This morning, we got up before dawn, as was becomming our habit, in order to get going at first light. After popping our hatch to take a look around, we discovered that our Anchor light had failed! I thought the problem was a corroded terminal strip, as this has happened before during this past summer, but I was going to have to wait for later to troubleshoot it.
The wind was still blowing a pretty good 15 kts, so we made sure everything below was secured snugly, as we expected a bumpy ride today. Again, we have no pics because none of our cameras are waterproof, and it was a wet ride (from spray) .
Our trip would take us across the Pamlico River, down a canal, across the Bay River, and out onto the Pamlico Sound, and up the Neuse River to Oriental . The Pamlico Sound is the second largest estuary, second only to the Chesapeake, and it can get quite rough when the winds are up.
Crossing the Pamlico River had a lot of chop, and 1-2 ft swells. Winds rose to 20 knots. We were glad to be off of it in the brief respite the canal gave us. Then more of the same on the Bay River.
Once we turned the corner and were on the Pamlico sound, the winds rose still further to 25 kts. SW, and were just forward of the beam. We rolled out a reefed jib and motor sailed at 6-7 kts! (I will not put anyone on the foredeck to raise the main under these conditions). I had to start out with the jib furling line on a winch because I was not sure I could get it back in without it!
But it was fun! We blasted along until the turn onto the Neuse River put the wind so close to our nose that we had to bring the jib in and just motor. Got into Oriental and took a slip at the Oriental Marina & Inn, and discovered that a Halloween costume party was being held up on the deck this evening!
We both love Oriental, and always contrive to spend one or two extra days there. This trip is no exception, and we arranged to stay two nights.
Our friend and fellow P-323 owner Michael Scott lives nearby, and came down to visit and offered to drive us anywhere we needed, We went out to dinner and then did a quick grocery run.
The next day, Sunday, We walked the town a bit, and were saddened by how many business were shut down by the devastation that hurricane Florence's flooding caused. Especially sad was the fact that The Bean, the center of coffee and Ice Cream in Oriental, was shut down. The building survived, but the inside was gutted. But they are rebuilding, just going to take time. I was told that they managed to save most of the equipment before the floods came.
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| The Bean is Closed |
Later in the afternoon, another friend who is nearby, David Osborne, came by to visit. We met David and Kim in Elizabeth City a year and a half ago, as they were just starting out on a Great Loop trip. Now they are loopers! Kim was away and unable to come by today.
Life is good.
(PS - I had problems uploading the pictures in this post and am almost out of power on my laptop, so I will have to fix them later. --Ed)
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