Tuesday November 5th.

We set off early again and Ron didn’t plan things very well.  9.5nm into the trip we had a bridge that opens every half hour.  3.5 nm beyond that was another bridge that opens every hour.  Waiting for the first bridge to open and passing through takes about 10 minutes, so there was no way we could get to the 2^nd bridge in ½ hour, which meant that we needed to be at the first bridge on the hour.  And, (did I mention that Ron didn’t plan things very well), we needed to do about 7 knots for an hour to make the 8am opening.  We initially had a little wind and tide assist, but the wind soon died so we steamed with the throttles wide open for an hour and just made the 8am opening.  Then we had a leisurely trip to the 2nd bridge and went through at 9am.  So all’s well that ends well, and we had a great start to the trip. 

For most of the rest of the day we had no winds at all and motored at about 5 knots.  Tides were occasionally with us and occasionally against us.  On one part if the ICW, we went past an opening to the ocean.  Approaching the opening we were doing 5.5 knots through the water and 4.5 knots over the ground, indicating that we had a foul tide of 1 knot.  Just as we passed the opening to the ocean, we were suddenly doing 6.5 knots over the ground (and 5.5 through the water.)  The tide was obviously rising, and water coming in from the sea was turning left and right up and down the ICW. 

The trip was uneventful until we were about 2 miles from our destination in Wilmington.  Then the heavens opened and we found ourselves in a thunderstorm.  The wind was suddenly howling and visibility was limited – not the time to try to find a new marina and dock.  We had just passed under a bridge, so we turned head to wind and hovered under the bridge waiting for the thunderstorm to pass.  

While we were hovering a bolt of lightning hit nearby, probably on the bridge, so it was lucky we were underneath. 

The storm passed and we docked at Sawmill Point Marina, 34° 43’.150N 076° 42’.809W, around 2:15pm.  Happy to be here with 25 knot Northerly winds in the forecast for tomorrow! 

Well that’s it for the Quinita blog.  After 10 years of adventures with Quinita, it’s time to look for a different source and put Quinita on the market. 

Ships Log: 7366.3nm, Trip: 38.6nm, Trip Total: 706.8

Monday November 4th, 2019

We set off at first light, which is now 6:15am.  We’ve broken the last legs into small chunks so that if the weather is bad we only need to do one leg, otherwise we’ll do two.  With tailwinds all day we managed three legs today and arrived at Harbour Village Marina, 34 23.161N 077 38.265W, at 3.50pm, which was handy ‘cause they close at 4pm!  And yes, they do spell harbour correctly down here.  A great day, which puts us in position to make Wilmington tomorrow. 

We had warmed pizza, (left over from Teresa’s birthday dinner) for lunch and Crispy Duck, (left over from Ron’s (non birthday) dinner), for dinner. 

A nice day!

Ships log: 7327.7, Trip: 54.9, Trip Total: 668.2

Sunday November 3rd, 2019

It was someone’s birthday today, so we got up late, had a relatively leisurely morning and set off for Morehead City around 10:30 9:30 after setting our clocks back.  And we had planned a short trip of 21nm to Morehead City, which sounded like the best option on this stretch of the ICW for a birthday celebration. 

We tied up on the city dock at around 2pm, 34 43.150N 076 42.809W, then untied, turned the boat around and tied up again so that the electricity cable would reach.  (We’re spending much more time on docks this trip than we usually do, mainly because the days are so short it would be difficult to keep our batteries charged on solar power).  Oh yeah, and a couple of times, we’ve run our electric heater lately! 

A funny thing happened at 5:30pm – it got dark.  Yeah we know the days are getting shorter for landlubbers too, but boy do you notice it when you live on a boat!

The Ruddy Duck Tavern provided an awesome dinner for both of us, and we went to bed full and happy.  

Ships Log: 7272.8, Trip: 21.7, Trip Total: 613.3

Saturday November 2nd, 2019

Northerly winds again but much lighter.  It was pretty cold starting out at first light (7 am), and the boat was covered in dew.  There was also about 2 feet of mist over the water which was rather pretty.  With light following winds, we motorsailed most of the day and made great time.  We reached the town of Oriental, 35° 01’.441N 076° 41’.991W, about 3pm, tied up and went for an exploratory walk around town.  Didn’t find any Chinese restaurants though. 

Seems to be a pretty laid back town.  The dockmaster was encouraging us to buy a cocktail at his Tiki bar and suggested that we ask for it to go in which case we could wander around town with it, at least until we got to the next bar…

Ships log: 7251.1nm, Trip: 42.9, Trip total: 591.6

Friday November 1st, 2019

Well the winds are now from the north, but blowing at up to 30 knots, so we decided to stay put for the day.  We putzed around in the morning, did a little route planning, then went for a bike ride into town (8 miles away) to do some grocery shopping. 

The winds are forecast to be from the north and north east for the next few days which is great for sailing.  But boy, are they cold.  Yesterday it was 80°F (27°C).  Today it was 50°F, (10°C).  Don’t get me wrong – no-one’s complaining about northerly winds for the next few days – we’ve got  warm jackets, and we intend to use them!

Thursday October 31st, 2019

The forecast was for headwinds getting stronger as the day progressed.  The first part of our travels would be heading down the wide open Alligator River, so we set off at first light to get the first part over with before the strong winds kicked in.  The plan worked reasonably well as we entered the Alligator River - Pungo River canal.  The winds, although still headwinds, were less in the canal and the water was flat, so we were able to motor at around 5 knots.  The canal has 2 dead straight sections, the first 7.5 nm long and the second 11 nm long – not the most interesting trip we’ve ever taken. 

When we exited the canal the fun started.  Winds were up to 25 knots on the nose, with large waves slowing the boat every so often to 3 knots.  Then the waves would calm a little and the boat would get going.  The more distance we made and the closer we got to the far shore, the flatter the seas became since the wind had less fetch to build up the waves.  Eventually we reached the turning point toward Belhaven, bore off and managed to unfurl a well reefed genoa.  Suddenly we were doing 6-7 knots.  What a difference the wind direction makes!

We had called a few marinas in Bellhaven, but those with laundry facilities were either full or hadn’t called back, so we docked at Dowry Creek Marina, 035° 31’.977N 076° 32’.160W, about 4nm before the town of Belhaven.  This turned out to be a great decision, very friendly people, very reasonable prices, free laundry, boaters lounge, free loaner car, etc. etc.

We borrowed the car and went into town for dinner.  Had an excellent meal at Spoon River.  There were several really scary looking kids in town!

All in all an excellent day, with great progress.

Ships log: 7208.2, Trip: 43.7, Trip Total: 548.7

Wednesday October 30th, 2019

We woke up early as usual and decided to set off since we had nothing better to do.  Started out motoring in light winds, then had a wonderful beam reach across Albermarle Sound.  It so much nicer sailing at 6-7 knots than motoring at 4.5-5 knots!  And, although there were a few crab pots to avoid, no weed.

The winds held until we reached the Alligator River Marina, 35° 54’.328N 076° 01’.711W.  We tied up at about 1pm, and looked at Google Maps to find out what was worth exploring.  Well there ain’t much. 

Teresa had planned to do laundry here, but the dockmaster pointed out that the water here had a lot of iron content, and might not be the best for laundry.  So we explored the marina – didn’t take long – had lunch and cleaned up, then did some planning for the next few days trips. 

And then before we knew it, it was 6pm and starting to get dark! 

Dinner was delicious – Pork Tenderloin, potatoes, broccoli and butternut squash.  Unusually, the squash was rather tasteless.  Oh well!

Ships Log: 7164.5, Trip: 26.5, Trip Total: 505.0