Charleston to the Chesapeake: Cruising North on the ICW
Having been involved in the boat business most of my life, our family vacations were always in the winter, because we were too busy for summer vacations. That means that I have travelled the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to points south many times, venturing to the southern Florida Keys and the Bahamas.
After I sold my dealership to Coastal Carolina Yachts, my wife Mary Jane and I were able to consider a trip to new waters. We partnered with some good friends in the purchase of a Regal 36XO, Godspeed, with the intention of traveling to points north. The 36XO is a fantastic boat for such an adventure. Since our boat partner and I still work, we needed a boat that would get from port to port relatively quickly. We found the 36XO to be the perfect boat for our needs. She is very open with easy access to the bow for our mates to handle docking duties and to enjoy the sights with ease from the bow.
Our adventure plan was the Chesapeake Bay and we decided to make the journey in hop fashion. Mary Jane and I had the first leg. Being familiar with the SC coast, we decided to make a bit more time by running from Charleston, offshore to Georgetown and then up to Myrtle Beach. Offshore, we had a bit of a rough ride taking the SE waves on the starboard bow until we made the turn north at the end of the jetties. From there, the 36XO ran beautifully in a following sea until we entered at Georgetown. From there, we intercepted the ICW and made our way north in the Waccamaw River. This is such a beautiful area, running behind Brookgreen Gardens and Pawleys Island toward Myrtle Beach. This area is an Osprey sanctuary, and nests and birds were abundant throughout the area. We made our way up the river and arrived at our first stop, Grande Dunes Resort Marina in Myrtle Beach. After getting settled in the slip, we had dinner at Ruth’s Chris and then enjoyed a night cap in the hot tub at the resort.
On the second day, we continued north through Little River crossed into NC and through Calabash and Sunset Beach until we arrived at Ocean Isle, NC where some of our old friends live on the waterway. We tied up there for a couple of hours and had lunch together. It was fun catching up together, but we needed to continue our journey. We left there in the early afternoon and arrived at Southport, NC. There we stayed at the Morningstar Marina which is within walking distance to downtown and waterfront restaurants. Across the Cape Fear River, we had a beautiful view of Old Baldy Lighthouse.
On the next day, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise. We untied the lines and continued our trek north along the ICW on the way to Beaufort, NC. At this point on the ICW you initially start your journey up the Cape Fear River until the waterway cuts east back toward to coast, just north of Carolina Beach. This area of the waterway has a lot of good running areas without too many no-wake areas. We took on fuel in Wrightsville Beach and continued along the beautiful waterway. The water is much cleaner here. We stopped on the waterway near Camp Lejeune to enjoy a pod of several dolphin feeding in the area. After enjoying the show, we continued through Swansboro and then arrived at the Beaufort City docks. Beaufort is a fun town to spend a few days. We have friends in New Bern, just a few miles up the Nuese River. They came down to visit, and we took them for an afternoon ride around the area, visiting the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. You can also find wild horses on some of the islands near Shackleford Banks.
The City docks in Beaufort are right downtown in this quaint seaside town with several shops and restaurants within easy walking distance. We enjoyed it so much that we spent a couple of days there before our partners took over the journey. Their leg of the journey was from Beaufort to Norfolk, making overnight stops at Oriental, Elizabeth City and Coinjock. They tied up in Norfolk and left the boat there for about a month before we could return.
On our next journey from Norfolk, I invited my adult son, David, for a father son trip. David is a history buff, and I knew that he would enjoy the Chesapeake part of the trip. We drove to Norfolk and stopped at a local grocery for provisions for the week. We picked up some fresh salmon and grilled it up on the electric grill that evening.
As we left the marina, we headed up the Elizabeth River, immediately passing the USS Wisconsin, the Iowa-class battleship of WW2 fame, before entering Hampton Roads. Here, where some of the first settlers of our nation first came ashore, and where the first battle between two ironclad ships took place in 1862, we saw many US Navy destroyers, aircraft carriers and other tactical Navy vessels docked at Naval Station Norfolk. It is awe-inspiring viewing America’s naval strength from up close.
As we poked into the southern Chesapeake Bay, the winds were up and it was a rough ride, However, we didn’t have far to go since we had reservations at Yorktown which was just a few miles. We docked at the Yorktown Battlefield marina about 1pm and spent the afternoon touring the battlefield. The Revolutionary War battle here was instrumental as General George Washington with his American and French forces defeated the Brits led by General Cornwallis to effectively end the war. There is a free shuttle from the marina to the battlefield, but it’s not a difficult walk. Near the marina, there were plenty of shops and restaurants. The marina is fairly open in that part of the York River and we rocked most of the night. Before leaving the next morning, we had a nice breakfast overlooking the river.
