mollydsails

[mollydsails]

April 25 - Another adventure ends and what a great one it was! Our adventure began on October 1, nearly 7 months ago. Molly D took us to many beautiful places. We met up with friends we met on previous adventures and we made a few new friends as well. Fun, laughter, shared meals, sharing stories, and just hanging out with other boaters filled our days. We were fortunate to have family and friends visit us in Key West. We also had frustrations with bridges, hundreds of crab pots, and the weather. These frustrations were just a blip in our entire time away, although at times a frustration could be HUGE in the moment. Molly D travelled approximately 3200 miles over the course of the 7 months that we were away. Molly D needs a well deserved rest. Her captain and crew do as well. Thank you Molly D for giving us the opportunity to challenge ourselves and for keeping us safe.

Look at the smiles! We are happy to be home!

We shared many fun times with Wendy and Bob. I miss them already!

We made a stopover in Wilmington, NC on our trip north to see Lee and Alison. We met them in October 2022 at the Annapolis boat show.

One of the many opening bridges on the intracoastal waterway

One of the many beautiful sunsets that wowed us during our journey

Breakfast at Harpoon Harry’s in Key West

Dinner and drinks at Coconuts overlooking the ICW in Ft Lauderdale

Waterside deck at the Galleon Resort, Key West

Dallas, our favorite Key West Performer

We are tired from our adventure. We are happy to be back home. Plenty of items on our work list. We will make progress on the list but we will also continue to have Molly D take us on adventures this summer. Maine may be a new destination for us. Stay tuned!

[mollydsails]

April 24 - Travel through NYC day. Always a challenge but more so today. Whenever Molly D travels north through NYC, she travels outside the shipping travel in the right hand side. This position keeps her clear of ships/tugs/barges that will be making a left hand turn after the Verrazano Bridge to head to the ports in Bayonne, NJ. This morning there were no fewer than 10 commercial vessels moving into and out of NYC the same time as Molly D. Unfortunately, due to the spacing and speed of 3 inbound cargo ships, Molly D was not afforded an opportunity to move from outside the left of the shipping channel to outside the right hand side of the shipping channel. Grrr!! Just before the left hand turn to the port of Bayonne, a container ship slowed her progression prior to making the left hand turn. David took this opportunity to cut in front of the container ship so that Molly D could be set up to enter the East River. While doing so, the ship slightly increased her speed. Molly D got a loud horn blast from the ship. Sorry not sorry. Molly D had plenty of room to safely make the course change.

The green objects are ships. This screenshot was taken before Molly D crossed under the Verrazano Bridge

Molly D and two container ships, one outbound, the other inbound.

Lady Liberty

The Financial District

Love the name of this barge—Spanky

After annoying the container ship, Molly D had no further issues with the other marine traffic on the East River. Whew! So stressful!

Today’s flight path into LaGuardia was right over the East River and Molly D.

Plane on final approach for landing at LaGuardia.

Steppingstone Lighthouse

Execution Rocks Lighthouse. The entrance to Long Island Sound!!

Anchored in Port Jefferson

A post rain shower rainbow to welcome Molly D to her home waters of Long Island Sound

Tomorrow Molly D will complete the last leg of her 2023-2024 winter trip. Molly D and her crew look forward to pulling into her home marina. Another great winter travel season to remember. This one was the best by far!

[mollydsails]

April 23 - Arrived in Sandy Hook. Most of our travel day was pleasant. Plentiful sunshine, gentle wind and some ocean swells. Conditions deteriorated a bit after Asbury Park. Wind and seas increased but it was still a comfortable ride. The last hour and a half was tough with strong winds and choppy seas. The wave splash was hitting the windshield. We are now tucked inside Sandy Hook. The hill in front of us is sheltering us from the brunt of the wind and the breakwater has calmed the water. Thank goodness!! We can see the Verrazano Bridge from Molly D! Tomorrow Molly D tackles NYC!

