A Little Inside, A Little Outside

From Morehead City the ICW leads almost straight west. As White Pepper motored along I as struck by how many large houses lined the waterway and then lined the beach to the south. Mile after mile passed by in an endless array of large homes actually crowded close together along this relatively remote stretch of waterway. There must be a great deal of money in North Carolina to support so many second homes.

Eventually we got to Camp LeJeaune, the Marine base. There were no homes along the 20 mile stretch. We did get to see some of our marines practicing landings along the waterway. Actually, I think that they were just enjoying a lovely day messing around in boats. We asked permission to take their pictures and they were pleased to pose for us. At the southern end of Camp LeJeune is an anchorage well known up and down the East Coast. It is a large dredged and well marked basin maintained by the Marines but available to the public. As it is the only protected spot for 20 miles north or south it is justifiably popular. The pictures of the trawler was taken at this anchorage.

The next day we travelled through southeastern NC. The land changed from pine trees to the lush grass lands of the low country. Homes were a bit more spares and spare. At nightfall we came to Wrightsville Beach. I was amazed at how busy and crowded this town was in the middle of nowhere. While there were few sailboats, there must have been a thousand power boats of all sizes and shapes here. They fish the wetlands and use the shallow inlets that line the Carolina coast. We anchored in the large well known anchorage off of Mott's Channel.

Our third day in the ICW as especially affected by tidal currents. We were headed for Carolina Beach. In this stretch of the ICW there are numerous shallow inlets that are not suitable for sailboat navigation, but they cause fierce currents to flow. As you approach the inlet there is a strong ebb or flood, but as the boat passes the inlet there is a swirl and then a contrary flood or ebb. It averages out but is disconcerting. As we passed Carolina Beach and traversed Snow's Cut the White Pepper could barely make 3 knots against the 3 knot current. We were rewarded as we turned into the Cape Fear River as it was in full ebb. We roared down the river at 9 knots basking in a delightful summer like day. It was hard to believe that this was late November.

The tide spit White Pepper out into the North Atlantic about 2:30 pm. This was her first taste of salt water in over two years. She seemed to revel in the sea. We squared away to the SW in light breezes headed for Charleston SC. The overnight sail was exquisite. The water was calm, the moon bright and the breeze gentle. We entered the Charleston jetty by 11 am and were tied up at the Charleston City Marina by 2:30 pm. The trip was a wonderful reintroduction to the ocean and it saved three days of motoring along the ICW.