Chesapeake Chase Day 12: Chasing North to the Chesapeake
June 23, 2022: Chasing North
Matthew and Naomi woke early to take a run to and along the beach to watch the sunrise. The rest of us gladly chose to remain sleeping until the last possible minute. Breakfast was earlier than usual so Matthew and girls could leave by 9:00 AM. The drive back to Atlanta would be all day including stops, and tomorrow Naomi and Phoebe were flying to Canada to spend some time with their other grandmother. They had a pile of laundry to wash and repack. Just knowing what they had to do was exhausting for me!
Once they were safely on their way, I too faced a mountain of dirty sheets and towels, and we were leaving today. Our target for leaving was noon, but before we could get underway, we needed to hoist the dinghy back onto the flybridge, flush its motor, and wash it before putting the cover back on. The holding tank had to be pumped out and the toilets cleaned. The blankets and pillows which were everywhere had to be stowed away. The groceries I still hadn’t put away needed to be stowed away. Breakfast dishes had to be washed, dried, and stowed. Drawers, cupboards, and doors had to be secured, and then there was the laundry!
Our little washer could not even begin to handle the pile, so we had to break down and buy quarters to feed the marina washer and dryer. I did save the last load washed to dry in small batches in our machine while underway. This took the rest of the afternoon, but it sure was nice to have clean sheets and towels.
You ask, is taking a trip like this in a boat really worth all this work? Yes, it is! We had the pleasure of our granddaughters for ten days. We saw parts of the coast we would never have seen. We appreciated the gorgeous sunsets [see below] (not many sunrises) [but see tomorrow]. We saw dolphins, a sea turtle, crazy pelicans, a hermit crab, fish jumping, other sea birds, an alligator, and shells on the beach. We experienced quiet, peaceful evenings at anchor. In the marinas, we met new people. Being on the water gives you a completely different perspective of the earth God created, and Fred and I are among the privileged few who have this opportunity.
We traveled 30 miles to the Topsail Beach area, through Wrightsville Beach where we had originally planned to anchor. Seeing all the congestion and traffic made us glad we stayed in Carolina Beach. Moving north took longer than we planned because we had to wait for two bridge openings but by about 6 PM we found a perfectly lovely anchorage. We ate some leftovers, planned tomorrow’s trip and destination, and went to bed.
Captain’s Comments:
Today was the end of the cruise for three of our crew. We were glad to have had them aboard and sad to see them go.
Matthew had driven from Atlanta yesterday to pick them up (in Carolina Beach instead of the originally planned Beaufort, NC due to the thruster problems). He managed to convince Naomi to go with him for a pre-dawn run on the beach. The four of them had breakfast, packed, and, after the required post cruise crew photo, headed home for Atlanta. They needed to be home for a quick turnaround before heading to Canada on Friday to see their other grandmother.
But today was also the restart of our journey north. Having put the thruster, berth and stateroom back together, we had several more routine chores before pulling away: fill water, pump out holding, more laundry, stow the bike, and a shower for the Admiral. We were very happy with the Federal Point Yacht Club. Great showers and pool, and nice folks.
We anchored for the night in Topsail Sound. The anchorage was off the ICW, on the west side of a narrow barrier island. We could hear the surf pounding on the beach on the other side of the island, but our anchorage was calm.
Finished off last year’s rum. Opened new bottle purchased for this adventure.
It’s hard to have too many sunset pictures. Peace fks