Chris & Irina's Excellent Adventure: Carolina Beach: Snow's Cut

Our day started early, as we had put the dinghy down last night to make a run ashore. We walked around Swansboro, but it is a pretty small town and there was not much going on. We stayed long enough to find that South Water Street is the most common street in all seaside towns (we live on South Water Street in Onset!) and to have a drink, but we decided to go back to the boat for dinner (Shepherd’s Pie!). We pulled the dinghy back on the boat early the next morning, and set off for Snow’s Cut, a 60 mile run.

We quickly realized that we had three bridges to traverse on this trip. Two swing bridges, and one Bascule Bridge. None of this is stressful, except for the addition of about 10 sailboats and several large power boats in the flotilla with us heading in the same direction. It is pretty amazing traveling down the narrow ICW with the same group of boats. There is a lot of banter and sharing of information, as well as a great deal of negotiating for first place in going through bridges and tight spots on the way. It generally works pretty well, except for the occasional jerk. I guess there are jerks everywhere!!

We managed to get through the journey without grounding, even though we passed at least two boats that had grounded onto the shallows in the process of maneuvering and jockeying for position around the bridges! It was a long and tiring day, but we are now anchored and having a rum drink (hopefully the first of many over the next few days!)

Tomorrow we have hopefully an easy day (no bridges except the kind that we can go under without them opening, swinging, or basculing!).

See you later!!