina was 1.6 miles from the ICW- it was actually 4.5 miles. We arrived there too late and couldn't contact them on the radio so we anchored and agreed to spend the entire next day at the marina. Our anchor started dragging overnight so Rocky moved us back around the bend in the freezing weather without waking me. It was nice to know that we would have electricity and dry land the following day.

MARY HAMMOCK, OFF NEW TEAKETTLE CREEK, GA

19 December, 2004. (Rocky's Note: ICW Mile 645)- "We just crossed the Sapelo Sound / Sapelo River to get here. Huge waves, small craft advisories.... supposed to get into the 20's burrrrrrr. Next marina is over 20 miles, its 2:30 pm and we are going 5.5 mph......... Me thinks we might freeze tonight. The radio (NOAA All Hazards Marine Channel 16) said we should bring in our potted plants!" We arrived in New Teakettle creek and decided to seek shelter near Mary Hammock, where there were some trees. So we criss-crossed up Mary Creek in 7 feet of water and anchored next to the shore. It sure looked like alligator country but we dinghyed to the shore and sloshed through the mud and reeds anyway to check out the very cool island here full of palm plants and freaky trees. I seriously considered building a fire in the reeds next to the boat.

So the tide went out and we found ourselves sitting on the bottom, which was now the shore, angled at aboit 15 degrees. We could've scraped barnacles from our hull if we had any. It was quite uncomfortable and everything we put on the table would slide off. We took some pictures but they were too dark. It was pretty weird to see each other standing straight up inside the boat- it looked like we were leaning at 15 degrees. Then we missed our high tide opportunity in the middle of the night and the howling wind blew us even more onshore. We were now at about 20 degrees. At this point, we just hopped off the side of the boat to get ashore. We endured it all morning and at about 1:00 pm, we were able to wiggle the tiller enough to break free. We considered anchoring back in Mary Creek but decided to continue on.

REDBIRD CREEK, SC

Causton Bluff Bridge, GA

Rocky, Causton Bluff Bridge in background

Rocky, Causton Bluff Bridge in background

18 December, 2004. We saw dolphins all day on the way here, some even riding our bow again. Somewhere along the line, we had to switch out our empty gas tank and we saw a crab trap buoy go racing under the boat. We decided to follow it. I was poised on the bow with the boat hook, ready to capture whatever was attached to the line. There might as well have been 'Jaws' music going in the background or someone calling out "thar she blows!" as we pursued the unknown creature. It could have been a smart dolphin, carrying off an entire cage of crabs but we only knew that there was something alive on the other end of the line. As we got close, the great, fearsome creature pulled the large buoy underwater. We spotted it a few more times but it eventually disappeared below. We had certainly entered no-man's land (sea) because there were few, if any, marinas or signs of civilization for most of the trip. We anchored in Redbird Creek, among more frolicking dolphins and managed to secure nearly a dozen blue crabs which we boiled and ate (our revenge for the crab pots we've been avoiding for the last 800 miles).

BEAUFORT, SC

17 December, 2004. So we got to Beaufort, SC, not to be confused with Beaufort, NC, pronounced entirely different. We got gas, and went to the Post Office. My mother had sent me some deer jerky! The thing is, you don't really appreciate things as much, unless they have been jammed into a little envelope, stamped a bunch of times, handled by all sorts of people, machines, travelled enough to have had a life of its own, then, and only then, your appreciation really kicks in. It was pretty good jerky. We got a couple of roast beef sandwhiches, secured a few packs of expensive ciagarettes and were on our way within the hour.

