We enjoyed getting to know Southport. Such a quaint town with a lot of history. While we were in Southport, Jim took a flight to Miami to help some family members with their boat. Upon his return, we decided the weather was favorable to continue our journey.
Our first stop was only 25 nm north of Southport at Masonboro Island, just south of Wrightsville Beach. Masonboro Island is a barrier island that is set aside as a reserve with public access. We arrived early enough in the day on Thursday to be able to explore both the landward side and the Atlantic side of the island.
We got up early Friday morning to go to Cape Lookout National Seashore. We used the Masonboro Inlet to quickly get to sea and set course for a straight shot to Cape Lookout, 72 nm away. There wasn’t enough wind to really sail, but we got the sails out and let them give us a little extra push while we motored. The sea was very calm and we had an easy, pleasant day of travel. It was refreshing to not worry about bridges or shoaling. We arrived at Cape Lookout, got anchored and relaxed aboard Tilia.
This morning we got up early and dinghied to shore to explore the island. We didn’t really have a plan, except to go to the lighthouse and visitor center. We had looked at the map and determined we would take “Back Road” for a mile to get to the lighthouse once we landed on the beach. We were a little surprised to discover that Back Road is a sandy track — not super fun to walk on! We enjoyed exploring the lighthouse grounds and the visitor center. While in the visitor center, we learned there is a truck that will take visitors to Cape Point, the southern tip of the island. Of course, we took the truck to see what was out there.
Many people had come to Cape Point with their cars or trucks (via ferry) to camp and fish. We walked the beach and soaked in the environment. On the truck ride back from Cape Point, the driver was kind enough to drop us off back where we had landed the dinghy — saving us that mile long walk. Nice!
