We got an early start Sunday morning, hoping to get as far as Mile Hammock Bay within the boundaries of Camp Lejune. We have begun to see a number of shrimp boats the last few days. They make quite a sight as they are motoring along with their nets spread.
Much of this part of the trip was along Bogue Sound. It is a beautiful stretch of waterway through a channel along the western edge of the sound. This channel is bounded by sand dunes along the seaward edge.Shoaling, however, is a constant problem along the waterway. By 8:30 am we had encountered a sailboat sitting helplessly on the wrong side of a green marker, just outside of the channel, waiting for the towboat to come and pull them loose.
Now you would know you’re having a bad day if you were driving this jeep, which we encountered along the waterway at Camp Lejeune, or if you had encountered this set of markers in the middle of the channel.
They tell you to make a zig-zag which you find hard to believe. Remember that sailboat from earlier in the day? Apparently he didn’t believe it, and was hung up, waiting impatiently I’m sure, for another tow. The sad thing is his boat blocked the markers for the boat behind him, and before you know it, two boats were hard aground.I know what you’re thinking. No, it wasn’t us. We were able to sneak past and make our way to Mile Hammock Bay. This is a small man-made harbour that was created during World War ll to provide a place where marines could practice amphibious landings. It was peculiar to look one way upon a rusting relic of a troop ship secured at dock and the other way to a beautiful sunset in a secure anchorage shared with twelve other boats.
