NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC TO SOUTHPORT, NC

Saturday, May 2nd, 2015

Day 271
Miles Traveled: 45
Total Miles Traveled: 3480


  Shortly after leaving Barefoot Marina, we entered a well known area of the Atlantic ICW called "The Rock Pile."  This is a man-made portion of the Atlantic ICW that was created by blasting through rocky terrain.  Alongside either side of the channel is a rock shelf, so, straying out of the channel would be very unforgiving on the boat's prop and hull.  Fortunately, is it very well marked, and, as long as you stay in the channel, there are no problems.  Dan navigated through this section without any difficulty, but, we both took a big breath when we finally left it behind. 

traveling through "The Rock Pile" - at low tide the rock shelf on either side is visible just under the water
we came through at high tide, so we were not able to see where it was located

  After leaving "The Rock Pile" (part of Pine Island Cut) we entered the Little River.  It, like the Waccamaw River, has wooded banks.  Being a Saturday, we encountered more boat traffic than we did on the Waccamaw River.   

Little River cruise

  Along our travels today, we passed by several inlets from the Atlantic Ocean - Little River Inlet, Shallotte Inlet, and Lockwoods Folly Inlet.  Near those inlets, the shoreline became sandy beaches (which we had not seen in a while).  In addition, we had to be cautious for shoaling that occurs in those same areas.  

sandy beach near one of  the inlets

  We entered another state today, North Carolina.  After docking at Southport Marina in Southport, NC, we were greeted by old Looper friends Mark & Jane of "Average Looper".  We had docked next to them at the 2014 AGLCA Fall Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama.  They have completed their Loop and are currently based at Southport Marina.  We were placed in the slip directly behind them, so, once again, we were neighbors.  That evening we joined them for dinner at an Irish Pub and relived some of our looping experiences.  We had so much fun, Angie forgot to get a picture.