It's Done and we are on our Way.

The day finally came. The engine was complete, by July 18th, and we had a successful sea trial. We finished loading the boat and made a run to the grocery store.

July 19th we were up early and away from the dock. We have been on the move for 4 days now and everything is working well. The engines purr. What a great sound. We still have the air problem on the engine that was rebuilt. Every morning is a bit of an adventure. Will it start or will we be going thru the bleeding process.  Ed, the mechanic had suggested to Peter that perhaps the fuel return line is not below the fuel level in the tank and that this could cause it to get air back into the system overnight. It is something to check.

To recapture some of the days. ...... July 19th we travelled from Rockville to Isle of Palms. We met Sundance Rivera, the gentleman who built the enclosure for the flybridge. One of the domes had failed, and he was really good to come and replace the dome. WOW, service after the sale and after the check. Don't see that very often these days. We were impressed. An aside from this, day 3 out, one of the dot domes is failing, the fabric is coming out from under the dome ...... I will call him, but not sure how far the "service after the sale" will go - we are now in North Carolina, not sure what he will be able to do to help us. It is a small thing, but would really like things to work as they should for longer than 3 days.

Bob and Linda's boat "Waypoint" a Mainship Pilot. They are much faster than us but they will travel our speed. Pretty boat and well appointed.

July 20th we made our way to Georgetown. at stayed overnight at Hazzard Marina. Here we met some fellow Loopers. Bob and Linda Wilkins. They were just starting their Loop, they had left Charleston with plans to go as far as Chesapeake Bay. It will be good to have some travel companions again. It makes a world of difference to have someone to travel with. This will make our 3rd Linda along the trip. They were both in the medical field, Linda a nurse and Bob a Pharmacist, and they have retired from the Navy.

Way too early a start for my captain.

July 21, Georgetown to Little River, SC and stayed at the Lightkeepers Marina. A wonderful facility.  At Georgetown we got up early to catch the tide. We got it exactly right and were able to ride the tide up to Little River, SC. We could have probably continued with the tide for another couple of miles. We picked up an extra knot, what a difference. 1 knot, over a 7 hour day is 7 knots, and it shortens the travel portion of the day by an hour.

July 22nd, Little River to Cape Fear River Entrance, and stayed at Southport Marina. Another wonderful facility. We joined Bob and Linda for a walk about and either a late lunch or early dinner at Fishy Fishy Cafe. Recommended in both Active Captain and Waterways Guide. A very good meal and good company.  On our walkabout we were told that two films were being filmed in Southport. Iron Man, and I forget the second. When we returned to the boat we could see a helicopter with a camera flying over the entire Southport area. He continued for 3 to 4 hours until it was dark.

Along the way we have seen some derelict boats. They look so sad. One boat was off the river and somehow got itself up behind 2 or 3 trees on the shore.

Some of the markers have plants growing right in the bracework, and then will have an osprey nest on the top.

We travelled on the Saturday and Sunday in this area. While Saturday was busy  and we were glad to get off the ICW early in the day, Sunday had more traffic and it started very early in the day. Again we were glad to get off the water early. There are a lot of personal watercraft (PWC) or SeaDoos in the area. We only think we have a lot on Georgian Bay, here they are like motorcycle gangs. 7-8 travelling together. Then you have the people who rent them for the hour and don't understand how they need to be under power to be able to steer them. One poor lady was near our boat, let off the throttle and nearly hit into our boat. Fortunately the man behind her hit the gas and got them out of the way.

We saw fish jumping right out of the water ..... the entire body of the fish would be about 3 feet off the water, what a sight. Peter saw a ray come entirely out of the water. And again we have had dolphins along the way.

We finally get to enjoy our back deck.

The shoreline has changed from the saltwater marshes we enjoyed in Georgia and South Carolina. Now we have trees on both sides of the waterway and then peppered along the way are everything from summer cottages, to homes, to monster homes. All making the travel very interesting.