An Easy Day on the ICW

The weather is warming slightly and the sun was shining as we left River Dunes to head for Beaufort, NC (pronounced Bo-fort, as opposed to the SC town with the same spelling which is Buford). The challenge in Beaufort is anchoring in a tidal river, which means that there is a significant current and it changes direction every 6 hours. The town is on a front street all along the river, with lots of shops, restaurants, 3 bookstores, and lots of boat docks. So far, so good with the anchor holding through one tidal change with no problem. We should be quite comfortable here for two nights. Marinas in town charge $2.75 per foot, so for us that would be over $100 per night. We would rather spend it eating out with friends and new acquaintances, which we did, meeting up with a group of nine.

The farther south we go, the bigger the boats get, with many boats larger than ours. By the time we get to Fort Lauderdale, I have been told that there is a parade of 150 foot boats up and down the river and that it is fun to spend 2 nights at a marina, just watching. We will be on the lookout for a camera tomorrow, as we know that a picture says a thousand words.

Joy