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The morning of Day 2 came really early. Neither Mark nor Sidekick Sue slept very well, constantly analyzing every noise and getting up to make sure we weren’t dragging anchor. With every thump and wave, we were convinced we were drifting and bumping into things. It will be a while before we have confidence in our ability to stay in one place.

In the morning light, it was clear to see we hadn’t moved at all. Our anchor had held fine, even as the tide turned and swung our boat around throughout the night. Mark made a hearty breakfast of omelets and ham and started to prepare the dinghy for exploration on land in Wrights beach. As it turned out, conditions seemed too rough for our inflatable dinghy (which we haven’t used enough to know its capabilities and limitations). In the end, we decided to err on the side of safety and forego the trip to shore and press on.

As we prepared to raise the anchor and move on, we realized that we had to hustle to get to our first waypoint, a drawbridge that opened on the hour. Of course, we got there at two minutes after the hour, but we had radioed ahead, and the bridge tender held the bridge open for us (and a small boat that snuck in ahead of us from nearby dock).

The next bridge (a swinging bridge) opened on the half hour. Of course we got there half-way in between openings, but didn’t have to wait too long because the bridge was already open to allow a huge commercial barge to pass through. Our challenge was to stay out of its way and then we were given permission to pass through. Captain Mark was scolded because the bridge tender claimed he had tried to radio us (to warn us of the huge barge), but neither one of us heard him calling or responded. We were on the right channel, so this becomes another mystery as we figure out how to navigate the ways of the waterway.

Overall, the water was rough today. It was chilly and wavy and both of us eventually relented and got out our foul weather gear. Today we learned the hard truth that slow moving trawlers are the “RVs of the waterway”. Like slow moving RVs on the highway, we are sometimes responsible for slowing down traffic and victims of the “waterway rage” when other boaters get the chance to pass us. As they gun past us, they leave huge wakes behind for us to bob around on. It’s a little scary at first, because you basically lose control of your steering for a few minutes as the wake rolls you around. Every once in a while, someone radios ahead to request a “slow pass”, but that is the exception, not the norm.
One group that sped by us was a bunch of Marines on a mission, several inflatables of young marines, armed to the hilt, followed by a boat full of officers. Like yesterday, we saw a number of pods of dolphins. They are hard to photograph, as you only catch short glimpses of their dorsal fins.

Our first plan was to anchor at a highly recommended anchorage near Camp Lejeune. Apparently, it a nice isolated anchorage with front row seats to watching the Marines execute their practice missions. However, looking forward at the weather for Day 3 (storm and rainy all day), we decided to press on to Morehead City, NC where we could get a cheap dock for a couple of nights to wait out the storm (much more enjoyable than spinning around at anchor for 48 hours or trying to continue the trip in high winds and rain). The added benefit is having electricity without having to run the loud generator, and being in the heart of a little city, close to shops and restaurants. That decision, basically doubled our mileage for the day, making for a really long day. Sue went below and cooked dinner and we took turns eating and driving while approaching Morehead City. Sidekick Sue was impressed , standing at the galley window, as we passed through another drawbridge without any panicked calls for help from Mark. Captain Mark must be getting more comfortable navigating the low bridges with confidence.

We pulled into the dock around 5:30. The current was strong and it took a couple of attempts to get into a slip, until we decided to give up trying to “back in” (we may have had a controlled collision with a piling) and went into our slip bow first. We were greeted by a wonderful character, Dockmaster Lee Everett, who had stayed past closing to make sure we got in safely. The best time to dock is around low or high tide when the water is “slack”. Unfortunately, we were arriving at the worst time, halfway between low and high tide, so he wanted to be there to help (and perhaps protect his pilings LOL). Dockmaster Lee was wonderfully welcoming, providing us with his hand-drawn picture of the town and telling us all the best spots for eating and shopping. We spent some time walking around town, trying to get our “Fitbit steps” for the day, since we hadn’t gotten to shore at all on Day 1.

