Days 352

Columbia NC - Coinjock NC

• Start 8:10 AM
• End 12:05 PM
• Underway 3:55 Hours
• Distance 32 Miles
• Total Miles on Trip 5694
• Av Speed 8.1 knots
• Weather Foggy, 66 Degrees, Wind 6 Knots ESE

Our plans were to leave at 7:30, or as soon as the fog lifted enough that we were comfortable. We ended up leaving shortly after 8AM. Several boats left earlier than us, and disappeared into the fog before they got to the channel. We waited until we could just about see the channel, which was about a quarter mile from us. Even with that there were times when the visibility dropped to a couple hundred feet. Marl & Karen (Kay Dee) led the way, James & Lisa (Destiny) following behind us. The only really tense moment was as we reached the channel, where we needed to turn left into the channel, there was a sail boat coming up the channel. All three of us needed to maneuver around and past the sailboat while merging into the channel. Sailboats tend to go slower than we do, and we did not want to stay behind them.

There were a couple of patches of fog, but by 9:30 all of the fog lifted. When running in fog, we use our radar to watch for other boats and buoys. The buoys markers are shown on the chart plotter much like the intersections on your cars GPS, but they float and are not always where the chart plotter says they are. With the radar they show up as a purple dot or blob depending on their size. When the fog cleared up, I took the opportunity to fine tune the radar, and was able to get it to where not only could I see Kay Dee and Destiny on the screen, their wake was showing on the screen as well. Hopefully we will not run into anymore fog, but that is just wishful thinking.

After the fogged lifted the rest of the run was uneventful. There was still a lot more boat heading north with several boats passing, but it was not as busy as yesterday. It seemed liked everyone got into "speed" order much earlier today and settled into a nice parade of boats.

Docking at Coinjock is very similar to docking at Bordentown, it is a long face dock, and you dock into the current. The current was probably around 7 knots, and they have dock hands standing by to catch your line. The only difference between Coinjock and Bordentown is they leave no space between the boats. We had it easy, we were on the end of the dock. Once we were tied up, the brought Destiny in right behind us and brought them so close their anchor was hanging over the back of our boat. You can see how tight they pack the boats in, in the video I posted on the video page. They do their best to make sure everyone that needs dockage has a place to tie up.

We have seen a lot of wildlife on this trip, but today we saw our first water moccasin's. In the rocks lining the banks there were two of them slithering through the rocks. As long as they stayed on the rocks, and left us alone they did not bother me at all. I did not want to see them coming towards our boat.

The highlight of Coinjock, is going out to dinner for their Prime Rib Dinner. For many loopers and boaters that travel up and down the Intracostal Waterway, their Prime Rib dinner is a legend. Angel & I shared a 32 ounce Prime Rib, and still had enough left over for two more meals.

Our next stop is Norfolk Virgina, and the end of the Intracostal Waterway.