NC: Bald Head Island

Day 333
June 21, 2016
NM Today: 42
NM to Date: 5233

We knew that Panda Bear and Firebird planned on leaving around 9:00, so we set our alarm to be ready to leave about that time. At 8:50 I saw Firebird pull away from the dock at Barefoot Landing. It just so happened that at that time Clark was up at the marina restroom. He noted that both boats were missing from the docks when he returned to Sea Moss, and I told him they had left about 10 minutes before he got back.

With a few things remaining to be done before we could leave, we left the Barefoot Marina dock around 9:15. both Firebird and Panda Bear were going to Southport for their night's stop. Clark decided we should go to Bald Head Island instead so that we could see our friends Tom and Julie on Sum Escape. 

Danger Rocks
Beginning of Rock Pile Section of ICW

Shortly after leaving the marina, we had to navigate Pine Island Cut known as the "Rock Pile". This section of the ICW is a notoriously dangerous passage. Boats are advised to keep in the center of the channel, not move over for on-coming boat traffic, and make a "security call" before entering this section of the ICW so that boats coming from the opposite direction know to wait their turn. We met no on-coming traffic as we passed through this stretch, but we were "buzzed" by numerous jet skis flying by us as we tootled along.

I wondered why this section was so narrow, and Clark shared a book with me containing background information.  When the waterway was dug in the early 1930s, most of what the engineers encountered was clay and sand. However, for this 2.5 mile stretch, they hit cretaceous limestone dating back 65 million to 144 million years old. As the excavation team moved further and further into the cut, the work to remove the rock became harder and harder to accomplish so the engineers reduced the width of the "ditch" commensurately.

Passing through this section of the ICW gave us a drastically different view than what we saw during most of yesterday's travels. I found many of the houses amazing to look at. Houses that appeared to be condominium complexes were in actuality private homes.  Many had pools and hot tubs. Most had docks with lifts. One house that particularly caught my interest was the one shown below.

along the ICW in Myrtle Beach

Unlike yesterday when I had my head in a book, today I paid close attention to the sights.

Hard-aground Fishing Boat

Kayak Convention
(2 guides in orange kayaks and 12 guests in green)
Hey - those are the colors of our kayaks!
Makes sense since Clark is my guide!

In contrast to the million dollar homes seen earlier

As we got closer to Southport, NC, we caught up to and passed first Firebird and then Panda Bear.

Firebird - Captain Joe

Panda Bear - Larry and Flora and new kitten
boat has a new paint job

Clark decided to sneak into Southport for a look around before heading out to Bald Head Island for the night.

Town of Southport, NC

I noticed that the wind had picked up and thought that trying to dock at one of the slips in Southport would be an interesting endeavor. However, the wind at Southport was nothing compared to what we got hit with when we exited the harbor to cross to Bald Head Island. Thank goodness we keep the life jackets attached to the railings on the boat, or they would have taken off like kites. As we bounced in the rough surf, Clark asked if the windows below were closed (of course not), so I had to make my way down to close windows, pick up items that had blown around the cabin, and dry the walls and floor by the steps to the staterooms where water had splashed in through the open window.

As waves splashed over the bow of the boat, Clark explained that we had current against wind thus the serious wave action. We confirmed we had found the entrance to the Bald Head Island harbor when we saw the ferry exiting the harbor. Navigating the entrance to the harbor as we were tossed around proved interesting, but as soon as we were inside the breakwater, the waters calmed right down so docking presented no problems at all. Phew!

The harbor is rather wide and they assigned us a slip about as far away from the marina office as possible. It was a long walk from the boat to the office. As we walked there, we kept our eyes open looking for Sum Escape, found them, and stopped by to say hello before continuing on to check in.

Since they had already seen the town and had other immediate plans, we agreed that we would tour the island and meet back on their boat at 7:00 to reconnect. We checked in, grabbed our bikes (after the long walk back to the boat), and headed out to see the sights.