SKULL CREEK, SC

Johnny B on the Buccaneer, Skull Creek

The Buccaneer, Skull Creek

Johnny B on the Buccaneer, Skull Creek

Johnny B on the Buccaneer, Skull Creek

Skull Creek

17 December, 2004. As we are trying to put some miles behind us, we didn't stay in Beaufort. Skull Creek is just over the Port Royal Sound. We were quite thankfull for the low winds and mild waves. We have new respect for big water! We saw lots of dolphins today, some swimming just off our bow. It was all very exciting for us. We were boarded today! The Coast Guard Cutter "Tarpon" was their mother ship (I just like the way that sounds). The boarding party consisted of 4 young guys and a young girl. Apparently, our under-construction, half-finished sailboat matches the criteria for a drug smuggling vessel. The boarding officer looked pretty hard at our mess and decided not to rip up our floorboards. He left his gloves and a flashlight on our boat. Our only violation was the half-empty fire extinguisher that we used to put out the fire at the North Carolina Welcome Center. The next time we get boarded, all we have to do is show the paperwork from the CGC Tarpon and we should be okay. We also saw lots of military aircraft, large Coast Guard helicopters, many dolphins and a small upside down airplane near the shore on our way to Skull Creek. I thought about calling in the crashed airplane but there were lots of other boats around we were certain that it had already been noticed by the locals.

ASHEPOO RIVER, NEXT TO FENWICK ISLAND, SC

16 December, 2004. Today was filled with a lot of "Hey, I'm running out of water!", and "Hey, this map can't be right!". We made some wrong turns, some mis-adventures reading the maps, but still made good time. We were hoping to make it to B&B Seafood for some fresh shrimp, just up the river from here, but alas, it got dark so we anchored. I can't think of anything else intersting here.

COOPER RIVER MARINA, CHARLESTON, SC

12 to 15 December, 2004. We started the day in freezing weather in thick fog and had to take turns driving the boat for the first few hours. We saw our first naturally occurring palm tree on the way here at ICW mile 445 near Andersonville, SC. Shortly afterward, we saw some dolphins, and more later in the day. When we arrived in the bay near Charleston, there were many sailboats taking advantage of the wind. There was also an aircraft carrier (decommissioned, from the looks of it) on the northeastern shore. We pulled into the Cooper River Marina at about 5 pm. They have the nicest concrete, floating docks that we've seen yet. The marina is run by the county. Since our boat is actually 26 feet, 8 inches, we are starting to tell the marinas that we have a 26 foot boat since marinas usually charge per foot. We ended up paying for 25 feet since our slip is for a 25 foot boat. At 70 cents per foot and a $2.50 electric charge, we payed $20 here and can stay until just before 9 am on Tuesday (nearly 40 hours) since the fee covers a 24 hour period and the office will be closed when our 24 hours is up. They were very accommodating.

We met Gary, who helped us tie off. He originally came here for one month and has been here for 7 years. His friend, Joe, who drove me to Wal-mart and Home Depot the following day, originally came here for 3 weeks and has been here for 18 months. Apparently, it's hard to leave this place- even we stayed an extra day due to the cold weather ahead. The Wapoo Bridge, about 8 miles ahead, doesn't open between 6:30 am and 9 am which screws up our goal of 50 miles when we leave here. We're just going to have to anchor and freeze before continuing on to Beaufort, SC, where Rocky's mom has sent some deer jerky to the post office there. We were able to get supplies in town, showers, orders processed and lots of laundry done here. We also dried out the damp V-berth and carpeting.

MINIM CREEK, SC

11 December, 2004. We left Georgetown harbor at 1:30 pm (after going to the post office and getting showers and gas) because we knew we were traveling to an anchorage less than 20 miles away. We just wanted to get out of Georgetown. I was very apprehensive about getting back in the river that had battered us the day before. At the gas dock, some sailors who had just arrived, said it wasn't pretty out there, with at least 2 1/2 foot waves and high winds. We set out anyway, hugged the shore and were in a narrow waterway within the hour. When we arrived at Minim Creek, Rocky began preparing the shrimp that we bought in Georgetown. It was great comfort food. The temperature had dropped dramatically and we were freezing even before the sun went down. I did sit out in the cockpit after sunset and had two beers. The sky was brilliant with stars and I've never seen Orion so low and clear in the sky. I saw some shooting stars but I'm seeing those all the time now. We woke up freezing and were on our way by 7 a.m. in the thick fog.

