June 2, 2014
I am awake early. The winds are light and ENE. They are predicted to remain light, so all the cruisers are eager to get moving. We grab some coffee and get underway.
 
Out on the ICW, we push onward hoping the winds do not increase or switch back to the NE. If they do, it’s going to be a long bumpy day. The wind did shift back to the NE after we were about two-thirds across the Albemarle Sound. Thankfully, they remained light and we were able to slip into the North River without any difficulties.
 
We contacted Midway Marina and secured space on their face dock for the evening. We arrived shortly before 1PM and enjoyed the remainder of the day as downtime. Being Monday, Crabbie’s Restaurant was closed so we had to rough-it and prepare our own dinner, something we normally don’t do here.

Here’s an interesting sight from the Midway docks.
 

It was a short day, but we’re getting closer to home.
 
Start: 0700
Stop: 1246
Distance Traveled: 35 miles
Location: Midway Marina, Coinjock, NC MM 49

June 1, 2014
We got a late start from Dowry. The plan was to cruise about thirty some miles and anchor at the south end of the Alligator River. Today was not the day for plans to work out.

We had one exciting event coming through the Alligator-Pungo Canal. We sighted a pretty good sized black bear. He was near the water’s edge when he spotted us. He turned and raced up the bank and back in to some tall grass and trees. Boy could he move. Don’t think I could out run one of these guys.

The wind never made the forecasted shift so we had wind on the nose in the canal. Actually we had two foot roller waves meeting us head on the last couple of miles in the canal. When we exited the canal, it was immediately apparent that we were not going to use any of the several anchorages there. Anchoring meant we would have endured a miserable night on the hook so we continued up the Alligator River toward the marina just on the north side of the bridge. Phone service is almost non-existent in the area so we waited until we were almost there to contact the marina. Fortunately, they had space for us.

 
When we arrived, we met several other cruisers who had been at Dowry Creek the night before. We decided to do a group dinner at the little restaurant there. We dined and Miss Wanda (owner) stopped by to say hello and chat with us. The food was good, the company excellent and a good time was had by all.
 
We retired for the evening with cool temperatures, the wind still out of the NE, a forecast for light ENE winds in the morning. Hope the forecasters are better than the ones we had today.

Start: 0800

Stop: 1600
Distance Traveled: 58 miles
Avg Speed 7.2 mph
Location: Alligator River Marina, NC, MM 81

May 31, 2014

We’re up early and already the northerly breeze is kicking up. Not what we want since we are traveling the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers today. Northerly winds make for a lumpy ride. The humidity and temperature is low and I am again wearing a sweatshirt and shorts.

We get to do some motor sailing and it helps our overall speed. As the morning wears on, the winds increase, waves build and our discomfort increases. As we reach the turning mark and enter the Bay River our sailing ends for a while. As the Bay River narrows and becomes enclosed by riverside forests, the waters calm until we cross the Pamlico River. It’s a bumpy ride across.

We reach the Pungo River and are near our destination, Dowry Creek Marina. We are running low on diesel in our main tank and I have emptied the jerry cans a couple of days ago. We arrive as the winds peak for the day. Cross winds at the fuel dock…fun, fun.

We dock portside to and are immediately pinned to the dock. We refuel, fill the jerry cans, and after four attempts manage to perform a pumpout. Then with the help of the staff, we were able to get away from the dock and move to a slip, again fighting a very strong cross wind.

We have just enough time to square away the boat before the usual Dowry Creek Happy Hour. There were about twenty boaters present and we had a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Later we showered and retired to the boat for a restful evening.

Start: 0700

Stop: 1530
Distance Traveled: 56 miles
Location: Dowry Creek Marina, Belhaven, NC, MM 131

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

May 29, 2014
We were up early and caught the first scheduled opening of the Wrightsville Bridge. We were able to ride the tide and made good time. Otherwise, the day was a typical ICW day. Leave early, run hard, drop the hook and call it a day.

