May 7. 44.5nm Total miles 942
Leaving Carolina Beach the island narrows, development stops and the marsh and dunes begin.
(This bottom pic is of us leaving Carolina Beach)
Crossing the Carolina Beach Inlet, we enter Myrtle Grove and Mason Sounds. The Intracoastal here is between the mainland filled with homes and spoil islands made when the channel was created. Further to the east is tidal marsh and a narrow natural beach.
Further north, the island widens and is called Wrightsville Beach. Up to the end of World War 1, this beach area was a summer retreat which was only accessible by boat or train. Now it is all filled with beach homes and condominiums. As Wrightsville Beach is near the Masonboro Inlet, it has become a haven for boaters. We now have lots of small boat traffic sharing the waterway with us.
The mainland opposite the beach is filled with older two story homes with wide porches mixed in with newer beach homes.
Just south of Wrightsville Beach is Money Island. This part of North Carolina is filled with pirate legend. On Money Island, legend tells us that Captain Kidd hid his plundered loot. So far, Money Island has not lived up to its name.
The next barrier island is called Figure Eight Island, named for the winding figure eight that boats must take to negotiate the pass on the south end of the island. This island is filled with beach homes.
Next we passed Rich Inlet and traveled behind Little Top Sail and Top Sail Islands. This area gets its name due to the pirate ships that lurked between all the islands and creeks, hiding behind the oak hammocks and dunes. Ship captains would look for the top sail of the pirate ships and knew to void those areas. Top Sail Island today is mostly beach homes.
Towards the northern end of the island is a town named Surf City. Bill and I couldn’t resist breaking into a rousing rendition of the old Beach Boys song as we went past.
New River Inlet is just north of Top Sail Island. We negotiated crossing the inlet and it’s bay to turn east again to our anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay. Mile Hammock Bay was used during WWII as a training ground for amphibious landing by the marines of nearby Camp LeJeune. Across the way is the 264 acre base that trains up to 40,000 marines a year.
We anchored and got settled in before the wind picked up and a rain storm blew in. The boat got a good rinsing.
May 8. Beaufort 39nm Total 981miles
Woke up to a brisk 55 degrees. The rain last night ushered in a cold front. We bundled up and headed out on this cloudy morning.
The first 10 miles of our journey is through Camp LeJeune- the Marine training base. If the marines are doing maneuvers the boat must stop and wait. Luckily we were not impacted. We did hear explosions and saw quite a few helicopters in flight returning to base.
It’s hard to read but the sign says to not proceed if lights are flashing.
After passing Camp LeJeune, the barrier island continued to be filled with dunes and native plants up to the pass at Bogue Inlet. At the inlet the tidal flats grew to be almost a mile wide.
On the mainland we passed Swansboro, NC. Originally this town was a ship building and fishing village named after Samuel Swan, former Speaker of the North Carolina House of Commons who helped develop the industry in this area.
North of Bogue Inlet, we entered Bogue Sound, where the waters widened but are shallow. Thus the Introcoastal stays in a dredged channel close to the mainland through this sound. Originally Bogue Sound was inhabited by the Algonquin Indians due to the protected waters and abundant fish.
We next traveled past Moorehead City which has a large freighter port right on the Newport River. Bulk shipping of fertilizer, wood pellets and soybeans are handled in this port. The older homes on the river are unique in that they had wide front porches and second story dormers.
Across the river is the city of Beaufort, NC which was established in the early 1700’s. Beaufort is known for its historic homes, maritime museum and quaint shops and restaurants along the waterfront. We will spend time discovering them tomorrow as we ordered anchor chain and replacing the chain has priority today!
We had arranged with the Town Creek Marina to stay here two days. They also graciously assisted us with replacing our anchor chain, all 300 pounds of it.