We crossed into North Carolina!
On the way to Myrtle Beach Yacht Club we stopped at Wacca Wache Marina for fuel and a pump out. The dockhands were knowledgeable and friendly. While fueling I took Izzy for a quick walk. They had us fueled up and ready in 35 minutes. We decided we would stop back here on the way south, it was that nice.
The lighthouse at MBYC
When we arrived at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club the dockhand Rachel helped us tie up. We were on a T head near the office. The ramp to go up to land was quite steep at low tide and Izzy had a hard time navigating it. The marina staff were extremely friendly and the grounds are dog friendly. We met up with Chuck and Shelley Reagin on Chaniel. It was great to see them again as we had spent time with them in Marathon at Faro Blanco. We had a nice dinner at the restaurant on premises. I was able to take a tour of their lovely boat since I had never been on it.
Judi and Jerry McNeely came up from Charleston to have dinner with us at a spectacular restaurant called The Parson's Table. We highly recommend this place. It is in Little River and was originally the first Little River Methodist Church, built in 1885. It was amazing that the McNeely's drove up to see us and we will miss traveling with them.
We left early for Southport because of the weather conditions changing in the afternoon. By noon we were tucked into our slip and ready to explore Southport before the weather came. Chuck and Shelley Reagin were also going to Southport but to a different marina. We met them for dinner at The Frying Pan. In the afternoon it was close to 80 degrees but when we got out of the restaurant it was so cold, 60"s, I ran to buy a long sleeved t-shirt so I didn't freeze walking back to the boat. We hunkered down for the rest of the weekend because of the 20-38 mph winds and rain. We went to get provisions on Saturday because Sunday was Easter and knew nothing would be open.
There was a lot of research done on Sunday to determine if Monday would be a day to travel, also because of the winds. After checking different weather apps, taking to other captains, and SeaTow in the area, we decided to leave Monday. There was a question about the incoming tide opposing the winds and what it would be like but an outgoing tide could have been so strong it would prevent us from making any headway. We ended up leaving and having winds 13-20 with gusts of 34, 2-3 foot waves every 2 secs for crossing Cape Fear River. Once we got into Snow's Cut it was all smooth sailing. We ended up having to wait 40 minutes for the Wrightsville Beach Bridge because we had such a great push from the incoming tide. We arrived at Harbour Village Marina around 3:00 pm and had help from the excellent dockhands. They drove Hal in their golf cart back and forth to the office since it is such a long way. We had a peaceful night there. I was informed there is now a restaurant at the golf course that sells tacos and is in walking distance, about a mile.
See gemini Voyage post on facebook for videos of "sporty" conditions in Cape Fear River.
Interesting place for a flagpole and oak palm tree.