April 6, 2014.

We were up and out of the anchorage at 0630 because low tide was at 0800 and we needed a little extra water to get out and over the bar. The day was gray and dreary and not to mention cold as hell.

We had 25 knots out of the north with gusts to 30 which wouldn't be a big deal in the ICW except we had the Cape Fear River to deal with. Of course we had timed the tide to get the push up the river so we had a mondo tide against wind thing goin' on.

We had this happen a few years ago while traveling with Makeitso. It sucked back then but I think we managed to outdo that performance with wall after wall of water slamming headlong into our bow. The spume was so thick and far flung that the drain in the dinghy hanging in the davits was a solid stream of water as it drained back into the river after blowing over the top of the boat and into the dink.

We encountered only one other boat underway on the river and that was a car carrying ferryboat. The people riding in the comfort of the ferries salon actually came out on deck to take clearer pictures of the spectacle that was us. Yes, I waved. Yes, all five fingers.

While we were underway we listened as a sailboat had a little offshore drama. They called the Coast Guard for a little help because their “dinghy davits gave way and they were dragging the whole shebang behind the boat in 10 foot seas”. The Coast Guard sent TowBoat US out to see what assistance they could render. It had to be a miserable day for everyone involved. I woulda cut the whole thing away and called my insurance agent.

We're sitting in Wrightsville Beach. The anchorage is calm, the wind is howling, the internet is sketchy, I'm wearing frigging socks and tomorrows another day.

We came across this steel schooner anchored in the Waccamaw River.  "Steel Away"  Good Name.  Anybody going to the end of that bowsprit better pack a lunch