ICW Day 27/28 November 11/12. 36nm, statue mile 536.3, 692 total miles.
Left Steamboat Creek for Beaufort on a cool morning, headed to the Beaufort Town Docks. The docks are right in town within walking distance. We enjoyed a snack and beer at a local pub and walked through this interesting town. We enjoyed a seafood dinner at Plums restaurant in a cozy booth. Frank was checking out all the places to eat.
Sunday was another football day, so while Brad was catching up on some work, Frank, Terrie, and Sharon walked through town and found the home where the “Big Chill” was filmed. Another cloudy and cool day. A local spot, Luther’s Rare and Well Done, had the Broncos game on so we went there for a couple of beers and lunch. Two of the gentlemen sitting at the bar with Brad and Frank recommended Emily’s for dinner. A great recommendation. The Steak Au Poivre was wonderful.
Frank and Sharon on board to anchor out. Cooler than normal, but still a nice day. 
t next door. We went into town each day. Walking and lunch the day we arrived, since we left so early to clear the bridge. Dinner the second day after a big provisioning trip. And a tour and carriage ride on the third day. Beautiful place. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.
Several events scheduled for today. A rope splicing class taught by Frank Stitch on Let It Be, and a charity oyster roast. I rode over with Wally to the town dock in time to make the splicing class, and learned how to splice single braid dynema and also to make a soft shackle out of dynema. Very cool.
In the afternoon we dug in to the oyster roast. What an experience. Clumps of local oysters were roasted in big pots behind the tents and then dumped on the tables. We shucked them ourselves and eat them in bunches right at the table with draft beer. I think I ate more oysters in one go than any other time before. So good! No need for dinner tonight. What a treat.
The big worry today was the Socastee Bridge and the weather front that went through. High water from hurricane Mathew is still trying to make its way out. Just 2 days ago the clearance at the Socastee bridge was only 63 feet and improving slowly. We timed our departure from Grande Dunes for low tide (about 2.5 feet) and made the bridge with 65+ feet of clearance. The other concern was the powerful front, but the ICW is down in a cut with trees all around so we could not feel the wind, and were able to make Osprey Marina without any issues. This ended our streak of three weeks of summer like weather, although it looks the great conditions are going to come back in the next couple of days.
South Carolina! 
If you would have told me that I would see Myrtle Beach from the water before I saw it playing golf I would never have believed you. 11 bridges today as we left Southport for Myrtle Beach. We decided to go outside for about 30nm from the mouth of the Cape Fear River to the Little River Inlet. Beautiful ride outside and the inlet was fairly straight forward. Negotiated 4 fixed bridges at 65 feet and 2 swing bridges before we finally made it to Grande Dunes. Upscale marina on the ICW in Myrtle Beach. Enjoyed some nice appetizers at the Ruth Chris steakhouse right on the property. Were outside in the company with Radiance, Valentine, Aitheria, and Docs Orders. Great group!
ICW Day 16 – Tuesday & Wednesday November 1/2, 20nm, mile 309.3, 469 total nautical miles. Southport marina with 4 other boats. Wally set us up there so we could talk to Zimmerman marine about the outboard engine. Despite our best efforts to troubleshoot the outboard, gasoline keeps pouring into the cylinders. We were able to have Zimmerman Marine look at it, and they diagnosed that the fuel pump diaphragm is perforated. Leaking directly into the combustion chamber. They arranged to have a new fuel pump shipped to Charleston. Great folks that helped us on short notice.
ICW Day 15, Monday October 31, Wrightsville Beach Anchorage, 48nm, statue mile 283.4, 446 total miles. Long day from Swansboro to Wrightsville Beach. Bridges, and now some shoals we need to worry about. Browns Inlet and Mason Inlet. We were headed for Masons Inlet following Wally when we noticed a shrimp boat aground in the shoal area. Concerned that we could pass him to get through. Fortunately the shrimp boat freed itself and we were able to proceed. However… We drifted too far right and ran aground ourselves, but were able to back off and sneak out. Whew… Then other boats trying to make the shortcut to the anchorage were also running aground so we went around to the better channel and anchored inside the Wrightsville Beach barrier island. Windy and rough, so we fixed dinner on board and relaxed. Also, Halloween. Frank and Mary Grace from Let It Be went from boat to boat bringing drinks and candy while dressed in their costumes. Very cool.
Left a bit later to time the tides to clear the Atlantic Beach and Emerald Isle bridges. Interesting little town. The anchorage was a bit rough with wind and tide opposing, so we jumped on the chance to tie up at the new city docks. The city put on a reception for us on the docks and made us feel quite welcome. After attempting the anchorage, two other boats decided to come in.
Its about the people! Can’t say enough about the people on this trip. Everyone is helping each other. Us more than most… Dinghy motor crapped out again. Gas is going straight into the combustion chamber. Will try to set up for someone to look at it in Southport. In the meantime, we rafted up with Jack and Diane on Valentine, and Ken and Laurie from Mauna Kea. Everyone contributed something for dinner on board Valentine. Did I mention the people were open and friendly?
