Weathering Beaufort

What was initially planned as a 2-day stop to wait out some gusty weather turned into a 5-night stop to let two gusty, cold, wet systems move through.  We took a $20/night mooring in Beaufort, SC and decided it was a cheap, safe place to stay put with the perks of showers, laundry, and a great town to explore.  On the one really nice day we walked around town visiting museums and the Reconstruction Era National Monument, and hitting a few shops.  It’s a lovely town!

On the rainy, raw days we completed school, watched movies, and still hit the town a bit—the kids are hearty!  We rented a car so that we could run some errands, hit the movies, and escape from a Blackbeard-themed escape room.  We took pleasure in playing board games at the local coffee shop (they serve beer and wine, too!) and Frank and I hit Hemingway’s for happy hour before a date night out.  I think we made the best of it!  Next stop, Jacksonville!

Beaufort to Beaufort

I really enjoyed our brief marina stay in Beaufort (“Bowfort”), NC! Beaufort Yacht Basin provided a safe, friendly, reasonably-priced, convenient spot for us.  Seriously, everyone was so friendly and they have a military discount. I was a fan of the showers and free laundry, but I think the whole family loved use of their golf cart!  We cruised town and got dinner Thursday with those cool wheels!  Then the adults headed to the Backstreet Pub, an old, perfectly awesome dive bar!  After school and chores Friday, we toured the Carolina Maritime Museum.  It’s great!  Great displays on the ecology, maritime economy, and of course, Blackbeard and Queen Anne’s Revenge!

We departed Saturday, just not in the morning as originally planned.  With gusts showing +10 over the forecast offshore, we opted to delay until the afternoon tide.  It was a rocky start, with 5’ swells on the port quarter.  The kiddos were in bed a lot that first day, but by Sunday we were motoring on much calmer seas. We were able to see the famous Frying Pan Shoal light, and Frank caught a bonito!

We planned to pull into Charleston Monday morning, but as we approached the channel and looked at our options (and considering we had just been to Charleston two weeks ago), we made the decision to stay offshore and shoot for Beaufort (“Bewfort”), SC.  We may have to loiter a bit after dark, but the plan it to approach as soon as it’s light and snag a mooring ball ahead of the next storm Tuesday afternoon.  Wish us luck!  For now, we are motoring across a mill pond with dolphins, jellyfish, and turtles!

First light, November 11th

Beaufort/Morehead City, NC stay

Where are we?  For the last two nights we have been anchored off of Sugarloaf Island by Morehead City.  We were going to make an outside run to Wrightsville Beach last night, but scrapped it as there were gusty conditions and sloppy seas and quite frankly, we aren’t in a huge rush!  We went ashore, grabbed lunch, and tooled around in the dinghy yesterday before making the call.  

With a strong front coming through tomorrow, we will head to our first paid marina of the trip for the next two nights.  We will explore Beaufort a bit, do some laundry, and grab a few groceries.  We see all the boats going by us to head down the ICW today, but we’re good with this.  Plan now is to head “outside” Saturday morning, perhaps all the way to Charleston!

Why Elizabeth City? Why not?!?!?!!!

As we topped off our tanks in Coinjock we were asked, “Where are you headed?”  “Elizabeth City,” I replied.  The dockhand responded, “Why would you want to go there?”  Well folks, let me tell you!

Truth be told, the Captain grew up just outside of EC, but that’s not the only reason to go this way!  Yes, I realize it is not right along the magical “magenta line” of the ICW, but the Harbor of Hospitality deserves a look.  EC offers boaters 48 hours of free dockage with multiple options in slips or along bulkheads.  Frills are minimal, but there is free WiFi and clean showers are only $5 per person for the length of your stay.  Any of the slips are walking distance to a vibrant downtown with shops and restaurants.  We tied up right at Mariner’s Wharf.  We prefer bow-in as it’s such a downtown location for added privacy and security, but note that the finger piers are really small so if you go bow-in, you will be getting on/off the boat from the bow.  Slip widths are clearly marked on the bulkhead wall (11-18’) and there is plenty of depth (20’ in our slip!).

