Post #21: Water World

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:

After we crossed under the Hobucken (sic) Bridge, we were surprised to see a Coast Guard station along the banks of the river.  This was hardly a busy port!  On second thought, it made sense since this would be a protected spot during a storm yet provide quick access for the Coast Guard to aid mariners in Pamlico Sound. the Neuse River, and surrounding creeks and waterways.

I want to take a moment to underscore the importance of the US Coast Guard.  They do not get the credit they should nor the federal budgetary support they require and deserve. According to their web site, the USCG “protects America’s economic, national and border security,” a pretty tall order given the US coastline of almost 100,000 miles plus the Great Lakes and canals and waterways like the ICW. They also broadcast critical information on VHF Channel 16 twenty-four hours a day, alerting mariners to vessels and individuals in distress.  This can be anything from broadcasting a report of an unmanned kayak drifting offshore, to a motor boat taking on water after hitting a rock, to air-lifting search and rescue survivors, to enforcing maritime law, to intercepting illegal drugs, to maintaining the aids to navigation (ATON) we and every vessel plying US waters rely on daily—just to cover a few of their responsibilities.  Seriously, David and I would be lost without them.

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!

We set anchor in a shallow bay just off the channel for another calm night.