Our position is: 34:40.800N 77:06.731W
ICW miles to go: 228.3
We got up early in order to get through the Wrightsville Beach
Bridge before 7am (after which it would only open on the hour) and have slightly
longer to get to the Figure Eight Bridge, opening every half hour through the
day and night. It was a calm morning with a light southerly wind forecast and
the sun was rising so it all seemed a lot more of a pleasure than the day
before. The first bridge opened promptly for us and we didn’t have to hurry to
the second, arriving in time to have a chat with ‘Gone with the Wind’ who came
up behind us going faster. We had heard them on the radio the previous day
calling TowBoat US as they were aground, although they subsequently were able to
free themselves before help arrived.
The next bridge was 17.5 miles away and only opened on the hour, so
it was a bit of a thrash to ensure we got there in time for the 10am opening.
However a breeze got up and we were able to supplement the engine with some sail
power and both boats got there with 15mins to spare.
The next opening bridge was over 20 miles away and opened on the
hour and half hour so we felt less pressured to race to this one. Gone With the
Wind hurried off as he was planning to go further than us. However we soon
spotted him stopped at the side of the channel, aground again, at which point we
thought a better name for the boat, would be ‘Stuck in the Mud’! We were unable
to offer assistance and he was once again on the radio to TowBoat US so we
passed on by with commiserations. We heard his following communications with the
Coastguard, when Boat US failed to respond, and were slightly surprised at the
difficulty they both seemed to have in identifying exactly where they were. At
one point the boat was asked to count on the radio, presumably so the Coastguard
could check their position with RDF. We felt very grateful for the professional
abilities of our Coastguard service and the RNLI.
We had been passed by a catamaran shortly after this and as we were
approaching North Topsail Bridge, a high level, 65’ one, we heard him radioing
the coastguard that he had hit the small light that hangs down at the centre of
the bridge with his lightning conductor, and it was dangling down from its
electrical cable. We made sure we went under the bridge to one side of this in
case it decided to fall down completely while we were
underneath.
By this time the tide was against us again and we were not
confidant of reaching Onslow Beach Bridge by 1pm so decided to slow down and aim
at 1.30pm. The land on either side of the waterway here is all used by the
military and we were passed by 2 large rubber boats full of Marines bristling
with guns. I guess they were training as the threat from terrorists does not
feel high on the ICW. Ted would not let me photograph them in case we were
suspected of spying. In spite of
slowing down we arrived at the bridge with plenty of time to spare, so we
probably could have made the earlier opening, and surprisingly we were joined by
Stuck in the Mud, who had managed to free himself by hoisting the main and
heeling over – just as well as TowBoat US had gone the wrong way down the
waterway looking for him!
The Camp Lejeune Training Camp has a live firing range across the
next part of the route, which would have closed the waterway if it had been
operative. Fortunately for us it was not and we proceeded with no further
excitement to Dudley’s marina at Swansboro, where we tied up on the outside of
their small dock. It was a bit rough and ready and the pontoon was fixed in
spite of the 5’ tidal range. We deployed the fender board and went ashore to
discover if we could buy bread. The marina had a courtesy car, which wasn’t
required for a couple of hours so we took advantage of it and went to a
supermarket a couple of miles up the road. The car was like the marina – a bit
rough and ready – and had something I’ve never seen before – automatic seat
belts. I didn’t particularly care for the imprisoning effect this seemed to
provide, but they were OK while driving along.
We were back at the boat and putting our purchases away, when more
marines razzed by in their big ribs and threw up such an enormous wake that
we bounced violently and one of the ropes holding the fender board broke and
allowed the boat to bang on one of the piles supporting the pontoon.
Unfortunately it had an exposed bolt head, which caused some damage to the
gelcoat. I wanted to write to the Pentagon and seek compensation but Ted thought
this was an overreaction! After that we had a surprisingly peaceful
night.
Wrightsville
Beach bridge at
daybreak
Figure Eight bridge with a man working on top as it opened
No more
pictures of eagles after
these
Two adults feed their young
The order
re-establishes according to speed after waiting for a
bridge.
Lights damaged by the cats mast one hanging by it's cable
The live firing
range
Dudley's Marina dog greets us. (The people were friendly
too)
