Beaufort NC to Swan Point Marina near Jacksonville NC
We awoke to a foggy morning in Beaufort. We could see rough shapes of the many sailboats anchored near the marina so we decided to sleep in and wait on the weather to clear. Yes, we found a nice quaint little restaurant for breakfast with the best (ignoring Rosa's) southern style 'grits' we've had in several years. Our walk along the docks afterwards got us ready to plan the day's cruise.
Morehead City, Beaufort's sister city across the ICW, is a shipping port and we were not surprised to meet this large freighter heading towards Beaufort inlet and the sea. .Morehead City is in the background. It's a miniature Baltimore without the high rise buildings.
The ICW route south after Morehead City passes under a high fixed bridge taking motor traffic to and from Atlantic Beach, and into Bogue Sound. Shortly after we cleared the bridge we were overtaken by a beautiful Hinkley sailboat. I later learned she is 49 ft. and easily cruises under power at 7.6 knots. Yes, Surprise only cruises at 7.5 knots. Now a question for my sailor friends. I've always been told that the difference between a ketch and a yawl is the placement of the cockpit. Note that this boat had two cockpits, one behind the mizzen mast and a higher one between the masts!
While still in Bogue Sound we encountered our first fog bank. Visibility was adequate, about 1/2 mile, and with radar and running lights safe to continue. Yes we slowed down and after about two miles the sky's cleared and we again had a bright sunny day. Our second fog bank appeared as we approached Bogue Inlet near Swansboro NC. We were following a large motor cruiser when the fog came in from the ocean and suddenly visibility was less than 1/4 mile and we really slowed down. The radar and chart-plotter were then essential as we could barely see the power cruiser ahead. Our only choice was to continue heading south and immediately after we passed the inlet the sky's again cleared.
Our last story of this cruise is the Dolphins. As we approached New River inlet near Jacksonville dolphins appeared to be everywhere in the water. Most were young appearing to be about three feet long. They were swimming in all directions probably feeding. Some headed straight for the boat appearing to dive deep at the last minute to clear the keel and prop. There were so many that we were worried the boat's propeller would hit them. Soon several of the larger ones began to swim along our port side. Rosa was able to capture pictures. Here's an example.
It was a great cruise day. We saw a beautiful boat, we successfully handled two instances of fog, and we were excited to see the dolphins swimming alongside Surprise. Yes, this is what boating's all about.