[mollydsails]

April 20 - Part 2. Anchored at Reedy Island. As soon as we exited the C&D Canal and entered Delaware Bay, the wind honked!! We had ZERO wind coming up the Chesapeake. Suddenly it was blowing in the upper 20s. As you can see in the photo, the wind was blowing 22 when we anchored. Now the wind is 11 gusting to 16. Always happens!!! Happy to be anchored. Today’s travel was just shy of 10 hours. We had to dodge sticks, branches, limbs, sections of tree trunks, 4x4 pieces of wood and logs all up the Chesapeake. When we got to the bridge in Chesapeske City, we did a port to port pass with a tug towing a barge towing a dredge all being followed by another tug tied to the stern of the dredge. Right behind this menagerie of boats was a barge being side towed by a tug. Not enough excitement for Molly D though. She had to cool her prop while a railroad bridge (usually raised) lowered to let a very slow moving freight train cross. We are settled in now. Taking a breather before reheating tonight’s previously made (and frozen) supper of a sausage/onions/potatoes medley.

It’s going to be a cold night. 41 at 6 am! I’ll just bask in the warm sun a while longer.

[mollydsails]

April 20 - Molly D has left Annapolis. A short, one day stop but we are trying to beat a weather front coming through on Wednesday. We don’t want to be stuck in Atlantic Shitty waiting for the weather to clear. We will have very long travel days until we arrive home. We are hoping to make it through the C&D Canal and anchor in Reedy Island tonight. Our planned stops are Reedy Island, Cape May, Atlantic City, Sandy Hook, Port Jefferson and finally Gwenmor. Ambitious schedule, weather dependent.

On another note, Chesapeake Bay outside of Annapolis harbor was completely empty of ships. There are usually a dozen or so ships anchored there. Not now. The Key Bridge disaster has forced ships into other ports.

[mollydsails]

April 18 - A fun day in St Michaels! As we were getting ready to take the dinghy to shore this morning, I noticed that 1 of the two boats that were in the anchorage area opposite the Maritime Museum was leaving. Before that boat could change its mind about leaving (it was slightly foggy), we moved Molly D to the spot it had vacated. Woo hoo! We visited many of the shops in town (not buying a thing, of course). It’s been a couple of years since we last visited. A major construction project (a former grocery store, I think) had been completed. At the time of our last visit, the steel support structure was being erected. The building is now a modern white brick design with black windows and is home to two or three shops.

We have followed the pollen bloom north. I have never seen so much pollen on the water or on surfaces.

Pollen on a brick sidewalk.

Pollen at the entrance to a shop.

A set of small, unique storefronts.

A view of South Talbot Street

A stop in St Michaels wouldn’t be complete without a meal at Limincello. So good!! The restaurant also serves a wicked Limoncello Martini!

Interior of Limincello

The town has a small grocery store. What is amazing about this store is its vast selections of prepared meals to go. The meat case displayed the best looking meats I have ever seen. The store also dry cured meats. The beef in the curing units looked like something that would be found on Fred Flinstone’s dinner table.

View of the St Michaels waterfront

View of the Maritime Museum

Waterfront crab restaurant

Tomorrow Molly D will head across the bay to Annapolis. We will stay in Annapolis for 3 nights. Once we leave Annapolis, it will be a six day sail to Mystic. But only if the weather cooperates. 🤞. Our winter trip is coming to an end. David and I have had such a great time on this trip! We reconnected with old friends and we made new friends. Our journey took us on the ICW through Georgia. It was an interesting trip, but not one we care to repeat. The Georgia ICW was very curvy, narrow in spots, and shallow in spots as well. Although I hate doing the 22 hour, overnight, offshore trip from Fernandina, FL to Charleston, SC, I’d prefer it over the multiple day trip through Georgia.

GETTING CLOSER TO HOME!!

[mollydsails]

April 17 - Another calm travel day! No complaints, but I wish we would get a chance to hoist the sail!

