We spent an extra day at Cape Lookout due to weather. Initially, it looked like we were going to have to spend close to a week waiting for the winds to die down so we could make the 10 mile trek from Cape Lookout to the Beaufort inlet. This trip is out in the ocean and strong south winds we’re bringing in large waves.
There was a let up in the winds and at the last minute, we decided to make a run for it. It was still rough, but we only had to go 10 miles.
Since it was last minute, I forgot to check the currents in the inlet. Once we got there, it was pretty obvious from the waves, it was an ebb flow. We had strong wind vs. large current waves to battle and a strong current to fight. The only positive is we had the channel to ourselves. Everyone else had enough sense to wait for the tide to change before going through the inlet.
We eventually made it through the inlet and into the calm waters of the ICW. We were both feeling a little “squishy” from the ride in and had a mess to clean up below. No matter how well you stow stuff, big waves seems to clear the shelves.
We motored up the ICW and just north of Oriental NC, we pulled off the Neuse River into Bonner Bay to anchor for the night.
The boating “snow bird” migration from south to north has already happened, so we’ve been finding empty anchorages and empty marinas. Certainly different than our trip down the ICW last fall where everywhere was crowded.
Unlike our trip down, it’s warmer and the bugs are out in force. This area of North Carolina is swampy and swarming with midges and mosquitos at dusk and dawn. Our boat has screens over the hatches, but the bugs were still finding their way in. Sue resorted to stuffing rags in every crack, even using tape to try and seal the smaller cracks.
The next morning I was on bug cleanup duty. Once that was done, we got back on the ICW and made our way to River Forest Marina in Belhaven, arriving in early afternoon. This is the same place we stayed on the way down. They still have the golf carts and we took them out again to make a grocery run to the Food Lion.
We booked 2 nights at the marina so we could get laundry done and explore the town. We tried their 3 mile crab walk. The town painted crabs on the side walk that you’re supposed to follow. It leads you through town taking you to all the sites. It’s always nice to take a long walk after being on the boat for a few days, and Belhaven is a nice stop.
For those following us in real time on the map, I’ve fallen behind. I’ll get caught up as soon as I can.
Kurt & Sue Sail 