North Carolina – Leg 2

• 10/26/22 Washington, NC to Hoboken, NC (33.5 NM)
• 10/27/22 Hobucken, NC to Oriental, NC (21.1 NM)
• 10/28/22  Oriental, NC to Morehead, NC (23 NM)
• 10/29/22 Morehead, NC
• 10/30/22  Morehead, NC to Beaufort, NC (3.9NM)
• 10/31/22 Beaufort, NC
• 11/1/22 Beaufort, NC to Swansboro, NC (24.9 NM)
• 11/2/22 Swansboro, NC to Wrightsville Beach, NC (48.1 NM)
• 11/3/22 Wrightsville Beach 
• 11/4/22 Wrightsville Beach, NC to Southport, NC (24.8 NM)
• 11/5/22 Southport, NC
• 11/6/22 Southport, NC to Bird Island, NC (29.1 NM)

The Calm Seas: 

• Brewery Tour of NC and new found love for stouts.
• The very nice, smart, kind technician  at Glendinning Controls who explained how the synchronizer on our Grand Banks works.  Then after the third phone call said, ” I build those cables, I can build it for you and mail it in the AM!” 
• Halloween in Beaufort, NC unknowing to us, is the place to be!
• A unexpected gem – Bird Island, NC

The Rough Waters:

• Cruising into Morehead City the synchronizer and tachometer stopped working!
• Troubleshooting and then driving two days with out synchronizer and tachometer.

Hobucken, NC

A second right of passage for first timers traveling the AICW seemed to be a stop at RE Mayo Seafood in Hobucken, NC.  This stop was certainly interesting, fun and  conveniently located directly on the ICW.   RE Mayo is a working seafood dock with a few transient slips, for 40 cents a foot!  The town of Hobucken is literally in the middle of nowhere.  Other than the Seafood and Marine store there is not much there.  We bought some fresh scallops and shrimp and went for a long bike around Goose Creek Game Land. We read mixed reviews about this place but I would definitely stay again.   

Oriental, NC

Leaving Hobucken early in the AM, after saving a kayaker who fell out, we were able to grab the free dock in Oriental, NC.  The dock is facing the road and directly in front of Bean Coffee Shop, great location to visit this lovely town.  We enjoyed walking around and a great assortment of beers and conversation with the locals at The New Village Brewery. 

Our first mechanical issue happened cruising into Morehead City.   The synchronizer and lead engine tachometer died.  After  a wild goose chase looking for an electrical issue,  it was discovered to be a mechanical issue.  A great, kind Glendinning tech helped us troubleshoot, made us a new cable and shipped it to our next marina.     After installing the new cable, all systems back running!

Morehead City has a nice waterfront and we docked at Morehead City Docks.  A few restaurants and shops lined the waterfront but not much more.  Our intention was to stay in Morehead a few days and bike over to Beaufort.  Between fixing the boat and Beaufort Chanel Bridge, not only being a 65 foot clearance, but having no breakdown lane and being under construction, we decide against biking and  changed our plan.  We decided to stay in Morehead the planned two days but cruise over to Beaufort and get a slip to check out that town.  We read somewhere that the best advice is to research to have intentions – but not plans!  This was a perfect example. 

We took a long walk looking for a coffee/cafe/bakery and ended up at  a gas station coffee bar.  We checked out Tight Lines Pub and Brewery and the service, beer and food was fabulous.  The next day we biked to Atlantic Beach.  Of course to get there, we had to bike over  a bridge (The Atlantic beach Bridge-65 foot clearance) but it had a breakdown lane and not much traffic.  Being ocean and beach lovers, we very excited to land on Atlantic Beach.  We did not read much about this location but it was a great beach town with lots to do and  and perfect place to bike.  We stopped at Crystal Coastal Brewery Company for a flight and relaxation.  Once again, having only  ‘intentions’ and no plans proved to be a valuable strategy, with the mechanical breakdown and unforeseen construction, we were able to roll with the punches.  In the end, we were so happy with our Atlantic Beach visit!

