Vero to Annapolis - Days 14-17

Day 14 - Beaufort to Bellhaven


Once again the weather dictated our itinerary. We had planned to spend a full day in Beaufort, N.C.,  but a cold front was moving through the next day with high winds and storms so we wanted get some miles in beforehand. We decided to check out Beaufort, have lunch and then continue north.

Beaufort is a compact and historic town similar to it's southern sister, but perhaps a bit more nautical due it's proximity to the ocean. Beaufort, S.C. is definitely more southern and stately, but both have their charms.

We had a nice lunch in town before hitting the farmers market to score some local grits and seafood. Michelle wanted to try to make a low-fat version of the shrimp and grits we had at previous stops.

Gathering the goods.


The 70 miles to Bellhaven began to look a lot like the Chesapeake Bay. The Neuse, Pamlico and Pungo Rivers are wide and large. There are small canals that connect them to make the ICW so you go from a big river to small canal and big river again. Sometime you're going East, then North, then East again- like a maze.


We arrived and settled in at a small family run marina outside Bellhaven called Dowry Creek. Michelle made her low-fat seafood and grits. It was fabulous!



I discovered there actually are ICW mile markers! Not many, but they are there.


How you get a too tall sailboat under a bridge.

 Day 15 - Rest Day in Bellhaven


The weather forecast was still called for high winds and storms so we decided to stay put. We had been going every day since Beaufort, S.C. so we needed a day of rest anyways. We slept in and then borrowed the marina car to go into town for lunch.

It was Sunday so only two restaurants were open in this small main street town. Spoon River was highly recommended as a great farm to table restaurant. At 11 am the place was fully packed. I think the whole town was there. The owner and staff knew everyone that entered, but they still made us strangers feel welcome. Things were a bit chaotic and the wait was long. Apparently they had just reopened after a seven month renovation due to flooding from Hurricane Flo (Dowry Creek Marina had also been total devastated). They gave us complimentary mimosas and the food was great. Awesome place!

Bellhaven

Spoon River


Dowry Creek Marina



Boat cleaning, fueling, pump-out and laundry filled the rest of the day. The storms never arrived, but the bugs sure did. I have never seen so many bugs! Luckily they were midges (AKA "blind mosquitoes") and not the biting type. We were also glad Pure Lunasea has a central vacuum so we could suck up the swarm we had inside the cabin. The mess the next day in the  flybridge was even worse. This place should be called "Bughaven" instead of Bellhaven. Onward.

Day 16 - Adventure at Sea


In hindsight we should have traveled the day before. The storms never materialized and it would have been a great cruising day. Today though had 20-25 mph winds out the north- exactly the direction we were going. We beat our way up the Alligator River and across the Albamarle Sound in 3-4 waves. It was not fun, but Pure Lunasea handled it great.

Eventually the river narrowed and we found a secluded anchorage. Hallelujah we were finally going to get our anchor wet! We wanted to anchor more often on our ICW trip, but there were very few places convenient to the towns we wanted to visit. It was a beautiful spot.

Secluded bliss


Day 17 - Portsmouth and the end of the ICW


We awoke to a still foggy morning. It was only 40 miles to Portsmouth, but there were several bridges and one lock to navigate. A few miles into the day our port (left) engine oil pressure dropped. We shut down that engine and ran on only one. We limped into a marina thinking this was going to be another long delay. Atlantic Yacht Basin quickly dispatched a mechanic to check it out. We were delighted to discover it was just a sensor. We moved on.

As we got closer to Portsmouth it got very industrial with many shipyards and commercial docks. It was a huge change from the pure solitude the night before.

In Portsmouth we tied to what we thought was one of the cities free docks. After a call to the city we found out we could not stay in that location. As we pulled off the dock we were nearly hit by a local ferry boats that had come up behind us unnoticed. It was a close call and the ferry captain was not too happy. Lesson learned. Look ALL directions before pulling out.

We ended up at marina a short distance away. There was a Great Loop rendezvous going on at our dock (the Great Loop is water route that navigates up to Canada, down the Mississippi, around the Gulf of Mexico and back up the east coast- about 5000 miles). We were not full fledged "loopers", but we had just done about a quarter of it so we joined it. It was fun talking to them and a few even came and toured our boat.

We had dinner in town to celebrate finishing the ICW and settled in to watch TV and blog.



Minutes before nearly making Portsmouth news


Portsmouth









 



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