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| Sunrise on the Pasquatank |
After we crossed the Albemarle Sound, we entered the Alligator River.....no Alligators spotted! We sailed down the river until we found an anchorage just north of our next canal, where we shared the anchorage area with 14 other boats!!
Spent a quiet night at anchor, and the following morning headed in to the Alligator River-Pungo River Canal. This canal, although wider than the Dismal Swamp Canal, is much more 'dismal'....lots of Cypress trees and marsh grass!
Once out of the canal, we continued down the Pungo River, past the town of Belhaven and on to Slade Creek, where we found another quiet anchorage for the night.....this time only two other boats!!! We arrived nice and early; about 2:30 in the afternoon, so I made some banana muffins and got some knitting done in the cockpit while enjoying the late afternoon sun! That night the wind picked up, so we were up for about an hour, laying out more anchor and tying aside halyards and jacklines that were whistling or flapping in the wind, so the early evening quiet of the anchorage was really appreciated!
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| Sunset on Slade Creek |
The following morning it was still blowing, and by the time we were back in to the Pungo River, it was probably blowing 15-20 knots, but behind us, so with a reef in the main we were doing well! The wind blew us across the Pimlico River and then in to the relatively protected waters of Goose Creek and the canal leading to the Bay River.
Once in the Bay River, the water opened up again and we were able to sail down the Bay River and in to the Neuse River, which eventually lead us to the town of Oriental. Gale force winds and small craft warnings were out for the next couple of days, so we planned to stay put at the Oriental Marina for a couple of days.
Oriental is a town that is famous for the fact that the number of sailboats outnumber the people 3:1!! It is a very quiet little town with only a couple of small shops and a small grocery store and an amazing marine consignment store!! Spent a fun afternoon wandering through the most organized consignment store I have ever been in! There was also a great marine store close to the marina which everything you could need plus it loaned out free bicycles! So once again, we were able to borrow a bike and trailer so George could check our propane tank and refill if necessary and I took advantage of the time and wandered through the neighbourhood, enjoying the waterfront and homes in the area! We also stopped in to the local coffee shop, called The Bean, and enjoyed a coffee and bagel and chatted with one of the locals, Rolf Anselm, a retired tug skipper who winters here and does lovely pencil and charcoal sketches of the harbourfront, so we chased down his work at one of the stores and bought a couple for souvenirs.
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| At rest in Oriental Marina |
Our last night we decided to treat ourselves to the local restaurant, called M & M's (no relation to the frozen food variety!!) and tried some 'local' fare. George had fried oysters (fresh that day!) and I had the Cajun grill.....tuna steak, shrimp, Andouille sausage, black beans, rice and coleslaw, and for dessert....key lime pie!! Our waiter also brought us a special 'order'....we had wondered what a 'hush puppy' was and he couldn't believe we had never heard of them, so he brought one to the table for us to try! It is essentially fried cornmeal balls, so a little sweet. He served them with butter, but it is optional! Anyway, they were quite good, but we continue to amaze people here that we had never had them before!! Next southern food we need to try is okra, but I have to admit, I am not too anxious for it! The other thing we are seeing on the menus now is Shrimp and Grits. Shrimp, good, grits, hmmm. Will keep you posted on how we do!!
In Oriental, we are about five hours away from Beaufort (pronounced 'Bo'fort) and Morehead City, North Carolina. This is one of the harbours where we can safely enter the ocean if we want and get off the ICW for a while. We have checked our weather, and it looks like light winds, coming from the north for the next four days, so have decided we will sail our next leg to Charleston, South Carolina, which is the next safe harbour we can get on or off the ocean. This is a distance of about 220 offshore miles and will take us about 56 hours.
So, Thursday, November 14, at 0645 we left Oriental and not a moment too soon.....FROST ON THE SAILS!!!!! Eee gads! We need to get moving! After crossing the Neuse River, we entered the lovely Adams Creek which took us all the way to Beaufort and Morehead City. As we neared Morehead City we saw four deer trying to swim across the river, and then we started to see dolphins again.
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| Adam's Creek |
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| Deer Crossing! |
We entered the North Atlantic about noon under sunny skies and 10 knot winds from the north...perfect!! We had a wonderful sail under sunny skies all day, with lots of dolphins joining us along the way! By evening, the wind had died down and we had to start the engine, and by nightfall, the water was milky calm, under a starry, starry sky and full moon!!! Finally, a relaxing night sail!!! We had snacks in the cockpit before dinner and I made a potatoe peanut soup for supper, while 'Auto' manned the tiller!
