Here's our general strategy for getting to Charleston, SC. This has three phases to it. Phase I is to get to Norfolk. Phase II is to get to Beaufort. There are a lot of moving parts.
We'll see if we do none, some, or all of it.
For example, there are family complications piled on top of family complications. We're bound for Charleston because it seems to fit with all the other things going on. We're not completely tied to a calendar, but, we've got a window.
And there are birding locations in the wilds of eastern North Carolina. There are cities we've never been to. Fuel and water for the boat and us. A lot of moving parts to getting south.
Phase I is the trip down the Bay to Norfolk. I like to compute ETE (Estimated Time Enroute.) That way the departure can be a little flexible and the ETA depends on when we finally get rolling in the morning.
Start | End | ETE |
---|---|---|
Herring Bay | Solomon's Island | 6h 55m. Get Fuel |
Solomon's Island | Deltaville | 8h 12m |
Deltaville | Mobjack Bay | 4h 41m |
Mobjack Bay | Norfolk | 6h 19m |
This has one looong day and a bunch of short-ish days. It's superficially simple because we have a lot of alternatives and bail-point points along the way. We're familiar with the bay.
For Phase II, CA picked a bunch of spots to anchor in North Carolina based on seasonal bird migration and our need for laundry and fresh water. We'll get to CA's list of sites in a moment. First, however, here's the "direct" route to Beaufort. I've pencilled in ETA's based on an 09:00 departure.
The starting date is likely Monday 18 Oct or Tuesday 19 Oct. Depending on weather and laundry and what-not.
Start | End | ETE | ETA |
---|---|---|---|
Norfolk (SM 0) | Coinjock (SM 50) | 7h 33m | 16:33 |
Coinjock (SM 50) | S Alligator (SM 100) | 7h 33m | 16:33 |
S Alligator (SM 100) | Belhaven (SM 135) | 5h 17m | 14:17 |
Belhaven (SM 135) | South River (SM 180) | 6h 48m | 15:48 |
South River (SM 135) | New Bern | 3h 45m | 13:49 |
New Bern | Beaufort (SM 205) | 7h 00m | 16:00 Get Fuel |
This doesn't include the bridge details; we're not completely familiar with those. More importantly, it doesn't include CA's birding locations. The additional details get us to this.
Destination | ETE | ETA |
---|---|---|
Norfolk | 0h 0m | 2021-10-19 08:30:00 |
Bridge: Gilmerton Lift | 0h 50m | 2021-10-19 09:30:24 |
Bridge: Great Bridge | 0h 38m | 2021-10-19 10:30:55 |
Bridge: Centerville Turnpike Swing | 0h 32m | 2021-10-19 11:30:04 |
Bridge: North Landing Swing | 0h 43m | 2021-10-19 12:13:30 |
Coinjock | 4h 18m | 2021-10-19 16:31:27 |
Durant Is | 4h 20m | 2021-10-20 12:20:41 |
Bridge: Alligator River Swing | 0h 36m | 2021-10-21 08:36:29 |
Catfish Pt | 1h 33m | 2021-10-21 10:10:19 |
Bear Pt | 0h 43m | 2021-10-22 08:43:26 |
Belhaven | 5h 4m | 2021-10-23 13:04:08 |
Junction: SM145 | 1h 26m | 2021-10-24 09:26:53 |
Juniper Bay | 4h 10m | 2021-10-24 13:36:53 |
Silver Lake | 3h 55m | 2021-10-25 11:55:00 |
West Bay | 4h 42m | 2021-10-26 12:42:00 |
South River | 3h 51m | 2021-10-27 11:51:00 |
New Bern | 3h 45m | 2021-10-28 11:45:00 |
Beaufort | 7h 22m | 2021-10-29 15:22:14 |
If you read closely, you'll see that the ETE's and ETA's don't precisely add up around the first three bridges. They're on a schedule and only open on the half-hour. So, you make the leg take an hour instead of the stated time enroute. Don't be mislead by hours, minutes, and seconds in the ETA times. I didn't change the spreadsheet format to show only hours.
Overall, we want to take about 10 days, maybe some more depending on how long we stop and if we have to wait for weather.
Here's a snapshot of the 24th through the 29th, working our way around the Pamlico Sound. Up in the north-east corner there are some little triangles for places want to stop. Plus some anchors for places we've stopped before.

So far, the snotty weather on the 16th (and anticipated for 17th) may push this back a few days. Who knows?