Southport, North Carolina

April 20-22, 2013

Our departure from Myrtle Beach was hastened by a forecast for a few days of heavy winds. Our trip to Southport, NC, started windy and got even windier. It was a cold, unpleasant ride, and we were happy to pull into the Southport Marina at 3:00 in the afternoon. We did in fact experience some very high winds over the three days we stayed there – real howlers of 25-30 knots. One of the locals told us that the Cape Fear River comes by its name naturally, and we were happy to stay in port and not test the theory. But Southport is yet another charming small town with a nice selection of interesting shops and restaurants, and there were several other Loopers in the marina, so we had a nice time there.

Highlights:

• Docking in sight of North Carolina’s oldest lighthouse, Oak Island, built in 1817
• Walking the pretty streets of Southport, admiring the many early 19th century homes that must have weathered numerous hurricanes over the years
• The charming little harbor across from our marina
• Spending time with a great group of Loopers, including Lightfoot, Fandango, Blue Moon, Rick ‘n Roll and Sea Glide, who pulled into Southport on just their second day of looping, having set out from Myrtle Beach
• Watching four Loopers, two marina staff and three other boaters struggle to bring in a sailboat in stiff winds

 

 

 

When the wind finally stopped blowing, we headed up the Cape Fear River towards Wrightsville Beach, our next destination. We were only in Wrightsville one night and didn’t do much there. The most memorable event was finding a baggy beside the street containing the driver’s license and credit card of a young soldier from Ft. Bragg, trying to track him down and finally handing it off to the local police. Hope they found him! 

 

Also, the weather that day turned quite pleasant and we enjoyed eating dinner outside on the flybridge. Early to bed, as we were right in front of a lift bridge that we’d have to go through in the morning. It only opened on the hour, so we wanted to be sure to make the 8:00 am opening.

Next: Beaufort, NC