Pinkums walks away "I HAVE HAD IT"

Pinkums hooks up with Mark and holds hands... OH NO!

We decided to take the ICW to to Beaufort, SC.  A small waterfront town that seems to be set up mostly for the tourist trade. High end stores and lots of food establishments dominate the towns main street. Just out of the business district, on the waterfront large plantation type homes dominate. Magnoificant old homes dating back to the early 1800s. The view of the bay is magnificent. Palm trees, massive oaks, marsh grass and a bay full of sail boats make up the perfect picture. We stopped for lunch, not great, and enjoyed the views then walked around town to take in the sights. The next day we went shopping, we had our car so it was easy. Bought more led lights for the boat to conserve power and some groceries for the next few days as we will continue to anchor out. The weather was perfect and calm but still cold at night.

The next day we headed for Hilton Head, SC on the ICW. A short hop of about 18 miles. We anchored in Skull River for the night. We arrived at about 2PM and secured the boat and took Spinny to shore. We also contacted our friends from Battery Park, Sandusky, Oh Wayne and Roseanne who had offered to meet us and let us use their car or take us anywhere we would like.  We had great conversation about old times at Battery Park and what everyone was doing now. A really great evening with lovely people. After dinner and drinks we returned back to the boat and made preparations for the trip south tomorrow. Either Savannah or Saint  Catherine’s  Bay. The weather is supposed to be calm and warm. I should be a great ride on the ocean.

Pinkums looking for the Griswalds

Marcus new boat

We arrived in Elizebeth City, NC about 4 pm tied up at the dock walked the dog, took a shower and went to bed. We did not have much time for anything else. Tomorrow we will pick up provisions and head for Beauford.

The trip to Beauford was quite nice. We took the ICW and spent the night anchored in a back wash where it was quiet but filled with boats headed south. We had time to walk Spinny and spend some time exploring and talking to some of the locals fishing and netting shrimp. The nights are cold. About 33 degrees as been the average low. The boat does not have heat without running the generator so you bundle up at night. Not to bad.

We got up early and set out for Beaufort, about 6:30 am it will be a long day. All ICW to Beaufort so it is slow and one must pay attention or you end up grounded, We saw several boats both power and sail on ground.. We took the ICW and spent the night anchored in a back wash where it was quiet but filled with boats headed south. We had time to walk Spinny and spend some time exploring and talking to some of the locals fishing and netting shrimp. The nights are cold. About 33 degrees as been the average low. The boat does not have heat without running the generator so you bundle up at night. Not to bad. The next day we started early and arrived at Beauford a 5 pm. We anchored just outside of town and Kris and I walked the dog and went into town for dinner,  Just hamburgers and french fries and we bought spicy boiled shrimp for Carol. We went back to the boat and turned in early it will be a  long day tomorrow.

From Beauford we headed out to sea for Cape Fear, a day trip and arrived just before dark. We were tired so we stayed at the city dock. We bought provisions in the morning and had an early at the Cape Fear Provisioning Co. Free dock for dinner or over night, very nice of them. We had to wait until 2 pm to leave for Charleston, SC a 130 mile trip, we want to arrive at the harbor in daylight after a 21 to 22 hour trip. The seas were 4 to 6 feet until 3 am when the wind dropped from 25 knots to 15 knots.  By 7 am the wind was down to 5  knots and we motored into Charleston at 11 am.

We anchored just outside the city and went into the city for dinner. We were all exhausted from the trip. Cold and rough does not make for a pleasant passage. The city is beautiful and very vibrant. Beautiful homes, shops, restaurants and more. We stay her for two days and then head out for Edisto Island.

Edisto Island arrival at 3 pm at the Edisto Marina. The owner greets us and helps us tie up. On check in he offers his pickup to pick up provisions. Very Nice. But we have a car as Kris’s friend Mark drove down to meet us in Charleston and is traveling with us for a week. Carol drove the car down from Charleston and enjoyed the break. We will spend the next two nights here. Tonight we made fresh stuffed BBQ oysters and  cajun shrimp for dinner. Short travel days are great.

The last night in  Manteo it  was quite exciting.  Pinkem got drunk went into town, smacked some locals around and then went all pirate on us. We had to cut her down from the rigging and put her into the brig until she came back down to earth.It will be a night for all to remember.

Pinkem ready for a fight

Pinkem in the rigging

After we settled Pinkem down we set sail for Silver Lake, NC on Ocracoke Island. We left at 10 am and arrived just before dark, anchored and secured the boat for the evening. The sail over was somewhat rough with 3-5 ft  following seas and 15-25 knot winds. Other than the water being shallow for most of the trip not much else to comment on. The channel into Ocracoke is deep but shoals  up sharply to port.

The next day we hauled anchor and sailed under a  cloudy sky and breezy conditions to Oriental, NC . Oriental is a small town with several shops and restaurants and a small port with a free city dock, that holds 3 boats. We anchored and visited the town and talked to several locals. Same thing as everywhere else business is ok but not great. Everyone is waiting for the economy to turn around. We will stay anchored here for a day. While here we will adjust rigging, change a alternator belt and try to lighten the boat before going out to sea from Beaufort to Cape Fear.

Oriental is a very pleasant town and I would highly recommend stopping here for anyone in the area. For sailors the harbor is safe and secure with a good bottom for anchoring.

Arrived at Manteo Waterfront Marina at 3:30 pm after a great sail. With a brisk breeze at on our port we  mad 6.5 to 7.5  knots most of the way with a smooth sail. The water across the bay is only 10 to 20 feet for most of the trip and the channels to the marinas are 6 to 8 ft deep. Most of the shore line is only 1 to 3 ft deep out a half a mile or more. The bay was big and beautiful but I am told it can get rough. We changed oil and hooked up some electronics, cleaned the boat out, did some wash and talked to the dock master, George Barr, about our trip south and decided to go the thorny patch route rather than the off shore route. that is down to Miami then to the Bahamas and on to the windward islands. He spent a lot of time with us and gave us great details on how to make the trip better and safer. We really appreciate all the advice. We also visited the shore the dunes and did some some shopping. Kris bought a parafoil  kite and we bought a signal kite for the raft. We cooked fresh shrimp an flounder for dinner. Fresh seafood is the best. Now we make plans to head south. At first through the bay then into the Neuse river down to Beaufort, NC.