Oriental, NC to Swansboro, NC

Elvis Ann, John and I departed our dock in Oriental, NC as planned on Monday, October 20. Although we were not ready to set sail until the afternoon, we left anyway and anchored for the night not far from home in Cedar Creek. For some reason it was important to us to leave on the day we planned to leave.

From here on out, the plans can change. In fact, those of you who knew our “Plan A” could tell by the title of this blog entry that we are on to “Plan B”. Originally, we were going to Beaufort on day one, Cape Lookout early on day two, and then on the outside to Wrightsville Beach on day three.

We decided to take the “business route” through Beaufort on the way out the Beaufort Inlet – our first time. However, our entry into the Beaufort channel was delayed by a 15-minute “discussion” about which side of the Chariot should pass by the channel dividing marker. John wanted to pass to the right in the direction of the Morehead City channel. I was armed with the chart and simple knowledge of what a red and green marker means. I was determined to prevent John from running the boat aground (again – but not on this trip yet!). John insisted “right!”. I argued “left!”. The boat drifted until John caved in and we uneventfully passed the marker down the starboard (correct) side of the Chariot. John has not admitted he was wrong, however, he now refers to me as the “Queen of Nav”.

Having passed through the Beaufort waterfront, we went through the Beaufort Inlet toward Cape Lookout early on Tuesday afternoon. Most people go in the morning before the sea gets rough. About half way to Cape Lookout we decided to go back to Beaufort for the night. Sometimes you’ve got to know when to say when. The seas were quite rough with about six foot waves. Elvis, John and the Chariot held up well. The television and I were another story. The thought of sailing 12 hours the next day in seas predicted to be even rougher did not appeal to me. Waves breaking across the bow and washing up on the dodger are not what I’m looking for in our first week out. We have the rest of the six months for that kind of fun! I began to understand how Gilligan felt when his “tiny ship was tossed”.

While the ocean was having its way with us, we passed a pod of dolphins and a huge sea turtle. Amazing! Beautiful – almost enough to make me muster the courage to go offshore on Wednesday, but not quite. Dolphin have been swimming and leaping beside us in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), too. They frolic and play like they haven’t a care. John and I look forward to learning to play like those dolphins while we’re away!

Back inside the Beaufort Inlet, we tied up at the Beaufort town docks. The interesting thing about pulling into a marina is that at least two guys who work at the marina are almost always standing by to help. In this case, three guys from the marina were standing by waving us into our slip for the night. John had already briefed me on how he wanted me to work the lines, which cleats to catch – the usual drill. Each guy on the dock had a different idea, and each shouted to me to throw them a line. Being a good first mate, I listened to the captain and all went well. Last summer when we pulled into the marina at Bald Head Island, I made the mistake of throwing lines to the three marina guys on the dock when they shouted to me instead of going with John’s plan. Suffice it to say, each guy had his own plan, and we were the 4PM entertainment for people on the island. Lesson learned!

This was our first time in Beaufort by boat. For years, Beaufort has been one of our favorite places to spend a day. We enjoy the Buffalo Shrimp at the Dockside Restaurant, window shopping, and looking at boats in the harbor. What fun to arrive by water and dock in the midst of yachts that dwarf the Chariot.

Today enjoyed a leisurely morning, and then departed for Swansboro. Last summer when we were on the ICW between Morehead City and Swansboro, it was like the boating equivalent of driving on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. Today, it was the boating equivalent of driving in Oriental early on a Saturday morning – we were nearly all alone! Dolphin accompanied us as we passed Bogue field where John the Marine spent many nights doing field carrier landing practice in harrier jets.
Elvis Ann has settled in to the cruising lifestyle. She is still a bit freaked out by all of the various boat noises. Otherwise, she is her normal busy self. And, yet all our teak is intact!