Cruising the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway & beyond ! July - December 2015

Knew it would happen like that !

We had "chartered" a trawler on the trip through British Columbia to Alaska in May and we were "hooked".   In July, we purchased our own vessel which happened to be located at Wentworth by the Sea Marina in New Hampshire. When you left the harbor, on your starboard was New Hampshire and on your port side was Maine.

"The Last Hurrah" was a Grand Banks Classic trawler, just the kind that I had always wanted. 
The previous owners, Art & Nancy, had kept her in pristine condition and were willing assist us in learning all about her.  And there was lots to learn!

We will be running in wide sounds like Long Island Sound; land cuts like New York State Barge Canal; rivers like the Hudson and St. Clair; bays like the Chesapeake.  And moving from a temperate climatic zone to the subtropics filled with holly, sweet gum, magnolia, cypress trees, oak trees, palms, and mangroves.  Click on the above mileage chart, located at the Great Bridge Lock just south of Norfolk.  At this point, we are 452 miles from New York or 717 miles from Boston. But we're still 575 miles from Savannah.

Enjoy tying up to a dock near the New York financial district and having early morning coffee with Lady Liberty while the great city wakes up.  A person sometimes forgets that New York is situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors. 

Passing under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis, Maryland, Melissa is enjoying reading another waterway cruising guide.  A little planning is certainly necessary.  We stayed in Annapolis for a few weeks where we also enjoyed the big October boat shows.

Running through Norfolk where parts of the U.S. Navy stand in the background with Melissa.   The famous naval battle between the ironclad "Monitor" and "Merrimac" also occurred also near Norfolk.

The R.E. Mayo Company is a colorful commercial facility in North Carolina where we were able to re-fuel and also fill-up on some fresh shrimp, oysters, and scallops.

We were returning to the dock, when we met some locals with a fresh catch of nice lobsters at South Harbour Village Marina near Oak Island, North Carolina.

Local fishermen running their crab traps.

Picking up on local color and happenings.  The sites along the Waterway are constantly changing.

Ladies Island Marina near Beaufort, South Carolina - home also to a "biker bar" -Fillin' Station-where 5 bucks put in a pickle jar (no tax, no receipt) will get you a big plate of pork chops with all the trimmings.  It seems you never meet a stranger!

People make their living on these waterways as well.

The scenery is always changing.

Seagulls behind our wake.

Steve, onboard "The Last Hurrah" at Bucksport Plantation Marina in South Carolina-actually famous for their pork link sausage-a recipe dating back 75 years.  

A shrimper is finding time to re-fuel and getting ready to head back out.

The sunrise at our last anchorage at Cattle Pen Creek, just prior to arriving in Brunswick, Georgia.  We anchored some and we also stayed at local marinas.

A shrimper moves across St. Simons Sound as we arrive in Brunswick.  We will be staying a few weeks in Brunswick before continuing on south.