Well we tried something different this morning. Lenore had not slept well so I suggested she go back to bed and I would get underway. Everything went well from my perspective and I was cruising up the ICW going to no wake speed when necessary and coming back to 1000 rpm when we could. A little over an hour after we were underway, Lenore came up on deck dressed and ready to get on with the day. Part of the issue was that she was mostly awake when we talked and she characterized the forward line being tossed on deck “sounding like breaking fiberglass” and the engine rpm changing change the sounds. It did not work, she did not get back to sleep.
The weather today was cloudy and warmed to about 70. We cruised the ICW with a lot of other traffic. A lot of small boat traffic in spite of the fact that most of the boat lifts along the shore are empty and the season is just getting underway down here.
We crossed from South Carolina to North Carolina today so another milestone has been reached. The scenery is not much different other than I think there is more development along the ICW. We were able to see the condos along the ocean because the distance from the ICW to the ocean is less than 1/2 mile and some areas it is maybe 1/4 mile. The condos are a very concentrated development with row after row of buildings with no trees visible from our perspective. Most of the condos appear to be 3 story, frame construction with aluminum siding. Not a very attractive site but plenty of people must have bought them.
We also passed several inlets along the way and we were literally just a short distance from the Atlantic with a great view. A lot of sand bars visible just outside the ICW. A little disconcerting at one point to have a sign in line with the edge of the channel that said “ROCK – DANGER”. We did have 15′ of water and I was in the middle of the channel.
A good portion of today we were traveling almost due east. We are at the Southport Marina that is just off the Cape Fear River. When we get underway we will make a left turn onto the Cape Fear River and be headed north, northeast. This marina is a pretty classy place with lots of big boats and all the boats are in good repair and maintained well by their owners.
Not exactly sure when we will post next because we are going to get socked in by the weather for 2 or 3 days. We may be able to travel tomorrow is the forecast holds and then have to sit it out. We are trying to make Portsmouth/ Norfolk VA by May 8th. We are about 300 miles away and doing 40 to 60 miles everyday we are underway. Stay tuned.