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Camp
Le Jeune
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Around noontime, we
passed by Camp LeJeune Firing Range, and saw tanks and helicopters. As
we approached Morehead City, we felt wind gust of 20 knots on our
starboard side. Eileen kicked up the throttle slightly (just 10 knots)
to pass a sailboat. Before we know it, a marine patrol had come around
to admonish us to slow down when passing by a marina. Gee, where were
these people when you needed them? |
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17:00, we pulled into slip 32 at Town Creek Marina, Beaufort (pronounced
as BowFort). This town is the antithesis of the other Beaufort.
It's more of a working/fishing town. But the sunsets were absolutely
spectacular (right at our doorstep - no kidding), and the clear star-lit
skies, just stunning! This truly makes cruising one of life's exquisite
pleasures. We would be staying here for a couple of weeks to have
work done on the boat.
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Sunset
at Town Creek Marina
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Friendly
neighbors at Town Creek Marina
Cape
Lookout
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May 11 Today seemed to be a zoo at Town Creek
Marina. Boaters were coming in from all kinds of places. The laundry
room was humming all day long. Eileen ran into an English lady who had
chartered a Jefferson 43 named Lady Iris II and had just
come in from Bellhaven. We had admired the boat at Downtown Marina
where we had spotted it a few weeks earlier. The couple chartered
the boat for 7 weeks, and had taken it from Palm Beach to the
Chesapeake, and were on their way back. They had a wonderful time, except
the fact that they had to be on the move every day. She told Eileen that
on the way up, they ran aground at Shallotte's Inlet and that fiasco
alone cost them $1200! Also, we finally met Terry and Don, whose boat Mine all Mine
(a Carver 38, which incidentally is for sale, if anyone is interested),
was tied up to next to ours at Town Creek. They were so kind as to take
us out to see Cape Lookout, even when the wind was blowing at what felt
like 20 knots! Going through Beaufort inlet to the ocean was quite choppy,
but when we got to the vicinity of the lighthouse, it was surprisingly calm and
sheltered. We anchored there for a little while and had a nice picnic.
Terry's daughter Theresa, and grandson Spencer came with us as well.
Spencer was one tough boater! |
May 12 Scattered showers and thunderstorm were forecasted for
the evening, winds gusting at 13mph, temperatures at 68 F as we pulled out
of Town Creek Marina. Over the VHF radio, we heard a conversion between a
boater and a marina about the cost of towing the boat. What a way to start
the day...Crossing the Pamlico Sound around 11:00 was uneventful as there
were no sea condition to speak of. We anchored at Pungo River (SM 127) at 14:30. It was a
piece of cake. Little did we know what was in store for us... Around
19:30, ominous black clouds covered the sky, then lightning struck on and
off for about 1/2 hour before torrential rain started coming down. Our
boat swung left, right, left, right. Admittedly, it was a little
frightening, yet strangely enough, we felt safe. Probably because there
were other boats around us. It was a pleasure to see nature at work. When
you're anchored, that is.
May 13 This was a tougher day - temperature in the mid 50s,
high winds of 15 -25 knots, 4 to 6' waves. The ride along Alligator
River was ok. It looked wide, but actually very narrow as both sides were
filled with snags and tree stumps. We almost grounded ourselves twice as
we veered to our starboard to allow other boaters to pass. When the river
opened up to Albermarle Sound, the smooth ride was no more. We had to
drive on the flybridge, and it was cold. At 13:30, we anchored at Broad
Creek (SM 61), just 15 mins north of Albamarle Sound. It was quite open,
but recommended by the Intra-Coastal Waterway Chart book. A big mistake -
the constant pounding was wicked. Tranquil nights - forget about it! We
should have known. When you don't see sailboats in the area, you know this
is NOT a good anchorage! Duh.
May 14 Left anchorage at 06:35. At 08:05, we passed by Coinjock
Marina, the first stop for almost everybody going north or south, or
so the Embassy Guide said. Here we spotted boat Mon Amour
from Boston. We were excited to see a familiar boat, but they did not
appear to be friendly to us. So much for familiarity....At Currituck
Sound, the channel was narrow and shallow again, but not as bad as at
Morehead City. At SM 34 around 9:50 , we crossed the NC/VA border. We were
traveling at 8.5 knots with a 10 knots wind, temperature in the high 50s.
We got to Atlantic Yacht Basin in the early afternoon. We had reserved a
slip here for 2 months, the minimum length of stay to get a favorable
rate. We did not have much of a choice. We have to drive back to Boston
again, this time to move as we close on our condo the end of the month! We
are sad to leave our home of 11 years, but at the same time, we can hardly
wait to explore new exciting destinations. Also, today was Sophal's
birthday. Since our logistics did not leave us any time for a celebration,
we just had drinks with our boat neighbors - MaryAnne and Ray of Moorish Idol,
Howard & Jane of Seaburds, on their new 36' Grand Banks.
May 15 We rented a car so we can drive to Beaufort, NC
to pick up our car. It was an 8 hours ordeal, as Beaufort is situated on
the most eastern tip of the U.S., and is 2 hours away from a major
highway. When we came back to AYB, we stopped by this French
couple's sailboat Loving Affair with Sydney as its homeport. They
had come in from the Caribbean the night before. After being out in the
big pond for an agonizing 25 days, first with no wind, then when the winds picked up,
it was not blowing in the direction of France, their original destination,
so they came to Chesapeake Bay instead. Talk about change of plans!
Fascinating stories indeed. We were hooked. |
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