Carolina Beach State Park Marina - We move to a new dock

This fellow was quite friendly, did spook as I walked by

We took the day off today. The biggest excitement of the day was turning a 42 ft sailboat 180 in a marina meant for 25 ft boats. When we entered yesterday, we had come bow-in which meant that in order to leave we had to back up. That is not such a good idea in a sailboat, especially when we had to leave at low tide. At the dock we were on, low tide meant we were sitting in the mud. So when the tide got higher this morning, we decided to move to the next dock over towards the entrance where we had an extra foot of depth.

The hiking trails feature carnivorous plants! 

Somehow the maneuver was more complicated than it sounded. The wind didn't cooperate and the tight quarters didn't help but we eventually got the boat over. We have to leave at 7:00 am Monday in order to catch the outgoing tide down Cape Fear River. Unfortunately, that's also the exact time of low tide, ergo, the need for moving to a dock with deeper water and closer proximity to the exit. Now we have a straight shot out the fairway. If you haven't done it yet, you really ought to practice maneuvering a boat in tight quarters. You should be able to spin the boat in its own length - even without bow thrusters! It can be done and the technique comes in very handy at times along the ICW. We did it today.

As I said, we'll leave at 7:00 am bound for Footloose Landing Marina. We plan on staying several days and enjoying the many shops in the area.