We enjoyed our enforced stay in Wrightsville Beach – Sea Path Yacht Club was great. The staff were very friendly and helpful and they also had a curtesy car that made trips to the supermarket and marine store really easy. I even found a hairdresser within walking distance so it was all good.
The battery problems stemmed from a common connection between the three batteries – even the starter battery was somehow connected in with the others so after two days at anchor all the juice was sucked out from that one too.
Anyway it’s all been sorted and we’re on our way again. 
Ernie came and collected Robert and Christina on Monday, Robert for a flight back to California (work was calling) and Christina for her long drive back home – at least she can do a lot more miles per day than we can!
Linda and Steve “Yesterday’s Dream” were also in town and they came looking for us to check on how we were doing. It was good to see them again. They were heading off yesterday and I can see from their blog tonight that they are not too far in front of us.
Yesterday was of course made all the more exciting with the safe arrival of our first granddaughter. We celebrated with dinner out at a local mexican restaurant and I toasted Jessica Paige with a Tuesday night special called Marguarita Wanna Be. It was pretty strong - perhaps that’s why I slept so well last night.
The weather was just perfect today – sunny, light winds and warm.
It was an interesting stretach of water with several inlets from the Atlantic Ocean. Also once again the sides of the rivers were lined with huge mansions, each with its own jetty complete with a boat on a dry dock.
We were only planning to go to Southport but we made such good time with the tides (at one point going 9.3 knots on only 1000 revs on each engine!) that we decided to keep on going and we arrived in our anchorage up Calabash Creek at about 5 o’clock. I was getting worried about it being so late so the last miles we put the speed up a notch to get in and anchored before dark.
We are now officially in South Carolina.
CaptionSunset at Sea Path Yacht Club
CaptionBeautiful anchorage up Calabash Creek
We had a few concerns earlier over a bridge that was supposedly a pontoon bridge and only opened on the hour. At 2.30pm we realised we wouldn’t make the 4 o’clock opening and 5pm was just too late so we depressed the accelerator for a while! Our waterway guide books mentioned that there was a new bridge under contruction that was due to be completed early in 2011. But no confirmation of whether it had been. I tried calling our friends Steve and Linda knowing that they would have passed through earlier today but was unable to get hold of them. Lance then checked the internet – thank goodness for 3G! The new bridge was sure enough completed a few months ago and so there would be no issues with the time of the bridge openings. So my foot had to ease back on the pedal and we quickly crept back to 6 knots!
Anyway this could be an interesting anchorage – there are probably another 10 boats here anchored on the edge of the channel and there are shrimp and fishing party boats that go in an out of Calabash during the night. We could be in for a bumpy ride.
Tomorrow we’re planning a shorter day as we’re only heading a bit closer to Myrtle Beach and will be catching up with a friend of a good friend from home. We’re looking forward to it.
9 November 2011 – A big day – 59 miles 283 to 342
We enjoyed our enforced stay in Wrightsville Beach – Sea Path Yacht Club was great. The staff were very friendly and helpful and they also had a curtesy car that made trips to the supermarket and marine store really easy. I even found a hairdresser within walking distance so it was all good.
The battery problems stemmed from a common connection between the three batteries – even the starter battery was somehow connected in with the others so after two days at anchor all the juice was sucked out from that one too.
Anyway it’s all been sorted and we’re on our way again.
Ernie came and collected Robert and Christina on Monday, Robert for a flight back to California (work was calling) and Christina for her long drive back home – at least she can do a lot more miles per day than we can!
Linda and Steve “Yesterday’s Dream” were also in town and they came looking for us to check on how we were doing. It was good to see them again. They were heading off yesterday and I can see from their blog tonight that they are not too far in front of us.
Yesterday was of course made all the more exciting with the safe arrival of our first granddaughter. We celebrated with dinner out at a local mexican restaurant and I toasted Jessica Paige with a Tuesday night special called Marguarita Wanna Be. It was pretty strong - perhaps that’s why I slept so well last night.
The weather was just perfect today – sunny, light winds and warm.
It was an interesting stretach of water with several inlets from the Atlantic Ocean. Also once again the sides of the rivers were lined with huge mansions, each with its own jetty complete with a boat on a dry dock.
We were only planning to go to Southport but we made such good time with the tides (at one point going 9.3 knots on only 1000 revs on each engine!) that we decided to keep on going and we arrived in our anchorage up Calabash Creek at about 5 o’clock. I was getting worried about it being so late so the last miles we put the speed up a notch to get in and anchored before dark.
We are now officially in South Carolina.
We had a few concerns earlier over a bridge that was supposedly a pontoon bridge and only opened on the hour. At 2.30pm we realised we wouldn’t make the 4 o’clock opening and 5pm was just too late so we depressed the accelerator for a while! Our waterway guide books mentioned that there was a new bridge under contruction that was due to be completed early in 2011. But no confirmation of whether it had been. I tried calling our friends Steve and Linda knowing that they would have passed through earlier today but was unable to get hold of them. Lance then checked the internet – thank goodness for 3G! The new bridge was sure enough completed a few months ago and so there would be no issues with the time of the bridge openings. So my foot had to ease back on the pedal and we quickly crept back to 6 knots!
Anyway this could be an interesting anchorage – there are probably another 10 boats here anchored on the edge of the channel and there are shrimp and fishing party boats that go in an out of Calabash during the night. We could be in for a bumpy ride.
Tomorrow we’re planning a shorter day as we’re only heading a bit closer to Myrtle Beach and will be catching up with a friend of a good friend from home. We’re looking forward to it.