April 22, 2004 - View the pictures
We’ve been out of our Verizon Office coverage area since
Tuesday and in the wind since forever. This boat has been
rocking so hard I have a time typing.
Well, lots has happened this week. We got pulled out Friday
morning at 8:30 AM. The props were ready; the shaft came out
repaired and reinstalled. Five PM brought splash down and we
were ready to roll. Almost ready. Low tide, no water. We
stayed at the Anchor Marina for the night and left on high
tide Saturday morning. The lighthouse is one on the waterway
saying good bye to us.
Week-ends are not our favorite time to travel but we wanted to
put some water behind us. Cape Fear was choppy, big and wide.
Snow’s Cut was shallow and by 1 PM there were so many boats
out in a narrow space. I was really happy to tie my lines to
the long dock at Wrightsville Beach, N.C. We stayed there
until Monday morn and took the high tide out. We did enjoy a
couple of meals at a great little restaurant called Crab
Daddies. It was only a couple of blocks from the marina and
with all the wake and wind action eating onshore was more
desirable.
We passed Camp LeJune on our way. The landing crafts pictures
and tanks are remnants of a Marine maneuver that happened
before we passed on the Waterway.
From there we cruised to Beaufort, NC and stayed at the
downtown dock. Once again the wind was blowing but there were
lots of cute little shops and attractions to keep us on land.
We rode our bikes down the waterway and caught sight of the
wild ponies on the Outer Banks Island. The sunset is from our
cockpit.
We meet some fellow “Loopers” that we had first met at
Fernandina. Ole Grumpy and Hippokantus pulled up to our dock.
Kathy’s herb garden is about to take over their fly bridge.
We stayed an extra day to wait for some Islamorada friends on
“Toadily Wasted”. They are on their way home and it was good
to visit with more new friends.
We left again this morning on the high tide and headed north.
Crossing the Pamlico Sounds and the Neuse River were easier
than I expected with the wind blowing. Tomorrow we have the
Albemarle Sound to look forward to. I hope the wind stays sown
in the morning so we can make that passing.
The photo of the mansion is the office for the marina where we
are staying tonight. River Forest Marina in Belhaven, NC, is a
circa 1890 country inn. The wind is the constant topic of
conversation. We have heard more boat horror stories this
week. I think part of this is from the wind. The other part is
from the skinny water as a result of the wind. I hope things
calm soon and that we get Internet connection.
|
|
