Barefoot Landing Marina - at their face dock

The long face dock at Barefoot Landing Marina

This morning I read a lot out of my book after breakfast. I am on page 76 in my book, then I did the usual work. It wasn't as cold this morning and I helped Grandpa with the lines. We went under some bridges and the tide was against us. That means the boat is going one way and the water the other, so we went a little slower. I went to the helm and steered the boat for a while. You have to look at your depth so you wouldn't run to ground, watch out for the lobster pots because  their line could get caught on our propeller. Then I read some Calvin & Hobbles that was good, also played with my clay. I made a iguana and a snake I think they look really good. Then we went through a bridge and up to a face dock, a face dock is you tie on one side. I helped with the stern line, curled up the ropes, got out the electric cord, and put the step out. Then we went on a walk, It is kind of a tourist place. We walked by shops, saw wild swan I named Spike because there  are actually really mean. There were three turtles to I name Decades, Kurt, and Spot. Decades looked really old with stuff on his shell and spot was right in front so he has a spot light. Then we headed back and I did some math and watch TV. Well we are having chicken for dinner bye. Sarah

Decades, as named by Sarah

The night at St James Plantation Marina was perfectly still, as expected. So we shoved off at our later-than-anybody-else time of 8:15 or so. We like our mornings relaxed unless we really, really have to make tides or bridges to a schedule or a long ways to go. We got our first introduction to the effects of Joaquin yesterday with a 3 kt current coming down the Cape Fear River, we were doing 10.5 kts! 

From St James Plantation our first hazard was Lockwoods Folly which was the same as last year, the minimum seen was 8.5 MLW for a short distance, mostly 12 to 13 MLW. At the inlet itself, the depths were a minimum of 8.5 MLW. At Shallotte Inlet, nothing was less than 9.7 MLW. Yesterday I passed through the S curve at Brown's Inlet and saw a minimum of 7 MLW and even Topsail was no problem. So the traditional problem areas are of no concern, nothing has changed from the spring up to Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach. I updated Active Captain all along the route. I'll update the later cautions too as I pass by them. 

Although the depths were fine through the trouble spots we still had a wild ride with winds in the 20 kt range kicking up whitecaps in the ICW. Coming up to Sunset bridge, we had to wait for an opening and the current was running 3 kts! One had to be careful all through the Rock Pile. With current like that and with the eddies, full attention was required to stay centered in the channel. 

Reaching Barefoot Landing Marina, the dockmaster said the current has been running like that all week and the water level went over the bulkhead there during the worst of the rains. Now it's still high but looks like a normal high tide - but all the time, it's doesn't go down during a low tide.

We plan on relaxing here for three days before moving on to Charleston. Lots of shops and the big attraction here is Greg Norman's Australian Grill, great steaks.