2021 - June 18 - Day 7

 Boats. So many boats again today. Here’s what it’s like…

Wow! The 2021 Tour is done. I had thoughts of camping 5 miles short of the takeout but decided I had 5 miles left in the tank and finished it out.

I saw a grounded sailboat that had strayed from the channel today. Also my first dolphins of the 2021 Tour— 3 of them and one surfaced for air right next to me.

I also saw 347 jet skis and twice that many boats. More on that later.

This year had a lot of great moments but it felt more challenging than most of the other years. I will elaborate in a wrap-up post soon. For now I feel a great sense of accomplishment and gratitude to the many folks who helped along the way. Including my new friend Jason who helped me get the Fishhugger on top of the truck!

And the best shout out is the last: this Tour never would or could have happened without the support and encouragement of my amazing wife Chris. I was having trouble working out the details and I was ready to throw in The towel a while back but she urged me to keep working on it and make it happen. Thanks Chris, I love you!

One last thing...

An amazing thing happened about an hour before I finished the 2021 Tour. I saw a dude going the opposite way in a Hobie Adventure Island kayak with a sail and pontoons. I could tell he was rigged for a long voyage. I got near him and asked where he was coming from? Miami!!! Headed for Virginia.

I told him to find this page and he sent me a message. His name is Will Freund. Check out his project, its called: Climate, Kayak, and Conversation, a climate awareness project to share the impacts of climate change - (we’re clearly kindred spirits).

https://www.climatekayakandconversation.org/

Y’all follow him and help him when he passes your way!

2021 - June 17 - Day 6

 Quick tour of the Night 5 campsite…

Caught a nice sunrise to start Day 6. Today’s paddle will be about 17.5 miles. I feel like my pace has been slower than I’m past years (current and wind) so I’m thinking it will be 8 to 9 hours on the water. Maybe more maybe less.

Winds forecast to be light in the AM picking up to 10 in the afternoon. Slight chance of rain. I still have a significant portion of my AM packing ritual remaining but hope to push off a little after 7 AM.

The below video is from Sunday at Drum Inlet. It comes with a shout-out. When I posted last week about the 2021 route, Adam Capps messaged me and asked if I wanted a flag? Once I understood he meant the flag commonly called Blackbeard’s flag I said “Absolutely!” I’ve never met Adam, he saw my post and happens to have a nautical flag company. He freakin’ overnighted me the flag you see on the Fishhugger to get it to me in time for the journey! I don’t have sponsors for the tour, but a lot of helpful elves sure don’t hurt! Check out his flag company: https://flagstuff.com/about-us

View from the cockpit when conditions are just about perfect…

Day 6 went smooth as silk! I was prepared for an 8 or 9 hour sufferfest but current and wind were my friends today. Made it to my AirBnB in Sneads Feery in 5 and a half hours. See video for a glimpse at how the Fishhugger arrives at an AirBnB.

As noted in my earlier video post, Day 6 was the one day so far where most of the variables were in my favor — low wind in the right direction, current helping me rather than fighting me, and no storms. Made it to my spot for the night in 5 hours.

I do love the “roughing it” aspect of this journey but am not opposed to being comfortable along the way either. I’m staying at an AirBnB tonight mostly because I was unwilling to stealth camp anywhere near Fort Lejeune. Most of the islands in This stretch are strictly off limits — many have unexploded ordinance and are heavily posted. As folks who have followed me for a while know, I was warned away by the Navy as I paddled through Norfolk. And the never wrote about it, but I was also waved away from Quantico when I Passed there. So my lesson learned from those experiences is to always look at NOAA charts and other sources about prohibited areas around military facilities.

Finding this AirBnB that I could pull up to in the Fishhugger was one of the last pieces to fall into place this year.

Apparently I am now in alligator country. Did not see any but have seen sharks large and small almost every day.

Now for a couple of product endorsements:
— I was getting the makings of a serious blister from pedaling so much and Drew and Danni hooked me up with Body Glide. It looks like a deodorant but you apply it to any area that is getting chafed or blistering. It totally works.
— sometimes when you are paddling every day for many days for many hours each day, you can get something a lot like diaper rash. Too much information? I beg to differ — I’m here to help people! I used the product pictured below and it also totally works. Just sayin’.

