Day 189-191 – 4/10-12/24

Starting location: Anchorage on Thoroughfare Creek, off Waccamaw River, SC.

Weather: 61 am, 72 pm – Wednesday 4/10. 65am, 70 pm, rainy, strong winds with gusts to upper 50s – Thursday 4/11. 56 am, 69 pm, sunny but windy conditions persist – Friday 4/12.

Ending location: Morningstar Marina, Southport, NC. MM 309 AICW.

Statute miles: 84, then 0 until departure

General summary: A few events occurred underway from our anchorage. As we were getting ready to dinghy Cocoa to shore, she came out of the back door onto the stern and promptly jumped over the starboard side – into the water. I’m sure she thought there was a dock there and was as shocked as we were when she ended up submerged in water. We had not yet put on her life jacket but fortunately there was little current at the time and Tom pulled her from the water into the dinghy. I’ll bet she will check twice now before getting off the boat. Then, while underway, we heard a loud thump and saw a huge log pop up behind us. Must have been somewhat water-logged as it wasn’t clearly visible, and we ran over it at 19mph. Stopped the boat and lifted the motor – no damage to the propeller and just a big scratch on the lower end. We resumed motoring just fine and I repeatedly checked the bilge to make sure we weren’t taking on any water, which would have meant there was a hole in the hull. No water! We escaped that one relatively unscathed. We radioed some boaters behind us to warn them to watch out for the log.

The route going North followed a narrow sand-sided channel between shore islands and inner islands with occasional openings into the Atlantic Ocean. It was well protected and the winds were calm. Lots of slow or idle speed spots around towns and marinas so our day was longer than expected.

We crossed into North Carolina after passing Myrtle Beach. There haven’t been any signs indicating state border crossings, like you see on interstate highways, that we have noted so far.

We arrived in Southport, NC, and tied up in our slip at the marina . A local, super friendly, harbor host came by to say hello and invited us to visit for docktales (he calls it “Porch Time” as the location is his large front porch at his home) in the following days and offered to let us use his car. We took him up on the car offer to re-provision, which was thoroughly appreciated! So generous and trusting.

The following day was stormy – rained off and on with winds gusting between 30-50 mph. For the first time this trip I spent the entire day and night on the boat, never opening the door or even venturing outside to the stern sitting area.

The next day was still breezy, but improving and sunny, so we walked about town for the historic walking tour, checked out some local shops, then met for docktales (“Porch time”) with some other Loopers who had been invited.

I also went to a local museum where town history was explored and artifacts presented. I learned many movies have used this area for scenes – “Crimes of the Heart”, “Safe Haven”, “A Walk to Remember”, “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, and (wait for it) “Weekend at Bernies”.

What was re-repaired:

Boater information: I’ve realized this section isn’t really necessary as there are other places to put reviews that are available to the general public. (Waterways and Navionics, for example.) It also takes time and I think my posts will be more timely if I stop this section. I will post comments on Waterways, instead, when appropriate.