It was a flat calm morning with a fog so light that it was more of a mist as we hauled anchor at Mile Hammock. We were the second boat in the anchorage to leave. I found Mile Hammock and the surrounding area to be really pretty, as was the whole section of ICW through Camp Lejeune. In the early morning air we could smell the surrounding forest, and it had the most delicious, earthy smell. As we passed through some of the marshes, a thin layer of mist hung just below the tree canopy.
We made the Onslow Beach Bridge’s 7am opening and were free of scheduled bridges for the rest of the day. Unlike the day before, we had favorable current with us right up to Beaufort. All the little inlets along this stretch of the ICW cause funky little eddies, and steering at times was challenging but also good experience. There was a LOT of boat traffic – summer is definitely upon us!
On my off-watch, I took some time to do a bit of detailing – we still have rust in all the little crevices from our time in the Bahamas, and it’s been driving me nuts. But I also took time to enjoy… we passed the 200 mile mark as we left Beaufort behind, and it’s crazy to think that our ICW adventure isn’t too far from coming to a close.
When we reached the end of Adams Creek, we rolled out the jib for a nice downwind sail. We sailed about 10 miles up the Neuse River to a beautiful spot off the Pine Cliff Recreation Area, where the breeze off the shore smelled like pine. It was incredibly quiet and we were completely alone. As the sun set, the super moon rose, and a chorus of tree frogs broke out. It was pitch black, so we had a great view of the super blood moon later in the night – it was gorgeous! I love that we get to be so close to nature and see so many amazing things!
