May 17-19, 2020 – We knew there was a low pressure system brewing in the south Atlantic, as well as an even larger system brewing in the center of the country, and we figured we’d need to find a place to hunker down within the next day or so to let the uncertainty play out.
When we woke up on Sunday, it was indeed Tropical Storm Arthur, and the leading fringes would probably drop some showers on us as we moved on from Wilmington. Our track actually took us first southwest back down the Cape Fear River, to rejoin the ICW, before being more west-to-east. We left at first light, and passed by Phil and Karen’s home before 9; they’d offered to take some pictures of us as we passed, and from high on his third floor deck, Phil got a great angle of the boat with the barrier island and the ocean in the background.
The wind was very stiff on our bow all day, exceeding 30 knots, although waves in the ICW were generally small. We could see the leading edge fringes of the Tropical Storm begin to encroach, and felt the occasional showers more frequently.
At one point, the burgee on our bow begin to oscillate even more than it had a few moments before – turns out it was due to the metal being fatigued, and seconds later it snapped off, and the flag snagged momentarily on a storage bag we have mounted to the bow. Ben sprinted forward, onto the deck, and was able to retrieve it. Whew, we will have to remount our tattered white burgee for the last few hundred miles of our Loop, but we still have it !
Our first choice marina turned out to have no room for us, so we pressed on to a protected anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay, nestled up next to Camp Lejeune. We anchored with a couple of sailboats there, laying out lots of chain for the predicted blow.
As it turned out, though, the winds stayed in the mid-teens, and the rain stayed light to moderate, with no thunderstorms.
In the morning, it looked like the last of Arthur would clear the Morehead City / Beaufort area around mid-day, and the winds would lighten up later in the afternoon. Conditions later in the week were only predicted to worsen, so we thought it might be best to press on, rather than get pinned down where we were.
As we continued, we passed through a very strict swing bridge, that warned us not to be late for the opening EXACTLY ON the hour. This area adjoins a Camp Lejeune firing range, and fortunately we came by in the morning, as they often close down the waterway in the afternoons for gunnery practice.
We saw plentiful evidence of past hurricanes, and the damage they wrought to buildings, boats, and trees. Even now, some years later, the remnants remain.
We bypassed Morehead City and Beaufort, and pressed on up the ICW to stop short of the Neuse River. In more pleasant times, we’d have like to have stopped on one or the other; the two towns are across the river from each other, and feature history and good seafood. But we didn’t want to dock at either one in the high wind, and then get trapped there for the even worse weather expected in for the rest of the week. We figured we can go back on the nice sunny day of our choosing, by car, and get even more enjoyment, especially as the coronavirus comeback is scheduled to move to Phase 2 this weekend, and restaurants will start to reopen for onsite dining.
We anchored, again amidst a bunch of sailboats, and with crab-trap floats all around, at Cedar Creek.
We awoke to rain, with more forecast, but no thunderstorms. We watched the radar, and picked a time to leave that we thought might give the best chance to arrive at New Bern in light(er) rain.
The conditions on the lower Neuse River were quite rough, with swell and waves from a stiff east wind whipping things up the length of Pimlico Sound. The rain intensity varied, but remained continuous as we made our way into smoother conditions, and finally docked around midday at the New Bern Grand Marina.
Ahhh, to rest here for a few weeks, and get ourselves ready for the summer months ahead!