- 10/15/2012 Morehead City Yacht Basin to Mile Hammock Bay, NC - 37nm
- 10/16/2012 Mile Hammock Bay, NC to Wrightsville Beach, NC - 35nm
- 10/17/2012 Wrightville Beach to Southport, NC - 23 nm
Total: 94nm
Quote: “I know who you are, but you will have to wipe your feet.”
(Capt. Richard Brown of the
Schooner America to Prince Albert of England - 1851)
Salty
Turtle
Never though I'd be on a “power boat” but here I am.
Salty Turtle is a 1987, Defever 44, a go slow, trawler, kind of girl
or as Big Al Carson, likes to say “Built for Comfort not for
Speed.” Why did we do it? Well because....
One of my all time heros, Dick Bradley, had a theory he
called his “Shaky Card Table Theory of Life.” Dick said
that when we are young (in our 20s) we go find a job and settle in.
Then God issues us a rickety old card table complete with “puzzle.”
Over the next 10 years or so we spend our time puttin' the puzzle
together. Then we stand back, admire our efforts, and spend the rest
of our our lives dancin' around that table trying to keep everyone
and his brother from kicking it over and making a shamble of our
creation. Not Dick, at that point he would kick over that table and
scream at the top of his lungs, “God! Give me another puzzle!”
Best explanation I can come up with for how the
SaltyTurtle entered our lives.
Summer was a blur mostly working on the Turtle..the
old girl is a hard taskmaster. There was generator issues, bottom
paint that failed, painting lessons (boat not house), new radio with
AIS and GPS to install (that's a story of its own), moving stuff from
Oconee to Turtle, provisioning, a wonderful Copelan Reunion (thanks
again Paul, Stacy and the Athen Gang), and ….Grandbabies to see,
hug and love.
On Oct 12, Tom and Olga Cook joined us for the trip down
the ICW from Morehead City to Beaufort, SC. Tom is a neat guy –
author, diver, sailor, rat rodder (built an old Chevy) and jack of
all trades. Olga is Russian and just a sweetie. Good crew and
pleasant company.
We spent the first night at anchor in Mile Hammock Bay
nestled in the bosom of Camp Lejune Marine Corp Base. “Bay” is
really a misnomer. It is really a dug out basin roughly the shape of
an rectangle. The day came complete with entertainment. Flights of
“Osprey” (the helicopter not the bird) clopped circles around us
searching some unknown prey. Tracked, amphibious, attack vehicles
loaded with marines plowed across the ICW in front of us with red
flagged Marines directing traffic from the bank. The night settled in
with the echoed sound of cannon fire all around. I can't quite
explain it, but it was strangely serene and peaceful night.
The next day found us at anchor in Banks Channel at
Wrightsville Beach by 1:30. As much as we hurried we caught all the
bridges wrong. Surf City Bridge has 12' vertical clearance (we need
21' to clear) and opens on the half hour and hours. We arrived 4
minutes after the hour. Figure 8 Island bridge (clearance 23' at the
time we arrived) opens on the hour and we hit it dead on...and would
not have needed an opening. Wrightsville Beach Bridge normally has a
clearance of 23' at the state of tide we arrived had only 18' because
a construction barge was parked under it and we waited another half
hour. “That's cruising.” as they say or "screw speed just go slow."
Wrightsville Beach gave us a great lunch, rendezvous
with friends on Escape - another Defever, and (of course) a stop at
Roberts Grocery. Roberts has homemade chicken salad and pimento
cheese ..MMMMM Good.
We are currently in Southport with plans to leave
tomorrow for the Waccamaw River in South Carolina with a stop
somewhere to fill up with fuel (shudder)...but SC is much cheaper
than NC.
Fairwinds and Rum Drinks,
Vic
PS – Note for you Sailors: If you leave Wrightsville
Beach at the turn of high tide at Southport you will ride the tide
all the way down the Cape Fear.
