April 22-23, 2021 River Forest Marina, Belhaven

 Thursday, April 22, 2021. Day 137.

It was very cold and windy last night, and the anchor chain banged against the boat, sounding like fireworks to me; it was loud and, needless to say, interrupted my sleep.

As predicted, the morning was cold (39°), and Roland turned on the heat; I did yoga and we had coffee. We were anchored minutes from River Forest Marina in Belhaven, North Carolina, where we were to spend the next 2 days, so there was no rush in the morning.

Our plan was to dine in the evenings, at the two restaurants we had visited going south; one we ate outside, the other, we had takeout. Oysters outside and take out from Spoon River, known as the best restaurant on the AICW. We planned (all of us vaccinated), to dine in (they do not have out side space), as soon as they opened, when no one else was there. The tables were really far apart, and we reserved one tucked into a bay window slightly separated from the rest of the room. We were really looking forward to both those opportunities.

Although it was cold, the sun was strong and bright and we hoped it would warm up a bit during the day. Unfortunately, the boat was covered with teeny bugs; really unpleasant.

Roland made blueberry pancakes for all, our first breakfast altogether. They were great, a little uneven, as usual due to the electric stove top (sometimes I think Roland is serving uneven pancakes as a lobbying effort – he wants the a gas stove in lieu of the electric stove top). My sister said, if he is doing the cooking, he should have a replacement stove. Thank you, Gail; more nautical units! Unfortunately, she had a point.

We arrived at River Forest Marina at 12pm, and Henry, the dockmaster, was there waiting for us. It was really windy and we needed his strength and experience to help us tie up to minimize the movement of MM on the dock.

As usual, as soon as we docked: the laundry. Gail and I used the marina's free machines; they were large and made the task much simpler. And we were the only ones using the machines.

Henry arranged a tour of the turn of the century (the 19^th to 20^th), estate house that had fallen into ruin, and then, some years ago, restored by a group of local residents, several of them, skilled craftsmen. It was stunning in every way: the woodwork, the floors, the leaded glass windows, the plaster decorated ceilings; all of it was magnificent. The mansion is available for weddings, family reunions and other celebrations; along with the common areas, the 5-7 bedrooms are spacious, welcoming and worth the trip. Because of the pandemic, there had been no events since December 2020, but a wedding was scheduled for the first week in May, and everybody was sprucing it up and very excited. By the way the estate and the marina are for sale. There is a great area for a restaurant, bar and commercial kitchen, and the marina for fishing charters...... a good retirement project for the right folks!

We walked around Belhaven, and after finishing the laundry, got ready for our 5:30pm dinner. One of the fun parts about River Forest Marina is the golf carts we can use for transportation. Captain Roland loves driving the golf court around town and to the supermarket.

We had dinner at Spoon River in a private room with just the four of us (the owner, apologizing, had inadvertently seated the wrong four folks at our reserved table, but the private room was just fine). It was my first planned indoor dining experience and although it was fun, the owner was challenged. She couldn’t get the help she needed to properly operate her restaurant, and it showed in the quality of the food. The service was still excellent, although the bartender was extremely slow. Not being able to properly staff the restaurant was consistent with what we experienced in Beaufort, South Carolina and, the complaint we heard the following evening at the outside oyster bar. Workers, during the pandemic, are leaving small towns or making more on unemployment. Business was beginning to pick up; hopefully the workers will return.

 

Gail and Michael took the golf cart back, and Roland and I walked back to the boat. When we arrived, the boat was covered with the little black insects that Henry called “blind mosquitoes” because they don’t bite. The air was thick with them; it was overwhelming!

After dinner, the crew and the captain watched old Star Trek shows on television and I worked on my blog, happy to skip vintage TV.

Friday, April 23, 2021. Day 138.

It was cold again this morning but I enjoyed my 3 mile run around Belhaven. Roland and I had poached eggs for breakfast. Roland and Mike prepared to change the engine oil after trying to rid the boat of the insects. Henry lent Roland a big blower to blow them off first, before washing them off. I don’t think anything worked very well.

Changing the engine oil did not work out. One of the major reasons for staying in Belhaven for 2 days (other than the food), was to change the engine oil: it was time (the oil has to be changed every so many engine hours). Roland couldn't get the built-in pump to remove and replace the oil, to work. Not only was this a disappointment and a waste of time, but we were now talking additional nautical units ($$). The Captain now had to figure out how to fix or replace the pump, order the pump or parts, online, and find a place to install it and change the oil, which is something that really can’t wait too much longer, based on engine hours. It is highly likely that it would have to wait until we are back in Philadelphia.....and Mike won't be there to help....a loss!

