10/31/14
Southport NC, ICW
Position: 33 55.054N, 78 01.685W
Posted by Bill

We only had a short hop of 12.5 nautical miles to go today and we wanted to time the tides for our journey, so we walked to breakfast and walked the beach for a few hours before we left. Carolina Beach was the first place I experienced the ocean as a kid and I like like beach here a lot, so this was fun even though it was only 65 degrees and windy as hell. We stopped and bought some shrimp where the boats come in with their catch and then back to the boat. I had more time to take a few pictures of the marina here:


Some really cool houses along the marina:

Looking south into Carolina Beach downtown:

Island Bound at the dock:

The beach:

We motored out of the marina and into Snow’s Cut which leads into the Cape Fear River. The tide was coming in, but the current in Snow’s cut runs opposite of the Cape Fear River, and we shot off like a rocket (in sailboat perspective) going 9.2 knots. Once we hit the river we had opposing tide and a 20 knot wind behind us. This slowed us to 4.8 knots and even 3.9 at one point, and the winds created a healthy chop. It was a beautiful day.
Snow’s Cut:

Cape Fear River:

We visited Southport many years ago while on a business trip and really fell in love with the town. It is steeped in history and has the charm of an old southern sea port. The historic homes are well kept and there are lots of restaurants and shops. I have been looking forward to spending a few days here since we left our dock in Lake Erie. The marina here is really nice too. It was pretty packed and we saw lots of boats that we have been traveling with since we left Portsmouth. There are 2 weather fronts moving through in the next couple of days, with winds over 40 knots and temperatures falling into the 30’s at night. Glad to be tied to a dock and run the heater.
Coming in to Southport:



Pictures from our dock and of the marina:

We walked into town and had an outstanding dinner, watching the trick-or-treaters along the way. It reminded us of our grandkids and made us miss them even more. One lady said hello to us as she was waiting for the next group of kids, and asked us if we were trick-or-treating. We said “we could be” and she gave us our pick of candy…lol. It was a nice evening and the temperature was in the low 60’s…love that!

Today’s sunset at the marina: