An escape to big water Lindsay McRory November 22, 1995 South of Beaufort, North Carolina, the Intercoastal Waterway changes personalities as quickly as a hot head on a bad-hair day. Frequent shoaling, unpredictable currents, and old charts are making this section a little stressful. The day-beacons are spaced widely apart and the shoreline is marshy and uneven. It's not uncommon for the depth sounder to go from 40 feet to 7 feet in a few seconds. At times, it is difficult to determine if you are in the center of the channel or far on one side of it. In Southport, North Carolina, we heard firsthand tales of frequent grounding problems in the next section. The previous day, four boats left and all four ran aground at least once during the day. The problem was created by a combination of silting and tides. The tides were extremely low in the early afternoon. If we had been here one month earlier or a month later, the tides would be at high levels in the afternoon and this section would have breezed by. We didn't want to sniff our way down the ditch at half-speed. So our options were to leave later in the afternoon and only put 20 or so miles a day under the keel, or go offshore and get this section out of the way. It was a unanimous vote in favor of a 140-mile offshore leg to Charleston, South Carolina. The plan was to leave at 3 p.m. and arrive in Charleston's harbor at 9 the next morning. Hakuna Matata went through a morning of offshore conversion. Safety lines were rigged, lee cloths were placed on the bunks, gear was carefully stored. After topping off fuel and water tanks we wormed our way down Cape Fear River and into the Atlantic Ocean. The auto pilot was set and we made ourselves comfortable. It was a refreshing feeling to be offshore again. Not having to worry about what might be 10 feet ahead of us was especially relieving. Late in the afternoon, a pod of eight or so dolphins joined us for a few miles. Kita and Wesley were set up for bed in the main cabin where we could see them easily from the cockpit. They both got a kick out of sleeping in the lee cloths while the boat heeled over. Three-hour watches were planned, and the weather and radar were monitored. The night passed uneventfully, just another passage. I find it usually takes three days to get into an offshore schedule. But a single overnight trip leaves you a little rattled. We arrived on schedule in Charleston and found our way back on the Intercoastal. Our one night out would have taken two to three days in the ditch. Docking at Buzzards Roost Marina, we feasted on alligator (tastes like chewy chicken) and catfish. Yummm.