Sun, May 14 - To Southport, NC
31 May 2017
SUNNY 62/77 SSE 5 - 10
Trip today: 64.5 miles in 7.5 hours
Just before 7 am departure, Donna came by to say last good-byes and help us off the dock:) Half an hour later we were through the Socastee bridge and by 11:00 we were in North Carolina! The two areas with bad shoaling weren't an issue today...both Shalotte Inlet and Lockwood's Folly have been dredged this winter...nice to not touch bottom in either spot!
Being a sunny, warm Sunday, everyone was out on the water, including a plethora of centre consoles with skippers wanting to get up close & personal with us. I may have mentioned this before, but we find it astounding that they pass so very close to us while driving at high speeds, drinking beer, chatting with their passengers...and never making eye contact...actually very scary!
At 2:30 we reached Southport and decided to dock in the town harbour. The 'Yacht Provision Company' has a few docks outside their restaurant, and were most welcoming when I phoned for information...dock is free if you eat dinnner in their restaurant...how nice is that! It was very windy and quite rough from the wakes of passing boats as we approached the docks, but luckily a couple of guys nearby helped with our lines, and we were soon secure to the dock. On the next dock were two small Hobie trimaran sailboats (one person boats with one sail only) and we chatted with the sailors. Turns out they were sailing from New Berne to Charleston, camping along the way. Strapped to the back of their little boats were blue, water-tight barrels containing all their gear...clothing, tents, food, etc... We shared information about the sections of the ICW that they would be travelling, and of course asked a lot of questions about their adventures. After helping them off the dock, we watched them venture into the crazy busy Sunday traffic on the ICW...you really do meet the most interesting foks along the waterways!
Since it was Mother's Day, the Provision Company was incredibly busy with early diners, so we headed into the town of Southport to enjoy a stroll around the streets. The historical downtown district has several boutiques, galleries and restaurants, but most were closed on Sunday afternoon? However, the waterfront of this attractive town was very busy with locals and visitors filling the restaurants and bars. We enjoyed our dinner at the Provision Company, quite an interesting spot...everything is on the honour system and the table service is very unique!
We had a lovely time in Southport...you may have already visited this attractive litlle seaport by the movies you watch...it has been the location for many movies, and is the setting for several Nicholas Sparks novels.