CHARLESTON TO SOUTHPORT, WRIGHTSVILLE, BEAUFORT, NC

CHARLESTON TO SOUTHPORT, WRIGHTSVILLE, BEAUFORT, NC

JUNE 22-23, 2017

We departed the Charleston anchorage at 1124 hrs on June 22^nd bound for Georgetown, SC which was only 23 nm distant.  The Wx report was for light S-SW winds at 10 kts and 2 ft seas.  About half way there, we decided to continue onto Southport, NC which was 130 nm from Charleston.  The Wx report indicated that winds would be favorable but increasing over the next day.  We sailed on. 

At 0900 hrs on June 23^rd, we took in sail to wait on the Flood Tide at the Southport Jetties which didn’t begin until 1530 hrs.  The wind was steadily increasing to 20 kts and kicking up a 5-6 sea so there was no way to enter with wind against current.  We had to wait.  The currents run strongly coming out of Southport.  At 1530 hrs we started into the jetties but found out that there was no room at the marinas in Southport so we took a berth at Bald Head Is.  Once we got through the protected jetty leading into Bald Head, the berth I was given was beam on to the wind which was gusting above 20 kts.  It was the most challenging docking that I have ever done!  I still don’t know how I managed to do it without damaging the boat.

Once we were safely docked, the wind continued to increase to 30 kts and we were pinned hard against the dock so there was no possibility of leaving until it abated.  A sizable part of Bald Island is National Park Land.  Transportation is by golf card as there are very few cars allowed on the island.  We rented a golf cart and toured the island.  It is a beautiful place with sand dunes and small coastal forests.  The homes on the island belong to those that were able to buy land in bybone days and build spectacular seaside homes.  The one drawback here is that the area is frequented by tropical storms.  To insure a home here must be very expensive.  We had really wanted to go to Southport because it is a charming small town where many of the Wilmington River pilots live.  It has some beautiful old homes on the ICW.

On June 25^th, the wind had subsided enough that I was able to get off the berth at Bald Head and continue onto Beaufort, NC  (93 miles)via the inside route known as the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway).  We were travelling with some British friends on a yacht called Camomile.  We had first met them in Phuket, Thailand and met up at various places along the way.  The ICW is well protected against seas but can be shallow in places and demands constant attention at the helm.  On weekends, the Waterway Cowboys make life uncomfortable for a sailing boat.  They have the money to buy big motor yachts but lack any sense of common curtesy or seamanship.

We decided to anchor at Wrightsville, NC (25 nm) from Southport for the night.  At 1530, we dropped anchor in 15 water depth with 90 ft chain out on a sand/mud bottom in position: 34-12.402 N; 77-47.939 W.  This is a very well protected anchorage with room enough for many boats.  It was a relief to leave the Weekend Warriors out in the ICW but they were starting to get hungry and thinning out.  The following day was spent walking around the Wrightsville area.  Outside of restaurants, a few stores and the seashore, there is not much there.  I suppose that for a family looking to get sun burned on a sandy beach, it is as beautiful as any other place along the North Carolina coast.

On June 27^th, we departed Wrightsville for the outside route via Masonboro Jetties.  It was wonderful to be out of the ICW and back at sea.  The Wx was good.  We had light winds and had to motor sail at times.  At 1924 hrs we entered the Beaufort Jetties and proceeded to Taylor Creek where we anchored at 2024 in 15 ft water depth with 60 ft chain out.  Shortly afterwards, our friends from Camomile anchored in front of us.