TwoGether

Wednesday 11/30/11.         The weather forecast changed so we thought we would give the Neuse River another try.  The wind was from dead ahead at 10-15 mph and waves were 1-2 feet.  Not the most comfortable ride but we only had two hours and we would be in Adams Creek across from Oriental, NC.  Adams Creek was a lot like Goose Creek.  It started out wide and narrowed to a land cut to the Newport River, just north of the busy shipping harbor of Beaufort and Morehead City.  The Beaufort Inlet is a deep-water inlet suitable for large ships.  This is the first sighting we had of dolphins.  They would surface and dive right under the boat.  There never was a bump so I guess they knew what they were doing. 

There are two Beauforts. One is in NC the other in SC.  The pronunciation for each is different and the locals will let you know if you got it wrong.  In NC its Bow’fort... in SC its Bue’fort.

We have been having trouble with the computer suddenly shutting down with the “Blue Screen of Death”.  At that point the only thing you can do is to reboot.  Since we use the computer to display the nautical charts and the GPS interface to show us where we are on the chart, it becomes kind of unhandy when it happens.  Sometimes it just loses the GPS and you have the chart but no position information.

Just as we were coming into Beaufort the GPS went off line so there went our positioning.  There must be half a dozen channels in the area.  The First Mate’s stress-o-meter went off the scale as she busily tried to keep pace with the paper charts.  Looking at the charts it seems simple enough…but looking at the surroundings from the helm station, all of the markers ,buoys and  day marks  look like a forest of markers, some of which are hidden by the tugboats pushing barges up the ICW.  Should you miss the turn and go through the Beaufort Inlet the next land you will see is Portugal!  She got me through and we made it into Bogue Sound.
Bogue Sound is nearly 25 miles long and 2 ½ miles wide at the center with the ICW channel running about 400 yards off the northern shore.  Get out of the channel and you will find yourself in knee-deep water.  Most of the sound is only one to five feet deep.

This is U.S. Marine territory.  This is home of Camp Lejeune.  There were Harrier jets (the ones that can hover and do vertical takeoff and landing) flying over the ICW and hovering to a landing just behind the trees out of sight. 

They say that anyone who has traveled the ICW and says they never ran aground is a liar.  No lying; we ran aground in Swansboro.  When we dropped anchor the anchor held but the current was really swift.  As I surveyed the situation I realized this winding cut through the flats was another invitation to Portugal.   We pulled anchor and the wind and current gave us a soft grounding on a shoal next to the mouth of the cut.  I backed out and while trying to turn around it put us back on again.  That’s when I decided to use the 540 horsepower this boat was blessed with and backed way off the shoal and back to the channel.  It was getting late and there is nearly no place to anchor in this stretch.  We continued south a few miles and anchored just barely out of the channel at Queens Creek.  It was not a very relaxing night wondering when a tug and barge combo might come by.  Neither one of us got much sleep.

Queens Creek/Swansboro:           N34 °39.3633            W077° 09.100

Thurday 11/31/11.    After leaving Swansboro we passed a military area with a red and white watchtower next to the ICW with a sign stating if the lights are flashing do not proceed.  The Marines and Navy were firing guns 3miles to seaward and also conducting hovercraft and landing craft drills in the Atlantic.  The ICW was open but several times we heard a call from the Atlantic Ocean…“ Warship 71 to the vessel at (GPS coordinates) you are in Naval training waters you will have depart the area and keep clear”.  At one point there were Quonset huts along the ICW that looked like the TV set for Gomer Pile USMC.   

You cant miss the Pink House on the north end of Alligator Bay behind Top Sail Island

 It is time to do a laundry, some shopping and try our land legs, so we decided to stop in Surf City, NC  at the Beach House Marina around 12:30P.  What a cool little town.

This is basically a blue collar town the tourists have discovered.  The “Boardwalk goes from one restaurant, past the visitors center, to another restaurant.  All 150 feet of it.   There is just about any kind of food available, surf shops, fishing tackle, and beachware you can imagine.  This is a very mini Rehoboth, with a southern drawl. 

Buddy's Crab House and Oyster Bar was a hit
We decided to stay until Saturday morning. 

 

 

Linda met Wendy in the laundry room and later she introduced us to her husband John.  They were our slip neighbors.  Like us they are on their way to Florida in their boat “Reverie” with a destination of Key West. 

Surf City: N34°25.719         W077°32.749

Saturday we left Surf City and continued onto Carolina Beach NC.    We anchored in the “Basin” which is a rather deep water cove surrounded by townhouses and condos.   Not long after, we heard “Reverie” call one of the marinas and we could see her disappear behind the homes as she pulled in.   

The wind was up to 20 with gust of 25 so it wasn’t going to be a quiet night.  Speaking of quiet night maybe I should have said Silent Night…Boats started anchoring all around us.  This must be quite the anchorage me thinks.  Then all of a sudden the night was full of lights and music.  Everybody was here to see the Carolina Beach Christmas Boat Parade.  There must have been a dozen boats of all sizes decorated with lights and playing music in a parade that went completely around the cove.  You could hear the spectators in their boats blowing their horns and the people on the shore cheering them on.  It was a special event.

Carolina Beach Basin:       N34° 03.011  W077° 53.322