Sat, Nov 16, 2013-
We motor-sailed off shore from Beaufort to Wrightsville Beach, NC with light winds and rolly seas. The inlet to Wrightsville Beach is easy and the anchorage excellent holding between the maid town and outer beaches. The following day we took the dinghy to shore and scrubbed the bottom, then walked the beach around the island. Got in some good miles and had our feet in the surf for the first time since leaving Boston.
Mon, Nov 18-
Back into the ICW, we headed for Calabash. The shoaling was severe near inlets. We ran aground twice in a marked canal, and were able to back off in the soft sand. We also lost 2.5 hours at Snow’s Cut Bridge due to an extreme high tide and low bridge. To wait for high tide, we moved to Carolina Beach Harbor and picked up a mooring ball. It is a pretty harbor, obviously very busy in the warmer months and worth a return trip sometime. The tide and grounding delays caused us to lost daylight and we ended up getting to Calabash after dark. Fortunately we had been there before as the night was pitch black. We anchored just inside the river entrance, off the ICW.
Tues, Nov 19-
A full day of watching markers to not run aground again. We pulled up to Sara’s past work associte, Brenda and her husband, Steve’s dock right on the Waccamaw River, aka the ICW and tied up for the night. Brenda and Steve came aboard for drinks, and then we went out for dinner. It was great to catch up. They have built a beautiful home with fabulous views of the river from their deck. That area is a very peaceful, very natural area. It is nice to see the area left undeveloped.
Wed, Nov 20-
After leaving Brenda and Steve’s, we made it 5 miles down the river towards Georgetown before coming to a bridge. The tide was extreme and just past high, so we turned around and anchored for 5 hours. Finished a book. We tried again and got to within feet of the bridge when we realized that we were not going to clear it. It is difficult to tell the actual distance between the top of the mast and the bottom of the bridge from the deck of the boat, even with binoculars. Bob was able to back the boat up and turn in time. Love that bow thruster! We waited again, until 5:15, now full high tide and dusk, and made it under. Now that it was dark and we had only made about 8 miles the entire day, we decided to go into Georgetown and anchor. That challenge was now having the low tide. We briefly ran aground in Georgetown harbor. We decided the ICW was now getting old and opened a bottle of wine.