Wed Nov 6 - In which we may not make it through the night

Carolina Beach mooring ball to Calabash Creek anchorage

Grump, grump… So far this boating thing seems to involve two of my least favorite things – getting up early and cleaning.  Just saying…

We took the dingy into town early – and I mean EARLY, because the True Value Hardware Store (I don’t even know what to say about going to YET ANOTHER HARDWEAR STORE) opened at 6am for the serious fishermen.  We needed to get that raw water faucet fixed.  Apparently, we also needed to get me some flip flops and a new hat.  I think Rick is tired of looking at the hat I have since I have had it from before we got married.

Isn't she pretty in the sunrise!

Faucet fixed – and we were off.  It’s fun to have had enough exposure along the route to begin to recognize the boats traveling south around us.  We hear the chatter on the radio and we say ‘Oh, Grace – we haven’t heard from her since the Dismal Swamp’, or ‘hey, it’s Sandbox – they were in the anchorage with us two nights ago’.  Yesterday we introduced ourselves (over the radio) to a boat that had Boulder, Co as their hailing port.  I wanted to put Boulder, but was too cheap to have the stern repainted, so we hail from Punta Gorda, FL.  A place we have never been.  The last couple of days we’ve been traveling near a sailboat called ‘Wanderbird’ and have been watching out for him since we are ahead of him and we can handle shallower water than he can (our draw is about 4’).  Yesterday he went under a bridge that had about 2” clearance from his mast – it about gave me a heart attack.  I have enough of my own shit to worry about.

We made it to our sketchy anchorage.  I say that because it’s littered with sunken boats – remnants of the last hurricane.  

 And it is right next to a heavily travel channel.  AND it is POSSIBLE that we anchored with our butt (stern) slightly IN the channel. As we got settled, we heard a radio call from a ship coming up the channel – a huge casino ship and we were afraid that we would be run over.  We jumped to be ready to move but fortunately the ship turned up a different channel and we were saved.   For the moment…I am not at all sure that we will last the night.  Stay tuned, Gentle Reader.