Intra coastal waterway USA North Carolina (10th December 2015 to 21st December 2015)

We are very happy to be back in the water and on the move again. After saying goodbye to our friends at the dock at Oriental ( The sailing capital of North Carolina) we headed south down the Intra Coastal waterway

Many fishing trawlers were crossing the Palmico sound

We stopped in Beaufort for 2 nights and had a surprise reunion with fellow New Zealanders Ann and Alec off sailing cat "Shamal" We last saw them in 2007 up the Mary river in Queensland, Australia.They managed to get through the Red Sea before the height of piracy attacks. We had a great time sharing our adventures

Wild horses on Shackleford island

There were several wrecks in the shallows

US tow trying to pull this yacht off the foreshore got more than they bargained for. The boat stayed put BUT the mast came down!!

We had an early morning departure and saw many cormorants, herons, gulls, pelicans and dolphin along the way

Fishing and hunting are very popular in this area

Standing behind the wheel gets pretty tiring so we set up a makeshift seat with good visibility ahead. The autopilot isn't really helpful as one has to be on constant watch for shallow areas.

Hammock Mile basin was a great spot to spend the night. Last time we were here there were army exercises going on, but this time we shared this beautiful spot with only one other yacht. An early start saw this gorgeous sunrise

Most bridges have a 65' clearance but there are still some swing or lifting bridges. Some open on request but some only open on the 1/2hr or on the hour

The many jetties are appreciated by birds.

We pushed on to Carolina Beach for the night then the next morning crossed the wide expanse of the Cape Fear river to Southport

Southport is a charming seaside village with beautiful renovated homes. A walk around the streets was a treat as Xmas decorations were adorning the homes and boats

Spot the Xmas tree here

We saw several sunk fishing trawlers...

and lots of interesting boats

These beautiful North Carolina homes with their grand stairways line the waterway

We anchored on the border of Nth and Sth Carolina up the little river inlet and watched US tow pulling a yacht off the sandbank

 This little kingfisher kept us entertained as he fished

The next blog will be of Sth Carolina when we cross the border into Georgia