I Ain't That Far South Quite Yet!

SHIP'S LOG:

The wind blew a steady 15-20 and I don't think the temp broke 70 and as opposed to "another shitty day in paradise," it was a crappy day at the beach.

Jim the Maniac (he's from Maine) came by and wanted to trade books. All cruisers keep a supply of books, usually paperbacks, on board for those times when you are anchored for a spell and need something to pass the time. After you have read them a few times, it is easy to trade them off and get "new" ones - those you haven't read before or at least ones you haven't read recently - from other cruisers. Got a Clive Cussler and a Michael Crichton for two Robert Ludnums. I haven't read either one but have seen the movies made from both. I'll see how the movies stack up to the written word.

Lots of boats left this morning and not many new ones arrived. Those that did anchored way down at the end of the lagoon away from the bridge at the far end . . . . and I don't know why. They have all crowded around my end of the anchorage and left a whole lota room up near the bridge. i am beginning to develop the theory that boaters, sailors especially, are not risk takers. It is as if they are afraid to anchor in an open spot if no one else is there for fear that there is something wrong with it, some unseen, lurking danger. Of course, if one boat drops in a spot where no one else is, it seems as if everyone who follows has to anchor right next to them. It is what happen to that guy who anchor across the harbor in Morehead City the day of the grounding. He was there all by himself but in a couple of hours he was joined by a whole host of us. I know, I have felt that way but I am going to have to dispense with that as I hit South Carolina as the waterway there makes North Carolina look wide open and filled with spots to drop a hook. Setting up the courses for the next few days, there are only some "iffy" anchorages coming up and I am going to have to take a few risks when it comes to hook dropping. Not that there is real "danger" other than finding oneself aground with one's morning coffee and needing visit from the men in the red & white Towboat/US boat. People tonight in Wrightsville Beach Lagoon are anchor ever so close, if not in the channel, and yet there is lots of room at the other end of the Lagoon.

It is off to Wilmington tomorrow to visit friends and pick up my meds. Then, after a night in a marina, it will be down the Cape Fear River (lovely name) and a right turn to South Carolina. The water from here on out will begin to get very thin in places, with Georgia being the thinnest. I am sure the Towboat/US people are licking their chops at the steady steam of southbound boats. While I have no desire to find out, I wonder what a tow in South Carolina or Georgia costs?