Dock to dock to dock

Since the last blog entry from Belhaven NC we have visited three more nice NC towns, and stayed at docks at all of them.

 

On Saturday we left Belhaven in the fog, and I got to use Spray's radar as we went down the remainder of the Pungo River. The sun burned off the fog by the time we crossed the Pamilico River and entered a system of creeks and canals to enter Pamlico Sound and then turn into the Neuse River. Our destination was Oriental NC which has free dock space for 2 boats, with a webcam pointed at the dock so I could check to see if there was free space as we approached. I figured our chances were low since Oriental is a very popular stop for ICW cruisers but amazingly the 2 boats that were there left just before we arrived so we had our choice of free dock space.

 

Just as we finished tying up, our friends Scott and Lynn from Castine pulled up in their car. They have recently purchased a condo in nearby New Bern and so we had planned a visit. They have spent much time in Oriental in recent years, living on their sailboat, and so directed us on a walking tour of the town. We had a nice supper with them at M & M's restaurant that night. Here we all are at a great coffee shop:

 

I really wanted to spend 2 nights at Oriental but the weather prediction called for easy cruising on Sunday and windy conditions on Monday, so on Sunday, after coffee and scones at the Bean, and another walk around town, we fair-weather sailors departed Oriental, again in foggy conditions. It was challenging to cross the Neuse River and enter Adams Creek with near zero visibility and some other vessel traffic. The fog cleared in Adams Creek and we had an easy ride straight south to Beaufort NC, returning to near the Atlantic Shore. I had reserved a slip for 2 nights at Beaufort Docks Marina which is perfectly sited at the center of the waterfront. They serve only transient boaters with 90 slips and were host to some amazing yachts, as well as Spray.

 

So in lovely Beaufort we had plenty of time to explore, visit a bar and restaurant, and Sheila did some laundry. We took our dinghy across to Carrot Island for some hiking and saw the wild horses that live there (photo below). We left early today (Tuesday) to catch favorable tide as we crawled down Bogue Sound in strong N winds to the town of Swansboro NC, where we are the only boat at Caspers Marina. We arrived early enough for some dog walking, some shopping, and a light dinner at an Irish Pub.

 

Tomorrow we have a very challenging day. We will leave at first light, work our way through some serious shoaling near inlets and cross a section of USMC Camp Lejeune where they do live fire right across the ICW. I called their fire control officer today and was told that we could pass only during odd hours : 7-8 is OK but 8-9 is not. We also must deal with 4 drawbridges that open only at scheduled times, like only on the hour. If you arrive at 11:05 you must wait until 12:00 to get under the bridge. Plus it's a long day (for us) of almost 50 miles to our goal of Wrightsville Beach NC. Stay tuned to see how it goes.

 

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