We arrived at Mile Hammock Bay and were the first boat there. That was unusual. Sailboaters are usually the late arrivals. Trawlers and motor yachts typically get a late start, pass everybody and arrive at the destination first.

We were later joined by 2 more sailboats and 3 trawlers. We all experienced a calm night as the marines were not conducting maneuvers.

Start: 0700

Stop: 1530
Distance Traveled: 39 miles
Location: Mile Hammock Bay, NC, MM 244

May 28, 2014

Boy, what a night. Thunderstorms were all around us on the radar. They finally reached us a little after midnight. There was a lot of heavy rain coming. Thankfully, the temperature dropped before the rain arrived otherwise it would have been miserable inside the boat.

I awoke when the rain started and closed everything up tight. Then I did my usual check for leaks. Satisfied we were ok for the moment; I lay back down and tried to sleep but it was a while in coming. Then about 0230 hrs, a second thunderstorm and rain hit us. This one was more violent and the rains were heavier. More lost sleep!

At 0500 I was awakened by thunder again. This cell seemed to be moving off shore. I’m awake now so it’s make the coffee and get ready to be underway. We need to leave Southport by 0700 so we can ride the tide/current up the Cape Fear River, through Snow’s Cut and over to Carolina Beach.

We don’t plan to travel far as more violent weather is expected anytime from midday to mid-afternoon. There is a fishing tournament going on up at Wrightsville Beach and the marinas are full so we will probably anchor near there. Actually, there aren’t many anchorages between Southport and Morehead City, a distance of over a hundred miles.

We get underway and are really moving at 8+ mph or more running up the river. We reach Carolina Beach and continue on towards Wrightsville following two other sailboats. I call just to see if any slips are available and what do you know, Dockside Marina’s fuel dock is shut down and they say we can tie up there for the night.  

We arrive about 1030 hrs and tie up to the fuel dock. Their pumps are bagged over and a sign says “No Fuel”. Couldn’t get a straight answer about the fuel, but the situation is good for us.

A little after noon, we decided to have lunch at the Dockside Restaurant. We split some BBQ, have a couple of brews and Donna discovers they have Banana Pudding, so we split a desert too. Naturally, after all that, it’s time for a short nap back on the boat.

We spend the rest of the afternoon reading, washing the boat and planning tomorrow’s travels. Oh, BTW, those violent midday storms never materialized. The evening storms look very promising though.

Start: 0710
Stop: 1030
Distance Traveled: 27 miles
Avg Speed: 7.1 mph
Max Speed: 10.3 mph
Location: Dockside Marina, Wrightsville Beach, NC, MM 283

May 27, 2014
The plan is to reach Southport, NC today. There are a couple of trouble spots we have to negotiate, but they were dredged over the winter and reports say these spots are still in good shape. Donna is still under the weather, but she is improving.

We get underway and are immediately presented with two swing bridges that are slow to open. The second bridge operator insists on delaying the opening for over twenty minutes to allow a slow moving vessel a couple of miles back to reach the bridge.

We move on toward the Little River inlet. Here we depart SC and enter NC. We also pick up some wind which allows us to motor sail. We are running hard against the current and the motor sailing helps keep our speed up.

We arrive at Shallotte Inlet just before low tide and pass through with no problems other than white knuckles and a death grip on the wheel and throttle lever. A few miles later we arrive at Lockwood’s Folly Inlet and endure the same kind of passage. Breathing a great sigh, we move on toward Southport. The wind increases steadily and by the time we get there it’s blowing 15-17 and gusting to 23 mph. Docking is a zig-zag course through the marina to get to our assigned slip. Thankfully, there are two dock hands there to grab our lines and get us secured to the dock.

Showers and dinner make both of us feel better. Tomorrow is questionable as there is a weather change coming.

Start: 0800

Stop: 1510
Distance Traveled: 44 miles
Avg Speed: 6.3 mph
Max Speed: 9.2 mph
Location: Southport Marina, Southport, NC, MM 309