Side Trip In Southport

After Osprey Marina we headed for Southport, NC arriving at Deep Point Marina on April 23rd. We passed through the tricky "Rockpile"...

near Myrtle Beach at near high tide so had no problems. The rockpile is one of the few rocky areas along the ICW as the canal here had to be blasted out of bedrock. It is much more narrow than other areas and  any straying off course could end up with a bent propeller or worse!

For you golfers who often see a "Caution: Golf Cart Crossing" sign along a path at a golf course, this may have new meaning. Here there was a Caution: Golf Tram Crossing...

 but it was a bout 70 feet in the air so had no affect on us. It probably is a fun place to golf just for the ride.

There is occasionally a  lighthouse along the way...

and more half sunken boats. Can't figure that one out. Why are they left there as a hazard to the waterway?

Then there were a few buzzards on the beach cleaning up a mess. It reminded me of a cartoon I read yesterday where one buzzard said to the other as they were picking a skeleton clean... "Just once wouldn't it be great to find one with a nougat center".

On the way to Deep Point Marina...

 we decided to take a side trip the next day. So what did we do? Well.... we got off our boat and got on another.

Even though we could have taken our boat there, we took the ferry in our harbor to Bald Head Island for the day.

Bald Head Island is the location of the famous point Cape Fear and is located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. The island community does not allow any cars on its roads so you get around on foot,

by bicycle, or by golf cart.

The speed limit on the island is 18mph!

You must be careful about renting a boat here though. Not all as seaworthy as you would like them to be.                    

One of the highlights on the island is the lighthouse.

We were told that the 108 steps to the top promised to give a spectacular view. This one of the harbor...

and this one looking towards Cape Fear.  

    

                        
We were not disappointed.

The lighthouse was made up of  brick exterior and interior walls with cemented in rocks on the inside.

It still is very stout. The only sign of aging is the peeling on the stucco type layer on the outside surface.

After a nice lunch at Mojo's...

we rented a golf  cart for the rest of the day. What a great way to get around the island where there are lots and lots of beautiful beach homes...

and huge sandy beaches.

Debi was able to add a few shells to her collection.

There are several golf courses here as you might imagine. One of the holes appeared to be challenging...

especially so if you were distracted by the possibility of a "gator" coming out of the water while you in the middle of your back swing. It's not the water hazard but the hazard in the water!

One of the on going projects on the ICW is continual dredging at one place or another. It seems the Cape Fear River had started to shoal in to the point that it started to affect the shipping traffic in the area. We saw quite a large dredging project in action to try to fix that. The dredging rig in this case was out in the river about a mile offshore.

The "spoils" [dirt and sand] are then piped being carried by a water slurry to the beach through an underwater pipe.
This is then connected to a pipe above ground... 

 to a point about 4 miles down the beach...

 where it dumps out onto the beach. There a bulldozer piles up the sand that settles out working 24/7. Needless to say the neighbors are not happy.

Much of this sand is carried out by the next outgoing tide. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the river to fill in again. This must be a government job as there is no logic to this project.

We thought this island was a great place for bird watching ...

until we found this one. Aren't these illegal in some states?

Once back at our boat for the evening we were entertained during our dinner time by this Snowy Egret systematically walking down the dock getting the "easy pickings" off the floats for his night time dinner.

Good thing he wasn't pink!

Nautical Word For The Day: [from seatalk.info]

Rack:

1. A mass of high clouds being driven by the wind.

From Great Loop Jargon:

2. That part of the lamb that is best when grilled to medium-rare, lightly seasoned, and served with a fine red wine.

Osprey Marina - Smaller Is Better

As we were getting ready to leave Georgetown, we talked with Larry about what was ahead. He mentioned that he planned to stop at Osprey Marina for fuel on his way to Myrtle Beach... " best fuel prices in the area". As we left the dock we thought that might be a good idea for us as well and that maybe we would make that an overnight stop for us.

As we move north up the ICW, we continue to see signs of commerce,

to notice the slow transition from the low country marshes to the cypress swamps...

as well as see the continued presence of osprey nests.

Did I mention the marina is called Osprey Marina?

There are lots of their nests along the ICW especially in this area.