Golf Carts everywhere - no cars allowed on the island!

non-pay phone booths - local calls only
(we saw one at the harbor and one in town)

Miniature Cannon - so cute and so deadly

The Lighthouse
(Clark is attracted to tall things where he can get a view!)

Paid $6 each to climb to the top

Clark waiting for me to catch up

Schematic of "Old Baldy"
(I should have studied this diagram more carefully.)

I carefully and slowly climbed the stair steps to reach the top of the lighthouse. The steps were narrow and taller than usual. However, they were nothing compared to the ladder I found when I reached the second-to-top floor.  I stood at the bottom of the ladder for a few moments wondering if I should / would tackle that to get to the view. Well, it cost $6 to get to this point, and it was hot in the lighthouse. I decided the breeze and the view better be worth it and decided to continue up.

The last few steps getting to the view proved to be challenging!

As I ascended the last of the steps on the ladder I recalled the words of a man I had heard talking back at the entrance. He said, "I guess you can't be fat if you want to climb that lighthouse." I understood what he was saying as I wiggled my over-sized derriere up and out to the top level for the view.

View of Harbor from Lighthouse

Cape Fear Inlet (as seen from lighthouse)
Note the parking lot full of golf carts and the one crossing the bridge.

Yes, the view was worth the climb although climbing back down that hole onto the ladder was another challenge. I held onto Clark with one hand while I grabbed the handrail with the other and got myself down without incident.

After leaving the lighthouse we rode our bikes into town on the divided highway through the island.

Divided Highway on Bald Head Island for Golf Cart Traffic

 Although the sun beat down and the wind blew like crazy, we were well protected from both on the tree-shaded streets into town. Bicycling was pretty easy with shallow, rolling hills.

Well-shaded streets

On our little excursion we checked out two different ice cream shops - one at the harbor and another when we got into town. Clark has become an ice cream snob and opted not to get anything at either stop as the flavors were not enticing enough. Still recovering from yesterday's ice cream treat, I had no interest in ice cream regardless of flavor, so we passed on both opportunities.

After we left town, we still had some time before our meeting with Sum Escape, so we headed over to the beach to check out the wind and wave action.

Beach at Bald Head Island

I decided not to venture out onto the beach because of the wind. Clark said he got "sand blasted" as he walked out to get some pictures.

Before returning to the boat, Clark had one more spot he wanted to investigate - Fort Holmes Battery #4. Built during the Civil War to "guard the Confederate life line" of supplies, Fort Holmes Battery #4 was an earthworks fort built out of sand. The walls covered 1.7 miles of terrain and stood 24 feet high in some places. The fort no longer exists due to erosion and growth of vegetation. Pretty amazing really!

Estuary and River Guarded by
Fort Holmes Battery #4

We made it back to the boat at almost precisely 6:00 - the time I had specified I needed to be back in order to make and eat dinner before our 7:00 rendezvous.  I cooked dinner while Clark ran for a shower. We did not quite make the 7:00 date; we arrived at Sum Escape about 15 minutes late. We brought Delicious Orchards Apple Pie for dessert to make up for being tardy.  We bought the pie in New Jersey. As with ice cream Clark is a pie snob, and he says Delicious Orchards pie is the best anywhere.

We enjoyed a lovely visit with Tom and Julie. In addition to our pie offering, Julie had a big bowl of popcorn to share. At 9:00 we made our escape from Sum Escape as Julie and Tom said that they are on "looper time" where 9:00 is "looper midnight" and therefore bedtime. I still had dishes to do and a blog to write, and Clark had boat travel planning to do. We were not going to be in bed by 9:00 or 9:30 or anywhere near that time - we never are!

So, here it is another late night for me as I finally submit my blog entry for today's adventure. With Bald Head Island, I found another place to add to my favorite-stops-on-the-loop list. What a truly amazing place this would be to bring family - only bicycles and golf carts, no cars, and a beach with lots and lots of public access points. I would definitely come back here again. I loved what I got to see of it, but they need better ice cream flavors.