Candy and I were out early today. There was a large boat, probably 60′, that came in yesterday evening and they put them on the gas dock not to far from us. The boat was from Marblehead MA. They left this morning at 6:00 as Candy and I were starting our walk.
The weather was perfect again and we got underway about 8:00. No stops along the way today but we did hear Terrapin and After Taxes on the VHF radio. As we passed the Little River Inlet from the Atlantic we saw Linde anchored out and they hailed us on the radio. They are hoping to catch us one night at a marina so we can compare notes on the trip. They are planning on anchoring out in the Wrightsville area tonight.
We had very little traffic up to where we entered the Cape Fear River. There was a large container ship just coming in from the Atlantic and it had its name written in Arabic on the hull. He was moving pretty good, probably 14 mph and we were moving a little over 10 mph with the tide. I stayed out of his way and let him get well ahead of us and then pulled in behind him. We followed him for about 10 miles until we cut off for the ICW near Carolina Beach.
The traffic on the water was not to bad until we got to the Carolina Beach area and the rest of the way to Wrightsville. Lots of pleasure boaters that you would think it was a weekend. They were all over the place with pontoon boats, personal water craft, center consoles, etc. All different sizes. I was concerned in some places for the wake I was putting out but then a 30′ powerboat passes me on plane and my wake is like a ripple compared to his.
Wrightsville is a real popular place with an awful lot of development all along the ocean shore. It looks like condominium after condominium. No wonder there are so many people around. The area along the ICW is packed with restaurants and marinas on both sides. It appears to be a real popular area.
Wrightsville Beach is on the ICW and east toward the Atlantic. When you drive a little further in you are in Wilmington NC. Lenore and I used a courtesy car to go into dinner and had a great time at a place called Slice of Life. It is a cross between a Sports Bar and a Pizza Place. Food was really good and we raised the average age of the customers.