Friday, October 23, 2020
We left Dowry Creek Marina around 8 this morning since we needed to go 46nm to come down the Bay River and cross the Neuse River, (one of the largest and most open rivers in the country) under favorable conditions and get to our anchorage destination before dark. Although we have not seen many other boats traveling the ICW for most of our journey, this morning was different. We were a caravan of 10-12 boats, all with the same idea. The comments on the Cruisers’s Forum on Facebook indicate that cruising boat traffic on the ICW is down probably by half this year.
We’ve been keeping a log of the names of boats and sailors we’ve met so far as we may run into them again at various anchorages and marinas along the way, especially when we get to Key West (and of course I can’t remember any of their names!). They are an interesting bunch and many have been cruising for years, some just recently. They sure are living a very different lifestyle than our friends and relatives back home. Many have sold their houses and cars, and shed most of their possessions—but have purchased folding bikes, inflatable kayaks, dinghys, fuel pumps and water jugs, etc. Their life is water-based with an occasional month or three spent on land working to “refill the cruising kitty” whereas all of our boating friends in New England live a land-based lifestyle with an occasional sailing trip. So many options.
We’re slower than most everyone so the power boats passed us early on and some of the sailboats did, too. We’re content to mosey along and enjoy the scenery. Like this boy and his father, takin’ life at a slower pace:
We passed by the commercial shrimping facilities at R. E. Mayo, a reminder of the bounty of fish and crustaceans found in these waters. We saw one of their shrimp boats out on the bay later today. I hope when we return in the spring that Covid-19 will be under control and we’ll be able to enjoy a low-country shrimp boil at a restaurant. Yum!
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