Going south in record temperatures
05 November 2006 | Carolina Beach Harbor
Jim Lea
Well, we survived the night without an amphibious assault, and awoke to record temperatures... record cold temperatures! There was widespread freezing reported, and we didn't doubt it by the temperature in the boat. We were up at 7 am to catch as much daylight as possible, and when I looked out, there were just 5 boats left in the anchorage, including us, from the 24 last night. So we had a quick breakfast and were off just before 8 am.
On today's route there were three bridges that opened on a schedule, the first one opening just once an hour. We had expected to catch the eleven o'clock opening, but were surprised by a strong following current, and sensed the possibility of catching the 10 opening. By pulling out the jib, we were able to just make it, actually catching up to the group that had left the anchorage so much ahead of us. But the nail-biting last half hour didn't seem worth the effort.
The next bridge opened every half hour, and we arrived as a group with about 5 minutes to spare. The last bridge, at Wrightsville, was only 5 miles away, but with only half an hour to get there, we would have to travel at 10 knots, which we can't do, so we took a leisurely time getting there. We gawked at the homes along the waterway, some very handsome and some just plain gaudy.
We arrived at the bridge in plenty of time, even though we were just going at idle speed. We didn't notice the 4 knot current sweeping us along until too late. Had we noted it earlier, we could have made the opening after all. Oh, well, not a major problem. But we had lots of time to wait. Some of the lead boats actually made it through, but the bridge operator shut it with a couple of others trying. After passing through the bridge, we followed a Tartan 4400 (44') down to this anchorage, from where we will head up to Wilmington tomorrow morning. There were a couple of very shallow areas, with tow boats hovering by, actually giving directions as to where to find the deep water. But we just stayed behind the Tartan, as he draws more water than we do. So if he could make it, so could we. A sailboat following us for some reason decided that we had taken one mark on the wrong side and tried to take it the other way. Fortunately for him, he was able to motor himself off the bank he sailed up on!
Although warmer, it is still too cool to sit in the cockpit after sundown. This anchorage is a very nicely protected spot, but is totally built up with no place to go ashore, but we arrived just before dark, so we will just head below for dinner, broiled pork chops with baked sweet potatos and a remouliee of vegetables with some apple cobbler for dessert. Wine, of course, a chardonnay from Argentina. I forgot to mention that two nights ago we had salmon with a Mediterranean crust that was probably the meal of the cruise to date!!