At the entrance they post their daily fuel prices just like a "gas station" on the street would do.

The marina itself was down a narrow canal about a quarter mile long.

They want your business and do a great job of making you feel welcome. After fueling up we moved to our slip for the night and then strolled the marina grounds.

We were surprised to see a pasture full of goats on the property. We thought we were back in Ireland for a moment.

They also put up some unusual bird houses as well. They want to keep the bird population up as they help keep the bug population down.

In the back corner of the marina was a resident group of turtles that were fun to watch for a while.

I guess we are getting to the point that we are now easily entertained.... by turtles!!??

One regular source of entertainment in the south is the bumper stickers on the trucks of the local rednecks. They are always good for a laugh or two...

depending on how you feel about kids or cats or ....?

While the Osprey Marina was a very quiet stop along the way, it suited us just fine for this particular night.

Nautical Word For The Day: [from seatalk.info]

Hurricane:

1. A violent tropical cyclonic storm of the Atlantic carrying winds in excess of 75 miles per hour.

From Great Loop Jargon:

2. A violent tropical cyclonic  multi- rum cocktail made famous at Pat O'Brien's bar in New Orleans in the 1940's. Having more than one could make you feel as if you are in winds in excess of 75 miles per hour.

Searching For Nemo In Georgetown

The journey from Beaufort, SC to Georgetown, SC was fairly uneventful which is usually a good thing when you are on a boat. We decided to bypass Charleston and its harbor this year as we had visited there by car a few years ago. We spent one night along the way at a small marina called Toler's Cove Marina, a quiet "easy in-easy out" stop.

Along the way there were many interesting sites which included more commercial barge traffic in the waterway...

 more derelict boats...

 and DNR people NOT watching their wakes as their signs admonish you to do!

Before we left home, we went through the process of getting a pier and dock built. It took several years for an approval for a 170 foot structure. We wondered what it takes to get some of these docks built? We have seen some of these that are at least a quarter mile long!

Also of interest, despite the numerous high-rise bridges we see, are a few small ferries for passengers and vehicles that still exist. 

This was one of the smaller ones that we have found that is still in use today.

After our arrival in Georgetown we took a stroll on the waterfront.

We stayed at the Harborwalk Marina which is on the boardwalk of  the Harborwalk section of town. Go Figure!

We figured out fairly fast that Georgetown is a "drinking village" with a "fishing problem". There are many "watering holes" where you can get fish.... if you want to.

Limpin' Jane's seemed to be a favorite but we found some others as well.

We did have breakfast at a favorite of the locals called the Thomas Cafe. It was a classic small town diner, a great place to go.

One of our favorite things to do when we travel is to find a local theater. This time it was a movie house called The Strand. The show that night was "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Normally the title alone would "scare us away"! It turned out to be a really good movie about the unpopular teenage kids in high school and how they as a group dealt with that.

In our "search for Nemo" we had several options from which to choose. There were quite a number of places that had fresh fish on the menu. As we walked the street in "search of ", we stopped at Krazy Fish...

 to read the menu. Fresh parrot was not on the menu for that night though.  The restaurant was located in one of the newer buildings in town. This place has some history.

A man seated at a sidewalk table started to tell us how good the food was. After a l-e-n-g-t-h-y conversation we found out he was the father of the owner. So we stayed. We were almost part of the family by then! Oh, that southern hospitality.

There are some restaurants that you go to where you can pick your fish out of the cooler and they'll cook it for you.
Krazy Fish is different. This one has them suspended from the ceiling as part of their decor. Maybe this one???

Or this one?

Perhaps this one?

Or??

Some were mounted on the wall.

Well, we found our fish, a flounder cooked whole, but still did not find THE Nemo. The search continues. Next time maybe we'll find him here!

Nautical Word For The Day:  [from seatalk.info]

Neck:

1. A narrow waterway between two land masses or headlands or islands.

2. A straight or narrows.

From Great Loop Jargon:

3. That anatomical portion of your body that is supposed to connect your head to your torso. That connection can be less than ideal though which is sometimes noted when trying to dock a boat in a strong cross wind with a counter running current. As Frank says, "Remember... boating is fun"!