The plan for tomorrow is 18.5 miles to Laniers Campground. If I’m having another great day with wind and current I may push on and try to finish the trip out tomorrow afternoon.

2021 - June 16 - Day 5

 Day 5 Wrap-Up:

First the final shout-outs for the safe harbor and Southern hospitality I had yesterday. Special thanks to Justin and Lauren Ables for putting a roof over my head for the night and for sharing local knowledge on fishing, navigation and spots to check out for camping. Y’all are awesome, thanks for the help!

Capt. Drew McMillan (USMC, flies C-130s, total badass) and Danni, thanks for everything especially the amazing dinner. I suck for not taking pictures.

As for the journey, I thought today was a shortish day but it took a long time — gotta go back and check how far I actually paddled. The wind was generally mild (yay!) but the current was always flowing against me. I kept thinking the tide will change and I’ll get some hep, but it never happened. I need to learn more about mother’s currents.

I passed some amazing islands and beaches today. NC folks love to take their boats (and everyone seems to have one) and on a nice day they go to sandbars, islands and beaches on the sound and speed the day. I like that.

I was on the actual Intracoastal Waterway for much of the day. Too many boats and jet skis to enjoy the paddle. I now know that The crazy number of boats I saw Monday was due to a major fishing event that also draws spectators. But today it was just nice weather that brought it the boats. I’m not against boats but man, they change the paddling experience. Tomorrow is a long day on the Intracoastal. Will see how many boats are out.

Two and a half days of paddling left on this leg of the journey. Destination tomorrow is an AirBnB in Sneads Ferry, NC.

2021 - June 15 - Day 4

  Waiting for the morning storm to pass...

There are people who live along the Mississippi River who track folks trying to paddle from the headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico and help them out when they pass by. Those folks are called River Angels.

There are people who stash cool treats along the Appalachian trail for through-hikers. When the hikers find them they call it Trail Magic.

I need a term like that for the many people who have shown me kindness and generosity along the way. Today it is Drew and Danni McMillan. They live along my route and Drew’s dad &Richard McMillan (who has helped me many times on this journey) put me in touch with them.

I’m sitting in their garage right now drinking a cold beer. Danni left me lunch and cold drinks at the waterfront where I pulled up. And a very sweet note. 😄

What shall we call good folks like them who help out someone they don’t know like this? Intracoastal elves? Friends of the Fishhugger? Post ideas below!

After the thunderstorms passed this morning I set off and paddled for almost four hours without stopping to get here. They had the forecast dead right today: AM thunderstorms, wind in my face at 10-15 knots, more thunderstorms in the afternoon. The afternoon storms are here. I’m going to stay put for the night and figure out what the weather is doing next and how to complete the journey. I’m just not up for another day with strong wind in my face!

                  

This is why I paddled for four hours without taking a break today — afternoon storms in the forecast.

2021 - June 14 - Day 3 (with more from Day 2)

Updates from Yesterday.

I got some video from the drivers seat when it was windy yesterday (Sunday, June 13th)  but before it got really windy. This is what it’s like…

The photos below are also from yesterday. I camped in the stealthy spot in the photo on Harkers Island.  I was adopted by two very kind National Park staff who gave me food and coffee. They asked if I could get a special use permit to camp there but alas, we were given the bureaucratic runaround— I’m a pro, I know when I’m getting it. Anyway I found a stealth spot and all was well enough.  I woke to find the Fishhugger stranded by low tide and had to portage it through some nasty muck to start the day.

Now onto Monday, June 14th -  Day 3 of the 2021 Fishhugger Tour. 

I wish I had taken more photos and video. It was a long hard day. But first the cool stuff. I saw a big old sea turtle. He was huge and had barnacles on his shell. I also saw lots of the wild horses the live on the Shacklefford Banks (photo below).

It started with a bit of a slog to break camp and hump my gear back to the boat. To discover what that the boat was bound in by low tide and had to be portaged through some nasty muck to get going. I be all filthy now.

Then there were those most dangerous creatures on the water— humans in power boats. There were so many boats out today. Hundreds, maybe thousands. I should have taken video. It was nuts and on a Monday.

