19 April, 2021 Cape Fear river could have been ugly

 

48 SM; 7.0 hours

Last night's anchorage calmed at sunset and was pretty peaceful until about 0400 when the work boats began heading out to sea.  All were very courteous and created minimal wake.  We have planned a long day as winds were expected to remain light until later in the afternoon when forecast predicted 15-20 mph.    Anchor video

Underway at 0715, waters smooth and air chilly.  Mostly uneventful journey for the morning, a few no wake areas and only a few large yachts but they called politely on the radio and slowed before passing.  Planning and grace we tended to ride the flood tide a good bit of the day.  There were two areas of extreme caution as the AICW passed adjacent inlets now closed due to shoaling which also has silted up the waterway shifting the course into snake like course corrections.  Updated charts, references and carefully minding the red and green day markers we safely made it.

The AICW empties into the Cape Fear and follows it northward taking us nearly 90 minutes before exiting east back into the AICW.  This is a large, commercial shipping port and channel.  Very exposed to swells from the ocean, strong currents and wakes of all kinds from pleasure and commercial boat traffic.  Winds were strengthening from the S-SW and flood tide began.  We enjoyed nearly 9 mph speed over ground with following seas for almost an hour.  Had it been reversed, with outgoing tidal current against the 15 mph wind we probably would not have been able to cross today.  

Ft Fisher vehicle ferry

Exiting through Snows cut, waters became more protected for about 5 miles before a bit of exposure to the strengthening SW-W winds.  Our planned stop today was the mooring field at Carolina Beach, NC.  We had made reservations yesterday.  A pretty good ebb tide and 15 mph winds were in same direction as we approached the mooring ball.  Easy, as approaching the ball, all forward motion stopped quickly once in idle and I grabbed the pendent and secured Serenity at 1300.  Making all secure, we splashed Kaos and loaded out trash, beach gear, jackets and set off to the town dinghy dock.  Atlantic ocean only 1.5 blocks away.

Carolina Beach birds

Sea oats

We walked nearly two miles along the beach.  Kim's knee getting stronger and we both needed a good walk. There were decent crowds on the beach in spots considering it was cloudy and windy.  Today was beach town date day.  We rarely eat out, but today we searched out a beach joint to get a greasy burger with the fixings.  A few restaurants were open as the season here is a few weeks away but we found one with sidewalk seating and we ordered our burgers.  We enjoyed our meal and people watched from our sidewalk table.  

We walked about a mile back to the town dock where Kaos the dinghy remained securely locked.  It was quite windy probably 15G20 as we rode choppy waters back to Serenity.  About an hour before sunset, we secured the dinghy, made sure our lines to the mooring ball pendent were good to go and turned on the anchor light.  Such a fulfilling day.  Safely cruised the Cape Fear, easy mooring in a safe harbor for the night and a fun day together exploring Carolina Beach.

Mooring

3198 SM traveled; 1601.7 hours hobbs