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Cruising The ICW

Tag Archives: Wrightsville Beach

Destination: Historic Beaufort, NC

05 Thursday Aug 2021

Posted by “Oh Captain My Captain” in From the helm

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2006 Mainship 34T, America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association, Atlantic ICW, Beaufort Docks Marina, Beaufort NC, Belhaven Community Chamber of Commerce, Belhaven NC, Blessed, BoatUS, Coastal destinations, Cruising, CruisingTheICW, Friends, Georgetown SC, Grateful, Harborwalk Marina, Hospitality, Life, Love, Mainship, Mainship 34T, Marinas, Memories, Myrtle Beach Yacht Club, Passage Maker Magazine, Reflections, Slow Dance, Soundings, Soundings Online, Swansboro, Thinking Ouside the Boat, Trawler, Waterfront dining, Wilmington NC, Wrightsville Beach

Last year, due to COVID-19 we did no long distance cruising. For this year’s journey, we spent our final night at home on the boat, so we could get an early start . On July 12, 2021 at 7:01 AM we cast off from the dock, idled under the Ben Sawyer, and began CruisingTheICW north!

First stop, Harborwalk Marina, Georgetown, SC. “Slow Dance” seems happy to be cruising again! Since returning from our 2019 summer on the Chesapeake, she’s gotten a new stateroom air conditioning unit, windless, the head serviced, new generator water pump, the hull waxed and new bottom paint, beautiful new Eisenglass for the upper helm, and last but not least, the annual service of the main engine, generator, and transmission. Since 2006, the main engine and generator’s oil has been changed every 100 hours, not counting the annual service done prior to departure for our multi-week cruises. Though we didn’t put 100 hours on her during COVID-2020, we adopted the rule of service annually or every 100 hours, which ever comes first.

While it’s rare for us to spend less than two nights in Georgetown, for a variety of reasons we had to keep pushing back our departure, so Georgetown was just an overnight stop on this journey. As always, Harbormaster Chris and his crew provided excellent service and a beautifully clean facility. And added bonus, it’s hard to remember when we’ve gone into Harborwalk and not seen at least one large and beautiful yacht docked there. If you’re CruisingTheICW through South Carolina, and have never visited Georgetown, put it on your itinerary. It’s a quaint little historic town with a harbor, Southern hospitality, good restaurants, SC Maritime Museum, and shopping,

Second stop, Myrtle Beach Yacht Club, Little River, SC. Since 2017 when we began our summer CruisingTheICW north, the yacht club has been our second night’s destination. Why? Reasonable dock fees, traditionally great fuel prices, great and reasonably priced food at The Officer’s Club private dining for transients and members, and as always, an accommodating and professional crew to help with docking and most anything else we might need. Unfortunately, the The Officer’s Club is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so for the Admiral and me, there’s always next time!

Third stop, Seapath Yacht Club, Wrightsville Beach, NC. When we began CruisingTheICW north in 2017, we made it a point to spend at least a couple of nights in Wrightsville Beach to visit with old friends. Sadly, an old best friend, Bruce Allcorn, the friend that always met us at the dock no matter where we stayed in Wilmington or Wrightsville Beach, passed away unexpectedly last October. This year’s visit without Bruce was tough. To know the guy was to love him. Our friendship went back over 50-years to our high school days and love of Austin Healey 3000s. At his celebration of life last May, the only person in attendance to have known him longer than me, was his older brother. Memories, so many memories.

“Beach Music,” the perfect name for a beautiful vintage Hatteras yacht built in North Carolina, home of beach music and beach bands like the incredible Embers, who made the song, “I Love Beach Music” famous.

Seapath Yacht Club is only a couple of hundred yards “off the ICW,” with limited transient slips, but a quiet, sheltered place to overnight. Their new shower facility has to be one the newest and nicest on the ICW. Another plus is their proximity to some of the finest dining in Wrightsville Beach. For many reasons, Wrightsville Beach will forever be on our northbound cruise itinerary.