We put our disappointment aside, and took a golf cart to Food Lion, which is a bit further than the center of Belhaven, going on the back roads. It was kind of crazy, but fun, and I was amazed that we were able to get all the groceries and the four of us on the golf cart.

I reached out to the Kadey Krogen Norfolk Harbor Host. Unfortunately they would not be around for the weekend when we arrived but they sent a detailed email with tons of suggestions and information. So cool.

At 5:30m, we took the golf cart the Tavern at Jack’s Neck, for oysters, shrimp, wings and ribs, topped off by apple pie with ice cream. The owner and her staff were terrific, we sampled a lot of her Bourbons and rum and had a great time. She was only serving outside; she had to defer the inside renovations until business picked up.

We were to leave Belhaven tomorrow, and Henry assured us he would be there early in the morning to help us off the dock.

April 20-21, 2021 Camp Lejeune, to Homer Smith's ( Beaufort, NC), to Belhaven NC.

 Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Day 135. My mothers birthday.

Everyone was up early, but the anchor was very muddy, so the 15 minutes it took to clean the anchor, caused a delay getting to the Onslow Beach Bridge (the USMC bridge). There was a barge with a crane that let us pass under first, and the tender opened the bridge even though it was between opening times, otherwise we would have had to wait 20 minutes for the 8am opening. The marine corp felt comfortable accommodating us under the circumstances (and thank you to the barge captain). It was our only request bridge of the day.

The water was a flat calm, an 180° opposite from yesterday afternoon with wind and the white caps (a/k/a “wavelets” lol, the Captain refers to them as wavelets.....they are whitecaps to me!).

I did a quick work out. Mornings were getting chilly as we cruised north, but the sun was warm. There were dolphins on the bow, and at 9:10 am, we passed Little Wing, from Annapolis,. A very hearty couple, in a very little, steel-hulled, 1970's, 30 foot sailboat. I so admired the young woman captain. We just love seeing them along the way, and always wish them the best. They far surpass our adventure bar!

We arrived at Homer Smith’s in Beaufort, North Carolina, at approximately 1pm. At first we anchored at the fuel dock, the wind, pushing us off the dock. Roland was docking from the flybridge and Matt, the marina the owner, had to pull us in with the spring line. With Matt's help and the bow thruster, we made it and tied up.

We asked Matt about the GFI issue (he is building several new docks and very clear about the issue). He explained the new regulations and the timing. We must jump on this issue asap, so Captain Roland agreed to call the expert from Vero Beach soon.

The forecast for tomorrow was for very heavy winds, so the question was: to leave tomorrow, or not to leave....I do not do well in heavy, choppy, seas! The decision went back and forth, but regardless, Matt asked us to move to a slip, which the Captain did beautifully, not withstanding the conditions, and we tied up.

We had lots of laundry to do and the marina washers and dryers were available, so I did laundry at the marina as well as on the boat, while Michael and Roland borrowed the marina courtesy car, and went to West Marine to pick up our replacement grille (thank you very much Gail and Michael for the treat). While I continued the laundry, Gail went with Michael and Roland, to do the food shopping.

Between running up and back to the marina laundry, I had a chance to speak to Nancy and Randy from “Bella Vita”, a couple from Denver who had bought their boat in Atlantic City (Farley Marina). It was their first boat (Randy was a former pilot and was loving the boating life). We exchanged boat cards and I went back to the marina to move the wash to the dry and take the dry back to the boat. When I got to the marina office, I found that everything had been locked up and Matt had gone home. We had been in such a rush to get our chores done that I had failed to get the code; I was locked out the laundry was locked in. I waited for someone to come by who knew the code; I called the food shoppers to find out if they knew the code; no luck. In desperation, I called Randy (I had his boat card and he had the code!). It felt very weird to call him 2 minutes after meeting him for the first time. He was very gracious.

There was a Kadey Ladies zoom at 7pm which I attended and asked about GFI and learned that almost all the other boats had already taken care of this problem. Again, I stressed about this issue and wondered why our surveyor hadn't addressed this issue, knowing the requirements. I was unhappy about the surveyor again!

At 8pm I had a TCPW zoom with three national White House correspondents which was really terrific.

The decision was made to leave early tomorrow to minimize the choppy seas. I hoped for the best.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Day 136.

We had planned to leave at 8am and I was ready at 7:50am, however, Roland and Mike had de-docked at 7:15 am. I was told Captain Roland did a beautiful job. I took a pill and put on the wrist bands; it was windy and rough. At 11:30am to 12:30pm we were in the Neuse River, and it was choppy. When we entered the canal connecting the two larger bodies of water, what a relief, it was calm. Short lived. Warning to me: The sound after the canal could get choppy again, and it did, but I managed (no computer, nor zooms, nor notetaking, nor reading....just watch the horizon and breathe deeply)....all was OK. I actually was able to use the time to handle some telephone calls for Wil and TIAW.

