DAY TWENTY-TWO -- TOPSAIL BEACH TO BEAUFORT, NC

                        DAY TWENTY-TWO -- TOPSAIL BEACH TO BEAUFORT, NC

            Okay, boys and girls, lots to talk about in today's blog! We had a very interesting day yesterday but didn't get to write about it then because we had crappy wi-fi service at the Beaufort City Marina. It was a struggle to get the day 21 blog published, especially getting pictures loaded, so I just gave up.

            Anyhow, the day began with our weighing anchor at quarter to ten (we let the first mate sleep in because she is fighting a sinus infection) and then running 62 miles up the intracoastal to the town of Beaufort. The initial stretch of the intracoastal (up to Bogue Sound) had hardly any development, with big expanses of salt marshes. It also included a span of about seven miles running through Camp Lejeune. Wikipedia says that the Marines practice beach landings here. We heard some sort of artillery fire off in the distance during some of the Camp Lejeune stretch but we didn't see any Marines. 

            The cruising guides say there are times when they shut down the intracoastal for hours when the Marines do certain exercises. Fortunately, that didn't happen to us. The photo shows what Camp Lejeune's coastal landscape looks like. There is a patrol boat off in the distance and some sort of abandoned equipment in the foreground.

            Development reappeared once we reached Swansboro and Bogue Sound. We had a light SW wind all day, which was helpful in Bogue Sound because it is very shallow and can develop a nasty chop. We had very little chop because the Corps of Engineers piles the dredging spoils along the south side of the channel, which acted as a sort of breakwater for the chop coming across the sound. 

            We had little boat traffic all day, until we reached Morehead City at the east end of Bogue Sound. Then the action started. First there was a cargo ship (the Holland Pearl, 600' long and 100' beam, built in 2106) tied up at the state dock engaged in some sort of bulk material transloading operation into a barge held against its side by a tug. And all the while some guy -- presumably from the dock or the ship -- is on channel 16 telling people to slow down (including us -- the no wake sign was hard to see) with only limited success. Lots of people probably didn't have their radio on.

Then we saw a barge-load of phosphate coming south down the intracoastal from the Adams Creek canal and swinging around to head west down the stretch we just finished. I'm sure the captain had his hands full getting that thing turned with the current and the boat traffic. We stayed out of his way. The barge's sign said Nutrien Aurora Phosphate. Nutrien is a big fertilizer company with a phosphate mine in Aurora NC on the Pamlico River. The intracoastal crosses the Pamlico about fifty miles north of Morehead City.

            And then finally there was the recreational boat traffic. We hardly saw anyone all day and then when we got to Morehead City (and on to Beaufort right next door) there were boats everywhere, including a lot of big offshore sportfishing boats. It turns out that Beaufort and Morehead City are hosting the Big Rock Sport Fishing Tournament this week. Monday was the first day. Entry fees range from $25k to $50k depending on what contests you enter, with total cash prizes of $4 million. We were told multiple times that we were lucky to get a dock in Beaufort. We figure the key is that we were given a smaller inside dock that none of the sport fishing boats could use. 

            We tied up at the Beaufort City Marina a bit after two, filled up with diesel at our slip, then used one of the marina's free loaner cars (another lovely old eggbeater) to drive up to the Piggly Wiggly and do a bit of shopping. It was hot and humid, and the eggbeater needed a new muffler, and the Piggly Wiggly was kind of goofy, and I felt like we were in some old Burt Reynolds movie. Janet as Sally Fields.

            When we got back to the marina, we cashed in our wooden nickels (literally) at the dockside restaurant for a free beer (welcome to Beaufort, y'all). While we were enjoying our cold Yuenglings, the mechanic that I'd contacted that morning called me to say he was at the boat. I got this guy's name from the Beaufort City Marina when we made our dock reservation because we needed someone to change the generator oil and oil filter. We were very lucky to get someone on such short notice, and the guy was good. So, we were extra lucky today, getting a dock in the midst of the fishing tournament and getting a mechanic on short notice. 

            While I was with the mechanic, Janet was chatting up folks at the bar about the fishing tournament. Here is the boat that won the prize -- $727,000! -- for the first fish caught weighing over 500 pounds. It was a blue marlin. This is a catch-and-release tournament, and each boat has a judge on board. Everyone in town talks about Michael Jordan and his boat being in the tournament. We didn't get to see them.

 

            We took an Uber to and from dinner at a nearby resort hotel, because all the places in town were jammed. The hotel owner had a beautiful antique yacht docked near our outdoor table (probably 100 years old or more). While we sat at dinner, I got to watch the old boat and Janet got to watch the sunset. 

            When we got back to the marina, we walked the docks and admired all the sport fishing boats. Gorgeous machines, but a very expensive hobby. These boats run at least a few million dollars new. There were about three dozen of them at the Beaufort City Marina, and there must have been over a hundred at Morehead City, as there were over 200 entrants in the tournament. 

And for our final photo of the day, here's the back end of Craunological II with nice lighting from one of the sportfishing boats. (The big trawler to our starboard is a looper.)