A quick stop in South Carolina and on to North Carolina

A quick stop in South Carolina and on to North Carolina

After our one stop at Brunswick GA, we went outside overnight into Charleston, SC.  Always a favorite stop, we were delighted to get a text from our good friends, the Cobettos, saying they were also in Charleston.  This trip we had made reservations to stay on the north side of the peninsula at the Charleston Maritime Center.  It is a shallow marina that we have to enter and leave at mid to high tide. This slight inconvenience is more than made up for by the prime location a few blocks from a Harris Teeter grocery store, as well as all the great shops and restaurants of the old city.  As it happened we were on the best side to hook up with the Cobettos and their daughter Maggie’s family.  We got our fix of “grands” enjoying baby watching and toddler wisdom by spending an afternoon at their rented beach house.  We also are indebted to Greg for procuring some widgets Steve needed to fix a couple leaks in our engine room.  Our brief stop also included several outstanding meals – dinner at 82 Queens with classic southern shrimp and grits, BBQ shrimp and salmon with corn pudding at the Red Drum and several breakfasts and treats at the Saffron Bakery just a short walk from our dock. Charleston is always a must stop – but even better to share it with friends.

Leaving with the mid tide we flew down the river only to get rocked by falling tide opposing strong winds as we exited for our another overnight into Cape Fear and Southport, NC.  Those with weak stomachs suffered, but fortunately the forecast was for diminishing winds and waves and this indeed was the case.  

We timed the arrival better this round to avoid the mad fishing boats charging out of the channel in the dark that waked us in Charleston. Also, realizing we might arrive before the dock master on Saturday, we organized the slip information and docking instructions by phone early on Friday.  As he promised, there was not a shortage of helpers to tie our ropes.  Boaters are early risers and several of our new neighbors jumped out to catch our lines.  Steve had the boat washed before the office was even open.  The marina choice here was a new one for us as well.  While we enjoy revisiting favorite spots we like to check out the various docking options.  Deer Point Marina is a sister facility to the Bald Head marina that we visited last spring and the base for the ferries that run between the island and mainland. 

 It is also ideally situated off the Cape Fear River for our next leg into Wrightsville Beach and only a short bike ride into the town of Southport.  We took advantage of the bike path and ventured in to Taylor’s Café for lunch and a little “shopping”. …. brass fittings for PSE and clothing plus satay sticks for JEE.

Another surprise greeted us in Deep Point Marina.  We spotted Keeper – another Krogen that we last met on the Okeechobee waterway last spring.  Although the boat is their home – sadly they were not onboard for our visit.  (The owner is an airline pilot who is still working from his floating home base.)

Needless to say, after another all night run, a few naps were included on our agenda.  Hopefully we will be doing only long days as we continue our march toward Canada, but we will always be ready for a big hop, if the weather gods permit it.

P.S. Frank has already recovered - 

NOTE: if anyone is wondering why we did all of these long overnight runs, they only need look back at our previous blogs and count the days it takes to travel inside on the ICW from Florida to Cape Lookout.  We are forced to work the tides since there are many skinny spots that have shoaled and require a rising tide to safely transit.  The timing of travel and limitations of only one tide period during daylight hours make this a trip on the ICW of short days and nervous depth sounder watching.  (We heard one boat yesterday as we rolled along in the Atlantic – say he had already been stuck several times just in that day alone.) By running outside and overnight, we have saved our travel days for regions that we have not yet explored.