Next stop, the new Town Docks at Swansboro, NC. In years past, we visited Swansboro by car, and a couple of years we stopped by the town docks for Kate the Mate’s “nature call.” When I recently read that reservations could now be made for overnights at the docks, we decided to overnight there instead of having such a long day getting to Beaufort. While walking around Swansboro that afternoon, we stopped by the visitors center and learned the town is in the process of putting in shower baths and a washer and dryer for transients’ use, in the Swansboro Visitors Center. While the visitors center is not adjacent to the docks, the new facilities will be no further away than those of some other marinas we’ve visited. It’s great to see small towns like Swansboro welcoming ICW transient boaters. To many, the ICW is their “intrastate highway.”

On to Beaufort, our first multi-night stop this summer. In 2018, our departure from home was scheduled around getting us to Beaufort in time for the Admiral to celebrate her July 4th birthday there. This year it was scheduled around getting her to Beaufort in time to enjoy Saturday’s Farmer’s Market! I’m happy to say we made it.

Like Georgetown, Beaufort is a favorite stopping point for large yachts, and this year was no exception. As we entered the Beaufort harbor, the 142′ superyacht, “MISSING LINK” could not be missed. Owned by Jack Link, of America’s #1 Jerky Brand, “MISSING LINK” was designed and built by US builder, Christensen Shipyards at their Vancouver shipyard. The yacht’s interior was designed by Carol Williamson and Associates.

On the right of the photograph is “MISSING LINK,” and on the left is “Slow Dance.” “MISSING LINK” travels with an Invincible center console launch that is the approximate length of “Slow Dance.” It can be seen perpendicular on the other side of the dock between “MISSING LINK” and “Slow Dance.”

We first “discovered”Beaufort when my parents bought a little place on Harker’s Island, a short distance from Beaufort. When visiting the island, Beaufort was where we went for dinner and shopping. Today, we enjoy Beaufort Town Docks, but it’s not the only marina in Beaufort. When staying there, we can walk or cycle most anywhere around town. But, others we’ve met while cruising swear by Homer Smith’s Docks and Marina, the full service Town Creek Marina, and the new Beaufort Yacht Basin.

What to do in Beaufort. Having spent my career in the travel industry, I’m about the worst tourist you will ever meet. We love to travel, but when we visit a destination, we enjoy getting local input on things to do. While rarely do we visit every attraction and museum in the local visitors’ guide! But, in Beaufort, there are some things I’d encourage doing.

  • Visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum
  • Beaufort Historic Site and Museum Visitors Center
  • Old Beauforte Farmers Market (A Saturday event)
  • Water tours ~ there is a myriad of water tours offered in Beaufort. Though I’ve never taken one, but I would encourage a visitor to Beaufort or Morehead City to take two specific water tours, (1) a tour that takes you to Cape Lookout Lighthouse, (2) a tour that takes you to the 5,400 acre Rachel Carson Coastal Equestrian Preserve or the Shackleford Banks to see the beautiful wild horses in their natural habit.
  • For detailed information about the many reasons to visit Beaufort, Morehead City, and all the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, visit the Crystal Coast of NC.

Dining in Beaufort. Years ago when we came to Beaufort from Harker’s Island for dinner, Clawson’s was the old standby. Today there are a number of quality restaurants from which to choose. Some of our favorites within easy walking distance of the marina are Finz, Black Sheep Beaufort, Front Street Grill, The Spouter Inn, Ribeyes Steakhouse, Mezcalito Beaufort, and of course, the old standby, Clawson’s.

Historic Beaufort, Morehead City, and the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. Great cruising destinations.

“Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.” Henry David Thoreau

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In Memory of Bruce Fredrick Allcorn ~ December 23, 1945 – October 18, 2020

15 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by “Oh Captain My Captain” in From the helm

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Always with you, Austin-Healey 3000, Bonaire, Calamari dipped in Orange Marmalade, Cats, Cats are family too, Chris Craft, Class of 1964, Coffee, Coffee 1820, Cold beer, CruisingTheICW, Extended family, Family, Fellow boater, Friends, In memory of a friend, Jaguar, Memories, Pipe tobacco, Rest in Peace, RIP, Southwest High School, Tribute to a friend, US Navy, Vintage Jag, Whole fried flounder, Wilmington NC, Winston-Salem, Wrightsville Beach

Thanks to mutual friend, Alan York for sharing a favorite pic of Bruce.

