July 11             Swansboro, North Carolina

We left Wilmington before nine on this Saturday morning and noted that the slight rain had not kept a crowd from gathering on the boardwalk to hear a speaker who was probably one of the local political candidates.  We soon reached the point where we would leave the Cape Fear River and once again join the ICW. We had to follow a very narrow channel, fortunately well marked across a bay that was dangerously shallow, and then pass a shoaled entrance into Snow Cut, which led to the open expanse of the ICW that once again bordered the Atlantic.  This waterway was wide and exceedingly busy with a myriad of boats loaded with fishermen, teenagers, families, and parents pulling water toys carrying excited children. We were constantly slowing to keep from swamping the water toys with our wake. Hundreds of condominiums and homes lined the ICW and gave us an indication of how popular this region is with vacationers and winter residents.  We were surprised that North Carolina had such an active coast life. We planned to reach Swansboro, our chosen destination, before six o’clock in order to have docking assistance.  Anticipating no problems, we were soon dismayed when we reached the Wrightsville Bridge only five minutes past the hour and were curtly told that the next opening would be at the top of the next hour.  No Florida and Georgia courtesy here!  Unable to moor to any adjacent dolphins (not the fish, the large pilings) as we could have in the Netherlands when we waited for bridge operators to return from lunch on their bicycles, we used the bow thruster to its greatest advantage, ate lunch, and observed the dock scenes of boaters and diners in nearby restaurants. 

Realizing that the next two bridges had similar time restrictions, we plotted our journey as carefully as possible to avoid a similar delay.  We made the next bridge with two minutes to spare but the second one was a challenge.  Despite running for fifteen minutes at top speed (burning sixty gallons an hour), we sadly concluded that we were not going to make the opening at the top of the hour.  To our surprise and delight, a voice marked by a distinctly North Carolinian drawl came through the VHF radio and identified himself as the bridge master and stated that he had witnessed our effort to reach the bridge and would delay the opening for a few minutes in order for us to make it through.  We were grateful to avoid the dreaded wait if we had missed the opening and I blew him kisses when we passed through the opening. 

Confident that we were on the way without further delay, we again were dismayed when we saw frequent lightening in the distance, which became increasingly nearer.  The weather forecasts were consistently predicting no rain but we soon experienced a torrential downpour that impeded vision and progress.  Again, I was grateful that we had bought a boat that was heavy and stable in such turbulence.  Knowing that we probably would be delayed in our arrival at Swansboro, I was reaching for my phone when I received a call from the marina.  They were willing to wait for us.  Southern hospitality at its best!  We arrived about ten minutes before six but could not dock because of the lightening in the area.  Finally we had a break and two charming boys came to help us dock.  The rain stopped at that moment and the sky cleared to provide a beautiful sunset.  After docking, I walked the few blocks to downtown Swansboro and visited its small historical district of old shops and homes.  With luck, I found the only shop selling wine.  They had a clearance on their stock and had only fifteen bottles in inventory.  Fortunately, I found two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc that proved to be excellent.  Wine and dinner on the boat with a good DVD movie was a happy conclusion to a very busy day.