Log Book: November 16th

Conditions: 73 degrees sunny

Location: Swansboro, NC

We left Cedar Creek this morning in a dry cockpit thanks to our canvas enclosure. The morning was gorgeous and warm, a great day to make our way to Swansboro. Although we have been in North Carolina for some time now we have yet to see a true town, to get the feel of it. Luckily the ICW changed it's scenery today. This part of the North Carolina ICW is still dug in the salt marsh but very close to the ocean, so close that you can hear the waves. The lure of the sea makes both sides of the canal a popular places for summer homes.

The east side of the canal is mostly made up of dunes that lead to the beach and small beach towns or houses if they can fit. Dolphins swim freely in and out of the many openings in the dunes to and from the ocean. 

Moorhead City is where the scenery change began and with the change came a new collection of problems. The previously lonely ICW was now full of people.

There was as much boat traffic here as there was in New York City, although here the traffic was mostly made up of small skiffs. The number of small motor boats drifting around fishing, or powering around to fish elsewhere was staggering. Between the numerous power boats, the large ship traffic, the heavy current, and the many different confusing channel markers, sailing through Moorhead City was like trying to navigate through a pinball machine. 

Finally out the other side we were able to sight see and catch a glimpse of those North Carolina beach houses. However Dad and I discussed how they didn't seem to have much of a style pattern. Some were large stucco, some were small ranches, still others were medium with cedar shakes. We still didn't have the feel for what style North Carolina was.  The only thing that every house had in common was they all had a dock to the ICW. Every single house. We tried to guess what the real estate market was like here and what these homes cost. It was tricky, the homes weren't on the beach but like I said this waterway was busy and every house had it's own dock. It would be like living on a beautiful, quiet highway. We passed a sign on an empty lot with a dock that said the plot is on the market for $300,000. No house just the land and a dock. Pretty steep but the area was gorgeous.

The day heated up and soon we were sailing in shorts. Dad even hopped in to scrub the prop quickly. We spent most of our time relaxing listening to tunes. Navigating wasn't hard but because of the winding channel and boats we couldn't use the auto pilot much. We arrived in Swansboro about an hour before sunset. From the boat we could see that the town was alight with Christmas decorations. While we anchored a house boat drove by blaring music as people danced and drank on the housetop. When the sun finally set Dad and I ate dinner in the cockpit and debated going ashore. The town did seem lovely, we could even hear a live band playing from inside a bar but we planned on leaving early in the morning to reach Wrightsville Beach. Tonight we'd sacrifice a night of fun for more sleep.

What we ate: Spaghetti and meatballs

Spotted: Barbie's dream home