Wrightsville Beach to Oriental
As we pulled out of the inlet, I checked the local tide table and saw that we were at high tide, over five feet above mean low water. This lowered my stress level considerably navigating the last couple of miles on the ICW before entering the ocean.
We got into the sea, and the waves were finally as calm as forecast. It was an easy run of about 6.5 hours. We did have one interesting encounter though. We noticed a military vessel up ahead. After about 20 minutes, I got hailed on the VHF, "This is US aircraft carrier one, please alter your course and give us a three mile radius all around. We are conducting military exercises." He was very convincing!
Ann took a candid shot of me just after my dancing exercises. I wouldn't let her shoot video.
A while later, we spotted two dolphins, and I managed to finally get a picture of them with my iPhone.
We came back in at Beaufort inlet and traveled back in the ICW for three more hours. When I drive inside, I follow along on my iPad using a program called AquaMaps which includes socially sourced information along the route. There was an unusual warning in this spot. "Confusing area." It was okay. We did not get confused. The blue dotted track is something I downloaded from a captain who travels the ICW frequently and publishes safe tracks that he took successfully. This one is just from last week. Following these tracks is a lifesaver on the ICW. You really have to pay attention - it's not as relaxing as the ocean. On the other hand, there are no crazy waves inside.
Of course, the highlight of our day was the eclipse! Check out the following pictures, taken about 30 seconds apart, before, and then during the eclipse.
Well, I wish. We spent the whole day excited about the eclipse and expecting to see it, and it was a big nothing for us. Did not notice a thing. I just played with a photo editor to make the second picture. It's what we were expecting before nothing happened.
As you can see, the ICW is very pretty. It would be peaceful and relaxing if it weren't for all the shallow areas and unexpected surprises, such as channel markers in the wrong places and boats with clueless skippers.
Tonight, we'll watch the first half of the men's NCAA final, and then it will be time for bed, as we want to get an early start again tomorrow (we being me).
Tomorrow, we are taking the Pamlico Sound most of the day, and then up to Manteo. We will either anchor there, or if we have the gumption, we'll continue on for a couple of hours and anchor further along after crossing the Albemarle Sound. The next day, we plan to make it to Norfolk, where we've booked a marina for two nights. That's because the forecast for Thursday is for a lot of rain. If the forecast changes, we'll adjust.
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