May 13-27, 2018
We depart South Carolina, headed for North Carolina today. We are meeting Chad’s sister, Kristin, and our brother-in-law, Matt, in Southport. We don’t have far to travel today, but we have several tricky spots to traverse before we get to relax and catch up with family. Once again using tide to our advantage, we pass through Shallotte Inlet without issue. We had contacted the local TowBoatUS to prepare for today’s trip, in addition to using boater submitted tips on Active Captain, so we have prepared with the best information we can about this area. Next up, we approach Lockwood’s Folly. I no longer finish reading Chad all the notes we had about the area, and said “well, that’s all I can tell you” and not but a few seconds later, we are aground. Darn it, I guess we zigged when we should have zagged. The crowd on the local beach was getting a show while sunbathing. After trying the usual tricks to get off the sandbar, we decide it’s time to make lunch and wait for the tide to rise. A boat of locals drives by, and they are amazed that we are stuck. Trust us friends, so are we! After closer examination, we were JUST off, since one side of the boat has 12 feet of water, and the other very clearly has less than 4.5 feet. A few hours later, we are afloat, back under way. We arrive to Southport and catch up on laundry while waiting for our visitors.
We had an amazing few days catching up with Kristin and Matt. We also did a bit of traveling while they were here. We used one early morning’s tides to get us through the Cape Fear River and Snow’s Cut, and docked at Carolina Beach. Matt and Kristin even got to join us for our trip from Carolina Beach to Wrightsville Beach. While we were with Matt and Kristin, we got the call that all of Rilee’s tests came back fine, so we were very relieved. We had so much fun checking out the aquarium and butterfly garden, Fort Fisher, and of course enjoying some good BBQ and brews! Oh yeah, remind me to tell you something later…;)
The next day, we headed out towards Camp LeJeune, only to find that there was an emergency on one of the islands, so the Figure Eight Island Bridge was closed indefinitely. It could not be lifted until the emergency was resolved. We dropped anchor for a while, but after hearing it would be several hours, we decided to head back to Wrightsville Beach, since it looked like a storm was headed our way anyways. The next morning, we departed again, this time making it to Sneads Ferry. We could not go any further, as the firing range over the ICW at Camp LeJeune was active, meaning the ICW was closed. I called and found out that the ICW would be closed until dusk, but that it was scheduled to be open all day tomorrow. I confirmed the ICW was open in the morning, and we headed out. The wind picked up as we cruised across Bogue Sound, and we raised our sails as we headed into Morehead City.
The next day we continued on, snaking our way through inland creeks. We stopped in Hobucken for the night, at the RE Mayo Co, a commercial seafood dock with cheap dockage. Little more than a place to tie up to for the night, we appreciated the stop, as anchorages with shore access for the dog were few and far between. We spent a few hours chatting with the locals, and Chad got some crab for dinner. We departed early the next morning, headed across the Neuse River. The wind was really picking up, and we decided to duck into Belhaven before crossing the Pamlico Sound, where we would have been very exposed to the wind and waves. Belhaven was a charming town, and we found a gem of a marina. Dowry Creek Marina was a great family run place where we relaxed, caught up on laundry and shopping, and lounged in the salt water pool.
We waited out weather for two days in Belhaven before moving across the Pamlico Sound. We then found ourselves in more protected inland waters. We stopped for the night at a marina in Columbia, which also doubled as a gas station. Reviews shared they had some amazing fried chicken, so we had some for dinner. Not the most questionable meal I’ve had on the trip, and it was surprisingly pretty good! We departed the next morning across the Albermarle Sound. If not timed properly with wind and waves, this part of the journey has been worse for many loopers than the Gulf of Mexico crossing. Lucky for us, we timed it right, and had a great day of sailing the waters once hunted by Blackbeard! We had picked Coinjock as a place to hide out for Memorial Day weekend. Once we arrived, we realized how close we were to the Outer Banks, and we didn’t want to miss it! So just before closing, we got a rental car and spent the rest of the day exploring the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Roanoake Island.
The weather wasn’t looking great for Memorial Day weekend, so we moved on, thankful to avoid a crazy busy day of boat traffic. We passed from North Carolina into Virginia, and found a great free wall in Chesapeake, VA. The only thing missing was electric, which wouldn’t have been a problem except for the 90 degree heat and lack of any type of breeze whatsoever. Awaking early before the heat, we crossed through the Great Bridge Lock, dropping 6 inches. This was our first lock in several months and several thousand miles.
Now we’re Chesapeake Bay bound!