Oriental, NC to Wrightsville Beach, NC

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #2
Monday, October 27
We enjoyed a light breakfast at a coffee shop called The Bean, which was right across the street from Oriental Marina. We also enjoyed the banter of the locals who ate there. The front porch was definitely a frequent stop for some elderly men and a big white dog that everyone had to step over to get into the coffee shop.

Jeannie (our cruising friend from Estelle) and I went for some groceries with the borrowed car from the sales clerk at the Provisioning Co. Other stops were the hardware store for a lost wrench and the bank for quarters for doing laundry. I picked up some Christmas gifts at the Provisioning Co. which is a combination marine store and gift shop. Finally, we got back to the marina to leave by their requested 11am departure time.

It was a beautiful sunny day, but the wind was on our nose, so motoring was the name of the game, all the way to Adam’s Creek Canal. Then it was down the Russell Slough Channel to Beaufort Docks Marina. People do anchor in the crowded anchorage but the currents and strong winds make it difficult. We saw boats anchored and moored going every which way. We did not want to get into that type of situation, so we tied up at the marina by 3pm. Since they have courtesy cars that you can take for an hour, we went to the grocery store again for the items we forgot earlier that morning. Later we checked out a lot of the cute shops in town. (I should say I checked the shops while Al stayed outside.) At the Scuttlebutt a nautical book/gift store we found the Cruising Guide to Coastal South Carolina and Georgia which we will need for the future.

Since we were given wooden nickels when we checked into the marina, which were good for a free beer or glass of house wine, up to the restaurant we went for happy hour. When we got back to the boat, it was toasty warm and smelled delicious due to the meatloaf and baked potatoes I had baking while we were enjoying our drinks. Just prior to dinner an unpredicted gale blew through the area. We saw winds as high as 32 knots sitting at the dock. We could not imagine what it would have been like out in the open waters. The temperature dropped almost 20▫. They were calling for lows in the thirties, so we were glad to be tied to a dock, and able to use the heater. Through out the evening there were boats coming in that had been out in the harbor and sailing down the coast, all with their stories to tell.

When we awoke on Tuesday, the winds were still blowing 25 knots out of the west. That was not good for the direction we want to head, so we decided to stay put. So once again we borrowed a car and located a fish store and a place to fill propane tanks. Jim, our cruising buddy, had a tank which needed filling. However, the gentleman told him he really needed a new tank because it was so rusted, although he did fill it. Then it was a search to find a place that sold the small tanks needed for a sailboat. Lo and behold there was a West Marine, across the bridge from Beaufort in Moorehead City which we went to after lunch. Speaking of lunch, while we were eating lunch, our good friend, Carl Moser stopped by. He was in town making some sales calls to his marine clients. He took a chance because he knew we had been in Oriental the day before and this seemed a logical next stop. It was good seeing a friendly face from home.

Later, Jeannie and I took a good long walk, eyeing all the gorgeous southern homes with the pillars and two porches on top of each other on the front of the house. I should know the name for this architecture, but a senior moment has hit! We also stopped at a local pizza shop that Carl told us about that also has good Greek food. We picked up some spinach cheese pie and had a tasty treat with our drinks.

After dinner we discussed future plans over an apple cake I had made. Once again the baked dessert was two-fold. It was used as dessert but also the baking of it warmed the cabin nicely and gave off a wonderful aroma. It was very cold, going down to the low thirties. The small electric heater worked over-time!

Wednesday dawned with winds still blowing out of the west. Several boats left the marina and were back about an hour later, so once again we thought it best to stay put. We are definitely getting a taste of the cruising life which is based on weather! Al and I decided to visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum. It was excellent and all for just a donation. One of the major topics was the pirate, Blackbeard. In 1996 a ship was located 3 mi. off the coast from Beaufort and it is believed to be Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s flagship. Young archaeologists were on hand to discuss their finds from the week before. Their enthusiasm for their finds was vey refreshing and made it extremely interesting. It was well worth the visit. After the museum we went to a store called Harbor Specialties. If you want any thing monogrammed such as bags, tee shirts or hats, this is the place to go. We treated ourselves to new hats with “Blue Heaven” on them.
Early evening we met at the marina restaurant with the people off a boat from Halifax who had been coming down the coast during that gale on Monday. When they talked about 10-12 ft. waves and surfing down waves at 21 knots, it made me glad we were safely tied up in Beaufort at the time.

After three days at the dock, we finally were able to leave around 10:30 am on Thursday. Once through the inlet we were able to sail. For a few minutes dolphins sailed along our starboard. We reached Lookout Bight around noon. While eating lunch, the wild Shackleford Bank ponies came out to the beach for us to see. Jim and Jeannie deployed their dinghy and picked us up to explore Cape Lookout Lighthouse which is the southern tip of the Outer Banks. We strolled the beach hunting for seashells and I found the most unusual starfish which is almost perfect. The lighthouse itself was not allowed to be entered but the keeper’s house was. It had excellent displays and an educational video. Although the temperature was only in the fifties, it was vey sunny so it made for an enjoyable day. After dinner it was to bed early since we were planning to be up at 5am and lifting anchor at 6am for our first off shore experience, following our Canadian friends on Estelle.

Friday - Leaving in the dark is an experience in itself. You think you just have to look for the one buoy with a blinking light to get out and around. However, there are all sorts of lights out there. Al and I don’t know how people did it without GPS. I also never realized how fast light starts to come even before the sun is seen (that is a good thing). We got out of the anchorage safely and put up the sails. Winds were out of the north 10-12 knots which was a beam reach. Ideal! However, the winds kept dwindling to about 5 knots so motor-sailing was needed. It definitely was cold. To help you understand, I removed my knit gloves and hat at 8:30am. 9am the outer coat came off, 9:10am, the fleece vest, 9:20am, the cotton sweatpants, leaving a pair of stretch pants and long-sleeve top on. And you must to remember, we were inside a full cockpit enclosure! Eventually we had to open some panels because it got too hot in our “sunroom.”

Late morning when I went below for a minute I heard Al yelling “Dolphins.” I came up and found him hooked to a tether line at the bow of our boat. There were at least two maybe more dolphins playing in the bow wake of our boat. I ran up with the camera as they swiftly swam back and forth from port to starboard and back. Sometimes they were just below the surface, other times breaking the surface. It was so much fun watching them crisscross back and forth. They stayed around this time for 7-8 minutes and then disappeared as quickly as they came. This was definitely the highlight of cruising so far. You really felt “one with nature!” We arrived in the beach town community of Wrightsville Beach after 5pm. Blue Heaven and Estelle had traveled the 70 mi. in eleven hours. We had probably one of the flattest oceans you can possibly have, so it made for a very easy, but “loooong” day!