Passage - Southport - Harbour Village Marina, Hampstead, NC
44 SM 7.7 Engine Hours
7:41 AM Underway
2:12 PM Docked port side to stern in slip A12

Cold front came through and it’s 41º on the boat this morning. Jeans and long sleeves today. At least the wind has died somewhat. But the wind direction is now NE instead of SE.

We get away from the dock without any problems and down the couple miles to the Cape Fear River. Wow, the wind is blowing straight down this wide ocean going ship traffic River. The river is also very busy with morning ferry traffic - both car ferries and people ferries. I make sure I don’t cross their bows even though I’d really like to get to the proper side of the channel. As windy and choppy as the river is, I am able to drink coffee in the full enclosure zipped tight on the fly bridge. The cold is still there but at least the wind can’t hit me straight on. I pass a boat or two and I am passed by a few faster boats. Then we hit Snows cut, a man made cut between the Cape Fear River and the Beaufort River. The current’s that flow though Snow’s Cut are horrendous. I had difficulty keeping the bow headed into the strong current and boats coming the other way were flying barely under control. And, then we enter the New River and the current fades and changes directions as we head up to Wrightsville Beach Bridge.

Now comes timing the Wrightsville Beach Bridge opening some 10 miles away. I work on that a while with the current working against me and then at some point it will be with me. I have to run the engine harder for part of the way to Wrightsville to compensate for current. And, then there are no wake zones and worse pier guys working off small platforms that have no warning unless you see them in time to slow down and not throw a wake that will throw them into the water. I see one constructions crew waving a red flag on the end of a long pipe. I slow down, but the guy behind me doesn’t. The dock workers hold on while that wake shakes everything they are working on and the platform they are working from. Still I get near the Wrightsville bridge about 10 minutes to spare and slow down behind a long line of other boats bumping in and out of gear to try to maintain control in the current near the bridge. This bridge only opens once an hour. It’s noon and bunches of us go through. There are four more bridges until I get to my destination marina. The next bridge has 21 feet clearance and I only need about 14 feet so I cruse by some of the boats that were ahead of me from Wrightsville and go under the Figure Eight Island Bridge while they have to wait for that bridge next scheduled opening.

Then a funny thing happens at the destination marina. Three boats ahead of me in the ICW turn into that marina. I know the dock master is going to be busy. He doesn’t answer the VHF and I know he has his hands full. As I get into the marina basin I see him helping tie up a boat. I yell Liquid Therapy to him and he says SLIP A12. I have to backtrack a bit in reverse to get to A12. I pivot and back in. Susan and I have no problem getting the lines on the dock. We are secure when the dock master arrives. We get reminded we were supposed to call him on the phone after leaving Wrightsville Bridge. I told him I just flat forgot. He had wanted to space out the arrivals. He told each boat to call him NONE OF US DID. It’s kind unusual protocol to call on the phone instead of the VHF radio anyway. But I got the dock masters point of wanting to sequence arrivals like air traffic control does for planes.

At Harbour Village marina the arriving boats and Liquid Therapy decided to have a dock party at 5PM. It was much fun speaking with everyone. All of the boats were in some part of doing the great loop ( http://www.greatloop.org ) it seemed except us. I have no desire to do that 5200 mile 1 year cruise.

A 1984 Albin 36’ ended up docked next to us.They were very enthusiastic about our antique boats. We swapped information with them and our boat cards as well. They may actually stay at our home marina in Port Haywood for a while. The couple had started the LOOP on their sailboat. It had gotten destroyed by Hurricane Irma. So, they switched to a trawler to finish the loop.

We all had a nice time and then went our own ways for dinner. It was going to be an early morning for some as they were headed 60+ miles to Beaufort, NC. We were not going that far. Only to Swansboro 44 miles.

Today’s picture is a pirate ship that passed us. At least they didn’t fire cannons!