Lots of pollen on the water this morning

Goodbye Solomons!

This morning, starting before first light, we could hear the watermen passing by the marina. David heard about a dozen boats driving by Molly D, heading for open water. After we left Solomons harbor we passed by many of these same boats. Most of them had been busy taking their crab pots out of the water.

The watermen’s boats have a flat roof for storing their crab pots once they have been hauled from the water.

Calvert Cliffs

Cove Point Lighthouse. The white domes behind the lighthouse are LNG storage tanks.

The travel up the Chesapeake today was quiet. There were 3 other boats on the water and they all were far enough in front of or behind Molly D that we could just about see them.

Upon approaching St Michaels, we could see an American Cruise Line ship anchored outside the harbor. That cruise line visits many of the same harbors as Molly D.

American Constitution anchored outside St Michaels harbor.

The anchorage in the harbor is small. There were two boats anchored in “our” spot and there wasn’t room for Molly D. David made several passes around the harbor looking for another spot to anchor. Not finding any, Molly D anchored outside the harbor. If either of the two anchored boats leave tomorrow morning, Molly D will reanchor inside the harbor. If a spot doesn’t open up, it will be a long 15-20 minute dinghy ride into town. We can’t wait to explore the town tomorrow!

[mollydsails]

April 16 - Fun day in Solomons. Well, mostly fun. Got the little bit of laundry that we had washed and dried (free machines!!). I didn’t NEED to do laundry, but our travels over the years has taught us that if something is available, even if you don’t need it, do it (or buy it) anyway. One never knows what is available at the next stop.

David and I risked life and limb to ride the marina’s bikes the 2 miles to the grocery store. I will admit that the bikes were in better shape than they were in October. My bike was a bit small for me, but all other bikes were way too high. The bikes’ tires were inflated, the brakes worked (pumper bikes) and the wheels did not wobble. David did have to tweak my handle bars so that they were centered on the frame and not skewed to the left. A bonus on the bikes—the rubber handle grips were not gummy!!

After lunch we took a walk into town. So scenic!

Such a cute church!

Every town has a “dive bar”

The geese figures on this lawn have cute outfits on.

Aquaculture

There are plenty of life rings hanging alongside this dock.

Tonight we had dinner with Cindy and Dean, a couple we met in the dock when we were in Hampton. Delicious food. Interesting couple. Fun time. Cindy and Dean have been living on their boat full time for the past 3 years. They sold their home in Little Rock, bought a sailboat, and have been full-time cruisers since then. Don’t know if I’d be able to live on a boat full-time. Many people do, but I don’t think it is for me.

Tomorrow morning we will leave Solomons and head for St Michaels. It’s been a few years since we’ve stopped in St Michaels. St Michaels is another cute little town to fall in love with. St Michaels has a maritime museum which we have visited. The main street is full of shops and restaurants. The one negative thing about St Michaels—there are brown snakes in the water! Not kidding.

Another adventure awaits us tomorrrow!

[mollydsails]

April 15 - Post #2 - Molly D has arrived in Solomons! Very uneventful trip. No wind. No seas. No boat traffic. Sunny skies. Our intention was to grab a mooring at Zahnisers as we always do. Our reservation was declined because the moorings are out of the water for maintenance. Not a problem. We know how to anchor. David called the marina and inquired about the fee to use the dinghy dock. He was asked if we were the boat that was declined a mooring. When he told them that we in fact were that boat, David was asked to hold while they got the answer to his question. The marina office told David that they would put us on a dock for the same price as a mooring. Wow!! An offer not to be refused! As a bonus to being at the dock, yours truly will not have to clean the boat, anchor chain and anchor of the goose grease mud that lies in the water under Molly D.

While we were in Hampton a few days ago, we met a couple whose boat is kept here at Zahnisers. We have plans to get together tomorrow for lunch or dinner. Yes, sometimes a day just works out nicely!

