26 October 2021
Depart: Wrightsville Beach, NC 7:25
Arrive: Enterprise Oxbow anchorage, Waccamaw River, SC 6:05
Distance: 80 nm
Conditions: Humid, high 60's
We got up this morning at 7:15, pulled in the anchor, and were underway 10 minutes later. Clark wanted to catch a favorable current on the Cape Fear River.
Before we left the anchorage, I got a couple of morning pictures.
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| Sunrise at Wrightsville Beach anchorage |
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| Sun shining on the buildings of Wrightsville Beach |
We have been this route multiple times. Some sights, no matter they have been seen before, are quite interesting.
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| Interesting shape for a house / roof. Nice color too. |
Clark's attempt to catch the current in the Cape Fear River did not play out as hoped. We had a good push on Snow's Cut, but when we reached the Cape Fear River, the current was already turning against us. We dropped from 9.4 knots to 8.4 as we made the turn into the river.
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| Miles of tree-lined waterway |
On our first attempt at anchoring, Clark chose a spot just before an oxbow in the river. We dropped anchor twice but decided that we did not have sufficient swing room in the tight space available. We pulled up our anchor to move to the oxbow. We could see on AIS that one boat was already anchored in the oxbow.
When we got to the oxbow, however, we saw not one, but two boats. Clark decided to try the other end of the oxbow. Unfortunately, there were already three boats anchored here. We decided to go back to the first spot we chose and try to figure a way to make it work.
However, as we passed by the first entrance to the oxbow, we decided that compared to other options, we had room right at the mouth of the oxbow to drop anchor and still keep our stern out of the main channel of the Waccamaw River.
As we readied ourselves to drop anchor, the folks on the sailboat in front of us, "Freyja", told us not to worry as the wind direction would keep us pointing at their stern all night long. Finally, after 30 minutes of looking and then settling in at anchor, we were set for the night.
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| Black star shows where we anchored at the entrance to the oxbow |
As I prepared dinner, Clark kept an eye on the anchor line. Although unexpected, the boat swung around towards "Freyja". Deciding we were too close to the sailboat for comfort, Clark pulled in some of the anchor line. He continued to watch the anchor line and reported to me that we were spinning in a full 360 degrees as he watched. Then, as he continued to watch, it spun another 180 degrees. He decided that the wind and the current were taking precedence depending on where the boat was sitting in the oxbow / river resulting in us being pushed around in a circle. Eventually, it settled down for the night.
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| Sunset on Waccamaw River |
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| Other boats in the oxbow anchorage |
Watching the boat spin in circles at anchor was not Clark's only activity for the night. The gremlin decided to cause more "mechanical" mischief and give Clark grief.
As we dropped anchor for the nth time, an overheat alarm sounded for the starboard engine. Clark shut down that engine, and we finished anchoring on just the port engine. Given the overheat issue we had on the port engine last year near St. Augustine, Clark's first thought was that the starboard-side water pump may have failed.
He checked to be sure that the pump was operative. It was. Then he disconnected a hose to be sure we had good water flow to the engine. Everything checked out fine as saltwater poured out of the hose. After spending more time than he wanted in the extremely hot engine room, Clark decided that the idling we had done while searching for an anchor spot had most likely generated the overheat condition.
27 October 2021
Depart: Waccamaw River anchorage 7:40
Arrive: Dewees Creek anchorage #3 near Isle of Palms, SC 4:10
Distance: 69 nm
Conditions: 45 degrees this morning; bright and sunny day with a chill in the air
Trees blocked our view of today's sunrise. As we did yesterday, we left shortly after jumping out of bed to continue our travels on the ICW.
As we started on our way down the Waccamaw River, we spied a morning mist on the water.
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| Trees growing in the river. |
We stopped earlier today than usual. I took the opportunity to vacuum the boat and clean the heads. The boat desperately needed a good cleaning. After that, I got to relax for a while before preparing dinner. The fresh veggies I picked up in Beaufort, NC were a tasty addition to the meal.
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| Sunset at the Dewees Creek anchorage in SC |
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