Overnight, the winds subsided so we decided it was a great day to cross the bay and head to Onancock, VA. It was a beautiful ride and the small town on Virginia’s Eastern Shore was awesome. There we visited a Shore History museum. Later in the afternoon, we inflated our small dinghy and tooled around in the creek with our electric motor. We spotted many beautiful birds on our ride.
As we left Onancock, we traveled through Tangier Island. Tangier is a low-lying island, barely visible above the expansive waters of the Chesapeake Bay. However, this small island is home to a community of watermen and women whose ancestors have lived here since colonial times. We passed scores of colorful crab shanties with thousands of crab pots stacked on the docks.
After leaving Tangier, we made our way back across the Bay and into Solomons. Solomons is a must see. It’s hard to miss the turn into the Patuxent River here. Just look for the striated, yellow Calvert Cliffs rising to the north and west. The deep protected harbor here supported shipbuilding in the 19th century and hosts the Calvert Marine Museum, complete with a real “screwpile” lighthouse, dedicated to that heritage.
The next day we made our way north toward Annapolis, MD, passing many beautiful Chesapeake Bay lighthouses as well as the Naval Amphibious Training Base. This is where much of the training occurred for the beach landings at Normandy. The Bay started to narrow here, and container ship activity was much more noticeable. Once in Annapolis, we docked at the City Docks, aka “Ego Alley”. The marina is next to the US Naval Academy where the walkways of “the Yard” offered a perfect place to stretch our legs. The marina is also near wonderful restaurants and a beautiful walk up to the Maryland State House, a former capital of the U.S. (1783–1784), the oldest state house in continuous use, and where the treaty ending the Revolutionary War was ratified.
Finally, we ventured into Baltimore Harbor passing Fort McHenry. Baltimore has day docks in the far end of the Patapsco River in the Inner Harbor. There you can walk the inner harbor and find great shopping and restaurants. After our visit, we took the boat just a few miles to White Rocks, Maryland awaiting the next adventure. That was the end of a fabulous father and son week.
Mary Jane and I returned a few weeks later and did a loop in the upper Chesapeake. Our first stop was at Rock Hall Landing Marina. There we used complimentary bicycles to visit the quaint town and pick up a few provisions. We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise over the Bay.
The next day, we ventured down to St. Michaels. It has a charming, historic seaport vibe and is rich in history. The St. Michael’s Marina is convenient for walking the beautiful, old town and visiting the Hooper Strait Lighthouse and the Chesapeake Maritime Museum.
Finally, we cruised back to Annapolis for one night and returned to port in White Rocks.
Our final leg was a few weeks later. Our friends brought Godspeed down the Chesapeake and we drove to Poquoson, VA to meet them with the car and boarded the boat to bring her back home.
Heading south, we cruised back through Norfolk and decided to use the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canel through one lock as opposed to using the Dismal Swamp route. In our haste to make the lock opening, I was admonished more than once about my wake through Norfolk. We did make the opening and the canal was congested due to the lock traffic. We finally got around everyone and made our way to Coinjock. While it’s a good layover, there really is very little to do here. However, the Coinjock Marina Restaurant was excellent.
The next day with beautiful weather, we continued south and into Albemarle Sound, toward the Outer Banks and made our way to Roanoke Island and into Manteo. The entry into Shallowbag Bay is very shallow as the name suggests. But, once we made it safely to the Manteo Waterfront Marina, we realized it was worth it. The marina is right in the downtown action with rows of shops and restaurants.
We would’ve spent another day there, but we needed to get back home and wanted to check out Ocracoke Island on the way back to our final destination of New Bern. We headed south and into the Pamlico Sound. It was a bit rough, but mostly out of the north so we had a decent ride. There was an approaching front and as we neared the final decision to continue to Ocracoke or head on back to New Bern, I determined that the worst of the front would not arrive until the next afternoon. It looked a bit tricky, so we followed a ferry headed into the Silver Lake basin in Ocracoke and were very glad we made the decision. There, we rented a golf cart and toured the area. We visited the Ocracoke Light and the town and enjoyed a craft beer at a brewery close to the beach. Golf carts are not allowed past the brewery, so we walked the last mile or so just to see the beach and it was beautiful.
Trying to beat the front, we decided to leave at daylight to make the thirty-mile crossing of the sound and into the Neuse River. We were too late! The northeast winds started building in the sound early and we were taking 3’-4’ rollers on the starboard side for three hours, only able to make 10mph. It was all we could do to stay in the seats. We did make it to New Bern as planned, but it was one of those days that we should’ve just stayed in port. However, I was in a time crunch having to get the boat to New Bern, drive a rental car to Charleston and then board a flight to the Fort Lauderdale boat show. While the boat performed admirably given the conditions, my lesson here is to always build in weather days
All in all, the weather was great with that one exception. We made great memories on Godspeed and visited some of the best places in North Carolina and in the Chesapeake.
Jim Duncan
