We departed from Southport around 8am and headed into Cape Fear. Right away we had to contend with several large ships. There was the ferry going to Bald Head island as well as a car ferry. We tried to stay out of their way by traveling just outside the channel markers. Eventually we passed the turnoff for the ICW at Snow’s Cut. This day we would be going off the beaten path for about 15 miles up to Wilmington, North Carolina.

The trip up the Cape Fear River was uneventful. There is a restricted area that was apparently empty except for a single security boat that was there to block entry when necessary. The most exciting thing happened when we arrived at the marina. This was the first time that we had the situation where nobody answered us when we hailed the marina on the radio. Several attempts were unsuccessful so I made a phone call. No answer. So we decided just to head for the fuel dock until we could figure things out. When we got close to the fuel docks we noticed two dock guys with matching shirts doing something at the fuel dock. They had forgotten to carry their radio. After a brief conversation from about 10 feet away, they were able to explain where our slip was located and agreed to meet us there. So we swung the boat around and we were docked in our permanent spot in no time.

Wilmington marks the end of what I call Phase 2 of our Great Loop adventure. Phase 2 started in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. We covered 562 miles in 18 days. We stopped at 13 different marinas and ate at 20 restaurants. We rode our bikes at 8 of the 13 marinas. In all we have traveled 918 miles, give or take a few. We didn’t hit anything and we only had one mechanical problem. Other than the summer heat, we enjoyed this part of the trip immensely.

We chose to stop at Wilmington because we planned to leave the boat for a few weeks while we take a side-trip to Wisconsin. We booked a slip for the month at Port City Marina. This is a brand new facility with great floating docks. It is located right on the riverfront with easy access to downtown. The marina and the city are protected from coastal weather, so it makes it a bit more comfortable to leave the boat here instead of somewhere directly on the ICW.

The local airport had the car rental counter we needed. We packed the car full of dirty laundry and headed south. It is a nine hour drive to Orlando, and it was definitely surreal to pass by exits every hour for many of the places that took us weeks to visit.

What is in Wisconsin that would cause us to abandon our amazing boat adventure for several weeks? The answer is airplanes. AirVenture is held each year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and is the largest gathering of aviation enthusiasts in the entire known universe. It will be the subject of at least one future post.