Date: April 19, 2013
Days on the Cruise: 25
From: Barefoot Resort Marina, North Myrtle Beach, SC
To: Southport Marina, Southport, NC
Statute Miles: 44.1
Time: 5.5 Hours
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| We are in Southport, NC |
This morning I did some troubleshooting on my electronic controls. I have been getting an error code of blinking LED lights on the control head starting early in the afternoon on the days that we run. I have been watching it for the last three running days, and yesterday I decided to see what was going on. This morning I determined that the error light flashes were telling me that there is a voltage problem at the controller. This could lead to the controller stopping and if this happens, I have no throttle or shifting capability. This is not something that I want to have happen in the middle of nowhere.
I decided to reset the error message system and watch it. We left the marina at 7:40 and headed North. A mile and a half up the ICW we came to the South end of infamous "Rock Pile". This is a stretch of the ICW that is very dangerous and very narrow. There are rock ledges and shelfs that occur along the shore and project out into the channel. You have to keep the boat dead in the middle of the channel. We went through at half tide, so we could see a lot of the rocks. At high tide you can't see the rocks and at low tide, rocks are all you see.
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| Southern End of "The Rock Pile" |
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| The Rock Pile starts at the Myrtle Beach Airport VOR seen in this picture |
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| Narrow and rocky heading North through "The Rock Pile" |
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| Rock ledges showing at half tide |
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| Rock Ledges along the shore line |
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| Rocks along the ICW |
We exited the "Rock Pile" about 20 minutes and three miles after entering. A huge sportfisherman from Miami passed us just as we were nearing the North end, and he was taking his half of the channel out of the middle. I held my ground and made him move over. Bottom line, we transited the "Rock Pile" successfully and continued our trek into North Carolina.
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| Sportfisherman entering "The Rockpile" from the North |
Today we got very close to the ocean and actually saw it many times. We passed through Carolina beach towns like Ocean Isle, Holden Beach, and Yaupon Beach that were really built up and had houses sitting on top of houses. We also started to see high rise condos on the beach. So much for pristine beach and river front!
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| Inlet along the ICW |
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| We could see the Ocean today! |
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| Inlet along the ICW |
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| Shrimp Boats near Holden Beach |
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| I bet they would sell this one cheap! |
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| Shrimp Boat near Holden Beach |
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| Bridge across the ICW at Holden Beach |
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| Crabbing in the ICW |
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| This may be the tallest dry stack boat storage I have ever seen |
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| Gambling Boat preparing to head out to sea for a day of fun |
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| Condo complex along the waterway with its own identifier in the form of a lighthouse |
Two or two and a half hours into the cruise, I started seeing the dreaded flashing lights on the controls, and Murphy formally announced to me that he had come aboard and was joining our cruise. As we all know, Murphy LOVES to get involved on Fridays before everything shuts down for the weekend.
I checked the engine voltage on the instruments, and I got a 11.1 V reading, which is way below the normal 12.6 V reading that it should be. Susan shut off all of the DC powered items that we did not need, and this got me up to 11.3 V. This allowed the blinking lights to stop blinking, so I knew I had enough voltage to run the engine controls. Next, Susan started the generator and activated the battery charger. This upped the voltage reading to 12 V, which was OK. All indications pointed to a bad alternator on my main engine.
We arrived at Southport Marina very quickly thanks to favorable tides that pulled us along at 8-10 mph. This is the way I like to cruise. We lined up a mechanic and he met us about an hour and a half after we tied up in our slip. Into the engine room he went, and after measuring voltages he determined that it was the alternator as well as a voltage isolator device that had failed. Off came the alternator to be taken up to Wilmington, NC to be rebuilt. A new voltage isolator will be procured from West Marine. Both parts should be available late Monday or Tuesday morning, so we will take up temporary residency at the Southport Marina on "C" dock for a few days.
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| Southport Marina...can you see "Blue Moon bow in down the dock? |
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| Southport Marina |
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| I think this is Baldhead Island Light |
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| Home along the waterfront in Southport |
Not exactly as we had planned, but I want this issue resolved before I get stranded out on the outer banks or some other foreboding place. So, our plans have changed and we will re-look at our future stops between here and Norfolk. We have "buffer" days built in at Morehead City, New Bern, Oriental, and in Portsmouth/Norfolk. Stay tuned for the new updates.
Dinner tonight was at "The Fishy Fish" around the bend from the marina. It was very rustic, right on the water, and an excellent meal.
Thanks for Reading!
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