Mile Hammock Bay

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 10 Jun 2011 22:08
To Mile Hammock Bay, Onslow County, North Carolina
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Very strange waking up with a fun fair nearby, after the deserted places we have become accustomed
 
 
 
 
Just behind Beez the low tide has exposed a mud ridge, for just a few birds the noise was awesome
 
 
 
 
No sooner had we left the basin at a quarter past eight, than I was at zero, sailing on the spot; haven't done it for a while so I suppose I was overdue. I had taken the correct channel but the mud had been secretly building a long way in front of the green marker, jumped out and nabbed me. A bit of wiggling and off I went again, another number on my tally. The area each side of the ICW was just like any seaside town but we did see an interesting sign.
 
 
   
 
 
 
Trotting along happily as ever, still amazed at the very varied things we get to see; including a man with transport to the end of his dock
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
Of course I can never forget the odd bridge or two, always welcoming, always cheerful, breaking and punctuating the journey
 
 
   
 
 
The odd meeting with osprey, now so common in our daily routine but always interesting
 
 
 
 
 
The houses with their interesting garden ornaments
 
 
 
 
 
Always following the map, through skinny shallows and deep seaward bits
 
 
   
 
 
I gave the captain a couple of songs to listen to, thankfully he couldn't hear what he was doing to some of my favourites
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Loads of crab restaurants, a set of goal posts - Bear wondered what would happen if the ball went to far. Beautiful houses, grand houses and some being extended, clearly not big enough
 
 
 
 
There always has to be a favourite, in this case a Berger special - complete with a parrot. 
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
We followed our last skinny bit of the day and pulled into Mile Hammock Bay, maintained and dredged by the marines and part of Camp Lejeune. Since September 1941, Camp Lejeune has been the home of “Expeditionary Forces in Readiness”, and throughout the years, it has become the home base for the II Marine Expeditionary Force, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Logistics Group and other combat units and support commands. Today, as in the past, Camp Lejeune's mission remains the same -  to maintain combat-ready units for expeditionary deployment. To help prepare warfighters for combat and humanitarian missions abroad, Camp Lejeune takes advantage of 156,000 acres, 11 miles of beach capable of supporting amphibious operations, 32 gun positions, 48 tactical landing zones, three state-of-the-art training facilities for Military Operations in Urban Terrain and 80 live fire ranges to include the Greater Sandy Run Training Area. The base and surrounding community is home to an active duty, dependent, retiree and civilian employee population of approximately 180,000 people.  The base generates almost $3 billion in commerce each year, coming from payrolls and contracts to support the structure required to train and equip the modern US Marines.
 
 
 
 
Safely anchored with only a couple of locals fishing, a smashing spot
 
 
 
 
 
ALL IN ALL A GREAT WAY TO DO 44 MILES