We tied up on Halloween and swung by the Museum of the Albemarle to pay our shower fees.  I hate to admit that in all the years we have been visiting to see family, we never explored this gem!  After showers and school (and a fantastic $20 cut and style for me from Hannah at Rock Paper Scissors Salon on the wharf), we came back to the museum.  It’s very nicely done, free, and in about an hour or so you can get a good taste of the area’s history.  And one of Blackbeard’s cannons!  They were hosting tons of Halloween activities while we were there and I can see that it’s a great asset to the community.

After a little “older kid” debate, the crew decided to dress up and head out for the local Halloween festivities.  Friends had told us that trick-or-treating down Main Street was the big thing in town and since that was about a 2-minute walk away we went for it!  I have to say, this town knows how to do a fun, safe Halloween night!  Fire trucks and barricades closed off the street.  In the commercial district, businesses had set up “trunk-or-treat” for several blocks.  In the neighborhood, if folks were “open” they had to be out on their porch to greet you, and many houses were really decorated well!  Kids had a blast and came home with loads of candy!

Like I said before, lots of shops are accessible from the free slips.  Drugstore, laundromat, book store, fabric store, bakery, pizzeria, and even a Bojangles are within walking distance.  My favorite food stops from this trip are Muddy Waters (coffee shop), Island Breeze Grill (Caribbean delights and a great weekday lunch buffet), Flour Girls Bakery, Hoppin’ Johnz (new South cuisine), Cypress Creek Grill (modern American cuisine), and my absolute #1–Ghost Harbor Brewing Company.  The kids enjoyed all of these, but we all really love the places in Pailin’s Alley.  The brewery has great beer, games, and free popcorn—we love it!

So why not give Elizabeth City a look on your next time through?

The journey begins!

We have officially begun our journey south! Two days ago we brought in all the lines and left Herrington Harbour.  We were happy, sad, anxious, READY!

We managed to sail for a few hours in the Bay, but when the wind left we fired up the iron gennie.  With a hefty blow forecast for Thursday we had a choice to make—anchor each night and hang out in Norfolk or Coinjock for the weather, or do an overnight run to make it to Elizabeth City.  We chose EC!  Frank is from there and we had planned to stop and visit with friends anyway so it just made sense.  How did we do it?  We stood four-hour watches overnight and were at mile zero of the ICW at 0415 and through the Gilmerton Bridge by 0500.  Getting there was exciting as it was really tough to make out the unlit marks and I don’t like to navigate heads-down in the electronics.

Then our plan started to come apart a little.  After a few hails and a phone call, we got into the Great Bridge Lock.  As we left at 0605 and called the bridge tender, we were very firmly informed that they keep to their schedule!  We were denied a 0600 opening and had to wait until 0900.  With nowhere to tie up on the free wall, we were stuck station-keeping for three hours.  It sucked, but with no wind it really wasn’t that bad.  At 0830 a half dozen giant motor yachts came through the lock to join us for the bridge.  One got right alongside us and basically wedged in front of us so we called and asked WTF.  Oh, he was just cutting in front of us.  Look, I get it—powerboats go faster than we do in the ICW and eventually all six went around us—but just a quick radio call would have been nice.  And after waiting for three hours, maybe we were a little eager to get out of there!  

The rest of the day down the ICW was pretty uneventful.  We stopped at Coinjock to top off fuel, then worked our way down the North River, around Camden Point, and up the Pasquatank River.  The Coasties welcomed us with a fantastic air show, complete with a C-130 Hercules taking off right over us!  The kids kept an eye out for crab pots and we dropped the hook in Forbes Bay about 15 minutes after last light.  We decided to just anchor for the night and tie up in the free slips in the morning before the winds picked up.

All in all, a great start!  The kids kept up with their schoolwork, we got great air shows at Pax River, Oceana, and Elizabeth City, and we are safely tied up.  And I was reminded that it’s honestly ok to be at the end of the line if power boats are there, too! 😁