Boatman Tells of Cruise
From Morehead to Florida
?
(editor's Note: In the follow
ing article, Bill Price of Lewis
Price Buick Co., Morehead City,
tells of his experiences during a
boat trip along the Inland Water
way from Morehead City to Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla. He was ac
companied by his two sons, Mark
and Bill Jr.)
By BILL PRICE
Sunday, July 31, 1960. was God's
Day for sure as the dawn broke
just after 5 a.m.
This was the eventful day,
the beginning of the voyage of
our new "Wanderer," and we
pulled out from under Larry Can
non's boat yard shed, at More
head City, just at 6 a.m.
Everything was quiet and serene
as we went out of Pelletier Creek
into the sound just north of the
? Morehead Biltmore Hotel, and
turned south. The two diesels
never sounded better What an ex
hilarating feeling!
We passed Broad Creek, with
Mark, the 14-year-old, at the
helm, and it was our anticipated
hope to make Myrtle Beach, 130
miles to the south, before sun
set. I climbed atop of the cabin
to hoist my "Fabulous Fisher
man" pennant which Tony Sea
t mon and Ted Garner of the Sani
tary Restaurant, had given me
the evening before.
On Saturday afternoon we had
sailed the "Wanderer" down to
Tony's dock, christening her with
a bottle of coke. Our first experi
ence with the bottom came, as it
docs with every boatman who trav
els "the ditch" as the water is af
fectionately called, just 20 miles
south of Morehead.
?* We slid across a bar momen
tarily, as evidently, we passed
too close to the buoy. In our In
land Waterway Guide, a must
for every boatman, it mentions
that yachts drawing more than
4 feet of water are subject to
having scrapes with the bottom,
though of course, the intracoast
al waterway is supposed to be
12 feet deep.
Shortly after lunch, and we had
excellent cooking facilities aboard,
ttie weather started threatening
with rain showers, and about that
time the left engine started acting
up.
First, the temperature of the
engine became erratic, and this
was followed by a dropping off
in the rpms, and finally she quit
altogether.
Lifting the engine hatch cover |
, gave an opportunity for the en
gine to cool and after some 20 min
utes or so it was restarted only
to act up again in some 30 to 40
minutes.
By this time we were ap
proaching Southport and it was
raining hard. We progressed
down the Cape Fear River, which
can get pretty rough at times.
We decided to re-fuel at South
port and check the engine before |
continuing on. as it was now mid
afternoon. The left fuel tank seem
ed to lake more oil than necessary j
but this was attributed to the in
creased consumption which might I
have been caused by laboring hard j
while running.
By now we decided to move on,
but doubted making Myrtle
Beach, especially with only half
power, though both engines work
ed out of Southport for awhile.
While standing in the bow, as|
we passed through a pontoon-op
erated bridge, it was noted that |
the boat was listing to the star
board (the right), so I went back
to the stern, lifted the after hatch
and saw that the bilge was filling
with oil
Checking the engine room com
partment confirmed our suspi
cions that a broken oil line was
pumping oil directly from Ike
fuel line into the bilge. This re
vealed the source of our engine
trouble.
With the broken line she was
taking in air as well as oil and this
was causing her to overheat, and
ultimately stop.
Just before dark, about 7 p.m.
Little River loomed up ahead and
we docked for the night. The
dockmaster told us that there
was no diesel mechanic there
but that there was a fisherman
who had a diesel engine in his
fishing boat and we could check
with him the following morning.
The end of the day was delight
ful. We had a steak dinner at the
Wayside Motel-Hotel, the owner
being the dockmaster and his wife,
an English lady from Cheshire. As
I had spent some time in that sec
tion three years ago with my friend
Norman Fidler, we had some
pleasant cxchangcs of mutual ex
periences.
By ? the next day we had made
repairs. My son Bill had come
up from Myrtle Beach to Join us,
and we were ready for what
proved to be a delightfully pleas
ant afternoon down the South
GOT ft
SUMMER COM
TAKE Jz
?5 Ct symptomatic
DOO BELIEF
Carolina portion of the water
way.
