Harbor Village Marina - at a dock

View from the south - normally the greens are on the right, not the left. Not so here

We had some really shallow spots today. Several  boats went aground at a spot where the Coast Guard eventually moved the buoys to deeper waters. For most of the ICW on the way south, the reds are on the right and the greens are on the left. For the troublesome section, you had to make an "S" curve through the red and green buoys to avoid the shallows. At some point they will hopefully dredge the channel but for now you have to follow the buoys.

We hurried to make this bridge that only opened on the hour - 8.8 kts we reached! Just barely made it!

We used to always stop at Surf City to enjoy a walk along the beach, eat at a local restaurant, shop for provisions at the local supermarket and, best of all, get fresh seafood at a unique, outdoor market where all the fishing boats come in. But no more. The marina was closed by the local bank that was owed money they couldn't pay. It seems a shame that the town will lose the business of the transients down the ICW since there is no other marina nearby. So for the first time we tried out Harbor Village Marina. It's similar to St. James Plantation since all the slips are privately owned by either a condo or house owner. They will rent out slips as they are available to transients. It's a beautiful location with 360 protection and a convenient fuel dock right where you're put up for the night. We ordered out pizza that was delivered to the boat by a restaurant where the owners used to have one in Brooklyn - real NYC pizza!

Nice, protected docks! Top rate facility.

So we had a perfect day with good sunshine and warm temps, wine on the back of the boat followed by a pizza delivered (very hot!) to the dock. On Monday we're headed down the Cape Fear River and the 2.5 kt current will be with us all the way - good timing! We'll dock at St James Plantation for the night before heading to Barefoot Landing Marina the next day through the Rock Pile!