I headed out early for Cape Fear River. As I made the turn @ Carolina Beach to enter the River I came to a fixed bridge, meaning no draw or swing, Fixed brides are supposed to be 65 ft clearance. It was A full moon spring high tide which means it is higher than a normal high tide, clearance was 63 ft. My mast rises 54 ft above the deck. Add 6 ft from water to deck and I clear about 60 ft. I kept a close watch for the clearance under these bridges. 50-75 yards away I notice something is not normal about the bridge, It was a man on a scaffold doing some work. He wasnt directly in my path, about 15-20 ft left of my mast. He looked to be holding on to the bridge with both hands. I wish I had taken a pic of him. Cape Fear river was all it promises by its name. The 10-15 kt Wind was moving against the 2 -3 kt current making for a very wicked ride. I have tried this scenario several times on my sail simulator and never fair well. I decided to leave the sails down and motor through. The currents really push you around in a dominating fashion. I looked back at the dinghy at one point it was sideways to the boat. I left the river at the Ocean inlet and once again entered the calms of the ICW canals. I docked at St james Marina. Beautiful facility. I dined at the restaurant and had a Great Steak. This will be the end of North Carolina, as I am just a few miles from South Carolina.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 23:39:36 +0000
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