Little River, SC to Osprey Marina, SC

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

This morning we thought we were in no hurry to depart from our anchorage.  Though the wind had howled during the night, and there is a fair current running through Little River, we were tucked in a great place, protected from the seas, if not the wind.

As we were approaching high tide for the inlet, there were coastal flood warnings out for the area.  The super moon and other astronomical factors, plus a NE wind just kept the water coming in.

I looked up and saw a huge wooden box that had been high and dry in the marsh the day before begin to float, and then to beeline in our direction.  We picked up the anchor and moved as sticks, branches, and debris that had been on high ground came free into the waterway.

We idled past the houses near the inlet, not willing to drive the water an inch higher from the boat's movement.  The current pushed us all the way to Osprey marina.

The trawler Osprey, who had been anchored further towards the inlet than we had, crept along with us.

We went though the high waters, and yelled at one large outboard who was running past the houses in a squat position.  I saw one sign someone had put up that said, "If you want to plow, buy a farm."

Some angry neighbors tried to hail a sportfishing boat that was in a hurry, and for a while I wondered if they'd be at the next bridge with the sheriff.

Other than that, I think much traffic stayed off the waterway for the day, to let the wind blow, and the waters recede.

We pulled into Osprey Marina shortly after noon, arriving to a warm welcome by the friendly dockmaster, Myles.  What a gorgeous setting the marina is in.  I love the big trees around the marina, that is just far enough to be protected from the wakes of the ICW.  They showed me how high the water had been two weeks earlier from the 1000 year flood.  

Topsail Sound, NC to Little River, SC

Monday, 26 October 2015

The wind blew out of the west for awhile, the NW, and finally the NE.  I was surprised that there was enough current to keep us held between the 20 kt wind and the current.  Where we were anchored was pretty calm, and great holding.  Good thing, because I think we swung 480 degrees during the course of the night.

The tides were high with the supermoon, October, and the NE winds.

The Wilmington Office of the Corps of Engineeers has figured out how to make documents that are easy for boaters with tablets/iPads to use.  Their link http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/HydrographicSurveys/InletsCrossings.aspx provides recent survey results for lots of places, including the channel to get out from the opposite direction than I came in.  Sigh.  My weakness has always been, a new boat and a new place to go....  We looped around through Topsail Sound and up Topsail Creek to where it joined the ICW channel.  It was fun to go a different way, but, it would have saved time if I had back-tracked out the way I had come in!

Our trip down the Cape Fear River was the fastest I've ever made!  With the wind on our stern, and the dam still releasing massive amounts of water, and the tide falling... our trawler was a speed boat!

We turned into the ditch again at Southport, and continued westward.  The local sheriff's boat had a USCG boarding team aboard, and they were boarding a lot of boats.  They met us, turned fell in beside us, then along side us, and then went on their way.  I was glad for the 2015 Vessel Safety Inspection sticker in my port window!

We eventually pulled into the Little River, to the south of the ICW, and anchored in a deep area, to the bank side of #18, out of the channel.  We were in an area protected from the seas, though not the winds.  The winds were forecast to blow NE @ 25kts, and we arrived late enough that I wasn't expecting much more traffic going through.  

We watched the high water on the marsh as the skies darkened.  We were in a good spot.