Full Circle

We spent the last week cruising from Morehead to Cape Lookout and up to Oriental, NC.  We are docked at River Dunes Marina for the next month.  We will be travelling for two weeks of business and then plan to use this as a home base for day sailing and maintenance for the rest of the month.  The pool and exercise facility makes that an attractive option.

To get here, we had to pass the spot on the Neuse River where our old mast said Bye Bye.  We were running before a gusty 20-30 knot wind, and I swear, just about at the point we were last time, a wave came and spanked us on our starboard quarter, splashing into the cockpit.  I think the river wanted us to know it was still in charge.  Our circle is complete.  Let the new journey begin.

We said goodbye to Dick and Lynn, one more time, from Morehead City.  That night a bartender solidified our decision and went to Cape Lookout for the next two nights.  Absolutely stunning.  Empty, powder soft beaches full of whole shells, huge turtles swimming around all day and a great tour of the Cape Lookout museum.

Funny, on our way out, we saw a bout a 5 foot shark swimming in the wave crest.  I knew I had the right size boat (JAWS), but it makes you think before you jump in to swim.  I told Yammy that the predator fish feed in the morning and evening, so only swim during the day.  Sure enough, on our last night, I was getting ready to hoist the dinghy and a baby shark (2-3') is circling underneath.  Yammy thought it was cute.  I just made sure I didn't fall in.  You know there were more.  

We also got to sail close hauled into 4-6' waves and 20-25 knot winds on our short 7 mile sail back to Beaufort inlet.  Full main and stiff as a rock.  Love this new mast.  Best sailing we have ever experienced with less jerky motion and, as stated before, no boom banging.

Those elusive sea turtles.  When coming in to anchor, I kept having Yammy steer around what I thought were rock piles or coral heads.  They were sea turtles.  Some of them are enormous.  If you look close, you can see the head sticking up.  This was not easy to get and does not justify what we saw.

 Yumsuch on the hook.  If you haven't seen it before, the orange and white thing is my anchor sail.  It keeps the bow pointed into the wind.

                      Shell collectors paradise.

 Never felt so secure.  We had a Coast Guard Cutter anchored behind us and their helicopter flying over several times a day.  Semper Paratus!

Just Cruising

Another week has passed and we are sitting in Morehead City at Portside Marina.  Dick and Lynn just left this morning on Ladyhawke.  We keep running into them.  They passed us on our way from Wrightsville Beach and we anchored next to them in Mile Hammock Bay.  Fellow ICW cruisers know all of these names.

Everything is working well.  We have had some great sailing on the ICW.  They are predicting thunderstorms everyday, so instead of doing the 65 mile offshore sail to Morehead, we went the inside route.  We have been pleasantly surprised on how good the sailing is in this narrow part of the ICW.  One thing for sure is that it isn't boring.  Some of our highlights:

- Dolphins seen everyday
- A large Loggerhead turtle that was camera shy.  He reminded us of the seals up north.
- Great provisioning at Harris Teeter, Wrightesville Beach.  
- Best seafood pizza in Swansboro.  Fresh shrimp and crab with a garlic and basil base.
- Excellent shrimp and crab from the market at Carolina Beach
- The call of the osprey seen on many marker posts.
- Unusual and beautiful homes along the way.
- Kayaking in the salt marshes alive with wildlife.

             They swam right through our mooring field.

                                     Really?

                  Momma and nearly grown baby.

   They kept saying something about getting the redhead.  We barely escaped with our lives.

                   Bringing in our shrimp dinner.

           We could hear the turbines wind up just over the tree line.

NOAA just said they can definitely say there are no mermaids.  I see one right here.  Proves once again that the feds don't know anything.

Cruising Again:)

We left our home of 7 months last week and headed north to NC.  It took a couple of days to get to our first anchorage.  Neat little place right at Little River Inlet, Bird Island.  We arrived on July 4th and had many people there.  But, that is just as entertaining as watching the dolphins we saw on our offshore sail to Cape Fear River on Friday.  Our first sail was a broad reach with 8-10 building to 20 knots by the end.  Great sail with everything working perfectly.  Yammy pointed out that the boom doesn't bang anymore.  The old boom banged in light air and lumpy seas.  I guess the new one is light enough that that annoyance has been eliminated.

Our weekend was spent at Bald Head Island, NC.  Never even heard of it, but we will stop there every year now.  It is a smaller version of Block Island, except no cars allowed.  Everything is done with electric carts, including the bus service.  Made for quiet streets to walk and browse.  We rented a cart for the weekend and toured the island with a day at one of the local country clubs for swimming and fine dining. I highly recommend this to anyone who cruises.  It is an island, so the costs are a little higher, but no more than Block Island.  I have a review written in Active Captain, so you can get my view on the marina there.

We are now on one of the free mooring balls at Carolina Beach.  We had a short sail to here this morning and will stay for the week.  No hurry to get anywhere and it looks like a great place for swimming and kayaking.  Moorings are free because the city put them in and are looking for someone to manage them.  Until then, "Free is for Me" 

                     Leaving our home of 7 months.

     One of our favorite houses.  Endless pool with tiled step waterfall.  

Bird Island Anchorage.  Reminds me of F-Cove in NJ where you beach your boats.

      Sunset at Bird Island.  We spent two nights here.

        Sail is up and drawing!

      Reason for Cape Fear's name.  We came through the inlet to get to Bald Head Island.

       Beginning of shoals that extend out 20 miles. Oh, and Yammy.

 Turtle Nest.  Big turtle conservancy here.  We saw a large one while sailing, but too fast to get the camera.

 My chauffeur.  Can I keep her?

 We got a kick out of the little garages.

           The resort we spent a day at.  Overlooks Frying Pan Shoals.

     Yes, those are car seats in the cart.