Trips of Discovery

Make the best of your journey, make some memories.

Category: Slow Boat to Florida (SBFL) Series

ICW / North Carolina / Outer Banks (OBX), North Carolina / Slow Boat to Florida (SBFL) Series / Tips for your vacation planning

The Legend of the Oregon Inlet

OBX, where coastal legends are born – Part 3 … Estimated reading time: 9 minutes – SBFL 17* – PLANNING TO VISIT – Honestly, when was the last time you thought that the waterway under you as you were crossing a bridge might have a history, let alone a legend, associated with it? Welcome to the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina. Almost every significant spot that you may stand on or pass by on the OBX has a legend. Well, the waterway, the Oregon Inlet, that we will be crossing using a great 2.8 mile-long bridge to Hatteras Island, has a legend as well. In Part 2 of this OBX mini segment, we talked about Roanoke Island. Now we are planning to continue southward...

ICW / North Carolina / Outer Banks (OBX), North Carolina / Slow Boat to Florida (SBFL) Series / Tips for your vacation planning

What happened at Roanoke Island?

OBX, where coastal legends are born – Part 2 .. Estimated reading time: 10 minutes – SBFL 16* – PLANNING TO VISIT – We are continuing to follow the footsteps of Dorothea and Stuart E. Jones in their 1958 National Geographic article titled, “Slow Boat to Florida,” (SBFL), and the 1973 book of Allan C. Fisher, Jr., published by National Geographic, titled, “America’s Inland Waterway.” In our previous post, in Part 1, we planned to leave our boat, Life’s AOK, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and do a multi-day excursion to the Outer Banks (OBX) on the path of the Jones’. As per Fisher’s notes, he did not stop by the Outer Banks. From Elizabeth City, he headed straight to cross the notorious Albemarle Sound. ...

ICW / North Carolina / Outer Banks (OBX), North Carolina / Slow Boat to Florida (SBFL) Series / Tips for your vacation planning

OBX, where coastal legends are born – Part 1

Estimated reading time 10 minutes – SBFL 15* – PLANNING TO VISIT – We are continuing to follow the footsteps of Dorothea and Stuart E. Jones in their 1958 National Geographic article titled, “Slow Boat to Florida,” (SBFL), and the 1973 book of Allan C. Fisher, Jr. published by National Geographic, titled, “America’s Inland Waterway.” In our previous post, Dismal Swamp, we passed the Virginia-North Carolina border and stopped at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, near the head of the Albemarle Sound.  While we are there, it is time for us to plan a few excursions in the Outer Banks and visit the same spots that our inspiration authors visited back then. So now, we are again cranking up our virtual Way-Back-Then-Machine, the time capsule generator....

America's Great Loop / Boating / ICW / Lifestyle / Slow Boat to Florida (SBFL) Series / Tips for your vacation planning / Woman Captains

6 tips for the Atlantic ICW journey and the story of Makau

Estimated reading time 18 minutes – We recently had a great time talking to Captain George Bentz and his wife, First Mate Lisa Bentz, about the lessons learned from their semi-prepared cruise up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Port Charlotte, Florida, to their homeport in the Chesapeake Bay this past spring. By the way, they definitely don’t suggest anybody do it the way they did it, “semi-prepared” being the operative word.  The 6 tips they shared with TripsOfDiscovery.com readers and anyone contemplating a future trip on the ICW was most compelling.  Excellent communication with your crew at all times is a must Let’s start with Tip Number 1: Excellent communication with your crew at all times is a must. Captain Bentz stressed that the...