Sunday, November 15, 2020. Some posts are hard to write. This one has been the hardest. On Sunday, October 18, 2020, our good friend, my former high school classmate, fellow boater, and all-around great guy, Bruce Allcorn passed away unexpectedly. I learned about it when his niece called after hearing my messages on his phone.

I once wrote a poem to my children that started, “There’s so much I want to tell you, so much I want to say…” That’s how I feel in writing about Bruce.

Our friendship began at Southwest High School in the early 1960s. After graduation, we left our hometown to attend different colleges, but a pair of Austin-Healey 3000s “reconnected” us after our freshman year. His was a black 1962, mine a blue 1961. Until the day that I sold mine, nearly every weekend during the summer of 1966, wherever you saw one Healey, you saw the other.

Our marriages and career moves “disconnected” us again in the late 1960s, but friendships that are meant to be, will be.  In 2014, the 50-year reunion of the Southwest High Class of 1964 reunited us. Our love of cars had never changed, but in a way, it was a love of boats that may have brought us closer together.

In the fall of 2016, Carolyn and I bought “Slow Dance” to cruise into retirement. In the summer of 2017, our first long cruise was to the North Carolina communities that were near and dear to us. When I told Bruce that we would be coming his way, he insisted we spend a couple of days in Wrightsville Beach. It took no effort to convince us. When we arrived at Bridge Tender Marina, he was on the dock to greet us. The trip began a tradition of spending two or three nights in Wrightsville Beach on every trip north and return trip south. In return, Bruce made trips to Charleston for British Car Club and Austin-Healey car shows, and to attend our annual chicken stew. When we were together, it was just like old times.

Though Bruce was an independent person, he was also the kind of person that never met a stranger, and would do anything for a friend. When we reconnected at our class reunion, he had been divorced for years. He was enjoying retirement and a lifestyle of focusing on family, a wide circle of friends he considered extended family, and his cats — which were as much his family as any of his friends! I think he recognized some of us friends were about as feral as some of his cats, but he loved us anyway!

And then, there were his toys — beautiful 1962 and 1967 Austin-Healeys, an equally beautiful, vintage Jag sedan — none of which had been driven in the rain in all the years he owned them, and of course, his classic Chris Craft, center console boat. Equally important to Bruce was time spent each year in Bonaire. There, he’d established another circle of friends that had evolved into even more extended family. Someday we’ll visit, just to understand his love of the beautiful place and wonderful people that he often spoke of.

Memories. So many memories.

The summer of 1966, Bruce’s mom rented a beach house at Emerald Isle, NC, and invited Bruce and me to spend a weekend with her, there. As we prepared for the trip, we had to make a choice — do we take luggage, or the top to my Austin-Healey that we would be driving? We chose luggage. Before we left Winston-Salem, and seemingly the entire trip Bruce reminded me that, “Emerald Isle is nothing like Myrtle Beach. It’s laid back and pretty quiet. I don’t want you to be disappointed.” After enjoying a shrimp dinner his mom prepared, Bruce suggested we drive to Atlantic Beach, and ‘check it out.’ As we left the beach house, I was told that Atlantic Beach was where nightlife could be found in Carteret County, but still, it was ‘nothing like Myrtle Beach.‘

Before we got to Atlantic Beach, we had witnessed a bleeding, cursing drunk, tightly strapped to a gurney, and being placed in an ambulance, after running his fist through a number of window panes at the bar/pool hall that had kicked him out. Less than a mile later, we came across an overturned VW camper (no injuries, thank goodness.) And then we arrived at the Atlantic Beach circle, to the sound of a man’s voice screaming, “Shoot me, go ahead and shoot me, you f*^*ing coward!” I moved the Healey to the far side of the street, and we found a cop as quickly as possible! Bruce was right, so far, this visit had been nothing like any of my trips to Myrtle Beach! In defense of Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, and Morehead City, I’ve never witnessed such excitement there since! The beautiful coastal communities of The Crystal Coast remain among my all-time favorite destinations, whether by boat or car.

