Swansboro, NC - Day 8

The Bays

An early am rain began the day. The Adams Creek run is very scenic with wild areas and flippers. We transitioned into small homes and developments along the waterway. We were pushing the tide for an hour or so until we reached Jerrett Bay Marina along the waterway at mile 198 for a refuel.

We then skirted a dredge that was clearing out Core Creek below the marina and ran into 5.8 ft of water (we draw 5.5 ft) on the eastern side. That caused a shutter. A quick jog brought us closer in near the barge, but gave us clear water to run by. Close call.

We took some heavy rain as the fair run began down the Newport River. 9+ knots with the current is a blast until you remember that you are barrelling into a bridge opening at Morehead city. There are these little fishing boats millling around, tugs moving about. You cannot slow down too much because the current rips through the bridge and you have to maintain steerage. All was fine and we zipped into the turning basin at Morehead City and hung a hard right inside the barrier islands at Atlantic Beach.

This is quite a transition. One minute you are inland and navigating creeks, then suddenly you are in the sounds off the ocean. The water changes from chamoflage to blue green. The sea breezes pickup and there you are heading south inside the coast.

This stretch of the AICW has some shallow segments, so you cannot stray from the channel. We made the run down the coast with James Taylor. Cheese toasties (for those not from Illinois, these are grilled cheese sandwiches) and rice soup made a sunny day just perfect.

We pulled into one of our favorite marinas, Casper's in Swansboro. Some shopping at the small shops in town and a great dinner at the Ice House made the day.

We meet more nice people when we stay at Capser's. This year we met Charlie and Barry from Richmond. They are moving Barry's sailboat to St James below Wilmington. They keep their sailboats in Deltaville, so we hope to catch them next spring.

Data: 07:30 to 15:30. Engine hours . 70 gallons at Jerrett Bay at 938 hours or 26 elapsed or 2.6 gal/hr. 944 hours at Swansboro.