Motts Channel Anchorage to South Harbor Village Marina (ICW SM311)
We left the Motts Channel anchorage at 0800 following one of the sailboats anchored with us. The tide was in our favor and we ran at 7 knots or greater for the first two hours. We slowed down as we came to shallow areas but our track from the previous day plus the 5 feet of extra water gave us good confidence in the water depth and allowed us to travel fast. We passed through all the problem areas with no problem. We took on fuel and pumped out our holding tank at Joyner Marina at Carolina Beach before heading into Snows Cut and on to the Cape Fear River. We only had a two miles to go after crossing the Cape Fear River before reaching the South Harbor Village Marina where we stopped for the evening. We were at dock by 1230 and looked forward to a restful, warm day.
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| Dredging on the Cape Fear River |
We had a short but interesting run today. Besides having to pay attention to the problem areas, we found ourselves taking photos of various activities along the way. We saw people fishing from the banks as we passed through Snow's Cut. They were there fishing when we passed through last fall and spring. A beautiful park lines the banks of the cut and there is a small boat marina as well.
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| Fishing in Snows Cut |
The Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point is the largest military terminal in the world. Its cranes and miles of wharves are amazing. This terminal serves as a transfer point between rail, trucks and ships. Miles of railroad tracks line the long wharves in this deep harbor. Huge dredges were at work restoring the channel to the terminal after Hurricane Matthew.
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| Wharf 3 - Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point |
We met a large barge with its stern configured to allow the pusher tug to become an integral part of the barge for efficiency. Two car ferries also passed us as we headed into the Cape Fear River.
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| Pusher Tug and Barge |
The river was running fast as always. We had to really watch our re-entry into the ICW channel as the river's current pushed Foreign Affair sideways as we approached aides G1 and R2. The danger is the current pushing a boat too close to G1 and running aground on the shoals the aide is warning lie near it. Southport Marina came into view shortly after entering the ICW channel. We stayed there on our way south last year. This year the marina was full and we moved on to the South Harbor Village Marina for the evening. We missed our chance to eat at the Fishy Fishy Restaurant.
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| Carol, Dwayne, Carla and George |
We docked at South Harbor Village Marina at 1230. Carla started the laundry. Dwayne studied the charts preparing for tomorrow's day of travel. Then, surprise, surprise. Frank and Carol of Hakuna Matata were pounding on the deck to announce their presence. They pulled in just ahead of us after a run down from Wilmington. They were on the SAIL ICW Rally with us last fall and came north with us from the Florida Keys in the spring. Pure chance brought us together again on the ICW. They are also headed to Georgetown, SC and we will travel together for the next few days. They will continue on to Florida while we take our holiday break. It was another great day on the waterway.
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