I decided to deviate from my planned route to avoid boats and google maps betrayed me. It showed water where there was none. See photo and map shot below. Had to backtrack and. Wasted over an hour and lots of energy.

Then there were the boats and the wind and currents. All agin’ me. It was not a fun day. I fell short of my intended destination by several miles..

Will either take a short day tomorrow or try to add miles to my paddle plans..

2021 - June 13 - Day 2

 First fish of the Tour was a nice redfish. Put up a helluva fight. Headed for Cape Lookout this evening.

Later...

Hi friends. My phone with all my photos and videos won’t post, so just a quick text update. I hoped to be camping on the Shakleford Banks near Cape Lookout tonight but did not quite make it. I had plenty of time but the wind was too strong to continue, it was steady 10-15 with gusts up to 20 all day. I feel lucky to have made it as far as I did. I can see the entire lighthouse from here.

I am camping near the Harkers Island/Cape LookoutNational Park visitors Center.

Wind is supposed to let up a bit tomorrow. Fingers crossed for that.

Later...

Inside a tiny tent exposed to the wind. Loud and shakin’.

2021 - June 12 - Day 1

 Conditions good to start Day 1. Supposed to storm in the afternoon so I’m going to cross the Sound soon.

And here are some photos from Day 1 of the 2021 Tour…

Plastic trash (cleaned up after documenting). Storm clouds. Other stuff.

2021 Fishhugger Plans

 Hello friends.  It looks like the Fishhugger will float again this year!  A quick refresher or intro for folks who are new to the journey:  My goal is to paddle the Intracoastal Waterway from Alexandria, VA to Key West by my 60^th birthday (April 7, 2027).  I take as much time as my job and domestic calendar will allow each year and continue my way South.  I started in Alexandria in 2016 and keep making my way down the coast each year.  I’m doing it because I love fishing and camping and kayaking and to raise awareness about plastic pollution – how pervasive it is and the damage it causes.  I’m also doing it because I have to believe that we can all have epic adventures no matter where we are in life. 

The next leg of the journey is scheduled to start on June 12, 2021.  The planned route for this year’s tour starts at the Cedar Island Ferry Terminal and ends about 120 miles later in Hampstead, NC.  Due to the geography of the North Carolina Coast, a lot of the leg will be more in the East to West direction than North to South. 

 

One of the key points of interest along the route is Cape Lookout on the southern tip of South Core Banks.  A lighthouse at Cape Lookout dates to 1859 and is still operational.  The islands were used for fishing and whaling for centuries, and the surrounding waters have long been known for their dangerous shoals.  The coast of North Carolina is known as the “Graveyard ofthe Atlantic” because of its many shallow water shoals and related shipwrecks.  I will pass by the lighthouse and hope to see it, but not from the ocean side.  I will be paddling on the Sound side, not the ocean side. 

June 1718, Edward Teach—better known as Blackbeard the pirate—ran his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, aground near present-day Beaufort Inlet, NC which I will also pass this year.  In fact, I’ll be camping right by it.  Blackbeard and his crew abandoned the ship and survived.

 

Blackbeard's Flag

The route this year includes some great-looking camping spots on isolated beaches, an Air B&B, and a couple of legit campgrounds.  As always, I’m excited to see with my eyes what I have been looking at on Google Maps for months – that’s part of the point of this journey.

The last year has been tough for all of us, but it feels like the fog is starting to lift.  For me, COVID, work pressures, and difficult logistics for the trip made it seem like the Fishhugger might not come together this year.  But a lot of things fell into place in the last few weeks and it’s on!

More to come, and thanks for following!

In the meantime, petrochemical companies continue to ramp up facilities for plastic production.  They are relying in plastics to fill their dropping income from oil as automobiles make the transformation from internal combustion to electric.  Facilities that manufacture plastics produce toxic emissions.  So, naturally, they look for locations where the population is poor or black or both.  When we all use single use plastics, it has impacts on people’s lives somewhere.  A major fight is going on over one now…

 

The fifth district of St. James Parish, where the Formosa Plastic complex is slated to be built, is 91% Black with a median household income of $28,125.

The parish, often referred to as Cancer Alley, has one of the highest densities of petrochemical sites in the U.S. That’s a major reason that its residents also face the nation’s highest cancer risk from air pollution.  That seems fair, right?