Surf City, NC

We decided to stay in Beaufort another day and finally left this morning (Monday). As we left Beaufort we had the current with us and saw 9.6 knots at one point. As we entered the Bogue Sound the current wasn't as much of a factor and we motored at our standard 7 knots. We followed the Bogue Sound for about 25 miles and then entered New River. At about mile 235, we passed through Camp Lejeune, which is a Marine Military reservation. Bill and I were lucky since not long after we passed through Camp Lejeune we heard via the VHF that they were closing mile 235-248 of the ICW from 1:00 to 5:00 for amphibious training.

At mile 240 we approached the Onslow Swing Bridge, which opens every half hour. Unfortunately we arrived at the bridge at 12:32 and had to wait until the 1:00 opening. Not really a big deal but we were both cursing under our breath since we were literally 20 yards from the last boat that was able to make it through. But we do understand and respect that they have a strict schedule to adhere to ... so we had lunch while we floated for a half hour until the next opening.

Today was a day when we didn't really know where we would end up for the night. If everything worked in our favor and we could time the bridges right we might have made it to Wrightsville Beach. But because of the delay at Onslow and the timing of the other bridges (the Surf City Swing Bridge only opens on the hour and that would have put us at mile 270 or so [the next stopping point] after dark) we decided to stop at Surf City. We arrived at Beach House Marina in Surf City around 4:00. We cooked dinner on board and played a little scrabble. Tomorrow we will leave in time to make the Surf City Swing Bridge at 8:00 am.

We passed under three fixed 65 foot bridges today and again the wind vane hit. Nothing else has fallen from the mast. Each time we go under a fixed bridge we hold our breath.

Two VERY cool things about our cruise today were 1) the many dolphins that we saw (one played in our wake about 3 feet from the boat), and 2) the three different V-22 Ospreys that flew overhead -- one of which flew directly over the mast of Mary Elizabeth. The V-22 is a mix between an airplane and a helicopter and Bill was more than excited because he had never seen one in person before.

For more pictures of trip to Surf City Click Here