I was woken abruptly around midnight by the blaring sound of a horn and flashing of lights. I was worried last night that we anchored in the middle of the ICW because the GPS was saying we were. I noticed it on the chart after the anchor was dropped. Tom said there’s no way we’re in the middle of the ICW and reassured me we were fine.

I climbed on deck to see what was going on and there was a humongous barge being pulled by a tugboat. We were in the middle of the ICW and there wasn’t really anywhere for him to get by. They were honking and flashing their lights consistently. I screamed to the top of my lungs to Tom and told him to wake up. The barge passed us and missed hitting our ship by about 5 feet. A little too close for comfort.

I said “We have to move. I don’t feel safe”. Tom pulled the anchor up and we scooted into the anchorage right next to another sail boat. We were both exhausted and went back to sleep.

We left Swansboro at around 7 am. We were cruising along. The weather was beautiful and it was around 75 degrees. There were parts of the waterway where we could see the ocean. I could smell the salt water in the air. The wind was blowing and Tom put the sails up. It really helped with the current working against us.

Things were going really well until we made it into Wrightsville Beach and approached the Figure Eight Island Swing Bridge. The bridge only opens on the hour and half hour. We had to wait about 20 minutes. The current and the wind was blowing us all over the place. Tom had to keep backing up because we were being sucked towards the bridge.

The swing bridge opened and we passed all the way through. The bridge master called us on our radio and said our dinghy we were pulling fell off. We told him we were going to just leave it there. We didn’t want to wait for the bridge again and wait another 30 minutes. The bridge master insisted we go back and get our dinghy so we turned the boat around to go get it. By the time we got over there the dinghy was washed ashore.

We told the bridge master there was no way we were going to be able to get it. He was kind enough to hold the bridge long enough to go back through again. Tom was stressed and upset about losing the dinghy. I told him that it was going to be okay and tried my best to comfort him.

We approached the Wrightsville beach Bridge 5 miles later and this one only opens on the hour. We had to wait almost an entire hour. The current and the wind were blowing us all over the place and it was very hard to hold her steady. We ran aground firmly 15 minutes before the bridge was scheduled to open.

Tom hollered over to a little sports fishing boat for help. They attached our rope to their boat and started pulling. Tom thought we were off the ground and I took the rope back. We were still aground so they came back to help again. At this point the bridge was open and Tom asked the bridge master if he could keep it open. I threw the rope correctly the first time, but missed. I threw it back over again, but I made a huge mistake.

I didn’t throw the line under the rail and through the chalk. I accidentally threw it over the rail, a bad mistake. The fisher boat pulled us out and got us off the ground, but I messed up the railing on Tom’s bow. The life line on it and the railing look terrible. Tom was pretty mad, rightfully so. I started crying and he told me to get it together.

We got to dockside marina, the only marina in town that wasn’t fully booked. Earlier in the day I called every marina in town and all of them were booked. This place is a first come first serve and the lady said they were usually slow on Sunday’s. It’s technically a bar and marina where you dock your boat and eat, but it was the only thing I could find. We needed somewhere to dock tonight.

When we got to the Marina I was bawling my eyes out. I was so upset with what I did to Tom’s boat. People were laughing at me and taking pictures of me crying and tying the boat up. I was so defeated and sad I didn’t say anything. Normally my feisty self would have picked a fight with someone going out of their way to mess with me that way. I probably would have pushed them into the water, but it’s good I didn’t so I didn’t end up in getting arrested. That would have been the cherry on top.

I took Paisley for a walk and cried some more until I felt like I could hold it together. Tom was being really nice and told me I did a good job today even though I don’t really believe him. He said he will be able to fix it and it isn’t the end of the world and not to be too hard on myself. I am my biggest critic and a perfectionist so when I make mistakes I beat myself up.

We went to dinner with Tom’s good friend Bill Richards. They have been friends for over 50 years. Bill told us funny sailing stories about the times they’ve had, like accidentally bending an anchor and their adventures to the Virgin Islands. I could tell they were trying to make me feel better and laugh at myself. I hope when I am older and wiser that is something I will become better at.

Today was hard, but we made it. We made our goal of 50 miles a day and we made it safely. I’m grateful for Tom’s patience and kindness. I still don’t really know what I’m doing. Hopefully I can learn some more, do better and learn from my mistakes.