When traveling north from Miami to Norfolk, VA, the mainland is on the port (left) side of the boat and the ocean side is on the starboard (right) side of the boat. It is rare you catch a glimpse of the ocean from the ICW, but when you do, it is an awesome sight.
Anne and Monica met up with Tony at the Coquina Yacht Club in Little River, SC, just north of Myrtle Beach. After some boat repair work and some car troubles, the “real” voyage began. All three of us on board together, the trip of a lifetime, the adventure we have dreamed of and planned on for years was now commencing.
We had a glorious sailing day heading north crossing over into North Carolina. We passed Long Beach, Southport, (which sits at the southern end of the Cape Fear River), and then traversed through the southern end of the Cape Fear River, part of the ICW route. The current was swift and against us where our progress slowed to about 2.5 knots. The wind picked up just as we entered the expanse of the river and we were able to sail with a full head and main sail against the strong current and make some good headway. We continued on and then had the tide change to be with us where we were able to make up lost time. We decided to pull into the Masonboro Marina at MM 288, just south of Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach.
After getting settled that evening, Tony checked the engine (a good habit he’s established after sailing), and was troubled by a leaking fuel injector. We decided to have it checked by a mechanic in the morning as luckily, we were at a working marina and boat yard. We also wanted to have the stantion on the entrance gates fixed, as it broke in half as we came in to the Marina.
We discovered the next morning that the fuel injector pump needed to be rebuilt. The boat yard needed to send it up to Beaufort, NC to have the work done. We were looking at Friday before we would be able to get it back and underway.
So goes the life of the sailor…waiting on something; wind, tides, repair, weather. It could have been worse. We found ourselves in a sweet enclave, just 15 minutes from historic Wilmington. We used the courtesy car and drove into Wilmington. We have a rental property in the historic downtown area that we had planned to visit in the fall on the way back, but decided to do so while we had the time.
The marina at which we stayed had nice facilities, with a guest room where we could use the internet and just relax. If one has to be stranded for a few days, this was not a bad place to do so. Finally, on Friday, June 6, the fuel injector came in and was installed on the boat. By the time all was done, it was after 4:00 p.m. so we decided to stay put. Due to tides, we needed to time our departure to insure we had plenty of water to get out of the channel. (The boat draws 6 feet of water). On Saturday June 7, we woke and prepared to leave around 11:00 a.m. when we were sure the tides were right. A thunderstorm kept us from leaving, it continued through the day. Needless to say, we stayed yet another day.
