As
the SaSea Sally arrived in the waterway outside Dudley's Marina, Swansboro, NC,
we were directed to the railway for overnight docking. I acknowledged the
directive, having absolutely no idea what or where the railway was. Had I known
it was the entry/exit point for pulling boats for repair, but more importantly
a cross-current 'slip,' I would have anxiously appealed the decision to dock
here! But Captain Clay did a fine job...of ramming the piling with our swim
platform. I have faith in our swim platform and woulda bet money on the outcome
if I were a bettin' lady! Been there, done that! Clay's version of Shock and
Awe, you should have seen the dockhands' expressions!
No
damage done, we snugged in for the overnight, connected electric and water and
began preparations for our soon-to-arrive company, Mark and Margo Loy, Woodward
(Morton) relatives of yet-to-be-determined relationship. As I conducted a short
boat tour for our guests, I quickly apologized for the galley-mounted fly paper
strip (a necessity of late which swung in pendulum mode with the boat's
rocking); Margo immediately endeared herself to me when she commented on the
Halloween appropriateness. Gotta love that little lady!
A
delightful evening on the dining deck of the Ice House Restaurant, Clay and I
enjoyed getting acquainted with Mark and Margo over a leisurely dinner. The Ice
House sat adjacent to an art gallery on the waterway where many of Margo's
watercolor and sculpture pieces are offered for sale. Clay and I have walked
this historic downtown, marveling at the appeal of the various retail
establishments along our route, but have yet had opportunity to enter any of
the shops. Unfortunately, with plans already in place for Friday night
elsewhere, we were not able to extend our stay in Swansboro. And, we were also
going to miss the big Mullet Festival weekend, signs for which we observed
everywhere.
Friday's
departure out of the railway was as problematic as Thursday's arrival. I was
thrilled to kiss the railway goodbye without permanent evidence of having been
there! We motored to our next port of call, Harbour Village Marina, Topsail
Island, NC which lies adjacent to Surf City, arriving mid-afternoon. We were
deep into relative-mode with Clay having arranged to meet more Woodward
kinfolk, again of undetermined relationship. We would have waved a hearty hello
to Alex and Becky upon arrival had we known in advance that they lived directly
across the harbor waterway from our docking location.
We
welcomed Alex and Becky Edmonds aboard late afternoon for a SaSea Sally tour
and wine on the fly bridge before accompanying them to dinner in Surf City. I
think Becky was thrilled to share a favorite and so very charming dining spot,
Beauchaines 211, with Clay and me where we met Bill and Barbara McDonald, the
gals being the kinfolk to Clay. So fun when you find relatives to be such
likeable, fun-loving people, easy to meet and easy to know. Hooray for Woodward
(Morton) genes! Thanks, folks, for a heart-warming evening where four of the
six of us selected the same tasty entree, pistachio encrusted salmon. Yum!
Our
Saturday morning walk took us through the Harbour Village neighborhood where
both couples currently live. An obviously close-knit community, residents who
were also putting in a little cardio time greeted us, many guessing we were
Becky and Barbara's visiting relatives. Word travels fast, huh?
After
I quickly showered and processed, SaSea Sally departed the harbor mid-morning
bound for Southport, NC. Thankful for my background in Algebra (yes, it does
come in handy; and yes, I do use it), Clay had me calculating our necessary
speed to time various bridge openings on our way south. We were further
encumbered by a USCG Securite broadcast announcing a safety zone (waterway
closed for three hours) for a 200-man swim race which circumnavigated
Wrightsville Beach and Harbor Island just south of the Wrightsville Beach
bridge. We were positioned as lead boat in a string of four awaiting the 1:00
p.m. WB bridge opening which coincided with the race end. Johnny-On-The-Spot,
the bridge tender opened the bridge and dumped us four boats into a virtual
malestrom. Straggling swimmers, each accompanied by a paddleboarder, were
allowed to finish the race, the last swimmer coming in a full 26 minutes post
race end. Adding to the turmoil were various factors (increased winds, narrow
channel/waterway, swift current, numerous kayakers and 16-18' runabouts all
jockeying for the best view of the finishing swimmers), not to mention the
crowd of spectators onshore and all of the hoopla at the finish line. This was
a disaster in the making and an extremely dangerous situation for all, given
the four of us big boats that had been passed into this water pool. I must say
Clay, yet again, did a masterful job of handling our boat as did the other
three captains; though I never physically touched the helm wheel, I maneuvered
with Clay every step of the way. The radio conversation among the four big boat
captains was not kind to the race organizers nor to the USCG nor to NCDOT et
al. Because we were the lead boat with a birdseye view of the goings-on, we
were able to provide insight to the other three captains, though the info we
had to communicate was slim pickins! I was proud of Clay for following up with
a letter to powers that be with suggestions for race safety in the future. I
can't adequately, with words, describe the scenario; and, adding fuel to the
fire was the ignorance of the small boats as to the increased response time
necessary to maneuver large boats. Lots of idiots present and accounted for!
Following
that stressful situation which ended safely for all involved, we continued
across a horribly rough Cape Fear River to harbor overnight in the Southport,
NC City Marina across the street from the home of our AGLCA friends Robert and
Kay Creech, their home being easily identified by the plethora of oversized
Halloween baubles adorning their front lawn. In Robert's absence as dockhand,
we give a hearty shoutout (of thanks) to flounder fisherman Mike who was in the
right place at the right time to catch our lines!
We
were welcomed onto the Creech front porch for a bit of wine and boat chatter,
their porch very obviously the neighborhood gathering spot. What warm and
welcoming people the Creechs are! And, we, once again, enjoyed their
companionship and friendly conversation...and their prior alert to the one free
dock slip in the City Marina available to transient boaters. I was a little
squeamish about the tide which looked to be about 6' which meant that, during
the course of the night, we would be traveling vertically up and down that 6'
rise/drop, hoping our weird configuration of lines was adequately tied to
assure proper positioning come morning.
We
awakened to a damp, humid and overcast Sunday morning. For all the difficulty
in docking the prior afternoon, we had an easy off coupled with an easy travel
day through the Rock Pile toward North Myrtle Beach. Purported to be "the
most worrisome segment of the whole ICW trip," our Waterway Guide cautions
boaters to stay IN the channel through the Rock Pile as the bottom is not soft
forgiving mud and wandering here can be dangerous and expensive! We're now
two-for-two in successfully handling this stretch of waterway.
Arriving
to tie on the face dock of Barefoot Marina, we were greeted by two
unfamiliar-to-me faces, Bob and Anne Farmer (Bob a LHS classmate of Walter's).
I was not the most hospitable of hostesses as I quickly excused myself for a
short, but so very efficient shower and processing to be able to re-greet and
meet these folks with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. A dirty,
smelly, unpresentable first mate makes for a not so great first impression! I
guess it's all in the attitude!
Following
a nice afternoon of reminiscing with Bob and Anne, we stoked up our grill for
our first attempt at grilling tuna steaks. We tucked in for the night after
reviewing plans for the upcoming week.
On
that note, we bid you adieu and anticipate sharing details of the week ahead as
we continue south.
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