Saturday, June 8, 2013

Peace, Love, and Fishy, Fishy. Southport, NC. Mile Marker 309

For every tropical storm, there is safe port and a new set of friends with whom we can weather watch. For Andrea, we holed up at Barefoot Landing Marina (Myrtle Beach, SC) for three uneventful days. Winds were modest, though the swing bridges did not open because winds surpassed twenty five miles per hour. The storm headed inland more than expected so we were spared strong conditions, and while we do not favor Barefoot Landing as a destination, the buildings blocked much of the winds.

Today we cast off at 6:30 am to run two swing and seven fixed bridges, the “rocks” and “ledges,” and New River, Shallotte, Lockwood’s Folly Inlets.  Mission accomplished, winds calm at 6-8 knots, and the sun after the storm was welcome. However, five minutes from our stop in Southport, NC, the winds kicked up to 15-18 knots because the marina sits across from an inlet and river entrance. The marina said they had 45 mile an hour sustained winds all day yesterday and today was nothing. They made docking a breeze though we are a tad exposed on the face dock.

Southport is an absolutely perfect-for-movie-making kind of town, and that’s why we wanted to stop here. There are several restaurants, a cute viable town, a waterfront and tourist stops where movies have been shot, all on a picturesque walk from the marina.  Every house is cuter than the last, with live oaks and hydrangeas, gingerbread and picket fences. The most recent movie filmed here was Safe Haven in 2012. We played tourist and loved it, starting with lunch at Fishy, Fishy, a fish dive recommended by Coastal Living. This is one stop I would highly recommend. A super marina experience made the day complete.
View of the harbor



The movie company built this Ryan's Port Market at
the harbor, then burned it in the film.

The roads all lead down to the water.


Alex's cottage in Safe Haven.


This bar served as Katie's place of employment in Safe Haven.
The mural was painted for the movie.