May 30, 2014

We were up early and I contacted the Marine Range Control to make sure the ICW was not going to be closed due to live fire exercises. Assured there were no scheduled closures, we weighed anchor and was the second boat out of the anchorage. We passed through the Onslow Beach Bridge, the range and headed on toward Swansboro.

The weather turned cloudy, gray and much cooler. I even pulled out a sweatshirt and put it on. Later as light sprinkles set in, the sweatshirt felt even better under a light slicker.

We had planned to stop in Morehead City, but our early arrival caused us to revisit that decision. We decided to save the expense of a marina and continued on toward an anchorage in Cedar Creek.

We bucked a strong tidal current in Core Creek which really slowed our progress. Despite this, we arrived at the Cedar Creek anchorage around 1645. A houseboat and a trawler were already anchored. Later two more sailboats and another trawler joined the group.

We do have a new problem though. The mast head anchor light has decided to stop working. We will use the backup low hanging unit to make it home. No sense climbing the mast if we are just a few days from home.

Start: 0715

Stop: 1645
Distance Traveled: 59 miles
Avg Speed: 6.2 mph
Max Speed: 8.7 mph
Location: Cedar Creek, NC, MM 187