North Carolina!

 TRAVEL DAY 30 - Barefoot Landing to Southport, NC

April 7, 2023

5.72 Hours/44.4 Miles

    Rough weather, high winds, cold temperatures and lots of rain were on the way and we needed to be somewhere we could "hunker down" for a few days, so Southport, NC it is! 

Southport Marina

    Back onto the Intracoastal Waterway and north to Southport and our next state, North Carolina! The boring ditch we were on soon gave way to a very "beachy" look as the land leveled back out and we caught several glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean. 

"Beachy" ICW

    About 1 1/2 hours in we crossed the border of South Carolina and into the next Carolina. Suddenly we began to notice Seagulls which we hadn't seen in awhile. Dolphins were ever constant and continually popping up in front of the boat. The slow diesel seems to lure the gulls in that think perhaps were some kind of Shrimp boat about to toss them some bycatch. 

Holden Beach Inlet

    Closer to the weekend now, the boat traffic increased and since this Friday would be the last day of decent weather in a while, folks were out to take advantage of it.   As we crossed under the Highway 17 bridge, we were again back in saltwater and Southport was getting ever closer.

A dock designed like the stern of a Sportfisherman

    Southport, NC was founded in 1792 and originally named Smithville after Benjamin Smith a Continental General of the Revolutionary War. It sits at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and has Bald Head Island as a barrier island to the east.  The "Gentleman Pirate" Stede Bonnet, a once ally of Edward Teach, aka "Blackbeard" was captured here in 1718 after a 24 hour fight called the "Battle of the Sandbars". He was hung a few weeks later in Charleston.

Reproduction 6# Brass Cannon

    After pulling in and docking, our first visitor was from the Harbor Host, a 50 year resident of the town. Harbor Hosts are folks that belong to the AGLCA and make themselves and their resources available to Loopers should they need anything from a ride to the store to some local knowledge about the water or what to do and see.

Southport Home

    Beth's Sister & Brother-In-Law came for a couple of days to visit. The weather wasn't ideal but the chance to spend time with family is always good. We visited the soggy town and made a few "dry" stops, one of which was the Maritime Museum. Sunday morning we all went to Easter Service at Southport Baptist Church. It was a great service at a hometown church with a lot of great downhome folks.

Maritime Museum

    The rain and wind kept up for a couple of days and even by Monday as the sun finally showed the wind continued and kept the temperature cool and the chance for travel by water at zero. But we still had plenty to see and do.


South Carolina Family in North Carolina

    Later in the day we noticed on NEBO some folks from Crystal River. We had met them at Pete's Pier last year and they happened to be traveling by the marina on their Great Loop adventure. I went down to the end dock and snapped a picture to send to them. Perhaps an hour later they texted us and said they ran into 8' seas just past the opening into the Cape Fear River and turned back. They were docked back in Southport. This affirmed our decision not traveling today, with the wind from the north and the swift current of the Cape Fear flowing in against it, the waves were intolerable.

Rambling Rosie

    Our Crystal River friends stopped by the boat, we chatted for a few minutes and made plans for dinner later. Beth and I headed downtown for one last sightseeing mission while the sun was shining, the air warmed up and the wind subsided some.

ICW from Southport

Bald Head Island and Cape Fear

    Dinner was fun and we spent some time on Rambling Rosie telling boat stories and discussing where we might go in the coming days. 

Southport Sunset

Barefoot Landing, SC to Southport, NC

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