Winter Weather in the Carolina's!

Day 10! This morning we woke to sun but still the temps were in the thirties with a wind chill in the twenties. I'm beginning to think I never left NY. This is the kind of weather we had up in western New York in November. Even when we left Deltaville in 2005 in December we found warmer weather at this point in time.

We let loose the lines, the strong winds were on our nose and a boat was docked directly behind us. Unfortunately the dock had other plans for us and grabbed our stern line and wouldn't let it loose. With the boat in gear and the wind blowing us back at the boat behind us the line finally let loose. It was an interesting disembarking but we and our home were unharmed.

We arrived at Camp LeJeune, only to have an hour wait to transit this section of the ICW. You can see by the photo at the top we were not the only ones waiting. There were approximately five power boats and four sailboats waiting. We all anchored and one single handler was ask if he would like to raft up. While he was in the process we were told the ICW was now open and we could pass though. With all the firing and the fact that it was to last till 5 PM we decided not to anchor in Mile Hammock Anchorage. Instead with the temperatures as low as they were we took a dock at Beach House Marina in Surf City, NC. We arrived around 4PM docked and checked in and went for a walk to stretch our legs. We walked out to the ocean to check it out. It looked great but the wind chill was difficult to take. It would have been a great sail out there if you could stand the cold.

Day 11! This morning we woke to sun and less wind so the wind chill was much milder. We left the dock, less dramatic this time. Our plan was to anchor at Carolina beach for the night. We arrived at the anchorage and it was early and when Larry checked the tides we found that the current down the Cape Fear River would be with us, so we kept going. We had a reservation for a dock at South Harbor Village Marina for Friday but when we called they had a dock for us on Thursday also, so we headed their way. We arrived late, it going on 5:15 PM and the sun was setting. We docked, checked in and went for a shower. It was already getting cold and we stayed below decks for the rest of the evening.

Day 12! This morning we were sure glad we were staying put, the wind chill was almost as cold as the twenty degree day. We were waiting for our mail and wanted to clean the boat inside and out. When Larry scrubbed the deck and rinsed it with the hose the run off looked like mud. I did the laundry. We don't own many warm clothes and so we tend to wear the same things day after day. It was good to do laundry.

Our friends Mike and Diane on S/V Express Mail have caught up with us but went into Southport and so we still didn't get together tonight. We plan to be in the same marina or anchorage tomorrow night. It will be good to travel with them for a while. We have only hooked up for a night or two over the past two years.

Our plan is to leave at first light tomorrow morning. Lets hope the weather cooperates and brings some warmth.