And the Stormy Winds Do Blow

We celebrated Easter Sunday cruising from Myrtle Beach, crossing into North Carolina, and arriving in Southport. Along the way, we saw the first common loon that we've seen on this journey. The day deteriorated from clear to mostly cloudy as we traveled but conditions remained relatively calm. That would not last for long. it did last long enough for us to enjoy an Easter brunch of French toast, bacon and eggs on the boat. We really enjoy our grill and griddle in Katahdin's cockpit.

Easter Brunch on the Griddle

And on the Plate!

After brunch and a check of the weather which forecast the next day's winds at 25-30 with gusts up to 40, we requested another night's stay in Southport and deferred our travel from Southport to Beaufort (Bo-fort) until Tuesday.

We enjoyed a quiet Easter afternoon on Katahdin and then, at 16:00 hours, went to Edgewater 122, a down home restaurant right on the shore, for a surprisingly good Easter dinner. We split a terrific chopped salad and both ordered the loin of lamb Easter special. The lamb nearly matched the Admiral's own butterrlied leg of lamb which we make once or twice a year at the lake. That's a high standard and, happy to say, the portions were large enough that we took some home for the next day's lunch.

We spent a relaxed Monday reading, catching up, and exploring Southport. Founded as Smithsville next to Fort Johnston in 1792, Southport today boasts a population of not quite 4000. It's renaming occurred because, located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the town at the turn of the 20th century aspired to become a major port city. Numerous entrepreneurs attempted to build a railroad line from Southport to Wilmington (NC) and one finally succeeded in 1911. Winning the battle but losing the war, the rail line lurched along, went bankrupt, and finally defunct in 1945. Today, large ships still ply the Cape Fear River the 20 nautical miles up to Wilmington--obviously a much more economic choice that offloading at Southport, shipping by rail to Wilmington, and then loading a second time for transhipment to a final destination. Speaking of those large ships, we dodged several of them the next day as we followed the ICW up the Cape Fear River to Snow's Cut where the Waterway heads east.

Aspirations Don't Always Come Through

On our bike ride around Southport, we found a cemetary with head stones dating back to the early 1700s. With blooming azaleas and apple trees, the cemetary truly provided a beautiful place of eternal rest--oh that my bones could spend eternity in a place like that. As we wandered around reading names and dates, the harsh realities of earlier times made their presence crystal clear--so many babies, so many toddlers, so many children.

Southport's Pre-Revolutionary Cemetary

We also discovered the Old Brunswick County Jail which we would have loved to visit. But, like so many things in tourist towns, it was closed on Mondays.

The Old Brunswick County Jail

We took advantage of a day between gales to travel the 115 miles to Beaufort where, it turns out, we would spend three nights riding out 25-30 knot winds with regular gusts of 40 and above. Starting out up the Cape Fear River, we were accompanied by tens of thousands of migrating Cormorants. Flying low to the water against a ten knot northerly breeze, they kept a loose formation that would have disgusted any right thinking Canadian Goose. As we traveled, we passed countless Ospreys keeping countenance on their day mark supported nests. Either they were still incubating eggs or the young were too small to see. If our passing perturbed them, you wouldn't know it. Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets also punctuated our trip. However, dolphins truly highlighted the journey. We thought that we had moved north of them. Either we were wrong or they took advantage of our down days to catch up. They were everywhere and, as happens often, many of them swam up to the boat to check us out.

I Did Take the Photo but Not from Katahdin

Our trip took us through Camp LaJeune where you always need to make sure they are not conducting live fire exercises. Thankfully, they were not. We marvelled again at the amount of development on North Carolina's shores--on the ICW for sure but especially on the barrier islands where no square inch of area goes unbuilt on. We're not beach lovers but those that are are loving it to death. I suspect that global warming and sea level rise will write a new chapter of that story.

Tonight will be our third night in Beaufort. Blowing a steady gale, the wind gusts have been clocking well north of 40 knots. Katahdin is swinging around a bit in her slip and occasionally rocking a little but we are safe, secure, and well protected. The Admiral and I are headed out to explore the small town of Beaufort a bit more. Maybe I'll tell you more about that and our time here in the next blog. But, I gotta go.

With thanks to the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem:

… And the ocean waves do roll

And the stormy winds do blow

And we poor sailors are skipping at the top

Whie the landlubbers lie down

Below, below, below

While the landlubbers lie down below