[mollydsails]

April 15 - Molly D had a nice 4 day stay in Hampton (was supposed to be 3 days, but there was this thing called wind). We docked at Bluewater Marina. Nice facilities. Great restaurant. Walking distance to a grocery store and a Chinese restaurant! We haven’t had Chinese since we left home, so finding a Chinese restaurant within walking distance was a bonus. The best part of our stay was meeting up with our friend, Steve. Steve has the sister ship to Molly D. Unfortunately, Steve informed us that Sea Sweeper is up for sale. He has a deposit on a beautiful Saber powerboat. We hope to see Steve (and Glenda) this coming winter, as Steve intends to head to FL to get away from the cold.

Molly D’s trip yesterday from Hampton was flat calm for the first few hours. The wind and seas picked up later on. Luckily, the wind was from our stern and Molly D surfed the waves. We changed our day’s destination from Reedville to Sandy Point. Sandy Point is adjacent to Reedville but the anchorage offered more protection from the 20 knot winds we were having. Sandy Point was a great choice. Molly D anchored inside the hook of the point. It was flat calm. We were in the company of 2 other boats. Picturesque spot!

Seas are somewhat calm for now. We are headed to Solomon’s, one of our favorite small towns along the Chesapeake. Small shops and restaurants are a short walk away. David and I usually borrow the marina’s wonky bikes for the 2 mile trek to a grocery store. The bikes are of questionable usability. We don’t have helmets. We ride on the (gasp) sidewalk. If a wheel on a bike decides to fall off, or brakes decide to fail, at least we are not riding on a busy road. I am serious about this! Anyway, do you know where Solomons is located? It is in MARYLAND!!!! We are getting closer to home!!

Scenic Sandy Point.

[mollydsails]

April 10 - 9 hours, dock to dock. Coinjock NC to Hampton VA. Another long day but worth it. Molly D is now off the ICW!!!

Goodbye Coinjock! See you again in October.

Out travel today was slowed a bit due to timing between opening bridges. Molly D’s speed isn’t fast enough to make exact timing on hour and half hour opening bridges. The distance between the bridges is a wee bit far for our speed. So, the choice is to either run fast and just miss the bridge opening by minutes and then have a 25 minute or so wait to the next opening or slow down, enjoy the scenery and wait less than 10 minutes. For us, the slower speed was chosen.

North Landing Swing Bridge. Only one span opened.

David was down below and I was standing watch. Our course was due for a sharp left turn but we weren’t quite at that point. I noticed a tall boat coming south and I knew there would be a close passing issue. David took over at the helm. The tall boat was actually a tug and barge. We passed each other near the turn. Shortly after the tug passed Molly D, there was an awful odor in the air. It was strong. It was poop! The barge was loaded with chicken manure! So gross!

Tug and barge filled with manure.

About a mile or so north of our encounter with the tug and barge we once again encountered the smell of poop. Only this time, the smell was much, much stronger. As is nearly gagging stronger. David checked Google map and guess what? Directly abreast of our port side was a chicken farm! We couldn’t see it, but we certainly knew it was there. I hope that we don’t encounter that unpleasantness on any other transit through the area!

Along the waterfront of the Great Bridge Park, there were a half dozen or so sculptures that were holding life rings. What a neat idea!

Waterfront sculpture

Shortly after entering Norfolk, two fast moving vessels crossed the water ahead of us. The first vessel was a large inflatable type boat. We are still trying to figure out what the second vessel was.

Any ideas on what this might be?? Hard to see, but there is one person in the front who seems to have the posture of someone riding a jet ski.

The Norfolk waterfront is active with military shipyards and commercial shipping. We watched as a bucket loader was placed inside the cargo hold of a ship.

Bucket loader being placed in a ship’s cargo hold.

Molly D, after six months of travel, came to the northern end of the ICW. Happy Dance!

Last ICW bridge on the northern route.

As I’ve stated, the Norfolk area is a very busy military and commercial port. I have seen many commercial ships in our travels, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.

