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!