Monday, November 7th

It is another sunny day in coastal North Carolina.  At 7:30 AM, we weigh anchor at Mile Hammock Bay.  Today is a relatively short day on the water since our destination of Wrightsville Beach is just 33 miles to the south.  But there are three bridges to negotiate today, including the Surf City Bridge, the Figure Eight Island Bridge and the Wrightsville Beach Bridge.  Each bridge has scheduled openings at the top of the hour.

[caption id="attachment_1815" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="10 AM opening at the Surf City swing bridge"][/caption]

Bridge openings are an interesting social phenomenon on the waterway.  Boaters are paranoid about missing a bridge opening.  Everyone wants to be out of the anchorage at the crack of dawn in order to make the earliest possible downrange bridge opening.  Boat traffic begins to stack up at the bridge well before its scheduled opening.  But the bridge tender will delay a scheduled opening until all of the boats within a mile or so of the bridge  are huddled together and ready to proceed.  Arriving early is a disadvantage because the channel near the bridge is congested and the skipper must hold the position of his/her vessel in order to avoid hitting or being hit by other vessels. 

When the opening occurs, an accordian effect is created as the boats proceed through the bridge in single file.  Once through the bridge, the more aggressive skippers are anxious to position themselves to pass the slower vessels.  At the next bridge, the above "hurry up and wait" scenario repeats itself.  Perhaps the "me first" instinct is a natural part of the  human psyche.  Some people seem to have more of this instinct than others.

[caption id="attachment_1816" align="alignleft" width="1095" caption="Wrightsville Beach anchorage"][/caption]

At 1:45 PM, Cutter Loose is anchored near the bridge that connects Harbor Island with Wrightsville Beach.  The temperature is in the low 70s and the sun is shining...a perfect day to dinghy ashore for a stroll along the beach.

[caption id="attachment_1817" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Enjoying a sunny autumn afternoon at the beach"][/caption]