October 25th- Beaufort to Topsail Sound/ Surf City NC

We didn’t have a set date to leave Beaufort but the gloomy weather dictated we move on. We toured the town during our visit and added a few gallons of water to the tanks.

Industry around Morehead City

After passing Morehead City we traversed Bogue Sound and other various bays. The ICW is protected by the barrier islands of North Carolina. The bodies of water are all pretty shallow but there are well marked canals to follow. Eventually we passed through Camp Lejune. We didn’t see any soldiers today but we did see some aircraft.

Camp Lejune.

Fishing or catching birds?

There was one particularly shallow area around the base near New River Inlet but we didn’t have a problem.

Much of the run was through long straight dredged canals. I used our autopilot to steer and hit buttons throughout the day to adjust the course. Our Raymarine tiller autopilot on Catalpa was eventually named Ray. We have another Raymarine autopilot on Evergreen. This is a larger unit of a different design to accommodate Evergreen’s wheel. This autopilot has been dubbed Crazy Ivan. “Crazy Ivan” was a submarine manuver used by the USSR during the cold war. Their missle sub’s sonar had a blind spot and could not hear US subs that were tracking them from directly behind. The Russian subs would periodically make quick 90 degree turns to detect the US attack subs. This could result in collision. Every once in a while Evergreen’s autopilot executes the same maneuver when I’m using the remote. It keeps me on my toes.

We anchored in Topsail sound for the night. Across the road is Surf City beach. Ollie enjoyed the beach during his commando raids.

Evergreen anchored in Topsail Sound.

Morning fog.

October 26th- Topsail Sound to Carolina Beach, NC

We woke to fog and had a relaxing morning, waiting for it to dissipate a bit. Today’s passage was uneventful. The small outboard skiffs and center consoles increased through the day before reaching a crescendo at Wrightsville. They were buzzing like bees around that area. We call all the wakes, “North Carolina chop”. We anchored in Wrightsville once and couldn’t take it. Parts of Florida can be the same way.

We got to Carolina Beach which is also a “No Wake Zone” and is strictly enforced. We were happy to be pulling into the harbor and looking forward to resting and exploring for a few days. Unfortunately, we were unable to reserve a town mooring for the first night. No problem! We’ll just anchor. That’s where my problems started.

I consider myself experienced at anchoring and usually there is very little drama with the whole process. We were driving around one of the anchorages just slowly scoping out the depths and zeroing in on a good spot. Evergreen abruptly hit bottom and stopped dead. Engine full reverse! Engine full ahead! Nothing. Another cruiser came over with a big outboard powered dinghy to help push us out. He grounded. Eventually he was able to assist but we couldn’t move the boat much. I rowed out a kedge anchor and tried to crank Evergreen off the shoal using the genoa winches. Nothing. To make matters worse, there was a light breeze blowing Evergreen further into the shoal area. Very frustrating. Our boat is a shallow draft vessel but we were stuck in about two feet of water. Eventually I couldn’t move the rudder.

The tide continued to go out for another hour and then started to go up. With the help of the tide and our kedge anchor we got Evergreen off the shoal in a few hours.

Not done yet. More chaos!

At this point I could have anchored but decided to move to a second, less crowded, anchorage in the harbor. The sun was setting and we dropped the hook in a spot that looked good. We anchored near a large sailboat. In the dark the boats started to swing in odd directions due to current and lack of wind. We figured his lawyers were better than ours so we better move. Up anchor! In the pitch black we slowly motored around looking for another spot and trying very hard not to ground out again in the unfamiliar anchorage.

In the end we found a spot, ate, had a glass or two of wine, and collapsed for the night.

October 27th- Carolina Beach, NC

Up early. Ollie to shore. I see there is an open mooring now. Up anchor! We proceed over to the mooring field and tie onto a mooring. The wind is supposed to blow for a few days and I’m concerned about the Cape Fear river. We’re going to stay here for a while. There is a dinghy dock about 25 yards from the boat. Right up the road is a good cafe and the beach. Further down the harbor is a fish market and grocery options. Time to relax!

Some scenes from Carolina Beach.

View off the back porch.