In anticipation of a long day ahead, we were up early and on the move by 6:20 a.m. Today’s sights are completely different than yesterdays. Big water, and industry was introduced early
in the day. Other loopers have the same idea and are also moving early.
What a beautiful morning and sunrise to welcome our day. Ahead of us is 80+ miles of traversing rivers, creeks, inlets, sounds, skinny water, big water, deep water, shallow water, sweeping currents and bridges. When bridges are involved, there is a timing game that goes along with them, and we haven’t won that game yet. One bridge opens on the hour, another on the hour and half hour and the third should open for us.
Early in the morning we passed Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, Brunswick County, NC. (Sunny Point Army Base). It has been used as a strategic shipping and military hub since
1725. Sunny Point as it exists today was established in 1955 and is the largest military terminal anywhere in the world. It can handle up to six ships simultaneously in its docks. It has played a vital role in supporting deployed units in many conflicts and tasked with handling 90% of the resupply munitions for US forces. Including everything from small arms ammunition up to 750-pound M117 bombs.
We planned to get to the first bridge that we can’t fit under by 9:00 a.m. Mostly due to no wake areas and slow travel we got there at 9:30 and had to hold position (somewhat) in conflicting wind and currents and a multitude of other boats. Anxiety was creeping in. Okay, we are through. Our next bridge is 5 miles away, and we travel at 10mph when we’re not held to no-wake and there wasn’t, so 10:30 it was. We’ll make it! Yep, we go there on time with another boat before us and the Bridge-tender comes over the radio and says, “I’m going to delay the opening while the boats behind you catch up”. What? They are 10 minutes back. So, we waited.
About 11:00 we noticed that the water was now blue. We’ve been traveling for 5 weeks in brown water, and it felt so good to see blue water again.
Another military camp. Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base camp on Onslow Beach which is a 6.5 mile stretch of undeveloped beach. It has been used at various times to practice amphibious landings by the US Navy. It also closes the waterway (call the day before to confirm passage) to practice live fire maneuvers.
For our third bridge we arrived 10 minutes early with strong currents pushing us toward the bridge. We held position and waited. I’m always floored by the boat that approaches a bridge seeing a half dozen boats sitting in holding patterns and weaves through us all, call the bridge-tender and request an opening. Really? Seriously, it’s happened a few times.
We are getting close to reaching our destination. The Church Road Town Docks and Swansboro. No dock hands. Okay we can do this and we talk it through and get our lines and fenders ready. But wait, here it comes. For those of you who have followed this blog, you know what’s coming. WIND! I’m not kidding. Swansboro is completely unprotected. 30 mph gust kick up as soon as we begin to dock. Does this only happen to us? We got turned around and started to back down and NO WAY! It’s not happening. The marina just next door, although a little run down, just tied up a boat we had been traveling with all day and they could fit us in. LOL, the only other boat there was Tina Marie. So, after switching our fenders and lines to the opposite side, we were ready. But wait, fixed docks, I had the fenders to low. Hold up a little longer while I raise them all. We approach the dock and Glen made a perfect landing beside the fact that the dock hands wanted us further forward and we had to get all the fenders out of the way of their pilings. I know we have a rub rails but we have never used them on previous boats. They are just for decoration. I guess they do have a purpose after all.
After we tied up and adjusted fenders to brace against the winds force. We walked the girls and back to the boat. I was beat and didn’t want to go back out in the wind. Not even to explore the little town of Swansboro.
A can’t give a bad review or recommendation other than to say, we will not stay in Swansboro again simply because of the wind and weather protection factor.
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