Transiting Cape Fear

Today we traveled from Wrightsville Beach to Pipe Line Canal just past Southport, NC. The major part of the trip is running down the Cape Fear River from Carolina Beach to Southport.

In the past I've always had a non-descript uneasiness on the Cape Fear. Could be because I have difficulty sorting out all the channel markers or maybe we have had very slow passages and breaking waves on the bow when wind and current are opposed. The current on Cape Fear is FEARSOME!../

Today though we would have the current with us and very light winds.

We left Wrightsville at 7:30am and immediately ran into a movie production crew filming where the Masonboro Inlet intersects the ICW. It was cool they had this boat with a boom and a very large camera on it and ran down the ICW followed by six other boats and a skidoo dragging a platform and stunt man. Ahh to be a young man again.

It was entertaining and maybe Temptation will have a cameo appearance in a movie -- they wouldn't tell me the name but they kept asking about our hailing port -- Bahama, NC. I was being hailed by the boat called "STARDUST".

We had a fast ride to Carolina Beach Inlet -- crossed it then slowed dramatically -- ohhh the power of current. A slow ride down Snows Cut and when we crossed into Cape Fear our Speed Over Ground jumped to the 7s!! We even had to negotiate around a heavily loaded Container ship heading for Wilmington. Just before we reached Southport our SOG had increased to 10.2 kts!! But our speed through the water was only 5.5 knots so we were not surfing.

What a ride ! 28 NM in 4.5 hours. We hit Pipe line at exactly low tide and had to ghost in. Only 6' water and we draw 5.5.

We anchored by 12:30 and had a nice lunch of Roberts Chicken Salad.

I spent the afternoon puttering on the boat and reading Clive Cusler "Atlantis Found". Karen quilted all afternoon using up all the amps from our solar panels.

There was a boat ramp here and it was surprising how many people don't work on Mondays and can just play. Most looked to young to retire so what is their story? Don't get me started but too many able body folks are on Social Security Disability.

Grrr I was behind an attractive young woman at the grocery the other day and she paid for some groceries with an EBT card -- FOOD STAMPS -- then paid cash for her designer dog food. She was wearing some very nice designer jeans and left in very new 4 door Dodge Pickup with very fancy wheel rims.. You know the ones that cost a $1000 each..

Ohh well I just slum it in my yacht tonight.