After our exciting Saturday night, we left quiet Emerald Isle on Sunday. When we crossed over the Morehead City bridge, we were looking up at a very, very dark sky. We glanced at each other, realizing we could be in for a wet ride home in the topless Healey. Leaving the Morehead City limits, the rainstorm hit us! But as we often experienced in our young and crazy lives, an angel — in the form of a Lincoln Continental — came flying around us. We pulled so close in behind that Lincoln that it felt like we were drafting the leader of the Daytona 500! Amazingly, at the speeds we ran, the windshield deflected the rain right over us — and equally amazing, that Lincoln leading us, perfectly timed every green light from Morehead City to Garner, NC! We were completely dry as passed through Raleigh! It was another one of those ‘you can’t make this stuff up’ moments!

Fast Forward 50 Years

Carolyn and I are blessed with many wonderful memories of good times spent with Bruce after he and I reconnected. His voice. Mannerisms. Infectious laugh. Dry wit. Sense of humor. His kindness, generosity, sincerity, and loyalty. His love of family first, including at least annual visits to his parents’ gravesite. His love of his friends — the kind of love that brought him to a marina to greet them upon arrival, or bring them hot bagels at 6:30AM on the morning they were leaving.

There are memories of the aroma of his favorite pipe tobacco, his love of a cold beer, whole fried flounder, or fried calamari with orange marmalade. More than once he took a small jar of marmalade into a restaurant, and after dinner left it for the chef to try. He could never understand why every restaurant with calamari on the menu, didn’t serve it with orange marmalade. Go figure!

Coffee. Bruce loved his coffee, specifically Cafe 1820 Clasico, harvested and distributed in Costa Rico. He ordered it by the case, not by the bag. On his first visit to see us in Mount Pleasant, he brought a bag for us to try. When a man orders his coffee by the case, you can be pretty sure he’s shared a bag or two with friends that shared his love of coffee.

Due to COVID-19, we didn’t make our usual, annual journey north this year. But in 2019, as we cruised north past Carolina Beach, Bruce called to check on our progress. A half hour later, from the upper helm I saw a fellow in a center console boat waving as he approached us from the north. Waving at passing boats is not unusual, but as we waved back, Carolyn said, “That’s Bruce!” When I turned to look, he was turning around to approach on our starboard side. Sure enough, he’d raced down the waterway to greet us by boat!

Our next stop after Wrightsville Beach was at Beaufort Docks Marina, in historic Beaufort, NC. As we idled toward our assigned slip, I saw a beautiful, antique, wooden motoryacht on the dock behind us. Later, when I walked over to take pictures of it, the owner invited me aboard. When he asked where we had traveled from, I replied that we had just come up from visiting a friend in Wrightsville Beach. He asked my friend’s name. When I said, “Bruce Allcorn,” he laughed, and proceeded to tell me that he and Bruce were part of a group of friends that met daily for coffee! I took John’s picture, texted it to Bruce, and immediately received a return text that read, “Don’t believe a word his says about me!”

As I write this, I’m enjoying a cup of Coffee 1820. Last night when I was putting the beans for this morning’s brew into the grinder, I read something that I had never noticed on the front of the bag, “Always with you.” I can’t help but wonder if it was one of the reasons Bruce enjoyed sharing bags of that coffee with friends. Two things are certain — Bruce’s friends will forever remember him fondly, and as Carolyn said, “Cruising through Wrightsville Beach will never be the same without seeing Bruce standing on the dock waiting to greet us.”

Some might say Bruce Allcorn was one of a kind. They would be right. This old world would be a better place if inhabited by more folks like him. Rest In Peace, Brother. You are loved, missed, and will never be forgotten.

Oh Captain, My Captain

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“Follow In My Wake”

Bridge Tender Marina
Bridge Tender Marina
The Admiral enjoys reading, while Kate the Mate stands by the captain.
The Admiral enjoys reading, while Kate the Mate stands by the captain.
An early sunset casts a warm light on the "Next Chapter," a beautiful 130 ft Westport, at the popular Southport (NC) Marina.
An early sunset casts a warm light on the “Next Chapter,” a beautiful 130 ft Westport, at the popular Southport (NC) Marina.
Lanes Ferry Dock and Grill features the best hot dog on the planet!
Lanes Ferry Dock and Grill features the best hot dog on the planet!
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Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
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Southport Marina
Southport Marina
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Big Tuna, Georgetown, SC
Big Tuna, Georgetown, SC
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Captain Buck’s Port Chef James Kohler
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