GEORGETOWN HARBOR, SAMPIT RIVER, GEORGETOWN, SC

10 December, 2004. Georgetown was not kind to us. When we left Barefoot Landing, we knew we were going to run into thunderstorms. The rain came at us pretty hard but we just beared it. It occurred to me that our mast was a 30 foot lightning rod above the boat but god chose not to smite us on this day (yet). The weather finally cleared and we changed into some dry clothes. Shortly before we arrived at Georgetown, it began to drizzle. Then the wind picked up. The waves had risen to one foot, then two, then three, then four. We battled the four foot waves, some of them rising to five feet. The boat was taking a beating and I genuinely feared for our safety. We launched over some of the five foot waves and our bow came all the way down underwater. A Coast Guard helicopter hovered overhead. We finally made it under the fixed bridge just before Georgetown and turned into the harbor where we anchored. The Skipper Bob book gave fairly low marks for holding (an anchor) which was verified in the middle of the night as we found ourselves up against another boat, tangled in their mooring line. We decided to attach to one of the mooring balls, unsure if someone was going to come and collect money for it. At that point, we didn't care. Fortunately, noone ever did try to collect for the mooring.

We dinghyed to shore and right behind us came Lisa and Joyce, who we met in Elizabeth City, NC. They were going for ice cream so we joined them. They had emailed us the day before, after reading our blog, and told us not to miss the shrimp dock in Georgetown. Rocky and I picked up 2 lbs. of medium shrimp for $4.39/lb. just before leaving there. That was probably the freshest shrimp I ever ate. When we were at the ice cream shop, I ran across the street to the ATM and couldn't believe who was sitting in front of the bank- it was Barbara and Peter, who we met at the Alligator River Marina. I told Barbara we were going to pick up some more rocket fuel and that we'd probably see them again. They were docked at a marina a few miles away and had just come into town for some supplies. I took an expensive cab ride to the post office while Rocky cleaned up the mess from our five foot waves encounter. There was a health club on the waterfront that charged $5 for a day's use of their facilities. I told the girl at the counter that we just wanted to take showers and she said she couldn't charge us just for showers so let us in for free. On our way out, she said that her boss had come in and she had to charge us the $5 each. We had bilge pump problems here, too, which Rocky fixed in the middle of the night. Even when we stopped at the gas dock on our way out, we had to rouse the gas attendant from his houseboat. Georgetown also stunk from a factory right next to the harbor. We will never go back to Georgetown, SC.

BAREFOOT LANDING, LITTLE RIVER, MYRTLE BEACH, SC

8 to 9 December, 2004. We hit a rock with our rudder on the way here. I was in 18 feet of water when we hit. The waterway just before and after Barefoot Landing is called the rockpile- very hazardous! Barbara and Peter, who we had first met at the Alligator River Marina passed us along the way and Barbara yelled over "You got rocket fuel in that thing?" We keep seeing them along the way and always look forward to our next encounter. The journey here also marked our entry into South Carolina. The sun broke through the clouds, it got warm and we got internet access just past the state line. I was reminded at some of the bridges just how much I enjoy being called "captain" by the bridge tenders. And also how much I enjoy them stopping traffic and lifting or swinging hundreds of tons of steel just so we can pass through. Just after crossing beneath the Barefoot Landing Bridge, there is a 500 foot free floating dock next to many restaurants and shops. There are lots of turtles here and an alligotor touring bridge. We didn't see any alligotors. I've been wanting a steak and it was Rocky's birthday so we decided to eat out. We bypassed all the expensive tourist trap restaurants here and crossed the street to Cracker Barrel where we got good food for a reasonable price.

The fog got pretty thick the first night and we knew it was going to continue throughout the following day so we decided to stay another day. The restaurant just above us let us plug into their outdoor electrical outlet so we were able to process orders. We had purchased 2 cell phones a while back and sent one to our friend, Michael, who receives our website mail payments and deposits them for us. Since Verizon to Verizon calls are free, we call him all the time. lately, he's been providing us with music from his vast online libarary via the cell phone. It's pretty cool. We met Bobbie and Gordon here on their trawler and printed up the Skipper Bob updates for them. Our financial situation has been deteriorating ever since ebay screwed us at Deep Creek. We are now relying on the random website orders that are few and far between.

