Morehead City to Minim Creek 2013

November 28, 2013 Thanksgiving. Sunny and cold when we awoke.  30 degrees and ice on the dock!  Wind NW 10-20.  This slip is 60 feet long, but we managed to get the boat out with the wind directly astern.  Marguerite (Quicksilver) help us out of the slip.  We could not get turned around in the fairway, so we backed all the way down the fairway to the channel – about 300 yards!  Quite a feat!

Underway at 8am.  Saw 2 pods of porpoises by the bridge between Morehead City and Beaufort.  Slow going against the tide this morning.  11am, foresail out – wind NW 7-10.

This is the same date we left Beaufort last year.  It was cold and windy that day also.

Noon – Grace is aground at R38 (MM223).  They are out of the channel.  They had moved over to let another boat go by.  We offered assistance, but they said they would just wait for the tide.  Later, we heard they had to call TowBoatUS. 

3pm, Onslow Beach Bridge.  3:55pm, Mile Hammock Bay (Camp Lejeune) with Quicksilver.  There are 2 other boats here when we arrive.  3 more show up a daylight ends.  One of them is Grace.

Talked to Darrel and Ruth Richards on Nite Cap.  They are in Carolina Beach and we will see them tomorrow.  Darrell had to have some emergency dental work and they have been there a few days.

For dinner we had turkey tenderloins, sweet potatoes, broccoli.  Hope you had a great holiday!

Beautiful sunset.  Wind N at 3.  temp 44 degrees.  34° 33.11’ N  077° 19.49’W  34.4NM  41SM today.

November 29, 2013 Friday. Cold this morning. 6am 28 degrees.  Brrrr!  Oil in the bilge.  The oil filter is loose and dumping oil into the bilge.  Tightened it down and refilled the engine with oil. The throttle linkage on the generator is off also.  Work for tonight.

Anchor up at 7:15am.  Luds of gooey mud on the anchor and the chain.  Uch!  10am Surf City Bridge with 6 other boats.  Gracie, Grace, Ocean Cowboy, Quicksilver, Amaicus, and a blue sailboat with no name or hailing port (maybe Rhapsody in Blue we have heard on the radio???).  12:30 Figure 8 Island Bridge – missed the 12 noon opening by 5 minutes – we hate when that happens.  2pm Wrightsville Beach Bridge.  Sunny wind NW @ 10.  10 boats at the opening – 7 sail and 3 power.

4pm – on the mooring at Carolina Beach.  Nite Cap is here and Quicksilver.  Getting cold as the sun goes down.  Yelled hellos to Darrell and Ruth.  We will have drinks with them tomorrow at Barefoot.

 November 29, 2013 Friday. Cold and windy overnight.  7am 33 degrees wind NNE @ 13.  Depart with Nite Cap and Quicksilver.  The tide is against us through Snow’s Cut, but with us as we reach the Cape Fear River.  7:35am through Snow’s Cut.  8:35am MM 305 tide pushing us at 3 knots, make 8.5 knots over ground.  The push is lost completely ay we turn back into the ICW at Southport.

11am Lockwood Folly Inlet, pretty much low tide.  Stuck to the middle of the channel and made it through OK.  One reading at 6 feet.

12:25pm aground  on right side of the channel at Green 71 as we moved over for a oncoming barge.  Floated right off again.

12:45pm Shallots Inlet – hugged the reds 7 – 71/2 feet all the way.  Dead low tide.

4pm Brian greets us as we dock at Barefoot Landing Marina along with Nite Cap and Quicksilver.  Cloudy 50 degrees.  Many boats here including Lo Que Sa who we mat last year and last saw here in Barefoot.  33° 48.13’ N  078° 44.71’ W  44.2NM 50SM today.  MM 354.

Dinner at Dirty Dons at the marina with Darrell and Ruth.

November 30, 2013 Saturday.  Today is a layover day.  Darrell and Ruth dart early.  Quicksilver is taking a day off too.  Jen and Nick (Lisa’s cousins) come to visit.  Lisa goes shopping with Quicksilver.  I rebuilt both head pumps, cleaned the oil out of the bilge, repaired the linkage on the generator.  Lisa gave the boat a much needed bath and washes a bunch of the caked on mud from Mile Hammock Bay off the anchor and chain.  Diane and Lauch McKay (our concierge doctor) came for dinner and we ate at T-Bonz at Barefoot Landing.  Nice visit.  We moved the boat to the fuel dock and loaded up on fuel and water.

Monday December 1, 2013 Sunday.  We depart Barefoot at 7:30am.  Cloudy 50 degrees no wind sprinkles.  The tide is with us and we are making 6.8kts over the ground.  Quicksilver is with us this morning.  12:05pm  MM385 The sun is out, still making 6.2 kts over the ground.  Lots of stuff floating in the Waccamaw River as we head downstream (logs, islands of water plants, sticks) and the river is very muddy.

4:30pm anchored in Minim Creek with Quicksilver rafted alongside.  Nice anchorage.  Lisa made pasta for all.

33° 11.125’ N  079° 16.23’ W  62SM  49.6 NM  MM 416.