A pink cargo ship. Even some of the containers are pink!

A blow is forecasted to arrive tomorrow. Rather than have to move from an anchorage to a marina during the blow, the captain decided he’d rather be docked before the wind arrived. I didn’t argue.

Molly D snug in a slip at Safe Harbor Bluewater Marina, Hampton.

As our luck would have it, our friend (and another IP 439 owner) was on his boat that is docked at Bluewater. We were able to enjoy his company over supper at the marina’s restaurant. What a great way to end a long, stressful day!

[mollydsails]

April 9 -

Molly D arrived in Coinjock!! Closer to the end of the ICW! Today’s travel was only a half the distance travelled yesterday. The Alligator River was an easy passage. We did have to wait at the Alligator Swing Bridge for two boats behind us to catch up. The bridge tender wanted to open the busy span once. Understandable. The water got a bit rolly by the time we entered Albemarle Sound. Not too bad but enough to make me feel barfy and for spray to hit the front window and also the one to port. It seemed to take forever to cross the sound. Suck it up buttercup and move on.

Molly D is the 3rd boat at the Coinjock Marina dock. Granted, it is still early in the afternoon and there’s plenty of time for arrivals. In the fall, these docks became full by mid afternoon and there were several instances of boats rafting. The ICW traffic this spring has light and I hope it stays that way! The final miles on the ICW north to Norfolk/Portsmouth can be intense. Getting the timing right on a couple of opening bridges is difficult at best. With fewer boats clogging the ICW, Molly D will stand a better chance of coordinating her timing at bridges for minimal waiting. The VA stretch of the ICW can be narrow at times, making “hovering” for an opening bridge a bit difficult. We have our fingers crossed that all goes smoothly tomorrow.

Our plan is to not rush to make it to Hampton (VA) tomorrow. Too many variables may hold us up. One never knows when the No. 7 RR bridge will go down (no posted schedule). When down for train passage, the No. 7 can be down anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending on the length of the train. The bridge is remotely controlled, so there’s no calling the bridge operator for an estimated opening time. The next RR bridge, the No. 5, is also remotely controlled. Warnings of bridge closures are broadcast on the VHF, so boaters are alerted to the impending closure. Highly unlikely that your boat will make it up to and through the bridge before it closes.

Molly D plans on anchoring at Hospital Point tomorrow. We will head into Hampton on Thursday. Can’t wait until David and I won’t have to plan our day’s trip around low water, fixed bridges and opening bridges.

Still enjoying the challenges!

[mollydsails]

April 8 - Solar eclipse as captured through the lens of binoculars.

[mollydsails]

April 7 - Molly D’s third day in Beaufort. It’s been a welcomed stop. We left Charleston last Monday and arrived in Beaufort late Friday afternoon. Aside from a quick stop in Wilmington, David and I were on the boat 24/7 during that time. Our travel days from Charleston were 9-10 hours long. We travelled the ICW from Tuesday until our arrival in Beaufort on Friday. Monday was the only day that offshore conditions were favorable. The ICW stretch to Beaufort had fixed bridges, strong currents, shallow water, a soft landing north of Carolina Beach and one day of wind/rain/light fog. Just a little bit of stress!

Our preferred marina in Beaufort is Homer Smith. The current at this marina is only a fraction of what is found at Beaufort Dock, where we have also stayed. Homer Smith was reinvented a few years ago. There are all new docks and a new boaters’ lounge, laundry and shower building. The laundry has 3 huge washers and dryers and they are FREE!! Homer Smith also offers a free courtesy van. If the van keys are hanging up in the laundry room, then the van is available. A grocery store and hardware store are about a 5 mile drive from the marina. The van has more than enough room for everything that you buy.

We have two favorite restaurants, Black Swan and Ribeyes. We love the wood fired pizza at Black Swan. So so good! At Ribeyes, David gets the salmon. I usually get the marinated pork chops, but I went crazy and ordered the 6 oz steak. Again, very good food. The downside of Ribeyes is that because the kitchen is not in a back room but rather semi open to the dining area, you are going to leave the restaurant smelling like grilled food. Yuk!

