Each of these last 15 years we have had to divert, zoom and/or hide to avoid a hurricane, tropical storm or “superstorm” (Sandy) somewhere between Connecticut & Georgia. For Hurricane Milton, we were safely far away in Morehead City, North Carolina, in an enclosed marina so we would be safe even if the remnants of Milton headed north (only a 10% chance “they said”). Fortunately for the Carolinas, Milton did indeed stay out to sea, so we only had gusts to 36 knots & no rain.

This shows Milton’s strength even after devastating Florida west to east.

We usually cruise offshore between Morehead City/Beaufort to Wrightsville Beach/Carolina Beach as it avoids some shallow areas, bridge construction restrictions & military exercises (sometimes shutting down the ICW near Camp Lejeune). Fortunately, even though it had only been 2 days since Milton, the ocean quickly calmed down from 8′ swells to 2′ swells. Unfortunately, while zooming along at 15 knots THUD, THUD, THUD! We immediately dropped to an idle & checked the engines – one shaft was severely wobbling. That meant limping the rest of the way at 6 knots, but as always, glad we have 2 engines!

The most likely explanation was that we hit a partly submerged object & bent the prop (very bad – hauling out for a couple of weeks for expensive repairs) or more hopefully, a piece of fishing net tangled in the prop. The next morning I went for a swim to take a look – nothing wrong with the prop…  Next checking the engine for a broken engine mount or ???? I noticed a piece of bolt in the bilge…

As it turned out, 2 of the 4 bolts from the coupler to the shaft had broken off. Since I could only find 1 sheared-off bolt head in the bilge, I’m thinking 1 had broken off previously and now the 2nd one gave up from the extra stress.

As I required the exact type/size/thread of replacement bolts, it was a miracle we were on a mooring at Carolina Beach with 2 hardware stores & 2 auto part stores within walking distance of the dinghy dock. I spent several frustrating hours attempting to remove the coupling (the orange thingy) from the transmission so I could extract the broken pieces, but the bolts to the transmission would not budge. Reluctantly, I had to remove the broken shaft bolts in-place, down in the bilge – not easy. While my camera could get down there for this picture, not so easy for my eyes or hands. Finally, by the next day – success!

We always stop in Carolina Beach for donuts (although our favorite Britt’s Donuts has already closed for the season). The 2nd best thing is that this is our first Publix grocery store on our way south (they are mostly in Florida but quickly expanding north). Publix is the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. & it shows throughout their stores, especially with the attitudes of their employee/owners. They don’t tell you which aisle something is in – they bring you right to the item. Once several managers insisted on scouring the store for 15 minutes searching for the last of 8 bags of Craisins their handheld devices said were in-stock (they were BOGO & I was stocking up for the Bahamas). Their baggers even ask to take your cart out to your car for you, but when we tell them our dinghy is 1/2 mile away, they let go of the cart quick! One of their award-winning key lime pies was my reward for gettin’ it done.

Power cats are taking over! This little HYCAT is a multiparameter portable ASV (Autonomous Surface Vessel) used to perform unassisted underwater surveys.

Marina dock space is busier than ever this year – we have never seen a marina rafting up yachts before.

Southport, NC was alive with filming the new Netflix series “The Waterfront”. Several filming locations were blocked off & a fleet of tractor trailers were parked nearby.

Southport is a popular filming location for many shows & movies. In fact, Mel Gibson filmed a movie here back in 2021 “Monster Summer” which was just released on Oct. 4th.

The next morning, this sunken boat was towed past us – only hours later did it “click” that this might have been used for the Netflix filming – sunken boats don’t usually float this high (or level) & we later noticed lobster floats & tangled fish nets – pretty Hollywoodish?

The weather (after Milton) has been great, so we are moving steadily along thru the rest of North Carolina. Marinas have been tough to get into at times and more expensive than ever. It will only get more difficult, as some Florida east coast marinas sustained (minor) damage from Milton, which is complicating our marina planning as well. The days of calling a marina in the morning to stay that night for $40 – $50 are way long gone!