Myrtle Beach to Southport

And on to Southport and a visit to Bald Head Island. We left Myrtle Beach with calm seas at 7:45 a.m. We had to make the top of the hour opening of the Sunset Pontoon Bridge at 10 a.m. and made it just on time! The trip north from here had many shallow areas and pass by two inlets, Lockwoods Folly and Shallotte River Inlet, notorious for shallow areas. Strong currents near the Lockwoods Folly inlet affected the intercoastal waterway for several miles. Fortunately no problems- John just gave more power to the wee tug engine and we continued on our journey. We arrived in Southport around mid day and enjoyed cocktails with other boaters we've met along the way and topped it off with a great steak dinnner on board. The next day we took a ferry out to Bald Head Island. Bald Head has alot of history and very expensive homes. On the way out on the Ferry we met Col. Mark Hagan, the Commander of the Military Munitions Terminal in Southport. He explained that when we left we would be passing his terminal which is the largest Ammunition Depot/Terminal for the Armed Forces in the World. He gave us his card in case 'any of his guys' gave us any trouble. You can imagine there are security boats everywhere keeping a great distance between them and other travellers. He was kind enough to take a photo of us at the ferry. At Bald Head we rented a golf cart and travelled around the island to see homes, Old Baldy, their historic lighthouse, and of course a nice lunch! That night we visited the locals restaurant "Yacht Basin Provision Co." (last photo)and enjoyed a Low Country Boil. This is the south's version of our clam bakes, which includes, shrimp, corn on the cob, Andouille sausage, and potatoes. Back to WinterHawk to ready for the next day's voyage....