Today was a series of decisions we'd like to do over! Some serious rain was predicted so we debated staying over another day at Southport. But, by 10am, no rain was on the horizon, so we decided to move along, heading for an anchorage just 30 miles away. Wish we could take back that decison! A lazy day at a really nice marina would have been a nice treat .... especially with how the rest of the day played out.
We had one last bridge to clear before bidding NC goodbye ... the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge is a tricky one because it sits directly on the water, only opens on the hour, and doesn't open 2 hrs before and after low tide (pickypickypicky) ... but we were on target to make the 2pm opening.
The heavy rain predicted did indeed materialize around noon. Pouring rain, limited visibility and high winds all conspired to make Maja difficult to manuever ... tense times, but manageable. We had to keep parts of the enclosure open so Dan could navigate and I could pick out the channel markers with the binoculars, meaning that we couldn't keep from getting wet ... and cold ... and miserable.
Around 1pm, as we were cruising easily down the channel at 7 knots, we came to a hard and sudden stop as we came aground on a sandbar, in the middle of the channel, in 9.5 ft of water. How unfair is that??? For a first, however, we had enough maneuveability to get ourselves off the sandbar and circled back around to check out the situation. A little further down the channel, we could see another sailboat aground. Via the radio, we learned that they were actually anchored in the channel with a diver in the water. They were parallel across the channel, but told us that we had enough room to pass to starboard. Another decision we wish we could take back. No sooner had we begun to nose over to the side, a huge gust of wind caught us on the beam, and in the time it took to yell, "oh shit!", we were pushed from 15ft of water to 4.5 feet of water. We were hard aground now, with a strong wind trying to keep pushing us closer and closer to the shore.
Our new best friend, BoatTowUS, arrived in 15 minutes. In pouring, POURING rain, we hooked up to the tow boat and just as quickly went from 4.5 ft of water to 15 feet of water. He towed us past the sand bar, and we were on our way again ... soaking wet and minus our good spirits from the start of the day. The sky continued to darken, the winds continued to rise, the rain continued to pour, and we continued to question the logic of our plan to make the bridge opening (which would now be 3pm instead of 2pm) and get to the anchorage before the weather deteriorated even more. When the Ocean Isles Marina appeared a mile away, we decided that it made more sense to stay at a dock tonite instead of slogging along for another 2hrs. In a heavy downpour, we got the lines secured to the dock and breathed a sigh of relief! However, in the time it took Dan to walk up to the office to settle our bill, and for me to go below and make lunch, the SUN came out! So, another decision for the day that we're not sure was a good one or not ... but no do-overs today. All I can say is that I would feel a lot better with thunder and lightening, instead of sunshine, right about now!
Mile 335. 25 miles today.
November 5
As the saying goes, “tomorrow is always a new day”, and today dawned with a clear blue sky, not a rain cloud in site (which definitely made up for the chilly 50degrees in the cockpit as we left the marina). With the enclosure up in the cockpit, we are protected from the wind and eventually able to feel the warmth of the sun.
Bridge opening #1 went as planned which is always a good thing. Next time we come this way, they should have the new 65ft bridge completed and this pontoon bridge will be a retired relic.
Plenty of water in the ICW during this stretch, so we can relax a bit and enjoy the scenery. South Carolina is full of marshes, and the houses that line the ICW need 600ft docks to reach the water … quite a site. Myrtle Beach (mile 345) is a very developed beach area, so we appreciated that this time through none of the recreational motor boats were filling the waterway. Of course, we did have one nerve-wracking passage with a barge as we were leaving Myrtle Beach.
Barge alert!
The barge captain got on the radio and announced that he could not change his course and all the southbound boaters could pass to port or starboard ... he didn't much care, just stay out of his way ('cuz he'd run you down if you got in his way!)
After Myrtle Beach, we entered the Waccamaw River, truly one of the most picturesque spots on the ICW. It's a deep water channel with tons of trees lining each side ... along with beautiful waterside homes.
Hey Jim: Do you recognize this boat?
They remembered you from Dock 10 at Brunswick Marina! s/v Cymric shared our dock for about a week before heading north and gave us our first tour of a catamaran. Their boat was hit by lightening this summer, so they are limping back to Brunswick for repairs with no electronics. We anchored with them on the beautiful Waccamaw River tonight, and they were even gracious enough to put their dinghy in the water and come over to share cocktail hour with us!
Anchored at mile 375. 45 miles today. Baked brownies in the oven to get the cabin temp up to 73 degrees before going to bed!
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