November 9

Six A.M. was the start time again and we made 72.9 miles today. Pat wanted to go offshore so we went out Cape Fear River to the ocean and had a wonderful trip down the coastline. We weren't certain about the Little River Inlet as our guidebook said not to try it without local knowledge. I called the local TowboatUS and she told me that it was one of the best inlets on the coast. I had seen some large vessels hanging around offshore of us as we approached the inlet. The TowboatUS captain said they were casino boats that came in that inlet everyday at about four o'clock. I guess we had nothing to worry about. We landed at Barefoot Landing Marina after passing through this bridge and saw Dick and Lynne's boat, LadyHawke, there. After securing the boat we were off by car to some Dansville, NY friends of the Washers, who have a condo nearby. They treated us to a delicious dinner of baked lasagna. We returned to our boat for the evening as Pat and Walt stayed overnight at their friends' home.