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| Beautiful but look at the current! |
Tuesday (4/18/17) proved to be another long day of cruising
but full of determination! We left
Butler Island at the crack of 8:30 am and headed toward Bucksport Plantation Marina. Not only does Bucksport have the lowest fuel
prices we’ve seen since Florida but the owners/operators are a father/son team
of Jeff and Jeffrey. The marina is
privately owned and we try to support locally owned business as much as possible…and
other loopers have strongly suggested to make this a must stop.
Jeffery (the son) was injured almost 10 years ago in a
terrible accident (he was 21 years old). He was in a coma with multiple
fractures (neck, back, leg) with a less than favorable chance of recovery. The doctors wanted to remove his leg but his
parents said, “No.” As time moved on, he slowly recovered but his parents were
told he would never walk again.
Guess who met us at the boat, eager to help in any way? Yep, Jeffrey – walking, talking, driving, full
of information and a willingness to share his story!!! We had a wonderful visit
and although he has some mild limitations Jeffrey is a hard-working man,
thankful for his second chance in life and devoted to making the marina a
success.
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| Floating under a bridge...like we weren't even behind them! |
It was 11:30 when we stopped, with the current and wind in
our face we any distance we covered would be hard-fought. So we opted to motor onward and try to reach
our “plan B” stop for the day – Calabash Creek.
 |
| A rowing class-we see all kinds of stuff! |
Four hours later we arrived at the anchorage. Calabash Creek was shallow, narrow and along
the channel for shrimp boat traffic. We
decided to nix that idea and keep travelling.
The day was getting long, clouds were moving in and the wind was howling
but if we weren’t going to be confident in our anchorage – we weren’t
staying. I continued to drive &
Charlie researched our sources for another spot. Anchorages are very scarce along the ICW in
upper South Carolina so it was time to get creative.
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| "So, can I see your house from the water?" |
He called OceanIsle Marina in Ocean Isle Beach NORTH
CAROLINA – no answer, they are closed on Tuesdays. He called a restaurant further down the waterway
advertising dockage for guests – they said we could tie to the dock for the
night ($50). So OK, we had a plan C.
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| Light house in N Myrtle Beach SC - look at that sky!! (Not in B&W) |
As we neared the marina (darkness was falling) Charlie
decided that if we saw a spot to tie up – we would. The place would open Wednesday morning &
we would pay whatever the cost. If there
was no dock space, we would motor on to the restaurant with our running lights,
if necessary. We were in NORTH CAROLINA
already!!!!
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| Not an encouraging sight at Calabash Creek-darkness falling |
Thank you Jesus!!
There was “some” available dock space on the T-head – half our boat
would fit!!! We switched drivers and I
started tying fenders at water level on the port side. Wind & current would be our friend &
we like that! Then I looked up and saw a
man watching us from his 3rd floor balcony!! He came running to the dock, moved 1 boat to
give us more space and asked for our mid-ship line!! I didn’t have to lasso a cleat in the wind
from 20 feet away!! Thank you Jesus!! That guy? The owner, Captain Tim Moon!!
Tim and his wife Kim could not have been more hospitable!! Their
kindness will never be forgotten and they have “Loop ambitions” too! We enjoyed our visit and they will never know
how much they blessed us! A 9 ½ hour
day, traveling 62 miles was tough but worth every challenge to meet Capt. Tim
and wife Kim!
Wednesday morning was an early departure with Wilmington, NC
as the day’s destination. We already had
reservations at Cape Fear Marina – we just had to fight the current in our face
and the wind at our back to make it! We
did!! And it only took 7 hours!! WaHoo!!
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| Dinner time from the shrimpers' net |
And our boating buddies Tranquility III and Santori were
already docked – familiar faces – what a bonus!! After a dinghy ride to dinner – yes, all 6 of
us in Santori’s center console dinghy – we said our good nights and who knows
what tomorrow will bring…but I imagine it will be fun and adventuresome!
Smile at a stranger today – you never know the story behind
the face!
God Bless!
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