We departed from Carolina Beach this just as the sun was rising... quick departure from the mooring ball and we were underway at 0700.

We stopped at approximately 1545 in Swansboro at Caspers Marina. Our location for the night at N34°41.121’, W077°07.265’. We traveled today for 8 hours and 45 minutes covering 57.6 nautical miles averaging 6.6 knots.

During the night the wind picked up... blowing 25 to 30 knots... no problems with anchor holding but it killed the chances of going offshore today... checking the wave heights this morning confirmed... no offshore.

Other than being windy it was great night on the hook... did not realize how much we missed swinging on the anchor... and with the wind we heard a lot of surf crashing on the beach 1000 yards from us.... :)

No alarms set so we slept till about 0800... still had our neighboring sailboats anchored to the north of us... I'm sure they are all offshore and with 10ft waves they were holding up for things to calm down.

We pulled the anchor and were underway at 0845 heading back to the ICW with full ebb current against us... making between 5 and 5.5 knots... there were only a few places today where we actually did not have current against... made for a slow day of travel... destination for the day Carolina Beach, NC... normally, we stop in this same area at Carolina Beach State Park Marina... however, due to the Corona Virus they were closed to transient boats... we continued a bit farther north to Carolina Beach Mooring Field... believe it is fairly new... from the condition of the pendant line very new or rarely used... they were like new condition.

We arrived the mooring field at 1730 and were securely moored by 1745. Our location for the night at N34°02.844’, W077°53.385’. We traveled today for 7 hours covering 43.4 nautical miles averaging 6.2 knots.

This year our trip is filled with unknowns... Corona Virus is upon us and many marinas are closed and we fear that even the waterways may end up being closed to all boat traffic... All reports from boats cruising north have been positive and nothing stopping them from moving... many marinas allowing transients with restrictions on coming ashore and others still fully operational. We are planning on keeping very safe and anchoring away from everything and everyone... :)

We planned to leave in the morning but still had many odds and ends to finish... we wanted to top off the fuel and water tanks before we left... not sure if we will be able to get fuel and water as we move north. Fuel really would not be an issue but water could become an issue if we are not able to get more as we move north... reports have been good so we are hoping things do not change.

We left our dock and proceeded to the fuel dock at Osprey at approximately 1115 and by 1215 tanks were topped off and we were ready to go... departing at 1230.

This stretch of the ICW does not offer a lot of options for anchorages... very narrow waterway with virtually no tributaries... our first option for tonight is Calabash Creek, Little River, SC and then Bird Island also just north of Little River... checking the recent Army Corp of Engineer surveys we ruled out Calabash Creek due to shoaling at the entrance... this left Bird Island which is actually off the ICW located in the Little River Inlet just off the Atlantic Ocean... we opted to anchor there... and if weather and wind permits continue north tomorrow morning in the Atlantic Ocean... forecast at this point looks good for an offshore transit tomorrow.

There was quite a bit of small boat traffic on the ICW... being Saturday this was normal... but we were not sure with the SC restrictions for the Corona Virus... did not seam to stop many of them as we had dozens of them passing us all afternoon.

We arrived to Bird Island and dropped the hook adjacent to two other sailboats already anchored there. We were securely anchored at 1700.
Our location at N33°51.305’, W078°32.614’. We traveled today for 4 hours and 30 minutes covering 29.8 nautical miles averaging 6.6 knots.

I just realized after entering the Google Maps location that we are in North Carolina... as we anchored we crossed over the state lines... :)