So far, Day 3 has been uneventful. We are tied up safely to the dock, watching the rain and wind. Captain Mark is researching some maintenance issues (problem with the alternator) and Sidekick Sue is working on blog, bills and a few sewing projects). At some point, we will don the wet weather gear and venture out into the town to get some exercise. While we are disappointed to be sidelined for the day, only three days into our trip, we are grateful for opportunity to be on this journey together.

Well, after a long Covid break, Mark and Sue are back at it again. Last year we had to cancel a couple of bike/camping trips (both domestic and foreign) because of closed campgrounds and closed borders. Now that we are fully vaccinated and the country is approaching a turning point, it seemed reasonable to safely venture out again, as long as we remained relatively away from the crowds.

This adventure started in 2018 at a party with some college friends at the home of our friends, Sue and Dave, on Cayuga Lake in the NYS Finger Lakes. We were boat watching when someone mentioned that you could travel by boat from Cayuga Lake to NYC via the Erie Canal and the Hudson River. From that discussion we learned about the Great American Loop, and the various ways to traverse it, even going up into Canada. We were shocked that we had never heard about it before, and soon were were researching the Intracoastal Waterway and the canal systems through NY. A few weeks later, we were in Canada, on Buckhorn Lake, visiting our friends Sue and Steve (who had been part of the conversation on Cayuga Lake) . Steve pointed out a trawler that was tied to a dock waiting to go through the locks and said…. “those guys are loopers”. Well, we pulled up beside them and had a great conversation and they shared their “business card” as they were actually “looping” enthusiasts that would travel to yacht clubs to teach other people about the Great American Loop which is also connected to the Trent-Severn Waterway in Canada. That’s all it took to plant the seed……

Fast forward to 2020….. Covid had cancelled most travel. Family situations required us to travel from NH to upstate NY several times, and we started talking about perhaps having a “footprint” in NY so we would have a home base when visiting family. We looked at cottages (too much work), apartments (blah), RV parks (nah), and finally decided a marina would be fun (at least for the warm part of the year) and would later provide the vehicle to explore more portions of the Great Loop. Mark researched and found an old 1988 Albin 36 trawler in Little River, SC. We spent several weeks at the Myrtle Beach Yacht club (which is neither in Myrtle Beach or a real yacht club) in relative isolation (with a few visits from vaccinated sister Cathy and her husband Todd) cleaning and working on the boat (and making practice runs) before embarking on our first adventure…. moving it to Plattsburgh, NY.

That brings us to today. After several weeks of work, it was time to set out. We woke up super early, checked out at the yacht club, paid our bill, went to the fuel dock to get 155 gallons of diesel, pumped the “poop tank”, filled the water tank, and left our temporary home. We motored north on the Intracoastal, seeing several clusters of dolphins, hundreds of crab pots, and thousands of birds. As we started only 5 miles from the border of North Carolina, we quickly crossed the state line. After about 40 miles, we reached Southport, NC which was our “Plan A” for staying the night. However, the town dock, which had been wiped away in a hurricane in 2018 was not completed enough to accommodate boats of our size, and the anchorage area looked too small for a couple of amateur anchor-ers like ourselves. We decided to press on with Plan B which promised a much larger anchorage near Wrightsville Beach (but 3 more hours on the water).

To stay on the ICW, we had to navigate through the opening to the Cape Fear River, which was vast and wavy, and felt much like being on the open ocean. Between the waves, the strong current, and the wind, it was very hard to hold a course. Captain Mark persevered while Sidekick Sue curled up on a lounge chair to take a nap (while feigning seasickness). Sue returned to the helm once the waters calmed, while Mark busied himself with getting the anchor rode and chain ready. We steered to our anchorage for the night and anchored successfully the first time, joining a couple of fellow loopers. While we really wanted to go ashore and explore, we opted to stay with the boat, until we have a few more “anchorings” under our belts. This is the first time we’ve anchored overnight, and we suspect we may be sleeping lightly tonight, as we keep checking our bearings constantly. 🙂