November 2nd- Beaufort, NC to Swansboro, NC
It seems like the cold weather is catching up. Break out the sweaters and shoes again but that also means less mosquitoes. We’re really noticing the shortness of the days now. No more 50 mile days. With only 11 hours of daylight it’s difficult to put in a 10 hour day and get Ollie to shore (and exercised) during daylight.
The trip from Beaufort to Swansboro was a mixture of sand swept islands and houses on stilts. I’m reading a science fiction novel called New York 2140. Downtown Manhattan is under water but the buildings are still in use, connected by bridges and boats. I think about that as I’m piloting Catalpa down the ditch. The whole East coast is turning into an intertidal zone.
We got to Swansboro pretty early so we took a stroll around town. Being Saturday, it was busy. There were many fishermen trolling the harbor. I was later told they were fishing for Spots. Many of the little boats were going into town for lunch. We found a small park for a little Ollie – frisbee action.
November 3rd- Swansboro, NC to Sloop Point
This post was almost titled “The Day I Ran Catalpa Aground in Stump Bay.”We left Swansboro around sunrise. This is our usual routine on travel days. We had a favorable current in the morning and it ran against us in the afternoon. The way the water flows in and out of all the outlets of the ICW make this also part of the routine.
More wrecks.Maybe they need more lighthouses with crazy names.
Around half the day was spent passing through Camp Lejeune. It is a large base for the USMC. Sometimes they shut down the ICW for live fire exercises. Luckily, today it was open. They were doing military stuff. We frequently saw helicopters and amphibious vehicles. They have an anchorage that boaters can use but land access is restricted and they frequently practice in the basin. We heard explosions on land so we skipped that one.
I could picture the Sergeant yelling,” Private! This is the most crooked APC I’ve ever seen!”
Anti Air
That’s no duck!
What happened at Stump Bay? We negotiated a few difficult areas during the day. This is due to strong currents and shoaling. The shoaling problem is not that bad for us since our boat has a relatively shallow draft. When we get to these spots I PAY ATTENTION. Stump Bay is fairly straightforward to navigate through so I wasn’t PAYING ATTENTION. The autopilot (named Ray) only steers Catalpa in a straight line. By the time I glanced at the depth sounder it was reading 3.5 feet. We draw 4 feet. The reading on the depth sounder is not completely accurate but it’s close enough. I quickly threw the helm over and executed a 90 degree turn. We slowed down a little but plowed back into deeper water. Lynne was inside, sewing, so there were no witnesses to my negligent seamanship.
I had read that our next destination had shoaling issues. I toyed with the idea of skipping it due to my earlier mishap but what fun would that be? I payed attention to the chart. It wasn’t actually very difficult to negotiate. The spot is called Sloop Point. It’s in Topsail Sound. Very Nautical. I brought Ollie in to shore at a little beach and walked up the road. At the top of the road is the Welcome to Surf City sign. Surf City basically looks like what you would expect. Sun, sand, tan people.
Oliver loves the beach.
This is the best name the developer could come up with?
Catalpa at Sloop Point.
November 4th- Sloop Point anchorage to Wrigthtsville Beach, NC
Today was an easy day. Not too many miles. We had two draw bridges that only open at specific times. Somehow we hit both bridges at the right time. There is a small grocery store (Roberts) near the Wrightsville dinghy dock. We have fresh food, beer, and wine. More exploration tomorrow. I believe there is a fish market near by.