SOUTHPORT FREE DOCK, OFF THE CAPE FEAR RIVER, NC

7 December, 2004. There were many delays getting here, including morning fog, getting gas, waiting for bridges to open, dredges in our way and the rough Cape Fear River that produced 2 foot waves and howling winds. Water was splashing up over the bow and into the cockpit for much of Cape Fear River but it was actually fun, instead of harrowing. We arrived just before dark. The docks were very cool, with lots of local seafood restaurants- a true harbor town. We went into the small town to find a place to buy cigarettes. There was a man and woman hanging Christmas decorations outside a Realtor's office and I asked them where I could buy cigarettes. The woman, who I later found out was named Kim, told me that there was a store about 7 blocks away and then asked me if I was on a boat. When I told her yes, she said "just take my car, the keys are in it." I think maybe a minute had passed since I first encountered her before she was entrusing me with her very nice SUV. So we took her car, got cigarettes, exchanged business cards and back to the docks we went. After that, Rocky said that his faith in humanity had been completely restored. Although it was windy, it was not cold for the second night in a row. It was a nice place to stop.

SLOOP POINT, VIRGINIA CREEK, HAMPSTEAD, NC

6 December, 2004. Their are many "inconsiderate" (for lack of a more accurate term) motoryachts out here. We've nearly been capsized on more than one occasion by their wakes. Just before mile marker 220 at 9:25 am, long before we arrived here, we were nearly capsized by "Defiant" who threw up about a 5 foot wake. If we see him again, we will not be kind. Usually, we can't get the names of the boats who throw up unneccessarily huge wakes because we're too busy turning into the wakes to see the name on the back. Defiant had the name on the side so we finally got a name, not that it will do us much good. Defiant also threw their wake at another motoryacht called "Two Healers" which had just considerately passed us. We saw Two Healers stop for gas and when they caught back up with us, the man on board held out a tubular can. I was under the assumption that they thought we dropped it and they were returning it to us. It was actually a can of cookies that he successfully tossed over to us. I was very glad that I was able to catch it since they had made such a friendly effort. We anchored at Sloop Point in about 6 feet of water. After the sun went down, we were thrilled that it wasn't very cold. Perhaps we had finally got a jump on old man winter. The ocean waves could be heard just beyond the barrier islands off to the east. Much of our journey through North Carolina brought us inland, away from the ocean. It was nice to hear the Atlantic without having to deal with its rough waters. Rocky loves the LED headlamp and wears it nearly every night. The 2 AA batteries that power it last forever. We left here at 8 am in dense fog. Although it looks cool, it's quite a hazard to drive the boat in. The fog is pretty thick and we're just putting along. We hope it burns off or we'll never make our planned free dock going this slow.

SPOONER'S CREEK, MOOREHEAD CITY, NC

5 December, 2004. This is an excellent anchorage, surrounded by million dollar homes and big money boats docked behind them. We had great wind, wake and current protection in the small basin here. We dinghyed to the tiny dinghy dock and walked 2 blocks to Wal-Mart. We bought a $5 lantern to use for our anchor light. Duncan and Stacey had given us 4 bottles of lamp oil so the lantern was definitely the way to go. Besides, a lantern could provide heat if we needed. This was the first time we used the dinghy to leave our anchored boat in order to reach the shore. Previously, we had only used the dinghy to remove, secure and work on the outboard. Although, at Turner's Cut, we took it out to float around and take some pictures of the boat. There was also a Lowes there as well as many other stores. It was very quiet and peaceful. We saw Barbara and Peter at the marina as we were pulling out. We had met them at Alligator River Marina a few days earlier. Just as we got back into the ICW, we ran aground but it was no big deal and we easily freed ourselves. The channel is very narrow in this area and the water depth drops to 2 and 3 feet just outside the markers. Shortly afterward, we were surrounded by dolphins, playing in our small wake and the wake of Barbara and Peter who had just passed us in their yacht. We saw even more dolphins later in the afternoon and were able to snap a few (poor) pictures. We also passed the Camp LeJeune Firing Range which apparently delays many boaters. We got lucky and the light wasn't flashing so we were able to continue through. They fire right across the ICW toward targets on the opposite shore.

