19 April 2022
Depart: Harbour Point Yacht Club, Carolina Beach, NC 2:00
Arrive: Masonboro Inlet, Wrightsville Beach, NC Anchorage 3:30
Distance: 11 nm
Conditions: Cold!
My tyrant of a captain insisted that we leave our nice, warm dock with electricity and heat to move to an anchorage for the night. Overnight temperatures were predicted to be in the 40s.
We learned yesterday that the ICW was closed near Swansboro, NC for three days starting today. That meant that to go north from here we needed to go on the ocean or wait to move until the 22nd. Given the choice of waiting or going, Clark chose to place us near Masonboro Inlet for tonight to stage us for ocean travel tomorrow.
Although we had a short trip today, I did grab some pictures of the area to include in the blog update.
Carolina Beach Inlet - not navigable by any sizable boat
Marshland along the ICW shoreline ...
Crazy-styled house ...
20 April 2022
Depart: Wrightsville Beach, NC anchorage 8:45
Arrive: Beaufort, NC anchorage 6:40
Distance: 76 nm
Conditions: 5' waves on ocean with 5 second period; 60 degrees in cabin when work in morning - felt much colder - did not want to get out of bed!
Clark showed me where he normally would drop his anchor. Last night, the area was too full of dredging paraphernalia to drop anchor there.
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| Yellow marker in the spot where we would normally drop anchor |
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| Dredging equipment nearby |
The ocean waves proved higher than expected when we got out into the ocean. Clark expected 2 to 3' waves. We saw mostly 5-footers. We had a wild "rocking-horse" ride with some "hold-onto-your-seat" waves that we went over. Unfortunately, our direction of travel took us into the waves where stabilizers have no ability to lessen the impact. The waves splashed as high as the fly bridge and hit the full enclosure. A few more of those than we got and we would not have been able to see through the windows.
Expecting the trip to be exciting, I had quickly thrown together sandwiches for lunch as we approached the inlet. That way I had everything ready when it was time for lunch. I just had to make my way to the galley to grab the sandwiches out of the fridge when it came time to eat.
As we repeatedly bounced over the waves, I noticed that we were alone on the ocean. Usually we see some other traffic. Today, the others stayed home. After 5 hours on the ocean, Clark said he could see another boat closer to shore by using the binoculars!
The land curves in between Wilmington and Beaufort, North Carolina. The further we got from Wilmington, the further off shore we found ourselves. Part of our path passed by Camp Lejeune firing range. Yellow buoys in the ocean mark the safety zone where we could pass without fear of incoming artillery.
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| Can't even see land from this far out! |
At 6:00 we finally came in off the ocean to look for a place to anchor. Fortunately the latter half of the day, the ocean settled down a bit. Clark figured that if must be protection from the land as we got closer and closer to the Beaufort Inlet.
As we entered the inlet, Clark said we had two choices of places to anchor. Unfortunately, one was to the right and the other was to the left. He picked the one to the right.
Sculling boat passed us as we scoped out the anchorage ...
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| 60+ foot Masts of nearby sailboats are dwarfed by this mast |
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| The giant sailboat is registered in the Cayman Islands! |
Being right next to the channel, the anchorage is short and narrow. We found the anchorage was basically full as it could not accommodate a boat of our size.
Given that, we had to head back out the way we came in to seek out the alternate choice. Along the way we passed by some interesting sights.
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| Large USCG Vessel |
Commercial Beaufort - "North Carolina Ports"
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| "Tomini Liberty" |
It took 40 minutes to finally settle in at anchor. After a long and tiring day on the ocean, it felt good to have the anchor down for the night.
Sunset at Beaufort, NC anchorage ...
21 April 2022
Depart: Beaufort, NC anchorage 10:05
Arrive: Town Creek Marina, Morehead City, NC 10:45
Distance: 4 nm
Conditions: 50 degrees overnight; slept in many layers of clothes to stay warm; predicted to be 75 today so became better as the day progressed
We planned to spend today with our boating friends, Beverly and Dave, that we met a few years ago at Faro Blanco in Marathon, Florida. To have a full day together, we traveled yesterday and planned a very short jaunt to a marina for today.
As we passed "North Carolina Ports", we saw bundles of logs being loaded onto the vessel at the dock.
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| "Miss Caroline" |
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| "Colton Scott" & "Jaxon Bell" |
Lots of houses along the coast in North Carolina are raised.
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| Lots of steps up to their doors |
We docked at Town Creek Marina, got ourselves and the boat cleaned up from the day on the ocean yesterday. The boat was covered in salt! After we grabbed a bite to eat, our friends came to the marina. so we could spend the day together. We took care of business first and then pleasure.
Our first order of business was to refill an empty propane tank. Dave took us to Tractor Supply where Clark got that task completed. As we drove there, we passed by a Walgreen's which reminded Clark that he wanted to get us booster #4 Covid shots. After the propane job was completed, we drove back to the boat to get our vaccine cards and make appointments to get boosters.
When we arrived at Walgreen's, we thought we had appointments based on our online work, but apparently not. The clerk had no listing for any vaccine appointment for either of us. After some begging and pleading, I convinced them to give us shots without the prerequisite appointments.
Once that was taken care of, we went into town to do some sightseeing.
North Carolina Maritime Museum ...
Inside ...
Wooden Boats - Watercraft Center ...
Metal Art ...
After our walk through town, we went to the 34 North restaurant for dinner. We have been here on prior visits. The restaurant never disappoints.
"34 North"
After a great day with friends, we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
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