The original plan was to go to River Forest Marina in Belhaven, NC, but the winds being so heavy and in a very inauspicious direction, caused us to make a change. Captain Roland called Henry who was very understanding and agreed that we should spend the night “on the hook”, in a nearby protected area. So at 3:50pm, we anchored in Pungo Creek (bonus: we get to try our new grille for a steak redo), everybody was happy!

After we anchored, Captain Roland and Mike gave me some instructions as to lining up points on the shore to check the boat's position, from time to time, to make sure we were not drifting, while at anchor.

The steaks grilled on our new “secure on the staple” grille, were delicious, with wonderful sweet potatoes and string beans, and a nice red wine. We zoomed with Howard and Debbie (Gail's and my brother and sister-in-law in California ). And the captain who was tired after several early and long days, was looking forward to sleeping late tomorrow before we cruise over to the marina.

Charleston April 14-15, 2021

 Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Day 129.

We had a relaxing morning on the hook. Roland made blueberry pancakes (one giant one for each of us to avoid the challenges of the griddle on the uneven electric stove top).

We left the anchorage at 10:10 am (FILO), everyone else was gone: the two sailboats, before first light. The water was sparkling, and it was sunny and cool, and we were off to Charleston to get ready to take on our additional crew.

My sister, Gail, had generously, left her car for us in the Ashley Marina parking lot. There were lots of errands for us to do before Friday morning. We were going to Ashley Marina this time rather than the Charleston City Marina, where we had docked on our way south.

We passed lovely homes with remarkably long docks, some of them without railings on either side, and many with extensive water frontage.

We were steering from the flybridge, at first, but it got rather windy, so about 11:20am, the captain moved to the pilot house. It was 77° and really nice, the landscape was lush, and we passed several beautiful areas as we approached Charleston from the south. We cruised under the Folly Road Bridge (31 feet) without a problem. At Ashley Marina, we tied up, connected the water and electricity, arrange the fenders in the lines and we were in place at about 1pm. It was next to the bridge (noisy all night but some wind protection), bow in. There was a scrape on the side (rubber black marks) but hopefully, it will wash off and buff out. The slip was narrow; scrapes happen; that’s the nature of the beast. We were in D 29.

I immediately started the laundry, did the dishes, and commenced cleaning. There was lots to do. Roland had to clean both the outside and the inside of the boat, and I had to continue to empty the den.



Except for the heavy wind, it was warm and sunny and pleasant. We had the car, so we went to Rodney Scott's Barbecue, on King Street for a very early dinner. We had seen Rodney Scott on a barbecue TV cooking show and we were very excited to be there in person. It was very casual, we ate outside and the food was delicious; we even had leftovers. On my way back to the boat, I mailed my four tax forms and payments.

Thursday, April 15, 2021. Day 130.

I ran along the waterfront from Ashley Marina, past the Charleston City Marina, and up into the historic part of Charleston. It was cool and pleasant, a bit overcast so I didn’t have to worry about the sun. We discussed, by phone with Gail, arrangements about provisioning the boat. Roland cleaned all day (between errands), and I did the laundry and the dishes, itching all over from the bugs we had encountered at the last two anchorages. I was enjoying the thought that the bugs were behind us.

We usually checkout boats and their names wherever we are. Favorite boat names for today were:

“Fox Sea Lady” and “Southern Comfort”.

We had lots of errands to do with my sister's car: West Marine, Harris Teeter, Publix, etc., etc., and etc.

I made turkey burgers for our Friday welcome the new crew dinner at anchor (we love to grille at anchor), and then I showered and got ready for dinner out, before my Wil zoom program. Roland forgot to buy the buns for the turkey burgers, so on the way to dinner we had to stop again at the supermarket.

We arrived at Savi Cucina and Wine Bar, a of couple minutes later than planned, and it was a super kick to see family members sitting around the table outside: Gail, Mike, Laura and Jeff (my sister, brother-in-law, niece and her boyfriend). After the last 4 1/2 months of traveling, it was such a lift to see some of my family members together at dinner waiting for us; it was truly a party and a celebration. And the food and drink were fun too........ specially the desserts!

When we got back to the boat, we had still had a lot to do and finally got to bed at 1am. I set the alarm for an early wake up call, so we would be ready to welcome the additional crew scheduled to arrive between 9:30 and 10 am.

 

APRIL 6-7, 2021

 Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Day 121.

I was up early and ( first one up), turned off the anchor light. We had coffee and Roland experimented with a new recipe for German apple pancakes. Really good, really sweet.

The wind was only three knots, so dinghy down. It was only our second lowering of the dinghy with the new 59 pound motor. We actually do better each time, but we are still looking for ways to improve the system.

