May 23

May 23. The anchorage we stayed in last night was as secluded as we’ve ever stayed in. When we left the ICW we turned up a very narrow stream and headed for an area that the charts showed had a paved boat ramp. I wanted to stay near the ramp as this would have meant an easy dog walking for me.

After we motored into this tiny stream for the better part of 3 miles it turned out that the ramp was a figment of some cartographer’s imagination. We were so far out in the sticks that I swore I heard banjo music. So along with Bedazzle we had to backtrack until we found a good spot in the narrow stream to drop the hook. The stream is so narrow that we only have less than a boat length to either shore.

The Bedazzles were a little freaked out because their catamaran is 22 feet wide so to them it looked a little too tight. It was also hot as hell as there was no breeze at all coming down the stream between the towering trees. They opted to move and reanchor 300 yards back upstream in a small pond off to the side of the stream. We followed suit and were rewarded with a small breeze and an anchorage that probably hasn’t changed at all in 200 years.

As night fell we were surrounded with the sounds of nature as our roaring backdrop. The bugs, frogs, animals and even the plants were so noisy it was bizarre. I’m sure there even some Howler Monkeys running around out there at night. Talk about a good nights sleep though, it was really perfect. The crew really needed it as just the other day Molly fell asleep with her head in her water bowl.



We pulled the hook and left at 0830 for our 30 mile day which will take us through the infamous Rockpile. The Rockpile is a stretch of ICW that was blasted out of bedrock. Quality control didn’t strike anyone as being all that important at the time and numerous rock ledges were left jutting out to the very edge of the narrow channel. It makes for an intense trip and passing or being passed is no party. All went well though and we anchored for the night just opposite the Little River Inlet on the South Carolina, North Carolina border.

We’re technically anchored in South Carolina and we dinghied into Calabash, N.C. for dinner. There are 4 seafood restaurants within a half mile stretch of waterfront and they all seemed busy with people who had to drive miles to get here but the food was only so-so. The seafood just doesn’t get any fresher but here in the south they seem to just want to fry the hell out of everything. Hell, I even had a side order of fried dill pickles. I couldn’t even begin to picture them so I just had to order some. They were actually really good.



The place we chose is a nice little spot with a stand of large trees protecting us from winds from the north and east. There was 1 boat already here and then 2 more showed up after we arrived so now there are 5. The inlet is only a mile or so away so we’ll wait and see what the weather brings to decide if we move up the coast on the inside on the ICW or if we head out into the Atlantic. As of now the wind is supposed to blow from the east northeast, exactly where we’d like to go