November 11, 2017 - November 17, 2017
Our last stop in North Carolina was Southport which is an historic town on the Cape Fear River. The Island across the channel is a popular beach called Long Beach or Oak Island. When I get to Southport I know I’m in the south. Even though it was rather chilly when we were there the colorful historic homes, graceful palm trees, and ancient live oaks just say “south” to me. Our favorite restaurant is Fishy Fishy Cafe which (as the name implies) serves excellent seafood and top notch salads.
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| You know you are in the south when you see palm trees. |
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| Besides being a great restaurant it’s a fun place with live music at lunchtime and enough amusing signs to keep you smiling. |
After leaving Southport the next three days were a bit harrowing with shoaling at two inlets, narrow canals, and the rock pile (a section of the ICW that required blasting through granite to complete the canal). We had to pay close attention to all floating buoys and day marks to keep the boat from going aground. I have to say we traversed these dicey areas very well with good communication between Bob and I about buoy locations, etc. I felt sorry for the one boat we passed that had gone aground at Shallotte inlet.
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| These day marks are invaluable in helping us navigate the ICW without disaster. |
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| As you can see the cats are a lot of help with navigating. |
We spent two nights anchored out and three nights in marinas this week. I’ll never get tired of the beautiful sunsets and sunrises we observe each day. I learned this week that deer can swim…who knew. We saw a deer swimming across the channel and climbing easily up the rocky edge. With those skinny legs I would never think that deer could swim so fast.
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| Each sunset is unique. |
One of the marinas we stayed for a night was Isle of Palms. We spent the whole month of November at this marina last year waiting for our boat to go to Rockville for re-powering. This time we came in under our own power. YAH! Joe, one of the dock hands, remembered us from last year. He made a comment while he was helping us dock that is so true. He said, “The first mate - captain relationship is a real test of a marriage.” I have to agree whole heartedly. I have been a much more competent first mate this year and Bob appreciates that.
We passed through Charleston Harbor on our way to Beaufort on Friday. Sometimes thinking about the history and charm of Charleston I forget it is a major port.
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| This huge ship dwarfed our sailboat. |
Thank you for reading my blog.
My next blog will start with our visit to Beaufort SC
