Tuesday, May 21

Folks, remember you can track our position in real time by going to the following site:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0zf7trF8VCXlbrj72vkGsUkDo8QIe8hEO

We left our anchorage in Belhaven at 5:30 a.m. It was a beautiful sunrise.

We traveled through the Pongo River into the Pamlico River and by 8 a.m. we were in Goose Creek. There were lovely homes along the creek.

It was a beautiful sunny day. We passed sailboats headed north

Ralph used vinegar and Purple Power to clean dead bugs off the ceiling. We had quite a mosquito invasion the night before. Arlene cleaned in the galley.

We saw a fisherman tending his pots.

Around 8:30 a.m. Goose Creek narrowed into a canal. This canal connects Goose Creek and the Neuce River. Along the way we saw damage to the trees along the banks, possibly caused by a hurricane.

Arlene tidies up the screecher line.

We would eventually see a few private homes along the canal.

By 9 a.m. we left the canal and entered the Neuce River. Our plan was to travel about 65 miles that day. Our destination was Morehead City, close to Beaufort, NC. Beaufort, by the way, is pronounced Bo fort just like Beaumont. In South Carolina there is a Beaufort pronounced Bu fort. Go figure.

We pass a green square with a gold triangle on it. That means it's really red so leave it to the starboard side. There's much to learn about navigating the I C W.

Stephen was at the helm for several hours. At 10 a.m. Capt. Ralph took the helm again. We would be on the Neuce River for several hours. It's a large body of water, once again almost like a bay. Eventually we would go south down Adams Creek to a large bay where Beaufort and Morehead City are located.

We saw many sailboats sailing north. We wished we could be sailing too, but, alas we were still heading straight into the wind. That's pretty much the way it is this time if year. Many folks from the north have taken their boats to Florida or the Bahamas for the winter. This is the perfect time of year for them to travel back to their home ports in the northeast and Canada.

At 11:30 Arlene takes over the helm. Th helm is a very sunny spot today. It's a gorgeous, sunny day.

We had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Here's Stephen cleaning up the galley.

After lunch Franci moved into the helm position and got to take the boat through Adams Creek. There were many homes along the way. It was a very scenic journey through Adams Creek. Nearly all the homes had private docks. Many were vacation homes.

At 3 o'clock we arrived at our destination, Morehead City Yacht Basin. The part needed to repair the front beam was there and Ralph and Stephen started immediately working on that repair. Meanwhiie Franci and Alene took the courtesy car to West Marine, the grocery store and the liquor store. They also got more ice from the marina.

At West Marine a gentlemen named Steve helped them buy Stephen a trolling rod and reel and all that he will need to catch a fish along our way. He's very excited about trying to catch a fish.

By the time the girls got back to the boat, the guys had completed the repair. Ralph and Arlene hosed down the boat until she sparkled and shone once again. No more nasty dead bugs. We refueled and topped off the water and we were ready for the next leg of the journey,

After showers for all, we walked down to Raps, a charming little pub where we had drinks and dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting the waitress, bartender, cook and management. It was a very fun way to spend our evening. Ralph knows all the good spots.

Life is good.

Fair winds,

Franci and Stephen

 

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