TOWN CREEK MARINA, NORTH RIVER, BEAUFORT, NC

4 December, 2004. We arrived here just as our 2nd 6-gallon gas tank was nearly empty. We also have a 2-gallon tank that was full so we weren't in danger of running out of gas completely. Their winter rate was $1.95 per foot which is pretty high but they give a 40% discount for Boat U.S. members which we are. Our menbership gives us unlimited towing which we never know if we'll need. It cost a little more than a hundred dollars per year and well worth it. We were able to plug in for electric heat and light, get showers and even visit Beaufort which has a long history. I got another ride back to the marina from the liquor store. Everyone in North Carolina wants to give you a ride. We met up with another sailor who we first encountered in Elizabeth City, NC. We also met Noah, a young guy with a 35 foot sailboat who had just replaced his engine and was also heading south toward warmer weather. He was traveling with his very friendly beer drinking dog, Krista. I shared several beers with Noah and we partied until 2 am. I'm usually in bed by 8 or 9 pm. We traded him one of our extra compasses for a couple of blocks (pulleys) that we needed for our main sail rigging. It'll be a few more days before he's back on the water but we hope to run into him again along the way.

PUNGO CREEK, PUNGO RIVER, BELLHAVEN, NC

3 December, 2004. We stopped to get gas in Upper Dowry Creek and saw Duane and Flore there. We love meeting up with people that we know. Duane loves to use his radio and we hear "September Morn" (the name of their boat) quite often. We enjoy hearing radio chatter from boaters we know. We arrived and anchored in Pungo Creek next to Duncan and Stacey, who we had been basically traveling with since Elizabeth City. We didn't raft (tie our boats together) because of the possibility of strong winds but we were in yelling distance. They were happy to discover that we had taken some pictures of their boat under sail that we could email them. This was Duncan's third boat and he didn't have any pictures of them under sail. We planned on meeting up with them again in Oriental, which is known as the sailing capital of North Carolina, but we made such good time the next day that we continued on to Beaufort, NC. We hope to meet up with them again.

ALLIGATOR RIVER MARINA, COLUMBIA, NC

2 December, 2004. We met up with Duncan and Stacey here. Stacey made dinner for us, which she had offered back in Elizabeth City, knowing that we were both going to Alligator River Marina. Rocky and I picked up a bottle of wine for dinner. The marina was basically a regular gas station / convenience store / restaurant that served the road running across the Alligator River Bridge, with some docks behind it and a small building with two washers, two dryers and a shower. It was simple but had the gas, ice and shower that we needed. We met Barbara and Peter who were traveling on their beautiful yacht. They were very nice but we didn't see much of them afterwards. Duncan and Stacey left before us but we quickly overtook them after traveling under the very cool Alligator River Swing Bridge. I stiil get a big kick out of these giant bridges opening just for little old me. We traveled up the Alligator River in 2 foot waves, which was much rougher then The Albemarle Sound that we had been fearing for nearly a week while in Elizabeth City.

ELIZABETH CITY FREE DOCK, ELIZABETH CITY, NC

29 November to 1 December, 2004. Many of the friends we made here previously had continued on. We met up with a boat we had passed on our journey north from Elizabeth City back to the North Carolina Welcome Center. We immediately made friends with them (Duncan and Stacey on their sailboat "Comet"). The four of us went to the Riverwind Health Club for showers and steams. We also met Duane and Flore on their very nice trawler "September Morn." They were docked next to us and graciously offered us electricity for heat, via an extension cord from their boat to ours but we politely refused. There was a sailboat anchored just outside the Harbor of Hospitality. We learned that they had planned on heading out and had encountered engine problems. They had only one choice- to raise their sail and sail back into the harbor for repairs. I missed the whole thing but Rocky watched them come in under sail and nearly crash into the dock. Kurt, the father of 2 girls on the boat, burned his hands pretty good on the stern line as he hooked the piling. His wife was also traveling with them. The ten year old girl said to her dad, "I don't know what you're complaining about, it's a sailboat! All of the great people we meet are definitely rekindling our faith in humanity. We attended another wine and cheese party or two and each time, we met more cool people. Although Elizabeth City is a great place to be stuck, we were getting very anxious to move south.