Friday, 7 November 21.2 SM
Pelicans perch on the pilings that mark the channel twenty feet away. Two men (in shorts!) work their fishing lines off the end of the pier at the bow. Steadfast is being readied to cast off.
No optical illusion, her tall stick cleared by 2′.
Last night, David-the-Dockmaster pulled out a pocket tide table and advised “There’s no point leaving before 8. Not given the tide.” An 0800 departure would put Steadfast at the Cape Fear River by 0900, early in its ebb. The Cape Fear, it is said, comes by the name honestly. If not feared, she definitely should be respected and wind against tide is something to be avoided at all costs.
The wind this morning continues to blow but clocked during the night, now a hearty nor’westerly at 17, gusting to 25. Out in the waterway, the genny fills and helps push the speed–over-ground to 7-plus miles-an-hour at just 1800 RPM. It ought to be just right for the river.
There’s the tense moment here-and-there—shoaling at Carolina Beach inlet, for instance—but no traffic. Overall, a real easy run down to Snow’s Cut. Then it gets interesting.
Barren dunes line the shores of the Cape Fear River.
First, there’s the current. Speeds go from the upper 7s down to the mid-3s (miles-an-hour, remember; this is the ICW). This on the approach to the Carolina Beach Bridge, whose height (65’) is no issue for Steadfast but the closer you get, the more the waters churn and swirl. It’s like a mini-Hell Gate, eddies and currents all goofy, try to turn the transom this way, then the other. Fun.
Through the cut, the Cape Fear River current comes quickly into play. Red pushes hard to keep Steadfast in the marked channel, a two-foot chop slapping the starboard quarter. Wind and current do their best to sweep her sideways downstream. Fun.
Star Java steams up the Cape Fear River.
Once into the river proper, it really IS fun! The genny opens again to catch some of that blow out of the north and the speed-over-bottom quickly jumps into the 8s. Steadfast is rippin’ along! Traffic is light, just one big inbound transport passing to port, headed maybe for Wilmington. Otherwise the views on both banks are of trees and dunes and that’s about all.
The ferry dock is right in the middle of Southport.
The Cape Fear continues out to the Atlantic but Steadfast turns abeam of Battery Island and west to Southport Marina, one of the most professional operations of any marina visited so far. It’s a lovely town, too, with homes and businesses set right on the waterfront.
A good trip, this day, and thank you, David.
Steadfast out.
At Sea with Steadfast 
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