A beautiful sunset found us en
tering Georgetown, S. C. harbor,
where the dockmaster's first com
ment was "he could see us com
ing from afar off because our navi
gation lights were of such size and
intensity."
So many of the boats you see
today, even the larger ones, are
sporting streamlined running
lights, not much larger than a
man's thumb, and this seems to
be a hazard to our waterway
program rather than a blessing.
Tuesday morning we were up
and away from the dock by 7 o'
clock with heavy clouds and rain
showers for the run to Beaufort,
S. C.
Probably, the most interesting
sight was the birds of various
kinds, some unknown to me,
while the most beautiful were the
white herons, feeding along the
banks and standing in the marsh
grass.
On passing one drainage ditch,
narrow and extending back into
the marsh a hundred feet or so,
there must have been 50 or 75 of
these birds, all white, standing in
the shallow water, evidently feed
ing upon the insects and small ma
rine life.
Along about now, the pesky
green flies made the wearing of
shorts impossible as they can
really bite, as anyone who's ever
been to the beach realizes.
Aerosol spray cans of inscct re
pellent however, proved to be quite
effective against them, so we
sprayecj liberally.
How Noah was able to keep
these two insects (and the two
mosquitoes) aboard the ark with
out swatting them will always
be a mystery to me! I know
what I would have done.
By noon we had lost the flies
when we passed under the Charles
ton bridge, a high structure With
a clearance of 32 feet, across a
beautiful harbor.
We almost misinterpreted the
channel markers in the broad
harbor and got into shallow wa
ter but with the aid of our very
explicit charts, compass, and di
rection finder, we were soon on
our way again.
These modern aids to navigation
arc certainly indispensable. Prob
ably for the intracoastal waterway
the most valuable instrument we
have aboard is a depth finder, an
instrument which has a scanning
disc very sinlilar to What We know
as radar, with electrical impulses
being sent from the boat to the
bottom. The time it takes them
to bounce back to the hull is elec
trically recorded on a flashing light
bucked against a scale of feet or
fathoms for measuring the depth
of water under the hull.
Wednesday dawned cloudy with
low scud and the threat of rain,
though the day was comfortable
at 77 degrees. This was the day
we spent cleaning up and polish
ing some chrome until early aft
ernoon when it happened.
Mark had called my attention to
the fact that the oil pressure on
the left engine had dropped some
what, the engine temperature had
risen, though very little, yet the
rpms were holding steady.
After watching for a period of
time and believing that no fur
ther troubles were evident, the
situation eased off and we went
back to our chores.
All at once a terrific chatter set
up in the left engine, and I rushed
to the bridge and stopped the mo
tor. Not being far from St. Si
mons Island in Georgia, and 01
sen's Yacht Yard, we proceeded
there to tie up and spend the night.
St. Simons Island, more often
known as Sea Island, Ga., is a
tourist mecca. Mr. Olsen, the
yard owner, is a delightful per
son, and by 8 o'clock, Thursday
morning he had his diesel me
chanic aboard.
The diagnosis? broken bearings.
After consultations and distant
phone calls it was decided to pro
ceed on one engine, to Ft. Lau
derdale, our destination, as parts
were more readily available at
the Miami warehouse. This be
ing the first day actually that
the weather was bright and sun
ny with the dawn, our spirits
were brighter and we left Ol
sen's about 10:30.
Since leaving Morehcad our
breakfasts had been a real treat
as our friend Champ Lewis had
brought aboard the evening be
fore we departed a dozen or so
of thick slices of ham which he
had prepared for us.
Thursday passed delightfully
and after eight hours of running,
we tied up at Jacksonville Beach
in Florida.
As wc were going to try to reach
Lauderdale by Sunday evening, wc
figured it meant three days of
dawn to dusk running, so at 5 o'
clock Friday morning we were
away from the dock, in the dark.
