Stuck

Well we just spent a grueling day on the water. We started by everyone in the group getting stuck near a inlet from the ocean, While the others were able to pull free, we had to wait for the rising tide to get off the bottom. That put us about an hour behind the group and another bridge to contend with. We got to the bridge at high tide and waited an hour for the water to drop giving us enough room to get under.

This also gave us a push along the river to the next inlet so we were gaining on the rest of the group. Unfortunately this also reduces the amount of channel you have to traveling and we again found ourselves aground. This time we called for Towboats US to help us out. As members we get the service when needed.

It was nearly dark when the tide changed again and we were free. Now we had to navigate the narrow waters with our chart plotter, depth gauge, and spot light. It was pretty intense since the charts and actual markers differed in some locations. Captain Mike phoned us giving a run down of the trouble areas and which side to favor in those locations. We also had difficulty judging distances of different objects like mile posts and swing bridges. So many silhouettes slid by as we caught a slight reflection from out navigation lights. Being the Christmas season we also had to decide if the red and green lights were for navigation or decorations along the waterway.

We opted to travel to Carolina Beach where the others were instead of turning in to a marina in Wrightsville. We pulled in at 1030 and grabbed a mooring that Mike and Hank lit up with their spot lights. Fifteen hours plus and grouping through the dark was a bit tiring.

We stayed in the harbor an extra day to relax and tend to some maintenance items. Captain Mike made some of his sour-dough pancakes for breakfast which is always a treat. It was 72 degrees so we took an afternoon dingy ride around town and just kicked back visiting everyone else at their respective boats. Plans were made for the next leg and we turned in for the night.