The next morning, we rounded the Frying Pan Shoals, extending some 20 miles off Cape Fear. Continuing in a direct line toward Charleston, you end up about 40 miles out at the widest point due to the coastline curving in. The sea was getting pretty sloppy.....waves coming from a couple of different directions, and swell, plus the wind was starting to pick up again. While we were eating breakfast, we passed a sea turtle, flopping about in the waves!!! Initially we were concerned it was injured, but as we circled around to check it, he decided we were getting too close for comfort, poked his head up to have a good look at us, and dived under the water! Unfortunately, the seas were too rough for a photo. In fact the seas continued to pick up, as did the wind, so by mid-day we had two reefs in the main. Once again, we have been let down by the weather man!!! So much for the four day light wind forecast! Oh well...Wyvern handles the waves very well, actually, its the crew who get thrown around mercilessly!! At it's worst, we had 20-25 knots of wind with 10 foot swells and waves. After about two hours, the sea started to die down as did the wind, however we could see storm clouds on the horizon and our weather system was showing rain moving up the coast. You've heard of storm-chasers? Well, we became storm-dodgers!!! We were trying to head inland as the night approached, but we had to 'run the gaunlet' of storm systems. So with the help of the weather GPS which can show real-time rain via radar/satellite, we found a small gap between systems and snuck through with only a few sprinkles reaching the intrepid crew!!!
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| Sunrise on the North Atlantic |
Finally, just after sun-up, the seas died down to a gentle swell with only about 10 knots of wind and Charleston, South Carolina was on the horizon!!! Coming in to the Charleston Harbour, we admired the Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge, North America's longest cable-stayed bridge, spanning the Cooper River ahead of us, and to our left, Fort Sumter. When South Carolina seceded from the Union, Union troops still held the fort. When they refused to leave, on April 12, 1861 the South Carolina Confederate troops fired on the fort, resulting in the surrender of the Union troops. This marked the beginning of the Civil War. The South held the fort for the duration of the Civil War until it was finally evacuated in 1865.
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| Fort Sumter |
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| Arthur J Ravenel Bridge |
We carried on past the peninsula where the old city of Charleston sits and made for John's Island where we docked at the John's Island Yacht Harbour. This was a wonderful marina, with really nice washrooms and a great laundry room!! The dockmaster and his assistant were great young men!! Very helpful and friendly. We decided to take a cab in to Charleston so we could see the sights at our leisure. There was a courtesy car available, but only for two hour windows, so not long enough to linger in the city!! Once downtown, we caught one of the numerous free trolleys that follow four different routes throughout the downtown and got off at South Battery. This is a residential neighbourhood that holds the original houses that made up the colonial city of Charleston. Wandering through the streets and admiring the signature antebellum mansions with their piazzas, pocket gardens, gas lanterns, and hitching posts, we were reminded of downtown Kingston, only on steroids, maybe!!! It really was lovely wandering under the amazing live oaks that line the streets and fill the gardens! They are called live oaks because they stay green longer than all the other deciduous trees in the area, so look 'live' longer! The streets themselves were also interesting. There were still cobblestone roads, made from the ubiquitous ballast from the ships coming and going out of the port of Charleston, and slate sidewalks! We wandered through South Battery and in to the French Quarter, admiring a lovely seaside park, and then made our way through the numerous art stores to a lovely little restaurant where we ate under the canopy during a soft rain and enjoyed a local specialty...She Crab soup! Delicious!!!
After lunch we made our way to the Market District. Here we strolled through one of America's oldest public markets and tasted dried okra! Not bad!! Although I have to admit, its probably like eating potatoe chips and saying you've eaten potatoes......Finally, we made our way back to South Battery where we had met a woman and her daughter who were making the local craft for which the area is famous...woven sweetgrass baskets. This skill was something the slaves brought with them from Africa and now, 300 years later, the skill is proudly passed on through the generations, starting in childhood. The slaves were stolen from the Sierra Leone and Angola regions of West Africa, and their descendants still have the nickname 'Gullas'. The Gullas now make the baskets from the sweetgrass, marsh reeds, and palmetto fronds that are abundant here in the low country of South Carolina. The basket we bought was actually made by the woman's 14 year old son. These baskets have actually been designated South Carolina's official state handcraft! Anyway, they are lovely and I am so glad we were able to buy one!
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| 'froggy went a-courtin'! |
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| Daughters of Confederacy Open Air Market |
The following day we borrowed the car from the marina and went in to town to do some re-provisioning and look at the famous Angel Oak! This is an absolutely AMAZING live oak tree that is 400 years old!! Wandering under it's branches that stretch over the ground for around 50 feet!, one felt a wonderful peace and awe for such a magnificent tree!! The trunk was 25 feet in diameter and the tree itself was about 65 feet high. We felt so fortunate that we had docked close enough to such a natural wonder that we had been able to enjoy it!
Finally, on our last day, we borrowed the car again and made our way over the bridge to next door James Island, where we spent an enjoyable morning drinking lattes at a great coffee shop, 'How Art Thou?'. We were sorry that we would not still be here for the live jazz sessions that they hold weekly on Thursday nights, but it was a great spot to work on my blog and write some letters to family!!!
Tomorrow, we move on through Low Country SC, where we will see lots of marsh country as we wind our way along the myriad little rivers that lead to Beaufort (this one pronounced 'Bewfort') SC, where we hope to enjoy a day or two there exploring!
Cool Tree! Maybe Nan's will get like that eventually?!
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