Our strong searchlight and placid
waters made the dawn experience
one never to be forgotten, and soon
we were headed south beyond
Ponte Vedre, and on to St. Augus
tine.
Have you ever tried water with
sugar on your grapenuts? Nei
ther had I. After bragging awhile
on our 14-year-old chef, he calm
ly approached me after leaving
St. Augustine and asked me if
I'd like to have water on my
grapenuts as there was no milk.
At first 1 demurred, just out of
good common sense, but later
when he came up the steps with his
own, eating avidly, 1 acquiesesccd,
because I wanted breakfast of
sort sort.
Frankly, not only because ne
cessity is the mother of inven
tion, I found them reasonably
good and recommended them to
you if you ever run out of milk!
South of St. Augustine we paral
leled the beach strip which car
ries Highway A-1A, and noted that
road machinery was hard at work
as this highway has been in need
of major repairs for some years.
Summer is not the usual time
for the yachtsman going south,
and seems to bring incredulous
questions from those whom we
tell we're headed south.
Nevertheless, there are several
reasons for going to Florida at
this particular time, the main one
being that vacation months are
the only time that a trip like this
can be made with children. Such
a trip in summer likewise, has its
good aspects, there being little
traffic on the waterway.
In addition, most of the homes
that we pass are boarded up for
All Hands Reach
For . . .
Everybody's reaching for
Blue Stripe Corn Meal these
days and no wonder ... no
other food has so much to
offer to every member of the
family, young and old!
For your next meal try
cornbread made from Blue
Stripe!
"Quality Corn
Meal Products
For Better Eating"
Manufactured By
AUTRY BROS. MILLING CO., INC.
AtilryvlUc, N. C.
Distributed By
W. P. Freeman Wholesale Co.
Morekead City, N. C.
the summer, with their boat*
swung up in the davits, or pulled
up on dry land, which means
that we do not have the disad
vantage of having to proceed
slowly. The wake from a fast
boat will play havoc with boats
tied at moorings, and there are
numerous signs cautioning to
slow down? no wake.
We reached Daytona Beach and
there are a series of bridges that
cross the sound, as this is an ex
tremely long community with its
advertised 2000 cottagcs directly on
the ocean.
New Smyrna, will long be re
membered as the hottest and the
most uncomfortable evening of
the entire trip, due especially to
the minute sand flies, I suppose
they are, that pass through your
screen just like it wasn't there.
Spray was very effective but you
had k> repeat it every couple of
hours or *o. and in the morning
there were literally thousands of
the little pesky varmints dead,
just inside the window screen.
Saturday's dawn was lovely,
and we were away by S:?, the
starting of the engine being the
signal for the two boys to shake
loose from their bunks and help
with the casting off.
They were more conscientious
now about this maneuver, check
ing every detail of equipment care
fully, having left our new plastic
hose and chrome nozzle on the
dock at Jacksonville Beach.
During the early morning we
turned west, leaving Mosquito
Lagoon and entered the renown
ed Indian River, by way of Haul
over Canal, which we remember
ed for its swing bridge which ne
cessitated us turning around
three times while waiting on the
operator to wind open by means
of a turn-style affair, the center
span.
This caused our first notation on
a chart interpreted as "slow
bridge," in order that we will al
low more time for our three blast
signal on the return trip north.
Later in the morning, further
notations were given to the chart
where two channel markers were
missing, which we report in the
evening when we stop.
Of course, summer being slow
traffic season along the waterway,
it is imagined that the Coast Guard
engineers lift a lot of the markers
for repairs and replacement.
In any event, its always well to
advise the authorities of missing
markers on the waterway, the
same as it would be courtesy to
remind the street department of
a broken street light or burned
out stoplight.
Saturday was our longest run. in
terms of hours, 14 to be exact,
from 5:30 a.m. to just after dark.