We motored over to a couple of different beaches on unoccupied islands that grow and shrink with the tide.

 Lots of jellyfish on the beach waiting for the return of the tide to wash them back into the water. Captain Roland pointed out that there were no birds or insects on the jellyfish “bodies“; very curious.

 Also, strange sand holes and mounds; possibly, sand worms?? Very weird.

Our solitude on the beach was very brief. Pontoon boats started arriving to enjoy the day. We walked about 2.2 miles exploring two different beach islands.

Our new motor had successfully trained Captain Roland so that he is caring for it the way it prefers, and it supports him by starting pretty quickly. It was a pleasure that the motor started on the first pull. The Captain was very happy with the new gas motor.

We dinghied back to Magic Moments for a lunch of grilled turkey burgers, and, in the afternoon, we went on another quick dinghy ride; it was high tide so there were new places that were accessible by water. And, mercifully, the beaches were deserted, so we knew we would have a quiet evening on the hook.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Day 122.

I awakened at 7am; worked out, had coffee and a shower and at 10am, we brought the anchor up and left our beautiful anchorage near New Smyrna, to cruise to Palm Coast Marina to see Roland’s sailing friends, Peter and Nancy.

As we were cruising, I spent the day doing paperwork, paying bills, doing taxes and yes, another credit card fraudulent Amazon Prime charge that had to be reported. What a pain to have to cancel yet another credit card. This time, I wouldn't be able to get a replacement until after we were back in Philadelphia.

It was a pretty day and a pretty ride to Palm Coast, although I missed out on a lot of the scenery dealing with the obligations of real life. Even worse, I knew that tomorrow would be another tax and bill day; and I hated missing all the sunshine.

As we passed Flagler Beach, the boat was inundated with hundreds of white butterflies; so cool. The ICW is very pretty in this area.

We arrived at 4pm to dock “on an angle”; I couldn’t believe the visual of the dock when we arrived Captain Roland had not mention to me that we would be docking on “an angle”, he didn’t know what that meant, and didn't ask, the dockmaster. When we arrived at the dock, I thought it was an optical illusion but in fact we docked parallel to a section of the dock that was in fact on an angle. It was very weird but the Captain did a great job. We did learn, at this docking that we were not charging our headsets sufficiently. We have modified our procedure and we keep them charged at all times. One never know when one may need the headsets!

As usual, as soon as we dock, I started the laundry, did the dishes, and straightened up the boat a bit because we were expecting Peter and Nancy to tour Magic Moments and have happy hour on the back deck (socially distanced).

After several servings of chips and rum, we went out to seek a restaurant. It was quite surprising that they were all packed and had an hour to an hour and a half wait. Finally we went to Flagler Beach and in an upstairs, outside, bar ,with very loud music, we had typical bar fare, burgers and sandwiches. Peter ordered a Philly cheesesteak (he says he really likes them).

Peter and Nancy told us that Flagler Beach is sort of the hippie hang out, specially attracting surfers. There are no high-rise buildings on the beach but a road runs between the beach and the houses and businesses.

We missed out on the the only possible “gourmet“ restaurant; the fish place we had heard so much about, closed at 7pm.....too late for our happy hour on the boat. Our loss!

Peter and Nancy (who were soon to be married in England --- Peter is English and all of his family is still there). They had met a number of years ago on the free dating website Plenty of Fish (how funny). Nancy had been a solo sailor for 5 to 7 years before she met Peter. Peter had been a sailor for 50 years and thought he had given up sailing; but he was mistaken. He and Nancy had been living and sailing on her 30 foot sailboat for about 6 years together. I had to admire them; they lived together on a small sailboat and they are not petite folks. I was not sure how they did it. They are both characters, fun to be with, and we had a wonderful evening.

Thursday, April 8, 2021. Day 123.

I was awake before 7am, and ran from 8 to 9, stretched, and showered (we were still in the marina so shower while we can!). Everybody at the marina was quite nice and there was a wonderful shaded path along the water where I enjoyed my run. We left Palm Coast at 10am; it was quite easy getting off the dock on an angle.

We had planned to spend a couple of days in St. Augustine, and then go offshore to Beaufort South Carolina. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating (surprise!). New plan: from Palm Coast to St. Augustine and offshore, without stopping, to Beaufort. I was very sad to miss my friends Evin and Paula who had planned to meet us in St. Augustine for dinner on Friday evening; but weather controls our life on the water. Evin and Paula went to St Augustine for dinner anyway! Love them.

At the 1pm opening, we passed under the bridge in St. Augustine.

 With Captain Roland at the helm, we entered the ocean at 1:10pm. He put on the auto pilot and, except for a passing freighter, and with Jacksonville on the horizon, the water, a beautiful aqua, was our only view.