Tomorrow Molly D will head about 70 miles north. Very long day. On Thursday (possibly Wednesday) we should make Coinjock, NC. If all goes well, the day we leave Coinjock we will make it to Norfolk and the end of the ICW!!! Something positive to look forward to! Getting closer to home and I for one can’t wait!

Molly D is docked in Beaufort

Heavy pollen on the water

Mud flat at low tide. Note the exposed oyster shells

View from the Beaufort Town Dock

The yacht Annabelle entering Beaufort Harbor

Maritime Museum

Maritime Museum boat shed

View of Beaufort Harbor from the park adjacent to the Maritime Museum boat shed

Loving life!

View of the Beaufort waterfront

[mollydsails]

April 4 - another long day, 9.5 hours!! Molly D left Wilmington, NC around 8:15 and arrived in Mile Hammock Bay (Camp LeJeune) around 6.

Cape Fear Memorial Bridge in Wilmington opening for Molly D

Our first challenge of the morning was transiting Snows Cut between the Cape Fear River and Carolina Beach. Snows Cut always has issues with shoaling and is frequently dredged because of it. Molly D was transiting the cut at low tide. Ugh! The lowest depth was noted at the entrance and was 8.4’. The lowest depth inside the cut was 12.7’. Nice!

Molly D’s next challenge of the day occurred just north of the Carolina Beach inlet. Molly D was following Bob’s tracks. We came upon dredge operations that were smack dab on Bob’s track (where the deepest water can be found). David hailed the dredge operator and asked for the best way to pass him. David was told to pass the dredge on port, which he did. Unfortunately, Molly D just happened to find one spot of shoaling and made a “soft landing”. Molly D was able to back off the shoaled spot. David called the dredge operator again to get further instruction on where to pass. David was told to pass close to the dredge. Ok, but the dredge had a cable into the water from its port midsection. Crap! David passed as close to the dredge as possible without getting tangled in the cable. Whew!

Molly D passing close to the dredge just north of the Carolina Beach inlet.

We came upon someone’s little sandbar oasis with its artificial palm tree.

Our timing for the two opening bridges was way off. We were really early for the Wrightsville Beach Bridge but we ate up that time by getting fuel and a pump out at the Wrightsville Beach Marina, adjacent to the bridge. The marina’s gas dock was not busy so they allowed Molly D to hang out at the dock until it was time for the bridge to open. How nice of them!

Wrightsville Beach drawbridge

Molly D had to slow her speed considerably so that there would be minimal wait for the Figure Eight Bridge opening.

Figure Eight swing bridge.

The remaining bridges on our route were fixed bridges. Low tide was our friend once again in getting us under the bridges with ample clearance.

Our final destination for the night was Mile Hammock Bay, just off the ICW.

Molly D entering the channel into Mile Hammock Bay. Note the green and red channel markers.

There are only 3 other boats in Mile Hammock tonight. We have been here when there have been a dozen or more anchored boats. It should be a quiet night.

Anchored in Mile Hammock Bay

But wait! Mile Hammock Bay is adjacent to Landing Zone Bluebird of Camp LeJeune.

Landing Zone Bluebird

It will not be a quiet night! Two Blackhawk Helicopters are doing practice takeoffs/landings. I never knew that the noise from a helicopter was so deafening!

Blackhawk helicopters on takeoff.

Grin and bear it. Tomorrow Molly D should be headed to Beaufort (NC) for a short layover. Yay!!! (We have been flat out traveling since Monday!).

[mollydsails]

April 3 - Molly D travelled north on the ICW from Little River to Wilmington, NC. What a yucky day to travel! It rained most of the 7 hour trip. We were able to stay dry in the cockpit. The wind was blowing and then it wasn’t blowing. There was light fog. At least we did not get the predicted thunderstorms! The good thing about traveling on an awful weather day is that no other cruisers were northbound! We had the ICW to ourselves.

