Dolphin leaping around boat

Man clamming in middle of water

Egret

Cottage for sale on barrier island

Sign at Camp Lejeune

Tuesday, October 23 – Mile 204 – 245:  One lesson we are perhaps learning is to consider very carefully the consequences of tying up at a face dock in a channel with current and boats running all over the place.  It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but the boat rocked around all night, which got very boring.  We were carefully tied up at the dock so we were never rocking up against the dock, but it wasn’t like being in a quiet slip.  When we were ready to leave this morning, we studied and studied the best way to leave so we wouldn’t run into any problems, and we had absolutely no problem getting away from the pier and on our way.  Unfortunately, kitty was unhappy, she didn’t want any breakfast and as soon as the bed was made, she was up and under the covers for the duration of the day.  I honestly don’t know how she breathes under there, but there she stays every day until the evening.   She is actually a very smart cat – she can count to three!  She knows she wants three meals a day, and she doesn’t care when or what time she gets them as long as it’s three and no less.  So she could have breakfast and lunch and hour apart and then dinner or lunch and dinner in the evening, but she definitely expects three.  No amount of ignoring her meowing will work – she wants three.  So today she had breakfast at 3:00 p.m. – lunch and dinner will be later.        Maybe today she sensed my anxiety about Brown’s Inlet and the potential of being fired upon as target practice as we passed Camp Lejeune.

            Last night once we got settled in, I kept hearing this noise – sort of like crackling cellophane and running water on a tin roof.  It was coming from the engine room, and I realized I had been hearing it for a couple of days.  Bob just rolled his eyes at me, but he went down in the engine room, and couldn’t find anything wrong – no copious amounts of water running into the bilge or anything else spurting from anywhere, but at least he heard the noise (ha, sometimes I’m right!).  It seemed to be emanating from the new hot water heater.  So in the morning we both went down in the engine room (which I swore I would never do), and again, neither of us could find anything amiss, so we called our new repairman, Greg, and asked him what it could be.  He says he will get back to us, and sure enough, in a few minutes he calls and says he has contacted Sea Guard (the maker of the water heater) and that because our hot water heater is new, it didn’t have any buildup of (we think he said carbonate), and that buildup muffles the sound of the water heater working.  We hope he isn’t making this stuff up.  Phew, ok, the boat isn’t going to sink, and we don’t have to worry about it.

            So off we go, and we plan on heading to Mile Hammock Bay and anchoring there for the night, but we have a couple of challenges to get through today.  As we leave Morehead City, the dolphins are everywhere – leaping and swimming in the wake of the bow, and I swear I can hear them “clicking” and singing.  We see them off and on the whole day – we are definitely getting a wildlife fix!  I also saw the strangest jellyfish – it was this big, bulbous looking thing with the color of a creamsickle.      

            We are cruising down another narrow channel with plenty of deep water in the channel, but don’t stray out – there is hardly any water outside.  On our port side are barrier type islands and beyond that the outer banks and the ocean.  The ocean is really very close to us and from time to time, we get a peek at it.  It smells like the ocean here.  On our starboard side, is of course, the “land” which is over-developed and over crowded and not particularly scenic to look at.  There are strange little whirlpools as we travel along, and you can see the shoals.  At one point we saw gulls seemingly just standing in the middle of the water, and there was a man clamming (I guess).

            So this morning, our first challenge is to make sure the ICW is open around Camp Lejeune.  Occasionally, it is closed as the Marines are conducting live fire exercises, and we have been warned by other boaters to call ahead first or you could get stuck waiting around for them to finish shooting each other or if you are really unlucky and stray into the area at the wrong time, becoming a target yourself.  There is a huge sign at that part of the waterway specifically instructing you “Not To Enter” if the lights on top are flashing.  But you can call ahead to the firing range, and the nice man will tell you what the story is.  On this particular day, all was clear, and we traversed this section without any trouble and conquered the first challenge.

            Next up was Brown’s Inlet at Mile 237.  We had been warned by some friends who were ahead of us that the inlet had shoaled in way past the marks, and you had to be very careful and “feel your way” through this area.  “Feeling my way” through any water is not my idea of fun.  They had come upon several boats that had run aground.  On the positive side, we also talked with some other boaters we met who contacted us after they went through and said that the Coast Guard had just moved the marks and as long as you were very careful, you shouldn’t have any problem.  I am entering this section with a little trepidation, although Bob thinks it will be a piece of cake.  We just happen to be following a sailboat, and I am watching him through binoculars, and I can see the new marks.  I think this will be fine as the sailboat will probably be paying very close attention, and we can see how he negotiates this area.  Well, the marks, even though they are not on poles (they are just cans in the water), are numbered exactly as they should be, and I am watching the sailboater with interest as he completely ignores the marks and promptly runs aground.  Fortunately, for him, he bounces around and bounces through the channel (maybe that’s what feeling your way is) and manages to keep going, but he has definitely showed us the way not to motor through there.  And Bob was right – it was a piece of cake, and the second challenge of the day has been conquered.  Our speed is right on target, and we make the Onslow Beach Swing Bridge so we do not have to wait around for an opening as the current s really strong here.  Once through there, Mile Hammock Bay is “right around the corner”, and we find a nice little spot in here.  I foolishly thought we would be the only ones in here, but right now there are fifteen other boats, and more are probably coming.  We settle in, kitty cat appeared all rested and happy and wanting breakfast.  I took out a steak for dinner and the bottle of wine is chilling.  It’s been a good day!