Morehead City, NC

Beaufort, NC

It was a  quick 40 minute cruise over to Beaufort, NC.   Thank goodness we decided to make the trip and not skip Beaufort because it  is not the place to miss!  Historical homes, shops, quaint streets and a beautiful waterfront.  The Beaufort Yacht Basin was our home for two nights.   Of course, we toured the town on bikes but also did a double brewery stop. Fishtown Brew House is a little brewery, with a great beer garden, located in downtown.  The beers were good, very interesting flavors and service was OK.  Mill Whistle Brewing was a little off the beaten path, located in an old mill house.  It was a unique and fun place that gave off a feel of a  mill house complete with a mill whistle.  The beer was fabulous, with really fun names.  The bar was little with a great homey feel.  We had some nice conversation with the owner and other customers.  We learned a few things at the brewery.  One, every night out in Beaufort should end at the Royal James House!  We biked over and found the cheapest and best burgers ever!  Two, Halloween on Anne St. in Beaufort is like Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  So, they next night, Halloween, we strolled Anne St. and it was something to see.   Hundreds of families, cordially walking up the street in lines visiting spooky decorated historical homes.  We heard some live music, so tracked it down to Backyard Pub!

Swansboro, NC

The cruise to Swansboro, NC had tons of dolphin sightings and I was finally able to get a couple of decent pictures.  The docking in Swansboro was just as exciting with a strong current.  We docked at Church St. docks, which was a great location.  Somehow, in our research we missed Swansboro’s terrible current.   We were fortunate a guy was on the dock waiting to help us dock.  His boat was behind where we were going so he called it “self preservation.”  We did enjoy a few beers with him, which was the least we could do after his workout working our lines against the current.  Swansboro is a very little, very quaint town! Quite a few restaurants and trendy stores line Main St.  

Wrightsville Beach, NC

Wrightsville Beach, NC  is a beach community  with a long, beautiful, white sand beach with lots of public access points.  For miles, the  beach is lined with houses so most of the restaurants and shops are across the street.  Anchoring in the Masonboro Inlet on the east side of the ICW gave us very easy access to the the beach!  The anchorage is huge with good holding but had lots of boats.   We drove by a few other anchorages, which were equally full,  to get a spot closer to the east.   Near Wrightsville Beach, between the ICW and the ocean is a large community with canals, marinas and tons of houses/neighborhoods.   A large public dinghy dock is available south of the Causeway Drive Bridge.  From the dingy dock, the beach is a two minute walk.  We dinghy’d over to Motts Channel Seafood to get a piece of fresh fish for dinner.   A trip to Motts is definitely a must do in this area.  We parked the dinghy on the dock behind the store where local fishmen were unloading their days catch.  The catch is immediately processed and popped into the case in the front.  

Southport, NC

The short cruise from Wrightsville Beach to Southport, NC took us through Cape Fear River.  We planned the trip to hit that spot during ebb tide and made our cruise smoother.  The route also had lots of shallow spots so we both paid extra close attention.  We docked at Safe Harbor South Harbour Village.  It was exactly what you would expect from a Safe Harbor property with great amenities. The marina has a few restaurants close by the the town of Southport is a few miles away.  The bike ride to Southport was not bike friendly with lots of traffic.  However, once in Southport it is  easy to move around with bikes or walking and lots to do.   The next day, we biked over to Oak Island and it we fell in love with this area.  It is a classic beach with very few crowds but lots to do.  The beach goes on forever with white sand and a few piers.  Biking back we heard live music and decided to stop.  The Grape and Ale is a wine store that sells of glasses of wine or beer with local beer taps and live music.  To say we found our spot is an understatement.   Oak Island is definitely on our return trip list!

Bird Island, NC

We planned to anchor at Bird Island, NC because it had good reviews for an anchorage and was between Southport and our next stop of Myrtle Beach.  Our plan was to stop her for two days but with some bad weather expected we changed it to only one night so we could get somewhere safe before the storm.    Bird Island sits on the border between North and South Carolina.  When we arrived at the anchorage we were not prepared for the area.  It was a wonderful surprise to see a beach with a boats just a yards from where we anchored.  We quicky ditched the chores we had planned, dropped the dinghy, packed a cooler and chairs and enjoyed an unexpected beach day.  The area reminded us of our local ‘boat beach.’  Once again, we will definitely be back to Bird Island!