Once we made the turn to Wilmington, we were no longer on the ICW. We were still on the Cape Fear River, just not on the ICW. A lift bridge was just beyond the Wilmington shipping port. David had limited information about the bridge, the most important being that it may not be 65’. David hailed the bridge operator on the radio. David was told that the bridge had to be raised in order for Molly D to pass through. Oh, and if the winds were at a sustained 40 knots, the bridge would not open. The wind was blowing 18; good to go. Wouldn’t you know that the wind gusted to 38 on our approach to the bridge. Seriously???? The winds were not a sustained 40 so the bridge opening occurred as planned.

We met our friends Lee and Allison at the marina. They have an apartment nearby and they keep their Island Packet at the same marina where Molly D is docked. Lee and Allison took us on a walk through town. The downtown/waterfront area covers a lot of ground So many shops, restaurants and bars.

Beautiful artwork on the side of a commercial building.

A frog riding a bike statue

Lee and Allison chose the Copper Penny restaurant for our supper. This restaurant had been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Great meal!

Outside the Copper Penny with Lee and Allison

The city has a 1.7 mile waterfront walk. We walked back to the marina along the waterfront.

Wilmington sunset

The lift bridge on the Cape Fear River

View to the Cape Fear from the waterfront walk.

Tomorrow our trip north continues with an overnight stop either in Wrightsville Beach or Carolina Beach.

[mollydsails]

April 2 - Molly D is anchored in Little River, SC. She is anchored just off the ICW channel. Our trip today involved many fixed bridges and two open on demand swing bridges. Molly D traveled the ICW at a lower tide, making the passage under the fixed bridges not a problem. It amazed me that only a couple of the bridges had clearance boards. We NEED to know clearances as Molly D’s mast is at the top of the reported 65’ height. We were fine despite not having clearance boards to check.

Scenic trip today. Molly D transited through woodsy areas as well as built up residential areas.

Day marker at the edge of a wooded area.

We bypassed several marinas, some large and some that were small, private marinas that were associated with housing developments.

Try hailing this marina on the radio! We heard a couple of boats hail the marina. It didn’t go well.

The wildlife we saw today consisted of ducks, turtles and a lone Canada goose.

How many turtles can fit on a log? At least six!

Interesting dock. No boat. No home in sight.

As we travelled north, we discovered where dead buoys are laid to rest.

These “dead” buoys were located behind a restaurant

One of today’s bridges was extremely slow to open. I noted that fact on my ICW bridge log.

The slow opening Barefoot Landing Swing Bridge.

Our choice anchorage area today was behind Bird Island, near the Little River inlet. When we approached the anchorage, the wind was blowing in the mid to high 20s. The water was a bit messed up (inlets always have messy water). The forecasted winds tonight were going to be a bit stronger than what we were experiencing at that moment. Not a choice anchorage. David could not find any nearby anchorage areas (as noted on the chart). What to do?? We anchored in Calabash Creek. Marginal depth and the narrow creek can be busy with shrimp boats heading in or out. Due to the marginal depth, we would have to haul anchor before 6 am to catch the highest water. We nixed that idea. Plan B was to anchor south of Calabash Creek, just outside the ICW channel. Not the best of choices but it was the only option available to us.

Molly D’s anchoring spot in Little River

A waterside golf course is on the opposite side of the ICW from Molly D

Tomorrow the weather is not going to be good. The coastal waters have gale warnings and predicted seas of 5’-6’. Molly D will travel the ICW. We are hoping that the ICW will be a “smoother” ride. Our destination will be Wilmington, NC. We will be crossing the Cape Fear River. That will NOT be fun at all! We will be staying overnight at a marina in Wilmington. Friends of ours (also IP owners) live in Wilmington and keep their boat there as well. We will get together for dinner. We have some catching up to do!