A Slow And Scenic Drive Up The Ditch

Southport to Mile Hammock  |  9.6 Hours  |  57.4 Miles  

What a difference a day makes. It looked to be a perfect travel day as we hit the deck for our departure chores. There was little breeze as we eased off the dock and entered the ICW. I took in the scenery as I hung the dock lines, stored the fenders, and wiped the heavy dew from Crossroads. The Oak Island Lighthouse was easily visible to starboard. To port, the clouds were thicker and more interesting. We turned north into the Cape Fear River, encountered a strong ebb current, and struggled to maintain four knots. "More throttle," Captain. The strength of the current could be seen at the base of the channel markers. Even with the current, the water was flat and the ride was smooth. We encountered the passenger ferry leaving for Bald Head Island and the car ferry heading to Fort Fisher, but there was no other traffic. It was a good opportunity to watch the clouds.

As we moved up the Cape Fear, the current lessened. To port, a large ship was docked with containers being unloaded. With the help of both Google Maps and Wiki we found the site to be the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU). Turns out it is one of the largest military terminals in the world and serves as a transfer point between rail, trucks, and ships for Army weapons, ammunition, explosives, and military equipment. We never knew. I took out the real camera to zoom in and read the signage prohibiting drones and cameras. Oops. A blue heron watched as we turned off the river and into Snows Cut. Despite it being low tide, we had plenty of depth which was good because the area was busy. Between the heavily eroded shores passed jet skis, kayaks, center consoles, and shrimp boats. The latter had an interesting shrimp decoration atop its mast.

We exited the cut into the ICW and depth became a challenge. A glance just outside the channel revealed crab pots resting high and dry. We started the time, speed, distance calculations to arrive at the Wrightsville Beach Bridge at 11:00. Large houses with long docks and/or impressive yards lined the shore. Almost every inlet had crazy shoaling, but we followed the chart tracks without incident. We arrived at the bridge with near perfect timing and passed through the opening. It was disappointing to see only three people on the iconic Palm Tree Island. We slowly made our way to the Figure 8 Bridge and its non opening. Despite concentrating on staying in the narrow channel, we enjoyed watching the dolphin, pelicans, herons, paddle boarders, big houses, and large trees. 

Osprey seemed to have taken up residence on all the channel markers. A man fishing in knee-deep water not far from us served as a reminder of how shallow the water was out of the ditch. Once we passed under the Surf City high-rise bridge, development increased and houses lined both sides of the ICW. Construction activity was everywhere -- new houses, docks, bulkheads, dredging. A beached shrimp boat was a sad sight. It looked to be in good condition other than the osprey nest built atop its stabilization arm. We were making good time and the clouds continued to put on a show. At Topsail Beach the land grew thin, both on the barrier island and inland. A house that we've commented on for years is still putting up a good fight against erosion although the front steps now lead directly into the water. After a few more turns we entered the Camp Lejeune boundary and ended up behind a sailboat traveling at three knots. Our final mile of the day seemed to take forever, but we finally arrived in the Mile Hammock anchorage. We claimed a space for ourselves alongside 16 other boats. Fingers crossed for calm winds overnight. We will depart early tomorrow and continue north.