Nov 7, 2012 - The Wisdom of Ancient Mariners

There is an old sailor's saying--no, not old sailors, but old saying! Red sky at night, sailor's delight... Red sky at morning, sailor take warning. The lovely red sky was at 6:30am on Tuesday, and it only confirmed what the National Weather Service was telling us--Better get someplace secure and hunker down for a few days--lousy weather is coming. A nor'easter running up the coast to visit and aggravate the problems that Sandy began. So we high-tailed it down to Oriental, NC where we tucked into what is probably the most protected marina...

Apr 7, 2012 - Wind and Rain

Once into North Carolina we thought we had it made. Our trip out of Southport took us on the inside up the Fear River to the Mile Hammock anchorage on the Marine Corps reservation. Seven other cruisers eventually joined us and the Marine helos and long range artillery provided a unique backdrop well into the evening hours. On Wednesday we headed on to Morehead City and used the free car that the marina offers for a grocery run to Lowes Fine Foods. Dinner that night followed cocktails on Chapter III with old friends Jim and Karol Kraft. It...

Oct 30, 2011 - Belhaven to Oriental NC

10/30/11 Day6– Pungo Creek (South of Belhaven NC) – ICW MM136.5 - N35:31.0 W76:38.7 to River Dunes Marina (north of Oriental, NC) – located off of ICW MM173.5 - N35:31.0 W76:38.6 Left 7:45 am Arrived 1:00 pm - Miles Traveled ¬37 Weather: High 55 Low 36 degrees - Wind: N 15-20 Hi All! It was a very chilly morning but it was still in the fifties inside our boat. Luckily we didn’t get the big winds predicted…yay! It was a quiet and calm night. The anchorage worked out well and protected us from most of the wind. This was our first time in...

Nov 10, 2010 - Day 5 Belhaven to Oriental, NC

Hi All! We made it to Belhaven yesterday. Bummer that my Wine and Words shop that I mentioned yesterday was closed AGAIN! Now they are on winter schedule and only open on the weekends. Grrr. I was really looking forward to a nice hot chocolate and heat! Oh well…will have to try again on our way back! It was very calm last night. It was difficult to believe you are in a boat because it was so stable and quiet! We tried anchoring in Oriental but there were too many boats so we will anchor in Adams Creek for the night. I was hoping to eat at...

Nov 25, 2009 - map entry

We made it 3 days from our start in Deltaville,Virginia.Our new crew member"timex"(watch dog)is really adapting wonderfully to this cruising lyfestyle,he is a 10 week old weaten terrier.I bought him online from a newbraska breeder,so he had to fly from there,poor pooch!He made the journey safe and now has another huge journey infront of him,boy"o boy! He has his own portable puppy toilet!I will have to get him a raincoat!lol John fabricated dinghy davits for our new dinghy(we don't have yet)They look good and are so strong we were going to...

Apr 26, 2009 - Beaufort, NC to Oriental, NC

We went a whopping 20 miles yesterday. Another great run. By the way, if you have not noticed, check out the map on the home page and it keeps up with where are are and most of our stops. We left our Boater friend Happy Clamz in Beaufort while they wait for a part for their generator. We'll see them again soon. With our buddy boat, Jack and Pia, following us, we left thru the north channel of Beaufort and were following another boat. It was a veteran boater, so we figured we'd follow in his wake and find our way thru just fine. NOPE! he...

Nov 7, 2008 - Farewell to Oriental

Current location: Oriental, NC (arrived Oct 30 - left Nov 7) Weather: Finally BEAUTIFUL, hi 70, lo- 58, sunny and less wind We have been here a day over a week (well, to be accurate the boat has been here all that time; we of course left for the birthday party). Because of bad weather (wind and rain) and the need for us to do more work on the boat, this was a good place to stay put. In fact, we stayed a day longer than planned. We used the time to refill the propane tank (fuels the stove), replenish our fresh food supplies, and do a variety...

Oct 30, 2008 - The ICW By Any Other Name...

Did you know that the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) is actually a series of rivers, lakes, and sounds connected by man-made canals (or “cuts” as they are referred to here)? I didn’t really appreciate this, and it has been fascinating to see and understand the variety and the ways the water has been connected to form this long north south waterway as we travel down from VA to and through North Carolina. Sometimes we are on long windy rivers (the Alligator River, the Pungo River) with occasional houses or piers on the banks. Sometimes we are...