There is a safe but winding track through here which is available from other boaters on the internet. The USACE tries to keep the channel open but, the channel fills in each year. There were two dredges working to clear the main channel as we passed by along the "shore route". The drone shots from my brother Scott are pretty neat.
We arrived at Southport a couple hours later where you enter the Cape Fear River. Normally we turn left and go up the river several miles, then pass through Snow's Cut to rejoin the ICW at Carolina Beach, then on to Masonboro.
However, the weather conditions were favorable for an offshore trip to Cape Lookout and that would save us half a day and having to anchor at Masonboro. So, we turned to the right and proceeded out Cape Fear Inlet and rounding Frying Pan Shoals then direct to Cape Lookout.
The weather was good but, it still is another overnight ocean passage with rocking and rolling and winds astern, meaning another 24hr offshore motor sail.
Rivah is no longer a fan of offshore passages where it is difficult to impossible for her to potty on the foredeck. She does figure out how to make herself comfortable though.
We set our overnight speed to arrive at Cape Lookout at first light and at 0700 we were rounding the spit and heading into the anchorage area.
For the first time this trip, the wind offshore did not come up higher than forecast and we had an uneventful nighttime passage. Time for a nap now and then we will hit the beach this afternoon.
Tides Inn at anchor inside the Cape Lookout hook. Note the anchor line off the bow instead of chain.
This is our 3rd stop at Cape Lookout which is now one of our favorite spots to collect shells and walk the beach. It is a very protected anchorage area which is important as the winds can be quite strong here just down the coast from Cape Hatteras. The weather was very good for this visit.
In past years we have collected lots of Atlantic Welk and conch shells here but, this year was fairly slim pickings. Lots of clam and scallop shells as usual but not many welks. It was basically the same story as Holden Beach - not a good year for shelling.
We came back to the boat in our dinghy and climbed back onboard. A few minutes later I looked out and noticed we were drifting down the coast past the other anchored boats. We were dragging out anchor!
Because our windlass broke in Awendaw, which controls the anchor chain for our main anchor (which never drags), we are using our secondary anchor with nylon line instead of chain. This is a much less secure anchor solution as we proved. We repositioned in the anchorage and put out an extra 50 ft of line, then set our anchor alarm system to monitor our position during the night. All was fine but, considering the shelling wasn't so great, we decided not to spend another night at the Cape worrying about the anchor dragging and set off on our way north the next morning.
