Surf City to Southport, NC

Hi Everybody,

We left Surf City yesterday to follow the ICW down to Carolina Beach then took Snow's Cut across to the Cape Fear River and down to Southport. The ICW is very narrow as you can see in this pic but it keeps you well protected from the seas outside. We follow the white line down the center on the plotter.

On the way we were very pleased to come upon a pod of dolphins and while Jan steered the boat Ron was running around the boat with the camera trying to collect a few pics.


This guy stayed with us for about 10 minutes.

The trip was pleasant but we had to watch for shoaling as we passed by the various inlets from the ocean. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get outside to sail because the depths were too shallow.

On the funnier side, we passed this house with a huge statue of Neptunes wife . I think the guy was trying to burn her at the stake.

She was made of the finest sheet metal that money could buy.
At last, the release from the strong currents of the Cape Fear River and a sharp turn to starboard……. And there was the littlest of towns called Southport, NC. The folks here are so friendly. We found this little restaurant / bar with an old dock in front of it where we tied up. The cost….? FREE!! on the condition that you purchased a meal in the restaurant. The food was great and so was the atmosphere with music playing all day long and into the evening.

The Yacht Basin Provision Company was a very unique place. Our first dinner was cheeseburger and fries for Jan and a big plate of shrimp and conch fritters for Ron. Speaking of shrimp….. at night the boat is alive with a crackling sound, ever since Morehead City. That’s the sound of shrimp snapping under the hull…… as explained by the locals.

It seems that it doesn’t matter where we end up each evening, the atmosphere is still great and followed by a great sunset.

We met new friends from Charleston, SC, Mark & Linda Smith who own a trawler Krogan 36. We had such a great time with them that we decided to stay another day. Mark was an ex US Navy Captain and Linda was a nurse so we had a fair bit in common. They had a couple bikes on board so Mark & Ron took a long ride to Walmart to gather some supplies as we’re all leaving tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning we head down the ICW again as far as Little River, NC which is on the NC /SC border. .. a distance of about 30 miles. From there we’ll head offshore to Georgetown, SC and bypassing the Myrtle Beach area of the ICW, Inside the route is 84 miles as it winds it’s way down the coast. By going outside onto the sea the distance is shortened to 51 miles.


Night y’all