We're in Southport, NC

Wow....what a ride. We left Morehead City about 1 pm yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful sail out the Beaufort Inlet. We were having such a good time that we decided to change our plans and head straight for Cape Fear Inlet at Southport, rather than coming in at Masonboro Inlet in Wrightsville Beach (a 24 hr. trip rather than 12 hrs.).

As they say, best laid plans and all that. When we left Beaufort Inlet, the weather forecast was favorable - 10-15 kt. winds with 2-3 ft. seas. But when we got out in the ocean about 27 miles, the winds shifted and picked up. We had steady 20 with 25 kt. gusts and 4-5 ft. seas. It was like riding a bucking bronco. Dinner was a hastily thrown together turkey sandwich and for the next 12 hrs. we felt like we were living in a washing machine. At 5 pm, we were so happy, by 7 pm, not so happy and by 10:30 pm I would have traded the sailboat for a nice fast power vessel! We arrived at the Masonboro Inlet around 3 am, but because of the waves, waited until daylight to go through. We ran the inlet at first light, came down the Cape Fear River going about 7 kts. and arrived in Southport. We had company, a 40 ft. Lord Nelson sailboat also came in with us from Morehead City. We hailed each other on the radio and bemoaned our predicaments - it was a really "challenging" night.

WE ARE TIRED!!! After 32 hrs. of being awake, we just finished dinner and are probably not long for this world. We'll check the weather (not something that we have great faith in) to decide what our plans will be for tomorrow. We took a short walk around Southport but mostly just had boat chores to complete since there was not a square inch without salt! Enclosed is a photo of the waterfront in Southport - we love it here. It's charming and has a real small town feel.