The Marines and Artillery Maneuvers

Date            April 27, 2012                            
Day             304
Departure    Beach House Marina, Surf City, NC  7:15 am
Arrival         Morehead City Yacht Basin, Morehead City, NC 4:10 pm
Miles               57.2
Cumulative   4956.9

The alarm went off at 6:15 am because we knew we had a longer day today and wanted to get going.  The day was sunny and warm and we came upon very few boats.  We did find one house that looked more like it belonged in Key West rather than on the ICW in North Carolina.  Take a look!

After traveling 20 miles, we arrived in the vicinity of Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base around 9:30 am.  The cruising guide indicates that the marines sometimes use the Waterway's southeastern shore for target range.  The artillery maneuvers do not often present a problem, as they are infrequent and generally last only a few hours;  however, when practice is under way, the Marine Corps closes the ICW to all traffic.  Well, we heard some rumbles in the distance that sounded like artillery fire.  You know what they say, "If it weren't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all!"  The Onslow Beach Bridge, vertical clearance 12', was closed and would not open until 11:30 am.  The bridge operator requested that we drop anchor, us along with the three other boats in the area, and he would call us on the radio when the bridge was about to open.  Below is the view we had for the next two hours! 

We received a radio call at 11:15 that the bridge would open at 11:30.  Hooray!!

Well, no so fast.  We could go through the bridge, but we had to wait until the Navy Patrol boat allowed us to continue on, that was not until 12:00 noon!!

Shortly after noon we were given the OK to proceed, but they requested we go as quickly as possible, as the firing range was going to get "hot" (more gunfire) at 1 pm.  No problem, we're out of here!
We continued the rest of the afternoon, and made it to our final destination for the day, Morehead City Yacht Basin.  The staff was terrific, taking our lines, hooking up the electric etc.  They bent over backwards to ensure our stay with them was enjoyable.  The dockmaster recommended Floyd's 1921 for dinner, it was outstanding.  We may even stop here again on our way south by car, it was that good.  And to top it all off, I was able to take this great sunset right from the boat.