Run Aweigh Home

Today we make Oriental N.C.

Oriental Marina and Inn – decent facilities and a great restaurant. Shopping and drinking establishment are located within walking distance.

Ever since we bought this boat in April, I really wanted a chance to show my father. I owe my love for boating to my father. I remember always being around boats when I was growing up. Dad always had a sailboat. As the years pasted, the boats got bigger and bigger. Every weekend (at least it seemed) we were on the boat. Sailing, racing, painting, varnishing, polishing…. the experience was different each week.

Even when we weren’t on the boat we were involved in something nautical…..like “looking” at boats. I really like that. Dad and I walked the docks at marinas and he would tell me about the different features and histories about the sailboats we would see.

My brother Marvin worked with me (no he worked… I couldn’t keep up with him) on repairing, upgrading a lot on our “new” boat for the last 5 months. It was the first time I have really spent time with him in years. We decided I had to show Dad the boat on our way south. That’s why we had to stop at Oriental.

and our buddy Melvin showed up 30 minutes after we landed……

Forecast for the day was for increasing winds from the SSW which would be uncomfortable for a trip to Oriental, N.C. Heavy fog settled in after sunrise which would delay our departure. We decided to sit it out. Another day driving a golf cart!!! We found all the bars in Belhaven and several great places to eat. If you ever visit, check out the Tavern.

Today was beautiful. We decide to push the envelope to run 70 plus miles to Belhaven, N.C. It is quiet and calm  at 7:00 am and push hard to get to and through Albermarle Sound. The wind picks up as we reach the Sound. By the end of the 13 mile crossing the winds have increased to 20-25 knots from the NE. The last miles miles are bumpy but we clear into the Aligator River. Overall an unevental day as we make Forest River Marina by sunset.

As we pull up to our dock, we see Melvin who had beat us by about 30 minutes……. time for a short reunion and a beer to swap the days stories.

Great destination. Marina is clean and friendly. Had loaner golf carts so we could visit the town and make a provisioning stop at Food Lion. 

We almost had the marina to ourselves…..

nice sunset…….

We highly recommend a visit to Belhaven and particularly the River Forrest Marina!!!

Ok, an extra day at Coinjock. Winds blowing hard out of the west. The Albermarle Sound crossing will be extremely uncomfortable. We will wait it out. Tomorrow looks much kinder so today we hung new blinds in the salon, clean up the boat exterior, replace a lock cylinder in the salon door….. Always something to do.

• An aside….. cruising is enhanced greatly by the interesting people you meet as you travel. In Coinjock we met a fellow , Melvin, who was traveling with his dog. He found a boat in Maryland at a bargain basement price and decided to buy it, take it to his yard in Ft. Laudedale, fix it up and flip it for profit. The boat is a mid 70’s vintage Marine Trader. The problem is that he is falling in love with the boat and may want to keep this one. We shared weather forecasts and tried to anticipate weather conditions for the next several days. We will be traveling in the same direction for the next several weeks. Turns out he and his partner run a marine shop in Ft. Laudedale that specializes in pneumatic steering systems which I need to have addressed on our boat before we leave the U.S. Good find.

After three days of travel we are in Coinjock. We are attempting to reach Belhaven NC tomorrow….. But it’s really a stretch. It didn’t register that this time of year daylight hours are limited. In the past Susan and I have traveled during daylight savings time and could expect at most 12 to 14 hours of travel…..at best now we can do ten hours. It makes a big difference in distance.

We spent the first two day traveling south on the Chesapeake Bay. The weather was unbelievable. Mild winds and warm temps made for a wonderful trip south to Norfolk. We stopped in Deltaville the first night and had guests Debbie Price, and Bill and Susan Stein Humphreys spent the night with us. After a great meal on board we drank ourselves to sleep….. The second night we made Great Bridge and Susan’s son Jeffrey King and Brice Skinner visited and we grilled steaks. We found cheap diesel @ 1.93.9 per gallon and topped off the tanks.
Today we started our run “down the ditch”. Started quiet but by late morning winds were howling out of the south. Made a short day of it and stopped here in Coinjock.
Our adventure has started. After talking about this for years, Susan and I are fulfilling our dream.
I’m trying to start a blog but I’m not there yet.
Thanks to all our friends who have helped us, supported us and pushed us. We want you all to come down and visit and experience the love we have for the islands. Just don’t all of you come at the same time….lol

This is the day we have waited for. After countless hours and twice the money I spent buying my first house we are leaving on the adventure of a life time. We sea-trialed the rebuilt engine a couple days ago and had the last three air-conditioning unit installed and now anything else we need to do is going to have to wait until we get to a warmer climate.

Up at 6:00 to get thing ready to shove off with the idea of making Norfolk tonight. Friends show up to send us off and wish us well and some libations are passed around. Cast off lines shortly after 8:00 and remember we need to empty the holding tank so a “quick” stop at the pump out station at the end of the next dock. The tank is full and takes forever to empty.

Someone points out how low the tide is this morning and a small knot turns in my stomach. The entry channel has an area that has silted in and at very low tide may be too shallow for us to cross. The tide has just started to rise…… I decide I’ll make a fuel stop before we head out to kill a little time. Just before 10:00 we wave our last good-byes and head out the channel holding our collective breaths to make it out.

Weather is great, seas are flat and we are making good speed 8.5 to 9.0 knots. I spend the first three hours staring at the engine temperature gauges. I am nervous and can’t relax. This is the first time we will really test all the work we’ve done to the boat and in the back of my mind I am waiting for something to go wrong……then I run over a fishnet. Oops

We quickly realize that making Norfolk is out of the question. The distance I assumed was half as much as the reality. It at least a 100 miles. Too far for a late start and a cruising speed of 8 knots….