Saturday, August 14, 2010 – Wrightsville Beach, NC, mile 283.2

The sky was mostly cloudy when we started up the river a little before 8 am. It actually felt cool at 82°F! Our first stop was at Southport Marina where we took on fuel and water and paid a $10 fee to leave our boat at the dock so we could go into town to buy provisions. A taxi picked us up at 9 am and dropped us off at the Super Walmart where we loaded up with groceries and picked up a few other items for the boat.

By 11:15 am the provisions were stowed, Gale had showered and we were ready to head out once again. The guidebook recommended that a northbound slow boat, such as ours, leave Southport one hour before high tide to take advantage of the tidal current for a boost in getting through the Cape Fear area. A slow boat was defined as one that traveled between 5 and 7 knots. Since high tide was at 12:15 pm, we were right on schedule for the passage – and we were very happy to have heeded the advice – especially since the northeast wind was coming straight toward us at a strong 15 knots or better! Cape Fear is a busy inlet with a good deal of large ship traffic. It is shallow, the currents are strong and it can be very choppy.





After passing through the Cape Fear region, we came to the beautiful beaches of Carolina State Park. Many people were out in their pleasure craft enjoying the water, the sunshine and the beaches. We decided that we’d like to check out a beach ourselves and made our way to Wrightsville Beach, NC where we found a great place to anchor at 3:45 pm. After putting out a second anchor for safety, we took the dinghy to the dock, walked the two blocks to the Atlantic coast and found a gorgeous beach full of people. We played in the strong surf for awhile and then took a dinghy ride around the protected basin of the ICW. There wasn’t much discussion when the question was asked: “Should we stay tomorrow, too?” YES!