7:30 p.m. This late hour found us
eager to make Ft Lauderdale ear
ly Sunday, and rather than dock |
ing at Vero Beach, which we pass i
ed at 6 p.m. we went on to Ft. |
Pierce.
After passing the bridge at Ft.
Pierce, the turn to the yacht bas
in is sharp to the r'ght, past a
long row of high voltage poles
anchored in the water. The bas
in is presumably marked by two
50 gallon drums floating in the
water with reflectors. We miss
ed the drums, or at least one of
them, and in paralleling the
shore, oner again, our depth In
dicator was invaluable, as the
water at low tide was barely four
feet.
Although the channel was new
to us, we had little difficulty, yet
the dock attendant seemed incred
ulous that we navigated it so suc
cessfully.
Ills second comment was that
the boat docked just ahead of
us, a 31 -footer from Maryland,
had attempted to run straight in,
meaning crossing a bar, about an
hour earlier; had become stuck,
and had to be rescued by the
( oast Guard.
This is the sort of thing that in
dicates inattention to the charts
and to the Inland Waterway Guide,
which are invaluable to the boat
man. as the water is very unfor
giving of mistakes or neglect!
We approached Jupiter Inlet,
one of the nicer and more lux
urious Florida developments,
complete with yacht club and
harbor, golf course, iuiet to the
sea, etc.
As most of the homes along this
route arc rather substantial with
each having its own dock and
craft, the water area is closely
patrolled to keep boat speeds at a
minimum, aid the "slow-no wake"
signs, were everywhere.
This gives >o?i an excellent op
portunity to view the beautiful
surroundings, and from Palm
Beach the trip by Delray Beach,
and Boca Raton, on to Fl. Lau
derdale. kept one's interest high.
In late afternoon and on a beau
tiful Sunday, we sighted the fabu
lous Bahia Mar yacht basin, now
the most famous in the country,
and probably the entire world, with
slips for over 400 yachts, full now
and most all year round
We filled our tanks with diesel
fuel at Pier 66 and called an old
Navy friend. living at Ft. Lau
derdale, who came down and
took us for a ride through the
myriad of waterways lined with
beautiful homes, to his own,
where we docked as his guests.
Ft. Lauderdale truly earns its
name as the "Venice" of America!
What a glorious spot to call your
destination, and we all look for
ward to two weeks in the sun.
Always on the Road?
London, Ohio (AP) ? Advertise
ment in a newspaper For Rent
One -room house with three-car
garage.
SAVE A LARGE PART OF YOUR CHILD'S
BACK TO SCHOOL
ENTRANCE FEES THIS WEEKEND BY SHOPPING
PIGGLY WIGGLY
SUGAR
5 Lb.
Bag
Pepsi-Cola 2*T 89^
SAVE ON SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Write Right
FILLERS 4 pi^.. 79?
Write Right Canvas Back
NOTE BOOKS 59^
Value Pack
PENCILS E.c.49 f!
Write Right Wire Bound
WORKBOOKS 125/
Cowboy
TABLETS ? 1 0 1
Blue Plate
Salad Dressing
<*? 39^
Green, Cri*p
CABBAGE
2 ^ 7^
New Crop Delicious
APPLES
2 ?*. 25^
U. S. No. 1
CARROTS
l-Lb.
Cello
Bag
1CV
Honeycutt
Smoked
6 to 8-Lb.
PICNICS
half;
or
WHOLE
LB.
33'
FROSTY MORN
BACON
55'
Lb.
Garner's Elbert* Peach
Preserves Tumbler 39<<
Dixie Chef
Spaghetti ? 1 0^
Dixie Chef ^
Pork & Beans can
Dixie Chef ^
Garden Peas
FRESH ? 4 to 6-Lb.
PICNICS - 29'
TRYON
FRANKS -39'
HONEYCUTT PORK
SAUSAGE - 39'
Prices Efective Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Aug. 25 ? 26 - 27
1400 ARENDELL, MOREHEAD CITY