Swansboro

After a pleasant stay in Oriental, we were on the road again Thursday morning.  Our destination was Swansboro, NC, a distance of some 48 statute miles, which was our most ambitious daily travel to date.  We had looked at going a little farther, to Mile Hammock, NC to catch up with our online friends Bruce and Gayleen aboard s/v Pearl, but decided that was pushing it and we didn't want to be anchoring in the dark.  Turns out we would have made it easily.

Travel proceeded smoothly, with one brief marina stop in Moorehead City for a holding tank pumpout.

When we arrived in Swansboro, there were only two boats in the anchorage, but I didn't like the looks of it.  First, there was a strong tidal driven current that would reverse during the night.  Second, there was an active traffic bridge nearby, producing both sound, and the risk of serious damage if we dragged into it.  Third, the wind and the tide were opposed, producing some truly bizzare behavior of the anchor rode verses the boat hull, with the hull sometimes pointing dowind.

We tried to set our big Bruce anchor, but it showed signs of dragging when I applied engine power.  So we pulled it and went in search of a better anchorage.  There was one shown on the chartbook we're using, just a few miles down the ICW, but when we got there, the water was too shallow at the entrance to allow us access.

So now, we were in a dilemma.  It was too late to press on, and there were no other anchorages nearby.  We even went back to Swansboro anchorage and tried (unsuccessfully) to set the hook again.

Finally, as the sun was setting, we admitted defeat and got on the VHF radio to Dudley's Marina to see if they had space.  We ended up right next to our friends Jeb & Ursula on "Wisper", although we later had to be moved to accomodate another boat.

Sunset

Dudley's is a very "industrial" place.  Large pilings, loose dock planks and no cleats.  It's in the backyard of a BP gas station.  But the restrooms were clean and it was only $0.75 per foot, including power hookup!  Hard to beat!

Dudley's Marina

We spent the evening aboard Wisper sharing dinner, wine, and games.

Jeb

Ursula

Friday, we would try an even more ambitious distance, but that's another post.