Camp Lejeune to Beaufort, NC
The title for today’s report is…”Dodging Bullets on the ICW?? Thankfully, NO!!” We had to get underway at 6:45am in order to get through the Camp Lejeune 5-mile-long war game exercise area (which takes us over an hour to traverse) before they closed the ICW. Traversing the ICW when it is “closed” carries a fine of $5,000. More importantly, live fire could rain down on you and ruin a perfectly nice day on the water!
The photos below show the warning sign posted as you enter that stretch of the ICW and the Danger signs that are posted every 100 yards or so along the 5-mile stretch. We were still hearing gun/cannon fire 2 hours after we exited the area!
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| Warning sign at Camp Lejeune war game exercise area |
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| Danger sign at Camp Lejeune war game exercise area |
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| Bird on Danger sign at Camp Lejeune |
As we approached our final turn into the Beaufort, NC Harbor, we were approached by a HUGE barge being pushed by a towboat. There was a tugboat tethered to the barge. The towboat had pushed the barge along its route (probably across the ocean). The tugboat was sent out from the Beaufort Harbor to direct the barge through the narrow, local waters.
In the second photo below, the towboat begins at the aftmost tall white vertical structure. Quite impressive to be approached by such a huge vessel and even more impressive to watch it maneuver the close quarters.
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| Tugboat tethered to the barge |
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| Barge being pushed by the towboat |
That evening, we docked at a friend’s pier in Beaufort. Beaufort is a pretty little town. There was a fishing tournament taking place…the harbor was filled with multi-million dollar fishing boats.
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| Boats in Beaufort, NC for fishing tournament |
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| Beaufort, NC |
OK, back to reality. We will spend tomorrow making boat repairs. Murph has to climb the mast (again!), this time to re-attach the radar reflector that came crashing down today; make some sewing repairs to the bimini, dodger, and mainsail cover; and change the engine oil (an arduous task because of its location within the tiny engine compartment :-(. Maintenance and repairs are challenging on a boat. As for me, I plan to apply another layer of oil to the teak, and sand off the rust and paint sections of the grocery cart that we bought just before starting the trip. Word to the wise…do not leave gear made of cheap steel on the deck in the rain. Next stop…Oriental, NC.
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