Day 2 - "It's all good, y'all..."

We putzed up the ICW (Inter Coastal Waterway) today from Wrightsville NC in light fog and rain. Cant get lost however because the channel is like a 2 lane highway. Just have to watch out for the nuns and cans (left and right marker buoys) so you don't run aground. Started out the day with preventive attentions: if the winch handle decides to take another suicide leap overboard, at least it will now float and we can retrieve it!



"Hmmm. That's big step," says the pretty girl with the hand beaded baseball cap.



See the rain jacket hanging on the door? Cool and comfortable in the pilot house. Hot and North Carolina humid outside.



A picture of the helm: charts, Garmin plotter. iPad, compass - oh yeah, and cookies.



Smell the fragrant clover and grass smells. Then shut the door. It's raining.



The draw bridge is opening for a boat ahead of us. It's a swing bridge (really slow) and we've been told by the bridge tender that he'll keep it open for a few more minutes until we get there: "It's all good y'all. I'll wait for you." Great southern charm.

















We're now in Camp Lejeune (US Marine) territory now - just after the swing bridge. Periodically the marines have live fire exercises that shoot across the ICW. Guess what? We arrived at 2PM just as the marine police closed the ICW for 2 hours!

I guess better to anchor in the river than cross their live fire zone.



So we did: anchored in the river and rafted up with 2 guys in a catamaran sailboat who we had been traveling with most of the day. Good conversation and story telling while we waited out the war games. Also cookies, crackers and cheese...




This delay put us behind schedule. By the time we bucked the tide and current leading into Bogue Sound, and finally arrive at Morehead City, NC, it was getting dark and I felt unsafe negotiating the inner harbor. So we anchored outside the city, in a large area just off the main waterway. The wind blew all night and I had to get up to take bearing about 6 times over the night to make sure we weren't dragging anchor. Otherwise all was well, but neither of us got any sleep. Mint tea, and an orange for breakfast the next morning - and hopes for quieter weather.