Day 8 November 19, 2010

Port of Arrival: Wrightsville Beach, NC
Time of Arrival: 1750 hrs
Engine Hours: 3529.8
Fuel:
Log: 21921
Trip: 79.53
Weather: clear & cool
Time of Departure: 0610 hrs
While at the Sea Gate Marina, we met a couple from Michigan.  They have been at the marina for two weeks after returning home for a visit.  The captain asked us if we would lead them down the ICW because his First Mate had grown roots to the bottom and wasn't anxious to move on.  We agreed and they followed us to Moorhead City.  Their plans were to go out side and do an overnight trip down to Charleston SC.  We called them late in the day on the radio and they reported all was going well.  At 1000 hrs. near mile marker 235, we saw our first pod of dolphins.  A few of them were traveling along side the boat for about 10 minutes.  Always hard to get a picture though because they only surface for a second or two.  Passing through Capt LeJeune, we saw a very large area of smoke and fire.  The Marines had been conducting live fire exercisers that morning and I suspect something caught fire.  Another long day ahead as we will attempt to make it to Wrightsville Beach or beyond before dark.  The timing for the bridges becomes critical in order to stay on a schedule.  Some only open on the hour, others on the half and hour.  If you don't catch them in the correct sequence, you wind up waiting for up to an hour for the bridge to open.  When I called the bridge tender at the Figure Eight Swing Bridge, he returned my call by telling me that he was a retired postal employee.  We later found out that he has a daughter that lives in Toms River.  I invited them to go for a sail when he is up that way.  At the next bridge, Wrightsville Beach, we met two of the slowest sailboat that I have ever encountered on the ICW.  They had a half hour to get to the bridge for the next opening.  They traveled so slow that they missed the bridge and had to wait till the next hourly opening.  That was an hour and a half to go three miles.  When they passed through ahead of us, I found out why.  They were traveling less that 3 mph.  Typically boats their size should be able to do better than twice that speed.  We managed to squeeze past them and found our way to the anchorage for the night.  Cocktails were a little late tonight.  However, today being Friday, its tomato pie night.  Carl was checking his email when he came across a friend who was anchored in Wrightsville Beach tonight.  Turn out that they were anchored directly in front of us.  He called and invited his friend Mike over for an after dinner drink. We managed to stay up talking to well past 2200 hrs.  That's late for us two old guys, and mornings come very early.